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China culls over 14,000 pigs in latest African swine fever outbreak

Lianyungang city in China's Jiangsu province, the latest to be hit by African swine fever, has culled over 14,500 pigs as part of an effort to contain the disease, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

The government of Lianyungang, which is about 500 kilometers north of Shanghai, said it had culled that number of swine by Monday night in a quarantined area.

Lianyungang was the area hit by the third outbreak of ASF within the month of August. Last Sunday, Aug. 19, the city reported that 88 hogs died of the disease.

It added that four million other pigs in the city had been inspected but that they were found to have no other abnormalities, the report said.

In May the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned about the risk of the spread of African swine fever from Russia.

China's first case of the ASF was reported on Aug. 3 in Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province, which has culled more than 8,000 hogs.

African swine causes haemorrhagic fever in pigs that almost always ends in death within a few days.Dear @IlhanMN,



I hear you plan to go on a fact-finding tour of Israel. In fact, Israel is doing pretty well. Its, Somalia, your native country, that could truly use your formidable skills. Maybe you could use your frequent flyer miles and swing by.Everyone eligible should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

Vaccination should be voluntary but those who don't get vaccinated should be frequently tested for COVID-19 as a condition of long-distance travel and employment.

Both vaccination and testing should be voluntary and not required as a condition of long-distance travel or employment.

I defer to the judgment of lawmakers as long as they base their decisions on a consensus of medical professionals.

Vote

View ResultsTurkey comes to the table with Russia

Russian president Putin met in Moscow with Turkish foreign and defense ministers.

Turkish-Russian ties are growing stronger and deeper, said Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, meeting in Moscow with Turkeys top diplomat along with its defense minister and intelligence chief.

"RELATIONS WITH TURKEY ARE BECOMING DEEPER"

"Our relations with Turkey are becoming deeper and more meaningful, becoming deeper in the field of economic cooperation, in addressing a number of issues related to regional issues," Putin said during his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan, chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). In the nationally televised meeting, Putin also mentioned the "regular character" of contacts with President Erdogan.

SYRIAN CRISIS

Russia and Turkey along with other countries have made serious progress in resolving the Syrian crisis, Putin added. "Thanks to the efforts of our countries with the involvement of other interested states, in particular, I mean Iran, our cooperation with the UN, with European countries, with the United States -- we've managed to make serious progress in resolving the Syrian crisis," he said..    .      .           .       3 ,           10 .          ,        ...Blake Lively doesnt seem to have the patience to deal with internet trolls these days.

The Gossip Girl alum fired back at a social media user who criticized her Friday after she posted a photo to Instagram wearing an eccentric pant suit.

I say this with so much love & respect for you babe, please hire a stylist or fire the one youre currently with, the social media critic wrote in the comments section of Livelys post.

The Simple Favor star, 30, admitted shes responsible for her own fashion ensembles and and took it upon herself to respond to the critic saying, Thank you for the tips, sir. Alas, Ive tried to fire @blakelively so many times. But that b----h just keeps coming back. She wont leave me alone.

Livelys retort was spotted by the Instagram account Comments by Celebs and after mentioning the witty reply, fans of the actress jumped to her defense and saluted her sharp panache.

She famously deleted her all of her Instagram posts in May after she posted a sequence of images of herself playing hangman and spelled out the message What happened to Emily? She had even removed her avatar in the purge.Sherry Ballard is hoping a new documentary series will help her finally find out what happened to her daughter.

Oxygen Media recently launched a docu-series titled The Disappearance of Crystal Rogers, which explores the mysterious circumstances surrounding Rogers' disappearance in the small town of Bardstown, Ky.

The show is hosted by Emmy-nominated reporter Stephanie Bauer and veteran homicide detective Dwayne Stanton, who has worked on celebrity cases and more than 750 homicide investigations.

The pair aimed to unearth new leads, insight and information with the help of several experts and interviews with investigators.

In July 2015, police found a maroon Chevy Impala that belonged to the 35-year-old mother of five. It had been abandoned with a flat tire near the Bluegrass Parkway. Inside, police found Rogers purse, keys and phone.

Rogers was last seen by her boyfriend, Brooks Houck, at the couples home. Houck told police that Rogers had stayed up late that night, and was gone when he woke up the following morning. Houck then waited another two days to contact authorities.

Rogers father, Tommy Ballard, who was conducting his own 16-month investigation into his daughters disappearance, was shot down and killed in 2016 while hunting on the family property. The 54-year-olds death still remains unsolved.

Rogers mother told Fox News the personal tragedies shes endured have only compelled her to come forward and share her story for the documentary, in hopes of finally getting answers.

Ive been doing everything I could to find my daughter, said Ballard. And I just felt like I needed the extra help. I wanted it out there that Crystal is still missing. And I figure the more people I reach, the better it would be for everybody to be more aware that Crystal is still not here.

Ballard tearfully described Rogers as a loving, hands-on mother who, despite her shy demeanor, wouldnt hesitate to offer a helping hand to someone in need.

Crystal had no enemies that I know of, explained Ballard. She did rental property. I mean, Im sure people werent always happy when she had to collect rent, but thats a normal, everyday thing.

"It happens all the time. Ive never heard of anyone that was dissatisfied with her or did not like her. My daughter was the type that if you didnt have a place to live, she would have taken you in, given you food and a home.

Ballard admitted shes caught a lot of flak for allowing cameras to scrutinize Bardstown, which was once described as the most beautiful small town in America. However, Ballard was eager to see what new clues were found in the ongoing investigation.

I wont put down law enforcement, but, am I happy the way things were handled? No, Im not happy about it, said Ballard. And they know that Im not satisfied. Do you think theyre working their butts off now to find my daughter? I think 100 percent they are now. I just dont think the law enforcement in this town has the means and knowledge for what was needed to find my daughter.

Ballard can still vividly and painfully recall the moment she realized her daughter couldnt be located.

When I knew something was wrong, I just panicked, said Ballard. I was crying. I just fell apart. I told my husband and her brother something was wrong. They didnt believe me a little bit at first. They just thought I was overreacting as a mother. But she would have gotten in touch with me. She always texted me or called me back It was a very scary moment.

The last conversation between the two also continues to haunt Ballard.

We were just sitting and talking about normal stuff, she explained. But just out of the blue, she looked at me and said, Mom, he thinks Im an idiot. And shes talking about Brooks Im the type of mother who's very into her childrens lives. Some people may call it interfering.

"I would let them know exactly how I felt about stuff. [But] she told me one time, Mom, its not right, you have to let me live my own life. So I didnt ask [more] because I was trying to let her be the adult and not interfere in my childrens lives I could beat myself up every day.

In the documentary, the Ballard family said they questioned the relationship between Rogers and Houck, who shared one child. Rogers sister has also claimed her beloved sibling was allegedly planning on ending the relationship. Houck did cooperate with police, but he reportedly showed little emotion or concern.

The Daily Beast reported Houcks brother, Nick Houck, a police officer on the Bardstown force, allegedly refused to be interviewed by a detective who was investigating the disappearance. The brother also allegedly refused to cooperate after his boss, former Police Chief Rick McCubbin, advised him to meet with the detective.

The site added McCubbin fired Nick months later, after he failed an FBI polygraph test and tried to warn his brother that police were coming to interview him.

Tommys father also told WDRB that the heartbroken patriarch was planning a large-scale, out-of-town search for his daughter the week after he was killed.

Louisvilles WDRB also reported Houck, who was named the main suspect in Rogers disappearance by police, was indicted on theft charges this year in an unrelated case.

In response to the growing interest in Rogers story since the documentary premiered earlier this month, Brian Butler, Houcks attorney, told the Today Show his client repeatedly, vehemently and publicly denied any wrongdoing in connection with the tragic disappearance and the death of [Rogers'] father.

I have advised him that submitting to further interviews would serve no purpose and may further the pain to Ms. Rogers family who unfortunately seems focused on him as a suspect, added Butler.

Ballard claimed Houck is far from innocent.

Ive never doubted that from day one and I never will, she said. The reason he wont come forward is because hes guilty. My daughter got mixed up with the wrong person. When she figured that out and tried to get out, I think it was just too late.

Hes very deceiving. When you first meet him, everyone just thinks hes the perfect gentleman. But when you really get to know him? You dont know what kind of monsters live there. And Im sorry, but I've always thought he's guilty. He knows exactly how I feel. Ive not made that a secret.

In the documentary, it was also revealed authorities have not classified Tommys death as a homicide, but rather a death investigation because they believe his sudden passing could have been a tragic accident, which has yet to be proven.

However, the family believes the shooting was intentional.

I dont know necessarily if he was on to anything, said Ballard. Was he getting close to something? I dont know. Because we searched everywhere I think they wanted my husband, who was a driving force in trying to find my daughter, out of the way. Whoever did that knows I could not find my daughter the way he tried to.

He had tons of resources. He knew tons of people who supported us. My husband was very well-liked in the community. And they knew that if he wasnt around, it would slow down the process of finding my daughter. And I think thats the reason my husband was murdered.

Rogers investigation is still ongoing. Ballard hopes the documentary will not only raise more awareness on the lives that were lost but also help finally end her turmoil of not knowing what took her loved ones away so suddenly.

My husband and daughter did not deserve what was done to them, said Ballard. I think this was well planned. [The individual] covered their tracks pretty good. But theres always a mistake somewhere And I want answers. I am not satisfied and I will not settle.

"The Disappearance of Crystal Rogers" airs Saturdays at 7 p.m. on Oxygen.A new billboard in Baltimore, Maryland, has gotten a crabby response from some of the citys seafood-lovers.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently posted a billboard that encourages people to ditch crabs and go vegan" near several seafood restaurants in the city's Inner Harbor neighborhood.

The billboard, which features a blue crab, reads Im ME. Not MEAT. See the individual. Go vegan.

MYSTERIOUS FUR-COVERED SEA 'MONSTER' WASHES UP ON BEACH: 'COULD IT BE SOME ANCIENT CREATURE?'

In a statement, the animal advocacy group said that sign comes as part of a nationwide campaign to encourage diners to leave crabs and other sea animals off dinner plates and in their aquatic homes.

Just like humans, crabs feel pain and fear, have unique personalities, and value their own lives, PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman said in the statement. PETAs billboard aims to give Charm City residents some food for thought about sparing sensitive marine animals the agony of being boiled alive or crushed to death in fishing nets simply by going vegan.

But many Marylanders arent on board with the groups message.

Its part of the citys history, you know what I mean? Gerard Brown, who eats crab, told CBS Baltimore. Without seafood, there is no Baltimore.

This is a bold play in Baltimore, one Twitter user wrote.

Restaurant owners, too, have expressed their discontent with the billboard.

I dont think they knew what they are getting themselves into when they put that up, John Minadakis, of Jimmys Famous Seafood, told the news station.

RARE CLUBHOOK SQUID SPOTTED IN OREGON FOR SECOND TIME IN 2 WEEKS

The billboard will remain in place for a month, just in time for the Baltimore Seafood Festival in September.

Similarly, earlier this month, PETA pushed a nearly identical billboard in Maine that featured a lobster. The marketing push came just ahead of the states lobster festival in Rockland.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Exactly one year ago, Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. My family of seven  my wife Audrey and I, and our five children, including triplet babies  werent prepared for a 1-in-1,000-year event. We and millions of others in the Houston area were right in the middle of one of the worst natural disasters in American history.

We had never experienced a hurricane. As we sheltered in place, little did we know that rainfall would soon be measured in feet, not inches. Soon I would be evacuating my family  all still wearing pajamas  from our levee district, like a scene from Fast and Furious, driving our family vehicle in the wrong direction (contra-flow) on State Highway 99, trying to escape the storm.

Harvey broke a 60-year U.S. rainfall record (set in Hawaii), with some rainfall estimates at up to 70 inches in parts of southeastern Texas.

The storm tore through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky and took a terrible toll: A total of $125 billion in damage, 13 million people impacted, 39,000 people forced out of their homes, 204,000 homes damaged or destroyed, more than 1 million cars and trucks damaged beyond repair. And worst of all, at least 88 people lost their lives.

Yet, important words describing what happened after Harvey hit never appear in a government report that described the disaster: hope, friendship, love, faith, church and rebuild.

Here are four lessons our family was reminded of during this horrific natural disaster. Perhaps they will encourage you when faced with adversity.

People actually care.

In the early morning hours of the Harvey weekend, every cell phone in our home startled us with that terrifying emergency alert buzz. The message was clear. Our levee district was under a mandatory evacuation at first light.

With only enough time for our children to put their most valued possessions (a Paw Patrol toy and a stuffed animal) in their HEB grocery sacks, away we went.

I didn't forget the triplet stroller (you still need the stroller in the apocalypse). I didn't know we would not be able to return for home eight days.

How did we make it? We had no clothes. No diapers. There were fuel shortages all over Texas. We didnt budget for the expense of evacuation.

Strangers and friends from all over America gave our family their love and prayers and provided for our immediate needs. Trying to navigate our first hurricane, we felt so vulnerable, especially attempting to translate words like "catastrophic" to our children.

When you face adversity, one of the most challenging hurdles is getting over the nervousness to ask for help. After several unplanned nights in Dallas, we were out of Hilton points (all seven of us in one room!), and finally, we made a call to dear friends in Arkansas. They opened their home to our family.

When we arrived, their Women's Bible Group study adopted our family and provided: diapers, new clothes, food, beds and love. This little story is only an illustrative drop in the bucket of how people came together in the aftermath of Harvey.

Short prayers make a difference.

We were praying with our eyes open! Short, brief, guttural, staccato prayers. Audrey and I are unashamed to admit that we called on the name of Jesus for our city, our region and our family.

The Scriptures say that even when we dont know what or how to pray, the Spirit within us prays with inexpressible words (Romans 8:26-27). If you are facing the grind of adversity and have endless decisions to make, dont ever forget about the power of prayer.

Those prayers put on feet when people of faith came out in full force and outpaced the Federal Emergency Management Agency helping Houstonians and others hit by the storm to rebuild their lives. Fort Bend County, where we reside, is the most ethnically diverse county in America. No one minded if Christians prayed in their home before helping them muck it out. They were just grateful someone was there to help.

God is with you in the midst of chaos.

We tried five different evacuation routes out of Houston, and all of them were impassable. By the way, emergency evacuation is complicated, often very unclear. Finally, we made our way via Highway 59 out of Houston, stopping at the Buc-cee's gas station in Wharton to get our bearings.

Drenched and still in our pajamas, a deputy sheriff stopped me and  for some reason  asked if we were OK. He didn't have much time, but he took a moment to redirect my family to the only available route to safety (eventually Waco, then Dallas).

A few hours later, the Buc-cee's and Walmart in Wharton would be completely flooded. The presence of God shows up through people. Strangers stopped us and offered help and love. Don't fail to see God around you in His people.

Great friendships are forged in tragedy and adversity.

Acquaintances become fast friends in difficult circumstances. During our Harvey evacuation, we were stranded in Dallas and literally running on fumes (gas was scarce).

I'm a professor and Adam Wright (President of Dallas Baptist University) somehow managed to find my family in the metro area. I had never met him and never visited his campus. We appeared at the school a haggard and hungry looking bunch.

We were presented us with fresh clothes, food and fun for the kids  all serving as a very welcome distraction. Wright used the campus gas reserve and even filled up our vehicle. Gosh, you don't forget people who help you in lifes difficult moments. "Thank you" will never be enough.

Certainly, there is much more that can be written. I hope today if you are struggling in a tough situation, you wont forget the important lessons we learned one year ago.

Audrey, Lily Faith, Justin, Abel, Ryder, Jaxson and I are so grateful to have learned these lessons. Thank you, Harvey.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Americans who value public debate and cherish the system of government that our founders built for us should care deeply about the future of the Supreme Court.

For decades now, we have lived under an activist federal court system that has supplanted Congress and imposed its will on controversial cultural questions like abortion and religious freedom within our own borders.

The end result has been an imbalance of power between elected officials in Congress and state legislatures on the one hand, and unelected judges on the other. Too often, judges impose progressive cultural values on a country that should be given the opportunity to debate those issues and decide them at the ballot box.

President Trumps latest Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal for the District of Columbia marks a chance to right the ship.

Conservatives hope to see the judiciary restored to its rightful place as safeguard of the Constitution through a non-politicized, unbiased and constitutionalist Supreme Court.

Current cultural hostilities of the left will be neutralized  not by delivering fix-is-in political wins preferred by the left, but by restoring political balance and leaving Congress free to legislate on societal issues  which is its job.

When the Supreme Court focuses on constitutional validity instead of settling cultural disputes, Congress has room to do its job and to be held accountable for its actions. Complex cultural issues can be settled through public debates instead of judicial decrees.

Lawmakers should embrace their opportunity to take action on important legislative matters. Citizens across the country should work with their elected representatives to ensure their voices are heard. Look no further than the recent activity in the House to protect faith-based adoption and foster care agencies from government discrimination and penalization.

At this very moment, liberal activist groups are suing religious adoption agencies that operate based on their religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality. The LGBT movement is threatening to drive faith-based organizations out of the adoption and foster care system entirely, should these groups not abandon their religious beliefs.

Sadly, caught in the crossfire of this activist political agenda are the very children those on the left purportedly want to help. These children now face fewer opportunities to find homes as more and more agencies are forced to close their doors.

Progressive activists drove out faith-based adoption agencies several years ago in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., displacing thousands of children in the process.

Now the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal have filed lawsuits in Texas and Michigan in hopes of ending the grassroots conversation prematurely and by closing debate through judicial fiat.

The most recent assault on religious freedom has taken place in Philadelphia, where just days after issuing an emergency call stating a need for 300 foster families, the city placed two Christian agencies under investigation for discrimination owing to their religious beliefs of not accommodating same-sex couples.

Now, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Catholic Charities in Philadelphia in hopes of staying the hand of the city. Until then, 250 children remain waiting and 35 families who want to take them in are not allowed to do so.

So Congress is taking action. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act is backed by hundreds of thousands of conservative activists across the country who want their voices heard. This bill would ensure that all child welfare agencies, including religious ones, are free to serve their communities.

Members in the House have included this bill as an amendment to the appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. If signed into law, this legislation would break logjams like the one created by Philadelphia city officials. Children now in limbo would be free to join the loving families ready to help them.

This victory is but one example of why conservatives take an interest in the future of the next generation of judges and justices, up to and including the Supreme Court. Instead of an all-powerful activist court system dictating public policy, a constitutionalist Supreme Court will leave Congress free to legislate and, in so doing, protect against unfair cultural hostilities from the left.

When the Supreme Court does its job well, Congress is free to do its job well too.

Tim Chapman is executive director of Heritage Action.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

While President Trump is busy making America great again, Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  who is expected to win a U.S. House seat in November in a heavily Democratic congressional district in New York City  is calling for policies that would turn the American Dream into the American Nightmare.

If you think the socialist paradise nations of Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea are the greatest countries on the planet, Ocasio-Cortez is the candidate for you.

Today even China and Russia (once part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) are moving their economies away from socialism and toward a hybrid of state control and capitalism in order to build better lives for their people. And Eastern European nations that were once part of or allied with the U.S.S.R. abandoned the failed socialist economic model years ago.

Nevertheless, the global failure of socialism hasnt stopped Ocasio-Cortez from advocating her kooky socialist agenda. Shes promising free college, a government-run health-care system, free housing and the guarantee of a federal job.

The 28-year-old candidate acts like shes the millennial version of Oprah, except theres one major distinction. All the free stuff shes giving away has to be paid for by someone  and in this case its not her. Its you  the American taxpayer.

My mom always said that nothing in life is free. For those who arent convinced, look no further than Venezuela to see the catastrophic consequences and havoc the socialism fairytale can unleash on a country.

Venezuelas demise has touched off the inevitable flood of refugees into neighboring countries  a crisis that mirrors the migration of refugees from war-torn Syria and others parts of the Middle East to Central and Western Europe.

Some women in Venezuela feel they have no other option but to join the sex trade in Colombia in order to feed their families.

A former ballerina, businesswoman and mom of two in Venezuela said: "This is a shameful job but what option do I have? I have to make money to look after my children and feed them. There is nothing in Venezuela.

Another woman, a former hairdresser and mom said: If things ever get any better in Venezuela, I'd love to set up my own business. Anything would be better. I do this because I have to do this. If I could do something better, I'd do it ... and I'd stop this straight away."

The economic collapse in Venezuela has torn families apart and wreaked destruction. Just to survive, Venezuelans are leaving their families and dropping what amounts to two years of their salaries to cross over into Colombia.

One woman who left her family said: "There is nothing in Venezuela. We have to do this to get money to live, to give my children a future.

Its estimated that 45,000 people cross into Colombia over the Simon Bolivar Bridge from Venezuela every day. Some come to get supplies, while some are immigrants wanting to make new lives.

Ocasio-Cortez can dream socialist fantasies all she wants while campaigning and giving interviews in the media.

But if you believe in reality instead of fantasy, youll favor President Trumps successful economic policies any day, as I do.

Theres plenty of evidence that our economy is moving in the right direction under the Trump administration. Hispanic and African-American unemployment are at near all-time lows. Unemployment for women is the lowest its been in decades. And we saw the economy surge to a 4.1 percent rate of annualized growth in the past quarter  the fastest in four years.

Breaking news: Capitalism works.

The strong economy our nation enjoys today contrasts dramatically with the snake oil that Ocasio-Cortez preaches.

While the United States enjoys a booming economic recovery, even Venezuelas socialist President Nicolas Nicolas Maduro admitted his economic model, based on his reign of socialism, has failed."

"The production models we've tried so far have failed and the responsibility is ours, mine and yours," he told his United Socialist Party. Later he went on to say: Enough with the whining  We need to produce with or without (outside) aggression, with or without blockades, we need to make Venezuela an economic power. No more whining, I want solutions comrades!

If he really wants solutions he should try capitalism. Its been working for years.

Socialism has been tried multiple ways and multiple times since the Russian Revolution in 1917  and it has failed every single time. Ocasios socialist America would bring catastrophe on our families and leave our children picking up the pieces.

No one said it better than British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, when she was first running for that job 42 years ago. She said: Socialist governments traditionally do make a financial mess. They always run out of other peoples money.

Venezuela is just the latest proof that the socialist fantasy has inflicted horrific damage on countless families and national economies over the past 100 years. Those who champion such a course for our country ignore facts, history and the very world around them.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Eight years ago, it seemed there wasnt a bright future awaiting young Americans. They were deceived by politicians who promised them the American Dream but delivered an economic nightmare.

They were faced with the highest youth unemployment rate on record. The youth unemployment rate measures joblessness for people ages 16 to 24 who are actively seeking work.

In June 2010, 19.1 percent of young Americans seeking work were unemployed. But by last month the youth jobless figure was less than half that  9.2 percent.

President Trumps policies have reversed this horrific trend, rescuing our next great generation from years of despair fostered by Democrats in Washington.

Echoing partisan talking points, President Trumps critics may be quick to question whether the administration has improved the lives of underprivileged youth. Yet, black and Hispanic youth unemployment rates have also declined, dropping to new historic lows.

The extraordinary improvement in youth employment would not be possible without President Trumps focus on strengthening small businesses across the country. By decreasing taxes and slashing regulations, the President has unleashed our economy, creating millions of new jobs for Americans of all ages.

Less than two years after the 2016 presidential election, the U.S. economy began growing at a rate that many thought was impossible, and the overall unemployment rate has dropped to the lowest point of the century.

To promote youth employment through policy solutions, President Trump has placed a very high priority on workforce training, providing young people and other workers with new skills to prepare for new jobs in our evolving economy. Last year, he took action to get companies, unions, industry groups and federal agencies to go out and create new opportunities for millions of citizens.

When President Trump took office, he inherited an unprecedented crisis in higher education. This too has held young people back from advancing in their lives productively. During the previous administration, the number of graduating college seniors with debt was skyrocketing.

President Obamas Department of Education pledged to solve the student debt crisis, but it was utterly inept in its effort to address the issue. An Education Department memorandum admitted that officials overstated student loan repayment rates at most colleges and trade schools.

An independent study by The Wall Street Journal later confirmed that the Education Department inflated 99.8 percent of all repayments across America. This appears to be an effort to cook the books and conceal the true crisis for young people completing their college degrees.

President Trump, on the other hand, is tackling the issue of student debt head-on, proposing to overhaul the loan servicing system and undo other failed policies implemented by the previous administration.

While everyone can agree that young Americans have suffered economically in recent years, Democrats in Washington are refusing to compromise with President Trump on reasonable measures to improve the economic condition of our youth.

A healthy economy is a foundation for a healthy future. Thanks to President Trump, the renewed confidence of businesses across America is now resulting in more jobs for young people than ever before. The economy is also growing at a record pace, ensuring that new opportunities will continue to emerge for Americas youth.

Americas young people deserve more than a mediocre future  and we now have demonstrated proof that President Trump is building a path for our success.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

The Trump administration deserves credit for withdrawing from the disastrous Iran nuclear deal. A lot of pundits didnt think President Trump was serious when he threatened to pull out of the agreement, but he showed otherwise. Now that the president has decided to impose snapback sanctions on Iran, we can now focus our economic power on the destabilizing behavior of the Iranian government.

It is clear that Iran is promoting the expansion of military and terrorist activities across the Middle East. As the Trump administration rightfully begins to implement sanctions against Iran to combat this expansion, we have to examine the actions of the Iranian government on several fronts.

Irans continued support of the Hezbollah terrorist organization with both financial and political assistance, as well as weapons and tactical training, deserves close examination. Western diplomats and Lebanese analysts estimate that Iranian financial support for Hezbollah averages around $100 million each year, sometimes reaching amounts closer to a quarter of a billion dollars.

Hezbollah has also received Iranian-supplied weaponry, including 11,500 missiles that have already been placed in Lebanon. Along with the supplied weapons, over 3,000 Hezbollah militants have undergone Iranian training. They have learned about guerilla warfare tactics, operation of unmanned drones and marine warfare.

Additionally, through Irans support and through their own illicit financing and criminal networks, Hezbollah has become a dominant force and a direct source instability in the Middle East.

Hezbollah has been fighting in defense of Syrian President Bashar Assad. It has provided material support for designated terrorist organizations like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It has engaged in training and command operations for militia groups in Iraq. It has provided ballistic missiles and leadership to the Houthi insurgency in Yemen. In addition, there are reports of an increasing Hezbollah presence in North Africa.

All of these activities pose a direct threat to U.S. security interests, contribute to the prolonging of conflicts across the Middle East, and pose threats to our key allies in the region.

Finally, we should pay attention to Qatars continued support of state-sponsored terrorism efforts. Our efforts to limit Irans support for terrorism require cooperation. Qatars ongoing support and funding for terrorist groups has been well- documented.

Its of increasing concern that Iranian banks are moving their foreign exchange operations to the Qatar National Bank. We know Irans access to foreign currencies is an essential part of the governments funding and support for terrorism.

Further, Iran has recently voiced its support for the Qatari government, strengthening our concerns with the activities of both governments.

As our Treasury Department continues to bring back sanctions against Iran, the department should pay attention to these issues and keep a close watch over the actions of both the Qatari and Iranian governments, as well as Hezbollahs illicit activities around the world.

Iran, Qatar and Hezbollah are responsible for the increase in terrorist-based activities across the Middle East, and we must impose harsh sanctions that directly limit the Iranian regime's access to finance. The sanctions against Iran will affect all major industries, thereby preventing the leadership from funding destabilizing activities in the Middle East and wider world.Democrats gathering in Chicago this weekend are poised to formalize several significant changes to their presidential nominating system to repair relations with rank and file members who felt bamboozled by the 2016 selection process, and ultimately, they hope, win back the White House.

These Democratic National Committee members are moving with exacting deliberation on changes, likely to be approved Saturday, to a system that just two years ago was criticized as unfair and corrupt.

The most noteworthy of these fixes is a plan to limit the influence of the partys most high-profile members  often called superdelegates. These officials  governors, members of Congress, mayors and others  represent 15 percent of the overall delegate count that determine the presidential nominee.

Under the new system, the superdelegates  or automatic delegates as the party now wants to call them  will not be guaranteed a vote on the first ballot at the 2020 national convention. In other words, for the initial vote in a contested race, candidates will only be able to count on the delegates they won during state primaries and caucuses.

Making sure that at the end of the day when the process is done  to select the Democratic nominee  that they feel like their candidate got a fair shake, DNC Chairman Tom Perez explained to members on Thursday.

If theres a need for a second ballot then the superdelegates, who are not bound to any candidate, are free to step in and possibly tip the balance towards someone who can win a majority of the votes.

Youre going to see little discussions here, and there but at the end we are going to be a wholeDemocrats are going to be moving forward for a 2020 election, says Iris Martinez, a DNC member from Illinois.

The push for a new system comes from backers of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who feel the 2016 process was stacked in favor of eventual nominee Hillary Clinton. Amongst other complaints, they objected to media tallies during the primary season showing Clinton, with her significant support among superdelegates, holding more votes than shed earned in the various state contests.

But as veteran Democratic campaign manager Bob Shrum noted to Fox News, Clinton did eventually win a majority of the delegates at stake during the primary and caucus process so that in the end, the superdelegates didnt matter.

Superdelegates are either superfluous or theyre dangerous, says Shrum, who is now director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics

Shrum says the superdelegates have never overturned the will of the voters and predicts if it did happen there would be so much discord that it would doom the nominee in the general election.

I think Tom Perez is absolutely determined that you wont see in 2020 the kinds of charges you saw in 2016, he says.

The DNC is also expected to pass rules forcing caucus states to make absentee ballots available and to also demonstrate a paper trail sufficient to conduct a recount or otherwise verify the legitimacy of the contest.The family of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., says the senator is suspending treatment for his brain cancer. But its notable the statement came from the family and not the senator.

McCain last voted on the Senate floor on an interim government funding bill on December 7 last year. He hasnt visited the Capitol since.

That said, McCain has exercised significant influence from afar amid his convalescence.

I have tracked McCains statements for months. I would take notice if I hadnt seen a statement from McCain for a while. But then a statement would pop into the in-box.

The statements didnt quote McCains press team. Theyre directly from McCain himself, revealing engagement from afar.

McCains office pushed out statements of late on the Senates passage of the defense authorization bill, named after the senator himself. On July 13, McCain weighed in on the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers.

Todays indictment is a result of the hard work of Americas law enforcement and intelligence officials who dedicate their lives to bringing to justice those who wish to do us harm. These revelations add to a body of evidence confirming an extensive plot by Vladimir Putins government to attack the 2016 election, sow chaos and dissention among the American electorate, and undermine faith in our democracy, said McCain.

On July 12, McCain applauded the Houses passage of a bill to implement a water settlement with Arizonas White Mountain Apache Tribe.

The federal government owes it to the White Mountain Apache Tribe to follow through on the commitment it made seven years ago to build the Miner Flat Dam, said McCain in a statement. This legislation would resolve the tribes claims to the Salt River in Arizona and pave the way for the completion of the Miner Flat Dam and Reservoir, which are key to protecting the Tribes at-risk water supply.

McCain joined Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., on August 2 to write Romanian Prime Minister Dancila about the firing of the Chief Prosecutor of Romanias anti-corruption agency.

We urge the Romanian government not to retreat in the important fight against corruption, wrote the senators.

On August 13, President Trump signed the John. S. McCain Defense Authorization Act into law. In a statement, the senator said he was humbled that my colleagues would name the annual defense bill after him. McCain also said the legislation would help deliver our service members the resources they need to rise to the challenges of a dangerous world.

And then nothing from McCain until todays statement from his family.

Conversations about about McCains future, health and even the process for a potential successor have been taboo around the Capitol for some time now. Senators who had even visited with McCain were circumspect in their remarks about their colleague. If anything was said, it was done in hushed tones and so far off the record. Thats because everyone on Capitol Hill - ranging from senators to aides to reporters and Senate staff - suspected theyd see a statement like this at some point from McCains office. And as much as no one wanted to admit it, they knew it was just a matter of when.

There was a point when some senators, perhaps wishfully, thought McCain may return to the Capitol and even vote. But that was never in the offing.

In May, McCain published a statement announcing his opposition to the nomination of CIA Director Gina Haspel. A former prisoner of war, McCain often spoke about the governments use of enhanced interrogation techniques. After all, no one would say that McCain was subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques in Vietnam. McCain was tortured. McCain harbored reservations about Haspels role at the CIA when it came to prisoners of war or enemy combatants.

I believe Gina Haspel is a patriot who loves our country and has devoted her professional life to its service and defense, wrote McCain. However, Ms. Haspels role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge tortures immorality is disqualifying. I believe the Senate should exercise its duty of advice and consent and reject this nomination.

At no point did McCain suggest he would vote on Haspel nor declare he would vote no. The Arizona Republican simply stated what he thought his colleagues should do about Haspel.

A similar scenario played out in July when President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. Most senators put out boiler plate statements about meeting the nominee or making up their mind after an in-person chat. McCains statement didnt hint at any of that.

I look forward to the Senate fulfilling this critical duty through a fair and thorough confirmation process, said McCain.

Whats also interesting is how much sway McCain continued to have on Capitol Hill in absentia. Reporters squawked when President Trump signed the defense bill and never mentioned McCain. Or, there were various occasions when the President appeared at a campaign rally and mocked the senator  also not invoking McCain.

Still, McCains absence cast a long shadow through the Senate corridors. Senators listened to him this spring when he expressed concerns about Haspel.

His opinion carries a lot of weight with a lot of people, me included, said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in May.

McCains absence also amplified the narrow Senate Republican majority. With McCain, the GOP holds a tenuous 51-49 Senate advantage. The difference is but a single vote. This is why the Republican leadership sometimes sweated big votes. It magnified the votes of maverick Republicans who sometimes buck the party: Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky.

No event augmented the Republicans narrow majority more than the abortive effort last summer to repeal and replace Obamacare. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made a dramatic, Saturday nightdecision to postpone consideration of the keystone GOP issue once it became apparent McCain couldnt make it to the Senate to vote. McConnell would need McCains vote to to approve a motion to launch the debate. In addition, McCains vote was critical to passing the legislation.

McCain returned to Washington some days later and voted to initiate debate on the Republican repeal and replace gambit. And then, finding the bill not to his liking, McCain torched the GOP efforts.

Even frank and reliable Republican sources are resistant to comment about whats next. But Arizona law works like this: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) would appoint another Republican until a special election is called in 2020. Arizona law requires the appointee be of the same political party as the person vacating the office. Arizona voters re-elected McCain to the Senate in 2016. The winner of the 2020 special election would serve until 2022, the balance of McCains unexpired term.

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.

Arizona Republicans go to the polls Tuesday to decide who will be the winner of one of the most bruising primaries this election season, as candidates fight to get the party's nod to replace outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake.



In the race, two-term Rep. Martha McSally has emerged as the frontrunner as she fends off challenges from the right in the forms of former state Sen. Kelli Ward and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. But whoever wins the primary will face a tough Democratic challenge as Democrats eye the state as one that can be flipped in November.



While McSally is the establishment favorite, she has also taken a tough stance on immigration, backing Trumps border wall and focusing much of her campaign on border issues. Despite Flakes outspoken opposition to the president, none of his challengers has followed his example, and all three have expressed support for Trump.

Ive got the strongest voting record with President Trump long before I was running in the Senate, McSally told Fox News this month, although she had criticized Trump during the 2016 election.



Ward has long been a populist voice in the state, where she had launched a 2016 challenge against Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. But Wards campaign has been damaged by the candidacy of Arpaio, whose entry into the race meant Ward had to cover her own right flank rather than focus on McSally.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: CANDIDATES STILL COUNT



Arpaio served six terms as sheriff of Maricopa County and became a national figure due to his stance on immigration and crime. He lost his 2016 re-election bid after being convicted of contempt of court for continuing racial profiling in his departments hunt for illegal immigrants.



He was pardoned last year by Trump, who repeatedly praised Arpaio during his presidential campaign.



McSally has also been helped by Trump, who has not yet got involved in the race by backing one of her more right-wing opponents. A number of polls show McSally with a significant lead over her two opponents.



For this reason Fox News Power Rankings released this week found that McSallys more open path to the nomination strengthens her and weakens her likely opponent, Rep. Krysten Sinema, for the general election. As a result, the race rating has been changed from Lean Democrat to Toss Up.



The primary race has been noted for its tendency to turn nasty.



McSally and Ward traded jabs during a July debate at The Arizona Republic, hitting each other over credentials and who has more solid policy positions. The attacks also got personal at one point.

And you know, Im not a trained killer, Ward said in a reference to McSallys military service. I am a trained problem-solver. Im a trained healer. And I think thats what we need in Washington.

Wards husband has also said that Arpaio, 86, is unlikely to live long enough to serve out a full-term.

Theyre bringing that out. How much lower can you get? Arpaio said.

McSally, ahead in the polls, has already started to turn her attention to Sinema, and released an ad this week hitting Sinema for protesting in a pink outfit while McSally served in the military after 9/11.



While we were in harms way in uniform, Kyrsten Sinema was protesting us in a pink tutu and denigrating our service, McSally says.



Sinema, meanwhile, said that the ad was a sign McSally was struggling in the primary.



"If Congresswoman McSally is struggling this much to win what should have been an easy primary, it's hard to imagine what level she'll stoop to next," James Owens, Sinema's spokesman, said in a statement to The Arizona Republic.



Fox News Alicia Acuna, Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Chris Stirewalt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.A top U.N. expert is taking aim at the Trump administrations efforts to tighten the screws on Irans theocratic regime, saying that U.S. sanctions are illegitimate and are driving Iranians into poverty.

The Trump administration has been criticized by members of both the U.N. and E.U. leaders for its decision this month to reimpose sanctions of the Islamic regime. The sanctions targeted Irans financial, automotive and precious metals industries and will also target its oil and banking system in November.

A senior administration official told Fox News this month that the restored sanctions are designed to constrict the revenue Iran uses to fund terrorists, dictators, proxy militias, and the regimes own cronies.

TRUMP REINSTATES IRAN SANCTIONS, SLAMS 'HORRIBLE' NUCLEAR DEAL

But Idriss Jazairy a former Algerian ambassador who was appointed by the controversial U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as the special rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on enjoyment of human rights, chose to direct his criticism at the U.S.

The reimposition of sanctions against Iran after the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, which had been unanimously adopted by the Security Council with the support of the U.S. itself, lays bare the illegitimacy of this action, he said in the statement published Wednesday.

International sanctions must have a lawful purpose, must be proportional, and must not harm the human rights of ordinary citizens, and none of these criteria is met in this case.

The U.S. withdrew from the Human Rights Council this year, describing it as a cesspool of political bias. John Bolton said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday that the U.S. will pull funding for the Council and the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR.)

Jazairy went onto claim that sanctions are driving millions into poverty.

These unjust and harmful sanctions are destroying the economy and currency of Iran, driving millions of people into poverty and making imported goods unaffordable, he said.

IRAN PLOTS TERROR ON EUROPEAN SOIL AS EU TRIES TO SHIELD REGIME FROM TRUMP SANCTIONS PUSH

Jazairys statement infuriated Iranian dissidents, as well as some analysts, who said that he should be pointing his finger at the Iranian dictatorship rather than the U.S.

"What has broken the backbone of the Iranian economy is the consequence of the policies of the Iranian regime and institutionalized corruption, which has nothing to do with the sanctions," Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) told Fox News.

Behnam Ben Taleblu a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington D.C, told Fox News that Jazairys views are out of touch with the Iranian people -- who are blaming their own government rather than the U.S.

To paraphrase and borrow from the [Trump] administration, there is not a group that has suffered more at the hands of the regime in Tehran than the Iranian people. Iranian protesters, who chastise their own government and not the U.S. for their plight, rightly understand this. He continued, One only wishes that the U.N. system did too.

Hillel Neuer, the executive director of the Swiss-based UN Watch -- an independent human rights monitoring group -- told Fox News that Iran was the country that sponsored the resolution on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2014 that created the position that Jazairy now holds.

That Jazairy serves as an expert of the UNHRC illustrates the moral corruption of the UNHRC, and underscores why U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley was absolutely right to call out the utter failure of the discredited council to reform itself.

Jazairys comments come on the back of a statement from E.U. leaders, who said they deeply regret the U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions.

The lifting of nuclear-related sanctions is an essential part of the deal, E.U. High Representative Federica Mogherini, along with French, German and British foreign ministers, said in a joint statement, vowing to protect European economic operators engaged in legitimate business with Iran.

In his statement, Jazairy applauded the opposition from the E.U.

I am grateful for the efforts of the European Union in tackling this injustice, both through diplomatic efforts and through legislation to protect European companies from American sanctions. I sincerely hope that the international community can come together to see that the world does not become a battleground for generalized economic war, he said.

But the administration has shrugged off the criticism, and is doubling down on its tough stance against the regime. Last week Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the creation of the Iran Action Group, which will direct, review and coordinate all aspects of Iran policy.

Our hope is that one day soon we can reach a new agreement with Iran. But we must see major changes in the regimes behavior both inside and outside of its borders, he said in remarks at the State Department. The Iranian people and the world are demanding that Iran finally act like a normal nation.

Fox News Rich Edson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to limit the influence of superdelegates -- part of a series of changes to the presidential nominating process to reunite the party after a fractious 2016 primary process.

The reforms, passed at the bodys summer meeting in Chicago, include a measure that requires superdelegates to refrain from voting on the first presidential nomination ballot, unless a candidate has enough votes from pledged delegates.



Superdelegates are the partys most high-profile members and include governors, members of Congress, mayors and others, and represent 15 percent of the overall delegate count. Unliked pledged delegates, they are not locked to a candidate.

OCASIO-CORTEZ CLAIMS SOLIDARITY WITH CAB DRIVERS - WHILE CAMPAIGN BUYS RIDES FROM UBER, OTHER 'ALTERNATIVES', FEC DATA SHOWS

The reform means that for the initial vote, candidates will only be able to count on the delegates they won during state primaries and caucuses. If there is need for a second ballot, then superdelegates -- who are not bound to a candidate -- can step in.



Supporters of the superdelegate system say that it offers greater diversity, but opponents say it gives too much weight to the party establishment and prevents grassroots candidates.

The superdelegrate system was a thorn in the side of backers of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who claimed the deck was stacked against him in 2016 when he ran in the primary against eventual nominee Hillary Clinton. In that race, superdelegates overwhelmingly backed Clinton.

MICHAEL AVENATTI MAKES SURPRISE VISIT TO DNC SUMMER MEETING

In the end, Clinton's lead with superdelegates did not make a crucial difference, because she held a lead of pledged delegates. But critics of the superdelegate structure say that tallies appeared to give Clinton a bigger edge than she had because of the superdelegates.

Today is a historic day for our party. We passed major reforms that will not only put our next presidential nominee in the strongest position possible, but will help us elect Democrats up and down the ballot, across the country, DNC Chair Tom Perez said in a statement.

These reforms will help grow our party, unite Democrats, and restore voters trust by making our 2020 nominating process the most inclusive and transparent in our history," he said.

Sanders backed the move in a statement on Twitter.

"Today's decision by the DNC is an important step forward in making the Democratic Party more open, democratic and responsive to the input of ordinary Americans," he tweeted. "This has been a long and arduous process, and I want to thank @TomPerez and all of those who made it happen."

But some have objected to the move, with DNC member Bob Mulholland telling The Associated Press that Sanders' backers have held undue influence over the party since 2016.

"Three months before the midterms, and this is what Bernie Sanders and Tom Perez have us discussing? Such fools," Mulholland, who backed Clinton in 2016, said.

Other reforms passed include requiring caucuses to have absentee voting or another mechanism to ensure participation.



Fox News Lee Ross, David Sweet and The Associated Press contributed to this report.Former CIA Director John Brennan on Friday escalated his war of words with President Trump -- agreeing with HBO host Bill Maher than Trumps presidency is the third great crisis in American history behind the Revolutionary War and Civil War.



I think we are in a crisis that is the third great crisis in American history, Maher said on "Real Time," saying that he felt it was more of a crisis than the Depression but behind the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Would you rank the crisis were in now that way?



I would, Brennan said. And I think its going to get worse before it gets better, because dont forget: Donald Trump has the authority of the president of the United States in his hands, in terms of what he can do domestically here and as well as what he can do internationally to try to distract attention, whether or not hes going to try to pursue some type of foreign adventure, military or otherwise.



Trump yanked Brennans security clearance last week, with the White House claiming that Brennan had been leveraging the clearance to make wild outbursts about the Trump administration.



Brennan, who joined NBC News and MSNBC in February as a contributor and senior national security and intelligence adviser, has not held back in his criticism of Trump. On his Twitter account, he had called Trumps behavior at a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July nothing short of treasonous.

TRUMP AGAIN BLASTS EX-SPYMASTER BRENNAN AS 'POLITICAL HACK' WHO 'CANNOT BE TRUSTED' WITH SECRETS



On Friday, he defended the remark by saying he thought he had exhausted all the other adjectives in the English language to describe Donald Trumps failures to fulfill his responsibilities as president of the United States.



I saw him on that stage in Helsinki failing to be able to say to the world and to Vladimir Putin that Russia tried to interfere in our election, that it never should have happened and it never should happen again, and if it does Russia is going to pay some very severe consequences as a result, but he didnt do that, he said.



He also denied that the basis for the revocation of his clearance was bogus and described the politicalization of security clearances as a real threat to our national security.



Brennan accused Trump of being the typical authoritarian who is trying to control power and said the walls are closing in on him, in terms of FBI Special Counsel Robert Muellers probe.



Trump has been no less scathing in his remarks about Brennan. Last week he said that Brennan will go down as easily the WORST in history & since getting out, he has become nothing less than a loudmouth, partisan, political hack who cannot be trusted with the secrets to our country!



While a number of intelligence officials have backed Brennan, others have criticized him, with retired Adm. Michael Mullen saying that Brennans anti-Trump remarks risked damaging the intelligence community.



"I think John's an extraordinary servant of the country, but I think he has been incredibly critical of the president, and I think that has put him in a political place which actually does more damage for the intelligence community -- which is apolitical," Mullen said on Fox News Sunday.

However, Mullen also expressed concern about Trumps decision to revoke Brennans clearance.

"For someone of my age, it brings back the whole concept of the 'enemies list' under President Nixon," Mullen said. "And even before that, in the early 1950s, the McCarthy era -- where the administration starts putting together lists of individuals who don't agree with them."

Fox News Gregg Re contributed to this report.President Trump on Saturday tore into his embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions again, claiming that he doesnt understand what is happening underneath him at the Justice Department -- the latest marker in the pairs deteriorating relationship.



Jeff Sessions said he wouldnt allow politics to influence him only because he doesnt understand what is happening underneath his command position, he tweeted Saturday, before alleging that the result is that FBI Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe is ignoring real corruption.



Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched, he said. No Collusion!



Trump has long fumed about Sessions decision last year to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia probe due to his involvement in the Trump campaign. On Thursday, Trump said in an interview with Fox & Friends that Sessions had never taken control of his department and again railed at his decision to recuse himself.



But when everybody sees whats going on in the Justice Department -- I always put justice now with quotes -- its a very, very sad day. Jeff Sessions recused himself, which he shouldnt have done. Or he should have told me, Trump told Fox News Ainsley Earhardt.

Even my enemies say that Jeff Sessions should have told you that he was going to recuse himself and then you wouldnt have put him in. He took the job and then he said Im going to recuse myself. I said, what kind of a man is this? he said.



But Sessions shot back at those remarks in a written statement.



I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the Presidents agendaone that protects the safety and security rights of the American people, reduces violent crime, enforces our immigration laws, promotes economic growth, and advances religious liberty.



He went on to say, While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.

Trumps comments seem to be sparked in part by the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort this week, which arose from the Mueller probe.

SESSIONS FIRES BACK AT TRUMP'S LATEST SLAM; DOJ WON'T BE 'IMPROPERLY INFLUENCED' BY POLITICS



Despite the attacks, which have led to widespread speculation that Trump will fire his attorney general, Sessions has been leading the way on a number of key parts of Trumps agenda -- including a cracking down on the opioid crisis and focusing on immigration enforcement.



Trump has been happy to stoke speculation that he will eventually remove Sessions. On Saturday he tweeted a quote from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said on Fox News @ Night that the AG serves at the pleasure of the President.



Every President deserves an Attorney General they have confidence in, Graham said. I believe every President has a right to their Cabinet, these are not lifetime appointments. You serve at the pleasure of the President.



Fox News Brooke Singman contributed to this report.Amid concerns that conservative voices are being silenced on social media, a U.S. House committee announced Friday that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and other tech executives will appear before the panel on Capitol Hill Sept. 5.

Dorsey will discuss his companys algorithms and content judgment calls before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the committee announced via Twitter.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who has frequently complained about "one-sided" content on social media, said Dorsey's scheduled appearance was arranged through talks among Dorsey, himself and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., chairman of the committee.

"One-sided conversations are an affront to the public mission that serves as the foundation for these social media platforms  including Twitter," McCarthy said in a statement. "That is why I worked with Chairman Greg Walden and requested Jack Dorsey to testify to Congress and talk with the American people about filtering practices on Twitter."

"One-sided conversations are an affront to the public mission that serves as the foundation for these social media platforms  including Twitter."  House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

McCarthy added: "We all agree that transparency is the only way to fully restore Americans trust in these important public platforms."

Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have faced accusations of liberal bias as numerous conservative commentators have been banned or censored for violating guidelines. Many have complained that the guidelines are unclear.

Most recently, Salena Zito of the New York Post, wrote that her column  which she said contained no expletives, conspiracy theories, hate speech or sexual language  was removed by Facebook and Twitter without explanation.

Dorsey has conceded that San Francisco-based Twitters staff is primarily left-leaning, but has denied notions that the platform bans users for conservative viewpoints.

[I] do understand the concern, Dorsey said in an interview with Fox News Radios Guy Benson. We have folks that are at various points in the political spectrum and they dont feel comfortable today bringing up certain issues or their viewpoints on certain issues. And I dont believe that is acceptable.

Noted Walden in a statement: Twitter is an incredibly powerful platform that can change the national conversation in the time it takes to go viral. When decisions about data and content are made using opaque processes, the American people are right to raise concerns.

Representatives from Google and Facebook are also scheduled to appear at next month's hearing.Two Massachusetts brothers mission to scatter their recently deceased father's ashes in the high skies ended in tragedy when their single engine-plane crashed, in an accident that killed one man and has left the other seriously injured and in critical condition.

On August 24, around 4 p.m., Scott and Patrick Landis' Aeronca 7AC Champion plane crashed into a pond near Cranland Airport in Hanson, NECN reports. According to the outlet, Scott was an experienced helicopter pilot who served in the Army National Guard, had previously flown military Blackhawk helicopters, and had been piloting the aircraft loaned to him.

BRITISH WOMAN WHO PLUNGED OFF CRUISE SHIP COMPLAINED ABOUT BOYFRIEND AFTER 10-HOUR ORDEAL, RESCUER SAYS

According to Enterprise News, Scott has been stationed in Kosovo and was on bereavement leave following the death of his father. Younger brother Patrick was the only passenger on board.

Don Conway, an uncle of the two brothers, told Boston 25 that Scott and Patrick had just spread their fathers ashes from the plane, and he believes the crash happened due to mechanical error.

From what I understand they were coming back from doing that, and I guess witnesses say they heard sputtering," Conway said. "But Scotty is a very established pilot, so it couldnt have been pilot error because hes meticulous when he flies.

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NECN reports that after emergency personnel responded to the scene, Scott was airlifted to Bostons Massachusetts General Hospital, where he died Saturday morning as result of his injuries. Patrick was airlifted to Bostons Tufts Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to Boston 25 that they will be investigating in conjunction with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Landis leaves behind a wife and one-year-old son, Enterprise News reports.Israeli police have arrested a senior Israir Airlines flight attendant who reportedly stole money that passengers donated to charity while on board.

On Augsut 24, law enforcement officials arrested a 52-year-old male Israir staffer at Ben-Gurion International Airport, according to Xinhuanet. Upon his arrest, the man admitted to the crime, which allegedly took place on a route between Tel Aviv and Eilat, the Times of Israel reports.

TUI AIRWAYS SLAMMED FOR 'SEXIST' PILOT, CABIN CREW STICKERS FOR KIDS

According to the outlet, the carrier was running a campaign asking passengers to donate money to various charitable organizations, and supplied special envelops in seat pockets for the cause.

Meanwhile, the unnamed flight service manager supposedly would routinely collect the money-stuffed envelops, and pocket them for himself, instead of handing them over to ground crews upon deplaning.

The Times notes that a search of the suspects suitcase and home revealed numerous such envelopes each filled witth around $2,500 in cash.

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Israir Airlines has since apologized for the incident.One man, accused of a trio of weapons violations, remains the only person charged in connection with the carnage wrought three weeks ago in Chicago, when 75 people were shot -- 12 fatally -- during the city's bloodiest weekend of the year.

Rick Franklin, 27, was arrested Aug. 4, and charged with three felony weapons charges, including aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The offenses were linked to Franklin due to the latest technology being monitored by police and civilian analysts, the Chicago Tribune reported.

After Franklin allegedly fired a gun near an intersection, the shots were detected by acoustic sensors in the area, and an alert was soon sent to a monitoring center more than a mile away. Cops then immediately used surveillance cameras at the intersection to track down a blue Ford Focus seen fleeing the scene, officials said.

CHICAGO'S PREDATORY FUNERAL HOMES TARGET HOMICIDE VICTIMS, CASH IN ON TAXPAYER-FUNDED EXPENSES

But Franklin is the only alleged shooter who's been charged after a weekend so violent it prompted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to deploy an extra 600 officers to patrol the streets.

Chicago polices clearance rate for solving homicides was around 17 percent in 2017 and is on pace for similar numbers this year, according to the Tribune.

Other cities are a lot better than us, said Brendan Deenihan, deputy chief in the detective division. And we have to take ownership for our low clearance rate and I understand that. And we will do so."

He added: However, every single study I have read, the most difficult cases to solve are outside violence with a handgun, gang involvement. And, unfortunately, in the city of Chicago that is the vast number of shootings.

PICTURE OF SNOOZING CHICAGO COPS GOES VIRAL AFTER VIOLENT WEEKEND

Meanwhile a 25-year-old man was killed early Thursday morning when another vehicle pulled up to him at a red light and fired multiple shots, striking the man in the head, shoulder, arm and thigh. The victim drove off but crashed his vehicle into a tree. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, FOX32 Chicago reported.

Emanuel is under increasing pressure to take action or resign as the crime problems mount.

Last week he drew criticism for blaming a lack of moral structure in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods for the crime spree.

This may not be politically correct," he said, "but I know the power of what faith and family can do....Our kids need that structure...I am asking...that we also dont shy away from a full discussion about the importance of family and faith helping to develop and nurture character, self-respect, a value system and a moral compass that allows kids to know good from bad and right from wrong.

Chicagos chief of police, Supt. Eddie Johnson, this week blamed the violence epidemic on judges and prosecutors who refuse to jail repeat offenders.

Johnson said his department can only do so much, noting it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out why shootings continue to be a problem in Chicago.

He continued: If people dont give us the information we need, and our judicial partners dont hold them accountable, would you stop if thats what you wanted to do? You know, its ridiculous.

Chicago residents on Friday morning were bracing themselves for another what could be another violent weekend. Last weekend was the second bloodiest of the year, with 58 people shot and seven killed.Iraqi refugees flee ISIS attack in 2014. Photo: (c) Reese Erlich



-by Reese Erlich





Militant protests continue in the oil rich city of Basra despite a harsh government crackdown. Thousands of Iraqis are demanding jobs, restoration of basic utility services and an end to government corruption. The protests quickly spread to other southern Iraqi cities and Baghdad.





Iraq has faced major electricity shortages since the 2003 US invasion. In Basra salt water flows from faucets because of filtration system breakdowns. Transparency International lists Iraq as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.





In the first two weeks since the protests began July 14, over a dozen protestors were killed, hundreds were wounded and 750 arrested, according to the Gulf Centre for Human Rights





Angry protestors closed the port of Um Qasr and even shut the Iraq-Kuwait border for a time, according to Yerevan Saeed, a former journalist and now a research fellow at the Middle East Research Institute





Saeed, a colleague with whom I worked during reporting trips to Iraq, said the protests reflect widespread anger throughout the country.





"Everyone, from Basra to Kurdistan, is frustrated with the current politicians," he told me. "The political elite are corrupt. That brings everyone together at the moment."





Iraq has been in turmoil since the 2003 US invasion. Far from bringing democracy and prosperity as promised by US officials, the occupation resulted in rule by a corrupt, wealthy elite. As many as 7000 US troops continue to occupy Iraq, 15 years after the initial invasion. And Iraqis are pissed-- as seen in the results of parliamentary elections in May and a recount finalized in August.





A coalition headed by anti-US, nationalist cleric Muqtada al Sadr won a plurality of 54 out of 329 seats in parliament. A pro-Iranian coalition headed by Hadi al Ameri took 48. The US-backed coalition led by Prime Minister Haider al Abadi came in third with 42 seats, a big blow to the Trump administration.





Sadr, a Shia cleric with conservative views on social issues, formed an alliance with the secular Iraqi Communist Party (ICP). Both agreed to focus on jobs, fighting corruption and combating outside domination of Iraq-- whether from the US or Iran.





To some extent, they share a common social base among workers and the poor. For example, voters elected a woman ICP candidate Suhad al-Khateeb , a teacher who organized in the poor neighborhoods of Najaf, an otherwise religious and conservative city. It will be interesting to see if the left can expand its base in the months ahead.





Iraqi politicians now face the difficult task of forming a new government. Although a solid majority voted for parties opposed to US domination, a pro-US candidate could emerge from back room chicanery, according to Saeed.





"I think we're months away from a new government," he said.





Shock and Awe-- the movie













Two recent films about Iraq are worth catching. Shock and Awe dramatizes the struggle of Knight Ridder reporters and an editor to expose the George Bush administration's lies leading to the 2003 Iraq War. It has an outstanding cast that includes Rob Reiner, Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson.





The Knight Ridder wire, which provided news to 31 dailies, was one of the few mainstream outlets to challenge the assertion that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.





The film uses video from speeches and press conferences to skewer Bush, Don Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, Colin Powell and Dick Cheney. It's great to hear the editor character played by Rob Reiner declaim that "We will not be stenographers for the Bush Administration."





Of course the left media and the massive anti-war movement had a far better analysis than anything in the Knight Ridder articles. But Knight Ridder was certainly the best of the US mainstream media.





Unfortunately, I don't think Shock and Awe is good cinema. The good guys remain good throughout and the bad guys stay evil. So there's little dramatic tension. It got rotten reviews and stopped playing in theaters soon after release. Nevertheless I would recommend streaming it as a refresher on the close collaboration of the US ruling elite and the mainstream media.





Nowhere to Hide













The documentary film Nowhere to Hide , which will air on PBS, has the opposite problem. It's compelling cinema but without a clear political focus.





Norwegian-Kurdish filmmaker Zaradasht Ahmed gave a small camera to Nori Sharif, a hospital medic, and told him to film his life for the next three years. Nori lived in Jawala, a mostly Sunni area of central Iraq known as the Triangle of Death because of its fierce resistance to U.S. occupation.





The documentary opens with Nori expressing his joy that the American troops are finally pulling out of Iraq at the end of 2011. He's happy the US is leaving and optimistic about an independent Iraq, not a view often seen in US media.





First we meet his family, a lively bunch of dancing kids, a wife and in laws. We get a hint of things to come when Nori interviews a crane operator who was kidnapped twice by Al Qaeda and has been disabled as a result.





We later experience the ISIS onslaught through Nori's eyes. "Who creates this violence and why?" he asked plaintively. "No one understands, not even me." Another time he told the camera, "I don't understand this war. It tears you to pieces."





And that's the film's biggest weakness. The documentary maker could have included other sources to explain the big picture: the US desire to control oil, establish military bases and dominate the region. Instead, we're left with the impression that Sunnis, Shia, Yazidis and others are just doomed to fight one another.





The film does powerfully portray, however, what the war looks like from the perspective of an ordinary Iraqi. We see the brutality of the US-sponsored police, the sudden arrival of ISIS and how Nori's family flees Jawala with only a few hours notice.





One of the children asks how long will they be away? Her mom answers, "Only a few days." We know this isn't true, and we feel as helpless as the family. Despite the hardships, however, the family manages to express some optimism.





"Right now we cannot tell when or how the war will end," Nori said. "In the end the will to build will win over the forces of destruction. Because life must go on."



Hurricane Lane weakened to Tropical Storm Lane on Friday evening, as strong gusty winds that brought torrential rains to the Hawaiian islands began to lose strength, officials said.

According to a 5 a.m. ET update from the National Weather Service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC), the center of the storm was about 140 miles south-southwest of Honolulu, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. The storm was moving north-northwest at 3 mph.

But Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell warned that residents needed to remain vigilant and not let their guard down. Still, he was happy to hear the storm had been downgraded.

"The good news is Lane got weak and fell apart. We dodged a bullet," he said at a news conference Friday.

"The good news is Lane got weak and fell apart. We dodged a bullet."  Kirk Caldwell, Honolulu mayor

Rain bands were still expected to bring more flooding and other damage to the islands.

As it approached Hawaii, the storm forced residents to flee flooded homes, while others jumped off seawalls with boogie boards into the turbulent ocean.

HURRICANE LANE THREATENS HAWAII: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE RARE STORMS PATH

The storm has churned up sizable swells, which were expected to create high and possibly damaging surf along exposed south shorelines today through Saturday, the CPHC said.

The outer bands of the hurricane dumped as much as 3 feet of rain in 48 hours on the mostly rural Big Island.

The city of Hilo, with a population of 43,000 and located on the Big Island, was flooded with waist-high water.

A statewide brown water advisory was also issued amid the storm, according to the Hawaii State Department of Health.

Not all coastal areas may be impacted by runoff, but if the water is brown stay out, the department warned in a tweet.

As flooding hit the Big Island, brush fires broke out in areas of Maui and Oahu susceptible to flames.

Some residents in a shelter on Maui had to flee when a fire got too close and another forced people from their homes. A woman got burns on her hands and legs and was flown to Honolulu, Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said. Her condition wasn't clear.

The Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) also responded to a wildland fire near the Kahe Power Plant Friday morning when 14 HFD units staffed with 40 personnel were assigned to the incident, Fire Capt. Scot Seguirant said in a statement obtained by Fox News.

Due to the weather conditions, the fire was "proving difficult to contain" and no air resources were available for water drops on the fire, Seguirant said.

HURRICANE LANE: AIRLINES CANCEL FLIGHTS, WAIVE CHANGE FEES

President Trump on Friday tweeted that he'd spoken to Hawaii Gov. David Ige "to express our full support for the people of Hawaii as the State is impacted by #HurricaneLane."

"The Federal Government isi fully committed to helping the people of Hawaii," he continued.

On the island of Oahu, gusts rattled windows and roofs in Honolulu's hillside neighborhood of Nuuanu and scattered tree branches, palm fronds and at least one downed electrical line across roadways.

Almost 16,000 homes and businesses on the islands lost electrical power as the outer edges of the hurricane battered the islands, but service was restored to a portion of them, Hawaiian Electric spokesman Peter Rosegg said.

Officials from Hawaiian Electric also cautioned residents against being closer than 30 feet to any fallen power lines and said power outages will likely happen due to the hurricane.

Please plan for it, the company said. We will do our best to restore power when it is safe to do so.

West Maui residents and businesses were strongly urged to conserve water into Saturday.

The Department of Water Supply was unable to operate its pumps due to the power outage, as the surface water treatment facilities could not process the muddy water inflow, Fox News has learned.

Even after power is restored, it will take some time to restore tank levels, so people should use water for health and safety purposes only until Sunday.

As the storm neared the Hawaiian islands, several major airlines  including Hawaiian Airlines, United and Delta  canceled trips and waived flight change fees.

Fox News Amy Lieu, Ray Bogan, Dan Gallo, Janine Puhak and the Associated Press contributed to this report.A Florida man is claiming that he was mistakenly arrested in place of his fugitive twin brother who escaped a 25-year sentence for trafficking marijuana.

Jean Vernet Prado, 63, claims he was arrested in Miami on May 8 after he says authorities mistook him for his twin brother Raul Eduardo Prado, who escaped the day before while on a work detail in Augusta, Georgia.

Raul Prado was serving a 25-year sentence for a 2007 drug trafficking conviction.

The man currently in custody claiming to be Jean Prado recently filed for an opposition to extradition and request for release. He is scheduled to appear in court next week where authorities will have to prove that they arrested the right twin.

Failure to do so would result in his release.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.A Grand Rapids, Michigan man accused of urinating on a 5-year-old girl was cleared of all charges Friday after police determined the child's story was fabricated.

A police spokesperson for the Grand Rapids Police Department confirmed to Fox News Friday night that no charges would be filed against 60-year-old David Allen Dean.

A 5-year-old girl, who was not identified, falsely claimed the man urinated on her as she was hiding in bushes while playing hide-and-seek with friends.

INSTAGRAM FITNESS MODEL KILLED MOPED RIDER WHILE DRUNK AND HIGH BEFORE FLEEING, POLICE SAY

Dean was arrested Wednesday on a charge of felony sex offense excluding assault and commercializing, WWMT News reported.

Katrena Rapier, whose two sons were playing with the young girl that day, told WWMT she came home soaking wet," smelling like urine.

It was later determined that one of the children urinated on the girl  not the man, as the kids previously alleged, according to Fox 17.

CHICAGO POLICE HAVE ONLY CHARGED 1 PERSON WEEKS AFTER BLOODIEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR

The Grand Rapids Police Department and Kent County Prosecutors Office discovered the children made the story up after the local Children's Advocacy Center followed up with the children through a series of interviews about the alleged crime, the news station reports.As a teenager, Gayle Hillman's grandmother survived the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which killed thousands and is still the deadliest hurricane in U.S. history.

The 85-year-old grew up hearing her grandmothers stories of that storm, never knowing that more than one hundred years later, and fifty miles from the shore, she would survive the worst rainfall event in U.S. history.

Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 50 inches of rain across the greater Houston area and beyond, causing more than sixty deaths and at least $125 billion worth of damage.

A year later, Hillman and so many like her are just beginning to regain a sense of normalcy.

"Everything was gone," she said as she showed her new living room, "so we had to buy everything new in here."

Hillman is back in her home, but it's been a long, tough road.

It's hard to square up her essentially brand new home with the ripped up, sopping mess of a skeleton that stood in the same spot a year ago  which was when Fox News first met Hillman, and her daughter Susan Thomas, several days after the storm hit.

Thomas' home was still flooded with several feet of water, so she came to help her mother.

"At the time, I thought, it's just stuff, it doesn't matter," Thomas told Fox News. "I have continued to think that throughout the experience, how blessed I am to be able to have insurance, to be able to rebuild."

Unlike her mother, Thomas' home is not finished yet. She and her husband are living out of one room, as contractors work to finish the rest.

Thomas' street, in a suburban neighborhood of Houston, may serve as a good example of what's happening all over the area.

In just one block, there are homes in every state, from completely finished to still in ruins. There are brand new homes being built and empty lots where beloved neighbors used to live. Some estimates say ten thousand people are still out of homes even now, one year after the storm.

Now, Hillman and Thomas are supporting a new $2.5 billion bond measure on the ballot in Harris County this weekend  which they hope will help them prepare for any future storms.

The bond measure would help provide matching funds for federal grants, as well as widen bayous and create new detention basins, large areas where rainwater could sit before it drains back into the bayous and out to sea.

"This would double or triple our budget and allow us to really pursue larger projects," said Matt Zeve with the Harris County Flood Control District.

A recent University of Houston study found 62 percent of voters who say they'll vote in the bond election support it. The administrator of Harris County says he's not surprised- it is one issue that has been strictly non-partisan.

"There is nothing political about this bond," said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. "This is really everybody saying we have to do this."

That spirit of cooperation may be one thing that harkens back to the dark days of the storm.

Jim McIngvale, affectionately known around Houston as "Mattress Mack," opened his furniture storerooms to refugees during and after the storms.

"Everybody to a person," McIngvale told Fox News, "all they cared about was people, and taking care of people."

He added: "And that's what we should do every day."

He and other supporters say the bond will be the first step in doing that.



As for Hillman and Thomas, despite the haunting experience of living through Harvey and the headaches of rebuilding, they say, they are grateful.



"I have learned a lot about the power of nature," said Thomas. "But I have also learned about the power of man."



Thomas' mother agreed.

"Everyone was so kind," said Hillman. "They went beyond what you expect from people."

All those neighbors and friends and even complete strangers, who helped a grandmother move on and flourish, and live to tell her own grandchildren her survival story of a great hurricane.

New Jersey police charged three men Friday with the murder of a 9-year-old girl who was killed in her sleep last month when a stray bullet struck her.

Michael Elliott, 25, Leroy Frazier III, 20, and 18-year-old Charles Gamble were arrested and charged with murder, conspiracy, attempted murder and weapons offenses in the July 17 death of 9-year-old Jennifer Trejo, Bridgeton police said.

Trejo died last month when a stray bullet went through the homes rear wall. Investigators say gunfire broke out after a group of men standing nearby apparently aimed at another nearby group. Authorities havent disclosed a possible motive for the shooting.

"Nothing will bring Jennifer back, Chief Michael Gaimari Sr. said, but the fact that those who we believe are responsible are off the street helps reassure the public that these actions will not be tolerated and those responsible held accountable."

Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae said more arrests and charges may follow and urged anyone with information to come forward.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



A BBC reporter covering Hurricane Lane in Hawaii was hit by a falling tree during a live radio report.

The reporter, James Cook, was describing the storms path when a loud crack is heard in the background, according to the recording released by the BBC. The sound of rustling leaves can also be heard as the tree falls.

A few seconds later, Cook struggles a bit before announcing that hes alright.

HURRICANE LANE WEAKENS TO TROPICAL STORM NEAR HAWAII, BUT MORE DAMAGE EXPECTED

Im fine, he said. That was unexpected.

Cook, uninjured, then tells his colleagues to not move the tree, managing to make his way out from under the branches himself. Its at that point he noticed that his laptop had been crushed.

Hurricane Lane was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday evening, according to the National Weather Service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC).

"The good news is Lane got weak and fell apart. We dodged a bullet," Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said at a news conference Friday.

HURRICANE LANE THREATENS HAWAII: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE RARE STORM'S PATH

However, Hawaiians arent totally in the clear as of yet. As of 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, the weather service said that the storm was moving slowly toward the north-northwest south of Hawaii and that Lanes outer rain bands [are] producing severe flooding across parts of the Hawaiian islands.

Fox News Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report.School officials in a Florida community say they have heightened security after a former teacher threatened to "seize" a school board building using "200-plus armored tanks."

Authorities identified the former employee as David Givins, a former third-grade teacher at North Hialeah Elementary School, Miami FOX affiliate WSVN-TV reported.

In the nearly 8-minute-long YouTube video, Givins is heard calling out teachers and school officials. He also calls upon President Trump to supply him with the tanks so he can retake the North Hialeah school system.

"It's not clown time. This is a serious situation," he says.

"I am the superior human being that will ever exist."  David Givins, former teacher who now claims to be homeless

"I am the superior human being that will ever exist," he is heard saying. "Not one of you Cuban teachers who taught at North Hialeah Elementary was my equal."

He said, however, he "would not create no violent crime."

"But I will push levels verbally," he said.

Near the end of the video, Givins apologizes for not killing kids.

I apologize for not killing people's children -- FBI agents, CIA agents, Department of Justice people's, Congress -- I apologize that I failed you all in not killing people's children," Givins says.

School officials say they have heightened security across district campuses in response, WSVN reported.

They assured that there was "no imminent risk to students and employees of the school," the Miami-Dade County Public Schools said in a statement to the station.

An armed guard will be assigned to the North Hialeah campus and the district has also reached out to the FBI, Miami-Dade Police Departments Bureau of Homeland Security and the Secret Service, the report said.

Givins worked at the school for 13 years before being fired in 2014 for "teacher certification issues," the Miami Herald reported, citing the school district.

Givins says in a video that he is now homeless and living in Washington, D.C. Authorities in Florida say they have alerted authorities in the nation's capital.

Hialeah is about 12 miles northwest of Miami.A Georgia high school is mourning the death of an outstanding teacher who was killed by his wife three days before she killed herself.

Students, parents and staff remembered Adrian Lavaughn Brewster, 50, at Etowah High School Thursday, according to the Cherokee Tribune. More than 100 attended the memorial, the paper reported Friday.

Brewster and his wife were found dead when deputies went to the couples home in Cumming around 3:45 a.m. Monday.

Their two sons, 3 and 9, met the deputies at the front door, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday.

Causes of death were not released. The children are in the care of family and friends, the paper reported.

Cpl. Doug Rainwater, a spokesman with Forsyth County Sheriffs Office, said investigators believe the husband was killed Friday and the wife killed herself Monday.

Investigators believe the wife killed herself shortly after she contacted a friend by phone or text, the paper reported. The friend called 911.

Mr. Brewster was known as an outstanding teacher, respected by his colleagues and students, Cherokee County schools superintendent Brian Hightower said.A Texas man whom authorities claim has a "dim" view of women was arrested this week, accused of firing shots at women drivers because he doesn't believe they should be allowed behind the wheel, officials said.

Nicholas DAgostino, 29, is linked to at least three road rage shootings, all occuring in the Houston suburb of Katy, officials said. He appeared before a judge Thursday night on charges of shooting two women in their cars in two separate instances, Fox 26 Houston reported.

In one case in March, a woman driver heard a loud noise while driving out of a gas station's parking lot. After feeling a pain in her right arm she realized she had been shot, FOX 26 reported.

D'Agostino faces a new charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with that case, the report said.

He has already spent six weeks in jail for a July attack on a 39-year-old woman, the station reported.

He was released on bond for three days before Thursday's arrest.

D'Agostino's bond is currently set at $250,000, the report said, and it was recommended that he wear a GPS monitor on his leg and adhere to an 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. curfew.

Click here for more from FOX 26 Houston.The mother of a 10-year-old boy in North Carolina is outraged that her son was recently punished for calling his fifth grade teacher "maam.

I was in disbelief, Teretha Wilson, the boys mother, told Fox News on Saturday.

Wilson noticed her son, Tamarion, was not himself when she picked him up from the bus stop earlier this week.

I asked him what was wrong, and he told me he got in trouble for saying 'maam' to a teacher. I was confused, she said.

EX-TEACHER THREATENS '200-PLUS' TANK ASSAULT, PROMPTING DISTRICT TO TIGHTEN SECURITY: REPORT

Inquiring further, Wilson asked her son to give more detail about the incident. Thats when the fifth-grader at North East Carolina Preparatory School in Tarboro, North Carolina, pulled out a piece of lined paper with the word maam written dozens of times.

Wilson was shocked, especially when Tamarion told her that his teacher, who has not been formally identified, told him that he was required to return the piece of paper with a parents signature.

The young boy also claimed that the teacher threatened to throw something at him during the incident, his mother said.

He was disappointed because he felt like he had done something wrong, she said.

The next afternoon, Wilson went to the school to meet with Tamarions teacher and the school's principal. With her she brought a separate piece of paper on which her son had written the definition of maam. (According to the Oxford Dictionaries, maam is defined as a term of respectful or polite address used for a woman).

Wilson claims Tamarions teacher told her that her son was getting on her nerve when he called her maam" but couldnt give me a reason of why that was bad. The teacher also claimed Tamarion knew that she wasnt serious when she allegedly threatened to throw something at him, Wilson said.

Tamarion has been placed in a different teachers class since the incident occured.

In a statement to ABC 11, an official with the school called the situation a personnel matter, which has been handled appropriately by the K-7 principal.

6TH-GRADER MIGHT RETURN TO SCHOOL AFTER FLAP OVER HAIRSTYLE

Still, Wilson said she plans to call the school board on Monday to see if theyre really going to handle it, though she did not elaborate on what this would entail.

This is about my child being respectful, then threatened to be hit with something. This isnt about racism, as some people have made it out to be, Wilson said, referring to some of the comments on a family members Facebook post where she detailed the incident.

Moving forward, Wilson said she has encouraged her son to always be respectful to [his] elders even if they dont want to be called maam," she said.

Is this what happens from raising your child in a good way? she asked.

A spokesperson for North East Carolina Preparatory School did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.A high school in Oklahoma is cracking down on students for tardiness and missing class.

Officials at Muskogee High School in Muskogee, Oklahoma are reportedly enforcing a state law that would allow the school to fine students $250 for missing classes repeatedly without an excused absence. The law also states that students could be imprisoned for 15 days for the same reason.

It was not immediately clear what would happen if the fine wasn't paid.

Muskogee High School Principal Kim Fleak told KTUL that the fine would apply to students who are late or miss class four times in four weeks, noting that the fines are set by the state and are meant to hold students accountable.

NORTH CAROLINA MOM IN 'DISBELIEF' AFTER SON, 10, PUNISHED FOR CALLING TEACHER 'MA'AM'

"We had some attendance issues, so this is one of those ways that we're trying to combat. It's important to us that kids are in school, in the class, receiving that instruction, Principal Kim Fleak told KOCO 5.

That said, some parents are not happy with the schools decision. And at least 400 students have signed a petition that challenges the schools enforcement of the law, KTUL reported.

"There's no way that I could afford a $250 fine," Johanna Hondy, whose daughter attends Muskogee High School, told KTUL. "I don't know anyone in this town who can afford that really."

A tenth grade student at the school, Abigail Cochran, is one of the students who signed the petition. She said that getting to and from classes in five minutes might be difficult for students who are commuting across campus.

EX-TEACHER THREATENS '200-PLUS' TANK ASSAULT, PROMPTING DISTRICT TO TIGHTEN SECURITY: REPORT

"There are people wanting to dropout of school because of this, because they know they can't pay these fines," Cochran said, suggesting a better option to punish students would be detention.

A spokesperson for Muskogee High School was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Fox News on Saturday.At least seven people have been arrested as opposing groups clashed at the University of North Carolina Saturday over a century-old Confederate statue that was torn down earlier this week.

Three arrests were for assault, the fourth for destruction of property and the fifth for resisting an officer, Fox 8 North Carolina reported. The sixth arrest was for assault, destruction of property and inciting a riot. There is no current information on the seventh arrest.

One person was recorded by the station stomping on a Confederate flag and then being led away by police.

Protesters gathered at the spot where the statue was torn down and held signs and chanted "racists go home," according to the station. Several other people in support of the statue were seen holding Confederate flags.

Anti-Silent Sam protesters also chanted Black lives, they matter here! and Cops and Klan go hand in hand!, the Durham Herald Sun reported.

Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of leaking classified documents, at the protest, the Durham Indy Week reported.

UNC CALLS OUT PROTESTERS' 'UNLAWFUL AND DANGEROUS' ACTIONS AFTER SILENT SAM STATUE TAKEN DOWN

Silent Sam shouldnt go back up, Manning was quoted as saying.

Charges were filed Friday against three people cops say played some part in tearing down the statue.

Hundreds of student protesters gathered at the UNC campus in Chapel Hill Monday night to bring down the statue known as Silent Sam.

Using ropes and violent force, the protesters toppled the statute which had stood that ground since 1913.

UNC leaders and many North Carolina leaders, including Gov. Roy Cooper, criticized the protesters actions Monday.

3 CHARGED WITH TOPPLING OF UNC'S 'SILENT SAM' STATUE

That Confederate monument has been a flashpoint and a divisive symbol for decades, and especially since Charlottesville, has been the focus of increasing frustration, anxiety and pain for people, Chancellor Carol Folt said Thursday, according to the paper.

But Folt added: No matter what you felt about the monument, what happened on Monday night was destruction of state property, and that is not lawful, and someone could have been badly injured. Using the full breadth of state and university processes, we will do our best to identify, and will hold those responsible accountable.

The statue was under constant and costly police surveillance after being vandalized in recent months. Many students, faculty and alumni argued that "Silent Sam" symbolized racism and asked officials to take it down.At least two people are dead after a train crashed into a dump truck in Texas Saturday, authorities said.

Arlington Police responded to a call just before noon of a fatal crash on Calloway Cemetery Road involving a Trinity Railway Express train and a commercial truck. At least two people from the truck are dead.

Eleven people on the train were also injured and hospitalized following the crash, Fox 5 reported. Two of them were in critical condition and three others had serious but non-life-threating injuries.

Train passengers were taken to a local strip club where they were able to use the restrooms before a shuttle bus took them to Fort Worth, The Dallas Morning News reported.

It is still unclear what caused the crash.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.Fourteen people were shot, three fatally, including a woman sitting in a Lyft, in Chicago Friday and early Saturday, according to reports.

Around 12:30 a.m. Saturday, multiple people came up to the woman in the vehicle in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and opened fire, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The 27-year-old woman was shot in the back and taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Angie Castro told the Chicago Tribune her boyfriend was driving the Lyft the woman was shot in.

He was shocked, nervous, she told the paper.

Police said a 20-year-old man was killed around 8:30 p.m. Friday in a drive-by shooting in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side, the Sun-Times reported. The bullets were fired from a passing dark-colored vehicle.

Fridays first homicide happened about 12:35 a.m. in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, the paper reported.

George Jackson, 31, was sitting on a porch when two male gunmen approached and opened fire, according to the paper.

He was struck in his face, pelvis and both legs. He died an hour later.

FOUR PEOPLE KILLED, NEARLY 60 SHOT THIS WEEKEND ACROSS CHICAGO

The Tribune said a 21-year-old man was critically wounded when he shot in the head when gunfire erupted around 6:50 p.m. Friday in the Bronzeville neighborhood. Two 17-year-olds were struck in the ankles.

Witnesses told the paper a teen stood over one of the victims and pleaded with them to stay conscious.

Please dont die, the teen pleaded.

The shootings come one week after the city's second bloodiest of the year, with 58 people shot and seven killed.

Chicago Rahm Emanuel is under increasing pressure to take action or resign as the crime problems mount.

This month he drew criticism for blaming a lack of moral structure in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods for the crime spree.

This may not be politically correct," he said, "but I know the power of what faith and family can do....Our kids need that structure...I am asking...that we also dont shy away from a full discussion about the importance of family and faith helping to develop and nurture character, self-respect, a value system and a moral compass that allows kids to know good from bad and right from wrong.

On Monday, Chicago's top cop said that judges need to impose tougher sentences in gun prosecutions.

These shootings are not random, Supt. Eddie Johnson said. Theyre fueled by gang conflicts. We know who they are."

He added, If people dont give us the information we need, and our judicial partners dont hold them accountable, would you stop if thats what you wanted to do? You know, its ridiculous.Concerns mounted Saturday about the medical and psychological health of 150 migrants who were spending their 10th day stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship while the government insists that other European Union nations must take them.

After an onboard visit to the Diciotti coast guard ship, which is docked in Catania, Sicily, 16 migrants were reportedly ordered taken off for medical reasons, including two with suspected tuberculosis.

The standoff prompted an impassioned appeal by the U.N. refugee agency's chief to Italy to let them disembark and to EU countries to take responsibility for the asylum-seekers, most of them young men fleeing harsh conditions in Eritrea.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, speaking in Geneva, said it's time to end a "race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea."

He urged European countries "to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need."

But Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been adamant that the migrants be kept on the ship until fellow EU nations pledge to take them.

Meanwhile, Sicily-based prosecutors took their investigation of the migrant standoff to Rome. Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio on Saturday reportedly questioned several Interior Ministry officials at the Italian capital's prosecutors' office.

Prosecutors could decide to investigate suspected kidnapping, after the government's rights office for detained persons concluded this week that the migrants were being unjustly held by the government

Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, has said he's ready to defend his reasons for ordering the migrants kept aboard.

"If someone wants to investigate me, investigate me," Salvini tweeted.

Prosecutors would have to seek the government's permission to question a minister.

Local Italian Red Cross official Stefano Principato told reporters that Italy's health minister ordered an inspection of sanitary conditions for the migrants, who have been sleeping on the ship's deck and coping since Aug. 16 with a baking sun and limited toilet facilities.

After the inspection, Catania's maritime health office ordered immediate disembarking for all 11 women aboard and five of the men, including two with suspected tuberculosis, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Doctors have said many of the migrants on the ship have scabies but "more than a health emergency, it would be better to speak of a psychological emergency," Principato said.

Many of the migrants, including 27 unaccompanied minors who were allowed to disembark earlier in the week, have told Italian authorities they endured beatings and other cruelties while in Libyan detention facilities for months or even years, waiting to leave in human traffickers' unseaworthy boats toward Europe.

At least they have reached a European port. The International Organization for Migration says over 1,520 people have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.

___

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report

___

Frances D'Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilioThe Latest on the conflict in Afghanistan (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Afghan president Asharf Ghani has accepted the resignation of the country's national security adviser, Mohammed Haneef Atmar, and replaced him with Afghan Ambassador to the U.S. Hamdullah Mohib, according to government officials.

A statement from the presidential palace on Saturday said Atmar's resignation has been accepted and that Mohib has been appointed as the new national security adviser.

Haroon Chakhansuri, Ghani's spokesman, also confirmed Mohib's new appointment. Mohib also currently serves as the non-resident ambassador to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Columbia.

___

7:05 p.m.

An Afghan official confirms that the country's national Security Adviser, Mohammed Haneef Atmar, has resigned from his position.

Qader Shah, spokesman for the National Security Adviser's office, confirmed Atmar's resignation saying he would provide more details at a later time.

Atmar had previously served as the interior minister under the former president, Hamid Karzai.

___

12:10 p.m.

At least two people were killed and four others wounded Saturday when a suicide bomber detonated his vest full of explosives near the office of the Election Commission in eastern Nangarhar province, officials said.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the wounded were brought to the regional hospital in the capital city Jalalabad with one in critical condition. He said the casualty count would likely rise.

Doctors were trying to save the lives of the wounded, said Inamullah Miakhail, spokesman for the public health director in Nangarhar.

The attack happened when supporters of a candidate for parliament who was rejected by the Election Commission gathered to protest near the commission's office, said Khogyani. Several vehicles were damaged in the attack, he added.

The attack came as several tents belonging to protesters near the main Election Commission office in the capital Kabul were removed earlier Saturday by police after receiving threats of attacks, according to security officials.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack in Nangarhar, but both an Islamic State group affiliate and Taliban insurgents are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar.South Korea on Saturday expressed disappointment over the U.S. decision to call off Secretary of State Mike Pompeos planned trip to North Korea, but insisted that continued diplomacy was vital to resolving tensions with Pyongyang.

"While we consider the delay of the visit to North Korea as unfortunate, we believe it's most important for the North Korea-U.S. dialogue -- including Secretary Pompeo's visits to North Korea -- to contribute to substantial progress in complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace regime in the Korean Peninsula," South Koreas Foreign Ministry said.

On Friday, President Trump said he directed Pompeo to delay the trip because of a lack of progress in nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea, which he blamed on a lack of support from China.

Trumps abrupt cancellation was interpreted by some as a concession that his prior claims of world-altering progress on the Korean Peninsula had been premature. Ending a period of animosity over North Korea's nuclear and missile development, Trump made history by meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June. But the meeting produced no binding agreement on how a nuclear-free peninsula would occur.

Post-summit nuclear talks got off to a rocky start, with North Korea accusing the U.S. of making gangster-like demands regarding denuclearization. The North for its part has been demanding the U.S. ease or lift sanctions that are crippling its economy as well as fast-track discussions to formally declare an end the 1950-53 Korean War, which technically never ended.

Pompeo and other administration officials have been skeptical about an end-of-war declaration in the absence of any progress on the nuclear matter.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who had lobbied hard for a Trump-Kim meeting, continues to push for talks with Pyongyang, which have led to a number of conciliatory steps. Moon is scheduled to visit Pyongyang in September for his third summit with Kim this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.You may remember that a few years ago, former BioWare Jennifer Hepler discussed the possibility of a role-playing game that would let players skip past combat so they could experience the story moments more frequently.

While many players and developers expressed frustration at this idea (and then at the harassment Hepler endured afterward), one developer, Wadjet Eye Games' Dave Gilbert, began thinking "wait, why doesn't that game exist?"

It turns out, this is part of the origin story behind Unavowed, a new adventure game from Wadjet Eye Games. Forgoing the combat that fills up may BioWare RPGs, Unavowed instead presents the player both with a character who has a customizable backstory, and a selection of supporting characters that can be swapped out from mission to mission.

To learn more about pushing the envelope in the point-and-click adventure game genre, we reached out to Gilbert for a conversation about the making of Unavowed earlier today on the Gamasutra Twitch channel, which you can now watch in the video above. Watch the conversation if you're a developer working on managing narrative scope, or you want to know how Gilbert takes inspiration from his home town of New York City when making his games.

And while you're at it, be sure to follow the Gamasutra Twitch channel for more developer interviews, editor roundtables and gameplay commentary.38-year-old charged : Ambulance stolen for love tour - and then burnt

Bonn The public prosecutors office in Bonn has pressed charges against a 38-year-old who is suspected to have stolen an ambulance to go on a love tour with his ex-girlfriend and to have subsequently set fire to the vehicle.

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There had been no emergency call prior to this, yet an ambulance arrived with flashing blue lights and the siren wailing at an address in Tannenbusch in Dezember 2017. The only emergency was seemingly the drivers: The 38-year-old had stolen the ambulance at the site of an emergency service - and believed he could thus impress his girlfriend who had broken up with him just before the incident.

The 35-year-old had remained cool when her ex announced he would call in: He texted her that hed get an ambulance and in it hed come to see her and drop off her apartment keys. But when the ambulance turned into her street with incredible noise, the ex-girlfriend did not find this funny anymore. She also refused his invitation to go for a spin.

This case of unusual proof of love will now be discussed in Bonns district court. The public prosecutors office accuses the ambulance driver - in real life branch manager of a drugstore - of burglary. And arson. The 38-year-old suspect and his 24-year-old friend are thought to have driven the ambulance to the Waldenburger Ring and to have set it on fire after the invitation failed. The vehicle burnt out entirely. The scene was witnessed: During the night an anonymous call was made to the brother of a police officer. The caller had taken several photos of the accused in front of the burning ambulance.

The 38-year-old denies the crime. He said he was at the scene at 4am coincidentally and was pictured as a spectator. His ex-girlfriend however had told the investigators that the suspect called into her place two days after the crime and had shown her pictures of the scene and named his accomplice too.Ship wrecks, mammoth tooth, world war ammunition : Low waters of the Rhine reveal astonishing stuff

Bonn The drought has taken its toll on the Rhines water levels. And it reveals the most astonishing stuff. Stuff that normally rests well beneath the surface.

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A 123-year-old ship wreck in Kleve, hand grenades from both world wars in Bad Honnef, Benndorf and the Rhein-Lahn area and a mammoth tooth in Dormagen - are only a part of the curiosities found in the Rhine over the past weeks. The low waters revealed things that had disappeared a long time ago.

The freighter De Hoop sank during the winter in 1895 near the Dutch border beside Kleve. Rotraud Kemkes of the Rhine-Museum in Emmerich knows the details of the tragedy: Some ships were transporting dynamite for the emperor, but the water was covered with a thin layer of ice, so they had to unload. When the water was navigable again, the ships were reloaded. An explosion occurred and De Hoop burned out entirely and sank. 16 people died during the disaster. The wreck was never recovered and only appears visible during very low water levels, last time during 2003. And now the 123-year-old ship is revealed again. Rotraud Kemkes knows of no other wrecks like this. We dont expect to see anything else reappearing like this, she explained. The wreck has been looted by souvenir collectors. All removable parts had been taken away, reports Kemkes. Whatever is left seems to be too heavy and large to be carried away.

More dangerous than the ship wreck are the remains from the two world wars, which also resurfaced. A French artillery grenade was found in the Rhein-Lahr area. On the Grafenberg island in Bad Honnef, also a hand grenade appeared. But in previous low water occurrences there were more war relicts found than this time, says Bernhard Budszuhn, shift leader of the water police in Bonn. If walkers find a grenade or similar, they should not touch it or indeed try to transport it. Instead it is best advice to contact the police immediately.

Much older than the grenades is the mammoth tooth found in the Rhine near Dusseldorf. Paleontologist Thomas Martin from the university of Bonn examined the find: This is a tusk, possibly dating back to the last ice age, most likely. This tusk must have been three meters long originally, the 1.30-metre-piece that was found was only a part of a whole one. From the scientific point of view the low waters are very helpful, said Martin. The findings near the banks of the river were collected over time. But the low water levels now were revealing new material.

If someone finds something that might be a fossil, they should contact the responsible monument protection authority. The deputy director of the Neanerthal museum in Mettmann, Dr. Barbel Auffermann, also warned not to move those objects. A tusk will, when it dries, be very fragile.

It is advised to be careful with finds like this. It is illegal to take them home: The owner would be the Bundesland. If the Bundesland authorities are interested, is a matter for them to decide.

Thomas Martin expects more findings: The Rhine offers a lot of material.Full closure next weekend : Romerstrae will be open for traffic again in September

Bonn After almost seven years, the construction work on the Romerstrae will finally be history. For the last remaining works, the road needs to be closed fully for one weekend. And the weather conditions have to be perfect.

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The permanent building site will finally be closed: After almost seven years of construction work and many, many delays the Romerstrae will be usable again in both directions in about a weeks time. On Monday, September 3, the traffic is supposed to be rolling again in both directions, according to the citys press office on Friday.

But: The weekend prior to the re-opening will see one last full closure. On September 1 and 2, the civil engineering office will lay down the asphalt overlay between Wachsbleiche and Augustring and mark the lanes, according to the city council. Due to work saftet reasons, the traffic cannot use the 700-meter-long construction works in a single lane.

A special noise-reducing asphalt will reduce the noise from tyres and engines. But during the laying down, special weather conditions are needed so that the asphalt can maintain its effect properly over a longer period of time: It cant rain, it cannot be windy and not colder than ten to 15 degrees.

There were many problems like cavities in the ground, pipes in unexpected places, archaeological findings. This was the most chaotic construction site I can remember, said Peter Esch, head of the civil engineering office. But even despite trojan efforts of the construction gang, the delays could not be caught up with. He thanked particularly the residents for being understanding in regarding their patience for the extended construction time.

Mainly business owners had complained about the permanent construction work. The originally calculated 1.75 million Euro will be exceeded by far - as soon as all bills and invoices have been handed in, the press office will release a statement.damyti at 25-08-2018 09:39 PM (3 years ago) (m)

President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged military personnel deployed to Katsina State, saddled with the task of fighting bandits in Zamfara, to be `as ruthless as humanly possible in carrying out their assignment.

President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged military personnel deployed to Katsina State, saddled with the task of fighting bandits in Zamfara, to be `as ruthless as humanly possible in carrying out their assignment.



As your C-in-C, I want you to be as ruthless as humanly possible, Nigerians deserve some peace Pres. @MBuhari to troops deployed to curb bandits and other criminals in Zamfara and neighbouring states as he met them today at their operational base at the UMY Airport, Katsina. pic.twitter.com/nSmoNf81lt  Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) August 25, 2018

The president gave the challenge when he addressed the 1000-strong military force assembled to check the menace of the bandits and other criminal elements at the Umaru Musa YarAdua International Airport Katsina, on Saturday. The Federal Government had, on July 29, assembled military personnel, comprising the army, air force, police and the civil defence to help in tackling the activities of the bandits.



The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed fighter aircraft to Katsina, the airport with the closest proximity to Zamfara, to allow for immediate and effective response to the menace of the bandits. The president had also authorised the engagement by NAF, of advanced satellite surveillance technology to help in accurate detection of movement and locations of the bandits. The bandits had been terrorising innocent rural dwellers, razing down several villages and towns across the local government areas of Zamfara, and also kidnapping for ransom.



President Buhari, who expressed satisfaction with the way and manner the soldiers were carrying out their assignment, said that Nigerians deserved some peace.





Nigerians are looking up to you and us to secure the country. What is happening in the areas of operations is disgraceful.



Im very pleased with the way officers and men are firmly putting it down and I want you to be as ruthless as humanly possible. Nigerians deserve some peace.



When we came into government, what we promised was security.The country has to be secured to be managed.



Secondly, on economy, more than 60 per cent of the population of Nigeria is under 30 years.



A lot of them did not have the opportunity to be educated to secure respective jobs; their expectations are very high.



The second undertaken we made is to improve the economy and the third is to fight corruption.



We have been doing our best and we depend a lot on you to do what is needed in the field.



I do not want you to spare any cattle rustler, armed robber or any bad element who thinks he is above the law.



I commend you for the job you have been doing so far and I assure you that I will continue to be a worthy Commander-in-Chief, he said.



The president, who donated five bulls to the military personnel, departed for Abuja after the Sallah break in his country home, Daura. Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State and other government dignitaries were at the airport to wish the president safe trip back to Abuja.



While in Daura, the president had received seven APC governors, many members of the National Assembly including Sen. Shehu Sani as well as cabinet ministers, who paid him Sallah homage. President Buhari also used the opportunity to hold various family meetings with relatives.

The president gave the challenge when he addressed the 1000-strong military force assembled to check the menace of the bandits and other criminal elements at the Umaru Musa YarAdua International Airport Katsina, on Saturday. The Federal Government had, on July 29, assembled military personnel, comprising the army, air force, police and the civil defence to help in tackling the activities of the bandits.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed fighter aircraft to Katsina, the airport with the closest proximity to Zamfara, to allow for immediate and effective response to the menace of the bandits. The president had also authorised the engagement by NAF, of advanced satellite surveillance technology to help in accurate detection of movement and locations of the bandits. The bandits had been terrorising innocent rural dwellers, razing down several villages and towns across the local government areas of Zamfara, and also kidnapping for ransom.President Buhari, who expressed satisfaction with the way and manner the soldiers were carrying out their assignment, said that Nigerians deserved some peace.he said.The president, who donated five bulls to the military personnel, departed for Abuja after the Sallah break in his country home, Daura. Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State and other government dignitaries were at the airport to wish the president safe trip back to Abuja.While in Daura, the president had received seven APC governors, many members of the National Assembly including Sen. Shehu Sani as well as cabinet ministers, who paid him Sallah homage. President Buhari also used the opportunity to hold various family meetings with relatives.

Post Reply Posted: at 25-08-2018 09:39 PM (3 years ago) | UpcomingNo, in case, after reading this post's title, you're thinking, "Whaaaaat?"Henry David never went to Alaska. (Just wanted to clear that up before we went any further. See end of this post for details.)

Henry David Thoreau in 1856,

age 39.

In fact, Thoreau rarely left the region surrounding Concord, Massachusettsa few trips to Maine, New Jersey and Connecticut notwithstandingpreferring to make an intimate connection with the flora and fauna of his New England home. Despite that, in Henry David Thoreau, A Life, author Laura Dassow Walls places him squarely in the middle of the great debates and characters of his time, flying in the face of my impression of him as a hermitic recluse living in a hut by a pond.

Thoreau was just shy of his 28th birthday when he moved from his family's home in town and into the simple cabin he built on Walden Pond, the subject of his most popular book. A little more than two years later, he returned to his family's home and lived there for much of the rest of his life. Thoreau earned his primary living as a surveyor, but pursued his writing, speaking tours and correspondence with the likes of poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, a lifelong friend; the poet Walt Whitman; abolitionist Frederick Douglass; Margaret Fuller, a journalist and women's rights activist; and the well-known naturalist Louis Agassiz, with whom he had several very public disagreements.

Title page of Walden, drawing by his sister Sophia.

Despite recurring bouts of chronic tuberculosis which he'd contracted as a young man, he traveled widely throughout New England, lecturing on a range of topics, from Trancendentalism to the abolition of slaveryhe raised money and defended the campaign of John Brown, even issuing a fiery defense after Harper's Ferryand, of course, the need to conserve the nation's natural areas for future generations.

Immensely engaging and well-written, this biography is going on my own list of books I've loved. Walls quotes extensively from Thoreau's writing and personal journals but, rather than being pedantic, it drew me into his inner life and thoughts, breathing life into a colorful, fascinating man I only thought I knew.

The second book is one that has been on my favorites list since the first time I read it years ago, and is one I've given as a gift many times. Here's my review of Two in the Far North by Margaret Murie.Plenty of people already visit California's Napa Valley , north of the San Francisco Bay Area. They come for the wine. They come for the food. They come for the scenery.But the city wants to add a little layer on top of all that: a tech-enabled, personalized experience much like what the tech giants of San Francisco and Silicon Valley have already made commonplace in visitors lives.Thats the idea the city is carrying with it as it participates in Startup in Residence (STiR)  a program that pairs up startups with governments to come up with new solutions to problems  for the first time. Peter Pirnejad, Napas assistant city manager, said the goal is to promote tourism anchored within the city of Napa, specifically.Because its the whole valley that draws tourists, not necessarily the city itself.The city of Napa hasnt always been a destination in the Napa Valley, Pirnejad said. And the distinction in the Napa Valley is that there are towns people would normally go to: Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville.People have started coming to the city of Napa more in the last 15 years, he said. Working for the city, Pirnejad wants to emphasize Napa as a place for tourists to set up their home base as they go out and explore the valley.He thinks technology can bolster that effort by making existing information more dynamic and accessible.You walk into your hotel room and theres a brochure about Napa, but the information is as old as the last publication, he said.But what if the listings in the pamphlet were available on a persons smartphone? And what if a program could tailor listings to a persons specific interests?What can we do to give that person not a transaction when they get here, but an experience when they get here? he said.So technology could direct them to different parts of the valley that have more of that persons favorite wine.Or, as they walk around Napa, the city could use geolocation to tell a person which wines are available at the tasting room across the street. Or it could give them a short write-up about the historic building theyre approaching. Or it could send them specials at a nearby restaurant. Or it could tell them about something interesting a couple streets off the beaten path.Its a great way to kind of put everything in one place to help the tourists experience all there is to experience in our town, he said.It doesnt appear to be an idea many people have explored, according to Pirnejad. But thats more or less the point of STiR  it puts people together in a room to do new things.We havent found too many people who have done this, Pirnejad said. The closest would be like a 311 app, where its more of a CRM and people will report potholes or graffiti.Its CRM-like in the sense that those kinds of programs set up profiles of people and then allow an organization to track interactions. Businesses use it all the time  think Salesforce  but people are starting to run with the core concept in creative ways to solve government problems.The startup RideAlong is using the concept to help emergency responders improve the interactions they have with people who have mental illnesses. ZenCity uses the idea to map citizen sentiment in different neighborhoods. GovRock coordinates volunteer efforts for local government programs, creating a list of civically engaged people who can hopefully later respond when a disaster strikes.Those three companies have all participated in STiR. So now Pirnejad wants to turn the same process in Napas direction.We may not know all the answers, we may not even know all the questions yet, but we can run a pilot, we can test, we can iterate, we can pivot and then we can run another pilot, he said.A brand-new biometric facial comparison system was just installed at the Washington Dulles International Airport, and its already proving its worth. The system, used for entry and exit on international flights, uses facial recognition technology to search for IDs associated with the faces it scans.A passenger arriving on an international flight from Brazil was detained when the system pulled up an ID that didnt match the passport he carried. The passport was identified as a fake and the other ID that the system found was discovered hidden in his shoe.Facial recognition technology is an important step forward for CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] in protecting the United States from all types of threats, said Casey Durst, director of CBPs Baltimore field office. Terrorists and criminals continually look for creative methods to enter the U.S. including using stolen genuine documents. The new facial recognition technology virtually eliminates the ability for someone to use a genuine document that was issued to someone else.(TNS)  A suspected hacking attempt into the Democratic National Committee's security systems ended up being a security test sanctioned by the Michigan Democratic Party, officials said Thursday.The Democratic National Committee notified the FBI this week about a suspected attempt to hack into the party's voter information database, but DNC Chief Security Officer Bob Lord now says the hack was "built by a third party as part of a simulated phishing test on VoteBuilder.""The test, which mimicked several attributes of actual attacks on the Democratic party's voter file, was not authorized by the DNC, VoteBuilder nor any of our vendors," Lord said in a statement.The test was authorized by the Michigan Democratic Party, party chair Brandon Dillon confirmed in a statement. The tests were run by the state party's "digital partners" in an effort to fortify cybersecurity, he said."Despite our misstep and the alarms that were set off, it's most important that all of the security systems in place worked," Dillon said. "Cybersecurity experts agree this kind of testing is critical to protecting an organization's infrastructure, and we will continue to work with our partners, including the DNC, to protect our systems and our democracy."DNC officials announced Wednesday that it was notified hackers had created a fake login page to collect usernames and passwords for the party's voter file, but said the effort was thwarted quickly and that no information was compromised, according to the Associated Press.The news that the Michigan Democratic Party was the cause for concern sparked criticism from Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel, who said on Twitter: "I guess the Democrats still haven't figured out how to talk to people in Michigan."(TNS)  Ransomware attacks are real, and people should pay attention to security warnings, an Indiana computer expert said Wednesday.One of the best practices is to be proactive: Back up your computer or computers onto an external device.The Vigo County Sheriff's Office earlier this week issued a warning this week after receiving reports of ransomware attacks.Ransomware is a malicious software that locks files and attempts to extort money from users with a promise to unlock machines and restore data.Sometimes, it comes with a threat to reveal private information.Further, the hackers often have no intention of delivering even if paid.The best way to protect against this is to make sure you have your computer files backed up, said Sid Stamm, associate professor of computer science and software engineering at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Plug in a backup drive and back up the files.Doing that regularly, such as once a week, will save important records on a device not connected to a computer network or to another device that can be corrupted.Having a separate backup drive allows a person to essentially "erase your computer and use the backup to reinstall data, Stamm said. It's a little annoying, but that's about it.The most common and easiest way for ransomware to infect a computer is as a Trojan horse hidden in an email attachment, he said.When the receiver clicks on the attachment, he explained, the hidden ransomware is launched and encrypts the data on the computer.To unlock the data, a key is needed. And that key, or code, is what the attackers try to sell to the person or business whose data is locked.Ransomware attacks have been known to take over computer systems in high-profile targets such as hospitals, public schools and police departments.There's no complete, guaranteed or surefire safety online, he said, but there are common and effective protections that help fend off problems.First, do regular backups.Also, it's best not to open attachments from unfamiliar sources.Further, installing security software is important. And equally important is updating that software when prompted. Don't wait or ignore warnings or update notices, he said.Fernando Alonso has called on Red Bull boss Christian Horner to apologise.

The Spaniard claims that although Horner wanted to sign him on no fewer than six occasions, including two offers in 2018, he said in public that Alonso is a trouble-maker.

"It has been weird, it has been unfair to me," Alonso said at Spa.

He said he emailed Horner after his most recent comments and the Briton apologised.

"Hopefully he'll apologise again this weekend."

When asked about Alonso's comments, though, Horner denied offering the 37-year-old a seat except in 2007.

"We had an enquiry (in 2018) from Flavio Briatore, and from Liberty Media, but the position within Red Bull has always been very clear that we invest in youth and have a talent pool through the Red Bull junior programme," Horner said.

Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko commented: "Maybe one of our mechanics or engineers is a fan of his."

(GMM)The Societe de Transport de Montreal (STM) and the Societe de transport de Laval (STL) have awarded New Flyer a contract for 40 forty-foot, zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses, marking the largest-yet battery-electric bus contract in Canada. The buses will use depot-based charging to slow-charge the buses, which are fitted with 466 kWh battery packs on board.





New Flyer bid successfully against two competitors, confirming its position as now serving all 25 of the largest transit agencies in North America. The notice to proceed for the pilot bus is expected 31 October 2018, and the notice to proceed for the production buses is expected following the nine month review of the pilot bus.

The new order, supported by funding from provincial and federal governments, includes 10 buses for STL and 30 buses for STM, together making it the largest Canadian battery-electric bus procurement to date. The purchase furthers efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by exploring unique electric mobility solutions to create more livable cities.





Currently, both agencies operate battery-electric bus pilot programs, and intend to be fully electric in future with STL and STM committing to buy only electric buses as of 2023 and 2025, respectively.

With the announcement, Laval and Montreal join Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, Palm Springs, and other cities across North America operating New Flyers zero-emission, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE buses.

STM provides public transportation in Montreal, Quebec, via bus, taxibus, paratransit, and subway services, delivering more than 260 million passenger rides per year. It is the second-most heavily used urban mass transit system in Canada and the third-most heavily used rapid transit system in North America.

STL provides public transportation via bus and paratransit services in the community of Laval, Quebec, delivering more than 20 million passenger rides per year.News

Marriage of 12-year-old Iraqi girl sparks outrage, mother worried

The girl's mother, who is separated from her husband, appealed through a video clip, to the people and the authorities to save her daughter, but the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said that "Sharia and the law allows the marriage of a minor by proxy of her father."





Haiti - FLASH : Results of the BAC 2018 Extraordinary session for 2 departments





The Ministry of National Education has just made available the first results by department exams baccalaureate of the academic year 2017-2018, Extraordinary Session (August 13 to 17, 2018) for 2 departments: Southeast and Northeast.



Results according to the National Bureau of State Examinations (BUNEXE) :



Results of Bac extraordinary session 2018:



South-East: Success rate 42.83% or 433 candidates admitted out of 1,011 participants



Northeast: Success rate 18.38% or 248 candidates admitted out of 1,349 participants



Heads of schools are invited to remove the list of their school from the Departmental Education Directorate concerned.



The Ministry informs us that other results will be published shortly ...



The Ministry of National Education has not yet made available online access to results per student. HaitiLibre will inform you as soon as access to the database is possible and will make available on its website the access to results per student form as each year.



To be continued...



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - Agriculture : 16 Haitian scholarship holders to India





Friday at the National Palace, President Jovenel Moise, received 16 Haitian students who are preparing to leave the country for India to attend training in modern management of poultry farms.



In the presence of Jobert C. Angrand the resigning Minister of Agriculture and several of his advisers, the Head of State met with the young scholarship holders who were recruited from various agricultural associations across the country.



These scholarship holders will be supervised by Bernardy Sainvil, an agricultural expert from the Ministry of Agriculture throughout their training, will visit the "Dr. BV Rao Institute of Poultry Management and Technology" (IMPT) in Pune (the second largest city in the world, India, State of Maharashtra in the West), where they will attend an 8-week training course in hatchery management, feed input management, broiler rearing, layer rearing, modern sanitation techniques, management of poultry farms and marketing.



This initiative is the first of a series of specialized poultry training programs that will allow Haiti to increase its domestic production of eggs and broilers in order to meet the needs of the population, support entrepreneurship in the poultry industry and make available trained managers in modern poultry production techniques.



Let's stress that India is known for its substantial egg production (over $ 3.5 billion / year) and its expertise in managing poultry farms and modern agricultural / poultry co-operatives.



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - FLASH : Extension of registrations to the UEH





The Rectorate of the State University of Haiti (UEH) informs the general public, the applicants in particular that the registrations in the entrance exams for the academic year 2018-2019 are extended until Friday August 31, 2018 .



However, for the National Institute of Management and International Studies (INAGHEI) and the Faculty of Odontology, registration is closed since Friday, August 24, 2018 midnight as planned.



All details for competions and registrations :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25033-haiti-flash-admission-contest-of-the-state-university-of-haiti-registrations-open.html



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - News : Zapping...





Release of 6 people arrested during the riots

Friday, the Judge Instructor Jean Osner Petit Papa, ordered the release of 6 people arrested during the riots of July 6, 7 and 8, 2018 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25055-haiti-flash-heavy-balance-of-riots.html After stating that there was no charge retained against Claude Griffon, Florestal Gregory, Warrior Danis Steevens, Michel Marie-Line, Pierre Ronald Saintine and Rosemond Ronald. Jean Osner Petit Papa declared them innocent.



Les Cayes UrbHaiti project : Nearly 1.4 million dollars

A meeting was held at the Town Hall of Les Cayes at the initiative of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) around the UrbHaiti project, funded by the European Union, which includes 3 major projects up to 750,000.00 Euros for the services of base and 10 micro projects of 50,000 Dollars to mitigate risks and disasters. The CRS and the Mayor of Les Cayes agreed on a schedule to set up a technical committee involving the various sectors and notables of the city, the Community Base Organizations (CBOs) and the city delegates in the choice of projects; Prioritize four neighborhoods during the meeting of Thursday, August 30, 2018 and organize one or more open days to inform the population of the city of Les Cayes and involve them in the choice of projects.



The Ti Manman Cheri program on Turtle Island

The "Ti Manman Cheri" program is taking continue its route on Turtle Island where the agents of the Economic and Social Assistance Fund (FAES) went this week to distribute vouchers to the mothers of the children of several national schools, after doing the same work at the National School of Croix Saint Joseph in Port-de-Paix.



Strengthen the capacity of IMED

Thursday was the official launching ceremony of the Institutional Strengthening Support Project of the Mobile Institute for Democratic Education (IMED) supported by the Minujusth Human Rights Department. This project aims to strengthen IMED's capacity to enable Civil Society to observe, report on human rights violations and advocate for the respect of human rights. and that victims can be assisted, directed and protected against recurrent violations.



Follow-up of projects by the Caribbean Bank

Monica La Bennett, Vice President of the Caribbean Development Bank (BCD) at the head of a delegation, visited former projects financed by the Bank as part of the implementation of the Participatory Urban Community Development Project (PRODEPUR) in collaboration with the World Bank and the Government of Haiti / Monetary Office of Development Assistance Programs (BMPAD). These projects were executed by the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), in the neighborhoods of Delmas 32, Simmond-Pele and Cite Soleil respectively.



HL/ HaitiLibre

















Meeting the Ethiopian head legislator in the capital city of Addis Ababa on August 24th as part of his first visit to the African country, the Vietnamese State leader spoke highly of Ethiopias success in maintaining political stability, national development, and reaching the highest economic growth rate in the continent over the past 10 years.

He proposed that Ethiopias House of Federation support and encourage the open policies of its government, creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese firms to seek cooperation and investment opportunities in the country, particularly in areas that play to Vietnams strengths and experience, such as agriculture, trade, telecommunications, aviation, and small and medium-sized hydropower plant building.

President Tran Dai Quang (L) meets Speaker of Ethiopias House of Federation Keria Ibrahim (Photo: VNA)



President Tran Dai Quang told his host that Vietnam has already enjoyed fruitful agricultural cooperation with some African countries including Guinea, Benin, Mozambique, and Angola. He suggested that the two sides consider the implementation of a tripartite partnership or the public-private partnership model in agriculture.

Vietnam is willing to create the most welcoming conditions for Ethiopian enterprises to engage in local business and investment, the President said.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, President Quang asked the legislative bodies of both sides to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, while coordinating with and supporting each other at international and regional forums, sharing information and legislative and supervising experience, and enhancing their role in promoting signed agreements and deals between the two countries.

For her part, Keria Ibrahim lauded the Vietnamese leaders visit, and was clearly impressed by the countrys rapid and stable economic growth over the past year, climbing to become the worlds leading exporter of key agricultural products, such as rice and coffee.

She said she hopes that Vietnam will share with Ethiopia their experiences in economic development, especially in areas of strength such as agriculture and aquaculture.

She said that Ethiopia, with its position as a key economic centre for Africa and a gateway to the Horn of Africa, is willing to act as a bridge for Vietnamese businesses to access other nations on the continent.

She proposed that Vietnam re-open an embassy in Addis Ababa to strengthen bilateral cooperation, as well as affiliation between Vietnam and the African Union.

The House of Federation Speaker pointed to similarities between Vietnam and Ethiopia as developing countries with young and abundant workforce, as well as a mutual determination to boost economic growth and improve the living conditions of local people.

The two leaders agreed on the need to further strengthen the collaboration between the legislative bodies of the two countries, thus contributing towards enhancing their economic, trade, and investment partnership to match the already sound political partnership between the two sides. The two countries should continue maintaining close coordination at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and the International Parliamentary Union (IPU).

On the occasion, President Quang conveyed National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngans visit invitation to Keria Inbrahim, and received her acceptance.

Earlier the same day, President Quang and his spouse visited the National Museum of Ethiopia./.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.At his meeting on August 24th, President Quang expressed his pleasure to visit the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the first time, and congratulated the union on the success of its summit held in June 2018, during which the union approved the establishment of an African free trade area.



He highly valued AU member countries determination in promoting the unions reform toward a strong united community.



The President spoke highly of the AUs role and contributions to maintaining peace, security and stability in the continent and the world at large.



He said he wishes developing countries, including those in Africa, and Vietnam support each other to further increase their voice and influence in multilateral mechanisms like the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and South-South cooperation framework.

He asked African countries to back Vietnams candidacy to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 tenure.

President Tran Dai Quang (L) meets Acting President of the African Union (AU) Amira Elfadil Mohammed Elfadil (Photo: VNA)



As a responsible member of the international community, Vietnam has sent officers to join the UN peacekeeping force in Africa, he said.

Highlighting considerable outcomes in cooperation between Vietnam and African countries, the President said Vietnam organised the Vietnam-Africa cooperation forums in 2003 and 2010 and carried out numerous cooperation projects in agriculture and fisheries in Africa, thus contributing to ensuring food security for African countries.

Many Vietnamese experts in health care, education and agriculture have been working in some African countries such as Angola and Mozambique, contributing to local socio-economic development.

He affirmed that Vietnam and Africa have always provided mutual support in the past and at present. Vietnam has officially set up diplomatic ties with 53 out of the 55 countries in Africa, he added.

For her part, Acting President of the AU Amira Elfadil Mohammed Elfadil congratulated Vietnam on its strong steps of development while highly appreciating the countrys participation in the UN peacekeeping force, contributing to maintaining peace in Africa.

She highly valued cooperation between African countries and Vietnam in priority areas such as processing, agriculture, mining and tourism, while wishing that Vietnam would act as a bridge connecting with Asia, particularly Asia Southeast Asia.

The AU leader thanked Vietnam for supporting people of African countries via telecommunications technology, and said that the AU is willing to cooperate with Vietnam at multilateral forums, especially in the framework of the UN and the Francophonie.

During their meeting, both host and guest noted that trade value and investment between Vietnam and Africa is still modest, suggesting both sides should set up a regular dialogue mechanism in order to further strengthen coordination at international forums and protect the interests of developing countries.

They agreed to consider effective cooperation models and increase the exchange of information and experiences in areas of shared concern, such as peacekeeping in the framework of the UN, agricultural development, education, infrastructure, information technology and telecommunications, for the benefit of the Vietnamese and African people, thus contributing to prosperity and development in each region as well as in the world./.Ireland's Largest Street Art Festival



After a quick stopover in Dublin to catch up with some family and friends over a few coffees at the ever-excellent Clement &Pekoe we then took the short two-hour train journey from Dublins Heuston Station along the east coast to Waterfords Plunkett Station.



A short 5-minute walk across the River Suir, which flows through Waterford City and we located our riverside hotel. A friendly Irish welcome at check-in, we dropped our bags and hit the streets with our cameras.





What with the festival already in full swing many of the invited international and national street artists have begun working on their murals across the city with a few artists such as Curtis Hylton having already finished not one but two new murals in the city.



Check out some of the scenes from the streets of Waterford in our series of photos below. Waterford Walls festival will continue across the city all weekend with workshops, art jams, expert panel talks, art, and music trails accompanying the street artists at work on their murals.





After a super early start and a morning of buses, planes, and trains we arrived in Waterford city, one of Irelands oldest cities on the South East coast.Those of you following us on our social channels will already be aware that we are in town for the fourth edition of the annual International Street Art festival, Waterford Walls.As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content.

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After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code.

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The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those.Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.Production at the FDI New Apparel Garment Company (Photo: VNA)

Remarkable contribution to economy

According to Prof. Nguyen Mai, President of the Vietnam's Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), from 1991 to 2017, foreign investors disbursed USD162 billion. On average, in the 1991-2000 period, Vietnam attracted USD1.95 billion each year. The figure increased to USD5.85 billion in the following ten years and USD12 billion in the most recent 7 years.

Since 2001, after the regional economic crisis, there have been diverse hi-tech and modern service large projects by Intel, Nokia, Canon, Samsung and LG, heightening FDI proportion in industrial productivity and export turnover.

In the past 5 years, many projects with capital of over USD1 billion have made Vietnam a place for production of the world, with hi-tech products like smart phones or tablets.

In 2016, the FDI sector accounted for over 72% of total export turnover, and contributed some 20% of domestic collection and 20% of GDP. The contribution of the FDI sector to the State budget increased from 5.2% in 2000 to 18.6% in 2016.

It shows increasingly large capital, and the highly efficient socio-economic quality of FDI sector to Vietnam, said Prof. Mai on Vietnam News Agency.

Agreeing with Prof. Mai, economic expert Nguyen Tri Hieu said that the FDI economic sector had become a necessary investment activity for Vietnams economy. Over the past 30 years, the number of FDI companies, the amount of investment capital, as well as the products, have confirmed their contributions to Vietnams economic growth.

Notably, FDI helps bring Vietnams economy from a subsidy to a competitive market economy, joining the world economy, especially in the 4th industrial revolution.



FDI attraction strategies needed

According to Mr. Hieu, although the FDI sector has made remarkable contribution to the economy, it does not transfer technologies to Vietnam. Moreover, as FDI companies contribute more than half of Vietnams export, it creates dependence of Vietnams economy on FDI companies.



If they do bad business and withdraw from Vietnam, nations economy will be affected".

Meanwhile, many FDI companies avoid tax in Vietnam as they develop strongly but report loss.

Therefore, Vietnam needs a strategy for FDI in the next 20-30 years, and considers what should be invested and encouraged in short-, middle-, and long-term, Mr. Hieu added.

For example, encouragement of FDI in tourism in the short-term can help increase collection of foreign currencies, but in the longer term, FDI investment should reach agriculture, industry, service, banking and real estate.

He suggested the country have access to many potential investors, and study issues relating to financial planning to complete FDI investment policies and benefit national development.

Prof. Mais view-points show that it is necessary to adjust preferential policies for FDI projects connected to socio-economic development orientations in each economic zone and each locality. For example, poorly developed localities can choose projects that use a large number of laborers such as textile and garment, and footwear; however, they must protect the environment. Meanwhile, cities should focus on high quality industry and services to create great value; and the projects that use a large number of laborers and pollute the environment should not be selected in these cities.

In particular, according to Prof. Mai, Vietnam needs to issue particular programs to attract FDI from Japan and the Republic of Korea for taking advantage of their technology and experience. Source from EU and USA is limited.



It is necessary to have new policies to increase FDI from developed countries, especially in modern technological sectors that suit the 4th industrial revolution.

Statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the first 7 months of 2018, Vietnam attracted USD22.94 billion from FDI, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%; the amount of disbursed capital was USD9.85 billion, an increase of 8.8% compared to the same period last year. FDI capital poured mainly into processing and manufacturing industry, real estate and wholesale and retail trade./.



iciHaiti - Diplomacy : Brazilian Mission in Haiti





From Saturday 25 to Tuesday, August 28, 2018, Ambassador Santiago Mourao, Under-Secretary General of International Cooperation, Trade Promotion and Cultural Themes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, will make a working visit to Port-au-Prince.



During his stay, Ambassador Mourao will hold meetings among others with the resigning Ministers Aviol Fleurant (Planning) and Marie Greta Roy Clement (Health).



In addition, accompanied by Dr. Laure Adrien Director-General of the Ministry of Health, the Brazilian diplomat will visit the Community Reference Hospital (HCR) "Zilda Arns" and the Haitian Institute of Rehabilitation (IHR), in Bon Repos, two medical infrastructures managed by the Brazilian cooperation.



He will also take advantage of his stay to meet students in Portuguese (official language of Brazil) of the Brazil-Haiti Cultural Center (CCBH), in Petion-ville.



IH/ iciHaiti

















North Kingstown School Committee officials found themselves in the middle of a debate over curriculum this week as members of the public sparred Tuesday night over the topics of sexuality and gender identity and how appropriate it is for those subjects to be explored by local students. At particular issue was the inclusion of a book titled Gender Queer that was recently added to the high school library. The memoir, about gender identity, includes images and discussion of sexual acts.

You voted:We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to formBy Marjorie Cohn

August 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - US leaders who provided military support to the Saudi-led coalition that bombed civilians in Yemen this August could be charged with aiding and abetting the commission of war crimes under customary international law, which is part of US law.

The 500-pound laser-guided MK 82 bomb, which the coalition dropped on August 9, killed 51 people, including 40 children. The bombing constituted a war crime.

They came to the hospital in cars and ambulances. Dozens of children with an array of grisly wounds, Marta Rivas Blanco, a nurse from the International Committee of the Red Cross who works at the Al Talh hospital, wrote in the Guardian. Some were screaming, some were scared, many went straight to the morgue.

Lockheed Martin, one of the leading US defense contractors, manufactured the bomb, which was part of a US-Saudi arms deal last year.

Aiding and Abetting a War Crime

According to customary international law, aiding and abetting a war crime requires three elements: 1) a person or entity committed a war crime; 2) another actor committed an act that had a substantial effect on the commission of the war crime; and 3) the other actor knew that the act would assist, or have a substantial likelihood of assisting, the commission of the war crime. All three of those elements were present in the August 9 bombing.

First, the coalition committed a war crime. Willful killing and the targeting of civilians constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The US War Crimes Act defines grave breaches of Geneva as war crimes.

Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter

Targeting a busload of children in a busy marketplace is a war crime. The Saudi government called it a legitimate military action, claiming to have targeted Houthi leaders who were responsible for recruiting and training young children, and then sending them to battlefields.

Second, US leaders provided the means to commit the war crime. The purchase of the bomb was part of an arms deal with Saudi Arabia that the US State Department sanctioned. In May 2017, on his first stop abroad after taking office, Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with the Saudi king in Riyadh.

Third, the US military knew that supplying the bomb to the coalition was likely to result in the commission of a war crime. A similar bomb killed 155 people in a funeral hall in Yemen in October 2016.

After the 2016 bombing, the Obama administration, citing human rights concerns, banned the sale to Saudi Arabia of precision-guided military technology. That ban was reversed the same month Trump made his deal in Riyadh, and the US government reauthorized the provision of Paveway laser-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia.

US Assistance Facilitates More War Crimes

The August 9 school bus bombing was one of over 50 airstrikes on civilian vehicles by the coalition so far in 2018. Amnesty International has documented 36 coalition airstrikes, many of which may constitute war crimes.

On April 23, 2018, Saudi aircraft dropped cluster bombs made by Raytheon on a wedding in Yemen, killing 22 people, including children. When they explode, cluster bombs scatter tiny bomblets. Some remain unexploded and detonate when people accidentally step on them or children pick them up off the ground. These weapons are banned by the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits all use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions.

The Saudi war on Yemen could not continue without support from the United States and the United Kingdom, according to Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution.

US military assistance to the coalition includes in-air refueling of Saudi and United Arab Emirates aircraft, logistical support and intelligence sharing. But US involvement in the war escalated late last year when a team of Green Berets secretly arrived at the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

At least 6,385 civilians have been killed and 10,000 injured since the war began. Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition account for over 60 percent of the civilian casualties.

Yemen has one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises. At least 22.2 million people  and nearly all Yemeni children  need humanitarian aid, and it is suspected that more than 1 million people have cholera. Nevertheless, the coalition restricts aid and imports of food, medicine and fuel.

On March 15, 2018, the UN Security Council issued a Presidential Statement calling for full humanitarian and commercial access and all parties to comply with their international humanitarian law obligations.

Congress Condemns US Role in Yemen

The US House of Representatives unanimously passed a non-binding resolution in November 2017, calling on the US military forces to withdraw from unauthorized hostilities in Yemen. It stated that US military aid to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen was not sanctioned by prior congressional authorizations. The resolution condemned the targeting of civilians and urged all parties to increase efforts to adopt all necessary and appropriate measures to prevent civilian casualties and increase humanitarian access.

On August 13, 2018, Trump signed the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which contains an allocation of $717 billion for the US military. In that legislation, Congress included several provisions to achieve accountability for US support of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Section 1274 directs the Defense Department to conduct a review of whether US or Saudi coalition forces in Yemen are violating US or international law.

But when Trump signed the bill, he attached a signing statement saying his administration would treat the provisions of section 1274 consistent with the Presidents constitutional authority to withhold information, the disclosure of which could impair national security, foreign relations, law enforcement, or the performance of the Presidents constitutional duties.

Section 1290 requires the secretary of state to certify that Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are making good faith efforts to end the civil war in Yemen; taking appropriate measures to alleviate the humanitarian crisis; undertaking demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians; complying with laws regarding military purchases from the US; and taking appropriate steps to avoid disproportionate harm to civilians.

Trump also attached a signing statement to that provision, saying any certification which section 1290 purported to require would have to be consistent with the Presidents constitutional authorities as Commander in Chief and as the sole representative of the Nation in foreign affairs.

Calls for an Independent Investigation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the August 9 bombing and called for an independent investigation. Saudi Arabia says it will mount its own investigation. And US Secretary of Defense James Mattis vowed to send a three-star general to Riyadh to help the Saudis in their investigation.

What Yemenis need is really an independent investigation, which has been put forward in the UN twice already and has been rejected by the Saudi-led coalition and the US unfortunately has provided cover for the Saudi-led coalition at the UN, Shireen al-Adeimi, Yemeni activist-scholar and assistant professor at Michigan State University, told Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!

Following the August 9 bombing, three letters written by Congress members from the House and Senate requested investigations, explanations and briefings about US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

Thirty House Democrats signed a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, expressing deepening concern regarding the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and requesting a briefing for all House members during the first week of September on the policy objectives of the United States with respect to Yemen. In the letter, the Congress members cited sections 1274 and 1290 of the NDAA.

In addition, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-California) wrote a letter asking the Defense Departments inspector general to initiate an investigation to determine whether coalition operations in Yemen are violating US and/or international law. Lieu said he was deeply concerned that continued U.S. refueling, operational support functions, and weapons transfers could qualify as aiding and abetting these potential war crimes.

Lieu made reference to the conclusion of the UN panel of experts on Yemen that all parties to the conflict, including the U.S.-supported Coalition, were implicated in widespread violations of international law and that measures to minimize civilian casualties remained largely ineffective.

And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) wrote to Gen. Joseph Votel, head of US Central Command (Centcom), asking him to clarify his assertion that Centcom cannot determine whether the United States provided assistance for coalition strikes resulting in civilian deaths.

In her letter, Warren cited an article by The Intercept, quoting an intelligence report with what appear to be comments from an American intelligence analyst who oversaw a May 2018 strike from a coalition command center in Riyadh, which suggested that US military observers possess detailed information about how strikes are carried out.

The bottom line is that Congress must immediately end all US involvement in the war in Yemen and refuse to appropriate funding for arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE while they continue bombing and blockading Yemen.

Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and an advisory board member of Veterans for Peace. An updated edition of her book, Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues, was recently published. This article was originally published by " Truth Out " -

Copyright  Truthout.

==See Also==

HRW says Saudi-UAE alliance covering up war crimes in YemenAt the meeting (Source: VNA)



The deputy minister welcomed the delegations from China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar to Vietnam for the programme, which he said is an excellent opportunity for the countries to enhance their border diplomacy, contributing to solidarity, friendship, cooperation and development for the happy life of people in border areas.

He asked the delegations to actively participate in the exchange and propose useful contents for the events activities.

The delegates thanked the Vietnamese Defence Ministry for facilitating their attendance at the friendship exchange. They agreed that the event provided an occasion for border guard forces of countries share experience in performing their duty, thus creating a foundation for building and foster sound relations among them in the spirit of equality, cooperation for mutual benefits and for peace and stability of the countries shared borders.

The third Friendship Border Exchange programme is one of the main activities to mark the 73rd anniversary of Vietnams August Revolution and National Day.

The official event will take place on August 25th in Hanoi, with the participation of 17 international guest delegations from the ministries of defence, public security and security of China, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar along with representatives from the five countries embassies, diplomatic missions, military, defence and security attaches in Hanoi./.By Finian Cunningham

August 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Every time a Trump administration official pontificates about this or that, a TV split-screen should simultaneously show the heart-rending burial scenes of Yemeni children killed earlier this month by US-supplied Saudi warplanes.

Not just Yemen. How about children starving in North Korea from US economic sanctions? Or Syrian infants living in refugee camps, forced from their homes by US-backed militants? Or Iranian babies facing the toll of vindictive American policies?

Not just the Trump administration. Every American administration has shown the callous ability to allow the killing of children en masse, either through war or economic siege.

Think of Cuba, blockaded continuously by Washington for over five decades, for no other reason than its having a socialist government.

Think of former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright who callously said the sanctioning-to-death of Iraqi children wasworth it.

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In Yemen, thousands of children have been killed over the past three years from air strikes in the US-backed war on that impoverished country. For every one of those deaths, Washington bears responsibility for supplying missiles, bombs, warplanes, mid-air fueling and targeting logistics to the Saudi military.

But it was the massacre earlier this month in Yemens northern Saada province that stands out as a particular horror. A school bus ferrying children to a summer camp was reportedly hit by a US-backed Saudi warplane, killing up to 40. Shrapnel recovered from scene showed it was a bomb made by the US-based Raytheon company that obliterated the children.

Subsequent images of dismembered childrens bodies being loaded into a truck by grieving parents were gut-wrenching. So too were images of young children digging graves for their classmates.

So, when President Trump and his officials, like ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, or his National Security Advisor John Bolton, stand in front of cameras and lecture other nations about violations and the need to change behavior, television viewers around the world would find it instructive to simultaneously keep in their minds eye the horror that these same American officials are responsible for in Yemen and elsewhere.

We could also add British officials for public shaming, because of their governments prominent role in supplying offensive munitions to the Saudi regime for its slaughter in Yemen. British arms companies have, literally, made a killing since the Saudis launched their war in March 2015. Indeed, Britains Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt recently continued to justify weapons exports to the Saudis in spite of the recent massacre of children.

If its not weapons of war, then US economic sanctions are also responsible for currently killing untold numbers of children around the world. This week, the UN and various civilian aid agencies warned that North Korea was facing a food crisis because Washington is stepping up its enforcement of sanctions under Trumps so-called maximum pressure policy.

The UN estimates that some 20 per cent of children in North Korea are suffering from malnutrition. The looming humanitarian crisis is not simply due to policy failings on the part of the North Korean government, or its alleged isolationism, as the Washington Post mendaciously claimed this week. The country is at risk of a full-blown food crisis,according the International Red Cross, because Washingtons intensified embargo on shipping and banking has crippled supplies of agricultural equipment.

Washingtons relentless vindictiveness towards North Korea comes despite a significant move by the countrys leader Kim Jong-un in June to end its controversial nuclear weapons program.

Details have yet to be worked out. But the goodwill shown by North Korea should be reciprocated by the Trump administration in terms of alleviating sanctions. Apparently not, as the worsening humanitarian conditions in the country testifies.

Additionally, Kim has assented to repatriate the remains of American soldiers killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, and to facilitate reunions, some taking place this week, for Korean families separated by that war.

When the US State Department was asked this week about the impact of sanctions on food insecurity in North Korea, it reportedly said the punitive measures would continue until nukes are no longer a factor. The practicalities of a decommissioning process may take years to complete. In the meantime, Washington is evidently willing to starve North Korean children to death for maximum pressure.

Arguably, the United States government is liable for war crimes prosecution for its complicit role in conducting indiscriminate air strikes in Yemen, as well as for its barbaric use of an economic blockade on North Korea. The US has been finessing this barbarity with its embargo on Cuba for over 50 years. It has imposed similar sanctions currently on several other countries, including Syria and Venezuela.

Washington wants to extend its economic aggression to Iran and Russia by cutting off their ability to conduct international trade. Although Russias economy may be strong enough to withstand the pressure, the pernicious principle is the same: Inflicting damage on peoples livelihoods and health, especially on the most vulnerable  children.

This week, John Bolton, Trumps top security advisor, threatened Iran that the US was going to ratchet up even more damaging measures, until the regime changes its behavior.

The medieval-like use of sieges on populations to starve them into surrender continues today as an American prerogative. Such a heinous use of coercion is of course an extreme violation of international humanitarian law.

To make the situation even more appalling, the world has heard President Trump lament the death of beautiful babies in Syria. That was after the alleged chemical-weapons attack in Douma on April 7 last year. Trump blamed those deaths on Syrian government forces, and then proceeded to launch air strikes on the country. Turns out the atrocity, like many others, was a grotesque provocation by US-backed terrorists and their propaganda agents, known as the White Helmets.

But lets give Trump the benefit of the doubt. Lets assume he was misinformed about the chemical-weapons incident.

That still presents us a glaring discrepancy. If Trump and his officials can tearfully mourn beautiful babies, then where is their compassion for the children who are being killed in other countries?

Evidently, some children are beautiful and some are damned, to borrow the title of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Those infants that are damned millions of them are the ones belonging to countries that Washington has a problem with.

The blatant moral duplicity of American rulers suggests they no longer have the authority to speak on anything. Every time they open their mouths, the images of slaughters from Yemen, or elsewhere, should be flashed on TV screens, with a public warning that a barefaced, sociopathic liar is about to pontificate.

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.

This article was originally published by "RT" -

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!While it is all too easy to become frustrated and annoyed by what passes for news in the legacy media these days, this article in the Daily Mail did arouse my particular ire earlier this week  and in this instance no particular blame attaches to the newspaper, it is simply reporting some unpalatable facts.

The gist of it is that former British MI6 intelligence officer and current mercenary spy-for-hire, Christopher Steele, author of the discredited Dirty Dossier about Donald Trump, has been accorded First Amendment rights in a court case in the USA.

You might wonder why this article caused me so much spluttering annoyance over my breakfast? Steeles treatment is in marked contrast to that accorded to WikiLeaks Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Julian Assange, and the hypocrisy is breathtaking. Allow me to expound.

Steele is a British intelligence officer of pretty much my vintage. According to what is available publicly, he worked for MI6, the British overseas intelligence gathering agency, for 22 years, serving in Russia in the early 90s and in Paris at the end of that decade  around the time that MI5 whistleblower, David Shayler, was imprisoned in that city pending a failed extradition case to the UK. It is probable that Steele would have been monitoring us then.

After being outed as an MI6 officer in 1999 by his former colleague, Richard Tomlinson, he was pretty much desk-bound in London until he resigned in 2009 to set up, in the inimitable way of so many former spooks, a private consultancy that can provide plausibly deniable services to corporations and perhaps their former employers.

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Steele established just such a mercenary spy outfit, Orbis Business Intelligence, with another ex-colleague Chris Burrows in 2009. Orbis made its name in exposing corruption at the heart of FIFA in 2015 and was thereafter approached as an out-sourced partner by Fusion GPS  the company initially hired to dig dirt on presidential candidate Trump in 2016 by one of his Republican rivals and which then went on to dig up dirt on behalf of Hillary Clintons DNC.

The result is what has become known as the Dirty Dossier, a grubby collection of prurient gossip with no real evidence or properly sourced information. As a former MI6 intelligence officer, Steele should be hanging his head in shame at such a shoddy and embarrassingly half-baked report.

On a slightly tangential note, there has been some speculation, suppressed in the UK at least via the D Notice censorship system, that MI6 informant and Russian traitor Sergei Skripal, the victim of the alleged Novichok poisoning in the UK earlier this year, remained in contact with his alleged handler Pablo Miller, who also is reported to work for Orbis Business Intelligence. If this were indeed the case, then it would be a logical assumption that Orbis, via Miller, might well have used Skripal as one of its reliable sources for the Dossier.

UK government sent out a media suppression instruction ("DMSA notice" aka "D notice") for Skripal's MI6 handler living nearby according to UK's Channel 4. Skripal's handler was historically reported to be "Pablo Miller"--more recently connected to Orbis and Christopher Steele. https://t.co/70ZPJdZtRP  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 29, 2018

Despite all this, Steele has won a legal case in the USA, where he had been sued by three Russian oligarchs who claimed that the Dirty Dossier traduced their reputations. And he won on the basis that his report was protected by First Amendment rights under the constitution of the USA, which guarantees US citizens the right to freedom of expression. Despite the fact that Steele is British.

But Judge Anthony Epstein disagreed, writing in his judgment that advocacy on issues of public interest has the capacity to inform public debate, and thereby furthers the purposes of the First Amendment, regardless of the citizenship or residency of the speakers.

This is the nub of the issue: Steele, a former official UK intelligence officer and current mercenary spy-for-hire, is granted legal protection by the American courts for digging up and subsequently leaking what appears to be controversial and defamatory information about the current US president as well as various Russians, all paid for by Trumps political opponents. And Steele is given the full protection of the US legal system.

On the other hand, we have an award-winning journalist and publisher, Assange, whose organization WikiLeaks has never been found to report anything factually incorrect in more than 10 years, being told that if he were to be extradited from his current political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London to face the full wrath of a vengeful American establishment, he is not entitled to claim the protection of the First Amendment because he is an Australian citizen, not an American.

It has been an open secret for years that the US government has installed a secret Grand Jury in Virginia (the home of the CIA) to investigate Assange and bring him to justice for publishing embarrassing US government documents as well as evidence of war crimes. There have been calls from US politicians for the death sentence, life in prison without parole, and even assassination. The US has been scrabbling around for years to try to find any charge it could potentially throw at him  hell, it will probably make up a new law just for him, so desperate as it is to make an example of him.

However, the fake Russiagate narrative gave the US deep state an additional spur  against all evidence and Assanges own statements  it alleges that Russia hacked the DNC and Podesta emails and Assange was the conduit to make them public. This is seen as a win-win for the US establishment, apparently if erroneously proving that Russia hacked the US presidential election and confirming that Assange runs a non-state hostile intelligence agency, according to current CIA Director, Mike Pompeo.

Except he does not. He is an editor running a high-tech publishing outfit that has caused embarrassment to governments and corporations around the world, not just America. If he can be prosecuted for publishing information very much in the public interest, then all the legacy media feeding off the WikiLeaks hydrant of information are equally vulnerable.

This being the case, surely he, of all people, requires the protection of the First Amendment in the USA. Otherwise the concept that free media can hold power to account is surely dead.By Caitlin Johnstone

Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen. To shame it. To mock it. With our art, our music, our literature, our stubbornness, our joy, our brilliance, our sheer relentlessness  and our ability to tell our own stories. Stories that are different from the ones were being brainwashed to believe. ~ Arundhati Roy

August 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - John McCains family has announced that the Arizona Senator has opted to end treatment for brain cancer and live out his final few days in peace, presumably under the best hospice care money can buy. And I sincerely hope that it is peaceful. My statements about my desire for John McCain to shuffle off this mortal coil sooner rather than later have been highly publicized, and I stand by all of them, but I dont wish him a painful or agitated end.

And, also, I am going to keep hammering on how very important it is that we refuse to bow to the aggressive demands from establishment loyalists that we be respectful of this warmongering psychopath and his blood-soaked legacy.

I lost my father recently. It was the hardest thing I've ever gone through. Whatever your views on John McCain or his legacy, his family is suffering right now. It costs you nothing to show him and his family the basic human dignity all people deserve.  @Mikel_Jollett

McCain is at the top of the trends list on Twitter in the US as I write this, and clicking on his name brings up countless blue-checkmarked establishment loyalists from both sides of the imaginary partisan divide sternly admonishing us all to put aside our differences and show reverence for this brave, noble hero in his final days. They are using guilt, sympathy and patriotism to bully their followers into showing reverence for a man who has dedicated his entire political career to facilitating the violent slaughter of human beings at every opportunity, and in so doing they are sanctifying his legacy.

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One of the most aggressively protected narratives in corporate liberal circles is that John McCain is a hero whose very name should be uttered with the greatest reverence. It gets traction with rank-and-file Democrats because supporting McCain for his opposition to Trump allows them to feel as though they are non-partisan free thinkers, in exactly the same way Trump supporters believe their hatred of McCain makes them non-partisan free thinkers. In reality, McCain is just one of the many bloodthirsty neocons like Bill Kristol and Max Boot who have aligned themselves with the Democratic party in recent years in order to better advance their warmongering agendas.

It is those agendas that are being promoted with the hero worship of John McCain. By committing the outrageous heresy of mocking, ridiculing and scorning that sacred cow, we are fighting the attempts of the empire loyalists and war propagandists to normalize and sanctify the act of inflicting neoconservative military bloodbaths upon innocent people around the world.

I've had my disagreements with John McCain, but he's a good man who served his country heroically and the world will be lessened by his lol just kidding eat dirt you mass murdering war whore. https://t.co/slFl2qxPe5  @caitoz

If you want to see a world with more and more John McCains, with more and more US wars of aggression and regime change interventionism, then by all means play right along with his public beatification. If you want to see a world where neoconservative war whores are treated with the revulsion, disdain and rejection they deserve, then now is your chance to help create that world. Refuse to be shamed and guilted into polite silence and move in the exact opposite direction from where the establishment shepherds are herding you.

You dont have to be as brash about it as I am if thats not your cup of tea. But now, while they are telling us that we are not permitted to speak about McCains unforgivable record of facilitating military bloodshed in Iraq, Syria, Libya and elsewhere, it is precisely the time to speak. By publicly disrupting the narrative of McCains sanctification, we make it harder for the war propagandists to manufacture consent for more war. It really is that simple.

So just look at the emotional environment that the empire lackeys are trying to create, and create the exact opposite, loudly and without apology. Fight the seriousness and solemnity with mockery and ridicule. Fight the reverence and hero worship with irreverence. The more people see this being done, the harder it will be to shame and bully everyone into playing along with the normalization and celebration of a career that is drenched in the blood of children. By making it clear in the most irreverent ways possible that you are happy to see McCain go, you are giving others permission to step outside of the lines theyre being herded into, and you are helping to create a world where murderous warmongers are marginalized instead of celebrated.

John McCain Requests Ashes Be Launched Into Iraq https://t.co/Nt3DFwJqRL  @TheOnion

You will be told that you do not have permission to say such things. You have permission to say such things. You will be told that you are being impolite to John McCains family. The families of mass murderers are not entitled to our politeness. You will be told that you are making yourself look bad. Creating a world where neoconservative war whores experience an appropriate amount of rejection is more important than looking good. Kill their propaganda narratives with mockery and irreverence and help usher in a new world where it is no longer considered okay to be a psychopathic neocon.

Let death get its wish. Let death die so that life may live. So long, John McCain, you despicable death cultist. I wish you and everyone like you a peaceful, painless, permanent end.

Caitlin's articles are entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking her on Facebook, following her antics on Twitter, checking out her podcast, throwing some money into her hat on Patreon or Paypal, or buying her book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers.

======New Book Gives Credence to US Ambassadors Claim That Israel Tried to Assassinate Him in 1980

By Philip Weiss

August 24, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - John Gunther Dean, now 92, and a former American ambassador to five countries, has long maintained that Israel was behind his attempted assassination on August 28, 1980, in a suburb of Beirut, which was attributed to a rightwing Lebanese group. Dean and his wife and daughter and son-in-law were in a motorcade and narrowly escaped serious injury.

Dean said that he was targeted because he was doing something regarded as antithetical to Israels interest: consulting with the Palestine Liberation Organization and its head, Yasser Arafat, at a time when such contacts were the third rail in US politics. He was also outspokenly critical of Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

A new book offers backing to Deans claim. But while that book has been highly-publicized, the question of whether Israel attacked our ambassador has gotten no attention in the press. That is not a surprise; for Dean has asserted that the case itself was never thoroughly investigated by the U.S. government.

Lets begin this story where I first heard about it, from historian Remi Brulins twitter thread on May 30:

On August 28, 1980, the three-car motorcade of John Gunther Dean, the American Ambassador to Lebanon, was attacked on the motorway by several assailants armed with automatic rifles as well as light anti-tank weapons or LAWs. The ambassador and his wife escaped unscathed.

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This attack is in RANDs terrorism database. Entry states that responsibility for attack was later claimed by the Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners, a shadowy right-wing group. Various media outlets at the time reported on FLLF taking credit for the attack

Over the years Ambassador Dean has repeatedly argued that Israel was behind the August 1980 attempt on his life. In an interview for the Oral History Project in September 2000, he explained how the Lebanese Intelligence services had managed to retrieve the empty canisters of two of the light anti-tank weapons (LAWs) that had been used during the attack on his motorcade and, during raiding a house by the intersection where the assault had taken place, found 8 more. Dean collected the numbers on the 10 missiles & sent them to Washington to be traced.

Three weeks (and one angry phone call) later, the US Ambassador finally learned where the light anti-tank weapons came from, where they were shipped to, on what date, who paid for them, and when they got to their destination.

The LAWs had been manufactured in the US and were sold and shipped to Israel in 1974. In this interview, Dean further states that he did find out a great deal about this incident over the following years, and calls this assassination attempt one of the more unsavory episodes in our Middle Eastern history and ends by noting that our Ambassador to Israel, Sam Lewis, took up this matter with the Israeli authorities.

Dean concludes: I know as surely as I know anything that Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, was somehow involved in the attack. Undoubtedly using a proxy, our ally Israel had tried to kill me. [Haaretz covered Deans claim, made in his 2009 autobiography; so did The Nation]

All of this has been known for years, although it is very rarely discussed in the US media. When discussed, Deans assertions/accusations are dismissed as conspiracy theories.

In January however, a book was published that appears to reinforce the plausibility of Deans position. The book is Ronen Bergmans Rise and Kill First. It has received rave reviews in the US press, and its author has been interviewed countless times since the book was published. The book focuses on Israeli targeted assassinations and it contains one truly remarkable revelation.

In 1979, [Rafael] Eitan and [Meir] Dagan [both brass in the Israel Defense Forces] created the Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners, and ran that fictitious group from 1979 to 1983. In 1981 and 1982, Ariel Sharon used that Front to conduct a series of indiscriminate car bombings that killed hundreds of civilians.

The objective of this massive terrorist car bombing campaign was to sow chaos amongst the Palestinian & Lebanese civilian population and, in 1981-82, to provoke the PLO into resorting to terrorism, thus providing Israel with an excuse to invade Lebanon.

The FLLF operation is described in great details in Bergmans book. His account is based solely on first hand accounts from Israeli officials involved in the operation or who were aware of it at the time. It is also described in detail in my article here [in Mondoweiss in May: The remarkable disappearing act of Israels car-bombing campaign in Lebanon or: What we (do not) talk about when we talk about terrorism].

As I show in this article, not a SINGLE review of Bergmans book in the US media has mentioned the FLLF operation. Nor has it been mentioned in a SINGLE of the countless interviews he has given on the topic over the last few months. The US media has thus been fully silent about the fact that Israeli officials directed a major & fully indiscriminate car bombing campaign that killed 100s of civilians in Lebanon. This silence also means that the US media has failed to notice the possible implications of this revelation about the Dean case.

Bergman himself does not mention the assassination attempt against Dean. But we know that the FLLF took credit for this attack at the time. That Deans own investigation pointed to Israel & to its Lebanese proxies. And we now know that the FLLF was CREATED and RUN by Israel.

None of this is absolutely conclusive, of course. Nonetheless, this topic might warrant investigation from US journalists (who might also want to write about the FLLF car bombing campaign, ie about Israeli officials resorting to terrorism.'

Brulin subsequently added this important comment:

Bergman does note on several occasions in his book that he is not allowed to write and talk about a lot of the operations that his sources talked to him about. I wonder if this FLLF operation vs Dean is one of those.

Let us add some details and context. Dean was born to a Jewish family in Germany in 1926 and escaped the Holocaust to the United States in 1938, later graduating from a Kansas City high school. It goes without saying that being ambassador to five countries, Cambodia, Denmark, Lebanon, Thailand and India, is a stellar career in foreign service.

I reached out to Dean and did not hear from him, but in his oral history, the ambassador says that the attack was a horrible experience that scarred his daughter.

The road at that stretch was wide and a Mercedes car was parked below a small hill overlooking the road. As we turned, our convoy took 21 rifle bullets and two grenades anti-tank fired against the car I was in. My wife threw herself on top of me and said: Get your head down because I was trying to look out and was stunned by the fireworks. When you have these light anti-tank weapons (LAWs) explode, there are a lot of sparks and explosions. The two LAWs fired at my car bounced off the rear of the car. I also noticed that on the window of my armored car there were some shots all very well centered where I was sitting, but they had not penetrated because the plastic windows were bullet-proof.

In his autobiography Danger Zones, Dean says he urged the State Department to investigate, but: No matter how hard I tried, I could not get a straight answer from the State Department about what the U.S. had discovered in its investigations I was simply told to resume my duties as ambassador. That was not so easy when I learned what the Lebanese intelligence agency found out [using the numbers on the weapons].

Dean says he was clearly understood to be an enemy of Israel because on repeated occasions he had publicly condemned Israels attacks on Lebanons borders and air space, a stance the State Department usually did not take.

Scurrilous attacks on me in the Israeli Knesset and the Israeli press just prior to the assassination attempt indicate that the Israeli authorities were unhappy with the activist role I played in Lebanon, defending Lebanese sovereignty and maintaining an active relationship with the PLOthe very policies I was given to pursue by the president of the United States. The venomous talk in the Israeli Knesset by the right-wing parties portrayed me as a tool of the Palestinians. Because I was willing, even eager, to talk with all the factions in Lebanons civil war, I was suspected of being anti-Israel.

Dean said he had a close working relationship with the PLO including calling on Yasser Arafat to help broker the release of 13 of 66 American hostages held by Iranians in Tehran in November 1979, those 13 being the women and African-Americans. On a number of occasions the PLO helped me to get Americans released American authorities considered the PLO a valid interlocutor for discussing ways of finding a nonmilitary solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

At that time, the PLO was verboten in official policy circles. Andrew Young was forced to resign as Jimmy Carters ambassador to the U.N. in 1979 after the Israelis leaked the fact that he had met with a representative of the PLO. In 1977, Ted Koppel and Marvin Kalb wrote a thriller that turned on a US official having a supersecret meeting with a fictitious Palestinian group, and it leaking and the official being charged with betraying Israel. In 1976, the dissident Jewish peace group Breira came apart after Wolf Blitzer, who was at the time also working for the Israel lobby group AIPAC, reported in the Jerusalem Post that Breira members had met with PLO officials.

Dean had a reputation for being free-thinking in Washington circles. In 1988, when Dean was ambassador to India, Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq died in Pakistan when his plane was sabotaged. Dean maintained that Israel was behind the assassination because it did not want Pakistan to obtain nuclear weapons, which it was then developing. Deans speculation was based in part on the fact that pro-Israel congressmen (Stephen Solarz and Tom Lantos) had visited him in New Delhi and pressed him to support Israels ally India over Pakistan and to seek to thwart Pakistans path toward nukes.

The more I pushed for answers, the more officials from the Reagan administration pushed back, he wrote. Within a year, Dean, 63, retired amid official questions about his sanity under strain. The departments first thought was to send me to an asylum. Instead he was sent to Switzerland for recuperation, he writes in his autobiography. This was the kind of technique that the Stalinist regime used to silence its critics in the Soviet Union.

Ronen Bergmans new book on the Israeli assassination and terrorism campaign contains no reference to the John Gunther Dean attack. I asked him via a twitter message why he had left it out, noting that his revelation about Israeli security officials establishing the Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners gives credence to Deans claim. He did not respond.

The Israeli investigative reporter is now working for the New York Times, and lately reported in the Times on the killing of a Syrian rocket scientist in a car bomb attack in northwestern Syria on the night of August 4, evidently by Israel.

P.S. The US government has had a miserable record of investigating known Israeli attacks on Americans on the USS Liberty in 1967 and Rachel Corrie in 2003.

Thanks to Donald Johnson.

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.A murder suspect, Omoniyi Ademola, has revealed that he killed a traditional ruler in Ekiti State, Oba Gbadebo Ogunsakin to take over his throne.

Ademola stabbed Oba Ogunsakin, the Onise of Odo Oro in Ikole Local Government Area to death with a knife on Monday.

Eighty-year-old Oba Ogunsakin, who was enthroned in 1986, was stabbed to death in his palace o

The suspect thrust the knife into the monarchs chest with the victim giving up the ghost before reaching the hospital.

He fled to Ado-Ekiti after committing the regicide but was arrested at Ajowa Market in Dallimore area of the city around 4.30 pm same day.

Speaking while being paraded alongside suspects arrested for various crimes at the police headquarters in Ado Ekiti on Friday, Ademola, who is in his 40s, said he committed the regicide to claim his right.

Ademola, who spoke correct English and never showed any sign of insanity, was said to belong to another royal family in the community.

He claimed that his family had nominated him to take over from the late king whom he said was serving as a hindrance.

on Monday after chairing a meeting of his council of chiefs in the palace.

The suspect said: The crown didnt belong to Oba Ogunsakin because the town last year declared vacancy because of the death of our Oba.

They said our Oba was dead and my family nominated me to take over only for him to resurface again and said he remained the Oba.

Last year December, my family nominated me and since then I have been trying to take over. That day when I got to the palace, it was the late Oba that first attacked me and I attacked him back which led to his death.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bello Ahmed, had earlier addressed a press conference on the recent breakthroughs recorded by the command in arresting the suspects.

The police chief dismissed claims in some quarters that the suspect is mentally unstable.

Ahmed said: I am not a medical expert to know who is mentally unstable or not.

But the fact remains that, how could a lunatic committed murder and ran over 100 kilometers from the scene of the incident?

So, common sense dictates that he must have known what he was doing to have run from that town to Ado Ekiti.

Answering question on the killing of former Commissioner on the board of the Federal Character Commission, Mr. Bunmi Ojo on August 10, the CP said the command was making progress with some arrests made.

He added: We are on the trail of the killers, we have reached advanced stage. Some suspects had been arrested and they are helping the police.

Efforts are being intensified and we shall feed the public with the right information when we are ready to charge them to court.

Also paraded were 25 other suspects, who were arrested for cultism and other murder cases, including a man, Toyin Ajakaye, who allegedly hanged a commercial motorcyclist in his farm in Agbado Ekiti on Wednesday.

Ahmed added that the 16 suspects arrested for allegedly belonging to Aye and Eye confraternities have confessed their memberships of the secret cults, saying they will be charged to court soon.

He revealed that weapons like: one cut-to-size gun, one cartridge, criminal charms, Toyota Camry Car with Registration number FKJ 912 DEK, one kitchen knife and one cutlass were recovered from the suspected cultists.

Ahmed revealed that four armed robbery gang: Idowu Oluwole, Ganiyu Rasak, Ojo Ayomide and Asimile Efra were arrested for stealing a Bajaj motorcycle from one victim in Ado Ekiti.

The police boss the command will continue to intensify efforts to ensure that criminals have no hidden place in the state.

Source: The Nation.President Muhammadu Buhari has been in his hometown in Daura, Katsina state since Monday to celebrate eid-el-kabir.

In his stay, the president has been visited by various groups and bodies and one of which, were his former classmates.

Buhari was said to have attended Government College(Pilot) and graduated in 1961.

See photoPresident Muhammadu Buhari has been in his hometown in Daura, Katsina state since this week. The president who has gone to celebrate the eid-el-kabir was seen in one of the photos sitting on this chair.

The president who seems to be attending to guests in his Daura home, has come under fire for the chair he chose to sit on.

While some argue that the chair isnt worn out and just an expensive type of Katsina design, some others are already calling out Buhari for not finding a decent chair to sit on.

There are others, who wondered why governance in Nigeria has been reduced to the type of upholstery used to cover an elected officers chair.

See another photoA young man has proceeded to hang himself inside a forest in Enugu state after he had taken some marijuana.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN,reports that the Police Command in Enugu State has commenced investigation into an incident that led to a 24-year-old man committing suicide after an overdose of marijuana.

The spokesman of the command, SP. Ebere Amaraizu, made the announcement in a statement on Saturday in Enugu.

He said the incident happened on Aug. 22 at Ameke Village in Enu-Oduma Community in the Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Amaraizu identified the dead man as Ebube Chukwu.

He said that Chukwu was reported to have committed suicide after taking his usual and hourly wraps of marijuana, popularly called Igbo.

It was gathered that the victim had allegedly committed the act by hanging himself on top of a tree inside a forest at Obokolo, which is between Amorji and Ameke Oduma.

It was further gathered that the victim was always in the habit of smoking marijuana, which may have caused the unfortunate incident.

Amaraizu said that investigation had commenced with a view to ascertaining the actual cause of his death.At the meeting, Nhan stressed that the special friendship, nurtured and developed by leaders and people of both countries, had become a priceless shared asset that requires preservation and promotion by younger generations.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan (R) receives Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association President Vilayvong Bouddakham (Photo: VOV)



Ho Chi Minh City has always exerted efforts to organise diverse cooperation activities with the Lao side to further strengthen the friendship, including delegation exchange, experience sharing, and affiliation in economy, technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges, he noted.

He also conveyed his sympathy for the losses of the Lao people in the recent natural disaster and hydropower dam collapse in Attapeu.

The official also expressed his hope that the Lao delegations visit would help promote relationships between the friendship associations of Vietnam and Laos, thereby reinforcing and developing the sound neighbourliness and special friendship between the people of Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Vietnam in general, and Laos.

For his part, Bouddakham congratulated Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City on the recent socio-economic achievements, describing them as an encouragement for Laos in its national construction.

He thanked the Vietnamese side for their timely and helpful support, especially during the recent disasters in Laos.

Bouddakham said he believes that despite the changing world situation, Vietnam-Laos ties will remain stable and thriving.

In the future, the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association will continue increasing cooperation activities with the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association to launch new people-to-people exchanges, contributing to preserving, reinforcing, and developing the special friendship of the two countries people./.At the annual event, the two sides briefed each other on the current situation of their respective countries, while reviewing the outcomes of major cooperation areas as well as the affiliation of the two ministries during the 2014-2020 period.

Both deputy FMs showed their pleasure at the recent progress in the traditional friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, especially the increasing political trust and fruitful collaboration in security, defence, trade, investment, and education and training.

Overview of the third political consultation between foreign ministries of Vietnam and Laos in Hanoi on August 24th (Photo: VNA)



The success of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2017 contributed to cementing ties between the two nations, creating a firm foundation for the younger generations to continue promoting the Vietnam-Laos special relations, they said.

The consultation also discussed developments in the region and the world, with the two sides agreeing to continue working closely at regional and international forums, especially within the ASEAN and other sub-regional cooperation mechanisms in Southeast Asia.

They also sought measures and orientations to enhance the efficiency of implementing high-level agreements, thus continuing to deepen bilateral collaboration in all fields.

They stressed the need for the two ministries to promote their advisory and connection roles, together with other ministries and localities, towards removing obstacles facing investment projects and ensuring their ongoing quality and progress.

Both sides also concurred to strengthen the close, practical, and effective affiliation between the two ministries, as well as smaller agencies, while coordinating closely to prepare for the annual consultations between the two foreign ministers in December this year in Laos.

Lao Deputy FM Khamphau Ernthavan congratulated Vietnam on the success of the 30th Vietnam Diplomatic Conference, lauding the achievements of Vietnam in foreign relations over the past few years which she held had helped Vietnam raise its position and role in the region and across the world.

Earlier, on August 23rd, three seminars were held for the functional bodies of the two foreign ministries to discuss the external policies of each country, measures to improve cooperation in personnel organisation and training, as well as regional and global issues of shared concern./.Reefat Khaled, in his article published on August 23rd, highlighted the significance of the visit, saying that it will help deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries, which has been nurtured over the last 55 years.

The Al-Messa Daily newspaper praises the prospect of cooperation between Egypt and Vietnam (Source: VNA)



The visit will create a foundation for effective and practical cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt in fields like politics, economy, culture and tourism, the article said, adding this will also offer a chance for both sides enterprises to meet and seek cooperation opportunities in trade, investment and tourism.

Regarding the prospect for bilateral cooperation in the coming time, the article quoted former Egyptian Ambassador to Vietnam Reda El Taify as saying that the two countries leaders will witness the signing of cooperation agreements across various fields.

Vietnamese enterprises can invest in infrastructure projects in Egypt, while Egyptian investors can seek business opportunities in Vietnam, the article noted.

Khaled also mentioned similarities in historical and cultural values, and long-standing civilization of Vietnam and Egypt, and stressed that both nations are attractive destinations for international tourists.

Egypt hopes to welcome more and more Vietnamese visitors, the article said, expressing the hope that Vietnam will soon open a direct air route between Hanoi and Cairo.

Khaled also proposed measures to lift Vietnam-Egypt collaboration in tourism, culture, trade and investment.

The two sides should hold cultural promotion and exchange programmes, as well as trade shows and fairs in both nations to introduce their cultural identities, and products and services, the article noted./.Dubbed Enjoying Independence Day, the highlight of the programme will be a festive market on Dong Van Plateau in the northern province of Ha Giang, where people will exchange goods, meet friends, dance and sing.

A photo exhibition featuring 60 photos of the landscapes and the life of people on the karst plateau will be on show together with a pair of large 7m long flutes made by Mong people from Ha Giang province.

At the market, visitors can taste Ha Giang delicacies like thang co (horse meat soup), men men (corn cake), corn wine and dried buffalo, while enjoying traditional handicrafts like embroidery weaving, bamboo instruments, batik and folk games.

A Mong flute festival will also be held to celebrate the groups culture.

A traditional boat festival from the northern province of Phu Tho will be held to encourage a sporting spirit among the community and praise the bravery and strength of the navy in ancient times.

Various movies will be screened on site to entertain visitors, while folk music shows will also be held.

The village is located in Son Tay district, some 45km to the west of Hanoi.GLENWOOD, Ore. -- A couple was found unconscious Wednesday surrounded by needles in the Big B Tire parking lot in the Glenwood area, an employee of the store said.

Dawn Luna said she and the rest of the employees were alerted to the situation by someone who had been walking by who said the couple looked dead.

Just a passerby, who was walking, came running into the office and said, 'There's dead people out next to a car in your parking lot, Luna said.

University of Oregon Police and Eugene Springfield Fire responded to the incident. Luna said they cleaned up the needles by the couple's car and performed CPR. At the time, they said the couple would be back for their car a few hours later.

I was shocked by that, especially thinking that, truly, she looked like she was, unfortunately, dead, Luna said.

KEZI spoke to University of Oregon Police to find out why these people were able to leave the hospital without being cited. Police said they had been called to the scene to provide medical assistance, and that was the priority at hand.

We're not going to necessarily tag along and take somebody into custody in the midst of life-saving measures, said Kelly McIver, public information officer for the University of Oregon Police Department.

McIver said if the situation had been presenting danger to the public, or if there had been more evidence, they likely would have been cited.

When the couple later pulled away with their car, one more needle was left behind. Luna said she called multiple law enforcement agencies and even White Bird and Cahoots, but no one would respond to pick it up. She ended up having to dispose of it herself because she didnt want anyone else coming into contact with it by accident.

If you find yourself in a situation where you need to dispose of a needle or another sharp, check out the safe way to do it here.EUGENE, Ore. -- A woman in Eugene is asking for help to return a more than 100-year-old Christmas card she found in her neighborhood.

Carla Wheeler reached out to KEZI 9 News after she found the card, postmarked December 1907.

Wheeler said she found it in good condition wrapped in plastic on Wednesday with a Benjamin Franklin one cent postage stamp issued in 1903 on it. She said it was addressed to someone named Clarice Velkel from Pesotum, Illinois.

Wheeler said she's still surprised she found something more than 100 years old just lying on the ground.

"Realized it was probably worth some money or valuable and probably would be something that the person is related to it or linked to it would like to have back, Wheeler said. I know myself I would -- it's over 100 years old. If I had something like that given back to me, I think that would be really cool."

She said she did some research and found that the stamp could be valued at $59 or upwards to $1,000. Although the stamp could be valuable, she also admits it might just be worth a penny.

However, she believes the sentimental value of the card is still worth trying to find its owner.

If this is your missing card, or if you know who it might belong to, you can contact KEZI at our email, newsdesk@kezi.com, or reach out to Wheeler on her Facebook -- Carla Wheeler.The publication of the books is part of a long-term project on translating Russian literature into Vietnamese and vice versa, which has been jointly carried out since 2012 under the patronage of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The publications include selected plays by Leo Tolstoy; a collection of Sergey Yesenin's Poems; Ivan's Daughter, Ivan's Mother by Valentin Rasputin; and Andrey Venhediktovich Fedorov's monograph "Fundamental Theories of Translation".

Addressing the event, Director of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture, Natalia Shafinskaya, said that thanks to the translation team, Russian works are constantly being expanded, and more and more Vietnamese readers are getting access to Russian classics.

The translation of works by famous Russian authors into Vietnamese is a practical activity contributing to the flow of cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Russia and tightening the friendship between the two nations.FOREST CITY, Iowa  A Minnesota woman accused of sending hundreds of text messages to a North Iowa man is pleaded not guilty.

Katie Louise Christian, 34 of Emmons, MN, is charged with stalking. Winnebago County prosecutors say she sent 696 texts to her victim in April, as well as 10 phone calls. Christian is also accused of going to the mans home in Lake Mills on three occasions to try and contact him or his daughter.

Authorities say there was a no contact order in place at the time.

Her trial is scheduled to being on October 24.IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)  A top Republican fundraiser whose firm works for several prominent immigration hardliners is the partial owner of the land where the Mexican man accused of killing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts lived rent-free, a farm spokeswoman said Friday.

Nicole Schlinger has long been a key fundraiser and campaign contractor for GOP politicians in Iowa and beyond, including this cycle for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Virginia Senate candidate Corey Stewart.

Schlinger is the president of Campaign Headquarters, a call center that makes fundraising calls, identifies supporters and helps turn out voters for conservative candidates and groups. Her business is one of the largest in Brooklyn, the central Iowa town where Tibbetts disappeared while out for a run on July 18.

Schlinger is married to Eric Lang, the president of the family-owned dairy that has acknowledged providing employment and housing for the last four years to Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man charged with murder in Tibbetts' death.

The couple  along with her husband's brother Craig Lang and his wife  own farmland outside Brooklyn that includes trailers where some of the dairy's employees live for free as a benefit of their employment, farm spokeswoman Eileen Wixted confirmed.

She said Rivera lived there for the duration of his employment, and about half of the farm's other 10 workers do so as well. Under the arrangement, the farming company pays the couples to rent the land but workers do not have to pay, she said.

In an email Friday, Schlinger said that she was "shocked and deeply saddened" by Tibbetts' death and had never met Rivera. "The perpetrator should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, and when he meets his maker, suffer the consequences he deserves," she wrote.

She said that she was gifted an ownership interest in the land many years ago from her husband's family and that she has no role in the farming operation.

Still, the fact that one of its own operatives has indirect ties to the case could complicate GOP efforts to highlight the gruesome slaying in its political messaging ahead of the November mid-term election. Dairy co-owner Craig Lang also was a Republican candidate for Iowa agriculture secretary, finishing third in a five-way race in the June primary.

Republicans such as President Donald Trump and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called for stricter immigration laws and enforcement almost immediately after Rivera, who is suspected of being in the country illegally, was charged Tuesday. Some have blamed Democratic policies for the slaying, even though studies have disputed the notion that those in the country illegally are more likely to commit violent crime.

"Every victim below would be alive today if we enforced our immigration laws," U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa tweeted Friday, above a picture of Tibbetts and other victims. "Leftists sacrificed thousands, including their own, on the altar of Political Correctness."

Schlinger's business calls itself "the best conservative call center in America." Her biography claims she is the most prolific fundraiser in Iowa GOP history, having brought in more than $50 million for politicians and causes. She has said her business has made millions of phone calls for candidates seeking offices ranging from president to city council since its founding in 1999. Her firm's client list includes several politicians who routinely call for stricter immigration enforcement.

Federal Election Commission records show that Cruz's re-election campaign has paid CampaignHQ nearly $1.7 million since the beginning of 2017. A Cruz campaign spokeswoman didn't immediately return an email seeking comment.

Stewart, who has made stepping up deportations of immigrants in the country illegally a major campaign theme, has also employed the firm, along with the campaigns of Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina. The now-defunct Stop Sanctuary Cities PAC paid the firm $3,449 for its services in March.

In an interview Friday, Stewart said he had no problem with Schlinger's property ties to the suspect, saying her firm does a "great job" raising money.

"I hire people for their ability to do the work for my campaign," he said. "Whatever she does in her personal life is her business."

After Rivera was charged, Reynolds denounced an immigration system that "allowed a predator like this to live in our community." CampaignHQ was a top vendor for the campaigns of former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who selected Reynolds as his running mate in 2010, and has also done some work directly for Reynolds' campaigns, state records show.

Investigators say that Rivera came to the country from Mexico illegally several years ago when he was in the late teens. He is accused of stalking Tibbetts while she was out for a run a few miles from his home, killing her after she threatened to call police on him, and dumping her body in a cornfield. Preliminary autopsy results show that Tibbetts died from multiple "sharp force injuries."

Schlinger and her husband have managed to largely avoid the intense media spotlight that has followed the case. They did not speak at a press conference Wednesday when farm manager Dane Lang said Rivera presented an out-of-state identification and Social Security number with a different name when he was hired in 2014. Dane Lang said he was shocked to learn to that Rivera's allegedly not in the country legally.

But others around town, including Rivera's defense lawyer, question whether the family had to have had suspicions, if not known, about Rivera's immigration status.

"They are taking a blind eye to what's going on," said defense lawyer Allan Richards. "At some point a reasonable person would have been more diligent in determining whether or not these folks are legal."ROCHESTER, Minn.  A man arrested after five different places were searched by law enforcement is pleading not guilty.

Alex Jay Kilian, 24 of Rochester, is charged with 5th degree drug possession. He was arrested on January 30 after a five search warrants were executed as part of a drug investigation. Police say they found more than a pound of marijuana, a couple grams of cocaine, butane honey oil, a shotgun, and $13,676 in cash.

The start of Kilians trial is set for January 2, 2018.They will perform the works of Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Cesar Franck. Born in Paris and raised in the worlds cradle of music, violinist Stephane Tran Ngoc soon made a name for himself on the worlds classical music scene.

Appreciated for his compassionate, sophisticated manner of playing, he has performed in many famous concert halls in more than 30 countries.

He was one of the youngest lecturers in violin at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Lyon (France) before leaving to teach at the Lawrence Academy of Music in the US and subsequently being promoted to Head of Strings at the London College of Music in the UK.

Pianist Tran Thai Linh graduated from the National Academy of Music in Vietnam and Saint Leo University in Australia.BLOOMING PRAIRIE, Minn.  A Steele County auto accident involved people from neighboring counties.

It happened just before 4 pm Friday at the intersection of County Road 24 and Highway 30. The Minnesota State Patrol says a northbound semi driven by Cameron Douglas Marquardt, 21 of Dodge Center, did not stop and yield to Highway 30 traffic and was hit by the westbound pickup truck driven by Bernadette Rae Metzger, 55 of Geneva.

The State Patrol says Metzger suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Owatonna Hospital for treatment. Marquardt was not hurt. Both were wearing their seat belts.

Blooming Prairie police, fire, and ambulance and the Steele County Sheriffs Office assisted at the scene.Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily!

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Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low near 25F. Winds light and variable.The host leader welcomed his guests working visit to Vietnam, which is being made amid the growing strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.

Noting that Busan is well developed in various fields, especially economics and trade, he expressed his hope that the trip would considerably contribute to the citys cooperation with Vietnamese localities and businesses.

The Honorary Consul General said his delegation includes representatives of many prestigious Busan businesses, who have come to seek cooperation and investment opportunities in Vietnam. He highly valued Vietnams rapid socio-economic development under the management and direction of the Government led by PM Phuc.

Park asked his host to support the opening of a direct air route linking Vietnams central city of Nha Trang city with Busan, in order to create more chances for trade, cultural exchange and tourism partnerships between the two nations. He also called for PM Phucs support for the cooperation activities between Busan and Vietnamese localities and enterprises in the future.

At the meeting, PM Phuc said the Vietnamese Government appreciates Parks contributions to the bilateral relations, asking him to continue to help protecting the legitimate interests of Vietnamese people working, studying and living in the Busan-Gyeongnam region, especially the Vietnamese  Korean families, and encourage local universities and businesses to grant scholarships for students and recruit workers from Vietnam.

The Honorary Consul General was also asked to encourage more RoK businesses to invest in the Southeast Asian country or partner with Vietnamese firms to import high-quality agricultural products, which are a strength of Vietnam and are also in demand in the RoK.

The host leader added the Vietnamese Government and himself are always ready to assist Park to fulfil his role as Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in the Busan-Gyeongnam region.

Park pledged to persuade the major and capable businesses in the region to increase their investment in Vietnam. He also promised his utmost efforts to develop the two countries strategic cooperative partnership in all fields.At the meeting, Nhan stressed that the special friendship, nurtured and developed by leaders and people of both countries, had become a priceless shared asset that requires preservation and promotion by younger generations.

Ho Chi Minh City has always exerted efforts to organise diverse cooperation activities with the Lao side to further strengthen the friendship, including delegation exchange, experience sharing, and affiliation in economy, technology, education, and people-to-people exchanges, he noted.

Nhan also conveyed his sympathy for the losses of the Lao people in the recent natural disaster and hydropower dam collapse in Attapeu.

For his part, Bouddakham congratulated Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City on the recent socio-economic achievements, describing them as an encouragement for Laos in its national construction.

He thanked the Vietnamese side for their timely and helpful support, especially during the recent disasters in Laos.

Bouddakham said that in the future, the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association will continue increasing cooperation activities with the Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association to launch new people-to-people exchanges, contributing to preserving, reinforcing, and developing the special friendship of the two countries people.Reuters



By Shon Ga-ram



Thank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High near 50F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Evening clouds will give way to clearing overnight. Low around 30F. Winds light and variable.The Republic of Egypt is located in northern Africa and has a population of 97 million. Since May 2014, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisis administration has taken various measures to reform the Egyptian economy, helping to quickly stabilise its performance after years of turmoil following the political events of 2011.

In 2017, the Egyptian economy grew by 4.1% with GDP reaching US$332 billion and GDP per capita at US$3,750. In the first months of 2018, its economy expanded by 5.4%. Egypt has risen to become the largest economy and one of the largest recipients of foreign direct investment in Africa. Egypts main economic sectors are tourism, oil, garments, agricultural processing, chemicals and construction.

Last year, Egypts exports reached US$21.68 billion and were mainly crude oil, refined oil products, cotton, garments, steel, chemicals and processed food. Meanwhile, Egypts main imports were machinery and equipment, food, chemicals, timber products and fuels.

As a country with a geostrategic role and location in the region, connecting Asia and Africa, Egypt has made a significant contribution to the African Unions operational budget. Egypt also houses the headquarters of the Arab League and represents the Africa/Arab group for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council in the 2016-2017 term.

Egypt used to be a pioneer of the national liberation movement during the 1950s and 1960s and is a co-founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. President el-Sisi is continuing to push Egypts look east policy, aiming to expand relations with Asian countries, including Vietnam.

We are pleased to witness the ever growing fine traditional cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and Egypt. Egypt was one of the first Arab countries to forge relations with Vietnam. On September 1, 1963, the two countries formally established diplomatic ties. In the same year, Vietnam opened its embassy in Cairo and one year later Egypt opened its embassy in Hanoi.

The fine traditional friendship between the two countries has been marked by historic events, including President Ho Chi Minhs setting foot in Egypt in 1911 and 1946. In May 2017, the Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt organised a live TV programme on President Ho Chi Minh to be shown by Egypts national TV broadcaster.

Vietnam and Egypt frequently coordinate and support each other at international forums. Egypt endorsed Vietnams nomination to the UN Security Council (2020-2021), the UN Human Rights Council (2014-2016) and the UN Economic and Social Council (2016-2018). Meanwhile Vietnam also endorsed Egypts nomination to the UN Security Council (2016-2017), the UN Human Rights Council (2017-2019) and the UN Economic and Social Council (2016-2018).

The fine relationship between the two countries is also marked by mutual visits of high-ranking leaders. Vietnam and Egypt have signed many cooperative agreements in such fields as diplomacy, trade, transport, agriculture and culture.

As Vietnams fifth largest trading partner in Africa, Egypts imports from Vietnam include seafood, car parts, fabric, black pepper, coffee, rubber, consumer goods, oil products and milk. The value of bilateral trade reached US$350 million in 2017. Egypt is the first north African country to recognise Vietnam as a full market economy.

President Tran Dai Quangs state visit to Egypt aims to promote cooperation in many fields, especially economic and trade cooperation, opening up the prospect for cooperation between Vietnam and Egypt as well as business opportunities for Vietnamese companies in Africa.

The visit is expected to help lift the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries to new heights, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the world.It is common for companies to organize various informal events where workers can come with their partners. One of those...During the visit, President Quang on August 23 held talks with President Mulatu Teshome who later hosted a state banquet in honor of the guest. President Quang also had separate meetings with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Speaker of the House of Federation Keria Ibrahim, and visited the headquarters of the African Union (AU) and met with AU Acting President Amira Elfadil Mohammed Elfadil.



In the meeting with PM Abiy Ahmed, President Quang spoke highly of Ethiopians efforts in maintaining a stable political environment and the highest economic growth in Africa. The PM congratulated Vietnam on the countrys important achievements in socio-economic development and in foreign relations, and expressed his wish for strengthened cooperation with Vietnam in various fields.



In their talks, the two Presidents exchanged ideas on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual concern. The host leader stressed that the first visit by the Vietnamese President created a landmark and brought bilateral relations forwards by an important step.



In the economic field, the two leaders agreed on the need to continue pushing the bilateral cooperation, as the two countries are enjoying great potential in developing economy and trade. The Ethiopian sides welcomed Vietnamese enterprises to invest in various fields, and the two sides agreed to implement the deal on aviation service and to open direct flights between the two countries at an early date.



The two leaders witnessed the signing of various cooperation agreements, and agreed to continue discussions so as to proceed to the signing of many others. The two sides highly valued the traditional bilateral relations of cooperation and friendship, and affirmed the need to intensify the political trust between the two countries.



Both leaders spoke highly of the other countrys role and position in regional and international organizations to which they are members such as the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Ethiopian side took note that Vietnam is the only candidate of Asia  Pacific to become a non-permanent member of the Security Council of the UN for the 2020-2021 tenure. President Quang expressed support for Ethiopia to join the World Trade Organization.



The two sides affirmed their readiness to strengthen cooperation in many fields as well as joint efforts for progress and prosperity in Asia  Pacific and Africa. President Quang highly valued the role by Ethiopia in peacekeeping missions of the UN, while President Mulatu Teshome expressed readiness to cooperate and share with Vietnam experiences in this field.



The two leaders held that peace and stability are essential needs for the goal of development and the building of a prosperous life for the mankind. The two sides called on the international community to join hands to settle armed conflicts by peaceful means. President Quang welcomed the signing of a peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The two sides affirmed the importance of strengthening international cooperation against terrorism, a common threat to peace-loving nations.



President Quang invited President Mulatu Teshome and PM Abiy Ahmed to visit Vietnam at an early date, and the invitation was accepted.The bloody clashes between Israeli soldiers and the Palestinians over the past few months are threatening to cause a serious human tragedy in the Gaza Strip. At least 170 Palestinians have died, while the humanitarian situation in Palestines coastal land is seriously deteriorating. The United Nations (UN) reported that the budget used to pay for fuel bills in service of hospitals, watering plants and essential infrastructure in Gaza will soon be exhausted. Meanwhile, there is a severe shortage of medicinal supplies for disease treatment after 40% of the medicine reserves have been consumed. The Gaza Strip has been sandwiched by the blockade policy which continues to be implemented by Israel in response to the rocket attacks by Gaza into the Jewish state. Israel has even closed the road between the country and Gaza.

Amid the escalating violence in Gaza, the other occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank are also under huge pressure, as Israel has passed a series of plans to construct more Jewish settlements. Despite the expansion of settlements being one of the major obstacles to the negotiations with Palestine, the Israeli government recently approved permits for the building of an additional 1,004 houses for Jews in the West Bank. Approximately 3,800 settlement houses have been approved by the Israeli government and are scheduled to be constructed in 2018. An estimated 500,000 Israeli people are living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the occupied Palestinian territory, which is home to approximately 2.6 million Palestinians. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned the Israeli governments approval of the project to build new settlements, stating that Israels plan reflects the deal of the century proposed by US President Trump.

The relations between the US and Palestine plummeted after President Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the city. Meanwhile, the future State of Palestine with its capital as East Jerusalem is immutable to the Palestinians and they have had to sacrifice blood and bone in their long-standing struggle for the ownership of the land. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned Israels policies, stating that Tel Aviv has violated all of the signed agreements, from the Oslo peace accords signed with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1993 to the Protocol on Economic Relations, also called the Paris Protocol, in 1994. The Palestinian leader has consistently affirmed his rejection of the US-backed peace agreement aiming to resolve the Israeli conflict with Palestine. The PLO strongly opposed the deal of the century promoted by the US President, which proposed removing the Jerusalem issue from peace talks in the Middle East. Palestine said this reflected the USs bias for Israel and the illusion of the Washington administration. President Abbas affirmed that US President Trump would not be able to remove Jerusalem from the hearts of the Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims.

Following the decisions of US President Trump related to Jerusalem, Palestine has denied the USs mediating role in the Middle East peace process. The construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is one of the thorny issues that hinders the efforts to restart the Israel-Palestine peace talks which have stagnated since 2014. Therefore, while the violence in the Gaza Strip has not yet subsided, Israels policies on the expansion of settlements, as well as the continued blockade of Palestines territories, are seen as an act of adding fuel to fire, pushing the Middle East peace process into a deadlock.Freely accessible local news is vital. Please power our reporters and help keep us independent with a donation today.

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Not so fast.

That's the message from three San Fernando Valley politicians pushing back on FAA plans to change departure flight paths out of Hollywood Burbank Airport. They're concerned the new flight paths will increase aircraft noise in their districts.

The proposed changes will send planes south over the Santa Monica Mountains along two new flight paths that could affect Studio City and Sherman Oaks.

City Attorney Mike Feuer, City Councilman Paul Krekorian and Rep. Brad Sherman each wrote the FAA this week asking for a more extensive environmental study on the changed flight paths. They also said they want a more transparent and inclusive public review process.

The FAA says the two routes follow "historic flight tracks" used by pilots flying out of Burbank and do not constitute a significant change.

Feuer's letter paints a different picture. He says the new routes "would shift the flight tracks south over new areas in the Santa Monica Mountains" and that "the rising terrain of the mountains will put residents, parks, schools, historic resource sand other land uses closer to the departing aircraft."

And he also said any sound would be amplified by the geography, saying canyons within the Santa Monica Mountains "concentrate and reflect" the noise of aircraft. He said that would result in more noise for hillside and canyon residents than would be experienced by people living on the San Fernando Valley floor.

Some of the parks that might be subject to more noise are Beverly Glen, Coldwater Canyon, Deervale-Stone Canyon, Dixie Canyon, Fossil Ridge, Franklin Canyon, Fryman Canyon, Longridge and Wilacre. Also affected would be Briar Summit Open Space Reserve, and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Open Space along Mulholland Highway.

Sherman Oaks used to get more noise from Burbank Airport, however, changes in recent years have reduced the noise footprint, according to airport reports. People who live in Sherman Oaks have been contacting the office of Rep. Brad Sherman with concerns that aircraft noise could increase under the updated flight paths.

Sherman, following a conversation Tuesday with an FAA representative about the new routes, wrote a letter to FAA Acting Administrator Dan Elwell.

The two new routes are meant to better separate planes that are flying out of Burbank from planes arriving at a second runway. The change is also meant to help Burbank departing planes avoid those coming into LAX from the south, the FAA said in a statement earlier this week.

Twenty-one Southern California airports, including Burbank, now use more precise satellite-guided flight paths under a new FAA program that was completed this year.

A spokesman said the FAA would consider all input as they reviewed the route changes.

The airport has asked the FAA to move the turning points for the departing aircraft away from the Santa Monica Mountains, instead positioning them over a segment of the 101 freeway, to reduce potential noise over Sherman Oaks and Studio City.

UPDATES:

3:44 p.m.: This article updated with the airport's request and embeds to the letters written by the lawmakers.

This article originally published at 3:06 p.m.

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.China-Africa relations have set a model for the solidarity and cooperation between China and developing countries, as well as the best example for South-South cooperation, diplomats, experts and scholars told Peoples Daily ahead of the upcoming 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The summit to be held in Beijing from September 3 to 4 will provide new opportunities for China and Africa to align each others development strategies and build a closer community of common destiny, they added.

Placing high importance on the development of relations with African countries, China will always stand together with Africa and other developing countries, and will be a sincere friend and reliable partner of Africa forever, no matter how the international landscape changes, and no matter how much progress China has made in development, China pledged previously.

The principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests and the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 for China's relations with Africa were welcomed by the latter, said Xu Jinghu, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on African Affairs.

The concepts serve as the guiding philosophy for China in its endeavors to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with developing countries, expressed Xu, adding that China-Africa relations have become a role model for cooperation between China and developing countries, as well as South-South cooperation.

During the past 18 years since the establishment of the FOCAC, the mechanism has constantly progressed to deeper levels and broader directions, said He Yafei, former Vice Foreign Minister of China.

He, also a senior researcher with Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies under Renmin University of China, pointed out that the FOCAC has become an important platform for collective dialogue and pragmatic cooperation between China and African countries.

In addition to economic and trade cooperation, the Beijing Summit will see deepening and expanding China-Africa cultural and people-to-people exchanges, said He, adding that the Summit will inject more vitality into bilateral friendship.

Under the framework of the FOCAC, China and African countries have established many sub-forums covering a variety of aspects including industry, agriculture, law, education, culture, and art, according to Liu Guijin, former Special Representative of the Chinese Government for African Affairs, former Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, and former Chinese Ambassador to South Africa.

The sub-forums of the FOCAC have continuously pushed China-Africa relations to new heights, Liu said, adding that the forum has brought benefits to both China and Africa.

The FOCAC has witnessed a process of mutual consultation, joint construction, and benefit sharing between China and Africa. The proposal to hold the Forum was first put forward by African countries, and China has been consulting with African countries for their opinions when it was to hold the events, said Liu.

According to Zhou Yuxiao, China's Ambassador for Affairs of the FOCAC, new policies will be introduced at the Beijing Summit to effectively align the Belt and Road Initiative with the African Union Agenda 2063, so as to promote the deep integration of the Chinese dream and the African dream, thus building a closer China-Africa community of common destiny.

The construction of the Belt and Road has provided a broader platform for China-Africa cooperation, said Zhou, indicating that China and Africa have laid a foundation for cooperation in achieving infrastructure and financial connectivity, and the upcoming summit will attract more countries to join the construction of the Belt and Road.

Calling the construction of Belt and Road and the FOCAC as two legs and engines of China-Africa cooperation, Zhou said that China-Africa cooperation will walk faster in a steady manner with the legs, and will fly higher and further thanks to the engines.

African countries are now committed to pushing forward industrialization and modernization, Zhou pointed out, saying that the Beijing Summit will formulate priority areas and key directions for China-Africa cooperation with special considerations given to meet the needs of Africas economic transformation and upgrading.

The policies to be worked out at the Beijing Summit will help Africa nurture its capacity for independent development, thus accelerating its marches towards industrialization and modernization, said Zhou.

He believes that with the concerted efforts, the Beijing Summit of the FOCAC will become a milestone event in the history of China-Africa relations.Welcome readers! Im L.A. Times books editor Carolyn Kellogg with this weeks newsletter.

THE BIG STORY

Its not easy starting a publishing house; its even harder if you try to do it outside typical distribution channels, including Amazon. But thats what J.C. Gabel has done with his L.A.-based Hat & Beard Press. Its aesthetics are eclectic: the four books that have sold best to date are a collection of hand-painted dance hall signs from Jamaica; cactus photography; a book on the music of David Lynchs films done in collaboration with the filmmaker; and a revival of the L.A. punk magazine Slash. Scott Timberg talks to the irrepressible Gabel about the roots of his vision and plans for the future.

J.C. Gabel with some of Hat & Beards bestselling books. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

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HALLOWEEN IN AUGUST

Weve got two stories about horror fiction this week. The first is a feature on Paul Tremblay, one of the new stars of horror. His most recent book, The Cabin at the End of the World (theres a double meaning: its in the middle of nowhere, but the apocalypse may have come) has been popping up on bestseller lists since its publication in June. The road wasnt easy, Tremblay tells Gabino Iglesias.

Paul Tremblay (Michael Lajoie)

Being laid off inspired Ling Mas debut novel, Severance, an unusual hybrid of post-apocalyptic zombie tale and office satire. I was kind of angry, she tells Michael Schaub in our interview, but I also felt extremely liberated and extremely gleeful at the same time.

Ling Ma (Anjali Pinto)

BESTSELLERS

Anne Tyler is in her fifth week our fiction bestseller list with Clock Dance, placing at No. 8. Also in its fifth week on the list and holding tight at No. 1 in fiction is Ottessa Moshfeghs My Year of Rest and Relaxation.

Now in its 11th week on the list, Calypso by David Sedaris remains the No. 1 bestseller in nonfiction. Entering the list for the first time is Everything Trump Touches Dies by Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist and lifelong conservative, at No. 4.

You can find all the books on our bestseller lists here.

Anne Tyler in 2007. Her new novel is Clock Dance. (Diana Walker / AP)

MORE IN BOOKS

If you are reading this Saturday morning, youve still got time to head to the Leimert Park Village Book Fair, which kicks off at 10 a.m. with a gospel tribute to Aretha Franklin and is headlined by author Eric Jerome Dickey. More info.

Was it really just months ago that Michael Cohen was shopping a book favorable to the president titled Trump Revolution to publishers? Indeed it was.

Poet Diane Seuss last book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Victoria Chang reviews her latest  Still Life With Two Dead Peacocks and a Girl  and finds that Seuss is writing some of the most animated and complex poetry today. Our review.

Author N.K. Jemisin made history last weekend winning her third Hugo for best novel. Our news.

There is no one better than Diana Athill to comment on the life and work of V.S. Naipaul. Athill, now 100 going on 101, was Naipauls publisher, editor and friend  for a while. She writes about the difficult Nobel prizewinning author, who died earlier this month, in the Guardian.

V.S. Naipaul in 2001 after learning he had won the Nobel Prize. Diana Athill writes of him, You dont have to be a good person to be a good writer. (Chris Ison / AP)

Thanks for reading!

carolyn.kellogg@latimes.com

@paperhausThe pink tax is real: Many products aimed at women cost more than the versions men are supposed to buy  and women might also be paying more for gender-neutral things such as mortgages, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.

The report found that, in five cases out of 10, a personal care product marketed to women, such as a deodorant, cost significantly more than a similar version marketed to men. It found only two product categories  shaving gels and non-disposable razors  that were more expensive for men.

There is also some evidence that women pay more than men for mortgages, car purchases and auto repairs and that women have less access to small-business credit, the report found.

In many cases, it said, price gaps are intertwined with other market factors that make consumer protection agencies task of conclusively identifying gender discrimination almost impossible.

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For example, the GAO was able to determine that gender was a significant factor contributing to price differences between toiletries aimed at the genders, but it could not conclude to what extent the differences in price were due to gender bias rather than, say, advertising costs or packaging choices. Another complicating factor is that a company might base part of its pricing strategy on knowledge that one gender is willing to pay more than another for certain items or features, the report said.

Meanwhile, U.S. women still make less money than men. Last year, women earned 82% of what men earned, according to the Pew Research Center.

No federal law prohibits companies from charging different prices for products that are identical or very similar but are marketed to the genders. Only one U.S. municipality, Miami-Dade County, has banned this practice.

California enacted a similar restriction in 1995, but it applies only to the pricing of services. New York City followed in 1998.

In 2016, California state Sen. Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) introduced a bill that would extend the states rule to apply to the pricing of goods, but the bill faced strong opposition from retailers and manufacturers that argued its conditions were ambiguous and would open the way to a wave of frivolous lawsuits. Eventually Hueso withdrew it from consideration.

It was doomed, said Michael T. Cone, a trade lawyer who campaigns against gender-based pricing, said of Huesos bill. There are too many players involved, and often were dealing with international supply chains.

Cone said manufacturers often set pricing, leaving importers and retailers little latitude to make changes. Retailers dont have to adhere to manufacturers suggested prices, but as the Federal Trade Commission notes, manufacturers can choose not to use distributors that dont comply.

To look at gender price gaps for gender-neutral goods and services  specifically mortgages, cars, car repairs and small-business credit  the GAO examined academic studies. It cautioned that the studies had limitations and that their findings could not necessarily be generalized, however.

Some studies showed that women paid higher mortgage rates, but the GAO said it couldnt conclude that the gender disparity was unfair. The report said that the women had weaker credit characteristics such as lower income, and that once controlled for credit characteristics and other factors, three studies findings were not statistically significant. It also noted studies that suggested that African American women were more likely to have subprime loans and that women paid higher mortgage rates than men in relation to their risk of defaulting.

In the realm of small-business loans, studies found that women were rejected more than men when applying, were given smaller loans and were less likely to apply for loans in the first place for fear of being rejected, the GAO report says.

Other studies found that women were quoted higher prices than men when buying a car or having their car fixed, it said.

The GAO report, released Thursday, was commissioned in 2016 by U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), following an earlier study that showed how price disparities for similar products can add up to thousands of dollars over the course of a womans lifetime.

This targeted, thoroughly researched study from the GAO shows that in ways both large and small, women are disadvantaged in a variety of markets, Maloney said Friday, urging that the U.S. should add an amendment to the Constitution that would ensure equal rights for men and women.

aurora.percannella@latimes.com

@auropercannellaThe acquisition of Virgin America by Alaska Airlines is leading to changes for passengers who like to down a few cocktails before a flight.

Before Alaska Airlines parent company acquired Virgin America in 2016, first-class passengers on Virgin America were able to order cocktails before takeoff. Alaska Airlines continued to offer the pre-flight drinks on the 71 Airbus planes formerly operated by Virgin America.

With the merger nearly complete, Alaska Airlines put an end to that service Aug. 1.

As part of this move to streamline the customer experience, we will no longer be offering full-bar service prior to departure on Airbus planes, said Alaska spokeswoman Bobbie Egan.

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But there is good news for fliers who like to imbibe before a flight.

Starting Nov. 1, first-class passengers flying before 10 a.m. on all Alaska Airlines flights will be offered nonalcoholic pre-takeoff drinks, including bottled water and coffee.

On all flights departing after 10 a.m., Alaska Airlines fliers will be offered pre-takeoff drinks that include sparkling wine (but no cocktails).

Then, as now, the bar is open once the plane lifts off.

Our focus is on delivering a consistent experience to guests, Egan said.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.The trade war between the United States and China is about to get uglier. After a long, hot summer spent weighing risks and firing warning shots, the hawks in President Trumps administration have gained the upper hand  and theyre set to unleash a fall offensive.

Talks in Washington this week yielded little visible progress toward a cease-fire between the worlds two largest economies. Looming instead are new tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose on some $200 billion in annual imports from China, and Beijings already-promised retaliation.

Were facing an escalating trade war over the next few months, says David Dollar of the Brookings Institution, who served as the U.S. Treasurys top man in China in the Obama administration.

Even before the latest talks broke up, the signals werent hard to read. Earlier this year, the president publicly overruled Steven T. Mnuchin and ripped up a deal the Treasury secretary had struck with Liu He, his Chinese counterpart.

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In the last week, while the two sides were talking, the United States went ahead with tariffs on a further $16 billion in Chinese imports. Retaliation by Beijing will bring the amount of trade affected by the dispute to $100 billion, with more to come.

Trump also celebrated new restrictions on inbound investment from China this week.

Not enough focus has been put on China. And thats been for a long time, the president told legislators gathered at the White House on Thursday to mark the passage of a law giving yet more powers to the already powerful Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which can block acquisitions on national security grounds.

And on Friday, Trumps officials were huddled in Washington with counterparts from Europe and Japan, discussing how to push China into changing course.

It all adds up to what many analysts see as a victory for the presidents China hawks, in the debate over how to tackle the first major strategic rival that the United States has faced since the end of the Cold War.

Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, says the hawks victory is reflected in the way U.S. demands have evolved in recent weeks.

When Mnuchin and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross led missions to Beijing earlier this year, one key priority was securing increased purchases of American soybeans, liquid natural gas and other commodities, to reduce a bilateral trade deficit thats been a persistent obsession for Trump.

A few months on, the administrations goals are more maximal. Its demanding the kind of long-term structural changes to Chinese policy  such as ending industrial subsidies and intellectual-property theft  that hawks including Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, and White House trade advisor Peter Navarro have been pushing for.

That doesnt mean that internal trade battles at the White House are over. The hawks are eyeing an even more ambitious agenda, says Kennedy: A long-term disentanglement of the two economies, with the goal of bringing supply chains back from Asia to the United States.

Chad Bown, a trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says the administrations end-game remains unclear. At home, theres growing unrest in the business community and among consumers. In hearings this week, a procession of small and medium-sized companies complained about the forthcoming tranche of tariffs, which will hit some 6,000 products, including seafood and bicycles.

Bown has seen firsthand how the dispute has arrived in American homes. Tariffs are about to make his mothers quilting supplies more expensive  and theres a big community of quilters out there like my mom.

More and more Americans are going to feel this, he says. We havent gone through a moment like this before. Politically, Im not sure how it ends.In the early 1970s, a decade into shooting conflicts around the world, Don McCullin said in the exhibition catalog "The Concerned Photographer 2": "I haven't got very much longer to go at being a war photographer. I mean the chips are down already."

And yet a few years ago, at 80, McCullin could be found in Iraq, camera in hand.

McCullin is a giant in the field of war reportage, though you'd barely know it from his show at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in Los Angeles. Billed as the London-born, Somerset-based photojournalist's first gallery exhibition in the U.S., it's more missed opportunity than proper introduction. At just under 30 pictures, it presents a thin slice  more frosting than cake  of a broad and deep career chronicling military, political, social and economic strife.

"Homeless Man, East London, 1971" by Don McCullin, platinum print. Don McCullin / Hauser & Wirth

McCullin navigates the prickly moral terrain of capturing murder, vulnerability and duress with empathy that proves indistinguishable from bravery. His 1971 portrait of a homeless man collapses the distance between us and the unsettling other, in the name of humanizing both. The skin of the subject's tightly framed face is as gray as if it were inked, and his hair is a turbulent sea of stiff tufts. In his eyes  in the clarity of the man's direct gaze  we experience true equivalence.

The show is altogether easy to miss in its two modest spaces within the Hauser & Wirth compound. It includes more of McCullin's war memorabilia (boots, helmet, rations) than his photographs from the conflict zones he entered: Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Biafra (Nigeria), El Salvador, Congo, Northern Ireland. He has expressed dismay at being known as a war photographer  perhaps a better label would be antiwar photographer  but his strongest, most distinctive work has been as witness to the malignancies of human behavior.

"Shell Shocked US Marine, 1968," by Don McCullin, printed in 2018. Gelatin silver print, image 53.2 centimeters by 35.8 centimeters. Don McCullin / Hauser & Wirth

"The Roman Temple of Bel, The Syrian Desert, Palmyra, Syria, 2006," by Don McCullin, printed 2015. Platinum print, image 36 centimeters by 53.9 centimeters. Don McCullin / Hauser & Wirth

A U.S. Marine in Vietnam in a 1968 photograph presents as both individual and icon. McCullin studies, with tenderness, his slightly upturned stare, dulled and diffused by shell shock. In a striking 2006 view of the Roman Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria, the majestic structures appear to rise from a dark void  an augury of their return to nothingness a decade later, demolished by ISIS.

McCullin has also made rich, brooding landscapes and meticulous, musical still-lifes. Both are represented here, as are numerous, handsome observations of everyday life and cultural rituals in Indonesia, India, Ethiopia and beyond. A recently published, three-volume retrospective of McCullin's work is titled "Irreconcilable Truths." For nearly 60 years, that is what he has pursued  with an incisive eye, a reflective mind, and a restless, haunted soul.

Hauser & Wirth, 901 E. 3rd St., L.A. Through Sept. 23; closed Sundays and Mondays. (213) 943-1620, hauserwirth.com

"Glencoe, 1992" by Don McCullin, printed 2016. Platinum print, image 38.5 centimeters by 53 centimeters. Don McCullin / Hauser & Wirth

See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts.If you live in Los Angeles, change is a guaranteed part of the bargain. The Lakers rise and the Dodgers fall. Neighborhoods gentrify. World cuisines marry and food trucks spawn. Businesses flourish and disappear. People move here from places near and far, bringing fresh energy and presenting new challenges.

But if you had to sum it all up, would you say Los Angeles is getting better or worse?

Depends on whom you ask, how they live, what they expect and the city they remember.

L.A. is getting better, said Jeff Hyland, a Beverly Hills real estate agent who grew up in Westwood and has watched Los Angeles become a world-class metropolis.

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Hyland once showed me a $35-million house the buyer intended to bulldoze and rebuild.

When everyone wants to live here, he said, it makes for a great real estate economy that trickles down to everyone who can still afford to own a house.

Christmas decorations adorn Hollywood in the 1950s. (Los Angeles Times)

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, author, political commentator and longtime South Crenshaw area resident, just bought a house. But its in Sedona, Ariz., and he looks forward to the day when he can leave Los Angeles after half a century here.

Ive seen many changes, and Im  not going to give you a glass half-full, glass half-empty routine, said Hutchinson, who ripped off a litany of complaints about housing, transportation, civil rights regression, a deteriorating physical environment, segregation by income and race, the overall quality of life and the state of political leadership. I think the glass is empty.

So whose take is right, Jeff Hylands or Earl Ofari Hutchinsons?

Theyre both right.

Los Angeles, mocked for decades as a shallow, crime-ridden nightmare of a smog-choked, racially polarized city, is now a capital of commerce and high-energy cultural diversity. Its a destination for the snobs who wrote it off, a food invention laboratory, a political outlier, a window on the future. And while it may not know what it wants to be, the uncertainty is part of the appeal. Entire neighborhoods have risen from the dead. Avenues once avoided are now thriving. Reinvention is currency.

And yet for all the prosperity and unbridled commerce, L.A.s savage inequality is a crippling travesty, with tent cities as commonplace as million-dollar homes. You can emerge from a restaurant that serves $80 steaks, wade through the human catastrophe of sprawling homelessness, drive home to gated glory in Tesla luxury, but get stuck in traffic so bad youd be better off traveling by donkey.

I began fixating on these contradictions after reading a story about whether the world is getting better or worse  a story that concluded that things dont get better without complaints about whats wrong. So feel free to send me your gripes and your fixes. And when I refer to Los Angeles, I mean the intersecting, overlapping metropolis strung together by a web of highways and framed by mountain, basin and sea, not just the city itself.

A driver fights the smog in 1970s Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times)

Is your quality of life better than it was 10, 20 or 50 years ago? Do you send your kids to neighborhood schools or have you lost faith in them? Do you feel safer? Is money in politics more corrosive than ever? Is population growth a sign of prosperity or reason to lock the gates and pull up the ladders?

Don Schultz, an 81-year-old Van Nuys resident, said he and his wife, Prudy, used to drive to Santa Monica on boiling-hot San Fernando Valley days. Traffic was light, parking was easy and a walk on the beach was pure air-conditioned pleasure.

Now we cant drive six blocks without going bumper to bumper, no matter what direction were going in, Schultz said.

This is all true. But lets not forget that in the middle of the last century, the National Guard rushed in to quell race riots and people wore masks because the smog was so wretched. Forty years ago, Santa Monica Bay was a sewage treatment plant. Weve come a long way since then.

On the other hand, if not for the spirit-sapping beast of ever-worsening traffic, Id have a full head of hair. I wrote a column 11 years ago about empty seats at Disney Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Dodger Stadium  the result of Westside season ticket holders beaten down by the trek east.

It seems to only get worse. I have a son in Santa Monica and good friends on the Westside, and as long as Im living near the Arroyo Parkway, there is no way to see them unless we meet at midnight, we buy a helicopter or Elon Musk stops yapping and actually builds a few tunnels.

Weve laid down more train tracks in recent years, but it hasnt helped. And many of us now live in shrinking orbits, fully aware that promises of traffic fixes are not to be trusted, and the only way to ease our burden is to move to Topeka.

Housing is cheaper there too. Its cheaper everywhere, thanks to a simple equation in California  weve added way more people than new housing. Factor in the demise of mid-wage jobs in manufacturing and aerospace, among other industries, and Los Angeles has an economy that does not pay the rent. That is one reason, among many, that we are the homeless capital of the nation.

Smoke fills the sky from fires burning during the 1992 L.A. riots. (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles is getting worse, said celebrated author and former poet laureate Luis Rodriguez. Its becoming a city for the rich, with 58 billionaires and some 58,000 people living on the street.

L.A.s getting better, Rodriguez continued, in that its still vibrantly diverse.

Local native Apryl Boyle, whos with Heal the Bay, picked up on that theme.

I absolutely LOVE my hometown, she said in an email. Ive watched so many iterations of its identity.  Whenever I meet someone from another state, country, or continent I can relate to them because Ive likely already encountered someone from their corner of the planet. Here in Los Angeles you can visit so many places  just by taking a short bus ride. Little Tokyo, Chinatown, K-Town, Olvera Street, Little Armenia, Little Ethiopia  the list goes on. Los Angeles just keeps getting better.

For some people, sure. But not for everyone.

Cynthia Strathmann of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy said once-blighted neighborhoods may be thriving, but the cost is eviction, dislocation, displacement.

In some ways, what we see is the physical manifestation of wealth inequality, Strathmann said. Were going to end up with beautiful cities, but itll be like the Hunger Games  with outlying areas of impoverished exurbs and suburbs, as we move all the poor people out to the Inland Empire or up to Palmdale, where there are no services and no political capital.

Money, as they say, cant buy happiness. But it makes for a nice down payment.

Those who earn much above the average income feel much better about L.A. than those who earn a barely livable wage or less, said Zev Yaroslavsky, who runs UCLAs Quality of Life Index. Where this shows up in sharp relief is in the category of housing costs.

The city has plenty of dining options at night. (Los Angeles Times)

Countywide, on a scale of 10-100 points, residents rated their quality of life at 56, slightly down from two years ago. On the question of housing, Yaroslavsky said, those ages 18 to 29 rated their quality of life at 38, and those ages 30 to 39 gave an average score of 36.

Income is the key that opens doors to climbing the ladder of opportunity, Yaroslavsky said. If you cant make ends meet, you feel that opportunity is out of reach, hope becomes a fantasy, and that can easily turn to despair.

In Los Angeles, you can make it career-wise and still not be where you want to be. David Song is in his 30s, hes a college professor married to an architectural designer, but with two young children, they cant afford to buy in Koreatown.

The neighborhood is great, but Im a renter, said Song, who figures hed have to move far from the city core to find a nice affordable home. But then hed miss the advantages of city life, including proximity to transit lines, and hed have one of those wretched commutes that convinces you theres no doubt about it: Things are getting worse.

The view of L.A. has changed over the years. (Time magazine)

I dont see a narrative of progress, but Los Angeles has always been a place of contradictions, said Song, who would not miss everything about Koreatown if his family ends up moving. I now walk through the neighborhood with two kids, and I see dog [poop] in bags on a refrigerator thats been thrown out on a curb.

City life is messy, especially in a place of mythical appeal, a place that draws masses of people who unpack their energy and problems upon arrival.

Los Angeles is a singular, inspired mess, paradise lost and found, prone to natural catastrophe and too chaotic and leaderless to be neatly assessed as getting better or worse. Its always doing some of both, and like any work in progress, its in greater need of critics than defenders.

It could benefit from a discussion of what works, what doesnt and what has not yet been imagined.

Send me your thoughts.

Get more of Steve Lopezs work and follow him on Twitter @LATstevelopezOn the fourth day of its second school year, an Eagle Rock charter school closed its doors this week, leaving parents and students disappointed, angry and tearful  and bucking the usual narrative of ceaseless charter growth.

PUC iPrep Charter Academy had dual-language programs in English and either Spanish or Mandarin  the sort of offerings that are usually popular. But it was in an area with too many good school options, and it enrolled too few students.

It may or may not have been a factor that the school was part of Partnerships to Uplift Communities, the group of charter schools co-founded by Ref Rodriguez, who resigned from the Los Angeles Board of Education in July after pleading guilty to criminal charges related to his campaign for office.

The school aimed to enroll 275 students this year, although the organization told parents it would try to make things work with 200. But by Wednesday, it had only 114 students  and PUCs board voted to shut it down.

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The last thing we wanted to do was disappoint the families who had chosen this school, but we cant run the school without a certain number of students, said Naush Boghossian, the school groups spokeswoman. It would have been impossible to continue to enlist high-quality staff and provide the kinds of programs that the kids and their families deserve.

Parents arrive Thursday morning at PUC iPrep Charter Academy to find the school suddenly closed due to low enrollment. (KTLA)

The PUC school  which served students in kindergarten through second grade and in grades 6-8  is the second charter to close in Eagle Rock in the last several months. That other school also was in a school network that got some bad publicity, which may have affected recruitment efforts. Then again, the neighborhood has become saturated with public schools, and the other school also cited low enrollment.

There is no limit on how many independent charter schools can open for business. And theres no question that their rapid growth has contributed mightily to steady enrollment decline in Los Angeles Unified, exacerbating financial problems in the nations second-largest school system. But other demographic changes also are shrinking enrollment and some charters, too, have felt the pinch.

In Eagle Rock, charters face stiff competition from traditional schools. Nearby campuses operated by Los Angeles Unified are doing well. Some also have loyal followings or have upped their appeal by developing new programs.

Benjamin Feinberg, a math teacher at Burbank Middle School, keeps track of how local schools are doing on his blog, School Data Nerd. As charters increase, he said, inevitably they will begin taking enrollment from each other, not just from traditional schools  I dont think that the approval of these charter schools was really thought through in terms of enrollment of the entire Northeast Los Angeles region.

He noted that several elementary schools and all four nearby L.A. Unified middle schools, including his own, now have magnet programs, established to attract and retain students.

The situation, of course, varies by neighborhood.

PUC iPrep Charter Academy, located in what once was a clothing store, is quiet one day after it closed. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Ruben Alonzo wanted to open his brand-new Excelencia Charter Academy in East Los Angeles, where he felt there would be enough students. He said he had non-binding commitments from about 185 families. But then L.A. Unified offered space in nearby Boyle Heights, which he accepted because finding classroom space can be difficult.

Boyle Heights, however, has a deeper saturation of schools, he said. That factor and the sudden change to his recruiting area has made things tough. He had 68 students when his school opened this month, but remains optimistic about building quickly from there.

PUC iPrep ended up in Eagle Rock because it had an opportunity to sublease from another charter, Renaissance Arts Academy, which was moving to a new, larger space. At the time, iPreps opening already was a year behind schedule.

Although iPrep appeared to be doing well academically, the PUC board decided to shut it down right away rather than risk leaving families stranded later in the school year.

Not enough parents in the community wanted it, Boghossian said. The demand wasnt there despite efforts to make sure families knew about the school and its unique language focus.

Some parents didnt get the message the school sent out, and clearly were angry or confused when they arrived Thursday morning to find it shut down. School officials said Friday that all parents have been assisted in finding places elsewhere, including among the other 15 PUC schools.

Jesus Rojas enrolled his son Gabriel at another PUC school but said of iPrep, I really fell in love with this school.

PUC said overall enrollment across its schools has increased every year, from 4,208 in 2013-14 to 5,316 in 2017-18.

The last year has been challenging for PUC Schools. First, came news that Rodriguez faced political money laundering charges related to his 2015 school board campaign. He eventually pleaded guilty to illegally reimbursing donations made by friends and relatives, many of whom worked for PUC.

Still to be resolved are unrelated alleged conflict-of-interest allegations that PUC filed against Rodriguez last year, involving payments Rodriguez authorized from school accounts when he was a PUC executive. Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing.

PUC, which has seven charters up for renewal this year, has tried to distance itself from Rodriguezs problems, although a school district investigation into PUCs role, if any, appears to remain open.

The other charter to close recently in Eagle Rock was Celerity Rolas. It was operated by Celerity Educational Group, which was under criminal investigation.

howard.blume@latimes.com

Twitter: @howardblumeAuthorities say a 16-year-old boy was killed and an 18-year-old critically wounded when a gun battle broke out near a Northern California high school on Friday.

Two people were arrested following the shooting near Fairfields Armijo High School. Police said they are not seeking any other suspects.

Officers say the shooting took place during what they described as a battle between two groups. As officers arrived, the two suspects fled, with police saying one of them ran to the high school gym.

Officers quickly arrested the suspect and locked down the school.

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No one on campus was hurt.

Authorities arranged a nearby meeting place for parents to pick up their children while authorities continued to investigate.The upcoming 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will aim to take the time-honored friendship between China and Africa to a higher level, chart the course for developing future relations, and promote economic and trade cooperation, a senior Chinese official said when elaborating on the five goals of the summit.

The summit also expects to facilitate a coordinated and balanced development of China-Africa cooperation and further promote the South-South cooperation, added Dai Bing, Secretary General of Chinese Follow-Up Committee of FOCAC and director-general of the Department of African Affairs of Chinas Foreign Ministry.

His statement came amid a rising expectation of international community, especially Africa, for the upcoming big event to be held in Beijing from September 3 to 4.

China-Africa cooperation is big in size, and to further improve its efficiency and quality will be the focus of the next phase, said Li Dan, director of African Studies Center, China Foreign Affairs University.

To be specific, the forum will incorporate the China-Africa cooperation into the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and help Africa achieve more promising development under the principle of seeking shared benefits through extensive consultation and joint contribution, Li expounded.

China announced ten major China-Africa cooperation plans on Johannesburg Summit of the FOCAC in 2015, presenting a clearer pattern of the all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging China-Africa cooperation.

This summit will also outline roadmap and set goals for China-Africa cooperation for the next three years or a longer period as it did in previous years, Zhang Yongpeng, a researcher at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) told Peoples Daily.

Zhang added that a major task of this year is the plan to accelerate Africas industrialization and modernization.

In addition, the summit will also focus on people-to-people and cultural exchanges, environmental protection, preparation of the fourth industrial revolution and expansion of the China-Africa capacity cooperation, Zhang noted.

China and Africa are a community of common destiny that shares weal and woe, and friendly cooperation between the two sides will help enhance the welfare of 2.4 billion people, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out in his congratulatory message on the China-Africa media summit held in 2015.

The China-Africa community of a shared future, which is essential to the theme of the Beijing summit, will enhance peoples confidence in closer China-Africa relations.

Li believes that the philosophy of community of a shared future possesses very profound connotation.

Under the current international situation, the international community needs to make a clearer plan to address trade, finance, and security issues. China and Africa can work more in this regard and make a stronger voice, he stressed.

For example, the two sides can join hands to cope with trade protectionism, climate change and the UN reform, which will all become integral part of the China-Africa community of a shared future, Li noted.

FOCAC was established in 2000 as an effective mechanism for collective dialogue and multilateral cooperation between China and Africa. It has established an important framework and platform for the building of the new type of partnership between the two parties featuring long-term stability, equality and mutual benefits.

Todays world is going through complexity and changes brought by rising trade protectionism and unilateralism, and setbacks in globalization. Against such backdrop, the Beijing summit is of great significance.

African nations must rely on international cooperation to realize economic take-off, and unilateralism will only bring them damage, Zhang emphasized, adding that the Beijing summit not only is a grand event between China and Africa, but also will further promote multilateralism and achieve common interests of the two sides while safeguarding globalization.

Amira El Fadil, Commissioner for Social Affairs of the African Union Commission (AUC) noted that FOCAC has developed into a platform for regular exchanges between Africa and China, yielding positive outcomes.

She believes that the summit to be held in Beijing is expected to take the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership to a new level.The Los Angeles Times will host a gathering to remember the newspapers late food critic Jonathan Gold on Sunday in downtown Los Angeles, featuring food trucks, remembrances from family and friends and unseen footage shot for the documentary about his life, City of Gold.

The evening event includes tributes from Golds younger brother Mark Gold; Evan Kleiman, the host of KCRW-FMs Good Food; City Councilman Jose Huizar; Carolina Miranda, a Times culture columnist; Sang Yoon, chef of Lukshon; Michael Cimarusti, chef of Providence; and Bricia Lopez, a proprietor of Guelaguetza.

The event, which is free of charge, begins at 5:30 p.m. in Grand Park with a DJ set from KCRWs Anthony Valadez. There will also be food trucks, including Carnitas El Momo and Los Originales Tacos Arabes de Puebla.

Gold died July 21 of pancreatic cancer at 57. He wrote about food in Los Angeles for four decades, bringing new attention to street food and small, mom-and-pop restaurants opened by immigrants.

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A week after his death, on what would have been Golds 58th birthday, the city paid tribute to the 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner by shining gold lights on City Hall, the Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel, Union Station, pylons at Los Angeles International Airport and various other monuments around the city.

frank.shyong@latimes.com

Twitter: @frankshyongA longtime doctor at USCs student health clinic has sued the university, accusing administrators of falsely suggesting that he ignored or covered up misconduct complaints when he supervised the gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall.

In his lawsuit filed Thursday, Dr. William A. Leavitt, the former lead physician at USCs Engemann Student Health Center, said public statements by administrators about his supposed role in the Tyndall scandal destroyed his reputation and amounted to defamation.

Leavitt also accused USC of wrongly targeting him for dismissal.

USC said in a statement that it believes the lawsuit is without merit.

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Leavitt is the first employee to sue USC in connection to the scandal, in which Tyndall is accused of sexually harassing and abusing women during nearly three decades at the campus health center. More than 340 students and alumnae are suing the university, alleging the school failed to protect them from the gynecologist.

Tyndall, 71, has denied any wrongdoing, and his attorneys have maintained that his medical exams were always within the standard of care.

The history of complaints against Tyndall were brought to light by an L.A. Times investigation published in May.

Days after the report, Leavitt was called to a meeting with USC administrators, including the dean of the Keck School of Medicine. According to the lawsuit, Leavitt learned that USC was ousting him from his position in the clinic because of his role as Dr. Tyndalls supervisor.

He was also told that USC would aggressively pursue his dismissal from his academic post, which entails a lengthy process, according to the lawsuit.

The Times reported on USCs decision to force out Leavitt and a nursing supervisor from the clinic; at the time, Leavitt said in an interview that he was basically the scapegoat.

Administrator Todd Dickey, however, issued a statement to the newspaper that said the university removed Tyndalls direct supervisor after receiving new complaints against the gynecologist.

Provost Michael Quick issued a public letter highlighting ways the university was preventing future misconduct. He noted that administrators let go two people who had responsibility to oversee the quality of health care our students receive.

Leavitts suit said such comments insinuate that [he] was somehow concealing Dr. Tyndalls alleged behavior and activities, which is untrue.

He pointed to the 2016 investigation into Tyndall, which was partly triggered by the discovery of Polaroid images of patients in the gynecologists office, according to the suit. During the investigation, USC found several complaints in Tyndalls personnel file, and Leavitt said the university was well aware of the allegations against the gynecologist.

Leavitt, who joined the university in 1991, said in the suit that he remains on leave but has not been formally fired as a professor. The lawsuit says that USC wants to reassign Leavitt to another department.

Tyndall remains under criminal investigation by the L.A. Police Department, and detectives have presented dozens of sex crimes cases to the Los Angeles County district attorneys office for potential criminal charges. As of Friday, no charges had been filed against Tyndall.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjournoOn a hot summer morning in El Paso, a Customs and Border Protection agent rang the doorbell of Annunciation House, a nonprofit that provides support to immigrants.

A volunteer named Emily Polstein, 25, promptly opened the white steel door and greeted the agent with a hello.

The agent had brought a woman in her early 30s, an asylum seeker, because there was no more room for her to stay in Customs and Border Protection facilities.

With a large black-and-white bag in hand, the woman entered the nonprofits main lounge area and sat down with Polstein, who said she was welcome to stay at Annunciation House if she wanted. Yes, the woman said.

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Shelters serving immigrants often lock horns with immigration authorities, but Annunciation House and Customs and Border Protection have formed an unusual partnership, prompted in part by the large numbers of immigrants crossing the border near El Paso and the effects of the Trump administrations zero-tolerance immigration policy.

When the federal agencys facilities are overflowing, agents bring immigrants who have been released from custody to the two-story, brick building next to the Mexican Consulate.

This building is the Ellis Island of the Southwest border, said Ruben Garcia, executive director of Annunciation House.

Some immigrants stay for days or weeks, while others swiftly move on to live with relatives as their case is being adjudicated.

We tell them the rules of the house and explain they are not in detention, Polstein said. They have the choice to stay or go with family.

For four decades the nonprofit has provided shelter to thousands of immigrants looking for work in the United States and those entangled in immigration proceedings. Annunciation House took on a national profile this summer as the federal government scrambled to reunite thousands of migrants who were separated from their children after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

In El Paso, the attention has brought more support and donations, and the building is brimming with donated food, clothing and diapers. Some donors have purchased bus tickets so immigrants could travel to relatives throughout Texas or out of state.

Garcia and his staff of 12 volunteers have teamed up with a network of about 40 churches and immigrant rights advocates in El Paso to provide a temporary home and support for thousands of immigrants. Together, they have witnessed the reunification of parents and their children.

From the beginning, Annunciation House found itself gravitating to the refugee, Garcia said.

He and four others formed Annunciation House in 1978. They were in their 20s, a few still attending college, and unsure of what they would accomplish in life.

Garcia said they knew they wanted to serve the poor and homeless, but it wasnt until they began speaking to immigrants looking for shelter that they realized their calling. Some community shelters refused to accept migrants if they lacked state-issued identification, Garcia said.

We basically stopped going to school to do this, and I eventually quit my job, he said. If you were undocumented, you had no place to stay. So, there started Annunciation Houses journey with refugees and immigrants.

The walls inside the building are decorated with murals  a stairway to the second floor leads to an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe  and prayers written in English and Spanish. The dining room features a painting of Jesus sharing a meal, not with disciples in biblical garb, but modern-day immigrants.

Several women and children had gathered near the kitchen and were ready for lunch: weenies, rice and beans.

It smells really good, one woman said in Spanish.

The building has 9,600 square feet, and it often feels like every square foot is occupied by some person or some thing.

A 10-year-old boy was washing his clothes by hand on the roof  the only place available  and hanging them on a clothesline with everyone elses. The basement was crammed with clothes, shoes and at least 50 boxes of diapers.

Volunteers live, work, talk, cook meals and keep the residence clean along with their guests, as residents are called. Volunteers make a point of asking guests how theyre adjusting to their new country.

People show up and seem lost and freaked out, said Polstein, who is from New York and is wrapping up a year of volunteer work at Annunciation House.

One recent resident was Jocelyn, 32, a Brazilian woman who was thankful for the support she had received from Annunciation House, said Linda Rivas, executive director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.

Jocelyn is one of two plaintiffs in a lawsuit in San Diego challenging Trump administration immigration policies. She came to the U.S. last August seeking asylum and was detained near the border for seven months and separated from her 15-year-old son, James, who was sent to a shelter in Chicago.

After being released in April, she moved into Annunciation House and began the process to get James back. Mother and son were reunited in June and plan on moving to the Northeastern U.S. Their full names were withheld at the request of Rivas, citing concerns about their security.

Thank God for Annunciation House, Jocelyn said. They gave me hope in a dire situation.

The relationship between Annunciation House and Customs and Border Protection was not always a good one. Garcia said the Border Patrol led a raid on the building in 1984, and in 2003 the agency was responsible for the death of Juan Patricio Peraza Quijada, a 19-year-old Annunciation House resident who was in the country illegally.

When five agents approached Peraza outside the building, he ran and they chased him. The agents alleged he threatened them with a pipe, and one agent, Vernon Billings, fatally shot him. In 2008, U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard P. Mesa found that Billings actions were justified.

Annunciation House holds a vigil for Peraza each Feb. 23, the anniversary of his killing.

Around 2014, when the border was inundated with families fleeing deteriorating conditions in Central America, Annunciation House and Customs and Border Protection began working together. The agency said it releases families and single adults to Annunciation House after they are processed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The purpose is to ensure they are provided transportation and a safe environment.

This practice has existed for several years, Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. This is a common practice along the Southwest Border.

One recent morning, not long after the Customs and Border Protection officer dropped off the young woman, another staffer with the agency called Garcia with a question. The agency was holding a woman and her child at the Paso del Norte Port of Entry in downtown El Paso. Would Annunciation House accept them?

Absolutely, Garcia replied.

Montes is a special correspondent.Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It is Saturday, Aug. 25. Heres what you dont want to miss this weekend:

TOP STORIES

This summers relentless California wildfires have claimed at least a dozen lives and destroyed more than 1,200 homes. But along with the loss of life and property, the blazes have also taken a tremendous toll on taxpayers and the states huge tourism industry. In less than two months, California has nearly wiped out the emergency wildfire funds set aside for the entire fiscal year, spending about $405 million of the nearly $443 million allocated. Los Angeles Times

Plus: A bipartisan duo of California lawmakers wants to spend climate-change cash on thinning out fire-prone trees and brush. Los Angeles Times

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What to do about our taxes?

The Trump administration has delivered another blow to California. The Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department on Thursday moved to block efforts by lawmakers in California and other Democratic-controlled states to help their residents avoid a new limit on state and local tax deductions. The proposed rule, which is likely to face legal challenges, targets legislation in those states that would allow taxpayers to claim a charitable deduction for state and local tax payments above the $10,000 limit set in the tax cuts passed by Congress last year. Los Angeles Times

A shuttered charter school with a whole lot of problems

Founded in 2001, Guidance Charter School in Palmdale seemed as if it was on stable footing when it issued more than $29.5 million in bonds to construct a brand-new campus last year. The Palmdale School Districts board of trustees, which first authorized Guidance 17 years ago, voted in January to close the school, citing concerns about poor academic performance and questionable financial operations. Even though its been forced to shut down, its still on the hook for the debt. Los Angeles Times

AROUND CALIFORNIA

Impact! Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday announced proposed reforms to the citys controversial retirement program that pays veteran police officers and firefighters their salaries and pensions simultaneously for the last five years of their careers. Los Angeles Times

Fiery crash: The 105 Freeway in Hawthorne was closed for hours after a tanker truck collided with another vehicle, triggering an explosion and fire that shut down the freeway in both directions and closed the Metro Green Line. Two people were killed, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Los Angeles Times

Plus: Meet the man who started selling burritos from his taco truck on the clogged-up 105. L.A. Taco

Classy: Indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter: My wife handled my finances. CNN

Turning off the spigot: The FBI has dramatically slowed the pace of security reviews for refugees in recent months, which former Trump administration officials and human rights advocates say is part of an intentional bid by White House hardliners to restrict the number of refugees allowed in the U.S. NBC News

See you in court: A Bel-Air synagogue is suing the city and county of Los Angeles over last years Skirball fire, saying they failed to clear the homeless encampment where the blaze started, according to court records. Los Angeles Times

Sad and scary: Three people were killed and one was seriously injured Thursday in a fiery wrong-way crash that halted traffic on northbound Interstate 805 near Sorrento Valley in San Diego County, authorities said. Los Angeles Times

More water wars: The Trump administration is trying a bold new tactic to bring more water to Central Valley farmers  one that could come at the expense of millions of urban Southern Californians. Sacramento Bee

Weighing in: L.A. Unified faces a rocky financial future no matter what happens with its contract talks, writes the Times Editorial Board. Los Angeles Times

Great story: Located in the heart of San Ysidro, the white stucco church that once housed Nuestra Senora de Monte Carmelo  Our Lady of Mount Carmel  stands as a symbol of the border towns rich history and culture. Los Angeles TImes

The gentrification story: As South of Market burgeons, will the boom leave some behind? San Francisco Chronicle

Sweet deal if you can get it: California might bail out controversial desert hydropower plant that cant get a contract. Desert Sun

Get the Essential California newsletter 

Commuters stuck on the westbound 105 Freeway form a line to buy snacks from a food truck that was among the vehicles caught in the traffic jam. (Chris Keller / Los Angeles Times)

THIS WEEKS MOST POPULAR STORIES IN ESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA

1. Half of the top 10 U.S. colleges are in the same state  and four are public schools. Money

2. A Malibu mystery: A string of shootings, a scientist killed and questions detectives cant answer. Los Angeles Times

3. Kimberly Guilfoyle was once half of a liberal power couple. Now shes basically a Trump. Washington Post

4. U.S. homeless czar visits S.F., says hes impressed with citys efforts. San Francisco Chronicle

5. Lavish meals, pet airfare, Italy trip: Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife are accused of misspending $250,000 in campaign funds. Los Angeles Times

ICYMI, HERE ARE THIS WEEKS GREAT READS

Bernstein at 100: Please dont kid yourself that you will be able to escape the sweaty reach of Leonard Bernstein this weekend, writes Times classical music critic Mark Swed. Had he not smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish, not abused his body with uppers and downers, not been a tortured insomniac or tormented spiritual thinker, not been driven and guilt-ridden to distraction, Bernstein might have lived to celebrate his 100th birthday on Saturday. Los Angeles Times

Eeesh: It took just 80 minutes after racially incendiary emails started flying for the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank, to shut down an email Listserv connecting hundreds of high-profile conservatives. The emails that sparked the controversy began ricocheting midday Tuesday, in response to a plea from Darren Beattie, a recently fired speechwriter for President Donald Trump, for those on this list with media influence to come to his defense. The White House over the weekend dismissed Beattie after CNN revealed that he had spoken at a conference alongside a racial provocateur. Politico

Hundreds dead, no one charged: The uphill battle against Los Angeles police killings. The Guardian

Important story: Backed by agrochemical companies, the current administration and Congress are moving to curb the role of human health studies in regulation. New York Times

Sign me up: This 140-year-old California weekly newspaper rents out its building on Airbnb. Poynter

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.Facebook, Twitter and other major social media companies have once again removed hundreds of accounts from their services that were linked to foreign agents trying to meddle in U.S. politics and policies  as well as the affairs of other governments. The malefactors identified last week werent just Russians; they also included individuals allied with the Iranian government, whod apparently been using bogus identities to distribute propaganda at least since 2011.

So, what did President Trump have to say about Facebook et al. last week? He lashed out at the Social Media Giants (on Twitter, of course) who, he wrote, are silencing millions of people. He added, People have to figure out what is real, and what is not, without censorship!

Trump seemed to have ignored the misdeeds of foreign players on social media, going to bat instead for Alex Jones, a conspiracy-peddling Trump ally who was recently banned or sanctioned by multiple outlets. Hes right that users of social media have an important role to play in combating disinformation online. They need to stop believing  and gleefully spreading  the news planted by foreign agents. But its ridiculous to call for a hands-off approach that would let these platforms be weaponized by those eager to manipulate American opinion and weaken our democracy.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

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Its bad enough that Trump has gone back and forth about whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election through its fake Facebook accounts and pages. Whats worse is that, rather than helping social media companies catch up to the foreign operatives abusing their platforms, Trump and his GOP allies in Congress are actively pushing back against the companies efforts to clean up their platforms. Republicans keep obsessing over supposed anti-conservative bias rather than proven foreign meddling.

Its not clear what, if anything, the public wants the government to do about the spread of propaganda online. Surveys suggest that social media users want the companies to do a better job policing themselves, especially on privacy and security. A company enforcing its own rules against false or offensive speech isnt censorship or a 1st Amendment violation; free speech issues come into play only if the government does the policing.

Noting the lack of consensus, former CIA Director John Brennan  who called out the Russian meddling before the 2016 election, and whom Trump recently stripped of his security clearance for his sharp criticism of the president  said Congress should establish an independent, bipartisan commission to examine how to ensure Americans safety, prosperity and liberties in a complex digital environment thats extending into more and more areas of daily life. In an interview Friday with the L.A. Times editorial board, Brennan said similar panels that examined the 9/11 attacks and the allegations of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction found areas of common ground and came up with useful reforms.

Meanwhile, the spotlight Congress has trained on the top social media companies has increased the pressure on them to take seriously a problem that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg once publicly waved off. The Trump administration also has talked about responding more forcefully to malicious behavior online, which might finally provide a deterrent. But instead of leading, the president is undermining the efforts to protect social media users from honest-to-goodness fake news.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand FacebookMore than a decade and a half after U.S. forces helped to end the Talibans reign in Afghanistan, the Trump administration is encouraging negotiations between that armed Islamist movement and the Afghan government. Its a defensible policy, but also a depressing reminder of the failure of years of U.S. intervention to bring peace and stability to the country.

More than 2,000 Americans have lost their lives in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom, which began in 2001 and ended in 2014, and in a post-combat mission that continues to this day with about 14,000 trainers, advisors and Special Forces. The United States has spent more than $120 billion on reconstruction in the country.

Yet the Taliban controls or contests significant portions of Afghanistan. It has staged several dramatic attacks in recent weeks, including a major offensive against the city of Ghazni. Islamic State also has established a presence in the country. Meanwhile, the national unity government headed by President Ashraf Ghani continues to struggle with corruption and political and ethnic divisions.

A negotiated settlement of Afghanistans civil war would make it easier for the United States and its allies to withdraw their remaining forces.

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Ghani has offered to engage in negotiations with the Taliban on a political settlement, and last week announced a three-month cease-fire if the Taliban also agrees to stop fighting. In a statement welcoming the cease-fire announcement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States was ready to support, facilitate and participate in direct negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Clearly, U.S. policy has moved on from the skepticism President Trump expressed last August, when he said that a political settlement involving the Taliban might be possible someday. Even before Pompeos statement, there were reports that a U.S. diplomat had met with Taliban representatives in Qatar in July.

Russia is also seeking to facilitate negotiations. It has invited the combatants in Afghanistan to Moscow for talks next month. The Taliban has accepted the invitation; the United States and the Afghan government have declined.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

A negotiated settlement of Afghanistans civil war would make it easier for the United States and its allies to withdraw their remaining forces. But it also would be in the interest of the people of Afghanistan  so long as it didnt come at the cost of rights, particularly for women, now secured in the Afghan Constitution.

It isnt clear that the Taliban would be willing to accept peace on those terms, so obviously the administration must proceed cautiously. Its also important that the United States not undermine the Afghan government by dealing directly with the Taliban on consequential matters. (Pompeos statement seemed designed to offer reassurance on that point.)

Yet with all those qualifications, the administration is right to test the possibility of a political solution to a conflict that stubbornly resists settlement on the battlefield.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.At a which-side-are-you-on moment in American politics, some of the most intriguing figures are the most ambiguous. One of these is so ambiguous that the binary brain can hardly take her in: Reality Winner.

The very normally named Reality Winner might be a Rorschach test for  something.

Perhaps its a test for whether you consider Islamic terrorism or Russian cyberattacks the greater geopolitical threat. Or whether you prioritize government transparency or national security. Or whether you see a naive young woman with a big brain who inserted herself into international affairs as enterprising  or suspicious.

It would be a good Rorschach test if it featured an inkblot that evoked nothing but a hallucinatory kaleidoscope of more inkblots.

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Reality Winner is a prodigiously intelligent former National Security Agency contractor and Air Force vet who, at 25, exposed significant classified details of the 2016 Russian attack on U.S. voting software and Russian spear-phishing of local voting officials. She did so almost a year before the Justice Department issued the blockbuster indictment that fleshed out her findings.

Not one person who has aimed to suppress the facts of Russian election interference is in jail. The only one in prison is Reality Winner.

She accepted a plea deal and on Thursday was sentenced to more than five years in prison.

Winner has been scathingly critical of the president for selling out the United States to Russia.

But Trump, who believes the Russia affair is a witch hunt, has expressed support for her. And journalist Glenn Greenwald, who believes Democrats are using the Russia affair to distract attention from their electoral losses, has also expressed support for her.

(Greenwalds employer, the Intercept, has been accused of being careless with documents that Winner shared anonymously, putting her in legal jeopardy. The publications parent company, First Look, has a Press Freedom Defense Fund, which supported Winners defense.)

Is Winner a patriot or a traitor? And what does it even mean anymore to be a patriot or a traitor? Those terms are as confusing and mysterious as Winner.

When every day seems to bring one more tale of jaw-dropping corruption or treachery or personal eccentricity, Winner is stranger than most of the truth that is itself stranger than fiction.

She is a yogi and CrossFit trainer born on the coastal bend of South Texas who is also a prolific cryptologic linguist, fluent in Arabic, Farsi, Pashto and Dari.

She was honorably discharged from the Air Force. Beginning at age 21, she worked in the drone program and provided the U.S. with intelligence gleaned from intercepted polyglot chatter. Winners efforts won her a medal of commendation for aiding in 650 enemy captures, 600 enemies killed in action and identifying 900 high-value targets.

Yet in a diary she recorded support for Taliban leaders and Osama bin Laden, according to a U.S. magistrate judge. And prosecutors tried to paint her as anti-American; they cited a shocking, if deeply ambiguous, line in that diary: Its a Christlike vision to have a fundamentalist Islamic state.

The inkblots multiply into inkblots that multiply into mayhem.

She gathered documents relating to Russian election interference, which she acquired using her top-secret clearance while working for government contractor Pluribus.

The Winner documents sketched out  before indictments by the Justice Department decisively confirmed  that Russian intelligence carried out a cyberattack on at least one supplier of voting software and spear-phished more than 100 local election officials days before the November 2016 presidential election.

She is the first person prosecuted by the Trump administration for leaking classified information. In legal parlance, for gathering, transmitting or losing national defense information.

Finally, Winner is the beloved daughter of Billie Winner-Davis, a stalwart at #KremlinAnnex, the antic and long-running demonstration against what protesters see as the presidents treason.

Trump may not have known this history. On Friday, he seemed to praise Winner on Twitter  if praise is the right word for leveraging a mention of Winner into a clumsy broadside against Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ex-NSA contractor to spend 63 months in jail over classified information. Gee, this is small potatoes compared to what Hillary Clinton did! So unfair Jeff, Double Standard.

Oh, Trump. Winner-Davis took his tweet as a chance to ask him, whom she has faulted for treason, to pardon her daughter. Naturally, she solicited this pardon on Twitter. Because all statecraft and geopolitics now take place in 280 characters with bluebird logos flitting around. Or are those logos inkblots?

Not one person who has aimed to suppress the facts of Russian election interference is in jail. The only one in prison is Reality Winner, who sought to expose Russian military operations against the U.S.

I dont think any family  I dont think anyone  could ever imagine something like this. said Winner-Davis last year. She was wearing a T-shirt that said, I stand with Reality.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

But it was something else Winner-Davis said that struck me as useful for elucidating the how-did-we-get-to-Reality-Winner question.

Our family was a very regular, normal family, she said. Then a beat. Then a reversal.

No, we werent normal, she concluded.

Nice honesty. Its time to stop saying anything is regular or normal anymore. America has shipped way, way out from shore. We have Russian cyberattacks, a president who denies them, and a hero-antihero embraced by no one  neither resistance types, because she worked in drone intelligence, nor Trumpites, because she blew the whistle on the Russia affair. We were once a regular, normal America. But, no, we arent normal anymore.

Twitter: @page88

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or FacebookTo the editor: The op-ed article by David L. Kirp points to an abysmal failure of community colleges to succeed within the parameters of the prevailing definition of success  graduation rates or how many students continue on to a four-year university.

As a community college teacher, I appreciate all of the problems that Kirp points out. But I feel we should consider augmenting his standard to include the degree of success in the labor market of those who fall short of Kirps metrics.

A relevant complementary study on the effectiveness of Californias community college system would be to gauge the degree of success of those not meeting the prevalent standard in the labor market  success that can be attributed to even their limited experience in the community college system.

As an academic, I feel upset hearing education talked about as mere fodder for the labor market. But as a taxpayer, I understand that success in the labor market is an indication of the effectiveness of our community colleges.

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Jack Kaczorowski, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: There is a much quicker and more certain path to increasing the fraction of students receiving community college diplomas: Increase the pass rate in individual courses.

I teach math at El Camino Community College, and my pass rate hovers slightly above 50%. This is characteristic of many courses in science, engineering and math, also known as STEM courses  and STEM courses are required for graduation.

There are two ways of reducing this roadblock: Put pressure on individual teachers to pass more students, or ease the STEM course requirement. While these would certainly raise graduation rates, the net effect almost certainly would be counterproductive.

But Im guessing there will be a lot of pressure placed on administrators, and through them on individual instructors, to do one or the other.

Jim Stein, Redondo Beach

..

To the editor: We neednt be so concerned about the graduation rates at community colleges.

Many students enter with no degree objective. They take short, non-degree programs (a great feature of community colleges) or even just a course or two to help them achieve career objectives, or even to complement earlier education.

For instance, my masters in business administration is almost 50 years old, and I recently took a community college class in political science just because I wanted to. In this regard, community colleges could simplify their application and registration procedures for non-degree-oriented students.

Donald J. Loundy, Simi Valley

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and FacebookPresident Trump was implicated in a crime. This much we know as fact, thanks to Michael Cohens guilty plea in which he said, under oath to a judge in federal court, that he arranged payments at the behest of the then-Republican nominee to two woman alleged to have had affairs with Trump. These hush-money payments were not disclosed as spending on the campaign.

Of course, Cohens allegations are just that  allegations. The president has not been charged with any crimes.

To some of our readers, however, nothing that happened in a week widely regarded as enormously consequential for this presidency presents any legal trouble for Trump. To them, Cohens confessed crimes are his alone, and the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has nothing to do with the administration that he helped usher into the White House.

These readers are not solely Fox News viewers and consumers of fringe online commentary. Some of them regularly write letters to us, often responding pointedly to news articles and opinion pieces in the Los Angeles Times. In other words, they get at least some of their news from The Times, even if they tend to express skepticism about anything in the newspaper that might reflect poorly on Trump.

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David N. Hartman of Santa Ana agrees with comments made by the White House press secretary:

In spite of the Manafort conviction and the guilty plea of Trumps former lawyer Michael Cohen, our president should be happy with the performance of his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Skillfully, she faces the media and answers for him. On Wednesday, she told them this: As the president has said and weve stated many times, he did nothing wrong. There are no charges against him and weve commented on it extensively. Just because Michael Cohen made a plea deal, doesnt implicate the president on anything.

It is very difficult to disagree with her.

George A. Vandeman of Playa del Rey dismisses any talk of being at a crisis point:

A Times editorial states that were at a crisis point. Yet you point out no actual crisis, only the straw man that you create by leaping from Trumps understandable comments about Manafort to the highly alarming possibility that Trump might seek to pardon Manafort.

The possibility that he might do something  is this a crisis?

As for the idea that Cohen implicated Trump in a crime, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz put this one to bed on Thursday. Then-candidate Trump could have paid this hush money for any reason, including impacting the election, with impunity. No crime.

Hopefully, the federal judge who deals with Cohens guilty plea will push very hard on whether Cohen even committed a crime on these counts, including how he knows what Trumps motivation was. But it should be clear to all that Cohen did not implicate Trump in a federal crime.

Rick Solomon of Lake Balboa wonders about collusion:

So, after two years of investigating Trump, what do we have? Right now, we are not focused on the original suspicion of collusion with Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Instead, we have a president who was a high-powered businessman and media star, and who used his lawyer and his money to make some of his prior dalliances go away. We also have a former campaign manager convicted of tax fraud and bank fraud.

Thats it? And this is supposed to be high crimes and misdemeanors for a potential impeachment? Youve got to be kidding me. Now, its conviction or bust  a truly sad state of affairs.

Beverly Hills resident Berta Graciano-Buchman hears the echo of partisan media:

Right-wing media serves an audience for whom objective facts are nothing more than a vilification against Trump. Trying to correct misconceptions is a frustrating exercise, as people tend to accept facts that confirm their views and overlook those that challenge their ideology.

Whether this belief persistence relies on willful ignorance or tribalism, the fact remains that desired conclusions are the driving force in our post-truth era.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and FacebookTo the editor: This country needs to consider the path it might be taking. We should be mindful of the fact that President Trump has not been indicted or had articles of impeachment drawn up against him by members of Congress. Even Democratic lawmakers will not speak the i-word for fear of exciting Republican voters. (Things changed for Trump this week. Do Republicans have the spine to do something about it? editorial, Aug. 22)

Many voters express frustration that Congress is paralyzed, but what action are people demanding? History has taught us that going after sitting presidents for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors has not brought about conviction in the Senate. Most recently, the attempts to remove Presidents Nixon and Clinton from office directly contributed to todays divisiveness. What might a Trump indictment or impeachment do to the country?

For those who dislike Trump and want him impeached or put on trial, and for those who believe the president is under siege by a hostile left-wing cabal, I urge everyone to consider what indicting or impeaching Trump, or what dismissing every accusation against him as fake news or political theater, does to our constitutional democracy. It is under threat, and we the people seem unable to ignore the medias constant coverage of this president.

We need to consider the best course of action for our country. Isnt it proper to allow the American people to determine their own future via the 2018 midterm election and by selecting the next president in 2020? Voters should decide if this president deserves to remain in office, not the loud voices that dominate our frenzied, angry political discourse.

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Natalie Root, Arlington, Va.

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To the editor: Recently, the president warned us that if he was impeached, the stock market would crash and wed all be poor.

I am an 85-year-old woman living on a fixed income. Im also a patriot. If our country was at war, I would make sacrifices to help it survive.

I believe the country is in a crisis no less serious than war. Therefore, if impeaching Trump means I would have less money, I would be eager to make that sacrifice. It would be a small price to pay in order to keep our democracy safe.

Elaine Lubkin, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: I believe the latest developments in Trumpworld will probably not cause any sudden shift in the quarter of the electorate who, shockingly, strongly admires the president.

I think that these Trump supporters should, however, begin to consider into which of the following categories they fall: They have not been paying attention, they are not thinking clearly, or they are among the deplorables referenced by Hillary Clinton.

The latter category includes those who will never reject Trump, even if, as he suggested himself, he were to go out in public and shoot someone.

There can be no doubt that there is much more to be revealed regarding this corrupt and outrageous presidency. Let us hope that those Trump supporters who are not in the deplorables category will begin to wake up and pay attention to what is happening and the damage that is being done to this country.

Their future and that of the rest of us may depend upon it.

Gertrude Barden, Porter Ranch

If impeaching Trump means I would have less money, I would be eager to make that sacrifice Elaine Lubkin, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Everyone is writing about former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manaforts connection with the president. But this is just a tiny tip of a huge iceberg.

How many other wealthy Americans are avoiding taxes by using tax dodges similar to Manafort? How many are benefiting from living and working in the United States but hiding their true incomes in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Singapore or other tax havens?

Our national debt is greater than $21 trillion, and we need major investments in infrastructure, education and healthcare. However, Congress just passed a tax cut that benefits mostly corporations and wealthy individuals.

Manaforts tax dodges would never have been discovered without special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation. How many other Manaforts are out there?

Herb Adelman, Del Mar

..

To the editor: Count me out from ever paying federal taxes again.

The president of the United States said Manafort, who has just been convicted of tax and bank fraud, is a good man with a nice family. Is Trump implying that would absolve Manafort from his crimes?

Manafort may be loyal to Trump, but at this point he is a criminal. Perhaps I can be absolved from paying taxes since I am a good person with a nice family.

Christine Gregory, Beverly Hills

..

To the editor: Judging by his praise of the newly convicted Manafort, Trumps definition of a good person does not carry the meaning most of us know.

A good person is typically someone of strong moral and ethical character. In Trumps world, a good person is typically someone who is morally corrupt, a trait that common among the presidents innermost circle.

Trump has chosen to surround himself with these good people. As with most corrupt organizations, some of the presidents lieutenants will disclose to a court, as part of a plea bargain, the skulduggery of the godfather.

Larry Naritomi, Monterey Park

..

To the editor: Trump threatened that if he ever got impeached the stock market would crash and everyone would be poor. He forgot the locusts and the death of the firstborn.

Irving Weinstein, Ventura

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and FacebookUS President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that he has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), publicly acknowledging for the first time that progress on the Peninsula denuclearization is lacking.

Trump tweeted that "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea (DPRK), at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

He added that "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea (DPRK) in the near future."

But Trump still kept the door open to a second summit with Kim, with whom the president recently said he has great chemistry.

"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!" Trump said.

Trumps statement came just a day after Pompeo said that he has appointed Stephen Biegun as the new special envoy for the DPRK.

He also said that he and Biegun will travel to Pyongyang next week "to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."

White House officials said Trump asked Pompeo not to go during a Friday meeting and they crafted the tweets together.

Pompeo has visited the DPRK three times, respectively in April, May and July.

Trump on August 20 said he would "most likely" meet with Kim for a second time, and he believed Pyongyang had taken specific steps toward denuclearization.

In the joint statement after the June 12 Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, Trump committed to providing security guarantees to the DPRK, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Good morning. Im Paul Thornton, and it is Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Lets take a look back at the week in Opinion.

Permit me a brief biographical digression. I grew up in the world of evangelical Christianity, having attended schools that promoted things like biblical literalism, doubts about Darwinism, and abstinence-only education, including the lie that condoms contained microscopic pores that allowed transmission of the HIV virus (more on that in a bit). Each week, we attended chapel services that often ended with calls to rededicate ourselves to Jesus Christ, even if we were already professed Christians.

It is this background that helps me understand the behavior of Vice President Mike Pence, the pious man who faithfully serves the famously non-penitent President Trump. Just as the faithful Christians at my school were happy to perpetuate falsehoods about disease-spreading condoms if it served the greater godliness of abstinence before marriage, Pence is willing to abide Trumps constant lying and personal moral failings if it puts him in the best position to do Gods will by becoming president.

And that ascension became orders of magnitude more likely this week, making his moral capitulation to Trumpism justifiable in the eyes of God. In an L.A. Times op-ed article, Michael DAntonio and Peter Eisner, authors of a book on Pence, explain the vice presidents theocratic calculations:

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Things changed for Trump this week. Do Republicans realize this? Even by the standards set under this presidency, Tuesday was an ominous day for Trump. Within hours, his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, had been convicted on multiple counts of tax and bank fraud, and his former personal attorney Michael Cohen entered a guilty plea in federal court and proceeded to implicate the president in a crime. Events this week  and Trumps reaction to them  bring matters to a crisis point, says the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board. It is time for those who have averted their eyes to face facts. L.A. Times

Los Angeles teachers may soon go on strike. Heres why: Among the reasons, writes L.A. Unified educator Glenn Sacks, are salaries insufficient for living in a city as expensive as Los Angeles, larger class sizes, not enough school nurses and librarians, and an insanely high ratio of students to counselors. Members of United Teachers Los Angeles want the district to mitigate each of these problems with sensible fixes, Sacks says, and if the L.A. Unified School District fails to meet these demands, a strike will be necessary to bring about changes that will serve mostly students. L.A. Times

Stand down, Duncan Hunter. The Republican, a five-term incumbent member of Congress from San Diego County, and his wife were indicted this week on multiple counts of fraud, including misusing campaign funds for personal spending and lying on reports to hide their pilfering. Hunter probably wont do the right thing, having already blamed the charges on a Democratic Party conspiracy, so the editorial board hopes voters in the 50th congressional district decline to send him back to Washington. L.A. Times

California doesnt feel like a sanctuary state. Despite the best efforts of state legislators to protect immigrants who are in the country illegally by making it difficult for local law enforcement agencies to work with federal immigration officials, the menacing public statements coming from Washington and certain enforcement actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers has triggered a perpetual state of fear among unauthorized immigrants in California. New York Times

Happy birthday, Pedro. Gustavo Arellano wishes former Gov. Pete Wilson a pleasant 85th birthday and thanks him for his accomplishments  if you can call them that  including: raising taxes to offset crushing budget deficits, protecting the wetlands of San Diego as mayor, and for trashing his legacy as a consensus-building centrist by supporting Proposition 187 and inspiring a generation of young Latinos to be politically active, changing California politics forever. L.A. Times

Reach me: paul.thornton@latimes.comThe Trump administration intensified its hostile stance toward the Palestinian Authority on Friday, announcing it would withhold more than $200 million in humanitarian aid that had been allocated for Palestinians in the 2017 budget year.

The announcement, made through an unnamed senior official at the State Department, follows a separate action earlier in the year to freeze $120 million in aid to the United Nations refugee agency that works with Palestinians.



For the record: A previous version of this story misidentified the Palestine Liberation Organization as the Palestinian Liberation Authority.

The $200 million withheld Friday had been intended to pay for a variety of humanitarian projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A State Department official said that the only other direct money sent to the Palestinian Authority from the 2017 allocation was $61 million for security assistance and anti-terrorism-related programs in the West Bank.

The U.S. also previously sent $60 million through the United Nations for refugee assistance that had benefited, in part, the West Bank and Gaza.

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Trump threatened to kill the bulk of U.S. aid in January, blaming Palestinians for the failure of the peace process with Israel. Negotiations to resolve the conflict broke down years ago and neither side has shown interest in resuming talks.

[W]e pay the Palestinians HUNDRED [sic] OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect, Trump tweeted. [W]ith the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?

Palestinians have resisted Trumps effort to pressure them into making a deal, saying his administration is so unabashedly supportive of Israel it cant be an honest broker.

The State Departments announcement said that it had reviewed the aid at Trumps request and determined the money would be better spent elsewhere.

This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gazas citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation, the State department official wrote.

The administration had already upset Palestinians, Arab and European allies and others with its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital last year and to back away from supporting a two-state solution, which had long been official U.S. policy. The moves have pushed U.S. policy further toward Israel than it has been under most administrations, which had tried to present themselves as more even-handed in the long-standing conflict, even as they maintained Israel as a close ally.

A long-promised peace initiative being led by Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Trumps longtime attorney, Jason Greenblatt, has yet to materialize.

This is just the latest move by this administration to cruelly punish Palestinian civilians and marginalize and undercut Palestinian leadership, said Dylan Williams, vice president of government affairs for J Street, a liberal Jewish group that advocates for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These cuts will undermine Israels security by exacerbating Gazas humanitarian crisis and further destabilizing the difficult situation in the West Bank  increasing the prospects for violence and unrest.

The Palestine Liberation Organization , which also claims Jerusalem as its capital, was furious at what executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi called the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool.

There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation, Ashrawi said in a statement.

Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington 

noah.bierman@latimes.com | Twitter: @noahbiermanA five-year agreement signed between the Burbank Unified School District and Van Nuys Birmingham Community Charter High School will allow the district to offer its new teacher induction program for a fee that may help offset some of the curriculums costs.

Select instructors from Birmingham High School, a Los Angeles Unified School District institution, will pay $3,000 per teacher to take part in the two-year program, which is offered to Burbank Unified faculty for free.

While there are some differences in teaching credential requirements, generally, new instructors first earn a five-year preliminary teaching credential to be able to teach in a California public school.

From there, the induction program allows an instructor to take the next step and earn whats called a professional clear credential.

At Burbank, the induction program requires enrollment for four consecutive semesters.

Credential candidates are given an individualized learning plan that will help them prepare for and demonstrate competency required by California standards.

Candidates will observe experienced teachers and complete two capstone activities annually, along with an essay after two semesters and an exit interview at the programs end.

You have a certain [number] of years to clear and get a permanent credential, said Sharon Cuseo, the districts assistant superintendent of instruction services.  Its really a nice perk and not all school districts have it for various reasons.

One such school is Birmingham, which Cuseo said contacted the district this past spring to inquire about the possibility of enrolling some teachers into the local induction program.

We havent really been looking to have this type of relationship with anyone. We werent even thinking about opening the door to anyone from outside the district, Cuseo said. Birmingham contacted us, and it felt like we could accommodate their needs and even help offset our costs.

Cuseo estimated the price of the induction program is around $200,000 per year.

At least for the first year, Cuseo said shes only anticipating a handful of Birmingham teachers, so she hastened to say this is not expected to be a big money-maker.

I would never call it a cash cow, but wed like to be able to help bring in some money to help lower our costs, she added.

Former Luther Burbank Middle School teacher Rebecca Mieliwocki, the 2012 National Teacher of the Year, and one-time Thomas Jefferson Elementary curriculum specialist Jill Johnson are on special assignment in charge of the induction program.

Johnson is the coordinator for elementary induction, and Mieliwocki handles the secondary coursework.

Cuseo said the district entered into a five-year contract rather than a two-year deal  the length of an induction course  for practical purposes.

We just wanted to put that in place because as they hire new teachers, they might bring another teacher into the program, she said. So the program itself is only two years, but we didnt want to keep coming back if we were happy and if they were happy with the program and the relationship.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresportsBack in January, Orange County officials made national headlines when they dismantled a sprawling encampment on the banks of the Santa Ana River Trail, displacing 700 homeless people in the process.

Two lawsuits, seven months and a handful of court dates later, Orange County and its cities now have a deadline: finalize plans to house 1,550 people by Sept. 7 or face a possible court ruling or temporary injunction stopping the enforcement of anti-camping laws.

These marching orders were handed down by U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing a lawsuit filed against Orange County and several cities on behalf of disabled homeless people who were forced out of the encampment in January.

Theres no doubt that Carter is right: Its high time for Orange County and its cities to make meaningful progress on housing the 2,584 un-sheltered people countywide.

Its not a coincidence that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has designated Housing First as the recommended approach to providing housing for the homeless. Housing provides a stable foundation for people struggling with chronic homelessness to address other issues, such as finding employment or dealing with substance abuse.

While Carters mandate for our county and cities to increase the number of beds available for our homeless men and women is laudable, more is needed in order for homelessness to become a relic of the past.

As a business leader who has been active over the years in charities and civic organizations leading the fight against homelessness, it has become apparent to me that finding long-term solutions for homelessness must be a team effort. No single government body or agency, nonprofit organization or corporate social responsibility program can go it alone when it comes to tackling this issue.

Homelessness is not just a local issue, but also a regional and national issue, and it requires broad coordination from all levels of government and private service providers. With that in mind, when we look at all of the critical partners needed in order to tackle homelessness, its abundantly clear that the one partner not pulling its weight is the federal government. In Orange County, this failure falls squarely on the shoulders of our elected representatives in Washington, D.C.

There are three key things our elected leaders should be doing to strengthen Orange Countys fight against homelessness. First is funding. One of the key roles the federal government plays in the battle against homelessness is to provide funding for local governments to allocate as needed. Section 8 housing vouchers, Community Development Block Grants, Emergency Solutions Grants and Continuum of Care funds are just some of the ways the federal government distributes funds to state and local housing agencies and community development departments to assist with housing.

Unfortunately, our leaders have taken to using HUD funding as a political bargaining chip, meaning that the levels of funding cities and counties can expect on a year-to-year basis has become unpredictable. The 2018-19 federal budget initially included major cuts to many of the federal housing programs. Thankfully, last-minute negotiations reinstated much of this funding, but playing games with the future of homeless men and women is unacceptable. We need our elected leaders to fight for and guarantee consistent and adequate funding so that our cities and counties are free to work on implementing solutions, as opposed to dealing with funding cuts.

Second, we need our elected leaders to ensure that HUD funding is being spent efficiently, and that means ensuring no one experiencing homelessness is left behind. An excellent step to take in the short-term would be to pass the the Homeless Children and Youth Act, which would allow communities to make up for any deficiencies in the counting of homeless youth and serve the homeless children, youth and families they identify as most in need of assistance.

Finally, our leaders in Washington need to appreciate that tackling homelessness isnt just the compassionate thing to do: its the smart thing to do. A 2017 UC Irvine study, commissioned by Orange County United Way, showed that the county could save $42 million a year on law enforcement and healthcare, among other expenses, by moving people experiencing homelessness from the streets into housing.

More than ever, now is the time for our elected leaders in Washington to show compassion and moral leadership on the issue of homelessness.

Harley Rouda, a Democrat, is running for the House in the 48th Congressional District.A Glendale teacher was arrested earlier this week after authorities accused her of having sex with a 14-year-old student in May during a school field trip to Washington D.C.

Jacqueline Nicole Muller, 26, was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia on suspicion of first-degree child sexual abuse. The Los Angeles resident taught at Salem Lutheran School, a church and private school in Glendale for students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

She had been with the school for only a year before the alleged incident.

According to a complaint filed last month in Washington Superior Court, Muller began having unprotected sex with one of her eighth-grade students during a school trip to Washington D.C. and Virginia in early May. Muller was a chaperone on the trip.

The two reportedly had sex for the first time on May 9 in a Washington hotel room the 14-year-old shared with another boy. The complaint said the two had sex again later that day when the school group moved to a different hotel in Virginia.

Authorities said other chaperones on the trip became suspicious about the amount of time the teacher was spending with the student and informed the boys parents.

When they confronted him after he returned from the trip, the 14-year-old reportedly said the two were just talking and reading a report.

The parents then obtained their childs cellphone and discovered texts Muller reportedly sent, with messages such as, Hope you slept well my love and Missing you, according to the complaint.

The 14-year-old soon admitted to the sexual contact, according to court documents, and said the relationship first started in March with an exchange of messages on Instagram, where they talked about mutual interests. They kissed the following month after the initial exchange.

He remembered the date specifically because it was the [students] first kiss, the complaint states.

Although the Instagram messages could not be recovered, authorities said they found numerous texts and emails sent between Muller and the student spanning several months.

On May 14, when school officials became aware of what happened, they immediately informed authorities, and Muller subsequently resigned, according to a statement from Ali Smyser, president of Salem Lutheran Church.

Salem Lutheran Church and School takes the safety of our students very seriously and will always do everything in our power to protect them, Smyser said.

However, according to court documents, Muller initially denied the allegations when she was confronted.

Authorities obtained an email she reportedly sent to the school the following day on May 15 where she apologized for what had happened and asked if it was possible to return to teach. In the email, she said she had been wrestling with the thoughts of the last week in her head but that the students at Salem deserve some normalcy for the remainder of the year, Muller wrote

I completely understand that my actions are grounds for dismissal, but I wish this could happen after school ends, she added.

She partially attributed her actions to personal issues, including her mother being diagnosed with cancer and problems with her boyfriend. This led her to seek comfort in the 14-year-old, but that she let it get carried away.

However, the day before she sent the email, authorities said Muller was contacting the student in secret.

According to court documents one of the messages she sent read, Please dont tell anyone anything about me or the situation, OK? Other messages included talk of marriage, sending love letters and their previous physical contact.

A family member of the 14-year-old eventually became aware of the messages and took control of the boys email account, impersonating him.

During an exchange on May 25, Muller emailed the family member posing as the boy and asked that all their previous correspondences be thrown away and the email account that was being used be deleted.

She said she didnt want anything theyve said to be discovered by police.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_TrucFall is just around the corner and schools have started welcoming students back to the classroom. Most kids would probably not admit being as excited as they really are about getting back to books and bells, though the excitement is often more about seeing old friends than learning new vocabulary words or taking tests.

Though its not part of the formal curriculum, both parents and students will find themselves immersed in a new subject this year: safety. School safety has risen to a top priority for most schools. While physical safety and mass casualty events garner the headlines, its all too easy to overlook the fact that many students dont feel safe for other reasons. Their anxiety may stem from fear of being bullied, fear of academic failure, or deep-seated psychological issues relating to forces and factors outside the school boundaries.

Emotional safety is a complex challenge. Research shows that a lack of emotional safety can increase the possibility of physical aggression. The hard part is that emotional safety can be violated by harsh criticism, lack of success, and just downright meanness by students and/or adults. One study found that 81% of school-age males and 72% of school-age females report having been bullied. Though most often deliberate, sometimes this happens unintentionally. The trick is in knowing how to build resilience in all students so they can defend against or shield themselves from such comments. We all know that society is not always kind and our children will have to deal with such comments throughout their life.

There is an extensive research literature documenting the relationship between social rejection and reactions involving aggression. Everyone needs to belong, and exclusion often elicits hostility and aggression. It doesnt require a PhD to see in the pattern of school shootings a repeated thread of the shooter having been bullied and socially ostracized.

The responsibility for the emotional welfare of young people falls on all of us. As parents we need to be cautious and aware of what we say, how we say it, and when we say it.

In her new book, Small Fry, Steve Jobs long-unacknowledged daughter writes about some of the true but brutally blunt statements he made to her, and how they affected her. Without the protective coat built of maturity and experience, children can be highly vulnerable to criticism and commentary. As parents and teachers, we sometimes say things forcefully or sarcastically with the intent of creating a challenge to be met. Sometimes, however, such comments simply create an emotional crater that fills with sadness and despair.

And then there are a students peers. Childhood alliances and allegiances can shift on a moments notice, and no child wants to be the outsider. Every child wants friends and peer approval, and it is sometimes sought at the expense of children who are vulnerable because they are shy, handicapped, socially awkward, bookish, foreign born, or in some other way different. Social media has multiplied this schoolyard problem a hundred times over, creating the ability to spread rumors, gossip, criticism and ridicule around the school (or around the world) in an instant. Add to that the immaturity of the young brain and you have a recipe for disaster. Educating children about the use of social media is extremely important. Social media has become the strong arm medium of bullies everywhere (adult and child). It can be set up to pick on and isolate individuals.

Sadly, many youngsters fail to realize that a moment of indiscretion online can destroy not only others, but can also create a permanent, indelible record that will later be judged by college admissions officers, employers, and even dating prospects. In an effort to be part of the in crowd, young people sometimes do things online that will have a negative impact on them both immediately and in the long-term.

So how do we meet these challenges? I will offer some insights and options in next months article.

ROBERT FRANK is the executive director of the Hillside School and Learning Center in La Canada. He holds a masters of science degree in special education and has more than 40 years of teaching experience. His column appears on the last Thursday of each month. He can be reached at frank@hillsideforsuccess.org.

ROBERT FRANK is the executive director of the Hillside School and Learning Center in La Canada. He holds a masters of science degree in special education and has more than 40 years of teaching experience. His column appears on the last Thursday of each month. He can be reached at frank@hillsideforsuccess.org.In the stunning culmination of an intraparty rivalry, Australia toppled its prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, on Friday and selected a more conservative leader from the same party known for his tough stance on immigration and social issues.

The upheaval came after a hard-line populist, Peter Dutton, marshaled the votes to topple the more moderate Turnbull, then failed in his bid to succeed him as prime minister.

After a spill  or leadership vote  in the governing Liberal Party, Treasurer Scott Morrison, another figure who made his name blocking refugees from reaching Australia, was voted in as prime minister.

It was the second leadership vote in a week. Dutton lost a vote among Liberal Party lawmakers Tuesday by 13 votes but took to radio airwaves the following morning vowing to make a second attempt, destabilizing the government and Turnbulls position.

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Australian politics is marked by backstabbing and internal party coups, with ambitious ministers ready to pounce should a prime ministers popularity flag ahead of elections. No prime minister has seen out a full term in office in more than a decade.

Turnbull did not contest a second vote Friday, lacking the numbers to win. After the vote he said Australians would be dumbstruck and appalled by the disloyalty and deliberate insurgency in the government.

One of his main achievements as prime minister was the legalization of same-sex marriage last year, after an overwhelming vote in favor of it in a nationwide postal plebiscite. Dutton, one of the architects of the plebiscite, believed Australians would reject marriage equality and strongly opposed a yes vote.

Anti-Peter Dutton graffiti appears on a bike path near his office in the suburb of Strathpine, north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia, on Aug. 24, 2018. (Darren England /EPA/Shutterstock)

Like Dutton, the 50-year-old Morrison, a former executive on Australias tourism task force, is a social conservative and evangelical Christian who opposes same-sex marriage. But he had declared his loyalty to Turnbull in recent days, and that helped Morrison attract support from moderates in Fridays leadership vote, which he won narrowly, 45-40, a margin that underscored the enduring divisions in the government. A third leadership candidate, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, was defeated in the first round of voting.

The Sydney-born son of a policeman, Morrison quoted the Bible in his first parliamentary speech, stating that his faith gave him values of loving kindness, justice and righteousness on Earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord. That was not an aberration: His faith often informs his political speech.

Unlike Dutton, Morrison voted in favor of a 2008 apology to indigenous people for the governments past policy of removing Aboriginal children from their families. But in 2013, he launched his partys Stop the Boats policy of denying refugees arriving by sea the chance to settle in Australia, and keeping them indefinitely in camps on Papua New Guineas Manus Island and in the island nation of Nauru, a policy criticized by the United Nations for evading Australias responsibilities under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

After his election Morrison vowed to address the economy and a long-running drought.

Turnbull, a wealthy former merchant banker with a harborside mansion in Sydney, struggled to improve his partys popularity ratings. His conservative party has trailed the centrist Labor Party in the polls, although Turnbulls rating was higher than that of opposition Labor leader and former trade union official Bill Shorten.

Turnbull made international headlines last year when President Trump, shortly after his inauguration, angrily hung up on him, calling it the worst of his phone calls with world leaders that day.

Turnbull also recently angered the nations biggest trading partner, China, by delivering a clumsy comment in poor Chinese that the Australian people have now stood up against foreign interference in Australian politics. The remark was insulting to China because it drew on a comment attributed to Mao Tse-tung at the 1949 founding of the Peoples Republic of China after a century of foreign occupation, wars, exploitation and humiliation.

As in Britain, Australian prime ministers are not elected by the population but by parliamentarians of the governing party. In the Liberal Party they can be removed at any time in a party room vote. As a result, political leaders have to worry as much about their numbers in the party room as their popularity in opinion polls.

Another Liberal Party leader, Tony Abbott, ousted Turnbull as party leader in 2009 only to see the tables turned in a party room vote in 2015. He went on to work at quietly undermining Turnbull. The Labor Party saw a similar pattern with leaders Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. But in 2013, under Rudd, the Labor Party introduced rules making it harder to topple a governing leader.

Dutton, 47, is a former policeman and businessman from the state of Queensland whose trademark is his aggressive rhetoric and opposition to politically correct people.

Rudd tweeted Thursday that Dutton should never be prime minister, given what Rudd characterized as his willingness to use dog-whistle appeals to racism. In 2008, when Rudd, then prime minister, pushed through the apology to indigenous people, Dutton abstained from the vote and refused to applaud.

In a thinly veiled reference to Dutton after the leadership vote, Turnbull said Australians rejected racism in politics.

We are the most successful multicultural society in the world, he said. We must never allow the politics of race or division or of setting Australians against each other to become part of our political culture.

Dutton succeeded Morrison as immigration and border protection minister from 2014 to 2017, taking an equally tough line in refusing refugees in the camps on Nauru and Manus access to Australia. When self-immolations, suicide attempts and other episodes of self-harm in the camps increased sharply, Dutton blamed refugee advocates rather than the Stop the Boats policy.

While he shrugged off the poor conditions faced by refugees in the offshore camps, Dutton vowed in March to fast-track refugee visas for white South African farmers, stating that they need help from a civilized country, comments that drew outrage from South Africas government.

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Twitter: @RobynDixon_LAT

UPDATES:

6:00 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional background about Morrison.

This article was originally posted at 5:10 p.m.This much is known: Hani Mohammed Almajdalawi, 28, was killed in an apparent shootout with Israeli troops last week.

The Gazan, a nurse, was mourned as a martyr of the medical crews who place their lives in danger and plunge into the weekly Palestinian protests along the Israeli border.

Beyond these dry facts, his story gets murky. Israel claims he is an example of a terrorist operating under the cover of a European humanitarian organization.

Hamas, the Islamist militia that rules Gaza, alleges that Israeli sharpshooters intentionally target medics treating wounded protesters and insists the protests are spontaneous demonstrations against Israel, which with Egypt has kept the Gaza Strip under a blockade for more than a decade.

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On Thursday, Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon, the Israeli coordinator of government activities in the territories, the defense ministry body responsible for civilian matters in Palestinian areas, posted an Arabic-language accusation on Facebook, alleging that Almajdalawi was an employee of Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym, MSF) and an armed terrorist.

The post was titled Terrorism Without Borders.

Almajdalawi, the Israeli army said, tried to cross the border into Israel while armed with a rifle, opened fire toward military forces, and even threw an explosive device at them, and, to make matters worse, was in fact a nurse who worked for the international organization Doctors Without Borders until his last day.

Abu Rokons post said Almajdalawis brothers Facebook page revealed that he bought the weapon with his own money, evidence of an act planned in advance.

It was a significant assertion for Israel, which has long held that the marches along its border with Gaza are anything but peaceful or innocent.

In a statement released Friday, MSF confirmed that Almajdalawi was one of its employees, adding that it is working to verify and understand the circumstances regarding this extremely serious incident.

Israels contention was confirmed by Mohammed Almajdalawi, a cousin of the dead man, who said that Hani was married for only four months and had worked for years as a nurse for MSF.

Unlike many Gazans who lack employment, his cousin said, Almajdalawi earned a very good salary.

He was not affiliated to any movement and he did it for the sake of Allah, the cousin said when asked why he took such action. Four days before, he said, his cousin had invited his family to a popular resort to enjoy their time, as if it were a farewell.

But Osama Almajdalawi, the nurses 30-year-old brother, told a different story. Speaking with The Times on Saturday, he described Hani as a beloved young man so committed to his work the family barely saw him.

The family, Osama Almajdalawi said, was surprised by his martyrdom  Monday morning he told us he was heading to the sea to buy fish and never came back. We all were surprised at 3 p.m. when we saw his picture all over social media, with stories saying hed carried out an operation.

Osama Almajdalawi has his doubts. His brother didnt even know how to use a weapon, he said. He believes the Israeli military is keeping things hidden and expressed hope that the Red Cross would uncover the real circumstances of the incident.

His brother, Osama Almajdalawi said, didnt express political opinions, and his only interest was his work, the happiness of his parents and the love of his wife.

The Israelis have a different question: We are wondering: How could a man certified to save lives use his salary to acquire a gun with which to take lives? Abu Rokons statement ended. He who takes part in saving lives should assist in humanitarian activities in the Gaza Strip, and should not take part in terrorism.

Tarnopolsky is a special correspondent.Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday exchanged congratulatory messages with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Masoum, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In his message, Xi said the two countries have enjoyed a sound momentum in developing bilateral ties and steadily promoted cooperation in various fields through joint efforts.

The two countries announced the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2015, which opened a new chapter in the China-Iraq friendship and brought new opportunities in bilateral ties, Xi added.

Xi said he highly values the development of China-Iraq relations and is willing to work with Masoum, taking the opportunity of the 60th anniversary, to strengthen the synergy of development strategies within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, conduct mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen the strategic partnership, so as to better benefit the two countries and two peoples.

For his part, Masoum said Iraq and China have witnessed remarkable development in bilateral relations in recent years, as well as great progress in economic and trade cooperation.

Iraq is willing to comprehensively expand bilateral ties in a way that benefits both peoples, and promote security, peace and development of the two countries and the region, Masoum added.

On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also exchanged congratulatory messages with his Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi.

Li said China is ready to work with Iraq to continuously consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, so as to bring more benefits to the two countries and two peoples.

In his message, Abadi said Iraq is willing to continuously strengthen bilateral ties, upgrade cooperation and expand new cooperation fields to achieve common interests and expectations.My Favorite Quotes Recent Quotes

Portfolio Summary Your most recently viewed tickers will automatically show up here if you type a ticker in the Get Quotes box on the top of the page.HOTEL RAID. NCRPO Chief Director Guillermo Eleazar and MPD Chief Supt. Rolando Anduyan reported the seven kilos of shabu estimated to be worth P40 million caught in possession of Taiwanese national Chong Chin Hao when he was arrested during a raid in Good Life Hotel at Tomas Mapua in Binondo, Manila on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. Norman Cruz

A short chase led to the arrest of a drug suspect and the confiscation of at least six kilograms of suspected shabu (methamphetamine) in the Good Life Hotel at Binondo, Manila on Friday.The police caught the fleeing suspect, certain Taiwanese named Chong Chin Hao, who hid a suspect inside one of the hotels rooms, as reported by the National Capital Region Police Office public information officer Senior Inspector Myrna Diploma in its official press viber report. Diploma said that if the confiscated illegal substance turned out to be shabu, it would be valued at around P40 million. NCRPO chief Director Guillermo Eleazar said that Manila cops on Friday ran after Chong after they accidentally spotted the Taiwanese dropping bullets in public. The police said Chong fled and tried to hide inside a room at the Binondo hotel in an attempt to escape arrest, but was eventually cornered. The cops then raided the place and found illegal drugs and ammunition. According to Manila Police District director Chief Superintendent Rolando Anduyan, who joined the search wearing civilian overalls, said that they found aside from the six kilos of suspected shabu an estimated 20,000 rounds of ammunition, and 388 sealed packs of chemicals suspected to be used in the manufacture of illegal drugs. Eleazar said the police have been monitoring Chong, who is suspected to be involved in smuggling illegal firearms to still unidentified countries. The NCRPO chief added that Manila cops have yet to confirm whether Chong also smuggled illegal drugs and whether he operated with other drug peddlers. The police are in the process of making an inventory of the seized illegal objects. Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals has affirmed the freeze order on the two bank accounts allegedly used by a convicted drug lord to launder millions of pesos. In a resolution dated June 31 penned by Associate Justice Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang and was concurred by Associate Justices Ramon Paul Hernando and Maria Elisa Sempio Diy, the CAs Former Special Third Division denied the motions for reconsideration filed by Jeffrey Su Go, Jean Pearl Yana Go, and Jin Zhang of its decision issued on June 16, 2017. In the said ruling, the appellate court reinstated the freeze order covering Banco de Oro Account Number 48980090 jointly owned by Jeffrey and Jean and Metrobank Account Number 7640028854 owned by Jin.The two bank accounts were originally subject of a provisional asset preservation order (PAPO) issued on Jan. 5, 2017 by the Manila Regional Trial Court after the investigation by the Anti-money Laundering Council discovered that convicted drug lord Albert Chin transferred a total of P18.31 million to the joint account of the Gos from September 2012 to August 2013. Chin was the leader of a group charged by the DOJ before the Regional Trial Court of Olongapo City in 2013 for possession of illegal drugs. The drug bust conducted by the Philippine National Police Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force resulted in the seizure of around 432 kilos of shabu amounting to P2 billion. During the operation, authorities confiscated several items including a transaction ticket for the deposit of PHP3.68 million to the Go couples account and a P4-million managers check payable to Zhang. Chin and five other co-accused were convicted in September 2016 by the Olongapo RTC. The CA said the lower court should not have ruled out the possibility that the money came from Chins illegal drug activities. It added that the respondents arguments were not sufficient to warrant the lifting of the PAPO. We emphasize the finding of probable cause that funds deposited to private respondents accounts are sourced from Albert Chins involvement with illegal drug trafficking, the CA said. In view of said finding, the issuance of the PAPO against the accounts of private respondents Go, among others, is to give the government the necessary time to prepare its case without having to worry about the possible dissipation of the assets that in any way may be related to the suspected illegal activity, it explained.The Department of Foreign Affairs has released almost P2.8 million in financial assistance to overseas Filipino workers who were stranded by the recent closure of the main runway of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. A total of 381 affected workers received the cash assistance on Thursday, bringing to 559 the total number of beneficiaries who have been served since Wednesday, the department said. The DFA said the cash assistance would be released Friday night in all three Naia terminals. Stranded OFWs who are still in Manila may still claim the P5,000 cash assistance at the DFA Office of Migrant Workers Affairs but only until the end of office hours on Friday, Aug. 31, while those abroad can do so at any Philippine Embassy or Consulate General until Sept. 30, 2018. Manila International Airport Authority general manager Eddie Monreal, meanwhile, said he would stay at his post despite calls for him to resign following the chaos at the airport caused by a Chinese commuter plane that overshot the main runway on Aug. 16. Airport and aviation personnel took 36 hours to remove the disabled plane of Xiamen Air from the main Naia runway, sparking calls for a congressional investigation. Lawmakers called on Monreal to resign and questioned his capability and leadership. But Monreal refused to budge Friday, and said he would stay unless the appointing authority or President Rodrigo Duterte tells him to do so. I respect the opinion of those who wish for me to resign. But I will not unless somebody tells me, meaning the point of authoritythe President. Im just following orders, said Monreal during a morning TV talk show. I can look people straight in the eye [and say] that I did my best, he said. Monreal said it was not easy to retrieve the damage aircraft given the heavy downpour, the planes weight, and its load of fuel. Were talking of four tons of fuel, he said, adding that they had to consider the safety of MIAA and aviation personnel. Under the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization, the airline company, not MIAA, has the responsibility to remove disabled aircraft. If the airline operator or owner fails to do it, the airport operator may take over and hire a third party to extract the aircraft, he said. Monreal said they undertook the removal operation in consideration of the stranded passengers. He said there is no specific timeline on how such operations should be completed because everything depended on the particular situation. He said a similar retrieval of a crippled Thai Airways plane in 2013 that skidded off the runway took even longer than 36 hours. Meanwhile, the MIAA board has approved the grant of original proponent status to the Naia Consortium for the airports rehabilitation. The proposal includes the building of four parallel runways and a passenger terminal with 100 million passengers capacity per year. The concession period will run for 15 years.Monreal said earlier that the best solution to prevent similar incidents is to construct a new airport with two parallel main runways. The Transportation department is pushing for the development of other gateways to complement Naia and the Clark International Airport. Monreal said at least two airport development projects are now being prioritizedbuilding a new airport in Bulacan and developing the Sangley airport in Cavite. This airport complementation strategy is aimed at decongesting NAIA, give travelers more options, and spread development across Luzon. The new Bulacan airport, an unsolicited proposal from the San Miguel Holdings Corp., was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority Board on April 25, subject to resolution of pending issues, including a submission of Joint and Several Liability agreement by SMHC and its parent company. The Transportation department also welcomed the proposal of the Provincial Government of Cavite to develop the Sangley Airport. The approval process, however, will be defined after the Cavite local government unit has determined the legal framework for its implementation. Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday said she will push for the modernization of the Clark International Airport to decongest Naia, which she has advocated even before the Xiamen Airlines incident. Arroyo said the terminal at Clark is now being improved and will be inaugurated in 2020. Actually I have been for it and its not because of any specific knee jerk reaction to any event. The terminal is under construction as we speak, scheduled for inauguration in 2020 and today is the opening of the bids for the new runway, Arroyo said. Arroyo pushed for the modernization of the Clark airport following an inspection Friday morning of the preparations being done for the eventual construction of another passenger terminal at Clarkfield in Pampanga. This developed as Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, chairman of the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries, suggested that Naia management could use its P3.7-billion income for the airports modernization program after the Xiamen Airlines fiasco. Evardone was among the thousands of passengers who were inconvenienced by the runway closure. The Department of Transportation also pushed for the development of other gateways, including those in Bulacan and Cavite. The idea of having multiple airports is something that the worlds biggest economies do. Ideally, there should be a train service linking these airports, which is also being pursued by the government. This complementation strategy was already part of the air transport roadmap from day one, and rest assured, thats what we are going to do, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said.Egyptian police have killed four terrorists who attempted to carry out an attack on a security checkpoint on the coastal highway of North Sinai's El-Arish, MENA state news agency reported on Saturday, citing an informed source.

The source said that the attackers were armed with heavy weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Some of the terrorists involved in the attack managed to flee the scene, leaving behind 10 explosive charges that they had planned to use in the attack.

The attackers left behind four automatic weapons, 30 magazines, a number of RPG missiles, three explosive belts, a camera, a Motorola communication device and hand grenades, according to the source.

The incident comes amid Egypt's ongoing Operation Sinai 2018, launched on 9 February to implement the plan of comprehensive confrontation of terrorist and criminal elements and organisations in North and Central Sinai, and in other areas in the Nile Delta and desert areas west of the Nile Valley, according to the Armed Forces.

The counter-terrorism operation involves land, naval and air forces, as well as the police and border guards.

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After taking criticism this week for throttling a fire departments data speeds during a wildfire, Verizon announced Thursday it no longer will place restrictions on data speeds of first responders during emergencies on the West Coast.

Verizon Senior Vice President Mike Maiorana says Verizon will lift data restrictions and provide full network access to first responders during disasters.

The announcement comes a few days after a Silicon Valley fire department revealed in court documents that Verizon intentionally throttled the departments data speeds during the Mendocino Complex fire, the largest wildfire ever in California, covering more than 400,000 acres.

USA Today NetworkRyan Suppe, USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2018/08/24/verizon-removes-speed-restrictions-first-responders/1084102002/

***

Montana firefighters planning for data needs to avoid throttling

I dont want to pay for all that data every month on the off chance that were going to use it, he said. But when we need it, we need it.

Jonathon AmbarianUniversity of Montana President Seth Bodnar delivered the annual State of the University address on Aug. 24 in front of a near-capacity crowd in the Montana Theatre on campus.

Breaking with tradition, the president invited leaders of the Universitys shared governance groups  the student, faculty and staff senates  to share the podium with him during the address.

http://news.umt.edu/2018/08/082418stdt.php

***

State of the University: Montana is on the rise, literally and physically

Along with a clear focus on student success and faculty engagement, the University of Montana is on the rise in many ways, Provost Jon Harbor assured the faculty, staff and students gathered for Fridays State of the University address.

While highlighting the success of UM graduates including YouTube sensations Hank Green and Emily Graslie, Harbor said the school is literally on the rise  according to work by graduate student Ellen Knappe.

By Mari HallThree new zero-emission battery electric buses will arrive at the University of Montana thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The Associated Students of UMs UDASH transit system was awarded the competitive grant through the FTAs Low and No Emission Bus Program.

http://news.umt.edu/2018/08/082418dash.phpGov. Matt Meads office released its long-awaited 20-year plan on diversifying Wyoming industry on Wednesday night, offering an array of strategies intended to break the "boom and bust" cycle that have long defined the states economy.

In a Thursday morning press conference in Cheyenne, Mead gave an overview of the nearly 100-page framework for the states economic development policy, a broad, overarching set of guidelines comprised of 50 specific recommendations that set a general direction for the future of the state.

NICK REYNOLDS 307-266-0634, [email protected]

https://trib.com/business/wyoming-is-stuck-in-a-boom-and-bust-cycle-gov/article_316845c0-0ad9-512b-9bc2-109b91fdb976.html

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ENDOW Releases 20-Year Strategic Plan For Economic Diversification http://www.matr.net/article-84414.htmlMahen Seeruttun a participe au debat sur le projet de loi du Premier Minsitre car lamendement a un impact direct sur le secteur financier notamment la possibilite dachat de bien immobilier pour blanchir de largent sale.

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LinkedInThe Indian Ocean country of Mauritius continues with its proactive and transparent response to the

global COVID crisis, as it prepares to complete the reopening of its borders to fully vaccinated visitors,

but in a safe and secure manner, on the 1st of October 2021.

The nation has one of the highest fully vaccinated rates in Africa, currently standing at over 60 percent of the overall population (82 percent of the local adult population). The vaccination campaign is ongoing, and the rollout will also include those below 18 years old as from the end of September 2021.

The nations modern health service has coped well throughout the pandemic, implementing strong protocols. The countrys successful vaccination programme and overall health management resulted in very low hospitalisation numbers  an average of just over 3% hospitalized patients over the last 28 days, most of whom being in health facilities because of associated comorbidities rather than COVID-19 suggestive symptoms. It is to be noted that the infection rate is being closely managed and that the recent spike has been decreasing steadily over the last 2 weeks.

We adopted a health-first approach with strict protocols to protect the population, from the beginning of the pandemic. Our public health services continue to operate to their normal capacity, with protocols being updated when relevant. Dedicated ICU facilities for COVID-19 patients have been set-up at the onset of the pandemic, and have been strengthened according to the Ministrys preparedness plan worked out in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, explained Dr K. Jagutpal, Minister of Health and Wellness. We instituted airport screening and the quarantining of travelers since 2020. Our vaccination rollout has been systematic, and we have already exceeded our target of fully vaccinated adults well ahead of the complete reopening of our borders to vaccinated travelers on the 1st of October, added Minister Jagutpal.

Since the onset of the pandemic in Mauritius in March 2020, the country sadly recorded 45 fatalities

directly inputted to COVID-19, out of a population of about 1.3 million.

We now all have to learn to live with COVID-19. The vaccination rollout in Mauritius was good and the vaccination rate high enough to make it safe to now ask the population to resume their normal lives, while respecting barrier measures, said Dr Laurent Musango, the local representative of the World Health Organisation. Of course, in the context of a pandemic, there are always more avenues to be considered to optimize safety, but Mauritius is doing well, adds Dr Musango.

Unvaccinated travelers can also travel to Mauritius, subject to a 14 days in-room quarantine in a state designated hotel/facility. In line with its health-first approach, this same protocol for unvaccinated travelers will remain when the country reopens on the 1st of October.

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LinkedInThe US decision to cancel more than $200 million in aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank demonstrates Washington is "anti-peace," the Palestinian envoy said Friday, condemning the move as "blackmail."

"This administration is dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine," Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian General Delegation to the United States said in a statement, referring to President Donald Trump's administration.

"After Jerusalem and UNRWA, this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda. Weaponizing humanitarian and developmental aid as political blackmail does not work."

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US President Donald Trump's administration is resorting to "cheap blackmail" against the Palestinians with its decision to cut more than $200 million in aid for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday.

A State Department official said Friday that the decision, made "at the direction of the president," came after a review of aid programmes to the Palestinian territories. The funding would "now address high-priority projects elsewhere".

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) executive committee, hit back, saying: "The US administration is demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool.

"The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion. The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," Ashrawi countered.

In January, the United States had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump last December decided to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with Washington and consider that it can no longer be an impartial mediator in the Middle East peace process.

After the latest blow, Ashrawi insisted that the Palestinians, living under Israeli occupation, would not be coerced into surrendering their rights.

"There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation," she wrote in a statement.

"The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources; now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation."

In an initial reaction on Friday, the PLO's representative in Washington, Husam Zomlot, said the US administration was "dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine".

"After Jerusalem and UNRWA, this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda," he said.

The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests erupted in March.

At least 172 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the vast majority of them during demonstrations near the border.

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A suicide attacker killed at least three people on Saturday by detonating explosives near the office of Afghanistan's election commission in the eastern city of Jalalabad, where dozens of protesters had gathered, an official said.

The protesters had gathered in support of a parliamentary candidate who electoral officials had disqualified over his suspected links with illegal armed groups.

Eight people were also wounded.

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Tom Frieden, a leading public health expert instrumental in the US response to the Ebola crisis and to legislating against smoking, was arrested and charged with sexual harassment on Friday.

The executive, who served as head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under president Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, appeared before a Brooklyn criminal court and was released without bail, prosecutors said.

He was arrested on charges of forcible touching, sexual abuse and harassment of a 55-year-old woman in upmarket Brooklyn Heights.

He is accused of touching the woman's buttocks and squeezing without her consent in October 2017. The woman filed a complaint in July, police confirmed to AFP.

Judge Michael Yavinsky prohibited him from having any contact with the victim. Frieden surrendered his passport and is next due in court on October 11, prosecutors said.

He is currently president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, a $225 million initiative at global health non-profit Vital Strategies, which is funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In his former job, he led CDC work that is credited with helping to end the Ebola epidemic.

He served as New York city health commissioner from 2002-2009 under billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg, leading efforts to legislate against smoking.

A physician by training, he has degrees from Columbia University, completed an infectious disease fellowship at Yale University and has authored more than 200 scientific publications.

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August 25, 2018

Trump Ties North Korea Talks To Trade Deal With China

Yesterday U.S. President Trump threw another hissy fit on the negotiations with North Korea:

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump - 17:36 utc - 24 Aug 2018 I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula ...

... Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place) ...

... Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!

Pompeo was in Trump's office when Trump tweeted the above. Staff in the State Department was briefing foreign ambassadors on Pompeo's upcoming talks, planned for next week, when Trump stepped in. The decision was clearly a surprise.

Trump is suddenly binding the continuation of Korea talks to a trade deal with China. Such a deal is unlikely to happen anytime soon as China is convinced that it can win a tariff war, while the Trump administration overestimates the economic pressure it can create. That Trump now connects these two issues might mean that he has given up the "denuclearization" game.

Peter Lee, aka Chinahand, sees a larger plan behind the latest Trumping: to demonstrate to Kim Jong-un that China is hindering Kim's plans for a peace agreement and for economic development; then, when China will finally be pushed into open adversary status to the U.S., Kim Jong-un will have to chose and will end up in the U.S. camp. If that is really Trump's plan, which I doubt, then it is clearly bound to fail. North Korea would never end the relations with its long-term strategic partner for the dangerous vagueness of a nuclear treaty relations with the U.S. (see Iran, Libya).

It is more likely that Trump is punting here because there is no way he can get North Korea to denuclearize before signing an official peace agreement with it. Signing a peace agreement is not what the U.S. wants. With Korea at peace and on the way to re-unification, the U.S. would lose the justification for keeping U.S.troops in South Korea, its only major foothold on the east-Asian continent.

This position - denuclearization as precondition for talks about a peace agreement - has long been held by Secretary of State Pompeo. It is in contradiction to the Singapore Statement Trump and Kim Jong-un signed. The Statement included (twice) a sequence of three steps:

President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un state the following: The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new US-DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity. The United States and DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

Even hawkish Korea analysts agree that this sequencing was the new, unprecedented core of the agreement:

For the first time in the history of negotiations, Washington essentially accepted, whether blindly or wittingly, Pyongyangs wish list on sequencing: 1) normalization of bilateral relations, 2) establishment of a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, and then 3) complete denuclearization.

The "complete denuclearization" is not an agreed upon item. North Korea only committed to aspirational "work towards it". This is similar to Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in which the nuclear powers committed to "undertake to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to [..] nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament." That treaty was first signed in July 1968. 50 years on the nuclear powers who signed the NPT have still not fulfilled their commitment.

Despite the evident agreement in the Statement to follow a sequence of several steps, the Trump administration has been deceptive about it. After the Singapore Statement it again demanded from North Korea to take step 3 before the U.S. takes step 1 and 2. The administration also continues to falsely claim that North Korea agreed to "denuclearization". On August 28, when Secretary of State introduced a new special representative for North Korea, he said:

Steve [Biegun] will direct U.S. policy towards North Korea and lead our efforts to achieve President Trumps goal of the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, as agreed to by Chairman Kim Jong-un.

Chairman Kim Jong-un never agreed to such a thing.

(Interestingly Trump's tweet diverts from Pomeo's formulation by speaking of "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula", not just "of North Korea".)

The U.S. media, even those outlets which oppose the Trump regime, support the falsehoods the administration is spreading. They fail to point out the obvious sequencing agreed to in the Singapore Statement and they fail to point out the aspirational character of the disarmament point. Instead of holding Trump's feet to the fire for breaking an agreement he himself signed just a few month ago, the New York Times, Washington Post and others seem to support his stand.

The Trump negotiations with North Korea were in the end probably just an attempt to get some fast success before the big clash with China over global supremacy finally enters a more serious stage.

Left hanging then are the Korean people and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea who had pushed for a final peace agreement with his norther brethren. Moon has plans for a new meeting with Kim and he wants to take some serious steps towards economic cooperation with the north. He will now surely come under U.S. pressure to stay away from such negotiations. The NYT rather blatantly declares:

How far Mr. Moon can go in pushing ahead with the many projects he has envisioned with the North, like reconnecting the two Koreas railways, depends on whether Washington and Pyongyang can agree on how to denuclearize the North.

Is Moon really locked in, as the Times assumes, or does he have his people backing and the courage to independently push on with his peace plans? If he does and succeeds, the Trump gambit with North Korea could end with a big loss for the U.S. position in South Korea.



Peter Lee is right when he sets the Korea talks into the big picture of the U.S. on its way to declare China an official adversary. There are small and big signs that a deeper conflict is developing.

This week the U.S. berated El Salvador for its decision to follow a One-China policy and for opening diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in Beijing while ending them with the Republic of China in Taiwan. The U.S. even threatens with economic consequences. But the U.S. itself took the same step in 1979 and as been holding on to the One-China policy ever since. That though may soon change.

Over the last few years Washington upgraded its relations with Taiwan. It built a gigantic new unofficial diplomatic outlet, the American Institute, in Taipei for a cool $250 million. While it is officially neither a consulate nor an embassy it is guarded by U.S. Marines and it will surely become the later when the U.S. finally pushes Taiwan to declare its independence from China. Beijing knows what is coming. China's industry currently depends on many computer chips produced in Taiwan. It launched a major program to become independent of those imports.

If Taiwan declares independence and invites the U.S. military to protect it, Beijing will have a serious problem. The move would be an attack on its sovereignty over all of China. It could try to invade Taiwan, a difficult endeavor, or at least to snatch away the islands next to China's mainland which are currently under Taipei's control. A recent Pentagon report to Congress discusses (pdf page 107) these options. The fight would then move into the diplomatic realm with Beijing pressing other countries to continue a One-China policy and to not accept Taiwan's independence, while the U.S. would press other countries to recognize an independent Taiwan. El Salvador is the first casualty in this fight.

Who in the White House is making these policies? Trump's tweets yesterday seem spontaneous, but are carefully formulated and obviously part of some larger plans. Are these Trump's plans? Or have the hawks -Bolton, Mattis, Pompeo- written these up to push Trump along their lines?

Posted by b on August 25, 2018 at 17:59 UTC | Permalink

CommentsAccident

A vehicle crashed into a light pole across the street from the Morgan Hill Police Department, 16200 Vineyard Boulevard. The vehicle damaged the pole and continued traveling past the collision scene. Police caught up with the damaged vehicle on Tennant Avenue and located a passenger who suffered non-life threatening injuries including a cut to his head. The passenger was treated at a nearby hospital. The driver allegedly fled the scene and was not immediately located, according to police reports. The accident was reported 10:44pm Aug. 16.

A Dodge truck hit a palm tree at the intersection of Half and Condit Road. Three subjects in the vehicle appeared to be uninjured. The accident was reported at 4:01pm Aug. 15.

Petty theft

Someone stole about $30 worth of markers from Hobby Lobby, 990 Cochrane Road. The crime was reported 5:39pm Aug. 21.

A suspect stole a pair of running shoes and clothing from Big 5 Sporting Goods, 150 Cochrane Plaza. The theft was reported 12:20pm Aug. 22. The suspect grabbed the merchandise and ran outside, into a U-Haul truck in the parking lot.

Someone stole a wallet from an unlocked Ford Explorer on Torrey Court. The crime was reported 8:19am Aug. 19.

A thief or thieves stole tools from the front porch of a residence on Gallop Drive. The value of the stolen items was about $3,300. The crime was reported 5:21pm Aug. 16.

Someone stole a gray Schwinn bicycle with a small white rack on the rear tire from outside Nob Hill Foods, 451 Vineyard Town Center. The theft was reported 7:15pm Aug. 16.

A suspect or suspects stole a patio chair from a residence on Piazza Way. The theft was reported 5:38pm Aug. 10.

Stolen vehicle

A thief or thieves stole a white 2001 GMC Yukon from a spot on East First Street. The theft was reported 7:35am Aug. 22. The victim also told police his credit cards were used at a gas station in Gilroy, shortly after the vehicle was stolen.

A black Honda Accord, previously reported stolen to Morgan Hill Police, was recovered on Monterey Road. The vehicles battery and radio were missing, but the car was not stripped or burned, according to police reports. The vehicle was reported recovered at 5:09pm Aug. 16.

Disturbance

Multiple witnesses reported a silver Mercedes S-Class was spinning donuts in the area of Llagas Road and Hale Avenue. The disturbance was reported 10:48pm Aug. 18.

Auto burglary

A thief or thieves broke into a Toyota Highlander and a Toyota Landcruiser on Farallon Drive. The crimes were reported 2:11pm Aug. 19.

Someone broke into a black Mercedes on Serra Avenida and ransacked the vehicle. The crime was reported 7:53am Aug. 16.

A thief or thieves broke the rear window of a Chevrolet Silverado on Condit Road. The crime was reported 9:32am Aug. 16.

Someone broke into a white Audi on Padua Court and stole a garage door opener. A donut and chocolate milk container were left in a bag next the vehicle. The crime was reported 7:34am Aug. 15.

Animal control

A woman reported a kitten was stuck in the engine compartment of an abandoned vehicle on Barrett Avenue, and she asked for assistance to remove the kitten. The animal was removed and reunited with its mother. The incident was reported 7:58pm Aug. 19.

Theft

Two suspects stole two boxes of tools from Home Depot, 860 E. Dunne Ave. The crime was reported 12:50pm Aug. 20.

Robbery

Two suspects, described as black men in their late teens or early 20s, stole a number of watches and phones from the T-Mobile store, 1041 Cochrane Road. The suspects stole the merchandise and fled the store on foot, and might have been associated with a maroon Nissan sedan. The crime was reported 7:34pm Aug. 15. A witness who called police said the same suspects stole items from the store in a previous incident, according to police reports.

Fight

Three men were seen beating up another man in the area of CineLux theater, 750 Tennant Station. Police arrived and located a victim lying on the ground. No suspects were arrested. The crime was reported 1:08am Aug. 11.

All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.Trade exchange between China and African states increased 14 percent year-on-year in 2017, registering $170 billion, minister counsellor for economic affairs at the Chinese embassy in Cairo Han Bing said on Saturday.

In statements to MENA, Han revealed that Chinese investments in Africa recorded $3.1 billion in 2017.

China sees major opportunities for the expansion of economic cooperation with African countries in fields such as agriculture, investment, energy and natural resources, he said.

The Chinese official said that Beijing intends to carry out several projects in African countries, including a modern agriculture centre and another one for ocean research.

He also unveiled plans to foster cooperation among Chinese and African banks.

Han also said that his country will host the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will include a ministerial conference on 1 and 2 September, and then another meeting at the level of Chinese and African heads of state on 3 and 4 September.

He added that a business forum and a roundtable are set to be held on the sidelines of the forum, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivering a speech at the inaugural session.

FOCAC aims to bolster cooperation between Beijing and African states at the political, economic and cultural levels, to maintain security and stability as well as promote anti-terrorism efforts, Han said.

Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that the 2018 FOCAC summit aims to build a stronger community with a shared future between China and Africa.

"First, the summit will make a renewed call for a stronger community with a shared future between China and Africa," Wang said.

"Second, the forum will usher in a new era for the Belt and Road Initiative and Africa's development, and China will engage with Africa in equal consultation, planning together, working together and benefiting together," Wang stressed.

The summit will connect the Belt and Road Initiative with Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the UN 2030 Agenda on sustainable development, he noted.

The foreign minister also vowed that the summit will push cooperation between China and Africa to a new high level.

"During the summit, we will adopt the Beijing Declaration and the Beijing Action Plan, a number of bilateral cooperation agreements will also be signed, which will give a plan for Chinese and African cooperation in the next three years and beyond," Wang said.

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PLAINVILLE  Dozens of hot air balloons hovered over Norton Park Saturday morning as calm, swirling winds made for some of the best flying conditions ever at the annual Plainville Fire Companys Hot Air Balloon Festival.

Ive been doing this 20 years and Im still like a kid when the balloons are getting up, said Lisa Huck, a pilot who filled in as a crew member in one of the approximately 25 balloons at the park.

Her balloon was able to catch the swirling winds and float around the park.

Theres something magical for people about balloons, Huck said. People like them, theyre bright and colorful.

This morning was exceptional, said Santo Galatioto, a pilot from Orange who has brought his balloon to the festival for decades. The winds were gentle, so the people at the festival could see the balloons for a lot longer.

With the winds so calm Saturday morning, Galatioto was able to fly so low and slow one of his granddaughters could pick the leaves off treetops as they passed by.

With vibrant colors, sizes and artwork like giraffes and safari scenes glowing in the days first rays of light, even those who dont go into the air got to enjoy a surreal sight. Plainville Fire Company Captain Kurt Plourde said spectators can talk with the pilot as they set up and watch them take off.

Its great to get up close to those balloons, he said, seeing how its set up, seeing how it goes up.

My daughter was amazed by the size of them, said Janet Sirois, of Coventry. I think the kids are amazed by how they get up there.

Weve never seen them up closewe wanted the kids to experience that, she added.

Having proposed to his wife in a balloon years ago, Plourde said it should be on the top of peoples bucket lists.

Theres nothing like it. Its so peaceful and quiet; its like floating on air, he said.

As much as all the firefighters enjoy putting on the show, it is a lot of work. Plourde said he expects theyll start planning the 35th festival in a few months.

Were happy to be able to give back, because the services these guys provide are invaluable, Galatioto said. We fly in this area often and its nice knowing theyre there to help.

Its beautiful, its really serene, said Colleen Nightingale, of Glastonbury, who rode in a balloon two years ago during her engagement. Its very calming. You think it would be loud up there, but its not.SOUTHINGTON  The Planning and Zoning Commission never got the chance to consider a proposed elderly housing opportunity district because the application was withdrawn.

Kratzert, Jones & Associates Inc. proposed the zoning regulation change. The Plantsville company frequently represents builders and companies on planning and zoning applications. Jim Sakonchick, company president, said Monday that the elderly housing district gives builders more flexibility to construct housing to meet the needs of seniors looking for smaller and more affordable living accommodations.

The plan was then withdrawn Tuesday, the day it was scheduled to be discussed by the PZC. Sakonchick couldnt be reached after the meeting for comment on why the application was withdrawn and if it will be resubmitted.

Under the proposal, minimum parking spaces and affordable housing requirements would be reduced for properties in the elderly housing district. It allows the construction of cluster housing subject to special permit approval by the PZC.

The suggested regulations would allow Southingtons participation in the megatrend of smaller cluster housing for seniors, according to Sakonchick. Empty-nesters are looking for smaller houses, less or no lawn to maintain and proximity to neighbors but dont necessarily want to move into apartment or condominiums.

Land prices in Connecticut force builders to put up large, expensive single-family homes that dont serve the needs of seniors, Sakonchick said. Less expensive housing allows them to remain in the state with reduced property taxes.

The district is considered a floating zone, according to Town Planner Rob Philips.

It would only be applicable where certain triggers are met, he said prior to the withdrawal.

The zone could only be used on roads serviced by public water and sewer, for example. The underlying zoning of an area would remain in place.

Philips said he wasnt given any indication if any particular area in town was under consideration.

I never got a clear answer, he said.

Sakonchick illustrated potential uses of the district with a 16-unit development in a single-family neighborhood. With changes allowing cluster housing, four-unit buildings would be constructed for seniors wanting smaller living spaces in a neighborhood setting.

It would look just like a four single-family home development, Sakonchick said.

Several builders are interested in the concept.

I have contractors who have expressed frustration with the inability to serve this market, Sakonchick said.

jbuchanan@record-journal.com

203-317-2230

Twitter: @JBuchananRJWALLINGFORD  Leadership turnover at Most Holy Trinity Church has resulted in two priests departing their posts and a new one joining the 10,000 member congregation.

The Rev. Jorge Castro resigned as Holy Trinity pastor and asked for a new assignment, Archdiocese of Hartford officials said. He was transferred to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Hamden and started on Wednesday.

The Rev. Kingsley Ihejirika, who served as Holy Trinitys parochial vicar, is currently in his home country of Nigeria. Earlier this year, Ihejirika held fundraisers to build a medical clinic in Obike, Nigeria, which lacked a permanent clinic.

Upon his return, Ihejirika will move to St. Justin-St. Michael Parish in Hartford to assume an administrative position, archdiocese officials said.

Taking over as pastor is the Rev. Andres Mendoza Floyd, formerly the pastor of St. Katherine Drexel in New Britain. Floyd began on Tuesday.

Most Holy Trinity Church, at 84 N. Colony St., serves 3,675 families and 10,000 individual members.

It was among the few churches that did not close or merge with another church or parish during the reorganization of the archdiocese in June 2017.

Castro was assigned to Holy Trinity, where he had served as a vicar two years earlier, as part of the reorganization process.

During his yearlong tenure, Castro was credited with embracing the diversity of parish, which has a large Hispanic community and offers services in Spanish.

During a farewell party this month, Castro reflected on his accomplishments while declining to discuss specifics about his request for a transfer.

Im leaving knowing that I have a lot of friends here, Castro said. I did as much as I could for this community.

He feels his legacy will be his hard work and dedication.

They realize and learn that there is one church. Yes there are many languages, but only the one faith to unite them.

He decided to leave Holy Trinity after prayer and consideration, Castro said.

Im leaving with the truth that everything I did was for the church, he said.

Maria Zone, archdiocese spokesperson, said via email that transfers are never easy, neither for the parish nor the priests.

They are all the more difficult in this time when the Church in the Northeast is struggling with the shortage of priestly vocations, she added.

Jerry Farrell Jr., a former Wallingford town councilor who serves as parish historian and was on the churchs building committee, echoed Zones comments via email Tuesday.

While we would all love our priests to stay with us forever, Farrell said,  there are only so many priests to go around.

He added that he plans to help and work with Floyd.

While I have admired each of the eight pastors I have worked with over the years at Holy Trinity, he said, and missed them when they were gone, my faith is in God, not necessarily in a person.

According to a statement from the Archdiocese, Floyd probably will be the sole priest at Holy Trinity until a parochial vicar can be freed up from another assignment, due to the shortage of priests.

In the meantime, changes may be required in the schedule of daily masses and other parish activities.

Reporter Devin Leith-Yessian contributed to this story.

This story was edited to reflect an update in attribution of information from the Archdiocese of Hartford.

LTakores@record-journal.com

203-317-2212

Twitter: @LCTakoresBusiness

Vedanta plans to invest over Rs 56,000 cr in 3 yrs

Mumbai, Aug 25 (Agencies) | Publish Date: 8/25/2018 12:26:01 PM IST

Vedanta Limited on Friday said it plans to spend up to $400 million (Rs 2,800 crore) on expansion of Electrosteels capacity to 2.5 million tonnes, as well as increase expenditure on technology and digital innovation to about Rs 3,500 crore.

The announcements are part of a larger spending proposal of $8 billion (Rs 56,028 crore) that the natural resources major plans to implement across businesses over the next three years to boost their size by at least 50%.

Most of the $8 billion expenditure will be funded through internal accruals, so there is no plan at this point of time for our debt to go up, Vedanta Ltd chairman Navin Agarwal said on the sidelines of the companys annual general meeting.

We have a comfortable level of internal free cash flow to fund expansion that will grow our size at least by 50%. Vedantas free cash flow stood at Rs 7,900 crore at the end of the last fiscal year, as the company brought down its gross debt by Rs 8,500 crore.

However, acquisition of Electrosteel and adjustment of working capital had increased its net debt to Rs 29, 910 at the end of the first quarter.

It has cash and liquid investments of close to Rs 35,251 crore. Even though the company is grappling with the closure of its 400,000-tonne copper smelting plant in Tuticorin, the chairman said the company is in a sweet spot.Two people were killed in a fatal vehicle crash near New Lisbon Friday afternoon.

A Cadillac Escalade was travelling eastbound on I-90 at milepost 64 when the vehicle drifted off into the median and narrowly missed a guardrail at 2:00 p.m., according to the Wisconsin State Patrol.

The Cadillac then continued parallel along the guardrail and vaulted off the incline of the Welch Prairie Road overpass. The Escalade then struck the overpass bridge before coming to rest.

The driver, an 81-year-old man from St. Charles, Illinois and the passenger, a 73-year-old woman were both killed. Their names are being withheld pending notification of family.

New Lisbon Fire and EMS, Juneau County Sheriff's Department and the Juneau Highway Department assisted at the scene.Carroll County Independent Effingham residents celebrate town's 240th anniversary

by Melissa Seamans

Aug. 18 was a day for celebration in Effingham as the community gathered to recognize the 240th anniversary of the town's incorporation. (Photo by Melissa Seamans) (click for larger version) EFFINGHAM  Aug. 18 was a day for celebration here, as the community gathered to recognize the 240th anniversary of Effingham's incorporation.



It was on Aug. 18, 1778 when, according to a page from the Journal of the Executive Council, that the Council voted to "incorporate a place called Leavittstown in the County of Strafford by the name of Effingham."



The luncheon celebration, hosted by Effingham Connect, was attended by about 26 people though all 45 tickets had been sold and was held at the impeccably restored historic Effingham Preservation Society building on Town House Road. Among the special guests were Selectman Michael Cahalane and New Hampshire State Representatives Ed Comeau, Bill Nelson and William Marsh. Both Comeau and Marsh offered congratulatory remarks and Nelson read a proclamation from Governor Chris Sununu.



In the proclamation, that was framed and presented to Cahalane as a gift to the town, Sununu said, in part, "The community and dedication to volunteerism that is present in Effingham ensures that the town and its citizens will have a vibrant future."



Effingham Connect was founded in May with a mission to "connect people and resources to serve, strengthen and celebrate the Effingham Community". The board of directors and community donors and volunteers have installed four new "Welcome to Effingham" signs, cleaned up the site of the early-1800's Effingham Poor Cemetery, completed a major landscaping project at Effingham Library, publishes a quarterly newsletter, and joined Effingham Elementary PTO and Carroll County House of Corrections for trail cleanup day at the school. The group's next undertaking is to refurbish and update the Effingham Honor Roll on the grounds of Lord's Hill Meeting House in time for a Veterans Day celebration in November. EFFINGHAM  Aug. 18 was a day for celebration here, as the community gathered to recognize the 240th anniversary of Effingham's incorporation.It was on Aug. 18, 1778 when, according to a page from the Journal of the Executive Council, that the Council voted to "incorporate a place called Leavittstown in the County of Strafford by the name of Effingham."The luncheon celebration, hosted by Effingham Connect, was attended by about 26 people though all 45 tickets had been sold and was held at the impeccably restored historic Effingham Preservation Society building on Town House Road. Among the special guests were Selectman Michael Cahalane and New Hampshire State Representatives Ed Comeau, Bill Nelson and William Marsh. Both Comeau and Marsh offered congratulatory remarks and Nelson read a proclamation from Governor Chris Sununu.In the proclamation, that was framed and presented to Cahalane as a gift to the town, Sununu said, in part, "The community and dedication to volunteerism that is present in Effingham ensures that the town and its citizens will have a vibrant future."Effingham Connect was founded in May with a mission to "connect people and resources to serve, strengthen and celebrate the Effingham Community". The board of directors and community donors and volunteers have installed four new "Welcome to Effingham" signs, cleaned up the site of the early-1800's Effingham Poor Cemetery, completed a major landscaping project at Effingham Library, publishes a quarterly newsletter, and joined Effingham Elementary PTO and Carroll County House of Corrections for trail cleanup day at the school. The group's next undertaking is to refurbish and update the Effingham Honor Roll on the grounds of Lord's Hill Meeting House in time for a Veterans Day celebration in November.

Carroll County Independent Woodland garden art enchants all ages Late goals sink defending champs in quarterfinals Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.comGilford Steamer GHS Writing teacher to publish second book

Scott T. Hutchison has been teaching poetry to Gilford High School students since 1987, and as he enters his final year of teaching he is about to demonstrate, once again, that he practices what he preaches. Main Street Rag Publishing in Charlotte, North Carolina, will release "Moonshine Narratives"Hutchison's second bookin January.



"I got my first poem published in a nationally-distributed magazine back in 1990," says Hutchison, "and it's been pretty steady since that time."



Hutchison has published over 150 poems and over twenty short stories since that first publication, which came in The Southern Review. "My first book back in 2003'Reining In' (Black Bird Press)was with a small publisher, and had a modest run of copies. Main Street Rag is a stronger publisher with much greater exposure and press run. So we'll see if it's something readers of poetry are interested in. They're really backing this one. The book is over a hundred pages, which is big for a book of poetry. Over half of the poems in 'Moonshine Narratives' have been published in magazines, so I think they're feeling good about pushing it."



The cover art for the book comes from Gilford art teacher Laura Weed.



"It's perfect," says Hutchison. "I'm delighted to have Laura's vision and talent involved with this project."







Hutchison came to Gilford High School after having taught for English and Creative Writing for five years in Virginia, along with time out of teaching, which involved both construction and working on a thoroughbred race horse farm. 2018-2019 will be Hutchison's 31st and final year at GHS, and he values the time spent in his New Hampshire school and community.



"I came here at age 29, a southerner. But at this point I've lived longer in New England than I lived in the South, so I think it's fair to say that I'm a New Englander now with a southern background," he commented.



Hutchison received degrees from Virginia Tech (BA English), Middlebury (MA English Literature), and Vermont College (MFA in Writing/Poetry), and has used that preparation in both his classroom teaching and in his writing.



"I've been lucky," he says. "I found a school that supports me, and the kids have always been great. The best. Once I got here, I never wanted to leave. Gilford has promoted a Visiting Writer program, along with the student literary magazine (named "Best Literary/Art Magazine" in the country (small schools) three different times by the American Scholastic Press Association). The Gilford PTA has gotten behind our students with the national Reflections program, and we seem to win awards at the state level on a regular basis. What's more, the PTA runs an annual K-12 poetry competition. They've also supported the new Unified Writing program. Why in the world would a writing teacher ever leave this place, other than the fact that retirement time beckons? And I got lucky yet again with teaching at Gilford: this is where I met my wife, Gail."



Gail Hutchison taught English for 30 years, working alongside her husband before retiring in 2014.







"Moonshine Narratives" comes with a blurb from Tim Seibles. Seibles has been a finalist for the National Book Award with "Fast Animal," and is the current Poet Laureate for the state of Virginia.



He has this to say about Hutchison's book: "If you've ever wondered what kinds of sad and crazy bees fill the heads of boys early in life then Scott Hutchison has the x-rays for you. Jam-packed with poems as carefully made as they are mischievous, 'Moonshine Narratives' rips and rolls with poignant, wild-ass energy. For most of us who landed in this world as boys, there's no way to read this book without wanting to run back through time and wrassel somebody."







Main Street Rag Publishing is currently taking advance orders on "Moonshine Narratives" at a reduced rate from the cover price. Anyone wishing to pre-order a copy can simply do an internet search: Scott Hutchison Moonshine Narratives. Sample poems from the book are also on the author's Web site.



"The more advance orders we get, the bigger the press run," says Hutchison. "Things are moving forward nicely, and I'm hoping people like the work. 2019 looks to be both busy and fun for me."







So what does the future hold for Hutchison after the coming school year ends? Hutchison hopes that the writing will carry him along a bit further.



"Contractually, I have to go out and deliver readings to promote the book, and I'm already lining up venues," he continues. "As for what's next, I'm always writing and publishing, and I like editing, so we will see where all of that leads. I've enjoyed teaching, and I enjoy the writing lifeI'm excited to discover what lies ahead." Scott T. Hutchison has been teaching poetry to Gilford High School students since 1987, and as he enters his final year of teaching he is about to demonstrate, once again, that he practices what he preaches. Main Street Rag Publishing in Charlotte, North Carolina, will release "Moonshine Narratives"Hutchison's second bookin January."I got my first poem published in a nationally-distributed magazine back in 1990," says Hutchison, "and it's been pretty steady since that time."Hutchison has published over 150 poems and over twenty short stories since that first publication, which came in The Southern Review. "My first book back in 2003'Reining In' (Black Bird Press)was with a small publisher, and had a modest run of copies. Main Street Rag is a stronger publisher with much greater exposure and press run. So we'll see if it's something readers of poetry are interested in. They're really backing this one. The book is over a hundred pages, which is big for a book of poetry. Over half of the poems in 'Moonshine Narratives' have been published in magazines, so I think they're feeling good about pushing it."The cover art for the book comes from Gilford art teacher Laura Weed."It's perfect," says Hutchison. "I'm delighted to have Laura's vision and talent involved with this project."Hutchison came to Gilford High School after having taught for English and Creative Writing for five years in Virginia, along with time out of teaching, which involved both construction and working on a thoroughbred race horse farm. 2018-2019 will be Hutchison's 31st and final year at GHS, and he values the time spent in his New Hampshire school and community."I came here at age 29, a southerner. But at this point I've lived longer in New England than I lived in the South, so I think it's fair to say that I'm a New Englander now with a southern background," he commented.Hutchison received degrees from Virginia Tech (BA English), Middlebury (MA English Literature), and Vermont College (MFA in Writing/Poetry), and has used that preparation in both his classroom teaching and in his writing."I've been lucky," he says. "I found a school that supports me, and the kids have always been great. The best. Once I got here, I never wanted to leave. Gilford has promoted a Visiting Writer program, along with the student literary magazine (named "Best Literary/Art Magazine" in the country (small schools) three different times by the American Scholastic Press Association). The Gilford PTA has gotten behind our students with the national Reflections program, and we seem to win awards at the state level on a regular basis. What's more, the PTA runs an annual K-12 poetry competition. They've also supported the new Unified Writing program. Why in the world would a writing teacher ever leave this place, other than the fact that retirement time beckons? And I got lucky yet again with teaching at Gilford: this is where I met my wife, Gail."Gail Hutchison taught English for 30 years, working alongside her husband before retiring in 2014."Moonshine Narratives" comes with a blurb from Tim Seibles. Seibles has been a finalist for the National Book Award with "Fast Animal," and is the current Poet Laureate for the state of Virginia.He has this to say about Hutchison's book: "If you've ever wondered what kinds of sad and crazy bees fill the heads of boys early in life then Scott Hutchison has the x-rays for you. Jam-packed with poems as carefully made as they are mischievous, 'Moonshine Narratives' rips and rolls with poignant, wild-ass energy. For most of us who landed in this world as boys, there's no way to read this book without wanting to run back through time and wrassel somebody."Main Street Rag Publishing is currently taking advance orders on "Moonshine Narratives" at a reduced rate from the cover price. Anyone wishing to pre-order a copy can simply do an internet search: Scott Hutchison Moonshine Narratives. Sample poems from the book are also on the author's Web site."The more advance orders we get, the bigger the press run," says Hutchison. "Things are moving forward nicely, and I'm hoping people like the work. 2019 looks to be both busy and fun for me."So what does the future hold for Hutchison after the coming school year ends? Hutchison hopes that the writing will carry him along a bit further."Contractually, I have to go out and deliver readings to promote the book, and I'm already lining up venues," he continues. "As for what's next, I'm always writing and publishing, and I like editing, so we will see where all of that leads. I've enjoyed teaching, and I enjoy the writing lifeI'm excited to discover what lies ahead."

Gilford Steamer Bridge repairs in the planning stages Selectmen get a look at details on solar Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.comMeredith News Hawkins Brook Trail close to becoming a reality

Fundraising effort needs $75,000 more

by Erin Plummer MEREDITH  The creation of a new nature trail accessible to all alongside Hawkins Brook is close to becoming a reality with some more fundraising and some more steps needed.



The proposed Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook is $75,000 away from its fundraising goal after receiving a major donation and a Request for Proposals has been sent out for a builder. The trail is the concept of the Meredith Village Pathways Committee, a subcommittee of the board of selectmen, and has been in the planning stages for a number of years.



The trail will start on Route 25 by Meredith Village Savings Bank and the Seneca Ladd Building with parking on the corner of the Seneca Ladd Building going behind the Meredith Bay Shopping Plaza, and ending at Prescott Park. The trail will be 10 feet wide and mostly hardpack material with different boardwalks by the wetland. Three different observation platforms will out into the wetlands along with educational information.



The trail will be entirely handicap accessible and accessible to wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, and any other mobility device.



Pathways Committee member Liz Lapham said this all started in 2012 after she had gone to a Meredith Rotary Cub meeting to thank the group for their support of the Historical Walking Tour project. She said John Sherman approached her and told her about the wetlands behind the shopping center, saying this could be their next project.



Lapham later went out to the wetland with Andrea Bourn, now the chair of the Pathways Committee, and explored the area on kayak.



"We were pretty astounded to find indeed there was this whole wetlands (area) nobody could see because of the shopping center," Lapham said.



She said as they were leaving the area and were between MVSB and the Seneca Ladd Building they met then MVSB President and CEO Sam Laverack and told him what they were doing.



"He said 'Great idea, I'm all for it," Lapham said.



Since then Laverack has been involved in the effort and agreed to be the honorary chairman of the fundraising committee.



When Laverack retired from MVSB the bank's home company New Hampshire Mutual Bank Corp made a $200,000 donation to the trail in Laverack's name. Because if this contribution, the trail will be known as the Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook.



"That really said to us this is possible," Lapham said.



The trail effort has been the result of the work of the nine-member committee, who Lapham and Bourn said have been loyal and dedicated to the project since the beginning. Bourn especially gave credit to Lapham and Carol Gerken for their efforts on this. The Vermont-based Timber & Stone, LLC has designed the trail, one of many different nature trails the company has designed throughout the Northeast.



Several members of the committee have held house parties to raise money for the trail. One member has sent letters to different businesses in town asking for contributions. They have received contributions from MVSB, the Rotary, the Meredith Conservation Commission, Altrusa Club, and a number of small gifts. The effort received an $80,000 grant from the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails. As the grant has to be spent this fall they will do something on the project this year.



They also received a $5,000 grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to get advice from a professional fundraiser. The trail also has the approval of neighboring property owners Crosspoint Associates, which owns the shopping plaza, and Meredith Bay Village.



The project is now $75,000 away from being realized.



The trail will be a 10 minute walk from the Inter-Lakes school campus and will have many educational opportunities. Bourn said the committee met over the summer with Inter-Lakes Superintendent Mary Moriarty, administrators, and teachers from the elementary through the high school level and are preparing a teacher's guide to the trail complex.



"Having a walkable community is one of the goals and connecting with nature we know is good for mind, body, and spirit and walking is good for health," Bourn said.



She said the more people are walking from the docks to the trail the more people are walking by businesses in the village.



Bourn said she has heard about people asking for information about accessible trails in the area.



They are aiming to start building the trail sometime in the coming spring. Proposals will be reviewed in September, which will give the committee an indication of how much the project will cost.



The Pathways Committee will also have a booth at this weekend's Fine Arts and Crafts Festival, where there will be more information and opportunities to donate.



To donate make checks out to the Town of Meredith  HBNT. Send checks and IRA contributions to 41 Main St., Meredith, NH, 03253. For more information contact Andrea Bourn at HawkinsBrookNT@gmail.com. MEREDITH  The creation of a new nature trail accessible to all alongside Hawkins Brook is close to becoming a reality with some more fundraising and some more steps needed.The proposed Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook is $75,000 away from its fundraising goal after receiving a major donation and a Request for Proposals has been sent out for a builder. The trail is the concept of the Meredith Village Pathways Committee, a subcommittee of the board of selectmen, and has been in the planning stages for a number of years.The trail will start on Route 25 by Meredith Village Savings Bank and the Seneca Ladd Building with parking on the corner of the Seneca Ladd Building going behind the Meredith Bay Shopping Plaza, and ending at Prescott Park. The trail will be 10 feet wide and mostly hardpack material with different boardwalks by the wetland. Three different observation platforms will out into the wetlands along with educational information.The trail will be entirely handicap accessible and accessible to wheelchairs, strollers, walkers, and any other mobility device.Pathways Committee member Liz Lapham said this all started in 2012 after she had gone to a Meredith Rotary Cub meeting to thank the group for their support of the Historical Walking Tour project. She said John Sherman approached her and told her about the wetlands behind the shopping center, saying this could be their next project.Lapham later went out to the wetland with Andrea Bourn, now the chair of the Pathways Committee, and explored the area on kayak."We were pretty astounded to find indeed there was this whole wetlands (area) nobody could see because of the shopping center," Lapham said.She said as they were leaving the area and were between MVSB and the Seneca Ladd Building they met then MVSB President and CEO Sam Laverack and told him what they were doing."He said 'Great idea, I'm all for it," Lapham said.Since then Laverack has been involved in the effort and agreed to be the honorary chairman of the fundraising committee.When Laverack retired from MVSB the bank's home company New Hampshire Mutual Bank Corp made a $200,000 donation to the trail in Laverack's name. Because if this contribution, the trail will be known as the Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook."That really said to us this is possible," Lapham said.The trail effort has been the result of the work of the nine-member committee, who Lapham and Bourn said have been loyal and dedicated to the project since the beginning. Bourn especially gave credit to Lapham and Carol Gerken for their efforts on this. The Vermont-based Timber & Stone, LLC has designed the trail, one of many different nature trails the company has designed throughout the Northeast.Several members of the committee have held house parties to raise money for the trail. One member has sent letters to different businesses in town asking for contributions. They have received contributions from MVSB, the Rotary, the Meredith Conservation Commission, Altrusa Club, and a number of small gifts. The effort received an $80,000 grant from the New Hampshire Bureau of Trails. As the grant has to be spent this fall they will do something on the project this year.They also received a $5,000 grant from the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to get advice from a professional fundraiser. The trail also has the approval of neighboring property owners Crosspoint Associates, which owns the shopping plaza, and Meredith Bay Village.The project is now $75,000 away from being realized.The trail will be a 10 minute walk from the Inter-Lakes school campus and will have many educational opportunities. Bourn said the committee met over the summer with Inter-Lakes Superintendent Mary Moriarty, administrators, and teachers from the elementary through the high school level and are preparing a teacher's guide to the trail complex."Having a walkable community is one of the goals and connecting with nature we know is good for mind, body, and spirit and walking is good for health," Bourn said.She said the more people are walking from the docks to the trail the more people are walking by businesses in the village.Bourn said she has heard about people asking for information about accessible trails in the area.They are aiming to start building the trail sometime in the coming spring. Proposals will be reviewed in September, which will give the committee an indication of how much the project will cost.The Pathways Committee will also have a booth at this weekend's Fine Arts and Crafts Festival, where there will be more information and opportunities to donate.To donate make checks out to the Town of Meredith  HBNT. Send checks and IRA contributions to 41 Main St., Meredith, NH, 03253. For more information contact Andrea Bourn at HawkinsBrookNT@gmail.com.

Meredith News Meredith to look at increasing parking fines Strong first half sends Panther girls past Huskies Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.comMeredith News Neighborhood concerns prompt town to look at regulations for nightly rentals

by Erin Plummer MEREDITH  The selectmen are asking the planning board examine a possible ordinance on nightly rentals of residential property following complaints by residents of one lakeside neighborhood about disruptions caused by a home posted on Airbnb.



On Monday night, a number of residents of Spindle Point Road talked to the selectmen about disruptions caused by the users of a neighbor's property for an Airbnb.



Steve Merrill said a neighboring property has had a high number of guests on a nightly basis, sometimes three or four families at a time and as many as 20 people at one house in a night. He said while sometimes that property will have a party of a few people who are courteous, often there will be multiple people who are disruptive.



Merrill said he understands times are changing with rental businesses like Airbnb and issues created with operating a commercial business in a residential zone. He said a number of communities are considering regulations regarding Airbnb rentals and similar arrangements. He said a situation like this can pose a safety hazards and disrupt the sewer system.



He asked for the selectmen to consider an ordinance regulating nightly rentals.



"We have a transition going on almost daily," said neighbor Mike Naddif. "Like everything else in this wonderful area, we call Winnipesaukee we have people that abuse the privilege."



Naddif said they will have as many as 20 cars parked down the street. He said they have tried to talk to the property owners, who said to call the police if they had any issues. He said they contacted Airbnb and have not received any help.



Naddif said Meredith has 55 published Airbnb rentals and Laconia has 105. He also presented articles on policy decisions on this made in Laconia and Concord.



Town Manager Phil Warren said although New Hampshire is a home rule state there are no statutes supporting municipalities making certain decisions for themselves. He said this would be a matter best reviewed by the Planning Board because this is a land issue that could lead to a zoning ordinance. As the deadlines for zoning changes are coming up soon to go on the March warrant, Warren said this would be an ideal time to bring this matter forward.



All of the selectmen agreed that the Planning Board should consider this. Members of the board said bed and breakfasts are regulated and require business licenses, health and safety standards, tax requirements, and many other requirements and questioned what regulations exist for Airbnb's.



Warren said this issue applies to nightly rentals, whereas weekly, monthly, or seasonal rentals have been in operation in Meredith for a long time with little incident.



On Warren's recommendation, the board made a formal motion to require the Planning Board to immediately study an ordinance change that would address the short term, nightly rentals of residences. The selectmen voted unanimously in favor. MEREDITH  The selectmen are asking the planning board examine a possible ordinance on nightly rentals of residential property following complaints by residents of one lakeside neighborhood about disruptions caused by a home posted on Airbnb.On Monday night, a number of residents of Spindle Point Road talked to the selectmen about disruptions caused by the users of a neighbor's property for an Airbnb.Steve Merrill said a neighboring property has had a high number of guests on a nightly basis, sometimes three or four families at a time and as many as 20 people at one house in a night. He said while sometimes that property will have a party of a few people who are courteous, often there will be multiple people who are disruptive.Merrill said he understands times are changing with rental businesses like Airbnb and issues created with operating a commercial business in a residential zone. He said a number of communities are considering regulations regarding Airbnb rentals and similar arrangements. He said a situation like this can pose a safety hazards and disrupt the sewer system.He asked for the selectmen to consider an ordinance regulating nightly rentals."We have a transition going on almost daily," said neighbor Mike Naddif. "Like everything else in this wonderful area, we call Winnipesaukee we have people that abuse the privilege."Naddif said they will have as many as 20 cars parked down the street. He said they have tried to talk to the property owners, who said to call the police if they had any issues. He said they contacted Airbnb and have not received any help.Naddif said Meredith has 55 published Airbnb rentals and Laconia has 105. He also presented articles on policy decisions on this made in Laconia and Concord.Town Manager Phil Warren said although New Hampshire is a home rule state there are no statutes supporting municipalities making certain decisions for themselves. He said this would be a matter best reviewed by the Planning Board because this is a land issue that could lead to a zoning ordinance. As the deadlines for zoning changes are coming up soon to go on the March warrant, Warren said this would be an ideal time to bring this matter forward.All of the selectmen agreed that the Planning Board should consider this. Members of the board said bed and breakfasts are regulated and require business licenses, health and safety standards, tax requirements, and many other requirements and questioned what regulations exist for Airbnb's.Warren said this issue applies to nightly rentals, whereas weekly, monthly, or seasonal rentals have been in operation in Meredith for a long time with little incident.On Warren's recommendation, the board made a formal motion to require the Planning Board to immediately study an ordinance change that would address the short term, nightly rentals of residences. The selectmen voted unanimously in favor.

Meredith News Meredith to look at increasing parking fines Strong first half sends Panther girls past Huskies Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.comNewfound Landing New Hampton couple facing animal cruelty charges

by Thomas P. Caldwell NEW HAMPTON  A post on social media eventually led to police to charge a local couple with 44 counts each of animal cruelty and one count each of unlicensed sale of pets. The couple voluntarily surrendered all but three animals when confronted by authorities.



Local police arrested Edith Daughen, 28, and Nicholas Torrey, 30, of 25 Clement Road, on Aug. 8. They are free on personal recognizance pending their arraignment in Fourth Circuit Court-District Division-Laconia on Oct. 18.



The couple had claimed to be operating an animal rescue operation but, instead, authorities found dead and starving dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds, and reptiles at their home.



"None of them had food and only one had water," said Det. Joshua Tyrrell of the New Hampton Police Department.



Tyrrell said Daughen had posted a request for help on Facebook, claiming that one of the two horses on the property had fallen in the mud and was unable to get up.



"She had been posting for hours or days," according to Teresa Paradis of Live and Let Live Farm, a nonprofit rescue center in Chichester which eventually took in a number of the animals from New Hampton.



Paradis said several people had suggested to Daughen that she contact Live and Let Live, but she had not done so.



One of her followers on Facebook went to the house to help and, finding the two horses to be malnourished, contacted the police, according to Tyrrell. New Hampton Police Chief George Huckins, accompanied by a veterinarian with the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, went to the house to check out the situation on July 26.



Paradis said she got a call from the state veterinarian at 3:30 p.m., saying she was "going to a situation in New Hampton" where two horses would have to be removed immediately, and asking whether Live and Let Live Farm could take them.



When volunteers from Live and Let Live arrived with a trailer stocked with fresh hay, the horse was standing, and "could not get on the trailer fast enough," Paradis said.



"She was 1 [the lowest on the scale] in body weight," Paradis said, "and didn't want to stop eating."



The second horse was much younger and, while also starving, was better able to cope, Paradis said.



Tyrrell said that, although a three-sided shelter is required by law, those horses had no shelter. "They needed immediate care," he said.



Bristol



Workers at Live and Let Live Farm rename rescue animals to give them a fresh start, and they gave the older horse the name Bristol after taking Old Bristol Road to get to the location. They named the younger horse LuLoo.



Paradis said that, as they traveled down Interstate 93, they felt the trailer jerk around, and stopped to find that Bristol had collapsed. They had to remove LuLoo from the trailer to try and get Bristol back up on her feet.



Their veterinarian, who was waiting for them when they arrived at Live and Let Live Farm, gave Bristol a painkiller and anti-inflammatory drugs, and braced her up with bales of hay.



"She was bright-eyed, with a strong will to live," Paradis said, "but she was never able to get up on her feet."



Bristol's heartbeat was irregular and she was hypothermic, so the volunteers brought blankets and stayed with her through the night. Around 7:30 a.m., she went from cold to hot and her heartbeat was racing at 130 beats per minute, a likely heart attack. They called the vet back to euthanized her.



LuLoo survived and is being nursed back to health, Paradis said.



In following up on the incident, Paradis said Bristol had a tattoo proving that she had been a racehorse named Foretina. In checking out Daughen's Facebook postings, Paradis said, "Edith was always posting on social media, and had a photo of Forestina when she arrived there. She was overweight at that time, but Edith told the police that she was thin when she got her."



She said the staff also discovered that Daughen had created a GoFundMe page the very day she surrendered the horses, asking for money to take in more animals. She advertised as an animal rescue/sanctuary.



"The volunteers and I found her selling snakes, having newborn kittens, and acquiring a baby bird. None of those animals were shown to police," Paradis said.



Other animals



Tyrrell said police had returned to Clement Road the following day, July 27, and found several cats and dogs, with none of the dogs being licensed or having had rabies shots.



After hearing from Live and Let Live Farm about the ads for animals, police returned again on Aug. 1 and asked to see the other animals.



"We found there were a lot that they hadn't told us about," Tyrrell said, including a dead snake and a dead bird. There were hamsters and rabbits, along with the birds, snakes, cats, and dogs.



The state vet was with the police to assess the animals, and the couple agreed to surrender 48 animals in all, keeping three that they said were pets. Live and Let Live Farm ended up with 30 animals, and the New Hampshire Humane Society in Laconia took in the others.



Tyrrell said the reason there were 44 charges when 48 animals were taken from the property was because four were nursing kittens, so the mother cat was taking care of them. The charge of unlicensed sale of pets was connected to the advertising for the sale of snakes.



Paradis expressed her anger about the situation, saying, "If you run out of money, we have a feed bank at Live and Let Live Farm. For rabbits, get handfuls of grass and leaves. Turn the faucet on. That doesn't take money."



Paradis said Daughen was purchasing a formula to feed the baby bird. "She only had the bird for 10 days to two weeks, but it costs a lot for that formula, and she didn't feed the others," she said.



Paradis said another snake died after leaving the home, but the rest of the surrendered animals are doing well, given the state they were in when they were found.



Tyrrell said New Hampton police prepared the paperwork for the arrests and executed the warrants on Aug. 8. After the couple was released, they vacated the Clement Road home, choosing to live elsewhere, he said.



The New Hampton charges form the latest animal cruelty case in the Newfound Area. Bristol and Alexandria police have charges pending against Jennifer "Bobbi" Choate, who was keeping German shepherds at her home in Bristol and a barn in Alexandria. Two fires killed 36 of the dogs, and 29 others were found in freezing temperatures without adequate shelter or water. Choate has filed for a jury trial in Grafton County Superior Court. NEW HAMPTON  A post on social media eventually led to police to charge a local couple with 44 counts each of animal cruelty and one count each of unlicensed sale of pets. The couple voluntarily surrendered all but three animals when confronted by authorities.Local police arrested Edith Daughen, 28, and Nicholas Torrey, 30, of 25 Clement Road, on Aug. 8. They are free on personal recognizance pending their arraignment in Fourth Circuit Court-District Division-Laconia on Oct. 18.The couple had claimed to be operating an animal rescue operation but, instead, authorities found dead and starving dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds, and reptiles at their home."None of them had food and only one had water," said Det. Joshua Tyrrell of the New Hampton Police Department.Tyrrell said Daughen had posted a request for help on Facebook, claiming that one of the two horses on the property had fallen in the mud and was unable to get up."She had been posting for hours or days," according to Teresa Paradis of Live and Let Live Farm, a nonprofit rescue center in Chichester which eventually took in a number of the animals from New Hampton.Paradis said several people had suggested to Daughen that she contact Live and Let Live, but she had not done so.One of her followers on Facebook went to the house to help and, finding the two horses to be malnourished, contacted the police, according to Tyrrell. New Hampton Police Chief George Huckins, accompanied by a veterinarian with the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, went to the house to check out the situation on July 26.Paradis said she got a call from the state veterinarian at 3:30 p.m., saying she was "going to a situation in New Hampton" where two horses would have to be removed immediately, and asking whether Live and Let Live Farm could take them.When volunteers from Live and Let Live arrived with a trailer stocked with fresh hay, the horse was standing, and "could not get on the trailer fast enough," Paradis said."She was 1 [the lowest on the scale] in body weight," Paradis said, "and didn't want to stop eating."The second horse was much younger and, while also starving, was better able to cope, Paradis said.Tyrrell said that, although a three-sided shelter is required by law, those horses had no shelter. "They needed immediate care," he said.BristolWorkers at Live and Let Live Farm rename rescue animals to give them a fresh start, and they gave the older horse the name Bristol after taking Old Bristol Road to get to the location. They named the younger horse LuLoo.Paradis said that, as they traveled down Interstate 93, they felt the trailer jerk around, and stopped to find that Bristol had collapsed. They had to remove LuLoo from the trailer to try and get Bristol back up on her feet.Their veterinarian, who was waiting for them when they arrived at Live and Let Live Farm, gave Bristol a painkiller and anti-inflammatory drugs, and braced her up with bales of hay."She was bright-eyed, with a strong will to live," Paradis said, "but she was never able to get up on her feet."Bristol's heartbeat was irregular and she was hypothermic, so the volunteers brought blankets and stayed with her through the night. Around 7:30 a.m., she went from cold to hot and her heartbeat was racing at 130 beats per minute, a likely heart attack. They called the vet back to euthanized her.LuLoo survived and is being nursed back to health, Paradis said.In following up on the incident, Paradis said Bristol had a tattoo proving that she had been a racehorse named Foretina. In checking out Daughen's Facebook postings, Paradis said, "Edith was always posting on social media, and had a photo of Forestina when she arrived there. She was overweight at that time, but Edith told the police that she was thin when she got her."She said the staff also discovered that Daughen had created a GoFundMe page the very day she surrendered the horses, asking for money to take in more animals. She advertised as an animal rescue/sanctuary."The volunteers and I found her selling snakes, having newborn kittens, and acquiring a baby bird. None of those animals were shown to police," Paradis said.Other animalsTyrrell said police had returned to Clement Road the following day, July 27, and found several cats and dogs, with none of the dogs being licensed or having had rabies shots.After hearing from Live and Let Live Farm about the ads for animals, police returned again on Aug. 1 and asked to see the other animals."We found there were a lot that they hadn't told us about," Tyrrell said, including a dead snake and a dead bird. There were hamsters and rabbits, along with the birds, snakes, cats, and dogs.The state vet was with the police to assess the animals, and the couple agreed to surrender 48 animals in all, keeping three that they said were pets. Live and Let Live Farm ended up with 30 animals, and the New Hampshire Humane Society in Laconia took in the others.Tyrrell said the reason there were 44 charges when 48 animals were taken from the property was because four were nursing kittens, so the mother cat was taking care of them. The charge of unlicensed sale of pets was connected to the advertising for the sale of snakes.Paradis expressed her anger about the situation, saying, "If you run out of money, we have a feed bank at Live and Let Live Farm. For rabbits, get handfuls of grass and leaves. Turn the faucet on. That doesn't take money."Paradis said Daughen was purchasing a formula to feed the baby bird. "She only had the bird for 10 days to two weeks, but it costs a lot for that formula, and she didn't feed the others," she said.Paradis said another snake died after leaving the home, but the rest of the surrendered animals are doing well, given the state they were in when they were found.Tyrrell said New Hampton police prepared the paperwork for the arrests and executed the warrants on Aug. 8. After the couple was released, they vacated the Clement Road home, choosing to live elsewhere, he said.The New Hampton charges form the latest animal cruelty case in the Newfound Area. Bristol and Alexandria police have charges pending against Jennifer "Bobbi" Choate, who was keeping German shepherds at her home in Bristol and a barn in Alexandria. Two fires killed 36 of the dogs, and 29 others were found in freezing temperatures without adequate shelter or water. Choate has filed for a jury trial in Grafton County Superior Court.

Newfound Landing Fundraiser celebrates former Alexandria resident's love for animals Playoff battle of the Bears goes to Newfound Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.comPlymouth Record Enterprise Mount Prospect Academy students learn from the seas, skies, and summits



A Mount Prospect Academy student takes in the scenic view from atop Mt. Kearsarge. (Courtesy Photo) (click for larger version) PLYMOUTH  Whether they were examining coastal tide pools in Rye or studying geology and cleaning up litter at Bretton Woods Ski Resort  this month Mount Prospect Academy students learned mountains of information while staying active outside.



MPA science instructor, Karen McAlpine, regularly immerses students in nature while teaching. MPA students often benefit from an outdoor learning environment because they are non-traditional learners who have difficulty succeeding in four-walled classroom environments, McAlpine said.



Many MPA students can be clinically identified as emotionally handicapped, learning disabled, autistic, or other health impaired. The academy also serves students with psychiatric and judicial issues.



"These students have a lot of strengths, it's just that they often don't get to positive reinforcements in a traditional classroom setting," McAlpine said. "When they get outside, no one is telling them to sit down and be quiet. Each kid can learn at their own pace, and some students will even mentor others."



Science students showcased their academic abilities by earning first place for presentation in the 2017 SeaPerch Competition. SeaPerch is a robotics competition where students build underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles while following a science and marine engineering curriculum. This June, McAlpine's team earned 24th out 50 in the competition.



"If you can present something to MPA students with a variety of different methods, then they get excited about it and surprise themselves with just how smart and capable they really are," McAlpine added.



August adventures



McAlpine began this month by taking her class to explore Bretton Woods Ski Resort. Students rode chairlifts up the mountain, and then they walked about a mile to the summit of West Peak. Once at the summit, students noticed trash on the ground. The classmates worked together and rid the summit of litter, obtaining an entire grocery bag full of crushed cans, bottles, and miscellaneous pieces of trash, McAlpine said.



The next day, the class visited Quechee, Vt., and they saw a live presentation on raptors at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Students learned the differences between falcons, hawks, and owls. After the presentation, McAlpine's class toured the institute's raptor enclosures  seeing bald eagles, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, Harrison and red-tailed hawks, a cooper's hawk, kestrels, ravens, barred owls, screech owls, snowy owls, and turkey vultures.



Next, they stopped at an exhibit which showed the link between dinosaurs and birds. Before leaving the center, the group visited the institute's hospital for birds and its reptile habitats.



After learning about animals that inhabit the sky, students shifted to studying creatures which dwell in the sea. On Aug. 8, the class traveled to Rye, NH and explored coastal tide pools. The group found rock crabs, mud crabs, green crabs, sea urchins, snails, and lobsters. The trip was part of the class's summer marine science curriculum.



"A lot of my students are extremely visual and tactile learners, so if there's an example that they can see in real life and touch, they are more likely to absorb information and retain it," she said. "Things that we might take for granted, like crabs and snails on the beach, they're completely fascinated by."



McAlpine added that she has taken at least 25 students to the ocean who have never been there before.



She remembers a student who sat on a rock for hours to watch the tide change during a class camping trip to Hermit Island in Maine.



"He didn't really understand tide change from our classroom discussion," McAlpine said. "He was completely amazed by observing it in real life and then understood how the moon could cause ocean waters to rise and fall."



The day after exploring coastal tide pools in Rye, the students ventured to a summit  hiking to the fire tower on top of Mt. Kearsarge. On hikes she teaches plant and animal identification, geology, Leave No Trace philosophies, meteorology, and history regarding the Appalachian Trail system.



"All of the students supported each other, and we made it to the top of Mt. Kearsarge in good time," McAlpine added.



And remember that live presentation on raptors in Vermont? At the summit of Mt. Kearsarge, a student correctly identified the bird that was circling above the class as a peregrine falcon.



"It completely floored us!" McAlpine said. "We were in the fire tower, and then he called, 'Look! Look! It's a peregrine!' And he got it right, it was a peregrine falcon!"



McAlpine said moments like that validate why she teaches. Seeing a student apply what he learned keeps McAlpine and her team searching for new lessons to expose the students to. She added that the course is only possible because of the significant teamwork between her and the faculty members who support the class daily.



"You have to be in the classroom sometimes, but if you can give students a little bit more experience outside of that, then they can get more excited about certain subjects," she said. "After a real-world experience, they may be more willing to sit through classroom lectures on those topics, and maybe even pursue a career in that field." PLYMOUTH  Whether they were examining coastal tide pools in Rye or studying geology and cleaning up litter at Bretton Woods Ski Resort  this month Mount Prospect Academy students learned mountains of information while staying active outside.MPA science instructor, Karen McAlpine, regularly immerses students in nature while teaching. MPA students often benefit from an outdoor learning environment because they are non-traditional learners who have difficulty succeeding in four-walled classroom environments, McAlpine said.Many MPA students can be clinically identified as emotionally handicapped, learning disabled, autistic, or other health impaired. The academy also serves students with psychiatric and judicial issues."These students have a lot of strengths, it's just that they often don't get to positive reinforcements in a traditional classroom setting," McAlpine said. "When they get outside, no one is telling them to sit down and be quiet. Each kid can learn at their own pace, and some students will even mentor others."Science students showcased their academic abilities by earning first place for presentation in the 2017 SeaPerch Competition. SeaPerch is a robotics competition where students build underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles while following a science and marine engineering curriculum. This June, McAlpine's team earned 24th out 50 in the competition."If you can present something to MPA students with a variety of different methods, then they get excited about it and surprise themselves with just how smart and capable they really are," McAlpine added.August adventuresMcAlpine began this month by taking her class to explore Bretton Woods Ski Resort. Students rode chairlifts up the mountain, and then they walked about a mile to the summit of West Peak. Once at the summit, students noticed trash on the ground. The classmates worked together and rid the summit of litter, obtaining an entire grocery bag full of crushed cans, bottles, and miscellaneous pieces of trash, McAlpine said.The next day, the class visited Quechee, Vt., and they saw a live presentation on raptors at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Students learned the differences between falcons, hawks, and owls. After the presentation, McAlpine's class toured the institute's raptor enclosures  seeing bald eagles, golden eagles, peregrine falcons, Harrison and red-tailed hawks, a cooper's hawk, kestrels, ravens, barred owls, screech owls, snowy owls, and turkey vultures.Next, they stopped at an exhibit which showed the link between dinosaurs and birds. Before leaving the center, the group visited the institute's hospital for birds and its reptile habitats.After learning about animals that inhabit the sky, students shifted to studying creatures which dwell in the sea. On Aug. 8, the class traveled to Rye, NH and explored coastal tide pools. The group found rock crabs, mud crabs, green crabs, sea urchins, snails, and lobsters. The trip was part of the class's summer marine science curriculum."A lot of my students are extremely visual and tactile learners, so if there's an example that they can see in real life and touch, they are more likely to absorb information and retain it," she said. "Things that we might take for granted, like crabs and snails on the beach, they're completely fascinated by."McAlpine added that she has taken at least 25 students to the ocean who have never been there before.She remembers a student who sat on a rock for hours to watch the tide change during a class camping trip to Hermit Island in Maine."He didn't really understand tide change from our classroom discussion," McAlpine said. "He was completely amazed by observing it in real life and then understood how the moon could cause ocean waters to rise and fall."The day after exploring coastal tide pools in Rye, the students ventured to a summit  hiking to the fire tower on top of Mt. Kearsarge. On hikes she teaches plant and animal identification, geology, Leave No Trace philosophies, meteorology, and history regarding the Appalachian Trail system."All of the students supported each other, and we made it to the top of Mt. Kearsarge in good time," McAlpine added.And remember that live presentation on raptors in Vermont? At the summit of Mt. Kearsarge, a student correctly identified the bird that was circling above the class as a peregrine falcon."It completely floored us!" McAlpine said. "We were in the fire tower, and then he called, 'Look! Look! It's a peregrine!' And he got it right, it was a peregrine falcon!"McAlpine said moments like that validate why she teaches. Seeing a student apply what he learned keeps McAlpine and her team searching for new lessons to expose the students to. She added that the course is only possible because of the significant teamwork between her and the faculty members who support the class daily."You have to be in the classroom sometimes, but if you can give students a little bit more experience outside of that, then they can get more excited about certain subjects," she said. "After a real-world experience, they may be more willing to sit through classroom lectures on those topics, and maybe even pursue a career in that field."

Plymouth Record Enterprise Bobcats get back on track with win in Gilford Plans for Keep the Heat On fundraiser underway Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.comWinnisquam Echo Joe Jesseman replaces Saint John on Tilton Select Board

Jeanie Forrester named new Town Administrator

by Leigh Sharps

Retiring Town Administrator Joyce Fulweiler (left) congratulates Jeanie Forrester (right), who will succeed her in October. (Photo by Leigh Sharps) (click for larger version) TILTONIt was an eventful night at Town Hall last Thursday evening, as former selectman Joe Jesseman was appointed to re-join the board as a replacement for the recently departed Ashlee Saint John, and former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Jeanie Forrester was named as retiring Town Administrator Joyce Fulweiler's successor.



Fulweiler was also lauded for her many years of service to the town.



Addressing the audience and speaking for the board, Chairman Jonathan Scanlon read, in part, "What is most impressive about Jeanie is her caring and compassion for people and the issues that are important to our community. She looks forward to working with the Board to achieve our goals. We are very fortunate to have Jeanie's skills and expertise as we face these challenges."



"I am so honored by this appointment. I know I have big shoes to fill, but I am so looking forward to working in this beautiful town. My door will always be open! I'm so excited to be a part of this family," Forrester said.



Forrester is a three term state legislator, and former Town Administrator in Tuftonboro and New Durham. She is also the former Executive Director of the Main Street Program in both Plymouth and Meredith. She will start her employment Oct. 15.



Seven residents threw their hats in the ring for appointment on the select board to fill the vacancy left by former board member Saint John, who recently moved out of town. The interim appointment lasts five months until the town election next March. That remaining term/seat will be on the ballot, as well as a three year seat now held by Katherine Dawson.



Prior to last Thursday's candidates' night, two of the prospects withdrew their candidacy, so five turned out at town hall for the hour long interview session. Sitting left to right were Joe Jesseman, Eric Pyra, Juliet Harvey-Bolia, Jason Wright and Tod Odell. They were each given a few minutes to give a little self background and reasons why they desired to fill the vacant seat.



Jesseman said he was a former selectman, and had "budgeting experience, town policy, and planning and zoning knowledge."



Pyra said he has been involved with the town in various ways including the school system, budget committee, planning and zoning boards and the Fire Commission.



"I am entrenched in this town," he remarked.



Harvey-Bolia told the audience she has experience serving on boards for seven years.



"This is a great town," she said. "There a lot of wonderful things about it and there is potential unrealized. My pet project is in downtown revitalization."



Wright, a water and sewer commissioner, said his job working in the State Surplus department gives him great ideas on ways to "collaborate surplus with the town in finding ways to save money for many items and services."



Odell, who relocated to Tilton from Littleton last November, said he had served on many boards and commissions in Littleton including the Park and Rec. Commission.



"I work in construction and have overseen many state projects including the Cannon Tramway and residential construction as well," he added.



Several residents asked questions, as well as a selectman, Katherine Dawson. Questions ranged from how to obtain more grants, employ resources better, advertise town events, beautifying Main Street, regionalization, the budget season. One resident had concerns that the board already had two sewer commissioners on it and wondered what the impact would be if a third were appointed to the board.



Mutual candidate concerns were over forming a business community/committee, with not just Tilton exit businesses but with downtown businesses as well, riverfront and downtown renewal and holding more community events.



Before going into non-public to deliberate and vote on an appointment, Scanlon told the audience, "We wish we could have everyone here. This is a very hard decision and we don't want anyone to take offense. We'll vote for whom we feel can fill in for five months and get the town business done seamlessly."



After about half an hour, the board came out of session and announced Jesseman as their appointee.



Fulweiler said she is not about to just 'sit back' during retirement.



"I am going back to school to be a drug and alcohol counselor," she said. "I'm very excited about it." TILTONIt was an eventful night at Town Hall last Thursday evening, as former selectman Joe Jesseman was appointed to re-join the board as a replacement for the recently departed Ashlee Saint John, and former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Jeanie Forrester was named as retiring Town Administrator Joyce Fulweiler's successor.Fulweiler was also lauded for her many years of service to the town.Addressing the audience and speaking for the board, Chairman Jonathan Scanlon read, in part, "What is most impressive about Jeanie is her caring and compassion for people and the issues that are important to our community. She looks forward to working with the Board to achieve our goals. We are very fortunate to have Jeanie's skills and expertise as we face these challenges.""I am so honored by this appointment. I know I have big shoes to fill, but I am so looking forward to working in this beautiful town. My door will always be open! I'm so excited to be a part of this family," Forrester said.Forrester is a three term state legislator, and former Town Administrator in Tuftonboro and New Durham. She is also the former Executive Director of the Main Street Program in both Plymouth and Meredith. She will start her employment Oct. 15.Seven residents threw their hats in the ring for appointment on the select board to fill the vacancy left by former board member Saint John, who recently moved out of town. The interim appointment lasts five months until the town election next March. That remaining term/seat will be on the ballot, as well as a three year seat now held by Katherine Dawson.Prior to last Thursday's candidates' night, two of the prospects withdrew their candidacy, so five turned out at town hall for the hour long interview session. Sitting left to right were Joe Jesseman, Eric Pyra, Juliet Harvey-Bolia, Jason Wright and Tod Odell. They were each given a few minutes to give a little self background and reasons why they desired to fill the vacant seat.Jesseman said he was a former selectman, and had "budgeting experience, town policy, and planning and zoning knowledge."Pyra said he has been involved with the town in various ways including the school system, budget committee, planning and zoning boards and the Fire Commission."I am entrenched in this town," he remarked.Harvey-Bolia told the audience she has experience serving on boards for seven years."This is a great town," she said. "There a lot of wonderful things about it and there is potential unrealized. My pet project is in downtown revitalization."Wright, a water and sewer commissioner, said his job working in the State Surplus department gives him great ideas on ways to "collaborate surplus with the town in finding ways to save money for many items and services."Odell, who relocated to Tilton from Littleton last November, said he had served on many boards and commissions in Littleton including the Park and Rec. Commission."I work in construction and have overseen many state projects including the Cannon Tramway and residential construction as well," he added.Several residents asked questions, as well as a selectman, Katherine Dawson. Questions ranged from how to obtain more grants, employ resources better, advertise town events, beautifying Main Street, regionalization, the budget season. One resident had concerns that the board already had two sewer commissioners on it and wondered what the impact would be if a third were appointed to the board.Mutual candidate concerns were over forming a business community/committee, with not just Tilton exit businesses but with downtown businesses as well, riverfront and downtown renewal and holding more community events.Before going into non-public to deliberate and vote on an appointment, Scanlon told the audience, "We wish we could have everyone here. This is a very hard decision and we don't want anyone to take offense. We'll vote for whom we feel can fill in for five months and get the town business done seamlessly."After about half an hour, the board came out of session and announced Jesseman as their appointee.Fulweiler said she is not about to just 'sit back' during retirement."I am going back to school to be a drug and alcohol counselor," she said. "I'm very excited about it."

Winnisquam Echo Winnisquam falls in playoff battle of the field hockey Bears Police investigate untimely death in Sanbornton Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.comBy Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Most problems in the banking sector stem from operational issues and therefore, the public sector banks (PSB) should be allowed the same level of operational freedom enjoyed by the private sector lenders to resolve their issues including the bad loans, said G Padmanabhan, non-executive chairman, Bank of India, on Friday.

There are limitations with respect to ownerships in PSBs, but those issues can be easily resolved. You give the PSBs the kind of operational freedom that the private sector banks have (to operate freely), said Padmanabhan at a Banking Conclave organised by Centre of Economic Policy Research in New Delhi.

He added that most of the bad loans in Bank of India are mainly from the infra sector.

Of the 21 state-owned banks, as many as 19 banks posted a combined loss of Rs 87,357 crore during 2017-18 due to various issues including scams and defaults by big corporate houses. The NPAs in the banking sector stood at Rs 8.31 lakh crore as of December 2017.

Only two lenders, Vijaya Bank and Indian Bank, posted profits in the fiscal ended March 2018.

Earlier, SBI chief Rajnish Kumar had said that apart from the banks, the government and even judiciary are all to be blamed for the NPA mess.

Even on Thursday, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Y V Reddy had said that the problem with PSBs is the dual control. PSBs should be either converted into companies and the control should be with the RBI, or it should entirely be under the government, said Reddy at the third anniversary of Bandhan Bank.

Reddy said the Narasimhan Committee in the 1990s had suggested putting an end to dual control, but it was not implemented.

There are two aspects to the regulation and supervision of the banks - governance and prudential regulation. The RBI regulates both the governance aspect and the prudential aspect of private sector banks. In case of PSBs, the government exercises all powers relating to governance, leaving prudential regulation to the RBI. This has been identified as the problem of dual control, he said.By PTI

NEW DELHI: Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said that the rupee has not depreciated to 'too worrying levels', though the government needs to take care of the widening current account deficit (CAD).

The rupee on August 16 had slumped to a life-time low of 70.32 on strong demand for the US dollar.

The rupee today staged a good recovery to end higher by 20 paise at 69.91 against the US currency on bouts of dollar selling by exporters and corporates.

"Well just to be fair, the Indian authorities have brought down the fiscal deficit. What has expanded is the current account deficit. A lot of it driven by higher oil prices," he said.

"The rupee has not depreciated to too worrying levels, its sort dollar strength around the world," Rajan told a TV channel.

Rajan, who was RBI governor for three years till September 2016, said further that this is a time where countries should be focusing on getting the macro stability in order.

"Going into election year, countries like India and Brazil should try their level best to look as good as possible," he said.

On the controversy over back series GDP data which showed that the growth was better during UPA regime, Rajan said: "What we have to do right now is to look forward - its growing at about 7.5 per cent." India, he added, has to make sure that CAD does not grow out and fiscal stability is maintained.

Replying to a query on rising bad loans, Rajan said there is a need to improve governance in the banks.

"My sense is that whichever new administration comes this will be task number one for them," Rajan, who is currently the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth School of Business said.

India's trade deficit soared to a near five-year high of USD 18 billion in July, raising concerns on the current account front.

Recently, a top finance ministry official said that the government will meet the fiscal deficit target for the current fiscal but is also expecting some slippage in the CAD on higher crude oil prices.By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Three doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, on Friday said that high-quality medical care was given to the late Chief Minister, J Jayalalithaa, when she was treated at the Apollo Hospitals between September 22 and December 5, 2016, claimed V K Sasikalas counsel.

On Thursday, three medical experts - G C Khilnani of the department of Pulmonology, Anjan Trikha, Professor of Anaesthesiology and Nitish Nayak, Professor in the Department of Cardiology - deposed before the Arumughaswamy Commission, which has been inquiring into the circumstances that led to the death of Jayalalithaa. They were cross-examined by Sasikalas counsel on Friday.

The doctors met Jayalalithaa nine times between September 22 and December 5, 2016. Jayalalithaa moved her legs and hands on her own during treatment, Sasikala advocate N Raja Senthoor Pandian told reporters, quoting the doctors statement made during cross- examination.

He claimed that the doctors expressed satisfaction over the treatment provided to the late CM. During their last visit on December 3, 2016, her health condition did not demand any surgery, said Pandian, as told by doctors.

The doctors reportedly named a few ruling party ministers, who were present during the discussion on her health condition on December 3. The doctors told us that they visited the AIADMK supremo on the request of the Union government, added Pandian.

So far, the commission has examined 78 witnesses including doctors from Apollo and government doctors and seven others. Among them, over 33 have been cross- examined by advocates of Sasikala, the jailed aide of Jayalalithaa.By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Activist Thirumurugan Gandhi has been slapped with yet another sedition case by Chennai police. The Central Crime Branch filed the case a few days ago based on a Facebook video in which he reportedly criticised the influence enjoyed by corporates in India.

He addressed the council at Geneva last month. After the conference gathering, he met the members of the movement and was casually talking about the next move and generally about the corporates in India. We had a very nice conversation and we uploaded it on our Facebook page. The Cyber Crime Branch of the Central Crime Branch filed a case under charges of sedition and instigating people to mutiny and arrested him on Tuesday, said Praveen Kumar, coordinator of the May 17 Movement.

The police produced Gandhi in a magistrate court at Alandur on Friday regarding the fresh case when Nungambakkam police informed him that they have filed yet another case against Gandhi under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. A Nungambakkam police officer said the FIR was registered based on different protests staged by Gandhi in the police station limits.

Meanwhile, on Friday morning when Thirumurugan Gandhi was produced at court, he accused the police of not even allowing him to answer calls of nature and also not allowing him to meet his family members. Gandhi also said he was kept in solitary confinement in Vellore prison where he was shifted after an arrest on August 9.By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: In a barbaric incident, a 62-year-old Nepali national, who was allegedly sexually assaulting his minor daughters for more than a year at their home, was arrested by the police on Friday. Raj Bahadur, an alcoholic, had been harassing both his daughters, aged 15 and 17, under the effect of alcohol. Police found that Bahadur has three more daughters, younger to the victims, but had never harmed them. He also has a son, who is the eldest of all.

According to police, Bahadur, along with his wife and two daughters, had migrated to the city around two years ago and were residing at Gachibowli. Initially, when he sexually assaulted the girls, he was under the effect of alcohol and threatened of killing the girls if they spoke out about the incident. However, after repeated incidents, the girls took courage and informed their mother. When she confronted him, he allegedly beat her and the kids severely. Left with no options, the girls went back to their maternal home in Kathmandu along with their mother.

After they left, Bahadur claimed that he is a changed person and quit alcohol. To convince his family, he had moved to Ahmednagar in Shamshabad under the RGI Airport police station limits and started working as a watchman at an apartment. Since then, he was pressurizing his wife and daughters to come back to him. Believing him, they returned to Hyderabad three months ago. After a couple of weeks, the assaults started again. Four days ago, the elder daughter approached the owner of the apartment where Bahadur was working and related the details of the abuse to him. With the owners help, they approached police and lodged a complaint.

Shamshabad ACP S Ashok Kumar Goud said that a case has been registered against the accused under the POCSO Act. He has been arrested and sent to judicial remand, he added.

The allegation

Bahadur, along with his wife and two daughters, had migrated to the city around two years ago and were residing at Gachibowli. Initially, when he sexually assaulted the girls, he was allegedly under the effect of alcohol. He had also threatened to killing both the girls if they spoke out about the incident.By IANS

MUMBAI: He ventured into Bollywood in 2011 with 'Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge' and gained popularity with films like 'Mere Dad Ki Maruti' and 'Dishoom'. Actor Saqib Saleem says he is in a good space in the Hindi film industry.

"It's been a good journey I have made some good choices. I have made some mistakes. But I have really enjoyed being an actor," Saqib told IANS here.

"No, I am not content. I am happy that I am in a good space and I want to work a lot. I have done eight-nine films in these years, though I am not a believer about quantity over quality but I would like to work more and want people to decide," added the actor, who was last seen in 'Race 3'.

The 30-year-old star, who hails from New Delhi, has no regrets about his film choices.

"You learn from those mistakes and if you don't learn and commit the same mistake again then I would regret. I have learnt a lot. I came here as a 21-year-old boy, who had no idea of the film industry or acting. I think I have grown a lot. I see that as a positive," he added.

Now, Saqib is looking for "good work".

"I don't want to restrict myself in terms of things like 'I want to do commercial films or content-driven films or something on the web'. I just want to look out for opportunity that let me put out my talent if I have any out there, and just get good opportunities to work with good interesting minds," he said.

Talking about gender neutrality in Bollywood, Saqib said: "I think it is a very good thing and we should always promote that. A person should be paid or should be given credit as per his or her talent not because that individual is a male or a female. I think your talent should speak first and everything else follows."

Saqib was here with his sister and actress Huma Qureshi to walk as the showstopper for Anvita Sharma's brand Two Point Two at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2018. While Saqib sported a monochrome coloured suit with a mustard coloured turtle neck, Huma wore a long skirt with a re-invented kimono and mustard coloured top.Aditya Shrikrishna By

Express News Service

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi

Director: Mudassar Aziz

Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Shergill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Arshad Warsi (verb) [transitive]: To sideline an actor/performer, who was an integral part of a successful, well-made film, in favour of a star or nepotism, once the film is converted into a franchise. In Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi, Diana Penty  the original Happy from the well-received 2016 film Happy Bhag Jayegi  gets ArshadWarsied out of her own film, in favour of Sonakshi Sinha, also named Happy, for a sequel that is founded upon a comedy of errors thanks to the namesakes, but delivers only errors and no comedy. This is a line from my review of Happy Bhag Jayegi: It repackages this (the India-Pakistan quid pro quo between Jimmy Shergills Bagga and Piyush Mishras Afridi) into a neat little toffee, using it for flavourful humour here and there and never crosses the line.

The sequel, however, crosses one too many lines. The first couple of minutes has jokes about the development of Pakistan and racist lines targeted at Chinese people. This is repeated several times over the film, neither caring about the unimaginable repetition ennui nor, more importantly, about the gratuitous racism.

Aamir Khan has carved out a market for Bollywood in China and now everyone wants a piece of the pie. Therefore, Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi set in Shanghai. There is simply no other justification and director Mudassar Aziz probably thought they can pepper the all-Asians-look-the-same joke throughout the film. Not a great move if capturing Chinas market was your principal idea. They dont stop there. The offence list grows longer as the film progresses  there is racism, sexual and physical harassment on Afridis part is turned into what Aziz believes to be comedy, and then homophobia joins the party for good measure. The first film regressed into an idiot plot only towards the end, when it became an actual chase and Aziz had to resolve the plot as quickly as possible.

Here, the very premise is an idiot plot. The two Harpreet Kaurs could have easily met, one Harpreet  Sonakshi Sinha as the professor  could have gone to her university, her original destination. Khushwant Singh Gill (Jassi Gill) works at the Indian Embassy. And yet, his solution for Happy is to meet with a don and look for help in the best illegal way possible. Like breaking into a jail to meet a prisoner. Why? Because it is an opportunity to include a few more homophobic jokes.

The jokes that work are the ones carried over from the original film. A bit of Sunny Deol and another Yaara O Yaara throwback. The first film itself worked like a low key 90s throwback, a screwball comedy involving displacement and chases, with all the bad habits of 90s removed. Here too, Aziz begins a chase sequence in a Chinese market with the memorable opening of Yaara O Yaara. It promises fun, but Aziz does nothing with it. Much like this Happy set of films. The first film was a promise that good comedy is probably returning to Bollywood after decades. Then it regressed to a place of discomfiting familiarity. Not even a 90s earworm and Jimmy Shergill can save it.By PTI

NEW DELHI: Al Jazeera, an international English news channel, may have to stop broadcast in India as the Home Ministry has withdrawn the security clearance given to it.

The Qatar-based channel has appealed to the government against the withdrawal of the security clearance and a final decision on it is awaited, a government official said.

Though the reasons for the action against Al Jazeera are not known, a documentary on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir telecast by the channel is believed to have upset the central security establishment, leading to the decision.

When contacted, a Home Ministry official said it is the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting which takes the decision on the issue of broadcasting licence given to any media outlet.

"Our role is limited to matters related to security clearance.

The decision on cancellation of the broadcasting licence will be taken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting," the official said.

Another official said the security clearance was given by the Home Ministry on December 3, 2010, and withdrawn on May 29, 2018.Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Assam Social Welfare Minister Pramila Rani Brahma on Friday said the figure of 14 lakh ghost beneficiaries in Anganwadis of the state was exaggerated.

Her assertion came a day after Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said in New Delhi that a recent state-level inquiry had revealed that there were 14 lakh fake children in the beneficiary list of Assams Anganwadis.

Brahma said the 14 lakh figure was given to the Central government by a former director in the department of social welfare, Assam, Meenakshi Sundaram.

The figure is way above the actual number. He (Sundaram) gave the figure in a report submitted on August 10, two days ahead of his transfer from the department, without consulting any of us in the department, including me. I wonder where he got this number from, she told TNIE.

The minister said that in Assams 62,000 Anganwadi centres, there were around 44 lakh beneficiaries.

During a headcount, the figure was found to be 35 lakh. This was his (Sundarams) report. However, we all know many women cannot visit the centres regularly along with their children due to various reasons. I believe a chunk of the genuine beneficiaries missed out the counting. As regards ghost beneficiaries, I feel it will be anything from six lakh to nine lakh, Brahma said.

She said that in his report to the Centre, Sundaram had said that Rs.1.10 crore was saved every day following the detection of the ghost beneficiaries. But our annual budget is Rs.300 crore. If we take note of his figures of savings of money, we have to say there are no children in the centres, Brahma said.

She added that she had asked the departmental officials to find out the basis of the data Sundaram had submitted to the Central government. I dont rule out the existence of ghost beneficiaries, but his figure is too exaggerated, Brahma added.

The accusation

On Thursday, Maneka Gandhi said the Centre had asked all states to remove the names of non-existing beneficiaries from the list of the countrys 10 cr beneficiaries in Anganwadis.

The beneficiary lists were inflated by ground-level workers and this led to pilferage and leakage of funds, she said.

In a survey last year, three lakh fake children were found to be listed in Assam Anganwadis. Another survey in June this year revealed the existence of 14 lakh fake children, she added.Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Turning a deaf ear to the criticism of opposition Congress, the BJP in Christian-majority Nagaland has decided to go ahead with the proposed immersion of the ashes of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.



BJP state unit chief Temjen Imna Along Longkumer said the ashes would be immersed on Monday.



Yes, I will immerse the ashes in Doyang river on Monday, he told TNIE. He had brought the ashes from New Delhi on Thursday and kept it at his residence in state capital Kohima.



Apart from Congress, a section of BJP workers and leaders was not happy over the move to immerse the ashes through local leaders and by following alien rituals. These BJP leaders had earlier suggested to Longkumer not to bring the ashes and hold a prayer meeting instead in remembrance of Vajpayee. However, he did not accept the idea.



Asked about the criticism of BJP by Congress on the issue, Longkumer said: Congress is doing its job. There is no ritual only respect to our departed leader.



The Congress on Friday had said the immersion of Vajpayees ashes in some selected rivers of the country had been turned into a political circus by BJP and its Nagaland unit.



The activities of BJP Nagaland and particularly its state president displaying their eagerness to please their communal masters by following and observing rituals that are alien to our way of life is an insult to all right-thinking Nagas. While Nagas have been struggling for the past seven decades to protect our unique history, the all-out attempt by state BJP to assimilate themselves into a new alien culture as dictated by their high command is a severe assault on the aspirations of the Nagas and their future, the Congress had said.



Meanwhile, in another Christian-majority state, Mizoram, Vajpayees ashes was immersed in Tlawng river.



The urn, containing the ashes, was brought to Aizawl from New Delhi by state BJP chief JV Hluna. The immersion followed a funeral with full Christian religious honour at BJPs state head office.By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Improving the accuracy, transparency and inclusivity of electoral rolls, gender representation in political parties, and online canvassing and poll expenditure regulation will be on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the Election Commission with political parties.

The Election Commission has scheduled a meeting with all recognized political parties on August 27, 2018.

Officials said that the meeting had been called ahead of preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Considering that the political parties are important stakeholders in the Indian electoral system, the ECI has been periodically holding consultation meetings with all recognized parties to elicit their views on important issues.

All seven registered national political parties and 51 state political parties have been invited to participate in the meeting.

The agenda for the meeting includes discussion on the fidelity of electoral rolls.

The ECI has invited the views of all parties on measures to improve the accuracy, transparency and inclusivity of electoral rolls in view of the upcoming elections to the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, said an EC official.

As regards gender representation in political parties and the comparative international experience, the ECI would invite views on measures that political parties can take to encourage enhanced representation of women within the organizational structure of the political party, as well as in the candidate selection for contesting elections to legislative bodies.

On the subject of election expenditure regulation, issues related to expenditure ceiling for legislative council elections and limiting political party expenditure would be discussed.

Discussion on enforcement measures to ensure timely submission of annual audited reports and election expenditure reports is also on the agenda.

The inclusion of the print media within the ambit of Section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 and the issue of online canvassing to promote or prejudice the electoral prospects of a party or candidate on social media during the last 48 hours before the conclusion of polling will also be discussed.

Important issues related to conduct of elections, including alternative modes of voting for domestic migrants and absentee voters and the views and feedback of political parties regarding efforts to encourage electoral participation of voters with disabilities will also be discussed in the meeting.By Express News Service

KOLKATA: Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday alleged that the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at Centre ignored defence procurement procedures and bypassed several committees before signing the Rafael aircraft deal.

Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, the former finance minister said: "Why was the defence procurement procedure ignored in the Rafael deal and why were the Contract Negotiation Committee and the Price Negotiation Committee kept in dark about it? The Cabinet Committee on Security was also not taken into confidence before signing the deal."

"We think that the matter is serious enough that there should be a public debate and there should be a detailed inquiry," he added. The former finance minister also alleged that there was a huge difference in the price per aircraft secured by the UPA regime and as opposed to that of the NDA government.

"The UPA contract priced the Rafale jets at Rs 526 crore per aircraft and the NDA contract priced them at Rs 1,670 crore per aircraft. If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the prices jumped three times?" he added.Congress is planning to make controversial Rafael deal a poll agenda for 2019 and decided to launch a month-long nationwide campaign against the deal and also urged all opposition parties to come together to attack the government on the issue.Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: The State Cabinet on Friday gave its approval to the proposals of naming Deoghar Airport and Palamu Medical College and several other government schemes, educational and professional institutions after late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.



Talking to the media persons following the Cabinet Meeting in Ranchi, State Urban Development Minister CP Singh said that all the newly built structures in the State will be named after Vajpayee.

"The Jharkhand Innovation Laboratory will named as Atal Innovation Laboratory, name of Convention Centre in Ranchi being constructed under Urban Development Department has also been changed to Atal Convention Centre, Professional College in Jamshedpur has also been named as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Professional College, besides naming Deoghar Airport and Sahibganj port after the late Prime Minister," said Singh.

The Cabinet also Okayed the proposal of starting awards in the name of Atal Bihari Vajpayee for outstanding performance in the filed of literature, Media and good governance he added. The Cabinet also gave its approval for raising a huge statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bhagwan Birsa Munda in the new Assembly building which is under construction in Ranchi.

In another decision the Jharkhand Cabinet also approved the proposal of merging Chief Minister's Insurance Scheme with Ayushman Bharat Prime Minister's Public Health Mission and carry out the scheme by Health and Social Welfare Department under the State Government - Jharkhand State Health Society or its successor. 59 lakh families will be covered under the scheme.By Express News Service

NEW DELHI /THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was in the eye of a storm on Friday after the UAE envoy to India told a Delhi newspaper that his country had never formally announced $100 million (Rs 700 crore) for the flood-ravaged state, although it had set up a task force to understand the requirements of the Indian government.

The new development put question mark over the Kerala CMs claims earlier in the week that the UAE promised an assistance of Rs 700 crore  Rs 100 crore more than what the Centre had pledged so far for flood relief in Kerala.

On Friday, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala demanded that the CM give an explanation in the UAE financial aid issue.

The chief of the Kerala unit of the BJP, P S Sreedharan Pillai, wondered how Vijayan manages to get such unverified news. We want Vijayan to explain about this news and from where he received it. After the Centre expressed reservations in accepting the aid, a vicious smear campaign was unleashed against the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

READ | Don't compare Kerala with other states for flood relief aid: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

However, the Kerala CM said he has no doubt about the Rs 700 crore assistance from the UAE government for Keralas flood relief activities. There is no ambiguity about the UAE offer. The UAE ruler told this to our Prime Minister. Both of them announced this to the world. I hope the assistance will be received, he told reporters in the state capital.

The Kerala CM said Malayali businessman Yusuff Ali MA had told him about the UAE aid. Yusuff Ali had called on the UAE ruler to convey Bakrid greetings. The ruler told him that he had spoken to the Indian PM about providing $100 million assistance, Pinarayi said, giving currency to speculation that the UAE may have informally offered the aid but changed tack after seeing New Delhis reluctance to accept foreign money.

The fact that the UAE had indeed offered to help was confirmed by Modi, who two days before Vijayans announcement had thanked the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, tweeting: A big thanks to @hhshkmohd for his gracious offer to support people of Kerala during this difficult time. His concern reflects the special ties between governments and people of India and UAE. But no figure was mentioned.

Politicians, former diplomats and rights organisations joined issue, either supporting or denouncing the Centres position. There were also reports that the Centre might be forced to rethink its position following the outrage across the nation, particularly in Kerala. In Delhi, government sources privately clarified that the government was not averse to aid for reconstruction of infrastructure, provided they did not violate the policy guidelines.

In another bizarre turn of events, Yusuff Ali MA of the Lulu Group was forced to threaten legal action against those spreading the rumour that he had pledged to donate Rs 700 crore himself following the Centres refusal to accept UAEs aid.

Its a stupid storm in a teacup, and a sad reflection of how low our politicians  from both sides of the spectrum  can stoop, to try and extract political mileage from a such a tragedy, said a former diplomat who has served in the Gulf states. If indeed Vijayan was using this to shame the Centre, for whatever reason, it needs to be condemned in the strongest terms. Equally condemnable is the BJP IT heads attempt to communalise the issue, by talking about donations from Muslim nations etc. It is time we focused on actually helping a state in major distress.

Meanwhile, the EU on Friday announced it had donated an initial 190,000 euros to the Indian Red Cross Society for relief work in Kerala. The aid will directly benefit 25,000 from among the most affected people in some of the worst hit areas, it said.Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRINAGAR: The heckling of three-time Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah by people during Eid prayers did not draw any condemnation or reaction from the mainstream camp, including Omar Abdullah.

Omar, who is tech-savvy and active on twitter, ignored the heckling of his father Farooq Abdullah inside the revered Hazratbal shrine by people during Eid prayers for chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Hind during the all-party prayer meeting in New Delhi to pay tributes to late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Omar did not react and did not issue any statement to condemn the incident. NC spokesman Junaid Mattu, who is very active on twitter, too did not react and the party also observed total silence on the issue. Former Chief Minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and her party also chose to ignore it.

Even the Congress and other Kashmir-based parties, legislators and ex-legislators have maintained a studied silence on the issue. Abdullah was heckled by people when he entered the Hazratbal shrine to offer Eid prayers. They also chanted pro-Pakistan, pro-freedom, anti-India and pro-terrorist slogans.

Some people also showed him shoes and the senior Abdullah on the suggestion of his SSG commandos left the prayers mid-way.

The firebrand independent MLA Engineer Sheikh Abdur Rashid also slammed Abdullah for praising Vajpayee.

Stop Farooq Abdullah, your praises for Vajpayee carry no logic. He buried your autonomy resolution and prince Umar Abdullah still continued in his cabinet. Sorry to say ur dynasty has always stabbed us, Rashid tweeted.

Eid violence proves J&K far from normal

Srinagar: The violence in two days of Eid-ul-Adha in restive Kashmir and stone pelting indicates that situation in Kashmir is far from normal and continues to be fragile. On the first day of Eid militants shot dead three policeman and a BJP district president in south Kashmir. On second day of Eid, militants shot dead a forest department official Tariq Ahmad Malik in Kunzer area of Tangmarg in north Kashmirs Baramulla district on Thursday.

Eid also witnessed massive clashes between youth and security personnel near Eidgah area of downtown Srinagar after offering of Eid prayer on Wednesday morning. The youths chanted pro-Pakistan, pro-freedom and anti-India slogans and pelted stones on the police and the paramilitary personnel deployed there for maintaining law and order. The security men fired tear smoke shells and pellets to disperse the agitating youths so that the situation did not spiral out of control. The clashes, however, continued for about an hour during which some youth sustained injuries.By PTI

LONDON: Congress president Rahul Gandhi today raked up the multi-billion Rafale deal in the UK, accusing the BJP government of changing the contract to benefit an industrialist who was in debt.

In an interaction with the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) at the London School of Economics, Gandhi spoke of alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favouring a businessman who had no experience in manufacturing aircraft.

Gandhi has been attacking the BJP government for allegedly inking the deal at a much higher price than the one the previous UPA regime had negotiated to benefit "one businessman".

Facing allegations of getting undue benefits from the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has sent legal notices to several Congress leaders asking them to "cease and desist" from levelling such charges.

Gandhi, in response to a question on tackling corruption during an 'In Conversation' event at the famous London university, said: "Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been building aircraft for 70 years. It has built the Sukhoi, Hawk... whole set of planes. HAL has no debt. HAL has by far the best experience in building aircraft in 70 years".

Questioning the government's fighter jet deal struck with French giant Dassault Rafale, the Congress president said he found it "absolutely amazing" that the media in India had not picked up on highlighting how Ambani was "magically" given the contract for 36 fighter jets soon after Modi's visit to France.

"Our government signed a contract with Dassault, and gave the contract to HAL. The price we were paying was approximately 520 crores a plane.

"Then something happened, Prime Minister Modi went to France, changed the contract from 126 planes to 36 planes, changed the pricing structure from 520 crores to 1,600 crores and magically, Mr Anil Ambani was given the contract," Gandhi said.

The Congress president alleged that "Mr Anil Ambani is Rs 45,000 crore in debt".

"Mr Anil Ambani has never made a plane in his life, and the company that got the contract, one of the biggest defence contracts in the world, was formed one week before the contract was signed, luckily this is absolutely amazing. So that's the interesting question about corruption," Gandhi said.

Reliance Group has denied the allegations relating to the deal under which France's Dassault is supplying the fighter jets and has entered into a joint venture with an Anil Ambani-led group firm to meet its offset requirement of the contract.

Ambani recently wrote to Gandhi on the deal saying his party has been "misinformed, misdirected and misled" by "malicious vested interests and corporate rivals" on the issue.

The issue of corruption was among a range of topics covered by Gandhi during his question and answer session with students from the LSE and other British universities, including Brunel and King's College London, organised by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK to launch its 'Perspective India Townhall'.

On the issue of his association with dynastic politics as the grandson of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, he said: "I come from a certain family but I am an elected person; I have been democratically elected. So the term dynasty is not precise.

"I am actually elected and the important thing is I operate in a democracy and take the punches and have learnt a lot from my experiences over the years".

Calling on youngsters to join politics, he stressed that the Congress was determined to defend the "onslaught on the Indian Constitution" and "remove the BJP from power".

"We are constructing a manifesto in the Congress that brings in all ideas, stakeholders, farmers and allies and potentially have a structure with which to go to the people," Gandhi said in reference to the 2019 general election, adding that his party would not be making any alliances with anybody not "ideologically on our platform".

The Congress president described the essence of the Congress party as its ideology of non-violence and one that feels deeply for the people in the country who are weaker.

"I have been through a certain degree of violence up close. I have seen family members killed and borne the brunt of massive attacks on myself and learnt a lot from that. Ultimately, I love my country," he said, when asked about his leadership credentials.

Asked if the Partition of India in 1947 was the right move, given the "attacks on minorities" in India, he was defiant in the message that India has more Muslim people than Pakistan.

"We are a more democratic and open country, which embraces its people. The negotiation that India has been able to carry with its people, I am very proud of.

"However, over the last four years, an attack is taking place on Indian institutions but the original idea of India is going to win 100 per cent without a doubt," Gandhi said.

The event with LSE South Asian Centre director Mukulika Banerjee covered a wide spectrum of subjects.

Tomorrow, he will hold a lengthy breakfast meeting with representatives of the Indian Overseas Congress UK representatives to kick-start general election 2019 preparations, before he addresses a 1,300-strong diaspora event in the evening.By PTI

LONDON: Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said that Indian prisons are "difficult places" but fugitives like Vijay Mallya should not be treated differently.

Interacting with the members of the Indian Journalists' Association here, Gandhi said that "before Mallya left India, he met senior BJP leaders, that is documented. I won't name them".

Asked whether Indian jails are up to scratch as regards to Mallya's deportation case, he said "Indian prisons are difficult places".

"Indian prisons are pretty decent as far as Mr Mallya is concerned. Justice should be same for Indian people. Just because he is Vijay Mallya who defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore and ran away and he needs a difficult jail" is not acceptable.

Mallya last month appeared before a court in London where both defence and prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of the Barrack 12 of the Arthur Road Jail.

Fugitive liquor baron Mallya is currently fighting extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges worth an estimated Rs 9,000 crores.

Gandhi said the Modi government is pretty lenient to Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehjul Choksi, who have defrauded Indian banks.

"Punjab National Bank scam accused Nirav Modi took Rs 35,000 crores and Chokshi defrauded the banks. The question is job creation. How many jobs Nirav Modi created?," Gandhi asked.

The Congress president said "there is a relationship between Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and the Prime Minister. No action is taken against them".

Jewellery designer Nirav and his uncle Mehul Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, have allegedly defrauded state-run Punjab National Bank of over Rs 13,000 crore.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have registered cases of alleged fraud against them.

The Congress president attacked the Modi government and said it "absolutely and completely lacked any strategy as far as India's foreign policy is concerned".

"The Prime Minister makes a particular statement in Nepal and in a couple of months there is a complete U-turn."

He has not been able to handle the relationship with Nepal, Afghanistan or China.

"A devastating example is that Prime Minister went to Afghanistan and on his way back he went to Pakistan for a wedding, sending a completely wrong message to Afghanistan. Afghan keeps wondering what is going on," Gandhi said.

Gandhi was referring to Prime Minister Modi's surprise visit to Pakistan on December 25, 2015 while returning from Afghanistan.

He said that Prime Minister Modi went to China but did not discuss Doklam issue as "he views these as events but they are not events".

Gandhi said the Prime Minister is not taking feedback from the EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTRY.

"Why is the Foreign Minister (Sushma Swaraj) spending her time on sorting out Visas - that is not the job of the foreign minister. That is the job of someone in embassy. The job of the foreign minister is making foreign policy, holding discussion on strategy."

"Sushma Swaraj is not allowed to have discussions. She is extremely capable woman. I know her. I have served with her in Committees. I have issues with her regarding her style. She is humiliated on every count. She is not taken by prime minister on his trips and you never see her in photographs with prime minister. Then you say the foreign policy is wrong," Gandhi, who is also a member of the parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, added.Ejaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: A 2005-batch IAS officer and the Raipur collector Om Prakash Choudhary has resigned to launch his political career in an election year in the poll-bound Chhattisgarh state. Choudhary, 37, had sent his resignation letter to the department of personnel and training (DoPT) on August 16, TNIE has learnt. Highly places sources told the Express on Saturday that his resignation has been accepted by the Centre.

Earlier speculations were rife about the IAS officer, who is known for creating an educational hub called 'Education City' in Maoist-affected Dantewada district, south Bastar, was expected to join the BJP during the visit of the party president Amit Shah to Raipur on April 22. But Shah's visit was postponed owing to the demise of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The ruling BJP is likely to field him from Kharsia Assembly seat in Raigarh, which happens to be the home district of Choudhary. He is expected to acquire the party membership during the upcoming visit of BJP chief Amit Shah early next month.

Kharsia has remained the Congress party's impenetrable strong bastion, which was retained by Umesh Patel, son of slain PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel, who was shot dead by Maoists in 2013 at Bastar. There is however no official confirmation either from the BJP or the IAS officer about his joining the saffron party soon but some senior leaders within the BJP told the Express that Choudhary remains the best choice for the party against Umesh Patel for multiple reasons. The first and foremost is his inspiring appeal among the youths and his impeccable track record as a bureaucrat.

Choudhary is a resident of Bayang village in Raigarh. Despite repeated attempts he couldn't be reached but his close aides cited that he has actually been thinking for quite sometime to launch his political stint. Youths in Chhattisgarh see him as a -"great motivator-" for his encouraging contribution for the cause of education. -"If someone like me who did his schooling from a small village can become an IAS officer, it only because of education-", he once told the Express. He has earlier served as a collector of Dantewada and Janjgir-Champa.Ritwika Mitra By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is planning to scale up its skill training programmes for people with disabilities by designing geographically-specific training modules.

The government plans to impart skill training to 25 lakh people with disabilities till the end of 2022. The department wants to look at geographically specific opportunities which can give long-term sustainable opportunities and empower people with disabilities in order to scale up its programme and achieve the desired target of people to be trained, said a senior official, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

With the north-east having a potential for agricultural diversity, the department plans to hold skill development programmes for people from the region on the best farming practices. The idea is to help people in the region get training in high standards of farming practices so that they can benefit in the long term from the project and also help the community members. Similarly, we are sieving through the best options for people with disabilities from across the states to ensure their professional growth, said the official.

Among the other geographically-specific work opportunities, the department is looking at training opportunities in dairy farming, beekeeping and horticultural practices.

We are also tying up with IT companies so that people with disabilities are equipped to join the industry in a range of profiles with sound knowledge. The other programmes include small-scale apprenticeships such as training in cottage industry, mobile repairing, tailoring, working as cashiers and shopkeepers. The curriculum needs to be so designed that it helps self-actualisation of the trainees, said the official.

The department is now planning to come up with national and state-level exhibitions to promote products made by people with disabilities. The department plans to hold competitions in states for people with disabilities. The plan is still at a nascent stage and the modalities will soon be worked out. We plan to hold these exhibitions in January or early next year, said the official.

In numbers

There are 2.68 crore people with disability in India, of which 1.50 crore are male and 1.18 crore are female, according to the 2011 Census. There is an urgent need to scale up training to translate quality vocational training into high employability.Sujata Anandan By

Women are fast storming every male bastion in the country. I remember, as a student, a 14-year-old classmate who was part of an Interact project at school (Interact is the student wing of the Rotary Club) grilling the local Rotary president on why there were no women members in his club. There arent, was all he could say. But why? she persisted.

Well it is not part of the club charter to admit women. But why not? Whats wrong with women? she wouldnt let go. Well, thats just the way it is, he said weakly, by now really harangued by this teenager giving him a lesson in gender equality. I was a rookie journalist few years later and it was intimidating to enter a room full of Rotarians in the 1980s, where Maneka Gandhi was scheduled to deliver an address, as the Rotary club still continued to be an all-male preserve.

But just a few years later that male domination was broken and now hundreds of women in India (and I presume in the US where the Rotary club was founded) have ended up as presidents and secretaries of their local chapters. However, temples and mosques in India took longer and have needed the intervention of the courts. The Shani Shingnapur temple in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra was stormed by women recently.

This was fiercely resisted by the administration which then comprised politicians belonging to the NCP which, one would assume, would have been progressive and willing to offer women equal space in any institution. Although Shani Shingnapur needed the intervention of the court, in nearby Pune district women had already quietly invaded the male-dominated priesthood and established themselves as masters of rituals years ago.

Adopting purple sarees as their stated uniform (as against the white or saffron of the male priests), they were second to none in the study of the shastras, scriptures including the Vedas and the Upanishads and chanting of mantras as they performed ceremonies ranging from weddings to just simple havans and poojas. Simultaneously, women began to take to the streets as dholpathaks (beaters of drums) who accompany Ganpati processions all across Maharashtra. It requires a lot of grit and energy, but so far this bachelor God has not let down any of these women in doing this job for himand doing it equally well as men.

These accomplishments went without much remark, though, like in Shani Shingnapur, there was some resistance when the courts similarly allowed women to go up to the sanctum sanctorum of the Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai. Now, the dargah sits in a small island surrounded by the sea, which is stormy at the best of times, but even during heavy monsoons, there were no reports of it being inundated or Mumbai being punished in any way by the Rain Gods for allowing women to enter the inner precincts.

So why should Lord Ayyappa be less benign to either women or the people of Kerala and flood the state just because the Supreme Court has said women have equal rights for entry into the Sabarimala temple? The convention of not allowing menstruating women into the Ayyappa temple does not hold, er, water when one considers that it is an unspoken rule applicable to all temples and in India to all religions, including Zoroastrianism.

No woman would dare violate it by even entering her puja room while menstruating, a temple is a far cry from that. A friends grandmother was a devotee of Lord Ayyappa and believed that he granted her every wish and prayer, including one to keep her son safe as he walked homewards across a jungle full of wild animals at night. So the question begging an answer today is why, if Lord Ayyappa granted a woman her every prayer, should she be barred from worshipping at his temple in Sabarimala instead of just at her private altar at home? And if Lord Ayyappa was not angry with one woman for being his devotee, why should he punish any others for similar devotion? Or inundate a whole state in anger? India has always been a progressive country for women, except in medieval times when their purdah was due to Islamic influences.

The most powerful deities in the Indian pantheon are womenLaxmi, Saraswati and Durga, who personify wealth, knowledge and strength, essentials for the wellbeing of individuals as well as nations. In independent India, women did not have to wait a single day for adult franchise because, unlike the US or even the UK, our suffragette movement was way ahead of theirs. Kiran Bedi was a top officer in the Indian Police Service even before Germany allowed women to start serving as uniformed officers in their police force.

And a woman collector did enter the Sabarimala temple to oversee arrangements long before the Supreme Court observed that everyone should be allowed to enter it. But before all that, we had many women influencing the writing of our Constitution which enshrines gender equality. Members of the Constituent Assembly and Parliament included fiercely independent women who fought for this gender equalitylike Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Durgabai Deshmukh, Begum Aizaz Rasul, and more famous ones like Vijaylakshmi Pandit and Ammu Swaminathan, mother of Captain Laxmi Sehgal of the Jhansi Regiment of Subhash Chandra Boses Indian National Army, who fought shoulder to shoulder with men against the British army.

Of course, the temple of democracy, the Parliament, is different from temples to Gods. But India has been put to no peril in allowing women into their precincts, while one is yet to hear of a woman being ordained to a Catholic church anywhere in the world. As recently as 2014, the otherwise seemingly progressive Pope Francis said that door was closed to women. But our democratic institutions are opening our doors to women in even our religious institutions. Let not some misplaced fears of divine retribution slam them shut again.

Sujata Anandan

Senior journalist and political commentator

Email: sujata.anandan@gmail.comBy Express News Service

CHENNAI: Taking serious note of the public statements made by Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishna Murthy and Roads and Buildings Minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu over the TDPs possible electoral alliance with the Congress, Chief Minister and party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu is learnt to have sought an explanation from both the leaders. He is understood to have cautioned his party leaders not to be swayed by media reports. The issue of electoral alliance with any party would be taken only after a thorough deliberation at the party Politburo, he said.

Being senior leaders in the party, how can the two leaders forget the fact that any decision on electoral alliances will be taken before elections and that too after discussing in the party Politburo. How can they go by media reports without verifying the facts and discussing within the party? Naidu is said to have said while interacting with party leaders on Friday.

Sources in the TDP said that though the meeting organised by the Chief Minister with a few Cabinet Ministers and party leaders three days ago was limited to discussing politics at the national level and the situation in neighbouring Telangana, which is expected to go for early polls, it was reported in the media that the TDP was preparing the ground work for striking an alliance with the Congress.

When we said that the BJP is our enemy number one, the media jumped to the conclusion that the TDP might sail with the Congress and the media house owned by YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy went into an overdrive making wild speculations about our alliances. It is unfortunate on the part of senior leaders, who are free to raise their voice within the party, to make such statements going by media reports, another leader of the TDP told Express .

On Thursday, Ayyanna Patrudu, speaking to mediapersons in Visakhapatnam, said that the TDP was founded on the core principle of opposing Congress culture and the people would not tolerate it if the party opts for an electoral alliance with the grand old party. I will oppose in case there is any move by the TDP to forge an electoral alliance with the Congress and will even quit the party in case of any such alliance, he said.

Deputy Chief Minister (Revenue) Krishnamurthy said that the TDP would not associate itself with the Congress. The Congress, BJP, YSRC and now Pawan Kalyan of Jana Sena are rivals of the TDP, he said in Kurnool district recently.By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A woman was killed on the spot and another sustained grievous injury when the car in which BJP Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao was travelling rammed into them near Kolanukonda village of Tadepalli mandal in Guntur district on Friday.

According to Mangalagiri DSP Gunnam Ramakrishna, the BJP MP was on his way to Vijayawada from Guntur after attending a party meeting when the vehicle registered in the name of the State BJP Office mowed them down. According to sources, driver Mandapati Mani Kumar saw a few people crossing the road and tried to avert collision, but lost control of the vehicle. The car swerved, hit a divider and knocked down the two women who were about to cross the road.

Tanneru Anjamma (45), the deceased and Thota Sailaja (45), residents of Mangalagiri, had gone to Kolanukonda village on Friday afternoon to meet their relatives. The driver was arrested and the car seized. A case has been registered under IPC Sec 304-A (causing death due to negligent driving) against the driver and investigation is in progress. The injured, Sailaja, has been admitted to Manipal Hospital, DSP Ramakrishna said.

I was returning from a party meeting in our party Office car. Another car came within 20 minutes of the incident to take me. However,I waited until ambulance arrived to take injured lady to hospital & another vehicle arrived to take deceased lady's body. Anything else is fiction. https://t.co/JxYeoNgSa9  GVL Narasimha Rao (@GVLNRAO) August 24, 2018

GVL promises financial help

When contacted, GVL Narasimha Rao expressed grief. We waited for an hour at the spot and ensured that the injured woman was rushed to hospital, he said. The MP has cancelled his trip to Delhi to visit the family of the deceased woman in Mangalagiri and extend financial help.By Express News Service

VISAKHAPATNAM: Though we have come a long way from the ancient times, we have forgotten our culture, language, traditions and in the process our identity, said Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Venkaiah Naidu released the book Colonial Syndrome, written by GITAM Chancellor K Ramakrishna Rao, at GITAM Deemed to be University here on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, he said the Indians must come out of the colonial syndrome to think and act like Swadeshis.

Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, customs, laws and others which are learnt and shared by men as members of the society and transmitted from one generation to another, he added.

Venkaiah Naidu observed that the British influence has changed the way we look at ourselves and has stripped us of confidence that comes naturally to people belonging to an ancient and great civilisation.

Ramakrishna Rao, speaking on his book, said that the Colonial Syndrome analyses Gandhis concept of Swadeshi, and attempts to make a clear distinction between education in India and Indian education, Indian philosophy and philosophy in India.

He explained colonial syndrome as two centuries of British rule crystallised in the minds of the English-educated Indians a peculiar mindset that tended to undervalue their native ethos and moorings.By Express News Service

MADIKERI: For all its contribution to the countrys defence, it is time for Kodagu to get something back from the sector. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who visited Kodagu on Friday announced that Rs 7 crore from the CSR fund of the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) would be released to the district for flood relief works.

As a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, she would also provide Rs 1 crore to Kodagu from her MP Local Area Development Fund, she stated.The minister inspected the damage caused by floods and landslides in the district. Visiting rain-affected areas in Kushalnagar and Madapura, she headed to relief centres where she interacted with children and grown-ups alike who shared their pain with her.

She confirmed that a damage assessment team of the Union Government would visit the district and submit a comprehensive report, after which relief funds would be released by the Centre. The state government will also submit a report. But this team will work separately. It will be ready to take inputs from the people of Kodagu too, she said.

She promised to take part in a meeting with Union Home Minister and Road Transport Minister to present a firsthand report of the devastation caused in the district. I will report what I have seen to the Prime Minister, she said.

At a press conference later, she said she was in constant touch with Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy from August 15 and assigned two sub-columns of the Army for rescue works in Mukkodlu and Kaluru in Kodagu. She appreciated the efforts of the Army in constructing two temporary bridges at Mukkodlu and Kaalur.

The district has seen a major destruction and as the land here is fragile, no immediate relief could be provided. , she said.

Rehabilitate displaced students: Lokayukta

Bengaluru: Taking note of the hardship faced by students in flood-hit Kodagu district, Karnataka Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanatha Shetty has directed the Education Department to rehabilitate them in appropriate educational institutions and hostels to enable them to pursue their education. Initiating suo motu proceedings following media reports on the plight of students, the Lokayukta issued notice to the Principal Secretaries, Department of Higher Education and Primary and Secondary Education and other authorities.

Fix Shiradi Ghat Rd in a week: Sadananda Gowda to Revanna

Mangaluru: Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation DV Sadananda Gowda on Friday wrote to state Public Works Department Minister H D Revanna seeking a speedy clearing of debris on the Shiradi Ghat road. The Shiradi Ghat road, a vital link between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, has been cut off following recent landslides. Many from the two districts - Dakshina Kannada and Udupi - have moved to Bengaluru for employment. But Mangaluru-Bengaluru roads and railway connectivity are severed.

Death toll rises to 17

The death toll in the recent flood havoc has increases to 17 with NDRF (Mangaluru) team retrieving a body from the ruins of a landslide at Jodupala. The body of Gowramma, wife of late Basappa who was also killed in the landslide, was retrieved by rescue men on Friday. Decomposed dad body of Gowramma was identified by her brother Umesh from the bangle she used to always wear that still strung on to the body.

Police personnel to donate one days salary

Madikeri: State police department will contribute B5.8 crore by donating their one day salary, said DGP Neelamani Raju who viisted Kodagu district on Friday. She collected the overall report of the damages and deaths caused in the district. Neelamani said a search operation is ongoing and confirmed that all rescue teams including Army will be stationed in the district until all dead bodies and missing persons are recovered.By Express News Service

HASSAN: Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday added a new dimension to the conspiracy theories surrounding the present coalition arrangement in Karnataka, saying a political conspiracy prevented him from becoming chief minister for the second time. He also went on to say that he will return to power if he had the blessings of the states people.

Significantly, Siddaramaiah chose to make the statement from the home turf of the H D Deve Gowda family.All forces opposed to me got united to ensure that I dont become the CM for a second time, the Congress leader said while addressing party workers in a village near Holenarsipur in Hassan district, a stronghold of the JD(S).

Though he did not take any names, he made no effort to hide his displeasure about the coalition government. Unfortunately, everything in politics now depends on caste and cash. It is not good for democracy and society, he said, adding there was no such discrimination when he was chief minister and the government had started many schemes for the benefit of the poor from all sections.

Sending a clear message that he cannot be ignored, he said nothing is constant in politics. I am not scared and I will not sit quietly. In politics, we should never be scared of anything as nothing is constant. It is like river water, which keeps flowing. What goes up has to come down, he remarked.Though Siddaramaiah is chairman of the coalition coordination committee, the perception is that the government has sidelined him by not consulting him while taking major decisions.

Over the last few weeks, the former chief minister had written many letters expressing displeasure about the governments decisions, including hiking fuel prices and reducing the quantity of rice given under Anna Bhagya scheme.

KPCC chief: Siddu did not criticise coalition

KPCC president Dinesh Gundurao tried to downplay it saying that all that Siddaramaiah said was that the Congress government did good work but people were swayed by other factors during elections. The former CM did not criticise the coalition arrangement or the government, he added. Former Congress minister Vinay Kulkarni, who was also in Hassan on Friday, chose to interpret Siddaramaiahs remark on what goes up has to come down, as in reference to the 2019 Lok Sabha election.According to political analyst Prof Sandeep Shastri, by making those statements in Hassan, Siddaramaiah was reasserting his presence. He wants to reassert his presence and remind everyone that he cannot be ignored. It is very significant to note that he doesnt have good relations with the JD(S) leadership and made those statements in Hassan, he added.

Defends Rahuls statements

Mysuru: KPCC president Dinesh Gundurao has defended Congress chief Rahul Gandhis statement in Germany that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to deliver the goods and is spreading hatred. Gundurao said Gandhis observation is right as the Centre failed to create jobs.By Express News Service

BENGALURU: In an attempt to help small farmers break free from the vicious cycle of debt, the Karnataka cabinet has decided to pass an ordinance that will nullify all loans availed from the informal sector, including private money-lenders. However, the relief will be applicable only to small farmers and farm labourers.

The cabinet on Friday cleared the Karnataka Debt Relief Bill 2018, which aims to give a one-time relief to landless farm labourers and small farmers. All loans obtained by small farmers and farm labourers from private money- lenders, with no maximum cap, will be written off if the ordinance is cleared by the President. With the assembly not in session, the cabinet has decided to take the ordinance route. The decision comes on the day the cabinet also cleared the path to repay Rs 30,163 crore, including full interest, to nationalised banks as part of its mega farm loan waiver.

Ordinance will not cover non-banking financial companies

The bill will not apply to Non-Banking Financial Companies coming under RBI, but will apply to all other private monetary institutions, registered or unregistered, that come under the state governments ambit. The bill proposes to make farmers with up to two hectares of land and farm labourers with an annual income not exceeding Rs 1.25 lakh debt-free without repayment of loans borrowed from informal sector, including pawnbrokers and private money lenders. Any belongings pledged as a guarantee should also have to be returned.The ordinance will render all agreements and documentation made between private lenders and borrowers null and void, essentially relieving the borrower of all repayment. A similar Act was promulgated by Karnataka in 1976 and 1980. On similar lines, the state government has decided not to reimburse lenders but protect loanees from recovery.

What is exempted?

Arrears on revenue tax

Arrears on taxes due to any central or state government boards

Arrears on labour charges and salaries

Arrears to central or state agencies and cooperatives

Loans from govt cos

Life Insurance

Institutions registered under Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act

Loans taken on instalments

How it will work

The ordinance compels money lenders to give details of loans. Those who force recovery are liable to be jailed for up to one year with a fine of Rs 1.25 lakh.

Who is covered

 Farmers with up to 2 hectares of dry land

 Farmers with up to 1.5-acre rain-fed agricultural land

 Farmers who own up to half an acre irrigated land

 Small farmer or agricultural labourer whose annual income doesnt exceed Rs 1.25 lakhBy Express News Service

BENGALURU: Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiahs remarks of becoming Chief Minister for the second time triggered a debate on the stability of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government. Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said he is aware of forces trying to destabilise the government, but will not worry about it, while a BJP leader said the governments days are numbered.

I will continue to focus on doing good work and will not worry about the stability of my government or even try to protect my post,  the CM said during a function in the city on Saturday. I have become the CM accidentally and do not know how many days I will be in this position. As long as I am the CM, I will do my best for people, he said. He went on to add that his government is stable.

Indirectly referring to Siddaramaiahs remarks that only caste and cash matter in politics, the CM said he has never worked on the basis of caste. He warned officials involved in such practices to make amends or face action. He also took a dig at the Congress leader by saying that despite many hurdles he took a major initiative like waiving farm loans. Those who are trying to destablise the government must know what kind of relationship I have with MLAs and how I work, he added.

Though the combative CM tried to allay apprehensions about stability of his government, the developments in the last two days have yet again brought to fore differences among coalition partners, though they do not admit it. The governments days are numbered and it would collapse in 15 days, said Suresh Angadi, BJP MP from Belagavi. The Congress will withdraw its support to the Kumaraswamy government like the way it had done with the H D Deve Gowda government when he was Prime Minister, the MP added.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah defended his remarks. I said our party will come back to power after elections. What is wrong in it? Can I say our party will not come back to power? he told reporters in Mysuru on Saturday.

The former CM, however, went on to add that the next elections will be held after five years after the end of the current assemblys tenure. He also defended his remark of becoming CM again if people of the state bless him.

However, state Congress chief Dinesh Gundurao and other Congress leaders sought to put the debate to rest. While Gundurao said it is too early to discuss the partys next chief ministerial candidate as the incumbent government is just three-month old, former minister and party MLA Satish Jarkiholi said the party high command will take the call on who should be the next CM, and Siddaramaiah only expressed his views.By Express News Service

SABARIMALA:The Army will construct two Bailey bridges over river Pampa, which changed course following the recent flood.This was announced by Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran after a review meeting held here on the preparations for the upcoming pilgrimage season. The meeting was attended by various government departments and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). The meeting also decided to press for eco-friendly construction on the banks of the Pampa and de-silting of Pampa-Triveni.

The minister said the Army engineering wing will construct the bridges before September 15, when the Sabarimala temple opens for the monthly poojas for the Malayalam month of Kanni.The Army will construct the bridges in consultation with TDB and police, the minister said.The Irrigation Department will take immediate steps to remove the silt and sand deposited at the foothills of Sabarimala when Pampa changed course.

The department will also inspect the strength of the bridges, including the foot overbridge at Pampa-Triveni, he said.In the long-term, the Tourism Department will construct two new bridges at Pampa from the funds already allocated, the minister said.

Surendran said the Water Authority will ensure potable water supply either by repairing the damaged equipment or installing new ones before the pilgrimage season begins. Bathing ghat and resting place for pilgrims will also be reconstructed.Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar presided over the meeting. Anto Antony MP, Raju Abraham MLA and Devaswom Secretary Jyothilal attended the meeting.

Repair of roads

The PWD will complete the maintenance of all important Sabarimala roads before the start of the pilgrimage season. The department has already begun the construction of the damaged retaining walls.

Eco-friendly construction

The Minister said a decision has been taken to ban the construction of concrete buildings on the banks of Pampa. The annadanam complex and the hotel complex buildings at Pampa, which suffered damage in the flood, will be reconstructed after a technical study. To restore electricity supply, KSEB will install new poles on both sides of the river soon, the minister said.By Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Leaders cutting across party lines paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, remembering him as Ajatshatru, the one who has no enemies, and a rare politician who was accepted, admired and respected by all, irrespective of ideology or affiliation.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Ministers Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan, Leader of Opposition Narsingh Mishra, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik, MPs, MLAs and leaders from across the political spectrum joined the prayer meeting organised here a day after the ashes of the departed leader was immersed in Puri.

The CM described Vajpayee as a true statesman who embodied a unique combination of grace, idealism and tolerance in politics. He showed the world the art of managing a coalition government successfully. He was a man of firm principles and true democrat who chose to lose on the floor of the House upholding the values of our Constitution, Patnaik said.

It is a national loss as much as a personal loss for me. I will always cherish my association with late Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, especially as it was during my initial years in public life. It is truly the end of an era, he said.

Parties unite in homage to Atal

Vajpayee ji had a large heart with a special corner for Odisha  love that was equally reciprocated by the people of Odisha. We will miss you Vajpayee ji, he said offering his tributes. The leader of Opposition in State Assembly Narasingha Mishra recounted how he was deeply influenced by Vajpayee despite political differences. As a law student, he went to a public rally addressed by Vajpayee ji in Cuttack.I was a fierce opponent of his political ideology but was deeply impacted by his oratory. Very few can match his oratory, he said.

He remembered the former PM as large-hearted in personality and in politics. I was part of an all-party delegation who met him as the then PM over the severe drought in Western Odisha. In course of the meeting, I used strong words in his criticism. But he did not take any offence and instead asked his officials to take note of our issues and act on them. Such was his greatness, Mishra said.

OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik described the former prime minister as Dhruba Tara (Pole Star) of Indian politics. He was a statesman, poet, philosopher and a good PM. He understood the soul of India. He will continue to inspire the nation, Patnaik said.

Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram paid homage to the former PM and recounted their association with him. They termed him above party politics and said his vision and democratic spirit will always guide the nation.By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A preliminary enquiry had been ordered on a complaint against Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Advocate-General Vijay Narayan told the Madras High Court on Friday.

When a criminal original petition from DMK Rajya Sabha member and party organising secretary RS Bharathi came up before Justice A D Jagdish Chandra on Friday, he submitted that the complaint had been received on June 22 and a preliminary enquiry started immediately and the investigation was on.

Petitioners senior counsel NR Elango submitted that as per Supreme Courts directive, the preliminary probe should have been concluded within a week. In the case of DVAC, it should have been completed in two months. By August 22, the two-month deadline ended, he said.

Wondering why DVAC had not completed inquiry within the stipulated two months and registered a case, the judge directed the agency to file its reply by September 4.

Petitioner alleged that the Chief Minister had misused his position as a minister during late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas regime and now as the Chief Minister, and awarded contracts for five road projects to his friends, benamis and close relatives and caused loss to the exchequer to the tune of several thousand crores of rupees. In this connection, he lodged a complaint with DVAC on June 13 last, but the agency had not taken any action on it, he alleged.By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Nirmala Devi, assistant professor in a college in Aruppukottai, who was arrested in connection with the Madurai Kamaraj University sex scandal, has made a confessional statement voluntarily during a custodial interrogation, admitting to the offences she was charged with.

A submission was made to this effect by the police before Madras High Court on Friday. She admitted that she had attempted to lure girl students only to offer sexual favours to the other two accused  Murugan and Karuppasamy  police said.

The confession of Nirmala Devi and other witnesses had revealed the involvement of Murugan and Karuppasamy in this case. The duo was in close association with Nirmala Devi. She had an illegal intimacy with both of them and gone to the extent of promising to please them by providing her own college students for sexual favours.

Murugan and Karuppasamy asked Nirmala Devi to seduce young innocent college girls to offer sexual favours to them. Thus they tried to sexually exploit the girls, SP Lavanya, Additional Superintendent of Police, said in her affidavit.

Lavanya, the investigation officer submitted that, with the assistance of cyber crime cell, the call data records of Nirmala, Karuppasamy and Murugan were obtained from Mobile Service Providers.

They were analysed and relevant evidences of conspiracy between the three accused is established. The calls made and received by the accused were analysed and the persons concerned were summoned and examined and statements from them recorded. The calls between the three were corroborated by the voluntary confession and the facts were verified. The seizure of all digital evidences was done after following the due legal procedures, she added.

Noting that the investigation disclosed that the accused had also conspired together to practise deception on the victims and on the strength of such deception, Nirmala Devi on various occasions induced four girl students to fall for sexual exploitation, she said, In view of the above, the case has been altered as the one under sections 370 (3) read with 370 (1) (a), 120 (B), read with 370 (3), 354 (A) of the IPC, sections 5 (1)(a) and 9 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, and section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

Seeking SITs probe

The submissions were made on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition moved by D Ganesan of the Revolutionary Students Youth Front (RSYF) seeking courts direction to constitute a special investigation team (SIT), comprising of women police officers and led by a gender-sensitive officer in the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police.By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Ever since the DMK invited BJP president Amit Shah to the condolence meeting for former Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi on August 30, speculations of a possible alliance between the two parties and a post-poll alliance are rife in the media. DMK sources said former Union Minister TR Baalu had personally invited the BJP president and he had agreed to take part in the meeting which was originally scheduled for a State autonomy meet of DMK.

When contacted on Saturday night, DMK sources said: Till now, we have not received any communication from the BJP that its president will not take part in the August 30 meeting.

Meanwhile, DMK principal secretary Duraimurugan paid homage to the urns containing the ashes of the late Prime Minister AB Vajpayee at Vellore while former minister K Pitchandi paid his respects at Tiruvannamalai.

The confusion started when a senior leader of BJP, Subramanian Swamy tweeted on Friday: Happy to learn that party president Amit Shah has decided not to attend the DMK meet.While social media was abuzz with for and against comments on Amit Shah taking part in DMK meet, State BJP leaders said they have no information on whether Shah would take part in the DMK meeting.

In social media, people recalled how DMK spearheaded the online campaign - #GobackModi and #GobackModi when both leaders visited Chennai recently and questioned how the BJP cadre would digest the presence of Amit Shah at the DMK meeting.

Dravida Thamizhar Peravai leader Suba Veerapandian said the invitation to Amit Shah was being speculated as a forerunner for an alliance between BJP and DMK. I suspect BJP is spreading such rumours.Meanwhile, at Kovilpatti, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan said he was yet to get confirmation about Amit Shah taking part in the DMK meeting. At Thiruvannamalai, BJP State president Tamilisai Soundararajan told reporters that We always get information regarding our national presidents visit to the State. But till now, the State unit has not received any communication about the visit of Amit Shah to Tamil Nadu. We will inform you if we receive it.

Asked about the chance for an alliance in the coming days, BJP national secretary H Raja said at Pudukottai, Speaking at a meeting in Chennai last month, Amit Shah had declared that BJP will announce its alliance details in October. As such, I cant comment on this subject before that.TNCC president S Thirunavukkarasar said Many leaders from across the country are taking party in the condolence meeting for Karunanidhi. All leaders are not in alliance with each other. Congress is not bothered about whether Amit Shah is attending this meet or not. Even if he attends, it does not mean that the Congress will come out of DMK alliance.

At Tirunelveli, MDMK general secretary Vaiko said DMK is taking its political moves very carefully. We need not guess anything by Amit Shahs participation in DMK meet.Dravidar Kazhagam president K Veeramani said Ideology is not an issue in attending a condolence meeting for a late leader. We need not speculate on this.By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Unhappy with the action of an IAS officer for willful violation of the court order, Justice P Naveen Rao of the Hyderabad High Court on Friday sentenced IAS officer K Siva Kumar Naidu, the then joint collector and additional district magistrate of Mahabubnagar, to one month simple imprisonment along with a fine of `2,000 to the court in a contempt case.

The judge was passing this order in a contempt case filed by A Bachaiah alias Buchaiah, retired government servant, seeking to punish the respondent officer for gross violation and willful disobedience of the order passed earlier by the court.

As for the case, the petitioner obtained permission for conversion of his agriculture lands, situated at Mahabubnagar district, to non-agricultural purpose under the NALA Act, 2006 and paid conversion fee for the subject property of 11,585 square yards. Further, he got the property regularised on payment of necessary charges and also got approval from the deputy director of town and country planning, Hyderabad and got building permission in January 2016 for construction of Kalyana mandapam in the subject property and started construction of it. On receiving a complaint the then joint collector Siva Kumar Naidu has granted stay on the legitimate construction of the building.

Aggrieved with the same, the petitioner moved the High Court challenging the joint collectors order. On August 29 last year, the Court granted interim relief to him by staying the order of the joint collector. When the petitioner proceeded with the said construction, on September 16 last year the joint collector passed the impugned order directing the concerned circle inspector to imprison Buchaiah for a period of two months and 29 days for allegedly violating the order passed by him earlier.

He was arrested and confined to civil imprisonment. On September 22, a portion of the wall constructed in the said function hall was demolished as per order joint collectors order. In November he filed the contempt case seeking to punish the concerned authorities under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 for gross violation and willful disobedience of the orders passed by the court earlier.

Taking a serious view at wilful disobedience of the court order, Justice Naveen Rao sentenced the above IAS officer to simple imprisonment. Besides, the judge directed the State government to pay ` 50,000 to the petitioner for sending him to prison.V V Balakrishna By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: After dropping more than enough hints on Friday about early polls to the state Assembly, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao arrived in Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

However, the state government has gone into an election mode has become clear after the Chief Minister showered sops on priests, Imams, transferred IAS and IPS officers and three IAS officers, holding key posts being given new postings. The Chief Minister also filled three nominated posts.

With a triple action Thursday wherein Rao met Governor ESL Narasimhan and held confabulations while his son and Minister KT Rama Rao stay put in Delhi and met some key people and the advisor to TS government Rajiv Sharma meeting Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, Friday saw a flurry of activity which clearly indicated that the government was indeed in the election mode. Sources say that polls could be held as early as December.

On the party front, Rao held a detailed meeting with party MPs, MLAs and MLCs at Telangana Bhavan on Friday. As expected, all the elected representatives authorised Rao to take a decision on the polls. Rao told them that he would take a final decision soon.

A visibly confident Rao told the party leaders that the TRS was going to win 100 seats whenever Assembly elections are held. Quoting his own surveys, he told them that the margin between TRS and the Opposition was narrow only in 10 of the 119 Assembly constituencies. In the remaining places, TRS was way ahead of others and beyond their reach, he is said to have remarked.

However, the main focus at Fridays TRS Legislature and Parliamentary Party meeting was on making Pragathi Nivedana Sabha a grand success. Rao asked the party MLAs to mobilise around 25,000 people from each constituency. The party is expecting to mobilise 27 lakh people for the mammoth public meeting on the city outskirts on September 2 when Rao will sound the poll bugle.

Chances of early polls clear: Uttam

With the sudden political developments, TPCC president N Uttam Kumar Reddy hurriedly convened a teleconference with party booth committee leaders. The chances of early polls are clear if one goes by the political atmosphere in the state, he said.

Organising mammoth public meetings is nothing new for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and it is the pink partys supremo and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who goes into every minute detail, instead of completely leaving it to his deputies, as far as the arrangements for the massive public meetings are concerned.

Interestingly, Rao, a superb orator, himself gives catchy names to each public meeting held so far which draw people from all corner of the state. This time it is Pragathi Nivedana. In the past, he had coined names like Simha Garjana, Warangal Jaitra Yatra and Jana Garjna for the public meetings held by TRS.

On September 2, the TRS is going to organise yet another mammoth public meeting which is likely to see the participation of several lakhs of people from all over the state. The pink party expects a turnout of around 25 lakh people _ perhaps the biggest event so far. The meeting will be held at Kongarkalan village in Ibrahimpatnam on the citys outskirts and Rao is personally monitoring each and every detail that is going into the mega show to make it a grand success. KCR, as is popularly called, inspected the arrangements at Kongarkalan on Friday and gave directions to the party workers on where the dais should be arranged and on the basic amenities to be provided to people.

He also asked party workers to lay 15 to 20 approach roads to the venue so that people from all directions of the state can reach the venue easily. The TRS will take the permission of the roads and buildings department for laying these new roads. We will lay roads with TRS fund, a party functionary said.

Right from its inception in 2001, the TRS has been known for organising mammoth public meetings which saw the participation of lakhs of people and yet were smooth affairs. This will be a very special event for TRS where the party supremo will present the TRS governments report card before the people. The report card, we can say, will undoubtedly be very impressive, a functionary said.

The boss goes into the intricacies of all arrangements and asks us to make changes and that is the prime reason why mammoth meetings are so successful and hassle-free. There is no regional party which can match our preparations. Nationally, I think only the BJP can match us, he said.By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: We will hit a century in next Assembly elections under the leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, declared IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao, while addressing the city leaders of the pink party on Friday.

Rama Rao held a meeting with GHMC leaders for making arrangements for the ensuing TRS public meeting in Kongarkalan. Addressing the party leaders, Rama Rao exuded confidence that the TRS would win 100 Assembly seats in the next elections.

While listing out the various sops announced by the Chief Minister earlier in the day, Rama Rao said that the usage of electric gadgets increased in the houses of SCs and STs. That was why the free power usage too was increased from the present 50 units to 101 units per month, he said. He said that the wages of Imams were hiked and the temple priests would get salaries on par with other government employees. Our government is taking care of the welfare of all the sections, Rama Rao said. This was because of the noble thoughts of the Chief Minister, Rama Rao said. Coming down heavily on Congress party and AICC president Rahul Gandhi, Rama Rao said that the TRS would emerge victorious in the next elections.

Rahul Gandhi talks of family rule in TRS. Can Rahul Gandhi talk of family rule? Right from Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and now Rahul Gandhi were in Congress. Even the devils preaching gospels will shy over Rahul Gandhi talking about KCRs family rule. If the word Gandhi is removed from Rahuls name, I wonder whether he would have found a place in Congress party, Rama Rao remarked.

He recalled that all the sections of the people on Hyderabad including Andhra settlers, Malayalis, Marwadis and others were living peacefully in the last four years. There are no curfews and there is no law and order problem in Hyderabad for the last four years, Rama Rao said.By PTI

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump today pulled the plug on a weekend trip to North Korea by his top diplomat, while taking a swipe at China over efforts to disarm the nuclear state.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump said by tweet.

"Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)," Trump said.

In another tweet, the president added Pompeo would still head to North Korea "in the near future," saying this would likely occur when the US-China trading relationship is "resolved."

"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!" Trump said.

Pompeo had yesterday said he would return to North Korea next week for the next stage in ensuring the "final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

The trip would have been Pompeo's fourth to North Korea, and the second since a historic summit on June 12 between Trump and the country's strongman leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump, who relishes unpredictability in negotiating, had at one point cancelled that summit, citing North Korea's "open hostility."

But he soon backtracked and the summit went ahead.By PTI

BEIJING: Nineteen people were killed and 23 others injured when a fire broke at a hotel today in the tourist city of Harbin, the capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, local fire officials said.

The deadly fire started early in the morning at Beilong Hot Spring Leisure hotel in Songbei district and took around three-and-a-half hours for 100 firemen and 30 fire engines to bring it under control, they said.

More than 80 people were evacuated and 20 others trapped in the hotel were rescued by the firemen, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

As many as 18 bodies were recovered from the site while one person died during treatment at the hospital.

A total of 23 injured were being treated in hospitals, officials said.

Around 400 square metres of the hotel's area was gutted in the fire, the cause of which was being probed, according to the local government.

Efforts are on to identify the victims.

Deputy director of the fire control bureau in the Ministry of Emergency Management, Khyungse said that the incident and some other deadly fires in this month reflected problems such as the neglect of responsibility in some places.

Local fire departments should be fully prepared in this fire-prone period, Khyungse said, stressing higher alert and more patrols at night.By AFP

JALALABAD: An suicide bomb blast outside killed at least two people Saturday outside an election commission office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said.

The latest attack in the war-torn country targeted a protest camp outside the building in Nangarhar province, where a group of people were rallying in support of a candidate disqualified from parliamentary elections due in October.

"It killed two people, and four others were wounded," provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that a suicide attacker was responsible for the explosion.

Provincial health director Najib Kamawal confirmed the two deaths.

An eyewitness said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated explosives near a tent full of protesters outside the election commission's office in Jalalabad, sending people fleeing as security forces cordoned off the area.

ALSO READ | Taliban take at least 100 people hostage: Afghanistan officials

"It was very big blast and it shook our home," said witness Mirza Amin, who added she lived 50 metres (160 feet) from the site of the explosion.

The blast comes nearly a week after President Ashraf Ghani offered a conditional three-month ceasefire to the Taliban, a move welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war.

The Taliban have yet to provide an official response to the offer.By PTI

BEIJING: China today lodged a diplomatic protest with the US after President Donald Trump alleged that Beijing was not helping with the process of denuclearisation of North Korea, and said his accusations were "irresponsible" and he was "passing the buck".

Trump had said that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was making his fourth visit to Pyongyang next week, to cancel his trip because he feel that no sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula was being made.

In a statement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Trump's allegation was not based on facts and was "irresponsible".

"We are seriously concerned and have made solemn representations, (diplomatic protest) to the US side," Lu said.

The Chinese protest followed after Trump's tweets yesterday that he had asked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his trip to North Korea because there had not been significant progress on denuclearisation.

"Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)," Trump said.

The world's two biggest economies, China and the US are currently involved in a trade war slapping billions of dollars of tariffs on each other goods following Trump's demand to Beijing to bring down USD 375 billion trade deficit.

Refuting Trump's allegations, Lu said China's stance on denuclearisation had been consistent, and it supported the US and North Korea to push forward the agreements reached during their landmark summit in Singapore in June.

"All related parties should stick to the path of political settlement and show more sincerity and flexibility rather than being unpredictable and passing the buck to others," Lu said.

China would keep communicating with all parties and keep contributing to the stability of the Korean peninsula, Lu added.

China is North Korea's biggest trade partner and close ally of Pyongyang.By UNI

CATANIA: Doctors ordered on Saturday that 16 sick migrants be allowed to leave the Italian rescue ship docked for five days in a Sicilian port as Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he was working on a "positive solution" for the remaining 134 people on board.

The migrants, mainly from Eritrea, have been stranded in the port of Catania since Monday because the Italian government is refusing to let them off the boat until other European Union states agree to take some of them in.

The United Nations called on Saturday for reason from all sides after a meeting of envoys from 10 EU states in Brussels a day earlier failed to break the deadlock.

"Frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement.

It appealed to EU member states to "urgently" offer relocation places to the rescued people, in line with an agreement at an EU summit in June, and in the meantime urged Italy to allow "the immediate disembarkation of those on board."

But the anti-establishment government that took office three months ago shows no sign of backing down, despite fierce criticism from rights groups and the opposition.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome says it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless the migrants are shared out around the EU.

"I am totally untroubled and I am working, with good prospects of success, on a positive solution," said Salvini, leader of the right-wing League party, adding that he considered the criticism he received to be a "badge of honour."

Inspectors from the Italian Health Ministry and the Red Cross went on board the coastguard vessel Diciotti to visit the migrants, some of whom have been refusing food in protest at being detained on board for days under the hot sun.

Following the check up, they ordered that 11 women and five men be allowed off the boat and taken to Catania's Garibaldi hospital.

They have not yet disembarked but Salvini's Interior Ministry said they would do so shortly.

No information was immediately given on their health problems.

Stefano Principato, a Red Cross representative, said the health of most of the migrants "isn't particularly critical," adding their problems "are more psychological than physical."

Earlier this week Italy let 27 unaccompanied minors leave the vessel.

Prior to that, 13 people needing urgent hospital attention were evacuated from the ship, which picked up the migrants in the Mediterranean 10 days ago.

The mostly young men now on board shelter from the sun under a large green tarpaulin that covers around half the deck, with clothes attached to it hanging out to dry.

Some occasionally wave to reporters gathered at the port.

The 5-Star Movement, the League's coalition partner, has so far backed Salvini's hard line, and on Tuesday its Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who is responsible for the country's ports, renewed the government's attacks on the EU.

"Nobody can give lessons to Italy on its humanitarian efforts," he tweeted.

Orgoglioso ogni giorno di piu della professionalita dimostrata dalla @guardiacostiera. Nessuno puo dare lezioni all'Italia per lo sforzo umanitario. Il Governo sta solo chiedendo alla Ue di dare un senso alla propria esistenza, rispettando quanto scritto dopo vertice fine giugno.  Danilo Toninelli (@DaniloToninelli) 25 August 2018

"The government is only asking the EU give some sense to its own existence."By PTI

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump says the United States is close to a "big Trade Agreement" with Mexico and he's citing improving ties between the two countries.

Trump says on Twitter the US -Mexico relationship with Mexico "is getting closer by the hour" and he says a trade deal "could be happening soon!" He's spoken of better relations with America's neighbour following the rise of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

The US and Mexico have been discussing a trade deal as part of negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The Trump administration is seeking a revised version of that trade deal with Mexico and Canada.

Trump's relationship with Mexico has been strained over his push for it to pay for his border wall.By PTI

BEIJING/MOSCOW: For the first time, the militaries of India and Pakistan are taking part in a mega anti-terror drill of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Russia aimed at expanding cooperation among the member countries to deal with the growing menace of terrorism and extremism.

India is participating in the drill for the first time since becoming a full member of the SCO in June 2017. As part of the SCO initiatives, the SCO Peace Mission Exercise is conducted biennially for the SCO member states.

The joint exercise is being conducted by the Central Military Commission of Russia from August 22 to August 29 at Chebarkul, Russia.

The exercise will involve tactical level operations in an international counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism environment under the SCO Charter.

At least 3,000 soldiers from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan are participating in the drill, according to the Chinese media reports.

Ten representatives from Uzbekistan will serve as observers, state-run Global Times reported.

The Indian contingent of 200 personnel is primarily composed of troops from infantry and affiliated arms and services along with the Indian Air Force. The Indian contingent has been put through a strenuous training schedule which includes firing, heliborne operations, combat conditioning, tactical operations and house intervention drills, according to curtain raiser of the exercise released by the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi.

The joint exercise will strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best practices among armed forces of the SCO nations.

The previous SCO counter-terrorism drills were mainly limited to the Central Asian nations, the Chinese media said.

But due to the entry of India and Pakistan, the SCO's counter-terrorism mission has expanded to South Asia, Li Wei, a counter-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing, told the Global Times.

The SCO was established in Shanghai in 2001, with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as founding members.

It expanded to include India and Pakistan in 2017.

"The effective counter-terrorism cooperation among SCO countries has greatly undermined terrorist groups in Central Asia in recent years, and it's expected that this effective cooperation will also boost stability in South Asia, a region facing a more complicated counter-terrorism situation with a variety of active terrorist groups," Li said.

Sun Zhuangzhi, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said Peace Mission 2018 will also greatly improve military and political mutual trust among SCO countries, especially between India and Pakistan.

"It's a rare opportunity for Pakistan and India, which have long been involved in military conflict, to enhance military exchanges and trust. This could improve regional stability," Sun said.

Li said future counter-terrorism drills among SCO countries have to come up with new drills on targeting terrorist groups in South Asia. He suggested that the SCO further expand to include Afghanistan, which is currently an observer country, to strengthen counter-terrorism efforts in South Asia.

The Peace Mission 2018 also created a historic chance for four major military powers in Eurasia - China, Russia, Pakistan and India - to participate in the same military drill, Sun said.By PTI

DUBLIN: Irish premier Leo Varadkar urged the pope to ensure justice for abuse victims worldwide in a blistering criticism of the Church's legacy in Ireland where Francis began a two-day visit today.

"Wounds are still open and there is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors.

Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure that this is done here in Ireland and across the world," Varadkar said standing next to the pontiff.

"We must now ensure that from words flow actions," he said.

ALSO READ | Pope Francis arrives in Ireland facing abuse scandals

Vardkar referred to multiple abuse scandals in Ireland, calling them "stains" on the Catholic Church, the state and society as a whole that had left "a legacy of pain and suffering".

"This is a shared history of sorrow and shame," he said.

Varadkar, who is openly gay, also referred to Ireland's reform of laws on divorce, same-sex marriage and abortion.

Pope Francis delivers his speech during his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo | AP)

Ireland understands "that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions, and that families come in many forms including those headed by a grandparent, a lone parent or same-sex parents or parents who are divorced," he said.

He called for "a new relationship between Church and state in Ireland -- a new covenant for the 21st century".

"Building on our intertwined history, and learning from our shared mistakes, it can be one in which religion is perhaps no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place.

" In his speech, Varadkar also praised the role of the Catholic Church in helping the vulnerable in Ireland.

"Even today, as we struggle with a housing shortage and homelessness, Catholic organisations and people inspired by their Catholic faith fill a gap in providing services," he said.

Varadkar is due to meet with abuse victims and visit a Catholic-run centre for homeless families in Dublin later today.By PTI

LAHORE: A 17-year-old girl was shot dead by her brother in a suspected case of "honour killing" in Pakistan's Punjab province, police said today.

Samina Bibi's family suspected of her having a relationship with a man in Bahiwal village, some 200 kms from here, senior police officer Mudasar Awan said.

"Her brother Habib had earlier caught her with the boy and thrashed both of them. He warned her that if she does not stop seeing the man, he would kill her," the officer said.

"When Habib came to know that Samina had met the man on Eid, he thrashed her with the help of his father and then shot her dead from a point blank range yesterday," he said.

Both the accused fled the spot.

A murder case was registered against them.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, nearly 1,000 women and girls in deeply conservative Pakistan are being murdered every year for allegedly bringing shame on their family.

The rights group says that the women are killed for being accused of having illicit relations and marrying without the family's consent.

Most of the women are killed by their brothers and husbands, the group said.HARARE: Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on Saturday refused to accept a Constitutional Court ruling that upheld Emmerson Mnangagwa's win in presidential elections last month.

In his first comments since the country's top court overturned the opposition's legal challenge to have the results annulled, Chamisa vowed to lead "peaceful protests".

"I have a legitimate claim that I am supposed to lead the people of Zimbabwe," the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said Saturday.

ALSO READ | Zimbabwe top court begins hearing appeal against election result

"Yes, judgement has been made but as far as we are concerned, we have a view that is contrary to the view of the Constitutional Court," Chamisa said.

"The court's decision is not the people's decision. The people who voted do not believe in (Mnangagwa). We have got a clear majority."

In a verdict widely predicted by analysts, Chief Justice Luke Malaba strongly criticised the MDC party's case and upheld Mnangagwa's win.

Robert Mugabe's successor Mnangagwa, of the ruling ZANU-PF party, won the July 30 election with 50.8 per cent of the vote -- just enough to meet the 50 per cent threshold needed to avoid a run-off against Chamisa, who scored 44.3 per cent.

The elections were largely judged to be free of the violence which characterised previous elections in Zimbabwe.

Chamisa insists he won more than two-thirds of the vote.

ALSO READ | Zimbabwe Election: 27 members of opposition members given bail, plead 'not guilty

"The legal door is not the only door to happiness," he said. "Using our constitutional right, we have a right to peaceful protests. This is the route we will take. One of them."

Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe after the long-time ruler was ousted following a brief military takeover in November 2017.

He vowed to hold free and fair elections and mend strained relations with the west but his plan was marred when soldiers fired at protesters on August 1 killing at least six people.

His inauguration will now take place on Sunday.By PTI

MOSCOW: Russia today said Syrian rebels are preparing a chemical attack in Idlib province which will be blamed on Damascus and used as a pretext for Western powers to hit government targets in the war-torn country.

Moscow's accusation comes after US President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton this week said Washington will respond "very strongly" if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons in an offensive to retake Idlib, one of the last rebel held provinces in the country.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is "preparing another provocation of the 'use of chemical weapons' by Syrian government forces against the peaceful population of the Idlib province.

ALSO READ | US warns Russia it will 'not tolerate' election meddling

" He said the group delivered "eight chlorine tanks" to Jisr al-Shughur town in order to "stage" the attack and that these were later taken to a village eight kilometres (5 miles) away.

The statement also said a group of militants "trained in handling poisonous substances under the supervision of specialists from the private British military company 'Oliva'" arrived in the town a day earlier.

"The militants have the task of simulating the rescue of the victims of the chemical weapons attack dressed in the clothes of the famous 'White Helmets'," it said.

Konashenkov accused British special services of being "actively involved" in the "provocation" which will "serve as another reason for the US, the UK and France to hit Syrian government targets with air strikes.

" In April, the US, France and Britain launched joint missile strikes on Syrian targets in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma that left scores dead.

Russian stuck by its ally Syria and angrily insisted the Douma attack was staged by the White Helmets volunteer rescue service.

In Jerusalem on Wednesday, Bolton said Washington was "concerned about the possibility that Assad may use chemical weapons again.

" "Just so there's no confusion here, if the Syrian regime uses chemical weapons we will respond very strongly and they really ought to think about this a long time," Bolton said.

Speculation is increasing that there could be a Russian-backed government assault on Idlib, one of the so-called "de-escalation" zones set up as a result of talks by Russia, Turkey and Iran last year.

On a visit to Moscow yesterday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned Russia that seeking a military solution in Idlib would be a "catastrophe" before meeting President Vladimir Putin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the situation in Idlib is "multi-faceted" and called for separating out "the healthy opposition from terrorist structures.

" Damascus still holds the southeastern tip of Idlib, a strategically important province adjacent to Latakia on the Mediterranean coast that is home to Assad's clan.

More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.By AFP

RAMALLAH: US President Donald Trump's administration is resorting to "cheap blackmail" against the Palestinians with its decision to cut more than $200 million in aid for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a senior Palestinian official said Saturday.

A State Department official said Friday that the decision, made "at the direction of the president," came after a review of aid programmes to the Palestinian territories. The funding would "now address high-priority projects elsewhere".

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) executive committee, hit back, saying: "The US administration is demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool.

"The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion. The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," Ashrawi countered.

In January, the United States had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump last December decided to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with Washington and consider that it can no longer be an impartial mediator in the Middle East peace process.

After the latest blow, Ashrawi insisted that the Palestinians, living under Israeli occupation, would not be coerced into surrendering their rights.

"There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation," she wrote in a statement.

"The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources; now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation."

In an initial reaction on Friday, the PLO's representative in Washington, Husam Zomlot, said the US administration was "dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine".

"After Jerusalem and UNRWA, this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda," he said.

The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests erupted in March.

At least 172 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the vast majority of them during demonstrations near the border.Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 49F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low near 30F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.Zimbabwes ambassador to Senegal and The Gambia Ms Trudy Stevenson has died.

She was 73.





Ambassador Stevenson was reportedly found dead at her residence in Dakar, Senegal, yesterday. It is true but we are yet to get in contact with all the relatives, said a senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.





We will announce officially once we get in touch with them. Ms Stevenson was a founding member of the MDC and was appointed ambassador to Senegal and The Gambia in 2009 during the inclusive government as a deployee of MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube.





A former Member of Parliament for Harare North (2000-2008), she continued to serve as ambassador after the fall of the inclusive Government in 2013 to date.





At the time of her death, Ms Stevenson, who served as MDCs national secretary for policy and researchhad quit politics to focus on her diplomatic career.





Ms Stevenson was born in the United States and attended school in England from 1955 to 1962. She obtained a BA degree from the University of Reading and a Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Zimbabwe.





She lived in Uganda during the 1970s before coming to Zimbabwe in 1980 where she became a citizen in 1990.



BEGGARS in Bulawayo have resorted to EcoCash after enduring months of walking up to 15km to their homes, mostly in the western suburbs, with little or no coins as the cash crisis in the country has affected their benefactors.



The people, who live mostly off alms from Good Samaritans on the streets, say they now accept electronic transfers on the popular mobile platform.





Zimbabwe has been battling cash shortages which have resulted in a surge in plastic and mobile money usage. Before the cash crisis worsened, the beggars used to carry small tins and people would drop coins but now hard cash has become a scarce resource.





Mr Melusi Nyoni (35), who begs by the Ross Camp gate along Basch Street, said he now struggles to pay rent and buy food because people who used to help him no longer have cash.

I live in Lobengula and I pay $65 rent monthly. Recently I have been struggling to pay because most days I go back home without even a coin.





My friend advised me to write my EcoCash number on a piece of paper so that people may know that l accept ecocash. This has worked wonders. I can get up to $20 in three days. Some people who have my number sometimes make transfers in the middle of the night, he said.





Mr Nyoni said he does not know some of the people who transfer money to him but he appreciates their kindness.

Visually impaired Mrs Ntombizodwa Mabika, who sits at corner Jason Moyo and Third Avenue, said she now moves around with her mobile phone and her neighbour has put a message tone specifically for ecocash transfer confirmation messages on the cell phone.





I then go to supermarkets where they tell me the balance in my wallet and I purchase food for my children, she said.





Mr Tafi Dube (49), a visually impaired keyboardist who sits outside Pioneer House along Fife Street, said he now uses EcoCash.





There is a cash crisis and its hard for people to get even a coin to pay for a kombi but if you have an EcoCash account they can transfer something into your account. I started using EcoCash recently, he said.





Silibaziso Nkomo (7), a child who walks with his visually impaired father, said since they resorted to EcoCash, they can now afford buying lunch in town.





Mostly we could spend the whole day without eating and I felt so hungry but now there are people who transfer money to dads phone and we buy food where they accept EcoCash, she said.

A woman who declined to be named said she now has cellphone numbers of four visually impaired people whom she transfers money to on a monthly basis.





I took their numbers and when I get my salary I put some money into the accounts. I dont need my name to be published because I am ministering for God not to men, she said.





A man who gives beggars money through EcoCash said: I find this idea so innovative because sometimes you wish to help but cash shortages becomes a limiting factor, he said.





A pastor from Eagle Life Church, Mr Paul Moyo, said society should remain honest and never get tempted to get the EcoCash pin codes of the visually impaired and rob them of their money. ChronicleThere is no reasonable court, committed to the attainment of justice for all, that can accept that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) acted lawfully in issuing three different sets of results under the incomprehensible principle that facts are more important than figures. ZEC announced results on television. It then issued a CD to observers and stakeholders; the results on this CD were different from those announced on television. By the time ZEC got to court it had abandoned both the television results and the CD results and presented a third set of results to the court. This is an intolerable absurdity and we would be failing in our duty and responsibility to and for the people if we did not expose the court for what it is  an appendage of Zanu PF.(Newser)  The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza, the State Department said Friday. The department notified Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters. It said the administration will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere." The move comes as President Trump and his Middle East pointmen, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, staff up their office to prepare for the rollout of a much-vaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians. More from the AP:

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From the department's mouth: "At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer. ... This decision [to redirect more than $200 million] takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said, without providing additional details.

"At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer. ... This decision [to redirect more than $200 million] takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said, without providing additional details. One sticking point: One main issue the US has had with support for the Palestinian Authority had been its stipends paid to the families of Palestinians killed, injured, or jailed for attacks on Israel. Israel and the Trump administration have repeatedly demanded that those payments from a so-called "martyrs' fund" be halted because they encourage terrorism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to do so.

One main issue the US has had with support for the Palestinian Authority had been its stipends paid to the families of Palestinians killed, injured, or jailed for attacks on Israel. Israel and the Trump administration have repeatedly demanded that those payments from a so-called "martyrs' fund" be halted because they encourage terrorism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to do so. The reaction: The Palestine Liberation Organization quickly denounced the decision, calling it "the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool. The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion."

The Palestine Liberation Organization quickly denounced the decision, calling it "the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool. The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion." The impact: The loss of the assistance is almost certain to further provoke the Palestinians against the Trump peace plan. The Palestinian leadership has been openly hostile to any proposal from the 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. The Palestinian Authority and Abbas broke off contact with the US after the Jerusalem announcement.

(Read more Palestine stories.)(Newser)  In a new profile of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the New York Times looks at how Mollie Tibbetts' accused killer "built a life in an Iowa farm town." It treads on some familiar groundquoting people who describe him as a quiet but reliable farmhand at a local dairy farmbut surfaces less reported details: The 24-year-old has a daughter and was accused of sending unwanted messages to women online. The Times reports he met Brooklyn high school student Iris Monarrez five years ago, and that the two subsequently had a daughter. They lived together for a year, and Monarrez's second cousin tells the paper they split two years ago. That relative describes Rivera as "really romantic"; others recount often seeing Rivera with his daughter in the park.

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Monarrez has reportedly been on the receiving end of hateful Facebook messages since their former relationship came to light. The Mercury News reports she and her 3-year-old were in the courtroom on Wednesday, and that Monarrez reportedly graduated a year ahead of Tibbetts at Malcolm High School. The Times presents a second female name: Brooke Bestell. The 20-year-old tells the paper Rivera asked her out and she declined, describing her discomfort: "He would just stare. He wouldnt really like talk." Bestell says that he proceeded to message her online "every week or so" for a number of months. The last message came at 3am on June 13. Bestell says that in the wake of his arrest, two of her friends told her they also received online messages from Rivera. Read more on the case here. (Read more Mollie Tibbetts stories.)(Newser)  Pope Francis said at the start of a visit to Ireland on Saturday that he shares the outrage of rank-and-file Catholics over the failure of church authorities to punish the "repugnant crimes" of priests who raped and molested children. Seeking to respond to a global outcry over the abuse scandal, Francis cited measures taken by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to respond to the crisis. But Benedict never acknowledged the Vatican's role in fueling a culture of cover-up, and Francis provided no new details of any measures he would take to sanction bishops who fail to protect their flocks, reports the AP. "The failure of ecclesial authorities ... to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share these sentiments," the pope said in a speech to government and civil authorities at Dublin Castle.

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Adding to his prepared remarks, Francis said he was committed to ridding the church of this "scourge" no matter the moral cost or amount of suffering. Francis was expected to meet with victims during his 36-hour visit to Ireland. But neither his words at the start of his visit nor a new meeting with victims is likely to assuage demands for heads to roll over the scandal. Perhaps in an indication of popular sentiments, the reception Francis received in Dublin contrasted sharply with the raucous, rock star welcome that greeted St. John Paul II in 1979. No one from the general public was on hand at the airport or the roads nearby, and only a handful of people waited to cheer him outside the Vatican residence, despite gloriously sunny weekend weather.

(Read more Pope Francis stories.)(Newser)  A federal judge dealt a blow Saturday to President Donald Trump's efforts to "promote more efficient" government, ruling that key provisions of three recent executive orders "undermine federal employees' right to bargain collectively" under federal law, the AP reports. US District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson also ruled that Trump "exceeded his authority" in issuing the orders. The White House had no immediate comment on the decision, which was hailed by federal worker unions that had sued to block Trump's use of his executive authority in this area. "President Trump's illegal action was a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress specifically guaranteed to ... public-sector employees," J. David Cox Sr., national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in part.

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Cox's organization, which represents about 700,000 of the approximately 2 million-member federal workforce, was first to challenge the executive orders, filing two lawsuits. The executive orders, issued by the White House in May, covered collective bargaining rights, grievance procedures, and use of "official time." Andrew Bremberg, the president's domestic policy adviser, said at the time that the orders would "promote more efficient government" by overhauling civil service rules to make it easier to remove poor-performing employees and ensure that taxpayer dollars are used more efficiently. The president also sought tougher negotiations over collective bargaining agreements and fewer lobbying and grievance pursuits on taxpayer-funded union time. Click for the whole story.

(Read more federal employees stories.)New Delhi:

At least 10 police personnel, including two assistant commissioners of police, were injured as a protest over the alleged rape of a girl in Delhis Vasant Kunj turned violent with agitators pelting stones at cops and damaging cars. Police said they have detained 20 protesters involved in the violence.

Also Read | Muzaffarpur Shelter Home Case: Bihar minister files defamation case against Tejashwi Yadav

Police received a call about a traffic jam near Ryan International School at Vasant Kunj area on Friday night. A large number of people belonging to a Jhuggi cluster of Rangpuri Pahari area had gathered there to protest the rape of an 11-year-old girl, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Devender Arya said.

Arya said that the protesters had blocked both the carriageways of Chhatarpur Mahipalpur road near the Hoti camp Jhuggi and started pelting stones at the police personnel present at the spot, prompting cops to use "mild force" to disperse them.

In the process, 10 policemen, including two assistant commissioners of police, two inspectors, an assistant sub-inspector, a head constable and four constables sustained minor injuries, the DCP said.

Also Read | PM for adopting modern technology for speedy conviction of rapists

During the protest, 11 private cars and a police vehicle were also damaged, police said, a case has been registered and the investigation is underway.

On August 22, the 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped when she had gone to relieve herself in a forest area in Rangapuri Pahari area. On Friday, a 34-year-old man, identified as Prakash, was arrested from the area in connection with the incident.

(With PTI Inputs)Mumbai:

Sunny Deol on Saturday said he misses acting and plans to take up more projects after completing work on his son Karans debut film. The 61-year-old actor said he missed out on many projects as an actor owing to his commitment to the third installment of the Yamla Pagla Deewana franchise and Karans debut film Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, which he is directing.

Workwise, Im going to be doing a couple of more films. Ive missed acting. Ive been busy with Yamla Pagla Deewana 3 and my sons debut, Sunny told PTI.

The actor also addressed rumours regarding a film with his frequent collaborator from the 90s, Rajkumar Santoshi.

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I see myself situated in a place where Ill either be working with Raj (Kumar Santoshi) or a couple of more directors. Thats what we are working on right now, Sunny said.

The actor and Santoshi have earlier worked on hits such as Ghayal (1990), Damini (1993) and Ghatak (1996).

Post Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se, Sunny will resume shooting for Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas.

I will start shooting for Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas again. I have not been able to give it time due to Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se promotions.

The actor also revealed that after Karans debut film, he would work on launching his second son, Rajvir Deol.

After I finish my first sons film, Ill jump into one of my acting projects before I start my second sons film, Sunny said.

Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se is set to be released on August 31.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Days after Karuna Shukla, niece of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using Vajpayees ashes for political gains for the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has criticised her by saying that she was politicising his death.

She (Shukla) is with the Congress and had also contested elections on their ticket. She is trying to politicise it (Vajpayees death). It is unfortunate We believe this far beyond and above politics, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

ALSO READ: Maneka Gandhi vouches for 'clean meat' as future of protein

BJPs spokesperson further said that this is not the first time that the ashes of a political leader have been taken to several states for immersion.

But we dont see it as a political exercise. Some people have also pointed out why BJP is taking Atals ashes across the country. This is not the first time this has happenedits happened with several Prime Minister before Atal  Nehrus ashes and Indira Gandhis ashes also went to several states, Kohli said.

I think that opportunity to people to offer their homage is not a political opportunity but a mark of respect, he said. He added that the idea behind taking his ashes across the country was to give an opportunity to the people to pay their respects.

ALSO READ: Rename Ramlila Maidan after Vajpayee: Delhi Municipal Corporation

The ashes of BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee were immersed in the Gomti River among the several rivers across India where similar rituals took place on Thursday.

Leaders from various political parties observed a two-minute silence and paid tribute to Vajpayee at the Jhule Lal Park in Lucknow before his ashes were immersed in Gomti River.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on August 16 at the age of 93.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav has been discharged from Mumbais Asian Heart Institute on Saturday after Jharkhand High Court rejected his request for 3 months bail extension on medical grounds and asked him to surrender by August 30. After getting discharged the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief reached Patna on Saturday afternoon.

Earlier, the Ranchi High Court had extended Lalu Prasad Yadavs bail period till August 27.

Bihar: Former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav arrives in Patna after he was discharged from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute. Jharkhand High Court had yesterday rejected his request for 3 months bail extension on medical grounds & had asked him to surrender by August 30. pic.twitter.com/lr7qPHu7G3  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

ALSO READ: Bihar minister files defamation case against Tejashwi Yadav

Former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav has been discharged from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute. Jharkhand High Court had yesterday rejected his request for 3 months bail extension on medical grounds & had asked him to surrender by August 30. #FodderScam (File pic) pic.twitter.com/MvfGcRmDks  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

Former Bihar CMs advocate had told the court that he has not recovered completely and requested the court to extend his bail for 3 more months.

On May 11, the Ranchi high court had granted six weeks of provisional bail to Lalu Prasad Yadav on medical grounds and later extended it to August 14.

The court had then extended the bail period once again till August 20 due to medical reasons.

ALSO READ: Hardik Patel's 'August Kranti' hunger strike to begin today

The former Bihar chief minister has been convicted in four multi-crore fodder scam cases- Chaibasa Treasury, Chaibasa Treasury (RC68A/96), Deoghar Treasury and Dumka Treasury (RC38A/96).

The multi-crore fodder scam cases is about withdrawing money illegally from government treasuries in different districts of Bihar in 1990s when the RJD was in power in the state.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Hardik Patel on the eve of the third anniversary of the quota agitation in Gujarat said that he would go ahead with his indefinite hunger-strike from Saturday even if the court cancels his bail or the police authorities denied him the permission to do so. SK Langa, the collector of Gandhinagar area denied permission to hold the hunger-strike at Satyagarh Chhavni area on Friday. Patidar leader Hardik Patel called for an indefinite hunger-strike or 'August Kranti' to press for the reservation benefits in government jobs and college admissions for Patidar community and loan waivers for farmers.

On August 25, 2015, violent clashes broke out during the protests led by Hardik Patel, leading to large-scale destruction of public property and death of 14 people.

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Meanwhile, the city sessions court is scheduled to announce its verdict on Monday regarding a government plea seeking cancellation of Patels anticipatory bail.

Speaking to reports on Friday, Patel said that he would go on with the hunger-strike inside the jail even if the court cancels his bail or the authorities deny him the permission for the protests.

If the court cancels my bail than I am ready to go to jail. I will sit on hunger strike in jail. I am not afraid of the BJP government or of going behind bars. I am not going to drop my plans out of any intimidation Patel told reporters in Ahmedabad.

ALSO READ: Rafale Deal: Congress begins series of events to expose alleged corruption

Patel criticised the state government by saying that the government is afraid of him and they are making desperate attempts to stop him.

I am not being allotted a venue (for the fast) because the government is afraid of me. I will sit on hunger strike at my house if need be. However, attempts are being made to stop me from sitting on fast at my house, he said.

The Patidar leader even claimed that many national leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal might come and support him at the venue.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Bihar minister Suresh Sharma has filed a defamation suit against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, accusing him of dragging his name in the Muzaffarpur Shelter home case. Sharma filed the case on Friday before the Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad. The matter is expected to be heard on August 29.

Earlier on July, the BJP MLA had sent a legal notice to Tejashwi Yadav for taking up his name for having close links with Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal where girls were allegedly sexually abused.

ALSO READ: Hardik Patel's 'August Kranti' hunger strike to begin today

Bihar Minister Suresh Sharma filed a defamation suit against RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav yesterday for dragging Sharma's name in the #MuzaffarpurShelterHome case. (File pics) pic.twitter.com/azPLQvq6JW  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

Sharma has stood by the words that his name was being dragged unnecessarily because he was an MLA from Muzaffarpur and has no links to Brajesh Thakur.

"I am only an MLA from the city where the incident happened. People are trying to find a link to drag me into this incident. If being an MLA of a constituency is the basis of demanding resignation, then there have been four recent murders in his (Tejashwi Yadav) constituency and he should resign first", said Sharma.

ALSO READ: Heavy rainfall alert in Uttarakhand, Himachal and 14 other states

Meanwhile, Yadav has demanded a resignation from Suresh Sharma and accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of being scared of Sharma as he is a BJP MLA.

Earlier, Manju Verma, an MLA of Nitish Kumars JD-U, had resigned as the social welfare minister after her husband was accused of having links with Brajesh Thakur.

The Muzaffarpur Shelter Home scandal came to light after a report was submitted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences earlier in 2018. The case was given to the CBI after a nationwide outrage.

Suresh Sharma represents Muzaffarpur constituency in the state assembly.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Saturday clarified that there was no proposal to rename Ramlila Maidan after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the matter.

North Delhi Mayor Adesh Gupta dismissed the reports, saying reports regarding the alleged proposal were wrong.

Also Read | Rename Ramlila Maidan after Atal Bihari Vajpayee: North Delhi Municipal Corporation

"There is no proposal to rename Ramlila Maidan after Vajpayeeji. All reports suggesting so are wrong," Gupta said.

No councillor had even made any such suggestion, Gupta said, denying that some NDMC councillors approached the civic body or his office with a suggestion to rename the ground after Vajpayee.

Kejriwal said that naming Ramlila Maidan wont fetch votes for BJP.

"Changing name of Ramlila Maidan after Vajpayeeji will not fetch votes. BJP should change the name of the Prime Minister to get some votes because people are not voting on his name," the Aam Aadmi Party chief tweeted.

Also Read | BJP hits back at Karuna Shukla for 'politicising' Atal Bihari Vajpayee's death

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari also claimed that there was no question of changing name of Ramlila Maidan Ground.

"Some politically motivated people are creating the rumour that name of Ramlila Maidan will be changed. We are worshippers of Lord Ram, there is no question of changing name of Ramlila Maidan," PTI quoted Tiwari as saying.

The historic Ramlila Maidan, located just two kilometers from the BJP's headquarters, close to serves as a venue of political rallies and other events, besides hosting Ramleela every year.

(With inputs from PTI)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

The Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party has scheduled a series of press conferences across the country starting August 25 to September 6 as a part of its planned agitation against the Narendra Modi government that also include state-level protests and district-level marches to expose the alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal. The agitation campaign will move to all state-level headquarters from September 16 to 30 where protests have been planned in a hope to make the Rafale jet deal a key electoral plank in the run-up to the next general elctionel Scheduled early 2019.

ALSO READ: Centres No to UAEs aid for flood-ravaged Kerala ill-thought-out

Earlier on August 20, Congress National General Secretary Ashok Gehlot, in a letter, told all the senior leaders about the planned agitation and stated that district-level marches should be organised with relevant placards and hoardings.

The Congress president desires that AICC (All India Congress Committee) general secretaries/ in-charges/ PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) presidents/ CLP (Congress Legislative Party) leaders should address the press conferences for maximum publicity and dissemination of the message, Gehlots letter read.

Meanwhile, to monitor the agitations and reviewing the feedback of the planned campaign, a separate control room has been set up.

ALSO READ: Ahmed Patel - Congress' new money god and the task before him

The press conferences are likely to be held in more than 90 cities, according to senior leaders.

The Congress move to turn the Rafale deal into a national campaign is vital as it has been raising the issue in the past few months, including in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament, raising allegations of corruption, lack of transparency and the misleading of the people.

Senior leaders said these conferences are likely to be held in more than 90 cities.

Earlier, Anil Ambanis Reliance Group had sent legal notices to several Congress leaders after they alleged that the multi-billion group is getting undue benefits from the Rafale jet deal.

However, the Congress leaders said that they stand by their words and will not be scared or silenced by such notices.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not discussing Doklam issue with Xi Jinping during his agenda-less visit to China even as the Chinese Army continued its construction work in the disputed territory.

Chinese havent evacuated Doklam, they have built huge infrastructures in the territory and yet PM Modi when he visits China, has a conversation without agenda and doesnt discuss these issues, the Congress president said during his Interaction with Indian Journalists Association in London.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi says he supports punishment to those involved in 1984 anti-Sikh riots

The Armies of India and China had an over two-month-long standoff in Doklam after Indian Army stopped a road construction work by Chinese PLA in the disputed region. The standoff was resolved after both countries decided to pull back its troops.

However, reports of Chinese Armys presence kept coming in even after that. A top US official had recently stated that China has quietly resumed its activities in the Doklam area and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it.

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj rebutted the officials claims and said that there was not an iota of change in status quo on the ground.

Also Read | Rafale Deal: Congress begins series of events to expose alleged corruption

Speaking to the journalists, Gandhi, the Congress partys prime ministerial candidate for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, said that India is facing serious challenges from the Chinese and India should make determined efforts to deal with them.

We have serious challenges coming from the Chinese. We have to focus on that, he added.

Watch the entire event here:

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday described 1984 anti-Sikh riots that broke out after his grandmother and then prime minister Indira Gandhis assassination by her Sikh bodyguards, a painful tragedy and said that he would 100 per cent support punishment for those involved in the violence.

Addressing a gathering of UK-based parliamentarians and local leaders in London, the Gandhi scion, however, denied any involvement of his party in the riots.

"I think any violence done against anybody is wrong. There are legal processes ongoing in India but as far as I'm concerned anything done that was wrong during that period should be punished and I would support that 100 per cent.

Also Read | Rafale Deal: Congress begins series of events to expose alleged corruption

"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly, there was violence, certainly there was a tragedy," he said.

More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhis assassination. Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar were accused of masterminding the riots.

Later during an interaction at the London School of Economics, when he was asked again about the riots, he said that when former prime minister Manmohan Singh had already spoken about it and added that he himself was a victim of the violence.

Also Read | Congress will win 2019 general elections, claims Rahul Gandhi

"When Mr Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels," he said referring to his father Rajiv Gandhis assassination by the LTTE in 1991.

In 2013, Singh had apologised for the 1984 riots in Parliament. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had also expressed regret about the incident.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.The Seoul High Court also fined her W20 billion, up from W16 billion (US$1=W1,122).

An appellate court on Friday slightly increased the sentence of ex-President Park Geun-hye on a raft of corruption and other criminal charges from 24 to 25 years.

The court said Park has shown no signs of remorse even after she was impeached, and kept denying all charges and blaming her confidante Choi Soon-sil and her aides.

It said the heavy sentence was "inevitable" as the defendant was uncooperative in trial proceedings and turned a blind eye to the gravity of her offenses.

Park (66) was tried in absentia and was not present in court to hear the sentence.

Park was found guilty on 16 out of 18 criminal charges including taking W59.2 billion in bribes from Samsung, Lotte and other conglomerates.

The sentence was increased because the appellate court recognized additional culpability on the Samsung bribery charge, saying Park gave "tacit approval" for aiding Samsung chief Lee Jae-yong in the process of taking over the conglomerate.New Delhi:

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has proposed the renaming of the historic Ramlila Maidan of Delhi after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. A final decision regarding the renaming of Ramlila Maidan is expected to be taken after a meeting of Municipal Corporation. Apart from the proposal, few BJP councilors have proposed the renaming of Hindu Rao Hospital after the three-time prime minister.

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The renaming of both the Ramlila Maidan and the Hindu Rao Hospital is likely to be completed by December 25, the birth anniversary of Vajpayee, NDMC Mayor Aadesh Gupta said.

The iconic Ramlila Maidan has witnessed many historic events, including the day when the Indira Gandhi government announced the end of emergency in March 1977. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had then raised questions through his straight forward truth revealing poems during the gathering.

ALSO READ: Rafale Deal: Congress begins series of events to expose alleged corruption

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government has also decided to rename several places after Vajpayee, while Chattisgarh CM Raman Singh had announced to rename the new capital city  Naya Raipur- as Atal Nagar.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a three-time prime minister and a BJP veteran breathed his last at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on August 16 at the age of 93.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Chandigarh:

The SAD on Saturday hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying by disagreeing with the view that his party was involved in the genocide, he had rubbed salt into the wounds of the Sikh community.

However, the Congress Punjab unit defended Gandhis comments and lambasted the Akalis, alleging they were deliberately distorting his remarks to divert public attention after being exposed of their role in Bargari sacrilege and subsequent killing of innocent Sikhs protesting the sacrilege in Kotkapura.

Also Read | Support punishment to those involved in 1984 anti-Sikh riots: Rahul

Describing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots a very painful tragedy, Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, said, I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I dont agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy.

Lashing out at the Congress president, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that Gandhi was trying to protect those Congress leaders who were involved in the genocide.

Rahul Gandhi has rubbed salt into the wounds of Sikh quom (community) by saying that Congress was not involved in 1984 anti Sikh riots, Badal told reporters here today, adding, It shows the thinking of Gandhi towards Sikh community.

Also Read | Rafale Deal: Congress begins series of events to expose Modi govt

I want to ask Rahul (Gandhi) if Congress leaders were not involved in the anti-Sikh riots then why it withdrew tickets given to party leaders HKL Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Why was Jagdish Tytler removed from the ministry in the Manmohan Singh-led government, he asked.

Asserting that then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also apologised for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, he said the fight to bring justice for the victims of the riots will continue.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders and Punjab ministers defended party president Rahul Gandhi over the statement he made in London.

In a joint statement here, the leaders said, the Badal family, including Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, were allegedly trying to distort Gandhis statement in order to divert the attention from the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on Bargari issue that is going to prove as death knell for them.

The ministers and leaders including, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said Gandhi had clearly and unequivocally condemned the riots.

Also Read | Rahul Gandhi should apologise for 1984 anti-Sikh riots, says BJP

Normally the Badals are used to raking up the 1984 issue during elections. However this time, they are faced with more serious emergency as their survival is at stake in view of the Bargari revelations that are certain to script their political obituary and that is the reason they have resorted to such dirty tricks, they said.

Come Monday and the Badals will run for cover as people of Punjab in general and the Sikhs in particular will hold them in dock once they come to know how low they stooped to the extent of resorting to sacrilegious acts and wanton killing of the protestors for petty political gains, the Congress leader said.

Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission was set up by the Congress government in April 2017 to investigate the various incidents of sacrilege of religious texts. It dealt with incidents at village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Bargari and firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Incidents of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs, in October 2015 in Punjab evoked widespread public concern and violent protest. They also led to competitive populism among the Akalis and the Congress with an eye on the then-impending Assembly elections.

Recently, while the erstwhile Parkash Singh Badal governments move to expand the scope of the states desecration law providing for life imprisonment for blasphemy was rejected by the Centre for being specific to the Sikhs while ignoring blasphemy in other religions, the Congress government of Amarinder Singh came up with an amendment which sought to meet the objection by including the holy texts of the Hindus, the Muslims and the Christians besides the Sikhs in the revised anti-blasphemy law.

Both the Akali-initiated law and the subsequent Congress-inspired one were clearly exercises in haste to appease Sikh sentiment and to earn brownie points. What else must one make of the fact that even the latest one overlooked the need to include religions like Jainism and Buddhism, among other listed religions in India.



What the latest amendment has sought to do is to add Section 295AA to the Indian Penal Code to make injury, damage or sacrilege to Guru Granth Sahib, Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Holy Quran and Holy Bible with the intention to hurt the religious feelings of the people a crime punishable with life imprisonment.



Also Read | Ahmed Patel - Congress' new money god and the task before him

The changes would now go to the Centre again for ratification but after the bitter experience of how the blasphemy law in Pakistan has been misused to target the minorities, adequate homework needs to be done to build in safeguards against misuse.



Pakistan has indeed seen some horrifying examples of the misuse of the whole issue of the blasphemy law. We have the ugly example of a prominent former journalist and member of its Parliament, Sherry Rehman, who had moved a private members bill to amend the blasphemy law, seeking introduction of provisions to prevent its misuse and reduced sentencing, leading to facing stiff opposition which led to her bill being withdrawn.



Rehman, an inveterate crusader for human rights, had a case slapped against her for committing blasphemy ironically for criticising blasphemy laws.



People on the streets were baying for her blood for being critical of a law that had seen thousands in Pakistan either thrown into jails or executed for hurting religious sentiments.



In January, 2011, Pakistans Punjab province governor, Salmaan Taseer, was shot dead while he was getting into his car in an Islamabad market. Taseer was a target of attack over his defence of a Christian woman who was condemned to death under Pakistans blasphemy laws.



A month later, religious minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian who spoke out against the law, was shot dead in Islamabad. This was ostensibly to deter critics of the law.

Read More | PM Modi, Shah hand urns with Vajpayee's ashes to party chiefs



Ironically, vested interests used the law to use religion itself to kill those who spoke out against it. While Pakistan is a theocratic state where the minorities have been poorly treated all along, there can be no guarantee that someday in Indias Punjab too, the blasphemy law would not be misused grievously.

In a recent case in Haryana, comedian Kiku Sharda was arrested for mimicking Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is currently in jail for having raped women who came to him for spiritual guidance. The charge against Sharda was that he had hurt sentiments of Gurmeets followers.



Sharda was booked under section 295A of the IPC (outraging religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious belief). Though this was a rare case, it is a pointer to how laws like the blasphemy law can be misused by vested interests.



Instead of rushing into a law or a provision that is intended to help the minorities but in effect proves counter-productive, it would be wise to ensure safeguards against its misuse. The motivation should be genuine protection of minorities. At the same time, the scope of the new law ought to be extended to all religions in India and not confined to the four major ones. Read More OPINIONBahrain hosts a regional centre to curb human trafficking and combat similar crimes

Twenty people were arrested in the first half of this year for their alleged involvement in human trafficking, a senior Interior Ministry official revealed. The suspects were arrested by police for exploiting their victims, all of whom were female.

The number of victims rescued between January and June were 19, said the Acting Director of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Protection of Public Moral Values department at the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, Lt Col Abdulwahab Rashid Abdulwahab.

In 2017, 32 cases were reported, as 38 fell victim including 37 women and one man. Sixty-seven suspects including 34 women and 33 men were arrested in connection to the cases. A regional centre to curb human trafficking, training personnel and building capabilities to combat such crimes has been set up in Bahrain, he said.

Since its establishment, there has been a large number of suspects who were referred to the Public Prosecution, in addition to individuals who were sentenced to jail terms by the court. The department receives human-trafficking cases through the hotline 17718888; it continues efforts to fight this issues through various methods, including training personnel on how to examine the psychological and physical indications to identify victims and to gather enough information about countries that are considered a source for human trafficking, he said.A Bahraini mother reported her drug-addict son to police, according to sources. The mother alerted the police after her son began creating troubles at home.

Upon arrest, he was tested positive for heroin and other drugs. Suddenly, a woman came to the police station on Exhibition Road and informed about a drug addict who turned out to be her son. She told us that he was troubling the family and was uncontrollable. She told us that he was consuming some pills, the police officer who received the complaint from the woman told prosecutors. Its said that police officers found burnt spoons in his room.

The Bahraini man was charged with drug consumption and put on trial before the High Criminal Court. He was sentenced to one year behind bars along with BD500 fine.U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had canceled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned trip to North Korea because "we are not making sufficient progress" toward the goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

Trump said in a message on Twitter that Pompeo's visit, which was set for next week, now would likely not take place until after Washington has resolved its trade dispute with China. Trump said China was no longer helping on the North Korea issue.

It was a dramatic shift of tone for Trump, who had previously hailed his June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a success and said the North Korean nuclear threat was over.

Negotiations have stalled since the June summit in Singapore. Pompeo is pressing for tangible steps toward North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear arsenal while Pyongyang is demanding that Washington first make concessions of its own.The leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ondo State on Saturday urged youths to actively participate in politics in order to...

The leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ondo State on Saturday urged youths to actively participate in politics in order to be part of the decision-making body that would shape the future of the country.Its chairman, Korede Duyile, spoke at the official declaration of Tajudeen Adefisoye,a youth, contesting the seat of Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency.Duyile said the masses were tired of voting the same set of people with the same ideology.The chairman said the party was on ground and most people that had shown interest in various positions were from notable and credible family that were well known to him, coming from Idanre himself.Read Also: Angry youths set Area Commanders Office ablazeHe said Our membership is already increasing in Idanre and in the state, more people are seeing our party and a credible platform,especially the youths, to fulfil their dreams, he said.Also speaking, Tajudeen Adefisoye, who is in his mid-thirties, said he decided to run on the platform of SDP, because it had plans to allow youths to vie for positions.Adefisoye said he decided to be part of the real change and liberate the people of Idanre and Ifedore by bringing meaningful development to the constituency.According to him, I am already assured of victory,there is no development in this town, we cant be sending same old men to be representing us always.At the event, Adefisoye was presented with the flag of the party, officially, and was charged to continue to promote the party in and outside the state.John Lennon's killer has been denied parole for a 10th time and will remain behind bars for at least two more years.

Mark David Chapman appeared before New York's parole board on Wednesday. In a denial decision obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, the board said it had determined Chapman's release "would be incompatible with the welfare and safety of society and would so deprecate the serious nature of the crime as to undermine respect for the law."

Chapman, 63, shot and killed the former Beatle outside Lennon's Manhattan apartment on Dec. 8, 1980. He is serving 20-years-to-life in the Wende Correctional Facility in western New York.

"You admittedly carefully planned and executed the murder of a world-famous person for no reason other than to gain notoriety," the parole panel wrote in its denial decision.Members of the Lee County Sheriffs Office Auto Theft and Economic Crimes Units conducting a joint dealership inspection with the Department of Safety Highway Motor Vehicles at PG Auto Sales Inc. in Fort Myers Thursday say they discovered multiple cases of fraudulent sales

Detectives conducted the inspection to ensure the business at 3036 Palm Beach Boulevard was maintaining appropriate vehicle records and not defrauding customers by falsifying vehicle odometer readings or Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN). During the inspection, detectives located 24 vehicles with altered odometers, a release from the Lee County Sheriffs Office states.

Records indicated 22 of the vehicles odometers were altered while owned and maintained by PG Auto Sales. Investigators determined the odometers were rolled back an average of 50,000 80,000 miles, according to the release.

Investigators spoke with Miguel Preciado-Valadez, who identified himself as the president and manager of the business.

During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that Valadez utilized a third party to alter odometer readings in order to move inventory at a faster pace, officials reported. Preciado-Valadez was subsequently arrested and charged with 22 Counts of Odometer Fraud under FSS 319.35(1c) Unlawful acts in connection with motor vehicle odometer readings.

Twenty-four altered vehicles were seized and towed to the Lee County Sheriffs Office evidence facility.

The investigation is ongoing and detectives with the Lee County Sheriffs Office Auto Theft Unit would like any information the public may have in connection with this investigation. The Auto Theft Unit can be reached at 239-258-3858.

The Auto Theft Unit will continue their aggressive investigative efforts to identify any unscrupulous business practice aimed at defrauding the citizens of Lee County, the release states.

Source: Lee County Sheriffs OfficeA maid earns about W2 million a month, which is better than the minimum wage, because demand is high, but the hours can be grueling (US$1=W1,119).

Among live-in housemaids, most are Korean Chinese since Korean domestic staff are reluctant to live with their employers. The maids' help is indispensable for dual-income couples who have difficulty getting help from their parents.

Foreigners are increasingly dominant in the market for housemaids, often illegally. About 250,000 foreigners work as maids here, and only 20 percent of them are Korean Chinese who are officially permitted to do the job, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

"I paid W1.5 million to my Korean-Chinese housemaid when my son was a year old, but I'm paying her W2 million now," says one staffer of a conglomerate in Yongsan, Seoul who is raising a 10-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter. "I have no choice but to raise her wage because maids tell each other how much they earn."

Another office worker in Seoul said, "I was perplexed when I heard my Korean-Chinese maid complaining about her wage and talking about the recent minimum-wage increase." He said he raised her wage by W100,000, because it was difficult to find another maid who could take care of his two little sons.

"Korean-Chinese housemaids are paid W300,000 to W500,000 less than locals," said Hwang Yeon-ju, who runs an employment website for domestic staff. "An increasing number of people are looking for Korean Chinese to save money."

There are calls to make it legal for Filipinas to work as maids just as Singapore and other countries do. Kwon Tae-shin, the president of the Korea Economic Research Institute, said, "Dual-income couples can only be relieved of their chores if about 100,000 foreigners are granted work visas as housemaids every year."

We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.Paducah, KY (42003)

Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 58F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Showers early, then cloudy overnight. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin has asserted that "the only way the country can fulfil its manifest destiny and potential" is when every child, regardless of their circumstance, is afforded the opportunity of education.



He believes by so doing, they can "grow in dignity and fulfil their full potential and responsibilities".



He was speaking at the occasion of the 75th anniversary celebration of Amantiremanmienu Nana Sir Ofori Atta, held in Kyebi, on 23rd August, 2018.



The Okyenhene also used the occasion to laud President Nana Akufo-Addo for implementing the Free Senior High School policy.



"Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is to be commended for following in the tradition of our grandfather, Nana Ofori-Atta, through his Free Senior High School policy, which is ensuring that every Ghanaian child receives a minimum of Senior High School education, and without which some 180,000 children, this year, would have missed out on senior high school education. Indeed, Sierra Leone is emulating this brilliant policy, and I am confident that, sooner rather than later, the majority of countries on the continent will follow suit. Ayekoo, Mr. President".



"....every child, regardless of their provenance, must have the opportunities that education can afford, so that they grow in dignity and in depth, and are able to fulfil their full potential and responsibilities. It is the only way our great country, Ghana, can fulfil its manifest destiny and potential," Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin said.



Below is the full speech



ADDRESS BY THE OKYENHENE, OSAGYEFUO AMOATIA OFORI PANIN, ON THE OCCASION OF THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF AMANTIREMANMIENU NANA SIR OFORI ATTA, HELD IN KYEBI, ON 23RD AUGUST, 2018.



The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo



Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II



First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo



Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Aaron Michael Oquaye



Chief of Staff at the Office of the President



Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State



Members of Parliament



Traditional Rulers



Members of the Diplomatic Corps



Invited Guests



Fellow Ghanaians



Ladies and Gentlemen



The Bible says in Psalm 118:24, and I quote This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.



Excellencies, Otumfuo Asantehene, ladies and gentlemen, there has never been a prouder moment in my life, and in my period of stay on the stool of Okyeman, than today, and what we are witnessing here. We are gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of my grandfather, the redoubtable Kwadwo Dua, the great leader of Akyem Abuakwa, Nana Ofori-Atta.



Last week, the President of the Republic, in his tribute to the late J.H Mensah, quoted from Platos Apology, which I believe is wholly appropriate on a day such as this. Plato said no evil can happen to a good man either in this life or in death.



What this celebration tells us is that no matter how long one has been gone for, and in the case of Nana Ofori-Atta, 75 years, if you serve well, you will always be remembered eternally by a grateful people.



In particularly, I am grateful for the presence of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is our Special Guest of Honour. Otumfuo Asantehene, everyone here will agree with me when I say that you have, so far, been a defining light of traditional authority in recent years.



Indeed, in my recent visit to Kumasi, my heart was full of content with the hospitality, dignity, elegance and pride of Asanteman. Otumfuo, I thank you.



Excellencies, Otumfuo Asantehene, ladies and gentlemen, the man we are celebrating today, Nana Ofori Atta, was AMANTIREMANMIENU, unifier of two worlds. He carried our customs, and traditional values to embrace and promote modernity and Christian values.



Being the longest serving member of the Legislative Council, he was a firm believer in the ability of the people of the Gold Coast to chart their own path to progress and prosperity. He was eloquent in articulating the views of his people, and believed that respect for human rights and individual liberties were paramount.



He was a visionary in many areas, none more so than in education, building schools and offering scholarships that created opportunities for many boys and girls to access education.



Today, my brother, the Asantehene, is carrying this torch in ensuring that, regardless of the circumstances of your birth, you are not denied access to education. In the words of the Asantehene, and I quote the pen advanced civilisation and helped shape great nations. Indeed, it is not our countrys natural resources, i.e. our gold, cocoa, timber or oil that is going to create the prosperous Ghana we all want. It is the development of our human resource, and I see no better way to do so than through education.



Permit me, therefore, to pay tribute to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for his leadership in continuing with our role as traditional leaders in promoting education. I take this occasion to salute his exemplary contribution in the establishment of the Otumfuo Educational Fund.



The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is to be commended for following in the tradition of our grandfather, Nana Ofori-Atta, through his Free Senior High School policy, which is ensuring that every Ghanaian child receives a minimum of Senior High School education, and without which some 180,000 children, this year, would have missed out on senior high school education. Indeed, Sierra Leone is emulating this brilliant policy, and I am confident that, sooner rather than later, the majority of countries on the continent will follow suit. Ayekoo, Mr. President.



Excellencies, Otumfuo, Ladies and Gentlemen, Nana Ofori Attas brother, the illustrious J B Danquah, a founding father of our nation said every Ghanaian is an Odehye of this land. All Ghanaians are royals of the land.



That title comes with privileges and responsibilities. Every child, regardless of their provenance, must have the opportunities that education can afford, so that they grow in dignity and in depth, and are able to fulfil their full potential and responsibilities. It is the only way our great country, Ghana, can fulfil its manifest destiny and potential.



Ghana, since independence, has been a leader and role model on the world stage. Today, as I sit with my brother, the Asantehene, side by side, Asante and Akyem, we are showcasing the rich harmony of Ghanaian culture, history and values. Ghana is melting pot of nation states, cultures, religions and ethnicities, that have come together, in our pluralities, to create one of the most peaceful nations of our time. We have become a model for the kind of democracy Africa needs; and our responsibility is to use this oneness to achieve the economic freedom that we should all be working tirelessly towards, that is Ghana Beyond Aid, Africa Beyond Aid. Mr. President, we thank you for your vision.



This is a historical day, one of remembrance, but also one for the future. Today, collectively, we imagine a Ghana in which we stay unified, in which we are equal, in which each and every citizen has access to all the opportunities necessary to thrive; and in this collective imagination, we become one in our aspirations, and we become mightier than we could ever be apart.



Let us remember this day for many years to come, and let it serve as an inspiration for us, as we overcome our daily trials and tribulations, and move towards a Ghana that we all know in our hearts is one of the greatest countries on earth. Let us build it together.



Togetherness is like the precious oil on the head running down on the beard of Aaron, running down on the dew of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountain of Zion. In this case, on the mountains of Okyeman, Asanteman and y man, Ghana



God bless Okyenman, God bles Asanteman, god bless Ghana.



Thank you for your attention.



























Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured VideoThe Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, the Most Reverend Titus Awotwe Pratt, has called on Ghanaians to eschew corrupt practices and social vices that may derail the vision of the Ghana beyond Aid.



He called on state actors, particularly the Judiciary and the Executive arms of Government, to deal with individuals found to be corrupt to deter others from engaging in the practice.



It is estimated that the country loses three billion dollars annually to corrupt acts, an amount which could build four standard hospitals, provide good roads and other infrastructure for the country.



The Most Rev. Awotwe Pratt said this at the opening of the 10th Biennial and 48th Conference of the Methodist Church at the Wesley Methodist Cathedral, Sekondi.



The five-day conference, which would elect a new presiding bishop for the Church, is on the theme: Go and make Disciples of All Nations: Intensifying Our Teaching Ministry towards Disciple Making.



The Most Rev. Awotwe Pratt said it was only when the state apparatus began to take action against offenders, devoid of political inclinations, that the country could save billions for development purposes.



If those who are stealing public funds are not prosecuted and imprisoned, corruption would never end. Once this is done people will sit up and corruption might end, he noted.



He said the Methodist Church had begun sensitization of its members on their moral obligations and help fight corruption in the society.



Most Rev. Awotwe Pratt encouraged the Government to sustain the gains made in fighting illegal mining, which may contribute to the reduction of the projected water crisis by 2030.



We are not against people making a living but we are against people destroying the environment and our water bodies, he said.



He said though the Government intended to lift the ban, pragmatic measures must be put in place to stop the deliberate destruction of water bodies.



How can a good and responsible citizen deliberately pollute our water bodies knowing its consequences on the environment and human health? he queried.



On churches and taxes, Most Rev. Awotwi Pratt said the Church was already contributing significantly to the development of the country in the areas of schools, hospitals and other amenities.



Our concentration should be plugging the holes in the system, become socially responsible as Ghanaians, avoid dipping our hands in state funds and we will realise how much we can save to develop the country.



On education, Rev. Awotwe Pratt welcomed the Double-Track System by the Government to improve upon the current pressure on the educational infrastructure as a result of the Free Senior High School Policy.



Double track is an intervention that allows schools to accommodate more students within the same facility and it has the potential to check overcrowding as well as ensure reduced cost, he said.



If all of us will put our hands on the plough and pray for its success, the better for our nation. Those who are criticizing have the right to do so but they should offer constructive and objective criticisms, he added.







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The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George says JDM is staging a comeback to rescue Ghana from hardship.



Former President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, 23 August 2018, officially conveyed his intention to run for the flag bearer slot of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).



In a video explaining his decision to stage a comeback, Mr Mahama said: In coming to this firm decision, I have pondered deeply and soberly on the socio-economic and political landscape of our country today vis-a-vis the clear path we have started to build, aimed at positioning Ghana as a true middle-income country by modernising our dilapidated social and economic infrastructure and gradually inculcating in the Ghanaian, a sense of patriotism, self-belief and commitment to a one-Ghana agendum.



I have taken into consideration, the groundswell of support, the never-ending calls and encouragement from a large section of our party elders, members of our party, supporters and Ghanaians, from diverse backgrounds. I have prayed diligently about the task ahead and I believe I owe a duty to God, and my country, to take our great party back into government to right the wrongs of the past and to put an end to the cries of the people under the current dispensation.



Sam George, in a tweet, said: I am for John Dramani Mahama. It is a rescue mission for the Republic. All hands on deck ye citizens. Let's do this for the motherland.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured VideoOur attention has been drawn to the comments made by Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Nadowli West, while addressing NDC Party communicators in the Volta Region on 22nd August 2018.



The 2nd Deputy Speaker made statements which suggest that it was wrong for the Mahama government to have appointed a blind as Chieftaincy Minister because the Ghanaian culture does not allow one who is not whole to be made a chief or queen, hence the so-called resistance by the chiefs. His comments were equally offensive to stammerers.



The Ghana CSOs Platform on SDGs considers the comments by the 2nd Deputy Speaker as discriminatory, divisive, retrogressive, unfortunate and promoting social exclusion. The Platform finds it unbecoming for such a high ranking public official who is not only a senior member of parliament but also an aspiring presidential candidate of a major political party  the NDC, to make such disparaging comments about fellow citizens of this country merely because of their physical condition.



The Platform would like to draw the attention of the 2nd Deputy Speaker and Parliament as a whole that the Disability Act, Act 715, passed by Parliament in 2006, recognizes the right to employment (whether political appointment or otherwise) for persons with disability and mandates government under Article 9 to assist in securing jobs for persons with disability.

Furthermore, Ghana is championing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which envisions that no one is left behind in the countrys efforts to achieve socio economic development. For the 2nd Deputy Speaker to suggest that appointment into certain public office should be the preserve of able bodied persons goes to show his clear lack of knowledge on what inclusive growth and sustainable development entails.



The comments by the Deputy Speaker represent the many challenges that disabled persons go through in their strive for equal opportunities and social inclusion, which is contrary to the Spirit and Letter of the 1992 Constitution, Act 715 and the SDGs.



We would like to state categorically that the appointments of Dr. Henry Seidu Daanaa and Edward Omane Boamah by the former president could not have been a mistake but an audacious attempt to promote an inclusive society.

We therefore call on the 2nd Deputy Speaker to withdraw his comments and apologise to persons with disability in Ghana.



ISSUED BY THE GHANA CSOs PLATFORM ON SDGs, AUGUST 23RD 2018

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured VideoAs Ben Kingsley talks about his new movie Operation Finale, he's trying to digest the news, just relayed by his agent, that he may soon have a chance to play Groucho Marx.

Nothing definite and he can't say much (there is a movie in development by Rob Zombie, of all people), but what he can say is that he'd like to do more comedy, and playing a comedian would be a good place to start.

The Oscar winner is known for his serious roles (he took home his statuette for Gandhi), Operation Finale (opening here Wednesday) being an example. He plays Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann in a movie based on Eichmann's capture in Argentina by Israeli agents.

Eichmann to Groucho?

It's a transition worthy of a punchline that only Marx himself could conjure.

But it's the kind of challenge actors crave, and it's especially appealing to Sir Ben. Playing the twitchy, restless slapstick legend would give Kingsley a chance to move around a bit. I mention to Kingsley that he's one of cinema's most motionless performers, comfortable in stillness the way most actors are not.

"It's a vital part of my currency as an actor. I liken it to grace notes in music. In the course of a performance, it may be in that moment of stillness that the viewer gets a view into whatever process is going on inside the character," he said. "I think those spaces in movies are precious. They invite the audience to come in and rest in the space created by it, to appreciate the story being told."

On screen, Kingsley is a "less is more" kind of guy, and he said so to Finale director Chris Weitz.

"I told him, very modestly, that if he wanted two takes, I will probably give him less on the second, and that if he wanted five takes I might give him even less on the fifth, and so forth," Kingsley said.

Not less effort, but less wasted motion.

"When I feel very insecure in a role," he said, "it's usually when my stillness tends to elude me."

I asked him if stillness becomes even more important in close-up, the aspect of cinema that makes film so different from theater, where Kingsley got his start. He said the great dramatists had a way of addressing the difference.

"The first crucial years of my journey as an actor occurred on stage, sometimes with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and I was able to eventually play Hamlet, amongst other challenging roles. And of course the plays included the device of the soliloquy, and I think that was Shakespeare's version of the close-up. 'To be or not to be.' Those moments when the character revealed himself to the audience, opened up his mind to the audience. Certainly, working with Richard Attenborough on Gandhi, I don't think I could have come anywhere close to those moments of stillness without having explored them on stage doing Shakespeare," he said.

"He is determined to manipulate Malkin for his own ends, even if it gives him just a moment of satisfaction."

Kingsley also starred in Schindler's List, and he played Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in Murderers Among Us. After all of that, he's entitled to a turn at comedy. Though to hear Kingsley describe it, comedy is no picnic for an actor.

"It's like the Edmund Kean observation  dying is easy and comedy is hard. It's very technical. It's not the slow burn of drama. It's a quick, rapid fire. The repartee can be highly technical. And I think there is something else at work. Great comic actors have great timing, and I think they also have a hidden rapport with the audience, and that may be part of comedy, too."

Kingsley has been funny, of course, perhaps most memorably  and unexpectedly  playing the "villain" in the Marvel movie Iron Man 3. His character, the Mandarin, was a failed actor named Trevor playing a part.

I asked whether being around actors for several decades helped Kingsley understand and play the vainglorious Trevor.

"There are several little sketches of people I've worked with," he said. "And a few of myself."

All's well that ends well.

Kingsley sneaked into a theater to see Iron Man 3 with his wife and was pleased with the results.

"The woman in front us practically collapsed with laughter. What a lovely character to play on my journey. I hope there are many more."KAMPALA  Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi, the principal medical officer for Mental Health and Control of Substance Abuse at the Ministry of Health is dead.

Dr Ndyanabangi succumbed to cancer of the uterus August 25.

Reports from Ministry of Health indicate that the late Dr Ndyanabangi started feeling unwell in 2016 after she was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus, she underwent surgery and had her uterus removed.

However, she continued going for monitoring and went for further check-up in India where she was declared cancer free towards the end of 2016.

But late last year during one of her routine checks, a blood test indicated that the cancer had spread to other organs in the lower abdomen and that while still alive, she had asked not to be treated abroad but to be treated here in Uganda by her colleagues

Mr Emma Ainebyoona, the senior public Relations officer at the ministry of health confirmed that Dr Ndyanabangi is dead.

Yes, we have received the sad news of the death of Dr Ndyanabangi, reports indicate that she succumbed to cancer of the uterus, she has been a great doctor and we shall miss her. May her soul Rest in Peace, said Mr Ainebyoona.

He said Dr Ndyanabangi passed on today morning Saturday, August 25, 2018, at Mulago Hospitals Intensive Care Unit (UCI).

She was put on chemotherapy but the cancer was not responding to treatment that in March this year, a swelling which had grown bigger was removed. However, she remained very weak but could still stand and walk, added Mr Ainebyoona.

He revealed that in July this year, she was discharged after spending two months in hospital. She was re-admitted about a week ago but that it is on August 21 when she was taken to ICU after developing hardships with breathing and it is unfortunate that she passed on this morning.

The Ministry of Health staff will dearly miss her and details about burial arrangements will be communicated in due course May her Soul Rest Eternal In Peace, said Mr Ainebyoona in a statement sent to the media.

A relative said Dr Ndyanabangi until her death has been getting her treatment at the Uganda Cancer institute.

Her body has been taken to Mulago national referral hospital for postmortem and there will be a vigil at Namuwongo, at the late Doctor Ndyanabangis home.

The media fraternity has described late Dr Ndyanabangi as a dedicated, loving medical professional who was free with the media.

Ms Evelyn Lirri of the Health Journalism Network Uganda described her as a good source who spoke freely with journalists We shall miss her and May her soul rest in peace,

Dr Sheila Ndyanabangi will be remembered for her 34 research works while affiliated with Ministry of health that included among others; maternal mental health priorities, help-seeking behaviours, and resources in post-conflict settings:

-Maternal mental health priorities, help-seeking behaviours, and resources in post-conflict settings: A qualitative study in eastern Uganda

-The Social, Emotional and Economic empowerment thru Knowledge of Group Support Psychotherapy (SEEK-GSP) Cluster Randomized Trial: Recruitment and Baseline

-Tobacco use and presumptive tuberculosis in Uganda: findings from the Uganda National TB Prevalence Survey 2014  2016

-Perinatal mental health care in a rural African district, Uganda: A qualitative study of barriers, facilitators and needs

-Mental health law reforms in Uganda: lessons learnt

-Mental health law in Africa: analysis from a human rights perspective

-Alcohol use among adults in Uganda: findings from the countrywide non-communicable diseases risk factor cross-sectional survey

-The Effect of Group Support Psychotherapy Delivered by Trained Lay Health Workers for Depression Treatment Among People with HIV in Uganda: Protocol of a Pragmatic, Cluster Randomized Trial

-Practices related to tobacco sale, promotion and protection from tobacco smoke exposure in restaurants and bars in Kampala before implementation of the Uganda tobacco control Act 2015

-The Effect of Group Support Psychotherapy Delivered by Trained Lay Health Workers for Depression Treatment Among People with HIV in Uganda

About Dr Ndyanabangi

Dr Ndyanabangi was born in Kabale in a family of 11 in 1966. She attended Hornby High primary school [it was both a primary and secondary school], Bweranyangi Girls SS and Mt St Marys College Namagunga. She studied human medicine at Makerere University and had a masters degree in Public Health.

Dr Ndyanabangi served as the National Tobacco Control Focal person at the Health ministry and at the time of her death, she has been the Principal Medical officer in charge of Mental health and substance abuse.

RelatedKenyans have now turned their heads towards Rwanda and are now demanding the freedom of Diane Rwigara, a prominent critic of President Paul Kagame, who has been in jail for almost a year now.

Ms Rwigara was arrested and charged with inciting insurrection against the state, as well as other offences.

She was blocked from challenging Kagame in last years presidential election in August.

She was arrested on September 22, along with her mother and sister for alleged tax evasion and forgery as well as for inciting insurrection.

In June 2018, Rwandan authorities auctioned off her familys business assets and sold machinery from the familys tobacco business for almost Sh2 billion ($2m) in a bid to recover Sh7 billion ($7m) in tax arrears.

The family says the auction and charges against her are politically motivated.

Now Kenyans on social media have started the hashtag #DianeRwigara just days after they did the same for Ugandas MP Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobby Wine.

Dear Rwanda, we are giving you support to create a free and conducive political environment for the YOUTH by telling off @PaulKagame for the continued detention of Diane and others. Can I get 1000 REWEETS for #FreeDianeRwigara for Rwanda, by Rwandans. Lets go!

 Abraham Mutai (@ItsMutai) August 23, 2018

President Kagame blocked me after I challenged him on Diana Rwigara. You cant preach about good governance and accountability while terrorizing your opponents. #FreeDianeRwigara

 Rein (@Asamoh_) August 23, 2018

If Rwanda is indeed democratic,why does a president jail a competitor in openly contested general elections,intimidate and jail members of her family and auction her family business?!Kagame is no better than his Ugandan friend.They both deserve to be in prison!#FreeDianeRwigara

SOURCE: https://allafrica.com/stories/201808240576.html

RelatedKAMPALA  The Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) has asked the Judiciary to institute criminal proceedings against police and army officers who were involved in the brutal arrest and torture of civilians, including Members of Parliament, in Arua and Kampala.

Addressing journalists in Kampala on Friday, UHRC Executive Director Medi Kaggwa revealed the Commission had done thorough investigations, including visiting victims, and concluded that the army and police officers were involved in gross human rights violations.

Mr Kaggwa said his team had visited victims of the Arua chaos on August 13 and that of the Kampala and Mityana riots from where they recorded evidence of blatant disregard for human rights through torture by the security agencies.

You should prosecute individually under the prevention and prohibition of torture Act 2012, the security officers who allegedly tortured suspects arrested in the Arua fracas, and ensure adequate compensation and reparation to the victims for injury and losses suffered in the process, Mr Kaggwa said while reading from the report the team compiled.

He also demanded an independent investigation into the shooting dead of Yasiin Kawuma, the driver of Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine.,

Mr Kaggwa also revealed that following the Arua chaos, the commission registered complaints from several people who were shot and brutalised by security agencies.

We have also commenced our own investigation into the fracas and over 30 complaints files have been opened at Arua, Gulu and central regional offices. Nobel matters the commission is investigating at its own volition involve residents who sustained bullets injuries and are currently nursing wound in different hospitals, he added.

He explained that Mr Philliam Anguyo, a resident of Pangisa ward, Oli Division in Arua was shot in the upper left leg, Innocent Asea of Juruso Village sustained injuries in the left arm and Mr Isaac Enzama of Oninia village was also shot through the back.

Mr Kaggwa also questioned polices use of live ammunition in quelling the protests in Mityana and Kampala against civilians who were not armed and wondered whether police officers got enough training.

There was no need of police firing live bullets pointing at people as if they were shooting to kill like we saw in the media.[Police should desist from the use of live bullets and other unorthodox weapons on unarmed demonstrators and non-violent suspects. We condemn the torture and other violations inflicted upon some of the suspects so all security officers should always fulfil their duty to observe and respect human rights in performance of their functions, Mr Kaggwa warned.

He also questioned the excessive use of force on journalists who were executing their duties and asked for the prosecution of individual officers and UPDF who assaulted, torture and damaged the equipment of journalists in the demonstrations.

Freedom of expression should always be respected to allow journalists and media perform their legitimate role without undue interference. This denied the right to information of citizens as enshrined in the constitution and should be stopped, Mr Kagwa said.

RelatedThe Kenyan government said Friday that it has begun deportation of illegal immigrants operating in the country following the lapse of a two-month grace period.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi also said the government has deported 60 foreigners who were in the country illegally and sacked 28 immigration officers involved in corruption and issuance of passports without due diligence.

He warned that all foreigners who failed the vetting test will be flashed in an exercise that will continue for the next three months.

So far, 60 hotel managers who failed to satisfy immigration requirements have already been deported back to their respective countries, he told county commissioners and regional commanders during a meeting in Nairobi.

Matiangi said some of the foreigners pretend that they are married to Kenyan girls yet they are trading in drugs.

Matiangi had issued a directive in May ordering foreigners working in the country without official work permits to get documentation or be arrested at the lapse of 60 days, saying the move will help the government get rid of tax evaders and criminals.

He explained that illegal migrants with fake working permits come to the country as tourists but take advantage of immigration loopholes to engage in illegal business activities.

Matiangi also announced that foreigners will from Friday midnight not be allowed to apply for work permits while they are in Kenya.

RelatedKAMPALA  The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has given government one month to prosecute police and army officers who perpetrated the torture of civilians during the Arua by-election, failure of which the association will prosecute the individuals on a private basis.

Speaking at a meeting on Friday in Kampala, the lawyers also resolved to challenge some of the provisions in the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) Act which the army follows to arraign civilians before the General Court Martial.

We condemn the act of torture in Kampala, Arua and Mityana that led to the death of innocent lives and demand for investigation and prosecution of all those that were involved in these acts of torture. We condemn the act of torture against journalists that happened in Kampala and before where journalists were flogged and beaten by the armed forces, said the lawyers in a statement read by

Mr Simon Peter Kinobe, the ULC President.

The lawyers remarks come in the wake of the violence in the recently concluded Arua Municipality by-election that left at least one person dead and five nursing gunshot wounds. A number of individuals including MPs winner were arrested and 33 of them have since been charged with treason.

The arrest and torture of Mr Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, the MP Kyadondo East, on Monday sparked off protests in Kampala and surrounding areas.

The lawyers agreed to hold a forum soon to address, among other issues, the handling of victims of torture.

We think that the executive is contributing a lot to the abuse of human rights, torture and rule of law. And we think that Parliament is partly responsible because of the bad laws they are making and yet the laws affect all of us including them, Mr Omongole Richard, a senior lawyer, said.

The lawyers remarks come after the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) also asked the Judiciary to institute criminal proceedings against police and army officers who were involved in the brutal arrest and torture of civilians, including Members of Parliament, in Arua and Kampala.

UHRC Executive Director Medi Kaggwa revealed that the Commission has done thorough investigations, including visiting victims, and concluded that the army and police officers were involved in gross human rights violations.

RelatedNAKASEKE  The President of the Republic of Uganda and Commander-In-Chief of Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF), Gen Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, has today passed out 3958 soldiers who completed intake 15/17-18 basic military training at Kaweweta Recruits Training School, Nakaseke District.

While passing out the new soldiers, 136 of who were female, the President was impressed by the numbers and quality of the combatants most of who were University graduates that he referred to as a trainable force. He added that the qualities that the soldiers portrayed in the pass out demonstrations are a reflection of the bigger picture of the progress made in all sectors of security in the country.

Mr Museveni reechoed Kenyans Vice Presidents recent comment that Uganda now exports more products to Kenya than Kenya exports to Uganda. The President emphasized that such progress and the wider developments Uganda is experiencing are as a result of peace and stability ushered in by a strong security system in the country.

President Museveni observed that the country has made great strides but it is still faced by three problems; political indiscipline, corruption, and crimes in the urban areas, although he noted that the government has already embarked on installing security cameras in Kampala as a measure to curb crime in the city and will handle all the other prevailing challenges.

He challenged the new soldiers to guard against reckless living in order to remain healthy to serve the country and follow in the path of their predecessors that liberated Uganda. He noted that the new soldiers had started their military journey on a historical ground from where the National Resistance Army launched important attacks such as that on Masindi. You are on the footsteps of patriots and heroes, President Museveni told the soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen David Muhoozi, thanked the parents who gave in their children to serve in the UPDF and continue the struggle to ensure peace and security in the country. He welcomed the soldiers into the UPDF fraternity and reminded them that UPDF has always survived on ideological clarity, nationalism, patriotism, and strategic relationship with the people, hence making it a unique army on the continent. He implored the new soldiers to use what they have learnt to fit into the UPDF vision and mission in order to continue building a professional force.

In the same vein, the Commandant of the training school, Brig Charles Byaruhanga, advised the graduands to be ambassadors of the UPDF throughout their service and to always remember that the UPDF values and mission, and loyalty to the country and their comrades, comes before their personal interests.

At the end of the function, the President awarded gifts to three students for their exceptional performance during training. The overall best student was RA/ 239011 PTE Bamusede Rodney, second overall RA/239700 PTE Kanuma Donald, and R/A 238797 PTE Abaro Brendah emerged the best in the field.

The function was attended by among others the Minister of State for Veteran Affairs Hon. Bright Rwamirama, the Joint Chief of Staff Maj Gen Joseph Musanyufu, Commander Special Forces Brig Don Nabaasa, and the Chief of Personnel and Administration Brig George Igumba.

RelatedLUBAGA  Unknown people attempted to grab Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake from his hospital bed at Lubaga Hospital on Friday night, his family has revealed.

Mr Zaake is nursing severe injuries at the hospital sustained at the hands of security operatives who brutalised him after he was arrested following the chaos in Arua municipality by-election on August 13.

And now his family members have said on Friday night, some plain-clothed men attempted to forcibly take Mr Zaake off his hospital bed and take him to an unknown destination.

Mr Dan Mugambwa, a brother to Mr Zaake, revealed that when he saw the men, he made an alarm, forcing them to flee.

Mr Mugambwa said they are now living in fear that some people, whom he believes are security agencies, want to harm his brother.

If the security operatives want our patient, let them inform us officially instead of trying to steal him, he said.

Mr Zaakes lawyer, Mr Asumani Basalirwa, confirmed the incident and condemned it.

He instead urged the government to avoid wrongly arresting people.

The news comes days after police claimed that Mr Zaake escaped from its custody following arrest.

On Friday, the management of Lubaga Hospital that the legislator may suffer permanent disability if he is not immediately taken abroad for specialised treatment. The hospital revealed that Mr Zaake suffered severe injury to his spine.

Mr Basalirwa urged the Uganda Medical Board to speed up the process of clearing the MP to travel abroad for treatment.

Mr Zaake was last year seriously injured following the chaos in the age limit debate in Parliament. He was subsequently taken abroad for treatment.

RelatedKAMPALA  The police and the UPDF have denied being behind the arrest of Eddy Ssebuufu, aka, Eddie Mutwe, the private bodyguard to Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine.

Eddie Mutwe and Selector Devie, his official DJ, were picked from Red Pocket Pub in Kampala at around 1 am on Saturday morning by men believed to be security operatives. Their phones are switched off.

However, Chief of Defence Forces Gen David Muhoozi on Saturday denied being behind the arrests.

Why would we arrest Bobi Wines bodyguard? Gen Muhoozi at a joint security press conference at the Police Headquarters in Naguru, Kampala on Saturday.

Police spokesman Emilian Kayima also said he was not aware of Mutwes arrest by police.

However, according to witnesses at the bar, Mutwe was picked by plain-clothed personnel moving in a police patrol vehicle.

Mutwe was last month arrested for assaulting and obstructing the arrest of legislator Kyagulanyi Sentamu aka Bobi Wine during the demonstration against social media tax.

Mutwe reportedly grabbed handcuffs from a policeman before the crowd overpowered the police to set free Bobi Wine.

His arrest comes after his boss, Bobi Wine was arrested by soldiers of the Special Forces Command, tortured and eventually charged by the military court in Gulu with illegal possession of firearms. He was remanded to Makindye Military Police barracks until he reappeared before the same army court on Thursday, where the charges of illegal possession of firearms were dropped with no hint on where the guns that he supposedly possessed were.

RelatedIf you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here'For Mallya, it seems 'the night is dark and full of terrors' and if you believe his lawyers, he's only looking for some sunshine,' says Veer Arjun Singh.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Who: The king of good times fallen on bad times needs little introduction.

Vijay Mallya, erstwhile Kingfisher boss, defaulted on a bank loan of Rs 90 billion before he fled the country.

Now facing an extradition trial in London, he is willing to settle his dues.

But the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate teams chasing him down are unimpressed.

After they finally sold Kingfisher Villa in Goa, Mallya's playboy mansion, they want him to settle into Arthur Road Jail's Barrack 12 in Mumbai.

What: The prison cell is the bone of contention.

Mallya's lawyers are trying to convince the Westminster magistrates' court that the cell, which they say is a boxed, steel cage with no light or ventilation, is not a place to lodge even a criminal.

And that Mallya, 62, is innocent till proven otherwise.

While there may be some truth in their argument about the living conditions in Indian prisons, Indian authorities want to call Mallya's bluff on the exaggeration.

There's a window in each cell, with an attached lavatory, clean bedding and a courtyard with direct sunlight, they have argued.

Ask actor Sanjay Dutt, who had a brief stint in the same barrack, or television honcho Peter Mukerjea who is still there.

But let's not go into how Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, must have felt in the bombproof and bulletproof 'anda cell' of the jail.

Where: At the hearing, which was expected to close the arguments and set a date for a final decision, the Indian authorities' legal representation in London presented a set of pictures to allay Judge Emma Arbuthnot's concerns.

But looks like she is now even more concerned. Before adjourning court till the next hearing in September, she has asked Indian authorities for a highly specific video. It should be shot in the day with no artificial lights.

The first-person view should have a person walking in from the front door of the jail, all the way up to the cell.

Simple enough, it would seem to the folks in London. Indian authorities have sought three weeks to pull it off.

How: The deplorable conditions of most Indian prison cells is no secret.

But people in India have never been able to digest why politicians, rich businessmen and actors should even request what most see as 'VIP treatment'.

Amid the barrage of criticism and opinions, it is the memes and cartoons taking a crack at Mallya's future in India that keeps him trending.

In cartoonist Satish Acharya's first piece, Home Minister Rajnath Singh is seen in conversation with director Karan Johar who is known for his larger-than-life film designs. 'Karanji, I want you to design a prison cell for us,' Johar is told.

Acharya's next is a thug mesmerised by a large banner of Mallya holding what appears to be a beer can outside the Arthur Road Jail, captioned 'Coming Soon'. His mate warns him against falling for the 'marketing ploy to get us in'.

Some predict that other 'fugitive economic offenders', like the first of the wolf pack, Lalit Modi, would also return to India with Mallya, and they will both teach 'Lootology'.

There were some signs of sympathy, however, on social media feeds for the man who some say introduced them to 'a sexy calendar, a luxury airline, a Formula One team and a lot of booze'.

For Mallya, it seems 'the night is dark and full of terrors' and if you believe his lawyers, he's only looking for some sunshine.'If Vajpayee's BJP saw a chance to redefine India's nuclear theology, Modi's BJP has scarcely paid any attention to it,' points out Aditi Phadnis.

IMAGE: November 2004: Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with senior BJP leader Lal Kishenchand Advani and then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Damodardas Modi at a meeting in Ahmedabad. Photograph: PTI Photo

How does the Bharatiya Janata Party want India to be seen by the rest of the world?

There is a stark contrast between the styles of the two prime ministers the BJP has given to India.

Under Narendra Damodardas Modi, India's currency of power is the capacity to conduct surgical strikes against neighbours who have been out of line.

At multilateral fora, it is about proximity to and familiarity with the powerful, that Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi derides as 'hugplomacy'.

The messaging is that India has arrived as a socio-cultural soft power with a strong Diaspora outreach.

This is at a time when in terms of the international climate, India has everything going for it.

But it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had a really hard time of it.

Two incredibly disruptive events and one American regime that had little sympathy for India made for an unfriendly international environment.

It was late afternoon on May 11, 1998, when the phones began ringing. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was going to address a press conference. Everyone knew the government was unstable and not likely to last long. So what was the crisis?

Reporters arrived at Race Course Road to a single chair with a podium, the Indian flag draped behind it.

Information Minister Pramod Mahajan barked instructions (later, upset at the reportage, he was to tell reporters: 'Barked? Mein kutta hoon kya?'. Atal Bihari Vajpayee walked in. He read out a few lines in Hindi and English, took no questions and left.

The world gasped. India had tested its nuclear device.

Unsurprisingly, all hell broke loose.

The additional twist in the tale was a letter written to United States President Bill Clinton citing not Pakistan but Pakistan aided by China as the reason for the nuclear tests.

The letter leaked via the US to Indian newspapers. Later half-denials were issued. But the phrase 'rough neighbourhood' became current as the justification for the tests.

The BJP leadership was half-elated, half-defiant, half-afraid.

As US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright waggled her finger in India's face and said India had dug itself in a hole, Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh rebutted this with his characteristic sardonic half smile.

'We don't dig holes, not even to bury our dead,' he said.

The nuclear tests gave rise to multiple rounds of dialogues between Singh and US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott.

The Draft Nuclear Doctrine was followed by an official nuclear doctrine in 2003 that suggested that India might use nuclear weapons to retaliate against attacks using chemical and biological weapons; and that Indian retaliation to any nuclear attack would be massive.

In 2014, the BJP, in its manifesto, promised to 'revise and update' India's nuclear doctrine to 'make it relevant to challenges of current time'.

As the Modi government enters the last lap of its tenure, not much has been heard about revisions.

This is in stark contrast to the richness of the intellectual debate over security, strategy, outreach and power during the Vajpayee years when foreign ministers were still foreign ministers and not last responders for Indians in distress in various parts of the globe.

If Vajpayee's BJP saw a chance to redefine India's nuclear theology, Modi's BJP has scarcely paid any attention to it.

Both BJP governments faced the what-to-do-with-Pakistan challenge.

Modi responded with an unannounced visit to Raiwind, and when the soft touch failed, followed it with surgical strikes.

Vajpayee responded with a conventional half-war called Op Vijay that did not cross the Line of Control, but did lead to a wave of nationalism with some political resonance.

This was followed by Operation Parakram when Parliament was attacked on December 13, 2001.

With elevated levels of nationalism, the BJP was so confident it would win the 2004 elections that it called them early. It was rudely, bitterly disappointed, leading to a debate on whether wars win elections.

They didn't for Vajpayee.IMAGE: Congress president Rahul Gandhi at an interaction with the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) at the London School of Economics on Friday. Photograph: Courtesy @INCIndia/Twitter

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday night raked up the multi-billion Rafale deal in the United Kingdom, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government of changing the contract to benefit an industrialist who was in debt.

In an interaction with the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) at the London School of Economics, Gandhi spoke of alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favouring a businessman who had no experience in manufacturing aircraft.

Gandhi has been attacking the BJP government for allegedly inking the deal at a much higher price than the one the previous United Progressive Alliance regime had negotiated to benefit 'one businessman'.

Facing allegations of getting undue benefits from the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has sent legal notices to several Congress leaders asking them to 'cease and desist' from levelling such charges.

Gandhi, in response to a question on tackling corruption during an 'In Conversation' event at the famous London university, said: "Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been building aircraft for 70 years. It has built the Sukhoi, Hawk... whole set of planes. HAL has no debt. HAL has by far the best experience in building aircraft in 70 years."

Questioning the government's fighter jet deal struck with French giant Dassault Rafale, the Congress president said he found it 'absolutely amazing' that the media in India had not picked up on highlighting how Ambani was 'magically' given the contract for 36 fighter jets soon after Modi's visit to France.

"Our government signed a contract with Dassault, and gave the contract to HAL. The price we were paying was approximately 520 crores a plane.

"Then something happened, Prime Minister Modi went to France, changed the contract from 126 planes to 36 planes, changed the pricing structure from 520 crores to 1,600 crores and magically, Mr Anil Ambani was given the contract," Gandhi said.

The Congress president alleged that "Mr Anil Ambani is Rs 45,000 crore in debt."

"Mr Anil Ambani has never made a plane in his life, and the company that got the contract, one of the biggest defence contracts in the world, was formed one week before the contract was signed, luckily this is absolutely amazing. So that's the interesting question about corruption," Gandhi said.

Reliance Group has denied the allegations relating to the deal under which France's Dassault is supplying the fighter jets and has entered into a joint venture with an Anil Ambani-led group firm to meet its offset requirement of the contract.

Ambani recently wrote to Gandhi on the deal saying his party has been 'misinformed, misdirected and misled' by 'malicious vested interests and corporate rivals' on the issue.

The issue of corruption was among a range of topics covered by Gandhi during his question and answer session with students from the LSE and other British universities, including Brunel and King's College London, organised by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK to launch its 'Perspective India Townhall'.

On the issue of his association with dynastic politics as the grandson of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, he said: "I come from a certain family but I am an elected person; I have been democratically elected. So the term dynasty is not precise."

"I am actually elected and the important thing is I operate in a democracy and take the punches and have learnt a lot from my experiences over the years".

Calling on youngsters to join politics, he stressed that the Congress was determined to defend the 'onslaught on the Indian Constitution' and 'remove the BJP from power'.

"We are constructing a manifesto in the Congress that brings in all ideas, stakeholders, farmers and allies and potentially have a structure with which to go to the people," Gandhi said in reference to the 2019 general election, adding that his party would not be making any alliances with anybody not 'ideologically on our platform'.

The Congress president described the essence of the Congress party as its ideology of non-violence and one that feels deeply for the people in the country who are weaker.

"I have been through a certain degree of violence up close. I have seen family members killed and borne the brunt of massive attacks on myself and learnt a lot from that. Ultimately, I love my country," he said, when asked about his leadership credentials.

Asked if the Partition of India in 1947 was the right move, given the 'attacks on minorities' in India, he was defiant in the message that India has more Muslim people than Pakistan.

"We are a more democratic and open country, which embraces its people. The negotiation that India has been able to carry with its people, I am very proud of.

"However, over the last four years, an attack is taking place on Indian institutions but the original idea of India is going to win  100 per cent without a doubt," Gandhi said.

The event with LSE South Asian Centre director Mukulika Banerjee covered a wide spectrum of subjects.

On Saturday, he will hold a lengthy breakfast meeting with representatives of the Indian Overseas Congress UK representatives to kick-start general election 2019 preparations, before he addresses a 1,300-strong diaspora event in the evening.Significant progress has been made in protecting hundreds of thousands Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh since they fled violence in Myanmar, but lives will once again be at risk if funding is not urgently secured, United Nations officials have said on the eve of the first anniversary of a military crackdown that forced them to flee their country.

IMAGE: Rohingya Muslim refugee Hamida Khatun feeds her malnourished one- year-old son Ibrahim high calorie peanut paste at a field clinic by the NGO Action Against Hunger at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Kutupalong, shelters more than 600,000 refugees, making it the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya, most of them Muslims, have been displaced from Rakhine since the military began a crackdown on militants last August. Most have crossed the border into Bangladesh, joining the 200,000 refugees already there.

Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response for the UN World Health Organisation Peter Salama told journalists in Geneva that deadly disease outbreaks had been held at bay in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar despite all the conditions being in place for a massive epidemic.

Outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, polio, cholera and rubella have been contained, he said, noting that thousands of lives had been saved so far, thanks to the joint efforts of the Bangladesh government, WHO and partners.

We need to sustain the vigilance for early warnings of infectious diseases, Salama said. That is still a major risk due to the environmental situation, the poor sanitation, the massive overcrowding, the way these people are being housed and we need to maintain our ability to scale-up outbreak response as required.

IMAGE: Rohingya Muslim refugees crowd for food aid near Balukhali Refugee Camp. More than 600,000 Rohingya refugees have flooded into Bangladesh to flee an offensive by Myanmars military that the United Nations has called a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

His call to scale up help was echoed in Geneva by IOM, the UN migration agency, spokesperson Joel Millman.

This was the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world and the challenges have been immense, he said, highlighting comments by the agencys Chief of Mission in Bangladesh Giorgi Gigauri. Countless lives have been saved thanks to the generosity of the Government of Bangladesh, the local community and donor s and the hard work of all those involved in the humanitarian response. But we now face the very real threat that if more funding is not urgently secured, lives will once again be at risk.

One year on from the exodus sparked by a military operation likened to ethnic cleansing by UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al Hussein, more than 720,000 Rohingya people have arrived in Coxs Bazar in southern Bangladesh.

They have joined an estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees who were previously displaced.

IMAGE: A Rohingya refugee is examined by a doctor at a Samaritan's Purse diphtheria clinic in Balukhali camp. Life at camp, is tough with them queuing for hours to get rations due to little access to clean water, health care or food and the refugee camps turn into mud-baths whenever it rains. International aid groups and health workers have estimated at least 6,700 Rohingya had met with violent deaths and warn of potential outbreaks of cholera and other preventable diseases due to squalid conditions. Photograph: Allison Joyce/Getty Images

One of the camps, Kutupalong, shelters more than 600,000 refugees, making it the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

In addition to the challenge of providing peoples basic needs -- shelter, water and sanitation and healthcare -- the agency has carried out huge engineering work to reduce the risk of landslides and flooding. This also involved mobilising and training hundreds of refugee volunteers to serve as first responders in the event of a natural disaster, although the camps have largely withstood the adverse weather.

Another key area of concern is the health of some 60,000 pregnant Rohingya women in the camps. Many of them suffered gender-based violence either prior or during the course of their flight from Myanmar, WHOs Salama said, adding that only one fifth of them will give birth in a suitable healthcare facility.

IMAGE: Rohingya refugees are seen in Balukhali camp. To date, the $950 million (Rs 6,628 crore) Rohingya 2018 appeal is only just over 30 per cent funded. Photograph: Allison Joyce/Getty Images

Partner agency UNHCR also underlined the calls for the international community to step up support for the Rohingya, who are stateless and unable to return to Myanmar. This is despite the UNs signing of an official Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Myanmar in June, to help establish conditions conducive for the safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya.

According to OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the mainly Muslim Rohingya communities that have stayed in Rakhine state require urgent -- and in some cases lifesaving -- help.

Some 660,000 people are in need across Rakhine state including more than 176,000 in Northern Rakhine, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said.

We stand ready to go there as soon as access allows, he added.

IMAGE: Rohingya Muslim refugees walk after crossing the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh close to the Naf River. The refugee population continues to swell further, with thousands more Rohingya Muslims making the perilous journey on foot toward the border, or paying smugglers to take them across by water in wooden boats. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Most humanitarian organisations that have been working in Northern Rakhine state for years have still not been able to resume programmes and services for these population which are some of the most vulnerable in the world.

To date, the $950 million (Rs 6,628 crore) Rohingya 2018 appeal is only just over 30 per cent funded.IMAGE: US President Donald Trump with his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

United States President Donald Trump has abruptly called off a planned visit next week by US Secretary of State Micheal Pompeo to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the lack of support from China for the process due to trade tensions.

Trumps decision to call off the visit came just a day after Pompeo had announced that the newly appointed special representative for North Korea Steve Biegun and he will be travelling to North Korea next week to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective.

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, Trump tweeted on Friday.

He added that because of Americas much tougher trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearisation as they once were (despite the United Nations sanctions which are in place).

Trump said Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after Americas trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon! the US President said.

This would have been Pompeos fourth visit to North Korea. In a historic meeting, Trump had met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June in Singapore and had praised him saying Kim had to be a rough guy, but that hes smart, loves his people, he loves his country. He wants a lot of good things and thats why hes doing this.

A trade war has been escalating between the US and China following announcements by Trump that the US is imposing unilateral tariffs on Chinese imports. China responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on American products, which prompted Trump to announce that even more tariffs would be put in place.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has expressed concern that North Korea has not shown any indication that it has curbed its nuclear program. In a report, the agency called the continuation and further development of Pyongyangs nuclear program a cause for grave concern.

As the agency remains unable to carry out verification activities in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, its knowledge of the DPRKs nuclear program is limited and, as further nuclear activities take place in the country, this knowledge is declining, the IAEA report said.And then came the chief moment of Friday.

If the courtroom had a soundtrack, Beethoven's 9th would be playing, providing a triumphant, dramatic prologue to the production of this last clip.

A woman reporter was asking Mekhail about Sanjeev Khanna.

He says clearly, without mincing words, emphatically: 'Never seen him. First time I am hearing his name.'

Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

There is one lesson Mekhail Upendra Kumar Bora should take away with him on Monday evening when he likely departs Mumbai for his hometown of Guwahati after appearing as a witness in his sister's murder trial, against his mother, through 12 landmark appearances.

It is: Don't speak to the media. Especially not to television cameras. Or to TV hosts, no matter how famous.

The defence lawyers, astutely realising the undeniable impact, in a courtroom, of loosely made statements before rolling cameras, made full use of the plentiful footage Mekhail generously gave television channels after Sheena Bora's murder was discovered in August 2015.

None of the bites or interviews showed him up particularly well, even if today the seemingly more mature, sober Mekhail-2.2 2018 Version does not come across anything like that character who grabbed national attention in 2015.

At the Mumbai city civil and sessions court, Kala Ghoda, on Friday, August 24, Niranjan Mundargi spent nearly two hours cross-examining Mekhail in the Sheena Bora murder case in CBI Special Courtroom 51 before Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale.

He wrapped up his cross examination of Mekhail on Friday too.

The lawyer for Sanjeev Khanna, Accused No 2, Mundargi had plotted out his battle strategy as dextrously as a general and the blueprint was evident as he started up his campaign to corner Mekhail.

He first asked a few questions attempting to establish Mekhail's credibility. Or rather lack of it.

And then moved to the showy centrepiece of his defence of Sanjeev, a critical, few-second sound bite Mekhail gave India Today's Guwahati correspondent in late August 2015, that the prosecution must have heard with sinking hearts.

Each lawyer has a different cross examination style and way of preparing for a 'cross'.

Indrani's lawyer Sudeep Ratnamberdutt Pasbola, who finished his session with Mekhail on Thursday, believes in thorough study of all the documents relating to a case and prefers what he terms non-shifty' witnesses, who don't keep on saying they don't remember.

Pasbola's questioning method is more organic, free style and instinctual.

Mundargi, a tall, cheerful, polite man, comes equipped with a whole list of not-very-neatly written pointers, from which he may stray, depending on answers received, after reading the chargesheet, the 'examination in chief' and hunting around for statements of extraneous other people on the case that could prove valuable.

His questioning style is tidy and very to the point and you appreciate his logical, minimalist approach and the-plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face-type queries that get him surprising answers from witnesses.

Friday's hearing in the Sheena Bora case was delayed till noon.

That afforded one the occasion to wander over to the courtroom where the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter trial is being conducted two doors down.

Within a few minutes two clerks started interrogating me on what my business was, why I was sitting there in their courtroom (which is in fact a public courtroom and affords access to all) and brusquely instructed me to leave.

"Chale jaiye (Go away." Only when they were told that I represented the media did they back down.

Judge S J Sharma, a man with sharp, austere features and a stern presence, entered shortly after and took his seat in a tall, ornate chair and the hearing began with a forensic expert from Ahmedabad deposing as a witness.

It was time to scurry back to Courtroom 51 where the judge's sunny manner lights up a gloomy room.

One of the many policemen on duty at Courtroom 51 had once told me, in Hindi, that he keeps re-applying for duty there because the "Judge Sahib" is a peaceful ("shaant") man.

Mundargi began his questioning of Mekhail a few minutes before noon.

Indrani's son took the stand wearing the same mustard shirt and dark pants, of the past week, that now had dark stain on it near the pocket.

Mekhail in the Mustard Shirt is going to be engraved in the collective memory of the court. Can one buy such a colour of shirt without thinking of Mekhail in the future?

Mundargi's first question was how many other police stations had Mekhail ever visited before he came to the Khar police station in 2015 to depose in the Sheena Bora murder case.

Mundargi: "28/8/2015. Jis din aapki zuban record hua Khar police station mein. Koi bhi police station ho -- (either in) Kolkata, Bangalore, Guwahati (kahi bhi) mein jaane ka occasion hua prior to 28/8/2015? (On August 28, 2015 your statement was recorded at the Khar police station. Before that did you have any occasion to visit a police station, be it Kolkata, Bengaluru, Guwahati or anywhere else?)"

Mekhail, stroking his beard: "2015? Iske pehle? Guwahati Dispur police station gaye the (Before that? I had been in Guwahati to Dispur police station)."

Mundargi: "Tareek yaad hai? (Remember the date?)"

Mekhail: "Tareek yaad nahin (Don't remember the date)."

Mundragi: "Aap ke gaadi ka accident hua tha uss silsile mein gaye the? (Your car had an accident, did you go there for that reason?)"

Mekhail agreed.

Mundargi, a young, striking-looking lawyer in his 30s, then speculated if that was the only case or had he also had to encounter the police in Bengaluru, when he was going to school there.

Mekhail flatly: "Galat (Wrong)."

Next the lawyer wanted Mekhail to do a painful rewind and wondered when the news of his sister Sheena Bora's murder broke, where did Mekhail first get to hear of it.

Mekhail, gravely: "News khol ke dekh rahein the. Channel yaad nahin (Was watching the news on television. Don't remember which channel it was)."

Mundargi: "Sheena aur aapke rishte ache the, barabar? (Your relationship with your sister was good, right?) As a sister you had love and affection for Sheena?"

Mekhail nodded solemnly, his eyes had a slightly faraway look.

And after that wasn't he rooted in front of his television, flicking between channels searching for more news there about his sister's death and even from the newspapers?

Had his relatives come over and were they also following the news with concern?

Mundargi in Hindi: "You must have tried to find as much news about her murder, searching all the channels and the newspapers. She was after all your sister for whom you had love and affection."

Mekhail said softly, his expression still distant, that he didn't want to look for more news on her death at that time. And he didn't know what his relatives were doing.

Looking into his face one wondered if he was recalling that dreadful, ghastly day in August 2015.

What must it be like for a brother to turn on the television and catch a news flash that his dearest sister had been murdered.

A day he never wanted to remember and also would hardly ever want to forget.

The day he finally realised a young woman he called Didi with lively eyes, elfin features and a lovely smile would never reappear.

Could he still hear his sister's voice or her laugh in his head? Or remember the way she addressed him, her little brother?

A few questions, after that, were devoted to Mekhail's biological father Siddharth Das.

When had he seen him last?

What did his father do?

Where was he living?

Had he ever tried to contact Das after he reached adulthood and reacquaint himself with his biological father?

Mundargi: "Aap unke beta the. Aap bade hone ke baad apne Papa se milne ki koshish ki thi? (You were his son. After you grew up, did you try to meet your Papa?)"

Mekhail said he had not. He said he had last seen his father when he was in Class 1. He heard from his Nani-Nana that Siddhartha Das lived in Kolkata and worked for Hitachi.

Then subtly, laced with mild suggestion, given contact with the much more well-to-do Indrani had existed, Mundargi asked: "Unka financial condition utni achchi nahin thi (His financial condition was not very good)."

Mekhail: "Mere ko nahin patta (I didn't know)."

Mundargi asked if Mekhail had seen or heard about the interview Das gave to the media in 2015 and how the media had been camping non-stop outside his Kolkata home and had first caught a bite from his father as he was rushing out (to escape the media) of his home to get on his motorcycle and had his helmet on.

Mekhail said he had. But that he had not seen the interview/s.

Judge Jagdale flabbergasted for a moment, began to laugh, his mirth unstoppable. "TV serials... Escaping on motorcycles..."

He wondered where Mundargi and the other lawyers got all their material, some of it so extraordinary.

"Where do you get the time? I am curious about that!"

Mundargi, smiling too, said something to the effect that these were interviews that had appared in the media and it was part of the material the defence had collected.

The trickiest and the weirdest part of Mekhail's cross-examination by Mundargi revolved around his Class 12 pass certificate.

Mundargi: "Mekhailji, barvee ke baad kahan admission liya tha? (After your 12th where had you taken admission?)"

Mekhail, dully: "Barvee pass nahin kiya (I didn't pass my twelfth)."

The judge chipped in saying he had a false certificate that said he passed his 12th grade.

Mundargi asked if he had taken admission in a hotel management course and if he produced the false certificate there.

The lawyer delved into Mekhail's ethics wondering why he had a bogus 12th pass certificate.

"Kisee authorities ko bola ki galat certificate hai? (Did you tell the authorities that you had a false certificate?)"

Mekhail: "Mere ko patta nahin tha (I didn't know)."

Mundargi: "Aap ko patta kab chala? (When did you get to know?)"

Mekhail: "Jab mein 2011 WNS (a call centre company) mein gaye the (to apply for a job) Gurgaon mein. Udhar ka HR department ne bola aapka certificate bogus hai (When I went in 2011 to WNS in Gurgaon to apply for a job. The HR department over there told him his certificate was bogus)."

Mundargi: "Yeh bolna sahi hai ki aap ne 12th exam pass nahin kiya? (Is it true to say you had not passed your 12th exam?)"

Mekhail, laconically: "Diya hi nahin toh kaise pass hoga (I never gave it, so how would I have passed it?)."

So then why was he carrying about a certificate that said he had given and passed the exam?

What kind of logic of nonsense was that? It was that classic Lewis-Carroll-have-I-gone-mad-afraid-so-let-me-tell-you-the-best-people-are-mad moment.

A bit of bewilderment settled on everyone's faces.

Mekhail was obviously one of a kind. A species all by himself.

Indrani, amused, watched the interplay from the back of the room.

Still attempting to somehow process the absurdity Mekhail had just told him, the advocate then checked why he had produced the certificate at a job interview.

Mekhail swiftly exonerated himself and passed on the blame like a hot potato -- dumping blame is a bit of a hallmark of Mekhail's answers -- saying he had not created the certificate.

INX Media executive Vivek Mittal, who had taken Mekhail under his wing those days at Indrani's request, while he was in Delhi, had, Mekhail alleged.

When they went for that interview Mittal had pulled out a xerox of the bogus certificate and added it to Mekhail's application.

Mekhail, painting a complicated picture of himself as a blameless marionette, said he had nothing to do with the certificate and that it had been foisted on him by Mittal.

Mundargi didn't let it go.

But hadn't he hung onto the certificate and presented it at places including at an interview?

Mundargi: "Yeh bogus hai patta chala. Phir bhi company mein diya naukri ke liye? (After knowing that it is a bogus certificate still you give it to the company for obtaining employment?)"

Mekhail started to explain that he didn't give it and he didn't know it was bogus till the staffer at the HR department told him.

But he knew it was bogus, because he hadn't given the exam.

Mekhail again insisted that he hadn't known it was bogus and he had not submitted it.

Mundargi started to lose his cool and the Q and A began turning slightly ugly as Indrani's son outright refused to acknowledge his role in bandying about the forged certificate.

Mekhail maintained that it simply wasn't his doing. He said he didn't know it was forged.

That was pointed out to him by the HR manager of a company where he was applying for a job, said the man, who knew he had never given the Class 12 exams in the first place, over and over again.

That one had to be finally let go, since no amount of adroit pinning down was working, as deftly as Mundargi tried.

CBI Special Public Prosecutor Bharat Badami and Mundargi exchanged glances and Badami made a circular gesture with his left hand to indicate it was going nowhere. And both grinned.

Mundargi: "Mera yeh kahna hai ki aap ka certificate kahani jhoot hai! (I declare that your whole certificate story is a lie!)"

Ten to 12 questions followed about the evidence Mekhail gave on August 28, 2015 to the Khar police, north west Mumbai, where the murder investigation began.

Who did he meet?

How long did it take?

At what time of night did it finish?

Mekhail said the questioning took an hour or an hour-and-a-half and he went to the station "shaam ko (in the evening).

He said he was questioned by three or four police personnel, the senior-most of whom was an Inspector Pawar and they had an open laptop in front of them on which they might have been taking notes.

He agreed the whole process went on for a while, but didn't commit to the fact that it was late at night when it finished.

The police didn't give him dinner. He had dinner after the process with a friend at his hotel.

Mundargi examined the nature of Mekhail's interactions with the media and how many interviews had he given before he gave his statement at the Khar police station.

Mekhail: "Zyada nahin. Kuch hi hoga. Yaad nahin hai. Interview nahin the aate jaate (kuch bolte the) (Not many. A few. I don't remember. They were not interviews, but statements I made as I exited or arrived at my home in Guwahati)."

Mundargi: "Bites boliye (You could call them bites)."

Mekhail concurred.

Mundargi asking one of those self-evident but required queries: "Aap agar interview dekhoge toh khud koh pehchanoge? (If you see an interview, would you be able to recognise yourself?)"

Mekhail: "Ha (Yes)."

The lawyer asked the judge if he could confront Mekhail with a television clip and whipped out a CD, already certified by the necessary authorities and mounted a sudden surgical strike, with the first advantage, on the witness, crossing into alien territory.

CBI Prosecutor Badami, rightly, was not happy: "I have not received anything in advance."

A copy was handed over, right there: "Now I have received it. This you could have given yesterday also."

The judge agreed that Badami had a legitimate point.

Badami got to his feet to complain and strike a righteous blow back: "Any time they can do anything. They should have given me one day in advance. I don't know what is happening... Life, liberty, freedom of speech we have no doubt, but the prosecution was totally unaware."

Judge Jagdale: "Same channel?"

Mundargi said it was from the India Today news television channel.

The first clip was of Mekhail announcing that he has some crucial evidence: 'My evidence is the conversation between Peter Mukerjea and Sheena or Indrani Mukerjea, I have some evidence on them.'

Mekhail told the court they were e-mails and he had given them to the police subsequently.

In the next clip Mekhail announced he didn't feel threatened by anybody.

Judge Jagdale remarked thoughtfully: "This is a double-edged weapon. Not been specific (but) he was accusing a person in custody at that time."

The advocate said he was aware of that and the lawyers of the other accused were agreeable. "A slight risk is there."

The judge: "But you have to take it."

The normally reticent CBI Investigating Officer Kaushal Kishore Singh, who was wearing a white striped and dotted shirt on Friday, looked over at Indrani, at the rear of the court, to read what she thought of it.

Indrani in yellow and white, put her hands up in the air to indicate she was resigned to it.

And then came the most significant, key, part of that little interview and the chief moment of Friday.

If the courtroom had a soundtrack, Beethoven's 9th would be playing, providing a triumphant, dramatic prologue to the production of this last clip.

A woman reporter was asking Mekhail about Sanjeev Khanna.

He says clearly, without mincing words, emphatically, leaving no one in the room in any doubt: 'Never seen him. First time I am hearing his name.'

After the clip ended, there was a moment of suspended motion in the courtroom.

Like a 30 second spell had been cast on the occupants fleetingly.

Mekhail was asked about his statement of 2015 and offered cautiously but manfully an answer. But it was deficient, definitely not up to par.

"Shayad woh time par naam patta nahin tha (Maybe at that time I didn't know his name)."

The reason for Mundargi's surprise method of introducing this CD in court was now, of course, crystal clear. A master stroke.

Sanjeev, wearing a red and black checked shirt and black jeans, was standing in the accused box in the back watching the proceedings intently.

Mundargi then pondered aloud when Mekhail had come to know of Sanjeev Khanna and at what point had he recalled he had met him before. Had he told the police?

Mekhail said till then he had not seen Sanjeev's face and only when he saw his face did he recall who he was.

"Police ko bola tha (I told the police)."

Judge Jagdale: "You are not sure?"

Mekhail: "Bola hoga (Must have told them)."

The judge repeated: "Bola hoga?!"

Mundragi quietly queried why it was not in his statement to the police

Mekhail: "Shayad bola (Maybe I said)."

The enigmatic K K Singh gave Mekhail a long, unfathomable look.

The investigating officer hardly says a word in court on any day except maybe under his breath, or with tart humour, to CBI Special Public Prosecutor Kavita Patil or Badami and sometimes to Indrani's lawyers Gunjan Mangla or Pasbola.

Yet his presence is significant. Unignorable.

When your eyes roam the courtroom attempting to watch for reactions and noting expressions of the major players in this case, they always bump smack into Singh's who surveys every part of the room with an alertness, mentally taking reams of notes, his eye missing nothing, his face mostly impassive, though sometimes those searchlight eyes crinkle with a faint sardonic smile.

The only other person in the room, ironically, with the same alert gaze is Indrani, from whose eyes escapes very little.

Mundargi addressed a few more questions to Mekhail about his supposed interactions with Sanjeev and if they recorded in his statement to the police and the CBI. He pointed out a few omissions between the statements.

Mekhail's interactions with the CBI were then tracked. He had met the CBI three times. Once was in Guwahati in his home -- House No 8, Sundarpur, Zoo road. The other two interactions happened in Mumbai and his statement was recorded in 2016.

The lawyer also took a count from Mekhail of the occasions he had met Sanjeev.

He first said two and then volunteered that Sanjeev Khanna had also come to pick him up at the Chaitanya Mental Care Centre, Pune, where he was undergoing treatment, in a silver Honda City with Sheena.

The room looked a bit startled.

Judge Jagdale to the court stenographer: "Witness volunteers..." and the details of the interaction were keyed in.

The judge turned to Mekhail with a smile and said wryly: "If you continue to volunteer information (like this) you will stay here for another week!"

Mekhail quickly pacified the judge hastily saying he promised to not offer any further information.

Closing his cross-examination of Mekhail, Mundargi declared: "Mera aisa kehna hai ki aap Sanjeev Khanna ko kabhi nahin mila tha! (It is my declaration that you have never met Sanjeev Khanna!)"

Mekhail: "Galat!"

Mundargi continued in the same vein, saying Mekhail had never been introduced to Sanjeev as a client by Indrani, or taken to a "disco-pub" by Sanjeev, or given shots or tequila, or taken from Chaitanya by Sanjeev, or met him at Marlow, the Mukerjeas's Mumbai residence, on the day of Sheena's murder and the whole tale was a giant fabrication from start to finish.

He asked Mekhail if he had any evidence to prove he had come to Mumbai between April 24-April 25, 2012.

When Mekhail said he hadn't, Mundargi proclaimed he didn't believe Mekhail had come to Mumbai on the 24th and returned to Guwahati on the 25th of that month, that year either.

"On the police's instructions you have developed this whole story about Sanjeev Khanna."

Accused No 4 Peter Mukerjea's lawyer Shrikant Shivade would be available, to Mekhail's dismay, only on Monday and that day too his cross examination would come to an end.

Mekhail said he was running out of money and needed to be reimbursed for his expenses. The judge directed the defence to give him Rs 1,500 towards three additional days of stay.

Typically an independent witness testifying in court in a CBI case is only eligible to the most minimum hospitality -- sleeper class train fare, stay in a basic hotel and reimbursement towards meals, although his within city transport is taken care of by the CBI.

Mekhail had been flitting to and fro between the court and his place of stay in Mumbai, his black face mask firmly in place, in a white CBI Tata Sumo.

Why the mask? Given Mekhail's talent for giving multiple interviews, the CBI had probably not wanted to take any chances this time around, when he was one of their most valuable witnesses.

As the hearing came to a close, the accused were given just a few minutes to wind up their consultations with their lawyers.

The police started getting restive, edging closer to them.

Indrani approached the front of the court to talk to CBI Investigating Officer K K Singh and three police officers swiftly circled her from the rear.

One of the prosecution, watching the scene, commented dryly to the overenthusiastic police officers: "Unko uthake le ke jaana hai? (Are you wanting to physically lift her up and take her away from here?)"

Ten minutes after Peter, Indrani and Sanjeev departed back for jail, Peter's lunch -- a steaming cup of coffee and probably a burger -- arrived.

The young man who brought it, the son of a close Mukerjea family friend, looked miserable to have missed Peter.Flood in the rice bowl: Keralites who lost everything stare at uncertainty.

Gireesh Babu reports from Kuttanad.

IMAGE: An aerial view of flooded areas in Kerala.

With large parts of the state still reeling from the ravages of the floods, Kerala is staring at a grim Onam this year.

Saturday is the main feast of the festival, which celebrates the legend of the asura king Mahabali's annual visit to earth from netherworld.

But there are no merrymakers this time.

Missing are the snake boat races and the revellers dressed as Mahabali.

And missing too are the lush green paddy fields: they are inundated with flood water and the crops are all destroyed.

"We won't have Onam this year. I think it will be several more days before I get to see my house and fields out of water," says 68-year-old Gopalan, who is staying at a relief camp in Alappuzha, which is part of Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala.

When Gopalan and his family were rescued from their house, the water was already chest-high.

D Lakshmanan, Pallathuruthy ward councilor, and head of the relief camp at a school in Thiruvambadi, Alappuzha, says: "Almost 200,000 people have been rescued and there are 62 relief camps in Alappuzha alone."

"The water is receding slowly and it may take another 10 days for it to be fully drained," says Vinod V, a farmer in Kuttanad.

"The land needs to be prepared for cultivation by November and we don't know if it will be possible," he says.

Having lost their crops, farmers like Vinod also wonder how they will repay the loans they have taken.

According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, the Kuttanad Wetland Agriculture System is unique as it is the only place in India which favours rice cultivation below sea level in land that was created by draining the delta swamps.

In fact, it was awarded the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System tag for its unique agricultural heritage.

But today, the entire Kuttanad region, including Chambakkulam, Nedumudi, Kavalan, Kayikkara and many others, has been devastated.

And it's not only the wasted croplands -- after being underwater for more than a week, many houses have developed cracks. The chances of some of them collapsing cannot be ruled out.

The mood is not much different in Kochi, Kerala's financial capital.

While it was not as badly hit as Kuttanad, water from Periyar inundated much of Kochi's streets and those of neighbouring towns like Aluva.

"This is the busiest season for traders and shopkeepers, but business has been at a standstill for the last two weeks," says a tailoring shop owner.

Many industrial units are running with low manpower, as most of the employees have still not returned home from the camps.

Needless to say, the loss to business has been staggering.

"We are yet to analyse the losses," says Damodar Avanoor, state president of Kerala State Small Industries Association.

There are about 135,000 small scale units in Kerala, and Avanoor says they will request the state and the central governments for special packages or exemptions as relief measures.

The floods have also dealt a heavy blow to Kerala's plantation sector.

Ajith Balakrishnan, secretary, Association of Planters of Kerala, pegs the losses at around Rs 8 billion. The worst affected are the plantations in Idukki, Wayanad, and Nelliyampathi in Palakkad, places which are still mostly inaccessible.

The government's initial estimate of the losses is about Rs 200 billion to Rs 300 billion. But the figure could climb higher.

"We have not assessed the full extent of the damage as yet and will approach the government for assistance soon," says S Sajikumar, chairman of the CII Kerala State Council.

Meanwhile, most agree that the state and other agencies have done a sterling job in the relief camps.

At the Thiruvambadi camp a doctor visits every day and treats the sick. The food is good too, say the people.

However, some complain that while food is not a problem, the distribution of clothes has not been even-handed.

"The councillor is giving all the new clothes to his relatives and giving us the old stuff," alleges Sophy, a housewife, who lost her paddy field and some 150 ducks to the flood. But the government and relief camp authorities say that they are not even accepting old clothes for fear of infection and disease.

Relief measures to help people pick up the pieces of their lives are underway.

Banks are rescheduling loans to farmers and the government too has announced steps to reduce their burden. People are slowly going back to their homes now.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the number of people in the camps has come down from 1.2 million to 1.04 million on Thursday, August 23.

However, the long road to rebuild Kerala has only just begun.Arconic Inc. (ARNC) is considering selling itself, according to media reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Arconic shares jumped 4.73% on the news to end Friday trading at $22.23.

The move company after the aluminium products company was reportedly approached by several private equity players interested in buying out the Alcoa-spin-off.

A consortium of Blackstone and Carlyle and another group of private equity groups including of KKR and Onex have expressed their interest in acquiring Arconic, according to reports, and Apollo, another US private equity group, is also exploring a deal.

Blackstone, Carlyle, KKR, Onex and Apollo declined to comment. Arconic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business NewsAmid growing talks of early elections to Telangana Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Though officially it was stated that Rao called on the Prime Minister to discuss various pending issues pertaining to the state, the meeting assumed significance in the wake of hints of early polls by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief.



This is Rao's second meeting with Modi this month and the third in as many months.



It also comes two days after Telangana government's Chief Advisor Rajiv Sharma met Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa.



KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, had dropped hints that the Assembly elections may be held early. The state elections are originally scheduled along with the Lok Sabha polls next year.





The TRS leader has already stated that the party will announce its candidates next month.



Meanwhile, according to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, KCR met Modi on Saturday and discussed various issues pertaining to the state pending for clearances and approvals from the Centre.



He urged the Prime Minister to raise the annual borrowing limit for Telangana by an additional 0.50 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission.



KCR said the state government has fulfilled the conditions laid down for availing the additional fiscal space of 0.5 per cent of GSDP.



"There is a significant jump in the expenditure commitments of the state on account of flagship programmes like irrigation and provision of drinking water to every household. All of the works have reached an advance stage and are about to give benefit to a large number of people in the state," the Chief Minister said in his representation submitted to the PM.



KCR sought early nod for the new zonal system approved by the state cabinet recruitment in government departments, release of Rs 450 crore for the development of backward districts, release of additional FRBM funds, release of the Central share of interest on the loans to be given to women societies and farmers, bifurcation of high court, funds for regional Ring Road and allotment of defence lands for building secretariat.Minor side effects from the treatment of filariasis is expected but there is nothing to be worried about, says World Health Organisations Dr. Rasul Baghirov.

Members of the public have recently reported having adverse reactions to the treatment, which is part of a Government campaign to to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in the country.

But Dr. Baghirov, the head of the World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) Samoa who is supervising the national campaign, told the Samoa Observer that the side effects are normal and expected.

The treatment is safe because we would not come with something that is unsafe and there have been multiple studies on this medicine.

The probability of serious side effects is very minimal, extremely low, much lower than vaccinations. People may feel a little bit dizzy, some people might get a headache but that is expected and not abnormal, he said.

The dosage varies per individual, depending on their age and their weight with some prescribed to take eight pills and others 17 tablets. Common side effects include dizziness and headache.

Dr. Baghirov has recommended that people feeling discomfort should take paracetamol or report to the health authorities if the symptoms become unbearable.

Stay calm theres no need to stress out, just rest and take some paracetamol, in some cases it is being supplied. But I also need to double check that they are doing it but that is the normal procedure.

Eating is good. Once you take your medicine its okay to eat as per normal. Sometimes its psychological because youre taking all those drugs and because it depends on weight so the bigger you are the more pills you have to take them, he added.

Dr Rahul said the campaign to treat filariasis was going better than expected and while they had concerns on how the public will respond to the treatment, there have been no major issues.

When asked if the advocacy and awareness campaigns were enough to advise people on what to expect, Dr Rahul said he had the same question.

Well thats also my question, this is a must. The message should be out there that its safe but some side effects are possible so dont panic.

A total of 1500 volunteers visited schools, village centers and workplaces to administer a triple drug treatment called I.D.A.

Samoa Observer accompanied Dr Baghirov and a team of volunteers to visit some families in Leauvaa. Among the volunteers was the lead co-ordinator for Leauvaa, Susitina Lene, who said her village received sufficient information.

Yes, they understand because we translated all of the information for them. They know that this disease has been going on for years. We also made it clear that this treatment doesnt aggravate their health problems like high blood pressure, she added.Local businesses in Upolu have expressed concern there is no alternative to plastic bags when the Governments ban comes into effect January 2019.

Speaking during consultations with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M.N.R.E.) and Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (M.C.I.L.), business owners on Upolu described the ban as unfair treatment of local entrepreneurs.

Papalii Grant Percival, who runs a food processing and fresh produce outlet in Apia, said it was safer for shops to put fruits and vegetables in plastic bags and not reused bags and boxes.

It is safer to put them (fruits and vegetables) in plastics than to put them into reused bags and boxes because that has bacteria in them. It is better to put them (fruits and vegetables) in virgin plastics. You need to understand that all we want is that you dont discriminate against Samoans, he said.

The Governments decision to exempt importers of foreign-made fruits and vegetables also came under criticism with Papalii saying it was biased against Samoans.

You got to be fair so imported fruits and vegetables that come in plastic bags so how do you stop that. Because thats what youre saying, you wont allow local fruits and vegetables to use plastic but the imported fruits and vegetables that are coming in plastics, how do you stop that? How do you deal with that? Because we want equal treatment we dont want to be discriminated against because we are Samoans. We want equal treatment.

Apia Bottling owner John Ryan, who also attended the consultations, said he has proposed alternatives for the Government to consider.

Almost everything that is imported now comes in some sort of plastics so banning one piece of plastic and allowing the other 90 per cent, I dont think that is clever planning to help the world. But lets look at how to reuse after we use it.

What you are proposing is very very difficult to control because everything that comes in now almost comes in some sort of plastic, even medical stuff. What I would like to propose is one, is to ban the dumping of plastics as rubbish and secondly a disposal system, he said.

Government legal adviser, Kathleen Taituave, assured the members of the business community present that she will bring their concerns to the relevant authorities.

We do take note of your comments and we will discuss it with the AG's office as well as our waste experts.

The absence of M.N.R.E. officers at the consultation was noticed by the local business representatives.

Ms Taituave assured the business operators that their concerns will be raised at the next stage of consultation before the draft bill is submitted to the Cabinet.

Alternative forms of waste management including the introduction of a subsidy levywas also under consideration, she added.

The levy is definitely something in the pipeline long term. We will try to discuss this with the Ministry of Finance and I do agree with getting that levy back to the government.World Wide Safety C.E.O., Virginia Toalepai has plans to invest her time and money in her homeland  Samoa.

During an interview with the Business team, Ms. Toalepai revealed she is in talks with a local general contractor to construct two hotels in Samoa.

Though details of when exactly works on the hotels will commence, she confirmed that the first hotel will be built on Savaii and there are hopes to have it completed in time for the 2019 Pacific Games.

She also revealed that as a Samoan, making it big in the United States, she wishes to see Samoa develop and she is investing quite a sum of money in the two hotels, the second planned for Upolu.

Ms. Toalepai, who also owns U.S-based 300 Productions, is in Samoa to sign a sponsorship deal with Samoas Le Tiumasalasala dance group for a chance to record in their studio in 2020.

I am working with one of the partners I have here that were going to build a hotel, so its another way we can create more jobs and also another way to support Samoa, Ms. Toalepai said.

My construction partner, who doesnt want to be revealed for now, we are finalising stuff for the development. I am contributing money, so I pretty much own it and its my first hotel business ever.

Never in her wildest dream did she dream that at one stage of her life, she would own and invest in a hotel.

I never really thought this would happen, I was only focusing on the youths when I came to Samoa, but opportunities opened up and I grabbed it.

We just actually came back from the site in Savaii this morning (Thursday), we went to look at the location and finalise some stuff and hope we get it done before the Pacific Games.Dont be afraid to follow your dreams, is the advice from Tupai Frank Bruno, the ringmaster of Magic Circus Samoa.

In an interview with the Weekend Observer, he shared the reasons he became successful in his line of work.

Growing up in a circus family, Bruno was faced with managing the circus at a very young age.

Brunos family left Europe for America and later on went to Cuba, but their final destination was Puerto Rico, where his dad passed away when Tupai was just 14 years old.

A few years after the death of his father, Tupai continued with the circus in Puerto Rico.

I learnt how to run a circus from a very young age. I had to take care of people, feed people, pay salaries and all that.

So I didnt have too much time for formal education but in those days my parents used to bring tutors to the circus, that is how I learnt how to read and write, mathematics, the basics of education. Of course they didnt teach business management at that age, but that was already there, Tupai said.

His Italian and French roots opened doors, he said, and he also learned Spanish and English.

Bruno closed his circus and moved to Spain before working as a performer in New York.

I always loved to make tents when I was a little kid. My father was a very good tent maker, Tupai said.

His father had a friend who was a tent maker and he voluntarily offered to help him just to learn how to make tents.

I had the flair of circus advertising so I put a tent company, which was really successful. I ended up making tents for almost every U.S. circus. That was a second business and all of a sudden it got a little bit too big for me.

He learned about the Pacific region when he worked in Hawaii.

I wanted to bring the circus to this area as something new, Tupai said.

I try to do things right and I think that is important for kids to know dont do things the wrong way.

If you want to do something, do it right and that will leave you a lot of friends and people who care about you.

If you believe in something just try and do it dont be afraid, whats the worst that can happen.

It doesnt work anyway then do something else, but if you dont try it, you dont know.

There are so many talents and we need not only myself, but I think the Samoan people or companies when they see something they need to help a little bit. Dont just think for your business or yourself, at the end the rewards are in many ways so much bigger than the expenses, he said.Story and photo: S.P.R.E.P.





Samoa was among 10 Pacific island countries, as well as regional universities and organisations, gathered in Nadi recently to attend a regional training course on designing and implementing mutually agreed terms and contracts for access and benefit-sharing (A.B.S.) for Pacific genetic resources.

The course is hosted jointly by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P.), the A.B.S. Capacity Development Initiative, the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, and the University of New South Wales.

Participants learnt about the specific issues which need to be covered in A.B.S. agreements between those who wish to utilise genetic resources and those who control access to, or own, these resources.

Dr. Andreas Drews, Manager of the A.B.S. Capacity Development Initiative stated, The Initiative focuses on assisting countries in establishing functional ABS agreements between providers and users of genetic resources. In the Pacific these countries are Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa, Palau and Vanuatu, which need to design and implement their required regulatory frameworks.

The A.B.S. Capacity Development Initiative is multi-donor funded and implemented by GIZ, the German development agency.

S.P.R.E.P. has a longstanding partnership with the A.B.S. Capacity Development Initiative and we collaborate to strengthen the capacity of countries to negotiate good A.B.S. contracts and effectively implement related ABS legal mechanisms available through both international mechanisms and domestic legal frameworks, said Ofa Kaisamy, Legal Adviser for the S.P.R.E.P. implemented Global Environment Facility (G.E.F.) funded A.B.S. Regional Project.

The Pacific islands region covers approximately 30 million square kilometres and has the highest concentration of marine diversity in the world as well as unique terrestrial biodiversity.

The region has seen an exponential rise in interest to access genetic resources for both academic and commercial research in the past two decades.

As interest in these precious genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge surrounding them continues to increase, Pacific island countries have identified the need to implement strong legal frameworks to regulate access to these national assets.

Under both existing and prospective A.B.S. frameworks within the region, it is the goal of each nation to ensure equitable benefits are provided in exchange for access to local genetic resources and knowledge.

In order to facilitate these objectives, participants at this weeks training course are scheduled to discuss topics such as benefit-sharing clauses, intellectual property rights, third-party transfers, and matters of dispute resolution.

Under the guidance of Dr. Andreas Drews (ABS Capacity Development Initiative), Dr. Morten Walle Tvedt (Fridtjof Nansen Institute), Dr. Daniel Robinson (University of New South Wales), Ofa Kaisamy and the team from the SPREP GEF ABS Regional Project, participants will strengthen their professional skills in negotiating mutually agreed terms between the users of genetic resources and providers of these resources.

Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be able to return home with the capacity to advise their governments and national stakeholders on measures needed to ensure that national genetic resources are accessed equitably and in compliance with national law.

SPREP and the ABS Initiative are grateful to all financial donors whose contributions have made this important training course possible.To celebrate his 40th birthday, Al and his wife Flora Blaisdell decided to fly into Samoa.

Al is part of the U.S. Army stationed in American Samoa, who has roots in the Philippines, grew up in Hawaii.

Hearing a lot about Samoa in American Samoa, Al wanted to see the island with his own eyes and he said Samoa is as beautiful as he expected it to be.

Its been great, food is good, people are super friendly, it is very affordable and the weather is beautiful, Al said in an interview with the Dear Tourist team.

In the three days they spent on the island, they have been exploring new activities. Flora had the first snorkeling experience in her life, despite growing up in Hawaii.

It was awesome, just being in an aquarium and having all these beautiful fishes around you, Flora said.

They were not only impressed with the food at Paddles Restaurant but also the people.

Everybody remembered our names like shook our hand it was very personal, Al said.

It was amazing and different I liked it, Flora added.

It is amazing. I like the service they made you feel very welcomed. Everyone knows us by name, it is crazy, Al said.

She said Samoa is very different from Hawaii because it is less commercialised.

I personally prefer that it is not too commercialised, when you want commercial then go to Hawaii. You come here because it is unique, authentic, different, people are great, Al said.

They also shared their experience of touring the countryside.

You see poverty it depends on where you go, but they still seem to be so happy. It is a different way to live, everyone has a different lifestyle, it is everywhere around the world not just here. Some things are more important to people and that is fine.

I would say this place seems to have a lot more money than American Samoa, the roads are way better here for example, Al said. They plan to return at the end of the year.

It is awesome to just chill and being us that was the best part for me and everybody was very friendly and laid back, I really like that, Flora explained.

The double birthday is amazing I would recommend for tourists to work something out between American Samoa and Samoa having a double birthday package, Al joked.Think a minuteImagine this rich, successful young man. Hes well educated and owns a big, beautiful house. He lives and travels first class! Yet even with all his success he still goes to church and is a humble, good person. Of course, hes not perfect.

But hes definitely no murderer. Adultery? Nothing any red-blooded boy wouldnt do once in a while. Stealing? Only a little cheating like everyone else does to survive. Honors his father and mother? Definitely. He sends money home all the time.

Sounds like a good person doesnt he? But do you know what Jesus Christ said to a young man like the one we just talked about? Jesus saw right through this nice, church-going young man.

Jesus knew that this man really loved his good life and religious reputation more than he loved Jesus. Yet this man thought he was a Christian and right with God just because he went to church, and was kind to other people. But Jesus said hes not even close! Harsh words, arent they?

Jesus taught that there is absolutely nothing that any person can do, whether its going to church or giving money to the poor, that is good enough to reach Gods standard of perfect goodness from the heart. You see, if God can forgive and accept me into heaven just because Im a good person, then Jesus was either a crazy lunatic, or a liar! Because Jesus Himself said that He, God the Son, He had to die and give His own perfect life to pay the penalty for all our wrongs, so He could forgive us and make us His children.

So friend, just going to church cannot save you and me. Giving money to the poor cannot earn us Gods gift of forgiveness and new life.

There is nothing or no one in this world who can make us good enough and acceptable to our perfect Creatoronly God the Son Himself. Jesus alone can forgive and save you and me from judgment and hell forever for living our own way, even if were religious. Thats why Jesus is our only hope! But after weve asked Him to forgive us and take full charge of our life in a daily personal relationship.

Its then because Hes already forgiven and saved us, well only want to spend the rest of our life growing and learning in His family, the church, how to live His right successful way every day. Just Think a MinuteDistinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Let me start by saying thank you very much for attending tonights celebrations.

I want you to know that what were celebrating was born from the most unlikeliest of places, which is why it is a special honour for me.

In other words, it was conceived and inspired by events that took place far away when I was a young man.

The Samoa Observer story started well over 40 years ago. It was while I was living in Washington D.C., and the Watergate Scandal was threatening to drive President Richard Nixon, out of the White House.

And as a young poet from Samoa, working in a bookstore called Globe Books, just across from the White House, I was right there to see it all unfold.

That way, it was hard to ignore the fearless, inspiring daily news reports that were being published day after day, especially by the Washington Post.

As I was following with much interest Watergate as it was spinning out of control, and how two young investigative reporters were redefining their roles in what then were very turbulent time in America, it was indeed, fascinating reporting and I was intrigued by it all.

Later, when Nixon resigned and avoided being impeached, I quit my job at Globe Books and moved to New York, where I lived in a place called Greenwich Village.

Later still, when I left New York and moved to Santa Ana in California, I received word that my mother was ill, and right away I knew I had to return home.

And now that I was back in Samoa, the Samoa Times editor was kind enough to give me a job as a reporter, and with it I was able to appreciate for the first time what publishing a newspaper in Samoa was about.

However, about one year later, I saw that we were not moving anywhere at all, so I decided it was time to move on.

That was when with my friend Ieti Lima, we launched the Samoa Observer in his familys cookhouse at Vaimoso, a village near Apia.

I was the reporter, photographer and editor, Ieti was the advertising salesman, and with one typewriter, and the help of some friends, we produced the first edition of the Observer.

It was an exciting experiment so that no one complained. At 20c a copy, 5000 copies would sell out before noon under the old Post Office, on Beach Road, and the Samoa Observer was a dream no more.

Indeed, the beginning of an exciting journey had begun, and what a wonderful journey itd turned out to be!

Along the way, the Samoa Observer had gone on to achieve significant achievements in newspaper publishing around the world, and with them recognition was inevitable.

It allowed the writer to travel and meet some very famous journalists and newspaper owners, one of whom was the Publisher and owner of the Washington Post, the late Katherine Graham, who played an important role in the Watergate Scandal that inspired the writer at the time.

But then this evening, I want to attribute the Samoa Observers success to you, The Reader. The truth is that, it is because of your loyal and relentless support of the Samoa Observer over the years, that we are still here today.

Founded on the premise that everyones voice is meant to be heard - especially that of the weak and the vulnerable - we believe the Samoa Observer has remained committed to that promise, to this day.

And for that very reason, we say thank you very much to you all, for allowing the Samoa Observer to be a part of your everyday life, as well as your friend.

To Scott Griffin of the International Press Institute, I thank you for coming all the way from Vienna, to help celebrate our fortieth birthday with us, here in Apia.

To be sure, I.P.I.s unwavering support of press freedom is the sustenance that instills hope and faith in mankind, which will in turn continue to make the world a better place to be.

To Prime Minister Tuilaepa and his Government, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your patience and understanding of our work. Although we may come across as antagonistic now and then, deep down we know that your love of your country, Samoa, is sincere.

We know that you believe in a free press, and the vital role its playing in our little democracy, and for that reason we want to agree that the love hate relationship that seems to be making a habit of showing up now and then, is nothing but a front thats nursing the respect we share.

And so at this point, I want to reassure that here at the Samoa Observer, we will always acknowledge Samoas support of our work, but then as journalists, we know that words can either harm or heal; indeed, its a tough line to follow, especially in a comparatively small society such as ours.

But then, as we also all know, the truth is sacrosanct; in other words, it is holy which follows that it must be told no matter what, and never mind the consequences.

And that is the price we have to pay, for the freedom were taking for granted everyday where ever were living in this fickle world, we call home.

And lastly, on behalf of the Samoa Observer publisher, and its editors and staff, I want to say thank you very much Samoa for remaining relentlessly supportive of your newspaper, the Samoa Observer, over the last 40 years.

Have a peaceful Sunday Samoa, God bless.

Soifua.Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi says all nurses need to undergo proper training to ensure they provide a better service, especially to children.

Speaking during his weekly media conference, he said the nurses administering of the vaccine  which allegedly led to the deaths of two babies in Savaii  has been blamed in the preliminary results from the postmortem.

He echoed the concerns of the Minister of Health, Tuitama Dr. Leao Tuitama, in a recent interview with the media, where preliminary results from the postmortem of the two one-year-old infants point to alleged negligence.

We are still waiting for the final results from overseas but those were the findings that the Ministry of Police had based their charges upon. This means the vaccination is okay but it is probably the mixing of the vaccination thats the problem. Thats what it seems like."

Another thing is that there needs to be a doctor to oversee the nurses that are on duty at the time. But that what how the police were able to charge the two nurses it was based on that preliminary reports. But the most important thing about this is that the nurses needs to have proper trainings, whether it is a senior nurse or not they need to have trainings where all of them are there, he said.

Tuilaepa said all nurses should attend the same kind of training, to ensure there are no gaps in the knowledge and skills that are taught to them.

This thing about the Senior nurses having trainings and then they come and train the other nurses thats not how it should be all of them need to attend the same training so that they would know the importance of their work. That way their service will improve to avoid this from happening again, he added.It had to be a party that fitted the occasion  the 40th Anniversary of the Samoa Observer newspaper.

The story of Samoas only daily newspaper and its humble beginnings, which began through the pen of Editor-in-Chief Gatoaitele Savea Sano Malifa 40 years ago, is deeply intertwined with the journey that the country has taken.

But it was only fitting that the celebration to mark the milestone was held at a Samoan icon, rich in history dating back to the early 1930's  the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys Hotel.

The writing of the script, for this intricate gathering of whos who in Apia, began in earnest in April this year.

Samoa Observer Publisher Muliaga Jean Malifa, reminiscent of the newspapers early days when she stood by her husbands side and was the prime mover behind-the-scenes, was the architect of Friday night celebrations.

She worked in unison with hotel staff to prepare for the big night over a five-month period. From the menu to the drinks and arrangement of tables to cater for 300 guests.

And Samoa Observer Digital Editor Jarrett Malifa put the icing on the cake, with his ingenious display of the newspapers history through a display of newspaper mastheads on menu mats placed on each table, and old front page stories in the hotel foyer, which caught the eye of guests including Prime Minister Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi, creating nostalgic moments of how far the newspaper and the country have come.

The ambiance of the hotels ballroom was noticeable with a New Zealand-based band entertaining guests with their renditions of popular hit sings including local Samoan favorites, ensuring the dance floor had couples swaying to the music.

The evenings high profile guests including the Head of State, His Highness Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, Member of the Council of Deputies, Tapusatele Le Mamea Ropati Mualia, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi, Deputy Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, a host of Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, members of the diplomatic corps and the business community.

Earlier in the evening, the Prime Minister, set the tone for the night by congratulating Samoa Observer founder and Editor-in-Chief, Gatoaitele Savea Sano Malifa and Publisher Muliaga Jean Malifa, praising them for overcoming numerous challenges over the last 40 years.

Deputy Director of the International Press Institute (I.P.I.), Scott Griffen, echoed similar sentiments and went a step further and appealed to Samoas Government to reconsider the Criminal Libel Act.

Only time will tell if the Prime Minister and his Government will seriously consider the appeal from Mr Griffen and the I.P.I., to address what some have described as an impediment to press freedom in Samoa.

But for that night alone it was time to celebrate a success story in the history of of this Pacific Island nation, and acknowledge the efforts of a man and his family, who continue to carry the flag of press freedom above all others in a journey of adversity that lasted 40 years.

It was fitting that 300 people from all walks of life celebrated press freedom in Samoa by converging on the Grand Old Lady Aggie Greys, to reminisce on the good times and to acknowledge that the journey was not easy for Gatoaitele and Muliaga Jean Malifa, their family and the numerous people they have employed over the years.

Today Samoa celebrates that achievement through the uncompromising content that Samoa Observer publishes through its daily pages and on its online platforms.

At the end of the day there has to be mutual respect between the Fourth Estate and those charged with the mandate to govern their people  as both institutions strive to better the lives of their citizens.

Gatoaitele defined this special relationship well in his speech on the night.

To Prime Minister Tuilaepa and his Government, we would like to express our gratitude for your patience and understanding of our work. Although we may come across as antagonistic now and then, deep down we know that your love for your country is sincere, he said.

We know that you believe in a free press and the vital role its playing in our little democracy, and for that reason we want to agree that the love hate relationship that seems to make a habit of showing up now and then, is nothing but a front thats hiding the respect we share.The International Press Institute has hailed World Press Freedom hero, Gatoaitele Savea Sano Malifa and his commitment to press freedom.

The message was relayed by the Deputy Director of the International Press Institute (I.P.I.), Scott Griffen, when he spoke during the celebration of the Samoa Observers 40th Anniversary at the Sheraton Samoa Aggie Greys Hotel in Apia on Friday night.

The fight for press freedom remains an uphill one; but with institutions like the Samoa Observer on our side, it is one that we can win, Mr. Griffen said.

On behalf of I.P.I., I would like to congratulate the Samoa Observer on its 40th anniversary and thank Savea Mailfa and his team for their unwavering support for press freedom and quality journalism in Samoa, in the South Pacific and around the globe. We look forward to many, many more years of this newspapers strong, independent voice, and I can assure you that I.P.I. will be there to support it. Thank you and faafetai.

Mr. Griffen also used the opportunity to urge the Government to reconsider their decision to revive the Criminal Libel Law. He said journalists should never face the risk of being jailed for doing their job.

Repealing Criminal Libel certainly isnt a cure  all for press freedom  but we do believe it is an important step, said Mr. Griffen.

Therefore, we as I.P.I. urge you, Mr. Prime Minister, to reconsider your Governments re-introduction of Criminal libel. Although we are absolutely sensitive to the challenges associated with social media and digital communication, we believe there are better alternatives, and our experience over decades and across continents has shown us that the risk to press freedom is simply too great. Journalists should never face the threat of jail for doing their jobs.

Mr. Griffen was one of three speakers during the Samoa Observers birthday. The other two are Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi and Editor-in-Chief, Gatoaitele Savea Sano Malifa.

Read Gatoaiteles remarks on page 13. A final copy of the Prime Ministers speech was not received at press time. In the meantime, the following is the full text of Mr. Griffens address:

It is a great honour to take part in the 40th anniversary celebration of the Samoa Observer on behalf of the International Press Institute, a global network of editors, publishers and leading journalists dedicated to defending press freedom. And it is truly a pleasure to be here in Samoa, in this incredibly beautiful and welcoming country.

The International Press Institute was founded almost 70 years ago, just after the Second World War, by a group of distinguished editors who believed that free and independent journalism would contribute to creating peace within and among societies.

Since then, I.P.I. has grown into a global network with members in more than 100 countries, representing some of the worlds most prestigious media outlets as well as a great diversity of languages, religions and political ideologies. They are men and women committed to pursuing truth in the public interest  and, just as importantly, to supporting one another in times of need. The I.P.I. community is living proof that press freedom is a universal value, a good from which every individual and every society stands to gain.

We are so proud to count Savea Sano Malifa as one of our esteemed members, someone who together with his wife, Jean, has worked for over decades with unmistakable conviction and at great personal risk to bring the news to the Samoan public and acts as a fearless watchdog of those in power.

Indeed, I.P.Is close relationship with the Samoa Observer began at a much different time and under much different circumstances than today, a time when the newspaper and its journalists faced severe levels of intimidation and harassment, including death threats, for their coverage of corruption and other forms of wrongdoing. It was in honour of Savea Malifas refusal to retreat from his commitment to independent journalism in the face of such challenges that I.P.I. named him one of our World Press Freedom Heroes  the organisations highest honour  in the year 2000.

With that, he is in good company: I.P.Is World Press Freedom Heroes also include former Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham, former Sunday Times Editor Harold Evans and the founder of Germanys Der Spiegel magazine, Rudolf Augstein.

One of the means used to harass Savea Malifa and the Samoa Observer at that time was the law of Criminal Libel. It was therefore a tremendous step forward when the Samoan government courageously voted to repeal Criminal Libel in 2013. In doing so, it joined a global trend, with countries from Norway to Ireland to Zimbabwe removing the offence from their books in recent years.

The list also includes small island countries like Atigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Jamaica that, like Samoa, inherited the law through colonialism. Repealing criminal libel certainly isnt a cure  all for press freedom  but we do believe it is an important step.

Therefore, we as I.P.I. urge you, Mr. Prime Minister, to reconsider your Governments re-introduction of Criminal libel. Although we are absolutely sensitive to the challenges associated with social media and digital communication, we believe there are better alternatives, and our experience over decades and across continents has shown us that the risk to press freedom is simply too great.

Journalists should never face the threat of jail for doing their jobs.

What is remarkable about the Mailfas and the Samoa Observer isnt only their brave fight for press freedom here in Samoa and their steadfast belief in quality journalism; it is also their dedication to defending journalists rights wherever in the world they are threatened.

It was also their dedication to defending journalists rights wherever in the world they are threatened. It was a wonderful feeling to open up Thursdays edition of the Samoa Observer and to find inside pages dedicated to press freedom challenges in places as far away as North Cyprus, where, incidentally, two courageous journalists face criminal defamation charges for their criticism of Turkeys president.

It brought a smile to my face, because it represents what is so valuable about the I.P.I. network: journalists who will stand in solidarity with one another to defend their fundamental right to inform the public.

Today, globally, press freedom is once again under attack. In Turkey, more than 150 journalists are currently behind bars, victims of a mass crackdown on dissent and systematically denied their right to a fair trial. Until recently, the list of jailed journalists include IPI Executive Board member Kadri Gursel.

In Mexico, 23 journalists have been murdered since January, 2017, mostly in relation to their coverage of corruption, orgainsed crime or drug trafficking.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, in none of those cases have the killers or masterminds been brought to justice. In Nigeria, editor Jones Abiri was abducted by secret police, reportedly tortured, and held with charges for two years until finally being released this month thanks to pressure from IPI and its members in the country.

But threats to press freedom are also emerging in places where they were to be least expected, in established democracies like the United States, home of the First Amendment, where the current president smears the media as an enemy of the people. In the best case, such language undermines reader trust in critical journalism; in the worst case, it turns editors and reporters into targets for violence. Unfortunately, it is also a gift to repressive governments around the globe, who gladly adopt such anti-media rhetoric and sharpen it for their own uses.

In such difficult times, when the legal and political guarantees of press freedom start to fray, it will fall once again on journalists themselves to stand in solidarity and defend their work, and to explain to their readers and to all members of society, why free and independent journalism matters and why we must fight to protect it. Explain what Thomas Jefferson meant when he said, as quoted in this Thursdays edition of the Samoa Observer, that he preferred to have newspapers without a government rather than a government without newspapers.

The fight for press freedom remains an uphill one; but with institutions like the Samoa Observer on our side, it is one that we can win.

On behalf of I.P.I., I would like to congratulate the Samoa Observer on its 40th anniversary and thank Savea Mailfa and his team for their unwavering support for press freedom and quality journalism in Samoa, in the South Pacific and around the globe.

We look forward to many, many more years of this newspapers strong, independent voice, and I can assure you that IPI will be there to support it. Thank you and faafetai.SYDNEY (AP)  Australia's latest leader, Scott Morrison, spoke with President Donald Trump, organized his Cabinet and met drought-affected farmers on Saturday as the backlash continued over yet another prime minister selected by an internal party vote.

A day after replacing Malcolm Turnbull following a ballot among parliamentarians from the ruling Liberal Party, Morrison had what he called a "great" phone conversation with Trump.

"Had a great discussion with @realDonaldTrump this morning," Morrison tweeted. "We affirmed the strength of the relationship between the US and Australia."

Trump had earlier tweeted: "Congratulations to new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. There are no greater friends than the United States and Australia!"

During their conversation, Trump and Morrison underscored the importance of the bilateral partnership between the U.S. and Australia and pledged to continue to closely cooperate on priorities shared by the two countries, the White House said.

Morrison, who also spoke by phone to Joko Widodo, president of Australia's neighbor Indonesia, may meet Trump in person in November at a Pacific Rim summit in Papua New Guinea. Trump is reportedly considering a visit to Australia on the same trip.

Australia's 30th prime minister spent his first full day in office in meetings to sort out his Cabinet, with the only announcement so far being that new deputy Liberal Party leader Josh Frydenberg would take over Morrison's role as treasurer. Speculation was mounting that incumbent Foreign Minister Julie Bishop could follow Turnbull by quitting politics, after her unsuccessful run at the leadership in Friday's party vote, in which Morrison eventually beat Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, 45 votes to 40.

Morrison made brief public comments Saturday before meeting in Canberra, the capital, with farmers battling a severe drought that is affecting Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, in particular.

"There are many challenges our country has  our economic security, our national security," Morrison said. "I had the opportunity this morning to speak with President Trump and President Widodo, (I) will say about that another time. But (the) really important meeting in our country right at the moment is dealing with the drought."

But while Morrison put on a positive and upbeat public face, many Australians were still seething after his elevation to the prime ministership by his party, in a vote initiated to try to boost the Liberals' chances of holding power in the next election.

Turnbull is the fourth prime minister  from both the conservative Liberal Party and more leftist Labor Party  to be dumped by his or her own party before serving a full three-year term since this modern trend of leader-swapping began in 2010.

Social media was still abuzz Saturday with widespread anger and dismay that the country had a new leader without the public having had a say.

Prominent actor Magda Szubanski, star of the hit 1995 movie "Babe," spoke for many when she tweeted: "Well, if it wasn't clear before, it is crystal clear after the events of this week...what the people want counts for zero. It doesn't matter who we like, who we vote for or what policies we want. It is ALL about politicians' own agendas."

Others were even more scathing, with many expressing a wish that the nation's politicians would concentrate on doing what they were elected to do  run the country  rather than become derailed by in-party factional fighting and, of course, leadership spills. Many urged Morrison to call an early election to let the public make its choice.

On a well patronized message board on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website, a respondent identifying herself as Alana C. wrote: "Call an election and let's be done with the bulls(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk). Australians really don't care about your squabbles, we want you to do your damn job. You know, the one we work our asses off to pay you to do?"

While the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper lamented on Friday that Australian democracy was now "a laughing stock", humorists continued to gain mileage out of this latest leadership coup.

A meme widely spread on social media featuring American comedian Drew Carey said, "Welcome to Australia  where voting is compulsory and the results don't matter."

There was disquiet, too, within the Liberal Party. More than one Liberal member of Parliament attacked their former prime minister Tony Abbott  the parliamentarian seen as having engineered Friday's vote to topple Turnbull, who had himself replaced Abbott in the top job in the Liberals' previous internal coup in 2015.

Liberal lawmakers Andrew Laming and Warren Entsch urged Abbott to resign.

"I think his mission is accomplished," Entsch told News Corporation. "He has got rid of his nemesis. Everything there was purely about revenge."

Abbott, however, appeared unrepentant in a brief meeting with reporters in Sydney on Saturday, pledging to give Morrison his "total support."NEW YORK (AP)  For Michael Cohen and Donald Trump, it's always been about money and loyalty.

Those were guiding principles for Cohen when he served as more than just a lawyer for Trump during the developer's rise from celebrity to president-elect. Cohen brokered deals for the Trump Organization, profited handsomely from a side venture into New York City's real estate and taxi industries and worked to make unflattering stories about Trump disappear.

Money and loyalty also drove Cohen to make guilty pleas this past week in a spinoff from the swirling investigations battering the Trump White House.

Feeling abandoned by Trump and in dire financial straits, the man who once famously declared that he would "take a bullet" for Trump now is pledging loyalty to his own family and actively seeking to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

The unraveling of their relationship was laid bare Tuesday when Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges and said in federal court that he broke campaign finance laws as part of a cover-up operation that Trump had directed.

In the days after Cohen's guilty plea, two close associates  the magazine boss who helped him squash bad stories and the top financial man at the president's business  have been granted immunity for their cooperation. These moves could have a ripple effect on the legal fortunes of Cohen and, perhaps, Trump.

For years, Cohen was a fixture in Trump's orbit.

Working alongside Trump and Trump's three adult children  Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric  in Trump Tower, Cohen took on a number of roles for the developer, including emissary for projects in foreign capitals and enforcer of Trump's will. At times a bully for a family-run business, Cohen was known for his hot temper as he strong-armed city workers, reluctant business partners and reporters.

He was there in the lobby of Trump Tower in June 2015 when his boss descended an escalator and changed history by declaring his candidacy for president. But Cohen's place in Trump's political life ended up being peripheral.

Cohen did become a reliable surrogate on cable TV  he created a viral moment by repeating "Says who?" when told Trump was down in the polls  and founded the candidate's faith-based organization. But Cohen was never given a prominent spot in the campaign.

And despite telling confidants that he thought he had a shot at White House chief of staff after the election, Cohen was never given a West Wing job. He remained in New York when Trump moved to Washington.

Cohen found ways to profit from the arrangement, making millions from corporations by selling access to Trump, but felt adrift and isolated from Trump, according to two people familiar with his thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.

But early one April morning, more than three dozen federal agents raided Cohen's home, office and hotel room.

A chief focus for investigators was Cohen's role in making payments during Trump's campaign to women who claimed they had sex with Trump, and whether campaign finance laws were violated. In the fall of 2016, weeks before the election, Cohen had set up a limited liability company in Delaware to hide the deal he made to silence the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels about an affair she said she had with Trump.

Worry grew within the White House about what had been seized. That April day, Trump berated the raid as "an attack on all we stand for." But then, in a "Fox & Friends" interview, Trump began to dramatically play down his relationship with Cohen.

"I have nothing to do with his business," Trump said, asserting that Cohen was just one of many lawyers and was responsible for "a tiny, tiny fraction" of Trump's legal work.

A dispute soon broke out between Cohen and Trump over who would pay the former fixer's mounting legal bills. Holed up in a Park Avenue hotel after his apartment flooded, Cohen began to worry about his financial future, according to the two people.

By all appearances, Cohen's lifestyle was lavish.

He bought a $6.7 million Manhattan apartment last fall, though the sale didn't close until April and no one could move in until the summer. With bills piling up for his team of expensive lawyers, the suddenly unemployed Cohen began to tell confidants that he was worried about his job prospects and ability to support his family.

Meanwhile, the broadsides from the White House kept coming.

Trump and Cohen had long stopped speaking, but word would get back to the lawyer that the president was belittling him. The president's attorney and frequent attack dog Rudy Giuliani went from calling Cohen "an honest, honorable lawyer" in May to deriding him as a "pathological liar" in July.

Cohen began wondering to friends whether loyalty with Trump had become a one-way street, the people said.

Eager to hit back and attempt to regain some hold on the story, Cohen hired Lanny Davis, a former Bill Clinton attorney, to be his public relations lawyer. Davis began striking back at the White House and lobbed a clear warning shot at the president when he released a secret recording of a conversation in which Trump appears to have knowledge about hush-money payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also alleged an affair with the developer.

Cohen was embraced by the cable news networks as an irresistible foil to Trump. Some on the left styled him as a star of the resistance. Cohen's camp made some effort to play into the role, reaching out to Watergate whistleblower John Dean and, after Cohen's plea, establishing an online fundraising tool that seemed to predominantly receive backing from liberals.

Cohen, who could get about four years to five years in prison, is due to be sentenced Dec. 12.

Davis has strongly telegraphed that Cohen is willing to cooperate with Mueller's investigation. But a deal has yet to be struck and there are doubts about what Cohen can prove or whether the special counsel would want to rely on an untrustworthy witness.

Cohen has stayed out of sight and has remained emotional since his plea, according to the people close to him.

The attacks from Trump have continued.

"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" Trump tweeted Wednesday.Whether they do dance or drum circles, students learn better and gain a more well-rounded education when art is part of their school day, Vista Superintendent Linda Kimble said at a meeting on Friday, kicking off the districts plan to include arts education in all classrooms.

The arts have been shown to have a positive cognitive impact, Kimble said. We know that the arts on not only good for students talents, but also for the development of the person as a whole.

The district launched the initiative, dubbed MARVEL, (Music and Arts Resurgence in Vista Extends Learning,) at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, opening with a violin performance by students of T.H.E. Leadership Academy, a Vista elementary school.

Participants in the meeting included Vista teachers and administrators, as well as local arts and music leaders. Kimble said the outreach effort will continue with quarterly meetings at different regional arts organizations.

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The district already provides arts as part of special subject wheels at its elementary schools, and offers more comprehensive programs at magnet schools, including Casita Center for Science, Math and Technology and the Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts. The new plan would make it part of the school day for all students in kindergarten through 12th grade, Kimble said.

Over time, our hope is that well move from that wheel concept to actually full time music teachers in residence at the school, she said. We already have arts teachers in our secondary schools, but we hope to expand it. Our goal is to grow that so that each child has an equitable opportunity for multiple art forms.

To reach that goal, she said, the district aims to hire art teachers, and also train general education teachers to incorporate creative disciplines into their curriculum. Its also casting a wide net for outside assistance.

This is the partnership arena, where we try to build external support for the arts, Kimble said. Its necessary because we dont have the resources to equip our kids with all the instruments and paints and dance shoes that we need.

Shes seeking help from companies and foundations who can help purchase instruments and art supplies, or community members who can donate hand-me-downs and volunteer their time.

Well take that dented tuba, Kimble said. Well take that flute thats under the bed. We dont care if its ugly. We need you. We need guest artists. We need people who can do murals with our kids.

In recent decades, arts education was relegated to the back burner, as schools followed direction of the No Child Left Behind Act, a federal law which focused on improving basic skills in math, reading and writing. In an effort to comply with those mandates, many districts cut funding for school music classes and art lessons, offering them as extracurricular activities rather than part of the curriculum.

They had blindfolds on, not knowing that if they had music and arts as part of that curriculum, that all the test scores would rise, said David Jewell, marketing communications manager at Yamaha Corporation of America, who attended the meeting Friday.

The pendulum is starting to swing back, with new federal funding and policy supporting arts education. In 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act, which stressed the need for a well-rounded education, including arts and music instruction.

Its not just for those who can afford it, said Anne Fennell, performing arts department chair at Mission Vista High School.Its not just for after school programs. It needs to be part of their every single day experience.

Eric Weirather, band teacher at Rancho Buena Vista High School, said the benefits of music and arts education goes beyond well beyond test scores. Students involved in those subjects not only do better in school, but also feel better about themselves, he said.

Of course we can look for all the things the art can do with math, and English, and working together as a team, he said. But music is really about touching the soul, and having that place to go when things are tough or rough.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennanAs a political science student in college, Scott Chadwick wanted to be an elected official. Instead, he ended up working for five of them.

Chadwick, 46, became Carlsbads new city manager Aug. 1, where as the citys top administrator his direct supervisors are the members of the City Council.

I take my cues from the council as a whole, he said. His job is to implement the councils policies and stay as far out of politics as possible.

Most of Chadwicks career has been with the city of San Diego, where he was chief operating officer from 2013 to 1018. His efforts there were praised by the California League of Cities and others for improving service, increasing transparency and boosting community engagement

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I realized that the attraction was the operations side, he said Wednesday in an interview at Carlsbad City Hall.

Chadwick grew up in the tiny East County community of Dehesa, where his parents still live. His mother, Gloria Chadwick, is a nurse and has served 20 years as an elected member of the Grossmont Healthcare District board of trustees.

His aunt Florence Chadwick, born in 1918 in San Diego, is one for the record books.

She became the fastest woman to swim the English channel in 1950, and a year later, the first woman to swim the channel in both directions. She went on to become the first woman to swim the 26 miles from Catalina Island to the California coast, and she accomplished numerous other open-water swimming firsts.

Scott Chadwick earned his bachelors degree from Purdue University, then served eight years in the U.S. Army, including three years on active duty and the rest in the reserves and National Guard.

Then he launched his career in San Diego as a labor relations officer for the city and moved up to human resources director in 2009.

Now he said he hopes to bring some stability to Carlsbads administration. The occupants of the city managers office have changed repeatedly in recent years, each time with little explanation to the public.

The turmoil began in 2012, when Lisa Hildabrand resigned suddenly after eight years on the job. Her replacement, John W. Coates, left less than a year later because of an undisclosed personnel matter.

Steve Sarkozy, formerly of Bellevue, Wash., was chosen from a national field of 42 applicants, but left in 2015 after just one year, saying he was not the right fit for the job. After he left, Assistant City Manager Kathy Dodson served as interim city manager.

Chadwick takes the helm from Kevin Crawford, who had retired as Carlsbads fire chief after almost 30 years with the city. Crawford was in a new job leading the United Way in San Diego, when Carlsbad brought him back in 2016 to be interim city manager.

City officials said one of the reasons for bringing the former fire chief back was that he could help find someone to fill the city manager job for the long term.

Chadwick said he hopes to be the steady leader the city has been looking for.

I want to be here as long as theyll have me, he said.

For now, the new job includes a long daily commute. He and his wife, Christina, and their new daughter, Caroline Paige, born on the Fourth of July, live in Point Loma, where they enjoy being a few blocks away from his wifes family.

His first three weeks have been a crash course in all things Carlsbad, including a number of short- and long-term projects the city has in the works.

For example, the city is reviewing proposals for its first full-time beach lifeguard program, which could go to the council for approval in a few months.

Also, the city is looking at four possible locations for a new civic center, which could break ground in 2023. And, farther out, the council has talked about placing the downtown train tracks into a trench below street level to reduce noise, ease traffic and improve public safety.

A project like lowering the railroad tracks would take years and cost many millions of dollars, but the payoff for the community is big.

If these projects were easy, there would be a line (to do them), Chadwick said. These are truly challenging, and it presents an opportunity for us to shine.

Carlsbad has 685 full-time and 179 part-time employees. The fiscal year 2017-18 budget is $311.6 million, with a cash reserve of $88 million.

Chadwicks base salary is $295,581 a year, according to a copy of his contract posted on the citys website. He also gets a monthly vehicle allowance of $1,000 along with vacation, insurance and other benefits.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehlThe entrance of the Oceanside harbor, which missed its annual spring cleaning this year, will get a special dredging in October to keep the channel safe for navigation, federal officials announced Friday.

Ocean waves and currents constantly push sand into the harbor, which requires periodic maintenance to stay open. A recent city survey showed the channels average depth was down to 16 feet, with spots as shallow as 8 or 9 feet.

On a low tide and a south swell, its pretty treacherous out there, Harbor Division Manager Ted Schiafone told the citys Harbor and Beaches Advisory Committee this week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the harbor entrance, which is used by recreational and commercial boats from Oceanside and military vessels from Camp Pendleton.

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The Corps was unable to do the dredging as scheduled in April because the agency failed to get a permit required by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Manson Construction, the same contractor that did the work last year and was scheduled to do it in April, will return this fall, states a news release from the Corps of Engineers on Friday. The cost is expected to be about $3.5 million.

Sand dredged from the harbor is used to replenish Oceanside beaches as a byproduct of the maintenance project.

About 250,000 cubic yards of material are removed from the harbor most years, and usually the work takes about three weeks. Last year, Oceanside added $600,000 to the $3.7 million federal contract to boost the total volume of sand to 440,000 cubic yards placed on the citys beaches.

The amount of material to be dredged in October is still being negotiated between the Corps of Engineers and the city, said Dena ODell, deputy chief of public affairs for the Corps in Los Angeles.

Also under negotiation is whether Manson will return for dredging in the spring, she said.

Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss, who was on vacation this week, sent the Corps a letter requesting they dredge this fall and next spring, said Kiel Koger, the citys public works director.

We have been measuring the channel depths along with the Corps all summer, Koger said in an email Friday. It was explained to the Corps that this situation needed their immediate attention. City staff will be meeting with Col. Aaron Barta and other Corps staff next week to discuss further.

The harbor and its activities are significant factors in Oceansides tourism-based economy.

Oceanside Adventures, which runs whale-watching and sightseeing trips out of the harbor, has canceled a number of excursions this summer because of the poor harbor conditions.

The cost of missed trips has really started to add up, Donna Kalez, general manager of the business, said Friday.

We are pleased to see that the dredge will begin, Kalez said. And we are confident that they will dredge the entrance channel back to a depth of 26 feet. At 16 feet, its really made it challenging.

Schiafone, the harbor manager, also said Friday he was pleased with the news.

That should ensure safe passage for our recreational and commercial vessels through next spring, he said in an email.

City officials had hoped the dredging might begin in September, but environmental restrictions prevent that.

The California least tern  and endangered subspecies  can be present in the area through September, states the Corps of Engineers news release. Dredging, habitat loss, nesting disturbance, pollution and predation by domestic and wild animals are all threats to the species.

Coastal communities throughout San Diego County depend on periodic replenishment projects to keep sand on their eroding beaches.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehlAlto saxophonist Christopher Hollyday was only 14 when he made his 1985 debut album, Treaty.

By 1989, he had signed a major label record deal, recorded with such greats as Ron Carter and Cedar Walton, and was being hailed as one of jazzs most promising young lions.

A year later, Hollyday made his San Diego area debut at Elarios. After his career cooled off, he moved here in 1996 and became the band director at Valley Center High School.

The Boston native began teaching privately five years ago, allowing him more time to focus on his own music. On Friday at the all-ages Dizzys, hell celebrate the release of his vibrant new album Telepathy, his first release in 26 years.

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Hell be accompanied by the same talent-rich quartet featured on Telepathy  pianist Joshua White, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, bassist Rob Thorsen and drummer Tyler Kreutel (who counts Castellanos as an early mentor).

Christopher Hollyday album release concert: 8 p.m. Friday. Dizzys at Arias Hall (behind the Musicians Association building), 1717 Morena Blvd., Bay Park. $20 (advance at Christopher Hollyday.com); $25 at the door); $15 (students). (858) 270-7467. dizzysjazz.com

george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevargaDana Rohrabacher, the embattled Orange County congressman known for his close ties to the Kremlin, said Friday that Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions should resign after showing disloyalty to President Trump by refusing to shut down the Russia investigation.

For a Republican incumbent already in danger of losing his seat in a district that favored Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016, the remarks carried the risk of serious political damage.

In most of the nations hotly contested House races, the Russia scandal has not been a big focus. But Rohrabachers friendly posture toward Russian President Vladimir Putin has caused trouble in his run for reelection.

His latest comments came a day after Sessions responded to Trumps extraordinary attacks on his own attorney general by saying the Justice Department will not be improperly influenced by political considerations.

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The fact that Jeff Sessions has not quit is a disloyalty to this president and to the country, Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) told Fox Business Network. The fact is, if he disagrees with what the president wants him to do, he should resign.

The president reiterated on Fox News this week that Sessions should not have recused himself from the criminal investigation of Russias interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the Trump campaigns possible involvement. Sessions cited a potential conflict with his role as a top advisor to the campaign.

He took the job as attorney general, Trump said, and then he said Im going to recuse myself  I said what kind of a man is this? And by the way, he was on the campaign. You know, the only reason I gave him the job, because I felt loyalty.

Rohrabacher attacked the medias coverage of the Russia scandal, saying it has made it politically impossible for Trump to fire Sessions.

The fake news has created the situation where if the president does whats right, so that he can assume his authority as president, there would be an avalanche saying, Oh, its part of the cover-up, he said. Theyve been looking for collusion.

Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. (Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press)

The congressmans remarks drew a scalding attack from his Democratic challenger, Harley Rouda, who cast Rohrabacher as a tool of Putin.

Its an utterly radical, un-American idea to attack the Attorney General because he is resisting efforts to pervert the Department of Justices truth-seeking mission with the worst kind of craven, partisan politics, Rouda said by email.

The truth  that Dana cant or wont comprehend  is that justice in America and the enforcement of our nations laws are not based on a loyalty test. Thats the way things work in dictatorships, not in the greatest democracy the world has ever known.

Democratic congressional candidate Harley Rouda in Newport Beach. (Krysta Fauria / Associated Press)

Rohrabacher is one of the dozens of Republicans in Congress facing tough fights for reelection as Democrats try to seize control of the House in the November midterm election.

Trumps unpopularity in upscale suburban districts such as Rohrabachers poses major problems for the GOP. First elected to Congress 30 years ago, Rohrabacher typically romps to reelection.

But his coastal district, which stretches from Seal Beach to South Laguna, is less solidly Republican than it used to be.

And Rohrabachers friendliness toward Russia has become a big political liability as special counsel Robert S. Mueller III prosecutes a growing circle of Trump advisors. Rohrabacher has long called for closer U.S. ties to Russia. Critics call him Putins favorite congressman.

In a private meeting with GOP colleagues last year, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) was caught on tape saying he suspected Rohrabacher and Trump were on Putins payroll, the Washington Post reported.

In his Fox Business Network interview, Rohrabacher also defended Trumps alleged approval of a $130,000 payoff to adult-film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet before the 2016 election about her alleged 2006 affair with Trump.

Stormy Daniels in West Hollywood in May. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)

When Michael Cohen, the Trump lawyer who brokered the deal, pleaded guilty this week to eight felonies, including making the illicit payment to Daniels to influence the election, he testified that Trump ordered him to pay her the hush money.

The guy whos mistakenly handling it so that every bit of the procedure isnt correct, hes not the villain, Rohrabacher said of the president. The villain is the person blackmailing him.

He added, Sometimes people make mistakes when theyre a little bit desperate.

These comments are outrageous and false, said Michael Avenatti, Daniels attorney. Who is this disgusting pig who knows nothing about the facts of our case?

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, is suing the president to void the nondisclosure agreement between her and Trump. Her suit came days after the presidents lawyers filed an arbitration claim seeking millions of dollars from Daniels for allegedly breaking the confidentiality pact.

michael.finnegan@latimes.com

Twitter: @finneganLATSan Diegos beloved (and nationally-renowned) Old Globe Theatre, ensconced in its picturesque three-stage Balboa Park complex, has operated for more than 80 years. One of the countrys top professional regional theaters, its productions and community programs entertain and educate more than 250,000 people annually. Numerous Globe-developed plays have gone on to award-winning runs on Broadway and regional theaters across the nation.

Such theaters, despite being of exceptional value to the communities they serve, dont make a profit even if they sell every single seat  so donations and volunteer support are necessary. In 1955, The Globe Guilders auxiliary was formed with a mission to promote the Globes artistic and arts engagement programs by raising funds, promoting membership and attendance, and encouraging volunteer service. Organization membership now exceeds 200 devotees.

Linda Van Vark, Jo Ann Kilty, Thomas Melody, Darlene Davies, Karen Ann Daniels, Silvija Devine (Vincent Andrunas)

The Guilders recently hosted Celebrating Couture 2018, its 28th annual fashion show and luncheon. Globe Guilders president Kim Neopole chaired the event, aided by co-chairs Pam Maudsley-Merrill, Mary Roberts, Lisa Berry Shaw, and Lynn Silva. Held at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa, this years event drew more than 500 attendees. It honored Peggy Matthews, a well-loved fashion and publicity icon and active Guilders member from 1974 until her passing earlier this year. This was always one of her favorite events to attend and support.

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Barry Edelstein, Pam Maudsley-Merrill, Lisa Berry Shaw, Kim Neapole, Mary Roberts, Lynn Silva, Tim Shields (Vincent Andrunas)

Festivities began with a champagne reception and large silent auction before taking seats in the ballroom. President Neopole welcomed them, and Barry Edelstein  the Globes greatly-admired artistic director  thanked all concerned, particularly The Globe Guilders, who he called the heart and soul of The Old Globe. Stressing the belief that theater matters, he described the Globes artistic and arts engagement programs that bring theatre to people in schools, senior centers, homeless shelters, refugee centers, correctional institutions, and active-duty military throughout the county, making a positive impact on the community.

After a spirited five-item live auction, Neiman Marcus VP/GM Thomas Melody introduced the fashion show. His company has generously partnered with the Guilders for this event for 11 straight years. Twenty professional models presented an exceptional array of stunning pret-a-porter and couture fashions, with fabulous musical accompaniment, in a 30-minute nonstop high-energy show.

An excellent three-course lunch followed, featuring sumac-seared salmon with delicate vegetables. Dessert was flourless toffee cake. Paddle-raise pledges totaling about $20,000 helped the event net more than $100,000 for those important artistic and arts engagement programs. Afterward, fashions from the show were available for purchase in the ballroom foyer.August 25, 2006 The San Diego Union-Tribune

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.

Friday, August 25, 2006

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was no longer a full-fledged planet, demoting it to the status of a "dwarf planet." San Diego's Palomar Observatory played a role in pushing Pluto from the planetary pantheon.

Using the Palomar Observatory's Oschin telescope, Caltech astronomers Michael Brown and Chadwick Trujillo discovered a frozen celestial body almost 4 billion miles from Earth in images taken June 4 2002. The discovery of that object, called Quaoar, in 2002, as well as subsequent discoveries of other ice balls even larger than Pluto hiding in the Kuiper Belt, led to Pluto's demotion.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the story:

Pluto stripped of its A-list status

Beloved Pluto's demise will affect solar system mobiles everywhere

By Elizabeth Fitzsimons, Staff Writer

Pluto, so small and far away with its unusual orbit, has always been the odd man out, never quite fitting in with the eight other planets.

Yesterday, it was officially kicked out of the club, demoted to the status of "dwarf planet." That doesn't mean the decision won't have a big impact.

Although they didn't start out to do it, astronomers using the Palomar Observatory played a role in giving Pluto the cold shoulder.

It was at Palomar that the discovery of UB 313 was announced last year.Nicknamed "Xena," it is larger than Pluto, and pushed scientists to settle the debate over Pluto's status.

If Pluto remained a planet, what would Xena and Ceres, the largest asteroid, be? Now, they are dwarf planets, too.

"You have to decide at what level do you stop calling something a planet and start calling it something else," said Allen Shafter, astronomy department chair at San Diego State University. SDSU.

Though most people saw it coming, there will be some adjusting. The mobiles, the models, the textbooks and glow-in-the-dark solar system ceiling stickers.

And what of the mnemonic device often taught to schoolchildren to remember the planets: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas? "You can't just stop at `Nine.' You could say nutmeg or noodles or whatever you like," said Scott Kardel, spokesman for the Palomar Observatory.

There was resistance to the demotion, of course. People don't like change.And they like Pluto  it had some mystery, it was the little guy,deserving of affection and sympathy. Pluto was the name of Mickey Mouse's dog, after all.

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.Dukes toast.

Thirteen years ago, I offended a lot of Union-Tribune readers, many of them veterans, for the dead-certain prediction that a North County congressman named Randall Harold Cunningham was politically burned long before the walls closed in on him and he was forced to admit his guilt in a courtroom.

How can you be so cock-sure? I was asked.

Have you seen the black-and-white evidence as reported in the U-T? I responded. (A year later, the U-T won a Pulitzer Prize for its great reporting.)

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The same sort of morality play overtook Bob Filner. The mayor was dead in the water long before he faced reality and resigned.

The speed of political light far exceeds the deliberate speed of justice.

Well, here we go again.

Young Duncs toast.

The only suspense, in my view, is how burned hell be. To a black crisp or to a light brown.

The painstakingly detailed federal indictment against Rep. Duncan Hunter and wife Margaret, which drills into everything from family vacations to airfare for the family rabbit, merely confirms what San Diegans, thanks in large part to this newspapers watchdog reporting, have strongly suspected for some time: This prodigal son of an East County political patriarch has gone way beyond the pale.

Naturally, speculation about where the defiant Hunter the Younger goes from here is all over the place.

Try to win the November election in the hopes that a majority of voters in East County dont know how to vote for someone not named Duncan and Hunter?

Resign from office and give up the congressional paycheck?

My advice, at least for the time being, avoids the binary choice of fight or flee. There is a halfway option.

If I were counseling the hunted Hunter, Id say theres one time-buying option that makes personal and political sense.

Rehab.

Granted, I have no particular insight into the psychological conditions that triggered the Hunter familys frenetic need to spend way beyond its means.

But I can say as a disinterested moral observation that the Hunters are way too old to be so profligate that theyd repeatedly overdraw their banking account and, out of apparent desperation, draw upon campaign funds like a household ATM.

Something is terribly wrong with this horror show. The personal story behind the story will not be pretty. You can take that to the bank.

As it happens, I have a son whos almost exactly the same age as the 41-year-old Hunter.

My sons biggest worry?

How to save enough money to pay for the kids college.

Hunters biggest concern, as reflected in the indictment? How to wring as much raucous pleasure as possible out of his life.

Cunninghams wife famously referred to her husband, the most corrupt congressman in history, as Mr. Fun-Ball.

In Cunninghams case, the offenses involving defense contracts were so grave that I felt emboldened to ask the debatable question of readers: Who is the greater traitor? Hanoi Jane Fonda or Duke?

Hunters alleged corruption doesnt reach the leviathan-level of Cunninghams, but the depressing profile appears the same: A war hero whose sense of civilian entitlement far exceeds his moral sense of duty to his country.

Like Cunningham, Hunter appears to have believed that hes owed an excitement-filled life, a manic instinct thats come home to roost in a dirty bed of guano.

By D.C. reputation, Hunter played like Mr. Fun-Ball, but hes bounced into foul territory where he had to sell his house, move in with dad, his familys penury a matter of public scrutiny.

Mortifying, Im sure.

If hes smart, Hunter will get himself to rehab and reboot.

Sure, the clock is ticking. If hes to remain in Congress for the long haul, a tough bank shot, hes going to have to convince his constituents that he has a problem  Alcohol? Drugs? PTSD?  that hes now faced and, thanks to his constituents faith in him, he can weather this storm and emerge a better husband, father and man.

While its unlikely federal prosecutors will be moved to tears, voters (and possibly a jury) could reach for the hankies and give him a break.

Somebody close to Hunter has to tell him that, at best, the Trumpian Deep State defense puts him in position to get a job on alt-right radio.

Sure, its possible his defense team could appeal to a juror or two whod be inclined to nullify a rational guilty verdict on Trumpian grounds, but the vast majority of San Diegans, including a lot of Marines, wont be taken in by feverish conspiracy fantasies.

No, to get out of this fix with his honor intact, Hunter must dive deep into his psyche, not rail against a shadowy state out to get him.

Get thee to rehab, congressman.

And when you emerge, your head cleared, your soul cleansed, the answer to the fundamental question  fight or resign  will be as obvious as the hare on your head.

Logan Jenkins is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at lbjenkins5437@gmail.comIn recent years deadly brain tumors have challenged both Jimmy Carter and John McCain, but the two political icons have had vastly different treatment results.

The Arizona senator died Saturday after a year in treatment while the former president was declared cancer-free just four months after he started therapy in 2015.

How could these two men with household names have such opposite outcomes?

The answer, said Dr. Ezra Cohen, associate director of Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego, has to do with the specific physical and genetic characteristics involved.

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Carters brain tumor was caused by metastatic melanoma which started in a distant part of the 39th presidents body and traveled to his brain. McCains tumor was a malignancy called a glioblastoma, the most common kind of malignant brain tumor.

For most of human history, both metastatic melanoma and glioblastoma had similarly dire prognoses. Most patients didnt live more than a few years after diagnosis.

But the advent of immunotherapy drugs has dramatically changed the survival odds for melanoma.

Metastatic melanoma, due to immunotherapy, is now on the complete other end of the spectrum from glioblastoma, Cohen said. Were now seeing melanoma patients who are nearly a decade from treatment and are still showing no signs of recurrence. Were beginning to think that these patients are cured.

Not so for glioblastoma. Survival after diagnosis continues to range from one to two years.

Why hasnt glioblastoma seen the same kind of progress?

Cohen said it all comes down to mutation.

Melanoma, Cohen noted, has a highly-mutated form of cancer which has made it one of the toughest forms of to treat once it spreads from its initial location. But having a high mutation rate also makes it more likely that melanoma cells will be detected and responded to by the bodys immune system. Mutation just makes it more likely that there will be all sorts of abnormal features on the outside of melanoma cells that the bodys immune system will recognize as foreign and attack.

New checkpoint immunotherapies such as Keytruda, the drug that produced president Carters miraculous recovery, rev up the response of immune systems of patients that cancer cells have tricked into semi-dormancy.

But other forms of cancer such as glioblastoma have fewer mutations, and fewer abnormal features that set off immune system alarms. Revving up the immune system, Cohen noted, doesnt do much good if it has not adequately detected the cancer in the first place.

Glioblastoma has 100-fold less mutation than melanoma does, and that makes it a poorer target for these drugs, Cohen said.

Though the checkpoint inhibitors that are getting dramatic results in many forms of cancer have significantly less effect for glioblastoma, some think they may actually be capable of some change. Though initial trials have shown poor results, some researchers have speculated that what looks like continued growth after immunotherapy treatment may actually be the inflammation that indicates a strong immune response.

A large trial is currently underway to determine the exact effect of checkpoint inhibitors on glioblastoma while other smaller trials are attempting to target these tumors based on other unique characteristics they possess.

Sharp HealthCares Laurel Amtower Cancer Institute is one of 215 organizations worldwide enrolling patients in a trial that uses a special type of receptor that pops up on about half of glioblastoma cells to target a cancer-killing drug. Early-phase trials are also starting to show tantalizing results using cancer-killing viruses and vaccines.

Dr. Charles Redfern of the Amtower Institute said it has been difficult seeing some patients benefit while others continue to suffer. But he noted that, with melanoma, there were many years of small advances before the sudden sea change brought by the latest crop of drugs.

I have a patient like Jimmy Carter where his disease has pretty much gone into remission. We would love to that that same kind of result in glioblastoma, Redfern said.

Former President Jimmy Carter, 93, responded quickly to treatment after he was diagnosed with a melanoma in his brain in 2015. (John Amis / AP)

Health Playlist On Now Video: Why aren't Americans getting flu shots? 0:37 On Now Video: Leaders urge public to help extinguish hepatitis outbreak On Now San Diego starts cleansing sidewalks, streets to combat hepatitis A On Now Video: Scripps to shutter its hospice service On Now Video: Scripps La Jolla hospitals nab top local spot in annual hospital rankings On Now Video: Does a parent's Alzheimer's doom their children? On Now Video: Vaccine can prevent human papillomavirus, which can cause cancer 0:31 On Now 23 local doctors have already faced state discipline in 2017 0:48 On Now EpiPen recall expands On Now Kids can add years to your life

paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1850

Twitter: @paulsisson

UPDATES:

This article was updated with additional details at 12:28 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26. It was originally posted at 6:25 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 24.The Trump administration is preserving its ability to appeal a San Diego judges preliminary injunction against family separation, although the government assured that an appeal would not derail the current effort to reunify the hundreds of children who remain apart as a result of the administrations controversial policy.

The protective notice to appeal was filed with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Friday afternoon, just under the 60-day deadline.

Hours earlier, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Stewart warned the judge overseeing the reunifications that the protective notice of appeal was coming, but said that it is standard protocol and would not disrupt the ongoing reunficiation effort.

The notice preserves the governments right to appeal the larger issues at stake surrounding families being processed through the U.S. immigration system.

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There are continuous issues being raised by various plaintiffs that have created continued doubt as to the scope and application of the courts injunction, Stewart said.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw thanked Stewart for the heads up, saying: I fully understand the need for all parties to protect their rights.

While Stewart did not provide specific examples, there have been a number of recent cases that illustrate the complexities involved.

For instance, does the injunction cover families that come with both parents if only one is separated? That question was at the forefront of a recent San Diego case involving three asylum-seeking Salvadoran fathers who were put into adult detention while their wives and children went to family detention centers together, then were later released.

Or what about parents who are arrested not at the border but elsewhere in the country? What if they have U.S. citizen children?

The governments warning of an appeal came at the end of a weekly status hearing on the landmark lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The parties are well into a massive effort to reunify some 2,500 children separated from their parents at the border.

More than 1,900 children have rejoined their parents since the courts order, while another 200 have been placed with sponsors or have turned 18 years old, according to the latest figures from the government.

The focus now is on locating the deported parents of 343 children and then reuniting those families who wish to.

A steering committee of pro-bono lawyers and nonprofits has been conducting a massive telephone campaign to contact the parents, reaching 225 parents thus far in Mexico and Central America.

Another six parents were reached in person by Justice In Motion representatives who have ventured into remote villages.

For families who want to reunite, the plan calls for flying children to their home countries.

Sabraw on Friday called the progress report very encouraging.

Meanwhile, about 140 children remain in government custody for other reasons. Many are ineligible for reunification because their parents failed a background check or are currently in criminal custody. Others have parents who have waived reunification.

Several related legal issues that have arisen during the reunification effort remain unresolved. One involves whether children will be permitted to pursue their own asylum cases or whether their parents  many of whom were extremely distraught about being separated during their own credible fear interviews  will be given a second chance to apply for asylum. Other areas of litigation include whether parents who waived their asylum rights due to misunderstanding or alleged government coercion will get another try.

Sabraw has asked the opposing parties to try to negotiate these issues informally for now, though he has said that he leans toward allowing children to pursue asylum.

Once the reunification effort wraps up, Sabraw has asked the government to more fully address another arm of the preliminary injunction that prohibits the future separation of families once the parents are out of criminal custody.

That area is where the government would likely focus an appeal.

Sabraw has made it clear that nothing in his injunction impedes the governments discretion to enforce immigration law or to detain people.

The legal consensus  for now  is that detained parents can either decide to keep their children with them in immigration detention, or parents can decide to let their children live in government youth shelters with the possibility of placement with a sponsor.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavisShelley Malil had one goal in mind that warm summer evening in 2010: he was going to kill his on-and-off girlfriend.

A week earlier, the character actor and the pretty blond had attended a movie premiere, one with A-list Hollywood stars. But on Aug. 10, 2008, Malil felt slighted by her. So he armed himself with a knife and drove from Sherman Oaks to her San Marcos home.



For the record: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Shelley Malils current age. He is 53.

By his own admission, he was angry, he was drunk and he intended to kill.

As his unsuspecting girlfriend sat in her backyard, he calmly walked up  then plunged the knife into her three times.

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Chaos followed. He broke a wine glass to slash her, and went inside her kitchen and grabbed a second knife. She ran, he chased her.

He stabbed and sliced her.

Kendra Beebe was so gravely injured that law enforcement investigators took her dying declaration as she lay in the hospital.

She survived the ambush, 10 years ago this month. Now, she is hoping parole commissioners will reverse their decision earlier this year to release her attacker from prison.

Malil, now 53, was granted parole in January. It was his first try. But he remains behind bars, technically not eligible for release until this fall.

Shelley Malil (Photo courtesy California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

And now, after the urging of Gov. Jerry Brown, parole commissioners are reconsidering his release. That hearing is Tuesday at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Riverside County, where Malil remains incarcerated.

Beebe will participate via video conference.

I have to stand up every chance I can get, Beebe said last week. Its standing up against this predator, but its also showing other women that you cant hide in shame or fear. You have to do the right thing.

From actor to inmate

Movie fans may remember Malil in his most notable role: he played co-worker Haziz in Steve Carells hit movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He also appeared in a 2001 Super Bowl commercial as Chad, one of three preppy friends who asked each other What are you doing? in a Budweiser ad spoofing the brands own Wassup ads.

But by 2008, roles getting harder to find. Writers went on strike, production stopped. Money was also a problem.

He thought he could find solace in alcohol and a women, he told parole commissioners during his suitability hearing back in January. But life, he said, just kept spiraling.

Kendra Beebe, front, with lawyer Gloria Allred, center, talk with media after Malils sentencing hearing at the Vista Courthouse on Dec. 16, 2010. (Bill Wechter/North County Times file)

At trial, Malil claimed the attack was self-defense.

Trial testimony revealed that the pair had a yearlong on-and-off relationship. The day before the attack, theyd gone to a Leucadia beach. But Malil got angry at Beebe, took her keys and her car, and left her stranded on the sand.

Malil drove home to Sherman Oaks, got drunk, and emailed embarrassing photos to employees of a company Beebe owned.

The heavy drinking continued Sunday. He decided to kill Beebe.

The ambush

In San Marcos, on the back patio of her home not far off San Elijo Road, Beebe sipped wine with a male friend whod happened to stop by that quiet evening. Her preschool-age children were asleep upstairs.

Beebe and her friend were surprised by the sudden appearance of Malil in her backyard. According to trial testimony, he calmly walked up, arm behind his back, and leaned over as if to kiss her.

Then he thrust the knife into her torso.

Beebes friend, a musician, wrestled away the weapon, cutting his hand in the struggle. He tossed the knife out of reach and ran to call for help.

But Malil broke a wine glass and tried to cut Beebes neck. He grabbed another knife from inside her home, and continued to stab her as she tried to run.

One plunge of the knife came within a centimeter of Beebes carotid artery. During the prolonged attack, she suffered a punctured lung. Her chin was nearly sliced off.

A neighbor heard Beebes screams and intervened.

Malil also grabbed a pillow and tried to smother Beebe, who was bleeding from 23 deep, penetrating wounds.

On Aug. 31, 2010, Kendra Beebe cries as she testifies about being attacked with a knife by ex-boyfriend and Hollywood actor Shelley Malil. Seated at her right is friend Mary Thielen, there for support. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune file)

Malil told the jury that it was self-defense, that Beebes friend had attacked him and that, in the dark, he didnt know who he was stabbing.

On Sept. 16, 2010, after less than four hours of deliberations, the jury rejected his story. The panel found him guilty of premeditated attempted murder and also assault with a deadly weapon.

Malil was later sentenced to 12 years to life in prison. He would not be eligible for parole until 2018.

Parole on the first try

In January, at the prison in Blythe, Malil sat in front of parole commissioners for the first time. A transcript of the hearing shows that he admitted to the attack.

I wasnt trying to hurt her, he told the commissioners. I was trying to murder her.

He also spoke of his remorse, a torment within me for what I have done. He called it a gnawing thing that goes on with me all the time  Its the fuel that helps me want to change who I am.

While in custody, Malil took self-help classes, earned correspondence college credits, and participated in Alcoholics Anonymous.

In this Aug. 13, 2008 photo, Shelley Malil stands during at his felony arraignment in Vista Superior Court after turning himself into authorities. At right is his then-defense attorney, Sean Leslie. (Scott Linnett/San Diego Union-Tribune file)

Malil told the parole commissioners that he had been a needy black hole of self-centered existence, and over the years hes spent in prison, he had worked relentlessly, doing everything I can to create lasting and meaningful change.

The transcript includes a mention that a doctor who interviewed Malil found he posed a low risk of violence, so long as he remained sober.

Malil told the commissioners that, if he were granted parole, hed like to move to Texas to care for his elderly parents.

Forty minutes after the hearing ended, the commissioners came back with their decision. They had taken into account a number of factors, including assessments that found him at a low risk to commit future violence.

His expressions of remorse and acceptance of responsibility, the panel found them to be genuine, Presiding Commissioner Troy Taria said, according to the transcript.

Malil won a grant of parole. Beebe was floored.

The governor pushes back

Three months later, in a two-page letter to the parole board, Gov. Browns office pushed back.

The letter, signed by Brown, argues that there remains a lack of explanation as to why Malils rage escalated so far out of control, and resulted in such a prolonged horror.

The evaluating psychologist found that Mr. Malil had insight into the factors that led him to commit this crime, but I am not convinced, Browns letter states.

It goes on to say that Malils explanation that his rage came from alcoholism, jealousy arrogance and low-self worth seem shallow in comparison with his desire to annihilate Kendra Beebe.

Brown can only revoke parole if in cases of murder. Because Beebe survived, the most Brown could do was ask the 15-member parole board to review Malils grant of parole.

The board agreed to do so, and sent the matter back for two different commissioners to reconsider.

That reconsideration  known as a rescission hearing  is set for Tuesday in Blythe.

It never gets easier

Beebe said she wants to see Malil remain behind bars. But she wants more.

On Dec. 16, 2010, Kendra Beebe speaks to the press in a hallway of the Vista Courthouse, just outside the courtroom where the sentencing hearing of Shelley Malil had just occurred. To her left is lawyer Gloria Allred, and at right is prosecutor Keith Watanabe. (Charlie Neuman / San Diego Union-Tribune file photo)

She points to his admission that hed spoken to her ex-husband on the phone hours before the attack. She said theyd also had a lengthy conversation before Malil sent embarrassing emails to her employees.

In January, Malil told parole commissioners that hed called Beebes ex-husband to infuriate Beebe, as he had done before.

And it was the final thing I could do, is call him. Befriend him, Malil said, adding that Beebes ex was not receptive to it.

Beebe believes that her ex-husband put Malil up to the attack.

There is more to this story, she said last week. Its been 10 years, but I still do not have justice.

In 2010, the prosecutor in Malils case said that Malils contacts with Beebes ex-husband had been unusual, but that there was no evidence that the ex had anything to do with the attack.

Her ex-husband did not respond Friday to a request for comment.

Beebe, who has moved out of state with her children, said she hopes to speak via video conference at Malils hearing Tuesday.

It never gets easier, but I do it, she said. I am missing my kids first day of school, but I have to do it.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUTThe Orange County Coroners office on Friday released the name of a San Diego County mother was killed in an early morning freeway pileup in Irvine that also left her 6-month-old son injured.

The crash victim was Maria Osuna, 25 and a resident of National City. On Thursday, the day of the chain-reaction crash, authorities had said she was a resident of Chula Vista.

A 22-year-old Nevada man has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving following a series of collisions that killed Osuna and left nine people injured.

The first crash happened about 1:30 a.m. on southbound Interstate 5 in Irvine near Alton Parkway (just north of Interstate 405), according to the California Highway Patrol.

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Roughly 10 minutes later, a second crash occurred, this one involving the Mitsubishi Eclipse that Osuna was driving.

Osuna took off her seat belt to check on her infant son in the back seat, CHP Officer Florentino Olivera said.

Moments later, another vehicle struck the Mitsubishi, killing Osuna. Her son was taken to a trauma center.

In all, nine vehicles crashed, the CHP said.

Eight people  including three children  were taken to trauma centers, an Orange County Fire Authority captain said.

The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUTA head-on collision Friday afternoon in Poway sent three people to hospitals  including a 1-year-old boy, and a man who was airlifted with serious injuries  and shut down Poway Road in the eastern part of the city for about five hours.

The occupants of both vehicles were trapped following the crash, which happened just before 2 p.m. when an eastbound Mazda Coupe drifted into oncoming traffic and struck a Nissan Sentra, San Diego County sheriffs Sgt. David Toner said. The collision occurred about halfway between Espola Road and state Route 67.

Once freed by firefighters, the Mazdas 28-year-old driver was airlifted to a hospital, Toner said. Battalion Chief Scott Post from the Poway Fire Department told OnScene TV the man sustained lower extremity and hip injuries.

We had crews from Poway and Miramar (Fire Department) rescue that had to cut the car apart and remove the dash that was impinged on the driver, Post told OnScene TV.

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Firefighters reportedly needed about 90 minutes to free the man, who was then taken by air ambulance to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido.

The 25-year-old mother and her 1-year-old son in the Sentra were taken to Pomerado Hospital in Poway for precautionary measures, Toner said.

The cause of the crash was still under investigation Friday night, but investigators do not believe alcohol or drug impairment was a factor, Toner said.

Poway Road was shut down between Espola Road and SR-67 for about five hours. The road reopened about 7 p.m.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:

11 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published at 2:55 p.m.Two men suspected of flashing a gun at Walmart employees while shoplifting led law enforcement on a wide-ranging pursuit in Lemon Grove, La Mesa, Santee and San Diego before officers detained them with the help of a sheriffs dog on state Route 52 near Kearny Mesa, police said.

The roughly 20-minute chase began around 7:25 p.m. in Lemon Grove, not far from the Walmart Supercenter on College Avenue, where one of the suspects allegedly brandished a handgun about an hour prior to the chase, San Diego police Lt. Mike Ramsay told OnScene TV.

San Diego officers had responded to that Walmart in the Oak Park neighborhood around 6:10 p.m. to investigate a robbery report and take down suspect descriptions, Ramsay said.

Patrol officers later spotted the suspect vehicle in Lemon Grove on Broadway near Massachusetts Avenue, Officer Robert Heims said.

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But when police attempted a traffic stop, the driver refused to pull over, Ramsay told OnScene TV.

According to police radio traffic, the chase wound through Lemon Grove, La Mesa and Santee on state Route 125 and surface streets including Lemon Avenue, Fletcher Parkway, Jackson Drive, El Paso Street, Lake Murray Boulevard, Baltimore Drive and Mission Gorge Road.

With a San Diego police helicopter tracking the pursuit from the sky, officers and deputies finally chased the suspects back into San Diego on westbound state Route 52. A little west of Santo Road, the suspect vehicle pulled to the right shoulder, and the driver tried running away.

The sheriffs canine was involved in apprehending a suspect, Ramsay told OnScene TV. The dog did bite one of the suspects.

The passenger in the vehicle surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident, police said. Inside the vehicle, officers discovered what appeared to be the gun used during the Walmart incident.

Nobody was injured during the pursuit, Ramsay said. The suspects, whose names were not released, were expected to face several charges each, including armed robbery and felony evading.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.comA man was injured in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting in Vista early Saturday, sheriffs deputies said.

Dispatchers received multiple calls about a shooting about 1:20 a.m. on Townsite Drive near Hillside Terrace, sheriffs Sgt. Nathan Rowley said.

Deputies found a 37-year-old man with two gunshot wounds from a small-caliber weapon. The man was taken to Palomar Hospital, where his injuries were determined not to be life-threatening, Rowley said.

No description of a shooter was available, but a dark, newer-model Dodge Durango is believed to be associated with the attack, Rowley said.A far-reaching proposal to assist electric utility companies faced with covering billions of dollars in wildfire damage was unveiled Friday to intense debate over whether ratepayers would end up saddled with some of the bill for Californias worst-ever fire year.

With time running out before the California Legislature adjourns for the year, lawmakers released a plan that would allow utilities to use payments from customers to help underwrite the cost of wildfire liability. Some of the biggest wildfires since 2017  which destroyed thousands of homes  have been caused by downed power lines, and at least one major utility has said it faces insolvency without help in covering the costs.

Ratepayers cant be on the hook for everything, but we cannot bankrupt the investor-owned utilities, state Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-Ceres) said. At the end of the day, were going to be providing power and somebodys going to pay for it.

While lawmakers were generally reserved during the hearing in Sacramento, interest groups sparred over a two-page outline of wildfire prevention and response proposals. Those ideas must be crafted into legislative language over the weekend to meet a key procedural deadline on Tuesday.

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California fires rage, and Gov. Jerry Brown offers grim view of fiery future 

Under the plan, any attempt by a utility to borrow money for wildfire damages  which would probably depend on using a specific amount of money collected from ratepayers as collateral  would have to be authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission. Lawmakers were adamant during Fridays hearing that the plan would not let utilities and their shareholders off the hook.

Financing these costs is not a bailout, state Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), co-chairman of the conference committee, said of providing new help for utilities.

But some stakeholder groups including large manufacturers and consumer organizations told lawmakers they saw no guarantees in the proposal that the utilities would have to first use existing funds to pay wildfire costs, rather than impose an additional surcharge on customers.

This looks like a bailout, smells like a bailout and certainly feels like a bailout, said Michael Shaw of the California Manufacturers and Technology Assn.. We havent heard a description of a scenario in which shareholders are going to be first at the table in paying this.

Nor were critics of the plan happy that it appeared to offer utilities a way to pay for past fires. No company has been as insistent on a retroactive legislative fix than Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which has said it faces potential costs of $2.5 billion or more for the deadly Northern California blazes last fall. PG&Es president told industry analysts last month that wildfire costs could push the company into bankruptcy.

Michael Boccadoro of the Agricultural Energy Consumers Assn. pointed out to lawmakers that the proposal they were offering could apply to fires that occurred before last year, allowing PG&E to finance payouts related to the 2015 blaze that burned through Californias Gold Country.

That is extremely, extremely concerning to us, Boccadoro said.

PG&E had no immediate reaction to the proposal. A spokesman said Friday that the company would review details of the plan once they are released.

Other powerful interest groups that testified either praised the new help for utilities or worried it wouldnt go far enough.

Scott Wetch, a lobbyist for the union representing utility industry workers, said PG&E could be on the verge of having its credit rating reduced to junk bond status without help from the Legislature, triggering high cash payments under existing contracts.

Not only will they not be able to do any of the investments that you have to hope they make, but it will be challenging to keep the doors open and keep California safe going forward, he said.

Others echoed comments made last month by Gov. Jerry Brown, who said his own wildfire prevention proposal  some of which would be included in the pending legislation  would ensure that utility companies would do their part to help the state achieve its greenhouse gas emissions goals.

We need to preserve the financial viability of the utilities, said V. John White of Clean Power Campaign. We need to keep them whole.

The bill being crafted by the Legislatures two-house conference committee is the most comprehensive effort to date from lawmakers to address more than a years worth of fires that have destroyed more than 10,000 homes and killed dozens of people from Redding in the north to Napa and Sonoma counties and south to the Ventura coast. The level of devastation has prompted discussion not only about the role of climate change, but what state officials can do to reduce the risk.

Perhaps less controversial is the legislative proposals embrace of ideas suggested by a bipartisan duo of lawmakers to speed up clearing trees and brush that fuel the states blazes.

Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) and Assembly Republican Leader Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) have said their plan will expedite removal of fire-threatened trees from mountain and foothill regions, as well as shrubby chaparral in coastal communities. In some cases, private landowners would be given new freedom to sell lumber from smaller trees that otherwise would fuel bigger fires. The proposal would also expand state firefighter tree and vegetation management efforts to at least a half-million acres a year.

We have no time for partisan politics right now, Dahle said. Were losing property and lives.

Some of the efforts could be paid for with revenues collected from the sale of carbon emissions credits bought by companies as part of Californias cap-and-trade program. While the two lawmakers sought up to $300 million a year, the legislative framework proposed by the conference committee suggests no more than $250 million for a broader array of programs.

Wood, a Democrat who has earned high marks from environmental groups in the past, said the emissions from several weeks of smoke show theres a clear connection to climate change mitigation efforts.

We dont react to changing times quickly enough, Wood said. These fires are massive and we need to take a massive step to react to that  and to do something to help combat that.

The two lawmakers also appear to have won concessions for biomass energy plants, which burn wood and waste to produce electricity. Their pitch had been for the state to help many of the plants, which have struggled in recent years, to stay open and process significant amounts of the wood removed from overgrown areas. The legislative committees outline agreement would extend by several years existing contracts that the biomass facilities, many privately owned, have with electric utility companies.

Wood and Dahle, whose Assembly districts are adjacent to each other in covering the entire northern part of the state, have been part of what could informally be called a fire caucus of legislators whose communities have been hard hit over the last year. Though they dont always speak with one voice, those lawmakers from both major parties have led many of the discussions in Sacramento this summer over new fire prevention efforts.

The draft proposal unveiled Friday included several other elements designed to improve future wildfire response efforts.

It called for new flexibility by state energy regulators to assess the conduct of utility companies in preventing wildfires involving their equipment, a process the CPUC labeled a reasonableness review of the companies and their actions.

It would also add new state budget spending on mutual aid, the assistance provided to fire departments from other agencies across California. And it would establish a blue-ribbon commission to examine long-term ways to prepare for the high costs incurred by wildfires and report back to the Legislature and governor with recommendations next year.

john.myers@latimes.com

Follow @johnmyers on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics PodcastFourteen months into his job as executive officer of the volunteer review board that investigates misconduct allegations against the San Diego Sheriffs Department and deaths inside county jails, Paul Parker is leaving the oversight agency.

Parker arrived in June 2017 and has now accepted a position as chief deputy director for the Los Angeles County medical examiners office.

Parkers last day at the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board, or CLERB, is Sept. 6. Longtime investigator Lynn Setzler will begin as interim executive officer the next day. A search committee has been appointed to find a permanent replacement.

I am very sad to see Mr. Parker leave because he did a phenomenal job with CLERB, even in the short time that he was with us, Chairwoman Sandra Arkin wrote in an email. He is leaving much earlier than he had planned because he could not, nor should he, have turned down a job for which he is totally qualified.

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The personnel move was not publicly announced. Instead, Parkers departure was reported in the board meeting minutes posted online this week. The departing CLERB executive officer declined an interview request, citing board policy.

Sue Quinn, a former review-board investigator who also previously served as interim executive officer, said Parker did a good job professionalizing the organization.

Its a huge loss for San Diego County, the citizens, the subject department, the subject officers and all the complainants, said Quinn, who is now retired. He has done a better job at CLERB than weve seen in 20 years.

In his brief tenure running the volunteer review board, Parker worked to bring more transparency to the organization and to reduce the backlog of cases -- some of which festered for years.

He was never permitted to speak publicly for the agency. Those duties instead were designated to Arkin, who has not always made herself available to explain board practices.

In November, when the review board dismissed 22 death investigations in a single vote  against the protestations of a roomful of constituents  Arkin was absent and unavailable for comment.

Because Arkin was out of town and Parker could not discuss the recommended dismissals, the board relied on a county spokeswoman to explain the decision. The review board is supposed to be an independent body operating outside the traditional county bureaucracy.

County officials said the investigations needed to be dismissed because they were older than one year and the board lacked jurisdiction to recommend disciplinary proceedings against sheriffs deputies.

But critics said the probes should have been completed anyway so sheriffs officials could learn from the findings and reduce the frequency of in-custody deaths, which have cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal settlements in recent years.

Those investigations should have been completed so they could identify policy and trainings that could prevent those from happening in the future, Quinn said.

At the time the death probes were dismissed, the backlog had climbed to 59, with the oldest case dating back to 2011. According to its latest report, the review board has 38 open death investigations.

Another key change implemented by Parker was a wholesale restructuring of the boards annual report. Quinn said the changes were a noticeable improvement over past years.

For the first time in 20 years, he issued an annual report that tells the community what they have done, what they havent done and what they can expect going forward, she said.

Parker, who was paid $130,000 a year, also worked to improve sheriffs department practices in dealing with mentally ill citizens.

Last year, he pushed through a CLERB recommendation that Sheriff Bill Gore change department policy to direct deputies to contact psychiatric teams when they encounter people who appear to present a danger to themselves or others.

The review-board found last year that a man who killed himself in 2016 after deputies came to his home in Imperial Beach had been visited by five deputies the previous day -- but the deputies did not call a mental-health team to the scene.

The recommendation was to require deputies to summon psychiatric professionals rather than to leave the decision up to deputies in the field. Sheriffs officials rejected the recommendation as not appropriate..

There are situations involving mentally disturbed individuals that would be unsafe to bring a civilian into, Lt. David Gilmore told Arkin in a June 13 response.

In May, the county grand jury chastised the review board for dismissing cases rather than completing investigations. Jurors also criticized the panel for being chronically understaffed and recommended the board revise the way members are selected.

The review board agreed with some grand jury recommendations but rejected the idea that it closed death investigations prematurely.

Staff shortages did not contribute to a case backlog, but the failure to properly prioritize death cases resulted in the subsequent dismissals, according to a draft grand jury response posted on the review boards website.

The review board has four staff positions and a budget this year of $723,000.

Watchdog Videos On Now Sexual misconduct accusers worry deputy is being protected 6:16 On Now City funded $2-million waterfront bathroom 1:26 On Now Public water district charges customer for legal work, response to records request On Now Video: Tiny homes won't be reused amid housing, homeless crisis On Now Attorney General seeks documentation for Miss Middle East On Now Rep. Hunter probe covers possible fraud On Now Video: SDG&E delaying solar credit for some low-income housing tenants On Now Video: Former San Diego Junior Theatre teacher sentenced for sex with teen girl 0:24 On Now Video: Shelter volunteers believe they were fired for finding a dog a home 0:49 On Now McKamey Manor is leaving San Diego 3:35

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonaldThe head of a public school system is suburban Atlanta resigned Friday after he was accused of repeatedly using the N-word in racist rants that emerged amid a discrimination lawsuit.

Buford City Schools Superintendent Geye Hamby tendered his resignation in a short letter to the school board obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

My sincere apologies for any actions that may have created adversity for this community and the Buford School District, he wrote.

Hamby was named in the racial discrimination lawsuit filed in June by a black employee who worked for the district for nearly two decades before she was fired last year.

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Audio recordings of the two vile rants were submitted with the complaint and reviewed by the Daily News after they were first reported by AJC.

The man identified as Hamby uses the N-word more than a half-dozen times.

F--- that n----r. Ill kill these goddamned, shoot that mother----- if they let me, the mans voice says, referring to black construction workers.

He repeatedly refers to the workers as deadbeat n----r.

Hamby reportedly was earning $308,000 to helm the school system serving 4,700 students across two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school.

Mary Ingram, 66, filed the underlying lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Georgia after working as a paraprofessional in the school system.

Ingram says she was fired in 2017 as retribution for circulating a petition calling for a change to the school systems emblem.

Her petition called for the districts green and white emblem to add a third color  gold  to signify the citys separate black school district that existed prior to 1969.

I was afraid we were about to lose our heritage, she told AJC. I wanted them to know it was important to the community.

Ingram had glowing evaluations of her work before pursuing the emblem change, her lawsuit states.President Trump gave a social media shout out to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un Friday, but said nothing about Senator John McCain, a decorated Vietnam War vet, whose family announced hours earlier he would no longer seek treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer.

In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon! Trump posted on Twitter.

McCain was diagnosed with a brain tumor called, Glioblastoma, which he has fought up to this point with aggressive treatment.

But the senators family said in a statement the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict.

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McCain, who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam after his jet fighter was shot down, is 81 years old.

With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment, the family said.

...Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

Thoughts and prayers poured in from elected officials from both parties and leaders from across the political spectrum throughout the day.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, called the six-term senator an American hero who always put his country before himself and whose life has been guided by a spirit of service and civility that is a model for Americans regardless of political affiliation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says the McCain family is in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour.

Reverend Al Sharpton tweeted out his prayers for the senator, noting that they were not often on the same side of an issue.

We didnt always agree but we developed a mutual respect. In life one can learn to disagree without being disagreeable, Sharpton said.

Minority Leader of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called him a national treasure.

McCain and Trump have a long history of bad blood.

He got captured, Trump said in a 1999 interview when asked to assess the candidates. Does getting captured make you a hero? I dont know.

The political feud picked back up during the 2016 presidential campaign.

McCain took umbrage at Trumps reference to Mexican people as rapists and refused to support his campaign.

The Donald called him a dummy and wished for his defeat in the next election.

.@SenJohnMcCain should be defeated in the primaries. Graduated last in his class at Annapolis--dummy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2015

The dispute went back and forth, until in the lead-up to the election, McCain pulled his endorsement of Trump after the infamous Access Hollywood recording, in which the President advocated for groping women.

McCain has also been highly critical of Trump after the election as well, tweaking him often, as when the President lauded Russian president Vladimir Putin on his reelection.

An American president does not lead the free world by congratulating dictators on winning sham elections, McCain said.

The White House did not immediately return calls for comment.Nine years after paying a $20,000 fine for a campaign finance violation, then-Assemblyman and now state Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, is mired in a new scandal. The Senate Rules Committee is investigating an allegation that he repeatedly threatened to bitch slap Stephanie Roberson, a lobbyist with the California Nurses Association, on Aug. 13 at the Diplomat Steakhouse, a restaurant near the state Capitol in Sacramento. Anderson allegedly was upset with Roberson because he hasnt been supported by her union over the years, including in his present bid for the state Board of Equalization.

Two unnamed witnesses confirmed Robersons story, according to the Los Angeles Times, which also quoted a restaurant spokesman who said Anderson was escorted out after he was heard threatening a female customer. In an email to a member of The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board, Anderson called the episode a big misunderstanding and said hes asked that the investigation be expedited. Im confident Ill be vindicated, and Ive offered to take a lie detector, he wrote. In an earlier media statement, he said, I sincerely regret my word choice and that it wasnt aimed at Roberson.

Any threats are unacceptable. As in 2009, an investigation into Anderson must proceed quickly.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

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Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & OpinionThe 3.55 million pounds of nuclear waste at the now-closed San Onofre nuclear plant on the coast north of Oceanside may always make some of the 8 million people who live within 50 miles of the facility anxious. Now, compounding those fears, comes the unnerving story that a canister of spent nuclear fuel got wedged while being lowered into a dry storage area at the plant. It was stuck for about 20 minutes on Aug. 3 without workers knowing, and it could have fallen 18 feet. The design is meant to prevent a leak, but other spent fuel transfers are now on hold.

Southern California Edison, the plants primary owner, downplayed safety concerns. Thankfully, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not. The NRC announced Friday that it would send a team to San Onofre to investigate the incident and to assess Edisons corrective actions. Its rare visit is a relief.

Nevertheless, the ultimate goal of not just Southern Californians but most Americans should be to encourage Congress to follow through on the plan it first embraced in 1987 to build a federal nuclear depository at Yucca Mountain in a remote area 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas over some objections.

Nevadas status as a swing state in presidential elections appears to have made first Barack Obama and now Donald Trump reluctant to embrace the project. That has to change. San Onofre is one of 80 sites in 35 states where nuclear waste is stored. The sites are obvious terrorist targets, and some  including San Onofre  also face the potential threat of a natural disaster like a tsunami or earthquake.

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The need for a permanent depository is plain.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & OpinionVerizon officials sound contrite now, but the telecommunications giants decision to throttle service this summer to Santa Clara County firefighters battling the Mendocino Complex blaze in Northern California  the largest in state history  is unconscionable. On Friday, they promised to never again slow wireless data speeds of first responders trying to keep the public safe, and a company executive formally apologized to a state Assembly committee.

But the events of recent weeks leave a stain that will be difficult to remove. Verizon insists that it already had a rule that first responders should get unlimited access during public safety emergencies and that this was a simple mistake by customer service representatives. Some mistake.

The evidence provided by Santa Clara fire officials showed that they repeatedly made clear to Verizon that the throttling was impeding the response to a giant blaze only to be told they had no option but to pay for a more expensive data plan.

This is corporate avarice at its worst. Lives were at stake. Verizons apology didnt go far enough.

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Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & OpinionThoughts on Trumps penchant for coal

Re New coal rules tied to early deaths (Aug. 22): The Trump administrations EPA rollback of coal-burning pollution restrictions will cost up to 1,400 lives a year and cause thousands of new cases of lung disease, not only in adults but also in our children and future generations.

For political gain, Trump is sacrificing lives. Yes, this administration will censor true science by restricting pieces of valid research and use his teams Orwellian language of alternate facts, truth is not truth and denial of climate change.

As a health care provider of more than 30 years, I urge you to vote for candidates who support health care and environmental protection like Mike Levin in the 49th district and unlike Trump-supported Republican candidate Diane Harkey, who has a dismal environmental record.

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This may be the most important midterm election in American history to put a check on this administrations reckless, dangerous policies. This is a vote for your life and future generations.

Ruth Larson

Rancho Bernardo

Now that President Trump has brought back coal to a position of prominence, he should leverage the advantage. While Germany, China, France and so on waste their time on technologies such as solar, wind, nuclear, energy storage and so on, he should rejuvenate the coal-powered steam locomotive industry with a tariff on imported locomotives.

The last steam locomotive in regular service in the U.S. was in 1961, so those mechanics have been out of work a long time and deserve some help. Dont be distracted by the fake news that the coal smoke will kill people. The important thing is Im sure we can quickly achieve a world leadership position in steam locomotives.

Their use will increase costs for railroads resulting in less business and, sadly, laying off four workers for every steam job created, but, hey, you have to make some sacrifices to help make America great again.

Tom Wright

San Diego

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.Reader response overall to the editorial Aug. 16 on How We Restore Faith in Journalism and the Union-Tribunes new web page Our Journalism, Explained (sdut.us/whatwedo) has been heavy.

The Readers Rep has received one or two phone calls and emails a day since the editorial ran and the web page went up a day later. Letters editor Andrew Kleske said the journalism topic has been one of the most popular recent subjects for letter writers. A column by U-T Opinion Director Matthew T. Hall published Aug. 17 about the editorial boards decision to write the piece attracted a voluminous amount of feedback.

The editorial was the U-Ts contribution to a nationwide campaign that day in which more than 350 newspapers published editorials defending the free press. The united effort was suggested by The Boston Globe as a response to President Donald Trumps constant derision of the mainstream press.

The feedback the Readers Rep received all supported Trump. The gist of the criticism was stories by The New York Times and The Washington Post are biased. The U-T primarily uses the Times and the Post, along with The Associated Press, for its national political coverage. The news organizations have it in for the president, the readers claimed.

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Kleske said the letters are running about 60-40 against Trumps attacks and in support of the mainstream press. Hall said his feedback has been overwhelmingly on the side of the press.

To give readers an idea of how polarized people are on the subject, here are the first two comments Hall received on the Aug. 16 editorial:

Im certain you think you understand the term fake news, but you are missing a major component. Fake news could be when you cover everything under the sun except what is really happening in our nation and government. Have you considered examining why the FBI had to fire some of its top echelon. Have you considered that there really is a deep state that tried to make it look like Trump colluded.

God bless all of you who are able to write informatively without bias. In this political climate, Im sure it takes an enormous amount of willpower. I plan on continuing my subscription to the U-T as long as you continue on your voice-raising path.

Much of the feedback the Readers Rep has received on White House coverage since the 2016 presidential campaign is emotional and can lack details.

Last week, though, I corresponded with two readers who emailed their thoughts after the editorial was published and the web page went live. They included specifics and measured arguments. Their responses are long, but I think readers will be interested in their comments. Here they are:

From Carol Stout of Fallbrook  Any article with the name Trump in the headline will be negative even if the full story has a positive side as well. The use of opposing and derogative adjectives leading the reader rather than informing the reader. ...

If you really wanted to see a less antagonistic attitude, less anger and vindictiveness in this country you would balance your articles with some of the positives that have been accomplished by this president and his administration such as:

Fought for and got Neil Gorsuch on Supreme Court with no help from the left, stock market high, consumer confidence high, created more than 1 million jobs by undoing regulations that were holding business back, unemployment at a 16-year low (blacks and Latino employment at an all-time high), defeating ISIS in Iraq, responded to Syrias use of chemical weapons, reduced taxes, is renegotiating NAFTA, stayed out of the Paris Climate Accord, created a task force to reduce crime, targeting MS13, opened up the choice for veterans to use their own doctors, opened up the construction of the Dakota oil pipeline, created a commission to help stop opioid addiction crisis, President Trump donates his salary to various causes, reduced White House payroll. All this with unprecedented opposition every minute of every day.

From Joane Phillips of Rancho Bernardo  Analysis news and opinion columnists offering perspective to influence are fine as they are always represented in that manner.

On the news side, fair and accurate reporting is expected to present only the facts to allow readers to make up their own minds. I believe that when President Trump continues to say fake news he should use the more accurate label media bias.

I call your attention to your August 14 article Trump fails to cite McCain in bill signing. (By The Associated Press). ... The focus of the piece should really have been the signing of the National Defense Authorization Bill, which was not amplified until the 3rd paragraph. ... Yes, Trump was certainly petty to not mention Senator McCain, but surely that should not have been the focus of the 1st and 2nd paragraphs, which probably generated the headline. That I believe was media bias to slant the story and subtlety denigrate Trumps accomplishment.

Your current sources are probably the best available for you to utilize. However, I do feel that those outlets can sometimes be biased in their reporting. And I do think that some reporters are openly biased, and that defect has crept into their reporting.Daniel Juarez of Ramona, a suspect in a hit-and-run collision that killed Catherine Twigg, 60, in Ramona on Aug. 13, faces several charges in connection with the incident.

Arraigned in Superior Court in El Cajon on Aug. 16, the 25-year-old Juarez is charged with felony hit and run, misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and driving on a suspended license, also a misdemeanor. The maximum sentence for the crimes is five years, said Tanya Sierra, public affairs officer with the county district attorneys office.

Booked into San Diego Central Jail after his arrest, Juarez was released from custody on Aug. 22 on a $50,000 bond, Sierra said in an email. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 30.

The Aug. 13 collision occurred at about 8:45 p.m., when Twigg was walking in the traffic lanes of Highland Valley Road west of Handlebar Road, California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Travis Garrow said. At the same time, a 2000 black Lincoln Navigator was eastbound on Highland Valley Road east of Handlebar Road and struck the pedestrian, the CHP report stated.

Officers dispatched to the scene found the body of the woman who was the victim of an apparent hit-and-run. She suffered major injuries and died at the scene, Garrow said.

Several hours later, the Lincoln Navigator was found abandoned in the Albertsons parking lot at 1459 Main St.

Follow-up was conducted and Mr. Juarez was taken into custody shortly after 3 a.m., Garrow said in his report.What good is technology if it cant keep us caffeinated? A new patent obtained by IBM for a coffee drone with artificial intelligence capabilities could change how we get our java in the workplace, and beyond. Not only would the drone deliver coffee directly to people, whether alone or in a group, it would also be able to predict who needs it most.

14 Reasons You Should Drink More Coffee

According to The Spoon, the patent, called Drone delivery of coffee based on a cognitive state of an individual, can tell when youre getting tired by certain body indicators. Some of those include their electronic calendar, blood pressure, facial expression, and gestures such as a drooping head or closing eyelids. Based on this assessment, the patent states that the drone proactively and automatically delivers coffee to one or more recipients, for example who are in a large office complex.

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Yes, this means that in exchange for the drone knowing things about you like your sleep patterns and schedule, you could potentially walk into work, sit down at your desk and be presented with a steaming hot cup of your favorite type of coffee. The patent claims that over time, the drone can learn times and places at which an individual tends to prefer coffee, and adjust its deliveries accordingly.

While cynics may see this as a futuristic bid to keep office workers caffeinated around the clock, the patent focuses on delivery only to those who actually want or need coffee-and it will be able to tell the difference. Theres a provision for not serving those taking medications that interact poorly with caffeine, and even for delivering coffee faster to asthma patients, since it may help with their breathing! This coffee drone might even be able to tell who prefers cold brew instead of iced coffee.

Munchies reports that a few coffee drones already exist, but none with the smart technology IBM has documented to predict who really, really needs that brew the most.

Its unclear whether IBM plans to actually introduce this coffee drone onto the market or use it in their own workplaces, but just the idea is enough to perk us up.

Social media users were excited about the prospect of a coffee drone to deliver their cup of joe. One man wrote, Normally Im not a Big Blue fan, but this may be what Ive always needed.

https://twitter.com/zoeayeee/status/1032665444988137472

Not everyone was thrilled at the prospect, however. Toronto coffee roasting company Alternative Grounds urged users to Say no to the coffee drone.

https://twitter.com/altgrounds/status/1032650890619088897

If youve ever been too tired (or lazy) to get up and pour yourself a cup of coffee, this drone could be the answer to your hot beverage prayers.

We already have a variety of the food delivery drones to satisfy our cravings. If we can get burritos and sushi via drone, why shouldnt coffee lovers get their fix this way too? Those of us who prefer to get coffee from a human the old-fashioned way will probably still seek out the best coffee shop in your state.

View slideshowWil Myers started at third base and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the two-hole Friday night, his first start since taking a groundball off his nose during batting practice Wednesday in Denver.

A day after walking as a pinch-hitter, Myers said his headaches arent as severe. Theres still some swelling around his nose, which required a stitch, and hes got a minor black eye, but both he and the Padres deemed him ready to return to action.

A CT scan taken Wednesday came back negative.

I felt good, Myers said. I had no problems with anything, I felt pretty good out there.

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Said Padres manager Andy Green: Without the concussion, he just has to get back in the saddle. It doesnt do you a lot of good to sit around and think about getting hit in the face. Its better to get back in the back in box and get playing again.

Myers was preparing for his eighth career start at third base when a ball off the fungo Wednesday afternoon bounced off the lip of the infield grass, over his backhand attempt and into his face.

He walked and scored a run as a pinch-hitter Thursday afternoon.

Green said he did not have any hesitation using him at third base Friday in Los Angeles.

He seems completely fine, Green said. He was mocking himself earlier today. Thats always a good sign.

Myers previously missed 70 games to three trips to the disabled list: right arm nerve irritation in early April, a strained oblique and lower back tightness later in April and a bone bruise in his left foot earlier this month.

Myers is hitting .268/.326/.480 with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 52 games and is 6-for-33 with six walks and 10 strikeouts in 10 games since returning from his latest DL stint.

I dont think hes had any kind of rhythm in the box since hes been back. I think hes really grinded hard. Today withstanding, hes had some positive results just fighting in the batters box, but not being in a rhythm. Hes taken some walks. Hes put some balls in play with two strikes. Hes scratched and clawed to do some positive things.

He just hasnt found his rhythm since hes been back. For us to really go we have to get Wil back in rhythm.

Padres Videos  On Now Padres pitcher Chris Paddack on start vs. Mariners and possibility of making rotation On Now Meet the Padres: Ian Kinsler 5:18 On Now Catching up with Padres OF Franmil Reyes 5:18 On Now Meet The Padres: Greg Garcia 5:11 On Now Catching up with Padres reliever Craig Stammen 5:33 On Now Meet the Padres: Logan Allen 6:23 On Now Meet The Padres: Manny Machado 9:08 On Now Meet The Padres: Chris Paddack 5:08 On Now Three things that stood out from Machado's first day with the Padres 1:53 On Now Padres manager Andy Green on Machado joining his roster

jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutSanders

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+1-800-819-3052Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2018 -- Bulk transport of oil or its products to promote growth in the Crude Oil Carriers market



Increasing demand for crude oil and its by-products are the key factors driving the growth of the crude oil carriers market. In addition, growing transportation industry across the world, rising number of automotive and aviation industry, use of growth in various end-use industry and increasing industrialization creates a demand for crude products. However, high logistics cost and decreasing oil imports that are beating into renewable solar power are likely to hamper the growth of the crude oil carrier market during the forecast period.



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On the other hand, the high cost of capital required to acquire ships is also anticipated to create a negative impact on the market growth. Furthermore, Longer hauls and fewer triangulation options or backhaul routes to reduce ballasting are likely to present growth opportunities for industry participants. Increasing oil imports and stabilizing relations between OPEC and NON-OPEC nations are creating huge opportunities over the upcoming years. Moreover, ongoing low global oil prices and high supply from the organization of the petroleum exporting countries are anticipated to boost the demand for carriers demand over the years to come. Therefore, Low bunker fuel prices are likely to spur increased earnings, leading to greater carrier application and demand across the globe.



Asia Pacific region to contribute to growth in the global Crude Oil Carriers market



Asia Pacific dominated the crude oil carriers market. High oil refining, production, and trade activities in UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries with large financial resources led to highest industry share for this region.



Maersk Tankers enters into strategic partnership with hedge fund Cargo Metrics



Maersk, Tankers had entered an equity agreement with Cargo Metrics Technologies LLC (Cargo Metrics), a Boston-based hedge fund specializing in quantitative trading models derived from shipping data. The agreement established a strategic partnership between Maersk Tankers and Cargo Metrics, providing Maersk Tankers access and exclusive rights to Cargo Metrics' analytical models, algorithms and capabilities. Cargo Metrics is a technology-driven investment company. Its edge comes from a patented analytical platform that incorporates advances in big data, satellite sensors, and scalable computing technologies to effectively monitor real-time global seaborne activity.



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Report Highlights:



The report provides deep insights on demand forecasts, market trends and micro and macro indicators. In addition, this report provides insights on the factors that are driving and restraining the global crude oil carriers market. Moreover, IGR-Growth Matrix analysis given in the report brings an insight on the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider. The report provides insights into the market using analytical tools such as Porter's five forces analysis and DRO analysis of crude oil carriers market. Moreover, the study highlights current market trends and provides forecast from 2018-2024. We also have highlighted future trends in the crude oil carriers market that will impact the demand during the forecast period. Moreover, the competitive analysis given in each regional market brings an insight on the market share of the leading players. This report will help manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of the crude oil carriers market to understand the present and future trends in this market and formulate their strategies accordingly.Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2018 -- Demerara Sugar Market Outlook



The demerara sugar market is anticipated to form strong demand dynamics from the developing regions and enjoy its steady growth over the forecast period in the developed regions. The demerara sugar falls under crystal and unrefined sugar categories which are experiencing rapid growth owing to its increasing demand from the health-aware consumer base across developed and developing regions. Increasing consumer spending on food and household products and growing overall economic activities with consumer inclination for healthier food habits is expected to drive the demand for the demerara sugar over the forecast period.



Europe is anticipated to dominate the global demerara sugar market over the forecast period owing to its huge bakery and processed food industry and substantial consumer base for natural and healthier food and beverage products.



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Reasons for Covering Demerara Sugar Market Title:



Increasing demand for natural ingredient and alternative heavy finished food products is gaining traction rapidly into the global market which is expected to dive the demand for demerara sugar products. The demerara sugar market consists of an essence of large global players and small regional players cratering demerara sugar through its subsidiary brands and private labels. This is expected to form a market structure facilitating the smooth business activity for the demerara sugar manufacturers. Commodity market in developing regions have shown promising growth dynamics in past decade and is expected to continue its trend over the forecast period which is expected to support the growth of the demerara sugar market over the forecast period. The healthier and natural food consumer base has expanded into developing regions and products are reaching mainstream dynamics which is expected to rapid penetration of demerara sugar over the forecast period resulting in rapid growth over the forecast period.



Opportunities for Market Participants in Demerara Sugar Market



Europe is anticipated to dominate the demerara sugar market owing to its early initiation of demerara sugar which is a prime ingredient in traditional cuisines. The processed beverage and food industry in North America is expected to create colossal demand for the demerara sugar over the forecast period. The Asia Pacific is expected to form the fastest growing market for the demerara sugar market over the forecast period owing to the regions rapid urbanization and penetration of organized retails into the region. The Latin America and the Middle East and Africa to capture substantial volume of the demerara sugar market over the forecast period resulted in its growing commodity market and food service industry.



Key Product Launches in Demerara Sugar Market



The key product launches that have been observed related to demerara sugar in the food and beverage industry points out the efficiency of demerara sugar as a healthier alternative to refined sugars.



In 2018, United Kingdom-based popcorn snack company Propercorn introduced a chocolate flavored sweet popcorn based on demerara sugar as sweetening and flavoring agent. The company is emphasizing over the flavor added by the sugar to differentiate its product from the already crowded popcorn based snacks shelves.



In 2017, Conker Spirit a United Kingdom-based spirit manufacturer launched its first coffee liqueur based on demerara sugar. The demerara sugar is used extensively owing to its naturalness and spicy flavor tone.



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Global Demerara Sugar Market: Key Players:



Some of the key players operating in the global demerara sugar market are ASR Group., Florida Crystals Corporation, Billington's Co., Guyana Sugar Corporation Inc., Dhampure Speciality Sugars Ltd., Raizen (Cosan Ltd.), PGP Group, Tereos Group, Associated British Foods plc., Mitr Phol Group, Native Alimentos, LOC Industries, Ragus Sugars Manufacturing Ltd.,m Signatures of Asia Co.,Ltd, Rahul Sugar Products, Nordic Sugar A/S B.G. Reynolds Syrups, Inc., Sugar Australia Company Ltd., Liber & Co., etc.New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/25/2018 -- The latest report on the Yerba Mate market closely surveys, examines and offers vital statistics on the Yerba Mate market for the forecast period 2018 - 2025. This market intelligence assessment report weighs up on the potential region that reserves greater opportunities for this industry. Importantly, subject matter experts have taken into account every critical aspect right from the market size, share, and growth to the dramatic shift in the consumer behaviour and their growing spending capacity. The industry assessment study depicts a perfectly clear picture of both the past and the future trends to offer the stakeholders, business owners, and marketing executives an opportunity to zero in on an effective marketing strategy and boost sales.



The major players covered in this report are Amanda, Andresito, Molinos, Canarias, La Tranquera, Playadito, Lauro Raatz, Aguantadora, Kraus Yerba Mate, CBSe, Romance, Rosamonte, Selecta, La Virginia, Triunfo, Mate Factor, Wisdom Natural, ECOTEAS



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The global Yerba Mate market is valued at 1350 million US$ in 2017 and will reach 1920 million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2018-2025.



Since yerba mate cultivation is concentrated in only three countries in the world: Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. This determines that South America becomes the largest production and consumption region. In 2015, South America consumed about 328226 MT of yerba mate, accounting for about 86.98% consumption share globally.

Besides, Argentina is the largest exporting country of yerba mate in the world currently with more than 30000 MT export volume yearly. Syria is the largest export destination of Argentina yerba mate, which holds more than 60% export market of Argentina yerba mate.



With more and more people realize the benefits of yerba mate, the global yerba mate market keeps increasing in the recent few years. The consumption volume of yerba mate increased from 349351 MT in 2011 to 377377 MT in 2015 globally, with the GACR of 1.95% .



Since Argentina has an absolute dominant place in the yerba mate industry, the fluctuations of yerba mate price in the regions has been the market reference for the world. Actually, The National Institution of Yerba Mate has been pricing for yerba mate raw material and yerba mate in the recent years periodically to promote the industry development in the recent years.



On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into:



- Normal

- Organic



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Researcher's visibility engagement approach when evaluating data such as key driving forces, threats, challenges, opportunities empowers product owners to meet their strategic goals through accelerated returns. The intelligent market survey that blends in both new and old study techniques brings to light more information pertaining to various product types, applications, end-use and important industry definition. The research on the Yerba Mate market further validates other prime factors including investment feasibility, production capability, product pricing, production volume, demand and supply, import and export status to help business evangelists make the multi-dimensional marketing strategy more robust. Comprehensive data on the current and future business environment is showcased through self-explanatory infographics, charts, and tables and can be integrated with any business presentation.



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:



- <18 age

- 18-30 age

- 30-50 age

- >50 age



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The study objectives of this report are:



# To analyze and study the global Yerba Mate sales, value, status (2018-2025) 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 Yerba Mate 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 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.



Browse complete report description @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/yerba-mate-market



Key elements from table of content:



8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Yerba Mate



8.3 Andresito

8.3.1 Company Profile

8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications

8.3.2.1 Product A

8.3.2.2 Product B

8.3.3 Andresito 2017 Yerba Mate Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis

8.3.4 Andresito 2017 Yerba Mate Business Region Distribution Analysis



8.4 Molinos

8.4.1 Company Profile

8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications

8.4.2.1 Product A

8.4.2.2 Product B

8.4.3 Molinos 2017 Yerba Mate Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis

8.4.4 Molinos 2017 Yerba Mate Business Region Distribution Analysis

Continued.



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+1-800-819-3052: A day after Nirmala Sitharaman openly blasted Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh at a press conference in Kodagu, the deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka G Parameshwara tweeted his disapproval saying, "It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague." Mr Mahesh on Friday had asked the union defence minister to wind up the press conference at the district commissioner's office, citing lack of time.

"Our ministers have stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with the district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end," the deputy chief minister tweeted.

In an oblique indication that Ms Sitharaman was not the boss because she comes from the centre, Mr Parameshwara said "state governments derive their powers from our Constitution not from the centre... We are not inferior to the centre. We are partners"

Lashing out at Mr Mahesh, Ms Sitharaman yesterday said, "I am following a minute-to-minute programme, minister. If officials are important, my parivaar (family) is also important.... Central minister follows the minister in-charge here. Unbelievable."System error

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context: ... 21: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

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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(0x7f3fd5d5a338)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd5d4ebb0)', '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(0x7f3fd5d5a338)') 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(0x7f3fd5d4ebb0)') 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(0x7f3fd5d52530)') 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(0x7f3fd5d4ebb0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd5d4ebb0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e9b68)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5d62f10)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5d62f10)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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

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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(0x7f3fd58bbf40)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd5a896f8)', '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(0x7f3fd58bbf40)') 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(0x7f3fd5a896f8)') 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(0x7f3fd58cb220)') 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(0x7f3fd5a896f8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd5a896f8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e9538)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5d831a0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5d831a0)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

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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(0x7f3fd5c9f008)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd6399f50)', '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(0x7f3fd5c9f008)') 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(0x7f3fd6399f50)') 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(0x7f3fd5d46df0)') 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(0x7f3fd6399f50)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd6399f50)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e8790)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd639a958)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd639a958)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fd58bbfa8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd57d9e78)', '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(0x7f3fd58bbfa8)') 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(0x7f3fd57d9e78)') 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(0x7f3fd58cb5c8)') 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(0x7f3fd57d9e78)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd57d9e78)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e99b8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd53e9250)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd53e9250)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fd5cc8c98)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd61947b0)', '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(0x7f3fd5cc8c98)') 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(0x7f3fd61947b0)') 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(0x7f3fd5d14e70)') 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(0x7f3fd61947b0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd61947b0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e9e48)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd63b8dc8)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd63b8dc8)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fd606ea30)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd696f7d8)', '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(0x7f3fd606ea30)') 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(0x7f3fd696f7d8)') 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(0x7f3fd6093c68)') 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(0x7f3fd696f7d8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd696f7d8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e9c88)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd6933d00)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd6933d00)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fd634e790)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd610d3e0)', '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(0x7f3fd634e790)') 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(0x7f3fd610d3e0)') 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(0x7f3fd60b8ff8)') 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(0x7f3fd610d3e0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd610d3e0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e98e0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5f85a68)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5f85a68)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fd5cbb880)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd5cee708)', '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(0x7f3fd5cbb880)') 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(0x7f3fd5cee708)') 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(0x7f3fd5d11b78)') 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(0x7f3fd5cee708)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd5cee708)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e8c58)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5d3fcd0)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd5d3fcd0)') 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: </%method> 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: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... 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(0x7f3fd58c9fd0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd57da000)', '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(0x7f3fd58c9fd0)') 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(0x7f3fd57da000)') 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(0x7f3fd5913618)') 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(0x7f3fd57da000)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd57da000)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fd53e9bc8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd53e9148)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fd53e9148)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0Trump calls off Pompeo's NKorea trip, blasts China



Washington, Aug 24 (AFP) Aug 24, 2018



US President Donald Trump on Friday pulled the plug on his top diplomat's upcoming trip to North Korea -- and took a swipe at China over stalled efforts to disarm Kim Jong Un's regime.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump said on Twitter.

Pompeo was due to return to Pyongyang next week for what he described as the next stage in ensuring the "final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

But Trump -- facing a slew of domestic problems and independent reports that North Korea has done little or nothing to roll back its nuclear program -- vetoed the plan.

Pompeo and Trump met earlier Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Trump also stepped up his rhetoric against China, which has grown harsher as November congressional elections approach, with the world's top two economies now embroiled in an escalating trade war.

"Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)," Trump said.

In another tweet, the president added Pompeo would still head to North Korea "in the near future," saying this would likely occur when the US-China trading relationship is "resolved."

"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!" Trump said.



- 'Largely solved' -



The trip would have been Pompeo's fourth to North Korea, and the second since a historic summit on June 12 between Trump and Kim.

Trump, who relishes unpredictability in negotiating, had at one point canceled that summit, citing North Korea's "open hostility."

But he soon backtracked and the summit went ahead in Singapore.

Trump had previously claimed that he had "largely solved" the North Korea nuclear problem.

Despite that bold claim, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency recently reported it had not seen any indication that nuclear activities in North Korea have stopped.

"The continuation and further development of the DPRK's nuclear program and related statements by the DPRK are a cause for grave concern," said a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), referring to North Korea's official name.

North Korea is believed to be close to developing a miniaturized nuclear device and the ballistic missile capabilities to carry it anywhere in the continental United States.

Evans Revere, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said it is time for a radical shift in the US approach.

"The Trump administration needs a 'plan B' to deal with the probability that Pyongyang is doing what it has done with every previous US administration: exploiting diplomacy and negotiations to buy time," Revere said in a recent report.

Earlier this week, Pompeo named a Ford Motor Co. executive as special envoy for North Korea to try to get disarmament back on track.

Stephen Biegun, 55, who is retiring as Ford's vice president for international governmental affairs, had been considered for the post of Trump's national security advisor before it went to John Bolton.China slams 'irresponsible' Trump accusations over N. Korea



Beijing, Aug 25 (AFP) Aug 25, 2018



China on Saturday called Donald Trump "irresponsible" after the US president cancelled his top diplomat's trip to North Korea and suggested Beijing was stalling efforts to disarm Pyongyang.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to make his fourth visit to the reclusive state next week for what he described as the next step towards the "final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea".

But Trump -- facing a slew of domestic problems and independent reports that North Korea has done little or nothing to roll back its nuclear programme -- vetoed the plan.

The US leader said Friday he had asked Pompeo not to go to Pyongyang "because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula".

Trump also stepped up his rhetoric against China, which has grown harsher as November congressional elections approach and as a trade war rages between the world's top two economies.

"Because of our much tougher trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearisation as they once were" despite UN sanctions against Pyongyang, he added.

Beijing hit back at Trump's "capricious" accusations and said it had lodged an official diplomatic complaint over the comments.

"The US statement is contrary to basic facts and is irresponsible. We are seriously concerned about this," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement posted on the ministry website.

"All parties concerned should... show more sincerity and flexibility, instead of being capricious and putting the blame on others."

China and the US are engaged in an escalating trade war, exchanging tit-for-tat tariffs on $100 billion worth of goods, with the most recent levies imposed by both sides on Thursday.



- Stalling progress -



Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong Un made a vague commitment to the "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula" at landmark talks in Singapore this year.

The US leader, who relishes unpredictability in negotiating, had at one point cancelled that meeting, citing North Korea's "open hostility".

But he soon backtracked and the summit went ahead on June 12.

Trump has touted his talks with Kim as a historic breakthrough, but both sides have since complained of stalling progress.

Washington has called for the economic embargo on North Korea to be maintained, saying the sanctions must remain in place until Pyongyang dismantles its atomic arsenal, and could even be tightened.

But China and Russia have argued that North Korea should be rewarded with the prospect of eased sanctions for opening up dialogue with the US and halting missile tests.

A UN agency recently reported it had not seen any indication that nuclear activities in North Korea have stopped.

"The continuation and further development of the DPRK's nuclear program and related statements by the DPRK are a cause for grave concern," said a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), using the initials of North Korea's official name.

North Korea is believed to be close to developing a miniaturized nuclear device and the ballistic missile capabilities to carry it anywhere in the continental United States.

Trump said on Friday that Pompeo would still head to North Korea "in the near future," saying this would likely occur when the US-China trading relationship is "resolved."

Earlier this week, Pompeo named a Ford Motor Co. executive as special envoy for North Korea to try to get disarmament back on track.

Stephen Biegun, 55, who is retiring as Ford's vice president for international governmental affairs, had been considered for the post of Trump's national security advisor before it went to John Bolton.Bir-Lehlu, February 25, 2018 (SPS) - President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, sent a message of congratulations to the President of the Republic of Uruguay, H.E. Tabare Ramon Vazquez Rosas, on the occasion of the 193rd Independence Day.



On behalf of the people of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) on his own behalf, the President of the Republic congratulated the President and the people of the Republic of Uruguay on this happy occasion, wishing them more stability and prosperity.



The President of the Republic praised the efforts made by Uruguay not only internally but also at the regional level through its permanent commitment to eradicate all forms of repression and injustice to ensure justice and peace in the world.



The President of the Republic paid tribute to the solidarity and and constant support of Uruguay to the struggle of the Saharawi people for their right to self-determination and independence. (SPS)



062/SPS/TRAEnglish24/08/2018

BANNING PRILEPIN FROM BiH - PURE POLITICKING

ZVORNIK, August 24 /SRNA/ - SNSD vice-president Radovan Viskovic says that banning Russian writer Zahar Prilepin from BiH is a pure politicking directed at decreasing the Russian influence in these parts.



My message to people who think this way is that such actions only strengthen the Russian influence in BiH, Viskovic told reporters in Zvornik.



He has said that he expected something like that having in mind that an anti-Russian campaign is being conducted in these parts.



In some way, this represents a fear by the other side of the announced visit to Banjaluka by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on September 17, Viskovic has said.



He has said that some are afraid of bonding between Republika Srpska and the Russian Federation, and one of ways to spoil this cooperation was to ban Russian writer Prilepin from BiH.



Russian writer Zahar Prilepin should have held a literary evening this evening in Banjaluka, but he was yesterday banned from entering the country allegedly out of security reasons.



The order was issued by the BiH Intelligence-Security Agency /OBA/ on March 26 this year, and an explanation of the decision, which is in SRNAs possession, says that Prilepins presence in the territory of BiH represents a threat to the security of BiH, public order or international relations of BiH.



The Russian Embassy yesterday expressed concern and deep disappointment over the decision to ban Russian writer Zahar Prilepin from BiH, saying that they addressed the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking for an explanation. /end/sgEnglish24/08/2018

DODIK: SRPSKA WILL NOT ALLOW INTRODUCTION OF SILENT SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA

BANJALUKA, August 24 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska will not allow the introduction of silent sanctions against the Russian Federation only because some BiH politicians want to ingratiate themselves with some embassies in Sarajevo, said Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik.



Dodik has said that the Russian Federation is a friend of Srpska, but also of BiH, which it has confirmed during all these years since the signing of the Dayton Agreement.



We will insist on discovering who and why made this scandal with writer Zahar Prilepin on the eve of a visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Banjaluka, Dodik has told SRNA.



Dodik has expressed regret over the fact that representatives of the SDS and PDP in joint institutions are part of this scandal, because, he says, neither BiH nor Republika Srpska can afford to side with anyone in a conflict of great powers.



It is in our interest to have good relations with both the Russian Federation and the West, because we are too small to influence world politics.



It is regrettable that BiH by this move sent a message that it is a dwarf state, without a shred of integrity. The writer whom they declared a security threat travels freely around the Western Europe while Europe is banning extremists, who are welcome to BiH, from entry into Europe, Dodik has said.



Russian writer Zahar Prilepin should have held a literary evening this evening in Banjaluka, but he was yesterday banned from entering the country allegedly out of security reasons.



The order was issued by the BiH Intelligence-Security Agency /OBA/ on March 26 this year, and an explanation of the decision, which is in SRNAs possession, says that Prilepins presence in the territory of BiH represents a threat to the security of BiH, public order or international relations of BiH.



The Russian Embassy yesterday expressed concern and deep disappointment over the decision to ban Russian writer Zahar Prilepin from BiH, saying that they addressed the BiH Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking for an explanation. /end/sgThe U.S. Army has been looking for affordable ways to deal with the growing presence of enemy UAVs and armed helicopters on the battlefield. The solution is better, and more abundant, SHORAD (Short Range Air Defense). The army has developed a Stryker (8x8 wheeled IFV) variant called MSL (Maneuver SHORAD Launcher) that uses a proven (Avenger) sensor and missile launch system (plus a 30mm air defense autocannon) but MSL will not be available until the early 20201 (or 2020 if everyone hustled.)

A quicker fix would be to equip 24 (out of 90 in a brigade) M2 Bradley tracked IFVs (infantry fighting vehicles) with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that would replace the TOW missiles used by most M2s. The 90 M2s in a mechanized brigade are relatively easy to convert because most M2s come with a TOW capability (including a new fire control system that can more quickly and accurately spot distant targets). The M2 Stinger approach is quickly implemented, less expensive and serves to make opponents more wary of operating near American troops. Usually, the Stingers are fired (from the shoulder) by individual soldiers. Vehicle mounted Stingers provide improved effectiveness because the M2 has better sensors already. This is ITAS-FTL (Target Acquisition Systems and Far Target Location) which includes GPS, an optical sight with FLIR (forward-looking infrared) and a laser range finder. Thus the TOW or Stinger gunner always knows where he is and can use that information of he receives warning of hostile UAVs or helicopters in the area.

This interest in SHORAD developed after 2008 when the U.S. military had to adapt to dealing with better equipped foes (Russia, China, Iran and North Korea) and all of those nations have UAVs while Russia and China have lots of armed helicopters. One of the more obvious changes was improving and using more SHORAD vehicles. SHORAD was a big deal during the Cold War but when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 SHORAD was no longer as essential and for over a decade not much SHORAD development took place and a lot of existing SHORAD systems were retired.

The fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq involved fighting irregulars and the American military adapted. Yet even then the United States kept some SHORAD development going, mainly on the post-Cold War Avenger system. Avenger was basically a turret armed with 8 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and an optical tracker together with infra-red system. This turret was mounted on a Humvee but could just as easily be mounted on any light armored vehicle, or even the back of a truck. Avenger was later provided with the capability to get targeting data from nearby air defense radar systems. As a result of this effort, the American armed forces ended up with 700 M1097 Avenger vehicles. The U.S. Army had actually developed an M2 equipped with Avenger in the 1990s but never put it into service because, well, it would have nothing to do.

Because of Avenger and variants like MSL and the Stingers replacing TOW missiles on armored vehicles the American military will have more SHORAD capability than anyone expected, especially the Russians. That was the case when some Avenger SHORAD systems began showing up in East Europe as American troops went there to train with new NATO members, some who share a border with Russia. During NATO exercise in Poland American Avenger vehicles carried out live fire training. Avenger units were added to the American armored brigade sent to Poland for that purpose.

There was a lot of enthusiasm for Avenger among NATO allies and that meant the U.S. Department of Defense could justify reviving work on the enhanced Avenger. This was based on the larger (three times heavier) and better protected Stryker 8x8 wheeled armored vehicle. This Avenger variant quickly evolved into MSL which was basically an upgraded Avenger air defense system put on the back of a Stryker. Compared to old Avenger system mounted on a Humvee the new one can use a multitude of different missiles like AIM 9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles and AGM-114 Hellfire II air to ground missiles adapted for use on ground vehicles. The Stinger has a max range of 8,000 meters while the AIM 9X can do nearly twice that. Hellfire would be used against ground targets. Furthermore, it was now possible to mount a 30mm autocannon or even a laser to counter drones. Thanks to the Stryker 8x8 chassis the MSL systems had better off-road capability and protection than the smaller and older Humvee design.

The Stinger armed M2s and Stryker MSL will serve not only as self-propelled air defense for moving army formations from enemy close air support aircraft or attack helicopters but also as an anti-tank system when using Hellfire missiles. The U.S. Army expects to have Stinger armed M2s in service as early as 2019 or 2020.The current Iraqi enthusiasm for battling corruption is hurting Iranian efforts to expand its influence inside Iraq. Thats because pro-Iran groups in Iraq have long justified outlaw behavior in order to serve their mentor Iran. Iran has, for decades, been seen as an outlaw nation and incorrigible supporter of international terrorism. This had brought unwanted (by Iran) to the pro-Iran PMF (Popular Mobilization Force) militias that were put in control of Kirkuk province after a surprise attack in late 2017 drove Kurdish forces out. The PMF militias have not been able to prevent the return of ISIL to Kirkuk (which was free of Islamic terrorists when they were in charge) in part because the PMF concentrated money making activities like looting homes and businesses (usually after driving the owners out of the province) and maintaining a lucrative oil smuggling operation that moved oil into Iran. The income from all this enabled the PMFs to increase the pay of their members and bribe officials to remain silent about whatever illegal behavior the militiamen were up to. Because of the recent national elections, a new government is being formed and Kurdish votes are being sought. The Kurds want something done with the outlaw PMFs put in charge of Kirkuk. Shutting down the outlaw PMF in Kirkuk would anger Iran but that would just make more Iraqi Shia turn against Iran, which likes to present itself as the defender of Shia interests everywhere. In Iraq, most Iraqi Shia (who are all Arab) see Iran as protecting Iranian interests in Iraq, even if that comes at the expense of Iraqi Shia.

This has led to Iraqi army commanders being more aggressive in dealing with Iran backed PMF units. Technically the army can order PMF units around but until recently the Iran-backed PMF would often ignore those orders. In some cases, PMF commanders would threaten army officers. Given the results of the recent elections (pro-Iran parties did poorly) and the growing popular unrest in Iran attitudes have changed. Iraqi army officers are not just ordering pro-Iran PMF units to back off but using force. So far this has not gone much beyond armed confrontations (which often work) and arresting (kidnapping according to pro-Iran Iraqis) PMF men who disobey army orders. Apparently, the anti-Iran election results have led to pro-Iran PMF commanders being advised (by Iran) to play nice with the army and back off. This is seen as temporary as there is no sign that pro-Iran PMF groups will cease to take orders from Iran. Iraqis believe the pro-Iran PMF units are backing off as part of an Iranian effort to persuade Iraq to oppose the renewed American economic sanctions on Iran. Iraqi leaders were under a lot of political pressure from Iran to ignore the American sanctions, if only because complying would hurt the Iraqi economy. That pressure caused some hesitation by Iraqi leaders until they realized that most Iraqis preferred the Americans to the Iranians. After all, when Iraq asked the Americans to leave in 2011 they did. Iranians are not very cooperative in that respect and for centuries have been trying to get its way in what is now Iraq.

Iraqi anti-government demonstrators were always angry at Iran. In part, this was because of the Iranian backed militias in Iraq, whose leaders often speak of imposing a religious dictatorship in Iraq and generally ignored all the corruption. Protestors in Shia majority Basra are also criticizing Iran for halting electricity exports in early July. Iran cut the electricity because corrupt Iraqi officials had not paid for much of it. Moreover, there was an electricity shortage developing in Iran. It was necessary for Iraq to import electricity because for a long time (the Saddam era) there were not many electric power plants in Basra because it was a Shia majority area and Shia were starved for resources during the Saddam era (when the Sunni Arab minority ruled). But after Saddam was overthrown in 2003 and Shia politicians gained power, corruption prevented the construction of power plants. Iran thought cutting the power, especially since they had a good reason, would increase the anger against the Iraqi government. But the protestors saw through the Iranian intentions and added that to the long list of reasons why Iraqi Shia do not like Iran. After a few weeks, Iran restored the electricity exports.

The two largest Shia coalitions (anti-Iran Sadr and pro-Iran Amiri) are seeking to form coalitions that would give them enough seats in parliament to form a government. Sadr is the favorite, in part because of his hostility to Iranian interference in Iraqi affairs. The Amiri faction controls pro-Iran PMF forces and is seeking to repeat the Iranian success in Lebanon with the creation of a Hezbollah type organization. Amiri has used violence against those who oppose this, secure in the fact that the police are controlled by a pro-Iran politician (who runs the Interior Ministry). These police are suspected of instigating political violence rather than containing it. Police are never around when groups hostile to Iran are attacked and police are the primary suspects in the recent warehouse fire that destroyed half the ballot boxes used in Baghdad. The fire makes it impossible to recount these disputed votes. All this contributed the outbreak of Shia protests in early July and now the Amiri faction is on the defensive as is its patron Iran.

The real reason for the disputed election results is the growing popular anger at corruption. One thing that united all Iraqi voters was anger at the persistent and crippling theft by government officials. Moqtada al Sadr, who was the unexpected winner, had been openly and actively anti-corruption for years and that was why his victorious coalition contained so many non-Shia groups (including communists, who are anathema to Iran). Despite that many Iraqis (and foreign allies) believe Sadr is secretly allied with Iran because the Sadr family has long had ties with Iran and members of the Sadr clan often took refuge in Iran. But that was because the Sadrs were respected Shia clerics and Iran was where the best schools and scholars were. Yet the Sadrs, like most Iraqi Shia Arabs, are Arabs and Iraqis first and that has been proven time and time again. Moqtada al Sadr has seen up close and frequently how a Shia clerical dictatorship works in Iran and was not impressed. He largely kept quiet about this but it was no secret that Sadr did not want a religious dictatorship in Iraq, mainly because it would make the country even more difficult to rule.

Sadr also noted that Iranian Arabs (and Arabs in general) are despised by most Iranians. Meanwhile, Iraq will demonstrate, over the next few months (or more) why it is considered the most dysfunctional country in the Middle East. Iraqi politicians will argue and negotiate in a lengthy effort to form a governing coalition and then for that coalition to select a prime minister and all the subordinate ministers.

Sadr is often described as anti-American but he is generally anti-foreigner in general but is willing to work with other nations if it helps Iraq. Thus there was a July visit by Sadr to Saudi Arabia to meet with Saudi leaders. The Saudis had long supported the Sunni minority rule in Iraq because it worked and helped contain Iran. With that Sunni minority government gone and not likely to return anytime soon Sadr believes the Saudis still want an Arab government in Iraq that will help keep Iran out of Arabia. Sadr and the Saudis agree on that as do the majority of Iraqis, including most Kurds and Sunni Arabs. The Saudis are also developing diplomatic and economic ties with Iraqi (and Syrian) Kurds. Even Jordan has sought to work more closely with the Iraqi Kurds even as Jordan and Iraq also agree to increase border security and cooperation in dealing with terrorism.

The Islamic State Shrinks, Disperses And Confuses

ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) has gone guerilla and has no large base areas where it can operate openly. Yet many ISIL gunmen still have their families (wives and children) with them. These can hide in plain sight as refugees or live among pro-ISIL civilians. Such communities provide some support for the ISIL fighters but must remain unknown to police or the many (the majority) Iraqis who are hostile to ISIL. Guerilla tactics were always an ISIL staple, especially in Iraq where ISIL operated (as an al Qaeda offshoot) before it changed its name to ISIL. The name change was the result of the unexpected success of some of these Iraqi terrorists at establishing themselves in Syria. There the civil war was intensifying and the Assad government was losing. Now that ISIL has lost control (by early 2018) of Mosul and other Iraqi towns they have no choice but to start all over. As ISIL personnel are now generally in hiding it is difficult to get an accurate count. Official mid-2018 estimates were about 17,000 in Iraq. But that is the number of armed men ISIL had in Iraq by 2014. How can that be given the relatively low level of ISIL activity in Iraq since early 2018? The answer is that the official estimates include a lot of unarmed supporters, including family members. Captured ISIL members will often exaggerate the size of the group he belongs to as will ISIL members delivering threats to local civilians who the Islamic terrorists are trying to intimidate into compliance (not informing on ISIL). Cooperative civilians are immune to ISIL attacks so there is that. But the ability of ISIL to enforce the cooperation is often an illusion because ISIL tries to appear more omnipresent than they actually are. A population of cooperative civilians is essential for ISIL to survive as guerillas. The civilians not only provide some cover but are also a source of supplies (which ISIL strives to pay for, in order to build some loyalty.) This is all basic guerilla tradecraft that is made more difficult when there are a lot of cell phones around. That increases the risk of some angry (or not even local) civilian making a call to the police to report possible ISIL activity. ISIL leaders noted that a key factor in the loss of control in an area was the local civilians retaining some access to Internet and cell phone service as well as satellite TV receivers. ISIL (and other Islamic radicals) have long tried to control use of all three of these items but have been unable to completely eliminate them from populations they control. Once ISIL was driven out of an area the cell phone companies were eager to rebuild their cell phone and Internet service and as people in those areas of restored cell phone service became more confident that reporting on remaining ISIL activity would not get them killed the calls started coming. These phone calls have become more frequent and has led to the growing number of arrests or discovery of ISIL hideouts and the destruction of active ISIL terrorists. This has led to a decline in terror related deaths and more violent encounters between security forces and the many sleeper cells ISIL deliberately left behind when they lost control of an area. What has kept ISIL going are Sunni Arab areas where they still have some support, at least as someone who will fighting hack against the Kurds and Shia Arabs.

Early in 2018 ISIL increased its guerilla-type attacks and that decision is having an impact, especially in the area north of Baghdad (Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahuddin provinces). These attacks rarely involve bombings of populated areas (to kill civilians). ISIL has fewer bomb builders and suicide bombers (as well as the people who recruit, train and supervise suicide bombers carrying out their attack). Bombs for use against security forces. The guerilla tactics can be seen by the growing number of attacks, especial along the main roads north from Baghdad to Kirkuk and the border with the Kurdish controlled north. Attacks involving kidnapping and murder (mainly to terrorize the population into not interfering with or reporting on ISIL activity) are more frequent. In March there were seven of these attacks. That increased to 30 during May and 83 in June and so on. This increase shows how effectively ISIL has established base areas to operate from. Most of the bases are in the Hemrin Mountains, which extend from Diyala province through northern Salahuddin province and into southern Kirkuk province. Up to a thousand armed ISIL members are believed to be operating in the Hemrins and about the same in desert areas near the Syrian border from west of Mosul south to include Anbar province. ISIL is also trying to reestablish itself in Mosul and that can be seen by the continued arrests of known ISIL members in Mosul and surrounding areas.

August 23, 2018: In the west (Salahuddin province) Iraqi F-16s carried out airstrikes on recently discovered ISIL targets, killing seven of the Islamic terrorists and destroying two of their hidden base camps. The Iraqi airstrikes are complemented by American ones, which are still carried out in Syria and Iraq and involve coordination with Iraq to ensure both dont go after the same target at the same time.

August 22, 2018: ISIL leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi issued his first recorded message in a year. The 55 minute speech admitted that ISIL had lost all the cities and major towns it controlled a year ago in the Syria and Iraq but urged his followers to continue attacking the enemy, which dozens of small groups of ISIL members have been doing with some success. Baghdadi had recently been reported killed (by an airstrike). These claims have been regular occurrences because so many people want the ISIL founder dead. Eyewitness reports from those who have seen Baghdadi in the last year report that he seems tired and dejected but still in charge whenever he met with his dwindling loyalists. Much like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, if you make enough enemies they will eventually catch up with you.

August 15, 2018: In the south (Basra) there was another large anti-government demonstration which turned violent as some of the protestors began destroying property. The police opened fire, killing one man and wounding more than a hundred others.

August 13, 2018: The government backed away from earlier assurances that Iraq would support the renewed sanctions America has imposed on Iran. The pro-Iran factions in parliament are demanding that Iraq ignore the sanctions but do not have the votes to make it so. At the same time the government cannot assure the United States that Iraq will be able to carry through on efforts to enforce the sanctions. Yet Iraqis who trade with Iraq cannot ignore the sanctions, if only because these sanctions, that are not fully in force until November, have already cost Iraqi traders a lot because it costs twice as much Iranian currency to buy dollars now. So anyone holding a lot of Iranian currency in March saw it lose half its value in dollars since then. Most Iraqis, including most Shia, have no problem with the sanctions hitting Iran again. Iran has not proved to be as good a friend as Iran always proclaimed it would be. Many Iranians now agree with that and are also demonstrating against the Iranian government.

In the west (Anbar province) police detected, found and killed or captured members of an ISIL cell that was planning a series of attacks in Anbar. Such ISIL groups have been carrying out attacks that target military personnel, including roadside bomb based ambushes attempting to kill key military leaders in Anbar. Some of these attacks have succeeded and some of the groups found and destroyed were planning attacks in Saudi Arabia as well.

August 11, 2018: In the northeast Iraq based Kurdish PDK separatists crossed the Iranian border and clashed with IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) troops in West Azerbaijan Province. PDK claims to have killed 12 IRGC men while the IRGC claims to have killed 11 PDK. The clash took place close to the Iraqi border (and Kurdish controlled northern Iraq) and the PDK men apparently crossed the border, traveling from their bases in northern Iraq. The battle went on for nearly five hours and it appears the PDK men retreated back to Iraq before dawn.

In the north (Mosul) two bombs were used to attack pro-Iran PMF militiamen. At least twelve died and as many were wounded.

August 10, 2018: The manual recount of the May 12 election disputed votes has been completed and there were minor changes in the outcome. This recount was approved by the Supreme Court which ordered the largest faction (led by Sadr) to try and assemble a majority coalition so that the new parliament can meet and begin the process of forming a new government.

August 8, 2018: A growing number of Iraqi politicians getting behind demands that Iran pays Iraq $11 billion in reparations because of all the terrorism Iran has supported in Iraq since 2003. This includes Iranian support for al Qaeda. In response Iran revived its own reparation claims, citing Iraqi responsibility for starting the 1980s Iran-Iraq War (by invading Iran and attempting to seize disputed territory including some oil fields in areas where most of the population consisted of Iranian Arabs) and is demanding that Iraq pay war reparations of $1.2 trillion. These reparations were part of the UN brokered peace deal (resolution 598) that ended the war in 1988. The exact amount of reparations was never settled. In 1989 it was about $88 billion, which was seen as a minimum. After Iraq was driven out of Kuwait in 1991 Iraq was hit with another bill for reparations to Kuwait and Iraq has been paying this one off in part because Kuwait is an Arab nation with a large minority of Arab Shia. There is less enthusiasm for paying Iran whose population if largely Indo-European.

August 6, 2018: In the northwest across the border in Syria (Deir Zor province), an American airstrike near the Iraqi border killed nearly 30 ISIL gunmen. Iraqi and American artillery were also involved in firing from the Iraqi side of the border. In Syria, Kurdish led SDF troops advancing on the Syrian side of the border to clear more territory of any ISIL presence. This makes it much more difficult for ISIL personnel to move between Syria and Iraq. SDF announced that it had cleared ISIL from the Jazeera Desert, an area near the Iraq border that, along with the Yarmouk Basin down south (near the Israeli and Jordanian borders) provided ISIL with its last two base areas in Syria.

In the south (Karbala) a weapons and ammo storage site for a PMF unit exploded. Since the site was in a populated area there were a lot (at least 20) dead and wounded.

August 2, 2018: In July 79 civilians died due to Islamic terrorist violence. Some 38 percent of the deaths occurred in Baghdad. Areas north of Baghdad (like Kirkuk) accounted for ten percent of the dead. In June 76 died and in May 95 which was an increase from the 68 April deaths. March, when 104 died had been the deadliest month so far in 2018. That was up a bit from the 91 killed during February. The government has still not resumed reporting casualties among the security forces (military and militias). Based on local reports the Islamic terrorists, mainly ISIL, are suffering much higher death tolls each month, in addition to nearly as many lost to arrest or capture.In mid-2018 the United States began mass production of a much delayed and now much-needed upgrade of its JCREW (Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare) devices that prevent most wireless bombs from detonating. The $100 million contract covers production through 2020. This will equip American forces overseas as well as those of some allies.

A 2011 plan to upgrade the JCREW jammers, which are essential for disabling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) detonated wirelessly was finally completed in late 2017. This update was underway since 2011 but was delayed because, well, because of a lot of things. One of these was the appearance of ISIL and the continued popularity of terrorists using remotely detonated bombs. These jammers were very popular after 2001 when remotely detonated bombs became more common because so many new commercial wireless devices were on the market and easily obtained by Islamic terrorist bomb builders.

By 2011 JCREW 3.1 was recognized as a major improvement in jammer design because it enabled the users to easily add new frequencies to jam and was available in several versions. This included one that could be carried by foot patrols. More upgrades had been ordered but by 2013 it was obvious that work on completing and delivering JCREW 3.3 was in trouble. The situation was so bad that the project was assigned to another company. By 2017 that second development effort apparently succeeded and JCREW 3.3 went into production. Details of what caused the delays are kept secret as are details of how 3.3 works internally. This is standard for electronic weapons that the enemy is constantly trying to duplicate or work around. All that is known about 3.3 is that it is even easier and quicker to upgrade to add or delete frequencies as well exactly when certain frequencies are employed.

JCREW 3.1 arrived in 2011 after the United States had spent eight years (since 2003) and $17 billion to reduce the effectiveness of IEDs, especially roadside bombs. By 2011 that effort could be considered a qualified success but the enemy kept adapting so IEDs still inflicted casualties. IEDs had been around for over a century but had become much more frequently encountered decade by decade. For example, in Vietnam (1961-72) only 14 percent of combat deaths were from IEDs (especially roadside bombs), compared to 50-60 percent in Iraq and Afghanistan. That was mainly because U.S. combat troops were a lot more deadly and the Iraqis and Afghans found that fighting the Americans directly was suicidal. So the roadside bombs and suicide bombs were seen as a more viable approach. But the Americans responded with several generations of jammers that have made IEDs more difficult and risky to use. There were also new training and road security techniques developed along with computer simulators so troops could practice under realistic conditions without getting killed.

Meanwhile, the enemy adapted. By 2011 most roadside bombs in Afghanistan used pressure plates or wire controlled devices to detonate these weapons because American jamming technology has made wireless detonation of the bombs so difficult. The Taliban had another advantage in that there was not a lot of old artillery ammo to use for bombs, so they had to use fertilizer bombs and all sorts of improvisations that created new and unfamiliar (to the Americans) IED designs, that negated some of the techniques developed for Iraq. Still, the roadside bombs remained a last-ditch weapon of terrorists who had no other alternatives.

By 2011 the U.S. Department of Defense had developed a third generation of jammers, to make sure the terrorists had to rely on less effective means of detonating their bombs for the foreseeable future. There was also an effort to make the jammers capable of collecting and analyzing electronic information (to locate the terrorists) or even prematurely detonate some bombs. It is believed that some of these requested features are what derailed and delayed the completion of JCREW 3.3.

Nevertheless, JCREW 3.1 was adequate for troop needs. That was because since 2003 the developers had all the money they needed as long as they came up with and shipped solutions as quickly as possible. There was a war on and peacetime delays and mucking about were not an option. For example in 2006 a major jammer innovation entered service as the JCREW dismounted (wearable) jammer. These cost about $99,000 each and had been frequently requested as soon as vehicle-mounted jammers became available. The wearable JCREW jammers are more useful in Afghanistan, where more of the patrolling is on foot. Since 2006 the wearable JCREW jammers had gotten lighter, more reliable and more capable. But after 2011 additional capabilities proved difficult to implement and getting from JCREW 3.1 to 3.3 took a lot longer and cost a lot more to develop and get into production.

JCREW began as a further development of the first jammer, the 2003 Warlock, which was not for the foot soldier and mounted in vehicles. The jammers quickly went through many revisions, mainly to add more frequencies and better software. By 2011 rolling along in a convoy, with one or more jammers broadcasting, the troops had an electronic "bubble" that made them safe from any wireless IED they had not spotted. It was not uncommon for vehicles to have had an IED go off behind them, the result of the IED detonation crew continuing to send the signal, believing that there might be something wrong with their equipment. In those cases, the patrol often turns around and goes looking for the enemy team. Supply convoys just continue on their way.

In addition to jammers like JCREW and Warlock, several of the U.S. Air Force and Navy electronic warfare aircraft were tweaked so they could perform the same jamming functions, but over a wider area. This was often used when American troops were in action against the enemy, shutting down IED detonation over the entire combat area, as U.S. troops moved around seeking out and fighting the enemy.

One problem with the jamming was that it killed cell phone operation, as well as the use of many other remote electronic devices local civilians might be trying to use. The locals complain to each other, but asking the U.S. troops to shut it off would be futile, so they don't. JCREW 3.3 was apparently working to do something to make this less of a problem.

JCREW 3.0 and 3.1 had lots of new features that frustrated terrorist efforts to work around. After 2011 most roadside bombs were set off via a wire connection between the detonator and a nearby guy pressing a button. This caused more terrorist casualties and generally made it more difficult for the bombers. Pressure plate detonation was less popular because the terrorists had no control over when the bomb goes off, and when it's a civilian vehicle getting blown up by mistake, the Islamic terrorists involved drop further in the opinion polls.

The big (non-secret) improvement in JCREW 3.0 was it was easier to add new frequencies, and the jammer interfered less with other military communications and sensors. JCREW was also lighter and 3.1 (which initially was just referred to as the portable version) showed up because new versions of JCREW could be sent out for testing in a combat zone. For example, a hundred or so lightweight JCREW jammers were first sent to Iraq in 2008 for testing. These proved very popular with troops who did a lot of their patrolling on foot. It's become increasingly common for troops to make long movements on foot, to conduct raids or just patrol. The enemy has lookouts who are on the alert for U.S. vehicles, not dismounted American infantry sneaking up on them. For a while, JCREW 3.2 referred to the heavier version mounted in vehicles. Early on 3.3 had various names, all of them more difficult to remember. Because of all the delays, 3.3 just came to be known as the New JCREW.CPC to import glyphosate by Oct. View(s):

Despite mixed signal from various government quarters, Sri Lanka is preparing to import the weedkiller glyphosate from October with the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) already commencing the procurement process.

Glyphosate was banned in the country in 2015 for use in plantations and other agricultural crops but was lifted in July this year and now authorities are to ensure that this would be made available exclusively for tea and rubber industries.

Plantation Industries Ministry Secretary J.A. Ranjith told the Business Times on Thursday that the CPC has already commenced the procurement process of the substance in a bid to import it.

He pointed out that it was likely that the CPC could commence imports and explained that there was no need for them to await the next gazette on the restriction of the use of the substance solely on tea and rubber plantations.

The glyphosate ban has been lifted but the right to import the product and use it exclusively on the tea and rubber plantations is yet to be announced by the government.

CPC Manager Agrochemicals B.S.S. Perera told the Business Times that they have called for tenders this month and the suppliers that have bid would be sent for approval from the Registrar of Pesticides. This process is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

He noted that the Plantation Ministry had made a requirement of one million litres but that they had ordered for only around a half a million litres of supply of glyphosate in the tender.

Once the process is complete, Mr. Perera said they were likely to import the first stock of glyphosate in the first week of October.

Authorities have not yet issued the relevant gazette notification announcing the use of glyphosate on the tea and rubber plantations, an official at the office of the Registrar of Pesticides told the Business Times.

It was noted that the relevant document requesting the Attorney Generals Department to authorize the use of glyphosate on the tea and rubber plantations have been sent about two weeks back by the Plantation Industries Ministry.

Meanwhile, the industry was confused as to the correct situation in the countrys stance for the importation of glyphosate.

We are confused and we are in a very bad situation  it has gone beyond the tipping point, Hayleys Plantations Managing Director Roshan Rajadurai said.

He noted that in fact to undo the damage in the past it would take long years, adding that due to the presence of the weeds they were unable to fertilise the plants.

Meanwhile, concerns have been raised by some in government circles on the recent decision by a US court in favour of a terminally ill cancer patient, Dewayne Johnson for whom damages were ordered to be paid by Bayer amounting to US$289 million. News reports said that lawyers were able to convince a jury that glyphosate made by Monsanto owned by Bayer had caused Mr. Johnsons cancer.

(SD)Destination Sri Lanka gets a new name By Sunimalee Dias View(s): View(s):

Sri Lanka will be re-branded! From an island of a Small miracle to the Wonder of Asia Sri Lanka will be now seeking a new tagline to be decided by an expert committee of three members. Not even the minister knows it yet but it is to be out by November.

Tourism Development Minister John Amaratunga told the Business Times on Wednesday that it was not his business to work on a new branding.

That is not my business  it is handed over to the expert committee  and next week I will try to find someone to give you an interview with details, he said in reference to the global promotion campaign to be launched in November for which the plan itself has not yet been worked out.

He noted that the nation branding would be carried out by the three member committee appointed in this regard namely tea industry veteran Merrill Fernando, advertising expert Ranil De Silva and former Ministry Secretary Esala Weerakoon.

It is learnt that the paper on the global promotion campaign with a new branding would be sent to the Cabinet next week.

The launch in London would be solely to brand Sri Lanka with its new identity and not the campaign itself, it is learnt.

The international bids called would be then given the branding to carry out the campaign, the minister said.

However the details of the plan were yet to be worked out and it had not yet been handed over to the minister even by last Monday.

Minister Amaratunga noted however, that they would be calling for bids most probably next month and attracting visitors of all genres but focusing on the high end travellers.

All destinations were likely to be included in this long-awaited global promotion campaign.

While Malaysias brand is Truly Asia and India being Incredible India, the world wonders whether Sri Lankas next branding will makes it mark on the global platform.

This launch of this unique branding is scheduled to take place at the annual World Travel Mart in London which is attended by international travel agents and destination promotion companies including state tourism organisations.

This promotion campaign has been planned since the last three months and has mooted by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The destination is currently on a promotional drive with the commencement of the CNN campaign that sparked off a series of advertisements and programmes on the global news channel for a three month period.Sparklink Travels starts its 40th year of operations View(s):

Sparklink Travels recently marked the completion of 39 years in the travel business.

The company is headed by Nihal Perera, a former Director of Sri Lanka Tourism, and a pioneer and legend in the travel industry ably supported by sons Praki Perera and Navein Perera with a team of dedicated staff.

One of their notable achievements is the active promotion of Thomas Cook Holidays in Sri Lanka as General Sales Agent offering a wide range of holiday packages worldwide with cruises to Explore The World and offering great deals on airfares, the company said in a media release.

With Praki Perera moving to Melbourne and establishing Sparklink in Melbourne as the international travel arm, Navein Perera has assumed the position of Managing Director to steer the company to greater heights.

On the remarkable anniversary, the management expressed its gratitude to their valued clients, together with all its internationally connected partners in travel worldwide  airlines, civil aviation, Sri Lanka Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and banks for sustaining Sparklink Travels over the years, the release said

The founder Mr. Perera has over five decades of experience serving the public and private sectors.Sri Lanka to ban high-energy electrical appliances View(s):

Sri Lanka will ban the import and sale of electrical appliances consuming excessive energy with the aim of reducing household power consumption, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SEA) J.D.K. Wickramaratne said.

The Authority will promote the sale of energy efficient electrical appliances while creating awareness on the governments move towards energy conservation among the people, he revealed.

Highwatts electric fans will be banned as an initial step of this programme of curbing household power consumption, he said revealing that a gazette notification for this purpose will be issued shortly.

The Authority will also be pulling the plug on high power consuming air conditioners, electric kettles, computers, refrigerators washing machines, and cooking appliances, he added.

The SEA has already introduced a special labeling scheme for electric fans, air conditioners washing machines, refrigerators and cooking appliances etc and it will help the consumers and government authorities identify electrical appliances which meet the required energy efficiency standards for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Customs will be informed of these labels to identify energy efficient electrical appliances, he said emphasising that a team of energy experts is entrusted with the task of testing those products before placing them in this category.

(Bandula)Chinese archaeologists study ancient Jaffna ports: India also wants to develop it View(s):

The Chinese are not only interested in developing Sri Lankas major ports such as Colombo and Hambantota. They also want to learn about the history of the countrys other ports, an unusual interest indeed.

Involved in the task in Sri Lanka now is a team of archaeologists from the Shanghai Museum. Their attention at present is focused on learning about the ancient port city that existed centuries ago in Jaffna. Interesting enough, India has expressed the wish to develop the port area in the northern capital and transform the airfield there into an airport for regional flights. In fact, before the separatist war, such flights were operated.

At present Chinese archaeologists, with the help of their counterparts attached to the Central Cultural Fund are excavating two areas  Kappalthurai (literally means ship port in Tamil) and Alaipitty.

They want to determine any historic objects related to the old port and also search for ship wrecks.

Among the areas of interest to the Chinese is old ceramic ware. For this purpose, they have come along with a researcher on old Chinese ceramics.

Chinese officials say that their ambitious Maritime Silk Route has seen a revival of ancient sea routes across South Asian region.

PMs office checks Bathiudeens vehicles

The attention of the Prime Ministers Office was drawn last week to a news item that Minister Rishad Bathiudeen was using more vehicles than the number he was entitled to.

The information was based on a Right to Information application filed to the Ministry by our sister newspaper, Lankadeepa. The newspaper reported that Minister Bathiudeen was using seven official vehicles.The Minister was contacted by the Prime Ministers Office once the newspaper hit the stands and a clarification was sought about the excessive usage of the vehicles.

The Minister claimed he was using the correct number of vehicles and it was a mistake made by the Information Officer who responded to the RTI application.

The advice from the PMs Office was that, if the Minister was correct action should be initiated against the officer who provided inaccurate information. However, the Minister was also advised to provide information about the vehicles he was using.

Grace as Lankas EU envoy; Rodney to US

Grace Asirwatham, now Secretary to the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be Sri Lankas new ambassador to the European Union (EU) in Brussels.

Last October, she was appointed Secretary to the State Minister and within hours the Ministry issued a media release requesting the media to disregard the appointment. No reasons were given.

Her appointment came as the President, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister eventually buckled down this week to filling the long vacant post of Ambassador to the United States of America. Current Ambassador to the EU, Rodney Perera, who has previously served as ambassador in Italy and Norway has been named as the new ambassador to the US.

Rehabilitated politico coming back to Cabinet

A former minister who fell from grace is likely to be included in the Cabinet again.

Government sources said yesterday that the matter was now under consideration since he had been rehabilitated.

Child abuse neglected, but officials on jaunt to Canada

Probation and Child Care Services Department officials are getting ready to head to Canada for a conference relating to rapid response to child abuse victims. This comes amidst allegations that the departments emergency Hotline 1929 to call for immediate assistance to report child abuse is often left unattended.

National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Chairperson H M Abeyratne confirmed that he and two other officials were attending the conference in Canada but denied that the hotline was neglected.

Questions have been raised about those who are attending the conference at a time when the department is not doing enough to deal with child abuse victims. The department is getting ready to delegate some of its work in relation to investigations into cases of child abuse to the local police, an activity which is carried out by a special police unit at the moment.

Northern Grama Niladharis in soup over meals

The Grama Niladharis in the Northern Province where mobile services are currently being held are in a quandary over directions given to them from the District Secretarys office over the provision of meals for officers taking part in the events. An allocation of Rs 20,000 each for the Grama Sevakas to supply the meals has not been sufficient and they have been advised to raise funds from sponsors if they required more money.

More than 50 state institutions are being represented at the mobile services drawing a large number of staff from the South. The mobile services are being held in each of the Divisional Secretary areas. They have also received instructions that the public should not be charged for the services provided to them.High-level Sirisena, Wickremesinghe delegations meet to work out strategy, but cloud of uncertainty over their political agendas

Govt. to go full steam ahead with Grama Shakthi and Gamperaliya development programmes

Every ministry to showcase its achievement in bid to counter big JO protest on September 5 Thrusting forward despite the growing rift, fears of crippling strikes or protests, a sudden spurt in prices of consumer goods amidst other woes, this week saw the ruling coalition partners in an unusual embrace over pending Provincial Council elections.

The two sides  leaders of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the United National Party (UNP)  decided Thursday night that they should go ahead with the polls early next year. Despite the firm decision, there were still doubts among some whether it would continue to remain a distant dream. It is not only in the light of complicated issues but also differing views. There were other highly placed sources that opined differently. One of them claimed the decision could even be a tactical move. This is in the light of the National Elections Commission, which is an independent body, being empowered to decide on PC polls in the current situation. The coalitions idea, it seems, is to deliver a message that we are on the same wavelength and hope unfolding events would make clear it is difficult.

This move is notwithstanding Parliament voting en masse on Friday evening to reject the Delimitation Commission report. Its acceptance was long awaited to facilitate PC polls or so the government leaders claimed. To make matters worse, it was commissioned by none other than President Maithripala Sirisena. The report defined the boundaries of PCs to, as far as possible, ensure they are drawn to achieve equitable representation. The United National Front (UNF), Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Joint Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) all voted together to reject it. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) abstained. The tally totalled 139 against in a House where regular absenteeism of large numbers is becoming a common feature. There is no appetite to put the PC polls off, a senior Minister who did not wish to be identified declared.

There is still no formal explanation why the UNP opposed President Sirisenas own proposal. If it knew it was going to be doomed, why did it go ahead with such a move, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the de facto leader of the Joint Opposition bemoaned. He added; We are not sure until there is a formal announcement whether the PC elections will be held. Evidently, the JO leadership had not apprised him that it was joining hands with the UNP to vote against the report. He spoke to the Sunday Times on the telephone from his ancestral home at Medamulana where the family is mourning the death of Tudor Chandra Rajapaksa. He was the third brother of Mahinda Rajapaksa and the funeral was held yesterday amidst large crowds.

Premier Wickremesinghe condoled with the former President during a telephone call. President Sirisena, who was scheduled to be in Kandy for the last day of the Esala Perehera last evening flew by Air Force helicopter first to Medamulana to pay his respects. He stayed overnight in Kandy and will today receive the formal communication from the Diyawadana Nilame of Sri Dalada Maligawa that the perehera has been successfully conducted.

President Sirisenas visit Medamulana to offer his condolences shows a thawing in his relationship with his predecessor. Unconfirmed reports spoke of the duo having spoken on the telephone recently after former Minister S.B, Dissanayake initiated a call. Both sides have refused to confirm the call. It is known that Dissanayake, one of 19 SLFP MPs now sitting in the Opposition benches, is continuing his efforts towards rapprochement together with colleagues Thilanga Sumathipala and Dilan Perera.

The heavy cloud of uncertainty on how PC polls could be held early next year is due to many reasons. Main among them is the ongoing debate over the electoral system to be adopted for such a poll. Issues relating to it remain unresolved. They are time consuming. Added to that would be questions over the next presidential election. In terms of the Constitution, the President is empowered to call a presidential election any time after January 8, next year when he completes four years in office. Thus, PC polls early next year would push back a presidential poll should the President decide to hold one. There are also the resultant questions  whether a possible defeat by the ruling parties, particularly in the light of their newly launched development programmes not reaching fruition by then, may place them in a completely disadvantageous position electorally at the presidential poll. This is if they are held within months thereafter or even later. Needless to say that the development programmes would become a distraction to MPs who will be involved in PC polls.

On Thursday night, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, accompanied by their respective senior ministers held a 90-minute discussion at his Mahagamsekera Mawatha residence in Colombo. The group of ministers form the SLFP-UNP peace team that has been shuttling between the two leaders to iron out differences on past controversial situations. Besides Sirisena, the SLFP was represented by Nimal Siripala de Silva, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sarath Amunugama and Mahinda Amaraweera. On Wickremesinghes side were Lakshman Kiriella, Mangala Samaraweera, Malik Samarawickrema and Sajith Premadasa. Also in attendance was Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapha (SLFP).

Minister Musthapha who has been spearheading legislation in Parliament on matters relating to the local government and provincial council issues, declared that the Delimitation Commission report was not his own but an independent one. He charged that the Commission had not considered the creation of multi-member seats. If indeed that was the case, a provision could have easily been incorporated in the Commissions terms of reference. There was none. Nevertheless, the fact that President Sirisena had appointed the Commission in October last year was lost on him or he was caught up in an indefensible position. In fact, he had made many references to this Commission during speeches in Parliament on the conduct of PC polls. He claimed that the delay in these polls was the result of the Commissions work.

The six-member Commission was appointed in accordance with the Provincial Councils Amendment Act No. 17 of 2017. It comprised retired Surveyor General Kanagaratnam Thavalingam (Chairman), retired Central Bank Assistant Governor Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, Professor S.H. Hasbullah (who died yesterday), Prof. Sangara Wijeyasandiran and retired Assistant Election Commissioner Premathilaka Siriwardena.

Their report was due last year but was handed in on February 19 this year to Minister Musthapha. He tabled it in Parliament in March. A debate should have been held within a month and approved. Speakers at the debate on Friday blamed Minister Musthapha for failure to have the debate in time and go ahead with the elections. The Minister replied saying it was only his duty to submit the report to Parliament in time and claimed he had performed his duty. He said, however, the flavor of the report has not been lost and he declared it could be debated.

It was only last month a Review Committee headed by Premier Wickremesinghe to study the report and look into the issues of holding PC elections was appointed. Two other members of the Committee, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya and Delimitation Commission Chairman Thavalingam sent in their resignations citing conflict of interest as the reason. They were due to hand in their report within two months.

To become effective, the Delimitation Commission Report would have to be approved in Parliament with a two thirds vote  one which was in any case, not possible. At the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe meeting on Thursday night, it was pointed out that since Parliament had now rejected the report, it could not naturally be enforced. Hence, Musthapha said the next step would be for the Speaker of Parliament to appoint a five-member Committee headed by the Prime Minister to study the report further and recommend changes. Such an amended report would thereafter have to be forwarded to the President. However, there was no requirement that it should go before Parliament, he pointed out. Wickremesinghe also made clear at the meeting that the UNP could not accept the report. Earlier, on Thursday, the UNP parliamentary group had in fact taken a decision to that effect. An MP who had often voiced the views of the party disclosed that the mood was not one to get us to prepare for polls.

After the meeting decided that PC polls should be held, Sirisena reminded those present about the pledge he had made before the 2015 presidential election. He had said in his pledge for a stable country: Another serious problem that our Sri Lanka Freedom Party led government failed to address during the last twenty years is the change of the electoral system. The existing electoral system is a mainspring of corruption and violence. Candidates have to spend a colossal sum of money due to the preferential system. I will change this completely. I guarantee the abolition of the preferential system and will ensure that every electorate will have a Member of Parliament of its own. The new electoral system will be a combination of the first past the post system, and the proportional representation of defeated candidates. Since the total composition of Parliament would not change by the proposal, I will be able to get the agreement of political parties represented in Parliament for a change. Further wastage and clashes could be minimised since electoral campaigns would be limited to single electorates.

At Thursday nights meeting, Premier Wickremewsinghe agreed that the UNP would discuss the matter with the SLFP. This is a knotty issue. The UNP has not made its official position on electoral reforms known so far. It is under pressure from the smaller political parties who together form the United National Front (UNF) to conduct PC polls under the existing proportional representation system. This is what was used during the last PC polls. These parties are the Democratic Peoples Front of Minister Mano Ganesan, the All Ceylon Makkal Congress of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress of Minister Rauff Hakeem. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) too is in favour of the existing PR system.

The terms of three PCs  Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa  lapsed last year. They have come under Governors rule. The terms of three more PCs  Northern, North Western and Central  will lapse in October this year. The terms of remaining PCs are Western (April 2019), Southern April (2019) and Uva (October 2019).

There is no gainsaying that tardiness, deliberate or otherwise, together with a failure to stick to a time schedule, has placed the Government in this predicament over PC polls. On the one hand, the UNP is under pressure from the TNA whose help it obtained for new legislation that enables the postponement of PC polls. That the polls would be held was an assurance given to the TNA which is mindful that the PCs were created to devolve power to the provinces  a demand by Tamil political parties and endorsed by the Government of India.

The TNA members will, therefore, find it difficult to go to their electorates at a new election, presidential or parliamentary, as they would stand accused of undoing whatever was won for the Tamil community. On the other hand, the UNPs indecision over the electoral system is clearly over its inability to address the demands of the smaller parties under its fold. That debate is bound to linger whilst the SLFP and its leader President Sirisena are insisting on a mixed system of both first-past-the-post and proportional representation  anathema to smaller parties who will face the threat of being wiped out at a poll depending on the percentages for first-past-the-post and PR. This is where the dilemma lies. Hence, the question is whether government leaders will be in a position to resolve the outstanding issues before PC polls could be held. That is not going to be an easy task.

Thursday nights Sirisena-Wickremesinghe talks also took on other subjects. In focus was Sirisenas Grama Shakthi (Strengthening Villages) programme as well as Wickremesinghes Gamperaliya (Village Reawakening). Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera was to make an interesting disclosure  every electorate related to these projects will receive Rs 100 million each. These funds, he said, have already been set apart.

In fact, earlier this week, Sirisena summoned to the Janadipathi Mandiraya (Presidents House) SLFP members of local councils, provincial councils and electoral organisers. He met them in two different batches and told them to get actively involved in the two major projects. One of the participants, Chandrika Soysa, a member of the Maharagama Urban Council explained: We were advised on how to take the Grama Shakthi programme to the people. Bundles of leaflets were given for distribution. They spelt out the loan schemes available for housing, construction of small roads, provision of roofing sheets, rehabilitation of tanks, canals and plans to protect public places.

Added Upali Meegahapola, Opposition Leader in the Ratnapura Urban Council: We were asked to monitor both the Grama Shakthi and Gamperaliya . Housing loans from Rs 500,000 to one million rupees will be made available. Electricity connections will be provided. Another member from Matale, who did not wish to be named, declared that they had been told to invite even defeated SLFP candidates to take part in the programmes.

As is clear, one main project is under the aegis of Sirisena whilst the other is under Wickremesinghe. The two are demonstrating increasingly that they would be candidates at the next presidential election Thus parting of the ways at some point when their names are formally announced will see each with a project in hand.

In this regard, Wickremesinghe suffered a major setback at last Tuesdays weekly cabinet meeting. That Sirisena has on two successive occasions put off his proposal to pay Rs 200,000 per month to MPs monitoring the Gamperaliya did not deter him. When it came to any other business, Wickremesinghe proposed verbally that a car and fuel be provided to these monitoring MPs. He declared that ministers had given promises that the MPs should be helped so that they could assist in the projects. Sirisena was again not in favour and said that the matter could be looked into later. Past events have demonstrated that it was his way of saying no. Then, Wickremesinghe pressed ahead to ask whether at least fuel could be provided but that too did not meet Sirisenas approval.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe talks also focused on the Joint Opposition protest planned for September 5 in Colombo. The matter has been first raised at Tuesdays cabinet meeting by Housing Minister and UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa. He said that to counter their protest, the Government should launch programmes on the same day to educate the people on their achievements. Eka honda adahasak. Api thavath saakatchcha keramu or that is a good proposal. We will discuss it further, declared Sirisena.

It was decided at Thursday nights talks that every ministry would showcase its achievements in the past nearly three years and arrange for the public to visit Colombo and see them. Similar programmes are also to be launched in the districts and even electorates. There were claims at the discussion that the recent threats of further strikes were politically motivated. The Police are to be directed to take action against anyone who damaged state assets or violated laws. The idea behind the Government move is to deliver a message to the Opposition parties that they could muster as much crowds as they would.

The move to counter the Opposition protest comes in the backdrop of threats by railway trade unions to go on strike. The unions are meeting on Thursday for a final decision. They complain that despite two different meetings with President Sirisena, their demands have not been heeded. The Government has, however, taken up the position that the demands would be examined by a salary anomalies committee. A consequent delay is irking the trade unions.

Interestingly, the Transport Ministry under whom the Sri Lanka Railways come, has been playing little or no role over the strike threats. The Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, received a snub from his ministerial colleagues at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. He had proposed that the qualifying age for three wheeler scooter drivers be raised from the existing 18 to 35. The proposal was shot down. Ministers decided that the existing age should remain. President Sirisena too backed the move. A Transport Ministry official said the idea behind the Ministers move was to minimise hazards caused by three-wheeler scooters being driven by young drivers and also to encourage the youth to take up skilled jobs instead of merely driving a taxi around.

However, the Ministry has so far failed to address some of the major issues caused by three wheeler drivers on roads. Police say after buses, and especially private buses, three wheeler scooter drivers are the biggest offenders and brazenly violate traffic laws. Their carelessness has cost many deaths but an Authority set up to regulate and control them was put on hold after the drivers protested. Worse still, Police say a vast number of the drivers are operating without a licence but the detections have been low.

Overall, continued governance and the need to remain together for this purpose has been the glue that has bonded both the SLFP and the UNP to go the full tenure of their coalition. Yet, they are being rocked by many an issue. This week, LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) or cooking gas shot up to a new high. Needless to say that it will snowball into prices of a variety of consumer items packets of rice and curry, string hoppers and hoppers among them. That it would contribute in no small measure to the cost of living is quite clear.

The other question is whether the billions that will be poured into hurried vote winning development projects will further hurt the economy. Already the depreciation of the US dollar in terms of the Sri Lanka rupee has reached Rs 162, or almost Rs. 163. Strikes and protests are continuing to hit the economy. So has the mounting levels of bribery and corruption. Thus, the issue is not whether the PC elections should come first and the presidential election thereafter. Both will undoubtedly be a test of strength for the coalition partners.

An early PC polls is only advancing the clock. Will that happen? Or Will it not, in the light of the time table not being ready? These are some of the questions to which the public would seek answers.Philosophy of hate and violence View(s):

It came as no surprise. What was surprising was the claim that the notoriously abrasive and physically pugnacious general secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), Galagoda-aththe Gnanasara Thera was speaking on behalf of the nation and conducting himself as he did in the interests of its people.

Last week Most Ven Ittapane Dhammalankara thera, Mahanayake of the Kotte Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya, wrote to President Sirisena expressing what he called some sentiment with regard to the imprisonment of Gnanasara Thera on charges of contempt of court.

It was indeed a sentiment except that this sentiment proved to be more than a veiled justification of Gnanasara Theras execrable conduct over the years which ended with the leading public face of the BBS biting off more than he could spew. When and how Sri Lanka and its people gave Gnanasara Thera the right to represent them and do so in such a reprehensible manner, the Ven Dhammalankara fails to state and for obvious reasons. They would never condone such abhorrence performed in their name bringing disgrace to the country and its people.

Elected governments tolerated his uncivilised and un-Buddhistic behaviour giving rise to the commonly-held perception that he was being encouraged by those in power and that subsequent leaders did not have the political will and the moral courage to act against Gnanasara Thera.

The last bulwark left to defend democratic values such as freedom of expression and right of association against the monks rude and crude conduct was the judiciary. Gnanasara Thera probably thought he could undermine that institution, too, and cow it into subservience with his weaponised verbiage like he did to others untrammelled.

He relied on the Sri Lankan tradition of deference to and the sanctity of the saffron robe to protect him while he virtually laid waste to government institutions, challenged political figures, invaded press conferences disrupting proceedings and threatening persons of other religions and even participating Buddhist monks.

One of the victims was Ven Watarekke Vijitha Thera who Gnanasara Thera threatened to disrobe in the presence of the media.

These are but some of the deleterious actions of Gnanasara Thera, a prominent member of the Kotte Sangha Sabha which the Ven. Dhammalankara says stood for the country as well as for all communities and religions and highly values justice and fairness.

Dhammalankara Thera might be addressed as the Most Venerable. But the content of his letter is hardly the most honourable. If a vulgar display of the kind of thuggery that can be expected from mobsters as happened in Aluthgama four years ago and elsewhere is how the values of justice and fairness are held aloft for the people of Sri Lanka and the world to see, then it is best our people seek such values elsewhere and not from those who constantly demean the teachings of the Buddha they have undertaken to follow dressed in a sacred saffron robe.

Ven. Dhammalankara Theras letter contains an implied criticism of the term of imprisonment handed down to Gnanasara Thera. The judiciary acted as it should. Everybody is equal before the law  or so we have been told  and the law must be respected. The decision to imprison him is now being contested in appeal.

What concerns me immediately is not his resort to the judicial system for which he has not shown much respect as his conduct at the Homagama courts clearly displayed, but the Most Ven. Dhammalankara Theras letter to the president. The Ven Dhammalankara claims he is addressing the president because it was a responsibility cast upon the Kotte chapter as Gnanasara Thera belonged to the Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Sangha Sabha.

If that is the only reason for addressing the President on the verdict of imprisonment, then the Most Venerable Theras explanation represents a weak defence of a monk who has disrespected the Buddhas teachings and disgraced Buddhism.

The Ven Dhammalankara might be pardoned for speaking on behalf of a member of the Kotte Sangha Sabha. What is galling, however, is the Kotte mahanayakes unsubstantiated assertion that Gnanasara Thera preaches his aggressive philosophy for the benefit of the country and the Sri Lankan people, a philosophy of hate, violence and incendiary rhetoric that is nowhere to be found in the moderate, peaceful and non-violent teachings of the Buddha.

It might be recalled that earlier this year a Buddhist monk-led mob attacked a safe house in Mount Lavinia for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar awaiting settlement in a third country.

Were these monks, probably taking a cue from the Gnanasara Thera-type practices of hate and violence, standing up for the Sri Lankan people who had no cause to feel threatened by a community that had fled persecution and terror in their own country?

Maybe the Most Venerable Dhammalankara could tell the Sri Lankan people who was responsible for sowing the seeds of hate that led to the killing of thousands of Rohingya people and the burning and looting of their villages?

Isnt it the same philosophy of hate and violence that is now being propagated in the name of standing up for the nation and speaking on behalf of its people? The Ven Dhammalankara seeks to cloak such jingoistic babble dressed in religious garb thereby diminishing the sanctity of Buddhism that he and like-minded monks profess to follow.

It was just a couple of months ago that the Ven Venduruwe Upali Thera, Anunayake of the Asgiriya Chapter, the repository of todays radical and aggressive Buddhism, said in an anusasana at a dana at the residence of Gotabaya Rajapaksa: Some people have described you as Hitler. Be a Hitler. Go with the military and take the leadership of this country.

The flak that followed his exhortation to Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the Ven Upali Thera beat a quick retreat, stating that he had been misunderstood and his reference to Hitler was to bring to mind the forceful and prompt decision-making of the Nazi despot.

If instant and definitive action is what the Ven Upali Thera was insisting on, then he could have chosen other examples. But his decision to drag in the military made his intentions clear enough. Jack-booted authoritarianism is what seems to be advocated.

It would be enlightening for those like the Upali Thera to read what the military junta now ruling Thailand has done to several of the countrys leading monks and well known temples in the country such as Wat Dhammakaya.

In a lengthy article headlined Thailand tackles its bad boy Buddhist monks, a writer to the Asian Times said: A defrocked Buddhist monk extradited from the United States recently received a 114-year prison sentence for fraud and money laundering, while police raided some of Thailands most sacred Buddhist temples in pursuit of wayward monks and officials allegedly involved in financial crimes.

Monk Wirapol Sukphol first attracted attention in 2013 when he appeared in a YouTube video flaunting wads of cash while cruising on a private jet. Accusations of sexual assault with an underage girl and other allegations resulted in his monastic name, Luang Pu Nenkham, being revoked and a warrant issued for his arrest.

After he escaped to California, he was extradited to Bangkok in 2017.

This is the purge of a lifetime. Never have there been such high-profile arrests and so many prominent monks falling from grace, said Yale University-educated constitutional law scholar Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang.

Thailands biggest-ever investigation and crackdown against corruption among officials and senior saffron-robed Buddhist monks comes amid widespread public dismay about some ascetics all-too-worldly behaviors and lavish lifestyles.

In May, an infamous, politically powerful abbot, Phra Buddha Issara, was also busted, defrocked and imprisoned. His alleged crimes ranged from forging the initials of Thailands queen and late king on fake Buddhist amulets, running a secret organisation, and stealing guns from police.

He gained notoriety as a fiery protest leader during the 2014 so-called Bangkok Shutdown strikes and occupations which crippled the elected government and paved the way for the militarys coup.

Ven Dhammalankara is surely correct when he says that throughout Sri Lankas history there have been Bhikkhus who have spoken fearlessly in defence of Sri Lanka including its sovereignty.

But there is a way of doing so, not by depriving others the right of speech and of dissent and doing so by violence. In recent time the Most Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera showed the way with his sober and dignified approach to discussion and debate.

When those like Gnanasara Thera attempt to use verbal and physical power to force- feed the people with his views, one is reminded of the Buddhas words to the Kalamas encouraging the spirit of free inquiry. As has been pointed out by scholars the spirit of the Kalama sutta signifies a teaching that is exempt from fanaticism, bigotry, dogmatism, and intolerance.

Perhaps it is time for some of our monks  thankfully most do not subscribe to such a philosophy  to revisit the virtuous and compassionate teachings of the Buddha and educate themselves to dutifully serve the country and its people.

As Shakespeare so aptly wrote in one of his sonnets Loathsome canker lives in the sweetest bud.Recognising Sri Lankas monstrous deep state View(s):

When we point one finger at whoever sits in the chairs of government, two fingers must be pointed back at ourselves. What is wrong politically, whether it is corruption of the most extraordinary kind, inflammatory racist rhetoric or institutional non-governance, is only a reflection of what is wrong in our societies, systems and institutions.

A monstrously corrupt creature

This is seen in ongoing cases on corruption before courts (and probably even more so when the special courts established for that purpose commence full hearings) as well as before commissions of inquiry inquiring into these matters. The manner in which senior public servants not only pandered and bowed to political authority but also personally benefited from political corruption in countless ways is disclosed in excruciating detail. These are the tentacles of an octopus-like creature that has monstrously intertwined its way around the core of the nations democratic functioning, choking it and preventing its breathing.

Along with high financiers profiting equally well from whichever party that comes into government and those sections of the security establishment intent on protecting those who have committed horrific crimes wearing the badge of office, these are the constituent elements of Sri Lankas deep State which controls the direction that the country takes, regardless of what outcome a particular election may have.

This was very evident consequent to the change of regime in 2015. Despite the fact that this was possibly the very last chance that Sri Lanka had to draw itself back from the abyss and despite the very profound expectations for a genuine change in governance, that marvelous opportunity was pitifully squandered.

The role of the judiciary

Neither is the judiciary exempt from this pattern. In retrospect, it is a matter for sadness that Sri Lankas Supreme Court had been successful in establishing itself as an independent rights arbiter for thousands of citizensjust during a short few years in the early 1990s.It was during this period that the Court asserted the right to speedy trial of individuals detained under draconian national security and anti-terrorism legislation. This was during the height of the states counter-terrorist measures, both in the northeast and the south. Spurred on by civil-society monitors, vigilant in the protection of liberties, the halls of justice became the final recourse for many.

These judicial interventions were all the more creditable given that the Sri Lankan Constitution lacked the full-bodied thrust of the Indian Constitution, such as the enshrining of the right to life and the encouragement of public interest litigation. Regardless, a strong moral opinion on the importance of constitutional governance was created. Correspondingly, the media also played a creditable role in articulating the importance of the democratic process.

But this bold flowering of rights-motivated jurisprudence was given short shrift. A severe political backlash resulted in the undermining of the Court and later, led to unprecedented allegations of political partisanship against individuals deposited in the office of the Chief Justice by sitting Presidents. For example, assessing the cumulative impact of events during ex-Chief Justice Sarath Silvas term, a 2001 report of a committee of the International Bar Association concluded in somewhat restrained language that, the perception of a lack of independence of the judiciary was in danger of becoming widespread with extremely harmful effects on the rule of law in the country.

The rest is, of course (particularly mortifying) history, including that particular Chief Justice apologizing for judgments that he had handed down in regard to exculpating former President Mahinda Rajapaksa for financial misappropriation of tsunami funds. Butgoing beyond that individual as we surely must, the point is that things did not notably change, despite various others occupying that seat in the years that passed.

Why constitutional changes cannot succeed

And so we return to the theme of this column, in that the fault lie also in us, not only with those who occupy political office. This is a fundamental reason why, though the very idea of the 17th Amendment was to change patterns of political appointments to high office, it was destined to fail given that the opposition to it by the deep State of Sri Lankan political and institutional culture was not resisted significantlyby the citizenry.

To that extent, the 18th Amendment under former President Rajapaksa merely gave the last rites to institutional governance which had been reduced anyway by that time to a caricature of itself. Further and despite all the rhetoric that we heard, the 19th Amendment did not disturb that status quo beyond a point either, though it permitted a semblance of democratic functionality to return. That failure can be traced not only to the machinations of politicians but also to the fact that, as in 1996 and in 2001, civil society voices who should have been independent voices of restraint chose to be co-opted into government, with disastrous consequences as we can now see. A country or an institution for that matter can die, as has been famously reminded, not with a bang but with a whimper.

So the comfortable exchanging of one political leadership for another as (at least) a partial panacea for the nations ills is now indisputably over. The question remains as to how Sri Lankas legal and constitutional process, based on the notion of the Rule of Law, can be rescued from the grave disrepute that it is afflicted with?

Questions of justice that remain

Indeed, accountability in respect of civilian deaths during the ethnic conflict in the North and East is not limited to a sequence of events that took place at the end stages. This month marks the conscienceless killing of seventeen aid workers in Mutur in 2006 for which no closure has been marked, as has been the killings of Tamil students earlier in that year. Sporadic investigations into mass burial graves in Matale and Mannar with no definitive result underscore the enormity of crimes that must yet be brought to justice.

This is the common thread underlying state excesses in the eighties against radicalised Sinhalese youth which continued in regard to Tamil civilians at all stages of the ethnic conflict. Certainly there is no prescriptive right to claim accountability as uniquely applicable during a particular historical period to a particular ethnicity but when will justice be done?

This is a question that should reverberate in our collective conscience.Permanent High Court: Credibility a sine qua non View(s):

At long last, and only after intense public agitation has the Government put rhetoric into action by kicking off with the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar to try high-end financial frauds in this country.

For too long has white collar crime been given a Nelsonian eye and a free run. The link between crooked businessmen and Government officials and with politicians has continued to ruin this country all along. The euphemism to these rackets is campaign funds, but a major part of it is lining their pockets.

In the 1970s, the then Government tried to bring those who violated foreign exchange regulations of the time, to book. A Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) was rushed into law. Provisions of the Evidence Ordinance were discarded to speed up the trials. The legal maxim; innocent until proven guilty was turned on its head and one was guilty until proven innocent.

While many praised the Government of that day for pursuing those who violated or circumvented foreign exchange laws, the exercise quickly turned out to take a political twist. Most, if not all those brought before the CJC somehow happened to be financiers of the Opposition UNP.

The then powerful super minister, Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike was both credited, and then discredited for expediting those trials. He had to pay for what he did when the UNP returned to power and took away his civic rights. That he directly controlled the prosecutions before the CJC was no secret. He would threaten those who were virtually frog-marched before the tribunal saying to the accused; we will grind you to dust  unless they toed the line (of the ruling party). Accused were chained to hospital beds and humiliated, and a former Governor General was forced into self-imposed exile after being found guilty. Eventually, what was meant to be a positive exercise, turned out sour.

In 1977, those foreign exchange regulations were relaxed and a liberalised economy followed, bringing in its wake unbridled corruption with foreign currency freely flowing out of the country. To-date, even the European Union has endorsed its policy making body, FATF (Financial Action Task Force) putting Sri Lanka on the grey list of countries engaged in money laundering. It has given this country time till March 2019 before it is put on the black list. The Central Bank Governor says action will be taken soon to avoid this from happening. Good governance seems to be dictated from Europe because the authorities in this country cannot get their act together.

The Permanent High Court which began work on Friday with a relatively high profile case must not risk gaining the reputation the CJC eventually suffered.

While there is a filtering process by which cases could be brought before the Court, i.e. from the Attorney General to the Chief Justices eventual imprimatur, the High Courts credibility is paramount in that it should not be seen as a political witch-hunt of opponents of the Government, but a genuine exercise in punishing those who pocketed public funds while holding office. Those who are likely to be brought before it are quick to profess their innocence by calling it a part of the Governments agenda to disqualify its political opponents, much like the Special Presidential Commission did in recommending the stripping of former Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaikes civic rights.

Theres a need for the Government to show this Court is not limited to white collar rogues of the previous Administration, but also its own. A Parliamentary Committee (COPE) and a President-appointed Commission of Inquiry have made adverse strictures on the Central Bank bond scams of 2015 and 2016 and if those adversely mentioned in those reports are not brought to speedy trials before this specially appointed High Court, it would not only be a travesty of justice, but make the Court look a mere inquisition of the Governments opponents.

The wheels of justice have moved slowly in bringing to justice those who ran riot during the last Government. There have been multiple reasons for this, among which were the lack of expertise and staff in the Police; the money on offer to delay investigations; political you scratch my back, so you can scratch mine later deals; and overworked state prosecutors receiving half-baked files from the Police.

So, many past crimes have fallen by the wayside for one or more of these reasons. The yesteryears notorious pump and dump scandal that hit the Stock Exchange draining the savings at the Employees Provident Fund; the Central Banks hedging and Greek bonds fiascos are among the many which have gone into the limbo of forgotten things. The SriLankan Airlines Commission of Inquiry now in session is giving daily doses of what had happened in the loss-making national carrier, but theres pessimism that apart from the evidence being titillating reading in the newspapers, the findings will go nowhere other than to gather dust in some Presidential cupboard.

The Bribery and Corruption Commission today is toothless. So says its own head. Sitting Ministers refuse to obey the Commissions summons. So, the Governments crusade against corruption cannot be a one-sided affair.

Accelerating the cases before a Trial-at-Bar is justifiable considering laws chronic delays in the regular courts. Laws delays is an endemic situation successive Governments have been unable to resolve due in the main to a select group of senior lawyers having it their way. Spinning out a case comes as second nature to many, and the bulk of cases before each court has its effects on judges.

However, as much as justice delayed is justice denied; justice hurried is justice buried. As much as the incumbent Government may now appear to be in an indecent hurry to put its opponents behind bars with national elections negotiating the bend, the Courts must be insulated from political targets in delivering justice.

Corruption has penetrated every pore of Sri Lankan life. The Establishment has encouraged corruption. That is an established, irrefutable fact. The one-time Registrar of Persons was nabbed for issuing National Identity Cards, no less. Today even genuine GCE Advanced Level certificates can be obtained through the back door.

This culture is bolstered by the fact that white collar criminals get away due to political patronage as they are hand-in-glove with the powers-that-be. To reverse this trend is a gigantic task. That journey must begin somewhere, and all long journeys start with the first step. One can only hope the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar will be that first step, and be allowed to mete out justice as is expected by the country.Students, during their school holidays, travelled in large numbers to watch the Kandy Esala Perahera. Here students spend their time playfully on the side of a main road where the Perahera was due, before returning later in the day. The picture was captured earlier this week. Pic by Amila GamageAmagi Beach: Sun, sand and seafood By Sanath Weerasuriya View(s): View(s):

Thalawilawella, a remote fishing village off Marawila was unheard till the late nineties. Nobody was really bothered to visit this beautiful stretch of beach until the touch of star class came to the life of the village in 1996.

Amagi Beach was one of the pioneering hospitality projects, that turned Thalawilawella beach and Kurusa Palliya junction into a major tourism destinations. Since then many major tourism projects have come up to accommodate the demand.

Nestled by soft, sun-kissed sands and the deep blue ocean gently rolling in to meet the shore, Amagi Beach, Marawila provides the perfect island sanctuary. A much sought-after choice amongst Sri Lanka travellers to the region, this beachfront property is an ideal coastal haven for a romantic hideaway or a family fun holiday.

Amagi Beach, Marawila offers 26 cosy standard rooms comprising ten doubles, ten triples and six family rooms that can accommodate four to five pax per room. All rooms are well equipped and replete with an array of modern amenities for convenient and comfortable living.

It was started as a just fifteen roomproperty, this area was known for coconut plantations, fishing and for toddy. When the tourism industry started to grow in the area, Amagi Beach Resort added another 11 rooms to its room category in 2016. From that point onwards it was a success story for Amagi said Leister Noel Woods, the Resident Manager of the Resort.

Every sea view room has its own private terrace with a luxury king size bed coming with double or twin bed options and can also accommodate an extra bed upon request to convert into a triple bedroom. Each room is airconditioned with an attached bathroom and includes a tea / coffee maker, telephone, cable TV, hot and cold water and chairs on the terrace to relax and enjoy.

Amagi Beach prioritises the food and beverage experience offering two different dining options. The main restaurant, which accommodates up to 40 pax, creates a soothing atmosphere with a mesmerising ocean view while the beach terrace offers the finest in sea food. The beach is exclusively reserved for Amagi guests.

The Resort has all the necessary facilities to offer any dining options including fine dining, buffet, BBQ and snack type facilities around the clock. The Sunday buffet is one of the biggest attractions of the hotel for families with live music.

The weekend lunch offer for Rs 1800/- is very popular with Sri Lankan clientele. Our specialty is Sri Lankan cuisine Leister added.

The Amagi Beach stretch is set a midst one of Sri Lankas unrestrained beach terrains, where the worlds best seafood harvest is found and into made tantalising delicacies to please the most discerning travellers the world over.

We are always ready to cater to the needs of our guests. We offer international cuisine from around the world. But the speciality is fresh catch from the sea. Guests can bring their fresh catch from the nearby beach and we are ready to cook it the way they want, while serving up authentic Asian delicacies and international favourites.

Also we offer theme nights and BBQ facilities on requests explained Chef Eranga.

Amagi is a mere 20 kms away from the Anavilundawa bird sanctuary, one of Sri Lankas Ramsar wetland sites. With the aim of providing guests a more wholesome experience, the resort also organises excursions to Wilpattu, the dolphin watchers paradise Kalpitiya, and the Muthurajawela.

For more details call 0112233762, 768302124/26 or log onto www.amagihotels.comBarrel of laughs and even a few gasps, thats whats in store By Sashini Rodrigo Indu Dharmasenas Love, Lies and Diamonds returns View(s): View(s):

Just over a year after its debut on stage, Indu Dharmasenas 65th original play Love, Lies and Diamonds returns on September 7,8 and 9 at the Lionel Wendt to hold its audiences in fits of laughter as one man struggles to untangle the convoluted web of lies he has woven himself into.

The play revolves around Kusal Kukulawala, a successful businessman and notorious philanderer, on the fateful day when his wife unexpectedly arrives at the office, finds the diamond necklace he bought for his girlfriend and assumes its for her. It turns into a race against the clock as Kusal does everything in his power to get the necklace back, woo his girlfriend with lunch in Unawatuna, and keep his marriage intact. All the while dealing with the problems of being top dog at Kukulawala Holdings.

Indu will be reprising the role of Kusal himself, and makes no pretence as to what kind of man the character is modelled after.

The name should indicate what he is, he says. You get these rich businessmen, who most probably would have inherited the company from their fathers, who enjoy spending the money and all the perks.

Also returning to their original roles are Sanwada Dharmasena as the wife Deepika, and Saneesha Ramanayake as the girlfriend Priyanka Haddagoda. Two very different but equally likeable characters inadvertently pulled into the chaos and confusion by the man in their lives.

Sanwada describes Deepika as a happy-go-lucky, philanthropic kind of person. One of the reasons that she comes into the office is to sign over a plot of land to an orphanage, revealing her goodhearted nature.

Even when hes barking commands at the new secretary, shes the one making peace for both sides, Sanwada adds. Shes not thinking her husbands a cheat, shes thinking Aney sweet, its not my birthday, its not our anniversary, what have I done to deserve it? She doesnt suspect anything.

The girlfriend Priyanka is more naive and trusting, according to Saneesha. And concerned also, because he tells me [Priyanka] theyre getting a divorce, so Im always asking Did you sign the papers? Is it settled?

Rounding off the stellar cast are Meneka, the well-meaning but bumbling new secretary (Minoli Pieris), Percy Ranaweera the jeweller and old friend of Kusal who provides the diamond necklace (Jaliya Wijewardena), Danny Sahabandhu the loyal but long-suffering Financial Controller (Abbasali Rozais), Asela the stressed-out legal secretary thrust into Kusals plot to distract his wife (Sahan Wijewardena), and Monica Ellanasooriya who just wants a sponsorship deal for her cause (Kamanthi Wickramasinghe).

With such a juicy plotline and colourful cast of characters, it is clear why Love, Lies and Diamonds would deserve a second run. But the real reason, according to Indu, is far simpler: it was a long weekend and a lot of people missed it when it was on the boards at the Lionel Wendt in September 2017.

After that first run, the script went through some tweaks to add in new lines, nuances and some improvements. Sanwada believes that what a play used to be, what it is now and what people expect now must always change.

[In theatre] there was a lot of lengthy description of how things happen, why things happen, how its going to happen. Now you dont need to set up the scene, because the audience is intelligent enough to understand. You can start and go, and they will figure it out.

The most significant change, however, is the bold decision to scrap the interval completely to keep the suspense rolling unhindered.

We decided to go right through. I always try to keep my productions, even with the interval, to about one and a half hours. Another reason is that people want to go out after a show, Indu explains.

It is exactly that kind of understanding of the audience that gives his work its signature charm, coupled with his way of revealing the often obnoxious realities of human nature while still keeping it hilarious and entertaining enough for us to be able to laugh at ourselves.

Love, Lies and Diamonds is no exception, and promises a barrel of laughs and a few gasps to boot.

Tickets priced at Rs.2000, Rs.1500 and Rs.1000 (reserved) and Rs.700 -balcony (unreserved) are available at the Wendt or online :www.lionelwendt.org

The show on September 8 is presented by the Bamunuarachchi Foundation in aid of the ongoing project of upgrading the Homagama Base Hospital.BoCs millions in LKR, US$ loans on LoCs kept SriLankan airborne By S. Rubatheesan View(s): View(s):

A Commission of Inquiry (CoI), appointed to investigate alleged irregularities in connection with SriLankan Airlines Ltd (SriLankan), SriLankan Catering Ltd (SL Catering) and Mihin Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (Mihin), from January 1, 2006 to January 31, 2018, was told this week, how the State-owned Bank of Ceylon (BoC) pumped millions in rupees and dollars into Srilankan for years, with merely a Letter of Credit (LoC) from the Treasury, in spite of the Airline defaulting on past outstanding loans.

Testifying before the CoI, BoC Offshore Branch Manager Upul Kumara Dias said that over US$ 100 million was issued as loans to SriLankan since 2014, with much of it being granted on Overdraft (OD) credit basis of Letter of Comfort (LoCom)- a short term debt assurance.

The CoI was also told that a LoCom has no strong financial legal binding, compared with a Letter of Guarantee (LoG), as required by the Bank, when issuing humongous loans.

The multiple loans issued since 2014 consists of 3 loans totaling Rs 12 billion, and over US$ 100 million in loans issued in phases throughout the year, as requested by the SriLankan management with Treasury approval. Mr Dias informed the CoI that long delays in repaying the loans were renewed, where only interest was paid, but not the capital.

SriLankan had also obtained several ODs, most of which were borrowed without guarantees.

While failing to repay previous loans, SriLankan requested more funds through ODs and the BoC extended the LoG limit from US$ 3 million in 2005 to US$ 70 million as of now.

In the first quarter of 2015, a capital contribution amount of US$ 125 million was granted by BoC as a short term loan facility to SriLankan, as allocated in the Budget, with a LoCom as security. However, in spite of an undertaking that the loan would be settled in full, on a priority basis, the capital contribution is yet to be settled.

In 2012, the Treasury pledged a loan of US$ 35 million, through a LoCom, which it refused at the last minute. The loan was later granted using SLCatering Shares as collateral.

Mr Dias noted that SriLankans performance from 2005-2008, under Emirates management, was positive, where SriLankan recorded revenues and kept fixed deposits. However, after the exit of Emirates, SriLankan took a different turn.

CoI Chairman, retired Supreme Court Judge Anil Gooneratne questioned how the BoC management was willing to grant more loans to SriLankan, as many previous loans remained unsettled.

Mr Dias replied that, as Sri Lankan is the national carrier that runs with State backing, all the loans were given with the Treasurys LoC, where clear deadlines were set for repayment. The scheduled repayment period ended on June 30, 2018.

Noting the special treatment given to the loss-making SriLankan, by the BoC management, Justice Gooneratne inquired whether the same treatment would be given to a common citizen who finds it difficult to repay loans.

SriLankan Industrial Affairs Manager Shiromi Cooray told the CoI how, single-handedly, a group of top influential officials including former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kapila Chandrasena, former Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe, and Chief Marketing Officer J.T. Jeyaseelan bypassed 2009 Manual of Procedures in appointing overseas General Sales Agents (GSAs), which was given arbitrarily to selected private companies.

For most GSAs appointments, there were no newspaper advertisements or market surveys done ahead. Ms Cooray revealed there was no approval given for most of the GSAs, as the SriLankan Chairman instructed officials to change criteria on selecting GSAs.

The CoI was also told that how the previous Srilankan management manipulated the 2009 Manual for the payment of GSAs Commissions/Broker Fees, which were increased arbitrarily at the expense of the Airline. According to the 2009 manual, the Over Riding Commission (ORC) for a passenger service is 2.5% and 3% for cargo. However, these were increased to 5% and 7% respectively, to the benefit of the GSA agents.

When SriLankan decided to appoint a GSA for Russia and Ukraine, where SriLankan did not have a country office at that time, then Sri Lanka Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga recommended that a particular company be appointed, to which the SriLankan Management agreed, without following any sort of due process.

There are no circulars nor anything in the manuals at SriLankan, where a diplomats recommendation of a GSA can bypass existing procedures. Throughout my experience, I have never come across such instances, Ms Cooray told the CoI.

Ms Coorays statement was led by State Counsel Chathura Gunathilaka.

The CoI comprises Retired Supreme Court Justice Anil Gooneratne (Chairman), Court of Appeal Judge Gamini Rohan Amarasekara, Retired High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe, Retired Deputy Auditor General Don Anthony Harold and Sri Lanka Accounting & Auditing Standards Monitoring Board Director General Wasantha Jayaseeli Kapugama. The CoI hearings will continue tomorrow.

Amidst startling revelations being made at the CoI on how a group of top officials at SriLankan ran the Airline into a loss-making venture, the CoI issued summons this week to record statements from officials of the Criminal Investigation Divisions (CID) Investigation Unit of the CoI.

On Thursday, former Chairman of SriLankan Airlines, Nishantha Wickramasinghe and former CEO Kapila Chandrasena appeared before the CoI, and were subjected to hours of questioning, based on the revelations to the CoI, officials said.

The CoI also served summons on former Defence Secretary and founding Director of Mihin Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and former CEO of Mihin Lanka, Sajin de Vass Gunawardena to appear before the CoI in the coming days.CMC members vote to double their allowance View(s):

Colombo Municipal Council members this week voted to more than double their monthly allowance from Rs 20,000 to Rs 45,000.

The Rs. 25,000 hike was proposed by Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake and passed by a vote at the General Council meeting held on Friday. This grants the 119 members of the CMC a monthly allowance of Rs 45,000 in addition to Rs 7,000 for travel, around Rs 6,000 for telephone and Rs 1,000 for postage.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramunas 23 members walked out during the vote, said Sharmila Gonawala who contested the last local Government elections from that party. She said she had protested the increase in allowance because, despite the CMC boasting a fixed deposit of Rs 2,000mn in the bank, Our current account is running on an overdraft of Rs 750mn.

Is this the time to give increments? she asked. However, the governing UNP had argued that, at Rs 25,000, the allowance for councillors was insufficient by far, and that they must be granted a respectable allowance commensurate with their status. They also maintained that they incurred cost in attending funerals and other public functions.

The Council had 53 members until the local Government elections which were held under a new electoral system in February. The numbers increased to 119 and there are now 28 women including the Mayor.Palaly to be upgraded to a regional airport Three ministries jointly seek Cabinet approval for funds, phase two focuses on international flights By Chris Kamalendran and S. Rubatheesan View(s): View(s):

Three ministries are seeking Cabinet approval to upgrade the Palaly Airport to the level of a regional airport and operate flights to South Indian cities by the end of this year, a senior cabinet minister said yesterday.

A joint cabinet paper is to be submitted by the ministries of Transport and Civil Avaition, Policy Planning and Economic Development and Tourism to seek Rs 1.2 billion for the refurbishment, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

The move came as Civil Aviation Authority (CAASL) officials were drawing the floor plan to set up Immigration and Customs counters and quarters for the staff. The initial plan will be to convert Palaly into a regional airport and thereafter to an international airport with flights to other countries, Mr de Silva said. He said the refurbishment plan would be handled by the Sri Lanka Air Force.

Currently the Palaly military airport located in Valikamam North encompasses an area of 1,000 acres, but only 750 acres will be used to develop the airport. Jaffna District Additional Secretary (Lands) S. Muralitharan told the Sunday Times that a feasibility study had been carried out to develop the airport. This included a detailed study on the population of the area, schools and electrical overhead cables in the vicinity.

Mr. Muralitharan said that, accordingly about 250 more acres around the Palaly airbase would be released to the civilians.

A three-member Indian aviation delegation also visited the Palaly airport this week. Civil Aviation Director General H.M.C. Nimalsiri said the CAASL was finalising the first phase of the Palaly airport development project and based on the demand for service, the airport would be further developed in phases.

I dont think that there will be huge traffic in the regional airport but we are aware of its potential demand. Thats why we have decided to undertake the development of the airport phase by phase, he said. According to Mr Nimalsiri, though the feasibility studies have been concluded, the allocation of funds is yet to be worked out.

A proposal formulated by the CAASL with inputs from the Air Force also recommended that the phase-based development would ensure fair return on huge investment for infrastructure development. The report also indicated that initially the airport could be upgraded to handle minimum of two medium commercial jets such as A320, A 321, B737 type aircraft which could carry 150-180 passengers.

In 2010, the Indian government had agreed to provide assistance to develop the Palaly airport and an understanding was reached on the subject in a joint declaration by both countries. Preliminary studies were carried out by a technical team from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and its recommendations were handed over the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. It was estimated that the cost of the project would be about US$ 109 million (Rs 11,312 million). It was to be completed in three and half years.

The CAASLs decision to use its own funds to develop the airport comes as the government revived talks with relevant Indian authorities to develop the airport using the Indian grant as agreed earlier. Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran wrote to the CAASL in June amidst public concerns raised over possible civilian land acquisition if the project was to be implemented.

He pointed out that legally acquired 349 acres of land currently under the control of the Air Force should be returned to the CAASL and if more land was needed, necessary step could be taken based on feasibility studies. However, the CAASL feasibility study said that further land acquisition was not required since there was no need to extend the runway.Permanent High Court-at-Bar in action from Thursday By Ranjith Padmasiri View(s): View(s):

The Permanent High Court-at-Bar set up to hear high profile cases of financial fraud and corruption, began sittings on Thursday (23), and will fix dates for the continuous hearing of the case against former Chief of Staff of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gamini Senarath, Piyadasa Kudabalage, Neil Bandara and Lasantha Bandara, at its next hearing on September 19.

There are 24 charges against the accused, including transfer of Rs 500 million from Litro Gas to Canwill Holdings and of Corporation funds to Hyatt Regency Hotel project in Hambantota. They were served indictments and released on cash bail of Rs 100,000 each, while their passports were impounded.

The charges have been framed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Public Property Act.

The 3-Judge Bench headed by High Court (HC) Judge Sampath Abeykoon comprises HC Judges Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Janaki Rajaratne.

The President of the Court said the Trial-at-Bar Court was created to try special assignments and functions within a specified legal framework.

The Attorney General (AG) listed 92 documents and named 63 witnesses. The related investigations lasted from February 1, 2014-January 20, 2015. Canvill Holdings CEO was indicted for illegal transfer of funds and purchase of property in Nuwara Eliya in 2014, and investing in Little England Cottage project.

Deputy Solicitor General Thusith Mudalige appeared for the AG.

Gamini Marapana P.C., Anil Silva P.C. and Counsel Navin Marapana appeared for the Defendants.Private hospital charges to be controlled; Gazette next week By Damith Wickremasekara View(s): View(s):

The Health Ministry will next week gazette maximum charges for tests, treatment and surgery at private hospitals, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne told the Sunday Times. Accordingly, 53 medical and surgical procedures including lab tests, scans, examination reports, cataract operations, bypass surgery, and angiogram charges will have a maximum charge which hospitals will required to adhere to.

The move will mean that the patient will have an idea about the charges before they begin the treatment or carry out the tests, Dr Senaratne said. He said the provisions of the Private Hospitals Act had been invoked to declare the maximum charges and discussions had been held with private hospitals regarding the decision.

A Health Ministry investigation unit would be monitoring the implementation of the decision and take legal action against hospitals violating the regulations. The minister said the unit would also be empowered to probe complaints. He said the Government had already provided concessions where medical charges had been exempted from the Value Added Tax (VAT) and, therefore, private hospitals were expected to pass on the benefit to the patients.

Dr. Senaratne said another gazette notification was being issued to regulate service charges imposed by private hospitals.

He said that under the gazette notification when patients were discharged from hospital, only normal charges would apply to any medicine given  and not the amount charged from warded patients. This regulation was being enforced because in some hospitals they were charged the amount that indoor patients paid.

The minister said that one of the complaints received was that a patient who underwent heart surgery under a Rs 700,000 package had been eventually charged Rs 2.9 million. He said the patient had passed away and the hospital had refused to release the body, and after discussions the doctors charges of Rs 400,000 and another Rs 200,000 were reduced forcing the family to pay Rs 2.3 million.Railway unions insist on salary revision by Wednesday By Kasun Warakapitiya View(s): View(s):

Railway trade unions are insisting that the demands for a revision of their salaries and grades be resolved instead of waiting till a salary review committee makes it report in two months. Locomotive Engineers Union (LOEU) General Secretary D.H. Indika told the Sunday Times that they would call a strike if their demands were not met by Wednesday.

He said that they were seeking the promotion of grade II employees to grade III while increasing their salaries by Rs. 320 which would make it their basic salary Rs. 16,820 a month. Mr Indika also explained that they had issues of salary disparities at their grading and ,therefore, that issue also should be addressed before Wednesday.

He said the union leaders had presented the issues to the the National Salaries and Carder Commission on Friday. We even agreed to make changes in our demands when we met the commission members. Now we are awaiting a response from the Commission by Monday or Tuesday, he said.

Meanwhile, the meetings held between President Maithripala Sirisena and 12 representatives of four railway unions on Thursday failed to end the deadlock. They said they could not wait for two months until the President-appointed special commission to review public sector salaries submit its reports.

The President issued a gazette notification on Monday appointing a 15-member commission chaired by S.Rannuge, Executive Director of Transparency International.Two made-in-Japan FPVs bolster Sri Lanka Coast Guard View(s):

Two new fast patrol vessels (FPV), custom-made in Japan for the Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) and equipped for, among other things, marine pollution control, will be commissioned on Wednesday.

The 1.8bn yen (Rs 2.4bn) project was funded by a Japan International Coorporation Agency (JICA) grant. Both vessels underwent extensive sea trials during the last few weeks in preparation for the ceremonial commissioning and are expected to bolster the SLCGs white hulls fleet which recently also saw the addition of an Indian-built offshore patrol vessel (OPV).

The FPVs are the first purpose-built modern craft for the SLCG and bring with them new capabilities and technology to play several roles. They are 30 metres in length, have an endurance of 750 nautical miles and a displacement of 123 tons each. Both were built at the Sumidagawa Shipyard in Tokyo.

Powered by two German built MTU engines and a Hamilton water jet propulsion system, each FPV is capable of a top speed of 27 knots. The vessels are primarily designed for law enforcement missions while being equipped to perform a range of other roles, said SLCG Spokesman Capt Ravindra Tissera.

They are the first to come equipped for marine pollution control with a flotation boom and skimmer system that can contain and skim oil spills at sea. They can also spray chemical oil dispersants which break the oil up into small droplets, increasing the likelihood of it biodegrading. They each have a rigid hull inflatable boat and firefighting equipment that can project water in excess of 70m.

The vessels are capable of conducting patrols, search and rescue (SAR), humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) and boarding operations at sea. The vessels will be have a crew of 15 personnel, including specialists trained in diving, pollution control and boarding operations, said Commander K M P Perera, Commanding Officer of FPV 502. Lieutenant Commander MACP Abeyawardena will be the Commander Officer of FPV 501. Both were trained in SAR, pollution control and oil spill management as well as boarding operations in Japan and the United States.

This week, the Japanese Minister of Defence was in Sri Lanka for the first time. Itsunori Onodera visited the Hambanthota and Trincomalee ports, promoting discussion on enhancing security cooperation between Japan and Sri Lanka with a focus on the sea. Japan has proactively assisted its international partners in the Indo- Pacific region through capacity building of coastguard agencies and other law enforcement organisations.

JICA promotes Coast Guard programmes The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with assistance from the Japanese Coast Guard has assisted in the SLCGs capacity building and skill development efforts.Training programmes have laid emphasis on maritime aspects of international law, countering maritime crimes and pollution control. Under JICA knowledge co-creation initiativessuch as the maritime safety and security policy programmeSLCG officers can obtain postgraduate degrees at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies and Japan Coast Guard Academy. Three seats have been already offered for the 2018 Japanese fiscal year. A capacity development programme on oil spill incident management and combating techniques is expected to be implemented from 2019 as part of a three-year technical cooperation project. There is also a possibility that Japanese Coast Guard officials will come to Sri Lanka as JICA experts to transfer knowledge to the SLCG.

SLCG at a glance The Department of Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) in its present form was established in 2010 under the Coast Guard Act No 41 of 2009. It has 1,400 personnel with 100 officers and 1300 other ranks. They are empowered as peace officers and the SLCG holds jurisdiction as a law enforcement organisation at sea and on the coast. It works with other agencies, including the Police, Customs, the Marine Environment Protection Authority and the Department of Wild Life Conservation. The Sri Lanka Air Force and Sri Lanka Navy help it conduct search and rescue operations in territorial and international waters. The SLCG also holds regular training exercises with other coast guard services such as the United States Coast Guard, the Indian Coast Guard, the Pakistani Maritime Security Agency, the Maldivian Coast Guard and the Japanese Coast Guard. It has several bases along Sri Lankas coastline and is headquartered in Wellawatta. It also operates 12 lifesaver substations around the island.Youths tired of politicians and elections; dip in voter registration View(s):

A drop in voter registration, especially among the countrys youth, has been observed in the latest enumeration process, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya told the Sunday Times. I dont think parties or politicians should be blamed entirely. The youth are not against individual parties or politicians, but against the system as a whole. We have spoken to some of them and they say; we dont want elections, we have no interest in voting, he said. This is in stark contrast to our times when the youth were much more politically active.

He said the issue was especially of concern in Colombo and its suburbs. In November, the Commission is expected certify the latest voter registration list which will be valid for any election next year. Mr. Deshapriya said he could not immediately disclose details of the current registration figures for 2018, but could confirm that the figures were below expectations.

Earlier, he told Sunday Times that he was expecting an increase of about 200,000 voters in the 2018 registration list. Most of the Colombo residents have rented their houses as businesses and moved away from the city. these people then fail to register for voting. The tight security apartments are also of concern. They do not allow our enumerators and Grama Niladharis to distribute the registration forms to the houses, Mr. Deshapriya said.

They collect the forms sometimes and fail to give it to the person. We receive filled forms after a year sometimes, he said. The Commissioner said there was a strange and damaging trend among the youths who, with a flavor of rebellion, opted to stay away from the whole voting system. My message to the youths is that not everything can be provided for by the private sector. A state is needed, and for this, people must vote, Mr. Deshapriya said.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said he understood why the youth abstained from registration and that the present politicians were to blame. The conduct of our leaders and parliamentarians in how they govern the country is what increases the frustration of the people in general, especially the youth, and thus leads to a sense of disillusionment. The Government has failed to announce the provincial council elections, and this may be another reason for the youth to feel less politically connected.

We saw great youth enthusiasm in the 2015 presidential polls, but following the various lapses of the present Government, they now feel betrayed and distance themselves from the system. Mr. Hettiarachchi, however, said the youth should not do this, regardless of the political situation. First of all, it is our duty to register whether we turn up at the polls or not. If we dont we are not counted as part of the voter base  and this is damaging. If you arent happy with the candidate choices you can abstain from voting. But in my opinion this is not a recommended course of action. Because the others will vote, and someone will be elected. So in my opinion you have to analyse and choose the better candidate, even though they may both be bad, he urged the youth.

He said that what Sri Lanka especially lacked was internal party democracy and a democratic process of fielding candidates to represent a party at the polls. This lack of choice was what caused disillusionment and distanced people politically. Political involvement has to start at the grassroots, he said.

Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Director Keerthi Tennakoon said there was a social media campaign backed by the Election Commission to encourage the youth to register, but the negative numbers showed that there were counter-forces simultaneously at work and those forces ultimately won.

There is the growing daily frustration with Sri Lankan politics and politicians. These factors may have led to this situation, Mr. Tennakoon said.

The present unpopular politicians, who are afraid to face elections and therefore keep postponing elections contribute to this lack of voter interest, deeply harming democracy in the course.

Mr. Tennakoon also said the voter registration system had to be changed.Appreciations View(s):

No more chats at Hulftsdorp, but the memories will linger

SULAIMAN JIFFREY MOHIDEEN

Innah Lilahi Wa Innah Illaihi Rajyoon  surely we belong to Allah and to him we shall return.

It is almost two months since my dearest friend and mentor Moiya passed away after the Ramazan festival. I still cannot believe that he has left us and gone to his almighty leaving me and his closest friends especially Maxi, Rohan and Nimal not forgetting Daya Pelpola presently Ambassador, Rome.

I cannot forget the annual Voetlight Dinner organized by the Voetlight Society exclusively for lawyers where I always organized the table for the ten of us headed by none other than Daya Pelpola, the most senior member of the ten including Nuala, Nalini my wife, Mano and Sudath Jayasundara.

Every year I would pick up Moiya for the event and drop him back at his residence. It was full of fun which I feel will never be enjoyed again. I cannot forget the days when he would call me to pick him up to go to Hulftsdorp when his driver was on leave. On the way he would ask me to switch on the car radio to the golden oldies, especially the songs of Jim Reeves and Elvis Presley whom he could imitate to the core. I have had the opportunity of listening to him at the Oaths party of his and his batch mates of the Group of 67 at Law College where in addition to the Sinhala baila songs which I will say without any hesitation that nobody can sing like him, there were requests for more and more of his songs in Sinhala and English.

Moiya was one year senior to me but we were friends till his demise. I retained him as counsel in cases in the District Court, Civil Appellate Court and Supreme Court not forgetting the famous case against the Finance and Guarantee Limited and Golden Key Limited. He commanded a good rapport with the Judges who respected his honesty, legal prowess and his seniority at the Bar. He was Treasurer of the BASL for three consecutive years and was elected uncontested. He never failed to attend the Bar Council Meetings held on Saturdays at the end of each month and I had to take him for the meetings. No sooner he got down from the vehicle he would make a quick dash to the second floor of the BASL building to enjoy the Kiribath and Katta Sambol which he really loved and cherished. I enjoyed his company every time I accompanied him for the meetings as well as every function organized by the BASL and the Colombo Law Society of which I was an Executive Committee Member. It is with a heavy heart I say that I miss his companionship at this moment when I go for the Bar Council Meeting by myself.

When it was confirmed that he was to be appointed as Ambassador to UAE, he asked me to drop in at home since he wanted to give his NLRs and CLEs to my son Dhanushan, who is practising as a counsel. When my son took oaths as an Attorney-at-Law, he was present in the Supreme Court ceremonial hall to witness the ceremony and was the first to wish him. Even after his appointment as the High Commissioner to UAE, he was in constant touch with me.

Just one week before his departure from Dubai when I called him he casually told me that he had knocked his toe against the staircase railing and was going to the doctor. I did not know that it was for his terminal illness till I visited him at his home after hearing from his dearest wife Neloufer that he had come back to Sri Lanka for treatment. I could not believe the news and could only pray to God to save him from his deadly illness. I spent considerable time with him  he would be lying on his sofa holding my hand having a long chat till I departed from his home after having a meal when the family broke fast during the Ramazan period. After the Ramazan festival on Saturday afternoon I got a frantic call from his daughter that her dad had passed away.

Till Moiyas departure to UAE, as Ambassador, every year on Ramazan day he would call me in the morning and warn my wife not to cook lunch and personally come to deliver the sumptuous biriyani lunch which we really enjoyed. My family conveys our deepest sympathies and sorrows to his beloved wife Neloufer and his children at this hour of grief.

Moiya, though you have left us your memories will linger in eternity and when I see the table where we would sit and chat at the lounge at Hulftsdorp I feel the vacuum which you have left and I say goodbye, my sweet Prince till we meet again.

Ganesh

You are no more, but you live in spirit

Victoreen M. Hassan

It is with a sense of deep sadness I write about my loving wife Victoreen. M.Hassan. We spent a happy and peaceful wedded life for almost 40 long years until Victoreen passed away peacefully on August 25, 2008 after a brief illness.

Vicky, ten years have passed since I lost the light of my life. Although you cannot hear my voice or see my smiles, I feel the love you had for me and hear you in my heart. You left your human body, but your soul will never part.

Your gentle, loving, admirable qualities, and sincerity were evident at the crowds that thronged at your last journey. It broke my heart to walk beside you on that fateful day.

Now all I have are memories and a photo in a frame. Your memory is a keepsake, from which I will never part. Today, tomorrow and forever my whole life through, I will always love and cherish you. In secret I weep, in silence I cry, as each lonely day passes by. There is only one thought that eases the pain and its knowing we will be together again. Loving thoughts till the end of time of a wonderful wife I am proud was mine.

For all you gave me and our children through the years, your time and love, your prayers and tears, your patience, caring, and sharing, for all this and more I still love you.

You were a wife in a million, and you meant the world to me. Each night I shed a silent tear as I speak to you in prayer to let you know I love you Vicky, and just how much I care for you.

Thank you for your endless love, that helps me through each day. Youre the wife I loved, and I was proud to be your husband and every day in a small way I celebrate your life.

Finally, thank you Victoreen for the wonderful and generous sacrifices you made for me, our children, and all the loving care and affection you showered on us. I remember not what I did for you, but what I was for you, and what you were to me. Thank you for loving me and being what you were.

Till we meet again. Sadly missed by your loving husband.

M. Kamil. A. Hassan

I will always be grateful to you

Rita Tampoe

You gave me part of you

Time stood still when you lay down

Gushing memories remotely sour and sweet

Misery and happiness

Overpowered and weak

In an all buoyant family there is always that one.

I was that one.

The weak lifts the head and survive if not left to lie, die.

Purposeless and aimless

But, you gave me part of you whom I was and whom I was not

This is and was my lifeline,

I rose above all that was around me and part of me

I let it go and let it be behind me

You gave me a seamless exposure, to all the world could offer

To books and beyond

It was this that lifted me up and away from the chaos

To live and be who I am today

I am and will always be ever so grateful

Mummy..

Dulanee Tampoe WeerackodyLetters to the Editor View(s):

These grandiose foolhardy projects are definitely not for the people

I was shocked to read in the print media of the Cabinet approving US $300 million towards a project to roll back the sea from Kollupitiya to Dehiwela and create a luxury beach resort.

The Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has described such public-private partnerships as ventures in which the public shoulders all the risk and the private walks off with the profits. We have experienced several such skewed public-private partnerships: the CEB, Sri Lankan Airlines, and the suspended Hyatt hotel, come immediately to mind. We have also discovered recently the way, under both the previous and current regimes, collusion between some Central Bank officials and private rogue traders has robbed the public of billions of rupees.

What are the costs that the residents of Colombo will bear with this latest grandiose project?

(1) The sea is what keeps temperatures in Colombo relatively mild compared with many other South Asian cities. Rolling back the sea 100 metres and erecting structures along the beach front will block the sea breeze and rise with dire consequences for health (e.g. greater incidence of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue).

(2) The therapeutic value of gazing out to sea, especially for the elderly and infirm, cannot be assigned a financial price. It is what makes life in a seaside or lakeside city more pleasant than a landlocked city. Witness the number of people who flock to Galle Face Green on a weekend or sit on the rocks along the Marine Drive to enjoy the sight of waves crashing on the shore or a sunset. On a Sunday some even bring their fishing poles to catch their Sunday lunch. Are these simple pleasures of ordinary folk to be sacrificed in order to court rich foreigners and rich locals who can find plenty of beaches elsewhere?

In the meantime, Colombo is quickly turning into a ghost city, with low-occupancy luxury hotels and empty condominiums arising everywhere.

(3) The sea and beaches around the island are part of the commons for all inhabitants of Sri Lankan to enjoy. Yet private hotel developers are in the habit of cordoning off sections of our beaches and excluding the general public from walking on them or swimming. It seems that wealthy foreigners and the Sri Lankan upper-middle-class are taking over the commons. The same will be true for the proposed luxury resort in Colombo.

We are not like Singapore, a tiny city-state, which has had a desperate need to reclaim land from the sea. And, unlike Singapore, the authorities are indifferent to the real developmental needs in the city. For instance, the roads are badly maintained and traffic lights (including pedestrian lights) are often not functioning. Colombo residents cannot use the Marine Drive at night because its streetlights are usually switched off; and heaps of garbage lie strewn for days alongside the railway tracks. Do we really need a state-of-the art Aquarium (as proposed in the beach resort project) more than proper roads, functioning traffic lights and better housing for the large number of urban poor?

Is this the kind of lopsided development that the Government is promoting: diverting funds that should be used to better the living conditions of people (here and in other provinces) to meaningless luxury projects in Colombo?

When I consulted the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), I was told that the CMC was powerless to do anything about this as it is the UDA that makes the decisions about what structures are permitted in the city, the RDA is responsible for the Marine Drive road and lighting, and the Megapolis Ministry is behind the proposed luxury beach resort.

This is indeed a strange state of affairs. We, the residents of Colombo, voted for a new Municipal Council at the local government elections, on the understanding that it was this body that made the decisions that affected life in the city. To whom are these other bodies accountable?

Do we as socially responsible citizens of Colombo have any say at all in the decisions that are being made regarding what kind of city we want to live in?

Dr. Vinoth Ramachandra Colombo 3

Arent we paying a tidy sum already to the councils?

The letter to the Editor published on Sunday, August 19, Why not levy a kunu tax? states Almost all of us pay a nominal santhosam to the garbage collector to facilitate easy disposal of our garbage. I suggest that by imposing a tax for garbage collection 

I was perturbed to read this letter. My instant reaction was, why must we pay such a tax, anew? Dont we pay rates? A tidy sum annually? For what expenses do the local Councils utilise the rate payments from each and every household? Isnt a portion of the rates we pay set aside for maintaining a healthy environment which includes garbage collection and garbage disposal?

When I read out this letter at a hair dressing salon, the proprietor said he pays more than Rs. 4000 per annum to the Municipality for waste collection from his salon. I am inclined to think that it is highly likely that catering houses, restaurants, hotels and other commercial establishments pay such sums to Local Councils for waste removal.

In my view, in an era, when earned income can hardly pay off the definitive living expenses, the creation of additional income outlets is undesirable. Further, by the time when money from such taxes is parasitised for administrative accounting purposes (book-keeping) at the local council and the Inland Revenue, etc., the underprivileged garbage collector will not get as much as the Santhosam doled out by the households through sympathy.

Dr. Susil W. Gunasekera Via email

We cannot allow the GMOA to go on in this manner

Thank you Don Manu again for your fearless Sunday Punch of August 12. The GMOAs Gestapo plans to compile a journalist death list has obviously not deterred you from saying what you have said. It is increasingly evident that the ordinary people of this country cannot take the terror tactics of the GMOA very much longer. Enough is enough!

When people refer to the disgraceful behaviour of doctors today, we are in fact referring to the GMOA leadership. It is indeed a great pity that the actions of the GMOA leadership stain the good name of doctors. We have among us many good men and women who are members of this noble profession, but the conduct of the GMOA has given them all a bad name. These men and women of this once noble profession appear to have forgotten that they have been educated at public expense.

This has been said before by many, and I need to emphasise this again. It is pretty obvious to all that the wrong type of people are now becoming members of this noble profession. We all believed that one becomes a medical doctor because of a calling to this great profession. However this no longer seems to be the case. How has this happened? The current district based system of admitting students to our universities has allowed not only good students getting low marks at their A Levels to enter our state universities for degree programmes, but has also allowed unsuitable persons to pursue certain professions, like the medical profession.

Indeed when the district based system was introduced in the early 1970 s, there was good reason for doing so, as admission to programmes like medical degrees was dominated by students from districts with good educational facilities such as Colombo, Jaffna, Kandy etc. Good students, who wanted to be doctors and serve the people, from districts with limited educational facilities, had no chance. When this scheme of university admissions was introduced, it was made clear that this was a temporary measure, till schools in all districts are brought up to a uniform standard. Today this scheme of admission should be revised, to give a greater advantage to merit. This scheme of university admissions has also shut out good students, who want to be doctors, from state universities. These are not necessarily rich kids, who can go abroad and get their medical degrees. I believe that this situation is one that justifies the establishment of private medical degree awarding institutes. The GMOA led battle to abolish SAITM, may have been won by them, SAITM may have been badly managed, but we need private medical degree awarding institutes that are well managed and conform to laid down standards, principles, rules and regulations formulated by medical professionals of good standing. On what basis do our medical professionals oppose this?

Eksith Fernando Dehiwela

When you hold protests see that the people are with you

The right to freedom of expression and right to peaceful protest are crucial in a democracy. Information and ideas help to inform political debate and are essential to public accountability and transparency in government.

Members of Parliament are representatives of the people. They must always work in the interest of the people.

They are appointed by the people and paid by the people. In a democracy people are the most important. We see on a regular basis protests by university students, doctors, teachers and nurses.

There are many other protests too. Some are peaceful and some are not.

Protests are necessary to inform the government that there is something wrong. It is the right of the people to give that message to the politicians governing the country.

In the case of frequent protests by university students, the people are against such action.

Some of these student protests are a real nuisance to the people. Their protests do not reflect the requirement of the general public nor is it the voice of people. So these protests are failures and a waste of time.

Some of the doctors strikes too are not the voice of the people. People are against these trade union actions. These too are failures.

The trade union action by the Railway workers too was a failure. People were against it. T

he government has the right to control them to protect the general public.

Trade unions and other organizations, please understand this. Organize your protest in such a way that people of the country are with you.

Take a lesson from protests overseas. See how creative they are. Sometimes the whole world is with the protesters. They do it in a systematic way without troubling or harassing the general public.

D. Weeratunga NugegodaMaking a change and starting young By Sashini Rodrigo Mother Lankas RUN project aims at getting schoolchildren from all parts of the country involved in reconciliation by becoming responsible citizens View(s): View(s):

Their motto is simple: I must change for my country to change. By upholding the message that every one of us has the power to change our country for the better, the Mother Sri Lanka movement has made great strides in encouraging youth to become responsible citizens.

Founder and Chairperson of Mother Sri Lanka Dr. Janaki Kuruppu recalls the troubled times of the civil war that brought her out of the corporate sector to launch the volunteer organisation in January 2008.

When Mother Sri Lanka started, the first objective was to make people think positive about the country. I started this in 2008, and my first day at the Presidents office, there was a bomb blast (MP T. Maheswaran was assassinated on January 1).

People were so negative, saying theres no future in this country. And if nobody believes in a future for this country, then nobody believes we can come out of this. I went home and thought that we must start something to make people believe and think positive. So the movement was started as a communication programme to achieve that.

The organisations passionate appeal for unity is clear in the name itself, which includes all three languages, and their tagline of my family of 20 million people.

But with the end of the war in 2009 came a change of heart, and the focus shifted to reconciliation.

There were wounds to heal now, she explains. More people were waving flags and being patriotic, and people were thinking of coming back to Sri Lanka. So our journey became easier.

They became one of the first organisations to work with the north and northeast schools soon after the war. By December 2009, they already had 485 schools involved in their programmes in Jaffna.

In 2013, we figured that building responsible citizenship is more the need of the hour, and unity and reconciliation is part of that. Being united is a part of being a responsible citizen of our country.

That was how Project RUN now in its third phase, came to be. This competition consists of three core components: Responsible Citizenship, Unity and National Pride which prospective projects must address. It could be an issue they identify in their school or community, such as improving and maintaining a public facility, or working together with others of different ethnic groups or religions, or taking pride in aspects of their country through a research project.

Project RUN is conducted as a competition in over 2500 schools across all nine provinces, where provincial winners and all island winners are selected by a panel of judges made up of provincial level directors of the Ministry of Education and executive committee members of Mother Sri Lanka. The final event is the national awards ceremony to be held in Colombo in September.

The participants send in their proposals explaining how it fits into RUN. If chosen, they are given a year for implementation before periodic inspections to ensure sustainability.

Dr. Kuruppu believes that the importance of community involvement and responsible citizenship is best learned through practical experience, and that starting young gives them the best shot at successfully changing the hearts and minds of people.

Just coming and standing in front of the stage to give a PowerPoint presentation gives them a different experience. This project makes them leaders and entrepreneurs, (by having) sathi pola (weekly pola), selling cards, all kinds of ways they collect money to fund their project. They may have to get permission from the Pradeshiya Sabha and then they learn the system.

This in turn gets the teachers, parents and members of the community involved, helping to spread their optimistic message.

When we say something is done by school children, adults are a bit more caring, she adds.

While they do rely on the generosity of donors and sponsors, MSL sells Lankan gifts and souvenirs as part of their livelihood development project. The items are made through self-employment projects and the profits go to run their programmes.

We have about 32 people now, and this is their livelihood, says Dr. Kuruppu. They have a skill to make something, but they dont know what the consumer wants. So we come in at that point, we understand consumer demand, and we design a product and they make it. When they bring us the stuff, we pay 100% upfront so they dont have to wait for the money to come. 

They stock a variety of items, all charmingly emblazoned with distinctly Sri Lankan designs and motifs. From the keychains bearing the national flag to the soft toy versions of the walikukula (jungle fowl), the national bird of Sri Lanka, the sense of national pride is apparent in every item.

Mother Sri Lanka is an entirely volunteer-based organisation, and constantly looking for new volunteers to help with their many projects. Visit www.mothersrilanka.lk to see how you can get involved with this worthy cause.Motivational speaker at Positive Living with PD meeting View(s):

Fahad Farook, a motivational speaker and trainer will lead the Positive Living with PD support group in a session on the power of positive thinking, how to stimulate the happiness hormone and the art of mastering your thoughts and emotions. The Positive Living with PD  Support Group Meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 29 at 6 p.m. at the Methodist Church, Mount Lavinia (opposite St. Thomas College on Hotel Road).

Positive Living with PD is a secular, non-profit support group, that hopes to break through the stigma that surrounds Parkinsons Disease (PD), and uplift the quality of life for all people living with PD, their care-givers and their families.

For more information, please call them

on 0777-441420 / 0777-441320,

or email positivelivingwithpd@gmail.comUnveiling complex emotions with the expertise of a surgeon View(s):

In my childhood, I was known as the boy whose mother had run off as an Englishman-so begins Anuradha Roys latest novel All The Lives We Never Lived, a story about people out of sync with their times and their surroundings. This is a beautifully written and compelling tale of how families fall apart and of what remains in the aftermath.

Myshkin is nine years old when his mother leaves him and his father in the Indian town of Muntazir, to embark on a new life. After his mothers departure, Myshkins own life is spent anxiously waiting  for her letters to arrive, for her to return and seeking to understand why she made the choice of leaving the family home, and to this end he delves into the unusual freedom of her adolescence, compared with the rigidity and constraint of her married existence in 1930s India.

The older Myshkin, a man in his 60s, narrates the story. He is the adult version of the child whose mother left inexplicably, a horticulturalist, now living quietly, more at home among trees than people. In the course of this deliberately self-contained life, a bulky envelope arrives pulsing with the energy every unopened letter in the world has. It has something to do with his mother, he knows, but he cannot bring himself either to open it or to throw it away. Instead, his narration takes us back to his mothers childhood, and then to his own childhood.

Having grown up with an indulgent father who encouraged her to blossom, Myshkins mother Gayatri was an artist and dancer married to a man who saw dance as scandalous and art as irrelevant. Nek Chand, Myshkins father, who taught at a local college and was a follower of a local freedom fighter and spiritual guru, Mukti Devi restricted his mothers creative freedom by denigrating her efforts. Abandoned suddenly by his wife, Nek Chand responds to this crisis in his life by also leaving the child for an extended period of time; and he is later imprisoned for his anti-British activism which he pursues.

But Gayatris own life and art and Myskhins memories of his parents marriage are not sufficient to explain to him why his mother did what she did. He looks for answers elsewhere, searching in literature for insight into the tensions between womens desires and the worlds expectations of them.

At its heart, All the Lives We Never Lived discusses complex emotions such as war, nationalism, freedom, love, abandonment, loneliness and nostalgia, with Anuradha Roy unveiling each of these with the expertise of a surgeon. This novel is not interested in condemning absent mothers. By contrast, Roy is refreshingly unimpressed by the anti-imperial activities of Myshkins father  who seeks freedom from being ruled while behaving like a tyrant in his own home. The world that rewards men for their public actions and forgives them their private cruelties, placing national politics above gender politics, is one that Roy slices through in her prose, though always obliquely.

Hailed as one of Indias greatest living authors, Anuradha Roys novel Sleeping on Jupiter was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2016 and won the D.S.C. prize for South Asian Literature. She won the Economist Crossword Prize, Indias premier award for fiction, for her novel The Folded Earth, which was nominated for several other prizes including the Man Asia, the D.S.C., and the Hindu Literary Award. Her first novel, An Atlas of Impossible Longing, has been widely translated and was named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and The Seattle Times. She works as a designer at Permanent Black, an independent press which she runs with her husband, Rukun Advani. She lives in Ranikhet, India. In Sri Lanka, Anuradha Roy is published by the Perera-Hussein Publishing House.

Book facts All The Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy. Published by Perera-Hussein Publishing House.

Price: Rs 1,250. Available in all bookshops and www.pererahussein.comHand grenade in Parliament View(s):

Last week, the Sunday Times carried a chapter from Prof. Ravindra Fernandos soon-to-be released book Explosion in the Parliament of Sri Lanka, capturing in detail the bomb attack on UNP parliamentarians during the height of the 1987 JVP insurrection. This week, we publish a chapter titled Hand Grenade in Parliament from former Parliament Secretary General Nihal Seneviratnes book A Clerk Reminisces. The book is available at Vijitha Yapa Bookshop.

President J.R. Jayewardene had only a few days before on July 29, 1987 signed the controversial Indo-Lanka Pact with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India. Most observers take the view that Jayewardene, fighting a JVP insurrection in the South and the LTTE insurgency in the North, had little option but to sign an agreement he was railroaded into on Indias terms. The LTTE was determined to win a separate state of Eelam for the Tamil people even at the expense of a ferocious war. The JVPs second insurgency had created near anarchy in the South. There was no possibility of fighting on two fronts and JRJ signed the agreement which brought the IPKF here. They were indeed trying times.

After the agreement had been signed in Colombo by President Jayewardene and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, a naval rating who was part of the guard-of-honour assembled opposite Presidents House struck him a heavy blow on the shoulder with the butt of his gun. Fortunately he was not seriously hurt, suffering only bad bruises, and was immediately led to safety by his own and Sri Lankan security. This single incident which captured global headlines underlined the urgency of the country finding a solution to the serious ethnic division creating tensions amongst the people.

Two days later, President Jayewardene was due in Parliament as he wanted to address the Government Parliamentary Group and explain the reasons why he signed this Agreement/Pact with India. This fact was not fully known to many members of his own Cabinet, including possibly Prime Minister Premadasa. President Jayewardene had kept the contents and the substance of the Agreement a very close secret and possibly the only Minister who had been taken into his confidence was Gamini Dissanayake.

Parliament was due to sit that afternoon for its regular business. The President had arrived in Parliament that morning by around 9 a.m. to meet his Parliamentary Group. They were meeting in Committee Room 1, which is the largest Committee Room on the ground floor which had a seating capacity of almost 150. About 9.45 that morning I got a message that the President wanted to see me. I was initially reluctant to go to the Committee Room as it was a meeting of only Government MPs and I felt it was incorrect and unwise for me in my position to go there. But since it was the Head of the State and Government who summoned me, I went to the Committee Room. He was sitting at the head table with Prime Minister Premadasa on his right and Minister Vincent Perera, Chief Government Whip, on his left. In front of him sat over a 100 MPs with Ministers seated in the front rows.

He inquired from me what business was due to be taken up that day. I had taken the days Order Paper with me and together we read through the 25 items of Government business fixed for that day. When this was over, I left the Committee Room and went back to my office.

Not even half an hour later, my peon rushed into my room saying excitedly Sir, the Prime Minister is calling for you. Totally unaware of what was in store, I came to the ground floor and at the very entrance to the corridor leading up to the Committee Room I met the Prime Minister with his national dress cloth partly raised excitedly exclaiming Nihal, a bomb has exploded in the Committee Room. Search and surround the place. As I rushed to the Committee Room, I saw President Jayewardene, being hurriedly escorted out of the building to his vehicle parked outside the Members Entrance. I then rushed into the Committee Room and found it in shambles, full of heavy smoke, splintered glass and shrapnel all over the place; and a few MPs lying prostate on the floor. Others were trying to rush out in the melee that prevailed. I saw Minister Lalith Athulathmudali being placed on a stretcher, bleeding heavily, being taken by ambulance parked outside the Members Entrance to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital through the back entrance to Parliament. We had hardly used that entrance and kept it closed for security reasons but kept it open on sitting days as it was just about a miles distance to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital.

Akmeemana MP Kirthi Abeywickrema sadly died as a result of shrapnel hitting him on his temple. I was told by a Member that a bomb had exploded in the Committee Room. I immediately rang my University mate, Frank De Silva, then IGP, and told him to come immediately and asked him to provide adequate security right around the perimeters of Parliament to prevent anyone from leaving. I then ordered the Superintendent of Police posted to Parliament to ensure that no one be allowed to leave the building. In the Committee room, I asked an MP from where the bomb was thrown and he pointed to a door behind the head table.

I ordered all the Parliament staff on duty not to leave the building. Even after the police contingent arrived, no one was sure how exactly the bomb exploded, of whether it was a bomb at all or whether anyone had fired a gun or some other firearm. Even after the police arrived none of us knew exactly what had happened and I for one was beginning to suspect that somebody of even the Presidents staff who accompanied him to the room or one of my own Parliamentary staff in the room may have been responsible.

Thinking it was a gunshot the IGP asked me to get each and every member of my staff to have both their hands checked for tell-tale traces of gunpowder believing it was because of the firing of a weapon. No one was allowed to leave the building and it was close to 9 p.m. that night when the meticulous checking was over. I then permitted the staff to leave. During this time I inquired from the Members how the door through which the attacker was believed to have entered opened and all they said was that some of them saw a hand clothed in a white sleeve throwing something at the polished table at which the President and the others were seated.

The next morning I checked whether all of my staff had come to office  all were present except for four  one in hospital, two on approved leave; but one person was missing and his house near Kadawatha was closed. Police after questioning neighbours learnt that the occupant had left his home that night taking his family with him. I found this was Ajith Kumara, who I had employed as a house-keeper a few years previously. The police regarded him as the prime suspect and an island-wide dragnet was set up.

After a few days, with Police help we were able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Ajith Kumara had come that morning with a hand grenade hidden in his shoe. The Police at the entrance had missed it. The Presidents security had checked all the rooms and doors leading to the Committee Room, locked it and then left. Ajith Kumara, after the Presidents security personnel had completed their checks, had opened a door using a false key he had made and had hidden behind himself a large painting standing on the ground.

He had then opened the door leading into the Committee Room, and aiming at the President flung the hand grenade he carried which fortunately bounced off the polished table at which the President, PM and Govt. Whip sat and landed under the chair on which Lalith Athulathmudali was sitting in the front row. The grenade then exploded blasting a large hole in the ground and injuring Laliths entire back.

When he was recovering in the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital I called on him and chatted for a while. He was full of praise for Dr. K. Yoheswaran, who operated on him and saved his life. He told me that he had particularly wanted Dr. Yoheswaran to do the complicated surgery having complete trust in him.

Later on, after Lalith had recovered he walked into my room and discussed the incident with me. He told me that Ajith Kumara had made the fundamental mistake of hurling the grenade at the President as soon as he pulled off the pin. With Laliths knowledge of arms and defence matters, he told me that once the pin is pulled, one had to count, One Thousand, Two Thousand, Three Thousand and then throw the grenade. By his not doing so, all three VIPs seated at the table were spared. The grenade ricocheted off the table, fell under Laliths chair and then exploded injuring Lalith severely.

Six months had passed after the incident and the Police were still on maximum alert for Ajith Kumara. Apprehending the man who had nearly assassinated the President and Prime Minister was top priority. After a lapse of a few more months, the Police in the Kegalle area were searching for local kasippu distillers in a village paddy-field. It so happened that Ajith Kumara was then hiding in a small shed nearby; he panicked when he saw the police searching the paddy-field and ran away.

Police saw the fleeing suspect, chase and caught him. He was brought to Police Headquarters in Colombo and then realised they had made a prize catch. They immediately contacted me and we confirmed that this was indeed Ajith Kumara, the most wanted man in the country.

A week later, the police brought him to Parliament after he had confessed to his crime. He had even told the police how he brought in the grenade, the route he had taken through all the corridors to enter the back room and how he had hidden behind the painting. This was after the Presidential security had left after they had completed making their checks. We discovered later that he had surreptitiously made a copy of the key to enter that room.

Two days later, the Speaker and I were summoned before the Cabinet. Speaker E. L. Senanayake diplomatically refused to go saying it was improper for him to present himself before Cabinet. This left me with no option but to face the music. This was the very first time I had to appear before Cabinet and I nervously walked in feeling like the Christian being thrown to the wolves in Roman times. I knew they were going to ask me as to how I had recruited Ajith Kumara to the Parliament staff. Fortunately, I had asked for a security clearance from Police Headquarters which I had received before he was signed on. In fact, all recruits to our staff required such security clearance.

Armed with that clearance file, I sat down before the entire Cabinet. As I took my seat, Minister Montague Jayawickrama pounced on me asking me to explain how and why I had recruited Ajith Kumara and why I had stationed him that day and many other follow-up questions. I took time and answered all questions from him and many other Cabinet Ministers.

It later transpired that a few weeks after getting clearance from Police screening and having joined the staff of Parliament, the JVP had secretly recruited him. Since the JVP was then very vociferous against the Indo-Sri Lanka Pact signed by the President, they had found in Ajith Kumara working in Parliament the best possible person to assassinate the President, Prime Minister and other VIPs of Government.

I later had a request from Mrs. J.R. Jayewardene to visit the scene and see the room where her husband was nearly killed. She, accompanied by two grandchildren (sons of Ravi whom I knew quite well), inspected the table where the grenade bounced and the Committee Room where it all happened. I was quite moved by her presence and the gracious lady she was, left without making any comments.

The saga of Ajith Kumara had a strange ending. When he was produced in Court and charged with attempted murder, his counsel were able to get him discharged on the grounds of inadmissibility of the confession he had made to Police. Regrettably the Attorney General Depts and Police had mishandled the Prosecution and the judge discharged Ajith Kumara who left Court a free man.

My father was injured in the bomb blast My late father, E.L.B. Hurulle, too, was a victim of the 1987 bomb explosion in Parliament.

I vividly remember being informed while at my then workplace that my father had been injured in the explosion and had been taken to the earlier Accident Service at Ward Place, Colombo. My father lay on a bed, bleeding heavily from under one ear. On inquiring, I was told by the doctors that pieces of grenade shrapnel had entered from under one ear. The doctors said immediate surgery was not possible as they had to take multiple X-ray images to assess the damage and decide on how to carry out the surgery. There were no scans or MRIs at that time. As a result, father was in the accident service for several days before surgery was performed. Dr. Masakorale, the well-known surgeon, performed the operation and removed two fragments of grenade that had entered and lodged close to the main bloodstream. Had the fragments reached the bloodstream which were three tissue layers ahead, I was told that he would have been paralysed for lifetherefore, he was fortunate in that sense. However, the explosion badly affected his hearing for the rest of his life. He was examined by several ENT consultants who confirmed that nothing could be done and wearing hearing aids might help. However, subsequent use of hearing aids did not help him much and he was severely disadvantaged as a result. In conclusion, I would add that the late E.L.B. Hurulle was saved from certain death by the explosion because, a second or two before the grenade was hurled, he had turned his head to speak to Ronnie De Mel, the then Finance Minister. This resulted in a third grenade fragment hitting an arm of his spectacles and bouncing off. (The shattered arm of the spectacles was later found on the floor of the Parliament Committee Room. Had the arm of the spectacle not absorbed the impact and obstructed its trajectory, it would have entered through his temple and death would have been certain.

- Themiya HurulleLife and work of Kuldip Nayar View(s):

Eminent Indian journalist and a regular columnist of The Daily Star, Kuldip Nayar died on August 23, 2018 at a hospital in Delhi, India. He was 95.

In a career that spanned over six decades, Kuldip Nayar was much more than a journalist. He was a champion of civil liberties and human rights, an untiring advocate for peace between India and Pakistan, a chronicler of the historic events of his time, an uncompromising editor, and an author of several bestsellers. He was among Indias first syndicated columnists; his columns were read and appreciated across the border.

Kuldip Nayar started his journalistic career with the Urdu daily Anjam in 1948. He also worked at the Press Information Bureau as a Press Officer to then home ministers Govind Ballabh Pant and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Subsequently, he went on to head various Indian newspapers including The Indian Express, The Statesman and contributed in over 80 newspapers in 14 languages including Deccan Herald, The Daily Star, The Sunday Guardian.

In 2015, he was awarded the Ramnath Goenka Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to journalism. Indian historian Ramachandra Guha gave an insight into what shaped the mind of Kuldip Nayar when he talked about the three stalwarts of Indian journalismthe other two being Ajit Bhattacharjea and BG Verghesewho created a niche for themselves when Indian journalism was just taking off. Writing for The Hindu in 2003, Guha said, These men are all in their seventies, which means they came of the age around the time India became free. All were shaped by the humane and inclusive spirit of the freedom struggle, and all joined the press when it was a trade that was neither glamorous nor well paid.

Born on August 14, 1923 at Sialkot (Pakistan) in British India, Kuldip Nayar spent his early childhood and youth in Pakistan. He graduated from Forman Christian College before pursuing law in Lahore. In 1952, he moved to Illinois, United States to study journalism at Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism. Nayar was one of the first journalists to be put in jail when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared emergency in India in 1975, for his detailed documentation of human rights violations by the state.

He was well-known for his efforts to improve frosty relations between India and Pakistan, including leading peace activists to light candles on the Independence days of Pakistan and India at the Attari-Wagah border near Amritsar. He explained his efforts in a column published by The Daily Star just over a week before his death, in which he acknowledged that his experience of the 1947 partition particularly motivated him to work on India-Pakistan relations. In his own words:

That was the main reason why I started lighting candles on the Wagah border, a process that began some 20 years ago. It was a small movement with just 15-20 people to begin with. Now roughly one lakh people on this side and the people of Pakistan, though in limited number, have joined the causeI wish that the border could be made soft and the situation became calm so that the enmity between the two countries is banished. (71 years on, frosty relations continue, August 14, 2018.)

Kuldip Nayar authored a total of 15 books, including Beyond the Lines, Distant Neighbours: A Tale of the Subcontinent, India after Nehru, Wall at Wagah, India-Pakistan Relationship, The Judgement, The Martyr, Scoop and India House. He also served as High Commissioner of India to the UK. He was also nominated as a member of the Upper House of Parliament in 1997.

He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Courtesy  Daily Star, Dhaka

(Mr. Nayar also wrote a regular column to the Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. The column, Across the Palk Straits, analysed Indias political scene and issues related to Sri Lanka.)Religious ceremonies to mark historic Panadura Wadaya at Rankoth Viharaya By Ranjith Padmasiri View(s): View(s):

Several religious ceremonies will be held to mark the 145th anniversary of Panadura Wadaya (the Panadura Debate) at the Rankoth Viharaya in Panadura, the temple which played the foremost role in facilitating the debate and became a centre of the Buddhist revivalist movement.

The Venerable Prof Kahapola Sugatharathana Thera, Chief Incumbent of the Viharaya and Anunayaka of the Amarapura Nikaya, said that to mark the anniversary of the historic debate held on August 26 and 28, 1873, special religious ceremonies would be held in memory of the Ven. Mohottiwatte Gunananda Thera who, with his superior oratory and debating skills, defended Buddhism.

The Panadura debate took place at a time when Buddhism had been relegated to a dismal state in the country and there was little freedom for the Buddhists to practise their faith. It was under these circumstances that the Buddhist monks stood up against the oppression. The Panadura debate was the culmination of a series of debates. The debate included topics such as the nature of God, the concepts of Karma, rebirth and Nirvana. By the time the debate concluded, the Ven. Gunananda thera was hailed as the victor and his oratory left a lasting impact on the country, the chief incumbent said.

The debate began on August 26, 1873. As the following day was a Sunday and those of the Christian faith had to attend church, the debate was continued on August 28. The widely covered event drew a large crowd.

The success of the Panadura debate and the wide media coverage it received inspired Henry Steele Olcott, a United States citizen, to come to Sri Lanka in 1880, and join the Buddhists struggle for their rightful place in the Island.

The Ven. Prof. Sugatharathana Thera said that as the anniversary of the Pandura debates was being commemorated, the message he wished to send out was that there was much to be done to strengthen Buddhism in the country.Strengthening the Narcotics Bureau: An urgent need to curtail drug trafficking By B Anton Jeyanatha View(s): View(s):

This year alone we have witnessed many incidents of drug trafficking, especially heroin, cocaine and Kerala ganja being smuggled through airports, illegal entry points and hidden in containers. From the statistics made available by the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) and the other law enforcement agencies, the quantity of drugs detected has been tremendous. If the detected amount is substantial, it has to be expected that there is another amount equal to the one detected or even more, which remains in the country undetected.

Death Penalty

Drug trafficking and the crimes related to drug trafficking have propelled the authorities to address this situation very seriously. The President has expressed an eagerness to fight the drug menace, even to the extent of re-introducing the death penalty. Just for the recollection of the readers, the death penalty on any accused, after being convicted of being found in possession of heroin with the minimum amount of 2 grams, was in force for the past three decades.

Subsequently, the law was changed for the death penalty to a person who was convicted of being in possession of heroin of about 10 grams or more. This was done with the sole purpose of roping in the sellers or distributors rather than the users. So the death penalty has been there in the legal domain, but unfortunately due to a government decree the death penalty was not implemented though several drug dealers were convicted and sentenced to death. The declaration by the President has attracted the attention of many religious dignitaries and foreign Human Rights Organizations. It is for the government to decide whether the death penalty will be a deterrent to prevent drug smugglers giving up their lucrative business.

Police Narcotics Bureau

The Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB) was established by the Police Department in 1973 by a Police gazette notification, having foreseen the dangerous trend in drug trafficking in our country.

The officers who were selected to this Bureau were chosen after having background checks for their honesty, integrity and capability. Most of the senior and junior Officers have been trained overseas on drug detection and prosecution. The PNB established in 1986 or thereabouts a branch at the Katunayake International Airport to work along with the Customs as well as independently to detect passengers smuggling narcotics from various countries. The detections made by the PNB and the Katunayake Airport Unit will vouch for their preventive action in detecting large quantities of drugs especially heroin and cocaine, which would have under normal circumstances come into the country, available for drug users and drug abusers. The PNB established a good working relationship with the Customs Officials who are working at the Katunayake Airport, which has resulted in many detections both by the PNB and the Customs Officers.

The details of these detections, dates, places and quantities of drugs seized are available at the PNB, which are too lengthy to be published in this article. As such, I give a gist of the detections made by the PNB during the period May to July 2018.

It is for the government and the Police Department to strengthen the PNB by way of logistical needs like vehicles, modern surveillance equipment, modern surveillance vehicles and other facilities. Most of the Police personnel attached to this Unit, especially the lower ranks, are not properly equipped. They travel from their homes living out of Colombo. They do not have any special allowances commensurate with the work they perform, at times risking their lives while keeping away from the temptation to accept bribes. It is for the government and the Police Department to consider special allowances so that they will continue to do an honest job of work.

National Dangerous Drugs Control Board (NDDCB)

The NDDCB was established by an Act of Parliament in the year 1984. Under section 2 of this Act, the NDDCB was established as the principal national institution charged with the formulation and review of a national policy relating to the prevention, control, treatment and rehabilitation of drug abusers.

The NDDCB has been actively involved in the above policy, except the aspect of control  under 7d of this Act that says co-ordinate the activities of agencies engaged in prevention and control of dangerous drugs. It is this very important act of co-ordination of activities of all agencies empowered with law enforcement that has not been given any recognition by the NDDCB. The NDDCB is a legally established organisation that should be action oriented and proactive in the leadership of the fight against drug trafficking. They should co-ordinate the activities of the PNB, the Customs and the Excise Department who are empowered to detect narcotic drugs. It is an undeniable fact that while a substantial quantity of drugs coming into this country is smuggled through the legal entry points, airports and harbour, the bulk of that comes through illegal entry points through boats in areas which are well known for smuggling across the Palk Strait.

In this fight against drug smuggling the Navy has a big role to play. Now that the war is over, the Navy which is well equipped with fast boats and other necessary equipment can be utilized to detect boats bringing in narcotic drugs into this country through identified illegal entry points.

Special Task Force under the NDDCB

Recommendations have been made to form a task force consisting of officers from the PNB, Customs, the Excise Department, the Navy, the Prisons Department and the Coast Guard, under the supervision of the Chairman of the NDDCB, which is mandated by the Act under Sect.7d, as stated above. This Task Force must engage in law enforcement activities, detection and also undertake preventive educational programmes too.

Drug Intelligence Unit

There has to be a specialized group within this Task Force to form a Drug Intelligence Unit so that they will analyse and study the pattern of financing, smuggling and distribution of narcotic drugs and the personnel involved in such activities. Intelligence can be obtained by cultivating Informants or Agents who are either engaged in such smuggling activities, or who have been members of such smuggling groups.

Synthetic Drugs

The death of two British nationals in Colombo following an overdose of drugs, the tragedy of four deaths after the beach party at Wadduwa, and a few other deaths have been attributed to the consuming of synthetic drugs. The effects of these were lethal as the deceased had consumed hard liquor. It is an undeniable fact that youngsters who throng clubs and casinos are known to be consuming synthetic drugs. This is another area where the Police Department and may be the Medical Department under whom the pharmacies are licensed, should look seriously as to the import and availability of such synthetic drugs to any customer.

Demand and supply

The sheer quantity of drugs detected is a clear indication that there is a high demand among users. Preventing smuggling through illegal entry points should not be a difficult task for the Navy and the Coast Guard. Law Enforcement Officers, the Customs and the Navy, are well aware of the illegal landing spots along the beaches of Negombo, Chilaw and Beruwela, which could be covered by way of deploying Navy craft and with good communication systems so that any boat or vessel approaching these identified illegal landing points could be apprehended at mid sea, within our waters, so that the smugglers and the illegal goods could be taken into custody.

No amount of law enforcement and detection are adequate to prevent the ever growing demand for such drugs. The young generation, due to various social and economic reasons, are mistakenly dragged into this net of drugs. Awareness programmes should be conducted in a meaningful way in schools, universities and other institutions, with the assistance of the Department of Education, where the Law Enforcement Officers play a role in convincing youth to keep away while educating them of the dangers to be encountered should they experiment with such drugs.

(The writer is a retired DIG)The past few decades have seen a proliferation of companies operating in the private aviation field, with many of them coming up with new and original offerings that maximise convenience and minimise costs for clients, allowing them to select the one that best suits their individual lifestyle and needs.

But while the business mechanics have evolved, the popularity of the traditional charter models has endured. And a mainstay throughout that evolution has been 365 Aviation, a London-based brokerage with access to over 4,000 aircrafts across the world. We caught up with Chris Tofts, founder and CEO of 365 Aviation, to discuss why chartering continues to lead the field.

Superyachts: Can you start by giving us a quick summary of how the private jet charter sector operates and why its particularly popular with superyacht owners and charterers?

Chris Tofts: Its particularly popular with superyacht owners and charterers because a charter broker will source an aircraft closest to the route required, and provide a range of options depending on the clients needs.

In contrast, if you own a jet, you face several restrictions, which include the aircraft having already flown with another family member / business partner or scheduled maintenance work. Furthermore, owning an aircraft means youre faced with large overheads such as insurance, fuel, crewing, catering, maintenance and landing and handling fees.

Chartering is a cost-effective solution where you simply pay for the route you wish to travel, and which usually also encompasses the costs outlined above.

What are some of the key benefits of using a charter company rather than, say, joining a private jet club?

Most private jet clubs have a membership fee to join. However if you charter an aircraft you pay no upfront fees, you simply pay as you go. Some private jet clubs also have set routes and times, whereas when you charter a jet, you choose your own schedule, as well as having the freedom to choose which airport you depart from.

At 365 Aviation, we believe the benefits of luxury travel should allow you freedom and flexibility with your travel preferences. Using a private jet charter broker is a truly bespoke experience with the option to fly from any airport and to any destination, the opportunity to choose an aircraft to suit your budget and requirements, and to have the flight itinerary match your schedule, as opposed to vice versa.

Private jet clubs have been described as The Uber Pool of the skies  can you elaborate on that comparison?

Private jet clubs are a growing trend in luxury travel, essentially allowing members the opportunity to share the cost of private charter flights. The concept aims to make private jet travel more affordable, for those seeking the convenience and efficiency that it offers.

However, flying with a private jet club means that you have to be extremely flexible on your travel plans  be that airports, dates or times  as you have to be matched with other passengers flying to the same place as you. Additionally, some clubs only offer a shuttle service on pre-determined routes and aircraft, meaning that your destination may not be available at any given time.

Private jet clubs monitor flights and empty seats and then notify you via email when a seat becomes available, making it a much more automated process than private jet charter, where a hand-picked expert will talk you through the process and be on hand to answer any questions you may have. And the description of private jet clubs as The Uber Pool of the skies analogy also stems from the fact that you ll be sharing the jet with other passengers, so chances are youll be flying with strangers and have no control over who youre sitting next to on the flight.

Are you able to quantify the kind of savings that can be made by using a company like 365 Aviation rather than any of its relevant industry counterparts?

Charter brokers do still offer some great deals. Every time a private jet is booked for a one-way flight, an empty leg becomes available for the return journey, because the aircraft must fly empty to return to its previous destination and pick up its next set of passengers. This means that by booking wisely you could save 50  75% on the cost of a conventional private jet charter.

How have client demands changed over the years, in terms of where they want to fly to, the provisions they require, the customer service they like, etc?

The luxury destinations clients want to fly to have remained relatively the same. However where they fly from has changed over the years. Weve seen an increase in the number of people booking private jets from Russia, the United States, and more recently China and India.

Clients now also expect Wi-Fi on board and some will only fly on aircraft that have the KA system which is the fastest available. Ipads with the latest movies and series pre-downloaded are now seen as standard for most passengers.

In regards to the provisions they require and the customer service they like, clients have realised the advantages of making the most of their charter manager, and weve had requests from one extreme to the other. From arranging an on-board beautician, a favourite dish from a Michelin starred restaurant, or smoked salmon from a particular delicatessen. Members of our team are frequently seen heading to Harrods or Selfridges to pick up all manner of products in order to guarantee that everything the client wants and needs is available to them at 30,000 feet.

Weve had many wonderful and memorable experiences working with our clients  from buying 10 of the latest iPhone Xs to be flown half way across the world on launch day as they hadnt been released in that country yet, flying a wedding dress to Biarritz after last minute alterations and bodyguards handcuffed to suitcases of priceless jewellery being flown directly to the red carpet.

What other innovations do you think could be made in your sector to improve convenience and time/money efficiency for private jet clients?

Many of the innovations that will really make a difference to our clients are the new technologies we are currently implementing around Customers Relationship Management. Most notably, a highly advanced CRM system, which ensures that bookings can be made faster and be better centred around the clients needs through automations and intuitive features.

What could be a real game changer for the industry is block chain technology. This would have to be adopted industry wide, but the implications on cost savings could be huge. You would be able to negate the fluctuations on FX Exchanges, and add fees if your aircraft breaks down as funds will only be released when specific pre-agreed criteria are met.

What is the most satisfying part of the job for you personally?

I have a great dedicated team and we all share the same core values - to provide the best service, and great attention to detail. When a client contacts us to say thank you for a great flight and that theyre looking forward to flying with us again, it gives us all a sense of satisfaction that weve helped the client to perform at their best.Take A Mulligan: The Big 7-0

Here is the $64,000 question. Just exactly how old is old? In my teens, I figured it was about 35 but when I was getting close to that age, it ...Drenched Hawaii on edge as Hurricane Lane takes its time



Honolulu, Aug 24 (AFP) Aug 24, 2018



Torrential rain pounded Hawaii on Friday as Hurricane Lane crawled toward the island state, triggering landslides and "catastrophic" flooding, while forcing thousands to seek emergency shelter.

By mid morning local time, Lane was located around 170 miles (275 kilometers) southwest of the capital Honolulu, but had slowed its northward progression to a pedestrian two miles per hour.

Experts believe the eye of the storm will pass dangerously close to portions of the central Hawaiian islands later Friday and Saturday before turning westward and away from the danger zone.

"Regardless of the hurricane track, life-threatening impacts will extend far beyond the center position as Lane approaches the islands," the National Weather Center said.

"Excessive rainfall associated with this slow moving hurricane will continue to impact the Hawaiian Islands into the weekend, leading to catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides."

Meteorologists have downgraded the system to a Category Two storm, with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour. A tropical storm warning was in place on Big Island, while hurricane warnings remained in place for Oahu and Maui, the two most populated islands.

Brad Kieserman, vice president of Disaster Operations and Logistics for the American Red Cross, told a news conference more than 2,000 people were sheltering in 45 evacuation centers.

"I would not be surprised to wake up tomorrow morning and see evacuation center populations at or above 2,500 or 3,000," he added.



- 'Whiteout' conditions -



Almost 25 inches (60 centimeters) of rain fell on the iconic Waikiki Beach in the last 36 hours, forcing its closure as hoteliers and store owners piled sandbags outside their businesses.

The mainly-rural Big Island -- home to the still-erupting Kilauea volcano -- has taken the worst hit so far, however, with more than 30 inches of rain in about 24 hours.

Experts warned of "whiteout conditions" -- steam loaded with particles and toxic gases produced when lava hits cool moisture -- as the storm hits.

"The hurricane should not have a significant effect on the eruption aside from minor rockfalls at the summit and increased steaming from Puu Oo and Lerz vents," the US Geological Survey said.

"Whiteout conditions could occur on the new lava field due to steam produced by heavy rain falling on still-hot lava flows."

Meanwhile Brock Long, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), warned of major disruptions to the power grid.

"Citizens need to realize that we are looking at major hurricane impacts and things are going to break," Long said.

"We need to set the expectation that the power could go off for quite some time and the infrastructure is going to be heavily impacted."

Residents across the state have been stocking up on water, food, gasoline and emergency supplies as Lane drew nearer.



- 'Destructive waves' -



Sea levels were expected to rise as much as two to four feet above normal tide levels, causing coastal erosion and prompting a storm surge and "large and destructive waves," forecasters said.

United, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines have canceled some or all international and domestic flights.

The US Coast Guard says 57,000 US military personnel already stationed in Hawaii are ready to provide logistical and medical support or conduct search and rescue missions operations.

"Hurricane Lane is not a well-behaved hurricane," Governor David Ige said in a statement as he declared a state of emergency earlier this week on the Big Island.

"I've not seen such dramatic changes in the forecast track as I've seen with this storm."

Hurricanes rarely make landfall in Hawaii and the last major storm to strike the state was nearly three decades ago, when Hurricane Iniki barreled into the island of Kauai, leaving six dead and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Federal officials have been working with Hawaiian utility managers to keep a close eye on the power grid, a major vulnerability in Puerto Rico last year when it was hit by Hurricane Maria, a Category Four storm.

Hurricane-related deaths in Puerto Rico have been estimated at as many as 4,600 people, largely because prolonged and widespread power outages and washed out roads prevented access to health care, US researchers said.Six dead, thousands evacuated in Taiwan floods



Taipei, Aug 25 (AFP) Aug 25, 2018



Six people have been killed by floodwaters in Taiwan, officials said Saturday, after days of heavy rain forced thousands to evacuate their homes.

A tropical depression has been dumping torrential rain in central and southern Taiwan since Thursday, with some districts receiving close to 1,000 millimetres (39 inches) of rainfall.

Six have died in the storm so far, according to government figures, including three who were killed by a falling scaffold in the southern city of Kaohsiung. Almost 100 more were injured.

More than 6,000 people were evacuated with more than 1,100 still in shelters on Saturday morning, officials said.

Images showed residents in Kaohsiung and nearby Tainan wading in knee-deep water, as well as soldiers in central Chiayi county carrying elderly residents and children from their flooded homes.

Television footage also showed scooters and cars half-submerged in water and roads blocked by landslides.

Although the depression has already moved northwest away from Taiwan, floods have yet to recede in many areas.

Taiwan's weather bureau said the severity of the downpour was "extremely rare".

The island is frequently hit by typhoons in the summer. Last year more than 100 people were injured when Typhoon Nesat battered the island, causing flooding and widespread power outages.English Norwegian

Orkla ASA has on 24 August 2018 bought 188,000 Orkla shares through broker at an average price of NOK 70.7427 per share.

Orkla's total holding of treasury shares after this transaction is 18,682,259 shares.

Orkla ASA

Oslo, 25 August 2018



Ref.:



IR & Communications Manager

Elise A. Heidenreich

Tel.: +47 951 41 147

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.New York, NY, Aug. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Market Research has published a new report titled Protective Relay Market by Voltage Range (High, Medium and Low), by Application (Feeder Protection, Transformer Protection, Generator Protection, Transmission Line Protection and Motor Protection), by End-user (Utilities, Industries, Marine and Renewable End Users): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2017 - 2024. According to the report, the global protective relay market accounted for USD 3.64 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach USD 5.58 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of around 6.3% between 2018 and 2024.

A protective relay is an integral part of the circuit protection system and it enables safe operation in an electrical circuit. The primary function of protective relays is to trip a circuit breaker when a fault is detected. A protective relay may respond to the magnitude of a quantity such as current or voltage. Protection relays use shaded-pole, magnets, operating and restraint coils, arrays of induction disks, telephone-relay contacts, phase-shifting networks, and solenoid-type operators.

Browse through 42 Tables & 28 Figures spread over 136 Pages and in-depth TOC on Global Protective Relay Market Share 2017 Report: Industry Size, Trends, Segments, Growth Analysis and Forecast, 2024.

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Ongoing huge investments in electricity transmission & distribution in order to reduce power losses in various developing markets of Asia, Latin America, and Africa are expected to increase the growth of protective relay market in the coming years. Furthermore, urbanization & industrialization tends to increase the power need & simultaneously helps to further fuel the demand for protective relays. Moreover, the rising demand of protective relay from manufacturing industries and processing industries for protecting expensive industrial machinery from damages in case of electrical short circuits or other circumstances will further flourish the market. On a contrary, a high cost of installation and maintenance is expected to restrict the growth of the market in the years to come. Nonetheless, the promising market for the intelligent controller is predicted to open up significant opportunities in the near future.

High voltage protective relays dominated the voltage range segment of the protective relay market in 2017, owing to the rising preference from utility and large industrial consumers. The medium voltage protective relay is expected to become the most attractive segment in the forecast period.

Download Free PDF Report Brochure: https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/requestbrochure/protective-relay-market

Feeder protection application segment held the largest market share in 2017, the growth of this segment is mainly attributed to increased use in switchyards by transmission & distribution companies. Transformer protection segment is expected to experience significant growth owing to demand gas monitoring & temperature monitoring. Utilities end-user segment acquired the largest market share for protective relay market in 2017. The growth of the utility segment is primarily driven by growing transmission & distribution network across the globe. However, increasing industrialization is expected to contribute to the growth of industry segment in coming years.

On a revenue basis, Asia Pacific held the majority share of the global protective relays market and is predicted to dominate the world marketplace within the coming years. The major factors driving the growth of the market are extensive electrical infrastructure upgradation coupled with the expansion of transmission & distribution networks. China held the largest market share in the Asia Pacific region. The growth in China is mostly attributed to the rising industrialization & urbanization. Rapid economic growth in the BRIC nations is expected to drive the protective relay market in this region. The emergence of developing countries coupled with the initiatives by the government to develop better electrical distribution network is also expected to support the growth of the market in this region. The growth of protective relays in the Asia Pacific is imminent.

Browse the full "Protective Relay Market by Voltage Range (High, Medium and Low), by Application (Feeder Protection, Transformer Protection, Generator Protection, Transmission Line Protection and Motor Protection), by End-user (Utilities, Industries, Marine and Renewable End Users): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2017 - 2024" report at https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/report/protective-relay-market

The North American and European markets are mainly driven by the replacement of the conventional system with the advanced protective relay as a substitute. Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), General Electric (GE), ABB, Dazzler, and Siemens are some of the leading manufacturers in the North American market. Rising demand from the utility segment is expected to show considerable growth in Europe. Replacement market is expected to be one of the major segment encouraging the investments in these regions.

The developing economies in Latin America also have a potential for the global protective relay market. Rising power demand coupled with increasing renewable energy generation projects are the key growth factors expected to contribute to the growth of the protective relay market in Latin America. Brazil, Chile, and Peru are expected to be the key contributing countries for the growth of the market owing to the increased transmission and distribution network sector.

Inquire more about this report before purchase @ https://www.zionmarketresearch.com/inquiry/protective-relay-market

The Middle East and Africa region are estimated to be amongst the fastest growing markets for the protective relay in the years to come. Saudi Arabia is anticipated to be the most attractive market for the protective relay in the Middle East. The increasing number of retrofit projects and increased power consumption in the African region has led to heavy investments in the new infrastructure projects.

Some of the key players in the protective relay market are Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc., Basler Electric, Siemens AG, NR Electric Co. Ltd., Eaton Corporation, ABB Ltd., General Electric, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Schneider Electric SA, Toshiba Corporation, Fanox Electronics, and Littelfuse Inc., amongst others.

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This report segments the global protective relay market as follows:

Global Protective Relay Market: Voltage Type Segment Analysis

High Voltage Protective Relays

Medium Voltage Protective Relays

Low Voltage Protective Relays

Global Protective Relay Market: Application Segment Analysis

Feeder Protection

Transmission Line Protection

Motor Protection

Transformer Protection

Generator Protection

Global Protective Relay Market: End-User Segment Analysis

Utilities

Industries

Renewable

Marine

Global Protective Relay Market: Regional Segment Analysis

North America The U.S.

Europe UK France Germany

Asia Pacific China Japan India

Latin America Brazil

The Middle East and Africa

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Website: https://www.zionmarketresearch.comNEW ORLEANS, La., Aug. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (KSF) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until October 22, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Nevro Corp. (NYSE:NVRO), if they purchased the Companys shares between January 8, 2018 and July 12, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.



What You May Do

If you purchased shares of Nevro and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-nvro/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by October 22, 2018.

About the Lawsuit

Nevro and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On July 10, 2018, analysts reported that a tentative court ruling in patent litigation involving Nevro nullified at least five patents related to the Companys proprietary HF10 pain therapy and Senza delivery systems, which resulted in some analysts downgrading the Company. Then, on July 13, 2018, the Company disclosed pre-market that it had terminated the employment of James Alecxih, Vice President, Worldwide Sales.

News of both events caused the price of Nevros shares to plummet, wiping out over $650 million in market capitalization.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include the former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com.

Contact:

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCTaman Safari Prigen in Pasuruan, East Java, recently welcomed a newborn female named Vani of the Axis kuhili species.

The deer species, also known as the Bawean deer, is one of the three mascots of this years Asian Games. Its natural habitat is on an island with the same name, located 150 kilometers north of Surabaya in East Java. Bawean deer are cited as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list of threatened species.

Natural Resource Conservation Agency East Java reported that as of 2016, there were 315 Bawean deer in the wild.

The birth of Vani adds joy to the Asian Games. Being one of the mascots, the Bawean deer called Atung represents speed. Other Indonesian animals that are mascots comprise a rhino named Kaka that represents strength and a bird called Bhin Bhin that embodies strategy.

General manager of Taman Safari Prigen Dias Yoenadi said on Aug. 19 that with the birth of Vani, the facility now has 35 deer. Vani is the offspring of a 6-year-old male deer named Tino and 3-year-old female deer named Vallen.

Hopefully, the birth of Vani that coincides with the Asian Games can help increase the population of Bawean deer and raise awareness for people to help protect the species, Dias told The Jakarta Post.

Read also: Asian Games dollmaker seeks to share happiness, empower people

Veterinarian Gilang Ramadan, who is observing Vani, said the fawn is now in an isolation facility and will socialize with her family before the park sets her free to join a larger group of deer.

Vani now weighs 15 kilograms. She will mature and be ready to mate at the age of three.

Bawean deer are nocturnal animals, usually living in small groups comprising a doe and her fawn. During mating season, there are usually two [male] deer in the group. Their pelage is generally brown in color, with white marks on the tail. The males have three-tined antlers to attract the doe in mating season, said Dr. Gilang. (mut)Cappella Amadeus, a string chamber orchestra under the Amadeus Indonesia Music Institute, celebrated its 25th anniversary by holding a concert on Thursday evening at Usmar Ismail Hall in Central Jakarta.

This was the first time the group has performed since declaring a hiatus in 2011 to give other departments in the institute a chance to perform.

Around 25 musicians were on stage that evening, with the youngest one being only 12 years of age. They staged a classical program that included Divertimento in F Major K. 138 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major and BWV 1048 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and Ancient Airs and Dances and Suite No. 3 by Ottorino Respighi.

They played harmoniously that night and received a standing ovation from the audience.

Since the orchestras establishment in 1993, members have been selected by Grace Soedargo, founder of the Amadeus Indonesia Music Institute.

They have to be talented, highly disciplined, smart and committed, Grace told The Jakarta Post after the concert.

The orchestra has performed hundreds of concerts across Asia and collaborated with international musicians, including Phillip Green from Australia, Christiane Hutcap from Germany and Lee Chong Min from Singapore.

Read also: 'We Got Rhythm' concert raises funds for Indonesian wind musicians

Since the orchestras establishment in 1993, members have been selected by Grace Soedargo, founder of the Amadeus Indonesia Music Institute. (Amadeus Indonesia Music Institute/File)

By presenting a classical program, the institute aims to challenge the impression that the genre is reserved for the rich and the elderly.

Classical music is for everybody, but we have to play it well, Grace said.

We previously performed [Antonio] Vivaldis songs in front of homeless children and they were all quiet.

Although the orchestra played Coldplays Viva la Vida at the end of the show to the audiences surprise, she emphasized the importance of classical music as a foundation for musicians.

The more you listen to it [classical music], the more different it sounds. If children learn to play this genre, they can easily tackle all genres, Grace said.

However, she conceded that it was very difficult to raise awareness about classical music in Indonesia as its people have other preferences.

[Event organizers] also know that not many Indonesians like classical music, so its hard to get sponsors for this type of concert, said Grace, who is a former member of the Capella Accademica Graz in Austria.

The music institutes next performance will be on Oct. 27, when it will hold a charity concert to build a school in Papua. Song in its next program will be recorded onto CDs and given to churches. (mut)Skull fossils of an animal related to todays elephant species that had four ivory tusks instead of two are currently exhibited at the Geology Museum in Bandung, West Java.

The items were discovered in the 1990s by the museum's research team in Wallanae Valley, South Sulawesi.

Visitors to the museum can also marvel at other interesting fossils at the exhibition, including of an ancient pig (Celebochoerus heekereni) and a giant turtle (Geochelone atlas).

As reported by tempo.co, the elephant-relates species that used to live in Sulawesi according to the fossils found include the Stegodon sompoensis, Stegodon sp. and Elephas celebensis, which refers to the four-tusked animal.

"The age of the ancient elephant's fossils is around 2 million years," said the head of the research team, Fachroel Aziz, a paleovertebrata expert, as quoted by tempo.co.

The fossils of the Stegodon in Sulawesi were first discovered by Dutch researcher Dirk Albert Hooijer in 1953. After his next findings in Sompoh area, he later proposed Stegodon sompoensis as a new species name.

A joint team of the Bandung Geology Research and Development Center and the University of Utrecht as well as the Netherlands' National Museum of Natural History did research in Wallanae Valley between 1989 and 1992. Among their findings were teeth and skull fossils.

Based on the size of their teeth, said Fachroel, the Stegodon sompoensis was considered a dwarf. "It was a small elephant, similar to a buffalo [in size]."

Read also: 700,000-year-old elephant fossil found in Central Java

Meanwhile the Elephas celebensis that had four tusks was first found by Dutch researcher Heekeren in 1947. The two upper tusks are believed to have been used as a weapon and gouge. Meanwhile, the use of the pair of smaller, lower tusks is not yet known.

According to researcher Gert van den Berg, so far evidence of their existence in Indonesia has only been found in Sulawesi. During the Miosen era that ran from 23 to 5 million years ago, many of this species could be found in Asia.

"The Stegoloxodon was a relict in Sulawesi; since it was isolated, it was able to exist," he said, adding that elephants in Asia were extinct due to competition with later elephant species. (kes)Contemporary puppet theater troupe Papermoon Puppet Theater will present its latest work Puno (Letters to The Sky) on Aug. 24 to 26 in Jakarta and Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 in Bandung, West Java, as part of an effort to raise funds to attend an upcoming international puppet festival.

Puno tells the story of Tala, a girl raised by her father Puno. Their relationship changes when Puno falls so sick that he cannot hug his daughter anymore. The work has previously been performed in Spain, Argentina and three Southeast Asian countries.

As reported by tempo.co, the festival's initiator Maria "Ria" Tri Sulistyani said the tickets to the Jakarta show at Edwin's Gallery in Kemang, available for Rp 350,000 (US$24), had sold out online and offline.

Read also: 'Puno' is Papermoon's message of love and loss

"In a mere five minutes the online tickets sold out, as well as the offline tickets," said Ria in Jakarta on Wednesday, adding that tickets to the Bandung show were still available.

Ria said she was surprised by the tremendous enthusiasm for the performance, as she previously thought that not many people would be interested in the show.

The troupe is currently raising funds to attend the upcoming puppet festival Pesta Boneka #6 in Yogyakarta on Oct. 24 to 26. The event is slated to feature artists from 15 countries including the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. Six Indonesian groups will participate in the "The Journey"-themed festival.

As well as selling tickets, the troupe is also open to collaboration opportunities with third parties. (kes)With a cross rising from a red pagoda roof and two lion statues guarding the entrance, a Catholic church in southern Taiwan could easily be mistaken for one of the ubiquitous temples dotting the island.

Taiwan embraces freedom of religion and has one of the highest densities of temples in the world, with close to 70 percent of the population believers in Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folk traditions.

About six percent of Taiwan's 23.57 million population are Christian, with 300,000 of those Catholic.

There are more than 1,000 churches across the island but the Holy Spirit Church is particularly unique.

Located on a quiet road in the rural town of Yanshui, about an hour's drive from southern Tainan city, it started life as a simple wooden structure, built by a German missionary more than six decades ago.

However, in 1986 it was reconstructed by Chinese pastor Li Shaofeng who had a very different vision, melding features of a typical Chinese temple into the design, including lanterns, red pillars, and painted dragons motifs.

Priest Claudio Pegoraro swinging an incense holder during a Catholic mass in the Holy Spirit Church in Yanshui, about an hour's drive from the southern city of Tainan. (AFP/Sam Yeh)

"The pastor thought of building a more Chinese-style church to adapt to the local environment," said Joseph Chung, the church's current pastor.

"He built this church hoping to attract more followers," said Chung, 67.

Read also: Detroit church holds vigil for ailing 'Queen of Soul' Franklin

- 'Blessed place' -

Several other churches in Taiwan incorporate some temple-like characteristics, but none to the same extent.

Murals cover almost all of the interior walls of the Holy Spirit Church, depicting teachings from the Bible, but with a twist -- most of the figures look Asian and wear Chinese-style clothing.

Even the bread in the church's mural of "The Last Supper" -- the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus and his apostles -- is replaced with baozi, Chinese steamed buns.

At the back of the main hall, next to the confessional, is a shrine with candles and a Chinese incense bowl to commemorate the church's late pastors.

Burning incense is a common Chinese tribute to deities or ancestors.

Chung says the number of regular followers attending services has dropped in recent years as Yanshui residents move to bigger cities.

But masses are still held daily, with special events drawing believers from all over southern Taiwan.

The music for the services is performed by Catholic nuns from the attached Monastery of St Clare, which was started in 1990.

Churchgoer Cecilia Huang has been a regular visitor to the Holy Spirit Church for 20 years and says she particularly likes praying with the nuns.

Huang says she appreciates the church's design aesthetic and says it does not change the nature of her religion.

"The essence is the same," said Huang, 66.

"It's only the appearance that looks like it's integrated into Taiwan's environment, bringing blessings to this place."2018 is shaping up to be a vintage year for French wine -- the best for almost a decade.

The near perfect combination of a wet spring followed by a long hot summer has left wine makers rubbing their hands with glee.

The earliest harvest in 15 years is already in full swing in the Champagne region with the first grapes picked in equally northerly Alsace on Tuesday, two weeks ahead of schedule.

With global sales of champagne alone likely to pass five billion euros ($5.8 billion) this year, government expert predicted Friday that the overall French harvest could be up by as much a quarter.

And with the quality of the grapes said to be high, a truly vintage year to match 2009 could be in the offing.

All the wine producing areas of the country except Corsica, Languedoc-Roussillon and the Riviera coast have reported more and better grapes compared to the last five years.

Winemakers, however, were quick to insist that they will not be celebrating until they have the grapes in the barrel.

"A lot can happen," said Charles Bonnafont of the Peyres Roses winery at Cahuzac sur Vere near Gaillac in southwest France.

"Yes, it is looking very good. If we had a little rain now and than some more sunshine before the harvest it might be even more perfect," he told AFP.

- Bumper harvest -

Like many winemakers, his organic vines were hit by mildew after a very soggy spring but "the long dry hot summer has helped us to halt it and allow the grapes to ripen really well".

Other organic winemakers, however, have struggled to stay on top of the parasite even with the help of the heatwave. Laurent Herlin, from Bourgueil in the Loire valley, said even drought "did not totally stop the march of mildew", which can eat away and wither bunches of grapes on the vine.

The French government agency FranceAgriMer said that mildew and violent spring storms had also hit the harvest along "the Atlantic coast and particularly along the Mediterranean".

Yet that would not stop 2018 being a bumper year -- if the weather holds up for a few more weeks, it said.

While the harvest is very early in many of the country's most famous grape-growing regions -- with pickers out in the renowned vineyards around the Burgundy village of Meursault on Tuesday -- it is not the case everywhere.

Some domaines around Bordeaux have begun harvesting grapes for their white wines, but Bonnafort said that further to the east in Gaillac picking was likely to start between September 5 and 10 -- "which is not that far ahead of the norm".

Read also: Lafleur optimistic on 2017 vintage after surviving April's frost

- Never-ending summer -

The harvest in Fitou, traditionally the first in France, actually began a little late.

Even so Laurent Maynadier was still the first French winemaker to put his secateurs to work on August 7 as he harvested by hand on the hillsides overlooking the Mediterranean near Narbonne.

Fitou may be known for its strong smooth reds but it was the first ripe muscat grapes for its lesser known white wines that Maynadier was picking.

Sales of white wines from the area have "doubled in four years", according to Jerome Villaret, of the Languedoc AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee), which certifies wines in the huge southern wine region.

"Winemakers here have been working extremely hard on the quality and their efforts are being recognised with their white wines now being widely exported to the US and Japan," he said.

"Vines love the sun," said Bernard Farges, head of the union of winemakers in the prestigious Bordeaux region, as he rejoiced at the seemingly never-ending French summer.

Despite the mildew which took a toll particularly on the merlot grapes used in its famous claret reds, production is still likely to be hugely ahead of the disastrously small crop of 2017.

Like some other big-name regions, Bordeaux was devastated last year by frosts and hailstone storms.

Still experts are waiting to see how the final ripening of the grapes goes before they uncork something special to celebrate.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, August 25, 2018 11:25 1164 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df54d3077 1 City PAM-Jaya,Aetra-Air,tap-water,jakarta,anies-baswedan Free

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has appointed an executive from a private water operator to lead city water firm PAM Jaya.

PT Aetra Air Jakarta (Aetra) former corporate secretary Prayitno Bambang Hernowo was appointed as new PAM Jaya president director to replace Erlan Hidayat, who had led the company since 2015.

The replacement was made amid the companys struggle to take control of the citys tap water service toward the end of contracts with two private operators, Aetra and PT PAM Lyonnaise Jaya.

"The letter has just been issued; from today onward I am in charge, Priyatno said at Friday afternoon.

The Jakarta administration has been seeking to end water privatization in the city, which many have complained has been stagnant for two decades, despite the existence of the two operators.

The Supreme Court has also recently ordered the administration and the central government to abolish the privatization in a class action lawsuit petitioned by Jakarta residents on the grounds that the practice has disadvantaged the people.

Read also: Group challenges judicial review on water privatization

Although he came from one of the two operators, Priyanto claimed, he would act professionally.

Erlan had been in charge of a tumultuous time, leading the company during the transition to end privatization in the past year. His proposal of a new water contract that still involved the two private operators  albeit their poor performance  was rejected by Anies.

By appointing an executive from Aetra, the administration may eventually involve the old operators in future tap water management. (stu)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, August 25 2018

Every Saturday and Sunday morning, around 200 people, young and old, gather at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in Cikini to learn Balinese dance and tabuh (traditional percussion). They are members of Balinese dance community Saraswati.

Some dance as a hobby, to preserve traditional culture, or simply to exercise. Most of the elderly dance for exercise, Ayu Sri from Saraswati said. Dancing doesnt feel like exercising, but people break a sweat doing it.

Many parents sign their children up to Saraswati. TIM is known as an arts center, so they come to TIM thinking there must be a dance studio, Sri said. So they come, get interested and register immediately. Some parents, mostly the mothers, also join because they have to wait for their children to finish their practice, Sri added.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, August 25 2018

The Indonesian Oil Palm Association (GAPKI) has urged the government to expand Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification to include the derivative products of crude palm oil (CPO) in order to gain wider recognition at the global level.

GAPKI deputy chairman Togar Sitanggang said recently that such a move would be welcomed as around 75 percent of Indonesias exports were CPO derivatives while the remaining was CPO.

If we want ISPO [standards] to be accepted overseas, the ISPO certification should also be expanded to include [CPO derivatives], Togar said recently at a seminar hosted by the association on the island of Belitung in the Bangka Belitung Islands province.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, August 25, 2018 13:03 1164 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df54d5ecb 2 National Meiliana,blasphemy,Blasphemy-Law,azan,JusufKalla,Lukman-Hakim-Saifuddin Free

Recent days have seen an outpouring of support for Meiliana, a Chinese-Indonesian woman of the Buddhist faith who was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for complaining about the volume of the adzan (Islamic call to prayer) from a speaker at a mosque near her house in Tanjungbalai, North Sumatra.

Religious Affairs Minister Lukman H. Saifuddin, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, recently joined the chorus of support, even expressing his readiness to testify in Meilianas favor in a higher court.

He expressed his willingness on his personal Twitter account in response to a query from Saiful Mujani, the director of the Saiful Mujani Research Center, who tweeted, So its not seen as intervention, its better for the religious affairs minister to appeal as a related party or an expert witness. Please [do so], Sir!

Lukman tweeted again on Thursday, saying that In my opinion, Article 156a of Law No. 1/1965 [on blasphemy] regarding Meilianas case cannot be used as an independent variable as it is dependent upon context.

Lukman also pointed to Instruction No. 101, released by the Religious Affairs Ministrys Public Guidance Directorate General in 1978 that regulates the use of speakers in houses of worship. The instruction, among other things, stipulates that amplified Quran recitations can be broadcast, at the earliest, 15 minutes prior to the call to prayer.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who also serves as the chairman of the Indonesia Mosques Council (DMI), suggested that legal sentencing over a complaint was unnecessary.

Of course residents who ask [mosques to lower the volume of speakers] should not be charged [...] Its an acceptable request to make, even the DMI has asked mosques to set their speakers at a tolerable volume and not to use the speakers for too long, Kalla told reporters at his office recently.

Kalla also made a similar request back in 2015, criticizing the overuse of mosque loudspeakers especially during Ramadhan.

Members of the public have also voiced their concern by signing a petition on change.org calling on President Joko Jokowi Widodo to free Meiliana. Over 100,000 people had signed the petition as of Friday evening.

However, in a statement released by the Presidential Office, Jokowi said he would not intervene in the legal process, but suggested that the ruling could still be challenged in a higher court.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Discrimination Movement (Gandi) said on Thursday that Meilianas request was similar to Kallas in 2015. Therefore, Gandi secretary Ahmad Ari Mahsyuri requested the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) to review their fatwa that declared Meilianas complaint to be demeaning and insulting toward Islam because the adzan was part of Islamic law.

Based on the fatwa, the police charged Meiliana with blasphemy. Meiliana made the comment to a neighbor on July 22, 2016, however she reportedly disappeared until she was finally arrested on May 30 this year.

Despite criticism, the MUI doubled down on the fatwa, with MUI deputy secretary-general Tengku Zulkarnain arguing that people should respect the rule of law.

Meilianas blasphemy trial started on June 26 this year and continued on Aug. 13 when the prosecutors demanded she be found guilty under Articles 156 and 156a of the Criminal Code, and be sentenced to 1.5 years in prison.

Meilianas private comment became a source of rumors in the days following its utterance, with people claiming a woman of Chinese descent wanted to ban adzan.

The rumors quickly snowballed, triggering a riot that saw a mob destroy and set fire to several Buddhist temples in the port city.

The police arrested 19 people for their roles in the riot. All were given one to four month jail sentences. (JP/Nerida Indahsari)North Sulawesi is experiencing a shortage of Mandarin speaking guides as the number of tourists from China to the province continues to increase.

"The high number of foreign tourists, especially from China, visiting North Sulawesi has not been matched by the number of guides who can speak Mandarin," Frankie Najoan, the Indonesian Restaurant Hotel Association's (PHRI) North Sulawesi secretary, said in Manado on Thursday as quoted by Antara.

Frankie added that one of the challenges laid in the fact that there were not many people in the area who can speak the language.

"I think there are already a lot of tour guides who can speak English, but there aren't many who can speak Mandarin."

Until now, he said, tour guides accompanying Chinese tourists mostly came from outside of North Sulawesi.

"The guides actually come from Batam, there are some from Bali as well as China," Frankie added.

Read also: Chinese tourists' favorite places in Indonesia

He said tour guides from outside the area could not master the ins and outs of the locations in North Sulawesi as a local could, adding that some important information about the various places might not be conveyed to the visiting tourists.

"Tour guides from outside do not know much about our tourism potential."

Frankie said the government should also pay attention because direct flights from South Korea to Manado would be opened soon.

South Korean tourists would want dine out on Korean cuisine when they reach their destination, he added.

"From the information we received, South Koreans will soon be streaming to North Sulawesi but we don't even have a restaurant that serves kimchi," Frankie said. (liz/kes)Travellers journey to far-reaching countries for delicious food, incredible natural beauty, vibrant cultures and... bridges?

More and more tourists are crossing miles and seas to visit bridges that are truly architectural wonders, in countries from Vietnam to France. Pieces of beauty and history, a walk on any of these high rise structures will give you an unforgettable view and insight into the rich culture of the region these bridges inhabit. Here's the National Student's round-up of six unmissable bridges around the world:

1. Golden Bridge, Vietnam

Photograph by Junaidrao via Flickr Creative Commons

Vietnams new edition to the global bridge scene has arrived in the form of a golden bridge held up by giant hands. The structure sits over 1400 metres above sea level, amongst the Ba Na Hills. The enormous pair of stone hands have a weathered effect, which ties them into the natural, forested backdrop. Pedestrians can lean against the glimmering golden rails as they are presented with a breathtaking view of central Vietnam.

2. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass Bridge, China

Photograph by  via Wikimedia Commons

Billed as the worlds longest and tallest glass bridge, this exhilarating crossing provides people the opportunity to look directly into the deep valley below, making it the perfect place to conquer your fear of heights. Not only a means of getting from a to b, the bridge has also been used as a venue for special events, such as a catwalk in a recent fashion show.

3. The 25th of April Bridge, Portugal

Photograph by Max Bashyrov via Flickr Creative Commons

Bringing a touch of California to Europe, Portugals The 25th of April Bridge is reminiscent of San Franciscos Golden Gate Bridge. The bridges name is a reference to the Carnation Revolution, a military coup that took place in Lisbon in 1974, allowing a part of the city's rich history to be embodied in its architecture.

4. Living Root Bridges, India

Photograph by Ashwin Kumar via Flickr Creative Commons

Serving as a contrast to these other man-made bridges, the Indian village of Cherrapunji is home to a series of bridges that have formed themselves out of living tree roots. Instead of traditional materials such as stone, the Ficus elastica tree's (rubber tree) roots have been moulded into a walkway fit for humans. In fact, these bridges are sturdier than they may initially seem, and can hold the weight of up to 50 people at a time.

5. The Ponte Vecchio, Italy

Photograph by Sockmister via Flickr Creative Commons

As well as being used as a walkway, this Italian Medieval stone structure is also home to a number of souvenir shops and jewellers . The shops date back to the 13th Century, however, they used to be a wide variety of stores, including butchers and fishmongers.

6. Millau Viaduct, France

Photograph by Richard Munckton via Flickr Creative CommonsOn looking back to the classics, plagiarism, and working with a young and hungry publisher.

Source: Vault Comics

Ryan O'Sullivan is a comics writer whose previous work includes Void Trip, Dark Souls, The Evil Within, Warhammer 40,000, and Turncoat. His newest series Fearscape, published by Vault Comics, is set to release September 26.

Tim: Most comics can be described as "blank meets blank." Nothing immediately jumps to mind to pigeonhole Fearscape. Can you describe the book a little?

Ryan: I'm glad to see the marketing byline "It's Fearscape meets Fearscape" is having the desired impact. Like everything I write, FEARSCAPE is a knight's move. VOID TRIP, my last book, lured the reader in with promises of a drug-fueled road-trip story, only to deliver existential dread bordering on cosmic nihilism. Fearscape is no different; it lures readers in with promises of formalist burlesque, only to slowly reveal a genuine character-driven story at the core of it.

As for what it's about in a more pragmatic sense, allow me to refer you to the blurb:

"From Ryan O'Sullivan, Andrea Mutti, Vladimir Popov, and Deron Bennet comes FEARSCAPE. The Fearscape is a world beyond our own, populated by the manifestations of our greatest fears. Once per generation, The Muse travels to Earth, discovers our greatest Storyteller, and takes them with her to the Fearscape to battle these fear-creatures on our behalf. All has been well for eons, until The Muse encounters Henry Henrya plagiarist with delusions of literary grandeur. Mistaking him for our greatest Storyteller, she ushers him into the Fearscape. A fake man in a fake land...this is the story of the wrong person answering the call to adventure, and the doom that followed. Issue #1, in stores September 26th."

Tim: Fearscape seems like a dissection of literature while also exploring classic themes. Can you touch on that?

Ryan: Fearscape obviously touches on a lot of classical literature. I won't go into specifics here as that would defeat the purpose of writing the comic. But I will say that the creative decision for doing this was because I'm a big believer that modern authors must ignore their contemporaries and look only to the classics. Modern writing is so deeply entrenched in the cultural milieu of our lives that it is almost impossible to assess the truth of it, objectively. But classics exist within time periods that we fully comprehend the significance of. We are, as a consequence, better armed to see the transcendent truth at the core of it.

This is why I focus on the classics; looking behind that I might then look ahead, whilst all others stare sideways.

Tim: Some say write what you know. When was the last time you were sucked into a realm of dark magic where human fear exists as living creatures?

Ryan: Every interview.

Tim: How did you team up with Andrea Mutti and Vladimir Popov? Their artwork makes the Fearscape feel light and ethereal.

Ryan: When I first approached Andrea and Vlad, the narrative threads of Fearscape and the tone of the book were clear in my mind. I've mentioned this elsewhere, but we wanted the story to have that classical "through the looking glass" fairy tale aesthetic. Fearscape subverts a fair amount of what you might call classical fantasy tropes, so having a visual style that reflected that style of storytelling, but that we could also burlesque where necessary, is what lead us towards the inkwashed watercolours.

There were only a few storytelling techniques I was adamant about (the presence of panel gutters and a muted palette) but everything else about the visuals was down to Andrea and Vlad. (Although, like any good collaborator, I always provided feedback.)

Tim: How much of the dialogue on the first is Henry Henry and how much is you tooting your own horn?

Ryan: Henry Henry reflects only Henry Henry. This sort of questions pops up a fair amount. "How much of you is in your characters?" As if Shakespeare saw himself as Macbeth! HH is a fictional character, he reflects storytelling convention, archetype, and the human condition. He is not an insert nor an amalgamation of people I know. He is not a pastiche of another literary character. He exists only within Fearscape, and functions there as part of the greater whole of the story.

There are those who may think him reflective of me; That his invective against certain low-scoring schools of almost-thought are indicative of my own personal worldviews. (And that I am hiding behind the shield of his unreliable narration as a means to spew my own personal venom  as if I need a shield!) This is patently false and a gross misunderstanding of the basic function of storytelling. There may be occasions where my own style of dialogue or mental habitsbleed into the character, but that says more about my idiosyncrasies as a writer, than it does anything about HH.

Tim: Plagiarism is big component of the first issue. How does it feel ripping off Alan Moore?

Ryan: How does The Outhousers feel about ripping off Bleeding Cool? Do people still read your website since Jude Terror left to write for them?

Plagiarism is a huge aspect of HH's character. It illustrates his core conceit  that of a man striving for originality who is happy to copy others. The lure towards Moore, Gaiman, and countless other writers referenced both directly and indirectly in the first issue builds off-of that. But beyond the function of a character attribute woven into the theme of the narrative, plagiarism has no real impact on Fearscape. What does have an impact, is the idea from which the plagiarist theme emerged, namely: the anxiety of influence.

We are, each of us, influenced by those who came before. For my sins, the Modernists, Post-Modernists, and New Sincerists lean heavily upon me whenever I sit down to write. It is my nature to push back against them, to carve my own niche; whilst, simultaneously, ensuring I'm not just reacting against them. None of us create in a vacuum, and all of us are blinded to the cultural milieu in which we exist. That said, we should all strive to reach beyond it.

Tim: Vault Comics is a newer publisher. What made you want to work with them?

Ryan: They are young and hungry. Just like me. There is a lot to be said about a publisher willing to fight alongside you in the trenches.

Tim: How long do you see Fearscape running?

Ryan: Five issues. If sales are good, more. If sales are astronomical, ongoing.

Praise the direct market, may it shine favourably upon us.

Fearscape is set to release September 26."I could care less. I don't really think that much about what people think. Who cares, who cares?"

Source: Indie Wire

Joaquin Phoenix gave an interview to IndieWire where he expressed his true feelings about people who have concerns about his portrayal of The Joker.

"I could care less. I don't really think that much about what people think. Who cares, who cares?"

He then explained his approach to playing The Joker and how it's similar to his approach to his other roles.

"My approach to every movie is the same. What I'm interested in is the filmmaker and the idea of the character."

Phoenix also touched on his focus on people and chemistry, regardless of genre or budget.

"If there's something that feels unique, then I don't really care what genre it is, what budget it is. Those things aren't important. What gets my interest is examining people. Some of it is really f---ing simple. It's chemistry, it's like what you look for in a lover. You know it when it happens."

Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker is scheduled to start filming in September for a October 4, 2019 release date.Marvel and Disney are putting the third film on ice for now until they can figure out what to do with the third Guardians movie.

Source: 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' Production Put On Hold (Exclusive)

In a move that will not surprise any, Disney has halted early production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (per the Hollywood Reporter). The move is considered to be temporary, and until the two sides can figure out what to do with the popular franchise, which hit a huge snag when it's writer/director James Gunn was controversially fired from the third film.

Preproduction was to begin shortly, but with no director at the helm, and the entire cast rallying to wanting Gunn rehired (only for Disney to stand firm on their decision) forced the move. They decided to stop production until they can "regroup". THR also says via a "source" that Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi has met with Marvel to discuss "something". What that is? Who knows other than mindless speculation than him being the only one who could possibly salvage the project at this point.Column: Sam Falls: What Does This Mean for our Free Speech?You have permission to edit this article.

Edit CloseA London-listed mining firm has staked a new claim in Zimbabwes Marange diamond fields, in a deal that could unlock 1.7 billion of gems.

Aim-listed Vast Resources has agreed joint venture terms with Red Mercury, a Zimbabwean community trust, for exclusive access to a concession in the fields.

Red Mercury will provide a full mining licence and Vast will procure funding from investors for an efficiently operating diamond mine.

harrie: Vast will be mining in Zimbabwe

Vast Resources was once known as African Consolidated Resources (ACR), which staked a claim over two blocks in the Marange fields in 2006, after they were relinquished by De Beers.

ACR was evicted eight months later by president Robert Mugabes forces. Last year, the despot was ousted.

Vast Resources, which also owns interests in gold mines in Zimbabwe and metals projects in Romania, is currently worth 33 million.

Chief executive Andrew Prelea said: With an evolving political backdrop, new opportunities are emerging. The firm expects to start diamond production in the coming months.A single mum is risking every penny she has to sue a pension trustee for breach of trust over an investment that left her retirement fund decimated.

Five years ago Manita Khuller saw 170,000 stripped from her life savings while a further sum remains frozen and out of reach.

Since then she has filed a case with The Royal Court of Guernsey, home of FNB International Trustees, and visited the court many times.

Determined: Manita Khuller has filed a court case in Guernsey

A conclusion to the case  the first of its kind  is expected to be reached after a trial this autumn.

At a time when protecting pensions from ruin is high on the agenda of UK regulators, Manita shares details of her fight  one she has waged while holding down a job and being a mother.

BAD ADVICE

Manita, now in her 50s, lived in Thailand between 2005 and 2011. Shortly before her return to the UK she was introduced by a neighbour to an adviser who worked for a company called Professional Portfolio International in Bangkok.

He convinced her to transfer two UK final salary pensions into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme  often referred to as Qrops.

These schemes are recognised by HM Revenue and Customs and are popular with expats because of potential tax benefits and the fact it can be an easier way to pass on remaining wealth to relatives after death.

They are also a flexible option for workers whose jobs take them overseas.

Manita agreed to transfer her pensions, built from years working as a marketing manager for two multinational conglomerates, into The Plaiderie Pension Scheme. Trustees to the scheme were FNB International.

She believed this to be a secure option because FNB was a subsidiary of South African finance giant FirstRand Bank and was based in Guernsey  trusted for its financial regulation and governance.

From there her money was put into an insurance bond wrapper with Royal Skandia and divided between just three funds  all unsuitable and unregulated.

This decision destroyed Manitas retirement savings. She says more appropriate advice would have been to leave her generous UK pensions untouched.

She adds: Once your pension leaves the UK it can fall into the hands of cowboys. Back then I did not even know a final salary pension meant an income for life  I was lulled into a false sense of security.

RISKY INVESTMENTS

Manita is an ordinary investor with a moderate appetite for risk. But more than half of her pension money  around 170,000  was put into LM Managed Performance Fund, run by Australian-based LM Investment Management.

It was a risky fund, unregistered with the Australian regulator and invested in a few residential properties on the Gold Coast.

Some advisers had issued warnings about the health of the fund before it collapsed in 2013, dismantling the finances of 4,500 people with more than 200 million invested.

Many of the investors who saw their savings wiped out were British expats like Manita.

Back in 2014, The Mail on Sunday reported on the impact this fund disaster had on investors, when one British couple living in Cyprus spoke out about their financial losses. They were persuaded to invest just days before the fund sank, obliterating their retirement savings.

Many victims had originally declared themselves low-risk investors but their money had still been routed into the fund on the recommendation of overseas advisers. These financial salesmen were UK nationals living abroad and in receipt of generous commissions.

Manita only found out months later that the fund had collapsed, losing her a huge sum. She says: I was in tears. I was devastated.

Manita Khuller saw 170,000 stripped from her life savings while a further sum remains frozen and out of reach

A TRAIL OF WOE

The news set Manita off on a trail and a journey. What followed was the discovery that her pension pot, worth more than 300,000, had been split between three high-risk, unregistered funds designed for sophisticated or professional investors.

A quarter of her money had been invested in the Mansion Student Accommodation fund, where her money remains frozen. She adds: No one with a moderate or low tolerance to investment risk should have had their money put into such funds.

Then she found out her adviser, Professional Portfolio Inter-national, was not licensed in Thailand.

In 2015, The Securities and Exchange Commission, a Thai regulator, filed a criminal complaint with the Economic Crime Police against PPI for operating its business without being licensed.

The company remains on the Commissions investor alert list which warns investors about unlicensed businesses that have been complained about.

Manita says she relied on PPI to make sound decisions on her behalf and on FNB International as trustee to oversee them.

But she now feels the blame has been laid squarely on her shoulders for taking advice and not declaring she did not want unregistered funds in her portfolio.

DAY IN COURT

There is no official legal recourse for Manita through her adviser because they were not licensed, recommended unregistered funds and are not based in the UK.

But PPI insists it did not act improperly and that a licence was unnecessary for the type of advice being given to expats at that time.

Eric Jordan, boss of PPI, says: Manita Khuller contacted PPI for advice rather than the other way around. I have since co-operated fully with the Economic Crime Suppression Division in its review of this case and no further action has been taken against any of the parties concerned.

Royal Skandia, since taken over by Old Mutual International, had a relationship with FNB International, not Manita or her adviser. It says it did not partake in making decisions  only executing them.

A spokesman says: We did not provide financial advice or select the underlying investments.

Now Manita says she has no option left but to pursue FNB International. She says: Trustees are given a fiduciary licence on the basis they put their clients interests above their own.

I am a test case but I have the motivation to see it through to the end.

Manita struck lucky when she found a lawyer with a heart who looked over her case and encouraged her to take legal action. But since the cost of full legal backing is prohibitive, she is representing herself in court.

The heavy weight of having no one to fight for her has taken its toll.

Manita says: With numerous trips to Guernsey and facing financial ruin if I lose, I have endured great stress and sleepless nights.

A spokesman for the trustee says: FNB International Trustees Limited will be vigorously contesting these matters at trial. Given that proceedings are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.

However, FNB International Trustees has full confidence the outcome of the trial will demonstrate it has acted at all times in accordance with all applicable rules and requirements.MBABANE - Chiefs have the final say during the nomination process, not the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), according to Chief Gija, the chairman

He was responding to a report published by the Commission on Human Rights and Public Administration or Integrity.



In the July 2018 Nomination Process Preliminary Report, the commission noted that the role of traditional authorities was unclear during the electoral process.

This was after some chiefs were said to have interfered to the extent that presiding officers ended up being unable to conduct the proceedings effectively.



Further noted was that politics of an area played a major role in the smooth conduct of the process. This was in areas where there were chieftaincy disputes.

Chief Gija said there was nothing wrong with that as nominations were held under communities headed by chiefs.

He said this made it their priority to give a prelude to the official business conducted by the EBC on the day.



refreshments



A chief can decide that the nomination process should delay and people should have refreshments first if the process started late or if he notes that some of his subjects have ailments like diabetes which need them to eat.

The commissioner further insisted that traditional authorities did not disturb the proceedings but were there to assist the EBC during the nomination process.

He said this was necessitated by the fact that the candidates being nominated were their subjects.



Chief Gija said the EBC explained that royal kraals, led by chiefs, are the foot stool of His Majesty King Mswati III.

If there was better infrastructure, the elections could be held in the royal kraals but due to the lack thereof, the chiefs advise on neutral locations for the election process.

He said the places usually opted for are community structures like schools and churches due to better lighting.



Chief Gija further said if there was a change of location, the EBC would be informed by the chiefs in advance.

However, he also acknowledged that the request for change of location was necessitated by disputes within royal kraals. He further alluded to meeting the commission and explaining the role of chiefs to them.

Human Rights and Public Administration or Integrity Commissioner Sabelo Masuku said the EBC explained that chiefs played a major role during the nomination process as they were the foundation of Tinkhundla system of governance.



neutral



He said after the nomination process, the venues for hosting the national elections became neutral.

Masuku said following this, his commission advised the EBC to offer an explanation on the role of the royal kraals so that it was clear.



The royal kraals should not bring their business on the day of nomination but should simply introduce the EBC and let it run the show on the day.

This, he said, was the advice they gave to the EBC following their meeting of presenting the report.



Before the meeting, the Human Rights Commission had issued a report on the nomination process.

This report highlighted that chieftaincy disputes and other protocol uncertainties resulted in the nomination process being delayed. In other areas, it was noted that opposing factions would be eliminated from participating as they would not be able to access the venue, reads in part the report.



This was said to have happened at Dvudvusini and Luhleko.

Further, it was said the involvement of traditional structures resulted in the disturbance of the process.

This was observed at Lomngeletjane, Masibini, Macetjeni, Dvudvusini and Kamkhweli.





MANZINI  Government should expect the worst as teachers are bringing along students and pupils to the next protest march.



That is if speeches delivered during the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) candle vigil are anything to go by.



The different speakers, who engaged the over 100 teachers who braved the rain and the low temperatures of Thursday night, seemed to have had an introspection on the role pupils and students could have in their fight against better living conditions.

Wandile Dludlu from the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF) said for a strike action that would yield results, SNAT needed to include all other sectors within society.



unique



We need a zing that will have a unique sting.

For public sector associations (PSAs) to have a zing with a sting, Dludlu said the SNAT leadership must include the informal sector, pupils and students in the new strategy.

He said this was because teachers were strategically positioned within society.



If something is explained by a teacher, it is easily decoded by society. Make parents understand that when their pupils are taught by a teacher who has not received CoLA, it would be to their detriment and that of the learners.

Currently, government and the PSAs, which comprise SNAT, National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), the Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) and the Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP), are at loggerheads as the former is offering the latter nothing (0 per cent) as the basis of negotiations.



effective



For an effective impact, he said numbers were essential for the upcoming action to be undertaken by the PSAs.

Adding, he said for a better country, the citizenry counted on the unions to organise.

Dludlu, who took to the podium just after 10pm, had all the teachers eating from the palm of his hand as he passionately spoke of the struggles teachers faced on a daily basis.



He informed teachers that for change to be effective the public sector associations had to reinforce and introduce new strategies that would sting government where it mattered most.

The unionist noted that government had become complacent with the working classs strategies to pressure it for a better living.



They now know when we dont get what we want, we strike for a day or two then sheepishly leave Mbabane to whine at our various gathering points.

He said this had led many teachers and other civil servants into the abyss of debt.



failure



This, he said, was because after failure to get a better wage, they seek loans from micro lenders.

Government saves money only to procure expensive cars and build mansions worth millions.

The sad truth, according to Dludlu, was that teachers lacked the infrastructure afforded to a few, such that pupils used latrines pit latrines.



laughter



Further, the unionist caused laughter among the attendees when he said: Hulumende ucosha intfwala ngesibhamu!

He said if the PSAs adopt a new strategy that would have a zing, government would seek a loan to offer the sought cost of living adjustment.

This stance was also appreciated by Fundizwi Sikhondze, who represented the National Workers Unions in Swaziland Higher Institutions (NAWUSHI).

Sikhondze said it was high time the PSAs involved pupils and students in their struggle.Abigail Brown, third from right, poses with her family and Goofy during a recent trip to Florida, made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.Trend:

German Chancellor Angela Merkels expected visit is characterized by a number of important moments, political expert Bahruz Guliyev told Trend Aug. 24.

Taking into account that Germany is one of the EU leading countries, one can come to the conclusion that by the readiness for even closer cooperation with Azerbaijan, Merkel expresses the interests of both Germany and the EU, the expert added.

"Cooperation between Germany and Azerbaijan, including the establishment of international relations with Europe, can be based on a number of historical aspects," he said. At the very beginning, during the period of Azerbaijani great leader Heydar Aliyevs presidency, cardinal actions were taken in this direction.

The agreements signed in various years "On Financial Cooperation between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Federal Republic of Germany", "On the Promotion and Protection of Investments", "On Cultural Cooperation", On Air Transportation", "On Financial Cooperation in the Project "First Aid - Baku Airport", "On the Establishment of Research Fund and Specialists" and other intergovernmental documents can be cited as an example, Guliyev added. Today President Ilham Aliyev continues to successfully pursue this policy of cooperation and partnership."

In general, as a reliable partner of Azerbaijan in Europe, Germany is one of the countries developing its relations with the country every year, he said.

The expert stressed that currently, the trade turnover between the two countries is about 3 billion euros.

Guliyev also said that the new German companies also did not hide their constant interest in participating in the implementation of infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan.

The expert added that Germany has a decisive right to vote in international and regional organizations, as well as in financial institutions.

"Without the consent of the German government, the activity of such international organizations as EU, Council of Europe, NATO and OSCE can not be changed, he said. "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visits to the Federal Republic of Germany in various periods have intensified and continue to intensify bilateral cooperation.

Guliyev stressed that Germany repeatedly offered its assistance as a mediator in the process of negotiations on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and of course, Baku supported those proposals.

"Unfortunately, there is no progress in the negotiation process, he added. Of course, by offering its assistance in the mediation and demonstrating its intention to act as an initiator in this direction, Germany once again confirms that it supports peace, tranquillity and security in the South Caucasus."

If we consider the German chancellor's visit from this point of view, Merkel's visit to the region will make an important contribution to the conflict settlement," Guliyev added.The municipality finances with 120,000 euros the efforts of the Ministry of Culture and the municipality to promote the si

"The Prime Minister has assured us that the excavations at the Palace of Odysseus will resume," the mayor of Ithaca, Dionysis Stanitsas, announced in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

The mayor expected that the prime minister's visit will benefit the island. "We had a meeting and discussed the problems that need to be solved over the next period," he said and added: "We discussed the issue of excavations in Ithaca where the palace of Odysseus was located."

Stanitsas stressed, "that the University of Ioannina carried out excavations until 2009. Then they stopped. The Prime Minister assured us that he would help the Ministry of Culture with extraordinary funding to continue the excavations."

Read more at newgreektv.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Michael W. Pendergrass License: CC-BY-SA pixabay.comThe historic fortress in the NW section of Pylos, built in 1573 by the Ottoman Turks, will "serve as a multi-purpose facility housing monuments, museums and exhibits that complement each other

A new archaeological museum for Pylos, SW Peloponnese, will be inaugurated on Saturday evening in the Maison building, within the 16th-century fortress of Niokastro ("new castle"), to house the ever-expanding collection of antiquities from the area of Messinia, ANA reports.

In an announcement on Thursday, the Ministry of Culture noted that the inauguration will take place at 7:30 p.m. on August 25 by Deputy Minister Constantinos Stratis.

The new Archaeological Museum of Pylos builds upon the collection of the current archaeological museum, which includes objects from the Palace of Nestor as well. The new and expanded exhibits will be housed at the building constructed under French general Nicolas-Joseph Maison, after the 1827 defeat of the joint Ottoman-Egyptian forces by the British, French and Russian forces at the Battle of Navarino, as modern Pylos used to be called.

More information is available mostly in Greek at the site under construction, www.pylos-museum.gr.

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: Dnalor 01 License: CC-BY-SASeveral stations have been completed and they will soon open to the public in order to be able to see them

The works for the extension of the Thessaloniki metro will commence this year, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis said on Thursday in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency's radio station Praktoreio 104.9 FM.

"I believe that they will begin this year. The dialogue with the local authorities has already been completed ... I think we will soon start the works on the extension of the metro," Spirtzis noted, pointing out that the extension of the metro concerns first the western side of the city and then the airport.

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: Konstantinos Stampoulis License: CC-BY-SAIsraeli choreographer Orly Portal will present her work "The Rite of Spring", set to the music of Farid El-Atrache, for the first time in Greece on Wednesday (August 29), during a performance by the same-name dance troupe at the "Crete, One History with 5+1 Civilizations" festival in the city of Irakleio (Herakleio).

Read more at naftemporiki.gr

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: Michael W. Pendergrass License: CC-BY-SAThe rocker was spotted on Wednesday evening at a Tinos tavern for food

Mick Jager this year elected Greece for his summer vacation. The rocker was spotted on Wednesday evening at a Tinos tavern for food and of course could not go unnoticed.

According to a report from iefimerida.gr, Mik Jager appeared in a tavern in a mountainous village on the island, along with the nephew of the great British painter Lucian Freud, and his partner who is 40 years younger along with the rest of his friends.

Naturally, the world famous rock star could not so easily go unnoticed. In the tavern in Tinos he was recognized by a group of Frenchmen who were also dining there at the same time and started shouting! Some of them approached him to exchange a chat with the live rock legend, with Mick Jager being extremely gregarious, accessible, comfortable, communicative and humorous!

Then, Jager and friends, all together, departed with a jeep.

Mick Jager and his friends are reported to have spent the night in a house that he had rented a musician friend, in the wider Triandros area.

Yesterday, Jagger and his company left on a private speedboat for Antiparos island, where they will be hosted by a London-based Greek businessman who has rented a house on the island.

Read more at newgreektv.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Jerzy Bednarski License: CC-BY-SAThe US has told Russia it is ready to take strong military action against Syria if President Bashar Al Assad uses chemical weapons to recapture one of his countrys last rebel-held areas, reported Bloomberg citing four people familiar with the discussions.

US officials say they have information Assad may be planning a chemical attack in the northwestern province of Idlib.

At a Thursday meeting in Geneva, National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, that America is prepared to respond with greater military force than it has used against Assads regime in the past, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the content of talks hasnt been publicly disclosed.

President Donald Trump has said before that hell punish Assad for any further use of chemical weapons, after ordering two limited strikes in similar circumstances since taking office early last year.

But the latest warning is more specific, and it comes on the eve of what may be one of the bloodiest campaigns in Syrias civil war.

Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, are deploying around Idlib - the only remaining area where the rebels, now dominated by jihadists from al-Qaeda and other groups, have a significant presence.

They are estimated to number tens of thousands of fighters, many of them evacuated to Idlib under cease-fire arrangements as the Assad-Russia-Iran alliance gradually regained control over other parts of Syria.

That advance represented a defeat for the US and its Western and Gulf allies, which have backed rebel groups throughout the seven-year war.

Theyve now largely given up on the goal of toppling Assad, and are focusing instead on curbing Iranian influence in Syria. The US still has about 2,000 troops in northeast Syria, allied with Kurdish groups who are seeking autonomy from Damascus.

The US-Russian talks in Geneva also addressed topics including the possible removal of American troops from a military base on the Syria-Iraq border, or their cooperation with Russian forces nearby, according to the people familiar with the talks.

No agreement was reached on the conditions under which that could happen, they said. The US also rejected a Russian proposal for oil sanctions on Iran to be suspended as part of a broader settlement in Syria, the people said.

The two previous American attacks on Syria were largely symbolic and did little damage to Assads military capacity. In April 2017, US warships in the Mediterranean Sea fired about 60 cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase which had allegedly been used during a chemical attack, said the Bloomberg report.

A year later, the UK and France joined the US in carrying out multiple airstrikes against government sites.

In the latter case, Defense Secretary James Mattis persuaded the president not to authorize a wider attack, two of the people familiar with the talks said. In the event of another chemical incident, Trump will not be dissuaded, they added.342 refugees and migrants from Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, Sudan, Eritrea and Sierra Leone arrive in Sicily, Italy on May 13th, 2016.  UNHCR/Patrick Russo

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is appealing to European Union member States urgently to offer relocation places to some 150 rescued persons who remain on board the Italian coast guard vessel Diciotti. In the meantime, UNHCR urges Italian authorities to allow the immediate disembarkation of those on board.

The boat has been docked in Italy in the Sicilian port of Catania since 20th August  the majority of those on board are reportedly from refugee producing countries.

Throughout history, Europe has recognized a fundamental moral and legal obligation to come to the aid of people fleeing war, violence and persecution, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. The time has come to end the back-and-forth that has seen countries competing in a race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea. It is dangerous and immoral to put the lives of refugees and asylum-seekers at risk while States engage in a political tug-of-war on long-term solutions.

UNHCR commends those European States that have come forward to receive people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, which has highlighted the benefits of a collaborative approach. However we are concerned about the potential consequences of a continued ad-hoc approach.

In June, a conclusion of the European Council Summit was, On EU territory, those who are saved, according to international law, should be taken charge of, on the basis of a shared effort.

UNHCR therefore continues strongly to encourage established and predictable arrangements in the Mediterranean region for the disembarkation of people rescued at sea and urges States rapidly to accelerate efforts to put such an arrangement in place to address this type of situation.

Lives hang in the balance. Already in 2018, more than 1,600 people have lost their lives attempting to reach European shores, despite the number of people attempting to cross being significantly reduced compared to previous years.

Coming out of the horrors of the Second World War, Europeans were amongst some of the key architects of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which has enshrined in international law the fundamental human right to seek asylum, said Grandi. The principles of the Convention, that share European values of solidarity and human rights, have stood the test of time as we have reaped the subsequent benefits of unity, goodwill and prosperity. I urge European States to uphold these principles, to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need.

But while these discussions continue, frightened people who may be in need of international protection should not be caught in the maelstrom of politics. They deserve to be treated with dignity. UNHCR stands ready to support States with developing an approach that has, at its core, rescuing lives in distress at sea and in addressing the root causes driving forced displacement.

For more information on this topic, please contact:Estonia joins European initiative to develop supercomputers

Brussels, Aug 25 (UNI) Estonia is the 21st European country to sign the European declaration on high-performance computing (HPC) with the aim to pool European and national resources to build and deploy world-class supercomputers that would be ranked in the world's top-three by 2022-2023.

According toa press release of the European Commission here, the Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip attended the signing ceremony in Tartu, Estonia.

With this signature, Estonia marks its intention to join the European cooperation on supercomputing  the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking that was proposed by the European Commission in January.Kathmandu, Aug 26 (UNI) Ahead of the regional summit of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Nepal has prepared Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) over the construction of railway and bulk cargo with India, Nepals Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali has said.

The Foreign Minister also said on Friday that a bilateral meeting has been scheduled for Prime Ministers of both the countries on August 31, in the two-day summit, according to the media reports here.

During the meeting (between the Indian PM and Nepali Counterpart) MoUs on railway co-operation and bulk cargo, are prepared to be signed, Foreign Minister Gyawali said.

Prior to the summit, Nepals President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will host a luncheon in honour of the guests arriving in Kathmandu for the summit, which will be followed by the opening session in Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza in the capital city.

On August 31, a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepali Prime Minister KP Oli is planned and the hospice built inside Pashupatinath temple in Indian Government aid will be inaugurated and handed over to Nepal, Gyawali said.

UNi XC-SNU 1401New Delhi, Aug 25 (UNI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will pay an official visit to Vietnam and Cambodia from August 27 to August 30.

"The visit of External Affairs Minister to Vietnam and Cambodia will provide an opportunity to

hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and advance our strategic engagement with these countries and ASEAN region," the official release said.

According to an official announcement here, during her two-day stay in Vietnam from August 27, Ms Swaraj will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission along with her Vietnamese counterpart Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

She will also call on Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The External Affairs Minister will also inaugurate the 3rd edition of the Indian Ocean Conference on August 27.

During two-day stay in Cambodia from August 29, Ms Swaraj will have a bilateral meeting with Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

She would also call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and President of the Senate Say Chhum.

This will be Ms Swaraj's first official visit to Cambodia, the release said.

UNI DEVN SV 1212UNSC welcomes results of Mali's Prez election

United Nations, Aug 25 (UNI) The members of the Security Council have welcomed the publication of the final results of the presidential polls in Mali, which saw the re-election of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, and insisted on the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of the peace agreement.

The Constitutional Court of Mali validated a few days ago the provisional results of the second round of the presidential election and proclaimed Mr Keita the victor.

In a press statement, the Security Council on Friday congratulated the people and Government of Mali for the generally peaceful conduct of the polls of July 29, 2018 and August 12, 2018, despite difficult security conditions and limited cases violence in certain areas.The Inama winery, a known name in the Soave wine region of the Veneto, was started back in the 60's by Giuseppe Inama. His vision was to produce all high quality wines from old vine garganega, the primary grape used in the wines of Soave. Today the winery is run by 3rd generation, Stefano Inama, Giuseppe's son.

The vineyards of Inama are located in the Veneto region in the northeastern part of Italy between the major towns of Verona and Vicenza. It's a wonderful region with so many beautiful towns explore including the former two mentioned as well as Padua,Venice and more. Inama's white wines hail from the historical Soave Classico wine region and the reds coming from the Colli Berici, just south of Vicenza.

Stefano Inama

I actually learned something interesting from Inama's site that the name garganega was transformed in local dialect from the Grecian wine grape, Graecanicum, that was initially planted there. The wines of soave are either primarily made from the garganega grape or some may be blends.

Copyright of Inama Wines

Giuseppe bought plots of land in the Soave Classico area, the historical part of the wine region where the soils are made from volcanic soils stated on the Inama site to be over 30 million years old. Their single vineyard Soave wine, Monte Foscarino, contains a blend of soils including red clay, basaltic lava and volcanic tuffs. These types of soils tend to lend complexity and minerality to the wines.Below are the wines I tried from Inama with my standouts being the 2016 Inama Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico and the 2015 Inama Carmenere Piu Veneto Rosso.

2017 Inama "Vin Soave" Soave Classico DOC (SRP $15)

Inama's entry level soave wine. Made from 100% garganega on 30 year old vines the wine is vinified in stainless steel. This wine makes up about half of Inama's production. An easy drinking wine with medium body, fresh acidity combined with apple and tropical notes and a bit of creaminess to the texture.

Food pairings: Inama recommends risotto, white fish, sushi, local fresh ricotta and stewed peas.





2016 Inama Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico DOC (SRP $25)

The single vineyard, old-vine soave wine from Inama. A wine with much complexity made of 100% garganega and fermented in used barriques. The wine is aged on the lees stirred every 6 weeks for 6 months and fining takes place for 6 months in stainless steel. A creamy texture with more notes of pears and hone.

Food pairings: Inama suggests risotto with fish, sushi, veal with tuna sauce. Local dishes include baccala and soups including pea and pumpkin soup

Foscarino

Foscarino

2015 Inama "Bradisismo" Veneto Rosso IGT (SRP $30)

A blend of 70% cabernet sauvignon and 30% carmenere. This wine spends 15 months in a mix of 50%/50% used & new barriques. A full-bodied wine rich in blackberries, cherries with some pepper. A rather smooth wine with low to moderate tannins and good acidity. The label signifies the house where he Inama family lives that was built back in the 1700's.

Food pairings: Inama suggests bbq, filet, stews. Local specialties include bigoli with sausage and asiago cheese, grilled bone-in rib eye and bean soups.





2015 Inama "Carmenere Piu" Veneto Rosso IGT ($20)

A blend of 70% carmenere and 30% merlot. Another wine rich in dark berries with chocolate notes, pepper and spice (and everything nice). The wine spends 12 months in used barriques. A unique wine, especially to see this grape dominate the blend.

Food pairings: Inama suggests pancetta & salami, grilled pork, polenta. Local dishes include sorpresa Veneta DOP, pasta and beans and Val Liona DOP ham

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte this month pulled the rug out from Landing's new US$1.5 billion casino project in Manila, saying the terms of the lease agreement were flawed. (Photo: AFP/Philippe Lopez)

Landing International Development said in a filing to the Hong Kong exchange Thursday that chairman Yang Zhihui could not be found, hours after its share price had crashed 35 per cent before being suspended in the morning.

When trading restarted early Friday it dived another 18 per cent to HK$3.08 by the break.

Landing said in the statement it had "noted the fluctuation in the price and trading volume of shares of the company on Aug 23, 2018 and confirmed that the company has been unable to contact or reach Mr Yang Zhihui ... since Aug 23, 2018".

"To the best knowledge of the board, the business operations and financial positions of the group are normal," Landing said in its statement to the exchange, adding that the "temporary absence" of Yang would not affect its operations.

Yang is the company's largest shareholder with a 50.5 per cent stake. Landing said it was making attempts to contact him.

Earlier this month Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pulled the rug out from Landing's new US$1.5 billion casino project in Manila, saying the terms of the lease agreement were flawed.

Duterte ordered a review of the lease just as the project was supposed to break ground.

Landing opened integrated casino resort Jeju Shinhwa World in Korea in March this year.A view of a wind power plant in the Mekong Delta City of Bac Lieu.-VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Ha

The Peoples Committee of the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has allowed three investors to finance the construction of the Hiep Thanh Wind Power Plant, with total investment of VND3.37 trillion (US$146.5 million).

Of the figure, 20 per cent is contributed by those three investors, including the Ha Noi-based Ecotech Vietnam Company, Janakuasa Singapore Pte Ltd, and Lam Minh  a resident of Ha Nois Ba Dinh District. The remainder is from a loan supplied by German bank Landesbank Baden-Wurttembrg (LBBW).

The investors have set up the Ecotech Tra Vinh Renewable Energy JSC to carry out the project.

General Director of Ecotech Tra Vinh Lam Minh said the project had been included in the provincial power development plan for 2016-25 with a view to 2035, approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on May 19, 2016. It is expected to be put into operation in the first quarter of 2020.

Minh said the selling price of wind power had been set at 7.8 US cents per kWh according to the Prime Ministers Decision 37/2011/QD-TTg on the mechanisms supporting the development of wind power projects in Vietnam. However, this price remains low, making it difficult to attract investors.

President and CEO of Janakuasa Vietnam Ti Chee Liang said the Malaysian energy firm was building its first project in the provinces Duyen Hai Commune with a capacity of 1,200MW and an investment of $2.2 billion.

The project is part of the national electricity development scheme for the 2011-20 period with a vision to 2030, he said, adding that Vietnam had become one of the countries with the most development potential in ASEAN.

He hoped that the Vietnamese Government would study and recalculate the price of wind power  which is worth 7.8 US cents per kWh  at a more reasonable level to ensure fairness between renewable energy resources.

During the construction of the wind power plant in Tra Vinh, investors would be responsible for complying with local requirements, ensuring environmental protection and minimising the effects to local aquaculture, he said.

Thailands Ratchaburi Energy Co Ltd is also keen to develop renewable energy, particularly wind power in Vietnam. Its director Peerawat Pum Thong said the company hoped to invest in the field and help Ecotech implement the project.

The Hiep Thanh Wind Power Plant is the fourth of its kind to receive an investment licence from local authorities. Previously, the province granted investment licences to three wind power projects with a combined capacity of 192MW in Truong Long Hoa Commune of Duyen Hai Town, and Dong Hai Commune of Duyen Hai District.

According to the provincial wind power development plan through 2020 with a vision to 2030 approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on December 4, 2015, Tra Vinh plans to build six wind power projects in coastal areas in Duyen Hai District and Duyen Hai Town, including three in Truong Long Hoa Commune, two in Hiep Thanh Commune, and one in Dong Hai Commune.

Under the national energy development strategy, Vietnam will strive to increase new and renewable energy sources to 5 per cent of the total commercial primary power by 2020, and 11 per cent by 2050.

The country also aims to increase the total capacity of wind power to 1,000MW by 2020 and 6,200MW by 2030.Vietnamese enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises, are still unaware of the method and find it hard to develop the system of traceability for their products.-Photo vinachg.vn

In the traceability system, the origin-tracing stamp is regarded an important factor which identifies and tracks a product unit in the supply chain, the responsibilities of the parties involved in the production, packaging and distribution phases, An said.

This helps to link data and access information throughout the supply chain, An said.

In Vietnam, product traceability is relatively new but has been implemented rapidly. The use of origin-tracing stamps is becoming more and more common, thereby enhancing consumers trust in products, he added.

According to An, Vietnamese enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, are still unaware of the method and find it hard to develop the system of traceability for their products.

Amy Guihot, an agricultural counselor from the Australian Embassy in Ha Noi, said product traceability is an important part of the Australian food management system for both domestically-consumed and export food.

Therefore, for food processing enterprises, traceability must determine the origin of all inputs such as raw materials, additives, ingredients and packaging methods. Traceability also provides information such as the name and address of the suppliers, the date of delivery, shipment details, quantity of the product upon delivery, Guihot said.

Dang Thi Phuong Ninh, general director of the Duyen Hai Economic Development Company (COFIDEC), said more and more agricultural products from Viet Nam were being exported to the world market. Traceability was thus an important foundation for creating a secure supply chain to gain the importers trust and loyalty.

COFIDEC applies traceability technology for 100 per cent of its 5,000 tonnes of processed agricultural and aquatic products in 2018. Since then, COFIDEC has gradually gained trust and loyalty from the big customers in Japan and South Korea.

Ninh said the fourth industrial revolution has fundamentally changed business and management models with many advanced technologies and practical applications such as cloud technology, blockchain and hardware devices and control chips.

With that advantage, the application of the achievements in the 4.0 revolution in traceability will become a major trend. In the future, COFIDEC will implement an electronic traceability system for the whole supply chain to achieve sustainable development.

remaining of

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Kim Kardashian, who definitely did not get played by Donald Trump when the duo met at the White House earlier this year to discuss prison reform, continues to remain on the forefront of the presidents mind. Per a video obtained by NBC News, Trump used a portion of his speech at a Republican fund-raiser in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday to dump continued praise on Kardashian and her husband, dragon energy enthusiast Kanye West, for how good they are for his popularity in the country. All of a sudden those numbers started going up, up, up, and we did great, Trump explained. Now were doing great and Kanye West liked me. And that really lifted my [numbers]. West has publicly praised Trump on many, many occasions and his love is still going strong, with Kardashian seemingly sharing similar ideology. I have nothing bad to say about the president, she recently put it on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

But enough of their opinions. Because Trump wasnt finished. Kanye West has some real power! he continued in his speech. And hes got a good wife too in Kim, Ill tell ya. She really is. She did a great thing, a great thing. Alice Johnson certainly would agree, even if it meant Kardashian having to endure one of the worst photo opps of her career in the process.Photo-Illustration: Maya Robinson/Vulture

This article was first published in 2018 and has been updated to include Melissa McCarthys more recent films, including this past weekends release of The Starling on Netflix.

No one in the Hollywood biosphere is quite like Melissa McCarthy. In an industry thats still dominated by male-driven movies, shes nearly alone among female stars when it comes to her ability to open big, mainstream comedies that arent solely rom-coms. And not only is McCarthy a star, shes a writer and producer of a lot of her own vehicles, collaborating with husband Ben Falcone on a series of unapologetically broad comedies that, for the most part, have clicked with audiences.

An alumnus of the Groundlings, the actress cut her teeth doing sketch work and developing funny characters before being cast as Sookie on Gilmore Girls. Years of movie bit-parts later, she landed her own series, Mike & Molly, which won her an Emmy. But it wasnt until 2011s Bridesmaids that she broke through on the big screen: As Megan Price, the crass weirdo who ends up being the voice of reason, McCarthy earned an Oscar nomination and stole the movie from her more-famous co-stars.

Since then, McCarthy has parlayed that success into a string of hits whose quality ranges from sublime to Please, god, dont make me ever watch Identity Thief again. Shes risked typecasting herself as the bulldozing brute, engaging in increasingly desperate slapstick, but her best work argues that shes selling herself short if she thinks thats what audiences love most about her. Give her two minutes as a surprise cameo in something like Central Intelligence, and she simply radiates goofy goodness like no one else in modern movies. Edgy yet sweet, comforting yet sharp, Melissa McCarthy hasnt always found material worthy of her talents, but she always tackles it with gusto.

Ranking her performances proves to be a bit bittersweet. Quite simply, there are more valleys than peaks  too often, we root for her more than the movie shes in. We decided to forgo most of her blink-and-youll-miss-her walk-ons to focus on the more major work. May there be more major work to come in the near future.

Yeah, you forgot she was in this, didnt you? Or, more likely, you didnt see it: After the obviously half-assed The Hangover Part II, many didnt even bother with this one. (Part III made less than half of what Part II did.) McCarthy was a last-minute addition to the cast after Bridesmaids blew up, playing a pawnshop owner meant as a romantic interest for Zach Galifianakiss Alan. She looks more excited to be there than Galifianakis, but just barely. Its okay if you forget you ever read this paragraph.

One of the four McCarthy films directed by her husband Ben Falcone, this is the worst of a sorry lot; its strange, actually, how the movies she makes with Falcone, which youd think would be familial labors of love, are actually among the most cynical, infantile of all her films. This one is the most desperate of all of them, with McCarthy as a billionaire entrepreneur who loses everything and must rebuild her empire with the help of Kristen Bell and some Girl Scouts. Any positive lesson here is lost in all the hackneyed jokes, and by the end the movie falls apart entirely. None of the Falcone movies are very good, but this is the most senseless.

McCarthys first starring vehicle after Bridesmaids rode the wave of that breakthrough smash, except with none of the charm. She plays Diane, a woman who lives off other peoples identities  and their credit cards. One day, a milquetoast accountant (Jason Bateman) discovers that Diane has hacked his information, which leads to a crazy cross-country trip in which the two characters are reluctantly stuck together. McCarthy is more annoying than delightful as this intentionally unlovable character, and she pushes too hard for her laughs, taking risks that the underwritten role cant support.

The debut film of director Tate Taylor is a grim little doodle about an overweight woman (Missi Pyle) who calls up a bunch of old friends who havent seen her in years (including McCarthy and Octavia Spencer) and invites them to a wilderness retreat to reveal  shes skinny now! Shes still a jerk, though, and so is everyone else in the film, something Taylor wants us to find funny but is wholly insufferable. McCarthy is actually one of the two subdued, subtle performances in the film  Spencer gives the other  but everyone else is too loathsome to spend any time with. Its hard to believe Taylor would make The Help three years later.

The first of the Falcone films, Tammy is among the least funny  Falcone seems to strand his wife with nothing to do but ad-lib as fast as she can, trying to find something, anything that will work. After a thudding first half involving McCarthys criminal Tammy and her grandmother (Susan Sarandon), it at least ends up hanging out with Kathy Bates and Sandra Oh as a warm married couple. McCarthy doesnt really have a character to play, but nobody does here.

14. The Starling (2021)

McCarthy first hooked up with director Theodore Melfi for the milquetoast drama St. Vincent. But that forgettable film was at least tolerably schmaltzy: There is no escaping the black hole of sap that is Netflixs The Starling, which casts her as Lilly, a wife grieving for the loss of her baby girl. Adding to her woes is the fact that her husband (Chris ODowd) has sought counseling at a psychiatric center, leaving her alone to deal with her sorrow. But dont worry, because her life is going to turn around thanks to an ornery bird in her yard  [leans over to companion] thats the starling  and a prickly veterinarian (Kevin Kline) who used to be a therapist. Tear-jerking in the most manipulative ways, the film is helped somewhat by the sincerity of the performances  specifically that of McCarthy, who somehow makes some of this maudlin nonsense work. But on the whole, the movie mostly confirms her talent as a dramatic actress while convincing us that, too often, she doesnt pick the best material for her gifts.

A strained premise  a dowdy mom (McCarthy) is dumped by her husband, so she goes back to college with her daughter  is at least made with good cheer, and it is helped tremendously by Maya Rudolph in a supporting role as McCarthys best friend. Its still pedestrian and uninspired, and the timing is oddly tin-eared. Still, McCarthy seems to be enjoying herself.

The movies that McCarthy makes with Falcone  this is now the fifth  are beginning to feel less like movies and more like Sandler-esque excuses to get a bunch of old friends together and goof around on Netflixs dime. This one stars McCarthy as another boorish sweetheart, one who ends up accidentally getting superpowers from her genius childhood best friend (Octavia Spencer), and they team together for some sort of caped superhero team. The best scenes feature McCarthy and Spencer (who actually used to be roommates when they were starting out their careers) having fun with each other, but the movie Falcone puts them in is so hackneyed and cheap it actually plays a little like knockoff childrens television. (Imagine if Robert Rodriguezs Spy Kids movies were directed by  well, by Ben Falcone.) Jason Bateman has a few shining moments as a half-crab, half-person, but otherwise this is a lot of talent sitting around, enjoying each others company, waiting for the actual movie to start.

Because of her boisterous spirit, big heart, and animated expressions, McCarthy has always felt a little like a human Muppet. So casting her in The Happytime Murders is brilliant: This R-rated, super-inappropriate mystery-thriller-comedy sees her playing Connie Edwards, a tough-as-nails Los Angeles detective who reunites with her old partner, a former cop turned private-eye puppet (voiced by Bill Barretta), to hunt down a serial killer whos knocking off actors from an old childrens show. Addicted to drugs and swearing like a sailor, McCarthys character really gets into the films deadpan send-up of cop dramas, nicely embodying Happytime Murders air of snotty irreverence. But the films Hey, look! These puppets curse and have lots of sex! shtick gets old fast. One suspects that if this had been a sketch on Saturday Night Live, where McCarthy shines, it could have been a lot funnier  and certainly a lot shorter.

10. Superintelligence (2020)

The best of the Falcone movies (though thats not saying much), this high-concept comedy features McCarthy as Carol, a good-hearted, aggressively average single woman in Seattle who is chosen by a Skynet-esque artificial intelligence supercomputer (voiced, gratingly, by James Corden) to be a referendum on whether or not humanity lives or dies. As you might expect from a Falcone movie, this leads to many obvious, uninventive gags, but this is the first of his films that just simply lets McCarthy be normal, and sweet, and charming. Her romantic subplot with Bobby Cannavale (who is winningly befuddled throughout) is far more involving than the main plot, and the movies much better when its just leaving McCarthy and Cannavalle alone. But it rarely leaves them alone.

A change-of-pace role for McCarthy after her brash blockbusters, St. Vincent sees her playing Maggie, a divorced, harried single mom whose impressionable son (Jaeden Lieberher) meets Vincent, a crotchety old so-and-so played by Bill Murray. This feel-good drama, directed by Hidden Figures filmmaker Theodore Melfi, never really surprises you  Vincent seems like a jerk but, turns out, hes got a heart of gold  and McCarthy seems happy to just be in the background, allowing Murray and Lieberher to carry the film. After a series of high-wattage star vehicles, St. Vincent was an opportunity to downshift to portray a more muted character. Its too bad the character is so cliched, although McCarthys loveliness goes a long way.

If you dont particularly like the central couple of Judd Apatows maybe-too-personal pseudo-comedy  and well confess, theyre not our cup of tea  youll enjoy watching McCarthys walk-on role here. As a mother of a high-school student who has had a disagreement with that couple, she shows up, rips them to shreds, and then leaves the movie. Bonus points for a rare funny credit bloopers scene too:

We could have watched her go all day there.

Reteaming with Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, McCarthy plays an exaggerated version of her Oscar-nominated character in this takedown of cop dramas. Shannon is a good detective, but shes also an insult-a-minute jerk who loves antagonizing her stuck-up partner Sarah (Sandra Bullock). The Heat squeezes as many jokes out of that setup as it can, and it turns out to be not enough. And part of the problem is McCarthy, whose vulgar, uncouth character doesnt have that many dimensions. But because The Heat was a hit, it only encouraged her to keep pulling this shtick.

Amid the online freak-outs and man-child tantrums about ruined childhoods that accompanied the release of this beleaguered film, youd be forgiven for forgetting that the 2016 Ghostbusters remake was, in fact, an actual movie and not just a social-media controversy. Imperfect and hampered by its need to be everything to everyone  loyal to franchise fans, slavishly faithful to blockbuster conventions  the film features McCarthy in a performance that actually lets her be the straight woman to her more outrageous supporting players. (In some ways, Kate McKinnon really gets the more traditional McCarthy role.) Much like in Spy, McCarthy plays the ordinary, awkward gal, and her characters attempt to repair her relationship with her former best friend (Kristen Wiig) is Ghostbusters emotional through line. McCarthy gives the film heart amidst the laughs: Neither a disaster nor a triumph, this Ghostbusters ultimately feels like a fun idea that didnt get the right execution.

This sub-Widows is a hit-or-miss affair, but one of its best aspects is how it provides McCarthy with a role that lets her show off her growing confidence as a leading lady. Neither an obvious McCarthy comedic vehicle nor a change-of-pace dramatic turn, The Kitchen is an ensemble thriller in which she, alongside Tiffany Haddish and Elisabeth Moss, plays the wife of an Irish mobster who decides to take the reins of her destiny after her man is hauled off to prison. Even when the movie loses its way, McCarthy is a dynamo as a woman finally finding her voice. Even better, the film further illustrates that she doesnt need to play extreme types in order to keep an audience riveted. Theres depth and nuance to her turn in The Kitchen, which isnt easy to achieve when assassinations and severed limbs are daily occupational hazards.

Talk to longtime McCarthy fans and theyll inevitably hit you with the same question: Seriously, have you seen The Nines? The feature directorial debut of prolific screenwriter John August has an experimental edge  three separate stories, each starring Ryan Reynolds, about men awash in existential crises. And in each, McCarthy pops up. In one, shes the hotshot PR agent to Reynoldss actor character. In another, shes his wife. The Nines wrestles with art, commerce, life, the existence of God, and other big questions, and if it doesnt always work, it nonetheless proves to be fantastic platform for both Reynolds and McCarthy, allowing them space to give multiple nuanced performances. McCarthy in particular gets to run the full gamut of emotions: On the big screen, this is easily her most moving and complicated turn. Her career would send her off in other, far more commercial directions. But The Nines is a reminder of what she could also do.

The movie that made McCarthy a star  and, dont forget, got her her first Oscar nomination  remains one of the biggest comedy hits of all time, and McCarthy might have been the primary reason why. She is a force of nature here, a juggernaut who bowls over everything in her path: terrifying, hilarious and absolutely irresistible. She is also the films moral center, the guiding force, the one letting all the other women know that they dont have to back down or apologize for anything. She has shown more range in other roles, but shes never been as relentless and overwhelmingly uproarious as she was here.

Her finest dramatic performance is, in fact, also rather comic  although its more of the crying-on-the-inside variety of humor. In Marielle Hellers bittersweet true-life tale, she plays Lee Israel, a once-successful biographer whos on the commercial decline in the early 1990s. So she hits upon an ingenious idea: Shell forge letters from famous authors and sell them to New Yorks gullible antiquities dealers. Its also a highly unethical idea, and much of the power of Can You Ever Forgive Me? stems from watching Israel very slowly circle the drain as she tries to stay a step ahead of suspicion while dealing with her own emotional issues. She and her fellow Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant (as bon vivant Jack Hock) are a sharp-elbowed pair who relish their whip-smart banter, but since her co-star got most of the accolades, its easy to overlook how quietly devastating McCarthy is in the role. Lee Israel was a fiercely funny woman, but never before had McCarthy had a chance to explore the sadness thats often bottled up in her broad comedic performances. In Can You Ever Forgive Me?, that desperation is all over Israels face, movingly.

Spy is the perfect Melissa McCarthy film, in part because it doesnt really feel like a Melissa McCarthy film. Writer-director Paul Feig wrote the role of Susan, a deskbound CIA agent who goes into the field for the first time, without McCarthy in mind, figuring she was too busy with other projects. Maybe thats why Spy doesnt rely so much on the broad slapstick and crass characterizations that were becoming McCarthys M.O. Instead, Susan is a very relatable, sympathetic figure: someone whos long been underestimated and finally gets a chance to blossom. None of this makes her any less funny, of course. Throughout Spy, Feig and McCarthy find plenty of opportunities to make jokes out of Susans difficulty dealing with the continental, high-stakes world of spycraft, and the actresss sweetness has rarely been better utilized. Susan cracks jokes and kicks some ass while finding herself in the process. Spy isnt just a victory for Susan, but for McCarthy as well.

Grierson & Leitch write about the movies regularly and host a podcast on film. Follow them on Twitter or visit their site.Spike Lee. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Sorry to Bother You director Boots Riley took to Twitter last Friday to outline his extensive critique of the made-up story of Spike Lees BlacKkKlansman, based on the 2014 memoir of police officer Ron Stallworth, who helped Colorado authorities infiltrate the Klu Klux Klan in the 70s. As Riley wrote in his three-page essay, the fictional elements in BlacKkKlansman all seemed to paint police as anti-racist. In a new interview with The Times, Lee defends his depiction of police, essentially saying check my credentials. Said Lee, Look at my films: Theyve been very critical of the police, but on the other hand Im never going to say all police are corrupt, that all police hate people of color. Im not going to say that. 

Among Rileys criticisms of the film is what he sees as a downplaying of the years Stallworth spend infiltrating black radical organizations before the KKK operation, as well as the invention of a bombing and other discrepancies. He said of the bio drama, For Spike to come out with a movie where story points are fabricated in order to make a black cop and his counterparts look like allies in the fight against racism is really disappointing, to put it very mildly.

Riley ultimately concludes BlacKkKlansmans depiction of police as heroic does a disservice to black organizations and civil rights figures targeted by law enforcement. Lee, however, hopes the film, and its African-American protagonist, leaves audience with a more nuanced take. I mean, we need police, explains the director. Unfortunately, police in a lot of instances have not upheld the law; they have broken the law. But Id also like to say, sir, that black people are not a monolithic group. I have had black people say, How can a bourgeois person like Spike Lee do Malcolm X? Mario Batali. Photo: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Eataly

A woman who has accused Mario Batali of sexual assault filed a lawsuit against the chef in Massachusetts superior court on Wednesday. Natali Tenes allegations were first reported by Eater earlier this year, and other female fans also allege that Batali groped them. The lawsuit states that Batali kissed Tenes face, grabbed her butt, put his hands on her legs, groped her groin, and rubbed her breasts. The incident occurred at a Boston bar in April 2017, and the lawsuit says Tene has suffered emotional distress, anxiety, and self-doubt. In a statement to Eater, Tenes lawyer writes, Nobody should ever be subjected to this type of conduct, and that without warning, [Batali] then sexually assaulted her.

This is the first lawsuit against Batali from one of the number of women who have accused him of sexual harassment and abuse. In May, the NYPD opened an investigation into one womans allegations that Batali drugged and assaulted her. He remains a partner in Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group. His co-owners had said they would buy him out by July 1, but say the process is still ongoing.Since the 1980s, the Catholic Church in the United States and its insurance companies have paid out more than $3.8 billion in lawsuits and claims involving allegations of clerical sexual abuse, according to a monitoring group.

BishopAccountability, a non-profit that tracks allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, says the payouts involved cases filed by more than 8,600 survivors who were allegedly sexually abused by an undisclosed number of clergy since the 1950s.

Belief, religion and spirituality Catholics and catholicism Christianity Religious groups Society Catholic Church sexual abuse Crime, law enforcement and corrections Crimes against persons Criminal offenses Sex and gender issues Sex crimes Sexual assault Law and legal system Settlements and compromises Trial and procedure Continents and regions North America Religious leaders and clergy The Americas United States Lawsuits and claims

Spokesman Terry McKiernan told CNN the number of associated clergy is difficult to calculate because some settlement announcements omit the number of predator priests.

The monies have not gone solely to survivors, McKiernan said. Attorneys get a cut, too. And not all the money comes out of the coffers of the Catholic Church, because the church maintains insurance policies that cover a portion of the settlement payments.

Across the nation

The largest payout the group is aware of totaled $660 million and was issued in Los Angeles in 2007.

It was issued on behalf of 221 priests, lay teachers and other church employees who were accused of victimizing 508 people.

According to the data BishopAccountability has compiled, payouts and claims have been issued across the nation, including in Kentucky, Oregon, Delaware, Alaska, Washington, Iowa, Massachusetts, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Vermont, Connecticut, Arizona, Rhode Island, New Jersey, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, New York, Florida and Illinois.

The group has a detailed list on its website naming some of the largest settlements and other case details. CNN has not independently verified the settlements.

Some settlements have listed non-monetary provisions such as establishing a toll-free victim hotline and the creation of victim assistance programs.

A spokeswoman for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops told CNN the annual reports on the church's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People detailed specifics of settlements and related costs.

Pennsylvania report

A Pennsylvania grand jury report released August 14 on alleged abuse in six of the state's dioceses has placed the issue of abuse by Catholic clergy back in the spotlight.

The report detailed documents showing more than 300 "predator priests" have been credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 child victims over seven decades.

A number of other states have since opened investigations into claims of abuse perpetrated by clergy in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis issued a letter on Monday acknowledging the church's failure to act on the accounts of abuse but some victims say it does not go far enough.

The Pope is set to visit Ireland this weekend and will meet with abuse survivors there Tuesday.ATLANTA (AP) - A federal appeals court says a Georgia city's practice of jailing people accused of low-level crimes who can't afford to pay bail is constitutional.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta this week upheld the city of Calhoun's policy of jailing people for up to 48 hours before they see a judge who can rule whether they are too poor to pay bail.

The Southern Center for Human Rights sued on behalf of Maurice Walker, who spent six days in jail after being arrested in September 2015 on a charge of walking while intoxicated. The misdemeanor carried a preset $160 bail for Walker to avoid jail before his first court appearance.

The city revised its policy after the lawsuit was filed. The appeals court upheld the revised policy.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

8/24/2018 3:00:56 PM (GMT -5:00)NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Police say an innocent man in Tennessee was shot and killed after he heard gunfire and opened the door of his apartment to look outside.

Nashville Police say 59-year-old Glen Young was rushed to the hospital and died after the incident Friday night in the Edgehill area of the city.

Police say Young was watching TV inside his apartment when he heard the gunshots in the courtyard nearby. They say he was hit in the chest with a bullet when he opened the door to look out.

Police are asking for help in finding the suspect in the shooting, described as a thin, 5-foot-8 black man in his mid-20s who was wearing a white shirt and dark shorts.

Detectives believe people in that community have identifying information about the suspect.Since 2013, the parole release rate in Alabama has increased by 24%. In 2013, the release rate was 30%. In 2017, the release rate jumped up to 54%.

WAAY31's I-team is continuing to dig into the parole board after a man who was supposed to be serving a life sentence was paroled. He now stands accused of killing three people in Guntersville.

Jimmy Spencer was paroled in January 2018 and was supposed to stay at a mission center in Birmingham for six months. Instead, he walked away after three weeks. The Jimmie Hale Missions Center told WAAY31 they contacted the state when Spencer walked away. Spencer was then written citations in May for misdemeanor offenses at Guntersville State Park. In June, he was then arrested on drug charges by Sardis police, they told us they notified the state as well.

Spencer is now behind bars in Marshall County facing more than three capital murder charges.

The Alabama Pardon and Parole Board is made up of three people who are appointed by the Governor. They serve in six year terms. According to parole documents, in 2017 their parole rate was at 54%.

Officials with the Alabama Pardon and Parole Board, told WAAY31 they hear about 6,500 cases a year. If you look at the data (pg. 48), they have paroled 1,000 more people in 2017 than they did in 2016.

"I saw more people paroled in the first six months into this new system than I did in 15 years," said Janette Grantham, the director of a non-profit named VOCAL.

Grantham makes regular trips to parole hearings as a victims advocate for VOCAL. VOCAL stands for victims of crime and leniency, the non-profit has been successful in getting victims rights laws passed in the state. They also do a variety of things for victims, like assisting them with parole hearings.

"The three people that sit on that board is the most powerful people in the state because they can override anything a judge does," said Grantham.

The parole board told us their parole rates have increased over the years but align with the national average.

"The board does around 50% of approvals which is consistent with the national average," said Darrell Morgan, the Alabama Pardon and Parole Board Assistant Executive Director.

Morgan said for security and logistical reasons inmates do not show up in person for their parole hearings. He said the board has an extensive file on each inmate with any disciplinary actions, a persons complete history, victim letters, and more. He said before a parole hearing other things take place behind the scenes.

"There is a personal interview with the inmate by our institutional parole officers giving a personal history of that individual, any updated living arrangements, job plans anything along those lines," said Morgan.

When we were in Montgomery it took the board maybe five minutes total on each case. Some of the people paroled were convicted murders. Morgan tells us each board member goes over a potential parolee's case file before the hearing ever takes place. He says their parole rates have increased, becasue of additional funding to hire more parole officers.

"The board felt more comfortable letting people out because of the fact that we are better able to supervise them and we are better able to provide them services things we weren't able to do previously," said Morgan.

The board also uses an analytical tool now to determine an inmates rate of re-offending. The reasons for letting someone out looks like this, a checklist.

Many, including Grantham, feel like the analytical tool takes out personal judgement when considering someone for parole.

"You need more than a check mark on a piece of paper. Use that as a tool but put a human element into that," said Grantham.

Morgan said the checklist gives clear lines on the boards decision. Grantham believes it's creating a lack of confidence in the board to make the best decision for the public.

"Where before they thought their crime was so hideous no one would possibly parole them they don't have that security anymore," said Grantham.

Morgan said the board understands why people are upset and said the murders in Guntersville are a tragedy.Worried family and trained searchers started the weekend looking for a missing Guntersville woman.

Family said they haven't heard from 34-year-old Kendra Bayless since June 28th. In Montana, The Great Falls Police Department are also assisting with this case. The Marshall County Sheriff's office said Bayless might have been spotted in Great Falls Montana.

This Saturday, crews decided to search through the area of Williamson Harris Park because Kendra Bayless hung out here a lot.

"It just really hits home with me because I've seen her out with this guy who was beating her up pretty bad who she wanted to get away from," said Neisha Brown.

Neisha Brown said she offered help when she found out Kendra Bayless was in a relationship that involved domestic violence

"And then she just kinda disappeared. Fell off the face of the earth," Brown said.

Brown searched for Bayless with Legendary 1941 Search Response Team. The organization works with law enforcement to help find missing people and send them back home.

"We've searched abandoned houses. We've searched man holes today. We've searched anything and everything on top of talking to the community," said Angie Hunter.

Angie Hunter with Legendary 1941 SRT said Bayless' family lives in California, but she's from Montana.

"We are set with a plan ready to go to get her to safety," Hunter said.

People told me WAAY 31 they understand Kendra Bayless was in pain while living in Guntersville, but they just want to know she's okay.

"If she's out there I would have thought she would have picked the phone up by now because she's a mother. At the end of the day it's basic humanity," Brown said.

The Marshall Couny Sheriff's office is asking for help from anyone who might know where Kendra Bayless might be at 256-582-2034. You can also email Legendry 2941 SRT at FindKendraBayless@gmail.com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 WestKyStar Staff-Baptist Health Paducah Aug. 24, 2018 | 11:25 PM | PADUCAH





Baptist has offered radiation therapy since 1987 in the H. Earl Feezor Radiation Therapy Center. It is the only radiation therapy service in Paducah and surrounding counties.





The radiation therapy area includes five exam and two treatment rooms, including stereotactic radiosurgery, which can reduce treatments for some patients from weeks to days. The recent renovation added: larger dressing rooms with private restrooms, larger exam rooms to accommodate family members, lymphedema treatment room and improved space for genetic counseling and improved office and work space for medical staff.





The project began in 2015 with construction of the new two-story 44,000-square-foot center on Broadway, near the intersection of 24th Street, on the northeast corner of the campus. The center opened in July 2017, consolidating a variety of cancer services, including lab, pharmacy and chemotherapy, into one location, adjacent to the existing radiation therapy center.





This renovation completes our project to provide the latest technology in the most convenient and comfortable surroundings for those fighting cancer and their families, said Chris Roty, hospital president. This completes the regions crown jewel of cancer care, which started with our first cobalt treatment in 1967.





The center was funded in part by proceeds from the Celebrating Miracles, Transforming Lives capital campaign, which raised $12.1 million for cancer, cardiac, maternity and outreach services. To honor gifts designated to the radiation therapy center, areas have been named: Biggs Radiation Oncology Dressing Rooms, Emma Louise Upshaw Nursing Station and linear accelerator rooms honoring radiation oncologist Dr. Peter Locken and wife Christy; and in memory of William R. Black Jr. by Ray Black & Son.





Baptist became the regions first nationally-accredited multidisciplinary cancer program in 2001. Radiation oncology has been accredited since 1998. Besides stereotactic radiosurgery, other recent technology upgrades include da Vinci robotic surgery 10 years ago and 3-D mammography five years ago.





The sign that stood for years in front of the H. Earl Feezor Radiation Therapy Center quoted Isaiah 40:31, said Roty, and those words still inspire our staff and patients on this cancer journey every day: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.





Cancer is a leading threat to the health of area residents. The five most common locally are lung, breast, prostate, melanoma and colon cancer.

In addition to board-certified medical and radiation oncologists and surgeons, the staff includes 24 oncology-certified nurses, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, physicists, patient navigators and social workers with a combined 500 years of experience, averaging 21 years each.





Our patients appreciate that everything they need is in one place, said Mike Tutor, executive director for heart, oncology and radiology services, and there is room for friends and family to be with them every step of the way.





The center offers unique services, such as genetic counseling and lymphedema care, as well as preventive screenings and awareness campaigns.

The beauty of the two-story center, as well as the newly-renovated radiation therapy area, is enhanced with original artwork by patients and donors. Local artist Kijsa Housman, who assists on each piece, said, Each piece is inspired as a unique tribute to those affected by cancer.





Paducah realtor Leslie Heath, a breast cancer survivor, just completed the first piece in the radiation therapy centers new art series, Bloom where you are planted, with assistance from her family and Housman. Among the colorful blooms, it includes notes of support she received during her chemotherapy and radiation treatment. With cancer, youre not just in and out  its a fight, its a journey, she said, and this was a perfect opportunity to tell the story with a work of art.





Baptist Health Foundation Paducah has coordinated the Survivor Art Project and continues to accept contributions, providing donors with the opportunity to name and participate in the creation of each piece of art. For more information, phone 270-575-2871.



The $19.1 million Ray & Kay Eckstein Regional Cancer Care Center, which opened to patients a year ago, will celebrate completion of its final phase  renovation of the adjacent 12,000-square-foot radiation therapy center at Baptist Health Paducah on September 6. The public is invited to attend a ribbon-cutting and tour at 4:30 pm.Advertisement

By WestKyStar and WKCTC Staff

Aug. 25, 2018 | PADUCAH

By WestKyStar and WKCTC Staff Aug. 25, 2018 | 06:48 AM | PADUCAH

West Kentucky Community and Technical College is offering a new two-part series of yoga classes for individuals with arthritis. The classes, which include Yoga for Arthritis 1 and 2 will be held in September and October. Early registration is encouraged.



Yoga for Arthritis 1 will be held each Tuesday and Friday, September 4 -28. Instructor Karen Splane will teach the classes from 9:30 am - 10:30 am in WKCTC's Emerging Technology Center (ETC), Room 109. The cost of the four-week class is $75.



Splane will also teach Yoga for Arthritis 2 in October. The classes will be October 2-26, also each Tuesday and Friday in the ETC, Room 109 from 9:30 am - 10:30 am. The cost is $75 for the four-week classes. Yoga for Arthritis 1 is a prerequisite for the October yoga classes.



"Yoga for Arthritis (YFA)" was developed at a leading research university by an interdisciplinary team of rheumatologists, psychologists, public health researchers and yoga therapists. Combining yoga practices with medical knowledge, YFA offers modifications to address the unique abilities and limitations of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis patients.



YFA is intended to build lifetime skills in a basic structure that participants can repeat at home. Poses are repeated and reinforced to gain skill and confidence; new challenges are added as students become more comfortable in the class, familiar with yoga and physically fit.



Benefits for YFA classes are customizable to the needs and limitations of each student, as well as teaching participants:

 breathing and mental focus exercises beneficial for mental health and coping,

 supportive social connections to encourage reframing of the disease,

 low/no impact movement

 how to optimize range of movement; increase flexibility, muscle strength, stability and balance; improve bone density.



Register for classes online at westkentucky.kctcs.edu/workforce-solutions, click on Community Education, Lifestyles, Fitness & Hobbies or call 270-534-3335.



West Kentucky Community and Technical College (WKCTC) has been recognized as an Aspen Prize Top 10 Community College four times awarded by the Aspen Institute and has twice been named a Finalist with Distinction for providing students with strong job training and continuing higher education opportunity, for achieving high completion and transfer rates, and for providing strong employment results for its graduates.







 Yoga for Arthritis classes offered at WKCTC in September and October.

By WestKyStar & Baptist Health Staff Aug. 19, 2018 | 10:15 PM | PADUCAH

Children who are scared of going to the doctor often find comfort when they have their own teddy bear to snuggle and accompany them.





Trish Edwards, RN, who serves as Chest Pain Coordinator at Baptist Health Paducah, will offer a teddy bear clinic as part of Kentucky Oaks Malls Toddler Tuesdays. The clinic will be from 11 am until noon on Tuesday, Sept. 4, by the CFSB Play Area, near Dillards. Children who attend the clinic are invited to bring their stuffed animals with them.





Teddy bear clinics can help children understand basic healthcare treatments and tools and allow them to become more familiar with people who work in the medical field, said Edwards, who is also a paramedic. We want to hear that we have helped children become more confident and less apprehensive about being a patient.





The free clinic will provide children hands-on opportunities to interact with common medical equipment, such as stethoscopes and otoscopes, practice health habits, such as hand washing and sneezing into their elbows, and learn first-hand what healthcare workers do on a daily basis.



For more information about teddy bear clinics, email trish.edwards@bhsi.com or phone Kentucky Oaks Mall at 270-444-0440, ext. 102.



Baptist Health Paducah will host a Teddy Bear Clinic at Kentucky Oaks Mall on Tuesday, Sept. 4th.Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Aug. 24, 2018 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 24, 2018 | 11:11 PM | PADUCAH

A former supervisor at the McCracken County Jail is being investigated for the possible sexual assault of an inmate.



Sgt. David Knight, the Internal Affairs Officer at the jail, says he received a complaint July 3 from an inmate that Sgt. Fred Ford had made inappropriate remarks toward some of the female inmates. In the subsequent investigation, Knight said he learned that Ford had allegedly inappropriately touched a woman in the class D work program at the jail.



State Police were immediately notified and are investigating, and Ford was indicted Friday for 2nd degree sexual abuse.



Knight said in a Friday press release that Ford was terminated from his employment at the jail on July 5. McCracken Fiscal Court approved the dismissal at their July 9 meeting, but no details were given at that time.



This is the second recent sexual assault claim against a McCracken County Jail employee. Former Deputy Jailer Chad Campbell faces two counts of 1st degree sexual abuse and one count of harassment with physical contact from an investigation in May 2017, after allegations by a female deputy jailer that she had been inappropriately touched and harassed on the job.Faulty travel apps cause confusion on I-24 in Trigg CountyBy West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 17, 2018 | 11:39 AM | AURORA





The 29th Annual Hot August Blues Festival has one more full day of music and fun today at the Kenlake State Park amphitheater.The festival is at Kenlake State Park in Aurora, Kentucky. Tickets are available at the gate.Patrons will also be allowed to bring in their own coolers for the event, for a $15 fee. The fee will be shared with the Marshall County Rescue Squad, which receives 100% of its funding from donations and fundraisers.The music starts at noon with The Watson Brothers Band. The Watson Brothers are fronted by Blues guitar-slinger Sweet Papa Dave Watson, who many might remember from his frequent appearances in the region in the 90s. He's followed by Elam McKnight, who's scored several hits on the Roots Music Report's charts for several years. Soul Dog follows with a heavy dose of Memphis R&B which recalls the glory days of Stax and Hi Records, including the sounds of the legendary Al Green.Microwave Dave and The Nukes features the expert slide guitar of Dave Gallagher, a member of the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame. Ivas John was a favorite at last year's festival on Friday Night and the response was so great, he returns for a bigger audience this year on Saturday night. John is followed by Miranda Louise, who appeared at the festival in the 90s. She's performed on CDs featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan, Warren Haynes, AC Reed and more. Big Mike Griffin appears next and promises to continue his legacy as the mayor of the Hot August Blues Festival. He was the headliner at the very first Hot August Blues Festival in 1990, and has appeared at almost every Hot August Blues Festival since.The Hot August Blues Festival finishes up with the legendary Larry McCray. McCray is one of the top Blues guitarists in the world with credits including collaborations with Derek Trucks, Dickie Betts, Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers and Government Mule and more. McCray first recorded Haynes' classic Soulshine and turned it into an anthem. He also scored with hits, The Blues Is My Business, Delta Hurricane and many more.Of course, so much Blues music can work up an appetite. That's why the other stars of the Hot August Blues Festival, might be the food vendors, including Tilford's Q-Krew with their award winning BBQ, Orleans Catering, with their authentic Louisiana favorites, Uncle Ted's Just Dang Good Food, with sandwiches and healthy food choices, Dippin' Dots, Cowboy's Kettle Korn and more.Other charities which will benefit from this year's Hot August Blues Festival include The Shriners, who will be operating festival shuttles with all tips and proceeds going to the Shriners' Childrens' Hospitals, the Knights of Columbus and Marshall Strong.Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff/KY LRC

Aug. 24, 2018 | FRANKFORT

By West Kentucky Star Staff/KY LRC Aug. 24, 2018 | 06:50 PM | FRANKFORT

Whether legalizing medical marijuana is the right prescription for Kentucky was pondered on Friday by a state legislative panel.



I know medical cannabis can help some folks, said Republican Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville, while testifying before the Interim Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations & Administrative Regulations. I say that as someone who has never done any illegal drug. I say that as someone who tries to follow every law, even speeding limits. I would break the law willingly if it would help myself, my wife or my children. And if I would do it, it ought not to be illegal for our neighbors.



He testified alongside Republican Rep. Diane St. Onge of Fort Wright on proposed legislation to legalize medical marijuana. The two stressed that they strongly opposed any legislation that might lead to the legalization of recreational marijuana.



St. Onge said the proposal would not specify what ailments would be legal to treat with marijuana.



We are not doctors, she said, and we feel it is best left to our physicians to recommend in their confidential patient-doctor relationship what they feel might help alleviate some of the pain or some of the symptoms. Marijuana is not a cure that we know of to date. It is used for palliative effects. We believe that is best left to our physicians.



Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer applauded the fact Nemes and St. Onge said the proposal wasnt an effort to raise money for the general fund as others have proposed.



I think advocates for medicinal marijuana need to stop saying this is going to solve our pension problems, Thayer said. It is a false promise. We dont tax pharmaceuticals in this state so why, if we passed medicinal marijuana, would we tax it? It is unfair.



Thayer said he was against a provision in the proposal that would allow people to grow their own medical marijuana. He expressed skepticism that regulators could prevent homegrown marijuana from being diverted for illegal use.



St. Onge said she now supports a home-grow provision because it accommodates low-income residents unable to afford marijuana dispensaries or rural residents in counties with no dispensaries. St. Onge said the provision would also further discourage the illegal growing and selling of marijuana to medical patients.



Nemes said medical marijuana would be regulated by a new state agency called the Department of Cannabis Administration. He said any violations of the provisions of the proposed medical marijuana law would be a criminal offense.



It will be their job to make sure the doctors are doing what they need to do and not overprescribing, Nemes said. We dont want any marijuana mills like we have had pill mills.



Registered users couldnt smoke medical marijuana in public places, Nemes said. He added that landlords could also prohibit home growing of medical marijuana.



The proposal would discourage medical marijuana vacationing by restricting the sale of cannabis to out-of-state residents. Nemes said the proposed legislation is about helping the chronically and critically ill.



I understand there is opposition to this, Nemes said.  There is good-faith opposition to this. There is legitimate opposition to this. I was against this concept when I ran for office. I respect those who disagree with me today.



Interim Committee Co-Chair Rep. Adam Koenig asked if employers could fire employees for testing positive for marijuana use.



St. Onge said employers couldnt discriminate against job applicants approved by a doctor to use medical marijuana. She said the employer could prohibit the use of medical marijuana on their premises. Nemes added that employers could also prohibit employees operating heavy machinery from using marijuana.



Democratic Rep. Al Gentry of Louisville said he supported medical marijuana but asked about the legal liability of employing people using medical marijuana. Nemes said the proposal included suggestions from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce designed to shield employers from those employees actions.



Republican Rep. Kimberly Poor Moser asked what it would cost to establish and operate the Department of Cannabis Administration. Nemes said it would be paid for by a licensing fee on medical marijuana businesses. The proposal calls for the fee to be set at a percent of the gross receipts for each business.



Democrat Rep. Susan Westrom said legalizing some form of marijuana has been a perennial issue during the nearly two decades she has been in the state legislature. She said that has given her an abundant amount of time to study the issue including visiting California and Colorado dispensaries and the doctors prescribing marijuana instead of opioids.



I didnt realize the science had become so perfected that you really could treat specific diagnoses, Westrom said. There is something very positive about medical marijuana. I think there are a lot of people here who could benefit from this. I just wish we could have some oncologists who could come in and discuss this.



Senate Majority Caucus Chair Dan Malano Seum said he has had several doctors tell him they wished they could recommend marijuana as another tool to treat patients. He added that there was at least one oncologist nurse in the audience.



I am a cancer survivor, Seum said. Ill tell you point-blank if you get nausea after cancer surgery... you will be smoking a joint from here to that damn wall if it would take that damn nausea away from you  and I did just that.



Republican Sen. John Schickel, who chaired the meeting, said opponents of legalizing medical marijuana in Kentucky are scheduled to testify at the interim committees next meeting on Sept 14.HHS GRADUATE/NY CONGRESSMAN CHRIS COLLINS TO FACE A "STATUS HEARING" OCT. 11TH ON INSIDER TRADING CHARGES

INDUCTED INTO THE HENDERSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL "HALL OF FAME" IN 2013, THE SAME YEAR HE WAS ELECTED TO CONGRESS FROM NEW YORK'S 27TH DISTRICT, COLLINS HAS SUSPENDED HIS RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND IS DROPPING OUT OF THE RACE FOR RE-ELECTION

Rep. Chris Collins, the New York Republican congressman who is charged with insider trading, says he is suspending his re-election bid to keep Democrats from electing a pro-impeachment candidate in the district.

While noting in his statement on Twitter that he is suspending his campaign, he made it clear that he was in effect dropping out of the race in New York's 27th Congressional District.

Collins was arrested this summer after a federal grand jury indicted him on insider trading charges as well as lying to federal agents.

In his statement, Collins said he would "continue to fight the meritless charges" and looks forward to clearing his name of wrongdoing.

Collins and his co-defendants surrendered to authorities Wednesday morning in Manhattan, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for New Yorks Southern District.

All three pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned in federal court, with bail for each set at $500,000. The judge set a return date of Oct. 11 for a status hearing.

A federal indictment charges Collins, his son Cameron and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron's fiancee, with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and seven counts of securities fraud.

Rep. Collins is also charged with making false statements to the FBI.

Specifically, Rep. Collins is accused of receiving inside information about negative clinical trial tests conducted by Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company with which he has long been associated.

He then is accused of passing that information on to his son, prompting the son and others to sell 1.78 million Innate shares shortly before the bad news was made public in June 2017 and the share price plummeted.

Those others included Cameron Collins' fiancee, Lauren Zarsky, her mother, Dorothy, and other friends and family

By USA Today and WHKP News Director Larry FreemanA 19-year-old man from Williamsburg was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center with serious injuries after being hit while entering a stopped car late Friday night, according to police.

Officers responded to the 400 block of West Market Street in Harrisonburg where the crash happened just before midnight. In a release, city police said a Honda Pilot struck another vehicle while it was parked in the right travel lane picking up passengers.

The crash victim, who police did not immediately identify, was entering the car at the time.

Police said the driver of the Pilot, with Virginia registration VKL-2701, fled the scene on foot.

HPD requested anybody who observed the vehicle being driven on Friday or who witnessed the crash and has not spoken with officers to contact Cpl. Westfall at 540-437-2672.

Tips can also be sent anonymously to Crime Solvers at 540-574-5050 or by texting "HPD" plus the tip to CRIMES (274637).The day after he gave himself an A+ on his presidential performance, President Donald Trump unexpectedly canceled a crucial trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, all but acknowledging that his strategy to end the North Korean nuclear threat has so far failed.

Trump, you'll recall, had already declared that North Korea was "no longer a nuclear threat" after he met with the country's leader, Kim Jong Un in Singapore last June.

Asia Continents and regions Donald Trump East Asia Government and public administration Government bodies and offices International relations International relations and national security Kim Jong Un Military Military weapons North Korea North Korea nuclear development Nuclear weapons Political Figures - Intl Political Figures - US US federal government US-North Korea summit Weapons and arms Weapons of mass destruction White House

He had humble-bragged that "everybody thinks" he should win a Nobel Peace Prize over his dazzling diplomatic achievement. And, in words reminiscent of the infamous "peace for our time," speech by Neville Chamberlain ("Now I recommend you to go home and sleep quietly in your beds"), Trump told us "Sleep well tonight" after his lovefest with Kim.

But the troubles that came after the Singapore summit were not just predictable, they were widely predicted.

Two months after declaring victory, it's clear that Kim is not interested in dismantling his nuclear program, no matter what he promised Trump. Earlier this week, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it finds no sign that North Korea has stopped its nuclear activities. And yesterday, an expert group said the North has stopped dismantling its missile testing site, breaking another promise. The North's missile program aims to find a way to launch a nuclear weapon at a target far away, such as the United States.

The hawkish National Security Adviser John Bolton had already noted that Kim is failing to take steps to denuclearize. The North has even refused to provide a list of its weapons programs, a basic requirement for successful negotiations.

Trump, who liked to mock previous presidents, especially Barack Obama, for not solving the problem, fell into the exact trap that his predecessors did. Kim Jong Un, like his father and grandfather before him, tricked the US President into making major concessions in exchange for small adjustments and big promises.

To be sure, it is a positive development that Trump has walked away from his own threats to launch a nuclear war, and it is heartwarming to see the family reunions between small numbers of elderly South Koreans and their relatives in the North after decades of unforgivable separation.

Still, the stated objective of Trump's policy is to bring about the denuclearization of North Korea, and at this moment there is absolutely no sign that that it will happen, no matter how much Trump has slathered praise on the country's young tyrant.

The summit alone gave North Korea and its dictator a prize that had eluded his dynastic predecessors. Three generations of ruling Kims wanted the recognition of a face-to-face meeting with the American President. What should have been the reward for a successful negotiating process, instead came at the start. Another mind-boggling concession was the cancellation of US military exercises with the South.

Trump strengthened Kim immeasurably not just by meeting him but also by praising him as a man who "loves his people, loves his country," and wants good things for them. The man who presides over one of the world's most brutal regimes now hears not a word of criticism about those actions from the American President.

Even Trump's tweet announcing the cancellation of Pompeo's trip included a "Warmest regards and respect" to Kim. Trump said he looks forward to seeing him soon, a sign that he wants to continue with this highly personalized brand of diplomacy.

As Trump admitted, his trade war with China, North Korea's only ally, has complicated negotiations. But that should hardly come as a surprise.

In fact, Trump has broken with the advice of experts, and the result has been as predicted.

If diplomacy with North Korea stands a chance of success, Trump -- despite his stratospheric self-confidence -- will have to listen to better-qualified negotiators. Pompeo's appointment of the respected Stephen Biegun as a North Korean envoy could make a big difference -- as long as Trump, who fancies himself a great deal-maker, allows him to do his work.

Trump may claim his presidency is a raging, unprecedented success on all fronts. But so far, his North Korea policy can charitably be graded an Incomplete, if that.One lane of the New York State Thruway heading eastbound is closed near Little Falls due to a tractor trailer fire, according to the Thruway Authority's website.

The right lane of the Thruway eastbound is blocked near milepost 213, which is located between the Herkimer exit (30) and the Little Falls exit (29A).

The photo above was taken from a state Department of Transportation camera feed on 511ny.org.We all remember how excited we were to start college. Today, hundreds of students are experiencing that locally.

About 350 students moved into SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy on Friday. Students and their families arrived with their cars full, and school staff was on hand to help them unload their belongings and help make their transition to college a little easier.

Parents of students who are freshmen at the school say theyre feeling a mix of emotions.

Its my baby, said Denise Daniels, a mom from Cedarhurst, New York. My older one's already starting her fourth year, so I know shes good. But now Im hoping everything goes okay with him. Its exciting though.

Hes my first son to go away to college, he's my oldest, said Joann Saenz, a mom from Middletown, New York. So it's bittersweet, Im nervous 1:10

Mo Reynes, dad from Poughkeepsie, New York

Mixed emotions, said Mo Reynes, a dad from Poughkeepsie, New York. It's a changed atmosphere at home, not having him around, being here, living on his own, being an adult.

Jennifer Adams, assistant vice president of Student Affairs

We know it's a big day for parents, said Jennifer Adams, assistant vice president of Student Affairs at SUNY Poly. When they leave we give them a little goodie bag to send them on their way with tissues and some treats and some positive notes from us that theyve done all the right things and that now that their students are here, they are in good hands.

There were several different activities planned for the students and their families.

At Utica College, more than 600 freshmen students were on campus for orientation on Friday, along with about 160 transfer students.

The students say theyre excited and also a little anxious, but school officials say theyre doing their best to make them feel comfortable.

One mom said she was overwhelmed with all of the help the school is providing them with.

I just had a mom break down, said Dr. Jeffery Gates, senior vice president for Student Life Enrollment Management. She pulled up and she got out of her car and this is her oldest of four children going off to schools so this is her first experience. And she was in tears. And I said, Why are you in tears? and she said, Because all of you are out here waiting to help us and we dont have to do anything!

Gates says part of the experience at Utica College is the personal attention that students get.Former Syunik Provincial Governor Surik Khachatryan has been building a three-story house on 2,000 square meters of land owned by him in Yerevan for more than 10 years. However, he got a construction license only recently, on June 8, 2018.

In 2008, Surik Khachatryan purchased two separate land plots belonging to H.R.-A.A.A LLC, each with a surface area of 1,000 square meters. The plots are located in Kanaker-Zeytun administrative district of Yerevan, at Karapet Ulnetsi 32/11 and 32/12 addresses. The sale contract mentioned the price of 39 million 600 thousand drams (around 82,500 USD), but it turned out that buyer Surik Khachatryan paid $ 500,000 for the land.

An existing house, absent from documents

According to information acquired from the State Committee of Real Property Cadastre, Surik Khachatryan registered his right of ownership of the land plots on July 18, 2008. About ten years later, as of August 22, 2018, there is no building registered on the land plots, while the satellite photos prove otherwise.

Using Google Earth, we were able to find out that construction on Khachatryans land plots started on October 2009. In 2011, the basements of the house were already built, thus signaling the start of active construction. Within two years, the three-story house and fences were built, and in 2014 - auxiliary buildings, one of which looks like a covered swimming pool. In 2016, the yard was renovated, and, in 2017, the landscape was greened, yard roads and the road leading to the house were paved.

Sending a written request, Hetq received extensive list of building permits in Yerevan from the Yerevan Municipality. Using this list, we see that on June 8, 2018, a permit was granted to Surik Khachatryan for the construction of a residential building at Karapet Ulnetsi 32/11 and 32/12.

In other words, a construction permit was given for a house which was already built.

In addition, on July 19, 2018, Aragats Ghevondyan, Surik Khachatryans proxy, received a decision from the Yerevan Municipality, according to which the two land plots were united at one address - 32/12 Karapet Ulnetsi Street.

Property tax not paid for the house

As of August 23, 2018, the official website of the Yerevan Municipality has a new page, which allows one to see how much property tax is paid for any address in Yerevan. However, it shows that no paid property tax for a private house for the above-mentioned addresses. The payment is made only for land - 14,646 drams (around 30 USD) per year for each address.

Penalties for illegal construction and evading taxes

It turns out that Surik Khachatryan has been constructing a house illegally since 2011, in a plot which is visible from many central points of Yerevan. Neither the former mayor Taron Margaryan, nor the police ever took appropriate measures.

The Criminal Code of Armenia has a separate article on evading payment of taxes, duties or other mandatory payments (Article 205). The tax evasion, which has been committed in large amounts, is punishable with a fine of 2,000 to 3,000 times minimal salaries, or imprisonment of two to five years.

We tried to speak to Surik Khachatryan, but his mobile number was unreachable. The Yerevan Municipality requested that we send our questions in writing. We have done so.

We werent able to get a clarification from the governments Department of Urban Development, Technical Studies and Fire Safety Inspectorate, since the inspection body is yet to be formed. The former Urban Inspectorate hasnt answered our calls.Oneida county executive Anthony Picente took a trip to the White House this week to discuss local issues with White House staff.

More than 100 elected officials throughout New York State attended a conference at the white house.

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente says this is the first time in the 12 years, since he's been county executive, that the White House has reached out to local county leaders.

He says some local issues he discussed were the opioid epidemic, education, infrastructure, among many other topics. Picente says having the opportunity to visit the White House allowed him to make important connections at the federal level that could be useful in the future.

He says after connecting with other state county executives, he's looking forward to working with them in the future.

"Party doesn't matter It's about, working together, and we do that very well, and Im proud of that. And that's why, I know only four of us went down there for this, and hopefully the next time some more can, and we can go down as a block."

The conference is a part of an effort from the white house to improve the relationship between both the federal and local government.

Picente says he hopes that more conversations like this can happen between local and federal officials in the future.TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)  We're learning more about a Lafayette man convicted of raping his girlfriend.

Manford Girten was dating the vitim for about seven weeks but it all lead to a night of terror. This isn't his first violent offense.

Since 2005, Manford Girten Junior has been in trouble with the law. In Kentucky, he was convicted every year, sometimes multiple times a year until 2014. Superior Court 2 Judge Steve Meyer took his criminal history into consideration during sentencing.

"That's why we bring the criminal record forward and we do that almost at every sentencing," said Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington.

But the state is only allowed to bring up prior convictions, not charges or arrests. We learned online that Girten has been accused and acquitted of sexual abuse before. According to the Kentucky New Era, he was known as 'the magic man' after getting away with crimes. He didn't get away with it in Tippecanoe County.

"We're very pleased the jury believed the victim because in these cases it's usually only two people involved," said Harrington.

This victim was smart and brave. She went to the hospital for an examination, showed police her injuries and the condition of her bedroom the night of the struggle. She even recorded an apology from Girten days later.

"That was a crucial piece of evidence for us," said Harrington.

The victim was in the courtroom at the sentencing but she decided not to take the stand. She did write a letter to the judge explaining how this has affected her both emotionally and physically, she was a virgin before the rape.

"He was forcefully holding her down, confinement, intimidation, ripped her clothes off, pinned her wrists behind her, this was a night of terror for our victim," said Harrington.

Girten will serve 20 years in prison and three years on supervised probation.

He will be a registered sex offender for life.

We're told he does plan to appeal the case.



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A mural in the village of Apaga, in the Etchmaidzin region of present-day Armenia, depicts the heroic resistance of the villagers of Sassoun, in western Armenia, more than a century ago.

Fleeing persecution in the Ottoman Empire, many from Sassoun resettled in Apaga (which means future) in 1919, bringing with them their culture, norms and shared history.

In 1974, Sargis Muradyan, a Peoples Artist of Armenia, painted a mural symbolizing that history and longing for their lost homeland on the wall of the newly opened cultural center in Apaga.

The murals colors have since faded and cracks have appeared here and there. The mural, aptly entitled Sassountsiner, needs repairing.

You see that mustachioed man? Thats Sargis Muradyan. The guy who has fallen is Kevork Chavush. Thats Andranik, and thats Sose. Four scenes are taking place. It took some three months to make, says Apaga resident Aghvan Martirosyan, adding that the artist mixed beer with the paints to keep the colors from fading.

The center of the mural depicts the Mary and the Christ child, in Armenian traditional dress, with a rifle nearby. Another scene shows the funeral of Kevork Chavush, a legendary Armenian freedom fighter. Another depicts fighting between Sassoun villagers and Ottoman soldiers.

Visitors to the mural are greeted by manuscript of the epic, Daredevils of Sassoun.

Aghvan Martirosyan was the cultural centers caretaker in 1974 and remains so today. He says such works of art were banned at the time since they were considered too nationalist in content. He says several works were submitted for the cultural center, and that Muradyans was approved by the village authorities.

Higher-ups in the government rejected the mural and delayed the opening of the cultural center. Apaga residents resisted and the leader of the local state farm threatened to resign if the mural was rejected.

Apaga residents say that news of the mural reached as far as Baku, prompting Soviet Azerbaijani officials to lodge a formal protest over the nationalist mural in neighboring brotherly Armenia.

Apaga residents still retain traces of the Sassoun dialect spoken by their forebearers. A large map of Sassoun adorns the wall of the village mayors office. Pins identify the seven villages in Sassoun from which Armenians left, first resettling in the Ararat Valley, and later, in Apaga.

Years ago, Apaga Mayor Artashes Barseghyan and Zarouhie Muradyan (the artists daughter) petitioned the Ministry of Culture to save the mural from further wear and tear. A commission of experts inspected the mural in 2016, registering it as a national monument. Arguing it lacks the funds, the ministry hasnt done anything to repair the mural.

Instead, the ministry launched a fundraising drive this year to save the mural.

Ara Zaryan and Kristine Lamughen, two mural specialists from Italy, say they are willing to work on the Apaga mural for free. Its only their travel, lodging and art material expenses, estimated at 6,160, that must be paid.

Those wishing to donate can to so at the following ArdShinInvest Bank accounts:

2475907059160000- AMD

2475907059160010- EURO

2475907059160020 - RUR

2475907059160030  USD

A benefit concert for the repair of the mural will be held at Yerevans Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall on September 17.

Photos by Gagik AghbalyanBy 1991 everyone was fed up with everyone else. You must understand that on paper Yuga might seem like a good idea but in reallity it never was. After 1918 the Kingdom of SHS, renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia a few years later, was basically Greater Serbia. They promoted the idea of 3 tribes (Serbs, Croats, Slovenes) of 1 Yugoslav nation, but the Serbian part was very dominant. The army and politics were controlled by Serbs. Slovenes used to make the best out of it while Croats grew more and more displeased. Serbian influence was big in non-Serbian parts of the country. Interestingly written Slovene from before 1918 is closer to today's Slovene than that of the interwar period. Nevermind, the Kingdom proved a failed state. The communist controlled post-ww2 Yugoslavia tried to be the oposite. Tito tried to promote an ethnic identity for basically everyone (Bosniaks/Muslims, Montenegrins, Macedonians) or create autonomous regions (Kosovo, Vojvodina) to limit the power of Serbia and keep it from being too dominant again. Nationalism became taboo, views different from the CP and discussion about the other side of ww2 and the killings afterwards were silenced as well. This seemed to be OK as long as Tito was around as he was a powerfull enough personality to keep the country together despite it's troubles (financial and economic), similar to Franz Josef I in Austria-Hungary. An idolised and beloved figure of a tyrant. Yugoslavia lacked a clear vision for the future, they remained stuck in ww2 and the liberation struggle, a hundred times outdated by the 80s and earlier. The leaders after Tito had no real ideas, the country's debt became bigger and bigger. Nationalism slowly crept in the various nations and grew bigger and bigger like a wildfire blown ablaze by warmongers like Milosevic untill we became sick of it and then in 1991 it exploded.I don't see why so many people dream about Yugoslavia to live on? It proved to be a failure TWICE yet they still want it back a 3rd time. For what? For another tragedy to happen? It's not like its people stopped hating each other since the last war ...But I'll play along. IMO for Yuga to live on they'd have to reorganize into a confederation, which Serbian leaders of the late 80s/early 90s wouldn't want. They'd have to democratise but the communist party wouldn't give up its power voluntarily and would see it as an betrayal of the partisan fight and its values. They'd have to slowly transform the economy to a capitalist model. That would bring instability in every situation because Yugoslav companies and products often weren't competitive on the Western market. Worker's would rise up because they'd lose some rights and some would lose jobs, something unimaginable in the heaven of social security in commy Yuga. I don't know how they could do this last point of mine, but somehow they'd have to make contribution more equal. By this I mean: Slovenia was one of the smallest republics but had to contribute the most money to fund the less developped partrepublics and Slovenes felt cheated. This and no outbreak of extreme nationalism is what I deem necessarry for Yuga to survive with all 6 republics. There might be scenarios where 1 or 2 reoublics break off but the rest remains together. If Slovenia breaks loose, Croatia will want the same and then you again end up with a Greater Serbia - there's no doubt a country made up of Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia (with or without Macedonia) wouldn't be Serb dominated.Perhaps Yugoslavia could survive longer if they attacked Albania in 1990 or so.Uniting the country against a common enemy, that's always a good populist tactic ...The second record breaking fire season in a row has been disastrous for the people of California. With dozens of wildfires continuing to rage across the state, tens of thousands have had to evacuate. Statewide, over 1,100,000 acres have burned, more than seven times the average for this point in the fire season. The speed at which the fires have occurred and the lack of effective emergency planning have resulted in fourteen deaths.

While many workers have lost their homes and lives, telecommunications giant Verizon has seen the disaster as an opportunity to make some extra profits. In the midst of fighting the Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest in state history, Verizon began throttling the mobile data of the Santa Clara County Fire Department and began haggling to sell them a more expensive plan. Verizon customer service initially offered to bump their $37.99 a month plan to $39.99 to get the data speeds restored. After the fire department noted it required a plan that does not have throttling or caps of any kind, Verizon upsold them to $100 for the first 20 gigabytes (GB) and $8 per GB after.

Fire departments across the state rely on continuous streams of live data to dispatch the limited resources available to combat unprecedented wild fires across the state.

This throttling has had a significant impact on our ability to provide emergency services. Verizon imposed these limitations despite being informed that throttling was actively impeding County Fires ability to provide crisis-response and essential emergency services, Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden wrote in a public statement.

The Internet has become an essential tool in providing fire and emergency response, particularly for events like large fires which require rapid deployment and organization of thousands of personnel and hundreds of fire engines, aircraft, and bulldozers, Bowden explained.

Bowden used his statement to directly accuse Verizon of taking advantage of such emergencies with the intent of pushing public service agencies into more expensive rate plans.

Verizon representatives confirmed the throttling, but rather than restoring us to an essential data transfer speed, they indicated that County Fire would have to switch to a new data plan at more than twice the cost, and they would only remove throttling after we contacted the Department that handles billing and switched to the new data plan, he wrote.

In light of our experience, County Fire believes it is likely that Verizon will continue to use the exigent nature of public safety emergencies and catastrophic events to coerce public agencies into higher-cost plans, ultimately paying significantly more for mission-critical serviceeven if that means risking harm to public safety during negotiations.

According to Bowden, this was not the first time Verizon had throttled firefighting efforts in Santa Clara County. In the fires of the previous December and in June, e-mails and documents reveal similar actions. Although firefighters communicated directly with Verizon about the throttling, requesting it be immediately lifted, the internet giant did not immediately restore full speeds to the devices.

Responding to Bowdens statement, Verizon declared that throttling the fire departments Internet access during an emergency was entirely legitimate. We made a mistake in how we communicated with our customer about the terms of its plan. Like all customers, fire departments choose service plans that are best for themUnder this plan, users get an unlimited amount of data, but speeds are reduced when they exceed their allotment until the next billing cycle.

Once the FCC revoked net neutrality in June of this year, Internet providers like Verizon began imposing more throttling than previously. According to the Santa Clara Fire Department, it was throttled at all times once their devices went over 25 GBs a month. Unlimited data, according to Verizon, does not mean unlimited, with all plans having throttling built in. Whenever thresholds are breached, Verizon says the department would have to pay by the gigabyte to avoid being throttled entirely. The federal governments decision to deregulate the broadband industry has limited consumers rights to sue internet providers over unjust or unreasonable behavior. Verizon denies that throttling has anything to do with net neutrality issues.

Bowdens statements were submitted as an addendum to a brief filed by 22 state attorneys general that seeks to overturn the repeal of the net neutrality rules in a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit Court in Washington.

As of Friday, the Mendocino fired had burned more than 422,000 acres and was only 74 percent contained. Mandatory evacuations were issued for areas extending from east of the Lake Mendocino County Line to the boundaries of the Mendocino National Forest and in Colusa and Glenn counties.

Advisory warnings included all areas east of the Mendocino National Park and west of the East Park reservoir between the Glenn County line and Lodoga. Fires near Hopland, also in Mendocino County, were only contained the day before with 48,920 acres burned. In Shasta County, the Carr fire which killed eight people, destroyed over 1,000 homes and burned 230,000 acres is still burning.

The smoke from fires has adversely affected air quality and human health throughout the state. The Bay Area has experienced region-wide air quality warnings stemming from the fires. Smoke from fires has been linked to major health problems including asthma attacks and heart problems.

Widespread fires are being experienced in many parts of the world due to climate change and accompanying heat waves and drought conditions this summer. In British Columbia, Canada, a state of emergency was declared on August 15 as over 500 wildfires burned across the province. Fires continue to burn across Europe from Sweden, Norway and Finland to Portugal, Spain, Greece and Britain. According to the European Joint Research Centre, already an average of over 3,500 square miles burn each year across Europe.

According to a recent report in National Geographic, not only are humans causing more fires, lightning strikes are expected to increase as the climate warms. More lightning is caused when warmer, more turbulent air leads to more thunderstorms. Lightning-induced fires are becoming much more common across the northern part of the North American continent. Since 1975, these fires have increased by two to five percent each year.In a further expansion of state-directed Internet censorship, Google announced Thursday that it had deleted 58 accounts from its social media platforms YouTube, Blogger and Google+. The technology monopoly claimed, without meaningful substantiation, that the accounts it removed were part of a worldwide effort by bad actors, influence operations and state-sponsored hacking linked with the Iranian government.

In a safety and security blog post, Google executive Kent Walker wrote that 39 YouTube channels, 6 blogs on Blogger and 13 Google+ accounts were identified and removed due to their supposed connection with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the primary Iranian media organization with close ties to the countrys Supreme Leader.

Walker provided no detailed facts supporting the claims of Iranian influenced social media activity. Instead, he wrote: We cant go into all the technical details without giving away information that would be helpful to others seeking to abuse our platforms 

Much of the information used by Google as the basis of its assertion that the Iranian government was behind the accounts was provided by FireEye, a cyber-security firm managed by former military intelligence officers with close ties to Wall Street and the US State Department.

On August 21, FireEye released a report that has been used to bolster a series of censorship moves, first by Facebook and Twitter and now Google, over the past week. The title of the report, Suspected Iranian Influence Operation, shows that the new campaign against coordinated inauthentic activity is following the pattern of the previous Russian meddling and fake news initiatives.

Notably, FireEye said that it had only moderate confidence that this activity originates from Iranian actors. The company added that the possibility exists that the activity could originate from elsewhere or includes authentic online behavior.

As the World Socialist Web Site explained on Wednesday, the shuttering of social media accounts is the latest in a series of censorship trial balloons that are being launched by the technology monopolies, in coordination with US government entities, to test out and perfect, piece by piece, the mechanisms for silencing speech and suppressing political dissent, especially of left-wing, socialist organizations and the struggles of the working class.

The degree of complicity by the corporate controlled media in the expanding censorship operations is significant. One searches in vain to find a single publication or news site that will question, much less challenge, the latest justifications for censoring, deleting content or disabling social media accounts.

The ruling elite is frightened by the potential of the Internet and social media to be used as a means of educating and organizing opposition to the growth of economic inequality, expanding war and attacks on democratic rights.

A major component of this drive to censor the internet is the targeting of left-wing, anti-war, and socialist political organizations. Googles efforts to promote authoritative news outlets over alternative viewpoints has resulted in a major drop in search traffic to left-wing sites, with search traffic to the World Socialist Web Site dropping by 75 percent since April 2017.

On Monday, Facebook deleted the longstanding account of a WSWS contributor who uses a pseudonym and demanded proof of identity in order to restore access.

On Thursday, readers and supporters were repeatedly prevented from sharing links to WSWS articles from their Facebook accounts. Their posts were deleted and a message from Facebook was displayed saying We removed this post because it looks like spam to us.

Amid a growing strike movement by workers all over the world, including Ryanair pilots and cabin crew in Europe and UPS workers in the United States, the moves by the technology giants to censor the internet will only intensify. We urge all of those seeking to fight internet censorship to contact the World Socialist Web Site.A study by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released Tuesday on the social impact of the agencys proposed lowering of emission standards for power plants in the US concludes that as many as 1,400 more people will die prematurely every year by 2030.

The 285-page report, titled Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Proposed Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Electric Utility Generating Units, estimates the effects of the rollback of restrictions placed on power plant emissions under the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan, which gradually imposed tougher emission standards on coal-fired power plants to incentivize them to switch to cleaner energy sources.

The so-called Affordable Clean Energy proposal would give the states broad authority to set less stringent emission standards and regulate coal-fired power plants as they saw fit. Tuesdays EPA report assesses the impact of its proposal on a variety of measures of social well-being, including electricity prices, environmental impact and public health, among others. According to the report, the higher levels of fine particulates in the air that would result from the plans implementation would cause between 470 and 1,400 more people to die prematurely annually by the year 2030.

In addition, the report found that by 2030 as many as 15,000 cases of upper respiratory complications as well as 48,000 new cases of exacerbated asthma could result every year if the plan were implemented, while children in the US would miss a combined total of 120,000 more days of school.

It is likely that even these estimates may underestimate the true impact, as the EPA has no interest in informing the public of the scale of the death and disease it is preparing to unleash.

The agency is presently attempting to quietly implement a policy to restrict the use of its own data to provide accurate measures of the health effects of various policies by allowing its scientists to use only data that can be made public. Since the confidentiality of health records is protected by federal law and many patients are unwilling to make their records public, this would make it next to impossible for the agency to accurately assess the implications of federal policies.

The Trump administration has sought to sell the Affordable Clean Energy plan as a means of restoring coal jobs, increasing economic growth and, in keeping with its broader economic and geo-strategic policy, strengthening national security.

Touting the plan at a West Virginia rally on Tuesday, Trump told the crowd: We love clean, beautiful West Virginia coal. And you know, thats indestructible stuff. In times of war, in times of conflict, you can blow up those windmills, they fall down real quick. You can blow up pipelines You can do a lot of things to those solar panels, but you know what you cant hurt? Coal.

The expected implementation of the Affordable Clean Energy rule, in full knowledge of the thousands of people who will die or be made ill as a result, is just the latest in a series of attacks by the Trump administration on the health and lives of workers.

In April, the EPA announced that it would roll back the fuel efficiency standards for automobiles implemented by the Obama administration, which set a series of benchmarks to reduce pollution, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, in order to mitigate somewhat the impact of climate change.

Trumps gutting of the Obama administrations restrictions on power plant emissions, which at best represented a woefully inadequate attempt to improve air quality and public health, will not to any significant degree bring back jobs in the coal industry or improve the standard of living of workers displaced by the industrys decline.

Rather, this measure represents an attempt to sacrifice the lives and health of thousands of workers, who will be hardest hit by the proposed change, for the further enrichment of the coal bosses and energy giants.

As with other federal regulatory agencies, Trump has placed the EPA in the hands of long-time shills for the corporations. Just last month, Scott Pruitt was forced to resign as EPA administrator following revelations of his use of agency funds for first-class plane tickets and lavish personal security measures. The former Oklahoma attorney general, a climate-change skeptic, had close ties to the fossil fuel industry and spent years suing the EPA over ozone and methane emissions rules and coal plant regulations.

Pruitt was replaced by another climate change skeptic, Andrew Wheeler, as acting EPA administrator. Wheeler is a long-time lobbyist for the energy industry. He was formerly a lawyer for the coal magnate Robert E. Murray and lobbied against Obama administration environmental regulations.

The Democrats have offered little criticism of Trump for this or any of his other attacks on workers, immigrants and democratic rights, instead waging a right-wing campaign to cast the president as a Russian stooge and censor the Internet.

The potential annual death toll of 1,400 people, if the Affordable Clean Energy rule is implemented, is the equivalent of a Hurricane Katrina every 15 months or a 9/11 attack every two years.An intervention by the police against a camera crew in Dresden has shed light on the close ties between the German government, police and right-wing extremists.

The camera crew from the television channel ZDF, which was filming a protest by the far-right Pegida movement against a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 16, was detained by the police for 45 minutes following a provocation by a demonstrator. They were questioned and prevented from carrying out their work. Both Saxonys Minister President Michael Kretschmer and the Dresden police chief Horst Kretzschmar backed the police and endorsed the attack on press freedom. It subsequently emerged that the Pegida demonstrator who provoked the incident is an employee of the state criminal police (LKA).

This is not the first time that the police have stood by as right-wing extremists attack journalists, or even pursued the victims. The German Journalists Association (DJV) has maintained the blog augenzeugen.info (eyewitness.info) for two-and-a-half years to document these incidents. The incident in Dresden attracted nationwide attention because the attack was on ZDF, one of the largest public broadcasters, and the journalists documented it as it happened.

Reporter Arndt Ginzel, who works for the ZDF program Frontal 21, published a video online that left no doubt about what took place. He commented on the video, Saxony police officers become agents of Pegida/AfD supporters and block TV team.

The video features Pegida supporters shouting slogans as they marched along the street. A man wearing sunglasses and a Germany hat then turns around, shouts lying media, approaches the camera, and threatens the cameraman, You filmed my face. Youre not allowed to do that. Frontal shot. You have committed a criminal offense.

A few meters away, half a dozen police officers hang around their police car and do not respond to the incident. They only approach when the demonstrator calls them, and then they question the journalists. This is now a police operation, says one of the officers, when a journalist demands a justification.

Saxony Minister President Michael Kretschmer immediately gave his backing to the actions of the police. The only people who appeared serious in this video were the police, he commented on Twitter. He told DPA that as minister president, his job was to defend the police officers, adding, And thats what Im doing.

Even as protests mounted, those responsible in Dresden maintained their defense of the police actions. Police chief Horst Kretzschmar dismissed the accusation that the police had hindered press freedom. A criminal complaint was presented, which left us with no alternative, he said.

In reality, according to Ginzel, a demonstrator only made a criminal complaint for insulting behavior after the police questioning was long underway. And this had obviously caused confusion, he said.

The accusation that the cameraman committed an offense by filming the demonstrator against his will is also wrong. Pictures of meetings, marches and similar events in which the pictured people participated are explicitly allowed to be shared without their permission, according to paragraph 23 of the Artistic Copyright Law.

Nonetheless, Minister President Kretschmer tweeted six days after the incident, I made my opinion clear. It has not changed."

A few hours later, Saxonys Interior Ministry was forced to admit that the citizen who verbally protested against recordings by a camera crew in Dresden last Thursday is an employee of the state criminal police. He took part in the demonstration as a private citizen and is currently on holiday, the ministry added.

The Interior Ministry refused to say which position the man occupies in the state criminal police. According to the latest reports, the man involved is Maik G, an auditor for economic crime who writes reports and also appears in court for the LKA.

The close collaboration between right-wing extremists, the police and the government could not be more obvious. An LKA employee participates in a right-wing extremist demonstration, provokes a camera crew, and then hands them over to his colleagues in the police, who illegally detain them. The police chief and minister president back the police, blame the camera crew, and denounce them in the style of Pegida implicitly as unserious.

The incident triggered nationwide protest. The daily Frankfurter Rundschau remarked, Sections of Saxonys police actually seem to be so imbued with Pegidas spirit that they are assisting the right-wing mob and enforce existing laws to the disadvantage of the constitutional order. The press is being prevented from performing its obligation to gather information, the threat posed by the right wing in the law, which reinterpret the law into a potential criminal offense.

Federal Justice Minister Katarina Barley (Social Democrats, SPD) also spoke out. The events in Saxony are extremely concerning and must be urgently and comprehensively investigated by the authorities in Saxony, she said.

Barley should be careful what she wishes for. And this is not only due to the fact that the SPD is part of the government in Saxony, ensuring that the notoriously right-wing Christian Democrats (CDU) have a majority. More importantly, what is happening in Saxony is only a microcosm of a process that is well advanced at the national level.

The grand coalition of the CDU, Christian Social Union (CSU) and SPD has largely adopted the AfDs policies, especially on the issue of refugees, and is going out of its way to praise the right-wing extremist party. The latest report by the domestic secret service, for which the federal government bears responsibility, gives the right-wing extremists a clean bill of health.

Neither the AfD, nor the open Nazi apologists in its ranks, nor Pegida are mentioned as targets in the report. By contrast, anyone who criticizes capitalism and advocates for a socialist program is immediately denounced as a left-wing extremist and stigmatized as being opposed to the constitutional order. The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (SGP) is identified as a left-wing extremist party and as an object of observation. The SGP has initiated a campaign against this.

The events in Dresden, together with the whitewash of the AfD in the secret service report, confirm that in the face of increasing social and international tensions, the ruling elite is resorting to the authoritarian methods of Bismarck and the Weimar Republic. At the time, it was a conspiracy of right-wing forces within the state apparatus that helped Hitler come to power so as to suppress all social and political opposition and destroy the workers movement.

Today, the grand coalitions policies of social spending cuts, the strengthening of the state apparatus and militarism, which is supported by all of the parliamentary parties, is meeting with growing opposition. The grand coalition no longer has a majority according to the polls. Their readiness to retain democratic forms of rule is therefore rapidly evaporating.

The same applies to the so-called opposition parties. The daily Tagesszeitung, the mouthpiece of the Greens, expressed its understanding for Kretschmers behavior. The Greens are involved in a number of governments and even hold the position of minister president in Baden-Wurttemberg.

Kretschmer unconditionally defended his police force. Thats what minister presidents should do, stated a TAZ comment on Thursday. Because even if it was a right-wing extremist demonstrator who provoked the operation with his impertinence, and although three quarters of an hour is a long time to confirm someones identity, and also although this all ultimately led to the police preventing the journalists from doing their job without cause, one could easily confuse this with a somewhat unhelpful routine measure, perhaps even with a particularly firm enforcement of constitutional principles.

The TAZ merely criticized the fact that Kretschmer could not rely on his police. The exposure of the Pegida provocateur as an LKA employee, the paper said with disapproval, would now cost him dearly.

The Left Party has also restrained itself from making any substantive comments. If the accusations prove true, Saxonys police would have once again made themselves accomplices of the Pegida supporters, said Enrico Stange, a deputy in Saxonys state parliament.

The Left Party is also up to its neck in the right-wing conspiracy involving the state apparatus. In every election program, the party calls for a major police build-up, and it implements this demand in the states where it participates in government. Christine Ostrowski, after a career in the East German state party SED and its successor organization, the PDS, and after leading the Left Party for 10 years in Dresden, now calls for a vote for the AfD.

The struggle against the right-wing conspiracy in the state apparatus requires a break from all of these parties and the building of an independent, internationalist and socialist party of the working classthe Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei.UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt completed a three-day visit to the United States Thursday.

Hunt gave his first major foreign policy speech and met Trump administration officials, but also utilised the trip to deliver an unprecedented endorsement of Boris Johnson, who he replaced as foreign secretary, as a potential great replacement for beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May.

With the Conservative Party and Mays cabinet split into irreconcilable pro- and anti-European Union (EU) factions, Hunt aligned himself with Johnson as the de facto leader of the Tories hard Brexit wing.

Asked his thoughts on Johnson by the Axios news website, Hunt said he would make a great Prime Minister. Johnson has changed the course of British history through his campaigning for Brexit. I dont agree with him on everything, but, you know, who knows for the future?

Hunts comments echoed those of US President Donald Trump and his former adviser and strategist, Steve Bannon, who both effusively endorsed Johnson prior to arriving in the UK last month. In an interview with the pro-Brexit Sun attacking the European Union (EU), Trump stated, We are cracking down right now on the European Union because they have not treated the United States fairly on trading, adding that Johnson would make a great prime minister.

Bannon, who reportedly remains in regular communication with Johnson, later said he would be a great Prime Minister, not [simply] a good one.

Hunt told Axios of his own views compared to Johnsons, I dont think that the substance is terribly different, particularly when it comes to relations with the US.

In his speech to the US Institute for Peace, Hunt struck a hard-line pose, threatening the EU that, One of the biggest threats to European unity would be a chaotic no-deal Brexit.

Britain would, of course, find a way to prosper and we have faced many greater challenges in our history. But the risk of a messy divorce, as opposed to the friendship we seek, would be a fissure in relations between European allies that would take a generation to heala geostrategic error for Europe at an extremely vulnerable time in our history.

Speaking at the United Nations Security Council Thursday, he emphasised that MPs would only accept a Brexit deal consistent with the letter and spirit of the 2016 referendum result to leave the EU.

For the hard Brexit faction, the future of Mays premiership is understood in terms of days and weekswith Johnsons leadership challenge gathering pace. Hunt is the second leading Brexiteer to endorse him, after the influential Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Though it is now being suggested that the timetable may be extended, the UK still has just eight weeks to conclude a deal with the EU on their future trading terms. Any agreement must be put to a vote in parliament in the autumn.

For May and her opponents alike, winning the support of the Trump administration for a US/UK trade deal is considered vital in pressuring the EU for a trade dealincluding access to European markets. But the hard Brexit faction is more prepared for conflict with Brussels than May, who is more amenable to demands from the City of London to maintain tariff-free access to the Single European Market (SEM), on which the UK relies for 40 percent of its trade.

Last month, Johnson resigned as foreign secretary, along with Brexit Minister David Davis, to protest the agreement May reached with her cabinet in July seeking continued access to the SEM. He is now in pole position for a leadership challenge expected as parliament returns from its summer recess in September.

After meeting Vice President Mike Pence, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other key figures in the US administration to discuss the foreign policy challenges we face together, Hunt stressed, the United States is our closest ally Our discussions showed real enthusiasm from the US administration, from the President down, for a UK/US free trade agreement to be reached as soon as possible after we leave the EU, something that will benefit businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

Hunt went as far as supporting Trumps launching of trade war measures against the EU, stating, I cant justify why it is that the tariffs are different in one direction compared to the other given that both Europe and the US have similar standards of living.

His US Institute For Peace speech mapped out the geopolitical imperatives of British imperialism, particularly in ramping up hostility to Russia and demanding support from the EU. He denounced Russia for flouting the established rules of international conduct, especially its backing of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, declaring that Russias foreign policy under President Putin has made the world a more dangerous place.

Hunts comments come amid escalating divisions between the US and its European rivals and he portrayed the UK as the most steadfast backer of Washington. He accused Moscow of attempting to assassinate [Russian double agent] Sergei and [his daughter] Yulia Skripal, adding that the UK asks its allies to go further by calling on the European Union to ensure its sanctions against Russia are comprehensive, and that we truly stand shoulder to shoulder with the US.

Provocatively, Hunt declared, The visible advantage that won NATO the Cold War was military capability. The invisible weapon was a rock-solid alliance of like-minded nations that sat behind it. Those shared values meant no opponent was ever in doubt about our red lines.

An enormous amount is being invested in securing the support of a US president who Hunt declared, has not been the isolationist president that many feared he would, at a time when Trumps equally reactionary opponents in the Democratic Party are stepping up every effort to remove him in pursuit of a yet-more aggressive stance against Russia and China.

Moreover, whatever the calculations of May, Johnson and Hunt, the future course of events is not decidedwith the interests of significant sections of the British ruling elite in sharp conflict with Trumps agenda.

Cementing economic ties with China, which Trump has continually denounced as the main obstacle to the economic interests of the US, is a strategic issue for London, post-Brexit.

Earlier this year May visited Beijing and secured commercial deals worth around 9 billion. Last month, Hunts first trip abroad, just three weeks after assuming the position of foreign secretary, was also to China. Ahead of his visit, Hunt declared it an important opportunity to intensify our cooperation on shared challenges in international affairs, ranging from global free trade to non-proliferation and environmental challenges, under the UK-China Global Partnership and Golden Era for UK-China relations.

While grandstanding over Russia, Hunt was noticeably low-key on China, so as not to alienate Beijing, during his US visit.

Hunts endorsement of Johnson only confirms the most fundamental crisis of all facing the British bourgeoisiethe absence of any popular mandate for the pro-austerity agenda shared by the pro- and anti-EU factions of the ruling elite.

Hunt and Johnson are, if anything, more despised by working people than May. For six years from 2012, Hunt was health secretary and enacted policies accelerating the privatisation and break-up of the National Health Service. In 2016, he enforced an inferior contract on 50,000 junior doctors who fought against it in a bitter year-long strike. Their elevation to leadership would only spur the development of militant industrial and political opposition to the Tories.A recent study published by the American Journal of Epidemiology found that service workers in the United States who rely on tips are more susceptible to mental illness than un-tipped employees.

Workers in restaurants, salons, transportation services and other areas tend to be more reliant on tips because hourly wages in these occupations are often the lowest in all sectors. However, the uncertain nature of tips and irregular schedules contributes to higher rates of stress and depression among service workers.

The study found that, in particular, women in tipped service positions had greater odds of reporting a depression diagnosis or symptoms relative to women in non-service work.

The most common signs of mental illness include depression, sleeplessness and chronic stress, which are frequently found in individuals who work the most tiresome and demanding service jobs. Such work requires constant physical and mental activity, often exacerbated by the pressure imposed on workers by managers to meet profit demands.

According to Sarah Andrea, a Ph.D. candidate at the Oregon Health and Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health and the lead author of the study, the higher prevalence of mental health problems may be linked to the precarious nature of service work, including lower and unpredictable wages, insufficient benefits, and a lack of control over work hours and assigned shifts.

Ever-changing work schedules in service industry occupations (as well as in retail, warehouse, and many other part-time positions) have become commonplace within most American companies and undoubtedly cause immense distress among workers. These individuals must juggle personal and family obligations while being straddled with randomly assigned work schedules.

The Economic Policy Institute released a study in 2015 which found that a staggering 17 percent of the labor force must work under precarious schedules.

A 2018 survey conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign of 1,717 Illinois workers found that 20 percent of hourly workers were regularly or often scheduled for on-call shifts, responsible for showing up to work when contacted or else be left without a shift, while over 40 percent said they had to do on-call work at least on occasion. Over a third of the workers get their schedule less than a week in advance, with over 10 percent of respondents stating they received less than one-days notice.

Moreover, tipped and contingent work occupations do not provide the necessary income needed to sustain a family or even one person. Irregular pay and schedules make it impossible for a worker to budget or plan for emergencies.

The consequences of this uncertainty on the mental and psychological health of workers are not hard to understand. According to The Hill, 63 percent of workers believe that the schedules forced on them result in negative health conditions. Two-thirds reported that their schedules interfered with their family and home lives.

A recent study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that workers with irregular shifts and schedules for extended periods had decreased mental strength that interfered with basic daily functioning, such as the ability to reason, think and remember information.

It is striking that the rise in the number of Americans compelled to enter various contingent, low-paying jobs in the gig economy corresponds to the rise in mental illness and fatalities related to it from suicide, Alzheimers disease and drug and alcohol addiction. A report issued in June by the Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) found that between 1999 and 2016, the suicide rate increased by 25 percent. Last year alone, 45,000 people died from suicide. Another CDC report found that more than 72,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2017, a 9.5 percent increase from the previous year.

The large share of workers entering into service occupations as part-time or contingent employees reflects the declining social conditions of workers since the 2008 financial crisis. The Obama administration, in the aftermath of the trillion-dollar bailout of Wall Street, led a frontal assault on the working class that resulted in one of the greatest transfers of wealth from the poor to the rich. Nearly 95 percent of the jobs created during the Obama administration were part-time, contract, on-call or temporary.

The false claims of an economic recovery and the belief that all is well in American society, touted by the Obama and Trump administrations alike, disguises the awful social reality that tens of millions of workers face under the criminal and callous capitalist system. The countrys wealth, concentrated in the hands of a parasitic financial and corporate elite, must be seized by the working class and used to address these pressing psychological, mental and social afflictions.After enduring years of stagnant wages and rising enrollment, teachers and support staff in two districts in the US state of Washington have gone out on strike. School workers throughout most of the state have overwhelmingly authorized strikes if their demands for higher pay and smaller class sizes are not met.

Since May, many school boards in the state have been engaged in negotiations with teacher and support staff unionsalmost all affiliates of the Washington Education Association (WEA), the state affiliate of the National Education Associationon contracts for the school year starting in September. The length of teacher contracts is staggered throughout the state to prevent the emergence of unified struggle of school workers statewide for better wages and conditions.

The unions are working to contain the anger of teachers and isolate and suppress any strikes that do break out. In the teachers strikes earlier this yearincluding in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizonathe unions worked to shut down opposition and prevent it from developing into a broader movement of teachers and the entire working class.

This year, contracts ended for Seattle, and school workers in most of the state are preparing to strike if their demands are not met. While demands vary from district to district, they generally include the demand that some of the additional education funding mandated by the state Supreme Court be used to provide more training, smaller class sizes, and long-overdue wage increases of at least 15 percent and 37 percent for teachers and support staff, respectively.

In a 2012 ruling, the Washington Supreme Court ruled in favor of parents who sued the state on behalf of their children enrolled in public schools in the state, arguing that the state was failing to adequately fund K-12 public education and was thereby violating the states constitution. The Washington constitution dictates that child education shall be the highest priority of the state.

After the state proved unwilling to adequately fund K-12 education, the Court made the unprecedented move of holding the state in contempt. The ongoing saga has forced the state to allocate an additional $7.3 billion in education funding this year at the expense of social programs. Washington has one of the nations most regressive tax structure and a two-thirds majority requirement for new taxes. The state is home to the worlds two richest people, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates.

So far, about 40 contracts have been agreed on and another 200 remain outstanding. Teachers in Woodland purportedly received a 22.82 percent increase in base salary.

Teachers in Longview went on strike Thursday after rejecting an insulting pay offer of 6.9 percent, while teachers in Battle Ground, Washougal, and Vancouver overwhelmingly approved strike action by more than 90 percent after similar intransigence on the part of their respective school boards.

Democrat-controlled Washington, like more conservative states such as West Virginia, has a reactionary law that makes it illegal for public employees to strike.

Strike authorization votes, which have been repeated across much of the state, have left the WEA and its local affiliates scrambling for a means of suppressing the emerging radicalism of teachers and averting a strike.

Longview Education Association president Ray Clift told reporters Thursday: I hope they recognize our first decision was to try to keep this away from our students as much as we possibly can, hence the reason that we started on this in-service day. We want the district to know. We hope it doesnt lean over into the school year, but that will be the districts choice.

Meanwhile, Seattle teachers are demanding pay competitive with teacher pay elsewhere and commensurate with the high cost of living in the city. Most teachers who work for Seattle Public Schools cannot afford to live in the city, with a starting pay of $37,039 for certified teachers. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, anyone earning less than $50,400 in the city last year was considered low-income.

The growth of opposition among teachers in Washington is part of a broader movement of teachers to demand better pay, working conditions and funding for public education throughout the country. The unions are seeking to divert sentiment for a united struggle, as they did in the strikes that erupted earlier in the year.

If they are to succeed, teachers and support staff in Washington must assimilate the lessons of the teacher revolt last spring and take the conduct of their struggle out of the hands of the trade union apparatus. They must form rank-and-file committees to coordinate with United Postal Service workers, Amazon workers, public-sector workers and other sections of the working class.Rail workers employed by transnational companies Transdev and Hyundai Rotem (THR) in New Zealands capital, Wellington, confront another round of attacks on wages, jobs and conditions.

The Labour and Green Party-controlled Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) privatised the Wellington commuter rail service in July 2016 through a 15-year deal with THR to save $100 million at the expense of jobs, wages, penalty rates and conditions.

The companies, abetted by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU), promised workers the same or more favourable terms and conditions as the previous operator Tranz Metro, part of the state-owned KiwiRail.

This has proved to be an outright lie. On July 15, the company discontinued 11 full-time passenger operator positions, further undermining onboard train staffing. Transdev removed these workers from off-peak weekday services, which were increased from half-hourly to every 20 minutes, and weekend services. This has increased workloads for train managers with busy trains, especially on peak-time passenger services.

Transdev has slashed thousands of dollars from its wages bill through staff cuts and stagnant wages. Before the job cuts, passenger operators earned between $18.49 and $19.09 an hour. In the 20142016 Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) between KiwiRail and the RMTU, before Transdev took over, passenger operators were paid between $16.85 and $18.35 an hour. Many workers depend on time-and-a-quarter penalty rates on weekdays, time-and-a-half on Saturdays and double-time on Sundays.

Some full-time passenger operators took voluntary redundancy, with others accepting part-time positions or other duties without regular access to penalty rates. The company has coerced most part-timers, on $17.97 an hour, to do split-shifts. Their regular hours are little more than 40 hours a fortnight, nowhere near enough to keep up with rising living costs.

Fresh contract negotiations are underway for 400 THR rail workers for a new MECA. The 20172018 agreement expired last month after being belatedly ratified on April 9 through an anti-democratic secret ballot in which unreturned voting papers were counted in favour of the agreement.

Two weeks ago the RMTU and THR released a shared claims document for the new MECA. THR proposes a two-year term from July 2018 and a feasible and meaningful wage increase of 1.6 percent. Many rail workers have dismissed the offer as woefully inadequate and insulting, given the increase in workloads and spiralling cost of living.

THR falsely claims it wants to protect workers living standards. Transdev has proposed a relationship charter to enhance collaboration and good faith bargaining with the RMTU and prevent strikes. The last contract round delivered a paltry 2 percent pay increase following a single 24-hour strike on November 16. The union cancelled a second strike after Hyundai Rotem dropped its demand to cut penalty rates for 44 maintenance workers.

The RMTU has called for an increase in penalty rates for those who work on rostered-days-off and ten days sick leave, instead of six. As in previous negotiations, the union has not nominated a specific amount for a pay rise. Union delegates have told workers they are asking for a 4 percent wage increase.

Some of the unions claims from 2017 have been included, such as a laundry allowance for uniforms, a commitment for THR to become a Living Wage employera reference to a bogus campaign by various unions for a minimum living wage of $20.55 an hourand minor adjustments to pay scales, allowances and service progression.

The RMTU is keeping workers in the dark over the negotiations. The unions publication, the Activist, reported on July 2 that it had initiated bargaining with THR. A notice posted in the Wellington staff room on August 20 said employers tabled revised offers at a previous meeting. The union notice provided no details, saying only that another negotiation meeting would be held on August 31. Rail workers have yet to find out when, or if, meetings will be held to discuss or ratify a deal.

The RMTU is preparing to impose another round of attacks on jobs and conditions. On August 9, RMTU general secretary Wayne Butson expressed the unions pro-business position in welcoming the appointment of new chairman for KiwiRail, Greg Miller, former CEO of Toll Group and Tranz Rail. Butson stated its always a pleasure to talk to an employer with experience in our industry, and pledged the RMTU to assist the government and the new KiwiRail governance team in overcoming obstacles to prosperity.

Toll owned the national rail network from 2004 to 2008 and oversaw hundreds of job cuts. The then-Labour government bought back the network, essentially to bail out the company, which was losing money.

The consequences of RMTUs perspective can be seen in Auckland where Transdev is proposing to slash hundreds of train manager jobs through the introduction of driver-only operated (DOO) trains. The unions purported campaign against DOO has gone quiet as further negotiations between the company and the RMTU proceed behind closed doors.

Transport workers are joining other sections of the working class, including nurses, public servants and teachers, seeking to oppose over a decade of austerity measures. Train and bus workers face a political struggle against the privatisations and cost-cutting imposed by successive Labour and National governments since the 1980s, in which the unions have collaborated.

Regional councils manage the delivery of public transport by contracting private operators who profit from the provision of services. The Labour Party-run councils in Wellington and Auckland have played a key role.

Last month, 50 bus drivers in the Hutt Valley took action over excessive workloads and illegal rosters. The GWRC recently awarded the private operator Tranzit 60 percent of the regions bus routes. The move was designed to cut costs by reducing services and attacking drivers conditions.

The Tramways Union, which hopes to pressure Tranzit into talks for a collective agreement, is refusing to mobilise strike action by drivers in Wellington, who face the same conditions as the Hutt Valley workers.

The RMTU donated to Labour and the Greens in the last election and opposes the unification of bus and rail workers in a struggle against the councils and the Labour-led coalition government of Jacinda Ardern.Authorities say a 2-year-old Alabama girl died in south Huntsville after being left in a hot car.

Al.com reports the child died Thursday after being left in a car for what police say was a "lengthy time during the day."

Police say a parent was later driving the vehicle and realized the child was inside.

The exact cause of death has yet to be determined and the investigation was ongoing.

Police said there were no signs of injuries on the child and the death was initially ruled accidental.

An autopsy was scheduled for Friday.Iran unveiled what it described as the country's "first domestically manufactured" fighter jet Tuesday, state-run Press TV reported.

State media aired video and pictures of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the cockpit during its first public display.

Aircraft Armed forces Aviation and aerospace industry Business and industry sectors Business, economy and trade Continents and regions Iran Middle East Middle East and North Africa Military Military aircraft North America The Americas United States Hassan Rouhani Political Figures - Intl

Test flights of the jet, dubbed the Kowsar, took place Tuesday on the eve of the National Day of the Defense Industry, according to semi-official Mehr News Agency. It was unclear whether the jet's first public display flight has yet taken place.

The Kowsar can be used for "short aerial support missions" and is equipped with systems that "promote precision targeting," according to state media.

In a speech during Tuesday's defense show, Rouhani called on the Iranian military to strengthen their readiness in the face of enemy threats, Press TV reported.

"When we say we are ready for defense, it means that we seek the establishment of sustainable peace," Rouhani said.

He called for "the discipline, education, faith, motivation, weapons and readiness of our Armed Forces (to) reach a level that no one would dare to attack us," adding, "Why does the US not attack us? Because it is aware of our power and the cost [that it will entail]."

Iran is currently under economic and diplomatic pressure from a raft of sanctions reimposed by the United States earlier this month, and the unveiling could be seen as a bid to show self-sufficiency and military might in the face of that pressure.

The announcement was made at the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when many Iranians would be at home and more likely to be watching television.

Iran has unveiled several new fighter jets in the last few years. In 2013, the country unveiled the Qahar-313, a new fighter jet that Iran compared to the US F-22 and F-35. But many aviation experts voiced skepticism regarding the design and quality of the build of that plane.

Iran has sent weapons and soldiers to Syria during the country's seven-year civil war in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But the country's air force comprises roughly a few dozen strike aircraft, largely Russian or American planes acquired before the 1979 revolution, according to Reuters.Though a grand jury report released in mid-August details abuse allegations against Catholic clergy in Pennsylvania only, it reignited a firestorm in the global church -- and has prompted church and secular officials in other states to open their own inquiries.

The report revealed that more than 300 "predator priests" had been credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 1,000 child victims over seven decades.

Continents and regions Illinois Midwestern United States North America The Americas United States Belief, religion and spirituality Society Chicago Crime, law enforcement and corrections Crimes against persons Criminal offenses Sex and gender issues Sex crimes Sexual assault Investigations Buildings and structures Churches and cathedrals Northwestern United States Points of interest Religious buildings Wyoming Catholics and catholicism Christianity Northeastern United States Pennsylvania Religious groups Religious leaders and clergy Buffalo New York (State) Scandals Sex scandals Cheyenne Catholic Church sexual abuse Children Demographic groups Families and children Family members and relatives Population and demographics Child abuse Child sexual abuse New York City Law enforcement New Jersey Connecticut

Its authors acknowledged that the cases drove home for them a reality that hadn't set in after other revelations of child sex abuse by Catholic clerics elsewhere.

"For many of us, those earlier stories happened someplace else, someplace away," the report said. "Now we know the truth: it happened everywhere."

Here's a look at the investigations sparked by the Pennsylvania report:

Connecticut

Bishop Frank Caggiano of the Bridgeport Diocese in Connecticut said he has asked an independent firm to conduct a comprehensive review of sexual abuse claims.

Caggiano said that a financial report on settlement amounts for claims for past abuse cases, as well an accounting of financial support being provided to priests accused of sex abuse, will be issued by the end of October.

In a letter, Caggiano recognized "many words have been said" about the sex abuse scandals, and that many were feeling grief, anger and confusion.

"However, words alone are insufficient," the bishop said. "The time for action has come."

New York

The New York attorney general announced a civil investigation into how the dioceses and other parts of the church reviewed and potentially covered up allegations of the sexual abuse of minors.

According to a source close to the investigation, all eight Catholic dioceses in the state were subpoenaed.

Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood's office said the investigation was launched by its Charities Bureau. The dioceses and other parts of the church function as non-profits.

In response to reports of the subpoenas, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York said "it is not a surprise" Underwood's office would begin an investigation, and that the archdiocese and the other seven dioceses were "ready and eager" to cooperate.

The attorney general's office also started a hotline and online form for victims or witnesses of sexual abuse at the hands of priests within the New York dioceses of the Catholic Church.

Underwood's office said an investigator would "review all allegations," and that law enforcement would "seek to protect victims' and witnesses' identities."

The Buffalo Diocese specifically was roiled by old and new abuse allegations after the Pennsylvania report's release. The Rev. Robert Yetter was placed on administrative leave amid an investigation into abuse allegations, according to the diocese.

"After receiving a new abuse complaint against Father Robert Yetter, Bishop Richard J. Malone has asked for and received the resignation of Father Yetter as pastor of St. Mary's of Swormville," the Buffalo Diocese said in a statement Monday. "Father Yetter has also been placed on administrative leave as an investigation continues."

A lawsuit also was filed against the diocese by an alleged sex abuse survivor, who said the diocese and Malone continue to expose the public to "dangerous, predator priests," and have failed to address the issue appropriately.

"The Bishop says the shepherd does not abandon his flock during a difficult time, but based upon his decisions of the past he abandoned the children of this diocese a long time ago and chose to protect his image, and those who committed these horrible crimes continuing to allow them to prey on innocent children," the survivor, Matthew Golden, said in a statement.

Malone had released a statement before the lawsuit's filing, admitting to failures and promising to do better in the future.

"Let me be clear. My handling of recent claims from some of our parishioners concerning sexual misconduct with adults unquestionably has fallen short of the standard to which you hold us, and to which we hold ourselves," he wrote. "We can do better. We will do better."

The diocese did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

New Jersey

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced his office was forming a task force to investigate allegations of clergy sex abuse and any efforts to cover up such actions.

Grewal said in a statement he was "deeply troubled" by the allegations in the Pennsylvania grand jury report, which showed how widespread the abuse and cover-ups were.

"We owe it to the people of New Jersey to find out whether the same thing happened here," Grewal said. "If it did, we will take action against those responsible."

The task force will also review agreements between the state's Catholic dioceses and law enforcement, in which the dioceses were told to create policies "to ensure that their leaders and employees report information to prosecutors about potential cases of sexual abuse" within the church, the statement said, and whether the dioceses complied with those agreements.

Illinois

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced plans to meet with the Chicago Archdiocese after at least seven priests with connections to her state were identified in the Pennsylvania grand jury report.

"The Catholic Church has a moral obligation to provide its parishioners and the public a complete and accurate accounting of all sexually inappropriate behavior involving priests in Illinois," Madigan said in a statement.

The Chicago Archdiocese agreed to meet, Madigan said. The meeting wasn't immediately scheduled.

"I plan to reach out to the other dioceses in Illinois and have the same conversation and expect the bishops will agree and cooperate fully," she added. "If not, I will work with states' attorneys and law enforcement throughout Illinois to investigate."

The Chicago Archdiocese said it was looking forward to the meeting with Madigan.

"Since 2002, the Archdiocese of Chicago has reported all abuse allegations to the proper civil authorities," including to the Department of Children and Family Services, a statement to CNN noted.

The diocese's website also lists the names of clergy with "substantiated claims of abuse against them," the statement said.

Missouri

Missouri's attorney general said his office launched an independent review of the St. Louis Archdiocese and allegations of abuse by clergy "for the purpose of public transparency and accountability," adding that the archdiocese agreed to cooperate.

"Victims of sexual abuse of any kind deserve to have their voices heard and Missourians deserve to know if this misconduct has occurred in their communities," Attorney General Josh Hawley said in a statement. "By inviting this independent review, the Archdiocese is demonstrating a willingness to be transparent and expose any potential wrongdoing."

In a letter to Hawley, Archbishop Robert J. Carlson confirmed the archdiocese would cooperate with the review, saying it "has always taken the protection of children and youth as one of our highest priorities."

"To this end we have always cooperated with law enforcement in any investigation into these matters and we will continue to do so."

The letter also noted that Carlson had gotten a former member of the FBI to review the archdiocese's "safe environment protocols" for children.

"She found our protocols to be appropriate and robust," Carlson said.

New Mexico

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas is asking for documents from the state's diocese in the wake of the priest sex abuse scandal, according to a spokesman for the office.

"Attorney General Balderas has sent investigative demands to all three dioceses in New Mexico requiring full disclosure and full transparency. The Catholic Church in New Mexico needs to fully reconcile and support survivors by revealing the magnitude of sexual abuse and subsequent cover-up by church leaders in order to restore faith and trust in the community," press secretary David Carl said.

In a letter to Archbishop John Wester, Balderas said he was training his efforts on helping the victims of sexual abuse by clergy, because for most cases the statute of limitations prevent criminal charges.

"However, similar to you, I remain committed to "bring(ing) healing and strengthen(ing) protection of the innocent," he wrote. Overall, seeking justice for anyone victimized remains a priority for my office," he wrote September 4.

Oklahoma

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City planned to review the files of every priest who had served since 1960 for "credible allegations of child sexual abuse (that) were reported, substantiated, prosecuted or admitted to," its leaders announced in late August.

Any credible allegation would be turned over to an attorney leading an independent investigation into how the archdiocese handled accusations, a news release said.

The archdiocese also intended to publish the results online, including case specifics, within 10 to 12 weeks, the release said. Another review covering cases before 1960 would follow, it said.

Archbishop Paul Coakley called it a "dark moment" in the church's history.

"It calls for a renewed commitment to vigilance, transparency and accountability from our shepherds and indeed for the whole church," he said. "No matter how painful this process may become, I am committed to reviewing and sharing the specifics of these cases."

Wyoming

In Wyoming, Cheyenne police said they had reopened an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by an unnamed church official, stemming from his time in the diocese from the 1970s through the 1990s.

The Cheyenne Police Department didn't name the church official, but last month, Cheyenne Bishop Steven Biegler said the diocese had learned of "credible and substantiated" allegations that Joseph Hart, a retired Wyoming bishop, had sexually abused two boys.

The investigation of alleged abuse was opened in March, Biegler said in a statement. The police department didn't announce its investigation until mid-August, when it asked for victims or witnesses to share any information.

Hart was a bishop and an auxiliary bishop in the Cheyenne Diocese between 1976 and 2001, according to Biegler's statement. Hart has "consistently denied all allegations that he sexually abused minors" and has said he would cooperate with the investigation.

"I am confident these processes will, in the end, come to a similar conclusion," Hart said in July.

But an outside investigator retained last year concluded that the earlier district attorney's investigation was "flawed," Biegler said, and "substantial new evidence" suggested that Hart had sexually abused two boys in Wyoming.

The diocese later said in a statement a third person had come forward and claimed he had also been sexually abused by Hart in 1980. The allegation was reported to the Cheyenne Police Department, and the diocese is cooperating with the investigation, it said.

Hart declined a request to respond to the accusations when the diocese contacted him as part of its own investigation, according to the Diocese of Cheyenne's statement.Bashar al-Assad thinks he is winning.

The Syrian dictator, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, is responsible for the deaths of more than 500,000 people. UNICEF believes that a full quarter of civilian deaths have been children and minors.

Continents and regions Middle East Middle East and North Africa Syria Bashar al-Assad Deaths and fatalities Europe-Mediterranean migrant crisis Immigration Immigration, citizenship and displacement International relations and national security Political Figures - Intl Refugees Society Syria conflict Unrest, conflicts and war

Many Americans probably think that the war in Syria is over. That is, if they think about the war in Syria at all. But that is far from the case.

Over the past few months, the Syrian government has been rapidly issuing death notices for political detainees, which confirm that many of the war's earliest detainees have been dead for years.

Imagine the agony of families who have lived (if they have survived at all) for years believing their brothers, husbands, fathers or daughters might still be coming home, only to learn they've been long dead.

The flurry of death notices from a usually tight-lipped government also sends an implied message to two audiences. Internally, it indicates to Assad's own people that resistance is futile. As the Washington Post noted, it signals "that it is time to move on while underscoring in grim fashion that he is firmly in control."

But externally, this is a show of Assad's confidence that releasing previously undisclosed death tolls -- possibly tens of thousands of people -- will provoke little reaction from the rest of the world.

As devastating a humanitarian crisis as the Syrian war has been, resulting in not only a genocide of half a million people but also in the displacement of millions more, it seems the Assad regime isn't quite done. The worst might be yet to come.

In August, Assad told Russian media of a new offensive to conquer the crucial northwestern Idlib province, the Syrian opposition's last stronghold in the country.

The province is currently home to nearly three million people, many of whom have escaped other besieged territories. The coming campaign in Idlib could be among the worst yet, prompting the United Nations to warn this month of a potential "civilian bloodbath" that could send 700,000 Syrians across dangerous borders or into the unforgiving grip of the Assad regime.

If the 2016 Aleppo massacre  in which the Assad regime's assault claimed hundreds of civilian lives  was bad, this could be significantly worse.

It's not just because it will likely lead to untold numbers of casualties of innocent civilians, including children, though that's awful enough. It's because it will also result in a new refugee crisis in Europe and bordering states, already over-extended as a result of nearly eight years of Syrian diaspora.

There is also precedent for Assad's head fake. He trumpeted a "turning point" in the war back in April of 2014, praising his army's achievements.

The following year, a refugee boy named Aylan Kurdi washed up on a beach in Turkey, symbolizing what authorities called the worst European refugee crisis since World War II. And one year after that, the months-long slaughter in Aleppo.

Now Assad seems to be sending the message that he's won the war again. We shouldn't believe him.

He's presumably hoping no one will notice that the death toll continues to rise. But President Trump, who has repeatedly called for safe zones in Syria and has taken measured action against Assad's brutal chemical weapons attacks, should. And he should call for Assad to stand down on his Idlib offensive, not just for the safety of Syrian civilians but for all of Europe.

President Trump should also reconsider his stated desire to withdraw from Syria until Syrians have reached a political solution and ISIS is completely eradicated from the country. Pulling troops out any sooner would be dangerously premature.

Congress, too, must notice the ongoing devastation. In 2017 Democrats and Republicans introduced a bill called the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act that would impose new sanctions on Assad and his backers. It would also add support for the prosecution of war crimes over the course of this crisis. It passed the House unanimously and now it's time for the Senate to pass it and the President to sign it.

Similarly, we, like so many others, are deeply troubled by President Trump's cancellation of more than $200 million in Syrian stabilization funds last week. Such funds are an important tool to complete the work of our armed service members who have fought ISIS alongside local partners.

ISIS has shown that it is capable of surviving defeats on the battlefield by breaking up into cells, melting into the population, and feeding on instability. Support for Syrian stabilization efforts is a low-cost method of denying ISIS part of its ability to regroup.

Estimates for the cost of rebuilding war-torn Syria are upwards of $200 billion.

It's in everyone's interest to make Syria livable again for its millions of displaced families. But it should come with strings attached. The No Assistance for Assad Act, which the House passed in April, would deny Assad any of these reconstruction funds unless specific conditions, many involving the protection of human rights, are met.

With important and competing news breaking in our own backyards, it's easy to see why Americans may have forgotten about the crisis in Syria. But Assad has not and, make no mistake, he isn't done slaughtering his own people yet. It's too late to save the 500,000 who have already lost their lives, but it's not too late to stop the coming offensive in Idlib, which will, by all estimates, be horrific.

Assad is hoping we don't care. We must prove him wrong.Asia Argento, one of the #MeToo movement's most prominent figureheads, has been accused of sexual assault. According to the New York Times, in the months after she was named by Ronan Farrow among the women allegedly raped by Harvey Weinstein, Argento agreed to a settlement of $380,000 for her own accuser, a young musician and actor called Jimmy Bennett.

Argento played Bennett's mother in 2004's "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things," and the pair had remained in sporadic contact since. The documents sent to the NYT included a photo of Argento lying down with Bennett in 2013, when Bennett claimed they had sex. At the time, Argento was 37, and Bennett had just turned 17. The age of consent in California is 18, meaning that if the pair did have intercourse then, it would be defined as statutory rape. Argento said her financial arrangement with Bennett was covered by her then boyfriend, the late TV chef Anthony Bourdain.

Asia Argento Business figures Celebrities Crime, law enforcement and corrections Crimes against persons Criminal offenses Demographic groups Discrimination Females (demographic group) Feminism Gender equality Harvey Weinstein Jimmy Bennett Population and demographics Sex and gender issues Sex crimes Sex discrimination Sexual assault Sexual harassment Societal issues Society Time's Up movement

Some, including Weinstein's own attorney and men's rights activists who came to his defense, argue that Bennett's accusation, and the financial agreement between Bennett and Argento, have called the #MeToo movement into question. Bari Weiss of the New York Times wrote this week: "Women are hypocrites. Women are abusers. Women are liars. Just like men."

Twitter has lit up with people from all sides decrying Argento and #MeToo, exacerbated by inconsistencies in her account of events. But while this might plunge her into murky waters, the same isn't necessarily true of #MeToo.

First, it is necessary to make the distinction between movement and person. Civil rights activist Tarana Burke, a founder of the #MeToo movement, tweeted on Monday: "I've said repeatedly that the #metooMVMT is for all of us, including these brave young men who are now coming forward. It will continue to be jarring when we hear the names of some of our faves connected to sexual violence unless we shift from talking about individuals, and begin to talk about power."

She continued: "Sexual violence is about power and privilege. That doesn't change if the perpetrator is your favorite actress, activist or professor of any gender."

As Burke says, this is a question of principles, not of people. Bennett's story has raised several themes that deserve further scrutiny, not least the shame male victims of sexual assault feel about coming forward.

His affectionate messages to Argento apparently after their encounter also merit discussion, as long as some still attempt to make the case that continuing a cordial relationship with your abuser nullifies their abuse (it doesn't).

Furthermore, Bennett's assertion that seeing Argento speak out publicly against Weinstein triggered upsetting memories for him will also sound familiar to many who have seen their abusers lauded for their apparent good principles.

The idea of a "perfect" victim is a strange one. Perpetrating a crime doesn't inoculate a person against being a victim later, and an abuser's guilt should not be contingent on a victim's aggregate innocence.

This is why crimes are tried by courts according to the law -- they are not a zero sum game of responsibility shifted from individual to individual. Weinstein's attorney Ben Brafman told TMZ after the story surfaced: "This development reveals a stunning level of hypocrisy by Asia Argento, one of the most vocal catalysts who sought to destroy Harvey Weinstein."

Brafman added: "What is perhaps most egregious, is the timing, which suggests that at the very same time Argento was working on her own secret settlement for the alleged sexual abuse of a minor, she was positioning herself at the forefront of those condemning Mr. Weinstein."

But Ben Brafman and his fellow #MeToo decriers can't have it both ways. If Argento has done wrong and is to be held accountable, everyone else who has committed sexual assault must be too.

Weinstein, who also is facing criminal charges in New York, has denied all allegations of "non-consensual sexual activity."

To "victimise" Weinstein and paint him as an aggrieved party both diminishes Bennett's pain if his claims are true, and insults Weinstein's own victims.

Weinstein's alleged crimes against Argento aren't rendered "less than" by the accusations leveled against her, and neither are the traumas of the women and men who have been encouraged by her and others to speak out. To imply that they are so feels like a sinister expansion of the old "she was asking for it" defense -- the suggestion is: "she had it coming."

The worst reaction to Bennett's accusations against Argento would be to shy away from them because they feel tricky. If they are true, that doesn't invalidate #MeToo. It demonstrates the need for it.

The entire point of the movement is to hold power to account, and to stop those who have power taking advantage of those who have less. It has shaken up a complacent status quo that assumed that simply because someone is famous, or rich, or influential, they are above scrutiny. Asia Argento shouldn't be protected by association any more than Harvey Weinstein apparently was for so many years. If #MeToo was about the blind idolatry of people, it could be in trouble now. But it isn't, it's about the exact opposite.STARKVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - A teenager from Louisville is the second person to be arrested following a recent shooting at an apartment complex in Starkville.

Police say Tyler Smith, 19, was taken into custody Friday on an attempted murder warrant.

A judge set his bond at $250,000.

Smith is accused in the August 16 shooting at The Block Townhomes on South Montgomery Street where, according to witnesses, Bobby Spratt was shot four to five times.

They say he was visiting his girlfriend at the time of the shooting.

Carson Clement, 19. of Eupora, was the first arrest in the case. He was arrested Wednesday in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and is charged with attempted murder as well.TALLAHASSEE, FL (WWSB) - Accusing them of ignorance and bigotry, a federal judge this week excoriated Florida corrections officials for refusing to accommodate a transgender inmate, despite the prisoners repeated suicide attempts and persistent requests to wear bras and panties and to have access to womens grooming items.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Wednesday ordered the Florida Department of Corrections to continue providing hormone treatments to Reiyn Keohane, who was born a male but began identifying as female at age 8 and started wearing womens clothing, makeup and hairstyles at 14, according to court records.

The judge also ordered the state to allow Keohane, who had begun hormone therapy before she started serving a 15-year sentence for attempted murder in 2014, to wear womens undergarments and have access to grooming items available to female inmates.

After Keohane sued the Department of Corrections and several prison officials, including Secretary Julie Jones, in 2016, she was allowed to resume the hormone treatments. But prison officials continued to refuse to allow Keohane, who is incarcerated at the all-male Walton Correctional Institution, to wear womens undergarments, let her hair grow or groom as a woman.

The hormone therapy is causing feminizing changes to Keohanes body, but she is forced to live outwardly as a man in ways that, though seemingly banal to some, strike at the heart of what it means to be perceived as a man or woman, Walker wrote in a blistering, 61-page order.

Walker in a footnote explained that he used female pronouns when referring to Keohane out of respect for the inmate.

The judge chastised Jones and the department for being indifferent to the prisoners needs, scolding that if Ms. Keohanes treatment in defendants custody isnt deliberate indifference, then surely there is no such beast.

Defendants deliberate denial of care --- that is, the denial of access to female clothing and grooming standards despite its knowledge of her diagnosis and her history of self-harm --- has caused Ms. Keohane to continue to suffer unnecessarily and poses a substantial risk of harm to her health, he wrote.

Walker accused state officials of providing shifting explanations for the denial of hormone treatment and access to such things as female clothing.

The case is about whether the law, and this court by extension, recognizes Ms. Keohanes humanity as a transgender woman, Walker wrote.

The answer is simple. It does, and I do, he went on.

Department of Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Glady said the agency is reviewing Walkers order but would not specifically say whether Keohane is currently allowed to wear bras and panties and groom as a woman.

The department provides constitutionally mandated health care to all inmates in our custody, to include any treatment deemed medically necessary by a doctor, Glady said in an email.

Keohane, who is now 24, was formally diagnosed at age 16 with gender dysphoria, a psychiatric diagnosis that generally refers to discomfort or distress that is caused by a discrepancy between a persons gender identity and that persons sex assigned at birth, according to court records.

Keohane repeatedly requested to be allowed to socially transition and to resume hormone therapy, after entering the prison system in 2014.

Instead, prison officials several times forcibly shaved Keohanes head after she protested the agencys hair-length policy, which requires men to wear their hair above the ears, according to court records. Prison workers also confiscated her self-made bras and panties.

These disciplinary actions have almost always contributed to the feelings of anxiety, disgust, and hopelessness accompanying Ms. Keohanes gender dysphoria, leading her to consider or attempt to harm herself, Walker wrote, including Keohanes account of an attempted self-castration. Ultimately, defendant has chosen an easier course of treatment to maximize uniformity, and ease security concerns, by ignoring the substantial risk of harm to Ms. Keohanes mental health that results from denying such minor accommodations as panties and access to defendants female grooming standards. This ends now.

Last year, Keohane and corrections officials reached an agreement in which her hair would not be forcibly cut pending entry of judgment on the trial of this case, Daniel Tilley, an American Civil Liberties Union of Florida attorney who represents Keohane, told The News Service of Florida. The law firm DLA Piper also has represented Keohane.

The ruling powerfully explains to prison and jail officials across the country why they need to provide this basic health care to transgender inmates in their care, Tilley said.

Keohanes hormone therapy stopped in 2013 after she was arrested and locked up in a Lee County jail. Because Keohane wasnt on the treatment when she entered the prison system, corrections officials denied her request to resume hormone therapy, a policy Walker referred to as freeze-frame language.

Prison officials argued that the legal challenge is moot because they have since dropped the freeze-frame policy.

But Walker said the state couldnt be trusted to stick to its revised protocol.

The fact that the freeze-frame policy was only applied to inmates with gender dysphoria doesnt mitigate the absurdity of such an approach, which Walker found was unconstitutional.

Indeed, this targeting only reinforces this courts suspicion that bigotry and ignorance swayed defendants decision making for treating (or, rather, not treating) Ms. Keohanes gender dysphoria, the judge wrote.

After denying Keohane hormone therapy for two years, the corrections department began providing the treatment after she sued the state, a move that particularly riled Walker.

The prolonged denial of hormone treatment constitutes deliberate indifference to Keohanes medical condition, Walker found.

In another footnote, Walker wrote that Department of Corrections chief of security operations, James Upchurch, was downright baffled over the differences between transgender people, gay people, and people diagnosed with gender dysphoria when testifying during the trial.

Upchurch --- who admitted he had never heard of gender dysphoria before the case --- said, I dont think there are a lot of people out there who know or would know who is what, and I dont think there are a lot of inmates out there who really know if they are one or the other.

Department of Corrections chief medical officer Timothy Whalen also earned Walkers wrath. Whalen testified that the corrections department isnt implementing treatment standards, such as social transitioning, recommended by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, or WPATH.

And Whalen, the departments chief doctor, wasnt shy about his qualms with WPATH Standards, or other mainstream medical organizations that rely on the standards, Walker wrote, quoting Whalens trial testimony.

Its the only process that Im aware of where we go against nature to help somebody. And while Im trying to grasp that, I still have trouble making that leap, Walker quoted Whalen as saying. The judge also wrote that Whalen thinks theres a possibility gender dysphoria just doesnt exist at all.

Walker scolded corrections officials for delays, rigidities, and shifting explanations in response to Keohanes request for social transitioning.

For example, the three members of her treatment team concluded there was nothing they could do about Keohanes request to wear female undergarments because they believed corrections officials security policies prohibited such treatment.

Given the severe constraints placed on self-expression inside prisons, the only way for Keohane to express her gender identity is through pronouns, undergarments and grooming, Walker wrote.

Shes simply asking defendant to see her and treat her as she is; namely, a woman stuck in a male body thats stuck in a cage for the foreseeable future. Even defendants own expert agrees that allowing for social transitioning is a compassionate part of Ms. Keohanes treatment plan, he wrote. Ms. Keohane is not an animal. She is a transgender woman. Forthwith, defendant shall treat her with the dignity the Eighth Amendment commands.Remarks: This came out in 2021. It has not charted (yet). Amazingly, this is the first time I have posted a song with Brandy in it. The song sounds and loo...

1 day agoSource: Xinhua| 2018-08-24 20:46:39|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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A truck drives in flood water in India's southernmost flood-hit Kerala state, Aug. 22, 2018. According to media reports, the death toll in the devastating floods has reached 370. (Xinhua/Zhao Xu)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- As the biggest annual festival "Onam" goes on in India's southernmost flood-hit Kerala state, the state government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the victims get basic life support without delay.

Though the state government has officially cancelled Onam celebrations this year, people in unaffected, or less-affected areas, could be seen in festive spirit as colourful lightening were visible on houses or shopping complexes along the road stretches connecting one of the worst affected districts Alappuzha to state capital Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday night.

According to media reports, the death toll in the devastating floods has reached 370. Besides, 33 people are still missing.

Efforts are on to provide special facilities at relief camps till the flood-hit houses become habitable, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, after visiting relief camps at flood-stricken areas of Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Thrissur on Thursday.

Immediate measures have been taken to remove slush and silt from flood-hit houses and to rebuild the damaged ones.

Plans are on the anvil to provide interest-free bank loans to rebuild or refurnish the damaged houses in order to make them habitable, said the chief minister while briefing media persons in Thiruvananthapuram late on Thursday.

He announced that loans up to 100,000 Indian Rupees (1,428 U.S. dollars) will be provided to the female head of the family, and its interest will be borne by the government. A special food and rehab kit, including five kg rice, will be distributed to those who return home from relief camps, after proper sanitation.

Currently there are 1,040,688 people belonging to 278,781 families staying in nearly 2,774 relief camps, which are mainly set up at local schools and colleges.

Steps are being taken to restore electricity in the flood-hit area. Of the 50 substations, which were affected by the deluge, 41 started functioning by Friday. Of the 16,158 transformers affected during the flood, 13,477 have been recharged and of the 2.6 million power connections which were disrupted, over two million have been restored.

The sanitation drive is also on, and as many as 37,626 wells and 60,593 houses were cleaned till Thursday, and arrangements have been made to bury the animal carcasses in a bid to prevent spread of any epidemic.

Meanwhile, the state Fisheries Minister Mercykutty Amma announced a special package of 25 million Indian Rupees (around 357,000 U.S. dollars) to compensate the losses of fishermen who were engaged in the rescue operations. Notably, the first help to the flood victims came from the fishermen from nearby areas, before the military and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel could reach.

The partially damaged boats would be repaired on war-footing and completely damaged ones would be replaced within a prescribed timeframe, said the minister.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 00:07:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Friday that the authorities will carry out a strategy to deal with economic problems in Lebanon, the presidency's website reported.

"The economic situation in Lebanon requires serious efforts but solutions have become more palpable now," he said during his meeting with Lebanese expatriates in Baabda.

Aoun emphasized the need to look positively at circumstances prevailing in Lebanon today.

"We are a secure country and we are not bankrupt," he said.

He added that tourists have also increased in Lebanon this year.

Aoun said he is aware that Lebanese expatriates are making serious efforts to survive in Arab countries in the midst of the sensitive situation prevailing in the region in addition to conflicts taking place among these countries.

"But Lebanon does not take sides in any conflict taking place among Arab countries," he said. "We are distancing ourselves from any conflict," he added.

Meanwhile, Wael Tawile, secretary-general of the expatriates' sector, said that Lebanese expatriates have faced so many challenges by living outside Lebanon in a bid to support their families and their country's economy.

"We call upon Lebanese authorities to preserve security and stability in Lebanon," he said.

He added "no matter how successful we are outside Lebanon, we need to come back to our country one day and we are ready to invest and use our skills to benefit Lebanon."

According to the Lebanese International Business Council, there are between 11 and 13 million people from Lebanon or of Lebanese descent worldwide of the Lebanese diaspora.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 00:37:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GENEVA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, expressed "alarm" Friday at the latest escalation of violence in already volatile and Ebola-hit North Kivu province in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

"The cumulative effect of conflict and the outbreak of the deadly disease is threatening millions of Congolese," said UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic at a UN briefing for journalists.

The fighting involves a number of armed groups operating in the area and has intensified in all six territories in North Kivu, a province bordering Rwanda and Uganda in the central African country.

UNHCR said thousands of civilians have fled their burned-out villages, bringing reports of brutal attacks.

"The already dire humanitarian situation has been further aggravated by an outbreak of Ebola virus in parts of the province. The disease has killed more than 60 people and infected dozens more in recent weeks," said Mahecic.

The UN agency said it estimates that more than a million people are displaced in North Kivu. This is the highest concentration of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the DRC.

It is particularly worried about the deteriorating situation in the Ebola-hit northern territory of Beni. The area is home to some 1.3 million people.

"Spiralling conflict has left the population living there virtually in a state of siege since October 2017," said Mahecic.

The UN has reports of increased human rights violations and says restrictions of humanitarian access are frequent.

Estimates are that more than 100 armed groups are active in the province, continually terrorizing the population.

Despite a large-scale military offensive of the Congolese Army against one of the main rebel groups, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) since January, there has been no let-up in the violence, said UNHCR.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 01:12:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ROME, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Italian Economy and Finance Minister Giovanni Tria will visit China next week, in his first official trip outside Europe since he was appointed in early June.

The minister will be accompanied by a large business delegation, and by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, Fabio Panetta, the Economy Ministry said in a note on Friday.

"Minister Tria's mission in China follows that of president of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, last year," the statement read.

"The goal is to further strengthen the ties between the two countries, which could enjoy a mutual benefit from an increase in economic, financial, and commercial relations," it added.

Minister Tria's visit would aim at boosting Sino-Italian ties from both a multilateral and bilateral perspective, the statement specified.

Several meetings with China's institutional representatives, and with financial and monetary authorities, were to take place during the visit in both Beijing and Shanghai.

Tria would be received by his Chinese counterpart, Finance Minister Liu Kun, and would hold talks with the Governor of the People's Bank of China, Yi Gang.

"Italy and China share a desire to maintain a spirit of collaboration in the orderly development of the global economy, and have an interest in cooperating to defend the financial markets' stability," the ministry's statement also read.

In his six-day trip, Tria would meet local authorities in Shanghai, and representatives from the Italian and the Chinese business communities there.

Italy's President Mattarella paid a state visit to China in February last year, followed by then Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in May. Finally, Italian Foreign Minister with the previous government Angelino Alfano met with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing in December 2017.

Earlier this week, Italy's Economic Development Ministry (MISE) announced the launch of a "Task Force China" aimed at strengthening bilateral trade and investments.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 07:28:59|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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LAGOS, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Military authority in Nigeria has confirmed the death of many heinous and notorious armed bandits in an encounter with troops in northwest Zamfara State.

Spokesperson for the Defense Headquarters (DHQ) John Agim told reporters on Friday in Gusau, the state capital, that over 6,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home in the restive state.

Agim said the return of peace and security in Maradu, Shinkafi and Zurmi local government areas led to the massive return of the IDPs to their respective villages.

The defense spokesperson told reporters that farming and other economic activities had picked up again as bandits no longer had freedom to operate in such areas.

He said Zamfara which was once bedeviled by incessant killings due to banditry, cattle rustling, kidnappings and armed robbery was now assured of safety of lives and property.

He said with the support of air task force, the Operation Sharan Daji (OPSD) had recently launched series of air strikes against bandits' hideouts and camps.

According to him, the military operation had successfully neutralised a large number of armed bandits and destroyed their camps.

He said the momentum would be sustained, and that the tempo in the fight to wipe out criminalities in the state would also be increased.

Hundreds of people have been killed in attacks linked to cattle-rustling gangs in the northwest Nigeria's Zamfara state this year alone.

The state has witnessed several killings by armed bandits despite the deployment of soldiers there.

Cattle raiding has recently become a major crime in Nigeria, with the northern part of the most populous African country being the hardest hit.

Recently, security agencies in Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara states said they were collaborating to tackle criminality in their areas of operation.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 08:20:46|Editor: zh

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Visitors look at Chinese artworks displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the United States, on Aug. 24, 2018. The exhibition "Children to Immortals: Figural Representations in Chinese Art" showcases more than 130 pieces of art in diverse media format from Song dynasty to Qing dynasty. (Xinhua/Lin Bilin)Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 09:24:10|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's banking and insurance regulator has warned against illegal fundraising under the cover of virtual currencies and digital assets.

Certain companies have raised money through trade of so-called virtual currencies and digital assets, and these were not based on blockchain technology but on illegal fundraising activities, according to a statement jointly issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and four other agencies.

These so-called "financial innovation" activities are actually Ponzi schemes that cannot be sustained as they lure in investors and pay profits to earlier investors using funds obtained from newer investors.

The commission urged the public to hold a rational attitude toward blockchain technology and increase their awareness of risks.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 09:39:11|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BRASILIA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Argentinian and Brazilian representatives on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding to begin merging vehicle production regulations of both countries.

The agreement established the "Working Group on Automotive Technical Regulations" to evaluate the technical regulations both countries adapt, including those controlling vehicle security, energy efficiency and gas pollution.

According to Brazilian Minister of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services Marcos Jorge, the agreement is an important step in promoting the merging of both countries' automotive industry regulations.

"It means that our teams, from both sides, will begin work to converge motor vehicle regulations," he said.

The Brazilian minister noted that the automotive sector represents 4 percent of the country's GDP and that this memorandum will attract more investment into the industry.

The eventual aim is to expand the agreement to other countries, including members of the Pacific Alliance, a sub-regional trade bloc in South America with member countries of Peru, Colombia, Chile and Mexico, he added.

The representatives expect the merging of security rules, which include 31 items, to be completed in six months.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 09:54:13|Editor: Liangyu

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Guests and contestants pose for photos after the final round of Northern Vietnam of the 11th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Aug. 24, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Di)

by Tao Jun, Bui Long

HANOI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- "My student has already secured a berth to the Chinese Bridge final in China," read a status posted on Friday on a social network by a Vietnamese man.

The post from Do Trinh, a teacher of Chinese language at Hoang Van Thu Specialized High School in Vietnam's northern Hoa Binh province, immediately received hundreds of responses from both friends and strangers.

One of his 12th grade students, Nguyen Thi Ha Ngan, on Friday won the first prize at the 11th Chinese Bridge, a Chinese proficiency competition for Vietnamese high school students held in the capital city of Hanoi.

Ngan and the special prize winner named Nguyen Ha Dung, a 12th grade student at the Foreign Language Specialized School in Hanoi, will attend the final round of the international Chinese Bridge in China in October.

Do Trinh's endless efforts of giving Chinese lectures for years at his school and at free short training courses have eventually paid off. "I feel very proud now. Please come to our school to see our achievements in Chinese teaching and studying with your own eyes," he told Xinhua on Friday.

Many Vietnamese people, both elderly and young, have expressed their deep interests in the Chinese language. For them, having a good command of Chinese brings them not only joy but also opportunities.

Most of contestants and their supporters at the competition on Friday told Xinhua that they like Chinese naturally, mostly due to great similarities between Vietnam and China in many aspects, and that the language's proficiency will open up big opportunities for them to win scholarships to further study in China and have good jobs after graduation.

"The special prize today has made not only my daughter happy, but also my family and her school happy. She started to study Chinese late, in her 10th grade, while her elder sister began learning Chinese earlier, in the 3rd grade," Pham Thi Ha, mother of Nguyen Ha Dung, told Xinhua on Friday, failing to hide her pride in her eyes and voice.

Ha said she hopes her daughter to attend a university in Vietnam first, and then pursue further studies in China and to be successful in her career like Dung's sister.

"Dung's sister today successfully defended her thesis for her master's degree. She is teaching Chinese at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam," the mother said proudly.

Like Dung and her sister, many young people in Vietnam love studying in China.

Nguyen Dang, an 11th grade student at Bac Giang Specialized School in the northern province of Bac Giang, said the Chinese Bridge is one of the driving forces for him to study Chinese well and then to pursue higher education in Beijing.

"My class has 36 students, of whom 20 specialize in studying Chinese and they are keen on further studies in Beijing. I specialize in studying English, but I can speak Chinese too," Nguyen Anh Dinh, a 12th grade student at the Foreign Language Specialized School in Hanoi, told Xinhua on Friday, while cheering the Chinese Bridge's winners.

Not only high school students but also university students are fond of attending the annual competition and receiving scholarships to study in China. On Friday, many university students came to the University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), which hosted the 11th Chinese Bridge, to support and cheer contestants.

"I came here to support contestants from the Tran Phu Specialized School (in the northern city of Hai Phong). I started learning Chinese three years ago. Now I am studying international business economics at the Foreign Trade University," Nguyen Hoang Khanh Lam, a freshwoman at the Foreign Trade University in Hanoi, told Xinhua.

"I have been to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou and realize that the Chinese cities are very civilized and modern, while people there are very friendly. After graduation, I want to get a master's degree in China or work in the field of import and export between Vietnam and China," said Lam, who believed that investment and trade ties between the two countries are becoming better and better.

Vietnamese students' thirst for knowledge and good command of Chinese, and their aspiration for further studies in China have been verified by local educators and experts.

"I was surprised at many contestants' proficiency of Chinese language, their knowledge of China, and their cultural talents shown through their answers, speeches, singing, dancing and other performances," Nguyen Hoang Anh, director of the ULIS-Sunwah Chinese Teaching and Research Center under the University of Languages and International Studies, a member of the competition's judging panel, told Xinhua after the competition.

According to the director, more and more Vietnamese students are studying Chinese because many people speak the language, which offers them a wide range of opportunities to make connections and eventually make life better.

"The Chinese Bridge is a good playing ground for young lovers of the Chinese language to make friends and make stable steps in their career paths," Anh said, pointing her hand to the backdrop of the competition stage, which featured a short sentence written in both Chinese and Vietnamese: "Studying Chinese - having friends everywhere."Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 10:09:15|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- One year ago, hundreds of thousands Rohingya began fleeing killings, rape and the burning of villages and crossed into neighboring Bangladesh. They are still there in crowded make-shift refugee camps waiting to go back home in Myanmar.

The United Nations Friday marked the occasion by issuing another appeal for their aid, with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) leading the way, calling for support for the stateless Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and for their generous hosts.

It is estimated that there are 1 million Rohingya refugees in Southeast Asia.

The Rohingya are Bengali speaking ethnic South Asian Muslims in an overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar.

The latest wave of refugees into the Cox's Bazar district in southernmost Bangladesh was touched off by violent reaction to the deadly Aug. 25, 2017 rebel Rohingya attacks on Myanmar government security posts.

"Kutupalong settlement in Cox's Bazar today shelters more than 600,000 refugees, making it the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world," said the UNHCR.

"Over the past year, UNHCR teams have been working to support Bangladeshi authorities in areas including psycho-social counseling, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, family counting, identification of and assistance to separated and unaccompanied children and other vulnerable refugees," the agency said.

It also said the joint response plan launched in March 2018, appealing for 951 million U.S. dollars for the period from March to December 2018, is only one-third funded.

The World Health Organization said that the biggest challenge is the need to further scale up services to meet the complex, evolving and long-term health needs of this highly vulnerable population amidst a funding shortfall that also threatens to undo the gains and progress made so far.

While so many in Kutupalong were flooded out or wallowed in mud caused by monsoon rains beginning in June, the International Organization for Migration said another cyclone season looms at the end of September, and severe funding shortages threaten delivery of vital services.

And, UN agencies were not the only international organizations renewing appeals for the refugees.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, described conditions he recently encountered while visiting the refugees.

"When I visited Myanmar and Bangladesh this July, I met people living in misery," he said.

"All communities -- Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu -- told me how the social fabric and local economy have been destroyed," Maurer said. "Unfortunately, since my visit we have not seen tangible improvements for those displaced or the few who remain in Rakhine."

Jan Egeland, a former UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the Rohingya refugees are living in limbo.

"We urgently need to scale up the support. The international community must shoulder more of the enormous responsibility that the Bangladeshi authorities and local communities have taken on, as well as show persecuted Rohingya refugees they are not forgotten," Egeland said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 10:54:24|Editor: zh

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KAMPALA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- As African leaders head to China for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) early next month, Uganda's Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa said the notion of "a community with a shared future" is critical for Africa-China ties.

Kutesa told reporters here on Thursday at a joint press conference with the Chinese ambassador to Uganda that China and Africa share the same aspirations for the wellbeing of their peoples and the growth of their economies.

The Ugandan government shares with China the same principle of multilateralism as opposed to unilateralism, he said, acknowledging globalization as an irreversible trend.

Uganda opposes economic protectionism, he said, hailing the notion of "a community with a shared future" as the future for Arica and China as well as that for mankind.

Ambassador Zheng Zhuqiang said the China-Africa relations have always weighed heavily on China's diplomatic agenda.

He said Africa is an indispensable partner in China's new endeavor to build a global community with a shared future.

"When China develops well, Africa can develop smoothly. When Africa develops smoothly, China can develop better," Zheng said.

He said topics to be discussed at the upcoming Beijing Summit include Chinese capital, technology, equipment, talents, Africa's natural resources, market potential, and others.

The summit scheduled for Sept. 3-4 will be held under the theme, "China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Co-operation."

Zheng said that in the last nine years, China has been Africa's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in 2017 topped 170 billion U.S. dollars, 17 times higher than where it stood in 2000 when FOCAC was just launched.

Zheng added that in the last 18 years, Chinese investment in Africa has grown from scratch to a cumulative 110 billion dollars.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 11:19:26|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will mark a key fresh start and bring a leap in China-Africa ties, according to Sudanese Ambassador to China Ahmed Shawer.

Leaders of China and African countries will definitely adopt a comprehensive resolution based on consensus, Shawer said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

He confirmed that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will lead a high-level delegation to the Beijing Summit and Sudan will work with China to ensure a success of the summit.

Shawer suggested that a strengthened China-Africa community of shared future would contribute to the cause of the China-proposed vision of "building a community with a shared future for humanity."

With huge population and abundant resources, "China-Africa cooperation will have a considerable influence on the overall development of human beings," said Shawer.

He stressed that in contrast with protectionism practiced by some countries at the moment, China's reform and opening-up policy has brought the country economic prosperity and social progress.

Therefore, Chinese experiences in promoting reform and opening-up are valuable not only to developing countries but also to the whole world, said Shawer.

"African countries will benefit most from the transfer of China's technology in boosting economy," he said.

Shawer spoke highly of the Belt and Road Initiative, identifying it as a wise, inclusive, and mutually beneficial plan in the interests of all mankind.

It will complement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the development plans of individual countries, which will lead to its success, said Shawer.

Based on the friendship and shared interests between China and Africa, Sudan and other African countries will be China's partners in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, he added.

While recalling the steady development of China-Africa ties in the past, Shawer stressed that China's foreign policy is not associated with hegemony or colonialism, but based on mutual benefit, win-win cooperation, mutual respect and mutual understanding.

To demonstrate that, "the Sudan-China relationship is the best example," said Shawer.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 11:49:29|Editor: Chengcheng

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday condemned "in the strongest terms" the killing of a peacekeeper in the Central African Republic (CAR).

The Burundian soldier with the UN peacekeeping mission in the CAR was killed Thursday in an attack in the southeast of the country.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the family of the peacekeeper killed, as well as to Burundi and to the UN peacekeeping mission known as MINUSCA, the Security Council said in a press statement.

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms all attacks, provocations and incitement to violence against MINUSCA by armed groups and other perpetrators, the statement said.

The council members reiterated that attacks against peacekeepers may constitute war crimes and reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law.

They called on the CAR government to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The council members reiterated their full support for MINUSCA and expressed their deep appreciation to the mission's troop- and police-contributing countries.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 11:54:30|Editor: Liangyu

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Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2018 shows the site of the fire accident at a hot spring hotel in Songbei District of Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A hotel fire that broke out in Harbin on Saturday morning has left 18 people dead, the provincial fire department confirmed. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

HARBIN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A hotel fire that broke out in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Saturday morning has left 18 people dead, the provincial fire department confirmed.

The deadly fire occurred early Saturday at a hot spring hotel in Songbei District of the city, said a source with th provincial fire department.

The rescue work is continuing. Cause of the fire awaits further investigation.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 12:39:36|Editor: Chengcheng

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UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned the killing of a peacekeeper in the Central African Republic (CAR).

The Burundian soldier with a UN peacekeeping mission was killed Thursday in an attack believed to be by the anti-Balaka militia.

Guterres offered his deepest condolences to the family of the deceased peacekeeper, as well as to the government of Burundi, said Stephane Dujarric, the secretary-general's spokesman, in a statement.

The secretary-general said that intentionally directing attacks against UN peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and that sanctions can be applied against the perpetrators, the statement said.

The UN chief urged the CAR authorities to investigate the attack and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

Guterres reaffirmed his support for the UN peacekeeping mission in the CAR to protect civilians and stabilize the country, the statement said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 12:49:38|Editor: Chengcheng

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SAN SALVADOR, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- El Salvador's newly-established diplomatic ties with China have generated "great hope" for increased cooperation and development opportunities, a Salvadoran official said.

Roberto Lorenzana, press secretary to President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, spoke with Xinhua about the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

On Tuesday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Salvadorean Foreign Minister Carlos Castaneda signed a joint communique in Beijing, establishing diplomatic relations.

Though the announcement was made earlier this week, the process began as early as 2009, said Lorenzana.

"So it is not a sudden development, but (the result) of several years of dialogue. Things gradually matured until reaching complete maturation and the right conditions to make the announcement," said Lorenzana.

El Salvador's establishment of ties with China, he noted, is an extension of a regionwide trend to build ties with China, including the China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum.

"I think the fact that other regional countries similar to ours have also established ties with China created a much more favorable environment for El Salvador," he said.

China's successful development sets a model for other developing nations which are willing to learn from its experience, Lorenzana said.

"We are anxious to make progress on talks to strengthen trade and investment. We are very interested in promoting investment. El Salvador has free trade agreements with 41 countries, so Chinese investment in our country implies taking advantage of these accords," he said.

Boosting trade, cooperation and investment are El Salvador's priorities, and the government is working on ways to attract more Chinese investors, as well as tourists, he said.

As political dialogue, cultural exchanges and economic cooperation expand, El Salvador's relationship with China will make a "strategic leap," Lorenzana predicted.

Establishing diplomatic ties "is a pragmatic political decision to go with the times, to move forward in history," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 12:59:39|Editor: Chengcheng

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VANCOUVER, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Hailed as "father of Chinatowns" in Canada, Dr. David Chuenyan Lai has for weeks been commemorated by friends and colleagues following his passing away on June 15.

Born in 1937 in Hong Kong, Lai moved to British Columbia in 1968 and became a professor of geography at the University of Victoria. He maintained a lifelong passion for preserving the history of Chinese Canadians.

Facing racism himself when he first arrived, Lai spent four decades documenting and sharing the history of Chinese Canadians and the development of Canada's Chinatowns, especially in Victoria and Vancouver.

"Dr. Lai had visited more than 40 Chinatowns in the USA and Canada," said Bobbie Jia, who has worked with Dr. Lai since 2011 co-writing a book on Chinese immigrants in Canada.

She called Lai a kind and generous man, as well as a prolific researcher.

"Dr. Lai published more than 300 academic papers and more than 10 books," she said, looking down at several photographs of Lai spread out on a table. "Many people call him the father of Chinatowns."

Dr. Lai received his PhD from the London School of Economics. After teaching in Hong Kong, Dr. Lai took a position at the University of Victoria, where his career spanned 35 years.

It was in Victoria that Dr. Lai began to research and write about the city's Chinatown, the oldest in Canada.

"David, like a lot of our colleagues around here, wanted to give... a greater presence of the contributions of Chinese Canadians," said Jan Walls, professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and a longtime friend of Lai.

Lai became directly involved in preserving elements of Chinese history in Victoria.

In 1981, he led the erection of the Gate of Harmonious Interest at Victoria's Chinatown. He also saved plaster pieces from the walls of an old immigration detention center in Victoria on which a Chinese poem was written.

Meanwhile, Lai was also an advocate for cultural diversity in Canada.

"He was very proud of the multicultural legacy of Canada," said Paul Crowe, an SFU professor. "He felt that if more people were educated about the role of Chinese in Canada, that education would eliminate some of the ignorance that supported tensions and frictions between Canadians of different backgrounds."Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 13:24:41|Editor: zh

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by Zhu Ruiqing, Tang Lu

COLOMBO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Wu Tianqi, a Chinese university student, originally planned to come to Sri Lanka this year as a tourist just to admire the country's natural beauty, but soon found that it would be more meaningful to be a volunteer for a local turtle conservation project.

"In this way, I could learn more about the country and also serve the cause of turtle conservation," she told Xinhua. "This is the kind of experience I would never have as a sightseeing tourist," she said.

Wu then headed for the Turtle Conservation Center in the southern town of Balapitiya, 90 km south of capital Colombo. Thousands of Chinese volunteers have worked here, having helped save 18,000 sea turtles in past years.

Sri Lanka's long coastline is a natural gathering place for sea turtles. But today, the number of the marine "living fossils" is dramatically decreasing.

The survival rate among baby turtles is extremely low. Only one turtle could be successfully hatched among 1,000 turtle eggs.

In recent years, the survival of turtles has become more and more difficult. Smuggling, entanglement in fishing nets, and the mushrooming of beach resorts all threaten the newly-hatched turtles.

Apart from the low survival rate, the sex ratio of the newborn sea turtle in Sri Lanka is very unbalanced.

Zoya, turtle protection researcher at the center, told Xinhua that the sex of the baby turtle is not determined by the chromosome, but by the temperature.

When the temperature in the bunker exceeds 30 degrees Celsius, the turtle eggs will hatch females, and when the temperature is below 30 degrees Celsius, it will be a male turtle.

Today, global warming is making the sex ratio of sea turtle in Sri Lanka extremely disproportionate, with female sea turtles far more than the males.

Therefore, how to properly adjust the temperature of the bunker becomes crucial to the survival of the sea turtles.

A Chinese volunteer at the center told Xinhua that the temperature of the bunker could be adjusted by means of changing the thickness of the sand, regularly replacing it with new sand to ensure air circulation, and putting up some obstructions on the beach.

In order to prepare baby turtles for the wild, the staff at the center always place the newborns in ponds with seawater, and check their fragile shell, before returning them to the nature.

The Balapitiya Turtle Conservation Center not only offers shelter to baby turtles, but also serves as hospital for sick turtles. With broken limbs and legs, disabled turtles who may find it difficult to survive in the wild, could live in the nursery till the last second of their lives.

Although the work seems repetitive, burying turtle eggs in safe sand, preparing food for the turtles, bathing them and cleaning the beaches every day, the volunteers could always find pleasure in it.

Nowadays, the turtle nursery receives Chinese volunteers coming all year round.

Mi Wenwen, a popular writer in China, also participates in the sea turtle protection in Sri Lanka with her 10-year-old son.

"The time spent at the center teaches our children the knowledge about sea turtles and also makes them realized the importance of protecting the environment," she said.

Xiao Rongpan, founder of the volunteer management team "Yike International Volunteers," said that since 2016, more than 2,000 Chinese volunteers have worked for the sea turtle conservation project here.

"Participating in the turtle protection project contributes to the protection of the environment, animals and nature," Wu Tianqi said, adding that "we will not get the sense of accomplishment we achieved here from conventional tourism."Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 13:44:44|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday exchanged congratulatory messages with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Masoum, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In his message, Xi said the two countries have enjoyed a sound momentum in developing bilateral ties and steadily promoted cooperation in various fields through joint efforts.

The two countries announced the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2015, which opened a new chapter in the China-Iraq friendship and brought new opportunities in bilateral ties, Xi added.

Xi said he highly values the development of China-Iraq relations and is willing to work with Masoum, taking the opportunity of the 60th anniversary, to strengthen the synergy of development strategies within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, conduct mutually beneficial cooperation and deepen the strategic partnership, so as to better benefit the two countries and two peoples.

For his part, Masoum said Iraq and China have witnessed remarkable development in bilateral relations in recent years, as well as great progress in economic and trade cooperation.

Iraq is willing to comprehensively expand bilateral ties in a way that benefits both peoples, and promote security, peace and development of the two countries and the region, Masoum added.

On the same day, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also exchanged congratulatory messages with his Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi.

Li said China is ready to work with Iraq to continuously consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation within the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, so as to bring more benefits to the two countries and two peoples.

In his message, Abadi said Iraq is willing to continuously strengthen bilateral ties, upgrade cooperation and expand new cooperation fields to achieve common interests and expectations.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 13:49:45|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. Navy official said Friday that the U.S. 2nd Fleet will expand its operation space past the Arctic Circle and reach close to Russia.

"A new 2nd Fleet increases our strategic flexibility to respond - from the Eastern Seaboard to the Barents Sea," Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson said aboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush, which is currently at Norfolk in the U.S. state of Virginia.

"Second Fleet will approach the North Atlantic as one continuous operational space, and conduct expeditionary fleet operations where and when needed," Richardson said.

The U.S. 2nd Fleet, which traditionally covers the Western Atlantic, was deactivated in 2011 after the Pentagon decided it was too expensive to sustain a fleet to cover an area that has remained largely peaceful.

Richardson in May announced that the Pentagon will reconstitute the 2nd Fleet, and with his latest signal Friday the fleet is set to play a bigger role in the U.S. Navy.

Vice Admiral Andrew Lewis, commander of the 2nd Fleet, said that the expansion of the fleet is an embodiment of the national defense strategy released earlier this year, which stressed "great power competition."

Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work told U.S. media that to bring U.S. warships to Russia's doorstep will curb its ability to maneuver its submarines in open water, which can threaten the U.S. Navy.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 14:34:50|Editor: ZD

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by Shristi Kafle

KATHMANDU, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Amid many restaurants in King's Way, one of the most modern streets in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, a newly launched restaurant with robots as waiters has become the talk of the town lately.

Under the slogan "Where food meets technology," the Naulo Restaurant (naulo means new in Nepali language) operates with the help of five robots, three named Ginger and two named Ferry, designed and manufactured by the Nepali hands.

These robots are developed by Paaila Technology, a Nepali company established by six young engineers, specializing in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

"Naulo is the first digitalized robotic restaurant not just in Nepal, but also in South Asia. We believe that our robot is one of the most advanced service robots in the world which is user friendly and very easy to operate," Binay Raut, CEO of Paaila Technology and Naulo Restaurant, told Xinhua.

The restaurant has menu implanted in digital screen in table from where orders can be placed directly in the kitchen. After dishes are ready, the robots collect them from the kitchen counter and serve the customers automatically.

This is the first time in the Himalayan country that any restaurant has used "Made in Nepal" robots as service provider, with fully digital services filled with innovative technology.

According to the company established in December 2016, these robots are up to the international standards and have high degree of superiority in the current market as a Nepali product.

27-year-old Raut, who completed engineering studies in India and Britain, said "we travelled to different countries including China and Japan to learn about the design, framework and operation of robots before launching it in Nepal. Now, our target is to introduce this Nepali innovation into international market."

To start with, Paaila Technology has registered a company in China, and is currently working to penetrate into the Chinese market followed by global market.

According to the young engineers, Nepali hand-made service robots are not limited to merely being a fancy attraction, but have industrial and commercial values due to innovative capabilities and quick operations.

"Our service robots have more features as compared with other robots of the world while the manufacturing cost is cheaper. So, we are quite hopeful that we can compete with the international products very soon," 26-year-old Rabin Giri, co-founder of Paaila Technology, told Xinhua.

Robot Ginger is powered with swarm intelligence, speech recognition, natural language processing, auto-dock ability, among others. The robot also cracks jokes while answers the basic IQ questions in both English and Nepali language.

"Robots have not just replaced some manpower, but also have saved time," according to Giri, who completed electronics and communication engineering studies from Nepal's Pulchowk Engineering College.

Paaila Technology entered the hospitality sector after the operation of its first humanoid robot named Pari stationed in a local branch of Nepal SBI Bank.

Pari has been deployed in the digital branch of the bank known as inTouch branch, which functions as a source of information and guides customers. The first humanoid commercial robot started the work by greeting customer with "Good afternoon. Welcome to Nepal SBI InTouch."

According to the bank officials, the robot received a good feedback from customers, due to which the bank was encouraged to use the second advanced robot manufactured by the same company within few months.

Paaila Technology has spent around 15 million Nepali rupees (134,568 U.S. dollars) for research and development in last few years.

Now, the members believe that the time has come to taste the fruits of hard work as they have been receiving demands from hospitality and banking sectors.

"The service robots can bring a revolutionary change in the hospitality industry and commercial sectors. Thus, if we received positive feedback from the mass here at home, nothing can stop us to extend the reach of Nepali skill to the world," Raut said.

For now, Naulo Restaurant is struggling to cater to the high flow of customers especially in the evenings and on weekends, as the robots have attracted people from all walks of life and of all age groups to experience the new technology.

Sabita Bhandari, who was dining in the restaurant with a friend, told Xinhua that "I felt amazing to be served by robot instead of waiter. The robot is polite and friendly as well. It's a nice experience."Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 14:39:52|Editor: zh

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Photo taken on Aug. 25, 2018 shows the site of the fire accident at a hot spring hotel in Songbei District of Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A hotel fire that broke out in Harbin on Saturday morning has left 18 people dead, the provincial fire department confirmed. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

HARBIN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A hotel fire that broke out Saturday morning in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has left 18 people dead, the provincial fire department confirmed.

The deadly fire started at 4:36 a.m. Saturday at Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel in Songbei District. It was put out at 7:50 a.m.

During the search, firemen cleared the area twice, finding 18 bodies and sending 19 people injured to hospital.

Further investigation is underway.

The Ministry of Emergency Management has urged all-out efforts in the resue and investigation, and sent a work team to Harbin to guide the site work.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 15:04:58|Editor: Li Xia

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BANGKOK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's southern coastal province of Phang Nga has been declared a zone of disaster over torrential rains.

Phang Nga provincial governor Sitthichai Sakda said on Saturday that the southern province on the coast of the Andaman Sea, about 760 km south of Bangkok, has been declared the zone of disaster caused by heavy downpours in the last few days.

All seven districts ashore have been considerably damaged by flashfloods and mudslide.

Only the coastal province's island district Koh Yao has been spared the natural disaster so far, according to the provincial governor.

Authorities have scrambled to provide relief and evacuate flood victims in low-lying areas, he said.

Phang Nga's neighboring southern provinces such as Ranong, Phuket and Krabi have been put on alert for similar disasters likely caused by heavy rain during the current monsoon season.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 15:14:59|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's virtual reality (VR) market is expected to continue rapid growth in the next few years, an industry expert has said.

The VR market will likely exceed 90 billion yuan (about 13.1 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020, with compound annual growth rate of over 120 percent, said Wang Peng, deputy head of China Center for Information Industry Development with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

China's VR market expanded 164 percent year on year to reach 16 billion yuan in 2017, data showed.

"The MIIT will continue to support the research and development of core technologies of VR, and set up industry-wide standards to promote the applications of VR," Wang said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 15:25:00|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities have called for enhanced support for developing traditional medicine of ethnic minority groups, in a document released recently by 13 departments.

While noting the increasing need for ethnic minority medicine, the departments proposed more efforts in intensifying construction of infrastructure for ethnic minority medicine and enhancing the use of ethnic minority medicine in medical and healthcare services.

They also proposed great efforts for protecting and stepping up research in ethnic minority medicine, and for working out evaluating standards conducive to advancing mass production of ethnic minority medicine.

"Developing industries related to ethnic minority medicine can help turn resource advantages into economic strength and will be beneficial to upgrading the industrial structure in areas inhabited by people of ethnic minorities, increasing jobs and income of local farmers and herders," said Zhao Wenhua, an official with the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Thirty-five ethnic minorities in China have systematically collected their own traditional medicine, yet the development of traditional medicine of different ethnic minority groups remains unbalanced and requires innovation.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 16:10:08|Editor: Li Xia

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A blame game has begun between India's two southern states - Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the cause of the devastating floods which claimed nearly 370 lives and left over 1.3 million people homeless in Kerala.

The government of Kerala told the country's apex court - Supreme Court of India, on Friday that the floods occurred because its neighboring state Tamil Nadu released water from its Mullaperiyar dam.

The sudden release of water caused an "overload" in the Idukki reservoir, in Kerala, downstream and water had to be released, Kerala said in an affidavit in the Supreme Court, filed in response to a petition that wanted a reduction of water level at the Mullaperiyar dam.

In its petition, Kerala stated that it had repeatedly suggested to Tamil Nadu to "gradually" release water from Mullaperiyar dam, but the latter did not pay heed to it.

Tamil Nadu contended that it released water on Aug. 16, nearly a week after floods situation erupted in Kerala, which was battered by torrential rains since Aug. 8 that partly led to the worst ever monsoons in a century.

In its counter-affidavit submitted before the apex court, Tamil Nadu government stated that the volume of water released from its Mullaperiyar dam to Idukki dam in Kerala was far less than the quantity exceeded by Idukki and Idamalaiyar dams (in Kerala).

The next date of hearing is scheduled for Sept. 6.

Meanwhile, those affected by the deluge said water suddenly gushed into their homes in the wee hours of Aug. 15 when they were still asleep, and that there was "no prior warning" from the state administration.

K.A. Jose, a resident of Chengannur area of flood-affected Alappuzha district, told Xinhua that he and his wife heard water coming into their home on the night of Aug. 14-15, first through the sewerage system and then from beneath the doors.

His house is located on the banks of Pampa river which is connected to Kakki and Pampa dams situated in the state.

But the state's Water Resources Minister Mathew Thomas said they had issued the warning through television and radio media alerting the people about the impending floods.

"We had issued floods warning on the night of August 14-15, but then everything happened so fast," the minister told Xinhua.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 16:30:14|Editor: Li Xia

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CANBERRA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two of Australia's big four banks have been accused of criminal offences over their treatment of superannuation customers.

In a submission to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, Michael Hodge, senior counsel assisting the commission, recommended that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) face criminal charges.

The CBA is Australia's largest bank while NAB is the second largest.

According to Hodge, CBA knowingly breached superannuation laws 13,000 times when it failed to move 13,000 superannuation members to low fee, no commission accounts before the Jan. 1, 2014 legal deadline.

Hodge recommended that NAB knowingly broke the law 84 times between 2014 and 2017 over failing to notify the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australia's finance sector watchdog, that it charged customers fees for services it never delivered.

"It is submitted that this behaviour indicates a disregard on behalf of the NAB Group for members of the relevant superannuation funds, for regulators and for the law," Hodge told the commissioners, as detailed in the commission's preliminary report, which was published on Friday evening.

The bank has already begun paying 90 million Australian dollars (65.9 million U.S. dollars) back to 300,000 superannuation customers who were wrongly charged the fees.

According to the report, Hodge was also critical of ASIC and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the banking regulator, over how they performed their duties.

"The approach of neither APRA nor ASIC to regulation of superannuation entities is sufficient to achieve specific or general deterrence," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 16:50:17|Editor: Li Xia

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TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday urged unity among the Iranians to overcome the existing economic problems in the country.

"Today, we experience one of the arduous and difficult days due to the enemies and foreigners' plots," Rouhani said in the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic republic in the south of capital Tehran.

"We should all help each other. It would be an unforgivable sin if the government is left alone" in the face of difficulties, he said with reference to the existing and impending U.S. sanction pressures on the country's economy.

"With no doubt, we are able to tackle the problems thanks to our solidarity and unity," he was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

Washington left the Iranian international 2015 nuclear deal in May and vowed to reimpose sanctions on Iran, which had been relieved under the deal.

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reimpose sanctions on Iran's financial transactions that involve U.S. dollars, Iran's automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.

The second batch of U.S. sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector and central bank will be reimposed in early November. Trump has warned that those who do not wind down their economic ties with Iran would "risk severe consequences."Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 16:55:19|Editor: Liangyu

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China sends twin BeiDou navigation satellites into space via a single carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 25, 2018. (Xinhua/Liang Keyan)

XICHANG, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday successfully sent twin BeiDou navigation satellites into space on a single carrier rocket.

The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 7:52 a.m.. It was the 283rd mission of the Long March rocket series, said a source of the launch center.

The twin satellites entered orbit more than three hours after the launch. After a series of tests, they will work together with 10 other BeiDou-3 satellites already in orbit.

The twin satellites were developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 17:10:22|Editor: ZX

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SHANGHAI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A Shanghai court has given a domestic help service agent an eight-year prison term after finding her guilty of organizing stowaways from the Philippines to China.

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court said the owner of the domestic help service agency firm, who was only identified by surname as Liu, had organized 24 Filipino maids holding 14-day tourist visas or under transit visa exemption to work for Chinese employers.

The court said Liu's firm introduced the maids to enter China via the ports of Qingdao, Guangzhou and Shanghai from February to September 2017, and dispatched them to employers in the cities of Beijing, Chengdu and Xi'an.

Liu confessed to the court that the firm made 350,000 yuan (about 51,400 U.S. dollars) in profit from the business.

In addition to the prison term, the court deprived her of her political rights for two years and fined her 200,000 yuan.

There is a growing demand for foreign household helpers, especially those from the Philippines, who have won a good reputation in Hong Kong.

Cities like Shanghai and Guangzhou have started pilot programs to issue legal work permits to address demand.

In March, a Filipino was the first to receive such a work permit in Shanghai. With an expat community of 170,000, the metropolis has a big demand for English-speaking maids.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 17:30:26|Editor: ZX

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HONG KONG, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- "It's a milestone in Hong Kong's transportation. I'm looking forward to visiting the station and its facilities," said Hong Kong resident Mr. Wan, who had waited for more than two hours to get tickets to visit the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station, terminus to the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL).

The West Kowloon Station will be open to public next week before the Hong Kong's first XRL section, which will link Hong Kong with the mega high-speed rail network of the mainland, starts operation on Sept. 23. A large number of Hong Kong people lined up to get free-admission tickets for visit on Saturday.

Wan and his wife were among the early birds who arrived at the distribution point in Heng Fa Chuen on the Hong Kong Island as early as 6 a.m. local time to get the tickets. The first ticket was handed out at around 8:30 a.m., half an hour earlier than originally planned to facilitate the crowd flow.

The MTR finished distributing all 20,000 tickets before noon.

"I'm curious about how the station really looks like," said elementary student Attalas Lam, who said he was interested in railways and it was worth the waiting time even though he needed to get up much earlier than he did during school days.

A shopping mall in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories of Hong Kong, was another ticket distribution point also with swarming crowds.

Mrs. Wong and her family fetched their tickets after lining up for 1.5 hours.

"My son is fascinated with railways and that's why I'm here," said Wong, a working mom from the tourism sector, who expected the XRL to bring more tourists to Hong Kong.

The cross-border high-speed railway will offer direct services to 44 mainland destinations, among which 38 to be long-haul.

Frank Chan, secretary for transport and housing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, said earlier that the commissioning of the XRL can enhance the long-term development opportunities for sustainable growth in trades including tourism, commerce and professional services.

Lau Kook Yuk, 78, was excited about the West Kowloon Station visit. She told Xinhua that she had always wanted to travel to Beijing and the high-speed railway was a better option for her besides taking a flight.

Lau, a retired teacher, also hoped the XRL would encourage more young people in Hong Kong to travel across the mainland so as to learn more about the development of the motherland.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 18:05:39|Editor: ZX

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TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran's navy commander said that the country's homegrown submarine will come on stream by March 2019, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

The manufacturing process of Fateh (Conqueror) has already finished and the submarine is now undergoing laboratory and field tests, Navy Commander Hossein Khanzadi told Tasnim.

Iran is also planning to manufacture the second upgraded version of the military watercraft, said Khanzadi.

The second version of Fateh will be much better, he said, adding that the Iranian submarines will serve as the "powerful subsurface fleet" in Iran's southern waters for effective deterrence purposes.

The fact that Iran has the technical know-how to manufacture submarines indicates that the country has no limitations in producing other military equipment, he stressed.

On Thursday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Ali Reza Tangsiri as the new commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' (IRGC) navy.

Khamenei said the decision for the appointment has been made with regard to the new commander's "commitment, competency and valuable experiences."

He also called on Tangsiri to push for promoting the training skills and upgrade the maritime equipment.

Khamenei has underlined to promote security of the region through the cooperation with other regional countries, refuting the presence of non-regional forces.

Khamenei has also called for the enhancement of the Iranian naval forces' presence in international waters and expanding the navy's power in balance with the merit of the Islamic establishment.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 18:30:43|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign ministry on Saturday expressed regret over the cancellation of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

From the South Korean side, it was sorry for Pompeo's "delayed visit" to the DPRK, the ministry said in a statement.

The statement said it would be significant to continue to seek ways to make talks between the DPRK and the United States contribute to the common goal of the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization and the permanent peace settlement.

It came after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

"Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future," Trump tweeted. "In the meantime, I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon," he added.

Following the cancelled visit, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha had a phone talks with Pompeo, who explained in detail to the top South Korean diplomat about the reasons for the "delayed visit," according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Kang told Pompeo that it was sorry for the "delayed visit" as the international community had lots of expectations for it, proposing to continue efforts to denuclearize the peninsula and build permanent peace while maintaining a dialogue momentum.

The ministry said South Korea would take the appointment of Stephen Biegun as the new special U.S. envoy to the DPRK as an opportunity for strengthening consultations further with the United States.

Pompeo said Thursday that he and Biegun would travel to Pyongyang next week "to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."

The top U.S. diplomat had visited the DPRK three times in April, May and July, respectively.

Trump said on Aug. 20 that he would "most likely" meet with top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un for a second time, and he believed Pyongyang had taken specific steps toward denuclearization.

In a joint statement issued after the June 12 DPRK-U.S. summit in Singapore, Trump committed to providing security guarantees for the DPRK, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the peninsula.Photo taken on Aug. 22, 2018 shows the Memory Table created for the condolence book in honor of late former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the Accra International Conference Center (AICC) in Accra, captial of Ghana. Annan died on Aug. 18 in Switzerland, at the age of 80. (Xinhua/Francis Kokoroko)

by Justice Lee Adoboe

ACCRA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Ghana is to honor late UN secretary-general Kofi Annan with full state burial, President Nana Akufo-Addo announced on Friday.

In a discussion with Annan's family, Akufo-Addo proposed September 13 for the burial and funeral rites.

The global peace icon died last Saturday at a hospital in Bern, Switzerland, after a short illness, family sources had said.

The president also added that the body of Annan would be interred at a new military cemetery at the Burma Camp, with the state financing every cost.

"This is a state funeral so the responsibility for the arrangements is for the Ghanaian state. Your bit is to mourn, but you will not have any of the financial burdens involved in organizing such a thing; that will be borne by the state of Ghana," the president assured the bereaved family.

The family had also announced on Thursday that there would be two separate ceremonies in New York and Geneva in honor of the former UN secretary-general.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 18:55:48|Editor: Li Xia

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YANGON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Vice President U Myint Swe has called for efforts to promote export and manage import regulation for trade balance in the country, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Saturday.

The vice president stressed the need to boost export of marketable domestic goods and reduce import of goods excluding essential commodities at a Friday meeting between the private sector development committee and entrepreneurs.

U Myint Swe called for joined efforts with local small-and-medium enterprises for import substitution and imports of goods under regulations to see trade balance in the country.

Private sector takes up over 80 percent of Myanmar's total trade value.

According to official figures, the country's total foreign trade has reached 13 billion U.S. dollars, of which the private sector accounted for 85.47 percent as of Aug. 10.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 19:00:49|Editor: Li Xia

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COLOMBO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe left for Vietnam on Saturday to attend an Indian Ocean conference which is scheduled to be held in Hanoi on Aug. 27-28, the Prime Minister's Office said.

The 3rd conference, themed "Building Regional architectures," is expected to promote strategic cooperation and trade ties between regional countries, consolidate security frameworks and administrative processes, and contribute to regional peace, stability, development and connectivity.

The two-day conference will draw 250 attendees from 43 countries and territories.

Wickremesinghe is scheduled to address the inaugural session on Aug 27.

The prime minister was accompanied by Sri Lanka's Minister of Youth Affairs, Project Management and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayake.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 19:20:54|Editor: Liangyu

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by Xinhua writer Zhang Dailei

EDINBURGH, Britain, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Taking the newly-launched direct flight from Beijing to Edinburgh, and using Chinese mobile payment platform WeChat Pay to purchase tickets to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Chinese tourists feel their holiday trips to Scotland this summer are more convenient and enjoyable.

"We are the first tourism business in Scotland to take on WeChat, so we are now at the very leading edge," David Allfrey, Chief Executive and Producer of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, told Xinhua.

Visiting China many times, Allfrey is not only looking forward to strengthening cooperation between his Military Tattoo and Chinese art groups, but also has a good understanding of the Chinese consumption preference.

With his support, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo reached an agreement with WeChat last year to become the first institutional user of the service in Scotland.

Starting from this summer, Chinese audiences can use WeChat to pay for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo tickets and souvenir.

"What we are watching is a increasing number of Chinese visitors coming to Tattoo, buying tickets on WeChat. That's fantastic and it means that they are able, even they don't speak English, they can totally engaged and enjoy it. This is good for anybody," said Allfrey, who has been the producer of Tattoo since 2011 and plans to bring the world famous show to China in 2020.

"We now have official accounts in WeChat and Weibo, starting to tell the story of Tattoo in Chinese social media, which is very exciting and amazing," he added.

In Scotland, under a China Ready project initiated three years ago by Edinburgh Tourism Action Group(ETAG), tourism businesses like Military Tattoo are joining the league to better prepare themselves for the influx of additional Chinese visitors, especially after the first direct flight from China to Scotland, starting June this year.

Edinburgh, which is already the most popular UK destination for Chinese visitors after London, wants to improve its tourism sector to ensure that Edinburgh is positioned as one of the UK's premier China-friendly destinations, according to ETAG.

The figures offered by the tourism promoting agency VisitScotland show that Edinburgh Castle alone welcomed over 170,000 Chinese nationals in 2017, accounting for 10.4 percent of total visits to the Castle.

Total spend by Chinese visitors to Scotland has increased by 414 percent, from 7 million pounds to 36 million pounds since 2007.

Continuous growth of the Chinese visitor market to Edinburgh presents an opportunity for the city's tourism sector.

Chinese visitors in Edinburgh now can see Chinese welcoming signs on doors of many stores. In almost every Scottish wool or Scotch whisky store along the downtown Royal Mile, Chinese customers can seek help from at least one Chinese-speaking sale assistant.

The city's leading visitor attractions, hotels and information centers are offering Mandarin "Welcome to Edinburgh" Guide which was first published last year, and more tourism businesses are considering catching up with Chinese spending and payment trends.

These services are provided based on careful surveys which showed the five most common requests by Chinese tourists are free WiFi, Chinese payment facilities, kettle in room, city map in Chinese and availability of Chinese restaurants and food.

ETAG Chair Robin Worsnop said: "Our research shows that 50 percent of Edinburgh's Chinese visitors also visit the Highlands; and 38 percent head to Glasgow. With numbers like these and the first-ever direct flight arriving from China, there is never been a better time for Scotland's tourism businesses to get China-Ready."Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 19:30:56|Editor: Li Xia

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DHAKA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A head-on collision between a passenger bus and a hauler in Bangladesh's northwestern Natore district on Saturday evening left at least 13 people dead and two injured, a senior police official said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 19:35:58|Editor: Li Xia

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STOCKHOLM, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) --- The giant Hyalomma tick, which can become three centimeters long and can bite humans and transmit serious pathogens, has for the first time been spotted in Sweden, Swedish Radio reported on Saturday.

The Hyalomma is a genus of hard-bodied ticks that is common in Asia, Europe, and North Africa and can also be found in Southern Africa. According to researcher Giulio Grandi it has been found to carry a hemorrhagic fever virus.

"They are very quick and they are hunters so they do not wait for their prey but actively look for a host to attack. When they are filled up with blood they can grow to become two or three centimeters long. They are giant ticks," Grandi told Swedish Radio.

Grandi works at Sweden's National Veterinary Institute, which is running a research project over several years in order to investigate how infectious diseases are affected by the changing climate. The institute asked members of the public to send in both living and dead ticks and it has received around 2,000 specimens so far.

During the month of August alone, three full-grown Hyalomma ticks were sent in to the Institute from Landskrona in southern Sweden, Nykoping in the southeast, and Koppom in the southwest. The giant tick has never before been spotted in Sweden and one theory is that the ones found this month may have made it over via migratory birds.

Ann Albihn, who is an associate professor at the National Veterinary Institute and a professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, said there have been other surprising findings during the research project. For instance, ticks of different kinds have been sent in from 90 percent of all municipalities within the northern region of Norrland.

"There are strong indications that there are more ticks in the far north and in Sweden's northern mountain region than previously believed," Albihn said.

Albihn added that the likelihood of being infected with hemorrhagic fever from the Hyalomma tick is very low, as is the likelihood that the giant tick will establish itself in Sweden in the short-term. However, depending on future changes in the climate, the Hyalomma tick may develop "a new trick" to handle the tougher Swedish climate, Albihn warned, suggesting it may for instance learn to winter indoors.

"The ones that manage to adapt are the ones that survive," said Albihn.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 19:35:59|Editor: Li Xia

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RAMALLAH, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Officials of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) condemned Saturday the U.S. decision to cut its financial aid to the Palestinians by over 200 million U.S. dollars.

The U.S. decision indicated that the real aim behind its financial aid to Palestinians is to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, said Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the PLO.

"By cutting its aid, the United States is determined to abandon its international obligation, as it has previously abandoned international legitimacy decisions, especially pertaining to Jerusalem and refugees, and all other final status issues," said Erekat.

U.S. President Donald Trump declared Friday to cut nearly all the financial aid which had been allocated to projects for the Palestinians during 2017, including money for humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.

The U.S. administration said it has decided to redirect the aid to other projects elsewhere.

Hanan Ashrawi, member of PLO Executive Committee, criticized the United States for using the "cheap blackmail" as a political tool.

"The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion. The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," she said.

Husam Zomlot, head of the PLO delegation to Washington, said that the Trump administration is "dismantling" decades-long U.S. vision and engagement in Palestine.

"After Jerusalem and UNRWA (UN refugee body), this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minister) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda," he said.

Last December, Trump declared to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, sparking a global outcry and concern over further destabilizing the Middle East region.

At the beginning of this year, Trump announced a substantial cut on aid to the UNRWA, leaving the humanitarian organizations on the verge of collapse.

"Only a recommitment of the U.S. administration to the long-held U.S. policy of achieving peace through the two-state solution on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, and respect for international resolutions and law will provide a way forward," Zomlot added.

The Palestinians have boycotted the U.S. so-called "deal of the century," put forward by Trump, saying it is far from their expectations and aspirations for a lasting and just peace settlement.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 19:56:04|Editor: Li Xia

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ISTANBUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- As the Syrian army prepares to retake the Idlib province from radical groups, analysts are warning about Turkey facing the threat of mass migration and dealing with armed rebels who may also attempt to cross the border into Turkey.

Turkey is confronted with a huge problem that is almost impossible to settle in a fully satisfactory way, Haldun Solmazturk, a former army general, told Xinhua.

Having largely cleared other parts of the war-torn country from radical Islamist rebels, the Syrian army has recently reinforced troops around Idlib, the last major bastion for radical jihadists in Syria.

The province is home to an estimated population of 2.5 million, among it around 50,000 armed rebels.

It is widely argued that many rebels would at some stage flock to the Turkish border or areas under Turkish troops' control in northern Syria after the Syrian army offensive begins.

"Possible Turkish efforts to send the rebels to their countries of origin would fail as no country would admit them since they are seen as terrorists," said Solmazturk, who chairs Incek debates at the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute.

According to some estimates, foreign fighters may make up as much as around half the rebels in Idlib.

Ilhan Uzgel, an analyst on international relations, thinks Turkey will have to face a certain wave of migrants from Idlib in any scenario.

"Turkey will bear the burden of this migration while radical rebels who may disguise as civilians among the migrants would pose a serious threat," he told Xinhua.

In the view of Solmazturk, the only way for Ankara to better cope with the threat is to cooperate with Russia, which, like Iran, has militarily supported the Syrian army operations against rebels.

Turkey has already hosted some 3.5 million Syrian refugees.

As a Syrian army attack looks imminent on Idlib on the Turkish border, Turkey's foreign and defense ministers met on Friday with their Russian counterparts in Moscow in a bid to deter an offensive on the province.

The two ministers, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Hulusi Akar, and Turkey's intelligence chief Hakan Fidan, also met later the same day with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian side presented Akar and Fidan with "proposals regarding normalization of the situation in Syria's northwest."

Solmazturk does not think Ankara could talk Moscow out of launching an offensive on the rebels whom Russia has often accused in recent months of trying to carry out attacks on Russian positions in Syria.

Neither Russia, nor Syria nor Iran would think of delaying the operation against Idlib as the Syrian army is marching toward victory against rebels in the war that has raged on for seven years, said Solmazturk.

Noting the Syrian government would neither give up on Idlib nor on the areas under Turkish control in northwestern Syria, the retired general said Turkey should come up with a proposal covering not only Idlib but the whole Syria.

The reference to "the situation in Syria's northwest" in the Russian statement seems to imply that Moscow is also seeking a deal with Turkey that will cover the Turkish army-held areas in Syria, spoils of two military operations launched by Ankara respectively in August 2016 and January this year.

In remarks apparently targeting the United States and Turkey on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that any foreign troops in Syria without Damascus' invitation must leave.

If the radical groups could be persuaded to leave Idlib under a deal with Syria, Turkey would face a thinner wave of migration toward its border, said Uzgel.

Earlier this week, the leader of an al-Qaida-linked rebel group in Idlib, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, vowed to fight against a Syrian military offensive. He also warned that those who surrender would be seen as traitors.

Following a meeting with Lavrov in Moscow, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu warned that a military solution in Idlib would come to mean a disaster for Syria's future.

Saying an offensive would result in the killing of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions of others, Cavusoglu said "this would lead to a disaster. That's why we must work together on how to resolve (the issue) rather than attack Idlib."

Ankara, Moscow and Teheran are partners in a joint effort known as the Astana process aimed at ending clashes and setting the stage for a political settlement in Syria. Idlib is one of the four areas under rebel control which were designated as de-escalation zones last year.

"Keeping Idlib as a de-escalation zone is very important for Syria, the fight against terrorism and on humanitarian grounds," said Cavusoglu.

The Syrian army, backed by Russian and Iranian forces, has taken back the other three de-escalation zones from rebels earlier this year. Most of the rebels in those zones were allowed to go to Idlib under a deal with the Syrian government.

The al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance controls much of the Idlib province, while Turkey-backed rebels, who came together under the name of the National Liberation Front, holds the rest of the territory.

Based on the Astana deal, Turkey has established a total of 12 observation posts in Idlib to monitor cessation of hostilities, involving some 1,000 Turkish troops.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 20:11:08|Editor: Li Xia

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Vietnam and Cambodia on Aug. 27-30, official sources said on Saturday.

The minister's visit to the two Southeast Asian countries will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues, and advance India's strategic engagement with these countries and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.

In Vietnam she will co-chair the 16th meeting of the joint commission along with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. She will also call on Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Besides, the minister will inaugurate the third edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.

In Cambodia she will have a bilateral meeting with her counterpart Prak Sokhonn and call on Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and President of Senate Say Chhum.

This will be Swaraj's first visit to Cambodia.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 20:16:09|Editor: Li Xia

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DHAKA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A head-on collision between a passenger bus and a hauler in Bangladesh's northwest Natore district on Saturday left at least 13 people dead and two others injured, a police official said.

Nazrul Islam Jewel, officer-in-charge of Natroe's Lalpur Police Station, told Xinhua, "Thirteen passengers were killed on the spot in the head-on collision between the bus and the hauler."

The road accident, which occurred at around 4:20 p.m. local time, also left two passengers critically injured, he said.

The injured passengers were rushed to a local hospital, he said, adding that the crash was under investigation.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 20:56:15|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIRUT, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's contracting professors, who have temporary contracts with universities, in the field of vocational training will hold a sit-in next Tuesday in downtown Beirut to demand for their rights, local media reported Saturday.

"The main demands of the contracting professors include rights to get fixed contracts and have access to social security in addition to transport fees," said a statement released following a meeting between a delegation of professors and Bechara Asmar, head of the General Labor Union.

According to the National News Agency, a report was prepared by the General Labor Union and contracting professors, which include all their demands to be sent to officials.

Meanwhile, the contracting professors also met the Director General of Vocational Training in Lebanon Salam Younes who vowed to support professors to get their rights.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 21:06:19|Editor: Li Xia

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MANILA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Days of heavy monsoon rains and floods have affected more than 14,000 residents of Ilocos Norte province in northern Philippines, the local government said on Saturday.

The provincial board in a Facebook post said the province in the northern part of Luzon island is currently under a state of calamity due to continuous heavy rainfall caused by the southwest monsoon and enhanced by a tropical depression.

"Heavy rainfall, flooding, road blockages and closures have been reported throughout the province over the past week, with tertiary-level classes and government work being suspended shortly after noon on Friday," the board said.

As of Saturday, the board said a total of 111 million pesos (roughly 2.08 million U.S. dollars) worth of damage to infrastructure and agriculture has been recorded.

On Friday, the Ilocos Norte Tourism Office (INTO) issued an advisory urging foreign and local tourists to stay indoors and avoid travelling around the province.

Also, the board said tourist spots around the province have been shut down "until further notice."

"Declaring Ilocos Norte under the state of calamity would mean coordinated efforts in every part of our province," Vice Governor Angelo Marcos Barba said.

The statement said provincial officials have launched initial relief operations in the towns of Paoay, Pasuquin and Burgos.

The state weather bureau PAGASA said that monsoon rains are expected in Ilocos region and nearby areas on Sunday.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 21:15:59|Editor: Liangyu

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A visitor takes photos of a rubbing of stone sculptures dating back to the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) at an exhibition in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 25, 2018. Over 100 rubbings of stone sculptures discovered from tombs of the Han Dynasty in Xiaoxian County of Anhui were displayed during the exhibition which kicked off in Beijing Saturday. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 21:26:21|Editor: Li Xia

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CAIRO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian forces thwarted on Saturday an attempted attack on a checkpoint in the North Sinai's city of Arish, state-run TV reported.

"Four militants were killed before detonating explosive belts," an official security source told Xinhua.

The militants opened fire at the soldiers in the security camp, known as checkpoint Kilo 17, at the entrance of Arish City, the source said on condition of anonymity.

A total of 10 explosive devices, four automatic weapons, three bomb belts, as well as a number of hand-made bombs and projectiles were siezed in the process, he added.

Bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, North Sinai Province has been the center of terrorist attacks, which have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, as well as civilians, since the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests.

Most of the terror operations were carried out by Wilayat Sinai, the Islamic State affiliate in Egypt.

In February, Egypt launched a security operation against terrorists across the country, mainly in Sinai.

The comprehensive "Sinai 2018" anti-terror campaign has so far killed at least 335 militants and 30 soldiers.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 21:26:22|Editor: zh

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A woman passes by the welcome board placed on street just ahead of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit in Kathmandu, Nepal on Aug. 25, 2018. Member states of the BIMSTEC will sign an agreement to establish electricity grid interconnection at a summit next week in Kathmandu, a senior official at the Nepali Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. (Xinhua/Sulav Shrestha)

KATHMANDU, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Member states of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will sign an agreement to establish electricity grid interconnection at a summit next week in Kathmandu, a senior official at the Nepali Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

Krishna Prasad Dhakal, head of the BIMSTEC division at the Nepali Foreign Ministry, told Xinhua that Memorandum of Understanding for Establishment of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection will be signed during the fourth summit to be held on Aug. 30-31 in the Nepali capital.

"The BIMSTEC member states have already finalized the MoU, and now it is ready for the signature. The accord will provide a broad framework for the BIMSTEC member states to cooperate towards the implementation of grid interconnections for the trade in electricity with a view to promoting rational and optimal power transmission in the BIMSTEC region," Dhakal said.

Nepal is the rotating chair of BIMSTEC established in 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.

BIMSTEC, a regional organization, groups India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Dhakal said the MoU will pave away for facilitating the promotion of efficient, economic, and secure operation of power system through the development of regional electricity networks.

"It will facilitate the power exchange through cross-border interconnections," he said.

During the fourth summit, the BIMSTEC leaders will review progress achieved so far in cooperation and provide guidance for future work of the organization, according to the Nepali Foreign Ministry.

The third summit of the BIMSTEC leaders was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, in March 2014.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 21:36:23|Editor: Li Xia

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HAVANA, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Jorge Antonio Pomar, a 26-year-old Cuban consultant on culinary could not wait to subscribe to the mobile internet service to contact his overseas family after two trial runs launched this month.

Mobile online browsing became the talk of the town this month after state-run telecom firm ETECSA offered its five million customers temporary free access as technicians tried to detect kinks in the system.

Residents are discussing the impact that mobile access to the internet will have on their lives.

"Everything worked very well, hopefully it will always work that way. I have used 3G in other parts of the world and here it worked perfectly," said Pomar, as he recalled the glee at being able to video-talk with his daughter living abroad for 45 minutes smoothly from the comfort of his own home.

Previously, like Pomar, most Cubans with no internet connection at home had to rely on the approximately 1,650 public internet access sites, such as cyber cafes, or the 725 Wi-Fi hotspots at parks, squares, hotels and other locations.

"It is an advantage to have internet on our mobile phones and hopefully ETECSA rolls out the full service soon," he said.

More than 800,000 cellphone users took advantage of the initial trial to go online, ETECSA executives later told the press, adding the tests were served to identify defects in the network and "gaps" in the knowledge of users as to how to connect via their mobile devices.

The second trial, carried out Wednesday, overloaded the network and led customers complaining about call interruptions and unstable connections.

Orlando Gonzalez, a 31-year-old architect who earns money from renting out an apartment, sees the service as an opportunity to make his small business more efficient.

"I use the internet almost every day because I rent out an apartment and have to check a website (like Airbnb) a lot to see if users have written to me. I go back and forth every day between my house and the Wi-Fi zone. If I had a connection on my cellphone everything would be easier," Gonzalez said.

Cubans are used to paying a hefty sum for their access to the internet because of the outdated infrastructure, thus few could afford it.

The government has made various adjustments such as lowering the wifi connection price to about one dollar per hour. However, it is still far from affordable given the average monthly salary of 30 U.S. dollars in Havana.

ETECSA hasn't said when the service will be officially launched or how much it will cost. A similar service offered to foreign companies, diplomats and journalists charges 40 U.S. dollars a month for four gigabytes of data.

"We want to be at the same level as other users around the world who have internet access on their phones," said Gonzalez, expressing his hope that the new service will work smoothly with reasonable prices.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 22:11:32|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIRUT, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese caretaker Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil said on Saturday that his ministry has drafted a strategy to provide citizens in Zahle with 24-hour electricity at lower prices, a local newspaper reported.

"Electricity Du Liban (EDL) will provide people in Zahle with 24-hour power generation at prices lower than that provided by Electricite De Zahle (EDZ)," Khalil was quoted by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper, as saying.

Electricity in Zahle is currently provided by private electricity operator EDZ but its contract ends in 2018. Khalil said earlier that the contract with EDZ will not be renewed.

The EDZ currently provides full-day electricity to over 250,000 inhabitants in the city of Zahle and 15 other municipalities.

Lack of electricity in Lebanon has been a problem for many years, as the government is incapable of producing the needed amount of power.

According to Khalil, there was a plan to build two power stations in Selaata and Zahrani but the government could not raise sufficient funds to complete the projects.

The current public electricity production in Lebanon stands at 2,000 MW, while national demand goes beyond 3,300 MW in summer months.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 22:21:36|Editor: Li Xia

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KABUL, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Afghan National Security Advisor Mohamad Anif Atmar has resigned, local media Tolo News TV channel reported on Saturday.

"National Security Advisor Mohamad Anif Atmar has resigned," the media quoted an Afghan official as saying.

However, the report added that "the reason behind the decision was not immediately clear."

The announcement came days after a terrorist attack hit central Kabul which was claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

On Tuesday, nine IS militants seized a warehouse near Afghan Presidential Palace and Defense Ministry building and fired several rounds of mortar shells when President Ashraf Ghani was delivering a speech in the courtyard of palace after offering Eid prayers.

At least six people were injured by the mortar attack which struck the palace, the Defense Ministry's building and nearby diplomatic enclave.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 22:26:38|Editor: Li Xia

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AMMAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Saturday condemned Israel for arresting several employees of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Department in Jerusalem, state-run Petra new agency reported.

These employees were apprehended while conducting maintenance work in Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat.

She expressed Jordan's rejection to this "unjustified provocative" practice, calling it "a stark violation of laws" and "an intervention" in the work of the department affiliated to Jordan.

Israelis should stop all such acts and respect international laws, Ghunaimat said, adding that the ministry has submitted an official complaint to Israel.

The Jordanian ministry will take all necessary measures to secure the release of the employees, the minister added.

Jordan oversees the holy Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 22:41:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Naim-Ul-Karim

DHAKA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Scores of people were killed in reported road accidents during the Eid al-Adha holiday in Bangladesh, with 13 people losing their lives on Saturday.

A head-on collision between a passenger bus and a hauler in Bangladesh's Natore district, some 200 km northwest of capital Dhaka, on Saturday evening left at least 13 people dead and two injured.

Nazrul Islam Jewel, officer-in-charge of Natroe's Lalpur Police Station, told Xinhua that "13 passengers of the hauler were killed on the spot in the head-on collision between the bus and the hauler."

The road accident, which occurred at around 4:20 p.m. local time, also left two hauler passengers critically injured, he said.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

At least 54 people were killed and over 100 others injured in separate road accidents reportedly between Monday and Friday when Muslims across Bangladesh were on the move for Eid al-Adha, also known as the festival of sacrifice that was celebrated on Wednesday.

Bangladesh has one of the highest fatality rates for road accidents in the world mainly due to shoddy highways, poorly maintained vehicles, violation of traffic rules and lack of monitoring of the traffic department.

The situation has seemingly remained the same even after a traffic accident last month triggered mass protests for days by high school students who demanded improvement of road safety.

The demonstrations rattling Bangladesh capital Dhaka for days were sparked by the deaths of two students who were killed in a tragic incident of reckless driving on July 29 which occurred due to a mad race between two drivers.

According to Bangladesh Passengers' Welfare Association, some 300,000 vehicles and about 1 million converted utility vehicles like haulers, which are nine to 15 seated, generally in the form of a converted pickup truck with two benches added for passenger seating, ply on busy roads in the capital of Dhaka and elsewhere in the country with underage drivers posing threat to road safety.

Such modified vehicles are often blamed for accidents on Bangladesh highways.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) data showed a total of 2,513 people were killed and 1,898 injured in 2,562 accidents last year.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 22:56:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani police arrested two terrorists in an operation conducted in the eastern Punjab province on Saturday, local media and police officials said.

According to the spokesman of Counter Terrorism Department of police (CTD), personnel of CTD along with local police conducted a joint operation in Bhakkar district of Punjab province, and two terrorists belonging to the banned outfit were arrested in the operation.

Arms and ammunition including hand grenades and a suicide vest were seized from their possession, said CTD officials.

The suspects were shifted to an undisclosed location for further interrogation shortly after their arrest. A case has also been registered against them, local media reported, citing CTD officials.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 23:01:48|Editor: Chengcheng

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A State Council inspection team has found that local transport authorities in the city of Zibo in Shandong have misused their power to overcharge truck drivers.

The local transport authorities were found to have required trucks carrying chemical products to install two sets of GPS systems of similar function, the inspection found.

While the transport bureau of Zibo has mandated trucks to install a set of GPS, lower-level transport authorities at Linzi District of Zibo have made similar requests. Truck drivers must buy both sets of equipment to pass the annual vehicle checks.

The equipment cost, about 10,000 yuan (about 1,455 U.S. dollars), added to the burden of companies, according to a preliminary investigation by inspectors.

China has been trying to lower the corporate burden with measures such as the removal of some road tolls in provincial-level regions.

The violation was first found during unannounced checks by inspectors after a tip-off.

Starting Wednesday, 31 State Council inspection teams were sent across the country to ensure major policies issued by central authorities are being implemented.

Each team will stay at one provincial area for 10 to 12 days, conducting open talks and private interviews with people in communities, hospitals, schools, businesses, research institutes and government service halls. The inspection teams will also open social media accounts to receive complaints from the public.

The State Council said it would take follow-up measures to address the issues found during the inspection.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 23:06:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BANGKOK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Nong Khai province in northeastern Thailand and the Lao capital of Vientiane have reached an agreement to turn a riverside border area into an arms-free zone.

Nong Khai Governor Ronnachai Chitviset and Vientiane Governor Sinlavong Khoutphaythoune chaired a joint Thai-Lao meeting on Saturday at a hotel in Nong Khai to discuss concerted measures to bring peace and order to the border area on both sides of Mekong River.

The Nong Khai governor confirmed that the border area on either side of the international river is yet to become peaceful despite cooperation between Thai and Lao authorities.

Both sides also agreed to help each other in case of natural disasters such as flooding, landslides and epidemics.

The Thai authorities raised concerns over possibilities of weapons such as assault rifles and explosives being smuggled across Mekong River from the Lao capital to Nong Khai province by suspected arms smugglers.

Officials said the smuggled arms would be destined for the hands of suspected drug traffickers in Thailand's northern and northeastern border areas.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 23:21:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Opposition parties in Pakistan agreed on Saturday to nominate a joint candidate in the upcoming presidential elections to be held on Sept. 4, an opposition leader said.

The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has already nominated a senior party leader Arif Alvi as its presidential candidate.

The presidential election will be held to replace incumbent President Mamnoon Hussain, who will complete his five-year tenure next month.

The opposition parties met at the scenic Murree city near capital Islamabad and agreed to propose a consensus candidate, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Ahsan Iqbal said.

Iqbal told reporters after the meeting that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif will make a formal announcement about the leader on Sunday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan also presided over a meeting of senior PTI leaders at his residence in Islamabad to chalk out strategy for the presidential elections, a PTI party statement said.

PTI formed the government with the help of some other coalition partners and has already won the election for the office of the speaker and deputy speaker.

The opposition parties will give a tough time to the ruling coalition in presidential elections if they agreed on a consensus candidate.

The national assembly, senate and four provincial assemblies are electoral college for the presidential elections.

The session of both houses of the parliament has been summoned to meet on Sept. 4 for the election of the president.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 23:27:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MOSCOW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States and its allies are planning to carry out new missile strikes on Syria on the pretext of a provocation that the Syrian government is behind a "chemical attack," the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

However, the planned "chemical attack" by Syrian government forces in Syria's Idlib province is actually staged by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group, previously known as "Jabhat al-Nusra" with the help of British personnel, the ministry's spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said, citing information confirmed by several independent sources.

Eight tanks of chlorine and a special group of militants, who were trained in handling poisonous substances under the supervision of a British private military company, have been brought to Idlib for the chemical attack, Konashenkov said.

"The execution of this provocation with the active participation of the British special services is set to serve as another pretext for the U.S., the UK and France to inflict missile and air strikes on Syria's state and economic facilities," Konashenkov said.

To this end, a Sullivans destroyer of the U.S. Navy with 56 cruise missiles on board arrived in the Persian Gulf a few days ago, and a B-1B strategic bomber of the U.S. Air Force armed with 24 air-to-surface cruise missiles was redeployed to the Al Udeid air base in Qatar, according to the spokesman.

The Russian spokesman said that the actions of Western countries are "aimed at another drastic aggravation of the situation in the Middle East region and the disruption of the peace process on the territory of Syria."

On April 4, 2017, a reported toxic gas attack hit the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, killing over 80 people and wounding scores of others.

Two days later, the United States launched 59 cruise missiles against the Shayrat military base in central Syria, where Washington believes airplanes carrying chemical weapons took off.

The United States and many Western countries blamed the Assad government for the chemical attacks but Syria and Russia insisted that it's a plot by the West in a bid to overturn the Assad administration.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-25 23:57:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HO CHI MINH CITY, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The border guard force of Vietnam's central highlands Kon Tum province said Saturday that they have detained two local women for transporting synthetic drugs from Laos to Vietnam.

The detainees, Y Thao, 24, from Kon Tum, and Luong Thi Trang, 24, from central Quang Nam province, who were found hiding one kg of crystal amphetamine and 367 pills of lab-made drug in their luggage and bodies.

According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 00:02:11|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Bishkek Vice Mayor Bakytbek Dyushembiev (R) delivers a speech at the re-opening ceremony of the Manas Street in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Aug. 25, 2018. The municipal government of Bishkek and its local residents have expressed deep appreciation of a China-aided road reconstruction project in the Kyrgyz capital city. (Xinhua/Roman)

BISHKEK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The municipal government of Bishkek and its local residents have expressed deep appreciation of a China-aided road reconstruction project in the Kyrgyz capital city.

At Saturday's re-opening ceremony of the Manas Street, part of the Bishkek road network rehabilitation project being constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Bishkek Vice Mayor Bakytbek Dyushembiev thanked Chinese road builders for their hard work.

"It's a very important and significant event for Bishkek city, as the nine-kilometer road was closed for four months and now it's opened after reconstruction," the official said.

He also expressed gratitude to the partners from China, with the help of whom the capital city received rehabilitated roads.

Klara Bakirova, a local resident who lives by the Manas Street, told Xinhua that she was very happy to see the reconstructed road.

She said that she was shocked to see how hard the Chinese builders worked everyday.

Observing from her apartment window, she saw that the Chinese road builders worked day and night even in hot summer weather.

The Bishkek road network rehabilitation project is a grant from the Chinese government. The whole project is scheduled to be finished by November 2019, according to the CRBC.

"China, being a friendly neighbor of Kyrgyzstan, will further render assistance to the country," said Sun He, commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan.

Sun said that the reconstruction of the Manas Street is an important part of the development of the road network in Bishkek, which will give new impetus to the development of Kyrgyzstan's economy and strengthen the friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 00:27:15|Editor: Chengcheng

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and British trade ministers have vowed to improve economic ties between the two countries and expand cooperation during the 13th conference of the China-UK Joint Economic and Trade Commission held in Beijing on Friday.

With the China-Britain relations in "Golden Era," the commission aims to implement the consensus reached by leaders of the two countries on economic and trade cooperation at the beginning of the year, pushing for new progress in cooperation in trade, investment and the World Trade Organization (WTO), said Zhong Shan, China's minister of commerce.

Echoing Zhong's words, British International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said Britain hopes the two countries will strengthen policy coordination, develop new growth points in trade and investment, and reach agreements on higher-level economic ties.

On trade frictions between China and the United States, Zhong said the U.S.-ignited trade war seriously violated WTO rules and represented unilateralism and trade bullying, and the U.S. smear in China's intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection is not in line with the fact.

There is no winner in a trade war, Zhong said, stressing that China does not want a trade war but is not afraid of one, and will resolutely defend the interests of the country and its people.

Fox said Britain firmly supports free trade and opposes unilateralism and protectionism, and hopes China and the United States will resolve their differences through consultations.

Zhong welcomes Britain as the guest of honor to attend the first China International Import Expo scheduled in November in Shanghai and hopes Britain will make full use of the platform to increase its exports to China.

Fox said British Prince Andrew will lead a delegation to the expo and help bring more products and services into the Chinese market.

China and Britain also agreed to expand collaboration on the Belt and Road Initiative, including cooperation between companies from the two sides to explore third-party markets.

The two sides will discuss the possibility of high-level free trade agreements after Brexit, improve bilateral investment and service trade, and strengthen cooperation between local authorities and companies. Views were also exchanged on high technology and IPRs, 5G, mutual recognition of standards, legal services cooperation, and easier work visas.

The ministers also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on establishing China-Britain service trade working group.File Photo: Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas meets with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump upon his arrival to the Presidential palace In the West Bank city of Bethlehem on May 23, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP)



WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. State Department said on Friday that President Donald Trump has ordered it to "redirect" economic aid to the Palestinians, which is worthy of more than 200 million U.S. dollars.

The State Department told reporters in a brief notice that at the direction of Trump, a review had been undertaken of "U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer."

"As a result of that review, at the direction of the President, we will redirect more than $200 million in FY2017 Economic Support Funds originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza," the notice read.

"Those funds will now address high-priority projects elsewhere," it added, without giving further details like what these projects would be.

It also said that the decision has took into consideration "the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza"s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation."

The State Department has notified the Congress of the decision.

The Palestine Liberation Organization responded in a statement that the decision was "the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool. The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion."

"The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said. "There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation. The U.S. administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources; now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation."

Earlier on Aug. 17, the State Department said that some 230 million U.S. dollars targeted to support the stabilization initiative in Syria would be redirected after being reviewed. However, the fund could be offset by the approximately 300 million U.S. dollars "in contributions and pledges from Coalition partners to support critical stabilization and early recovery initiatives in areas liberated from ISIS in northeast Syria."

The U.S. aid cut also came after Washington threatened to reduce financial support to the Palestinians unless they agree to return to the negotiation table with Israel, which has been stalled for four years.

Palestinian officials have said that the U.S. move comes in line with Trump's attempt to ignore the final issues of the Palestinian-Israel peace process, remove the issues of Jerusalem and refugees "off the table."

The United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December last year, sparking global outcry.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 00:42:19|Editor: Chengcheng

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BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's stance on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is consistent and clear, and China hopes all relevant parties adhere to the direction of political settlement, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

Spokesperson Lu Kang made the comments when asked about recent remarks by the United States that China's attitude toward the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has changed, which influenced the process of resolving the issue through negotiation between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

In response, Lu said those remarks went against basic facts and were irresponsible. China has expressed grave concerns and lodged solemn representations to the United States.

"For many years China has made unremitting efforts to and played an important and constructive role in pushing for the proper solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue," Lu said. "China has always comprehensively and strictly implemented the resolutions of the UN Security Council on the DPRK, which is obvious to all."

Lu said China supports the United States and the DPRK in actively advancing the process of political settlement to the issue according to the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders in Singapore. However, he added that all relevant parties should stick to the direction of political settlement, and show more sincerity and flexibility, instead of being fickle or laying the blame on others.

"China will continue to keep close communication with relevant parties and play a positive role in achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and lasting peace and stability of Northeast Asia," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 00:47:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NEW DELHI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and 10 others injured after their cab skidded off a mountain road and rolled down a gorge in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand Saturday, police said.

The accident occurred on a highway in the state's Tehri district.

"The cab carrying 12 people plunged into a deep gorge after its driver lost control of the vehicle. Two died on the spot while the injured have been hospitalized," a police official said.

A probe has been ordered into the incident, he added.

Road accidents occur in India mostly due to poor driving or badly maintained roads and vehicles.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 01:47:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Beijing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is expected to focus on agricultural transformation, industrial development, infrastructure development and science and technology, an Ethiopian official said on Saturday.

Speaking exclusively to Xinhua, Admasu Nebebe, Deputy Minister of the Ethiopia Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MoFEC), said the FOCAC summit is expected to see discussions on how China and African countries can strengthen their cooperation especially in these four key sectors.

"African countries need to transform their agricultural sector, engage in vigorous industrial development, invest in their infrastructure and put resources to develop their science and technology if they are to successfully develop their economies like China," said Nebebe.

Nebebe further said China-Africa and in particular China-Ethiopia relationship combines elements of hard infrastructure and knowledge-based partnership, with close to 6,000 Ethiopians receiving education in China over the last several years and hundreds more Ethiopians preparing to attend higher learning programs in China.

The FOCAC Beijing summit, scheduled for Sept. 3-4, will run under the theme, "China and Africa: toward an even stronger community with a shared future through win-win cooperation."

Nebebe said the summit would be a historic event of grand family gathering between China and African countries, three years after the last FOCAC summit was held in November 2015 in Johannesburg, South Africa.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 02:07:32|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi President Fuad Masoum on Saturday discussed with Vice Present Nuri al-Maliki the political efforts to form the new Iraqi government.

Political parties highlighted the necessity of convening the first parliament session 15 days after the ratification of the final elections results according to the Constitution, said a statement by the presidency media office.

The two Iraqi leaders stressed the importance of adhering to the Constitution, respecting the will of voters to reform, developing state institutions and providing basic services, the statement added.

On Aug. 19, the Federal Supreme Court ratified the final results of May 12 parliamentary elections, marking the first step toward forming the new Iraqi government.

The approval confirmed the preliminary results of the parliamentary elections which showed the Sairoon Coalition, backed by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, won 54 seats in the 329-seat parliament as the front runner.

The ratification widely opened the door for Iraqi politicians to form the next government and would give a push for the tough negotiations by the political blocs to form the largest alliance before the first session of the new parliament.

According to the Iraqi constitution, the ratification of the results entails the outgoing President Masoum to call on the new parliament to hold its first session under the chairmanship of the eldest parliament member within 15 days from the court's ratification, to elect a president of parliament and then the president of the republic, who will ask the largest alliance to form a government within 30 days.

On May 12, millions of Iraqis went to 8,959 polling centers across the country to vote for their parliamentary representatives in the first general election since Iraq's historic victory over the Islamic State militant group in December 2017.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 02:12:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HELSINKI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of Finland observed its centenary in Helsinki on Saturday.

Addressing the festive concert, party chairperson Juha-Pekka Vaisanen said that the Communist Party of Finland has been inspired with the new initiatives of the Chinese Communist Party.

"The Chinese Communist Party has a new Marxist policy and initiative for a world dialogue. Communist Party of Finland is part of the dialogue and has been participating in thematic meetings," he said.

Vaisanen deplored the societal situation in Finland. He said it has indicated how "neo-liberalism slashes social security and local services".

Vaisanen noted that the cuts made by the current Finnish coalition under Prime Minister Juha Sipila resemble the politics of a state of emergency.

Vaisanen described the challenge as global. "Replacing capitalism with the establishment of a different society and form of development is more crucial than ever."

"Imperialist wars, climate change, and famine are forcing people from the homes to become refugees and to head for Europe. At the same time racism and fascism are on the increase," he said.

The Communist Party of Finland was established in Moscow in summer 1918 by some leaders of the failed red mutiny and civil war in Finland earlier that year.

In the civil war the Finnish red guards were defeated by the whites supported by a major landing of Imperial German troops that captured Helsinki in April 1918.

The Communist Party of Finland remained illegal in the country until the end of World War II. It has no seats in parliament.China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh during the opening ceremony of the construction of a Chinese-funded sanitation facility in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia on Aug. 25, 2018. (Xinhua/AFP)



ULAN BATOR, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh met visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Ikh Tenger Complex in Ulan Bator on Saturday.

Khurelsukh asked Wang to convey his best regards to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

He said that Mongolia and China are long-standing neighbors and comprehensive strategic partners, and the current smooth development of bilateral relations has become a model for friendly neighbors.

"Mongolia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and maintains that Tibet and Taiwan are inalienable parts of the Chinese territory, and issues concerning Tibet and Taiwan are China's internal affairs," the Mongolian prime minister said.

He noted that there are no political, economic, territorial, religious and other questions between Mongolia and China, and the cooperation between the two countries has great potential and broad prospects.

He said that Mongolia is committed to the integration of its Prairie Road development initiative and the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, adding that the country hopes to deepen cooperation with China in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, energy and infrastructure construction, and elevate bilateral ties to a higher level.

The Mongolian side sincerely thanks China for its support and assistance to Mongolia's development and improving people's livelihood over the past years.

He said that Mongolia highly appreciates China's support for the construction of a waste water processing plant in Ulan Bator, which will make an important contribution to improving the city's ecological environment and the people's quality of life.

Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties, Khurelsukh said, expressing the hope that the two sides will take this opportunity to accelerate the development of bilateral relations, iron out a new blueprint for the two countries' future cooperation, and work together to push bilateral relations to a new level.

Wang conveyed the cordial greetings from Premier Li to Khurelsukh.

He said that China and Mongolia are friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers, and that strengthening the all-round cooperation and deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries are the only right choice for the two sides.

The Chinese side reaffirms its respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Mongolia, and appreciates the Mongolian government's reiteration of its firm adherence to the one-China policy and its confirmation of always supporting each other concerning the other side's core interests.

Wang said that China-Mongolia political mutual trust has grown stronger, expressing the hope that relationship between the two countries will develop rapidly and healthily.

He said that the Chinese side appreciates Mongolia's active response and support for the Belt and Road Initiative, adding that China is ready to work with Mongolia to work out a cooperation outline on the basis of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two countries, and promote the early arrival of more projects.

The Chinese foreign minister also said that China is ready to help Mongolia translate its resources into development advantages, improve its self-development capabilities, achieve economic diversification and improve the people's livelihood in building the Belt and Road together.

He said that the two sides should work closely together to accelerate the process of signing the bilateral free trade agreement and achieve a 10-billion-U.S.-dollar target for bilateral trade as early as possible.

He noted that China is willing to cooperate with the Mongolian side to seize the important opportunity of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year, to maintain close contacts at all levels and promote continuous progress in China-Mongolia comprehensive strategic partnership for the benefit of the two peoples.

On the same day, Wang and Khurelsukh attended the launching ceremony of construction of a waste water processing plant in Ulan Bator. He and his Mongolian counterpart Damdin Tsogtbaatar inspected a special lane at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulan Bator which was built in the framework of a project to enhance customs clearance facilitation under the Belt and Road Initiative.Photo taken on April 12, 2017 shows the United Nations Security Council voting on a draft Security Council resolution on an alleged chemical attack in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

MOSCOW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States and its allies are planning to carry out new missile strikes on Syria on the pretext of a provocation that the Syrian government is behind a "chemical attack," the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

However, the planned "chemical attack" by Syrian government forces in Syria's Idlib province is actually staged by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group, previously known as "Jabhat al-Nusra" with the help of British personnel, the ministry's spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said, citing information confirmed by several independent sources.

Eight tanks of chlorine and a special group of militants, who were trained in handling poisonous substances under the supervision of a British private military company, have been brought to Idlib for the chemical attack, Konashenkov said.

"The execution of this provocation with the active participation of the British special services is set to serve as another pretext for the U.S., the UK and France to inflict missile and air strikes on Syria's state and economic facilities," Konashenkov said.

To this end, a Sullivans destroyer of the U.S. Navy with 56 cruise missiles on board arrived in the Persian Gulf a few days ago, and a B-1B strategic bomber of the U.S. Air Force armed with 24 air-to-surface cruise missiles was redeployed to the Al Udeid air base in Qatar, according to the spokesman.

The Russian spokesman said that the actions of Western countries are "aimed at another drastic aggravation of the situation in the Middle East region and the disruption of the peace process on the territory of Syria."

On April 4, 2017, a reported toxic gas attack hit the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, killing over 80 people and wounding scores of others.

Two days later, the United States launched 59 cruise missiles against the Shayrat military base in central Syria, where Washington believes airplanes carrying chemical weapons took off.

The United States and many Western countries blamed the Assad government for the chemical attacks but Syria and Russia insisted that it's a plot by the West in a bid to overturn the Assad administration.File photo: Iranian military personnel place a national flag on a submarine during the "Velayat-90" navy exercises in the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran on January 3, 2012, the End day of ten-day war games. (AFP photo)

TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran's navy commander said that the country's homegrown submarine will come on stream by March 2019, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

The manufacturing process of Fateh (Conqueror) has already finished and the submarine is now undergoing laboratory and field tests, Navy Commander Hossein Khanzadi told Tasnim.

Iran is also planning to manufacture the second upgraded version of the military watercraft, said Khanzadi.

The second version of Fateh will be much better, he said, adding that the Iranian submarines will serve as the "powerful subsurface fleet" in Iran's southern waters for effective deterrence purposes.

The fact that Iran has the technical know-how to manufacture submarines indicates that the country has no limitations in producing other military equipment, he stressed.

On Thursday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed Ali Reza Tangsiri as the new commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' (IRGC) navy.

Khamenei said the decision for the appointment has been made with regard to the new commander's "commitment, competency and valuable experiences."

He also called on Tangsiri to push for promoting the training skills and upgrade the maritime equipment.

Khamenei has underlined to promote security of the region through the cooperation with other regional countries, refuting the presence of non-regional forces.

Khamenei has also called for the enhancement of the Iranian naval forces' presence in international waters and expanding the navy's power in balance with the merit of the Islamic establishment.Military personnel of the United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are learning Chinese traditional calligraphy in Chinese language course on Aug. 23, 2018 at the headquarter of UNIFIL in Beirut. (Xinhua)

BEIRUT, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The 17th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon opened a Chinese language course recently in the United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters.

The opening ceremony was held and attended by Shi Honghui, commanding officer of Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon, Robert Ayi, UNIFIL J1 Chief, and other 35 people from the UNIFIL and the Confucius Institute of Saint Joseph University of Lebanon.

"This course is a very good opportunity to learn Chinese language and culture," said Ayi, who also spoke highly of the excellent professionalism and great contribution made by the Chinese peacekeeping force since its deployment to UNIFIL.

Fun games and events were held during the first class of the course, including quizzes, traditional calligraphy and paper-cutting, to attract the students with the Chinese traditional culture.

Military personnel of the United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are learning Chinese traditional calligraphy and paper-cutting in Chinese language course on Aug. 23, 2018 at the headquarter of UNIFIL in Beirut. (Xinhua)

Ali, the runner-up winner of the 17th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in Lebanon, was invited to review and share his experience of learning Chinese.

"I am deeply attracted by the first lesson," said Haddad, an official from the Security Section, adding that he would continue his study on Chinese, as China is a great country with brilliant history and there are an increasing number of Chinese speakers nowadays.

The UN Security Council established the UNIFIL on March 19, 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Its mandate was expanded following the 2006 Lebanon War.

Since 2006, China has maintained a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as a part of the UNIFIL, tasked with missions such as mine-sweeping, project construction, medical rescue and humanitarian assistance. EnditemA container is loaded onto the freight train from Rizhao to Central Asia at a container station of Rizhao port in east China's Shandong Province, Sept. 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)

BISHKEK, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The municipal government of Bishkek and its local residents have expressed deep appreciation of a China-aided road reconstruction project in the Kyrgyz capital city.

At Saturday's re-opening ceremony of the Manas Street, part of the Bishkek road network rehabilitation project being constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), Bishkek Vice Mayor Bakytbek Dyushembiev thanked Chinese road builders for their hard work.

"It's a very important and significant event for Bishkek city, as the nine-kilometer road was closed for four months and now it's opened after reconstruction," the official said.

He also expressed gratitude to the partners from China, with the help of whom the capital city received rehabilitated roads.

Klara Bakirova, a local resident who lives by the Manas Street, told Xinhua that she was very happy to see the reconstructed road.

She said that she was shocked to see how hard the Chinese builders worked everyday.

Observing from her apartment window, she saw that the Chinese road builders worked day and night even in hot summer weather.

The Bishkek road network rehabilitation project is a grant from the Chinese government. The whole project is scheduled to be finished by November 2019, according to the CRBC.

"China, being a friendly neighbor of Kyrgyzstan, will further render assistance to the country," said Sun He, commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan.

Sun said that the reconstruction of the Manas Street is an important part of the development of the road network in Bishkek, which will give new impetus to the development of Kyrgyzstan's economy and strengthen the friendship between China and Kyrgyzstan.Crates containing humanitarian aid are loaded onto an Antonov An-124 Ruslan - Widebody at the former Chateauroux-Deols Marcel Dassault Airport in central France on July 20, 2018. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Emergencies Ministry has delivered about 36 tons of humanitarian aid to Laos, which suffered from a recent flood caused by the break of a dam, the ministry said on Saturday.

The aid was carried out at the decision of the Russian government in response to Laos' request for emergency humanitarian assistance, a ministry statement said.

The humanitarian supplies, delivered by an Il-76 transport aircraft, include mobile power plants, tents, blankets, boats, food products and tableware, according to the statement.

On July 23, an auxiliary dam at the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydropower plant in the Sanamxay district in southern Laos collapsed. Six of the 13 affected villages were completely wiped out by the flood, which killed dozens of people and left many others missing.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 03:57:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities closed lower over the trading week ending Aug. 24, with wheat futures dropping over seven percent, as investors focused on weak demand of U.S. wheat and shrugged off global production concerns.

The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 16 cents weekly, or 4.22 percent, to 3.6275 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery plunged 43.25 cents, or 7.46 percent, to 5.365 dollars per bushel. November soybeans dropped 37.5 cents, or 4.2 percent, to 8.5525 dollars per bushel over the week.

CBOT corn futures fell to new lows for the move before stabilizing on Friday. Much like the last two years, U.S. producers are liquidating old crop stocks prior to September delivery. The market was focused on the prospect of record large U.S. corn yields following the August World Supply and Demand Estimates report.

However, world end stocks reflect just 45 days of use, down from 60 days last year. Argentine corn offers are absent beyond mid-October, and at current prices the U.S. Gulf will have a near monopoly on feed grain exports into next March.

And drought in the EU, Black Sea and Australia look to sharply raise world feed grain demand. CBOT corn prices are in the transition process of shifting to a demand led bull market on record large domestic and export demand.

World wheat futures ended the week lower. Seasonal trends for Europe and U.S. futures are weak into September, while the driest areas of East Australia will see light rains this weekend.

Amid the record combined fund length in Kansas City and Chicago futures, a correction was due. However, traders notice that a longer-term wheat price uptrend remains intact.

Wheat futures since winter have endured similar corrections, only to advance to new highs. The Northern Hemisphere wheat harvest is nearing completion and farmers will hold stocks on any further market drop.

Analysts maintain that substantial world wheat demand will be funneled to the U.S. late this fall and winter as Russia moves to slow or halt exports and Ukraine reduces the amount of milling wheat that is for sale. Importers are active in securing wheat since mid-August to get ahead of higher prices.

CBOT soybean futures closed the week lower on chart related selling and large crop prospects. Weekly highs were scored on Monday, and a steady flow of large yield data from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour kept the market under pressure into Friday.

The Tour's U.S. soybean yield estimate on Friday was at 53 bushels per acre, or 1.4 bushels over the U.S. Department of Agriculture's August estimate.

Analysts maintain that CBOT soybean markets are caught between large yields and a more bullish outlook for the grain markets, and wide ranging trade looks to continue into harvest.A Syrian man poses for a photograph with children on his bicycle in Homs on August 15, 2018. (AFP photo)

DAMASCUS, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- As the Syrian army will launch a wide-scale offensive against the last major rebels' stronghold in Idlib province in northwestern Syria, analysts say that the United States and its allies want to place hurdles.

New threats come to put pressure on the Syrian forces, who are poised to launch an offensive on Idlib, or establish reconciliation to resolve the situation with the help of Russia, which is already engaged in talks with Turkey to figure out a solution regarding Idlib.

The Western powers, which have been so downright about their opposition to the administration of President Bashar al-Assad and his rule, frequently said about the need of power transition in Syria.

On Tuesday, the United States, France, and Britain warned Assad against using chemical weapons, warning that "we remain resolved to act if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons again."

The three powers had launched a missile attack on Syrian military positions in April over chemical weapons charges. At the time, they said they had targeted the facilities involved in the manufacture of chemical weapons in Syria.

At the time, the Syrian government charged that the Western powers are supporting the terrorist groups in Syria, vehemently denying claims of chemical weapons use in the battles with the rebels.

The government countlessly said that all the chemical arsenal of Syria was handed over the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which later said that the Syrian government has made its chemical weapon production facilities inoperable.

But the Western powers continued to accuse Damascus of using toxic gas in the battles with the rebels.

Now the same scenario is being repeated in terms of the Western threats to launch attacks on Syria over the same allegations.

Analysts believe that the statement of the three Western powers aim to encourage the rebels with such reasons to strike the Syrian army as its emerging victories after more than seven years of war in the country.

In its response, Syrian Foreign Ministry said the new escalation is part of "the campaign of threats, hypocrisy and misinformation resorted to by those powers against the Syrian Arab Republic, which comes in the framework of the outright support to the terrorist groups."

Mahmoud Meri, a Syrian political analyst, said that the United States is preparing an attack on Syria as it doesn't want an end to the crisis with the army capturing all rebel strongholds.

"The United States is preparing an attack on Syria and always they take the chemical weapons as a pretext despite the fact that Syria handed over its chemical stocks to the OPCW long time ago," he said.

Meri said the recent escalation comes as the Syrian army is sending reinforcements to Idlib, "which means that the U.S. wants to prolong the Syrian crisis and prepares an attack on Syria but the Syrian army and government are ready to liberate all Syrian areas despite all of the powers of aggression as the Syrian army is determined to restore all of Syria."

The analyst said that Washington wants to pull back the Syrian war to the time of the 2012 Geneva meeting on Syria, which came up with the need for a "transitional government body with full executive powers" in Syria.

Meri said the situation has changed, adding that the solution for the crisis is no longer about the 2012 Geneva talks, but should be based on the UN resolution 2254 that was adopted in 2015.

He also said that inter-Syrian talks should be based on the Sochi talks that included members of the home-based opposition, not the exiled opposition.

Osama Danura, another political expert, told Xinhua that the recent remarks of the United States indicate that there are "hidden threads between the U.S. and the Nusra Front."

"We can sense this coordination as the U.S. has not struck any position of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front even though the al-Qaida-linked groups are designated as terrorists along with the Islamic State," he said.

Maher Ihsan, a political expert and a journalist said that the situation in Idlib is being discussed between Turkey and Russia, noting that both sides will eventually agree to an acceptable formula.

He said that the United States may have a totally different reason behind the escalation and the possible attack that they are planning to carry out.

"President Donald Trump is now having a hard time dealing with his own crisis at home so he may need to divert the attention from his issues by launching an offensive elsewhere," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 04:48:00|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HELSINKI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Saturday wanted to play down the vision that Finland has a special relationship with Russia.

Interviewed on national radio, Niinisto said there is "no such mythical relationship". Niinisto met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 22 in Sochi, southern Russia.

Commenting on the statement, Ari Hahkuhta, chief political correspondent of the national broadcaster Yle, noted that the president wanted to reject any rebirth of the claims about "Finlandization".

The word Finlandization, which was used by parts of the western media during the cold war, conveyed the message that although Finland was a democracy in the western sense of the word and claimed to be neutral, Finland allegedly accepted Soviet influence on foreign policy matters and promoted initiatives that met Soviet interests.

Hakahuhta said that it would not be in the interest of Finland, if outside observers would place the country somewhere between Russia and the European Union (EU) in the Finnish attitude towards the Ukraine crisis, for example.

Niinisto said he believes Putin has actually more contact with some other leaders, such as German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Emmanuel Macron, Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz and the new Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte.

In the radio interview, Niinisto also said Putin has actually wanted to bring Russia closer to Europe.

Niinisto recalled that Putin had said during their meeting a year ago that "a strong EU would be in the interest of Russia".

Niinisto noted that the nerve poison incidents in Britain brought a flaw to the development, but thereafter the meetings between Putin and EU leaders have had an agreeable tone.

"But Russia cannot make progress on two tracks at the same time. It cannot try to warm up economic relations with Europe, if no progress is made on the Ukraine issue," Niinisto said.

Hakahuhta noted that even though Niinisto did not say it, the principle applies the other way round as well: An EU leader cannot imagine just promoting economic relations and forgetting the issue of Crimea.

Niinisto welcomed the increased interest in Europe for national defense. "Each country must be able to defend itself," he said when commenting on the agreements on defense Finland currently has with the United States, Sweden, Britain and Germany.

The Finnish president underlined that Finland has no automatic alliance with anyone, but indicated that defense cooperation could be enhanced in a crisis situation. He went into World War II history, noting that Germany and Japan had no pre-war alliance, but became allies.

Commenting on Friday's decision to enter the French-led European Intervention Initiative, Niinisto noted that this is only the letter-of-intent stage. Actual defense matters would be discussed next winter, he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 04:58:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KAMPALA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Sixty-nine Ugandan students who have won Chinese scholarships will soon travel to China to pursue academic studies on various disciplines.

Speaking at a send-off reception for the students, Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zheng Zhuqiang said China welcomes more young Ugandan students to study in China.

"We believe you will become the driving forces to expedite Uganda's development and become the goodwill ambassadors for China-Uganda friendship," Zheng said.

He added that round 500 Ugandans take short-term training courses in China every year.

For his part, John Muyingo, Uganda's state minister for higher education, urged the students to acquire skills from China that can be used in fasttracking Uganda's development.

"We badly need the skills you are going to acquire to develop your country," Muyingo said.

He hailed China for the continued provision of scholarships to Ugandan students.

Collin Twebaze, one of the scholarship winners who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said they hope the skills they acquire from China will contribute positively to the development of Uganda.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 05:08:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- A leader of Islamic State (IS) militants was killed in a fire between two IS groups in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala.

Separately, two of the extremist militants were killed in clash with the security forces in the province, provincial security sources said on Saturday.

Intelligence reports confirmed that Abu Ahmed, a local IS leader was killed in a clash between two IS groups at the orchards of Mkheisa area in northeast of the provincial capital Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, Ahmed al-Shimary, from Diyala Operations Command, told Xinhua without saying when the incident took place.

Ahmed was one of the aides of the former al-Qaida top leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2006, Shimary said.

Ahmed, who is an Iraqi national, joined IS extremist militant group in 2014 and became one of the main group's leaders in Diyala province.

Separately, a joint Iraqi army and police force killed on Saturday two IS militants and destroyed their vehicle while they were trying to transfer fuel to the extremist militants in Himreen mountainous area in north of Diyala province, Sadiq al-Husseiny, head of the provincial security committee, told Xinhua.

Despite repeated military operations in Diyala province, remnants of IS militants were still hiding in rugged areas near the border with Iran, as well as the sprawling areas extending from western part of Diyala to Himreen mountainous area in the northern part of the province.

On Dec. 9, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared full liberation of Iraq from the IS. However, small groups of IS militants have since regrouped in rugged areas, carrying out attacks against security forces and civilians from time to time.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 05:08:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Islamic State (IS) on Saturday claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack on a security checkpoint in the western Libyan city of Zliten, which killed and injured security personnel.

"A number of soldiers of the caliphate raided Wadi K'am checkpoint on Zliten road, targeting a gathering of security members of the infidel government. They clashed with them with light weapons and grenades," IS media arm Amaq said in a statement on Twitter.

It said that 17 security men were killed and injured, confirming that the "Mujahideen returned safely to their positions".

IS affiliates on a four-wheel drive vehicle earlier on Thursday attacked a security checkpoint in the western city of Zliten, some 160 km east of the capital Tripoli, killing seven security personnel and injuring two others, according to a local security source.

The attack came less than a day after IS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, called on his supporters to "turn to Libya and support the Mujahideen in Libya, Syria and Iraq."

A number of Libyan cities have previously suffered similar terrorist attacks, targeting security and military checkpoints.Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-26 05:43:09|Editor: Chengcheng

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by Nick Kolyohin

JERUSALEM, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Israel is expected by 2022-2023 to be probably the first country in the world to depend fully on desalination plants to meet its population drinking water need.

Nowadays Israel is already producing around 600 million cubic meters of desalinated water equal to about 70-80 percent of the country's tap drinking water demand.

Israel is a leading country in using desalinated water, started in 2005 with a capacity of 20 million cubic meters, and since then, the amount increases every year.

Israel is practicing cutting-edge technology to produce high-quality drinking water out of the endless Mediterranean seawater, using a process called reverse osmosis.

Jacky Ben Yaish, the VP Engineering of Israeli water desalination company IDE Technologies, told Xinhua that "our technology enables us to desalinate the seawater at a low cost with low energy consumption but still to make very pure drinking water."

IDE Technologies desalinate 70 percent of Israeli consumption of artificial water and considers itself a leader in Israeli and worldwide desalination and water treatment market.

In Israel, IDE built three desalination plants and one of them is the biggest in the world. IDE as well exports their technology across the globe.

"We have desalination plants in China, the United States, Australia and much more countries. We will also desalinate sewage around the world in a high scale as climate change worsens," Ben Yaish said.

Although Israel has the technology, it is still not clear whether it will desalinate as well its sewage to pure drinkable water in the future. Nowadays Israel reuses all of its effluents primarily for agricultural irrigation.

Moshe Garazi, director of a regulation division at Israeli Water Authority said "it is a more sustainable and water saving solution to treat the water we already used anyway, and it is flowing in our sewage pipes."

Israel is the leading country in the world using 86 percent of its effluents, followed by Spain with only 17 percent, according to Israeli Water Authority.

Garazi said desalination of sewage has not started yet. "It will be challenging to convince the public to drink water from the sewage pipes."

Some water experts in Israel said as the population grows in the future, the arid country will have no choice but to desalinate the sewage as well.

Israel is located in one of the driest places in the world, where drinking water is in great shortage, and yet it succeeded in the last decade to overcome this obstacle by securing enough tap water for its population.

It took Israel almost 70 years since its establishment to be confident in having enough drinking water. It tried several ways to ensure a constant supply of water.

Over the years, Israel developed sophisticated irrigation techniques that saved a lot of water. It also convinced the population with media campaigns to use less water for private consumption.

However, it is the desalination solution that made it possible for the hot Mediterranean country to become rich in water.

Israel started to desalinate water in a small scale in the 1960s in the southern part of the country where the national tap water pipes did not reach.

Just in the last two decades, five massive desalination plants built throughout the country's Mediterranean coastline made the real change.

Meanwhile, the environmentalists are concerned with the pollution from the plants, as it is planned that in the next four to five years, another two big desalination factories will be built in Israel, with more expected in the future.

High energy consumption of the desalination factories causes air pollution. The process of desalination also produces side product of saline effluent discharged back to the sea.

Moreover, experts believe that there will be long-term health impact of artificial water stripped of all natural minerals.

Avner Adin, former chairman of Israeli Drinking Water Quality Committee, said in an interview with Xinhua that he realized the importance of evaluating the health impact of the desalinated water.

"We was the first in the world to establish criteria for safe desalinated water quality for drinking and to prevent pipe corrosion, and today all the desalination plants must comply with this regulation," Adin said.

One of the conclusions of the committee was that four essential minerals are lacking in the desalinated water, which are magnesium, iodine, fluorine, and calcium.

Today, only calcium is added back to the water in the process, while fluorine is not added because of financial reasons, and it is still controversial about the necessity of iodine and magnesium.

Lack of magnesium in the tap water is raising the highest concern among the public, and Israeli Ministry of Health is mulling over a pilot test of the possibility regarding artificial enrichment of magnesium in the desalinated water.

Yona Amitai, a professor at Bar Ilan University, also an expert in toxicology and public health, expressed deep concern about drinking desalinated seawater without magnesium.

"Magnesium is essential to people's health. It is responsible for more than 300 metabolic processes in our body, 20 percent of the magnesium intake should be consumed from the water and 80 percent from the food," said Amitai.

The professor said his research showed that the lack of certain minerals in the drinking water could raise the risk of heart attack, reporting an increase of heart diseases in places where people drink desalinated seawater.

The desalinated water lacking in minerals is partly used also in the Israeli agricultural irrigation, and it makes the magnesium shortage even greater, Amitai said.File photo: Masts of yachts are silhouetted against sunset on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 16, 2014. (Xinhua photo)

JERUSALEM, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Israel is expected by 2022-2023 to be probably the first country in the world to depend fully on desalination plants to meet its population drinking water need.

Nowadays Israel is already producing around 600 million cubic meters of desalinated water equal to about 70-80 percent of the country's tap drinking water demand.

Israel is a leading country in using desalinated water, started in 2005 with a capacity of 20 million cubic meters, and since then, the amount increases every year.

Israel is practicing cutting-edge technology to produce high-quality drinking water out of the endless Mediterranean seawater, using a process called reverse osmosis.

Jacky Ben Yaish, the VP Engineering of Israeli water desalination company IDE Technologies, told Xinhua that "our technology enables us to desalinate the seawater at a low cost with low energy consumption but still to make very pure drinking water."

IDE Technologies desalinate 70 percent of Israeli consumption of artificial water and considers itself a leader in Israeli and worldwide desalination and water treatment market.

In Israel, IDE built three desalination plants and one of them is the biggest in the world. IDE as well exports their technology across the globe.

"We have desalination plants in China, the United States, Australia and much more countries. We will also desalinate sewage around the world in a high scale as climate change worsens," Ben Yaish said.

Although Israel has the technology, it is still not clear whether it will desalinate as well its sewage to pure drinkable water in the future. Nowadays Israel reuses all of its effluents primarily for agricultural irrigation.

File photo: This picture shows Sorek desalination plant in Rishon Letzion, Israel on May 4, 2014. (AP photo)

Moshe Garazi, director of a regulation division at Israeli Water Authority said "it is a more sustainable and water saving solution to treat the water we already used anyway, and it is flowing in our sewage pipes."

Israel is the leading country in the world using 86 percent of its effluents, followed by Spain with only 17 percent, according to Israeli Water Authority.

Garazi said desalination of sewage has not started yet. "It will be challenging to convince the public to drink water from the sewage pipes."

Some water experts in Israel said as the population grows in the future, the arid country will have no choice but to desalinate the sewage as well.

Israel is located in one of the driest places in the world, where drinking water is in great shortage, and yet it succeeded in the last decade to overcome this obstacle by securing enough tap water for its population.

It took Israel almost 70 years since its establishment to be confident in having enough drinking water. It tried several ways to ensure a constant supply of water.

Over the years, Israel developed sophisticated irrigation techniques that saved a lot of water. It also convinced the population with media campaigns to use less water for private consumption.

However, it is the desalination solution that made it possible for the hot Mediterranean country to become rich in water.

Israel started to desalinate water in a small scale in the 1960s in the southern part of the country where the national tap water pipes did not reach.

Just in the last two decades, five massive desalination plants built throughout the country's Mediterranean coastline made the real change.

Meanwhile, the environmentalists are concerned with the pollution from the plants, as it is planned that in the next four to five years, another two big desalination factories will be built in Israel, with more expected in the future.

High energy consumption of the desalination factories causes air pollution. The process of desalination also produces side product of saline effluent discharged back to the sea.

Moreover, experts believe that there will be long-term health impact of artificial water stripped of all natural minerals.

Avner Adin, former chairman of Israeli Drinking Water Quality Committee, said in an interview with Xinhua that he realized the importance of evaluating the health impact of the desalinated water.

"We was the first in the world to establish criteria for safe desalinated water quality for drinking and to prevent pipe corrosion, and today all the desalination plants must comply with this regulation," Adin said.

One of the conclusions of the committee was that four essential minerals are lacking in the desalinated water, which are magnesium, iodine, fluorine, and calcium.

Today, only calcium is added back to the water in the process, while fluorine is not added because of financial reasons, and it is still controversial about the necessity of iodine and magnesium.

Lack of magnesium in the tap water is raising the highest concern among the public, and Israeli Ministry of Health is mulling over a pilot test of the possibility regarding artificial enrichment of magnesium in the desalinated water.

Yona Amitai, a professor at Bar Ilan University, also an expert in toxicology and public health, expressed deep concern about drinking desalinated seawater without magnesium.

"Magnesium is essential to people's health. It is responsible for more than 300 metabolic processes in our body, 20 percent of the magnesium intake should be consumed from the water and 80 percent from the food," said Amitai.

The professor said his research showed that the lack of certain minerals in the drinking water could raise the risk of heart attack, reporting an increase of heart diseases in places where people drink desalinated seawater.

The desalinated water lacking in minerals is partly used also in the Israeli agricultural irrigation, and it makes the magnesium shortage even greater, Amitai said.More Information

More information

 Read the book: Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Buffalo is available online and by special order. Author Ken Zontek donates all royalties to the InterTribal Buffalo Council. You may also get it from Yakima Valley Libraries.

 Learn more about the InterTribal Buffalo Council: www.itbcbuffalonation.org.

 Get more details about the Yakama Nations Buffalo Tsoo-thlum Project: www.ynwildlife.org/buffaloprogram.php.By JEAN NORDINE

[email protected]

IRONWOOD - More than 200 concerned citizens rallied in Ironwood Friday night in the parking lot across from Cloverland Cinemas to protest the Dec. 1 closing of the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco.

Since the Aug. 14 announcement by the Michigan Department of Corrections, many people in the western U.P. have been trying to find a way to ward off the closure and save 200 local jobs.

Prior to the announcement a group of people from local government, business and Gogebic Community College were planning to travel to the state capital to lobb...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...Carl June, one of the gene therapy pioneers at the University of Pennsylvania. Penn Medicine scientists are raising funds for a series of for-profit companies that hope to capitalize on medical innovations. Read more

Without fanfare, the University of Pennsylvania has agreed to invest up to $50 million over the next three years in at least 10 biotech companies, the Inquirer has learned.

The goal of the pilot program is to convince more local Ph.D.s and M.D.s to establish their companies near the school's West Philadelphia campus, instead of moving to traditional venture-capital centers in Massachusetts, California, and other states where funding has been more readily available, until now.

Penn has set the following conditions, according to people familiar with the program, which has begun but not been publicly announced:

The firms Penn backs must agree to maintain headquarters in the Philadelphia region.

Each company must also collect larger funding commitments from one or more major investment firms specializing in biotech companies, ensuring Penn's money is leveraged to attract total investments in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars for each target firm.

The outline of the program was confirmed by Penn officials including Kevin B. Mahoney, chief administrative officer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System and vice dean at Penn's Perelman Medical School:

Mahoney said the expanded pilot co-investment policy has four broad objectives, such as bringing novel treatments to patients quickly and safely, and supporting faculty initiatives. The university also hopes to attract more money to diversify Penn's research portfolio and get more non-federal funding. Finally, Mahoney said, the pilot's mission is "to build the Philadelphia innovation ecosystem to create jobs, synergy and an innovation cluster around Penn technology and spin outs."

The move follows breakthroughs in cell and gene altering techniques at Penn and elsewhere that have attracted financial commitments from drug firms, foundations, venture and private equity firms.

Earlier this year, Tmunity Therapeutics, a T cells-based company set up by Penn cancer researcher Carl June and his partners, raised more than $100 million from the China-based Ping An insurance group, California-based Gilead Biosciences, and other U.S. and Asian investors.

Penn's $5 million investment in Tmunity is being counted as the first investment in the university's biotech program.

Other pilot-program investments include one in Tycho Therapeutics, headed by Wharton adjunct professor Steven Nichtberger.

Still other candidates include firms such as Carma Therapeutics Inc., which is developing cellular immunotherapies based on work begun in the lab of Penn assistant professor Saar Gill to attack cancer tumors. Carma on June 12 announced that it "closed an initial financing" led by AbbVie Ventures, which has offices in Boston and San Francisco. In April, Carma executives told the SEC that it had borrowed $3.9 million for short-term funding. A Penn investment in Carma is expected to come soon.

Besides these direct investments, medical school officials also hope to develop manufacturing support and software services that can be used by companies supported by the investment program to ramp up production. Future funding could also go to start-ups that include faculty from other schools, though that is still a long way off.

Philadelphia biotech entrepreneurs have complained for years of a perceived lack of local funding sources.

Quaker Partners, whose partners included Philadelphia real estate and private equity investor Ira J. Lubert, and the late Glaxo executive Brenda Gavin, raised $700 million in the 2000s for biotech investments in the Philadelphia area and other markets, but results have been slow: Of a total of $200 million invested by the Pennsylvania state and public school workers' pension systems in the plan, just $135 million had been returned by 2017, more than ten years later, according to state investment records. These investments have yet to deliver a profit for the pensions, which face large long-term deficits.

"If Philadelphia wants to be a major power in biotech, it needs to raise more money, more venture capital," observed Felix Hsu, senior vice president at WuXi AppTech, which employs 600 manufacturing cell-based therapies and other cutting-edge products in three buildings at the former Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Hsu said venture capital firms from Boston, San Francisco and Seattle have backed Philadelphia scientists, but more often "the technology has been developed here and moved to Boston, because that's where the funding was and the whole support network. It's fascinating, because the cost of living is greater in Boston and San Francisco than in Philadelphia. But those cities are where the critical mass is," and scientists often follow the money.The signature Buddha at Buddakan. The Buddha itself is 7 feet tall and sits on a 4-foot pedestal. Read more

Aug. 26, 1998, dinner hour. Traffic jam on the 300 block of Chestnut Street in Old City.

Opening night of Buddakan, Stephen Starr's revamp of the 19106 post office into an Asian-inspired hot spot, complete with an oversize gold-leaf Buddha smiling serenely over an 18-foot community table, a floor-to-ceiling, plate-glass waterfall in front of the host stand, and waiters dressed in sheer pajamas.

This was Starr's $1.5 million comeback. His Continental martini bar at Second and Market Streets three years before was a roaring success, while the next project, a quirky Soviet-theme vodka bar called Cafe Republic, flopped after a year in a dodgy part of town: 22nd and South; it's now a Starbucks in one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in the city.

Twenty years later, Buddakan still has juice, after spawning outlets in New York City and Atlantic City  all part of Starr's empire of nearly three dozen restaurants.

On weeknights in the summer, the slow season, the kitchen at 325 Chestnut St. will feed 300 people. Come Saturday nights in the fall, the count can double, says general manager Leah Patterson.

The Old City restaurant will mark the china anniversary on Sunday, Aug. 26 with a special menu; the opening chef, Scott Swiderski, will be in the house with current chef Nery Hernandez. They'll bring back some classic dishes, such as the edamame ravioli, crab fried rice, Chinese eggplant, and the crying chocolate dessert.

Buddakan trivia

Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and Jonathan Demme took over the restaurant for the premiere of Winfrey's movie Beloved shortly after the opening.

Bruce Willis enjoyed Buddakan so much while filming The Sixth Sense (1999) that he invited the staff to a party at a soundstage in the old Civic Center. Willis played a private show with his band, Bruno and the Heaters.

Will Smith shot a scene from his "Freakin' It" video at the communal table, taking over the restaurant from morning through midafternoon one January day in 2000.

Among the celebrities who've eaten there are Joni Mitchell, Robert De Niro, and Mick Jagger. Politicos of all stripes, including Bill Clinton and John McCain, too.

The same dumpling-maker, a woman known as Mama Ha, is still in the kitchen.

The angry lobster  a wok-seared three-pounder served with lobster mashed potatoes, wok-charred vegetables, and coconut curry sauce  was priced on the opening menu at $48. That's $74 in today's dollars. It's no longer on the menu; the current lobster dish (a more modest $39) is kung pao-style with chili-Szechuan sauce, cilantro, and peanuts.

Edamame ravioli in a truffled Sauternes-shallot broth was one of the most popular dishes from Day One. In 2006, the chef at the New York Buddakan  a guy named Michael Schulson  updated the rav into a har gow dumpling. The preparation migrated to Philadelphia and then to Atlantic City.

Scott Swiderski, the opening chef, stayed on for 12 years  an almost-unheard-of tenure with a restaurant.

The Philippe Starck chairs are covered with fabric printed with faces. You can still see Sarah Starr, the restaurateur's oldest daughter, as a child. She is now 27.

Starr initially conceived the restaurant as Cuban with the name Babalu  as in, Ricky Ricardo/I Love Lucy. He ditched that idea and then became wedded to opening a restaurant carrying the name Blue. But restaurateur Neil Stein announced plans to open Bleu, a French restaurant where Starr's mega-hit Parc is now, sending Starr back to the drawing board. He chose an Asian concept to counteract the high-end stylings of Susanna Foo, then a posh room on Walnut Street at Sydenham (where Chipotle is now).

Design-wise, Starr was inspired by the lobby of the Delano in Miami and wanted to capture that feeling.

Although Starck did not take on the restaurant design project, Starr and team did it themselves, inspired by Starck. However the furniture is all Starck  at the time you couldn't buy them on the open market.

The name grew out of Starr's previous life as a music promoter. The first act he booked was Cheap Trick at the War Memorial in Trenton. The group's seminal album was Live at the Budokan.

That Buddha. How tall is it? Press clippings suggest 10 feet or 12 feet. Staff took out a tape measure last week for the definitive answer: It's 7 feet tall, and it sits on a 4-foot stage.Supporters of the Charter School for Architecture and Design, or CHAD, rally on the Philadelphia School District steps before a recent School Reform Commission meeting. The SRC voted to begin nonrenewal proceedings against the school. Read more

Standardized test scores at Charter High School for Architecture and Design dropped during the last four years. For the most part, it compared unfavorably to schools with similar student populations and to the Philadelphia School District. Attendance declined. The School Reform Commission, before it went out of existence, recently voted against a five-year renewal for the school's charter.

But that doesn't mean it's shutting down  or ever will.

It can take years to close a charter school in Philadelphia, a decision drawn out by state law and local resistance.

Three charter schools recommended for nonrenewal by the School District in 2016 and another three for nonrenewal or revocation in 2017 remain open, with no closing dates imminent. The charter for one of those schools, Aspira-run John B. Stetson, expired even earlier, in 2015.

At the SRC's final meeting on June 21, it renewed two charters that the district had previously advised it to close. The outgoing head of the district's Charter Schools Office, DawnLynne Kacer, said both schools agreed to surrender their charters if they didn't meet certain conditions at the end of their terms  three years in the future for one, and four years for the other.

The end result could be the same, Kacer said, because "that's probably the amount of time it would take" for them to close anyway.

As charter schools have grown in Philadelphia, educating about 70,000, or one-third, of the city's public-school students in 84 brick-and-mortar schools, the prolonged process for closing means "we are really putting kids in continuously detrimental situations," said Amy Ruck Kagan of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

Ruck Kagan, a former director of a Philadelphia charter group, noted that the decision on whether to close a school becomes more complicated the longer it stays open, because the school has time to make changes: replacing the principal, for instance, or hiring a high-powered attorney.

For charter schools, "the biggest issue" with the nonrenewal process "is that it creates uncertainty. Uncertainty for parents, uncertainty for staff, uncertainty for the entire school organization," said Larry Jones, a former president of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools and the CEO of Richard Allen Preparatory Charter School in Philadelphia. The SRC issued a notice of nonrenewal to Richard Allen in October; Jones said a hearing will be held this fall.

In other states, "you see a process that's much more transparent, much more consistent," Jones said.

While it's similarly difficult to close charter schools in some other states, Ruck Kagan said, others have laws that promote closure of poor performers.

In New Jersey  where Ruck Kagan previously led the state's charter office  state regulations lay out a time frame for renewal decisions. Unlike in Pennsylvania, where local school districts authorize charters, the New Jersey Department of Education is the lone authorizer. It must notify charter schools of renewal decisions by Feb. 1 in the last year of their charter terms; school leaders must then quickly implement any closure plan.

As in Pennsylvania, New Jersey charter schools have the right to appeal. And they can ask a court to stay a closure decision. But a New Jersey court has never granted a request for a stay, Ruck Kagan said.

In Pennsylvania, the law spelling out standards for charter schools "doesn't have a lot of teeth," said Joe Dworetzky, who served on the SRC from 2009 through 2014.

And the nonrenewal process is far lengthier. A local school board must issue a notice of nonrenewal to a charter school; in Philadelphia, this had occurred through an SRC vote after the School District made a recommendation.

Then a hearing must be scheduled  and it can be extensive. One for Eastern Academy Charter School in Philadelphia, for instance, spanned 14 days this past October through December.

After a public comment period, the school board must again take action to nonrenew or revoke the school's charter. The charter school can then appeal to a state board  all while continuing to operate.

Pending before the state Charter Appeals Board is an appeal from Philadelphia's Khepera Charter School, which had its charter revoked by the SRC in December. The Charter Schools Office doesn't have any recent reports of payroll issues at Khepera, which ended the 2016-17 school year early due to financial troubles. But a district spokesman said the school had not yet submitted its most recent audit, which was due Dec. 31.

Eastern Academy, which the SRC voted to nonrenew in April, is also fighting closure. A spokeswoman said an appeal to the state board was mailed last week  though there wasn't a clear deadline to do so. "We don't see a hard time frame" in the state charter law, said lawyer David Annecharico. He said the school, which says it was unfairly evaluated by the district, felt during its hearings that it was "highly likely" it would be preparing for an appeal.

Philadelphia School District officials also assess the possibility of an appeal in deciding whether to recommend nonrenewal of a charter  and what changes a school might be able to make in the time it takes to get to the appeals board.

"What could a school reasonably do in two years? Our office tries to play that scenario out," said Kacer, who is stepping down from the charter office Monday. If a school that isn't meeting standards could improve, the office sometimes proposes renewal with conditions, rather than moving to close the school.

It took that route recently with two schools that didn't measure up on its evaluations. While Universal Alcorn and Universal Institute approached the charter office's standards in academics and organizational compliance, both failed to meet financial standards.

In the case of Universal Alcorn  an elementary and middle school in Grays Ferry formerly run by the district  the office's evaluation notes that the school "has suffered a substantial operating loss and has a deficiency in net assets. This creates an uncertainty about the charter school's ability to continue as a going concern."

With "internal controls" and cash-management strategies, the Universal schools  run by music legend Kenny Gamble's company  could improve, Kacer said. Her office also recommended renewal with conditions for a third Universal-run school, Vare Promise Neighborhood Partnership, after previously advising it not be renewed. The SRC earlier this year directed Kacer's office to negotiate with Vare.

Bill Green, who was appointed to the SRC in 2014, said the commission used negotiations to its advantage, though he acknowledged it hadn't always obtained its desired result. Green had pushed to delay votes for the Aspira-run Olney and Stetson charter schools, recommended for nonrenewal in 2016.

Despite the added time for Aspira  whose management of five charter schools drew scrutiny from the state auditor  the SRC voted in December against renewing the schools. "We probably waited too long, in hindsight," Green said.

The challenge with closing a school once it's "up and running  it's a business," with employees, students, and neighborhood presence, said Dworetzky, the former SRC member. "There's a lot of momentum behind a school once it's open."

As much as people complain about the quality of individual public schools, when its the schools they go to or their kids go to, they come out and they tell you how hard it is for them, Dworetzky said. You cant just brush that away.

Before the final SRC meeting, supporters of CHAD, the architecture and design school facing nonrenewal, rallied on the steps of School District headquarters. Wearing orange T-shirts that read "CHADvocate," they chanted in response to an activist's prompts, amplified by megaphone.

"This is not the end," the activist, Sixx King, a director and actor whose presence was arranged by a public relations consultant, told the crowd. "This is the beginning."The head of the Philadelphia School District's charter office is stepping down after prolonged conflict with many of the city's charter schools.

DawnLynne Kacer will leave her position as executive director of the Charter Schools Office on Monday, according to the School District. She will become executive director of the district's Opportunity Network, overseeing alternative schools.

"At the School District of Philadelphia we routinely make shifts among our talented staff," Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said in a statement. "We are pleased with the hard work DawnLynne Kacer has done  and we are also excited that she is taking her skill set to another vital role within our District."

Kacer's impending departure and new role were first reported by the Philadelphia Public School Notebook.

A district spokesperson said Kacer "has a deep and longstanding interest in opportunity youth" and applied to lead the Opportunity Network. The spokesperson, Megan Lello, said criticism from charter-school leaders did not play a role in Kacer's move.

According to the Washington-based Corps Network, "opportunity youth," sometimes called "disconnected youth," are defined as people between ages 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor working.

Kacer joined the Charter Schools Office in 2015, tasked with overseeing the city's 84 bricks-and-mortar charter schools that enroll about 70,000, or one-third, of Philadelphia public school students.

In Pennsylvania, school districts are responsible for authorizing charter schools, generally for five-year terms. Kacer implemented changes in how the district evaluated charter schools, and oversaw annual evaluations of schools in addition to renewal recommendations.

Kacer, who came in as the district was working to improve its authorizing practices, "certainly brought experience and leadership," said School Reform Commission member Bill Green.

But charter-school leaders complained the measures were unfair. Some have refused to sign new agreements with the district, arguing that the district is trying to hold them to standards that many of its own schools would not meet. Meanwhile, a pro-charter group sued the district in April over a new policy that the group said unfairly restricted charter operations.

"This wasn't a good relationship," said David Hardy, the founding CEO of Boys' Latin Charter School who now advises the group that filed suit against the district, Excellent Schools PA. He said he wasn't surprised by Kacer's departure: "There's been enough complaining."

Hardy said charter-school operators resolved many of their disagreements about the office's latest approach to evaluating charter schools by working with the School Reform Commission. Leaders of 25 charter schools still haven't signed on, however, as the new school board prepares to take over.

"There should have been a way to get those things done," Hardy said. While Kacer alone wasn't responsible for the contention, Hardy said, "she was the face that we dealt with. And she was the one who bore the complaints."

After the final SRC meeting Thursday, Kacer told reporters that "every school has the opportunity to negotiate" organizational terms and conditions with the charter office.

Charter schools "still have a very high level of autonomy," Kacer said.

Kacer will be replaced by Christina Grant as interim chief of charter schools. The district said that Grant, currently assistant superintendent for the district's Innovation Network and Opportunity Network, "brings many years of experience from the charter sector."A charter school supporter holds up a sign during presentations given by city council members and charter advocates at City Hall in January. MICHELLE GUSTAFSON / For the Inquirer Read more

The Philadelphia School District is recommending that all but one of the 17 charter schools it evaluated for renewal this year be allowed to continue operating.

The recommendations, which the district is to make public Monday, propose conditions for renewing many of the schools, including two run by Aspira, the organization recently accused by Pennsylvania's auditor general of operating charter schools without adequate transparency or oversight.

The recommendations followed lengthy negotiations with charter schools over how the schools should be evaluated. But tensions between the district and the charters  which enroll about one-third of the city's public school students  may not be resolved just yet.

At issue is a threshold put forward by the district for assessing the academic performance of charter schools. Officials say they want to ensure that charter schools are performing better than similar schools at least most of the time.

But charter leaders have argued that the district is setting a higher standard that many schools  including the district's traditional schools  would not be able to meet.

In addition to the schools addressed by the new recommendations, 17 schools previously recommended for renewal are operating under expired charters because they have refused to sign agreements with the district. Philadelphia has 84 brick-and-mortar charter schools.

In response to conversations with charter representatives, district officials said they had made changes to the proposed charter agreements and the performance framework used to evaluate the schools.

"I am proud of these charter agreements. The agreements are the result of over a year of work with the charter sector and reflect more than 60 negotiated changes in terms and conditions," said SRC Chair Estelle Richman. She added that the revised performance framework "provides charter schools with transparent and predictable accountability and ensures charter schools are quality options for students and families."

The recommendations are expected to be taken up by the School Reform Commission this month in one of its final actions before ceding control to the newly appointed Board of Education. It's not yet clear where the new school board will stand in its approach to charter schools.

But the framework still includes the controversial measure of academic success.

"We believe in high standards. We believe they should be reasonable," said Scott Gordon, CEO of Mastery Charter Schools, which operates 17 schools in the city, some that are among 57 talking to the district about changes to the agreements.

While "we're delighted that nearly all of those have been corrected," Gordon said, as many as one-fifth of charter schools and one-quarter of district schools would not meet the academic standard proposed by the district, based on an analysis by Mastery.

"If the district wants to set a higher standard, we should discuss having that standard apply to all schools  district and charter schools," Gordon said.

Under the performance framework, a charter school can earn a maximum of 100 points for academics. Points are awarded on the basis of proficiency, growth, attendance, and, in the case of high schools, post-secondary readiness.

Charter schools are rated on how they fare compared to the district average, as well as to an average of "similar schools"  those with comparable rates of students living in poverty, learning English, or requiring special education. The district removed its schools with academic-admissions criteria from those comparison groups, although those schools are still included in the district average.

Charter leaders note that as low-performing schools are closed, the averages would increase, making them more difficult to beat.

If a school earns more than 75 percent of possible points, it meets academic standards, according to the framework. Earning 45 to 75 percent of points is considered approaching standards, while a score below 45 doesn't  and opens the door for the district to recommend a school not be renewed.

Charter leaders have opposed using the 45-point mark as the academic threshold for schools to win renewal.

District officials say the 45 threshold minimizes scenarios in which a school could score zero points on proficiency, but still be eligible for renewal. They also note that a score below a 45 doesn't mean a school will be closed.

For instance, Imhotep Institute Charter High School scored a 31, but the district recommended it for a one-year renewal. The rest of the schools recommended for renewal were for five-year terms  the standard for charters.

The lone school not to be recommended for renewal, Charter High School for Architecture and Design, scored a 33. But unlike Imhotep, it did not meet district standards for two other key benchmarks: organizational compliance and financial health.

Five Mastery schools are operating under expired charters. Gordon said the Mastery board would be willing to sign agreements if the district set the academic bar at 40 points, which a school could achieve if it beat similar schools three out of four years, and met standards for academic growth two out of four years, according to Mastery's calculations.

It also wants the district to change language in proposed agreements on whether the district can move to revoke charters based on an annual evaluation.

Two additional Mastery schools, Hardy Williams and Pastorius, have charters that expire this year and were recommended by the district for five-year renewals. Other schools proposed for five-year renewals include KIPP DuBois, MaST, Philadelphia Academy, and Young Scholars.

Most of the rest of the schools evaluated received recommendations of renewal for five years, but with conditions.

That group includes Antonia Pantoja and Eugenio Maria de Hostos, two Aspira-run charter schools. The district found the schools did not meet its standards for financial health  identifying issues with related parties, loan covenants, and timely payments to the state employees retirement system.

But the schools met academic standards  scoring 79 and 78, respectively  and approached standards in organizational compliance.

While the reports recommend renewal with conditions, they do not specify what conditions should be imposed. District officials said conditions would be identified in proposed charter agreements and negotiated with schools.

The SRC previously voted that there were grounds not to renew two other Aspira schools, Olney and Stetson.

Also recommended for five-year renewals with conditions were Universal Alcorn and Universal Institute. Like Pantoja and de Hostos, both scored below the financial health standards  although neither met academic standards, either. Two other charter schools run by Universal Companies, Vare Promise and Audenried Promise, previously were recommended by the district for non-renewal.

Other schools recommended for five-year renewals with conditions were Christopher Columbus Charter School, Discovery Charter School, Freire Charter School, Maritime Academy Charter School, and Pan American Charter School.

The district also cleared the way for the SRC to approve enrollment expansions at four schools totaling 333 seats.

The SRC is expected to take up charter actions at its June 21 meeting. But charter school boards must sign the district's proposed agreements before the SRC can act.Superintendent William R. Hite shown here on the steps of the Philadelphia School District headquarters. Read more

As Philadelphia public schools prepare to open the academic year for 128,000 students Monday, everyone is asking Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.: What's on tap for this year?

Entering the seventh school term of his superintendency  that's approaching the tenure of Constance Clayton, the storied Philadelphia schools chief who served for a decade  Hite wants you to know that the most important thing he can do is not upset the apple cart.

There will be a few new bells and whistles, including instrumental music at all 215 schools, expanded art opportunities generally, more modernized classrooms in pockets around the city, and ninth-grade academies expanded to 28 high schools, up from 19 last year. But Hite, in an Inquirer and Daily News interview and editorial board meeting, said he wasn't going to "jump around and do new things just to say we're doing new things."

In Philadelphia summers past, Hite was facing financial catastrophes, years-long teachers' contract stalemates, and other sundry crises. Now, he said, "we're able to focus on things like instructional practice, professional development, social and emotional learning  the things that we should always have been focused on as a school district but we weren't able to, because we were looking at 'Are we going to open on time?' and 'What can we do without?' "

Local control, but no miracles

Governance is one major shift for the 2018-19 school year. The School Reform Commission is no more; its successor, the mayoral-appointed Board of Education, took the district reins July 1.

But students walking in Monday for the first pre-Labor Day school term start in anyone's memory won't see any difference, and that's by design.

"My work has changed dramatically, in a good way, working with a new board of education, so that everyone else's doesn't have to," said Hite, adding that he has gone from five bosses to nine who "want to engage in a different way."

Expect more public interaction with the school board, the superintendent said, and more coordination with the city. But don't expect miracles.

"Part of this is also managing expectations," Hite said. "This new board doesn't come with any new money."

Speaking of which: While Hite says the district is in the best financial shape it's been in since he arrived in Philadelphia in 2012, it has serious concerns on the horizon. Its $3.2 billion budget is balanced, allowing for some investments in classrooms, but the five-year picture is much cloudier, with possible deficits in the later years.

About those investments: After years of cuts to arts education, Hite's administration has focused on ramping up art and music education. Last year, with the aid of philanthropic organizations, the district completed and released a comprehensive analysis of city schools' arts programs. To no one's surprise, it found that some schools were rich with them, and others barren.

This year, every elementary school in the city will have opportunities for instrumental music instruction.

"It's not just going to be in Center City and the Northeast," said Hite.

As for the remade classrooms, the district is expanding a program it started last school year, modernizing elementary rooms in struggling schools around the city. By the end of this school year, it will have spent $38 million to spruce up 250 pre-kindergarten through third-grade classrooms, replacing dark lighting, old paint, and traditional classroom structures with new ones.

Those upgrades will benefit a small percentage of district students: 9,700 classrooms around the city remain untouched.

Still, the arts and classrooms boosts  which represent a drop in the district's overall budget  may be modest, but the impact is outsized, Hite said.

"They are small things," the superintendent said, "that add up to big things."

What about toxins inside schools?

Environmental hazards inside schools around the city, detailed by the Inquirer and Daily News in a recent investigative series, are also on Hite's mind.

In late June, the state took the unprecedented step of giving the school system $7.6 million to fix peeling lead paint at up to 40 schools. (The district will match Pennsylvania's contributions.)

The emergency repair work has begun, Hite said, but the timetable is not what the district  which has some history of fumbling on repair jobs  was initially expecting.

"We have to manage expectations around this  it takes much longer than we first thought to do paint stabilization," he said. The district has provided periodic updates on its progress throughout the summer. Hite knows there is increased scrutiny on the district's work, with the state, teachers' union, parents, and others watching the work closely.

Despite hurdles, overall, Hite said he feels good about the state of the district, whose graduation rate and test scores have risen, although incrementally, since the superintendent's arrival. According to the most recent figures available, 67 percent of Philadelphia students graduate on time, 33 percent read at grade level as measured by state test performance, and 19 percent meet state standards in math.

Those numbers are sobering in many ways and reminders of the long road ahead, Hite said, but there are bright spots, too.

Hite said he's quite proud of the fact that the district has moved more students who performed at the lowest level on state tests, below basic, into higher tiers. And he's gratified that this year, the district had to hire only 550 new teachers, down from about 900 last year, 1,000 the prior year, and well over 1,000 the year before that.

"It means that we can stop talking so much about recruitment, and more about retention," said the superintendent.

Of those new teachers, 34 percent are teachers of color, and 24 percent are black. Those are higher numbers than the district has posted recently, part of a push to diversify the Philadelphia teaching force.Jeff Lynne of ELO gives a thumbs up to the crowd after singing Evil Woman during ELO's concert at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on Aug. 24, 2018. Read more

Though Jeff Lynne and company simply walked onto the stage of the Wells Fargo Center on Friday, rather than landing via spaceship as they did in their late-'70s heyday, their presence alone felt otherworldly. It has, after all, been more than 30 years since Lynne last performed with ELO in Philadelphia, so the opportunity was about as rare as a UFO sighting.

There have been other versions of Electric Light Orchestra in the meantime; original drummer Bev Bevan, along with other longtime band members, toured as ELO Part II throughout the '90s. After Bevan's departure, that version of the band continues as the Orchestra.

That would explain the legal reasoning behind the prominent branding of "Jeff Lynne's ELO," but the possessive name also seems like an act of reclamation. For all the gifted musicians that helped achieve Lynne's perfectionist vision, ELO was always his creation, a neon-hued Frankenstein's monster built from bits of early rock-and-roll, symphonic themes, Beatles harmonies, and disco beats.

All of those pieces came together flawlessly at the Wells Fargo, played to perfection by a band of hired guns (not even keyboardist Richard Tandy, the last remaining original member in Lynne's circle, was aboard for this 10-city tour). Lynne's voice sounds as if it has been kept under glass for the last three decades  which it virtually has, as the producer has rarely emerged from his studio.

Hidden, as always, behind a mask of facial hair and dark glasses, Lynne comes across as less reclusive than reluctant. The silvery jacket he wore onstage gave the impression of a comfy sweater-vest, and aside from the glee apparent from the triumphant fist bumps with which he ended several songs, it always seems as if he'd be more at ease in front of a warm fireplace, or at least at a mixing console, than in front of a packed arena.

From the opening notes of "Standin' in the Rain" and on through 80 minutes of nearly nonstop hits, Lynne and his latest incarnation of ELO held the largely boomer-aged crowd rapt Friday. Lynne tore off a crisp, concise guitar solo on "Showdown," but he was just as happy to yield the spotlight: to violinist Rosie Langley on "Livin' Thing" or to backing vocalist Melanie Lewis McDonald for the operatic strains of "Rockaria!"  one song where the band's usual bombast slips into outright silliness.

Towering video screens transmitted images of glaring eyes during "Evil Woman" and desert landscapes for "Wild West Hero," while laser beams criss-crossed the arena for "Shine a Little Love"  and that jukebox-styled spacecraft made an occasional digital flyby. Introducing a song by "my other band," Lynne launched into the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle With Care," roars from the crowd greeting poignant images of his late bandmates George Harrison and, especially, Tom Petty.

The latter's influence could be heard throughout the competent but forgettable opening set by the LA band Dawes, whose sound evokes throwaway B-sides by the likes of Petty or Jackson Browne. Somewhere between Laurel Canyon breeziness and montage-ready 1980s pastiche, Dawes earned a fairly enthusiastic response from a crowd weaned on the band's influences.Deputy Fire Commissioner Gary Loesch (left) with Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel. Loesch will become Sacramento's fire chief on Oct. 1 Read more

Philadelphia's second highest-ranking firefighter is headed to California to become Sacramento's fire chief.

Gary Loesch, who started with the Philadelphia Fire Department in 1985 and rose to the rank of Deputy Fire Commissioner, will start his new job in the Golden State's capital city on Oct. 1.

Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel made the announcement to his department on Friday.

"After his decorated 33-year career with the PFD, I am confident Chief Loesch will provide outstanding leadership for the men and women of the Sacramento (City) Fire Department. While we are going to miss him here in Philadelphia, I know you will join me in saying 'CONGRATULATIONS!!!' before his last work day on Sept. 24. Thank you all for your service to our city  and stay safe!" Thiel wrote.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a statement: "Chief Loesch has a reputation for strong leadership and an even temperament. Those skills will benefit our city as we continue to grow while maintaining excellent service for our residents."

Loesch will lead a department with a $118 million annual budget and 681 employees.

His LinkedIn biography states that he graduated from Lincoln High School in 1980 and earned a bachelor's degree in public safety administration from Neumann University in 2016.People climb up the rocks to the trail after police informed folks that swimming was not allowed in Devils Pool in the Wissahickon Valley Park in Phila., Pa. on Aug. 18, 2018. Officers were very friendly and explained that they could stay in the park but that there is a $100 fine for swimming there. ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer Read more

In theory, Devil's Pool should be unbothered this weekend.

The popular destination inside Wissahickon Valley Park has been ordered closed for weekends from now through September. The Department of Parks and Recreation said Wednesday that the new policy was a "public-safety" matter.

However, I faced little opposition as I took a longer route. I sat on a boulder overlooking the water basin and had the scene to myself for nearly an hour in the early afternoon.

The sought-after location sits just before where Cresheim Creek finds the Wissahickon, with a natural pool collecting near the confluence. According to a widely shared local legend, the Lenni-Lenape believed that the area was not only the meeting of the two creeks, but a meeting point for good and evil.

Boulders that surround the area have sinuous, wavy folds that are not only unique to the valley, but also make for "one of Pennsylvania's outstanding scenic geological features," as one researcher said. Taking to the top of the rocks and jumping into the pool is common, despite reports describing the hazard of the leap and the unsanitary state of the water.

The closure follows complaints in the neighborhood that visitors coming to the illegal swimming hole were committing lewd acts in the park and leaving unsightly trash behind. Karen Daroff, who lives near the pool, said that while she wasn't among the people who complained, she has been disturbed by visitors, especially in the last two years.

>>READ MORE: Neighbors want crackdown on Devil's Pool adventure-seekers

Daroff has many concerns after seeing near-accidents between racing cars, public urination, and lots of broken bottles that she has gone to routinely clean up. Chief among her concerns, though, are a lack of respect for the environment and the perils of cliff-jumping. Daroff said that she's administered first aid or called an ambulance for injured pool visitors several times.

"When there's very humid weather and people are looking for some relief, they look at this as an opportunity for recreation," she said. "I'm hoping and I'm thinking that there are alternate places for families to go and have a good time. But this one is just dangerous."

Police were stationed Saturday at both Livezey Lane and Valley Green Road. Officers were also seen near the historic Livezey House. But let's say one took a more southern entrance to the park. A potential visitor unswayed by clinging August humidity could easily take a trail headed toward the destination, as I did. Mount Airy-based writer Bradley Maule also posted on Instagram from the spot Saturday.

My winding path measured roughly a mile and a half. While there were police at the entrance of Livezey Lane, I just hiked there. From Livezey, I found an unguarded trail leading to Devil's Pool, marked with signage that the route was closed. I ignored this for journalism.

Nearer the pool, I saw a few cyclists. One kindly gave me directions when I felt unsure which way to go at a fork in the trail. Her advice was spot on. I arrived at the rocks above the water and found no visitors, no rangers, and no officers.

To take in Devil's Pool alone is a serene experience, for the most part. The trash is still out there. I tried to block out that a wet pair of underwear was left on a rock near my chill spot, but obviously the sight has lingered.

An officer eventually appeared and called up to me. I was the only person he'd seen at the spot. He informed me that the area was closed and asked for my name. I gave it to him and shared that I'm a reporter. He took down my name, said there wouldn't be a ticket, and escorted me out. Police said swimmers there could face a fine of $100.

As I left I met Nicolas Malabett-Pineda, who had sneaked inside with a friend. They took a side trail near Livezey that was a much faster shortcut than what I followed. Malabett-Pineda was visiting from Miami. In his work as an activist, he encourages exploring public spaces to consider the effects of climate change, and enjoys finding such areas himself when he's traveling. (He made it to the pool later, but with officers in sight, he didn't stick around long.) The activist is concerned that some bad apples may be hampering access for everyone.

"People who are trying to experience nature have this issue," he said. "To have these struggles, it's  disappointing. It's frustrating."Members of the Philadelphia chapter of Outdoor Afro, on a recent outing. Read more

When Victoria Buitron ventured onto her first trail for a New Year's Day hike a few years ago, she said the ever-changing terrain transformed her.

The treadmills she was used to didn't stand a chance.

But Buitron, 29, noticed one aspect of the great outdoors that wasn't so great.

"I've hiked just about everywhere in the tri-state area, and it was really rare that I saw someone who looked like me," said the Connecticut native, who runs the @latinaswhohike Instagram page.

The lack of diversity in the outdoors, in the magazines and websites that cover the subject, and even in industry ads for hiking and camping gear has been slowly changing. According to the Kampgrounds of America 2018 North American Camping Report, the number of new Asian, Hispanic, and black campers has been increasing since 2012, and more and more, they're going outdoors together.

"We're not rescuing people from the 'hood and taking them to the woods to have some conversion experience," said Rue Mapp, founder of Outdoor Afro. "We're trying to make a generation shift, making sure parents are fully engaged. You have to be the one to make it happen to make a love for the outdoors last."

Mapp grew up in California and spent time hunting, fishing, and chasing livestock at a family ranch in Lake County. Nature, she said, pulled the family together there, but, like Buitron, she always noticed what statistics show: Whites made up 74 percent of the 142 million people who participated in outdoor activities, according to an Outdoor Foundation report from 2016. Non-Hispanic whites are 62 percent of the U.S. population.

"I was the only person who looked like me," Mapp said.

Mapp started Outdoor Afro in 2009 to give fellow outdoors enthusiasts a way to get outside in an organized way. Today, Outdoor Afro has groups in 26 states, including Pennsylvania, where Tarik Moore has led hikes along the Wissahickon and kayaking trips in West Philly.

"I grew up in Jersey City, and the only outdoorsy space we had was Liberty Park," said Moore, an accountant from Bucks County. "I guess I didn't become an outdoorsy person and explored until I was an adult."

When the Outdoor Foundation studied why people don't go outside, 26 percent of blacks said they thought it was too expensive. The study found 25 percent of whites and 22 percent of Hispanics agreed. Moore believes the cost of high-quality hiking and camping gear can be a detriment in poorer, inner-city neighborhoods, but every expedition, he noted, doesn't have to end atop a snowcapped mountain in $150 boots. Often, gear can be bought used or even rented.

"People might not have the means, and the cost of camping could be prohibitive, but there's parks that you can go to right in the city," he said. "When we went to the Wissahickon, people who lived just a few miles away were trying it for the first time."

Recently, Moore led an outing to the Johnson House historic site in Germantown, where participants needed only curiosity.

Mapp said she tries to educate Outdoor Afro members on the value of quality gear.

"You're investing in that experience," Mapp said. "You buy one tent one time, and that's going to last you 15 years."

The Outdoor Industry Association also noted that Hispanics tend to take more outings per year  49  than blacks, Asians, and even whites. Latino Outdoors, founded in 2013, now has 5,000 members nationwide, organizing group outings and promoting the myriad health benefits of nature.

"We exist to educate the community," said executive director Luis Villa.

According to the 2018 Outdoor Industry Association's participation report, fear of being hurt by other people, or even animals, ranks low across every demographic. Still, the outdoors can be a different experience for blacks and Hispanics.

Last year, writer Rahawa Haile detailed her solo Appalachian Trail hike from Georgia to Maine, both the joys of finding transcendence in the outdoors and the realities of being a black woman in nature when she headed into rural towns for a break.

"They say they don't see much of 'my kind' around here and leave the rest hanging in the air," Haile wrote.

A 2016 story about Latino Outdoors in High Country News detailed a moment when a group of hikers was stopped by Border Patrol agents southwest of Tucson, Ariz.

"We stop, are questioned by men in uniform about our citizenship status, then waved on. I cannot easily shake what feels like a profound violation," author Glenn Nelson wrote.

Villa said Latino Outdoors is trying to bridge the gap between Hispanics and park rangers.

"Some folks often have a negative impression of uniformed individuals," he said.

Love for the outdoors is often passed down from family, from new parents creating the same moments burned into memory from campfires of their youth. Moore, the Outdoor Afro leader for the Philadelphia and Harrisburg area, said he tries to bring his three children on every adventure, locking in a future where nature for them is the norm.

"It's the best thing for them," Moore said. "Black people have a connection with the outdoors, and they always did."Hate crime legislation has been hotly debated in the Indiana statehouse in recent years. The state's Corrections and Criminal Law Committee is scheduled to take up the issue in late August and in September. Read more

INDIANAPOLIS  Pastor Ron Johnson has long played a role in conservative politics in Indiana. Three years ago, he stood behind Mike Pence as the then-Indiana governor signed a religious-freedom bill designed to offer legal remedies for people whose "exercise of religion has been substantially burdened."

The legislation thrust Indiana into the national spotlight as local and national business leaders feared the law might be used to "justify discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity." In the week after Pence's signing, lawmakers scrambled to enact a legislative fix declaring that the religious-freedom law does not allow discrimination.

Since then, Johnson, pastor of Living Stones Church in Crown Point, has opposed legislation that would specifically criminalize targeted hate crimes, including those committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The state is one of only five  along with Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Wyoming  without a law specifically criminalizing hate crimes that target people by race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other characteristics.

"It's a bad path for everybody," Johnson said of the hate-crime legislation in an interview with News21. Last year, he created a video series titled "Why I Hate 'Hate Crime' Legislation" that was distributed online to a network of 500 pastors through Johnson's Indiana Pastors Alliance.

Like other religious conservatives in the state, Johnson contends such legislation treats citizens unequally and could be used to criminalize his belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

"Anybody who loves religious liberty and loves freedom of speech should hate hate-crime legislation," he said.

Among the 45 states with such laws, provisions vary widely. Most designate race, religion, and national origin as motivations for hate crimes. However, 13 states do not include sexual orientation, and 33 do not include gender identity. Laws in California, Iowa, and West Virginia include political affiliation as a consideration in defining hate crimes. Other states have recently added designations for law enforcement, the homeless and disabled people.

Some state laws make it possible to charge someone specifically for committing a hate crime, while others provide for increased sentencing for those convicted of underlying crimes, such as murder, rape, assault or vandalism.

Indiana State Rep. Greg Porter, a Democrat, told News21 that hate-crime laws are needed to give prosecutors the power to seek sentencing proportional to the nature of the offense.

"If a crime is committed against you because of your race, that's not just a crime against you," Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said in an interview with News21. "That is a crime against the entire community."

In Utah, where the law only prohibits crimes committed "with the intent to intimidate or terrorize another person," Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said he has never brought a successful hate-crime prosecution. It's the only state whose statute does not list specific factors, such as race or religion, that might motivate a hate crime.

Gill said this has more than once put him in the uncomfortable position of explaining to victims why he may not be able to help them find justice.

"Justice should not be the accident of geography," he said. "You should not say that I have a measure of justice because I happen to live on this side of a geographic boundary vs. across the street.

"There is a justice being denied to a whole large section of our citizens in this day and age who deserve a better response from our elected officials and our elected representatives."

In December 2014, Rusty Andrade, a gay man, was attacked when returning with a friend to his Salt Lake City apartment, which was across the street from a gay club. Andrade's memory of that night is blurry. He just remembers sharing a goodbye hug with his friend, then two strangers approaching.

"Do you want a problem, faggot?" the men yelled, according to court records, after Andrade, 37, asked them to leave the property.

The men beat Andrade, an attorney, outside his apartment building. He remembers his friend's screams, his head striking the ground and his skin tearing against the stucco wall.

Two Wyoming men were identified as the attackers after leaving a wallet behind. State and federal authorities investigated, but the FBI decided not to pursue the case. The state didn't file misdemeanor assault charges until a year and a half after the attack. The two accused men fled to Wyoming, though the attack was never classified as a hate crime under Utah law.

Since then, Andrade has repeated his story to media and lawmakers, citing the lasting effects of the attack, including head trauma and PTSD. He has lobbied lawmakers to make Utah's law stronger and more inclusive. The state's handling of his case has left Andrade feeling revictimized.

"It tells you that who you are and your very existence is not worthy of dignity," he said. "It's not worthy of protection. It's not worthy of respect."

In Arkansas, the conversation about a hate-crime law has stalled, state legislators say, because of an inability to compromise on inclusion of LGBTQ people. State Rep. Greg Leding, a Democrat, called his 2017 bill a "lonely cause."

"People thought it was establishing some crimes, some murders, were more important than others, and that's not the case," Leding said. "If the crime is motivated by hate, then that entire community is targeted and feels terrorized."

It has been 19 years since hate-crime legislation was last introduced in Wyoming, the state where in 1998 Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, was beaten in the head with a .357-caliber revolver and left to die. Former Wyoming State Sen. Mike Massie tried four times in the 1990s to sponsor legislation but was shut down every time.

If not for the proposed LGBTQ protections, Massie said, his legislation would have passed. He said fellow senators and representatives approached him repeatedly, asking that he remove specific protections for the LGBTQ community. The senator refused.

"There was a very strong sentiment in the house at that time against any type of legislation pertaining to the LGBTQ community," Massie said. "That one was never verbalized on the floor; it was much more behind the scenes, at the same time quite powerful in defeating the legislation."

In Indiana, after several legislative defeats, members of the Indiana Alliance Against Hate  a group of interfaith leaders, business owners, law enforcement officers, prosecutors and lawmakers  is shifting its message. The alliance, which has grown to nearly 100 partner organizations since its inception in March 2017, learned in January that Indianapolis would be one of 20 finalists for Amazon's lucrative HQ2, which promises to bring a $5 billion worth of investment and 50,000 jobs.

But after passage of the 2015 Religious Freedom Restoration Act, advocates worry Indiana's lack of a hate-crime law could deliver an economic blow.

"When you have laws that are oppressive, that stunts growth and that's something we feel is unacceptable," said Tim Brown, director of policy and legislative affairs for the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. "We want to always have the perception and make sure that people understand that our city overall is a welcoming city."

Last month, a Nazi flag and Iron Crosses were spray-painted on a brick shed owned by a synagogue in the wealthy Indianapolis suburb of Carmel, renewing calls for greater hate-crime protections after legislation failed in committee this year. Past attempts had advanced to the Senate floor, and one bill even passed the Senate before dying in a House committee.

The vandalism at Congregation Shaarey Tefilla drew the attention of key political figures on both sides of the hate-crime debate, and the Legislature's Corrections and Criminal Law Committee will study the issue in late August and September.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, spoke out for the first time in support of legislation, saying, "No law can stop evil, but we should be clear that our state stands with the victims and their voices will not be silenced. For that reason, it is my intent that we get something done this next legislative session, so Indiana can be one of 46 states with hate-crimes legislation  and not one of five states without it."

News 21 reporters Alexis Egeland and Rebecca Walters contributed to this story.TORONTO  Most of the Phillies' nickname jerseys for the second annual Players Weekend are pretty self-explanatory.

Rhys Hoskins, the 6-foot-4 slugger, is "Big Fella," while Tommy Hunter, the 250-pound reliever, is "Bigger Fella." Zach Eflin is "Ef" and Andrew Knapp is "Knapp Time." Scott Kingery chose his longtime nickname "Jetpax" and Wilson Ramos is wearing "Buffalo," the nickname that has followed him since he played for the Nationals.

But what's up with Austin Davis having "Big Fudge" on his back this weekend?

"To my friends, I'm big and I was a little fat coming out of college," said the 6-foot-4 Davis, who is listed at 245 pounds. "I was pushing 255. I was a little overweight and there was just one instance that kind of made it stick. We were at a pool party and I sat down in a chair. The chair broke under me and that kind of solidified 'Big Fudge.' They also called me 'fat' or 'tubby,' just joking, and when I broke through the chair, 'Big Fudge' was born."

Davis will wear his 'Big Fudge' jersey this weekend against the Blue Jays but he will not see any game action as he's on the disabled list with a sore back. The lefthanded reliever can be activated as early as Monday.

The 'Big Fudge' nickname was inspired from the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which was on TV when Davis was in college at Cal State Bakersfield. The Phillies drafted him in the 12th round of the 2014 draft and six months later he shed some of his fudge.

"Honestly, it was by accident," Davis said. "I went to Nicaragua and played there in the winter of 2015 and the food wasn't bad but there wasn't that much around. You had to get your own pregame and postgame meals, so there wasn't a lot of food. I ended up losing like 20 pounds while I was there. You tried to each as much as you could, but it's 90 degrees and humid."

Davis said his friends were thrilled with his jersey selection and tried to purchase it online after Davis sent them a picture. The neon red and blue jerseys also have a patch on the sleeve where each player can thank people who helped them reach the majors. Davis thanked his wife, his agent Josh Knipp, former first-rounder Luke Haggerty, who has worked with Davis since he was in high school, and former Royals infielder Buddy Biancalana, who talks to Davis twice a week about focus training.

They all played a role in Davis' journey that led him to the major leagues in June. And one of the first things the Phillies asked Davis after he arrived was what he wanted to wear two months later for Players Weekend.

"I was like, 'Should I say that it's "Big Fudge" or not?' But I said 'Screw it. It's Players Weekend.' We'll go for it," Davis said.

Extra bases

Justin Bour had an MRI on his strained left oblique and the Phillies are optimistic that he can return somewhat quickly from an injury that usually tends to keep players out for a month. Wilson Ramos returned to the lineup after missing three games with a sore left wrist.  Nick Pivetta will start for the Phils in his native Canada on Saturday afternoon.The festival of Onam is celebrated to mark the annual trip of King Mahabali to the state he once ruled. According to the Malayalam calendar, which is equivalent to the Hindu solar calendar followed by people in other parts of India, the festival is celebrated in the month of Chingam and is spread over 10 days. It culminates with Thiruvonam, which is believed to be the most important day. The celebrations this year began in mid of August and culminate today, on August 25. Atham, Chitira, Chodhi, Vishakam, Anizham, Thriketa, Moolam, Pooradam, Utthradom and finally Thiruvonam together make Onam an elaborate ceremony.

Onam signifies the annual homecoming of King Mahabali from Patala Loka, where he was sent by Lord Vishnus Vamana avatar.

Popular belief is that King Mahabali, the most benevolent Raja of Kerala visits his kingdom to see his subjects happy and prosperous on the occasion of the auspicious harvest festival.

Women participate in Pookolam (rangoli made of flowers) and perform Kaikottikali, a dance form. Dressed in their best fineries, women look resplendent in an off-white Kasavu sari with golden border, teamed up with gold jewellery. The men look dapper in white Veshti (dhoti) and shirt.

People get together to participate in a number of cultural activities to celebrate the festival together. Boat race (Vallam Kali), Pulikali (folk dance in the disguise of a tiger) and other dance and art forms specific to Kerala are usually performed.

Sadya, an elaborate meal with 26 food preparations adds more fervour to the festivities.

Heres wishing everyone a very Happy Onam.Taking a dig at the Modi government's ambitious bullet train project, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said the train's ticket will be costlier than that for an airplane. "The bullet train is not moving. You can have a fancy poster of bullet train, but the cost of a ticket in bullet train is more than an airline ticket," Gandhi said during his interaction with the Indian Journalist Association in London.

"If we were offered the bullet train money by the Japanese, our response would be, give us the money and help us strengthen Indian railway infrastructure," Gandhi said.

Also reiterating his stand on the Doklam stand-off, Gandhi again alleged that the "Chinese are still in Doklam". He also said that India have serious challenges coming from China and should to focus on that. However, he declined to reveal information discussed at the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs which looked into the Doklam standoff.

Responding to a question on the issue, Gandhi said, "Chinese troops are still in Doklam and have built massive infrastructure there. The Prime Minister went recently to China and didn`t discuss Doklam with them. The Prime Minister went there without agenda. Somebody comes here, slaps you on your face and you have a non-agenda discussion."

On being asked if he could throw light on the Doklam report since he was part of the Parliamentary Committee and had an interaction with the Foreign Secretary, Gandhi said, "It is a tricky question because I can`t say. I am bound by Parliamentary privilege; can`t say what was in the report. But I can say that we had a conversation with the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary on Doklam. And what was said in that room, cannot be said outside."

The 19-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs is headed by Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor.

He also said that people support populist leaders like US President Donald Trump and PM Modi because they are angry over not having jobs. Gandhi said that instead of solving the problem, these leaders ride on that anger and damage the country. "People support populist leaders like Mr Trump and Mr Modi because they are angry that they don't have a job. Instead of solving this problem these leaders ride on that anger. They damage the country by this," he said.

Stepping up his attack on the BJP and the RSS, Rahul said that there is "a lot of similarity between Muslim Brotherhood and RSS. They use democratic processes to capture power".

He further said, "When Rajiv Gandhi introduced computers to India, they mocked him. A BJP leader said he doesn't understand that computers have nothing to do with India. The same person now makes speeches on how brilliant computers are."New Delhi: The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has proposed that the city's Ramlila Maidan be renamed after former Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee.

Vajpayee passed away at the age of 93 on August 16 after being under the medical care of a team of doctors at AIIMS. There was a national outpouring of grief with messages of condolences coming in from the international community as well. Now, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has expressed a desire to honour the iconic leader.

The iconic Ramlila Maidan has been the home for the annual Ramlila and has also played host to numerous political rallies, meetings, festivals and entertainment events. Vajpayee, a superb orator, drew massive crowds at the grounds each time he visited here.

There are several similar moves to pay tribute to the BJP stalwart who became the country's 10th Prime Minister. For instance, the Jharkhand government has proposed to rename several places in the state to honour Vajpayee. Chhattisgarh's new capital of Naya Raipur is set to be renamed Atal Nagar. Uttar Pradesh too had earlier decided to immerse the ashes of Vajpayee in all the holy rivers of the state, in a bid to pay respect to the five-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Lucknow.In a veiled attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar on Saturday questioned the IQ of those who criticised the Modi-led government`s handling of the 2017 Doklam crisis. Describing the Doklam stand-off as an attempt to test India, he said the silent manner in which the Indian government handled the crisis was significant.

"I wish that some of the people who seem to be talking... I seriously do not wish to use any harsh words because it may be inappropriate, but who clearly prove over and over again that they have no knowledge, no understanding, no IQ sense of what governance is all about," Akbar said at a function at an educational institute in Mapusa town, 15 km from the state capital.

The Union minister`s remarks come a day after Congress President Rahul Gandhi while speaking during an interaction in London, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the manner in which his government handled the Doklam stand-off, while accusing the Centre of lacking a coherent policy to tackle China and Pakistan.

Akbar, however, did not name Rahul Gandhi in his speech.

While speaking at an event in London at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), Gandhi had said, "I don`t have the details of Doklam, so I can`t answer how I would`ve handled it differently. What I can tell you is that Doklam is not an unrelated episode, it`s not a one off, it is not a border issue, it is a strategic issue".

Gandhi had also said, "So I would look at the process and I would tackle the process and I am pretty confident that Doklam wouldn`t have happened...because you could`ve stopped Doklam if you were carefully watching the process."

Akbar maintained that criticism of Doklam stand-off betrayed the inability of the critics to understand India. "I wish they would not discuss Doklam. I wish they would not betray their own inability to understand our country and its values by words and thoughts that have either been fed into their mouth or perhaps are indeed an expression of some innate frigidity," Akbar said.

Calling the 2017 stand-off between the Indian and Chinese armed forces as "one of the most important, significant events in this history of our foreign policy", Akbar said: "(With) Doklam we showed this is not the India of 1962. Perhaps we were being tested, I can`t say. I cannot offer reasons why it happened because we certainly did not begin incursion".

"But certainly that message of steadfast courage, commitment to our national interest, a display of calm, courage by our defence forces, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, who had taken personal leadership of this issue and the most important, I think in many ways, was the fact that we went through the whole phase of Doklam in silence," the journalist-turned-politician said.

Spelling out the fundamentals of India`s relationship with China under the Modi government, Akbar said that despite the history of the two countries, both India and China had decided to be "mature nations".

"We have differences of course. Our largest differences are on the borders with China. Differences must not become disputes and disputes must not become confrontations," he said, adding that even the "most difficult" problems can be resolved through diplomatic channels.For several months in a year, several Indian Army outposts in the unforgiving Siachen glacier are cut off from not just vital supply lines but also devoid of crucial medical aid. All of that may soon change with Indian Space Research Organization coming to the rescue of heroes who brave the country's icy frontier.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Friday between Development and Education Communication Unit (DECU) of ISRO, Department of Space, Ahmedabad and Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (Medical), Ministry of Defence (MoD).

News agency ANI reported that as per the MoU, a number of Telemedicine nodes would be established - 53 in the first phase. These would help the Indian Air Force, Navy and Army for medical consultations between soldiers in frontier posts - like Siachen - and medical bases in rearward positions.

Satellite-enabled telemedicine nodes would improve communication lines with forces deployed in remote and isolated parts of the country and could well turn out to be a life-saver.

The significance of these telemedicine nodes is likely to be felt most in Siachen, the highest battleground in the world where choppers are the only mode of evacuation. Security and strategy experts have long maintained that weather conditions are the biggest enemy in Siachen but the Indian Army may now be better equipped to tackle the formidable adversary.At least three terrorist hideouts were busted on Saturday and four over-ground workers (OGWs) of militant outfits were arrested in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, said the police.

The police, along with security forces, busted a hideout in Rajpora Litter area and arrested an over-ground worker, said a spokesman. Incriminating material along with improvised explosive device (IED) material was recovered from the hideout, the spokesman said.

In another incident, two hideouts were busted in Khallen and Tahab villages of Pulwama district. The magazine of an AK rifle, an INSAS magazine and one UBGL were seized, the spokesman said.

Three people, who were allegedly working for militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen group, were arrested, the spokesman said.

Cases under relevant sections of the IPC were registered against them, he added.Thiruvananthapuram: Nearly 2500 patients at various camps in the flood-affected areas in Kerala have been provided medical assistance by the Indian Air Force (IAF) doctors and medical assistants so far.

In a video released by IAF, footages of the relief operations show how courageously the IAF personnel rescued the people from the affected area. The over 2-minute clip has been shared by IAF on their official Twitter handle.

#KeralaFloodRelief: Till date Indian Air Force doctors and medical assistants have provided medical assistance to around 2500 patients at various camps in the flood affected areas in Kerala.#SavingLives #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/oIOGiQB5hm  Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 25, 2018

The deadly monsoon rains savaged Kerala with heavy rains and severe floods. "Over 10.78 lakh displaced people, including 2.12 lakh women and one lakh children below 12 years of age, have been sheltered in 3,200 relief camps. Today, 602 persons were rescued from various places as the rains receded," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said earlier this week.

The Centre has declared Kerala flood as a severe calamity. The Chief Minister, however, said that there have been demands from various quarters to declare the floods as a national calamity.

An all-party meeting was also held to take stock of the flood situation. The government on August 29 honoured fishermen who participated in the rescue operations.

With flood water level receding in many places, people have started returning to their homes and begun cleaning operations. The state government has also decided to distribute cleaning kits to them, Vijayan added.

He further said that as many as 1,500 army personnel were engaged in rescue operations and people stranded on rooftops and inaccessible areas were being winched with the help of defence helicopters.

(With inputs from agencies)New Delhi: A major fire broke out in the wee hours on Saturday at a three-storey factory of plastic bags in Nangloi. The incident took place at around 4 am.

The factory is located in Naresh Park area.

Delhi: Fire broke at a three-storey factory of plastic bags in Nangloi's Naresh Park area at around 4 am today. 25 fire tenders present on the spot. No casualties reported. pic.twitter.com/Xk3hYAe6dJ  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

As many as 25 fire tenders have rushed to the spot and are carrying out the extinguishing operations.

No casualties have been reported so far. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

"Fire broke at a three-storey factory of plastic bags in Nangloi's Naresh Park area at around 4 am today. 25 fire tenders present on the spot. No casualties reported," news agency ANI tweeted.New Delhi: After days of sufferings, people in Kerala on Saturday celebrated Onam with glee and fervour. Leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Congress president Rahul Gandhi greeted the people of the state on the occasion of Onam.

President Ram Nath Kovind took to Twitter and said, "Good wishes to fellow citizens, particularly to our brothers and sisters in Kerala, on Onam. May this festival marks a new beginning for all those in Kerala recovering in the aftermath of the floods, and gradually beginning to rebuild their lives #PresidentKovind"

PM Modi expressed hope that the festival of Onam will give new strength to the people of Kerala to overcome the advertises in the aftermath of the floods. He said the country is behind the people of the state. "May this Onam give further strength to the people of Kerala to overcome the adversities they have been facing for the past few days," he wrote on Twitter. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with Kerala and prays for the happiness as well as the prosperity of its citizens, he said.

Rahul Gandhi too tweeted saying, "This is a difficult time for the people of Kerala. In relief camps & homes across the state, people are grieving for their loved ones. On this Onam let us pledge to put aside our differences, stand united together and focus on the task of #RebuildingKerala."

Kerala has been witnessing its worst floods in a century. The deadly monsoon rains savaged the state with heavy rains and severe floods. The rains and floods have claimed 231 lives since August 8 in the second spell of the monsoon.A report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission has stated that Beijing could be using threat tactics against ethnic Chinese communities living abroad to turn them into its spies.

In the report published for a US congressional body, it is highlighted that threat to families of ethnic Chinese like Uygurs are being made to ensure the spy network is strengthened. It is also possible that such tactics are being increasingly employed to increase loyalty to the Communist Party - both in China and in foreign countries.

A number of anti-China protests in foreign countries in recent times - especially those which seek to highlight Beijing's poor treatment of minority communities - may have perturbed officials in Beijing who are now looking to establish their country as a soft power in the eyes of the world. Uygurs are one such community in particular with global reports suggesting that close to a million have been forced into re-education camps. These are charges that have been vehemently denied by Beijing and the state-controlled media there.

The report, based on media findings and interviews with strategy experts, says that it is possible that people living abroad are being coerced to spy for China by threatening that their families back home would be dispatched to camps. It goes on to highlight that while not all campus organisations of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) abroad are officially affiliated to the Chinese government, there are many which indeed are. These are then used to carry out protests in foreign countries each time that particular country does something contrary to Chinese interests. The invitation to Dalai Lama by University of San Diego last year has been referred to as one such instance when CSSA reportedly organised protests.Washington: The United States is cutting more than $200 million in aid to the Palestinians, the State Department said on Friday, amid a deteriorating relationship with the Palestinian leadership.

A senior State Department official said without elaborating that the funds, originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza, would address "high-priority projects elsewhere."

"We have undertaken a review of US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer," the official said in a statement.

"As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million in FY2017 Economic Support Funds originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza."

Asked where the money would be redirected and whether it would go to other Palestinian projects, another State Department official said: We will work with Congress to redirect these funds to other policy priorities.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.

The announcement came at a time when the Palestinian leadership has angered the White House by boycotting its peace efforts since President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel`s capital and moved the embassy there, reversing decades of US policy.

The status of Jerusalem - home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions - is one of the biggest obstacles to any peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem for the capital of an independent state they seek. Israel says Jerusalem is its eternal and indivisible capital.

Trump`s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner is leading an effort to craft a peace plan meant to launch negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians to end a decades-long conflict. A decision on when the initiative would be rolled out has not yet been made.

The State Department cited the Islamist militant group Hamas` control of Gaza as part of its justification for reallocating the funds. The United States and Israel designate Hamas as a terrorist group.

The decision is almost certain to exacerbate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. More than 2 million Palestinians are packed into the Gaza Strip, which suffers deep economic hardship.

"CHEAP BLACKMAIL"

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi accused the Trump administration of using "cheap blackmail as a political tool."

"The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion," she said.

Ambassador Husam Zomlot, head of the PLO General Delegation to the United States, said in a statement: "Weaponizing humanitarian and developmental aid as political blackmail does not work."

The United States had in January announced it would withhold $65 million of $125 million that it had planned to send to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from U.N. states, with the United states as the largest contributor.

UNRWA and the Palestinians have warned that cuts could exacerbate hardship in Gaza, an enclave that has been under Israeli and Egypt blockades designed to isolate its Islamist Hamas rulers.

US National Security adviser John Bolton told Reuters this week that UNRWA was "a failed mechanism" that violated standard international law on the status of refugees.

UNRWA was founded in 1949 after the first Arab-Israel war, which led to 700,000 Palestinians being forced to leave their homes or flee. It helps around 5 million Palestinian refugees, a figure that includes descendants of those displaced by the fighting Jordan, which hosts the largest number of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East outside Palestinian territories, warned this month that a severe financial shortfall facing UNRWA could have a catastrophic impact on the lives of millions of refugees in the region.

US Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, criticized the Trump administration`s decision.

Inhabitants of Gaza are already suffering severe hardships under the tyranny of Hamas and border restrictions imposed by Israel. It is the Palestinian people, virtual prisoners in an increasingly volatile conflict, who will most directly suffer the consequences of this callous and ill-advised attempt to respond to Israels security concerns.

J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group, called the Trump administrations move a moral outrage and a major strategic blunder.Honolulu: Hurricane Lane churned closer toward the heart of the Hawaiian islands on Friday as it weakened into a Category 2 storm while still lashing the Big Island with raging surf, torrential rains and catastrophic flooding, weather officials said.

The storm, with sustained winds topping 100 miles (161 km) per hour, was forecast to make its nearest approach to land just west of the island chain over the weekend, bringing hurricane conditions to Maui and the US state`s most populous island, Oahu, starting Friday night.

Farther north, a tropical storm watch was posted for the island of Kauai.

"If you`re in Hawaii, it`s critical that you heed the warnings of local officials and stay aware of your surroundings," Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief Brock Long wrote on Twitter.

By Friday morning, more than 2 feet (60 cm) of rain had fallen in a 36-hour period on the Big Island`s windward side, where the National Weather Service reported "catastrophic flooding" and wind gusts peaking at 67 mph (108 kph).

A number of structures on the island of Hawaii, popularly known as the Big Island, were destroyed and some residents were reported to be fleeing their homes, said Melissa Dye, a Weather Service spokeswoman in Honolulu.

Fire department personnel have conducted several rescues of people stranded by high water on the Big Island since Thursday, mostly around its biggest city, Hilo, said Kelly Wooten, a Hawaii County civil defence spokeswoman.

I spoke with Governor David Ige of Hawaii today to express our full support for the people of Hawaii as the State is impacted by #HurricaneLane. The Federal Government is fully committed to helping the people of Hawaii. pic.twitter.com/P35yAAovIk  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018

Overnight, the National Guard and fire department rescued six people and their dog, and two hikers were rescued by helicopter near the camping destination of Waimanu Valley, Wooten said. There were no injuries.

She said two Hilo-area neighbourhoods were evacuated.

`READY TO LEAVE`

Flash flooding and mudslides on the Big Island have forced a number of road closures, and Governor David Ige urged residents to avoid any unnecessary travel.

On Oahu, where 70 percent of Hawaii`s 1.4 million residents live, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told the Weather Channel that the city has moved its emergency-response equipment to higher ground for the time being.

He said Honolulu, the state`s capital and largest city, is especially vulnerable to floods and landslides because it is partly ringed by mountains.

"We have asked our residents in these areas where they know it floods to be ready to leave," Caldwell said, adding that 1,100 people were staying in emergency shelters throughout the city.

Evacuations were also under way on parts of Molokai and Maui islands.

In Maui, a fast-growing wildfire forced the evacuation of homes and an emergency shelter set up for the storm in Lahaina, where no rain was yet falling, officials said. One woman was hospitalized with burns. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

Besides upheaval for hundreds of thousands of residents living in low-lying flood-prone areas, the storm has spoiled vacation plans throughout the islands.

Australian tourist Nicole Paterson, 27, said she was forced to cancel a birthday outing to snorkel with sea turtles along Oahu`s North Shore on Friday, and a visit to the Disney resort in Ko Olina.

While Lane was downgraded on Friday to Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, it still packed maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (170 kph), the weather service said.

As of 11 a.m. Hawaii time (5 p.m. EDT/2100 GMT), Lane was moving north at 5 mph (8 kph) and was about 150 miles (245 km) south of Honolulu, the weather service said. It was forecast to turn west on Saturday, lose more of its punch and move more quickly.

The latest predictions from the weather service`s Central Pacific Hurricane Center show the eye of the storm glancing past Maui and several other islands on Friday on its way toward Oahu.

In addition to "life-threatening and damaging surf," the weather service has warned that storm surges could raise water levels 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) above normal along the western shores of the Big Island.

Governor Ige has urged residents to set aside a 14-day supply of water, food and medicine. All public schools, University of Hawaii campuses and nonessential government offices on the islands of Oahu and Kauai were closed at least through Friday.

All harbours have been ordered closed to incoming vessels, and the US Navy moved most of its fleet out of Pearl Harbor, where ships could provide aid after the storm.

Oil company Par Pacific Holdings Inc said it had shut down its 93,500 barrel-per-day refinery in Kapolei.In a bid to show its commitment towards the pre-poll promise of austerity, Pakistan's new cabinet on Friday banned first-class air travel for the country's top officials, including the President and head of the government.

Dawn reported that the decision to dis-allow first-class air travel was taken during the second meeting of the federal cabinet in a week and one which was presided by Pakistan's newly-elected PM Imran Khan. During the meeting, a decision was taken that the country's top officials - president, PM, chief justice, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker and chief ministers would no longer have the privilege of flying first-class on international flights. Instead, they would have to make do with business or club class.

One of the reasons cited for the decision is that flights being operated from Pakistan do not offer the first-class category and foreign airlines charge fares for this category which are nearly three-hundred times higher than fares for business or club class.

Imran Khan himself has reportedly decided to make use of business-class tickets when flying abroad, instead of travelling in his special plane. This plane would, instead, be reserved for his travels within the country.

While the cabinet did clamp down on first-class air privileges, it shot down a proposal to have six working days instead of five in government departments. The proposal was initially mooted to increase productivity but was eventually rejected. There is no change in the number of working hours either although working times have been changed from 8-4 to 9-5.

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf emerged victorious in the recently held elections in the country. During heated campaigning, the cricketer-turned-politician had - among several promises - assured that austerity would figure high in his priority list. This is primarily due to the grave economic crisis that the country currently finds itself in.DUBLIN: Pope Francis marked the first papal visit to Ireland in 39 years by acknowledging that the failure of Church authorities to adequately address "repugnant" clerical child abuse crimes there remains a source of shame for the Catholic community.

Francis arrived on Saturday for a highly charged visit to a society transformed since more than three-quarters of the population flocked to see Pope John Paul II in 1979 and beset by the kind of abuse scandals that have once more mired the Catholic Church in crisis.

"I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education," Francis told a state reception attended by some abuse survivors.

"The failure of ecclesiastical authorities - bishops, religious superiors, priests and others - adequately to address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community."

One of the abuse survivors present, Colm O`Gorman, called the pope`s remarks a staggering effort at deflection that failed to acknowledge the Vatican`s role in covering up the crimes. "It was quite shocking actually in some ways," O`Gorman, a leading abuse campaigner, told national broadcaster RTE.

Today, Ireland is no longer the staunchly Catholic country it was in 1979 when divorce and contraception were illegal and over the past three years, voters have approved abortion and gay marriage in referendums, defying the will of the Church. Francis asked that Ireland would not forget "the powerful strains of the Christian message" that have sustained it in the past, and can continue to do so in the future.

Numbers lining the streets or joining the pope in prayer are expected to be about a quarter of the 2.7 million who greeted John Paul II, marking how the rock that was once Irish Catholicism has eroded since child abuse cases came to light in the 1990s.

Francis began the two-day trip by visiting Irish President Michael D. Higgins` who said he raised with the pope the immense suffering caused by child sex abuse and anger which had been conveyed to him at what was perceived to be the impunity enjoyed by those responsible.

PROTESTS PLANNED

The pope will travel on Sunday to Knock, a small western village steeped in Catholicism that welcomes 1.5 million pilgrims a year, before finishing his trip by saying mass in Dublin`s Phoenix Park, where a large cross erected for the 1979 visit still dominates the skyline. The 500,000 tickets issued for the mass were quickly snapped up, although an unknown number have been booked by a boycott group called "Say Nope To The Pope" which encouraged protesters to order tickets and not use them.

Still, pictures of the pope were on the front pages of every newspaper on Saturday and there was excitement among some on Dublin`s streets as the city centre prepared to go on lockdown. "I`m delighted he is coming, I think it makes a great change from the last few years of bad news for the Church," said Dubliner Kyle O`Sullivan.

Protests are also planned. Large images of abuse victims and the hashtag #Stand4Truth - promoting a gathering of survivors and supporters elsewhere in Dublin during Sunday`s mass - were projected onto some of the city`s most recognised buildings on Friday night, including Dublin`s Pro Cathedral.

Gay rights activists hung rainbow umbrellas from a nearby bridge while a silent vigil will be held on Sunday at the site of a former Church-run home for unwed mothers where an unmarked grave with the remains of hundreds of babies was found in 2014. The Vatican has said Francis will meet Irish victims of clergy sexual abuse, but the pope is also be under pressure to more fully address the scandals that have led to the Church`s worst credibility crisis in more than 15 years.

The pope, who travelled through Dublin in a blue Skoda in keeping with his shunning of limousines and bulletproof cars, said Church leaders needed to remedy past mistakes and adopt stringent norms to ensure they do not happen again. Irish Prime Leo Varadkar, who last year became the country`s first gay leader, told Francis that the wounds of clerical child abuse that stained the Irish state were still open and there was much to be done to bring about justice and healing for victims.

A damning report last week into abuse in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, which followed scandals in Australia and Chile, was all too tragically familiar in Ireland, Varadkar said, adding that the time had come for a very different Ireland to build a new relationship with the Church.

"Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure this is done here in Ireland and across the world," Varadkar said. "We must now ensure that from words flow actions."Open source

Since the beginning of the day on August 24, the militants have violated the ceasefire in Donbas 18 times, using weapons banned by Minsk agreements. As a result of the shelling, one soldier was killed and two others were wounded, the press center of the JFO headquarters reported on the Facebook page.



"The enemy fired a target fire from mortars of 120 and 82 mm caliber, weapons of the IFV, various types of grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms. The positions of the Joint forces in the areas of Krymske, Pivdenne, Avdiivka, Nevelske, Krasnogovoriy, Hnutove, Pavlopil, Shirokine were attacked, one serviceman was killed and two were wounded, "the report says.



The headquarters noted that in the event of a threat to the lives of military personnel, the commanders decided to fire on the enemy in order to force them to stop the firing.



In addition, on Friday morning illegal armed formations fired from 152 mm artillery shells. As a result of the shelling, a 35-year-old local resident was killed. Also, three houses and a local school were damaged.



In general, the situation in the area of the Joint forces operation remains controlled.

Earlier we reported that militants shelled Vrubivka village in Luhansk from the artillery. As a result of the shelling, one Ukrainian civilian died. Yuriy Harbuz, Head of the Luhansk Civil-Military Administration claimed this on Facebook.

'As a result of the artillery shelling of the Vrubivka village in Popasna District by the Russian-occupation forces, one civilian died. It happened at about 5 a.m. The shell hit the house, where the family of the dead was living. A man born in 1983 died from wounds. His wife and two children left without him,' Harbuz claimed.

Related: British fighters intercept Russian military aircraft over Black SeaOpen source

Militants of illegal armed formations in Donbas seven times fired at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the day. This is stated in the summary of the press center of the Joint Forces Operation HQ.



Twice militants fired from weapons banned by Minsk agreements.



"The Russian-occupation troops opened fire from mortars of 120 and 82 mm caliber, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms at the defenders of the settlements Zolote, Avdiivka, Hnutove, Vodyane and Lebedynske. During the shelling in the area of Avdiivka, the enemy used against Ukrainian military mortars of 120 and 82 mm caliber," said the headquarters of the JFO.



There is no loss in the ranks of the Ukraine's Army. The situation in the combat area remains under the control of Ukrainian fighters, assured the headquarters.

Earlier we reported that water supply in Toretsk, Donetsk region restored. Sergey Vinnik, Deputy Head of the Military-Civil Administration claimed this Facebook.

'The power supply of the Horlivka filtering station was restored at night. The water is back in Toretsk!,' he said.

Reportedly, on August 24, as a result of the hostilities, a power supply line was damaged, which provided energy to the Horlivka 2 filtering station. As a result, at about 8 a.m., the water supply in Toretsk was suspended.

For the last 24 hours, the illegal armed formations opened fire at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 39 times using the prohibited weapons. As a result of the hostilities, one Ukrainian serviceman died, four troops from the Joint Forces were wounded.During the current day, pro-Russian bandit formations shelled the positions of Joint Forces near Pivdenne from mortars and grenade launchers

For the last 24 hours, the illegal armed formations opened fire at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 39 times using the prohibited weapons. As a result of the hostilities, one Ukrainian serviceman died, four troops from the Joint Forces were wounded. The press office of JFO reports.

'The enemy was opening fire at our positions in the areas of the settlements Krymske, Svitlodarsk, Pivdenne, Avdiivka, Pisky, Krasnohorivka, Nevelske, Hranitne, Chermalyk, Hnutove, Pavlopil, Lebedynske, Vodiane, and Shyrokyne. The occupants carried out 17 shelling the Joint Forces positions in the areas of the settlements Krymske, Pivdenne, Krasnohorivka, Hranitne, Chermalyk, Pavlopil, Lebedyske from the prohibited by the Minsk Agreements mortars and tube artillery,' reads the message.

In addition, on Friday morning, the illegal armed formations fired from 152 mm artillery shells. As a result of the shelling, a 35-year-old local resident was killed. Also, three houses and a local school were damaged.

During the current day, pro-Russian bandit formations shelled the positions of Joint Forces near Pivdenne from mortars and grenade launchers. Firing provocations from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small arms were recorded by the headquarters near Marinka and Novomykhailivka. Only four shelling have been conducted since the beginning of the day. No casualties among the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

According to the data of the Ukrainian surveillance, three militants of ORDLO died, six wounded.Before talking about any exchanges, one should remember that the Minsk agreements are relevant only to those who are kept in Ukraine as a result of the anti-terrorist operation and those kept in Donetsk and Luhansk - Ukrainian Choice leader

Open source

Before talking about any exchanges, one should remember that the Minsk agreements are relevant only to those who are kept in Ukraine as a result of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) and those kept in Donetsk and Luhansk. They have no relevance to Sentsov, Klykh, Karpyuk (Ukrainian political prisoners kept in Russia  Ed.), so this issue cannot be subjected to the Minsk negotiations.

Luhansk and Donetsk treat these Russian citizens as those who are convicted for participating in Donbas conflict, and this is true. They demand to put them on the list so that we could release them. Ukraine has some questions about these people.

One of the arguments of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is "very witty"  according to the international convention, we cannot transfer citizens of the Russian Federation to a third party. As though we did not have such exchanges before, as though I did not organize the exchange of the Ukrainians for the Ukrainians. We have already had such cases. A couple of times, actually. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has interfered here. They have already interfered in December, they were trying to defend their position, and nearly undermined the exchange.

Then the Ukrainian side claims - and this is true  that, for example, Donetsk and Luhansk have put on the exchange list five "Berkut" officers (former pro-government officers, loyal to Yanukovych during Maidan, - Ed.), who are being tried in court. Ukraine does not agree with this.

Here is my position, and not only mine  Minsk agreements prescribe "all to all" exchange. The Minsk agreements were signed long ago, but on March 29, 2018, the heads of the Normandy Four have signed a statement on the optimization and strengthening of the Minsk agreements implementation. Its last point was to continue the successful exchanges that took place on December 27, 2017, following the "all to all" formula. Macron, Merkel, Putin, and Poroshenko signed it. All installed on all installed. The answer of the Ukrainian side was like this: we cannot exchange citizens of the Russian Federation, we cannot transfer "Berkut" officers. So it is just the way it is.

I do not accept any arguments in this respect. Because if we give an example of the Western countries, we should remember that Israel has exchanged 1026 people for one sergeant in the Israeli army. And 600 out of these 1026 persons were convicted for numerous murders, for terrorist actions, and for banditry. They were all transferred to get back one person. Is it too important if we want to return our servicemen - and there some sit for two or three years in torture chambers in Donetsk and Luhansk, and only 46 people - will we give up or not the "Berkut people"? Is more important for us to punish them with serving their sentence here, when our citizens, whom we want to return, are forced to suffer there? I believe that these arguments cannot just take place.

And here is another example. A person has committed a serious crime somewhere in Chernihiv region, he has nothing to do with Donetsk or Luhansk Peoples Republic, the Russian Federation or the ATO. Donetsk and Luhansk side say: we want to get him. And this is also the subject of consideration. How so? We want to free our people. Realizing this, the "republics" insist on liberating those whom they want to. It is necessary to agree on the concessions  either they fall, or we fall. They have taken a principled stand: all agreed to all agreed. Moscow supports them in it. Then we have the line of different political statements, threats, demands, and ultimatums.

They usually state that "we demand," "no, we do insist," "we have stated an ultimatum." And what of it, all these ultimatums, demands, statements? Nothing. So we must find a compromise. A direct dialogue. We must make sure that these people return home, at any cost. And we know the price  mutual release from their side. That is all...

Some people say: "How can Medvedchuk liberate the prisoners?" Is it all right if Medvedchuk has already released 481 people as a result of the negotiations? And the nationalists-radicals say: "No, he cannot be charged with this." I would not be surprised if they said that "the prisoners must be returned, let them go back into captivity; they were released by Medvedchuk, and we need our patriots to be released." No one negotiates with the patriots there. And I believe that they will not talk to them in the future.

Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Choice, spoke about this in 'A Big Interview with a Big Politician' on 112 Ukraine.

Read the original text at 112.ua.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or 112.International and its owners.Open source

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will arrive in Ukraine on a working visit on August 28. This was reported by the press service of the Canadian Foreign Ministry.



It is specified that in Ukraine Freeland will arrive after a trip to Germany.



"On August 28, the Minister will visit Ukraine, where she will meet with President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin. Canada continues to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as important democratic, economic and social reforms, "the Canadian Foreign Ministry said.



Earlier Chrystia Freeland, the Foreign Minister of Canada and Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy discussed the current issues, including the situations in Myanmar, Ukraine, and Iran as the Foreign Ministry of Canada reported on Twitter.

"Minister Freeland met with Federica Mogherini to talk global peace and security and the rules-based international order. They discussed plans for the September Women Foreign Ministers Meeting, as well as ongoing international issues, including situations in Myanmar, Ukraine, and Iran," the message said.According to the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, this legislation is "very bad for everyone, but first of all - for Poland and Poles"

Open source

Changes in the Polish law on the National Remembrance Institute leave room for manipulation. This is stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, on Facebook.



"There is still room for manipulation, there is room for an attack on freedom of speech and freedom of thought," he wrote.



Klimkin stressed that "this legislation is bad for everyone, primarily for Poland and Poles."



The minister also commented on the closure of the case against the historian Grygoriy Kupriyanovich, calling this decision "a victory of common sense."



We recall, criminal proceedings against the Ukrainian historian Grigoriy Kupriyanovich opened because of a speech in Sagryni at the opening of the monument to local Ukrainians, who in 1944 became victims of the punitive action of the Army Krajowa.



The case was opened according to art. 133 of the Criminal Code of Poland - concerning the public insult of the Polish people. Under this article, a penalty of imprisonment of up to 3 years is provided.

Earlier Parliament of Poland voted for the introduction of amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance today, on June 27. The MPs abolished a clause, which involves a criminal responsibility for the attribution of Nazi crimes to Poland during the WWII, according to TVN 24.

Mateusz Morawiecky, the Prime Minister initiated an amendment of the law. 388 MPs voted positively, 25 against.

Criminal responsibility has never been an end in itself for us. It was a fighting tool for the historical truth. It is clear that effective protection is possible by other means and actions that our government adopted over the last months, Micha Dworaczyk, the Head of the Office claimed this commenting the amendments.

Reportedly, the Senate of Poland adopted a law without amendments on Institute of National Remembrance on February 1, 2018. The law was providing a criminal responsibility for the attribution of Nazi crimes to Poland, in particular for using the designation of Polish Death Camps. In response, Israel condemned the Polish Government in Holocaust denial.

Articles of the law providing a criminal responsibility for denial the massacre of Poles in Volhynia and propaganda of Bandera ideology remained in force.

Related: Cocaine in packages with 'United Russia' logo found in BelgiumThe OSCE delegation never came on the board of the vessel, as their mandate covers only the Ukrainian territory

The OSCE representatives met with the crew of tank vessel Mekhanik Pogodin, which is blocked in the port of Kherson, Kommersant reports.

'The team feels good. The crew is supplied with all necessary food and medicines, the sailors have an opportunity to leave the vessel if they need to, and to contact their relatives anytime. The tanker is absolutely ready to set the sail, and anticipating of the permit for departure at the pier,' reads the message.

It is noted that the OSCE delegation didn't come on the board of the vessel, as their mandate covers only the Ukrainian territory.

Reportedly, the Russian vessel, which is under sanctions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine entered Kherson port. 12 Russian sailors are aboard of the tanker.

Related: Militant targeted OSCE SMM observers from gun in Luhansk region

On August 10, the asset of the company, in particular, the Mekhanik Pogodin vessel was blocked for three years in the Kherson port.

Related video:Many difficulties will arise in the issue of negotiations on the exchange of prisoners, if politicians make careless statements about these negotiations and create an unfavorable background.

Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Choice, spoke about this in 'A Big Interview with a Big Politician' on 112 Ukraine TV channel.





erashchenko statement "Returning to the issue of negotiations over Sentsov : it is difficult to negotiate when they create this background, in which it is very difficult to talk about something. It could be said just by a politician of some kind, but this is an official (it's about Iryna Gstatement

regarding the liberation of Savchenko and Sentsov, - Ed.) And why they give these estimates? After all, Sentsov is detained there, well, if he comes back, then you'll tell. You need to expect that there are still people there, and we need to get them out too, maybe we need to think about it

about this two steps forward?" said

Viktor Medvedchuk .









Answering the question on will Sentsov return home , Medvedchuk replied: "Of course he will."

He also noted that he does not understand the experts who predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin would release Sentsov before his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Helsinki.





"You can imagine the level of these" expert "politicians - it's like the last century and another stratosphere:" Putin will have mercy on Sentsov to please Trump. "And do they know that Russia for five or seven years has been

fighting for the liberation of But and Yaroshenko, who are in the US under arrest?", he added.





In addition, according to Medvedchuk, today negotiations for the release of the prisoner Oleg Sentsov are not being conducted because of the actions of the human rights commissioner Lyudmyla Denisova.

112 Agency

In the port of the Belgian Ghent the police found a batch of cocaine weighing 2 tons. According to VRT, the drugs were hidden in three containers that arrived from Brazil on board the of ship.



Briquettes with drugs were marked with the logo of the Russian political party "United Russia".



"In total, more than 1900 packages were there, which together weighed about two tons," the federal prosecutor said.



The market value of the drugs found is estimated at 56 million euros. The detained batch became the largest in the history of Ghent.



We recall, on August 22 in Argentina law enforcers burned 362 kg of cocaine, found in March 2018 in the embassy of the Russian Federation.



In Russia, it was claimed that the cocaine batch, found in one of the embassy buildings, belonged to a staff member of the technical delegation, who had already completed the trip by that time.

Earlier Roman Udot, a Russian human rights activist and member of the Council of the Movement for the Protection of Voters' Rights, was denied entry to Ukraine. This human rights activist said on Facebook.



"We were not allowed to go to Kyiv, the reason is not clear, the documents disappeared in an unknown direction. They took us to departure zone forcing to leave luggage in some unguarded and open space along the way, "he wrote.



On the video, also published on his page, Udot specified that he was denied entry due to the fact that he did not name the reason for the visit. At the same time, he stressed that he called the "tourism reason".



According to the human rights activist, he flew from Tbilisi to Vilnius, and in Kyiv a long-term transfer was planned, during which he was going to enter the city. As a result, Udot specified, he intends to go back to Tbilisi.



Press Secretary of the State Border Service of Ukraine Oleh Slobodyan said that Roman Udot was not allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine, because he "did not provide convincing evidence of the need for this."



Slobodyan also said that Udot was not denied of entry to Ukraine.

Related: Russian human rights activist denied entry to Ukraine112 Agency 112 Agency

The ex-ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Alexander Motsyk, driving the Ford Kuga in a drunken state, was detained in Kyiv on the night of August 25. This is reported by Informator.



The car was stopped because of violation of traffic rules - it moved around in a circle on Shevchenko Square on the opposite lane. Law enforcers noted that the driver showed obvious signs of alcoholic intoxication.



Motsyk denied using alcohol, however, he refused to pass the test on site or to check in the medical facility.



An administrative material on art. 130 of the Code - driving in a state of intoxication - was filed. The car was evacuated to the penalty area, and police called a taxi.



Olexander Motsyk was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States from 2010 to 2015.



Also tonight on the Koltseva Road in Kyiv, a drunk driver was detained. He was trying to bribe the patrol.

Earlier Roman Udot, a Russian human rights activist and member of the Council of the Movement for the Protection of Voters Rights, was denied entry to Ukraine. This human rights activist said on Facebook.



"We were not allowed to go to Kyiv, the reason is not clear, the documents disappeared in an unknown direction. They took us to departure zone forcing to leave luggage in some unguarded and open space along the way, "he wrote.



On the video, also published on his page, Udot specified that he was denied entry due to the fact that he did not name the reason for the visit. At the same time, he stressed that he called the "tourism reason".



According to the human rights activist, he flew from Tbilisi to Vilnius, and in Kyiv a long-term transfer was planned, during which he was going to enter the city. As a result, Udot specified, he intends to go back to Tbilisi.



Press Secretary of the State Border Service of Ukraine Oleh Slobodyan said that Roman Udot was not allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine, because he "did not provide convincing evidence of the need for this."



Slobodyan also said that Udot was not denied of entry to Ukraine.

Related: Cocaine in packages with 'United Russia' logo found in Belgium112 Agency

Roman Udot, a Russian human rights activist and member of the Council of the Movement for the Protection of Voters' Rights, was denied entry to Ukraine. This human rights activist said on Facebook.



"We were not allowed to go to Kyiv, the reason is not clear, the documents disappeared in an unknown direction. They took us to departure zone forcing to leave luggage in some unguarded and open space along the way, "he wrote.



On the video, also published on his page, Udot specified that he was denied entry due to the fact that he did not name the reason for the visit. At the same time, he stressed that he called the "tourism reason".



According to the human rights activist, he flew from Tbilisi to Vilnius, and in Kyiv a long-term transfer was planned, during which he was going to enter the city. As a result, Udot specified, he intends to go back to Tbilisi.



Press Secretary of the State Border Service of Ukraine Oleh Slobodyan said that Roman Udot was not allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine, because he "did not provide convincing evidence of the need for this."



Slobodyan also said that Udot was not denied of entry to Ukraine.

Related: Water supply in Toretsk restored112 Agency

Ukrainian military aircraft will take part in the International Airshow-2018, which will be held in Poland. This was reported by the press service of the Air Force command in Facebook.



"In the period from August 24 to August 27, the military aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will take part in the International Airshow 2018 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Polish Armed Forces creation. The show will be held at the Radom air base," said representatives of the Air Forces.



The show will feature the crews of Su-25UB, Su-27UB and An-26 aircraft. The first deputy commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant-General Arkady Vashutin, will head the Ukrainian delegation.



"At the Radom aviation base, the presentation of aviation equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and demonstration of its capabilities in the air and ground show will be held. It will generally support the image of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the international level," Vashutin said.



Yesterday Ukrainian military aviation participated on the parade for the 27th Anniversary of the Independence Day of Ukraine for the first time in nine years. Participation of 18 countries soldiers is another novelty. 112 Ukraine was broadcasting the parade for the Independence Day.

20 fighter aircraft, transport aircraft, and helicopters flew above Khreshchatyk street.



In particular, the Sukhoi Su-25 attack plane was presented on the parade. The plane is designed for the provision of the air support of the ground forces units in the zone of military operations in the hostilities zones, for the attacks on enemy targets in tactical and operational depth. Also, Sukhoi Su-24 bombers flew above Kyiv. The plane is capable of traveling distances up to three thousand kilometers at an altitude of up to 12 thousand meters at a speed of up to 2 thousand km/h, with a combat load of up to 7 tons.

Related: Klimkin on Polish law on National Remembrance Institute: There's room for manipulationViktor Medvedchuk, leader of the Ukrainian Choice: "This is a provocation, one of the stages of what the Americans are doing today. We have proofs of it"

The controversy with the biopic film about the Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasyl Stus is a provocation by the Americans. Viktor Medvedchuk, the leader of the Ukrainian Choice, spoke about this in 'A Big Interview with a Big Politician' on 112 Ukraine.

"I did not even know about making the film about Stus. Even now I am not interested in it. I have already read the analysis, and the first thing I read about this film was an interview of Stus's son who said that this film was just ridiculous for him. I am not sure about the films value for the history, for the fate of the poet himself," he noted.

"This is a provocation, one of the stages of what the Americans are doing today. We have proofs of it. I mean, they are constantly provoking. It consists of a series of things, as Medvedchuk is currently a public figure, today Medvedchuk takes part in the public policy, and Medvedchuk is an enemy for them. I do reiterate that I am their enemy. I will do everything possible to make Ukraine independent and sovereign without US influence and control. This is another provocation that unfortunately could be witnessed today. But we will deal with it. Speaking about Stus's affair, which took place 38 years ago, I am really glad that for 38 years the Americans have not found anything new. History is misinterpreted," Medvedchuk claimed.

"I have fulfilled my official duty. I have not broken the law, and during Ukraine's independence, numerous lawyers commissions have established my right, I was right as a lawyer. In this regard, for five times I have been re-elected as a president of the Union of Lawyers of Ukraine (1990  2005). I am clear on my colleagues. I am clear before my fate and Stuss life path, I did everything I could. If he did not fight against the Soviet authorities, he would not be a fighter for Ukraines independence," he added.

As was reported before that the son of Ukrainian poet and dissident Vasyl Stus, Dmytro Stus, noted that the filmmakers have violated all their preliminary agreements, so he would not further cooperate with them.

In April 2018, filming of Ukrainian full-length feature movie "Bird of the soul" about the well-known poet of the 1960-s, human rights defender and Hero of Ukraine Vasyl Stus began. The film is produced with the support of Ukraines Cinema State Agency.

August 10, a controversy surrounded the movie, as the film directors decided to axe an episode with the Stuss trial from the film. In particular, all references to Ukrainian politics to Viktor Medvedchuk, who in 1980 was appointed as Stuss lawyer, were removed.

After the violent public reaction, the creators of the film announced that they would finish the stage of the trial with the participation of Medvedchuk. Medvedchuks lawyer warned that in case of providing unreliable information about the politician, he might sue the filmmakers.A Fortuitous Partnership

Food meets fitness at Pocai.

by Sabine Bickford

From the August, 2018 issue

What do you get when you put together two gym owners, a barbecue food truck chef, and a 280-square-foot former coffee shop? A takeout operation serving up trendy bowls--with a health-food twist.



Pocai (pronounced Po-SA-ee) is a collaboration between Ricewood barbecue cofounder and chef Frank Fejeran and local Orangetheory Fitness owners Bret Borock and Matt Grabowski.



The small outer corner of the building at Woodlawn and Packard, formerly Coffee Works A2, has been painted a fresh berry blue, and simple slatted chairs and tables line the nearby sidewalk. Words like "salmon" and "kale salad" painted on the wall gives passersby a preview of the menu inside.



The name combines the two trends at the center of the restaurant's menu. Poke bowls, Ann Arbor's trend of the moment, are a Hawaiian dish of rice, sauce, vegetables, and raw fish. Acai bowls are a smoothie-like Brazilian concoction with a base of pureed frozen acai berries topped with granola and other fruit. Pocai serves both "bowls" in clear plastic drink cups, with ingredients added one by one to create colorful layers. (Don't worry, the cups are compostable.) Also available are salads, avocado toast, ("you can't open a place without avocado toast!" says Fejeran), and "ABC toast" with acai, banana, peanut butter, and chia seeds.



Since the tiny space barely has room for two two-person tables, the main focus is takeout. Orders are accepted by phone or online, and Fejeran, Grabowski, and Borock hope to add curbside pickup soon. "You're gonna be able to just [text] your name and car make ... and we're gonna bring it out to you," says Borock.



The partnership started fortuitously, when the gym owners and chef began patronizing each other's businesses.



Fejeran says Grabowski is a regular at Ricewood, and "after I went to Nashville to do hot chicken research [for Ma-Lou's in Ypsi], I felt really fat, so I joined a gym. The day after my first session, Matt comes up and is like, 'Hey I

...continued below...

heard you were gonna join this gym Orangetheory,' and I was like 'Yeah, how'd you know that? It was literally yesterday.' And he was like, 'I own it!'""Wefood," says Borock. "When Matt and I started the whole Orangetheory thing, we thought 'Oh, it would be super cool to start a restaurant.'"After making the connection, they asked Fejeran to help develop a healthy menu based on the acai bowls that Borock had seen on a trip to California. "I think we just all clicked," Fejeran says. "Then this space came up.""We want to be a destination where people really enjoy going," says Borock. "It's a healthy option. You can feel good about what you're eating and feel good about where you're going."[Originally published in August, 2018.]Stopping for Pedestrians?

Question Corner: August 2018

by Tim Athan

From the August, 2018 issue

Q. New signs about the percent of Ann Arbor drivers stopping for pedestrians have popped up. The signs are not informative and are actually confusing. Do you have any information about what information they are trying to show, and how they measured this?



A. Since 2011, Ann Arbor has required motorists to stop for pedestrians who indicate the intent to cross in a non-signaled crosswalk. Since the Michigan Uniform Traffic Code, which is followed in most of the state, only requires stopping for people in a crosswalk. That created a challenge: how to make the many tens of thousands of motorists who commute into Ann Arbor every workday aware of the requirement?



"We did a big ad campaign this May/June about crosswalk safety," emails city spokesman Robert Kellar. "The campaign has consisted of a wave of education, multiple waves of enforcement, in-road signage and advertising."



Compliance is based on observation of the percentage of drivers who stop as required for approaching pedestrians. "We had good results last year," Kellar writes, "and we hope after compiling the data from this year, along with a much more vibrant campaign, [next year's] numbers will be even better."



Got a question? Email question@aaobserver.com.



[Originally published in August, 2018.]







YEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Official dinner on behalf of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in honor of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived in Armenia on an official visit, was given at the PMs residence on August 24, the government told Armenpress.

The heads of the government of the two countries delivered toasts touching upon the Armenian-German relations and their development prospects.

Armenian PMs toast during the official dinner:

Dear Mrs. Chancellor,

Dear Mr. President of the Republic of Armenia,

Dear members of the German delegation,

State officials of the Republic of Armenia,

Dear guests,

Today its truly a memorable day for the history of the relations between Armenia and Germany since the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany is visiting the Republic of Armenia for the first time in history. The Armenian media already managed to call this visit historical and I agree with this. I agree with this as a presumption, but now, after the talks, I agree with this as a result since we held very important and productive talks with Mrs. Chancellor. And I am convinced that we will implement all our agreements consistently which will mean a new page for the relations of our countries. Nevertheless, I think based on the results of this visit the inter-state relations have an opportunity to strengthen with human relations since Mrs. Chancellor with her human characteristics and experience was creating a positive atmosphere and contributed to an open and sincere talk. This style is more effective and pleasant. The relations of Armenia and Germany have great potential. This potential comes from the whole process of history of our third Republic, as well as the process of more long-term history, and I am confident that our government will do everything to multiply the existing potential, so that we will have greater, more tangible results and our relations will develop in political, economic and humanitarian sectors. I want to specifically state that a unique, emotional and political attitude has been formed in Armenia towards Germany especially after the adoption of the resolution on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the Bundestag in June 2016. Passing through tragic shocks, our people are more than optimistic towards their future, and I am happy that Mrs. Chancellor and our partners of the German delegation immediately noticed that optimism in Armenia and are ready to support that optimism which already means that the friendship of our countries will continue deepening at political, economic and humanitarian levels. I want to deliver a toast for the new page of the Armenian-German relations, the growing volume of optimism in these relations and the determination we have in terms of opening a new page in our relations. Welcome to Armenia! The Republic of Armenia was waiting for you with pleasure, and I hope that atmosphere of love and optimism will accompany us not only during your visit here, but also after your departure, for quite a long time, and will create a new base for our mutual visits, mutual relations and mutual optimism. Thank you. Long live the Armenian-German friendship!

German Chancellor Angela Merkels toast at the official dinner:

Dear Mr. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan,

Dear Mr. President,

Dear Members of Parliament,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me thank you on behalf of me and my delegation for todays high reception and warm attitude. We are happy to be hosted in a city with 2800-year-old history which is rich in great cultural and historical resources. Today I and my delegation visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial where our thoughts were directed towards the great pain of the Armenian people who faced it in 1915. I had a chance to plant a fir tree in the park, and we are impressed with our visit to Tsitsernakaberd. I hope Armenia looks to the future, one of the vivid evidences of which was my visit to the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies where I talked to the kids. During spring months we were carefully following the events in Armenia, how the citizens of Armenia, especially the youth were decisively implementing and expressing their political will through peaceful protests. We, the representatives of the German Federal government, the MPs, the delegations representatives of the economic sector and the German side in general would like to accompany you on this path of courageous changes and be a supporting partner in the further Armenian developments. We know how much people like to talk, but we both attached importance to the work and today during our private meeting we managed to outline and determine all sectors, points where we can conduct a deeper cooperation with each other. We can successfully continue to deepening the cooperation in educational, scientific-research, economic and numerous other fields. Germany can provide assistance to Armenia on the effective implementation of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed with the European Union. And in order not to forget about our agreements, I invited you, Mr. Prime Minister, to be hosted in Germany so that we can record the progress and continue working for further development. Therefore, by expressing my satisfaction, let me deliver a toast for the further development of the Armenian-German friendship, the Armenian-German cooperation.

Edited and translated by Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenias delegation led by Speaker of the Parliament Ara Babloyan met on August 24 Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babis on the sidelines of the official visit in Prague, the Parliament told Armenpres.

Speaker Babloyan congratulated the Czech PM on the approval of the cabinet led by him by the Chamber of Deputies of the parliament.

During the meeting Ara Babloyan attached importance to the expansion of multi-sector cooperation with the Czech Republic, reaffirming Armenias interest to ensure the continuation of political dialogue, expand the commercial cooperation and boost human contacts.

The Speaker said the Armenia-EU mutual partnership plays an important role in the Armenian-Czech cooperation agenda. According to him, the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement opened a new page in the relations of Armenia and the EU.

Ara Babloyan expressed hope that in the context of the implementation of the Armenia-EU Agreement, Czech Republic will include Armenia in the list of targeted countries.

Talking about the Armenian-Czech economic ties, the Speaker of the Parliament expressed satisfaction over the strengthening of these relations in the recent years, at the same time stating that the potential is not consumed yet. He said Armenia expects direct investments from Czech businessmen in its economy.

Welcoming the Armenian delegation, the Czech PM attached importance to the bilateral relations. He presented the domestic political situation in the Czech Republic and stated that the country is recording a stable economic growth.

The Czech PM informed that dynamic changes are taking place in the EU, some issues exist which require solutions, for instance, the refugee issue.

Edited and translated by Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. When Angela Merkel visits Azerbaijan this weekend, the German chancellor should pressure the government over its record on human rights, corruption and treatment of activists, Transparency International Secretariat said in a statement, reports Armenpress.

According to media reports, a key item on Chancellor Merkels agenda is German support for the Southern Corridor natural gas pipelines. Germany is reportedly considering granting Azerbaijan a 1.2bn loan towards the project.

Both Azerbaijan and Germany are entitled to seek a good deal from Chancellor Merkels visit to Azerbaijan this weekend. But as the leader of most influential member of the European Union, Chancellor Merkel must ensure that her actions promote and represent European values, and bring enduring results for the release of political prisoners and eased restrictions on funding for civil society organizations, said Adam Foldes, legal advisor at Transparency International. Transparency Internationals chapter in Azerbaijan has significantly minimized its activities due to problems with state registration of foreign funding.

Last month, MEPs called for future European relations with Azerbaijan to be predicated on supporting democracy, the rule of law and human rights. Germany should adhere to the same principle in its dealings with the country, continues Foldes.

In July, MEPs recommended that the EU put in place specific provisions to help Azerbaijan to fight economic crime, including corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and back investigations into laundering schemes, notably the Laundromat affair.

The Azerbaijani Laundromat refers to a US$2.9bn slush fund allegedly sponsored by the Azerbaijani government that used shell companies to launder money and bribe European politicians to suppress independent human rights reports, finance fake election observation missions and launder the reputation of Azerbaijan.

In negotiating any deal with the government of Azerbaijan, the German government should insist on freedom for political prisoners, a free and pluralistic media landscape, space for activists to protest and participate in decision making, and concrete measures against corruption, the statement said.

Edited and translated by Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. The Police of Armenia have adopted more open, public and transparent working style, Police Chief Valeri Osipyan said during the first session of the Public Council adjacent to the Police Chief, reports Armenpress.

From now on we will adopt all important decisions relating to the main and conceptual directions of the Police activity jointly based on the public discussions, analysis and our discussions, Osipyan said.

He stated that under the circumstances of new political situation citizens no longer avoid to apply to the Police.

In the third quarter of 2018, the number of reports received by the Police subdivisions has increased by 12.578 compared to the first quarter. 33.743 reports were received in the first quarter. This increase is not linked with the increase of the number of crimes, but this is the figure of applying for our support, he said.

The Police Chief assured that the Public Council is demanded and has been created on time.

At the end he released the list of the Public Council members and handed over membership certificates to them.

Edited and translated by Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. The monument dedicated to the victims of Great Patriotic, Artsakh and April wars has been re-opened in Hrazdan town on August 25, reports Armenpress.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended the re-opening ceremony of the monument.

The willingness to die for the homeland is the highest point of human consciousness. These guys have died for the sake of life, and the responsibility of each living person with each dying one is becoming even worse. We erect such high monuments for us in order to feel every day the responsibility put on us with every victim, to regain our shame and conscience, if we lost it a moment, by looking at these monuments every time. These people have died not only for the sake of death, but for life, the PM said.

MP Sasun Mikayelyan, initiator of the renovation works, commander of Sasun volunteer squad, said this day is symbolic: from now on the last Saturday of August will be declared as a pilgrimage day of Hrazdan residents.

The area of the memorial complex will expand and will become a city pantheon. The statues of commanders Andranik and Vazgen Sargsyan will be erected as well, the MP said.

The reconstruction works of the memorial complex have launched two years ago.

Edited and translated by Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. His Holiness Garegin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, on August 25 met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Mother See told Armenpress.

His Holiness Garegin II said the German Chancellors visit to Armenia will give new impetus to the development of the partnering relations of the two countries.

His Holiness touched upon the challenges facing Armenia and the recent political changes, stating that the Armenian people make efforts to build peaceful, secure life with hope and optimism, as well as are ready to overcome all difficulties.

He affirmed that the Armenian Church as well should continue making efforts on this path by supporting the Armenian leadership.

Garegin II expressed his gratitude to the German people for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide, stating that only through this way it is possible to rule out similar crimes in the world.

In her turn Chancellor Angela Merkel said she is happy to visit the spiritual center of the Armenian people. She introduced His Holiness Garegin II on her impressions from the visit and meetings in Armenia.

She stated that her visit coincided with the recent changes in Armenia, adding that Germany would like to be a friend and partner on this path and reaffirms readiness to expand the partnership in different sectors.

During the meeting His Holiness Garegin II also thanked the German authorities in the person of Angela Merkel for the warm attitude towards the Armenian community.

The sides also exchanged views on the current situation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. His Holiness expressed his concerns over the militaristic statements of the Azerbaijani leadership which greatly endangers the peaceful settlement prospects of the conflict. Garegin II considered unacceptable the provocation of hatred and hostility by Azerbaijan towards Armenians.

Garegin II handed over a book to Chancellor Merkel which tells about the consistent elimination of Armenian historical-cultural and spiritual values in current Azerbaijans territory.

He expressed hope that the Karabakh conflict will be settled peacefully by the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and international community.

During the meeting they also expressed concerns over the restrictions of rights of Christian minorities in Turkey.

Chancellor Merkel stated Germany will also make efforts to contribute to solving the aforementioned issues. She also thanked for hosting and assisting the Syrian refugees.

The meeting was also attended by Armenias foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan, Ambassadors of the two countries, as well as several clergymen.

Edited and translated by Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, AUGUST 25, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has expressed interest towards the Indian Pinaka rocket launcher system, Armenpress reports citing The Times of India.

The system has been developed by the city-based Armament Research and Development and Establishment (ARDE), which is a laboratory under the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

Director of the laboratory KM Rajan said Armenia has shown an interest in the Pinaka rocket system.

So we carried out extensive firing trials for the Armenian delegation last month at Pokhran in Rajasthan. The results were excellent. Since it is a government-to-government decision, we are yet to receive word about an official agreement of the procurement. Armenia is interested in both the versions of the rocket, Rajan said.

Several foreign delegations, including Armenia, visited the defense expo at Chennai this year.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan



At least 19 people died and another 23 were injured when a fire ripped through a hot springs hotel complex in northeastern China on Saturday, state media said. The blaze began in the early hours at the hotel and spa in Harbin, capital of the Heilongjiang province, the official Xinhua news agency reported. "An area of 400 square metres has been ravaged by the flames and 19 people have died," the agency said, citing local authorities. Blackened walls inside the hotel, which is part of a hot springs complex, could be seen in footage released by state broadcaster CCTV. Images from the scene showed rooms littered with broken glass and twisted metal structures, with parts of the ceiling hanging down precariously in places. The injured were suffering from burns or toxic smoke inhalation, CCTV said, indicating an investigation had been opened into the cause of the fire. Xinhua said the hotel's owner had been detained for questioning by police. Deadly fires are common in China where fire security regulations are frequently neglected. In April, 18 people were killed and five more injured in a fire at a karaoke establishment in the country's south. And in November, a fire left 19 people dead and eight injured at a boarding house in Beijing. In 2015, another 38 people died following a fire at a retirement home in central Henan province. The blaze broke out during the night at the hotel in Harbin Deadly fires are common in China, where fire security regulations are routinely neglected Authorities said an area of 400 square metres was ravaged by the flamesAirbnb sued the city of New York on Friday, denouncing as "an extraordinary act of government overreach" a new law forcing home-sharing platforms to disclose data about hosts. It was a dramatic escalation in the battle between the $30 billion company and authorities in America's most populous city, amid a global backlash against "sharing economy" startups disrupting traditional industries. The rental site filed the lawsuit in a federal court in Manhattan, asking for the law to be scrapped and branding it a product of a "multimillion-dollar campaign funded by the city's powerful hotel lobby." The law, which comes into effect on February 2, 2019, requires home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb to disclose information about hosts and imposes hefty fines for non-compliance. The 29-page suit called the ordinance "illegal" and argues that it "breaches critical privacy protections" for both home-sharing platforms and New Yorkers. "No probable cause, notice, or legal review is contemplated in connection with the bulk collection of this data, and no real restrictions are placed on its use or dissemination," the suit argued. City Hall hit back hard Friday. "This law provides the city with the critical data it needs to preserve our housing stock, keep visitors safe, and ensure residents feel secure," said Christian Klossner, executive director of the mayor's office of special enforcement. "This city will defend it." Supporters say the legislation will clamp down on illegal short-term rentals, which they argue drive up rents and make housing even less affordable. Airbnb contends that most users in the city are hard-pushed New Yorkers trying to make ends meet by renting out rooms in their homes. New York is the company's biggest US market. The state of New York already tightened the rules in 2016, slapping steep fines on those who let out unoccupied apartments for fewer than 30 days -- which is against the law unless the owner or lessor is present. According to the lawsuit, "entire home" Airbnb listings make up only around 0.8 percent of homes in the city of 8.5 million people. (FILES) This file photo taken on March 02, 2017 shows the logo of online lodging service Airbnb displayed on a computer screen in Paris.New York's mayor on Monday August 6, 2018 signed into law a landmark bill forcing home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb to disclose information about hosts and imposing hefty fines for non-compliance.An airline has come under fire for being sexist over how stickers were being handed out to children on-board on a flight.

A British woman saw cabin crew handing out the stickers to children onboard a TUI airlines flight from Bristol, UK to Paphos, Cyprus earlier this month.

She was travelling with her great-niece and great-nephew.

The two types of stickers said future TUI cabin crew and future TUI captain.

Dame Gillian Morgan was quite upset to see the captain stickers were only given to boys.

The stickers were gender neutral but its the way that they were handed out that makes it complicated, Dame Morgan told the Metro UK.

These airline stickers are sparking claims of sexism by TUI airlines as a passenger claims that girls were given cabin crew stickers while boys were given captain stickers. Source: TUI

I just think its a shame. TUI were trying, I think, to do the right thing but fundamentally missed the point.

The incident sparked social media outrage from parents who were upset by the obvious sexism.

Epic fail by TUI. Girls can fly planes too, one Twitter user posted.

Back last month I commented to TUI that I was disappointed that girls and boys were handed different stickers on a flight, another user said.

It was obvious sexism. All they needed was to ask the children which sticker they wanted, a third user posted.

A British woman saw cabin crew handing out the sexist stickers to children onboard a TUI airlines flight from Bristol, UK to Paphos, Cyprus. Source: Getty

However, other users stepped in to defend the airline.

We went on holiday this year with TUI and my son was given the choice which sticker he would like. As were all the children on our flight, one user posted.

TUI apologised for causing offence to customers in response to the social media backlash.

We think it has just been a simple mix-up since our future pilot and cabin crew stickers are designed for use for any child regardless of gender, a spokesman for TUI said.The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Saturday for a deadly attack earlier this week on a checkpoint in western Libya, as Libyan authorities announced the arrest of the suspected perpetrators. "Soldiers of the caliphate assaulted the 'Wadi Kaam' gate, on the Zliten-Khoms road two days ago, targeting a gathering of apostate security elements" loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government, the jihadist group said via its Amaq propaganda arm. Six soldiers loyal the Government of National Accord (GNA) were killed in the Thursday attack, illustrative of the insecurity that has plagued the country since a 2011 uprising. Zliten Mayor Moftah Ahmadi told AFP the assault in the town, which lies 170 kilometres (105 miles) from the capital in an area where IS jihadists are active, targeted special operations forces commanded by the interior ministry. Three men, "armed with grenades and light weapons" led the attack, Ahmadi said. One was shot dead and the other two managed to escape. In an interview Saturday with Libya's private al-Ahrar broadcaster, the unity government's Interior Minister Abdelsalam Ashour said "the perpetrators of the attack were apprehended", without specifying how many people were arrested. Seven years after the 2011 NATO-backed ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya remains divided between the UN-backed GNA in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. A myriad of militias, jihadist groups and people traffickers have taken advantage of the chaos to gain a foothold in the North African country. Libyan security patrol near the site of a deadly attack on a checkpoint in the city of Zliten, east of the capital TripoliSlovenia's Matej Mohoric made amends for his narrow defeat 24 earlier by winning the third stage of the Tour of Germany on Saturday to claim the overall lead on the penultimate day. Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas was again well outside the first ten finishers, crossing the line at one minute, seven seconds back in 43rd. The Team Sky rider is out of contention for the German title and lags four minutes, 38 seconds adrift of current leader Mohoric. The 23-year-old Team Bahrain?Merida rider won the stage from Trier to Merzig, covering the 177 kilometres in four hours, 12.28 minutes, in a blanket finish with Germany's Nils Politt second and Belgium's Pieter Vanspeybrouck third. Having lost out on the line to Germany's Maximilian Schachmann in Friday's photo finish in Trier, Mohoric made no mistake in Merzig by passing Politt in the final metres to take the stage and claim the red jersey as Tour leader. Berlin-born Schachmann finished seventh and is now six seconds behind Mohoric in second overall. Schachmann was hampered in the final stages as he swerved to avoid a crash involving several riders just before the finish. "I had to slow things down, it was annoying at the moment, but it's not over yet - it's going to be a tough, tough fight (on Sunday)," Schachmann told broadcaster ZDF. "I had a hard time keeping my position in the final straight and then the crash happened." The four-day Tour de Germany, which is back after a ten-year hiatus, concludes on Sunday on the final stage from Lorsch to Stuttgart over 207.5km which has three climbs. Slovenia's Matej Mohoric of Team Bahrain-Merida celebrates after winning the third stage of the Tour of Germany from Trier to Merzig on Saturday to claim the overall lead on the penultimate day.US and Mexican negotiators will continue meeting through the weekend to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement and Canada is set to rejoin the talks as soon as they are called, Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Friday. Guajardo and Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray have been shuttling back and forth to Washington for more than a month for meetings with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to try to iron out bilateral issues, such as rules for the auto market, before the end of August. But Guajardo told reporters that Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland was ready at any point to proceed with the NAFTA negotiations. "I have confirmation that she would be available the moment we believe we can enter into the trilateral" discussions, he said. Freeland said earlier in the week that she was encouraged by the progress between Washington and Mexico City and would rejoin the talks once the bilateral discussions concluded. However, her office announced Friday she would travel to Europe August 26-30 for visits in Germany, France and Ukraine. The Mexican official declined to go into detail on the topics remaining with the United States but said the agreement could happen at any time. "The idea is that we are staying because we know there are issues to resolve," he said. "And we have to make sure that everybody feels comfortable with this agreement." Earlier Friday, Guajardo said officials were "very far" along in efforts to deal with the US-Mexico issues but added "there are trilateral issues that have to be solved in a trilateral context." A contentious proposal by the United States -- which would require the nearly 25-year-old trade pact be reauthorized every five years -- is one that must include all three partners, Guajardo said. Jesus Seade, an economic advisor to Mexico's incoming president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has been participating in portions of the NAFTA talks and said the sunset clause "is going out," according to press reports from Mexico City. Guajardo declined to comment on Seade's remarks but said the teams were working together on behalf of Mexico. A senior Canadian official told AFP on Thursday there had been "no indication of flexibility from the US on this issue." The three countries have been negotiating for a year to salvage the trade pact that President Donald Trump says has been a "disaster" for the United States. Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo (R) and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer have been meeting for five weeks on revising NAFTAThe family of the late rock star Prince is suing a doctor who prescribed pain pills for him.

They say the doctor failed to treat him for opiate addiction and therefore bears responsibility for his death two years ago, the familys attorney announced on Friday.

Prince Rogers Nelson died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl on April 15, 2016.

Authorities say Dr Michael Schulenberg admitted prescribing a different opioid to Prince in the days before he died, oxycodone, under his bodyguards name to protect the musicians privacy.

Dr Schulenberg has disputed that, although he paid $30,000 to settle a federal civil violation alleging that the drug was prescribed illegally.

The lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court this week alleges Dr Schulenberg and others had an opportunity and duty during the weeks before Princes death to diagnose and treat Princes opioid addiction, and to prevent his death. They failed to do so.

The family of the late rock star Prince (pictured) is suing a doctor who prescribed pain pills for him, their attorney announced on Friday. Source: AAP

According to the complaint, which was first reported by US outlet ABC News, Princes family seeks unspecified damages in excess of $50,000.

An attorney for Princes six surviving siblings said on Friday the new lawsuit would eventually replace a lawsuit they filed in April in Illinois to beat a legal deadline.

A week before he died, Prince lost consciousness on a flight home from playing a concert in Atlanta.

The plane made an emergency stop in Moline, Illinois, where he was revived at Trinity Medical Center with a drug that reverses opioid overdoses.

Prince lived in Minnesota all his life and passed away here, so we always thought his familys lawsuit belonged in Minnesota, attorney John Goetz said in a statement.

He said they now had sufficient legal grounds to pursue the lawsuit in Princes home state.

Dr Schulenbergs attorney, Paul Peterson, said on Friday they believed the lawsuit had no merit.

We understand this situation has been difficult on everyone close to Mr Nelson and his fans across the globe, he said in a statement.

Story continues

Prince Rogers Nelson (pictured right) died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl on April 15, 2016. Source: Getty

Be that as it may, Dr Schulenberg stands behind the care that Mr Nelson received. We intend to defend this case.

Authorities say Prince probably did not know he was taking the dangerous drug, fentanyl, when he took counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl that looked like a generic version of the painkiller Vicodin.

The source of those pills remains unknown and no one has been charged in Princes death.

The lawsuit also names North Memorial Health Care, where Dr Schulenberg worked at the time, UnityPoint Health, which operates the Moline hospital and Walgreens Co., which operates two drug stores where Prince got prescriptions filled.

The earlier lawsuit named only UnityPoint and Walgreens.

North Memorial said in a statement it also stood behind the care Prince received.

UnityPoint spokeswoman Vickie Parry said they could not comment on pending litigation.

Walgreens did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The Minnesota lawsuit is against all parties whom we now believe share legal responsibility for Princes death, but it is possible that we will identify and add other parties as we move forward with the case, Mr Goetz said.

 With APA new wide-ranging global study into the effects of alcohol has suggested there is no safe level of drinking.

Even moderate drinking can increase the risk of cancer and other diseases, according to the research released yesterday, which points to abstinence as the only safe course of action.

But health experts are now warning that this advice could in fact be doing more harm than good.

A study in medical journal the Lancet suggests that no level of alcohol consumption is entirely safe. Source: Getty Images

Ian Hamilton, a drugs researcher and lecturer at the University or York, told Yahoo News: Just saying that theres no safe level of alcohol without any context or understanding is really misleading.

When you think about it theres no safe level of doing anything.

Theres no safe level of riding a bike or driving a car. Theres no safe level of breathing, because of air pollution.

This research shows what might look like an alarming risk in health problems including cancer and liver problems throughout your life. But actually that risk you have to put in proportion to everything else.

To put the studys findings in context, Hamilton says, if 25,000 moderate drinkers were to have a bottle of gin a month, only one of them would suffer a serious health problem throughout their life.

Health experts are arguing that advising people that no alcohol consumption is safe may do more harm than good. Source: Getty Images

And theres another danger posed by the study, Hamilton says, as health claims without context can stop people from trusting public health messaging.

The unintended consequence of this type of research and the way its reported is that people look at it and think well thats nonsense, he said.

And the problem is that people might start ignoring other public health messages. If you disbelieve one report chances are you might disbelieve the next one you see  and that could be one you really do need to listen to.

Essentially what the report is calling for is abstinence. I dont think thats doable, its completely unrealistic and unnecessary.

Story continues

The study, published in the Lancet journal, found that globally around one in three people  or 2.4 billion  drink alcohol.

Denmark had the highest proportion of alcohol consumers, 95.3 per cent of women and 97.3 per cent of men, and Pakistan and Bangladesh the lowest. Just 0.8 per cent of Pakistani men and 0.3 per cent of Bangladeshi women drank alcohol.

Men in Romania and women in Ukraine drank the most  8.2 and 4.2 drinks per day respectively.Moscow police on Saturday briefly detained three people marking the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Red Square protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Russian media reported. According to liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta, two of those detained were relatives of some of the eight Soviet protesters who stood on Red Square half a century ago before being hauled away by the KGB secret police. Anna Krasovitskaya, the granddaughter of the poet and translator Natalya Gorbanevskaya who spent two years in psychiatric hospitals as punishment for the 1968 protest, was one of those detained. She was reportedly holding a poster in support of Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov who has been on hunger strike for over three months in a Russian prison. Police also detained activist Sergei Shavrov-Delaunay, a relative of the poet Vadim Delaunay who was sentenced to three years in a Siberian prison camp for taking part in the protest against the invasion. He was detained along with Russian liberal politician Leonid Gozman. According to Novaya Gazeta, the pair tried to unfold a banner that read "For your freedom and ours", the same slogan the 1968 protesters had written on theirs. According to independent monitor OVD-Info, the trio were taken to a central Moscow police station. All three were released three hours later. The monitor said around 50 people took part in the rally, which police did not allow because of a military music festival on Red Square. Physicist Pavel Litvinov, one of the eight original Soviet protesters, took part in the rally. The August 25 1968 protest against Soviet authorities sending tanks into Prague was a symbolic gesture that launched the political dissident movement in the USSR. Soviet troops had invaded the city five days earlier, bringing an end to the Prague Spring, a tentative attempt to liberalise the Communist system. Standing in the square, they only had time to raise a few placards which read "Shame on the occupiers", "For your freedom and ours" and "Long live free and independent Czechoslovakia" before being arrested by the KGB. Most of those eight demonstrators -- Natalya Gorbanevskaya, Pavel Litvinov, Viktor Fainberg, Vladimir Dremlyuga, Konstantin Babitsky, Larisa Bogoraz, Vadim Delaunay and Tatiana Bayeva -- paid a high price for their protest. Five have since died. In June, the Czech government handed the remaining three -- Litvinov, Bayeva and Fainberg -- an award to mark the 50-year anniversary of their protest. Russian activist Sergei Shavrov-Delaunay, a relative of the poet Vadim Delaunay, is released after he and two others were detained for marking the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Red Square protestRising star Aryna Sabalenka moved another step closer to her first title after easing past fifth seeded Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in the semi-finals of the Connecticut Open. The 20-year-old Belarusian has rocketed up the WTA Tour rankings this year, moving from being just inside the top 75 in the world at the end of 2017 to a career high 25 this week. "I played a lot of three sets this year," said Sabalenka, who has reached her third final of 2018. "I'm more fresh, ready for the final." Sabalenka has now beaten Goerges both times they have played. She won 73 percent of her first serve points and broke Goerges three times in Friday's one hour, 45 minute match. "She's a great player," Sabalenka said. "It's really tough to play against her because she's a big server. Sometimes it's impossible to take her serve. I mean no chance. "This is just about the mental game. You have to be focused 100 percent on every point." Sabalenka booked her spot in Saturday's final where she will face Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro who spent just 34 minutes on the court after Monica Puig of Puerto Rico quit with an injury. The two were tied 4-4 in the first set when Puig packed it in. Sabalenka will be in her fourth career final, but first ever meeting against the 29-year-old veteran Suarez Navarro in the final tune-up event before next week's US Open. "It's not the first time (final), so I know what I have to do tomorrow," she said. Sabalenka had to come from behind to win the second set against Goerges. She had her serve broken in the first game but got the break back to level at 4-4. The pair went to a tiebreak and Sabalenka clinched it in style by winning seven consecutive points after losing the first three points. "I tried a lot of different things today," said Goerges. "I can be very pleased with that. I did the best that I could. "I was fighting big-time. But there?s only one winner." In the other semi, Suarez Navarro had just rallied from a break down to get to 4-3 when Puig took a long medical timeout. Puig returned but was visibly hampered, losing the next game to get to 4-4. That's when she made the decision to call it a day, leaving the court in tears. Puig blamed her loss on an abdominal strain. Suarez Navarro has benefitted from a biblical-like chain of events to get into her first WTA final of 2018. After a hard fought first round win over Barbora Strycova, she got a walkover from British No. 1 Johanna Konta in the second round. Then two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova retired in their quarter-final and finally reigning Olympic champion Puig pulled out halfway through the first set of the semis. Aryna Sabalenka has rocketed up the WTA Tour rankings this year, moving from being just inside the top 75 in the world at the end of 2017 to a career high 25 this weekPolice uncovered a secret drug tunnel stretching from a former KFC in the US state of Arizona across the border to Mexico.

The almost 180 metre-long passageway was in the basement of the old restaurant in San Luis, leading under the border to a home in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico.

Police found the tunnel last week and have subsequently arrested the owner of the building in the US, KYMA News reported.

The tunnel was discovered under an old KFC restaurant in Arizona, US, used to smuggle drugs across the Mexican border. Source: Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP

A traffic stop by cops of the owner Ivan Lopez led to the discovery not only of the tunnel but also a large haul of drugs.

During the stop, police dogs reportedly led officers to two containers of hard narcotics with a street value of more than $1.36m inside Lopezs vehicle.

Investigators say the containers held 118kg of methamphetamine, six grams of cocaine, 3kg of fentanyl and 21kg of heroin.

They then searched his home and his old KFC restaurant, discovering the tunnels entrance in the kitchen.

The passageway ended up in a house in Mexico. Source: Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP

In 2016, a 792 metre-long tunnel was found by authorities in San Diego, California, also being used to transport illegal narcotics.

Authorities then said it was one of the longest such drug tunnels ever discovered, used to transport an unprecedented cache of cocaine and marijuana.

The passageway was seven-metres deep and 180-metres long. It ended up in a house across the Mexican border.

The drugs are believed to have been pulled up through the tunnel with a rope.

The tunnel stretched for almost 180 metres. Source: Homeland Security Investigations/Yuma Sector BP

However, this is not the first such discovery of such a tunnel by police.

Drug trafficking on on the US-Mexico border remains a huge problem.

In July alone, US Border Patrol seized 15kg of heroin, 11kg of cocaine, 327kg of methamphetamine and 1,900kg of marijuana at border checkpoints nationwide.

Earlier this mont, 50 tonnes of methamphetamine was discovered hidden in an underground drug lab in the mountains outside the Mexican capital of Sinaloa state.A woman has allegedly stabbed a taxi driver over an unpaid fare.

The woman was taken by taxi to Elizabeth Shopping Centre in Adelaide on Saturday morning but she did not pay, police say.

When confronted by the driver, the woman allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the driver in the arm and hand.

A woman has allegedly stabbed a taxi driver outside a suburban Adelaide shopping centre after she was asked to pay her fare (scene at Elizabeth Shopping Centre pictured). Source: 7News

Police spoke to witnesses at Elizabeth Shopping Centre in Adelaide, the scene of the incident. Source: 7News

Police and emergency services were called to the shopping centre on Oxenham Drive just before 11.30am with reports of a stabbing.

The male driver was taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital for medical treatment.

His injuries are not life-threatening and he is in a stable condition.

The woman was detained by security guards until police arrived and she is expected to be charged later on Saturday.

Following the incident, officers interviewed witnesses at Elizabeth Shopping Centre.

Police asked any other witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers as they investigate.

 With AAPMillions of Americans of various religions and sects believe a great flood once wiped out nearly all of humanity as punishment for its sins. With equal fervor, many of those citizens refuse  despite hard evidence and scientific consensus  to accept that collective human activity can influence the climate.

That nearly religious zeal in denying the realities of global warming takes on new significance with the Trump administration's proposal to roll back rules on greenhouse gas emissions. The Affordable Clean Energy plan, a name rich with Orwellian overtones, would reverse not only regulations meant to reduce carbon dioxide, but decades of efforts to promote cleaner air.

This gift to the coal industry would give some of the dirtiest power plants in the country a new lease on life, relieving them of President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan's mandates for deep cuts in harmful emissions, including a nearly one-third reduction in carbon by 2030, and a 90 percent cut in sulfur dioxide.

The policy would also slow the momentum toward clean energy alternatives. As of 2016, according to the Department of Energy, coal accounted for about 160,000 power generation jobs, compared with nearly 374,000 for solar, 102,000 for wind, and 2.2 million in energy efficiency.

But the debate over coal isn't so much about numbers as it is about a political and ideological divide that the fossil fuel industry, its subsidized think tanks, and its beholden politicians work hard to cultivate and exploit. While most Americans believe global warming and human influence on it are real, a Gallup poll earlier this year found that 62 percent of Republicans say the threat is exaggerated, and barely half even believe the fact that most scientists say it's occurring.

Even under an administration out to censor science, the EPA acknowledges that the Affordable Clean Energy proposal will mean up to 1,400 more premature deaths annually by 2030, plus more cases of asthma, and more children missing more days of school.

Whether you believe in Noah's Ark or anthropogenic climate change, there's a warning common to both: Human beings are in this together  in sin or in folly.

 The Times Union, Albany

The tale told by incarceration statistics in the United States is staggering. The nation, with about 5 percent of the world's population, has 21 percent of the world's prisoners. African-Americans are incarcerated at about five times the rate of white people, often for drug-related crimes, even though study after study shows the two groups use and sell drugs at similar rates. Much of that disparity is due to unfairly harsh sentences levied against those convicted of crimes involving crack cocaine, whose use is more prevalent in the black population than the powder cocaine more commonly used by whites.

The federal prison system houses about 184,000 inmates, up from 65,000 in 1990. The increase is largely due to mandatory minimum sentences adopted in 1986. And 75 percent of released prisoners end up back behind bars within five years.

For years, a bipartisan consensus has grown around the idea of significant reform in the federal criminal justice and prison systems. The goal is to send fewer people to prison, keep the ones who are jailed in for shorter periods, and take concrete steps to prepare them to live law-abiding, productive lives in society once they get out, so they can stay out.

Now that consensus has a chance to become change, with much of the fresh momentum coming from President Donald Trump.

Most American prisoners are in state institutions, and the federal push is for ideas that are starting to work to reduce prison populations and recidivism at the state level. Trump recently held a summit with governors from states confronting prison and sentencing reform.

The first step is, aptly, the First Step Act, a bill that boils down to getting inmates prepared for life after prison and then getting them released. Passed with broad bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, the bill would provide $250 million for a five-year program to fund inmate education, job training and rehabilitation.

The second step, which has garnered support in the Senate, involves shortening unreasonably long mandatory minimum sentences, often life, for some felony drug offenders, letting judges impose lighter sentences for nonviolent crimes, and reducing overly harsh sentences already levied in cases that involved crack cocaine.

 Newsday, Long Island

The Charter Revision Commission appointed by Mayor de Blasio in April is getting ready to put a few skimpy ballot questions on the November ballot and then turn into a pumpkin.

Hold up. There's work yet to be done to improve city government  and the main mission for this year, blocking mischief by a City Council-dominated commission, is already accomplished.

So, mayor: Keep your commission alive another year and dig a little deeper. That will have the side benefit of blocking Council shenanigans in 2019.

By law, recommendations made by a mayoral panel trump those made by another. The second commission, which just kicked off, is dominated by nine appointees from the Council and borough presidents. It's poised to do real mischief by supercharging local legislators' power or beep power or mucking around with land-use approvals.

Such proposals would be de Blasio's duty to thwart, by offering his own ballot items.

The case for keeping a mayoral commission alive is made stronger by the fact that de Blasio's panel basically whiffed this year. Plans to consider okaying ranked-choice voting  whereby voters would put their primary picks in order from first to last, replacing costly, low-turnout runoffs  went nowhere. Same on improving the way Council districts are drawn.

All they're offering is weak tweaks to the city's campaign finance system. Lower contribution limits make some sense  but doubling public matching funds for citywide offices is a waste.

Keep the lights on for another year, to block the Council's schemes and do better work.

 The Daily News, New York

Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0House ABC Committee co-chairman says lax oversight by state ABC Commission and local boards may force legislature to take charge

"The world has changed since the bulk of our laws relating to alcoholic beverages were enacted. The laws are antiquated and don't reflect the changes in the alcoholic beverage industry and in our society. While there are some that want alcoholic beverage regulation to stay the way it is, I think modernization of our alcoholic beverage law is needed, and I think the ABC commission is in need of regulatory reform."

The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Commission appears to operate with little, if any, oversight, aside from a board chairman and two - now one - commissioners, who are appointed by the governor.It's time to reform the state's antiquated state-run system, Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, told Carolina Journal. He intimated it may be time for lawmakers to take an expanded - if not primary - role in overseeing ABC.McGrady, a longtime proponent of loosening the state's rules governing alcohol, co-chairs the House Alcoholic Beverage Control and Appropriations committees and was a strong supporter of Senate Bill 155, the so-called Brunch Bill.North Carolina has made some progress since the ABC system was implemented in 1938, yet any headway toward modernization has been slow and grudging. The issue is inherently polarizing. Putting zealous progressives and prohibitionists aside, the issue of alcohol is the cleaver that rips through the heart of the state's Republican lawmakers.But who is watching whom?The commission, an ABC spokeswoman said,ABC finished the sentence by referring CJ to Chapter 18B of the N.C. General Statutes - Regulation of Alcoholic Beverages. ABC has been quick to respond to questions from CJ, although its answers have been less than forthcoming.The ABC board is under the umbrella of the Department of Public Safety, primarily because the state aims to "control" every aspect related to the production, sale, and distribution of spirituous liquor in North Carolina.In reality, though, most of that control is left to the 168 local boards that oversee ABC stores throughout North Carolina. ABC boards, the ABC website says, are local political subdivisions of the state and operate as separate entities establishing their own policies and procedures. Local boards are required to submit an annual independent audit of their operations.According to N.C. statutes , city ABC board members are appointed by a respective city's governing body, unless a different method of appointment is provided in a local act. County ABC board members are appointed by a county's board of commissioners.the statute says.In January 2010, for example, the New Hanover County ABC board got in trouble over an administrator's exorbitant salary, about $214,000 annually, WRAL reported . Mecklenburg County ABC employees were criticized after liquor company representatives treated them to a $12,000 holiday party, WRAL reported.It's that elemental lack of central control that led to a blistering audit, released Aug. 9 by the Office of State Auditor Beth Wood. The audit found poor contract administration cost North Carolina taxpayers at least $11.3 million over 13 years. Unused warehouse space potentially cost the state $2.1 million over seven years, and a lack of monitoring left the state underpaid by at least $297,537 over two years.Maryland-based LB&B, which, its website says, specializes in facilities management, logistics, and training operations, since 2004 has contracted with the state to provide warehouse and distribution services.The ABC erred in its responsibility to follow state policies and state practices, Wood says in a news release. The ABC, the audit concludes, failed to administer the warehouse contract in the best interest of the state.Poor monitoring, Wood told CJ in reference to the audit. Poor oversight.McGrady told CJ,McGrady added.The casualties are mounting.ABC administrator Bob Hamilton left the agency late last month, a couple of weeks before the state released the audit. The reasons for Hamilton's abrupt departure remain unclear, and the ABC, citing state personnel laws, refuses to comment.Wednesday, Michael Herring, one of three members on the state ABC commission, resigned from the commission, according to a letter obtained by Triangle Business Journal.In the poorly worded letter, Herring called findings by the Office of State Auditor Beth Wood "fictitious" and calls out the administration of Gov. Roy Cooper for failing to defend the state ABC, saying it'sRepublican Gov. Pat McCrory appointed Herring, so the animus toward Cooper, a Democrat, is at least understandable. But ABC commission chair A.D. "Zander" Guy, in a letter attached to the audit report, accepted the findings. Guy said he takes the audit seriously and will implement changes accordingly. He also said plans are under way to place the warehouse contract up for bid in 2020 and become effective when the current contract expires in 2021.The contractor, LB&B, said it was "disappointed" by the report, which, it said, failed to recognize the correct statutory authority as mandated to the ABC by the General AssemblyMcGrady stands by Wood's report, but not that of LB&B.McGrady said.The issue of oversight will linger, and the problems will continue to fester, until changes, legislative or otherwise, at least start to address the idea of fixing a broken system.How soon is the legislature like to act, and what changes might be on the way?McGrady told CJ he doesn't know of a succinct legislative plan, but he has proposed a licensure model allowing the private sector to sell and distribute liquor. The ABC commission and the new executive, he said, should work address the issues raised by the audit before the 2019 legislative session.McGrady said.Somehow, Lionel Lebron, the man behind the Qanon 'Democrat pedophile cult' conspiracy theory, managed to meet with Donald Trump on Thursday inside the office of the President of the United States at the White House.

Yes, really.

"All four White House officials the Beast did speak with about about how Trump, the leader of the free world, ended up in a smiling photo op at the Resolute Desk with a prominent QAnon conspiracy theorist, pleaded ignorance about when this occurred, and why. Two of these West Wing officials audibly could not contain their laughter."

A real gem here, from Asawin Suebsaeng and Will Sommer at the Daily Beast:

On Thursday, President Donald Trump posed for an Oval Office photo with one of the leading promoters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, which claims that top Democrats are part of a global pedophile cult. YouTube conspiracy theorist Lionel Lebron was in the White House for an event on Thursday, according to a video Lebron posted online. During the visit, Lebron and his wife posed for a smiling picture with Trump in the Oval Office. Lebron is one of the internet's leading promoters of QAnon, the pro-Trump conspiracy theory based on a series of anonymous clues posted to internet forums. QAnon believers have interpreted the clues, which they claim without evidence are coming from a highly placed source in the Trump administration, to mean that Trump and the military are engaged in a high-stakes shadow war against a supposed globalist pedophile cult. The conspiracy theory has caught on with Trump supporters, who have held up QAnon-related signs and wear QAnon shirts to the president's rallies. Lebron claimed to have received a "special guided tour of the White House" before posing for pictures with Trump. In a video posted Friday, Lebron said he didn't use the brief encounter with the president to ask Trump about QAnon or its slogan, "Where we go one, we go all." "I think we all know he knows about it," Lebron said in the video, sipping from a coffee mug he claimed to have received as a gift at the White House.

Yep.Why does the Russian embassy want to visit accused hacker Yevgeniy Nikulin so very badly, lawyers ask. Good question.

Russian national Yevgeniy Nikulin was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with the 2012 hack of LinkedIn and Dropbox. Bloomberg reports Nikulin is now "of great interest" in the U.S. probe of Russian attacks on U.S. elections. Nikulin's lawyers say their client hasn't cooperated with them, and is behaving strangely, as are representatives of Russia's government.

Nikulin's story got weirder Friday when a federal judge questioned why the accused Russian hacker's lawyers, who asked he be evaluated for mental illness, selected a shrink in San Francisco "with a troubled past at California's medical board."

From Bloomberg:

And Nikulin's defense team  led by a New York-based attorney seasoned in representing Russians and Eastern Europeans charged with serious crimes in the U.S.  say Russian officials have shown unusually strong interest in his case, arranging at least once to visit him in jail when the attorneys weren't present. The lead attorney, Arkady Bukh, said he remains concerned, maybe "paranoid," over Nikulin's safety after a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned earlier this year in England with a nerve agent. "They are very active, by far more active than any other case," Bukh said of Russian embassy officials. "Now it's less frequent, but earlier in the case they were calling almost every day. I have no duties to them. They're not my client." Bukh said Nikulin probably didn't cooperate when officials from the Russian consulate visited him at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of San Francisco. Representatives of the Russian Embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Nikulin is accused by the U.S. of hacking LinkedIn and Dropbox in 2012, one of the largest data breaches in the country's history when some 117 million login codes were stolen. His extradition to the U.S. from the Czech Republic in March heightened diplomatic tensions with Russia, which has been accused by American intelligence officials of hacking the Democratic National Committee's email server while interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

@Emptywheel wrote a relevant analysis from April that's worth revisiting:

How Yevgeniy Nikulin Might Play into the Mueller Investigation.

The report that Michael Cohen was tracked traveling from Germany to Czech Republic in 2016 has raised questions about whether both Cohen and Nikulin were in Prague at the same time, Mohammed Atta-like.  Nikulin was suddenly extradited from Prague some weeks ago

 His (Russian-provided) lawyer says he'll entertain a plea deal

 All of which provides a good opportunity to lay out what role he may have (or may be said to have) played in the DNC hack-and-leak.

And finally, a creepy bit of color.

Bloomberg notes that Federal marshals said when Nikulin first arrived in San Francisco, he "physically confronted guards and tried to escape from custody  and he was shackled for his next court appearance."As spotted by @2020fight on Twitter. How is this even possible? You can barely move in the United States of America but for all the flags. Flags on the walls, on posters and books. Flags on poles outside schools, like the one he had to walk past to get to this classroom.

The President has colored his flag wrong. That is all. pic.twitter.com/wWXBgR9I6V  Talia (@2020fight) August 25, 2018

The original photo was posted by Alex Alar, the health secretary:

The opioid crisis is one of our top priorities at HHS, with a drumbeat of action on the full range of efforts where we can assist local communities. Today, I joined @POTUS & @FLOTUS in Ohio to learn how states and communities are responding to the challenge of opioid addiction. pic.twitter.com/NwxSoeNznA  Alex Azar (@SecAzar) August 25, 2018

Maybe Trump should kneel before it a while, so he at least knows what it looks like.

I've created a useful graphic of the Trumpamerica Flag:News / National

by Simbarashe Sithole

A Mahuhwe man was jailed for five years by Guruve magistrate Artwel Sanyatwe on Friday after he was found guilty of stock theft.Benjamin Chingore (32) was found with 15 goat kids at his homestead in Mahuhwe after selling 13 of the stolen goats in Harare.Public prosecutor Spiwe Makarichi told the court that between the period of 1 to 5 August Chingore and his accomplice who is still at large and was not mentioned in court drove 28 goats from their grazing pastures to Chingore's homestead.Thirteen of them were sent to Harare for resale, fifteen kids were being kept at Chingore's homestead/One of the owners tracked Chingore's foot prints and found the fifteen kids at his house before filing a police report leading to his arrest.The magistrate took into consideration the rise in stock theft cases and slapped him to an effective 5 years imprisonment.Its the retail investor frenzy luring U.S. cannabis companies to Canadas junior stock exchange, according to a Colorado-based venture capitalist, not a sense that the pot industry north of the border offers superior growth opportunities.

Five American-headquartered marijuana firms have listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) so far in 2018, the most prominent being MedMen Enterprises Inc. (MMEN.CN), a California-based chain of marijuana retail stores across three U.S. states, with an expanding cultivation footprint.

Micah Tapman, co-founder and managing director of the US$18 million venture fund Canopy Ventures, said its obvious the growth opportunities in Canada pale in comparison to U.S. states where recreational marijuana is legal.

The Canadian market is essentially micro, he told Yahoo Canada Finance. Its equivalent to investing in one state in the U.S. Its a very small market.

CIBC analyst John Zamparo forecast in May that the legal adult-use cannabis market in Canada will approach $6.5 billion in retail sales by 2020. A report released a month earlier by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics titled California: The Golden Opportunity projected sales in the sunshine state would grow to US$7.7 billion by 2021.

Still, the notion that Canada will emerge as a global marijuana leader once the drug is legalized in the fall is a popular one.

Canopy Growth Corporations (WEED.TO) $5 billion deal with beer and spirit giant Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ.N) sent shares of the Smiths Falls, Ont.-based weed company to record highs. Canopys market value is now roughly on par with plane and train-maker Bombardier Inc., (BBD-B.TO) and retailer Canadian Tire Corp. (CTC.TO) Its now the biggest company on Canadas health-care index, surpassing Bausch Health Cos. (BHC.TO), formally Valeant Pharmaceuticals.

Constellation Brands expanding stake in Canopy has ignited investor interest in other marijuana players. The Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF (HMMJ.TO), which tracks a basket of cannabis companies, has added more than 20 per cent since the deal was announced on Aug. 15.

Story continues

Canadas cannabis clout is even getting recognized by rock and roll royalty. David Crosby recently told The Globe and Mail, I think Canadians could congratulate themselves for having a country that was smart enough to wind up being where all the marijuana companies are based.

Tapman isnt convinced Canadas pending marijuana legalization on Oct. 17 will be enough to solidify the country as a global industry leader.

There is a lot of hype in this belief that Canada is going to be able to leverage its position as a first-mover for the developed countries on legalization into this lock on the global cannabis market, he said. To put it bluntly, Canada doesnt lead the world in anything in particular. Its a small place.

Small has been the operative word for U.S. cannabis companies when it comes to tapping into investment through the CSE.

MedMen is among the string of U.S. cannabis players to complete a reverse takeover of a tiny publicly-traded Canadian company to get on the exchange. In MedMens case, it was Ladera Ventures Corp., a company involved in the decidedly un-groovy business of operating oil and natural gas properties in Alberta.

For Tapman, that low barrier-to-entry means retail investors can expect the excitement around pot stocks to continue, for better or worse.

In Canada, there is this history of micro companies with minimal revenues and nothing really on the balance sheet throwing their stock up on the the CSE, or even the TSX Venture, and bringing in many, many retail investors, he said. The reality is, there will be a major market correction as the reality of Oct. 17 hits, and people realize that these companies arent producing great revenues or profitability yet. This was a lot of hype and a lot of stories.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.By Amanda Cooper

LONDON (Reuters) - Two of Iran's biggest OPEC rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, are bagging its European oil market share by cranking up production of their lookalike crude grades before the restart of U.S. sanctions designed to halt exports from the Islamic Republic.

Iran faces curbs on its energy sector from early November after U.S. President Donald Trump walked away in May from a 2015 deal aimed at restraining Tehran's nuclear programme.

Iran's crude is mainly bought by refiners in China, India, Japan and South Korea, although it has customers in Turkey and the European Union. Buyers seeking an alternative cannot simply opt for any crude on the market.

As oil sanctions against Iran take effect, perhaps in combination with production problems elsewhere, maintaining global supply might be very challenging and would come at the expense of maintaining an adequate spare capacity cushion," the International Energy Agency warned recently. [IEA/M]

"Thus, the market outlook could be far less calm at that point than it is today," the Paris-based IEA said.

A senior Iranian diplomat told producer group OPEC on Aug. 19 that no member country should be allowed to take over another's share of oil exports, in light of Saudi Arabia's offer to produce more to cover any Iranian shortfalls.

But a look at trade flows shows that in Europe at least, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have already succeeded in doing so.

Since the start of the year, Iranian flows to Europe have fallen 35 percent to around 415,000 barrels per day (bpd), while Saudi shipments have doubled and those from Iraq have risen 30 percent, according to Reuters flows and ship-tracking data.

"Saudi, Basra, Urals," one refiner said when asked what crude grades were likely alternatives, the latter two hailing from Iraq and Russia respectively.

Iraq and Saudi Arabia have raised their oil output by a combined 245,000 bpd since the start of the year and cut the official selling prices for their light crudes for customers in Asia.

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Iran is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and with as much as 1.5 million bpd of supply estimated to be under threat, its customers may be forced to pay handsomely for possible replacements.

SWEET AND SOUR

Crude oil is categorised mainly according to sulphur content and its density relative to water, or American Petroleum Institute gravity. The denser crude is, the lower its gravity.

Crudes that have an API gravity above 35 degrees are categorised as "light", while those with API gravity between 25 and 35 degrees are "medium" and below 25 degrees, "heavy".

The lighter the crude, the easier and cheaper it is to extract and transport and the simpler it is to refine. Heavier crudes, which contain more impurities such as sulphur or metals, require additional processing to recover higher-value products.

Sulphur content is a second key category. A "sweet" crude is one with a sulphur content of less than 0.5 percent, while the sulphur content of a "sour" crude is above this threshold. Sulphur is corrosive and refineries that run more sour grades require more intense maintenance.

The average API for OPEC's crudes is 33, compared with an average of 35.7 for U.S. grades. Shale, the fastest-growing type of U.S. crude, is lighter still.

(GRAPHIC: Major crude oil grades by type - https://reut.rs/2OH67XX)

Iran Light is a medium sour crude, meaning that shale, however abundant and cheap, cannot act as a replacement on its own. Most refineries worldwide are tooled to run crudes with an API of 32, according to one source at a major European refiner.

(GRAPHIC: EIA diagram of a conventional oil refinery - https://reut.rs/2L0yii9)

Refineries regularly blend different types of crude to get as close as possible to their optimal intake.

(GRAPHIC: Major international crude oil grades - https://reut.rs/2OUtWeI)

The impact on the more sour crudes is already apparent. Prices for physical barrels oil have generally declined over the second half of this year, but Russian Urals, British Forties and Angolan Girassol, all sour, are the top-performing grades from around the Atlantic Basin, having lost around 4 percent.

That compares with losses of 5-6 percent for lighter, sweeter crudes such as Norwegian Ekofisk or Nigeria's Bonny Light.

(GRAPHIC: Sanctions on Iran's crude exports spur race for market share - https://reut.rs/2Mw9nsk)

(Reporting by Amanda Cooper; Editing by Dale Hudson)The B.C. Wildfire Service said the forest fire situation across the province remained dire Thursday, though a change in the weather is expected this weekend and into next week.

Most areas around B.C. have at least a little rain in the forecast for the next few days, according to officials.

Fire information officer Ryan Turcot said the province needs heavy rain for a long time to make a dent in the fire situation but any bit of moisture can help.

"Even if we do see a little bit of precipitation over the next week, that should at least bring some relief in terms of taming the behaviour on some of the large wildfires we're responding to," he said Thursday.

"Of course, weather models are constantly changing their minds on precipitation, but the general expectation between [Thursday] and Tuesday: most areas of B.C. can expect at least some precipitation."

Turcot said the forecast comes as the province moves from dry, clear weather into a cooler, more unstable weather pattern

"The caveat is always, when we do see these more unstable conditions, it can often mean increased potential for lightning activity and gusty winds," he added.

Aggressive fires in northern B.C.

The central-northern corridor between Smithers and Prince George is still the biggest area of concern for the wildfire service given the size and intensity of fires burning there.

In particular, the officer said the Verdun and Nadina Lake fires are showing "exceptionally extreme fire behaviour" and will likely continue to be a challenge for firefighters.

Several smaller fires merged with the larger Alkali Lake wildfire on Wednesday, creating a single 100,000-hectare blaze. (Though, Turcot said, smoky skies means perimeter mapping may not be 100 per cent accurate.)

Other fires around the province prompted evacuation orders that afternoon, including for homes and cottages threatened by an aggressive blaze east of Pemberton.

Homes lost

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On Wednesday, leaders in the tiny community of Lower Post  near the Yukon border  confirmed three structures were lost as a 50-square-kilometre wildfire ran through the middle of the village.

Area residents who defied evacuation orders said another three properties burned down Wednesday night near Takysie Lake west of Prince George.

More than two dozen homes have also been burned in Telegraph Creek, B.C., this year.

Nearly 5,000 people are under evacuation orders with more than 22,000 on evacuation alert across the province. Around 13,000 livestock are under those orders and alerts as well.

Dense smoke from the fires continued to prompt air quality alerts across most of B.C., though Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley had begun to clear as ocean air moved onshore Thursday morning.

More fire information:

- B.C. remains in a provincewide state of emergency. There are more than 560 wildfires burning across the province.

- Sixteen new fires started Wednesday. Of all the fires in the province, 56 are fires of note.

- The B.C. Wildfire Service has spent more than $282 million fighting this year's wildfires.

- Wildfire smoke over Western Canada is visible from NASA's DSCOVR satellite  which is about 1.6 million kilometres away.

B.C. wildfire map:

B.C. evacuation map:

With files from Jon Hernandez, Rhianna Schmunk and the Canadian Press

Read more from CBC British ColumbiaIn a short film produced in Halifax, a refugee from Bhutan recites a poem dedicated to his mother who struggled to raise him in a refugee camp.

"Since we moved here my mother never had to cry," said Rupesh Dhungana, as part of the poem he wrote when he came to Canada eight years ago. "Instead she smiles, laughs and cherishes me everyday in my success."

Dhungana was born in Bhutan and was an infant when he fled with his family to refugee camps in Nepal, where he stayed for 18 years.

His poem "I Am Today" became the title of a short film produced by Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia in partnership with Clothesline Media, a Halifax-based marketing agency. It is designed to help dispel myths of what it means to be a refugee.

'I am today because of my mom'

When Dhungana was asked to become part of the film, along with two other young new Canadians, he was excited and keen to share his story and challenge stereotypes.

"Most of my life in the refugee camps was very fun, but when I came here I started realizing that it wasn't the same for my mom or dad," said Dhungana.

"They struggled a lot for us, so I wrote this poem saying that I am today because of my mom and because of the people in Canada."

Dhungana and his family didn't speak any English, but he says "organizations like ISANS and YMCA helped us and encouraged us to go to school."

With their support, he was able to complete a bachelor's degree in criminology from Saint Mary's University and has recently applied to become an RCMP officer, despite all the challenges he faced trying to fit in.

Challenging myths and stereotypes

"There are few myths about refugees which I've experienced, like refugees are weak, they have spent a dark life, they have struggled so much in their lives that they don't know what happiness is, but it's not like that," he said.

"It was a hard life, but I was having fun. I have beautiful memories with my childhood friends and my experience wasn't all dark."

Story continues

When Dhungana was in camps, he never thought of himself as a refugee. "Once I came here it's like I have a 'refugee' tag all over my body," he said.

Giving back to the community

Marwa Harb, a Syrian refugee, and Praise Mugisho, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are also featured.

"I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to give back to the community and a way to tell other refugees that they could do much more," said Mugisho, who spent seven years in Uganda before arriving to Halifax in 2016.

"We came from different parts of the world and struggles, but we're all brilliant. We came here for a better future and that we all have dreams and we all want to be in this country," she said.

The film has been selected by the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival to screen during the Reel East Coast Shorts Gala on Sept. 16.

"When I watched it, I felt for the first time like it was me, and people will feel that," said Dhungana.

Read more articles at CBC Nova ScotiaHELSINKI (Reuters) - Four people were killed and 20 others injured when a bus collided with five cars and plunged off a bridge onto railway tracks on Friday, Finnish emergency services said. The charter bus, carrying a party of pensioners, landed on its side below the bridge in the town of Kuopio in central Finland. The driver survived and told police brake failure caused him to lose control of the vehicle. Three people died at the scene and one more on the way to Kuopio University Hospital, where all the injured were taken. Three of the survivors were seriously hurt. (Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Andrew Roche)YEREVAN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday addressed the massacre of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 after meeting with the country's prime minister, saying the atrocities committed against Armenians should not and would not be forgotten. Merkel avoided using the term "genocide" in her remarks, sidestepping a possible repeat of tensions that flared with Turkish President Tayyap Erdogan after the German parliament in 2016 branded the massacre a genocide. Merkel called the 2016 remembrance ceremony by the Bundestag an "important step in the culture of remembrance" but stressed that the language used was a political - not legal - classification. "We understand what atrocities were committed against countless Armenians. This suffering should not and will not be forgotten," she said. (Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Paul Carrel)The Nunavut Brewing Company, the northernmost brewery and brewpub in Canada, opens in Iqaluit this afternoon, marking the first time all 13 provinces and territories have had a running brewery.

"We're so ready and excited to be opening the brewery," said general manager Katie Barbour.

The brewery and brewpub is housed in a building on Iqaluit Lane, just past the turnoff to Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park.

"You can't believe how intimate this space is," Barbour said. "You can smell what we are doing on the production side of things. You can hear the brewers, you can see the brewers, and you're really close to the product that we are so excited to showcase and serve."

Four brews will be on tap:

- The Floe Edge, a northern lights-inspired lager.

- Frob Gold, a British golden ale.

- Aupaqtuq, or "red" in Inuktitut, an Irish red ale.

- A so-called Celebration Ale.

Unlike most brewpubs, Nunavut Brewing Company is not making its own food. Its location prevents it from getting a food permit, so Barbour said it's working with local caterers to provide snacks like charcuterie, pretzels and Arctic char.

Opens after water woes

It hasn't been smooth sailing to start up the brewery. There were delays as the city worked out allowances in the water trucking bylaws.

Iqaluit previously had a daily delivery cap of 2,000 litres of water per day for local businesses  less than needed by the brewery. The Nunavut Brewing Company had been asking for permission to haul additional sewage and water, but a bylaw that would have allowed private companies to haul their own supply failed to pass in July.

- IN DEPTH | Worry about Iqaluit's imminent water shortage puts brewery on hold

But city councillors voted earlier this month to have city trucks and staff deliver trucked water services to existing businesses that need more than 2,000 litres a day.

Iqaluit has been facing concerns about a future water shortage as levels in Lake Geraldine, the city's source of drinking water, are lower than previous years. A study in 2017 found that Iqaluit could face a water shortage within just five years.

Story continues

Barbour said she is only looking forward.

"At this point, we are the most northerly brewery in Canada, and we also have a pretty lofty goal of being a leader in industry for environmental responsibility," she said.

They're doing that in part by capturing the carbon dioxide created during the brewing process and using it in the final carbonation of the beer, she said. When their products are served in restaurants in Iqaluit, the glass bottles will also be collected and reused.

Currently, the only place where customers can taste the Nunavut Brewing Company's beer is inside the brewpub. But that will change this fall, when canning equipment is expected to arrive by sealift.

Once that is set up, Barbour said Nunavut Brewing Company products will be sold at Iqaluit's beer and wine store.

People outside Nunavut will still have to travel north if they want to try some of the tasty suds.Election Day 15: Where will party leaders be?

Health care and seniors were front and centre on Day 2 of New Brunswick's 2018 election campaign.

In Grand Falls, Liberal Leader Brian Gallant promised that no rural hospitals would be closed as long as he was premier.

In addition, the Liberals promised to spend $50 million over 10 years to update "the infrastructure and technology of New Brunswick's rural hospitals."

- Day 1 of the election: Where party leaders will be across the province

- Radio-Canada cancels French leaders' election debate

Gallant also said Liberals would add additional services to rural hospitals so people in those communities could get help locally and reduce the pressure on urban hospitals.

An additional $100 million a year would be spent to buy equipment and upgrade hospitals in general, he said.

Options for 'aging care'

In Moncton, Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs pledged to "reinvent aging care."

"We're going to respectfully change the discussion on aging care," he said.

"We need to create new lifestyle options for our seniors, and ensure they receive the professional care they require, so they can live the life they want to live."

The PCs want to consult with seniors about "how they want to live" and support those who want to "age in place" and protect their assets.

They also pledged to pay home care workers a "fair wage."

In Saint John, NDP Leader Jennifer McKenzie announced the party's LGBTQ platform with Olivier Hebert, the candidate for Fredericton West-Hanwell.

Green Party Leader David Coon was campaigning in Douglas, which is part of the Fredericton-York riding, with local candidate Amanda Wildeman.

People's Alliance of New Brunswick Leader Kris Austin did not have any scheduled events Friday.

On Saturday, Gallant will be in Cocagne to make a campaign announcement and will then travel to Moncton for Pride festivities.

Coon will start his day in Fredericton at a Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day event before travelling to Moncton for Pride festivities.

Schedules for Higgs, McKenzie and Austin were not immediately available.



The pastor of a Nigerian man who died while being deported at the Calgary International Airport is hoping to raise funds to help his family give him a proper burial.

Bolante Idowu Alo had fought to remain in Canada through multiple claims for refugee status and humanitarian and compassionate grounds for 13 years, saying his life would be in danger if he returned to his home country.

He died following a confrontation with border officers on a KLM flight destined for Amsterdam, shortly before the plane was set to take off. The plane was forced to return to the gate, where the Calgary police airport unit was called to the scene.

Officers found the 49-year-old in medical distress. He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy on his body was inconclusive, and police have said it will be several months before a toxicology report is complete.

In the meantime, his body has been released to a Calgary funeral home  and his former pastor said he was surprised to hear Canada has offered no support to Alo's widow to bring his body home.

"Here's a widow in Nigeria who has no resources whatsoever to be able to bring her husband home and the government seems to be doing nothing about it," said Pastor Bob Webster of Evangel Christian Assembly Church, who started an online fundraiser to support his former congregant's widow and two sons.

On Aug. 12, members of Bolante Alo's former church mourned his death during Sunday prayer:

"It's enough to be grieving the loss of your husband without having the additional burden of a financial nature like having to bring your husband home. It's the only compassionate thing to do, to try and support her."

Webster met with members of Calgary's Nigerian community and a representative of the Nigerian High Commission on Thursday.

"The people of the Nigerian community, they're feeling it deeply," Webster said.

He said friends and family of Alo's are still waiting to find out what happened the day he died.

Story continues

The Calgary Police service continues to investigate Alo's death.

- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Bret Hart named Courageous Chief in special Indigenous ceremony

- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Calgary water park reopens after being plagued by closures

- Read more articles by CBC Calgary, like us on Facebook for updates and subscribe to our CBC Calgary newsletter for the day's news at a glance.

With files from Carolyn DunnThe price of illegal weed has steadily fallen since 2016, according to Statistics Canada.

On average, the cost of both medical and illegal pot has fallen by 10.6 per cent since the first quarter of 2016, according to data released Friday.

The report said the average cost of medical pot was higher than illegal, but combined the average cost was $6.74 per gram in the second quarter of 2018.

"What we're seeing now is that black market gearing up in anticipation of the entry of the legal market," said University of Regina economist Jason Childs.

He said this isn't surprising, because the same thing happened in Colorado just prior to and after legalization.

It will be difficult to curb the illegal sales if the legal price isn't right, he said.

"None of the benefits that we claim that we want from legalization of cannabis are achievable without significant disruption and displacement of the illicit market," Childs said.

Childs has authored a draft paper with a colleague and recently discussed it at the Cannabis Pracademic Summit in Quebec.

He said the paper demonstrates several scenarios that show legal weed must be cheaper than illegal weed to achieve "policy objectives," like stopping teens from accessing cannabis.

Sask. officials have said its price of pot will be comparable to what's on the street, but Childs said it's hard to see that happening considering taxation.

Childs said one potentially uncomfortable avenue to consider is subsidization to successfully eradicate the illegal market.

"You may have governments losing money, in order to, (in the) short run, gain the advantage."

The storefront experience could provide retailers with an important a competitive edge, Childs said.

"It's got to be in an environment that people want to be in, so that storefront has to be nice, safe, comforting, welcoming."

However, he said there are concerns about marketing options.

Story continues

"One of the complaints that some of the producers are having is the regulations prevent them from speaking to their customers and communicating effectively," he said.

"Some of the branding restrictions are necessary and appropriate, but it's possible that we've gone too far."

Canadians are indulging more

The amount of pot purchased has also increased.

Canadians spent $5.7 billion on pot, in the second quarter of 2018.

Within that, $4.8 billion or 84.8 per cent was spent on the illicit market. In 2014, 98 per cent of pot purchases in the second quarter were made in the illicit market.

The number of medicinal purchases has jumped significantly in the last few years, said Conrad Barber-Dueck, who is an economist with Statistics Canada.

Barber-Dueck said it's challenging to collect data regarding illicit habits.

Statistics Canada has used online price quotes to see the cost of a gram in each region. In 2018, it began using a crowdsource method.

"People can come and go to the StatsCan site and actually say this is how much I've purchased, this is how much I've paid for my cannabis," Barber-Dueck said.

The organization plans to continue to monitor consumption and price so it can analyze what changes after legalization on Oct. 17, 2018.Pro-oilsands activists clashed with opposing groups Friday in Halifax at a rally for the revival of the Energy East pipeline project, which was scrapped by owners TransCanada in 2017.

The pro-oilsands rally, organized by a group called Rally 4 Resources, garnered a crowd of 50 or so at Sackville Landing on the Halifax waterfront, a few minutes walk from where the Conservative Party of Canada is holding its 2018 convention.

The rally was interrupted by a counter-demonstration of dozen or so people drumming, chanting and holding signs that spoke of Energy East violating Indigenous rights and causing climate change.

'It's lifted them'

Energy East was a proposed 4,600-kilometre pipeline from Hardisty, Alta., to Irving Oil Ltd.'s refinery in Saint John.

Rally organizer Robbie Picard, a Metis business owner from Fort McMurray, Alta., said he flew to Halifax to support the revival of Energy East because he was tired of groups opposed to pipelines using Indigenous rights as a tool to promote their own agendas.

"It's a shame that people are speaking on behalf of all First Nations ... trying to hijack and use them because they don't want our oil to get to our market," Picard said in an interview.

"The oilsands, in my opinion, are the best thing to ever happen to First Nations. It's lifted them from abject poverty."

Referencing First Nations and Metis groups in Alberta like the Athabascan Chipewyan First Nation and the Athabasca River Metis, who have recently shown interest in pipeline ownership, Picard said the Energy East project could have provided "huge" economic benefits for First Nations in the Eastern and Atlantic regions.

'Sustained opposition'

Robin Tress with the Council for Canadians, a non-profit organization that advocates on matters of social and environmental justice, was one of the anti-pipeline activists brandishing signs and a drum. She said the anti-pipeline counter-demonstration came together quickly.

Story continues

"This was mostly just a groundswell of people that have been opposing Energy East for years," she said.

"Energy East was cancelled after years of sustained opposition by Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who wanted to protect their land, their water, in some cases their treaty rights .... We don't want to see it back in the political arena."

The pro-oilsands rally lasted just over an hour amid isolated shouting matches between those on both sides of the issues.

At one point Picard faced off with a masked anti-pipeline protester from a podium microphone saying that the rally was also about "gay rights" and Canada's recently tested relationship with Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is criminalized.

"I'm gay and Metis," Picard said to the masked person.

"I can speak on behalf of Aboriginals and gay people. You can't speak for us."

Tress said the remarks confused her.

"Their main argument is founded on the idea that Energy East could stop us from buying oil from Saudi Arabia, but it will not," she said.

Irving Oil, based in Saint John, N.B., was supportive of Energy East but told reporters in 2016 that it would not deter them from purchasing Saudi oil.

Despite comments by both sides about First Nations in support and in opposition to oil developments in Canada, neither group had First Nations representatives at the demonstrations.

Tress said the opposition rally likely came together too quickly for everyone to hear about it.By Pablo Rodero and Isla Binnie MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's government took a step closer on Friday to removing the remains of dictator Francisco Franco from a grand mausoleum that it intends to turn into a memorial to victims of the country's brutal civil war. Transforming the "Valley of the Fallen" site, marked by a 152-metre (500-foot) cross on a mountainside near Madrid and criticized as Europe's only remaining monument to a fascist leader, is a longstanding ambition of the Socialist Party which returned to office in June. The government issued a decree that reduces the risk of legal claims, including from Franco's descendants, preventing the exhumation. The Franco era remains a sensitive topic in Spain, more than 40 years after he died. During his 1939-1975 rule, tens of thousands of his enemies were killed and imprisoned in a campaign to wipe out dissent, and as many as 500,000 combatants and civilians died in the preceding civil war, which split the nation in two. "Only the mortal remains of people who died as a result of the Spanish Civil War will lie in the Valley of the Fallen," deputy prime minister Carmen Calvo told a news conference. Past political crimes were pardoned as part of Spain's transition to democracy in the late 1970s, fostering resentment among victims' families, very few of whom have managed to start the process of unearthing the remains of soldiers from both sides from the Valley of the Fallen. Franco's exhumation should be completed by the end of this year, with a view to turning the monument into "a place of commemoration, remembrance and homage to the victims of the war," Calvo said. Following their unexpected ouster of Mariano Rajoy's conservative People's Party (PP) administration, the Socialists hold just a quarter of the seats in parliament. That puts major economic and political changes out of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's reach, and he sustained a painful defeat over his budget last month. Instead, he has bet on high-profile measures likely to appeal to left-wing voters: naming a majority-female cabinet and receiving more migrants rescued in the Mediterranean, as well as pushing through the Valley of the Fallen plan. TURNING A PAGE The site has long been a pilgrimage for far-right groups. A man at the site on Friday morning wore a t-shirt bearing the eagle-adorned flag in use during Franco's rule, and fresh flowers lay on the dictator's tomb. "Now is the time to turn a page," said Eduardo, a 25 year-old from the Canary Islands, walking in central Madrid. "It's good to go ahead with the exhumation and to convert that place into somewhere for everyone and not just for one faction." The decree needs to be approved by parliament, but even in the face of opposition or likely abstention from the PP and center-right Ciudadanos, it is unlikely to be voted down. Recent polls suggest the Socialists would easily win a national election now, some indicating a lead of almost 10 percentage points over the PP. "We don't want to dig up ghosts we have happily forgotten," PP leader Pablo Casado said on Thursday, adding his party would appeal against the decree but had not decided how to vote on it. Parliament passed a non-binding motion last year to remove the remains from the mausoleum despite the PP's abstention. Sanchez resorted to passing a decree on the exhumation after failed negotiations with Franco's seven grandchildren, who reportedly engaged a notary to formalize their opposition. Carmen Martinez Bordiu, the eldest of his heirs, declined a Reuters request for comment. The abbot who runs the site and had appealed against other exhumations also declined to comment. The family will have 15 days from the end of August to decide where they want Franco's remains to be taken. If they do not make a joint decision in that time, the government will decide where the new grave will be. (Additional reporting by Belen Carreno, Andres Gonzalez and Marco Trujillo; Editing by John Stonestreet)By Steve Holland and Yimou Lee WASHINGTON/TAIPEI (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday attacked El Salvador's decision to ditch diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China, saying the change was of grave concern to Washington and warning that China was offering economic inducements to seek domination. Self-ruled Taiwan now has formal relations with only 17 countries, almost all of them small and less developed nations in Central America and the Pacific, including Belize and Nauru. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen this week vowed to fight China's "increasingly out of control" behavior as El Salvador became the third country to switch allegiance to Beijing this year. China views Taiwan as a wayward province, with no right to state-to-state ties. In a statement likely to inflame already strained relations with Beijing, the White House said El Salvador's government had made the decision "in a non-transparent fashion only months before they leave office". "The El Salvadoran government's receptiveness to China's apparent interference in the domestic politics of a Western Hemisphere country is of grave concern to the United States, and will result in a reevaluation of our relationship with El Salvador," it said. Countries wanting to open or expand ties with China to get state-directed investment for short-term economic growth and infrastructure may be disappointed in the long run, the White House said. "Around the world, governments are waking up to the fact that China's economic inducements facilitate economic dependency and domination, not partnership," it said. Taiwan has accused China of luring its friends away with offers of generous aid packages. China denies that. Taiwan presidential office spokesman Alex Huang, responding to the White House comment, thanked the United States government for "speaking out for justice". "Taiwan will continue to be a regional force for stability and good, and will never give up our insistence on positive good and democratic freedom because of China's coercion," he said in statement. In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang urged the United States to "correctly view" its establishment of ties with El Salvador, which he described as "perfectly justified and above board". Lu said China already had diplomatic relations with 25 countries in the Americas, including the United States, and far from negatively affecting the region, China had positively pushed forward economic development and security. Now that it was 26 countries, Lu asked: "Why does this now affect security and development?" "We urge the relevant country to respect other countries right to decide on their own affairs and stop their hegemonic activities," he said. Like most other countries, Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Taipei, but is the democratic island's main arms supplier and strongest international backer. China's hostility to Taiwan has grown since Tsai's election two years ago as Beijing fears she wishes to push for the island's formal independence, a red line for China. She says she wants to maintain the status quo but will defend Taiwan's democracy. 'BIG DEAL' China has stepped up efforts to restrict Taiwan's international presence, including ordering foreign airlines to list Taiwan as part of China on their websites, and has been conducting regular military exercises near the island. The White House added that the United States would continue to oppose China's "destabilization of the cross-Strait relationship and political interference in the Western Hemisphere". The U.S. criticism came as U.S. and Chinese officials ended two days of trade talks with no major breakthrough as their bitter trade dispute escalated with activation of another round of dueling tariffs on $16 billion worth of each country's goods. The U.S. statement was issued about 12 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump met lawmakers about the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), aimed at beefing up protection against foreign trade-secret poaching, as well as reviewing real estate transactions near ports or U.S. military installations or other sensitive government sites. Trump was in congratulatory mode over what he considers to be a positive trajectory on U.S. efforts to crack down on such intrusions. "This is a very big deal," he said. Previously, Trump said, there were few safeguards. "We had, in many cases, no safeguards. Now we have probably the best there is in the world. We'll see if that's good enough," he said. "When we see something we don't like, some country is buying something we don't want them to be buying, we stop it. We now have the right to stop it." John Cornyn, a Republican senator from Texas, praised the moves. "Mr President, in your administration you are finally taking the big step to oppose the national security threat posed by China," Cornyn said. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Yimou Lee; Additional reporting by Philip Wen and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Neil Fullick and Philip McClellan)To be fair, fall classes hadn't yet begun at St. Patrick's College in Maynooth, home to Ireland's national seminary  the very last Catholic seminary on the Emerald Isle.

And it didn't help that the grey slate walls of the college about an hour outside of Dublin were matched by the grey skies above that would crack open to let loose a fresh spattering of rain.

But it did add to the sense of a grand but somehow hollow place; that whatever magic that might once have lived here is slipping away through arched corridors, no matter how carefully preserved.

In the 1960s, there were 600 students in formation for the priesthood. Today, there are just 25.

It is into this moment of profound decline for the Catholic Church in Ireland that Pope Francis arrives in a bid to shore up faith in a church repeatedly discredited by scandal.

"There are 450 stalls in the college chapel," said Father Tomas Surlis, the recently appointed rector of the seminary, with a wistful smile.

"Are we going to fill those again? Not in my lifetime, I don't think."

Surlis doesn't deny the seminary could be forced to actually close its doors if things don't change.

"Yeah, absolutely. You know, there's no point in pussyfooting around that question. Of course, it's a real issue," he said.

"We can't deny that the process of secularization, for example, in Ireland and in Western Europe, has been rapid and it has been significant."

Changing times

Pope John Paul II visited the Maynooth seminary back in 1979, when he became the first pope to come to Ireland on an official visit.

He was greeted by a full throng of seminary students standing in those carved wooden stalls, clapping their hands and singing He's Got the Whole World In His Hands.

So anticipated was the Polish pope's arrival that the cockpit recording of the pilots was broadcast to the country live as they landed his plane.

Ireland had joined the European Union just a few years earlier, paving the way toward more rapid economic development, the Celtic Tiger on the horizon.

Story continues

"We were on the cusp of leaving the past behind," Surlis said. "And [Pope John Paul II] talked to us about remembering our past. And not letting go of our faith."

Pope Francis's visit to Ireland this weekend, nearly 40 years later, is a very different affair. Church attendance was around 70 per cent when Pope John Paul II was here. Today, it's estimated at around 30 per cent.

But about 500,000 people are expected to attend a final papal mass in Dublin's Phoenix Park on Sunday.

That gives some comfort to 24-year old seminary student John Gerard Acton.

"When people say, 'Oh, your faith has gone,' or 'Catholic Ireland is gone'  like for [so many] to sign up for an event, it gives me great confidence. It encourages me greatly."

But he does acknowledge there is less room in Ireland for the church, and there will be "much less clergy in the years to come."

In recent years, Ireland's move away from Vatican directives has been profound, with two referendums delivering decisions to legalize same-sex marriage and to roll back a ban on abortions.

But it is the bitterness and anger left by the church's many scandals  from child sex abuse to the treatment of unmarried pregnant women and children raised in church-run workhouses  that is ultimately colouring the visit of Pope Francis for many people here.

"All those poor little kids who were abused, we don't know the half of it," said Joan McAdam at a day centre for seniors attached to Our Lady of Lourdes Church in downtown Dublin.

The church was rather famously missed during John Paul II's visit when he reportedly ran out of time on his schedule and simply drove by in the popemobile without stopping.

McAdam says Pope Francis needs to say to abuse survivors, once and for all: "I'm sorry for my church and I promise I will root it out, and yes, I will deal with them."

The Pope will reportedly meet in private with some survivors, but the Vatican is not saying at what point in his two-day schedule that will happen.

Abuse survivor Colm O'Gorman will lead a remembrance vigil on Sunday as a counter to the papal mass.

He says apologies and acknowledgement of church failings continue to avoid genuine accountability. The most recent being a 2,000 word letter expressing "sorrow and shame" over "atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons," after a grand jury report in Pennsylvania revealed hundreds of priests had molested more than 1,000 children in the state since the 1940s.

"This is about a systemic, wilful, deliberate process of coverup by intent, by purpose, by design, that was implemented and driven by the Vatican for many decades, underpinned by church law and church norms," O'Gorman said.

"Francis doesn't need to come to Ireland to make the institution of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican in particular accountable. He just needs to do it. He could have done it within moments of becoming Pope."BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's self-driving unit Waymo has set up a subsidiary in Shanghai, according to a business registration filing, the latest sign that the U.S. internet giant is attempting to make new inroads into China. Waymo established a wholly-owned company called Huimo Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co on May 22 in Shanghai's free trade zone with registered capital of 3.5 million yuan ($509,165), according to China's National Enterprise Information Publicity System. Its scope includes business and logistics consultancy as well as services related to the design and testing of self-driving car parts, said the document, which also listed the firm's legal representative as Kevin Bradley Vosen. Waymo on Friday confirmed that it had set up a legal entity in China several months ago and has people working there. Alphabet Inc's Google, which quit China's search engine market in 2010, has been actively seeking ways to re-enter the sector in the country where many of its products are blocked by regulators. In August, Reuters reported that the company plans to launch a version of its search engine in China that will block some websites and search terms. Google's Chief Executive Sundar Pichai has told staff that development is in an early stage. Google has also joined an investment in Chinese live-stream mobile game platform Chushou and launched an artificial intelligence game on Tencent Holdings Ltd's <0700.HK> social media app WeChat. Waymo's move also comes as China makes a major push into autonomous smart vehicles to keep pace with the United States in a global race to develop self-driving vehicles. Earlier this year, Beijing issued licenses to automakers allowing self-driving vehicles to be road-tested in Shanghai, including Shanghai-based SAIC Motor Corp Ltd <600104.SS> and electric vehicle start-up NIO. ($1 = 6.8740 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Yilei Sun in BEIJING and Brenda Goh in SHANGHAI; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)Going into 2018, there were two themes that were surrounding Oettinger Davidoff, the overall arching parent company for all of the Davidoff brands. First up, there were a series of several management changes throughout the company including a new CEO in Beat Hauenstein. These changes coincided with two very important milestones going on in Davidoff. The first is the 50th anniversary of the Davidoff White Label brand and the second is the 30th anniversary of AVO. Any time there are executive changes, it ultimately changes the overall operation of the company. No doubt 2018 was a different year for Davidoff than we have seen in previous years.

At IPCPR, it is Davidoff of Geneva USA that operates the booth hosting the Davidoff brands. This year the booth had an all-new design. Davidoff of Geneva has always had one of the nicest booths at the trade show. The new booth had stronger elements of the culture of Davidoff itself  namely a mix of European design (parent company Oettinger Davidoff is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland) and Caribbean flair (Davidoffs production is the Dominican Republic). In a way, the fact there is a new booth reflected some of the change going on in Davidoff.

The booth did a great job at showcasing the 50th anniversary of Davidoff and the 30th anniversary of AVO. At the same time, brands such as Camacho, Zino, the new Back2Back brand, and Davidoffs accessory partner S.T. Dupont were displayed.

As we will see, Davidoff of Geneva followed the What was old is now whats new theme. In a way, I think it might have resulted in Davidoffs 50th anniversary being lower key than I expect3e.

Davidoff

From 2013 to 2017, for the most part, the Davidoff brand focused on its Discovery (Black Label) Series, and the incorporation of the Winston Churchill brand. In 2018, these brands took a back seat. For the most part, Davidoff focused on the 50th anniversary with the return of one of its iconic limited editions.

The Davidoff Diademas Fina was first released back in 2006 to commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday of brand founder Zino Davidoff. At the time, three cigars were released: the Diademas Fina, Robusto, and Diademas 100. For the 50th anniversary release, it is the Diademas Fina size making a return and has been officially dubbed the Davidoff Diademas Fina Limited Edition. The 2018 Davidoff Diademas Fina Limited Edition returns in the same 6 3/4 x 50 figured size. It returned with special gold-colored 50th-anniversary bands. The cigars are packaged in four different 10-count porcelain jars featuring art by French artist Mariane Leger. Each jar has a design representing one of the four regions of the world: The Americas, The Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

While Black Label was lower key, White Label was also low key. There wasnt a nice White Label release, nor was there a specific line being showcased. Instead, several White Label lines received special 50th-anniversary bands. These could be seen throughout the booth.

There were some ultra-premium accessories on display. Marianne Leger, who designed the porcelain jars, also worked on the artwork of these accessories. The Davidoff 50th Anniversary Caves du Monde humidor is available in the four region theme similar to the porcelain jars. This includes the Americas, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. The humidors feature hand-woven fabrics as a part of the design.

The regional art themes are incorporated into a set of four Limited Edition Prestige Lighters. Its a soft flame lighter made by S.T. Dupont. These feature a brushed contemporary finish and each is individually numbered. Pricing is set at $1,050 per unit.

Finally, there is the 50th-anniversary ashtray. Its the first time Davidoff has released an all-aluminum ashtray. It features50th-anniversaryy banding. Each unit is numbered and the total number produced is limited to 500 units.

While the accessories were quite impressive, I still look at the 50th anniversary cigar as the foundation of Davidoffs 2018 IPCPR Trade Show. The Davidoff Diademas Fina was actually shipped to most retailers before IPCPR, and initial reports indicated the cigar had sold out of inventory. The cigar is receiving very high praise. The negative is that Davidoff essentially didnt launch a cigar at the cigar industrys premier event (IPCPR) for its 50th anniversary. The fact that the centerpiece cigar of the 50th anniversary was launched and shipped prior the trade show made the appearance of this cigar a bit anti-climatic.

AVO

AVO did not have anything new at the IPCPR Trade Show. Earlier this year, AVO announced the rollout for its 30th anniversary. It consisted of a new release, the AVO 30 Years Improvisation, the return of two former regular production lines for a limited run (AVO Maduro, and AVO Signature). There are also two limited releases returning for a limited run (AVO 22, AVO LE05). There are also some specially designed boxes planned for the AVO Syncro Nicaragua, AVO Syncro Fogata, and AVO Syncro South America Ritmo.

Scott Kolesaire joined us on Prime Time Episode 49 earlier this year and ran through the program of AVO releases.

The AVO releases were offered up to retailers earlier this year and are rolling out each 30th anniversary release in a staggered fashion. While I was excited about what AVO had done for its 30th anniversary, I did feel it was a little anti-climatic that there wasnt something new launched for AVOs 30th anniversary at the cigar industrys premier event.

Camacho

While Davidoff and AVO didnt have new launches, Camacho was another story. While the big release for 2018 was the return of the Camacho Coyolar, there were two additional releases announced a the trade show.

There is a new limited edition installment to the Camacho Brotherhood series called the Camacho Hard Charger. This stogie is unique because its a Camacho Cigar that features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Original Corojo grown in Honduras. The cigar itself is available in one size  a 6 x 50 Toro. It will be presented in 20-count boxes. A total of 1,500 boxes have been produced. Each box features a collectible dog-tag available on the lid of each box. Pricing is set at $13.00 per cigar.

Last year Camacho brought back the original blend Camacho Diploma for a limited run in the Robusto size. Now the cigar blend is returning for another limited run, this time in the iconic 11/18 size for a limited run. The blend of the Camacho Diploma is 100% Original Corojo from Honduras and features high priming tobaccos. The 11/18 is a unique format introduced by previous Camacho owner, Christian Eiroa. The size is a cross between a Toro and a Figurado, measuring 6 x 48/54/48. The triangular coffins return as well. While the Diploma Robusto coffins were arranged in a hexagon-shaped box, the 11/18s come in a trapezoid-shaped one.

Back2Back

This is a new brand under Davidoff  well, sort of.

Back2Back is the reincarnation of the Room 101 Big Payback line. The Back2Back brand consists of two blends: Back2Back Nicaragua  a reincarnation of the original Room 101 Big Payback; and Back2Back Connecticut  a reincarnation of the Room 101 Big Payback Connecticut. Back2Back Nicaragua is a 100% Nicaraguan puro while the Back2Back Connecticut consists of an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Mexican binder and an all-Dominican filler. The cigars are both available in three sizes: 50 x 5, 60 x 6, and 70 x 7.

The packaging features artwork from Fernando Romero and Mike Baca, two graffiti artists known as the UR New York team. The duo has worked with Davidoff in the past on the Zino brand, providing both artwork and serving as brand ambassadors.

2018 Product Reports

Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where notedUnion Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has revoked security clearance of Qatar governments state-funded English news broadcaster Al Jazeera. It is believed that main reason for this revocation is considered to be over documentary made by Qatari channel on militancy in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), which Indian Government viewed as biased. Al Jazeera has reportedly filed petition for reviewing this decision.

Note: The role of MHA is limited to matter related to security clearance. The decision on cancellation of broadcasting licence of news channel is taken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Key Facts

Foreign channels need security clearance from MHA and broadcasting clearance from Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Al Jazeeras security clearance was valid from December 3, 2010, and expired on May 29, 2018. Earlier also Al Jazeera had was involved into controversy with Indian government before. In 2015, it had published an incorrect map of J&K. For this, Government had then suspended it for 5 days in which time they carried blank screen with a message running on it as instructed by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Some other channels who were rejected security clearances recently include ABC News, Focus NE TV, Voice of Nation, Jhankar News, Maa TV, Bhakti Sagar, M Tunes and Lemon News. In some cases channels have their permissions withdrawn for other reasons too such as owners seeking cancellations, non-operationalisation of channel, non-submission of documents.

MEA May 2018 notification

In May 2018, Ministry of External Affairs had reminded foreign journalists that it is mandatory for them to take prior permission before travelling to areas such as J&K as well as Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and parts of Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan as these are considered protected and restricted areas.India and Singapore have signed Second Protocol amending Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in New Delhi. Its provisions will come into effect on 14th September, 2018.

Second Protocol amending CECA

It will help to boost bilateral trade between India and Singapore. It formally brings to closure negotiations on second review of CECA. It will give effect to provisions agreed between India and Singapore during closure of second review of CECA. It will give effect to provisions agreed between India and Singapore during closure of the second review of CECA.

Background

CECA was first comprehensive agreement covering trade in goods, services and investments signed by India with any of its trading partners. It was signed in June, 2005 and its first review was concluded in October, 2007. The second review was started in May 2010. In closing second review, India and Singapore had successfully reached mutual understanding and agreement. They also had agreed to expand coverage of tariff concessions, liberalize Rules of Origin, rationalize Product Specific Rules and include provisions on Certificate of Origin and Cooperation on its verification. These measures will further facilitate trade between India and Singapore and also improve utilization of CECA. The conclusion of second review was announced during state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore in June, 2018. Now, both countries are exploring the possibility of launching the 3rd Review of India-Singapore CECA in September, 2018.

India-Singapore Trade

Singapore is second largest trading partner of India within ASEAN and India is largest trading partner of Singapore in South Asia with bilateral trade of US $17.7 billion in 2017-18. Singapores trade with India constitutes about 21.8% of our total trade with ASEAN and 2.3% of our global trade. India had trade surplus of US $2.73 billion with Singapore in 2017-18.The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2018 was held in Chebarkul, Russia. Military contingents of the all eight SCO member nations (China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, India and Pakistan) participated in this exercise. The exercise was aimed at enhancing cooperation between member states to deal with growing threat of terrorism and extremism. It was for first time since independence, India and Pakistan simultaneously took part military exercise, though armies of two rival neighbouring countries had earlier worked together in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions.

SCO Peace Mission 2018

The exercise provided opportunity to armed forces of SCO nations to train in counter terrorism operations in urban scenario in multinational and joint environment The scope of exercise included professional interaction, mutual understanding of drills and procedures, establishment of joint command and control structures and elimination of terrorist threat in urban counter terrorist scenario. It also helped to strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best practices among armed forces of the SCO nations.

Around 3,000 soldiers from eight SCO member countries took part in the exercise. Russian Army was had major participation with 1700 personnel followed by China with 700, India with 200 personnel (167 Indian Army personnel including four women officers and 33 personnel from Indian Air Force). Pakistan contingent comprised of 110 members

Note: The SCO Peace Mission Exercise takes place every two years. The previous editions of this exercise were mainly limited to Central Asian nations. But due to the entry of India and Pakistan (in June 2017), SCOs counter-terrorism mission now has been expanded to South Asia.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

SCO is political and security grouping of eight countries headquartered in Beijing, China. It was founded in 2001. The full members of SCO are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, India and Pakistan. They represent over 40% of humanity and nearly 20% of the global GDP. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia have observer status at present.

SCO is successor of grouping called Shanghai Five, founded by China in 1996. It comprised Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. In 2001 Uzbekistan was invited to join it and SCO was officially born. After Astana Summit Declaration in 2005, SCO has emerged as regional security organization.

SCOs main objective is military cooperation between the members. It also works towards intelligence-sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia. It is primarily centred on its member nations Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism. The role of China as well as strategic importance of SCO has increased over period of decade and now address problems like terrorism, separatism and militancy in the region.New Delhi: Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has said that the rupee has not depreciated to 'too worrying levels', though the government needs to take care of the widening current account deficit (CAD).

The rupee on August 16 had slumped to a life-time low of 70.32 on strong demand for the US dollar.

The rupee today staged a good recovery to end higher by 20 paise at 69.91 against the US currency on bouts of dollar selling by exporters and corporates.

"Well just to be fair, the Indian authorities have brought down the fiscal deficit. What has expanded is the current account deficit. A lot of it driven by higher oil prices," he said.

"The rupee has not depreciated to too worrying levels, its sort dollar strength around the world," Rajan told a TV channel.

Rajan, who was RBI governor for three years till September 2016, said further that this is a time where countries should be focusing on getting the macro stability in order.

"Going into election year, countries like India and Brazil should try their level best to look as good as possible," he said.

On the controversy over back series GDP data which showed that the growth was better during UPA regime, Rajan said: "What we have to do right now is to look forward...its growing at about 7.5 per cent."

India, he added, has to make sure that CAD does not grow out and fiscal stability is maintained.

Replying to a query on rising bad loans, Rajan said there is a need to improve governance in the banks.

"My sense is that whichever new administration comes this will be task number one for them," Rajan, who is currently the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth School of Business said.

India's trade deficit soared to a near five-year high of USD 18 billion in July, raising concerns on the current account front.

Recently, a top finance ministry official said that the government will meet the fiscal deficit target for the current fiscal but is also expecting some slippage in the CAD on higher crude oil prices.The minor was beaten and her head was forced into a tub of water, which probably caused the death, police added. (Photo: PTI)

Thane: A 14-year-old girl was found raped and killed in her house at Bhiwandi near Thane in Maharashtra, police said on Thursday.

The killers entered the house of the girl in the powerloom town of Bhiwandi. The girl was alone at her house at the time of the incident. The killers allegedly raped her, Thane Police PRO Sukhada Narkar told news agency PTI.

They severely beat the minor and forced her head into a tub of water, which probably caused the death, police added.

When the victim's elder sister returned home in the evening, she was shocked to see her sibling lying dead.

The police were called after her parents arrived.

The body was sent for post-mortem. Based on its findings, the police registered the rape and murder offence against unidentified people late in the night at the Narpoli police station, Narkar said.Students from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) pitched their ideas to improve local communities to an audience at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dominic Shellard addressed the 67th annual DPI/NGO Conference, the premier event of the UNs NGO calendar with two DMU students, before the four students took the stage during the #JoinTogether NGO SDG workshop.

Emily Fox said: Its an absolute honour to present at the United Nations, its not the sort of thing you really ever think you would do. Its kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Dan Bewley added: It was just something that was on another level to be able to sit on the stage at the United Nations and address the delegates about something, it was just fantastic. It was an amazing experience and one which Ill never forget.

The four volunteers formed two opposing teams to pitch their ideas to conference delegates and received questions and feedback from the workshop to help develop their projects, before putting the two ideas to a vote.

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After counting the votes it became clear that the initiatives had received the same number of votes and Professor Shellard made the decision that both projects will now be put in to action as part of the universitys #JoinTogether work.

First to pitch their idea to the workshop was third year Law student Aneesah Latkan and Dan Bewley, who studies Politics and Economics.

Their project involved 1,000 student volunteers working for one day across Leicester, encouraging a mass clean-up of the city, trimming hedges, clearing litter, painting and fixing to improve communities.

Emily Fox, an International Relations and Politics student, and Demis Makris-Colman, who is studying Business Management, pitched their idea to delegates next.

Their initiative involves students buddying with asylum seekers and refugees and living on a similar budget while recording the challenges they face to promote awareness of the difficulties they face.

Demis said: Weve been pitching our initiatives and had a vote at the end and it came to a draw so well actually be doing the two projects.

I think that the interest here has shown that we really can make a difference and that we can make a bigger impact.

Aneesah said: Its amazing to see how many different organisations are here for the same goals.

The workshop followed Professor Shellards earlier announcement that students will be working to help provide thousands of daily meals to people in need across Leicester under a new proposal.

DMU has demonstrated commitment to the UN SDGs by embedding the goals into the curriculum, covering all aspects of DMUs teaching, learning and research.

This step saw the university being chosen as a designated hub for SDG number 16 by the United Nations Academic Impact group  which is a commitment to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.The two-day Hong Kong Trade Development Council's event opens September 20 engaging Hong Kong and Vietnamese business leaders to spotlight Hong Kong's world-class professional services and branded products.

Organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the mega expo "In Style, Hong Kong" is making its debut in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in September.

After the successful launch in Jakarta, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, this year's campaign aims to highlight Hong Kong's vibrant lifestyle and unique creativity and showcase the city's branded, design-led products and world-class professional services.

Peter Wong, HKTDC Regional Director of Southeast Asia and South Asia, is looking to forge wider cooperation and to generate more business opportunities for both cities.

"By organising a series of events and engaging Hong Kong's top business professionals and leading brands, the event also seeks to strengthen collaboration between Hong Kong and Vietnamese businesses and to create more opportunities," said Wong.

In his speech at the press conference held by HKTDC on August 23, Peter Wong, HKTDC Regional Director of Southeast Asia and South Asia expressed gratitude for the support given to the "In style, Hong Kong" campaign. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.

Key events of "In Style, Hong Kong" include a symposium, an expo and gala dinner in late September, as well as a series of citywide promotion events.

The main symposium will be held on September 20 at Gem Center, highlighting Hong Kong's advantages in various services sectors, particularly cross-border logistics and creative branding and design.

The expo will be held at Gem Center from 20-21 September showcasing 130 of Hong Kong's leading branded and design-led lifestyle products.

A series of business matching activities and fringe events will take place during the two-day expo, which is expected to connect Hong Kong companies with importers, distributors, retailers, e-tailers, department stores in Vietnam and neighbouring ASEAN countries.

The two-day expo will offer a prime opportunity for buyers to source stylish products supplied by Hong Kong companies including activewear and fashion, accessories, fine jewellery, watch and clocks, gourmet and delicacies, premium houseware, electronics etc.

In addition, the exhibition will display a range of award-winning products of the Hong Kong Smart Design Awards to showcase Hong Kong's creative and design capabilities.

Some 1,000 buyers and representatives, ranging from importers, distributors, retailers, brand agents, franchisees, department stores and specialty stores, are expected to visit the expo.

A gala dinner will be held after the symposium at the InterContinental Hotel Saigon on September 20, where 400 of Vietnamese and Hong Kong's business and community leaders will gather to network.

The HKTDC has invited two Michelin-starred chefs to create dishes for the evening.

Highlighted exhibitors include renowned jewellery brand Chow Tai Fook, prominent food and beverage brand Kampery and Hong Kong startup focusing on Italian marble watches Concentri. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.

"In Style, Hong Kong" is a large-scale signature promotion campaign organised by the HKTDC with an aim to highlight Hong Kongs vibrant and unique lifestyle and creativity, and to showcase our branded and design-led products as well as present our world-class services, which together have established Hong Kong as a leading trendsetting city in the region," Wong added.

Vietnam is Hong Kong's largest export market among ASEAN countries and sixth largest export market globally, with the city's exports to the country amounting to $10.2 billion in 2017. In the first half of 2018, Hong Kong's FDI in Vietnam exceeded $466.5 million.

Established in 1966, the HKTDC is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With more than 50 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world.

With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room.Fishers on Phu Quoc Island, which has been planned for one of three new special economic zones in Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Duong Thanh

Vietnam's National Assembly will not take up the controversial draft law on Special Economic Zones in October as previously scheduled.

Announcing the deferral, National Assembly General Secretary Nguyen Hanh Phuc said it would allow the government more time to consult the public, organizations, experts and scientists so that the bill can be finalized and passed at a later session.

Public consultations about the bills provisions are ongoing, he said.

The National Assembly, Vietnam's highest legislative body, first discussed the draft law on setting up SEZs in three strategic areas last October, offering greater incentives and fewer restrictions.

The three areas identified for the SEZs are Van Don in the northern province of Quang Ninh, Bac Van Phong in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, and Phu Quoc in the southern Kien Giang Province.

The bill was subsequently sent back for amendments before being discussed again at the National Assembly in May. At this time, the bill included a provision allowing foreign investors to lease land for 99 years as one of the incentives to attract investors.

Vietnam's current Land Law only allows investors to rent land for up to 70 years.

On May 23, the majority of parliament members agreed on the need for Vietnam to establish SEZs. Many lawmakers however argued against a number of the bill's provisions, including the long land lease period, as well as the number and locations of the planned SEZs.

On June 9, the government proposed the National Assembly to postpone passing the bill to its working session this October, saying it needed more time to ensure that it meets the aspirations of both legislators and the public.

The removal of the controversial 99-year land lease duration for foreign investors was among the government's proposed amendments to the bill.

The bill was subsequently postponed after over 85 percent of members of parliament voted in favor of the deferral at a meeting on June 11.

However, even as lawmakers were discussing the bill, news of the proposed 99-year land rent duration for foreign investors sparked a public outcry, with thousands of people taking to the streets to protest the bill in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and several provinces on June 10 and 11.

Following the demonstrations, police detained hundreds of protesters and said they uncovered evidence that the protests were anti-state actions incited by organizations based in other countries using false, distorted information on the draft law.

Dozens of protesters have been sentenced to jail for disturbing public order by inciting violence during protests in southern Binh Thuan and Dong Nai provinces.Ride-hailing Grab can only operate in five provinces and cities in Vietnam. Photo by Reuters

Ride-hailing firm Grab has accused provincial authorities in Khanh Hoa of discriminatory treatment, thwarting its expansion plans.

Khanh Hoa suspended Grab from piloting its services in the central province, and the firm has expressed its dissatisfaction over the way it has been treated.

Since last year, Grab has been eyeing to expand its service in Khanh Hoa, famous for travel hot spot Nha Trang, the beach city.

Grab Vietnam said that it has contacted Khanh Hoa authorities nine times either in face-to-face meetings or with letters about its plan to expand in the province.

But, so far, provincial authorities have not given any clear instructions, Grab said.

The ride-sharing service said that the province was treating it unfairly compared with local taxi firms that have been allowed to pilot their ride-hailing services.

The firm cited a document it received from the Khanh Hoa Transport Department in April last year, which said that it would suspend Grabs pilot ride-hailing service to focus on piloting Vinasun and Sun Taxi with 100 vehicles.

Vinasun Taxi and Sun Taxi are two traditional taxi firms active in the south of Vietnam. Vinasun was established in 2003, and Sun Taxi in 2013.

Even though the department asserted that it would not allow any other taxi firm to pilot the ride-hailing service in Khanh Hoa province, it approved a third local transport service to pilot a ride-hailing app in November last year, Grab said.

The Khanh Hoa transport department has suspended the operation of GrabCar in the province but later allowed another firm to pilot its service. This has created unfairness between firms which provide ride-hailing service software, it said.

But Nguyen Van Dan, Director of the Khanh Hoa Transport Department, said the suspension came after Grab had committed multiple violations.

The Ministry of Transport allows Grab to operate only in five cities and provinces: Hanoi and Quang Ninh province in the north, Khanh Hoa province and Da Nang city in the central and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

But it doesnt permit the ride-sharing firm to directly contact local drivers before local authorities give the green light.

However, Grab has directly worked with drivers to install the ride-hailing application before we gave it permission, Dan said.

Grab also did not report the results of its activities to the department as required, Dan said, adding that it doesnt have an office and a representative in the province to cooperate with local authorities.

We have invited Grab to meet on a number of occasions, but it neither showed up nor sent any report of its pilot services in the city, he added.

In June, the Ministry of Transport disapproved Grabs request for its GrabTaxi service to expand to the southern provinces of Ninh Thuan, Dong Thap and the central highlands province of Gia Lai.A Hanoi exhibition is displaying cartoons that capture the wry humor evoked by subsidy era troubles in Vietnam.

Nearly 30 cartoons by Thanh Phong and Huu Khoa, chosen from a book published earlier this year, are on display.

The cartoons are funny yet realistic. They deal with the tough times before Doi Moi (Reform) in Vietnam, when life was shaped by a reliance on governmental rations. Amidst constant struggle, many people composed funny poems to describe their lives and relieve some of the stress.

The cartoon reflects on a time when owning a favourite model bicycle and a portable radio guaranteed a high status in Vietnamese society. Photo by Bao Ngoc

A clever word play with the word nuoc in this cartoon refers to such a severe water shortage that during the day, the whole country does housework and during the night, the whole family does water work. On the left, an official says wait for me, let me finish washing these clothes as a colleague tells him that it is time for the meeting, while at night, the entire family waits for water. The exhibited pictures are drawn in the old propaganda style. Photo by Giang Huy

This cartoon accompanies a poem about people returning to Vietnam after being sent out on working contracts. When they returned, they would come with normal household items that they could sell and make some money. Even these items were difficult to get during the subsidy period. Photo by Bao Ngoc Pressure cooker on the head Irons under the heels, From afar he looks like a ghost Turns out hes returning from Russia.

You go to space if you want, I am going to stand in line to get instant noodles. This cartoon highlights the contrast between the first Vietnamese to go to space and the plight of ordinary people. There is great attention to detail in this cartoon, with the last two people arguing over a brick placed to reserve ones place in the long queue. Photo by Giang Huy

You look so sad as though you have lost your rice book. Losing ones rice book, in which a familys monthly food ration was specified, was an unmitigated disaster. The idiom as empty as losing the rice book is still used widely in Vietnam. Photo by Bao Ngoc

Hong and his wife, Hanoi Old Quarter residents, were moved as the pictures brought back memories of a time long gone. Photo by Giang Huy

Khue, a high school student in Hanoi, finds it difficult to imagine the subsidy period. "I find the idioms in the pictures strange and funny. Everything I know about the subsidy period is from my grandmothers and mothers stories, she said. Photo by Giang Huy

Carefully looking at each picture, Lam, a Hanoi resident, was nostalgic. "I miss that time. We were so poor, but people showed much love for each other." Photo by Giang Huy

Several foreigners have also visited the exhibition. Photo by Giang Huy

The exhibition will remain open until August 31 at LEspace, 24-26 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi. Entrance is free.The majority of the lamps originated in Vietnam, with some dating back to ancient times. The oldest in the collection is a terracotta lamp from the 5th century BC belonging to the Dong Son, a bronze age culture that lasted from 1000 BC to the 1st century AD on the banks of the Red River in northern Vietnam. This was an early stage of lamp making, when people started to learn how to use clay to make everyday tools.

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, serving a 20-year sentence in a remote Russian prison, has been on a hunger strike for more than 100 days. He was arrested by Russian forces in Crimea in 2014, had Russian citizenship imposed upon him, and was convicted on fabricated charges of plotting terrorist acts. The charges are in retaliation for his opposition to Russias occupation of Crimea.

The United States is deeply concerned about Mr. Sentsovs deteriorating health. On August 21, the 100th day of Sentsovs hunger strike, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said, We renew our demand that Russia immediately release him and all Ukrainian citizens unlawfully imprisoned in Russia and on the Crimean peninsula.

We are alarmed, Ms. Nauert said, about the prospect of another innocent person dying in Russian custody. We hope Russian authorities will release Mr. Sentsov to avoid such a tragedy, which would inevitably lead to calls for those officials responsible to be held to account.

Oleh Sentsov has demonstrated courage and a commitment to principle. In a letter from prison in 2017, Sentsov wrote these words about his participation in the 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations in Ukraine:

The last time I went to the Maidan, where people had already begun perishing, my mother said, Why are you going there? You have two children! I answered that it was precisely because of that that I was going there  I dont want them to live in a country of slaves.

On May 14, he began an open-ended hunger strike protesting the unjust imprisonment of over 60 Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia, demanding their release. We echo his call, declared Ms. Nauert: it is time for these prisoners  including Sentsov himself  to come home.A draft of a new Ukrainian constitution should stipulate that Ukraine is a parliamentary republic led by a chancellor, Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the Batkivschyna party, has said.

"I can tell you firmly that I am part of a large team that is working, and an absolute majority in this team believe that a parliamentary form of governance organized in the right way is a very strong thing, and it is much stronger than the presidential one," Tymoshenko said when presenting the concept of a new constitution in Kyiv.

"If flaws of the parliamentary form of governance are eliminated [...] this could be a proposal to be put into the foundation" of a new constitution, she said.

The idea of electing a chancellor at the parliament would not be supported in Ukraine, and the new constitution should regulate this, she said.

"A candidate for chancellor leads a party ticket running for parliament. Everybody knows that this is a candidate for chancellor. And if the party wins, everybody knows who the chancellor is [...] And this is stronger than a president, who is elected today and doesn't lean on anything," she said.

The event participants also presented an Internet platform for a nationwide discussion of the new Ukrainian constitution.Tymoshenko: Ukraine to do all it can to be NATO, EU member

Ukraine will join NATO and the European Union, leader of the Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko has said during the presentation of a concept of a new Ukrainian constitution.

She vowed to present a draft constitution before the next presidential election.

"When we talk about our security, our army, which has become stronger, and the weapons that our science and our manufacturers have been giving to Ukraine today, we should also say clearly to ourselves: in reality, a system of strong security, strong protection, and consolidation undoubtedly exists in NATO. And we, as Ukraine, will be in NATO, because we will do all we can to achieve those standards and be 'one for all and all for one', as is stipulated in the treaty," Tymoshenko said in Kyiv.

She said she would also do her utmost for Ukraine to join the European Union.

"Perhaps it would take some time. Perhaps we would build Europe on our soil sooner than they open this door to us, but we will be there anyway," she said.

Tymoshenko also said she was confident that Ukraine's territorial integrity would be restored.

"Let's say today so that the whole world can hear: Donbas will be returned to Ukraine, and Crimea will be returned to Ukraine," she said.

Speaking about the concept of a new constitution, Tymoshenko said over a hundred academics, philosophers, visionaries, and constitutional lawyers are working on its draft.

"Our goal is to show the people a new constitution agreed upon with the entire nation before the next presidential elections in Ukraine," she said.

A new Ukrainian "people's constitution" should be adopted in a nationwide referendum immediately after the election of a new president, she said.

"A new Ukrainian people's constitution should be adopted in a referendum, without counting on the parliament, which symbolizes an oligarchic consensus, is rotten and in ruins, but we need to reach the level of a great people's discussion," Tymoshenko said.Dodon says he is ready for dialogue with Ukrainian authorities

President of Moldova Igor Dodon has announced he is ready for "a dialogue, any contacts" with Ukraine, Radio Liberty reports.

I, as before, is open, and has recently even sent congratulations to Mr. Poroshenko on occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine national holiday, Dodon said.

It is noted that during the election campaign in November 2016 Dodon said that Crimea is a de facto Russian territory.

Dodon has been president of Moldova since December 2016. He holds pro-Russian positions and believes that the country he leads can "disappear" if joins the European Union.There are both economic and strategic components in the issue of concern for the Nord Stream 2 project, while Ukraine needs to seek alternative natural gas resources, Assistant to the U.S. President for National Security Affairs John Bolton has stated.

We with the prime minister of Ukraine held a very interesting discussion on energy resources and the role Ukraine plays, what we can do in future, Bolton said at a press conference in Kyiv.

According to him, U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing concern about Nord Stream 2, stresses "not only the economic importance of this issue in Europe ... but also strategic."

Undoubtedly, this is what is connected with the monopoly of a supplier of critical energy resources ... Why do you, Europe, voluntarily bind yourself even more to Russian energy suppliers? An alternative option for Ukraine and other countries is to find other natural gas sources and resources, he added.

He stressed this is the matter of policy, the government of Ukraine to look for alternative energy resources so that there is no dependence on Russia.

Bolton noted that if Nord Stream 2 is built, then Ukraine will remain in a situation of risk that Russia, even if it undertakes, will not supply sufficient volumes of gas.Leader of the Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko after a meeting with Assistant to the U.S. President for National Security Affairs John Bolton gave the highest assessment of the support provided to Ukraine by the team of U.S. President Donald Trump.

"I want to apologize that I had to go to this diplomatic meeting [with Bolton]. I can tell you that I, to be honest, don't remember such strong, conscious and consistent support as now, from the team that works with Trump," she said when presenting the concept of a new constitution in Kyiv.

An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent said Tymoshenko left the presentation for a while to meet with John Bolton.Presidential and parliamentary election campaigns in Ukraine will not interfere with the effective work of the Verkhovna Rada, Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy believes.

"I have no doubt that this autumn and, in the end, next year, the Verkhovna Rada will work consistently and effectively," the speaker said, asked whether the Verkhovna Rada will be able to work effectively in the period of election campaigns.

Parubiy noted that during the current convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, he, as a speaker, was repeatedly persuaded that the parliament would not work effectively, but such forecasts were not confirmed.

Speaking about the plans for the forthcoming session, the chairman said he would pay special attention to the issue of national security and defense.

The speaker noted that the law on national security passed earlier by the parliament is a framework act, and it requires adoption of implementing legislative acts.

According to Parubiy, until October it is necessary to solve personnel issues at the Central Election Commission and consider the draft Electoral Code.Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is concerned about the presence of Kremlin lawyers in Ukrainian politics and the support of Russian propaganda.

"The Kremlin forces information war on us to enslave our mind. When Putin hangs the blame on somebody else it can still be understood. But I, as a president, am shocked with another fact: how many Putin's lawyers our political elite has. How they try to relieve him of responsibility for the war and hang this responsibility on Ukraine. Some politicians are so blinded by the internal struggle that they thoughtlessly, sometimes even deliberately, duplicate dangerous stamps of Russian propaganda," Poroshenko said at the International Forum of Volunteers and Veterans "Ukraine is where we are."

"Perhaps they think that they are fighting for power. Actually, no. I firmly believe that they work for the aggressor, they try to undermine the moral spirit of Ukrainians, they try to weaken the will to resistance, most importantly - they strike at the rear, stab in the back of the Armed Forces, devalue the feat of Ukrainian soldiers in the name of Ukraine," the head of state said.

According to him, there are people of different political views among 344,000 combatants and this is an objective cross-section of society.Despite the governments pledge to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, the number of individuals suffering from AIDS/HIV in Iran has been steadily rising.

According to a 2016 survey by the United Nations, there were roughly 5000 new infections between the years 2010 and 2016, adding up to the total of 66 thousand people living with HIV. However, some estimates claim that there may be over 100 thousand Iranians suffering from HIV, highlighting significant discrepancies between official statistics and reality.

The AIDS epidemic in Iran has a significant drug-related dimension. Being part of the Golden Crescent, a region spanning Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan with prominent illicit opium production, Iran has served as a pathway for drug traffickers in the shipping of narcotics from Afghanistan to Europe.

While the Iranian government does not treat drug trafficking lightly, the illegal drug trade has fueled the countrys growing problems with drug addiction.

According to a survey carried out by the Iranian Drug Control Organization, there are about 2.8 million Iranians who regularly use narcotics. Out of those, roughly 67 percent take heroin as their primary drug.

The widespread availability of heroin and other opiates, which are often taken intravenously, has served as an important vector spreading AIDS/HIV among drug addicts, with UN statistics claiming that 9.3 percent of Iranian drug addicts currently have HIV.

While there have been efforts undertaken by the government to promote the use of clean needles and other practices targeting the spread of AIDS/HIV among drug users, the countrys policy against addicts has sometimes been called a vicious cycle.

According to Mohammad Bakhshandeh, the chief of the Drug Police of Greater Tehran, the problem is largely caused by ineffective policies which treat drug addicts as criminals, rather than victims of addiction.

If we have accepted the fact that addicts are not criminals and consider them as sick individuals, we should also accept that it is the duty of municipal and health departments to look after them, not the polices, Bakhshandeh said. In turn, HIV has entered Iranian prisons, with roughly 1 percent of Irans prisoners now suffering from HIV.

However, more than ever before, there has been a steady increase in HIV transmission rates through unprotected sexual intercourse, rather than intravenous drug use. This is not limited only to Iranian sex workers, where up to 2 percent of all sex workers suffer from HIV, but to the younger generation in general.

Indeed, whereas about 70 percent of sex workers suffering from HIV know their status, only 41 of the general population suffering from HIV are aware of their condition. Similarly, the countrys treatment services have also delivered lackluster results, with only 13 percent of HIV-positive individual having suppressed viral loads as part of treatment.

This has been particularly problematic for the younger generation. According to Parvin Afsar Kazerouni, the head of the Health Ministrys AIDS department, more than 50 percent of HIV patients in Iran are between 21 and 35.

Although the government continues to blame illegal drug use as the chief source of HIV transmission, unprotected sexual intercourse is becoming a significant factor.

This can be partly explained through the lack of sexual education program offered to Irans youth, with only 18 percent of Iranian youth aged between 15-24 knowing about HIV prevention.

The governments inability to provide well-rounded sexual education to its young population highlights an equally difficult challenge to the regimes fundamentalist character.

While drug addiction and prostitution continue to be deemed as social problems, the ostracized nature of HIV-positive individuals in the general public presents an immensely problematic issue, which effectively prevents the possibility to educate individuals on HIV and living with an HIV-positive status.

In turn, this ineffective policy may lead to the further spread of this disease, particularly to at risk group such as gay men who already retain a highly stigmatized position in Iranian society, as well as to other segments of the Iranian population.August 25 (Reuters)

Iran has resumed talks with Russia to build a new nuclear power plant capable of generating up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity, energy minister Reza Ardakanian said Saturday, according to the Tasnim news agency.

The Islamic Republic currently has the capacity to produce 1,000 megawatts of nuclear electricity, Tasnim reported. Iran already runs one Russian-built nuclear reactor at Bushehr, its first. Russia signed a deal with Iran in 2014 to build up to eight more reactors in the country.

The United States in May pulled out of a deal between Tehran and major powers to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Washington imposed new sanctions on Tehran in August.

(Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva Editing by Ros Russell)IRGC Admiral Alireza Tangsiri is the sixth commander that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has had since its inception in 1985. He is one of the IRGC's most hardline commanders and a favorite of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is commander-in-chief of Irans armed forces. The secret to Tangsiris fast-tracked career in the IRGC's chain of command over the past eight years -- culminating in his latest appointment -- is Khamenei's approval of his anti-U.S. comments and actions, which have at times brought Iran to the brink of a serious standoff with the United States in the Persian Gulf. In Khamenei's rhetoric, the word "enemy" is often used to describe the United States, next to Israel, and he would promote anyone, including those in uniform, who agree with him. One such commander is Tangsiri, whose track record is full of anti-U.S. words and actions that have usually been praised by Khamenei. These stances portray Tangsiri as a more hardline officer and put him in a position higher than former IRGC Naval Force Commander Ali Fadavi.

A review of Tangsiri's comments about domestic politics and the challenges of Iran-U.S. relations, as well as his verbal attacks on Khamenei's domestic and foreign critics after the disputed presidential elections in 2009, have met with Khameneis tacit approval. Iran's Long-Reach Strategy and Chasing the U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico One point of common ground between Khamenei and commanders such as Tangsiri is their claim of pursuing a long-reach strategy. This strategy is based on the idea of not limiting a possible confrontation between the IRGC and U.S. forces to the Persian Gulf. In September 2007, Khamenei said "a hit-and-run military aggression against Iran is no longer possible." "If the enemy decides to clash with us, we would chase them even to the Gulf of Mexico," Tangsiri said based on Khamenei's strategy. Tangsiri speaks openly about the possibility of suicide missions against U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf. "There are people who would crash themselves into U.S. warships with explosives," he said.

In several episodes where Iranian naval forces detained U.S., British, Canadian, and Australian naval personnel in the Persian Gulf, Tangsiri has usually been a central player in the operations. He has said that the arrests marked the IRGC's authority and defensive power. In January 2016, when Iran detained 10 US marines after they entered Iranian waters following an engine failure, Tangsiri, who was IRGC Navy deputy commander at the time, characterized the event as "U.S. forces surrendering to Iran." "We are proud that we have made the Americans surrender twice. Once in the north of the Persian Gulf and once more when we arrested 10 U.S. marines," he said. This was while the IRGC had officially acknowledged that the U.S. vessel had entered Iranian waters "accidentally." Nevertheless, Khamenei invited senior IRGC Navy commanders to his office and decorated Fadavi with a "victory medal," and promoted four other IRGC commanders. Also, in 2007, when the IRGC confiscated British ships and arrested 15 British sailors near the Farsi Island, Tangsiri took the lead and acted as IRGC spokesman, although the event had not taken place in waters under his watch in Bandar Abbas. Then President Mahmud Ahmadinejad released the sailors and officially saw them off 11 days later, after he received a threat from the UK prime minister. Still one more time in 2009 IRGC arrested five British sailors. Again, it was Tangsiri who confirmed the arrest. Shortly afterward, Tangsiri was promoted to the rank of admiral and was appointed deputy commander of the IRGC Navy. He served in that post for eight years until Khamenei appointed him the force's commander on August 23. His appointment is significant because of his track record as well as its timing. He is now commander of Iranian forces in the first line of defense against U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf. This is where tens of Iranian and U.S. military vessels take to the sea every day.Following Washingtons withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), or Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers, and the renewal of U.S. sanctions, many Western airlines have lined up to leave Iran and suspend their flights to the country. This leaves a vacuum that Arab and Turkish airlines are set to fill.

British Airways, Air France, and its Dutch sibling, KLM, announced on August 23 that they would halt flights to Iran from September for business reasons, months after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would re-impose sanctions on Tehran.

British Airways (BA) said it was terminating its London to Tehran service "as the operation is currently not commercially viable."

BA, which is owned by Spanish-registered IAG, said its last outbound flight from London to Tehran will be on September 22 and the last inbound flight from Tehran will be the following day.

Air France will stop flights from Paris to Tehran as of September 18 due to "the line's weak [commercial] performance," an airline spokesman said.

"As the number of business customers flying to Iran has fallen, the connection is not profitable anymore," Reuters cited the spokesman as saying.

Nevertheless, there are also political reasons involved in the airlines unexpected decision.

Over the past 40 years, the West's relations with Iran have soured, Western airlines were always the first companies to leave Iran and suspend flights to the country.

While Air France, BA, and KLM are record holders for suspending operations in Iran, German Lufthansa has usually been more reluctant to halt its flights to the country.

The number of passengers to and from Iran has dropped significantly since U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to drop JCPOA and re-impose sanctions on Tehran and the subsequent freefall of the Iranian national currencys value and raised local departure tax. Most people inside Iran simply can no longer afford to travel abroad.

In the meantime, gloomy international media reports about Iran have discouraged foreign tourists. The current situation is a dramatic shift from just a year ago when Iran, with some 6 million visitors, was enjoying a major tourism boom and record hotel occupancy.

The boom that gained momentum following the implementation of JCPOA in 2016 died down after Washington withdrew from the nuclear deal in May, and numerous Western tours to Iran were canceled.

Since the U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA, many Western companies have significantly cut back back their operations in Iran, putting an end to visits to Iran by their staff and representatives.

However, the commercial reasons for halting flights to Iran does not sound plausible when it comes to many flight routes, including the ones connecting Tehran to Amsterdam, London, and Paris. Even during the worst political turmoil in Iran, these three destinations have always had the most passengers from the West.

Many Iranians living abroad take one of these three routes to travel between Tehran, Europe, and the United States. The freefall of rials value against foreign currencies has not affected most of these Iranians, who are payed in dollars, euros, or pounds.

Therefore, one can easily conclude that political reasons rather than commercial ones are behind the move, since airlines such as Air France and KLM, which are members of a unified group, could have avoided halting operations in Iran by combining flights and replacing broad body planes with narrow ones, to compensate for the drop in a number of passengers.

Now, in the absence of BA, Air France, and KLM, it is once expected that Arab and Turkish airlines will step in to fill the vacuum, as happened between 2011 to 2013 when Turkish and Qatar Airlines increased their number of flights to Iran.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

An official welcome ceremony has been held for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is on a visit in Azerbaijan.

A guard of honor was arranged for the German Chancellor in the square decorated with the national flags of the two countries.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The chief of the guard of honor reported to the German Chancellor.

President Ilham Aliyev and Chancellor Angela Merkel reviewed the guard of honor.

The German Chancellor saluted the Azerbaijani soldiers.

Then the state anthems of Germany and Azerbaijan were played.

State and government officials of Azerbaijan were introduced to Chancellor Angela Merkel, and members of the German delegation were introduced to President Ilham Aliyev.

The guard of honor marched in front of the two leaders to the accompaniment of a military march. The president and the chancellor then posed for official photos.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze will visit Azerbaijan on August 30, the State Chancellery of the Georgian Government said on Aug. 25.

Mamuka Bakhtadze will hold a number of meetings with Azerbaijani officials in Baku.

Further strengthening of the strategic partnership between the two countries, the processes taking place in the world and the region and the prospects for the development of large-scale energy and infrastructure projects will be discussed during the meetings.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited the Alley of Martyrs to pay respect to Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the country`s independence and territorial integrity.

A guard of honor was lined up for the German Chancellor at the Alley of Martyrs.

She laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument.

The state anthems of Azerbaijan and Germany were played.

Angela Merkel enjoyed a panoramic view of Baku as she was informed on the history of the Alley of Martyrs and redevelopment work in the capital of Azerbaijan.Details added (first version posted on 11:21)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

Following the official welcome ceremony, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Angela Merkel held a meeting in an expanded format with the participation of delegations.

The president of Azerbaijan and the German Federal Chancellor made speeches at the meeting.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev greeted the German Chancellor and the distinguished guests in Azerbaijan.

We attach very big importance to your visit, Ilham Aliyev said. I am sure that the visit will be very successful and German-Azerbaijani relations will continue to develop successfully. We have met several times with you, we maintain active political dialogue, and I am very glad that you are in Azerbaijan today. This is a historic visit.

Our bilateral agenda is very broad and covers such issues as political and economic relations, trade relations, regional issues  all these issues will be discussed today, he said. I am confident that your visit will give a new impetus to our relations. Welcome once again.

In turn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she is very glad to be in Azerbaijan.

We have already met several times, she said. But it's for the first time that I am visiting this country. Our relations are multifaceted. We have repeatedly met within international organizations, on the sidelines of international meetings, and I think that this visit will provide a fresh impetus to our relations.

We can also expand our relations in the field of culture, she noted. Two hundred years pass since the establishment of the first German colony in Azerbaijan. Some people are not even aware of this fact. We can enhance our economic relations. Azerbaijan is Germany's largest trade partner in this region.

We will probably touch upon some critical points, she said. This is human rights and humanitarian situation. We will also talk about a problem which severely impedes this region. This is the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and Germany wants to support its solution.

Then, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev hosted dinner in honor of German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have attended the inauguration of a new building of Meysari village secondary school in Shamakhi district. The 132-seat school was built on the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the school.

Minister of Education Jeyhun Bayramov told President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva that the school had been built in the 1950s. The construction of the new building of the school started in 2016. The new building features an auditorium, gym, different subject and foreign language rooms and fully equipped informatics center.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva have attended the opening of a vine-growing and wine-making complex owned by "Shirvan wines" LLC in Meysari village, Shamakhi district.

Executive Director of "Shirvan wines" LLC Jeyhun Soltanov informed the head of state and his wife that the vine-growing and wine-making complex occupies a total area of 310 hectares.

A wine plant, which covers an area of 4,398 square meters in the territory of the complex, meets modern standards and is supplied with equipment of the French Pera company. The plant aims to achieve an annual wine production of 1.4 million liters. The complex also features a wine museum, restaurant, terrace, parking lot and guest house.

French technologist Jam Montagnais said that the first vineyard was created here in 2015 when 100,000 seeds of French grape varieties were planted in an area of 40 hectares. The vineyard produced the first harvest last year, which included 233,379 tons of grape and resulted in the production of three types of wine named "Sadaf", "Marjan" and "Makhmari" under the brand "Meysari".

President Ilham Aliyev and first lady Mehriban Aliyeva signed the first products.

President Ilham Aliyev then met with the staff of the complex.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

As part of his visit to Ismayilli district, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of Mughanli-Ismayilli-Minga-Keyvandi-Shabiyan-Bahliyan highway.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Azerbaijan Highway State Agency Saleh Mammadov informed the head of state that the two-lane motorway is 9km in length and 6m in width.

President Ilham Aliyev cut the ribbon symbolizing the inauguration of the road.

The highway links four settlements with a total population of 1200 people.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of a 1000-head modern cattle-breeding complex, owned by AZZA AGRO LLC, in Keyvandi village, Ismayilli district.

Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev and entrepreneur Zohrab Aslanov informed the head of state of the works done in the complex.

Shahin Mustafayev said AZN 9.5 million was invested in the first phase of the complex, including AZN 3.5 million provided by the National Entrepreneurship Support Fund of the Ministry of Economy.

The head of state was informed of Holstein Friesian cows brought through Agroleasing OJSC, newly-born calves, farming and milking systems produced by Swedish DeLaval company, and German- and Dutch-made agricultural machinery and equipment.

The project created 14 jobs, and the number is planned to be increased to 70.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the inauguration of the Ismayilli branch of Azerkhalcha Open Joint-Stock Company.

Chairman of the Board of Azerkhalcha Open Joint-Stock Company Vidadi Muradov informed the head of state that the construction of the building of the plant started in 2016. It is planned that 150 weavers and 12 administrative employees will work in the Ismayiili branch.

President Ilham Aliyev then met with the staff of the plant.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

As part of his visit to Ismayilli district, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the opening of Kurdmashi-Kalband-Girk highway after renovation and repair.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Azerbaijan Highway State Agency Saleh Mammadov informed the head of state about the road, which separates from the 5th kilometer of Garamaryam-Ismayilli-Shaki highway.

The motorway links two settlements with a total population of 1000 people. The two-lane highway is 14km in length and 6m in width.

President Ilham Aliyev cut the ribbon symbolizing the inauguration of the road.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended the inauguration of an agropark built by Buta Group LLC in Ismayilli district.

Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev and entrepreneur Bashir Guliyev informed the head of state of the works carried out in the agropark.

AZN 7.7 million was initially invested in the creation of the agropark, the total cost of which is AZN 22 million. The agropark, which occupies an area of 602 hectares, features an agricultural farm, freezing storage complex, product sorting and packing facilities.

President Ilham Aliyev launched the agropark.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

Uniper SE and Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR will collaborate on projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of oil and gas production in Azerbaijan, SOCAR said in a message Aug. 25.

The two companies signed an agreement to that effect on Aug. 25 in Baku.

The German energy provider and SOCAR have been working in close cooperation for the past five years.

The principle aim of the new agreement is to enhance efficiency in energy use in production processes and thereby lower greenhouse gas emissions in Azerbaijan. Initial projects have already been identified and are now set to be reviewed in greater detail.

Back in 2013, Uniper and SOCAR concluded a long-term gas supply contract. Until 2045, up to 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas is slated to flow to Europe each year via the Southern Gas Corridor.

In 2016 SOCAR and Uniper formed a joint venture for the development of energy efficiency. The JV will gain additional value by modernizing and expanding the electricity and steam generation facilities at the SOCAR chemical complex in Sumgayit Azerikimya. The launch of new facilities is scheduled for early 2020.

The German government is assisting the project through a HERMES export credit guarantee. With an investment volume of around 30 million euros, the project draws mainly on German technology.

The new project marks another milestone in the partnership between the two companies, set to run over the long term, Christopher Delbruck, member of Management Board at Uniper, commented on the contract signing in Baku. It will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region and conserve the countrys natural resources. The collaboration between Uniper and SOCAR is of mutual benefit to both sides and offers sound prospects for the future.

Strategic cooperation we have with one of the leading German companies UNIPER provided great opportunities for Azerbaijan to realize its natural resources as well as benefit from the modern technologies, Rovnag Abdullayev, president of SOCAR, said. Enhancing energy efficiency is of great value both for environment protection and gaining additional value from the natural gas saved in this project. Inking this agreement once again reiterates the high level of economic ties between our two countries, demonstrates the cooperation parties enjoy under the Southern Gas Corridor project as well as highlights the important role Azerbaijan and SOCAR play in European energy security.

Uniper is an international energy company with around 12,000 employees worldwide. The company operates about 36 Gigawatt of reliable power generating capacity in Europe and Russia, which consists mainly of gas, coal and hydro power plants.

With its balanced portfolio and its technical and commercial expertise, Uniper is able to offer attractive and customized products and services at competitive prices. Uniper's trading activities create links between global energy markets.

These activities comprise the entire value chain for commodities trading in markets for electricity, emission allowances, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal and freight. Moreover, the company's experience in asset operation and global trading serve as the basis for comprehensive service packages that - in addition to asset management  can also include supplying raw materials and fuels as well as operational management of power plants.

SOCAR is one of the leading international energy companies. In order to ensure the economic interests of the Azerbaijani people, SOCAR is a major operator and participant in a number of transnational projects across the country and abroad.

The company is active in all the oil and gas industry value chains. Exploration of oil and gas fields, production, processing and transportation of oil, gas and gas condensate constitute the main part of the operations of SOCAR. SOCAR also exports natural gas, oil and petrochemical products to the country's market, as well as international markets.

The company's goal is to become a vertical integrated international energy company with advanced experience in the field of effective operation, social and environmental responsibility. As an important EU energy supplier, SOCAR plays a special role in the sustainable economic development of Europe.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

The presidents of Central Asian countries supported the idea of Kyrgyzstan on the need to reform the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev said, Kabar news agency reported.

He was commenting on the results of the Summit of the Heads of States-Founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), in which Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov took part as an honored guest.

Since 2009 we have been talking about the need to reform the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, said Abdyldaev. Today, all the colleagues of our president really supported, having realized the need to take a fresh look at this organization and to reform it deeply.

Therefore, the fact that we have frozen our participation, probably, also has pushed to such more resolute actions, he noted. I would also like to draw your attention to one detail that, based on the status of an honorary guest of our president, we did not take part in the preparation of the final documents. We paid attention to them, but we did not take part in their preparation and adoption.

Abdyldaev added that "we say, and our president says this openly: We are for the salvation of the Aral Sea, for this we need to reform the organization. If this reform goes, of course, we will resume our participation."

"A very powerful impetus for reforming this organization was given," Abdyldaev said.

Presidents of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in the Summit of the Heads of State of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea.Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

Cars and buses of the Republic of Uzbekistan passing through the Republic of Tajikistan are exempted from paying a fee for entry and transit through the Tajik territory, the Tajik news agency Avesta reports citing the customs service of Tajikistan.

The relevant government decree was signed by the country's President Emomali Rahmon on the eve of his state visit to Uzbekistan.

The purpose of the decree is to arrange conditions for duty-free entry and transit of Uzbek cars and buses through Tajikistan .Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 25

Trend:

Ten memorandums were signed with companies from China, South Korea and Japan on the implementation of projects worth about $250 million in Uzbekistans Tashkent region during the international business forum Do business in Tashkent region on August 22, the Uzbek media reported citing the press service of the State Committee of Uzbekistan for Investments.

During the B2B meetings, bilateral documents were signed for the establishment of an industrial zone of a number of Chinese companies in the Tashkent region, agreements were reached to increase the export of agricultural products to Russia, to deploy new companies in the Angren free economic zone, including in the chemical industry, production of building materials, the creation of clusters in the textile industry and agriculture.

Heads of diplomatic missions and trade attaches from more than 35 countries, as well as representatives of business from such countries as Iran, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Poland, Bulgaria, Turkey, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the US, the UK, France, Germany and others attended the event. The number of participants was about 500 people.Tehran, Iran, August 25

Trend:



The governor general of Hormozgan said all the Chinese ships and their crew fishing in the Iranian southern provinces waters are hired by the government and are working for Iran.



"Iranian vessels do not have the technology to fish at a depth of 200 meters in the Persian Gulf waters," Fereydoon Hemmati said on Thursday, IRNA reported on August 23.

He added Iranian fishermen therefore have rented Chinese ships or purchased them on installment plans.

Iranians are owners of the Chinese vessels, the governor general stressed, adding list of their names will be released soon.

The remarks came after a member of the Supreme Council of Provinces in Iran said recently that overfishing by Chinese ships in waters off the southern Iranian coasts in the Persian Gulf has put seafood resources at risk there.

"Excessive fishing by huge and industrial Chinese ships (in the Persian Gulf) is endangering species of aquatic animals," Kianoush Jahanbakhsh said on August 10.

"What I say is what Iranian fishermen, locals and eyewitnesses (in Hormozgan province) say".

He noted that this has affected local fishermens livelihoods.Tehran, Iran, August 25

Trend:



Irans total export of natural gas stands at 40 million cubic meters per day, the head of National Iranian Gas Company said.



Iran is currently swapping around 47 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, Deputy Oil Minister Hamidreza Araqi told ILNA news agency on August 25.



He added that the countrys total export of natural gas stands at 40 million cubic meters per day.

He further noted that Gas exports are subject to no sanctions.



Referring to Irans plans to export its gas to Europe, he said Turkey and the Black Sea would be the main export routes for Iran to export gas to Europe.



For the time being, the oil ministry has focused on neighbors, including Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan due to lower expenses, Araqi said.



He added that Iran is currently supplying Azerbaijan with 6 million cubic meters of natural gas per day via gas swap transactions.



On May 15, the deputy minister had said Iran swapped about one million cubic meters of gas per day with Azerbaijan.Tehran, Iran, August 25

Trend:

Georgian ambassador to Tehran Ioseb Chakhvashvili said Tbilisi would maintain its economic presence in Iran as long as Europe remains committed to its deal with the Islamic Republic.

The fate of Iran-Georgia economic relations will be determined in coming months, Chakhvashvili told Tasnim news agency on August 25.

If Europe maintains its presence in Iran and live up to its commitments, Georgia will do the same, he added.

The envoy further hailed the good ties between the two countries and said Tehran and Tbilisi would continue their cooperation as much as they can.

Recently, Chakhvashvili had said Tbilisi was willing to increase its economic cooperation with Iran and looked forward to win-win trade with the Islamic Republic.

Given the existing potential between the two countries, we are seeking win-win cooperation with Iran, Chakhvashvili said on August 11.

Trade between Iran and Georgia last year stood at around $181 million, which indicates a 28 percent rise year-on-year. This was announced by Georgias First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Dimitri Kumsishvili on May 9.

He said once the transport corridor connecting Iran, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia becomes operational, multilateral trade among these countries will significantly increase.Tehran, Iran, August 25

Trend:

Institutes of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran and Ghana signed a document to enhance their mutual cooperation.

In a bid to boost their cooperation in the sector of standards, Tehran and Accra inked a document on Saturday, IRIB news agency reported on August 25.

Standardization based on the two countries national standards, and cooperation based on global standards to safeguard national interests and facilitate export and imports were among the terms of the deal.

The two sides also agreed to use their experts experience in the fields of calibration and legal metrology.

Following the signing ceremony, Nayereh Pirouzbakht, the head of Irans National Standards Organization, said such agreements could give a boost to the countrys imports and exports.

She added similar deals would be signed with Russia and China in the near future.Baku, Azerbaijan, August 25

Trend:

Iran exported over 8,174 kilograms of trout fish to Russia through the Astara border checkpoint, Bahram Pourzarb, head of Astara Veterinary Bureau, said.

The cargo, worth $50,000 was exported Aug. 25 under the license of the Veterinary Organization of Tehran Province, the official said, IRNA news agency reported.

During the current fiscal year (started March 20) Iran has exported 38 tons of trout fish, nine tons of pasteurized milk, four tons of fish oil and 47 tons of fish powder to Russia and Azerbaijan via Astara land border, he said.

During the last fiscal year, ended March 20, Iran exported some 700 tons of cream cheese, 2 tons of cream, 143 tons of trout, and 143 tons of powdered milk to Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan via Iran's Astara customs.

Astara is on Irans border with Azerbaijan and is the countrys door to Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Agricultural and food products accounted for 13 percent of Irans total non-oil exports during the last fiscal year.

The country exported 6 million tons of agricultural and food products in the 12-month period, 5 percent more year-on-year. The value of the exports reached $6 billion, 4 percent more compared to the preceding year.Tehran, Iran, August 25

Trend:

The Iranian energy minister said the government is in talks with Moscow to build nuclear power plants and generate more nuclear electricity, Tasnim news agency reported.

Plans are underway to produce more nuclear power and boost the countrys national electricity grid, Reza Ardakanian said on August 25.



Last month, the country was hit by intermittent blackouts during the hot summer season when electricity demand for cooling soared.



Iranian nuclear power plants produced 1,000 megawatts of nuclear power during the hot season, the minister said.



In order to manage the situation in the future and stop the fadeouts, talks between Iran and Russia over the construction of nuclear power plants with 3,000 megawatts capacity of nuclear electricity are underway, he added.

Back in September 2016, Iran and Russia started the construction of the second unit of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.



The second unit is expected to take 9 years to complete (October 2024). Building a third unit will also begin 18 months later after that (April 2026).



A total of $10 billion has been allocated for the construction of the two units.



Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Tehran back in February, Ardakanian highlighted the countrys self-sufficiency in the area of power generation and said the Islamic Republic is the top producer of electricity in the Middle East.



About 90 percent of power generation equipment, even complicated parts like turbines and generators, are currently manufactured inside the country, the energy minister said at the time.Tehran, Iran, August 25

Trend:

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on the Iranian nation to stand up against enemies plots and help overcome economic problems through unity.

It is incumbent upon all of us to resist against enemies plots and overcome the problems through unity, Rouhani said on Saturday in Tehran, Tasnim news agency reported on August 25.

Stressing that the government is fully aware of peoples hardship and sufferings following new US sanctions against the country, he said, We will make sure to take all measures to relieve peoples pains.

We have no doubt the Iranian nations will be the winner at the end of the day, the president said.

The United States reimposed stiff economic sanctions on Iran last month, ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic despite statements of deep dismay from European allies, three months after President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

A first set of reimposed US sanctions affect financial transactions that involve US dollars, Iran's automotive sector, the purchase of commercial planes and metals including gold.

A second batch of US sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector and central bank are to be reimposed in early November.

Trump warned that those who don't wind down their economic ties to Iran "risk severe consequences."Baku, Azerbaijan, August 25

Trend:

Gas exposition has left at least 10 killed and more injured in the north eastern city of Mashhad on Aug. 25, the Iranian authorities said.

Three buildings have collapsed and 15 more buildings have been damaged up to 70 percent due to the explosion, Mehdi Rezaei, an official with the Mashhad fire department told ISNA news agency.

Rezaei said that the incident occurred at 5:45 local time, adding that five people got injured in the incident.

Shahram Taherzadeh, the press office head of Mashhad Emergency Center told YJC news agency that condition of the injured people is serious.

He added that the explosion occurred in the boiler room, which led the the collapse of the buildings.The Hurricane Lane, downgraded to Category 3 storm, moved north toward the main Hawaiian Islands with extreme flooding, Xinhua reported.

The hurricane packed punch with maximum sustained winds near 120 MPH with higher gusts, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, adding rainfall rates in the outer bands of the hurricane may reach 1 to 3 inches per hour.

Till Friday morning, the heavy rain delivered by the storm led to road closures, landslides and outrages.

"The slow movement of Lane also greatly increase the threat for prolonged heavy rainfall and extreme rainfall totals," said the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.

Lane is expected to remain a hurricane for the next 12 to 24 hours but increasing wind shear could weaken the storm more quickly over the next two to three days.

The storm is forecast to pull away from Hawaii by late Saturday. Over 1,500 people have sought shelter and more are expected to do so, American Red Cross officials told ABC news channel Friday.

Before the rough winds and torrential rain set in, Hawaiian residents and visitors flocked to stores to stock up on food, water and gas.

Officials recommend a 14-day emergency supply. Some local people went to supermarkets to store some foods and drinking water.

"Alarm system is very helpful," Jeff Keegan, who is from Connecticut, told Xinhua, "I prepare well so I'm not worry about the hurricane at all."

There are 300,000 tourists in the state, Senator of the state Mazie Hirono said Thursday.

The Consulate General of China in Los Angeles issued a warning Wednesday, asking Chinese tourists to follow directions of local authority to keep safety.

There is no chaos happened under the hurricane warning. In the Waikiki beach, one of the most popular place for tourists in Honolulu downtown area, people continued to go out to shop, drink coffee and to walk around the beach in the daytime.

All campuses and offices of the university of Hawaii on Hawaii Island, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai are closed through Sunday. There will be no mail delivery and no public transportation on Friday.

The U.S. President Donald Trump had authorized an emergency disaster declaration to provide Hawaii the necessary support ahead of the hurricane lane.

Ryan Fleming, a student at the university of Hawaii, said that he is not so concerned about the hurricane. "I do some preparation just in case it (hurricane) becomes serious."

Michael Dufresne, also a student, stayed at room and played cards with his friends. "I'm from Florida. In past few year, there was no such big warning here like today." he said.The court then noted that Mondadoris rights were repeatedly infringed through the different domain names under which the infringing platform operated.



Telekabel decision, the court ruled that it is compatible with the E-commerce Directive (notably Article 15 therein) to request an ISP to take the most appropriate measures to block access, not just to the domain names identified in the relevant injunction, but also to any further domain names under which infringements relating to the same rights are committed. Also recalling the CJEUdecision, the court ruled that it is compatible with the E-commerce Directive (notably Article 15 therein) to request an ISP to take the most appropriate measures to block access, not just to the domain names identified in the relevant injunction, but also to any further domain names under which infringements relating to the same rights are committed.



If the obligation of an ISP as resulting from a certain injunction was limited to the domain names indicated therein, this would make the measure issued pointless: it is in fact likely that, at the time of issuing the injunction, the infringer is already operating under a different domain name.



Hence, an injunction that required the ISPs targeted by it to block access to current and future domain names through which infringements of the same rights are committed would be the only one that may have the effect of preventing unauthorised access to the protected subject-matter or, at least, of making it difficult to achieve and of seriously discouraging internet users who are using the services of the addressee of that injunction (Telekabel, para 64).





The court reasoned that, if the intervention of a judge was needed in relation to any further infringement of the same right, no injunction could be issued pro futuro, and this would be contrary to the rationale underlying the availability of injunctions themselves.



guidance on the Enforcement Directive. In particular, it referred to the following: In reaching this conclusion, the court also referred to the EU Commission's. In particular, it referred to the following:

Furthermore, injunctions may in certain cases lose some effectiveness because of changes in the subject matter in respect of which the injunction was ordered. This may be, for example, the case of website blocking injunctions, where a competent judicial authority grants the injunction with reference to certain specific domain names, whilst mirror websites can appear easily under other domain names and thus remain unaffected by the injunction.

D ynamic injunctions are a possible means to address this. These are injunctions which can be issued for instance in cases in which materially the same website becomes available immediately after issuing the injunction with a different IP address or URL and which is drafted in a way that allows to also cover the new IP address or URL without the need for a new judicial procedure to obtain a new injunction.

Safeguards





However, to be compatible with the prohibition of general monitoring obligations, a dynamic injunction must include an obligation of the relevant rightholder to provide the targeted ISPs with a prior, specific notification concerning the new domain names through which infringements are committed.Egyptian forces thwarted on Saturday an attempted attack on a checkpoint in the North Sinai's city of Arish, Xinhua reported citing state-run TV.

"Four militants were killed before detonating explosive belts," an official security source told Xinhua.

The militants opened fire at the soldiers in the security camp, known as checkpoint Kilo 17, at the entrance of Arish City, the source said on condition of anonymity.

A total of 10 explosive devices, four automatic weapons, three bomb belts, as well as a number of hand-made bombs and projectiles were siezed in the process, he added.

Bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip, North Sinai Province has been the center of terrorist attacks, which have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers, as well as civilians, since the military ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests.

Most of the terror operations were carried out by Wilayat Sinai, the Islamic State affiliate in Egypt.

In February, Egypt launched a security operation against terrorists across the country, mainly in Sinai.

The comprehensive "Sinai 2018" anti-terror campaign has so far killed at least 335 militants and 30 soldiers.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned the killing of a peacekeeper in the Central African Republic (CAR), Xinhua reported.

The Burundian soldier with a UN peacekeeping mission was killed Thursday in an attack believed to be by the anti-Balaka militia.

Guterres offered his deepest condolences to the family of the deceased peacekeeper, as well as to the government of Burundi, said Stephane Dujarric, the secretary-general's spokesman, in a statement.

The secretary-general said that intentionally directing attacks against UN peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and that sanctions can be applied against the perpetrators, the statement said.

The UN chief urged the CAR authorities to investigate the attack and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

Guterres reaffirmed his support for the UN peacekeeping mission in the CAR to protect civilians and stabilize the country, the statement said.Russia's state-owned arms supplier Rosoboronexport has signed 15 contracts worth over 20.3 billion rubles (about 300 million U.S. dollars) at the ongoing Army 2018 defense exhibition being held in Kubinka near Moscow, Xinhua reports.

"The contracts included modern land forces' military equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare systems, close combat weapons and many others," Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev said on Friday.

He said "firm orders" were received from Asian and African countries and members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Due to U.S. sanctions on Russia, which have complicated settlements in dollars, Rosoboronexport is consistently moving away from the U.S. dollar to national currencies, he said.

Despite continued anti-Russian propaganda, Rosoboronexport conducted a series of successful negotiations with delegations from a number of European countries at the exhibition, he said.

Army 2018, which started on Aug. 21, will end on Aug. 26.US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that ties with Mexico are improving and even dropped a hint about a possible trade agreement between the neighboring countries, Sputnik reported.

"Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Canada, Mexico and the United States have been engaged in talks at Trumps initiative over the modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for exactly a year.

Earlier in August, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo expressed doubts that talks on the trade agreement would be finished in August, as had been previously planned.

NAFTA took effect 24 years ago. Politicians from all the three sides have repeatedly called for the agreement to be modernized, as e-commerce and digital services have largely re-shaped the trade patterns that were in place at the time the deal was signed.By Anna Watanabe, KYODO NEWS - Aug 25, 2018 - 15:19 | World, All

After almost a week of unprecedented leadership chaos in Canberra, Treasurer Scott Morrison emerged on Friday as Australia's 30th prime minister.

Morrison, 50, won an open three-way challenge for the leadership of the conservative Liberal Party against former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop after Malcolm Turnbull lost the support of his party and resigned from the prime ministership.

The final vote saw Morrison beat Dutton 45 votes to 40 after Bishop was knocked out in the first round of voting.

(Getty/Kyodo)

Morrison is the seventh lawmaker in the last 11 years to take on the top job after a series of leadership challenges plunged the nation's premiership into state of volatility rarely seen in the developed world.

Speaking for the first time as Liberal leader, Morrison, flanked by his new deputy Josh Frydenberg, assured the Australian people that he was working for them.

"There has been a lot of talk this week about whose side people are on in this building. And what Josh and I are here to tell you, as the new generation of Liberal leadership, is that we are on your side," he said.

In a political party that has been deeply divided by left and right factions, Morrison, affectionately known as "Sco-Mo" by his colleagues, is seen as a safe, centrist option who is economically liberal but socially conservative.

Morrison is a conservative Christian who, like fellow leadership contender Dutton, made a name for himself as an immigration minister with a tough stance on asylum seeker policies.

Under former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Morrison popularized the expression "stop the boats," referring to asylum seeker vessels which historically tried to make land in northern Australian territories.

The expression has since come to dominate much of the political rhetoric around Australia's immigration and border protection policies.

While serving as shadow immigration minister in 2011, Morrison was criticized for being insensitive to the plight of 48 asylum seekers who died when their boat sank while attempting to travel to Australia by boat.

In an interview with a local radio station, Morrison questioned why the then Labor government paid for 22 surviving family members to travel to Sydney where funeral services were being held.

"When it comes to the question of do I think this is a reasonable cost, then my honest answer is 'No, I don't think it is reasonable,'" Morrison said then.

The following day, he apologized, admitting his comments were "insensitive and inappropriate," however not before senior Liberal colleagues called for more compassion.

Due to the controversial nature of the portfolio, Morrison, like Dutton, was very unpopular among the Australian public. However, time and a more palatable Cabinet position have helped soften his image.

Morrison was also a strong detractor of legalizing same-sex marriage in Australia and was one of only 14 lawmakers who abstained from the final, historic vote.

However, despite his conservative leanings, Morrison has shared a close relationship with Turnbull, a moderate who promoted him to treasurer after Turnbull toppled Abbott in a similar leadership challenge in September 2015.

While Morrison voted for Abbott in the 2015 coup, he is believed to have been instrumental in Turnbull's win by agreeing not to stand as Abbott's deputy.

Morrison remained loyal to Turnbull during the early stages of this week's leadership coup, until it became clear that the former prime minister no longer enjoyed the support of the majority of his party.

Given the suddenness of Morrison's ascent to the top job, little is known about how he intends to lead the country. However, his approach to the economy and foreign policy is expected to be similar to his predecessor.

In his press conference on Friday, Morrison identified the ongoing drought in Australia as his top priority, followed by a strong economy.

He also singled out healthcare as an area of interest, saying he was "distressed by the challenge of chronic illness in this country."

Morrison was first elected to the beachside seat of Cook in the southeast of Sydney in 2007.

The area, which is known for is tranquil suburban lifestyle, churches and lack of ethnic diversity, includes the suburb of Cronulla, made infamous around the world for the 2005 Cronulla race riots, which saw attacks directed towards people of Middle Eastern appearance.

Cronulla is also home to Morrison's favorite National Rugby League football team, the Sharks, and he is regularly spotted wearing team beanies and scarfs during cold Canberra winters.

Before moving into politics, Morrison had a successful career in the tourism industry, and was managing director of Tourism Australia when the company launched its infamous "Where the bloody hell are you?" campaign.

The campaign was banned from Britain because of advertising regulations which prohibited the world "bloody."

Despite the backlash, the campaign remains one of the most well-remembered tourism slogans in recent memory.

A devout Christian, Morrison met his wife Jenny at their local church when they were both 12 years old. They were married at 21 and have two daughters.

The family are still regular church attendees, but Morrison has previously said that his "faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda."

Morrison was exposed to politics from an early age when his police commander father, John, served as mayor of their local council in the mid-1980s.

Although the Liberal Party may have elected Morrison as a "safe" option, he took over the leadership by a slim margin of just five votes.

With the country headed to a general election in the coming months, it remains to be seen whether Sco-Mo has what it takes to lead the Liberals to victory.Monday's figures of new cases were lesser, compared to the previous days, since, generally on Sundays, the number of samples sent for testing is also less.New Delhi [India], Aug 25 (NT): External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj will pay an official visit to the South-East Asian countries of Vietnam and Cambodia from August 27 to August 30.

In Vietnam where she will be staying from August 27 to 28, will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission in Vietnam along with her counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. She will also visit Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated.

On August 27, Swaraj will inaugurate the third edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.

In Cambodia she will be visiting August 29 to 30. Here the EAM will have bilateral talks with Senior Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Prak Sokhonn. Swaraj will meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and President of Senate Say Chhum. It will be Swaraj's first official visit to Cambodia.

"The visit of EAM to Vietnam and Cambodia will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and advance our strategic engagement with these countries and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region," the MEA statement added.

Earlier this month, Sushama Swaraj embarked on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and held bilateral engagements in these nations. (NT)In a bid to show its promise towards the pre-poll swear of curbing economic conditions and reducing public expenditure, Pakistan's newly-elected PM Imran Khan led cabinet on Friday banned first-class air travel for the nation's top officials, including the President and head of the government.

As per the reports of Dawn the decision to dis-allow first-class air travel was taken during the second meeting of the federal cabinet in a week and one which was headed by Pakistan's newly-elected PM Imran Khan. During the meeting, a resolution was taken that the country's top officials - president, PM, chief justice, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker and chief ministers would no longer have the benefit of flying first-class on international flights. As a replacement for this, they would have to make do with business or club class.

The reason cited for the decision is that flights being operated from Pakistan do not tender the first-class category and foreign airlines charge fares for this category which are almost three-hundred times higher than fares for business or club class.

Imran Khan himself has reportedly taken a decision to make use of business-class tickets when flying out of the country, instead of travelling in his special plane. This plane would, instead, be reserved for his travels within the country.Ban everything

I think we should stop criticising Oli and his courtiers for not being able to do anything good for this country in the past six months. Oli has managed to visit India and China and if all goes as planned we will have trains rolling from Kerung to Kolkata and ships from India. Forget about making billions from our hydropower. Oli is a man with a master plan. He dreams of selling our Himalayan water and we need ships to transport it to other countries.Tata Motors Company's popular subcompact SUV Nexon has now been launched in Sri Lanka. The company will export the Tata Nexon unit to its Chakan plant and it will be sold in SUV as a complete built unit in Sri Lanka.

Talking on this occasion, Mayank Parake, president of Passenger Vehicle Unit, Tata Motors said, "We are feeling very excited by launching Naxon's manual and AMT variants in Sri Lanka. Launching this Car Renz in Sri Lanka, we want to increase our market share not only in the segment but also want to dominate the AMT segment. "

Tata Nexon launched in Sri Lanka is like the Indian Speak version.

Engine:

Tata Nexon has a 1.2-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that generates 108 bhp power and 170 nm peak torque. The car has a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine which generates the 108 bhp power and 260 nm torque. The car's engine is equipped with 6-speed manual and 6-speed HyperDrive AMT system.

FEATURES: If

you talk about FEATURES, then Nexon has a 6.5-inch touchscreen encoding system. Along with this, many features like Android Auto, Text and WhatsApp Read and Reply, Voice Command and Navigation are given in the car. In the car, projector headlamps, LEDs DRLs, 16-inch alloy wheels, dual alert bags, ABDs with EBD, isofix child seat mount.

Price: The

company has put the price of this SUV in Sri Lanka from 1.99 to 4.6 million SLR SLR, which will be in Indian currency from about Rs.8.7 lakhs to Rs.20.1 lakhs. In Sri Lanka this SUV will be sold by Tata Motors' Distributor Diesel & Motors Engineering PLC (DIMO) and is ready to sell this SUV at 15 outlets in Colombo.Leishmania is a microorganism that enters the human body via a sandfly bite. Instead of fleeing the white blood cells deployed by the immune system to destroy it, the parasite allows itself to be swallowed up. In doing so, Leishmania has developed the ideal strategy for continuing its life cycle, threatening the health of over 500 million people at risk of crossing its path in Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Leishmaniasis, the disease caused by the parasite, has been on the radar of scientists for a long time, not only because of efforts to find treatment, but because the parasite makes an ideal model for study. Hence, numerous immune mechanisms have been elucidated by researchers thanks to the disease, including at INRS. However, the quest for affordable and effective treatment continues. INRS professors Albert Descoteaux and Steven LaPlante have developed a new, cost-effective strategy to rapidly identify molecules capable of eliminating Leishmania, a disease which can disfigure, disable, or kill its victims, especially in tropical areas.

A DISEASE AFFECTING NUMEROUS SPECIES

"I have been studying this parasite for 30 years, and there is still a lot we do not understand," says parasitologist Albert Descoteaux, who works to uncover the secrets of Leishmania, a genus encompassing some 20 single-celled species. In addition to its human victims, the parasite also targets some 70 other mammal species, according to the World Health Organization. Leishmania moves from an host to another by hitching a ride with tiny phlebotomine sandflies, which transmit the undesirable parasite when they bite.

According to the most recent estimates, 12 million people are currently affected by one form of leishmaniasis or another. There are three main forms: cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral. "These are diseases that destroy lives--when they do not kill outright," stresses Professor Descoteaux, adding that the pharmaceutical companies have little interest in developing treatments. "There is little commercial interest in neglected tropical diseases like leishmaniasis," he points out. "It is the second-leading parasitic killer in the world, right behind malaria, yet there has been no real headway made on treatments in decades. There is currently no effective vaccine, and the available treatments all have major shortcomings, including serious side effects, high cost, and problems administering them in endemic areas." He pauses before adding, "Unfortunately, as is the case with many other drugs, the parasite is also developing resistance. That is never good news."

Albert Descoteaux, who is based at Centre INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, is one of five INRS professors currently working on leishmaniasis. Their efforts to better understand the fundamental interaction between the parasite and its host account for one-third of all research activity on the disease in Canada, and their work is recognized worldwide.

Professor Steven LaPlante, who has been with INRS since 2015, specializes in drug discovery. With his colleague Albert Descoteaux, he has developed a project to identify new molecules that show promise for treating leishmaniasis. Their innovative approach is raising hopes of finding a more effective tool for developing drugs for leishmaniasis, but also for many other diseases.

THE CHALLENGE OF FINDING THE RIGHT TARGET

Having evolved its tactics and molecular machinery over millions of years, Leishmania has more than one trick up its sleeve. This is why there are so many obstacles to identifying molecules capable of eliminating the disease. For one thing, unicellular protists like Leishmania have more in common with mammal cells than with bacteria and viruses. "Like fungus, yeast, and worms, Leishmania are complex cells with a nucleus, and they have similarities to human cells," notes the professor. "But they have taken a different evolutionary path, so there are lots of differences we need to identify and understand."

Second, delivering a useful molecule to the parasite is a challenge. "Before it can kill Leishmania, the drug has to get past all kinds of barriers," explains LaPlante." It has to penetrate the infected cell without killing it or being too toxic. Then it has to reach and enter the protist to do its thing. Let's just say that there are a lot of molecules to test before we find the right one for the job!"

Testing a lot of molecules is exactly the approach used by most researchers in the drug discovery process, but it takes extensive resources. Unfortunately, in the fight against leishmaniasis, there is little financial incentive for funding this kind of work. Yet given the prevalence of the disease worldwide, there are numerous calls for urgent action to find new treatments.

A PROMISING NEW APPROACH

This is the context in which the two INRS researchers joined forces, drawing on their combined expertise in biology (Albert Descoteaux) and medicinal chemistry (Steven LaPlante). LaPlante has access to a special small-molecule library from which he selected 1,604 molecules that had the best chances of reaching Leishmania in the macrophages and preventing it from completing its life cycle. Compared to the molecule libraries maintained by pharmaceutical companies--which can hold up to two million molecules--his library represents a very modest number but have special properties which makes it easily manageable within the confines of a university research lab.

"We dubbed our approach Fragment-Based Phenotypic Lead Discovery, or FPLD," says Professor LaPlante. "It's a combination of tried and tested methods that hadn't previously been adapted for leishmaniasis. We start by administering very small molecules to cultured cells and then observe the impact on the infection."

In medicinal chemistry, several phases are required to develop a drug with multiple characteristics. The ideal molecule for fighting an infection should be non-toxic to humans, easy to administer, capable of reaching the infectious agent, affordable to produce, and, obviously, effective against the pathogen in question.

As is the case when designing any everyday object, different components of a drug are selected to perform different jobs. The components in question are molecular fragments. The goal of the two INRS professors was to identify which of these could stop Leishmania in its tracks. The idea is that effective fragments can be combined with other components serving various purposes--stability, delivery, absorption, and so on--to improve efficacy and end up with a viable drug.

"We've been very fortunate to be able to rely on our collaborator NMX Research and Solutions Inc. and General Manager Francois Bilodeau who donated all the molecules we needed for our study. It's a huge contribution," notes Professor LaPlante. NMX designed the molecular fragments at the INRS business incubator, where the young startup is based.

A PAINSTAKING JOB

Yann Ayotte, lead author on the study recently published on the project, systematically--and very patiently--observed cultures treated with the fragments under the microscope, counting the number of parasites in the infected cells in order to compare them. The PhD student, who is currently continuing his research in Professor LaPlante's lab, first joined the project as an intern in Albert Descoteaux's lab at the end of his undergraduate degree. The two professors are quick to praise his outstanding dedication to his work.

After numerous experiments, the highly targeted screening of a small number of molecules allowed the team to identify two families of molecules showing high efficacy against Leishmania: indole and indazole derivatives. A dozen molecules have shown good potential, a very high number compared to other screening techniques.

Is there a new drug on the horizon? "For now, we are still at the very beginning of the process," says Professor Descoteaux. "And you can't skip any steps!" adds LaPlante. First, it's essential to understand why the molecules have a leishmanicidal effect, a task that will keep Professor Descoteaux busy for a good while yet. In the mean time, the active molecule can be improved upon and "dressed up" with other appendages in order to fulfil all the criteria of an effective treatment--a job for Professor LaPlante and his team.

A BROADER VISION

For Steven LaPlante, the most successful aspect of the project so far has been to show that a university lab can help identify potential new avenues for treatment. Pharmaceutical research does not cover all diseases or types of intervention, and from this perspective, academia can also play an important role.

The work of the team garnered enough enthusiasm that the journal ChemMedChem, published by ChemPubSoc Europe, a partnership of European chemical societies, rated it as a "Very Important Paper" and put it on the cover of the issue in which it appeared.

What will the study on the modes of action of the molecules identified at INRS reveal? "Research on Leishmania has lifted the veil on several properties of immune system we would not have been able to observe any other way," affirms Professor Descoteaux. "Every time there is a new avenue to explore, we add to our knowledge on the immune system and on the biology of this parasite. Even if a new drug is still a long way away, these molecules will help us hone our understanding of the disease, which will keep us busy for years to come." ?

###Heart scans for patients with chest pains could save thousands of lives in the UK, research suggests.

The life-saving scans helped to spot those with heart disease so they could be given treatments to prevent heart attacks.

Researchers say current guidelines should be updated to incorporate the scans into routine care.

The SCOT-HEART study tracked more than 4000 patients who were referred to a hospital clinic with symptoms of angina - a condition that restricts the blood supply to the heart.

Half of the patients were given a scan called a computed tomography angiogram, or CTA, in addition to standard diagnostic tests.

After receiving the scan, the number of patients suffering a heart attack within five years dropped by 40 per cent, the study found.

The number of patients undergoing additional procedures increased within the first year but had levelled out by the end of the five-year period. This suggests that including the scans in routine care would not lead to a surge in costly tests or additional heart surgery, the researchers say.

Patients who are at risk of a heart attack are frequently diagnosed with a test called an angiogram. This involves inserting tubes into the body and heart to check the flow of blood and identify any obstructions that could pose a heart attack risk.

CTA scans enable doctors to look at the blood vessels from the outside the body, without the need to insert tubes into the heart. The scans are cheaper, quicker and safer than angiograms.

The study had previously found that around a quarter of patients had their diagnoses reclassified after receiving the scan, prompting new treatments in many cases.

This is the first study to look at the impact of the scans on long-term survival rates.

Lead researcher Professor David Newby, of the BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This relatively simple heart scan ensures that patients get the right treatment. This is the first time that CT guided management has been shown to improve patient outcomes with a major reduction in the future risk of heart attacks. This has major implications for how we now investigate and manage patients with suspected heart disease."

###

The research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine and is being presented at the European Society of Cardiology Annual Congress in Munich. The study was funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government and the British Heart Foundation.victorias secret valentines

Getty Images/John Parra

L Brands' Victoria's Secret is breaking its brand image and losing pricing power, according to Jefferies.

Pink is now more promotional than core Victoria's Secret.

Watch L Brands trade in real-time here.

Victoria's Secret owner L Brands is breaking its brand image by selling cheap underwear.

Body By Victoria bras, the company's top bra franchise, is now offering a "buy 2 get 1 free" promotion. Its Pink branch, which targets younger women, is running even deeper promotions and just announced $3 panties for members this past weekend. In the eyes of Jefferies analyst Randal Konik, this is a "scary" development.

"Our panty price tracker for over a decade shows this is the lowest ever price point for panties across VS or PINK," Konik wrote in a note out to clients on Monday. "We believe it shows how desperate the company is to drive consumer traffic and also shows how soft demand for PINK has become."

Pricing power continues to erode as the brand extends more and more promos and yet the consumer still isn't responding. It's a major red flag considering Pink is a $3 billion business and accounted for all of Victoria's Secret's segment growth over the past 5 years, Konik added.

"Victoria's Secret brand is broken and PINK is now breaking," Konik reiterated in Monday's note.

Konik has $23 price target  about 30% below where shares are trading  and remains "underperform" on the retailer.

L Brands is set to announce its second-quarter results on Wednesday, with Wall Street expecting $0.35 a share on revenue of $2.96 billion.

Shares are down 45% this year.

L Brands

Markets Insider

NOW WATCH: Cigna's CEO says that the problem with healthcare in America has nothing to do with employers

See Also:In a move that will likely make it even harder for cryptocurrency aficionados to trade Bitcoin and its ilk in China, the mobile payments titans of the country have barred crypto-related transactions.

WeChat Pay and Ant Financials Alipay are monitoring their platforms for transactions related to cryptocurrencies, with WeChat saying Friday that it would prohibit users from sending funds related to such digital assets on its social media platform. Its a notable move, Chinese citizen have rapidly adopted the technology. Over $12 trillion changed hands via mobile in the first 10 months of 2017 alone in the Middle Kingdom.

At the same time, Ant Financial, backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, revealed in a statement that it has been restricting accounts associated with cryptocurrency transactions on its payments platforms for a while now. Alipay is said to have about 520 million users, while WeChat has about 1 billion monthly active users.

Alipay has always adhered to the principle of not providing services to virtual currency transactions, an Ant Financial spokesperson said in a statement. We will continue to closely monitor over-the-counter trading activities on a daily basis. Once we find any suspicious crypto-related transactions, we will take appropriate measures immediately, including but not limited to: suspension of fund transfer functionality of any Alipay accounts used by companies for crypto-related transactions.

That comes as the Chinese government has continued its crackdown on cryptocurrencies this year. Already, the country has banned domestic exchanges, initial coin offerings, and is now seeking to block foreign exchanges using the countrys Great Firewall, according to state media. But even with those restrictions, investors would still in theory be able to purchase cryptocurrency through over-the-counter methods. Though officials seem wary of that trading loophole.

Earlier this week, Chinese authorities including the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission warned citizens against fundraising scams that claimed to be developing a blockchain project. Officials also shuttered a large number of WeChat groups that discussed newer cryptocurrencies.Investors' concerns over a slowdown in Chinese economy and trade disputes with the United States have been weighing on Chinese tech stocks.

On Aug 23, Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA reported lower-than-expected earnings. This resulted in shares of U.S.-listed Chinese tech companies plummeting on Thursday. Chinese tech companies have been suffering since the beginning of the year, having lost billions of dollars in market value.

Investors concerns over a slowdown in Chinese economy, has been taking a toll on these stocks. Moreover, trade disputes with the United States too have also been weighing on Chinese tech stocks, at a time when China is trying to build up with own tech industries.

U.S.-listed Chinese Tech Stocks Suffer

On Aug 23, Alibaba reported fiscal first-quarter 2019 earnings of 66 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 74 cents per share. The company also said that its profit growth might slow down in the near term owing to investments in new businesses. This saw the U.S. listed shares of Alibaba declining 3.2%.

Alibabas share price plunge had a domino effect, which saw shares of other U.S-listed Chinese tech companies plummeting as well. Shares of Baidu, Inc. BIDU and JD.com, Inc. JD declined 1.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Also, shares of NetEase, Inc. NTSE Vipshop Holdings Limited VIPS plummeted 2.5% and 4.1%, respectively. JD.com has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Chinese tech stocks too had been performing well till the end of 2017. In fact, at one point of time in 2017 Tencent Holdings Limited TCEHY had surpassed Facebook, Inc. FB in market value. However, in the second quarter, Tencent reported a drop in profit for the first time in more than a decade, as it cited difficulties with its video game business. Since January, the company has lost more than $160 billion in market value.

Slowing Economy, Trade War Hit Chinese Tech Stocks

A major reason behind the poor show by Chinese tech companies has been the broader concern of Chinas slowing economy. The Chinese economy witnessed robust growth of 6.9% in 2017. The momentum continued at the beginning of 2018 but economists believe that signs of a slowdown have started showing. The Shanghai Composite Index has declined 17.1% from its January peak.

Story continues

Moreover, tech companies have been playing an important role in the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China. In February, President Donald Trump accused China of unfair trade practices to acquire foreign technology and intellectual property theft. Since then, a round of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs has been announced by both countries.

On Aug 23, the United States implemented another round of tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese goods. Moreover, the Trump administrations increasing scrutiny on direct investments in the U.S. tech sector by Chinese companies has built up further pressure on the latter, leading to huge selloffs. Year to date, shares of JD.com, Tencent, Alibaba and BIDU have plummeted 27.5%, 17.7%, 6.2% and 9.5%, respectively.

U.S. Tech Companies in Safer Space

After a robust 2017, U.S. tech companies had started 2018 on a high note. However, trade war fears have been taking a toll on U.S. tech companies too. Although shares of U.S. tech giants like Facebook and Netflix, Inc. NFLX have taken a beating in recent times, tech stocks have been driving markets this year too.

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) has gained 13.6% year to date. Shares of tech giants Apple, Inc AAPL, Alphabet, Inc GOOGL, Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Netflix have increased 25.1%, 11.9%, 60% and 76.7%, respectively. Understandably, U.S. tech companies are in a relatively safer space amid this trade war, as China so far has been targeting the United States with tariffs on commodities that include agricultural goods and industrials. Given Chinas current ambition of building up its own tech industry, it is perhaps unlikely to mess with the ruling U.S. tech titans.

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Zacks Investment ResearchSINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's commerce ministry said on Thursday Australia had made a "wrong decision" which would have a "negative impact", after the Australian government banned Chinese firm Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment for its planned 5G mobile network. "The Australian government has made a wrong decision and by doing so, it will have a negative impact on the commercial interests of Chinese and Australian companies," the ministry said on its website www.mofcom.gov.cn. Earlier on Thursday, Australia said it had banned Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] from supplying equipment for its 5G mobile network, citing risks of foreign interference and hacking which Beijing dismissed as an "excuse" to tilt the playing field against a Chinese firm. (Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee in Singapore and Meg Shen in Hong Kong; editing by Andrew Roche)Chitwan Park welcomes second water buffalo calf

Chitwan National Park (CNP) welcomed its second calf in a week when a wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee), also called Asiatic buffalo, delivered on Thursday, park officials said on Friday.(John Lloyd co-founded the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where he is senior research fellow. The opinions expressed here are his own.)

By John Lloyd

Aug 24 (Reuters) - Its not the week to say it, but Donald Trump has a point. It isnt original and what it proposes will be hard to do, yet when he says that getting along with Russia is a good thing, as he did before his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last month, he isnt wrong.

Russia isnt a country whose enmity to the West should be shrugged off. Rather than copy its aggressive attitudes, democratic countries should remain vigilant and tough on its egregious moves on Ukraine and its intimidation of the NATO members in the Baltic states. But they should also try harder to promote cultural links, open debates with Russians of all opinions, promote educational exchanges and give platforms to Russian commentators, intellectuals and politicians.

One of the many downsides of the fateful Hopeless in Helsinki dialogue was that it made Putin, in contrast to his American interlocutor, look good  potent, coherent, in command  something the Russian media stressed with evident relish. It sent the message out to the world that here was a Russian leader, re-elected president for the fourth time, and in power for a six-year term, who is unassailable  in charge of his program, his administration and his country.

But maybe not?

Putins domestic popularity has fallen sharply in recent months. In an August 12 poll by the Public Opinion Foundation, only 46 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Putin if elections were held that week  down from 62 percent in June. Another poll by the independent Levada Center found that the number of Russians who thought the country was headed in the wrong direction rose from 27 percent in May to 40 percent in July; less than half (48 percent) thought things were going right.

Story continues

Those numbers may not be catastrophic by the standards of leaders in democratic countries, but they represent a sharp decline from the days when Putins approval ratings were well over 80 percent. The decline was attributed, mainly, to a government decision to raise the pension age from 55 to 63 for women and 60 to 65 for men breaking Putins 2005 pledge not to do so.

In a country where life expectancy for men is only 66, this generated widespread resentment, especially from the older middle aged who have been largely faithful to him as leader. That this demographic should rebel  even if rather passively  is a sign that Putin has not, by his domestically-lauded moves of taking Crimea and supporting the separatists in Eastern Ukraine, exempted himself from the laws of public disillusionment. Even a controlled democracy like Russias leaves space for loyalists to defect; some polls showed that Putins personal approval rating dropped to 69 percent after plans for the change were announced.

Putin remains firmly in control for now, but these trends show he may no longer be an unassailable figure, and may struggle in this presidential term.

Were a forced resignation to be his fate, as his popularity deserts him and his Kremlin colleagues turn on him, then foreigners, especially in the West, would expect a massive change. Much commentary has posed Putin as so central to Russian polity that he at times appears to be synonymous with the country he leads: that he is Russia.

There would be a post-Putin change. But it is unlikely to be massive. First, there is no united opposition or government in waiting  not from the unpopular liberal parties and groups, not from the communist and other parties who make up a flaccid opposition, not even from Alexei Navalny, the highest profile, most charismatic and boldest oppositionist, who has made high-level corruption his main theme.

The West has been widely unpopular among Russians for some years. Putin did not create that sentiment, but he has stoked a perception of the West as dismissive of Russian values in its pushing NATO closer to the countrys borders and its promoting of sexual tolerance while Moscow uses homophobia as a political tool. The nationalist extremes in Russia attract many, especially the young, but even middle of the road Russians see their country as a unique civilization, not part of Europe.

Putin came to power with a conviction that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the 20th centurys greatest geopolitical catastrophe, a belief he repeated before his last election. He has labored to bring Russia back to a position of strength in the world  a formidable task, given its economic and demographic weaknesses. That he has succeeded as well as he has means that the space for a radically different approach is narrow. A future successor may seek to decompress the hostility to the West, but it will be slow, limited and will be careful to retain a sense of Russias unique culture and position in the world.

Putin may falter before his term ends in 2024, or he may finish his presidency amid plaudits at home and even some abroad. In either case, Putinism  in the form of a country largely hostile to the West  will prevail as any successor seeks to preserve Putins success in making Russia at least appear to be great again.

The worlds democracies cannot have normal relations with a state as aggressive and potentially destabilizing as Russia. They must be convincing in protecting NATO members at risk, continue to sustain a sanctions regime which, in the view of many, appears to be working, and stress their own commitment to democratic and liberal values. At the same time, as former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Michael McFaul writes, American and other Western leaders must say clearly that they do not want endless conflict with Russia. Since Russia without Putin will likely look and act much as it does with him, it will be a long haul. (Reporting by John Lloyd)Emirates Boeing 777-300 ER

Boeing

Emirates launched its first non-stop flight between Dubai and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

The route is targeted at New Jersey's large Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi population.

According to Emirates, traffic flow into and out of the Indian subcontinent account for 1/3 of the airline's entire US business.

Over the past three decades, Emirates built quite a business for itself connecting the world through its home base in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. For its US business, that means customers flying into and out of the Indian subcontinent.

"The US to Indian Subcontinent market is indeed our biggest traffic flow and we concentrate heavily on that," Matthias Schmid, Emirates' senior vice president for North America, told Business Insider in an interview.

According to Schmid, the region accounts for roughly 1/3 of the airline's entire US business.

Hence the Emirates' decision this June to shift one of its four daily flights operating out of JFK International Airport in New York across the Hudson River to Newark, New Jersey.

Emirates Flight EK224 departs Newark Liberty International Airport every morning at 11:50 am.

From Dubai, passengers can connect to the 15 cities in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh served by Emirates.

The new daily non-stop flight between Newark Liberty International Airport and Dubai joins the airline's existing service to the Northern New Jersey airport which includes a stopover in Athens, Greece.

Unfortunately, even with the presence of its partner JetBlue, Emirates' Newark passengers will have limited opportunities to connect to other destinations in the US, Schmid said. As a result, the flight's success or failure will have to depend on the local market.

Fortunately, New Jersey doesn't have a shortage of people that need to fly into and out of India and its neighboring countries. According to the 2010 census, New Jersey's Indian population grew 72.7% between 2000 and 2010. As a result, 40% of all New Jersey's entire Asian population come from India. The state also boasts large populations from Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Story continues

Emirates is well aware of this.

"The region around Edison, New Jersey has the highest concentration of individuals originating from the Indian subcontinent in the US," Schmid said.

Emirates also believes its rivals have grossly underserved the market.

"You have two carriers that operate directly into India, but that's really pretty much it," Schmid said. As a result, Emirates expects to be able to cultivate new business from its New Jersey flights without cannibalizing the company's existing JFK traffic.

However, it should be noted that the other two airlines, United and Air India, fly non-stop from Newark to cities in India while Emirates requires a stopover in Dubai.

Since Newark Liberty does not have the capability to handle the Airbus A380 Superjumbo, the new flight is operated using Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

NOW WATCH: Stock trading is a 'monotheistic religion'  a JPMorgan chief strategist reveals the one thing that will keep the market soaring

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SEE ALSO: I flew Virgin Atlantic from London to New York to see if Richard Branson's airline is still one of the world's best  here's the verdict

FOLLOW US: On Facebook for more car and transportation content!By Florence Tan and Meng Meng SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Unipec will resume purchases of U.S. crude oil in October after a two-month halt due to the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The decision to start buying crude oil again from the United States comes after Beijing earlier in August excluded it from its import tariff list. A source with knowledge of the matter said Unipec will "buy some U.S. crude, loading in October, following the change in Beijing's policy." "Unipec's imports shrunk when China retaliated by putting crude oil on the tariff list but now it is coming back to normal business with import volumes recovering," a second source said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss commercial deals with media. Unipec did not respond to a request for comment. For a graphic on U.S. crude oil exports to China, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2P4zVOn Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's biggest refiner Sinopec <600028.SS> and also one of the largest buyers of U.S. oil, stopped loading American crude in August and September after Beijing announced in June that it plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on crude oil imports from the United States. Following lobbying by Sinopec, crude was dropped from China's final tariff list earlier in August, allowing Unipec to resume importing U.S. oil, the sources said. It was not clear how much U.S. oil Unipec would buy. U.S oil takes about 1-1/2 months to reach China, which means cargoes loaded in October would arrive in November or December. It also was not clear, however, whether all of the U.S. crude bought by Sinopec would end up in China. A third source said the October cargoes were meant for third-party trading, meaning they may be sold on and end up in other countries. Before the trade dispute broke out, China overtook Canada as the largest importer of U.S. crude in the first five months this year, importing an average of nearly 350,000 barrels per day, data from U.S. Energy Information Administration showed. The resumption of U.S. oil purchases may not last long, however. U.S. and Chinese talks aimed at resolving the trade dispute ended on Thursday with no breakthrough, and both countries instead activated another round of tariffs on $16 billion worth of each other's goods. Many analysts expect U.S. crude to be hit with tariffs eventually should no solution be found. (Reporting by Florence Tan in SINGAPORE and Meng Meng in BEIJING; Additional reporting by Chen Aizhu; Editing by Henning Gloystein and Tom Hogue)This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com.

Mexico's markets strengthened after the elections, but the momentum in the country-specific ETF stalled as economic activity weakened over the second quarter.

The iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (EWW) , the largest exchange traded fund dedicated to Mexican equities, was stuck within range in recent weeks, rising 0.5% over the month. EWW is still up 4.9% year-to-date.

Mexicos national statistics institute revealed gross domestic product slipped a slightly worse-than-expected 0.2% quarter-over-quarter, compared to the preliminary estimates of a 0.1% contraction and a 1% expansion over the first quarter, Bloomberg reports.

Economy is Still Expected to Grow

The economy is still expected to grow faster than in 2017 on rising spending that preceded the July 1 election, but the road ahead may be bumpy. The International Monetary Fund last month cut its forecast for the emerging Latin countrys 2019 growth, pointing to trade tensions, uncertainty over the North American Free Trade Agreement and the new president's agenda.

Specifically, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador fanned concerns after stating he would hold a public referendum on whether to cancel construction of a $13 billion international airport for Mexico City, arguing that cost and corruption surrounding the project may not be worth the trouble.

Related: Mexico ETF Stands Out Among Emerging Markets

The president-elect also said he will review oil contracts already awarded for signs of corruption. He also named an industry neophyte to head state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos, the country's largest company.

Furthermore, government costs could rise as the new president promised expanding public spending to a tune of 75 billion pesos, or $4 billion, through cost cutting and increased government efficiency. Some observers are concerned about the president's ability to pay for it all without raising debt or increasing taxes.

Analysts project the Mexican economy will expand 2.2% this year and 2.1% in 2019. Non-seasonally adjusted GDP expanded 2.6% year-over-year as of the end of the second quarter.

Story continues

For more information on the Mexican markets, visit our Mexico category.

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READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM >Deep-space exploration will be taken to new heights very soon.

The first step begins with building a spaceship that NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine describes an enormous rocket thats larger than the Statue of Liberty.

We are starting by building whats called the Space Launch System, he told FOX Business Stuart Varney on Thursday. Which is the largest rocket thats ever been built in human kind, he added.

Vice President Mike Pence will join Bridenstine on Thursday at the Johnson Space Center to lay out an agenda for returning to the moon.

Bridenstine said the rocket would be used to build a space station around the moon and that it would serve as a gateway to ferry astronauts to Mars.

The first step, though, of course is to prove the capabilities and the technologies at the moon, retire the risk and then we move on to Mars from there, he said.

Related ArticlesMichael Peck

Security, Europe

Russian arms maker Rostec claims to have developed the first underwater drone to be armed with an assault rifle.

Russia Is Arming Underwater Robots With Assault Rifles

Submarines are armed with all sorts of deadly weapons, from torpedoes and mines to nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.

But an AK-47?

Russian arms maker Rostec claims to have developed the first underwater drone to be armed with an assault rifle.

It has undergone sea trials... Full-fledged trials will begin closer to the start of winter, Rostec told Sputnik News. It is a unique project since no one has so far fitted [an underwater drone] with small arms. Moreover, very few [countries] in the world have underwater automatic small arms.

The main purpose of the drone, which is designed and developed by Rostec subsidiaries, is to protect port facilities, bridges, naval bases and ships from enemy combat divers and underwater drones, Sputnik News said. The drone was displayed at the Army 2018 defense trade show in Moscow this week.

Rostec did not specify what model of assault rifle is mounted on the drone. However, in the 1970s, Russia developed the APS underwater rifle, based on the AK-74 assault rifle but with a smoothbore rather than a rifled barrel. The APS fired darts, which had a more stable trajectory underwater than bullets.

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, or UUVs, are becoming a regular part of naval warfare. The U.S. Navy is developing them for several missions, notably minesweeping, reconnaissance and surveillance, and anti-submarine detection. DARPAs Mobile Offboard Clandestine Communications and Approach (MOCCA) program aims to pair a conventional Navy submarine with an underwater drone equipped with active sonar. Rather than the submarine disclosing its location by emitting sonar waves when it searches for enemy subs, it can deploy the UUV at a safe distance to do the searchingand light itself up as a target.

But armed robots are a different matter. The U.S. military vigorously emphasizes that when drones employ weapons, there is always a human in the loop to make the decision to pull the trigger.

Story continues

The Rostec announcement of the rifle-armed UUV is short on details. How will the drone be controlled? By a surface ship, shore installation or a Russian combat diver in the water? Must humans give authorization to fire, or will the machine be capable of employing weapons autonomously?

Recommended: Imagine a U.S. Air Force That Never Built the B-52 Bomber

Recommended: Russia's Next Big Military Sale - To Mexico?

Recommended: Would China Really Invade Taiwan?

Nonetheless, the concept of an armed robotic sentinel is so logical as to be inevitable. One task at which robots excel is dull, routine work, such as patrolling a port to stop enemy divers from conducting reconnaissance or sabotaging ships. Already, machines are being used on land to patrol borders. Israel guards its border with Gaza with autonomous pickup trucks equipped with a 360-degree camera. South Korea has stationed SGR-A1 robots along the Demilitarized Zone with North Koreathe immobile robots are each armed with a machine gun that can fire automatically, though South Korea says that humans must give the order to fire.

Michael Peck is a contributing writer for the National Interest. He can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Read full article* Trump tweets about S.Africa "farm seizures"

* S.Africa says Trump "misinformed"

* US diplomat summoned by South African ministry

* President Ramaphosa has announced new land reforms

* Land is highly-contested issue in South Africa

* S.Africa very unequal 24 years after end of apartheid

By Lesley Wroughton and Tiisetso Motsoeneng

WASHINGTON/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The United States warned South Africa on Thursday that seizing land without compensation risked sending the country down the wrong path, deepening a spat over Pretoria's efforts to fix a glaring racial disparity almost 25 years after the end of apartheid.

South Africa accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday of stoking racial divisions in a late-night tweet in which he said he had asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to study South African "land and farm seizures" and the "killing of farmers".

Washington's charge d'affaires in South Africa, Jessye Lapenn, was summoned by the ministry of foreign affairs over the tweet, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Trump's comments inflamed an already heated debate over land ownership in South Africa, a country that remains deeply racially divided and unequal nearly a quarter of a century after Nelson Mandela swept to power at the end of the apartheid era.

Trump's tweet appeared to be a response to a Fox News report on Wednesday that focused on South Africa's land issue and murders of white farmers.

The expropriation of land without compensation, our position is that would risk sending South Africa down the wrong path, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Thursday.

"We continue to encourage a peaceful and transparent public debate about what we consider to be a very important issue in South Africa."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Aug. 1 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation, as whites still own most of South Africa's territory.

Story continues

Writing in the London-based Financial Times on Thursday, Ramaphosa said: "This is no land grab. Nor is it an assault on the private ownership of property."

He has said any measures would not hit economic growth or food security. No land has been "seized" since the reform plans were announced, the ANC said.

His spokeswoman said Trump was "misinformed" and the foreign ministry would seek clarification from the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria.

"South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past," a tweet from South Africa's official government account said.

At public hearings, suggestions for expropriation included unused land, derelict buildings, circumstances where occupiers have strong historical rights, informal settlements and abandoned inner-city buildings, Ramaphosa wrote on Thursday.

And he said that the country would not make the same mistakes that other countries have made, alluding to the violent land seizures seen in neighbouring Zimbabwe.

All of us would be concerned if they went the direction that Zimbabwe did. Right now its just a proposal in parliament, U.S. Republican Senator Jeff Flake, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Africa subcommittee, said. The State Department's Nauert pointed out that Zimbabwe's government had squashed civil society, shut down the media and destroyed an independent judiciary. "We have not seen that happen in South Africa," she said.

South Africa's far-left opposition firebrand, Julius Malema, who has led calls for the seizure of white-owned land, told Trump to stay out of the debate. "You have caused enough problems in Africa," he told journalists.

Senator Cory Booker, the top Democrat on the Africa subcommittee, said Trumps tweet showed a painful ignorance.

The ANC has long had a strained relationship with the U.S. Republican administration, mainly over U.S. support for Israel.

AfriForum, which mostly champions white people's rights in South Africa, welcomed Trump's announcement.

"Everyone in South Africa should therefore hope that the pressure from the USA will lead to the ANC reconsidering the disastrous route that they want to take SA on," AfriForum's CEO, Kallie Kriel, said.

He added that Trump's comment came just three months after the organisation sent a delegation to the United States to brief Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson, and the Cato Institute think tank, on the situation in South Africa.

VIOLENT CRIME

Violent crime is a serious problem across South Africa and 47 farmers were killed in 2017-18, according to statistics from AgriSA, an association of agricultural associations. However the same figures show that farm murders are at a 20-year low.

Since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC has followed a "willing-seller, willing-buyer" model under which the government buys white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks.

Progress has been slow and most South Africans believe something has to be done to accelerate change, providing it does not hurt the economy or stoke unrest.

"Reforming the land distribution and ownership will be good for South Africa," said independent political analyst Nic Borain.

"That there will be instability and worries about property rights is inevitable, but we don't expect that the government will act in a way that radically destabilises investor security."

Trump's tweet came days after it was announced that his wife, Melania, would travel to Africa in October for her first major solo international trip as first lady.

In January, South Africa protested to the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria about reported remarks by Trump that some immigrants from Africa and Haiti came from "shithole" countries.

This is a guy that calls those countries s-hole countries," Booker said. "Hes shown a level of not just ignorance, but meanness, bigoted ideas."

(Editing by James Macharia, Andrew Heavens and Susan Thomas)Steve Daines bitcoin mining

The junior United States Senator from Montana, Steve Daines, has warned that the planned closure of a coal power generator could harm the booming bitcoin mining business in the state. According to KULR-TV, all the four units of the Colstrip coal plant located in Rosebud County are expected to shut down by 2027.

In Senator Daines view, reliable low-cost energy is necessary for Montana to retain and continue attracting new bitcoin mining companies.

As the demand for Bitcoin miners increases and supply of cheap, reliable electricity from coal generation decreases, this could pose a threat of the expansion of Bitcoin generation and even greater threat to energy supply and prices for Montana as a whole, said Senator Daines during a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meeting.

Low Operating Costs

coal bitcoin mining

Besides the low energy costs, the naturally-cold temperatures have also served to make the state of Montana a favorite with bitcoin mining firms, as such an environment reduces cooling expenses. Notably, some of the biggest bitcoin mining facilities in North America are located in Western Montana. This includes CryptoWatt LLC, which operates a facility located in Butte and has an agreement with the Colstrip coal plant for the supply of 64MW ,making it one of the biggest users of electricity in the state.

There is also the Bonner Bitcoin data center, which until recently was one of the largest in the world, as CCN reported two months ago. Last year, according to the Missoula Economic Partnership, an initiative aimed at promoting business activities in the Western Montana city of Missoula, the Bonner facility was expected to expand from the then 12,000 mining rigs to 55,000.

Project Spokane

Montanas pro-cryptocurrency bona fides are also proven by the fact that its state government is the first in the U.S. to offer a grant to a bitcoin mining operation. Last year in June, the governor of Montana, Steve Bullock, announced that out of the $1,124,030 that had been allocated as economic development grants to assist main street businesses in creating jobs, training employees, and planning for growth, $416,000 would go to a bitcoin miner named Project Spokane.

Story continues

Missoula County received $416,000 of BSTF Job Creation funds to assist Project Spokane, LLC to expand, which will allow the company to create 65 new jobs in Bonner, said a press release from Bullocks office. The BSTF funds will be used for purchase of equipment, machinery, furniture and software and for wage reimbursement. Project Spokane, LLC is a data center that provides blockchain security services for the bitcoin network.

Featured Image from U.S. Department of Agriculture/Flickr



The post U.S. Senator Warns Closing Montana Coal Plant Will Hurt Bitcoin Mining Industry appeared first on CCN.

Chitwan women rally against rape incidents

Women in Chitwan rallied against growing incidents of sexual violence across the country on Friday.Cohen & Steers (CNS) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.

New York & Co. (NWY) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.05 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.02 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.05 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 150%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this women's fashion and accessories retailer would post earnings of $0.04 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.06, delivering a surprise of 50%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

New York & Co.Which belongs to the Zacks Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, posted revenues of $216.37 million for the quarter ended July 2018, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.11%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $224.12 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

New York & Co. Shares have added about 77.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 7%.

What's Next for New York & Co.

While New York & Co. Has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Story continues

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for New York & Co. Was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.03 on $213.49 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.20 on $921.61 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Retail - Apparel and Shoes is currently in the top 31% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



New York & Company, Inc. (NWY) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment ResearchBlazing hot days easing into crisp, cool nights equals an ideal place to grow melons. Thats what farmers in Colorados Rocky Ford area have known since 1886.

As with other fruits grown at high altitude, those weather conditions help lock in the sweet, juicy taste of summer melons. Add to that the high mineral content of the clay soil and the drier conditions that keep the melons from becoming too damp, and you have a recipe for greatness.

The sugar content of Rocky Ford cantaloupes can reach up to 15 percent, compared with other cantaloupes that have 10 percent or less, and the areas specialty melons register even higher sugar content. Its no wonder Rocky Ford melons became famous as the best of the best.

And while cantaloupes are the crown prince of the melon royalty, watermelons and honeydew also do very well in this region. So how did this dry, desolate area become the melon mecca?

Greg Smith, one of the few with a family-owned melon farm in Rocky Ford, has the answer on the History page of the Smith Farms website. It all started with George Washington Swink, who came to the area in 1870 as a pioneer and built a trading post along the Arkansas River. There he grew his first melons with irrigation water from the river.

With the arrival of the railroad, Swink moved his farm west to Rocky Ford and grew muskmelons, which are bigger than cantaloupes and watermelons. By 1881, he was growing nearly 300 tons of watermelon a year. The big breakthrough for cantaloupes came in 1886 with the introduction of the Netted Gem Cantaloupe, the variety that would put Rocky Ford on the culinary map.

In 1895, the first growers association was formed, and it sent a shipment of Rocky Ford cantaloupe to St. Louis as an experiment, which was a huge success. The following year, several more train cars were sent, and St. Louis became renowned for having Rocky Ford cantaloupe. New York began getting shipments of the melons after that, with fancy restaurants featuring the cantaloupe on their menus.

Fast forward to present day, and youll find a small band of family-owned farms producing the prized melons.

Theres about six to eight farmers here in Rocky Ford, said Michael Hirakata, a fourth-generation melon grower and owner of Hirakata Farms. Weve got a good crop. We had a few bumps in the road with a drought early this year and a couple of heavy rains later that slowed us down. But we havent had any hail damage. The flavor of the melons is really good, really sweet.

Because of the drought, Rocky Ford farmers focused on growing watermelons and cantaloupes and less on specialty melons this year.

In addition to red melons, we grew yellow meat watermelons and the small personal size, seedless watermelons, he said. Well be shipping watermelons and cantaloupes for the next two to three weeks.

Lucky for all of us in Colorado. We get the first of the vine-ripened melons to savor as a sweet ending to summer.

Contact the writer: 636-0271.

contact the writer: 636-0271.Former Maoist child soldier barred from leaving country

A former Maoist child soldier who has long been campaigning for justice for thousands of minor guerilla fighters during the decade-long insurgency was stopped from travelling to Thailand on Friday, the latest example of the length the KP Oli administration will go to tighten its grip on individual freedom.What's that buzz? Is it the hum of the Millennium Falcon, warming up in "Solo: A Star Wars Story"? Or could it be the insistent, thrumming soundtrack of "Sicario: Day of the Soldado"? Or maybe the beating wings of Evangeline Lilly as the Wasp in "Ant-Man and the Wasp"? No. It's the sound of movie fans in passionate conversation about this summer's lineup of big-screen entertainment. From the season's blockbusters to the buzziest festival favorites just over the horizon, there's a movie for everyone to talk about this year. Here's our guide (opening dates and ratings are subject to change).Burt Hubbard is a wide-eyed, gray-bearded data lord.

He was a top-10 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize at the Rocky Mountain News and is enshrined in the Scripps Howard Journalism Hall of Fame. His numerous awards include Reporter of the Year in Colorado.

For the past dozen years, he has taught computer-assisted reporting and internet research at the University of Colorado School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He has led data journalism symposiums throughout Colorado, and he is The Gazettes resident Jedi in analyzing vast data sets and spreadsheets, ferreting out their inner secrets.

To Hubbard, reporting a story without good data is like driving with your eyes closed.

Yet, according to Hubbard, that is exactly what Colorado is doing when it comes to its experiment with legalized marijuana: driving with its eyes closed. Now that 29 other states have followed Colorados lead, that means theres a lot of blind leading the blind when it comes to understanding the legalization of marijuana and its ultimate impact.

The Gazette has been trying all year to report on the impact of marijuana on Colorado five years after it was legalized. Time and again, our reporters have been frustrated by an infuriating lack of reliable data measuring that impact, despite state laws that require it.

The recent report released by the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice titled Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol is an aggravating case in point.

The data lord took a really close look at the report.

The report by the state was done as a result of legislation so lawmakers could get a sense of how much marijuana use was associated with DUIs and dangerous driving. But it sounds like the data is not there to really document the presence of cannabis, he concluded.

There is accurate and plentiful data when it comes to alcohols effect on driving, but hardly any data on marijuanas, and what is there is inconsistent and unreliable, Hubbard reports.

The first line of the reports executive summary painfully illustrates this point: Very little is known about drug-involved driving when alcohol is not involved.

(A reminder  that is the first line of a report mandated by law to tell us exactly what the impact of drug-involved driving is. And weve had five years to study it, 18 if you count medical marijuana.)

So why dont we have good information on driving while under the influence of marijuana yet? Authorities arent collecting it.

I looked at the report and my initial reaction is that the numbers are not apples to apples and the criminal justice system has included a lot of caveats, Hubbard said. First, for all DUI cases, it says that police generally dont even order a test for cannabis if the driver already has high alcohol levels. The cannabis test is much more expensive. It also says there is no guarantee that if a test showed no cannabis that that wasnt recorded by authorities (but the division does not know for sure.)

I am not sure what to make of the numbers.

The report puts it this way: Alcohol is faster, easier and cheaper to screen for compared to other drugs thanks to preliminary roadside breath screenings. Once alcohol is detected, law enforcement generally has enough evidence to reliably achieve a conviction. Therefore, agencies do not consistently spend the additional money and time requesting toxicology blood testing for substances beyond alcohol.

So one reason we dont have good data is because its just too expensive. Id hate to explain that to someone who was killed by a drugged driver.

Contradicting headlines

Recent stories about the DUI report concluded contradictory things because the data in the report did, too.

The Denver Post reported that about 73 percent of some 4,000 drivers charged with driving under the influence in 2016 tested positive for marijuana, according to the new report.

However, notes Hubbard, the report found that only about 4,000 DUI defendants were tested for marijuana out of 27,000 DUI cases in 2016. One reason cited was the higher cost of tests for marijuana vs. alcohol, especially if the driver had already violated the .08 standard. The report also found that far more officers have been trained to look for signs of drinking and driving than for signs of marijuana use and driving.

So we have no idea if the other 23,244 people stopped for DUI used marijuana or other drugs. That makes that 73 percent number worthless.

Other media, including The Gazette, led with this factoid that came straight from the reports summary: More than 91 percent of suspects who had a toxicology screen done had alcohol in their systems, while only 6.2 percent had marijuana.

But of course, many of those toxicology tests didnt check for marijuana or drugs, and theres no way to find marijuana if you dont check for it.

There are many reasons why we have such poor data, according to the report:

 First, there is no criminal charge for driving impaired by marijuana. The current law applies to driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of the two. Everything is smooshed together in one vague category, which makes precise data, not to mention enforcement, that much harder.

 Second, there is no central repository of toxicology test results that would allow for an analysis of trends, according to the report.

 The technology for detecting marijuana at the roadside does exist but has not yet been accepted in the courts as evidence of impairment.

 Law enforcement officers may choose not to pursue additional toxicology testing if the drivers blood alcohol content is at or above the legal limit. Once the burden of proof is met, theres no motivation to do further toxicology testing.

 Testing for marijuana takes longer, because the officer has to transport the suspect to a location where blood can be drawn, usually a jail or a police station.

 Toxicology results are difficult to interpret due to the variation in procedures followed at multiple labs.

Beyond the challenges of testing, there are huge research challenges in trying to assess the impact of pot on driving, in part because it is still an illegal drug according to federal law and access to the drug is restricted and the requirements for researchers are strict and time-consuming.

Since 1968, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has contracted with the University of Mississippi as the single grower for all U.S. marijuana research. Generally, this Mississippi marijuana is of a much lower potency than that in the recreational market, especially in Colorado, which has the most potent marijuana in the country. That discrepancy makes it difficult to generalize the study findings.

There are also multiple methods of consumption that make research difficult. Cannabis can be smoked, vaped, dabbed, inhaled, ingested and even puffed through an inhaler. The onset of a high from edible cannabis can take from 45 minutes to two hours, while the onset of smoked or vaped cannabis happens within the first 10 minutes.

There is a wealth of information available on alcohol-impaired driving while there is a dearth of research on the problem of drug-impaired driving, the report concludes. As the national landscape of marijuana legalization continues to expand, it is critical to gain a better understanding of driving impairment associated with drugs, especially cannabis.

Other black holes of data

The states failure to collect data on this grand social experiment isnt limited to DUIs and traffic.

Reporting on the sharp rise of arrests for selling black market pot in Colorado, we discovered that no one is keeping statistics on the size of the black market statewide. The government of Colorado doesnt accurately know if legal marijuana has reduced or increased the illegal trade in pot here.

What about crime and pot? Since 2013, Denver has seen its crime rise as the national average has fallen. In 2016, the crime rate was up 4 percent, with violent crime rising 9 percent, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. We know that half of marijuana cultivation arrests are in the Denver area and that drug investigators consider the metro area a hub in investigating thousands of home grows. The former Denver district attorney, Mitch Morrisey, at one point said, The Denver Police Department is busier enforcing marijuana laws and investigating crimes directly related to marijuana, including murders, robberies, and home invasions, than at any other time in the history of the city.

But Denver police say the data is inconclusive linking pot to that crime spike and have refused to release data to The Gazette about pot-related homicides or police time devoted to marijuana-related crimes. Denver police have even refused to share such information with other metro-area drug investigators, who are so frustrated by their lack of cooperation they have turned to the Colorado Open Records Act to help them get data.

Why is it so hard to get good data on marijuana-related crimes? Because no legal statute identifies them.

What about homelessness and pot? The states rate of homelessness rose 5.3 percent from 2013 to 2017, while the national rate dropped 8.6 percent in the same period, according to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Is the Colorado increase linked to marijuana?

Were trying to get data on it. Thats a difficult one to measure, Gov. John Hickenlooper told CNN. More data is the only way were going to figure this out, he said.

And the state does not even have a database accessible to the public that documents who owns the states various pot businesses and licenses. They have a database of pot companies, and a database of people who have licenses, but not one that tells the public which companies are owned by which people.

The problem with all this, the problem with driving with your eyes closed, concludes Hubbard: We, as a state, really dont know where the hell were going.The Senate took two steps Friday to address drinking water tainted with perfluorinated compounds, setting aside cash to reimburse Pikes Peak region utilities for cleanup and scheduling a hearing to investigate the federal governments role in what a committee is calling a chemical crisis.

The money comes from an amendment to the annual defense budget that could repay $9 million to water utilities in Security, Widefield and Fountain for work in 2016 targeting dangerous levels of perfluorinated compounds in the Widefield aquifer.

The contamination has been tied to use of a toxic firefighting foam at Peterson Air Force Base, but the military has refused to repay utilities for their spending to filter water and buy supplies from other sources. The military has said that without congressional action to the contrary, it can only pay for work that was preapproved by the Pentagon.

U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner of Colorado successfully pushed a measure that will cover the expenses. It now faces scrutiny in the House.

The problems in Colorado and at 126 other sites tied to military use of perfluorinated compounds will be discussed Sept. 26 at a hearing before the Senates Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., asked for the probe into health impacts of the chemical, with has been linked to ailments ranging from high cholesterol to cancer.

More than a dozen sites in Michigan have been found to have elevated levels of the compounds in drinking water.

I am pleased that this hearing will help shed light on the (perfluorinated chemical) problem, determine the necessary steps to clean up the contamination and get some answers for the Michigan families, service members and veterans, who were exposed to toxic  chemicals, Peters said in a statement.

Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240 Twitter: @xroederxEfforts to rebuild the population of North Americas most endangered mammal are gaining traction right on Denvers doorstep. A crew of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists, other employees and seasonal workers so far have found 16 black-footed ferret kits  babies  during nightly searches this past week at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City.

The crew will go out again this week in the early morning with spotlights to count the nocturnal animals, which prey on prairie dogs and also use burrows dug by prairie dogs. Since captive-bred ferrets were first released at the refuge in 2015, nearly 50 kits have been born in the wild. The total of newborns last year was 30. At least 60 ferrets are roaming on about 3,000 acres of the 15,000-acre wildlife refuge.

We feel like the whole reintroduction at refuge is going better than we expected. We were given the expected percentages of survival and weve exceeded that, said Dave Lucas, project leader at the wildlife refuge.

Its going so well that the Arsenal might ship some of its ferrets to a site in Arizona to get more of the animals out on the landscape, improving chances that the creature once thought extinct makes a comeback. Lucas and the others will venture out again after dark in September to wrangle the wily weasels, give them follow-up vaccinations and possibly get some ready to go to a new home.

The lithe, little ferret was thought to be extinct until a ranch dog named Shep carried a dead ferret to his home near Meeteetse, Wyo., in 1981. Wildlife biologists found a small colony of live ferrets in the area and launched a captive-breeding and restoration program. Hundreds of the animals are living in the wild. Theyve been released at nearly 30 sites in eight states and in Canada and Mexico, according to the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center in Fort Collins.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released the ferrets on public lands and is working with private landowners, including a ranch family in the Pueblo area, to expand the available areas.

While the black-footed ferret captive breeding program has been successful, keeping the animals alive once theyre released has been a much tougher challenge. One of the biggest problems is sylvatic plague, known as the bubonic plague in humans. Prairie dogs, the ferrets main prey, and ferrets are highly susceptible to the disease, carried by infected fleas. An outbreak can ravage prairie dog colonies and then wipe out ferrets.

Biologists are working on vaccines for prairie dogs, including peanut-butter-flavored pellets.FORT DRUM, N.Y.  President Donald Trump on Monday signed a $716 billion defense policy bill named for John McCain but included no mention in House endorses resolution against sexual violence

The House of Representatives has unanimously passed a resolution motion for incorporating issues against rape and gender-based violence in school textbooks after lawmakers agreed to act for curbing criminal cases of rape and murder.A rogue competition that rewarded participating deputies for using force on inmates at the El Paso County jail only spurred a formal investigation after a deputy became convinced that a fellow deputy had slammed a woman face-first on a cell floor just to boost his ranking.

The whistleblower deputy tried more than once to report the so-called fight club sport to his superiors  including to the Detention Bureau chief in 2015. He eventually told one sergeant that he had lost faith in the agencys leadership after months of futile attempts urging supervisors to punish the deputies behavior.

But it wasnt until late April 2016, when a now ex-deputy, 6-foot, roughly 250-pound Ryan Sanders, took down a 5-foot-2, 130-pound woman for ignoring his order to get on her knees that the whistleblowers supervisors finally told him to document his concerns and a formal investigation ensued, according to hundreds of pages of documents provided to The Gazette by the Sheriffs Office.

Dan Montgomery, an Arvada-based police practices expert, praised the Sheriffs Office for completing an Internal Affairs investigation and later commissioning a consulting firm to review its use-of-force protocols.

By not acting immediately, however, supervisors who overheard conversations between participating deputies allowed the flourishing and festering of cowboy subculture, in which deputies feel they have unfettered discretion to do what they please and ignore protocols and policies, Montgomery said.

As a supervisor, or as a watch commander, you got to jump on it, and you got to stop it  like right now, said Montgomery, whose 55-year law enforcement career included serving as police chief in Westminster.

That didnt happen.

By the time action was taken, what the informant called the Mid-night Fight Club  which had spanned four years from 2012 to 2016 and involved deputies on the overnight Intake and Release shift at the jail  had created a civil liability nightmare for Sheriff Bill Elder and would eventually contribute to the largest settlement ever by the county.

Youve got a roomful of witnesses. Youve got a roomful of litigation, Sgt. Robert Bud Perry later told sheriffs staff assigned to the investigation, while describing his warnings to deputies to stop the open bantering about their rankings before nonparticipating colleagues and in front of inmates.

First-hand accounts from those deputies and their supervisors are among the revelations in the nearly 1,000 pages of documents that raise questions about the attempts by supervisors to halt the practice.

The reporting deputy  whose name is redacted from the documents  said talk of the competition had become so common that no one believes it is something to be reported.

The county had sought to keep the cache of court documents secret.

But a judge ruled that the records were public in court proceedings leading up to a $675,000 payout, finalized last month.

Former inmate Philippa McCully sued the Sheriffs Office in U.S. District Court in Denver in 2016, two years after she suffered a torn ACL, broken knee and other injuries after jailers yanked her legs out from under her in an incident that, her attorney has noted, might have even given the deputies involved an advantage in the fight-club competition.

Supervisors were aware of the rankings to some extent and tried, as one sergeant told sheriffs staff assigned to the investigation, to resolve the issue internally by rebuking deputies in back-room conversations and at daily briefings instead of documenting the transgressions and sending them up the chain of command.

Records show supervisors overheard jailers comparing their stats as early as October 2015, when Sgt. Jeanette Reid asked one deputy  who was later revealed as the unsanctioned scorekeeper for the rankings  to admonish two co-workers after they joked about their numbers.

Three months later, after witnessing a similar conversation between two deputies in the inmate booking area, Sgt. Christopher Klug pulled the jailers aside, warning, This is the last time this type of conversation goes undocumented.

The Sheriffs Office acknowledged supervisors lapses in judgment in a statement issued to The Gazette on Aug. 16, saying that the matter should have been routed up the chain of command and addressed immediately.

The Sheriffs Office expects its supervisors, among other things, to accept responsibility in matters of procedure; to hold their personnel responsible for their own conduct and the conduct of their subordinates; and to report any incidents or observations of misconduct, the agency said in the statement.

Unfortunately, there were some supervisory failures in this particular matter and those failures were part of the internal investigation conducted into the inappropriate keeping of statistical comparisons on the use of force.

The Sheriffs Office had been exposed for years to heightened civil liability for what one supervisor had chalked up to stupid boys doing stupid things, according to the documents.

Those interviewed as part of the investigation said repeatedly that the practice resulted in no real harm to inmates.

The so-called fight club, which became a pattern or practice among deputies on the overnight shift, paved the way for whats known as a Monell claim, brought by those alleging violations to their constitutional rights due to deficiencies in an entitys policies or failures to punish violations of those rules, said Baltimore-based police policies expert Jerry Buz Busnuk.

The rankings gave inmates who alleged use of force during the fight club era a stepping stone for a lawsuit, and pinned the motive of bragging rights on any accused jailer, said Busnuk, a retired Baltimore police captain whos spent nearly 30 years working in law enforcement.

Thanks to a two-year statute of limitations, claims of use of force against inmates during the four-year period of the rankings have likely expired, said Darold Killmer, McCullys attorney.

Sheriffs officials have downplayed the investigation, saying the fight club moniker, coined by the whistleblower deputy, made the practice sound worse than it was.

Supervisors have said they werent aware of a competition, only deputies that ribbed one another about their stats, according to documents from the investigation.

Several deputies also denied there was a competition, saying the rankings were lighthearted statistical comparisons made by checking an internal report that shows each sheriffs employee and the number of uses of force incidents in which theyve been involved in a given period.

In the wake of the probe, six Sheriffs Office staff received letters of counseling and four received written reprimands, one of the lowest forms of disciplinary action.

Letters of counseling were issued to at least two supervisors, Lt. Lari Hanenberg and Sgt. Perry, because the deputies had participated in the competition on their watch.

No one was demoted, and no salaries were docked, sheriffs officials confirmed.

Sanders has since left the agency, and Reid has retired, Undersheriff Joe Breister previously told The Gazette. But all others who were investigated for policy violations in association with the fight club remain employed by the Sheriffs Office, although some are now working for different bureaus within the agency.

The Gazette attempted to reach several named employees for comment through a spokeswoman for the agency and through email, but was unsuccessful.

Even those who received written reprimands appeared to have faced just an administrative slap on the wrist and no real consequences, said Gregory Gilbertson, a former Georgia police officer and expert in police misconduct.

Im surprised that this, quite honestly, didnt get the attention of the Justice Department and there wasnt a major inquiry into this, said Gilbertson, whos now a criminal justice professor at Centralia College in Washington.

The supervisory staff had to have known that this was going on. And for them not to be called to the carpet, for them not to be disciplined, it just defies logic and reason.

In late 2014, a deputy sent out an email to three supervisors and about eight other jailers that featured a pair of memes, or pictures with text superimposed, showing a deputy spanking an intoxicated inmate who had mouthed off to her. When you are wondering if the force you used was reasonable and appropriate   the first image reads. Then, the second: And your buddies are wondering, Did she just spank him? 

Early in 2015, Deputy Sean Grady called the deputy featured in the meme, Sandra Rincon, an inspiration to us all and the gold standard in an email sent out to more than a dozen colleagues, including two sergeants and one lieutenant. Grady congratulated Rincon for hitting the big 5-0  a reference to both her birthday and the more than four-dozen instances she had used force on an inmate in 2014.

The whistleblower deputy told sheriffs officials assigned to the internal investigation that one deputy would regularly reference adding to his count, the documents state. Another had once remarked to him that he hoped an inmate would give him the chance to release his pent-up energy.

At a Sheriffs Office awards banquet in 2016, one deputy heard another deputy share their rankings with a television news reporter.

Initially, the deputies in the jails Intake and Release section took notice that their use of force numbers appeared higher than the figures for those who worked floor security at the jail. As Lt. Hanenberg noted in an interview with sheriffs officials assigned to the investigation, the section deals with some of the most volatile inmates because tempers are high when people are first taken into custody  making use of force a natural topic of conversation during day-to-day operations.

But what started as monitoring an internal report documenting use of force later morphed into an unhealthy and unsavory competition that created a culture where it seemed OK for deputies to embrace use of force as a badge of honor and a part of everyday conversation, one investigating sheriffs staff member reported.

The deputies involved have denied that there was a competition, instead characterizing it as somewhat routine statistical comparisons. Sgt. Perry offered a different description in his interview with sheriffs staff assigned to the investigation:

Call it sht-talking, he said.Read investigation findings from a Sheriffs staff member assigned to the investigation.

Read an excerpt from the investigation summary.White supremacist and neo-Nazi propaganda  from flyers to stickers and graffiti  has been spotted across the Pikes Peak region over recent months, mirroring a statewide increase in extremist and anti-Semitic incidents in public spaces, the Anti-Defamation League says.

Stickers advertising a white supremacist group were reported Thursday morning on light poles along North Academy Boulevard between East Woodmen Road and Interstate 25, city officials say.

Colorado Springs Code Enforcement staff removed the stickers and is on the lookout for the same conditions citywide, city spokeswoman Kim Melchor said.

Distributing flyers or posting stickers isnt a crime unless they target an individual or business, but no one is allowed to attach signs to light poles, said police Sgt. Brian Frahm.

And, Frahm said, We dont want to have anything up that can alarm anybody. Were not going to just ignore it. Anytime we get hate stickers or white supremacist groups or any hate group for that matter, were going to look into it and make sure that the proper units are notified and aware of the situation.

Since the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., a year ago, when a counterprotester was fatally rammed by a vehicle, fewer public alt-right events have been reported, said Jeremy Shaver, senior associate director for the ADLs Mountain States region.

The hate community fractured. Some groups disbanded, and other prominent leaders went underground. Many groups shifted their focus to online activity and posting flyers, Shaver said. Many seem to believe the time is right to recruit and get their message out, he said.

Brad Sherman, who has lived in Colorado Springs for nearly a decade, told The Denver Post that he saw a large swastika painted on Briargate Trail while walking his dogs this week.

The trail is my quiet place to relax from my day, Sherman told The Post. To see a swastika in the middle of it is fairly upsetting.

Melchor confirmed the report and said the citys Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services maintenance team quickly removed the derogatory symbols on Aug. 23.

Some of the local propaganda, including stickers and flyers, has been claimed by or advertises two groups, Identity Evropa and Patriot Front. Both are classified as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In response to a request for comment, Identity Evropa spokesman Sam Harrington disputed that classification.

America is being replaced as a result of mass immigration and globalism, Harrington said in a written statement. Identity Evropa is a peaceful activist movement for European Americans seeking to truly restore America.

The SPLC can point to neither a statement nor action from a current representative to justify their claims. Advocacy of supremacy, violence, or illegal activity is not permitted in our movement.

Shane Warren said he saw Patriot Front flyers July 21 while running along the Sand Creek Regional Greenway between Stetson Hills and Dublin boulevards.

He said he saw the first flyer out of the corner of his eye and didnt think much of it until he saw the reference to blood and soil, a Nazi slogan.

Im enough of a history buff that I damn well know what that means, Warren said. I stopped dead and went back and looked at it and pulled it down. And then the further I ran, the more of them I saw.

He said he tore down the flyers and destroyed them because that sh  is horrific. This is a pretty diverse neighborhood, and I have a lot of friends and neighbors, not to mention kids, who dont need to be involved in that sort of thing.

Patriot Front tweeted Tuesday that stickers had been posted in Manitou Springs. One depicts the U.S. next to the words NOT STOLEN  CONQUERED. Another, stuck on a newspaper stand for the Colorado Springs Independent, declares the publication to be fake news.

AMERICA, a third says, REVOLUTION IS TRADITION.

The ADL reports a statewide increase in white supremacist and anti-Semitic propaganda. Through Friday, the organization had tracked 36 such incidents in Colorado this year, including distributions on eight college campuses.

Before 2015, the state had seen a decline in hate crimes, but 2015 and 2016 saw an uptick, Shaver said.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation reports 104 hate crimes statewide in 2016, the most recent data available. In 2015, 107 were reported; 2014 saw 95 reported; 2013 had 129 reports; and in 2012, 167 were reported.

In February, Identity Evropa flyers were found on the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs campus, says the ADLs hate, extremism, anti-Semitism and terrorism map.

A Patriot Front banner was hung near Interstate 25 and Baptist Road in early July, and Identity Evropa stickers were posted in Dorchester Park in June, Shaver said.

The ADL has reported nine incidents  four anti-Semitic and five white supremacist  in Colorado Springs, plus one in Monument, in 2017 and 2018.

In August 2017, a swastika and other anti-Semitic messages  including the words sig (sic) heil for sieg heil, a Nazi greeting  were found spray-painted on Temple Beit Torah, 522 E. Madison St. Nearby cars, homes and buildings also were vandalized.

Im deeply saddened, and yet Im not surprised, Rabbi Steven Kaye said at the time. Those who are insensitive to people who are different recently have become more vocal, he said.An American hero died Saturday. Allies and opponents of Sen. John McCain mourn, without regard to politics.ELKO NEW MARKET, Minn., Aug. 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  Beards, biodiesel and Bandit Big Rig racing thats whats in store for racing enthusiasts Saturday, Aug. 25 at the Elko Speedway.

The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) and the Bandit Big Rig Series have teamed up to present the Bandit Big Rig Series Biodiesel 20. As an added bonus, MSR&PC will have a few of the bearded celebrities from DieselSellerz, stars of Discoverys Diesel Brothers in attendance to showcase their biodiesel build Indomitus, which was highlighted on a pair of episodes, the second of which airs 9 p.m. Aug. 20.

Biodiesel is a tough fuel and were proud to partner with the Bandit Big Rig Series to showcase biodiesel through this signature event, says Jim Willers, an MSR&PC director for District 7. The Big Rig Series is well known for its exciting races and the power of the rigs. We think biodiesel is a perfect complement for the event.

The race in Elko will highlight biodiesel throughout the day with an MSR&PC Fan Series Truck Show, a Bandit Meet & Greet and during the races when the green flag drops.

We still have seats left, including our VIP tickets, which get you first class treatment, food, drinks, reserved seating & a merchandise voucher, and an education seminar presented by Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Councils experts on all things Biodiesel  said Jason Johnson, general manager of Bandit Big Rig. There will be a lot going on, including the truck show, activities for the entire family, and the Bandit meet n greet starting at 5 p.m. You dont want to miss this event!

Tickets for the Bandit race at Elko Speedway are available for purchase online at: www.banditseries.com.

Check out the 2018 Bandit schedule and grab your favorite Bandit gear by going to www.banditseries.com.

About Bandit Big Rig Series

The Bandit Big Rig Series returns big rig tractor truck racing to the short track in the United States. The series was designed to be affordable and accessible for anyone wishing to put together a race team.

For additional information, please contact Jason Johnson at (507) 676-1987, or email jason@banditseries.com.

About the Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council

The Minnesota Soybean Research & Promotion Council (MSR&PC) is the elected board of soybean producers from Minnesota who direct investments of the states checkoff dollars in programs designed to increase profitability to Minnesota soybean farmers.

30

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Doug Monson at doug@mnsoybean.com or 507-995-7534.Initial Contract Worth up to $2 Million Expected to Start in August

Long-Term Potential of Tens of Millions of Dollars Over Several Years

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vivakor, Inc. (VIVK), a technology and asset acquisition company with a focus in the area of natural resources, today announced its successful delivery of its oil remediation unit in Kuwait.

Under its previously announced contract award from February 15, 2018/, Vivakor expects to begin work in September. The initial work covers approximately 15,000 metric tons of contaminated sands and is expected to be completed in six months. This first phase of the contract totals approximately $2 million and represents just a small fraction of the total opportunity of the project in Kuwait.

Vivakor is providing advanced technological oil-separation resources in Kuwait through its engagement with The Energy Resource Institute (TERI). The project is located at the existing TERI contracted site in Kuwait. The materials processed at the site are from the Kuwait Environmental Remediation Program (KERP), a United Nations funded project for cleaning up oil spilled due to the Iraqi invasion in 1991. Vivakor had been selected to process weathered crude material with significant oil content contained therein.

Vivakor has been the only company in the world to demonstrate the ability to clean sludge with the residual Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) targets imposed by the Kuwaiti government for these renowned remediation projects. Requirements for TPH residuals were for less than 0.5%, and Vivakor came in at 0.2%.

The entire KERP project is approximately 26 million cubic meters with billions of dollars allocated by the United Nations for remediation of the defined areas. Given indications that at least 10 million cubic meters of the total 26 million, are in excess of 7% by weight of hydrocarbons, Vivakor believes its technology can process all of the defined such materials in the KERP project.

Garen Kolajian, General Manager of Vivakor Middle East, stated, Our relationship with TERI in the Middle East is a very important focus for the Company. We are proud that our work over the past months and years has validated our proprietary technology and its differentiation and value-add to our partners and customers. We look forward to working with TERI and Kuwaiti officials in solving a serious problem, creating value and restoring land back to its original beauty.

Vivakor Chairman and CEO Matt Nicosia, commented, This is an extraordinary accomplishment for our Company, as our team, technology and processes went through highly complex vetting with TERI and Kuwaiti officials to be an approved vendor. We are eager to begin our work, as we believe this project has the potential to be a several year and tens of million of dollars significant opportunity for Vivakor.

About Vivakor, Inc.

Vivakor, Inc. (VIVK), a technology and asset acquisition company with a focus in the area of natural resources. Vivakors corporate mission is to create, acquire and accumulate distinct assets, intellectual properties, and exceptional technologies that produce solid returns to its valued shareholders and partners. The company currently focuses on bitumen (heavy crude) extraction from shallow, oil-laden areas in Eastern Utah, along with petroleum based remediation projects across the globe. The technologies utilized are low-cost, proprietary and proving themselves industry disruptive when measured by a number of important factors. The general business model has been to be an acquisition hub, focused on building and acquiring cash-flowing assets in discrete areas that have an acknowledged technological advantage and enable a substantial market opportunity within significant target markets across the globe. Our research, and the technology we acquire are anchored by our relationships with synergistic partners and product-specific commercialization strategies. From the point of product or technology conception, or through acquisition, development and commercialization, we expect to have strategic partners, joint ventures or licensing arrangements in place for many of our products in order to sustain revenue attainment.

For more information, please visit our website: http://vivakor.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including economic slowdown affecting companies, our ability to successfully develop products, rapid change in our markets, changes in demand for our future products, legislative, regulatory and competitive developments and general economic conditions. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties discussed in Vivakor's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which factors may be incorporated herein by reference. Forward-looking statements may be identified but not limited by the use of the words "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "believes," "estimates," "potential," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Investors Contact:

Hayden IR

917-658-7878

hart@haydenir.comFREE EVENT - Q&A with current Wharton MBA candidate!

First Year Honors

Goldman Sachs

McKinsey & Company

currently based at Wharton

succeeding in his candidature

Curious about MBA life at Wharton? And perhaps how to get there in the first place?Well, Knowledge4Free is hosting an online live stream with a top MBA candidate at Wharton School, Huy Le!Huy graduated from the National University of Singapore with first class honours, and had been accepted to Wharton School for the MBA program last year (2017). Concurrently, he is also completing a Master's Degree in International Studies. He had receivedat Wharton, and had experience under his belt at major global firms, includingandWant to ask him what is his secret to success? Perhaps you are more intrigued about what life is like exactly at Wharton? What opportunities, what challenges, what experiences may potentially lay ahead if you choose Wharton?Well this is the chance for you to ask everything you'd want to know, and get answers from someone who is, andThe live stream will begin on the 1st of September, 2018, at 8pm Pennsylvania time, on the main Knowledge4Free Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/myknowledge4free/ See you all there!Kanchanpur rape, murder: Curfew continues in Bhimdutta Municipality

The District Administration (DAO) has continued the curfew in Bhimdutta Municipality 4 and 14 of Kanchanpur on Saturday as well.Kathmandu summit will offer new direction to BIMSTEC

The fourth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Kathmandu will make a new departure in its history by bringing some changes in its 21-year-old history, according to Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali.Lone wolves

Its 20,000 years ago, in what is present-day Europe. A group of men are setting off on their annual hunt for the Great Beast, namely a herd of bison, whose meat and hides will sustain the tribe for the remainder of the year. Although hes been at this for a while now, this is a special outing for the chief, Tau (Johannes Haukur Johannesson), because its the first time his young son Keda (Kodi Smit-McPhee) will be hunting by his side.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Melamchi water will be delayed

The deadline for completing the Melamchi Water Supply Project ahead of Dashain in October wont be met as the daily progress of work inside the tunnel continues to fall behind schedule.Next Match: vs. Texas A&M 8/31/2018 | 5:00 PM

Nora ?? Abigail ?? Hayden on match point. pic.twitter.com/oGcxwmGL14  Indiana Volleyball (@IndianaVB) August 25, 2018

Steve Aird

 The Indiana volleyball team finished the UNLV Invitational with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-13) win over Southern Utah on Saturday.Redshirt juniorled the Hoosiers with 13 kills and hit .571 for the match. For the weekend, Beerman averaged 4.18 kills per set and was named the UNLV Invitational MVP.Juniorand sophomoreearned spots on the UNLV Invitational All-Tournament Team.Lofton recorded eight kills on 12 swings against the Thunderbirds. For the weekend Lofton tallied 25 kills and 20 blocks. Lebo averaged 3.91 digs per set for the tournament and a total of 43 digs.The Indiana freshmen played well against Southern Utah.converted six kills with no attack errors. Edwards also contributed with three service aces.played her best match of the weekend against SUU with five kills on 10 swings and three blocks.recorded 11 assists, including the assist on match point to give Indiana the victory.Lebo led the Hoosiers with 11 digs and juniorled Indiana with 21 assists.The Hoosiers (3-0) held SUU to a .036 attack percentage and had 10 total team blocks. For the weekend Lofton averaged 1.82 blocks per set and the Hoosiers as a team averaged 3.18 blocks per set.Up next the Hoosiers travel to State College, Pa., and will take on Texas A&M and Temple Aug. 31 and Sept. 1."I thought we were fortunate to win. The goal was to come here and be 3-0 when we left, so that is the good news. The kids played hard. We did some things that I think we can build on. At the end of the day, you can never be too high when you win or too low when you lose. The next thing will be, we get back in the gym, train, work on some things we didn't do really well and hopefully be able to be confident going into next weekend."More than 3,300 workers apply for second stint in South Korea

Thousands of Nepali migrant workers are seeking a second job stint in South Korea as they prepare to take the qualifying Computer Based Test (CBT) in Kathmandu on Friday.Nepal, World Bank sign $15m finance agreement

The government and the World Bank signed a financing agreement of $15 million to strengthen the countrys Public Financial Management sector, on Friday. According to a press statement issued by the multilateral lender, the funds will be used to finance the integrated Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform Project.Nepali workers GCC forums discuss key issues in Dubai

A regional gathering of the Non Resident Nepali Associations (NRNA) in GCC opened on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss migrant workers issues.Egyptian actor Hala Shiha left the film industry 10 years ago for a more religious life. She began to wear the traditional Muslim head cover, or hijab, along with loose clothes that covered most of her skin.

Later, the Egyptian movie star was seen wearing the even more conservative face cover, or niqab.

Islamists praised the changes, just as they have when other stars took similar action.

But then Shiha decided she would return to acting and no longer wear the hijab.

The religious leaders are no longer celebrating.

Talk about the actors decision immediately flooded social media, newspapers, magazines, and televisions talk shows.

Liberal thinkers praised the 39-year-old for exercising personal freedom. Conservative thinkers expressed opposition.

Shiha's case, in many ways, represents a larger conflict in Egypt.

A popular rebellion in 2011 that ousted then President Hosni Mubarak left the country sharply divided. The Muslim Brotherhood party took control of Egypt after a number of election wins. Its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, became president.

Then, in 2013, the Egyptian Army ousted Morsi after huge protests against his rule. The new military government, led by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group and banned it.

Today, the position of women is among the most hotly debated issues of Islam in the country.

Shiha has sought to avoid the argument over her decision.

"I never meant to insult or offend anyone," she told The Associated Press. "Just because I took off my hijab, doesn't mean I am against it. Not at all."

She said the decision was a personal choice and that she did not want to be part of any political conflicts.

Shihas family members said she recently opened an Instagram account and has about 150,000 followers. She is without a hijab in all the posted images.

A recent video published on Instagram has likely upset Islamic conservatives even more. It shows her smiling at a hair stylist in a beauty business. She says in the video, "I came here to change my hair color a bit. I hope it turns out well. I am sure it will be surprising."

Islamic conservatives argue that Shiha has disappointed women and girls who had looked to her as a model of correct behavior.

"There were many girls that trusted her as a virtuous sister," clergyman Sameh Abdel-Hameed said on a television talk show. "But now she failed a large audience of young girls who followed her," he continued.

Khadija Khairat el-Shatter, daughter of a jailed Muslim Brotherhood leader, posted a long message about the issue on Facebook. She urged Shiha to prove everyone wrong and appear in public wearing the hijab again.

Mohammed el-Sawy, another clergyman, posted a video of himself in tears. He urged Shiha to admit wrongdoing and express regret.

Others are showing strong support for the actor. A leading film critic, Tarek al-Shennawy, celebrated her for bravery in the face of what he described as a "difficult society."

One debate that recently restarted among Egyptians is whether wearing the hijab or the niqab is an Islamic duty. Another is whether Islam's traditional clothing for women protects them in public from sexual abuse.

"There has long been a conflict between liberals and Islamists with the status of women always the battlefield," said political researcher Saeed Sadeq. It is often a question of veil or no veil.

Shiha remains unmoved by the national debate.

"I am just at a different phase in my life now," she told the AP. "And I am happy that I am going back to acting."

Im Caty Weaver.

The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English.  Ashley Thompson was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

disappoint - v. to make (someone) unhappy by not being as good as expected or by not doing something that was hoped for or expected

virtuous - adj. morally excellent

society - n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values

veil - n. a piece of cloth or net worn usually by women over the head and shoulders and sometimes over the face

phase - n. a period of time during which a person behaves in a particular way or likes a particular thingScientists say they have discovered the remains of an ancient female whose mother was a Neanderthal and whose father was Denisovan.

Neanderthals and Denisovans are early human species that have been extinct for thousands of years. The discovery marks the first time scientists have found the remains of a child created by these two kinds of early humans.

The researchers found the 90,000-year-old pieces of bone in southern Siberia. The team published their findings in the journal Nature on Wednesday.

Why the discovery is important

Neanderthals lived in Europe and Asia. Remains of Denisovans are known only from the cave where the bone was found. Both groups disappeared by about 40,000 years ago.

Past genetic studies have shown evidence of sexual relations between the two groups, as well as with our own species, Homo sapiens. The unions show in the genetic structure, or DNA, of todays people. But the new study is the first to identify a first-generation child with Neanderthal and Denisovan parents.

Svante Paabo is one of the lead researchers of the study. He is a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Paabo said he was surprised the bones were found. Both Neanderthal and Denisovan remains are rarely discovered anywhere in the world. So finding an actual child of the two groups seemed like unusually good luck, Paabo said.

The discovery is also interesting because the two groups were more different from each other than any two present-day human groups.

The fact that we stumbled across this makes you wonder if the mixing wasnt quite frequent, said Paabo,

Other opinions

Ron Pinhasi is a physical anthropologist at the University of Vienna who was not involved in the study. He noted that the discovery does not answer how often Neanderthals and Denisovans mated. If they mated often, he said, the DNA of Neanderthals and Denisovans would not show such major differences.

Anders Eriksson is an evolutionary population geneticist at Kings College London who was not involved in the study either. He suggested that the DNA could be looked at in several different ways.

I think they convincingly showed that genetically this individual falls halfway between the Neanderthal and Denisovan fossils found in the same cave, said Eriksson. But Im less convinced that it is necessarily a first-generation offspring of a  Neanderthal and Denisovan.

The fossil could instead have come from a population with nearly an equal mix of Neanderthal and Denisovan relatives, he observed. And it will take studies of more fossils to find this out.

What else can we learn?

The authors of this weeks report said the small pieces of bone likely came from the arm or leg of a female who was at least 13 years old at the time of death. They call her Denisova 11.

The researchers compared her DNA with other ancient DNA. They learned that the genes from her mother were more closely related to Neanderthals who lived later in Europe than other Neanderthal remains from the cave.

This finding suggests that Neanderthals moved westward over time.

Svante Paabo said the latest discovery suggests that the now-extinct ancient relatives of humans were not killed off by warfare, as many experts believe. Instead, it supports a theory that our ancient relatives combined with modern humans through sexual relationships.

Im Pete Musto.

Frank Jones reported this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted it for VOA Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. We want to hear from you. What do you think scientist will learn from similar discoveries in the future? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

species  n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

extinct  adj. no longer existing

journal  n. a magazine that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people

cave  n. a large hole that was formed by natural processes in the side of a cliff or hill or under the ground

union(s)  n. an act of joining two or more things together

stumble(d) across  p.v. to discover something accidently

quite  adv. to a very noticeable degree or extent

frequent  adj. happening often

mate(d)  v. o have sexual activity in order to produce young

convincingly  adv. done in a way that causes someone to believe that something is true or certain

fossil(s)  n. something, such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint, that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks

offspring  n. a person's child

author(s)  n. a person who has written somethingThe Roman Catholic Church does not allow women to become priests. With the latest sex abuse crisis, some believe it is time for a change. But, they admit, it is unlikely the church will change anytime soon.

Pope Francis and the male priests at the Vatican have said repeatedly that the teaching against female priests comes from God and cannot be changed.

I dont see any movement to ordain women, said Margaret McGuinness, a religion professor at La Salle University in Philadelphia. The people in power arent going to look at this as a solution, she added.

In the United States, an organized campaign asking for female priests dates back to the 1970s. Its leaders have used the new sex abuse cases  in which the accused are all priests  to help their argument.

In one case, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is accused of abusing at least two children as well as adult men studying to be priests. In another, a grand jury report from the state of Pennsylvania says that about 300 priests sexually abused about 1,000 children in six dioceses since the 1940s.

Role of female in the Catholic Church

Bridget Mary Meehan has led a movement calling for female priests that challenges the Churchs teachings. She said, If we had women as equals and partners, women ordained in the Catholic Church, the church would not be in this mess, because we would have parents who would minister and who would make sure children are protected.

Church teaching says anyone who tries to ordain a woman will be expelled from the church. The Vatican considers such an act as bad as the sexual abuse of children.

Kate McElwee, head of the Womens Ordination Conference, said Church leaders have worked hard over many years to protect abusive priests and ignored the victims.

Pope Francis, she noted, has called on all Catholics to help create a new culture in the church to stop the sexual abuse of children. McElwee said this would require everyone at the table and the end of the old male-only leadership.

Under Catholic rules, the priesthood is only for men because Christ chose only men as his 12 apostles. It is considered an unbreakable rule from God.

Pope Francis has repeatedly said women cannot become priests. But he has called for a greater role for women in the decision-making areas of the church.

In 2016, he created a commission to study the role of female deacons in the early years of the Catholic Church. The work of that commission was never released to the public, but some believe it may someday allow women to become deacons.

Deacons can perform many priests duties except they are not permitted to celebrate Mass.

Kate McElwee said her organization would welcome a decision to let women be deacons because this might lead to the ordination of women as priests.

Shortage of priests

The Womens Ordination Conference and its allies also believe women priests could help the church with its biggest problem: the shortage of priests in many parts of the world.

One of the worst shortages is in the Amazon area of South America. An early report for the Vaticans 2019 meeting on the Amazon called for church leaders to find new official ministries for women to serve there.

Michael Higgins teaches at Sacred Heart University in the U.S. He does not think women will be ordained as priests in the near future. But, he said, that a culture of male power doesnt work anymore.

Margaret McGuinness, the La Salle professor, said Church leaders would have to make important changes to stop Catholics from leaving.

She added, If they dont do something, people are just going to walk away.

Im Susan Shand.

Susan Shand adapted this story for Learning English based on Associated Press news reports. Hai Do 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

priest  n. a person who has the authority to lead or perform ceremonies in some religions and especially in some Christian religions

diocese  n. the area that is controlled by a bishop

ordain  v. the official act or process of making someone a priest

apostles  n any one of the 12 men chosen by Jesus Christ to spread the Christian religion

deacon  n. an official in some Christian churches whose rank is just below a priest

Mass  n. a Christian ceremony especially in the Roman Catholic Church in which people eat bread and drink wine representing the body and blood of Jesus ChristOne killed, 24 injured in police-locals clash

A teenage boy died and 24 people were injured when police fired at locals protesting over the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Panta, in Mahendranagar on Friday.Retelling history

Author Sheeba Shahs love for literature stemmed from her grandmothers renditions of Nepali folk tales while growing up in Dhangadi. As she grew up, her grannys tales fell short of satisfying her inquisitive mind and she turned to reading short stories and novels.A single pill with two drugs could transform blood pressure treatment, according to the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Society of Hypertension (ESH) Guidelines on arterial hypertension published online today in European Heart Journal.

The guidelines recommend starting most patients on two blood pressure lowering drugs, not one. The previous recommendation was for step-wise treatment, which meant starting with one drug then adding a second and third if needed. This suffered from "physician inertia", in which doctors were reluctant to change the initial strategy despite its lack of success. At least 80% of patients should have been upgraded to two drugs, yet most remained on one drug.

It is now recognised that a major reason for poor rates of blood pressure control is that patients do not take their pills. Non-adherence increases with the number of pills, so administering the two drugs (or three if needed) in a single tablet "could transform blood pressure control rates", state the guidelines.

Professor Bryan Williams, ESC Chairperson of the Guidelines Task Force, University College London, UK, said: "The vast majority of patients with high blood pressure should start treatment with two drugs as a single pill. These pills are already available and should massively improve the success of treatment, with corresponding reductions in strokes, heart disease, and early deaths."

More than one billion people have hypertension (high blood pressure) worldwide. Around 30-45% of adults are affected, rising to more than 60% of people over 60 years of age. High blood pressure is the leading global cause of premature death, accounting for almost ten million deaths in 2015, of which 4.9 million were due to ischaemic heart disease and 3.5 million were due to stroke. High blood pressure is also a major risk factor for heart failure, atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, and cognitive decline.

High blood pressure does not usually cause symptoms. However, people with very high blood pressure may have headaches, blurred or double vision, regular nosebleeds, difficulty breathing, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, blood in the urine, confusion, or pounding in the chest, neck, or ears. See your doctor if you have any of these symptoms.

Treatment thresholds in the 2018 Guidelines are less conservative, with drugs recommended for patients who would previously have received lifestyle advice only. These are patients with low to moderate risk grade I hypertension (140-159/90-99 mmHg), including 65-80 year-olds, and those with high normal blood pressure (130-139/85-89 mmHg).

Professor Williams said: "Many more millions of people, particularly in the older age groups, should be receiving treatment for high blood pressure. See your doctor if you are 65 to 80 years old and your blood pressure is above 140/90 mmHg. The evidence suggests that treatment would reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease."

The guidelines state that "treatment should never be denied or withdrawn on the basis of age". It is increasingly recognised that frailty, independence and biological, rather than chronological, age determine the tolerability and likely benefit of blood pressure lowering medications. For people over 80 years who have not yet received blood pressure treatment, therapy should be started if systolic blood pressure is 160 mmHg or above. People already taking medication should not have it withdrawn at 80 years of age if it is well tolerated.

Blood pressure targets for patients of all ages are lower than in previous guidelines. Systolic blood pressure targets are now 120-129 mmHg for patients under 65 years of age, and 130-139 mmHg for patients over 65 years of age, taking into account treatment tolerability, independence, frailty, and comorbidities. Blood pressure below 120 mmHg should not be the target for any patient since the risk of harm outweighs the potential benefits.

When blood pressure is not controlled by three drugs given in a single pill, a condition known as resistant hypertension, a second pill containing a diuretic such as spironolactone should be added. Device-based therapy is not recommended for routine treatment of these patients and should only be administered within clinical trials.

A healthy lifestyle is recommended for all patients, regardless of blood pressure level, as it can delay the need for drugs or complement their effects. Advice includes salt restriction, alcohol moderation, healthy eating, regular exercise, weight control, smoking cessation, and a new recommendation to avoid binge drinking.

A new section on hypertension and cancer therapy states that temporary discontinuation of anticancer therapy may be considered when blood pressure values are exceedingly high despite multidrug treatment. A section on blood pressure during exercise and high altitude has been added, with the advice that patients with severe, uncontrolled hypertension should avoid exposure to very high altitude (above 4000 metres).

Professor Giuseppe Mancia, ESH Chairperson of the Guidelines Task Force, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy, said: "We have effective treatments and, theoretically, 90-95% of patients should have their blood pressure under control, but in reality only 15-20% achieve target levels. The 2018 Guidelines aim to improve these poor rates of blood pressure control by introducing a treatment strategy that is simple and easier to follow."

Explore further First look at the new 2018 European guidelines for the treatment of high blood pressure

More information: 12018 ESC/ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension. European Heart Journal. 2018. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehy339 Journal information: European Heart Journal 12018 ESC/ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension.. 2018. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehy339The cost of reconstruction

The Rani Pokhari was once a Kathmandu icon, a large lush pond, green and resplendent, in the heart of the city engulfing the distinctive pale Balgopaleshwor temple. Locals like Naresh Bir Shakya, who grew up in Jamal just across the Rani Pokhari, looked out at the pond every day. On his morning walks, he would marvel at the colourful fish and the flock of ducks that treaded the waters, scooping up those very fish.The elder statesman

Kofi Annan, in one of his interviews, had said that he wanted to join Ghanaian politics, retire at the age of 60 on a farm, and die in my bed at 80. Annan managed only the latter part of that desire, dying at the age of 80 on August 18, 2018.NOTICE:

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MUGSHOTS.COM IS A NEWS ORGANIZATION. WE POST AND WRITE THOUSANDS OF NEWS STORIES A YEAR, MOST WANTED STORIES, EDITORIALS (UNDER CATEGORIES - BLOG) AND STORIES OF EXONERATIONS. OUR CONTENT REVOLVES AROUND CRIME, ARRESTS AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT. WE BELIEVE IN THE CONSTITUTION AND OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO PUBLISH UNPOPULAR SPEECH. OPEN RECORD LAWS WERE WRITTEN TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC; BY INFORMING THE PUBLIC OF ARRESTS AND TO HOLD LAW ENFORCEMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE HUMANE TREATMENT OF ARRESTEES. MOST OF, IF NOT ALL MUGSHOT LAWS WERE CRAFTED TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM FEES FOR REMOVAL OF ONLINE MUGSHOTS AND TO FURTHER PROTECT THE PRESS FROM THOSE VERY SAME "MUGSHOT LAWS".WE DO NOT ACCEPT PAYMENT FOR REMOVAL OF ARREST INFORMATION AND/OR BOOKING PHOTOGRAPHS. MORE...Tippecanoe County, IN  An Indiana couple is accused of tying up two children in a dark garage with a device meant to choke them.

Shannon Breaux and Ashley Stigers were arrested on charges of criminal confinement and neglect of a dependent.

According to court documents, a deputy visited their home in West Lafayette on June 20 after receiving reports that two children were being tied up at the location.

When the deputy arrived at the home, he observed a restraint system in the living room. Stigers told the deputy that Breaux would place a female juvenile in the restraint system to show her what would happen if she ever got in trouble when she grew up.

An interviewer with the Tippecanoe County Prosecutors Office spoke with a male juvenile at the home who said Breaux tortures him by tying a rope around his neck and feet and then buckling his hands behind his back. If he moved his feet, he would be choked by the rope.

Breaux would then leave the boy in their dark garage. The boy said Breaux does the same thing to the female juvenile.

Once he was put in the device three times in one day for running, for not answering Breaux, and for not doing his chores.

According to court documents, a detective spoke with Breaux who admitted to putting the children in restrains, but he said it wasnt a form of punishment.

Stigers admitted to being present when the children were being put in the restraints, and she claimed she tried to stop Breaux. She later admitted she failed to protect the children.Vodacom Group has launched Africas first commercial 5G service, the company announced.

It stated it had created Africas first standards-based, commercial 5G service, which is being used in Lesotho.

The 5G service uses 3.5GHz spectrum to deliver fixed-wireless access to two enterprise customers in the country.

The immediate benefit of 5G technology for Vodacom subscribers in Lesotho includes the quicker deployment of broadband services with fibre-like speeds, said Vodacom.

Vodacom also announced it has deployed the same standards-based 5G technology in South Africa, with speeds in excess of 700Mbps and latencies of less than 10 milliseconds.

This will exceed 1Gbps as new software versions and devices become available. Until such time as 3.5GHz spectrum becomes available to Vodacom South Africa, this network will not be available to its customers, said Vodacom.

Shameel Joosub, Vodacom CEO, said that if the requisite spectrum was made available in South Africa, the 5G services could be rolled out in the country.

The company added that Vodacom South Africa has been granted a temporary spectrum licence of 100MHz in the 3.5GHz band to showcase the standards-based 5G network capabilities.

The MyBroadband Speed Test App was used by Vodacom for the local test, shown in the image below.Its getting hard to pump amid the dump in the $209 billion cryptocurrency market.

At least that appears to be the case when you look at Tether, one of the most-traded digital assets and also one thats allegedly been used to manipulate the price of Bitcoin. Over half a billion dollars of Tether has been created in August alone, a move that in the past would have often coincided with a rally in Bitcoin, yet the larger cryptocurrency has fallen 15 percent.

The assets moved much more in lock step last year, when Bitcoin hit an all-time high, according to a University of Texas professor whose research showed that Tether seems to be used both to stabilize and manipulate Bitcoin prices.

Questions about Tether and Bitfinex, one of the worlds largest crypto exchanges that also shares the same management team, have dogged the virtual currency world since last year, when Bitfinex lost banking relationships yet continued to operate. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission subpoenaed both firms in December, seeking proof that Tether is backed by a reserve of U.S. dollars, as it claims. British Virgin Islands-based Bitfinex and Tether havent been accused of wrongdoing.

To date, $2.8 billion Tether have been issued, according to the companys web site. The digital currency generally trades for around $1 because each coin is supposed to be backed by $1 of fiat money in a bank. The currency, which started trading in 2015, is pitched as a stable alternative to Bitcoins volatility, acting as a haven for crypto investors.

But Tether has also been implicated as a way to move the price at will of smaller digital coins, according to a recent research paper by Chainalysis. Last year, Tether was linked to Bitcoin, Ether and Litecoin about 85 percent of the time, according to the paper. When prices crashed early this year, that correlation fell by an average 93 percent. But between January and June, EOS and NEO maintained a high correlation to Tether use.

While on-chain transaction activity was in decline for the major cryptocurrencies, traders were still seeing opportunities for profit with some of the newer, lower-volume cryptocurrencies, according to the Chainalysis paper.

High volatility for low-volume Tether trading pairs is a typical sign of pump and dump activity, the paper concluded, in part. A sudden spike in a particular trading volume followed by an abrupt decline is characteristic of price manipulation.

Liam Murphy, an outside spokesman for Bitfinex and Tether, declined to comment.

Tether has created $515 million of new tokens this month, according to blockchain data. All of those new Tethers were sent to Bitfinex, the data show. Thats backed up by the Chainalysis report. After issuance, all Tether passes through the Bitfinex trading platform, Tethers only direct client, Chainalysis said. From Bitfinex, about 80 percent of the Tether is then moved to six other exchanges: Bittrex, Poloniex, Huboi, OKEx, Binance and Kraken.

Yet not even more than half a billion in new Tether has been able to affect the price of EOS and NEO in August. From July 30 to Aug. 21, EOS has fallen 37 percent and NEO is down 44 percent, according to data collected by Coinmarketcap.com.

Now read: BCX Chief Financial Officer resignsBy EFF Deeplinks Blog

Late last week, Reuters reported that Facebook is being asked to break the encryption in its Messenger application to assist the Justice Department in wiretapping a suspects voice calls, and that Facebook is refusing to cooperate.

The report alarmed us in light of the governments ongoing calls for backdoors to encrypted communications, but on reflection we think its unlikely that Facebook is being ordered to break encryption in Messenger and that the reality is more complicated.

The wiretap order and related court proceedings arise from an investigation of the MS-13 gang in Fresno, California and is entirely under seal.

So while we dont know exactly what method for assisting with the wiretap the government is proposing Facebook use, if any, we can offer our informed speculation based on how Messenger works. This post explains our best guess(es) as to whats going on, and why we dont think this case should result in a landmark legal precedent on encryption.

We do fear that this is one of a series of moves by the government that would allow it to chip away at users security, done in a way such that the government can claim it isnt breaking encryption.

And while we suspect that most people dont use Messenger for secure communicationswe certainly dont recommend it were concerned that this move could be used as precedent to attack secure tools that people actually rely on.

The nitty gritty

Messenger is Facebooks flagship chat product, offering users the ability to exchange text messages, stickers, send files, and make voice and video calls. Unlike Signal and WhatsApp (also a Facebook product), however, Messenger is not marketed as a secure or encrypted means of communication. Messenger does have the option of enabling secret text conversations , which are end-to-end encrypted and make use of the Signal protocol (also used by WhatsApp ).

However, end-to-end encryption is not an option for Messenger voice calls.

At issue here is a demand by the government that Facebook help it intercept Messenger voice calls. While Messengers protocol isnt publicly documented, we believe that we have a basic understanding how it worksand how it differs from actual secure messaging platforms. But first, some necessary background on how Messenger handles non-voice communications.

When someone uses Messenger to send a text chat to a friend, the users client (the app on their smartphone, for example) sends the message to Facebooks servers, encrypted so that only Facebook can read it. Facebook then saves and logs the message, and forwards it on to the intended recipient, encrypted so that only the intended recipient can read it.

When the government wants to listen in on those conversations, because Facebook sees every message before its delivered, the company can turn those chats over in real time (in response to a wiretap order) or turn over some amount of the users saved chat history (in response to a search warrant).

However, when someone uses Messenger to initiate a voice call, the process is different. Messenger uses a standard protocol called WebRTC for voice (and video) connections. WebRTC relies on Messenger to set up a connection between the two parties to the call that doesnt go through Facebooks servers.

Ratherfor reasons having to do with cost, efficiency, latency, and to ensure that the audio skips as little as possiblethe data that makes up a Messenger voice call takes a shorter route between the two parties. That voice data is encrypted with something called the session key to ensure that a nosy network administrator sitting somewhere between the two parties to the call cant listen in.

This two-step process is typical in Voice over IP (VoIP) calling applications: first the two parties each communicate with a central server which assists them in setting up a direct connection between them, and once that connection is established, the actual voice data (usually) takes the shortest route.

Step 1: A central server facilitates a key exchange between two devices. The servers cannot decrypt to see these keys.

Step 2: The session keys are then used for encrypting the call between the devices.

But in Messenger, some information related to the voice call does go through Facebooks servers, especially when the call is first initiated. That data includes the session key that encrypts the voice data.

Step 1: The two devices communicate with a Facebook central server, sending their keys through the server.

Step 2: The two devices use the session keys to encrypt the call.

This differs in a major way from other secure messaging applications like Signal, WhatsApp, and iMessage. All of those apps use protocols that encrypt that initial session keythe key to the voice datain a way that renders it unreadable by anyone other than the intended participants in the conversation.

So even though Facebook doesnt actually have the encrypted voice data, if it did somehow have that data, were pretty sure that it would have the technical means to decrypt it. In other words, despite the fact that the voice data is encrypted all the way between the two callers, its not really what we refer to as end-to-end encrypted because someone other than the intended recipient of the callin this case Facebookcould decrypt it with the session key.

So whats at stake in this case

Assuming our technical understanding is roughly correct, Facebook cant currently turn over unencrypted voice communications to the government without additional engineering effort.

The question is what sort of engineering would be required, and what effect it would have on user security, both within Facebook and more generally. Weve been able to identify at least four possible ways the government might ask Facebook to assist with its wiretap:

Force Facebook to retain the session key to the suspects conversation and turn it over to the government. The government would then use that key to decrypt voice data separately captured by the subjects ISP (likely a mobile provider in this case). Force Facebook to construct a man-in-the-middle attack by directing the suspects phone to route Messenger voice data through Facebooks servers, then capture and use the session key to decrypt the data. Force Facebook to push out a custom update to the suspects version of Messenger that would record conversations on the device and send them directly to the government. Demand that Facebook just figure out how to record the suspects conversations and turn them overdecryptedto the government.

In broad strokes, these scenarios look similar to the showdown between Apple and the FBI in the San Bernardino case : the government compelling a tech company to alter its product to effectuate a search warrant (here a wiretap order).

One obvious difference on the legal front is that the Apple case turned on the All Writs Act, whereas here the government is almost certainly relying on the technical assistance provision of the Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C.  2518(4) . As we saw in the Apple case, the All Writs Act is a general-purpose gap-filling statute that allows the government to get orders necessary to further existing court orders, including search warrants.

The Wiretap Acts technical assistance provision is narrower and more specific, requiring communication service providers to furnish technical assistance necessary to accomplish the interception unobtrusively and with a minimum of interference with the services.

What are the limits of this duty to provide necessary technical assistance, and would it extend to the four possible demands we listed above?

While were not aware of a judicial decision thats directly on point, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a well-known case interpreting this minimum of interference language that private companies obligations to assist the government have not extended to circumstances in which there is a complete disruption of a service they offer to a customer as part of their business. And, invoking case law on the All Writs Act, the court held that an intercept order may not impose an undue burden on a company enlisted to aid the government.

The government could of course be expected to argue that the options above are not unreasonably burdensome and that Messenger service would not be significantly disrupted. These arguments might have some force if Facebooks participation is limited to preserving the session key for the suspects conversations. After all, this information already likely passes through Facebooks servers in a way that Facebook could choose to capture it. One unknown is to what extent Facebook sees its role in facilitating Messenger calls as ensuring the security of the calls.

If, as in the Apple case, Facebook tried to make it difficult to bypass security features in the system, cooperation would potentially be quite disruptive. But the government might say that in this context Facebook is much like a webmail provider such as Gmail that uses TLS to encrypt mail between the user and Google. Google has the keys to decrypt this data, so it can comply with a wiretap. Facebooks role isnt exactly the same, but it certainly can obtain the session keys.

In the scenario where Facebook is being asked to push a custom update, the company might raise more forceful arguments like those made by security experts in the Apple case about the risks of undermining public trust in automatic security updates. Computer security is hard, and using a trusted channel to turn a suspects phone into a surveillance device could have disastrous consequences.

And if the government is simply telling Facebook to figure it out, (option 4), Facebook might have reason to question the necessity of its assistance as well as its feasibility, since the government would not have demonstrated why other techniques would be unsuccessful in carrying out the surveillance.

All of this points to a strong need for the public to know more about whats going on in the Fresno federal court. The Reuters article indicates that Facebook is opposing the order in some respect, and we at EFF would love the opportunity to weigh in as amicus, as we did in San Bernardino.

We hope the company will do its utmost to get the court to unseal at least the legal arguments in the case. It should also ask the court to allow amicus participation on any issues involving novel or significant interpretations of the Wiretap Act or other technical assistance law.

Most important, we cannot allow the government to weaponize any ruling in this case in its larger push to undermine strong encryption and digital security. The governments narrative has long been that there is a middle ground, and that companies should engage in responsible encryption. It loves to point to services that use TLS as examples of encrypted data that can yield to lawful court orders for plaintext.

Similarly, in the San Bernardino case, the FBI did not technically ask Apple to break the encryption in iOS, but instead to reengineer other security features that protected that encryption. These are dangerous requests that still put users at risk, even though they dont involve tampering with the math supporting strong encryption.

EFF

Now read: Twitter drops support for iOS 9 and lowerWhat role Napa County might play in a long-awaited Lake Berryessa resort renaissance  if any  could finally be known by years end.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation launched the redevelopment effort on federal land a decade ago, only to see it stall. The agency tore down five of seven resorts, but had difficulty finding companies to build and operate new ones.

In June 2016, agency turned to the county as a possible resort manager that could work more freely with the private sector. Sealing a deal has taken longer than originally predicted.

In February, county officials said they expected to bring a managing partner agreement to the Board of Supervisors in spring. But while that didnt happened, county officials say negotiations are not dead.

I think its in the interest of all parties to reach some decision by the end of the year, Deputy County Executive Officer Molly Rattigan said on Friday.

Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza agreed.

I dont see this going beyond this year, Pedroza said. Weve been at it for quite some time. Im interested in having this end in a very positive outcome.

Meanwhile, the wait for an agreement is making some people uneasy. The Lake Berryessa News asked readers to send letters to a number of federal elected and appointed officials expressing concern that the Bureau is ignoring the needs of the Berryessa community.

I would be a fool not to worry about it, said Peter Kilkus, editor of the paper and president of the Lake Berryessa Chamber of Commerce.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, sent an Aug. 7 letter to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke urging that the Bureau of Reclamation reach a deal with Napa County. He wrote that the Bureau appeared unwilling or unable to bring concessions to the lakes shore under Napa County management.

Im sending this letter hoping that youll be able to exercise leadership on this pressing issue, Thompson wrote.

On Friday, Thompson released a statement on the latest progress.

Like people across our community, I am frustrated at the long delays in this process and have been doing everything I can to support the county and bring the Bureau of Reclamation to the table for a fair discussion, he said. I recently spoke with the Bureaus commissioner and Im glad to see that discussions regarding the details of a long-term agreement will continue.

When contacted by the Napa Valley Register, the Bureau of Reclamation released a statement by email.

While the process has taken longer than anticipated, Reclamation continues to engage with county officials and is fully committed in this process, the statement said. Details will be shared when available.

Lake Berryessa has seven resorts. Markley Cove Resort and Pleasure Cove Marina are operating at full strength, with marinas and other amenities. Three resorts are operating in stripped-down fashion under interim concessionaires, offering such things as camping, boat launching and RV camping. Two are closed.

A study released by the county in February by a real estate firm found nine potential bidders for resort redevelopment. They could bring hotels, restaurants, glamping, marinas and other amenities some or all of the resort sites.

One request by the county is for the ability to offer potential resort redevelopers 55-year leases. The Bureau in its failed redevelopment attempts offered 30-year leases, with roads, water systems and other infrastructure then to reverting to the federal government.

Pedroza said the shorter leases dont make financial sense for resort developers. He was asked if the 55-year lease is a make-or-break issue for Napa County.

Its a make or break to have reasonable, sustainable development, Pedroza said.

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.Uncertainty hangs over Budhi Gandaki project

The government is yet to fix the development modality for the $2.5-billion Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project even though construction is supposed to start this fiscal year, raising concerns that the completion date will be pushed further into the future.For my summer vacation this year, I boldly went on a voyage to a strange new world: A Star Trek convention.

Over three days I saw a universes worth of Trek-related and sci-fi costumes, witnessed some of the most famous actors to ever helm a starship, met a large constellation of new friends, and inadvertently insulted a Hollywood showrunner.

It was my first time at a Star Trek convention, and Im glad I went despite the fact it was held in Las Vegas in August, when it is hot enough to burn out a dilithium crystal.

Attending a Trek convention, particularly this one in Vegas, is a morning-to-nighttime event packed with things to do.

The days were filled with guest panels, photo-ops, vendors and autograph signings.

The evenings featured karaoke with drunk Klingons, a live symphony playing Star Trek musical scores, and a 1960s-style Rat Pack performance by actors best known for playing a Cardassian, a Ferengi, and a Talaxian.

Additionally, I got to hang out with my girlfriend Shelly, who was the reason for my going in the first place. Shelly attends the convention every year, in part because she loves Star Trek, and because it gives her the opportunity to see a group of friends shes made from being there so many times.

Her posse of fellow Trek lovers comes from all over and all walks of life: From Alaska to Oklahoma, from England to Canada. There are IT professionals, a baker, an accountant, a journalist, a British bobby (police officer), a reality television editor, and a microbiologist.

They made me feel welcome and a part of their group. And by welcome I dont just mean handshakes and nice-to-meet-yous. There was also good-natured ribbing after I stuck my size 13 sneaker in my mouth on my first day in the convention hall.

Shelly and I were heading to a panel discussion when a distinctly looking gentleman sporting a short-brimmed fedora, sunglasses and a purple goatee approached us.

He looked familiar, but I had no idea he was Ira Steven Behr, the producer and showrunner of Deep Space Nine, a Star Trek series from the 1990s that was celebrating its 25th anniversary at the convention.

I had spent the past year watching Deep Space Nine on Netflix because I missed it during its original run on television. It took me almost a year to watch it largely because I found the first season to be as riveting as watching the earth rotate on its axis.

But I kept with it and as I watched Deep Space Nine beyond season one, I gradually started to enjoy it more and more. By the end I was thoroughly impressed with the show, particularly because it was more character-driven and darker than other Star Trek series.

Alas, the part about me loving the show didnt come out of my mouth after Shelly directed Ira towards me and told him I had just watched his show for the first time. Instead, I mentioned how boring the first season was.

Ira was very polite in his response before he headed off. Shelly then informed me who Ira was. Doh!

After that, whenever we would see Ira somewhere at the convention, Shellys friends would point him out for me, along with suggestions that I go chat him up.

It was only fitting that I enjoy my first convention among new friends, considering that friendship has long been an important attraction in the Star Trek world.

One of the things that made the original Star Trek series a hit was the on-screen friendship between Capt. Kirk, Spock and Dr. McCoy.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (or TNG) has had its own friendship quality, particularly among the actors who worked on the show.

Shelly told me that most of the cast from TNG are still friends and enjoy seeing each other at conventions.

I witnessed this firsthand while attending a celebrity panel with actors Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, who played Commander Riker and Deanna Troi, respectively.

Just before the panel was introduced, Frakes walked through the audience, right past our row of seats and sat down near us, microphone in hand.

Once the moderator introduced Sirtis, Frakes began yelling into his mic like a rabid fan: Youre so beautiful! I love you, Imzadi!

Imzadi means beloved in Betazed. Google it.

His former co-star peered into the audience and yelled back: What are you doing? You didnt pay for that seat! Get up here!

The impromptu comedy routine set the stage for a rollicking 45-minute discussion that demonstrated the friendship between the two actors 30 years after TNG was on the air.

The day only got better with appearances by William Shatner, who was also very funny and entertaining, and a special surprise visit by Patrick Stewart, who was not scheduled to appear at the convention.

Stewarts presence on stage was enough to bring the house down, especially after he told the stoked crowd that he plans to reprise his role as Capt. Picard in a second new Star Trek series being developed by CBS All Access, the network behind Star Trek: Discovery.

His fans responded to the news by shouting make it so! just as Capt. Picard would bellow from the U.S.S. Enterprise bridge.

It would be understatement to say people in the audience were jazzed. Many were even crying at the thought of their beloved Capt. Picard returning to television.

Some fans can get a little too serious with their love of Trek, like this one guy who apparently shows up every year dressed as Spock who cant be bothered taking selfies with other fans unless theyre dressed in costume as well.

But for the most part Trek fans are a good-natured, if not idealistic bunch. How can you fault people for embracing a series and a universe it created that envisions a better tomorrow?

I dont, and I dont regret spending my summer vacation in their company. They made the experience a real voyage of discovery.

Noel Brinkerhoff is the editor of The American Canyon Eagle and covers education for The Napa Valley Register.

Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.The Trump administration is waging war on Californias coasts and inland areas. This month, it took steps to open 1.6 million acres of public land in the state to oil drilling and fracking.

In January, the administration proposed expanding offshore oil drilling in the Pacific, while asking the Interior Department to reconsider several safety regulations aimed at preventing another spill like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Californias leaders are largely united in seeking to protect the states coasts and maintain federal regulations on fracking. But they may not always know how to go about pushing back on Trump.

Many oppose Trumps environmental policies by pointing out that the president simply has his facts wrong. For instance, environmental experts and advocates labored to debunk Trumps outrageous tweet about the California wildfires, and his refusal to acknowledge the role of climate change.

But arguments based on facts will not persuade this administration. It is not that Trump is averse to facts per se. He just doesnt like it when reality fails to suit his goals. So he routinely and strategically twists facts  or creates new ones out of whole cloth  to serve his own political purposes.

Indeed, his tweet about the fires raging across our state has nothing to do with misunderstanding climate science. It is not about facts at all. It is a purely tactical maneuver. Trump is intentionally fueling a populist backlash against California to undermine our states leadership on environmental issues, loudly playing to his base in his usual, hyperbolic style.

For Trump, California is an especially useful scapegoat. Targeting the Golden State, even in its hour of need, helps fan his popularity among his supporters, while providing justification for his appointees to dismantle our environmental protections.

He is attempting to cast California and its leaders as irresponsible, and far to the left of the national mainstream. Instead of debating policy differences on their merits, Trump portrays our leaders as crazed liberals out to destroy progress and industry. According to this version of reality, only Trump can save the rest of the nation from Californias influence.

If California can be made to look extreme and elitist, this logic goes, then maybe Trumps positions can be made to look reasonable and fair. This is not just an attack on our states hard-won, democratically achieved policies. It is an effort to reshape the entire political debate by making moderate environmental and social positions suddenly seem extreme.

This is a common approach for Trump. Just recently, he framed our states sanctuary policies on immigration the same way, painting them as dangerous and illegal. And his wholly unsupported claims of voter fraud carried out by millions of illegals imply that even our states elected leaders do not hold office legitimately.

These tactics seem to work with many of his supporters. However, they may also persuade middle-of-the-road voters. The average person who tunes in to Trumps twisted anti-California discourse may wonder: Who could possibly want to support Californias extremist policies?

The answer is that Californians do. We need to push back on Trumps misrepresentations and attacks, to protect our environmental policies.

We may not all agree on how best to protect our states resources. But we have sorted out our policy differences based on reasoned debate and our own values as Californians. Regardless of political affiliation, we should not let Trump back us into a deceptive and inaccurate confrontation that falsely pits California against the nation. Trumps attacks need to be called out for what they are  an unconscionable ploy to vilify and harm our state for the presidents political gain.

Mindy Romero is director of the California Civic Engagement Project at the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California and a participant in The Sacramento Bee/McClatchy Influencers series.Dorsey is on a media tour to fight for his company's reputation. On the left, activists are angry that the platform hasn't kicked off Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones; on the right, the president of the United States accuses Twitter of "shadow banning" conservatives. As Dorsey promises to make the company more transparent and works to combat misinformation, it's worth debunking some of the more common myths about Twitter.

Myth No. 1: Twitter systemically bans conservatives.

Once, "shadow banning" was a relatively obscure term, referring to one of the oldest moderation techniques on the Internet - hiding a user's posts from others on a platform without booting them outright. It has since become a politically loaded catchall for censorship, as a conspiracy theory from the fringes of the Internet has crept into the mainstream, claiming that Twitter is sytemically banning conservatives from the platform because of their ideology. Which is how President Donald Trump, in a recent tweet, came to claim that Twitter was "'SHADOW BANNING' prominent Republicans." His tweet followed a Vice News article discussing the fact that Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and "several conservative Republican congressmen" were not auto-filling in a drop-down menu in Twitter's search function.

Although Twitter does limit the reach of some accounts, based on a variety of factors as part of its anti-abuse and anti-harassment strategies, Vice's report didn't prove that the platform was targeting conservatives for their views. Although Democratic lawmakers were not similarly affected, the issue appeared for other accounts on the left, according to at least one journalist who tested the search autofill at the time.

In a statement, Twitter said the accounts were not limited in the search bar because of their beliefs, but instead based on the accounts' behavior and the behavior of other accounts interacting with them: "Our behavioral ranking doesn't make judgements based on political views or the substance of tweets."

The company corrected the search results shortly after they went viral on Conservative Twitter. The clearest proof that this theory is spurious may be that many of the voices amplifying it, such as Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., have a powerful platform from which to do so: Twitter.

Myth No. 2: An intern runs that brand account.

Whenever a social media account for a major celebrity, brand or (ahem) newspaper tweets something particularly clever - or particularly offensive - you'll inevitably hear that it was the work of a "social media intern." In 2017, for instance, the A.V. Club credited an "anonymous social media intern" with having the KFC brand account follow only "11 Herbs and Spice Girls." (Get it?) When IHOP said it was changing its name to IHOB to promote its burgers, one typical reply to its tweets about the campaign read, "I feel so sorry for you, poor social media intern, but you can't make this work." And, of course, then-candidate Trump blamed an intern for a manual retweet in 2016 mocking Iowans.

But in 2018, interns are not generally put in charge of major accounts for influential organizations or people. In 2008, sure - back when social media was a new idea. Today, running a major branded account is more complicated.

"The days of getting interns to run your social media accounts are long gone," said Kristin Johnson, director of content and communications at Sprout Social, a social media management, advocacy and analytics software company. In 2018, running a social media account means taking on the responsibility of a major, public-facing communications channel for that brand, a job that requires access to "significant and sometimes sensitive information."

It has been that way for a while. Between 2010 and 2013, one study using data from LinkedIn found, postings for social media management positions increased on the job-finding platform by more than 1,000 percent.

Myth No. 3: Trump has broken Twitter's rules.

Twitter's rules bar hateful conduct and violent threats. So whenever Trump tweets something that seems to be a threat - as when he lashed out at Iran's president in July - there's a viral call to ban him from the platform for breaking the rules. GQ has argued that Trump's account is "very much in violation." A Change.org petition lobbying for the president's account to be banned has more than 15,000 signatures.

There's just one problem: A handful of loopholes protect Trump's account from running afoul of Twitter's policies. The most important is an exception for "military and government entities." As the company explained in a January blog post, "Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate." (Still, Dorsey told BuzzFeed in a recent interview, the loopholes might not apply should Trump use his account to engage in rule-breaking behavior toward private citizens.)

Myth No. 4: Trump's account is followed by a suspicious number of bots.

"Account has gained over 5 million followers in less than 3 days. Mostly bots. He's getting ready for something," tweeted @th3j35t3r last year. That message accumulated more than 10,000 retweets before it was deleted, spawning an unsubstantiated rumor that spread through Twitter and beyond: Hillary Clinton appeared to cite it at the time to raise questions about what was going on with the president's account. In an interview with Recode, she referred to "new information about Trump's Twitter account being populated by millions of bots."

The Washington Post and others debunked the rumor: Trump did not gain more than 5 million followers in less than three days, as the tweet claimed, and it wasn't even close. The followers he did gain were not mostly bots. Nevertheless, the myth won't die. As my Washington Post colleague Philip Bump noted recently when it resurfaced in another viral tweet, there are many explanations for the faceless new accounts that appear to follow Trump en masse, including the fact that Twitter recommends popular accounts to new users - Trump's among them. And while Trump may have a substantial number of bot or suspected bot followers, data suggests that isn't any worse than for other prominent politicians. When Twitter recently purged suspicious fake or automated accounts from the site, Trump lost 300,000 followers, or 0.58 percent of his total. Former president Barack Obama lost about 2 percent of his followers in the purge, which amounts to more than 2 million accounts.

Myth No. 5: Twitter is the voice of the Internet.

Twitter feeds can sometimes feel like a free-for-all, where everyone's trying to talk at once. Because of that, there's a tendency to mistake the informational avalanche as representative, which is how you get all those headlines about what "the Internet" is thinking or feeling. "WhatsApp was down for two hours and the internet wasn't happy," reads one Verge headline. "The Internet hates McDonald's new uniforms," declares Food & Wine. Then there's this one from my own archives: "The Internet won't let Harambe rest in peace." In many of these articles, a handful of Twitter users are standing in for "the Internet" overall. And then there are Twitter polls - those unscientific multiple-choice posts that are mostly for fun but sometimes get cited as a reflection of public opinion, sometimes even by figures like Trump.

But Twitter is not representative of public opinion. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center poll, about 24 percent of the American population uses Twitter. Forty-six percent of those users visit the platform daily. And, as is true for many social networks, young people are much more likely to use Twitter than are other age groups surveyed, which is to say its most active members aren't a representative sample of the Internet's diverse denizens, let alone humanity as a whole. Spending a lot of time on Twitter may make it feel like the whole world is talking about one topic or another. But step outside the timeline, and you might be surprised.

Abby Ohlheiser covers digital culture for The Washington Post. She was previously a general assignment reporter for The Post, focusing on national breaking news and religion.1. Yes. If a city of 150,000 cant provide safe drinking water for 10 days, a probe is needed.

2. Yes. Not only should there be a state investigation, but customers should get a rebate.

3. No. The city will be working with TCEQ to develop an after-action plan. That will suffice.

4. No. The whole episode was just an annoyance. An outside investigaton is unnecessary.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say without knowing more details about the issue.

Vote

View ResultsDear Newsie Readers,

Newsie has now permanently ceased it's services as of Friday 20th December 2019.

Newsie has been an owner-funded operation since day one.

Coming up to three years old, while we still firmly believe Newsie has a place in the New Zealand media landscape, the cost in both time and money has become too burdensome for the owners to continue alongside other ventures.

With the current government looking to restructure public broadcasting, and seemingly supporting NZME buying a ring-fenced Stuff, the time seems right to call it a day.

Should it happen, the combination of NZME and Stuff will ensure New Zealands national media will die a death by a thousand opinion-based articles.

Newsie has always tried to stick to balanced news, to inform readers of the facts of a situation, amid being largely ignored by government. Hopefully, one day someone else will take up the challenge to fight the good fight.

The good news, however, is that there were no job losses as a result of Newsie closing. Thanks to careful structuring, everyone involved in Newsie will retain their current positions.

We hope you all have a happy Christmas and new year. Stay safe, and stay out of the news.

The team at NewsieChina crackdown





China is continuing its crackdown on bitcoin and cryptocurrency-related ventures. The country is now blocking access to more than 120 offshore cryptocurrency exchanges utilized for trading purposes by mainland customers.



In addition, officials are also looking to shut down websites pertaining to both cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings (ICOs), and to prevent businesses from accepting payments in digital assets.

ICOs were initially banned last September and were described as unauthorized and illegal fundraising activities. That same month, Chinese regulators ordered all cryptocurrency exchanges within the country to cease trading practices. This caused many ICO and cryptocurrency ventures to pack up their bags and move to the neighboring region of Singapore, which boasts more crypto-friendly regulation.

Over the past year, nearly 90 different cryptocurrency exchanges and about 85 ICOs have been shut down in China. The yuan-bitcoin trading pair has also dropped from 90 percent to less than 5 percent of the worlds total bitcoin trades.

Pan Gongsheng  who heads the Leading Group of Internet Financial Risks Remediation  has been adamant that the cryptocurrency ban in China is the right decision.

If things were still the way they were at the beginning of the year, over 80 percent of the worlds bitcoin trading and ICO financing would take place in China, he states. What would things look like today? Its really quite scary.

China isnt stopping with crypto businesses. Officials are also blocking cryptocurrency-related news accounts on social media. The countrys primary social platform WeChat  which currently boasts over one billion users  has allegedly blocked several blockchain and crypto accounts due to suspicions that they were pushing ICO activities. Some of the companies affected by WeChats actions include Huobi News, Deepchain and CoinDaily.

A leading group of both social and financial risk prevention and control in the countrys capital of Beijing is also banning digital currency promotion. Recently, the organization issued a notice asking all public retail outlets, such as shopping malls, hotels, office buildings and guest houses, to cease hosting any kind of publicity or promotional activity relating to ICOs and cryptocurrencies.

Story continues

The news comes after President Xi Jinping induced a sense of optimism amongst Chinese crypto traders when he called blockchain technology a new industrial revolution that could benefit both governments and their people.

Meanwhile, the neighboring country of South Korea  which like China, instilled a ban on ICOs and threatened to do the same with cryptocurrency exchanges  has since vied to build a regulated atmosphere for cryptocurrency ventures and platform operators. Officials have also said that they are reconsidering their stance on ICO projects.





This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.The Joint Operations Command (JOC) has withdrawn military personnel who'd been deployed in the city centre to contain demonstrations over the detention of Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine.



The personnel mainly from the Special Force Command (SFC), an elite force that guards the president, his family and VIPs and the Military Police were called in for reinforcement after supporters of Bobi Wine last week staged protests across the city over his continued incarceration and alleged torture whilst in detention.

Bobi was initially charged in an Army court in Gulu with illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and remanded to Makindye military barracks.

Soldiers were deployed on the streets to quell protests. Photo: courtesy

Since Monday, the army has been patrolling the streets in different parts of the town. They had also been deployed at various police stations. Yesterday, Friday, the soldiers were withdrawn from the city centre while those in the outskirts such as Najjera, Naalya, along Northern bypass, Busega, and Makindye were maintained.



Some of the soldiers withdrawn from the city centre were taken to reinforce those in the city outskirts. Those on standby in case of any chaos are stationed at Bwaise and Kalerwe roundabout, Kisekka market, and Makindye military police headquarters.

Soldiers were captured on camera randomly beating up journalists and innocent civilians during the protests in the city prompting the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Gen David Muhoozi to issue a public apology.



The police spokesperson Emilian Kayima says police and sister security agencies will continue to monitor the situation.



"We have intelligence that further riots might occur as some groups of boda-boda riders in and around Kampala are being mobilised. There are equally recorded messages on social media platforms that are mobilising people to engage in crime, spreading harmful propaganda, hate speech and other forms of crime," Kayima said.



The Police's Field Force Unit which is the specialised unit for crowds and riot control has also been put on standby at various strategic locations in Kampala and surrounding districts. The biggest manpower is at Naguru, Nsambya and at Constitutional Square.

Demonstrations over Bobi's arrest and alleged torture broke out allover the country and outside including in South Africa, Kenya, Canada, Tokyo, Norway among others. Various international artists and writers have also condemned his arrest.

On Thursday charges of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition were dropped against the MP and he was freed only to be re-arrested within 52 seconds and charged in Magistrate's court with treason.

Earlier, at least 33 others including MPs were also charged with treason in the same court and remanded until August 30.When it comes to coal, Indias litany of woes continues.

Despite high prices in international markets, imports continue to rise  and theres no letting up on that front.

After a dip in FY 2017, overall coal imports increased 10 percent in FY 2018. Whats more, the situation is so bad that Indias largest power producer, the National Therma Power Corporation (NTPC), is running short on supply and has sought bids to import coal.

NTPC Ltd. is seeking 2.5 million metric tons (MT) of imported coal, according to two separate tenders on its website. The last time it sought foreign coal was in 2014.

One of many reasons for the shortage is that Indias largest coal producer, Coal India Ltd. (CIL), which produces more than 80 percent of Indias coal, continues to fall short in production and just cannot keep up with the rising demand, driven largely by higher electricity generation.

But if you were to ask CIL, it would in turn blame Indias congested railway network and a shortage of railway carriers to ship the coal to its customers; this, they argue, has forced consumers from power plants to aluminum smelters to purchase the fuel from overseas.

Rating agency CRISIL said here in a report that the power sector imports in India were projected to cross 75 MT by FY 2023, most of it driven by demand from imported coal-based plants. This comes even as non-power sector imports are expected to decline to 70 MT due to improvement in domestic supply post linkage auctions and development of key captive blocks allocated to the non-regulated sector, according to the CRISIL report.

But a report by news agency Reuters had an even more interesting explanation for the continued shortage.

It cites Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), as saying that a large part of Indias coal imports was used by consumers other than on-grid power plants. Buckley pointed out to Reuters that there were about 30 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generation capacity that was used by captive power plants.

Related: Brazils Opposing Energy Views

They included aluminum smelters, cement makers and other industrial users, more reliant on coal imports as their demand wasnt prioritized by Coal India; meaning, these folks were last in the queue.

According to Buckleys calculation, if this 30 GW was run at 61 percent capacity, it would need about 96 MT per annum, which represents about two-thirds of current thermal coal imports. So, captive power plants had to resort to imports when Coal India couldnt meet their needs.

However, the shortages are not limited to just power stations. Coking coal, used in steelmaking, has also seen a sharp surge.

Left with little choice for now, the Indian government has directed CIL to raise daily output and sales to 2 MT from 1.4 MT achieved in the last quarter.

The coal ministry told Coal India that it must produce and sell 1.9 MT and 1.94 MT, respectively, throughout the year. In the June quarter, CIL managed daily production and sales of 1.4 MT and 1.61 MT, respectively.

By AG Metal Miner

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:Amid declining oil, agricultural, and industrial production, as well as an impending radical regime change, Mexicos economy contracted more than previously projected in the second quarter, according to Mexicos national statistics institute. Though just a 0.1 percent contraction was estimated for gross domestic product, the numbers now show that Mexicos GDP declined at double the rate, down 0.2 percent from the previous quarter in seasonally adjusted terms.

Some service sectors, such as commercial activity, transportation, financial and media grew just 0.2 percent from the previous quarter, compared with a 1 percent expansion in the first quarter. Industrial sectors including mining, construction and manufacturing actually declined by 0.3 percent, while agriculture, livestock and fishing industries showed even bigger signs of trouble, with a 2.1 percent decrease.

In spite of the second-quarter stall, Mexicos economy is still projected to expand more rapidly this year than in 2017, thanks to accelerated spending before the July 1 presidential election. The economy is expected to increase by 2.2 percent this year and 2.1 percent in 2019, according to analysts in a survey released by Citigroup Inc. That being said, nothing is certain and the trajectory over the coming year will be a rough one. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently downgraded its forecast for Mexicos growth financial growth in 2019, reportedly due to trade tensions and current political instability concerning the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the leftist president-elects coming policy shift.

Incoming Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (locally known as AMLO) further catalyzed economic concern this month when he announced his plans to hold a public referendum over whether to cancel the upcoming $13 billion (thats USD, not pesos) construction of a new international airport for Mexico City, the countrys capital and largest metropolitan area by far. The project was the biggest infrastructural undertaking of sitting president Enrique Pena Nieto, and AMLO has stated that on top of pressing environmental concerns, the planned airport is far too expensive and entangled in many layers of corruption.

Related: The Next Major Challenge For Norways Oil Industry

Another reason for wavering confidence in the future of the Mexican economy is the review of oil contracts. AMLO has promised to check over already-awarded contracts for telltale signs of corruption and has also raised eyebrows by appointing an industry newcomer to lead the state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the largest oil producer in the country. The president-elect will also halt any new oil auctions for the next two years. Serious change, however, could be what Pemex needs, as they are currently over $100 billion in debt after 13 consecutive years of declining output, widespread and violent fuel theft, and international corruption scandals.

AMLO, the first leftist president Mexico has elected in decades, has also promised expanded spending on social programs for marginalized communities such as the elderly and youth, in addition to a major investment of 75 billion pesos ($4 billion) in the oil industry, to be financed through increased government efficiency and a crack-down on institutional corruption. Some critics and economists, however, doubt that this will really be possible without reaching into the pockets of Mexican taxpayers.

Despite the discouraging discourse, some experts are saying that things are not as bad as they look for the Mexican economy. Bill Adams, senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group told Bloomberg that employment growth is steady and healthy in Mexico, and that this quarters stall is just the result of a particularly strong first quarter.

Overblown or not, the concerns over the Mexican economy are worth paying attention to in the coming months, especially once all of incumbent president Lopez Obradors political shifts begin to transform from campaign trail pledges to concrete legislation. Change is what an absolute majority of what Mexicans voted for, and it is certainly what they will get. Now well find out if its what they bargained for.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:Still, the temporary relief gives coal companies some breathing space, and there is always the chance that some use that to diversify, either geographically or in other ways. That

I would, however, stress the words short-term. The fact is that while the Obama regulations didnt help, just as imposing them was done to please his base, repealing them is more about political optics than anything. The switch to natural gas and renewables is not just a U.S. phenomenon, it is happening all over the world, and it is driven by market dynamics and considerations of the next few decades rather than years. Power companies may welcome more time to switch over their remaining coal powered plants but switch they will. Apart from anything else, in the current tit for tat political environment it is fair to assume that the old regulations will be back when the White House changes hands, whether that is in two years or six.

I have said before and Ill say it again, despite Donald Trumps best efforts the coal industry in this country is in long-term, probably terminal decline. Those best efforts were to the fore this week, when Trump rolled back Obama era regulations designed to force utilities to move away from the black stuff and towards cleaner power production. For various reasons that may irrelevant when it comes to the long-term future of U.S. coal, but it may be enough to cause a tradeable, short-term bump in the fortunes of some coal stocks.

I have said before and Ill say it again, despite Donald Trumps best efforts the coal industry in this country is in long-term, probably terminal decline. Those best efforts were to the fore this week, when Trump rolled back Obama era regulations designed to force utilities to move away from the black stuff and towards cleaner power production. For various reasons that may irrelevant when it comes to the long-term future of U.S. coal, but it may be enough to cause a tradeable, short-term bump in the fortunes of some coal stocks.

I would, however, stress the words short-term. The fact is that while the Obama regulations didnt help, just as imposing them was done to please his base, repealing them is more about political optics than anything. The switch to natural gas and renewables is not just a U.S. phenomenon, it is happening all over the world, and it is driven by market dynamics and considerations of the next few decades rather than years. Power companies may welcome more time to switch over their remaining coal powered plants but switch they will. Apart from anything else, in the current tit for tat political environment it is fair to assume that the old regulations will be back when the White House changes hands, whether that is in two years or six.

Still, the temporary relief gives coal companies some breathing space, and there is always the chance that some use that to diversify, either geographically or in other ways. That should be enough to change the market sentiment, and it wouldnt take much of a change to cause a pop in the hardest hit coal shares such as Cloud Peak (CLD).

(Click to enlarge)

Okay, so I know that the two-year chart above hardly inspires confidence. Every rally has been followed by a collapse that took the stock even lower than the starting point, but the relevant point here is that there have been multiple strong rallies. That volatility is what makes a long position here interesting.

The trajectory of the stock reflects the markets long-term view that bankruptcy could be on the horizon for Cloud Peak and under normal circumstances that would reduce the efficacy of stop loss orders. If the stock goes to zero overnight, no order is going to save you from total loss. That is still a possibility of course, but it looks a lot less likely now than it did quite recently. Cloud Peaks debt/equity ratio is a massive 41.97, but they do show positive levered free cash flow of over $82 million and a book value of $13.30 per share.

Still, as unlikely as I think it is that CLD gives up the ghost in the near future, this is a trade that still has the specter of total loss hanging over it. That means that positions should be kept small, and that time is an important factor in making position management decisions. You should be looking for a quick bounce back towards $4 and looking to take a profit of around fifty percent at around $3.80. However, if CLD languishes around these levels or dips below $2, cut and run. Even when the risk of total loss is factored in that makes for a decent risk/reward ratio.

One of the hardest things for long-term investors to grasp when they try their hand at trading is that it is quite possible to take advantage of short-term conditions that go against your long-term base case. Buying CLD is a case in point. This weeks policy change wont halt the relentless march of history away from coal, but it may be enough to cause a volatile stock to jump over the next few weeks and that is an opportunity regardless of what the next few years hold.Korea Gas (KOGAS), South Koreas dominant liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyer, has launched a new strategy designed to overhaul its business, worth a total investment of $9 billion (10 trillion won) that should also create 90,000 new jobs, the company said.

The move comes amid South Korean President Moon Jae-ins pivot to replace nuclear power and coal fired thermal power plants with renewables and increased natural gas usage. South Korea is currently the worlds third largest procurer of LNG after Japan and China.

Nuclear generation accounts for nearly one third of South Koreas electricity generation and about 22 percent of installed generating capacity, according to the U.S. Energy Administrations (EIA) most recent analysis of the countrys energy sector. South Korea, Asias fourth-largest economy, currently generates 45 percent of its electricity from coal, while LNG meets 17 percent of power demand and renewables current only represent a 6 percent share.

Under Moons reforms, coal-fired power generation is projected to decline from 40 percent to 21 percent of electricity generation capacity by 2030, while nuclear power will drop from 30 percent to 22 percent, and be replaced by gas and renewable resources.

Details forthcoming

Details of the KOGAS 2025 program will worked out with the government, KOGAS said, adding that the project would involve supporting the natural gas industry, working on hydrogen and LNG bunkering, creating jobs, reorganization of its overseas business and driving technology development.

Related: The Next Major Challenge For Norways Oil Industry

Some $5.4bn of the planned investment will go to domestic projects, $2.7bn to overseas projects and $900 million to innovation, by 2025. KOGAS said it would cut costs through renegotiating existing contracts, agreeing new contracts and improving solidarity with other buyers in East Asia to reduce tough terms, such as destination clauses.

In the last few years there has been a move in the LNG industry, led by Japan and India, to renegotiate long term off-take agreements, and to remove restrictive destination and other clauses, while new agreements are also offering more flexible contract terms.

Investments will also go into expanding LNG storage capacity and also into bunkering and transportation, KOGAS said. The company added that it would also focus on hydrogen, with the company planning to have a role throughout this feedstocks value chain.

KOGAS intends to have 100 hydrogen fuel stations and distribution centers built by 2022. In addition to its operational plans, the company intends to become more profitable, in part through co-operation with private companies, with a focus on downstream gas opportunities.

Currently, Qatar is South Koreas main LNG supplier, importing 11.75 million tonnes last year, according to BPs Statistical Review of World Energy. Total South Korean LNG imports hit 37.96 million tonnes last year, behind Japan and China.

KOGAS was previously the single-largest buyer of LNG in the world but was supplanted by the recent creation of JERA, a Japanese joint venture.

Related: A Saudi-Iran Oil War Could Break Up OPEC

The KOGAS plan to use to more LNG will prove a boon for the US-LNG sector, particularly in the mid-term as more projects are trying to receive FERC approval as well as attracting long term buyers for those volumes. New U.S.-based LNG projects can also offset the potential loss of Chinese funding and long term Chinese buyers by attracting more South Korean interest, something that should also give American negotiators bargaining power over their Chinese counter parts amid new trade talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday.

Moreover, Seoul has already indicated it wants to sign more deals with American LNG producers to help offset the growing trade imbalance between Washington and Seoul. However, South Korea has already made moves to reduce its trade imbalance with the U.S. last year amid pressure from President Trump.

Data from the Korea International Trade Association shows that South Korea ended up more than doubling its purchases of US semiconductor manufacturing machinery last year to $6 bn, while LNG imports increased to $806 million from only $11 million in 2016. However, according to Trump more is needed. South Korea imported its first U.S.-LNG cargoes, procured on the spot market, at the start of last year.

By Tim Daiss for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:At least four tankers loaded with ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) en route from the U.S Gulf Coast to Europe abruptly changed course this week to Brazil, following a fire at a 415,000-bpd refinery of state oil firm Petrobras on Monday, S&P Global Platts trade flow data showed on Friday.

On Monday, a fire erupted at the Replan refinery operated by Petrobras in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. The fire was tamed, and no injuries have been reported, although Petrobras did halt production at the facility after the fire.

On Thursday, the Brazilian company issued an update, in which it said that the fire reached part of two units of the refinery, the atmospheric distillation unit and the catalytic cracking unit. The fire did not affect other units, but their operations were suspended as a precaution.

Petrobras has already begun the resumption process of these units and estimates to restart production in the next few days, the company said.

Petrobras added, however, that it was not possible yet to foresee the return to operation of the affected units, and that it was still investigating the possible cause of the accident.

Following the fire on Monday, Petrobras bought some six cargoes loaded with ULSD at the U.S. Gulf Coast and originally scheduled to travel to Europe, trading sources told Platts. Petrobras bought the cargoes while they were already traveling to Europe and were then diverted to Brazil, according to the sources.

S&P Global Platts trade flow data showed on Friday that the medium-range tankers Apollon and STI Damawhich last week set sail from the Port of South Louisiana en route to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, respectively, altered their courses in the past 36 hours and are now heading to Brazil. Two other tankers carrying ULSD from the U.S. Gulf Coast and originally scheduled to arrive in the Mediterraneanthe Sadah Silver and the Zirconhave also been diverted from their initial destinations and are now en route to Brazil.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:The second-largest oil field in Syria, the Tanak field in the oil-rich Deir Ezzor region, is operational again, nearly a year after U.S.-backed predominantly Kurdish forces recaptured the field from ISIS, Syrian news outlet Zaman Al Wasl reported on Friday, showing satellite images of the field.

The Tanak field, which hosts around 150 wells and the capacity to produce up to 40,000 bpd, was captured from the Islamist militants by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in November last year, following fierce clashes with Islamic State militants on the eastern bank of the Euphrates river in Syrias Deir Ezzor governorate, which is the countrys richest oil province.

SDF now controls many of the most productive oil fields in Syria east of the Euphrates river, including the countrys largest oil field, al-Omar. The other fields under SDFs control are now Tanak, Ward, Kewari, Jafra, Jarnuf, Azrak, Kahar, Afra, Sueytat, and Galban, the Homs-based Syrian news outlet reports.

Less than a month before recapturing the Tanak oil field, SDF had wrested control over the al-Omar oil field in eastern Syria from the Islamic State. Al-Omar is Syrias largest oil field, producing around 30,000 bpd before the civil war. After 2011, however, Al-Omar fell into the hands of Islamic State, which was at one point making US$5.1 million in monthly oil sale revenues on the black market.

The U.S-led coalition fighting Islamic State killed the leader of the militants responsible for its oil and gas smuggling operations, officials at the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said in the middle of June. Abu Khattab al-Iraqi, the leader of ISISs oil network who managed revenue generation through the illicit sale of oil and gas, was killed in Syrias Middle Euphrates River Valley on May 26, together with three other ISIS members affiliated with its oil and gas operations.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:2 hours ago

'Nothing else here': Why it's so hard for world to quit coal

DHANBAD, India (AP)  Every day, Raju gets on his bicycle and unwillingly pedals the world a tiny bit closer to climate catastrophe. Every day, he straps half a dozen sacks of coal pilfered from mines  up to 200 kilograms, or 440 pounds  to the reinforced metal frame of his bike.

Read ArticlePolitical Incorrectness Paradoxes, and Anything else out of left field.Next Match: vs. Missouri State 8/25/2018 | 9 a.m. CT

CHARLESTON, S.C.  Alabama started its 2018 season Friday with a sweep over Western Kentucky on day one of the Hampton Inn Charleston/West Ashley CofC Classic, winning by set scores of 25-23, 28-26 and 25-23.

Alabama (1-0) earned a trio of narrow set victories over a Western Kentucky (0-1) team that received votes in the AVCA preseason top-25 rankings. The sweep is the Crimson Tide's first in a season-opening match since 2012.

Junior Mahalia Swink led the team with a career-best 16 kills, hitting .353 from the right side along with 12 digs for a double-double. Sophomore transfer Doris Carter , making her Tide debut, was second on the team with 11 kills while junior Hayley McSparin was also in double digits with 10. Sophomore Meghan Neelon and freshman Mylana Byrd split time at setter, combining for 51 assists, while seniors Cidavia Hall and Quincey Gary led the team with seven blocks and 23 digs, respectively.

WKU scored the first point of the opening set, but three quick points from Alabama put the Tide ahead by two early. Later leading 9-8, Carter took a big swing and found the middle of the court for a kill before following that with a solo block to make it a three-point game. The Lady Toppers scored three unanswered to tie it at 11-11 but the Tide answered back with three of its own, capped by a Swink service ace. Back-to-back kills from Carter and McSparin later made it 16-12 and WKU called its first timeout. A 4-1 run from WKU after the break made it a one-point game but Alabama added some cushion with three-straight to hit the 20-point mark ahead by four. Another three-point swing by the Lady Toppers drew them within one again but Alabama reached set point with a four-point rally, 24-19. WKU kept the frame alive with four-straight points, forcing the Tide to burn both its timeouts in the process leading 24-23 at the second break. Carter ended it in the next rally with her fifth kill of the match to win the set, 25-23.

A kill from Hall went for the first point in set two before WKU responded with two points to take its first lead of the match. The lead was short-lived after a pair of blocking errors allowed the Tide to move back in front, 3-2. The Lady Toppers fought back to tie it at 8-8 and retake the lead at 10-9. The lead changed four times down the stretch, with WKU ahead by two at the 20-point mark. Alabama took a timeout trailing 23-21 and tied it after the break with a kill from Carter and block from McSparin and Ginger Perinar . The Lady Toppers reached set point on the next rally before Alabama took its second timeout and tied it at 24-24 on a kill from McSparin. WKU reached set point two more times but could not put the frame away and Alabama pushed back to a one-point lead, 27-26, before the Lady Toppers took a timeout. A block on the right side from Swink completed the comeback as Alabama took the set, 28-26, for a 2-0 match lead.

Alabama was hot to start the third set, scoring four unanswered points but WKU was not down for long, eventually taking a 6-5 lead. Trailing 8-6, Alabama scored four in a row to regain its lead at 10-8. The momentum swung back to the Lady Toppers with an 8-2 run before the Tide took a timeout trailing 16-12. Alabama came out firing after the break, scoring five unanswered to pull back ahead, 17-16, as WKU its own timeout. The Lady Toppers moved back in front until a cross-court kill from McSparin tied it late at 23-23. A block from Byrd and Hall made it match point and WKU spent its final timeout before another block from Byrd and Hall sealed the sweep as the Tide won the deciding third frame, 25-23.

Alabama concludes opening weekend with a pair of matches tomorrow, facing Missouri State at 9 a.m. CT and College of Charleston at 6 p.m. CT.Shamim Nateebwa

The World Health Organization together with the ministry of health have dispatched essential supplies to the 5 Ebola high risk districts of Uganda.

Health minister Ruth Acheng says the supplies delivered include 200 hand washing facilities, over 1,000 Kg of HTC chlorine, 120 cartons of washing soap and 24 boxes of water purification tablets, hydro chlorine solar powered generators, fuel and sanitizers.

The ministry recently extended preparedness activities to 5 out of 32 high risk districts including Kabarole, Kisoro, Bundibugyo, Kasese and Kyegwegwa to prevent possible spread of the Ebola virus.

Acheng adds that other interventions include training 32 communicators meant to provide technical support in delivery of effective risk communication in the districts, community sensitization and acquiring vehicles for specimen transportation of samples to the Virus Research Center in Entebbe among others.

The Ebola outbreak was recorded in neighboring DR Congo in July with over 60 deaths so far recorded.You have permission to edit this collection.

Edit CloseCALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.Chinese-owned telecommunications firm Huawei has been banned from Australias 5G network due to security concerns.

The Australian government considers risky the involvement of Huawei for the rolling out of next-generation 5G communication networks.

Huawei Australia defined the decision disappointing.

We have been informed by the Govt that Huawei & ZTE have been banned from providing 5G technology to Australia. This is a extremely disappointing result for consumers. Huawei is a world leader in 5G. Has safely & securely delivered wireless technology in Aust for close to 15 yrs  Huawei Australia (@HuaweiOZ) August 22, 2018

The Chinese company has been founded by a former Peoples Liberation Army official in 1987.

The US was the first country that warned of the security risks associated with the usage of the products manufactured by the Chinese telecommunications giant.

The Chinese firm denies having shared Australian customer data with the Chinese intelligence, but it is not enough for the Australian Government.

Australian authorities also banned the Chinese firm ZTE Corp.

Huawei Australia Chairman John Lord explained in June that banning one of the worlds leading 5G suppliers could impact Australias economic growth and productivity for generations.

The Chinese Government is concerned about the decision of the Australian Government.

We urge the Australian government to discard ideological biases and create a level-playing filed for Chinese companies operations in Australia, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang.

In May, the Pentagon ordered retail outlets on US military bases to stop selling Huawei and ZTE products due to unacceptable security risk they pose.

The Pentagon considers the security risk posed by the adoption of the devices manufactured by the Chinese firms unacceptable, US officials believe the smartphones could be used to spy on military personnel.

Huawei and ZTE devices may pose an unacceptable risk to the departments personnel, information and mission, said Pentagon spokesman Major Dave Eastburn.

In light of this information, it was not prudent for the departments exchanges to continue selling them.

In February, Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, along with several other top intel officials, invited Americans to avoid buying Huawei and ZTE products.

Pierluigi Paganini

( Security Affairs  Australia, cyber espionage)

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Share OnWith Crazy Rich Asians coming to town, we cant help but be fascinated by what the 150 thousand millionaires in Singapore eat, drink and do.

While were pretty sure they dont eat very often at Lau Pa Sat, here are some hair salons we KNOW they frequent in Singapore. You may not be able to afford the supercars or Kardashian-level mansion in Bukit Timah but you can very well afford to visit the salons they frequent to get a feel of what their lifestyle is like.

Prices: $138, $158 (Junior Stylists), $198 onwards (Senior Stylists), $2,738 (Kim Robinson)

A haven of beauty, luxury and unrivaled elegance, Kim Robinson is unsurprisingly the top choice for crazy rich Asians in Singapore. A cut from the man himself sets you back $2,738! Not unexpected since he has done hair makeovers for the likes of Princess Diana, Grace Kelly, and Rita Ora. However, if his fees are out of your budget, you can always opt for the junior stylists ($138  $158) or senior stylists ($198 onwards) and still enjoy the exquisite service, signature dry cut and the awesome blowdry.

Prices: From $99 (Junior Stylist), $109 (Senior Stylist), $409 for David Gan

People in Singapore arent in general familiar with the names of hairstylists, but David Gan is certainly an exception. Having cut, coloured and styled the hair of a majority of local celebrities, including Fann Wong, Zoe Tay, Joanne Peh, Felicia Chin and even international celebrities like Zhang Ziyi and Hidetoshi Nakata, David is the hairstylist most Singapore celebs go to for that oh-so-amazing hair makeover.

Fortunately for us mortals, David Gan makes himself available at Passion Hair Salon @ Palais Renaissance  that is if you are willing and able to pay the price. The sprawling salon has just three VIP seats and 29 very spacious regular seats, brimming with exclusivity and luxury. While you will need to shell out more than $400 for his haircut, this is 80% cheaper than a cut from Kim Robinson.

Story continues

Prices: $145-$255 (Local Stylists), $378-$510 (Italian Stylists)

The go-to stylist for Kate Middleton and A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon and Dakota Fanning, Rossano Ferretti has just opened his flagship salon in Fullerton, Singapore. While youll seldom find him there at the salon, you can still enjoy Ferrettis signature Method cut by Italian stylists who trained directly under him. A revolutionary new cut, Ferretis Method allows stylists to enhance the organic individual beauty of every client and tailor the haircut to suit details such as hair type, facial structure and personality while ensuring utmost care to hair fibres.

Its no wonder why Kate Middleton and many other celebs choose to go to Rossano Ferretti in person to get tresses with natural movement and healthy bounce!

Prices: $120 (Ladies Cut), Colour ($150), Perm ($180)

Branche is not the most expensive of the lot but the experience here is certainly equivalent of that of SIA First Class Suites. Imagine having an exquisite manicure at the same time your hair is being washed and massaged by your dedicated hairstylist  all in a private VIP room of your own.

Your hairstylist and nail artist attend only to you from start to finish, serving you a cup of authentic premium Japanese tea and topping it up with complimentary champagne at the end of your hair experience.

This is the place you want to go to for that special celebration as the glam team at Branche pulls out all the stops to make you feel cherished and important. With every element of the service designed to impress, this is one salon that has earned its place among the elites in Singapore.

Prices: Haircut from $60 for ladies, Colour from $120, Perm from $240.

You cant miss this sprawling hair and beauty salon that looks absolutely like a hipster cafe in Mandarin Gallery. The woody facade and greenery in every corner make this salon look like a tropical paradise.

There are special spaces carved out that only VIP customers get to enjoy, and even a private room where you can get your leg massaged while you do your fortnightly scalp treatment.

Did we also mention that free flow wine and champagne are also available here?

You could spend as much as $1000 in one sitting or as low as $60 depending on what youre looking for, and still get a great experience here at LeeKaJa.

Prices: Ladies haircut from $79, Perms from $219

A spacious place adorned with gold trimmings and clover-shaped mirrors, JARGO oozes luxury the moment you enter.

The front staff greets you warmly and escorts you to the seat as you await for renowned Korean stylist Rina Kil, veteran Japanese stylist Hidero or their team of highly qualified local and Korean staff who will attend to you.

No matter who you choose, you can expect a beautiful hairstyle and a premium experience as the stylists do their best to make your time here a memorable one. Appointments are well-spaced, so you wont find the entire place looking or sounding like a fish market, the way some busy salons may feel like.

For those who enjoy exclusivity, JARGO also has a VIP room with a reclinable chair used for make-up, scalp or hair treatments as well as regular hair services. JARGO coexists in the same space as their aesthetic salon Skin Illustrated, and so is a great place to come for a full-day hair and scalp pampering.

Prices: Haircut from $55, Colour from $135, Perm from $145

Readers on Beauty Undercover know that were absolute fans of this salon. Ever since weve discovered Chez Vous, this is the place weve recommended for stylish haircuts and sophisticated colours. And there are many reasons for that!

It isnt just their modern decor that caught our attention; Chez Vous is an all-director salon where each and every stylist is the creme de la creme among hairstylists in Singapore, Many of them are so good that they can even fix the most damaged of hair through the inhouse Fix You Expertligent Program.

Beyond the strong stylist team, it is their continuous innovation and effective hair services that keep customers coming back. Our favourite is still their Hair Botox, which has helped even ladies with the most messy of hair regain their sanity. The only drawback is that this salon is popular among so many customers that it can get pretty noisy at times.

To combat that, customers can choose to do their hair in their specialised cocoon or VIP area for enhanced privacy, while still availing of Chez Vous top quality treatments.

Prices: Haircut from $35, Colour from $150, Perm from $150

This salon might not look like it came out from a magazine catalogue, but the stylists definitely have.

Were referring to Goldwell International Hair Artist Ken Hong, Goldwell National Hair Artist Dylan Tung as well as up-and-coming hair colour genius Yuujin. Ken Hong, especially, has won Grand Champion in Goldwell Trend Zoom in Valencia, Spain and has even appeared in multiple beauty TV programmes.

Ken is the international ambassador for Goldwell and the stylist of many celebrities, including Singapores famous Yoyo Cao, Arissa Cheo and Kim Lim. If you can overlook the simplicity of the decor design, this is the salon you should definitely try for high-SES-worthy haircuts and colours because their skills are just that solid.

Customers who enjoy additional privacy can also opt to sit at their VIP area (rooms are not closed)  one can enjoy considerably more exclusivity with only two seats in this entire area.

Prices: Ladies Haircut at $120

The price may seem steep for a small salon, but theres a good reason why. You might have seen salons with just one stylist, but it is even more rare to find a salon with just ONE CHAIR.

Thats Izumis salon for you. She attends to only one customer at a time in the entire salon located within the SoHo section of The Central. This exclusivity offered is attractive especially for customers who wish to stay away from the private eye.

But beyond that, it is her skill that keeps customers coming back. Many customers consider her a steal because her hairdressing skill is more than on par with the great hairstylists mentioned earlier. She can bleach your hair and itll still look healthier afterward. Her haircut is also very on point. Yet the price is 10 times lower. She picked up her skills from the very best during her time in Japan and New York.

She also handles everything herself, from hair wash to blowdrying, so the hairstyle comes out just perfect. You dont have to worry about how good it looks afterward  just sit back, relax, and enjoy, while getting your hair done!

Prices: Haircut from $88, Colour from $140, Perm from $200

Follicle Salon may be best known for their Meso Scalp Treatment that helped many Beauty Undercover readers stop hair loss and regain their hair.

Located on the 8th level of Ngee Ann City, Follicle Salon is accessible yet private, complete with private VIP rooms and armchairs that let you recline while your hair is being done.

More notably, many of their veteran stylists have a strong base of tai-tai customers who come regularly for hair colouring and even blowdry.

Beyond hair, Follicle is also well known for their eyebrow artist Cecilia Chng, who is possibly the best in Singapore for eyebrow embroidery.

Prices: Haircut from $80, Colour from $130

The Bund is the ONLY neighbourhood salon to squeeze into this list, simply because it doesnt feel like one.

Located within Aramsa Spa, The Bund feels more like a sophisticated runway nestled within the greenery of Bishan Park.

The modern decor, coupled with one of Singapores best haircut specialists Ricky Wang, makes The Bund a truly luxurious concept within the neighbourhood. More concerned with quality than quantity, Ricky limits himself to just 7 customers a day and does everything from start to finish. This dedication to quality has gotten him a lot of word-of-mouth referrals, especially among chief executives in Singapore. A number of them love how he is located strategically outside the CBD while still staying close to central Singapore. Parking is also easy, just steps away from the salon. With Ricky recently appointed ambassador for AVEDA, we expect The Bund to get even busier in the coming months.Pope Francis expressed "pain and shame" over the Catholic Church's failure to deal with abuse and met with eight victims during a visit to Ireland on Saturday where the prime minister pressed him to take action. Francis said the "failure of ecclesiastical authorities... adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. "I myself share those sentiments," he said in a speech in Dublin Castle, speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. The pope later held an hour and a half meeting with victims of abuse at the hands of clergy or in Church-run institutions, including Marie Collins, who was, at the age of 13, abused by a priest while being treated in a hospital in Dublin. Collins, who last year resigned from a Vatican commission for child protection over its inaction, told reporters that the pope's speech was "disappointing" and "nothing new". One of the victims of Fr Tony Walsh, a priest and serial abuser who assaulted hundreds of children over nearly two decades, was also present but preferred to remain anonymous. - 'Cries for help' - Paul Jude Redmond, who was adopted illegally from a Catholic-run home in the 1960s where his mother had been interned for being pregnant and unmarried, was among those who met the pope. Redmond said the pope "lifted his hands to his head in shock" during the closed-door meeting after hearing stories of ill-treatment in Church-run Mother and Baby Homes. "We feel hopeful there will be more movement from the Church," Redmond said in a statement put out by the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors. Varadkar, an openly gay leader and a symbol of Ireland's liberalising culture, demanded from Pope Francis "that from words flow actions" for victims in a strongly-worded speech. He said Ireland's multiple historic scandals were "stains on our state, our society and also the Church." "Far too often there was judgement, severity and cruelty... people kept in dark corners, behind closed doors, cries for help that went unheard," he added. "There is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors. Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure that this is done here in Ireland and across the world." - 'An inspirational man' - Francis's visit was the first by a pope in this former bastion of Catholicism since John Paul II spoke to a crowd of 1.5 million people during a visit in 1979. Irish society is virtually unrecognisable from that time. A new generation has shed Ireland's traditional mores, electing Ireland's first gay prime minister and voting to legalise same-sex marriage and abortion -- both once unthinkable. In Dublin, tens of thousands of people lined the streets to cheer Pope Francis on as his Popemobile made its way from St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, where he gave marriage advice to couples, to a hostel for homeless families. "I just think he is an inspirational man. He has a difficult job to do to try and bring around a lot of changes in the Church but he is doing his best I feel," said Eileen Grier-Gavin, who came from County Mayo in western Ireland to see the pope pass by. The pope later attended a Festival of Families in Croke Park Stadium with more than 82,000 people in attendance. - 'Still in denial' - Earlier this month, the Vatican was rocked by a devastating US report accused more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania state of abusing more than 1,000 children since the 1950s. The pope wrote a letter to the world's 1.3 billion Catholics vowing to prevent future "atrocities" but also conceding that no efforts "to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient". Ireland has grappled with its own history of abuse, with multiple probes finding Church leaders protected hundreds of predatory priests over the decades. The Argentine pontiff was in Ireland to close the 2018 World Meeting of Families (WMOF) -- a global Catholic gathering that takes place every three years. The highlight of the trip will be an outdoor mass in the city's Phoenix Park on Sunday, which is expected to draw 500,000 people. Priests and nuns from across Ireland have flocked to the capital, although merchandise sellers said business was sluggish. "Local people are not spending," said street vendor Tony Mooney, 67. "There's an awful lot of not nice things being said to us." Richard Duffy, 31, said he was opposed to the visit, telling AFP "it just boggles my mind that there's a celebration for him coming here." "They're still in denial and refusing to admit any fault," he added.By Moses Ndhaye

The Secretary General of the Uganda Episcopal Conference Msgr. Baptist Kauta has underscored the need to support institutions that directly contribute to the countrys economic and social development.

He cites education institutions such as universities that he says must be fully supported because they carry out research which help stimulate development not only among local communities but at national level as well.

Msgr.Katuta made the remarks during the Family Prayer Day mass organized by Uganda Martyrs University at Namugongo Martyrs shrine ahead of the universitys silver jubilee celebrations slated for 9th November at the main campus in Nkonzi.

He has asked members of the general public to continue supporting various development initiatives by such institutions if the country is to continue to thrive socially and economically.

Meanwhile, the Vice Chancellor of the Uganda Martyrs University Rev. Prof. John Chrysostom Maviiri has used the special prayers to ask the government to exonerate the Members of Parliament who were recently arrested after reportedly being tortured by security operatives in Arua Municipality.

The MPs include Kyadondo Easts Robert Kyagulanyi also know by his stage name of Bobi Wine and his Mityana counterpart Francis Zaake.

Some of the other activities lined up for the UMU Silver Jubilee celebrations include a public lecture in honor of the Universitys first academic registrar Bernard Onyango to be held on September 20th and Protea Hotel, Kampala.

The public lecture organized by the Uganda Martyrs University Alumni Association will run under the theme; Higher Education at Crossroads: what might Onyango have said?

The association under the leadership of its president Ambrose Kibuuka also plans to hold the annual home coming for all alumni members from within Uganda and other countries like Rwanda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia among others on 8th September, the eve of the jubilee celebrations.

The main silver jubilee celebrations are running under the theme; Celebrating 25 years in the footsteps of the Uganda Martyrs.The Burundi government is prepared to take part in a "final" session of crisis talks with the opposition, expected to be held in Uganda next month, the foreign minister announced Saturday despite earlier official word that the dialogue was over. "We are preparing to take part in the fifth round of talks," foreign minister Ezechiel Nibigira said in a video put online by the Iwacu newspaper. "Burundi thinks this will be the final round" of talks, the minister said. His comments come days after the UN Security Council criticised the slow progress in talks between Burundi's government and the opposition despite President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision not to seek re-election in 2020. In a unanimous statement, the council welcomed Nkurunziza's announcement, but added that "additional progress will be necessary for credible elections" to be held in two years. The East African (EAC) bloc of countries is seeking to broker a political deal between the government and the opposition to end the crisis that erupted in 2015 when Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term. Nkurunziza's decision to run for re-election plunged Burundi into violence that left 1,200 people dead and drove 400,000 from to their homes. The International Criminal Court last year opened an investigation for grave crimes committed in Burundi. So far the government has refused to hold talks with some opposition groups that it brands terrorists, despite a mediation set up by regional countries under former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa. According to a diplomatic source, Mkapa wants to organise a fifth and last round of talks, seen as a final chance for a negotiated settlement, in the central Ugandan town of Entebbe in the last week of September. The fourth session of Burundi political dialogue, held in late 2017 without the participation of the opposition in exile, ended without agreement. The UN Security Council statement on Wednesday stressed that elections in Burundi must be "free, fair, transparent, peaceful and fully inclusive, with the participation of all political parties," and ensure the full participation of women. President Nkurunziza has been accused of sliding towards authoritarianism since he came to power in 2005 at the end of Burundi's brutal civil war.Shares in an Asian casino operator plunged in Hong Kong on Friday as it said its tycoon head had gone missing, the latest setback for the firm after a project in Manila had been stopped. Landing International Development said in a filing to the Hong Kong exchange Thursday that chairman Yang Zhihui could not be found, hours after its share price lost about 35 percent and was then suspended. When trading restarted early Friday it dived another 16.22 percent to end at HK$3.15. Mainland news site Caixin reported Friday that Yang was being investigated by Chinese authorities probing his ties with the head of state-controlled Huarong Asset Management and had been detained in Cambodia. China's anti-corruption agency announced in April that Huarong chairman, Lai Xiaomin, was under investigation for suspected graft. Chinese President Xi Jinping launched an anti-graft campaign in 2012, after took the reins of the Communist Party, and has snared errant party officials as well as corporate executives. Some of the country's top businesspeople have come under heightened scrutiny from authorities who have moved aggressively to prevent heavily indebted large private companies from collapsing and triggering a financial crisis. Financier Xiao Jianhua vanished from his Hong Kong apartment last year and reports suggest he was abducted by mainland security agents. He was believed to be under investigation in connection with China's 2015 stocks crash. Real estate kingpin Guo Wengui fled to the United States in 2014, where he is now seeking asylum. The billionaire Xu Ming, who was close to former top-ranking leader Bo Xilai, a political rival of Xi, died in prison at the end of 2015. Landing said in Thursday's statement it had "noted the fluctuation in the price and trading volume of shares of the company on 23 August 2018 and confirmed that the company has been unable to contact or reach Mr. Yang Zhihui ... since 23 August 2018". "To the best knowledge of the board, the business operations and financial positions of the group are normal," Landing said in its statement to the exchange, adding that the "temporary absence" of Yang would not affect its operations. Yang is the company's largest shareholder with a 50.5 percent stake. Landing said it was making attempts to contact him. Earlier this month Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte pulled the rug out from Landing's new $1.5 billion casino project in Manila, saying the terms of the lease agreement were flawed. Duterte ordered a review of the lease just as the project was supposed to break ground. Landing opened integrated casino resort Jeju Shinhwa World in Korea in March this year.Congolese opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) addresses a news conference in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, August 3, 2018. REUTERS/Kenny Katombe

By Amedee Mwarabu

KINSHASA (Reuters) - The election commission of Democratic Republic of Congo has excluded opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba and three former prime ministers from the list of approved candidates for December's presidential election, which was published on Friday.

Bemba, a former warlord who earlier in August returned to the Congolese capital Kinshasa to submit his candidacy for president after a decade in prison in The Hague for war crimes, had been seen as one of the frontrunners in the race to succeed incumbent Joseph Kabila.

The commission said a separate International Criminal Court conviction for witness tampering was the reason for Bemba's exclusion from the list.

Bemba was acquitted on appeal at the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity for murder, rape and pillage committed by fighters he sent to Central African Republic in 2002 but his witness tampering conviction stands.

Opposition parties condemned the election commission's decision, which can be appealed before the final list is published in September.

"Once again the current regime is showing its determination to suppress the electoral process," they said in a joint statement before the commission published the list.

Last month, Bemba placed third in a rare public opinion poll on the likely outcome of the election, winning 17 percent support.

He is popular in western Congo, including the capital Kinshasa, and his exclusion could trigger a violent reaction by his supporters. Street battles between militiamen loyal to Bemba and state forces broke out in Kinshasha after he lost the 2006 election to Kabila.

After years of speculation over his intentions, Kabila consented earlier in August to obey the two-term limit imposed by the Central African country's constitution by not entering his name for the poll set for Dec. 23.

As a parting shot, he picked a former interior minister, who has been placed under EU sanctions, to stand instead.

Story continues

His choice of a die-hard loyalist suggested that the president, who came to power after his father's assassination in 2001, intends to remain closely involved in national politics. He will be eligible to run again in 2023.

Former prime ministers Adolphe Muzito, Antoine Gizenga and Samy Badibanga were also among the six candidates excluded from the commission's list.

(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Sandra Maler)In an announcement that didnt surprise us at all, the Metro Manila Council (MMC)the governing- and policy-making body of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA)has revealed that it will continue the dry run of the Expanded High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Traffic Scheme on Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).

We have approved a resolution that will extend the dry run and test the carpooling program of the MMDA, said Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, MMC Special Committee on Traffic head.

Bautista cautioned though that the MMC has yet to receive the assessment of the Expanded HOV Traffic Scheme.

We have to continue the dry run, know the findings of the MMDA and the affected local government units regarding the Expanded HOV scheme on EDSA and inner cities, said Bautista.

The MMDA, in coordination with the cities of San Juan, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Makati, and Taguig, will create a study from the test run to determine the impact of the scheme to EDSAs traffic flow.

With the dry run still in effect, penalties will not be imposed on the violators of the HOV Traffic Scheme. Originally, if the plan of the MMDA was followed with the full implementation of the scheme on August 23, violators will be summoned via the agencys no contact apprehension policy and be required to pay a fine of PHP1,000.

The MMDA, however, decided to postpone the implementation of the traffic scheme following the issuance of Philippine Senate Resolution No. 845 of the 17th Congressauthored by Senators Vicente Sotto III, Ralph Recto, Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Franklin Drilonthat urged the MMDA to recall the said scheme and called for the agency and the MMC to conduct public consultations, further study the driver-only ban, and provide for real solutions to Metro Manila traffic congestions.

The MMDa though is set to hold a dialogue with the Legislative and Executive branches of the government to convince officials of the importance of the scheme.

The post As Expected, MMDA to Continue with EDSA HOV Traffic Scheme Dry Run appeared first on Carmudi Philippines.The mistress of a Malaysian professor  accused of using a toxic yoga ball to murder his wife and daughter  was his childrens tutor, the High Court in Hong Kong heard on Friday.

Khaw Kim-sun, 53, has denied murdering his wife, Wong Siew-fung, 47, and daughter Lily Khaw Li-ling, 16, who both died of carbon monoxide poisoning on May 22, 2015.

Wongs close friend Foong Wai-yee took to the witness box on Friday and revealed the wife had first complained about her marriage around 2010 or 2011.

The marriage hadnt been a happy one for some time before her death, said Foong, whose children attended the same playgroup as the Malaysian family.

Foong said Wong once revealed her husband had a new girlfriend and identified the mistress as Shara Lee, a tutor who taught Khaws children at their home between 2007 and 2008.

The prosecutors had earlier mentioned Lee as an assistant in a fake research project involving rabbits that Khaw set up to obtain the carbon monoxide.

Khaws colleague, associate professor Dick Chow Ho-ku, said Khaw told him he would bring Lee to the university to observe the first experiment for the project on May 13, 2015, nine days before Khaws wife and daughter died. She turned up towards the end of the experiment, Chow recalled.

Foong also described how the mental condition of Wong, whom she would go to yoga and play badminton with, had deteriorated so badly she needed counselling and medical help.

She was crying quite badly sometimes, the witness, also from Malaysia, recalled.

She said the situation improved towards Wongs death in 2015 because she had grown to accept the situation.

Foong described Lily, who also died in the car, as the most energetic of the couples four children: Mei-mei, the eldest daughter, Carly, the third daughter, and Didi, the youngest, their only son.

While Carly and Didi sat in the public gallery and waved at their helper when it was her turn to give evidence, Mei-mei is expected to take the stand herself soon.

Story continues

Prosecutors earlier told the court about a calculated and deliberate plot by Khaw, a former anaesthesiologist from Chinese Universitys department of anaesthesia and intensive care, who placed a yoga ball leaking carbon monoxide in the boot of Wongs car. The couples daughter was in the passenger seat on the day.

The court heard Khaw told police he acquired the gas to eradicate rats in his home, though the familys helper Siti Maesaroh told the court on Friday she had never seen rats, or traces of them, in the house.

But she agreed in cross-examination the household kept two cats and she was once told they were there to catch rats.

The case continued before Justice Judianna Barnes Wai-ling on Monday.

This article Yoga ball murder trial: Malaysian professors mistress was his childrens tutor, Hong Kong court hears first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.

More from South China Morning Post:Benjamin Jumbe

Arua Municipality Member of Parliament-elect Kassiano Wadri has asked parliament to fast track his swearing in.

Wadri was declared winner of the Arua Municipality by-election while in detention together with over 30 other people including four members of parliament following the chaos that erupted on the last day of the campaigns in Arua Municipality.

He made the appeal during a meeting with the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanya who visited Gulu prison to check on the health condition of arrested MPs including Paul Mwiru and Gerald Karuhanga.

Daily Monitors Julius Ocungi reports that in response, the deputy speaker said he would work to ensure that this is arranged when the legislator is granted bail.



By Marta Ardashelia

TBILISI (Reuters) - A tanker with 19 crew members on board has docked at a port in Togo after going missing for over a week in a suspected hijacking off the West African coast, the crew's agency said on Friday.

The Ialkani agency and the ship's managers lost communication with the Panama-registered Pantelena on Aug. 14, when it was about 17 miles (27 km) from the port of Libreville, in Gabon.

Two Russian nationals and 17 Georgians were aboard the vessel, a dual purpose oil or chemicals tanker managed by Athens-based Lotus Shipping. The company gave no further details on the cargo or crew.

"Our guys are alive and well. The ship is already in the port of Lome (Togo's capital) and soon representatives of our company will meet them," the head of Ialkani, Anzhela Oganesyan, said.

"I am almost certain that this was an attack by pirates."

Vladimer Konstantinidu, deputy head of the Georgian foreign ministry's consulate department, said the ministry had not yet been able to communicate with the returning crew but could not rule out that the tanker had been hijacked.

While piracy has decreased worldwide, especially off Somalia's coast, a hotbed for hijackings a decade ago, West Africa's Gulf of Guinea has become an increasing target for pirates who steal cargo and demand ransoms.

Ships in the Gulf of Guinea were targeted by a series of pirate raids last year, according to a report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which highlighted the waters off West Africa as an area of growing concern.

Ten kidnappings involving 65 crew members took place in or around Nigerian waters, the IMB said. Globally 16 vessels reported being fired upon, seven of which were in the Gulf of Guinea.

(Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Aaron Ross and Jan Harvey)US and Mexican negotiators will continue meeting through the weekend to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement and Canada is set to rejoin the talks as soon as they are called, Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Friday. Guajardo and Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray have been shuttling back and forth to Washington for more than a month for meetings with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to try to iron out bilateral issues, such as rules for the auto market, before the end of August. But Guajardo told reporters that Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland was ready at any point to proceed with the NAFTA negotiations. "I have confirmation that she would be available the moment we believe we can enter into the trilateral" discussions, he said. Freeland said earlier in the week that she was encouraged by the progress between Washington and Mexico City and would rejoin the talks once the bilateral discussions concluded. However, her office announced Friday she would travel to Europe August 26-30 for visits in Germany, France and Ukraine. The Mexican official declined to go into detail on the topics remaining with the United States but said the agreement could happen at any time. "The idea is that we are staying because we know there are issues to resolve," he said. "And we have to make sure that everybody feels comfortable with this agreement." Earlier Friday, Guajardo said officials were "very far" along in efforts to deal with the US-Mexico issues but added "there are trilateral issues that have to be solved in a trilateral context." A contentious proposal by the United States -- which would require the nearly 25-year-old trade pact be reauthorized every five years -- is one that must include all three partners, Guajardo said. Jesus Seade, an economic advisor to Mexico's incoming president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has been participating in portions of the NAFTA talks and said the sunset clause "is going out," according to press reports from Mexico City. Guajardo declined to comment on Seade's remarks but said the teams were working together on behalf of Mexico. A senior Canadian official told AFP on Thursday there had been "no indication of flexibility from the US on this issue." The three countries have been negotiating for a year to salvage the trade pact that President Donald Trump says has been a "disaster" for the United States.Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a news conference at State House in Harare Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a news conference at State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, Aug. 3, 2018. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo/Files

By MacDonald Dzirutwe

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court confirmed President Emmerson Mnangagwa's disputed July 30 election victory on Friday, dismissing an opposition challenge that had held up his inauguration, which will now be held on Sunday.

Before the vote, Mnangagwa had said a credible election could pull Zimbabwe out of its diplomatic isolation under former president Robert Mugabe, ending international sanctions and prompting an economic recovery.

Instead, the vote left the nation polarised, with Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), mounting the legal challenge and violence flaring on the streets of Harare.

In a unanimous ruling of the nine judges of the country's top court, Chief Justice Luke Malaba said Chamisa had failed to prove allegations of fraud during the presidential vote.

"Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is duly declared the winner of the presidential elections held on the 30th of July 2018," Malaba said in his ruling.

Chamisa had earlier said he reserved the right to take alternative actions, including peaceful protests, if he lost the legal case.

On Friday, he did not spell out his next step but told his supporters on Twitter that he would consult them on the "course of action to be taken to rescue our beautiful Zimbabwe from the jaws of poverty, corruption & dishonesty".

The election, in which Mnangagwa and Chamisa were the main contenders, was touted as a crucial step towards shedding Zimbabwe's pariah reputation and securing international donor funding to revive an economy suffering chronic shortages of investment and cash, as well as high unemployment.

An army crackdown in response to post-election violence by opposition supporters left six people dead on Aug. 1, recalling the heavy-handed security tactics that marked the 37-year rule of Mugabe, who was removed in a coup last November.

Mnangagwa now faces the challenge of persuading the international community that the army crackdown and lapses in the election process will not derail his promise of reforms to overcome corruption and mismanagement under Mugabe.

Story continues

After the ruling was delivered, the president called for peace on his Twitter feed.

"Nelson Chamisa, my door is open and my arms are outstretched, we are one nation, and we must put our nation first. Let us all now put our differences behind us," he said.

Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa told Reuters that Mnangagwa would be inaugurated on Sunday.

At ZANU-PF's offices, hundreds of supporters in the party's green and yellow colours followed Malaba's judgment on television, erupting into song and dance after their candidate was confirmed as president.

"He won the battle," a supporter told Reuters TV, adding that while Mnangagwa's enemies were trying their best, "they fail".

HARARE CALM

MDC Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora told reporters outside the court that "whatever we do as MDC we are going to act within the law ... We want Zimbabweans who want to demonstrate to be allowed to demonstrate."

Outside the party's office, one MDC member questioned the judges' verdict. "It was not fair, they were favouring one side - ZANU-PF. The MDC had enough evidence but it was not considered," he said.

Police blocked roads around the court, a 19th century British colonial building just opposite Mnangagwa's offices in central Harare. Vehicles carrying water cannon reappeared on streets near the court house while riot police patrolled the city centre in groups.

A Reuters witness said Harare was calm immediately after the ruling, with people going about their usual business.

In separate statements, the European Union urged all parties to "call for calm and restraint" after the court ruling, while the United States called for the parties to respect the "constitution and the rule of law."

"It is important that the new government engages all stakeholders in substantive discussions on the necessary reforms, including on further electoral reforms," the EU said.

The U.S. State Department made a similar appeal.

Before the ruling, the head of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches told Reuters it was speaking to senior leaders from ZANU-PF and the MDC to facilitate negotiations.

"We have been reaching out to both political parties to their highest level of leadership for us to explore a possibility of some form of dialogue," General Secretary Kenneth Mtata said.

(Writing by James Macharia Editing by David Stamp, Toni Reinhold)Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for unity on Saturday in the face of criticism from all sides of his handling of an economic crisis and tensions with the United States. "Now is not the time to unload our burdens on to somebody else's shoulders. We must help each other," Rouhani said in a televised speech at the shrine of late revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini. "The country's problems and resisting foreigners' conspiracies is the responsibility of every one of us." With rapidly rising food prices, a dramatic currency collapse and the reimposition of US sanctions after it abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal, many Iranians are in a bleak mood. Much of his electoral base among reform-minded urbanites has lost faith in him, while working-class areas have seen months of sporadic strikes and protests that have occasionally turned violent. Some of the most virulent criticism has come from the hardline religious establishment who long opposed Rouhani's efforts to rebuild ties with the West. On August 16, an image went viral of a protest by seminary students in the shrine city of Qom, at which one placard warned Rouhani would meet the same fate as former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was found dead in a swimming pool last year. Rouhani sought to play down the differences, saying: "The clerical, religious institutions and the government are alongside each other." But he added a typically cryptic warning: "No one can walk into the sea and not expect to get his feet wet." Hardliners have been blamed for stoking economic protests that have sometimes turned against the Islamic system as a whole. Rouhani still has the support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who says he must remain in power to avoid further disorder. But Khamenei has also blamed government mismanagement, rather than foreign hostility, for the current crisis. "We are aware of people's pain, suffering and problems and all our efforts are geared at reducing these problems," Rouhani pledged..California congressman Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, were indicted this week on multiple corruption charges based on their misuse of $250,000 of campaign money. In a 47-page indictment, the Justice Department charged Duncan, a Republican from San Diego, and Margaret with spending campaign funds on personal items including groceries, private school tuition, medical bills, trips to Las Vegas and Hawaii, and a family members entrance fee in a dance competition.

Dont worry, though, Duncan Hunter totally has an excuse: His wife made him do it! In an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Hunter said that he gave his wife of 20 years power of attorney and control over the family finances when he went to Iraq with the Marines in 2003, and that she continued to handle the familys money upon his return. Whatever she did, that will be looked at too, Im sure, he said, noting that she was also his campaign manager. But I didnt do it. I didnt spend any money illegally.

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Does Hunters Lady Macbeth defense sounds familiar? In March, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson got into a jam when it turned out he had ordered a $31,000 dining-room set for his office. He told a House subcommittee that it wasnt actually his fault:

I was told the dining room set needed to be changed.  I asked my wife, also, to help me with that. They showed us some catalogues. The prices were beyond what I wanted to pay. I made it clear that that just didnt seem right to me. And I left it with my wife, I said, help choose something, but I said, the money that is gonna be used, we need to take care of the deputy secretarys office, and whatever is left over, take care of the dining room furniture.  The next thing that I, quite frankly, heard about it, was that this $31,000 table had been bought.

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The trend is complicated by the fact that political spouses spending beyond their means is not an unheard-of phenomenon. Politico reported last summer, for example, that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinkes wife joined many of his official trips, and frustrated staffers by making special requests for travel and events. There are other variations on this theme, like the male politician who bows out of a race by explaining that his wife didnt want him to run. As Libby Copeland wrote in Slate back in 2011, its a move that lets a politician save face without conceding any diminution of his own macho ambitions, like the swaggering guy who threatens to take a swing at another guy in a bar, but manages to avoid the fight by bellowing Hold me back!

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To be fair, Hunters claim that his wife made the problematic spending decisions isnt totally implausible. His campaign committee paid her $116,000 as a consultant between 2010 and 2017, and its perfectly possible that she had control over the family finances, too. But Hunters claim that this would somehow absolve him from all responsibility is a notable stretch, not entirely unlike Trumps attempts to distance himself from Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen. Margaret Hunter was not randomly assigned to Hunters life. He married her, hired her, and allowed her to take control over his financial life. At best, I have absolutely no idea whats going on with the finances in any area of my life is not exactly a flattering self-description from a sitting congressperson.

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The really striking thing about Hunter blaming his wife for his campaigns (alleged) misdeeds is that he has previously taken such pains to present himself as a paragon of self-reliant, chest-thumping manliness. Hunter is a combat veteran who refers often to his status as a Marine; he has vocally opposed the inclusion of women in combat roles. A Fox News profile of Hunter last year called him the war fighters congressman, and depicted him as a badass unafraid to vape in committee meetings, or to remove a Capitol Hill painting he found offensive without asking for permission. The segment reported that the Hunter doctrine is: You kick ass and you leave. This week, the bold war fighter slunk onto TV and effectively announced that his wife of 20 years belongs in jail. Then again, I suppose it does take a strong man to throw a grown woman under the bus.Saturday, August 25, 2018

The California State Bar Court Review Department recommends suspension of six months and probation for a prosecutor's discovery violation.

Sandra Lee Nassar, a deputy district attorney in the Orange County District Attorneys Office, appeals a hearing judges decision finding her culpable of three counts of misconduct for her failure to produce evidence in a felony criminal trial. While the Office of Chief Trial Counsel of the State Bar (OCTC) recommended that Nassar be actually suspended for six months, the judge recommended that Nassar be suspended for two years, that execution of that suspension be stayed, and that she be placed on probation for three years subject to an actual suspension of one year and until she provides proof to the State Bar Court of her rehabilitation, fitness to practice, and present learning and ability in the general law. Nassar asserts that discipline is not warranted as she acted appropriately. OCTC does not appeal and supports the judges decision and discipline recommendation.

Upon independent review of the record (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.12), we reject Nassars arguments, and affirm the hearing judges culpability findings, but not her discipline recommendation. In light of the comparable case law, we recommend an actual suspension of six months to protect the public, the courts, and the legal profession.

The criminal case involved two defendants charged with abuse and torture of a five-year-old. Nassar had a "mail cover" of the two defendant in place that (unbeknownst to them) reviewed all their non-privileged correspondence.

One of the defendants pleaded guilty and was released.

Between July 2011 and August 2012, Iacullos attorney, Joe Dane, repeatedly requested discovery documents from Nassar. Iacullos case was scheduled for jury trial five times during April 2012 to June 2013. Each time, the defense filed a motion to continue the trial shortly before the scheduled date. The superior court granted each motion on the first day of trial, except the first one, which was granted the week before trial was to start.

Wonder if Joe Dane has ever represented a Jane Doe?

After Nassar was reassigned, the case was transferred to ADA Duke

When Nassar told Duke about the mail cover in the Iacullo case, Duke asked if any of the more than 1,000 pages of collected material had been produced. Nassar had not produced any of it, and replied, Why would I? Duke then spoke to her supervisor, Ted Burnett, who confirmed that the mail cover materials should have been provided to Dane in response to his earlier requests. On June 6, 2013, Duke produced all collected materials to Dane and canceled the mail cover.

A motion to dismiss ensued

The superior court found no due process violation and denied the motion to dismiss. However, the court determined that Nassar committed a willful Brady violation, and recused her from the case. The court found that Nassar did not produce obviously exculpatory material, and her justification was not reasonable, adding that It wasnt even close to a reasonable excuse. The judge noted that Dane could use the letter from Pincus to Iacullo to impeach Pincuss testimony at trial and that the defense could call Nassar as a witness. Neither side appealed the courts ruling.

Iacullo pleaded guilty and got 12 years.

The court here

Nassar was obligated under the Penal Code to disclose items contained within the mail cover 30 days before the first scheduled trial date of June 20, 2012. By withholding that evidence, she violated rule 5-220.

Sanction

We find that Nassar lost sight of her prosecutorial duties when she failed to disclose the mail cover materials. She shifted her focus away from her duty to shield against injustice and concentrated on the adversarial nature of the job. She repeatedly failed to make the disclosures, despite Danes repeated requests, before each of the scheduled trial dates, in violation of the Penal Code. Nassar admitted that she withheld discoverable evidence to obtain a strategic advantage at trial. Further, she did not avail herself of the remedy permitted under Penal Code section 1054.7. Instead of requesting the judge to look at the materials in camera to determine if good cause existed to defer producing the materials, Nassar improperly made that determination herself. Her misconduct was serious and her actions fell substantially below the standards required of a prosecutor.

... we recommend that Sandra Lee Nassar be suspended from the practice of law for two years, that execution of that suspension be stayed, and that she be placed on probation for two years with the following conditions:

Nassar must be suspended from the practice of law for the first six months of her probation...

OC Weekly reported on the hearing judge's decision. (Mike Frisch)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2018/08/the-california-state-bar-court-review-department-sandra-lee-nassar-a-deputy-district-attorney-in-the-orange-county-district.htmlThere were some tense moments Saturday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday as supporters and opponents of the toppling of a Confederate statute clashed a bit. A total of seven people were arrested as about a dozen people carrying Confederate flags were met by a larger group of counterprotesters.

Three arrests were for assault, the fourth for destruction of property and the fifth arrest for resisting an officer. The sixth arrest was for assault, destruction of property and inciting a riot. We are awaiting information on charges for the seventh arrest, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill media relations office said.

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The war is over, go home.

Pro and anti Silent Sam activists clash further away from the monument. pic.twitter.com/NS1hBcCbyh  The Daily Tar Heel (@dailytarheel) August 25, 2018

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Around 100 people attended the highly charged demonstration that came mere days after people yanked down a memorial known as Silent Sam from the university campus on Monday.

That protest was much larger and involved some 300 demonstrators who surrounded the memorial that was erected to honor soldiers of the pro-slavery Confederacy killed in the Civil War. The demonstrators used ropes to pull down the memorial.

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A man just punched one demonstrator. Then another was arrested for destroying a confederate flag pic.twitter.com/756e92ypx0  Myah Ward (@MyahWard) August 25, 2018

The University of North Carolina on Friday had called on people not to participate in the event Saturday. In the end there was a heavy police presence, a few punches were thrown, and even an attempt to burn a Confederate flag that was stopped by law enforcement. But no one was seriously injured.

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Individuals attempt to burn the Confederate flag and are halted by police. pic.twitter.com/lpp4qsjYqb  The Daily Tar Heel (@dailytarheel) August 25, 2018

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In a call with the media, UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said she wont be rushed into a decision about what will happen to the statue. I think we need to really look into that, she said. Weve just had a lot of new information when the Historical Commission looked at the law and the timing of the law. So were certainly looking into all of those things and trying to really understand what it says, what it requires. Folt made the statement shortly after a board member at the university said the statue needs to be restored within 90 days in accordance with state law. The UNC-Chapel Hill Police Department on Friday charged three people in connection with bringing down the statue.Bratislava almost became Wilsons Town

Today, there is a street named after the US president, a commemorative plaque, his bust as well as a book and film inspired by those turbulent times.

The scene from the film Wilsonov in which Bratislava, then-Wilsonov, prepares for signing an agreement on joining the city with the USA. (Source: PubRes)

Woodrow Wilson (Source: AP/SITA)

Presslawasburg, Pressburg, Posonium, Pozsony, Presporok and Pozon. These are not different cities but only some of names the city today known as Bratislava, the Slovak capital, used to be called. And there might have been one more. When Czechoslovakia was created after WWI, there was a proposal to call it Wilsons Town after the American president Woodrow Wilson. This idea did not materialise. Nevertheless, there are several places in Bratislava remembering the American politician and his contribution to the creation of Czechoslovakia while this era continues to fascinate some artists.

Almost Wilsons Town

The vain efforts of Czechs and Slovaks for equal status within the Habsburg monarchy resulted in their decision to leave Austria-Hungary. Czechoslovakia was created on October 28, 1918, with American president Woodrow Wilson contributing to its creation.

Bratislava (1915-1920) (Source: Courtesy of the Bratislava City Archive)

In his famous Fourteen Points speech delivered on January 8, 1918 to the US Congress, he called for, among other things, freedom and self-determination for the various nations living within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, said US Ambassador to Slovakia, Adam Sterling, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the speech on January 8, 2018.

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) was an American statesman and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. While he is acknowledged for his contribution to ending territorial disputes in Europe, promotion of international commerce, and making the world safe for democracy, he is also considered to be the most racist US president. Nevertheless, Bratislava is not the only city in central Europe naming places after him. In Prague, there is the Woodrow Wilsons Train Station (nadrazi prezidenta Wilsona) as well as Wilson Street. In Warsaw, there is Wilson Square (Plac Wilsona).

Nevertheless, during the creation of the new republic, there were disputes as to which state then Pressburg, with large Hungarian and German-speaking populations, should belong to  Czechoslovakia, Hungary or Austria. At that time, efforts to call the city Wilsons Town and make it a free city with a status similar to then Gdansk emerged. Gdansk was the Free City of Danzig, an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the League of Nations.

25. Aug 2018 at 11:27 | Jana LiptakovaThe California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) conducted its regular meeting Thursday, August 23, at Del Mar Surfside Race Place.

Chair Chuck Winner presided. Vice Chair Madeline Auerbach and Commissioners Fred Maas and Jesse Choper also were in attendance.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

 Acting on a recommendation from Medication Committee Chair Madeline Auerbach and Committee Member Solis, the Board approved for public notice a proposed regulation to require veterinarians for horses claimed in races to report the administration of any intra-articular injections to the new veterinarians. The official veterinarian will oversee this procedure but the information itself will pass directly from one practicing veterinarian to another, retaining its confidentiality. Vice Chair Auerbach stressed the cooperative nature of discussions with veterinarians, trainers and owners that led to agreement on this matter.

 The Board approved the license application for Pacific Racing Association (PRA) to conduct a race meet at Golden Gate Fields that will run from October 17 through December 9. However, the license is contingent on PRA submitting agreements with each satellite wagering facility in Northern California, as required by law, including the TOC horsemens agreement and all other outstanding items mentioned in the staff analysis, by the close of business on September 10, 2018. This condition is in the public interest and serves the purpose of the California horse racing law.

 The Board approved the license application for the Los Angeles Turf Club to conduct a race meet at Santa Anita Park that will run from September 27 through November 4. This license application along with the Golden Gate application did not include an Advance Deposit Wagering agreement with TwinSpires. The Board approved the licenses without those agreements but indicated its strong desire that this issue be resolved before the new racing year. Also, a camera will be placed in the stewards stand beginning with this meet at Santa Anita. Additional details will be discussed in a future news release.

 John Valenzuela, president of Local 280, announced that a temporary agreement has been reached to continue the current contract with pari-mutuel clerks through October 2. Negotiations are continuing for a long-term agreement.

 The Board approved the license application for the Big Fresno Fair to conduct a race meet in Fresno that will run from October 4 through October 14.

 The Board approved the license application for Watch and Wager LLC to conduct a harness meet at Cal Expo that will run from November 10 through December 13.

 Scott Daruty, representing The Stronach Group, reported progress on Santa Anitas plan to construct 800 new, additional stalls in what is now the north parking lot. Stabling in Northern California will be discussed at a committee meeting in September.

 Chairman Winner reported that issues still need to be resolved with the 2019 racing calendar for Northern California but the Race Dates Committee will be recommending dates for the thoroughbred tracks in Southern California as well as night quarter horse and harness racing that will mirror this years calendar.

 The Board approved Angie Carmona, Dr. Victor Levine and Eric Sindler for two-year terms on the Board of Directors for the California Thoroughbred Horsemens Foundation, which provides health care and other benefits to backstretch workers and their families.

(CHRB)For the past two years, Windsun Revenge has raced competitively in the Preferred ranks on the WEG circuit and participated in the Maple Leaf Trot Final. But with just one start this season, the trotting speedster is conspicuous by his absence from both Canada's top trotting class as well as this upcoming stakes event.

Trainer and co-owner Jeff Durham told Trot Insider that Windsun Revenge is still in training but suffered a setback earlier this year.

"Well, he got hurt his first start back in April. He hurt his right hind suspensory; no holes or tears," said Durham. "I just got him re-ultrasounded [last week] from Melissa McKee. We did a little bit of work over his back... I'll probably jog him for another few weeks and then I'll start turning him and training him.

"He's back going, we're just trying to be careful with him."

Careful is key, especially when bringing horses back from injury. Durham knows all too well, however, how quickly fortunes can turn. He recalls how well his horse was situated in the Maple Leaf Trot last year until racing luck went against him.

"Last year in the Maple Leaf Trot Final he got hurt. Up the backside he got jammed up behind a horse and he hurt his right front suspensory and blew his left front leg up so we took our time with that and brought him back and he took a bad step [in April]. He raced really good his first start back and he couldn't be any happier, it's just that things weren't right. What do you do? They're not machines."

Now seven, Windsun Revenge (Kadabra - Oaklea Polly) has banked more than $472,000 in his 75-start career, with a 19-12-16 summary in those starts for Durham and co-owner/breeder Robert Van Camp. Durham feels that start total plays to his advantage as the trotter would have less hard miles than most horses his age.

"This horse, I don't think we've overraced in the last couple of years. We're just trying to pick our spots," said Durham. "Melissa's really happy with the progress with him; she would have told us if it was time to retire him.

"He doesn't owe us anything. He wasn't the top horse, that's for sure but to race in the Breeders Crown and finish fourth...Scott Zeron said coming around the last turn he thought he was going to win his first Breeders Crown [in the 2016 Open Trot] but the headwind was so strong that night it was a little taxing on him, that's all. Not many people get to race in the Breeders Crown."

Not many people get to race in the Breeders Crown, and even fewer have that opportunity with a horse that was a yearling sale buyback. Durham took part ownership and managed the colt's development with co-owner and longtime business associate Van Camp. For more than 20 years, Durham has sold horse feed through Van Camps Brooks Performance Horse Feed.

If the story sounds familiar to that of another Canadian-based trotting titan, the connections don't stop there. Hall of Famer San Pail is located just a few minutes from Durham at the farm of Rod Hughes, who's also Durham's blacksmith. While his trotter doesn't have the cult status of San Pail, Durham notes that Windsun Revenge has a bit of following of his own with industry participants pleased to see a stable of smaller stature succeeding on harness racing's top circuit.

"Anthony Montini always jokes with me. The day he won in 51 he said 'I was pretty excited to see the horse win like that, but you probably are too eh?' You don't realize that people know the horse and people like the horse.

"I was out knocking on the training centre doors and I was talking to Nick Gallucci, and Nick was talking to one of his girls and said 'this is the fella that owns and trains Windsun Revenge.' She replied 'I just love that horse!'"

For those that share these sentiments, Durham is aiming for a mid-October return with Windsun Revenge. That timeframe would roughly line up with the Breeders Crown elims but Durham kept the stakes payments modest given the injury and an experience from 2017 that didn't go as well as he'd hoped.

"We didn't pay him into the Breeders Crown because we raced him last year over at Georgian Downs and he doesn't negotiate the [five-eighths] turns; two turns are better than three for him...He likes to wheel on the front and make his own speed."

In addition, Durham recognizes that some of the other barriers to racing his horse in the major stakes events, including entry based on seasonal earnings or the requirement of stabling within a certain geographical region. Thus, expect to see Windsun Revenge competing mainly at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

"Rick [Zeron] has often told me that on the right night he'd trot Mohawk in 1:50. We're not worried about speed miles, we're just worried about getting him back to the races and having a little fun."Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 1 Vote(s) - 5 Average

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Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton Cites New LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 443824

08-26-2018 12:59 AM











Post: #1 Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton Cites New

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Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton Cites New Intel







Russia is again warning of a new potential chemical provocation in Syria at the end of a week in which US National Security Advisor John Bolton threatened Damascus with a "very strong" military response should allegations emerge amidst the Syrian Army campaign to liberate Idlib.



The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Saturday per state-run TASS:



A provocation with an alleged chemical weapons use in Syria, which terrorists are plotting to stage with the assistance of UK special services, will serve as a pretext for missile strikes by the West and the United States against the Arab country, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.



According to the Russian general, the provocation will be staged by terrorists of the Hayat Tahrir ash-Sham terrorist organization (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra outlawed in Russia) and for this purpose eight containers with chlorine have been brought to the Idlib province.







https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-08-2...rovocation They are going to blame Iran. War with Iran is imminent. Russia knows it and its trying to stop the West.Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton Cites New IntelRussia is again warning of a new potential chemical provocation in Syria at the end of a week in which US National Security Advisor John Bolton threatened Damascus with a "very strong" military response should allegations emerge amidst the Syrian Army campaign to liberate Idlib.The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Saturday per state-run TASS:A provocation with an alleged chemical weapons use in Syria, which terrorists are plotting to stage with the assistance of UK special services, will serve as a pretext for missile strikes by the West and the United States against the Arab country, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday.According to the Russian general, the provocation will be staged by terrorists of the Hayat Tahrir ash-Sham terrorist organization (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra outlawed in Russia) and for this purpose eight containers with chlorine have been brought to the Idlib province. FD

lop guest

User ID: 431006

08-26-2018 01:01 AM











Post: #2 RE: Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton ...

Wait a minute so now it's Russia is good ?



It's so damn hard to keep up with you guys . LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 440984

08-26-2018 01:02 AM











Post: #3 RE: Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton ...





http://lunaticoutpost.com/thread-54483.html See these threads for more: LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 440984

08-26-2018 01:03 AM











Post: #4 RE: Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton ...

FD Wrote: (08-26-2018 01:01 AM) Wait a minute so now it's Russia is good ?



It's so damn hard to keep up with you guys .

Staged chemical weapons attacks to give cover for more illegal bombing of Syria by America and its allies is bad.



Russia is stating that this scenario is in play.. once again.



Understand? Staged chemical weapons attacks to give cover for more illegal bombing of Syria by America and its allies is bad.Russia is stating that this scenario is in play.. once again.Understand? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 443824

08-26-2018 01:09 AM











Post: #5 RE: Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton ...

FD Wrote: (08-26-2018 01:01 AM) Wait a minute so now it's Russia is good ?



It's so damn hard to keep up with you guys .

Russia is the only reason we dont have a NWO at full force yet. Russia is the only reason we dont have a NWO at full force yet. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 443824

08-26-2018 01:10 AM











Post: #6 RE: Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton ...







Russia yesterday said Syrian rebels are preparing a chemical attack in Idlib province which will be blamed on Damascus and used as a pretext for Western powers to hit government targets in the war-torn country.



Moscow's accusation comes after US President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton this week said Washington will respond "very strongly" if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons in an offensive to retake Idlib, one of the last rebel held provinces in the country.



Reacting to comments by Bolton, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said: "We warn the Americans and their allies against taking new reckless steps in Syria."



"We are hearing ultimatums from Washington ... and it does not affect our determination to continue our policy for the total elimination of terrorist epicentres in Syria and the return of this country to a normal life," RIA quoted Ryabkov as saying.





https://www.thedailystar.net/news/world/...ib-1624681 West planning to stage chemical attack in IdlibRussia yesterday said Syrian rebels are preparing a chemical attack in Idlib province which will be blamed on Damascus and used as a pretext for Western powers to hit government targets in the war-torn country.Moscow's accusation comes after US President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton this week said Washington will respond "very strongly" if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons in an offensive to retake Idlib, one of the last rebel held provinces in the country.Reacting to comments by Bolton, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said: "We warn the Americans and their allies against taking new reckless steps in Syria.""We are hearing ultimatums from Washington ... and it does not affect our determination to continue our policy for the total elimination of terrorist epicentres in Syria and the return of this country to a normal life," RIA quoted Ryabkov as saying. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 441717

08-26-2018 02:20 AM











Post: #7 RE: Russia Warns Staged "Chemical Provocation" Coming In Syria After Bolton ...





https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/08/2...cal-attack



Repeat and rinse... their at it again..















Threat intelligence firm Recorded Future recently published research describing espionage activities originating from servers at a major Chinese university, coinciding with international economic development efforts.

Winnona DeSombre and Sanil Chohan are authors of the report, Chinese Cyberespionage Originating from Tsinghua University Infrastructure, along with their colleague Justin Grosfelt.

The research can be found here.Romulo Pena

Former Makati City mayor Romulo Pena announced on Saturday he is running for congressman in the citys first district. Pena made the announcement following reports that a Binay-versus-Binay scenario will possibly play out in the May 2019 elections, with the incumbent Mayor Abigail Binay possibly being challenged by her own brother, Jejomar Erwin Jun-Jun Binay Jr., who also served as mayor during the time of President Benigno Aquino III. Despite the clamor for him to join the mayoralty polls next year, Pena said he decided not to participate in order to heal the wounds suffered by the constituents during the height of his holdover capacity for 11 months.In a statement, Pena noted when he acted as mayor from July 2015 to June 2016, but he did not have the full support of members of the City Council that led to setting aside his priority programs, which he said, should have granted greater benefits to the people. Political differences must not hinder the implementation of welfare programs for the people, he said. I would not want to see another emotional battle between relatives and family members, city hall workers versus peers, neighbor against their neighbor, and broken decade-long friendships come election time, Pena said. He added that people tend to risk life, conscience and reputation just to grab a hold of the power. In a forum recently held in Manila, Mayor Abigail Binay said shes enjoying the support of her father former Vice President Jejomar Binay Sr. to seek reelection in the 2019 polls. When asked about the possible sibling rivalry, the incumbent mayor said I cant say. May mga paramdam pero hanggat hindi nagfa-file hindi natin malalaman. Im running with the full support of my dad. If locals of Makati would allow it, Abigail said she would have wanted to serve until her third term. Pena said he feels sad on the imminent battle between the two siblings. In fact, he said, he politely turned down the request of his staunch supporters to make a second try in the citys top post. The incumbent Makati First District Representative is former actor Monsour del Rosario, who shifted political party from United Nationalists Alliance (of former VP Binay) to the ruling Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas - Lakas ng Bayan or PDP-Laban. He is reportedly planning to run either for city mayor or senator in 2019 mid-term polls. Penas name is reportedly among the top choices in mayoralty surveys in Makati for being visible in helping his constituents despite the unfortunate result in the May 2016 local elections when he was defeated by Abigail Binay. Penas presence is being sought in every wake and burials, baptismal, weddings, birthday celebrations, and even in simple conversations with residents.He is also active in donating wheelchairs to indigent residents in the city, while 600 crutches were given to individuals who find difficulty in walking. Pena also continually extends cash assistance to residents who want start small business, such as a sari-sari stores and vendors. He provides escorts to control traffic during burials, makes home visits to the sick, and conduction of patients who do not want hospitalization at Ospital ng Makati to another hospital, and holds feeding program three times a month. Pena took over the leadership in Makati in July 2015 after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered then mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay to vacate the post in connection with the alleged irregularities in the construction of Makati Science High School. Pena said during his 11-month administration, fiscal discipline was strictly observed by his Bagong Makati leadership. Citing a report from the budget office, he said, the city government expended only P684,844,960 of the total P4,829,937,570 budget allocated for the period of January to June 2016. The figure represents merely 14.17% expenditures of the total appropriations for the first half of the year. The bulk of the unexpended budget is passed on to the incoming administration, which means that P4,145,092,610 or 85.83% of the allotment remained in the citys coffers. He also highlighted the remarkable increase in the revenue collection of the city from business and realty taxes, which he said was a clear indication of the confidence of the business sector during his time. In 2016 elections, Abigail Binay received 153,487 votes over the 137, 803 votes of Pena. Abigail is the fourth in the Binay family who was elected mayor in Makati. First was her father, followed by her mother Elenita, and the last was her brother Jejomar Erwin. Her sister Nancy Binay is an incumbent senator. Junjun was supposed to run for re-election in the city in 2016 but his dismissal order from the Ombudsman over allegations of irregularities in the city prompted the Binay family and the United Nationalist Alliance, the political party of the former vice president, to field Abigail. Makati, a city with more than 370,000 registered voters, has been a stronghold of the Binays since the former vice president was appointed by then President Corazon Aquino as its officer-in-charge in 1986.Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles

With reports of rice prices surging in Zamboanga and threats of similar developments elsewhere, a pro- administration lawmaker on Saturday urged the Department of Agriculture and its attached agency, the National Irrigation Administration to work together for profitability and productivity of rice farming, with the end in view of ensuring rice security in the country. In a country where each individual consumes an average of 111.6 kilograms of rice per year, making sure that we have rice security, or a stable supply of affordable rice, should be a top priority, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, chairman of the House Committee on appropriations, said on Saturday. Nograles said the increasing rice production should go hand-in-hand with increasing the productivity of rice farmers.We have long held pride over us being an agricultural country, meaning were fed primarily thanks to our hardworking farmers in the provincesbut they need more support. We have to take concrete steps to improve the productivity of rice farmers so that first, they earn more from rice farming; and second, they can sell rice at competitive rates, added Nograles. Nograles made the statement in response to what the lawmaker described as Agriculture Secretary Manny Pinols disheartening admission to Congress that, at present, Philippine rice could not compete with the big exporters in the region. Pinol said that even if the country could produce surplus rice, the problem is we could not possibly compete with Vietnam or Thailand in exporting our rice because our rice is more expensive. Vietnam and Thailand are the top two sources of imported rice in the Philippines. In 2016, over 80 percent of foreign rice that entered the Philippines came from these two nations. These countries can produce more rice and sell them at much cheaper prices because of their topography and climate. Over nine million hectares of land is dedicated to rice farms in Thailand, while around four million hectares of land in Vietnam are used for rice. These two countries have also invested billions of dollars to improve rice productivity in their countries, said Nograles.He said one way to bridge the gap between the Philippines and these rice exporting giants is to increase the countrys irrigated lands and to increase the percentage of farmers connected to the countrys NIS. According to the DA, around 1.2 million hectares of irrigated land are used for rice farming in the Philippines. The NIS provides irrigation to around 50 percent of the countrys total irrigable area. This means half of our rice farmers have much higher production costs. For example, rice farmers who are connected to the NIS spend around 2,100 pesos per hectare for fuel costs; on the other hand, those who arent connected spend 15,876 pesos per hectare for fuel costs because they need the fuel for water pumps, the legislator from Mindanao said. So the expansion of NIS-serviced areas is critical if we want to lower rice production costs so that our rice farmers can earn more from the rice they harvest, while ensuring they can sell their rice at competitive, affordable prices. He added that the implementation of Republic Act 10969, or the Free Irrigation Services Actsigned by President Rodrigo Duterte earlier this yearcould also help lower production costs. The law exempts farmers with less than eight hectares and below from paying irrigation service fees for water derived from the NIS and communal irrigation systems. We set aside 2.6 billion pesos as subsidies for free irrigation under the existing 2018 national budget. This is a 30 percent increase from the 2017 allocation of 2 billion pesos. This is our way of helping our rice farmers with production costs, and Congress will be there to provide the needed funds, he said.It would serve as a litmus test to our defense agreement with the US should President Duterte proceed with the plan to purchase arms from Russia and China. If the sale materializes, it could put to a test whether the US military assistance pact, which we signed in 1947, is still relevant or is already a scrap of paper designed to ward off potential arms sellers. Many are saying this for it seems the sentimentalist pro-US lackeys are quivering in fear that breaking that colonial chain might invite sanction from the US. Maybe our purchase of P400 million worth of 750 RPG-7B rocket-propelled launchers from Russias state-owned Rosobonexport constitutes a violation to our defense agreement. Nonetheless, it can never be interpreted to restrain us from exercising our sovereign right as an independent state. As in our right to freely engage in trade, our military assistance was not intended to supersede our right to secure arms for our own defense and security. This is why President Duterte had to reiterate that political mantra that the Philippines will deal with any other country provided there are no strings attached. Our purchase of arms with Russia, with China or with any country not under sanction by the UN Security Council is an exercise of our right as an independent state. This cannot be aligned to what is economically, militarily and politically beneficial to the interest of the US. The US threat of sanction to punish Russia for its 2014 annexation of Crimea, for its support for the Assad government in Syria, and of the charge of alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election are issues that should be resolved exclusively between the two. That should not be stretched to include the Philippines even if the US has been dangling our unflinching loyalty through the years. It does not even have the right to block our arms procurement on the basis of the oppositions claim of alleged human rights violation by the Duterte administration for its vigorous campaign against illegal drugs which they claim to have killed thousands of our people. Except for the so-called ironclad interpretation by the US of our military assistance pact, the threat of sanction is rather symptomatic of its growing insecurity, characteristic of a declining economic power. To begin with, our military assistance pact with the US is a misnomer. All our arms procurement were all paid through arms sales credit and soft loans extended to us as client-state obligated in suppressing our own people to protect their interest and in doing the dirty job of fighting for them in countries where their imperial interest has gone awry. In other words, there has never been a free meal in our relationship with our former colonizer. The second consideration which many of us have failed to take into account is that the Philippines has become the most lucrative and profitable outlet to what President Eisenhower feared as the US military industrial complex. The Philippines has become their dumping ground for outmoded war materials. Often they are being sold under pressure to countries obligated as an ally to purchase them at extortionist prices. The Philippines has become the ready market for these weapons even if they would not serve to defend this country in the event of an all-out conflict. The Philippines is simply forced to buy them to allow their own bankrupt economy afloat. It is to break from that status that is considered threat to the US economy. Take for instance our purchase of the two Hamilton-class cutters that have been docked in the US at a staggering cost of P750 million. The cutters made their debut service 40 years ago with some even considering them worthy for consignment to the worlds biggest ship graveyard in Gadani, Pakistan to be cut to pieces for scrap metal. The purchase by that lackluster Aquino administration of a dozen T-50 trainer jets, a US made Lockheed Martin, but assembled in South Korea at a fantastic cost of more than P1 billion each. The jets were reclassified F 50 to denote that they have been converted to fighter jets just to make them palatable to the public. To this, day many are wondering just how could a dozen jets which lag behind by two generations to its present class of F 35 to intercept enemy planes that might cross our sea. Most dangerous, our military assistance pact with the US has been politicized to cater to the demands of their local lackeys. The end of the Cold War has redefined US role in the South China Sea emphasizing on the US presence than in winning over its enemies. Our procurement of arms to live up to our role has become dependent on the whims that it has become evident it is their interest than that of its allies it is trying much to protect.Take the case of the terrorists siege of Marawi City. One could clearly see the pattern in the disposition of US military assistance to which it has consistently and loudly proclaimed the country as its staunch ally. It was not until after June 2018 when the US decided to deliver humanitarian assistance and for the recovery work of the City in the amount of P296.2 million. While the country is nonetheless grateful, it was expecting a military assistance consistent to an existing defense commitment that calls for that situation. Instead, the US sent drones and communications equipment for their own use and Special Forces to help in the battle which meant their direct participation in the local conflict. The use of those mat materials were intended only for their exclusive use. While China, for which we have no military assistance agreement, it donated of P1.1 billion on Nov. 15, 2017. In addition, it gave P370 million worth of weapons and heavy equipment for the rebuilding efforts of the City. Most political analysts now predict US-Philippine relations could worsen should the Duterte administration insist in acquiring weapons other than from the US. The US would logically find it odd to continue the military assistance pact with while the Philippines persist in seeking assistance from other countries. The US would argue that its commitment to defend this country would only be good and effective for as long as we extend to them a monopoly in the purchase of their costly armaments, and observing certain guidelines on how we are to use them often contrary to our own national interest. On the other hand, the Philippines cannot continue these unequal relations that have already reached its peak of contradiction that aside from being costly would subject our leaders to political blackmail. In other words, the direction to which the Duterte administration is going is telling that our mutual defense agreement with the US has already outlived its usefulness and our parting of ways would be mutually advantageous. [email protected]Mountain Shadows in Wayanad is just the place for a dreamy vacationA growing cross-border e-marketplace in Asia Pacific is a signal for Filipino SMEs to consider taking their products and services abroad, according to PayPal. The global leader in digital payments and Ipsos recently released the 2018 PayPal Cross-Border Consumer Research, which investigates the online shopping habits of approximately 34,000 consumers in 31 countries [1]including the Philippines. It reveals a growing cross-border e-commerce scene, with the US and China being the biggest markets in terms of online spend. According to the study, there is a healthy appetite for e-commerce in APAC, with 48 percent of consumers shopping cross-border in the last 12 months. This is a huge opportunity for local entrepreneurs to expand their businesses beyond the Philippines. China, in particular, shows significant promise as the Philippines improves its bilateral relations with the worlds second-largest economy, said Abhinav Kumar, Head of Strategic Partnerships for PayPal in Southeast Asia. China, the largest market for online purchases in the world, spent an estimated total of RMB 3.9 trillion for online transactions in 2017. This is projected to increase to RMB 5.4 trillion in 2018. Cross-border trade (buying from a website not in their own country) is increasing with 43 percent of Chinese consumers shopping cross-border in the last 12 months compared to 26 percent the previous year. APAC countries like Australia, India, and Japan are likewise growing fast. For 2018, the PayPal study projects Japan to increase its total online spend by 26 percent, India by 53 percent, and Australia by 19 percent.The digital upheaval brought about by social media and increased smartphone penetration translate to increased opportunities for cross-border trade, as seen by the projected growth in online spending. The world has become much smaller as platforms like PayPal enable merchants to take advantage of opportunities by connecting them with global consumers, allowing SMEs and micro enterprises more opportunities to thrive. According to the study, the top few reasons for the growth in cross-border shopping can be attributed to the novelty of accessing items that are not available in their own country (49 percent) or to discover new and interesting products (34 percent). Over 30 percent of consumers from China and Australia who shop online cite finding items that are hard to find locally as a reason for making them more likely to shop cross-border. The demand for unique products is there, and this is an opportunity for Filipino businesses to showcase products not available elsewhere. The Philippines produces many unique products thanks to its rich culture, and with e-commerce, local merchants can now bring uniquely Filipino products to the world, said Kumar.As more and more Asian nations become more open to cross-border trade, Filipino businesses should be mindful of what consumers are buying to be able to take full advantage. Globally, fashion, such as clothing, footwear, and accessories, remain the top category for online shopping, with 68 percent of cross-border online shoppers having spent on these items in the past 12 months. While APAC shoppers are forecasted to be spending more online in 2018, buying behaviors are also changing. Survey results showed that Chinese consumers are turning their attention to spending on things for health and beauty as well as their children, with online spending on cosmetics and baby supplies predicted to increase by 21 and 31 percent, respectively, in 2018. In India, online spending on the same categories are forecasted to increase by 40 and 37 percent, respectively. Consumer electronics is also another growth category in APAC, with online spending in the category expected to grow by 40 percent in India, 20 percent in China, and 13 percent in Australia.Despite the increasing popularity of international online shopping among consumers across the globe, challenges to cross-border shopping remain. Barriers vary from region to region. Over a third (38 percent) of all online shoppers say that having a more secure way to pay would make them more likely to shop internationally. In order for Filipino merchants to take full advantage of the expected increase in online spend, they need to address these barriers to encourage overseas purchases. With PayPal, they can connect to international consumers via a secure, seamless, and hassle-free network. At PayPal, we understand that while more and more people shop online, the hassle of online payments can be a barrier. PayPal addresses those concerns through a more convenient and more secure online payment facility for consumers to buy the things they need and love. As Filipino businesses take their cross-border sales online, we are proud to empower people and businesses to join and thrive in the global economy, added Kumar. PayPal endeavors to bring a sense of security to online shoppers with Refunded Returns (terms and limitations apply). In addition to Refunded Returns, PayPal offers Buyer Protection for eligible transactions to help provide a greater peace of mind for online shoppers. This protection goes both ways as merchants can be protected against eligible fraudulent transactions with Seller Protection.As the country experiences a surge in economic growth and extensive investments in various infrastructure projects all over the country, the demand for safety and security products increases as well. Security industrys growth prospects are good especially in the wake of a new government administration which places a strong focus on law and order The Philippines needs to spend $22.8 billion (P164 billion) on cybersecurity between 2018 and 2025 to be in line with global best-in-class countries, according to new research commissioned by Cisco Systems, Inc., alongside Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam among all ASEAN countries. Catering to these domestic needs, Global Security Philippines will bring together suppliers for anti-counterfeiting solutions, information and communications technology, firearms and ammunition, border surveillance systems, CCTV, biometrics authentication technology, digital forensics, network security, and many more in one massive venue. The show was positioned as one of the biggest and most comprehensive trade shows dedicated to the security industry. Global Security Philippines Expo & Conference will give you access to the latest knowledge and technology in cyber security, transnational security, border management, infrastructure security, and many others, said Jason Ng, Executive Director of MP International Pte Ltd. This will be a venue for businesses to explore security solutions both from various local and international companies, adds Jason Ng. The show run from August 16 to 18 at the SMX Convention Center Manila, Mall Of Asia Complex, Pasay City. Held alongside the exhibit was a two-day Global Security Conference last Aug. 16 and 17. Our mission is to provide attendees with the knowledge, strategies and tactics they need to fight emerging threats, straight from industry experts who have experience in the field, said Jethro Dionisio, President of the Association of Firearms and Ammunitions Dealers of the Philippines, Inc. This year is no exception; were providing education covering security challenges and solutions such as data gathering, data management, data protection, preventing and countering cyber attacks, cyber security, and a whole lot more. Industry experts and representatives from various government and private sectors will be collaborating in discussing and sharing the knowledge in their respective fields.Speakers for the Global Security Conference are: Delfin N. Lorenzana, Secretary of the Department of National Defense; Raymund Liboro, Privacy Commissioner of the National Privacy Commission; Walter van Hattum, Head of Economic and Trade Section from the Delegation of the European Union in the Philippines; Eliseo Rio, Jr., OIC & Undersecretary for Special Concerns of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT); Gen. Oscar Albayalde, Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP); Ice Oliva of Zeeguru; Terry Loo from Cellebrite; John Peter Abraham Ruero, President of ISSA Philippines; and many more. To pre-register for the conference, log on to http://bit.ly/GSEPhil. Its going to be different from a lot of other security events because majority of these events in the country are more focused on the cyber aspect of the industry, said Patrick Lawrence Tan, CEO of Global-Link MP Events Intl Inc. What were really embracing here and uniquely bringing together through our partnership is the mixture of the physical security, IoT, integrators, suppliers and manufacturers together with IT and cyber, Tan added. The exhibitors for this event are: Cellebrite, Defensive Armament Resource Corp. (DARC), Force Site Inc., Iris Corp., Japan Cell Co. Ltd, Jethro International, Inc., Jordan Leather & Gen. Mdse., Lordman Leathercraft Guns & Ammo, Lynx Firearms & Ammunition, Metro Sporting Arms Shop, Microdata Solutions, Nashe Enterprises, Onefra Systems Inc., Optical Media Board, P.B. Dionisio & Co., Inc., Santiago Fiberforce, Shooters Guns & Ammo Corp., Tactics Sog Industries, Inc., Topspot Guns & Ammo, Trust Trade, Willi Hahn Enterprises, Commsource Systems And Integrated Solutions, Philsource Ventures Group Inc., Shenzhen Success Technology Co.,Ltd., and many more. The trade event is jointly organized by the Association of Firearms & Ammunitions Dealers of the Philippines, Global-Link MP Events International Inc., and MP International Pte Ltd of Singapore  combining years of expertise and experience in the field of event organizing.Nine News boss Darren Wick has backed Nine political editor Chris Uhlmann after his serve to conservative news outlets.

Yesterday a Nine tweet in which Uhlmann hit out at News Corp, 2GB and SKY News was deleted online, fuelling speculation the network was ducking for cover.

But Darren Wick, Nines Director of News & Current Affairs said in a statement to TV Tonight, An error was made in deleting one tweet. I stand by Chris Uhlmann and his right to express an independent opinion. The tweet and video have since been reposted and will remain on our social and digital platforms to be ferociously debated, as they should be.

Videos were not deleted from Facebook nor YouTube.

Daily Telegraph political editor Sharri Markson went head to head with Uhlmann on Today, denying newspapers were locked in a war with the Turnbull govt.

Nine will also end up as owners of 2GB if its Fairfax Media proceeds.California lawmakers passed a bill that could see hundreds of thousands of people get clean marijuana conviction slates. Others, who may have federal convictions could get their crime downgraded to a misdemeanour. The bill's awaiting signing off by the governor. However, people will have to wait for that, and it's not certain he will sign it off. But given the new attitudes to pot in the USA, the chances are good it will go through.

Even Donald Trump agrees with legalizing marijuana

Back in June, the New York Times carried a report that said Donald Trump agreed with the legalization of marijuana.

They wrote that he said, "Were looking at it," and he "probably will end up supporting that."

According to The Hill, the bill means that the California Justice Department will have to go back through crime registers from 1975. This will cover a big chunk of time ending in 2016. Those cases seen as worthy of being expunged or reduced will be examined. CNN noted that the state justice department estimates as many as 218,000 convictions could be amended to a lesser offence or be "wiped out."

Crime won't be automatically expunged for marijuana convictions

The news is very good for those people who have convictions, but it will still take some time. CNN's report notes that county prosecutors will analyse and examine the records through to July 2020.

Automatic expunging of crime records won't happen in all cases. This is because prosecutors will be able to argue against the removal of the records if they can prove the person "does not meet the eligibility requirements or presents an unreasonable risk to public safety."

The legalization of marijuana is likely to spare police resources for other crime that needs to be addressed.

Prisons are less likely to fill up with people who engage in recreational use of marijuana and could boost local economies. However, drawbacks exist and police concerns over driving under the influence of marijuana prompted the invention of prototype screening machines.

Marijuana is illegal in the UK

Marijuana is not legal in any form in the United Kingdom.

The Sun notes that strict enforcement dates back to 1971. The Home Office confirmed to them that it's "illegal to possess, grow, distribute, and sell" marijuana. Calls for legislation to change include the use of medicinal marijuana. The Guardian carried a report in June about Billy Caldwell, who suffered a bad epilepsy fit after police confiscated medical marijuana from his mom at Heathrow. Guardian noted that the "Home Office came under intense pressure to allow him to be prescribed the medicine."

Growing pressure from the public may see the law lightening up a bit in the future, but right now, marijuana is not likely to be legalized in the United Kingdon. California may be leading the way in expunging records, but UK users will probably have to continue their crusade for a much longer time.THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP)  Greek authorities say a pro-Kurdish former lawmaker convicted of insulting Turkey's president is requesting asylum in Greece after illegally crossing the border.

A police official said Turkish national Leyla Birlik, 44, surrendered to Greek police Thursday near the northeastern town of Alexandroupolis, and was in the process of requesting asylum in Greece.

He spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

Birlik, a former People's Democratic Party, or HDP, lawmaker was sentenced in January to 21 months' imprisonment for insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She was freed pending appeal but banned from leaving Turkey.

Birlik had also been arrested in 2016 along with the HDP co-leaders on separate terror-related charges. She was released pending trial but was banned from leaving the country.

See Also:A man fishes near a diesel submarine at the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia

Dmitry Lovetsky/AP

Russian state-owned arms maker Rostec has reportedly developed the world's first unmanned underwater vehicle armed with an assault rifle.

Rivals Russia and China have put an increased emphasis on enhancing their respective undersea warfare capabilities through the use of underwater drones.

A Russian state-owned arms maker reportedly unveiled the world's first underwater drone armed with an assault rifle that's designed to defend naval bases from enemy divers and assault teams.

"The drone is fitted with an underwater assault rifle. It has undergone sea trials," Rostec, the company behind the drone's development, told Sputnik News at the the International Military Technical Forum "Army 2018."

"Full-fledged trials will begin closer to the start of winter. It is a unique project since no one has so far fitted [an underwater drone] with small arms. Moreover, very few [countries] in the world have underwater automatic small arms."

It is unclear exactly what type of assault rifle the company has placed on the drone, but The National Interest reports that Russia developed the APS underwater rifle based on the AK-74 assault rifle in the 1970s. Whether the underwater system works is difficult to independently verify.

The purpose of this unusual unmanned underwater vehicle is, according to Sputnik, to "protect port facilities, bridges, naval bases and ships from enemy combat divers and underwater drones."

Russia and China, like the US, have both put increased emphasis on underwater warfare, particularly powerful unmanned platforms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proudly boasted in March about the development of a new nuclear-powered underwater drone, which the US Department of Defense's Nuclear Posture Review references as a new "nuclear-powered, undersea autonomous torpedo."

The Poseidon drone, designated as Kanyon by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), can "carry either conventional or nuclear warheads, which enables them to engage various targets, including aircraft groups, coastal fortifications, and infrastructure," Putin said earlier this year.

Story continues

Russia announced Thursday that it is also striving to develop unmanned warships.

China, on the other hand, is developing autonomous robotic submarines relying on artificial intelligence platforms to patrol the seas. These large, smart, low-cost unmanned underwater drones could be deployed in the early 2020s, the South China Morning Post reported in July, citing scientists involved in the project.

The subs "can be instructed to take down a nuclear-powered submarine or other high-value targets. It can even perform a kamikaze strike," one researcher introduced, adding, "The AI has no soul. It is perfect for this kind of job."

US underwater drones are primarily used for anti-submarine detection, minesweeping, and reconnaissance and surveillance missions. The US Navy uses bottlenose dolphins to defend its bases from underwater intruders and to locate sea mines.

NOW WATCH: We took a ride in the classic Isetta BMW that opens from the front

See Also:A Texas man who was bit by a shark in early August has since developed a flesh-eating bacterial infection, and is back in the hospital.

Blaine Shelton was swimming alone off of Crystal Beach near Houston when a shark bit him about 200 yards from the shore.

I already saw the fin, and I knew it wasnt a porpoise, he told KHOU 11 News on Aug. 10. So I turn around to get out of there, and thats when he grabbed me by the leg.

Shelton was able to swim to the shore, and later learned that it was likely a seven-foot bull shark that had bit him. He told a friend that if the shark had bit him again he would have been fish bait.

Shelton was treated for the bite in the hospital, but a week after his release he started feeling severe pain around the wound, and went back in. Doctors told him that the wound was infected with flesh-eating bacteria.

Thank God theyre helping me with the pain because the other day when I came in I could hardly walk in here, he said in a second interview with KHOU 11 on Wednesday.

RELATED VIDEO: Instagram Model, 19, Bit While Posing for Photo Among Group of Sharks in the Bahamas

But Shelton said his hospital costs are becoming astronomical, and expects them to reach at least $100,000. He set up a GoFundMe page for additional help.

I honestly thought Id go, get super-glued up and sent out the door, he said.

Shelton now wants to warn others about the risk of an infection.

Id heard there was bacteria in the water, I just never treated it serious. But to tell you the truth, if youve got a scratch on your arm or your leg, I wouldnt get in that water, he said. And if you do, bring some alcohol with you to clean it the second you get out. Its nothing to play with. Courtesy of wollertz - Fotolia.com



The Mayan people were the earliest inhabitants of modern-day Belize. They first populated the area known as Altun Ha around 250 B.C. They left behind traces of a rich and luxurious culture, and a people who studied the heavens and mathematics. Today, the Altun Ruins cover an area of approximately 25 square miles.

Visitors can explore the temples and tombs on-site such as the famous Temple of the Masonry Altars. The ruins are difficult to reach, and most visitors come by cruise ship. It is recommended that travelers come with an experienced tour guide to help them reach the ruins.



 Courtesy of Joshua Resnick - Fotolia.com





The Wolf Pen Gap Trail in Mena, Arkansas consists of a trail network spanning a total of forty-one miles. The expansive network of trails was developed and is maintained for off-road vehicles and mountain bikes. The trail is a combination of short sections of constructed single-track, abandoned double-tracks, and gravel road. The Wolf Pen Gap Trail ranges in difficulty from easy trails to extreme. Visitors can take a break and find panoramic views while traveling along the trail. The trail network can be found approximately twelve miles away from Mena to the northeast, just past the Caney Creek Wilderness.

You are reading "15 Best Things to Do in Mena, Arkansas" Back to Top Courtesy of anwin - Fotolia.com



Founded by the Drayton family in 1676, the Magnolia Plantation is one of the oldest plantations in the South. The plantations beautiful gardens were opened to the public in 1870 and are absolutely stunning.

Today, the Magnolia Plantation has been restored to the original plantation house prior to the Civil War and is operated as a house museum.

The museum has wonderful interactive and interpretive programs that reflect on the African-American history at the plantation, including slavery and freedom. Other interesting attractions at the plantation include a marsh boat tour through the surrounding waterways, a nature train, a wildlife area and a petting zoo.

The gardens have beautiful collections to explore, such as the Barbados Tropical Garden, the Biblical Garden, the Cattail Wildlife Refuge and bird observation tower. Cypress Lake is home to impressive 100-year old bald cypress trees and is one of the top attractions for outdoor enthusiasts in Charleston SC.

3550 Ashley River Road, Charleston, South Carolina 29414, Phone: 843-571-1266



The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has recalled in his annual report on the Sahara issue to the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly the terms of reference set by Morocco and quoted large extracts from the Speech delivered by King Mohammed VI on November 6, 2017.

The Secretary-General indicated in this regard that the Monarch emphasized that Morocco remains committed to engaging in the political process, and the current dynamic wished for by the Secretary General, and to cooperating with his Personal Envoy.

This commitment, as stated by the King in his royal speech, and as reflected in the report of the Secretary-General, is based on the Kingdoms fundamental principles concerning the Sahara issue. Among these principles a clear No to any solution to the Sahara question other than within the framework of Moroccos full sovereignty over its Sahara and the Autonomy Initiative, which has been declared serious and credible by the international community.

Other principles include the need for all parties to assume their responsibilities with a view to finding a definitive solution to this regional dispute, considering the Security Council as the only international body tasked with overseeing the settlement process, and the rejection of any obsolete proposal designed to divert the settlement process from the set terms of reference.

The UN Secretary General also highlighted in his report the Kingdoms commitments to pursue the socio-economic development of its Southern Provinces, as emphasized in the Royal Speech, namely that Morocco will not sit by and wait for the desired solution to be found. Instead, Morocco will press ahead with its endeavors to promote the development of its southern regions and turn the Sahara into an integrated economic hub that will enable the region to play its role as a link between Morocco and countries further down in Africa.

The UN Secretary-General underlined the calm that reigned in the Moroccan Sahara during the period covered by this report.

The report also surveyed the first regional tour of the UN Secretary Generals Personal Envoy, Horst Kohler, conducted in October 2017. it recalled in this connection that Moroccan authorities reiterated Moroccos support for the Personal Envoys efforts, reaffirmed that Morocco remains determined to find a political solution to the conflict, on the basis of the 2007 Moroccan Autonomy Initiative and stressed the need that Algeria plays a more important role in this context.

The document likewise mentioned Kohlers second tour to the region last June, during which he visited, among others, Rabat and the Southern Provinces.

Similarly, the report referred to the adoption, on 27 April 2018, of Security Council Resolution 2414, wherein the UN Executive Body stresses that progress should be made in the search for a realistic, pragmatic and sustainable political solution and calls for realism and a spirit of compromise.

It should be stressed that in this resolution, the Security Council reaffirmed the UN exclusive responsibility in the political process and demanded that neighboring countries, mainly Algeria, make an important contribution to the political process and show more engagement than before in the negotiations .

The Secretary-Generals report reaffirms, once again, the definitive burial of earlier, obsolete and inapplicable plans the other parties stick to. Indeed, the Secretary-General makes an exclusive reference to Sec urity Council resolutions adopted since 2007 as the basis of the current political process.Kwami Anthony Appiah in The Atlantic:

The movie Crazy Rich Asians, adapted from Kevin Kwans bestselling novel, has been widely celebrated in the United States as a big step toward diversity: Its a Hollywood movie with an Asian cast. But in Singapore, some people are complaining that the film doesnt capture their countrys actual diversity. Thats even granting the films focus on people who are crazy rich (notto avoid confusioncrazy and rich, though some are both). The focus is specifically on characters and faces of East Asian descent, which plays into issues of racism and colorism that still exist, not only in the US but in Asia, the Singapore journalist Kirsten Han writes in Vox. The films all-Asian boast, in her view, is nothing more than a perpetuation of the existing Chinese dominance in mainstream media and pop culture. Sangeetha Thanapal, an Indian Singaporean writer and activist, takes issue with the way the movie was being sold as this big win for diversity, as this representative juggernaut, telling a New York Times reporter, I think thats really problematic because if youre going to sell yourself as that, then you bloody better actually have actual representation.

To be fair, Kwans novelwhich was satirizing his Chinese players more than celebrating themwasnt meant to cover the Singaporean waterfront. But the way Singapore handles national identity and ethnic difference makes for a fascinating comparison with the United States. Its a bold experiment in ethnic engineering, and, since Singapore has existed as an independent country for little more than half a century, that experiment has been witnessed in its entirety by many of its inhabitants. (It boasts the third highest life expectancy in the world; the United States is 31st.) The national project was always to be, in a sense, multinational. Its worth taking notice of how this was achieved, and at what cost.

More here.En espanol | Self-esteem, a psychological condition that can greatly affect a persons health, appears to normally reach its peak at about age 60 and remain strong for at least a decade, a team of researchers has discovered.

The beneficial effects reach well into old age, they reported this month in the journal Psychological Bulletin, then tend to drop at around age 90, often sapped by health setbacks.



The findings, while bringing especially good news to 60-somethings, point to one clear advantage of reaching late middle age and beyond, a stage of life often accompanied by high points in income, career success and social status.



During middle adulthood, most people further invest in their social roles, for example by taking on managerial roles at work, maintaining a satisfying relationship with their spouse or partner and helping their children to become responsible and independent adults, the researchers wrote in a summary of their findings.South Dakota artist's COVID-19 creations on display at Northern

The artists work will be on display at Northern State University until Nov. 30.SANTA FE  Board members of New Mexicos high-risk insurance pool voted Friday to authorize the filing of a court complaint against state Auditor Wayne Johnson, the latest twist in a simmering dispute over whether the insurance pool meets the definition of a state agency.

The vote came after the State Auditors Office announced earlier this month it was ordering a special audit to look into the finances of the insurance pool over a recent five-year period.

The lawsuit, which was filed later Friday in state court in Santa Fe, seeks to put that audit on hold. It also asks a judge to determine whether the state auditor has authority over the high-risk pool, which provides health care coverage to roughly 2,300 people.

Its not that were trying to obscure anything, Martin Hickey, a pool board member and CEO of True Health New Mexico, told the Journal after Fridays unanimous vote. We just want the court to make it clear where they have authority and where they dont.

Johnson, a Republican who was appointed last year by Gov. Susana Martinez, has insisted the high-risk pool should be considered a state agency. Such a designation would mean he or any future state auditor would have the authority to inspect the insurance pools finances.

In a Friday statement, Johnson voiced disappointment over the boards vote to file a lawsuit, saying the pool had chosen the path of litigation over transparency.

The issue here is one of compliance with the law requiring transparency and accountability to the public and the policy-makers who created this fund to serve vulnerable New Mexicans, Johnson also said.

The high-risk insurance pool was created in 1987 and assists New Mexico residents who do not have insurance or have been quoted at higher rates than the pools rate. Its enrollment has dropped since the enactment of the federal Affordable Care Act but it still covers thousands of people, many of whom are kidney dialysis patients.

While the insurance pool has balked at giving the state auditor the authority to inspect its finances, the pools past financial audits dating back to 2007 were posted online last month after the Journal reported on the legal dispute.

But the State Auditors office has said those audits fall short from whats required for agencies under state law.

In addition, the pools contract attorney has argued the pool does not meet the definition of a state agency, describing it as a nonprofit organization made up of private business members.

But Johnson has claimed the fees the pool collects from insurance companies should be considered public funds because they are collected under the authority of New Mexico law.

Meanwhile, the disagreement over the insurance pools status also has a political backdrop.

Delta Consulting, a health care consulting company that Democratic gubernatorial nominee Michelle Lujan Grisham co-founded in 2008, has repeatedly landed contracts to help run the pool.

Lujan Grisham divested herself from Delta Consulting last year after announcing her run for governor and has said she played no role in the companys day-to-day operations since being elected to Congress in 2012.

Johnson himself is running for election to a four-year term as auditor. He will face Democrat Brian Colon in the November general election.When Corey Widen let her 8-year-old daughter take the family dog for a short stroll alone, she probably never expected it to cause an uproar.

The 48-year-old mother from Wilmette, Ill., a Chicago suburb, told Good Morning America on Friday she thought it was important to start giving her young daughter, Dorothy, a little more independence. Plus, she told the Chicago Tribune, it was all part of the deal; when her children wanted to get a dog, she agreed on one condition  everyone had to share the responsibilities, including walking it.

As Dorothy was out doing just that earlier this month, a neighbor called the authorities. Police and child welfare officials said the caller, who was not publicly identified, reported there was a child  maybe 5 years old  walking a dog all alone.

Wilmette police responded to the home, and Illinoiss Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) launched an investigation into the incident, according to CBS affiliate WBBM. Although no charges were filed and the investigation was later dropped, Widen told Good Morning America the ordeal was traumatizing for her children.

And now, Widen said, she is being mom-shamed.

Every 8-year-old is different, every neighborhood is different, and every parent is different, so you cant make an overall judgment like that, Widen explained on Good Morning America.

Widen could not immediately be reached by The Post.

Shortly after Widens daughter and the dog, Marshmallow, returned home Aug. 2, officers came to the door.

Widens initial thought was it was about some fundraiser.

Her 8-year-old daughter, however, said she was scared.

I saw the police just there, like the polices car, Dorothy told WBBM, and I heard the like sirens going off.

Wilmette Police Chief Kyle Murphy said in a statement to The Post that authorities received a call from someone who was worried for the childs safety, saying it appeared a 5-year-old was walking her dog alone, and the caller did not see her return home. Officers responded to the scene, but Murphy said after speaking with the childs mother, the officers determined there was no issue.

The authorities did not contact child welfare officials about the incident, but Widen said the neighbor did.

Apparently whoever called the police didnt think the police were a good enough judge of what was okay and not okay. Then they called DCFS. The police did not call DCFS, she told WBBM.

The Chicago Tribune reported the mother said DCFS opened a weeks-long investigation into the incident, interviewing family members, friends and even the Widens pediatrician.

A DCFS spokeswoman told The Post that someone had called the agencys hotline, reporting the girl appeared to be 5 years old or younger, and that the police had been called in the past when the girl was spotted playing alone in a parking lot.

The spokeswoman said the agency has no way of knowing whether a concern is legitimate without investigating it. In this case, she said, the agency found no wrongdoing and closed the case.

Over the years, similar situations have cropped up around the country, setting off a debate about free-range parenting  the idea that children should be given the freedom to function without constant supervision in order to teach them how to be more independent. In what is believed to be a first, Utah enacted a law earlier this year supporting parents who choose a more hands-off approach.

According to The Washington Posts Meagan Flynn:

The measure, sponsored by Utah state Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R), exempts from the definition of child neglect various activities children can do without supervision, permitting a child, whose basic needs are met and who is of sufficient age and maturity to avoid harm or unreasonable risk of harm, to engage in independent activities . . .

Those activities include letting children walk, run or bike to and from school, travel to commercial or recreational facilities, play outside and remain at home unattended. The law does not say what the sufficient age is.

Following the incident  and national media attention  Widen expressed frustration that someone would waste state resources to question her parenting.

Dont judge a book by its cover, she told Good Morning America. You dont know every situation, you dont know every child. When you do things like this, you overwhelm an already overwhelmed system with nuisance calls like this, and kids and families who really need help dont get it then.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Despite a contentious community input hearing on the proposed South Valley school, the state Public Education Commission voted to approve Solare Collegiate Charter Schools application Friday morning.

Solares lead founder and former teacher Rachael Sewards came out of the meeting excited and in shock, saying she had worried the hearing  in which several speakers opposed Solare, including the prominent Albuquerque Teachers Federation union  would affect the PECs deliberations for her school.

But on Friday Solare was given approval to enter its planning year with the PECs 8-to-1 vote. Member Tim Crone voted no and Trish Ruiz was absent from the meeting.

Before the PEC vote, Karen Woerner, charter school authorizing practices administrator, recommended approval on behalf of the Public Education Department.

Woerner pointed to Solares application, which scored 101 percent.

She also said the team exceeded expectations in the application and interview process.

Isaac de Luna, a father and communications director for New Mexico Dream Team, spoke against the school  both at the input hearing and at Fridays meeting.

He said he represented a group of entities that oppose the school, saying they felt the school didnt have the necessary community engagement and wanted to see more focus on issues such as immigrant support services.

ATF president Ellen Bernstein said at the time of the hearing she was fundamentally against the school and that the school is funded by anti-public schools corporate reformers.

She told the Journal on Friday she was not surprised that the school was approved by the PEC, saying the commission rarely turns down a charter school.

To my knowledge its rare, she told the Journal. The charter authorizing process needs to be scrutinized as were moving forward.

Sewards said she will continue to work to improve communication with people opposed to her school.

We will continue to build bridges and believe we will find common ground, she said. And were hopeful we can build those positive relationships.

But most of the speakers at the Santa Fe meeting spoke in support.

Schools around us arent up to par, said Feliz Garcia, a South Valley parent.

The school, which will serve grades five through eight, targets the 87121 ZIP code, and Sewards says its model is unique to Albuquerque, citing its emphasis on middle school and focus on students identity and cultural relevancy.

In the 2019-20 school year, Solare will admit 156 kids and it plans on growing by 104 kids with each subsequent year. Families wanting to attend can express interest this fall to Sewards, and the lottery process for the charter will kick off in early 2019.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The 2nd Judicial District Court has decided to drastically scale back the planned reduction in the use of grand juries that had been scheduled for October.

Instead, the decline will be gradual, and take place over time.

Chief Judge Nan Nash said in a letter Friday to court and law enforcement officials that the court will decrease the number of grand jury panels available to prosecutors only by four days a month, or one day a week, in November and December. There will be no change in grand jury panels in October because police are often busy that month with Balloon Fiesta.

She said that the manner in which the decline will continue in 2019 hasnt been decided.

In July, Bernalillo County court officials had said that beginning Oct. 1, grand juries would not be available to prosecutors five days a week. Instead, prosecutors would have grand jury panels six days a month and they would have to use preliminary hearings to determine if there was probable cause to charge a defendant with a crime in most cases.

The new plan, according to Nashs letter, asks for feedback on what day a week they would prefer not convening a grand jury panel in November and December.

The original plan received pushback from the District Attorneys Office and local law enforcement agencies, who worried in part that it would lead to scheduling conflicts and take officers off the street.

Proponents of the preliminary hearing system said it forces the state to publicly disclose its evidence, which helps speed a case along because defendants know if they want to fight the case or take a plea agreement.

Nashs letter on Friday said the decision was made to roll out the decline gradually after court officials met with Albuquerque police and Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office officials, who raised concerns about scheduling issues.

When a person is arrested on suspicion of committing a crime, prosecutors have to establish that there was probable cause the defendant is guilty by either a grand jury, which is a secret proceeding in front of local citizens, or at a preliminary hearing in front of a judge that is attended by the defendant and the public.

District Attorney Raul Torrez said that New Mexico laws can call for preliminary hearings to last for hours and require multiple witnesses. But during grand jury proceedings, the hearings move much quicker and dont require as many witnesses, he said.

The debate between using grand juries and preliminary hearings was discussed for several hours at a Criminal Justice Reform Subcommittee held in Albuquerque on Friday.

We were very grateful for Judge Nash for listening to the police and community. We believe that this can be phased in over time, said state Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, D-Albuquerque, the co-chair of the committee. Regardless of whether this is a good idea, we dont need to do it today.

Torrez said that after seven years of significant growth in crime rates, Albuquerque is now seeing crime on the decline. He worried that scheduling conflicts and having witnesses or others not show up for preliminary hearings will change that trend.

This is not the time to mess with a good thing, he said.

The 2nd District is the only judicial district in the state that relies heavily on grand juries to charge defendants with crimes. In 2017, 2,351 cases were initiated by a grand jury and 650 cases were initiated with a preliminary hearing.

Though police and prosecutors were against reducing the number of grand juries that are available to them, defense attorneys said during the meeting on Friday that preliminary hearings give them a chance to better understand the states case against their client. And that can lead to pleas earlier on in the case.

And Nash said that 61 percent of felony preliminary hearings in the judicial district last year led to a plea agreement at the hearing. That resolved the case much earlier, and therefore required much less work from police and prosecutors, had the indictment hung over the defendants head for months.

She also said the National Center for State Courts has recommended that Bernalillo county use more preliminary hearings and fewer grand juries.

Fridays hearing also drew comments from victim advocates, who worried that the switch would force vulnerable people to have to testify in open court.

Terri Cole, the president of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, worried that such a change to the local criminal justice system would lead to an increase in crime.

Torrez said the courts new plan, to slowly take away grand juries, would give the system time to adjust. But he still worries that such a change, even if gradual, could lead to problems with police schedules and other matters.

The effects of a 70 percent reduction (in grand juries) in under two months would have been catastrophic, Torrez said. My concern is that we are going to have the same reduction, were just going to implement it through slow cuts over time.

While that allows everyone to adjust, youre still not tackling the fundamental resource question.Arthur Lujan, wanted for murder in the death of his girlfriends ex-husband, had been holed up in his northwest Albuquerque home for nine hours last month before police say he emerged from the dismantled wreckage of the garage, wearing a gas mask and shooting in the direction of SWAT team officers.

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Two officers  Justin Jones from the Albuquerque Police Department and Michael Mariscal from the New Mexico State Police  returned fire, killing him.

Jones has been with APD since 2007, and it was his first shooting. Mariscal has been with the state police since 2009, and a spokeswoman did not say if he had been in other shootings.

Unfortunately, this is once again a domestic situation that escalated, Deputy Chief Harold Medina said in a news conference Friday. It escalated beyond just a violent crime, but also escalated to an officer involved shooting.

But Brittany Sandoval, Lujans girlfriend and the ex-wife of the man Lujan killed that morning, said Lujan had been ready to surrender before the SWAT team arrived. She said he had shot her ex, Anthony Sandoval, then returned to the couples two-story, stucco home in the 6700 block of Black Volcano NW, near Unser and Western Trail, to tell her what he had done.

He said I dont know what came over me. I just grabbed the gun and I unloaded,  Brittany Sandoval said. That was not his persona. Arthur served his country for five years, he had a lot of PTSD going on that he had to deal with from being deployed.

Brittany Sandoval said she called his parents in Socorro and they drove up to see him one last time before he surrendered to police.

He didnt surrender.

Details of case

At the news conference, Albuquerque Police Department Lt. Jason Sanchez laid out the circumstances leading to Lujans death.

Lt. Sanchez said that Lujan and 33-year-old Anthony Sandoval had fought in the past and that Anthony Sandoval suspected his ex-wifes boyfriend of pouring water in his gas tank last winter. He said the situation came to a head the morning of July 17, when Anthony Sandoval suspected that Lujan had broken the windows and taillights of two of his vehicles at the Tierra Pointe apartment complex on Los Volcanes near Coors NW. Officers were called but could not find evidence that it had been Lujan.

A couple of hours later, Lujan showed up at the scene.

In a call to 911, Anthony Sandoval can be heard telling a dispatcher the man who vandalized his cars had returned. When asked if Lujan had any weapons, Anthony Sandoval replied Im not sure, but I wouldnt doubt that he does.

Less than a minute later Anthony Sandoval said he had been shot and fell silent as the dispatcher tried to get him to respond.

Detectives quickly contacted Brittany Sandoval and went to the couples home.

Brittany Sandoval, the couples 11-month-old daughter and Lujans parents were escorted outside where they were left to listen to the SWAT team calling to Lujan inside the home.

Lt. Sanchez detailed the steps the SWAT team took trying to get Lujan to surrender. He said they called him on his cellphone, then, after he threw that phone outside, gave him another phone. And another one after that one died.

Sanchez said that, although officers called the numbers repeatedly, Lujan never picked up. The SWAT team used chemical sprays and dismantled the front of the home, taking down the garage door, front door and windows so they could look inside, where they spotted several boxes of ammunition, a high powered rifle and pistols.

They observed Mr. Lujan inside the residence positioning himself to look outside without exposing his body, Sanchez said.

The New Mexico State Police SWAT team was called in and the standoff continued.

Sanchez said that, around 1:30 a.m., after another round of smoke was deployed into the home, that Lujan emerged, wearing a gas mask and shot at officers. The bullet struck the garage door of a neighboring house, and officers Jones and Mariscal each fired one round, killing Lujan.

Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesman, said that over 100 lapel camera videos were made of the incident but detectives didnt find any that showed the shooting.

Lujan is the third person to be shot and killed by Albuquerque police this year. In the month since his death, officers shot and injured a suspect last Sunday. They have not identified that man and said Friday that he is still in the hospital.

Brittany Sandoval said she believes that Lujan knew that killing Anthony Sandoval was wrong but couldnt face going to jail.

He couldnt see his daughter through a glass window (at jail), Brittany Sandoval said. He couldnt tell (my other daughter) what he did, and I feel like he thought about that the 11 hours he was sitting in that house.The Santa Fe Fiesta Court will be welcomed to Pojoaque Public Schools again this year.

Its good music and an opportunity for kids to see some of our states tradition and culture, Jon Paul Romero, Pojoaque school board president, said in a phone interview Friday.

The Fiesta Court, which includes a characters depicting conquistador Don Diego de Vargas, his cuadrilla, la Reina (the Fiesta queen) and princesses dressed in period clothing, accompanied by a mariachi band, have long visited area schools to promote the annual Santa Fe Fiesta celebration held during the first week of September.

But earlier this month, Santa Fes school board voted to limit the visits to just the fourth, seventh and ninth grades when students study New Mexico history. Its decision came a week after it was announced the Entrada  a reenanctment of the de Vargas-led Spanish resettlement of northern New Mexico in 12 years after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680  would be discontinued as part of Fiesta celebration following three years protests by Native American groups who view de Vargas as a ruthless killer.

Romero had asked for the Fiesta Courts visit to be placed on the agenda as a discussion item for Wednesdays school board meeting. No one at the meeting spoke out against the visit and the board took no action, leaving the matter up to Superintendent Melville Morgan.

At the end of the day, we felt we shouldnt get involved in the day-to-day operations. Thats the job of the superintendent, Romero said.

Morgan, who oversees a school district on about 2,000 students, about 76 percent of them identifying as Hispanic and 18 percent as Native American, said he and his staff saw no reason to change whats been done in the past. Parents can still choose to have their children opt-out of the Fiesta Courts visit on Aug. 30 when it will spend about 20 minutes each at assemblies with elementary, middle, and high school students.

We have people who dont agree with it, he said of the Fiesta Courts visit. They are entitled to their opinion.

The opinion of Elena Ortiz, a Ohkay Owingeh tribal member now living in Santa Fe and one of the organizers of the Entrada protests, hasnt wavered.

The idea that students can opt out, to me, thats a type of segregation, she said. If were going to embrace and celebrate reconciliation and community, that needs to go away.The New Mexico secretary of states race is down to two candidates  at least for now.

Sandra Jeff, a Democrat-turned-Libertarian who previously served three terms as a state representative, recently withdrew from the contest citing unforeseen personal obligations.

Her decision left incumbent Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, and Republican Gavin Clarkson as the two candidates standing in the race.

Clarkson himself was a replacement for fellow Republican JoHanna Cox, who dropped out of the race in June after the Journal reported she had been sued for legal malpractice three times in the past five years.

The state Libertarian Party now faces an Aug. 28 deadline to nominate a replacement for Jeff on the November general election ballot.

Libertarian Party chairman Chris Luchini said Friday that two people have expressed possible interest in being fill-in candidates, but had not yet made up their minds.

He also said Jeff, who could not be reached for comment, might have dropped out of the race in order to run instead for vice president of the Navajo Nation.

PEARCE HITS BACK: After coming under fire earlier this week in a television ad launched by a political committee backed by a national Democratic group, Republican Steve Pearce is hitting back.

His gubernatorial campaign launched a TV ad Friday that criticizes the allegations levied by Stronger New Mexico, a fledgling PAC backed by the Democratic Governors Association, as provably false.

In part, the Pearce ad cites reports from FactCheck.org, a nonprofit group, that found flaws in the allegation  included in the DGA-funded ad  that Pearce was one of the most corrupt members of Congress.

Pearces TV ad also describes the attacks against him as negative ads from his opponent, Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham, despite the fact Lujan Grishams campaign did not pay for it.

The new 30-second spot started airing Friday morning on Albuquerque network stations, Pearce campaign adviser Kevin Sheridan said. He also said the ad buy was comparable in size to the Democratic-funded ad, which cost roughly $275,000.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.comShe was supposed to graduate with them, transition from fifth grade to sixth, from elementary to middle school. She was supposed to grow up with them.

She never got that chance.

Two years ago Thursday, Victoria Martens was raped and killed while, prosecutors now say, her mother was off with a boyfriend buying marijuana. Soon after, she was mutilated and burned in her apartment.

It was her 10th birthday.

She was a student at Petroglyph Elementary, eternally a fourth-grader now.

Last spring, her classmates helped create a mosaic tile mural as a way to leave their mark on the school before moving on without her. It was their gift, their healing process, their memorial to Victoria.

The only thing we said to them was, Victoria would have been in fifth grade with all of you and moving on to middle school. Do you guys think its appropriate to dedicate it to her?  art teacher Janet Saxon said. And they were all absolutely behind it.

The process was new to all of them  neither Saxon nor fellow art teacher Cindy Espinosa had ever made a tile mural.

We learned as we went along, Saxon said.

Slabs of clay were used to create the tile pieces for the mural, the children using patterns and cookie cutters to make the shapes.

Cindy and I both came up with the Tree of Knowledge concept, Saxon said. Through several conversations, we came up with the theme, Every Child Deserves. Students brainstormed words to stamp on the trees leaves that represent what they believe every child deserves.

They came up with words like happiness and love and safety. Victoria had deserved those.

One leaf they stamped with the words Dedicated to our friend Victoria Martens.

In the trees branches they placed a large macaw, the school mascot, its wing bearing the words knowledge is power. Above the tree they glued two smaller birds carrying a banner that reads Change the world by being yourself.

They sprinkled the tree with butterflies, birds, bees, flowers, a squirrel and snowflakes, the latter a reminder of Victorias favorite movie, Frozen.

She could sing every word of that Let It Go song. Now, some of the lyrics have taken on a darker meaning.

Be the good girl you always have to be

Conceal, dont feel, dont let them know

Well, now they know 

One of the snowflakes is stamped with the word help.

A year had already passed by the time the mural was begun last spring. And maybe its because the school had been saturated with counselors after Victorias death in August 2016. Maybe its the passage of time or the resilience of youth. In any case, most of the 125 or so fifth-graders who worked on the mural spoke about Victoria easily, fondly, Saxon said.

She had been a happy, friendly kid with a ready smile, and that is the way they remember her.

The nightmare of what had happened to her was not as easy for the adults to forget.

We cried together and hugged each other, Saxon said. I think we were all glad to be part of a project that brings awareness in a positive way to the many children who suffer from abuse. We want to spread the message that every child deserves to have their basic needs met, to be protected and feel loved. So many people Cindy and I have spoken with about this mural  both in New Mexico and across the country, because theyve all heard Victorias story  feel that it is important. We need to address the issue before it happens by educating parents and families. And we need to send the message to those committing crimes of abuse that we dont tolerate it.

Plans are underway to create a different mural, one made of many photos, to honor Victoria and all New Mexico children who have died as a result of abuse, Saxon said. The project is a part of Project S.N.A.P., a national nonprofit organization.

We are looking for a very visible location in Albuquerque that will be enjoyed by as many people as possible, she said. We are also seeking partners to provide funding to help make this mural possible.

The Petroglyph mural was completed on the last day of school in May, with finishing touches added during the summer.

Today, it adorns the wall in a front breezeway, a welcoming sign to all those who enter the school.

Victoria is not among them anymore. But because of the mural, she is already there.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg.WASHINGTON  It warms the heart to see the newfound concern Georgia has for its disabled residents.

Election overseers were worried sick that the disabled in Randolph County, a rural hamlet where 60 percent of residents are black and nearly a third live in poverty, might arrive at their polling place and find they had to park on grass or, worse, that there was no railing next to the toilet seat.

And so, bless their hearts, the officials did the compassionate thing: They proposed to close seven of the nine polling places in Randolph. Now disabled people wouldnt have to worry about tripping on turf. Theyd simply have to haul themselves up to 30 miles round trip to one of the two remaining precincts.

Folks, I will tell you right now, your polling places are not ADA-compliant, period, Mike Malone, a consultant hired by the county at the suggestion of Secretary of State Brian Kemps office, explained at a public meeting last week. The county had run afoul of the Americans With Disabilities Act! You have to have compliant polling places, he said.

Many of those present expressed suspicion election officials motive was concern for the disabled, rather than, say, suppressing African-American voters. Malone assured them this was the farthest thing from the fact.

Indeed, why would anybody suspect this? Well, maybe because voters in African-American-majority Randolph went for Hillary Clinton by 11 points. Maybe because in a county where there is negligible public transportation and nearly a quarter of households dont have a car, eliminating 78 percent of polling places  including one where nearly 97 percent of voters are black  pretty much guarantees people wont vote.

And maybe because the proposals author, Malone, was suggested for the job by the office of Secretary Kemp  who just happens to be the Republican gubernatorial nominee against Democrat Stacey Abrams, who just happens to be black.

Oh, and maybe because Malone showed Randolph residents a slide saying consolidation has come highly recommended by the secretary of state  before retracting that claim. Come to think of it, maybe this isnt about toilets. Maybe this is a flagrant example of the expansion of voter suppression nationwide, aggravated by the Supreme Courts 2013 weakening of the Voting Rights Act.

Andrea Young, head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, which is fighting the Randolph proposal, said poll consolidation is one item in the voter-suppression tool kit that includes purging voter rolls and voter-ID laws.

Why are Republicans getting so brazen? Their political survival depends on it.

Consider: Clinton won the popular vote nationwide by 2.1 percentage points. But non-voters favored Clinton by 22 points in a Washington Post-Schar School post-election poll and seven points in a similar Pew Research Center poll.

The Posts polling guru, Scott Clement, reweighted election results for me and found that if all eligible voters cast ballots, instead of the 59 percent who did, Clinton would have won by between four percentage points, using Pew data, and 10 percentage points, using Post data. Some, such as political scientist John Sides, say the difference would be smaller but still potentially decisive in close elections.

Kemp has said he had nothing to do with Randolphs move, counties have wide latitude in elections and he strongly urged local officials to abandon this effort. The state GOP blames Democrats, saying, The county is run by a Democratic-majority county commission. A two-member county elections board took less than a minute to reject the closures on Friday.

But the county had no plans to cull polling places before Malone. Several months ago, when county elections chairman Scott Peavy had an opening for an elections supervisor, he called the secretary of states office, and elections director Chris Harvey, a Kemp lieutenant, gave me Mr. Malones information, Peavy said at a public meeting. Malone has made a $250 contribution to Kemps campaign.

Malone, at a public meeting, told residents that I recommended to the board that they seriously consider the consolidation of the polling places. He justified this based on cost  a lot of precincts with very low turnout  and disabled access.

Curiously, officials didnt fret about ADA compliance during the May primaries and the runoffs last month.

Curiously, emails show officials were working on the precinct-elimination plan for months but now say theres no time to fix ADA violations.

Curiously, Atlantas WXIA reports, Malone previously reduced polling places in two majority-white counties, by 20 percent and 33 percent  vs. Randolphs 78 percent.

But be assured: The hardy few who would still trek to the polls in Randolph would enjoy up-to-spec toilets.Growth in and around New Mexicos Santa Teresa Port of Entry in Dona Ana County has generated excitement about a region that many believe has the potential to surpass Albuquerque as the states economic engine.

There are good reasons to be excited about this trade corridor on the states southern border. As legislators make future investments in the region, our leaders should have a complete and accurate set of facts for the benefit of the entire state. A recent study about the Santa Teresa region published by the Hunt Institute for Global Competitiveness, using only primary federal and state data, provides much-needed detail and a roadmap for this corner of the New Mexico border.

Some statistics risk misrepresenting the economic output of Santa Teresa. For example, last year it was reported that in 2016 Dona Ana Countys total exports grew to $1.6 billion, surpassing Albuquerques $1 billion. Does this mean that Dona Ana County now produces and exports more than Albuquerque?

No. According to the Department of Commerce, when shipments are consolidated at a port, the products origin changes. In other words, Santa Teresa gets credit for the value of the export, but the product does not originate there.

So, what percentage of the $1.6 billion was manufactured in Dona Ana County? The Department of Commerce reports that the countys total gross domestic product for manufacturing in 2016 was $269 million. So, even if every single product manufactured there were exported  unlikely  then an estimated $1.3 billion, or 82 percent, of Dona Ana Countys exports were actually consolidated shipments originating somewhere else.

Additionally, in 2017, data show that 91 percent of exports and 84 percent of imports through Santa Teresa were computer-related machinery related to the Foxconn maquila across the border. These are exports that are assembled and then reimported back into the U.S. again. It is doubtful that Santa Teresa plays a part in this supply chain, other than serving as the port of entry/exit.

Does this mean Albuquerques export numbers are also skewed? Not likely. Santa Teresas function as a border crossing and relief route for El Paso makes it a natural consolidation point. By contrast, little to no consolidation of goods from other states occurs in Albuquerque.

If the picture we have of trade in Santa Teresa is incomplete, our understanding of its population, schools, natural resources, and wages  all vital to developing a comprehensive statewide trade strategy  is practically nonexistent. The Hunt Institute report strategically assembles data on these topics and more. Policymakers should take note.

For example, the report shows that while the amount of goods crossing the border has increased to more than $20 billion a year, Santa Teresas population has held relatively steady at just over 4,000 people since 2010. These numbers do not represent a workforce large enough to sustain significant industrial growth.

The next closest workforce is in El Paso, for whom New Mexico offers a personal income tax exemption to Texas residents to incentivize them to work in Santa Teresa. According to the Santa Teresa Border Industrial Association, approximately 60 percent of Santa Teresas workforce commutes from Texas.

In the meantime, central New Mexico still has a $38.5 billion economy, half of the states population, two of the longest interstates in the country, and the nations most heavily utilized rail line.

While a growing port of entry with Mexico is undeniably a huge opportunity for the state, we may be investing more in El Pasos future than in our own businesses. The excitement about the border should not overshadow central and northern New Mexico, or cloud an opportunity to develop a comprehensive statewide trade and logistics economic development strategy.

Thanks to the Hunt Institutes report, we have a road map to best integrate and grow our states diverse regions into a unified, powerful economy.Last week I wrote about the plight of Pamela Smart, who in 1991, at the age of 22, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder her husband. Gregg Smart was shot dead by his wifes 16-year-old lover and another teenager. Smart was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

To this day Smart, now 51, expresses deep remorse for her affair with Billy Flynn but steadfastly maintains she did not plot with him to murder her newlywed husband.

Over the last three decades advances in both neuroscience and sentencing reform underscore what a life term with no parole means for a young person  what the U.S. Supreme Court called cruel and unusual punishment. Because science has proven that those under 25 dont have fully developed brains, especially the part that guides rational thinking, you dont often see life without parole (LWOP) sentences handed out to that age group these days. And there is a trend in prosecutors and governors offices to take a second look at these older LWOP cases with an eye toward granting parole to truly rehabilitated convicts.

Back in the early 1990s Smart worked as a media liaison for the public schools. She was described as accomplished in academics but socially immature. At trial the prosecution painted her as a master manipulator who convinced not only her teenage lover but several of his friends to kill for her.

Despite massive pretrial publicity, Judge Douglas Gray denied a change of venue motion. He refused to sequester the jury from the obvious and negative All-Smart-All-The-Time media atmosphere. He seemed to pooh-pooh allegations of juror misconduct, including a report that during trial a juror told bar patrons the jury would definitely find Smart guilty. And when the killer Flynns incriminating jailhouse letters surfaced during the trial, Judge Gray would not let the defense attorney re-call him to the stand to question him. What did Flynn mean when he wrote about his controversial plea agreement with the prosecutor: There (sic) afraid I will get on the stand and say she is innocent. I dread that day more than anything. I hate myself for having to do this.

Had he and his bad-boy friends made up Smarts involvement to get a reduced sentence and avoid the death penalty?

Many jurors said they voted guilty after hearing police surveillance tapes of Smart and her 15-year-old intern, Cecelia Pierce. Smart was heard on the scratchy and poorly recorded tapes making incriminating statements and urging Pierce to lie to police.

Smart testified at trial  and repeated to me during prison interviews  that she was only pretending to know about the murder plot so Pierce would reveal what she knew since the teen was friendly with both Flynn and his main accomplice, Pete Randall. Pierce also seemed to have information about the crime no one else had. A defense witness and his girlfriend both backed up Smarts claim that she was only play-acting during conversations with Pierce.

The prosecution did not take the usual step of authenticating the wiretap tapes to prove police hadnt selectively edited them. They sent the recordings to a former Watergate tapes expert to enhance the sound, but he was not asked to create the transcript the jury was given to help them follow along with the tapes. Just who typed up those words from the oh-so-hard-to-hear tapes has remained a mystery until recently.

Prosecutor Paul Maggiotto now admits it was some secretary in the office and not a certified transcriber. Team Smart maintains the transcripts were not accurate and tainted by confusion over who was speaking at any given time. They ask, how could someone put words on a page while listening to an oftentimes inaudible tape recording?

There were other problems at trial that I believe were unfair to Smart, but I recount this much here because by todays enlightened judicial standards her many appeals might very well have been heard instead of routinely rejected.

Our judicial system is certainly not infallible, but justice and fairness must always be its foundation. As the system has played out in this case the confessed murderers, Flynn and Randall, were released from prison in 2015. Smart has served 28 years and is set to die at the Bedford, N.Y., maximum-security prison where she is held.

Smart has been an exemplary prisoner. She has earned two masters degrees and is working on her doctorate in divinity. Over the years she has consistently taught and ministered to her fellow inmates. Her dream is to work for the United Nations as an ambassador for either HIV/AIDS education or prison reform since the United States is the only country in the world that condemns its young people to die in prison.

Smarts best hope for freedom lies in her recently filed petition to the governor of New Hampshire. Shes asking for the chance to go before a parole board some day or for commutation to time served. Governors in at least nine states have given such reprieves. Smart is hoping Gov. Chris Sununu does the same for her.

www.DianeDimond.com; e-mail to Diane@DianeDimond.com.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  The Taos County Sheriffs Office on Friday charged two adults who were arrested at a makeshift compound near the Colorado border earlier this month with child abuse resulting in death.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and Jany Leveille each were charged with child abuse resulting in death and conspiracy to commit child abuse, according to a news release from Taos County spokesman Steve Fuhlendorf. The charge is a first-degree felony that carries a possible life sentence.

Meanwhile, the Taos District Attorneys Office has filed a motion to have Taos District Court Judge Sarah Backus reconsider her ruling to release all five adults arrested at the compound on an unsecured appearance bond.

The defendants are all still in the Taos County jail because they havent found a suitable place to live.

Investigators uncovered a childs remains at the compound near Amalia on Aug. 6. The body was later identified as 3-year-old Abdul-Ghani Wahhaj, Siraj Ibn Wahhajs son.

Taos County District Attorney Donald Gallegos has said that he wouldnt pursue charges for the boys death until the state Office of the Medical Investigator determined a cause of death, which the OMI is still investigating. Gallegos could not be reached for comment.

Wahhaj and Leveille  along with Lucas Morton, Hujrah Wahhaj and Subhanah Wahhaj  are also charged with 11 counts of child abuse.

Taos County deputies and state officials raided the compound Aug. 3 after getting information from Georgia police that the adults and children there were starving and out of money. Deputies found 11 children, ages 1 to 15, who appeared to be malnourished and took them into state custody.

Deputies were able to locate Abdul-Ghanis body after one of the children said the boy died at the compound and was buried there.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj was being held on a Georgia warrant for allegedly abducting his son in December, but Georgia authorities have declined to extradite him.

After a detention hearing Aug. 13, Backus ruled that the defendants be released on an unsecured bond because the state didnt provide enough evidence that they were a danger to the community.

Backus heard evidence that the adults, who are Muslim, were telling the children that Abdul-Ghani would be resurrected as Jesus and instruct them on what institutions to destroy.

But Backus explained in her written ruling that she has never considered a defendants faith when determining dangerousness.

The Taos DAs Office asked her to reconsider based on their faith, among other factors.

The Court in this case should have considered the evidence that these Defendants particular views concerning their faith required them to commit violent illegal acts at some unknown time in the future, to attack law enforcement personnel with firearms if such personnel came to their compound, and that they were currently taking active steps to train for that purpose, Deputy District Attorney Timothy Hasson wrote.If you question whether a public body is complying with the Open Meetings Act or if a law enforcement officer can legally search you, theres now an app for that.

The New Mexico Office of the Attorney General on Friday launched a mobile application that gives anyone access on their cellphone to Inspection of Public Records Act and the Open Meetings Act compliance guides, as well as a checklist and case law summaries of search and seizure laws for police and prosecutors in the state.

Apple and Android users can find the free app by searching for the New Mexico Attorney General in the app store.

Attorney General Hector Balderas said giving all law enforcement officers easy access to search and seizure rules, and by updating them quickly when case law leads to modifications, will reduce the times evidence gets tossed out of criminal cases for improper searches.

Im confident this will increase convictions, reduce lawsuits and, more importantly, some horrific cases get thrown out for technical reasons, he said. I do really believe this has the potential to save lives and hold bad actors accountable.

The San Juan County Sheriffs Office was the first law enforcement agency to ask the AGs Office to improve the way search and seizure laws were shared with law enforcement. Sheriff Ken Christesen said deputies were updating their old manuals with pens when case law led to changes.

The search and seizure manual is really the playbook. It lets us know what legal parameters we have and boundaries we have in certain circumstances, said Undersheriff Shane Ferrari. For a deputy or officer  to have that as a quick reference to make sure that case isnt disrupted by some sort of illegal search is so important to us.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

TAOS  A federal judge this week approved a settlement that could end 30 years of litigation against the state agency that helps needy New Mexicans buy groceries and obtain medical care.

But before the case is dismissed, the state Human Services Department will have to meet a variety of performance standards  much of them centered on how long it takes to handle applications for food and medical help.

Human Services Secretary Brent Earnest told state lawmakers this week that the litigation could be over as early as the end of this year.

Im not promising that, Earnest said in an interview, but I think theres an opportunity for that.

Sovereign Hager, an attorney for the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, representing the plaintiffs, said the settlement updates the standards for measuring the departments work. But it doesnt change the basic legal requirements the state has been unable to meet for decades, she said.

I think theres some foundational changes that need to be made before compliance is really going to be realistic, Hager said in an interview.

About 223,000 families in New Mexico receive benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The 1988 class-action lawsuit accuses New Mexico of violating peoples rights by imposing inconsistent and excessive requirements on applicants seeking benefits, delaying eligibility decisions and failing to provide emergency food assistance in time.

Just four months ago, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales issued a rather blunt opinion outlining a lack of accountability in the state agency. He said he was troubled by the woefully inadequate testimony at a court hearing by a key manager in the department, and he noted that two other managers had, at one point, instructed staff to fraudulently change income information on food applications as a way to deny benefits.

A court-appointed special master, meanwhile, recommended the removal of five administrators in the Human Services Department.

Gonzales ultimately didnt order anyones removal. But he did impose a series of deadlines aimed at ensuring the department improves its performance, including the hiring of experts to help in key areas, and he ordered the parties to work on a new settlement to guide the future of the litigation.

The 16-page agreement sets deadlines for the processing of applications and requires the collection of data to measure the departments work. It replaces a 1998 consent decree the state had agreed to.

Earnest told lawmakers gathered for a legislative hearing in Taos that the new agreement sets clear expectations and requirements, which will help make the litigation easier to manage. The department, he said, is already meeting certain standards in the settlement and its possible the litigation could end this year.TEMPE, Ariz.  The New Mexico State volleyball team continued its run at the Devil Classic the Wells Fargo Arena when the team took on Arizona State. The Aggies were swept by the Devils 25-15, 25-17, 25-18.

Earlier in the day, NMSU opened its season with a 3-1 tournament win over Pacific. NM State closes its run at the Devil Classic with a match against UT Arlington on at 11 a.m. MT.

How it Happened

NM State (1-1) fell behind early in the first set and four-point rally gave ASU (2-0) a 10-4 lead over the Aggies. New Mexico State could not find its momentum and found its deficit growing larger and an ace by the Devils left the Aggies trailing by seven late in the set. Another ASU ace closed out the set as New Mexico State fell 25-15.

After a kill by Tatyana Battle opened the second set, the Aggies could not find a rhythm and gave up a seven-point rally to Arizona State. NM State went back-and-forth with ASU and a four-point run late in the set gave the team hope, but the deficit was too much to overcome and the New Mexico State squad fell 25-17.

NM State kept the set close early on, but after tying the set 8-8, the Aggies gave up a rally to the Devils and fell behind 11-8. The Aggies hung with ASU and came within a point of Arizona State but the Devils pulled away with a late run, forcing NM State to call a timeout while trailing 17-13. Errors continued to plague the New Mexico State squad and back-to-back aces by ASU put NM State behind by 20-15. The Aggies could not rally and fell in the third and final set 25-18.

By the Numbers

As a team, New Mexico State posted 27 kills on .113 hitting while also tallying 40 digs and eight blocks. Savannah Davison led the team with eight kills followed by Battle with five. Megan Hart posted six block assists in the match while Battle led the team with 10 digs.

Box score: Arizona State 3, NMSU 0EL PASO, Texas  Federal authorities shift away from separating immigrant families caught in the U.S. illegally now means that many parents and children are quickly released, only to be fitted with electronic monitoring devices  a practice which both the government and advocacy groups oppose for different reasons.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is issuing thousands of 5.5-ounce (155-gram) ankle monitors that immigrants call grilletes, or electronic shackles, spelling big profits for GEO Group, the countrys second largest private prison contractor.

Government officials say the devices are effective in getting people to show up to immigration court, but that they stop working once deportation proceedings begin. The reason, according to attorneys and people who wore the devices or helped monitor those wearing them: Some immigrants simply ditch them and disappear.

Immigrant advocates and legal experts argue, meanwhile, that the devices  which are commonly used for criminal parolees  are inappropriate and inhumane for people seeking U.S. asylum. The American Bar Association has called doing so a form of restriction on liberty similar to detention, rather than a meaningful alternative to detention.

Congress first established the program in 2002, though GPS monitors grew more common as deportations rose to record levels under President Barack Obamas administration, averaging more than 385,000 annually from 2008-2012. Their use increased even more after 2014, when thousands of unaccompanied minors and families began traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border and asking for asylum, fleeing gang and drug smugglers or domestic violence in Central America.

Earlier this year, immigrant families were separated as part of a zero tolerance program. But President Donald Trump reversed that policy with an executive order in June, meaning reunited families are being treated like other asylum seekers. Theyre usually detained for a few days, then issued ankle monitors and released to live with friends or relatives already in the U.S. as they progress through a process that can take years.

As of early July, there were nearly 84,500 active participants in ICEs Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or alternatives to detention  more than triple the number in November 2014. Around 45 percent of those were issued GPS monitors, 53 percent report by phone using biometric voice verification and 2 percent use facial recognition apps.

ICE spokesman Matthew Bourke said immigration court attendance is strong for immigrants in intensive supervision, but that ankle monitors and other measures are not an effective tool after deportation orders are issued. There isnt reliable information on the number of ankle monitor recipients who remove them and flee  especially when deportation is imminent  but experts say its high.

People can just cut those things off if they want to, said Sara Ramey, a San Antonio immigration attorney whose asylum-seeking clients are routinely assigned ankle monitors. It doesnt really ensure compliance.

The most recent available data was in 2012, when a contractors annual report (later referenced in a 2015 Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report) showed that 17,524 people, or around 65 percent of nearly 40,500 total participants, left the intensive supervision program that year. Of those, around a fifth were deported or granted asylum, while about 5 percent absconded. The rest were arrested, violated other program rules or were no longer required to participate for unspecified reasons  which made determining the programs true success rate impossible.

Many in the Trump administration see alternative to detention programs as undermining their larger goal of keeping immigrants in custody, which helps resolve court cases faster and leads to more deportations.

Officials wanted to keep families in detention until their cases were completed, but a federal agreement on the handling of children in government custody generally prevents youngsters from being detained longer than 20 days. In the meantime, ankle monitors and other alternatives to detention programs resulted in 2,430 people being deported from the U.S. in fiscal year 2017, Bourke said. Thats an average cost of $75,360 per deportation.

Overall spending on alternatives to detention rose to $183 million for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2017, up from $91 million in 2014, Bourke said. In the same period, the number of deportations for people in the program only increased by 273, from 2,157 to 2,430  or only about 1 percent of the more than 226,000 people ICE deported over the same period, Bourke said.

ICEs average length of stay in immigration detention is about 40 days, while the average length of time for immigrants not in custody to have immigrant cases on court dockets is more than eight years. Though daily costs are lower when releasing immigrants with electronic monitoring rather than keeping them in custody, the average cost of detention is about $5,500, compared to $16,000 for someone who is released but remains under surveillance for years, the Trump administration says.

Thats a key reason why ankle monitors have been a boon to Boca Raton, Florida-based GEO Group, which in 2010 acquired Behavioral Interventions Inc. of Boulder, Colorado, for $410 million. A year earlier, Behavioral Interventions had secured ICEs first nationwide supervision contract for immigrants in the country illegally. GEO signed an intensive supervision contract in 2014 that has been re-negotiated several times and is set to expire in November.

GEO says, under its contract, it must refer all questions to ICE.

Stock in the company, which employs David Venturella, a former ICE assistant director, and has ex-ICE chief Julie Myers Wood on its board, has outrun the larger bull market since Trump took office in January 2017.

Ankle monitors used to be most frequently issued to women with young children, but now are being increasingly affixed to all kinds of immigrants.

Sandra  who asked that her full name not be published so as not to jeopardize her asylum case  said she left La Union el Pozo Sayaxche in northern Guatemala with her 12-year-old son, Juan Carlos, on May 12. She said she fled because she faced discrimination because of her dark skin, but that she also was attacked sexually by a man who threatened to kill her if she went to the police.

The pair walked through the night and turned themselves into U.S. authorities about three weeks later. They were held in different Texas detention centers for nearly two months, then reunited and released  but not before she got an ankle monitor. They now live in New Jersey, where shes required to meet regularly with an immigration official.

I feel tortured, Sandra said. Im not in one of those detention centers, thank God, but I still feel like Im a prisoner.

The devices have rechargeable batteries that often last six hours or less and must be powered at all times. Taylor Levy, legal coordinator at Annunciation House in El Paso, which has taken in hundreds of reunited families, said most of the immigrant adults get ankle monitors  and many complain that they give them rashes, apply painful pressure and make getting dressed difficult.

If a devices battery dies or bangs against something, alarms are triggered and orders are barked in Spanish, usually commanding wearers to call their case workers. The same holds when a monitor registers a geolocation outside the area to which a wearer is restricted. Immigrants issued ankle monitors also usually must stay home on assigned days for unannounced visits, or are required to check in personally with case workers.

A visit to a low-slung office building near Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport found nearly 70 people  almost all women  sitting in folding chairs waiting to see case workers, their ankle monitors tucked beneath pants legs. Maria, 40, showed off her monitor and bruised ankle. She said shed fled the Honduran city of San Pedro de Sula after gang members threatened to kidnap her daughter but asked that her surname be withheld, citing concerns for her safety.

Many men with monitors cut them loose and take off, Maria said. Better if I stay here and follow instructions to the end.

Two former case workers with a GEO subsidiary, who spoke on condition that they not be named because they wanted to safeguard their chances for future government employment, said it was common for ankle monitors to be removed prematurely, and people who do so are rarely pursued. Thats consistent with the 2015 DHS inspector generals report, which found that ICE lacked the resources to chase many who abscond.

ICE has other priorities and most likely will not look for them, said one of the former case workers, who worked in Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. He said that if someone did flee, the priority was recovering their ankle monitor  not tracking down the person who abandoned it.

We would visit their house and knock on their door, the former case worker said, and at most try to look for the GPS unit.

___

Bajak reported from Houston, Weissert from Austin, Texas. Associated Press reporter Astrid Galvan contributed to this report.The act of kindness seemed destined to pull Johnny Bobbitt from the depths of homelessness and drug abuse he struggled with on the day Kate McClures car sputtered to a stop in front of him.

She was a motorist on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia who found herself stuck on an off-ramp, scared and out of gas.

He was a homeless veteran who told her to lock her doors, then spent his last $20 on that day in October to bring her a canister of fuel.

Later she sought to repay the favor, first with cereal bars and warm socks and spare dollars, then with a GoFundMe campaign to raise money so the Good Samaritan would not have to sleep under a bridge. Bobbitt, she told anyone who would listen, deserved a fresh start.

I wish that I could do more for this selfless man, who went out of his way just to help me that day, she said in the GoFundMe campaign, which she and her boyfriend, Mark DAmico, crafted in the car after visiting with Bobbitt. He is such a great guy, and talking to him each time I see him makes me want to help him more and more.

They hoped the GoFundMe would raise $10,000, but the story resonated. It was featured in national newspapers, including The Washington Post. The pair made an appearance on Good Morning America and were interviewed by the BBC  a feel-good story at the start of the holiday season. In a few months, the campaign had raised more than $400,000 from nearly 14,000 donors, and Bobbitts prospects had brightened.

But over the past 10 months, the sweet story has soured.

There are accusations of mismanagement and outright theft of the money raised on Bobbitts behalf. The GoFundMe cash, Bobbitt suspected, had been squandered on vacations, a luxury car and more than one addiction. And this weekend, the threat of litigation loomed.

Last fall, McClure said, the plan was to get Bobbitt a house and his dream truck, a 1999 Ford Ranger. Bobbitt also planned to donate money to people and organizations that had helped him as he struggled with homelessness.

The plan was to make the second act of Bobbitts life a successful one, and for a while, things seemed happy. Pictures showed Bobbitt at McClure and DAmicos house at Christmas, posing next to the tree, wearing adult onesies and baking cookies.

In reality, things werent that rosy. Instead of a house, McClure and DAmico got Bobbitt a camper, which they kept in their names and parked on land owned by DAmicos family, according to news reports. They bought him a television, a laptop and two cellphones, food and clothing  and a used SUV that was soon broken and idle.

What he didnt get, though, was any type of ownership over the money raised on his behalf. He met briefly with a financial adviser, but there was never any lawyer or any trust, according to Philadelphia CBS affiliate WTVR. DAmico said he kept $200,000  what remained after buying the camper and the SUV and other expenses  in a savings account that he would gladly turn over to Bobbitt once he kicked an addiction to opioids and managed to hold down a job.

But Bobbitt said he saw troubling signs for the money that thousands had donated to him. McClure is a receptionist for the New Jersey Department of Transportation and DAmico is a carpenter, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. But suddenly she had a new BMW, and the couple was taking vacations to Florida and California and Las Vegas, Bobbitt told the Inquirer. He learned of a helicopter ride they took over the Grand Canyon.

And he told the Inquirer that DAmico has gambled away some of the GoFundMe money. (DAmico told the newspaper he had used $500 from the account to gamble on a night when he forgot his SugarHouse Casino card, but had quickly repaid the money with his winnings.)

Good intentions had given way to something else, Bobbitt told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

With that amount of money, I think it became greed, Bobbitt said.

According to the Inquirer, DAmico spoke of expenses he and his girlfriend had incurred caring for Bobbitt, including time they took off from work.

And DAmico gave an evolving account of how he handled the money to the Philadelphia Inquirer:

  

Initially, he said he would not produce financial records because the money was put into an existing account at PNC bank that does not belong to Bobbitt. On Wednesday, he said he and McClure had opened up a separate account for Bobbitt. On Thursday morning he said he told a reporter the trusts had been set up because thats what Bobbitt wanted him to say.

  

The money that came to Bobbitt couldnt stop his addiction. He went through two unsuccessful stints in rehab that brought him no closer to being sober. Some of the money GoFundMe donors gave to him ended up in the pockets of drug dealers, Bobbitt told the Inquirer.

In April, six months after his fateful meeting with McClure, Bobbitt told the Inquirer that he had been clean for three weeks and jobless for much longer.

Its going to be a struggle for the rest of my life, he said of his addiction.

DAmico, who frequently gave Bobbitt a ride to counseling sessions and group meetings, told the Inquirer that giving a six-figure sum to a man addicted to opioids is like me handing him a loaded gun. He has to do what he has to do to get his life together.

On Saturday, it was unclear how much of the money earmarked to Bobbitt had actually gone to him. DAmico told the Inquirer he had made some lump sum payments to Bobbitt, but DAmico and McClure did not return calls or messages to The Post seeking comment. They also didnt they provide financial statements or records in interviews with other news organizations.

Chris Fallon, an attorney hired by Bobbitt, told The Post on Saturday that they are attempting to secure an accounting before a scheduled meeting on Monday and didnt want to speak for fear of jeopardizing arbitration efforts.

GoFundMe told the Associated Press it has launched an investigation to determine whether the money was mismanaged, and is working to ensure Bobbitt receives the help he deserves and that the donors intentions are honored.

If Bobbitts claims are true, it would be the biggest case of GoFundMe fraud or mismanagement seen by GoFraudMe, a whistleblower organization, according to Adrienne Gonzalez, the sites publisher.

Some of the hucksters are serial scammers, who can start dozens or hundreds of bogus campaigns in a day, said Gonzalez. Others fake diseases, figuring no one will demand evidence of, say, a recent cancer diagnosis.

And still others, she said, end up unwitting fraudsters  unqualified to handle the vast sums of money they suddenly find themselves stewards of.

From the bat, its clear that there was no sort of plan, Gonzalez said of Bobbitts case. She didnt plan on it exploding, but once it started to explode, she didnt think about how this man was actually going to get help. People contributed not thinking that this is a sick individual who needs help  and no amount of money is going to make that go away overnight.

Savvy donors should look for a plan that ensures the money will make it to a needy person, and some type of accountability measures to ensure donations dont end up in the wrong pockets, she said.

Nearly a year after meeting McClure, the camper is gone, and so is the SUV. Bobbitt told the Inquirer that he remains an addict, and still doesnt have access to the money that was supposed to turn his life around.

At night, he sleeps under a bridge at the intersection of Callowhill and Second Streets, near an I-95 on-ramp. He spends his days doing exactly what he was doing when McClures car stopped in front of him: panhandling.In 2015, when Chennai was hit with heavy downpour and many low lying areas in the city were put on red alert, Facebook stepped up its game by allowing users to mark if they were safe in areas close to a disaster area allowing for relief measures to be deployed effectively. This phenomenon opened the eyes of brands to the power of utilizing their resources to combat disaster situations. In an era of responsible advertising and product positioning, brands have outgrown their old functionalities and have in a true sense become a force for social good. Amidst all the challenges, there are few brands who have taken a step forward in order to help the people in distress in Kerala.

Paytm

Paytm is Indias leading mobile payments and financial services company. Paytm has allowed its users to contribute monetary aid. In less than two days, the e-wallet received Rs 10 crore from more than four lakh Paytm users. On the homepage of Paytm, the application provided an icon of open hands that allowed its users to donate. It claimed that it will match the users contribution rupee for rupee.

Apart from the Kerala relief fund, Paytm has also opened up contributions for Kodagu, Karnataka, on the application.

Zomato

Zomato has partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to start a Flood Relief fund for those who are affected. Open the Zomato App and tap on food online to start donating. The Akshaya Patra Foundation will use this amount to provide cooked meals to flood affected people of Kerala in Edathua, Alapuzha District. The food is being delivered to people in meal delivery vans and boats.

Ola Cabs

Help Kerala Victims by contributing to CMs distress relief fund. Show your support with every ride you take.

Google Maps

In such a situation, its becoming difficult for families to stay together under one safe roof. The search engine, through its map, is helping the flood-affected to find the nearest shelters and helping homes. The maps provide information about the nearest shelter, medicines, ambulance, jeep rescue, clothing, electricity power station and everything required in the crisis.

ITC

To provide the affected with extremely basic necessities and food, ITC is working closely with the Nodal Relief Officer, Government of Kerala and the Union Ministry of Food. The brand has already dispatched lakhs of food items to the affected.

Uber

Uber is running a collection drive in Chennai and Bangalore from Sun, 19th Aug to Tue, 21st Aug to help Kerala and Kodagu. Please see the feedcard in your Uber app for details on how you can contribute with every ride you take. #IndiaForKerala

Eureka Forbes

Expressing his solidarity for the victims of the floods, Mr. Marzin R Shroff, MD & CEO  Eureka Forbes Limited said, The floods in Kerala have wreaked widespread havoc and devastated the livelihoods of thousands of people. In a bid to provide help and support to thousands of distressed Keralites, Eureka Forbes has provided emergency relief by distributing 16,000 AquaSure drinking water bottles absolutely free of cost to the survivors and will further continue to do so. This is to ensure that the survivors in the city have sufficient access to safe and healthy drinking water. Also the employees of the company will offer financial assistance by voluntarily contributing their one day (or more) salary towards relief.

Furthermore, in order to mobilize a more permanent solution, we will be collaborating with Habitat of India to distribute gravity based purifiers and personal purifiers on the go which will not require electricity. Over and above this, our Eurochamps are providing relief by helping senior citizens and helping in cleaning hospitals and public places. We are looking at providing free service machines to our customers whose machines have been affected by the floods. Eureka Forbes is wholeheartedly offering Kerala this moral support by unremittingly providing them with their needs and basic requirements.

Anchor by Panasonic

In an effort to help normalize the livelihood of those affected by the Kerala floods, Anchor by Panasonics HR and Customer Care department have come up with a free service camp called Anchor Care. The camp has deployed over 100 electricians on ground to take remedial steps related to electricity and power failures. The catastrophe has caused major damage driving thousands of people out of their homes and posing severe health threats to survivors. As water recedes in parts of the state, one of the biggest challenge will be to address the issues related to electricity. The brand has been quick to realize the fact that short circuits will eventually become a rising concern as those affected begin to rebuild their homes.

So far, volunteers from Anchor by Panasonic have reached out to some of the worst affected areas and are working round the clock to provide help in the form of rectifying switches, switchgears, fans, lighting, wires & cables and other electrical appliances. The endeavour has been to reach out to maximum number of houses and solve electrical related issues, irrespective of the nature of the products or brand in use.

Those affected in Kerala must make the most of this critical service to safeguard themselves from short circuits or any other impending calamity. Anchor Electricals Pvt. Ltd. is urging people and other volunteers in Kerala to reach out to the service by contacting the toll-free number 18001038606 or tweet using #CareForKerala.

Kalyan Jewellers

The floods in Kerala have led to loss of lives and mass displacement. When the flood water recedes and families start going back to their houses, there will be a need for basic essentials such as home cleaning supplies. This is the thought that has motivated Kalyan Jewellers to launch the #DoMoreForKerala initiative.

First they identified staff from within their teams who could work at the ground level. The teams were dividing into North, Central and South Kerala units, and each region within its districts were allotted to an individual. These names and details were shared online and with rescue teams and camps across the state.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 []Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier?

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Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page.A man from Cussetta, Georgia who is a suspect in a homicide from July 2017 has been charged with the death of one of the two men fatally shot in the early morning hours of Aug. 18, Auburn police said.

Police arrested 26-year-old Demetrious A. Newell Jr. Thursday and charged him with murder in the death of 23-year-old Tuskegee man Omar Trenton Torbert.

At the time of the shooting, Newell was out on bond for a murder charge in the July 2017 shooting death of 28-year-old Anthony Jamal Davis, police said.

Torbert and another man, 36-year-old Dominique Oneil Key, were shot in the 800 block of N. Donahue Dr. around 3:45 a.m. Aug. 18, police said. A 61-year-old woman was also shot and was taken to a local hospital, where she was treated and released, police said.

Key was pronounced dead on the scene and Torbert later died from his injuries at the hospital, police said.

Police believe Torbert fatally shot Key, according to initial investigations. The investigation is ongoing and Newell could face additional charges, police said.

Auburn Police and members of the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Newell Tuesday. He was transported to Lee County Jail with bail set at $150,000.

Since he was out on bond on a previous murder charge, his bond was revoked, police said.

Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact detectives at (334) 501-3140 or at the tip line, (334) 246-1391.Birmingham police have a suspect in custody after one person was shot at Marks village in gate city Friday night.

The shooting happened in the 7500 block of 65 Courtway South at Mark's Village apartments.

Police said it is unknown if the victims injuries are life-threatening at this time.

Further details about the shooting we're not immediately available.A Prattville man was sentenced to federal prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to firearms violations and shooting and killing a pregnant cow, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Montgomery.

Byron Jamar Esco, 30, received a 57-month prison sentence for illegally possessing a firearm and shooting the cow, U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin announced Friday.

The prosecution came about, the announcement said, because of Esco "senselessly using a firearm to shoot and kill a pregnant cow."

According to prosecutors, the cow massacre occurred Nov. 29, 2017. Esco had also recently been released from state prison after pleading guilty in 2007 to first-degree robbery in Montgomery County, according to court records.

"(Esco) was driving his vehicle along country roads near Hope Hull, Alabama," the announcement said. "As he drove, Esco, unprovoked, pointed his 9 millimeter handgun at a cow grazing in a field. Esco then fired the weapon and killed the cow, which was pregnant with a calf. Esco drove away. Before he could do so, though, the cow's owner observed Esco's vehicle and reported the shooting and the details of the getaway vehicle to law enforcement authorities. Early the following morning, a sheriff's deputy found Esco driving the car. Inside the vehicle was the handgun used in the shooting."

As a convicted felon, the announcement said, Esco could not lawfully possess the firearm.

At the sentencing hearing on Thursday, Esco received "an enhancement," the announcement said, for possessing the firearm in the felony offense of killing the cow.A Montgomery physician was sentenced to 12 years and one month in federal prison on Thursday after being found guilty of prescribing unnecessary controlled substances for his patients, prosecutors said.

Dr. Gilberto Sanchez, 56, was also guilty of committing health care fraud and laundering money, according to the announcement from U.S. Attorney Louis Franklin Sr.

Sanchez handed out prescriptions for opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl as well as amphetamines that he knew his patients did not need and would abuse, prosecutors said.

"To ensure that his scheme was a profitable one, Dr. Sanchez required his patients to return to his office each month and undergo physical examinations before receiving prescription refills," the announcement from Franklin's office said. "These office visits were unnecessary, as their only purpose was to facilitate Dr. Sanchez giving the patients illegitimate prescriptions. Nevertheless, Dr. Sanchez performed these unnecessary examinations so that he could get money from the patients' insurance companies. This scheme led to Dr. Sanchez's health care fraud conviction.

"The money laundering charges stem from Dr. Sanchez's spending the proceeds of his operation of a pill mill. Court documents describe Dr. Sanchez using those proceeds to purchase at least one vehicle and one personal residence located in Montgomery."

In the announcement, Franklin said, "A license to practice medicine does not give a doctor permission to be a drug dealer," said United States Attorney Franklin. "This white coat criminal poured poison into this community for years and will never know nor be able to undo the harm Dr. Sanchez inflicted upon his patients and their loved ones. We hope that this strong sentence will send a message deter other doctors who might follow Dr. Sanchez down the path of putting profit over care."

Also on Thursday, prosecutors said, a licensed professional counselor, Johnnie Chaisson Sanders, 48, of Wetumpka, Alabama, pleaded guilty to health care fraud. Court documents state that Sanders worked for Dr. Sanchez and, with Dr. Sanchez, participated in a fraudulent moneymaking venture.A police officer in Baldwin County was deliberately struck by a vehicle at a safety checkpoint on Friday night and other officers at the scene fired upon the vehicle as it sped away.

Two suspects were eventually taken into custody after a high-speed chase and the officer hit by the car was not seriously injured, police said.

The incident took place on Alabama Highway 104 in Silverhill, police said.

According to Silverhill police, an officer was approaching a Toyota sedan when the passenger in the vehicle began leaning into the driver's seat area. As the officer got closer, police said, the car's engine began to race before the Toyota sped toward the officer and struck him. The car then sped toward a second Silverhill police officer as well as a state trooper who was assisting at the checkpoint.

The officers fired their weapons at the suspect as the officers jumped out of the way of the speeding vehicle, police said.

The pursuit then began, which ended when the Toyota crashed into a utility pole in the Barnwell community.

The driver of the vehicle, James E. Middleton Jr., has been charged with second-degree assault and two counts of attempted murder, police said. The passenger in the vehicle, Shamone Morris, fled the scene after the crash and was captured a short time later, police said. Morris sustained non-life threatening injuries during the incident and transported to a local hospital, police said.

The police officer struck by the vehicle was treated and released at a local hospital.

Silverhill police said the Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit is conducting an investigation into the incident.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 []Originally Posted by jtdc Originally Posted by

You are the one who suggested ". . . llegal aliens are the only ones committing rape, homicide, assaults . . . "

Stop making crap up.



JWK SO NOW YOU ARE IN TO PURE LYING!



If you were intelligent enough to read the whole paragraph you lifted that quote from, you would have noticed that "I'm for the wall, but looking at the post on this forum, " preceded what you chose to respond to here. I clearly said the posts on this forum would indicate that.

If you were intelligent enough to read the whole paragraph you lifted that quote from, you would have noticed that "" preceded what you chose to respond to here. I clearly said the posts on this forum would indicate that.

I'm for the wall, but looking at the post on this forum,illegal aliens are the only ones committing rape, homicide, assaults, etc.?



You intentionally besmirched the posters in this forum, suggesting they accuse illegal aliens for all the rapes, homicides and assaults in America.



You like to dish out the false innuendoes, but can't take it when the same crap is thrown back at you.



Muslims have lived in Poland for 600 years, but there is a fear that they will gradually abandon their culture.

The year was 1395.

Tokhtamysh and his Tatar Muslim army were rushing to the northeast across the vast steppes of Ukraine, unsure of what was to come.

The journey was long and strenuous, but the warriors were disciplined nomads skilled in horsemanship and accustomed to hardship.

Tokhtamyshs army was escaping the battlefield of the Terek river, looking for safety after a humiliating defeat at the hands of Tamerlane, the ruler of the Timurid Empire.

For the Golden Horde  Tokhtamyshs khanate, this was the beginning of a prolonged decline.

The army was heading to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which under Vytautas the Great was in a period of its greatest territorial expansion, looking to take control of lands in the east.

In exchange for military support in the fight against Tamerlane, Tokhtamysh offered Vytautas the rights to rule the entire Kievan Rus, including Moscow.

In the Polish history, for 600 years Tatars have always fought for Poland, from the Battle of Grunwald to September 1939 as separate Tatar units of the Polish army. Krzysztof Mucharski, a Polish Tatar

While the joint campaign to regain power over the Golden Horde eventually failed, Tokhtamyshs army and their descendants remained in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

They settled in the centre and the states borderlands and became its loyal defenders. In the following centuries, Tatars took part in all major battles in the region.

In 1385, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland formed a union which later transformed into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous states in the 16th and 17th century Europe.

But it was only John III Sobieski, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, who invited Tatars to the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian borderland in the second half of the 17th century.

In exchange for fighting alongside the Polish-Lithuanian army, he granted Tatars lands stretching over 150km in an area around the city of Biaystok, inhabited by various cultures and religions, including Jews, Orthodox Belarusians, and Catholic Poles.

A mosque in Bohoniki, northeastern Poland, where inter-faith prayers take place [Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska/Al Jazeera]

Tatars largely belonged to the privileged class and many received noble titles and coats of arms in return for their service.

As they were allowed to marry local women, Tatars soon lost their language, but they retained their faith.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Tatar community was unique within Christian Europe, excluding Russia. It was a Muslim group which was in minority, but was tolerated, Adam Balcer, lecturer at the Warsaw Universitys Centre for Eastern European Studies at Warsaw University, told Al Jazeera. At the time, in Spain Muslims were forced to convert to Christianity or expelled.

In Poland, Tatars were not only allowed to practise their faith, but acted as intermediaries between East and West.

I would compare Polish Tatars to the Catholic Church in the West. It is a light version of Islam. Tomasz Miskiewicz, Mufti of Poland

A recent discovery by a team from the University of Nicolaus Copernicus in Torun, led by Joanna Kulwicka-Kaminska and Czeslaw Lapicz, found that as early as in the second half of the 16th century, Polish Tatars translated the Quran into the Polish language.

The Tatar translation for years remained a mystery for scientists, since the Slavic text  the northeastern borderland variety of Polish, was written with Arabic alphabet and it took several years of research to decipher the original text.

According to Kulwicka-Kaminska, it was the third  after Italian and Latin  translation of the Quran into a European language.

It was most likely in the second half of the 16th century that the first translations of religious writings into Slavic languages  spoken by the Tatar community  appeared, as only in these languages it was possible to introduce Muslims to the rules and teachings of their faith, Kulwicka-Kaminska told Al Jazeera. It was to ensure for the Tatars their continued ethnic separation and cultural identity, which already in the 16th century was identified only by Islam.

The authors of the translations remain unknown, but they were certainly part of an educated clergy elite, maintaining ties with the Muslim East and speaking both oriental and Slavic languages.

A mosque in Kruszyniany [Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska/Al Jazeera]

In the following centuries, Tatars continued to be present within Polish elite circles and, as Balcer explains, in the interwar period, they were overrepresented among judges, in the army, and politics.

In 1919, at the request of the chief of state Jozef Pilsudski, a Tatar regiment was formed and its soldiers hoisted symbols of the star and crescent.

Today, there are 35,000 Muslims overall in Poland and at least 2,000 Tatars.

Their faith, physical appearance and cuisine are among the only features they have inherited from their ancestors.

The architecture of two old mosques located in the villages of Kruszyniany and Bohoniki resembles Catholic and Orthodox churches.

We are Muslims who grew up among Christians, said Maciej Szczesnowicz, the head of the Muslim parish in Bohoniki. Together with Catholics and Orthodox Christians, we organise joint prayers for peace and justice in the world. Priests and bishops come over here and pray together in our mosque.

Although Tatars maintained their identity for 600 years, there is a fear that they will gradually abandon their culture.

I would compare Polish Tatars to the Catholic Church in the West. It is a light version of Islam, Tomasz Miskiewicz, Mufti of Poland and Chairman of Polands Muslim Religious Association, told Al Jazeera.

There are places where Friday prayers do not take place at all and places which are increasingly becoming history. It is a drift away from our identity.

Inter-religious marriages are becoming common among the younger generation.

It used to be unthinkable, there were such situations, but it was a taboo, says Dagmara Sulkiewicz, a Tatar religion teacher from Biaystok. Two weeks ago, I was invited to a real Tatar wedding. But it is a relic.

The interior of Bohoniki Mosque [Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska/Al Jazeera]

Growing Islamophobia affects the community, although some Tatars say they do not experience discrimination in their daily lives.

Tatars experience Islamophobia less than other Muslim communities in the country, partially because of their historic presence and also due to the fact that there are few religious signs that would make them easily recognisable as Muslims, Konrad Pedziwiatr from the Cracow University of Economics told Al Jazeera.

Therefore, the strategy of not recognising Islamophobia is partly connected with the secularisation of the group.

Yet, over the past years mosques were vandalised several times with images of the Celtic cross, a pig or even a symbol of the Kotwica  a World War II emblem of the Polish Underground State often used by the far right.

People who paint those things lack basic awareness. In the Polish history, for 600 years Tatars have always fought for Poland, from the Battle of Grunwald to September 1939 as separate Tatar units of the Polish army, Krzysztof Mucharski, a Polish Tatar, told Al Jazeera.

I found the Kotwica symbol particularly surprising as in the past it was used by Tatars fighting in the Polish underground.

But despite problems, Polish Tatars are not only proud of their Muslim heritage, but also their Polish roots.

We are a bit of a rabbit pulled out of a hat to surprise the world that there is a group like us, that is assimilated and devoted as citizens, Miskiewicz says. We are Poles.It is not enough to end the violence against the Rohingya. Far more must be done to ensure their safety in Myanmar.

It was exactly one year ago, on 25 August 2017, that the Myanmar military launched a murderous clearance operation in Rakhine State. In the space of a few months, the security forces and their proxies killed thousands of Rohingya people, torched scores of villages to the ground, engaged in widespread sexual violence, and drove more than 700,000 women, men and children to flee into Bangladesh.

For us Rohingya people, August 25 marks a dark anniversary  it is an anniversary that must finally spur the international community into action. While the events of the past year might have sprung the Rohingyas suffering into the global consciousness, it is really only the latest chapter in a long story of abuse.

Myanmar has for decades pursued its genocidal policies against Rohingya, and the violence that started last year merely echoes similarly brutal military campaigns in the late 1970s and early 1990s. The world must act now to break this cycle of violence.

Key to preventing history from repeating itself will be ensuring accountability for Myanmars atrocities. Despite international human rights groups and others collecting overwhelming evidence that the Myanmar military has been responsible for crimes against humanity, none of those responsible have been meaningfully brought to justice.

While Myanmar has announced a commission of inquiry into the violence in Rakhine State, this is just another smokescreen for the international community. Myanmar has a long track record of establishing similar bodies which have never led to anything but whitewashes of its crimes.

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The Myanmar military hardly has any incentive to investigate itself. While hopes were high on the civilian government  led by Aung San Suu Kyi  to improve the situation of Rohingya, the past year has shown that such hopes have been completely misplaced.

Aung San Suu Kyi has not only failed to condemn the militarys atrocities, but even flat-out denied that they are taking place. In a rare public appearance in Singapore last week, the Lady gave a typically tone-deaf speech, and even called members of the military in her cabinet rather sweet.

Sadly, there are still governments in the West who cling to the belief that Aung San Suu Kyi somehow represents the last hope for both a democratic Myanmar and the Rohingya. As someone who once campaigned for her release from house arrest, it has been painful to realise that this is not the case.

Aung San Suu Kyi has shown a callous indifference to the plight of the Rohingya, and has become complicit in the militarys genocide herself. Her governments focus on the refugee repatriation process is nothing but a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from the militarys crimes and the need for accountability.

It is clear that the international community must step in to provide justice. Increasingly, the International Criminal Court in the Hague is looking like the Rohingyas best hope to achieve this.

Since Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute, members of the UN Security Council need to refer the situation in Rakhine State to trigger a comprehensive investigation.

Predictably, political power plays have prevented this from happening so far. For us Rohingya, it is shocking to watch how world powers are standing idly by on the sidelines while we as a people are quite literally being wiped out.

Global actors must also push Myanmar to not just end all violence against Rohingya, but also its discriminatory policies. For decades, Rohingya have been kept in a virtual open-air prison in Rakhine State, where all aspects of their lives are tightly controlled.

Severe restrictions on freedom of movement and denial of citizenship rights mean that making a living, going to the hospital, gaining an education, or even leaving their village is impossible for many Rohingya. This state-sanctioned segregation must end immediately, in particular before any process of repatriating refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar starts. Those Rohingya still left in Myanmar also need international protection and cannot be left at the mercy of the Myanmar security forces.

For many of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled into Bangladesh, life remains a daily struggle for survival. Despite the generosity of the Bangladeshi government in opening its borders and the heroic efforts of aid groups, refugees still largely live in squalid conditions in overcrowded camps.

The Bangladeshi authorities have also imposed tight restrictions on refugees freedom of movement and ability to access basic services like schooling. We urge Bangladesh to lift these restrictions and to fully respect the human rights of those Rohingya inside its borders.

To mark this dark anniversary today, thousands of Rohingya across the globe will gather today to remember friends and relatives who have lost their lives. From London to the refugee camps in Bangladesh and many other places in the world, Rohingya will hold candlelit vigils, inter-communal prayers and other events on what we have termed Genocide Remembrance Day.

We are not just gathering to mourn, however, but also to ensure that the world does not forget our plight, and to call on international leaders to move beyond empty rhetoric and take genuine action to ensure that Myanmars genocide ends. A year from now, I hope that we wont have our hopes dashed and will be able to look back on some genuine progress.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.Palestinian aid staff decry US cut of $200m in economic assistance, months after also cutting contribution to UNRWA.

For Nermin Saydam, a 35-year-old Palestinian NGO worker, the United States decision to cut $200m of economic aid to the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip is devastating.

I never expected this to happen to me, the mother of two, who works as a project manager with the Gaza Envision 2020 USAID programme, said on Saturday.

For many NGO workers, the announcement on Friday that President Donald Trump had ordered the State Department to redirect the funding to unspecified high-priority projects elsewhere means no more work nor income.

According to Saydam, Gaza Envision 2020 is expected to close down by the end of August as one of several US-funded aid and development programmes that will be affected by the cut in US aid.

As a result, Saydam, who took out a large loan to buy a flat a few months before she signed a five-year contract with the project, faces being thousands of dollars in debt.

Now that I have no more income, Im facing a serious catastrophe, she added, explaining that she will no longer be able to pay her monthly instalments of $550 to the bank.

The move comes months after the US, which had been the largest donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA, slashed its annual $360m contribution by more than 80 percent to $60m earlier this year.

It also follows Trumps decision to unilaterally recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital last December. The move sparked global anger and undercut long-standing underpinnings of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks where the citys status was yet to be determined.

Palestinians have rejected calls from the Trump administration to return to the negotiating table, arguing that Washington gave up its status as a neutral mediator.

Like Saydam, Ruba Mohamed, 29, who was also employed by Gaza Envision 2020 as a field worker earlier this year, has been left in disbelief.

I built high hopes and dreams for myself and for Gaza through this project, says Mohamed, whose five-year contract with Gaza Envision 2020 USAID programme was put on hold when funds did not come through in May.

I wanted to work and help myself and my people, especially the young graduates who cannot find employment, she added, saying that the project aimed at helping create opportunities for people in Gaza.

Along with 100 other employees in the project, she hoped that by August her work would resume, but the latest move has killed these prospects for good.

This decision is a huge shock and disappointment for us, said Mohamed. Theres no way we will be getting back to work now, she added.

The US, which had been the largest donor to UNRWA, slashed its annual $360m contribution by more than 80 percent to $60m earlier this year [Reuters]

Political blackmail

Palestinian officials and analysts critised the US move, describing it as a form of political coercion and blackmail.

This is flagrant declaration that the real aim of US aid is to interfere in the internal affairs of other peoples and affect their national rights, Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a statement on Saturday.

Erekat said the US decision to cut aid is a sign that [Washington] had abandoned its international obligations adding that the Palestinian people reject any conditional aid.

Accusing Trump of using cheap blackmail as a political tool, Hanan Ashrawi, a top PLO official, said in a statement late on Friday: The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation.

Now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation, she added, vowing that Palestinians would not be intimidated by the US move.

In a similar statement, Hossam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian Authoritys (PA) delegation to the US, said the move was confirmation that the Trump administration had adopted Israelis agenda on the peace process.

The decision along with the cuts to UNRWA aid earlier this year underscore the Trump administrations abandoning of the two-state solution and its full adoption of the agenda of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.

The use of humanitarian and development aid as a tool of political blackmail will not work, he added.

Commenting on the move, Omar Shaaban, a Palestinian economic expert told Al Jazeera, that while the move will have limited direct impact on the PLO, it will have a huge effect on development and aid projects and specifically employees working in that sector.



The UN agency for Palestinian refugees announced in July that it will cut more than 250 jobs in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip after the US slashed its funding.

Mohsen Abu Ramadan, another economic expert from Gaza told Al Jazeera that the decision attempts to punish the PLO for not agreeing to the deal of the century, referring to the long-mulled peace plan which Trump and his team are preparing to roll out to end the decades-long conflict.

This move is part of [a] series of decisions that have [the] aim to recognise Israeli settlements and limit funds to Palestinians.

It [the decision] shows that the US government wishes to weaken the PLO and support the Netanyahu governments approach to the peace process.







Authorities say the diseases rapid spread is linked to poor hygiene but many believe governments reaction was slow.

Algerian authorities have announced the death of a second person in a recent cholera outbreak that has left dozens hospitalised.

The latest fatality, like the first one, was a resident of Boufarik, a town in Blida province some 30km south of the capital, Algiers, according to a health ministry statement carried by the official Algerie Press Service on Saturday.

Another Boufarik resident was reported dead on August 23.

Overall, 139 people have been hospitalised across the country since August 7, with at least 46 cases confirmed as cholera, the ministry said.

As of Friday, cases were reported in the provinces of Blida, Bouira, Tipaza, Medea and Ain Defla, as well as the capital.

Reda Daghboush, the director of Boufarik hospital, confirmed in a statement that cholera was the cause for the death of the second victim, an elderly woman who also suffered from other chronic diseases.

On Thursday, the government confirmed the diseases outbreak but said the situation was under control. It said the cases were isolated and limited to a few families.

Some however accused the government of negligence, saying the outbreak could have been averted had authorities been quick in their response.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Mohamed Bekkat Berkani, president of the National Council of the Order of Doctors lamented the state of health in the country, saying that he regretted that the Pasteur Institute  the body in charge of preventive healthcare and infectious diseases in Algeria  was neither capable of controlling the epidemic nor identifying its origin.

A number of Algerians have also expressed anger on social media after Zoubir Harrath, director of Pasteur Institute, told a news conference earlier this week that cholera outbreaks have occurred in Chad, Niger, Yemen  not just in Algeria.

#Algerie

Une honte!Un institut comme #pasteur qui est incapable de diagnostiquer lepidemie du cholera pendant plus de 15j en 2018 devrait etre carrement ferme..Alors que nos grands parents diagnostiquaient cette epidemie rien quen voyants letat du malade  Roi gourmand (@JaimeOran31) August 23, 2018

Translation: A shame! An institute like Pasteur thats incapable of diagnosing the cholera epidemic for more than 15 days in 2018 should be shut. And to think that our grandparents diagnosed this epidemic just by seeing the condition of the patient.

Cholera is a highly contagious bacterial infection spread through contaminated food or water.

It occurs most frequently in places with poor sanitation and sewage facilities, and can be fatal within hours if left untreated.

While an investigation is ongoing to track down the exact source of the outbreak, the countrys health minister has ruled out transmission by tap water, suggesting that contamination is most likely linked to food and improper hygiene.Police fired at angry protesters in western city of Mahendranagar, killing a teenage boy and injuring dozens.

One teenage boy has been killed and dozens were injured in west Nepal when police opened fire on protesters demanding action over the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, according to officials.

Angry crowds took to the streets in the city of Mahendranagar on Friday, accusing police of protecting the person responsible for the brutal crime.

Police officer Krishna Raj Ojha told AFP news agency on Saturday that 17-year-old Sani Khuna was killed after officers fired shots to contain the violent protest.





According to the Kathmandu Post, Khuna died while being taken to hospital for treatment.

The publication said that several other protesters, as well as police personnel, were injured in the clashes.

Police said an indefinite curfew has been imposed in the area, near the border with Indias Uttarakhand state.

Schoolgirl Nirmala Panta went missing in late July and her body was found the following day in a sugar-cane field.

Anger boiled over after police arrested a man who reportedly has severe learning difficulties, and whom protesters say is a scapegoat allowing officers to shield the real culprit.

The victims family have also accused police of failing to take action over her death.

The state has not taken the cases of rape and violence against women seriously, womens rights activist Hima Bista told AFP.

Protection is being provided to the rape-accused time and again, she added.

Further rallies are planned for Saturday across Nepal. In the capital, Kathmandu, around 1,500 people staged a silent protest under a heavy police presence, AFP reported.

Rape is not just a women's issue. It's about man who stop behaving like human beings & start behaving like animal. In an average, 1 women/girl are victimized of rape each day in Nepal #JusticeforNirmala #SaveOurGirls  #SaveNepal #PunishedRapist #WakeUpOliGovernment pic.twitter.com/bwNwp4c0xe  SMRITI DHUNGANA (@aesmriti) August 23, 2018

The hashtags #RageAgainstRape and #JusticeForNirmala were also trending on Twitter.

The so-called democratic government couldnt give justice to the rape and murder victim instead they killed an innocent boy, Twitter user Sunel GC posted.

There were 1,480 reported rapes in Nepal last year, according to recently released police data, almost double the number reported in 2016.

Activists say the rise is due to more women reporting violence to the police, but also say many more still go unreported in deeply patriarchal Nepal.Clashes kill four fighters and four Egyptian troops in restive Sinai province.

Four armed men have been killed in an operation by the Egyptian police in the city of Arish in the northern Sinai.

Egyptian security source told Arabic-language media that four Egyptian policemen were also killed in the clashes on Saturday, while several others were wounded.

According to the source, the attackers were wearing explosives and others carried light weapons.

The remaining members of the group managed to flee the site of the operation, said the unnamed source.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack which it described as an infiltration operation, according to a statement published on the groups Amaq news agency.

Earlier this month, Egypts military said it has killed 52 fighters in the Sinai Peninsula over the past few days as part of its ongoing efforts to eliminate armed groups in the sparsely populated desert region.

More than 300 fighters have been killed in Sinai since the Egyptian army launched an operation to defeat armed groups in the province in February.

Defeating armed groups and restoring security has been a promise of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was re-elected in March in a landslide victory against no real opposition.

Sisis critics say his presidency has brought about a harsh crackdown on dissent, but supporters say such measures, which include mass imprisonment of political opposition, are needed to stabilise Egypt.Iraqi protest against unsafe water in Basra

Anger has again reached the streets of Basra after contaminated water sent hundreds to hospital.ISIL plans to use the hostages as leverage in negotiations with the Syrian government, residents tell rights group.

ISIL has taken a group of at least 27 people hostage in the sparsely populated Sweida desert in southern Syria, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Among those kidnapped, who are mostly of members of the minority Druze community, are at least 16 children aged between seven and 15, the human rights group said on Saturday, citing witnesses and relatives.

Local residents told HRW that ISIL (also known as ISIS) is planning to use the hostages as leverage in negotiations with the Syrian government and Russia, one of Syrias closest allies.

For a month now, families of the kidnapped Sweida have been calling for the release of their loved ones, Lama Fakih, HRWs deputy Middle East director, said in a statement.

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Civilian lives should not be used as bargaining chips, and ISIS should release all the hostages immediately.

The children were taken during attacks in late July on several villages in the eastern parts of Sweida, HRW said.

Several witnesses told the human rights group that 57 people were killed in the attack, after which 27 were taken by members of ISIL.

Following the attacks, the armed group released videos showing kidnapped women, with one stating that they would be killed if the Syrian government did not stop its assault on Yarmouk, a besieged Palestinian refugee camp held by ISIL in the south of Damascus.

In the weeks following the attacks, local media reported the beheading of 19-year-old Muhannad Abu Ammar at the hands of his ISIL kidnappers.

A woman named Zaya, also taken hostage by ISIL, died of unknown causes several days later.

Sweida province has largely been spared most of the violence that Syrian cities have witnessed in the years since the conflict started in 2011.

In less than a month, Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power, have been able to seize control of most of southwestern Deraa province, including the provincial capital of the same name.

Alongside the military offensive, the government has also struck reconciliation deals, essentially a negotiated capitulation of a number of villages that have been in rebel hands for years, to restore government control there.Qatar Airways and Emirates SkyCargo among airlines delivering lifeboats, food, water and medicines without charge.

Five airlines that fly to the flooded Indian province Kerala have said they will deliver relief goods for free to the affected areas.

Three of the airlines are from India; Air India, Jet Airways and Air Vistara, and two from the Middle East; Qatar Airways and Emirates SkyCargo.

Jet Airways, Indias full service, premier international airline, has waived off air freight charges on all domestic cargo shipments of relief material to Kerala, Jet Airways said in a press release.

The airline will work with several NGOs to deliver relief goods to Kerala.

Vistara, another domestic airline, said it was also partnering with several NGOs to bring supplies, adding that it would fly doctors, nurses and other specialized people to the flooded areas too.

#AllForKerala: Please read this for important information on Vistara support options for Kerala floods relief. pic.twitter.com/TfHVaYl0P0  Vistara (@airvistara) August 21, 2018

Qatar and Emirates

Qatar Airways said earlier this week it would deliver 50 tonnes of goods to Kerala after pleas from relatives living in Qatar.

We have received earnest requests from the Indian community residing in Qatar seeking support to transport relief aid to Southern Kerala, where many of their families and relatives are affected by the worst flood in a century, Qatar Airways Chief Officer Cargo, Guillaume Halleux, said according to The Peninsula.

Given the devastating situation, we have rapidly activated a humanitarian operation to offer free transportation of relief goods from Doha to Trivandrum on our daily passenger flight, he added.

#QatarAirwaysCargo offers relief to flood-hit Kerala by transporting donations from Doha this Eid al-Adha. #Movedbypeople pic.twitter.com/x5u3MAJzKH  Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) August 19, 2018

In an official statement, Emirates said it would bring over 175 tonnes of goods to Kerala.

The goods, including lifesaving boats, blankets and dry food items, will be handed over to the local flood relief and aid organisations for distribution, the statement said.

Emirates SkyCargo joins the UAE community in their support of the people of Kerala, India by transporting over 175 tons of flood relief cargo. #UAEsupportsKerala https://t.co/1w74tYCFNr pic.twitter.com/NgMsdrskRj  Emirates Airline (@emirates) August 23, 2018

Flights to Keralas Kochi airport have been halted because of flood damage to the transport hub. Therefore, the relief goods will be delivered to Keralas capital, Trivandrum.

The floods have also damaged hundreds of kilometres of roads and disrupted train services.

The province has been lashed by torrential monsoon rains since the end of May, triggering landslides and flash floods that have swept away entire villages.

Incessant downpours since August 8 have killed more than 190 people and left thousands more stranded.

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Medical officials and NGOs, meanwhile, warned of a heightened risk of waterborne disease outbreaks due to the flooding.

Local health officials said earlier this week they were prepared to deal with any such emergence of disease and had distributed preventive medicines in a bid to avert an outbreak.

The floods caused an estimated $3bn of damage, with about 10,000km of Keralas roads and more than 100,000 houses needing to be reconstructed.Almost 1.6 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015 due to the economic situation.

The Venezuela refugee situation is building towards a crisis moment, the UNs International Organization for Migration (IOM) has warned, with the organisations spokesperson likening it to the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.

Many Venezuelans are choosing to leave their country as a result of the recession which has gone on for almost five years now. According to the UN, 1.6 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015, 90 percent of whom went to countries within South America.

This is building to a crisis moment that weve seen in other parts of the world, particularly the Mediterranean, Joel Millman, IOM spokesperson, said on Friday.

We have to start lining up priorities and funding and means to manage this as soon as we can.

#Venezuela outflow "building to a crisis moment that weve seen in other parts of the , particularly the Mediterranean"- IOM's Joel Millman to press today. Read @refugees+@UNmigration appeal for support to countries receiving Venezuela refugees,migrants: https://t.co/YPdr0yFAMU pic.twitter.com/ZgoXSolsqn  UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) August 24, 2018

This week, Ecuador and Peru said those without valid passports would be denied entry, in a move affecting hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans who were previously allowed to cross the border with paper ID cards instead.

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Since the announcement of the new passport rules, Colombias migration authority said it recorded a decrease in traffic over official border crossings and an increase in the use of irregular crossings.

But only allowing those with a passport might lead to problems, Millman said.

When we see things like passports only, we point out that there are a lot of migrants, particularly teenagers and unaccompanied children, that may not have access to these documents, said Millman.

Solidarity is key

Millmans remarks echoed statements by other UN agencies warning that the new passport requirement will expose people to further risk of exploitation, trafficking and violence.

Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, called on other countries to help those fleeing Venezuela.

We are concerned about these recent events, and the demonstrations against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants in some of the Latin American countries, said Mahehic.

Those increase stigmatisation of those who are forced to flee, they put at risk the efforts of integration, he added. Solidarity is the key here.

"We call for respect of refugees and people on the move in Latin America Solidarity is the key here"- @refugees' Andrej Mahecic. Read @refugees + @UNmigration appeal for support to countries receiving #Venezuela refugees + migrants: https://t.co/YPdr0yFAMU pic.twitter.com/cUmnQ2jXFh  UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) August 24, 2018

The currency has fallen 99.99 percent against the US dollar on the black market since President Nicolas Maduro came to power in April 2013.

Maduro blames the crisis on an economic war led by opposition leaders with the help of the US, which last year levied several rounds of sanctions against his administration.Issuance of arrest warrants against Low and his father is seen as a key step in extraditing fugitive businessman.

A fugitive Malaysian financier at the centre of a massive corruption scandal that helped bring down the government of Najib Razak has been charged with eight counts of money-laundering charges, police said.

The move on Friday is seen as a key step to extradite businessman Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, a key player in the alleged plunder of state fund 1MDB.

Reports say Low is currently in mainland China, after allegedly fleeing Macau.





The corruption allegations were a major factor in the defeat of Najib, who set up and oversaw 1MDB, in an election in May.

Amar Singh, head of the police commercial crimes unit, told AFP news agency that the businessman was hit with eight charges in absentia at a court in the administrative capital, Putrajaya.

The charges were under anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing legislation. Lows father was also charged with one count of transferring money to his son.

Warrants were also issued for their arrest.

Reports said the moves will pave the way for authorities to seek the mens extradition, as the pair must be present in court for a trial to proceed.

A spokesman for Low said he maintained his innocence.

It is abundantly clear that it would be impossible for Mr Low to get a fair trial in Malaysia, where the government has proven time and time again that they have no interest in the rule of law, the spokesman said, in a statement via the financiers lawyers.

Luxury yacht, private jet

Najib and his cronies were accused of plundering billions of dollars from 1MDB, and new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has reopened investigations into the controversy.

The US Justice Department, which is seeking to recover assets allegedly bought with looted money, alleges that $4.5bn was stolen.





Low, who held no official role at 1MDB but was believed to exert great influence over the fund, was allegedly responsible for many big-ticket purchases.

These include a $250m luxury yacht that was returned to Malaysia earlier this month after being seized in Indonesia.

On Friday, a Malaysian court agreed to a request by the government to sell the 90-metre Equanimity, which boasts a swimming pool, a helipad and a cinema.

The court will decide later who receives the proceeds from the sale.

Meanwhile, a private plane worth $35m, believed to be owned by Low and a subject of the ongoing 1MDB investigation, has been grounded for months at an airport in Singapore.

Last week, Singapore said that an official request has not yet been filed by Malaysia to recover the Bombardier Global 5000 jet.

Since his election defeat, Najib has been arrested and charged over the scandal. He denies any wrongdoing.The requested page is currently unavailable on this server.

Back to [RTHK News Homepage]Countrys former VP registered as a candidate after the ICC overturned his war crimes charges earlier this year.

Jean-Pierre Bemba has been banned from running in the Democratic Republic of Congos presidential election later this year by the countrys electoral commission.

Bemba, a former vice president, was considered one of the top opposition contenders since returning to the country in August after he was acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

However, an appeal in another case about interfering with witnesses is still pending. The electoral commission called that synonymous with corruption  DRC law prevents people convicted of corruption from running for president.

The announcement came late on Friday as the electoral commission issued a list of eligible candidates for the long-delayed December 23 polls.

Bemba can appeal the decision and the final list of candidates is expected next month.

His team is likely to go through the motions to at least try to launch that appeal, but it is extremely unlikely that this will result in anything productive from [their] viewpoint, Harry Verhoeven, a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera.

What it is most likely to happen is that Bemba and his supporters will take to the streets, and will seek to find other ways to shape these elections  perhaps even to boycott it  and of course to try to appeal for international support, he added.

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President Joseph Kabila, whose second term officially ended in 2016 and is constitutionally ineligible to run in the upcoming election, has said he will step down to make way for a new leader.

However, Kabila has chosen a candidate for a recently formed coalition, prompting concerns from the opposition that he will continue to assert his influence on the countrys politics.

Meanwhile, Bembas return to politics came after nearly a decade spent in custody in The Hague after being convicted of war crimes committed by an armed group under his command in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR) in 2002 and 2003.

Movement for the Liberation of Congo forces were sent to the CAR to put down a coup attempt, where they carried out the mass rape of hundreds of women, as well as lootings and killings of civilians.

Uncertain vote

Since gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, the DRC has never had a peaceful transition of power. Concerns have been raised by rights groups over repression before Decembers vote.

DRC authorities recently blocked Moise Katumbi, another top opposition contender from entering the country to register as a candidate.

Five major opposition parties, including those fronted by Bemba and Katumbi, said they were in talks with the largest opposition party to put forward a joint candidate.

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Kabilas chosen candidate for the new Common Front for Congo coalition, former Interior Minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, is one of nine DRC officials sanctioned by the European Union last year for obstructing the electoral process and related human rights violations.

In June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that government security forces have used repression, violence and corruption over the past three years to extend their hold on power.

The government has blamed the election delay on the difficulties of organising a vote in the country and accused HRW of bias.

The United States has urged the DRC electoral commission to take all steps necessary to guarantee a free and fair vote and are among several countries to have objected to the planned use of electronic voting machines, which watchdogs warn could damage the transparency and credibility of the election.Visit comes at the back of referendums where the Irish electorate voted to legalise abortion and gay marriage.

Pope Francis has arrived in Ireland for the first papal visit to the country in nearly four decades.

The pontiffs arrival at Dublin airport on Saturday comes amid declining religious observance in the traditionally Catholic country and anger over the Catholic Churchs record on tackling sexual abuse by priests.

When Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979, divorce and contraception were illegal in the country.

Pope Francis visit comes at the back of referendums, in which the Irish electorate overwhelmingly voted to legalise abortion and gay marriage.

Both are positions the Vaticanhas traditionally opposed.

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The Catholic Church is still very much part of our society but not at the centre of it as it was 40 years ago, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who became Irelands first gay leader last year, told the BBC in advance of the popes visit.

Ireland has become a very different place in the last 40 years and our relationship with the Church has changed principally because of so many revelations that have occurred around child sex abuse.

Hundreds of thousands are set to greet the leader of worlds Catholics during his two-day visit.

Pope Francis signs the visitor book in Dublin Castle. While the Pope is visiting a very different Ireland to his predecessor in 1979, 78% of people here still identify as Catholic and faith remains an important part of many peoples lives. #popeinireland pic.twitter.com/EWMUcLwWn4  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) August 25, 2018

Pope Francis met Varadkar in the capital Dublin. The Irish leader called the abuse scandal a stain on the state and called on the pontiff to do more in dealing with the abuse crisis.

The pope said he shared the outrage over the cover-up of repugnant crimes committed by clerics.

I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education, Francis said in a speech at the state reception.

The failure of ecclesiastical authorities  bishops, religious superiors, priests and others  adequately to address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community.





Ireland has one of the worst records for clerical sex abuse in the world, with more than 1,300 priests accused of sexual violence since 1975.

Al Jazeeras Neave Barker, reporting from Dublin, said the visit was a moment of great celebration for many but also consternation for others.

The appeal, the power, and the draw of the Catholic Church in Ireland has waned in recent years. But I think it would be wrong to say that this is a post-Catholic country, he said.

The last religious census in 2016 suggested that more than 70 percent of Ireland identified itself as Catholic, while 40 percent go to church on a regular basis.

Barker said that while many had renounced the faith, others saw the Catholic religion as part of the culture of the country.

Paddy Agnew, a Dublin-based journalist , said the sex abuse scandal was a problem which is doing Pope Francis and the Catholic Church a great deal of damage.

But for him to come up with a plan to deal with this problem, it requires a fundamental reassessment of basic Catholic Church teaching  and I dont think they want to go there, Agnew told Al Jazeera.

He is not going to even begin to attempt to change fundamentally the Catholic doctrine  the message the church is teaching is the same, he added.Al Jazeera spoke with Rohingya living in refugee camps in Coxs Bazar about their thoughts on repatriation.

It has been one year since hundreds of thousands of the Rohingya population streamed into Bangladesh, as a result of a brutal crackdown carried out by the Myanmar army that was described by the United Nations as textbook ethnic cleansing.

The latest assault took place after a coordinated attack by the Arkan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) rebel group on a Myanmar police post and army base killed 12 security personnel.

For many of the Rohingya, who are not recognised by Myanmar as an ethnic group and are denied citizenship and government services, this was not the first time they had forcibly left their homes.

Previous waves of displacement took place in 1978, 1991 and 2016.

According to the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), over the past year there has been an influx of 919,000 refugees who have been displaced from their villages in Myanmars Rakhine state.

They live in 32 camps in the Ukhiya and Teknaf sub-districts, or upazilas, of the tourist beach town Coxs Bazar, joining the 300,000 other Rohingya who were displaced in previous years.

The camps suffer from overcrowding and squalid conditions, with sanitation problems and lack of basic infrastructure.

About 200,000 Rohingya are at risk of landslides during the monsoon season, as the tarpaulin and bamboo shelters are built haphazardly on soft ground.

Last November, the Bangladeshi and Myanmar governments signed a repatriation deal where they agreed that the Rohingya that fled across the border would be returned to Rakhine state.

However, little is known about what the deal holds, and there has not been a single return yet.

Many of the Rohingya cite their fears of returning only to be forcibly displaced again in the future.

For this reason, they say they will not return unless their demands are met, such as for Myanmar to grant them citizenship, greater inclusivity in government services such as education and workforce, the ensuring of security and safety, and reparations for all that they have lost.

Al Jazeera spoke with refugees living in various camps in Coxs Bazar about whether they would return to their homelands and their thoughts on the repatriation deal.

Ali Johar, 25



Ali Johar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Ali is from Taung Bazar village in the Buthidaung Township, where he used to be a local trader in food items.

He arrived in Jamtoli refugee camp last August with his wife, son and sister.

I didnt know there was a repatriation deal. But I wont go back unless certain demands are met, such as granting the Rohingya people citizenship, for Myanmar to ensure greater security for us, and to give us compensation for all that weve lost.

Gulsahar, 50



Gulsahar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Gulsahar is from Taung Bazar and now lives in the Jamtoli refugee camp with her husband, Mohammad Shafi and her five children.

I lost my sister and my nieces and nephews. They were killed by the Myanmar soldiers. I have made up my mind to stay here in Jamtoli until I die. Here, I receive help from the aid agencies. But even if the government of Bangladesh cuts off the aid, I would rather die from starvation than return to Rakhine.

I have three daughters and two sons. My eldest daughter is 20, and she is still unmarried. We are searching for a bridegroom.

[Rohingya women tend to marry in their early teens because they fear getting raped by Myanmar soldiers, she said, adding that if the women are married, the soldiers lose interest]

Mahmud Yunis, 35



Mahmud Yunis [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Mahmud is from the Raballah village in Maungdaw Township. He is the eldest of seven siblings. He and his unmarried brothers live with their mother in Nayapara  Shalbagan refugee camp in Teknaf.

I have no demands. I want to go back to my village without any compensation or conditions. I used to be a porter. Now I do nothing.

Every day I face many difficulties just to get food. I am dependent on aid. There are also hygiene problems, such as the lack of sanitary latrines. I dont know much about the repatriation deal.

Mir Ahmad, 60



Mir Ahmad [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Mir is from Fukira Bazar in Maungdaw Township, where he was a farmer and owned 10 kani (1.6 hectares) of land. He now lives in Balukhali camp.

I am married with two sons and one daughter. I am willing to go back to Rakhine if the Myanmar government meets our demands, such as compensation and recognising us as citizens.

Here I can get food and shelter. I feel better here than in my own village because theres more security. But I want to return to Fukira Bazar because there, I can live in dignity.

Hujjatul Islam, 12



Hujjatul Islam [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Hujjatul is from a village in Maungdaw Township, and now lives with his parents, two brothers and two sisters in Kutupalong camp, in the unregistered bloc 11.

I was in Year Three in school when I was in Rakhine. Now I cant find a proper school here except for the madrasahs where we learn the Quran. I havent heard of any repatriation deal.

Ill go back if we have Rohingya recognition. We would much rather die here if Myanmar forces us to go back without granting us citizenship.

Dildar Begam, 35



Dildar Begam [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

She is from Bolibazar village in Maungdaw Township and now lives in the Kutupalong camp.

I have nine children and a husband. It took us two days to reach Coxs Bazar. I saw so many massacres, rapes, and homes set on fire.

I havent heard of the repatriation deal. I would only go back if Myanmar granted us Rohingya recognition. I dont feel good here because this is not my land.

I am grateful for the role of the Bangladeshi government and the aid agencies for helping us, but I want to live in dignity back in my own land.

Nural Amin, 59 and Sayad Ahmad, 55



Nural Amin (L), 59 and Sayad Ahmad (R), 55 [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

They are cousins from the Maungdaw Township. Amin has 10 kids and Ahmad has eight kids.

Nural Amin: We havent heard of a repatriation deal. If the governments of both countries decide to physically return us to Rakhine, we have conditions that must be met first, like the Rohingya recognition and compensation.

I hope we wont be forced to go back without any guarantees. We would prefer to die here in a Muslim country and not among Buddhists.

This is our third time being displaced. The first was in 1978 and the second time in 1991. Every time we returned to Rakhine we faced torture and government repression.

We were fishermen and farmers in Myanmar. Even though Myanmar is our country, there is no way we would go back there again without security or conditions. Bangladesh is more peaceful.Francisco Francos family says it will take charge of the late dictators remains once they are exhumed.

Spains government has passed a decree to remove the remains of the countrys former dictator Francisco Franco from a grand mausoleum where he has been buried for 43 years.

Transforming the Valle de los Caidos (Valley of the Fallen) site, located on a mountainside near the capital, Madrid, into a memorial for victims of the Spanish Civil War is a long-standing ambition of the Socialist Party, which returned to office in June.

On Friday, the government issued an emergency decree that would give authorities permission to carry out the exhumation without objections or legal claims from Francos descendants after negotiations with his seven grandchildren broke down.

The parliament still needs to vote on the move, which is expected to pass with the support of most of the countrys political parties. The Peoples Party (PP) is set to abstain, as is the centre-right Ciudadnos (Citizens) party, which objects to the use of the emergency decree.

Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo said the move would allow the Valley of the Fallen to become a place of commemoration, remembrance and homage to those who died during the civil war.

The monument includes the remains of about 400 other people who died during the civil war from both the Republican and Nationalist sides. However, the presence of Francos remains, along with the fact that he conceived the site, makes its place as a memorial controversial.

Only the mortal remains of people who died as a result of the Spanish Civil War will lie in the Valley of the Fallen, Calvo told a news conference on Friday.

Spains Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said on Twitter that the move will give victims of the war their dignity back.

A forward-looking country should be at peace with its past. We are going to exhume Francos remains with full jurisprudence and by listening to the other parliamentary groups. The government is acting calmy to give back dignity and democracy to the victims of Francoism, said Sanchez on Twitter.

Un pais que mira al futuro debe estar en paz con su pasado. Vamos a exhumar los restos de Franco con todas las garantias y escuchando al resto de grupos parlamentarios. El #Gobierno actua con serenidad para devolver la dignidad a las victimas del franquismo y a la #democracia. pic.twitter.com/hNuKRzAO39  Pedro Sanchez (@sanchezcastejon) August 24, 2018

Digging up ghosts

Franco ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975, during which time tens of thousands of people were killed and imprisoned in efforts to wipe out dissent following the brutal civil war between Republicans and Francos Nationalists.

More than 40 years after his death, the Franco-era remains a divisive topic in the country.

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The mausoleum has long been a pilgrimage site for far-right groups and Francos tomb is rarely without fresh flowers.

Pablo Casado, the PP leader, said on Thursday that the move was unnecessary, saying: We dont want to dig up ghosts we have happily forgotten.

Francos family has said that they will take charge of the remains once they have been exhumed.

Of course we will take charge of the remains of my grandfather. We wont leave them in the hands of the government, Francis Franco, the former leaders grandson told Spanish newspaper La Razon in an interview published on Saturday.

For others, the removal of the remains is a necessary step towards reconciliation.

Now is the time to turn a page, Eduardo, a 25-year old from the Canary Islands told the Reuters news agency.

Its good to go ahead with the exhumation and to convert that place into somewhere for everyone and not just for one faction.Suicide bomber blew himself up at a camp of protesters rallying in support of a disqualified candidate.

A suicide blast outside an election commission office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad has killed at least seven people and wounded several others, sources told Al Jazeera.

The target of Saturdays attack appeared to be a protest camp in Nangarhar province, where a group of people were rallying in support of a candidate disqualified from parliamentary elections due to take place in October.

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Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the blast happened when supporters of the disqualified candidate were trying to shut down the election commission office.

We had requested the protesters to stop their demonstrations because they could be targeted by fighters but they rejected our security message, said Khogyani.

August has already been a bloody month in Afghanistan with the Taliban increasing attacks on security forces across the country and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group targeting the capital Kabul, with hundreds killed according to estimates.

A witness told AFP news agency that the blast was caused by a suicide bomber detonating near a tent full of protesters and that security forces had cordoned off the area.

It was a huge blast and it shook our home, said Mirza Amin, who added he lived 50 metres from the site of the blast. Earlier this month, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside an Afghan election office in Kabul when protesters gathered to challenge the commissions decision to disqualify 35 candidates.

The blast comes nearly a week after President Ashraf Ghani offered a conditional three-month ceasefire to the Taliban, a move welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war.Idlib is the Syrian governments next target, experts say, but other scenarios may unfold with regional players at hand.In first press conference since taking office in April, Abiy Ahmed also says 2020 election will be free and fair.

The World Bank will provide $1bn in direct budget support to Ethiopia in the next few months, the prime minister has said, more than 13 years after the body and other donors suspended budgetary help over a disputed election in 2005.

Speaking on Saturday at his first press conference since taking power in April, Abiy Ahmed credited his governments economic and political changes for the development.

This is due to the reforms taking place in the country, he said, vowing to continue with dramatic transformation at any cost.

Abiy also said the longtime ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition, which controls all 547 seats in Ethiopias parliament, will soon prepare for a free and fair election in 2020.

My dream is that doubts about the ballot box will disappear, he said, saying the vote would not be delayed and promising a peaceful transfer of power if he loses.

Eritreas President Isaias Afwerki (R) and Abiy (L) ended 25 years of animosity [Reuters]

Since his election the 42-year-old has overseen a number of changes, including restoring diplomatic ties with neighbouring Eritrea after two decades, pledging to open up state-owned companies to outside investment and releasing thousands of prisoners.

The reforms have been praised by the international community and attracted investors interested in one of Africas fastest-growing economies.

Recent ethnic unrest in various parts of Ethiopia, however, has dampened the initial jubilation and posed a major challenge to the new prime minister.

There are groups that are working in unison to cause chaos in different parts of the country, Abiy told reporters. They are triggering peoples emotions to this end.

About 2.8 million people have been displaced by the unrest, according to the United Nations.

But this didnt happen due to the reforms, Abiy said.

He said the unrest in the eastern Somali region has calmed, but measures will be taken against former officials. They include the regions former President Abdi Mohammed Omar.

Internet cuts

Asked about internet cuts in the region following the unrest, an unpopular tactic widely used by the previous government, Abiy appealed for understanding and said it might have saved lives.

But curbing access to information and cutting the internet is not the way forward, he added, urging youth to use it responsibly.

Abiy in recent months has also welcomed a number of once-exiled opposition figures and groups back to Ethiopia and invited them to join in the political conversation.

But on Saturday he drew the line at former military dictator Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam, who overthrew the last Ethiopian emperor, Haileselassie, in 1974 and eventually was sentenced to life for spearheading a Red Terror that killed tens of thousands of people.

He fled the country in 1991 as rebels, who now make up the ruling coalition, approached the capital.

Some Ethiopians have called on Abiy to offer Mengistu amnesty after a rare photo of him in exile in Zimbabwe went viral early this month.

Ethiopias constitution clearly stipulates the Red Terror crimes cannot be covered under an amnesty law, Abiy said. So Colonel Mengistu will not  return home. But if the law in the future allows, that may change.Rohingya refugees have held demonstrations in Bangladesh to mark one year since Myanmars army launched a brutal crackdown of the mostly Muslim minority, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee across the border.

More than 15,000 gathered on Saturday at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar to demand justice for what they called genocide committed by Myanmars forces.

On August 25, 2017, Myanmar launched a military offensive  termed by the UN as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing  after a Rohingya armed group carried out attacks on border security forces.

The ensuing violent crackdown forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee Rakhine State for neighbouring Bangladesh, living in squalid conditions in overcrowded camps.

The refugees had to get special permission from the Bangladeshi authorities in order to stage these demonstrations, said Al Jazeeras Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Coxs Bazar, which has become home to the worlds largest refugee settlement.

We saw men, women, young and old, demanding their rights, demanding justice, pleading to the international community to do more to help them, but also saying that they want to make sure that the perpetrators of this genocide  the Myanmar army  need to be held to account and brought to justice by the International Criminal Court, he added.





Returning home

Rohingya, one of the most persecuted communities in the world, have been denied citizenship and basic human rights by Myanmars authorities since 1982.

Bangladesh signed a deal with Myanmar last year to allow the refugees to return, but the repatriation process has been stalled.

But little is know about the deal, and many of the Rohingya say they are afraid of returning only to be forcibly displaced again in the future.

Among their demands are for Myanmar to grant them citizenship, greater inclusivity in government services such as education and workforce, the ensuring of safety and security, as well as reparations for all that they have lost.

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We want to go back home, said Mohammad Elias, member of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH).

We want to be citizens of our country. We want to live there with safety and security.

Elias, who fled Rakhine state in August 2017 with his family, believes there is absolutely no excuse for the Rohingya not to be recognised as citizens of Myanmar.

Our mothers and fathers are from Myanmar, he told Al Jazeera.

We were also born there but still they made us suffer. They didnt let us get an education. They didnt even let us pray in the mosque.

Childrens crisis

The UNs refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that children make up 55 percent of the total Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh.

A family-counting exercise conducted in December 2017 by UNHCR found more than 5,500 families being led by children under 18.

More than half a million Rohingya refugee children are being denied the chance of a proper education, UNICEF said in a report marking one year since the start of the latest influx of Rohingya into Bangladesh.

Children make up 55 percent of the Rohingya refugee population, UNHCR estimates [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]

Many arrived at the camps unaccompanied  either separated from their families or orphaned.

From the outset, this has truly been a childrens crisis, said Daphnee Cook, a representative for the UK-based non-profit Save the Children.

Many children have seen their parents killed in front of them, theyve had to endure long, hard journeys where they have arrived here with basically no food and then theyve had to survive now in these camps for about a year now, she told Al Jazeera in an interview at Coxs Bazar.

Its horrible, she added. Its not a place where children should be living.Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa rejects ruling on election challenge, saying he has a legitimate claim to lead.

Zimbabwes main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has rejected a court ruling that threw out his election challenge to Emmerson Mnangagwas election victory, saying he has a legitimate claim to lead.

Chamisas opposition group, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance, had brought the legal challenge saying that July 30s vote was marred by mammoth theft and fraud.

I have a legitimate claim that I should lead Zimbabwe, Chamisa told reporters at a news conference in the capital Harare on Saturday.

The MCD president and MP took to Twitter on Friday, telling his supporters I hear your cries and feel your pain. I know you feel cheated, but take heart  your victory is not lost.

Your will is sacred and well listen to you on the path of peace and course of action to be taken to rescue our beautiful Zimbabwe from the jaws of poverty, corruption and dishonesty.

I hear your cries & feel your pain. I know you feel cheated, but take heart  your victory is not lost. Your will is sacred & well listen to you on the path of peace & course of action to be taken to rescue our beautiful Zimbabwe from the jaws of poverty, corruption & dishonesty  nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) August 24, 2018

Chief Justice Luke Malaba said on Friday that the MDC alliance had failed to prove fraud accusations during last months vote.

The application is dismissed with costs  Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is duly declared the winner of the presidential elections held on the 30th of July 2018, Malaba said in his ruling.

Mnangagwa, 75, said he was not surprised by the courts decision and called for unity and peace.

Nelson Chamisa, my door is open and my arms are outstretched, we are one nation, and we must put our nation first. Let us all now put our differences behind us. It is time to move forward together, Mnangagwa wrote on Twitter shortly after the court announced its ruling.

The MDCs legal challenge cited a catalogue of alleged discrepancies, including incorrect counting and fake polling stations, as well as instances at voting centres where there were more ballots cast than registered voters.

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There has been a massive doctoring of evidence, Thabani Mpofu, a lawyer representing the MDC, told the top court when it started sitting on Wednesday.

Mnangagwa, of the ruling ZANU-PF party, won the election with 50.8 percent of the vote  just enough to pass the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff against Chamisa, who finished second with 44.3 percent.

European Union observers said that the ZANU-PF candidate had benefitted from an un-level playing field and some voter intimidation, though international monitors largely praised the conduct of the election.

The legal challenge delayed Mnangagwas planned inauguration for August 12. It will now take place on Sunday.Country is among many to have seen an enormous increase in the number of phishing sites, designed to steal users financial information.Joe Biden, the first Catholic US president since JFK, says he does not believe in abortion but can not impose his views.It's all vapors, transparent attempts to deflect from Brennan's real threat: his role of traitor. (Cue audible gasps.) How dare I call Brennan a traitor?

Oh, the horror! Former CIA director John Brennan lost his security clearance. Media decry the president's intimidation tactics, his enemies list. Famous lawyer Alan Dershowitz posits that Brennan's First Amendment rights may have been violated .

Treason is narrowly defined in the Constitution, restricted to wartime.

U.S. Constitution, Article 3, Section 3: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

True, but I contend we are at war, a bloodless war against a globalist tribe. Hillary Clinton's not a singular threat to our democracy; she's part of a cabal that's been working for decades to end democracy, to subjugate Americans to global rule.

Fact is, we shouldn't be arguing Brennan's right to a security clearance; we should be advising him of his right to remain silent. James Brennan was and is a lead player in the attempt to overthrow the United States government.

A palace coup is "the non-violent overthrow of a sovereign or government by senior officials within the ruling group."

The coup has been obvious since 2016, when the cabal, confident of victory, dropped their facade. They flaunted the FBI's two-tier justice system, accepted the Democrats' rigged primaries, gaslighted voters with fake polls, and the list goes on  an occupied government that no longer cares who sees its machinations.

The big reveal, a true glimpse into the insurgency, came during the 2016 campaign, when Matt Lauer went off script in the "Commander-in-Chief Forum" and asked Hillary Clinton about her private server:

The word judgment has been used a lot around you, Secretary Clinton, over the last year and a half, and in particular concerning your use of your personal email and server to communicate while you were secretary of state.

Not realizing he was dealing with the Don Corleone of politics, he went farther: "Why wasn't it disqualifying, if you want to be commander in chief?"

Afterward, Clinton reportedly flew into a rage backstage, screamed for Lauer's head, screeched at her aides: "If that f b------ Trump wins, we all hang from nooses!"

Nooses, Hillary? Why would that spring to mind? Is it because they used to hang traitors?

Under common law, punishment for treason generally included drawing, hanging, beheading, and quartering.

But no worries, Hillary: We got past the barbaric stuff:

The First Congress used its constitutional power of declaring the punishment for treason by establishing the penalty of death, with seven years' imprisonment for misprision of treason.

That little "misprision" tidbit (deliberate concealment of one's knowledge of a treasonable act or a felony) could take down half the swamp plus a good chunk of media.

But if this is treason, why isn't anything done to the perpetrators? Are there so many "senior officials within the ruling group" that there are no honest brokers left in the Department of Justice? That's beyond scary if true.

If not true, then someone take the paddles to Jeff Sessions and jolt him back to life. Because if these traitors go unpunished, we're asking for a do-over when the next Mussolini wannabe gets in the Oval Office. If no one's made to answer for the Russian lie, then our elections are at risk no matter who's in the White House.

No one involved in this coup has had to answer for his crimes. Hillary Clinton broke laws with her private server, destroyed evidence that was under congressional subpoena, sold 20% of our uranium to Russia, and commissioned a hit piece to frame Donald Trump. Yet Hillary hasn't been in court for so much as a traffic ticket, much less felonies.

Evidence is surfacing that our intelligence agencies spied on a political opponent, unmasked Americans, and conspired to frame an innocent American (President Trump) using Hillary's fraudulent document.

Our American Pravda uses its platform to attack President Trump as Hitler, a white supremacist, deranged, "not psychologically or physiologically fit to serve"  endless, relentless assaults to delegitimize our president, to take him down.

Why, if we're still a free country, do we have to put up with this ongoing insurrection? Why should American patriots live every single day under threat that the cabal will overturn the election, end our democracy?

The answer is our hapless government. Apparently, losing one's job is sufficient penalty for treason. We're supposed to be content that more than two dozen top FBI and DOJ officials have been fired, have been demoted, or have resigned in the wake of investigations of the 2016 presidential election. We should be encouraged that Brennan, Comey, Strzok, Ohr, and others "may be in legal jeopardy."

"May be in legal jeopardy"? Every one of these quislings should be arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced, including their media cohorts.

Instead, we allow the enemy press to serve as a firewall to lawbreakers and conspirators. Media tell us we can't prosecute anyone from Obama's administration, especially Hillary, because that would be prosecuting political opponents. We're forbidden to stop media collusion because to interrupt their subversion would be limiting free press.

Really? We're not allowed to stop the dismantling of our republic because the media forbid it?

If we are to stay free, we must get the infiltrators out of our midst. They're a deadly presence. But to defeat the enemy, we must name him.

It's not politics as usual, intelligence just doing their job, or a free press. It's treason: "The offense of acting to overthrow one's government or to harm or kill its sovereign."

These conspirators aren't incompetents, haters, or sore losers. They're traitors: "a person who is not loyal or stops being loyal to his own country."

This treacherous cabal beats us down every single day, shames us for racism, sexism, fill-in-the blank-ism; calls us greedy, selfish narcissists who don't care about anyone else, not even the children; admonishes us that America was never that great, Americans never that good. The resounding message is Americans have nothing to be proud of, nothing worth fighting for.

But patriots who love this country ignored the psy-ops, defied the ruling elite, and elected President Trump to take our country back.

That election sparked the final battle. The left and the media stopped hiding behind rocks and bushes, came out in the open, guns blazing, to take back a government they thought they'd already secured.

Battle lines were drawn, traitors versus patriots, Democrats-RINOs-media-Hollywood-corporations, indoctrinated students, fake news viewers, and one-world-order versus we the people. The war is fought daily, battles on every front.

Even against such overwhelming odds, my money's on Americans to once again defeat tyranny for the same reason we've always prevailed. America is worth fighting for. Freedom is worth fighting for.Remember these names. They are just three of the most recent victims targeted by the Democrats and their embedded goons in the administration, with accusations of misconduct in the hopes of ousting good men from Congress and reducing the Republican majority.

We've seen this playbook before: Ted Stevens, Herman Cain, Donald Trump.

We've also seen how more often than not, the accusations miraculously fizzle out or disappear after an election or when the accused is actually acquitted, as in the case of Ted Stevens. Left-wingers dutifully play their part as the self-righteous accusers cleansing politics of Republican riffraff. Republicans usually hang their accused brethren out to dry.

The entire left-wing tactic is formulaic:

Make the accusations. That alone is often enough to do the trick, even if the accusations are completely baseless  remember Harry Reid accusing Mitt Romney of not paying his taxes.

Find someone to corroborate the accusations with verbal, unreliable, one-sided statements.

Enlist the media to perseverate on whatever the accusations are to the point of blocking out the real news and ignoring any information that might exonerate the accused.

Demand that the Republican targets immediately resign and admit to their guilt.

Hype the mantra that this is part of the Republican culture of corruption or Trump tyranny or far-right-wing hate or Alt-Right fascism and that is why constituents must vote for the Democrat.

In the meantime, whenever a Democrat is accused of corruption, and it is usually in a nonpartisan context  that is, not just brought by Republicans a few months or weeks before an election in an effort to sway votes  the accusations are largely ignored or barely garner a mention in the mainstream press and, if mentioned, are the result of a right-wing cabal even when they aren't: Lois Lerner, Charlie Rangel, Bob Menendez, Hillary Clinton.

Why do the Democrats get away with their transgressions in ways Republicans could only dream of?

Because most of the time  with the exception of cases laden with nearly irrefutable proof, as in the case, let's say, of Eliot Spitzer  the Democrat machine clicks into gear almost simultaneously with the accusations, and all the moving parts swarm around their guy, whom they protect at all costs. They don't allow themselves to lose a comrade unless there is absolutely no other way they can spin his case or foist the blame on the Republicans.

Of course, they have one advantage conservatives lack: the press. The left-wing media will peddle false narratives supporting a corrupt Democrat or implicating an innocent Republican or just remain surprisingly silent. The political arm of the left sets the narrative while the propaganda arm perpetuates and disseminates it. In some ways, Republicans are at the mercy of the Democrat-Media-Propaganda Complex.

Whereas Democrats almost immediately swarm around and protect their little bubbalas from having to resign or suffer any meaningful consequences for their behavior, Republicans immediately distance themselves from the accused and reflexively start demanding resignations from committees, campaigns, and elected office. Paul Ryan has already stripped Duncan Hunter of his committee assignments.

How about: Let's see where the evidence leads us. Right now, we are supporting Mr. X and Mrs. Y until the process leads elsewhere. Jim Jordan, Duncan Hunter, and possibly even Chris Collins should be supported until clear and convincing evidence proves otherwise. We should not give up on our people just because accusations are hurled. We shouldn't force them to resign from a political race because it might pollute the waters downstream (unless guilt is glaring or conviction is imminent). We should have defense funds and GoFundMe efforts, as well as some kind of mobilization on the internet. By contrast, as soon as Republicans are accused of something, I get numerous emails from Democrat hit groups like OFA and MoveOn informing me of the latest right-wing treachery, but my inbox is empty from conservative organizations I support.

When left-wing misdeeds are revealed, I hear nothing from the left unless leftists find a way to blame the Republicans  can't you just hear Nancy Pelosi saying, This is nothing more than a right-wing tactic to discredit loyal, hardworking Democrats who have devoted their lives to helping their constituents, blah, blah, blah?

Who would join the military if it left soldiers behind? Same in the war of politics  if we continue to abandon our people when they are being attacked by the left, pretty soon, too few "good men" will run for office on our team. Why would you risk your livelihood and reputation to do your civic duty if you'll be beaten up by Democrats and then left to bleed out on the political front by your fellow Republicans?

That is precisely what the Republicans do, so they bring a good deal of this on themselves. Once charges are levied against a fellow Republican, leadership reflexively strips him of this or that chairmanship and pressures him to resign from office or the race. The Democrats don't even need to follow the steps outlined above. All they need to do is levy an accusation, and the Republican leadership will take care of the rest. Many readers will say, "Oh, that's because they are members of the establishment and work in tandem with their left-wing establishment counterparts." I don't think that is it. I think Republicans fear the possibility of "taint" more than the good that can come from a fight. (That's the difference, after all, between guys who capitulate, like Paul Ryan, and guys who punch back, like Donald Trump.)

Look, don't get me wrong. If someone has violated the law or has been corrupt, I'm all for stripping, ousting, turning against, not supporting. But Republicans rush to judgment to avoid the taint before things actually play out. (Ironically, there really is no avoiding the taint once Democrats launch the accusations, because once a Republican is accused of any misstep, it's always a big deal that dominates the news cycle. The taint is in.) Democrats wait until guilt is irrefutable, then do what they must sotto voce and behind the scenes. By the time Charlie Rangel's numerous ethics violations were a passing mention in the news, months had passed, and the country had moved on.

There is one other thing that Republicans and conservatives do that you never see on the left: openly criticize our party, our policy, our president, our elected officials, and our candidates. The left always talks, walks, and votes in lock-step  even when far-left candidates run against moderately left candidates in primaries. Left-wingers are generally trepid about being too critical of one another in primaries because they know they'll have to unite in the general to beat the real enemy, the Republican, and don't want to contend with too much political baggage from the primaries.

Look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Not only is she openly socialist at a time when mainstream Democrats are seeking to avoid that label, but her understanding of the world, economics, and politics is palpably limited, and every socialist Democrat she endorsed in the primaries lost! Yet few if any in the DNC would criticize her or hide her from the masses or openly denounce her. Instead, she is coddled, supported, and lifted up as a paragon of youth and political involvement, the future of America.

Why, oh why do #NeverTrumps feel the need to constantly drag our side into the muck? Why are we always self-criticizing? Why do we have to be so damn pure? Why does a one-time huge supporter of Trump like Ann Coulter feel she has to criticize Trump openly and publicly? It's the old "Why do we have to air our dirty laundry out there for all to see?" Can't we keep anything to ourselves? We have conservatives and Republicans who openly supported Democrat candidates, including HRC. Would you ever see that on the left?

I know #NeverTrumps think they are doing the right thing, standing up for conservatism, which Trump is destroying, and this is the time for integrity versus party loyalty. But that is not playing the long game. If conservatism is to prevail in the long run, we need to fight some unpleasant battles in the short term, including this one, where the forgotten men and women of the GOP, in particular, and of this country, in general, punch back at the establishment. We are on the path to restoring "of, by, and for the People." Trump is just the first step after the turf was primed by the Tea Party movement.

I'm big on integrity  ask anyone who was in my Tea Party group. I believe we need to have big, bold debates on certain issues within the GOP and as conservatives and I certainly do not want to stifle anyone's right to speak freely. We can have some diversity of opinion within the party and survive. But it's time Republicans and conservatives learn what Democrats and liberals have always known: politics is war by other means. As long as you aren't breaking any laws or skirting any ethics, you do not have to discuss in public every criticism you have of your party or your president. At some point, we have to be strategically and tactically smart. If you want to support the opposition, unless you leave the party, just do it in the voting booth, because all it does is alienate you, divide the party, and give fodder to the enemy.

We need someone or some organization to lead a ground effort in coordination with the party, think-tank groups, conservative political organizations, GOP county central committees, and our elected officials. We all need to work in lock-step. What a concept! We need to stand up for our people, protect them, swarm around them, raise money to defend them, keep them in office, find good replacements if need be, reinstate them if need be. We need to punch back against the Democrat-Media-Propaganda Complex. We need to find a way to get those in the GOP and those who claim to be conservatives but who stand in opposition to see the way toward unity. If they don't, then we need to make them irrelevant  stop reading their posts and articles, don't buy their books or attend their lectures, do not invite them to speak.

Is there anyone out there who will lead the way, or will it just be business as usual for conservatives? If so, that means we will definitely lose in the short run and quite likely in the long run.The 'Science' of Islamophobia

The neologism "Islamophobia" seems to be a quasi-scientific effort to suggest that suspicion of Islam is simultaneously irrational and racist. Even more of a concern is the attempt to employ science in the service of politics. The Nazis in the last century concocted a scientific theory about the inferiority of the Jews in order to rationalize their plan to annihilate Jewry. Now pseudo-science is used to defend Muslims. The disturbing fact is that in both cases, we deploy social science in the service of a political agenda. While some scholars such as John Denham have drawn parallels between modern Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, their implications are not only illogical, but dangerously deceptive.

The scientific obligation in the case of Islam is to investigate its connections to terrorism and irredentism in the face of normal relations with Israel. Arabs still teach their children that Israel belongs to them, just as the French taught their children about Alsace-Lorraine after losing it to Prussia. Islamophobia fails to conform either to the psychiatric criteria of a phobia or to the social science definition of racism. While one must be careful of concluding that all Muslims are terrorists, the fact remains that there is an ideological connection between mosque and murder. It is more than coincidence that Muslims leave the mosque with hostility rather than equanimity. Jihadists are Muslims who explain their murder and mayhem in terms of Islamic theology. Certainly, it is true that not all Muslims are terrorists. The question for us is, why are most terrorists Muslim between the ages of 18 and 45 who have prayed in mosques, heard the sermons of imams, and watched their children play at Hamas kindergartens and summer camps? A legitimate inquiry into the nexus between the ideology of modern Islam and its influence upon Muslim attitudes toward Jews and Christians has become problematic because engaging in such an inquiry gets labeled as "mad" science. In our inverted politically correct culture, we witness the opposite of what science is supposed to do. For example, social scientists did not accuse anti-Nazis of racism. It was the Nazis who were the racists. The notion of Islamophobia has contributed to a false conclusion that terrorists are criminals and that terrorism is mere violence. They are not criminals. They, like the SS guards at Auschwitz, are loving sons, daughters, and fathers. Comprehending this is basic to our realization that we are not dealing with thugs. We are dealing with the devout. We are dealing with pathogenic ideas, but not with insane individuals. The world, Charles Beard once wrote, is ruled by ideas. Among the most potent ideas are those fashioned by religion. Faith lends a power to ideas that mere speculation cannot inject. Our faith in democracy, for example, demands that we treat, as Jefferson wrote, all men as created equal. We do this despite the fact that there are wide-ranging discrepancies in the physical, mental, and social positions of people. Muslims, on the other hand, treat all non-Muslims as dhimmi, a loose Arabic equivalent of the Nazi untermenschen (subhumans). Ideas contain energy because they constitute the conscious form of our feelings and impulses. Thus, in our investigation of Islamic notions such as jihad and caliphate, we might be guided by John Locke and offer tolerance only to the tolerant. Islamophobia, either as a diagnosis or as an allegation, fails to stand up to simple logical and evidentiary analysis. It is less an instrument of social understanding and more of a tool in political manipulation. By maligning inquiry into Islam's contribution to terrorism as racist, we intimidate those whose morals are defined by political correctness. We tolerate campus movements preaching hatred and violence under the rubric of free speech. Moreover, casting a critical evaluation of the Islamic link to world domination as either insanity or racism inhibits our ability to develop appropriate strategies against an inevitable onslaught. Islam has not evolved by interacting with the Enlightenment. It has remained medieval. However, when medieval is no longer merely antiquated, it becomes dangerous. The practice of medieval medicine would constitute murder. We see how the practice of medieval religion is equally toxic. All modern religion has undergone change. Judaism has dispensed with animal sacrifice and rebellious adolescents are no longer stoned in the village square. Catholics have ceased their allegations that Jews are guilty of deicide. And Protestants have stopped witch-burnings. These amputations have not caused damage to these religions. On the contrary, they allowed people to focus upon the central and common theme uniting them to Judaism: love your neighbor. Our focus must be on the obviously intolerable. Otherwise, we would be like the physician discovering a small tumor in a patient's brain and nevertheless reassuring the patient that she is ninety percent healthy. Denying the latent toxicity of Islam perpetuates murder in the name of Allah.Democrats face a blizzard of concerns coming into the midterms. Principal among these would be party identity. It's pretty much accepted anymore that Democrats are "the left," but what does that mean? What does the left believe? What are its policy prescriptions?

The left doesn't know just how loony it wants to go behind a phalanx of fighting feministic females. There's the Establishment Left of near-octogenarian Nancy Pelosi; there's the Wannabe Establishment Left of Lizzy Warren; there's the Outright Racist Left of Maxine Waters; there's the Deep State Left of Hillary Clinton; and then there's the newcomer warming up in the bullpen, the What-Me-Worry Left of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Bernie Sanders hasn't abandoned the field of combat, but he has clearly lost traction. We see his name less and less in the headlines, and, ever since that messiness with his wife at that private college that got him a third really nice house, The Bern's brand ain't all that shiny anymore.

Then there's the matter of turned off voters. We Trumpkins had wondered if anybody on the left had even noticed how vicious such lefty go-to outfits as Antifa and BLM had become. It's one thing to march and shout and demonstrate  quite another to seriously hurt people, as these groups had taken to doing. Spearheaded by one Brandon Straka in the #WalkAway movement, many Dems decided they wanted nothing to do with thugs. Not only are many WalkAways not Democrats anymore; they're not even liberals.

All this turmoil is causing serious concern on the serious left, who can be defined as the relatively few lefties who care about appearances anymore. They are hemorrhaging support among a once key constituency that used to be called young upwardly mobile something or others, aka yuppies. Potentially, this is millions of voters.

What to do?

It's no secret that the left favors immigration by the truckload from anywhere. Teddy Kennedy (who else?) got this ball rolling back in the sixties with legislation that basically threw open America's borders. The idea was to turn immigrants into instant Democrats upon arrival. I saw this in practice when my Salvadoran wife was naturalized in 2009. The scene swarmed with Democrat activists signing up the new Americans.

No Republican counterweight was in evidence.

It's gotten worse just since 2009. A Brooklyn judge, one LaShann DeArcy Hall, swore in a batch of new citizens and then promptly advised them to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech by "taking a knee." These people had just become Americans, and already a leftist fanatic was drenching them in loony left politics.

Well. Democrats have their problems, and they are welcome to them. Unfortunately, what's a problem for them becomes a problem for America because the left always, without exception, talks the high road but takes the low road in resolving issues. Therein lies our response.

The first step, obviously, is to close the borders. President Trump is hot on that trail, and we need to back him by voting in House members who support him. A wall is necessary to send the right message. Michael Kinsley, oddly enough, rightly said that if you're afraid of going too far (with a wall, for example), you risk not going far enough.

Voting in representatives of this kind will in time change Washington's rules and kill the Washington influence-peddling racket. Jailing high-ranking lawbreakers would be key in that particular message. Voting Trump in was a major part of the task, but he needs the tools to do the job, and personnel equals policy.

The second step is to strengthen our credibility by aligning policy with our philosophical roots. In this way, we attract the #WalkAways, whose naivete and idealism made them vulnerable to liberal lies in the first place. We need to show them policy consistent with principles  the principles of the Constitution, in fact.

A third step is the need for a national megaphone of our own to counter the mainstream media. Though fairer than the alphabet media, Fox News is neither conservative nor classically liberal  a powerful media megaphone is needed to do what the MSM do for the communists. Any billionaires reading this?

Tactically, a fourth step is simply to follow the president and call the opposition by its proper name. Names are labels, and labels identify or classify. A lefty tactic is to sow confusion among us, and the left's war on labels does just that by blurring important distinctions. Here we have to distinguish the vicious progressives from the milder liberals, sort of the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks of our day. Progs are fascists/communists (same thing), and we need to quit pretending they aren't. Liberals range from the #WalkAway people to soft socialists.

Some of these steps are for our elected representatives, while others are for you and me where we live. Some are for both. That's as it should be. It is, after all, a government of, by, and for the people.

That's we.Kate Steinle, Mollie Tibbetts, and others get killed by illegal aliens, and most of the media and Democrats give the stories short shrift, if any coverage at all, once the perp is identified, because it just doesn't fit with the agenda.

Michael Brown robs a store in Ferguson, Missouri; goes after a police officer's gun; and gets killed. The media goes along with a fictional story of "hands up, don't shoot," making Michael Brown a hero and ginning up racial hate and hate of cops, causing riots and destruction.

A professor on MSNBC cared so much about Mollie Tibbetts's death that she called her "a girl in Iowa" that "Fox News is talking about." Elizabeth Warren implied that Tibbetts's death wasn't that important, quickly moving on to talking points when the subject was raised. The separation of kids at the border is what is important. I thought all deaths were important.

Over the years, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Obama, Pelosi, Schumer, Durbin, and others have said similar things to Trump on illegal immigration, border security, and chain migration, and not only didn't the media, Hollywood, and other Democrats condemn them as racists and xenophobes, but they supported them in their re-election. With Trump, they intentionally gin up racial hate among blacks, Hispanics, and others in order to keep their votes.

Elizabeth Warren, Hollywood, and the media didn't care much when Obama separated children from their parents and kept them in "cages," and now they trash Trump for following the law.

Civil War statues were up for well over 100 years prior to Obama being in office, yet the protests and destroying the statues did not occur until Trump took office. Why? They are obviously organized, not spontaneous, protests meant to destroy Trump. Why aren't there protests to take down references and monuments to Margaret Sanger and Robert Byrd since they were known racists?

When over 350 newspapers get together to coordinate editorials about how important and honest they are and how despicable Trump is, maybe they should consider how much they intentionally distort the news to favor an agenda. Fake news about Michael Brown, hypocritical reporting on immigration, fake rape cases on rich white kids at Duke (intentionally meant to gin up racial hate), and the fake Russian collusion story that has run for years are just a few examples.

Currently there is a story based on anonymous sources that the National Enquirer owner has a safe with stories he buried about Trump, and the media are feigning outrage and claiming that somehow this is manipulating an election and an illegal campaign contribution. It is hilarious for the media to act outraged. The media bury stories every day that is positive on Trump and bury stories continuously that are negative for Democrats.

Hillary and Obama along with others surrounding them had multiple violations of the law, and the media didn't care. Obama clearly weaponized the Justice Department, the IRS, and intelligence agencies to destroy political opponents and protect people he supported, and yet the media dutifully parrot that there was no politicization during Obama's eight years. By the same logic, why aren't networks and newspapers being investigated for their obvious campaign contributions to Democrats and their obvious attempt to manipulate elections?

The media continually blame Trump for dividing the country, but the media intentionally seek to divide in the way they report.

The most important issue concerning Democrats, including the media, seems to be Roe v. Wade and unlimited abortion. Chelsea Clinton encapsulates their views well when she says how much Roe v. Wade helped women be more productive. She credits the decision and the killing of babies for helping the economy. She seems to have a much more negative view of motherhood and women than most of us do. She thinks the way women help or participate in helping the economy is by killing their babies so they can join the workforce. (It should be noted that women who choose to be stay-at-home mothers also contribute a great deal to the economy and the greatness of society.) If I were the child of Hillary I might think the same way. It appears that Chelsea was raised by a village, a village of idiots.

I wonder how Chelsea thinks her mother made it into the work force since Hillary didn't abort her and she was born seven years after Roe v. Wade was handed down by the Supreme Court. My third child is a daughter who was born 15 years after Roe v. Wade, and thank goodness neither she nor my two boys were aborted. They are all great contributors to and beneficiaries of the great economy today. I do believe that Chelsea didn't drop too far from the tree and can see that neither her mother nor her dad actually produced anything. Instead, they got rich by selling their political power. That is the same way Chelsea has gotten rich, from her parents' political power. Does anyone think anyone would care what Chelsea says if she weren't the former first daughter? They also sought to destroy anyone, especially women, who got in their way in their quest for power. It is a shame that anyone looks up to the Clintons and acts like they are pro-women after their wanton disrespect and destruction of women.

Margaret Sanger, a "progressive," was a fan of eugenics and wanted to build a "cleaner" race through selective breeding. I would ask Chelsea if killing black babies at a rate much higher than their percentage of the population helped black women join the work force, or did it just prevent more blacks from growing up?

Why do Democrats continue to support racist laws, like Davis-Bacon, which was passed to prevent minorities from taking white workers' jobs? It has oppressed minorities and taxpayers for over eighty years, so why isn't it repealed?

I will support a president who wants businesses and individuals to thrive and have independence versus a party whose policies are meant for the government to thrive and have more people remain and become dependent on government. It is a simple choice.A hideous specter is descending over the once-promising South African political landscape: Race hate. An end to property rights. Poverty. The grotesque inequality of all socialist regimes. And an inevitable Zimbabwe-like ruin.

The country of course, has rather insanely started expropriating the country's white-owned farms without compensation, imagining that in doing so, its government will finally make black South Africans rich and equality the reality. It's simple: End the niceties of rule of law, and all you do is add free stuff. Or, get your free stuff (and vote for us!) How'd that work out in Venezuela? Heck, how'd that work out in Zimbabwe next door? We are looking at the most prosperous and developed nation on the African continent about to become an absolute dump in a striking parallel to its fellow formerly rich country across the Atlantic, Venezuela.

To see this happen is astonishing. South Africa 20 years ago was a nation so full of promise in its commitment to a 'non-racial' society. To see a smart nation like this go off the cliff like another lemming in the name of 'equality', after all we know about how this works out elsewhere, shows the amazing disconnect from reality that infects the minds of socialists.

But don't look at the left to recognize this.

Instead of expressing disgust at the end to rule of law and the beginning of tyranny of the majority over there, their response is to ignore the embarassing economics an call out President Trump's concern about the matter a "racist dog whistle.'

Start with the hysteria from the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Trumps tweet last night about South African farmers is one of the most startling examples of this president indulging in racist thinking. https://t.co/CQKg0IsZZR  Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) August 23, 2018

Then there's this rubbish from a Washington Post columnist:

Even if it was intended as a distraction from the legal madness of the week, President Donald Trumps latest race-baiting message shouldnt be ignored. The president tweeted a bizarre non sequitur on Wednesday, warning of the supposed perils facing white farmers in South Africa. Trump said he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to closely study the large scale killing of white farmers in South Africa and the expropriation of their land. Trumps concern was apparently prompted  like so much of his commentary on social media  by something he saw on Fox News, in this case a segment on Tucker Carlsons evening show. Carlson, who has used his prime-time spot to broadcast fringe talking points from white nationalists, anti-feminists and far-right xenophobes, alleged that the State Department was standing aside as South African authorities carried out a campaign to dispossess whites.

The tweet in question is here:

Several leftists sites, such as this, this and this, have made much of the fact that championing white farmers is something white supremacist groups do.

It's an irrelevant point, because communists cheer all kinds of leftwing political causes, does the presence of pariahs really matter? Up until now, the left has been the last to think so.

What matters are the economic facts on the ground and here the left has skidded into astonishing unseriousness, unwilling to look socialist horror in the eye as it glares at us.

With millions of Venezuelans pouring out of Venezuela as a result of these policies right now, why wouldn't Trump have a foreign policy interest in knowing the nature of the hellhole to come from South Africa? The U.S. will very likely have to take the refugees and they won't just come in the color white, given the mass ruin that follows from destroying property rights and instituting tyranny of the majority. Black farmers, as I noticed earlier, were already onto this and very reluctant to invest in even pro-offered expropriated lands given that such ill-gotten gains can be expropriated at any time again, depending on who holds political power. As I noted: Much better to take the money and run.

Trump in fact was looking at this seriously, quite unlike past presidents and regional leaders, who ignored the unfolding horror in Venezuela only to see it come back through human waves entering their country without passports as the inevitable byproduct.

The bottom line is that South Africa is headed for disaster and that disaster has nothing to do with racism, and everything to do with a war on economics - in its socialist redistribution programs that fail absolutely every time they are tried. Kudos to Trump, and unseriousness exposed, on the left.

Image credit: Santeri Viinamaki / Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have suspended talks with the U.S. in the wake of the opening of our Jerusalem embassy, but money still talks. The Trump administration has just used a funding cut as a way of telling them that their old strategy isn't working anymore. Both governing bodies. But rest assured: they are getting the message. The Palestinian Authority has to stop payments to families of suicide bombers and other jihadists who lose their lives attacking Israelis. Hamas, the terror organization that runs Gaza, is also being told to stop mass attempts to enter Israel for purposes of terror.

The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza, the State Department said Friday. The department notified Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters. It said the administration will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere." ... "At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with U.S. national interests and provide value to the U.S. taxpayer," the department said. "As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million ... originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza." "This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said, without providing additional details.

In addition to this reduction in gifts from the American taxpayers to Palestinian entities intent on destroying Israel, the Trump administration has frozen $65 million in aid to the U.N. Relief and Works Administration (UNRWA), an agency shot through with corruption.

The usual sources of outrage are outraged that the sponsorship of terror and dedication to destruction of Israel do not merit gifts from America.

J Street, which the New York Times laughably describes as " a liberal Jewish organization that advocates better relations between Israel and the Palestinians," called the cuts a "moral outrage."

"This is just the latest move by this administration to cruelly punish Palestinian civilians and marginalize and undercut Palestinian leadership," the organization said.

Reuters reports:

U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat, criticized the Trump administration's decision. "Inhabitants of Gaza are already suffering severe hardships under the tyranny of Hamas and border restrictions imposed by Israel. It is the Palestinian people, virtual prisoners in an increasingly volatile conflict, who will most directly suffer the consequences of this callous and ill-advised attempt to respond to Israel's security concerns."



The Islamic University of Gaza (credit: Mo7aisen).

All of this comes as a prelude to the unveiling of the Middle East Peace Plan being put together by Jared Kushner, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and others. I strongly suspect that this plan will call for both Palestinian entities to accept Israels right to exist (something Crown prince MbS already did, changing that kingdoms stance since the founding of Israel) or face very unpleasant consequences. Removal of parts of the aid security blanket that has nurtured the worlds first hereditary group of refugees is only a first step.

The times, they are a changing, and its about time. Acceptance of Israel legitimacy and integration into its thriving economy would improve the lives of Palestinians more than any aid budget possibly could.Remembering John McCain as his moment comes

This won't be a popular column, because John McCain is not popular with conservatives. However, I invite my fellow conservatives to rise above their deeply ingrained dislike of McCain to consider him as a man, making a courageous decision at the end of his life. Two caveats. First, my father died a few years ago from a similar kind of brain cancer. He did not discontinue treatments until it became clear they weren't going to work, and in many ways, the physical cost of the treatments to him  as shown in the last photo taken of that once vibrant, imposingly physical man  was devastating. Next, my mother recently died, peacefully and without being ravaged by chemotherapy or radiation therapy, from a different kind of cancer. At 92 and ready to move on to the next world, she refused treatment, and  after a long and productive life  she passed quietly.

I mention this because I'm not unbiased when it comes to cancer, the ravages of treatment, and the courage to face what's coming. I've never liked John McCain, but I've never doubted the man's courage. He was a third-generation naval officer, and like his father and grandfather, he faced combat with the enemy with the kind of courage that the Naval Academy seems to breed. By all accounts, he also faced years of incredibly painful captivity in the Hanoi Hilton, his broken bones  thanks to the effects of a rocket-boosted ejection seat that saved his life over North Vietnam, but at a price  never properly treated. These unhealed injuries only made the torture he received even more horrific. His suffering shaped the man he became. That man had very different political positions from what I hold, and we seldom even randomly agreed on anything. I would have been thrilled if Arizonans had selected someone else to represent them in the Senate, someone more akin to another combat veteran Arizonan, Senator (and USAF general) Barry Goldwater. But Arizonans made their choice, and for several decades, the Republican Party, the Senate, and America were saddled with John McCain. Yet for all my political opposition to the man, I am sorry for his suffering and for his imminent passing. His loss will be felt most deeply by his family, and his passing will be (quietly, in most cases) celebrated by those seeking a more truly conservative senator from Arizona to fortify the narrow plurality held by real conservatives. Still, I ask all those who  like me  have opposed John McCain the politician to consider and honor John McCain the man and to share the grief his family must be feeling, even as they feel proud that McCain has chosen the tougher road moving forward in his last days. Ned Barnett has been active in politics since he was a (very) Young Republican supporting the Goldwater campaign. He has been head of media and strategy at the state level in three presidential campaigns, beginning when he worked with the late, great Lee Atwater on the Ford campaign in South Carolina. He is writing a book on how to win political campaigns that should come out next year, and he serves candidate and issue campaigns as CEO of Barnett Marketing Communications in Las Vegas, Nevada.pic.twitter.com/wYCNmkkaNR

CNN:

"Democrat immigration policies are destroying innocent lives and spilling very innocent blood," Trump said in while speaking in Ohio. "We believe that any party that puts criminal aliens before American citizens should be out of office, not into office." The President's remarks on Tibbetts come not long after the White House added the slain University of Iowa student to a list of individuals who were killed by undocumented immigrants [sic], according to police. Trump was also seen in a video released on his Twitter account speaking about Tibbetts' death on Thursday.

Tibbetts's family is none too pleased:

Members of the Tibbetts family denounced attempts to politicise her murder. Her aunt Billie Jo Calderwood wrote on Facebook: "Please remember, Evil comes in EVERY color. Our family has been blessed to be surrounded by love, friendship and support throughout this entire ordeal by friends from all different nations and races."

It's ironic bordering on humorous for the left to cry about politicizing a tragedy. Every single school shooting immediately brings out the anti-gun rhetoric as the gun control lobby seeks to maximize its advantage by playing to the emotions of voters. The Parkland tragedy is a perfect illustration. Not only was the anti-gun rhetoric at a fever pitch in the aftermath of the incident, but the gun control lobby went to the nauseating length of using survivors of the shooting as props in their little anti-Second Amendment drama.

In the case of Tibbetts's death, the left is using the tragedy to call conservatives "racists" for bringing up the killer's illegal status. And the same people who called Republicans "terrorists" for supporting the Second Amendment in the aftermath of the Parkland tragedy are accusing Trump and the GOP of politicizing the killings.

So both sides use tragedy suffered by families to promote a political agenda. Does it do any good to claim, "Yeah, but the other side does it, only worse"?

To my mind, that's juvenile. I think Vice President Pence struck exactly the right chord:

Heartbroken by the news about Mollie Tibbetts. Mollie was an amazing young woman and we are praying for her parents, brothers & friends in this time of unimaginable grief. https://t.co/JesB2VXjnN  Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) August 21, 201

Pence is old-fashioned. We have gone far beyond such class and propriety in politics. Insensitivity is in. Empathy is out. The more brutally you can use a tragedy to gain political advantage, the better.

To the families, both sides can say: "Sorry about politicizing your grief, but this is war. This is a life and death struggle for the soul of America. Your feelings must take a back seat."

I am certainly not blameless in helping to politicize tragedy. But at this point, it has become sadly necessary. It is now expected that if you write about a tragedy like the death of Mollie Tibbetts, you bring up the political angle. There's no reason to disarm when the other side is loading a gun that you know it's going to use.

Just one more reason to hate what modern politics has become.As Venezuela descends into ruin and millions flee their homeland, one byproduct of its lethal socialism has generally gotten off scot-free: the crony capitalist oil billions of Venezuela's Chavista nomenklatura elites, made rich by looting Venezuela's oil bounty.

Federal prosecutors have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in South Florida luxury real estate and other assets linked to a network of Venezuelan business people and former government officials charged with laundering more than $1 billion that U.S. authorities say was stolen from the country's vast oil income. Among the targeted assets are at least 17 South Florida homes, condos and horse ranches ranging in total value from $22 million to $35 million, based on property assessments in public records and real estate market estimates. They include a condo in the Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles Beach, a residence in the affluent Bay Point area of Miami, four homes in the exclusive Cocoplum neighborhood of Coral Gables, and two ranches in the wealthy equestrian community of Wellington in Palm Beach County. Also facing federal forfeiture: More than $45 million that has already been seized by U.S. authorities in the past year, along with additional deposits at City National Bank of New Jersey and other financial institutions in the Bahamas, England and Switzerland.

That's the flip-side of socialism, which makes so much of its love for equality and standing up for the little guy. Thank goodness President Trump's administration has begun rolling up that slimy little reality, and what's better, there's likely more to come.

Two things happened in Venezuela that brought about this grotesque inequality in the midst of Venezuela's starvation and flight:

One: The socialization of the state oil company by Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez directed millions in oil profits from what should have been reinvestment and maintenance funds toward social spending programs to buy votes from the poor. Sound familiar? Net result: The oil company started falling apart and production began falling.

Two: In 2002-2003, Chavez fired 10,000 state oil company (PDVSA) professionals and replaced them with political loyalists, none of whom had much knowledge of the oil industry. Their only reason for being there was their political loyalty to Chavista socialism. That politicized what had up until then been a professionally run organization into an organization whose decisions revolved around political loyalty. The more loyalty, the more "opportunities" for draining the oil coffers at a time of high oil prices and significant market demand. More oil profits were looted from the state oil coffers, and the oil company fell apart even further. PDVSA is now in such bad shape that it looks as though it's about to lose its critical Citgo refining distributorship for non-payment debt.

Those "boliburgueses" who got all the oil money for their political loyalty to socialism have since been whooping it up in Miami, buttressed by corrupt money-laundering bankers who've enabled them, like that guy from Julius Baer who got busted in the article above.

...except that now, it looks as though the party is coming to a close, thanks to these actions by the administration of President Trump.

This tweet, from former PDVSA board member, banker, and opponent of the regime Pedro Burelli, who knows what he is talking about, is worth noting:

Investigacion en banco suizo Julius Baer seguramente resultara en muchos mas datos sobre billones robados a Venezuela por una amalgama de ninitos ricos, operadores corruptos, funcionarios rojos, rojitos, y otras figuras claves de la nomenclatura chavista. https://t.co/V301TfCZfX  Pedro Mario Burelli (@pburelli) August 24, 2018

Translation:

The investigation at Swiss bank Julius Baer will surely result in many more data on billions stolen from Venezuela by an amalgam of wealthy little boys, corrupt operators, red officials, Rojitos, and other key figures of the Chavez nomenklatura.

If socialism is ever to be discredited forever as the corrupt crony capitalist elitist scheme it really is, that day can't come soon enough, and these individuals in line to be busted can't be publicized loudly enough. What's more, with a post-socialism Venezuela likely to be direly in need of funding, their stolen lootings will be needed as working capital to try to restore the country. Thank goodness the ball has gotten rolling now with these banker busts. Party's over for Venezuela's ravenously greedy thieving socialist elites. The ratlines out of Miami are likely to begin shortly.

Image credit: The Photographer via Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.Satellite imagery, made available to the public through applications such as Google Earth and Google Maps, have allowed anybody with a computer or a smartphone and access to the internet to become an explorer. This have led to the discovery of dozensprobably hundredsof places and features on the planet previously unknown to man, ranging from the biggest natural arch to tiny meteor craters.

Back in 1972, NASA had just launched the Landsat program for taking pictures of the earth from space, and sifting through the millions of images captured by the satellites was a new and exciting job for cartographers.

Betty Fleming was working for the Surveys and Mapping branch for Canadas Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources then. The Canadian Department received imagery for Landsat roughly every two weeks, and Flemings job was to map Canadas wilderness areas and look for possible spots where new roads could be built. At the time, the hydrographic charts for the northern coast of Labrador had not been updated since 1911, when the British Army made them based on surveys and on questionable notes made by passing sailors.

Fleming was inspecting imagery off this region when she spotted several small white specks in the waters about 20 km off the Labrador coast. At first, she assumed they were icebergs, but when some of the specks kept appearing in the same position over several images, she knew they had to be permanent features. The following summer, the Canadian Hydrographic Survey Division sent a crew to visit about 20 such locations to verify their existence. Most of these locations where found to be insignificant rocks partly submerged in the sea, except one measuring about 25 meters by 45 meter. Todays satellite-cameras are powerful enough to see individual cars and trees on the ground below, but back then researchers were so impressed that a satellite could detect such a small feature that they named this barren bit of rock Landsat Island, in honor of the satellite that helped discover it.

Landsat Island in 1997.

Naming the island after a satellite initially proved to be difficult as it was against Canadian federal protocol to name geographic features after anything but people who were already deceased. The Landsat satellite 1 was originally called Earth Resources Technology Satellite 1, and so the islands original unofficial name was ERTS Island, before it was officially dubbed Landsat Island in 1979, after the satellites name changed.

Aside from being the first and only island to be named after a satellite, Landsat Island has another significanceit marks the eastern extremity of the Canadian landmass on this part of the coast. In fact, the Canadian coastal boundary was extended to include this island within its territorial waters after the discovery, resulting in the addition of 68 square kilometers to the area of Canada.Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. High 61F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Cloudy with showers. Low 56F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.Dear guys !i ve looked to your posts you have been so active and so helpful to everybody about partner visas as the information you can have !maybe you ve got some informations about the australian embassy in cairo , the process time in there , it seems like they are helpful and consider about the all applications , i have applied from there for class XB visa and it has been 11 months since i submit my documents and i have contact with them twice , they gave me the file number but when i ask them or email them they give me this answer : ( your application is still under processing , be adviced that when there are any developments you will be contacted ) so anyone got the same answers from them ?i hope that iam wrong but it seems like an automatic answer. :/On Thursday, the Pebble Beach event kicked off in Monterey, California, with a host of car and bike builders on site to show off their latest creations. Among them, Curtiss Motorcycles, formerly known as Confederate Motors.Back in 2017, due to the social turmoil that brought back ugly memories of past ages, the company decided to swap Confederate for Curtiss. It also decided to drop building combustion engined motorcycles in favor of electric ones.The first such monster of an e-bike is the Zeus , shown by Curtiss at the 10th Annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering. This week, in Monterey, Zeus wife, Hera, came to life.Hera is an electric motorcycle hot rod, as its builder describes it, inspired by the Glenn Curtiss 1907 V8 motorcycle, which landed him the title of Fastest Man on Earth (136.3 mph on Ormond Beach, Florida).And because it is a tribute to a V8 bike, this one too had to have such a component. Enter the V8 battery we mentioned earlier, the world's first according to the company.There are no official numbers available yet on Heras performance or what the battery configured in such a manner can do. Curtiss says only the power from the V8 is fed to an E-Twin motor.With Hera, we set out to create the worlds most luxurious motorcycle, said at Pebble Beach Matt Chambers, Curtiss CEO.Featuring the worlds first V8 battery architecture, an ultra-powerful, yet refined, E-Twin motor, and a 66-inch wheelbase, Hera will occupy a class all her own.Curtiss plans to take on Harley-Davidsons newly announced lineup of electric motorcycles, to be kicked off with the launch of the LiveWire of 2019.Attached in the document below is the limited information currently available on the Hera, as released by Curtiss.During the months-long battle, the largest confrontation between tanks in the history of the world took place at Prokhorovka. A few weeks after that, the Russians won and went on an offensive that would only stop in Berlin nearly two years later.The backbone of the Red Army armor divisions at Kursk was the T-34. To honor it, and the battle they won, the Russian hold each year military parades on August 23. One of the biggest ones takes place, obviously, in the city of Kursk.Dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the battle, this years parade saw a host of military machines taking part and wowing the crowds. Unfortunately for a driver of a T-34 and his tank, the little stunt he was trying to pull didnt go as planned.As the tank was trying to get up on a platform, the driver miscalculated the width of the tank's tracks and flipped to the left, ending up on its side. During the incident, a small fire erupted, which was quickly put out by firefighters.According to Russia Today , no one was injured in the incident, and the tank was eventually put back on its tracks.The T-34 was introduced in 1940 as a 26.5 tons medium tank powered by a 500 horsepower diesel engine. It was capable of reaching a top speed of 53 kph (33 mph) and was extremely successful in the Red Army, slowing replacing most other tank variants The T-34 is the tank with the highest number of units destroyed in the history of warfare. It still is in active service in some armies around the world.To that end, VW is using hail cannons, to disperse cloud formations and prevent the appearance of hail. According to farmers near the plant, the use of cannons has also caused a severe drought in the area, which would eventually cost them a fortune in lost crops.The farmers say that it hasnt rained at all in the region since May, when the rainy season began  and they lay the blame for it at VWs door and its cannons. Though science refutes the theory that hail cannons can prevent rain and ultimately cause drought, the farmers believe what they see: and what they see is that, after the cannons are fired at the VW plant, clouds disperse and not a single drop of rain falls.According to The Telegraph , the farmers are seeking nearly $4 million in compensation for lost crops from the company. Meanwhile, VW is trying to placate them by agreeing to take the cannons off automatic mode and switching to manual mode.This, of course, means they can still shoot them whenever they deem necessary. They insist they will also install large anti-hail nets over the ground where the new cars are, but will still use the cannons if hail threats are perceived.Even though there is no evidence that the use of these devices causes a lack of rain, Volkswagen (VLKAF) of Mexico decided to modify its operation in order to maintain a harmonious relationship with its neighbors, a company spokesperson tells CNN Volkswagen ... [has stopped] using these devices in their automatic mode, and is only operating them manually, when the meteorological conditions determine the imminent fall of hail, the spokesperson adds.The farmers believe thats just a way of getting them to shut up, so theyre using social media to join forces and take on the company as a united group.The Puebla plant in Mexico works around the clock and employs about 15,000 people. Over 450,000 cars are produced here annually, including Golf, the Jetta, Tiguan and Beetle.The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) has announced that Martha King, co-chair and co-owner of King Schools, has been appointed to CAPs Board of Governors. King will be succeeding retired U.S. Air Force Major General Teresa Marn Peterson when Petersons second three-year term comes to an end in November. In addition to founding King Schools in 1975 with her husband, John, King has been inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame, named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Aviation by Women in Aviation International, and, according to King Schools, is the only woman to ever hold every category and class of FAA rating on her pilot and instructor certificates.

Martha King has an excellent reputation as an industry leader in innovative approaches to pilot training, and were all delighted to welcome her to CAPs Board of Governors. said CAP national commander Major General Mark Smith. The vision and experience she brings to our governing body are especially valuable as we increase our emphasis on flight training for our youth in response to the nations ongoing pilot shortage. The Board of Governors is made up of eleven members, including four Air Force appointees, three members appointed jointly by the Secretary of the Air Force and CAP national commander, and four members-at-large selected by CAPs Senior Advisory Group to represent industry, government and education. It is tasked with creating policies, plans and programs for the organization.

The Civil Air Patrol is an all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, which operates a fleet of approximately 560 aircraft. The group performs search and rescue, homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions. According to the organization, CAP members also serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people in CAPs Cadet Programs. Currently, CAP reports that it has more than 60,000 members.Garmin Sues uAvionix

I knew it was just too good to be true. Any chance of ADS-B technology selling for under two thousand dollars is gone. Back to ten thousand dollar ADS-B systems with subscription charges on top. People think that autonomous electric UBERs are going to get certified in a couple years. HaHaHa! ADS-B 2020 mandate and lawsuits is the end of simple friendly pleasure flying. Wonder why theres a pilot shortage?

Klaus Marx

I do understand Garmin wanting to protect their investment in R&D. This new uAvionix should not have collaborated, cancelled joint work and then launched their system so soon and so close to Garmins product. It just screams I stole your idea and now I will make my money for nothing and my chicks for free. I want my, I want my, I want my ADS-B.

Roger Mullins

As an old friend once put it, its a mighty thin pancake that has only one side. I find it curious that Garmin has sued the smallest company with the cheapest product (i.e. smallest legal defense fund, most threatening to their market share). Unencumbered by experience or training, it seems to me that Freeflight and L3 also sniff the transponder code like Garmins patent. Yet no ones bothering them. The cynic in me says this is more about market share than patent protection. If Im wrong then uAvionix should be punished. But if Im right, boycott Garmin.

Kirk Wennerstrom

Paul Beard, CEO of uAionix pioneered 2.4Ghrz spread spectrum technology. It revolutionized all facets of RC modeling almost overnight. Millions of RC vehicles aerial or otherwise use this technology today including military remote piloted aircraft. RC technology has led the way for physical control of the drone/UAV/UAS s we see today and the foreseeable future. None of this was possible with out 2.4Ghrz technology. Spread spectrum technology allowed the demonstration of 100 drones flying in a coordinated fashion at Oshkosh during the night airshow and the talented gal flying that 3D aerobatic routine with her 1/3rd scale Extra.. No drone crashed or ran into each other or was glitched by any other drone or frequency. Nor did the RC pilot have any frequency/jamming issues with any other transmitting or receiving device. By his own words, Beard had to deal with the American Modeling Association which is the RC modeling counterpart of the FAA. It is a huge now bureaucratic organization with congressional lobbying power not only familiar to all RC modelers but with drone integration and traffic identification/separation issues, is working with the FAA in partnership. Beard has much experience dealing with a powerful agency with a built in resistance to change. He went from being banned flying his new technology to revolutionizing all facets of remote control now embraced and recommended by the AMA. He has the intestinal fortitude and knowledge to handle Garmin, the FAA, and I believe he did not just give away his patented 2.4Ghrz technology which could make him well equipped to take on Garmin financially. In my laymans, blue collar opinion 2.4Ghrz technolgy applied to ADS-B OUT is the magic ingredient Garmin does not have. This is why uAvionix will prevail. And if Garmin continues down this path, it could prove to be a major blow to their already tarnished image which could cost them far more financially due to lost customer loyalty than they presently imagine.

Jim Holdeman

EASA Approves Simpler GA Training Rules

EASA listened to the call from the GA community to make the process simpler  ! Have I entered some sort of time warp or am I having a dream or hallucinating? There HAS to be a mistake here. Its about time that Regulatory bureaucracies started realizing that theres a major difference between recreational pilots and pilots who are moving up the food chain into commercial aviation. We can only hope that someone with a modicum of common sense at the FAA takes note and DOES something in the US, as well. They could start by immediately adopting the tenets of the FAR Part 23 rewrite document that recommended establishment of the Primary Non Commercial category of airworthiness for certificated airplanes used solely for recreational purposes. The ARC document has an appendix which provides all the necessary FAR updates  all they have to do is put them into action. Oh well  time for me to awake from my dream and face reality 

Larry Stencel

Special VFR

That special VFR thing continues to piss me off. This is the real world folks, not Monty Python or Princess Bride. When conditions are marginal, VFR pilots should get any and all help available, without having to remember to dredge up some magic incantation.

Brian Forsyth

Controllers have the authority to declare an emergency for the pilot if they feel it is an emergency situation, so I dont see any reason why they cant also at least suggest if you request a special VFR clearance I can let you land. But I guess some lawyer might think it a good idea that if the pilot had a problem on landing, he could point to the controllers suggestion as the cause, so maybe thats why controllers apparently arent allowed to overtly suggest special VFR.

Gary Baluha

The Limits Of Reality

Thought worth pondering: Pilot training may be as worthwhile in 2020, as keypunch training was in 1970. Trivia: In 1968, I cut my teeth on an IBM 360/40. The programming language was APL. And it didnt HAVE any key-card reading machines  it used something called magnetic disk storage. Yeah  an early Hard Disk Drive. I advised a lot of school friends NOT to pursue a career as a keypunch operator. A few listened. Later, I advised NOT to become a Word Processor operator. Occasionally, you can spot an asteroid before it hits. Pilot farms would do well to purchase some telescopes.

Tom Yarsley

At the expense of alienating the context of this op-ed, I cant help but sustain that a pilot will always be in the loop to complete the experience for both the passenger and aviator. What VR brings are forgone the what ifs into the what nows! The advancement of both perception and physical realities garner an understanding and trust between man and machine that, until now, has been conceptual at best. At least at the EP level. No, VR will not replace the reality. The reality of pilot in the loop. However it will precipitate some truths about individual perception. As long as I fly like this, this will always happen. Nope, throw some VR ice on your VR 182 and find out!!

Kevin StrangeThe Catholic Churchs sex scandal is crushing one of the worlds most powerful institutions. The numbers are brutal and speak to rapid, spreading decline: In the U.S., 6,721 priests were reported to U.S. bishops between 1950 and 2016, and 18,565 victims have come forward, according to Bishop Accountability, an advocacy group.

The bigger picture: Pope Francis arrives today in Ireland, a country whose once-unquestioned Catholic identity is now fading  a long-term trend in much of the West, which abuse scandals threaten to accelerate. The Churchs image among people under 30 has never been worse, meaning the next generation of priests  and parishioners  simply may not be there.

848 priests around the world were defrocked by the Vatican for rape or molestation of children between 2004 and 2014, per CBS. More than 2,500 were handed lesser penalties.

In Australia, a commission found 4,444 allegations of sexual abuse across more than 1,000 Catholic institutions between 1980 and 2015.

a commission found 4,444 allegations of sexual abuse across more than 1,000 Catholic institutions between 1980 and 2015. Abuse scandals have struck countries including the Dominican Republic, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland over the last several years.

What we're watching...

These scandals are hitting a Church that is already struggling with declining membership in nearly every country across Europe and the Americas.

A Pew survey found that, as of 2015 , while 32% of Americans were raised Catholic, just 21% remained so. That drop off is more than twice the rate at which Americans left Protestantism. Church attendance also fell sharply.

, while 32% of Americans were raised Catholic, just 21% remained so. That drop off is more than twice the rate at which Americans left Protestantism. Church attendance also fell sharply. Fewer young people consider themselves Catholic, according to Pew, which found that the median age for U.S. Catholics is 49, compared to 40 for members of other religions and 36 for America as a whole.

Globally, the numbers are less bleak. Membership in the Church has held steady at around 18% of the global population for decades, according to official Church data, with growth in Africa making up for declines elsewhere.At least 22 children and four women were killed in Yemen on Friday from an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition, the U.N. reported.

The details: Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, called for an investigation of the most recent attacks in Yemen. This comes two weeks after a strike killed dozens of civilians, many of them children, and an additional strike on Thursday that resulted in the deaths of four children per the U.N. Go deeper: America's role in Yemen's disasterTwitter accounts and social media bots operated by Russian trolls intentionally sparked online debates about vaccinations, while also meddling in the 2016 presidential election, according to a study by the American Journal of Public Health.

The details: The bots were in operation from 2014 to 2017, disseminating messages both for and against vaccines with the main purpose of spreading discord, the study says. "Accounts masquerading as legitimate users create false equivalency, eroding public consensus on vaccination."After months of back-and-forth between the U.S. and North Korea, South Koreans are growing wary and a little suspicious that any real progress can be made with the regime, according to Politico's Cory Bennett.

The big picture: In recent days, the administration has shown mixed messaging of confidence when it comes to dealing with the regime. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he'd be traveling there next week, which Trump cancelled a day later, as he argued North Korea wasn't "making sufficient progress with respect to denuclearization." South Koreans are having "creeping doubts" that any real progress could actually be made with its reclusive neighbor, and that Trump is truly committed.The White House scolded El Salvador this week for its move to "abandon diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China," Politico reports.

The details: White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday the country's "receptiveness to China's apparent interference" in its politics "is of grave concern...and will result in a reevaluation of our relationship with El Salvador." China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang pushed back, per Politico, asking countries to respect El Salvador's decision, and saying it's "obvious who is politically interfering in the region."Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 95 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said August 25.

Armenian armed forces were using heavy 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.Trend:

Germany is ready to contribute to creation of a favorable atmosphere for settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a joint press conference with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian media reported Aug. 24.

Merkel stressed that Germany is a member of the OSCE Minsk Group.

"We said it would be good to resolve the conflict, the chancellor said. But it is important to resolve it in a good atmosphere. Germany is ready to contribute to that.

The conflict cannot be resolved without negotiations, and every effort should be made to resolve the conflict, she added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.Trend:

German Chancellor Angela Merkels visit to Azerbaijan will give impetus to the development of mutual relations between the countries, Vugar Rahimzade, member of the Political Council of the New Azerbaijan Party, editor-in-chief of Iki sahil newspaper, told Trend Aug. 24.

Rahimzade added that one of the main directions of Azerbaijan's foreign policy is to establish mutually beneficial relations with the EU, including with the EU member-states, and further intensify and develop existing ties.

"Germany is one of the main centers of power in Europe and this country attaches special importance to relations with Azerbaijan, he said. Our country is interested in further expanding relations with Germany."

There are excellent prospects for new opportunities for cooperation, Rahimzade said. Merkels upcoming visit to Azerbaijan is an important event.

"The leading countries, world centers of power show interest in South Caucasus, he said. One of the main reasons is global energy projects being implemented by Azerbaijan. These projects bring peace and stability, and at the same time are regarded as an important factor in ensuring energy security of Europe.

From this point of view, it is worth noting the Southern Gas Corridor project, which is being successfully implemented at the initiative of our country. This project that unites the continents will bring great benefits to the partner-countries. Germany is also showing great interest in the Southern Gas Corridor project. Of course, one of the main topics of the discussion during Merkels visit will be energy issues."

Rahimzade added that there is a very active political dialogue between Azerbaijan and Germany.

"Germany supports speedy, just settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the norms and principles of international law," he said.Trend:

An official welcome ceremony has been held for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is on a visit in Azerbaijan.

A guard of honor was arranged for the German Chancellor in the square decorated with the national flags of the two countries.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The chief of the guard of honor reported to the German Chancellor.

President Ilham Aliyev and Chancellor Angela Merkel reviewed the guard of honor.

The German Chancellor saluted the Azerbaijani soldiers.

Then the state anthems of Germany and Azerbaijan were played.

State and government officials of Azerbaijan were introduced to Chancellor Angela Merkel, and members of the German delegation were introduced to President Ilham Aliyev.

The guard of honor marched in front of the two leaders to the accompaniment of a military march. The president and the chancellor then posed for official photos.Trend:

Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze will visit Azerbaijan on August 30, the State Chancellery of the Georgian Government said on Aug. 25.

Mamuka Bakhtadze will hold a number of meetings with Azerbaijani officials in Baku.

Further strengthening of the strategic partnership between the two countries, the processes taking place in the world and the region and the prospects for the development of large-scale energy and infrastructure projects will be discussed during the meetings.Trend:

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has visited the Alley of Martyrs to pay respect to Azerbaijani heroes who gave their lives for the country`s independence and territorial integrity.

A guard of honor was lined up for the German Chancellor at the Alley of Martyrs.

She laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument.

The state anthems of Azerbaijan and Germany were played.

Angela Merkel enjoyed a panoramic view of Baku as she was informed on the history of the Alley of Martyrs and redevelopment work in the capital of Azerbaijan.Trend:

In the spring of 2019, production at the Kashagan field, which is being developed in the Kazakh sector of the Caspian Sea, will be suspended, Kazinform reported.

"It is planned to stop the equipment for maintenance and overhaul at the Bolashak oil and gas treatment complex in the spring of 2019. It is a normal practice for all large plants of this kind - any plant is periodically stopped for maintenance," Baltabai Kuanyshev, Director of Corporate Support at North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), told Kazinform.

According to Kuanyshev, since its launch in September 2016, offshore field Kashagan has produced more than 16 million tons of oil and sent it to consumers.Bakersfield, CA (93308)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun during the morning will give way to cloudy skies this afternoon. High 71F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.Fr. Davidson, who served as a resident minister in Campus Ministry for the past six years, has worked closely with the AHANA community during his tenure at Boston College, leading the Jamaica Magis service trip and the Magis Civil Rights Immersion trip to Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama and serving as co-chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Committee. He also teaches a popular section in Courage to Know for first-year students.

A member of the Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus and a native of Kingston, Jamaica, Fr. Davidson worked at St. Georges College in Jamaicawhere he served as dean of students and an accounting and religious education teacher at the Jesuit high schoolprior to joining Boston College.

It is a wonderful coincidence when a critical role and an exceptional candidate for the position become available at the same time, said Moore. Fr. Michael is known as a priest of and for the people and a passionate promoter of diversity and equity. We are very pleased to have him serve as the new director of the BAIC.

Fr. Davidson holds a B.A. in philosophy from Arrupe College in Zimbabwe, a B.A. in theology and M.A. in divinity from Regis College at the University of Toronto, and a masters in educational administration from the Lynch School of Education. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Brooklyn Jesuit Prep in New York.

I am excited about this new role because I love working with students, said Fr. Davidson.

As director of the BAIC I want to expand the wonderful work of the center so it can be a place where students of color can find home, be supported and connect with someone who can journey with them. I see it as a place where students can feel loved and learn our Jesuit tenets so that they can grow to be better human beings endowed with competence, conscience and compassion. I am dedicated to our students, and I look forward to working more closely with them beginning August 27.

 Jack Dunn, Associate Vice President of University Communications | August 2018BAD AXE  The Huron County Planning Commission received the first draft of the 180-page Huron County Master Plan this week.

The document is the product of nearly two and half years of working on the master plan, which included 10 meetings with Spicer Group starting in March 2016.

Alan Bean of Spicer Group presented a timeline to the planners Wednesday night that indicates the plan could be adopted by the Huron County Board of Commissioners by the end of the year.

The planning commission is expected to further discuss the draft at its Sept. 5 regular meeting.

The planners and the board of commissioners will review the plan and submit edits to Building and Zoning Director Jeff Smith by Sept. 7.

The final draft from Spicer Group is expected by Sept. 28.

Planners could approve the draft at the Oct. 3 meeting, and the board of commissioners could approve the draft for distribution Oct. 9. That would start the 63-day review period, during which a public hearing must be held.

When the planning commission meets Nov. 7, it would be expected to set a public hearing for Dec. 19. A public hearing notice might be published Dec. 1.

If the public hearing is Dec. 19, the planners would likely vote on whether to recommend the board of commissioners adopt the plan.

The board of commissioners would meet Dec. 27 to adopt the plan.

The final step would be for Spicer Group to produce final copies and distribute them of adjacent counties, the East Michigan Council of Governments and county officials.

The master plan draft can be viewed or downloaded at http://bit.ly/huroncountymasterplan.

See Tuesday's edition of the Huron Daily Tribune for a comprehensive look at the contents of the draft.BAD AXE  Most Huron County Farm Bureau members are not convinced that Michigan Farm Bureau can do more with less.

About 100 people attended the Huron County Farm Bureau annual meeting this week at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bad Axe.

The most discussion of the evening sprung from a resolution that included restructuring Michigan Farm Bureau to eliminate half of its county administrative managers.

Although only a couple of people supported the move, there was a lot of discussion on the matter among those who objected to it.

Under the proposal, all 53 managers would be eliminated, and 26 member engagement coordinators would then be hired.

Tom Haag was the first to speak against the proposal:

Any time you have a study come along  and says, Were going to have forced combination, that doesnt sound like a very good relationship  Instead of being a grassroots organization, it looks like were attempting to go (to) a top-down type organization. Thats not what our Farm Bureau was built on 

Laura Heilig added that the current managers do a lot for members.

They have no idea all the work that these people do and how they help hold us all together, she said.

Ashley Kennedy added that more research is needed on the issue.

We cant be the first state to be in this situation, she said. So, how have other states dealt with this, and maybe compare it to what our state study committee came up with?

Haag then said if people have to drive longer distances to activities or to county offices, membership would decrease if accessibility becomes an issue.

Travis Fahley, Michigan Farm Bureau district director from St. Clair County, said the committee was formed to look over Michigan Farm Bureaus finances last year.

Some of these recommendations are bylaw changes, and some of these changes come through the relationship agreement.

Members will vote on the bylaw changes at the Michigan Farm Bureau annual meeting in November.

Elimination of the current managers would be done through the relationship agreement, which is between each county board and the home office, Fahley said.

The county boards have to approve the relationship agreement change, he added. They have until Feb. 4 to make a vote on that.

For that to pass, 66 percent of all county Farm Bureaus have to approve it.

The state proposal also would limit the number of voting delegates at the annual Michigan Farm Bureau meeting to 300.

County finances would also be restructured under the plan.

The rest of the resolutions passed unanimously with no discussion.

The only local resolution was a call to the Huron County Board of Commissioners to hire an animal control officer.

Local/state resolutions included giving law enforcement personnel in Huron County the resources to manage animal abuse and neglect complaints.

Huron County Farm Bureau also opposes commercial solar development on land enrolled in the states farmland preservation program.

State resolutions included support for extending opportunities through Michigan State Universitys Institute of Agricultural Technology to additional community colleges.

The bureau also supported an exemption of the 10 percent electric choice cap for agricultural processors.PORT AUSTIN  The term "special needs" is thrown around quite often. Everyone has their own idea of what it means. When the Port Austin Lions Club heard of a special need, they took action.

Through the toil and sweat of some of their members, including retired members, along with generous charitable contributions, a Port Austin resident now has needed improvements to her home ... all to help make the lives of special needs kids a little better.

A mother of six adopted kids, Janet Voss, devotes her time to helping her children achieve a quality of life they would otherwise not have enjoyed.

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to adopt, Voss said. That was a really big thing with me, from a very young age. When I was about 12 years old, I read a book called No Language But A Cry. It was about a girl being abused. She needed a home. I guess thats where it all clicked. With special needs kids, there is just something special about them. I wanted to give these kids a home when one else feels compelled to.

She adopted her first son 32 years ago. Hes 35 now, and living on his own.

Then I got another, and another, and another, Voss said. Theyre all special needs kids. Three are living on their own.

The other three kids are still living with her, and due to the nature of their needs  all three require a significant, but different, level of care  theyll undoubtedly be with her for the remainder of their lives. It may sound difficult, even untenable, but to Voss, its simply parenting.

Although Voss kept her home as livable as possible, her resources and time were stretched to the limit. The needs of the kids were met, but repairs and improvements to the home were needed. Thats where the Port Austin Lions Club stepped up. A committee within the Lions Club heard about the need and decided to take action. They approached Voss over the winter and a crew of volunteers began working at the residence in the spring. The work has continued throughout the summer.

Upgrades to the home were done by present and retired members of the Port Austin Lions Club, all with some carpentry experience, under the supervision of Ray M. Boswell, of RMB Construction, LLC. The materials were provided through donations aimed at improving the living conditions for Voss and her children.

They put in a new sub floor, and they just finished the flooring, Voss said. They put all new cabinets in the kitchen, and painted the ceilings. Theyve done all the floors, and put in new doors.

The three children still living at home are Jory, who is 25, Kyle, 17, and 14-year-old Gracie.

Kyle used to be a head banger, Voss said. He made holes in the walls, and in the windows. He would just be walking by, and boom. Its not known what triggered it. The Lions Club guys placed Plexiglas over the windows, so the kids are safe.

They also plan on replacing 15 windows. Some of the walls have been repaired, and the remainder will be fixed, as well. The project has also included a new stove and refrigerator, as well as a new microwave.

Its amazing, Voss said. Instead of just doing problem areas, they fixed the whole floor. Im so glad they did. This kind of an upgrade to a home ... you just dont see it happen. Its so humbling that they would do this. Talk about an extreme blessing. Im overwhelmed at the generosity of people. Im humbled by the fact theyd do this. I was taught to never question a blessing from God ... and this has got to be from God. I just sat here and cried. I dont know how to thank people enough. There are no words that can express how I feel.

Supporting herself and her children has always been a struggle for Voss. She has a part-time job during the summer, but most of her time is spent caring for the special needs of her special kids. She receives some financial aid, but it never seems to be enough.

I was talking to someone who said they know of people who are getting rich parenting special needs kids, Voss said. I said they must be in another state, because things are very tight. We manage to get by. I believe God will take care of us. Thats how it is. Im not perfect, but I do try and make sure they get what they need. Its tough, but its worth it.

Another problem has to do with the medical care for the children. Because theyre all special needs, they require periodic special care. For a time, some home health care was provided, but according to Voss, that stopped with the passing of the Affordable Care Act.

When Obamacare came into place, they deemed Gracie wasnt needing the care, Voss said. Shortly after, they cut off the nurse, she went into the hospital again ... to the ICU. The doctor said to me, It isnt me who determines her needs, its the insurance company. Im battling all the time.

The care provided by Voss has impacted the childrens lives in a positive manner.

Gracie is a miracle ... well, all the kids are miracles ... they told me she wouldnt make it to 1 year old, and shell be 15 in October, Voss said.

Its this kind of result that makes her commitment to raising special needs kids worthwhile. The special help she received from the community, spearheaded by the Port Austin Lions Club, will ensure Janet Voss is able to continue to provide the love and care her special children deserve.BALLSTON SPA -- A 65-year-old major Saratoga County cocaine distributor will serve 14 years in prison, Saratoga County prosecutors said.

Dennis Jones of County Route 32, Saratoga pleaded guilty felony criminal possession of a controlled substance in June, District Attorney Karen Heggen said.

He was arrested in March for having about three pounds of cocaine and 26 pounds of marijuana at his house. More than $250,000 in cash was seized as well, as well as long guns and other drug paraphernalia, authorities said.

"Jones had a thriving drug trade and this investigation put him out of business," Heggen said in a press release.WASHINGTON - The Paul Manafort trial set for September in Washington is expected to last three weeks and, on the basis of a list of 1,500 possible exhibits, will delve far more deeply into how he operated as a lobbyist and consultant than was done in his just-completed trial in Virginia.

The estimated trial timeline and exhibits were included in a joint filing Friday night in federal court in Washington by Manafort's defense and prosecutors with special counsel Robert Mueller III.

The required filing is a road map of the next trial facing President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, convicted Tuesday in federal court in Alexandria on eight of 18 tax- and bank-fraud charges after a trial that focused on Manafort's finances.

Manafort's trial in the District of Columbia, set to begin Sept. 17, will cover much of the same ground but will scrutinize more closely his political work from 2006 to 2017, during which he allegedly reaped $30 million as a consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

Manafort, 69, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to his advising of then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. In his upcoming trial, the list of prosecution exhibits suggests how Manafort became an architect of Washington's modern-day influence industry, gaining access to foreign influence and foreign money.

Manafort faces seven counts in the District charging him with conspiring against the United States, money laundering, failing to register as a lobbyist, making false statements and witness tampering.

The last count arose after prosecutors in June accused Manafort and a longtime associate they linked to Russian intelligence of repeatedly contacting two members of a public relations firm and asking them to falsely testify about secret lobbying they did at Manafort's behest. Manafort has been in jail since then on the order of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the case in Washington.

Prosecutors disclosed the list of 1,500 potential exhibits with minimal descriptors, but among the subject lines in emails and other correspondence are references to Democratic power lobbyist Tony Podesta, whose firm, the Podesta Group, went out of business after Manafort's indictment was unsealed; former GOP congressman and Jeb Bush adviser Vin Weber of Mercury Public Affairs; and former Barack Obama White House counsel Gregory Craig, who this year left his job as of counsel at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

The exhibit list also mentions items citing "OVD" and "Oleg," which appear to be references to Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate and ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin who employed Manafort as an investment consultant.

The list also appears to refer to many of the purchases of high-end clothing and consumer electronics that were discussed in the Virginia trial as prosecutors there laid out their case about Manafort's income and wire transfers from foreign accounts.

For the trial in Washington, the government said it expected to complete its work in 10 to 12 trial days - similar to the 12 days of testimony it presented in Alexandria - and to use three of the same expert witnesses: two FBI forensic accountants and an IRS agent.

A list of all witnesses who might be called was not part of the filing Friday.

Manafort's attorneys did not commit to put on a defense but told the court that if they did, their presentation could take three or four days.

Mueller's prosecutors, led by Andrew Weissmann, wrote, "The government hereby gives notice as required" that in the unlikely case Manafort reverses himself and decides to testify in his Washington trial, "the government intends to offer for purpose of impeachment the defendant's prior convictions in the case United States v. Manafort."

Manafort's defense said it had not had time to review the government's exhibits, reserved its objections to all of them and declined to agree to 23 proposed joint "stipulations" of undisputed facts that could be presented to a jury without argument, including some to which both sides agreed in Alexandria.

"At this time, there are no agreed upon stipulations," wrote Manafort's defense, which is led by Kevin Downing.

U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III declared a mistrial on the 10 remaining charges in Manafort's trial in Alexandria and gave the government until Aug. 29to decide whether to retry Manafort.

A juror who spoke publicly after the Virginia verdict said that all but one of the jurors wanted to convict Manafort on all of the 18 charges he faced.

Manafort opted to face trials in two jurisdictions on charges brought by the special counsel rather than consolidate the bank- and tax-fraud case into the District case. The tax case was tried in Virginia because Manafort filed his taxes in that state. Prosecutors had offered to combine the indictments for one trial in the District, but Manafort declined.

- - -

The Washington Post's Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.Princeton Lyman, a career diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Nigeria and later to South Africa, where he helped engineer the transition from the country's apartheid era of white supremacy to a multiracial, democratically elected government in the 1990s, died Aug. 24 at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland. He was 82.

The cause was lung cancer, said a daughter, Lori Bruun.

Dr. Lyman joined the Foreign Service in 1961 and was assigned to the newly formed U.S. Agency for International Development. He lived in Korea in the 1960s, then turned his primary attention to Africa, serving as USAID's program director in Ethiopia in the 1970s and as U.S. ambassador to Nigeria from 1986 to 1989.

He achieved his greatest diplomatic breakthroughs in South Africa, where he was ambassador from 1992 to 1995. He arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria two years after Nelson Mandela had been released from his 27-year imprisonment, with the government still in the hands of the white-ruled apartheid regime.

The country's political parties - divided by race - spoke past each other, leaving the country on the brink of civil war. Police brutality toward black protesters was commonplace.

"When I arrived, the negotiations were in total disarray," Lyman said in a 1999 oral history for the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. "The threat of more violence was palpable. No one knew where the country was heading."

Lyman, who grew up in a multiethnic neighborhood in San Francisco, approached the combustible situation with a sense of practicality and patience. He had the ear of both Mandela, who led the African National Congress party, and South Africa's white president, F.W. de Klerk, who freed Mandela from prison and allowed opposition parties to function.

"Princeton became an important mediator bringing parties together, hoping to arrive at a shared understanding of what the future might look like," George Moose, who was undersecretary of State for African affairs at the time, said in an interview. "He was very much the confidant of both parties, and they trusted him."

Contingency plans were being made by U.S. officials for how to handle a full-scale revolution in South Africa and its possible reverberations at home and abroad.

In South Africa, Lyman had dozens of conversations with Mandela and de Klerk. He brought them together to negotiate in person and to agree to continue discussions despite outbreaks of violence.

"I found that I could talk to Mandela very easily, exchanging ideas," Lyman said in the oral history. He found Mandela "a man of great dignity and great courtesy. We used to have very candid discussions. One had to understand that while he was able to laugh at himself, you had to treat him with dignity."

He mollified rival political groups and kept the negotiations going between the principal leaders of how South Africa could manage a transition from the repressive apartheid rule of the minority white government to a more inclusive society.

The result of Lyman's behind-the-scenes talks were seen in 1994, when South Africa held its first multiracial elections. Mandela won the presidency with an overwhelming vote.

"At the time, no one thought the South African situation was going to end peacefully," Moose said. "Princeton was an architect in helping Washington understand what the path could look like. Princeton's role was very much underreported and underappreciated."

Princeton Nathan Lyman was born Nov. 20, 1935, in San Francisco. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania who ran a corner grocery store in a largely African American neighborhood.

His parents valued education and named four of their five sons after universities: Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Princeton. (Another son was named Elliott, and a daughter was named Sylvia.)

Lyman graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1957 and received a doctorate in political science from Harvard University in 1961.

Lyman was the State Department's director of refugee affairs from 1989 to 1992. After returning from South Africa, he was the State Department's chief liaison to the United Nations, working closely with Secretary General Kofi Annan, who died Aug. 18. After retiring in 1999, he held posts at the Aspen Institute, U.S. Institute for Peace and Council on Foreign Relations.

While he was U.S. ambassador to Nigeria from 1986 to 1989, Lyman said he learned that a smile and well-placed compliment went a long way in managing an embassy - and in dealing with the host country.

"The ambassador set the tone," he said in the oral history. "If things were going well and the ambassador was happy, everybody worked that much harder. If the ambassador worried and fretted, so did the staff."

From 2011 to 2013, he served as the special envoy to Sudan, seeking to resolve disputes that led to the division of the country. He published a book about his experiences in South Africa, "Partner to History: The U.S. Role in South Africa's Transition to Democracy," in 2002.

His first wife, the former Helen Ermann, died in 2008 after 50 years of marriage. Survivors include his wife since 2009, Lois Hobson of Silver Spring; three daughters from his first marriage, Tova Brinn of Safed, Israel, Sheri Laigle of Silver Spring and Lori Bruun of Columbia, Maryland; a brother; a sister; 11 grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.

During trying, even dangerous moments, Lyman could find humor in the life of a diplomat.

"I keep telling people that when I go to Nigeria, I have a lot of fun," he said in his 1999 oral history. "I say that even when the Nigerians have their hands in your pocket, they are fun. Once I was in a large crowd and a Nigerian did put his hand in my pocket. I stopped him and all he had to say was: 'Sorry!' "Not since they put the four-legged haulers of horse-drawn trams in Belfast out to pasture or unhooked their trolley buses from their overhead cables has there been a revolution in public transport quite like it. Or a more controversial one.

The much vaunted Glider, an integral part of the Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) system, has managed to stir up a storm even before it becomes fully operational on Monday, September 3.

The 90m Translink transformation to Gliders, which are essentially trams on wheels, is aimed at speeding up travel in Belfast along 12-hour bus lanes that have been driving motorists round the bend.

Indeed one lane caused so much traffic chaos in the Titanic Quarter that the Department of Infrastructure had to suspend it indefinitely.

But Translink officials are convinced the Glider will win over the public in time.

Their PR line is that the Glider is "the new, effortless and smooth way to travel - to glide through city traffic".

Translink officials are convinced the Gliders will be a success and win over the most doubtful traveller in much the same way that use of park-and-ride facilities has soared despite a slow start.

Translink says the new buses will, for example, make access to the Royal Victoria Hospital in west Belfast and the Ulster Hospital at Dundonald in the east immeasurably better, removing the necessity for passengers to change buses.

City centre shoppers and commuters, they say, will also benefit from the new Glider service, which will run from early morning to late at night.

This week I got a preview ride on a Glider, which as well as providing direct cross-city services between the east and the west of Belfast is also linking the city centre with the Titanic Quarter, largely with tourists in mind.

For a seasoned sceptic whose resistance to change is a given, my first impressions as driver John Fennell glided away from the park and ride facility at Dundonald were surprisingly good.

As, indeed ,was the entire Glider ride.

Cinty Stubberfield, the Glider project engagement manager, gave me the lowdown on the high-tech service, which she said was hopefully going to cut down travel time in Belfast by 25% to 30%.

Three factors, she said, would speed up the journeys. Firstly, the Glider itself is significantly bigger than the existing single decker and double decker Metro buses, which can carry 54 and 74 passengers respectively.

The 18-metre Glider can accommodate 105 passengers, 63 of them standing. And passengers won't be paying the driver, who can monitor what's happening on and around his vehicle with a series of cameras.

Secondly, on-street ticketing machines will allow passengers to pay for their journeys in advance with cash or cards, or they can tap smartcards on special machines, with everything designed to make the boarding process faster.

Fares are the same as on the Metro buses, which will still operate on routes in Belfast along with feeder services for the Glider in parts of the east and west of the city.

For this inveterate fare-dodger from the Seventies, who was passing the very stop near Stormont that he used to start his journeys as a youthful miscreant, the question was obvious how will Translink stop people using the Glider without paying?

The Glider back-sliders will regularly face the wrath on the buses of two CRPOs the modern day equivalent of the old Citybus inspectors, who were often harder to dodge than the fares.

The customer revenue and protection officers will have a hand-held device to check that passengers have valid tickets or have tapped their cards. If they haven't they'll face a 50 penalty fare or possible legal action.

The Gliders have three doors that can be used by everyone, but the front one gives priority to passengers with disabilities and the back one prioritises parents with prams.

Cinty says: "We did an awful lot of work before the Gliders were built to ensure the facilities for disabled people would be right. For instance, a number of wheelchair users told us that if we could make the area for them a wee bit bigger, it would make all the difference.

"People with sight impairments said the fixed seating we were planning wouldn't allow their guide dogs to sit under the seats as they prefer them to do, so that was altered."

The third element of the Translink strategy to improve the transport system is the increased frequency of Gliders.

Services on the main Glider route, the G1, from east to west, will operate at peak times every seven or eight minutes, and the G2, which covers the Titanic Quarter, will run every 10 minutes.

Thirty of the vehicles have been purchased and another two are on the way.

In west Belfast, unlike the east, there's no park and ride at the end of the line, but rather a 2m Colin Connect town centre transport hub and civic square on the Stewartstown Road.

Work on the project won't be finished in time for Glider roll-out, but Translink hopes it will be completed in November.

The journey from east to west Belfast took around an hour, but in reality few passengers will complete the whole journey, just as not many people on the London Underground travel the entire Piccadilly Line from Cockfosters to Heathrow airport.

The Glider is quiet - in some ways too quiet - but it's equipped with a distinctive bell that drivers can ring to alert pedestrians to the presence of the bus.

On our trip there were few cars or lorries blocking the bus lanes, though on the Falls Road an Ulsterbus which had been involved in a collision with a pedestrian caused a partial obstruction, but the Glider simply overtook it and travelled on.

Come September 3, it's hard to imagine that the introduction of Glider will go without hitches, especially for members of the public who haven't paid attention to leaflets and advertising.

However, Translink will have a team of 60 volunteers on the streets at the Glider halts to explain to prospective passengers how to use the new service and the accompanying machines at its 102 halts.

West Belfast man Paul Cosgrove has been driving buses for 24 years, but he was keen to jump on the Gliders, which he said were a "joy to drive".

He adds: "You don't have to deal with collecting money anymore. You can concentrate on driving and safety. It's a completely different set-up on the Glider, where the state-of-the-art driver's seat is more towards the centre of the enclosed cab.

"The Glider is really a bus with a big end on it and it's no wider than an ordinary vehicle. After a while you get used to driving it. They are surprisingly manoeuvrable. Reversing can be tricky, but in normal day-to-day operations there shouldn't be too much call for us to do that."

Paul dismisses claims that the Gliders can't take corners. He says the myth came about after a video on social media showed a vehicle having difficulty negotiating a turn from North Road onto the Upper Newtownards Road.

He explains: "That was a diversionary route that would only be used in emergencies and the driver was a bit concerned before he was reassured that he had lots of room."

John Fennell, who's been a driver for 15 years, says the Glider concept is completely different from the Metro buses.

He says: "It's a fantastic vehicle to drive. And it's marvellous to be part of a new innovation."

George Weir, who has worked in public transport for 26 years, has been instructing drivers on how to handle the new vehicles, which are diesel hybrids with high-voltage electricity on them.

George explains: "You have a battery pack unit on the roof, and when there's sufficient power in the batteries it switches the diesel engine at the back off.

"And when the batteries start to expire, it switches the engine on and the batteries are charged again and the whole process starts again. It's more environmentally friendly."

More than 100 jobs have been created by the Glider project and a new engineering centre has been built at Milewater Road.

As for the Glider idea, the Department of Infrastructure has expressed its intention to extend the network to potentially link north and south Belfast.

But sources said the extension would be subject to the impact of the east-west Glider and the availability of funds in the absence of Stormont.

So there's no guarantee that after waiting ages for one Glider service to arrive, another one will come along any time soon.

Appeal for patience as bus hits streets

Translink chief executive Chris Conway has appealed to people in Belfast to work with the company as it prepares to introduce the new Glider buses onto the city's streets in just over a week's time.

Translink urged the public to be patient and give the new rapid transit system a chance.

"When passengers get out on the service and understand it better, we think they will approve and see the benefits for the city and for themselves," Mr Conway said.

The new Glider has been designed to provide a fast and frequent direct service between east and west Belfast, and there'll also be a link between the city centre and the Titanic Quarter.

Mr Conway said that introducing the 90m Glider as part of Belfast Rapid Transit has been a complex operation, but he's confident it will work despite the highly publicised opposition to its 12-hour bus lanes.

He added: "It is a big change, but we are planning for the future. We only have so much road space in Belfast, and we have to make more efficient use of it. In terms of the bus lanes, the trend has been for them to become accepted in other areas of Belfast as a good solution."

Mr Conway said the decision to introduce Glider had not been taken lightly. "We've studied many similar systems in other countries like France, where they had the same challenges of winning over hearts and minds at the beginning too. But once they were bedded in, they were generally seen as good for their cities.

"We need to encourage more motorists to use public transport. If you look at the population and business growth that's predicted in the city - and the projections in the council's Belfast agenda for the future - you can see that many of our road junctions will fail in time because there will be just so much traffic going through them.

"We have to address that - and that's what the Glider is starting to do, hopefully."

Mr Conway said that Translink, which has been involved in a massive advertising and outreach programme to inform the public about how to use the Glider and its off-vehicle ticketing system, will listen to the response from passengers.

He added: "It's important for us to take heed of any issues that we need to fine-tune. But ultimately this is about looking to the future. We can see some of these issues coming at us in four or five years' time and we need to begin implementing measures now."

Originally in Belfast there was a proposal to use the Comber Greenway for a light rail system, but the idea was abandoned.

The Glider is only the start of a major re-invention of - and investment - in Translink's operations.

Metro and Ulsterbus services will get new ticketing systems on and off the vehicles next year, and by 2020 Northern Ireland Railways will also see similar changes.

A huge new transport hub is planned for the area around Great Victoria Street and Sandy Row, which will integrate bus and rail services.

Local residents are currently fighting proposals to demolish the Boyne Bridge to accommodate the new hub in an area christened Weaver's Cross to reflect the heritage of the nearby linen industry.Police at the scene last year where two members of staff were attacked at McDonaghs Pharmacy on the Falls Road

A man who stabbed a chemist during an attempted robbery to get drugs to feed his addiction was yesterday handed a 12-year prison sentence.

At Belfast Crown Court Patrick Campbell (28), of no fixed abode, was told he would serve six years in custody followed by six years on supervised licence on his release.

Judge Geoffrey Miller QC told Campbell that as part of his licence conditions he would have to live at approved Probation Service accommodation.

The judge said that during the licence period the defendant would also have to be "electronically tagged for such period as is deemed both proportionate and necessary to monitor his behaviour".

Campbell pleaded guilty to robbery, two counts of attempted robbery, possession of a knife, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and assault on police.

Prosecution lawyer David Russell told the court Campbell entered a retail unit at the Spires Mall in Belfast city centre on April 5, 2017, and placed a knife on the counter. He told a shop worker: "I need you to open the till, don't do anything stupid."

She told him it was empty and he told her not to take any pictures of him with her phone, and after checking the till he said: "Thanks."

The court heard that in the early hours of April 6, 2017, a woman was walking along Beechmount Avenue in west Belfast after collecting medicine for her sick child. "She was approached by a male who asked for directions. He then produced a three to four-inch long knife, put it 30cm from her stomach and told her: "Give me everything you have." The woman gave him her mobile phone and Campbell told her: "Right, now f*** off."

Mr Russell said that around 9.30am on the same date Campbell entered McDonagh's Pharmacy on the Falls Road in west Belfast armed with a knife. "There were three members of staff in the pharmacy, namely Peter Wright, Paul McDonagh and Sheila Rooney," said the prosecution lawyer.

"Mr Wright noted the accused had a mask coming up to his nose area and a knife in his right hand. He came to the counter and said a couple of times: 'I want all your Tramadol'.

"Mr Wright did not reply and the accused lunged, stabbing him in the upper left side of his chest close to his heart.

"Mr Wright went to obtain a towel to stem the flow of blood and when he returned he saw the accused struggling with Mr McDonagh, who had also been injured."

The struggle continued until Mr Wright had restrained Campbell and police arrived at the scene. Campbell was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for treatment, where "he was abusive to police and racially abusive to staff".

Defence QC Richard Green told the court that Campbell had been abusing drugs since the age of 14 and had a history of mental health illness and later started abusing alcohol.

Passing sentence, Judge Miller accepted an assessment by the risk management team of the Probation Service who concluded that Campbell did not pose a danger to the public in the future.

As well as receiving 12 years for attempted robbery of the pharmacy, Campbell was handed concurrent sentences totalling 32 years and eight months for robbery, attempted robbery, wounding, possessing a knife and assault on police.A lottery ticket that travelled around Ireland and wasn't checked for weeks turned out to be worth 1 million for a syndicate of charity workers.

The 23-strong strong from the Greater Shantallow Area Partnership will pocket more than 43k each after discovering that the EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker code on their ticket for the draw on Tuesday July 31 was a winner.

Ten days ago The National Lottery started a search for the unclaimed prize.

Syndicate manager Rory McParland was holidaying around Ireland at the time, unaware that a 1m prize was tucked in his wallet as he toured through Wicklow, Kilkenny, Killarney, Dingle, Tralee and Galway.

It wasn't until the 44-year-old returned home that he heard news of the unclaimed prize from his fellow syndicate members.

"The news of an unclaimed 1m ticket had obviously spread around Derry," said Mr McParland, who is well-known for keeping tickets in his wallet for weeks without checking.

"So when I got home from holiday, the rest of the syndicate were naturally eager for me to check our tickets and see if we were the lucky winners.

"I took my tickets back to the SuperValu store where we'd bought them in the first place.

"As she checked the tickets, the shop assistant told me that we'd won 3 on one line, 5.20 on another and then 7.60 on another - which is our usual form.

"Then she stopped and said that we were going to have to call The National Lottery about one particular line, as she wouldn't be able to pay that amount over the counter.

"I rushed back to work and gathered as many colleagues together as I could to tell them the news.

"Then we all started checking our phones and the internet to see if we could find out how much we'd won.

"All of a sudden, people were saying: 'I think we've won a million'. And before we knew it, we were all jumping around the place, going mad, shouting and cheering.

"I think there were even a few tears shed. It was an incredible moment that I, and I'm sure all involved, will never forget."

He added that they were still trying to come to terms with what had happened and take it all in.

"It still doesn't seem real for any of us. We're just a group of ordinary people," he said.

"To think that this one win will change the lives of 23 families is amazing, whatever each member chooses to spend it on.

"I love holidaying in my touring caravan and have been wanting to buy a new car for ages, so I think that I'll be spending some of my winnings on that."The principal of Methodist College walked to school yesterday - but this time it was at the end of a gruelling week-long hike of 150 miles.

Scott Naismith took on the mission to follow in the footsteps of the man who founded the Belfast institution more than 150 years ago.

Sir William McArthur was Methody's original benefactor and laid the first stone on August 24, 1865. The school opened three years later.

To mark the milestone, Mr Naismith began his walk from McArthur's home village of Malin, Co Donegal, on August 18.

Setting out at 7am every day, he hiked for up to 10 hours, managing an average of 27 miles.

As he completed his trek yesterday, Mr Naismith said: "The support I've had from parents, pupils and staff has been overwhelming."

The route took him from Malin to Londonderry, Aghanloo, Portstewart, Ballycastle, Carnlough, with the final stage down the Shore Road from Whitehead to the college in south Belfast.

"The toughest stretch was actually along the north coast, from Portstewart to Ballycastle. It is a lovely, gorgeous stretch of the coastline, but it was very busy with traffic," he said.

"It was lovely, though, to see so many tourists enjoying the scenery. The Ballycastle to Carnlough stretch was also tough going as the weather was wet and wild on pretty mountainous territory.

"Once I dropped down on to the coast road, though, it was gorgeous, walking along the sea for the past two-and-a-half days.

"My feet were often sore and my knees were giving way, but people would stop to encourage or donate a wee bit of money and that just lifted me."

Accommodation for the trip came from a mixture of friends, family and B&Bs.

"All of them were superbly accommodating, they would make up a fry in tin foil and my wife would bring it to me a few hours into my walk, which was something to look forward to."

Yesterday's final stretch began at 4.30am.

Mr Naismith added: "There was a gorgeous sunrise over Carrickfergus and I just reached the outskirts of Belfast by around 9am.

"It was euphoric when I met up with the new first years for the final stage of the walk. There was so much excitement about coming together for the 150th celebrations and starting the (school) fair."

He had hoped to raise 15,000 for college funds, but already 27,000 has been collected.Steven Laverty prepares to have his final treatment at Laserase in Belfast

It was a stag do prank which almost had lasting consequences - but after more than a year of treatment Steven Laverty is almost rid of his unusual eyelid embellishments.

The 25-year-old call-centre worker from east Belfast made headlines from New York to Australia in February 2017 after he got the phrase 'whata boutye' tattooed on his eyelids, during a trip to Benidorm.

Steven sneaked off during the three-day drinking binge to get the tattoo inked across both eyelids - despite warning pleas from his mother and his pals.

As a result, he endured endless teasing and curious stares, and had to keep his head down when he walked his toddler, Tommy, to nursery school.

But help was at hand for Steven from an unexpected source. Dr Donal McKeown, a laser specialist, read Steven's story online, and offered his expertise in tattoo removal.

A year on, the results have been well worth the wait.

"In all my 25 years of removing tattoos, I've seen them on every other part of the body but never on the upper eyelids," said Dr McKeown, who is based on Belfast's Antrim Road.

"I've even removed them from the inside of the mouth, but Steven's case was unique, and quite difficult. I had to proceed very cautiously, with the laser down at low levels."

Steven, from Tullycarnet, was in Spain as part of a 15-strong group celebrating his cousin James's upcoming marriage, when he drunkenly decided to get the 22 (20) 'whata boutye' tattoo.

A year and a half on, he is thrilled to be finally free of his daft eyelid doodles.

"The laser was worse pain than the tattoos but it was definitely worth it," he said.

"Dr McKeown is brilliant, spot-on. I thought I'd have these things for life, but he knew exactly what to do. My mother and Tommy's mother weren't too impressed when they saw them and I took an awful lot of slagging, but thankfully, that's all died down now. You'd really have to look closely to see any trace of them."

Steven and his stag party pals had been in a Benidorm bar all afternoon when Steven decided to add the 'whata boutye' tattoo to his collection, which includes inking on his backside.

"When we came out of the bar, they all went for a walk down to the beach and I just ducked out and walked until I found the tattoo parlour," he recalled. "I told them what I wanted and that was that.

"The fella wanted 60 (54) for it but I only had 22, so that's what I gave him. It was probably a good job, because a more expensive tattoo would have been harder to remove."

Steven had flown to Benidorm from Belfast for a three-night stay and admitted he 'lost count' of how much he had to drink before going under the needle.

Steven is single, but can now use his brown eyes to woo the girls, instead of scaring them off.

"I think I'll have a better chance with them now," he said. "And I'll not be getting inked again in a hurry, I'll tell you that."

Over the last 18 months, he has undergone more than a dozen laser treatments on a bi-monthly basis, with dramatic results. The tattoo on his left eye is 95% gone; the other is 97%, according to Dr McKeown.

"The laser breaks up the ink into very small particles and the body's own natural defence system removes it from the body," he explained. "Steven has been a very good patient.

"I was concerned he'd be prone to swelling and bruising at the start, as we were dealing with very delicate skin, but he tolerated the treatments well.

"Fortunately, Steven's tattoo was in a blue-black ink, which is easier to remove than other colours. I once had a patient with spider's web tattoo all over one side of his face - he was lucky it was done in the same sort of blue-black ink that can be broken down."

A former west Belfast GP, Dr McKeown has removed hundreds of tattoos, including paramilitary slogans and insignia, over the last two decades.The son of the late First Minister of Northern Ireland Ian Paisley, has criticised Protestant churchmen who decided to meet Pope Francis during his trip to Dublin.

Writing in The Times Rev Kyle Paisley said that he could not understand why any Protestant churchmen would want to meet the Pope due to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

His father founded the Free Presbyterian Church and served as moderator for many years.

Presbyterian Church Moderator Dr Charles McMullan joined other religious leaders, as well as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, at a civic reception for the Pope in Dublin Castle on Saturday.

The DUP, the political party founded by Ian Paisley, was the only major political party in Northern Ireland to decline to send a representative to the event.

Kyle Paisley warned that it was only a matter of time before a Papal visit to Northern Ireland as "Protestantism continues to weaken".

Rev Paisley wrote that since the death of his father in 2014 "there is hardly a Protestant protagonist of any note left in Ulster".

The Rev Paisley, who is a minister at Oulton Broad Free Presbyterian Church in Suffolk, wrote that he believed no Pope would set foot in Northern Ireland while his father was alive and admitted his surprise that Pope Francis had not elected to visit Northern Ireland as part of his trip.

"The best player can miss an open goal. But I cannot forget that Francis is a Jesuit. Jesuits are not known for being blunderers, but for their subtlety. They are wise as serpents," he wrote.

"If Protestantism continues to weaken and gives the impression of aloofness from controversy  perish the thought  it would make a papal visit inevitable."

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Rev Paisley criticised unionists on Belfast City Council for abstaining from a vote on inviting Pope Francis to Belfast in 2014.

"What concerns me more than anything is the mans view of himself and how it reflects on the teachings of scripture," he wrote.

"I cannot understand why any Protestant churchmen would want to meet the Pope anywhere."

Rev Paisley directly criticised Dr McMullan for deciding to meet the Pope saying he was paying "lip service" by signing a confession which called the Pope "the man of sin and son of perdition".

"I would have more time for Presbyterian ministers who rewrote the confession or separated from their church to form another than for those whose profession is in letter only and who go on to compromise the honour of the son of God," he wrote.

"Thankfully there are dissenting voices within Irish Presbyterianism."Broadcasters have scheduled a number of special programmes to cover the Pope's visit.

Today from 11.30am on BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle, William Crawley will present live coverage of the start of the visit.

A BBC Newsline Special: The Papal Visit begins on BBC Two NI at 12pm, which will see Donna Traynor present a special edition of the programme.

The BBC Newsline special resumes on BBC Two NI at 7.20pm as the Pope attends the World Meeting of Families at Croke Park.

Tomorrow morning coverage begins on BBC Radio Ulster/Foyle with Sunday Sequence live from Phoenix Park from 8.30am, followed by Morning Service, broadcasting from the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, led by Father Martin Magill at 10.15am.

Tomorrow night on BBC One NI, Tara Mills presents BBC Newsline Special: The Papal Visit from 10.30pm.

UTV is hosting a special show tomorrow night at 6.15 pm which is presented by Paul Clark and Sarah Clarke.

RTE has 17 hours of live coverage, which will begin at 10am on RTE One this morning and will continue until 9pm with only a short break.

Coverage will switch to RTE2 in the evening as the Pope makes his way to Croke Park to take part in the Festival of Families.The papal cross and altar in Dublins Phoenix Park, where Pope Francis will celebrate Mass on Sunday

This weekend sees the first visit to Ireland by a Pope for almost 40 years, a welcome occasion for some but one shrouded in controversy for others.

The Roman Catholic Church's dominance in Ireland has certainly been diminished since John Paul II's visit in 1979 in terms of political clout and church attendance, largely as a result of the severe reputational damage caused by years of scandals and institutional abuse which have come to light since then.

There is certainly a lot of hurt felt by a great many Catholics, both in the Republic and in Northern Ireland, and it is my sincere prayer that Pope Francis' visit will be the beginning of real and meaningful steps being taken to heal these hurts.

When I agreed to be the Ulster Unionist representative to attend the event at Dublin Castle, the potential for healing was very much at the forefront of my mind.

The UUP is a political party, not one which belongs to any single denomination.

However, those that know me will be aware that my politics and my faith are intertwined.

I am a born again Christian and I believe that the message of Jesus Christ is ultimately one of hope and compassion, and it is in this light that I feel called to show love and respect, especially where it is needed most.

Historic hurts will always make this a difficult thing to do for any person or institution, however, I do not feel that I can, in good conscience, demand the Catholic Church show respect to victims and their families if I refuse to show respect to the Church itself.

Over the years I spent as a Fire and Rescue Officer, I sadly saw a great many incidences of trauma and I know first-hand the burden on families' lives that trauma can bring, especially when it is allowed to fester for years. I believe Pope Francis' visit this weekend is more important than that of John Paul II in 1979 because this could be the last real chance for any pontiff to take meaningful steps towards healing these wounds.

Indeed, for many it is sadly too late, but that only reinforces how crucial this opportunity is now. It needs to be remembered that the Catholic Church has been a central feature in many people's lives.

If a political party were to refuse to send someone after being invited to meet the head of the Catholic Church, what kind of message does that send?

Refusing to show respect on this level only feeds into a narrative of division and mistrust, which I believe will only continue to frustrate any chance to bring Northern Ireland forward.

As I write this, it appears the DUP have refused the invitation to attend, which I struggle to understand.

This visit is an opportunity to show the world, but also to show ourselves, that Northern Ireland is ready to move forward, away from the hurts and divisions of the past and towards a more inclusive future for everyone.

This is why I want to make sure that a forward-thinking unionism is represented at this visit.

I have received many messages of encouragement and support since I announced I would be attending; however, I have also had several messages of caution from those who are upset or even outraged by my decision.

Whilst I have spoken directly to some of those who are upset and gently reminded them that Queen Elizabeth has met five Popes during her reign, some, however, will not listen to me and have labelled me a litany of names.

One thing needs to be made clear: I am not attending to pledge any kind of allegiance to the Catholic Church, nor am I going to shout words of condemnation. Simply put, I am going to show respect and to treat others as I would like them to treat me.

This is potentially the final opportunity for Pope Francis and the Catholic Church to address the enduring hurt and pain of the victims and families of institutional abuse and I hope his visit will be a catalyst for healing and restoration.

I am a confident Christian and I am a confident unionist. I have no doubt that as I travel back home from Dublin on Saturday evening I will remain these things.

Robbie Butler is Ulster Unionist MLA for Lagan ValleyIreland is backing a bid to build a Great Green Wall of trees in one of Africas most parched regions (Brian Lawless/PA)

A bid to plant a million trees as part of the re-greening of one of Africas most parched regions was on the Irish Presidents agenda for a meeting with the Pope on Saturday.

Michael D Higgins is backing the Laudato Tree Project and efforts to build a Great Green Wall on the continent.

The Republic has been invited by the United Nations to take a leadership role in helping combat desertification in a massive swathe of land south of the Sahara known as the Sahel.

A 1.2 million euro (1.1 million) Irish Government investment is expected to kick-start the effort to create a lasting legacy from the Popes visit to Ireland.

The executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Monique Barbut, said: During our meeting in Dublin earlier this year, I was deeply impressed by the passionate commitment of the Society of African Missions in supporting worldwide efforts to achieve the 2030 Great Green Wall vision.

In recognition of your excellent work, we would like to nominate the Society of African Missions (SMA) for the 2018-19 UNCCD Land for Life Awards, which provides global recognition to individuals and organisations whose work and initiatives have made a significant contribution to scaling-up action in protecting and rehabilitating land resources worldwide.

The SMA has asked President Higgins to speak to Pope Francis about an invitation from the President and religious leaders of Burkina Faso to visit the Sahel region to see for himself the impact of global warming and how the people of Burkina Faso and the region are working to combat the impact of desertification through growing the Great Green Wall.

Africas Great Green Wall aims to restore 100 million hectares of land; provide food security for 20 million people; create 350,000 jobs; and capture 250 million tons of carbon by 2030.

When completed, it will span 13 countries. It will measure 8,000km (4,970 miles) long and 15km (9 miles) wide.

Irelands role would also involve schools, parishes and community groups in planting trees in Ireland, increasing biodiversity and contributing to atmospheric improvement.

The project takes its name from a 2015 papal encyclical by Pope Francis, Laudato Si, on caring for the environment, and is intended to be a visible expression of the encyclicals intervention.

It will transform donations into the planting of six trees in total: one tree in Ireland and five trees along the Great Green Wall.

This also includes the after-care of the trees and the training of Great Green Wall guardian communities who will plant and take care of the trees for future generations.

Each donation will be used to plant a tree in a woodland in Ireland and to plant five trees on Africas Great Green Wall, running through northern Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Some will be invested in Ireland, promoting climate justice, the planting of trees (including 10 years aftercare), and increasing Irelands biodiversity.

Irelands tree coverage is currently the lowest in Europe at 11%. The average tree coverage throughout the European Union is 37%.The Pope has spent 90 minutes meeting Irish survivors of clerical abuse and mistreatment in Dublin.

The polite and cordial discussion focused on the plight of past residents of Catholic homes for mothers and babies and victims of forced and illegal adoption.

The meeting took place at the Papal Nuncios residence. The Papal Nuncio is the Popes diplomatic representative to Ireland.

A letter from survivors released afterwards said: Around 100,000 single mothers who were forcibly separated from their babies were regularly told it was a mortal sin to search for, or even contact, their own sons and daughters.

As an act of healing, Pope Francis, we ask that you make it clear to the now elderly and dying community of natural mothers and adoptees that there is no sin in reunion and rather that it is a joyous event that should be encouraged and facilitated by the Catholic Church.

They said many natural mothers and adoptees will be in attendance at a papal Mass on Sunday.

Expand Close Pairs of baby shoes with black laces have been hung up across Dublin in memory of the children who died in Mother and Baby homes across Ireland (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Pairs of baby shoes with black laces have been hung up across Dublin in memory of the children who died in Mother and Baby homes across Ireland (Niall Carson/PA)

The letter added: Five orders and congregations of Catholic nuns ran Irelands notorious Mother and Baby homes where over 6,000 babies and children died as well as dozens of young mothers.

These nuns have never taken responsibility for their wilful neglect. We ask you, Pope Francis, to publicly call on these nuns to acknowledge their actions and issue an unqualified apology to all the survivors of their institutions.

We also request that you call on these nuns to immediately commit to paying the full cost of the current inquiry and any redress that may be awarded in the future.

The papal visit to Ireland has so far been dominated by the Vaticans response to clerical abuse.

Clodagh Malone, who was born in Saint Patricks Mother and Baby home in Dublin and adopted at 10 weeks old, asked the Pope to publicly state that the natural mothers who lost their babies to adoption had done nothing wrong, and call for reconciliation and reunion for these families broken by the Catholic Church both in Ireland and around the world.

The Pope agreed to include the message in his Mass on Sunday, survivors said.

Paul Redmond, who was born in Castlepollard Mother and Baby home in Co Westmeath and adopted at 17 days, asked the Pope to publicly call upon the orders of nuns who ran the homes to immediately accept their responsibilities for the horror that went on for generations in the homes, issue an unqualified and sincere apology, and pay the full costs of inquiries and redress in Ireland as a matter of urgency.

The Pope did apologise to all for what happened in the homes, the survivors said.

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Their statement added: Pope Francis condemned corruption and cover up within the church as caca.

Literally filth as one sees in a toilet, his translator clarified.

Mr Redmond said they hope there will be more movement from the church on the issue of Mother and Baby homes.

The Pope was genuinely shocked to hear about the 6,000 babies who died and the 3,000 banished babies lifted his hands to his head in shock.

Ms Malone said it was a powerful meeting.

He listened with a genuine interest, and he asked many questions about Mother and Baby homes.Final preparations are under way ahead of the Pope's arrival in Ireland today.

Pope Francis will visit for a two-day tour encompassing Dublin and Knock, Co Mayo.

A papal Mass tomorrow, which is the centrepiece of the World Meeting of Families (WMOF), is expected to be attended by half a million people.

The WMOF pastoral congress has seen tens of thousands of people from over 110 countries flood through the doors of the RDS, however it is an event that has been overshadowed by the Catholic Church's treatment of clerical abuse survivors.

Pope Francis has said he will meet with victims abuse in private.

But survivors, campaigners and the wider public will be waiting to hear whether he address the issue in public.

Robbie Butler MLA will be attending today's Dublin Castle event on behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party.

The DUP declined to send a representative after receiving an invite.

In today's Belfast Telegraph, the Lagan Valley MLA explains why he feels the papal visit can be a force for healing.

But he also reveals that some have criticised his decision to participate today.

He said: "I have received many messages of encouragement and support since I announced I would be attending; however, I have also had several messages of caution from those who are upset or even outraged by my decision.

"Whilst I have spoken directly to some of those who are upset and gently reminded them that Queen Elizabeth has met five Popes during her reign, some, however, will not listen to me.

"Simply put, I am going to show respect and to treat others as I would like them to treat me."

As he travels to Dublin, another gesture of outreach will be taking place in Co Tyrone where SDLP councillor Mairia Cahill has accepted an invitation to meet officials of the Royal Black Institution at their annual demonstration.

Ms Cahill grew up in a staunchly republican family in west Belfast and now serves as an SDLP councillor for Lisburn and Castlereagh.

"I'm very pleased to get the invitation," she said last night.

"When anybody reaches out, the correct and courteous thing to do is reach out if you can.

Ms Cahill added of her own journey of reconciliation: "People know the IRA connection in my family to Joe Cahill.

"But my great-grandfather, who I knew and was very close to, was a member of both the Irish and British Army.

"There's no point in preaching to other people about reconciliation if you're not prepared to go the extra mile yourself.

"It's a step for the Royal Black to invite me as much as it is for me to attend it."

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long had to withdraw from the Dublin Castle event for family reasons.

The party will be represented by Strangford MLA Kellie Armstrong.Representatives of the LGBT community have been invited to attend the State welcome for Pope Francis in Dublin Castle today.

The Irish Government has extended its invitation list for the event far beyond the normal protocol for such functions.

Schoolchildren from Derry and a host of politicians from north of the border will also be in attendance.

The event will involve a short private meeting between Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the pontiff before both men make a 10-minute speech.

This will be the first public statement by Pope Francis on Irish soil and will be carefully scrutinised around the world for any reference to the child abuse scandals.

His Alitalia flight from Rome will touch down in Dublin Airport at 10.30am where he will be greeted by Tanaiste Simon Coveney.

Unusually, Mr Coveney will be accompanied by his wife Ruth and three children Beth (9), Jessica (7) and Annalise (5). The children will present the Pope with flowers.

He will then be given a Garda escort to Aras an Uachtarain to meet President Michael D Higgins and Children's Minister Katherine Zappone.

Tomorrow night Aer Lingus will bring the pontiff home on board a chartered flight that will accommodate 126 people, including Vatican staff and journalists.

The on-board menu has an option of oven-baked smoked salmon with braised savoy cabbage or basil pesto risotto. Passion fruit mousse is on offer for dessert.

The papal flag and an Irish Tricolour will be flown from the cockpit for both pushback and landing in both Dublin and Knock.The clerical child sex abuse scandal has rocked the Catholic Church over the last two decades.

Allegations of sexual abuse by members of the Catholic institutions and clerics began to emerge from the late 1980s.

However, it was not until the 1990s that revelations of paedophile priests and sex abuse in childrens homes was publicly exposed following pressure from victims and survivors as well as public opinion and media reports.

A number of criminal cases and Irish government inquiries exposed the extent of horrific crimes and uncovered details of how hundreds of priests abused thousands of children over decades.

 Paedophile priest Brendan Smyth

One of the most infamous cases was Belfast-born paedophile Brendan Smyth who abused over 140 children over four decades.

Smyth was arrested in 1994 in Belfast but went on the run to the Republic of Ireland where he spent three years.

The mishandling of his extradition led to the collapse of the Irish government.

The revelations led to a number of inquiries set up in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

 The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse

Commonly known as the Ryan Report, the inquiry looked into child abuse in institutions run by religious orders.

It was established in May 2000 and went on to detail horrific neglect by religious congregations who were left to look after children.

It documented the rape and sexual assault of children, who were kicked, physically assaulted, and forced to carry out labour.

More than 90% of witnesses reportedly being physically abused.

The report, published in 2009 made a number of recommendations including those to help protect children.

The redress scheme cost more than 1.25 billion euro.

 The Ferns Report

The report, published in October 2005, documented more than 100 allegations of child sexual abuse made between 1962 and 2002 against 21 priests in the Diocese of Ferns.

The report, which addressed how allegations were handled, and stated that between 1960 and 1980 it appeared that Bishop Donal Herlihy treated child sexual abuse by priests of his diocese exclusively as a moral problem.

 The Murphy report

The 2009 Murphy report investigated allegations of child sexual abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin over the period 1975 to 2004.

Released by Judge Yvonne Murphy, the report examined complaints about the alleged sexual abuse of over 320 children.

The report consisted of three volumes and cost a total of 3.6 million euro.

It stated that the four archbishops, John Charles McQuaid, Dermot Ryan, Kevin McNamara, and Desmond Connell, who were serving during that period, handled complaints badly.

One of the priests who admitted abuse stated he did so more than 100 times.

Another did so fortnightly for 25 years.

Along with clergy, the Gardai were accused in the report of covering up the scandal.

 The Historical Institutional Abuse inquiry

The HIA looked into historical allegations of abuse in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995.

The largest number of complaints stemmed from four different Catholic-run institutions.

Chaired by Sir Anthony Hart, it found found that priests and lay people sexually abused children.

Last year, Sir Anthony recommended compensation, a memorial and a public apology to abuse survivors.

However, the collapse of the Northern Ireland government has led to a delay in implementing his findings.

 Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes

The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was set up following claims of mass burials of hundreds of children at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway.

There has also been evidence of illegal adoptions in Church-run institutions.

It is ongoing.

 Pope apology

In March 2010, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a pastoral letter of apology for all of the abuse that had been carried out by Catholic clergy in Ireland.

In May 2010, Pope Benedict established a formal panel to investigate the sex abuse scandal, saying that it could serve as a healing mechanism for the country and its Catholics.

In August 2018, Pope Francis apologised in an open letter to victims of clerical abuse saying that no effort will be spared to prevent abuse and its cover up in the future.Tomorrow I will be in Dublin to report on Pope Francis and the closing mass in Phoenix Park.

I have a special professional interest in attending, because I also covered the visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland some 40 years ago. Papal visits are significant milestones in any reporter's career.

Would I go to Dublin if I was not reporting the event? Probably not, for practical reasons only, but I am aware of the magnitude of the event.

If I were the leader of the DUP, God forbid, would I meet the Pope? Most certainly, as it would be my duty to do so and to demonstrate leadership to the rest of the DUP, which claims to work for all people but has failed to take this opportunity to show generosity and vision.

Even worse, the DUP is not sending anyone to Dublin. This is an insult to the Roman Catholic population and a cynical calculation that they can brazen it out, knowing that their bigoted core voters will support them.

Can there be a more politically inept party? It is doing more to destabilise the Union than all the republicans, violent and peaceful, put together over the last 40 years.

However, the Presbyterian Church is sending its Moderator to a papal reception in Dublin Castle.

The first meeting between an Irish Presbyterian Moderator and a Pope on Irish soil is historically and symbolically important. The Presbyterians did not allow their Moderator to meet Pope John Paul II in Dublin in 1979, but the then Assembly Clerk, Dr Jack Weir, stepped out of line and went to Dublin anyway.

There was also uncertainty when Pope Benedict visited the UK in 2010. The then Moderator, the Very Rev Dr Norman Hamilton, attended an ecumenical Westminster Abbey service at which the Pope was present, but he did not meet him afterwards. However, the then Assembly Clerk, the Rev Donald Watts, met him in Scotland.

This time the somewhat tortuous Presbyterian on-off minuet with successive Popes was settled from the outset.

To the credit of the Assembly Clerk, the Rev Trevor Gribben, the Pope's visit was welcomed immediately and endorsed by the Church's large General Council, with only a few objections, which, I understand, were expressed graciously, though there are more robust objectors elsewhere within Presbyterianism.

It is fortunate that this year's Moderator, the Rt Rev Charles McMullen, also expressed his willingness to meet the Pope. This, of course, fits in well with this Moderator's theme of building relationships, though this has taken a Presbyterian battering in recent weeks, through no fault of his own. A less outgoing Moderator might have declined to attend, but the Church would have nominated another figure to go, with respect to Dr McMullen.

What is important is the fact that the Presbyterian Church, the largest Reformed Church in Northern Ireland, has approved of the visit, and this is significant in the current toxic atmosphere in so many areas of our public life.

In the run-up to the Pope's visit to Ireland, much attention has been paid so far, and rightly so, to the issue of the victims of clerical abuse.

At the time of writing, I don't know what the Pope will do or say about this during his visit, but everyone hopes he will leave a memorable legacy in dealing with this issue, which has caused so much pain.

Meanwhile, it is important to remember that the Pope's visit is also a confirmation of the commendable co-operation between the Catholic Church and the main Reformed Churches for many years.

It is a disgrace that our politicians have not managed to achieve this rapport, and it is sad that the DUP is still overshadowed by the late Ian Paisley's intense bigotry against Roman Catholicism, which predictably is still reflected in the Free Presbyterian Church.

As someone said on radio recently, "If the Moderator can go to meet the Pope, why can't a senior figure from the DUP do the same?"

The answer, most regrettably, is all too obvious.The world has failed to hold Myanmar accountable for atrocities committed against the stateless Rohingya minority, a global rights group said ahead of the first anniversary of a military campaign that drove more than 700,000 people to flee to Bangladesh.



Waves of Rohingya women, men and children began leaving their homes in northern Rakhine state after Aug. 25, 2017, when Myanmar security forces and Buddhist vigilante groups launched a crackdown that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.

This anniversary marks a shameful milestone, Tirana Hassan, Amnesty Internationals crisis response director, said in a statement.

By its continued failure to hold to account those responsible for crimes against humanity, the international community risks sending the message that Myanmars military will not only enjoy impunity but will be allowed to commit such atrocities again," she said. "We must not let this happen.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees are still in limbo in refugee camps in Bangladesh, Hassan said.

As long as their tormentors in Myanmars security forces remain at large, any notion that Rohingya refugees can have a safe, dignified and voluntary return home is farcical, she said. Lack of political will, not a lack of evidence, is at the root of the international communitys inaction.

In June, Amnesty accused 13 people, including Myanmars commander-in-chief, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, of playing key roles in atrocities against the Rohingya. During the past year Myanmar has remained staunchly unapologetic even as the U.N., U.S. and others described the military operations as ethnic cleansing.

The rights watchdogs scathing statement came a week after Washington imposed sanctions on four Myanmar military and police commanders and two army units.



The U.S. Treasury Departments sanctions did not touch Min Aung and also stopped short of labeling the military counterstrikes as genocide or crimes against humanity.

The sanctions targeted Myanmar military commanders Aung Kyaw Zaw, Khin Maung Soe and Khin Hlaing, as well as Thura San Lwin, a Border Guard Police commander. The sanctions freeze U.S. assets owned by the individuals, prohibit Americans from doing business with them, and bars their entry into the United States.

On Thursday, more than 130 lawmakers from across Southeast Asia issued a statement urging U.N. Security Council members to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

One year has passed since the Myanmar military launched its murderous operation in Rakhine State, yet we are no closer to seeing those responsible brought to justice, said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian lawmaker and chairman of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.

As Myanmar is clearly both unwilling and unable to investigate itself, we are now at a stage where the international community must step in to ensure accountability, Santiago said.

Continued mark of shame

Fortify Rights, an NGO, issued a report last month saying that Myanmar authorities had made extensive and systematic plans for attacks on Rohingya civilians in Rakhine months before Rohingya insurgents carried out deadly assaults on police outposts in August 2017.

The report detailed a campaign of violence by Myanmar forces targeting the Rohingya, including killings, torture, rape, and village burnings in three northern townships, in response to attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on Aug. 25, 2017.

The report identified 22 Myanmar military and police officials responsible for ordering the clearance operations, whom Fortify Rights said should be criminally investigated and potentially prosecuted by the ICC for genocide and crimes against humanity.

In the aftermath of the violence against the Rohingya, the world saw the most concentrated movement of refugees since the Rwandan genocide, Eric Paul of Fortify Rights said in a statement released Friday. He explained that more than a million Rohingya now eke out a marginal existence and living in abject poverty in southeastern Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar district.

Despite all this, and the increasing demands for international action against the Myanmar military for genocide and crimes against humanity  the likelihood of a durable solution and justice for the Rohingya remain as remote as ever, Paul said.

The inability of the United Nations and the international community to protect the Rohingya is a continued mark of shame that will almost certainly have repercussions further down the line.

Repatriation in doubt

Buddhist-ruled Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as an indigenous ethnic group, denying them citizenship and work opportunities and has pejoratively described them as illegal Bengali immigrants.



In April this year, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the World Bank Groups president, Jim Yong Kim, visited Bangladesh and Myanmar. At the end of their trip, they urged Myanmar to ensure the safe, voluntary and dignified return of the refugees to Rakhine.



Last November, Myanmar and Bangladesh reached an agreement on the repatriation of the Rohingya, but despite a series of discussions among diplomats and agencies, there are few signs that the refugees will go home anytime soon, officials and diplomats said.

But on Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleged that Myanmar authorities had tortured six Rohingya who returned to Rakhine from refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The torture of Rohingya returnees puts the lie to Myanmar government promises that refugees who return will be safe and protected, said Phil Robertson, HRWs deputy Asia director. Despite Myanmars rhetoric guaranteeing a safe and dignified return, the reality is that Rohingya who go back still face the persecution and abuses they were forced to flee.

We would ask them to kill us

Meanwhile, on the eve of the anniversary of the start of the unprecedented Rohingya exodus, BenarNews interviewed some 50 Rohingya refugees in Coxs Bazar, many of whom expressed morbid reluctance over the prospect of being sent back to Rakhine.

Are we going back with all our rights? We hope Bangladesh wont repatriate us without assurances from the Myanmar government. If Bangladesh forces us to go back before that, we would ask them to kill us in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugee Mohammad Foyezu Arakani told BenarNews.

Fellow refugee Mohammad Hossain echoed that sentiment.

If we dont get justice, we would rather die here in Bangladesh, he said. If required, we would commit suicide."For Immediate Release, August 24, 2018 Contacts: Catherine Kilduff, Center for Biological Diversity, (202) 780-8862, ckilduff@biologicaldiversity.org

Todd Steiner, Turtle Island Restoration Network, (415) 488-7652, tsteiner@tirn.net

Alicia Cordero, Wishtoyo Foundation, (805) 259-6976, aliciacordero@wishtoyo.org Lawsuit Settled to Protect Pacific Humpback Whale Habitat Trump Administration Agrees to Deadlines for Endangered Whales Threatened by Fishing Gear, Ship Strikes, Oil Spills SAN FRANCISCO The Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and Wishtoyo Foundation today reached a settlement with the Trump administration to protect humpback whale habitat in the Pacific Ocean, where the animals face threats from fisheries, ship strikes and oil spills. Todays agreement, filed in federal district court in San Francisco, requires the National Marine Fisheries Service to follow the Endangered Species Acts requirement to designate critical habitat by June 28, 2019, and finalize those boundaries a year later. Two Pacific Ocean humpback populations were listed as endangered, and a third as threatened, in September 2016. Todays victory means Pacific humpback whales will be safer in their ocean home, said Catherine Kilduff, a Center attorney. While delaying these protections, the Trump administration proposed opening the Pacific up to offshore oil drilling and let fishing gear tangle up dozens of humpbacks. This agreement ensures the whales will finally get the protections they need. One population of endangered humpback whales that feeds off Californias coast numbers around 400 individuals, meaning any death or injury from entanglement could hurt their recovery. At least 54 humpback whales were found tangled up in fishing gear off the West Coast in 2016. Entanglements cause injuries and death as the ropes cut into animals flesh, sap their strength and lead to drowning. Once again, when we challenged the Trump administrations attempt to illegally ignore environmental law in court, the Trump administration has been forced to change course, said Todd Steiner ecologist and executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network. We will continue to watchdog the process to ensure humpback whales are protected and have a fighting chance at survival and recovery. Ship strikes and oil spills are the other major threats to West Coast humpback whales. A study found that an estimated 22 humpbacks off California, Oregon and Washington die each year after being hit by ships. On Jan. 4 the Trump administration released its plan to invite offshore oil and gas drilling into every ocean in the country  despite the dangers of oil spills to whales and other marine life. In 2015 endangered humpback whales were observed swimming in the Refugio oil spill, which dumped at least 21,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean. The spill killed hundreds of marine mammals and birds, including dolphins and sea lions. Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation would like to express our gratitude for our partners and everyone who worked together on behalf of the protection of the humpback whales, said Alicia Cordero, First Nations program officer at the Wishtoyo Foundation. Appropriate designation of critical habitat is essential for ensuring the safety and well-being of our humpback whale relatives who have been navigating our coastal waters since time immemorial. Critical habitat protection will help safeguard ocean areas essential for migrating and feeding. The designation will ensure that federally permitted activities do not destroy or harm important whale habitat. Evidence shows that endangered or threatened species that have protected critical habitat are twice as likely to show signs of recovery as those without it. Humpback whale populations that need critical habitat were identified in 2016 by the National Marine Fisheries Service, including the threatened Mexico population that feeds off the U.S. West Coast and Alaska and the endangered Central America population that feeds almost exclusively off California and Oregon.Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Mark Lowcock said he echoed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call for "an impartial, independent and prompt investigation into these most recent incidents".

UNITED NATIONS: At least 22 children and four women were killed by a Saudi-led coalition air strike while fleeing fighting in Yemen, the UN aid chief said Friday, condemning attacks on civilians.

The coalition has come under increased pressure since an air strike killed more than 40 children this month.

A Saudi-led coalition airstrike allegedly killed at least 20 children in Yemen on Thursday, according to several reports from journalists on the ground.

The source said that the fighting broke out on Friday morning after a group of Houthi militias tried to infiltrate into the positions of the army in al-Bayad junction of al-Malajim Front, killing 13 Houthis and injuring dozens.

A statement cited by state-run Al Ekhbariya news channel did not identify the target of the attack but the rebel-run Saba news agency said the Houthis hit a Saudi military target inside the kingdom's territorial waters.

"I - once again - call for the warring parties, those who have influence over them, the UN Security Council and the worldwide community to take action and end this conflict once and for all", she further said, adding that the lives of thousands of "vulnerable children" all over the war-torn country "must be a priority for all".

It vowed to carry out an investigation after widespread condemnation of the attack on a bus carrying school children on 9 August.

In a 90-page report, Human Rights Watch said the coalition had failed to properly investigate war crimes allegations stemming from attacks on civilian targets.

"Governments selling arms to Saudi Arabia should recognize that the coalition's sham investigations do not protect them from being complicit in serious violations in Yemen", said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group's Middle East director. Most recently, at least 40 children died in a coalition strike on a bus in northern Yemen on August 9.

Three of the five permanent council members - the United States, France and Britain - have supported the coalition in its military campaign although they have expressed growing concern over the heavy toll on civilians.

The coalition, which has been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi militias since March 2015, accused the Houthis and the Iranian revolutionary guards of continuing to threaten global navigation routes and world trade.

The war has left almost 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the United Nations describes as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.The United States and China imposed more tariff hikes on billions of dollars of each other's automobiles, factory machinery and other goods, today, in an escalation of a battle over Beijing's technology policy that companies worry will chill global economic growth.

Senior U.S. and Chinese trade officials had held meetings in both Beijing and Washington, DC, earlier this year, but those talks came to a halt as tariff tensions gained traction.

Beijing began implementing the new tariffs on Thursday, when the USA said it would begin collecting extra duties in retaliation for what it claimed were unfair Chinese trade practices.

The U.S.is readying tariffs on $200 billion more of Chinese products, and China has vowed to counterpunch by targeting $60 billion in American goods.

The U.S. will collect an additional 25 per cent in duties on Chinese imports ranging from motorcycles to steam turbines and railway cars, and the Chinese retaliation will see a similarly sized tax on items including coal, medical instruments, waste products, cars and buses.

The Trump administration is preparing a far larger tranche of tariffs covering some 6,000 products from China with an annual import value of $200 billion.

WASHINGTON-Trade talks between the US and China failed to produce any visible sign of progress, reducing the prospects of a deal soon, people closely tracking the talks said.

Many said the new tax would hurt their businesses and warned that they would not be able to absorb another tax without raising prices for United States consumers.

Efforts to revise NAFTA seem a bit more hopeful, after US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told Trump last week he hoped to get a breakthrough in the talks in coming days on the issues with Mexico.

China's state media has taken aim at Apple in recent weeks, accusing the USA titan of allowing illegal apps to proliferate on its platform.

The talks were to continue Thursday morning, but the Treasury has not specified what topics are being discussed. The second includes more substantive reforms that in many cases are already in train, such as opening up China further to USA credit card companies.

"This weakens our economy when they steal, destroys our jobs and threatens the security of our country", Trump said. "It has to be a two-way street".

Beijing has denied United States allegations that it systematically forces the unfair transfer of U.S. technology, and has said that it adheres to World Trade Organisation rules.

Thousands of large and small companies and industry groups have urged the Trump administration to reconsider the tariffs which some say could put them out of business.

The three countries have been negotiating for a year to salvage the trade pact that Trump says was a "disaster" for the United States.

But so far the Trump administration has largely been deaf to the complaints, as only a handful of product lines have been shielded from the punitive duties.

In July, the US Commerce Department lifted its export ban on ZTE, after the Chinese telecom giant deposited the final tranche of a $1.4 billion penalty the US imposed against it.Two more earthquakes with magnitudes 6.3 and 6.9 hit the island after the magnitude 7.0 quake jolted the island of Lombok on August 5. On Sunday it was shaken by a string of fresh tremors and aftershocks, with the strongest measuring 6.9 magnitude.

Indonesia's fiasco office said Friday a large portion of the passings occured in the northern piece of Lombok, with a few likewise killed in neighboring Sumbawa island.

The officials say the cost of the damage is estimated to be about 7.7 trillion rupiah, or around 520 million dollars, which is more than the entire annual budget of the provincial government.

Hundreds of thousands of quake survivors on the Indonesian island of Lombok celebrated the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday in makeshift camps on Wednesday, in a rare moment of joy after weeks of strong tremors that have killed more than 500 people.

Aid organizations have vowed to boost humanitarian assistance on the island as devastated residents struggle in makeshift displacement camps.

"We are focussing on the basics, provision of shelter materials - tarpaulins, shelter kits, hygiene kits", said Tom Howells from Save the Children.

The new casualty count was announced on Twitter by Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the national disaster agency.

Indonesia's disaster agency said it was also accelerating efforts to rebuild destroyed homes, hospitals and schools.

The most serious quake occurred on August 5 with a 6.9-magnitude, killing at least 460 people.Federal agents have uncovered an elaborate drug tunnel on the Mexico border hidden in a former KFC restaurant.

Police got on the trail of the owner of the building, Ivan Lopez, and ended up arresting him after finding several suspicious packages in the back of his truck.

During the stop, police dogs reportedly led officers to two containers of hard narcotics with a street value of more than $1m inside Lopez's vehicle. Once it was discovered that Lopez was seen removing the boxes from inside an old KFC, authorities went to investigate.

The cross-border tunnel, which is only eight inches in diameter, was found in the kitchen.

Video of the tunnel showed it was 22 feet deep and 590 feet long with wooden planks lining the wall.

This chamber ran roughly 180m under the Mexican border, coming out at a home in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. Smuggling tunnels underneath the US-Mexico border have been found on occasion in the past, built by criminal organizations to traffic drugs and humans into the country.

The tunnel was located in a former KFC restaurant.

The passageway was 22ft deep, 5ft tall and 3ft wide, and ended at a trap door under a bed in a home in Mexico, said United States officials. The 3 kilograms of fentanyl alone translates to over 3 million dosage units, according to police.

The drugs were found inside the toolboxes. Authorities also found 118 grams of methamphetamine, six grams of cocaine, 28 pounds of heroine, and six pounds of coffee heroin, a light brown type of heroin produced in Mexico.

The tunnel was discovered after investigators searched the building and spotted a hole in the floor.

It's unclear how long the tunnel has been in use, but Lopez only bought the property in April.For parents, back-to-school shopping can take a hefty chunk out of their bank account.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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For parents, back-to-school shopping can take a hefty chunk out of their bank account.

Catherine Leslie was in Brandons Walmart on Friday getting back-to-school supplies for her five children  a shopping trip where she said costs quickly add up.

"Just backpacks and lunchbags and stuff, it will be at least $100, and then shoes on top of that," Leslie said. "Five pairs at $40 is $200, and thats just for one set of shoes (for each of them)," Leslie said.

Backpacks, lunchbags, memory sticks and shoes were just four of the things on Leslies shopping list.

And, multiply that by five.

According to Statistics Canada, the average household spent $1,502 on education in 2014, which included textbooks and school supplies, tuition fees and other educational services.

To keep things cheaper, Leslie said she has had to be smart about how she shops.

"We do a lot of second-hand shopping for things," she said.

Leslie also tries to recycle items within the family, but that too is a balancing act.

"Its hard on the ones that arent getting the new stuff when the others are getting new things, so we have to mix it up a bit,"she said.

"Im really thankful for cheap places that have good stuff."

Sophie Glennie was also back-to-school shopping on Friday with her daughter, Laci Glennie, who is going into Grade 12.

MELISSA VERGE/THE BRANDON SUN Catherine Leslie shops at Walmart on Friday for her five children who are going back to school in September.

With 11 days of summer vacation remaining, the back-to-school section at Brandons Walmart was particularly busy.

The scientific calculators that they have to purchase are one of the pricier items, Sophie Glennie said.

"It was a big surprise how much that cost," she said.

"It would be nice if schools would supply some of that stuff, but unfortunately they dont, so we just kind of have to dish out the money and go with it. Hopefully its something they can take with them into the next chapter."

Although Glennie also tries to see what her daughter can use from last year, "theres always going to be something that theyre going to need," she said.

That list included lots of pens, pencils, whiteout, paper and a really good binder, she said.

"I find that especially with high school, the kids need good ones that are going to last being bumped, thrown, tossed, whatever," she said.

Back-to-school shopping, although expensive, can also be enjoyable, Tory Poirier said.

"Its always fun to pick out the new supplies, the lunch kit and book bag and all that kind of thing," Poirier said.

Her daughter, Rayanne Poirier, is going into Grade 4. She picked up a glittery pencil case and examined it as she joined her mom in trying to find the perfect fit.

"We just have one daughter, so I cant imagine what it would be like for a family of four to do it," Poirier said.

"It definitely helps to watch for flyers and take advantage of the sales if you can."

 mverge@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @Melverge5By Eamon Quinn

A unit of US equity fund Fortress has bought out the 1bn Shannon LNG terminal project located down the shore from the Tarbert ferry in Co Kerry.

The move signals that the long-delayed bridgehead for liquefied natural gas imports driven by the US into Europe will be completed. The project, which includes a terminal and a 26km pipeline at a cost of 500m, as well as 500MW gas power station, was first proposed 13 years ago. In recent years it faced a further delay over objections by the energy regulator.

Liquefied natural terminals in Europe to take gas from the US and the Middle East have for strategic geopolitical reasons been strongly supported by the US government.

Shannon LNG has now been bought by a unit of equity fund Fortress, New Fortress Energy, which is already involved in operating liquefied natural terminals around the world.

It has the backing of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Environment Minister Denis Naughten.

The project involves a major investment and is expected to support 400 jobs at peak construction and 100 jobs when operational, said Shannon LNG managing director Paddy Power in a statement.

The company provided no further financial details about the transaction.

Shannon LNG said all the necessary planning and permitting approvals were in place and the terminal will connect Ireland to the global liquefied natural market and provide greater security of energy supply.

This project is critical for Irelands energy security and will benefit the environment and the economy, said Wes Edens, the founder and chairman at New Fortress Energy.

Ireland is at the forefront of the integration of natural gas and renewables and strategically positioned for the growing global liquefied natural market, he said, adding it would help Ireland reduce carbon emissions.

The developers believe the Shannon LNG project will be a major addition to Irelands energy infrastructure, and is expected to commence operations by the end of 2020. It will import natural gas in liquid form by ship and regasify it for supply into Ireland, they said. New Fortress said it has the finances as part of the huge Fortress fund to develop large liquefied natural projects.

As a commitment in the Programme for Partnership Government, the proposal by New Fortress Energy to progress the Shannon LNG project is very welcome. The development will provide a significant boost to the Shannon region and provide a foundation for further investment in the region, said Mr Varadkar saidBy Lisa Du and Maiko Takahashi

Nestles unit in Japan expects a fledgling business that sells nutritional drinks and supplements to aging consumers to grow into a nearly $1bn (865m) behemoth within a decade, as the food giant becomes the latest to employ genetics to market food.

The worlds biggest food company has seen increasing demand for a Japanese subscription programme for nutrition that can cost about $600 a year for capsules and other products.

Consumers send in photos of their plates of food via a smartphone chat application and the programmes artificial itelligence pushes them to round out their meals with Nestles nutrient-boosted green teas and milk products.

They can also complement the advice using DNA tests and blood samples.

Kozo Takaoka, the head of Nestles business in Japan, aims for the programme to be another way the worlds largest food company can shift to healthier options, and away from processed foods and sugary treats, the executive said in an interview in Tokyo. Nestle had total sales of 1.55bn last year in Japan.

Speaking from his Tokyo office, Mr Takaoka  who is credited with popularising Nestle-made KitKats into a local premium product  talked about the food giants push into nutrition and health.

Around the world, health problems associated with food and nutrition have become a big issue. Nestle must address that on a global basis and make it our mission for the 21st century, the executive said. He said that since its launch, the programme has attracted over 100,000 users at a fast pace. In the future, Id be happy if the wellness segment made up half of Nestle Japans sales, and the other half was food. Wed like to reach 780m sales in 10 years, he said.

Asked about the potential for expanding the wellness business around the world, he said: Weve had executives from Nestles operations in China, the Swiss headquarters, and elsewhere in Asia come look at our wellness programme and learn from it. The most important thing is figuring out what kind of new problems consumers are facing in specific markets.

Right now, people around the world arent choosing supplements based on the nutrients theyre lacking. So, in that respect, our programme that recommends specific items, based on your food habits, could be a model elsewhere in the world. I dont know how well-liked green tea is in other countries, so the supplements could come in a different form. The company may seek joint ventures to expand the programme, he said.

- BloombergMr Trump has threatened to withdraw from Nafta if it is not reworked to his satisfaction, hoping to claw back jobs and reduce the United States trade deficit with Mexico. His aim is to "bring back" manufacturing jobs to the USA - especially in the automotive industry.

It is as yet unclear whether the letter will have any impact on the talks between Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lightizer, which resume this week.

President TrumpDonald John TrumpConsultant secures Democratic nomination in Wyoming House race Wyoming treasurer wins GOP gubernatorial nod, beating Trump-backed rival Trump to announce NAFTA "handshake" deal on Thursday: report MORE, who has said he wants a reworked deal that favors the USA, recently said he was more focused on a strong agreement and wasn't anxious about a timeline.

But Canada would return to the table - after four weeks of bilateral talks between its two other free-trade partners - under redoubled pressure from the Americans to buckle on key issues, said Dan Ujczo, a Columbus, Ohio-based trade lawyer regularly briefed on the process. We might close this, not in a matter of hours, but these days.

Guajardo's comments were echoed by Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said the two sides were making "good progress" and that talks could conclude "in the coming hours".

Other unresolved issues include a phase-in period for the new rules on autos and whether the demand in the US for a sunset clause which forces renegotiations each five years will be adopted, which makes any long-term decisions on investment nearly impossible. Both Mexico and Canada oppose that. Yet certain US demands that affect all three NAFTA nations remain unresolved and could still be deal breakers for Mexico and Canada.

No agreement yet on "sunset clause" and rules for government contracting.

The United States and Mexico are closing in on a bilateral deal on autos that would lift the requirement for North American content in regionally made vehicles to at least 70 percent from the current 62.5 percent.

U.S. and Mexican officials say they will push for a deal on reworking auto industry rules that could open the door for Canada to return to negotiations soon.

Still, any agreement - even a handshake deal with just two of the pact's three countries - is something of a milestone for talks that have been under constant threat of falling apart since they started in August 2017.

Freeland said auto rules of origin were also important to her government, and that "Canada will very much have a voice in the finalization of all of this". Earlier Tuesday, Politico reported that U.S. President Donald Trump was poised to announce a handshake deal with Mexico as soon Thursday.

Automotive experts have said that some foreign brand automakers with smaller North American manufacturing footprints and fewer U.S. research and development staff may have difficulty meeting the more stringent content requirements for years.

Still, foreign automakers with US plants oppose the move to raise the amount of regional content, and their objections could hamper progress at the talks.

In the Kitchen with

Video Series



Join Derval O'Rourke in her kitchen as she whips up the curry she makes every single week. She'll show us why she reaches for her cheap-as-chips handblender above all other gadgets and how important it is to have her fridge stocked with real butter and lots of yoghurt.



Join Derval O'Rourke in her kitchen as she whips up the curry she makes every single week.

Prominent campaigner Colm O'Gorman has said the Pope's comments on the failure of the church to tackle clerical abuse in Ireland was a "shameful deflection of responsibility".

The Executive Director of Amnesty International, who is a survivor of clerical abuse, said that the speech by Pope Francis this afternoon was "the perfect opportunity to address the abuse issue".

Commenting on Twitter, Mr O'Gorman said: "Today @Pontifex had the perfect opportunity to address the abuse issue. An opportunity for plain speaking, to speak truth to the people of Ireland.

"Once again, he refused to do so. Worse yet, we got extraordinary deflection."

In his address to guests at Dublin Castle, the Pontiff spoke of his pain and shame at the failure of church authorities to tackle the grave scandal of clerical abuse in Ireland and said said people had a right to be outraged at the response of senior church figures to the repellent crimes inflicted on young people.

The failure of ecclesiastical authorities  bishops, religious superiors, priests and others  adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community," he said.

"I myself share those sentiments.

However, Mr O'Gorman said the Pope's acknowledgement of sharing "the pain and shame of the 'Catholic community'... continues to suggest that such shame should be carried by the faithful of the church, by ordinary Catholics."

"This seems to me to be a shameful deflection of responsibility on the part of the Pope, and an insult to faithful Catholics who have no reason to feel shame because of the crimes of the Vatican and the institutional church," he said.

This seems to me to be a shameful deflection of responsibility on the part of the Pope, and an insult to faithful Catholics who have no reason to feel shame because of the crimes of the Vatican and the institutional church. #Stand4Truth  Colm O'Gorman (@Colmogorman) August 25, 2018

During his speech, Pope Francis also spoke of the good done by the church and its role past and present in promoting child welfare.

"It is my hope that the gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of many, will serve to emphasise the importance of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole," he said.

"In this regard, all of us are aware of how urgent it is to provide our young people with wise guidance and sound values on their journey to maturity."

Mr O'Gorman said the work of people in Catholic communities was "indisputable" but that the Pope's words were "a staggering effort at deflection".

"To seek to create some kind of grotesque balance sheet that puts on one side the extraordinary efforts of these people, and on the other, the rape and abuse of hundreds of thousands of children, women and vulnerable adults, is a staggering effort at deflection," he said.

"It is a huge insult to all involved, members of the Catholic community, people in religious life....wider Irish society and of course those of us most directly harmed by the crimes of the church."

Speaking to reporters this afternoon, Mr O'Gorman said it was "a huge shame" and "rather disgraceful" that Pope Francis did not speak in a manner which was "blunt, clear, frank, human and accessible".

Pope Francis "could have talked to us all in a way ... that was human ... He refused clearly to do so" pic.twitter.com/sxkieAbWfk  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

"The Pope was speaking not to the faithful, it wasn't a sacramental moment it was a State occasion," he said.

"He could have talked to the people of Ireland beyond those who might identify as faithful Catholics; he could have talked to us all in a way that was blunt, that was clear, that was frank, that was human and that was accessible."

"He refused, clearly, to do so and that's a huge shame, I think, frankly, that's it's rather disgraceful," he said.

The Pope is due to meet survivors of abuse later today as he continues his whistle-stop tour of Ireland.The Government is standing firm behind the backstop agreement for the border as the possibility increases of a no-deal Brexit.

With EU-British talks continuing at a slow pace, British Brexit secretary Dominic Raab this week put forward a series of papers which include contingency plans in the event of a hard Brexit.

However, one of the main issues the papers failed to fully address was the Irish border, with the documents simply stating that full account will be taken around the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland if Britain does crash out of the EU.

Commenting on the latest papers, a spokesman for Tanaiste Simon Coveney said: UK contingency planning is a matter for the UK. The Cabinet here in July made a number of decisions putting our contingency planning into an implementation stage including the hiring of 1,000 customs and agricultural inspectors for East-West trade.

It should never be forgotten that Ireland will continue to enjoy the benefits of our EU membership after Brexit. Everyones focus, though, should be on getting a deal on a sensible Brexit which must include the Irish backstop agreed last December.

The EU and UK are now under pressure to hammer out a deal before Octobers crunch EU Council Summit, where leaders are due to sign off on the deal.

However, British cabinet minister David Lidington yesterday strongly indicated that negotiating teams will not meet the deadline.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Today, he said that extending the deadline to November would be manageable and the EU would not have a problem in scheduling an emergency meeting.

It came after Mr Barnier suggested the EU no longer sees the October summit as the deadline for agreementThe last time a pope was in Ireland, Vincent Gamble, 77, was helping out as a steward in the Phoenix Park while his wife, Teresa, 75, was at home expecting the couple's fifth child, a little girl who was born a week later.

This time there was no way Teresa was missing out and her patience was rewarded with a front-row seat and a face-to-face meeting with Pope Francis.

The couple, from Stoneybatter in Dublin, were 51 years married in February and were invited to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin to represent an enduring marriage among 370 couples who have only just embarked on their married life or are about to in the months ahead.

Religion has always been an integral part of their lives, since they first met as co-workers in the old Tweed perfume factory, through marriage, children, grandchildren and all the challenges that accompany the journey.

Passing the faith on to the next generations is a challenge, they say, but their meeting with Pope Francis has given them encouragement.

"I think this event will help the young people, to remind them of what it's all about. It will give them a bit of a boost," said Vincent.

"He's a lovely man to talk to, easy-going, makes you very relaxed. He will do good in the church. I feel that it will take time but he will do good."

"He asked us to pray for him," said Teresa. "And we asked him to pray for us and our family."

Both were holding rosary beads presented to them by the Pope, Teresa's in white, Vincent's in black. "They're very special," said Teresa. "It's a great occasion," agreed Vincent.

Jordan and Stephen Maguire, both 27, from Ballymun, Dublin, have a long way to go to mark their half century - the young couple celebrated three weeks of marriage on Saturday.

But they feel sure the church will support them in the years ahead as they have felt supported since they were children.

"We've always been involved in our parish ever since we were young. Myself and Stephen got together when we were 14 and ever since then we've been involved in church plays, doing readings, helping out with Christmas Mass. So we were absolutely delighted to be invited here," Jordan said.

Stephen and Jordan had prepared a question for the Pope, about how they could support and strengthen their own faith.

"His answer was that everything comes from the home, that if you keep the faith in the home, you'll keep it for the children," Stephen explained.

Pope Francis meets a couple during a visit to St Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. Pic: PA

Jordan said they're not unusual in having a church wedding - two out of the three weddings they attended in recent times took place in the church.

"It is still important for a lot of people to get married in the church. I always knew I would. Ever since I was a small child growing up, I said I'm getting married in a church. Our church has beautiful stained glass windows and it's very picturesque so I knew it would be beautiful."

Despite being separated by generations and social revolutions, the Gambles and the Maguires felt the Pope's message was relevant for them all.

That message was a reinforcement of the uniqueness and specialness of marriage. Over a 25-minute address to the gathering, Pope Francis told them that marriage was the future of the church.

"We have to acknowledge that nowadays we are not used to anything that really lasts for the whole of our lives," he said. Marriage, however, was something to hold on to and nurture for life.

"Pray together as a family," he urged. "Live in deep solidarity with those who suffer and are at the edges of society. When you do this with your children, their hearts will gradually fill with generous love for others."

He continued: "Our world needs a revolution of love. Let that revolution being with you and your families."

It was a relaxed atmosphere, the silence of the congregation as they listened intently to the simultaneous translation in their earpieces punctuated only by occasional laughter at his gentle asides, and the alternating gurgling and fretting of the few young babies present.

Before he began his address, Pope Francis paused for private prayer at the candle of the innocents, a candle that has been burning continuously in the Pro-Cathedral since 2010 in memory of all those who have suffered clerical abuse.

Pairs of baby shoes hang from the railings on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin in memory of the children who died at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway. Pic: PA

Around the corner, on Sean McDermott Street, the derelict remains of the last Magdalene Laundry to close in Ireland, are a haunting reminder of that abuse. Local people tied baby shoes and ribbons to the railings and hoped the Pope's motorcade would stop to acknowledge them as they passed. That did not happen.A man has been arrested after drugs and a firearm were seized in Co Clare following the search of a house and lands at Kilmurray in Sixmilebridge yesterday.

During the search, as part of an operation targetting the sale and supply of illegal drugs in Clare, gardai found a sub-machine gun and ammunition, 1.5kgs of cocaine with a street value of 105,000 and 1kg of cannabis herb with a street value of 20,000.Puzzles hub



Visit our brain gym where you will find simple and cryptic crosswords, sudoku puzzles and much more. Updated at midnight every day. PS ... We would love to hear your feedback on the section right HERE.





PlayLatest: Pope Francis has warned people of the threat social media poses to relationships.

The pontiff said social media can serve to build a network of friendships and solidarity, but he said it should only be used in moderation.

He said it was important that social media never becomes a threat to the real-life relationships by imprisoning us in a virtual reality and isolating us from the very real relationships that challenge us to grow.

Speaking at the World Meeting of Families event in Croke Park, Pope Francis said families should question whether they need to cut down on the time they spend using technology and instead spend more quality time with each other.

When you use social media too much you go into a sort of an orbit when, at the dinner table, instead of talking to each other within the family, each of you uses his phone to connect with the outside world, the Pope said.

Its an Amen to Saturday night at Croke Park. #popeinireland pic.twitter.com/BHT8LiMz90  Christina McSorley (@ChristinaMcS) August 25, 2018

You go into an orbit. This is dangerous. Why? Because it takes away the completeness of the family and leads you to, takes us to a fuzzy life without any substance.

7.42pm: Pope Francis spends over an hour with clerical abuse victims before attending festival

Pope Francis is at Croke Park to address the Festival of Families.

The pontiff was slightly delayed as he travelled across the city ahead of the appearance around halfway through the event.

Pope Francis arrives at Croke Park. Pic: PA

Pope Francis was transported around the stadium in a mobile vehicle surrounded by members of his security team, giving those sitting across the stadium a chance to glimpse him.

The audience of an estimated 82,500 cheered and many rose to their feet as he approached.

The pope is set to address the event later on.

Pope Francis met with eight victims of cleric abuse for over an hour before making his way to the festival event.

The private meeting, which the Pope had promised before arriving in Ireland, gave those impacted by church abuse a chance to express their views.

The 90-minute encounter unfolded in the Papal Nuncios residence in Dublin.

In a statement, the Vatican confirmed the meeting between Pope Francis and abuse victims took place this evening.

Among the eight survivors present was Marie Collins, who was abused by a priest as a child.

Yesterday at the World Meeting of Families, she said there is still denial within the church about the scale of clerical abuse, and called for "every rotten apple" to be removed.

Abuse survivors Reverend Patrick McCafferty, Reverend Joe McDonald, councillor Damien O'Farrell and Bernadette Fahy were also present at this evening's meeting.

As were Paul Jude Redmond and Clodagh Malone, who were both born in mother and baby homes.

One survivor, a victim of Fr Tony Walsh, chose to remain anonymous.

They asked the Pope to clearly and publicly state that mothers who lost their babies to adoption had done nothing wrong, and say the Pope agreed to include the message in his Phoenix Park closing mass tomorrow.

The Pope also apologised to them for what happened in mother and baby homes.

6.48pm: Festival of Families begins in front of 82,500 at Croke Park

The Festival of Families event has started at the Croke Park stadium in Dublin.

Pope Francis is set to be the star draw at the event, which will also see performances from country stars Daniel ODonnell, Nathan Carter and The Priests.

An estimated 82,500 people are among the audience in the stadium.

Attendees take part in a 'Mexican Wave' at the Festival of Families at Croke Park. Pic: Sportsfile

The event will hear five testimonies from families in Ireland, Canada, Iraq and Africa.

It opened with the performance of the ninth-century Irish hymn, Brigit Be Bithmaith, and will also include a performance of Riverdance by 500 children from dance schools around Ireland.

It will close around 8.30pm with a performance of Ave Maria.

4.38pm: Founder of Capuchin Day Centre hails Pope as 'true brother of the poor'

Amid the cheers from supporters, protesters shouted and swore at the Pope as he passed the entrance to Dublin Castle on Dame Street.

And there he goes: The Popemobile carrying Pope Francis drives (very quickly) through Dublin. #PopeInIreland #WMOF2018 pic.twitter.com/i8hlCVazGq  Nicky Ryan (@NickyRyan_) August 25, 2018

As the popemobile passed City Hall, the crowd cheered and clapped.

Thousands gathered on Dame Street to watch as Pope Francis passed by at a quick pace  waving and smiling.

Crowds on O'Connell Street, Dublin waiting to see Pope Francis. Pic: PA

After finishing his popemobile drive through the city centre, the Pope paid a private visit to the Capuchin Day Centre, which supports many of Dublins homeless.

The founder of the centre, Brother Kevin Crowley, hailed the pontiffs work with the needy.

You are a true brother of the people and a true brother of the poor, he said.

The Pope praised the work of the centre.

The church has real need of this witness, so thank you, he said.

Pope Francis entered the day centre for the homeless by a back entrance.

The Tricolour flew overhead as he pulled up and stepped down from the popemobile.

Addressing a gathering of disadvantaged people who use the centre, the Pope thanked them for trusting the Capuchin fathers.

They help you without taking away your dignity, he said.

Pope visiting the Capuchin Fathers day centre #popeinireland (pool video courtesy of @PatsyMcGarryIT) pic.twitter.com/bXg1TpY8oy  William Scholes (@ScholesWilliam) August 25, 2018

Thats the face of Jesus Christ.

The Pope offered a blessing to those in attendance before meeting a number of volunteers who work in the centre.

3.33pm: Pope advises couples on marriage before travelling to meet homeless families

Resuming his itinerary after lunch, the Pope embarked on a more public-facing phase of his visit.

He passed close to the site of a former Magdalene laundry as he arrived on Sean McDermott Street in the north inner city to meet well-wishers outside Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

Pope arrives at Sean McDermott St#popeinireland pic.twitter.com/rowT3mzFDF  Stephen Murphy (@SMurphyTV) August 25, 2018

The notorious laundry institutions run by Catholic religious orders effectively incarcerated thousands of young women from troubled backgrounds and forced them to work under harsh conditions.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II was due to visit Our Lady of Lourdes church but famously failed to stop when his Popemobile tour of city fell behind schedule.

Supporters wait for the arrival of Pope Francis outside Our Lady of Lourdes Church on Sean McDermott Street, Dublin, the resting place of Matt Talbot, on the first day of his visit to Ireland. Photo: PA Wire

The present-day pontiff went on a walkabout outside the church today, shaking hands with flag-waving supporters and kissing children before boarding his Popemobile for a short trip to St Marys Pro-Cathedral.

Inside the cathedral, the Pope sat for a number of minutes of silent prayer at an altar that houses a perpetually lit candle for the victims of clerical sex abuse.

The visit also focused on the institution of marriage and, after his prayers, the Pope heard testimonies and was asked questions from local couples, young and old.

Pope Francis waves to the waiting crowds on O'Connell St. Photo: PA Wire

The Pope said looking at the congregation compromising hundreds of young couples he questioned those that claimed people no longer wanted to get married.

Getting married and sharing your lives is a beautiful thing, he told them.

He said older people had great wisdom, then joked: Even the mothers-in-law, even they are wise.

The Pope also offered advice to couples who found themselves rowing.

A marriage with no fights must be boring, he said.

If even plates fly and crockery flies the secret is to make it up before the end of the day.

1.38pm: Pope speaks of 'pain and shame' in failure to tackle clerical abuse in Ireland

The Pope has spoken of his pain and shame at the failure of church authorities to tackle the grave scandal of clerical abuse in Ireland.

On the first day of his historic Irish visit, the Pontiff said people had a right to be outraged at the response of senior church figures to the repellent crimes inflicted on young people.

Pope Francis delivers a speech in St Patrick's Hall at Dublin Castle. Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire





With regard to the most vulnerable, I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education, he said.

The failure of ecclesiastical authorities  bishops, religious superiors, priests and others  adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community.

"I myself share those sentiments.

.@Pontifex says he shares 'pain and shame of Catholic community' over abuse scandals pic.twitter.com/5mztgWSl3A  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

However, the Pope said the Church in Ireland had played a role in child welfare which could not be obscured.

It is my hope that the gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of many, will serve to emphasise the importance of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole, he added.

In this regard, all of us are aware of how urgent it is to provide our young people with wise guidance and sound values on their journey to maturity.

The Pope said he also wished to acknowledge women who in the past had endured particularly difficult circumstances.

In his speech, the Pope also expressed hope that remaining obstacles in the Northern Ireland peace process can be overcome.

On Northern Ireland, @Pontifex expresses hope that the peace process will 'overcome every remaining obstacle' pic.twitter.com/EAXZZFL7ol  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Francis praised those who helped forge the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

In an apparent reference to the political deadlock at Stormont, which has seen the region without a properly functioning devolved government for 20 months, Francis said: We can give thanks for the two decades of peace that followed this historic agreement while expressing firm hope that the peace process will overcome every remaining obstacle and help give birth to a future of harmony, reconciliation and mutual trust.

Guests listening to Pope at Dublin Castle include:

* Mary McAleese

* George Mitchell

* NI Sec Karen Bradley

* Protestant Church leaders

* St Marys Derry pupils

* UUP & Sinn Fein reps

* judges

* travellers

* farmers

* police

* prisoners#popeinIreland pic.twitter.com/ksMtwyT3Fx  Mark Simpson (@BBCMarkSimpson) August 25, 2018

Some prominent Irish critics of church teaching on social issues were present as the Pope addressed the specially-invited audience.

Former President Mary McAleese and Senator David Norris, a gay-rights activist who campaigned for same-sex marriage recognition in Ireland, were present, as well as Marie Collins, who campaigns against clerical sex abuse.

Update - 12.30pm: Taoiseach acknowledges 'dark aspects' of Church's history

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has acknowledged the "dark aspects" of the Catholic Churchs history in his speech in front of Pope Francis at Dublin Castle.

Mr Varadkar said the past treatment of many women and young people by church and state had left a history of sorrow and shame and urged the Pope to listen to the victims.

Pope Francis and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at Dublin Castle. Photo: Maxwells

In a speech in front of the pontiff inside Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar said the past treatment of many women and young people by church and state had left a history of sorrow and shame.

In place of Christian charity, forgiveness and compassion, far too often there was judgement, severity and cruelty, in particular towards women and children and those on the margins, he said.

'Wounds are still open and there is much to be done' says @campaignforleo pic.twitter.com/KWydjCu3Kc  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes, industrial schools, illegal adoptions and clerical child abuse are stains on our State, our society and also the Catholic Church. Wounds are still open and there is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors.

Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure this is done here in Ireland and across the world.

In recent weeks, we have all listened to heart-breaking stories from Pennsylvania of brutal crimes perpetrated by people within the Catholic Church, and then obscured to protect the institution at the expense of innocent victims. It is a story all too tragically familiar here in Ireland.

There can only be zero tolerance for those who abuse innocent children or who facilitate that abuse."

We must now ensure that from words flow actions. Above all, Holy Father, I ask to you to listen to the victims.

Mr Varadkar said he hoped the papal visit marked a new chapter in Irelands relationship with the Catholic Church.

Ireland today 'is a very different place than the one we had in the past' - @campaignforleo pic.twitter.com/kB6mtkQ9IL  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

The Ireland of the 21st century is a very different place today than it was in the past. Ireland is increasingly diverse, he said.

One in six of us were not born here and there are more and more people who adhere to other faiths, or who are comfortable in declaring that they subscribe to no organised religion.

We have voted in our parliament and by referendum to modernise our laws  understanding that marriages do not always work, that women should make their own decisions and that families come in many forms including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents or parents who are divorced.

He added: Holy Father, I believe that the time has now come for us to build a new relationship between church and state in Ireland  a new covenant for the 21st century.

"It is my hope that your visit marks the opening of a new chapter in the relationship between Ireland and the Catholic Church."

Building on our intertwined history, and learning from our shared mistakes, it can be one in which religion is no longer at the centre of our society, but in which it still has an important place.

Wounds are still open & there is much to be done to bring about justice &truth &healing for victims & survivors. Today I asked the Pope to use his office & influence to ensure this is done here in Ireland and across the World. Above all, I asked him to listen to victims. pic.twitter.com/YnnITpLapr  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) August 25, 2018

Mr Varadkar has told Pope Francis that there are a huge number of people in Ireland who have faith in their hearts but who feel excluded and alienated from the Church because of legacy issues.

During a private meeting between Mr Varadkar and the pontiff at Dublin Castle, Mr Varadkar told the Pope he was very welcome to Ireland and that he would see that welcome for himself by the crowds that turn out to see him.

A spokesman for Mr Varadkar said the Taoiseach thanked the Pope for his statements on climate change, on accepting refugees and international development, and told him it made it easier for politicians to make the right decisions.

They also spoke about Irish missionaries and the role they play in Pope Francis home country of Argentina.

The meeting lasted about 10 minutes and was conducted mostly through translation.

Update - 12.15pm: President Higgins tells Pope of anger felt by clerical abuse victims

President Michael D Higgins has told Pope Francis of the anger felt by those in Ireland who were abused as children by Catholic clerics.

A spokesman for Mr Higgins said that during the meeting, the Irish President raised with the pope the immense suffering and hurt caused by child sex abuse perpetrated by some within the Catholic Church.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the spokesman said Mr Higgins also told Pope Francis of the anger which had been conveyed to him at what was perceived to be the impunity enjoyed by those who had the responsibility of bringing such abuses for action by the appropriate authorities and have not done so."

Statement from @PresidentIRL following his meeting with @Pontifex - final paragraph: The President welcomed the honest and forthright language that His Holiness used when addressing the issue in his recent Letter to the People of God. pic.twitter.com/w53utNKwul  Will Goodbody (@willgoodbody) August 25, 2018

The President welcomed the honest and forthright language that His Holiness used when addressing the issue in his recent Letter to the People of God, the spokesman for the President said.

He conveyed to Pope Francis the widely-held view that all would benefit from a set of actions that gave the necessary assurances to all citizens past, present and future, of all faiths and none.

The two men also agreed on the importance of protecting vulnerable communities and individuals, and discussed issues including homelessness, health, education and nutrition.

This was the third time that Pope Francis and Mr Higgins have met. Last May they met at the Vatican.

Pope Francis leaves following his meeting (Danny Lawson/PA)

Francis planted an Irish oak tree on the lawn in front of the south portico. In doing so, he became the second Pope to plant a tree on the grounds of the residence.

Pope John Paul II planted an Irish oak on the same lawn during the last papal visit in 1979.

Pope Francis plants a tree during his visit to meet Michael D Higgins (Joe Giddens/PA)

A Syrian family, who are asylum seekers, were invited to observe the ceremony. They watched the proceedings alongside Aras an Uachtarain staff.

Other dignitaries who have planted trees on the lawn at Aras an Uachtarain include Presidents John F Kennedy and Eamon de Valera, the Queen and President Barack Obama.

Update - 11.45: Pope Francis meets the President at Aras an Uachtarain

Pope Francis has been welcomed to Aras an Uachtarain by President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina.

Pope Francis with President Michael D Higgins. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The greeting party also included the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone.

An Irish Army band played the national anthems of Vatican City and Ireland during the arrival ceremony.

Moving inside the property, the Pontiff signed the visitor's book before entering into a private meeting with President Higgins.

At Aras an Uachtarain, @Pontifex greeted by President Michael D Higgins and his wife, Sabina @PresidentIRL pic.twitter.com/AvKHyg3Fqe  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

The message from @Pontifex in the Aras visitors book. With gratitude for the warm welcome I have received, I assure you and the people of Ireland of my prayers that Almighty God may guide and protect you all. Francis. pic.twitter.com/pOjLgeaxsv  Will Goodbody (@willgoodbody) August 25, 2018

Update - 10.30am: Pope Francis has landed in Dublin

The Pope has touched down at Dublin airport to begin an historic two-day visit to Ireland.

Senior Irish clerics and other dignitaries gathered on the runway to greet the Pope after his flight landed at 10.26am.

Irish and Vatican flags were flown from the cockpit window as the aircraft taxied toward its stand.

Pope Francis as he arrives at Dublin Airport. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

After walking down the steps from the plane, the Pope was greeted by Irish Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney, his wife Ruth and their three daughters Jessica, Beth and Annalise.

Mr Coveney acknowledged that many people had mixed feelings about the visit.

I think its been difficult for many people, for victims, for Catholics and many of the clergy, he said.

But I hope and expect that this weekend will be a very powerful moment. He has a personality that can reach out to Irish people.

He is now on his way to meet President Michael D Higgins at Aras an Uachtarain.

A family of Syrian asylum seekers will attend the tree planting ceremony in the Aras.

After that, the Pontiff travels here to Dublin Castle where he will meet Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Earlier: Pope begins historic visit to Ireland

Pope Francis waves as he boards an airplane at Rome's Fiumicino International Airport this morning. Photo: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

The Pope will arrive in Dublin later this morning for the start of an historic two-day visit to Ireland.

The plane carrying the Pontiff has left Italy and is due to land in Dublin at 10.30am.

Pope Francis boards the Alitalia flight AZ4000 to Dublin #popeinireland pic.twitter.com/cXd5b5vfwG  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to welcome Pope Francis during his whistle-stop tour of the capital city and Co Mayo over the weekend.

The Pontiff will witness a country that has undergone seismic social changes in the four decades since the last Papal visit in 1979, when John Paul II was lauded by a nation shaped by its relationship with the Catholic Church.

As I prepare to visit Ireland in a few days time for the World Meeting of Families, I send a warm word of greeting to all the Irish people. I am excited at the thought of returning to Ireland!"@Pontifex #WMOF2018 https://t.co/6JHtTckwdc pic.twitter.com/YHiDVUGhj6  WMOF2018 (@WMOF2018) August 21, 2018

While the Pope will receive a warm reception from the thousands of pilgrims who have travelled to be part of the occasion, he will also be met by protesters angry at how the church dealt with multiple clerical sex abuse scandals that have damaged trust in the religious institution and seriously weakened its influence on Irish society.

Francis will meet a number of abuse victims in a private meeting amid expectation he will use his public utterances elsewhere to confront the emotive issue.

Earlier this week, the Pope wrote a 2,000-word letter to Catholics in which he condemned the crime of sexual abuse by priests and subsequent cover-ups.

The Pope demanded accountability in response to fresh revelations in Pennsylvania in the United States of decades of misconduct by clerics.

(PA Graphics)

However, he will also fulfil a number of other engagements, including meetings with President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

With Ireland in the midst of a high-profile homelessness problem, the Pope will also meet a number of impacted families at a centre run by a religious order.

Around 100,000 people are expected to line the streets of Dublin city centre this afternoon as the Pope passes through in his Pope Mobile.

Merchandise of Pope Francis on sale in Dublin (Aaron Chown/PA)

Tomorrow, the Pope will fly west to Co Mayo where he will follow in the footsteps of John Paul II and take part in a religious service at a Holy shrine in Knock.

He will then return to Dublin for the closing centrepiece of the WMOF event  an outdoor Mass in front of an expected congregation of half a million people.

PA & Digital DeskGiven that the government has a one-seat majority, his political retirement would trigger a special election in his Sydney district that could imperil the government.

Former opposition leader John Hewson, now an analyst at the Australian National University, said the turmoil was indicative of a new breed of unprincipled politicians, coupled with a voracious media cycle that appeals to their worst instincts. "We also have a political editor who has fearlessly reported the news of what was actually happening in Canberra, when others in the [media] chose to ridicule or ignore what was happening", Christopher Dore said in an email.

Morrison's tenure marks the the sixth prime minister change in Australia in about 11 years, continuing a trend of instability that has marked the country's politics in recent years.

Mr Frydenberg, Mr Morrison and Nationals leader Michael McCormack - whose party is entitled to five cabinet posts - will discuss the line-up ahead of an expected swearing-in early next week.

Dutton's failure prevents Australian policy from shifting to the hard right, although there has been little policy discussion in the leadership struggle.

"We will provide the stability and the unity and the direction and the objective that the Australian people expect of us, " Mr Morrison told reporters.

His government was also upended by a freakish citizenship crisis that ruled 15 lawmakers ineligible for office for holding dual nationalities and it has trailed the opposition Labor party for 37 consecutive fortnightly opinion polls.

Australia's next prime minister, Scott Morrison, is seen by some as an incongruous mix of a committed Christian who made his name through ratcheting up a refugee policy that many church groups have condemned as inhumane.

As doctors and advocates slammed the conditions in the camps on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on Nauru, where some asylum-seekers were held for several years, Morrison celebrated the fall in the number of arrivals. He also supports Australia's reliance on fossil fuels, and has been ambiguous on his stance toward climate change measures. "My course from here is to provide absolute loyalty to Scott Morrison to make sure that we win the election and that we defeat [Labour Party leader] Bill Shorten", he said.

Morrison himself was an active church member, and met his wife Jenny as a young teenager through the church.

It took 18 years and multiple rounds of IVF before the first of two children was born, and Morrison dedicated his maiden parliamentary speech to his daughter Abbey Rose.

Morrison thanked Turnbull for his service and referred to him as a "dear friend", adding that he and his new deputy Josh Frydenberg had remained loyal to Turnbull throughout the leadership crisis.

On social issues, Morrison has stood to the right of the more moderate Turnbull, and opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage past year.

"It comes back to those three things: keeping our economy strong, keeping Australians safe and keeping Australians together", he told reporters."We're in it now". There are reports the heavy rain has caused landslides and flooding in some areas and forced the closure of several roadways - including Highway 19, in Hilo and Honomu, and Bayfront Highway in Hilo. Tourists were advised to stay away from a popular attraction on the island of Maui called the Seven Sacred Pools, a scenic cluster of waterfalls and grottos.

The U.S. Navy was moving ships and submarines out of Hawaii.

"Life threatening flash floods". This is a very risky situation.

As flooding hit the Big Island, brush fires broke out in areas of Maui and Oahu susceptible to flames. But authorities warned the islands could still expect to be hit hard.

The storm, with sustained winds topping 161km/h, was forecast to make its nearest approach to land at the weekend, bringing hurricane conditions to Maui and the USA state's most populous island, Oahu, starting on Friday night.

"We knew it was coming, so I tried to just cram as much as I could into the last few days in anticipation so we could cross things off of our list", said Brinson, who is accustomed to hurricanes after living in Florida.

Catastrophic flooding has occurred on Big Island, with experts confirming Big Island has been ravaged by constant torrential rain.

As the hurricane got closer to Hawaii, Gov. David Ige urged residents to set aside two weeks' worth of food, water and other necessities.

A sidewalk is ripped up and littered with downed palm trees after Hurricane Iniki slammed the island of Kauai, Hawaii, in September 1992.

Hawaii County firefighters, who were in touch with the home's owner, made a decision to evacuate the group before the water rose any higher.

Although Lane is weakening, rains, and resulting floods and mudslides, remain a major concern. "Hopefully, the hurricane will have mercy with our beloved Oahu".

Par Pacific Holdings Inc said it was shutting its 93,500 barrel-per-day Kapolei, Hawaii, refinery because of the threat posed by the approaching storm.

"I remember how very little rain fell".

Some were going for plywood to board their windows and for generators.

Jurassic Valley inside The Kualoa Ranch - a famous filming location known for Jurassic Park and Jurassic World - has canceled all of its tours and closed its facilities as the island prepares to take a possible direct hit from the hurricane. "Seven out of 10 telephone poles were down, so even if your house was OK, you couldn't get out".

Meteorologist Chevy Chevalier said Lane may weaken to a Category 3 by Thursday afternoon but that would still be a major hurricane. Responsible for destroying almost 1,500 structures and causing about $3 billion in damage, the monster storm left a lasting impact on numerous state's residents - one that remains today.

President Donald J. Trump issued a disaster declaration Wednesday, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate disaster-relief efforts with the state.

The storm was expected to turn to the north later Thursday and into Friday, with little change expected in forward speed.Survivors of clerical sex abuse and their supporters have gathered outside Dublin Castle where Pope Francis has been meeting politicians and other representatives of civil society.

Carrying banners and placards condemning the Catholic Church's treatment of abuse victims, they said the time for polite diplomacy was over and action was needed.

Cllr Mannix Flynn, a former industrial school resident, flew the Papal flag upside in protest.

"Everyone's waiting to see what message the Pope has for us. I don't want a message from the Pope - I want to give the Pope a message," he said.

"I don't want to see an end to the Catholic Church. I want to see an end to the deference shown the Catholic Church when it comes to the abuses it inflicts.

"I want a State response, a civil response, not just a church response. The gardai could go in with warrants and take all church documents and prosecute all abusers and those who covered up for them. That's what I want to see."

Leila Said-Gutowski, a survivor of abuse in her native Pennsylvania who now lives in Dublin, carried a banner with pairs of baby shoes dangling from it.

She said the recent grand jury report in abuses and cover-ups in Pennsylvania had brought up a lot of difficult memories for her but it also had a healing effect.

"Every disclosure, every step closer to the truth is a moment of healing for us and that's what we now need from every diocese across the world," she said.

Richard Duffy from Artane, Dublin carried an "Arrest The Pope" placard which he had earlier brought to Dublin Airport.

"I'm just a citizen who is angry about what the church has been allowed to do in this country.

"I love many things about this country but the history of abuse - and not just the history but the ongoing cover-ups - is not one of them."

"What I do love is the fact that when I held up my placard this morning, a got a lot of cars honking and thumbs up signs of support."

Pope Francis is due to meet survivors of abuse during the weekend but details and the timing of the meeting have been kept private.Padraig Harrington rolled back the years with a bogey-free 65 to take a share of the lead into the final round of the D+D Real Czech Masters in Prague.

The 46-year-old Irishman will act as a vice captain at the Ryder Cup next month but he showed the sort of form that earned him six playing appearances at the biennial spectacular to sit alongside Italy's Andrea Pavan at 17 under.

Pavan also carded a bogey-free 65 and the leading pair will enter Sunday with a three-shot lead over Malaysian Gavin Green and four ahead of Scotland's Scott Jamieson.

England's Eddie Pepperell could move into an automatic qualifying place for the Ryder Cup with a win, while Belgian Thomas Pieters is looking to impress European captain Thomas Bjorn and earn a wild card, but they will both head into round four six shots off the lead.

Harrington got up and down to birdie the par five first and then some dialled-in iron play brought further gains on the sixth and seventh.

The par-five ninth, 10th and 12th saw the three-time major winner pick up three more shots to share the lead with Pavan and when he made an eight-foot putt on the 14th, he led on his own.

Pavan then holed a brilliant double-breaker down the slope on the 15th to make it a tie at the top once more.

"I feel like it was a day too early," said Harrington. "It took a lot out of me, a lot of focus and I holed the putts that you'd like to be holing on a Sunday.

"I'm hoping there's still another round in it but it was certainly one of those days that you'd like to get on a Sunday afternoon rather than a Saturday afternoon.

"I'm not in the running for Ryder Cup at all. I don't deserve to be there and I'm leaving it to the young guys."We know there has been something of a cloud hanging over the Ballydoyle horses for a while now, with Aidan OBrien reporting that the bug was the worst weve had.

Worryingly, however, well before any reports of this began to emerge, it was somewhat clear OBriens juveniles were shaping as nowhere near the level we have come to expect.

Whatever is ailing the horses will, presumably, pass soon enough but a lack of quality among the two-year-olds offers a deeper problem, given they obviously represent the future.

Go back to Royal Ascot in June and it is well to remember OBrien did not train a two-year-old winner at the meeting.

Taken in isolation that is no big deal and the likes of his Sergei Prokofiev, Gossamer Wings, Land Force, So Perfect and Fairyland performed perfectly respectably.

Given OBriens horses in general improve from run to run then it was reasonable assume such would be the case. As well, June is very early in a campaign and who knew what was waiting.

But it hasnt worked out like that at all and, right now, there are very few juveniles in Ballydoyle which can be spoken of as possible classic winners for next season.

In the last couple of weeks, OBrien has had his share of two-year-old winners in Ireland, such as the potentially smart pair in Anthony Van Dyck and Zagitova, Christmas, Land Force, Broome and Hermosa.

But there have been lots of costly failures as well, starting with the defeat of the apparently unbeatable Goddess in a Group 3 at Leopardstown on July 26.

She arrived on the back of a brilliant debut when scoring by ten lengths, also at Leopardstown, two weeks earlier.

In the Group race she left the gate at 4-9, but died a thousand deaths in the straight to finish a remote sixth of six behind Skitter Scatter.

Goddess has not been seen since and signposted a succession of defeats for Ballydoyle juveniles in the last few weeks.

Mount Tabora disappointed at the Galway festival, while Mount Everest (4-9) was turned over by the Emmet Mullins-trained newcomer, Ducketts Grove, at Cork earlier this month.

Then the high-profile Sergei Prokofiev ran a stinker in the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh, finishing fifth of five behind Advertise.

At Gowran Park ten days ago, OBriens South Pacific was beaten and the following day produced two far more costly failures, at Leopardstown.

Sydney Opera House, following a promising first outing at the Curragh, looked nailed on in a colts and geldings maiden, but the 4-9 shot had no answer to the surge of Kevin Prendergasts first-timer, Madhmoon, through the final furlong.

Earlier on the card, OBriens Fire Fly, the 2-1 favourite, powered ahead up the straight, in a fillies maiden, but was eventually run down and decisively beaten to the tune of a length and three quarters by Jim Bolgers newcomer, Operatic Export.

And then at Deauville last Sunday, OBriens Land Force performed moderately to be beaten over seven lengths in fourth behind the impressive filly, Pretty Pollyanna, in the Group 1 Prix Morny. This week at York, however, it was a bit better, with some encouraging signs the tide maybe turning.

It would be ridiculous, of course, drawing too many conclusions and only time will reveal whether its the bug that is responsible for the relatively poor form of the Ballydoyle juveniles.

It is well to note, for instance, that while many of his stable companions have been dropping the baton, the imposing OBrien-trained Anthony Van Dyck has been stamping himself as a potential star of the future.

A modest seventh on his debut at the Curragh, he won his maiden by eight lengths at Killarney, before slamming the opposition in the Group 3 Tyros Stakes at Leopardstown.

Usually at this time of year, OBrien would have numerous horses figuring high up in the markets for next years 2000 Guineas (May 4) and the Epsom Derby (June 1).

At the moment, though, only Anthony Van Dyck is regarded as a player for OBrien, 14-1 for the 2000 Guineas and the 16-1 favourite for the Derby. That tells you all you need to know about the current crop of Ballydoyle juveniles.

Mind you, in the midst of all of the worries, there was a Ballydoyle two-year-old that caught this particular eye, Constantinople, at Leopardstown nine days ago.

The son of Galileo was fifth of eight in the maiden won by the aforementioned Madhmoon, after going off an unconsidered 12-1 chance.

Beaten over seven lengths, he didnt seem to have a clue as to what was required, but was noted going on quite nicely in the final furlong.

Listen, Constantinople may only possess sufficient ability to be able to run to warm himself, but lets see how he travels in the market next time!

In any case, when the dust has settled at the Curragh today and tomorrow, we are going to be a lot wiser, with OBrien running two-year-olds all over the place.

On the bright side...

- KILLARNEY this week housed some decent quality racing and that was enjoyable, considering the number of horror programmes we endured through the summer.

Wednesday was particularly interesting, producing winners that have to be noted going forward, led by Aidan OBriens I Can Fly in a one-mile Listed race.

She looked a good thing and won in a canter, but was returned a remarkable 2-1, was 5-2 on Betfair at one stage, due almost certainly to the indifferent form of OBriens horses.

Dermot Weld is enjoying an excellent campaign and his twice-raced, and unbeaten, Falcon Eight is developing into a really solid sort.

He won a mile and a half maiden on his debut at the Curragh and followed at Killarney by easily dismissing a pair of useful horses in Light Pillar and Legal Spin over eleven furlongs.

Whats to admire about him is that he gets down-and-dirty when the questions are asked and has gone to the line very strong both days.

Experience has long taught me these are the type of horses to have on your side and the son of Galileo has a most likeable attitude.

We wrote here last week about the terrific drive Colm ODonoghue gave Still Standing, last to first, to win by a head on his belated seasonal debut at Ballinrobe.

The handicapper wasnt at all impressed, however, at least with the horse, and raised Still Standing by only 3lbs. At Killarney, nine days after Ballinrobe, connections said thank you, as the progressive colt took another handicap in a canter, unextended by three and three parts of a length. This week the handicapper decided a further rise of 10lbs was appropriate.Some workers are finding their jobs increasingly meaningless. Credit:Alamy

Theres a good chance that the job you do is actually pointless.

According to David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, it is probably meaningless and adding no value to anything.

A bullshit job is a job which is so pointless, or even pernicious, that even the person doing the job secretly believes that it shouldnt exist, he says.

Of course, you have to pretend  thats the bullshit element, that you kind of have to pretend theres a reason for this job to be here.Flights

Olga Tokarczuk

Text, $32.99

The Polish writer Olga Tokarczuk had to wait until she was 28 to receive a passport and make her first trip abroad. Like many Poles, Tokarczuk rejoiced when more than 40 years of Soviet-induced international isolation finally came to an end. The destination was hardly an exotic one  East Germany in 1990  but it signalled the beginning of Tokarczuk's love affair with travel and a delectable way of writing about it that continues to evolve.

Olga Tokarczuk spent time travelling alone during the period when she wrote Flights. Credit:MACIEK NABRDALIK

In May, Tokarczuk won the Man Booker International Prize for her novel Flights, which treats travel as a uniquely corporeal experience. It is made up of 116 vignettes  fiction and non-fiction  ranging from a Polish man's desperate search for his wife and child after they disappear during a vacation in Croatia, to a historical account of Chopin's heart being smuggled into Warsaw beneath his sister's skirt. Critics have compared Tokarczuk's non-linear novels and short stories, which are often punctuated by mysterious maps and diagrams, to the work of celebrated European authors such as W.G. Sebald and Milan Kundera.

Tokarczuk said when she began writing Flights, more than a dozen years ago, she set out to describe a world very different from the one we are living in now. "I wrote this book when the world was looking to be open for everybody," she said. "Now we're seeing how the European Union will probably become weakened by the policies of countries like Poland and Hungary, which are focused on their borders once again."Ground-breaking Croatian pianist Maksim Mrvica will showcase classical music reimagined with electrifying elements combining his strong personal style and rock star charisma when he presents his only Melbourne concert at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda on Thursday September 27 as part of his debut Australian tour. Three M readers plus a guest have the chance to secure a double pass (worth $278 each) to join the audience. Send your details to di@dirolle.com before midnight tonight and you'll enter the draw.

Two of Australia's sharpest minds have joined forces to shape opera for the 21st century in The Space Between which makes its world premiere at Arts Centre Melbourne from September 13 to 23. Created by Paul Grabowsky and Steve Vizard, The Space Between is performed by acclaimed Australian soprano Emma Matthews. A diva sings her final note and is plunged into an abyss of memory and madness. Can she find the thread of meaning to her existence that will lead her back out of the maelstrom? There are three doubles on offer to discover the outcome on September 13. Register your details on competitions@artscentremelbourne.com.au before midnight tonight to register to win.

THE ULTIMATE QUEEN CELEBRATION

A musician in his own right in his native Canada, Marc Martel has a naturally uncanny vocal likeness to Freddie Mercury. Coming to prominence when auditioning as a singer for the Queen's Roger Taylor and Brian May's official tribute band, Queen Extravaganza in 2012, he has toured with them internationally for a number of years. Marc Martel, supported by a group of master musicians will be the closest you will get to hear the original Queen sound when he performs for one show only at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda on Saturday September 1 and we have 10 doubles (worth $200 each) to join him. Entries received on publicity2@kob.com.au before midnight tonight have the chance to win.

WINNERS

Movie Passes to C'est La Vie: Pat Richardson, Sharon Bos, Christine Encel, Lynne Morris, Janey Davenport, Livia Naharnowicz, Sean McClea, John Elrington, Elf Stella, Catherine Lang, Michael Jones, Marie Cheistodulaki, Caroline Petit, Narelle McInnes, Mary Horrocks, Teresa Molinaro, Diana Heatherich, Sally Trotter, Lorraine Jelley, Andris Niedra.

Bad Backs Healthy and Stylish Backpacks: Paul Abbott, Vicki Hellemons, Phil Helisma, Alison Macfarlane, Alma Ries.

Movie Passes to Submergence: Annette McKertnan, Claudia Stern, Dina Karnups, Helen Allen, Jan Field, Jo Cross, Joseph Ferguson, Julie Hunt, Keith Message, Kirry White, Lilian Bishop, Max Robinson, Narelle McInnes, Peter Bunworth, Peter Rains, Roberto Chiletti, Rosemary Taylor, Sandra Coleby, Shirley Hinton, Sioe See Volaric.

After a report by Tucker Carlson, the president said on Twitter that he has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to investigate "large scale killing of farmers" in South Africa.

Under Apartheid, black people - the majority of South Africans - were legally unable to own land in most of the country, and faced discrimination nearly everywhere else in their daily lives too. South Africa currently gets to export many products to the US without duties, under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA), and some now fear that this access may be curtailed.

Later Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the administration's position was that land expropriation without compensation "would risk sending South Africa down the wrong path". In fact, black South Africans can sue for land if they can prove that their family was buried on or owned the farm before 1910.

What's going on with farmers in South Africa?

Public hearings are now underway to gauge support for a policy proposal by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to change the constitution to allow for land to be expropriated without compensation for redistribution to poor blacks.

It's not clear what the Trump administration could, or would, do to get involved in South Africa's land controversy - especially considering that the US has not had an ambassador to the country since December 2016 because Trump has not yet appointed anyone to the post.

The South African foreign ministry said in a statement it had met USA embassy officials and warned them over the "alarmist, false, inaccurate and misinformed, as well as - in some cases - politically-motivated statements", on the issue.

Right-wing commentators have claimed there is an unpublicized "white genocide" unfolding in South Africa, but statistics say the opposite.

Trump's tweet did find some supporters. "We must ensure ownership of land for all South Africans", he tweeted.

President Donald Trump wrote a tweet mentioning the word "Africa" for the first time in his presidency late Wednesday.

The conspiracy theory originally sprouted from a plan by the South African government to amend the country's constitution to allow the government to seize land without compensation. "There is black genocide in the U.S.".

Proponents of South Africa's policy, including Ramaphosa, say it is necessary to address historic injustices and can be done in a way that is lawful and will not compromise the beleaguered economy or food security.

While blacks account for 80 percent of South Africa's population, the former homelands comprised just 13 percent of the land.

Malema, who heads the radical left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), dubbed Trump "a pathological liar".

Stremlau, however, said the relationship has already been tested by Trump's earlier tweets that Stremlau says imperiled the African Growth and Opportunities Act.

"South Africa will speed up the pace of land reform in a careful and inclusive manner that does not divide our nation", it added.

In parliament on Wednesday, Ramaphosa said land expropriation could make more land available for cultivation, and that the process would begin by seizing state-owned land, not privately held land.

Claims of "genocide" against white South Africans, however, have been picked up by some white nationalists in the US, and leaders of a right-wing South African group traveled to the U.S.in May to lobby officials about the alleged targeting of white farmers.

AfriForum, an organisation that mostly represents white South Africans who have described land expropriation as "catastrophic", travelled to the United States earlier this year to lobby the Senate and other officials.

"A nation that illegally invaded countries like Iraq to grab oil, and still has land reservations for indigenous Americans, is not morally qualified to interfere in SA and our domestic land issue", tweeted one user, Simon Grindrod.With the beefy Google Home Max finally arriving in Australia, smart speakers are getting serious about sound quality.

Amazon and Google led the way with smart speakers, but their early efforts failed to win music lovers with a discerning ear away from high-end multi-room audio systems from the likes of Sonos. Apple's $499 HomePod raised the stakes, pumping out sound to rival Sonos' entry-level $229 Play One, but now Google has unleashed the $549 Google Home Max to rival Sonos' flagship $749 Play:5.

Sonos Play:5

The Google Home Max and Sonos Play:5 speakers sport almost identical designs, except the Home Max keeps down the price tag by relying on two woofers and tweeters instead of three. You'd expect this to give the Play:5 a clear advantage, but amazingly the Home Max matches its incredible sound quality.

Of course technically the Sonos Play:5 isn't a smart speaker, as it doesn't have a built-in smart assistant whereas the Home Max brings Google Assistant to life. That said, the Sonos Play One works with Amazon's Alexa (with Google Assistant coming). This means you can use the Play One or a cheap Amazon Echo speaker to boss around the Play:5. The Play:5 also supports Apple's AirPlay 2 music streaming, which means it can talk to Siri.KEEP THE CHANGE 

(M) 94 minutes. Classic, Cameo, and Lido Cinemas, now screening.

With the backdrop of Manhattan's Jewish Community Centre and a trip to the boardwalk of Coney Island, writer-director Rachel Israel's independent debut feature looks like a throwback New York romantic-comedy. The difference is in the lead characters, beginning with David (Brandon Polansky), the adult son of a wealthy family whose confidence betrays an inability to judge a situation. The wrong joke at the wrong time gets him sent to a support group for people with autism, something he doesn't believe he has, especially when he meets Sarah (Samantha Elisofon), who is both more child-like in her behaviour but blessed with a charming confidence. The two are partnered up in a project, which leads to romance awkwardly blooming, and the storytelling benefits from both Polansky and Elisofon (and all the other characters depicted as having autism) being portrayed by non-actors who have the developmental disorder. The film has a genuine openness, but it never limits the pair's interaction  in their own way they must negotiate everything from David's biased parents to sharing a sex life.

Keep the Change

FASHION ON FILM

acmi.net.au. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Saturday 1 to Sunday 9 September.

The role of the retailer is reappraised in the concise but terrifically informative John Simons: A Modernist (, 15+, 52 minutes), a standout documentary in the latest Fashion on Film program. A Londoner who got his start "doing the windows" for men's clothing stores in the 1950s just as Pop Art and fashion were commingling at Saint Martin's art school, Simons had a feel for crafting spaces and an eye for classic American Ivy League style. Just as British beat groups remade American R&B into their own distinctly British sound, Simons brought buttoned-down professional refinement to London, leading to what the cultural commentator Robert Elms describes as "really well-dressed street urchins". Simons offers unadorned memories to writer Jason Jules and director Lee Cogswell, but talking heads such as Paul Smith and Paul Weller open up the narrative to position the subject as a cultural curator who helped change the city  and thus the world's  social history. A bonus: the clothes are discussed with loving detail for every collar style and pant cut.AMERICA TO ME

New series 

America to Me exposes unconscious bias and entrenched, almost instinctive segregation.

Monday, stan.com.au

The title comes from a 1935 poem by Langston Hughes, a leading figure of the Harlem Resistance who once described himself as "a literary sharecropper". He was simply noting that the America of the American Dream was not his America. This lively, affectionate, non-judgmental 10-part documentary explores that idea through the lives of a bunch of black and biracial kids at Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School  an ostentatiously inclusive public school in one of that city's better suburbs. Its nuanced exposure of unconscious bias and entrenched, almost instinctive segregation certainly drives the narrative, but what keeps us hooked are the rounded portraits of the kids. They're as diverse, funny, infuriating and loveable as teens anywhere. Their lives are dominated by sports, romance, homework, family, and whether they're having a good hair day. Will shy Grant sink or swim in his freshman year? Will Kendale get his weight down for that important wrestling comp? But overlaying it all is the constant awareness that even in an environment where almost half the kids are non-white, they're still marked out as Other  and in many cases, Lesser. How and why that happens makes for fascinating and challenging viewing.A cutting-edge electromagnetic treatment for depression has turned into a money-spinner for private hospitals thanks to a strange health insurance quirk.

Meanwhile, public patients miss out because it is not covered by Medicare.

The therapy in question, 'transcranial magnetic stimulation', uses powerful magnets on the skull to treat cases of depression that have proven resistant to antidepressants and other therapies.

In a bizarre scenario, the only way private health insurers will cover TMS in private hospitals is if they admit patients to a room and bill the insurers for the cost of the stay  not the treatment.A Brisbane father and daughter are part of the same Australian Army brigade, were deployed to the Middle East at the same time and have spoken to each other on the phone daily as part of their job.

Sergeant Joseph Rounds is in charge of supplies at his Iraqi base and Private Nikita Rounds is in charge of distributing supplies from her United Arab Emirates base to ADF bases on the continent.

Private Rounds said her father was "an annoying customer" after calling her to arrange for supply replenishments and their fellow soldiers joked that Sergeant Rounds' requests were prioritised.

Sergeant Joseph Rounds and Private Nikita Rounds were concurrently deployed to the Middle East.

In another coincidence, Private Rounds' mother and Sergeant Rounds' wife is also in the ADF and also part of Brisbanes 7th Brigade, the same as her family members.Police have released images of a pair of thieves whole stole charity boxes, cigarettes and fuel west of Brisbane on Wednesday.

A silver ute was driven away from a petrol station in Fernvale, about 60 kilometres west of Brisbane, just before 9pm without the occupants paying for their fuel.

The two men detectives want to speak with after the crimes in Lowood and Fernvale. Credit:Queensland Police Service

Police said the same ute was driven to a nearby convenience store on Main Street in Lowood, two men got out and broke into the store through the front doors.

The thieves stole the contents of several charity boxes and a large number of cigarettes.Information packs published by the department detail exactly what information is being collected and where it is stored. For instance, G-suite for Education, which is used by 60 million teachers and students around the world, collects students names, year levels, home groups, schools, location information and stores their schoolwork. This information is stored in data centres in the United States, Chile, Taiwan, Singapore, Ireland, Netherlands, Finland and Belgium. Marie-Claire said she would opt out of G-suite for Education if it was introduced at her daughter's school. As well as her privacy concerns, she's not convinced of the educational benefits of the technology.

She refers to a 2015 OECD report, which found students who used computers very frequently at school performed a lot worse in most learning outcomes". Monash University education professor Dr Neil Selwyn said while technology played an important role in the classroom, parents were right to be concerned. There is often no due diligence or broader thinking about what the consequences are, the digital technology expert said. A lot of these apps are based on collecting data. According to Dr Selwyn, this data is used to improve products and then often sold to other companies for the creation of new services.

Data about how people learn is very commercially valuable, he said. These products are often free. If you aren't paying for the product, you are the product. He said schools were having to deal with data and privacy issues that they were not equipped to handle. Its complex legal stuff, he explained. Australian Privacy Foundation vice chair Kat Lane said schools should always provide parents with detailed information about pros and cons of technology. And she said they should replace opt-out forms with opt-in forms.

"We should get to choose. Opt-in should be the default position. I am talking about informed consent, not ticking a box. We need to be talking about safety in the classroom. A Google spokeswoman said the company was committed to protecting the privacy and security of all users. We only keep personal information as long as you ask us to keep it," she said. "If an education department, school or university decides to stop using Google, we make it easy for them to take their data with them. A spokeswoman for Seesaw said many of its employees were parents and it was important that families felt in control of their children's data. "We ask teachers to get parental consent before using Seesaw in their classroom and we provide sample consent forms to help them do so," she said.

"In addition, families can download their students data or delete their accounts at any time." An Education Department spokesman said the department had conducted privacy impact assessments for a large range of online services. Schools access and use online services to support students to develop the skills they need to work online, and to gain the skills they will need to thrive in the digital economy and emerging career pathways, he said. The department said schools put in place alternative arrangements for students who opted out of technology. For Marie-Claires daughter, this involves stepping aside when class photos are taken for the Seesaw app and not being filmed during class presentations.If political intrigue had its way, the preselection battle for Wentworth would be an almighty clash of dynasties, with relatives of the two feuding prime ministers whose personal vendetta almost tore the Liberal Party apart vying to claim the bluest of thrones.

Tony Abbott's sister Christine Forster and Malcolm Turnbull's son-in-law James Brown have both been mentioned in the mix of potential candidates for Mr Turnbull's soon to be vacant seat.

But the showdown is unlikely to eventuate, as the moderate branches of the Liberal Party - which overwhelmingly dominate the Wentworth electorate - are believed to be backing two other candidates.

Dave Sharma, a former diplomat and partner at an accountancy firm, has been touted as a frontrunner. He was born in Vancouver and it is understood he has already renounced his Canadian citizenship.During his time as leader, former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull famously remarked of his wife, Lucy, that he had "a greater sense of Lucy and me than I do of me" and often alluded to her influence over his political career.

With Scott Morrison's surprise elevation into the top office, the public spotlight will inevitably extend to his family, and in particular his wife Jenny, who will now acquire the unofficial title of Australia's "first lady".

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with his wife Jenny and daughters Abigail and Lily pose for photos after being sworn-in at Government House in Canberra on Friday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Jenny Morrison has kept a low profile while her husband has navigated successive ministerial posts, including the hoary immigration portfolio which is renowned for attracting vituperative public backlash.

The pair met through their church, began dating when they were 16 and were married by 21. In his maiden speech to parliament in 2008, Mr Morrison alluded to their struggle to have children and the "14 years of disappointments.""As far as growth of the church is concerned there may be some people who may like what they see and what is happening, as far as the Liberal Party is concerned, we have no involvement in their policy making and their decision making." Mr Bonhomme said he and his wife Alison Bonhomme, also a senior pastor at Horizon, had a good relationship with the Morrisons. Mr Bonhomme, a South African who "knows a good curry when he sees one", said Mr Morrison was famous for the ones he whipped up for friends at home. "I don't delve too much into it as far as Scott's political world goes, my role in his life is more on a faith base," he said.

"Yes, our PM is a Christian, he regularly goes to a church and with that my job is to provide a place for him to express his faith." Loading The pastor said he and his congregation were delighted about having one of their own in the nation's top job. "We are thrilled, we are just so excited and thankful and humbled all at the same time. There is a measure of responsibility too and we want to do our best. From our perspective we do all we can to represent our prime minister well," he said. "We are a bit more upbeat, a bit more up-tempo than a traditional church. The message is the same  love, justice, care  however the presentation is probably a bit louder, a bit more up tempo and a lot more musicians. I would say we are passionate in the way we share our beliefs."

Mr Morrison, a former treasurer and minister for social services, immigration and border protection minister, has been open about his faith. Loading He was an opponent of same-sex marriage (same-sex unions do not occur in the Horizon Church) and has been roundly criticised for his tough stance on asylum seekers. In his maiden speech to parliament in 2008 Mr Morrison thanked Hillsong pastors Brian Houston and Leigh Cameron for their "great assistance". Hillsong, like Horizon, is a Pentecostal mega-church. It was founded by Houston and his wife Bobbie in Sydney in 1983 and claims to attract 100,000 people around the world every week. "Growing up in a Christian home, I made a commitment to my faith at an early age," Mr Morrison said in his maiden speech. "My personal faith in Jesus Christ is not a political agenda.The Great British Bake Off, as it's known in the United Kingdom where a copyright issue with Pillsbury isn't a problem like it is in the States, previously ran on PBS stateside, but those initial USA rights for three new and future seasons of the show now go to Netflix. Instead, judge Prue Leith is set to be the butt of hosts Sandi Toksvig and Noel Fielding's jokes about her catastrophic error in giving away last year's victor on Twitter hours before the final aired.

Good news (with a caveat), "Great British Bake Off" fans.

Hollywood has also confirmed that there will be a vegan week in this year's series.

The Great British Bake Off switched to Channel 4 from the BBC where it was presented by Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc and featured judge Mary Berry for seven series.

The streaming service announced Thursday that it has cut a deal for three new and additional future seasons of the show, which will stream as a Netflix original in the United States.

The second season will be released later in the year, and the third season, which has yet to be filmed, will be put on Netflix sometime in 2019.

Among the "ingredients" listed on the release were "one United Kingdom broadcaster Channel 4" and "a dash of Netflix".

If you want to binge-watch the past seasons to get ready for the new one at the end of August or watch the show for the first time, the first 4 seasons are already on Netflix. The Great British Baking Show: The Beginnings, which aired in 2012 during Season 3 of the United Kingdom series, also will be available on Netflix in the US later this year. The entire latest season, which already aired in the United Kingdom as Season 8 there, will go live August 31.Beijings strategy around technology and power is so different from that of the West, that mature economies must begin to adopt a longer-term perspective if they want to stay competitive with China, according a US cybersecurity executive on visit to Australia.

Unlike Western telco infrastructure companies, Chinese telco companies can forego robust profits if the products they sell give Beijing a geopolitical advantage in digital espionage or soft power influence, FireEye executive vice president John Watters said.

For mature economies, its time to play the long game, Watters told Fairfax Media. We cant be looking at near-term economic advantage and sacrifice the integrity of our communications infrastructure.

Fire-Eye executive vice president John Watters Credit:Fire-Eye

Watters comments come as China responds with disappointment to the Australias government decision to block Chinese company participation in the construction of Australias 5G network.But transporting all that mail down the 3775-metre peak takes considerable effort, even in the absence of rain, sleet or snow. That is where the bulldozer comes in - or, technically speaking, a close cousin of one. Two or three days a week during the 40-day span of the summer hiking season that ends in August, a weather-beaten crawler tractor - a bulldozer minus the blade in front - trundles up the 4.5-kilometre Fujinomiya trail to collect crates of postcards and letters. After descending 1372 metres in altitude, the tractor hands off the mail to a regular postal van. Officials at Japan Post, which runs more than 24,000 post offices across the country, said the Mount Fuji branch collected about 12.1 million ($149,000) in revenue last year, but declined to say how much it costs to service this vertiginous route. A hiker and his sons arrange to have postcards sent from the post office on the summit of Mount Fuji. Credit:New York Times With digital messages and social media supplanting regular mail, the postal unit of Japan Post lost nearly 385 billion ($4.75 billion) last year. (The banking and insurance divisions were profitable.)

Motohiko Matsumi, postmaster of the Mount Fuji branch, said as long as hikers climbed the mountain, the postal service would want to keep open its most famous - and highest elevation - branch. "The people who climb Fuji-san want to make a special memory," Matsumi said. "So we are not so much worried about this particular post office." To experience first-hand what is involved in delivering mail from the summit, I climbed aboard the tractor in July for the bone-clattering four-hour round trip up and down the mountain. The company that operates the vehicle, Fuji Concrete Service, not only collects the mail but also delivers food and drinks six days a week to the huts along the path where hikers stop for meals, bathroom breaks and naps. The crawler tractor heads back down after dropping off supplies at the summit of Mount Fuji. Credit:New York Times Embarking from what is known as the new fifth station - which is where the paved road ends, at 2408 metres, and hikers often start their climbs after arriving by car or bus - workers piled a front-loading bucket and the back of the tractor with boxes of curry mix, potato chips, soybean bars, beer and vitamin drinks, as well as toilet paper, plastic spoons and tanks of fuel.

Also on board were 10 people being shuttled up the mountain, some clinging to metal railings and others sitting on dirt-encrusted jump seats. The passengers included staff members for the various rest huts, as well as a doctor and medical student heading to a four-day stint at a first-aid clinic. Yuichi Furuya, 52, has driven the tractor six days a week for the last seven years. When he fired up the deafening engine and nosed the machine onto the rock-strewn dirt path, it quickly became apparent that his view from the glass-enclosed cab was completely blocked by the overfilled bucket in front. But this hardly slowed him down. Dressed in a tan jumpsuit and popping tabs of chewing gum into his mouth, Furuya deftly switched the gears of his machine as if he were playing a musical instrument. Dirt spewed from beneath the tractor, blowing into every crevice of the cab. The tractor drops off supplies at the last station hut before the summit on Mount Fuji. Credit:New York Times "About 40 per cent of the route is inside my head," he said. The rest he navigated by peering down at the ground and watching the trail embankments.

Through hairpin turns and jostling that threatened to dislodge internal organs, Furuya occasionally made a call on his mobile phone and flipped through delivery invoices with one hand while keeping his left hand on the gearshift. All the while, he listened to a soundtrack of electronic dance music, his fingers tapping out rhythms on his right thigh. "I am young at heart," said Furuya. "I listen to music that calms me down." The rattling finally stopped when we reached the mountaintop and crowded into the tiny post office. Two workers were at the counter selling postcards, stamps and certificates to hikers who wanted an official commemoration of their climb. Postal workers take shifts lasting five to seven days at the Mount Fuji branch, sleeping on bunk beds in the back. A young hiker uses the mailbox outside the post office on the summit of the volcano. Credit:New York Times On the day I made the trip, Furuya and an assistant collected 11 plastic crates, each holding about 2000 pieces of mail, and loaded them into the back of the bulldozer.The zero-dollar tourism model is already in use in countries including Thailand, Vietnam and Russia. According to the South China Morning Post, Thai authorities have put the squeeze on zero-dollar tourism. This is, in part at least, because so much of the revenue from the shopping component of the tours flows straight back to China. The shops in Thailand are Chinese-owned and run by Thai proxies. Agar wood shops in Bali mall, Bali. Credit:Amilia Rosa Bali Tourism Board chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana estimates the number of zero-dollar Chinese tourists coming to Bali now could be as high as 70 per cent of the nearly 1.4 million people coming to the island, which is "very alarming", though he can't prove the claim. Locals are losing out when Chinese tour groups are taken to Chinese-owned or backed shops and "payments are made directly to China", Agung tells Fairfax Media.

Unscrupulous operators are "squeezing" tourists to shop while in Bali, he adds, and skipping over the cultural tourism Bali has to offer, taking visitors to "shops owned by the Chinese". "They pay using WeChat payment [a payment platform in China], so it didn't even go through Indonesia, it went straight back to China," he says. "Chinese tourists, of course, they benefit Bali. They are staying in Bali's hotels, restaurants; they still pay for the tour packages. [It's] just the shopping that we are missing out [on]. But our image will be bad, it will create an image as if Bali is 'cheap'." In 2017, 1.09 million Aussies visited Bali, while the number of Chinese visitors was 1.39 million. The Indonesian government needs to crack down on the number of foreigners working as tour guides for Chinese groups without the appropriate visa, he says.

Hery Sudiarto, the head of the Chinese committee for Asita, the Indonesian tours and travel agents' association, confirms "these [zero-dollar] practices exist in Bali, it is not a secret". "I can't accurately say how many of the 1.4 million tourists [in 2017] were part of the [zero-dollar] packages, because we don't have the statistics, but it was significant, very significant." Sudiarto says Chinese tourists used to fit three categories: "Low, middle, high. Now there are maybe seven, there are segments higher than high, below low. Now there's 'very low', special request." It's that lowest category that is a concern, Sudiarto says, because high volumes of tourists and poor-quality tour packages could drive down Bali's reputation as a high-end tourist destination. Latex, batik and agar wood products are some of the more popular items being sold to Chinese tourists but, Agung says, sometimes the products being sold aren't actually made in Indonesia.

"Like latex: why would Chinese come all the way here to buy pillows? Because they were informed that Indonesia is a producer of rubber, when the products are really from China. That's one of their sales tricks," he says. In a car park near Ngurah Rai airport in Bali, a row of buses is lined up outside a shop, though there is little in the way of signs out front to indicate what is for sale inside. Inside, a sign says that this shop sells latex products, and a locker with hundreds of ID tags stands next to a reception desk and a handful of staff. An unmarked shop selling latex products. Shoppers arrive on tour buses; the shop is not open to the general public. Credit:Amilia Rosa When Fairfax Media attempted to join a group of Chinese tourists who had arrived to go shopping, staff in the shop quickly intervened and "guided" us to the reception desk.

The message was blunt. The store only accepted Chinese tourists from Chinese tour groups, and was not open to the public. As this conversation took place, another group of tourists wearing ID tags was taken to the second floor to shop. It's not just local tourism groups in Bali concerned about the big upswing in tourism from zero-dollar packages. China's consul in Bali, Gou Haodong, says tourism from his country is booming and "generally speaking, it's going well". However, he has heard complaints from both sides which need to be addressed, and he is quick to condemn zero-dollar tourism. He is not impressed when told Fairfax Media was refused entry to the latex shop. "May I suggest the local media investigate if there's anything illegal. Why they are behaving this way? ... What you told me has caused me suspicion."

Gou is so concerned that he has asked that stakeholders including tourism organisations, immigration, police, hotels and restaurant groups and government officials meet to discuss ways to tackle the problem. "From the Balinese side we have heard complaints about illegal tourist guides coming here. And with the free visa arrangements [between China and Indonesia], they come here and set up business, that's illegal. Dian Yu (second from left) and her friends in Bali. Credit:Amilia Rosa "From the Chinese side we have heard complaints ... like poor service. But on this one, actually it's from both sides ... There are these tourists who are recruited to join this kind of [low-profit or zero-dollar] group [who] end up being [in a] very uncomfortable experience." Local tour operators have informally complained to him about zero-dollar tourism, he says. In turn, he wants scrupulous tour operators in Bali to focus on "high-end tourists, or cultural tourists rather than mass tourists".

And what about the tourists themselves? Chen Lizhu. Credit:Amilia Rosa Fairfax Media spoke to half a dozen Chinese tourists, most of whom were on package tours, over the course of a week. Despite the concerns raised, none had been forced to shop, though for all of them, shopping in Bali was a big part of the trip. At the famous Tanah Lot, a temple by the sea, student Chen Lizhu from Xi'an city, in Shaanxi province, is part of a tour group of 10 people who have come to Bali for six days. She paid 6000RMB (about $1200) for her trip, and says the hotels and restaurants that are part of the package have been excellent. Shopping, along with trips to the beach, has been a big part of it.

"We will visit a latex company later, we don't have to buy anything, depends on the prices really. But I will likely buy, because my tour guide will get points if we shop. He's nice. But no, we don't have to buy anything." Luo Rui Jin, from Foshan, who was also visiting Tanah Lot as part of a tour group of 18 people, says shopping has been a major feature of the trip. "We went to beaches, we went shopping too ... my cousin and her parents bought a mattress and pillows, it was 450RMB [$90]. She paid cash. I didn't buy, because I just bought my mattress a year ago, it's still new. She bought it because the product here is real [not fake], also 20 per cent cheaper than China." Chinese tourists dominate the scene at Tanah Lot. Credit:Amilia Rosa It's likely, of course, that most tourists have no idea who owns the shops they are being taken to. Why would they? That's how zero-dollar tourism works.

Agung supplied fliers to Fairfax Media that he suggested were examples of zero-dollar tourism packages. A flyer pitching cheap holidays in Bali for the Chinese market. Credit:Amilia Rosa These fliers advertise tours to China with prices that appear to be well below market rates. A luxury package tour that offers three nights at a local five-star hotel, two nights at the luxury Mulia resort or equivalent, flights from China, river rafting and a glass-bottom boat tour for between $997 and $1177. A search on the Indonesian Traveloka website puts the cost of a room at the Mulia resort in Nusa Dua at between $357 and $517 per night. Other tour fliers specify "no shopping" and the cost of these tours can run from $1438 to $1557 for six days and five nights. The cost of similar tours that include shopping can run as low as $758, or nearly half the price.Detroit: The family was standing outside the black iron fence of Detroit's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) centre, named after Rosa Parks, to protest news of their father's sudden deportation, when Rashida Tlaib appeared and took up a bullhorn.

It was barely 48 hours after Tlaib had been elected the family's likely next representative in Congress, and the small group supporting the American children and their detained father, Banny Doumbia, was moved to tears as she spoke.

Rashida Tlaib with her family at a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Detroit earlier this month. Credit:New York Times

"I wanted to be here, because I needed to be where my roots are," Tlaib told them. "Papa Doumbia is why I ran for Congress. Why the injustice? It kills me and pains me every single day."

She hugged her son as she continued.Mr Hammond's comments in a letter to Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Treasury Select Committee, emerged hours after Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab attempted to play down the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit while outlining the impact of such a scenario via a series of technical papers.

"But the reality is that so much would be entirely out of ministers' hands after a no deal Brexit, leaving us at the mercy of decisions taken in Europe" says Chu, adding that "for all their detail, these documents only serve to highlight that gaping void - and catastrophic loss of control".

With seven months until Britain leaves the European Union on March 29, negotiations on divorce terms and future trade have bogged down amid infighting within British Prime Minister Theresa May's divided Conservative government about how close an economic relationship to seek with the EU.

"Essentially, the Unionists in [Northern Ireland] have been told by London to talk to Dublin - it really shows you that nothing has moved on in the last few weeks, and we've very little time left". They cover a wide range of sectors from health and medicines to banking and trade.

The government is publishing 25 "technical notices" setting out what it is doing to prepare for no-deal, an outcome it insists it is confident of avoiding.

"The overarching aim of the notices is to facilitate the smooth, continued, functioning of business, transport, infrastructure, research, aid programmes and funding streams that have previously come from the EU", Raab said.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said longstanding arrangements were in place to cope with border disruption.

"The intention of this SI is not to make policy changes, other than to reflect the UK's new position outside the European Union, and to smooth the transition to this position", the finance ministry said.

Businesses on the continent could be cut off from investment banks in London.

"There are risks here but let's not have the risks blown out of proportion", he added.

One of the main outstanding issues is the Irish border, which the no deal papers failed to address, simply repeatedly saying the government would "take full account of the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland" in its no-deal planning.

To risk peace in Ireland in a bid to appease the extreme Brexiteers is an irresponsible course we must resist at all costs.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer has faced claims of launching a "dodgy project fear" as inter-party tensions over Brexit erupted after he warned no deal could cause major economic damage.

"We have a duty, as a responsible government, to plan for every eventuality", Raab said.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has already announced plans to mitigate the impact for savers with EU-based pension benefits, later this year consulting on a "temporary permissions regime" for European Union companies to continue to access the market.

More than a million Britons living overseas may not be able to access their United Kingdom bank accounts to receive pensions and salaries, the document said.

"From border delays to extra bureaucracy and red tape, to United Kingdom citizens potentially losing access to their pensions, today's speech by Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab was full of new information about a disastrous "no deal" Brexit that no-one could have known about at the time of the referendum", he said.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox recently said the likelihood of failing to reach a deal was "60-40".

The opposition Labour Party's Brexit spokesman, Keir Starmer, said that May's government was "now moving into panic mode".

"A no deal Brexit would be a complete failure by the Government to negotiate for Britain".

'That's why the Liberal Democrats think the public deserves a vote on the final deal and a chance to exit from Brexit'.

The British Chambers of Commerce said businesses had "waited too long for answers to some basic questions around Brexit" and had been "particularly frustrated by the lack of clear guidance".

Jeremy Hunt said MPs will only accept a deal which is consistent with the "letter and spirit" of the 2016 referendum result to leave the EU.Patients who have filed complaints against Johnson & Johnson for allegedly giving them faulty hip implants are unlikely to get any easy relief soon. State governments and the Centre have not hauled up the company in the eight years since the first complaint was lodged. Even if they were to do so now, they are unlikely to be able to make the device maker cough up compensation.

The Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Act, 1940, which regulates medical devices, does not expressly provide for compensation. Johnson & Johnson did not respond to queries on this. The first complaint was lodged in ...Dear Reader,

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Digital Editorpresident on Friday raked up the multi-billion in the UK, accusing the BJP government of changing the contract to benefit an industrialist who was in debt.

In an interaction with the Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) at the London School of Economics, Gandhi spoke of alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, accusing Prime Minister of favouring a businessman who had no experience in manufacturing aircraft.

Gandhi has been attacking the BJP government for allegedly inking the deal at a much higher price than the one the previous regime had negotiated to benefit "one businessman".

Facing allegations of getting undue benefits from the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal, Anil Ambani-led has sent legal notices to several leaders asking them to "cease and desist" from levelling such charges.

Gandhi, in response to a question on tackling corruption, said: "Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been building aircraft for 70 years... HAL has no debt. HAL has by far the best experience in building aircraft in 70 years".

"Our government signed a contract with Dassault, and gave the contract to HAL. The price we were paying was approximately 5.2 billion (Rs 520 crore).

"Then something happened, Prime Minister Modi went to France, changed the contract from 126 planes to 36 planes, changed the pricing structure from 5.2 billion to 16 billion and magically, Mr was given the contract," Gandhi said.

The president alleged that "Mr is Rs 450 billion in debt".

"Mr has never made a plane in his life, and the company that got the contract, one of the biggest defence contracts in the world, was formed one week before, luckily this is absolutely amazing. So that's the interesting question about corruption," Gandhi said.

has denied the allegations relating to the deal under which France's Dassault is supplying the fighter jets and has entered into a joint venture with an Anil Ambani-led group firm to meet its offset requirement of the contract.

Ambani recently wrote to Gandhi on the deal saying his party has been "misinformed, misdirected and misled" by "malicious vested interests and corporate rivals" on the issue.chairperson Vipassana Insaan remains elusive for Police, but not for the which has questioned her twice since the violence after the rape conviction of the sect chief this day last year.

Vipassana Insaan and the Sirsa-based sect's spokesman Aditya Insaan, whose names figure in the list of most wanted in connection with the widespread violence in Panchkula and Sirsa that claimed the lives of over 40 people, have evaded arrest.

chief is behind bars after his conviction on August 25 last year for raping two disciples several years ago. Dera followers ran amok in Panchkula and Sirsa after the conviction, damaging public properties worth crores of rupees.

"Our teams are on the job to arrest Vipassana Insaan and Aditya Insaan," a senior police officer said on Saturday.

In a report submitted in the Punjab and High Court on August 8, the (ED), however, stated that it had questioned her twice during the period. The agency is investigating the Dera's financial assets and alleged irregularities in financial activities.

Vipassana had appeared before the special investigation team of Police, before her name was added in the case in February this year. She has remained elusive for the police since then.

The police have announced a reward of Rs 500,000 for information leading to the arrest of Aditya Insaan who has been declared a proclaimed offender.

Around 1,438 people, including the members of top management of the Dera, are currently facing prosecution in Haryana for violence and arson committed in the state following the Dera head's conviction.

Haryana Police registered 240 cases against Dera followers for violence, arson and destruction of public and private properties.

Out of these cases, investigation has been completed in 207 cases, police said, adding that 12 accused were declared proclaimed offenders.

A year after the violence, 128 claims, including 25 by journalists, worth Rs 104.8 million are still pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

As the state was gripped under violence after the conviction, the sentence was pronounced by the judge at Sunaria jail in Rohtak, where the Dera chief is lodged.

He was sentenced to 20 years in jail. The Dera chief has earned over Rs 6,000 till now by growing vegetables in a patch outside his jail, officials said.

The trial in two murder cases against the Dera chief has reached final stages and charges have been framed against him in a case where he is accused of castrating Dera followers.

At the Sect headquarters in Sirsa, Dera followers led by Shobha Insaan are looking after day-to-day affairs, his disciples said.

Majority of business activities of the sect are closed now.Kaptan Singh Solanki on Saturday took oath of office and secrecy as the new governor of Tripura in a simple ceremony at the Darbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan.

Solanki, who had served as Haryana governor for a little over four years, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Chief Justice Ajay Rastogi.

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, his cabinet colleagues, chief whip Kalyani Roy and Chief Secretary Sanjeev Ranjan were present at the function.

Later, the new governor was given the guard of honour by Tripura State Rifles jawans.

He told newsmen, "The responsibility of a Governor is to ensure that the state follows constitutional provisions and I will do this with utmost care. Side by side I will do whatever I can at my capacity to make Tripura a self reliant and the wealthiest state in the days to come, he added.

Solanki said that the Centre is working to make a new and prosperous India and everybody would have to join the task.

Solanki, who was the former secretary of Haryana unit of BJP, landed at the Maharaja Bir Bikram airport earlier in the day and was received there by the chief minister.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.The 82-year-old Kumari just stared on as other inmates tried to lay a floral carpet on the courtyard of a flood relief camp in Alappuzha district.

"I had never ever imagined that we would not celebrate another Onam at that house in the same way," says the homemaker, overcome with memories from last year's celebrations with her family.

"Today is Thiru Onam, but we are in this relief camp. Unprecedented rains and floods have flattened our home."



Kumari is among the over 8 lakh people who were displaced by the deadly floods and are now living in thousands of relief camps across the state after losing the savings of their lifetime.

The devastating deluge, which has so far claimed 265 lives, has taken the sheen out of the state's most awaited harvest festival, Thiru Onam, which falls today.

But, Onam feast was prepared in schools, colleges, convention halls, mosques and churches which are serving as relief camps in various districts.

Floral carpets were also laid at the camps to soothe the worried minds of flood-hit people. In worst-hit Alappuzha district, 'Onam' was celebrated at a mosque, which has been turned into a relief camp.

The doors of the mosque were opened to accommodate people of all religions on August 18, a mosque committee official said.

"As we saw several houses destroyed, people being displaced, we opened our hall used for offering 'namaz' (prayers).

"This is in true sense religious harmony. The floods have brought people of all religions together," he said.

Bakrid was celebrated here last week and in the same spirit, Onam was being observed today and the feast was prepared by the people in the camp.

"Delicacies like aviyal, sambhar, payasam,.. all have been prepared," the mosque committee official said.

In Chengannur, a relief camp inmate said the Onam festivity may be a low key affair this time, but we will overcome and definitely celebrate next year in our homes.

Young Nandana, who returned to her home from a camp in Kochi, is busy drying her textbooks and notes as the sun came out this morning.

"There is no pookalam due to floods," she said.

Many in the camps, sang 'Onam pattu' (songs), laid out flower carpets and prepared 'sadya' (feast) in an effort to bring some joy into their lives mauled by the unprecedented rains and floods, the worst the state has faced in a century.

Women were busy cutting vegetables and men unhesitatingly pitched in to help, to prepare the feast in many camps.

In the Aluva UC College camp, children and Muslim women joined in making the 'pookalam.'



In the famous Thrikakkara temple at Kochi, dedicated to Vamana, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the usual Onam sadya was not held this year.

Onam is celebrated with great pomp across the state, but this time around festivities are the last thing on people's minds as they come to grips with the devastation.

The usual celebrations like laying floral carpets and preparing feasts were comparatively subdued in urban areas also.

The state government has also cancelled Onam celebrations.

The Kerala Tourism's decision to organise Champions Boat League on the lines of Indian Premier League (IPL) from this year starting with Nehru Trophy boat race also took a beating due to the flooding.

Pulikali (Tiger Dance), which is held in Thrissur with artisans donning tiger masks and dancing to the rhythm of traditional percussion instruments on August 28, has also been cancelled.

Onam commemorates the return of mythical demon king Mahabali to see his beloved subjects at the beginning of 'Chingam', the first month of the Malayalam Calendar.president and convict on Saturday returned to Patna from Mumbai, where he was treated at a hospital for three weeks, and would surrender before the court at Ranchi next Thursday according to the Jharkhand High Court order.

The Jharkhand High Court had yesterday refused to extend the provisional bail of the former Bihar chief minister and asked him to surrender by August 30 before the court.

It had on May 11 granted six weeks provisional bail to Prasad on medical grounds which was extended on several occasions, the last being till August 27.

Flanked by party leaders and workers at the airport here, Prasad refused to make comments on any issues citing the court order restraining him to speak to media. He said his health condition is not good.

"Bolna nahi hai. Instruction hai. Tabiyat theek nahi hai (I have not to speak (with media). There are instructions. My health is not good)," Prasad told reporters while on his way to his wife Rabri Devi's residence 10, Circular road.

When pressed by journalists for his comment on Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal, Prasad reiterated that he has been barred from speaking on any issues in public.

Bhola Yadav, Prasad's close confidant and a MLA, told PTI that Prasad had gone to "Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute on August 6 for the treatment of heart and kidney infection and has returned to Patna today after 19 days. He would go to Ranchi on August 29 and will surrender before the court on August 30."



Asked about Prasad's health condition, Yadav said that "he (Prasad) has got infections in his valve (heart) and kidney. Doctors of Asian Heart Institute have prescribed that Lalu ji be kept in a very sanitised and hygienic conditions. If someone visits his residence in Patna where he would stay till August 29, then the visiting person must be sanitised."



Yadav said that they would make an application before the CBI court at Ranchi for shifting Prasad to RIMS (Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences) but it will be up to the court as to where it refers Prasad.

Asked whether his sons- Tejashwi and Tej Pratap- or other family members were present at the airport, Yadav said that they were at a party function organised to celebrate 100th birth anniversary of late B P Mandal, the former Bihar chief minister who also headed Backward Classes Commission which recommended 27 per cent quota for OBC in jobs.president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met with doctors, medical students and academicians from across the UK and Europe to initiate the process of preparing a blueprint for an affordable healthcare system in India.

Gandhi, in conjunction with the Indian Overseas UK, initiated the work of this broad-based working group during his ongoing two-day visit to London.

The working group includes medical professionals from King's College, Imperial College and the UK's state-funded Health Service (NHS).

Gandhi said: "The next revolution in India will be a healthcare revolution.

"This is a committee of professionals that has come together for the benefit of India. This blueprint will act as a living bridge between global best practice and India's needs. It will help the realise its vision for a more inclusive, affordable and modern Indian healthcare system".

There is a six-month turnaround period for the blueprint, which is anticipated to meet regularly in London and elsewhere in Europe.

It will focus on two key areas: affordable healthcare for the masses and prioritising prevention over cure.

India spends Rs 1,112 (12.30 pounds or $15.94) per capita on public health, which is Rs 3 a day. It spends only 1.02 per cent of its GDP on public health, which is amongst the lowest in the world.

According to the World Bank, India spends less than the average of Low Income Countries, at 1.4 per cent. By contrast, the UK spends 7.9 per cent of its GDP on government expenditure on healthcare.

India's low public-health spending is one reason why citizens often turn to the private sector for healthcare.

Several studies have shown that these expenditures push around more than 30 million below the poverty line every year.

The event, organised by the UK's Royal Society of Medicine, was attended by over 200 medical and other professionals.

During the symposium, Gandhi addressed issues around diabetes, mental health and ageing challenges in India as well as lessons that could be learnt from the NHS.BJP ally claimed on Saturday that Prime Minister faces no real challenge in his bid to retain to power in 2019, making light of president Rahul Gandhi's assertion that opposition parties would unite to take on the ruling NDA in the Lok Sabha polls.

The Lok Janshakti Party chief and Union minister mocked opposition parties, saying they should start concentrating on the parliamentary polls in 2024.

Speaking at an event in London, Gandhi had said that the next election would be pretty straightforward as the BJP would on one side and every opposition party on the other.

Paswan was speaking to reporters at a function to commemorate the birth anniversary of B P Mandal, whose report as the head of a committee -- better known as Mandal Commission -- had paved the way for reservation for the Other Backward Communities. He was born this day in 1918.

The Dalit leader also used the occasion to attack leaders claiming to be "messiah" for the OBCs, saying the community has only two messiahs and one was Mandal and another was former prime minister V P Singh, who decided to implement his report.

Singh risked his political career and decided to swim against the tide when he announced that his government would implement the report, he said, describing it as a very brave decision.

Attacking the Congress, he said governments led by the party sat on the report, which was submitted in 1980, and took no action.

The had empowered the OBCs with its decision to accord constitutional status on a commission looking after its interests, he said.

He also welcomed a Delhi High Court verdict convicting the accused in the Mirchpur violence case in which the victims were Dalits.China wants to build houses and roads in Sri Lankas north, much of which is in a state of disrepair nearly a decade after the end of civil war, Chinese and Sri Lankan officials said, in a bid to expand it influence beyond the islands south. Chinas latest push in the Indian Ocean island nation comes despite criticism that a big Chinese port project and related infrastructure in the south are dragging the country of 21 million people deep into debt. Luo Chong, chief of the political section at Chinas embassy in Colombo, said China wanted to help with reconstruction ...The cabinet of newly-appointed Prime Minister has imposed a ban on first-class air travel by the President, Chief Justice, Senate Chairman and the National Assembly speaker.

The move comes after the ruling Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government on Friday revised working hours in government institutions, abolished discretionary funds of the Prime Minister, federal ministers and members of the National Assembly, reports Dawn news.

The decisions were taken during a second meeting of the federal cabinet in a week presided over by Khan.

The Cabinet rejected a proposal for declaring only one official weekly holiday on Sunday and withdrawing the second weekly holiday on Saturday.

While the span of working hours will remain same - eight hours - the new office timing will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The previous timing was 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The meeting also decided to conduct audit of all mega transport projects carried out in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces during the last government.

It was decided that the Prime Minister would use the official aircraft only for domestic tours and not for foreign visits.

Another important decision taken by the cabinet was formation of task forces for upgrading shanty settlements across the country and launching tree plantation in main cities.

The meeting decided to abolish the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and merge its departments into other ministries.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had spent 51 billion Pakistani rupees ($417,825,150) government funds only in one year by exercising his "discretionary powers", Dawn news reported.

Similarly, President Mamnoon Hussain also distributed public money of 90 million Pakistani rupees on his own discretion.The Norfolk Senior Center strives to help members of the community stay in their homes as age makes it increasingly difficult to do so. With a daily mix of social and wellness checks and its Meals on Wheels program that provides nutritional meals to those who need the assistance accessing foUS President has abruptly called off a planned visit next week by Secretary of State Micheal Pompeo to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and the lack of support from China for the process due to trade tensions.

Trump's decision to call off the visit came just a day after Pompeo had announced that the newly appointed special representative for North Korea Steve Biegun and he will be travelling to North Korea next week to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Trump tweeted on Friday.

He added that because of America's much tougher trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)



Trump said Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after America's trading relationship with China is resolved.

"In the meantime, I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!," the US President said.

This would have been Pompeo's fourth visit to North Korea. In a historic meeting, Trump had met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June in Singapore and had praised him saying Kim had "to be a rough guy," but that he's "smart, loves his people, he loves his country. He wants a lot of good things and that's why he's doing this."



A trade war has been escalating between the US and China following announcements by Trump that the US is imposing unilateral tariffs on Chinese imports. China responded by imposing retaliatory tariffs on American products, which prompted Trump to announce that even more tariffs would be put in place.

The Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed concern that North Korea has not shown any indication that it has curbed its nuclear program. In a report, the agency called the "continuation and further development" of Pyongyang's nuclear program a cause for grave concern.

"As the agency remains unable to carry out verification activities in the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea], its knowledge of the DPRK's nuclear program is limited and, as further nuclear activities take place in the country, this knowledge is declining," the IAEA report said.Gold demand from flood-hit Kerala will see a big dent in the coming months, say analysts. Also, the fall in new demand and increase in supply due to the sale of old gold jewellery will reduce imports of the metal further, they say.

This year's gold imports are anyway estimated to fall 15 per cent to around 100-150 tonnes. Kerala's demand for gold jewellery is estimated to be around 12-15 per cent of the whole of India's demand of around 600 tonnes for jewellery. In flood-hit areas, the first priority is rehabilitation and gold could be the best asset to encash. ...At least 18 people were killed in a massive fire that broke out at a hot springs hotel in north-east China's Harbin city on Saturday.

Xinhua quoted a source of the provincial fire department saying that the incident occurred in a four-storeyed building in Songbei district of the city.

According to China's state broadcaster, CCTV, the fire began after 4:30 am (local time) and spread massively before it could be doused. It took three hours to extinguish the fire.

An investigation into the incident has been initiated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Anil D Ambani has resigned as the Director of Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNAVAL), a company official said on Saturday.

As per an official statement from company secretary Paresh Rathod, Ambani resigned in compliance with provisions of Section 165 of the Companies Act, 2013, prescribing the limit on directorships to only 10 public companies.

"Pursuant to Regulation 30 read with Schedule Ill Part A of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 ("the Listing Regulations"), we hereby inform that Shri Anil D Ambani has resigned as Director of the Company with effect from August 25, 2018, in compliance with provisions of Section 165 of the Companies Act, 2013, prescribing the limit on directorships to only 10 public companies," the statement read.

Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited operates the country's largest integrated shipbuilding facility and has obtained a license and contract to build warships. It has the largest engineering infrastructure in India and is one of the largest in the world.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hollywood star Blake Lively shut her critic down for schooling the actor about style sense and suggesting her to hire a new stylist.

An Instagram user took a dig at the 'Green Lantern' star after she posted her multicoloured Roland Mouret look on the social media site on Friday. The critic, Gabeluna suggested her to fire her stylist or instead get a new one. "I say this with so much love & respect for you babe, please hire a stylist or fire the one you're currently with," she said

Giving Gabeluna a fitting reply, Lively wrote, "Thank you for the tips, sir. Alas, I've tried to fire @blakelively so many times. But that b***h just keeps coming back. She won't leave me alone."

Lively, who is well known for movies like 'The Shallows' and 'All I see you' . She will next be seen in 'The Rhythm Section' which is set to release in 2019.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Reiterating that the "Chinese are still in Doklam", on Saturday declined to reveal information discussed at the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs which looked into the standoff.

Responding to a question on the issue while interacting with Indian Journalists Association in London, Gandhi said, "Chinese troops are still in and have built massive infrastructure there. The Prime Minister went recently to and didn't discuss Doklam with them. The Prime Minister went there without agenda. Somebody comes here, slaps you on your face and you have a non-agenda discussion."

On being asked if he could throw light on the Doklam report since he was part of the Parliamentary Committee and had an interaction with the Foreign Secretary, Gandhi said, "It is a tricky question because I can't say. I am bound by Parliamentary privilege; can't say what was in the report. But I can say that we had a conversation with the Foreign Secretary and the Defence Secretary on Doklam. And what was said in that room, cannot be said outside." The 19-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs is headed by Member of Parliament

On Friday, Gandhi asserted that the Doklam standoff could have been avoided if the current government at the Centre-led by Prime Minister dealt with the matter more diligently.

During an interaction at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, the chief took a sardonic dig at the incumbent government and said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation claimed that withdrew its forces from Doklam, but the "Chinese are still present" at the disputed site.

(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.)Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday commented on the controversy over condition of Indian jails, particularly the one where liquor baron Vijay Mallya will be lodged after his extradition and said that "justice should be same for all Indian people and Mallya can't have a different jail".

Interacting with Indian Journalists Association in London, Gandhi said, "Justice should be same for all Indian people, it shouldn't be that just because you are Mallya and have 9,000 crores in the bank, you require a different jail than other people in India."

In his elaborate reply, the Congress chief also made an attack on Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and hinted towards an apparent shielding of fugitive business persons including Mallya and diamantaire Nirav Modi.

"Before leaving India Vijay Mallya met some of the senior BJP leaders and it is documented. I won't take names but he did meet them. So they are pretty lenient to these people. Nirav Modi took 45, 000 crores, Mehul Chouski took off from India. There is a relationship between Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and these relationships come in the middle of justice."

He also questioned the basis of imparting huge sums as loans to these absconding businessmen and said, "The real question is when we talk about job creation. Indian banks gave 35,000 crores to Nirav Modi. Narendra Modi let him run away from India. How many jobs did Nirav create and on what basis he was given such big sums? That's the same exact thing for Vijay Mallya. I think Indian prison were pretty suited places for Mallya".

Mallya, who is under fire over financial fraud and money laundering, left India on March 2, 2016. The businessman owes Rs 9,000 crore to several Indian banks.

Nirav Modi, who is at the centre of multi-crore Punjab Bank (PNB) scam absconded in early 2018. In July, the Interpol issued a Red Corner Notice against him.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)New Delhi [India], Aug 25 (ANI): The Congress has started a nationwide campaign from today in order to "force" the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central Government to answer allegations leveled against it in the controversial Rafale deal.

As per the strategy drawn to corner the government, the Congress will be holding as many as 100 press conferences across the country over a period of time to "wake up" the government. While former Union Minister P. Chidambaram addressed the media today in Kolkata, Ajay Maken will hold a press conference in Chandigarh, Shakeel Ahmed in Dhanbad, Pratap Singh Bajwa in Dharamsala and Pawan Khera in Gurugram. The media briefings will culminate on September 26.

"Through Rafale deal, the BJP has done encounter of transparency, Make in India and Defence Procurement scheme," Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told ANI adding "The Centre needs to tell the people of this country how they have done corruption worth Rs 42,000 crore through this deal? How they took the contract from a government company and gave it to their friend? We will force the BJP government to give answers regarding this deal. The BJP is not a corruption-free government, rather it is an investigation-free government," he added.

The Congress party is all set to stage a district-wise protest to reach out to the common man on the issue of the Rafale deal. State units have also been directed to organise protests in all headquarters of the states on the issue. For the month-long campaign programme, the Congress has fielded 50 leaders, including the former ministers and spokespersons of the party

The Congress has repeatedly attacked the BJP on the Rafale deal on several occasions. During the No-Confidence Motion in the Lok Sabha last month, Congress president Rahul Gandhi claimed that he had met French President during his visit to India and asked him about the secrecy clause in the pact. He further claimed that the French President had denied about any such clause.

Despite France clarifying that there was a 2008 security agreement between the two countries in this regard that legally binds the two nations to protect classified information, Rahul stood by his claims and got support from other Opposition leaders as well.

In 2008, India had signed a deal with France-based Dassault Aviation to purchase 36 Rafale jets, which is slated to be one of the world's biggest military procurement in recent history and could cost the Indian government USD 15 billion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the party has an issue with the "criminalisation" aspect in the Triple Talaq Bill.

Responding to a question by ANI on Congress stonewalling the Triple Talaq Bill in courts and in Parliament, the Congress President said, "We have an issue with the criminalisation (part of the Bill) but we have not stonewalled anything. Our issue is with the criminalisation aspect."

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been accusing the Congress of stalling the passage of the landmark Bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 29, 2017. The Bill is yet to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha. The BJP's aim was to get the Bill passed in the Budget Session which commenced on January 29 and adjourned sine die on April 6. The Congress-led Opposition, however, has demanded that the Bill should be sent to the Select Committee for further scrutiny.

On August 9, the Cabinet proposed three amendments in the Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill, 2017. The changes proposed are, firstly only the victim, a blood relation or relation by marriage are allowed to lodge FIR in the case; secondly, the case can be dropped if husband and wife agree to settle their differences and thirdly, a magistrate can grant bail to men found guilty of giving instant Triple Talaq to their wives. However, the offence still remains non-bailable. After the Bill is passed in the Upper House, it would go back to the Lok Sabha for approval of the amendments.

The draft of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2017, also known as the Triple Talaq Bill, says, "Any pronouncement of talaq by a person upon his wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal".

The Bill proposes a three-year jail term for a Muslim man who divorces his wife in any form of spoken, written or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman-led Defence Ministry on Saturday issued a clarification over the former's spat with a Karnataka minister during her visit to the flood-hit Kodagu district of Karnataka yesterday.

A video of Sitharaman snapping at Karnataka Minister SR Mahesh went viral on social media, where she can be seen talking aggressively with the latter.

"I am following a minute-to-minute programme, minister. If officials are important, my parivaar (family) is also important.... Central minister follows the minister in-charge here. Unbelievable," Sitharaman, who was in the flood-affected district to take stock of the situation, can be seen telling Mahesh in the video.

Clarifying the sequence of events prior to the incident, the ministry, said, "The tour programme of the RM (Raksha Mantri) was finalized by the district administration of Kodagu in consultation with the public representatives. This programme was approved and circulated to all concerned two days prior to RM's arrival. Subsequently, on the request of the district administration, an interaction with the veterans was added to the schedule."

"On completion of the field visits, as per the programme, the RM was interacting with ex-servicemen who had been adversely affected by the floods, when the District in-charge minister objected and insisted that meeting with the officials be conducted first. RM clarified that the welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the Ministry of Defence and the same was scheduled in the program. However, the district minister insisted that the RM immediately stop the interaction and proceed to the meeting with the officials," the statement added.

The Ministry of Defence release also gave a detailed account of Defence Minister's itinerary during her visit to the district.

"It was unprecedented to hold such a meeting with all the media persons present," the statement said.

Earlier on Friday, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Dr G Parameshwara took to Twitter to comment on the issue. Citing that Centre and State are equitable partners, he said that it was disappointing to see Defence Minister lashing out at his colleague.

"Madam @nsitharaman, our ministers have stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end. It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague," Parameshwara tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of renowned scientist G. Satheesh Reddy to the post of Secretary of Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) and Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Reddy, who is a distinguished scientist and scientific adviser to Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has been appointed to the post for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. He will succeed S. Christopher, who retired this year.

The Indian Aerospace Scientist joined Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad in 1986 and subsequently joined Research Centre Imarat (RCI), the brainchild of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, after its formation

Reddy is well known for his significant contributions towards indigenous design, development, deployment of diversified missiles & strategic systems, guided weapons, avionics technologies. He also made significant contributions for sustained efforts in advancement of aerospace technologies & industries in India.

In 2014, he was elevated as distinguished scientist and was appointed as the scientific adviser to Defence Minister in May 2015. As Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems (DG, MSS), he spearheaded Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex Laboratories - ASL, DRDL and RCI, ITR, TBRL & other technical facilities.

He also developed the mission critical technologies for Long Range Agni-5 missile. He holds the distinction of being inducted as Fellow of Royal Institute of Navigation (FRIN), London, Royal Aeronautical Society, UK (FRAeS) and Foreign Member of the Academy of Navigation & Motion Control, Russia.

He is also a recipient of Dr Biren Roy Space Science Design Award, Astronautical Society of India Rocketry & Related technologies Award and has been conferred with Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Science by many leading Universities in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Indian-American businessman Sant Singh Chatwal has said that the International Centre for Sikh Studies (ICSS) that is coming up at the Gurudwara Rakabganj Sahib in New Delhi would help in spreading the message of the Guru Granth Sahib, the religious scripture of the Sikhs to all the generations across the globe.

In his opening remarks at a press conference here on Friday, Chatwal said that he had visited the centre in India last month and appreciated that 80 per cent of the works has so far been completed. He added that he is looking for its grand opening on the occasion of Baisakhi next year.

Stressing on the importance of the Guru Granth Sahib, Chatwal explained, "The message of Guru Granth Sahib is very universal. It is not only for the Sikhs, it is for every human being and for all religions. When we bow our heads in front of the Guru Granth Sahib, it is not just for the Sikhs, but for all. The ICSS is one centre which is open to all the religions."

He added, "All over the world, ICSS will help to spread the message (of the Guru Granth Sahib) to those people who don't know that we don't believe in one God. In July 2015, when I first heard the idea of creating a Guru Granth Sahib international centre, it was an amazing and creative idea."

The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh GK, who is the brainchild behind the project, said that many people have supported the cause of establishing the ICSS and have contributed for the initiative.

He said, "The project was conceived by the DSGMC. When we met Chatwal and gave him the details, he offered us USD one million for the initiative. Also, Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal gave Rs. 10 crore on behalf of the Punjab government."

Calling the Guru Granth Sahib as the living guru of the Sikhs, Singh added, "The problem is that we have not been able to convey this (Guru Granth Sahib) message to our generation. The message of Guru Granth Sahib is universal. It consists of the bani (sermons) of the 10 Sikh Gurus. When people were thrown out from holy places due to their status as lower caste, the bani of those saints were included by our fifth guru. This project will trace the journey of the Guru Granth Sahib; how did our guru collect the bani of other saints."

He underscored that the religious scripture talks about the upliftment of women, promoting compassion and humanity, helping the downtrodden and standing with the oppressed in critical times.

Singh continued, "It (Guru Granth Sahib) preaches that on the basis of religion, with status or money, you cannot be bigger or smaller. You can be great with your own deeds. This (ICSS) will put a message across the globe on what Guru Granth Sahib stands for. Sikhs are facing hate crimes all over the as we are considered something else of what we are not. This message must be spread."

The DSGMC president talked about the ICSS centre saying that it would house a museum where the original Guru Granth Sahib that was handwritten about 400 years ago, would be displayed. He added that a digital library comprising thousands of religious books and an auditorium with 4Dx technology (showcasing holographic projection) would be designed. The centre is located opposite the Parliament House.

Singh further explained, "It is not necessary that the people will come to Delhi to see what is there, we have online facility as well. It (the Centre) will trace the journey of Guru Granth Sahib that how it was printed before and how it is done now."

Terming the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev as a visionary, Singh stressed that people considered him as a walking and talking prophet as he spoke extensively on the Guru Granth Sahib and traveled 40,000 miles on foot all around the

The DSGMC president further stated that the Guru Granth Sahib gives the message of inter-faith dialogue, adding that all problems could be resolved mutually on the table.

Singh went on to say that the followers of Sikhism always served the people whenever they were in distress in any part of the planet, as propagated by Guru Nanak Dev.

Meanwhile, the convener of ICSS and former Rajya Sabha member S. Tarlochan Singh said, "The 550th birthday of Guru Nanak Dev would be celebrated all over the next year. It is important to impart his message to the people. Through modern techniques, people would be aware of the philosophy of Guru Nanak Dev and the history of the Sikhs. In this centre, people would come to know that this is the religion which is meant to serve humanity.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi' s silence on the Unnao rape case, as well as absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi, a key accused in the multi-million dollar Punjab Bank (PNB) scam.

Addressing a gathering of the Indian Overseas Congress in London, Rahul accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of dividing the country.

"The BJP is making a deliberate effort to break the unity in India. But the Congress will always try to protect the unity in India. The Congress does not nurture hate, and can embrace its Opposition," he asserted.

Referring to BJP President Amit Shah as a "murder accused" in connection with the death of Judge Loya, Gandhi hit out at the party for creating a coercive environment to prevent institutions like the Supreme Court, Election Commission, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from functioning on its own and without interference.

"Earlier people would go to judges for justice, but now judges are coming to the public and expressing that they are not being allowed to work. Supreme Court, EC, RBI are the walls of our country, they're being torn apart now," he claimed.

Further criticising Prime Minister Modi, Gandhi claimed that the former was insulting every citizen of the country by saying that India did not see any development before he came to power.

"When Prime Minister Modi says nothing happened before he became a Prime Minister, he insults every Indian's forefathers who toiled hard to build this country. Today in India, people are discriminated against on the basis of their caste and religion. Marginalised are betrayed while people like Anil Ambani benefit. While China creates 50,000 jobs in a day, India creates only 450 jobs," he added.

The Congress President also said that Indians residing outside the country played a pivotal role in providing new perspectives.

"You all have come here from all corners of the country and have made India proud. Congress party was powered by Non-Resident Indians (NRI) like you. Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Dr. Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru were all NRIs. They travelled the world and helped India with new perspectives," he noted.

Rahul Gandhi is presently in the United Kingdom after completing a two-day visit to Germany.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has agreed to testify on the company's algorithms and content monitoring before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 5.

"CONFIRMED: Twitter CEO @jack Dorsey will testify September 5 before E&C on the company's algorithms and content monitoring," Energy and Commerce said in a tweet.

Committee Chairman Greg Walden called Twitter "an incredibly powerful platform that can change the national conversation in the time it takes a tweet to go viral."

"When decisions about data and content are made using opaque processes, the American people are right to raise concerns," he said in a statement.

"This committee intends to ask tough questions about how Twitter monitors and polices content, and we look forward to Mr. Dorsey being forthright and transparent regarding the complex processes behind the company's algorithms and content judgement calls," he added.

CONFIRMED: Twitter CEO @jack Dorsey will testify September 5 before E&C on the company's algorithms and content monitoring.  Energy and Commerce (@HouseCommerce) August 24, 2018

This comes amid scrutiny of Twitter and other tech giants, like Facebook, over their handling of attempts by Russia to spread misinformation in order to meddle in US elections.

Dorsey is also expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee next month, alongside Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and a representative from Google, CNN reported.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With water starting to recede in some of the flooded parts of Kerala, restoration process has been expedited in the state.

The Chief Minister Officer (CMO) in Kerala on Saturday tweeted that at least 1, 31, 683 houses wrecked in the floods have been cleaned, which is 31 per cent of the total flood-hit houses.

It also added, "Electricity restored for 23.36 lakh connections of the 25.6 lakh disrupted. 14,314 transformers (out of 16158 affected) are now functioning."

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday gave details saying, "Rs.10,000 will be transferred to the bank accounts of people who will leave relief camps and also to the people who have already left."

The Central Government has provided Rs.600 crore as advance assistance.

Out of a total population of about 3.48 crore, more than 54 lakh or one-sixth of the population of Kerala, had been directly affected by the floods.

As many as 357 people have lost their lives so far, with the state facing a loss of Rs 19,512 crore and over 10, 00,000 people are packed into relief camps.

On Thursday, the Centre announced that additional funds would be released from the Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) on assessment of the damages in the flood-hit state as per laid down procedure.

That states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and several others have extended help to the state. Celebrities from various fields too offered aid in the wake of the situation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad has been discharged from hospital in Mumbai, after receiving treatment for chest pain and low haemoglobin count.

The 70-year-old leader was admitted to Asian Heart Institute after being diagnosed with the illness on Monday. He is likely to fly to Patna later in the day.

The former Bihar chief minister was hospitalised for the second time in a span of three months. On June 19, he was rushed to the hospital following the same health disorder and was admitted for several days.

Prior to this, Lalu Prasad was also undergoing treatment at Ranchi's Rajendra Institute Medical Sciences (RIMS), where he was hospitalised on March 16 after he complained of discomfort at Birsa Munda Jail. He was later shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) situated in the capital.

Lalu, who has been convicted in four cases in connection with the multi-crore-rupee fodder scam, is out on bail from the past couple of weeks.The Ranchi High Court had granted him bail in June on medical grounds till August 17.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With the availability of high quality doctors, professionals and skilled manpower in the medical field, communication skills, robust technologies, wellness and holistic treatments and relatively lower cost of treatment compared to western world, India is playing a major role in Medical Tourism, opined Dr Pradeep Mahajan, Chairman, Trans Asia Chamber of Commerce - Medical Tourism.

He was speaking at the launch of medical info-media portal www.ibexmedworld.com by Ibex New Concepts Pvt Ltd at a function organised in Pune on Wednesday. Dr. Shrikant Raje, Director Grand Medical Tourism, and Medivision Super Speciality Hospital, Shaikh Azam, Director Ibex New Concepts Pvt Ltd, Dr. Neha Shaikh - representative Medical Tourism Ibex New Concepts were present on the occasion.

Azam said that Ibex New Concepts Pvt Ltd has launched www.ibexmedworld.com to collate information on Indian concepts like yoga, export Ayurveda, made in India medical equipment, medical tourism and online second opinion, which will boost ties in the healthcare sector between India and various countries.

Azam added that while the portal is a joint effort between Indian and Chinese partners - Beijing Ibex International and Consulting, it will also have a focus country concept 2019 that will focus on China, while 2020 and 2021 will focus on UAE, Oman, Nigeria and Egypt respectively. Also assisting the venture would be Indo-OIC Chamber of Commerce and Industry which has a presence in more than 45 Islamic countries.

Three international MoUs were signed on the occasion by Ibex New Concepts including Technology transfer cum partnership with Beijing Zhongtuo Company Ltd and media partner agreement with Yidebang portal, an MoU between StemRx Bioscience Solutions Mumbai with Beijing Med-Retreat hospital and an MoU between Grand Medical Tourism with China Association for Life Care.

Dr Pradeep Mahajan said that medical tourism was the gateway for access to health to meet the needs of developed countries. with higher medical costs and rapidly ageing population, medical tourism to India is set to grow. people are coming to India for cancer treatments, heart surgeries, dentistry, and cosmetics amongst others due to relatively lower costs.

Medical tourism in India is growing and expected to be worth 8 billion dollars by 2020. The visas for medical tourists coming into India has gone up to 5 lakh plus visas in 2017 from about 4 lakh visas issued in 2015. Currently, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu account for more than 65 per cent of the foreigners coming for medical treatments. The availability of high-quality doctors, skilled manpower with communication skills and robust technologies India will be a leader in medical tourism.

Dr. Shrikant Raje noted that while the development in some of the countries like China is phenomenal, Indian doctors are earning a name for themselves with requisite skills to impact globally and this is giving rise to medical tourism in India. Tourism companies will also have a part to play with collating information and therefore the launch of this portal is a significant development, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has confirmed that United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would pay a visit to the country on September 5.

While addressing a press conference here on Friday, Qureshi termed the relations between Pakistan and the US as "vital." The Express Tribune quoted Qureshi as saying, "The importance of Pak-US ties is not lost on anyone. There have been ups and downs but it is a vital relationship."

Earlier, the US reiterated its statement that during the telephonic conversation between Pompeo and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, Washington had sought 'decisive action' against terrorists operating from Pakistan.

Commenting on the same, however, Qureshi said that the statement was "factually incorrect." Terming the conversation between Khan and Pompeo as "very good", Qureshi continued, "As per my understanding, the statement issued by the US State Department was factually incorrect. I was in Multan when Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua called me regarding the matter. I told her to confirm the conversation and issue a rebuttal immediately. She was present during the phone call between PM Imran and Pompeo."

US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, who issued the statement, confirmed that the issue of terrorism was raised by Pompeo and added that Washington stood by its readout. Her response came after Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mohammad Faisal dismissed the statement and claimed that there was no mention of terrorism during the conversation between Pompeo and Khan.

The Pakistan foreign minister underscored that along with the US, Pakistan also wished for the stability of Afghanistan. He added that his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi would also visit Pakistan on September 8, the report said.

Speaking on the relations between India and Pakistan, Qureshi asserted that Islamabad was ready for a dialogue and emphasised on the need to move forward.

Recalling Khan's speech last month, Qureshi said, "Pakistan is not shy of the dialogue process. Prime Minister Imran (Khan) clearly said in his maiden speech that if India takes one step towards peace, Pakistan will reciprocate with two steps."

He went on to say that Pakistan wants peace and stability, and the government's priority is to ensure that rapid economic development takes place.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela's grandson Nkozi Mandela, came down heavily on United States President Donald Trump for his tweet on "large-scale killing of farmers" in South Africa.

"President Donald Trump's unfortunate tweet shows disrespect for South Africa's sovereignty and our commitment to justice and redress. Trump once again demonstrates a total ignorance of reality. We will not be dictated to, threatened or pressured into accepting a land deal that perpetuates the injustices of the past," The Hill quoted Nkozi as saying to Time magazine.

Mandela further said that Trump should focus on the domestic challenges in his own country.

Trump had earlier tweeted about "farm seizures and expropriations and the large-scale killing of farmers" in South Africa and asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to have a closer look into the matter.

"I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large-scale killing of farmers. South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers," the tweet read.

The South African Government had also dismissed the comments made by Trump and took to social media to refute his claims. It further accused Trump of attempting to divide the nation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A child died while four others were injured as police opened fire at protesters staging a demonstration in front of the District Administration Office in Kanchanpur on Friday.

The deceased has been identified as Chetan Bhatta of Bhimdutta Municipality, Bhagatpur. Kanchanpur has been witnessing violent clashes and riots since several days over the arrest of a rape and murder case suspect.

The locals of Kanchanpur's Bhimduttanagar protested demanding action against those involved in the rape and subsequent murder of 13-year-old girl.

The minor girl was killed after she was allegedly raped in a sugarcane farm on July 26.

On Sunday, the local police declared the victim's brother-in-law as the accused, but locals demanded his release deeming him to be mentally challenged and blamed the police of victimising him.

The protest in Kanchanpur intensified on Friday after Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leader Bhim Bahadur Rawal claimed that the incident was being politicised.

Earlier, eight other persons, including two police personnel, were injured during a confrontation between police personnel and protestors in Traffic Chowk, Kanchanpur.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Protests were staged in Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu on Saturday against the government for its failure to arrest the culprits of the Kanchanpur rape incident.

Activists and the general public took to the streets in Kathmandu in support of the family of a 13-year-old victim, who was found dead on July 26 in a sugarcane farm after being raped.

The demonstration, led by the social activist groups marched from the Maitighar Mandala to the Parliament in Baneshwor, chanting slogans and displaying placards with messages against the government.

Speaking to ANI, a demonstrator said, "Instead of arresting the culprit, the government has been claiming that the protests are violent and provocative. The father and mother of the victims have been threatened. We citizens have taken this matter with the utmost seriousness."

The number of rape cases in the Himalayan nation has been continuously rising. An estimated two to three rape cases are registered in the country on daily basis. The public and opposition parties pin the blame on the government for not taking adequate efforts to curb it.

"I hope that the government will take some initiation over the incident of Kanchanpur. While settling the tension, there should not be any pressing down of the issue. We all came down in rage. These incidents are unacceptable for the Nepali society," Gagan Thapa, the leader of the opposition Nepali Congress party, who took part in the protest on Saturday told ANI.

The protestors also demanded the resignation of the Home Minister for using excessive force on the protestors rather than arresting the culprit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and the team of 'Bharat' have wrapped up the second schedule of the Ali Abbas Zafar directorial in Malta.

Zafar took to social media announcing the same along with a still from the upcoming romantic thriller featuring Salman and Katrina Kaif in lead roles.

In the still, Salman, dressed in a classic black sherwani, can be seen romancing his 'Tiger Zinda Hai' co-star, who is all about grace in a green lehenga.

"Malta schedule wrapped .... @Bharat_TheFilm @BeingSalmanKhan #katrinakaif" read the post.

The first schedule of the movie was wrapped up in Mumbai.

'Bharat' is Zafar's third collaboration with Salman, in which the latter will be seen sporting five different looks spanning over 60 years, including a crucial part which will showcase the actor in his late 20s, looking much leaner and younger.

The film, which also stars Tabu and Disha Patani in pivotal roles, is slated to hit theatres on June 5, next year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj will pay an official visit to the South-East Asian countries of Vietnam and Cambodia from August 27 to August 30.

In Vietnam (August 27 to 28), Swaraj will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission in Vietnam along with her counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. She will also call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) read.

On August 27, Swaraj will inaugurate the third edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.

In Cambodia (August 29 to 30), the EAM will have a bilateral meeting with Senior Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Prak Sokhonn. Swaraj will meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and President of Senate Say Chhum. It will be Swaraj's first official visit to Cambodia.

"The visit of EAM to Vietnam and Cambodia will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and advance our strategic engagement with these countries and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region," the MEA statement added.

Earlier this month, Swaraj embarked on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and held bilateral engagements in these countries.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Looks like the Wests have another fan, and it is none other than United States President Donald Trump himself!

While speaking at a fundraising dinner for the Ohio Republican Party in Columbus, the US President was all praises for rapper Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian.

"Now we're doing great and Kanye West liked me and that really lifted my- Kanye West has some real power! He's got a good wife too, in Kim, I'll tell ya. She really is," E! Online quoted Trump, as saying.

In June, Trump had granted clemency to inmate Alice Johnson after Kim met with him to discuss the matter at the White House.

Speaking about the same, he said, "She (Kim) did a great thing. She did a great thing. The person was in jail on a very strange thing. She was there for 22 years and it was based largely on a phone call that they were listening to and she had another 24 years, she was about 62 or 63 and I gave her a pardon."

Kanye, on the other hand, has been a longtime fan of the US President, and has often been vocal about his admiration for Trump.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)United States President Donald Trump has ordered the State Department to withdraw USD 200 million-worth aid which was previously planned for West Bank and Gaza.

"At the direction of the President, we will redirect more than USD 200 million in FY2017 Economic Support Funds originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza. Those funds will now address high-priority projects elsewhere," a senior State Department official told CNN.

The decision to withdraw the aid comes after Trump ordered a review of "US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer."

Condemning the decision, Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said the US administration was "demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool," and added that the Palestinian leadership would not be intimidated by the same.

"There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation. The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources; now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation," Ashrawi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With successive two years in its bag, the third edition of Indian Ocean Conference is set to begin on August 27 at Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

The theme of the two- day conference will focus on 'Building Regional Architectures', particularly with regards to trade and commerce, security and governance.

This year's conference will see 43 countries as participants while 28 ministers and officials are set to address the event. The key speakers include Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Vietnam H.E. Pham Bihn Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health & Population, Nepal, H.E. Upendra Yadav and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Singapore, H.E. Vivian Balakrishnan along with other notables. Representatives from Indian and foreign Think Tank will also grace the conference.

Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj along with other dignitaries will inaugurate the conference on August 27.

This year, the Indian Ocean Conference will emphasise on better cooperation, strategic collaboration and governance architectures. This conference will serve a platform to the countries to come closer and exchange better views on the economic and strategic importance of the region and neighbourhood.

Earlier, the conference was held in Singapore and Sri Lanka in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Organised by Indian Foundation along with the partners from Singapore, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka this is an initiative to bring the state leaders, diplomats and bureaucrats from across the region under one roof to strengthen the understanding among each other.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The city of Yokohama, in partnership with The Pokemon Company, has been holding city-wide "Pikachu Outbreak!" events for four years in a row.

A lot of fans of Pokemon series gather from all over the for this event.

"Pikachu", which is one of the most popular characters from Pokemon series, can be seen everywhere in Yokohama during this event. It is attracting many people from kids to adults. Fans in this event also enjoy wearing Pokemon's costume and showing Pokemon's goods. On this day, Yokohama city is covered by Pokemon phenomenon.

"Pikachu is very cute and my children are also enjoying decorations and show. We never attended this kind of event anywhere before, so we are having a very unique experience," said a visitor.

The Splash Show is held at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse and has become an annual event. This is a popular event because participants can get a lot of water splash during hot summer. "Pikachu" and "Eevee"--the characters which were introduced for the first time this year-- participated in the event. This year also many people came here to cool down and enjoyed watching their cute dancing.

"Pikachu is really great. We watched them dancing and splashing water everywhere. It was a really great time for me." said another visitor to the event.

One of the main events is "Electrical Pikachu's March". Using lighting digital technology costumes, many Pikachus marched along with beat-up song music and performed a stylish dance. Although they were very attractive and exhibited cool dancing which is completely different from their usual image, they could not hide their cuteness.

Junya Masuda from the Pokemon Company said, "In this fifth-year event, more than 1500 Pikachus appeared in Yokohama Minatomirai District. Yokohama city is known as a very attractive city among tourists, and we think that one of the special attractions is the beautiful night view of Yokohama, so we have prepared "Pokemon Synchronicity" event to show Pikachus with Yokohama night view in the background."

The "Pokemon Synchronicity" is a 30-minute night show, featuring ship parade with a lot of Pikachus against the background of images floating on the sea. The Pikachu and Pokemon fans are looking forward to visit Yokohama next year to once again relish such great performances and amazing night scenes of Yokohama.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)At least 10 policemen were injured when a mob angry over a minor girl's alleged rape in south Delhi pelted them with stones, police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Friday night when scores of angry locals from Rangpuri Pahadi's J.J. Cluster at Vasant Kunj turned violent and blocked traffic from Mehrauli to Mahipalpur for hours.

"When a local police team, including two assistant commissioners of police (ACPs), reached the spot and informed the people that the accused has already been arrested, the mob refused to disperse and damaged 10 cars and a police vehicle," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Devender Arya.

"The police's repeated requests to keep peace failed to have any effect," he said.

"The protestors then started throwing stones at the police team following which the police used mild force to disperse the crowd. Ten policemen, including two ACP rank officers, were injured", Arya said.

Police teams have detained two dozen protestors and efforts are on to identify more, the officer said.

On Wednesday, a minor girl was allegedly raped by an accused identified as Prakash when she had gone to relieve herself in a forest area near her home.

Prakash who works as a rag picker was arrested on Friday.

--IANS

sp/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)At least 13 people were killed in a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a hauler in Bangladesh's Natore district on Saturday.

A police official told Xinhua news agency that the road accident, which occurred at 4.20 p.m, also left two passengers critically injured.

The wounded were rushed to a hospital and the incident was under investigation.

--IANS

soni/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)"CDC canceled Christmas so Im spending my winter in the tropics."



Don Kumm

was this week's winner.



The winner's name will be put into a drawing for a free month subscription or extension.



Look for a new photo Monday.Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said on Saturday that he will meet members of Akhil Bhartiya Ambedkar Mahasabha in Rajasthan to urge them to end their hunger strike.

The Mahasabha members have been sitting on a hunger strike since August 8 demanding implementation of "special component plan" which will give Dalits a 22 per cent share in the budget. They are also demanding reservation in jobs.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister said that after the mainstream media and the governments failed in their responsibility to listen to these people's problems, the members of Akhil Bhartiya Ambedkar Mahasabha wrote to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, urging him to visit Rajasthan and listen to their demands.

"In eight states and in 154 places, thousands of workers have been sitting on a hunger but it is really sad that the mainstream media did not give any coverage to it," the Minister said.

"On Sunday, I will be going to Rajasthan to meet and urge them to end their hunger strike," he added.

--IANS

Sd/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday congratulated three doctors from the state for being named by the Medical Council of India (MCI) for the coveted Dr BC Roy National Award.

Adityanath said the nomination of M.L. Bhatt, Rakesh Kapoor and Deepak Agarwal was a "matter of immense pride for Uttar Pradesh".

The award is given to recognize the contribution of doctors in the field of medicine.

--IANS

md/anp/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Doctors at the Aligarh Muslim University's Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC) successfully performed a four-hour-long operation to set right a severe congenital anomaly that had threatened the life of a seven-month-old girl.

Doctors said only a few centres in north India could perform this critical procedure.

Mahira, daughter of Salman, a resident of Aligarh's Jawan area, owes her life to the leader of the team, cardiothoracic surgeon Mohammad Hanif Beg, who is also the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Pro Vice Chancellor.

Since one of the heart chambers of the infant was not developed and there was a hole in her heart, it resulted in the mixing of pure and impure blood, the doctors said on Saturday, adding that the child suffered blue discoloration, rapid and distressed breathing and feeding difficulty among other problems.

For the procedure performed on Friday, blood from the baby's head, neck and arms was routed to her lungs. The girl has now been discharged to live a healthy life, the doctors said.

M. H. Beg said the surgery was done free of cost under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), a government initiative under the National Health Mission.

The JNMC is the only centre in western Uttar Pradesh with facilities for complex cardiac surgeries of children, doctor Azam Haseen said.

More than 80 children with heart diseases have benefited from the RBSK programme at JNMC, Uzma Firdaus, Nodal Officer, District Early Intervention Centre, Aligarh said.

--IANS

bk/mag/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Saturday that Article 35A must remain part of the Constitution to ensure that the people of Kashmir do not feel threatened.

Aiyar was delivering a lecture in a seminar organized by the Centre for Peace and Progress in summer capital Srinagar today.

"A right that Kashmiris have for the last 90 years should remain with them so that they do not feel threatened," he said.

"It is in our Constitution and one must not make any attempt to revoke it. Some people are unnecessarily raking up the issue which is not in anyone's interest," he said.

"We can presently do nothing about it because the matter is in the Supreme Court, but I hope the court would take the national interest into account before taking any decision," Aiyar said

--IANS

sq/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)At least two people were killed and four others wounded in a suicide attack during a protest near the Election Commission office in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province on Saturday, officials said.

The attack occurred around 11.20 a.m. when an attacker blew himself up during the protest in the provincial capital of Jalalabad, Nangarhar governor's spokesperson Attaullah Khogyanai told Efe news.

He said that the injured were transferred to a hospital and were in serious condition.

The protest was held over the disqualification of candidate Jawid Zaman by the poll body ahead of the parliamentary as well as local elections scheduled for October 20, Khogyanai added.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

The electoral process for the parliamentary elections have been targeted by insurgents since the voter registration process commenced on April 14.

The most significant one occurred on April 22, when a suicide attack targeting a voting centre in Kabul left 60 dead and 138 wounded. It was claimed by the Islamic State.

Afghanistan is going through one of its bloodiest phases since the end of NATO's combat mission in January 2015.

--IANS

soni/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With names like Priyanka Chopra, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Deepika Padukone walking the red carpet internationally, designer Payal Singhal says Bollywood has an impact on fashion worldwide.

"Their (Bollywood) impact is now worldwide, even in countries they don't visit. People from around the globe follow them. But yes mostly it's an Indian consumer," Singhal told IANS here.

Singhal, who has clients in places like New York, Miami, Hong Kong and London, is happy that Indian actors are doing there best to promote Indian style. But she feels more needs to be done.

"Indian actors are definitely playing their part great in terms of spreading the word of Indian fashion. There are times, however, when I do wish some of them would wear more Indian designs on international runways than they do," she said.

Singhal, who has experience in fashion of over a decade, feels that the definition of couture has not changed over the years.

"Though the only difference then and now is that the consumer is very well informed and aware of couture fashion and luxury wear. Some people, however, do misuse the term couture and market products under that tag which is very misleading for the consumer," she said.

Singhal in association with Lakme Salon will present her latest collection titled 'Showstopping Bride' here. The collection is inspired by folk art tapestry, one of the oldest hand-crafting techniques in the world, and takes the journey through the Renaissance period across the European countries, with influences of Persia.

Talking about her range, she said: "The collection comes together in an extensive colour palette of neutral tones like grey, ivory along with pastels like rose blush, mint, sage, cantaloupe, powder blue; bright shades of yellows, corals and pinks; deeper shades like emerald green, navy blue and deep purple.

"The silhouettes stay true to the Payal Singhal signature new-age Indian mantra with tiered shararas, sari dhotis and layered jackets. Fabrics create flow and structure with silks, georgettes and organzas setting the scene for rich tapestry to unfold."(Durga Chakravarty is in Mumbai at the invitation of the Lakme Fashion Week organisers. She can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)

--IANS

dc/sug/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)China said it hopes to work with the new Australian government to get bilateral ties back on track, authorities said on Saturday.

Scott Morrison was sworn in as new Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Australia on Friday after an internal ballot and days of chaos leading to the ouster of Malcolm Turnbull, reports Efe news.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Beijing has kept a consistent and clear position on developing ties with Australia, adding that healthy and stable bilateral ties are in line with the interests of the people of both countries and help peace and prosperity of the region and world.

On Thursday, Australia banned Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE from providing equipment for the country's 5G mobile network over national security concerns.

Although the government did not explicitly name the businesses, Huawei Australia confirmed the companies had been banned, saying the decision was "extremely disappointing", while in Beijing, Lu said China was deeply concerned.

Australia is also a firm opponent to Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea, and the government is undertaking a review of its espionage laws amid concerns of Chinese influence and interference, among other issues.

--IANS

ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Launching a fresh assault against the Modi government on the Rafale aircraft deal, the Congress on Saturday demanded a public debate and detailed inquiry into the "secretive" happenings and alleged that the defence procurement procedure had been ignored and senior ministers kept in the dark about the negotiations.

Senior party leader P. Chidambaram alleged that the price for the aircraft had increased over three times under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime than what was agreed to by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

"We think the matter is serious enough that there should be a public debate and a detailed inquiry, which is why the Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) and the party have raised the issue," he told the media at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters here.

Chidambaram said the UPA government had entered into a contract to acquire 126 Rafale aircraft -- 18 of them in fly away condition and the remaining 108 aircraft to be made in India by the public sector Undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in Bengaluru, under a transfer of technology agreement with a French company, Dassault Aviation.

"The negotiated price was Rs 526 crore per aircraft. Suppose instead of 18 aircraft, we were buying 36 aircraft at Rs 526 per aircraft, it would have come to Rs 18,940 crore," he said.

However, after the UPA was voted out in 2014 and the NDA came to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an official visit to France on April 10, 2015 announced that an agreement had been signed to buy off the shelf 36 Rafale aircraft.

Although the price was not revealed, in subsequent documents of Dassault Aviation's report, the price was given as 7.5 billion euros, equivalent to Rs 60,145 crore, Chidambaram claimed.

"The price which was agreed on the Prime Minister's visit was Rs 60,145 crore and per aircraft it comes to Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore (negotiated by the UPA)," he said.

"If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the price has gone up three times? That is the first question. To which the answer (given by the NDA government) is: 'This is a secret agreement and we cannot reveal the price'."

"I am revealing the price today, what is so secret about it? It is there in Dassault's annual report which is 7.5 billion euros," he said, while pointing out that the UPA had made public prices of the ship INS Vikramaditya, the Kaveri Engine and the Sukhoi and Miraj aircraft.

Raising questions about the procedure followed for the new agreement, the Congress leader said: "There is a defence procurement procedure which was completely bypassed. There is a contract negotiation committee, which never met for this deal. There is a price negotiation committee, which was never called to meet for this deal.

"Above all, there is a cabinet committee on security, which has to approve any defence purchase of this size. None of these committees were involved. None of the ministers knew about it. The defence, finance and external ministers did not know about it."

Chidambaram pointed out that even though the Rafale aircraft was supposed to be an emergency purchase to boost the depleted strength of the Indian Air Force, not a single aircraft has arrived even 40 months after the deal was clinched.

"What kind of an agreement is this?" he asked.

He also claimed that under the pact inked during the UPA rule, the offset obligation would have been given to HAL, but the deal finalised by the Modi regime allowed freedom to the French company to choose its offset partner.

"Dassault chose a private company as its offset partner. So HAL is completely kept out of the offset obligation.

"Under the agreement during UPA rule,, technology was to be transferred to HAL for manufacturing 108 aircraft... When you bought the 36 aircraft, why did you not insist that Dassault must transfer technology for future aircraft to India?"

Chidambaram said while French Defence Minister Florence Parly had visited Nagpur to lay the foundation stone of the "factory where the offset products will be manufactured" by a private business house, the government has been maintaining that no offset contract has been awarded.

"What is this mystery about the offset partner? All these questions lead us to believe that this matter is required to be inquired," he said.

"All of this, taken together, leads to great suspicion. Why is the government so secretive about price, why are they refusing to answer questions, why are they trotting out lame excuses?"

Chidambaram said the aircraft deal would be an issue in the coming polls.

Asked whether his party would file a public interest litigation, Chidambaram said: "Whether we do anything (like that), you would come to know."

--IANS

bnd-ssp/mag/ksk/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Firing a fresh salvo at the Modi government on the Rafale aircraft deal, the Congress on Saturday accused it of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and keeping senior ministers in the dark about the negotiations, demanding a public debate and detailed inquiry into the "secretive" happenings.

Senior party leader P. Chidambaram, while addressing a media conference here, alleged that the price for the aircraft had gone up more than three times under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime than what was agreed to by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

We think the matter is serious enough that there should be a public debate and a detailed inquiry, which is why the Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) and the party have raised the issue, he said at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters here.

Chidambaram said the UPA government had entered into a contract to acquire 126 Rafale aircraft -- 18 of them in fly away condition and the remaining 108 aircraft to be made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru, under a transfer of technology agreement with a French company, Dassault Aviation.

"The negotiated price was Rs 526 crore per aircraft. Suppose instead of 18 aircraft, we were buying 36 aircraft at Rs 526 per aircraft, it would have come to Rs 18,940 crore," he said.

However, after the UPA was voted out in 2014 and the NDA came to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his official visit to France on April 10, 2015, announced that an agreement has been signed to buy off the shelf 36 Rafale aircraft.

Although the price was not revealed, in subsequent documents of Dassault Aviation's report, the price was revealed to be 7.5 billion euros, equivalent to Rs 60,145 crore, Chidambaram said.

The price which was agreed on the Prime Minister's visit was Rs 60,145 crore and per aircraft it comes to Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore (negotiated by the UPA), he claimed.

"If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the price has gone up three times? That is the first question. To which the answer (given by the NDA government) is: 'this is a secret agreement, and we cannot reveal the price'."

"I am revealing the price today, what is so secret about it? It is there in Dassault's annual report which is 7.5 billion euros, which works out to Rs 61,000 crore, and per aircraft it Rs 1,670 core," he said.

Raising questions about the procedure followed to enter into the new agreement, the Congress Working Committee member said: "There is a defence procurement procedure which was completely bypassed. There is a contract negotiation committee, which never met for this deal. There is a price negotiation committee, which was never called to meet for this deal."

"Above all, there is a cabinet committee on security, which has to approve any defence purchase of this size. None of these committees were involved. None of the ministers knew about it. The defence, finance and external ministers did not know about it," he alleged.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections will be held on September 12, the university announced on Saturday.

The elections will be held in colleges as well to elect the members of the Central Council, a university statement said.

According to the election schedule announced, the nomination papers for the election of DUSU office-bearers can be submitted to the Office of the Chief Election Officer, DUSU elections 2018-19, latest by September 4.

By the same date, candidates for the post of members of the Central Council must obtain their nomination papers from colleges/ departments or institutions concerned.

The scrutiny of nomination papers will be held the same day, after which the list of duly nominated candidates will be published, said the statement.

The candidates can withdraw their nominations till the afternoon of September 5.

On September 12, voting will start at 8.30 a.m and end at 7.30 p.m.

The date and venue for the counting of votes was, however, not announced on Saturday.

Last year, a total of 10 candidates contested for the presidential post in which main contestants were ABVP's Rajat Choudhary, NSUI's Rocky Tusheed, AISA's Parul Chauhan and Independents Raja Choudury and Alka.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that every doctor should serve at least 3 years in rural areas before getting a promotion.

"It should be made mandatory for young doctors to serve at least 3 years in rural areas before getting promotion," Naidu told the first convocation ceremony of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar.

He said there was a need to increase the number of doctors available at healthcare centres in rural areas as the absence of qualified medical practitioners was making people approach quacks.

"We need to overcome the acute shortage of healthcare providers as also the infrastructure in rural areas," he added.

Naidu also stressed on the need to increase the number of medical colleges.

The Vice President said medical education curriculum had to be constantly updated, by including the latest developments and methods of treatment.

"Doctors must be trained to be more sensitive towards the sufferings of the patients and their families and should provide the healing touch with effective communication. There can be no greater service than restoring fellow human beings to good health," he said.

Naidu said schemes such as 'Ayushman Bharat Yojana' or the National Health Protection Scheme would be a game-changer in terms of accessing healthcare services in India.

Speaking on girls' education, he said: "Who says women can do nothing? Given an opportunity they can do wonders. Girls are outperforming boys."

Speaking at the event, Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the institution was growing fast and hopes rare surgeries, which are now carried out at AIIMS Delhi, would soon be conducted at AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

He said it would be a befitting tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee if his statue was installed in the premises of AIIMS here.

Notably, Vajpayee had laid the foundation stone of the hospital here in 2003.

Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda said AIIMS Bhubaneswar provided treatment to over 5 lakh patients last year.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for joint efforts to "combat attacks on Turkey's economy" amid its persistent row with the US.

"The commitment and determination of Turks is the guarantee needed to combat attacks on Turkey's economy," Erdogan said on Saturday in a statement released to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Xinhua reported.

The historic battle saw Seljuk Turks defeat a Byzantine army and open up Anatolia for Turkish domination.

Turkey's biggest safeguard is "the determination of our people to protect their independence, their motherland and their future," Erdogan noted, drawing parallels between this military victory and the ongoing rift with the US over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey.

Last week, a Turkish court rejected a renewed appeal for the release of the 50-year-old Andrew Brunson charged with espionage.

Following Turkey's refusal to free the pastor, US President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on Turkish aluminium and steel and threatened to expand trade sanctions.

In response, Ankara steeply hiked taxes on some US products including cars, alcohol and tobacco.

The Turkish lira has tumbled about 35 per cent since the start of this year, in what Erdogan called an "economic war" from the US.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Punjab National Bank (PNB), which was recently hit by a multi billion dollar fraud by manipulation of its financial messaging -- Swift -- system, has been ranked as the best PSU bank in the overall digital transactions category in India.

The bank said in a statement on Saturday: "Based on the recent findings of DFS (Department of Financial Services), PNB is ranked the number 1 PSU bank in digital transactions in India."

A Rs 13,500-crore fraud came to light in January, when it was found that the financial messaging system SWIFT was manipulated. It was used to issue Letters of Undertakings (LoUs) to conduct the fraud.

In the aftermath of the fraud, the bank had to rectify and strengthen its internal controls.

According to the PNB statement, the report card on the banking sector's performance in digital transactions as on July 31, 2018 was prepared by the Ministry of Finance.

As per the DFS' findings, PNB's average percentage of technical declines is only 0.83 per cent of the total transactions.

It has been rated as the sixth best in the overall category amongst all banks in India for digital performance.

"The bank is fully committed to 'Digital India' initiative," the statement said.

"The bank is rated as 'Good' by the government with a score of '71' which is the highest category of performance."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)South Korean tech Major LG Electronics has announced that Google Assistant is coming to its 2018 line-up of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled ThinQ TVs in seven new countries.

The company's ThinQ TVs came with integrated Google's digital assistant when they were introduced in the US and added support for Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa's commands soon after.

"Google Assistant will be available in Canada, Australia and the UK, with support coming to South Korea, Spain, France and Germany by the end of the year," The Verge reported late on Friday.

"The built-in ThinQ AI, which runs on LG's own 'WebOS' can be used for TV-specific commands, such as 'search for the soundtrack of this movie', while Google Assistant and Alexa can be used as a smart home hub," it said.

The company was also planning on bringing Amazon Alexa support to Australia and Canada in the future. However, it has not specified any timeline.

Google Assistant on LG ThinQ TVs lets users check the weather, make a restaurant reservation and control smart lights.

Google Home support for ThinQ TVs is currently available in Canada, Australia and the UK and non-English language support for France, Spain, South Korea and Germany will arrive by the end of 2018, according to Engadget.

Amazon's Alexa is now available only in the US and UK.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Conservation of the is one of the four pillars of Bhutan's Gross National Happiness philosophy but "the greatest mistake" the Himalayan nation can make is "to live in isolation", Daniel C. Taylor, who has been engaged in social change and environmental conservation for over four decades, said here on Saturday.

Taylor was speaking on "Environmental Justice: Questions For The Future" on the closing day of the Mountain Echoes literary festival. Using a powerpoint presentation, the well-regarded environmentalist behind the creation of two massive national parks around Mount Everest, one in China and the other in Nepal, explored the various stumbling blocks in the path of conservation.

Bhutan has mandated environmental preservation in its Constitution and preserves 60 per cent of its land under forest cover. But it is sandwiched between India and China, arguably among the most polluting countries in the world.

Responding to a question on similar lines, Taylor contended that Bhutan should not live in isolation.

He said that pollution and degradation of is not limited to one country or one region alone. "It is an ecosystem," he said, elaborating at length how pollution arising from China or India could have impacts on Bhutan.

On its part, Bhutan is a carbon-negative country and home to the highest percentage -- more than 51 per cent -- of protected land in Asia.

"The greatest mistake that Bhutan can make is to remain isolated. The challenge for Bhutan is to work with both India and China. At the same time, it also needs to work with the world.

"Bhutan has to take an active role in teaching the world about environmental justice because you have done tremendous work in conserving the natural habitats in your country," said the 71-year-old.

Taylor said that India and China "are themselves countries in disruption" and thus there was a great deal that the landlocked nation can impart to its neighbours.

Directly referring to China, he said that he worked there for several years and saw the wide-ranging impacts of its policies on the

He pointed out that being so close to the China and India, Bhutan would see implications of pollution arising from its neighbours despite its enormous forest cover.

"We are all riding one giant ball called Earth, which is headed into a future -- a future which may be frightening. What each of us can do is teach each other," Taylor said.

In his 45-minute session, Taylor also presented some rare photographs, audio and visual clippings of his journeys through the Himalayas.

Comparing two photographs -- one taken during his first visit to the Paro valley some 60 years ago and the other taken just four days ago -- he showed that the forest cover increased in the Paro Valley, despite the construction of the Paro International Airport.

"No country is developed or underdeveloped. All countries are developing. Aeroplanes, better homes along with more trees should be the future," he contended.

Mountain Echoes literary festival is an initiative of the India-Bhutan foundation and Siyahi, a Jaipur based literary consultancy agency.

The ninth edition of the festival will reach its culmination on Saturday evening.

(Saket Suman is in Thimphu at the invitation of the organisers of Mountain Echoes literary festival. He can be contacted at saket.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Krishna Murari on Saturday administered the oath of office to Satyadev Narayan Arya as the Governor of Haryana at an impressive ceremony at Raj Bhavan.

The newly appointed Governor met the people who had come to attend the ceremony and accepted their greetings.

The function was attended by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, senior officers of Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh and prominent citizens of the city.

On reaching Chandigarh, Arya along with his wife was given a warm reception by the Haryana Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues, senior officers and staff of the Haryana Raj Bhawan.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said on Saturday that Hurriyat should be included in every dialogue process, adding that Article 35A must remain a part of the Constitution to ensure that the people of do not feel threatened.

Aiyar was delivering a lecture at a seminar organized by the Centre for Peace and Progress in summer capital Srinagar.

"A right that Kashmiris have for the last so many years should remain with them so that they do not feel threatened," he said.

"It is in our Constitution and one must not make any attempt to revoke it. Some people are unnecessarily raking up the issue which is not in anyone's interest," he said.

"The matter is in the Supreme Court, but I hope the court would take the national interest into account before taking any decision," Aiyar said.

Later, talking to reporters, Aiyar said: "When we came here in May last year, we had invited the Hurriyat. We met everyone who was ready to meet us. We could not meet Yasin Malik. Yesterday, I got a friend to call him saying I was coming again, if I could meet him. He replied saying that he would meet me in Delhi and not here."

"I agree with you that Hurriyat should also be included in all the dialogues. Dialogues should be held with everyone. I also know many Kashmiris who want to be with India. I consider Kashmiris as one of my own and myself as one of them," he added.

--IANS

sid/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The international music festival, Koktebel Jazz Party, which had its stage opening with an American band that brought people to their feet, suddenly had its audiences poised and glued to the sound of various instruments put together by a fusion band from India.

Rajiv Raja Combine, with its band members from different parts of the country -- from Kerala to Tamil Nadu to Maharashtra -- for the very first time performed outside India together.

On the first day of the festival that runs through August 26, the seven members of the band including its founder and flautist, Rajiv Raja, got various genres that fall under the umbrella of jazz -- Latin Jazz, Java Jazz, Jazz blues, etc -- mixed with the Indian classical.

What made the performance stand apart was that the artistes, who didn't jump from one genre to the other and the blend was completely smooth -- sans spaces -- and at the same time, the Hindustani classical flavour was carefully retained.

Other than this Indo-jazz band, the jazzy Friday evening here had musicians from the US and the UK.

There was Rebirth Brass Band that play New Orleans style jazz and funk, and Rick Margitza from the US and Incognito from the UK, which performs acid jazz.

The 20-band line-up for the festival, whose ticket revenue will be transferred to a Koktebel school, includes music groups from Russia, China and Armenia.

On Saturday, the Sedar band from China, artistes Vanessa Rubin and Don Braden, and the New York Latin Jazz All Stars band from the US will be performing.

The third day will have the New York All Stars playing together with the Russian artistes -- Dmitry Chetvergov and Chet Man.

"This year's festival is being held at five venues.

"A surprise for the guests will be a jam session with famous Moscow sax player Sergei Golovnya and participation of many stars of the 2018 Koktebel Jazz Party," the festival's founding member Dmitry Kiselev said during the opening.

The festival began under the name Koktebel Jazz Festival and its inaugural edition was held 16 years ago.

It got split into two different festivals ever since Russia took over Crimea after a referrendum in 2014, an issue that is still contested in various global fora. While one of them still runs with the same name though in Ukraine, the other half takes place here at this resort townlet, Koktebel.

Kislev announced that the artiste line-up of the programme was not revealed in advance as an American musician could not come to the festival in 2015 because of a letter from the US State Department, which threatened prosecution if he attended.

"To save ourselves from similar failures, we now refrain from giving the schedule away much before the festival," he said.

(Mudita Girotra is in Crimea at the invitation of the organisers of Koktebel Jazz Party. She can be contacted at mudita.g@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Days after the CBI sent a video footage of an Indian jail to a UK court, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Indian jails are "decent places for people like Vijay Mallya".

Rahul attacked the Modi government for its "lenient" approach towards fugitive offenders like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Mallya.

"Before leaving India, Mallya met a few senior leaders of BJP and that's documented. I won't name who, but he did meet them," Gandhi said during his interaction with the Indian Journalists' Association here.

Gandhi was responding to a question how he thinks the Modi government is handling Mallya's case and whether Indian jails are up to scratch.

"I think Indian prisons are very decent places as far as Mallya is concerned," he said.

He said law should be equal for all. "Just because you are Mallya and have Rs 9,000 crore in the bank, so you require a different jail, it should not be...," the Congress leader said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has sent a video footage of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail's Barrack No 12 where Mallya is supposed to be kept after extradicion.

The specifications of the jail barrack were highlighted after a UK court asked the Indian authorities to submit a video of the jail compartment where Mallya would be kept.

The UK court's directions came after Mallya's defence team focused its objections on the lack of natural light available in Barrack 12 and claimed that the Indian government assurance cannot be relied upon.

Targeting the Centre, the Congress chief said that they are "leninent" for fugitive offenders and it did not act against PNB scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, of the Gitanjali group, who are wanted by the Indian agencies in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

He said that there are "relationships" between Nirav Modi, Choksi and the Prime Minister.

"There are relationships between Nirav Modi, Choksi and the Prime Minister. And these relationships come in the middle of justice," he alleged.

Gandhi questioned: "Indian banks gave Rs 35,000 crore loan to Nirav Modi. Narendra Modi let him run away from India. How many jobs did Nirav Modi create? On what basis was he given Rs 35,000 crore? What were the foundations of his business and why aren't you trying to get him back?".

--IANS

aks/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his family has not been in power since his father's time, stressing that he should be judged on the basis of his capability.

The RSS, he said has "helped" him tremendously in developing as a political leader "by relentlessly attacking" him on every front.

On a question about his privileged background and that Congress is effectively being run by a family, Gandhi said: "First thing, my family has not been in power since my father was the prime minister. This is something that is forgotten."

"Second, yes I am born in a family..listen to what I am saying, talk to me about issues, talk to me about foreign policy, economics, Indian development, agriculture openly and freely. Come to me with whatever questions you want, and then judge what I am."

"It is interesting to me that the prime minister of India struggles to have this type of a conversation. He can't sit here. He has never done it. And a large part of it, frankly is understanding of issues," he added.

"I have been working for 14-15 years in the political system. I have taken a beating and have learnt a lot. I am person who listens, respects other people's ideas. The most important thing to me is that I see through hate. And I really think, I am proud of that," he said.

He further said: "But at the end. it's your choice. Do you condemn me for the family I come from, or do you judge me based on my capability..that's your choice. It's up to you..not up to me."

--IANS

sid/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former UN Secretary-General and Noble Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan will be laid to rest in his home country Ghana on September 13, the country's President Akufo-Addo has said.

Akufo-Addo made the announcement on Friday when the family of the late Annan paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House. The President said Annan will be given a full state burial that "befits his status as a global icon, diplomat and statesman", GhanaWeb reported.

Annan will be buried at the Burma Camp military cemetery in Accra. "Burma Camp has created a new cemetery and there is a portion that has been allocated for VIPs and civilian VIPs. I think it will be the most appropriate place to lay him to rest," said Akufo-Addo.

"This will be a state funeral so the responsibility for the arrangements are that of the Ghanaian state.

"Your bit is to mourn, but you will not have any of the financial burdens involved in organizing such a thing; that will be borne by the state of Ghana," the President told the late UN chief's family.

Annan's spokesperson Isaac Hooper said that the family was in agreement with the proposed date by the President.

His burial will be followed by UN memorial events in New York and Geneva, according to the Kofi Annan Foundation.

Annan was the first black African to take up the role of the world's top diplomat, serving two terms from 1997 to 2006. He died in a Swiss hospital last Saturday after a short illness.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Mumbai court on Saturday remanded in police custody till August 31 an accused arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with a terror plot unearthed after seizure of an arms cache, official sources said on Saturday.

The accused, Avinash Pawar, 30, an employee with a prominent government ship-building company, was nabbed from Ghatkopar in north-east Mumbai late on Friday night and was produced before a court on Saturday afternoon.

Pawar has been charged under the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosives Substances Act, Explosives Act, pertaining to terror, criminal and terror conspiracies.

Seeking his remand, the ATS contended that he was linked with Hindutva organisations since over two years and the police had recovered a computer CPU, mobile phones and other articles from his home.

The investigators want to probe his exact role in the terror plots targeting Mumbai, Pune, Solapur and Satara, which came to light after the interrogation of those arrested following the Palghar swoop on August 10 and whether Pawar got weapons or explosives training.

Pawar's is the fifth major arrest after the Nala Sopara (Palghar) crackdown leading to the recovery of bombs, explosives, arms and ammunition that were allegedly intended for the terror strikes around important festivals.

Besides Pawar, the ATS has arrested Hindu right-wing activists Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhnava Gondhalekar and a former Shiv Sena corporator, Shrikant Pangarkar, from Palghar and Pune.

According to the investigators, all of them are linked with prominent Hindutva groups in Maharashtra.

The ATS is exploring a multi-state right-wing terror network, probing their links with right-wing organisations in other states like Uttar Pradesh and Assam, and suspected connections with the sensational killings of several rationalists like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M. M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a suspect from a suburb here as part of the ongoing arrests over a terror plot unearthed after recovering an arms cache from Palghar, official sources said on Saturday.

The accused, Avinash Pawar, 30, was arrested from Ghatkopar in north-east Mumbai and will be produced before a court later in the day.

This is the fifth major arrest after the Palghar crackdown on August 10 leading to the recovery of bombs, explosives, arms and ammunition that were allegedly intended for terror strikes in Mumbai, Pune, Satara and Solapur.

The ATS has already arrested Hindu right-wing activists Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhnava Gondhalekar and a former Shiv Sena corporator Shrikant Pangarkar from Palghar and Pune.

The squad is unraveling a right-wing terror network across the state and probing their links in other states including Uttar Pradesh and Assam.

--IANS

qn/ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday greeted people on the occasion of Onam, saying the nation stands with Kerala in their times of adversity, in the aftermath of floods.

"May this Onam give further strength to the people of Kerala to overcome the adversities they have been facing for the past few days. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with Kerala and prays for the happiness as well as prosperity of its citizens," the Prime Minister tweeted.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi also urged people of the country to unite and stand together to rebuild Kerala.

"This is a difficult time for the people of Kerala. In relief camps & homes across the state, people are grieving for their loved ones. On this Onam let us pledge to put aside our differences, stand united together and focus on the task of #RebuildingKerala," Gandhi said in a tweet.

BJP President Amit Shah assured the people of Kerala that their government and the Centre is doing everything to ensure that they start their normal life soon.

"On the auspicious occasion of Onam, we pray to the almighty that Kerala gets back on its feet soonest... Entire nation stands firmly with the people of Kerala in these trying times. Modi government at the Centre and BJP is doing everything possible to ensure that people's lives return to normalcy at the earliest," Shah tweeted.

Ever since monsoon rains began lashing Kerala on May 29, a total of 417 people have died. This month, unprecedented floods caused widespread destruction and forced more than a million people to flee their homes to take shelter in relief centres.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said 8.69 lakh people are still sheltered in 2,787 camps.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After Assam, an agitation for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is gaining momentum in Tripura with the state's oldest tribal based party, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), on Saturday holding a demonstration here asking for its introduction in the BJP ruled state.

On Thursday, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), the junior partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), organised a huge public gathering over its demands for a separate state and introduction of the NRC in Tripura.

A rival faction of the IPFT - IPFT (Tipraha) -- also held a sit-in demonstration on the same issues two days back.

"We have held a demonstration with more than one thousand tribal men and women here today (Saturday) to press our nine-point demands. Of the demands, introduction of the NRC in Tripura and more constitutional power to the TTAADC (Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council) are the main demands," INPT General Secretary Jagadhish Debbarma told the media.

He said that INPT's other demands include withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduction of inner-line permit in the TTAADC areas and inclusion of tribals' Kokborok language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

"To press our demands, a delegation of INPT leaders would soon go to New Delhi to meet the Registrar General of India and central ministers and would apprise them about our demands," the tribal leader said.

Another tribal based party National Conference of Tripura is also demanding introduction of the NRC in Tripura and withdrawal of the Bill.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2016, the Bill seeks to enable Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh without valid travel documents or those whose valid documents expired in recent years to acquire Indian citizenship through the process of naturalisation.

Many parties in the northeastern region are also opposing the Bill, which is now under the scrutiny of a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

All the tribal-based parties in the state are agitating for an NRC updation exercise in the state with 1951 as the cut-off year.

The INPT, to highlight its demands, had earlier sought permission from the police to hold a demonstration in Agartala since June 28, but the police refused to give consent forcing the party to move the High Court, which on August 13 allowed it to organise the sit-in demonstrations.

The BJP's junior ally IPFT has been agitating since 2009 for a separate state to be carved out by upgrading the TTAADC, which has a jurisdiction over two-thirds of the state's 10,491 sq km area, home to over 12,16,000 people.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft has captured the first glimpse of its distant target -- asteroid Bennu -- after almost two years of journey.

Launched on September 8, 2016, the OSIRIS-REx, which is NASA's first mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, is scheduled to arrive at Bennu on December 3. It will help unveil the mysteries of our solar system's formation, the US space agency said in a statement.

The spacecraft's PolyCam camera obtained the image from a distance of 1.4 million miles (2.2 million km) or almost six times the distance between the Earth and the Moon, on August 17.

The cropped set of five images were obtained over the course of an hour. Bennu is visible as a moving object against the stars in the constellation Serpens, the statement said.

As OSIRIS-REx approaches the asteroid, the spacecraft will use its science instruments to gather information about Bennu and prepare for arrival.

It will regularly observe the area around Bennu to search for dust plumes and natural satellites and also study its light and spectral properties.

"Now that OSIRIS-REx is close enough to observe Bennu, the mission team will spend the next few months learning as much as possible about Bennu's size, shape, surface features, and surroundings before the spacecraft arrives at the asteroid," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona in the US.

After arrival at Bennu, the spacecraft will spend the first month performing flybys of Bennu's north pole, equator and south pole, at distances ranging between 11.8 and 4.4 miles (19 and 7 km) from the asteroid.

The spacecraft will extensively survey the asteroid before the mission team identifies two possible sample sites, which will allow the team to pick one for sample collection, scheduled for July 2020.

After the sample collection, the spacecraft will head back towards Earth before ejecting the "Sample Return Capsule" for landing in the Utah desert in September 2023.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The government on Saturday approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore in a significant decision under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model that seeks to boost the 'Make in India' programme.

The decision was taken at the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting headed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The DAC cleared procurement proposals worth about Rs 46,000 crore including anti-submarine capable 24 Multi Role Helicopters (MRH), 14 Vertically Launched Short Range Missile System and 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun system.

"The DAC, in a landmark decision today, approved procurement of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore. This is the first project under the MoD's prestigious Strategic Partnership model that aims at providing significant fillip to the government's 'Make in India' programme," an official release said.

The SP model envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian Strategic Partner, who will collaborate with foreign original equipment manufacturer, acquire niche technologies and set up production facilities in the country.

The SP model has a long-term vision of promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment, enhancing self-sufficiency and establishing an industrial and research and development (R&D) ecosystem, capable of meeting the future requirements of the armed forces.

The contract, when finalised, is expected to result in a widespread defence industrial eco-system in the Indian aviation sector with the private industry and MSMEs as major stakeholders.

While 16 helicopters are expected to be procured in a fly-away condition from a foreign vendor, the remaining 95 would be built in India by an Indian partner through joint ventures. The utility helicopters are expected to replace the aging fleet of Chetak helicopters.

Those expected to compete for the Naval Utility Helicopter programme include firms from the US, Europe and Russia. The utility helicopter programme is expected to pave the way for several big-ticket projects, including for building modern submarines, fighter planes and helicopters in the country.

The government has identified four segments for acquisition under Strategic Partnership route - fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured fighting vehicles and main battle tanks.

The DAC also approved procurement of anti-submarine capable 24 Multi Role Helicopters, which are an integral part of the frontline warships like aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes.

The MRH would contribute to the Navy's anti-submarine, anti-ship warfare and airborne early-warning capabilities.

"Availability of MRH with the Navy would plug the existing capability gap," the release said.

The DAC cleared procurement of 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364.78 crore.

These guns have been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO and will be manufactured by production agencies nominated by DRDO. They are likely to be the mainstay of artillery in the near future.

Of the 14 Vertically Launched Short Range Missile Systems cleared for procurement by the DAC, 10 systems will be indigenously developed.

These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Senator Bernie Sanders. Photo: George Frey/Getty Images

Democrats voted overwhelmingly on Saturday for the biggest reforms to its presidential nomination process in decades, including a major reduction in the power of superdelegates, and a measure to make state caucuses more accessible. The reforms were approved after a four-hour debate at the Democratic National Committees meeting in Chicago, and were backed by both DNC chairman Tom Perez and Senator Bernie Sanders, who had sharply criticized the role of superdelegates as he ran for president in 2016.

Under the old process, superdelegates  made up of members of the Democratic National Committee, elected officials, and distinguished party elders  were not bound to the outcomes of primaries and caucuses, but could vote to nominate whichever presidential candidate they wanted at the national convention. This gave them an outsize, and in the minds of many, unfair role in determining the partys nominee. (Superdelegates made up about 15 percent of the delegates at the 2016 convention.)

Under the new process starting in 2020, superdelegates will still be able to attend party conventions as delegates, but will not be able to vote in the first round of ballots and will be able to vote in the very rare event of a deadlock.

The way state caucuses are governed will also change under the reforms, with state parties now required to accept absentee votes, rather than requiring caucuses voters to be physically present to support candidates at the events. That fundamentally changes the nature of caucuses, which are old-school, state party-run affairs that force campaigns to not only engage and win over supporters, but get them to show up in person and remain organized amid the chaos. Barack Obamas underdog victory against Hillary Clinton in 2008, for instance, relied on his campaigns strategy of dominating the state caucuses. And had Obama not won the first caucus in Iowa, he might have never gotten enough momentum to win the nomination.

Caucuses are also run by the state parties, as opposed to primaries, which are run by the states themselves. Saturdays changes are expected to accelerate more caucus states switching to primaries  another change sought by reformers.

The new rules are a big victory for Sanders, who lost the partys contentious nomination battle to Hillary Clinton in 2016, but thanks to his newfound popularity and passionate base, now exerts considerable influence over the direction of the party. Clinton won the majority of delegates based on the primary and caucus votes in 2016, but was also the predominant choice of the party elite who made up the superdelegate pool, something the anti-establishment Sanders and his supporters saw as an unfair advantage at a time they had already been accusing the DNC of showing favoritism toward Clinton.

Todays decision by the DNC is an important step forward in making the Democratic Party more open, democratic and responsive to the input of ordinary Americans, Sanders said in a statement after the vote.

The changes marked the culmination of a two-year-long process that began as a way to soothe the intraparty animosity of 2016, and was led by the Unity Reform Commission, a group that was joint-established by the Sanders and Clinton camps at the convention that year. The commission had agreed on the necessary changes in December, and eventually passed along their recommendations to the DNCs rules and bylaws committee

But opponents of the reforms continued to make their case ahead of the vote, making for a tense and emotional meeting at times.

Superdelegates were created to be the last line of defense against outsider, potentially disastrous candidates, and everyone has now seen a real world example of what can happen if someone like Donald Trump can win a major partys nomination and its de facto leader. Critics point out that the new rules may make it easier for such candidates to win the right to represent the party regardless of what the party establishment  or the partys activists  ultimately thinks of them:

Sanders & his team are super dumb - all these reforms make it more likely Democrats get a media savvy moderate nominee like Avanetti. More open primaries, easier access to caucuses, slightly less superdelegate influence. Big blow to the left.  Kenton (@KentonTilford) August 25, 2018

There was also pushback from older black delegates, who argued that the reforms would reduce the power and influence of hundreds of black and Latino party leaders, and result in less diversity on the convention floor  a possibility reformers dismissed, citing delegate diversity requirements. When former DNC chair Don Fowler, who helped organize opposition to the reforms, said at the meeting that the moves would disenfranchise minority groups within the party, some people in the crowd at the meeting tried to shout him down, calling him a liar.

Another former DNC chair, Howard Dean, wholeheartedly endorsed the changes in a video played at the meeting. He argued that the DNC should respect the will of grassroots voters, and that young voters have lost faith in our partys nominating process, and make no mistake, this is a perception thats cost us at the ballot box.

Trusting the Democratic partys electorate over its elites was a common theme among the reformers pitches in Chicago. Voters want us to be listening to them, and this is a way to show that were listening, to show that were understanding the changes that had to be made after 2016, DNC vice- chairman Michael Blake said on Friday. Perez and others also emphasized before the vote on Saturday that Democrats most important common goal was electing a Democrat to the White House. Attracting new and younger Democrats, avoiding intraparty conflict, and respecting voters wishes would, Perez insisted, put the next Democratic nominee in the strongest position possible to win back the White House.A newly-launched restaurant in the Nepalese capital is using robots as waiters under the slogan, "where food meets technology".

The Naulo Restaurant ("naulo" means new in Nepali) operates with the help of five robots, three named Ginger and two named Ferry, designed and manufactured by Paaila Technology, a Nepali company established by six young engineers, specializing in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

"Naulo is the first digitalized robotic restaurant not just in Nepal, but also in South Asia. We believe that our robot is one of the most advanced service robots in the world which is user friendly and very easy to operate," Binay Raut, CEO of Paaila Technology and Naulo Restaurant, told Xinhua.

The restaurant has a menu implanted in digital screens on tables from where orders can be placed directly to the kitchen. After the dishes are ready, the robots collect them from the kitchen counter and serve the customers.

This is the first time in the Himalayan country that a restaurant has used "Made in Nepal" robots as servers.

Raut, 27, who completed engineering studies in India and the UK, said: "We travelled to different countries including China and Japan to learn about the design, framework and operation of robots before launching it in Nepal. Now, our target is to introduce this Nepali innovation in the international market."

Robot Ginger is powered with swarm intelligence, speech recognition, natural language processing, auto-dock ability, among others. The robot also cracks jokes and answers basic IQ questions in both English and Nepali.

Paaila Technology entered the hospitality sector after the operation of its first humanoid robot named Pari stationed in a branch of Nepal SBI Bank.

Pari has been deployed in the digital branch of the bank known as inTouch branch, which functions as a source of information and guides customers. The robot started work by greeting customers with "Good afternoon. Welcome to Nepal SBI InTouch".

Paaila Technology has spent around 15 million Nepali rupees ($134,568) on research and development in the last few years.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has discussed with Lithuanian and other Baltic states' leaders security, business and science cooperation, and asked for diplomatic support in Israeli's relations with the European Union (EU).

During his visit to Lithuania, Netanyahu attended a quadrilateral meeting with the prime ministers of the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, to discuss cooperation. This is the first visit by the Israeli Prime Minister to Lithuania.

"Today is a historic day, as this visit is the first visit to Lithuania by the Israeli Prime Minister, the first quadrilateral meeting, and the year is also historic, since all three Baltic countries mark the Centennial of their statehood, and Israel marks its 70th anniversary," Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said in a joint press conference in Vilnius on Friday, Xinhua reported.

Skvernelis noted the meeting was productive and he sees potential "to develop the dialogue and practical cooperation" with Israel.

Netanyahu called for closer cooperation between Israel and the Baltic states, especially in science and technology.

"I'm delighted that the prime ministers accepted my invitation to have the next future Baltic States meeting in Jerusalem. We want to enhance it with the meeting of the Baltic business and technological people and scientists," Netanyahu said in a joint press conference noting that "there are tremendous intellectual powers in Israel, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania".

The Prime Ministers of Israeli and the Baltic states also discussed security cooperation.

"We are already cooperating in a number of security and defence related areas, and here too I think that we can do more, and we discussed this in some detail," said Netanyahu.

Netanyahu also sought for more support from the Baltic states in Israeli's relations with the EU.

"I asked the help of my friends here in making correcting in what I think is a distorted view on Israel in the EU," Netantyahu told the conference.

During the joint press conference, the Israeli Prime Minister criticized the EU for its decision to provide Iran with 18 million euros development aid to help offset the US sanctions.

"This is a big mistake, it is like a poison pill to the Iranian people and to the efforts to curb Iranian aggression in the region and terror beyond the region," said Netanyahu.

Relations between Israel and the EU, Middle East peace process, global peace and stability, and situation in Syria and Iran were discussed at Netanyahu's meeting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on Friday.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Academic-turned-politician Kaptan Singh Solanki, who was the Governor of Haryana, on Saturday took over as the Tripura Governor succeeding Tathagata Roy, who was shifted to Meghalaya.

The 70-year-old former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was sworn-in by Tripura High Court Chief Justice Ajay Rastogi at a simple function at the old Raj Bhavan here.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, his cabinet colleagues and leaders of smaller political parties besides Army and police officers attended the event. Leaders of the Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist kept away.

After four-and-a-half decades of teaching in schools and colleges, Solanki, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, joined the BJP in 2002 and become a member of Rajya Sabha from Madhya Pradesh in 2009.

--IANS

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(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 Saturday said there is no urgency to summon a special session of the state assembly to discuss the framework agreement signed with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (IM) on August 3, 2015.

"The Centre has not informed the state government on the issue. The Centre will take all stakeholders including the Manipur government into confidence when the time comes," he said.

The special session will be summoned only when the details of the agreement are made known, he added.

Referring to the persistent demands of the civil society organisations and the opposition Congress for maintaining the integrity of Manipur, he said that some politicians are spreading lies to the people.

Earlier Biren Singh had said that he will be the first one to resign if Manipur's integrity is threatened.

Congress leader Gaikhangam said, "It will not create any ripples when the Chief Minister resigns once the framework agreement becomes a statutory body."

The Chief Minister also said, "The integrity and unity of the state will never be compromised."

Opposition leader and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi said, "If the stand of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government is so, then it should publicly announce that the government would shoulder the responsibility in the event of compromising Manipur's integrity and unity in any manner."

He said that the Cabinet had fixed the dates of the special session twice, but these were later cancelled.

Opposition Congress has announced that it will urge the Governor to summon a special session of the Assembly.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that he stands with the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots and those guilty of violence should be punished as per law.

"If violence is being perpetrated against somebody, there is a legal process. That legal process must go on and the people who have carried out violence must be punished according to law...and I will support 100 per cent," Gandhi said during his interaction with the Indian Journalists' Association in London.

Gandhi's remarks came a day after he disagreed with a question put to him during an interaction in the British Parliament that the Congress was involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that...I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy," Gandhi had said.

On Saturday, Gandhi was again asked the question related to the anti-Sikh riots, which broke out in 1984 after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh security guards.

He said: "I don't know what major denial you are talking about. I am very straight forward person and there is no confusion in my mind."

Gandhi said he had stated on earlier occasions that he understands violence. "I do not believe in violence against anybody, regardless of religion or community and that's very clear," he stressed.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With its new aspirational premium sub-brand POCO, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi seeks to disrupt the Indian market by redefining the premium segment.

The "POCO F1" smartphone, launched this week in India, comes with all the specifications that a "premium smartphone" boasts of, at a price unheard of.

The question lingers: Has POCO played safe with its pricing?

According to the data from "CMR Mobile Handset India Market Review", since it made its debut in India in 2014, Xiaomi has grown tremendously, accounting for almost 30 per cent of the smartphone shipments.

It has aggressively competed with Samsung for the pole position in the India smartphone market. Xiaomi has gained a reputation for selling smartphones at aggressive price points, and is enjoying mass market appeal.

Xiaomi has sold low-end and mid-range smartphones with specs comparable to the competition, but at cut-throat prices.

Its early success came through e-commerce platforms as well as its own online store. Of late, it has expanded its footprint in the offline space, through brick and mortar stores, to power its growth.

A multi-brand strategy, if well executed, enables one to target different demographics and distinct audiences.

This is a proven strategy that automobile companies have adapted for decades -- to break price ceilings and boost growth with a different branding to shake-off their existing brand imagery.

From a strategy perspective, creating a sub-brand named POCO was to take on premium smartphone brands, especially the likes of OnePlus.

In doing so, did POCO get its pricing wrong?

Surely, POCO will attract its own set of users and will do phenomenally well. While doing so, it will also eat into the market shares of the likes of Honor, Vivo, OPPO and Asus who have smartphones in the same price bracket.

However, POCO did not have these brands as their target competition and that, in itself, tells a story.

For a company like Xiaomi, getting the specs right and the price right are the easy asks but getting a user to shell out more for its brand is a tough ask.

Some smartphone flagships command buyers despite their price while others get buyers only because of their price.

For a smartphone to be considered as "premium" in the eyes of a potential smartphone buyer, it needs to have the brand recognition and equity to back its pricing up.

Let us consider an analogy from the automobile sector. When Lexus was conceived, Toyota invested all their engineering and manufacturing expertise into the luxury brand.

They backed Lexus with a clear brand positioning in the luxury cars segment. In the US, buyers would not consider the Lexus LS400 as a "true luxury car", if it were to be placed next to a Toyota Corolla on a lot.

Similarly, for POCO to taste success as a "premium brand", it has to move away from Xiaomi's shadows.

With POCO F1, the brand draws upon Xiaomi's extensive supply chain strengths in India to deliver the cheapest flagship smartphone ever -- powered by Snapdragon 845 processor with a big 4,000mAh battery to boot.

POCO F1 comes with a 6.18-inch 1080p display, a 20-megapixel front camera and dual rear camera, sporting 12-megapixel and 5-megapixel cameras. It offers all the premium specs in the sub-Rs 30,000 price band (the premium segment is considered Rs 30,000 and above).

While POCO has almost won the specs war, the plastic or "polycarbonate" back takes the sheen off the "aspirational premium" smartphone tag.

Ultimately, it is not just about what is on the inside but how it looks on the outside that sways a potential smartphone buyer, especially in the premium segment.

The users of POCO F1 will be Xiaomi Note users who are now replacing or upgrading their device. The loyal Xiaomi fan will be keen on upgrading to a premium device from the Xiaomi brand itself.

However, this is not the demographic that Xiaomi had in mind when it created POCO as a sub-brand.

If POCO from Xiaomi has aspirations of being seen and perceived as a "premium" smartphone by the users, it has to have the courage to price it accordingly.

Unfortunately, POCO plays safe.

(Prabhu Ram is Head, Industry Intelligence Group, at CyberMedia Research. The views expressed are personal. He can be reached at pram@cmrindia.com)

--IANS

prabhu/na/sac

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The family of late rock legend Prince is suing his former doctor who prescribed him pain medication.

Prince died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl in April 2016.

The family says the doctor failed to treat his addiction and provided him with narcotics without a proper prescription, reports abcnews.go.com.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Minnesota district court on Friday, alleged that Dr. Michael T. Schulenberg, the physician who treated Prince twice in the days prior to his death, failed to properly treat the musician as he was suffering from an opioid addiction.

"He failed to appropriately evaluate, diagnose, treat and counsel Prince for his recognisable opioid addiction, and further failed to take appropriate and reasonable steps to prevent the foreseeably fatal result of that addiction," read the lawsuit.

"These departures from the standard of acceptable medical practice had a substantial part in bringing about Prince's death."

According to John Goetz, the attorney who is representing Prince's family in its ongoing suit against the Illinois hospital that treated Prince days prior to his death, the lawsuit brings the fight for accountability back to the musician's home state.

"Prince lived in Minnesota all his life and passed away here," abcnews.go.com quoted Goetz as saying.

"So we always thought his family's lawsuit belonged in Minnesota."

Along with Dr. Schulenberg, the lawsuit names his former employer, North Memorial Health, as well as Walgreens Co. and UnityPoint Health as defendants, claiming "their negligence in providing adequate care" for the musician played a substantial role in his death.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday stepped up his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying there is a "relationship" between him and bank fraud accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. He also alleged that fugitive offender Vijay Mallya had met BJP leaders before he left the country.

At an interaction with Indian Journalists' Association here, Gandhi compared Modi with US President Donald Trump, saying people have been voting for them as they are angry because they do not have jobs.

He also said that Indian prisons were "decent places" for Mallya, whose extradition has been sought by India.

He accused Modi of centralising authority and alleged that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has been "humiliated" on every count.

Notwithstanding BJP's attack on him, he again compared RSS with the radical Islamlist outfit Muslim Brotherhood.

Gandhi spoke on a range of issues such as Doklam stand-off, bullet train, demonetisation and jobs, criticising the Modi government on each of them.

"There is a relationship between Nirav Modi, Choksi and the Prime Minister. And these relationships come in the middle of justice. Indian banks gave Rs 35,000 crore loan to Nirav Modi. Narendra Modi let him run away from India," he said.

Gandhi said the government did not act on time to arrest Nirav Modi and Choksi despite having received complaints against them.

He alleged that Mallya's meetings with BJP leaders were documented.

"Before leaving India, Mallya met a few senior leaders of BJP and that's documented. I won't name who, but he did meet them," he said.

He also referred to efforts by Mallya to prevent his extradition to India.

"I think Indian prisons are very descent places as far as Mallya is concerned. Justice should be the same for Indian people. It shouldn't be just because you are Mallya and have Rs 9,000 crore in the bank that you require a different jail," he said.

Gandhi said Modi views foreign affairs as events. "There is no structure. The Foreign Minister spends most of her time in making VISAs, that's not her job as a Foreign Minister. She has been humiliated on every count," he said.

Answering a query, Gandhi said: "People support populist leaders like Trump and Modi because they are angry that they don't have a job. Instead of solving this problem, these leaders ride on that anger. They damage the country by this."

On Doklam, he said Chinese have built "huge infrastructure" in the territory but Modi during his informal visit to China had a "conversation without agenda" and did not discuss the issue.

"We have serious challenges coming from the Chinese. We have to focus on that," Gandhi said answering another query.

Gandhi alleged Muslim Brotherhood and RSS use democratic processes to capture power. "There is a lot of similarity between Muslim Brotherhood and RSS."

He said he had learnt a lot in the past 15 years in and it was for people to judge him by his capability or go by his family name.

Gandhi also referred to his remarks on healthcare, saying he had been mocked at.

"We are sitting on a healthcare goldmine. There are medical experts in every country. Healthcare itself can create a strategic transformation of our country. But there's no conversation on it," he said.

On Modi's project of bullet train, he said it is not moving. "You can have a fancy poster of bullet train, but the cost of a ticket in bullet train is more than an airline ticket."

Gandhi said he was fighting an ideological battle in the 2019 elections.

"I realised after 2014, that there is a risk to the Indian State. By the consensus among all leaders of Opposition parties, the emphasis is that the RSS is systematically attacking organisations and placing their people into them...We need a coalition building where every stakeholder is heard."

Asked if the party will align with CPI-M or Trinamool Congress in West Bengal in 2019 elections, Gandhi said he will take inputs from the state unit and it has not been decided one way or the other.

Gandhi said Modi does not interact with the media and asked the Indian Journalists' Association if the PM will accept their invitation. "You must figure out," Gandhi said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "sleeping elephant" remark made during the Independence Day speech, saying he was "arrogant" and had insulted every Indian and his ancestors by belittling contribution of people who worked for country's progress in the last 70 years.

Addressing an event here on Saturday organised by the Indian Overseas Congress, Gandhi also slammed Modi over the Rafale deal saying he could not answer his questions in parliament on the issue.

Gandhi termed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah a "murder accused".

He said it will be wrong to say that progress achieved by the country in the last 70 years had been brought by the Congress as people of country had worked for it and the party had only helped the process.

He said those who predicted that India will break were today saying it is the country that will show the future.

"How did this happen. Congress only helped but people of India did it. Congress brought people together, your parents did it, your ancestors did it by working in the fields and when the Prime Minister says that before he came nothing happened in this country, he is not saying this about Congress, he is insulting every Indian, his parents, grand parents. But the media is with him.

"I was sitting during his Independence Day address. He said before the national flag that before he came, India was a sleeping elephant and he woke it up. How much arrogance he has. The Prime Minister of India cannot understand if India has strength, it is not due to an individual, if sweat has been given, it has been given by farmers, small businessmen, industrialists, judges, everybody together," Gandhi said.

He also said Congress speaks the truth.

Gandhi said Congress was started by NRIs (non-resident Indians) and described Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, B.R. Ambedkar as NRIs.

"They went out, saw the world, thought in a fresh way and then helped the country. You are following their footsteps," he said.

Gandhi said if NRIs were asked about their religion, caste when they arrived first at the airport here and told that they will not get anything and cannot serve the country, how they would have felt.

"This is what is happening in India. If you are Dalit, tribal, farmer, poor, you won't get anything. If you speak more, you will be beaten. India is being changed, its power is being weakened", he said, adding that institutions such as Supreme Court, Election Commission and RBI are being destroyed.

Gandhi said Modi remained silent when diamond trader Nirav Modi escaped, when Supreme Court judges talked about Judge Loya's death and when a BJP MLA was accused of rape.

He said "made in China" stuff was flooding the Indian market and he wanted to see local places shine as manufacturing hubs.

Gandhi said loans of industrialists have been waived but Modi was not willing to give farm loan waiver.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that a reported move to rename the Ramlila Maidan won't fetch the BJP votes but "changing the name of the Prime Minister might".

In a Twitter post, Kejriwal shared a tweet by ABP news channel which said that the Ramlila Maidan in the heart of Delhi could be renamed as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Maidan and that the North Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) would discuss the proposal on August 30.

Such a move won't get the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) any votes, the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.

"Instead, the BJP should try changing the name of the Prime Minister. Maybe then they could get some votes because now people are not voting for (Narendra Modi)," he said.

--IANS

sd/mag/mr/soni

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Voter fraud remains the great phantom menace of American politics. Photo: Brianna Soukup/Press Herald via Getty Images

The president has famously claimed on more than one occasion that Democrats benefited from a vast number of illegal votes in 2016:

In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016

More recently he claimed the illegal voters amounted to millions and millions, just in one state:

In many places the same person in California votes many times, said Trump, at the official White House event in West Virginia on tax cuts. They always like to say, Oh thats a conspiracy theory. Its not a conspiracy theory. Millions and millions of people and its very hard because the state guards their records.

Anytime you make an outlandish claim and then in the same utterance admit you cant prove it, your credibility isnt great.

There is, in fact, a vast academic literature on this subject, unanimously holding that voter fraud whether its voter impersonation or double voting  is an extremely small problem. Its not entirely nonexistent, but it hardly justifies all the alarms regularly raised by conservatives seeking to justify voter ID requirements that just so happen to discourage voting by many perfectly qualified citizens. And less you object that these studies were all done by liberal elitists at godless Ivy League schools, one I noticed is most definitely not:

Researchers at Brigham Young University examined impersonation fraud both at the polls and by mail ballot in selected jurisdictions in Florida, Ohio, and Utah. Outside of two previously known fraud cases, they found no additional incidents. They wrote that their results support the conclusion that electoral fraud, if it occurs, is an isolated and rare occurrence in modern U.S. elections.

Most recently, Trumps own Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, headed by the notorious vote suppressor and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, shut down amids complaints that the states werent complying with some mighty invasive information requests. But here was the underlying reality, as the New York Times reported:

[N]o state has uncovered significant evidence to support the presidents claim, and election officials, including many Republicans, have strongly rejected it.

But that hasnt kept the administration from pursuing this phantom menace. And today cries of triumph emerged from various conservative media precincts, led by Fox News:

Nineteen foreign nationals have been charged with illegal voting in the 2016 election, the Justice Department said Friday.

The defendants are from numerous countries, including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria and Germany.

Some of them were charged in an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Wilmington, N.C. They were accused of filing a false claim of citizenship in order to register, and then voting.

Others were charged separately for illegally voting.

The announcement comes amid an intense debate at the state level over voter fraud and efforts by Republican lawmakers to impose voter ID restrictions.

At the Gateway Pundit, the chortling was uncontrolled:

Theres a rather obvious problem with this AHA LIBERALS reaction to the case, beyond the fact that the 19 people involved have not been convicted, and the details arent clear (in the one case where DOJ does provide details, it seems the alleged illegal voter had a fake passport, which is probably not going to get caught by voter ID requirements). Were talking about 19 people, which is a bit short of millions, much less millions of millions.

19 illegal aliens were indicted on charges of illegal voting during the 2016 presidential election, the DOJ said Friday.

But the Democrats and their media mouthpieces told us that the notion that illegal aliens are voting is just a conspiracy theory made up by right-wingers .

This is why the Democrats dont want voter ID laws.

Please get back to us when youre at least up to thousands of cases, and then we can talk. But this gloating over next to nothing is just embarrassing.The UN has renewed its appeal for aid for Rohingyas on the first anniversary on Saturday of the crackdown that led to more than 700,000 members of the minority community fleeing Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) led the aid appeals on Friday, calling for support for the stateless refugees in Bangladesh and for their generous hosts. They are still living in misery in crowded make-shift refugee camps waiting to go back home to Myanmar, Xinhua news agency reported.

On August 25, 2017, militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), classified as terrorists by the Myanmar government, attacked some 30 security posts in the western state of Rakhine.

The attack led to a military crackdown in the region that caused the exodus of Rohingyas, whom the Myanmar authorities do not recognize as its citizens and consider them Bangladeshi immigrants. The UN accused the Myanmar military of carrying out an operation of ethnic cleansing with signs of genocide through killings, rapes and the razing of houses that year.

"Kutupalong settlement in Cox's Bazar today shelters more than 600,000 refugees, making it the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world," said the UNHCR.

"Over the past year, UNHCR teams have been working to support Bangladeshi authorities in areas including psycho-social counselling, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, identification of and assistance to separated and unaccompanied children and other vulnerable refugees," the agency said.

It also said the joint response plan launched in March 2018, appealing for $951 million for the period from March to December 2018, was only one-third funded.

The World Health Organization said that the biggest challenge was "the need to further scale up services to meet the health needs of this highly vulnerable population".

While so many in Kutupalong were flooded out or wallowed in mud caused by monsoon rains beginning in June, the International Organization for Migration said another cyclone season looms at the end of September and severe funding shortages threaten delivery of vital services.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged all sides to sit together and adopt a "mid-term" plan for the Rohingyas.

"Future will tell us what is possible or not. Today we cannot completely say that 'yes, return will not happen'. All the indications so far show that process goes towards the return," Head of the Delegation in Bangladesh Ikhtiyar Aslanov told bdnews24.com.

"And even it (return) starts today based on the January 16 plan between the two countries, it will need another seven years on top of the one year," he said.

He argued in favour of his mid-term plan, referring to the deal when Myanmar agreed with Bangladesh to start repatriation with around 2,000 refugees a week.

Meanwhile, ARSA affirmed its intention to continue with the fight to allow Rohingyas to return to Rakhine, and accused the Myanmar authorities of looking to destroy their people.

--IANS

soni/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees held protests here on Saturday, demanding justice on the first anniversary of Myanmar's crackdown that forced them to flee to camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Protesters in the world's largest Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh rallied for justice and brandished a banner proclaiming: "Never Again".

More than 700,000 of the minority community fled to Bangladesh after a crackdown by the Myanmar military in August 2017 that the UN has likened to "ethnic cleansing with signs of genocide through killings, rapes and the razing of houses that year".

But the Myanmar government said it was fighting militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and was not targeting civilians.

"The Myanmar military raped and killed our women, destroyed our properties," Rakib Hossain told BBC Bengali. "They have to be punished. We want justice."

Ashiya Begum, whose husband was killed during the violence in Rakhine, called camp life "miserable". "We can't continue like this. Let us go home," she said.

There were also religious services, with an imam reportedly asking God in his sermon to return Rohingyas to their homeland "to see our parents' graves".

Meanwhile, the UN renewed its appeal for aid for Rohingyas and called for support for the stateless refugees.

"Kutupalong settlement in Cox's Bazar today shelters more than 600,000 refugees, making it the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world," said the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR.

"Over the past year, UNHCR teams have been working to support Bangladeshi authorities in areas including psycho-social counselling, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, identification of and assistance to separated and unaccompanied children and other vulnerable refugees," the agency said.

It also said the joint response plan launched in March 2018, appealing for $951 million for the period from March to December 2018, was only one-third funded.

The World Health Organization said that the biggest challenge was "the need to further scale up services to meet the health needs of this highly vulnerable population".

In a statement on the anniversary, ARSA affirmed its intention to continue with the fight to allow the Rohingyas to return to Rakhine, and accused the Myanmar authorities of looking to destroy their people.

In a Rakhine village, the situation was calm on Saturday but there was a strong presence of border police and soldiers, a Muslim Rohingya man told Efe news.

The man said he has no freedom of movement and was closely monitored along with the rest of the community.

The Myanmar government has agreed a deal with Bangladesh to repatriate refugees but few have returned, with Rohingya leaders saying they would not go back unless they could guarantee their safety.

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has faced international outrage for not condemning the Army's actions in Rakhine state.

A predominantly Buddhist country, Myanmar denies Rohingyas citizenship. The government even excluded them from the 2014 census and refused to recognize them as a people.

--IANS

soni/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi has once again compared the RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organisation, and said both were banned after the assassination of the top leaders of India and Egypt -- Mahatma Gandhi and Anwar Sadat, respectively.

Speaking here on Saturday at an event organised by Indian Journalists' Association, Gandhi said: "I said RSS is lot like the Muslim brotherhood. And there is a storm in a teacup back home. Both organisations were founded in the 1920s. Both organisations believe in institutional capture. Both organisations view the electoral process as a means of capturing institutions."

"Muslim Brotherhood was banned after Anwar Sadat's (then Egyptian president) assassination (in 1981), RSS was banned after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination (in 1948). So, there are tremendous similarities. And the most interesting one, women are not allowed in either of these organisations. So, they are similar," Gandhi added.

He also said: They are trying to capture institutions so that democratic organisation is throttled," he added.

Gandhi had on Friday compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with the Muslim Brotherhood, and said the RSS wanted to "capture" every institution of the country.

--IANS

sid/pgh/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)South Korea's Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed regret over the cancellation of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to North Korea.

Expressing regret, the ministry said that it would be significant to continue to seek ways to make talks between North Korea and the US contribute to the common goal of the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization and the permanent peace settlement, Xinhua news agency reported.

It came after US President Donald Trump tweeted that he asked Pompeo not to go to North Korea. "I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump said on Friday.

"Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future... In the meantime, I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim (Jong-un). I look forward to seeing him soon," Trump added.

Following the cancelled visit, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha had a phone talk with Pompeo, who explained in detail to the top South Korean diplomat about the reasons for the "delayed visit", the Foreign Ministry said.

Pompeo has visited North Korea three times this year -- in April, May and July.

Trump said on August 20 that he would "most likely" meet Kim for a second time and that he believed Pyongyang had taken specific steps towards denuclearization.

--IANS

soni/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Distinguished aerospace scientist G. Satheesh Reddy was on Saturday appointed the Chairman of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and Secretary in the Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D).

Reddy succeeds S. Christopher, who retired in June.

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet approved Reddy's appointment for a period of two years from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier, an official statement said.

Reddy, renowned for his research and development in missile systems and sustained contributions towards advancement of aerospace technologies and industries, is now employed as the Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Reddy led the conceptualization, design and development of inertial sensors, navigation schemes, algorithms systems, calibration methodologies, sensor models, simulation along with development of satellite navigation receivers and hybrid navigation systems.

Under his leadership, advanced products and varieties of avionics systems have been produced and successfully flight tested in strategic programmes of the country.

A graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) in Andhra Pradesh, Reddy is a renowned navigation scientist.

He holds the distinction of being inducted as fellow of Royal Institute of Navigation, London, Royal Aeronautical Society, UK, and has been awarded the full member diploma as a Foreign Member of the Academy of Navigation and Motion Control, Russia.

He is an Honorary Fellow of Computer Society of India and Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (FNAE), Aeronautical Society of India, Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK, Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, US, and many other professional and scientific bodies in the country and abroad.

Reddy received the prestigious Indian Science Congress Association Homi J. Bhabha Memorial award.

He is the first defence scientist working in India to receive the Silver Medal of Royal Aeronautical Society, UK, and has been selected for the first IEI (India) and IEEE (USA) joint award for Engineering Excellence.

--IANS

rak/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Bihar court on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail of former Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma and her husband relating to an FIR registered by the CBI against them under Arms Act. Both are likely to be arrested soon, police said.

The CBI had conducted raids at their residence in Patna and Begusarai in connection with Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

The investigating agency recovered 50 live cartridges at their Begusarai residence leading to registration of the FIR in the Beritarpur police station against Verma and her husband under the Arms Act.

The CBI interrogated Verma and her husband Chandeshwar Verma separately.

Manju Verma resigned on August 8 following allegations that Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the case, had links with her husband.

Arrested on June 2, Thakur is currently lodged in Muzaffarpur jail.

Of the 42 girls lodged at the short-stay home run by Thaku's NGO, 34 minor girls were found to have been sexually assaulted. The crime came to light after a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The shelter home has been sealed.

--IANS

ik/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy, known for his pro-Hindutva view, on Saturday took charge as the governor of this Christian-dominated state of Meghalaya.

Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court Mohammed Yaqoob Mir administered the oath of office to Roy at a brief ceremony attended by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his cabinet ministers besides Congress Lok Sabha member Vincent Pala at the Raj Bhavan.

Senior State BJP and RSS leaders also witnessed the simple oath taking ceremony.

Members of the opposition Congress were absent. "Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma conveyed his regret to attend swearing-in since he has prior engagement," said a Raj Bhavan official.

Senior government officials including senior Army, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Force officers also attended the function.

The swearing-in ceremony was followed by a State Guard of Honour presented by Meghalaya Police at Raj Bhavan.

Roy was appointed as Meghalaya Governor on August 21 replacing Ganga Prasad who has been transferred and appointed as Sikkim Governor. Prasad took oath as the governor of Meghalaya on October 5, last year.

Haryana Governor, Kaptan Singh Solanki was transferred and appointed as the new governor of Tripura in place of Roy.

It is a home-coming for the 73-year-old Roy for his new posting in Shillong as he have spent part of his childhood in Shillong.

His brother, Prof. Saugata Roy, is the Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member. He was born in Shillong, which was once the capital of undivided Assam.

"When I received this order to move from Tripura to Meghalaya, I was a little sad because I had set my mind on staying in Tripura for three years but then I was also very happy because coming to Meghalaya coming to Shillong is like homecoming," Roy told journalists.

Roy was a member of the ruling Bharatiya Jatana Party (BJP) national executive and president of party's West Bengal unit from 2002 to 2006 and contested the Lok Sabha elections in the last year's parliamentary polls in Bengal.

He was in Jadavpur University in Kolkata as professor and founder head of the department of construction engineering after he played a key role in construction of Metro rail in Kolkata as its chief engineer.

Roy is also an author of many books.

--IANS

rrk/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Paying heed to his investors' feedback, Tesla Chairman and CEO Elon Musk has decided not to veer the electric carmaker off the road and let it remain a publicly traded company to stay focus on becoming profitable.

On August 7, Musk surprised the investment world with a Twitter announcement that he was considering taking Tesla private and that the funds needed to do so were "secured".

Musk's tweet caused a financial firestorm with Tesla shares immediately skyrocketing. But in later days, they lost a good part of what they had gained and tanked further over the confusion which way Tesla might go.

In a blog post late on Friday, Musk took a U-turn, saying his investors were extremely important to him.

"Almost all have stuck with us from the time we went public in 2010, when we had no cars in production and only a vision of what we wanted to be.

"Given the feedback I've received, it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company," Musk wrote.

This came after Musk had discussions with existing shareholders and financial advisors and learned that there was little appetite for such a move.

"Additionally, a number of institutional shareholders have explained that they have internal compliance issues that limit how much they can invest in a private company. There is also no proven path for most retail investors to own shares if we were private," said Musk.

"Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was 'please don't do this'," he added.

Since the Musk announcement came over the weekend, its impact on Teska stock will only be visible when the US market reopens on August 27.

Musk said he worked with investment firms like Silver Lake, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to consider the many factors that would come into play in taking Tesla private.

He also spent considerable time listening to current shareholders, large and small, to understand what they think would be in the best long-term interests of Tesla.

"I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it's clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated. This is a problem because we absolutely must stay focused on ramping Model 3 and becoming profitable," Musk said.

In an interview to The New York Times this month, Musk spoke about "excruciating" times and long working hours at Tesla, noting that he "nearly missed his brother's wedding this summer and spent his birthday holed up in Tesla's offices as the company raced to meet elusive production targets on a crucial new model".

--IANS

na/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Security forces on Saturday busted three militant hideouts in south Kashmir Pulwama district and arrested four over-ground workers (OGWs) of militant outfits.

"The first hideout was busted in Rajpora area. We recovered incriminating material, arms and ammunition. One OGW was arrested in this operation," police said.

"Two other hideouts were busted in Tahab and Khallen villages. We recovered one AK magazine, one INSAS magazine and an under-barrel grenade launcher", the police said, adding three OGWs working for Hizbul Mujahideen were arrested in the operation.

--IANS

sq/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The National Enquirers cover in September 2016 repeating an allegation of Donald Trumps that Hillary Clinton is not healthy enough for the job of president by using a doctored photograph of her (as well as calling for her imprisonment). Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

The former Trump World Tower doorman who has alleged that Donald Trump had an affair and child out of wedlock with his former housekeeper has released the catch and kill contract he signed in late 2015 with National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc. CNN reports that the doorman, Dino Sajudin, is now free to discuss the contract and payoff  which were likely part of an effort by AMI CEO and Trump ally David Pecker to suppress damaging stories about Trump during his presidential campaign.

EXCLUSIVE: the former Trump World Tower doorman who claims to know about an affair Trump had with a former housekeeper that resulted in a child, was recently let out of his contract with AMI, allowing him to speak about the catch-and-kill contract. https://t.co/kbBW6dMhvp pic.twitter.com/0zMOZY3LbA  Sonia Moghe (@soniamoghe) August 25, 2018

Other than the above scan of the contract itself, there isnt much else in the new CNN report that wasnt covered by the New Yorkers Ronan Farrow (who also had but did not publish the contract) and the Associated Press in April. The cover-up has taken on more relevance, however, following the news this week that Pecker had received immunity from federal prosecutors in exchange for information about hush money payments to two at least two women on behalf of Trump by Michael Cohen. Pecker had potentially violated campaign finance laws by paying to conceal stories in an effort to protect Trump. Cohen pleaded guilty to that very crime, in addition to charges of tax and bank fraud, on Tuesday. Both men have said that Trump directed the payments.

There are many good reasons to doubt Sajudins credibility regarding Trumps alleged affair, and no evidence has yet been uncovered to substantiate his claims, but those concerns didnt prevent Pecker and AMI from paying him $30,000 to kill it, then canceling the Enquirers investigation on the subject and working to legally prevent other news organizations from reporting on the story and cover up. In fact, according to Farrow, an AMI source said it was unheard of to pay anything like what Sajudin got for an unverified rumor he heard secondhand  indicating that the only purpose of the move was to help Trump. Farrow also outlined a theory as to what Pecker may have wanted from Trump in exchange, other than his appreciative friendship:

Two A.M.I. sources said they believed that the catch-and-kill operations had cemented a partnership between Pecker and Trump, and that people close to the president had subsequently introduced Pecker to potential sources of funding for A.M.I. One A.M.I. source told me, Peckers not going to take thirty thousand dollars from company funds to shut down a potentially damaging story about his buddy without making sure it got back to him so he could get credit. In 2017, the company began acquiring new publications, including Us Weekly and Mens Journal. According to the Times, last July Pecker visited the Oval Office and dined at the White House with a French businessman known for brokering deals with Saudi Arabia. Two months later, the businessman and Pecker met with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

Jerry George, a former senior editor at AMI, told the Huffington Post on Friday that it was obvious from within the organization that Pecker, once he took over the company in the late 90s, had ordered an end to negative coverage of Trump. Sources were rarely paid for stories that didnt run, according to George, though the publication had caught and killed stories to protect politicians before, like then-AMI editorial board member Arnold Schwarzenegger during his California gubernatorial race. Anything AMI published about Trump was first run by Cohen or another representative of the Trump Organization, explained George, and about 10 Trump-related stories were killed under Pecker by the time he left the company in 2013. He also said that hundreds of story leads that came in about Trump were never looked into. Several months after Trump began his presidential campaign, AMI paid $30,000 to buy and quash Sajudins.

Sajudin is now free to tell his Trump affair story, but he has yet to arrange any media appearances to do so. When he was contacted by Farrow about the allegation for the article in April, he replied, My time is valuable. Whats your offer??  then stopped communicating with Farrow when he found out he wouldnt be paid. Sajudins lawyer told CNN that he was only recently released from his contract, and that the former doorman hopes the truth will come out in the very near future.US President Donald Trump has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to North Korea, citing the lacking of progress on the Peninsula denuclearization.

Trump on Friday tweeted that "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula", Xinhua reported.

He added that "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future."

"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!," Trump said.

Earlier on Thursday, Pompeo said that he has appointed Stephen Biegun as the new special envoy for North Korea.

He also said that he and Biegun will travel to Pyongyang next week "to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."

Pompeo has visited North Korea three times, respectively in April, May and July.

Trump on August 20 said he would "most likely" meet with Kim for a second time, and he believed Pyongyang had taken specific steps toward denuclearization.

In the joint statement after the June 12 Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to North Korea, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

--IANS

pgh/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Dubai, Aug 25 (IANS/WAM) The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday congratulated Saudi Arabia on the successful completion of this year's Haj season -- the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.

"Sincerest congratulations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the impressive success of this Haj season," said Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

He added that "the kingdom spares no effort to serve pilgrims coming from all over the world without discrimination against any fellow Muslims. Saudi authorities proved anew their ability to ensure successful management of the pilgrimage rituals."

The UAE is used as a transit hub by thousands of pilgrims from across the world to travel to Jeddah, the gateway to Mecca which harbours the Great Mosque "Al Haram".

The UAE's biggest carrier Emirates Airline announced in July the addition of 33 additional flights to Jeddah and Medina from August 6 to 31. Emirates said an estimated 25,000 pilgrims would fly with the airline to perform Haj, one of the duties every Muslim should at least fulfil once in his lifetime.

According to Saudi media reports, around 2 million pilgrims travelled to the country to perform Haj in August.

--IANS/WAM

soni/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)All police stations in Uttar Pradesh have been told to celebrate 'Raksha Bandhan' as part of 'Rakhi with Khaki' campaign in which all police station staff will get 'rakhi' tied on their wrists from women and girls of the area, police said.

Rahul Srivastava, an officer in the Director General of Police (DGP) office, said police personnel would assure women and girls of providing security to them all through their life.

Circle officers, senior superintendents of police and additional superintendents of police have been told to be present at police stations in their districts to add significance to the festival that stands for the holy bonding between brothers and sisters.

--IANS

md/prs

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump has ordered more than $200 million in economic aid which was to be allocated to Gaza and the West Bank be redirected elsewhere.

A State Department official said the decision was made after a review "to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests", BBC reported on Friday.

It has already withheld $65 million from the UN relief agency for the Palestinians.

Relations between the Palestinians and the US have been difficult since Trump took power.

They hit a low point after the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017. As a result, the Palestinians said the US was unable to continue its mediation role in the peace process and suspended contact.

The US administration, meanwhile, suspended aid to the Palestinians pending a review in the light of the Taylor Force Act back in June.

The act aimed to force the Palestinian Authority to cease paying stipends to families of individuals convicted of terrorism against Israel.

On Friday, a State Department spokesman said the decision to "redirect" the funds to other "high-priority projects" was made as a result of the review, but did not say where the money would now go.

Both the Palestinians and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency warned cutting funding would make everyday life harder for the territories' citizens

However, the US official said the decision took into account "the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation".

--IANS

pgh/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In a new book Bluffocracy, part of a series titled Provocations, James Ball, a journalist, and former civil servant Andrew Greenway, argue that their country is overtaken by chancers  In a nation run by people whose knowledge extends a mile wide but an inch deep; who know how to grasp the generalities of any topic in minutes, and how never to bother themselves with the specifics. Who place their confidence in their ability to talk themselves out of trouble, rather than learning how to run things ...

Dear Reader,

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Digital EditorSix persons were arrested and five others apprehended today for allegedly injuring 10 policemen and damaging cars during a protest over the alleged rape of a girl in Delhi's Vasant Kunj area.

The protest over the alleged rape of the 11-year-old girl last night turned violent as demonstrators damaged cars and pelted stones at police personnel.

Following arson and violence, police detained over 20 people.

However, they later said six of them were arrested while 5 apprehended.

The arrested accused were identified as Sonu (27), Murari (59), Sanju (38), Sonu (23), Vimal (27) and Dalip (22), they said.

The five apprehended accused are being treated as juvenile and were sent to observation home till the verification of their age, they added.

A large number of people belonging to a Jhuggi cluster of Rangpuri Pahari area had last night gathered to protest the rape of the minor girl, Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Devender Arya said.

Police were alerted about a traffic jam near Ryan International School at Vasant Kunj area following which they rushed to the spot, the officer said.

The protesters had blocked both the carriageways of Chhatarpur Mahipalpur road near the Hoti camp Jhuggi. Despite being informed that the accused in the rape case has been arrested, the protesters pelted stones on the police party, he said.

The officer said that even after repeated warning when the crowd did not disperse, police had to use mild force to maintain law and order.

In the process, 10 policemen, including two assistant commissioners of police, two inspectors, an assistant sub-inspector, a head constable and four constables suffered injuries, the DCP said.

During the protest, 11 private cars and a police vehicle were damaged, police said, adding that a case was registered and investigation underway.

On August 22, the minor girl was allegedly raped when she had gone to relieve herself in a forest area in Rangapuri Pahari area.

Yesterday, a 34-year-old man, identified as Prakash, was arrested from the area in connection with the incident.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Sixteen people have died after a tourist bus crashed along a winding road in west Bulgaria, interior minister Alentin Radev said, after rushing to the scene of the accident.

"Thirteen people were killed on the spot and three others succumbed to their injuries," Radev said yesterday after arriving at the site of the deadly crash 57 kilometres north of the capital Sofia.

Twenty-six people were also injured in the accident, three of them seriously.

The bus, carrying Bulgarian tourists following a trip to a monastery, ran off the road in torrential rain and plunged down into a river gorge below. In doing so it hit four cars but the passengers in these vehicles were not injured, police said.

The tourist bus, manufactured in 2001, was carrying 33 members of a retirement club, a transport official said.

Bulgaria is the poorest country in the European Union. Its road network in parts is poorly maintained and many of the vehicles are relatively old. There are around a thousand road accident victims each year throughout the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Health Minister on Saturday said 22 new are coming up across the country and admitted that there was a shortage of skilled human resource in the

He also said ensuring the highest standards of medical education was a top priority for the government.

"Twenty-two new are coming up across the country under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Surakhya Yojana to reduce regional imbalance in the and tertiary fields," Nadda said while addressing the first convocation of the (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar.

Admitting that there was a shortage of skilled human resources in the at all levels, the health minister said the Centre has planned for a rapid expansion of medical education.

Nadda said as medical education forms the apex of the pyramid, it is the quality of graduating doctors and specialists that will determine the quality of services in the country for generations to come.

Many initiatives such as increasing the retirement age of doctors to 65 years, setting up of more medical and nursing schools, multi-skilling of doctors to overcome the shortage of specialists, have been taken by the Centre to improve medical education, he said.

To ensure better standards of medical education, the Centre has undertaken suitable amendments in the Graduate Medical Education Regulations and the Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations for making common counselling for admission in medical colleges mandatory, Nadda said.

Since 2014-15, post-graduate seats have been increased by over 8,500 and under-graduate seats by over 16,000, Nadda said, adding that 70 existing medical colleges are being upgraded by setting up super speciality blocks.

"We are expanding the network of our medical colleges in a big way by upgrading 58 district hospitals to medical colleges.

"Twenty-four new medical colleges have been announced in this year's budget. Twenty state cancer institutes and 50 tertiary cancer care centres are also being set up," he said.

The health minister said the will soon introduce campus recruitment in order to retain students passing out of the institutes.

He said AIIMS pass-outs are acquainted with the culture of the institute. The attempt is aimed at retaining the best brains of AIIMs in the institute, Nadda said.

"Dear students, young doctors and faculty, I invite you all to join my ministry in further building upon this commitment of our prime minister to upgrade the access of the common man, thus taking the well being of our nation to greater heights," the Union minister said.

Noting that it is a great challenge to produce high quality healthcare providers at all levels, Nadda said "We need the teachers and academicians to develop such human resources in health. In this regard, the country has a lot of expectation from all of you."



No patient should be denied treatment on account of being poor or belonging to lower strata of society, he said, adding that the Centre has recently launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Abhiyan' programme to provide assured universal healthcare to over 500 million people from the vulnerable sections.

"My message to the graduating students on this occasion is that you should always keep in mind that medicine is not just a profession, but a vocation. Never forget your humanity, or that of your patients...," he said.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, addressing the gathering, urged the health minister to install a statute of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in the premises of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, to which Nadda readily obliged.

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal and Odisha's Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena also addressed the gathering.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Nadda laid the foundation stones for two buildings at the AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, campus.

One 560-bedded night shelter building (Rs 260 million), funded by the Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco), will be constructed in the AIIMS premises for the requirement of patients and their attendants.

Similarly, a foundation stone was also laid for construction of a Burns Treatment Centre at the cost of Rs 148.2 million funded by the NTPC. It will have comprehensive treatment for burns patients.In need of some restorative golf after a long week. Photo: Oliver Contreras/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A federal judge ruled early Saturday that a set of Trump administration rules designed to weaken federal unions did not pass legal muster.

The administration issued three executive orders in May that would have imposed new requirements on the unions, which retain significant power in Washington and beyond. Among other things, the rules directed federal agencies to force the unions to renegotiate their contracts, fire underperforming workers much more quickly, and restrict the amount of time workers could spend on union business at their offices. The provisions were put into place in July.

In response, the unions filed suit against the administration. In her ruling, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the kinds of changes the administration had attempted to institute must involve negotiations between federal agencies and their workers, and that the Trump administration had exceeded its authority by attempting to impose them from above. Though the Trump administration had positioned the orders as mere guidance, not hard-and-fast rules, Jackson wrote that the rules would still impair the ability of agency officials to keep an open mind, and to participate fully in give-and-take discussions, during collective bargaining negotiations.

In a statement issued after Saturdays ruling, J. David Cox Sr., the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said that President Trumps illegal action was a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress specifically guaranteed to the public-sector employees across this country who keep our federal government running every single day.

The White House had pitched the regulations as a boon for government efficiency. But, coming from a president who warns darkly of a clandestine deep state, and is conducting a slow-motion purge of perceived enemies at the Department of Justice, the real goals seemed to be damaging Americas civil service and instilling fear across the bureaucracy. So far, that mission had apparently been successful: the New York Times reports that the new rules had begun to create an atmosphere of fear among workers at many federal agencies.

Saturdays ruling is another major win for public-sector unions, which also scored a victory when Missouri voters resoundingly rejected a proposed right to work law earlier this month.

But those victories have been overshadowed by two momentous developments in the other direction. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that workers could exempt themselves from public-sector union fees, in a major, if expected, blow. And in July, President Trump selected Brett Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. As evidenced by his pivotal vote in the Janus case, Kennedy was no great friend to unions. But Kavanaugh is an outright foe, and his likely-to-be-successful nomination probably presages a new wave of 5-4 anti-union decisions over the next few years.

The government is expected to appeal Saturdays ruling. If a federal appeals court sides with Judge Jackson, the case is likely to end up before the most anti-union Supreme Court in decades, where the smart money would be on an outcome favorable to the Trump administration.In a major haul, Central agencies have seized around 25 kg of gold from two different places in West Bengal and arrested four persons, official sources said today.

Acting on specific information sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence raided a place at Sevoke Road in Siliguri town and seized 20 kg of gold last evening, they said.

The seized gold is valued at about Rs 5.4 crore in the market, the sources said.

The DRI sleuths arrested two men for smuggling the yellow metal, they said.

The two men had brought the gold from Jaigaon in Bhutan to Siliguri, which serves as the gateway to the north east, for smuggling it to other places, the sources added.

They were produced before a local court which remanded them to DRI custody for seven days.

The Customs Intelligence unit seized 5 kg of gold valued at about Rs 1.5 crore from Howrah station area and arrested two persons last night.

Acting on a tip off, the customs sleuths nabbed the two, when they were trying to board an Allahabad bound train from Howrah station last night, the sources said.

After frisking their baggage, the officials seized about five kg of gold. Both of them were arrested, the sources added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two Saudi-led coalition air strikes in Yemen have killed at least 26 children, UN officials have said, renewing calls for an independent investigation of attacks targeting civilians in the three-year war.

At least 22 children and four women died in an attack on Thursday while fleeing fighting in the Al-Durayhimi district, south of the rebel-held city of Hodeida, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock said yesterday. In addition to that strike, four other children were killed in a separate air strike in Al-Durayhimi, also on Thursday.

"This is the second time in two weeks that an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition has resulted in dozens of civilian casualties," Lowcock, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said in a statement.

A coalition attack on a bus in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada on August 9 killed 40 children, prompting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for an independent investigation.

Lowcock renewed the UN appeal for "an impartial, independent and prompt investigation" and said "those with influence" over the warring sides must ensure that civilians are protected.

The rebel-run Saba agency said the air strike on Thursday hit a bus and a house but the United Arab Emirates, a key partner in the coalition, blamed the Huthi rebels for the attack.

Al-Durayhimi lies some 20 kilometers south of Hodeida, and has seen two weeks of fighting between the rebels and pro-government forces backed by the UAE.

"I had hoped that the outrage that followed the Saada attack in Yemen two weeks ago would be a turning point in the conflict. Yesterday's reported attacks in Al-Durayhimi, killing 26 children, indicate that it was not," said Henrietta Fore, the director of the UN children's agency UNICEF.

Fore urged the warring sides, their foreign backers and the Security Council to "take action and end this conflict once and for all".

After widespread condemnation of the August 9 bus attack, the coalition announced that it was opening an investigation, but rights groups insist any probe should be impartial.

In a 90-page report, Human Rights Watch said the coalition had failed to properly investigate war crimes allegations stemming from attacks on civilian targets. HRW's Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said the coalition's investigators "were doing little more than covering up war crimes".

The European Union urged Yemen's warring sides to "prioritise the protection of civilians in all instances" following the attacks in Al-Durayhimi and stressed the need to end the war, according a statement from the EU foreign affairs spokesperson.

UN-brokered talks between Yemen's government and the Huthis are to open in Geneva on September 6 -- a first step toward resuming peace negotiations that broke down two years ago. The Security Council has called for a "credible" investigation of the bus attack in Yemen, but did not demand an independent probe.

Three of the five permanent council members -- Britain, France and the United States -- are supporting the coalition in its military campaign, while non-permanent member Kuwait is part of the coalition.

Led by Saudi Arabia, the coalition has been fighting Huthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 to return President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to power. The war has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three FIRs has been registered by the Pakur district administration in connection with the attack on the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police on Wednesday at Dangapara village, police said today.

Two FIRs has been registered on the statement of Block Development Officer, Maheshpur, Umesh Mandal and one FIR was lodged on the basis of a written statement of the Maheshpur police station officer-in-charge, Umeshchandra Prasad, the said.

A mob had attacked the deputy commissioner and the SP at Dangapara village on Wednesday when they went to the village after four policemen were injured when they tried to prevent the villagers from slaughtering cattle on that day during the Bakrid festival.

The FIRs named around six dozens people and around 950 unknown persons, DIG (Santal Paragana), Raj Kumar Lakra said.

Lakra said the situation at Dangarpra village was fast returning to normal after the police held meeting with the prominent citizens of the area.

The police has been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, he added.

Police had arrested 35 persons in connection with Wednesday's incident.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A three-year-old boy was rescued after he was allegedly kidnapped by a neighbour who wanted to keep the child as his son in south Delhi's Hauz Khas area, a police official said.

The accused was identified as Abedin Ansari, a native of Giridi in Jharkhand, he said.

On August 19, the victim's father had filed a complaint at the Hauz Khas police station alleging that his son who was playing in Shahpur Jat Park at around 7 to 7.30 pm was missing, he said.

Several people of Shahpur Jat village were interrogated in connection with the case, he said.

During investigation, the police learnt that a neighbour who was quite friendly with the victim was also missing since the day of the incident, he added.

Subsequently, a police team was sent to his village in Jharkhand's Giridi district, the official said.

Based on a tip-off, four teams were constituted yesterday and traps were laid at the New Delhi railway station, old Delhi railway station, Hazrat Nizamuddin and Anand Vihar railway station, the official said.

After a wait of six hours, the child was safely recovered from the possession of the alleged neighbour when he reached at the New Delhi railway station by Magadh Express, the official said, adding that the accused was also arrested.

During interrogation, Ansari told the police that he was going to his village with his wife and he met the child near Shahpur Jat Park.

Ansari said he was quite friendly with the child and used to play with him and planned to keep the victim as his son. So, he took the child along with him to his village where he was going to drop his wife, the official said.

But after reaching the village, Ansari learnt that the victim's father had lodged a case and the police had already reached his village enquiring about him.

So, he decided to take the child back to Delhi with an intention to keep the child with him somewhere in Delhi or National Capital Region (NCR), the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Four over-ground workers (OGWs) of militant outfits were arrested and three hideouts of the ultras busted in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, a spokesman said today.

The police, along with security forces, busted a hideout in Rajpora Litter area and arrested an over-ground worker, he said.

Incriminating material along with improvised explosive device (IED) material was recovered from the hideout, the spokesman said.

In another incident, two hideouts were busted in Khallen and Tahab villages of Pulwama district.

The magazine of an AK rifle, an INSAS magazine and one UBGL were seized, the spokesman said.

Three people, who were allegedly working for militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen group, were arrested, the spokesman said.

Cases under relevant sections of the IPC were registered against them, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of life in the boat capsize tragedy in Bijnor and directed officials to undertake relief and rescue work at war footing.

He has also directed officials to ensure adequate medical treatment is administered to those injured in the incident, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement today.

Yesterday, a woman died and nine other people were missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga near Rajarampur village in Bijnor. There were 27 people on the boat.

"Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of life in the boat capsize tragedy. He has directed the district magistrate to make available a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family members of the deceased within 24 hours," it said.

The chief minister while reviewing the works pertaining to flood control today also said "public interest" and "local needs" must be kept in mind when framing any flood- control related project.

He also directed that dredging of rivers in the state should be ensured, and there should be an effective mechanism for monitoring flood control and relief works.

Laxity of any kind in flood control and relief works will not be tolerated, Adityanath said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today paid tributes to Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the ashes of the former prime minister were immersed in Rapti river.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the former prime minister would always be remembered for the developmental works undertaken by him.

"He has worked for the improvement of the infrastructural facilities in the country, be it the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana or the Golden quadilateral."



He also said in the 70 years of Independence, Vajpayee left his imprint on people from different fields directly or indirectly.

Adityanath said the BJP stalwart had contributed immensely to the telecommunication revolution.

"Atalji had a deep relationship with Gorakhpur and Gorakhnath temple, and had visited the temple for the last time in 2004. He will always be remembered for his values and ideals," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jammu and Kashmir has child welfare committees (CWCs) and juvenile justice boards (JJBs) in all the 22 districts of the state, a senior official said here today.

"J-K Government, under the guidance of the High Court, is making earnest efforts for implementation of J-K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2013, with a special focus on children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection.

"As per the provisions of the Act, selection-cum-oversight committee, headed by Justice (retired) Hasnain Masoodi has been constituted and with their strenuous efforts, Government has put in place the child welfare committees (CWCs) and the juvenile justice boards (JJBs) in all the 22 districts of the state, Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, Advisor to the Governor said.

Ganai was addressing the 2nd round-table conference on "Implementation of Juvenile Justice System" organized jointly by the J-K High Court, J-K Government, Juvenile Justice Committee of the Supreme Court of India and the UNICEF.

He said the focus is now on providing required infrastructure and manpower support to make these institutions more vibrant which would pave way for the better delivery mechanism on the ground.

"The district child protection units along with the required staff are also in place in all the districts of the state," Ganai said.

The Advisor said the state has two Government-run observation homes - one at Srinagar and the other at Jammu.

"Similarly, there are children homes run by the Government where boys and girls are housed for overall welfare and rehabilitation. Efforts are on to see that every district shall have these homes to care and for the protection of children," he said.

Gania said from the date of last round-table conference, 361 children from observation homes alone have been rehabilitated which children include some from neighbouring countries like Nepal and Burma as well as from the other states of the country like West Bengal.

He said that the state Government has also constituted a rehabilitation council for the rehabilitation of victims of militancy which extends help and financial assistance to the victims.

Ganai said the state Government is committed for safety, welfare and overall development of the children.

"The State Government has taken various initiatives towards child welfare, which include introducing and implementing various welfare schemes through Social Welfare department," the Advisor said.

Justice Madan B Lokur, Judge, Supreme Court of India and Chairman Supreme Court Committee on Juvenile Justice, Justice Gita Mittal; J-K High Court Chief Justice, Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, chairman, Juvenile Justice Committee, J-K High Court, Aguilar Javier, chief, Child Protection, UNICEF also addressed the conference along with others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tamil Nadu government today despatched one lakh litres of 'Amma' brand of bottled drinking water to flood-hit Kerala from here.

Flagging off 11 lorries carrying the water bottles, Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani said the government continues to help the people of the neighbouring state.

A total of 42 types of relief materials, including rice, grains, medicines and essentials worth Rs 4 crore has also been sent, he said.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has already announced Rs 10-crore financial assistance for that state, he said.

Besides, a non-governmental organisation has donated a water-purifying machine worth Rs 5 lakh, which is also part of the relief materials sent today, he said.

CPI has also sent relief materials worth Rs 10 lakh collected by party, its leader M Arumugham said.

The materials would be distributed directly to the affected people, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 3 lakh from the party would be handed over to the Thrissur district party headquarters for carrying out relief work.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With the arrest of seven people, police today busted a gang which allegedly duped people living in the US and other countries by telling them that they need to pay tax dues, an official said.

Two years ago, the Thane Crime Branch had unearthed a similar scam which targeted US residents.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided a call centre in Mira Road area and arrested seven people, Assistant Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni said.

A case under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and sections of the Information Technology Act was registered with Navghar police, and several computers were seized, he said.

Explaining the gang's modus operandi, Kulkarni said the accused obtained financial details of foreign nationals such as loans they had taken and their salaries.

The gang members then called such people, pretending to be from tax authorities in respective countries, and told them that they owed "loan tax" which can be paid through Bitcoins, he said.

Bitcoin is a form of electronic currency which is not recognised by most central banks.

The arrested people were identified as Juber Shaikh (26), Sabio Gonsalvis (42), Raju Rathod (29), Harsh Anwar Kazi (23), Siddharth Pillai (22), Saurabh Jha (29) and Siddhi Nair (29).

The police were yet to find out how much money was transferred into accused persons' bank accounts.

In 2016, the Thane Crime Branch had unearthed a similar scam, where persons operating from call centres in Mira Road area duped 6,400 US residents of millions of dollars.

The accused called US residents pretending to be from that country's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and demanded payment of tax through gift cards of online shopping sites.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A photograph distributed by Houthi rebels shows what they claim are the results of a Saudi airstrike. Photo: STRINGER/AFP/Getty Images

The United Nations claims that for the second time in August, a bomb launched by Saudi Arabia in the American-backed campaign against Yemeni rebels killed more than 20 children.

Mark Lowcock, an undersecretary-general at the U.N., said in a statement on Friday that a Saudi airstrike had killed at least 22 children and four women in the rebel-held area near Al Hudaydah, and that another airstrike in the area had killed four more children.

Though there was no independent verification of the death toll, the New York Times reported that U.N. partners verified the information Lowcock provided.

I echo the recent statement by the Secretary-General on Yemen, condemning such attacks on civilians and calling for an impartial, independent and prompt investigation into these most recent incidents, Lowcock wrote.

Just two weeks ago, a bomb launched by Saudi Arabia  but manufactured in the United States  killed dozens of Yemeni children who were traveling on a summer camp school bus.

A Saudi spokesman said the attack had been targeting rebel missile launchers, but called it a legitimate military action, and accused Houthis of using kids as tools and covers for their terrorist acts.

For the last three years, Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war between the current government, led by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and Houthi rebels backed by Iran, Saudi Arabias archenemy. Since the war began, the Saudis have wielded their military might to back Hadi, helping to maintain the bloody stalemate that continues today. The United States came down firmly on the Saudis side during the last years of the Obama presidency, and has committed to their cause, financially and militarily, even more firmly under the Trump administration, which views Iran as the most clear and present danger in the Middle East.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far. Saudi Arabia has imposed a punishing economic blockade against rebel areas in the already impoverished country while deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure like hospitals and water treatment plants. Thousands have died of cholera, and tens of millions are at risk of starvation. As New Yorks Jonah Shepp puts it, the U.S. is abetting a humanitarian disaster that could ultimately rival Syria and Iraq in its destabilizing impact on the region and the world.

A growing chorus of lawmakers is pushing back against the Trump administrations blank-check approach to abetting war crimes. A bipartisan group inserted a provision in defense bill signed by Trump on Monday requiring that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  another major player in the Yemeni war  attempt to prevent civilian deaths in the future.

But that rule is unlikely to have much teeth. And President Trumps evident kinship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who sells himself as a reformer to the West while pursuing his ruinous foreign policy and cracking down on dissenters at home, will likely complicate any effort to lessen the U.S. role in a rolling human-rights disaster.

President Trump may have been stirred by the sight of dead children enough to bomb Syria earlier this year. But when it comes to the Yemeni kids slaughtered with the help of Americas money and weaponry, he remains unmoved.One person has lost his eyesight after consuming spurious liquor at Bidoli village under Jhinjhana police station here, a day after another man was hospitalised with similar complaint, police said today.

Station House Officer OP Chaudhary said Sukhpal lost his eyesight yesterday after he consumed liquor brought from Kamalpur village.

The day before, a person called Moher Singh was hospitalised after he complained of losing his eyesight after consuming spurious liquor.

Police said they have arrested a woman, Amarjit Kaur, the wife of Joga Singh who allegedly supplied the spurious liquor. Singh had also consumed the alleged spurious liquor and died, they said.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) K P Singh said a medical camp was set up in the village after five people died and seven others fell ill after consuming spurious liquor recently.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two separate courts here today rejected the anticipatory bail petitions of Bihar's former social welfare minister Manju Verma and her husband Chandrashekhar Verma in connection with the recovery of cartridges from her in-laws' residence during a recent CBI raid as part of the probe into the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal.

Former minister Manju Verma's prayer was turned down by the court of district judge Diwan Abdul Aziz Khan, while that of her husband was dismissed by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ) (V) Raj Kishore Rai.

Advocates appearing for the couple submitted before the courts that they live in Patna and they rarely visit the house at Arjun Tola in Begusarai.

They said the house is a joint family property and they don't know how cartridges were found from there.

The prosecution opposed the pleas, saying that the couple used to frequently visit the village and they are lying and hence their pleas for anticipatory bail be rejected.

The CBI had on August 17 raided nearly 12 places in four districts of Bihar, including residences of Manju Verma in Patna and her in-laws' place in Begusarai in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal.

The CBI had registered the FIR on August 18 against Manju Verma and her husband Chandrashekhar Verma for the recovery of 50 live cartridges from her in-laws' house at Arjun Tola village.

The CBI's Deputy Superintendent of Police rank official had prepared the seizure list of cartridges and handed over the case to the local police where an FIR was registered against them under the Arms Act.

Manju Verma had resigned as social welfare minister following a disclosure that her husband Chandrashekhar Verma had spoken to the prime accused in the scandal, Brajesh Thakur, 17 times between January and June this year.

The shelter home scandal came to light two months ago when an FIR was lodged by the social welfare department following a social audit report submitted by the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences which mentioned sexual abuse of girls lodged at the Muzaffarpur shelter home.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In Yemen, a Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels since 2015, with US support.

According to reporters, multiple attacks took place against the camp.

JIAT investigators called for the coalition to provide assistance in about 10 instances when technical or intelligence errors or other factors such as weather contributed to strikes on civilian targets.

The UN's humanitarian chief, Mark Lowcock, confirmed on Friday that a coalition airstrike on Thursday had killed 22 children and four women who were trying to escape the fighting in the Al Durayhimi district, in the Hudaydah governorate. Nick Schifrin talks with Human Rights Watch's Kristine Beckerle, one of the lead authors of a new report that criticizes the coalition's conduct as "unlawful".

The JIAT, which is made up of officials from the coalition countries, recommended further investigation or disciplinary action in two incidents, the analysis said.

Those conclusions, the report found, differ starkly from the picture presented by the news media and civil society groups in Yemen, where coalition aircraft have repeatedly struck civilian sites, including hospitals and funerals.

HRW alleges this to be part of an attempt to shield military personnel from criminal liability.

The Saudi-led coalition said it would investigate.

Spurs failed with deadline day bid for Abraham

Rose looks increasingly likely to remain at Spurs until January with few credible options on the table for Spurs and the 28-year-old full-back.

Whitson warned countries selling arms to Saudi Arabia, including the United States and the UK, that the "sham investigations do not protect them from being complicit in serious violations in Yemen".

Saudi warplanes carried out an airstrike against the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah on Thursday, hitting a camp for internally displaced people, and killed at least 31 civilians.

The Houthis had blamed Thursday's attack in Hodeida on the coalition.

On Aug. 9, coalition airstrikes hit a bus in a busy market in Yemen's north, killing at least 51 people including 40 children.

Impoverished Yemen has been embroiled in the war pitting the coalition against the Iran-aligned Houthis since March 2015.

Many analysts say by backing Saudi Arabia in Yemen, the Trump administration may be exposing itself to being held legally responsible for attacks on civilians.

What is the coalition doing in Yemen?

Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict which has pushed Yemen to the brink of starvation, crippled the country's health system, and killed over 10,000 people.Naveen Patnaik is hard to match and will be a key figure in the 2019 elections, says a new book which seeks to decode the success of the Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal boss.

In the book "Naveen Patnaik", journalist Ruben Banerjee says that the Odisha politician made mincemeat of battle-hardened political rivals despite having no prior experience by systematically captured power and surviving for almost two decades.

If he wins in 2019, he will scale further heights and become a far bigger political phenomenon. If he loses, he will still remain a phenomenon, hard to emulate, the author says.

So what works for Patnaik?



"Ever since he first campaigned to be elected as the MP from Aska, hiding his lit cigarette from the people, Naveen has been mindful of his image. Unlike the other average politicians of Odisha, synonymous with pompousness and hubris, Naveen is low-key and shy. He came without any baggage and has till now not collected any," the book, published by Juggernaut, says.

Even political rivals concede that accusations of corruption at a personal level will not stick or tarnish the chief minister.

Aides say the chief minister's minimal personal needs have resonated with the voters and sustained his honest image.

"Apart from cigarettes, his daily quota of drinks and maybe the power that comes along with the position of chief minister, there is nothing else that possibly attracts him," the book quotes one of them as saying.

Whenever someone gets drawn into a scandal, Patnaik's reflex action is to show him the door, irrespective of which caste or region he belongs to, Banerjee says.

He says Patnaik's reputation helped him escape scrutiny when Odisha witnessed two of its largest scams in recent history - one related to mining and the other involving private firms running Ponzi schemes, popularly called chit funds.

Patnaik has a key role to play in 2019 as winning Odisha has become a critical prestige battle for the BJP, the book says.

"Odisha, with 21 Lok Sabha seats, is a new frontier for the BJP where it expects to establish its footprint, alongside other states in the country's east and north-east. It has wrested power in Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, shares power in Bihar and is trying hard to make inroads into West Bengal.

"Political pundits say that Odisha holds better promise for the party than Bengal, where the BJP is still struggling to make its mark. In Odisha, it has already stunned everyone, including its rivals, with its improved showing in the 2017 panchayat polls," it says.

However, unseating the BJD will not be easy as Patnaik enjoys a strong connect with the people, says Banerjee.

"His party has been in power for years and has sunk deep roots with every interest group, from businessmen to contractors and touts, collecting around it. Originally voted to power to cleanse the establishment, the BJD is now the establishment itself," he says.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An outspoken Cambodian opposition lawmaker was pardoned by royal decree and released today, the first member of a now-dissolved political party to be freed a month after strongman premier Hun Sen won a virtually uncontested election.

The lead-up to the July 29 poll -- which Western democracies have slammed -- was marked by a clampdown on activists, journalists and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), paving a clear path for the authoritarian Hun Sen to extend his 33-year rule of Cambodia by another five years.

Released today was Um Sam An, a dual Cambodian-US national sentenced to two and a half years in prison in late 2016 over his criticism of Hun Sen's government for using contested maps as a guideline to demarcating the border with Vietnam.

The royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni said the 40-year-old lawmaker had been convicted for "inciting crime and racism" with his actions.

The decree did not provide a reason for his early release.

The CNRP had campaigned on the sensitive issue of border demarcation between Cambodia and Vietnam in the previous election, causing critics to question some of the inflammatory rhetoric used by lawmakers.

In an interview with government-aligned media, Um Sam An said his newfound freedom was a chance to "reconcile the nation".

"Regardless of opposition party or the ruling party, we can love and work together to...protect our border," he said in an interview broadcast on Facebook Live.

He added that 14 more lawmakers remain behind bars in Prey Sar prison, where he was jailed, while many others -- like CNRP head Kem Sokha -- are scattered in provinces across the country.

More than half the opposition party fled Cambodia last year in fear of being imprisoned under trumped up charges.

Since his ruling party swept all 125 parliament seats last month, Hun Sen has requested pardons for four land rights campaigners including prominent activist Tep



Vanny, who was released earlier this week.

A day later, two journalists who worked for US-backed broadcaster Radio Free Asia received bail after ten months of detention.

On Thursday, Hun Sen said he plans to pardon 12 more who had written him apology letters, but warned that the process would be "put on hold" if anyone comments that he was under pressure from the international community.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The CBI has arrested an executive engineer of the North Central Railways for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a contractor for processing payments and granting other favours, officials said today.

The alleged bribe was the first installment in the total of Rs 19 lakhs demanded by Panna Lal Sailani, an executive engineer (constructions) posted in Tundla, a major railway junction in Uttar Pradesh, they said.

It was alleged in the complaint that Sailani was demanding Rs 19 lakh for making entries in the measurement book, a record of measurements of construction work done by a contractor, and to process contractor's due payments, the officials said.

"The CBI laid a trap and the accused was caught red-handed at Agra while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 Lakh as first instalment from the complainant," a CBI Spokesperson said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The centenary of Bengali cinema will be celebrated through a musical event at the 'Bongo Probashi Milap 2018' in Dubai on November 30, 2018, Bengali film superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee said.

The musical event will be presented by artistes from the Bengali entertainmeent industry and is "aimed at showcasing the contemporay best of Bengal," he said yesterday.

Chatterjee said Punjabi soundtracks have become the rage for rhythm, pace and beats in the country and globally though many did not understand the lyrics. Bengali music should strive to get that kind of popularity among the non-Bengali speaking people.

"We must ponder how to make Bengali music equally popular among a cross-section of Indians. We have everything - from lyrics to foot-tapping rhythm - we have such a rich reserve of different genres of music with which people can easily connect. We have to take Bengali music to the world," Chatterjee said adding events like the 'Bongo Probashi Milap 2018' can serve the purpose of taking our culture to the diaspora.

Besides Chatterjee, popular radio jockey-actor-emcee Mir, actors Biswanath Basu, Kanchan Mullick, actress Pallavi Chatterjee, Poulami Das and director Kaushik Ganguly have suppported the initiative.

As part of the event, besides hosting the show to commemorate special celebration for '100 years of Bengali Cinema', a film festival showcasing six Bengali feature films and six short films will be held on December 1 and 2.

There will also be a trade exhibition on December 1 and 2, 2018 involving exhibitors from Bengal and UAE to showcase designer apparels, specialty foods and savories, travel and tour options, education opportunities and many more.

"Bongo Probashi Milap 2018 is a celebration of the rich Bengali Art and Culture on a single platform. It is an attempt to create a warm confluence of cinema, music, business, art and culture, handicrafts, fashion and specialty food from Bengal," actress Pallavi Chatterjee said on behalf of the organisers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Several chemists and distributors across the country have been booked by Maharashtra police for allegedly selling medicines procured by the Rajasthan government for its schemes, officials said today.

The officials said that the persons who have been booked owned shops in Indore and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, Kolkata in West Bengal, Surat in Gujarat besides Mumbai and Thane.

Police said that private medical biotechnology firm Reliance Life Sciences Private Limited had filed a complaint with the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in this connection in July this year.

The Navi Mumbai-headquartered firm had stated in its complaint that some chemist shops had been found selling medicines which it had supplied to the Rajasthan government, an official said.

After investigating the matter, the Maharashtra FDA registered a complaint yesterday with Thane Rural police's Navghar police station in Bhayander, said sub-inspector Vijay Takke.

He said that a case had been registered against these shop owners and medicine distributors under relevant sections of the Drug and Cosmetics Act, which regulates import, manufacture and distribution of drugs in India, and the Indian Penal Code.

However, no arrests had been made so far and further probe into the nationwide racket is on, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A court here sentenced a man to four months in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 9 lakh on him in a cheque bounce case.

Narendra Shinde, a contractor with the state Excise Department, had taken a loan of Rs 5.55 lakh from his friend, Suresh Sonane, in 2012, the complainant's lawyer Baldev Rajput said.

Rajput said a cheque given by Shinde on October 6, 2014, bounced following which Sonane filed a complaint under section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Thane First Class Judicial Magistrate A B Katte, in a recent order, convicted Shinde in the case and sentenced him to four months simple imprisonment, the complainant's lawyer said.

The judge also ordered that the fine amount of Rs 9 lakh be given to Sonane after it is recovered from Shinde, the lawyer informed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The bank incurred no financial damage through this action and Credit Suisse remained very active in Russian Federation.

It did not identify the specific owners of the money. The bank said it had merely reclassified the money.

The Swiss Credit Suisse bank froze some CHF5 billion ($5 billion) of assets linked to Russian Federation earlier this year in an effort to toe the line with U.S. sanctions levied against Moscow. According to data from the Russian central bank, around $6.2 billion, or 14 percent of total Russian cross-border outflows, went to Switzerland in 2017.

The latest round of sanctions was announced in April by US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to penalise Russian Federation for its annexation of Crimea, involvement in the war in Syria and "attempting to subvert Western democracies". In connection with the introduction of new restrictions, the assets were reclassified: they were transferred from assets under management assets under custody. - In addition to maintain its reputation, the Swiss banks will increase "Russian billions to private dividends".

Taiwan loses El Salvador to China in fresh diplomatic setback

China denies this, and says Taiwan is a part of China with no right to formal diplomatic ties with any other country. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has vowed to fight China's "increasingly out of control" behaviour after the move.

Credit Suisse says it remains highly committed to Russian Federation and continues to monitor developments.

Other Swiss banks, including UBS and Julius Baer, told Reuters they also complied with the sanctions regime, but declined to say whether they had enforced similar measures.

A spokesman for Julius Baer said it "cooperates with worldwide regulators.in the field of sanction regulations". In 2009, it reached a US$500 million settlement with USA authorities over dealings with sanctions-hit Iran. In 2014, France's BNP Paribas agreed to pay a record Dollars 8.9 billion for violating United States sanctions against Iran, Sudan and Cuba.China today successfully sent twin navigation satellites into the space on a single carrier rocket, according to official Chinese media.

The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China's Sichuan Province today morning.

It was the 283rd mission of the Long March rocket series, state run Xinhua agency reported.

The twin satellites entered orbit more than three hours after the launch.

After a series of tests, they will work together with 10 other BeiDou-3 satellites already in orbit.

The twin satellites were developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012, the report said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)China today lodged a diplomatic protest with the US after President Donald Trump alleged that Beijing was not helping with the process of denuclearisation of North Korea, and said his accusations were "irresponsible" and he was "passing the buck".

Trump had said that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was make his fourth visit to Pyongyang next week, to cancel his trip because he feel that no sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula was being made.

In a statement, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Trump's allegation was not based on facts and was "irresponsible".

"We are seriously concerned and have made solemn representations, (diplomatic protest) to the US side," Lu said.

The Chinese protest followed after Trump's tweets yesterday that he had asked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his trip to North Korea because there had not been significant progress on denuclearisation.

"Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)," Trump said.

The world's two biggest economies, China and the US are currently involved in a trade war slapping billions of dollars of tariffs on each other goods following Trump's demand to Beijing to bring down USD 375 billion trade deficit.

Refuting Trump's allegations, Lu said China's stance on denuclearisation had been consistent, and it supported the US and North Korea to push forward the agreements reached during their landmark summit in Singapore in June.

"All related parties should stick to the path of political settlement and show more sincerity and flexibility rather than being unpredictable and passing the buck to others," Lu said.

China would keep communicating with all parties and keep contributing to the stability of the Korean peninsula, Lu added.

China is North Korea's biggest trade partner and close ally of Pyongyang.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Chinese ridesharing giant Didi Chuxing said today it bore "responsibility" for the rape and murder of a passenger by a driver who had been reported by another user just a day before the killing.

Police in the city of Wenzhou said today they had arrested a 27-year-old man who worked as a driver on suspicion of raping and killing a female passenger who had used the app to hail a ride.

The killing has sparked criticism of the company -- known as the "Chinese Uber" due to its overwhelming popularity in the country -- and raised fresh concerns over the safety of its users.

In a statement released today the company admitted it had failed to act after receiving a complaint about the same driver from another female passenger, who claimed he drove her to an isolated area and followed her in his vehicle after she left the car.

"Our customer service did not... investigate this report quickly enough, no matter the reason, we take on an undeniable responsibility", it said.

"We have a responsibility and we feel guilty. As a platform, we betrayed the trust of the public."



In May a 21-year-old air stewardess was killed by a Didi Chuxing driver, prompting criticism of the company's security measures and a tightening up of its rules of use.

The latest murder has prompted renewed and widespread anger online.

"How can a driver who has been reported still go on taking passengers?" asked one user of the Twitter-like Weibo social network.

"Get out of the market! I do not want to see your next apology," said another.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra will deliver the first Madhusudan Das Memorial lecture at the MS Law College here tomorrow.

The CJI will speak on "Role of Lawyers in the Dispensation of Justice Delivery System", the college principal Dr Sukant K Nanda said here today.

Utkal University vice chancellor Dr S M Patnaik will preside over the function, it will be attended by Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, K S Jhaveri as Guest of Honour, he said.

"Although, the college is named after legendary Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das and had been functioning for more than eight decades now, this is for the first time we are organising a memorial lecture in his name," Nanda said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Using mud or wet clay as a topical skin treatment - a common practice in some cultures - may help fight disease-causing bacteria in wounds, a study has found.

Researcher from Arizona State University in the US found that at least one type of clay has antibacterial effects against bacteria such as Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus, including resistant strains such as CRE and MRSA.

The clay suspension was effective against a number of bacteria both in their planktonic and biofilm states.

"We showed that this reduced iron-bearing clay can kill some strains of bacteria under the laboratory conditions used, including bacteria grown as biofilms, which can be particularly challenging to treat," said Robin Patel, a clinical microbiologist at Mayo Clinic in the US.

Biofilms occur when bacteria attach to surfaces and develop a film or protective coating making them relatively resistant to antibiotics. They appear in two-thirds of the infections seen by physicians.

The research, published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, is preliminary and the scientists caution that only one concentration of the clay suspension was tested. The lab tests are a first step in simulating the complex environment found in an actual infected wound.

They also caution that not all types of clay are beneficial. Some may actually help bacteria grow.

More research is needed to identify and reproduce the properties of clays that are antibacterial, researchers said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A woman assistant professor arrested months ago for alleged attempt to sexually exploit girl students now faces the serious charge of trafficking, police have apprised the Madras High Court.

The probe revealed that the woman, Nirmala Devi, conspired with two other men, Murugan and Karuppusamy, who are also accused in the case, to deceive and seduce girl students for sexual exploitation, the CB-CID police told the court.

Nirmala Devi had 'illegal intimacy' with both the accused and had promised to please them by 'providing' her own college students for sexual favours.

The CB-CID, which took over the case in April last, had booked Professor Murugan of Madurai Kamaraj University and Karuppasamy, a research student in the case.

She had on various occasions induced four girl students for sexual exploitation.

In light of such revelations, the case has been altered to include trafficking, sexual harassment, conspiracy (IPC), and relevant provisions of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act and the Information Technology Act.

If convicted for trafficking more than one person, it is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a minimum of 10 years and could extend to life imprisonment as per IPC 370 (3) read with 370 (1), a charge now Nirmala Devi faces.

Additional Police Superintendent, Special Investigation Division of CB-CID, S P Lavanya in her status report submitted yesterday to a division bench of justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and K Kalyanasundaram detailed the new provisions invoked against the accused.

The infamous sleaze episode allegedly involving the college professor became sensational in Tamil Nadu when it unfolded in April.

The status report was filed in response to a PIL by D Ganesan of the Revolutionary Students' Youth Front seeking a direction to constitute a special investigation team comprising women police officers to probe the case.

Lavanya submitted that based on the confession of the accused Nirmala Devi during the investigation and statement of witnesses, it was found that two others namely Murugan and Karuppasamy were involved in this case.

"Murugan and Karuppasamy had asked Nirmala Devi to seduce young innocent college girls to offer sexual favours to them. Thus they tried to sexually exploit the girls", she submitted.

Lavanya, who is the investigation officer in the case, further submitted that with the assistance of cybercrime cell, the call data records (CDR) of Nirmala Devi, Karuppasamy and Murugan were obtained from the Mobile Service Providers.

They were analysed and relevant evidence of conspiracy between the three accused was established.

Recording the submissions, the bench referred the PIL to the first bench headed by Chief Justice VK Tahilramani since it holds the portfolio of PILs relating to rights of women.

Nirmala Devi was arrested on April 16 after an audio clip in which she purportedly told some girl students "to adjust with some officials" for higher marks and money went viral on the social media.

The assistant professor was working with the Devanga Arts College in Aruppukottai, affiliated to the Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU).

She was suspended after the scandal came to light.

She, however, had denied any sexual angle to her advice and claimed she had made it "in the right spirit" and not with any hidden agenda or motive.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A day before Rakshabandhan, tension prevailed between two communities outside a Gurudwara here, police said.

According to police, a 14-year-old girl Priyanka was putting up a cart to sell 'raakhis' outside a Gurudwara in Banda area of the district, which was objected by the watchman and it resulted in a dispute.

The watchman of the Gurudwara also hit the girl with a stick on her leg, police said.

As the spread, Hindus and Sikhs reached the area and there was stone pelting by both the sides, they said.

"One police vehicle and two other vehicles have been damaged due to stone pelting. Three persons have been detained in this connection," Sub-divisional Magistrate Satyapriye Singh said.

A large police force has been deployed in the area.

Superintendent of Police of Shahjahanpur S Chinnappa said, "Currently, the situation is under control, and heavy police deployment has been made in the area. Senior officials of the police and district administration are present at the spot.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress secretary and former Lok Sabha MP Sajjan Singh Verma's name appears in the voters list of two districts in Madhya Pradesh, an electoral official said today.

The official said that Verma's name was found in the voters list for Sonkatch Assembly constituency in Dewas district while the Congress leader claimed that he votes in Indore.

Verma had, about a fortnight ago, lodged a complaint seeking revision of the voters list in Sonkatch from where he has been an MLA earlier claiming that it contained names of around 25,000 bogus voters.

Speaking to PTI today, Sonkatch Assembly constituency returning officer Nita Rathore said, "During the checking of the voters list, Verma's name was found. He has been served notice on August 23 and has been asked to be present at Sonkatch tehsil with documents on August 29."



Rathore, who is also the sub divisional magistrate, said that Verma's name would be struck off from the voters list in Sonkatch if he failed to respond.

She added that an inquiry had already found that Verma was not living in the address mentioned in the voters list.

Verma, meanwhile, claimed ignorance about his name figuring in the Sonkatch voters list and said that he voted in Indore, from where he hails, "from the beginning".

"I have not received any notice. The date of getting the name struck off from the voters' list is August 31. Keeping this in mind, I will not comment," Verma said.

The Congress had, earlier, complained with the Election Commission of India that the ruling BJP in MP was planning to influence Assembly polls slated for later this year by enrolling 60 lakh bogus names in the electoral roll.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An 18-year-old man, working in a hotel as a cook, was today arrested for allegedly killing another worker over a paltry sum of Rs 100.

The accused was identified as Aftab alias Chand Manjur Khan, who works in a hotel in suburban Kurla.

Kalam Buttu Khan (18), who worked in the same hotel had borrowed Rs 100 from him to celebrate Eid earlier this week, police said.

They had an altercation this afternoon over delay in repaying the money, and in a fit of rage Aftab allegedly picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed Kalam, police said.

Kalam was taken to a hospital but was declared dead before admission, a police official from Vinoba Bhave Nagar Police Station said.

An offence of murder has been registered.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After carrying out extensive relief operations in rain hit areas of Kannur district, personnel of CRPF have shifted their focus to rehabilitating the flood affected people in some parts of Thrissur district.

A top CRPF official said a base camp has been established at Kerala Police Academy in Thrissur on August 22 and liaised with district administration for effective rehabilitation work.

"As the water level receded in flood affected areas we shifted our attention to rehabilitation work," the official told PTI.

To begin with more than 300 personnel of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) joined hands with people of Mala Grama Panchayat in cleaning various schools, colleges, government buildings and badly damaged houses owing to land slides and accumulation of sludge, etc carried by flood waters, he said.

"The effort was to lend a helping hand to the state administration and affected people in quick resettlement.

The badly affected villages like Annalur and Kuriyalasseri were put back on track within two days of work and most of the people returned to their homes owing to aggressive cleanliness drive in their respective homes," he said.

Presently, the focus is on Annamanada and Kuzhur Grama Panchayat, where the rehabilitation work has commenced this morning, the official said.

Clearing the debris from the houses and maintaining the supply lines is the priority.

Further, relief materials received from CRPF establishments across the country is also distributed among the needy populace, he added.

Roads and bridges covered with debris were cleared with the help of local volunteers acting as guides.

The rehabilitation work will continue till every person affected by floods moves back to his home, the official said.

He said as on today one DIGP, two deputy commandants, two assistant commandants, three inspectors, nine sub inspectors, 50 staff and 450 trainees are on the job.

Further, relief material collected from families of staff and trainees was distributed in far flung areas sharing border with adjoining Karnataka, the official added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Since worldwide affairs now takes place on Twitter, the South African government responded with a tweet of its own, rejecting Trump's "narrow perception" and promising land reform in an "inclusive manner".

"South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has just begun the process of seizing land from his own citizens, without compensation, because they're the wrong skin color".

The website of the U.S. embassy in South Africa was unavailable as of 9:30 pm local time, showing only the notification it was "experiencing technical difficulties".

Today, almost a quarter-century after the first democratic elections, black South Africans, who comprise 80 percent of the population, still own just 4 percent of the country's land, according to the government. Progress has been slow.

Trump's tweet appeared to come in response to a segment on Fox News in which host Tucker Carlson railed against a plan from South Africa's ruling party to pursue constitutional changes allowing the government to redistribute land without compensation.

Trump said on Wednesday he directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to "closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures".

Cape Town-based political analyst Daniel Silke said Trump's comments show how local politics have become global.

One of AfriForum's main complaints is that, despite holding a national consultation into the idea of amending the constitution to allow expropriation without compensation, the South African government seems set on pursuing the plan either way.

Many South Africans were stunned.

Despite the decline in the number of deaths, there has been a rise in the number of attacks on farms, from 478 in 2016-17 to 561 a year later.

Farmers are easy targets for violent crime because they live on remote properties with little protection. "So many of my friends in South Africa are bewildered that a modern president of the United States, instead of leaning into issues of constitutionalism and jurisprudence, lifts up these themes. There is black genocide in the U.S.". Whites had secured approximately 90 percent of all land in South Africa by the time Apartheid was ended in 1994, despite making up only about 10 percent of the population.

Samsung confirms Galaxy A8 Star price and release date in India

We look at the three different Android experiences Google is now managing and explain where each one fits in the mobile industry. The Samsung device is intelligent enough to automatically choose the flawless lens as per the lighting condition outside.

Julius Malema, the leader of the radical opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party, called Trump a "pathological liar" and told him to "stay out of South Africa's domestic affairs". The US president said in a tweet that farmers were being forced off their land and killed.

AfriForum, a group that represents some white South African interests, welcomed his comments.

The current land expropriation effort dates back to the Native Land Act of 1913, which limited South African land ownership by Africans to 7 percent and was eventually nudged up to 13 percent.

Earlier this month the group posted a list of farms it said were earmarked for expropriation, a list that the government said was fake.

Claims of "genocide" against white South Africans, however, have been picked up by some white nationalists in the US, and leaders of a right-wing South African group traveled to the U.S.in May to lobby officials about the alleged targeting of white farmers.

Onto the next claim: Is South Africa taking land from white South African farmers without compensation?

"They told us they didn't care".

"South Africa will speed up the pace of land reform in a careful and inclusive manner that does not divide our nation", the government added in a subsequent tweet.

Trump who drew ire on the continent earlier this year when he labelled some African countries "shitholes". Earlier this year, American white nationalist leader Richard Spencer described a "war that is now being waged on South African whites".

The government said the land reform should be implemented in a way that increases agricultural production, improves food security and ensures that the land is returned to those from whom it was taken under colonialism and apartheid.Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today drew flak from Congress after she lashed out at a Karnataka Minister during a press meet on Friday, but her ministry blamed the state minister for the incident, terming his conduct as "unfortunate", and accused him of making personal remarks which were in "bad taste".

Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, visited flood-ravaged Kodagu district in the state to review relief operations by the defence forces. She reacted angrily when Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh suggested to her to wind up the press interaction as a number of government officials were waiting for a meeting with her.

"I am following a minute-to-minute programme, minister. I do not violate that. If officials are important, my parivaar (family) is also equally important. I follow the minister-in-charge. Central minister follows the minister in-charge here. Unbelievable," she told Mahesh, who was sitting next to her.

"You have a list of minute-to-minute programme for me to follow. If you did have a difference of opinion, you should have sorted it out before," Sitharaman said.

When an official told her that media was recording her comments, she said "Let it get recorded."



In a tweet, Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah today criticised Sitharaman, alleging that she was "more interested in dominating our minister" which reflected BJP's "apathy" towards the state.

The defence ministry issued a clarification today on the incident, questioning the state minister's conduct.

"On completion of the field visits, as per the programme, the defence minister was interacting with ex-servicemen who had been adversely affected by the floods, when the district in-charge minister objected and insisted that meeting with the officials be conducted first," it said.

"The defence minister clarified that welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the ministry and the same was scheduled in the programme. However, the district minister insisted that the the defence minister immediately stop the interaction and proceed to the meeting with the officials," the ministry said.

It said Sitharaman immediately halted the meeting and proceeded to the venue of the meeting with the officials.

"The venue was already set up for the press conference and hurriedly the officials were summoned to sit among the mediapersons for the review. It was unprecedented to hold a meeting with the officials, with all the mediapersons present," it said.

The ministry said inspite of the district administration finalising her programme and the minister following the same in its "entirety", it is unfortunate that the Karnataka minister behaved the way he did.

"Subsequently, the personal remarks made against the defence minister were also in bad taste, which do not merit a response," the ministry said.

It has also been noted that there has been gross misrepresentation with regard to the use of the term parivar' by the defence minister during the press conference, it said



"One of the four departments of the Ministry of Defence is the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and in that context it was stated that all ex-servicemen are part of the MoD parivar'. Any other inference is misconstrued and uncalled for," it said. PTI MPBAfter the incident Mahesh had dubbed Sitharaman's comments as a reaction to the demand for funds from the Centre to Kodagu.

"She would have known the pain had she contested election by standing with the electorate, going to every house, meeting voters and asked their problems. She has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka," he had told a TV channel.

The torrential rains that lashed the district last week have left a trail of destruction and claimed at least 17 lives. More than 5,000 people have been rendered homeless.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A complaint was filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a court here today seeking registration of a defamation case against him for allegedly tarnishing and lowering the image of the country.

The complaint was filed by advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad here, which fixed September 4 as the date for hearing the matter.

Ojha contended that Rahul Gandhi had "justified terrorism and explained the emergence of Islamic State (IS) group due to increasing unemployment and likened it with that of India, which is an insult to the country".

The Gandhi scion, during his visit to Germany and Britain, had said that terrorism was on the rise in India due to increasing unemployment, Ojha said in his complaint.

He also held Indian culture responsible for violence against women, the complainant said, adding that the Congress chief had "tarnished and lowered the image of India internationally on foreign soil".

Gandhi had "deliberately made such statements with an intention to create tension in the country" and the remarks have led to protests and demonstrations against him, the complaint said.

Ojha further said that he was hurt by the Congress leader's comments which he read in various newspapers and saw on TV channels.

He filed the criminal complaint case against Rahul Gandhi under various sections of IPC including 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 500 (defamation) and 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).

If convicted by the court, the charges attract a minimum of two to three years of imprisonment with fine or both.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union minister Jitendra Singh said today democratic systems and party needed to be freed from nepotism and dynastic to ensure that youths play a part in nation building.

The minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office was addressing a youth parliament organised at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in Kathua district.

"The government is committed to strengthen democratic procedures and institutions by ensuring equality opportunity to all is the soul and spirit of democratic India and it is the need of the hour that committed and hardworking youth join politics," Singh said.

He said democratic systems and party politics needed to be freed from nepotism and dynastic politics to ensure that the common man, especially the youth, could play a part in nation building.

"This will provide opportunity to the youths to shape the future of the country," he said.

The youth parliament witnessed the participation of around 130 students from JNV Kargil, Baramulla and Udhampur in three teams



It was a part of22nd youth parliament competition being organised by Navodaya Vidhayala Samiti, Chandigarh region in coordination with Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs to deepen the understanding of democracy and parliamentary procedures in youths and urge them to be a part of the political process, an official release said.

Appreciating the patience and decorum maintained by the students participating in the youth parliament, he said the parliamentarians should take inspiration from them.

He said it was the responsibility of the politicians and the society to maintain the standards set by the early parliamentarians who with their extraordinary commitment, acumen and spirit of service had drafted the Constitution and set the democratic traditions of the country.

"Today in the country even a common man can dream of rising to the highest political office of the country, such is the power of democracy. This is the dawn of a new India where citizens can dream of rising to any heights with their talent, competence and hard work," Singh said.

He said this was the true spirit of democracy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Film actor Sunny Leone is a voter in Ballia but goes by the name of Durgawati, if the voters' list that was being prepared for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is to be believed.

An elephant, a pigeon and a deer were also on the list.

The errors were detected and set right during the process of verification of the list, an official said today, blaming a disgruntled data operator.

Actor Sunny Leone's picture was pasted against the name of voter Durgawati, Kunwar Ankur Singh was represented by a deer and Kunwar Gaurav Singh looked exactly like a pigeon, according to the list.

Another victim was Narad Rai, a former minister in the Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav governments in Uttar Pradesh.

He had a picture of an elephant pasted besides his name in the updated voters list.

District officials blamed a data operator for the mischief and have recommended his dismissal.

"A data operator on contract, Vishnu Verma , was sore over his transfer and indulged in this," Additional District Magistrate Mukul Kumar Singhal told PTI.

"Out of mischief, he pasted such pictures against the names of seven voters," the ADM said.

He added the Election Commission was informed and the errors corrected.

The mischief was discovered during the verification of the list, he said.

Ballia Superintendent of Police Sriparna Ganguly said an FIR has been lodged against the data operator at Ballia Kotwali police station.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Editors Guild of India today condemned a Patna High Court order restraining the media from reporting on the probe into the Muzaffarpur shelter abuse case and appealed to its and Supreme Court's chief justices to review the decision.

In a statement, the media body said such restrictions on reporting on matters of public importance are counterproductive as it decried the recent growing trend of courts issuing such restraint orders on the media that undermine one of the pillars of democracy.

The guild is distressed to note that the court, instead of protecting media freedom, has issued an order that has effectively curbed it, it said.

"It condemns such orders as it believes that such restrictions on reporting on investigations into a matter of public importance are counterproductive," the statement said.

"It also appeals to the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of India and the Patna High Court to review the restraint order and uphold the principles of a free media and democracy," it added, expressing its deep concern over the order.

It noted that a verbal order issued by the division bench of Chief Justice Mukesh R Shah and Justice Ravi Ranjan on August 23 had said that till the investigation into the shelter case was completed, all the print and electronic media were restrained from reporting anything with respect to the case, more particularly with respect to the investigation already undertaken or which was likely to take place.

The bench had claimed that reporting on the matter could seriously hamper the investigation of the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Egyptian security officials say four policemen and four militants have been killed during clashes in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula.

The officials said that militants armed with explosives and RPGs attacked a checkpoint at the entrance to el-Arish city today.

They said another 10 policemen were wounded.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

Egypt's state-run MENA agency quoted an unnamed official as saying that police thwarted the attack and confirmed the militants' death. It didn't report any casualties among the police. It also said other militants fled after the attack.

In February, Egypt began a nationwide anti-militant operation mainly focused on the turbulent Sinai, the epicenter of a years-long Islamic insurgency spearheaded by the Islamic State group's local affiliate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Enforcement Directorate today told a Delhi court that there was enough evidence to take cognisance of its charge sheet and summon RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and others as accused in connection with the IRCTC hotels allotment money laundering case.

Special Judge Arvind Kumar reserved his order on whether to summon Prasad, his wife, their son former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav as accused for September 11.

the ED's special public prosecutor Atul Tripathy told the court that the agency had gathered enough evidence against the accused and had submitted them along with the charge sheet.

"These evidence are enough to take cognisance of the charge sheet and summoned those named in them as accused," the counsel said.

In the charge sheet filed yesterday, the ED had also named RJD member PC Gupta and his wife Sarla Gupta, a firm Lara Projects and 10 others in the prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency said Prasad and IRCTC officials allegedly misused their position for granting sub-lease of the rights of two railway hotels at Puri and Ranchi to Ms Sujata Hotel Pvt. Ltd. owned by Kochhars.

In lieu of the hotels sub-lease, 358 decimal of prime plot of land in Patna was transferred to Ms Delight Marketing Company Pvt Ltd (a company owned by family of P C Gupta who is a close associate of Prasad and an MP from RJD) in February 2005 at a rate which was much less than the then prevailing circle rates.

"The said company possessing valuable chunk of land gradually got transferred to Rabri Devi and her son Tejashwi by way of share purchase at nominal prices.

"The funds used to acquire the land had dubious origin and had been laundered through 151 group of companies belonging to P C Gupta by using an NBFC named Ms Abhishek Finance Company Limited," the agency charged.

Subsequently, the shares of Ms Delight Marketing Company Private Limited, it said, were acquired by Rabri Devi and Tejashwi at less than fair market value.

"It is noteworthy that the funds used for acquisition of shares by Rabri Devi are questionable and individuals from whom Tejashwi had purchased shares denied any knowledge of holding them," it said.

The ED said it has attached assets worth over Rs 44 crore in this case till now. The CBI too had filed a charge sheet in this case sometime back.

The



CBI FIR had alleged that Lalu Prasad, during his tenure as the railway minister in UPA-I government, handed over the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels to a company in 2004 after receiving a bribe in the form of a prime land in Patna through a 'benami' company owned by Sarla Gupta, the wife of Prem Chand Gupta, who was also a former union minister.

The ED registered the criminal case against his family members and others under the PMLA, based on this CBI FIR.

The ED is investigating the alleged "proceeds of crime" generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, according to the officials.

Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and the then IRCTC managing director P.K. Goel.

The CBI FIR was registered on July 5 in connection with favours allegedly extended to Sujata Hotels in awarding a contract for the upkeep of the hotels in Ranchi and Puri and receiving premium land as "quid pro quo".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was accused of grabbing a woman's behind and was arrested yesterday on a sex abuse charge but said the woman's allegation "does not reflect" who he is or the values he has.

Dr Thomas Frieden was awaiting a court appearance yesterday in connection with what happened on October 20, 2017, at his Brooklyn home, police said.

The woman reported it in July, and he was taken into custody after an investigation.

The accuser, a 55-year-old woman who knew Frieden, told police that he grabbed her buttocks. Frieden, who also is a former New York City health commissioner, is charged with forcible touching, sex abuse and harassment.

Frieden leads a health initiative called Resolve to Save Lives, which is housed by nonprofit global health organization Vital Strategies.

"The allegation does not reflect Dr Frieden's public or private behaviour or his values over a lifetime of service to improve health around the world," said a statement issued by a spokesman on his behalf.

The president of Vital Strategies, Jose L Castro, came out in support of Frieden.

He said Frieden informed him in April that "a non-work-related friend of his and his family of more than 30 years accused him of inappropriate physical contact."



"I have known and worked closely with Dr Frieden for nearly 30 years and have seen first-hand that he has the highest ethical standards both personally and professionally," Castro said in a statement.

"In all of my experiences with him, there have never been any concerns or reports of inappropriate conduct." Nonetheless, earlier this month Vital Strategies hired an investigator to interview Resolve to Save Lives employees even though the woman didn't work there.

Castro said the investigation found no inappropriate workplace behaviour.

"Vital Strategies greatly values the work Dr Frieden does to advance public health and he has my full confidence," Castro said.

Frieden was a disease investigator at the Atlanta-based CDC, the nation's top public health agency, in 1990 when he was assigned to New York City and worked on a large outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

He stayed, taking a job heading the city's tuberculosis control.

In 1996, he began working in India with the World Health Organization on tuberculosis control.

Frieden became New York City's health commissioner in 2002 and was known for his aggressive measures to attack chronic diseases.

In 2003, New York banned smoking in almost all workplaces, a precedent-setting move that inspired other cities to do the same.

In 2006, it became the first US city to ban restaurants from using artificial trans fats and required hundreds of eateries to post calorie counts on their menus.

In 2009, President Barack Obama's administration picked Frieden to head the CDC.

Frieden led US public health efforts during a range of high-profile national and international health crises, including pandemic flu, Ebola and Zika.

Frieden was CDC director until January 2017, when he resigned as part of the turnover to President Donald Trump's administration.

In September 2017, Frieden announced he had moved back to New York City to head the USD 225 million Resolve to Save Lives initiative.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is investigating the recent seizure of explosives and arms in the state, has arrested one more person from Ghatkopar here, an official said today.

Avinash Pawar (30) was arrested last night and will be produced before a court today, the official added.

According to the ATS, Pawar was involved in the conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state with Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhanwa Gondhalekar and Shrikant Pangarkar, who were earlier arrested in this case.

Pawar's name cropped up during the interrogation of the arrested accused, the official added.

"We have arrested Pawar under sections 4, 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, read with section 9(B) of the Explosives Act, section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy for terrorist act) and 20 (being a member of terrorist gang) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)," he said.

The ATS had on August 10 arrested Raut (40), who ran the "Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti", a little-known pro-cow protection outfit, at Nallasopara in Palghar district.

After Raut's arrest, the ATS had nabbed Kalaskar (25) and Gondhalekar (39), following raids in Palghar and Pune districts. Pangarkar, former Shiv Sena corporator from Jalna, was arrested on August 19.

The ATS had claimed to have recovered 20 crude bombs, two gelatin sticks, four electronic and 22 non-electronic detonators, 150 gms of explosive powder and some other materials, which according to the police, were to be used to trigger blasts at various places in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Minister on Saturday said he wonders how the threat of terrorism is often forgotten even by those who lived through the attacks in the United States.

"The terror attacks was one of the events that shaped the conscience of the 21st century and "opened the eyes of those who insisted on keeping their eyes closed to the danger of terrorism," he said.

The Minister of State for External Affairs was delivering a talk on 'India's Foreign Policy for the 21st Century' at Mapusa near Panaji.

"It often surprises me that those eyes which were open on that day (9/11), so often relapse into sleep again, as if it has never happened. I wonder why they seem to be waiting for it to happen," the journalist-turned-politician said.

"It (terrorism) is not an act of random barbarism. There are serious political objectives to the terrorism," he said.

"They (terrorists) believe that nations are not created for people but nations are created for religion and for them the latest danger lies when (there is a) nation such as ours which gives equality to every citizen, which gives freedom of faith to every citizen, which treats every faith as an equal not only in law but also in a social way," he said.

ALSO READ: Indian envoy in Pak meets Imran Khan, discusses bilateral ties, terrorism

India's foreign policy under Prime Minister is based on the message that the whole world is one family, he said.

"But more important is the fact that world is a family of equals," Akbar said.

India does not believe in the distinction between "big nations and small nations", and this is fundamental to the philosophy of the prime minister, he said.Foreign Office spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal had categorically rejected "factually incorrect" statement issued by US State Dept about the telephonic conversation between the prime minister and the US secretary of state.

Qureshi, while addressing media in his home city of Multan, had said yesterday that Pakistan has "solid evidence" against Jadhav and was hopeful of winning the case against him at the ICJ.

Pompeo will visit Pakistan on September 5, Qureshi confirmed on Friday, saying that the "early interaction will prove beneficial".

"How I can say that we will win when the matter is sub-judice". She added that Washington stands by its readout.

"I am not talking about a revolution in our relation but just suggesting that we should hold talks and don't think if we would make progress or not", he said, adding that an "enabling environment" should be created.

Pakistan's newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan has offered any humanitarian assistance to India in the wake of Kerala floods, which has devastated the state.

Travel Advisory in effect after 8 bodies found in Cancun

In April, 14 people were killed and five more injured in a 36-hour span between the morning of April 4 and the evening of April 5. USA government employees are prohibited from intercity travel after dark in many areas of Mexico.

Qureshi said that the government would make all out efforts to get Pakistan out of Financial Action Task Force (FATF)'s grey list. He said that talks were the only way forward, which, he said, were stalled now.

The foreign minister said Islamabad also needed to look towards Africa. He also emphasised exploring markets of European Union and African countries to enhance trade and investment opportunities for Pakistan. He said Chinese foreign minister was expected to visit Pakistan on 9th of next month. "The US thinks it gives us aid to fight their war. we want both countries to benefit, we want a balanced relationship". The US welcomed the new prime minster and said that it was looking forward to work with new civilian government to promote peace and prosperity in the country and in the region.

However, according to Pakistan's Foreign Office, Mr Pompeo congratulated Imran Khan while discussing other issues of interest, but there was no mention of "terrorists operating in Pakistan".

Alphons said this was a policy that was followed by the current government since former prime minister Manmohan Singh had refused aid from foreign countries in 2004 during the devastating Tsunami.

The minister said that Iran is Pakistan's neighbour and "Pakistan is desirous of peaceful and stable border with Iran".Shahid Kapoor and wife Mira Rajput welcomed their first child together, Misha, two years ago and the actor says fatherhood has completely changed his outlook towards life.

Shahid, 37, says it is impossible for an actor to not be "self-oriented", but fatherhood has taught him to be less self-absorbed.

"Fatherhood has brought a lot of change in me as a person and as a human being. My priorities have changed. I am less self-oriented now, because I believe actors can never be not self-oriented. I think I am more open to different point of views. I have matured and feel a lot more grown up now," Shahid told PTI.

The actor, who will be soon welcoming his second child with wife Mira, said he wants to be a part of every moment of their life and spend as much time as he can with them.

"It is no more about just being an actor. I have a family and a kid. I want to be part of my child's growth. I want to be with her in each and every moment. The whole experience of being a parent has been beautiful and life-changing," he added



Shahid was speaking on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2018, where he walked for designer Amit Aggarwal in a show presented by Nexa. Dressed in black, the actor set the ramp on fire along with Disha Patani.

The actor said he may have become more updated in terms of fashion, but things were not the same when he started his career in the Hindi film industry.

"I enjoy the whole limelight now. Did I enjoy when I started? I am not sure because I was very conscious of myself and I was not very fashionable and didn't understand things. I was not born and brought up in that atmosphere I had a very middle class life."



Shahid said he decided to focus on his off-camera appearances because it was part of his job.

"It is something which has come with time. I have cultivated it and I have learned to enjoy it. Honestly, I am the kind of person that if something is part of my job I will work hard to get it right. I enjoy getting all the aspect of my job right because I am very passionate about what I do, he said.

Shahid will next be seen "Batti Gul Meter Chalu" alongside Shraddha Kapoor. The film, directed by Shree Narayan Singh, is slated to release on September 21.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Federation of Nepali Journalist (FNJ) today sought amendments to the provisions of the new Civil and Criminal Code which can jail journalists for publishing photographs without permission.

In a four-point-declaration issued today, the umbrella institution of Nepali journalists has called for amendment and revisions of provisions of the law pertaining to freedom of speech and expression.

Provisions and clauses related to crime against the state, public security, defamation and privacy must be amended and revised immediately as they adversely impact freedom of expression and press freedom, said a statement issued by the FNJ



The new code makes publishing private information, recording audio or taking pictures without permission punishable by up to three years in jail and thousands of rupees fine.

Publishing content that damages a person's reputation directly or through satire is also subject to punishment, according to the civil code.

The federation has strongly condemned the provisions that have criminalised offensive statements carried out through publishing and broadcasting channels while also criminalising clause (15) of Press and Publication Act, the declaration read.

The declaration was issued in presence of editors, former officials of FNJ in Godavari of Lalitpur district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Four people were seriously injured in a clash between two groups at Pirkheda village in Shamli district, police said today.

They suffered bullet injuries and are being treated at a hospital. The incident took place last night in the Jhinjhana police station limits, Additional Superintendent of Police Shalok Kumar said.

Security has been tightened in the village after incident.

In another incident here, police have arrested eight people for allegedly attacking a family in Purbalyan village.

Police have registered a case against50 people and named 25 in connection with the incident that took place last night, Superintendent of Police, City, Ombir Singh said.

Some people were injured in the attack. The situation is under control and security has been tightened in the village, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Minister M J Akbar today said that to gain freedom from British rule, Mahatma Gandhi relied on ideas which were completely indigenous.

The minister was delivering a talk on India's foreign policy at Mapusa near here.

"Mahatma Gandhi not only challenged the empire but began using another force which was unknown in the history, that was the force of Indian masses," the minister said.

"He used the instrument of non-violence, which was powerful than the violence. That was such a powerful weapon that when it was said the Sun is not going to set on British Empire, the Empire did not last for more than 35 years (after Gandhi became leader of freedom movement)," Akbar said.

"Before Mahatma, nobody had actually formulated the answer to the question how to defeat the British empire.

"And Mahatma found the answer not in a foreign idea or not in an international idea, he found the answer in ideas that were absolutely born in Indian minds and that were formulated in Indian minds," he said.

"Once India became free the whole European colonisation collapsed in another few years. By 1971, when Gulf States got independence, the European colonisation was over," he said.

"European colonisation was born in India and died in India," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Karnataka Police SIT probing the Gauri Lankesh murder case arrived here to check if those arrested by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with a seizure of explosives and arms had any links to her killing, officials said today.

The 55-year-old journalist, known for her Left-leaning and strong anti-Hindutva views, was gunned down in front of her house in Bengaluru on September 5 last year.

The special investigation team met ATS chief Atulchandra Kulkarni yesterday, an official said.

The ATS would provide it access to those arrested in connection with the seizure of crude bombs, explosives and arms, including 7.65 mm pistols, from Maharashtra earlier this month, the official added.

The ATS had arrested Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhanwa Gondhalekar, ex-councillor Shrikant Pangarkar and Avinash Pawar in this case.

On August 10, it had arrested Raut (40), who ran the 'Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti', a little-known pro-cow protection outfit, at Nallasopara in Palghar district.

After Raut's arrest, the ATS nabbed Kalaskar (25) and Gondhalekar (39), following raids in Palghar and Pune districts.

Pangarkar, a former Shiv Sena councillor from Jalna, was arrested on August 19 while Pawar was arrested yesterday.

The Karnataka SIT had earlier arrested Pune-resident Amol Kale in connection with Lankesh's killing. It believes Kale visited Aurangabad and Jalna and might have met some of the arrested accused.

The SIT suspects that Kale and Virendra Tawde, who was arrested by the CBI for the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, were the masterminds in Lankesh's murder as well, said officials.

Kale's diary had names and contact details of activists of right-wing Hindu outfits and he is also alleged to have recruited people to eliminate rationalists and thinkers.

An official said the names of the people arrested by the ATS had come up in the Karnataka SIT's investigation as well.

The Karnataka SIT will probe whether the bullet casings found near Lankesh's home match the guns seized by the ATS, an official said.

He said the ATS and the SIT would exchange information on their respective probes into the killings of Lankesh, Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.

Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and he succumbed to his injuries on February 20 that year.

The ATS claimed Kalaskar confessed during questioning he was directly involved in the Dabholkar murder.

The SIT suspects that the same set of people trained Kalaskar and Sachin Andure, arrested by the CBI in connection with Dabholkar's killing, and those who shot dead Lankesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Firefighters battling a large forest fire near Berlin had stopped its spread, a local official said, warning the danger from the blaze had not yet passed.

"The situation has not yet calmed down," a spokesman for the interior ministry of Brandenburg state told the DPA agency yesterday.

Around 600 people fled their homes in three villages in Brandenburg, 50 kilometres miles southwest of the capital, late on Thursday as firefighters battled the blaze from the air with water-bombing helicopters.

The smell of acrid smoke reached Berlin as more than 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of woodland burned outside the nearby city of Potsdam. Residents of one of the villages were able to return home late yesterday, but those from the other two will not be able to do until Saturday. However they would be allowed to briefly visit their homes to feed their animals, said local official Christian Stein.

"Our main goal remains to protect the evacuated areas from the flames," Stein told DPA. "We haven't been able to push back the fire yet but no building has been affected." About 440 firefighters will be deployed to beat back the fire over the weekend, when no rain has been forecast and strong winds could increase the fire's intensity.

Efforts to contain the fire were complicated because the affected terrain is still littered with munitions from World War II, regional emergency response coordinator Michael Knape told public broadcaster RBB. He called the situation "dramatic", saying there had already been small explosions from ordnance buried in the ground.

An enduring drought and heatwave have left European rural areas particularly vulnerable to wildfires, which wrought devastation in Greece and Sweden earlier this summer.

As the flames came within 100 metres of one of the German villages, residents were told to take only the most essential belongings like medication and documents before fleeing.

Emergency hotline operators received hundreds of calls from residents of Berlin saying they could smell smoke. "The entire urban area is now affected. The cause is the large fire in Brandenburg," the Berlin fire brigade tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Describing Atal Bihari Vajpayee as a great reformer, visionary and ruler of hearts, speakers at a condolence meeting in the US city of Houston paid rich tributes to the late Indian prime minister.

Organised by the Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP) here, Consul General of India in Houston, Dr Anupam Ray, remembered Vajpayee fondly through his 1996 inspirational speech in Parliament, The pursuit of power will never cease; Governments will come & go; Political parties will rise and fall; but the Nation is above all; Democracy is above all



"Atalji guided everybody and kept all political parties together. He displayed strong resolve and love for the country by conducting nuclear tests in Pokhran and brought USA and India together, when India was neither a faster growing economy nor a major power like it is today", he said.

Vajpayee Ji was extraordinarily gracious, never made you feel he was superior, had great ability to take everyone along and establish connection with you. He changed the face of India, made it possible what we are seeing today as it was his foresight, today we believe we can do anything- aspire to be rich and powerful based on what we have done but when he became PM during worst financial crisis, things were different. He was a man of decency, brought decency into and brought all under one umbrella, Ray said.

Ramesh Shah, Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awardee and OFBJP leader spoke about his long association with Vajpayee.

Atalji cared for every Indian citizen, believed in one nation, one people, one culture for India. He extended support for Indian diaspora to find their roots and connect to their ancestral family and friends in India. Atalji tried to established good relations with Pakistan and yet stood firm on Kashmir being part of India and fought Kargil War with Pakistan to drive them out of occupied area. I am sure his work and words will keep inspiring us all in every walk of life."



Sewa International president Gitesh Desai, said Atalji was AjatShatru, a friend of everybody and always went above and beyond party lines.

Remembering Vajpayee's famous lines, "Andhakar chathayga, suraj niklega and kamal khilega", Jugal Malani, the President of India House in Houston, said Vajpayee was a great orator and first non-congress premier to complete his five years.

Ramesh Bhutada, VP Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, a philanthropist shared vivid memories of Atalji's visit to Houston. He always made others feel very comfortable.

Achlesh Amar, coordinator OFBJP in Houston, said, "An era has ended with his demise as Atalji was instrumental in mainstreaming BJP and was the perfect combination of wit, wisdom and perseverance.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In a major decision, the Ministry on Saturday approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 210 billion, officials said.

They said the ministry cleared procurement proposals worth nearly Rs 460 billion which included the acquisition of the helicopters.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement.

"The approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 210 billion," said a senior official.

The official said the also granted approval to a few other procurement proposals amounting to approximately Rs 248.79 billion which included approval for acquisition of 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Army at an approximate cost of Rs 33.64 billion.In a major decision, the Defence Ministry today gave its nod to acquisition of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore besides approving separate procurement proposals worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore, according to officials.

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement, cleared the proposals.

The procurement of the naval utility helicopters will be the first project under the ambitious strategic partnership (SP) model which provides for roping in private firm to build select military platforms in India in partnership with foreign defence manufacturers.

"The DAC, in a landmark decision today, approved procurement of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore," the Defence Ministry said.

The utility helicopters will be used in attack missions as well as for search and rescue and surveillance operations.

The ministry said the DAC also granted approval to a few other procurement proposals amounting to Rs 24,879.16 crore, which included one on buying 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364.78 crore.

These guns have been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and will be manufactured by production agencies, as nominated by DRDO.

The DAC also accorded approval to procure 24 naval multi role helicopters (NMRH) which will have the capability to engage in anti-submarine warfare. The MRHs are an integral part of the frontline warships like the aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes.

In addition, the government also approved procurement of 14 vertically launched short range missile systems. Of these, 10 systems will be indigenously developed.

"These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles," the ministry said.

The Indian Navy in August last year had issued global request for information (RFI) for procurement of 111 utility and 123 multi-role helicopters.

The Navy has been pressing the government to procure new utility and multi-role helicopters to add teeth to its existing capability and replace its ageing fleet of choppers but the procurement process has seen years of delay.

The government had issued an RFI for it in 2011 as well as in 2013.

In May last year, the defence ministry had finalised the SP model under which select private firms will be roped in to build military platforms like submarines, fighter jets and choppers in India in partnership with foreign entities.

The policy envisages establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with Indian defence majors through a transparent and competitive process wherein they would tie up with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains.

Initially, the strategic partners will be selected in four segments - fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured fighting vehicles/main battle tanks. It is expected to be expanded to other segments at a later stage.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Stepping up attack on the government over the Rafale fighter jet issue, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today accused the Centre of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and "bypassing" several committees to secure the deal.

He also called for a detailed inquiry into the contract.

Chidambaram demanded that there should be a public debate on how the prices negotiated for each aircraft by the Congress-led UPA government "have gone up by three times" in the deal negotiated by the BJP-led NDA dispensation.

"We think the matter is serious enough that there should be a public debate and a detailed inquiry into it. That is why the Congress president (Rahul Gandhi) has raised it," he said.

The former finance minister alleged that the Cabinet Committee on Security was not taken into confidence by the government before signing the deal.

"There are several questions, which need to be answered. There is a defence procurement procedure that was completely bypassed. There was a Contract Negotiation Committee that never met for this deal. There is a Price Negotiation Committee which was never called to meet.

"Above all, there is a Cabinet Committee on Security, which has to approve any defence purchase of this size. None of these committees were involved, the ministers didn't know about it," he told reporters at the Congress office here.

The contract was announced in April 2015 by keeping everybody in the dark, Chidambaram alleged.

"The UPA contract priced the Rafale jets at Rs 526 crore per aircraft and the NDA contract priced them at Rs 1,670 crore per aircraft. If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the prices jumped three times? The government says it is a secret agreement. But a Dassault Aviation report has already quoted the price," he said.

Chidambaram said the deal was made by stating that the aircraft were being brought in a fly-away condition on "emergency purpose" as the squadrons of the Indian Air Force are depleting, but "not a single aircraft" has arrived in India so far.

"If they wanted the aircraft on an emergency purchase basis, they would have ensured that the first aircraft lands in the country within a few months. So, this is certainly not an emergency purchase," he said.

During the UPA deal, he said, there was a clause that offset obligations of Dassault Aviation would be performed by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

But, under the new contract by the NDA government, Dassault was given the opportunity to choose its offset partner and it had picked a private company for this purpose, the senior Congress leader said.

"Under the UPA government deal, technology was to be transferred to HAL and it was to make 108 aircraft... But, under the NDA contract, there was no transfer of technology and HAL has been completely kept out of the agreement," Chidambaram alleged.

"Why didn't the government ask Dassault to choose HAL as its offset partner and why there is no transfer of technology? There are no answers to these questions," he said.

Chidambaram said the charge by the BJP that previous governments, too, did not disclose the price of defence acquisitions is completely baseless, as the UPA government had "time and again" disclosed the prices of such deals.

"We had revealed the prices of INS Vikaramaditya, the Sukhoi and Mirage aircraft on the floor of Parliament.

"All of these taken together leads to great suspicion. Why is the government so secretive about the price and why are they refusing to answer questions and coming up with lame excuses?" he asked.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The 90,000-year-old bone fragment found in southern Siberia marks the first time a direct offspring of these two groups has been discovered, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Modern humans lived in bigger, denser groups than Neanderthals or Denisovans, and they moved quickly across Europe and Asia.

It's not the first evidence of sex between humans of different subspecies, but the surprising finding indicates that different human subtypes were moving around and mixing things up very commonly in the prehistoric past.

But what if our species - arriving in waves from Africa - overwhelmed Neanderthals, and perhaps Denisovans, with affection rather than aggression?

The newly discovered DNA could be interpreted in different ways, said Anders Eriksson, evolutionary population geneticist at King's College London who wasn't involved in the study.

Neanderthal, Denisovans, and modern humans all shared a common ancestor more than 400,000 years ago. Even though we have seen evidence of the two hominins interbreeding, she is the only known specimen we have who was a first-generation Neanderthal-Denisovan descendant.

Worldwide, fewer than two dozen early human genomes from before 40,000 years ago - Neanderthal, Denisovan, Homo sapiens - have been sequenced, and the chances of stumbling on a half-and-half hybrid seemed vanishingly small.

During DNA sequencing of the bones discovered at the site, the researchers noticed that half of the chromosomes in Denisova 11 were similar to those of the other Denisovans and half of them were closer to those of the Neanderthals. This shows that Neandertals migrated between western and eastern Eurasia tens of thousands of years before their disappearance.

Past genetic studies have indicated that Neanderthals, Denisovans and members of our own species occasionally mated and had children.

It suggests while the two groups of humans may not have had many opportunities to meet, but when they did, they made the most of it.

NI businesses told to contact Irish Government in event of no deal

Customers, including businesses using providers to process payments in euros, could also "face increased costs and slower processing times for euro transactions", the Government paper warned.

"The modern humans were more numerous, and the other species might have been incorporated".

The ancient individual is only represented by a single small bone fragment.

BBC News' Helen Briggs notes that Neanderthals lived largely in the western regions of Eurasia, while Denisovans strayed closer to the east.

"It is striking that we find this Neanderthal/Denisovan child among the handful of ancient individuals whose genomes have been sequenced", said co-lead author Dr. Svante Paabo, Director of the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

The cave near Mongolia where the bone was found contains some remains attributed to Neanderthals as well as Denisovans.

The discovery in 2010 of the first Denisovan fossil (called Denisova 3) spurred Russian researchers to carry out a more systematic exploration of the cave floor.

Denisovan remnants are also widespread, though less evenly. It will take analysis of more fossils to find out, he said.

And they appear to have hooked up a lot more often than we thought, said David Lambert from the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University, who was not involved in the research. For thousands of years, they remained distinct for various possible reasons.

Today, around two percent of DNA in non-Africans across the globe originates from humans' Neanderthal ancestors.Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today rued that the country was lagging behind in innovation and said the government has launched several schemes to change the orientation of students towards research.

He referred to schemes such as "Smart India Hackathon" and "Prime Minister Research Fellowship" to highlight the government's initiatives in this regard.

Javadekar was speaking at the valedictory function of Patna University centenary celebrations at Bapu Sabhagar in the state capital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the centenary celebrations of the Patna University in October last year.

The function was presided over by Govenor-cum-Chancellor of universities Lalji Tandon, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Minister Krishna Nandan Prasad Verma and Patna University Vice-Chancellor Ras Bihari Prasad Singh.

"India lacks innovation. We are behind in carrying out innovation and research...The country will become prosperous when it carries out innovation... Sustainable prosperity of any country depends on its innovative ability," Javadekar said.

He said the government was committed to create better laboratories in higher institutions in the country.

Javadekar said the HRD ministry's budget was increased to Rs 1.10 lakh crore in 2018-19 from Rs 63,000 crore in 2013-14, an increase of 70 per cent.

He said several schemes were launched to change the orientation of students towards research.

"Smart India Hackathon" was launced two years ago when 40,000 students from 1,000 engineering colleges participated in the hackathon to find out digital solution of 600 problems," the minister said, exuding confidence that Patna University students would also participate in the competition.

The government has also started "Prime Minister Research Fellowship" under which 1,000 bright minds would get Rs 1 lakh per month for carrying out research, the HRD minister said, adding that the scheme is not aimed at checking "brain-drain" rather to ensure "brain-gain" in the country as people will not go out of the country.

The minister assured that money would be no bar if Patna University submits proposal for its overall development.

Govenor-cum-Chancellor of universities Lalji Tandon said that the state has witnessed progress in higher

The Patna University, which is the eighth oldest varsity in the Indian subcontinent, has contributed immensely in education and research which can not be forgotten, he added.

"I assure you that the state government and Raj Bhawan will make every effort for the development of higher education with the cooperation and coordination with the Centre," the Governor said, adding that every effort should be made to develop the Patna University as the centre of modern education.

Speaking on the occasion, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, himself a alumni of the university, assured both teaching and non-teaching staff that they would get revised pay as per the recommendations of the 7th pay commission for which the government has set up a three-member pay committee.

"They don't need to go on strike for this as the government is sensitive towards them," Modi said adding that out of 3,364 vacant posts of teaching staff, the process for appointment of 2500 teachers in 20 subjects has already been completed.

CCTV would be installed at colleges, hostels of the Patna University, Modi said, adding that students availing loan under Students Credit Card for pursuing higher education can return the loan amount after getting job.

"Unless and until they get job after completing their studies, they don't have to worry for repayment of loan amount. They dont have to worry whether it takes two or four years in getting job," he added.

Earlier, the Governor and other dignitaries released a commemorative postage stamp on the occasion.

The Governor, Javadekar and others felicitated 18 former VCs of the Patna University of whom 10 were present to receive memento and shawl.

A centenary souvenir was also released on the occasion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A 52-year-old teacher of a government school in north Delhi's Burari was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing his 15-year-old student, police said today.

The incident came to light after a video of the act was forwarded by the teacher to an acquaintance who made it viral with an intention to blackmail the accused, a senior police officer said.

The incident came to light yesterday following which the teacher was arrested, the officer said, adding it was suspected that the video was shot in June.

The police were probing whether the accused had abused other students and how long he had been abusing the victim.

The victim stays with his family in northwest Delhi's Swaroop Nagar.

The parents of other students staged a protest outside the school today demanding strict action against the teacher.

Earlier this month, an electrician was arrested for allegedly raping a Class 2 student in a New Delhi Municipal Council School.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jharkhand Governor Droupadi Murmu today said scientists will be judged on the basis of their contribution made in bringing cheers on the face of farmers.

"Scientists will not be judged on the basis of number of research papers, books and bulletins published, PhD students produced and technologies developed but on the basis of contribution made in bringing cheers on the face of farmers with their socio-economic development and elimination of their pains and predicament associated with farming," she said.

Addressing the 57th India Wheat and Barley Research Workers' meet at the Birsa Agriculture University here, Murmu said that agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy and it generates a significant number of employment.

"You have to ensure that the benefits of your knowledge and skills reach the most underprivileged population of over six lakh villages of our country. Targets of increased food production to meet the future requirement of our country have to be achieved ... This can be realised with the application of frontier technologies, like, biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology," she said.

The three most important food crops---rice, wheat and maize---directly contribute more than half of all calories consumed by human beings, she said.

The governor said some extra miles have to be covered to double the income of farmers by 2022.

"The target to double the income of farmers by 2022, as vision by our visionary Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have to run some extra miles to achieve. Lets all join hand together and make this true and achievable," Murmu said.

"I am informed that All India Coordinated Wheat Improvement Project was established in 1965 by ICAR. Wheat and barley coordinated system is one of the most successful and resulted in the development of more than 430 wheat varieties suited to different agro-ecological conditions and growing situations," Murmu said.

She said improved wheat and barley varieties played a pivotal role in food security of the country.

The BAU is one of the important centre located in Eastern zone and has developed many technologies and recommendations for higher crop production in eastern India Murmu said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Patidar leader Hardik Patel began an indefinite fast at his sprawling farmhouse here today to press for reservation for his community, after the BJP government in Gujarat refused him permission to stage the protest at a public place.

State AAP leaders visited Patel as his fast began and delivered a letter of support from party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Dalit leader and Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani also visited him and expressed support.

Patel, leader of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) that is heading the agitation for quota for Patidars (Patels) in jobs and education, started his fast at 3 pm in the presence of supporters and several Congress legislators after performing a pooja.

The farmhouse turned into a fortress with the deployment of police personnel in large numbers and anyone entering the premises was frisked.

While Patel alleged that the BJP government denied him permission to stage the fast to thwart his protest, police said it was denied in view of the riot-like situation during the PAAS' 2015 agitation.

"Today is the third anniversary of the Patidar agitation. Two months ago, we had sought permission to stage protest in the form of indefinite fast. But we were not granted permission and therefore, we decided to hold it at my residence," Patel told reporters.

He alleged that police had detained 16,000 of his supporters and set up blockades on highways leading to Ahmedabad to stop others from joining him.

Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) R B Bhrambhatt, however, put the number of detained persons at 158.

"Widespread violence by anti-social elements was reported on August 25, 2015, after the PAAS was given permission to hold a rally.

"Similarly, after a symbolic dharna (sit-in) last week, buses were burnt and damaged in Surat. We have (therefore) denied permission after due diligence," he said.

Bhrambhatt said, "The message going around on social media, propagated by some PAAS leaders, that we have detained 16,000 people is baseless. We have detained only 158 people as a precautionary measure."



Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel alleged that the Patidar leader's protest was sponsored by opposition Congress.

"The protest is being held at the behest of the Congress as the 2019 (Lok Sabha) elections are coming.

"But we are sure that six crore people of the state will not be swayed by any agitation staged by the members of any caste or community," he said.

MLA Mevani came down heavily on the BJP government for denying Hardik Patel permission to hold the fast.

"Those who protest for their rights are given the certificate of (having committed) sedition, they are detained, FIRs are registered against them... There is nothing surprising in government imposing section 144 (of the CrPC) to restrict movement of people)," he said.

"They blame us for doing caste politics, but they should understand that we are also raising the issues of ASHA workers (women health workers), farmers, contract employees. But the government is not ready to listen," Mevani said.

Congress MLAs Lalit Vasoya from Dhoraji constituency, Asha Patel from Unjha, Brijesh Merja from Morbi, Lalit Kagathra from Tankara and Kirit Patel from Patan also visited Hardik Patel.

Vasoya, a Patidar, said he and other Congress MLAs would sit on a "symbolic fast" tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Hardik Patel had claimed that several national-level leaders, including Kejriwal and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, could come to Gujarat to support him.

"This hunger strike is not a one-day affair. Thousands across the state would sit on a fast and it will continue for days. I have also invited people to come to my house to join me in the fast," he had said.

Earlier this month, Hardik Patel had announced that he would stage his fast at a ground in the Nikol area here. But the government denied permission, saying the spot has been now turned into a parking lot.

Hardik Patel then approached the Gandhinagar collector, seeking Satyagrah Chhavni as an alternative place, but this was also rejected.

Clashes had broken out during the quota agitation led by Hardik Patel on August 25, 2015, leading to deaths of 14 people and large-scale destruction of public property.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Indian rower Sayali Shelake, who competed at the 18th Asian Games, will have to stay in Palembang for another seven days after undergoing an operation for intestinal blockage.

Shelake was hospitalised yesterday after she complained of pain in the abdomen.

"She is out of danger. She got operated in the nick of time else it could have been worse. Instead of two days, she will be here for seven days. Two officials will be with her at all times. There is nothing to worry now," India's deputy chef de mission B S Kushwaha told PTI.

The Indian rowing contingent departed for Pune today after winning three medals, including a gold in men's quadruple sculls.

The 21-year-old was rushed to a city hospital yesterday after she complained of constant pain in the abdomen area.

"She was not able to eat anything and was in a lot of pain," Kushwaha added.

Shelake had competed in the final of the women's double sculls alongside Pooja. They both had finished sixth.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), a regional party with a strong tribal base, today demanded revision of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.

The party organized a 5-hour sit-in in front of the Swami Vivekananda Maidan here today to press for their demands including revision of NRC and empowerment of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council constituting two-thirds of the state's territory.

INPT president Bijoy Hrangkhawl said a delegation of the party would visit Delhi and submit a memorandum to the Centre in this regard soon.

"How can anybody justify that there is no necessity of NRC in Tripura? No one can do so. We demand that citizens should clarify their position, Hrangkhawl said in his speech.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had said last month that everyone in the state had valid papers and there was no demand for a citizen's register on the lines of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

"Everything is in order in Tripura and everyone has valid papers. Hence, it is not an issue for us," the chief minister had said.

Hrangkhawl said many outsiders have settled in the state which is adding to the problems faced by the locals..

"Will you allow Myanmarese or Chinese people to settle here, will you agree to it? We have been outnumbered in the state due to immigration of people," Hrangkhawl said.

He said the demand for NRC revision is a constitutional one.

On Thursday, the General Secretary of Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), Mevar Kumar Jamatiya said that the NRC should be revised in Tripura.

IPFT is an ally of the ruling BJP government of Tripura.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An ambitious international centre will be established in India to impart knowledge and awareness about the Sikh faith to students and other communities around the world, amid rise in hate crimes against people of the minority community around the globe.

The sprawling International Centre for Sikh Studies is being built at New Delhi's Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib Complex, and will be inaugurated on Baisakhi day in 2019.

The Centre is an initiative of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) under the leadership of its President Manjit Singh GK. Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal has made a huge contribution to the project.

Amid an increase in hate crimes against Sikhs around the world, the Centre will play a pivotal role in explaining the Sikh religion and its universal message of humanity and equality, Chatwal told reporters here yesterday.

He said Sikhs around the world are facing hate crimes and are misidentified because of their articles of faith.

Chatwal said the project is about the universal message of Guru Granth Sahib and the journey of the Sikhism.

The Centre, through its high-quality and easy to access digital content will take the message of the Sikh community around the world, he said.

He added that the Centre will also collaborate with research institutes and universities around the world to bring scholars and students to the Centre to facilitate their research and studies.

The centre will house a hi-tech auditorium, art exhibits, digital research library and a museum that will have the Guru Granth Sahib that was handwritten 400 years ago.

It will showcase the history of the Sikhs and the presence of essential core values in Sikhism's sacred texts. This will be done by presenting stories from the history of Sikhism and other relevant sacred texts using state of the art communication technologies so that it is accessed by people anywhere in the world.

The content will be in English and Punjabi, as well as in other global languages to ensure it is reached a wider audience.

The Centre is expected to be inaugurated by global ambassadors and diplomats stationed in New Delhi, emphasizing the massage of unity in diversity.

Describing the initiative as "unique," Chatwal said the young generation of Sikhs living in India as well as abroad sometimes lacks better understanding of the Holy Book Guru Granth Sahib and the project will help spread the message of Sikhism to both Sikhs and non-Sikhs.

The Guru Granth Sahib is not just for Sikhs. The project will help convey the message of the Guru Granth Sahib to everybody, Chatwal said.

The message of Guru Granth Sahib is universal. The Sikh Holy Book provides answers to all the problems the world is facing today, including gender inequality, environment challenges, economic inequality and climate change, Singh said, adding that the project will help spread the Sikh message of selfless service to humanity.

He added that the project also aims to acquaint the international community with the history of Sikhism and will incorporate audio-visual communication technologies to spread the information in an engaging manner.

DSGMC officials had visited the city in the summer of 2015 to spread the message about the project among diaspora living in the US and Canada.

Giving details about the project, DSGMC had said the centre aims to engage with young Sikhs all over the world and familiarise them with the core values and contemporary relevance of Sikhism.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jammu and Kashmir Police is fighting a proxy war for the last 30 years and its personnel have given supreme sacrifices which have earned respect of people across the country, Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid said here today.

He said a number of jawans and officers of the force have scarified their lives for the security and integrity of the nation and the force is still struggling for peace in the state.

"Jammu and Kashmir Police is fighting a proxy war for last 30 years and by its supreme sacrifices the force has earned respect of people of the country.

"A number of jawans and officers of the force have scarified their precious lives for the security and integrity of the nation and are still struggling for peace in the state," Vaid said, addressing an attestation-cum-passing out parade of 5th batch of recruit constables at Commando Training Centre (CTC) Lethpora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Vaid advised the new 790 recruits to work with dedication for peace in the state.

"Police service is a noble service and the passing out recruits have a pride to join the family of Jammu and Kashmir Police for the service of the nation," he said.

B B Vyas, Advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Governor, who was the chief guest on the occasion, lauded the role of the police force for upholding professionalism amid challenging situation.

"I congratulate the police force for continuously working for the welfare of the people with dedication. I am proud of the Jammu and Kashmir police for proving its mettle in the difficult times," he said.

Vyas said there are many more challenges ahead for the police force in view of a series of upcoming elections.

We have decided to hold local bodies polls and police has to deal with this challenge and fulfill its role, he said.

The Advisor said the whole nation salutes the courage of J-K Police personnel and everyone pays tribute to their supreme sacrifices.

Complementing the newly trained constables for graduating into a new field of duty, Vyas asked them to perform their job with sincerity and dedication.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A federal judge has dealt a blow to President Donald Trump's effort to overhaul the US bureaucracy, including by making it easier to fire government workers.

US District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson says in a ruling issued today that key provisions of three executive orders Trump signed in May "undermine federal employees' right to bargain collectively" as protected by federal law.

She adds in her decision that "the President must be deemed to have exceeded his authority in issuing them."



Organisations representing federal workers had sued over the executive orders and applauded the judge's ruling.

Trump's executive orders covered federal employee collective bargaining rights, grievance procedures and official time use.

The White House had no immediate comment on the judge's ruling.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress President Rahul Gandhi today alleged that the judiciary and election commission were being "torn apart" under the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keeping mum on grave issues confronting the nation.

Addressing the Indian Overseas Congress in London, he said the prime minister insulted every Indian by saying that nothing had happened in the last 70 years.

"India shows the future to the world. The people of India made this possible, and the Congress helped them," he said.

"If the prime minister says nothing had happened before he assumed office, he is not commenting on the Congress, he is insulting every person of the country," Gandhi said.

He alleged that at present, Dalits, farmers, tribal people, minorities, the poor in India are told they will not get anything, and "if they raise their voice, they are beaten up".

The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act has been "destroyed, and scholarships have been discontinued", he claimed.

"Today in India, people are discriminated against on the basis of caste and religion. Marginalised are betrayed, while people like Anil Ambani benefit," he alleged.

Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on the Rafale deal, Gandhi said that the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited had been manufacturing aircraft for the last 50 years, but the contract was given to "someone who floated his company just 19 days before the deal".

"Nobody will get anything. Only Ambani will get everything. This man has accrued a debt of Rs 45,000 crore," the Congress president alleged.

Gandhi has been attacking the BJP government for allegedly inking the deal at a much higher price than the one the previous UPA regime had negotiated to benefit "one businessman".

Facing allegations of getting undue benefits from the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has sent legal notices to several Congress leaders asking them to "cease and desist" from levelling such charges.

Reliance Group has denied the allegations relating to the deal under which France's Dassault is supplying the fighter jets and has entered into a joint venture with an Anil Ambani-led group firm to meet its offset requirement of the contract.

Ambani recently wrote to Gandhi on the deal saying his party has been "misinformed, misdirected and misled" by "malicious vested interests and corporate rivals" on the issue.

Gandhi said, "When the farmers of Karnataka and Telangana ask for loan waiver, PM Modi says this is not our policy. India's handful of richest businessmen have NPAs of Rs 12.5 lakh crore, but the prime minister says nothing."



He alleged that the prime minister kept quiet "when his own party's MLA raped a woman and when Nirav Modi ran away with people's money."



"Institutions such as the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India, which are the walls of our country, are being torn apart now," he alleged.

It was the first time that four senior-most judges of the apex court come out in public earlier this year to say they were not being allowed to work, he said.

"I do not use bad language for the prime minister. And if you have listened to the debate on the Rafale deal in Parliament, you would have seen that the PM could not answer my questions," he said.

Gandhi said China creates 50,000 jobs a day, while India creates only 450, and unemployment was a pressing issue.

"Our farmers need help. Our youth needs education, elderly people need health care. But, there is no discussion on the issues of farmers, education and health care," he said.

Lauding the contribution of non-resident Indians in the development of the country, he said, "Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru were all NRIs. They travelled the world and helped India with new perspectives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In the interview, Trump argued, incorrectly, that the hush-money payouts weren't "even a campaign violation" because he subsequently reimbursed Cohen for the payments personally instead of with campaign funds.

Despite Trump's defiant tone on his own legal woes, Washington-based campaign finance expert Kate Belinski, of the Nossaman law firm, said to expect legal consequences for both Trump and his campaign - most likely in the form of a civil complaint before the Federal Election Commission. But a month later, another of Trump's lawyers, Rudy Giuliani, was trying to explain why the payment wasn't illegal when he seemed to reveal that what Trump had said on Air Force One wasn't the truth. They then wrote in that it was 11-1, with "no consensus" on those counts.

HANNITY: Oh, I didn't know he did.

But there is nearly no chance at present that lawmakers will pursue impeachment because both houses of Congress are in the hands of Trump's Republican party, which with few exceptions remains loyal to the president. And Trump could legally contribute as much as he wished to his own campaign for president.

In his first public comments, back in April, about his alleged affair with Stormy Daniels, Mr Trump denied knowing about the $130,000 (100,000) payment made to the actress via Cohen.

Trump has made it abundantly clear in recent days that he believes his former campaign chairman was mistreated, and he praised Manafort for being "brave" and refusing to "break" despite all of the charges he faced.

Mr Sessions, a long-time USA senator and Trump supporter, drew Mr Trump's ire when he recused himself in March a year ago from matters dealing with the 2016 presidential campaign.

The federal jury on Tuesday found Manafort guilty on eight counts; the judge declared a mistrial on 10 counts the jury was deadlocked on.

Spokesperson for the Southern District of New York, Nicholas Biase, said "Mr. Cohen does lose his law license upon conviction, which technically does not occur until sentencing".

On Wednesday, Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis confirmed that his client had witnessed a meeting between Trump, and Trump Jr., that was connected to the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Kremlin-affiliated individuals offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Cohen's assertion that Trump ordered the payments is seen as creating legal and political jeopardy for the president. The alternative, exculpatory explanation is that Trump is simply so moved by the plight of his corrupt, money-laundering former money launderer that he is willing to risk looking very guilty in order to extend a pardon to a man he also insists repeatedly he barely knows.

Facebook Shuts Down Hundreds of Fake Pages Related to Russian Federation and Iran

In all, Facebook says it has removed 652 pages, groups and accounts for "coordinated inauthentic behavior". Also on Tuesday, Twitter said it identified and removed hundreds of accounts that it had traced to Iran.

Donald Trump's lawyer has said "the American people would revolt" if the president was impeached.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House after stepping off Marine One, Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, in Washington.

"He has said he wouldn't change his answer", Davis said. It's not about credibility.

"Up all night!" - that's the screaming headline across USA news networks other than United States president Donald Trump's favourite Fox News channel.

The excerpts have not included a clip of Mr Trump saying he would consider pardoning Manafort.

Trump hasn't been indicted for this verifiable crime because, as a sitting president, he can't be.

Mr Cohen and Manafort played prominent roles in Mr Trump's political rise in 2016. He took to his favorite show, Fox and Friends, to explain himself, and once again laid out the exact problem with his actions.

That is a bad strategy if Mr Trump truly has nothing to hide, said Mr Eric Freedman, a constitutional law professor.

The payments to the women could be regarded as an illegal campaign expenditure if the money was clearly meant to influence the 2016 election. And if they do, prosecutors could retry him either before or after the second trial. Cohen says on the tape that he'd already spoken about the payment with Weisselberg on "how to set the whole thing up".

"Where is the collusion?" he asked. The White House has dismissed the suit as politically motivated.: A fisherman, who got injured while taking part in the rescue operations in flood-hit Kerala, was in for a big surprise when state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today called him up and enquired about his health.

Ratna Kumar is presently undergoing treatment at Amrita Hospital in Kochi for the injuries suffered during the rescue mission in one of the worst-affected Pandanad region in Pathnamthitta district.

Later, the Chief Minister tweeted that the state government would extend all possible assistance to Kumar.

Several fishermen had joined in the rescue operations in the worst flood the state had witnessed in the last 100 years.

The flood and rains have so far claimed 293 lives since August 8.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The flood-hit people in Kodagu district of Karnataka have started returning to their villages wherever the houses are intact after waters receded, the state government said today.

The joint rescue teams were still deployed and engaged in search operation even as there had been light to moderate rainfall in Kodagu, Principal Revenue Secretary Gangaram Baderiya said.

He also said Rs 30 crore has been released for relief work in Kodagu, where torrential rains last week had left a huge trail of destruction, claiming at least 17 lives and leaving more than 5,000 people homeless.

The government was paying Rs 3,800 relief amount per family sheltered in relief camps and two IAS officers had been posted to oversee the rehabilitation work, Baderiya said.

A total of Rs 50,000 has been given to each gram panchayat and Rs 15 lakh to municipal corporation to sanitise surface water bodies, he said.

As many as 1,019 rescuers from various agencies stationed in Kodagu were screening the villages.

The district administration will shortly take a call on sending back the rescue teams, Baderiya said.

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and the Revenue Minister were constantly monitoring the situation and providing all necessary instructions, he said.

Food and Civil Supplies and Transport Ministers visited various relief camps and landslide affected areas and took stock of the relief and rehabilitation work.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had yesterday visited the flood-ravaged district and reviewed the situation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Five persons, including two women, were arrested for allegedly posing as police personnel and trying to extort money from a doctor in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said today.

On Thursday, the five accused had gone to the Mumbra-based clinic of Nadeem Baig and demanded Rs 2 lakh after threatening to expose him over a MTP (medical termination of pregnancy) kit found there, police said.

While the doctor told them the kit did not belong to him, the five accused started videographing the clinic stating that they would complain about him to medical authorities and the police, the official said.

"The accused finally settled at a sum of Rs 1.5 lakh which the complainant was to pay at a restaurant in Koparkhairane in Navi Mumbai," the official said.

However, Baig had alerted several of his doctor colleagues who were already seated at the restaurant when the accused came to collect the money yesterday, he said.

"The five were overpowered by the doctors at the restaurant and handed over to Shil Daighar police," an official said.

He identified the five accused as Sandeep Kamble (32), Ashok Shirvade (30), Sailesh Yadav (31), Anita Thapa (40) and Savita Jadhav (30).

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I, D S Swami told PTI that the five had been charged for extortion under relevant sections of the IPC and further probe into the matter was currently on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)More than 5,000 supporters of the main opposition candidate in Mali's contested election today protested in Bamako against the poll result, organisers said.

The demonstrators waved banners with the slogans "No to the declared results" and "IBK (Ibrahim Boubacar Keita) will not steal our victory".

Opposition candidate and former minister Soumaila Cisse, 68, has slammed the August 12 vote that handed a second term to his opponent Keita as marred by fraud.

Cisse polled 32.84 per cent of the vote according to the official count, compared to



67.16 per cent for incumbent Keita.

In the central city of Nioro several hundred people also took to the streets in protest, according to organisers.

"Nioro will stay mobilised for this democratic fight. We are not going to give up because if this situation continues like this no-one will ever win an election against IBK and his clan" said Abdoulaye Diallo, a Cisse supporter and march organiser in Nioro.

Keita, 73, who will begin his second five-year term on September 4, has called on Cisse to accept the result.

Today's marches passed off without incident. Cisse aides said more were being held in other parts of Mali and also abroad.

"We want a country that is peaceful, tranquil, stable but not a country in which the president is elected by fraud, ballot stuffing and the falsification of results," Cisse said during the march in Bamako, which was initially banned but later given authorisation by the authorities.

Hundreds of Cisse's supporters have gathered in recent days to protest the result.

But the Constitutional Court rejected a petition from Cisse against the result as being inadmissible or unsupported by evidence.

"This institution has discredited itself as a voluntary prisoner of an autocratic regime," Cisse said Thursday, referring to the court.

Observer missions sent by the European Union and the African Union (AU) have said the election was not badly impaired.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Ten more people were arrested today in connection with the clashes at Rajasthan's Malpura town in which 15 Kanwariyas were injured on Thursday, police said.

So far, 28 people have been arrested and there has been no relaxation in the curfew, which was imposed yesterday following the clashes, they said.

Clashes erupted after locals pelted stones at Kanwariyas in Malpura in Tonk district on Thursday injuring 15 of them.

The situation remains tense but is under control, police said.

Station House Officer (SHO), Malpura, Navnit Bihari Vyas said



with 10 more arrests today, a total of 28 people have been arrested since the incident.

There has been no relaxation in the curfew considering the law and order situation in the town. The situation is under control, he said.

No fresh incidents of violence was reported since yesterday, the SHO said.

The attack on Kanwariyas was followed by arson in which a vehicle was torched forcing the authorities to impose Section 144 of the CrPC.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A 17-year-old girl was shot dead by her brother in a suspected case of "honour killing" in Pakistan's Punjab province, police said today.

Samina Bibi's family suspected of her having a relationship with a man in Bahiwal village, some 200 kms from here, senior police officer Mudasar Awan said.

"Her brother Habib had earlier caught her with the boy and thrashed both of them. He warned her that if she does not stop seeing the man, he would kill her," the officer said.

"When Habib came to know that Samina had met the man on Eid, he thrashed her with the help of his father and then shot her dead from a point blank range yesterday," he said.

Both the accused fled the spot. A murder case was registered against them.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, nearly 1,000 women and girls in deeply conservative Pakistan are being murdered every year for allegedly bringing shame on their family.

The rights group says that the women are killed for being accused of having illicit relations and marrying without the family's consent.

Most of the women are killed by their brothers and husbands, the group said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Arizona Sen John McCain has discontinued medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer.

That from his family yesterday.

It's a likely indication that the war hero, presidential nominee and longtime leading lawmaker is nearing the end of his life.

McCain has surpassed expectations for survival, but "the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict," the family said.

"With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment." The six-term GOP senator, who would turn 82 next week, has been away from the Capitol since last December.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Seven people were killed in an armed confrontation between gunmen and army troops in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, authorities have said.

State security spokesman Roberto Alvarez said in a statement that six civilians and one soldier died in the town of El Naranjo when soldiers came under fire last morning. Guerrero has been a flashpoint for drug cartel violence in Mexico.

Meanwhile, officials said a leader of the Gulf cartel was captured yesterday in the northern city of Monterrey. National Security Commissioner Renato Sales identified the man only by his first names "Hector Adrian".

A Nuevo Leon state official, who was not authorised to discuss the details of the case and requested anonymity, said the suspect was Hector Adrian Lucio Benavides, alias "La Yegua". The Gulf cartel has fractured in recent years and Lucio Benavides allegedly belonged to the Ciclones faction.

Sales said the suspect allegedly coordinated fuel theft, extortion, kidnapping, drug and migrant trafficking in Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz states. A second man was also arrested on a warrant for kidnapping.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Laying emphasis on the need to create more job opportunities and enhance employability of the youth, junior HRD Minister Satyapal Singh today suggested the All India Council for Technical (AICTE) to explore internship opportunities in varied fields including agriculture.

Recent initiatives of the AICTE will help students of technical institutes learn new skills in coming years, he said at an event at the council headquarters here.

"The country needs development in other fields besides industry. Internships in agriculture and other such fields could help train a large number of youths in the country. Efforts should be made to start internships in these fields besides technical and professional subjects," he said.

The Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) lamented that overemphasis on getting degrees and diplomas has lowered the standard of in the country.

"With all efforts focussed on getting degrees and diplomas, the entire system geared up to meet this need. This system has lowered standard of education," he said.

The minister presented awards to technical institutes with best record of internship in 2018 at the event.

The top three institutes with the best internship records were Manipal Institute of Technology, Maharaja Agrasen Institute Of Technology, and Chandigarh University.

The event was organised to acknowledge the institutes for their efforts in helping students secure internships during the April-July period this year.

Over 8,000 students from more than 1,500 colleges and institutes affiliated to the AICTE landed internships through 'Internshala' in the summer of 2018.

The AICTE has signed agreements with platforms such as Internshala to provide internship opportunities to students of colleges and institutes affiliated to it, said AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe.

Internshala founded by IIT-Madras graduate Sarvesh Agarwal is an internship and training platform used by a large number of students and organisations in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Urban Meyer issues apology to former assistant's ex-wife

Meyer is realizing he messed up, saying he should have handled that question - and the entire Zach Smith situation - differently. Over the years, we have worked hard to educate and remind our coaches and players of the seriousness of relationship violence.

'Crazy Rich Asians' sequel in early development at Warner Bros

It said Kwan would be liable to a fine of up to S$10,000 (5,668) "and/or imprisonment of up to three years upon conviction". According to THR , Warner Bros.is "moving forward with development on the follow-up", and director Jon M.

Travel Advisory in effect after 8 bodies found in Cancun

In April, 14 people were killed and five more injured in a 36-hour span between the morning of April 4 and the evening of April 5. USA government employees are prohibited from intercity travel after dark in many areas of Mexico.

Browns QB Tyrod Taylor dislocated his pinky on left hand

Jackson said wide receiver Josh Gordon will participate in walk-throughs over the weekend and it's possible he'll practice. One thing getting lost with this Tyrod injury is that Hue Jackson actually allowed Taylor to come back into the game.

Man Accused Of Urinating On Black Child, Calling Her N-Word

That incident happened when the children were playing behind the library in the 1000 block of Leonard St. The girl's friends, a 5-year-old and two 7-year-olds, confirmed her account, police said.

Guilt-free coconut oil is actually 'pure poison' Harvard professor claims

Excessive amounts of saturated fats in a diet increases cholesterol, which can lead to blocked arteries and heart disease. It says the healthier choice would be to opt for an unsaturated fat, such as vegetable oil or sunflower oil.

Walmart Launches a New Digital eBook Store & $9.99 Audiobook Subscription Service

Walmart eBooks will be accessible through co-branded iOS and Android apps , which also launched today, and on Kobo eReaders. In a challenge to Amazon, Walmart is getting into the electronic book business and is offering $10 off a first purchase.

Stocks rally after speech by Fed's Powell, oil prices surge

The particular danger for him is that weakness could coincide with the 2020 election campaign, when he would be most vulnerable. It has also notched up braod gains over the Russian Rouble and Brazilian Real as well as a host of Asian currencies.

California congressman charged with funds misuse suggests wife to blame

Hunter said that his wife handled the family finances and had since he went off to war and gave her the power of attorney. Speaking to Fox News' Martha MacCallum on "The Story," Hunter said numerous trips in question "were fundraisers".

12-year-old Detroit girl severely burned attempting 'fire challenge'

Owens also posted pictures of some of the clothes her daughter was wearing during the incident - all entirely burned. Why would you want to rub salt on your arm and then put an ice cube on it? "I'm very disappointed.

Credit Suisse freezes US$5b of Russian money amid sanctions

The bank incurred no financial damage through this action and Credit Suisse remained very active in Russian Federation. A spokesman for Julius Baer said it "cooperates with worldwide regulators.in the field of sanction regulations".

Iowa college student died of 'sharp force injuries,' autopsy finds

The man arrested in her death is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. "This is a murder story. I heard her talk about family separation at the border.

We have to understand U.S. needs in Afghanistan, says Foreign Minister

Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Faisal denied in a tweet that the issue of terrorism had been discussed at all. Pakistan's foreign ministry termed the statement as "factually incorrect" and said it wants a correction from Washington.

Meet Denisova 11: First Known Hybrid Hominin

This shows that Neandertals migrated between western and eastern Eurasia tens of thousands of years before their disappearance. Svante Paabo, Director of the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology .

Sen. John McCain, battling brain cancer, is discontinuing medical treatment, family says

"My family is deeply appreciative of all the love and generosity you have shown us during this past year", Meghan McCain wrote . Mr Trump was furious about Mr McCain's vote and frequently referred to it at rallies but without mentioning Mr McCain by name.A special court here today sentenced a man to 21 years rigorous imprisonment after finding him guilty of raping a minor girl on July 29.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Vidhi Saxena convicted Narayan Mali (50) and sentenced him under section 376 (AB) which was brought about by an amendment in the IPC in April this year, special prosecutor Devendra Kumar Meena told PTI.

Mali was also sentenced to three years in jail under Section 354 (A) of the IPC and eight years and 11 years under Sections 3 A/4 and 5 M/6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

Meena said that the jail terms would run concurrently.

Mali had raped a seven-year-old girl when she came to buy biscuits from his shop, he said, adding that the charge sheet in the case was filed in five days and the trial was completed in 10 days.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The National Students Union of India (NSUI), a students' wing of the Congress, won the post of the general secretary of the students' union of the city-based Maharaja Sayajirao University.

A woman candidate of an NSUI rebel group won the vice president's post.

The elections were held yesterday and the results of were declared late last night.

NSUI's Vraj Patel became the new general secretary of the university, while Sanoli Mishra of 'Jai Ho' group floated by NSUI rebels won the post of vice president.

While Patel bagged 6,727 votes, Mishra got 6,856 votes.

Patel's nearest rival, Harshad Chaudhary of VVS group floated by ABVP rebels, secured 6,063 votes. ABVP's Rahul Zinzala managed to get 1,222 votes.

Zeel Brambhatt the closet rival of Mishra was floated by NSUI rebels, she bagged 6,191 votes and ABVP's Anisha Mishra bagged 1,285 votes.

Earlier, an independent group held the post of general secretary, while the post of vice president was with the ABVP.

President of the student's union is directly appointed by the Vice Chancellor.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today paid floral tributes to former Bihar chief minister late B P Mandal on his birth centenary.

Mandal besides being the Biha chief minister had headed the Backward Classes Commission which recommended 27 per cent quota for OBCs in jobs. The recommendations were implemented by the V P Singh government in 1990.

Kumar, accompanied by his cabinet colleagues and other dignitaries, paid floral tributes at Mandal's portrait at the memorial site at his native Murho village in Madhepura district, an official release said.

Kumar and others also participated in the all faith prayer meet later, it said adding that the chief minister also released a coffee-table book on the occasion.

Mandal's son Manendra Kumar Mandal was among the dignitaries present at the programme in Madhepura.

Earlier at a state-level function here Kumar along with Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary and ministers paid their homage by garlanding Mandal's statue.

Information and Public Relations Department organised 'arti-pujan' and singing of patriotic songs on the occasion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)No pilgrim has arrived or left the base camp here today for the Amarnath Yatra that is scheduled to end tomorrow, officials said.

The annual 60-day pilgrimage will end with the arrival of the holy mace, popularly known as 'Charri Mubarak', at the 3,880 metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas.

No pilgrim has arrived at the base camp here for the yatra and accordingly, yesterday's batch of 137 pilgrims was treated as the last batch from Jammu, the officials said.

They said after remaining suspended for three days due to non-availability of pilgrims, the yatra resumed from Jammu yesterday after the 46th batch of 137 pilgrims left for Kashmir to undertake the pilgrimage.

Till last evening, a total of 2,84,332 yatris (pilgrims) had paid obeisance at the shrine.

The pilgrimage had commenced from the twin routes the shorter 12-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district and the traditional 36-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district - on June 28.

The 'Charri Mubarak', which was taken from its abode at Dashnami Akhara in Srinagar by a group of sadhus, led by its custodian Mahant Deependra Giri, has reached Panjtarni, the last stop along Pahalgam route.

It will be taken to the shrine for special prayers tomorrow morning, marking the conclusion of the yatra on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

The officials said the yatra was going on smoothly from both the routes with a batch of 162 pilgrims leaving the twin base camps in the Kashmir Valley for the shrine this morning.

While 93 pilgrims, mostly Sadhus, left Pahalgam for the cave shrine, another group of 69 pilgrims were allowed to take the Baltal route, they said.

The early melting of the naturally formed ice-shivlingam at the shrine has resulted in decline in the number of pilgrims over the past few years.

Last year, the total number of pilgrims, who visited the shrine, was 2,60,003 in 40 days, whereas in this year the pilgrimage crossed this number in 33 days.

In 2016, as many as 2,20,490 pilgrims visited the cave shrine, but it was highest in 2014, with 3,72,909 pilgrims. It was 3,53,969 in 2013 and 3,52,771 pilgrims in 2015, the officials said.

The Shri Amarnathji Barfani Langer Organisation (SABLO), in a presentation to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, which manages the yatra, made a strong plea for reducing the yatra period to one month.

The SABLO made the plea at a meeting convened by the board's chairman to review the yatra.

Supporting its demand, the SABLO said the pilgrimage data for the past five years shows that more than 90 per cent of pilgrims perform 'darshan' at the cave-shrine in the first 30 days of the yatra.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar today said no one should attempt to scrap Article 35A of the Constitution and expressed hope that the Supreme Court would decide the matter in the "national interest".

"I think no one should touch this issue. Article 35A is part of our Constitution and no one should make attempts to remove it," Aiyar said on the sidelines of a seminar here titled "Discussion on Jammu and Kashmir and Indo-Pak relations organised by Centre for Peace and Progress.

"This issue is being raked up unnecessarily which is not in anyone's interest, added the Congress leader, whose suspension from the basic membership of the party was recently revoked.

The former Union minister was suspended from the party after he had made a remark on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Gujarat Assembly elections in December last year.

Aiyar said Article 35A, which gives special rights and privileges to the natives of Jammu and Kashmir, should remain intact so that the people of the state do not feel threatened.

"I hope and it is my wish that (Article) 35A be kept in our Constitution so that people here do not feel any kind of threat that their rights, which have been there for the last 90 years, are being taken away, Aiyar said.

The issue is now in the Supreme Court and I hope that it will decide in the national interest," he added.

Asked if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was raising the topic for political gains ahead of general elections next year, Aiyar said he did not want to talk about it.

He further said separatists in the valley must be included in any form of dialogue to address the Kashmir issue.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A student of a private university here has been arrested on attempt to murder charges after he allegedly pointed a pistol at another student of the institute over an old tiff, police said.

Surya Kumar (24) was detained yesterday, a day after the incident occurred outside the Amity University in Sector 125, the police said, adding that he was arrested today.

Kumar, a resident of Dasna in Ghaziabad, is a final-year B.Com student, while complainant Vivek Yadav, a resident of Safrabad village in Sector 73 here, is a first-year MBA student in the university.

According to Yadav, the two had a spat last month over parking of vehicles on the university premises.

"Parking inside the campus is not allowed for students. But Kumar was drunk and he got his car inside. I got hit on my leg by his vehicle, so I complained to my teachers. Kumar was scolded and told not to bring his vehicle inside the campus. After that he had warned me of dire consequences," he claimed.

Yadav said on Thursday, he was in his car at the parking lot outside the campus, when he was confronted by Kumar, who was in another vehicle.

"He came towards my car with a pistol. I quickly rolled up the windows and started the engine. Meanwhile, I also called up the emergency police number for help.

"Kumar got on to the bonnet of my car and then latched on to the window, while pointing the pistol at me," Yadav said.

A purported video of the incident went viral on the social media. Subsequently, a case was lodged against Kumar at the Sector 39 police station, officials said.

Kumar has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), among others, the police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)One person was killed and 10 others were injured when two groups clashed during the election of a village panchayat pradhan (chief) in West Bengal's North Dinajpur district today, police said.

Two groups clashed during the election of the panchayat pradhan of Panditpotta village, they said.

The two groups attacked each other with stones and bricks in which one person was killed 10 were injured, police said.

They said the injured persons have been admitted to Islampur hospital and six persons have been arrested in connection with the clash.

A district official said the election of the panchayat pradhan of the Panditpotta village was postponed today due to the clash.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman says the US decision to cut more than USD 200 million in aid is meant to force the Palestinians to abandon their claim to Jerusalem.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh tells The Associated Press today the move is part of continuing political and financial pressure on the Palestinian leadership. He says the Americans must be fully aware that there will be no peace without east Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians were outraged by President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and his moving of the U.S embassy there.

The Trump administration says it's cutting bilateral aid to the Palestinians after a review of funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza and will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The outgoing Ambassador of USA in Pakistan, Ambassador David Hale, paid a farewell call on Prime Minister Imran Khan at the PM office Islamabad on Friday, said a press release issued by the Foreign Office.

After his election victory last month, Imran Khan had said Pakistan was ready to respond positively to any effort towards dialogue with India.

In an unusual move, Pakistan has asked the U.S. to "immediately correct" a readout issued by the State Department in which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quoted as saying that he asked Pakistan's new prime minister to take "decisive action" against all terrorists operating in the country.

However, Pakistan has categorically stated that there was no mention of "terrorists operating in Pakistan" during the said conversation.

Pakistan's Foreign Office Spokesman Mohammad Faisal denied in a tweet that the issue of terrorism had been discussed at all.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday said that Pakistan wants friendly relations with all countries including the neighbouring India but the environment is not conducive for fruitful talks, ARY News reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended all military assistance to Pakistan for not doing enough to prevent terrorist attacks on U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Bacteria Turns Type A to O Blood, May Alleviate Shortages, Study Finds

People with type O-negative blood are known as universal donors, meaning they can give to anyone with any blood type . There are current techniques to change blood from one type to another but this method is reportedly 30-times faster.

Pompeo names North Korea envoy True cost of rampant White House turnover: Inexperience breeds incompetence MORE and the country's new Prime Minister, Imran Khan.

The foreign minister said that PM Imran Khan has told him to strengthen the Foreign Office as it was Pakistan "first line of defence". That may surprise some of you, but they had a good call.

Pakistan's foreign ministry termed the statement as "factually incorrect" and said it wants a correction from Washington.

In other words, the United States maintains that the issue was discussed while Pakistan says it was not. A few days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit state and allotted Rs 500 crore for immediate relief in addition to Rs 100 crore earlier. Pakistan rejects the accusation, calling it an attempt to divert attention from US failures in the war-shattered neighboring country. Qureshi said a State Department statement issued after the call was "contrary to the truth".

He said Pakistan also desired good neighborly relations with India and other countries.

"The secretary had a good call with the new prime minister and we look forward to having a good relationship with them in the future", she added.Rahul Gandhi today said that people support populist leaders like US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi because they are angry over not having jobs, as the Congress president stepped up his attack on the BJP and the RSS.

Interacting with Indian Journalists' Association here, Gandhi said that instead of solving the problem, these leaders ride on that anger and damage the country.

"People support populist leaders like Mr Trump and Mr Modi because they are angry that they don't have a job. Instead of solving this problem these leaders ride on that anger. They damage the country by this," he said.

Yesterday, Gandhi said India was facing a "full blown crisis" of unemployment and the Government was refusing to admit it.

During an interaction programme at the prestigious London School of Economics here, he had said that where China creates 50,000 jobs a day, only 450 jobs are created in a day in India. This is a catastrophe.

Gandhi again maintained that "there is a lot of similarity between Muslim Brotherhood and RSS. They use democratic processes to capture power".

The Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest political Islamist group in the Arab world. It is banned and declared as a terrorist organisation by the governments of several countries.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said in New Delhi that the likes of President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died last week, have an RSS background and Gandhi's comparison of the organisation with an Islamist outfit is "unforgivable".

He demanded immediate apology from the Congress president for likening the choice of Indians in an election with an organisation which, the BJP leader said, is declared a terror outfit in many countries.

On Vijay Mallaya, Gandhi said that Indian prisons are "pretty decent" while commenting on his ongoing extradition case.

"Indian prisons are pretty decent as far as Mr. Mallya is concerned," he said.

In July, Mallya appeared before the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London where both defence and prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of the Barrack 12 of the Arthur Road Jail.

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya is currently undergoing an extradition trial in a UK court over fraud and money laundering charges by Indian authorities.

Mallya is separately fighting extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges worth an estimated Rs 9,000 crores.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The ashes of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were immersed in the Bay of Bengal here today in the presence of Puducherry L Governor Kiran Bedi.

Addressing a meeting to condole the demise of Vajpayee, the Lt Governor said he was 'the father figure of the country and he would be looked up as one of the finest administrators.'



The former IPS officer also recalled how Vajpayee would listen to police officials and respect them without interfering in the discharge of their duties and in enforcement of law.

President of the local unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party and MLA V Saminathan read out a condolence message and all those present observed a two-minute silence in memory of Vajpayee.

Leader of the Opposition N Rangasamy, Members of Parliament N Gokulakrishnan (Rajya Sabha), R Radhakrishnan (Lok Sabha) Purushothaman (AIADMK) and S P Sivakumar (DMK) were also among those present.

Territorial Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his Cabinet colleagues had paid homage to the urn containing the ashes, yesterday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Pope Francis touched down in Dublin today for an historic two-day visit to Ireland, where the Catholic Church is battling to regain trust following multiple scandals.

His Alitalia "Shepherd One" flight landed under cloudless skies at 10:26am (0926 GMT), where deputy head of government Simon Coveney and his children were waiting to meet him with a bouquet of white and yellow roses with Irish foliage.

Hundreds of thousands of wellwishers and over a 1,000 journalists are expected to follow Francis during his tour of Dublin and County Mayo in the far west of the country.

Francis will tour Dublin today on his Popemobile before visiting a hostel for homeless families and giving a speech at Croke Park stadium.

The highlight of the visit will be an outdoor mass in the city's Phoenix Park tomorrow, expected to draw 500,000 people -- a tenth of the country's entire population.

It is the first papal visit to Ireland since Pope John Paul II spoke to a crowd of 1.5 million people there in 1979.

The country has since undergone fundamental social change, becoming more secular -- electing a gay prime minister and voting to legalise same-sex marriage and abortion.

The church has also been tarnished by clerical abuse scandals and victims and their supporters will hold a "Stand for Truth" demonstration in Dublin during the Sunday mass.

The Vatican confirmed Francis will meet with victims but provided no details, and said It also said he was unlikely to announce specific measures to combat sexual abuse within the church following a devastating recent US report that accused more than 300 priests in the state of Pennsylvania of abusing more than 1,000 children since the 1950s.

In Tuam, a town in western Ireland, a silent vigil was planned in solidarity with victims of "mother and baby" homes -- institutions accused of being punishment hostels for unwed pregnant women.

He will meet with President Michael D Higgins and Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A section of students of Presidency University, who have been demanding accommodation in the Hindu hostel which is presently under repair, today said they will launch a signature campaign apart from continuing with their sit-in to bolster their demand.

Around 50 students have been agitating in the university campus since Augist 3.

A spokesman of the agitating students, Subho Biswas, told PTI, the boarders will launch a signature campaign among the university students from Monday to raise awareness about the difficulties faced by the boarders of the Hindu Hostel and the reasons behind the current stir.

"While continuing the sit-in, we will take the battle among the students in general and seek their opinion about the future course of action by undertaking a signature campaign. We will then organise a mass convention in the first week of September and based on the feedback from these two campaigns, we will decide whether to approach any higher authority to address our demand," Biswas, one of the 50 boarders, said.

Ayan Chakraborty, an activist of students' body Independent Consolidation (IC), said a part of the corridor of the university building has been turned into a makeshift hostel without causing any difficulty to anybody.

He said there had been no further communication with Vice Chancellor Anuradha Lohia or any varsity official on the issue after the V-C talked to them on August 8.

"The V-C talked to the students last week but on a different issue and the hostel agenda did not figure," he said.

A university spokesman said, "We have already explained the situation to the students. We had promised to them that the Hindu Hostel can be thrown open to them only after PWD declares it fit for use after renovation. We can only hope they will understand the situation."



A group of 36 teachers of the university had earlier urged the agitating students to withdraw their stir promising them to monitor renovation work of the Hindu Hostel building and go back to the rented premises at New Town, about 18 km away from the university campus, for the time being.

"We are not disrupting the academic or administrative work. We are just staying at a particular place in the campus," Chakraborty said.

The students claimed that renovation in two of the six blocks of the Hindu Hostel building has already been completed and they should be accommodated in these two blocks.

The Hindu Hostel, adjoining the College Street institution, had been shut down for repairs on July 29, 2015 and 150 boarders were shifted to a rented accommodation at New Town.

The Presidency authorities had last year assured the students that all the six blocks of the hostel would be opened for the boarders after completion of renovation work by the first week of August this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump's finance chief, a confidant who has worked for the family's real estate business since the early 1970s, was granted immunity in the federal probe of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, two people with knowledge of the situation has told The Associated Press.

The immunity granted to the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, was restricted to his grand jury testimony last month in the Cohen case, specifically the allegations that Cohen paid hush money to two women who claimed affairs with Trump, according to one of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to discuss the matter publicly.

The deal for the 71-year-old Weisselberg, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, is seen as a major development since he's likely to have knowledge of every major personal and business deal Trump has been involved in since his career as a real estate mogul began.

Cohen pleaded guilty to tax and campaign finance violations on Tuesday. And while not named in the Cohen case, Weisselberg is believed to be one of two Trump executives mentioned in the suit who reimbursed Cohen and falsely recorded the payments as legal expenses.

Weisselberg's deal comes on the heels of several media reports on Thursday that Trump's longtime friend David Pecker, the CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc, has also been granted immunity in the Cohen probe, as well as the company's chief content officer, Dylan Howard.

The AP reported on Thursday that the tabloid kept a safe containing documents about hush-money payments and damaging stories it killed as part of its cozy relationship with Trump leading up to 2016 presidential election.

Calls and emails to the Trump Organization to reach Weisselberg and general counsel Alan Garten were not immediately answered. An assistant said both were out of the office yesterday.

Weisselberg, an intensely private, loyal numbers-man for Trump, was mentioned on an audiotape that Cohen's lawyer released in July of Cohen talking with Trump about paying for Playboy model Karen McDougal's silence in the months leading up to the election. Cohen says on the tape that he'd already spoken about the payment with Weisselberg on "how to set the whole thing up".

In Cohen's court appearance in Manhattan to enter his guilty plea on Tuesday, Cohen admitted to making payments of USD 150,000 to McDougal and USD 130,000 to porn star Stormy Daniels "at the direction" of Trump for the "principal purpose of influencing the election".

The Trump Organization eventually reimbursed Cohen for the USD 130,000 payment to Daniels, accepting sham invoices and recording the money it sent to Cohen as legal expenses. In court filings, prosecutors say two unnamed Trump Organization employees "executive 1" and "executive 2" helped set up the reimbursement.

"Please pay from the Trust," executive 1 is quoted directing to another unnamed employee. "Post to legal expenses." The "Trust" refers to the entity that Trump set up after the election to hold his assets. He put the trust in the hands of his two sons and Weisselberg.

The identities of executive 1 and 2 are still unknown. Just because the Weisselberg and the sons were given control, that does not preclude others from handling the business.

Weisselberg is an unlikely player in the unfolding presidential drama, a low-profile employee who appeared in "The Apprentice" as a judge once but otherwise rarely drew the spotlight. He isn't even mentioned in many of the biographies of his boss.

But as the perhaps the longest-serving employee in the Trump family business, he is rich repository of knowledge, and the idea of him answering questions to investigators under oath poses a new danger for the president as federal prosecutors in Washington and Manhattan dig deeper into the president's business affairs.

From his first job helping with the books for Trump's father, Fred, in 1973, the Pace University graduate has gotten his fingers into nearly every aspect of the family business -- vetting deals, arranging financing, auditing, managing cash -- eventually rising to oversee all finances of its far-flung operations.

And aside from Trump, he is perhaps best qualified to answer two of the big questions about the businessman-turned-president over the years: Is he really worth USD 10 billion, as he claims, and what's in his tax returns?



Trump testified in a case years ago that Weisselberg was the one who values his properties and other assets, and he has reportedly helped with Trump tax returns.

In addition to his title as chief financial officer, Weisselberg holds executive positions at many Trump entities, including director of the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which is being sued by the New York state attorney general for allegedly tapping donations to settle legal disputes among other illegal uses. The White House has dismissed the suit as politically motivated. Weisselberg comes off in depositions in that case and others over the years as unobtrusive, loyal and undemanding.

Asked about what he thought of a last-minute order by Trump to catch a flight to Iowa to tend to some business during the campaign, Weisselberg said in one deposition that "it doesn't matter what I thought. He's my boss. I went." He added that it was a rare trip for him: "I have never gone anywhere with Donald.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress president Rahul Gandhi has held talks with leading Opposition party leaders from Britain on issues ranging from visa hurdles faced by Indians and the impact of Brexit.

Gandhi, who was accompanied by his delegation of Congress MPs, highlighted that the fallout of Brexit could increase inequality and youth unemployment.

Gandhi arrived in the UK yesterday on a two-day visit.

"The Congress president and Labour leadership discussed bilateral, regional and global developments of shared concerns. These included issues of unemployment, growing protectionism, trade wars and threat to rule based international order," a Congress party statement said.

He also referred to concerns over visas for Indian professionals and students, following changes in UK visa policy and the fall in the number of Indian students in the UK since the closure of an older post-study work route.

"He said India has made huge intellectual investment in the UK and the contribution of Indian doctors and nurses to the NHS is immense. Nothing should be done to hinder the movement of professionals," the Congress statement said, adding that both the country's Opposition parties attach special significance to the special relationship and strategic partnership between UK and India and will work to strengthen it.

The UK's Labour Party was represented by UK Shadow Secretary for International Trade and Climate Change Barry Gardiner, Shadow leader of the House of Commons Valerie Vaz, Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer, Shadow Minister of Foreign Commonwealth Office Gareth Thomas, Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland Stephen Pound and Shadow Minister for International Development Preet Kaur Gill.

They were also joined by Rajesh Agarwal, the Deputy Mayor of London, and other senior officials at the meeting at Labour Party Headquarters on Friday.

Both sides also expressed concerns over the threats of terrorism and forces of violence to stability and peace. They acknowledged the value of the UK-India Economic partnership, including growing investments and technology cooperation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress president Rahul Gandhi today said that Indian prisons are "difficult places" but fugitives like Vijay Mallya should not be treated differently.

Interacting with the members of the Indian Journalists' Association here, Gandhi said that "before Mallya left India, he met senior BJP leaders, that is documented. I won't name them".

Asked whether Indian jails are up to scratch as regards to Mallya's deportation case, he said "Indian prisons are difficult places".

"Indian prisons are pretty decent as far as Mr Mallya is concerned. Justice should be same for Indian people. Just because he is Vijay Mallya who defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore and ran away and he needs a difficult jail" is not acceptable.

Mallya last month appeared before a court in London where both defence and prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of the Barrack 12 of the Arthur Road Jail.

Fugitive liquor baron Mallya is currently fighting extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges worth an estimated Rs 9,000 crores.

Gandhi said the Modi government is pretty lenient to Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehjul Choksi, who have defrauded Indian banks.

"Punjab National Bank scam accused Nirav Modi took Rs 35,000 crores and Chokshi defrauded the banks. The question is job creation. How many jobs Nirav Modi created?," Gandhi asked.

The Congress president said "there is a relationship between Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and the Prime Minister. No action is taken against them".

Jewellery designer Nirav and his uncle Mehul Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, have allegedly defrauded state-run Punjab National Bank of over Rs 13,000 crore.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have registered cases of alleged fraud against them.

The Congress president attacked the Modi government and said it "absolutely and completely lacked any strategy as far as India's foreign policy is concerned".

"The Prime Minister makes a particular statement in Nepal and in a couple of months there is a complete U-turn. He has not been able to handle the relationship with Nepal, Afghanistan or China.

"A devastating example is that Prime Minister went to Afghanistan and on his way back he went to Pakistan for a wedding, sending a completely wrong message to Afghanistan. Afghan keeps wondering what is going on," Gandhi said.

Gandhi was referring to Prime Minister Modi's surprise visit to Pakistan on December 25, 2015 while returning from Afghanistan.

He said that Prime Minister Modi went to China but did not discuss Doklam issue as "he views these as events. but they are not events".

Gandhi said the Prime Minister is not taking feedback from the EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTRY.

"Why is the Foreign Minister (Sushma Swaraj) spending her time on sorting out Visas - that is not the job of the foreign minister. That is the job of someone in embassy. The job of the foreign minister is making foreign policy, holding discussion on strategy.

"Sushma Swaraj is not allowed to have discussions. She is extremely capable woman. I know her. I have served with her in Committees. I have issues with her regarding her style. She is humiliated on every count. She is not taken by prime minister on his trips and you never see her in photographs with prime minister. Then you say the foreign policy is wrong," Gandhi, who is also a member of the parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congress president Rahul Gandhi has described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a "very painful tragedy" and said he was "100 per cent" for the punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody.

Nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots in 1984 following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards when the Congress government was in power at the Centre.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, told the audience of UK-based parliamentarians and local leaders yesterday that the incident was a tragedy and painful experiences, but disagreed with the view that the Congress was "involved".

"I think any violence done against anybody is wrong. There are legal processes ongoing in India but as far as I'm concerned anything done that was wrong during that period should be punished and I would support that 100 per cent," he said.

"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy."



Later, during an interactive session at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots, Gandhi said: "When Mr Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels."



He was referring to the killing of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE in 1991.

"So, I am against any sort of violence against anybody on this planet. I get disturbed when I see anybody being hurt. So, I condemn that 100 per cent and I am 100 per cent for punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody. That's crystal clear," said Gandhi.

He said that people, who have not had violence inflicted upon them, think that violence is what one sees in movies.

"That's not what it is. I have seen people who I loved very much being killed. I have also seen the person (Prabhakaran) who killed my father being killed.

"When I saw Prabhakaran lying on the beaches in Jaffna (Lanka), when I saw him being humiliated, the way he was, I felt sorry for him, because I saw my father in his place and his children in my place," he added.

"So, when you are being hit by violence, when you understand it, it has a completely different impact on you."



Gandhi said most people do not understand violence which is a horrible thing.

Some Congress leaders have been accused of leading the killer mobs during the riots. They have denied the allegations.

Earlier Gandhi had invoked Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, during his address in Germany, drawing sharp reaction from the BJP which said Gandhi should apologise for the "heinous crime" at the Golden Temple.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Raipur District Collector O P Chaudhary has resigned from service amid reports that he may be joining the ruling BJP in Chhattisgarh.

The 2005-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Chaudhary has submitted his resignation letter to the Personnel and Training department, for acceptance, a senior government official here told PTI.

Chaudhary, however, was not available for comment on his resignation.

According to media reports, the officer is likely to join the BJP. Although the BJP did not confirm about it, the party said he was welcome if he was willing to do so.

Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh are likely to be held by the end of this year.

There are reports that Chaudhary, who is credited for bringing transformation in education in the naxal-affected Dantewada district of the state, will join the BJP and contest the upcoming assembly poll from Kharsiya seat- a Congress bastion, in Raigarh district, his native area.

Umesh Patel, son of former state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, who was killed in Jhiram valley naxal attack in Darbha region of Bastar ahead of 2013 assembly polls, is the incumbent Congress MLA from Kharsiya.

Chaudhary belongs Patel's Aghariya community, a dominant OBC community in Raigarh, and he may dent the traditional Congress vote bank if the saffron party decides to field him from the seat.

The officer was given the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2011-12 for his contribution in development of Naxal-affected areas through education.

BJP sources said the ruling party has been looking for a suitable candidate for the assembly seat.

"As of now, there is no confirmation from the party's top leadership (about Chaudhary's joining the BJP) and if anything would be there, it will be all clear soon," state BJP general secretary Santosh Pandey told PTI.

Pandey added that the BJP has been inviting prominent personalities from different walks of life, including sports, arts and literature, to join the party and serve the people.

"If IAS and IPS officers want to join the party, then is a good sign for the party and they are welcomed in the outfit," he added.

Meanwhile, opposition Congress dubbed Chaudhary an "RSS agent" and accused him of supporting the ruling BJP during his service.

"Even earlier, we had said that he had been supporting the BJP as a bureaucrat. He was working at the behest of the ruling party. He is an RSS agent," state Congress general secretary Shailesh Nitin Trivedi alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Govt to abolish discretionary funds for PM,MNAs,MPAs

The federal cabinet decided on Friday to abolish discretionary funds for the Prime Minister, ministers and members of the National and provincial assemblies.



The announcement was made by Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry at a press conference following the cabinets meeting at the Prime Ministers House.



Terming it the most important decision of the meeting, Chaudhry criticised the previous administration for apparently doling out huge amounts of funds to MNAs and MPAs without debate for the purpose in the Parliament. He said former premier Nawaz Sharif used to distribute projects during his rallies across the country and added that this will not happen any longer. He claimed that in his last year as the premier, Nawaz Sharif had spent Rs21 billion at his discretion and released Rs30 billion separately to MPAs.



Speaking to Daily Times, policy analyst Safiya Aftab welcomed the move to abolish discretionary funds but said that the figures quoted by the information minister seemed exaggerated. She said that there should be debate in the Parliament on each and every rupee to be spent from the public exchequer.



The ban on discretionary funds was among a seven-point agenda reviewed by the cabinet on Friday.



Explaining details of the remaining six points, Fawad Chaudhry said that as part of his austerity drive, the PM was suspending use of a special plane for foreign visits. The Prime Minister will not travel in first-class any longer. Instead, he would travel in the club-class, a category in between first-class and economy-class. All ministers and government officials would follow the same policy. On a question, Chaudhry said that the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the President would also be requested to follow the policy.



The cabinet also discussed the issue of power outages. The PM was quoted in several media reports as having expressed concern over continued load shedding. He also summoned a detailed report on the electricity distribution system of the country.



In two important decisions, the cabinet decided to undertake country-wide urban tree plantation and sanitation projects. Details of the tree plantation initiative will be shared with the public by the Minister for Climate Change and Environment. Tree plantation in cities, especially Karachi, is the need of the hours, Chaudhry said.



Regarding the sanitation project, the cabinet decided to form a taskforce to prepare plans for carrying out a country-wide cleanliness drive.



The PM also issued directives for formation of a taskforce to review the issue of urban housing, with particular attention to matters related to slum settlements across the country.





A summary seeking to increase official working days in a week from five to six was not considered by the cabinet as it decided to continue with the five-day work week. Work hours across all government offices will be from 9am to 5pm.





Another key decision in the cabinet meeting was about the forensic audit of mass transport initiatives undertaken during the previous five years. The cabinet decided to carry out forensic audit of mass-transport projects in Multan, Islamabad, Peshawar as well as Lahore, including the Orange Line Metro Train project.Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said today India was ready to talk to "all prime ministers" but asserted the country's prime minister could not be held hostage to terrorism.

He said talks with Pakistan were possible when there was peace.

"Our prime minister will never be held hostage to terrorism," Akbar said during a talk on 'India's Foreign Policy for 21st Century' at Mapusa near here.

Pakistan should learn from its "great friend" China, with whom India has not "exchanged a single bullet" in many years despite having differences, the minister added.

"Yes, we have differences with China, but our differences with China must not become disputes and disputes must not become confrontations and confrontations must not become conflicts," the minister said.

"It is some achievement that during perhaps years not a single bullet has been exchanged with China," he said.

"Those who wonder why our relationship with our western neighbour, Pakistan, does not improve....Pakistan is China's great friend. Pakistan should learn from China.

"If not a single bullet was exchanged (with Pakistan), then we would talk. I had said 'Aman ki bat hogi jab aman hoga' (there will be talk of peace when there is peace)," Akbar added.

"Our prime minister will never be held hostage to terrorism, he will not. Let there be an end to this continuing torrent of terrorism. And yes, we are ready to talk to anyone. We are ready to talk to all prime ministers," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Iranian media are reporting that a water heater has exploded in Mashhad in the country's north, causing a building to collapse and killing 10 people.

Five others were injured and hospitalised in today's incident, according to the reports, which did not elaborate.

It was one the most deadly such incidents in Iran.

Many Iranians use gas-consuming storage water heaters and similar cases in the past have been blamed on gas leakages from the heaters and a disregard for safety measures.

Today's report from the YJC.ir website says the explosion happened early in Mashhad, some 900 kilometers, or 550 miles, northeast of the capital Tehran.

It said six of the victims died immediately at the site following the collapse of the two-story building and four died in the hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Social organisation Rihai Manch today urged a special court to review its verdict convicting two people in the 2007 court blasts case in Uttar Pradesh, and said it was likely to challenge it in the high court.

"The special court has convicted Tariq Kajmi and Mohd Akhtar for the blasts and fixed August 27 for awarding quantum of sentence. We request the court to review its verdict," retired IPS officer S R Darapuri, a senior member of Rihai Manch, told reporters here.

"The Manch is of the view that there is a need to further hear all aspects in the case," Darapuri said.

Asked whether the Manch will extend help to the families of the two in challenging the verdict, Darapuri said, "We will adopt all available means including challenging it in the high court."



Special judge Babita Rani had on Thursday pronounced the verdict in the case.

The third accused in the case, Khalid Mohd, had died during the course of the trial, while the fourth accused, Sajjadur Rehman, was earlier given clean chit.

A series of blasts took place in courts in Lucknow, Faizabad and Varanasi on November 23, 2007. Several people died in Varanasi and Faizabad. There was, however, no casualty in Lucknow.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Significant progress has been made in protecting hundreds of thousands Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh since they fled violence in Myanmar, but lives "will once again be at risk" if funding is not urgently secured, UN officials have said on the eve of the first anniversary of a military crackdown that forced them to flee their country.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya, most of them Muslims, have been displaced from Rakhine since the military began a crackdown on militants last August. Most have crossed the border into Bangladesh, joining the 200,000 refugees already there.

Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response for the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) Peter Salama told journalists in Geneva that deadly disease outbreaks had been held at bay in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar despite "all the conditions being in place for a massive epidemic".

Outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, polio, cholera and rubella have been contained, he said, noting that "thousands of lives" had been saved so far, thanks to the joint efforts of the Bangladesh Government, WHO and partners.

"We need to sustain the vigilance for early warnings of infectious diseases," Salama said. "That is still a major risk due to the environmental situation, the poor sanitation, the massive overcrowding, the way these people are being housed and we need to maintain our ability to scale-up outbreak response as required."



His call to scale up help was echoed in Geneva by IOM, the UN migration agency, spokesperson Joel Millman.

"This was the fastest growing refugee crisis in the world and the challenges have been immense, he said, highlighting comments by the agency's Chief of Mission in Bangladesh Giorgi Gigauri. Countless lives have been saved thanks to the generosity of the Government of Bangladesh, the local community and donor s and the hard work of all those involved in the humanitarian response. But we now face the very real threat that if more funding is not urgently secured, lives will once again be at risk."



One year on from the exodus sparked by a military operation likened to ethnic cleansing by UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, more than 720,000 Rohingya people have arrived in Cox's Bazar in southern Bangladesh.

They have joined an estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees who were previously displaced.

One of the camps, Kutupalong, shelters more than 600,000 refugees, making it the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In addition to the challenge of providing people's basic needs shelter, water and sanitation and healthcare the agency has carried out huge engineering work to reduce the risk of landslides and flooding. This also involved mobilizing and training hundreds of refugee volunteers to serve as first responders in the event of a natural disaster, although the camps have largely withstood the adverse weather.

Another key area of concern is the health of some 60,000 pregnant Rohingya women in the camps. Many of them suffered gender-based violence either prior or during the course of their flight from Myanmar, WHO's Salama said, adding that only one fifth of them will give birth in a suitable healthcare facility.

Partner agency UNHCR also underlined the calls for the international community to step up support for the Rohingya, who are stateless and unable to return to Myanmar. This is despite the UN's signing of an official Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Myanmar in June, to help establish conditions conducive for the safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation of the Rohingya.

According to OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the mainly Muslim Rohingya communities that have stayed in Rakhine state require urgent and in some cases lifesaving - help.

Some 660,000 people are in need across Rakhine state including more than 176,000 in Northern Rakhine, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said.

"We stand ready to go there as soon as access allows," he added.

"Most humanitarian organisations that have been working in Northern Rakhine state for years have still not been able to resume programmes and services for these population which are some of the most vulnerable in the world."



To date, the USD 950 million Rohingya 2018 appeal is only just over 30 per cent funded.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rohingya refugees today marked the anniversary of a deadly military crackdown in their Myanmar homeland that drove 700,000 of the persecuted minority into Bangladesh, stateless and confronting a grim future.

Raids by Rohingya militants on August 25 last year across Myanmar's Rakhine state spurred an army crackdown which the United Nations has likened to "ethnic cleansing". Waves of Rohingya fled by foot or boat to Bangladesh in an exodus unprecedented in speed and scale.

Rohingya activists in Bangladesh's refugee camps vowed to mark the "black day" with prayers, speeches and song. The latest influx has placed enormous pressure on Bangladesh's impoverished Cox's Bazar district, which quickly grew into the world's largest refugee settlement. The squalid camps already hosted generations of Rohingya expelled from Rakhine and the latest arrivals pushed numbers close to one million.

Abdul Malek, a 27-year-old refugee who fled an attack on his village last year, said the plight of the Rohingya was far from over. "This one year is just the beginning of many more to follow," he told AFP in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar says it is ready to take back those who fled. But it refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens, falsely labelling them "Bengali" illegal immigrants. A deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to start sending them back has stalled. Fewer than 200 have been repatriated so far.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week said it was up to Bangladesh "to decide how quickly" repatriation can be done, while insisting the "terrorist threat" posed by Rohingya militants remains "real and present".

The Rohingya say they will not return without a guarantee of their safety, citizenship and compensation for homes and land torched. "We don't want to (go) back without justice and without our rights and a proper guarantee that we won't be driven out again," 18-year-old Aman Ullah told AFP in Cox's Bazar.

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar and have been hunted from the country in successive convulsions of violence. Access to healthcare and freedom of movement remains out of reach for the stateless people in Rakhine. And the Rohingya exodus from western Myanmar continues today, with refugees still trickling over the border throughout this year.

The UN and international rights groups say conditions are not ready for them to go back. "It may be decades until they can safely return to Myanmar, if ever," Medecins Sans Frontieres head of mission in Bangladesh, Pavlo Kolovos, said in a statement.

Calls have mounted for Myanmar's military to be held responsible for the campaign, with security forces accused of torture, rape and murder. The US has sanctioned two army brigades and several commanders who oversaw the expulsion, in which thousands are estimated to have died. But Myanmar says it was simply defending itself and bristles at international calls for justice.

Humanitarian agencies spearheading the relief effort in Bangladesh say just one third of the roughly USD 1 bn needed for the refugees until March has been raised.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said an irrigation project costing Rs 112 crore will be implemented in a phased manner in Sirsa district to make available water to its tail-end villages.

Addressing a rally at Mandi Dabwali in Sirsa, he said the first phase of the project would start with remodelling of the Bhakhra Main Branch and about 30 villages of the district would directly benefit from this project.

Sufficient irrigation water would be made available to the farmers in the district, he was quoted as saying in an official release.

Reiterating the Haryana government's resolve to get its legitimate share of river waters through the Sutlej Yamuna link, Khattar said until the state got its rightful share, equitable water supply would be ensured right up to the tail-ends through canal water.

The chief minister said pending claims of farmers of Bhiwani and Sirsa districts amounting to Rs 200 crore on account of crop damage due to while fly attack would be released within 10 days and necessary instructions have been issued in this regard.

He also said sub-tehsil Goriwala would be accorded the status of tehsil and that development works worth Rs 70 crore would be executed in the villages of Mandi Dabwali Assembly constituency.

Hitting out at the opposition for describing the ruling BJP an "inexperienced party", Khattar said, "In the last four years, it has been proved that we are running a better government than them. We have been able to keep a tab on corruption and works which were undertaken at a cost of Rs 100 crore earlier are now being done for Rs 85 crore."



He claiming the BJP would win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana next year and also form government in the state by winning 70 seats in the Assembly elections.

"Be it the state government or the Central government, there are no charges of corruption against any lawmaker or minister. Instead of asking us about development works, the Congress and the INLD should tell what they have done for the state during their tenures (in the government)," Khattar said.

The chief minister said after taking the reins of the state government in 2014, the BJP has changed the rule of "Kharchi and Parchi" (money and approach) by eliminating corruption, hooliganism and the system of middlemen.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Russia today said Syrian rebels are preparing a chemical attack in Idlib province which will be blamed on Damascus and used as a pretext for Western powers to hit government targets in the war-torn country.

Moscow's accusation comes after US President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton this week said Washington will respond "very strongly" if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons in an offensive to retake Idlib, one of the last rebel held provinces in the country.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is "preparing another provocation of the 'use of chemical weapons' by Syrian government forces against the peaceful population of the Idlib province."



He said the group delivered "eight chlorine tanks" to Jisr al-Shughur town in order to "stage" the attack and that these were later taken to a village eight kilometres (5 miles) away.

The statement also said a group of militants "trained in handling poisonous substances under the supervision of specialists from the private British military company 'Oliva'" arrived in the town a day earlier.

"The militants have the task of simulating the rescue of the victims of the chemical weapons attack dressed in the clothes of the famous 'White Helmets'," it said.

Konashenkov accused British special services of being "actively involved" in the



"provocation" which will "serve as another reason for the US, the UK and France to hit Syrian government targets with air strikes."In April, the US, France and Britain launched joint missile strikes on Syrian targets in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma that left scores dead.

Russian stuck by its ally Syria and angrily insisted the Douma attack was staged by the White Helmets volunteer rescue service.

In Jerusalem on Wednesday, Bolton said Washington was "concerned about the possibility that Assad may use chemical weapons again." "Just so there's no confusion here, if the Syrian regime uses chemical weapons we will respond very strongly and they really ought to think about this a long time," Bolton said.

Speculation is increasing that there could be a Russian-backed government assault on Idlib, one of the so-called "de-escalation" zones set up as a result of talks by Russia, Turkey and Iran last year.

On a visit to Moscow yesterday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned Russia that seeking a military solution in Idlib would be a "catastrophe" before meeting President Vladimir Putin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the situation in Idlib is "multi-faceted" and called for separating out "the healthy opposition from terrorist structures."



Damascus still holds the southeastern tip of Idlib, a strategically important province adjacent to Latakia on the Mediterranean coast that is home to Assad's clan.

More than 350,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rising star Aryna Sabalenka moved another step closer to her first title after easing past fifth seeded Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in the semi-finals of the Connecticut Open.

The 20-year-old Belarusian has rocketed up the WTA Tour rankings this year, moving from being just inside the top 75 in the world at the end of 2017 to a career high 25 this week.

"I played a lot of three sets this year," said Sabalenka, who has reached her third final of 2018.

"I'm more fresh, ready for the final."



Sabalenka has now beaten Goerges both times they have played. She won 73 percent of her first serve points and broke Goerges three times in Friday's one hour, 45 minute match.

"She's a great player," Sabalenka said.

"It's really tough to play against her because she's a big server. Sometimes it's impossible to take her serve. I mean no chance.

"This is just about the mental game. You have to be focused 100 percent on every point."



Sabalenka booked her spot in Saturday's final where she will face Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro who spent just 34 minutes on the court after Monica Puig of Puerto Rico quit with an injury.

The two were tied 4-4 in the first set when Puig packed it in. Sabalenka will be in her fourth career final, but first ever meeting against the 29-year-old veteran Suarez Navarro in the final tune-up event before next week's US Open.

"It's not the first time (final), so I know what I have to do tomorrow," she said.

Sabalenka had to come from behind to win the second set against Goerges. She had her serve broken in the first game but got the break back to level at 4-4.

The pair went to a tiebreak and Sabalenka clinched it in style by winning seven consecutive points after losing the first three points.

"I tried a lot of different things today," said Goerges. "I can be very pleased with that. I did the best that I could.

"I was fighting big-time. But there's only one winner." In the other semi, Suarez Navarro had just rallied from a break down to get to 4-3 when Puig took a long medical timeout.

Puig returned but was visibly hampered, losing the next game to get to 4-4. That's when she made the decision to call it a day, leaving the court in tears. Puig blamed her loss on an abdominal strain.

Suarez Navarro has benefitted from a biblical-like chain of events to get into her first WTA final of 2018.

After a hard fought first round win over Barbora Strycova, she got a walkover from British No. 1 Johanna Konta in the second round. Then two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova retired in their quarter-final and finally reigning Olympic champion Puig pulled out halfway through the first set of the semis.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Opposition SAD today demanded that Punjab Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa be dismissed for allegedly distorting the verses of the 'Gurbani'.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also sought that a case be registered against Randhawa for allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community.

"Sukhjinder Randhawa has distorted the verses of the Gurbani and he has done it intentionally. It cannot be tolerated. I demand from the Captain Sahib (Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh) to immediately dismiss Randhawa," he told reporters here.

Yesterday, a group of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) members had reportedly submitted a memorandum with the Akal Takht Jathedar in Amritsar, alleging that Jails Minister Randhawa had distorted the Gurbani during a press conference a few days back.

On August 23, Randhawa had written a letter to the takht -- the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs -- questioning the reappointment of Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar Giani Gurmukh Singh as its head granthi.

Giani Gurmukh Singh is the brother of Himmat Singh, a key witness who retracted from his statement given to the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, which probed sacrilege incidents, against the then ruling Badal family.

Himmat had reportedly alleged that he was under pressure from Randhawa to sign the statement.

Randhawa had been on the target of the SAD that had accused him along with Justice Ranjit Singh of allegedly fabricating evidence and leaking commission report before its submission to the assembly.

The party had even sought dismissal of the minister for his part in the alleged "criminal leakage" of the report.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Satyadev Narayan Arya was today sworn in as the Governor of Haryana in a simple ceremony held at Raj Bhawan here today.

The Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Krishna Murari administered the oath of office to Arya, according to an official release.

Arya, a senior BJP leader and an eight-term MLA in Bihar, replaces Kaptan Singh Solanki who became the new Governor of Tripura.

He was also a minister in the 2010 BJP-JDU government in Bihar. He was born at Gandhi Tola, Rajgir in district Nalanda (Bihar) on July 1, 1939. He is M.A and law graduate from Patna University.

The newly appointed Governor personally met the people who had come to attend the oath taking ceremony and accepted their congratulations and greetings.

Arya expressed his gratitude towards the people who had graced the occasion and had come from far flung areas of Bihar to attend the oath taking ceremony of their beloved leader,



The function was attended by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court, senior officers of Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh and prominent citizens of the city.

On reaching Chandigarh, Arya along with his wife was given a warm reception by Khattar and his cabinet colleagues, senior officers and staff of the Haryana Raj Bhawan.

The members of the Governors' family, including his sons Omprakash Ranjan and Kaushal Kishore, daughters Sunanda and Kanchan Mala and other relatives, were also present in the ceremony.

The prominent persons who joined this oath taking ceremony included the Speaker, Haryana Vidha Sabha, Kanwar Pal Gujjar, Health Minister Anil Vij, Minister of State for Mines and Geology, Nayab Singh Saini, MP, Rattan Lal Kataria, among others.

Arya held the portfolios of Minister of Rural Development from 1979-80 and Minister of Mines and Geology, Bihar, in 2010.

He has been elected Member of Bihar Vidhan Sabha eight times from Rajgir assembly constituency. He is known for his frank and straightforward approach toward political, administrative and constitutional matters, as per the release.

Arya has been President of Schedule Caste Cell of Bihar state BJP for two terms from 1988-1998. In 1962 he joined Rashtriya Swaym Sevak Sangh and became its active activist.

He had to face a number of hardships during the Emergency and during BJP's Ram Mandir movement in Ayodhya and was arrested several times, the release said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India-Pakistan participating in anti-terrorism exercise by SCO

In a first such event, military personnel from India and Pakistan are participating in an anti-terrorism exercise organised by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Russia. The exercise is aimed at enhancing cooperation between member states to deal with the growing threat of terrorism and extremism.



The exercise will see tactical-level operation being carried out in an international counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism environment.



Around 3,000 soldiers from India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are taking part in the exercise.



The Indian contingent has 200 personnel, mainly from the infantry and other arms along with some from the Indian Air Force.



The training schedule for the Indian contingent includes target practice, house intervention drills, tactical and heliborne operations and combat conditioning, reports said.



They said the joint drills will build mutual confidence, interoperability and sharing of knowledge among troops of SCO members.



In previous editions, only Central Asian nations participated. With India and Pakistan joining the exercise, SCOs counter-terrorism mission has expanded to South Asia, a region in a grip of terrorism and extremism.Raipur District Collector O P Chaudhary today said he has resigned from service to serve people, without confirming reports that he was on his way to the ruling BJP.

Local media reports claimed that Chaudhary, a 2005 IAS officer, was about to join the ruling party.

"The life has posed challenges before me on several occasions in my 13 years' journey from the streets of my Bayang village to (post of) collector of Raipur," Chaudhary said in a Facebook post in Hindi.

"Now I want to devote my time for my land and the betterment of my people. Therefore, I have resigned from IAS," said Chaudhary who hails from Bayang in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.

However, he did not say if he was going to enter and join the BJP or any other party.

Reports said the officer could contest coming Assembly poll, possibly on BJP ticket, from the prestigious Kharsiya seat, a Congress bastion in Raigarh district.

Umesh Patel, son of late Congress leader Nand Kumar Patel, is the incumbent Congress MLA there. Both Chaudhary and Patel belong to the dominant Aghariya community in the district.

BJP sources said it is looking for a suitable candidate for the Kharsiya seat.

A senior government official told PTI that Chaudhary has submitted his resignation to the Personnel and Training Department.

Chaudhary could not be contacted for more information about his future plans.

The IAS officer had received Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration for 2011-12 for improving education facilities in Naxal-affected Dantewada.

"As of now, there is no confirmation from our top leadership (about Chaudhary joining the BJP)," said state BJP general secretary Santosh Pandey.

He added that the party has been inviting prominent personalities from various walks of life to join it, and "if IAS and IPS officers want to join...they are welcome".

Opposition Congress accused the officer of being a BJP-supporter. "Even earlier, we had said he had been supporting the BJP as a bureaucrat," state Congress general secretary Shailesh Nitin Trivedi said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) today rejected a report prepared by the Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission which probed the sacrilege incidents.

The apex religious body of Sikhs demanded fresh probe by the sitting judge of the Supreme Court to find the truth behind sacrilege of religious texts.

In a meeting here, the executive committee of the SGPC, led by its president Gobind Singh Longowal, passed a resolution to reject the Commission's report.

The SGPC chief also accused the Commission of fabricating the evidences while preparing the report.

He further accused Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh of being the state government's "puppet".

Longowal condemned the state government for allegedly storing the torn pages of the Guru Granth Sahib in 'Malkhana' (official custody), saying it is disrespect to the holy book.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today slammed the Centre's Digital India plan saying that one could not download "rozi roti" (livelihood).

The Digital India programme aims at transforming the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

The Shiv Sena is constituent of the BJP-led governments at the Centre as well as Maharashtra.

Addressing a meeting here, Thackeray also said that cable operators were worried over plans by Reliance Jio to start fibre-to-home broadband services.

He said that the firm planned to provide these services free for a few months and termed it "inducement".

Reliance Jio, on July 5 this year, had announced ambitious plans to provide ultra-high speed fibre-based broadband services in 1,100 cities across the country.

"It is said the service will be free for few months. Providing everything free is inducement," the Sena chief said while addressing cable operators affiliated to his party.

Promising support to the cable operators, Thackeray said, "Cable operators and distributors have set up their businesses after years of hard work and Shiv Sena will not let them suffer."



The cable business had come under threat earlier, the Sena chief said, by the introduction of set top boxes which too was brought in when there was a BJP-led government at the Centre.

Without naming the private firm, Thackeray said, "Don't enter the market by destroying the livelihood of others. We are ready to fight. But I feel the firm should enter into an understanding with these people."



Thackeray also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to take a cue from the company and provide essential commodities free to the people of the country.

"If Jio is giving everything free, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should learn from the company. Petrol, diesel, vegetables, fruits and milk should also be given free (by the government)," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A shivalinga at Nandkishwar temple here was allegedly desecrated following which police formed teams to arrest the perpetrators, officials said today.

The incident took place last evening in Sumbal village of Ganderbal district.

The police have identified two suspects in connection with the case and efforts are underway to nab them, the officials said, adding that the shivalinga has been restored.

Meanwhile, the BJP has demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

"We want an immediate probe into this sacrilegious act and arrest of the culprits. We urge the governor to ensure complete protection to temples in Kashmir valley," said BJP MLC G L Raina.

"The administration has been ineffective in preventing and also punishing perpetrators of such heinous crimes," he said.

Several Kashmir Pandit organisations, including All State Kashmir Pandit Conference (ASKPC), All Party Migrant Coordination Committee (APMCC), Panun Kashmir, All India Kashmiri Pandit Conference (AIKPC), Vishwa Kashmiri Pandit Samaj (VKPS), also condemned the incident.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A day after his comments on becoming Karnataka chief minister set the tongues wagging, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah today sought to clarify, saying he only meant his party coming back to power in next assembly elections.

"You can think whatever you want, but I said we will come to power in next election," he told reporters here.

Addressing party workers in Hassan district yesterday, Siddaramaiah reportedly said if people wish, he will become chief minister again.

The former chief minister's remarks kicked up a controversy with some seeing it as having an unsettling effect on the JDS-Congress government.

Asked if he wants to be Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah today said if people blessed him, he would want, but after the end of this government's term.

"If people bless me, I will want to become the chief minister, but not now. After five years when next election is held," he said.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah's comments doubting the longevity of the JDS-Congress ministry and his differences over budget presentation had cast a shadow on the coalition.

Meanwhile, responding to Siddaramaiah's comments, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today said "Anybody can become a CM in this democracy. It is a democratic system."



KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao said Siddaramaiah as of now had no plans to contest election in future, but did not know what will happen in future.

JDS Secretary General Kunwar Danish Ali said there was no harm if Sidaramaiah wanted to be the chief minister if Congress comes back to power.

Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar said it was left to the party high command to make Siddaramaiah next chief minister.

The Congress and JDS forged a post-poll alliance to form the government after the assembly elections in May last threw up a hung verdict.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The row over Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's itinerary during her visit to flood-hit Kodagu district persisted today, with a state minister being faulted over his conduct and the Karnataka government hitting back, asserting that it was not inferior to the Centre.

Sitharaman and Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh were locked in an exchange of words over her itinerary during her visit to Kodagu district yesterday in full view of officials and the media at the district commissioner's office.

In a clarification issued today, a Defence PRO statement, claimed that Mahesh, who is the district in charge minister, had made certain 'personal' remarks against Sitharaman which had also lowered the dignity of Rajya Sabha and showed "utter lack of regard" and knowledge about the Indian Polity.

It said the remarks made against Sitharaman were also in "bad taste," which do not merit a response.

Hitting back at the Defence minister, Karnataka deputy chief minister G Parameshwara said state Governments derive their powers from the Constitution, not from the Centre.

"The Constitution has distributed powers among the Centre and states to ensure an equitable partnership between both. We are not inferior to the Centre. We are partners @nsitharamanMadam,", he said in his tweet, before the clarification.

"Madam @nsitharaman, our ministers have stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end. It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague," he said.

There was frayed tempers over itinerary at the meeting at Madikeri when Sitharaman was interacting with a group of affected people of Kodagu district, where torrential rains had left a huge trail of destruction and claimed at least 17 lives.

Sitharaman had told Mahesh that she was only going by the minute-by-minute programme drawn up for her visit and she had been following the minister in-charge and the itinerary.

"I follow the minister in charge. Central minister follows the minister in charge here. Unbelievable! You have a list of minute-to-minute for me to follow...I am doing as per your schedule," she had said.

Later, Mahesh had told a TV channel, "She would have known the pain had she contested election by standing with the electorate, going to every house, meeting voters and asked their problems. She has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka."



In the clarification, the Defence PRO said the tour programme of Sitharaman was finalised by the district administration of Kodagu in consultation with the public representatives, which was approved and circulated to all concerned two days prior to her arrival.

Subsequently, on the request of the district administration, an interaction with the Army veterans was added to the schedule, it said.

It said after the completion of the field visits, Sitharaman was interacting with ex-servicemen who had been adversely affected by the floods, when the District incharge minister objected and insisted that meeting with the officials be conducted first.

The statement said welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the Ministry of Defence and the same was scheduled in the programme.

However, the state minister insisted that she immediately stop the interaction and proceed to the meeting with the officials.

It said in order to avoid the situation from "deteriorating", Sitharaman immediately halted the meeting and proceeded to the venue of the meeting with the officials.

The defence minister also heard the grievances of the waiting ex-servicemen.

Inspite of district administration finalising the programme and the defence minister following it in its entirety, "it is unfortunate that the minister behaved the way he did. Subsequently, the personal remarks made against the RM were also in bad taste, which do not merit a response"



The statement said there had been gross misrepresentation with regard to the use of the term 'parivar' by the defence minister during the interaction yesterday.

"One of the four departments of the Ministry of Defence is the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and in that context it was stated that all ex-servicemen are part of the MoD 'parivar'. Any other inference is misconstrued and uncalled for," it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Six people have been killed by floodwaters in Taiwan, officials said today, after days of heavy rain forced thousands to evacuate their homes.

A tropical depression has been dumping torrential rain in central and southern Taiwan since Thursday, with some districts receiving close to 1,000 millimetres of rainfall.

Six have died in the storm so far, according to government figures, including three who were killed by a falling scaffold in the southern city of Kaohsiung. Almost 100 more were injured.

More than 6,000 people were evacuated with more than 1,100 still in shelters on Saturday morning, officials said.

Images showed residents in Kaohsiung and nearby Tainan wading in knee-deep water, as well as soldiers in central Chiayi county carrying elderly residents and children from their flooded homes.

Television footage also showed scooters and cars half-submerged in water and roads blocked by landslides.

Although the depression has already moved northwest away from Taiwan, floods have yet to recede in many areas.

Taiwan's weather bureau said the severity of the downpour was "extremely rare".

The island is frequently hit by typhoons in the summer. Last year more than 100 people were injured when Typhoon Nesat battered the island, causing flooding and widespread power outages.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today said about 75 per cent work of skywalk at the ITO area has been completed and it is likely to be inaugurated by September-end or early October.

Sisodia, who along with PWD Minister Satyendar Jain inspected the site of the project said this would be a "beautiful infrastructure" in the city.

The over 600-metre-long skywalk will connect Sikandra Road, Mathura Road, Tilak Marg and Bahadurshah Zafar Marg with Pragati Maidan and ITO Metro stations and the Supreme Court.

"The work began in April, about 75 per cent work is over, and by September end or first week of October, it should be ready. This along with the Signature Bridge slated to open in October, would be two new gifts to the people of Delhi before Diwali," Sisodia told reporters.

He said besides adding to the aesthetic look of the city, the skywalk would also prove a boon for decongesting the city.

"From metro stations here, people would be able to go directly to nearby locations, like ITO, Tilak Marg and Supreme Court, etc, without the need to step out on to the street from the stations," he said.

Authorities are expecting a footfall of nearly 30,000 per day once the skywalk becomes operational.

The total worth of the project is about Rs 54 crore.

"The project will be completed in six months. It will have glass lifts an solar-powered utilities and CCTV cameras. It will be very user-friendly," Jain said.

Sisodia after visiting the site also tweeted pictures, showing the current status of the skywalk.

"Construction of Sky-Walk (Delhi's most beautiful foot-over bridge) would be complete within one month. It'll help 30,000 commuters daily to cross roads safely, above heavy traffic at Tilak marg crossing.

"Also, #SkyWalkITO is going to be a 'pride place to visit' for every Delhi citizen. Above the hustle bustle of ITO, it truly feels like walking in the sky," he said in a series of tweets.

As part of the skywalk project, a 60-metre-long foot overbridge (FOB) will also be constructed on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg near Hans Bhawan.

Around 25 major offices are located in the ITO area, including the Delhi Police and PWD headquarters, Institute of Engineers, Income Tax office, Central Excise, DDA office, School of Planning and Architecture, Supreme Court and Pragati Maidan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)SOS International, an organisation representing displaced people from the PoK, has moved an application for impleadment in connection with a batch of petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of Article 35A of the Constitution.

The application filed yesterday urged the apex court to consider the plight of the people displaced from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir who have been the victims of the provision, it said in a statement here.

It said the application, filed by SOS International chairman Rajiv Chuni, has drawn attention to the "petty relief package" sanctioned by the Centre, whose benefit could not be taken by those who do not possess the state's domicile.

He also highlighted the plight of 12 lakh people and of more than 1.5 lakh families who are still residing in transit camps and living deplorable and miserable lives in Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said.

It said the displaced people who were settled in other states could not take benefit of the package.

"India a sovereign democratic republic and any kind of discrimination is a direct attack on the sovereignty, which has no place in the benign Constitution and is a flagrant breach of one's rights," Chuni claimed in the application.

Meanwhile, NGO Ikk Jutt Jammu president Ankur Sharma moved a plea in the Supreme Court yesterday challenging the validity of the article and alleged the provision represented the endeavour to convert Jammu and Kashmir into a Muslim state.

"Article 35-A denies fundamental rights to lakhs of West Pakistani Refugees, Gorkhas and sanitation workers of Valmiki Samaj," he alleged.

The NGO today organised a seminar on 'Article 35A: Jammu under siege' demanding scrapping of the constitutional provision.

Historian Hari Om said the article was a mockery of Constitution and was made applicable retrospectively from 1944, when India was even not a free republic and Jammu and Kashmir was a princely state.

The act was a decisive blow to equality and freedom," he said.

MLA Pawan Gupta said the most dangerous implication of the provision was gender inequality.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A special police officer (SPO) today allegedly decamped with an AK-47 rifle from a police station in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, an official said.

SPO Showket Ahmed Shiekh, a resident of Harmain area in the district, decamped with an AK-47 rifle from the possession of Selection Grade Constable Mohammad Yaseen from the Sophian police station, the police official said.

He said police have registered a case and a search has been launched to recover the weapon and nab the SPO.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)PML-N organized APC in Murree

Murree: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has organized an All Parties Conference in Murree on Saturday to hold discussions regarding the nomination of a joint candidate for the presidential election.



President PML-N Shehbaz Sharif will head the meeting of the alliance at his residence in Murree.



The alliance of opposition parties includes Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party, National Party, Qaumi Watan Party, Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and Pak Sarzameen Party.



According to sources, PML-N categorically rejected Aitzaz Ahsan who was nominated for the presidents spot by the PPP. PML-N rejected Aitzazs nomination on the grounds that PPP did not consult any of the opposition parties before the decision.



PML-N will recommend fielding a joint opposition candidate to contest the presidential election that will take place on September 4.



The opposition parties will also consult on bringing a new Senate chairman and opposition leader.



The PML-N will also ask for the opposition parties cooperation for its justice for Nawaz Sharif movement. The alliance will also decide on holding a strong protest outside parliament against the alleged rigging in July 25 general elections.



PPP and PML-N have been in disagreement regarding the nomination of Aitzaz Ahsan for the position of Pakistans president.



However, PML-N leader and former information minister Pervaiz Rashid on Friday said his party would consider supporting PPPs candidate, Aitzaz Ahsan for the president if he visited the Adiala Jail and apologized to Nawaz Sharif for his remarks about the illness of his wife, Kulsoom Nawaz.



While talking to the media, Ahsan said that the demand put forward by PML-N is non-serious and non-political



The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has accepted the nomination of Dr Arif Alvi as the partys candidate for the position of countrys president.Mouni Roy, one of the popular actors of television, is still in "disbelief" about having bagged Karan Johar produced "Brahmastra" and John Abraham-starrer "RAW: Romeo Akbar Walter".

The 32-year-old actor, who was most recently seen in Akshay Kumar-starrer "Gold", says she is "grateful" that good roles are coming her way.

"I feel elated and grateful for the opportunities that have come my way. I don't know how it happened, I am still in suspension of disbelief. I am very excited about this part of my life.

"I will be giving my best. I have started working on the two films 'Brahmastra' and 'Romeo Akbar Walter'," Mouni told PTI,



The actor, however, did not divulging the details of her roles in the upcoming films.

In "Brahmastra", she joins the star-studded cast of Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan.

Calling herself a proud television actor, Mouni says she was very happy working on the small screen and if there are interesting projects then she will definitely take them up, irrespective of which medium they hail from.

"I love acting. It (films) is just an extension of what I like, that is acting. All I look for in a film is a good story and role. I haven't chosen the films that I will be doing.. The makers thought I was apt for these films.

"Right now I do not have the time to do anything other than fulfilling my film commitments. Once I am done with it, I am ok to do anything that is exciting and challenging on any medium as my main job as an actor is to act."



Though she has over nine years of experience on the small screen, Mouni still felt like a beginner when she started working on "Gold".

"My experience on TV taught me a lot about work ethics and being a disciplined actor. But when it came to this role and film ('Gold'), I started everything with newness. I felt like a beginner. Experience does help but to get into the skin of the character is a different thing."



Mouni is on cloud nine as "Gold", which marks her Bollywood debut, has struck chord with the audience.

"I have been getting positive feedback from family and friends and they are little biased also as they love me. I think the critics have been good I have read only good reviews. Why focus on the bad?," she says, when asked about her performance getting lukewarm response.

The "Naagin" actor feels it is the unity in diversity theme that has worked in favour of the film.

"It is not just about winning gold medal but about the relationship that the characters share with each other in the film and how the story is interwoven and how team broke apart during partition and it is also highlights the importance of team spirit," she adds.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An suicide bomb blast outside killed at least two people today outside an election commission office in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said.

The latest attack in the war-torn country targeted a protest camp outside the building in Nangarhar province, where a group of people were rallying in support of a candidate disqualified from parliamentary elections due in October.

"It killed two people, and four others were wounded," provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that a suicide attacker was responsible for the explosion.

Provincial health director Najib Kamawal confirmed the two deaths.

An eyewitness said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated explosives near a tent full of protesters outside the election commission's office in Jalalabad, sending people fleeing as security forces cordoned off the area.

"It was very big blast and it shook our home," said witness Mirza Amin, who added she lived 50 metres (160 feet) from the site of the explosion.

The blast comes nearly a week after President Ashraf Ghani offered a conditional three-month ceasefire to the Taliban, a move welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war.

The Taliban have yet to provide an official response to the offer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The SAD today hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying by disagreeing with the view that his party was involved in the "genocide", he had "rubbed salt into the wounds" of the Sikh community.

However, the Congress' Punjab unit defended Gandhi's comments and lambasted the Akalis, alleging they were "deliberately distorting" his remarks to divert public attention after being "exposed" of their role in Bargari sacrilege and subsequent killing of innocent Sikhs protesting the sacrilege in Kotkapura.

Describing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots a "very painful tragedy", Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, said, "I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy."



Lashing out at the Congress president, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that Gandhi was trying to protect those Congress leaders who were involved in the "genocide".

"Rahul Gandhi has rubbed salt into the wounds of Sikh 'quom' (community) by saying that Congress was not involved in 1984 anti Sikh riots," Badal told reporters here today, adding, "It shows the thinking of Gandhi towards Sikh community."



"I want to ask Rahul (Gandhi) if Congress leaders were not involved in the anti-Sikh riots then why it withdrew tickets given to party leaders HKL Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Why was Jagdish Tytler removed from the ministry in the Manmohan Singh-led government," he asked.

Asserting that then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also apologised for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, he said the fight to bring justice for the victims of the riots will continue.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders and Punjab ministers defended party president Rahul Gandhi over the statement he made in London.

In a joint statement here, the leaders said, the Badal family, including Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, were allegedly trying to distort Gandhi's statement in order to divert the attention from the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on Bargari issue that is going to "prove as death knell" for them.

The ministers and leaders including, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said Gandhi had clearly and unequivocally condemned the riots.

"Normally the Badals are used to raking up the 1984 issue during elections. However this time, they are faced with more serious emergency as their survival is at stake in view of the Bargari revelations that are certain to script their political obituary and that is the reason they have resorted to such dirty tricks," they said.

"Come Monday and the Badals will run for cover as people of Punjab in general and the Sikhs in particular will hold them in dock once they come to know how low they stooped to the extent of resorting to sacrilegious acts and wanton killing of the protestors for petty political gains," the Congress leader said.

Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission was set up by the Congress government in April 2017 to investigate the various incidents of sacrilege of religious texts. It dealt with incidents at village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Bargari and firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Homegrown auto major Tata Motors today rolled out 1500th unit of Safari Storme GS800 meant for the Indian Armed Forces from its Pune-based facility.

The company had bagged an order to supply 3,192 units of GS800 (General Service 800) Safari Storme 4x4 from the army.

Tata Motors has delivered over 1,300 vehicles so far to the armed forces.

"The continued faith bestowed by the country's security forces in Tata Motors is a reflection of our pedigree & aspiration to serve the nations challenging requirements on the front lines," Tata Motors Vice President, Defence & Government Business Vernon Noronha said in a statement.

Tata GS800 is specially customised to meet the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces, he added.

The company has designed the vehicle indigenously to meet the requirements of the Indian Army. It comes with a payload capacity of 800 kgs.

The model comes with features like ABS, recovery hooks, jerry can and fog lamps to suit army requirement during missions. It also comes with air conditioning (AC), heating, demisting, power windows and can accommodate six crew members.

Tata Motors said it has supplied over 1.5 lakh vehicles to the Indian Military and paramilitary forces so far since 1958.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tathagata Roy was today sworn in as the 18th Governor of Meghalaya at a function at the Raj Bhavan here.

The Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir administered the oath of office and secrecy to Roy in the presence of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his cabinet colleagues besides senior officials of the state government.

Roy, who was earlier Tripura governor replaces Ganga Prasad who has been appointed as new Sikkim governor.

Roy, a former BJP leader was the president of the West Bengal BJP unit from 2002 till 2006 and was a member of the BJP's National Executive, the party's central policy making body from 2002 till May 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and sought the Centre's approval for, among others, allotment of certain defence lands in Hyderabad for constructing a new Secretariat complex in the city.

"Among others, the issues discussed with PM are: Nod for zonal system, release of Rs 450 crore for the development of backward districts, additional FRBM funds release and bifurcation of the High Court," an official release said here.

The chief minister also sought funds for regional ring road, allotment of defence lands for building a new secretariat complex and release of Central share of interest on the loans to be given to women societies and farmers, it said.

The new zonal system announced by the state government concerns government employment.

Rao requested Modi for the centre's consent to raise the annual borrowing limit for Telangana by an additional 0.50 per cent of GSDP "as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission", according to the release.

The state borrowings are to be made as per the principles of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.

The state government has been requesting the Centre to transfer certain defence lands in the city to it for construction of a new Secretariat and to expedite the process of dividing the High Court in Hyderabad between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The state government has recently proposed to develop a regional ring road in Hyderabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three hotel management students were today arrested for beating up an official and ransacking the premises of a private hospital in Salt Lake, police said.

They were in an inebriated state and had turned up at the hospital yesterday to treat a head injury one of them had sustained, police said.

Since it was an injury following an accident, the hospital manager got in touch with the Bidhannagar North Police Station for completing the formalities. This angered the youths and they started beating up the manager.

Of the three, two hailed from Punjab while one is a local.

After beating up the manager, they started ransacking the hospital but were stopped by the police, who arrived immediately.

A case was registered against the three and they would be produced before a local court soon, the police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A class 11 student of a school in Gorakhpur's Buxipur was allegedly beaten up by his class teacher and two other teachers, following which the accused were booked, police said today.

A case was registered against three teachers and one unidentified person in this connection, SHO Girijesh Tiwari said, adding that a probe was underway.

The student's father had lodged a complaint after which the case was filed, though no arrest has been made so far, he said.

As per reports, class teacher Vivekanand Tripathi beat the 15-year-old student allegedly because he expressed ignorance about the donation for flood-hit Kerala.

Annoyed over this, the teacher started beating him and also called two other teachers, Vivek Singh and Sandeep Chaterji, who beat up the student.

"My son was badly beaten by the school teachers. The district hospital doctor told me that the eardrum of my son is affected," Satish Chandra Gupta, father of the student, told reporters.

However, the police said things will be ascertained only after medical examination of the student.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan today appealed to the people to tie 'rakhi' to trees and take a pledge to protect them.

The minister urged people to work towards saving the by celebrating a "green Raksha Bandhan".

"Celebrate a Green #RakshaBandhan this year tie #Rakhis to trees & take a pledge to protect them. Protect our green brothers; protect the - a #GreenGoodDeed towards a #GreenSocialResponsibility. @moefcc," he tweeted.

Raksha Bandhan centres around tying of a thread on the wrist, symbolising bonding between brothers and sisters, and sense of protection and caring for each other.

The environment ministry had launched a "Green Good Deeds" campaign, a societal movement to protect environment and promote good living.

Vardhan, who had launched the nationwide movement, had also drawn up a list of over 500 green good deeds.

The minister had asked people to alter their behaviour to green good behaviour to fulfil their green social responsibility.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tamil Nadu government today sent 256 transformers and 40,000 power meters apart from one lakh litres of 'Amma' brand of bottled drinking water to flood-hit Kerala.

Electricity Minister P Thangamani told reporters in Erode that the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board had sent the transformers and power meters to the neighbouring state, which was reeling under the impact of the floods and landslides unleashed by the monsoon fury.

Meanwhile in Coimbatore, Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani flagged off 11 lorries carrying the water bottles.

The Tamil Nadu government continues to help the people of the neighbouring state, he said.

A total of 42 types of relief materials, including rice, grains, medicines and essentials worth Rs 4 crore has also been sent, the minister said.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami has already announced Rs 10 crore financial assistance for Kerala, he added.

Besides, a non-governmental organisation has donated a water purifying machine worth Rs 5 lakh, which is also part of the relief materials sent today, he said.

The CPI has also sent relief materials worth Rs 10 lakh collected by party, its leader M Arumugham said.

The materials would be distributed directly to the affected people, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 3 lakh from the party would be handed over to the Thrissur district party headquarters for carrying out relief work.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US to understand Pakistan view: Shah Mehmood Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: In a press conference held here on Friday, Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed that the readout issued by the US State Department, regarding a call between Pakistani PM Imran Khan and President Donald Trumps foreign affairs adviser Mike Pompeo, was against the reality.



The minister refused the US account of the Khan-Pompeo call and denied any discussion on militants that the US alleges operating in Pakistan.



Qureshi noted that the impression, which was given where theyre saying that they mentioned the terrorists presence in Pakistan, is against the reality. I am fully confident of what I am saying, he added.



The minister further stated that he had directed the foreign secretary to issue an immediate rebuttal over the statements issued by Washington.



As Pompeo had said that he wanted a constructive and productive relationship (between the two countries), Qureshi added.



The Foreign Minister further said, I am looking forward to his visit and engage with him for peace and stability (within the region).



Pompeos meeting with PM Khan will be very significant. Moreover, FM added that Pakistan doesnt share the same cordial relations with the US as we had before in the past.



Repeating that Islamabad will have to make Washington see its genuine reservations over certain policy matters, he stated, The US authorities have to understand Pakistans view.



We have longstanding bilateral ties with the US which has had its ups and downs. This is an important bilateral relationship. In order to bring relations with the US to a past level, there is a need to understand the situation and needs in Afghanistan, the minister asserted.



Qureshi also highlighted the countrys foreign policy objectives and guidelines in a world that has changed significantly since the last time he held this post.



Realignments have taken place and we need to understand that Pakistan is no longer the darling of the west which it used to be, he noted.



On the telephonic conversation, The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo wished Imran Khan and his government all the best and expressed his countrys willingness to work with him for fruitful mutual relations.



According to the statement issued by the US State Department, Pompeo also raised the importance of Pakistan taking significant action against all terrorists and Islamabads essential role in encouraging the Afghan peace process.



The bone of contention was the issue of terrorism as a statement issued by the US State Department after the telephonic exchange held that Pompeo stressed on Khan the importance of decisive action against terrorist outfits operating from inside Pakistan. However, the US had insisted on sticking out the statement it issued.Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said today that development of basic infrastructure for the judiciary was indispensable if people were to have access to justice.

The CJI was addressing judges and trainee judicial officers after inauguration of a new building of the Chhattisgarh State Judicial Academy on the high court premises here.

Access to justice was a constitutional principle but one could not have access to justice without basic infrastructure, Misra said.

"When we think of infrastructure we think of things such as buildings, but apart from physical infrastructure, there has to be intellectual infrastructure, which means the mental ability to understand academic aspects of law," he said.

The judicial academy had excellent modern facilities and now it was the judicial and legal fraternity's responsibility to ensure that high-standard legal education and learning environment was provided here, he said.

Speaking to reporters later, Misra said the facilities at the academy would make people feel as if it was the famed Nalanda University of yore.

Earlier, speaking at the inauguration, Chief Minister Raman Singh said his government was trying to improve the court infrastructure in the state.

The new judicial academy building was built at a cost of Rs 28.17 crore, officials said.

Chhattisgarh High Court's Chief Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi was also present on the occasion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bulgaria's health minister says a tourist bus has flipped over on a highway near Sofia, the capital, killing at least 15 people and leaving 27 others injured.

Police said a bus carrying tourists on a weekend trip to a nearby resort overturned and then fell down a side road 20 meters (66 feet) below the highway.

The accident happened at 5:10 pm today about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Sofia.

Health Minister Kiril Ananiev gave the death toll. Ambulances rushed to the scene and took the injured to Sofia hospitals. Doctors said some of the injured were in critical condition.

There was no immediate information about the nationality of the passengers.

The government quickly declared Monday a national day of mourning.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy today dismissed as a 'joke', Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's claim that the TRS would win 100 seats in the next Assembly elections.

The Congress leader expressed confidence that his party would win 75 seats (out of 119) in the assembly elections in the state.

Rao appeared to have conducted surveys (on public mood) in some other states and not in Telangana, he told reporters here.

As per the surveys conducted by him, Reddy claimed, the Congress would win more than 75 seats whenever elections are held.

The Congress demanded that the TRS government immediately announce a new Pay Revision Commission (PRC) for state government employees.

He alleged that Rao has completely neglected the welfare of employees during the last four years without paying any attention to the problems being faced by them.

Legislative Assembly elections in Telangana are scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls next year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rich tributes were paid to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away recently, at a memorial meet organised here today by the BJP.

"Vajpayee's life was a celebration, celebration for Mother India. He celebrated the idea called India as never before," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said in his address at the meeting.

He said the former premier was an accomplished journalist, a political leader and a poet.

His (Vajpayee's) decisions on foreign policy had always been great, he said.

Patra recalled Vajpayee's successes as Prime Minister, including heralding the telecom revolution in the country, the golden quadrilateral road project, conducting the nuclear tests and the victory in the Kargil war.

Former Union Minister and BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, president of Telangana unit of the party K Laxman and other leaders were present on the occasion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Donald Trump today hinted that the US and Mexico were on the verge of finalising a deal, as negotiators from both sides were holding talks through the weekend to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The trilateral treaty has been a key target in the US president's aggressive trade strategy and he has repeatedly threatened to scrap it altogether.

But after a year of intense negotiations aimed at salvaging the pact, the US and Mexico now appear to be close to a point where Canada can rejoin the talks.

"Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour," Trump tweeted.

"Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together....A big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!" His tweet followed a similarly optimistic message from Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, who said on Friday that bilateral meetings with the US were "very far" along.

Guajardo and Mexico's Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray have been shuttling back and forth to Washington for more than a month for meetings with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to try to iron out major bilateral stumbling blocks, such as rules for the auto market, before the end of August.

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland of Canada -- the third party to the trade pact -- said earlier in the week that she was encouraged by the progress between Washington and Mexico City and would rejoin the talks once the bilateral discussions concluded.

Guajardo declined to go into detail on the topics remaining with the United States but said the agreement could happen at any time.

"The idea is that we are staying because we know there are issues to resolve," he said.

"And we have to make sure that everybody feels comfortable with this agreement."



A contentious "sunset" proposal by the United States -- to require that the nearly 25-year-old trade pact be reauthorised every five years -- is one that must include all three partners, Guajardo said.

Jesus Seade, an economic advisor to Mexico's incoming president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has been participating in portions of the NAFTA talks and said the sunset clause "is going out," according to press reports from Mexico City.

The United States and Mexico are keen to seal a new deal before Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto hands over power to Lopez Obrador on December 1, and for that to happen, the US Congress must be notified 90 days in advance.

The three countries have been negotiating for a year to save the free-trade agreement that Trump has previously referred to as a "disaster." NAFTA has been in effect almost 25 years.

Guajardo and Lighthizer began meeting at the end of July after negotiations between the three partners stalled in May.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Social media bots and Russian trolls promoted discord and spread false information about vaccines on Twitter, a study has found.

Using tactics similar to those at work during the 2016 United States presidential election, these Twitter accounts entered into vaccine debates months before election season was underway.

Researchers from the George Washington University and Johns Hopkins University in the US examined thousands of tweets sent between July 2014 and September 2017.

They found several accounts, now known to belong to the same Russian trolls who interfered in the US election, as well as marketing and malware bots, tweeted about vaccines and skewed online health communications.

"The vast majority of Americans believe vaccines are safe and effective, but looking at Twitter gives the impression that there is a lot of debate. It turns out that many anti-vaccine tweets come from accounts whose provenance is unclear," said David Broniatowski, an assistant professor at George Washington University.

"These might be bots, human users or 'cyborgs' -- hacked accounts that are sometimes taken over by bots. Although it's impossible to know exactly how many tweets were generated by bots and trolls, our findings suggest that a significant portion of the online discourse about vaccines may be generated by malicious actors with a range of hidden agendas," said Broniatowski.

For example, the researchers found that "content polluters" -- bot accounts that distribute malware, unsolicited commercial content and disruptive materials -- shared anti-vaccination messages 75 percent more than average Twitter users.

"Content polluters seem to use anti-vaccine messages as bait to entice their followers to click on advertisements and links to malicious websites, said Sandra Crouse Quinn, a professor at the University of Maryland.

"Ironically, content that promotes exposure to biological viruses may also promote exposure to computer viruses," she said.

Russian trolls and more sophisticated bot accounts used a different tactic, posting equal amounts of pro- and anti-vaccination tweets.

Researchers reviewed more than 250 tweets about vaccination sent by accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency, a Russian government-backed company recently indicted by a US grand jury because of its attempts to interfere in the 2016 US elections.

The researchers found the tweets used polarising language linking vaccination to controversial issues in American society, such as racial and economic disparities.

"These trolls seem to be using vaccination as a wedge issue, promoting discord in American society," said Mark Dredze, a professor at Johns Hopkins.

"However, by playing both sides, they erode public trust in vaccination, exposing us all to the risk of infectious diseases. Viruses don't respect national boundaries," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A former armyman and a civil engineer have been arrested for their alleged involvement in forging the signature of the railway minister, police said today.

Thalesetty Sudhakar, a civil engineer, and Raman Joshi, an ex-serviceman, were arrested over the last two days from Hyderabad and Delhi, respectively, they said.

A complaint was lodged in this connection at the Parliament Street police station by Vishok Gupta, an RPF personnel, they added.

Gupta alleged that the Ministry of Railways had received a complaint regarding a letterhead bearing forged signature of the railway minister and a copy of the membership card of ZRUCC (Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee) in the name of Mallikarjun Vadla, police said.

Following this, a case was registered, they said.

A police team was constituted to investigate the case and sent to Secunderabad to interrogate Vadla, in whose name the card and the letterhead were prepared.

He revealed that he paid Rs 10 lakh to Sudhakar for a "life-time membership card" of the ZRUCC. After Sudhakar handed over the documents to Vadla, the latter asked his friend to get them verified from the Ministry of Railways as he had doubts, they added.

Sudhakar was arrested from his house in Hyderabad on August 23 after the documents were found to be fake. He revealed during interrogation that Joshi, a resident of Delhi, helped him forge the documents. He claimed that he paid Rs 9 lakh to Joshi from Rs 10 lakh given by Vadla.

Joshi was arrested yesterday from Delhi, police said.

Both the arrested accused met near Rail Bhawan around two years ago when Sudhakar came to Delhi in search for some government contracts, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two persons, including a woman, were killed and 10 injured when a taxi fell into a gorge on the Rishikesh-Gangotri national highway here today, police said.

The taxi, carrying 12 people, was on its way to Chamba from Chjinyalisaur in Uttarkashi district. It fell into a 150-metre-deep gorge near Bailgaon in Tehri district, killing the driver and a woman passenger on the spot, SSP Yogendra Singh Rawat said.

The deceased have been identified as 53-year-old Ram Singh Rana, who was driving the vehicle, and 40-year-old Leela Devi who hailed from Chinyalisaur, he said.

The injured were were rushed to Baurari hospital, from where five were referred to AIIMS, Rishikesh, the police official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for unity today in the face of criticism from all sides of his handling of an economic crisis and tensions with the United States.

"Now is not the time to unload our burdens on to somebody else's shoulders. We must help each other," Rouhani said in a televised speech at the shrine of late revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

"The country's problems and resisting foreigners' conspiracies is the responsibility of every one of us."



With rapidly rising food prices, a dramatic currency collapse and the reimposition of US sanctions after it abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal, many Iranians are in a bleak mood.

Much of his electoral base among reform-minded urbanites has lost faith in him, while working-class areas have seen months of sporadic strikes and protests that have occasionally turned violent.

Some of the most virulent criticism has come from the hardline religious establishment who long opposed Rouhani's efforts to rebuild ties with the West.

On August 16, an image went viral of a protest by seminary students in the shrine city of Qom, at which one placard warned Rouhani would meet the same fate as former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was found dead in a swimming pool last year.

Rouhani sought to play down the differences, saying: "The clerical, religious institutions and the government are alongside each other."



But he added a typically cryptic warning: "No one can walk into the sea and not expect to get his feet wet." Hardliners have been blamed for stoking economic protests that have sometimes turned against the Islamic system as a whole.

Rouhani still has the support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who says he must remain in power to avoid further disorder.

But Khamenei has also blamed government mismanagement, rather than foreign hostility, for the current crisis.

"We are aware of people's pain, suffering and problems and all our efforts are geared at reducing these problems," Rouhani pledged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Ministers J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan today laid the foundation for establishment of a satellite campus of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar at Samalpur near Balasore town.

"A 300 bedded multispecialty hospital will be established over 24.91 acres of land, as a satellite centre for AIIMS multi-speciality," Nadda, the Union Health Minister said at a meeting after laying the foundation stone.

He said the construction of OPD Building and two blocks of Staff Quarters (Phase-I) is expected to be completed within 15 months with the project cost of Rs 35.76 crore.

The satellite centre for AIIMS Bhubaneswar is intended to widen and improve patient care services by creating state-of-the-art infrastructure, bringing specialised healthcare services within reach of people in the region, reducing the average distances served by an institution, catering to the region specific diseases and reducing disease burden in region and adjoining areas, the Union Health Minister said.

Stating that the satellite campus would also reduce the burden on AIIMS, Bhubaneswar considerably, Nadda said. The AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has now been conducting a weekly OPD services at Balasore for more than one year in collaboration with Integrated Test Range (ITR), DRDO.

"I thank the ITR management to render all infrastructure support for continuing this OPD services for the people of this regions. Now the dreams of the people realised with the laying of the foundation stone of this centre," he said.

This satellite centre for which the foundation stone was laid would be functional within a short period of time as the construction work has already been awarded to CPWD.

More than 20 per cent of the total patients of the AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, are from North Odisha and neighbouring districts of Balasore. These patients had to travel about 200 km to get medical treatment at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. Therefore, a quality affordable reliable health care centre is need of the hour for the people of this region, he said.

"I am sure that the AIIMS Satellite Centre at Balasore will be able to bridge that gap. This will help the patients of this region to save expenditures incurred towards travel cost of 400 Kilometres (to and fro) for coming to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar besides saving valuable time," he said.

The patients from three districts of Balasore, Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj and adjoining areas of the West Bengal and Jharkhand will be largely benefited, Nadda said adding that once the regular OPD services of the Satellite Centre is operational, these 600-700 OPD patients per day from that region may avail the services at the Satellite Centre.

The MBBS Interns and PG students of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar will also be posted there, he said.

"My Ministry will take all measures to see that the 300 bedded Hospitals be operational in a short time," the Union Health minister said.

He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently launched the 'Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Abhiyan' programme to provide assured universal healthcare to over 50 crore people from the vulnerable sections.

"Odisha should take benefit of the worlds largest healthcare scheme. No Aadhaar card is needed to get its benefit. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme a beneficiary can get treatment facilities from empanelled hospitals across the country. Several states have come forward to implement the scheme, so Odisha should not lag behind," he added.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in his speech criticised the Odisha government for not becoming part of the Centre's Ayushman Bharat scheme.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)District authorities today met relatives of a witness in the Unnao rape case who died recently, seeking consent to exhume his body for a post-mortem examination, officials said.

Yunus was a witness in the case registered after the death of the father of a minor, who had alleged rape by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.

The rape victim's father died in April after being beaten up, allegedly by Sengar's brother and others.

The rape victim's uncle had alleged foul play after the death of Yunus last week.

On Twitter, Congress president Rahul Gandhi termed it mysterious and his burial hurried.

The man's family however said he had died due to a liver ailment for which he was being treated.

Sub divisional magistrates from Hasanganj and Unnao Sadar met the family members today, officials said.

But Jaan Mohammad, brother of Yunus, told reporters at the district collectorate that the family was against exhumation.

"The administration is building pressure on us. We do not want the post-mortem examination to be done as it is against our Shariat," he said.

Safipur Circle Officer Vivek Ranjan Rai said, "Talks are going on with the family members of Yunus to get the post-mortem examination done."



Yunus had claimed to have seen the rape victim's father being beaten up by the BJP MLA's brother.

The rape victim's uncle had written to police on Wednesday, demanding a post-mortem examination.

Earlier, the police had said that the family members had submitted medical prescriptions, indicating that the man was undergoing treatment for liver cirrhosis.

His brothers had claimed that the rape victim's uncle has said they will get Rs 10-12 lakhs if they agree to the post-mortem examination.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The body of a woman was fished out of the Ganga river today, taking the toll in yesterday's boat capsize incident in Bijnor district to two, while search is on for eight other missing women, officials said.

Of the 27 people in the boat, 11 men and six women were rescued yesterday, Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said.

The body of a woman was fished out last night, while the other body was found this morning, he said.

On the request of the district administration, an Army helicopter conducted a recce this afternoon to trace the missing people, Kumar said, adding five boats of the NDRF and two of the PAC, with divers, were also carrying out search operations.

Help of the locals was also being taken to trace them, officials said.

Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Dinesh Singh said the people on the boat were headed for their fields on the other side of the river when it overturned.

Those missing have been identified as Kusum, Neeta, Siya, Saraswati, Sunita, Sarvesh, Kavita and Rizwana, he said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of life in the boat capsize tragedy in Bijnor and directed officials to undertake relief and rescue work at war footing.

He has directed the district magistrate to make available a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family members of the deceased within 24 hours, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A large number of people, including BJP workers, paid homage to the ashes of late former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee here today.

The urn containing the ashes arrived here this morning and was placed at the party office to facilitate the public to pay tribute.

The urn would be taken to Pollachi, Palladam, Tirupur and then to Kooduthurai, the confluence of three rivers at Bhavani in Erode district, where the ashes would be immersed tomorrow, they said.

Former BJP MP and chairman of Coir Board C P Radhakrishnan, party general secretary Vanathi Srinivasan and other local leaders of the party were among those who paid their respects.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump's administration is resorting to "cheap blackmail" against the Palestinians with its decision to cut more than USD 200 million in aid for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a senior Palestinian official said today.

A State Department official said yesterday that the decision, made "at the direction of the president," came after a review of aid programmes to the Palestinian territories. The funding would "now address high-priority projects elsewhere".

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's (PLO) executive committee, hit back, saying: "The US administration is demonstrating the use of cheap blackmail as a political tool.

"The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion. The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," Ashrawi countered.

In January, the United States had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump last December decided to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with Washington and consider that it can no longer be an impartial mediator in the Middle East peace process.

After the latest blow, Ashrawi insisted that the Palestinians, living under Israeli occupation, would not be coerced into surrendering their rights.

"There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation," she wrote in a statement.

"The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources; now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation."



In an initial reaction on Friday, the PLO's representative in Washington, Husam Zomlot, said the US administration was "dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine".

"After Jerusalem and UNRWA, this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda," he said.

The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests erupted in March.

At least 172 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the vast majority of them during demonstrations near the border.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Trump administration has decided to cut more than USD 200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

The department notified Congress of the decision yesterday in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters.

It said the administration will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere."



One main issue the US has had with support for the Palestinian Authority had been its stipends paid to the families of Palestinians killed, injured or jailed for attacks on Israel.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The has said that it had cancelled more than $200 million in aid for the Palestinians in the Strip and West Bank, leading their ambassador to accuse President Donald Trump's administration of being "anti-peace".

A senior State Department official said on Friday that the decision, made "at the direction of the president", came after a review of aid programs to the Palestinian territories. The funding previously allocated for programs in the and will "now address high-priority projects elsewhere", said the official.

The move "takes into account the challenges the community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," he said.

In January, the had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for UNRWA. Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump announced the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with the administration and consider that it can no longer play a mediation role in the Middle East peace process. "This administration is dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine," Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian General Delegation to the said in a statement.

"After Jerusalem and UNRWA, this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda."



The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests began in March. At least 171 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during demonstrations near the border with Israel. The US administration is pressing on with work on a peace plan that has been under discussion for months, leaving a vacuum in the Middle East in the meantime.

"Weaponising humanitarian and developmental aid as political blackmail does not work," Zomlot said. "Only a recommitment from this administration to the long-held US policy of achieving peace through the two-state solution on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Palestine, and respecting resolutions and law will provide a way forward."



Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy accused the White House of engaging in a "series of provocative and harmful acts" instead of coming up with a coherent policy to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump has tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner and lawyer Jason Greenblatt to draft the peace proposals, saying earlier this week that there would be something "very good" for the Palestinians.

The Palestinians see the eastern part of the disputed city as the capital of their future state.United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has described former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as an "exemplary statesman" during his visit to the India's permanent mission to the UN here to offer his condolences to the late BJP leader.

Vajpayee, one of India's most charismatic leaders and inspirational orators, died on August 16 at the age of 93 in New Delhi.

Guterres, during his visit to the Permanent Mission of India this week, extended his heartfelt condolences to the family of the former prime minister, recalling that he had met Vajpayee during the first India-EU summit. The UN chief added that he would always be remembered as an "exemplary statesman and leader who worked selflessly for peace and development in India and the world",



Ambassadors and delegates of several countries, including Peru, Israel, Nigeria, Palestine, Switzerland, Pakistan and Japan, also paid a visit to record their messages in the condolence book. Atul Khare, the UN under-secretary-general for field support, also expressed his condolences.

Pakistan's delegate wrote that Vajpayee contributed to bringing a change in the India-Pakistan relations and remained a key supporter of SAARC and regional cooperation for development".

The Consulate General of India also held a 'shradhanjali sabha' (homage meet), where several members of the Indian-American community and officials from other nations paid tributes to Vajpayee.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The ashes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were immersed in the Alaknanda river at Badrinath in Uttarakhand today by BJP leaders amid vedic hymns.

BJP state president Ajay Bhatt, party national secretary Tirath Singh Rawat and MLA Mahendra Bhatt among others were present at the Brahma Kapal Gandhi Ghat from where the ashes were immersed in the river.

The hymns were recited by teerth purohits in the presence of Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee officials as the urn containing the ashes of the departed leader were lowered into the river.

The immersion procession, which had started from Dehradun on Friday halted for the night at Joshimath and left for Badrinath this morning.

It arrived at the Himalayan shrine a little behind schedule as the road was blocked at Lambagad due to a landslide.

State Finance Minister Prakash Pant, who was also part of the procession, had to return from Lambagad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The ashes of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were immersed in the Ganga river at Varanasi today as thousands converged to pay their last respects to the late BJP stalwart.

The urn carrying the ashes of Vajpayee was taken in a procession from Phoolpur. State BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey emptied the urn carrying the ashes into the river amid chanting of vedic hymns.

The procession with the urn kept in an open vehicle was led by Pandey and joined by state minister Neel Kanth Tiwari, senior BJP leader Laxman Acharya, Mayor Mridula Jaiswal along with party local MLAsand other leaders and workers. It began from Phoolpur and crossed over 32 intersections in the city before reaching Rajendra Prasad Ghat where the ashes were immersed in the Ganga.

As the procession progressed, a large number of people thronged roads to pay their tributes to the departed leader.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla today demanded the resignation of two Chhattisgarh ministers who were seen laughing in a purported video of a condolence meeting held for the late BJP stalwart.

The video which has gone viral shows Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal and Health Minister Ajay Chandrakar talking to each other and laughing while sitting on the stage during the condolence meet for Vajpayee here on August 23.

Shukla, who is now with the Congress, said she was pained by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers' behaviour.

"They have no respect for Bharat Ratna Atalji who formed their state," she said, speaking at a press conference.

Chhattisgarh came into existence when Vajpayee was the prime minister.

Shukla, a former BJP MP from Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh, quit the saffron party ahead of 2013 Assembly polls and joined the Congress later.

If the top leadership of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respect Vajpayee, they should ask the ministers to step down, or sack both of them, she said.

This is necessary so that the next generation of BJP leaders learn how to behave at a condolence meeting, she said.

While the video drew criticism from the Congress, there was no reaction from the state BJP leadership.

Shukla also accused the BJP of politicising Vajpayee's death in view of coming Assembly elections in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Braving wet and slushy conditions, defending champion Venkatesh Shetty today won the JK Tyre 29thMonsoon Scooter Rally.

The veteran rider from Mumbai completed the 5-kilometre loop thrice in Sarul Village near here in just 19 minutes and 13 seconds, a media release said.

Zeeshan Sayed, also from Mumbai, claimed the second place while TVS Racing's Syed Asif Ali took the third place, finishing the entire stretch in 21 minutes and 36 seconds, and 22 minutes and 19 seconds, respectively.

The popular FMSCI-approved scooter rally, organised by Sportscraft, had been shifted from Mumbai to Nashik this year.

As many as 34 riders from different parts of the country, including Mumbai, Pune, Bhopal, Vadodara, Raigad, Panvel and Nashik took part.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A woman has been arrested from the New Alipore area of the city for allegedly trying to "kill" two salesmen of a kitchen-chimney company when they went to her home to receive payment for a product she had purchased a month back, police said today.

Madhumanti Saha, in her 50s, has been arrested from her residence in New Alipore's P-block for allegedly spiking drinks she had offered to the two salesmen Amit Chakraborty and Somnath Mondal of a chimney company when they went to her home yesterday to receive payment for the chimney, a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.

Amit Chakraborty fell unconscious after having the "spiked" drink while Somnath seeing him in that state tried to contact his seniors but was stopped by the woman, the officer said quoting the complaint of the company.

"First the woman tried to snatch Somnath's phone and unleash her dog on him when he tried to contact his senior officials," the officers said.

Somnath, somehow, managed to escape and went to the New Alipore Police station and then rescued Amit in an unconscious-state and admitted him to a nearby hospital, he said.

The police arrested the woman after the company lodged a complaint against her in connection with the matter.

"She had purchased a chimney last month and paid the amount through a cheque which bounced. When she was informed about the matter, she said she will be paying the amount in cash and had invited officials from the company," the Investigating officer (IO) in the case said.

Asked whether, the woman tried to kill the two persons by "poisoning" them, the officer said, "We have collected evidences from the spot and sent it for forensic tests to ascertain whether poison was used in the drinks or not.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)JK Paper today said some contract workers have disrupted production at its Rayagada plant in Odisha since morning.

Some of the contract workers at JK Paper Mills (JKPM) at Rayagada district in Odisha, have resorted to illegal and unlawful stoppage of work, which has resulted in disruption of production since today early morning, the leading paper maker said in a regulatory filing.

The matter is being handled by the labour department and local administration, Government of Odisha, it added.

JK Paper has two paper manufacturing units JKPM at Rayagada and Central Pulp Mills, Songadh, Gujarat with a combined capacity of 4,55,000 TPA.

The company, which is a leading player in branded copier paper segment and among top players in coated paper and high-end packaging boards, had recently invested about Rs 1,775 crore in expanding and modernising the Rayagada plant.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Zimbabwe's top court has upheld the narrow and disputed election victory by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, clearing the way for his inauguration as the country remained deeply divided in the post-Robert Mugabe era.

Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe enforcer who has tried to restyle himself as a reformer, will be sworn in tomorrow. He appealed for calm and told opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa "my door is open and my arms are outstretched".

The opposition, wary after a deadly military crackdown on protests after the election, initially said it would respect yesterday's ruling but later issued an angry statement rejecting the decision and saying it entrenched "an illegitimate regime".

Zimbabwe's electoral commission had declared Mnangagwa the winner of the July 30 balloting with 50.8 per cent of the vote. It later revised it to 50.6 per cent, citing an "error" but arguing it was not significant enough to invalidate the win. It said Chamisa received 44.3 per cent.

The opposition alleged there was widespread vote-rigging, saying the electoral commission increased Mnangagwa's figures through double counts and the creation of "ghost" polling stations. In bringing its case to the Constitutional Court, it had sought a new vote or a declaration that Chamisa had won.

But in its unanimous ruling, which along with the lawyers' arguments in the case was broadcast live on state-run television, the court said the opposition failed to show "sufficient and credible evidence" to back up claims of irregularities. It said that the electoral commission had "debunked to some degree" those and other claims.

Security was tight in the capital, Harare, and streets remained calm. Some people celebrated outside the ruling ZANU-PF party headquarters. "I know you feel cheated, but take heart," Chamisa told his supporters on Twitter, vowing that the opposition would "rescue our beautiful Zimbabwe from the jaws of poverty, corruption & dishonesty".

Douglas Mwonzora, secretary-general of Chamisa's Movement for Democratic Change party, told reporters that "this is the end of the road" for legal challenges. "But we have other avenues. ... We can demonstrate," he added.

In a statement issued hours after the decision, the MDC said that in the coming days the opposition will announce a "vigorous program of action in response to this electoral theft of the century". "While we respect the court, we don't accept its manifestly unjust decision," the statement said.

"Specifically, we are going to show Mr. Mnangagwa and the world that the peaceful masses have rejected him," it added. "They will never accept him. Our constitution is our shield."



The 75-year-old Mnangagwa said the election was Zimbabwe's most transparent and credible ever. The government badly wanted a credible election to help end its status as a global pariah and open the door to investment. Mnangagwa is seeking the lifting of international sanctions and the revival of an economy that collapsed under Mugabe's repressive 37-year rule.

The election itself was peaceful, but six people were killed when the military swept into the capital two days later to disperse protests. The violence led to fears that Mnangagwa's government was stuck in the past.

Dozens of Western observers invited into Zimbabwe for the first time in nearly two decades gave a mixed assessment. They noted that election day had few issues but they expressed concerns over the deadly violence and harassment of the opposition that followed.

Mnangagwa took power after Mugabe stepped down in November under military pressure. While the soldiers were welcomed with cheers, feelings cooled as the election approached and the opposition worried the military would pressure voters to ensure the ruling party would not lose its grip.

The European Union delegation yesterday urged all parties to call for "calm and restraint in both victory and defeat". Opposition figure Tendai Biti, who drew global concern about a crackdown after he was denied asylum in Zambia and charged at home with inciting violence, said that "we will take body blows but we will continue our fight for truth and justice".

Meanwhile, the ruling party began preparing the national stadium for tomorrow's inauguration of Mnangagwa. "We are ecstatic that the court has upheld the will of the people," said Paul Mangwana, spokesman for the president, "although this case has delayed our celebrations".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)MINSK (Reuters) - The Belarusian Potash Company said on Saturday it would supply India with potash at a price of $290 per tonne. The company added that the price represents a $50 increase, and that the new price is "fair, represents the current situation and the current market prospects." (Reporting by Andrey Makhovsky; Writing by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Adrian Croft)(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Britain have agreed to look at the possibility of reaching a "top notch" free trade agreement after Britain leaves the European Union, China's Commerce Ministry said on Saturday after talks with British trade minister Liam Fox.Britain has pushed a strong message to Chinese companies that it is fully open for business as it prepares to leave the EU next year, and China is one of the countries with which Britain would like to sign a post-Brexit free trade deal.Last month, China offered Britain talks on such a deal.In a statement released after Friday talks between ...(Reuters) - Iran awaiting European guarantees on the sale of Iranian oil and banking relations, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and is reimposing sanctions on Tehran, while other parties to the accord are trying to find ways to save the agreement."We are still waiting for Europe to take action on the sale of Iranian oil and the preservation of banking channels," the Iranian foreign minister said.Zarif also ...Jamas nos callaran



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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



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!

By Daina Beth SolomonMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's deal with China's biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba, to increase online business for exports like avocados and tequila needs the participation of dozens more companies to make it successful, an official at Mexican trade group Promexico said in an interview. So far, 24 companies have been approved to export to businesses in China and other countries as paying members on business-to-business platform Alibaba.com, Carlos Alvarez, a project coordinator at government trade and investment group Promexico, told Reuters this week.Alibaba is ...US-China trade talks this week were heavy on details but short on progress as US negotiators outlined cases of American firms harmed by Chinese practices and China argued it was meeting its WTO obligations, people familiar with contents of the discussions said. The two days of talks in Washington led by mid-level officials did little to resolve a worsening trade spat between the world's two biggest economies and ended on Thursday without a joint statement. Washington separately held hearings during the week on another round of proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese ...By Timothy Aeppel and Sharay AnguloWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The prospect of a quick deal between Mexico and the United States retreated on Friday as disagreements over energy flared up and conflict over autos persisted in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since talks resumed last month, U.S. and Mexican negotiators have focused on reaching common ground but in the past few days differing views on energy policy between the outgoing and incoming Mexican administrations have put up a fresh hurdle.Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's camp has ...Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk said late on Friday he would heed shareholder concerns and no longer pursue a $72 billion deal to take the luxury electric car maker private, abandoning an idea that stunned investors and drew regulatory scrutiny. The decision to leave Tesla as a publicly listed company raises new questions about its future. Tesla shares have been trading well below their August 7 levels when Musk announced on Twitter that he was considering taking Tesla private for $420 per share, as investors wondered what this meant for Musk's ability to steer the company ...SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The board of Tesla Inc said on Friday the company would remain public, following a tumultuous two weeks for the carmaker after its chief executive announced he was considering a deal to go private.Six members of Tesla's board of directors said in a brief statement issued on Friday that the board had held a meeting on Thursday, and that efforts to take Tesla private were now cancelled.During the meeting, CEO Elon Musk reported on the work he had done in trying to take the electric vehicle company private, the board said in the statement."Elon communicated to the Board ...WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday that the United States could reach a "big Trade Agreement" with Mexico imminently."Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour. Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together," Trump wrote. "A big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!"The United States and Mexico have been holding bilateral talks aimed at resolving differences in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada is also part of the agreement.The U.S.-Mexico ...By Andrea ShalalBERLIN (Reuters) - Washington is pressing the European Union to move more quickly on trade negotiations launched after last month's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, two German officials said on Saturday.Emily Haber, Germany's ambassador to the United States, told reporters that a working group formed after the Trump-Juncker meeting had convened for the first time this week, and U.S. officials were pressing "for very rapid results". She said EU officials would need a clear mandate to move beyond the current "scoping ...By David Lawder and Sharay AnguloWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has softened its contentious demand for a NAFTA "sunset clause," Mexico's incoming trade negotiator said on Saturday, potentially eliminating a key obstacle to reaching a deal next week to revamp the trade pact.A few hours earlier, President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States could reach a "big Trade Agreement" with Mexico imminently.Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexico's next government, told reporters the new U.S. position would allow a periodic review of the North American Free Trade ...WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexico's incoming trade negotiator said on Saturday that the United States, in talks to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, had softened its position on a "sunset clause" that would force a renegotiation of the deal every five years."It's going to come out. It's no longer what the United States was putting first in any way," Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexico's next government, told reporters outside the U.S. Trade Representative's office. He also said that a "correct focus" on NAFTA's energy chapter has already been substantially agreed. ...By Andrea ShalalBERLIN (Reuters) - Washington is pressing the European Union to speed up trade negotiations launched after last month's meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, two German and a U.S. official said on Saturday.Emily Haber, Germany's ambassador to the United States, told reporters a working group formed after the Trump-Juncker meeting had convened for the first time this week, and U.S. officials were pressing "for very rapid results". She said EU officials would need a clear mandate to move beyond the current "scoping exercise" ...(Reuters) - Iran is waiting for European guarantees on the sale of Iranian oil and banking relations, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saturday, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency."We are still waiting for Europe to take action on the sale of Iranian oil and the preservation of banking channels," Zarif said. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva; Editing by Alison Williams)(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNAVAL) today said Anil D Ambani has resigned as director of the company with immediate effect.

Ambani has resigned in compliance with provisions of Section 165 of the Companies Act, 2013, prescribing the limit on directorships to only 10 public companies, RNAVAL said in a regulatory filing.

RNAVAL operates country's largest integrated shipbuilding facility. It has obtained licence and contract to build warships.US-based Johnson & Johnson will have to pay compensation to patients in India for its faulty hip implant surgeries. The US giant is accused of selling faulty hip devices to over 4700 patients in the country - so far, four deaths have been reported and over 3600 patients with the hip surgeries are untraceable.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has asked the drug regulator - central drug standard control organisation (CDSCO)- to set up committees in states to receive complaints from patients who were affected by Johnson & Johnson's faulty devices.

According to a report in the Times of India, the regulator is planning to place advertisements in different newspapers to identify such patients. "The CDSCO will also set up by the end of the week a central expert committee comprising orthopaedists, medical practitioners and legal experts to monitor functioning of expert committees at the state level and determine the compensation," the TOI report said.

Last year in February, the Health Ministry had set up a committee under former dean of Maulana Azad Medical College Dr Arun K Agarwal to look into complaints about hip implants devices.

After considering all the facts and details as well as taking into account the relevant literature, the committee in its report said that "the ASR (articular surface replacement) hip implants manufactured by DePuy International Ltd were found to be faulty which resulted in higher instances of revision surgeries globally including India". DePuy International Ltd is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

The report further said, "The committee is of the considered view that the revision surgeries were necessitated due to the faulty ASR, as well as negligence of the firm in approaching the patients, and therefore it is the responsibility of the firm to compensate all the affected patients."

The committee suggested that Johnson & Johnson be made liable to pay at least Rs 20 lakh to each affected patient, and the reimbursement for revision surgeries should continue until August 2025.

According to the committee, the US giants suppressed the key facts while applying for a fresh licence. As per norms, the company had to file any adverse report of the products on its patients globally. However, the company did not have the records of all 4700 Indian patients who underwent the surgeries.

The company had records of only 1,032 patients; out of which 254 patients underwent revision surgery and 774 patients were monitored by surgeons.

The whole controversy began after Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration registered an FIR against Johnson & Johnson following an anonymous complaint in March 2011. The complaint was registered for importing and marketing the faulty hip devices in India despite recalling the product in several other countries.

Two years later, when reports emerged that J&J had agreed to pay compensation to around 8,000 American citizens who had sued the company for its faulty devices, the FDA received three more complaints from Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad seeking similar compensation for the faulty implants.

Later, the company received hundreds of complaints from its Indian patients.

In 2016, a US court had ordered Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit to pay more than $1 billion to six plaintiffs who had sued the company for faulty hip implants. The court had found that the metal-on-metal Pinnacle hip implants were defectively designed and that the companies failed to warn consumers about the risks.

(Edited by Saurabh Sharma)India's first luxury cruise line is ready to take on its maiden journey between Mumbai and Goa on October 1, according to a report by the Times of India. This will mark the revival of passenger sailing service between the two destinations which last operated in 1991.

According to the report, a ship named Angriya will be used for the luxury cruise service between Mumbai and Goa. It was registered as Ogasawara Maru in Japan and was later renamed as Ogasa in Pacific Islands. It can carry up to 400 passengers. The service was originally meant to begin from August, but it was later postponed to December.

The luxury cruise line between Mumbai and Goa will take 15 hours to reach from one port to another and will not make any stops in between. The ship will depart from the two ports on alternate days on 5:0pm. Bookings can be done in seven categories. The minimum fare per person has been pegged at Rs 7,500, which includes all meals. The fares for other categories are yet to be decided, but they too will include brunch and other meals, the report said.Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has no job except spending a lot of time working on people's visas. Swaraj is known for quick action on complaints or requests made by citizens in India or aboard, and has been praised for her alacrity with which she responds on Twitter. However, Gandhi said that she did it because there was no other job for the Minister to do.

Gandhi made the remarks while speaking at an event in London in the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). He referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's personal interventions in foreign affairs matters and said that "everybody says that it is a great thing that India's Foreign Minister spends a lot of her time working on visas".

"Do you realise what that statement means? It means the Foreign Minister has nothing better to do than get people visas. So, only there is the monopoly of the Foreign Ministry, and the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) has monopoly over the Foreign Ministry," the Congress President said.

Calling Sushma Swaraj a capable lady, Gandhi said: "If you actually give her the power to do something, she could probably break that monopoly."

The Congress President's target was Prime Minister Modi and his office (PMO). According to Rahul, PMO does not let things move in the External Affairs Ministry. He said: "In India...if you're seeing something that is not scaling in India, just look at the monopoly that is not letting that happen."

"If you bring in new voices, if you bring in business, if you bring in other think tanks and give them actual power in the Foreign Ministry, it'll scale immediately," Gandhi said.

The Congress President also accused the Prime Minister of not doing enough on India's faceoff with China in Doklam. He said that the Doklam standoff was not an isolated issue.

"Prime Minister is episodic. He views Doklam as an event. If he (PM Modi) was carefully watching the process, he could've stopped it," Gandhi said.

(With inputs from agency)Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday lost her cool over her itinerary during a visit to the flood-hit Kodagu district in Karnataka. The whole episode started when Sitharaman was interacting with a group of flood-affected people and Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh told the Defence Minister that the officials were waiting for her for a review meeting after which they had to go for rehabilitation work. Mahesh's constant reminders did not go down well with Sitharaman.

When the Karnataka Minister said that she can first address the officials, Sitharaman agreed but she was visibly upset and said, in a rather angry tone, that she was only following the itinerary.

"I follow the minister in charge. Central minister follows the minister in charge here. Unbelievable! You have a list of minute-to-minute for me to follow... I am doing as per your schedule," Sitharaman said. She then sought to know how many of the officials were from the field taking care of the rehabilitation work and said she did not want the work to be upset.

Watch the video here:





However, Karnataka Minister Mahesh dubbed Sitharaman's comments as a reaction to the demand for funds from the centre to Kodagu.

During her visit to Karnataka, Defence Minister Sitharaman interacted with children, youth and their families sheltered in flood relief camp in Kodagu. She also assured to take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central ministers concerns about the restoration work of roads, telecommunication network and other infrastructure, badly affected by the heavy rains that triggered landslides and floods in the district.

More than 5,000 people have been rendered homeless in Kodagu district due to recent torrential rains.

Speaking on relief package, the Defence Minister said the Centre's relief and rehabilitation package would be announced after assessment by a team of officials. She declined to make any guesses on how much relief package was expected from the centre.

"It would not be wise on my part to second guess what centre can give and what centre cannot give...But once the team comes and makes an assessment into which all your (state) inputs will also be taken, and with your inputs, the central assessment team can come up with a figure," Sitharaman said.

The Minister later announced a Rs 1 crore aid from her MPs constituency development funds and Rs 7 crore from Corporate Social Responsibility funds of Defence PSUs for flood and landslide relief work.

(With inputs from PTI)At a quarter past 6 every morning, Hu Yuan gets dressed and leaves home on his electric bike, heading to Shenzhens Bay Area, where he boards a bus that crosses the border into Hong Kong. He arrives at his office in the citys central business district two hours later.

The 20-something Hu, an employee with the Hong Kong operation of a Chinese bank, spends another two hours each evening on the trip back to his home in Shenzhen.

The long commute between Shenzhen and Hong Kong is a hassle, but is offset by the reward of seeing his fiance every day, he said. Nothing holds me back as long as I can see my family every day.

Hu is among a growing number of mainlanders who have found a job in the former British colony while they maintain a home on the Chinese mainland, in the southern city of Shenzhen. In most cases, they do so in order to save money and to see their families every day.

But as Shenzhen is charging ahead in social and economic development amid greater integration between the southern province of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, living costs in the city are also catching up, leaving many with a growing uncertainty about which place they should call home.

Hu went to study in Hong Kong in 2011 and found a job shortly after he graduated from college. He said that he preferred to work in Hong Kong because he grew more competitive over the years, which matters in the financial sector, he said. In addition, employees in Hong Kong are generally more professional.

The long commute, however, leaves him with little time to socialize with his friends and colleagues, most of whom live in Hong Kong.

Xin Yuan, another mainland-born worker in Hong Kong, relocated to Shenzhen in August 2016 because, as she said, she was fed up with cramped living conditions and outrageously high rents.

Xin, an editor with a Hong Kong media company, paid HK$5,000 ($637) in rent, an equivalent of about one-third of her salary, for a 5-square-meter (54 square feet) room in a Hong Kong apartment she shared with up to five other people.

Now, living in a more spacious flat in Shenzhen for roughly the same amount, Xin said she is now more content with her life in Shenzhen, not to mention the convenience associated with e-commerce and e-payment services prevalent on the mainland.

The downside is that the daily commute between the two cities costs her four hours a day, but she said she has learned to make most of it by reading a book or browsing social media sites for information valuable to her work, she said.

The number of border crossings into or out of Hong Kong grew by 2.6% in the first half of 2018 to 122 million, or 675,600 each day, statistics from the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection. Over 315,000 mainlanders enter Hong Kong at least once a week, according to a survey by Hong Kongs Planning Department between Nov. 25 and Dec. 8, 2015.

Many commuters like Hu Yuan said they are increasingly falling in love with Shenzhen due to its vitality, dynamic innovative industries and inclusiveness. However, their love affair with the city has been accompanied by a sense of unease amid soaring living costs, particularly skyrocketing housing prices in the city.

I used to look down upon Shenzhen [as someone who has a job in Hong Kong], but now, I feel I no longer fit in with what Shenzhen has become, Hu said.

Xin Yuan, an editor with a Hong Kong media company, takes a break after attending a book expo at the Hong Kong Exhibition Center on July 19. Xin, who comes from the eastern province of Jiangxi, has been studying and working in Hong Kong since 2010. She moved in with her parents in Shenzhen in 2016 because the room she used to rent in Hong Kong was so humid and stuffy that she had to buy a new quilt every year. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Sean, a tech engineer originally from Chinas central Hunan province, commutes from his office inside the Hong Kong Science Park to his home in Shenzhens Luohu district. Sean, who spends about two hours traveling to and from Hong Kong every day, said that he doesn't mind the commute as he feels both places are increasingly becoming one. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Liu Tianxia, an employee with a Hong Kong-based public relations firm, gets ready for work at the Shenzhen flat she shares with her boyfriend on July 19 before she goes to work in her office near Hong Kongs Happy Valley. She said she doesnt mind the commute because Hong Kong has showered her with opportunities since she came to the city in 2015. My career has advanced more over the past three years than it had in the previous five or 10 years, she said. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Tim, a native of Shandong province, travels back to his home in Shenzhen after clocking off work on June 28, a journey that takes two hours. Tim, who came to Hong Kong in 2011 as a student, now works as a clerk at a Hong Kong bank. He wouldnt call Shenzhen or Hong Kong home because both places are like a battlefield for the young. House prices in the two cities are beyond his imagination and his desire to pay, even if he had the money, he said. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin

Nancy, a journalist with a Hong Kong media outlet, rushes to a Hong Kong metro station after work on July 20 to get back to her home in Shenzhens Luohu district. Nancy, originally from southwestern province of Yunnan, came to Hong Kong in 2010 as a student and bought a home in Shenzhen with her husband in 2015. She spends about four hours commuting between Hong Kong and Shenzhen each day. Photo: Liang Yingfei/Caixin





Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com)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news, latest-news

On September 27, 1956, the British exploded an atomic bomb on Pitjantjatjara land in South Australia. The place would become known as Maralinga, which means thunder in the now-extinct Garik Aboriginal language. Black Mist Burnt Country tells the stories of the atomic tests in Australia in the 1950s and 60s, revisiting the events and locations through the artworks of Indigenous and non-Indigenous contemporary artists across the mediums of painting, print-making, sculpture, photography, video and new media. Now showing at the National Museum of Australia, it has been touring with great success since September 2016, opening then to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the first test at Maralinga. Curator JD Mittman, from the Burrinja Dandenong Ranges Cultural Centre, grew up under the nuclear cloud in Germany during the 1980s and when he came to Australia he was surprised to learn there had been atomic tests here. In the collection of the small community arts centre he found a large canvas work by Jonathan Kumintjarra Brown entitled Maralinga Before the Atomic Test. The question for me was what did after look like? When he began his research he was surprised to find so many works concerning Australias place in the nuclear race. Artist Arthur Boyd participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations in the 1960s and his Jonah on the Shoalhaven  Outside the City (1976), features a tiny mushroom cloud, blending biblical imagery with contemporary landscape and personal symbolism. Sidney Nolans Central Desert: Atomic Test (1952-57) is part of a classic series of desert landscapes Nolan began in the late 1940s. He added a mushroom cloud on the horizon at a later date. This exhibition doesn't look at any one artists body of work, says Mittman, but displays how varied the approaches were, how different the perspectives were, and what the original stories were. Every generation has taken a different approach. There are large canvases by Kumintjarra Brown, one Frogmen, shows three men in masks and protective suits, another Black Rain tells the tragic story of a group of Anangu people who were found huddled together, dead, in a crater near the bomb site. Mittman says its important for Australians, particularly generations who may not have even heard of the testing, let alone those of us to whom Maralinga is a familiar word but were unaware of such details as then prime minister Robert Menzies did not even consult cabinet when he gave permission to begin the testing. And its not just a story of the past, he says. There is great concern among the indigenous community, and I don't want to speak on their behalf, about the ongoing repercussions of the testing on country. And its even more than that, the multi-media work from Linda Dement and Jessie Boylan builds a bridge between the past and the present. There are 15,000 warheads in the world at present, many of them on planes, in submarines, ready to strike within minutes. The Cold War might have ended but the nuclear threat has not gone away. He says its somewhat fitting that the exhibition opens in Canberra in the same week the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons protest arrives in Canberra heading to parliament to urge politicians to ratify the nuclear weapon ban treaty. Black Mist Burnt Country at the National Museum of Australia until November 18.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/4bc3bfa3-add3-444a-9181-abd18dbb74a2/r0_239_4094_2552_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgnews, act-politics

ACT Labor has launched an investigation after its preselection process was struck by a hoax text message campaign. Labor members received a bogus message on Saturday, about 9.52am, that tried to trick them into revealing their preselection votes and said the location of the voting venue had changed from Woden to Tuggeranong. The party said later the stunt had not affected voter turnout. The sham message had also falsely claimed members could vote via a text message. The hoax struck only hours before internal polls were due to open at noon. Preselection voting started on Saturday. The polls will open again on Wednesday and Saturday, September 1. ACT Labor secretary Matt Byrne responded on Saturday quickly with a message to members warning of the hoax. "If you have received a text message from ACT LABOR today please note that this is a hoax," he wrote. "Voting has NOT been moved and continues to be from 12-4pm at Woden Community Services Centre, 26 Corinna St, Phillip. "You cannot text in your vote. Voting in is person or by previously requested postal ballot only." Mr Byrne apolgised for the "egregious act" and said ACT Labor would launch "an investigation asap to determine the source of the hoax message". He said voter turnout had been strong on Saturday, despite the attempted disruption. "We are confident we responded quickly to get the word out that it was a hoax, and members turned out in strong numbers and put that hoax to bed," he said. "It was clearly a disgusting attack on members democratic right to vote. "The party does not condone any sort of activity that tries to confuse members into not having their vote." The seat of Bean, left vacant by Gai Brodtmann's shock resignation, is being contested by three candidates: senator David Smith, staffer Taimus Werner-Gibbings and public servant Louise Crossman. The race for the seat of Canberra is between ex-St Vincent de Paul boss John Falzon, former staffer Alicia Payne, lobbyist Simon Banks, staffer Jacob Ingram and greyhound lobbyist Kel Watt. In a message on social media, Dr Falzon condemned the deception. "This morning's hoax text message was a disappointing, malicious act that has no place in our party and our democratic process," he wrote. It is the second time Labor has been forced to launch a probe during the murky preselection battle. Labor's national executive appointed Maurice Blackburn special counsel Lee Taylor to investigate after a dirtsheet attacking Watt, a right-faction candidate was sent first to female party members then to MLAs. However, the independent investigation failed to discover the smear campaign's source.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/7d4020c4-c4f5-4efa-a310-1f0cbf3c7d3e/r0_65_750_489_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg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.RITES Limited, Indian Railways has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the posts of Deputy General Manager and Manager. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 45000 per month. The last date to apply for the government job is Sep 12, 2018.

Civil Engineers Hired At RITES Ltd, Join Indian Railways Now!

Indian Railways Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Deputy General Manager and Manager Organisation RITES Limited, Indian Railways Educational Qualification Graduate in any field Experience Desirable Job Responsibilities Manage operations and maintenance Skills Required Managerial skills Job Location Bokaro Salary Scale INR 15600 to INR 45000 per month Industry Railways Application Start Date August 14, 2018 Application End Date September 12, 2018

Get Skill Trained At Indian Railways: 413 Vacancies Open At SECR

How To Apply For Indian Railways Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for Indian Railways Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the RITES Limited official website.

Step 2: Under the CAREER tab, select Vacancies.

Step 3: The list of notifications will be displayed on the screen.

Step 4: Click View Document against Filling DGM/MANAGER(RES) on Deputation basis in BOKARO-DHAMRA.

Step 5: The detailed advertisement will be displayed on the screen. Read the details carefully.

Step 6: Scroll down to find the application form. Save it to your computer and take a printout of it.

Step 7: Fill the application form and send it to RITES Ltd.

Follow the link - http://rites.com/web/images/stories/uploadVacancy/RES-DGM-Bokaro-Dharma.pdf to read the detailed official notification.This op-ed by Jimmy Carter was published in The New York Times.

At their summit in Helsinki, Finland, in July, President Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia reportedly agreed to end the Syrian war and to move Iranian forces away from the Syria-Israel border. President Trump has also indicated that he is willing to accept President Bashar al-Assads remaining in office and is prepared to withdraw American forces from Syria. This is a start. But more is needed to end the violence in Syria.

Beginning in 2011, Western and Middle Eastern powers rallied around the slogan Assad must go. This singular focus on the fate of Syrias president hardened positions on all sides and made it much more difficult to explore other options.

The calls for regime change have diminished since then, but there are still some voices in Western policy circles that demand a full transition of power from the Assad government. A better approach at this point would be to test the Syrian governments ability to embark on a new course that has the potential to bring the war to a close.

Western countries, including the United States, should re-engage incrementally with the Syrian government. They can start by reopening their embassies in Syria, since Western diplomats absence from Damascus has led to missed opportunities. The West should also abandon the goal of regime change and temper expectations of democratic transition in Syria in the short-to-medium term. Instead, the focus should be on patiently building democracy.

In exchange for this re-engagement, Damascus should be required to enact reforms, though the West must keep its demands moderate. Additionally, the West should be prepared to contribute to the reconstruction of Syria, perhaps selectively by sector. Humanitarian assistance alone will remain a bottomless pit as long as enterprising Syrians are unable to revive the countrys economy and create jobs, particularly for young people.

Syrias economy cannot be revived while the country remains under sanctions that hurt ordinary citizens. Lifting sanctions will be crucial to solving the huge challenges of reconstruction, unemployment and economic revival. Otherwise, a generation of Syrian children coming of age in the next few years and idle young men now in their 20s will be susceptible to insurgent and extremist recruiters and could resume the war in the next decade.

To begin addressing these many challenges, all concerned must engage in a political process to wind down the war. Undermining of the Geneva peace process by Syria or European indifference to the situation will only lead to greater instability and suffering.

There are other drivers of the conflict in Syria that must be addressed. Mr. Assads government, with the help of Russia and Iran, has regained control of much of the territory it had lost to an assortment of rebel forces, ranging from secular militias to jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and other violent extremist groups.

Despite these gains, much of Syria remains outside the governments control, including, according to Carter Center research, 27 percent of the countrys territory in the north and east that is held by Syrian Kurds with the help of an international coalition led by the United States. Opposition groups, some with close ties to Al Qaeda, control the northwestern province of Idlib. And Turkey has established along its border a protectorate in northwest Syria.

In July, a Kurdish delegation met with the Syrian government to negotiate a continuation of the de facto autonomy the Kurds secured early in the war. This was a constructive development, and more such talks should be encouraged. The opposition, which is concentrated in Idlib province, should also explore what is possible through political dialogue. Continuing to fight would be futile. At the same time, determining the fate of the Turkish-occupied territory in northwest Syria will require an international intervention.

For these complex measures to come to fruition, the Syrian government must accept the inevitability of reforms and implement confidence-building measures, including the release of detainees and accountability for their treatment.

Immense violations of the laws of war and human rights have been committed in Syria, including the use of chemical weapons. Some such violations continue today. As a result, half the countrys people have been displaced, and their homes and livelihoods destroyed. The international community has been a helpless witness to these violations, except in 2013, when a joint Russian-American effort removed from Syria the bulk of the countrys chemical weapons stockpile.

Assigning responsibility for the catastrophe in Syria would be an important part of postwar healing, but the priority now should be to end the war. Many Syrians have concluded that almost any peace, even an imperfect or ugly peace, is better than ongoing violence. The alternative is a failed state for decades ahead in the heart of the Middle East.

Jimmy Carter, the founder of the Carter Center, was president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.Photo: The Canadian Press Migrants aboard the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti gather as they await decisions in the port of Catania, Italy, Friday, Aug. 24 2018. An Italian lawmaker says rescued migrants stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship are starting a hunger strike. Rescued on Aug. 16 in the Mediterranean Sea, 150 migrants are still on the ship after minors and the sick were allowed off in recent days.

Concerns mounted Saturday about the medical and psychological health of 150 migrants who were spending their 10th day stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship while the government insists that other European Union nations must take them.

After an onboard visit to the Diciotti coast guard ship, which is docked in Catania, Sicily, 16 migrants were reportedly ordered taken off for medical reasons, including two with suspected tuberculosis.

The standoff prompted an impassioned appeal by the U.N. refugee agency's chief to Italy to let them disembark and to EU countries to take responsibility for the asylum-seekers, most of them young men fleeing harsh conditions in Eritrea.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, speaking in Geneva, said it's time to end a "race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea."

He urged European countries "to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need."

But Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been adamant that the migrants be kept on the ship until fellow EU nations pledge to take them.

Meanwhile, Sicily-based prosecutors took their investigation of the migrant standoff to Rome. Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio on Saturday reportedly questioned several Interior Ministry officials at the Italian capital's prosecutors' office.

Prosecutors could decide to investigate suspected kidnapping, after the government's rights office for detained persons concluded this week that the migrants were being unjustly held by the government

Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, has said he's ready to defend his reasons for ordering the migrants kept aboard.

"If someone wants to investigate me, investigate me," Salvini tweeted.

Prosecutors would have to seek the government's permission to question a minister.

Local Italian Red Cross official Stefano Principato told reporters that Italy's health minister ordered an inspection of sanitary conditions for the migrants, who have been sleeping on the ship's deck and coping since Aug. 16 with a baking sun and limited toilet facilities.

After the inspection, Catania's maritime health office ordered immediate disembarking for all 11 women aboard and five of the men, including two with suspected tuberculosis, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.Photo: The Canadian Press

Electric car and solar panel maker Tesla Inc. will remain on the public stock exchanges after CEO Elon Musk said Friday that investors have convinced him the company shouldn't go private.

The eccentric and sometimes erratic CEO wrote in a late-night statement that he made the decision based on feedback from shareholders, including institutional investors, who said they have internal rules limiting how much they can sink into a private company.

Musk met with the electric car and solar panel company's board on Thursday to tell them he thought the company should stay public and the board agreed, according to the statement.

In an Aug. 7 post on Twitter, Musk wrote that he was considering taking Tesla private. He said it would avoid the short-term pressures of reporting quarterly results. The tweet said funding had been secured for the deal, but the company later said the details still had to be worked out with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

The tweet said Tesla would offer $420 per share, 23 per cent above the Aug. 6 closing price. If all the shares were bought, the deal would be worth $72 billion. But Musk later said he expected only one-third of stakeholders to agree to the buyout. Shares shot up 11 per cent the day of the tweet, but they have since pulled back, closing Friday at $322.82

The bizarre tweet, written while Musk was driving to the airport, brought an inquiry from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which reportedly is looking into whether he was trying to manipulate the share price. Short-sellers, who bet against a company's success, complained that Musk was trying to hurt them.

In the statement, Musk said he worked with investment firms Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Silver Lake to consider all the options, and he talked to investors.

"Given the feedback I've received, it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company," Musk wrote in the statement.

He wrote that his belief that there was more than enough funding to take the company private "was reinforced during this process."

In a statement Friday, six members of Tesla's board wrote that the board has dissolved a three-member committee set up to study any possible go-private transaction.

"The board and the entire company remain focused on ensuring Tesla's operational success, and we fully support Elon as he continues to move the company forward," the statement said.

The SEC opened an inquiry shortly after Musk surprised investors with the tweet about going private. The agency reportedly has subpoenaed data from Tesla, indicating that a formal investigation has been opened.

The go-private deal would have ended Tesla's eight-year history as a publicly held company. Corporate governance experts say that the contradiction between Musk's tweet that funding had been secured and a later statement saying that the Saudis still had to do due diligence could be used to show Musk misled investors.

At least two lawsuits have been filed against Tesla on behalf of shareholders alleging Musk broke the law with his tweet.When Kate Middleton married Prince William, she went from being a commoner to a recognized princess of the United Kingdom. But, a new husband and princess status wasnt the only thing she received on her big day. Following her nuptials, Kate became an official duchess, countess, and lady, with three official royal titles to match.

In England  and around the world  Kate goes by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge. However, when visiting Scotland and Northern Ireland she goes by two completely different titles. In Scotland, Prince Williams better half goes by Countess of Strathearn and in Northern Ireland, she answers to Lady Carrickfergus. That said, these arent exactly life-long titles. Because Kate married the future Prince of Wales and King of England, her title could change a few times throughout her life.

Will Kate Middleton become Princess of Wales

According to royal family protocol, the official royal title of the heir apparent is Prince of Wales. Prince Charles currently occupies the title, but once he becomes king, William will be the new heir apparent and granted the Prince of Wales title. Since royal women take the names of their husbands, Kates official royal title could change to Princess of Wales. However, controversy surrounds the title, as it once belonged to Princess Diana.

When Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, it was decided that she would not use the Princess of Wales title. Since she married the Prince of Wales, Camilla is technically the Princess of Wales, but officially goes by the Duchess of Cornwall instead. The decision was made out of respect for the late princess, as her tragic passing weighed heavily on people all around the world. In addition, Camilla and Charles infamous affair might also have something to do with it.

Many speculate that Kate will not follow in Camillas footsteps and could take on her late mother-in-laws title. From her fashion choices to her engagement ring, the Kate already honors Diana in a multitude of ways. Accepting her official royal title would allow the duchess to keep the princesss legacy alive.

What title will Kate Middleton have when William is king

Should William become king, Kates title will change yet again. That said, she wont become the Queen of England. Since she is not a descendant by blood, Kate will not hold the same title as her current grandmother-in-law. Women that marry a sovereign go by Queen Consort instead.

Although she wont be an official queen, chances are the public and media might still refer to her as Queen Kate or Queen Catherine (her full name).

When will Kate Middleton become Queen Mother

Kates title could change once more. Should she live to see her son, Prince George become king, Kate would receive a Queen Mother title. The Queen Mother is a dowager queen (a widowed queen) and mother to the sovereign.

Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!2 Pueblo D60 school board spots up for grabs

A survey was sent to Pueblo D60 candidates running for two seats in the 2021 Pueblo election.A Christian Genocide in Nigeria: Searching for Truth Amid the Bloodshed Christian Post Contributor | 25 August, 2018 by Stoyan Zaimov

Thousands of Christians have been killed in the past year alone. Families have lost their loved ones, their churches, their houses, and everything they have in an instant.

Some are calling it an all-out genocide in the most Christian country in the world's most Christian continent in terms of numbers.

The truth of what is happening in the Fulani conflict in Nigeria remains muddled by politics, misreporting, and misinformation. But one group is saying that there is deliberate deception taking place, one that seeks to portray the Fulani attackers simply as "herdsmen," and the conflict as strictly a clash between farmers and cattle herders.

The truth, according to the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, a nonprofit, nongovernment organization headquartered in Nigeria, is that radical Islamists have taken over the Fulani, spreading jihad by deliberately slaughtering Christians and burning their churches.

At the same time, they are said to be using the narrative of agriculture as a cover to claim that the clashes are of a nonreligious nature.

The Nigerian government, and much of reporting in Western media, takes that line of thinking, and refuses to characterize the ongoing slaughter by the Islamic Fulani against the largely Christian farmers as a religious war.

Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman of Intersociety, told The Christian Post in a series of phone and email interviews on Aug. 2 that there is strong evidence, when analyzing the patterns and trends, to suggest that the conflict is far from just about cattle grazing, but is a deliberate jihad aimed at rooting out Christianity.

Still, there are a number of different actors in the crisis on Africa's most populous nation, which is roughly divided in half between its Muslim and Christian inhabitants.

Organizations representing Fulani herdsmen are distancing themselves from the radicals carrying out violence in their name. Several reports have documented that the attackers are using AK-47 rifles and sophisticated weapons to kill as many people as possible, suggesting they are being funded and supplied by others.

So who precisely is killing thousands of Christians, converting churches to mosques, and displacing multitudes of families, leaving them with nothing?

Families Losing Everything

Everything they have, they have lost in a moment. Their houses, churches, communities, any stability they might have known, even their loved ones and relatives. And then they are forced to run for their lives.

That is the reality for so many Christian families, according to Open Doors USA, a leading persecution watchdog group that has been assisting victims of Fulani violence in Nigeria.

Chris Summers, senior writer at the relief group, told CP in an August 3 phone interview that such stories are happening all over rural towns in Nigeria's Middle Belt.

"Just the idea of being trapped with your family in some of these villages and knowing that your village is about to get raided, and essentially having to run, leave everything behind, and knowing that you are about to become an internally displaced person," he said of the circumstances that really stand out amid the suffering.

"You're not sure what you're going to do, because your entire village is forced to leave, so any kind of community you had is stripped away. Your church is gone, which for many of these Christians in the Middle Belt, their church is the center of their community and the center of their social structure. So the church is gone, it is burned, and they may not ever see it again."

Summers continued:

"From one moment living in a town, and in the next moment you have nothing. And not only do you have nothing, but all of your friends and neighbors that have not been killed, they also have nothing."

Open Doors said that it delivered aid to those in need following large raids near Jos in June, where over 3,000 Christians were displaced, and over 200 were slaughtered.

A worker with the watchdog group said that the survivors were left in a "pathetic situation."

"Life has become a living hell for them. They have lost loved ones, houses, and all they labored for in the twinkling of an eye. The agony they are going through is hard to describe," the worker, Kerrie, said at the time.

Read more about Christians in Nigeria on The Christian Post.Burma Is Getting Away With Persecution of Christians Voices Contributor | 25 August, 2018 by Matias Perttula

The nation of Burma repeatedly captures headlines as human rights in the Southeast Asian country continue to deteriorate. At the center of these stories is the southwestern state of Rakhine, home to the Rohingya, a predominately Muslim ethic group. According to the New York Times, currently over 680,000 Rohingyas are estimated to have fled to neighboring Bangladesh as a result of the Burmese military campaign against the group. The campaign, denied by the Myanmar government, has escalated throughout the past year and is now being called ethnic cleansing by both the United States and the United Nations, as reported by CNN. Many Muslims, who make up roughly 4% of the country's population, have been left with nothing but destroyed villages and now preside in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Bangladesh.

The violence is a result of a repeated pattern of systemic discrimination against the Rohingya by the Burmese government. Rohingyas have continually been excluded from political processes and enjoyment of rights of Burmese citizens. For example, in 2015, Rohingyas were prevented from participating in the first democratic election since the end of military rule. Just a year prior, Rohingyas were excluded from even being counted in the national census, the country's first in over three decades. Burmese Leader Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly condemned such discrimination and human rights violations, while ignoring those committed by her own country's military.

In addition, only hundreds of miles to the north, what has failed to make headlines is the Kachin state, located in northern Burma, where quite similar violence is being perpetrated against another minority group, which is mostly Christians. In large numbers, the military is targeting Christians in Kachin and Shan, another northern state, and has displaced around 100,000 more, according to the United Nations.

Such discrimination against Christians in the Buddhist-majority country is not a new development. According to International Christian Concern, the Burmese government has discriminated against minority groups for years. One example of such persecution is the inability of Christians to obtain National Registration Cards (NRC), preventing them from gaining access to government services and infrastructure, such as the train system.

Violence in Kachin state severely escalated in 2016 when the Burmese military began an offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), displacing more than 6,000 people, according to Frontier. The government then continued this violent campaign by hitting multiple IDP camps with mortar fire, in direct violation of Rule 7 of international humanitarian law, which protects civilians from being targeted as military objectives.

Read more about Burma Is Getting Away With Persecution of Christians on The Christian Post.Colorado State Pressures Cake Artist Jack Phillips Again Christian Examiner | 25 August, 2018 by CE News Briefs

After cake artist Jack Phillips gained a Supreme Court victory earlier this year, succeeding in the fight for his right to bake cakes based on his religious beliefsand to not celebrate a same-sex marriage messagehe is now under fire again. Attorneys representing the baker and his cake shop filed a new federal lawsuit late Tuesday against Colorado officials newly pressuring him to bake a cake celebrating the gender transition of a person from male to female.

On June 26, 2017, the same day that the Supreme Court agreed to take up Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, an attorney asked Phillips to create a cake designed pink on the inside and blue on the outside, which the attorney said was to celebrate a gender transition from male to female.

Phillips declined the request because the custom cake would have expressed messages about sex and gender identity that conflict with his religious beliefs. Less than a month after the Supreme Court ruled for Phillips in his first case, Colorado state surprised him by finding probable cause to believe that Colorado law requires him to create the requested gender-transition cake.

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Phillips maintain in a recent press statement that, "although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that Colorado cannot treat cake artist Jack Phillips differently than others, state officials have continued to do just that in response to a more recent complaint filed against him."Mere Revolution vs. Extraordinary Transformation CP Exclusive | 25 August, 2018 by Wallace Henley

Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity are proving as transformational as the first century church was in ancient Rome. They also reveal the stark contrasts between mere revolution and extraordinary transformation.

"Pentecostalism May Have Done More for Africa Than All Aid Organizations Combined," declared a recent oped in The Christian Post. Research indicates "that Pentecostalism is the largest movement for social justice that has ever existed."

The findings make it clear that social justice crusades without the Holy Spirit become ridiculous parodies and often violent authoritarianisms.

The oped quoted Dena Freeman, of the London School of Economics, and editor of Pentecostalism and Development: Churches, NGOs and Social Change in Africa. Freeman's conclusion bears repeating: "Pentecostal churches are often rather more effective change agents than are development NGOs." The Pentecostal churches "are exceptionally effective at bringing about personal transformation and empowerment..."

Matthew Parris, in a 2008 Times of London article, told of returning to the African nation he knew as a boy as Nyasaland, called today, Malawi. While there Parris observed the work of mainly Christian charities in relieving the hardships of Malawi's people. Such services, Parris wrote, "inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God."

Parris said even though he's a "confirmed atheist," he has become convinced "of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts." These are insufficient, Parris wrote, because they do not bring personal transformation. "In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts," he said. "It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good."

The Greek word often translated "good" in the New Testament refers to things that are profitable and beneficial. Thus, the "change is good," I would argue, because it is not mere revolution, but extraordinary transformation. "Mere revolution" stands in contrast to reform efforts profitable and beneficial for all, which is transformation in the best sense of the word.

Here are important contrasts between mere revolution and transformation:

Mere revolution primarily sees the immanent only; extraordinary transformation is based on transcendent truth and values.

Mere revolution works from outward to inward; transformation works from inward to outwardfrom the transformed "heart" to the behaviors and deeds of the body.

Mere revolution relies on force; extraordinary transformation is freely embraced.

Mere revolution is based on power; extraordinary transformation occurs through genuine authority.

Mere revolution must be re-ignited; extraordinary transformation becomes a state of being.

Mere revolution is a surface flare; extraordinary transformation is systemic.

Mere revolution is about causes and institutions; extraordinary transformation is about life.

Mere revolution is dependent on hypnotic leaders; extraordinary transformation rests in the power of the Holy Spirit working through people.

Contemporary revolutionaries-anarchists mistake the merely novel for the qualitatively new. The progressivist protestors are historically illiterate, thanks to the vapid academies many of them apparently attended. They likely don't know about a philosophical ancestor of theirs, Lincoln Steffens.

Read more about Mere Revolution vs. Extraordinary Transformation on The Christian Post.In 2020, we were the church on our heels. A global pandemic shut down much of our world. But the church has been on the move since it was birthed; it will continue to be on the move until God makes all things new.Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

I returned to my room on the mission compound after our team had spent another day ministering to Nigerian Christian widows whose husbands had been killed by radical Muslims. But I couldn't pray  not yet.

Islamist attacks on Nigerian Christians in recent years have resulted in the burning of scores of churches, the execution of thousands of men, the abduction of hundreds of girls and the widowhood of more than 5,000 women. One moment, I was too angry to pray. The next moment, too sad. I wanted to scream, and I wanted to weep.

As a former military officer, my mind began to wander as I tried to imagine a military strategy that would capture or kill every violent extremist. Of course, it was fantasy because there is no such strategy. I needed to pray. I couldn't carry the burden. I began, "Heavenly Father, these precious widows are your children. Show me how I can serve them again tomorrow. Do not let me give in to frustration, anger or hatred."

The Muslim extremist group Boko Haram, based in northeastern Nigeria, continues to pursue its goal of either eliminating Christians or oppressing them under a severe interpretation of Sharia law. In addition, Fulani Islamic militants, the same group that in 2010 massacred more than 500 Christians in the village of Dogo Nahawa, continue their increasingly violent jihad against our Nigerian Christian family.

The Fulani pose an especially terrifying threat. As a nomadic people, they roam the countryside with their livestock and attack any village in the north without warning. The Voice of the Martyrs' (VOM) regional director for Africa recently characterized the situation with these ominous words: "The threat of attack is not limited to Islamist-controlled territory. Now, nowhere is safe."

Sadly, those words have proved true in recent months. Over two days in June, about 500 Fulani Islamist fighters attacked Christian homes and villages in Barkin Ladi and Jos South, just outside the city of Jos in the Middle Belt of Nigeria. By the time the attacks had ended, hundreds of Christians were dead and as many as 12,000 were displaced from their homes.

VOM is currently providing $500,000 in emergency support to more than 1,342 Christian families that have been displaced by recent Fulani Islamist attacks, and it is now clear that we will end up providing a total of approximately $3 million in aid there this year.

We are always blessed when we are able to serve other members of the body of Christ and share their burdens. In working closely with our persecuted Nigerian brothers and sisters, we have received two powerful gifts from them.

The first gift is an understanding that God's joy, rooted in their eternal hope in Christ, is stronger than their sorrow. Our Nigerian brother Zwandien exemplifies that joy. His sister was shot to death by Fulani Islamic extremists when she refused to deny her faith, but Zwandien's response to his great loss is, "There is still hope. Whatever happens in this life, so long as one is still in Jesus Christ, there is always hope."

The second gift they have given us is the knowledge that the gospel is powerful enough to transform even the most sinful among us. Our Nigerian brother Abel was once enslaved to the false religion of Islam, but by God's grace he embraced Christ. Although he faced persecution from his own family members, his faith in Christ remains unshaken. "I am not going back to Islam," he said, "because what I have seen is the truth and I have made up my mind to stand on that truth."

As our bold and faithful Nigerian family members reach out in love to their enemies, the gospel triumphs over the lies, darkness and depravity of radical Islam. The power of Islamic extremism to inflict suffering in this world is nothing compared with the gospel's power to transform people for eternity.

To be like Christ, we must choose to walk with others amid their suffering. That choice is always difficult because our fallen human nature attempts to lead us away from suffering and toward safety and comfort. Christ did not remain in the perfect protection and comfort of heaven. He lived and served among those who suffered most  including the crippled, the impoverished and the leprous.

How strong is your relationship with our suffering, yet faithful and joyful, Christian family in Nigeria? Whether weak or strong, we pray that you will find inspiration and joy as you remember our Nigerian brothers and sisters as if you lived among them in their villages, fled with them in their panic, prayed with them in their trials and sang praises with them in their victories.Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

All must be sacrificed for the demon-gods "autonomy" and "choice." This is why they are killing children in Belgium.

In 2014, Belgium, which already had perhaps the most permissive euthanasia laws in the world, amended those laws to permit doctors to euthanize children.

As is always the case, the rationale was a mixture of wooly thinking: a professed desire to alleviate suffering and a belief that children, some as young as nine, have the requisite emotional and intellectual capacity to choose to end their lives.

This is lethal nonsense, as Charles Lane of the Washington Post has repeatedly pointed out.

Lane's most recent column on the subject was prompted by a July report issued by the Belgian agency that regulates euthanasia.

According to the report, between the start of 2016 and the end of 2017, Belgian doctors euthanized three children, one of them only nine years old and another eleven years old.

A member of the commission told Lane the law was strictly followed. He said, "I saw mental and physical suffering so overwhelming that I thought we did a good thing."

Actually, as Lane pointed out, the gentleman didn't see anything. He was "relying on reports by the anonymous physicians who participated in the euthanasias." The simple fact is there's no way to independently verify the physicians' assertions about the hopelessness of these children's conditions, or how close they were to natural death. We simply have to take their word for it.

In Belgium, euthanasia is, to borrow an expression from science, a "black box." We can see what it doeskill people, old and youngbut we have no real idea about how it really works.

There are several things that make euthanizing children especially repugnant. As Lane writes, "Everywhere else in the world, the law reflects powerful human intuitions, moral and practical: that it is wrong to abandon hope for a person so early in life, no matter the illness . . ."

This is why the death of a child is so devastating, spiritually as well as emotionally. It's why the parents of children with disabilities, both cognitive and physical, are fierce advocates for their children and those like them.

The 2016 book, "In a Different Key: The Story of Autism" is filled with stories about the parents of autistic children who refused to abandon hope for their children and instead persuaded the rest of society not to abandon hope, either.

But not only is Belgium turning its back on this noblest of human intuitions, it's also turning its back on the responsibility to protect children from themselves. As Lanes writes, "it is absurd to grant ultimate medical autonomy to someone too young to vote or legally consent to sex."

Think about it: In Belgium if a fifteen-year-old girl expresses a desire to have sex with a 20-year-old boy, the answer is "no!" Her parents can't write her a note exempting the "relationship" from the country' laws against statutory rape. They can't "consent" on her behalf.

And yet, in Belgium a request from a nine-year-old to end his life is taken seriously. While his parents can intervene and veto the request, absent such a veto, the same black box that has ended the life of more than four thousand adults will consider his request.

An analogous dynamic is on display here in the U.S. Children who can't legally consent to having sex under any circumstances, somehow are still taken seriously when it comes to the life-changing decision to begin taking puberty blockers. There's even legal advice about how to get around recalcitrant parents, by invoking what's called the "mature minor doctrine."

All of this is an assault on the highest calling parents have: to protect and cherish our children. But this is what happens when people make autonomy their god: They end up sacrificing children on its altar.

Originally posted at Breakpoint.

A Sept. 19 trial date has been set for a Katy man accused of clogging a toll road collection basket so he could later come by and steal cash left by other motorists.

The investigation that led to the arrest of Anthony Kimble, 50, began after Harris County Toll Road Authority officials over the past several months found wads of tape and paper stuffed into the toll collection coin machine at the tollway plaza at 6100 W. Sam Houston Parkway N. The authoritys security director installed surveillance cameras in an attempt to identify any possible suspects, according to Harris County court documents filed against Kimble.

On Aug. 4, a man later identified as Kimble was spotted on security camera driving up to the coin machine. Kimble is seen sticking paper into the machine to prevent the coins from entering the vault. Kimble returned to the same toll way at least 11 more times. Each time he passed through you can see him taking a handful of coins out of the collection machine and drive off, according to the charging documents against him.

Toll Road security officials told investigators video was available of Kimble doing the same thing days later. The license plate and a house in Katy was both registered to Anthony Kimble, officials said.

Deputy constables watched the security video and said it supports the case against Kimble.

I watched the video and clearly observed Mr. Kimble drive up to the coin machine and stuff some paper inside the tray and drive off, deputy constable William Bearden wrote in the criminal complaint. Seven minutes later, he returns and grabs a handful of coins out of the collection tray and places it on his lap and drives off.

Also caught on camera and accused of stealing coins from the toll road collection basket was Ralph Cruz-Fuentes, 26, of Houston. Unlike Kimble who prefered to use wads of paper, investigators said Cruz-Fuentes preferred blue painters tape to prevent coins from tollway booths to enter the slot, authorities said.

On Aug. 10, Cruz-Fuentes was pulled over by deputy constables for failing to restrain a child younger than eight. He also was charged with driving with an invalid license. He later admitted staging between five and 10 burglaries on the coin-collection machines, authorities said.

Cruz-Fuentes was charged with misdemeanor burglary of a coin-operated machine. He was later released after posting bond in the case and has a Sept. 7 court date to answer the charges.

mike.glenn@chron.comA man is dead after a drive-by shooting Friday in southwest Houston.

Two men were talking in the driveway at a home in the 4700 block of Curly Oaks Drive around 7:30 p.m. when a silver SUV pulled up and opened fire, according to a Houston Police Department homicide detective.

INSIDE JOB: Things to know about the bank teller accused of triggering brutal robbery

HPD officers and paramedics with the Houston Fire Department rushed to the home but found one of the men, 24, dead.

The other man was not injured.

Detectives are looking over video from the scene that possibly depicts the shooting but ask anyone with information to call HPD's Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.

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A Houston woman and former bank employee was found guilty Friday of helping robbers target the bank's vault during a daring June 2016 heist.

Mary Mosley, 25, is facing up to 25 years in federal prison for the crime, prosecutors say.

The robbery happened June 9, 2016, at an International Bank of Commerce location in Houston, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Mosley worked at the bank and helped her then-boyfriend, 29-year-old Kendrick Miller, and his brother, 24-year-old Kenneth Glenn, access the bank's vault.

SIMILAR: Bank teller accused of triggering violent robbery in northwest Harris County

Mosley told Miller and Glenn how much money was in the bank vault, how to open it and how long it would take security and police to arrive.

On the day of the heist, Mosley left the back door to the bank open for Miller and Glenn to come in and access the vault, authorities said.

Miller and Glenn entered the bank and forced Mosley's coworkers to the ground by gunpoint, demanding they open the vault. The employees complied, and Miller and Glenn were able to get away with the help of Mosley's cousin, 27-year-old Xavier Cain.

Detectives with the Houston Police Department and the FBI investigated the robbery and determined it to be an inside job. All four suspects  Mosley, Miller, Glenn and Cain  were arrested, and all four have been convicted in federal court for the crime, authorities said.

Each are facing up to 25 years in federal prison. Miller and Glenn could face additional time for weapons charges related to the robbery.

Mosley is out on bond until her Dec. 4 sentencing.

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A 23-year-old former Johnson County Sheriff's deputy was arrested Friday morning and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first degree felony.

Toby Bryce Allison was arrested Friday for the offense that allegedly took place with a 13-year-old girl when he was off duty, deputy Aaron Pitts, public information officer for the Johnson County Sheriff's Office, said in a news release.Officials from The Woodlands Township received more sobering information Wednesday night about the potential costs of several options for law enforcement services if the township decides to put incorporation on the ballot in 2019 and it is approved by voters.

The information, which is all unofficial and considered a working draft, included estimations of funding for possible new law enforcement models, most of which would require the township to pay millions more per year for services. And if the township does incorporate and decided to make its own police force, costs could reach into the tens of millions of dollars.

No action was taken on the report, as it was merely an informational draft for review of the township board and the public, but the complexity of the issue  dozens of pages of intricate details on police staffing, equipment issues, costs, comparisons and other information  didnt escape township Director John McMullan.

One comment I have is, this is a lot of information. Ive got to imagine for people in the audience, this may be hard to follow, McMullan said after about 45 minutes of quick-moving comments. For future meetings, can we have hard copiesare they there? We went through a lot of slides. I think itd be helpful in the spirit of making these meetings more useful for folks, itd be good to have the hard copies.

The latest meeting of the townships year-long incorporation study was hosted Wednesday, Aug. 22, and was a continuation of the discussion of a draft law enforcement analysis originally presented on Aug. 16 to the board by representatives from the Matrix Consulting Group  one of two consulting firms conducting the incorporation studies and presenting information to the township and public at monthly meetings.

Township Chairman Gordy Bunch has stressed at the Aug. 16 meeting that the law enforcement report was only a preliminary draft document. Bunch also said the findings and information contained in the 65-page document would be continually worked on and updated in the next few weeks ahead of a planned Sept. 25 public town hall style meeting to be hosted at the Waterway Marriott hotel.

The multi-faceted incorporation reports have covered a wide range of topics that are considered critical to the townships analysis of all the costs and ramifications of potentially becoming a city. Aside from the law enforcement analysis, the board has previously received reports on township covenants, planning and zoning options, governance model options if the township does decide to incorporate, parks and recreation and other issues. Future topics include issue of municipal utility districts in the township and the potential financial cost of incorporation.

During the most recent meeting, a law enforcement representative from the Matrix Consulting Group broke down statistics on the townships current law enforcement services contracts with various entities, including the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office, the Harris County Precinct 4 Constables office and other entities. Then, the representative presented two options for the township to potentially consider if incorporation happens  retain the existing contract with the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office or create an entirely new and independent city police force.

Law enforcement data complex, lengthy

Watch the Law Enforcement Report Online Incorporation Law Enforcement Report, Aug. 22 Incorporation Planning Study: Public Forum A public forum focused on the ongoing incorporation studies in The Woodlands is scheduled for 6:30-9:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25, hosted at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott, 1601 Lake Robbins Drive. During the public forum, incorporation information gathered by two consulting groups will be presented to the public with an opportunity for questions and answers. See More Collapse

The 65-page report was presented by John Scruggs, a manager and law enforcement specialist with the Matrix Consulting Group, who is described as having a strong background in law enforcement. Scruggs was formerly a captain for the Portland (Oregon) Police Bureau, and he served in various areas of law enforcement during a 26-year career, according to his company biography.

Were going to go through the power point again, this time, we have a lot more depth. We followed up on many of the questions we got (from board members), Scruggs said. Montgomery County also provides many specialized law enforcement services, including administrative support, including legal services. The auto theft task force operates here. They provide dispatch services.

According to the draft report provided to township board members and made available to the public, there are currently 103 contracted positions and 25.5 county levy-funded positions being provided to The Woodlands by the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office. Those staffers and their services cost the township on average about $11.6 million per year. There are also deals in place between the township other law enforcement entities, such as the Harris County Constables Office and Montgomery County Constables Office.

Scruggs also presented slides to the board and attendees that compared the peer cities in the incorporation study  Texas communities of Allen, Frisco, Round Rock, Southlake and Sugar Land  to The Woodlands current model and the two options presented to the township. The comparisons included the citys populations, annual law enforcement budgets and staffing levels among other data.

Bunch said he thought it would be good to get comparative data for Conroe and Houston in order to have a better idea of what surrounding communities do in relation to law enforcement services.

It is good to have some peer data, but I think what is relative to this community is, what does the city of Conroe do, what does the city of Houston do, Bunch asked. The only people that have any future law enforcement stake in this community are the current township, the counties of Harris and Montgomery. If we dont incorporate, the eventuality is our level of service will mirror the city of Houston and the city of Conroe. I would like to see how the city of Houston and city of Conroe look in comparison.

Several options presented

Under the draft analysis, Matrix officials provided data and costs for two options if the township does eventually incorporate: continuing a fully contracted model with services from Montgomery County as well as a new, fully independent police force started from scratch.

If the township incorporates and opts to keep the contract with the county sheriff, the analysis indicated the cost of services would increase from the current $11.6 millon annually to about $16 million per year, in large part because of incurring the costs of additional staffing currently offered for free by the county, paying for additional police vehicles for the larger department, as well as funding other services such as police dispatching duties which are also currently offered for free by the county.

Independent city police department

On the flip side of maintaining a contract with Montgomery County, the township  if it incorporates  could opt for an independent city police force, but the cost of that option rises to an estimated $17.4 million per year. The cost increase includes paying more for additional personnel  155.5 positions were recommended  as well as other elements including paying for dispatch services, more vehicles and maintenance costs.

In additional the operating expenses of future law enforcement services, if the township does incorporate and decide to create a police department, the township would be required to purchase the current South County law enforcement building from Montgomery County. The building is in need of more than $2.975 million in refurbishing and upgrades, will need about $2.4 million in IT and computer systems and the township would purchase vast amounts of equipment, pay out almost $2.1 million for new vehicles and hire new staffing.

Scruggs and other officials with Matrix suggested a four-year phased in approach for an independent city police department, with annual costs of: $22.7 million in year one; $17.8 million in year two; $19.5 million in year three; and $18.6 million in year four.

A phased in approach would spread some costs over a three year period, Scruggs said. The downsize to the phased in approach is a a slight increase in cost in early years.

Board members concerned over costs

The monumental costs associated with the various options and ideas presented drew concern from members of the board.

I guess what would be helpful is to show the net cost here, Bunch said. If you do full contract, much of the capital expenses dont come into play. To stay full-contract was about a $4 million net increase to our current budget. When we think about that, I think, Thats two pennies of our property tax on an ongoing basis. We do have an incorporation reserve, both on the operation reserve and in the incorporation reserve fund.

McMullan asked Scruggs to revisit certain slides in the presentation, asking for clarification on the costs. McMullan explained that each one cent of property tax revenue for the township as a whole equals $2.1 million in revenue.

As were going through this and you hear cost numbers being mentioned, or increasing costs over time, it is helpful to have in the back of your mind, that metric of one cent of your property tax is roughly $2.1 million (of operating costs), McMullan stressed.

Bunch also asked the Matrix officials to provide a third option in future meetings, and he also said the costs are split between operating costs and capital costs, which is important to understand as the massive dollar amounts are revealed..

I do want an option that says hybrid. I think option one is full contract, I think option two is what I call the full monty (a city police department). I think were probably leaning toward the hybrid. You pick up so much collaboration and specialization by keeping the contract with the county at some level, Bunch said. But we also know, there is no way to keep the Harris County side of The Woodlands getting the same level of service without us creating a more coordinated effort there. If you can add an option, that is the hybrid, which is somewhere between option one and option two. If you can create a hybid, thatd be good.

The next Board of Directors meetings when the incorporation reports will continues is Sept. 20 and Sept. 26. There is a public forum scheduled for Sept. 25 at the Waterway Marriott Hotel to solicit public feedback and also provide any answers on questions.One area high school senior likes to casually take her friends and family flying when classes let out for the day. Now, thanks to a scholarship program, shes licensed to do so.

Maggie Marlow, only 18 years old, is an Air Force JROTC cadet at The Woodlands High School. Shes been a cadet since she was a freshman, but this summer she had the chance to secure her Private Pilot License.

Marlow was one of 120 cadets to receive a $20,000 Chief of Staff of the Air Force JROTC scholarship that enabled her to study at Purdue University for about two months this summer.

She said it was a rigorous yet mind-blowing experience.

The first four weeks we had an 8 a.m. class, where we were taught knowledge we would need to take the written test. Then, every evening, we would fly, Marlow said.

There were 20 total students who completed the program at Purdue, and Marlow said theyre her friends for life now.

We bonded a lot: we studied together, flew together, ate together and worked out together, Marlow said.

They didnt do everything together, though. Marlow got to fly solo for the first time ever during the program, which means she was the only one flying an aircraft and in charge of everything from takeoff to landing.

This is the first year for the program: the scholarship for which covered student tuition, room and board, meals and textbooks.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Vanessa Saks, who is based in Montgomery, Alabama, does outreach and communication for the Air Force JROTC. Saks said that the scholarship program was designed to spark aviation interest in kids at a younger age.

By the time someone gets to college, they typically have an idea of what they want to do with their life. Hopefully, this helps put them on a path to the aviation industry, which helps the nation as a whole, Saks said.

Saks is referring to a looming pilot shortage in which she said nearly 6,000 civilian pilots will need to be hired each year for the next several years.

She said the program was also started to increase diversity in aviation. Currently, she said, women make up less than 6 percent of the profession and minorities make up less than 10 percent.

Air Force JROTC is the ideal place to inspire cadets, as theyre a naturally diverse group, Saks said.

Saks also said officials hope to expand the program in the coming years.

Yet, the scholarship program isnt for just anyone. There were more than 700 applicants, and only those who could pass a robust screening process were awarded the opportunity.

Not only does it take book smarts in order to pass a course like this, its the whole character concept, Saks said.

Marlows mother, Kristine, said Maggie has been learning how to be a leader along the way through mentorship from her high schools Air Force JROTC instructors  Lt. Col. Chris McMartin, Chief Master Sgt. Dan Ciufo and Chief Master Sgt. Rick Robinson.

Even before she was a cadet, Marlow was surrounded a culture that showed her what it means to be in aviation. Maggies dad flew Air Force Special Operations and is now a pilot for United Airlines. Her mom, Kristine, was also in the Air Force and graduated from the United States Air Force Academy.

The scholarship program has allowed Marlow to obtain 46 flight hours and college credit from the license training course, getting her one step closer to her goal: to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado and ultimately become an Air Force officer.

jane.stueckemann@chron.comHurricane Lane churned dangerously close to Hawaii's Big Island, delivering up to 35 inches of rain to some areas in 24 hours.

The torrential downpour led to landslides and extreme flooding on Thursday and Friday in several areas and the town of Hilo on the island's east side was hit especially hard with roads and fields completely submerged in water.

A National Weather Service meteorologist described flooding on Hawaii's Big Island as catastrophic, with parts of the island soaked with 35 inches of rain in 48 hours.

CLOSER TO HOME: Dramatic then and now photos show how Houston after Hurricane Harvey

Chevy Chevalier said the "the sponge is full," meaning the ground is so wet that additional rain to will pond up and flood.

Water levels on the Wailuku River and Honolii Stream surged, and a waterspout, a tornado that forms over water, was spotted off the coast of Paukaa just north of Hilo.

The National Weather Service reported 31.21 inches at its remote Hakalau Station in Hilo.

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Police warned people to stay off all roads in South Hilo.

Emergency crews rescued five California tourists from a home they were renting in Hilo after a nearby gulch overflowed and it flooded Thursday.

Suzanne Demerais said a tiny waterfall and small stream flowed near the home when she first arrived with four of her friends from the Los Angeles area. But the stream turned into a torrent and the river rose rapidly over 24 hours. Hawaii County firefighters, who were in touch with the home's owner, decided to evacuate the group before the water rose further. They floated the five out on their backs, Demerais said.

"It was quite an experience because we weren't planning to have a hurricane during our vacation time," Demerais said.

VIDEO: Raw footage shows flooding on Big Island after torrential downpour

Forecasters say Hurricane Lane is moving away from the Big Island but could still drop more rain there. The storm will move close to or over parts of Hawaii's main islands late Friday.

The dangerous Category 3 hurricane is heading north with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. The center is about 200 miles south of Honolulu and moving north at 5 mph.

Sirens wailed while workers piled sandbags in front of hotels and police blared warnings to tourists to leave the world-famous Waikiki Beach on Oahu island.

Lane was not projected to make a direct hit on the islands, but officials warned that even a lesser blow could do significant harm. Some areas could see up to 30 inches (about 80 centimeters) of rain.

United Airlines canceled its Friday flights to and from Maui. The airline added two additional flights from Honolulu to San Francisco on Thursday to help transport people off the islands.

Hawaiian Airlines canceled all Friday flights by its commuter carrier, Ohana by Hawaiian.

Hawaii's biggest hotels are confident they can keep their guests safe as long as they stay inside, said Mufi Hannemann, CEO of Hawaii Tourism and Lodging Association.

"The only concern is those that venture outside of the properties, that would like to hike on a day like this or who would like to still go into the ocean and see what it's like to take a swim or surf in these kind of waters," Hannemann said.

Honolulu shopping malls and office buildings closed early on Thursday and planned to shut their doors Friday.

Shelters were open throughout the islands, with 350 people in them in Oahu. Aid agencies were also working to help Hawaii's sizable homeless population, many of whom live near beaches and streams that could flood.

Because there's not enough shelter space statewide, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Tom Travis urged people who were not in flood zones to stay home.

The National Weather Service downgraded the Big Island to a tropical storm warning, meaning it expects sustained winds of 39 mph to 73 mph on the island instead of stronger hurricane force winds.

But a hurricane warning remains in effect for Oahu and Maui County.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with about only four or five named storms a year. Hawaii rarely gets hit. The last major storm to hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come close in recent years.

Because people in Hawaii are confined to the islands, they have to make sure they have enough supplies to outlast power outages and other potential emergencies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency moved several barges packed with food, water, generators and other supplies into the region ahead of Hurricane Hector, which skirted past the islands more than a week ago, FEMA Administrator Brock Long said.

"Hurricane Lane is not a well-behaved hurricane," Gov. David Ige said in a statement. "I've not seen such dramatic changes in the forecast track as I've seen with this storm. I urge our residents and visitors to take this threat seriously and prepare for a significant impact."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.DUBLIN - Pope Francis said Saturday that church failures to address sexual crimes have "rightly given rise to outrage," an acknowledgment of the traumas that are challenging his papacy and have radically diminished the authority of the Catholic Church here.

Beginning one of the most fraught trips in his five years as pope, Francis described the "repellent crimes" and the church's inability to deal with them as "a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community" - remarks some Irish criticized as familiar and lacking any mention of concrete steps for reform.

"I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church charged with responsibility for their protection and education," he told a room filled with members of the Irish government, other lawmakers and diplomats.

Francis later compared corruption and the coverup of abuse to human excrement, using the word "caca," according to three of the eight survivors who took part in a private meeting with him.

The 36-hour trip represents the pope's most direct encounter yet with the ramifications of abuse scandals, as well as a test of whether he can rebuild the church's standing in a country where Catholicism was once the social and religious bedrock. It will also provide clues about how Francis, who has sometimes been criticized for his handling of the crisis, will guide a church facing a new wave of damaging cases across the world.

Some Irish Catholics have said they want the pope to ask forgiveness for the Vatican's role in facilitating the coverup of sexual crimes - something he did not do Saturday. Others say he will be hard-pressed to regain the trust eroded by several government-backed inquiries into abuses in Irish dioceses and other church-run institutions.

Francis is visiting Ireland for the World Meeting of Families, and on Sunday he will celebrate an afternoon Mass and address what is expected to be a large crowd in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

But the first papal trip to Ireland in 39 years is also a marker of how secularization and feelings of betrayal have accelerated a move away from the church. In 1979, Pope John Paul II was greeted here over several days by an estimated 2.7 million people. Francis, as he toured Dublin in his popemobile Saturday, drew crowds of people cheering and waving yellow and white Vatican City flags. But the city did not come to a standstill, and many Dubliners continued with their routines, meeting in pubs, exercising, doing laundry, watching bits and pieces of the pope's visit on television.

At Croke Park Stadium on Saturday evening, where Francis offered guidance on family life at an event dubbed the Festival of Families, papal merchandise was selling at discount prices. In a neighborhood where Francis met with homeless families, Esther Hyland, 78, said she was jeered by a passerby as she placed yellow-and-white bunting in front of her home.

"I'm angry about the coverup, too," she said. "But it's my faith. He's my leader."

Others preferred to keep their distance, indicative of a country where atheism is on the rise, some churches are being decommissioned, and priests are being imported from other countries.

"It's hard to make up for the terrible things that happened here," said Matthew Hennessy, 26, who said he believes in God but not "in the Catholic Church the way it is now."

Many Irish say they appreciate Francis' personal style, as well as his emphasis on environmental protection and social justice, but they say he has not delivered the necessary transparency or changes in church law to help the Vatican deal with abuse. A tribunal that Francis approved in 2015, designed for bishops accused of coverup or negligence, was thwarted by internal Vatican opposition. A commission he created to advise him on sexual abuse has delivered few significant breakthroughs, and a high-profile Irish abuse survivor, Marie Collins, resigned from the group last year in protest.

Collins was among the eight survivors who met with Francis privately for 90 minutes Saturday - a follow-through on the pope's pledge to sit down with abuse victims at some point during his Ireland trip. The Vatican did not release details about the meeting, but three of the victims in attendance said Francis used the word "caca" when talking about corruption and coverup within the church.

"It was his way of saying 'the lowest of the worst.' He was speaking from the heart," said Patrick McCafferty, a priest in Belfast who participated in the meeting and was abused by a priest as a seminarian. "So yes, he used that term. It was a very blunt term about those who have caused this catastrophe."

Earlier Saturday, in a speech at Dublin Castle with the pope looking on, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who is gay, spoke about Ireland's social inclusiveness, where "families come in many different, wonderful forms, including those headed by a grandparent, lone parent or same-sex parents, or parents who are divorced."

Varadkar said it was time for a "new relationship between church and state in Ireland" and that abuse by priests and in church-run institutions were "stains on our state, our society and also the church."

"There can only be zero tolerance for those who abuse children or facilitate that abuse," Varadkar said. "We must now ensure that from words flow actions."

In his own remarks, the Argentine-born pontiff said he was committed to eliminating the "scourge" in the church "at any cost." But he also said that steps taken by his immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, continue "to serve as an incentive" in ending abuse. In 2010, Benedict wrote a letter to Irish Catholics in which he said he was "truly sorry" for the "sinful and criminal" acts that happened in Ireland. The letter, though, was widely criticized in Ireland because it did not mention the Vatican's culpability.

Mark Vincent Healy, an Irish victim of clerical abuse, said Francis' speech was "empty - really empty."

"I was with a group of survivors, and they were all upset with the statements as being ineffectual," he said.

On Monday, in a letter addressed to Catholics around the world, Francis had noted the "heart-wrenching pain" of victims following a Pennsylvania grand jury report that detailed decades of sexual misconduct by priests and repeated failures by bishops to hold priests accountable. One of the prelates whose conduct was scrutinized in the report is Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who led the diocese in Pittsburgh for 18 years before coming to Washington.

Wuerl has defended his record but withdrew from a speaking role during the pope's visit to Dublin. Another U.S. cardinal, Sean O'Malley, also backed out as he handles a probe into alleged sexual misconduct at a seminary.

Francis was making his first trip to Ireland since 1980, when he was known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio and stayed for a time in a Dublin suburb to learn English. But the country has undergone a social transformation since then, approving same-sex marriage and ending an abortion ban with referendums. In Francis' first meeting of the day, Ireland's president, Michael Higgins, spoke about "how acts of exclusion, including those based on gender and sexual orientation, had caused, and were still causing, great suffering," according to a readout of the meeting provided by his office.

In his Saturday evening speech on family matters, Francis did not address those issues, nor did he mention abuse. Instead, he gave accessible advice for families and couples, talking about the importance of limiting social media and of quickly making up after a fight.

Brian D'Arcy, a priest and broadcaster, said there were competing expectations for Francis' Ireland trip.

"The pope came here for the World Meeting of Families," D'Arcy said, "but the Irish people thought he was coming here to apologize for abuse, and the two never met."NORWALK  Pascale started renting a room in Norwalk two years ago, simply to get some extra cash, she said. However, she was soon drawn to the social aspect of renting a room in her home.

I have now friends all over the world in Germany, France, Italy and even Katmandu, she wrote Hearst Connecticut Media over the platforms messenger, which does not share last names.

The platforms ability to connect travelers with hosts around the world has contributed to Airbnbs rapid growth. In Norwalk, however, things have been a little slower to take off; there are currently over a hundred homes listed on Airbnbs website, over 15 of which are listed as superhosts  such as Pascale  who rent over 10 times a year.

Airbnbs increasing popularity has led to debate around the country as states and municipalities have taken different approaches to regulating the company in an attempt to prevent the online rental system from disturbing neighborhoods, the housing market or the hospitality industry.

Some places, like New York City, have created a 30-day minimum for rentals, while others limit the times per year owners can rent or require a registry for hosts.

In New Fairfield, a public hearing was recently held after at least a dozen Airbnb properties popped up this year, mostly around the lake.

At the hearing, Airbnb hosts, including David Packer and Rob White, contended the website has provided an avenue for responsible guests to spend time in the area, all while creating an added source of income for hosts. But others in the crowd told horror stories of Airbnb hosts who squeezed large groups into small houses by counting couches, air mattresses and even hammocks as beds.

In Connecticut, the state legislature has not yet taken action on the rentals, except to become one of the states that partners with Airbnb to collect the lodging tax from renters. Since Airbnb agreed to pay the 15 percent tax to Connecticut two years ago, the company reports it has generated $5.2 million in tax revenue for the state.

More Information See More Collapse

But in individual municipalities, including New Fairfield, New Haven and Stamford, officials have begun looking at how to regulate the rentals.

In Norwalk, city officials say they are not aware of any local regulations specifically targeting short-term rentals.

We havent had an issue, said Thomas Closter, director of environmental services at the Norwalk Health Department. I havent heard neighbors complain about too many people, too many cars or activity.

Perhaps thats because Airbnb has not become as prevalent in Norwalk as it has it has in other Connecticut cities. According to data provided by Airbnb, hosts rent less frequently in Norwalk than elsewhere, with hosts renting an average of one night a month compared to three nights a month statewide and four nights a month in New Haven.

However, one Norwalk regulation put in place long before the advent of Airbnb could apply to the short-term rentals on the platform. A dwelling with an owner renting to three or more non-relatives could be considered an illegal rooming house by the Health Department.

Norwalk Health Department Director Deanna DAmore explained the department would take into consideration how frequently the space was rented and how many unrelated people were renting before cracking down on an Airbnb property.

If space was rented occasionally, it probably wouldnt be considered a rooming house, she said. If a house was being rented consistently throughout the year or for a large portion of the year to three or more unrelated people, it could fall under the definition of a rooming house within our housing code.

If a home is found to be a rooming house, it would be required to apply for a license. However, Closter said that had never come up in regard to an Airbnb.

But there is precedent to applying existing regulations to Airbnb instead of creating new ones. When several Airbnbs created problems in Ridgefield about four years ago, its director of planning and zoning, Richard Baldelli, said it wasnt difficult to address the issue. Bed and breakfasts were already regulated in the zoning laws.

To us, Airbnb is just a method of advertising, Baldelli said. If you are going to rent a room in your home to someone on a transient-type basis for compensation, youre a bed and breakfast, whether you do it through Airbnb, through your newspaper, or any other method.

Officials shut down the Airbnbs  one of which Baldelli said had been throwing frat-like parties near a lake  but offered each of the hosts the option of applying for a special permit, as is required for bed and breakfasts to run the rentals legally, Baldelli said. So far, no former Airbnb hosts have gone through with process and to his knowledge there arent any operating in town, he added.

Meanwhile, in Norwalk, Pascale hopes that she will be able to continue occasionally renting a room and meeting travelers from all walks.

I think Airbnb is great, she said. It is not like a hotel as there is interaction between guests and hosts and you share and open your home.

Includes prior reporting by Anna Quinn.

Airbnb: A city-by-city comparison

Statewide

 As of July 1, 2018, there are 3,600 active hosts in Connecticut, who welcomed 140,200 guests over the past year.

 60 percent of hosts are women, and 25 percent are seniors (over the age of 60).

 The typical host made $6,700 per year, from sharing their home for approximately three nights per month.

Norwalk

 As of July 1, 2018, there are 110 active hosts in Norwalk, who welcomed 2,200 guests over the past year.

 64 percent of hosts are women, and 22 percent are seniors (over the age of 60).

 The typical host made $3,300 per year, from sharing their home for approximately one night per month.

 There were 16,700 outbound guests from Norwalk over the past year.

Greenwich

 As of July 1, 2018, there are 70 active hosts in Greenwich, who welcomed 1,900 guests over the past year.

 62 percent of hosts are women, and 28 percent are seniors (over the age of 60).

 The typical host made $6,800 per year, from sharing their home for approximately three nights per month.

 There were 13,400 outbound guests from Greenwich over the past year.

Stamford

 As of July 1, 2018, there are 110 active hosts in Stamford, who welcomed 3,400 guests over the past year.

 46 percent of hosts are women, and 15 percent are seniors (over the age of 60).

 The typical host made $7,700 per year, from sharing their home for approximately three nights per month.

 There were 27,700 outbound guests from Stamford over the past year.

Bridgeport

 As of July 1, 2018, there are 60 active hosts in Bridgeport, who welcomed 2,600 guests over the past year.

 59 percent of hosts are women, and 29 percent are seniors (over the age of 60).

 The typical host made $6,900 per year, from sharing their home for approximately three nights per month.

 There were 12,000 outbound guests from Bridgeport over the past year.

Danbury

 As of July 1, 2018, there are 100 active hosts in Danbury, who welcomed 3,700 guests over the past year.

 55 percent of hosts are women, and 24 percent are seniors (over the age of 60).

 The typical host made $7,200 per year, from sharing their home for approximately two nights per month.

 There were 16,200 outbound guests from Danbury over the past year.

New Haven

 As of July 1, 2018, there are 380 active hosts in New Haven, who welcomed 17,600 guests over the past year.

 53 percent of hosts are women, and 8 percent are seniors (over the age of 60).

 The typical host made $5,900 per year, from sharing their home for approximately four nights per month.

 There were 43,800 outbound guests from New Haven over the past year.NEW HAVEN  The city has yet to determine whether an employee dismissed for her alleged misuse of a city credit card will get to keep the clothing bought for her by the mayors office.

In May, the city spent $1,279 on apparel for Bianca Bowles, who was working as a receptionist in the mayors office. She recently was transferred to Youth Services  she had worked as a city employee for more than 20 years  but was terminated Wednesday after an internal investigation found she allegedly used a city credit card without permission, according to a release.

A review of the credit card statements revealed unauthorized charges of $11,088.15 connected with room and board at a local motel, according to the release. The unauthorized charges appeared over the last few months, city spokesman Laurence Grotheer said Thursday, with the nature of the charges mostly related to the local motel the city will not name.

Police are conducting a separate investigation, but no arrests have been made at this time, police spokesman Officer David Hartman said.

City credit cards are issued to Mayor Toni N. Harp, Controller Daryl Jones, Deputy Chief of Staff Patricia Lawlor and Purchasing Agent Michael Fumiatti. The card Bowles allegedly used was issued to Lawlor and is believed to have been accessed by Bowles while Lawlor was on extended medical leave, Grotheer said. As the investigation is ongoing, he declined to say whether the card was stolen or placed in Bowles possession.

Along with Bowles, two other women  another receptionist and an aide  were bought clothing, bringing the total spent on the attire to nearly $4,000. Invoices of the purchases show the three women were provided with varying colored apparel, including blouses, polo shirts, cardigans, pants, skirts, blazers and scarves. Grotheer also said Thursday clothing may be purchased for a recently hired receptionist, but an order has not been placed yet.

Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said in a statement that the purchase of clothing speaks volumes about Mayor Harps priorities for the city of New Haven. City firefighters are justifiably furious. Taxpayers in New Haven and throughout the state should be furious, too.

Mayor Harp falsely blames the State of Connecticut for New Havens budget woes. She says the overdoses that took place on the New Haven Green were the fault of Republicans in the state legislature. Since then, she applauded the first responders on doing a great job, and she now rewards them by removing money from the firefighters account. All of this just to buy outfits for her City Hall staff? Its preposterous, Fasano said in the release. Our firefighters deserve better than this. You cannot make this stuff up. I look forward to her explanation of this irresponsible decision, and I am certain that city firefighters and taxpayers look forward to hearing the details of Mayor Harps logic as well.

The city plans to reimburse the Fire Department account for the clothing and said that account was used to take advantage of a discount.

Bowles is one of the 37 executive management and confidential employees who were awarded a raise from Harp in June.

Bowles got a 7.5 percent increase in her salary, which equals an extra $3,000 annually. When Harp gave the raises, members of the Board of Alders criticized the move, saying Harp had no right to do it without their approval. They approved an ordinance in direct response to the awarded raises, mandating that each department that received them would need to cut their budgets by an equal amount.Across the Houston area and along Hurricane Harvey's path, organizations, cities and neighborhoods planned this weekend to host a variety of events acknowledging the year since the monster storm hit.

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Saturday planned to visit families who were affected by the storm. At least one family was expected to host a thank-you party for those who helped them clean up. In the Rockport-Fulton area, where Harvey first made landfall, a weekend full of events was planned.A woman brought traffic on the busy Cullen Boulevard to a halt Friday afternoon to try wiping the street clean of blood where a bicyclist died after being hit by multiple cars.

The mournful scene in southeast Houston followed the hit-and-run death of a 52-year-old bicyclist Thursday night near the bus stop on the #29 Metro route along Mallow Street. A second cyclist was also killed overnight  bringing the count of bicyclists killed on Houston-area streets to at least two dozen since 2014.

A black sedan heading north on Cullen hit the man, whose identity has not been released, after he stepped off the bus, according to Houston police and witnesses. Authorities believe a second vehicle also struck the man, who died at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

I heard the thud and the second thud. I was sweeping the floor, said barber Phil Jackson, who works at the nearby Elite Barbershop. I walked out and saw the guy lying on the street. He was bleeding pretty bad from his head.

RELATED: Out of Control: Houston's roads are the nation's most deadly

Another barber, while cutting a boys hair, suggested the city build a little bus drop-off area to prevent similar deaths.

Both Jackson and Pastor Bernard Womack of the neighboring Church on the Rock said the street can be dangerous.

Its pretty busy as far as traffic flow, but that time of night is not that heavy, Womack said.

A second cyclist was killed crossing the dimly-lit West Mount Houston near Ella Boulevard early Friday in north Harris County.

The driver, who remained at the scene, didnt see the bicyclist, said Harris County Sheriffs Office spokesman Dennis Castanie.

"Theres no lighting out here," Castanie said.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted later that a separate vehicle that stopped at the West Mount Houston crash site was also hit by another car.

The driver of that striking vehicle did flee the scene, Gonzalez wrote.

Houston city officials vowed to improve bicycle safety in May after a string of bike fatalities, including a woman killed by a dump truck at the intersection of Sunset and Main near Rice University. Fourteen months earlier, Rice professor Marojorie Cocoran was killed at the same intersection by a Metro light rail train.

nicole.hensley@chron.com

@nkhensleyPeter Dutton was going about his business as the co-owner of Austins Soul Popped Gourmet Popcorn earlier this week when his social media accounts started sizzling like a summer afternoon in the Outback.

But it wasnt because there was a sudden hunger for the Houston natives snacks. The tweets and messages coming through his @PeterDutton5 Twitter account were by people from halfway around the world: Australians who had mistaken him for a different Peter Dutton, a politician in their countrys Liberal Party, who was in the midst of a vicious, high-stakes political war to become the leader of the party, and perhaps the nations next prime minister.

For the last year or so, Ive been getting random messages, but this week Ive seen a lot more than usual, the Texan Dutton said by phone. I retweeted theirs with a comment that I wish my Australian people would look at my profile before messaging me and realize that Im a 30-year-old black guy in Austin. That tweet, in the next five minutes, had blown up to 2,000 likes and shares.

Even after these confused Aussies realized that it was our Dutton they were communicating with, many still thought hed make for a better prime minister than theirs, even welcoming him as their new fearless leader.

And one cheeky Aussie dubbed simply asked, How does it feel to be the most loved Peter Dutton in Australia?

Texas Dutton is now something of a star in Australia with stories about him all over the continent. Our Dutton has even been dubbed the peoples PM or, as the Sydney Morning Herald declared, From the flames of the seething garbage fire of this week in Australian democracy, one man has emerged victorious: @PeterDutton5.

Because a peoples prime minister should have at least seen the country hes governing, theres a Go Fund Me page set up to pay for a trip to Australia for Dutton and his wife, whos expecting a baby girl. As of Friday evening, $2,050 of the $2,500 goal had been raised and one excited Dutton fan, @jwebbby, even reached out to the Texans wife Audre, tweeting, So excited to have you as the First Lady of Australia!

But when Dutton travels across the Pacific, it wont be all about beaches and shrimp on the barbies. Therell be a little business, too.

Were trying to get the popcorn company onto Amazon Australia because so many people are looking for the popcorn in Australia, he said of the treats, that include flavors like Austin Smoke BBQ or Real Dill Sour Pickle. So were trying to do some big popcorn-party release in Australia so we can do something for the people because they have just been so loving and caring towards me and our business. Its been a humbling experience for me.

To top it off, the Aussie Dutton might be wishing he were the American one right now. He lost the hotly contested parliamentary vote Thursday to Scott Morrison who replaces Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.

cary.darling@chron.comA man is accused of shooting a woman twice in the abdomen Aug. 3, because she was on the phone with her child's father, according to an affidavit.

Ralph Lugo, 31, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bail is set at $75,000.

RELATED: Eerie scene as S. TX man refuses to leave burning car

The woman, who was not identified in the affidavit, said she had been at a bar with Lugo and her friends moments before the shooting occurred.

She told Bexar County Sheriff Deputies that Lugo got mad because she was on the phone with her childs father. Thats when Ralph punched her in the face, causing her to fall down, the affidavit states.

She said she then left with two of her friends and drove to the MGM Cabaret. Lugo had followed them there, according to the affidavit.

He walked up to the vehicle the woman was sitting in and began talking to her friends, according to the affidavit. She then got out and used another mans phone in the parking lot, investigators said.

RELATED: New city ordinance to affect nearly all workers in San Antonio

She watched as Lugo then walked back to his car and reach into the drivers side door, where she knew he kept a gun, according to the affidavit.

As she was on the phone, she told investigators that Lugo walked up to her from the side, yelling an obscenity at her as he shot her twice in the abdomen. She than ran inside the establishment for safety, the affidavit states.

Another man was also shot in the abdomen, according to earlier reports, but no other details were available.

Deputies found both victims at the scene of the shooting about 2:45 a.m. Aug. 3 at the MGM Cabaret, 13580 Interstate 35 South, according to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office.

The two were taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center where deputies interviewed the woman after she and the man were listed in stable condition.

Lugo, 31, was apprehended by authorities Sunday morning at a hotel in El Paso. It was unclear if he will face any charges related to the shooting of the other man.Harris County voters head to the polls Saturday to decide the fate of the $2.5 billion flood infrastructure proposal, a year after Hurricane Harvey caused some of the worst flooding in the region's history.

If passed, the bond would be the largest local investment in flood control infrastructure since the storm. County Judge Ed Emmett calls the bond the most important local vote of his lifetime.

FLOOD BOND DATABASE: See the projects in your watershed

Though polling by the University of Houston found 55 percent of respondents support the bond, turnout in early voting was lower than expected. Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart downgraded his turnout projection by one-third, to 7.5 percent.

If accurate, just 173,000 of the county's 2.3 million registered voters will have participated. Voters can find their polling place at HarrisVotes.com.

Houston mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday urged residents to show up to the polls.

"All of us have to assume a certain level of responsibility for what happens in our area," Turner said. "You can't just leave it up to quote-unquote elected officials."

Though disappointed in the low turnout to date, Harris County officials are hoping for a surge in voting Saturday, a date Commissioners Court specifically chose because it is the one-year anniversary of Harvey.

The bond would fund at least 230 projects managed by the Harris County Flood Control District, including $1.2 billion for channel improvements, $401 million for detention basins, $242 million for flood plain land acquisition, $12.5 million for new flood plain mapping and $1.25 million for an improved early flood warning system.

The bond also is key to accessing more than $2 billion in matching funds from the federal government.

The proposal is an all-or-nothing gamble by Commissioners Court, whose members wager that county residents understand the need to invest heavily in flood infrastructure. The ballot simply asks voters to support or reject the $2.5 billion proposal, meaning they will either approve the full sum or nothing at all.

Commissioners Court and flood control district engineers spent the summer holding public meetings on the bond in each of the county's 23 watersheds, attracting more than 3,500 attendees. A pro-bond PAC also has raised $1.2 million for television ads, radio spots and mailers to urge a yes vote on the bond.

If the flood bond is approved by voters, Harris County owners would see their property taxes increase 2 to 3 cents per $100 of assessed value over the 10- to 15-year life of the bond. Residents who are disabled, or over the age of 65 and have a home worth less than $200,000, would see no tax increase.

Samantha Ketterer contributed to this report.

Zach Despart covers Harris County for the Chronicle. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at zach.despart@chron.com.Welcome Guest! You Are Here:The California Supreme Court on Thursday sided with employers in a fight over the right of workers to sue over treatment for injuries that occur on the job.

Workers receiving medical care through the workers compensation insurance of their employer generally cannot sue a doctor who decides whether treatment is needed, the court said in a unanimous decision.

The ruling came in the case of injured worker Kirk King, who says he suffered seizures after a doctor discontinued his anxiety medication.

The doctor was responsible for evaluating whether treatment prescribed for King after a back injury on the job was needed.

The justices said King had to pursue his claims against the doctor through a separate workers compensation system set up by the Legislature, not through the courts.

An email to an attorney for King was not immediately returned.

At issue in the case were so-called utilization reviewers  physicians working on behalf of employers who have the power to modify, deny or delay treatment of an injured worker. The oversight is intended in part to reduce costs.

The California Chamber of Commerce and insurance groups had warned that a ruling in favor of King would open the door to additional lawsuits that would drive up employers premiums for workers compensation insurance.

The justices said barring suits against utilization review doctors and companies was consistent with the basic trade-off that underlies the system.

Workers get swift and certain payments for medical treatment in exchange for forfeiting their right to sue over their injuries, Associate Justice Leondra Kruger wrote for the court.

Kruger said the system created by the Legislature has safeguards to protect against wrongdoing by utilization reviewers, including the potential loss of their medical licenses.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.BROOK PARK, Ohio -- Assault, Interstate 71: A Cleveland man, 32, called police at about 5:30 p.m. Aug. 6 and said that another driver had attacked him after he stopped his car on the shoulder of I-71 southbound.

The victim said he had been driving on the freeway when the other driver, or a passenger in the other driver's vehicle, threw an object at his car, causing damage. The victim didn't know what was thrown. He pulled over, stopped his car and saw a dent and small scratches on his vehicle.

The victim signaled for the other driver to pull over. The other driver stopped his car, jumped out and punched the victim several times in the face. Then the other driver left.

The victim was not badly hurt. He gave police a description and license plate number of the other car.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Snow Road: A Cleveland man, 50, was arrested at about 5:45 p.m. Aug. 7 after he caused an automobile crash near Reddi's Pizza & Spaghetti on Snow.

The man had injected heroin and had passed out behind the steering wheel. He drove his Ford Focus into a bench on the sidewalk. The man then backed his car into a Nissan Altima.

No one was hurt due to the crash, but the man was taken to Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights because of the heroin overdose.

Assault, Brookpark Road: A Cleveland man, 53, called police at about 1:35 a.m. Aug. 11 and said he had been assaulted by a bartender in Amber's Cabaret, 13311 Brookpark.

The man said he had been arguing with the bartender over a bar tab. He said the bartender threw a glass that hit his hand. The bartender said the glass fell on the man's hand.

The man didn't want to press charges, saying he only wanted the incident documented.

Drunkenness, Snow Road: A Cleveland man, 38, was arrested at about 2 a.m. Aug. 11 after police found him drunk and unable to care for himself in the parking lot of Rite Aid, 15149 Snow.

Witnesses had called police about the man. When police arrived, the man was sitting in the middle of the parking lot, asking to go home. He had urinated on himself.

Animal bites, Lockhaven Drive: A Lockhaven woman called police at about 10:40 a.m. Aug. 9 after a neighbor's dog broke loose and bit her arm.

The dog had pushed its owner out of the way to escape through the front door of its home. The dog bit the woman's bicep. She was taken to Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights.

The case was referred to the city's animal control officer.

Animal bites, Sylvia Drive: A Brook Park woman was bitten in the leg by a pit bull at about 11:40 a.m. Aug. 11 while she was walking her dog on Sylvia.

It happened as the dog's owner was walking the animal past the victim and her dog. The woman's knee was bloody, but she was not taken to the hospital.

The case was referred to the city's animal control officer.

Theft, Hummel Road: A lawnmower was reported stolen at about 3:50 p.m. Aug. 9 from a detached garage that had been left unlocked and open.

Forgery, Snow Road: A Cleveland woman, 24, was arrested at about 3 p.m. Aug. 9 after she tried to pass a fake check for $3,125 at CheckSmart, 13375 Snow.

CheckSmart workers realized the check was fake and called police. They kept the woman in the store until police arrived by telling her they were processing paperwork for the check.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Snow Road: A Cleveland man, 25, was arrested at about 3 a.m. Aug. 12 after police caught him driving drunk. Police had stopped his car because he was speeding.CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Grand theft, South Taylor Road: At 9:30 a.m. Aug. 16, police were told that a theft suspect was leaving in a car from Oaktree Veterinary Clinic, 1808 S. Taylor Road.

Police subsequently learned that the fleeing suspect, a woman, 41, had been an employee of the clinic and was suspected of stealing money from the business over the course of several months.

The clinic furnished officers with the suspect's license plate number. Police went to the woman's home and found her walking from the back of her home, where her car was parked on the grass, hidden behind the residence.

An officer asked the suspect why she thought police were at her house. The woman answered that the clinic's management was accusing her of theft. She said that she "had never stolen cash."

Based on evidence provided, the woman was arrested for theft.

Aggravated robbery, Mayfield Road: At 8:20 a.m. Aug. 20, police were called to Walgreen's, 3020 Mayfield Road, where a man had used a gun to rob the store.

A clerk told police that the suspect went to the checkout counter with a bag of candy and a magazine. After the clerk rang up the purchases, she noticed the man brandishing a gun. The suspect demanded the money in the register.

The suspect was last seen running from the store and through Cumberland Park. Police were unable to locate the suspect. The theft totaled $239.

Police are reviewing the store's surveillance video and took DNA samples from the store's counter.

Grand theft, Mayfield Road: At 10:50 a.m. Aug. 16, a representative of Motorcars Toyota, 2950 Mayfield Road, contacted the detective bureau to report receiving two returned checks.

A man had written the checks to pay for mechanical work performed on his car. The checks were in the amounts of $6,342 and $2,368.

Weapon firing, Runnymede Boulevard: At 3:55 a.m. Aug. 21, police responded to a call of shots being fired. Six people were in the home and asleep when the shots were fired. One of the residents heard a car driving away after hearing the gunfire.

Damage was done to the front door and a kitchen window. In the street, over an area of about 20 yards, officers found eight shell casings.

None of the home's residents reported having any issues or problems with other parties. It was noted that, in 2017, an identical incident happened at the home.

Obstructing official business, Reyburn Road: At 2:35 p.m. Aug. 16, police were called about two men seeking to gain entry into a vacant home.

Officers found the two suspects inside the home. There was no forced entry into the residence, which was uninhabitable.

Police found marijuana in the house and, in the pocket of one of the men, 20, a digital scale. This man gave officers what turned out to be a false name.

The other suspect, 19, was arrested on two warrants.

The 20-year-old suspect said he had permission from his mother to be in the home, as his mother stored items there with permission of the home's owner.

Police checked with the mother, who said her son did have permission to be in the house. Officers next spoke with a man who said he owned the house and he, too, agreed that the mother had permission to store things in his house. Police, however, were unsure if the man actually owns the home.

Officers next told the mother that they were having difficulty identifying her son. She told officers her son's real name. When police called out to him using his real name, the man ran.

He was eventually apprehended in a neighboring back yard and charged with falsification and obstructing official business.

Disturbance, Ormond Road: At 12:50 a.m. Aug. 20, police were called to a home they had been called to for past instances of disturbance reports.

A man and woman were in the house. The woman stated that the man was harassing her while she was trying to sleep. The man told officers that he had no idea why police were at the home, as he had been sitting downstairs watching television.

The police report notes that the CHPD has been called to the home 16 times from May 25 to Aug. 18. Each call was for some type of disturbance and involved the same man and woman. The woman called 911 on 10 of those 16 calls, and the man the remaining six times.

Police are recommending that the house be put on the nuisance abatement list, in which police will recoup costs for future nuisance call responses.

If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.MADISON TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- Madison Township police are investigating a Friday afternoon fatal crash between a motorcycle and an SUV at the intersection of North Ridge and Green Roads.

Police say a preliminary investigation indicates that Richard Ferrari, 47, of Geneva, was riding a 2005 Harley-Davidson motorcycle west on North Ridge Road, through the intersection of Green Road at about 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

Donald Curtis, 58, of Patriot, was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer east on North Ridge Road and turned onto Green Road. Ferrari was in the intersection, and the two vehicles collided.

Ferrari suffered fatal injuries, police said. Curtis was released from the scene.

The Madison Township Police Department and members of the Lake County Regional Traffic Crash Reconstruction Unit are assisting in the investigation.

Police are asking anyone who has information about, or witnessed, the crash to contact them at 440-428-2115.

To comment on this story, visit Saturday's crime and courts comment section.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Seven men are charged in connection with their involvement in a Cleveland street gang tied to several shootings and armed robberies in the city's Central neighborhood.

The group is charged in an indictment handed up late Friday. They are accused of carrying out armed robberies and shootings for the 3600 street gang that has some affiliation with the larger Heartless Felons gang, according to court records.

Members of the group have been embroiled in street gang shootings dating back to the 2017 fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy in the Arbor Park Village apartment complex, where the gang is based.

Devon Shade, 19, who is described in court records as a high-ranking member of a Heartless Felons subsect, Demarcus Elliott, 31, Desmond Sanders, 31, Isaiah Bell, 22, and William Bloodsaw Jr., 19, Oshea Fitch, 18, and Quashawn McAfee, 21, are all charged with participating in a criminal gang.

Other charges in the 28-count indictment: aggravated robbery, felonious assault, possessing weapons while under disability, carrying concealed weapons and possessing stolen guns, obstructing justice.

The charges are the result of an investigation by Cleveland police launched in June, court records say.

The group is linked to several violent crimes, most of which occurred in and around the Arbor Park Village housing complex on Community College Avenue in the city's Central neighborhood.

The spate of shootings is traced back to the March 5, 2017 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Javelle Swift, a member of the Quincy Boys gang, according to police reports and court records.

Swift's death spawned a subsect within the Quincy Boys known as the Bam Boys, named for Swift's street name, police reports say. The group began to target Shade's brother after Shade was charged with murder in connection with Swift's death. Prosecutors dropped the murder charge against Shade on April 16.

Shade's younger brother was the target of the Bam Boys several times. Gang members shot at him on Jan. 7 while he was at a party at his cousin's apartment in the Arbor Park Complex. An 18-year-old man who was standing inside the front part of the apartment was hit by a bullet.

The 16-year-old brother was shot on March 12 inside the same complex, when a 14-year-old and 17-year-old shot him during a drive-by shooting after members of the Bam Boys threatened him on Instagram. He was shot in the chest and a stray bullet hit a 5-year-old girl in the leg, according to police.

Shade got out of jail on April 16. Shade, his younger brother and McAfee on May 20 argued with a 22-year-old man on East 36th Street and Capers, inside the same apartment complex. McAfee punched the man in the head and ran off, according to court records and the indictment.

Shade left, returned shortly after and fired five gunshots at the man, hitting him once in the leg.

Shade's teen brother was shot for the second time on May 22 inside the apartment complex. Two people drove by him and opened fire, hitting him in the right hand, right knee and shooting his right ear off, police reports say. A bullet also hit a 16-year-old girl in the abdomen, according to police. No arrests were made in that case.

Bell was arrested on May 23 after police spotted him driving around with McAfee. Detectives watched him on surveillance video carrying a stolen gun into an apartment in Arbor Park, according to court records. Someone gave the officers consent to search the apartment and they found the gun and both men, according to court records.

Fitch is accused of shooting a 23-year-old man in the chest on June 16 in the 7000 block of Elton Road.

Two days later on East 35th Street and Capers, Shade, Sanders, McAfee and Elliott are accused of robbing and pistol-whipping a 24-year-old man. They held the man at gunpoint while the stole $6,300 and a cellphone, police reports and court records say.

Bloodsaw is accused of firing a gun on June 24 on Community College and East 35th Street at a car being driven by a man found dead shortly after of a gunshot wound inside the same car.

Bloodsaw is only charged with firing a gun across a roadway, but court records say surveillance video showed him firing a gun at 25-year-old Robert Irving's car.

Irving was found dead about 20 blocks away inside his car. He had just come from a memorial for a friend who was killed, police said. Cleveland police officers arrested Bloodsaw and found two guns in a field near where they arrested him, according to court records.

Bell and Elliott both have prior criminal convictions as adults.

Bell shot someone in 2014 on East 55th Street and Woodland Avenue and was arrested while illegally carrying a loaded handgun in the 5300 block of Woodland a year later.

Elliott has criminal convictions stemming from two incidents when he was a juvenile. At 17, he shot a man four times May 23, 2004 on East 33rd Street and a year before that he robbed a man at gunpoint in the 2300 block of Woodlawn using a laser-sight mounted gun.

He was convicted in 2006 of robbing a man at gunpoint, drug trafficking in 2008 and drug possession in 2005.COLUMBUS, Ohio-- President Donald Trump offered his version of a party pep talk to Ohio Republicans on Friday, praising GOP candidates and bashing their Democratic rivals ahead of the November midterms.

Speaking Friday evening at the Ohio Republican Party's annual state dinner fundraiser at the Columbus Convention Center, the president name-checked a lengthy list of Ohio GOP candidates, including gubernatorial nominee Mike DeWine, who hasn't tied himself as closely to the president as candidates such as U.S. Senate nominee Jim Renacci.

Trump also took a number of shots at DeWine's Democratic rival, Richard Cordray, who resigned as head of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to run for governor.

"Boy were we happy when we got rid of him," Trump said, adding later, "Cordray will destroy your state."

Trump expressed optimism that Republicans would keep control of the U.S., Senate in the midterms, though he added, "The House is probably tougher. We have so many people running."

While Trump was comparatively more restrained during his hour-long speech than he has been during his freewheeling public rallies, he launched into trademark stream-of-consciousness tangents on topics ranging from Kim Kardashian to soybean prices.

Trump ripped into CBS and ESPN for refusing to air the playing of the National Anthem before National Football League games.

"What the hell is the NFL doing? Do they not have a clue? It's hurt them badly," said Trump, who has previously criticized the league for players who kneel in protest during the anthem. "They think they're doing something smart by not broadcasting the national anthem?"

Trump also defended his harsher stance against illegal immigration, offering support for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - an agency that some Democratic protesters are demanding should be abolished.

The president said ICE is fighting MS-13 gang members and others who are "not human beings,"

"This is like a war," Trump said. "It's like a country took over another country, and they're being liberated."

Democrats' "open border" policy, he said, will lead to more crime. "Today's Democrats are not just extreme. They're just not in a position to govern," he said.

Trump made no reference to his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty earlier this week to eight felonies, including an admission that Trump directed him to violate campaign-finance law by arranging hush-money payments to two women who claimed they had affairs with the president. The president also didn't mention the conviction of his 2016 campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, on fraud charges.

In a sign of how control of the state GOP has shifted since Trump's election, outgoing Republican Gov. John Kasich didn't attend the state dinner, nor was his name brought up during Trump's speech.

Such silence about the governor would have been unthinkable just a couple years prior, when Kasich stacked the party with political allies. But following Trump's victory, pro-Kasich state party chair Matt Borges was ousted in favor of Jane Timken, whom Trump praised repeatedly on Friday.

Friday's speech marks Trump's second visit to Ohio this month. On Aug. 4, the president held a rally in Delaware County, north of Columbus, to rally support for Troy Balderson, the Republican nominee for the Aug. 7 special election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District.

Trump's appearance was even more of a spectacle than usual as the Ohio GOP dinner took place next to the previously scheduled Matsuricon anime convention. Outside the dinner, fans elaborately dressed up as cartoon and video-game characters passed by politicos in suits and formal dresses. As usual, Trump's visit drew a number of protesters as well.

Prior to the dinner, the president and First Lady Melania Trump toured the neonatal intensive care unit of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, which treats babies affected by the opioid epidemic. He also attended a VIP reception with donors.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman issued a statement in response to Trump's remarks at the dinner:

"Tonight at the Ohio GOP dinner, Trump said that Rich Cordray destroyed people's lives -- but it was actually millions of Americans who had their lives destroyed by Wall Street's greed and cronyism, and Rich took on the fight," Pepper said. "Let's be clear: by attending tonight's dinner and campaigning with Donald Trump, DeWine and Ohio Republicans are publicly aligning themselves with Trump and his agenda to look out for the wealthy and special interests. Their presence at tonight's dinner is simply a slap in the face of working Ohio families."CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown announced Friday he will vote against confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's pick for the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a statement, Brown said he was "convinced Judge Kavanuagh would side with special interests over working people and threaten the rights of Ohioans."

"Special interests already have armies of lobbyists and lawyers on their side. Working people need justices who will put their rights first, not justices who will side with insurance companies over cancer survivors, financial scammers over customers, or massive corporations over American workers," Brown said.

Brown's statement comes a few days after he met with Kavanaugh, a federal appellate judge who previously worked in the George W. Bush administration. Ohio's other senator, Republican Sen. Rob Portman, is one of Kavanaugh's most ardent supporters.

A Senate confirmation vote for Kavanuagh has been set for early September.

Brown's decision is unsurprising, since Brown is among the most liberal members of the U.S. Senate, and Kavanaugh's confirmation would lock in a solid conservative majority on the court, potentially for decades. But it has the potential to have an impact in Brown's re-election campaign.

Brown has tried to represent himself as a principled Trump opponent, but someone who is willing to work with the president on areas of agreement. Brown's Republican opponent, Wadsworth Rep. Jim Renacci, meanwhile has tried to paint Brown as a partisan obstructionist in a state that solidly supported Trump in the 2016 election.

In a statement, Renacci said: "No one is surprised that one of the most liberal senators who votes in lock-step with Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer would vote against yet another of President Trump's Supreme Court justices. After voting for 100 percent of President Obama's judicial nominees, Brown is now putting party loyalty ahead of doing what's right. Judge Kavanaugh is a thoughtful, experienced jurist who will make an excellent Supreme Court justice. Once again, Sherrod Brown is proving he's completely out of touch with Ohioans and far too liberal to represent Ohio in the Senate."Governors leave legacies. Some are programs. Some are policies. And sometimes a legacy is how he (someday, she) campaigned to win the governorship, a job the Ohio Constitution says holds "the supreme executive power of this state."

Republican John Kasich's two-term governorship will end Jan. 14. And there's a strong case to be made that Ohio's Medicaid expansion, an incontestably positive move Kasich accomplished despite the opposition of some other Statehouse Republicans, will be seen as Kasich's lasting legacy.

All told, about 663,000 Ohioans were enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage in June. (Incidentally, that's about 41,000 fewer than were enrolled in July 2017.)

Data marshaled by Ohio Medicaid Director Barbara Sears and Ohio Budget Director Timothy S. Keen demonstrate Medicaid expansion's statewide benefits.

First off, and just one example: Expansion has reduced the proportion of Ohioans who are uninsured. If that prompts a shrug, ask someone from your hometown hospital's board or administration about the costs of emergency room visits by uninsured people (that is, costs to Ohio taxpayers) as opposed to the costs of an office visit to a primary care doctor by a Medicaid expansion client.

Then there's this, highlighted by Keen's Budget Office: "[Medicaid] expansion is a significantly better financial deal for [Ohio] than traditional Medicaid." Reason: budget offsets (costs averted, or revenues gained, because of the expansion). That means Ohio's federally required 10 percent match for the cost of Medicaid expansion clients in the fiscal year ending in June 2021 (halfway into the next governor's term) will actually net out at 3.2 percent, Keen said.

In contrast, Ohio's match proportion for the costs of "traditional" Medicaid clients will be 36.9 percent in the year ending in June 2020. (The state match for fiscal year 2021 remains to be determined.)

Meanwhile, though not specifically related to Medicaid expansion, there's more good Medicaid news for taxpayers: Thanks to The Columbus Dispatch's investigative reporting on prescription pricing by pharmacy benefit managers -- private-sector Medicaid drug-buying middlemen that the state hires -- the Medicaid Department announced on Aug. 14 it would be terminating existing contracts and requiring new pricing-transparency measures in contracts starting next year.

Initially, state officials didn't favor changes. The Dispatch's intrepid reporting on how the middlemen's pricing practices have "cost taxpayers hundreds of millions" changed their minds.

As to the Medicaid expansion, there's this additional fact: As of last November, the counties with the greatest percentages (11.3 percent to 14.5 percent) of adults ages 19-64 enrolled in Medicaid expansion included Cuyahoga, Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties in Northeast Ohio, Clark County (Springfield) in southwest Ohio and Jefferson County (Steubenville) in southeast Ohio. They've each lost manufacturing jobs.

But the same 11.3 percent to 14.5 percent range of Medicaid expansion enrollment also was found in a cluster of three east-central counties - Coshocton; Guernsey (Cambridge); and Muskingum (Zanesville) - and in 12 counties south of Columbus, from Fayette (Washington Court House), Hocking (Logan) and Ross (Chillicothe), on south to the Ohio River. Republicans, including House Speaker Ryan Smith, of Gallia County's Bidwell, represent all 15 of those east-central and southern counties in the state legislature.

And Republicans run Ohio's House 66-33 and the state Senate 24-9; both majorities are veto-proof.

Some GOP legislators have groused about Medicaid expansion. But they haven't killed Medicaid expansion - maybe because Republican legislators know how much the expansion benefits their constituents. That hasn't kept some Republicans from arguing that Kasich is at best a marginal Republican because he expanded Medicaid - something a "genuine" conservative would never do.

The critics might want to brush up on "Mr. Republican" - the first Robert A. Taft (1889-1953), grandfather of Gov. Bob Taft. The senator, a Cincinnatian, was the 20th century's leading congressional conservative (one reason why the GOP's liberal Eastern Establishment repeatedly denied Sen. Taft the Republican presidential nomination).

Taft, the senator, said this in 1946: "Those unable to pay for medical care undoubtedly fail to get it in many cases where it would be of substantial benefit to them .... We have always recognized the obligation of a government to provide free medical care to those unable to pay for it themselves."

That is, John Kasich, by aiming to assure Ohioans' access to health care, was on the same page as Robert A. Taft.

Thomas Suddes, a member of the editorial board, writes from Athens.

To reach Thomas Suddes: tsuddes@cleveland.com, 216-999-4689

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The race for retiring Arizona Republican Jeff Flake's U.S. Senate seat is a muddled battleground this year, and that could be good news for Democrats. While the GOP candidates are embroiled in an intraparty battle ahead of Tuesday's primary, the anticipated Democratic nominee, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, is pouring millions of dollars into ads targeting independent voters who are key to flipping the seat. In an all-out fight for the GOP nod, two conservative firebrands are splitting up the Arizona party's base. It has given establishment pick Rep. Martha McSally a consistent polling advantage. Seen as a pragmatic legislator who could pick up moderate voters, McSally is expected to beat Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an immigration hardliner whom President Donald Trump pardoned over a criminal contempt conviction. Flake bowed out of his re-election bid after facing a revolt from the Arizona Republican base over his public criticism of the president. Unlike Flake, the three GOP candidates in Tuesday's primary have backed Trump. But the Republican candidates have failed to engage with the independent and moderate voters who will likely determine the election outcome, GOP strategists said. Sinema has a commanding lead over civil rights attorney Deedra Abboud in polls ahead of the Democratic primary.

Sinema has been bidding for the general election this whole time, while the Republicans have been battling amongst themselves in the primary. Chuck Coughlin Republican strategist

"Sinema has been bidding for the general election this whole time, while the Republicans have been battling amongst themselves in the primary," said Chuck Coughlin, a Phoenix-based Republican strategist. "This will be a problem for whoever the Republican nominee is." He said he expects McSally, who is favored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to win the primary. National Republicans, concerned about Sinema's chances of winning the seat, are hoping to lock down McSally's bid with a Trump endorsement. But the president has been noncommittal to requests from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Whoever captures the Republican nomination will have a small window of time to gain votes and catch up with the Democratic frontrunner before the November general election.

Dr. Ward vs Sheriff Joe

Ward and Arpaio have split the hardcore conservative base, leaving neither of them much of a chance to win Tuesday. Ward, an osteopathic doctor who lost to incumbent Sen. John McCain in a 2016 Senate bid, has not held back in her bid to capture far-right voters. She embarked on a tour a week before the primary with extreme right-wing personality Mike Cernovich. He is best known for promoting the debunked "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory, which alleges that top Democrats led a pedophilia ring. Arpaio, who was convicted of criminal contempt when a judge found that he had ignored a court order to end racial profiling, is trailing far behind in fundraising and polling. His campaign serves few purposes other than to boost his face value, raise money and siphon conservative votes from Ward, GOP strategists said. "Arpaio wrecked Kelli Ward's race," said Mike Noble, chief pollster at OH Predictive Insights, a Phoenix-based research polling company. "He has no campaign strategy and he's firing in all directions. We have a better chance of finding a photo of Sheriff Joe wearing pink underwear than to see him as a senator in Arizona."

Trump praises all, but endorses none

The president's elusive endorsement has also complicated the GOP primary, strategist Coughlin said. Days before the election, all three Republicans are vying to cast themselves as Trump's preferred candidate. While none of them has secured the president's support, they are all acting like they have. McSally's campaign has disseminated newsletters touting the president's recent praise of her at a bill signing. Ward mailed a photo of herself with Trump along with a portion of a 2017 Trump tweet praising her decision to run. Arpaio has long boasted his loyalty to Trump, telling Republicans in Oro Valley earlier this year that if the president's approval rating plummeted to 1 percent, he'd still back Trump. But strategists say it's unlikely Trump will endorse any candidate before Tuesday.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio (L) of Maricopa County, Arizona listens as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to the press prior to a rally on January 26, 2016 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Getty ImagesThere are renowned streets across the globe, like Abbey Road in London, England, and Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, but you don't have to go that far. Many of the world's most iconic streets are in America, and they are attractions unto themselves. From California to Florida, these eight legendary U.S. streets are worth a stroll.

Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Many travelers identify New Orleans with Bourbon Street, the famed (and infamous) party street stretching 13 blocks across the city. Since the 1720s it's served as stomping ground for boozers, sailors, refugees and even pirates. The legendary street is chockablock with dive bars, night clubs, strip clubs and shops selling souvenirs and it's packed on the weekends with night revelers who throw Mardi Gras beads from second-floor balconies to crowds below. Due to New Orleans' open-container laws, people can drink alcohol on the street. While one may think it was named after the American whiskey, Bourbon got its name for the Royal House of Bourbon, a ruling family in France, in 1721. The street is home to Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, which is among the oldest buildings in the famed French Quarter, one of the best places to see in America. Lafitte's has been used as a bar in America since it was built in 1722. To get in the NOLA spirit, head to Tropical Isle bar and buy a "Hand Grenade," a famous melon-flavored frozen cocktail with 13 secret ingredients served in a large green grenade-shaped container since 1984. It's been dubbed the "strongest drink in New Orleans." This year, Bourbon Street underwent a $13 million face lift to amp up security, fix sewer lines and repave the road, the first time its infrastructure has been reconstructed since 1928.

Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California

Hollywood Boulevard may have the Walk of Fame, but Sunset Boulevard has more famous and less touristy attractions. The stretch between Beverly Hills and Hollywood, known as "The Sunset Strip," is about a mile and a half out of the boulevard's 22 miles. Sunset is home to Chateau Marmont, a favorite hotel for celebrities. Everyone from Clark Gable to Led Zeppelin to Anthony Bourdain has stayed there, and comedian John Belushi famously died there from a drug overdose in 1982. If you're not staying overnight, you can still make a reservation at The Restaurant at Chateau Marmont serving modern California cuisine that ranges from $24 to $48. Down the street, tourists regularly frequent Sunset Tower Hotel, an iconic hotel from 1929 where famous names like Howard Hughes, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor once resided in luxury residences. The hotel still has well preserved Art Deco interiors and design to check out, and you can grab a drink at The Tower Bar, the intimate rooftop bar with outdoor terrace. Specialty cocktails, like The Dimitri with vodka, gin, Luxardo Maraschino Liqeur, Green Chartreuse and fresh lime, are $17 to $19. Also on the street: Rock bands like No Doubt, Van Halen and Guns N' Roses got their start at Whiskey a Go Go, opened in 1964, where a beer will cost you $8. And before they were famous, comedians like Tim Allen, Jim Carey and Dane Cook performed at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood, opened in 1979. All-star comics continue to perform there, like "Crazy Rich Asians" (Warner Bros.) star Ken Jeong and Vicki Barbolak, who appeared on NBC's "America's Got Talent. Ticket prices depend on the show and average $17 to $25. Just cruising down Sunset Boulevard in a car or walking on foot is also a pastime since it's known for countless billboards and entire building walls advertising movies, TV and music.

Fifth Avenue, New York City, New York

New York City has plenty of famous streets, like Wall Street, Broadway and Bowery, but there's none as famous as Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It stretches from the downtown Greenwich Village neighborhood all the way uptown to Harlem. It's considered the most expensive street in the world based on prime rental value ($3,000 per square foot), according to a 2017 report by real estate services agency Cushman & Wakefield. Plenty of luxury brands have stores along Fifth Avenue, including Prada, Gucci, Versace and Louis Vuitton. Even if you're not shopping, they are known for elaborate and expensive window displays worth checking out. Fifth Avenue isn't all about shopping. Some of N.Y.C.'s best attractions are here, like Rockefeller Center with Top of the Rock viewing deck on the 70th floor, which has with 360-degree views of the city ($36 per adult). The Empire State Building and the New York Public Library, opened in 1911, also sit on the avenue. The east side of Central Park borders Fifth Avenue from 59th Street to 110th Street, with Central Park Zoo at East 64th and Fifth Avenue. You can see polar bears, snow monkeys, a red panda and birds. General admission to the zoo is $12.

Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada

In Las Vegas, Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as "The Vegas Strip," is packed with over 20 million visitors year-round, who marvel at the lavish resorts, large plasma-screen billboards and neon signs. Street performers amp up the energy of the street, and the people-watching is some of the best in the country, where you can see a diverse range of tourists from all over the world. Stretching for 4.2 miles in the heart of Las Vegas, from Russell Road to Sahara Avenue, the Strip is packed with shops, restaurants, bars and famous attractions, like Bellagio's water fountains; the 460-feet high observation deck at Eiffel Tower, a 46-story replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris at Paris Las Vegas hotel & Casino; the indoor and outdoor gondolas resembling Venice, Italy at Venetian; and the High Roller, the largest observation deck in the world with glass-enclosed passenger pods and views from 550 feet high. Admission to the High Roller is $25 and it lasts 30 minutes. The views of Las Vegas Boulevard from the High Roller are unobstructed.

Ocean Drive, Miami, Florida

Ocean Drive is a historic beachfront gem in Miami's South Beach. Inaugurated in 1915, the short, 1.3-mile street spans 17 blocks and is chockfull of Art Deco buildings and hotels with retro, neon signs. Colony Hotel, a 1939 boutique hotel, was featured in TV and films like Showtime's "Dexter," and The Sunray Apartments was seen in the 1983 movie "Scarface." Ocean Drive is also famous for being home to the late Italian fashion designer, Gianni Versace, whose mansion is now a hotel. The street is at the heart of Miami's Art Deco District, which is home to about 900 well-preserved period buildings. Ocean Drive is all about being seen: Tourists and locals alike line up for patio seating at the string of restaurants, bars and lounges, and expensive cars parade along the drive. Grab a drink at Clevelander, an Art Deco hotel built in 1938. The rooftop terrace has views of Ocean Drive and the Atlantic Ocean. Cocktails start at $10.

Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

Known as "The Magnificent Mile," Michigan Avenue in Chicago runs 12 miles from famed Lake Shore Drive to Lake Michigan's shore in the Gold Coast District. North Michigan Avenue, which is the famous part, runs about one mile from Oak Street to the Chicago River. The street is mostly known for shopping, from designer boutiques to chocolate shops, though it's home to Chicago's most recognizable building, the 100-story John Hancock Center. There are other significant edifices there too, including the Chicago Water Tower, built in 1869, and the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum, a movable bridge over Chicago River. Visitors will also find Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago's most famous museum founded in 1879. Works include paintings by Pablo Picasso, Paul Gaugin and Vincent Van Gogh, and it's home to classic American paintings like "American Gothic" by Grant Wood and "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper. Tickets start at $25 for entrance.

Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California

Part of American pop culture, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills has been a magnet for wealthy people for more than a century (it was built in 1906 and led a path to Beverly Hills Hotel, built in 1912). It wasn't until 1967 when Giorgio Beverly Hills, the street's first high-end boutique, opened, that the 2-mile street became a high-end shopping mecca, with brand name designers like Valentino and Christian Dior. It's also home to notable attractions, like Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Anderton Court Shops at 332 North Rodeo and Via Rodeo, a small section with a cobblestone street. Visitors come to check out Rodeo Drive locations seen in movies. Julia Roberts' shopping scene (and famous "big mistake" line) in 1990's "Pretty Woman" was filmed at boutique Boulmiche; Eddie Murphy cruised down Rodeo Drive in 1984 hit "Beverly Hills Cop"; and Alicia Silverstone's character sadly walked down Rodeo Drive after failing her driving test in 1995's "Clueless." Hop on the free trolley service for a short sightseeing tour that goes through Beverly Hills, including Rodeo Drive, Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until September 2; Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m from September to November.

Castro Street, San Francisco, CaliforniaTesla will remain a publicly traded company, CEO Elon Musk said late Friday, just weeks after he floated the idea of going private in order to ward off short-sellers and volatility in the company's stock.

In early August, Musk touched off a firestorm by saying on Twitter that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share, adding that funding was "secured." In the wake of that announcement, the billionaire and his company have been buffeted by skepticism, in addition to the threat of a regulatory probe.

However, in a post on Tesla's website, Musk cited resistance from shareholders, in addition to other logistical hurdles, as rendering the proposition unattractive.

"Given the feedback I've received, it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company," Musk wrote. "There is also no proven path for most retail investors to own shares if we were private."

Musk appeared to heed a growing furor among Tesla's investors, with a few expressing their disapproval amid the CEO's increasingly erratic public behavior.

"Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was 'please don't do this,'" Musk wrote.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood, who predicted Tesla stock could reach $4,000 per share, told CNBC in an interview that Musk would sabotage his own goals for the automaker if the company went dark.

"By going private [Musk] would deprive Tesla of reaching his own priorities  mobility as a service, autonomous truck platoons, utility energy storage, even air passenger drones," Wood told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Friday. "He's got big plans, and he needs to scale these plans. We don't think that it will happen nearly as effectively in the private markets as in the public."

Musk, who's waged a war of words against bearish investors betting on Tesla's stock to fall, said that going dark could prove more problematic than expected.

"I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it's clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated. This is a problem because we absolutely must stay focused on ramping Model 3 and becoming profitable," he wrote on Friday. "We will not achieve our mission of advancing sustainable energy unless we are also financially sustainable."

In recent days, evidence cast doubt on Musk's claim that Tesla had adequate investor capital secured for going private. Musk was on the verge of hiring Morgan Stanley because the bank excels in rounding up financing from a wide array of sources, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC this week.

The decision to stay publicly traded may not keep regulators at bay. The Securities and Exchange Commission having served Tesla with a subpoena last week, as it looks into whether Musk violated securities laws by claiming he had funding for the maneuver.

Musk himself has been under pressure for his own conduct, especially in the wake of a widely circulated interview with The New York Times in which he discussed the toll of the "excruciating" year he has had leading Tesla as it raced to meet Model 3 production goals.

Below is the full blog post Musk posted to Tesla's website:

Earlier this month, I announced that I was considering taking Tesla private. As part of the process, it was important to understand whether our current investors believed this would be a good strategic move and whether they would want to participate in a private Tesla. Our investors are extremely important to me. Almost all have stuck with us from the time we went public in 2010 when we had no cars in production and only a vision of what we wanted to be. They believe strongly in our mission to advance sustainable energy and care deeply about our success. I worked with Silver Lake, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who have world-class expertise in these matters, to consider the many factors that would come into play in taking Tesla private, and to process all the incoming interest that we received from investors to fund a go-private transaction. I also spent considerable time listening to current shareholders, large and small, to understand what they think would be in the best long-term interests of Tesla. Based on all the discussions that have taken place over the last couple of weeks and a thorough consideration of what is best for the company, a few things are clear to me: Given the feedback I've received, it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company. Additionally, a number of institutional shareholders have explained that they have internal compliance issues that limit how much they can invest in a private company. There is also no proven path for most retail investors to own shares if we were private. Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was "please don't do this."

I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it's clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated. This is a problem because we absolutely must stay focused on ramping Model 3 and becoming profitable. We will not achieve our mission of advancing sustainable energy unless we are also financially sustainable.

That said, my belief that there is more than enough funding to take Tesla private was reinforced during this process. After considering all of these factors, I met with Tesla's Board of Directors yesterday and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree. Moving forward, we will continue to focus on what matters most: building products that people love and that make a difference to the shared future of life on Earth. We've shown that we can make great sustainable energy products, and we now need to show that we can be sustainably profitable. With all the progress we've made on Model 3, we're positioned to do this, and that's what the team and I are going to be putting all of our efforts toward. Thank you to all of our investors, customers and employees for the support you've given our company. I'm incredibly excited to continue leading Tesla as a public company. It is a privilege.

--CNBC's Chloe Aiello and Alex Sherman contributed to this article.To some, Russia's offer to host talks next month might contain at least the seeds of a positive pivot if the Taliban are coaxed to the table at a time when they have been more aggressive on the battlefield than in recent years, causing much mayhem in Kabul and other cities.

Vladimir Putin's Russia appears to have emerged as a player in Afghanistan after 17 years of Western involvement that has left the country no closer to peace than before.

But the move may be stuck before it even begins. The Afghan government has said it will not attend, unable to agree on a coherent strategy because of divisions within the government that many see as a function of personal and ethnic rivalries, and calling for the Taliban to first agree to direct talks with Kabul. The insurgents have consistently refused, instead demanding direct talks with the United States.

The U.S., for its part, seems displeased by the maneuver, even though Washington has been trying to find a reasonable exit strategy for years in vain.

On the ground in Afghanistan, the situation has given rise to boundless cynicism about the various players and almost no hope for a quick improvement in the violent, corruption-plagued nature of daily life.

Analysts say the wrangling over a meeting to talk peace offers a window into the enormity of the task of actually reaching a peace pact in a region of competing influences. Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China have a growing influence even as the United States spends billions of dollars covering much of the $6.5 billion spent annually to support the Afghan National Security Forces who are struggling to contain an energized Taliban.

Specialists who have tracked Afghanistan's four decades of war say navigating the road to peace in this poor nation of 32 million people is like walking through a minefield.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the U.S.-based Wilson Center, said the situation is explosive.

"In Afghanistan you have not just the U.S. and Russia in competition, but also China, Iran, and Pakistan," said Kugelman. "And none of these countries have warm relations with the U.S. It's a real powder keg, to say the least."

Pakistan, considered key to a lasting peace in Afghanistan, has a new prime minister who says he is ready to be a partner in peace with Washington, but will no longer partner in war. There has been no indication that the Afghan Taliban, who are known to move between Pakistan and Afghanistan with an ease that varies often depending on Islamabad's relationship with Washington, will be asked to leave. Yet Prime Minister Imran Khan was quick to condemn last Tuesday's rocket attack in Kabul, accusing the perpetrators of "cowardly thinking."

Still, relations between Pakistan and the United States are prickly and even a simple phone call from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Khan on Thursday turned into a confrontation as the two countries disagreed over its content. Pakistan is now demanding an apology, saying Pompeo said nothing of terrorists in Pakistan, contrary to the State Department's reading of the call, which said: "Pompeo raised the importance of Pakistan taking decisive action against all terrorists operating in Pakistan and its vital role in promoting the Afghan peace process."

But Afghanistan's neighbors and competing world powers are only part of the problem of bringing peace to Afghanistan, say analysts, who point to a deeply corrupt and fractious Afghan government and deepening ethnic divisions within the U.S.-crafted Unity government.

Last year, Transparency International ranked Afghanistan 177 out of 180 countries, only slightly better than the world's worst __ Syria, South Sudan and Somalia. Since the U.S.-crafted Unity Government took power four years ago, ethnic divisions that have always troubled Afghanistan have deepened.

During a recent interview in the Afghan capital Kabul, political analyst Haroon Mir said international pressure is all that holds Afghanistan's squabbling politicians together. He said the government is deeply divided along ethnic lines and warned that a withdrawal of international forces would set one ethnic group against another, led by the warlords-cum-politicians, who dominate Afghanistan's government and whose militias are heavily armed.

"Kabul will be destroyed because every different faction in the government wants to get control," he said. "This time it would be ethnic fighting that destroys Kabul."

Internal rivalries within the Afghan government have made it impossible to develop a counterinsurgency strategy, said Kugelman.

"So long as the Afghan government remains consumed by personality, disputes and other internal dysfunction, Kabul won't be in any shape to craft an effective counterinsurgency strategy, no matter how much help it may get from the U.S. and other key partners," he said.

But perhaps even worse for the U.S., which has lost hundreds of lives in Afghanistan and spent billions of dollars on the conflict, Western countries have come to be seen in very jaded ways, with a variety of outlandish theories enjoying surprising currency. One widely spread theory is that Washington is secretly aiding the Taliban to foment violence as an excuse to keep its troops in Afghanistan to counter Iran, Russia and China.

The Taliban, meanwhile, have ramped up their diplomatic forays, having traveled to Uzbekistan and Indonesia to meet the foreign ministers there. They also said they would travel to China and Pakistan before next month's Moscow meeting.

On the battlefield this month they have carried out spectacular attacks in central Ghazni, where they resisted Afghan security forces backed by U.S. military advisers and aerial support for nearly five days, and in northern Faryab province, where more than 100 Afghan soldiers who ran out of ammunition and food eventually surrendered to the insurgents.

But analysts say the Taliban's control and influence  while far-reaching  is limited to rural areas and they do not have the capacity to take control and keep a city in Afghanistan. They also face divisions within their ranks and need to show their foot soldiers they are strong militarily before they enter peace talks.

Still, Brian Glyn Williams, professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, called the September meeting in Moscow a "fascinating and potentially important/historic development."President Donald Trump waves as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return from Bedminster, New Jersey, August 19, 2018.

The United States has softened its contentious demand for a NAFTA "sunset clause," Mexico's incoming trade negotiator said on Saturday, potentially eliminating a key obstacle to reaching a deal next week to revamp the trade pact.

A few hours earlier, President Donald Trump tweeted that the United States could reach a "big Trade Agreement" with Mexico imminently.

Jesus Seade, designated chief negotiator of Mexico's next government, told reporters the new U.S. position would allow a periodic review of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but without an automatic expiration unless renegotiated every five years.

"It's going to come out. It's no longer what the United States was putting first in any way," Seade said of the sunset clause outside the U.S. Trade Representative's office.

The United States and Mexico have been holding bilateral talks aimed at resolving differences in the NAFTA renegotiation before bringing Canada back to the talks as they push for an agreement-in-principle by the end of August.

Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that the United States' "relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour. Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together....A big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!"

The U.S. sunset clause demand has been one of the biggest roadblocks to NAFTA deal since it was first proposed in October 2017. It was meant by the Trump administration as a mechanism to force a renegotiation of NAFTA every five years if the new terms failed to foster more balanced trade between the three countries. If new terms could not be reached, NAFTA would die.

But Mexico, Canada and business interests in all three countries have adamantly opposed the concept, arguing it would create uncertainty over NAFTA's future that would paralyze business investment and job growth.

The structure Seade described is similar to a counter-proposal made by Mexico last November that called for a review of NAFTA's effects every five years without killing the pact.

But U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer never accepted that plan, insisting on a full sunset provision.

Seade said he and Lighthizer last week began discussing a new review approach, one that would have longer periods between reviews, providing more certainty for business investments. He said negotiations were continuing on this.

'Not there yet'

Asked about Trump's tweet, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo acknowledged some progress, but told reporters in Washington before beginning another day of talks that the two countries are "not there yet."

"Nothing is done until everything is truly done," he said. "Today will be an important day."

Trump prompted the NAFTA revamp more than a year ago, complaining the pact has benefited Mexico to the detriment of U.S. workers and manufacturing. He made renegotiating NAFTA one of his top campaign pledges.

Trump has threatened to withdraw from the pact if it is not reworked to the advantage of the United States.

The U.S.-Mexico talks for weeks focused on crafting new rules for the automotive industry, which Trump has put at the center of his drive to rework the 24-year-old deal he says has been a "disaster" for American workers.

Seade said the issue of auto sector rules is "basically resolved," although some aspects, including time frames, are still being discussed.

Seade also said on Saturday that a "correct focus" on NAFTA's energy chapter has already been substantially agreed.

Since Mexico's July 1 presidential election, the Mexico-U.S. talks have been complicated by divisions between the incoming and outgoing Mexican administrations over energy policy.

The team of leftist Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has resisted enshrining the 2013-14 opening of the oil and gas sector enacted by outgoing president Enrique Pena Nieto in the new NAFTA, people close to the talks say.

Lopez Obrador opposed Pena Nieto's energy reform, and the issue is divisive within his own camp. Business-friendly aides back greater outside investment in the industry, while his more nationalist allies want the oil to remain in Mexican hands.In an attempt to create a congenial atmosphere for rational dialogue, the globally known non-profit organization Pugwash organized a two-day seminar on the Kashmir conflict, in the capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad, on 29a30 March 2008. The purpose of the Pugwash conference was to facilitate a convention of public figures and intellectuals from India, J & K, AJK, and political and scholarly persons of international repute, in order to define conflict-mitigating strategies in South Asia. The governmental and military representatives at the conference discussed stability in the state of J & K; initiatives to promote peace and cooperation between India and Pakistan; volatility of the situation in Afghanistan and measures to counter the instability in that region; and the impact of the changed Pakistani political scenario on the South Asian region

Such conferences were held on a regular basis but the propositions discussed have failed to make a substantive impact on the fragile Kashmir issue. Although representatives from both sides of the LOC make regular appearances at these venues, the prevalent discourse is rather elitist in nature and the woes of the marginalized remain unheard. Participants at the 2008 Pugwash conference in Pakistan were those with access to the higher echelons of power, and who till date have not outlined a meaningful plan for conflict resolution and rehabilitation of the dispossessed in the fractious political sphere of J & K. A global discourse that is generated at international forums, like the Kashmir Summit Meet in Brussels, Belgium, held on 1 April 2008, can do little to formulate constructive programs for the ethnic and religious minorities in the nation-states of India and Pakistan unless the bonafide effort is to demilitarize the region and rehabilitate the disenfranchised a those who have been languishing in Indian and Pakistani jails without a cause, militancy-affected people, and victims of counter-insurgency repression. Such summits and their organizers would need to willingly allow the dilution of their raison daAtre, namely, conflict situations.

A feasible solution to the conflict in Kashmir must fulfill the conditions delineated decades ago by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. It should not be designed to assuage the insecurities of either India or Pakistan. But it must, unconditionally, allay the fears of ethnic and religious minorities in both countries, and it must be in accordance with the wishes of the people of the state. International legal scholar Gidon Gottleib, in his discussion of the changing world order, underlines the need to deconstruct old notions of sovereignty and, instead, construct a transnational community that would endow stateless peoples with citizenship, territorial and security guarantees:

aNations and peoples that have no state of their own can be recognized as such and endowed with an international legal status. Those that are politically organized could be given the right to be a party to different types of treaties and to take part in the work of international organizations.a (Gottlieb 1993, quoted in Wirsing 1994: 233)

But the solution outlined by Gottleib is unrealistic and rather utopian. It is predicated on the nullification of national identity, cultural integrity intertwined with attachment to territory, and is clearly a politically vexed issue for the people of the former princely state, who, as I have underlined in the introduction, would stop being altogether in the absence of a body politic built on national pride. A solution of this sort could lead to further balkanization in the South Asian region, depleting national resources.

In order to enhance their economic and political clout in the South Asian region, India and Pakistan require stability. Can both countries begin the process of establishing themselves as stable political forces by initiating a serious political process in Kashmir in which the people of the state have a substantive say? A political package short of autonomy for the entire state would be viewed with suspicion by Kashmiris. Can the governments of India and Pakistan make a smooth transition into the globalized world by recognizing the autonomous status of the former princely state? I do not pretend to know the answer to these questions.

The intractability of the Kashmir conflict has made advocates of conflict resolution rather wary of applying a seemingly workable but facile solution to the complex political conflict. Mainstream media in both India and Pakistan; intellectuals housed in academic institutions; formulators of public policy; members of think tanks are quick to point out that regardless of the bloody and seemingly infinite nature of a political, ethnic, or racial conflict a viable solution can always be found to dilute the fierceness of a conflictual situation.

Dr. Nyla Ali KhanU.S. sanctions against Russia tied to a nerve agent attack in Britain, which were announced earlier this month, will come into effect on Monday, the U.S. government said on Friday, adding to the array of economic penalties it has imposed on Moscow in recent years. The new measures, detailed in a notice posted at the Federal Register, will terminate foreign assistance and some arms sales and financing to Russia, as well as deny the country credit and prohibit the export of security-sensitive goods and technology.

Police officers are seen standing guard outside a residential address in Amesbury, southern England, on July 5, 2018 where police reported a man and woman were found unconscious in circumstances that sparked a major incident after contact with what was later identified as the nerve agent Novichok.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the sanctions will only create more tension between the two countries, the RIA news agency reported on Friday. Although President Donald Trump has often said he would like better ties with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Washington's relations with Moscow are at a low - frayed by U.S. allegations Russia interfered in its 2016 presidential election, and by disagreements over Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its role in the Syrian civil war. Plans to impose the latest sanctions were announced by the Trump administration on Aug. 8, a response to what the State Department said was Moscow's use of a nerve agent against a former Russian agent and his daughter in Britain in March. Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russia's GRU military intelligence service, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious on a bench in the southern English city of Salisbury after a liquid form of the Novichok type of nerve agent was applied to the front door of his home. Both survived the attack. Moscow has denied involvement in the attack. It has also denied meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections.

'Change in behavior'The United States has started a trade war with China, and art is caught in the cross-fire.

The administration announced this month that President Trump had proposed duties as high as 25 percent on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods "to encourage China to change its harmful policies." The proposed tariffs, initially set at 10 percent, followed two earlier rounds of penalties.

The latest list of targeted Chinese goods ran to 205 pages. It included sand blasting machines; eels, fresh or chilled (excluding fillets); hats; and, at the bottom of the last page, paintings and drawings executed entirely by hand, original sculptures, and antiques more than 100 years old.

The tariffs would apply to all artworks that originated in China, regardless of how they entered the United States. That means American buyers could be required to pay 25 percent more for a Ming dynasty bowl sold by a British owner at an auction in New York, as well as for a painting by a young Beijing-based artist at a gallery in Hong Kong.

The announcement has caused outrage in the art world.

James Lally, the founder of J.J. Lally & Co., a dealer based in New York that specializes in Asian art, said that the proposed tariffs were "a matter of great concern" to museums, collectors, curators and dealers worldwide.

"It will have a chilling impact," he said. "It will quickly reduce the market for Chinese art in America to a backwater."

Professional organizations like the Art Dealers Association of America, the Association of Art Museum Directors and the British Antique Dealers' Association have also stated their opposition to the proposal.

Dozens of companies voiced concerns to trade officials during six days of public hearings in Washington this past week, many warning that the proposed tariffs would hurt American consumers.

Peter Tompa, a lawyer based in Washington, represented two lobbying groups that work on behalf of museums, dealers and collectors at the hearings on Wednesday. Mr. Tompa said a member of the trade committee asked him one question: Since art is a luxury item, wouldn't people pay?

Mr. Tompa said he had told the committee that the main problem was slow turnover of inventory in the art trade and that a tariff would mean greater capital outlays by dealers.

"Dealers will need to pay up front, but it may take a while to make good," he said, adding that dealers also had to cope with a recent Supreme Court decision to allow internet sales to be taxed.

Sotheby's, Christie's and the Asia Week New York association of dealers said in a written complaint that the United States, not China, would be affected most. "Imposing duties on Chinese-origin art will not impact the trade practices or policies of China, since the vast majority of such artwork is imported into the United States from countries other than China," the complaint read.

Read more from The New York Times:

Trump's trade war with China is officially underway

Is China undermining efforts to disarm North Korea? Not yet, analysts say

An artist warns of a robot-controlled future. Or is it our present? Let's discuss

And the United States market is small compared to the amount of Chinese art and antiquities sold in mainland China. Last year, $7.1 billion worth of Chinese art and antiques were sold at auctions across the world, according to a report published this month by Artnet. Of these sales, $5.1 billion came from auctions in mainland China, where the operations of foreign auction houses are restricted; $408 million came from the United States, though that number was up 62 percent from 2016, compared with a 6 percent increase for China.

Dealers have pointed out that adding a 25 percent duty to the fees known as the "buyer's premium" could deter both buyers and sellers of Chinese art at auctions in the United States, reversing growth in that sector.

"It's not punishing the Chinese; it's punishing the Americans," Gisele Croes, a specialist in ancient Chinese artworks who is based in Brussels, said of the proposed tariffs. "The international trade will go back to London, Paris and Hong Kong."

In recent years, sales of the finest Chinese antiques have been dominated by Chinese dealers and collectors. The market for international contemporary art, on the other hand, is dominated by American dealers and collectors. They are also alarmed by what the impact of a proposed tariff would be on the Chinese artists they sell.

"One of the strengths of the American economy has been it's a free market for all," said Jeffrey Deitch, a leading New York dealer and curator. "It's made New York City the world capital of the art business. To jeopardize this situation could have very serious consequences."The Indian Express, August 25, 2018

A decade after anti-Christian violence took a toll, there are no signs of remorse

Kandhamal is yet another milestone in the journey of independent India. It reminds us that we are moving towards the normalisation of a genocidal mindset. For the last 10 years, it is only the Christians who remember this atrocity. The majority community does not seem to feel the need to share the suffering, pain, humiliation and sense of injustice of their Christian compatriots. We are turning into a nation of fractured sensibilities with little sense of justice.

The archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, John Barwa, has appealed for a holy mass on August 25, which marks the 10th anniversary of the anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal that led to the killing of more than 100 Christians, looting and burning and destruction of nearly 6,000 houses spread in more than 400 villages, desecration and destruction of hundreds of churches, convents, hostels and displacement of nearly 60,000 Christians from their homes.

The archbishop says this mass is an expression of the will of the people of Odisha to turn a new leaf and move towards a renewed society filled with peace and harmony, a move towards reconciliation and restoration of amity between communities. Recalling the horror of Kandhamal, which started on August 25, 2008, and continued for months, Archbishop Barwa hopes that a10 years ago, what happened in Kandhamal, Odisha should have never happened and should never ever happen againa .

If the victims themselves appeal for peace and there is no repentance or atonement on the part of the perpetrators, the talk of reconciliation becomes farcical. For the last 10 years, the Christians have been fighting a lonely battle for justice. Nearly all state organs, including the police and civil administration actively resisted and blocked the relief operations in the immediate aftermath of the attack. After that, they did everything to deny the crime, put the onus on the victims and obstructed their battle for justice.

Leave alone compensating the victims adequately and ensuring the return of the survivors, the government has not even acted on the 2016 order of the Supreme Court to re-investigate 315 cases of anti-Christian violence. The National Human Rights Commission has not opened its mouth on this violence. With criminals enjoying impunity, it is impossible to even think of reconciliation. Are the Christians expected to reconcile with this state-society apathy and stop demanding justice? Would it be called a return of peace then?

The mass violence against Christians in Kandhamal was preceded by a long and sustained hate campaign. Remember the murder of the Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two adolescent sons? This crime by members of the Bajrang Dal was legitimised, obliquely by a person like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who called for a national debate on conversion after the killing. The Supreme Court gave a justification for the hate crime while lowering the quantum of punishment to the perpetrators. The court later expunged some of its controversial remarks on conversion following criticism from the civil society.

In the case of Kandhamal, it was the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda that acted as an excuse for and justification of the mass violence against the Christians. The Maoists claimed responsibility for the act but that did not deter the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other leaders of the affiliates of the RSS from blaming the Christians and their organisations for his killing. Despite the Maoistsa claim, seven Christian tribals were sentenced to life and the appeal has not been heard by the high court in the last five years.

The action-reaction theory, invoked in 2002 in Gujarat to justify the genocidal violence against Muslims, was invoked in Kandhamal too. In Gujarat, the bodies of the people who died in the fire in the Sabarmati Express were taken out in a procession before the violence started. Similarly, the funeral procession of the Swami was allowed to be led by Pravin Togadia, who was shouting anti-Christian slogans and calling for revenge. Later, propaganda material from The India Foundation, whose many functionaries are now in the government, blamed Christians for the violence.

Ten years later, we need not recall the details of the violence. But we need to record the valiant battle that the victims and survivors have been engaged in to secure justice. This is despite the indifference, and stonewalling, of the state organs. These 10 years have seen hate and violence against Christians being routinised. Beating up of priests, breaking up of prayer meetings and carols, desecration of churches and arrests of priests, enactment of anti-conversion laws, as in Jharkhand or villages being made out of bounds for Christians as in Chhattisgarh, lack the spectacle of Kandhamal. Our indifference to all these only indicates the normalisation of what Kandhamal saw.

The writer teaches at Delhi UniversityDisinformation was in the news again this week. Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft said they removed accounts linked to Russian and Iranian disinformation campaigns.

And if you think its all about politics and rogue nations, think again. The real story is about a new enterprise business service that fights disinformation.

Ill tell you all about that below. But first, the real news about the fake news.

Facebook said that 652 Facebook pages and groups run by the Iranian and Russian governments were deleted because they were found to be misleading, by which it meant that the pages and social profiles presented themselves as something other than what they really were.

The majority of the disinformation was aimed at people in Latin America, the Middle East and the U.K.

Facebooks purge comes one month after that company removed 32 disinformation pages and groups aimed at disrupting the upcoming U.S. midterm elections. One of those pages had attracted nearly 140,000 followers.

Twitter suspended 284 accounts this week associated with the Iranian government.

And Google deleted 39 YouTube accounts and 13 Google+ accounts reportedly tied to Iranian state media that were designed to spread fake news.

Microsoft claimed on Monday to have stopped cyberattacks by Russian government-backed Fancy Bear hackers against conservative groups in the U.S. that support sanctions against Russia.

Hilariously, the Russian government even used the stories about the removed accounts to spread its subtle, doubt-creating brand of disinformation. Of course, thousands of news outlets covered the news. The headlines on those stories typically pointed out that the deleted disinformation was linked to both Iran and Russia. But the news organization Russia Today (which is a Russian government propaganda network that expertly blends real news with subtle disinformation) had this misleading headline: Facebook, Twitter take down inauthentic Iran-linked accounts  but Russia takes the heat.

Members of the public scanning the headlines might be convinced (accurately) that the accounts were linked to both Iran and Russia. But after seeing the RT headline, they might have doubt that Russia was implicated, and that once again the media is blaming Russia for everything.

As always, the goal appears to be to get the public, not to believe one thing or another, but to lose faith in information itself.

News also broke this week that Russia-linked trolls and bots amplified online debate over whether vaccines are safe. On Twitter, for example, researchers found Russian trolls using the hashtag #VaccinateUS. The number of those accounts expressing pro-vaccine views were roughly equal to those against vaccines. The point wasnt to change the publics mind, but to create doubt and division.

These stories appear to be all about governments, politics and social networks. But the real story is about a new approach to antidisinformation.

Wait, what?

Heres the real news: Most of the disinformation accounts deleted by Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft were discovered not by those companies or the U.S. government, but by a company called FireEye.

I told you in this space last year about disinformation as a service (DaaS). Most of the Russian disinformation campaigns are carried out by a private company called the Internet Research Agency.

But now comes AaaS  antidisinformation as a service. Thats what FireEye provided this week to the Silicon Valley social networking companies.

It considers itself a kind of NSA for hire  an intelligence organization, but for enterprises.

How does it do it? FireEyes methodology is multifaceted and a trade secret. But the companys core competencies lie in discovering hidden malware and network hacks with the use of proprietary technology to detect behavioral anomalies  behavior by code and websites that isnt normal. Once it finds the general nature of the weird behavior, it then does a lot of shoe-leather research. It tracks down who paid for domains, finds out if social accounts are real people  that sort of thing.

In the wake of this weeks news, FireEyes stock price is soaring. AaaS is suddenly a viable business, and theres a clear need for it.

The trouble with black-box solutions

Disinformation is here to stay. And its coming as a way to damage the reputations of businesses, products and brands.

If you think about it, brand campaigns are just commercial propaganda.

Political propaganda has evolved from billboards telling the public how good ones own government is to fake websites and social accounts telling the public how bad the other government is.

The Russian public knows its got a bad government. So Russian disinformation is aimed at convincing Russians that other governments are bad, too. Russian propaganda both convinces everyone that the West is divided and chaotic and simultaneously seeks to actually create division and chaos.

Because this approach works so well, its only a matter of time before unscrupulous corporations start using Russian-style disinformation against their global corporate rivals.

But in order to combat disinformation, you have to know its there.

The most dangerous kind of disinformation takes place in a black box, where third parties (such as governments and concerned members of the public) cant see.

The complicated world of disinformation campaigns on Facebook is a perfect example.

The advertising part of Russias disinformation campaign that attempted to meddle in the 2016 election was in a kind of black box. People were served custom advertising, and nobody except Facebook could see the full scope of the campaign. It found it only after publicly available disinformation accounts came to light, which caused it to look at advertising.

Black-box disinformation is already claiming lives.

At least two dozen people in India were killed this year by mobs that rose up after fake-news rumors spread on Facebooks WhatsApp.

And fake news was spread on WhatsApp in Brazil that a yellow fever vaccine was dangerous, causing a large number of people to avoid the vaccine.

Disinformation will happen increasingly inside black boxes such as advertising networks and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp. Because posts are sent privately, rather than posted publicly, its very difficult for third parties to analyze the content.

And thats why we need AaaS

If unscrupulous competitors, either foreign or domestic, decide to spread disinformation about your company, and choose to do it in black-box locations such as personalized advertising or on messaging apps, it makes sense to hire an AaaS company such as FireEye. It can work with companies such as Facebook to seek out disinformation targeted at your company inside the black-box networks where only the social networking company has authorized access.

FireEye itself offers a wide variety of security services. But I predict that companies will specialize in antidisinformation and offer their services to enterprises.

With all the threats enterprises face, its an unhappy fact that disinformation is a new threat to add to the list.Jake Berry is Minister for the Northern Powerhouse, and is MP for Rossendale and Darwen.

In my present post, Ive visited many businesses  but, all too often, am whisked from a Ministerial car into a boardroom without getting the time to talk to the people on the firms shop floor about how the Governments policies are changing their lives day to day.

Thats why, four years on from George Osbornes extraordinary speech in Manchester where he launched the Northern Powerhouse, I hit the road, Top Gear-style in my Volvo estate, for a 739-mile tour of the North. No civil servants, no script and no sound bites  just conversations and questions with over 500 people in the canteens, constructions sites, steel mills and offices of the Northern Powerhouse about what they, the people of the North, want to see next.

Im a born and bred scouser and dont shy away from a challenge, which is why I kicked off the tour in Blyth Valley, a constituency held by Labour for nearly 70 years. Tharsus is one of the Norths fastest-growing companies specialising in robotics, and local workers main concerns were about improving their local transport infrastructure.

There was also real excitement about the opportunities presented by Brexit, and a view that it doesnt matter what the deal is like, we just want to Government to get on with it. Civil servants in Whitehall would be surprised to realise that the people of the North, the majority of whom voted to leave the European Union, are braver than they can possibly understand.

Next stop was British Steel in Middlesborough South & East Cleveland  again, a constituency which has been Labour since its creation, but was won by the Conservatives last year. No other result could better epitomise the pivot of support to the Conservatives and away from both the metropolitan elite and Labour than Simon Clarkes stunning victory in 2017.

The British Steel brand was reborn in 2016 when Greybull Capital bought the iconic manufacturer from Tata. In just two years, they have turned the company round, returning it to profit. So it was with some pride that I pulled on my orange and blue British Steel overalls to talk with Simon to the workers at the Skinningrove Steel Mill.

These gritty steel workers were bending and shaping steel made in Scunthorpe into track profiles for Caterpillar vehicles. If we were in the US, the companys biggest export market, these workers would be the buckle on Trumps rust belt. Strikingly, these very same individuals main concern was his recent protectionist tariffs on the products they are producing. This traditionally Labour-voting area is now looking to Simon and the Conservatives to deliver on Brexit and to create a Northern Powerhouse economy in which they and their families can prosper and grow.

Just a few years earlier, these same workers had taken a pay cut and watered down their pensions to give British Steel the chance to prosper and give it the bright future I saw on my visit. They represent for me the true spirit of the North. Our have a go pragmatic approach to business is something that the whole of the United Kingdom can learn from.

The final Powerhouse Live stop for day one was Whitby, to see the largest privately-funded infrastructure project in Europe. Sirius Minerals is sinking a 1.5 km mine shaft, amidst the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, to open up a hundred-year seam of super-rich mineral-based fertiliser. It will then be moved by a 36 km-long underground conveyor to Teesport, from where it will be shipped and sold around the globe.

Only in the North, with our buccaneering spirit of entrepreneurship, could this unlikely project be under construction within a few years. Compare this to the trials and tribulations of building the HS2 railway line through the Chilterns or even the expansion of Heathrow. It is us, the people of the North, who are the doers, the makers and the disruptors who get on with it to drive forward Britains economy.

Since the Northern Powerhouse was launched in 2014, we have added 20 billion to the northern economy. Nowhere on my tour was that more apparent than my first visit on Day Two, when I met workers at Immingham, the UKs largest port.

Immingham adds 2 billion to the UK economy every year. Whilst the media seem obsessed with a doomsday scenario of a no-deal Brexit, these pragmatic port workers are confident that, deal or no deal, they will continue to handle the goods coming in and out of the UK in an smooth, orderly and efficient manner.

The rest of Day Two was spent in Yorkshire with visits to Hull, Shipley and Rotherham. In Shipley, we were joined by the brilliant local MP, Philip Davies, at Produmax  a business basing its corporate philosophy on Engineering Superheroes, building parts for the Dreamliner Super Jumbo. The factory had a younger workforce than many, and the questioning focused on skills.

For too long, the brightest and the best from the North have felt they have to head south to London for the highly-paid secure jobs that we all want to see flourish in our economy. Business like Produmax are changing this. Investment in technology and, crucially, in its people is creating world class materials here right here in the North of England. Its just these sort of high value-added products that show we can be the best in world producing.

If the Northern Powerhouse is truly to succeed, we must focus in on vocational training.The continued focus of the Government on lifetime learning is playing a real part in creating the Northern Powerhouse economy. It is worth noting that this has not happened by accident. Tony Blair used to talk about 50 per cent of all school leavers going to university. For the businesses I have visited to continue to grow, we need to keep the focus on Labours other, forgotten 50 per cent.

Day Three started with visits in what I like to think of as the heart of the Northern Powerhouse  Lancashire. Firstly, JJO plc, one of the UKs largest kitchen manufacturers, and then on to BAE Systems in Salmesbury for more questions from workers with the local MP, Nigel Evans.

My final stop was at the Cammel Lairds shipyard in Birkenhead, Merseyside  an area not particularly known for its rampant support of the Conservative Party. As a boy growing up in Liverpool during the 1980s, I used to look at these iconic dry docks and sheds of from the other side of the river. Now, over 30 years on, Cammell Laird has 2000 people on site building ships such as the 200 million research ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, more commonly known as Boaty McBoatface. In the meeting room, I was faced by 40 of the yards finest workers. The first question was about Margaret Thatcher and the 1980s  so this was going to be tough!

But every other question from the shipbuilders was about the future of the yard; their passion for their trade, pride and ambition for their ships abounded. They had heard of the Northern Powerhouse and they are part of it. Ships built in the North are taking on the world and winning, but for the North to succeed we need to get behind them. I am proud as a Conservative to have pulled on my Cammel Laird uniform, and seen the craft of British shipbuilders, and for me they are the ultimate test. For them, its not about politics  its about place. If we back them, they will back us.

So at the end of my 739 mile tour I have learnt this: the Northern Powerhouse is an idea that can capture the imagination of the people of the North. We now have a once in a generation opportunity to capture the political initiative as a Party.

We need to seize this chance to make the North as powerful and as prosperous as possible. Weve already made a good start, but we need to push on. Nothing I do as Minister for the Northern Powerhouse is about pulling London or the South down; rather, its about lifting up the North, so that we all succeed. But more money and more powers need to be taken away from Westminster and given directly to the North for us to improve our transport, increase our skills, create better-paid jobs and more secure employment.

The old politics is breaking down. When in hushed tones, dockers and steel workers tell you they are backing the Conservatives because we back them, it tells me  lets do more.If this Government is to endure until 2022, then it is very likely that Theresa May (or her successor) are going to have to renegotiate the Conservatives pact with the Democratic Unionists.

This was made almost inevitable by the fact that the two sides parts of the original deal were out of sync. The DUP pledged to support the Government for the lifetime of this Parliament  but the 1 billion ministers put up to secure the agreement will be fully paid out by 2019.

If taken at face value, this means that for three years the Prime Ministers majority will be underpinned by little more than gratitude. But as Sir Humphrey put it: Gratitude is merely a lively expectation of favours to come. The deal provides that it may be reviewed by mutual consent of both parties, and such a review seems probable.

So how might that go?

One possible outcome is much the same as before. Assuming that they have successfully helped to steer the Government towards a Brexit which respects the UKs territorial integrity, the DUP could simply try to exploit the Tories precarious position for another round from the pork barrel. Perhaps the Chancellor should commission some research into that giant bridge.

But Brexit wont be the only major change in circumstances which ought to weigh on the minds of DUP decision-makers. With the Northern Irish Offices wait-and-pray approach to restoring devolution rapidly running out of road, it seems likely that by 2019 the Government will either formally or informally have implemented some form of direct rule.

Such a move would have the effect of dramatically increasing the importance to the DUP of its Westminster relationships. And if the Secretary of State takes the expected step of using direct rule to bring Ulsters abortion and gay marriage laws into line with the mainland (thereby absolving the DUP of the need to do it themselves), some of the most significant barriers to a deeper relationship with the Conservatives could be neutralised too.

Many in the DUP will be wary of taking such a bold step. Some simply arent conservatives, whilst others fear that they may suffer the same fate as the Liberal Democrats  although since the Tories cannibalised most of the Lib Dem vote and dont stand in Northern Ireland, that seems unlikely.

But they have much to gain, not least how badly the sight of Northern Irish MPs serving in government would highlight to nationalist voters the steep cost of supporting Sinn Fein, who refuse to take up their Westminster seats, during a period of direct rule.

Serving in Government would also give the DUP a precious shot at bridging the gulf which has opened up between Northern Ireland and the mainland during the decades when the Provinces politicians were stuck behind a firewall in the Others column, not to mention an opportunity to influence the Governments often-lamentable understanding of the Belfast Agreement.

For the Tories, who have made so much of their unionist credentials over the past few years, the upsides are also clear: better integration of Northern Ireland into the broader political, economic, and social life of the UK, and a lasting boost to the tune of between eight and twelve seats in the House of Commons.We are analyzing the site. Please wait a few seconds..CORNWALL, Ontario  Nearly 600 cyclist biked from Ottawa to Cornwall this past Saturday, and many made the return trip on Sunday, Aug. 19 all to help fight multiple sclerosis.

The MS Bike event was in its 29th year this year, and Stephanie Desjardins, Specialist Fund Developer with MS Canada said that they expected to raise $525,000 this year.

Bikers left the Larry Robinson Arena in Metcalfe at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18 and started arriving in Cornwall at the Nav Centre early in the afternoon.

The next day, many bikers participated in the return trup back to Ottawa. The round trip totaled at 225km.

One rider who made it into Cornwall just before 2 p.m. on Saturday said that she had been participating in the MS Bike tour for 20 consecutive years.

A long time ago I was looking for a long ride, said Angie Coloumbe of Ottawa. But after the first year I fell in love with the cause. It really tugs at the heart strings.

Money raised by the MS Bike tour goes to the MS Society of Canada and will help fund programs in Eastern Ontario and national research initiatives.DANBURY  The new freshman class at Western Connecticut State University began their college careers with the ceremonial walk through the Midtown campus black iron gates on Friday afternoon.

But the annual college tradition held a special place in the hearts of one Southbury family filled with WCSU alumni.

To begin the march, 1982 graduate William Gernert handed the class of 2022s official flag to incoming freshman Keith Gernert  his son and the familys third generation at the college.

I couldnt be happier, he said. I just loved it when I was here and Im so glad hes going to get this experience. Three generations and five total alumni. Were definitely big fans of WestConn.

This is not the same school it was in 1982 at all, he said. Its just tremendous. Its so strong in so many different areas.

Keith Gernert led hundreds of his new classmates through the gates to mark move-in day on the schools two Danbury campuses.

The class of 919 freshmen is a 10.5 percent increase over last years class  the first time the enrollment has increased since 2010, university spokesman Paul Steinmetz said. The new crop of students brings the schools total enrollment, including part-time and graduate students, to just under 5,500 students.

WCSU President John Clark implored the new class to enjoy their time on campus but not miss class, which earned a loud round of applause from parents.

I dare say for myself and most of us in this audience today, we were not born with the proverbial silver spoon, but a good wooden one, he said. We were brought up to believe that to achieve the great American dream, we have to possess the work ethic, the skill and the knowledge to do so. Thats our mission here at WestConn.

Keith Gernert is excited to finally move in to campus on his own without having to go too far from home and without the heftier price tags of a major university. He visited other campuses but as soon as he stepped on the Midtown campus, he knew his college search was over.

He plans to study psychology and wants to get practical experience as a peer counselor, which he was able to do with the guidance counselors in his high school.

Everyones like, You need the college experience, he said. But I can get all of that right here with my classmates and studies and all the programs they have here ... I just gravitated toward it.

New Milford High School grads Victoria Pascento and Alexis Turian moved into Litchfield Hall and will study nursing, while several friends of theirs live in Danbury and will commute to campus.

Four childhood friends from Westchester  Clinton McKeel, Daniel DiSanzo, Ryan Melendez and Andrew LaSala  made the move across the state line to study business and are all looking forward to living on their own for the first time. Theyre participating in the WCSU program that lets students in New York and New Jersey receive in-state tuition.

The squad didnt get to room with each other, but that just means they might be able to add to it, they laughed.

Itll be a lot of fun, DiSanzo said. Its far enough away that our parents cant just surprise us, we dont think, but were close enough that we can get back home for some good food.

zach.murdock@hearstmediact.comBobcats are our states top-shelf predators. Stalking at dawn and dusk, they are largely solitary, largely silent, and hard to spot.

Robert Miller: Tufts of fur that fly from limb to limb at night

And, like true Nutmeggers, theyre becoming suburbanized. Short-tailed, stocky and speckled-coated, they may tread on big cat feet through the woods and brush lots and swamps. But they like our backyards as well.

That is one of the preliminary findings of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protections ongoing study of the states one true wild cat.

Having attached GPS collars to 50 bobcats, they began tracking them. Rather than staying away from people, the DEEP has found the bobcats circle back to us.

We found most are returning to higher housing density, said DEEP wildlife biologist Jason Hawley, who is working on the study.

There is an obvious reason for this. Humans have created a landscape in the state thats amenable to all kinds of wildlife.

White-tailed deer like to browse along the edges of yards and chow down on the shrubbery. If black bears can knock over a garbage can for a meal, thats easy pickings for them. Eastern cottontails bunny-hop across our lawns. Wild turkeys wander through.

We fill backyard bird feeders that, in turn, fatten squirrels and chipmunks and mice. We have trees and stone walls for these scurriers to live in.

Everybody has a bird feeder in their yard, Hawley said.

Knowing this, bobcats have learned to dine at the all-you-can eat squirrel-and-rabbit buffet weve set for them.

Theyre prey stations, said wildlife biologist Laura Simon of our backyard eateries.

It makes sense, said Eileen Fielding, executive director of the Sharon Audubon Center, which offers bobcats the open space they also need. They will go where the calories are.

Its also part of a remarkable turnaround for bobcats in Connecticut.

When farmers deforested the state in the 19th century, there wasnt much woodland habitat left to protect the bobcats. They were also hunted and trapped and treated as varmints. In 1972, fearing their extirpation, the state declared them a protected fur-bearing mammal.

For the rest of the 20th century, bobcats lived mostly in the states northwest corner.

But Hawley said about 10-15 years ago, people started seeing bobcats throughout Connecticut and finding them dead as roadkill. Theyre now found in all of its eight counties.

Cathy Hagadorn, director of the Connecticut Audubon Societys Deer Pond Farm sanctuary in Sherman, said they are common enough there that one of its trails is named the Bobcat Trail.

We had a day this winter when we went out and looked for animal tracks, she said. It was a perfect day, with just a light covering of snow. On a log near the Bobcat Trail, there were perfect bobcat tracks.

But theyre not easily studied. They live alone  males and females only come together to mate and mothers will travel with their cubs until theyre grown and the next mating season arrives.

They can growl and caterwaul when the occasion demands it, but theyre mostly silent. They have large territories 10 to 20 square miles. They stalk their prey  waiting and watching and pouncing  rather than running things down. Theyre cats, not pack-loving, social canines.

Hawley said the DEEP has also found bobcats are the most successful hunters of white-tailed deer fawns. If you want fewer white-tailed deer in the state  and fewer blood meals those deer provide Lyme disease-spreading black-legged ticks in the fall  you should like bobcats.

Simon, who is a specialist in backyard biology, said that mother deer leave their fawns to sit alone in fields for hours. They are eminently pounce-able.

Theyre very easy prey, Simon said.

Hawley said the GPS collars were programmed to fall off the bobcats. But 15 had stopped sending signals. The DEEP is asking people who find those collars to please send them to the DEEP.

They still have data, he said.

The DEEP is also encouraging people who see bobcats to report them, either at deep.ctwildlife@ct.gov. or by using the iNaturalist app on your smart phone.

And while bobcats can take down a family house cat, Simon said they wont bother people.

Theyre looking for easy prey, she said.

Hagadorn of Deer Pond Farm said having bobcats in our midst also shows how humans are part of the states ecology.

When we put out bird feeders, were not just feeding the birds, she said. We also feeding squirrels and chipmunks. And they become food for red-tailed hawks and coyote and bobcat.

Contact Robert Miller at earthmattersrgm@gmail.comIf a comet or other projectile were to destroy the planet Saturn, it would take 767 days for gravity to pull its remains into the sun.

Coincidentally, that is also how long it took the Bureau to finalize the rule implementing the annual privacy notice exception.

While the wait might have been astronomical in duration, the substance of the amendment to Regulation P is, thankfully, not. In December 2015, Congress passed the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation Act (the FAST Act), section 75001 of which contained an amendment to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)s Financial Privacy Rule. Specifically, it added paragraph 503(f) (codified at 15 U.S.C. 6803(f)) creating an exception to the requirement to send an annual privacy notice where certain requirements were met.

The Bureaus proposed rule stayed pretty close to the text of the statute, but added some timing requirements for starting annual notices when credit unions fall out of the exception. It also asked for feedback about what to do with the alternative delivery method. NAFCU commented on the proposal in August 2016. While it took the Bureau quite a bit of time to push the final rule out, this hasnt necessarily been an issue as both the Bureau and NCUA had indicated that they were treating the FAST Act amendment as being effective, regardless of the state of the implementing regulation. So the exception has been available for credit unions since December 2015.Why a gift ban bill for Pa. lawmakers doesn't go far enough, critics say

Gov. Tom Wolf says a loophole in a gift ban bill would still allow unregistered lobbyists from showing lawmakers with gifts and he wants it closed.Aareal Bank AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides financing, software products, digital solutions, and payment transaction applications for the property sector and related industries in Germany and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Structured Property Financing, Banking & Digital solutions, and Aareon. The Structured Property Financing segment offers property financing and refinancing solutions for office buildings, hotels, and shopping centers, as well as retail, logistics, residential properties, and student apartments. This segment also provides deposits, registered and bearer Pfandbriefe, promissory note loans, medium-term notes, debt securities, private placements, other bonds and subordinated issues, mortgage Pfandbriefe, and public sector Pfandbriefe. The Banking & Digital solutions segment offers various services and products for the housing, commercial property, and energy and waste disposal industries. Its services include specialized banking, payment systems, and optimized business processes. The Aareon segment provides IT systems consultancy and related advisory services, enterprise resource planning systems, software solutions, hosting and software as a service, and in-house services. Aareal Bank AG was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany.

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 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.3 hours ago

'Nothing else here': Why it's so hard for world to quit coal

DHANBAD, India (AP)  Every day, Raju gets on his bicycle and unwillingly pedals the world a tiny bit closer to climate catastrophe. Every day, he straps half a dozen sacks of coal pilfered from mines  up to 200 kilograms, or 440 pounds  to the reinforced metal frame of his bike.

Read ArticleGTT Communications, Inc. provides cloud networking services to multinational enterprises, carriers, and government customers in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers wide area networking, such as software-defined wide area networking, multiprotocol label switching, and virtual private LAN service; high bandwidth-Internet connectivity and IP transit, as well as broadband and wireless Internet access services; managed equipment and security services; and unified communication services consisting of session initiation protocol trunking, cloud unified communication service, and traditional analog voice. It also provides transport services, such as Ethernet services that enable to design network equipment; and video transport services to support broadcast quality transmission of live events, sports entertainment, and news to media and entertainment industry. In addition, the company offers infrastructure services enabling transport of high volume data between data centers, enterprise office locations, and media hubs; wavelength services to deliver scalable high-performance optical connectivity; colocation, turnkey, duct, and dark fiber services; advanced solutions, including security, hybrid cloud, database, and application management Its IP network consists of approximately 600 points of presence. GTT Communications, Inc. markets its products and services through a network of direct sales force and indirect sales channels. The company was formerly known as Global Telecom & Technology, Inc. and changed its name to GTT Communications, Inc. in January 2014. GTT Communications, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Read MoreCommand Security Corporation provides uniformed security officers and aviation security services in the United States. It operates through Security and Aviation Safeguards divisions. The Security division offers armed and unarmed uniformed security personnel for access control, loss prevention, mobile patrols, traffic control, security console/system operators, and fire safety directors, as well as personnel for reception, concierge, and front desk/doorman operations. This division serves governmental, quasi-governmental, and financial institutions; colleges and universities; healthcare facilities; residential communities; and commercial real estate, industrial, distribution, logistics, and retail customers. The Aviation Safeguards division provides various uniformed services for domestic and international air carriers, including security for airlines, aircraft, passengers, and cargo; and baggage screening, wheelchair escort, special escort, and skycap services. This division serves approximately 150 domestic and international airlines, airports, airport authorities, and the general aviation community at approximately 9 international airports. The company also offers labor and operations management services, such as scheduling, reporting, payroll, billing, and training management services. Command Security Corporation was founded in 1980 and is based in Herndon, Virginia.

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 statement was made during a meeting between 50 Vietnamese firms and local authorities of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on August 24 to discuss promising investment areas in Ethiopia, according to Ethiopia's ENA news agency.



Addressing the event, Ethiopian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Prof. Afwork Kassu, said that his country will design attractive policies to encourage investors, especially in prioritised fields, including manufacturing industry, apparel, renewable energy, construction and agricultural processing.

The Vietnamese business delegation is on a visit to Ethiopia in a suitable time when the African country is implementing its reform cause, said Prof. Kassu.

He held that a favourable business environment, proper economic policies, stable macroeconomy and large-scale market are important factors to investors. Therefore, he affirmed that Ethiopia is an attractive destination for investors in all aspects.

He clarified that Ethiopia has made considerable progresses in becoming a promising place for doing business in Africa through the expanding of the infrastructure system such as industrial parks, railway network and roads.

Meanwhile, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said that Ethiopia has a strategic position in the world economy. With abundant unexploited natural resources, the Horn of African country will become a destination for Vietnamese investors in trade and investment. Vietnamese firms wish to optimise existing potential of Ethiopia in energy, telecommunications, chemical production and fertiliser production.

According to the ENA, an Ethiopia-Vietnam Business Forum was held on the same day, drawing 50 Vietnamese firms who are accompanying President Tran Dai Quang during his ongoing State visit to Ethiopia.

Local firms reported that the forum aimed to seek measures to forge stronger cooperation in trade and investment, especially in oil and gas, apparel, real estate, telecommunications, power, agricultural production processing, automobile and other fields of both countries' potential.

VietnamnewsThe following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.The Howard Hughes Corp. engages in the development and management of commercial, residential, and mixed-use real estate. It operates through the following segments: Operating Assets, Master Planned Communities; Seaport District; and Strategic Developments. The Operating Assets segment consists retail, office, hospitality, and multi-family properties along with other real estate investments. The Master Planned Communities segment focuses in the development and sale of land in large-scale, long-term community development projects in and around Las Vegas, Nevada; Houston, Texas; and Columbia, Maryland. The Seaport District operates an approximately 453,000 square feet of restaurant, retail, and entertainment properties situated in three primary locations in New York, New York: Pier 17, Historic Area/Uplands, and Tin Building. The Strategic Developments segment involves in the other real estate assets in the form of entitled and unentitled land and residential condominium developments. The company was founded on November 9, 2010 and is headquartered in Woodlands, TX.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of TransDigm Group: 1711 Waterview Pkwy LLC, ARA Deutschland GmbH, ARA Holding GmbH, Acme Aerospace, Adams Rite Aerospace GmbH, Adams Rite Aerospace Inc., Advanced Inflatable Products Limited, Aero-Instruments, AeroControlex Group Inc., Aerosonic, Aerosonic LLC, Air-Sea Survival Equipment Trustee Limited, Airborne Acquisition Inc., Airborne Global Inc., Airborne Holdings Inc., Airborne Systems, Airborne Systems Canada Ltd., Airborne Systems Group Limited, Airborne Systems Holdings Limited, Airborne Systems Limited, Airborne Systems NA Inc., Airborne Systems North America Inc., Airborne Systems North America of CA Inc., Airborne Systems North America of NJ Inc., Airborne Systems Pension Trust Limited, Airborne UK Acquisition Limited, Airborne UK Parent Limited, Aircraft Materials Limited, AmSafe, AmSafe Aviation (Chongqing) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Private) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport Ltd., AmSafe Global Holdings Inc., AmSafe Global Services (Private) Limited, AmSafe Inc., Angus Electronics Co., Arkwin Industries, Arkwin Industries Inc., Auxitrol SAS, Auxitrol Weston Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Auxitrol Weston Singapore Pte. Ltd., Auxitrol Weston USA Inc., Aviation Technologies, Aviation Technologies Inc., Avionic Instruments LLC, Avionics Instruments, Avionics Specialties Inc., AvtechTyee Inc., Beta Transformer Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Beta Transformer Technology Corporation, Beta Transformer Technology LLC, Breeze-Eastern Corporation, Breeze-Eastern LLC, Bridport Erie Aviation Inc., Bridport Holdings Inc., Bridport Ltd., Bridport-Air Carrier Inc., Bruce Aerospace Inc., Bruce Industries, CDA InterCorp LLC, CEF Industries LLC, CMC Electronics Inc., CMC Electronics ME Inc., Champion Aerospace LLC, Cobham, DDC Electronics K.K., DDC Electronics Ltd., DDC Electronics Private Limited, DDC Electronique S.A.R.L., DDC Elektronik GmbH, Darchem Engineering Limited, Darchem Holdings Limited, Data Device Corp., Data Device Corporation, Dukes Aerospace Inc., EST Defence Company UK Limited, Edlaw Limited, Electromech Technologies LLC, Elektro-Metall Export GmbH, Elektro-Metall Paks KFT, Esterline, Esterline Acquisition Ltd, Esterline Europe Company LLC, Esterline Foreign Sales Corporation, Esterline International Company, Esterline Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Esterline Services China Ltd., Esterline Technologies Acquisition Ltd, Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Europe Limited, Esterline Technologies France Holding SAS, Esterline Technologies French Acquisition Limited, Esterline Technologies Global Limited, Esterline Technologies Holdings Limited, Esterline Technologies Management France SAS, Esterline Technologies SGIP LLC, Esterline Technologies Unlimited, Esterline do Brasil Assessoria e Intermediacao Ltda, Extant Components Group Holdings Inc., Extant Components Group Intermediate Inc., GQ Parachutes Limited, Guizhou Leach-Tianyi Aviation Electrical Company Ltd, Harco, HarcoSemco LLC, Hartwell Corporation, ILC Holdings Inc., Irvin Aerospace Limited, IrvinGQ France SAS, IrvinGQ Limited, Janco Corporation, Johnson Liverpool LLC, Jupiter SAS, Kirkhill Elastomers, Kirkhill Inc., Kunshan Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Leach Holding Corporation, Leach International Asia-Pacific Ltd, Leach International Europe S.A.S., Leach International Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Leach International UK Ltd, Leach Technology Group Inc., MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc., McKechnie Aerospace, McKechnie Aerospace (Europe) Ltd., McKechnie Aerospace DE Inc., McKechnie Aerospace DE LP, McKechnie Aerospace Holdings Inc., McKechnie Aerospace US LLC, Mecanismos de Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Militair Aviation Ltd., Norco, Nordisk Asia Pacific Limited, Nordisk Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Nordisk Aviation Products (Kunshan) Ltd., Nordisk Aviation Products AS, North Hills Signal Processing Corp., North Hills Signal Processing Overseas Corp., Norwich Aero Products Inc., Pascall Electronics Limited, Pexco Aerospace, Pexco Aerospace Inc., PneuDraulics, PneuDraulics Inc., Pressure Systems International Ltd, Racal Acoustics Inc., Racal Acoustics Limited, Rancho TransTechnology Corporation, Retainers Inc., SSP Industries, Schneller, Schneller Asia Pte. Ltd., Schneller LLC, Schneller S.A.R.L., Schroth Safety Products, ScioTeq LLC, ScioTeq Ltd., ScioTeq Pte. Ltd., ScioTeq SAS, ScioTeq bvba, Semco Instruments, Semco Instruments Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Signal Processing Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Skandia, Skandia Inc., Skurka Aerospace, Skurka Aerospace Inc., Symetrics Industries, Symetrics Industries LLC, Symetrics Technology Group LLC, TA Mfg Limited, TDG ESL Holdings Inc., TDG France Ultimate Parent SAS, TDG Germany GmbH, TEAC Aerospace Holdings Inc., TEAC Aerospace Technologies Inc., TREALITY SVS LLC, TTERUSA Inc., Tactair Fluid Controls Inc., Takata Protection Systems, Technical Airborne Components Industries SPRL, Telair International, Telair International AB, Telair International GmbH, Telair International LLC, Telair International Services PTE Ltd, Telair US LLC, Texas Rotronics Inc., TransDigm (Barbados) SRL, TransDigm Canada ULC, TransDigm European Holdings Limited, TransDigm Ireland Ltd., TransDigm Receivables LLC, TransDigm UK Holdings plc, Transicoil (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad, Transicoil LLC, Wallop Industries Limited, Weston Aerospace Ltd, Whippany Actuation Systems, Whippany Actuation Systems LLC, XCEL Power Systems Ltd., Young & Franklin, and Young & Franklin Inc..Environmental problems negatively impact human health and quality of life. In spite of growing awareness including different cleanup activities, there are not enough viable, sustainable, and scalable solutions to address these challenges.



This competition is part of the U.S. Embassys ongoing campaign to EndPlasticPollution and KeepVietnamClean. Matching researchers with entrepreneurs through this campaign encourages collaboration between universities, the startup community, and the private sector to create sustainable solutions.



Through this challenge, the U.S. Embassy is committed to helping nurture more viable, sustainable and scalable solutions to address Vietnams biggest environmental problems, said U.S. Department of States Regional Public Engagement Officer Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, Mrs. Fenghua Wang.



Support from Hatch!, Swiss EP, BK Holdings, and Startup Vietnam Foundation helped rapidly launch this initiative. Kova Paint, Vietnam Oman Investment (VOI) and VIC Partners also pledged support by providing one cash prize each to the winners.





John Sechrest, founder of the Seattle Angel Conference, the Lean Startup Seattle Group, and an expert on building startup ecosystems through Startup Weekends, gave the keynote presentation, How to Form High-performing Teams. Sechrest along with Aaron Everhart from Hatch! and others will facilitate the intensive 3-day boot camp.

The competition will be held from August to November 2018.

By UYEN PHUONGWall Street analysts have given iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol 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 iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Europe ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.Bayer Aktiengesellschaft operates as a life science company worldwide. It operates through Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, and Crop Science segments. The Pharmaceuticals segment offers prescription products primarily for cardiology and women's health care; specialty therapeutics in the areas of oncology, hematology, and ophthalmology; and diagnostic imaging equipment and contrast agents, as well as cell and gene therapy. The Consumer Health segment markets nonprescription over-the-counter medicines, medical products, medicated skincare products, nutritional supplements, and self-care solutions in dermatology, nutritional supplements, pain and cardiovascular risk prevention, digestive health, allergy, and cold and cough. The Crop Science segment offers chemical and biological crop protection products, improved plant traits, seeds, digital solution, and pest and weed control products, as well as customer service for agriculture. This segment also provides breeding, propagation, and production/processing of seeds, including seed dressing. Bayer Aktiengesellschaft has a collaboration agreement with MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop oncology drugs; research and license agreement with Dewpoint Therapeutics, Inc. for the development of new treatments for cardiovascular and gynecological diseases; collaboration agreement with Exscientia Ltd, Foundation Medicine Inc., and Evotec AG; research collaboration with Arvinas Inc. and Forschungszentrum JAlich GmbH; strategic research partnership with University of Oxford to develop novel gynecological therapies; and research collaboration agreements with Haplogen GmbH and Kyoto University to identify new drugs candidates for the treatment of pulmonary diseases. The company distributes its products through wholesalers, pharmacies and pharmacy chains, supermarkets, online and other retailers, and hospitals, as well as directly to farmers. Bayer Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany.

Read MoreHien accompanied her husband on a state visit to Ethiopia from August 23  25, which aims to discuss measures to boost the relations between Vietnam and Ethiopia, particularly in economics and trade. This is the first trip to Ethiopia by a head of State of Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1976.



Hamlin Fistula Ethiopia is a registered charitable organisation in Ethiopia dedicated to the treatment and prevention of childbirth injuries called obstetric fistula. The foundation was established in 1974 when the country was confronting the tragic situation of thousands of Ethiopian women suffering from obstetric fistula.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, and Industry and Trade in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry of Ethiopia to host the Vietnam  Ethiopia business forum, gathering more than 300 enterprises from both sides in an effort to improve the bilateral trade and investment.

A series of meetings also took place between Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Ethiopian Trade Minister Melaku Alebel; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong and Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Shiferaw Shigute; and Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and Deputy Ministers of Communications and Information Technology Sisay Tola Yadete and Mebra Mariam Kallo.

Since the establishment of the diplomatic ties in 1976, the two-way trade has grown continuously, hitting $11.3 million in 2017. Vietnam exported $2.2 million worth of goods to Ethiopia, mainly in textiles, leather and footwear, and chemical products.

President Quang and his wife will depart for Egypt on August 25 to begin a five-day State visit at the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

VietnamnewsThe following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group: 360 Connect S.A., [email protected] Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus  Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way  Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U.  Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited  Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..Buckeye Partners, L.P. owns and operates liquid petroleum products pipelines in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Domestic Pipelines & Terminals, Global Marine Terminals, and Merchant Services. The Domestic Pipelines & Terminals segment transports liquid petroleum products, including gasoline, jet fuel, and various distillates. This segment also provides crude oil services, including train loading/unloading, storage, and throughput; and turn-key operations and maintenance, asset development, and construction services for third-party pipeline, terminal, and energy assets, as well as operates and/or maintains third-party pipelines. It owns and operates approximately 6,000 miles of pipeline located primarily in the northeastern and upper midwestern portions of the United States, and services 100 delivery locations; 110 active terminals that provide bulk storage and throughput services with aggregate storage capacity of 55 million barrels; and 2 underground propane storage caverns. The Global Marine Terminals segment provides marine accessible bulk storage and blending, rail and truck rack loading/unloading, and petroleum processing services located primarily in the East Coast and Gulf Coast regions of the United States, as well as in the Caribbean. This segment owns and operates seven liquid petroleum products and crude oil terminals. The Merchant Services segment is involved in the wholesale distribution of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, natural gas liquids, propane, ethanol, and biodiesel, as well as petroleum distillates, such as heating oil, diesel fuel, kerosene, and fuel oil. This segment also provides fuel oil supply, butane, and distribution services. Buckeye GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Buckeye Partners, L.P. was founded in 1886 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Read MoreWall Street analysts have given iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Remarks on the Latest Development Regarding the Korean Peninsula Nuclear Issue

2018/08/25

Q: The US side recently claimed that China's attitude towards the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has changed, which has affected the negotiations between the US and the DPRK to resolve this issue. What is your comment?

A: The US side made these remarks in total disregard of basic facts. We are gravely concerned about this irresponsible act and has lodged stern representations with the US side.

China's position on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is consistent and clear. We are committed to achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and resolving this issue through dialogue and consultation. For all these years, China has been making unremitting efforts for this issue's proper settlement. We have been playing an important and constructive role and comprehensively and strictly implementing the DPRK-related resolutions of the Security Council. All these efforts are witnessed by the international community.

We support the US and the DPRK in actively seeking a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue in accordance with the consensus reached by their two leaders at the Singapore summit. The key for all relevant parties at this moment is to stick to the direction of seeking a political settlement, actively engage in contacts and talks, accommodate each other's legitimate concerns, and demonstrate more sincerity and flexibility, rather than flip-flopping and shifting blames to others. Only in this way can we steadily advance the political settlement process of the Korean Peninsula issue.

China will keep in close contact with all relevant parties and continue to play a positive role in realizing denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and enduring stability in East Asia.Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company. The company operates through two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. It provides data services to identify and understand their customers, as well as to manage the risks related with lending. The company also offers analytical and decision tools that enhance businesses to manage their customers, minimize the risk of fraud, comply with legal requirements, and automate decisions and processes. In addition, it provides financial education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, online educational tools, and applications to manage their financial position, access credit offers, and protect themselves from identity fraud. The company serves customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecommunications and utility, insurance, media and technology, government and public, and other sectors. It operates in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Experian plc was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Read MoreWall Street analysts have given iShares Gold Trust 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 Gold Trust 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 Hertz Global 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 Hertz Global 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.

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 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 Hyatt Hotels: CHANCELLOR STREET CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION INC., GLENDALE HOTEL PROPERTIES L.L.C., HT-SEATTLE HOLDINGS LLC, 1379919 ALBERTA INC., 319168 ONTARIO LIMITED, 3385434 CANADA INC., ADMINISTRACION DE PERSONAL ANDARES S. DE R.L. DE C.V., AIC HOLDING CO., AIRPORT PLAZA ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, AIRPORT PLAZA HOTEL LLC, AIRPORT PLAZA OFFICE BUILDING LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, AMERISUITES FRANCHISING L.L.C., ARANCIA LIMITED, ARUBA BEACHFRONT RESORTS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, ARUBA BEACHFRONT RESORTS N.V., ASIA HOSPITALITY INC., ASIA HOSPITALITY INVESTORS B.V., ASIAN HOTEL N.V., ATRIUM HOTEL L.L.C., AUSTIN RESORT BEVERAGE LLC, AmeriSuites Hotel, BAKU HOTEL COMPANY - AZERI, BAKU HOTEL COMPANY - CAYMAN, BASTROP MARKETING L.L.C., BAY II INVESTOR INC., BELLEVUE ASSOCIATES, BH PLAZA LLC, BRE/AMERISUITES PROPERTIES L.L.C., BRE/AMERISUITES TXNC GP L.L.C., BRE/AMERISUITES TXNC PROPERTIES L.P., BURVAN HOTEL ASSOCIATES, CAL-HARBOR SO. PIER URBAN RENEWAL ASSOCIATES L.P., CELAYA RESORTS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., CHESAPEAKE COMMUNITIES LLC, CHESAPEAKE RESORT LLC, CIUDAD DEL CARMEN DIAMANTE RESORT S. DE R.L. DE C.V, COAST BEACH L.L.C., COMPAGNIE HOTELIERE DE LAGON BLEU, CPM SEATTLE HOTELS L.L.C., CRW INVESTMENT LLC, CTR INTEREST HOLDCO INC., DALLAS REGENCY LLC, DENVER DOWNTOWN HOTEL PARTNERS LLC, DESARROLLADORA HOTELERA ACUEDUCTO S. DE R.L. DE C.V., DH BEVERAGE LLC, DIAMANTE RESORT LA PAZ S. DE R.L. DE C.V., DISTRICT HOTEL PARTNERS LLC, EXHALE ENTERPRISES GIFT SERVICES COMPANY, EXHALE ENTERPRISES II L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES III INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES IV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES V L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES VIII INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES X INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XIV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XIX L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XV TCI LTD., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XVI L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XVII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XVIII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XX L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXI INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXIV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXVI L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXVII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXVIII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXXI L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXXII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXXIII INC., FAN PIER L.L.C., FAR EAST HOTELS INC., G.E.H. PROPERTIES LIMITED, GAINEY DRIVE ASSOCIATES, GALAXY AEROSPACE COMPANY LLC, GHE HOLDINGS LIMITED, GRAND HYATT BERLIN GMBH, GRAND HYATT DFW BEVERAGE LLC, GRAND HYATT SAN ANTONIO L.L.C., GRAND HYATT SF L.L.C., GRAND RIVERWALK BEVERAGE LLC, GRAND TORONTO CORP., GRAND TORONTO VENTURE L.P., GREENWICH HOTEL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, H.E. ATLANTA CENTENNIAL PARK HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. AUSTIN L.L.C., H.E. BERMUDA L.L.C., H.E. CAP CANA L.L.C., H.E. DRISKILL LLC, H.E. GRAND CYPRESS L.L.C., H.E. IRVINE L.L.C., H.E. KANSAS CITY L.L.C., H.E. LENOX L.L.C., H.E. NASHVILLE L.L.C., H.E. NEWPORT L.L.C., H.E. ORLANDO L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC HOTEL L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC PARKING L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC RETAIL L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA SANSOM L.L.C., H.E. PORTLAND HC L.L.C., H.E. PORTLAND L.L.C., H.E. PROPERTIES HOLDING L.L.C., H.E. PROPERTIES L.L.C., H.E. SAN ANTONIO I L.L.C., H.E. SAN ANTONIO L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON JV L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON OWNER L.L.C., HAPP INVESTOR LTD., HARBORSIDE HOTEL LLC, HARBORSIDE LAND LLC, HC PORTLAND JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HC ROYAL PALMS L.L.C., HCV CINCINNATI HOTEL L.L.C., HE ORLANDO HOTEL LLC, HGP (TRAVEL) LIMITED, HH NASHVILLE HOLDINGS L.L.C., HH NASHVILLE JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HH PORTLAND L.L.C., HHMA BURLINGTON BEVERAGE L.L.C., HI HOLDINGS (SWITZERLAND) GMBH, HI HOLDINGS BAJA B.V., HI HOLDINGS BRAZIL S.A.R.L., HI HOLDINGS CELAYA B.V., HI HOLDINGS CIUDAD DEL CARMEN B.V., HI HOLDINGS CYPRUS LIMITED, HI HOLDINGS CYPRUS-INDIA LIMITED, HI HOLDINGS GUADALAJARA B.V., HI HOLDINGS HP CABO B.V., HI HOLDINGS HP TIJUANA HOTEL B.V., HI HOLDINGS KYOTO CO., HI HOLDINGS LA PAZ B.V., HI HOLDINGS LATIN AMERICA B.V., HI HOLDINGS NETHERLANDS B.V., HI HOLDINGS PLAYA B.V., HI HOLDINGS RIO S.A.R.L., HI HOLDINGS RIVIERA MAYA B.V., HI HOLDINGS VIENNA S.A.R.L., HI HOLDINGS ZURICH S.A.R.L., HI HOTEL ADVISORY SERVICES GMBH, HI HOTEL INVESTORS CYPRUS LIMITED, HIHCL AMSTERDAM B.V., HIHCL HP AMSTERDAM AIRPORT B.V., HIHCL HR AMSTERDAM B.V., HILP HOTEL SERVICE PROVIDER LLC, HOTEL AM BELVEDERE HOLDING GMBH, HOTEL AM BELVEDERE HOLDING GMBH & CO KG, HOTEL INVESTMENTS HOLDING CO LLC, HOTEL INVESTMENTS L.L.C., HOTEL INVESTORS I INC., HOTEL INVESTORS II INC., HOTEL PROJECT SYSTEMS PTE LTD, HOTEL SERVICES CIUDAD DEL CARMEN S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HOTELS CS CELAYA S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HP ATLANTA CENTENNIAL PARK JV LLC, HP AUSTIN L.L.C., HP BEVERAGE DALLAS DFW AIRPORT LLC, HP BEVERAGE SUGAR LAND LLC, HP BOSTON HOLDINGS L.L.C., HP GLENDALE JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HP GLENDALE L.L.C., HP INDIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, HP LAS VEGAS BEVERAGE L.L.C., HP M STREET L.L.C., HP ROUTE 46 TEXAS LLC, HP SAN FRANCISCO L.L.C., HP SAN JUAN L.L.C., HP TEN TEXAS LLC, HPHH ATLANTA L.L.C., HPHH DENVER L.L.C., HPHH SAN JOSE JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HPHH SAN JOSE L.L.C., HQ CHESAPEAKE LLC, HR LOST PINES RESORT LLC, HR MC HOTEL COMPANY S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HR MC SERVICES II S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HR MC SERVICES S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HRHC LLC, HT- WAILEA LLC, HT-AVENDRA GROUP HOLDINGS L.L.C., HT-AVENDRA L.L.C., HT-CHESAPEAKE COMMUNITIES INC., HT-CHESAPEAKE RESORT INC., HT-HOTEL EQUITIES INC., HT-HUNTINGTON BEACH INC., HT-JERSEY PIER INC., HT-JERSEY PIER L.P., HT-JERSEY PIER LLC, HT-LONG BEACH L.L.C., HT-MIAMI BEACH L.L.C., HT-PARK 57 INC., HT-SEATTLE LLC, HT-SIERRA L.L.C., HT-VANCOUVER INC., HTLB L.L.C., HTS - NS L.L.C., HTS - NY L.L.C., HTS-ASPEN L.L.C., HTS-BC INC., HTS-INVESTMENT L L.C., HTSF L.L.C., HTW BEVERAGE LLC, HY LONG BEACH HOTEL LLC, HYATT (BARBADOS) CORPORATION, HYATT (JAPAN) CO. LTD., HYATT (THAILAND) LIMITED, HYATT ARUBA N.V., HYATT ASIA PACIFIC HOLDINGS LIMITED, HYATT AUSTRALIA HOTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LIMITED, HYATT AUSTRIA GMBH, HYATT BEACH FRONT N.V., HYATT BORNEO MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED, HYATT BRITANNIA CORPORATION LTD., HYATT CC OFFICE CORP., HYATT CHAIN SERVICES LIMITED, HYATT CRYSTAL CITY LLC., HYATT CURACAO N.V., HYATT DISASTER RELIEF FUND, HYATT DO BRASIL PARTICIPACOES LTDA, HYATT EQUITIES L.L.C., HYATT FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT SERVICES INC., HYATT FRANCHISING CANADA CORP., HYATT FRANCHISING L.L.C., HYATT FRANCHISING LATIN AMERICA L.L.C., HYATT FULFILLMENT OF MARYLAND INC., HYATT GLOBAL SERVICES INC., HYATT GTLD L.L.C., HYATT HOC INC., HYATT HOLDINGS (UK) LIMITED, HYATT HOSPITALITY SERVICES L.L.C., HYATT HOTEL MANAGEMENT LIMITED, HYATT HOTELS CONSULTANCY SERVICES ASIA PACIFIC LIMITED, HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION OF KANSAS, HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION OF MARYLAND, HYATT HOTELS FOUNDATION, HYATT HOTELS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, HYATT HOTELS OF CANADA INC., HYATT HOTELS OF FLORIDA INC., HYATT HOTELS OF PUERTO RICO INC., HYATT HOUSE CANADA INC., HYATT HOUSE FRANCHISING L.L.C., HYATT HOUSE HOTEL HOLDING COMPANY L.L.C., HYATT INDIA CONSULTANCY PRIVATE LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL (ASIA) LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL (EUROPE AFRICA MIDDLE EAST) LLC, HYATT INTERNATIONAL - JAPAN LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL - SOUTHWEST ASIA LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL -ASIA PACIFIC LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL -SEA (PTE) LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, HYATT INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS CO., HYATT INTERNATIONAL HOTEL MANAGEMENT (BEIJING) CO. LTD., HYATT INTERNATIONAL MILAN L.L.C., HYATT INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (BEIJING) CO. LTD., HYATT INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL SERVICES INC., HYATT JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HYATT LACSA SERVICES INC., HYATT LOUISIANA L.L.C., HYATT MAINZ GMBH, HYATT MARKETING SERVICES INC., HYATT MARKETING SERVICES NIGERIA COMPANY LIMITED, HYATT MINNEAPOLIS LLC, HYATT MINORITY INVESTMENTS INC., HYATT MSS L.L.C., HYATT NORTH AMERICA MANAGEMENT SERVICES INC., HYATT OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HYATT OF BAJA S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HYATT OF CHINA LIMITED, HYATT OF FRANCE S.A.R.L., HYATT OF GUAM LIMITED, HYATT OF ITALY S.R.L., HYATT OF LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN L.L.C., HYATT OF LATIN AMERICA S.A. DE C.V., HYATT OF MACAU LIMITED, HYATT OF MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., HYATT OF PHILIPPINES LIMITED, HYATT PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS L.L.C., HYATT PLACE ANNE ARUNDEL BEVERAGE INC., HYATT PLACE CANADA CORPORATION, HYATT PLACE FRANCHISING L.L.C., HYATT PLACE OF MARYLAND INC., HYATT REGENCY COLOGNE GMBH, HYATT REGENCY CORPORATION PTY. LIMITED, HYATT SERVICES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED, HYATT SERVICES CANADA INC., HYATT SERVICES CARIBBEAN L.L.C., HYATT SERVICES GMBH, HYATT SERVICES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, HYATT SHARED SERVICE CENTER L.L.C., HYATT TRINIDAD LIMITED, HYCANADA INC., HYCARD INC., HYSTAR L.L.C., Hyatt Corporation, INFORMATION SERVICES LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL RESERVATIONS LIMITED, JOINT VENTURE ITALKYR CLOSED JOINT STOCK COMPANY, JUNIPER HOTELS PRIVATE LIMITED, KSA MANAGEMENT INC., KYOTO HOLDING CO., LHR-PARTNERS LTD., LORING PARK ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, LOST PINES BEVERAGE LLC, MACAE PARTNERS S.A.R.L., MAHIMA HOLDINGS PRIVATE LIMITED, MARION RESERVATION CENTER L.L.C., MEXICO CITY HOTEL INVESTMENTS B.V., MILAN HOTEL INVESTMENTS B.V., MIRAVAL ARIZONA GUARANTOR LLC, MIRAVAL GROUP LLC, MIRAVAL RESORT ARIZONA HOLDINGS LLC, MIRAVAL RESORT ARIZONA LLC, MIRAVAL RESORT ARIZONA OPERATING CO. INC., MIRAVAL RESORT TUCSON LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS I LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS II LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS III LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS TRUST, MRG ATX BEVERAGE HOLDINGS LLC, MRG ATX HOLDINGS II LLC, MRG ATX HOLDINGS LLC, MRG ATX INVESTMENT LLC, MRG ATX MANAGEMENT I LLC, MRG ATX MANAGEMENT II LLC, MRG ATX OPERATIONS LLC, MRG CRW HOLDINGS LLC, MRG CRW MANAGEMENT I LLC, MRG CRW MANAGEMENT II LLC, MRG CRW OPERATIONS LLC, MUNICH OPCO GMBH, Miraval Resort, OASIS LUXURY RENTALS INCORPORATED, PARIS HOTEL COMPANY B.V., PARK HYATT HAMBURG GMBH, PARK HYATT HOTEL GMBH, PARK HYATT WATER TOWER ASSOCIATES L.L.C., PH NEW YORK L.L.C., PHMC RESIDENCIAS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., POLK SMITH REGENCY LLC, PT HYATT INDONESIA, PVD INVESTMENT COMPANY S.A.R.L., Peabody Hotels & Resort, RCG PROPERTIES LLC, REGENCY BEVERAGE COMPANY LLC, REGENCY RIVERWALK BEVERAGE LLC, RESERVATIONS CENTER L.L.C., RIO JV PARTNERS PARTICIPACOES LTDA., RIO PRETO PARTNERS HOTEIS LTDA., RIO PRETO PARTNERS S.A.R.L., ROSEMONT PROJECT MANAGEMENT L.L.C., ROUTE 46 MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES CORP., RUNWAY HOLDING L.L.C., RUNWAY L.L.C., SAO PAULO INVESTMENT COMPANY INC., SAO PAULO INVESTORS LIMITED, SASIH, SDI EQUITIES INVESTOR L.L.C., SDI INC., SDI SECURITIES 11 LLC, SDI SECURITIES 6 LLC, SELECT HOTELS GROUP L.L.C., SELECT JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., SEOUL MIRAMAR CORPORATION, SERVICIOS DE HOTELERIA SAN JOSE S. DE R.L. DE C.V., SERVICIOS HOTELEROS LA PAZ S. DE R.L. DE C.V., SETTLEMENT INVESTORS INC., SHG PUERTO RICO INC., SIERRA HEALTHSTYLES LLC, SJC DESARROLLOS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., SKS CORP. N.V., SMC HOTELS B.V., SOROCABA PARTNERS HOTEIS LTDA, SOROCABA PARTNERS S.A.R.L., STANHOPE L.L.C., STARHILL LORING PARK L.L.C., SUGAR LAND/HP LLC, THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL COMPANY LIMITED, THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED, TIJUANA PARTNERS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., TR MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT LLC, TUCSON VILLAS HOLDINGS LLC, TUCSON VILLAS LLC, TWO SEAS HOLDINGS LIMITED, Two Roads Hospitality, WAILEA HOTEL & BEACH RESORT L.L.C., WAILEA HOTEL HOLDINGS L.L.C., WAILEA MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION L.L.C., WAILEA RESORT VILLAS HOLDINGS L.L.C., WAILEA RESORT VILLAS L.L.C., WEST END RESIDENCES L.L.C., XENIA ASSURANCE COMPANY INC., XENIA ASSURANCE COMPANY OF ILLINOIS, ZURICH ESCHERWIESE HOTEL GMBH, and ZURICH HOTEL INVESTMENTS B.V..Xcel Energy, Inc. operates as a holding company, which engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits and distributes electricity primarily in portions of generates, transmits and distributes electricity in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas and New Mexico. In addition, this segment includes sales for resale and provides wholesale transmission service to various entities in the United States. It also includes commodity trading operations. The Regulated Natural Gas Utility segment transports, stores, and distributes natural gas primarily in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Michigan and Colorado. The All Others segment engages in steam, appliance repair services, nonutility real estate activities, processing solid waste into refuse-derived fuel and investments in rental housing projects that qualify for low-income housing tax credits. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.

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The following companies are subsidiares of V.F.: 1994 Inc. Ltd., 530 Park Ave 10-F LLC, 530 Park Ave 14-H LLC, ALL'CROWN SA, Administradora Mexicana de Servicios S de RL de CV, Administradora de Servicios Honduras S.A., Altra Footwear, Altra LLC, C.C.R.L. LLC, Chapter 4 Corp, Cherry SAS, Ciliegia Srl, Corporacion Distribiduidora de Dickies S de RL de CV, Cutler de Mexico SA, Czech Distribution Services s.r.o., DSI Enterprises LLC, Dickies de Honduras SA de CV, Dickies de Parras S de RL de CV, EAGLE CREEK EUROPE LIMITED, Eagle Creek, Eagle Creek Inc., GFYS LLC, GREENSPORT MONTE BIANCO, Horace Small, INVERSIONES INMOBILIARIES AUSTRALES SA, INVERSIONES VF CHILE DOS LTDA, INVERSIONES VF CHILE LTDA, IW Apparel LLC, IW Holdings LLC, IW Panama Trading S. de R.L., IceBreaker, Icebreaker Apparel LLC, Icebreaker Australia Pty, Icebreaker Australia Retail Pty, Icebreaker Europe Limited, Icebreaker Holdings Limited, Icebreaker Licensing LLC, Icebreaker Limited, Icebreaker Merino Clothing Europe Ltd., Icebreaker New Zealand Limited, Icebreaker Pure Merino GmbH, Imagewear Apparel Corp., Industrial Laundry Services LLC, Industrias Coahuila de Zaragosa S de RL de CV, JanSport Apparel Corp., Kipling Apparel Corp., Kipling Belgium, Kipling Holdings LLC, Kirsche GmbH, Kodiak Group Holdings CO., Lee Bell Inc., Lucy, Lucy Apparel LLC, Majestic Athletic Official Store, Mo Industries Holdings, NII Sales - Texas LLC, Napapijri, North East Rig-Out Limited, North Elm Properties LLC, RED KAP DE MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, RKI HONDURAS S de RL, Reef Holdings Corporation, Rock & Republic, SERVICIOS Y PROMOCIONES TEXTILES LTDA, South Cone, South Cone Inc, Supreme, Supreme Holdings Inc., Supreme Intermediate Holdings Inc., T.I. Venture Group Inc, TBL INVESTMENTS HOLDING GMBH, TBL Licensing LLC, THE NORTH FACE ITALY SRL, THE NORTH FACE SAGL, THE RECREATIONAL FOOTWEAR CO., TIMBERLAND EUROPE BV, TIMBERLAND HK TRADING LTD., TIMBERLAND LUXEMBOURG HOLDING ASIA S.A.R.L., TIMBERLAND UK LTD., The North Face, The North Face Apparel Corp, Timberland, Timberland Asia LLC, Timberland IDC Ltd., Timberland International LLC, VANS MADEIRA LDA, VANS SPAIN SL, VF (J) FRANCE SAS, VF (J) NEDERLAND BV, VF (J) NETHERLANDS SERVICES BV, VF APPAREL PORTUGAL LDA, VF ASIA LTD, VF Apollo Investments Limited, VF Apollo Singapore Pte. Ltd., VF Asia Sourcing Ltd, VF Austria GMBH, VF BRANDS MALAYSIA SDN BHD, VF BRANDS TAIWAN LTD., VF Belgium BV, VF Brands Pte. Ltd., VF CH Apollo Sagl, VF CH Holdings GmbH, VF CH Imagewear Canada GmbH, VF CH MEXICO INVESTMENTS SAGL, VF CH-MEX Holdings LLC, VF CHINA LTD., VF CIS LLC, VF COMERCIALIZADORA LTDA, VF CZECH SERVICES SRO, VF CZECH SRO, VF Corporation, VF DE ARGENTINA SA, VF DO BRAZIL LTDA, VF EGE GIYIM SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI, VF EUROPE BV, VF GERMANY TEXTILE-HANDELS GMBH, VF Germany Services GMBH, VF HELLAS EPE, VF HOLDING SAGL, VF HOLDINGS MEXICO LLC, VF Hong Kong Limited, VF IB Holdings LLC, VF IMAGEWEAR DE MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, VF IMAGEWEAR MAJESTIC (UK) LTD, VF INTERNATIONAL SAGL, VF INVESTIMENTOS DO BRAZIL LTDA, VF IP Holdings LLC, VF ISRAEL (APPAREL) LTD, VF ITALIA SRL, VF ITALY SERVICES SRL, VF Imagewear Canada Co., VF Imagewear Inc, VF Intellectual Property Services Inc, VF International Holding GmbH, VF Investments Holding GmbH, VF Investments Netherlands BV, VF JEANSWEAR ARGENTINA SRL, VF JEANSWEAR ESPANA SL, VF Japan KK, VF KOREA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, VF LUXEMBOURG SARL, VF Management Service Italy S.r.l., VF NL Holdings CV, VF NL Imagewear B.V., VF NORTHERN EUROPE LIMITED, VF NORTHERN EUROPE SERVICES LIMITED, VF Norway AS, VF OUTDOOR (CANADA) CO, VF OUTDOOR MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, VF OUTDOOR SERVICES S DE RL DE CV, VF Outdoor LLC, VF PANAMA SOURCING SERVICES S. DE R.L., VF PARTICIPACOES DO BRASIL LTDA, VF PERU SA, VF POLSKA DISTRIBUTION SP ZO O, VF Playwear Dominicana SA, VF Playwear LLC, VF Receivables LP, VF Receivables Services LLC, VF SAGEBRUSH ENTERPRISES LLC, VF SALES SAGL, VF SERVICIOS DE HONDURAS SA, VF SERVICIOS EL SALVADOR LTDA. DE CV, VF SHANGHAI SOURCING LIMITED, VF SOURCING THAILAND LTD, VF Scandinavia ApS, VF Services LLC, VF Servicios de Guatemala Srl, VF Servicios de Nicaragua Srl., VF Shanghai Enterprise Company, VF Shanghai Limited, VF Singapore Overseas Services Pte Ltd, VF Solutions LLC, VF Sourcing India Private Limited, VF Sweden AB, VF Switzerland Enterprises GmbH, VF Taiwan Limited, VF Transglobal GmbH, VF Treasury Services LLC, VFSE Investments LLC, VFSLA Commercial Services LLC, VFSLA Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Vans, Vans Inc, W-D APPAREL COMPANY LLC, W-D Licensing LLC, WD Europe SAS, WD Supply Holding Limited (HK), Walls Cayman Limited, Walls Holding Company LLC, Walls Industries LLC, Williamson Industries Ltd., Williamson-Dickie APAC Holding Company Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Apparel Trading (Shanghai) Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Canada Co., Williamson-Dickie Europe GmbH, Williamson-Dickie Europe Holdings Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Europe Ltd., Williamson-Dickie HK Holding Company Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Holding Co-Mexico S de RL de CV, Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company LLC, Williamson-Dickie Middle East FZE, Wooster GK, Workwear Sourcing S. de R.L., World Jeans VF Asia Ltd, Worldwide Workwear Ltd., and Ying Tao Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd..A Russian cargo ship departed the International Space Station Wednesday night as another resupply mission from Japan is planned in September.

The Expedition 56 crew members also observed protein crystals, studied an ancient navigation technique and researched time perception in space.

Two Soyuz crew ships and a Progress resupply ship remain docked at the orbital lab after the Progress 69 (69P) cargo craft undocked from the Zvezda service module Wednesday at 10:16 p.m. EDT. It will orbit Earth until Aug. 29 for engineering tests monitored by Roscosmos mission controllers before deorbiting over the Pacific Ocean.

The next resupply mission is coming from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's "Kounotori" H-II Transfer Vehicle. It is targeted for launch Sept. 10 to deliver science, supplies and batteries for installation during a pair of spacewalks next month. Russia's next resupply mission, the Progress 71, is targeted for a two-day trip to the station at the end of October.

Commander Drew Feustel continued working on a pair of similar protein crystal experiments today. The BioServe Protein Crystalography-1 and Protein Crystal Growth-13 studies allow astronauts to observe crystal growth in space and analyze the results. This saves researchers time without having to wait for samples to be returned to Earth for analysis.

Alexander Gerst of ESA assisted Serena Aunon-Chancellor from NASA and tested using a sextant in space for celestial navigation during an emergency. The duo worked inside the Cupola today and tested stability, positioning and sighting with the device using a star map.

Gerst then switched his attention to a European Space Agency study exploring how astronauts perceive time in space. Researchers seek to quantify subjective changes in time perception to understand how astronauts navigate, move and hear in space.

On-Orbit Status Report

69 Progress (69P) Undock: Last night, 69P undocked from the Service Module (SM) Aft port at 9:16 PM CDT. This Progress vehicle will remain on-orbit conduct non-ISS free-flight experiments until 29-August. The deorbit burn is scheduled for Wednesday, August 29 at 8:24 PM CDT followed by atmospheric entry and destruction.

Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) 13: The crew set up the PCG 13 investigation hardware and filled a subset of the new PCG card wells. The CASIS PCG 13 investigation seeks to enhance the way crystals are grown in a microgravity environment. It allows crewmembers to observe imperfections within a crystal and make real-time adjustments for follow-up experiments with samples already on the ISS. The changes have the potential to dramatically reduce the time it takes to conduct an experiment onboard the ISS.

BioServe Protein Crystallography (BPC)-1: The crew performed microscope operations today for the BPC-1 investigation. They removed the BPC-1 samples from the Space Automated Bioproduct Laboratory (SABL), made observations, photographed the sample wells with the microscope, and returned the samples to the SABL. BPC-1 seeks to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting protein crystal growth in real time onboard the ISS. Crewmembers add solutions to the hardware, observe the crystals that form and adjust for follow-on experiments. This approach gives scientists the ability to optimize crystal growth in microgravity instead of waiting for samples to return and then launching them again.

Expedite the Processing of Experiments to the Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack (ER)5 Valve Removal and Replacement (R&R) and Plant Habitat Disassembly: Today the crew de-installed the Plant Habitat facility from ER5 and R&Red the leaking ER Subsystem Valve. This valve was identified as the source of a Moderate Temperature Loop leak in the Japanese Experiment Module on August 10th. The Rack has been re-powered and ground specialists are performing a checkout post R&R in preparation for tomorrow's re-installation of Plant Habitat.

Sextant Navigation: Today the crew performed a session for the Sextant Navigation investigation. The crew collected the data and recorded the results for ground evaluation. This session focused on stable sighting position identification and evaluation. Astronauts onboard the ISS test a hand-held sextant that is intended for use on future Orion exploration missions. The results from this investigation can aid in the development of emergency navigation methods for future manned spacecraft. Historically, Gemini missions in 1965-66 were the first to exercise sextant sightings from a spacecraft. A sextant was built into Apollo vehicles as a navigation backup in case of lost communications.

Time Perception in Microgravity: The crew performed a session for ESA's Time Perception in Microgravity investigation today. The accurate perception of objects in the environment is a prerequisite for spatial orientation and reliable performance of motor tasks. Time is fundamental to motion perception, sound localization, speech, and fine motor coordination. The Time Perception experiment quantifies the subjective changes in time perception in humans during and after long-duration exposure to microgravity.

MATISS: The crew installed four MATISS sample holders in the Columbus module today. The MATISS experiment investigates the antibacterial properties of materials in space for possible application in future spacecraft. MATISS is expected to provide additional insight into the mechanisms of attachment of biofilms in microgravity conditions.

Node 3 Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Mass Spectrometer Assembly (ORU 02) Install: This morning the crew installed the new ORU 02 (S/N F0007) in the Node 3 MCA. While the previous Node 3 MCA ORU 02 was removed last Increment and returned to the ground for failure analysis, the failure investigation was unable to find any problems with the returned ORU. By installing the new ORU into the MCA, ground specialist can determine if the problem still exists on-orbit or if the ground should begin more invasive testing of the returned unit.

Completed Task List Activities:

None

Ground Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Standard Commanding

Two-Day Look Ahead:

Friday, 08/24:

Payloads

Plant Habitat reinstallation in ER5

SPHERES SmoothNav session

CASIS PCG 13 fill subset of wells in new card

SpaceTex-2 and Metabolic Space exercise session

Systems

Columbus module IMV Supply Fan Assembly (ISFA) R&R

Saturday, 08/25:

Payloads

HAM Radio Pass

BCAT Camera Activation

SPHERES USB Stick Stow

Systems

Weekly Housekeeping

Today's Planned Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

Multipurpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Component Deactivation for Atomization

SPHERES Rechargeable Battery Install

Switch - PEV to CLOSED position

PCG-13 MWA Preparation

SPHERES Battery Setup

Installation of MATISS Sample Holders

1, 2 Dust Filter Replacement and MRM1 Gas-Liquid Heat Exchanger () Cleaning

Retrieval of PCG13 Hardware into MELFI

ISS HAM Service Module Pass

PCG-13 Card Fill Operations

 maintenance

Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) Video Compression And Recording Unit (MSPR VRU) Cable fit check1

EVA Biomed Pigtail Electrical Connector Inspections

Multi-purpose Small Payload2 Rack (MSPR2) Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF) cooling water QD Connection

Maintenance closures of Vozdukh emergency valves

Node 3 Camcorder Setup

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Mass Spectrometer Assembly Install

JEM Regenerative Heat Exchanger (RHX) Water Wipe

BIOCARD. Experiment Session.

Cleanup of Columbus Bay 4

SPHERES Rechargeable Battery Charge and Stow

Columbus Video Camera Assembly 1 Adjustment

IMV Supply Fan Assembly (ISFA) R&R - Day 1

ESA Monthly Management Conference

SPHERES Battery Setup

MOTOCARD. Experiment Session.

PHAB-DEINSTL-GATHER

SPHERES Rechargeable Battery Charge and Stow

ESA Weekly crew conference

MOTOCARD. Experiment Session.

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-Cohesive Sedimentation SB-800 Flash Battery Changeout

Return Node 3 XF305 camcorder to its nominal location.

Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill [Aborted]

Insertion of PCG13 Hardware into MELFI

Plant Hab Facility De-install

SPHERES Battery Setup

Sextant Navigation Session 4 Operations

BioServe Protein Crystallography Microscope Phase 2 Operations

Changeout of Dust Filter 1-4 Cartridges in SM

 Configuration for MRM1 comm

SEPARATSIYA. Flushing Centrifugal Multi-Purpose Vacuum Distiller () and Urine Circulation Loop. Auto distillation of water with pre-treat solution.

Formaldehyde Monitoring Kit (FMK) Stow Operation

ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)

Microscope Reposition Post Ops [Deferred]

Node3 Air Revitalization System (ARS) Rack - Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) - Hand Valve 01 (HV01) Open

Preventive Maintenance of SM Ventilation Subsystem. Group 1

Lighting Effects Visual Performance Tests Light Setting - Subject

SAMS Cable Replace

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) - Hand Valve 01 (HV01) Close

SPHERES Battery Setup

Crew Choice Event (CCE) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup

CCE Preparation

Time experiment science

Crew Choice Event

ER5 Sub Valve R&R

Replacement of 1, 2 Dust Filters and Cleaning 1, B2 Fan Screens in MRM2 Comm reconfig for nominal ops

IMS Update

Columbus Bay 4 Restore

Columbus Equipment power off

Wastewater Storage Tank Assembly (WSTA) Fill

SPHERES Rechargeable Battery Charge and Stow

SPHERES Battery Setup

Battery Charge Deactivation for MetabolicSpace

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.The following companies are subsidiares of Mohawk Industries: A&S Energie NV, A&U Energie NV, Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation, Aladdin Manufacturing Of New York LLC, Aladdin Manufacturing of Alabama LLC, Alsace Logistique S.A., Avelgem Green Power CVBA, Avon Pacific Holdings Ltd, B&M NV, BGE Mexico S. de R. L. de C.V., Berghoef GmbH, Berghoef-Hout B.V., Bienes Raices y Materiales del Centro S. de R.L. de C.V., C.F. Marazzi S.A., Canterbury Spinners Ltd, Carpet Foundation Ltd, Cevotrans BV, Ceramus Bahia S/A  Produtos Ceramicos, DT Mex Holdings LLC, DTM/CM Holdings LLC, Dal Italia LLC, Dal-Elit LLC, Dal-Tile Chile Comercial Limitada, Dal-Tile Colombia S.A.S., Dal-Tile Distribution Inc., Dal-Tile Group Inc., Dal-Tile I LLC, Dal-Tile Industrias S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile International Inc., Dal-Tile Mexico Comercial S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Operaciones Mexico S. De R.L. De C.V., Dal-Tile Peru SRL, Dal-Tile Puerto Rico Inc., Dal-Tile Services Inc., Dal-Tile Shared Services Inc., Dal-Tile Tennessee LLC, Dal-Tile of Canada ULC, Daltile, Daltile, Dekaply NV, Durkan, Dynea NV, Eliane Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Eliane S/A - Revestimentos Ceramicos, Emilceramica India Pvt Ltd., Emilceramica S.r.l, Emilgermany GmbH, Emilgroup Asia Ltd, Explorer S.r.l., F.I.L.S. Investments Unlimited Company, Feltex Carpets Ltd, Feltex Carpets Pty Ltd, Feltex New Zealand Ltd, Fibremakers Australia Pty Ltd, Flooring Foundation Ltd, Flooring Industries Limited S.a r.l., Flooring XL B.V., Floorscape Limited, Godfrey Hirst & Co Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Group, Godfrey Hirst NZ Ltd, Hytherm (Ireland) Limited, IVC BVBA, IVC Far-East Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., IVC France S.a r.l., IVC GROUP LIMITED, IVC Green Power NV, IVC Group, IVC Group GmbH, IVC Luxembourg S.a r.l., IVC Rus OOO, IVC US Inc., International Flooring Systems S.a r.l., International Vinyl Company - Vostok OOO, KAI Group, KAI Keramica Ltd, KAI Mining EOOD, KERAMA CENTER OOO, Kerama Baltics OOO, Kerama Export OOO, Kerama Marazzi OOO, Kerampromservis (LLC), Khan Asparuh - Transport EOOD, Khan Asparuh AD, Khan Omurtag AD, Koninklijke Peitsman B.V., Kraj Kerama OOO, MG China Trading Ltd., MI Finance SRL, MUD (Holding) Brazil Ltda., Management Co EAD, Marazzi Acquisition S.r.l., Marazzi Deutschland G.m.b.H., Marazzi France Trading S.A.S., Marazzi Group, Marazzi Group F.Z.E., Marazzi Group S.r.l., Marazzi Group Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Marazzi Iberia S.L.U., Marazzi Japan Co. Ltd., Marazzi Middle East FZ LLC, Marazzi Schweiz S.A.G.L., Marazzi UK Ltd., Mohawk Assurance Services Inc., Mohawk Australia Pty Ltd, Mohawk Canada Corporation, Mohawk Capital Finance S.A., Mohawk Capital Luxembourg SA, Mohawk Carpet Distribution Inc., Mohawk Carpet Foundation Inc., Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Carpet Transportation Of Georgia LLC, Mohawk Commercial Inc., Mohawk ESV Inc., Mohawk Europe BVBA, Mohawk Factoring II Inc., Mohawk Factoring LLC, Mohawk Finance S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Acquisitions S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Funding S.a.r.l, Mohawk Foreign Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Investments Inc., Mohawk Global Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Holdings International B.V., Mohawk Industries Inc., Mohawk International (Europe) S.a r.l., Mohawk International (Hong Kong) Limited, Mohawk International Capital N.V., Mohawk International Financing S.a.r.l, Mohawk International Holdings (DE) LLC, Mohawk International Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk International Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk International Netherlands B.V., Mohawk International Services BVBA, Mohawk KAI Luxembourg Holding S.a r.l., Mohawk KAI Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Capital S.A., Mohawk Luxembourg Financing S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Pacific S.a r.l., Mohawk Marazzi International BV, Mohawk Marazzi Russia BV, Mohawk New Zealand Limited, Mohawk Operaciones Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Mohawk Operations Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Pacific Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Resources LLC, Mohawk Servicing LLC, Mohawk Singapore Private Limited, Mohawk Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Mohawk Unilin Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk United Finance B.V., Mohawk United International B.V., Mohawk Vinyl Financing S.a r.l., Molber Beheer B.V., Monarch Ceramic Tile Inc., P.F. Onroerend Goed B.V., PF Beheer B.V., Pergo, Pergo (Europe) AB, Pergo Holding BV, Pergo India Pvt Ltd, Polcolorit S.A., Premium Floors Australia Pty Limited, RR Apex LLC, Rata International Pty Ltd, Recubrimientos Interceramica S. de R.L. de C.V., Riverside Textiles Pty Ltd, S.C. KAI Ceramics SRL, Sibir Kerama OOO, SimpleSolutions USA LLC, Soft Step (Australia) Pty Ltd, Spano Group, Spano Invest BVBA, Spano NV, Stroyagromekhzapchast ChaO, Stroytrans OAO Orelstroy, Summit Wool Spinners Ltd, The Flooring Federation Ltd, Tiles Co OOD, Unilin (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Unilin ApS, Unilin Arauco Pisos Ltda., Unilin BVBA, Unilin Beheer BV, Unilin Distribution Ltd., Unilin Distribution Ukraine LLC, Unilin Finland OY, Unilin Flooring India Private Limited, Unilin Flooring SAS, Unilin GmbH, Unilin Holding BVBA, Unilin Insulation BV, Unilin Insulation SAS, Unilin Insulation Sury SAS, Unilin Italia S.R.L., Unilin North America LLC, Unilin Norway AS, Unilin OOO, Unilin Panels SAS, Unilin Poland Sp.Z.o.o., Unilin SAS, Unilin Spain SL, Unilin Swiss GmbH, Unilin s.r.o., World International Inc., Xtratherm, Xtratherm Limited, Xtratherm S.A., and Xtratherm UK Limited.North American Construction Group Ltd. provides mining and heavy construction services to the resource development and industrial construction sectors in Canada and the United States The company's Heavy Construction & Mining division offers constructability reviews, budgetary cost estimates, design-build construction, project management, contract mining, pre-stripping/pit pioneering, overburden removal and stockpile, muskeg removal and stockpile, site preparation, air strip construction, site dewatering/perimeter ditching, tailings and process pipelines, haulage and access road construction, tailings dam construction and densification, mechanically stabilized earth walls, dyke construction, and reclamation services. Its Equipment Maintenance Services division provides fuel and lube servicing, portable steaming, equipment inspections, parts and component supply, major overhauls and equipment refurbishment, onsite haul truck brake testing, onsite maintenance support, under carriage rebuild, machining, hose manufacturing, and technical support services, as well as welding, fabrication/repairs, weld certification, and inspection services. As of December 31, 2020, the company had a heavy equipment fleet of 626 units. The company was formerly known as North American Energy Partners Inc. and changed its name to North American Construction Group Ltd. in April 2018. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Acheson, Canada.

Read MoreNuveen New Jersey 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 New Jersey. The fund invests in undervalued municipal securities and other related investments that are, exempt from regular federal and New Jersey income taxes that are rated Baa or BBB or better. It employs fundamental analysis with bottom-up stock picking approach to create its portfolio. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Standard & Poor's (S&P) New Jersey Municipal Bond Index. The fund was formerly known as Nuveen New Jersey Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund. Nuveen New Jersey Quality Municipal Income Fund was formed on June 1, 1999 and is domiciled in the United States.

Read MorePhoenix Group Holdings plc engages in the long-term savings and retirement busines in Europe. The company operates through UK Heritage, UK Open, Europe, ReAssure, and Management Services segments. It engages in the management of insurance policies, which include active and closed life insurance products. The company also provides workplace pensions, and customer savings and investments products under the Standard Life brand. Its retirement solutions business includes vesting annuities and bulk purchase annuity business, where it acquires annuities and deliver the financial stability for secure pensions. The company also offers a range of financial products for the over 50s market under the SunLife brand, which cover life cover, equity release, funeral plans, and home insurance. Phoenix Group Holdings plc has a strategic partnership with Standard Life Aberdeen plc. The company was formerly known as Pearl Group and changed its name to Phoenix Group Holdings plc in March 2010. Phoenix Group Holdings plc was founded in 1782 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of CVS Health: @Credentials Inc., ACS ACQCO CORP., ADMINCO Inc., AE Fourteen Incorporated, AHP Holdings Inc., AMC - Tennessee LLC, APS Acquisition LLC, ASCO HealthCare LLC, ASI Wings LLC, AUSHC Holdings Inc., Accendo Insurance Company, Accordant Health Services L.L.C., Active Health Management Inc., Administrative Enterprises Inc., AdvancePCS SpecialtyRx LLC, AdvanceRx.com L.L.C., Advanced Care Scripts Inc., Aetna, Aetna (Beijing) Enterprise Management Services Co. Ltd., Aetna (Shanghai) Enterprise Services Co. Ltd., Aetna ACO Holdings Inc., Aetna Asset Advisors LLC, Aetna Behavioral Health LLC, Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health of California Inc., Aetna Better Health of Florida Inc., Aetna Better Health of Kansas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Better Health of Missouri LLC, Aetna Better Health of Nevada Inc., Aetna Better Health of North Carolina Inc., Aetna Better Health of Oklahoma Inc., Aetna Better Health of Texas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Washington Inc., Aetna Capital Management LLC, Aetna Card Solutions LLC, Aetna Corporate Services LLC, Aetna Dental Inc., Aetna Dental of California Inc., Aetna Financial Holdings LLC, Aetna Florida Inc., Aetna Global Benefits (Asia Pacific) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bahamas) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bermuda) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Europe) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Middle East) LLC, Aetna Global Benefits (Singapore) PTE. LTD., Aetna Global Benefits (UK) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits Limited (DIFC UAE), Aetna Global Holdings Limited, Aetna Health Holdings LLC, Aetna Health Inc., Aetna Health Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Aetna Health Insurance Company, Aetna Health Insurance Company of Europe DAC, Aetna Health Management LLC, Aetna Health and Life Insurance Company, Aetna Health of California Inc., Aetna Health of Iowa Inc., Aetna Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Health of Ohio Inc., Aetna Health of Utah Inc., Aetna HealthAssurance Pennsylvania Inc., Aetna Holdco (UK) Limited, Aetna Holdings (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Inc., Aetna Insurance (Hong Kong) Limite, Aetna Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Aetna Insurance Company Limited, Aetna Integrated Informatics Inc., Aetna International Inc., Aetna Ireland Inc., Aetna Korea Ltd., Aetna Life & Casualty (Bermuda) Ltd., Aetna Life Assignment Company, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Aetna Medicaid Administrators LLC, Aetna Multi-Strategy 1099 Fund LLC, Aetna Network Services LLC, Aetna Partners Diversified Fund LLC, Aetna Pharmacy Management Services LLC, Aetna Resources LLC, Aetna Risk Assurance Company of Connecticut Inc., Aetna Rx Home Delivery LLC, Aetna Services (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Aetna Student Health Agency Inc., Aetna Ventures LLC, Aetna Workers Comp Access LLC, Alabama CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Alaska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Company, Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Holding Company LLC, American Continental Insurance Company, American Drug Stores Delaware L.L.C., American Health Holding Inc., Arbor Drugs, Arizona CVS Stores L.L.C., Arkansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Badger Acquisition LLC, Badger Acquisition of Kentucky LLC, Badger Acquisition of Minnesota LLC, Badger Acquisition of Ohio LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Company, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Holding Company LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Plan Inc., Beauty Holdings L.L.C., Best Care LTC Acquisition Company LLC, Busse CVS L.L.C., CCI Foreign S.a R.L. (R.C.S. Luxembourg), CCRx Holdings LLC, CCRx of North Carolina LLC, CHP Acquisition LLC, CP Acquisition LLC, CVS 2948 Henderson L.L.C., CVS 3268 Gilbert L.L.C., CVS 3745 Peoria L.L.C., CVS AL Distribution L.L.C., CVS AOC Corporation, CVS AOC Services L.L.C., CVS Albany L.L.C., CVS Bellmore Avenue L.L.C., CVS Care Concierge LLC, CVS Caremark Advanced Technology Pharmacy L.L.C., CVS Caremark Indemnity Ltd., CVS Caremark Part D Services L.L.C., CVS Caremark TN SUTA LLC, CVS Foreign Inc., CVS Gilbert 3272 L.L.C., CVS Health Solutions LLC, CVS Indiana L.L.C., CVS International L.L.C., CVS Kidney Care Advanced Technologies LLC, CVS Kidney Care Health Services LLC, CVS Kidney Care Home Dialysis LLC, CVS Kidney Care LLC, CVS Manchester NH L.L.C., CVS Media Exchange LLC, CVS Michigan L.L.C., CVS Orlando FL Distribution L.L.C., CVS PA Distribution L.L.C., CVS PR Center Inc., CVS Pharmacy Inc., CVS RS Arizona L.L.C., CVS Rx Services Inc., CVS SC Distribution L.L.C., CVS State Capital L.L.C., CVS TN Distribution L.L.C., CVS Transportation L.L.C., CVS Vero FL Distribution L.L.C., Campos Medical Pharmacy LLC, Canal Place LLC, Care Pharmaceutical Services LP, CareCenter Pharmacy L.L.C., Carefree Insurance Services Inc., Caremark Arizona Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Arizona Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark California Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Florida Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Florida Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Hawaii Mail Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Hawaii Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark IPA L.L.C., Caremark Illinois Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Illinois Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Irving Resource Center LLC, Caremark Kansas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark L.L.C., Caremark Logistics LLC, Caremark Louisiana Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Maryland Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Massachusetts Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Michigan Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Minnesota Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark New Jersey Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark North Carolina Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ohio Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Pennsylvania Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark PhC L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Redlands Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Repack LLC, Caremark Rx L.L.C., Caremark Tennessee Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ulysses Holding Corp., Caremark Washington Specialty Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Alabama Mail Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Health L.L.C., CaremarkPCS L.L.C., Central Rx Services LLC, Claims Administration Corp., Cofinity Inc., Compscript LLC, Connecticut CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood Tennessee, Continuing Care Rx LLC, Coram Alternate Site Services Inc., Coram Clinical Trials Inc., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Alabama, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater D.C., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater New York, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Indiana, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Massachusetts, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Mississippi, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Nevada, Coram Healthcare Corporation of North Texas, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Northern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Utah, Coram LLC, Coram Rx LLC, Coram Specialty Infusion, Coram Specialty Infusion Services L.L.C., Coventry Consumer Advantage Inc., Coventry Health Care National Accounts Inc., Coventry Health Care National Network Inc., Coventry Health Care Workers Compensation Inc., Coventry Health Care of Illinois Inc., Coventry Health Care of Kansas Inc., Coventry Health Care of Missouri Inc., Coventry Health Care of Nebraska Inc., Coventry Health Care of Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Care of West Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Plan of Florida Inc., Coventry Health and Life Insurance Company, Coventry HealthCare Management Corporation, Coventry Prescription Management Services Inc., Coventry Rehabilitation Services Inc., Coventry Transplant Network Inc., D & R Pharmaceutical Services LLC, D.A.W. LLC, Delaware CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Delaware Physicians Care Incorporated, Digital eHealth LLC, District of Columbia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., E.T.B. INC., Echo Merger Sub Inc., Eckerd Corporation of Florida Inc., Employee Assistance Services LLC, Enloe Drugs LLC, Enterprise Patient Safety Organization LLC, EntrustRX, Evergreen Pharmaceutical LLC, Evergreen Pharmaceutical of California Inc., Express Pharmacy Services of PA L.L.C., FOCUS HealthCare Management Inc., First Health Group Corp., First Health Life & Health Insurance Company, First Script Network Services Inc., Florida Health Plan Administrators LLC, Garfield Beach CVS L.L.C., Generation Health L.L.C., Geneva Woods Health Services LLC, Geneva Woods LTC Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Management LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Alaska LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Washington LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Wyoming LLC, Geneva Woods Retail Pharmacy LLC, Georgia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., German Dobson CVS L.L.C., Goodhealth Worldwide (Asia) Limited, Goodhealth Worldwide (Global) Limited, Goodyear CVS L.L.C., Grand St. Paul CVS L.L.C., Grandview Pharmacy LLC, Group Dental Service Inc., Group Dental Service of Maryland Inc., Health Care Management Co. Ltd., Health Data & Management Solutions Inc., Health Re Inc., Health and Human Resource Center Inc., HealthAssuance Pennsylvania Inc., Healthagen LLC, Highland Park CVS L.L.C., Holiday CVS L.L.C., Home Care Pharmacy LLC, Home Pharmacy Services LLC, Hook-SupeRx L.L.C., Horizon Behavioral Services LLC, Idaho CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., IlliniCare Health, Indian Health Organisation Private Limited, Innovation Health Holdings LLC, Innovation Health Insurance Company, Innovation Health Plan Inc., Interlock Pharmacy Systems LLC, Iowa CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., JHC Acquisition LLC, Kansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Kentucky CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., LCPS Acquisition LLC, Langsam Health Services LLC, Lo-Med Prescription Services LLC, Lobos Acquisition LLC, Longs Drug Stores, Longs Drug Stores California L.L.C., Louisiana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., MHHP Acquisition Company LLC, MHNet Life and Health Insurance Company, MHNet Specialty Services LLC, MHNet of Florida Inc., Managed Care Coordinators Inc., Managed Healthcare LLC, Martin Health Services LLC, Maryland CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Med World Acquisition Corp., Medical Arts Health Care LLC, Medical Examinations of New York P.C., Melville Realty Company Inc., MemberHealth LLC, Mental Health Associates Inc., Mental Health Network of New York IPA Inc., Meritain Health Inc., Merwin Long Term Care LLC, MetraComp Inc., Minor Health Enterprise Co Ltd., MinuteClinic, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Alabama L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Arizona LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Florida LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Georgia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Hawaii L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Illinois LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Kentucky L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Louisiana L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maine L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maryland LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Massachusetts LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Nebraska L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Hampshire L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Mexico L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Ohio LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oklahoma LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oregon LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Pennsylvania LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Rhode Island LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of South Carolina L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Texas LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Utah L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Virginia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Washington LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Wisconsin L.L.C., MinuteClinic L.L.C., MinuteClinic Online Diagnostic Services LLC, MinuteClinic Physician Practice of Texas, MinuteClinic Telehealth Services LLC, Mississippi CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Missouri CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Montana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NCS Healthcare LLC, NCS Healthcare of Illinois LLC, NCS Healthcare of Iowa LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kansas LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kentucky Inc. (Oh, NCS Healthcare of Montana LLC, NCS Healthcare of New Mexico LLC, NCS Healthcare of Ohio LLC, NCS Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, NCS Healthcare of Tennessee LLC, NCS Healthcare of Wisconsin LLC, NIV Acquisition LLC, Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Nebraska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NeighborCare Holdings Inc., NeighborCare Inc., NeighborCare Pharmacy Services Inc., NeighborCare Services Corporation, NeighborCare of Indiana LLC, NeighborCare of Virginia LLC, New Jersey CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Niagara Re Inc., North Carolina CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., North Shore Pharmacy Services LLC, NovoLogix LLC, OCR Services LLC, Ocean Acquisition Sub L.L.C., Ohio CVS Stores L.L.C., Oklahoma CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Omnicare, Omnicare Holding Company, Omnicare Inc., Omnicare Indiana Partnership Holding Company LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania East LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania West LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of the Great Plains Holding LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy and Supply Services LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of Tennessee LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of the Midwest LLC, Omnicare Property Management LLC, Omnicare of Nebraska LLC, Omnicare of Nevada LLC, Omnicare of New York LLC, Oregon CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., PE Holdings LLC, PHPSNE Parent Corporation, PP Acquisition Company LLC, PRN Pharmaceutical Services LP, PT Aetna Management Consulting, Pamplona Saude e Beleza LTDA, Part D Holding Company L.L.C., PayFlex Holdings Inc., PayFlex Systems USA Inc., Pennsylvania CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Performax Inc., Pharmacy Associates of Glenn Falls LLC, Pharmacy Consultants LLC, Phoenix Data Solutions LLC, Precision Benefit Services Inc., Prime Net Inc., ProCare Pharmacy Direct L.L.C., ProCare Pharmacy L.L.C., Prodigy Health Group Inc., Professional Risk Management Inc., Pt. Aetna Global Benefits Indonesia, Puerto Rico CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Red Oak Sourcing LLC, Resources for Living LLC, Rhode Island CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Roeschens Healthcare LLC, RxAmerica, Schaller Anderson Medical Administrators Incorporated, Scrip World LLC, Sheffield Avenue CVS L.L.C., Shore Pharmaceutical Providers LLC, Silverscript Insurance Company, Soma Intimates, South Carolina CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., South Wabash CVS L.L.C., Specialized Pharmacy Services LLC, Spinnaker Bidco Limited, Spinnaker Topco Limited, Stadtlander Drug Company, Stadtlander Pharmacy, Sterling Healthcare Services LLC, Superior Care Pharmacy LLC, Sutter Health and Aetna Administrative Services LLC, Sutter Health and Aetna Insurance Company, Sutter Health and Aetna Insurance Holding Company LLC, T2 Medical Inc., TCPI Acquisition LLC, TargetPharmacy, Tennessee CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Texas Health + Aetna Health Insurance Company, Texas Health + Aetna Health Insurance Holding Company LLC, Texas Health + Aetna Health Plan Inc., The Vasquez Group Inc., Thomas Phoenix CVS L.L.C., Three Forks Apothecary LLC, U.S Healthcare Holdings LLC, U.S. Healthcare Properties Inc., UAC Holding Inc., UC Acquisition LLC, UNI-Care Health Services of Maine LLC, Universal American - Medicare Part D Business, Utah CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., VAPS Acquisition Company LLC, Value Health Care Services LLC, Vermont CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Virginia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Virtual Home Healthcare L.L.C., Warm Springs Road CVS L.L.C., Washington CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Washington Lamb CVS L.L.C., Weber Medical Systems LLC, Wellpartner LLC, West Virginia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Westhaven Services Co LLC, Williamson Drug Company LLC, Wisconsin CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Woodward Detroit CVS L.L.C., Work and Family Benefits Inc., ZS Acquisition Company LLC, Zinc Health Services LLC, Zinc Health Ventures LLC, bSwift LLC, and iTriage LLC.Contact: Andrea Wilson, 310-712-1980, info@rorydouglas.net LOS ANGELES, Aug. 24, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- As a speaker renowned for uplifting his audiences to a powerful, productive new mindset, California's Rory Douglas has had plenty of opportunities to witness humanity's pre-programmed conformity.In his compelling new book, Douglas forces readers to explore this "artificial intelligence" way of living, and re-program themselves to live in true autonomy and defy the traditions that are keeping them on the cusp of destruction.Synopsis of 'Artificial Intelligence:'Artificial Intelligence will cause you to take a good look at yourself and how programmed we have become as a people in society and the pitfalls that hinder us in becoming independent thinkers. In this book, Rory Douglas breaks down health, society, nutrition, religion, finances, the plague of social media and so much more. Artificial Intelligence will show you how to become a critical thinker that will rid you of conformities, customs, traditions and habits. It will totally free you from mental bondage.Continuing, "This book is a blueprint to that new way of living. I urge anyone concerned about their future to pick up a copy."Since its release, the volume has garnered rave reviews. For example, A. Wilson comments, "I just read Artificial Intelligence. This book will literally blow your mind. I've never read a book that contains something for the mind, body and spirit all in one book. I recommend this book 100%."'Artificial Intelligence' is available now:About the Author:Rory Douglas is an Entrepreneur, Financial Educator and Leadership & Life Coach. He has been featured on several talk shows also on TBN "Praise the Lord." He has been a Guest Speaker at countless ministries, colleges, universities, empowerment workshops and seminars. Rory's mission is to educate, empower and uplift people in society by providing knowledge and key tools which in turn completely transforms their lives.For Media Interviews & AppearancesContact: Andrea Wilson / info@rorydouglas.net / 310-712-1980Nabors Industries Ltd. engages in the provision of platform work over and drilling rigs. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Drilling, Canada Drilling, International Drilling, Drilling Solutions, and Rig Technologies. The U.S. Drilling segment includes land drilling activities in the lower 48 states and Alaska, as well as offshore operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment consists of land-based drilling rigs in Canada. The International segment focuses in maintaining a footprint in the oil and gas market, most notably in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Colombia, Kazakhstan, and Venezuela. The Drilling Solutions segment offers drilling technologies, such as patented steering systems and rig instrumentation software systems that enhance drilling performance and wellbore placement. The Rig Technologies segment comprises Canrig, which manufactures and sells top drives, catwalks, wrenches, drawworks, and drilling related equipment, such as robotic systems and downhole tools. The company was founded by Clair Nabors in 1952 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Read More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Wall Street analysts have given iShares National Muni Bond ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares National Muni Bond ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc. is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. The fund is co-managed by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Limited and Morgan Stanley Investment Management Company. It invests in the public equity markets across the global emerging markets. The fund invests in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It invests in companies across all market capitalizations. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the MSCI Emerging Markets Net Index. Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund Inc. was formed on August 27, 1991 and is domiciled in the United States.

Read More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.Everest Re Group Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of reinsurance and insurance services. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Reinsurance, International, Bermuda, and Insurance. The U.S. Reinsurance segment writes property and casualty reinsurance and specialty lines of business, including marine, aviation, surety, and accident and health business, on both a treaty and facultative basis, through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies primarily within the U.S. The International segment offers foreign property and casualty reinsurance through Everest Re's branches in Canada and Singapore and through offices in Brazil, Miami, and New Jersey. The Bermuda segment comprises reinsurance and insurance to worldwide property and casualty markets through brokers and directly with ceding companies from its Bermuda office and reinsurance to the United Kingdom and European markets through its UK branch and Ireland Re. The Insurance segment writes property and casualty insurance directly and through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents within the U.S., Canada, and Europe. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartere

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 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 Franklin Resources: AdvisorEngine, AdvisorEngine Inc., Alumcreek Holdings LLC, Athena Capital Advisors, Balanced Equity Management, Balanced Equity Management Pty. 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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.You can not fuck the future, sir. The future fucks you.The recognition of Western Ghats as a unique ecological system is a universally acknowledged reality. The Western Ghats Expert Ecology Panel (WGEEP) Report is part of the long history of discourses on preservation of this unique habitat covering six states in the country. The very mandate of WGEEP, constituted to assess the current status of ecology of the region and suggest remedial measures in 2010, is an indication of the urgency of the matter. The government was forced to constitute such a panel as the ecology of the region had reached a tipping point with severe deleterious impacts on the livelihood of the most deprived sections of society such as the members of the indigenous communities and an invaluable ecological heritage of the world.

The WGEEP report is a blueprint bringing an ecologically sensitive paradigm for all activities in the region. Unfortunately, vested interests in the government and outside successfully managed to scuttle the implementation of recommendations of the panel to continue with their nefarious activities.

The question why a devastating flood took place in the erstwhile princely state of Travancore in 1924 when the hill ranges on the Kerala side of the Western Ghats were relatively unspoiled has to be addressed in a wider perspective. People working in the areas of ecology and climate change with a scientific bend of mind are approaching these issues with a long-term perspective and making their projections after collating data from various sources. It is not my contention that floods or other natural calamities are caused solely due to damages to ecology. I am sure that no sane ecologist holds such a view. The contention of ecologists, including myself, is that damages to ecology will exacerbate the fallout from natural disasters.

The widespread death and destruction during the Kerala floods recently are a clear pointer towards the ecologically unsustainable development trajectory followed in the Ghats as well as midland and coastal regions in the state. The failure in management of water in the reservoirs acted as the major cause for the deluge. When I say failure in management of water in the dams I mean the need for a scientific and transparent database and systems and practices based on such a database. I have no hesitation to say that Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEBL), the custodian of most dams in the state, has no such a scientific culture. My experience with officials of KSEBL from the days of Silent Valley to Athirappally shows that they dont have a scientific database that could be verified objectively for fixing the technical and economical feasibility of their projects. Any person with an iota of technical and financial wisdom will question the entire logic behind pushing a hydro-electric project such as Athirappa

lly.

The widespread death and destruction during the unprecedented floods in Kerala have been largely due to such development policies. The stone quarrying and the unbridled constructions in the Ghats section are mostly illegal and in violation of even the existing laws. I feel that any person believing in the system of rule of law will be forced to question these activities. One need not be an ecologist to oppose such activities. The only way for Kerala to avoid such tragedies is to develop scientific data based on sound and well-meaning ecological principles in its social and economical policy formulation. The flood that engulfed the state in the current monsoon season is a clear warning that Kerala cannot afford to move ahead with the business as usual mode in future.

(Madhav Dhananjaya Gadgil is an ecologist and founder of the Centre for Ecological Sciences)

As told to K.P. SethunathMumbai: Union shipping minister Nitin Gadkari today said the nation's largest container port, JNPT, will pick up 70 per cent stake in the proposed Rs 8,000-crore Indore-Manmad railway line being built by his ministry as part of developing dry ports.

The minister last December had announced the project, which is part of de-congesting the clogged Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and also to connect neighbouring Kasara in Thane district and JNPT directly.

To reduce the container traffic passing through Mumbai and its suburbs, the ministry has asked for land near Vasai on the outskirts, from where the containers can be sent directly on barges to JNPT via the waterways, he said.

"We will be building the Rs 8,000-crore Indore-Manmad railway line. JNPT will hold 70 per cent equity in the project," Gadkari told reporters at the JNPT, without giving further details.

He said the proposed railway line can connect and develop further the landlocked industrial hub of Indore and Manmad in Maharashtra, which then can also be connected to main Delhi-Bengaluru and Delhi-Chennai lines, which will also bring down travel time and distance.

The ministry is also developing four dry ports in Maharashtra to de-clog JNPT. Such facilities will come up at Wardha on the central eastern region of the state, Jalna in the central region, Wadhavan port on the east coast north of Mumbai and Nashik in north of the financial capital.

He said the Nashik facility can be used for exim trade in fruits, particularly grapes and vegetables like onions, apart from automobiles as Mahindra has a large facility there which currently uses the Mumbai port for exports.

"I don't see any reason why Mahindra's shipments cannot be loaded from Nashik," he said.

Gadkari also said he is toying with the idea of connecting the rivers and waterways in and around Mumbai in a Rs 2,000-crore project involving the state administration, JNPT and the Thane municipality under the Sagarmala project.Six members of Teslas board of directors said in a separate statement that they were informed on Thursday that Musk was abandoning his take-private bid.

San Francisco: Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said late on Friday he would no longer pursue a $72 billion deal to take his US electric car maker private, abandoning an idea that had stunned investors and drawn regulatory scrutiny.

The decision leaves Tesla as a publicly listed company but raises new questions about its future. Its shares have been trading below their August 7 levels, when Musk announced on Twitter he was considering taking Tesla private for $420 per share, as investors wondered what the long-shot bid meant for Musks ability to steer the company into profitability.

The move also leaves Musk and Tesla having to fend off a series of investor lawsuits and a US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the factual accuracy of Musks tweet that funding for the deal was secured.

Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was please dont do this, Musk wrote in a blog post on Friday.

Musk, who owns about a fifth of Tesla, had said earlier this month that he envisioned taking the company private without using the standard method of a leveraged buyout, whereby all the other shareholders would cash out and the deal would be funded primarily with new debt.

Instead, two-thirds of company shareholders, according to his estimate, would have chosen an option of rolling their stakes and continuing to be investors in a private company, rather than cashing out. This would significantly reduce the amount of money needed for the deal and avoid further burdening Tesla, which has a debt pile of $11 billion and negative cash flow.

However, Musk said on Friday that a number of institutional shareholders explained to him that they have internal compliance issues that limit how much they can invest in a private company. He added that there is no proven path for most retail investors to own shares were Tesla to go private.

I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but its clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated. This is a problem because we absolutely must stay focused on ramping Model 3 and becoming profitable, Musk said.

Musk has also said that Saudi Arabias PIF, which became a Tesla shareholder earlier this year with a stake of just under 5 per cent, could help him fund the cash portion of the deal, though sources close to the sovereign wealth fund had played down that prospect.

Musk said on Friday that his belief that there is more than enough funding to take Tesla private was reinforced during this process.

Six members of Teslas board of directors said in a separate statement that they were informed on Thursday that Musk was abandoning his take-private bid. The board then disbanded a special committee of three directors it had set up to evaluate any offer that Musk submitted.Filmmaker Mudassar Azizs Happy Phir Bhaag Jayegi humanises the traditional enemy the Chinese at a time when temperatures at the border are running high.

The director is no stranger to building bridges through his cinema. In Happy Bhaag Jayegi, which released in 2016, Mudassar had built the comedy around Indo-Pak amity, for which he faced ferocious flak. But that doesnt bother him.

To me, it is important that with Happy Bhaag Jayegi I found my cinematic voice as a director. Mudassar admits he had been floundering in his earlier films.  I was doing what was asked of me, not what I wanted to do. With Happy Bhag Jayegi I found my voice. And if that voice propounded peace with Pakistan Im happy. And now with the sequel Ive made another clean comedy that doesnt demonise our neighbour. We need more efforts at creating harmony in the universe. That the sequel has gone to Indias other traditional enemy country is just coincidence.

We didnt plan yet another peace treaty through our cinema. That China is considered a threat to India did strike us. But for us, China was an unexplored location as not too many films had gone there. The director sees his cinema as a weapon of peace.

We are making films about terrorism naming Pakistan as the enemy. But there is a lot more to Pakistan and China than war and aggression. We share such a long and eventful history with both countries. I wish audiences would take away some of the smile from the Chinese excursion in Happy Phir Bhag Jayegi just as they done with Pakistan in the earlier film. We really have to stop talking of wa and begin exploring peace in cinema.Rating:

Cast: Utkarsh Sharma, Ishitha Chauhan, Mithun Chakraborty, Ayesha Jhulka, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, K.K. Raina

Director: Anil Sharma

An orphan, whose parents get killed in communal riots, is raised by a brahmin who lives at an ashram in Mathura, cracks IIT with distinction, and therefore, is a brilliant mind, is offered a key job by the RAW, and seems to be the perfect young lad whom girls swoon over and guys admire. Although pretty young, he seems to be the sharpest at RAW, where as an ethical hacker, he has nearly all his seniors gaping wide-mouthed at his jaw-dropping capabilities.

Quite naturally, he wears loads of attitude on his sleeve, though he also has a heart of gold. Notwithstanding his aplomb and dare-me attitude, a young girl Nandini (Ishitha Chauhan) gets attracted to him in college, and swears undying love for him. In short, there is nothing that he doesnt have, or cannot achieve!

With everything going perfect for him, there has to be something that awaits his nod, for him to get into trouble. You guessed it right: He has a greater mission at hand, and, as the RAW in-charge, leads a team.

Even as everything goes well, fate has other plans laid out for his future: He is burdened by the killing of his entire team while on an assignment. His world comes crashing down, and an inquiry ensues. But until he doesnt avenge their death, he cant live in peace with his love. So he hatches a genius plan.

In the midst of all the dramatic turn of events, we are also informed of his being a great desh bhakt. With almost every conceivable frill that would ensure a certain course of direction and an objective on the part of director Anil Sharma (whose earlier works include the jingoistic Gadar, Elaan-E-Jung) you almost second guess which way the film is headed.

IIT topper Vasudev Shastri (Utkarsh Sharma) whose entry into the engineering college is a breeze, rubs the second ranker, Nandini, the wrong way on the very first day of college. As they cross paths intermittently, Nandini finds him to be beneath her dignity, only to fall head over heels in love.

Later, as a team working on some of the most top-secret tasks with RAW, Vasu suffers a setback and becomes a victim of tinnitus after a physically challenging mission in Porbandar leaves him somewhat disabled. He has to endure a serious underlying medical condition due to damage to the inner ear that leads to high decibel levels of hearing. Doctors pronounce him getting close to becoming brain dead too. He survives multiple bullet wounds during a high-level mission as the head of a division of RAW named TOCSI. The agencys primary aim is to track MRS (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a dreaded Islamist terrorist who works closely with the ISI. Together with Pakistan, MRS is determined to plant bombs in India, and make the lives of Indians miserable.

The aforementioned details of the plot may give you an idea of the film being very authentic and qualitatively superior. You may have seen juvenile plots converted into watchable fare on screen only for their great production values and believable acting skills of actors. Not in Genius. Here, you cannot ignore its gratuitous jingoistic flavour, shoddy CGI, poor production qualities and some jejune writing. Anil Sharmas son Utkarsh in the lead will have to start from scratch to learn the basic in acting if he is serious about a career in films. His co-star Ishitha is even worse. For her, a crash course in acting will not even do the needful!The doctor then reportedly handed the couple each a sex-ed handbook and also gave them "guidelines" before they were sent home. (Photo: AFP)

This can only be termed as bizarre. A married couple who were trying to get pregnant for four years went to a doctor to determine what was wrong, since they were not successful.

Turns out, they were having anal sex for four years.

According to The Sun, the extraordinary blunder came to light after a 26-year-old man and his 24-year-old wife went to see an obstetrician about their lack of success.

When the doctor, Dr Liu Hongmei investigated further she found out the woman had regular sex but that it was "unusually painful" every time.

While the doctor, at first thought it must be some sort of disease or disorder, further examinations found the clueless couple from Bijie city in Chinas south-western Guizhou province, had been having anal sex all along.

The story was first reported by Chinas Guiyang Evening Post.

Further tests confirmed this and amazingly found the wife was a virgin.

Speaking to the media, Dr Lui said, Four years of marriage and neither the husband nor wife knew how to get pregnant. Couples so lacking in general knowledge are very rare.

The doctor then reportedly handed the couple each a sex-ed handbook and also gave them "guidelines" before they were sent home.

The advice appeared to work, as news of the wifes pregnancy arrived just a few months later.

It turns out that they reportedly informed the doctor that they were finally expecting - and sent 100 eggs and a live hen as gifts.The cyber cell was getting in touch with law enforcement agencies of UK, USA, Russia and the UAE for further action. (Representational Image)

Pune: Following a hacking of servers of city-headquartered Cosmos Bank, Rs 78 crore were withdrawn "physically" from 28 countries including the UK, USA, Russia and the UAE using cloned ATM cards, the police said on Friday.

On August 11 and 13, unidentified hackers targeted the bank's ATM switch server and stole details of VISA and RuPay ATM cards. They also attacked the interbank SWIFT system, and siphoned off Rs 94 crore in total.

"The United Kingdom, United States, Russia, United Arab Emirates and Canada are among 28 countries from where Rs 78 crore were withdrawn physically, using cloned cards," said Jyotipriya Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber and Economic Offences Wing).

The cyber cell was getting in touch with law enforcement agencies of these countries for further action, she said.

The hackers must have done some kind of "recce" (study) of the bank's system, she said.

"We suspect that the bank must have received some sort of alerts before the attack and we are waiting for the security audit report from the bank," DCP Singh said.

The cyber cell's aim now is to find out the "money mules" who were used to withdraw the money using ATMs in foreign countries, she said.

The police have recovered around Rs 4 lakh from the genuine Cosmos cardholders, who had visited ATMs when the malware (malicious software installed by hackers in the bank's system) was active and withdrew more money than their account balance, she said.

"These people are original cardholders, who, out of greed, withdrew money from the ATMs during the time the malware or proxy switch server was active," Singh said.Chennai: The Crime Branch CID (CB-CID) police informed the Madras high court that assistant professor Nirmala Devi, arrested in connection with Madurai Kamaraj University sex scandal, has voluntarily confessed during custodial interrogation that she tried to lure girl students only to offer sexual favours to other two accused in the case - Murugan and Karuppasamy.

The ASP, Lavanya informed in an affidavit filed before the court that with the assistance of cybercrime cell, the Call Data Records (CDR) of Nirmala Devi, Karuppasamy and Murugan were obtained from Mobile Service Providers (MSP). During investigation, it was found that the accused had conspired and Nirmala Devi on various occasions induced four girl students for sexual exploitation. In view of these incidents the case has been altered to under sections 370 (3) read with 370 (1) (a), 120 (B), read with 370 (3), 354 (A) of IPC, sections 5 (1)(a) and 9 of the Immoral Traffic (prevention) Act, section 4 of Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, and section 67 of information Technology Act.

The ASP filed the affidavit in response to a PIL filed by D Ganesan of the Revolutionary Students Youth Front (RSYF) seeking a direction to constitute a special investigation team (SIT), comprising women police officers, who are led by a gender-sensitive officer in the rank of DIG. The division bench headed by Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh referred the PIL to the first bench headed by Chief Justice VK Tahilramani.Accused Anwar was traced at Balapur and was arrested and sent to judicial custody. (Representational Images)

Hyderabad: A 24-year-old Burmese native was caught by the Rachakonda cyber crime police on Saturday for stalking, threatening and sending explicit content over social media to his ex colleague, also a native of Burma in Myanmar.

Mohammed Anwar, a private employee residing in Balapur, has migrated from Myanmar (Rohingya) and had previously worked at an organisation in Bandlaguda as a translator, where he came in contact with a girl who was his co-worker. She was also a refugee from Myanmar, inspector of police, Cyber Crime, Rachakonda D. Jalender Reddy said.

Their friendship turned into love and they had a physical relationship and took pictures, said the official.

Subsequently, in July 2018, the girls parents performed her marriage with Ali Akbar Anayth Husain who is also a Rohingya presently working in Canada.

Anwar since then bore a grudge against her and has been posting intimate selfies clicked by them to defame her character.

He then sent the abusive and nude photos to her husbands WhatsApp number and also created a fake Facebook account in the name of Mohammed Haneef and uploaded the objectionable photos of the girl on it, said the official.

He added that Anwar was traced at Balapur and was arrested and sent to judicial custody.The airline said over a dozen flights will transport the relief goods, which have been donated by various UAE-based businesses and organisations, to Thiruvananthapuram - the nearest online Emirates station to the areas most affected by the flood. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Kochi/Dubai: UAE's national carrier Emirates has said it will fly over 175 tonnes of relief material to Kerala, which is facing the deadliest deluge in nearly 100 years.

Unprecedented floods due to incessant rain have created havoc in the state causing immeasurable misery and devastation. As per the official records, since August 8, over 231 people have died and more than 10 lakh have been displaced.

"Emirates SkyCargo will carry flood relief cargo of over 175 tonnes to Kerala, India, joining the UAE community in their support of the people of Kerala," the airlines said in a statement.

Emirates SkyCargo joins the UAE community in their support of the people of Kerala, India by transporting over 175 tons of flood relief cargo. #UAEsupportsKerala https://t.co/1w74tYCFNr pic.twitter.com/NgMsdrskRj  Emirates Airline (@emirates) August 23, 2018

The airline said over a dozen flights will transport the relief goods, which have been donated by various UAE-based businesses and organisations, to Thiruvananthapuram - the nearest online Emirates station to the areas most affected by the flood.

"The goods, including lifesaving boats, blankets and dry food items, will be handed over to the local flood relief and aid organisations for distribution," it said.A view of the shelter home in Deoria from where girls were rescued after allegation of sexual exploitation of the inmates came to light. (Photo: PTI)

Gorakhpur: A case has been registered against chairman of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and four other members in relation to Deoria girls' shelter home case involving sexual exploitation of its inmates, police said on Friday.

The FIR was registered on the written complaint of District Probation Officer (Deoria), Prabhat Kumar, they said.

"On the direction of director of women welfare department, the district probation officer gave written complaint against CWC chairman and four other members. An FIR has been lodged under various sections of the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act and IPC," SP Deoria, N Kolanchi said.

On August 7, the Uttar Pradesh government had recommended a CBI probe into the Deoria shelter home case and also constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to ensure that there is no tampering of evidence.

The police had raided the Deoria shelter home at station road in Deoria on August 5 and had rescued 23 inmates. The rescued inmates had told sleuths that they were used to be ferried out of the shelter home to Gorakhpur in two cars - a red one and a white one.Mysuru: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and state minister Sa Ra Mahesh's heated exchange of words during the BJP leader's visit to the flood-hit Kodagu district on Friday, marred her otherwise well appreciated offer of central aid to the tune of Rs 7 crores, that was meant to offset criticism that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not yet visited Karnataka's devastated coffee heartland that had rendered 5,000 Kodavas homeless, even though the PM had conducted an aerial survey only miles away in neighbouring Kerala.

With the cameras rolling at the district commissioner's office in Mysuru, recording her every move, the minister seemed to have taken offence when district in charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh requested her to conclude her meeting with the victims, as officials involved with rehabilitation work were waiting for her. I follow the minister in charge! Central minister follows the minister in charge here! Unbelievable! I don't know if you are aware of protocol while dealing with Union minister. This is for the first time, a Union minister has to listen to a State minister. You have a list of minute-to-minute for me to follow. I am following the minister in-charge and the itinerary, she said, in an inexplicable outburst, barely holding on to her temper.

When told that the cameras were recording her, she said Let them record it if they want. Mrs Sitharaman is the Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. Speaking to Deccan Chroncile, Kodagu district Minister Sa Ra Mahesh claimed that Union Minister Ms Nirmala Seetharam was angry with him during her visit to Kodagu as he tried to speed up her meetings. He said, While officers waited for Union Minister Ms Nirmala Seetharam to end her meeting, which was going on for a long time, the meeting with rehabilitation officials was delayed as Union Minister met BJP leaders and others. Since officers had to rush back to the field on emergency rescue and relief works, I tried to convey her to meet the officers first and meet BJP party leaders later. That's when Union Minister Ms Seetharam got angry with me."

" While Ms Nirmala Seetharam was supposed to visit Kushalnagar and then Madapura, her visit to Kushalnagar then was suddenly cancelled. We are not aware of the reason for the sudden cancxellation, he added. Kodagu district administration sources told Deccan Chronicle that the Union Minister 's visit to Madapura was on the 'protocol' list, but officers were unaware of the reason for the cancellation of her visit to Kushalnagar. Mr Mahesh also dubbed Mrs Sitharaman's comments a reaction to the demand for funds from the centre to Kodagu. "She would have known the pain had she contested election by standing with the electorate, going to every house, meeting voters and asked their problems. She has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka," he told a TV channel.

The district in-charge minister said the state had requested her to ask the centre to extend relief for Kodagu just like it did for Kerala. The torrential rains that lashed the district last week has left a huge trail of destruction and claimed at least 17 lives. More than 5,000 people have been rendered homeless.. Defence minister Ms Nirmala Seetharam promised to provide Rs 7 Crore through defence institutes (through Corporate social responsibility funds of public undertaking of defence  defence products manufacturing units) of Karnataka, and Rs 1 Crore from her MP funds, for the flood affected people of Kodagu.

Ms Niramala Seetharam who arrived at Kodagu on Friday visited affected areas including Madapura, Hattihole and, interacted with victims at Sevabharathi and Mythri hall in Madikeri. She held a meeting with officers and took stock of the situation. Later speaking to media persons, she said, Union government has given its necessary assistance in rescue operations. A team from Union government will visit Kodagu to assess the extent of damage and losses. And based on the report from the team, Union government will extend all its support in relief and restoration measures too. We will discuss on the Kodagu disaster with Prime Minister and Home minister too. We will inform Union transport minister on the damages caused to the roads too. Union government will join hands with State government, Kodagu district administration, local MP, MLAs and will assist in relief and restoration measures, she said.

She informed, while few districts of coastal Karnataka were hit by incessant rains causing loss of life and property in the past few days, defence forces were requisitioned to aid the civil administration in rescue and relief operations from 18 of this month. One column of Indian army with 50 members from Dogra regiment, one column army engineering task force with 75 members, 12 surface rescuers with rafts from Indian navy, were deployed at Mukkodlu and Kaalur in Kodagu district. In three days during the peak of calamity, these forces alone have rescued nearly 504 people. Also they have constructed two temporary bridges at Mukkodlu and Kaalur. We have consented to deploy technical team of border road organisation to assist the State government in the road restoration in Kodagu district, she said. The extent of damage is so huge that it takes time for restoration, so district administration is taking up emergency works based on the need on priority, Ms Seetharam said.The ATS had on August 10 arrested Raut, 40, who ran the 'Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti', a little-known pro-cow protection outfit, at Nallasopara in Palghar district. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is investigating the recent seizure of explosives and arms in the state, has arrested one more person from Ghatkopar here, an official said on Saturday.

Avinash Pawar, 30, was arrested on Friday night and will be produced before a court today, the official added. According to the ATS, Pawar was involved in the conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state with Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhanwa Gondhalekar and Shrikant Pangarkar, who were earlier arrested in this case.

Also Read: ATS seizes explosives from right-wing member's residence in Maharashtra

Pawar's name cropped up during the interrogation of the arrested accused, the official added.

"We have arrested Pawar under sections 4, 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, read with section 9(B) of the Explosives Act, section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and sections 16 (punishment for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy for terrorist act) and 20 (being a member of terrorist gang) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)," he said.

The ATS had on August 10 arrested Raut, 40, who ran the "Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti", a little-known pro-cow protection outfit, at Nallasopara in Palghar district.

Also Read: Maharashtra explosives case: Right-wing outfits protest, demand release of accused

After Raut's arrest, the ATS had nabbed Kalaskar (25) and Gondhalekar (39), following raids in Palghar and Pune districts.

Pangarkar, former Shiv Sena corporator from Jalna, was arrested on August 19. The ATS had claimed to have recovered 20 crude bombs, two gelatin sticks, four electronic and 22 non-electronic detonators, 150 gms of explosive powder and some other materials, which according to the police, were to be used to trigger blasts at various places in the state.The Gandhi scion, during his visit to Germany and Britain, had said that terrorism was on the rise in India due to increasing unemployment, Ojha said in his complaint. (Photo: PTI)

Muzaffarpur: A complaint case seeking a registration of defamation case against the Congress president was filed in the Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasads court in Muzaffarpur on Saturday.

Advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha who filed the case said that he was hurt by Rahul Gandhi for linking unemployment with terrorism in his speech during his Germany visit last week.

Linking terrorism with unemployment has tarnished the image of our country on the foreign soil. I have filed a complaint case seeking courts order for a defamation suit against the Congress President, Advocate Ojha said in Muzaffarpur on Saturday.

The court has fixed September 4 to hear the matter.

The senior lawyer also pointed out that Rahul Gandhi has held Indian culture responsible for rising cases of violence against women in the country.

Ojha in his complaint has prayed to the court for initiating a case against Rahul Gandhi under various sections of the IPC that included insult with an intent to provoke breach of peace.

He has deliberately made statements with an intention to create tension in the country, advocate Ojha said pointing to the political remarks and protests against Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi has been facing criticism from BJP leaders who feel that the speech he gave in Hamburg Germany last week was dangerous for the country.

Advocate Ojha said that he decided to file the complaint case after he saw the statement on television recently.

I was hurt by Rahul Gandhis statement and I believe there are several others in the country who may be feeling the same. He has insulted the image of our country by his statements, advocate Ojha said.Bengaluru: Rising to the defence of former Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, who recently declared that he would become CM again if the people so desired, Revenue Minister, R.V. Deshpande insisted on Friday that the statement did not mean he was readying to destablise the Kumaraswamy government. I have known Siddaramaiah for 30 years and he has never resorted to backdoor politics or any kind of dissident activity, Mr. Deshpande told reporters when asked about the former Chief Ministers statement made during his visit to inspect the floods in Hassan.

He continued, We were confident before the assembly polls that Siddaramaiah would become Chief Minister again, but then the party lost the elections. There is nothing wrong in him saying he will become Chief Minister again. It doesnt mean he plans to unsettle the Kumaraswamy government to accomplish his goal. Disagreeing with Deputy Chief Minister, Dr. G. Parameshwara, who recently hit out at the Centre for not helping the state with the Kodagu floods , Mr Deshpande said it was wrong to make such an accusation against the Union government.

It is not right to say that the Centre has not responded to the crisis. In fact , Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has sent army personnel to Kodagu to rescue the flood victims and visited the district herself. The Centre has helped in other ways too, he observed, adding that the state government had asked the deputy commissioners, of Kodagu, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada and Chikkamagaluru to send a detailed report on the loss of crops and livestock due to the floods.The revised two-page list recently updated recently on the government website has a scantily clad woman resembling Sunny Leone, apart from an elephant, a pigeon and a deer next to the name of residents of the district. (Photo: File)

Lucknow: Bollywood actor Sunny Leone who is not even an Indian citizen has her photo featured in the voter's list for Ballia constituency in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The revised two-page list recently updated recently on the government website has a scantily clad woman resembling Sunny Leone, apart from an elephant, a pigeon and a deer next to the name of residents of the district.

According to reports, photograph of Sunny Leone appeared next to the name of a 51-year-old woman, an African elephant was seen alongside the name of former cabinet minister Narad Rai and deer in place of one Ankur Singh.

While the list carries the picture of a scantily clad woman resembling Leone in place of voter Durgawati Singh of Vivekanand Colony, it carries photograph of an elephant against the name of former cabinet minister Narad Rai and picture of a deer in place of Kunwar Ankur Singh, The Times of India quoted a senior district official as saying.

Except the picture, all the other details in the voters' list are correct including the house number and locality.

The discrepancies in the revised list, which was prepared on the Election Commissions directives and uploaded on the official website on July 15, were exposed after two pages of the same were leaked to the media.

Voter lists are being updated across Uttar Pradesh ahead the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The first deadline in Ballia was July 15, according to reports.

"This was done by one of our data entry operators. He was recently transferred from a city area to a rural one. We have filed an FIR against this person and we are modifying these details," NDTV quoted Manoj Kumar Singhal, senior officer with the Ballia district administration saying.

"We found out on August 15 that voter IDs of around 7-8 voters are tampered with and their photos have been replaced with those of birds and animals. It was clear that this has been done by one of our operators. Operator Vishnu Dev Verma was arrested," news agency ANI quoted Ballia Additional District Magistrate saying.Rahul Gandhi also referred to the killing of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE in 1991. (Photo: PTI)

London/New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a "very painful tragedy" and said he was "100 per cent" for the punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody.

Nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots in 1984 following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards when the Congress government was in power at the Centre.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, told the audience of UK-based parliamentarians and local leaders on Friday that the incident was a tragedy and painful experiences, but disagreed with the view that the Congress was "involved".

"I think any violence done against anybody is wrong. There are legal processes ongoing in India but as far as I'm concerned anything done that was wrong during that period should be punished and I would support that 100 per cent," he said.

"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy."

Later, during an interactive session at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots, Gandhi said: "When Mr Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels."

He was referring to the killing of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE in 1991.

"So, I am against any sort of violence against anybody on this planet. I get disturbed when I see anybody being hurt. So, I condemn that 100 per cent and I am 100 per cent for punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody. That's crystal clear," said Gandhi.

He said that people, who have not had violence inflicted upon them, think that violence is what one sees in movies. "That's not what it is. I have seen people who I loved very much being killed. I have also seen the person (Prabhakaran) who killed my father being killed.

"When I saw Prabhakaran lying on the beaches in Jaffna (Lanka), when I saw him being humiliated, the way he was, I felt sorry for him, because I saw my father in his place and his children in my place," he added.

"So, when you are being hit by violence, when you understand it, it has a completely different impact on you."

Gandhi said most people do not understand violence which is a horrible thing. Some Congress leaders have been accused of leading the killer mobs during the riots. They have denied the allegations.

Earlier Gandhi had invoked Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, during his address in Germany, drawing a sharp reaction from the BJP which said Gandhi should apologise for the "heinous crime" at the Golden Temple.'It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague,' Karnataka deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara tells Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Photo: PTI)

Bengaluru: A day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman openly blasted Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh at a press conference in Kodagu where she had visited to review the flood-affected areas, the deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka G Parameshwara on Saturday tweeted his disapproval saying, "It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague."

Sa Ra Mahesh on Friday had asked the Union Defence Minister to wind up the press conference at the district commissioner's office, citing lack of time.

"Our ministers have stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with the district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end," the deputy chief minister tweeted.

Madam @nsitharaman, our ministers have stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end. It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague  Dr. G Parameshwara (@DrParameshwara) August 25, 2018

Karnataka deputy chief minister added, "State governments derive their powers from our Constitution not from the Centre... We are not inferior to the Centre. We are partners."

State Governments derive their powers from our Constitution not from the Centre. The Constitution has distributed powers among the Centre and States to ensure an equitable partnership between both. We are not inferior to the Centre. We are partners @nsitharaman  Dr. G Parameshwara (@DrParameshwara) August 25, 2018

Lashing out at Karnataka minister Sa Ra Mahesh, Nirmala Sitharaman said, "I am following a minute-to-minute programme, minister. If officials are important, my parivaar (family) is also important.... Central minister follows the minister in-charge here. Unbelievable."

Also Read: 'Unbelievable': Sitharaman spars with K'taka minister for asking to end speech

When told the conversation was getting recorded on cameras, Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, shot back "Let it get recorded."

Sitharaman on Friday visited many relief camps in Kodagu including one of the Seva Bharti camps run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS.

Former chief minister of Karnataka and Congress leader Siddaramaiah accused the Centre of "step-motherly" treatment.

I condemn the stepmotherly treatment by @PMOIndia in releasing relief funds. We expected PM @narendramodi to assess the loss instead it was delegated to @DefenceMinIndia, who was more interested in dominating our state minister. This reflects @BJP4India 's apathy towards Ktaka.  Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 25, 2018

The torrential rains that lashed the district last week has left a huge trail of destruction and claimed at least 17 lives. More than 5,000 people have been rendered homeless.

Sitharaman on Friday visited many relief and rehabilitation camps in the area, including one of the Seva Bharti camps run by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS.Mysuru: Even as Kodagu limps back to normalcy rescue teams recovered the bodies of three more people killed in the recent landslides and floods on Saturday. While the body of 58- year -old Chandrappa was recovered in Hebbegeri, the body of 47 year- old Francis Munthero was found near Hadageri, and that of 56- year- old Babu was traced in Udaygiri, Makkandur. Principal secretary and relief commissioner, revenue department (disaster management), Gangaram Baderia said the toll had risen to 20 in Kodagu since August 14.

As many as 1019 personnel of rescue teams of multiple agencies are continuing with the search operation, assisted by drones as a few more people are still missing in the district. They include Gilbert Madonsa, a former soldier, Harish Kumar of Hebbaale, 15- year- old Manjula of Jodupala, and seven -year -old Gagan of Hebbetgeri.

But with the rain and landslides largely subsiding, 1109 more people returned to their homes from the relief centres, leading to the closure of three more on Saturday. However, 4091 people continue to remain in 32 relief camps. Food and civil supplies minister, Zamir Ahmed, who visited the relief camps, formally launched the distribution of 50,000 aid kits comprising Rs 3800 in cash, 10 kgs of rice, 1 kg each of dal, oil, sugar and salt among the victims of the recent disaster. The minister revealed that so far 153 LPG cylinders, 486 quintals of rice, and 18.71 quintals of dal, had been given to the relief centres. And the people of the 34 worst hit gram panchyats would be given 35 kgs of rice and 1kg of dal each.

One barrel (220 litres) of kerosene will be distributed to each gram panchayat for the people of their villages, he added. The government is making an effort to restore Kodagus connectivity to Kerala, Mangaluru and Mysuru among other places, according to transport minister, D C Thammanna, who too visited the district on Saturday. The KSRTC has begun operating seven mini buses from Sullia to Madikeri through Panathur and Bhagamandala and 10 more buses will take to the roads in the next four days, he revealed. The minister said he was giving his salary for two months to the CMs relief fund for Kodagu and KSRTC employees too were contributing a days salary, amounting to Rs 11.80 crores to the district.BENGALURU: To reduce the number of accidents due to potholes, the traffic police have taken an initiative and started filling the potholes. On Thursday, the KS Layout traffic police filled potholes on a 30-50 feet stretch on Anjanapura Double Road. The police claimed that even after several complaints over the last one month, BBMP officials failed to take any action.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Krishnaiah with the help of other policemen filled the potholes on Anjanapura Double Road on Thursday morning. The road is prone to many accidents and the potholes had left many bikers injured, especially during rains.

BBMP officials failed to repair the road, though several complaints were made to them, the police said. Mr Krishnaiah said that the repair work they have done is only temporary, and could be washed away during rains. "The potholes have been filled with mud. We will continue to request Palike officials to repair the road," he said.Chennai: The Koyambedu market administration recently issued a termination notice to a private agency for its failure to maintain the bio-gas plant at the Koyambedu market premises.

Totally defeating its purpose of installation, the bio-gas plant at the Koyambedu market premises often conked off, forcing traders to dump their perishable vegetables and fruits out in the open.

The plant was installed in 2006 by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and the task of maintaining the plant was handed over to a private agency, but frequent failure of the plant was intermittently reported.

According to sources, since the biggest market complex in the city has been generating around 30 to 40 tonnes of waste per day, the bio-gas plant would usually produce 1,000 to 3,000 units of electricity a day.

The power thus generated was used to light up the entire market complex, and sometimes it was even used to light the premises of the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT), where many lamp posts and high-mast lamps are installed.

V. R. Soundararajan, president of Koyambedu Wholesale Traders Association, and member of the Market Management Committee (MMC), blamed the CMDA officials for not taking any steps to operate the plant.

"As far as I know, the bio-gas plant installed at a cost of Rs 8 crore, has not worked at all," he said, adding that the concerned officials have wasted the tax payers' money.

"The plant operators state that they can operate the plant only if they receive at least 50 tonnes of raw materials (vegetable wastes). It had been functioning very well in the beginning. It is just an excuse to slip away," Soundararajan added.

The non-functioning of the plant has paved way for traders to throw rotten vegetables and fruits in open places. "We have no option, but to throw the perishables only in the dustbins. Moreover, there are not as many dustbins in the premises. Such a problem will not arise, had the biogas plant been operational," said a trader in the market.

When sought for his comments by DC, Rajendran, Chief Administrative Officer, Koyambedu market, said, "It is true that the biogas plant is not working. Despite repeated complaints, the private agency continued to turn a blind eye. Hence, we have sent a termination notice."Bangalore: A day after defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman came under attack for snapping at Karnataka tourism minister, S.R. Mahesh with the video footage of the incident going viral, the defence ministry issued a strong rebuttal on Saturday explaining the context for her outburst and strongly criticising the misrepresentation of facts.

The ministry also criticised the minister for disrespecting the Upper House of Parliament by making personal remarks against Ms Seetharaman. The personal remarks made against the minister were in bad taste and do not merit a response, the defence ministry.

The tour programme of the RM (defence minister) was finalised by the district administration of Kodagu in consultation with the public representatives. This programme was approved and circulated to all concerned two days prior to the RMs arrival. Subsequently, on the request of the district administration, an interaction with veterans was added to the schedule. On completion of the field visits, the RM was interacting with the ex-servicemen affected by the floods when the district in-charge minister objected and insisted that the meeting with the officials be conducted first.

RM clarified that the welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the ministry of defence but the district minister insisted that she immediately stop the interaction and proceed to the meeting with the officials, " the statement said, adding, that to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Ms Seetharaman halted the meeting and proceeded to the venue of the meeting with the officials.

The venue was already set up for the press conference but the officials were hurriedly summoned to sit among the media for the review. It was unprecedented to hold a meeting with the officials, with all the media persons present. It is unfortunate that the minister behaved the way he did. The personal remarks made against the RM were also in bad taste and do not merit a response, the defence ministry said.

The ministry further said that there had been gross misrepresentation of the use of the term parivar by Ms Sitharaman during the press conference. One of the four departments of the ministry of defence is the department of ex-servicemen welfare and in that context it was stated that all ex-servicemen are part of the MoD parivar. Any other inference is misconstrued and uncalled for, it said.On Friday evening however, boy drowned in the sump as the sump was not covered properly. (Representational Images)

Hyderabad: A 2-year-old boy drowned in a sump in Medipally. Gandikota Rakshit, drowned in a sump in his neighbors house.

His father G. Bhaskar was a cab driver and mother G. Kavitha was a homemaker, living in a small room in Shiva Sai Residency, Buddha Nagar, Medipally and working as caretaker.

Inspector of police Anji Reddy, Medipally, said, The child used to go to neighbours house to play with his friends. On Friday evening however, he drowned in the sump as the sump was not covered properly.

She alerted her neighbours and they shifted the victim to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead.

The police have registered a case under Section 304 (a) of the IPC against the house owner and further investigation is underway.

The police have handed over the body to the family members after conducting a post mortem at Gandhi Hospital.HYDERABAD: The buzz around holding early polls to the Telangana Legislative Assembly faded away after Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. According to TRS party sources, the CM during his 30-minute interaction with the Prime Minister was confined to his 'official business' and there was no political talk or discussion on early polls between them.

KCR took up 14 pending bifurcation-related issues concerning TS and sought their resolution at the earliest, which was just a repetition of the August 5 meeting with PM Modi. Additionally, this time, the CM sought an increase in the FRBM limit by 0.50 per cent to raise the state governments annual borrowing limit and to mobilize more funds from various financial institutions for development programmes.

After the meeting, TRS deputy floor leader in the Lok Sabha B Vinod Kumar claimed that the PM had given his nod to the state government's new zonal system in 2-3 days and also bifurcation of the High Court at the earliest. He said the CM had successfully convinced the PM to approve 95 per cent reservations for locals in government jobs against the Centre's suggestion of 85 per cent as part of the new zonal system for government recruitments.

The CM also sought release of Rs 450 crore for the development of backward districts, release of the Centre's share of interest on the loans to be given to women societies and farmers, funds for regional Ring Road, allotment of Bison Polo Grounds, defence lands in Secunderabad for building of the Secretariat, flyovers etc. In his representation to the PM on raising the FRBM limit, the CM said, The Centre had conveyed its consent to raise market borrowings, computed at 3 per cent of the GSDP provisionally for the first nine months of the financial year 2018-19. As per recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the States which are in revenue surplus are eligible for raising market borrowings up to 3.5 per cent of GSDP.More problematic is that many domains and sub domains that are listed in the certificate do not even use Akamai's network.

Hyderabad: Private certificates of more than 31 websites managed by the Indian government were shared with a US based company Akamai. Some of these websites include india.gov.in, digilocker.gov.in, supremecourt.gov.in, incredibleindia.org among others. Akamai is a content delivery network (CDN) provider which sort of acts as a proxy for various websites.

HTTPs is the foundation of the encrypted web. HTTPS websites need to have the SSL certificate for encrypted connection between your web browser like Google Chrome and the website you are visiting. This encrypted connection protects sensitive data you might share with the website, like a password or credit/debit card details. Because it is a fragile ecosystem, a certificate that is issued has a public key and private key for communication. The private key needs to be with the owner of the website. But, the problem here is that the government is sharing the private keys with a third party answerable to a foreign government. Because of this, even though the website uses HTTPS, the data is in clear text at the US company.

Many sites are using these services from Akamai and Cloudflare. As long as the private key is with you, this is not a problem. But, the threat perception and impact of a compromise for a startup and a government website are way different. The issue was pointed out on Saturday by an internet researcher, Kingsly John. He said "Government websites should not be using such foreign services like Akamai and Cloudlrare in the first place. Everyone's name, Aadhaar and mobile number are first sent in clear text to a US company's servers before they reach the government server. A whole bunch of government websites seem to be using Akamai which can be forced by the US to hand over any/all data. This is a disgrace and impacts national security."

It may be mentioned here, that last year the Reserve Bank of India was using such a certificate from a company Cloudflare, but soon rectified it. RBI is now serving directly from its servers instead of using proxy.

Moreover, instead of generating a certificate for each website, NIC has generated a single certificate for dozens of websites and handed them over to Akamai. Because of this, the US government, or Akamai or anyone else can conduct a man-in-the-middle attack and collect all the data without anyone knowing it, and can send false data which users cannot differentiate.

While it was quite rare to see a single certificate for many domains, he added that if one certificate were leaked, dozens of government websites would be compromised.

More problematic is that many domains and sub domains that are listed in the certificate do not even use Akamai's network.Rahaman who was injured in Gokul Chat Bhandar blast and Sharma, father of Pratyusha who died in the blast hug each other at Gokul chat bhandar recalling the twin blast. (Image: DC)

Hyderabad: On the anniversary of Gokul Chat blasts, survivors of the incident gathered at Gokul Chat to commemorate the tragedy that took place 11 years ago.

Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) exploded and broke the peace on the night of August 25, 2007. Two blasts, one in Lumbini Park and the other at Gokul Chat, went off within seconds, one after the other. Forty-two people were mercilessly killed in the combined blasts, leaving 50 people fighting hard for their lives.

Eleven years later, the road in front of the chat shop has no trace of the blast even as the people who have frequented this location claim to have an eerie feeling. Passers-by walk briskly in front of the chat shop, now closed for a day of observance, a few stop, look at the candles and flowers strewn in memory of lost lives and injured people whose suffering continues to this day. The pavement vendors have a distant look in their eyes as they recall the events that ensued after the explosion. Raheem and K Shankar, victims of the blast, said, Every year we come back to this spot but the only thing we feel is gripping pain and fear, our lives have moved on, but the explosion, the screaming, the blackness that swallowed us in seconds, will never fade away. We fear that if it happens again, will it take another 10 years, to get closure.

The duo claim they often reach out to other victims but get less response as the families are still not ready to face what happened that life-altering day. With the verdict of the blasts only days away, tension among those who survived the unimaginable is on the rise, and the once shattered building stands in silence.

While these blasts changed the life many people, the situation could have been more terrible as, following the blast, the frenzied police scoured the city and discovered around 19 bombs that were destined to go off. The bombs were strategically placed in frequented locations in the city.

Meanwhile, Papalal Ravikanth and his wife recall how they found their now adopted daughter at the blast sight. Papalal said My wife and I found little Sania crying out Ammi just metres from the blast sight, lost and abandoned. Papalal took the child to the hospital and waited for police to locate her parents. As the wait continued, a bond between Papalal, his wife and Sania grew. Eleven years later, Papalal recalls the night in which a blessing was bestowed on him amongst the chaos and loss of life. He points to the irony that the verdict for that night should fall so close to his daughters birthday, which is being celebrated every year on the date of the blast.

It is but a mere coincidence that all the evidence, arrests of seven persons and case trials will come to an end this Monday, two days after the 11th anniversary of the blast, as the verdict will be announced by the Cherlapally prison.Hyderabad: Congress MLA A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday said that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao distributed Rs 100 crore to TRS MLAs in a meeting held on Friday. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Revanth Reddy demanded a probe into the matter. He said that he has credible information on this and that some TRS MLAs had told this to him.

He said that the TRS has become Telanganas BJP. Revanth alleged that the state government special representative at Delhi, K.M. Sahani is a shadow friend of Mr Rao. He demanded to reveal the activities of Sahani at Delhi. He said that Mr Raos statement to mobilise 25 lakh people to Pragathi Nivedana Sabha is bogus. He said that to bring 25 lakh people, two lakh vehicles are required. It will require `400 crore to conduct the meeting. He questioned Mr Rao on his source of income to hold the meeting.Hyderabad: Husaini Alam, is now a crowded place, with barely enough road for traffic and a mere breathing space for pedestrians. Shops crowd both sides of the road and in the midst of all this is the Udasin Math, a sect in Sikhism, started by one of the sons of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. The building stands abutting the Husaini Alam Darwaza which has lost its majestic looks and can be missed in the chaotic traffic. This road earlier used to be the Golkonda-Charminar road and therefore has importance.

All the land that the Math may have owned earlier has disappeared and there are buildings connected seamlessly on one side while the other side has the Hussaini Alam Darwaza. There is a stonewalled entrance to the Math with a designed arch and a big door. There is a first floor and balcony right above the entrance and, probably, the Babas of yesteryears gave their darshan to the devotees from the balcony.

The inside seems crowded and though there is an open-to-the-sky roof, the place looks all shut in. There is a peepul tree growing out of a bathtub painted in bright orange. It reads North Western Pantry, John Leviga, Birmingham. Perhaps, in order to create a feeling of greenery and the looks of a forest, there are animal statues, including that of an elephant and a deer, with a lion guarding the gate.

Sriman Mahanth Baba

Earlier, as per the beliefs of the Udasin Math, there was the Panchayati Akhada Bhada Udasin Nirman Akhada abutting the Musi. It is still there and is looked after by another Mahant.

A hall, to the side on the ground floor, has walls filled with black and white pictures which include the later Mahants Sundardasji, Purandasji and Sevadasji with people from the Nizams circle and various other important people of the times. Also present are the first President of independent India, Dr Rajendra Prasad, in quite a few photos, Raja Rao of Wanaparthy, President Zail Singh and many other important figures in history. In fact, many of the Samasthanam rajas used to consult the Udasin saints quite regularly. Purandasji is remembered for his attire, a black robe with a black turban, and in the 1920s he was guru to several Samasthanams including Cheelam Janki Bai. The famous writer K.M. Munshi says that Maharana Pratap sought Sri Chands blessings to fight against Akbar. Jahangir also sent his men along with elephants to bring Sri Chand to his palace at Kadrabad, now Nanakchak in Gurdaspur district. On his refusal, the Mughal emperor himself paid a visit to Baba Sri Chand.

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and the first of the 10 gurus, did not believe in a life of seclusion and withdrawal from worldly affairs and instead, he believed in the importance of family life and domestic devotion. His elder son, Sri Chand, became an ascetic and Guru Nanak disapproved of it. However, Sri Chand continued his religious pursuits without caring for the disapproval of his father. The other son, Lakhmi Chand, took to a worldly life and his descendants are called the Bedis. As neither of his sons adhered to his religious preaching, Guru Nanak decided to nominate Guru Angad as his disciple-successor in 1539.

Sri Chand was the founder of the Udasi sect and as the elder son of Guru Nanak, he claimed to be the natural heir to the gurgaddi. Though he was not installed on the gaddi of his father, yet he was recognised as a leader and prophet by the Udasis, who refused to acknowledge the official successor of Nanak as their guru.

Forty years after Guru Nanak Devs death, Sri Chand laid aside his old enmity towards the successors of Guru Nanak and tried to pacify Guru Ram Das, the fourth successor of Nanak and cordial relations developed between the two. With this step, the ice was broken and congenial relations developed between the Udasis and the Sikhs. This was the turning point in the life of Baba Sri Chand, the founder of the Udasi sect.

Thanks to Chandu Lal Sadan (1766 - 1845), popularly known as Maharaja Chandu Lal, who served as the Prime Minister (1833 - 1844) during the reign of Nawab Sikandar Jah of Hyderabad state that the Udasin came to South India along with Sikh forces. Another story says that this sect came with Guru Gobind Singh in 1708 and the Udasins were the custodians of the Nanded Gurudwara and it all seems to be during the same period. There is narrow longitudinal room dedicated to 12 samadhis of mahants. While there were 15 mahants who visited Hyderabad state, the samadhis were built only for those who died here. They have all been laid to rest here and given a samadhi in a room.

Many Hyderabadis travelled there and given below is a quote from a banker:

I visited the Shrichandra Udasin Updeshak Sabha Free Reading Room and was much delighted to find the managements excellent work under Baba Purandasji Maharaja. All this was worthy of the name of the Udasin Sampraday. Among so many papers of different parts, I was amazed to find newspapers of Southern India too. It contained sufficient matter for the Urdu reading public also.

(Source for all history on Udasin Sect is the research done by Kiranjeet Sandhu, Associate Professor, PG Department of History, DAV College, Jallandhar, and other history books)BENGALURU: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday directed the authorities to submit a proposal for amending the mining policy as part of the state governments strategy to curb the activities of sand mafia. Chairing a meeting with minister for mines and geology here, Mr. Kumaraswamy directed the officials to take stringent action against illegal mining and constantly monitor the quality of M sand. He, however, instructed the officers to allow stone crusher units functioning within the parameters of the existing act.

Considering the shortage in supply of sand and crushed stone for constructions activities, the state government has decided to amend existing mining policy within fifteen days. Speaking to reporters after meeting with CM, Mines and Geology minister Rajshekar Patil said, department officials had visited Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to study mining policies in those states, after officials submit the report, the government would incorporate those suggestions in the mining policy.

There was no proposal before the state government to increase royalty amount levied on sand, crushed stones and quarry, the minister added. However the minister said the government was concerned about pilferage of royalty, and therefore the department has to ensure an end to this menace. Meanwhile, Karnataka State Federation of Stone Crusher and Quarry, submitted a memorandum to the state government to bring an amendment to mining policy to stop stone crushing activities as it would impact families depending on this business.Hyderabad: Despite the Kakatiya rulers giving importance to Saivism, they were not averse to the spread of Vaishnavism also. The architectural beauty of the Trikuta temple of Kasi Vishweshwara Swamy, Anantha Padmanabha Swamy (Anantasayana) and Venugopala Swamy, reflect a mix of Saivism and Vaishnavism, at Kalbagoor village in Sangareddy district of Telangana.

The little known 11th to 13th century Kasi Vishweshwara Swamy temple is located 60 kms from Hyderabad and 4 kms from Sangareddy on the banks of River Manjeera, a tributary of River Godavari.

Like other Kakatiya temples, this temple too is an architectural masterpiece and has beautiful architecture like the one in 1000 pillar temple in Warangal. The Kakatiyas ruled over the Telugu country from Orugallu (Warangal) from about 1150 AD to 1323 AD.

According to Dr P.V. Parabrahma Sastry, a scholar in Telugu and Sanskrit and an epigraphist, who did extensive studies on Kakatiyas and other rulers, the Kakatiyas inherited the main architectural style of the Chalukya period. However, the distinct feature of Kakatiya architecture is the display of more indigenous art than adherence to the tenets laid down in the texts on vastu and silpa.

Sri Anantapadmanabha swamy.

In Trikuta temples they closely followed the architecture of the Chalukyas. They used locally available granite and sandstone for main structures up to the vimana, its super structure is built of brick and lime. Black granite is used for pillars, jambs, lintels, decorative motifs and icons.

Though not much record is available on the history or the importance of the Sri Kasi Vishweshwara Swamy temple, it is believed that childless couples, sick people and others used to offer prayers at the temple, put their offerings at the Ragi tree (Peepal tree, Ficus religiosa or sacred fig tree) which is no more. However, devotees still throng the temple, especially on Shivaratri day and other auspicious occasions.

Childless couples and the sick made it a point to offer prayers at this temple and their wishes were fulfilled. Even the temple priest who fell sick and his survival was ruled out by doctors did not lose heart and decided to stay at the temple. He recovered, says Venkatesham, a local who is active in the affairs of the temple.

Interestingly, the first sunrays fall at the feet of Anantha Padmanabha Swamy. The temple architecture is similar to the 1000 pillar temple. Thousands visit the temple on Shivaratri and other festivals, he added.

Department of Heritage, Telangana State took up the renovation of the temple and restored its past glory on the initiative of Director Visalatchy. Then undivided Medak Collector Ronald Ross planned a tourism and cultural centre but it is yet to be taken up.

Its a Trikuta temple and consists of a porch in the east, a hall and shrines to the west, north and south of the hall. Each shine has an antarala and a grabhariha. Venugopalaswamy, Vishnu as Anantasayana and Lingam are the icons housed in the three shrines. The walls of the shrine are constructed of large blocks of stone. The shrines have stepped pyramidal type of sikharas. These temples belong to the Kakatiya period, B. Narayana, Deputy Director (Engg) of the department told this newspaper.

Talking about the restoration work, Narayana said the temple was covered in earth up to 7 to 9 feet over the years and this was completely removed bringing back the past glory of the temple. Other renovation work was going on. The temple has a beautiful step well which needs to be restored. Dr Kavuri Srinivas, who wrote a book on the temple history, says the Trikuta temple belongs to the Kakatiya period dating back to 10th to 13th century.

Decoding of two shahasanas indicates that the temple was constructed during the period of Kakatiya king 2nd Pratapa Rudrudu by his minister Jayapasena. The Shiva Lingam is much older. There are several such beautiful temples at Nandi Kandi nearby and other places in this region. Originally the temple was housed in about 50 acres but over a period of time the area shrunk due to encroachments, he explained.

The temple has a well carved step well which badly needs restoration. We will take up its renovation once we get sufficient funds. We have renovated the temple and removed all the mud and debris that had sunk the temple over the years. If people cooperate, the temple and its entire complex will get back its past glory, Narayana said.Chennai: Notwithstanding Dr Subramanian Swamys assertion that BJP president Amit Shah would keep away from the DMKs mega show at Chennai gathering several national leaders to commemorate the partys late patriarch M Karunanidhi, it now appears the saffron strongman will be here on August 30.

We printed the invitation cards only after getting his (Shah) nod. He had readily agreed to attend the meeting when Kanimozhi asked him and once again confirmed participation when T R Baalu presented the invitation to him. And we are told that once he accepts an invitation, he will not go back on his word; so we are confident he will come, said a senior DMK parliamentarian, requesting anonymity.

Besides, this meeting is only for paying our respects to Kalaignar; it has very little to do with any politics, he said, adding, Even in the BJP, not many take Swamy seriously.

The impressive four-page invitation card for the event that the DMK has named, The Southern SunMeeting of National Political Leaders, has former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda leading an impressive list of leaders from across the country. Amit Shah and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad share the top space, just below Gowda, in the list of 13 national leaders in the invite.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Bihar CM and JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar, Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy, AAP convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy, Trinamool Congress leader Derek OBrien and IUML chairman Kader Mohideen complete the impressive lineup of national leaders in the DMK invite.

Party general secretary K Anbazhagan, working president M K Stalin and principal secretary Durai Murugan will be on the dais too. The party started distributing the invitations on Friday even as the mainstream newsrooms  as much as the ever-active social media and also the political circles  were still discussing excitedly the tweet posted earlier in the day by former Union Minister and BJP's Rajya Sabha member Dr Subramanian Swamy, which said: 'Happy to learn that Party President Amit Shah has decided not to attend the DMK meet'.

Just the previous day, there was the surprising news from Delhi, quoting DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi, saying that Shah had accepted her partys invitation for the Aug 30 event in Chennai.

Dr Swamys tweet, predictably, received huge response with both the BJP and DMK loyalists expressing happiness that Shah would not attend the Karunanidhi commemoration. "If this is true, there are many more cadres in our party than with you who would be happy", shot back a DMK supporter in response to some BJP tweets welcoming the Swamy tweet.

Just this response from the cadres of both these parties would suffice to show their mutual dislike and must warn their leaders of the negative repercussions should they attempt to forge alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, according to political observers. Political prudence could get them together post-poll as Stalins DMK is expected to emerge as king-maker should the BJP fall short of a clear majority.

BJP chief participation will not affect DMK-Congress alliance: TNCC chief

BJP national chief Amit Shahs participation in the DMKs meeting will not affect the DMK-Congress alliance, TNCC chief Su. Thirunavukkarasar has claimed.

Congress is not concerned about Amit Shah attending Karunanidhis memorial meeting. His participation will not affect our ties with the DMK, Mr Thirunavukkarasar said on Saturday. The DMK, he asserted, has invited leaders of several political parties and even those who are not allies of the Dravidian party, to take part in the Aug. 30 meeting."Akshyam meaning, may it be unending, was a boon given by Krishna to Draupati on tying a small piece of cloth on his finger. The legend has it that on a Sankranti day, Krishna cut his finger while performing some task. His wife Rukmini asked the servant to get a bandage cloth, and Sathyabama, his second wife, rushed inside to bring it herself but Draupati, without wasting any more time, tore off a part of her sari and bandaged his finger. It was a kind of first Rakhi showing, on the one hand, sisters pure love and caring attitude and on the other, brother protecting the sister under all circumstances. The unending sari of Draupati protected her honour in the royal court.

Raksha Bandhan, basically a Hindu festival, signifies a knot of protection. The word raksha means protection while bandhan is a tie or a relationship which binds. The ceremony, also known as rakhi or rakhri, symbolises siblings love, sister praying for her brothers prosperity and well-being, and brother pledging to protect her.

The festival falls on the full moon day of the Shravan month of the Hindu calendar. On the morning of Raksha Bandhan, the ritual begins with the tying of a Rakhi, which may be a simple thread or a decorated one. It is performed with aarti and a sister praying for the health, happiness and well being of her brother. She prays, May the Lord protect you, may the one who creates, preserves and dissolves life protect you... May all negativity and fears, spirits malignant and unfriendly, flee you, may Rishikesa keep you safe in the sky, and Mahidhara, upon earth, as is mentioned in Vishnu Purana.

The most beautiful aspect of the festival is its extension to other faiths as well as to persons not biologically related to each other, hence, acquiring a secular outlook. Raksha Bandhan brings together people belonging to different religions, and regions.

The best example in history is of Humayun, a Muslim ruler and Queen Karmavati of Chittor who had sent a rakhi to Humayun to protect her. Humayun was aware of this ritual and Hindu tradition. He vowed to protect his sister under every circumstances.

And who can forget Rabindranath Tagores poem on Rakhi and how he invoked the occasion of Raksha Bandhan to inspire love, respect and a sense of trust as well as protection among Hindus and Muslims. He started it as a festival of harmony and to instil a feeling of brotherhood in society. Isnt it the right time to invoke the festival of Rakhi to mark unity and peace!

H09Government advice published said Britain imported around 3,000 sperm samples from a commercial sperm bank in Denmark last year, as well as around 4,000 samples from the United States. (Photo: AP)

London: British couples looking to conceive through artificial insemination face uncertainty if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal because sperm would no longer be imported from EU countries under existing legislation.

Government advice published yesterday said Britain imported around 3,000 sperm samples from a commercial sperm bank in Denmark last year, as well as around 4,000 samples from the United States.

The Cryos sperm bank in Denmark says it is the worlds largest.

Sperm donations in Britain have fallen sharply since donors lost the right to anonymity under a law that came into force in 2005.

Britain also imports a small number of eggs and embryos from other EU countries, amounting to around 500 last year.

If Brexit talks collapse, the government said the laws currently governing sperm imports, the EU Organ Directives and EU Tissues and Cells Directives, would no longer apply to Britain.

Fertility banks would need new written agreements with relevant EU establishments, the government said, adding that this would for the most part be a minimum burden on industry.

UK licensed establishments that already hold an import licence to import tissues and cells from third countries will be able to use their existing written agreements with third country organisations as a template, it said.

But Geetha Venkat, director of the Harley Street Fertility Clinic, told BBC radio today that couples were panicking.

Venkat said a legislative change on US sperm imports meant these could take up to three months, while the imports from Denmark currently take only a week. Extra paperwork could create additional costs which could be passed on to couples, she warned.

If there is Brexit with no deal, we do not know what is going to happen, she said, adding: As it is, its a stressful treatment, and this is going to add to that.Trump criticized social media outlets, saying without providing proof that unidentified companies were 'totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices.' (Photo: File)

Washington: US President Donald Trump accused social media companies on Friday of silencing "millions of people" in an act of censorship, but without offering evidence to support the claim.

"Social Media Giants are silencing millions of people. Can't do this even if it means we must continue to hear Fake News like CNN, whose ratings have suffered gravely. People have to figure out what is real, and what is not, without censorship!" Trump wrote on Twitter, not mentioning any specific companies.

Trump also criticized social media outlets last week, saying without providing proof that unidentified companies were "totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices."

Those tweets followed actions taken by Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc's YouTube and Facebook Inc to remove some content posted by Infowars, a website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Jones' own Twitter account was temporarily suspended on Aug. 15.

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Trump said it was "very dangerous" for social media companies like Twitter Inc and Facebook to silence voices on their services.

Trump's comments also come as the social media industry faces mounting scrutiny from Congress over the policing of foreign propaganda.

On Tuesday, Facebook, Twitter Inc and Alphabet removed hundreds of accounts tied to an alleged Iranian propaganda operation, while Facebook took down a second campaign it said was linked to Russia.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia tried to influence the 2016 presidential election by hacking and other actions, including using social media in an influence campaign.

When asked by Reuters about Trump's allegations of censorship, Twitter pointed to the three hours of sworn testimony that its head of public policy strategy, Nick Pickles, recently gave to a House of Representatives committee. He said claims that Twitter is banning conservative voices are unfounded and false and that it works to define and act upon "bad conduct, not a specific type of speech."

Representatives for Facebook declined to comment.Earlier this week, Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty and told prosecutors that Trump had ordered him to make payments to cover up the affairs and other stories. (Photo: File)

Washington: A former Trump World Tower doorman, Dino Sajudin said that he has knowledge about the alleged affair between President Donald Trump and a former housekeeper which resulted in a child.

Marc Held, the attorney for Dino Sajudin said that his client has been released from the contract that he entered with American Media Inc that forbidden him from discussing the matter with anyone.

Sajudin, 46, was a doorman at a Trump property in Manhattan until after the 2016 election. He first came forward with the claims about Trump's affair in April this year.

The contract was signed on November 15, 2015, and stated that American Media Inc has the exclusive right to Sajudins story but doesnt mention details of the story beyond saying, "Source shall provide AMI with information regarding Donald Trump's illegitimate child..."

According to a report, the contract states that "AMI will not owe source any compensation if AMI does not publish the exclusive..." and the top of the agreement shows that Sajudin could receive a sum of USD 30,000 "payable upon publication as set forth below".

It also states that period of contract which is laid out in the agreement "is extended in perpetuity and shall not expire".

The amendment also states that Sajudin would pay USD 1 million to AMI "in the event source breaches this provision".

Sajudins attorney told CNN, "Sajudin has been unable to discuss the circumstances regarding his deal with American Media Inc. and the story that he sold to them, due to a significant financial penalty."

"Just recently, AMI released Sajudin from the terms of his agreement and he is now able to speak about his personal experience with them, as well as his story, which is now known to be one of the ''catch and kill'' pieces. Sajudin hopes the truth will come out in the very near future," Held added.

AMI has called Sajudin's story "not credible" and has denied any connection between the story and Trump.

Sajudin's allegation has not been independently confirmed by any of the outlets that have investigated the story.

Earlier this week, Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty and told prosecutors that Trump had ordered him to make payments to cover up the affairs and other stories.Washington: The United States has said that it had cancelled more than USD 200 million in aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, leading their ambassador to accuse President Donald Trump's administration of being "anti-peace".

A senior State Department official said on Friday that the decision, made "at the direction of the president", came after a review of aid programs to the Palestinian territories. The funding previously allocated for programs in the West Bank and Gaza will "now address high-priority projects elsewhere", said the official.

The move "takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," he said.

In January, the United States had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump announced the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Palestinians have suspended contacts with the administration and consider that it can no longer play a mediation role in the Middle East peace process.

"This administration is dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine," Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian General Delegation to the United States said in a statement.

"After Jerusalem and UNRWA, this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda."

The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests began in March. At least 171 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during demonstrations near the border with Israel. The US administration is pressing on with work on a peace plan that has been under discussion for months, leaving a vacuum in the Middle East in the meantime.

"Weaponising humanitarian and developmental aid as political blackmail does not work," Zomlot said.

"Only a recommitment from this administration to the long-held US policy of achieving peace through the two-state solution on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Palestine, and respecting international resolutions and law will provide a way forward."

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy accused the White House of engaging in a "series of provocative and harmful acts" instead of coming up with a coherent policy to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump has tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner and lawyer Jason Greenblatt to draft the peace proposals, saying earlier this week that there would be something "very good" for the Palestinians.

The Palestinians see the eastern part of the disputed city as the capital of their future state.The Sarjapura police arrested 13 illegal immigrants, including four Bangladeshi women, from Kommasandra village off Sarjapura Road on August 22.

A police officer said locals tipped off the police as they observed the immigrants speak a particular Bangla accent, typical of Bangladeshi nationals.

The arrested have been identified as Mohammed Shafiq-Ul-Islam (20), Mohammed Habib Khan (45), Mohammed Shahin Kaghi (26), Ismail Khan (25), Mohammed Rakib (20), Mohammed Rubedar Porugi (22), Babul Khan (45), Mohammed Arif Sikhdar (18) and Mohammed Saddam Hussain (22). The four women are Tanya (20), Khakili (42), Asma (25) and Mohul-Shumi (22).

The foreign nationals lived in sheds put up by a local resident, identified as Nagesh. While one group has been living in the area for nearly a year, another joined them six months ago, prompting the locals to notice them.

The Bangla dialect was a dead giveaway and one of the local residents informed the police during Bakrid.

On the same day, the police picked up Mohammed Shafiq-Ul-Islam and questioned him. Shafiq-Ul-Islam revealed that the group entered India through the forest areas along the porous Indo-Bangla borders. They had no visas or passports.

Based on the information gathered from Shafiq-Ul-Islam, the other 12 were taken into custody. Four of the men are being questioned in police custody, while nine others, including the women, have been remanded to judicial custody.

The Sarjapura police have booked them under Section 14A(b) of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (enters into or stays in any area in India without valid documents).

The police are also investigating if the group could be a part of espionage activities or if they are linked to terror outfits, a police official said.South Africa's government said on Friday that it had summoned the top US diplomat in the country to "convey the unhappiness of the people" over President Donald Trump's tweet about alleged white-owned farm seizures and the "large-scale killing of farmers."

In a statement, South Africa said it told US Charge d'Affaires Jessye Lapenn it was "disappointed" over the failure to use available diplomatic channels.

South Africa's government has said Trump's tweet was based on "false information" and served "only to polarize debate on this sensitive and crucial matter."

The country is in the middle of a racially charged debate over land reform, a lawful process that seeks to correct the legacy of decades of white-minority rule that stripped blacks of their land.

Nearly a quarter-century after the end of apartheid, white South Africans, who comprise about 8% of the population, own more than 70% of the private agricultural land.

In July, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ruling African National Congress party would amend the constitution so the state could start to expropriate land without compensation to speed up the process of land redistribution, but that has not yet happened and no land has been seized.

A fringe group of the white minority claims land reform will inspire violent attacks, though experts say farm attacks reflect the country's generally high crime rate and are on the decline.

Claims of "genocide" against white South Africans, however, have been picked up by some white nationalists in the US, and leaders of a right-wing South African group travelled to the US in May to lobby officials about the alleged targeting of white farmers.

Trump's tweet on Thursday followed a Fox News segment claiming South Africa had started seizing white-owned farms.

The tweet was quickly lambasted by many in South Africa, with one top ruling party official, Zizi Kodwa, telling the Associated Press that Trump has never experienced apartheid and doesn't know its legacy of stark inequality.

Later on Thursday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the administration's position was that land expropriation without compensation "would risk sending South Africa down the wrong path."

Nauert toned down Trump's language suggesting that massive land seizures were underway and did not repeat the president's suggestion that large numbers of white South African farmers had been killed.

Trump's tweet did find support among some South Africans, while some farmers spoke out about their security concerns.

"We try very hard not to go and live in a walled security area somewhere, but it costs a lot of money in the first place to have the necessary security," said Leon Sholtz, a farmer in Broederstroom in North West province.

"It is fact that we have lost four of our neighbours in the last 10 to 12 years due to farm murders. ... I think it is something that the government should look into and try and stop as soon as possible."The killing of a BJP activist in volatile Pulwama district on Wednesday has sent shock waves among workers of mainstream political parties in south Kashmir forcing many of them to move temporarily to Srinagar while some have reportedly offered resignations.

Militants shot dead Shabir Ahmad Bhat, a BJP worker, on the day of Eid, after abducting him from his residence at Rakh-e-litter in Pulwama. He is the first political activist killed by militants after the government announced municipal and panchayat polls in the state last week.

Feeling threatened by the killing of Bhat, political activists, especially from rightwing BJP, started fleeing from twin districts of Pulwama and Shopian and take refuge in Srinagar. The common demand for workers heading to Srinagar from south Kashmir is to get accommodation in the city.

In the last two years, several political activists have been killed by militants, especially in south Kashmir. After every killing, the government assures that we will be provided security and accommodation in safer places. But after few days, the promise is forgotten, rued a senior BJP worker from Pulwama.

He said that militants repeatedly come to the houses of BJP workers in southern Kashmir. Local militants know everything about us and we cant lie or presume they are ignorant, he added.

With a number of locals joining militant ranks, south Kashmir is seeing a steep rise in militancy in the recent years and as a result, the political activists participating in political activities at the ground level are feeling insecure.For the last three days, several videos have gone viral on social media in which some political workers have offered to resign and apologise for their association with mainstream political parties.

A worker of Congress party, who left his home immediately after the killing of Bhat on Eid day said everyone feels threatened. We have to take all possible measures to ensure our safety and security. Migration is one of the measures and even if you resign nobody will believe you for some time, he said.

With urban local bodies and panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir likely to be held from next month, there is fear of more killings of political activists by the militant in the Valley in coming days. Police candidly in admits that there was a threat to the contesting candidates and they were not in a position to provide security to each of them.

Thousands of candidates will contest these polls and it is not possible for the police to provide security to each of them, a senior police officer posted in south Kashmir told DH.

BJP national vice-president and Incharge J&K Avinash Rai Khanna, says the militant attacks are meant to lower the morale of the BJP leaders and workers. But these types of attacks cant stop the BJP workers from discharging their duties. The acceptance and growth of BJP in Kashmir has given sleepless nights to the anti-nationalists, he said.The policemen who knocked on the doors to put him behind the bars during the Emergency had to wait for a few minutes. The man had just gone to have two mangoes as he knew it would take some time to get back home and relish food.

One may know Kuldip Nayar, the veteran journalist who breathed his last on August 23 at the age of 95, as a man with a mighty pen or a peace activist, but his grandchildren on Saturday painted a picture of a doting grandfather when his family, friends and admirers gathered here for a prayer meeting.

It was his younger granddaughter Kanika, who first remembered her "extraordinary grandfather's" love for food.

"He had such a passion for food that when policemen came to arrest him during Emergency, he asked for some time. He just went inside and ate two mangoes. He knew he will not get it for some time," she told the gathering, which included former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A P Shah, among others.

For Kanika, she had "no second thought" when she was asked to write an essay about her role model during her school days. "All my life, I heard many stories about partition from him. He spoke about the state of the country, politics and his dream of India and Pakistan coming together. He was a man who never wavered from his principles," she remembered.

Nayar, whose 'Between the Lines' column appeared in 80 newspapers in 14 languages, was never part of the system but one who took on, for Kartik, another grandson. He had the courage to say what is not being said, Kartik remembers his grandfather whose death he feels will be the "biggest loss" to Indo-Pak relations. "His dream was to have 'chhole' in Amritsar and then walk across to Lahore," he said.

The foodie in Nayar was once again reminded when Kartik spoke about his love for fish and Chinese food.

Mandira, the journalist-granddaughter, recollects that Nayar never told her what to write or how to write. You could be jobless one day. Don't be afraid, Nayar, who ruffled many feathers, used to warn her.

B'days & cakes

Nayar, who loved birthdays and cakes, was also passionate about dark chocolates with nuts, Mandira lovingly remembered her grandfather, who loved to talk. He will be waiting for his 'samosa' and thinking how he can bring peace at the border, she said.

Ratish, a grandson-in-law, found Nayar a persistent optimist who was a lover of 'qawwalis'.

Another grand son-in-law Aditya said Nayar had a tremendous impact on a variety of people. We received calls from truck drivers in Amritsar to business tycoons in Singapore, he said as he wound up the meeting asking people to join the family for a cup of tea, samosa and biscuit, which their grandfather used to relish.24-year-old Patel quota stir leader Hardik Patel on Saturday began his indefinite fast at his residence at Greenwoods City on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, where a temporary platform has been erected.

Hardik began his fast at 3.00 pm after offering prayers to Umiya Mata and Khodal Mata, deities of both the sects of Patel community Leuva and Kadva Patidar and lighting a lamp.

Hardik had been denied official permission for a venue to sit on fast in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar despite repeated requests. The permission has not been granted after detailed review of law and order situation. There were incidents of violence after August 25, 2015, mega rally in Ahmedabad and even on August 19 this year, the day of the token fast, violence was witnessed in Surat, R B Brahmabhatt, Additional DGP, Gujarat, told reporters.

He also denied allegations levelled by Hardik earlier in the day that over 16,000 of his supporters had been detained from across the state for wanting to come and join him at the venue of the fast. It is wrong propaganda. So far we have detained only 158 persons from across the state. We will initiate strict action against those spreading wrong information on social media, ADGP said.

The police had also deployed a posse of personnel right at the outside gate of the residential facility of Hardik to prevent supporters from entering the premises. When some local Congress leaders tried to enter premises of Hardiks fast, they were not allowed to take a posse of supporters along.

Hardik was joined by a group of about a couple of hundred supporters sporting white Gandhian caps on his fast. The caps, which earlier sported slogans of Jai Sardar, Jai Patidaar had been replaced by slogans of Jai Sardar, Jai Kisan and InquilaZindabadad. The banners in the background also had pictures of Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi, along with a replica of a plough, the symbol of farming.

Our fight is for all the sections of the society. Along with reservations we are also fighting for debt waiver of farmersOur request to police is that instead of making us suffer, they should shoot us on the chest and perhaps then the agitation would end. Till then we would continue with our fight, Hardik, clothed in a white shirt and, told reporters before beginning his fast.Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel said that he would proceed with his indefinite fast from Saturday even as he failed to get permission from the Gandhinagar local government for an alternate site.

Police has imposed Section 144 in the city but when BJP men move around with ashes of Atalji, no action is initiated against them! I have only sought an official nod before I begin fast. If they are not willing to, I will do it at my house, Hardik told reporters.

Hardik, who has been seeking official permission for a venue to undertake his fast, met police and local government officials in person to get the nod. The local administration did not give him a firm commitment on the issue. He, therefore, sought to shift his venue to Satyagrah Chhavni in Gandhinagar.

However, the Gandhinagar collector on Friday said the permission was denied after the assessment of the situation.

Hardik is undertaking fast to mark the third anniversary of a mega rally of Patel community that was held at GMDC ground in Ahmedabad on August 25, 2015. After the rally, the violence broke out and over a dozen people were killed. The rally established Hardik as a Patidar leader.

The Patels have been fighting for quotas in government jobs and educational institutions on the lines of other backward communities.

Earlier, Ahmedabad Police uprooted the tent that was erected outside Hardik's house, where he is planning to hold his fast. The leaves of all police personnel were also cancelled.

Meanwhile, Hardik got a shot in his arm on Friday as Visnagar court in North Gujarat acceded to his request for a bail extension in a case related to rioting in a three-year-old case.

Hardik said that he has received support from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav and former deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejaswi Yadav. These leaders are expected to meet him on Monday.The Centre has celebrated the fact that India has jumped 30 points ahead in the World Banks Ease of Doing Business Rankings 2018. Yet, India will not be able to create the necessary ecosystem to promote a viable environment that will help us achieve social and economic development through business until we take other global rankings seriously, such as the Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index and Global University Rankings by the Times Higher Education and QS.

The top 10 societies in ease of doing business are: New Zealand, Singapore, Denmark, Korea, Hong Kong SAR, USA, UK, Norway, Georgia, and Sweden. As far as the BRICS countries are concerned, the rankings are: Brazil-125; Russia: 35; India-100; China-78; and South Africa-82.

We need to develop a holistic understanding of rankings and take into account the relationship between many of these rankings and how they have a cumulative impact on the ability to promote a viable educational, social and economic ecosystem in India based on the effective functioning of democratic institutions. The nature of business activity is such that it is based on three equally important set of factors to flourish: the availability of educated and skilled people, and the innovation and research ecosystem in a country; the state of human development reflected by social and economic indicators; and, the level of transparency and accountability in governance.

It has been recognised widely by many global rankings that Indian universities rarely reflect the research and innovation ecosystem needed to build a world-class higher education system. A viable business environment demands that the country has a university system that contributes to excellence in education, research and innovation.

For example, the recently published QS World University Rankings 2019 demonstrates that among the top 10 universities in the world, five are in the US (MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech and Chicago), four are in the UK (Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College and University College London) and one in Switzerland. There is an urgent need to build a world-class higher education system through reforms in the regulation of higher education in India.

Universities in India are over-regulated and under-governed. While there have been some reforms in higher education, including the granting of autonomy to 52 universities, the benefit of these reforms will not be seen until the state governments and the wider set of regulatory bodies that govern higher education are involved in the granting of autonomy.

The UNDPs Human Development Index reflects not just in assessing the state of the economy, but also the state of the well-being of its people. This approach recognises the need for expanding the richness of human life, as opposed to merely assessing the development of the economy measured by GDP. The focus is on people and their choices, opportunities and their overall well-being. It is deeply and profoundly recognised that people ought to be the centre of all thinking about development.

India is ranked 131 among the 188 countries ranked in the UNDPs Human Development Report 2016. The top 10 countries are Norway, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Singapore, The Netherlands, Ireland, Iceland, and Canada. There is a need to recognise the importance of doing well on the HDI to develop a successful economy and society. While there is more to development than what the HDI captures, nevertheless it needs to be recognised that many dimensions of Indias aspirations to achieve economic development and success in the ease of doing business rankings cannot be achieved without a robust framework and plan of action to improve our HDI.

One of the most important aspects of ease of doing business ought to be corruption-free governance. Corruption in India is not just a law enforcement issue, but a systemic form of human rights violation. Corruption in India violates human rights, affects human development and exacerbates human suffering while undermining democracy and the rule of law.

Fight for transparency

We cannot achieve a higher status in the ease of doing business rankings until we address the institutionalised forms of corruption that are deeply embedded in all forms of exercise of power in the country. The global corruption watchdog, Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index 2017 (CPI) puts India at rank 81 out of 180 countries. The top 10 countries on the index are: New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Canada, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.

There is an urgent need to develop independent institutions to fight corruption in the country. The last decade has seen the growth and development of the right to information, transparency in governance, civil society activism and the efforts by the judiciary to seek accountability. However, for corruption-free governance to become a part of the social, political and civic consciousness will require a greater degree of empowerment of our democratic institutions and the emergence of a much wider political consensus.

This will also require the development of a national integrity system as opposed to piecemeal approaches, kneejerk reactions, myopic and ad hoc institutional mechanisms, poorly drafted legal provisions and myopic reform initiatives.

The fight against corruption is about strengthening democracy and building the rule of law, a society in which people have faith in the ability of our institutions to deliver justice. This element of justice is as important for people as it is for businesses. We cannot develop an ecosystem for good business without a robust mechanism that promotes transparency in governance while working towards building a world-class higher education system and a meaningful approach to achieve human development.

Rankings by their very nature may not capture the complexity of public policy and governance in a society. Nevertheless, it will be a big mistake if we selectively choose to focus on certain rankings, while neglecting other equally important rankings.

(The writer is Founding Vice Chancellor of OP Jindal Global University)A day after Congress leader Siddaramaiah said he will become chief minister again, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday said efforts are being made to destabilise his government and took an indirect dig the former chief minister.

Efforts are being made to destablise the government. I have learnt from the media that there will be a new government in September (this year) and someone is ready to become CM, he said, without naming Siddaramaiah. The chief minister was speaking after inaugurating a girls hostel constructed by Samaja Samparka Vedike in Bengaluru.

Siddaramaiahs statement made in Holenarsipur in Hassan district on Friday has led to intense speculation that the survival of the JD(S)-Congress coalition government is doubtful. He had also said he would have become chief minister again after the 2018 Assembly elections if his adversaries had not conspired against him.

I am not bothered

Kumaraswamy further said he was aware of all the developments and that he will not try to protect his seat. I am aware of what is happening. I am not bothered. I will not try to save my seat. I will try to do good work as long as I am the chief minister, he stated, adding that those who are trying to destabilise the government should know this.

The government has been taking revolutionary measures for farmers welfare, Kumaraswamy said. After farm loan waiver, it has been decided to provide relief to small farmers from debts. Some leaders tried to stop the government from announcing the loan waiver, he said. Yet, the government went ahead with it, he added.

In the same breath, he said that it was not easy to topple the coalition government. A section of officers in the government have become lethargic and they are under the impression that the government will not survive for long. A proper message will be sent out to them soon, he warned.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara sought to downplay Siddaramaiahs statement, saying that he does not know anything in this regard. I dont know anything in this regard. How do I know who conspired against him (Siddaramaiah)?...I cant say anything, he said.Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday slammed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for losing her cool against Kodagu district Minister Sa Ra Mahesh.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Parameshwara said Nirmala had been elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka and she was duty-bound to get Central aid for flood relief work in Kodagu. Instead of helping the people of Kodagu, she lost her cool against Mahesh. It was absolutely unnecessary. It is unfortunate that the Centre is yet to release aid for Kodagu, Parameshwara said.

The deputy chief minister said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately release an interim relief of Rs 2,000 crore to enable the rehabilitation process in Kodagu. "The Centre should not indulge in politics when it comes to help people in crisis, he added.CLIFTON HEIGHTS >> A married couple and their two sleeping children were in their apartment when the husband was shot during an apparent home invasion/ robbery early Friday.

A similar incident involving the couple played out about six years ago, including the husband being shot, at a different residence in the borough, Police Chief Timothy Rockenbach said Friday afternoon.

According to Rockenbach, the injuries the man suffered Friday were not believed to be life threatening.

Regarding Fridays incident, the wife told police there was a knock at the door and when the door was opened, two black males overpowered her husband and shot him, according to the probable cause affidavit charging a Philadelphia man in the ordeal.

Khalil Harris, 29, of the 1700 block of North Paxton Street, is being held at the county prison in lieu of posting 10 percent of $750,000 on attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery and myriad related offenses, according to authorities and online court records.

It was about 12:45 a.m. Friday when Clifton Heights officers Thomas Wooding and Michael Hahn responded to a report of a robbery in progress at the Willows Apartment complex in the 400 block of South Springfield Road. The officers were en route when the report was upgraded to a shooting.

According to the probable cause affidavit authored by Sgt. Stephen Brown, Wooding did not see anyone in the area when he arrived at the complex. Delaware County emergency dispatchers then told the officers the incident had occurred in E building, and that two suspects involved were still inside  one armed with a rifle and described as possibly bald and wearing a black shirt. The crime scene was ultimately determined to involve two apartments in E building.

When the officers exited their patrol vehicles, they saw a black male wearing tan pants fleeing on foot from between F building and H building, and east through the parking lot toward South Springfield Road. A pursuit began. Officers then saw a second black male wearing a black shirt. He was located in between F building and H building. When he saw the officers, he fled on foot toward the rear of E building. Officers pursued him as well, but were unable to locate him.

Meanwhile, Hahn and assisting officers followed the black male in tan pants to the SEPTA train tracks that run parallel to the parking lot of the complex, where he allegedly became physically combative and resistant when the officers attempted to take him into custody.

The officers used physical force and a Taser to subdue the individual, later identified as Harris, the affidavit states.

Back at the apartment complex, Wooding entered E building, where he made contact with the wife on the third-floor entryway. She yelled that her husband was shot. Wooding located the victim, who was standing in the doorway of their apartment. The couple told Wooding they were robbed by two black males. The husband showed the officer a wound to his left shoulder/trunk area. There was blood on the doorway of the apartment, as well as on the carpet and pullout couch inside.

The wife said their two juvenile children were asleep in the bedroom when the robbery occurred. The robbers made off with her ID, bank card, a cell phone and a silver handgun that she told police belonged to her, the affidavit states.

As the investigation progressed, Wooding found a bullet home in an interior wall of the couples apartment.

Paramedics were boarding the victim in an ambulance when he was able to identify Harris as being one of the suspects in the robbery, Rockenbach said.

Police recovered a black shirt on the ground in the rear of E building, where the second suspect fled. Also recovered from under a bush between F and H buildings was a silver semi-automatic handgun, an AR-15-style rifle with two magazines and two large clear jars containing suspected marijuana. Those items were in direct proximity of both the unknown actor and Harris during the initial foot pursuit, the affidavit states.

Also recovered during a subsequent search of the area was a black 6-inch revolver with rubbery grips.

That firearm, which was found under a shrub in front of H building, was directly next to the path that Harris took on foot, while fleeing from officers, the affidavit states. After photographing and collecting the six-shot revolver as evidence, upon opening the cylinder the bullet in top position under the hammer was found to be discharged.

Rockenbach said paraphernalia associated with marijuana was found by police as they executed a warrant to search the couples apartment. No charges have been filed in connection with the recovered marijuana, or the paraphernalia.

While an investigation is continuing, Rockenbach noted, We do not believe this was a random incident.

Collingdale Police Officer Thayer Macauley and Darby Township Police Officer Craig White assisted in the investigation.By Alex Rose

arose@21st-centurymedia.com

@arosedelco on Twitter

MEDIA COURTHOUSE >> A Philadelphia man who doused himself with gasoline and threatened to set himself alight in the midst of a domestic disturbance call entered the accelerated rehabilitative disposition program for nonviolent first-time offenders Wednesday.

Jean Max Cousseillant, 38, of Cottman Avenue, will serve one year of probation under the agreement reached by Assistant District Attorney Michael Hill and defense counsel Daniel McGarrigle. He will also have to serve 96 hours of community service and comply with the recommendations of a psychiatric evaluation under the order entered by Commo Pleas Court Judge John Capuzzi.

Cousseillant was arrested in Upper Darby in the early morning hours of April 16 for reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.

Officer James Fagan was en route to the 400 block of Lombardy Road for a domestic disturbance call at about 1:39 a.m. when he was notified by dispatch that a man at the location had doused himself with gasoline and was threatening to light himself on fire, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Upon arrival, Fagan saw a man later identified as Cousseillant getting into a blue Nissan sedan with a glass jug of suspected gasoline. As Fagan was speaking with Cousseillant through the passenger window of the vehicle, the defendants girlfriend ran up to the car and began screaming at him, according to the affidavit.

This highly agitated the defendant, and as a result he dumped the gasoline all over himself while inside the vehicle, the affidavit states.

Fagan and Officer Kalle Blidenbacher rushed to the drivers side door as Cousseillant attempted to ignite himself with a lighter in his right hand.

Fagan was able to grab Cousseillants right hand and remove the lighter, and both officers were able to get Cousseillant out of the car. He was subdued and taken into custody with the help of Officer John Walsh following a brief struggle.

There were no injuries, but Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said Cousseillant and the officers and were taken to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital where they underwent a decontamination process.CHESTER >> Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a city man, marking the citys 13th homicide for the year.

The victim was identified as Eric Flood, a 21-year-old who had survived eight different shootings since 2015 until Thursday night.

Hes also been a suspect in numerous gun-related incidents, Police Chief James Nolan IV said, adding that Floods extensive criminal history also included being charged with weapons possession.

According to a release by Police Capt. James Chubb, city officers were in the area of the unit block of West 22nd Street shortly before 9:30 p.m. Thursday when they heard the sound of two volleys of multiple gunshots coming from the area of 20th or 21st streets and Edgmont Avenue.

After notifying dispatch, the officers responded immediately to the area. While in the area of 21st Street and Edgmont Avenue, officers found a large crowd. Individuals were gathered on both sides of the street in the unit block of East 21st Street.

After further investigation, officers found a victim lying in the street near the curb. Identified as Flood, he was unresponsive and appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his hips, torso and shoulder areas. He was pronounced dead when paramedics from Crozer-Chester Medical Center arrived on the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to contact city Detective Joseph McFate at 610-447-8428 or jmcfate234@chesterpolice.org or county Detective Daniel McFarland at 610-891-4716.

 ROSE QUINNBy Digital First Media

Faulty sections of the Mariner East 2 pipeline project are being removed and replaced by Sunoco in Delaware County and possibly other areas around Pennsylvania, state Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19 of West Whiteland, said Thursday.

The Mariner East project involves hundreds of miles of pipeline, Dinniman said. You have to wonder how safe they are and how Sunoco determines which are safe to use.

This only raises more serious questions and safety concerns about this hazardous materials pipeline project  one that has been characterized by a long and growing list of problems since it began last summer.

According to field reports from Edgmont Townships engineering contractor, segments of pipeline at the junction of Valley Road and Sweetwater Road are being removed due to a coating flaw or coating issue.

The section of pipe with a coating flaw has been removed, read an Aug. 16 field report from the contractor, Yerkes Associates Inc. A new piece of pipe is being installed.

Welding is in progress. X-Ray inspection is next, coating of weld follows with inspections for the coating.

Crews are on-site excavating pipe recently installed, reads another field report dated Aug. 14. A coating issue arose on a different piece of pipe to be installed. Manufactured and shipping dates used to trace other pipes in the same shipment. Each section of pipe is recorded upon installation of location.

Dinniman said the documents raise a number of questions about Sunocos procedures for ensuring its pipelines are safe to carry highly-volatile natural gas liquids.

The Aug. 14 report seems to indicate that Sunoco didnt realize these sections of pipe were flawed until the problems were traced to others in the same manufacturers shipment, Dinniman said. So, if the process is to thoroughly inspect the pipelines when they are installed, as indicated in the Aug. 16 report, then why didnt Sunoco detect the flaws then?

Keep in mind, these segments of pipe were in the ground and it sounds like they were ready to go when the flaws were discovered. I shudder to think what would have happened if they werent.

Sunoco spokeswoman Lisa Dillinger said the work involves normal maintenance.

All work is constantly checked and rechecked, and if something needs to be redone or recoated during construction that is what we do, just like any construction project, Dillinger wrote in an email. It does not impact the overall project.

Our primary goal has been and continues to be to build a pipeline that is constructed to the highest standards. There is one section of the pipe that is being replaced as a preventative measure due to the cathodic coating on that particular section not meeting our standards.

Dinniman also pointed out that sections of Mariner East 1, an 87-year-old repurposed petroleum pipeline that is now actively carrying hazardous natural gas liquids, have been replaced over the years. The detection and removal of faulty Mariner East 2 segments raises questions about how Mariner East 1 segments were inspected for safety.

In addition, Dinniman took aim at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the state agency entrusted with pipeline safety in Pennsylvania.

He said the PUC, when asked, refused to share information about pipeline removal operations with his office and the public when he first learned of and inquired about it. Instead, Dinniman obtained the documentation from a local citizens Right-to-Know request.

That same situation has played itself out again and again on this project, Dinniman said. Time after time, the residents themselves are the eyes and ears of pipeline safety in Pennsylvania, rather than the state agencies that are supposed to be in charge,

The PUC appears to be either willfully oblivious or woefully inept when it comes to recognizing and addressing the ongoing safety issues and concerns associated with this project.

As a result, in this instance, we only know about defective segments of pipeline being removed in Delaware County. Meanwhile, citizens groups are reporting the same thing happening at other locations throughout the Commonwealth.

Dinniman said the exact same scenario is taking place when it comes to the need for an independent risk assessment of the Mariner East project.

While the governor has called on the PUC to conduct such an assessment, it refuses to do it. So, citizens have raised private funds and contributions from impacted municipalities to get it done, Dinniman said. While Sunoco rushes this project along with little regard for safety and state agencies continue to fall short, local residents and municipalities are doing the real work because at the end of the day were going to have to live with the consequences.

In other related news, two more townships, Uwchlan and Willistown, agreed this week to fund a pipeline risk assessment.

The following townships have donated toward the $60,000 cost of the risk assessment and software: Uwchlan ($5,000); Willistown ($2,000); East Goshen ($5,000); Westtown ($2,000); and West Whiteland ($2,000).

As of Thursday afternoon, $54,678 was collected from both private and public donors, according to a www.gofundme.com account.

The risk assessment will assist with planning and training of first responders and others in case of a pipeline emergency.

While the Mariner East pipelines weave through Chester and Delaware counties, the study and software would be applicable to other existing and future pipelines.

Uwchlan supervisors signed a resolution stating that the project will reduce vulnerability of people and communities in this commonwealth to damage, injury and loss of life and property resulting from disasters; help it to prepare for prompt and efficient rescue, care and treatment of persons victimized or threatened by disaster; and assist in prevention of disaster caused or aggravated by inadequate planning for and regulation of public and private facilities and land use.

Caroline Hughes, a member of Del-Chesco United for Public Safety, released the following comment: The Citizens Risk Assessment is the result of an unprecedented partnership between Delaware and Chester County residents and local, county and state elected and appointed officials to objectively assess the risk the Mariner East project poses to our communities. Sunoco has a long history of federal and state enforcement action for failing to meet minimum standards. The public deserves to know the risks associated with these very dangerous materials to our homes, our schools, and our families. We are pleased that five municipalities have joined over 300 citizens in this historic joint effort, and we look forward to presenting the preliminary results of this study to our community.

Fundraising for the Del-Chesco United for Public Safety study is managed by nonprofit Clean Air Council.

Members of the citizens group, Del Chesco United for Public Safety, will unveil the preliminary results of the citizens risk assessment at a public meeting set for Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at Fugett Middle School.A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.Throughout the week, political cartoonists visualized top stories such as Michael Cohen's guilty plea and Rudy Giuliani's "truth isn't truth statement."

Headlines were flooded with Michael Cohen's guilty plea on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer, pled guilty to a series of charges, including breaking campaign finance laws.

Cohen said in court that, under Trump's direction, he had made payments to two women to keep them from speaking publicly about affairs they'd had with Trump.

The news has people wondering what implications Cohen's claim could have on the president.

Rudy Giuliani made headlines this week after stating "truth isn't truth" while appearing on "Meet the Press" on Aug. 19.

The statement quickly went viral.

Other trending stories this week include the ongoing opioid crisis, ongoing wildfires in the West and Hurricane Lane in Hawaii.SALT LAKE CITY  The Beehive States capital city will host representatives from more than 300 nongovernmental organizations representing more than 80 countries during the 68th United Nations Department of Public Information NGO Conference in 2019.

Mayor Jackie Biskupski made the announcement Thursday during the closing event of this years conference at U.N. headquarters in New York, where she highlighted Salt Lake Citys Climate Positive Plan, a path to transition to 100 percent clean energy by 2032 and reduce carbon output 80 percent by 2040.

She then encouraged the U.N. to make the organizations Sustainability Goal 11 the focus of the 2019 conference. Goal 11 lays out a series of targets for cities to reach by 2030, including access to safe and affordable housing, transportation, and green and public spaces. It also encourages cities to adopt and implement plans to reduce the environmental impact of cities, particularly air quality.

The conference, which attracts between 2,000 and 4,000 participants, is traditionally held in New York but has recently been hosted in Melbourne, Australia; Paris; Mexico City; and Bonn, Germany. The 2019 conference will be the first time the event is held in the United States outside of New York.

Each conference focuses on a different U.N. topic of interest related to the work of civil society and nongovernmental organizations. It is expected to take place in late August with events hosted at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

As a city committed to being inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, it is an honor to be the first U.S. host city of the UN-DPI NGO Conference outside of New York, Biskupski said in a statement. I can think of no better time and no better place than Salt Lake City, for the U.N. and the worlds NGOs to expand awareness in this country of sustainable development goals and the value of global unity.SALT LAKE CITY  An Idaho man who scratched graffiti into Corona Arch and then posed for a picture with his family has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Ryan Bird Andersen, 45, of Idaho Falls, admitted to one misdemeanor count of defacing a natural feature. As a part of a plea deal, Andersen agreed to pay the maximum $1,000 fine and restitution totaling $858.32 to the Bureau of Land Management.

Andersen etched "18" and "R" and "J" as well as a heart in the arch near Moab and then stood next to it for a photo with his family.

Andersen also agreed to release a statement advocating the responsible use of public lands as a part of his guilty plea.

"Although I have resolved my case with the government, I will remain committed to helping ensure that our public lands remain pristine," he wrote. "In the future, I hope that others can learn from my mistakes and always act responsibly with our natural treasures."

U.S. Attorney John Huber called Andersen's actions "troubling."

"People travel from around the world to visit these spectacular resources. Mr. Andersen learned a valuable lesson from this prosecution," he said in a statement.

The government will hold Andersen's guilty plea in abeyance for 18 months. During that time, he is prohibited from entering or using public lands managed by the BLM, National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers.

Andersen may use public roads traversing public lands for necessary travel.This past year, Utah had one of the highest reductions in drug-related deaths in the country  reducing fatalities by 12 percent from 2016. While this is cause to be hopeful that the state can continue to reduce overdose rates, it is also reason to recommit to the problem of opioid abuse in Utah, investing in novel, local solutions that can transform lives and communities.

Utahs success can be attributed to a host of both systemic and local factors. On a national level, Utah is geographically distanced from the East Coasts scourge of synthetic drugs, particularly the practice of cutting expensive drugs like heroin with the synthetic filler fentanyl. While Utah is not free of synthetic drugs  with Utahn Aaron Shamo accused of making millions of dollars in such drug sales  in the past, overdose rates in Utah have been more directly attributed to a misuse of prescription drugs.

Knowing this, we recognize the work of local policymakers and private companies aiming to reduce the number of drug-related deaths. The organization Utah Naloxone has distributed more than 60,000 doses of the opioid overdose-reversal drug since July 2015, saving more than 2,300 lives. Additionally, Intermountain Healthcare has worked to limit the number of opioid drugs prescribed as painkillers within Utah. These clear interventions have saved lives. For successful implementation, they also require individualized attention  doctors and social workers giving attentive care to those most at risk in their vicinity.

These localized efforts from committed community members must continue, and policymakers should continue to support this work.

These localized efforts from committed community members must continue, and policymakers should continue to support this work. Additionally, more thoughtful engagement is needed across sectors to understand what gaps exist and how they can be bridged. New solutions, borne of the expertise of those working in close proximity to this issue, must come forward. Specifically, policymakers would do well to invest in preventive measures to ensure organizations like Naloxone Utah and doctors at Intermountain Healthcare hospitals do not bear the reactive responsibility of ensuring overdoses do not become fatal.

Utah Naloxone founder Jennifer Plumb warns that the synthetic drugs, which are pervasive in the East, may be making their way West  which policymakers can prepare for now. By looking at the innovative work of places like Vermont, New Hampshire and New York City, state officials have the opportunity to implement tested solutions to this endemic problem. It is clear that concerted education programs warning teens about the dangers of synthetic drugs work, as does investigative work that identifies synthetic producers and cuts off the supply to communities.

We are proud of the work of Utah in making this issue a state priority  creating national waves in the process. However, Utahs slight success rate reveals how much more room for growth exists and how many lives remain at risk.What is happening in Washington this week? A lot of noise, and from the daily news it might cause citizens to think we are in chaos. But alas we are not  our government and economy are sailing along quite nicely  the economy is humming. We do have, and will always have, serious controversies that we must work out. But overall we are a blessed nation and a lot of good things are happening.

How can this be with all the crisis reporting? It is because we as a nation have several layers of activity  state governments, businesses, educational institutions, charities, nonprofits and other productive organizations that function almost independent of the federal government.

When I was in the U.S. Senate for nearly two decades, people brought me problems demanding the government address them. I think its easy to get into the mindset that if something is wrong, by golly, the government should fix it.

I recently met a woman who personally takes the opposite approach. Her name is Becky Douglas, a Utahn, and she works in India with people who have leprosy. What? There are people with leprosy in the world these days? I thought that disease disappeared long ago.

But apparently not so. In her travels to India, Becky was taken aback by the plight of leprosy-affected beggars on the street, many of them with rotting limbs, open wounds and crippled bodies. There are actually millions in India with leprosy. She wondered why someone wasnt doing something to help.

Bothered by a seemingly unresponsive public and government, Becky did what most of us would never consider doing  she gathered her friends around her kitchen table and started a Utah-based charity. She had no knowledge of medicine or of leprosy. She also had no idea how to run a business, or how to do business in India. It was a valiant effort, obviously doomed to failure.

But somehow she was able to find people in the U.S. who responded to the suffering of people halfway across the world. Today, her Utah-based charity, Rising Star Outreach, has raised millions of dollars and has drastically changed the lives of thousands of people in India.

Most people disbelieve her business model when first hearing of it. Instead of spending a significant percentage of donations on administrative costs like most charities do, Becky has gathered a dedicated board of directors, who are expected to fund the operating costs of the charity out of their own pockets. This allows nearly every dollar that other people donate to actually do what they expect it to do: help children go to school, not pay for envelopes and office staff and not finance a government bureaucracy.

I was so enchanted by this idea that before I knew it, she had convinced me to join this board. It was an expensive choice. But I have since been astounded to learn what power one person has to make significant change in the world. This year, Rising Star Outreach will provide 40,000 medical treatments, will help hundreds of former beggars to create and sustain small businesses, and will be involved in educating more than a thousand children from leprosy colonies. They will also send another 50 students to college this year. Theyre working to open up a new campus for 600 students in the poorest state of India, as Im writing this article. This is with no foreign aid from the U.S. government.

What Becky has shown me is that all of us have a unique power within us to make a difference in the world. If youd like to learn more, look up their work at RisingStarOutreach.org and see whats possible when people come together to make the world a little better.

The normal approach would have been to get the federal government to give more foreign aid. Rising Star has sent over 1,000 Utah volunteers to India  it is an example of not asking the already overburdened federal government to do something that can be done privately. And on this hot humid Washington, D.C., day it is an example of how our blessed nation hums along in service even if there is a lot of noise at the top.SALT LAKE CITY  Kira Volar has devoted her every waking hour for the past six years to caring for her younger sister Tara, who is paralyzed and also has an intellectual disability.

In the morning, Volar uses a lift to move Tara, 44, from her bed to her chair. She changes her diaper and makes sure it fits comfortably. She checks that her shirt is not bunched up in the back of her chair. Volar drives 22 miles each way to drop Tara off at a day program in Woodland, California, and when Tara gets home the pair watch "Mary Poppins" up to three times.

Shes a super-great sister and theres a lot of stuff thats really great, but its hard to have a life of my own, Volar said.

The 47-year-old is a full-time caretaker to her sister in their Sacramento, California home. While Volar was always Tara's "protector" and caretaker throughout their childhood, it wasn't until six years ago that Volar decided to make it a full-time job. According to Volar, Tara was paralyzed over 20 years ago while living unsupervised in a group home in Sacramento, and after a few moves and sub-par care in a different home in Marysville, Volar decided she couldn't take it anymore and left her job with Marriott International as a reservationist.

"I just cant watch her in the system like that," she said. "I dont know what the future holds. Im getting older. The system is really stacked against her."

After parents, siblings are most often responsible to provide care for someone with a disability. And the number of sibling caretakers is potentially large: One-fifth of Americans have a disability and 14 million of them cannot live independently. While no one knows for sure how many people with a disability have at least one sibling, Pew Research Center says the average family has 2.4 children. When parents grow old and are unable to provide care, the job often passes to their other children.

Yet, many of those brother or sisters are not sure they are ready to be caretakers of their siblings. A 2015 study by Easter Seals found that 70 percent of potential caregivers "admit to having concerns about taking on a caregiving role," and 37 percent admit to not being ready for a caregiving role, especially women.

To ease worries and provide the best care, it's all about planning, says Don Meyer, director of the national program Sibling Support Project. He recognizes that parents may wish their children to stay involved in their siblings' lives, but there are a range of ways to stay involved.

Nor is caregiving for everyone. I am also forever begging parents to give siblings the permission to live the life of their own," he said.

Growing up a sibling

For siblings of someone with a disability, there are ups and downs. Studies have shown that those siblings are more mature, are kinder and have a greater tolerance for diversity. But they also feel neglected by parents who are busy with the child with special needs. They can have problems with relationships, trouble functioning at school and often struggle with negative behavior and unhappiness.

"There's resentment, like the world revolves around this one kid," Meyer said. Though he recognizes the difficulties that siblings of those with disabilities have, there are as many opportunities as  concerns.

Dr. Brian Skotko, co-director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, has a sister with Down Syndrome and sees that advantage: his studiesshow that 79 percent of people are more positive and 88 percent are distinctly better people because of their siblings who have a disability.

Lacie Hinton, 13, from Lehi, Utah, is the youngest of five children and she has three brothers with various degrees of disability.

Lacie's mother, Deana Hinton, hopes her eldest son, who will not be able to live on his own, will be put into assisted living if anything should happen to her or if his aunts and uncles can't take care of him. Yet, Lacie said she would take care of any of her brothers with a disability in a heartbeat if necessary. "They're my siblings, so yeah."

Hinton is rare among families with disabled children. Up to 74 percent of potential caregivers admit they have not made a plan for the future when it comes to medical and financial planning for the person they will be caring for, according to Easter Seals.

Financial burden

Among those working through the financial end of caregiving is Paul Blobaum, a 59-year old from Park Forest, Illinois, who has a younger brother, Norman, with an intellectual disability.

"It was really a shock to me that I had to be the one to figure this out," he said.

Blobaum cannot be a full-time caregiver because of his job. He lives 100 miles away from his brother, who resides in their late parents' retirement home. Despite the distance, Blobaum stays involved and considers himself responsible for his brother.

"For us brothers, it was 'til death do you part, and more intimate than marriage. We were raised to look out for each other. There was no other possibility for me, it wasnt even a consideration to not become involved and a caregiver. Sadly, there are so many siblings that don't become caregivers."

Blobaum is a librarian at Governors State University of Illinois and just got a promotion. Still, he worries constantly about financing. With so much responsibility, not working isnt an option, he said.

Some caregivers qualify for help from publicly funded programs. For example, the Hinton kids can be paid for hanging out with their brothers through a program that funds respite services, which are designed to give families a break. Its limited and temporary, but relieves some of the financial burden.

Volar benefited from the respite program, too, but has run out of the hours for which she can be paid. And when Tara was bedridden for nine months because of health problems, Volar didn't receive any pay for the extra hours she had to devote to her sister.

"They assume a certain amount of hours will be covered for free by the family member," Volar said. And there are always other expenses the sibling bears, like the 22 miles each way Volar has to drive four times a day so Tara can participate in the day program.

In addition to respite pay, there are other options that families can consider for financial help. Medicare and food stamps are the biggest ones. But those systems are hard to navigate, some have waiting periods and many siblings feel lost.

Blobaum has waded through the financial options and found no single, simple solution for families that bring different resources and challenges of their own with them.

I understand the difficult decisions," he said. "There is not enough wisdom in the world to know you are making the right choice."

Which plan is the right plan?

As a physician, Skotko has seen parents of children with disabilities hesitate to make a caregiving plan because they don't have all the details yet.

"Your family neither expects nor anticipates all the details. Have a plan, even a plan with holes in it and involve the person with a disability, he said.

His sisters Down syndrome has shaped his own life and choices to some degree, including who he chose as a spouse. If necessary, his sister would come live with the couple.

"Encourage conversation so that it does not occur in times of crisis. There are resources out there; I encourage families to reach out and research for help," he said.

Most of all, Volar said the sibling who might be tasked with caregiving has to know what he or she is ready for, rather than feeling an obligation that might not be realistically possible.

"It is so hard. Make sure that you have the gumption, the mental ability to do it. I doubt myself some days," Volar said. "If you cant do it, be honest. Youll be hurting yourself and your sibling. If you can do it, do it and do it right. Some people are caregivers, some people are rocket scientists, and that's not a judgment."

Correction: A previous version stated Norman Blobaum lives in a group home. He lives in his late parents' retirement home.SANDY  After parents complained about an "inappropriate" survey that asked a class of seventh-graders about their economic status, religious beliefs and whether they had ever considered suicide, the school's principal apologized and canceled any further surveys.

"For the most part, the survey asked such questions as age, favorite color, whether the students had visited any of Utah's national parks or if the students had been born in Utah," said Jeff Haney, spokesman for the Canyons School District. "But the survey also included questions that were more serious and covered more personal topics."

For the first day of school, two Indian Hills Middle School teachers said they wanted to personalize their Utah studies lesson plans for seventh-grade students  and understand their sensitivities  when they issued the survey on Wednesday, Haney said.

Students were told that all responses would remain anonymous and they could skip questions if they didn't feel comfortable answering them.

"While there were good intentions, we do acknowledge that some of the questions were inappropriate," Haney said.

On Thursday, school administrators learned about the survey after "a couple" of parents emailed Indian Hills Principal Doug Graham and complained, Haney said. Administrators then instructed the teachers to delete the results and cancel any future surveys. Canyons officials said they plan to train the teachers on "the development and distribution of surveys to students."

Neal Summers, a parent of a student surveyed, said he found out about the survey after parents were notified. His son's mom died three years ago.

"When you're in seventh grade, you want to fit in. You don't want to stand out as being different and when you lose a parent, you feel like are very different and that nobody understands who you are and what you're going through," Summers said.

"To be given a survey where you have to say something like that, I think they feel different than others," Summers said.

Haney said the 25-question survey mostly covered questions pertaining to Utah studies  if they know anyone in the military, if they were related to Utah pioneers and if they had ever visited a Native American reservation.

But he also acknowledged that students were asked if they were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; if anyone in their immediate family had died; if they ever worried about having enough food to eat; if they had a learning disability; ever faced discrimination; and if they had ever considered suicide.

Haney stressed that the school district was maintaining transparency, and the parents of the surveyed students were alerted by email on Thursday.

"We apologize for any concerns that parents or students may have had concerning the questions, and weve put measures into place to ensure that similar future classroom activities are reviewed before they are distributed," Graham said in Thursday's email to parents.

Summers feels the school is not providing enough transparency, however. When he responded to Graham's email and asked for a copy of the survey, the principal told Summers that the data and the survey itself had been deleted.

"I feel like, as a parent of a minor child, I should be entitled to see anything that's given to them," Summers said. "You have given my child something you deem inappropriate and then you're not giving me a copy of that."

Summers had requested a copy, he said, so he could know what he needed to talk to his son specifically about.

"When you make a mistake, don't try to do a cover up  just tell us what was asked," he said.

Along with giving the two teachers further training, the administrators plan to have more communication with educators before surveys are given to students, Haney said.

Summers said he thinks the school needs to ask parents before their children are given surveys that deal with tough subjects.

"Moving forward, we would ask that the teachers work with the administration to make sure the information that they are asking of students is appropriate," Haney said.SALT LAKE CITY  Two competitors with Utah ties are headed to the national finals of American Ninja Warrior for a shot at the $1 million prize.

Karson Voiles of West Haven, Weber County, and owner of Ninja Warehouse, is headed to the finals in Las Vegas for the fourth time.

He competed in Minneapolis and was one of the top 30 in the city qualifying course, comprised of six obstacles that test speed, strength and agility. In the next round, the city finals course with 10 obstacles  including several from the qualifying round  he made it to the ninth obstacle before splashing down.

Also competing in Minneapolis was entomology student Eric Middleton, who is a University of Utah alumnus and currently at the University of Minnesota.

During the city qualifying round, he had tempura-fried tarantula for hosts Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila to eat if he finished the course. Middleton made it through the five obstacles and then up the warped wall and the two hosts ate half of the spider.

During the city finals course, Middleton made it to the ninth of 10 obstacles before splashing down. He had brought lollipops with mealworms for Iseman and Gbaja-Biamila to eat if he completed the course. As he didnt, he ate one on the sidelines after his run. This is his third time to qualify for the finals.

The top 15 competitors from each of the city finals move to the national finals and there were five competitors who completed all 10 obstacles. Middleton was No. 7 and Voiles was No. 8.

Isaac Caldiero, who was the first winner of American Ninja Warrior three years ago, again wore khakis and a collared shirt on the city course in Indianapolis.

The Orem native and rock climber who now lives in Tennessee, fell on the fourth obstacle  running over a series of several blocks that spin  shocking both Iseman and Gbaja-Biamila, who dropped his microphone.

I was ready to put on a good performance and crush the finals course, he told Kristine Leahy. I just didnt move."

When she asked if he would be back next year, he said there is a very good chance.

Ive definitely got the bug now, he added. Im definitely psyched to get back.

Also competing from Utah was Jon Stewart, a rock climber from St. George who started a bakery with one of his daughters. He finished the Dallas city qualifying course and, at 56, became the oldest man to make it up the warped wall at the end of the course. He also made it through the Jumping Spider, the obstacle that he fell on during the qualifying course last year. At the city finals, he made it to the eighth of 10 obstacles and was 16th overall.

However, only the top 15 from each city move on to the national competition in Las Vegas.

Robots were on the sidelines during the Minneapolis city qualifying course when Steve Mascaro, an associate professor in mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, took the course. He fell on the second obstacle.

The first of the four stages of the American Ninja Warrior national finals airs Monday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. MDT on NBC. Those who finish the first stage in the allotted time move on to the next stage. The competitions on the second, third and fourth stages are scheduled for Sept. 10.SALT LAKE CITY  Decrying the legal campaign by FanX founders and attorneys and lambasting their defense in court, a federal judge has ordered the Utah comic and pop culture event to pay nearly $4 million in legal fees over a trademark battle with San Diego Comic-Con International.

In a 37-page order handed down Thursday in San Diego, U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia wrote that while compensation for legal fees is rarely awarded in trademark disputes, "the court finds that this case is not a dime a dozen."

"Instead, it is a trademark infringement lawsuit that stands out from others based on the unreasonable manner it was litigated," Battaglia wrote. He went on to say that San Diego's motion seeking fees was "bursting at the seams with incidents" backing its claim the case is "exceptional."

Battaglia ordered Dan Farr Productions  the company behind the popular arts convention now known as FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention  to pay $3,767,921.06 to San Diego Comic-Con for the cost it incurred suing the Utah event, as well as $212,323.56 it paid to experts who testified at trial.

The awards came in lower than San Diego's original requests for nearly $5 million in legal fees and $243,833.06 for expert costs.

In a statement Friday, FanX pushed back against the judge's decision and said an appeal is being considered:

"We do not expect a $4 million attorney fee award predicated on a $20,000 jury verdict to survive appellate review. We have instructed our attorneys to begin working on an appeal to the 9th Circuit  while we prepare for what we expect to be our best event ever, starting September 6."

San Diego Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer praised the judge's meticulous review and said that thanks to his decision, "justice has finally been served."

"The rulings confirm that defendants and their attorneys engaged in outrageous conduct before the lawsuit was filed, throughout the case, at trial and post-trial. Ultimately, San Diego Comic Convention achieved what it has sought all along  an end to defendants' pervasive infringement of the Comic-Con trademarks, and an end to their brazen efforts to trade off the reputation and goodwill associated with the Comic-Con brand," Glanzer said.

He continued, "San Diego Comic Convention is not litigious. Instead, it is the defendants who made this lawsuit necessary by their flagrant disregard for San Diego Comic Convention's trademark rights."

In 2014 San Diego Comic-Con sued the Utah event over its original name, Salt Lake Comic Con, which it claimed violated trademark. Founders Dan Farr and Bryan Brandenburg adamantly and publicly defended their event and its name, pointing to dozens of similar events across the country that identified themselves using some variation of the term.

Last December a San Diego jury ruled that Salt Lake Comic Con had violated the trademarks, but hadn't done so wilfully and no false designation had occurred, meaning the Salt Lake event had never purported to be affiliated with San Diego's. Ultimately, jurors only awarded $20,000 of the $12 million San Diego Comic-Con sought in damages.

Following the trial, the Utah event's name was changed to use its FanX branding.

In his order, Battaglia was unabashedly critical of Farr, Brandenburg and their legal team for their "'head in the sand' litigation strategies" and "hodgepodge legal reasoning."

"Ultimately, resembling a broken record, (Dan Farr Productions) has repetitively restated and rehashed several contentions that they were unable to advance successfully prior to trial. This type of cyclical motion practice is objectively unreasonable and has justified attorneys' fees," Battaglia wrote.

In addition to claiming Salt Lake's attorneys violated court rules in filing motions and during the jury trial, Battaglia said that in their attempts to make convincing legal arguments, "zealous advocacy has turned into gamesmanship."

Battaglia also pointed to the FanX founders' apparent attempts to win the case in the court of public opinion through media interviews and press releases, calling the strategy "objectively irrational."

In a separate decision handed down Thursday, Battaglia also ruled that FanX be barred under a permanent injunction from using the term "comic con," including identifying their event as "previously known as Salt Lake Comic Con" or using its old saltlakecomiccon.com URL to redirect to its new website, fanxsaltlake.com. The event has 30 days to make the change.

FanX will not be required to destroy any of its previous merchandise, but is prohibited from selling it, donating it, displaying it or giving it away.

Battaglia also denied FanX's request to wait until after its upcoming event to enter judgment in the case.

Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated that a judge had denied FanX's motion to defer payments in the case until after its upcoming event. The judge actually denied a motion to defer entering a judgment in the case.SALT LAKE CITY  As the father of a toddler who fatally shot himself in the head in May pleaded with a judge during his sentencing Friday, he described the pain he's gone through and the changes he's made in the months since his son's death.

During the emotional sentencing hearing, Tasman William Maile, 28, of West Valley City, told 3rd District Judge Todd Shaughnessy about the suffering he endured as he waited in jail while his son was in a hospital bed.

"I'm just at a state right now where sometimes I can't even function," he said tearfully, apologizing to his wife, family and the state of Utah for his actions.

"All I want to do is just see my son one last time," he said.

Maile, as well as his family members, asked the judge not to send him to jail and said he's already punishing himself more than any amount of incarceration could.

Despite the pleas, Maile was ordered to serve 90 days in jail with credit for the 10 days he already served. Possible prison sentences on the felony charges were suspended.

Maile pleaded guilty in July to a reduced charge of negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor; obstructing justice, a third-degree felony; three counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; and drug distribution, a class A misdemeanor.

Maile was originally charged with child abuse homicide, a second-degree felony, in the death of 2-year-old Tevita Puniani Maile.

According to the boy's obituary, "Puniani was certainly the light of his family. He absolutely kept the family together with his love and welcoming attitude. He was full of life and was such a character. He greeted every person he met with his contagious smile and upbeat energy."

Defense attorney Catherine Kezar also pleaded with Shaughnessy not to give Maile jail time. According to Kezar, Maile has reformed his life and the couple has started a business named after their son.

"He's been forced to grow up very fast," she said, adding that Tasman Maile has been going to counseling and has taken responsibility for his actions.

After hearing the remarks, Shaughnessy said he agreed that no amount of jail could punish the father as much as he has punished himself for the boy's death. However, the judge said, the other charges warranted some jail time.

On May 26, officers responded to Maile's home, 2782 S. Fair Isle Lane, about midnight on the report of a gunshot and saw a 2-year-old unconscious on the ground and his father's shirt covered in blood, according to charging documents. The boy later died of his injuries.

Maile told police that he was asleep with a handgun next to him when he woke up to the sound of the gunshot, according to police. He said he always slept with his gun under his pillow "fully loaded and off safety within arm's reach," charges state.

He also told police that he had thrown two other guns into a dumpster, police said.

Though Valerie Maile knows her husband has made mistakes, he is a "great father and husband," she said during the sentencing.

As Valerie Maile tearfully pleaded with the judge to let Tasman Maile remain home, she said she had to do everything on her own while her husband was in jail. Since then, she said, she hasn't had a chance to grieve because she's been "trying to hold it together" for her family.

The couple's other children need him, Valerie Maile said. And throughout their lives, she explained, "he was always there since day one."

She said she believes the tragedy "had to happen" for them to become stronger as a family and, through the ordeal, they've learned that family is everything.

"I know it's killing him inside," she said of losing their son.

Maile's mother, Lita Taufoou Maile, echoed her daughter-in-law's thoughts and said that she would trade places with her son if she could.

And for Maile, he said, the ordeal has brought the family back to their faith and his goal is for them to eventually get sealed in an LDS temple.

"I want to be a good dad and I want to continue to be good," he said.SALT LAKE CITY  Homelessness continues to be an issue for many Utahns, but community leaders believe it is because there is a dearth of affordable housing options.

A number of local and nonprofit programs are working to change that, but they need help from policymakers and acceptance from the public.

"It is important to have housing, it is the foundation for the strength we need to succeed," Tara Rollins, executive director at the Utah Housing Coalition, said during the annual People's Summit on Poverty sponsored by the Crossroads Urban Center on Saturday. She said a home provides people with stability, safety and built-in familial support, as well as opportunities to have pets and other belongings, and for children to get a stable education at community schools.

And while the idea of housing has shifted over the decades from being smaller and more affordable, to more of an investment, Rollins said having a place to call home still satisfies an important human need.

Pamela Atkinson, who advocates for the homeless, works tirelessly to increase options and access for them. She said the issue doesn't only affect Salt Lake County, but Utah and Weber counties, as well, where more needs to be done to help homeless individuals and families.

"When word got out that we were looking at alternatives for housing our homeless population," she said, "I got more hugs than I do normally from my homeless friends."

Many of Utah's homeless have mentioned to her that they "just want a room, with a bed, maybe a chair and a TV," Atkinson said, adding that they're happy to share other facilities with other residents. So, she's looking for funding and a site to build just that  shelters with 50 individual rooms in each.

"Our homeless friends have more potential than they know," she said.

The idea is that those who are homeless can somehow obtain affordable housing, they can then work on other aspects of their lives, including finding gainful employment and health insurance or conquering addiction and mental health issues.

Larry "Wolf" Winn, 48, said he's been homeless more than 20 years. But he's also been trying to get out of being homeless that long, as well.

"I'm trying to fix the problem, period," he said, adding that he needs a home to be able to get his business of selling tie-dyed clothing and providing "a hand up to the homeless" off the ground. Winn has developed a two-page proposal for the city that details "what homeless people want."

The existing shelters, he said, are replete with drugs and theft and he doesn't like to go there. He spends his nights on the street.

The city, however, has chosen to close the Road Home shelter in June of next year and will replace it with three facilities to provide housing for up to 700 people at each, which Atkinson said, isn't enough.

"Housing is such a crisis," she said. "If we can't fix the housing crisis, we can't fix the homeless crisis."

Utah Rep. Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, said that when gas prices go up, people have the option to drive less, but when housing prices increase, it's not like people can just find a cheaper place to live. And, housing costs are currently growing at twice the rate of income here.

He has proposed that the state borrow $100 million to incentivize developers and home builders to build the type of low-income housing that doesn't always provide a great return.

Many homeless qualify for housing vouchers to subsidize the cost of rent, but the $800 provided by the federal and state governments doesn't seem to cut it, with studio apartment rent hovering around $1,000 these days. And that is if the prospective occupant meets stringent requirements of passing background and credit checks.

Briscoe, a member of the Salt Lake Chamber's newly formed Utah Housing Gap Coalition, said the state anticipates needing 58,619 affordable housing options for people by 2020, and Utah is already short by about 40,000.

"We have a housing crisis in Utah," he said, adding that he believes housing is a fundamental right.

"We need every one of you to do everything you can do if this is that important for you," Briscoe told those gathered for the 15th annual summit. "Put your time and effort and your sweat and tears and prayers on the causes you are most passionate about. Just do something."From hairpin bends and Alfa Romeos to Limoncello liquor, theres more to the Amalfi coast than Jamie Oliver would have you believe. So before you fill your camera roll with cliches and deep fried ravioli, check out this guide to some of the more off-beat locations.

Disclaimer: theres nothing wrong with a cheeky tourist pic. But travel snobs, people whove been before, and travellers in Amalfi long enough to see more than the Lonely Planet checklist should definitely take advantage of this list.

Fornillo Beach

If youre after something more laid-back than the VIP scene at Spiaggia Grande (Positanos main beach), put Fornillo beach on your agenda. Get up early, do the 10-minute walk along Via dei Positanesi dAmerica (the route that connects Fornillo and the main town), and youll be rewarded with your own semi private beach.

Bonus: if you get blisters on your way there theres a free boat shuttle between Fornillo and Positanos main pier (for the return). The restaurants and deck chair rental merchants are also cheaper here (supply , demand, etc.).

A post shared by Rielly Milne (@aerialszn) on Aug 23, 2018 at 10:16am PDT

Conca Dei Marini

Quaint is the best word to describe Conca dei Marini; a fishing village often overlooked by tourists on their way to the more famous towns of Amalfi and Positano (Conca dei Marini sits between the two). Unlike its brother and sister, Conca dei Marini scarcely feels touristyespecially if you go in the shoulder or off peak season (i.e. avoid July and August).

For us the highlight is Grotta dello Smeraldo, a jaw-slackening 100-foot-high sea cave carved into the cliffs by the shore, named after the waters translucent shade of emerald green (i.e. the shade of your friends eyes back home flicking through your latest Insta-story).

The village itself is a cluster of coloured houses (so old and picturesque they are UNESCO protected) hanging tight at the base of a cliff, winding down towards a bay that flows out into the Tyrrhenian Sea. There are also mouth watering local restaurants (many recommend Risorgimento for its excellent seafood risotto), a small church, a 16th-century watchtower, and a relatively tourist-free beach.

A post shared by @mel.lihui on Aug 22, 2018 at 6:46pm PDT

Don Alfonso 1890

The town of SantAgata is not on everyones itinerary, but Don Alfonso 1890 makes it worth a squiz. The hotel (and ristorante) runs deep with family-run passion, which you will inevitably experience in some kind of health-conscious, organic explosion of flavour. But, as reported by Vogue, the fun begins well before you sit down in the tranquil dining room: Guests enjoy a tour of the subterranean wine and cheese cellar. Then when you come to eat, The meal itself is a mosaic of flavours, thoughtfully paired and grounded in tradition date(ing) back generations. Standouts include the baked egg with burrata and black truffle, the locally raised Laticauda lamb, and the sinful Concert of Lemon dessert.

Cantine Marisa Cuomo

Yes: Italy is brimming (if not overflowing) with world-class wine regions. But that just means there are some gems that fly under the radar. Cantine Marisa Cuomo is one such unicorn; a winery in the cliffs of Furorea town tucked between Praiano and Conca dei Marinithat makes wines that rival the beauty of the landscape.

Cantine Marisa Cuomo is known for its crisp, fruity white wines, made from native grapes like Fenile, Ginestra, and Ripoli. It also plays host to vibrant, sun-smacked reds made with the local Per e Palummo grape. This estate also features 25 acres of lush, terraced vineyards overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Grazie. Grazie indeed.

Da Adolfo Trattoria

Da Adolfo is Italys equivilent of a Spanish Chiringuito, or an Aussie beachside cafe. Located on Laurito beach (a 10-minute boat ride from Positano), Da Adolfo will make up for every tourist rip off meal youve ever eaten. Although the 40-year-old restaurant is hardly spanking new, the authenticity of the experience makes it worth its weight in pasta. Think: barefoot waiters, sand-between-your-toes, and chalkboard menus.

Expect everything you need and nothing you dont. The food bursts with Amalfi flavours: spaghetti with fresh octopus and zucchini, grilled mozzarella on lemon leaves, anchovies tossed in green peppers, mussels in a tangy tomato saucetake your pick.

When youre done, take a shot of Limoncello, and a snooze on beach beds provided. Then: explore

A post shared by RACHEL BARWICK  (@life.with.three) on Aug 22, 2018 at 1:47pm PDT

Read NextTata Motors rolls out 1500th GS800 Safari Storme for Indian Army

Tata Motors today rolled out the 1500th GS800 (General Service 800) Safari Storme 44 for the Indian armed forces at a function today. Subhash Bhamre, minister of state for defence flagged off the vehicle along with Vernon Noronha, vice president, defence and government business, Tata Motors, at its Pune facility.

The company bagged the order to supply 3,192 units of Safari Storme to Indian armed forces and have so far delivered 1300+ vehicles. The remaining 200 are being delivered now to complete the first 1,500 cars under the contract.

We, at Tata Motors, take immense pride to roll-out the 1500th GS800 Safari Storme of the 3,192 order for the Indian Army. This modern SUV  Tata GS800 is specially customised to meet the requirements of the Indian armed forces, Vernon Noronha, vice president, defence and government business, Tata Motors Limited, said,

Tata Safari Strome was picked up in global tender after the Indian Army decided to chose a different vehicle, other than their trusted Maruti Gypsy.

After months of testing and talks, it was finally announced that Tata Safari Storme 44 had won the bid.

Today, there are about 35,000 Maruti Gypsy with Indian Army. Slowly, these will be discarded and replaced by new age SUVs like the Safari Storme.

The Safari Storme GS800 is indigenously designed to meet the requirements of the Indian Army with a contemporary, highly reliable and sturdier diesel SUV with robust features, and a minimum payload capacity of 800 kg. The vehicle has undergone a total rigorous trial duration of fifteen months in varied terrains across the country, demonstrating its supreme performance, with a capability of coping with on-road or off-road terrains. Offering 60 per cent higher payload, over 70 per cent higher power and over 200 per cent higher torque, this vehicle has been customised to endure severely rugged operational conditions ranging from high-altitude drives, traversing snow-bound regions, crossing deserts to the marshy lands.

The milestone of rolling out the 1500th Safari Strome is the result of the absolute dedication of our workforce, Noronha said, while reiterating Tata Motors commitment to support thegovernments Make in India initiative.

The Tata GS800 Safari Stormed is a fully loaded vehicle packed with special features such as ABS, recovery hooks, jerry can and fog lamps to suit army requirement during missions. Being a low maintenance vehicle, it comes with bucket seats, mobile charging point, air conditioning (AC), heating, demisting, power windows and ample space inside the cabin to accommodate six crew members comfortably.

Tata Motors has been serving the countrys off-road defence and security forces, since 1958 having supplied over 1.5 lakh vehicles to the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, so far.Vedanta to invest $8 bn in aluminium, zinc, lead and crude oil projects

Mining major Vedanta Ltd plans to invest nearly $8 billion (about Rs56,000 crore across various projects over the next 2-3 years over the next two-three years.

Investments are planned across aluminium, zinc, lead and crude oil to boost production , Vedanta Chairman, Navin Agarwal, said while addressing shareholders at the companys annual general meeting on Friday.

Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta is currently the country's largest private sector oil producer, contributing 27 per cent to the domestic production and aspires to take it up to 50 per cent. Navin Agarwal said his company will invest $3-4 billion in Indian projects in the next 2-3 years.

As Indias largest private oil producer, the company contributes 27 percent to domestic production and aims to take it up to 50 percent in two to three years, Agarwal said.

India, he said, currently spends $125 billion on oil imports, which accounts for 80 per cent of its oil needs.

Vedanta Resources will also be investing $2.3 bn to increase crude oil reserve base by 375 million barrels.

There is immense growth potential, he said, adding, Entire funding for these projects will be taken up through internal accruals and the capital expenditure wont increase the debt.

During the year, the company acquired Electrosteel Steels Ltd., integrating it with the iron ore business. Electrosteel is producing at its full capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum, he said, adding it can be ramped up to 2.5 MTPA in the next two years at a nominal capex of $300-400 million. But, Agarwal said, the company is not looking at any acquisition now but will keep an eye out if anything suits its synergies.

In 2017-18, Vedantas revenue jumped 22 per cent on a yearly basis to Rs92,900 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 19 per cent from the last year to Rs25,500 crore, while its profit after tax rose 10 per cent to Rs8,200 crore.

Agarwal said there is an urgent need to bring further changes in policies for the natural resources sector, particularly the implementation of the New Mineral Policy, and to ensure a level playing field in terms of imports and duties. Encouraging the exploration and production of natural resources will lead to greater self-reliance, save billions of dollars in imports, generate immense employment opportunities, he added.

Vedanta is the world's second largest integrated zinc-lead producer and the only primary silver producer in India.

"We are also the largest aluminium producer in the country. This year, we had a record production at our zinc-lead-silver and aluminium businesses. We will be further investing $3-4 billion in these businesses in the next 2-3 years," Agarwal said.

But the companys 400,000-tonne copper smelter plant in Tamil Nadu remains shut after 13 people were killed in police firing at crowds during violent protests against widespread pollution caused by the smelter and the Supreme Court ordered Vedanta to shut down the plant.

The company, he said, also plans to set up a global centre for technical excellence in India.

Vedanta's free cash flow stood at Rs7,900 crore and gross debt came down by Rs8,500 crore. With a contribution of over Rs33,000 crore to the Indian exchequer, the company is among the top two corporate contributors to the exchequer.Navy ends 'Operation Madad'

The Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy terminated #Operation Madad on Friday on the successful completion of rescue and relief operations.

This was the largest ever humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) operation undertaken by the Southern Command, lasting close to 16 days, during which 16,843 people were rescued. Of these, 15,670 were by boat, while 1,173 had to be airlifted. The efforts reached a peak with 92 rescue teams with Gemini boats deployed in a day. Aircraft were also deployed to undertake non-stop air sorties dawn to dusk.

The Western and Eastern Naval Commands also pitched in with helicopters, divers, Gemini boats and other HADR material, sent both by IAF aircraft as well as naval ships.

Rescue camps were organised at the Naval Armament Depot, Aluva, and the T2 Hangar, Naval Base for the displaced people.

The Navy Wives Welfare Association undertook distribution of food, clothes, other essentials to the needy in the relief camps.

Medical camps were set up at Wayanad and Aluva where access by road was not possible. INHS Sanjivani provided post-rescue hospital care for those requiring mediacl treatment, including two deliveries.

Several tonnes of food, water and other relief material was distributed by boats and by air to those who could not be rescued immediately. A community kitchen, feeding all three meals and tea twice a day to 10,000 people, which was set up from the launch of Operation Madad, was also closed on Friday.

The navy also assisted with emergency repairs of critical public facilities and infrastructure at Amritha Hospital, Pazhassi dam and Kerala Water Authority's water pumps to restore water supply, and some of the Kerala State Electricity Board's transformers to restore power supply.

As the flooding at Cochin International Airport head had led to suspension of commercial airline operations, the Southern Command liaised with Director General of Civil Aviation and the Airport Authority of India for the naval air station INS Garuda at Kochi to be used for limited flying ops, with the School for Naval Airmen functioning as a makeshift terminal. Commercial flights from INS Garuda, have been operating till date from 20 August 2018

Vice Admiral AK Chawla, AVSM, NM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, who led Operation 'Madad,' comlplemented the young officers and sailors who formed the mainstay of the rescue teams.

Adm Chawla also acknowledged the timely help and support by other naval Commands. He said that this operation had showcased the capability of the Indian Navy and tyhe Southern Command to rise to the occasion, in taking on an unprecedented disaster of this magnitude.Defence ministry clears Rs21,000-cr purchase of 111 copters for Navy

The defence ministry has accorded approval for procurement of equipment for the services amounting to approximately Rs46,000 crore, including purchase of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs21,000 crore.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.

Several aviation majors, including Airbus, Kamov and Bell have offered helicopters in addition to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The Navy has to shortlist the helicopter it wants after an extensive evaluation process which will be followed by a contract where most of these helicopters will need to be built in the country in conjunction with local partners.

This is the first project under the MoDs prestigious Strategic Partnership (SP) Model that aims at providing significant fillip to the governments Make in India programme. SP Model envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian Strategic Partner, who will collaborate with foreign OEM, acquire niche technologies and set up production facilities in the country.

The model has a long-term vision of promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment thus enhancing self-sufficiency and establishing an industrial and R&D ecosystem, capable of meeting the future requirements of the armed forces.

The contract, when finalised, would result in a vibrant and wide-spread defence industrial eco-system in the Indian aviation sector with the private industry and MSMEs as major stakeholders, a defence ministry release stated.

The DAC also granted approval to a few other proposals amounting to approximately Rs24,879.16 crore, which included procurement of 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Indian Army, 24 anti-submarine multi-role helicopters and 14 vertically launched short range missile systems

The procurement of 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems for the Indian Army will cost Rs3,364.78 crore. These guns, indigenously designed and developed by DRDO, will be manufactured by production agencies nominated by DRDO. They are likely to be the mainstay of artillery in the near future. These schemes will provide a fillip to the Make in India push by the government, help create self-reliance in the country in defence manufacturing sector. These have the potential of making the defence industry as a major engine of Indias economic growth.

Approval has also been granted for procurement of 24 anti-submarine multi-role helicopters, which are an integral part of the frontline warships like the aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Availability of MRH with the Navy would plug the existing capability gap.

Contract for the 24 MH-60R helicopters manufactured by Lokheed Martin for Indian Navy will be signed soon

In addition, procurement of 14 vertically launched short range missile systems was also cleared by the DAC. Of these, 10 systems will be indigenously developed. These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles.Scott Morrison to become Australia's next prime minister

Australia got a new prime minister, Scott Morrison, after an overnight revolt within the centre-right Liberal Party on Friday ousted Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.

Morrison, who was the countrys treasurer and earlier entrusted with Australias controversial stop the boats asylum seeker policy, was sworn in as prime minister after he emerged a surprise winner of a three-way challenge.

Although Morrison did not start the week-long leadership revolt against Turnbull, he will now be tasked with bringing some stability back to the Liberal Party and stave off the center-left Labor Party in the next federal elections due in May 2019.

Morrison will be Australia's fifth prime minister in so many years and the sixth in less than 10 years, will lead a coalition between the Liberal and National parties with a one-seat majority. He will have to be retain that seat in a by-election for the Sydney seat that Turnbull is set to vacate.

Morrison promised to bring together the divided Liberal Party and end an internecine battle that has scarred the conservative government in the run-up to the election.

Our job...as we take forward this mantle of leadership as a new generation, is to ensure that we not only bring our party back together, which has been bruised and battered this week, but that...we bring the Parliament back together, Morrison said in his first appearance after his party-room victory.

The new generation of Liberal leadership is on your side, he told Australian voters after he was sworn into office shortly after 6 PM (0800 GMT) on Friday.

Morrison is widely seen as a centrist and has rejected prominent right-wing policies, including limits on immigration. He is the compromise candidate, a bridge between the conservative and moderate wings of the party, reports quoted Haydon Manning, a political science professor at Flinders University in South Australia state, as saying. He can heal the wounds that threatened to fracture the coalition government and allow the government time to prepare for an election, he said.

Morrison faces a series of policy decisions that could reopen old wounds within the government, including an impasse on energy, a topic that acted as a catalyst in Turnbull's demise.

Turnbull blamed the coup on vengeance, personal ambition, factional feuding in his party, led by conservative lawmakers, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whom he toppled in a similar coup in September 2015.

Australians will be dumbstruck and so appalled at the conduct of the past week, said Turnbull. Liberal party member Warren Entsch said after the leadership vote, This revolving door of prime ministers has got to stop.

Australia is one of the worlds biggest energy exporters, but its energy infrastructure is shaky at home, and the country is struggling with how to adapt and implement policies to tackle climate change.

These so-called energy wars escalated in recent days when Turnbull introduced a modest energy bill opposed by hardline conservatives in his own party.

Opposition had contested the limits that Australia had agreed on greenhouse gas emissions, which were more or less in line with Australias commitments to the Paris climate agreement.

Turnbull backed down on the emissions portion, opening the threat of revolt within his party. Turnbull failed to hold on in the face of restive conservatives. There was no major political scandal or crisis, though.

Forecasts are now in favour of Labour, which is expected to gain control with the next election.One day Alzheimer's may be predicted during eye exam

It may be possible in the future to screen patients for Alzheimer's disease using an eye exam.

Using technology similar to what is found in many eye doctors' offices, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have detected evidence suggesting Alzheimer's in older patients who had no symptoms of the disease.

Their study, involving 30 patients, was published on 23 August in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

"This technique has great potential to become a screening tool that helps decide who should undergo more expensive and invasive testing for Alzheimer's disease prior to the appearance of clinical symptoms," says the study's first author, Bliss E O'Bryhim, MD, PhD, a resident physician in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. "Our hope is to use this technique to understand who is accumulating abnormal proteins in the brain that may lead them to develop Alzheimer's."

Significant brain damage from Alzheimer's disease can occur years before any symptoms such as memory loss and cognitive decline appear. Scientists estimate that Alzheimer's-related plaques can build up in the brain two decades before the onset of symptoms, so researchers have been looking for ways to detect the disease sooner.

Physicians now use PET scans and lumbar punctures to help diagnose Alzheimer's, but they are expensive and invasive.

In previous studies, researchers examining the eyes of people who had died from Alzheimer's have reported that the eyes of such patients showed signs of thinning in the center of the retina and degradation of the optic nerve.

In the new study, the researchers used a noninvasive technique -- called optical coherence tomography angiography -- to examine the retinas in eyes of 30 study participants with an average age in the mid 70s, none of whom exhibited clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's.

Those participants were patients in The Memory and Aging Project at Washington University's Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. About half of those in the study had elevated levels of the Alzheimer's proteins amyloid or tau as revealed by PET scans or cerebrospinal fluid, suggesting that although they didn't have symptoms, they likely would develop Alzheimer's. In the other subjects, PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid analyses were normal.

"In the patients with elevated levels of amyloid or tau, we detected significant thinning in the center of the retina," says co-principal investigator Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD, the Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. "All of us have a small area devoid of blood vessels in the center of our retinas that is responsible for our most precise vision. We found that this zone lacking blood vessels was significantly enlarged in people with preclinical Alzheimer's disease."

The eye test used in the study shines light into the eye, allowing a doctor to measure retinal thickness, as well as the thickness of fibres in the optic nerve. A form of that test often is available in ophthalmologist's offices.

For this study, however, the researchers added a new component to the more common test  angiography, which allows doctors to distinguish red blood cells from other tissue in the retina.

"The angiography component allows us to look at blood-flow patterns," says the other co-principal investigator, Gregory P. Van Stavern, MD, a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences. "In the patients whose PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid showed pre-clinical Alzheimer's, the area at the center of the retina without blood vessels was significantly larger, suggesting less blood flow."

Adds Apte, "The retina and central nervous system are so interconnected that changes in the brain could be reflected in cells in the retina."

Of the patients studied, 17 had abnormal PET scans and/or lumbar punctures, and all of them also had retinal thinning and significant areas without blood vessels in the centers of their retinas. The retinas appeared normal in the patients whose PET scans and lumbar punctures were within the typical range.

More studies in patients are needed to replicate the findings, Van Stavern said, but he noted that if changes detected with this eye test can be used as markers for Alzheimer's risk, it may be possible one day to screen people as young as their 40s or 50s to see whether they are at risk for the disease.

"We know the pathology of Alzheimer's disease starts to develop years before symptoms appear, but if we could use this eye test to notice when the pathology is beginning, it may be possible one day to start treatments sooner to delay further damage," he said.New scientific study: no safe level of alcohol

A new scientific study concludes there is no safe level of drinking alcohol.

The study, published in The Lancet, shows that in 2016, nearly 3 million deaths globally were attributed to alcohol use, including 12 per cent of deaths in males between the ages of 15 and 49.

"The health risks associated with alcohol are massive," says Dr. Emmanuela Gakidou of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and the senior author of the study. "Our findings are consistent with other recent research, which found clear and convincing correlations between drinking and premature death, cancer, and cardiovascular problems. Zero alcohol consumption minimises the overall risk of health loss."

The study does not distinguish between beer, wine, and liquor due to a lack of evidence when estimating the disease burden, Gakidou says.

However, researchers used data on all alcohol-related deaths generally and related health outcomes to determine their conclusions.

Alcohol use patterns vary widely by country and by sex, the average consumption per drinker, and the attributable disease burden. Globally, more than 2 billion people were current drinkers in 2016; 63 per cent were male.

"Average consumption" refers to a standard drink, defined in the study as 10 grams of pure alcohol, consumed by a person daily, about the equivalent of:

A small glass of red wine (100 ml or 3.4 fluid ounces) at 13 per cent alcohol by volume;

A can or bottle of beer (375 ml or 12 fluid ounces) at 3.5 per cent alcohol by volume; or

A shot of whiskey or other spirits (30 ml or 1.0 fluid ounces) at 40 per cent alcohol by volume.

"Standard drinks" are different by country. For example, in the UK a standard drink is 8 grams of alcohol, whereas in Australia, the US, and Japan, it is 10 grams, 14 grams, and 20 grams, respectively.

The study, part of the annual Global Burden of Disease (GBD), assesses alcohol-related health outcomes and patterns between 1990 and 2016 for 195 countries and territories and by age and sex.

It provides findings on prevalence of current drinking, prevalence of abstention, alcohol consumption among current drinkers, and deaths and overall poor health attributable to alcohol for 23 health outcomes, such as communicable and non-communicable diseases and injuries, including:

Cardiovascular diseases: atrial fibrillation and flutter, hemorrhagic stroke, ischemic stroke, hypertensive heart disease, ischemic heart disease, and alcoholic cardiomyopathy;

Cancers: breast, colorectal, liver, esophageal, larynx, lip and oral cavity, and nasal;

Other non-communicable diseases: cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol use, diabetes, epilepsy, pancreatitis, and alcohol use disorders;

Communicable diseases: lower respiratory infections and tuberculosis;

Intentional injuries: interpersonal violence and self-harm;

Unintentional injuries: exposure to mechanical forces; poisonings; fire, heat, and hot substances; drowning; and other unintentional injuries; and

Transportation-related injuries.

"We now understand that alcohol is one of the major causes of death in the world today," said Lancet Editor Richard Horton. "We need to act now. We need to act urgently to prevent these millions of deaths. And we can."

This study used 694 data sources on individual and population-level alcohol consumption, along with 592 prospective and retrospective studies on the risk of alcohol use. More than 500 GBD collaborators, such as researchers, academics, and others from more than 40 nations contributed to the study, according to Max Griswold, senior researcher and lead author.

"With the largest collected evidence base to date, our study makes the relationship between health and alcohol clear - drinking causes substantial health loss, in myriad ways, all over the world," Griswold said.

In 2016, eight of the leading 10 countries with lowest death rates attributable to alcohol use among 15- to 49-year-olds were in the Middle East: Kuwait, Iran, Palestine, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Jordan, and Syria. The other two were Maldives and Singapore.

Conversely, seven of the leading 10 countries with highest death rates were in the Baltic, Eastern European, or Central Asian regions, specifically Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Mongolia, Latvia, and Kazakhstan. The other three were Lesotho, Burundi, and Central African Republic.

Health officials in those nations, Gakidou said, would be well served by examining the study's findings to inform their policies and programs to improve the health and well-being of their constituents.

"There is a compelling and urgent need to overhaul policies to encourage either lowering people's levels of alcohol consumption or abstaining entirely," she said. "The myth that one or two drinks a day are good for you is just that  a myth. This study shatters that myth."People from Donegal heading off to see the Pope this weekend are advised to disregard instructions and follow the local diversions signs instead.

Thouands have opted for bus transport, but many others will make the journey to Dublin or Knock by car and you are urged to allow ample additional time as there will be road closures and restricted access.

45,000 people are estimated to be heading to Knock Shrine to see the Pontiff on his two day visit to Ireland.

Tickets for all three events this weekend are sold out so people are being asked not to travel to Croke Park, Knock or the Phoenix Park if they do not have a ticket.

Those travelling to the mass in Phoenix Park can avail of free public transport in the Greater Dublin Area by presenting their ticket and Gardai are urging all attending the Mass to enter and leave via the Colour coded route as outlined as on their tickets.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis is due to arrive at Ireland West Airport at 9:20am tomorrow (Sunday) morning from where he will depart for Knock Shrine.

To accommodate this, the centre of Knock Village will be closed from 6pm this (Saturday) evening and the N17 will also be closed from midnight until at least 6pm tomorrow evening between Charlestown and Claremorris.

Ireland West Airport is advising passengers and those collecting passengers to allow extra time for their journey.The humanitarian response to Keralas calamity has risen above blame games.

The recent tragedy in Kerala seems to have evoked public responses at three levels. At the first and basic level, it evoked a spontaneous humanitarian response from several segments of society, which transcended regional and national boundaries. Responses at this level seem to have been unmediated by any prior calculations or instrumental factors. The humanitarian aid that continues to flow into Kerala both from within the country and abroad, particularly from the non-governmental organisations, has been quite phenomenal. These acts have transcended all the defined boundaries, and demonstrated how our common humanity mattered more, leading to the mobilisation of resources from different corners of the country and the world, evoked by human emotions. This first level of response has acquired a form that is morally pure on three counts. First, it is devoid of any blame-gaming. Second, it encapsulated a moral narrative of individuals and groups who had volunteered to donate their personal assets in solidarity, to mitigate, to even some extent, the devastating consequences of the ravaging floods. Finally, the moral initiative does not wait for any particular direction or guidance as it happens quite instinctively, without any delay.

But, this is not the case with the response which occurs at the second level and begins with relentless criticism of the handling of the situation, this time targeting the Kerala government that is caught in the vortex of the disaster. As the case of Kerala shows, this response was led predominantly by two kinds of critics: environmentalists, and stakeholders in Keralas polity and economy. The environmentalists have sought to criticise the successive governments for failing to heed the warning that was given to the former from time to time. But, the politics of the Kerala model of development and the remittances-fuelled development of a large consumer and housing market along with the growth fetish led to the dismissal of the timely cautions by these experts, both from within Kerala and outside. Similar warnings had been given to different governments that, in the recent times, have faced calamities of flood, but these have almost been reduced to a development ritual, inasmuch as they are noted and kept aside, if not thrown into the dustbin. Thus, the politics of development which is driven by instrumental reasons tends to overrule the warnings and cautions, only at the cost of inviting devastating consequences for humanity. Thus, the second-level response, unlike the first, is not emotionally spontaneous and involves the force of scientific truth, and hence morally empowers the experts to fix the responsibility not on nature, but on human self-interests and the public institutions that protect those interests.The restructuring of loans of commercial banks permitted by the Reserve Bank of India under the corporate debt restructuring scheme enabled the banks to upgrade the loans of some of the potentially viable units from the substandard to the standard category. In view of the recent directives of the RBIrealistic assessment of the restructured assets and standardisation of the asset classificationthere is a reversal of entries in some cases, which attracted higher provisioning, resulting in losses or a dip in profits of the commercial banks.

Prudential norms in respect of the financial sector (commercial banks, in particular) were envisaged in the early 1990s by the committee on financial system set up in 1991 and various norms were introduced for its smooth functioning.1 These norms covered among other things, capital adequacy, income recognition, and provisioning for bad debts, which were expected to improve the productivity, profitability and efficiency of the commercial banks. Although there have been modifications of these norms over the years, the objective was to clean up the accounts of institutions. Even so, deregulation and liberalisation measures, increasing competition among commercial banks for retaining their share in the market, enormous growth in cross-border transactions, and speculative deals in forward exchange contracts and derivative markets were predominant during the last decade, which changed the portfolio behaviour of the banks.

The implementation of Basel norms over different periods aimed at insulating the institutions from credit, liquidity, and speculative risks have been in vogue for nearly two decades,2 compelling banks to suitably adjust their portfolios for necessary compliance. The global financial crisis in 2008, which created ripples in the financial system of this country as well, had an impact on the operations of the commercial banks and the private corporate sector (PCS) in particular. These unprecedented developments prompted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to introduce measures to help tide over the crisis by inducting the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) scheme, indirectly affecting the asset quality of commercial banks.Munich, Germany - 25 Aug 2018: A smartphone application (app) can help in screening for atrial fibrillation, according to late breaking results from the DIGITAL-AF study presented today at ESC Congress.1

Professor Pieter Vandervoort, principal investigator, of the University of Hasselt, Belgium, said: "Most people have a smartphone with a camera which is all they need to detect atrial fibrillation. This is a low cost way to screen thousands of people for a condition which is becoming more prevalent and can have serious consequences unless treated."

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder. One in four middle-aged adults in Europe and the US will develop atrial fibrillation.2 It causes 20-30% of all strokes and raises the risk of premature death, but outlook improves dramatically with oral anticoagulation therapy. Undiagnosed atrial fibrillation is common and many patients remain untreated. Opportunistic screening is recommended in over-65s, but has time, logistical, and resource demands.

DIGITAL-AF examined the feasibility and effectiveness of screening for atrial fibrillation with a smartphone app medically certified in the EU to detect the condition. The app was made freely available by publishing an access token in a local newspaper. Within 48 hours, 12,328 adults had scanned the token and enrolled in the study.

Participants were instructed to use their own smartphone to measure their heart rhythm twice a day for one week. If they had symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath or fatigue they were advised to input them into the app. The app is used by holding the left index finger in front of the smartphone camera for one minute, during which photoplethysmography measures the heart rhythm.

Heart rhythm measurements were automatically classified as regular rhythm, possible atrial fibrillation, other irregular rhythm, or insufficient quality. Measurements indicating atrial fibrillation or other irregular rhythms were reviewed by medical technicians experienced in analysing photoplethysmography signals, under the supervision of cardiologists.

All participants received an automatically generated report on their smarphone with a copy of their rhythm traces and an interpretation. Those with atrial fibrillation or other irregular rhythms were advised to see their doctor. Four months later, all participants who had at least one measurement showing atrial fibrillation received a follow-up questionnaire by e-mail about actions they had taken as a result of the screening programme.

The average age of the screened population was 50 years and 58% were male. A total of 9,889 (80%) participants had regular (sinus) rhythm, 136 (1.1%) had atrial fibrillation, 2,111 (17%) had other irregular rhythms, and 191 (2%) had measurements of insufficient quality for analysis.

The average age of the atrial fibrillation group was 63 years, and seven in ten were men. Three-quarters had no symptoms. Regarding the type of atrial fibrillation, in 38 patients (28%) it was "persistent or permanent" and detected on the first measurement, and in 98 (72%) it was "paroxysmal", of which 13 cases were detected on the first measurement. (see figure 1)

The questionnaire was completed by 100 out of 136 atrial fibrillation patients. It showed that 40 patients had a new diagnosis, of which 21 (53%) consulted a doctor for confirmation. Sixty patients had been previously diagnosed, of whom 17 (28%) had their treatment adjusted after seeing a doctor. (see figure 2)

Professor Vandervoort said: "The verification of diagnoses by medical technicians showed that interpretations by the app were very accurate, suggesting that this step could be significantly downsized and possibly omitted from a screening programme. According to our study approximately 225 people would need to be screened to detect one new atrial fibrillation diagnosis. This is an acceptable return, given the low cost."

Professor Vandervoort noted that smartphones are becoming popular in older age groups, which are more susceptible to atrial fibrillation. He said: "This technology has real potential to find people with previously unknown atrial fibrillation so they can be treated."

###

Figure 1: Time to first detection of atrial fibrillation after smartphone measurement of heart rhythm

Figure 2: Diagnostic power of the atrial fibrillation screening application

Notes to editors

SOURCES OF FUNDING: None.

DISCLOSURES: None.

References

1 "DIGITAL-AF: Results from a real-life digital population screening for atrial fibrillation using only a smartphone" will be presented during the session Late Breaking Science in Telemedicine on Saturday 25 August from 13:30 to 15:00 CEST on the Digital Heath Stage - Exhibition 3.

2 Kirchhof P, Benussi S, Kotecha D, et al. 2016 ESC Guidelines for the management of atrial fibrillation developed in collaboration with EACTS. European Heart Journal. 2016;37:2893-2962.

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

About ESC Congress 2018

ESC Congress is the world's largest and most influential cardiovascular event contributing to global awareness of the latest clinical trials and breakthrough discoveries. ESC Congress 2018 takes place 25 to 29 August at the Messe Munchen in Munich, Germany. Explore the scientific programme.

More information is available from the ESC Press Office at press@escardio.org.Munich, Germany - 25 Aug 2018: The initial findings of a study on spontaneous coronary artery dissection, a major cause of heart attacks in women, are reported today in a late breaking science session at ESC Congress 2018.1

Professor Jacqueline Saw, principal investigator, of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, said: "Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) causes around one-third of heart attacks in women under 60 years of age. SCAD was previously under-diagnosed and considered rare. Advances in intracoronary imaging techniques have improved diagnosis, yet we still know very little about the cause and natural history of SCAD."

SCAD occurs when the lining of an artery supplying blood to the heart tears away from the artery's outer layer. Blood leaks into the space between layers and forms a clot, which narrows the artery and restricts blood flow. Symptoms are similar to a heart attack and include chest pain, rapid heartbeat, pain in the arms, shoulders or jaw, and feeling sick, short of breath, sweaty, and light headed. If you have chest pains or other symptoms, call emergency immediately.

Treatment aims to restore blood flow to the heart. Some patients receive medication only, while others undergo a procedure to open the artery, either with a stent or by surgically bypassing the artery.

The Canadian SCAD Study examined the clinical presentation, natural history, treatment, and outcomes of SCAD. The researchers prospectively enrolled 750 patients presenting acutely with SCAD at 20 centres in Canada and two centres in the US between 2014 and 2018. Diagnosis of SCAD was adjudicated by an angiographic core laboratory. At the start of the study, information was collected on demographics, stressors and conditions that could have caused SCAD, and treatments. Patients are being followed for three years for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).

Today researchers report the baseline characteristics and outcomes in-hospital and at one month. The average age of patients in the study was 52 years and 89% were women.

Regarding possible causes for SCAD, about half of patients (49%) reported emotional stress prior to the event, and 30% reported physical stress (in 10% this was lifting more than 23 kg). The most common predisposing condition was fibromuscular dysplasia (40% of those assessed), which causes abnormal cell development in the arteries and can lead to narrowing (stenosis), aneurysms, or tears (dissections). Other predisposing conditions were five or more pregnancies (10%), being peripartum (5.3%), fertility treatment (5.1%), systemic inflammatory conditions (4.7%), and connective tissue disorders (3.5%).

Professor Saw said: "Emotional stress appears to be a major trigger for SCAD. Fibromusclar dysplasia, which is more common in women than men, also played a major role - it often has no symptoms but in some patients it causes headaches or a swooshing sound in the ears called pulsatile tinnitus."

All patients presented with an acute coronary syndrome with their acute SCAD event, with 99.3% having a heart attack and 0.7% having unstable angina. The main symptom was chest pain, which occurred in nine out of ten patients. On angiography, the left anterior descending artery was most commonly affected (52%), and long diffuse narrowing was the most common feature (called type 2 SCAD; 58%).

The majority of patients were treated with medication only (85%), while 14% underwent percutaneous coronary intervention, and less than 1% had coronary bypass surgery.

Almost all patients (99.9%) survived to 30 days. The rate of MACE to 30 days was 7.5% (including recurrent heart attack in 5.1%, cardiac arrest in 3.3%, unplanned revascularisation in 2.1%, severe heart failure in 1.5%, mechanical haemodynamic support in 1.5%, stroke in 1.2%, heart transplant in 0.1%, and death in 0.1% of patients). Within 30 days after discharge, 5.1% had a repeat visit to the emergency room, and 2.5% were admitted for chest pain.

Professor Saw said: "Our study shows that SCAD primarily affects middle-aged women and most acute presentations occur at the same time as a heart attack. The vast majority of patients survived to 30 days with medication alone. However, recurrent heart attacks and emergency room visits were high within 30 days. More research is needed to determine the most appropriate treatment for patients with SCAD."

###

Notes to editors

SOURCES OF FUNDING: Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

DISCLOSURES: Dr. Saw has received unrestricted research grant supports (from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, National Institutes of Health, University of British Columbia Division of Cardiology, AstraZeneca, Abbott Vascular, St Jude Medical, Boston Scientific, and Servier), speaker honoraria (AstraZeneca, St Jude Medical, Boston Scientific, and Sunovion), consultancy and advisory board honoraria (AstraZeneca, St Jude Medical, and Abbott Vascular), and proctorship honoraria (St Jude Medical and Boston Scientific).

References and notes

1 "Canadian SCAD Study - Canadian Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Cohort Study" will be presented during the session Late Breaking Science in Interventional Cardiology 1 on Saturday 25 August from 11:00 to 12:30 on the Centre Stage - The Hub.

About the European Society of Cardiology

The European Society of Cardiology brings together health care professionals from more than 150 countries, working to advance cardiovascular medicine and help people lead longer, healthier lives.

About ESC Congress 2018

ESC Congress is the world's largest and most influential cardiovascular event contributing to global awareness of the latest clinical trials and breakthrough discoveries. ESC Congress 2018 takes place 25 to 29 August at the Messe Munchen in Munich, Germany. Explore the scientific programme.

More information is available from the ESC Press Office at press@escardio.org.Munich, Germany - UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 25 Aug 2018: Very high levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good") cholesterol may be associated with an increased risk of heart attack and death, according to research presented today at ESC Congress 2018.1

Study author Dr Marc Allard-Ratick, of Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, US, said: "It may be time to change the way we view HDL cholesterol. Traditionally, physicians have told their patients that the higher your 'good' cholesterol, the better. However, the results from this study and others suggest that this may no longer be the case."

HDL cholesterol has been considered "good" because the HDL molecule is involved in the transport of cholesterol from the blood and blood vessel walls to the liver and ultimately out of the body, thereby reducing the risk of clogged arteries and atherosclerosis. People with low HDL cholesterol have a greater risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. But the protective effect of very high HDL cholesterol has been unclear.

This study, conducted as part of the Emory Cardiovascular Biobank, investigated the relationship between HDL cholesterol levels and the risk of heart attack and death in 5,965 individuals, most of whom had heart disease. The average age of participants was 63 years and 35% were female.

Participants were divided into five groups according to their HDL cholesterol level: less than 30 mg/dl (0.78 mmol/L), 31-40 mg/dl (0.8-1 mmol/L); 41-50 mg/dl (1.1-1.3 mmol/L); 51-60 mg/dl (1.3-1.5 mmol/L); and greater than 60 mg/dl (1.5 mmol/L).

During a median follow-up of four years, 769 (13%) participants had a heart attack or died from a cardiovascular cause. Participants with HDL cholesterol 41-60 mg/dl (1.1-1.5 mmol/L) had the lowest risk of heart attack or cardiovascular death. Risk was increased both in participants with low levels (less than 41 mg/dl) and very high levels (greater than 60 mg/dl) of HDL cholesterol, which produced a U-shaped curve when plotted graphically.

Participants with HDL cholesterol levels greater than 60 mg/dl (1.5 mmol/L) had a nearly 50% increased risk of dying from a cardiovascular cause or having a heart attack compared to those with HDL cholesterol levels 41-60 mg/dl (1.1-1.5 mmol/L).

The associations were consistent even after controlling for other risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes, smoking, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol, as well as other factors linked with high HDL cholesterol such as alcohol intake, race, and sex.

The results support findings from several large population-based studies, including a recent publication which found increased cardiovascular and all-cause death when HDL cholesterol reached extremely high levels.2 Dr Allard-Ratick said: "Our results are important because they contribute to a steadily growing body of evidence that very high HDL cholesterol levels may not be protective, and because unlike much of the other data available at this time, this study was conducted primarily in patients with established heart disease."

He noted that more research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of this paradoxical association. "While the answer remains unknown, one possible explanation is that extremely elevated HDL cholesterol may represent 'dysfunctional HDL' which may promote rather than protect against cardiovascular disease," he said.

Dr Allard-Ratick concluded: "One thing is certain: the mantra of HDL cholesterol as the 'good' cholesterol may no longer be the case for everyone."

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NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.Alamo Heights Independent School District will continue seeing a deficit under a budget approved Thursday  and for the foreseeable future  because of the way the state calculates how much property tax revenue it must forfeit to Texas Robin Hood school finance system, officials said.

The budget calls for freezing employee salaries. Board members appeared grim and expressed frustration. Trustee Bonnie Giddens likened it to 2011, when Texas legislators slashed more than $5 billion from the states two-year public education budget. Alamo Heights ISD froze salaries then, too, but also cut 29 staff positions amid drastic expenditure cuts.

The new budget doesnt include cuts, but Mike Hagar, assistant superintendent of business and finance, said the district might have to if the Legislature doesnt make changes in the session that starts in January.

As a property-wealthy school district with rising taxable values, Alamo Heights ISD has seen increases in tax revenue offset by even larger payments to the state. In the coming fiscal year, the district will pay $39.8 million to the state, more than half of its local tax revenue.

Calculated in two-year increments, by the end of 2019, the district expects to have received $13 million more in tax revenue but to pay the state $15 million more than it received and sent in 2016 and 2017.

With total expenditures expected to run almost $97.8 million, the new budget has an expected deficit of more than $1.2 million. Bond debt required an increase in the districts total property tax rate to $1.255 per $100 in taxable property value, about 5 cents more per $100 than the current year.

Assuming were fiscally responsible, keep all our costs exactly the same, dont buy another roll of toilet paper, were going to go into a greater deficit because of how the state funds the schools? board member David Hornberger asked.

Thats correct, Hagar said.

And so as disciplined as we can be, we cant discipline ourselves out of this? Hornberger asked.

For years, a component of the school finance system nicknamed Robin Hood has redistributed tax funds from property-wealthy districts to poorer school districts.

Its hard to explain to taxpayers why their money isnt going to their local schools, Superintendent Dana Bashara said.

In 2011, the district created a budget advisory committee, including community members and teachers, to help identify cuts the district had to make. District officials had hoped to restore the cut positions and be in a better position by now, Bashara said.

Weve already cut. Were kind of like that frog in the pot of boiling water, Giddens said.

Instead, the district might have to form another budget advisory panel next year, Hagar said.

After the boards vote, Bashara challenged state lawmakers on their priorities.

I just wish that our state legislators would be passionate about solving the problem of school finance and adequately funding public schools across the state, she said.

Krista Torralva covers several school districts and public universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | Krista.Torralva@express-news.net | Twitter: @KMTorralvaFREDERICKSBURG  Is that grape juice daddy? asked 3-year-old M.J. Garoni, looking up at the drink her father held in a plastic cup.

Marc Garoni smiled back at her. Well, its adult grape juice.

The juice (aka a sparkling Moscato) that Garoni was sipping was a complimentary pour given to all adult attendees at Saturdays Harvest Festival at the Messina Hof Hill Country Winery east of downtown Fredericksburg. Held at the winerys outdoor tasting area, the festival was an opportunity to show that wine does not, in fact, originate in bottles on grocery store shelves. Instead, the 150 or so festival goers harvested ripe grapes by hand and then stomped the juice out of them with their bare feet  yes, just like that old I Love Lucy episode.

Most of us had never experienced harvesting locally grown Texas grapes, said Gary Blum, who came to the festival with several fellow members of the Texas Corvette Association. And then to have an opportunity to stomp the grapes in the crushing vats, it was a unique experience.

While Rita and Adam Apolinar say theyve enjoyed Messina Hof wine for a while, this was the first time they had visited the winery.

We loved picking the grapes ourselves and we loved tasting them, said Rita. The taste is so different than what you get in the supermarket. We are planning on bringing our three adult children next year.

RELATED: Fredericksburg hot air balloon festival set for December

After trying samples in the tasting room, the couple left with bottles of Tawny Port, a Noblemans reserve 15 and a Sagrantino Reserva.

Delicious, she said.

This year, Messina Hof Winery will use 1,100 tons of grapes to produce 200,000 gallons of wine.

There are some wineries that make more than us, but they bring in juice from outside the state, said Karen Bonarrigo, director of administration, whose husband is CEO Paul M. Bonarrigo, a seventh generation wine maker. We buy juice from other growers, but its 100 percent Texas-grown.

Founded in Bryan in 1977, Messina Hof  the name is a combination of the Sicilian village and the Bavarian town where different branches of the Bonarrigo family originated  has operated the Fredericksburg tasting room and a small, 1-acre vineyard since 2011.

Wed participated in the Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest for years but we wanted a bigger presence here so more people would have the opportunity to experience the lifestyle of wine making, said Paul Bonarrigo. My parents were literally driving by this property when they saw the man who owned it putting up a For Sale sign on the fence.

Messina Hoff isnt the only Texas winery to offer a festival that includes grape picking and stomping, of course, but its one of the last of the harvesting season, which usually runs from July through August and sometimes into early September. To find out about others, go to the Texas Wine Lover website.

Saturday, after a short course on winemaking and instructions on picking grapes, the participants at Messina Hof headed out to the vineyard.

It quickly became apparent that harvesting can be hazardous. Two people sliced their fingers on the hook knives they were using to cut grape bunches from the vine. And another woman became overheated and needed a cold compress and some water. None were worse for wear and the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves, especially when it came to the grape stomping.

After climbing into the blue, grape-filled vats and marching around for a few moments, they stepped down onto white souvenir T-shirts that read Official Messina Hof Harvest Crew and made wine-red imprints of their juice-colored feet.

Stepping into the vat was mushy but also fun, said 12-year-old Jason Mejia. It felt like a spa.

A colorful spa, added his mother, Diane Garcia.

Richard A. Marini is a features writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMariniAs the reunification process for more than 500 immigrant children who remain separated from their parents continues, nonprofits across the country have been working to ensure its success.

A court-mandated committee of volunteers from various nonprofits has been conducting on-the-ground interviews in Central America, using representatives who speak indigenous languages to locate the separated parents and ask them if they want to be with their children again.

Meanwhile Catholic Charities agencies across the United States have been receiving notifications from Department of Homeland Security about the recently reunified and released families that are settling near them, said Antonio Fernandez, CEO of the local Catholic Charities.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement told the San Antonio branch last week that four recently reunited families had moved here, Fernandez said.

Whatever the families need, we will try to provide for them. And if we dont have the right services, we will refer them to places that do, he said.

The reunification process comes after a governmental about-face: an unprecedented family separation practice at the U.S.-Mexico border instituted by the Trump administration as early as last year was abruptly terminated in April by the presidents executive order.

The practice was part of the governments zero-tolerance policy, which was publicly announced in April but had rolled out quietly months beforehand.

International outcry against the practice and media reports showing the trauma of separation are largely credited for the governments reversal. The Trump administration maintains that zero-tolerance policy is still in effect, but it has stopped separating families.

The ACLU sued, and federal Judge Dana Sabraw of San Diego ordered the government to reunify the families. Today, two months after Trumps order ending the practice, hundreds of families remain separated.

Some 1,923 children out of 2,654 that were separated under the new policy  or 72 percent  have been reunified with their parents. The rest are either still in federal shelters or were discharged under other circumstances, like being released to an adult sponsor.

There are still 23 infants under 5 years old in federal custody. Their parents have been deemed not eligible or not available to take them back. Parents of six of these children were deported.

Under court order, the ACLU has assembled a volunteer committee made up of nonprofit partners, including Justice in Motion, Kids in Need of Defense and the Womens Refugee Commission, to locate the deported parents.

More than 400 parents were deported from the U.S. without their children; the committee has made contact with 231 of them, according to a joint court filing on Thursday. Ten families with deported parents have successfully reunified.

Sabraw called the progress very encouraging during the Friday court hearing.

The hearing didnt address the ACLUs findings that many of the deported parents appeared to not have known what they were signing when they were agreeing to their own deportation, and others still were told if they were deported they could see their children again  which turned out not to be the case.

Some parents may have been coerced or misled by U.S. government actions that deprived the parents of their right to seek asylum, the ACLU reported in the most recent court filing.

Silvia Foster-Frau is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFFWhen we talk about Russian hacking of the 2016 presidential election, what we really mean is the manipulation of campaign messaging: the spreading of disinformation through phony news stories and the leaking of embarrassing Democratic National Committee emails.

Thats a separate issue from the hacking of voting machines to alter election results.

Nonetheless, the 2016 election  and the sense that we were all pawns in a chess game orchestrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin  inflamed preexisting fears about the security of voting systems in this country.

Susan Korbel worries about the integrity of the 2018 election.

Korbel, a local political activist, heads a nascent group called the Bexar County Voter Protection Coalition. She wants the county, which has used a touch-screen voting-machine system since 2002, to revert back to paper ballots.

On July 31, Korbels group sent a letter to Bexar County commissioners, calling on them to consider a paper system and requesting information on what the county is doing to secure the voting process.

Among other things, the coalition asked for info on the most recent FBI security update provided to commissioners about possible election disturbances; a copy of draft requests for proposal (RFPs) and internal communications related to the purchase of new voting equipment; the total number of optical scanners used by the county Elections Department (for mail-in ballots); and any reports by the countys Information Technology (IT) department on hacking attempts from Russia or Ukraine since 2016.

Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood responded to Korbels request by sending a letter to the Texas Attorney Generals office, asking for an exemption from disclosure.

LaHood argued that draft RFPs are exempted under the Texas Government Code, because releasing them would compromise the countys ability to negotiate and receive a fair contract.

LaHood also contended that the release of the requested IT information will allow scrutiny of Bexar Countys program operations to individuals wanting to use the information for malicious or nefarious purposes.

While the Attorney Generals office sorts out these issues, were left to ponder the security of our voting machines.

The hanging chads and butterfly ballots that turned the 2000 presidential election into a civics debacle also spurred a nationwide move to touch-screen voting machines. Almost instantly, however, it produced a backlash from people who feared that county voting systems could fall prey to cyber-attacks.

Korbel realizes that merely raising the possibility of voting-machine hacking tends to get you a lot of eye rolls.

Its not the easiest of topics for people to think about, because its creepy, Korbel said. Are we the kind of creepy people who are into conspiracy theories? And you dont want to be one of those.

What used to qualify as paranoia might be healthy skepticism, however, in the wake of Russias rampant election sabotage efforts in 2016.

After all, Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, recently said our election system is literally under attack and added that the system is blinking.

The Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2018, introduced in June by six Democratic members of the U.S. Senate, would require the use of paper ballots and post-election audits to verify the legitimacy of the results.

RELATED: The four minutes that crystallized O'Rourke's appeal

Some people think that were talking about punch cards and we have to dissuade them from that, Korbel said. It would be a human taking a stylus or a pencil and marking a bubble and then putting it through a form that is programmed to read those bubbles.

Jacque Callanen, the Bexar County elections administrator, said the biggest concern for elections officials has come from attempts to tamper with statewide voter-registration databases, not the altering of election results.

Callanen said the county currently has two optical scanners for use on mail-in ballots. She said a full-fledged shift to paper voting probably would require at least 18 scanners (the number the county used prior to 2002) and seriously slow the vote-tabulation process.

If we used all paper in large counties, well still be counting paper at 3 or 4 oclock in the morning, Callanen said.

Instead, the county is moving toward what is commonly called a blended system, with touch-screen voting machines that give voters a copy of their completed ballot and provide each precinct with a paper trail. The blended system should be in place in Bexar County for the 2019 election cycle.

That transition wont allay the anxieties of voting-machine skeptics, because it maintains an electronic system between voters and the votes they cast. And after all, trust was the biggest casualty of the 2016 election.

@gilgamesh470

Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470WASHINGTON  The death of a 20-year-old college student allegedly at the hands of an immigrant in Iowa has upended the immigration debate and galvanized Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, enveloping Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a war of words with Fox News personality Geraldo Rivera.

A new Cato Institute report based on Texas crime statistics shows that people in the country illegally commit serious crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans.

The rate for legal immigrants is even lower.

Nevertheless, the arrest of a man suspected of being in the country illegally in the death of Iowan Mollie Tibbetts has fueled the hardline position that illegal immigration is a significant source of crime, turning it into a potent GOP campaign theme in November.

In a Fox interview Thursday, Trump called Tibbetts this beautiful young girl  killed by a horrible person that came in from Mexico, illegally here, suggesting the need for his proposed border wall and tougher immigration laws.

Trump also has strongly backed the Houston-based Remembrance Project, which opened a Washington office in the early days of his administration to champion the victims of crimes committed by immigrants living in the country illegally.

Its another example of an American being killed by someone who should not be here in the first place, and thats directly due to our current laws not being enforced, our borders not being secured, and elected officials not protecting America and its citizens, said Remembrance Project co-founder Maria Espinoza.

Geraldo bucks conservative Fox News

Soon after Tibbetts body was found Tuesday in a cornfield, a month after she disappeared while jogging, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted, This is why so many Americans are angry about sanctuary cities. Its why Texas banned sanctuary cities. Its about safety.

Patrick first jumped into the fray Thursday, going on to challenge Rivera, who had said earlier on Fox News that Tibbetts death is a murder story  not an immigration story.

Rivera, taking on his own conservative cable network, also tweeted that the tragedy was being used to promote (the) proven false notion that undocumented immigrants are disproportionately committing violent crimes. #PewFoundation & other objective researchers say those immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than citizens.

Patrick, who has so far refused to debate his Democratic opponent, Mike Collier, ended his own Fox interview by pressing for a nationally televised debate with Rivera.

The CNNs, the MSNBCs, most of the print media in this country and the Democrats  they are all accomplices in the death of this young girl and the death of everyone else, Patrick said. And even Geraldo Rivera  I saw him on Fox saying, I feel badly about this, but  There is no but, and Ill be happy to debate Geraldo Rivera any time, any place, anywhere on this issue. We have to secure this border and protect the lives of American citizens.

Rivera fired back in a series of tweets.

@DanPatrick claims outrageously that Im effectively an accomplice to horrifying murder of #mollytibbetts because I beg compassion & mercy for undocumented immigrants  How dare he make so false an allegation? He is fear-mongering & I accept his challenge for debate.

Rivera added: Vast majority of the 11-12 million undocumented here are hardworking, otherwise law-abiding-For decades theyve come & gone home over Southern border. Since 9/11, these workers have been treated as terrorists by politicians like @DanPatrick. Ratify #DACA bring reason to immigration.

Victims family cringes as debate intensifies

Amid reports about the immigration status of the suspect, 24-year-old Mexican national and farmworker Cristhian Bahena Rivera, some of Tibbetts friends and family members also have called for the case not to be politicized.

Tibbetts aunt, Billie Jo Calderwood, posted a message on Facebook on Tuesday saying, Please remember, Evil comes in EVERY color.

I also know what Mollie stood for, said Breck Goodman, a family friend who spoke at a vigil in Iowa on Wednesday. So I dont want her death to be used as propaganda. I dont want her death to be used for more prejudice and for more discrimination, and I dont think she would want that, either.

The study by the libertarian Cato Institute was first released in February and then updated with new Texas crime data Tuesday, the same day Tibbetts body was found. The numbers suggest that immigrants in the country illegally do not increase local crime rates. Looking at conviction rates in 2015 and 2016, author Alex Nowrasteh found that as a percentage of their respective populations, there were 50 percent fewer criminal convictions of immigrants in the country illegally than of native-born Americans.

The gap holds true for homicides and other serious crimes. Nowrasteh found that 746 native-born Texans, 32 immigrants without legal authorization to be in the country, and 28 immigrants authorized to stay were convicted of homicide in 2016.

Nowrasteh focused his study on Texas because, unlike California, it has no sanctuary city policies, meaning law enforcement agencies cooperate with federal immigration authorities and produce data on immigration status. He noted that the state was also an ideal laboratory because it borders Mexico, has a large population of immigrants who live in the country illegally, is politically conservative, and has a tough law and order reputation.

His findings have been partly challenged by economist John R. Lott Jr. of the Crime Prevention Research Center, which released a working paper earlier this year suggesting that immigrants living without legal permission in Arizona from 1985 through 2017 had far higher prison admissions rates than U.S. citizens.

Nowrasteh disputed those findings, arguing that Lott erroneously inflated the incarceration rate for immigrants in the country illegally by combining them with legally authorized immigrants who had subsequently been targeted for deportation, either because of criminal activity or by violating the terms of their visas.

Immigration hard-liners like Espinoza, however, say the statistics miss their point.

Its ridiculous to get into the weeds about that. How many Americans is the Cato Institute and Geraldo Rivera OK with being killed before something is done? she said. One crime committed against Americans because our laws are not enforced is one crime too many, and certainly one stolen life is one too many taken at the hands of illegal aliens.The Macedonian government has announced it will set up a commission which will grant state aid to airlines wishing to introduce flights to the country. It comes less than a month after the Ministry for Transport and Communications annulled a tender aimed at granting financial support for the launch of new routes for which only one airline applied. "The Government of the Republic of Macedonia has adopted a decree outlining the method and detailed criteria for granting financial support to domestic and foreign airlines, as well as determining the funds required to encourage and develop air traffic in Macedonia for the period 2019 - 2021", the Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Goran Sugareski, said.





The commission will be formed immediately following the decree's publication in the government gazette. A new public call will then be issued to airlines in both local and foreign media with the subsidies to kick in from January 1, 2019. "I would like to point out that the entire procedure for granting financial support will be carried out publicly, fairly and transparently. On this occasion, I invite all interested airlines to apply for the public call. The government of the Republic of Macedonia will remain committed to creating conditions for the development of air traffic in the country and the provision of affordable and cheap flights for citizens to new and attractive destinations", Mr Sugareski said.





The Ministry for Transport and Communications noted it was "strongly committed" to creating conditions for increasing the number of airlines operating to both of Macedonian's international airports - Skopje and Ohrid - as well as increasing the number of passengers, introducing new destinations and improving the quality, safety and availability of air transport in the country. The annulled subsidy tender offered airlines a one-time payment of 40.000 euros for each new route launched over a three-year period, as well as nine euros per passengers for each new destination from Skopje for the first year, eight euros during the second year and seven during the third. On the other hand, the winning carrier would have received thirteen euros per passenger during the first year of operations on a new route out of Ohrid, twelve during the second and eleven euros per traveller in the third year. The previous two tenders offering similar financial support were both won by Wizz Air.US Attorney General warns against interference with the judiciary

The role of Justice Department in the USA should be a lesson for us facing crisis of challenge to democracy, as to how bravely the independence of the judiciary to be protected as required by the Constitution.





The government is not the only body for exercising power under the Constitution. The judiciary is a constitutionally empowered independent body and for "protecting, preserving and defending" the judges of the Supreme Court are oath bound.







To be sure, Mr Trump is not an ordinary President, he is the President of the most powerful country in the world. Yet, the Attorney General and the other people of the Justice Department are fully conscious that they are also not nobody or sycophants to keep President pleased to save their job forgetting the trust the people through their Constitution imposed.





Responding to some critical observation, the US Attorney General bluntly retorted that he is fully in charge of the judiciary and no political considerations will be allowed to interfere with the justice system. In contrast, our Attorney General as well as the judiciary are easily subdued, in some cases voluntarily, in other cases for pressure or fear.







In America the Attorney General or the Director or investigating agency FBI proved they are not afraid of being sacked by the President. To them professional integrity and higher loyalty meaning loyalty to the country is not for sale.





This is how freedom and dignity of freedom is preserved. Freedom of the people is a collective responsibility of all in charge of the democratic institutions. The judiciary has a special responsibility to protect its independence and if they do not try to do it for fear of the government, then the judiciary will be liable for betraying the trust of the people.







It is not expected that the government will not like to usurp all the powers denying the judiciary its constitutional role as a check against such unconstitutional designs. That is exactly the justification for making the judiciary constitutionally independent not to bow down to the governments-another constitutional body to facilitate establishing monarchy.





The authors of the US Constitution wanted to allow the President to get on with his job without unnecessary distractions. But, they are very clear that the presidency should not be an elected monarchy. If a president does it, that does not make it legal. The constitutional problem that America is heading towards is that the Justice Department's protocol not to prosecute sitting presidents dates back from another age, when a president could be expected to resign with a modicum of honour before any charge were drawn up, as Nixon did. That norm no longer applies. The unwritten convention now says in effect that, if his skin is thick enough, a president is indeed above the law.





President Trump blamed the Justice Department on Thursday for the investigations of illegalities surrounding his election victory. He dealt a severe back-to-back blows when Cohen pleaded guilty to the charge of illegal campaign finance and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort convicted of tax and bank fraud. Paul Manafort's conviction was the first case sent to trial by the Special Prosecutor probing Russian meddling in the presidential election of Trump in 2016.







The President insisted he did nothing wrong after Cohen, his long time private lawyer and fixer, implicated him in the illicit hush money payments to two women who claimed Trump had an affairs with them.





Despite Trump's defiant claim that impeaching him will have terrible consequences to the economy and many jobs will be lost he cannot avoid the legal consequences. It is most likely that a civil complaint will be filed before the Election Commission soon.





Impeachment is not beyond the possibility now that the Justice Department's noose is tightening around the President's neck. The President is becoming aware that things are not going his way. Now he is saying that if he is impeached then American economy will fall.





Unless President Trump's mad rush to destroy everything most valued for the greatness of America is stopped there is no hope for America to remain a great example for the world of democracy and a fighter for human rights. His politics is so divisive and racist that there will be Americans fighting Americans. His policy of America first is to America isolated from the rest of the world to be just another country. His arrogance of a filthy rich does not fit well with the liberal politics of America.

We celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary in a very different and special way, and we couldnt be happier with our day. Usually we like being by ourselves, going someplace special and having a nice quiet dinner out.

This year, our daughter Stacey asked if we could watch our grandson Lucas for a good chunk of the day and, of course, we jumped at the chance to have the little guy all to ourselves. I was able to secure a free pass to Beardsley Zoo for all three of us and Lucas arrived all excited about his upcoming excursion. We couldnt wait, either, especially to see whether he would respond differently to the zoo two years after his first visit.

On that first excursion, Lucas was not even 5, was very shy and insisted on a stroller. He was not officially adopted and was visiting just for three weeks as part of a fostering program to see whether families here were interested in adopting him and some 23 other children from China. Our daughter had already bonded with this adorable child, and was so ready to sign on the dotted line.

And we were like his special wannabee grandparents, anxious to give Lucas a taste of the United States unlike anything he was used to in his Chinese orphanage. But we managed to have a great time that day at the zoo.

This time, with Lucas now part of our family since June of 2017, we were in awe of his reactions to the animals. His command of the language and adaptation to his new environment were evident as he reacted to tigers and their cubs, the jaguar and leopard and the range of other interesting animals. He literally ran to each sanctuary area, jumping and pointing at these new discoveries. With each stop, he yelled out Loyeh (grandpa), Lolo (Grandma), look!

And where we barely managed to stay an hour two years ago, our visit this time was well over two hours.

Once we finished at the zoo, we had to return our free pass to the North Branch Library in Bridgeport. That expected short stop turned into another hour, with Lucas playing on the computer, working on puzzles in the play area and asking me to read three picture books to him.

When we got in the car to head back to our house, I asked Lucas how he liked his special day. I received no answer and looked in the mirror. He was out like a light.

By the time we pulled into the driveway, Lucas was wide awake and ready for his next excursion. I knew exactly where to take him.

H es been chastising me gently about why his room isnt ready, and I knew that Lucas loves to help his mom with lots of tasks. So I put him to work with me in his new guest room, unpacking and shelving books. Within an hour, we had unpacked six boxes and shelved more than 50 books. I was amazed with how he pulled out the books, turned them around to all face the same way and put them onto the shelves.

Then Lucas had a great time pushing the boxes down the stairs. He shrieked every time a new box hit the floor in the foyer. Who would have figured that such mundane tasks as unpacking and shelving would bring a little boy so much happiness.

Our daughter returned about 5:30 and, of course, she was hungry. Since we really had no plans for any kind of anniversary dinner, I suggested one of our favorites, Joey Cs Boathouse. Sure enough, our favorite waiter, Joe, who also has become our landscaper, was there and gave us an unforgettable anniversary dinner, including a complimentary dessert of lava cake and cannoli ice cream.

It was great that we were all together, and our only regret was that our other daughter Jeri and her husband Gervasio and their grandson Abdiel couldnt join us too. Fortunately, they had visited from Michigan over Memorial Day.

By the time we arrived home, my wife and I were completely exhausted. This grandparenting stuff takes a lot of energy, and were definitely not as young as we used to be.

On a scale of 1 to 10, this entire day was a 10, and we wouldnt have traded it for anything. Having Lucas with us on our special day was sheer joy and pleasure and it made our 52nd truly an unforgettable anniversary.The following companies are subsidiares of BlackRock: Acero Cooperatief U.A., Acero Holdings I B.V., Amethyst Merger Sub LLC, AnalytX Hosting LLC, AnalytX LLC, AnalytX Software LLC, Aperio, Aperio, Aquila Heywood, Asia-Pacific Private Credit Opportunities Fund I (GenPar) Ltd., BAA Holdings LLC, BFM Holdco LLC, BLK (Gallatin) Holdings LLC, BLK SMI LLC, BR Acquisition Mexico S.A. de C.V., BR Jersey International Holdings L.P., Beijing eFront Software Company Limited, BlackRock (Barbados) Finco 1 SRL, BlackRock (Channel Islands) Limited, BlackRock (Luxembourg) S.A., BlackRock (Netherlands) B.V., BlackRock (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco II Pte. Ltd., BlackRock (Singapore) Holdco Pte. Limited, BlackRock (Singapore) Limited, BlackRock AP Investment Holdco LLC, BlackRock Advisors (UK) Limited, BlackRock Advisors LLC, BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte. Limited, BlackRock Alternative Advisors GP Holdings LLC, BlackRock Alternatives Management LLC, BlackRock Argentina Asesorias Ltda., BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Deutschland AG, BlackRock Asset Management International Inc., BlackRock Asset Management Investor Services Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Ireland Limited, BlackRock Asset Management North Asia Limited, BlackRock Asset Management Schweiz AG, BlackRock Asset Management UK Limited, BlackRock Australia Holdco Pty. Ltd., BlackRock Brasil Gestora de Investimentos Ltda., BlackRock Cal 1 Investor LLC, BlackRock Canada Holdings LP, BlackRock Canada Holdings ULC, BlackRock Capital Holdings Inc., BlackRock Capital Investment Advisors LLC, BlackRock Capital Management Inc., BlackRock Cayco Limited, BlackRock Cayman 1 LP, BlackRock Cayman Capital Holdings Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco 3 Limited, BlackRock Cayman Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay Finco Limited, BlackRock Cayman West Bay IV Limited, BlackRock Cayman Z Limited, BlackRock Channel Islands Holdco Limited, BlackRock Chile Asesorias Limitada, BlackRock Colombia Holdco LLC, BlackRock Colombia Infraestructura S.A.S., BlackRock Colombia SAS, BlackRock Company Secretarial Services (UK) Limited, BlackRock Corporation US Inc., BlackRock Delaware Holdings Inc., BlackRock Enterprise Management Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Europe Development Management Limited, BlackRock Execution Services, BlackRock Finance Europe Limited, BlackRock Financial Management Inc., BlackRock Finco LLC, BlackRock Finco UK Ltd., BlackRock First Partner Limited, BlackRock France SAS, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BlackRock Fund Management Company S.A., BlackRock Fund Managers Limited, BlackRock Funding International Ltd., BlackRock Funds Services Group LLC, BlackRock Germany GmBH, BlackRock Group Limited, BlackRock HK Holdco Limited, BlackRock Holdco 2 Inc., BlackRock Holdco 3 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 4 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 5 LLC, BlackRock Holdco 6 LLC, BlackRock Hungary Kft, BlackRock Index Services LLC, BlackRock Infrastructure Management I LLC, BlackRock Institutional Services Inc., BlackRock Institutional Trust Company National Association, BlackRock International Holdings Inc., BlackRock International Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Dublin) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Korea) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Investment Management (Taiwan) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, BlackRock Investment Management Ireland Holdings Limited, BlackRock Investment Management LLC, BlackRock Investments LLC, BlackRock Japan Co. Ltd., BlackRock Japan Holdings GK, BlackRock Jersey Finco 2 Limited, BlackRock Latin America Holdco LLC, BlackRock Latin American Holdings B.V., BlackRock Life Limited, BlackRock Lux Finco S.a r.l., BlackRock Luxembourg Holdco S.a r.l., BlackRock Mexican Holdco B.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura I S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Infraestructura III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager II S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager III S. de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Manager S de R.L. de C.V., BlackRock Mexico Operadora S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, BlackRock Mortgage Ventures LLC, BlackRock Niagara LLC, BlackRock Operations (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., BlackRock Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., BlackRock PC Holdings LLC, BlackRock Pensions Limited, BlackRock Peru Asesorias S.A., BlackRock Property Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., BlackRock Property France S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Lux S.a.r.l., BlackRock Property Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., BlackRock Realty Advisors Inc., BlackRock Saudi Arabia, BlackRock Scale Holdings LLC, BlackRock Services India Private Limited, BlackRock Singapore III Pte. Ltd., BlackRock Slovakia s.r.o., BlackRock Strategic Investors GP LLC, BlackRock Strategic Investors LP, BlackRock Trident Holding Company Limited, BlackRock UK (Alpha) Limited, BlackRock UK (Beta) Limited, BlackRock UK (Delta) LP, BlackRock UK (Gamma) Limited, BlackRock UK (Sigma) Limited, BlackRock UK 2 LLP, BlackRock UK 3 LLP, BlackRock UK 4 LLP, BlackRock UK A LLP, BlackRock UK Holdco 2 Limited, BlackRock UK Holdco Limited, Blackhawk Investment Holding LLC, CIE Automotive, Cachematrix Holdings, Cachematrix Holdings LLC, Cachematrix Integrations Private Limited, Cachematrix Software Solutions LLC, Cachematrix UK Limited, FutureAdvisor Inc., Glass Mountain Pipeline, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Advisors LLC, Global Energy & Power Infrastructure II Advisors LLC, Grosvenor Alternate Partner Limited, Grosvenor Ventures Limited, HLX Financial Holdings LLC, MGPA (Bermuda) Limited, MGPA (Exec) Limited, MGPA Limited, Mercury Carry Company Ltd., Mercury Private Equity MUST 3 (Jersey) Limited, Object Capital Technology Inc., Phoenix Acquisition B.V., Phoenix Acquisitions Holdings LLC, Portfolio Administration & Management Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios Integrales BlackRock Mexico S.A. de C.V., SVOF/MM LLC, St. Albans House Nominees (Jersey) Ltd., State Street Research & Management, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC, Tlali Acero S.A. de C.V. SOFOM ENR, Trident Merger LLC, eFront, eFront, eFront (Jersey) Limited, eFront DMLT Holdings LLC, eFront DMLT Holdings S.R.L, eFront DR S.R.L, eFront Do Brasil Solucoes Informaticas Para Sistemas Financeiros Ltda., eFront FZ-LLC, eFront Financial Solutions Inc., eFront GmbH, eFront Holding II SAS, eFront Holdings SAS, eFront Hong Kong Limited, eFront II SAS, eFront Kabushiki Kaisha, eFront Ltd, eFront SAS, eFront Singapore Pte. Ltd, eFront Software Luxembourg S.a r.l., eFront Solutions Financeieres Inc., eFront d.o.o. Beograd, iShares (DE) I Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, and iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC.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Looking for the vulture assist with Neolithic burials

1 year agoWall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. is a supplier of precision instruments and services. The firm manufactures weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, packaging, logistics, and food retailing applications. It also manufactures several related analytical instruments and provides automated chemistry solutions used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development; and also, metal detection and other end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging and provides solutions for use in certain process analytics applications. Its operations are conducted by the following segments: U. S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations and Other. The U.S. Operations segment represents certain of the company's marketing and producing organizations located in the United States. The Swiss Operations segment includes marketing and producing organizations located in Switzerland, as well as extensive R&D operations that are responsible for the development, production, and marketing of precision instruments, including weighing, analytical, and measurement technologies for use in a variety of industrial and laboratory applications. Th

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Accenture: 2nd Road, 2nd Road Pty Ltd., ?What If!, ?What If! China Holdings Ltd, ?What If! Holdings Limited, ?What If! Innovation Singapore Holdings Pte, ?What If! Limited, ?What If! Shanghai Co. Ltd, ?What If! USA LLC, ACN Consulting Co Ltd, AD Dialeto Agencia de Publicidade SA, AD.Dialeto (Digital Agency acquired by Accenture), AGS Business and Technology Services Limited, ASM Research Inc., ASM Research LLC, ATAN, Accenture (Beijing) Mobile Technology Co Ltd, Accenture (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (China) Co Ltd, Accenture (Shenzhen) Technology Co. Ltd., Accenture (South Africa) (Proprietary) Limited, Accenture (South Africa) Pty Limited, Accenture (UK) Ltd, Accenture 2 Business Process Services S.A., Accenture 2 LLC, Accenture A/S, Accenture AB, Accenture AG, Accenture AS, Accenture Africa Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Holding B.V., Accenture Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, Accenture Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Azerbaijan Ltd, Accenture BPM Operations Support Services S.A., Accenture BPM S.C.R.L., Accenture BV, Accenture Branch Holdings B.V., Accenture Bulgaria EOOD, Accenture Business Services for Utilities Inc, Accenture Business Services of British Columbia Limited Partnership, Accenture Business and Technology Services LLC, Accenture C.A, Accenture CAS GmbH, Accenture Canada Holdings Inc., Accenture Capital DAC, Accenture Capital Inc, Accenture Central Europe B.V., Accenture Chile Asesorias y Servicios Ltda, Accenture Cloud Services GmbH, Accenture Cloud Software Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Australia Pty Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions LLC, Accenture Cloud Solutions Ltd, Accenture Cloud Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd, Accenture Co Ltd., Accenture Communications Infrastructure Solutions Ltd, Accenture Company Ltd, Accenture Consulting Services Ltd Tanzania, Accenture Consultores de Gestao S.A., Accenture Consultoria de Industria e Consumo Ltda, Accenture Consultoria de Recursos Naturais Ltda, Accenture Credit Services LLC, Accenture Customer Services Distribution SAS, Accenture Customer Services Limited, Accenture Danismanlik Limited Sirketi, Accenture Defined Benefit Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Ltd, Accenture Delivery Poland sp. z o.o., Accenture Dienstleistungen GmbH, Accenture Digital France Holdings SA, Accenture Digital Holdings GmbH, Accenture East Africa Limited, Accenture Ecuador S.A., Accenture Egypt LLC, Accenture Enterprise Development (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Accenture Federal Services LLC, Accenture Finance (Gibraltar) III Ltd, Accenture Finance GmbH, Accenture Finance GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II GmbH, Accenture Finance II GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Finance II Ltd, Accenture Finance Limited, Accenture Finance and Accounting BPO Services S.p.A., Accenture Finance and Accounting Services Srl, Accenture Flex LLC, Accenture GP LLC, Accenture Ghana Limited, Accenture Global Holdings Ltd., Accenture Global Services Ltd, Accenture Global Solutions Ltd, Accenture GmbH, Accenture HR Services Ltd, Accenture HR Services S.p.A., Accenture Healthcare Processing Inc., Accenture Holding GmbH, Accenture Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Accenture Holding GmbH in liquidation, Accenture Holdings (Iberia) S.L., Accenture Holdings B.V., Accenture Holdings France SAS, Accenture Holdings plc, Accenture Hungary Holdings Kft, Accenture Inc, Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company (Accenture Endustriyel Yazylym Cozumleri Limited irketi), Accenture Industrial Software Limited Liability Company (Accenture Endustriyel Yazlm Cozumleri Limited Sirketi), Accenture Industrial Software Solutions Kft, Accenture Industrial Software Solutions SA, Accenture Insurance Services LLC, Accenture Insurance Services SAS, Accenture Insurance Services SpA, Accenture International BV, Accenture International Capital SCA, Accenture International LLC, Accenture International Limited, Accenture International Sarl, Accenture Japan Ltd, Accenture Korea BV, Accenture LLC, Accenture LLP, Accenture Lanka (Private) Ltd, Accenture Limited, Accenture Ltd, Accenture Ltda, Accenture Maghreb S.a.r.l., Accenture Managed Services SRL, Accenture Managed Services SpA, Accenture Management GmbH, Accenture Middle East B.V, Accenture Middle East BV, Accenture Minority I BV, Accenture Minority III Ltd, Accenture Mozambique Limitada, Accenture Mzansi (Pty) Ltd, Accenture NV/SA, Accenture NZ Limited, Accenture Newco LLC, Accenture Nova Scotia Unlimited Liability Co., Accenture OOO, Accenture Operations Sp. z o.o., Accenture Outsourcing SRL, Accenture Outsourcing Services, Accenture Outsourcing Services S.A., Accenture Oy, Accenture Panama Inc, Accenture Participations BV, Accenture Participations II Limited, Accenture Peru S.R.L, Accenture Peru S.R.L., Accenture Post Trade Processing SAS, Accenture Post-Trade Processing Limited, Accenture Process Ltd, Accenture Product Lifecycle Services, Accenture Properties, Accenture Pte Ltd, Accenture Puerto Rico LLC, Accenture S.A., Accenture S.C., Accenture S.L., Accenture S.R.L., Accenture SAS, Accenture SG Services Pte Ltd, Accenture SRL, Accenture Saudi Arabia Limited, Accenture Sendirian Berhad, Accenture Service Center SRL, Accenture Services (Mauritius) Ltd, Accenture Services AB, Accenture Services AG, Accenture Services AS, Accenture Services GmbH, Accenture Services Ltd, Accenture Services Morocco SA, Accenture Services Oy, Accenture Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Services S.r.l., Accenture Services SRL, Accenture Services Sp. z o.o., Accenture Services Sp. z.o.o., Accenture Services and Technology Srl, Accenture Services fur Kreditinstitute GmbH, Accenture Services s.r.o., Accenture Servicos Administrativos Ltda, Accenture Servicos de Suporte de Negocios Ltda, Accenture Solutions Co Ltd, Accenture Solutions Private Limited, Accenture Solutions Pte Ltd, Accenture Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Solutions Sdn Bhd, Accenture Sp. z o.o., Accenture Sp. z.o.o., Accenture SpA, Accenture State Healthcare Services LLC, Accenture Sub II Inc., Accenture Sub Inc, Accenture Sub LLC, Accenture Systems Integration Limited, Accenture Sarl, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Accenture Tanacsado Kolatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag KFT, Accenture Technologia, Accenture Technologia Consultoria e Outsourcing S.A., Accenture Technology Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions (Dalian) Co Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions (HK) Co. Ltd., Accenture Technology Solutions (Thailand) Co. Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas, Accenture Technology Solutions - Solucoes Informaticas Integradas S.A., Accenture Technology Solutions GmbH, Accenture Technology Solutions Oy, Accenture Technology Solutions Pty Ltd, Accenture Technology Solutions S.A. de C.V., Accenture Technology Solutions SAS, Accenture Technology Solutions SRL, Accenture Technology Solutions Sdn. Bhd., Accenture Technology Solutions Slovakia s.r.o., Accenture Technology Ventures BV, Accenture Technology Ventures S.P.R.L., Accenture Uruguay SRL, Accenture Vietnam Co., Accenture Vietnam Co. LTD, Accenture Zambia Limited, Accenture do Brasil Limitada, Accenture plc, Accenture s.r.o., Acceria, Acquity Customer Insight Limited, Acquity Group, Adaptly LLC, Adaptly UK Limited, AddVal Technology, Adqptly, Advantium Inc., Agave Consultants Limited, Agilex Technologies Inc., Allen International, Allen International Consulting Group Ltd, Alnova Technologies Corporation S.L., AlphaBeta Advisors, Altima, Altima Asia Ltd., Altima SAS, Altitude, Altitude LLC, Analytics 8 LP, Analytics 8 Pty Ltd, Analytics8, Aorui Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Apis, Appaloosa Technology SAS, Arca, Ariba - BPO, Arismore, Aspiro Solutions (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Avanade, Avanade (Guangzhou) Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd., Avanade (Thailand) Co Ltd, Avanade Asia Pte Ltd, Avanade Australia Pty Ltd, Avanade Belgium SPRL, Avanade Canada Inc., Avanade Denmark A/S, Avanade Denmark ApS, Avanade Deutschland GmbH, Avanade Europe Holdings Ltd, Avanade Europe Services Ltd, Avanade Federal Services LLC, Avanade Finland Oy, Avanade France SAS, Avanade GZ Computer Technology Development Co. Ltd. (SH), Avanade Guangzhou, Avanade Holdings LLC, Avanade Hong Kong Ltd, Avanade International Corporation, Avanade Ireland Limited, Avanade Italy SRL, Avanade KK, Avanade Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avanade Netherlands BV, Avanade Norway AS, Avanade Poland Sp. z o.o., Avanade Poland Sp. z.o.o., Avanade Schweiz GmbH, Avanade South Africa, Avanade South Africa Pty Ltd, Avanade Spain SL, Avanade Sweden AB, Avanade UK Ltd, Avanade do Brasil Limitada, Avanade Osterreich GmbH, AvantBiz Consulting Limited, Avenai, Axia Ltd., BABCN LLC, BCT Solutions, BCT Solutions Pty Ltd, BPO Servicos Administrativos Ltda, BRIDGE Energy Group, Beacon Consulting Group Inc., Beijing Genesis Interactive Technology Co. Ltd., Benext, Bionic, Blue Horseshoe, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Boomerang Pharmaceuticals Communications Ireland Limited, Bow & Arrow, Brand Learning, Brand Learning Group Limited, Brand Learning LLC, Brand Learning Ltd, Brand Learning Partners Limited, Brand Learning Pte Limited, Bridge Energy Group LLC, Brightstep AB, Byte Prophecy, CAS, CRMWaypoint, CadenceQuest Inc., Capable Marketer Limited, Capgemini - North American health practice, Capital Consultancy Services Inc., Certus Solutions Consulting Services Ltd, Certus Solutions Ltd, ChangeTrack Research Pty Ltd., Chaotic Moon Studios, Chengdu Mensa Advertising Co. Ltd., Cimation, Cimation UK Limited, Cirruseo, Cirruseo SAS, Clarity Insights, Clearhead, Clearhead Group, Clearhead Group LLC, ClientHouse GmbH, Cloud Sherpas, Cloud Sherpas (GA) LLC, Cloud Sherpas (SN) (PTE.) Limited, Cloud Sherpas New Zealand Ltd., Cloud Talent Limited, Cloudsherpas, Cloudsherpas Inc., Cloudworks, Codagenic Pty. Ltd., Computer Research and Telecommunications LLC, Concrete Desenvolvimento de Sistemas Ltda., Concrete Solutions, Concrete Solutions Ltda., Context Information Security, Coritel S.A., Corliant Inc., CreativeDrive, CustomerWorks Europe SL, Cutting Edge Solutions Ltd, D5 Global Holdings LLC, DAZ Systems Inc, DAZ Systems LLC, DAZSI Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd., DMA Solutions Limited, Davies Consulting, DayNine Consulting, DayNine Consulting (Australia) PTY LTD, DayNine Consulting (Deutschland) GmbH, DayNine Consulting (New Zealand) Limited, DayNine Consulting France SAS, DayNine Consulting Japan K.K., DayNine Consulting LLC, Declarative Holdings, Declarative Holdings LLC, Defense Point Security, Deja vu Security, Design Strategy and Research de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Designaffairs LLC, Digiplug S.A.S., Digiplug SAS, Digital Consulting & Software Services LLC, Droga5, Droga5 LLC, Droga5 Studios LLC, Droga5 UK Ltd., Duck Creek Technologies, Duck Creek Technologies LLC, Deja Vu Security LLC, ESR Labs, Elcurator SAS, Enaxis Consulting, Enaxis Consulting L.P., End-to-End Analytics, Energuia Web, Energuia Web S.A., Energy Management Brokers Ltd., Energy Quote Private Ltd., EnergyQuote JHA, EnergyQuote JHA Ltd., EnergyQuote Trading Ltd., Enimbos, Enkitec, Enterprise System Partners, Enterprise System Partners B.V. , Enterprise System Partners Bilisim Danismanlik Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Enterprise System Partners Global Corporation, Enterprise System Partners Limited, Enterprise System Partners PR LLC, Enterprise System Partners S.A.S., Entropia, Epylon, Ethica Consulting Group, Evopro Group, Exactside Limited, Exton Consulting, Fairway Technologies Inc, Fairway Technologies LLC, Filmproduction ApS, First Annapolis Consulting, First Annapolis Consulting Inc., First Annapolis Consulting LLC, First Annapolis International, Fjord, Focus Group Europe, Focus Group Europe Limited, Formicary, Formicary Holdings Limited, Formicary Limited, FusionX, FutureMove Automotive, Gapso Servicos de Informatica Ltda., Genfour, Genfour Limited, George Group Consulting L.P., Gestalt LLC, Gestion Altima Canada Inc., Gevity, Global Public Firm S.L., GlobalView SAS, GoodFilm GmbH Filmproduktion Stuttgart, H.B. Maynard and Co. Inc., HRC Retail Advisory, Hagberg Consulting Group, Hangzhou Aiyunzhe Technology Co. Ltd., Happen, Hjaltelin Stahl, Hjaltelin Stahl K/S, Hytracc Consulting AS, Hytracc Consulting Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Hytracc Consulting UK Limited, Hytracc Holding AS, I-Faber S.p.A., IBB Consulting, IMJ Corp, IMJ Corporation, INCAD, INSITUM, IT One Company Limited, ITBS Servicios Bancarios de Tecnologia de la Informacion SL, Icon Integration, Imagine Broadband (USA) Ltd, Imagine Broadband USA LLC, Imaginea Inc, Industrie&Co, Infoman AG, Infoman Schweiz AG, Informatica de Euskadi S.L., Infusion Development Inc., Infusion Development UK Limited, InfusionDev LLC, Innoveer Solutions India Pvt Ltd, Insitum Consultoria Argentina SRL, Insitum Consultoria Brasil LTDA, Insitum Consultoria Colombia SAS, Insitum Consultoria Europa SL, Insitum Consultoria Peru SAC, Insitum Consultoria S.A. de C.V., Intrepid, Intrigo Systems Inc, Intrigo Systems India Pvt. Limited, Intrigo Systems LLC, Inventor Advertisement (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inventor Technology Limited, InvestTech, Investtech Systems Consulting LLC, Javelin Group, Javelin Group (Bulgaria) EOOD, Javelin Group Limited (UK), Javelin Group SASU, K Comms Group Limited, KCS.net AG, KCS.net AG West, KCS.net Deutschland GmbH, KCS.net Holding AG, KCS.net Osterreich GmbH, Kaper Communications Limited, Karma Communications Debtco Limited, Karma Communications Group Limited, Karma Communications Holdings Limited, Karmarama, Karmarama Comms Limited, Karmarama Limited, Knowledge Rules Inc., Knowledgent, Knowledgent Group LLC, Kogentix, Kogentix LLC, Kogentix Ltd, Kogentix Singapore Pte. Ltd, Kogentix Technologies Private Limited, Kolle Rebbe, Kolle Rebbe GmbH, Kream Comms Limited, Kunstmaan, Kunstmaan NV, Kurt Salmon, Kurt Salmon Canada LTD, Kurt Salmon UKI, Kurt Salmon UKI Ltd., Kurt Salmon US LLC, LEXTA, LINKBYNET, LabAnswer, LabAnswer Government, LemonXL Limited, Logistics Market Place Limited (UK), Loud & Clear Creative Pty Ltd, MAXIM Systems Inc., MCG US Holdings LLC, Mackevision CG Technology and Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Mackevision Corporation, Mackevision Japan Co. Ltd., Mackevision Korea Ltd, Mackevision Medien Design, Mackevision Medien Design GmbH, Mackevision Singapore Pte. Ltd., Mackevision UK Ltd, Maglan, Maglan Information Defense Technologies Research Ltd., Maihiro, Matter, Matter Llc, Maud Corp Pty Limited, Maxamine International, Media Audits Ltd., Media Hive, Mediasenz Pty Ltd., Meredith Specialty LLC, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing Corporation, Meridian Informed Purchasing Ltd., Mindtribe, Mindtribe Product Engineering LLC, MobGen, MobGen Technology S.L, Moonrise NV, Mortgage Cadence, Mortgage Cadence an Accenture Company, Most Champion Ltd, Mudano, N3 LLC, NBS Marketing Inc., NYTEC, Nanjing Demeng Advertising Co. 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Ltd., Zielpuls GmbH, avVenta, designaffairs, designaffairs Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., designaffairs GmbH, designaffairs group China Co. Ltd., dgroup, i4C Analytics, iDefense, and solid-serVision.com GmbH.Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides bandwidth infrastructure solutions for the communications industry in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company operates in six segments: Fiber Solutions, Transport, Enterprise Networks, Zayo Colocation (zColo), Allstream, and Other. The Fiber Solutions segment provides dark fiber, and fiber-to-the-tower and small cell mobile infrastructure services for carriers and other communication service providers, Internet service providers, wireless service providers, media and content companies, large enterprises, and other companies. The Transport segment offers lit bandwidth infrastructure solutions comprising wavelength, Ethernet, wholesale IP services, and SONET services through its metro, regional, and long-haul fiber networks for carriers, content providers, financial services companies, healthcare, government entities, education institutions, and other medium and large enterprises. The Enterprise Networks segment provides connectivity and telecommunications solutions comprising Internet, wide area networking products, managed products, and cloud based computing and storage offerings to medium and large enterprises. The Zayo Colocation (zColo) segment offers data center infrastructure solutions consisting of colocation space, and power and interconnection services to a range of enterprise, carrier, cloud, and content customers. The Allstream segment provides cloud VoIP and data solutions, such as voice offerings; and unified communications, as well as telecommunications services, including Ethernet, and IP/MPLS VPN solutions. The Other segment provides network and technical resources to customers in designing, acquiring, and maintaining their networks. Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

Read MoreThe UK's largest veterinary group has urged the government to confirm whether British lamb exported under a new trade deal with Saudi Arabia will be stunned before slaughter.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has called on the government to "urgently clarify" whether home-grown lamb will be stunned before slaughter.

Defra has not yet clarified if it will be, and in April 2018 the department stated that it did not hold data on what percentage of meat from non-stun religious slaughter is exported.

The veterinary group believes that all exported meat should come from animals that have been stunned before slaughter.

However, it says there is "current ambiguity" around the details of the trade deal, which UK halal certification bodies it will involve and whether the meat that will be exported will come from stun or non-stun sources.

In the UK and Europe all animals must be stunned before slaughter, but there is a derogation for animals killed for religious purposes.

BVA said it "strongly believes" that this derogation should only apply to meet the needs of the local community.

In Germany, for example, the law states that produce from non-stun slaughter cannot be exported.

'Unnecessary pain'

BVA President, John Fishwick said the group welcomes new trade deals that demonstrate the quality of UK agriculture.

However, he said the UK must not compromise on animal welfare. "Animals slaughtered without stunning suffer unnecessary pain at the time of death," Mr Fishwick said.

If non-stun slaughter is permitted under the derogation in the UK it should only be available for local communities and not for export.

We have raised these issues directly with the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, and have asked for clarity on whether or not meat for export is stunned in accordance with the UKs high animal welfare legislation.

Mr Fishwick added: BVA is calling for an end to all non-stun slaughter, but while it is still permitted we would like to see new laws to ban export of non-stun meat such as those in Germany.

The comments by the BVA follow news of Lancashire County Council voting to allow only stunned halal meat to be provided to schools in the county, citing animal welfare concerns.

According to AHDB Beef & Lamb, the growing domestic market for Halal sheep meat presents a "significant opportunity" for the farming industry.Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-CategoryThe heavy downpour in Kerala caused havoc all across the state and as close to 300 people lost their lives while thousands of them were left homeless. People all across the country contributed monetarily and also sent food, blankets, clothes and other necessary items to the flood victims. Also, our very own Bollywood celebrities such as Esha Gupta, Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and others urged their fans to contribute to the relief work.

Arbaaz Khan Introduces His Girlfriend Giorgia Andriani To Ex Sister-in-law Amrita Arora!

Esha Gupta opened up to HT and thanked her fans for doing their bit and helping out people in distress. She said, "If God has been kind enough to give me a platform and a career, where people want to see what we eat and what we wear, then I should use it to make a difference. I've always done that and revolution always begins with one person. I did my part, and I'm thankful to all my followers for doing their bit."

The actress has also donated an undisclosed amount to a charity that's on the ground helping the flood victims rebuild their lives in Kerala. When asked about the amount that she donated, she said, "Charity, once spoken, doesn't remain charity anymore. This has been taught to us since childhood as part of my values. It's said even in every book of religion."

She further commented that people losing everything in Kerala has moved her personally. "I think seeing people losing everything and animals not having any place to go anywhere would move anyone. If this doesn't move anyone, then it just means that they didn't get the right upbringing, as they think, 'It shouldn't bother me as it's not happening to me.' But that's just not who I am.

Apart from Esha Gupta, actor Randeep Hooda went to Kerala through the NGO Khalsa Aid and was on the ground for the relief work. He was spotted serving food to the flood affected victims and people praised him for his simplicity and humbleness. He truly is a gem of a person.

The Climax Of Superstar Rajikinath Starrer Robo 2.0 Revealed! AR Rahman Spills The BeansIt happens only in India, folks! Sunny Leone is a voter in Ballia but goes by the name of Durgawati, if the voters' list that was being prepared for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is to be believed. An elephant, a pigeon and a deer were also on the list. The errors were detected and set right during the process of verification of the list, an official said today, blaming a disgruntled data operator.

Arbaaz Khan Introduces His Girlfriend Giorgia Andriani To Ex Sister-in-law Amrita Arora!

The Times of India quoted a senior district official as saying, "While the list carries the picture of a scantily clad woman resembling Sunny Leone in place of voter Durgawati Singh of Vivekanand Colony, it carries photograph of an elephant against the name of former cabinet minister Narad Rai and picture of a deer in place of Kunwar Ankur Singh." The investigation is ongoing if the errors were made on purpose or by mistake.

Actor Sunny Leone's picture was pasted against the name of voter Durgawati and another voter named Kunwar Ankur Singh was represented by a deer and Kunwar Gaurav Singh looked exactly like a pigeon, according to the list. Another victim was Narad Rai, a former minister in the Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav governments in Uttar Pradesh. He had a picture of an elephant pasted besides his name in the updated voters' list.

Also Read In Kannada:   : ''  

District officials blamed a data operator for the mischief and have recommended his dismissal. "A data operator on contract, Vishnu Verma, was sore over his transfer and indulged in this," Additional District Magistrate Mukul Kumar Singhal told PTI. "Out of mischief, he pasted such pictures against the names of seven voters," the ADM said.

He added that the Election Commission was informed and the errors were corrected. The mischief was discovered during the verification of the list, he said. Ballia Superintendent of Police Sriparna Ganguly said an FIR has been lodged against the data operator at Ballia Kotwali police station.

The Climax Of Superstar Rajikinath Starrer Robo 2.0 Revealed! AR Rahman Spills The Beans

(Inputs From PTI)Karan Kundra

Karan Kundra tells it a wonderful feeling to a brother and further adds, "Raksha Bandhan is a very special occasion in my life as I have grown up in a home where I have been treated as a prince by my family, comprising women. I have always been around three sisters. It is a wonderful feeling to be a brother. This year mostly, I will be shooting for my show "Dil Hi Toh Hai" and won't be able to celebrate this occasion with them."

Kanika Maheshwari

Kanika says her bond with Sajid Khan is very special. "Sajid Khan is a brotherly figure to me. We share a very special brother-sister bond which I value a lot. He is my lie detector. He knows how to get me to speak my heart out, which is what I respect about him the most," she adds.

Debina Bonnerjee

Popular star Debina speaks about how Romanch Mehta is not just a friend but a brother, she says, "I always thought that when you have your own sibling, you do not need an artificially made up relationship. But as time passed by, I realised Romanch Mehta is not just a friend, but more like a brother whom I can trust, I can fight with and I can ask for things and gifts without thinking too much about it."

Sumit Kaul

Sumit Kaul feels thankful for having someone like Aashka Goradia in his life, he says, "I have several cousin sisters who have been my support system throughout my life. I have fought with them, confided in them. There is an unsaid commitment to one another. One person who hasn't been a blood relative and yet I regard as family is Aashka Goradia. She has never tied me a Rakhi and no we don't consider each other brother or sister, but there is that same unsaid commitment to each other that I feel with my sisters."

Aditi Sharma

Aditi has an extra reason to be happy this Raksha Bandhan season, she says, "Raksha Bandhan is very special for me this year as my brother recently moved to Mumbai to live with me. It will be totally fun having him around. We have planned a grand and elaborate dinner with our cousins this year."

Abhishek Kapur

Actor Abhishek has beautiful memories of his childhood on how he celebrated Raksha Bandhan with her sisters, he adds, "I always celebrate Raksha Bandhan with my younger sister Saanchi and eight of my cousin sisters. As a kid, I used to play pranks on my sister a lot. Today, we look back at those memories lovingly and laugh over it. Every year on Raksha Bandhan, my sisters make it a point to get me to touch their feet one by one, record it and share it with everyone in the family. It is all in good spirit and fun."The Central American country asked money for political campaigns and port development. President Tsai Ing-wen is worried about the end of diplomatic relations. For Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, It would be irresponsible to engage in dollar diplomacy to compete with China for allies, or even make illegal political donations.

Taipei (AsiaNews/Agencies)  El Salvador demanded more than US$ 20 billion from Taiwan to maintain diplomatic ties, this according to ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Tsai Shih-Ying.

The Central American nation wanted at least US$ 10 million in political campaign contributions, as well as four billion dollars' worth of investment in port development, as well as funding of US$ 20 billion for the surrounding special development district in the future," Tsai Shih-Ying said.

The day after El Salvador broke diplomatic relations, Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen attacked China and its expansionist economic policy.

"China's actions around the world [. . .] have already caused serious global instability," Tsai said at Taoyuan airport on her way back from a visit to the United States.

"China's government has been unrelenting and repeatedly exerted pressure, using the severance of diplomatic relations with El Salvador to crush the will of the Taiwanese people to embrace the world," she added.

El Salvador's switch of recognition to Beijing came after Taipei denied repeated requests for massive injections of funding for its Port La Union project, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

"It would be irresponsible to engage in dollar diplomacy to compete with China for allies, or even make illegal political donations," the Ministry said in a statement. "The government of Taiwan will not and cannot go down this path."Novartis International AG / Novartis announces new data that show Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) can be initiated early & safely in hospitalized patients after an acute heart failure episode . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

TRANSITION shows that Entresto can be safely initiated shortly after an acute heart failure episode, both in the hospital and in an out-patient setting and in a wide range of stabilized patients[1]



83% of chronic heart failure patients are hospitalized at least once due to an acute heart failure episode[2]



Outlook for patients in first 30 days following hospitalization is poor, with one in four re-admitted[3] during this vulnerable period and up to 10% likely to die[4]



Entresto has been proven in the landmark PARADIGM-HF study to be superior to enalapril in reducing CV mortality, HF hospitalization and 30-day hospital readmission in heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction[5],[6]

(https://novartis.gcs-web.com/Novartis-announces-new-data-that-show-Entresto-sacubitril/valsartan-can-be-initiated-early-%26-safely-in-hospitalized-patients-after-an-acute-heart-failure-episode)

Basel, August 25, 2018 - Data from the TRANSITION study presented today at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Munich, Germany has shown that Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) can be initiated early and safely in a wide range of heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who have been stabilized after hospitalization due to an acute heart failure episode[1]. Patients involved in the study included those with no prior experience of Entresto or conventional HF therapies, as well as those with prior experience of conventional HF therapies[1].

About half of all heart failure patients have reduced ejection fraction[7], and optimizing treatment for these patients according to guidelines is critical to reduce the likelihood of another acute episode or dying[8]. However, there is often hesitancy to initiate a new treatment after a hospitalization as these patients are considered 'vulnerable' and unable to tolerate changes in their medication.

"In the weeks following an episode of acute heart failure, patients are very vulnerable and face a high risk of re-hospitalization and death," said Prof. Rolf Wachter, University Hospital Leipzig, Germany and study investigator. "The PARADIGM-HF study showed that sacubitril/valsartan reduces heart failure-related hospitalizations, re-hospitalization and death. TRANSITION shows that sacubitril/valsartan can be initiated early and safely in patients shortly after an acute heart failure episode, providing physicians with added confidence to optimize their care with innovative medicines in heart failure treatment."

In TRANSITION, the safety and tolerability of Entresto were assessed in HFrEF patients after they have been stabilized following an acute heart failure episode. Patients were randomized to initiate Entresto therapy either in the hospital (pre-discharge) or shortly after leaving the hospital (post-discharge)[1]. At 10 weeks, more than 86% of patients were receiving Entresto for 2 weeks or longer without interruption and about half of patients in the study achieved the primary endpoint which was a target dose of 200 mg of Entresto twice daily within 10 weeks in both groups[1]. The number of patients who met the primary and secondary endpoints was similar across both treatment arms[1]. The incidence of adverse events and discontinuations of Entresto due to adverse events was also similar in both the in-hospital and the out-patient setting[1].

"We are encouraged by the findings of TRANSITION which show that Entresto, the new standard of care in heart failure, can be safely initiated in recently hospitalized patients," said Shreeram Aradhye, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Global Head, Medical Affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "Heart failure is a serious progressive disease with 83% of patients hospitalized at least once for an acute heart failure episode during the course of their condition. Hospitalization provides an opportunity for physicians to optimize heart failure treatment according to guidelines to reduce the likelihood of hospital readmission and death, reduce the burden of hospitalizations, and improve patient outcomes."

About TRANSITION

TRANSITION (NCT02661217) is a randomized, phase IV, multicenter, open-label, parallel-group study, which assessed the safety and tolerability of Entresto in 1,002 HFrEF patients, from 156 hospitals worldwide, after stabilization following hospitalization for acute heart failure, when treatment was started in hospital (pre-discharge) or shortly after leaving hospital (post-discharge)[1],[9]. Patients were grouped based on their pre-admission treatment status: those who were receiving an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), or those with no prior experience with an ACEI/ARB. Following screening and randomization to Entresto, the study comprised a 10 week treatment period followed by a 16 week follow-up phase. The primary and secondary endpoints were the number of patients achieving the target dose of Entresto of 200 mg twice daily (bid) at week 10 (regardless of previous dose interruption or down-titration), and number of patients maintaining 100 mg or 200 mg bid for at least two weeks leading to week 10 after randomization, respectively[1],[9]. The study protocol took into account the needs of the practicing cardiologists, and enabled investigators to select the appropriate starting dose of Entresto and dose adjustments due to clinical circumstances, allowing for differences between international hospitals and healthcare settings[9].

About Entresto

Entresto is a twice-a-day medicine that reduces the strain on the failing heart. It does this by enhancing the protective neurohormonal systems (natriuretic peptide system) while simultaneously inhibiting the harmful effects of the overactive renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS)[10],[11]. Other common heart failure medicines, called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), only block the harmful effects of the overactive RAAS. Entresto contains the neprilysin inhibitor sacubitril and the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) valsartan[10],[12].

In Europe, Entresto is indicated in adult patients for the treatment of symptomatic chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction[10]. In the United States, Entresto is indicated for the treatment of heart failure (New York Heart Association class II-IV) in patients with systolic dysfunction[12]. It has been shown to reduce the rate of cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization and 30-day hospital readmission[6] compared to enalapril, to reduce the rate of all-cause mortality compared to enalapril[5], and to improve aspects of health-related quality of life (including physical and social activities) compared to enalapril[13]. Entresto is usually administered in conjunction with other heart failure therapies, in place of an ACE inhibitor or other angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)[10],[12]. Approved indications may vary depending upon the individual country.

About Heart Failure and Hospitalization

Heart failure (HF) is a serious progressive disease with debilitating symptoms. HF patients are at risk of a sudden worsening of the disease that requires urgent care in hospital and it is the number one reason for hospitalization in people over 65 years[14]. Of the 26 million people worldwide living with HF[15], 83 percent of HF patients are hospitalized due to an acute HF episode at least once, and nearly half (43%) are hospitalized at least four times[2]. Every year, there are approximately one million hospitalizations due to HF in the US and Europe[16], and on average, a HF patient remains in hospital for five to 10 days[17]. Due to this, heart failure presents a major and growing health-economic burden that currently costs the world economy $108 billion every year, which accounts for both direct and indirect costs[18].

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political and economic conditions; safety, quality or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Novartis

Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2017, the Group achieved net sales of USD 49.1 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 125,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com (http://www.novartis.com).

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References

[1] Wachter R. et al., Initiation of sacubitril/valsartan in hospitalized patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction after hemodynamic stabilization: Primary results of the TRANSITION study. Data presented at: ESC 2018, Aug 25-29; Munich, Germany.

[2] Yancy CW. et al., 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure, J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013; 62(16):e147-e239.

[3] Dharmarajan K, Hsieh AF, Lin Z, et al., Diagnoses and Timing of 30-Day Readmissions after Hospitalization For Heart Failure, Acute Myocardial Infarction, or Pneumonia. JAMA. 2013;309(4):355-363.

[4] Bueno H, Ross JS, Wang Y, et al., Trends in Length of Stay and Short-Term Outcomes among Medicare Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure: 1993-2008. JAMA. 2010;303(21):2141-2147.

[5] McMurray JJV., et al., Angiotensin-Neprilysin Inhibition versus Enalapril in Heart Failure. N Engl J Med 2014; 371:993-1004.

[6] Desai, AS., et al., Influence of Sacubitril/Valsartan (LCZ696) on 30-Day Readmission After Heart Failure Hospitalization. JACC 2016;68(3):241-248.

[7] Owan TE, Hodge DO, Herges RM, et al. Trends in prevalence and outcome of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:251-259.

[8] Maggioni, AP., et al., Are hospitalized or ambulatory patients with heart failure treated in accordance with European Society of Cardiology guidelines? Evidence from 12,440 patients of the ESC Heart Failure Long-Term Registry. Eur J Heart Fail. 2013 Oct;15(10):1173-84.

[9] Pascual-Figal D., et al., Rationale and design of TRANSITION: a randomized trial of pre-discharge vs. post-discharge initiation of sacubitril/valsartan. ESC Heart Fail. 2018 Apr;5(2):327-336.

[10] EMA. Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan). Summary of product characteristics. Available at: http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Product_Information/human/004062/WC500197536.pdf (http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Product_Information/human/004062/WC500197536.pdf) [Last accessed: July 2018]

[11] Langenickel T, Dole W. Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibition with LCZ696: a novel approach for the treatment of heart failure. Drug Discov Today. 2012:4: e131-139.

[12] FDA. Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan). Highlights of prescribing information. Available at: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2015/207620Orig1s000lbl.pdf (https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2015/207620Orig1s000lbl.pdf) [Last accessed: July 2018]

[13] Chandra, A. et al., The Effects of Sacubitril/Valsartan on Physical and Social Activity Limitations in Heart Failure Patients: The PARADIGM-HF Trial. JAMA Cardiol. 2018;3(6):498-505.

[14] Azad N, Lemay G. Management of chronic heart failure in the older population. Journal of Geriatric Cardiology: JGC. 2014;11(4):329-337.

[15] Savarese G and Lund LH. Global Public Health Burden of Heart Failure Card Fail Rev. 2017 Apr; 3(1): 7-11.

[16] Ambrosy A, Fonarow G, Butler J. et al., The global health and economic burden of hospitalizations for heart failure. J Am Coll Cardio. 2014, 63 (12), 1123-33.

[17] Ponikowski P. et al., 2014. Heart failure. Preventing disease and death worldwide. Available at: https://www.escardio.org/static_file/Escardio/Subspecialty/HFA/WHFA-whitepaper-15-May-14.pdf (https://www.escardio.org/static_file/Escardio/Subspecialty/HFA/WHFA-whitepaper-15-May-14.pdf) [Last accessed: July 2018]

[18] Cook C, Cole G, Asaria P. et al., The annual global economic burden of heart failure. Int J Cardiol. 2014.;171(3):368-76.

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Clashes between Congress workers and the local police in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla injured 10 people

Shimla: At least ten persons including three cops were injured in a clash between youth Congress workers and local police outside Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Friday.

The Congress workers led by state president Munish Thakur took out a protest march against the "deteriorating" law and order situation and increasing drug menace in the hill-state, eyewitnesses said.

Upon reaching the state assembly, where the second day of the monsoon session was on, the crowd allegedly pelted stones at the police in which at least three personnel including an additional SP were injured, eyewitnesses added.

The police first used water canon to disperse the crowd but later resorted to lathi-charge in which seven protestors were injured, they said.

Shimla superintendent of police Omapati Jamwal said the exact number of injured people was being confirmed.An AIMIM corporator, who had last week opposed a resolution to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has been arrested and sent to jail for alleged bootlegging and some other charges, police said on Saturday.

Mumbai: An AIMIM corporator, who had last week opposed a resolution to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has been arrested and sent to jail for alleged bootlegging and some other charges, police said on Saturday.

Sayyad Mateen Sayyad Rashid (32), the All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) corporator in Aurangabad, was sent to jail for a year on Tuesday under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug-Offenders and Dangerous Persons (MPDA) Act, an official said.

"During the general body meeting of AMC held on 17 August, Mateen had opposed a resolution to pay tribute to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was subsequently beaten up, allegedly by some BJP corporators," the official said. Mateen was later arrested and booked by City Chowk police station under IPC sections 294 (obscene acts or words in public), 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth and language), the official added.

"The corporator was sent to Harsul jail in Aurangabad and was granted bail on Tuesday. However, on the same day we served the order to him issued by the city Commissioner of Police under the MPDA," senior inspector of City Chowk police station, DS Shingare, said.

He said two other offences had been registered against Mateen in the past. "After analysing his criminal records, we found that he is a dangerous person and could promote enmity between two communities," Shingare said. As per the provisions of the MPDA, the corporator will remain in detention for a year," he said.The Patiala House court in Delhi on Saturday heard the case of alleged assault of the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and reserved the order for 2 pm.

Delhi's Patiala House court on Saturday heard the case of alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and has reserved the order for 2 pm. The counsel of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) told the court that this is not a simple matter because the chief secretary is the complainant and the chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal) the accused. He also accused the Delhi Police of turning the case into a media trial.

Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash alleged assault case: Counsel for AAP said, 'this is not a simple matter. Chief Secy is complainant & Chief Minister is accused. Delhi police trying to make this a media trial'. Patiala House court has reserved order in the case for 2 pm today  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

Meanwhile, according to ANI, the Delhi Police said that AAP leaders are making derogatory remarks against the police and maligning its image.

The AAP had previously hit out at the Delhi Police alleging that it leaked details of its chargesheet in the chief secretary assault case even as an application was filed in a city court for restraining it from making its content public.

AAP's Delhi unit spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj accused Additional DCP (North Delhi) Harender Kumar of behaving as a "spokesperson of BJP" and violating the law.

The Delhi Police chargesheet claimed that the attack was deliberate and the document named Chief Minister Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. The police stated in the chargesheet that the midnight meeting held by the chief minister, where the assault is said to have taken place, was the first one in three years. The document also alleged that only six out of 21 CCTV cameras at the chief minister's office were functioning.

With inputs from PTIYogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of life in the boat capsize tragedy in Bijnor and directed officials to undertake relief and rescue work at war footing.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of life in the boat capsize tragedy in Bijnor and directed officials to undertake relief and rescue work at war footing.

He has also directed officials to ensure adequate medical treatment is administered to those injured in the incident, the Chief Minister's Office said in a statement on Saturday.

On Friday, a woman died and nine other people were missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga near Rajarampur village in Bijnor. There were 27 people on the boat.

"Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the loss of life in the boat capsize tragedy. He has directed the district magistrate to make available a financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family members of the deceased within 24 hours," it said.

The chief minister while reviewing the works pertaining to flood control on Saturday also said "public interest" and "local needs" must be kept in mind when framing any flood-control related project.

He also directed that dredging of rivers in the state should be ensured, and there should be an effective mechanism for monitoring flood control and relief works.

Laxity of any kind in flood control and relief works will not be tolerated, Adityanath said.The fourth BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu will revolve around energy and trade issues. India and Nepal will sign MoUs over railway construction and bulk cargo

Kathmandu: Ahead of the regional summit of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), Nepal has prepared Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) over the construction of railway and bulk cargo with India, Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali said on Friday.

The foreign minister also said that a bilateral meeting has been scheduled for prime ministers of both the countries on 31 August, in the two-day summit.

"During the meeting (between the Indian prime minister and Nepali Counterpart) MoUs on railway co-operation and bulk cargo, are prepared to be signed," Foreign Minister Gyawali said.

Prior to the summit, Nepal's President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will host a luncheon in honour of the guests arriving in Kathmandu for the summit, which will be followed by the opening session in Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza in the capital city.

On 31 August, prime minister Modi, who will be on a two- day visit to the Himalayan nation for the summit, will visit the Pashupatinath temple.

"On 31 August, a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepali Prime Minister KP Oli is planned and the hospice built inside Pashupatinath temple in Indian Government aid will be inaugurated and handed over to Nepal," Gyawali said.

BIMSTEC, the regional group of seven countries which lies near the Bay of Bengal, includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

On the occasion of the BIMSTEC Summit, the state heads of Sri Lanka and Myanmar would also be making a bilateral visit. The state head of Myanmar is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on 26 August, while the Sri Lankan President will be arriving on 27 August.

The prime ministers from Bangladesh, Thailand, and India will be arriving in the capital city of Kathmandu on 30 August.

Nepal, the current chair and the host nation of the 4th series of the Summit, will concentrate on the , the Buddhist circuit, tourism promotion and reduction of the impact of climate change, Gyawali informed.A 22-year-old woman, an aspiring fashion designer, allegedly committed suicide in East Delhi's Mandawali area by hanging on Thursday night, the police said on Friday.

A 22-year-old woman, an aspiring fashion designer, allegedly committed suicide in East Delhi's Mandawali area by hanging on Thursday night, the police said on Friday. The police also recovered a suicide note where she allegedly wrote that she "felt caged" in her body and that it "insulted" her everywhere.

While the family does not suspect any foul play, they said that she was unhappy with her "extremely thin" body, according to The Hindu. Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Pankaj Singh, however, said that "body image issue has not come out as a reason in the investigation so far".

The victim lived with her family in Mandawali and worked at a private firm in Laxmi Nagar. One of the victim's siblings found her hanging from the ceiling fan, following which her mother was called. Neighbours helped them bring down the body and informed the police.

In the suicide note recovered, she reportedly wrote, "She was the bird, with no wings, she wanted to fly, but she had to die".

As per The Times of India, she also wrote, "Never lose faith in God, in Jesus, he exists. But my happiness lies in what I am doing. I wanted to do a lot of things but this body insults me everywhere. I am caged in this body. I don't want to say anything else; just understand it as me attaining my freedom."

The note ended with 'Love you Mom', followed by a smiley.

A case has been registered and an autopsy has also been conducted. However, it did not suggest she had any physical or mental health ailments, said Singh, as per the Hindustan Times report.

"Her family members have not told us about any medical and mental issues she had been facing. They did not mention anorexia and have also not suspected any foul play," the DCP said, adding that her friends and colleagues were being interrogated.The controversy over UAE's reported offer to release Rs 700 crore aid to flood-hit Kerala refuses to die down. Expect Saina Nehwal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik in action at Asian Games today. Rahul Gandhi will address Indian Diaspora in UK

UAE aid controversy: Kerala CM sticks by claim, cites PM's tweet as proof

The controversy over UAE's reported offer to release Rs 700 crore aid to flood-hit Kerala refuses to die down. The UAE's ambassador to India told the media on Friday that the West Asian nation never offered a specific amount yet, and was waiting for an official panel's report to officially formalise an amount to be paid. However, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who first told the media about the Rs 700 crore offer, has stood by his claims. He has again reiterated the claim citing a tweet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On 18 August, Modi had tweeted: "A big thanks to @hhshkmohd for his gracious offer to support people of Kerala during this difficult time. His concern reflects the special ties between governments and people of India and UAE." The issue is likely to remain in the news through today with reactions from the state and Centre coming through.

Rahul Gandhi in UK

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day visit to the United Kingdom since Thursday and has remained in news for his various comments. He attacked Modi, the BJP, and the ruling party at Centre's ideological parent the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Friday. Rahul equated the RSS to the radical Islamist outfit Muslim Brotherhood while addressing students in London. On Saturday, the Congress president is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora at a public event at a hotel in South Ruislip.

Asian Games 2018, Day 7

Day Seven of the Asian Games promises to be an action-packed one with track and field events getting underway. The likes of Hima Das, Nirmala Sheoran and Dutee Chand will be in action on Saturday. Apart from the athletes, Saina Nehwal and Dipika Pallikal Karthik are the other major stars in action.

Twitter ends support for iOS 9 or lower

In a new update, Twitter has announced that it will end support for all iPhones and iPads running on iOS 9 or its lower versions. This means that while you will be able to access the microblogging website, you will not receive updates for it if your device is running on iOS versions below iOS 10. This step has been taken by Twitter to streamline the app development for all its clients.

Donald Trump abruptly cancels Mike Pompeo's North Korea visit

US President Donald Trump on Friday pulled the plug on a weekend trip to North Korea by his top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, while taking a swipe at China over efforts to disarm the nuclear state. "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Trump said in a tweet.

This came hours after Pompeo announced that he will visit the Pyongyang next week for the next stage in ensuring the "final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea". The trip would have been Pompeo's fourth to North Korea, and the second since a historic summit on 12 June between Trump and the country's strongman leader Kim Jong-un.

US cuts more than $200 million in aid to Palestinians

The United States has said that it had cancelled more than $200 million in aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, leading their ambassador to accuse Trump's administration of being "anti-peace". A senior State Department official said that the decision, made "at the direction of the president", came after a review of aid programmes to the Palestinian territories. The funding previously allocated for programmes in the West Bank and Gaza will "now address high-priority projects elsewhere", said the official.

Elton John biopic

Rocketman, the biopic on legendary singer Elton John, which was earlier scheduled to release on 17 May, 2019, will now open on 31 May, 2019. Being helmed by Dexter Fletche, the film will see Kingsman actor Taron Egerton portray the famed singer-songwriter from his days at the Royal Academy of Music to his rise on the rock 'n' roll scene of the 1970s and 1980s and his recovery from drug and alcohol addiction in the 1990s to international superstardom.Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP MLAs sought to have the Delhi Police restrained from sharing with the media info in the chargesheet in the Anshu Prakash case.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday rejected a plea moved by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy and other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs seeking to restrain police from sharing with the media information in the chargesheet in the case of alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal rejected the plea and reserved for 18 September the order on whether to take cognisance of the chargesheet and summon Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and others as accused in the case.

The court said it needed time to go through the chargesheet, which also names as accused 11 AAP legislators  Amanatullah Khan, Prakash Jarwal, Nitin Tyagi, Rituraj Govind, Sanjeev Jha, Ajay Dutt, Rajesh Rishi, Rajesh Gupta, Madan Lal, Parveen Kumar and Dinesh Mohania.

In its around 1,300-page chargesheet, the police alleged that Kejriwal, Sisodia and others had criminally conspired to threaten the chief secretary with death or grievous hurt, obstructed him in discharging his public function and caused hurt. It also accused the AAP leaders of other offences punishable under sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC), including wrongfully confining any person, assaulting or using criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty, insulting him to provoke breach of peace and abetment of the offence.

They were also charged for offence committed under IPC Section 149, which says if an offence is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly, every other member of such assembly shall be held guilty of the offence.

If convicted, the accused may get a maximum of seven-year jail term. After the chargesheet was filed, Kejriwal and other persons named in the chargesheet had moved the court seeking to restrain the Delhi Police from sharing information with the media. The Delhi Police had, on 18 May, questioned Kejriwal for over three hours in connection with the alleged assault on Prakash.

Prakash was allegedly assaulted during a meeting at Kejriwal's official residence on the night of 19 February. The police said the chief minister was present when the alleged assault took place.

The police have already questioned 11 AAP MLAs present at the chief minister's residence for the meeting. Two of the party MLAs  Amantullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal  were arrested in the case.

The alleged assault on the chief secretary had triggered a bitter tussle between the Delhi government and its bureaucrats.The Indigenous People's Front of Tripura organised a huge public gathering over its demands for NRC in Tripura. The Indigenous Nationalist Party also held a rally on Thursday.

Agartala: After Assam, an agitation for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is gaining momentum in Tripura, with the state's oldest tribal-based party, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), on Saturday holding a demonstration in Agartala asking for its introduction in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state.

On Thursday, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), the junior partner of the BJP, organised a huge public gathering over its demands for a separate state and introduction of the NRC in Tripura. A rival faction of the IPFT  IPFT (Tipraha)  also held a sit-in demonstration on the same issues two days back.

"We have held a demonstration with more than one thousand tribal men and women here today (Saturday) to press our nine-point demands. Of the demands, introduction of the NRC in Tripura and more constitutional power to the TTAADC (Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council) are the main demands," INPT general secretary Jagadhish Debbarma told reporters.

He said that INPT's other demands include withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduction of inner-line permit in the TTAADC areas and inclusion of tribals' Kokborok language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. "To press our demands, a delegation of INPT leaders will soon go to New Delhi to meet the Registrar General of India and central ministers and apprise them about our demands," the tribal leader said.

Another tribal based party National Conference of Tripura is also demanding introduction of the NRC in Tripura and withdrawal of the bill.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2016, the bill seeks to enable Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who fled to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh without valid travel documents, or those whose valid documents expired in recent years, to acquire Indian citizenship through the process of naturalisation.

Many parties in the northeastern region are also opposing the bill, which is now under the scrutiny of a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

All the tribal-based parties in the state are agitating for an NRC updation exercise in the state with 1951 as the cut-off year.

The INPT, to highlight its demands, had earlier sought permission from the police to hold a demonstration in Agartala since June 28, but the police refused to give consent forcing the party to move the High Court, which on August 13 allowed it to organise the sit-in demonstrations.

The BJP's junior ally IPFT has been agitating since 2009 for a separate state to be carved out by upgrading the TTAADC, which has a jurisdiction over two-thirds of the state's 10,491 sq km area, home to over 12,16,000 people.Tariq Ahmad Malik was shot dead allegedly by militants in Kashmir's Zandpal village. Five people have been killed by militants in as many days.

Zandpal, Tangmarg: On Thursday evening, Tariq Ahmad Malik  a security guard in Jammu and Kashmir's forest department  spread out a prayer mat in his kitchen. He then asked his daughters, Raunak and Zeenat, to make tea while his wife and niece were chatting. He had just returned home for Eid celebrations from Doodhpathri, a popular resort in central Kashmir's Budgam district.

Moments after he started his prayers, a metallic nozzle broke through the translucent glass of the window. Four shots were fired, of which three bullets hit Malik, while another hit a wall.

When the shots were fired, I cried out aloud and the gunman removed the nozzle from the window, said Raunak Tariq, a Class 12 student, who was sitting three feet from her father when he was shot.

Blood started oozing from him. There was blood all around. It was as if sheep had been slaughtered. Everything turned dark before my eyes, she said.

On Friday afternoon, cries of wailing women emanated from a dimly lit room at Malik's house in Zandpal village near Tangmarg. After Malik's death, there has been a steady stream of mourners dropping by to offer condolences. The village is located just 20 kilometres from the highway in Kunzar area of Tangmarg that connects Srinagar with Gulmarg.

Zandpal is nestled among dense alpine forests and presents a picture perfect image of a rural area. There are no roads and no shops. Although the village is connected to the grid, there is rarely any electricity. To reach here, one has to walk nearly seven kilometres.

Malik, 49, was the fifth Kashmiri to be killed at the hands of suspected militants in five days.

Villagers admiringly called him "judge" for his wisdom, foresight and negotiation skills. Thousands of people participated in his funeral prayers on Friday morning, in a testament to his popularity. Elders remember Malik as a man who had been fighting to get a road and an electricity transformer for the village, and who had been taking care of orphans.

Tabassum Bano, Malik's niece, said, "He is a shaheed (martyr). He was a kind soul. Why did the gunmen kill him? What had he done to deserve this?

He had been beaten up by army and police officials many times, and kept in custody, said Ajaz Ahmad, a resident who had come to offer condolences to the family. He further said, This is among several mysterious killings in Kashmir which have thrown up more questions than answers."

A police statement said that Malik was killed by Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Yousuf Dar alias Kantroo. However, the militant outfit on Friday evening condemned the killing, terming it as a murder. Killing a worshipper before the Lord is the vilest form of terrorism (sic), a statement issued by LeT spokesman Abullah Ghaznawi said

According to the police, Malik had worked as an overground worker of militants for some time, and had been arrested several times on these accusations. This has resulted in an element of mystery to the murder.

According to family members, an officer from a nearby army unit had earlier visited their house thrice looking for Malik, but he was not there. They say the officer had told them that he should present himself at the army camp on Friday.

However, the police also say that he had been silent for some time. A senior official said, "The LeT may have killed him as they did not like his silence and inaction."

When this reporter visited the Kunzar police station on Friday afternoon, the police officials were yet to visit the family.

With what face will they come before us? They harassed and tortured him earlier. Now what will they tell us? We dont know who killed our father, but we know who had made his life miserable all these years, Raunak said.Meanwhile, the city sessions court is expected to announce its verdict on Monday on a government plea seeking cancellation of Patel's anticipatory bail in a rioting case.

Ahmedabad: On the eve of the third anniversary of the quota agitation in Gujarat, Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Friday said that he would proceed on an indefinite hunger strike from Saturday even if authorities deny him permission for it or the court cancels his bail.

Clashes had broken out during the quota protests led by Patel in 25 August, 2015, leading to the death of 14 people and large-scale destruction of public property.

Gandhinagar Collector SK Langa on Friday denied Patel permission to hold the fast at Satyagrah Chhavni area.

Meanwhile, the city sessions court is expected to announce its verdict on Monday on a government plea seeking cancellation of Patel's anticipatory bail in a rioting case.

Speaking to reporters on Friday in the wake of these two developments, Patel said that he would proceed with the fast in jail, in the event of the court cancelling his bail, or at home if government authorities deny him a venue for the protest.

"If the court cancels my bail than I am ready to go to jail. I will sit on hunger strike in jail. I am not afraid of the BJP government or of going behind bars. I am not going to drop my plans out of any intimidation," Patel told reporters here.

Hitting out at the state government, he said, "I am not being allotted a venue (for the fast) because the government is afraid of me. I will sit on hunger strike at my house if need be. However, attempts are being made to stop me from sitting on fast at my house."

Patel claimed that several national leaders, including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee, may come to Gujarat to support him.

"This hunger strike is not a one-day affair. Thousands across the state would sit on fast and it will continue for days. I have also invited people to come to my house to join me in the fast. This is not about me. It is about numerous people" the Patidar leader said.

Earlier in August, Hardik had announced that he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike from 25 August at a ground in Nikol area in Ahmedabad to demand reservations for Patidars and loan waivers for farmers.

After being denied permission for the Nikol venue since it was now a parking lot, Patel approached the Gandhinagar collector seeking Satyagrah Chhavni as an alternate spot for the fast. This, too, was rejected on Friday by the Gandhinagar collector.

"Based on the opinion of the police on law and order and past experiences, we have decided not to grant permission," Collector Langa told reporters.

Meanwhile, a sessions court in Ahmedabad reserved its order on the state government's plea to cancel Patel's anticipatory bail in a rioting case lodged against him in March 2017 for allegedly creating ruckus outside Vastral BJP corporator Paresh Patel's residence.

While he had obtained anticipatory bail in this case in April 2017, the state government had approached the city sessions court seeking its cancellation.

In its plea, the state government had claimed that Patel had violated a bail condition by entering Ramol area.

The court is expected to give its verdict on the government's plea on Monday.

Meanwhile, in another development, Patel, along with another quota leader Lalji Patel and AK Patel, on Friday appeared before a Visnagar court in Mehsana and submitted a high court order suspending their two-year jail term in a riot case lodged there in 2015.Kerala's once-in-a-lifetime rainfall was 2,378 mm over 88 days, four times more than normal  but 30 percent less and spread over 61 days more than the deluge of 1924

By Bhasker Tripathi

New Delhi: Kerala's once-in-a-lifetime rainfall was 2,378 mm over 88 days, four times more than normal  but 30 percent less and spread over 61 days more than the deluge of 1924, the most intense flood in the state's recorded history, submerging as it did almost the entire coastline.

So why was the flood of 2018 as devastating as the 3,368 mm rainfall that Kerala received 94 years ago (locally called the 'deluge of 99', since it occurred in the year 1099 of the Malayalam calendar)?

Thats because Kerala has reduced its capacity to deal with such extreme floods by allowing illegal stone quarrying, cutting down forests and grasslands, changing drainage patterns and sand mining on river beds, said experts.

"Rampant stone quarrying and digging of pits is the reason behind the landslides and landslips, which worsened the situation in the Kerala floods," Madhav Gadgil, ecologist and founder of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, told IndiaSpend.

"These quarries cause deforestation and block the natural streams, which help in reducing the intensity of the floods."

Most of the 373 casualties in Kerala were caused by landslides in the northern districts of Malappuram and Wayanad, and the central district of Idukki.

Gadgil is the lead author of a 2011 government-commissioned study written by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP)  commonly called the Gadgil committee report  which he headed. The report recommended that development be restricted in the Western Ghats, which sprawls across six states, including Kerala.

The change in land use came at a time of increasingly uncertain weather  uncharacteristic dry spells interspersed with intense rain.

"Our vulnerability to extreme rainfall is increasing as land development is changing drainage patterns," Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, told IndiaSpend.

When there is more rain than the soil can absorb, water will quickly run-off, overwhelming streams, drains and rivers, causing mudslides and flash floods, said Koll.

Most of the regions overwhelmed by the recent floods were classified as "ecologically sensitive zones"  where there should be limited or no construction or deforestation  by the Gadgil committee.

In 2011, the central government and the Western-Ghats states, including Kerala, refused to accept the Gadgil committee report.

The Western Ghats: Super sponge

Spread across 160,000 square kilometres, more than three times the size of Haryana, the Western Ghats extend over six states  Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat  along Indias western coast.

The rain and tropical forests of the Ghats are one of the world's 10 "biodiversity hotspots", home to the most diverse range of life in the subcontinent: 7,402 species of flowering plants, 1,814 species of non-flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species, 6,000 insects species and 290 freshwater fish species.

The Ghats are a source of about 20 rivers and tributaries watering the Indian peninsula, and its forests and grasslands act as a super sponge, soaking up excess rain.

With the biodiversity, water security and retention characteristics in mind, the Gadgil committee suggested classification of the Ghats into three zones: Ecologically highest sensitive zones (ESZ1), where certain types of areas would be "no-go", including water courses, water bodies, special habitats, biodiversity rich areas, and sacred groves; ecologically high sensitive zones (ESZ2), where construction of new railway lines and major roads would not be allowed, except when "highly essential"; and ecologically moderately sensitive zones (ESZ3), where new energy projects and infrastructure such as roads may be allowed but with "strict environmental regulations".

The committees recommendations included restrictions on mining and quarrying, use of land for non-forest purposes and no construction of high-rises.

"We had given sector-specific recommendations to be taken up with consultation of all the local-government bodies, but our report was rejected," said Gadgil.

Sector-Wise Recommendation For The Western Ghats by IndiaSpend on Scribd

"A study in the southern region, comprising the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, showed that between 1920-1990 about 40 percent of the original forest cover was lost or converted to another form of land use," said Gadgil committee report.

"Change in land use of forests exposes the region to such (Kerala-like) calamities, said Gadgil, whose point has been that the scale of the disaster could have been reduced.

Loosening the soil, and the governments confusion

Like other experts, VS Vijayan, a member of the Gadgil committee and former chairman of Kerala State Biodiversity Board, told IndiaSpend that cutting trees in the catchment areas of dams, illegal construction and farming on slopes exceeding 30 degrees were among the main reasons for flood devastation.

"Many of these activities end up loosening the soil making it susceptible to landslides," said Vijayan. "We had recommended against all of these practices in the Gadgil committee report, but no one listened."

One of the main reasons for the rejection of the Gadgil committee report was the governments confusion between the definition of ecologically sensitive zones and ecologically fragile areas, according to Vijayan.

Kerala has a 15-year-old law called the Ecologically Fragile Lands Act, which says people can be evicted from protected areas, such as wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. The government thought that the ecologically sensitive zones were essentially the same, "which was not the case", said Vijayan.

"We clearly divided the entire Ghats into three zones based on their ecology and needs of protection," said VIjayan. "It never meant that humans were to be evicted from sensitive areas."

Extreme rainfall events cannot be stopped, but the the impact of floods can be reduced if forests and natural landscapes are used as shields, he said.

Climate change is exacerbating heavy rainfall

When winds from the west slam against the Western Ghats, clouds form and rain falls. In general, stronger winds lead to more intense rain, D Shivanand Pai, head of the climatic prediction group at the India Meteorological Department, Pune, told IndiaSpend.

In the monsoon of 2018, the "pressure gradient"  which determines pressure changes and, in turn, rainfall  between land and the Arabian sea was "very strong", said Pai, causing heavy rain. "A low pressure developed in the Bay of Bengal and moving inland contributed to the heavy rain by making the winds stronger."

What Kerala witnessed was an event of high intensity rainfall over a short span of time.

The intensity of such heavy rainfall events have been rising across India. Over 110 years to 2010, heavy rainfall events in India show an increasing trend of 6 percent per decade, said a November 2017 study co-authored by Pai, who said high-intensity rainfall results from rising temperatures caused by climate change.

These events have also been deemed responsible for floods.

India accounts for a fifth of deaths globally due to floods and heavy rain, with 107,487 people dying nationwide over 64 years between 1953 and 2017, according to Central Water Commission data presented to the Rajya Sabha (Parliaments upper house) on 19 March, 2018. Damage to crops, houses and public utilities was reported to be Rs 365,860 crore  or as much as 3 percent of Indias current gross domestic product  the data show.

On average, more than 1,600 people die every year in floods, which disrupt the lives of nearly 32 million people, the data show. More than 92,000 cattle are lost every year, seven million hectares of land  or nearly twice the size of Kerala  is affected and damage estimated at about Rs 5,600 crore, IndiaSpend reported on 17 July, 2018.

As Indias climate warms, extreme weather, such as intense rain and floods, is predicted to worsen.

India could see a six-fold increase in population exposed to the risk of severe floods by 2040  to 25 million people from 3.7 million facing this risk between 1971 and 2004 IndiaSpend reported in February 2018, quoting a 2018 study published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed journal.

The author is a principal correspondent with IndiaSpendGiven the scale of the devastation caused by the floods in Kerala, making profits cannot be prioritised to sanction rehabilitation projects.

Editor's note: Described as one of the worst since 1924 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the rains in Kerala have left over 350 dead and rendered thousands of people homeless. According to the latest tally, 80,000 have been rescued so far. Over 1,500 relief camps have been set up across the state that currently house at least 2,23,139 people. In a multi-part series, Firstpost will attempt to analyse the short-term and long-term impact of these unprecedented floods on the lives of the people, economy of the state, and the environment.

***

After the catastrophic floods in Kerala over the past month, the rehabilitation and reconstruction work that is required now are the biggest developmental challenges the state has ever had to face. However, the developmental policy that both the Left and Congress followed in the past may be an impediment in the process, as unlike after the tsunami in 2004 and Ockhi cyclone last year, the floods affected the whole of Kerala, and not just pockets. It's clear that a simple, locally-focused rehabilitation plan will not work in this case.

The deluge caused an estimated loss of Rs 20,000 crore. Given the scale of the losses incurred, CARE Ratings has revised its figures for Kerala's economic state for the current financial year and has predicted a 1 percent decline in its State Domestic Product. The agency's prediction is likely to be on point, given the trade losses the state has faced with regard to Onam celebrations this year. Also, it must be noted that Kerala's capability in post-disaster rehabilitation is sub-par and does not match its well-known model of development.

The government and agencies involved in rehabilitation work often consider the task a project to ensure the bare minimum to those affected  i.e minimum quantity of water supply, sanitation facilities and housing. This minimum-supply approach has proved ineffective in helping people rebuild their lives after a disaster, as it does not take long-term recovery into consideration.

After the tsunami in 2004, the 1,150 families relocated from the coastal areas of Kerala ended up living in 52 colonies with the bare minimum facilities and also faced social boycott. However, political parties and the general public never consider the isolation rehabilitated civilians experience a problem. State forces and agencies believed they could overcome this issue of dignity and lack of a support system because the people affected by the tsunami were concentrated in two districts. But in the case of the 2018 floods, it is going to be a much bigger challenge. The floods had devastating impacts statewide, which is why a state-level policy change is required in each sector of the economy to meet the needs of those affected.

Take, for example, the effect of the floods on the drinking water supply. Wells and sources of water supply though pipelines are contaminated with mud and dirty water. Adding to people's woes, the Kerala government has removed the street and public taps installed as part of a Rs-451 crore World Bank-funded project of the Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency in four districts. Initially, it was a community-based system of supplying drinking water, wherein the community bore the operational and maintenance costs. When it became a part of Kerala's rural drinking water supply programme, the government submitted another Rs 1,200-crore proposal to cover all rural areas of the state, but it was not sanctioned. The Kerala government had also handed over responsibility of such rural water supply schemes to local governments, making it an impossible task now to take back the onus to extend relief to the flood-affected regions as part of the rehabilitation process. This leaves the state only with the option to approach the affected communities and seek their financial participation in rehabilitation work, though this would further delay people's post-flood social and economic recovery.

In Kerala, infrastructure projects are based on either the public-private partnership (PPP) model or on the norms of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIFBI). These projects mainly aim to reduce government investment and involve the private sector, which is the national policy, as well. Ventures based on the KIFBI's rules and the PPP model both primarily prioritise the net income the state and investor can earn from the projects.

It is out of question to prioritise profitability while helping flood victims, which rules out applying these developmental methods on rehabilitation work. The state government has to take on the full investment, which also makes it a necessity to make changes to the existing policies.

Environmental governance is another aspect to be taken into consideration during the rehabilitation work.

Kerala was the first state to oppose the report of the Madhav Gadgil Committee, which had recommended conserving the Western Ghats based on the economic value of the natural resources in the state. Communities mobilised statewide, with the active support of both the Congress and the Left, to oppose the report. Given the emergence of this economic class capable of challenging the state, Kerala's first challenge before rehabilitation works gets underway in full swing is to ensure that a strict environmental conservation policy holds before private capital gain.

The government has asserted that the state will be transformed into a new Kerala rather than just rebuilt through rehabilitation. While the statement is welcome, how is the administration going to achieve this end? At present, post-disaster rehabilitation projects are critical, and the state needs the Centre's help, or public borrowings, to fund the initiatives.

Kerala's fiscal deficit for 2018-19 stands at Rs 23,957 crore, which is 3.1 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product. The estimate exceeds the 3 percent limit prescribed by the 14th Finance Commission. So any additional borrowing for flood recovery will further increase the deficit. This means that the Kerala government cannot initiate the rehabilitation work by itself and will need special central assistance.

The central government never accepts all requests that state governments send in such cases, preferring to forward such requests to international lending agencies and even other countries. This leaves the World Bank as the most likely option as it has a long history of supporting India in rehabilitation efforts. However, the process to sanction the funds takes at least a year to complete, which, once again, puts the onus of meeting the interim expenses to run the system on the state government. Such delays in approvals for financial assistance further adds to the vulnerability of the affected communities.

It is clear that the existing development policies of Kerala will not work with the rehabilitation work needed to rebuild the state. Therefore, for a "new Kerala", the state government has to amend its norms, and the central government has to accept the importance of the policy changes, as well.The Kerala experience must remind that it's time India looked seriously at disaster proof housing to secure homes and property from shocks, mudslides and flooding, while also making disaster insurance compulsory

Editor's Note: Described as one of the worst since 1924 by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the rains in Kerala have left over 350 dead and rendered thousands of people homeless. According to the latest tally, 80,000 have been rescued so far. Over 1,500 relief camps have been set up across the state that currently house at least 2,23,139 people. In a multi-part series, Firstpost will attempt to analyse the short-term and long-term impact of these unprecedented floods on the lives of the people, economy of the state, and the environment.

***

On 26 January, 2001, a devastating earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale hit Gujarat, killing over 20,000 people, injuring 1,66,000 and destroying some 4,00,000 homes. But resilient Gujarat rose from the rubble, as it were, in record time.

Bhuj, which was the epicentre of the earthquake, emerged stronger after the disaster.

A couple of years ago, I visited Bhuj and was amazed at the rapid development in the town. I couldnt believe it had faced the worst disaster of its kind just 15 years earlier. All the shops in the Bhuj market were plush with embroidered handicrafts, resplendent silk saris and intricate silver jewellery, which Bhuj was famous for. Fancy hotels and apartment buildings dotted the landscape. The Aaina Mahal was still there, a palace, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake. A portion of the historical palace has been restored and houses the museum, with rare paintings, art, arms and artefacts.

Soon after the 2001 earthquake, the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority was set up to implement the huge task of the rehabilitation and reconstruction programme in the earthquake affected areas of the state.

The turnaround and transformation which Gujarat achieved has been hailed internationally. BBC in an analysis in 2011, ten years after the earthquake said, "There was an outpouring of sympathy from around the world, much of it from Gujaratis living abroad. Some $130m (80m) of aid poured in. The Indian government was spurred into focusing on this much-ignored region in a way it had never done before."

A devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan on 11 March, 2011, measuring 9 on the Richter scale. In the very first few hours, Japan had set up an emergency command centre in Tokyo.

According to information culled together by Britannica on the Japan earthquake, a large number of rescue workers and the Japanese Self Defence Force were rapidly mobilised to deal with the crisis. Several International aid organisations, and some 91 countries pledged help. Including India, many countries sent search-and-rescue teams to Japan.

Within weeks, Japan had partially restored its transportation systems and by the coming summer of 2011, the Japanese economy was growing and within the first months of 2012, industrial output had reached the level it had been before the earthquake.

Whether it is the Gujarat model or the Japan experience, there are enough best practices around the world for Kerala to choose from in its path of reconstruction. Then, there is no dearth of international aid agencies, NGOs and willing corporates and a more than enthusiastic volunteer base, ready to pitch in to help in the reconstruction of the southern state.

Disaster proof housing

But, the Kerala experience, must remind us that India has been increasingly prone to disasters in the last two decades. Take the 1999 Odisha Cyclone; the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake; the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami; the 2013 Uttarakhand Flash Floods; the 2014 Kashmir Floods; the 2014 Vishakhapatnam Cyclone; or the 2015 Chennai Floods.

And it's time we looked seriously at disaster proof housing to secure our homes and property from shocks, mudslides and flooding.

In 2011, Brian Vastag, wrote in The Washington Post of how 'huge shock absorbers, walls that slide and Teflon foundation pads that isolate buildings from the ground all help explain why medium- and high-rise structures in Japan remained standing in the wake of the countrys largest earthquake on record.'

Japan learned lessons from its own past experiences. After the Kobe earthquake in 1995, Japan began engineering new structures and retrofitting old ones to withstand violent shaking from earthquakes.

Similar engineering is being adopted in the United States too, especially in the San Francisco bay area, which is prone to earthquakes.

Disaster insurance

Insurance against disasters, is another area that requires attention. The Indian insurance companies have been providing cover to homes and property from burglary, theft and fire; terrorism and also acts of God, which covers floods, earthquakes, storms, etc. Yet, most Indians avoid taking a coverage for their homes or property.

For most of us, health insurance has become a must to guard against sudden and emergency hospital expenses; and vehicle insurance has been made mandatory by the Regional Transport Offices. Similarly, home and property insurance against disasters must also become mandatory.

In San Francisco, when families buy new homes, they have to perforce insure their homes against floods and earthquakes. This insurance is tied in to their mortgages.

Jugaad does not always work when dealing with disasters

So, can we as a thriving democracy, with the fastest growing economy at 6.7 per cent, continue to be ostrich like and stick our heads in the mud, when it comes to handling disasters? And handle them, like we do everything else  through jugaad?

Indian entrepreneurs have taken the concept of jugaad to the rest of the world, by adapting quickly and intelligently to unforeseen and uncertain circumstances and using their limited resources in an innovative way. Mostly, this has worked for them, for these entrepreneurs were not looking at perfection or sophistication, all they were looking at was getting the job done with a good-enough solution.

But, this attitude cannot work when dealing with disasters. Maybe, disasters too are 'unforeseen and uncertain circumstances', yet disasters require standard practices, a fail-proof method and a well-oiled machinery to be set up, so as to ensure minimal loss to lives, destruction to property and limit the impact to a states economic growth.

On 18 March, 2015, the UN Member States at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Sendai City, Japan, adopted the Sendai Framework. The Sendai framework "aims at substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries".

The Sendai framework is the principle upon which countries, including India, build their disaster management planning. India has a comprehensive Disaster Management Act of 2005 and a nodal agency, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), whose vision is "to build a safer and disaster resilient India by a holistic, pro-active, technology driven and sustainable development strategy that involves all stakeholders and fosters a culture of prevention, preparedness and mitigation".

So, what is stopping us from putting this "holistic, pro-active and technology driven" disaster management system into place?

We have all the relevant laws and policies enshrined in our law books. What we need is to put them to work on the ground.

Also Read

Kerala, After The Flood: India needs to go beyond leaning on its military for relief and rescue to deal with disasters

Kerala, After The Flood: Tendency to back development despite warning from ecologists creates ground for future disasters

Kerala, After The Flood: Underprepared India needs rapid rescue and planned rehabilitation to combat disastersKerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan in response claimed that there was no lack of clarity on UAE aid for the flood-ravaged state and expressed hope the Centre would accept the 'offer' of Rs 700 crore.

In the latest development in the row over the financial aid reportedly offered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for relief work in flood-ravaged Kerala, the UAE embassy in New Delhi on Friday said that the West Asian country had not officially announced any aid amount for the state.

UAE ambassador Ahmed Albannam, without mentioning financial aid, said his government only set up a national emergency committee to provide relief assistance to people affected by flash floods in Kerala.

In response, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan claimed that there was no lack of clarity on UAE aid for the flood-ravaged state and expressed hope the Centre would accept the "offer" of Rs 700 crore.

Vijayan said NRI businessman MA Yusuf Ali had informed him about the aid. "When I asked him whether it could be made public, he said there is no problem in it," the chief minister told reporters after a meeting to review the post-flood situation and relief operations.

The UAE aid was communicated to Ali when he had met the UAE crown prince to convey Eid-ul-Azha greetings, Vijayan said. The Kerala chief minister also said that the issue whether or not to accept the aid was a matter to be decided by the Centre. "I hope that this will be accepted," Vijayan said replying to a question on the row.

He also said that the reported aid of Rs 700 crore from the UAE for the flood victims was intimated to the world by the leaders of the two countries. Vijayan told the media that the offer of aid was made by the ruler of the Emirates to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Both these rulers themselves intimated this to the world. The issue now is whether to accept or not. My view is it should be accepted," he said.

There was no lack of clarity on the UAE aid to Kerala, he added. NDTV reported that the chief minister also pointed to a tweet by Modi to Prime Minister of UAE, HH Sheikh Mohammed, which read, "A big thanks to @hhshkmohd for his gracious offer to support people of Kerala during this difficult time. His concern reflects the special ties between governments and people of India and UAE."

The chief minister said he had nothing more to add to what he had stated on 21 August about the aid, and added that it was a matter discussed by the Crown Prince of UAE Sheikh Mohammed Bin Syed Al Nahian and Modi.

Meanwhile, the Kerala unit of the BJP has accused Vijayan of making up the UAE aid to paint Modi in a bad light. Addressing the media in Kozhikode, state BJP chief PS Sreedharan Pillai said, "We want Vijayan to explain about this news and from where he received it. After the Centre expressed reservations in accepting the aid, a vicious smear campaign was unleashed against the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

The issue of UAE aid has triggered a row, with the Centre deciding not to accept foreign aid for relief work in Kerala, and the ruling CPM-led LDF and the Congress in Kerala coing out against the central government's decision.

Officials in UAE embassy in New Delhi also said that no specific amount for financial aid to flood-ravaged Kerala was finalised officially by the United Arab Emirates and there was no announcement on donation to the state.

The West Asian nation may come out with its plan in the next few days to extend assistance to flood victims, an official said. Vijayan earlier this week said the UAE has decided to extend a financial assistance of Rs 700 crore to Kerala, considering the Gulf nation's special relationship with Kerala.

Around three million Indians live and work in the UAE, out of which 80 per cent are from Kerala, according to official figures.

With inputs from agenciesThe Union health ministry has approved a grant of over Rs 18 crore under the National Health Mission (NHM) for disbursing to village health, sanitation and nutrition committees in flood-ravaged Kerala.

New Delhi: The Union health ministry has approved a grant of over Rs 18 crore under the National Health Mission (NHM) for disbursing to village health, sanitation and nutrition committees in flood-ravaged Kerala.

The ministry had earlier said it is extending all support to the relief measures in the flood-battered state, where 3,757 medical relief camps have been set up.

"Health Ministry approves additional grant of Rs 18.71 crore under #NHM to #Kerala for disbursing to Village Health, Sanitation & Nutrition Committees for #KeralaFloodRelief, as per State request. #SwasthaBharat @JPNadda," the ministry's twitter handle said.

Health Ministry approves additional grant of Rs.18.71 crore under #NHM to #Kerala for disbursing to Village Health, Sanitation & Nutrition Committees for #KeralaFloodRelief, as per State request. #SwasthaBharat@JPNadda  Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) August 24, 2018

As the floodwaters began to recede, people from relief camps started returning to their homes even as over 10.40 lakh of them remain in 2,770 camps across the state.

The heavy rains and flooding has claimed 231 lives since 8 August in the second spell of the monsoon.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda had earlier said no outbreak of communicable disease was reported from the flood-hit districts of Kerala.

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has issued health advisories to support the state in meeting with post-flood public health management challenges when the threat of water borne, vector borne and viral hepatitis diseases becomes potent.

In a statement issued earlier, the ministry had said 65 metric tonnes of emergency drugs for flood situation were airlifted by the Indian Air Force to Thiruvananthapuram while one crore chlorine tablets were sent and another one crore are in transit.

The total request of four crore chlorine tablets will be met in phases, it had said. The ministry had further mobilised 20 MT of bleaching powder.US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has expressed solidarity with those affected by the devastating floods in Kerala, which is facing the deadliest deluge in nearly 100 years.

United Nations: US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has expressed solidarity with those affected by the devastating floods in Kerala, which is facing the deadliest deluge in nearly 100 years.

Unprecedented floods due to incessant rain have created havoc in Kerala, causing immeasurable misery and devastation. As per the official records, since 8 August, over 231 people have died and more than 10 lakh have been displaced.

"Our hearts go out to our Indian brothers and sisters in Kerala who have been affected by the worst monsoon and flooding in over 100 years. We send special prayers to those who have lost a loved one and to all the families of the region as they begin to rebuild," Haley said in a message tweeted by the US Mission to the UN.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson had said last week that the United Nations is "saddened" by the loss of life, destruction and displacement caused by severe floods in Kerala and is following the situation very closely.

"Our humanitarian colleagues as well as the country team in India have been following the recent floods very closely. The United Nations is of course saddened by the loss of life, destruction and displacement caused by floods in India," Dujarric had told reporters.The Delhi High Court has sentenced 12 members of a dominant Jat community to life imprisonment and 21 other received varying jail terms for the Mirchpur Dalit killings in 2010

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday sentenced 12 members of dominant Jat community to life imprisonment and 21 other convicts to varying jail terms in the 2010 Mirchpur Dalit killing case in which a 60-year-old man and his physically- challenged teenage daughter were burnt alive.

The high court said there was a "deliberate targeting" of the houses of Balmiki community members by the Jats and it was "an instance of caste-based violence meant to teach the Balmikis a lesson for perceived insults".

In a 209-page verdict, a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and IS Mehta said 71 years after Independence, instances of "atrocities" against Scheduled Castes by those belonging to dominant castes have shown "no signs of abating".

"The incidents that took place in Mirchpur between 19 and 21 April, 2010 serve as yet another grim reminder of 'the complete absence of two things in Indian society' as noted by Dr BR Ambedkar when he tabled the final draft of the Constitution of India before the Constituent Assembly on 25 November, 1949. One was 'equality' and the other 'fraternity'," the bench observed.

On 21 April, 2010, the house of victim Tara Chand was set ablaze by the members of the Jat community after a dispute between the two communities at Mirchpur village in Haryana's Hisar district, which led the father and the daughter to be burnt alive.

Several other members of the Dalit community were injured and there was "large scale destruction" of their properties by the Jats, the court noted in its verdict.

On the burning down of the Dalits' properties, the high court said it was not a case of an accidental fire spreading quickly as a result of cow dung cakes or other flammable materials lying around, but a "deliberate, pre-planned and carefully orchestrated act."

The trial court had earlier convicted only 15 of the 98 persons accused in the case, but the high court had set aside the acquittal of 20 persons. Two men, who were convicted by the trial court, have died during the pendency of the appeals.

Of the 20 persons whose acquittal was reversed, five were awarded life term and other 15 sentenced to jail terms of 1-2 years by the high court which said there was sufficient evidence to show that "a large scale conspiracy" was hatched by the Jats against the Balmikis.

The judgment of the trial court which had awarded life sentence to three  Kulwinder, Dharambir and Ramphal  was modified to the extent that instead of holding them guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the convicts were held guilty under the harsher penal provision of murder.

The other nine persons awarded life term by the high court are  Karambir, Pradeep (s/o Jaibir), Rajpal, Pradeep (s/o Suresh), Jogal, Satyawan, Pawan, Sanjay and Dharambir.

While Pawan was convicted for murder, the other eight were held guilty of using fire or explosive material to damage the property of a member of the Balmiki community under the SC/ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act, for which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment.

Mirchpur village is located on the border between the Hisar and Jind districts of Haryana and is home to several communities such as the Lohars, Chamars, Balmikis, Brahmins and the Jats, who are the dominant among them, the court noted.

While the trial was completed by the lower court in nine months, the appeals were decided by the high court in over six years.

The high court, which had also imposed varying fines on the 33 convicts, said the amounts collected from the convicts shall be used by the Haryana government for pecuniary relief and rehabilitation of the victims.

The court also noted that the members of the Jat community had planned their attack in advance and come to the Balmiki basti armed with oil cans, jellies, gandasis (sickles), sticks and carts filled with stones. It said the properties of the Balmiki community were burnt and looted and their belongings destroyed.

The high court set aside the finding of the trial court that it was not an instance of violence driven by caste hatred.

It said Tara Chand's dying declaration "more than adequately established" the role of some of the accused and the deposition of various prosecution witnesses fully corroborated his statement.

The high court pronounced the verdict on separate appeals of the convicts challenging their conviction and sentence by a trial court in the case. The victims and the police had also appealed in the high court seeking enhancement of punishment awarded to the convicts and acquittal of others.

The trial court had on 24 September, 2011, convicted 15 of 97 men belonging to the Jat community. Two convicts had died during pendency of appeals. In October 2012, the 98th accused, who was earlier absconding, was tried and acquitted by the trial court.

On 31 October, 2011, the trial court had sentenced Kulwinder, Dharambir and Ramphal to life imprisonment for committing unintentional killing under Section 304 of the IPC.

While five others were handed down jail term of five years for their offences including rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, mischief and putting ablaze victims' houses and provisions of SC/ST (POA) Act, seven other accused, convicted under milder penal provisions, were released on probation by the trial court.The incident was described in the court's 209-page verdict in which it convicted 33 Jats for the crime in Haryana's Mirchpur.

New Delhi: The barking of a dog, belonging to a member of the Dalit community, at a group of inebriated Jat youths who were passing through the village was the trigger for the Mirchpur Dalit killings, according to the Delhi high court.

The incident was described in the court's 209-page verdict, in which it convicted 33 Jats for the crime.

It noted that the incident dates back to the evening of 19 April, 2010, when a group of Jat youths were returning through the Mirchpur village and a villager's dog barked at them to which the Jats took offence and started throwing stones at the pet.

When the villager and his nephew came out and objected, they were threatened by the Jats with dire consequences. An altercation broke out which was somehow defused by the villager after which the youths left, the judgement noted.

After this, the Jat community members asked the dog owner to apologise to avoid further problems. When he and his neighbour reached the house of one of the accused, they were severely beaten up.

One of them suffered serious injuries and was admitted to a hospital. He also lodged a complaint with the local police. The next day, that is 20 April, 2010, a large number of youths from the Jat community gathered in the village, leading to apprehensions of an attack among the Dalit community, the Court noted.

On the fateful morning of 21 April, 2010, one of the accused while passing near the village had allegedly threatened some of the Dalit youths of burning down their houses which led to another verbal altercation between the two parties. Following this, a false alarm was raised by the Jats that the accused had been beaten by the Dalits.

The judgement noted that after some time, a large number of Jats, armed with 'lathis', jellies, stones, oil cans and petrol came to the village and started pelting stones towards the Dalit residents. Initially there were 100 to 150 members of Jat community, but later this number went up to 300 to 400.

The Dalit community retaliated by throwing stones, brickbats, and whatever they could lay their hands on. However, they were outnumbered.

Meanwhile, one of the accused came to the village and had allegedly asked all the men of the Dalit community to assemble at a place. While the men were away, the Jats set fire to their houses.

On hearing the cries of female family members, the Dalit men ran towards their houses and saw the Jat mob burning the houses, including that of victim Tara Chand, the Court noted. His daughter succumbed to the burn injuries in the house and he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died during treatment.

In the incident, 51 persons belonging to the Balmiki community received injuries and 18 of their properties were burnt. There was large-scale rioting and looting of the properties. The residents had to flee the village and take shelter at a farmhouse.Some residents are seeing a slow return to normalcy nearly a year to the day after Hurricane Harvey sent a furious wall of water rushing through the densely-populated area, but many of them are making do in the same conditions they have lived in since the Brazos River ripped that normalcy away.By Timothy Aeppel and Sharay Angulo WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The prospect of a quick deal between Mexico and the United States retreated on Friday as disagreements over energy flared up and conflict over autos persisted in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Since talks resumed last month, U.S

By Timothy Aeppel and Sharay Angulo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The prospect of a quick deal between Mexico and the United States retreated on Friday as disagreements over energy flared up and conflict over autos persisted in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Since talks resumed last month, U.S. and Mexican negotiators have focused on reaching common ground but in the past few days differing views on energy policy between the outgoing and incoming Mexican administrations have put up a fresh hurdle.

Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's camp has doubts about enshrining the 2013-14 opening of the oil and gas sector enacted by current president Enrique Pena Nieto in the new pact, three sources close to the talks said.

"The energy issue is holding everything up," said one of them on Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Asked this week about the energy issue, Lopez Obrador's designated trade negotiator, Jesus Seade, sought to downplay the matter, saying that while his team wanted to check the issue's "consistency with the constitution", it was not "substantive".

Lopez Obrador, a leftist, opposed Pena Nieto's energy reform, and the issue is divisive within his own camp. Business-friendly aides back greater private investment in the oil and gas sector, while more nationalist allies are against it.

Elected on July 1, Lopez Obrador takes office on Dec. 1.

Another sticking point at the talks has been new rules of origin for automobile manufacturing, which U.S. negotiators hope will bring more production to the region.

U.S. President Donald Trump prompted the NAFTA revamp over a year ago, complaining the 24-year-old trade pact has benefited Mexico to the detriment of U.S. workers and manufacturing.

Trump has threatened to withdraw from if it is not reworked to the advantage of the United States.

Industry officials have said the U.S. team had barely moved from its demands last May of a 75 percent overall regional content threshold with 40-45 percent content from high-wage zones, effectively the United States and Canada, with the only substantial change a slightly longer phase-in time.

"It seems that the issues on autos are far from being resolved," said the industry source.

Initial optimism over an imminent deal has gradually faded.

Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, who on Wednesday said a bilateral breakthrough could be just "hours" away, said he and his team would stay in Washington over the weekend to keep negotiating with U.S. officials.

Asked about issues between the ingoing and outgoing governments on the energy chapter, Guajardo said: "We are working as one team, a team called Mexico, and we have to make sure that everybody feels comfortable with this agreement."

Speaking outside the offices of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Guajardo commented on the difficulty of securing a final deal: "as you know ... there are always last moment things that can come between you and your goals."

Canada has sat out the latest round of talks waiting for the Mexican and U.S. teams to work out their issues.

Asked if talks had made headway on a U.S. "sunset" proposal that could terminate NAFTA after five years, Guajardo said it was an issue that would be dealt with once Canada came back.

Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland dodged questions on when she would return to talks when speaking at a steel manufacturing facility in Vancouver, but said she had been encouraged by optimistic reports from Canada's NAFTA partners.

"As I've said, it really depends on how quickly the U.S. and Mexico are able to resolve those bilateral issues," she said. "The U.S.Mexico issues inside NAFTA are really complicated."

(Reporting by Timothy Aeppel and Sharay Angulo; Additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and Dave Graham in Mexico City and Julie Gordon in Vancouver; Writing by Anthony Esposito; editing by Clive McKeef)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.Ministry of Defence has issued a clarification a day after reports surfaced of Nirmala Sitharaman getting into a public spat with Karnataka minister Sa Ra Mahesh.

A day after reports surfaced of Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman getting into a public spat with Karnataka minister Sa Ra Mahesh during her visit to flood-affected Kodagu on Friday, the Ministry of Defence has issued a clarification and termed Mahesh's behaviour as "unfortunate".

The release further said that Mahesh's personal remarks against Sitharaman as cited in some news reports have lowered the dignity of the Upper House of the Parliament.

The press release stated that the minister's programme was finalised by the district administration of Kodagu in consultation with the public representatives and circulated to all concerned two days prior to Sitharaman's arrival. Subsequently, on the request of the district administration, an interaction with the veterans was added to the schedule, the clarification further said.

After the field visits, the Union minister was interacting with ex-servicemen affected by the floods when the district-in-charge minister insisted that the meeting with the officials be conducted first. The release said that despite Sitharaman clarifying that the welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the Ministry of Defence and the same was scheduled in the program, Mahesh insisted that Sitharaman immediately stop the interaction.

Sitharaman proceeded to the venue of the meeting with the officials, which was already set up for the press conference. The release further termed as "unfortunate" the way the district-in-charge minister behaved.

According to reports, Mahesh had asked Sitharaman to wind up the press conference citing paucity of time and an upset Union minister shot back, saying she was following minute-by-minute the itinerary prepared by the district administration. During the press conference, Sitharaman said to Mahesh, "I am a central minister and I am following your instructions. Unbelievable!"

Later, Mahesh dubbed Sitharaman's comments as a reaction to the demand for funds from the Centre to Kodagu. "She would have known the pain had she contested election by standing with the electorate, going to every house, meeting voters and asked their problems. She has been elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka," he told a TV channel.

The district in-charge minister said the state had requested her that the Centre should extend relief for Kodagu just like it did for Kerala.

In a reference to the Union minister's use of the term 'parivar' during the press conference, the release said that there has been gross misinterpretation. Sitharaman was quoted as saying by NDTV, "If officials are important, my parivar is also important. Sun News, however, quoted her as saying that the 'Sangh parivar' is also important.

Clarifying the use of the word, the press release said, "One of the four departments of the Ministry of Defence is the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and in that context it was stated that all ex-servicemen are part of the MoD parivar. Any other inference is misconstrued and uncalled for."

Siddaramaiah slams Sitharaman

Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah also slammed Sitharaman over the row with Mahesh and said that Sitharaman was "more interested in dominating the minister" than in assessing the damage.

The former chief minister also said that "it was disappointing" to see Sitharaman lash out.

With inputs from PTIA student of a private university in Noida has been arrested on attempt to murder charges after he allegedly pointed a pistol at another student of the institute.

Noida: A student of a private university has been arrested on attempt to murder charges after he allegedly pointed a pistol at another student of the institute over an old tiff, police said.

Surya Kumar (24) was detained on Friday, a day after the incident occurred outside the Amity University in Sector 125, the police said, adding that he was arrested on Saturday. Kumar, a resident of Dasna in Ghaziabad, is a final-year B.Com student, while complainant Vivek Yadav, a resident of Safrabad village in Sector 73 in Noida, is a first-year MBA student in the university.

According to Yadav, the two had a spat last month over parking of vehicles on the university premises. "Parking inside the campus is not allowed for students. But Kumar was drunk and he got his car inside. I got hit on my leg by his vehicle, so I complained to my teachers. Kumar was scolded and told not to bring his vehicle inside the campus. After that he had warned me of dire consequences," he claimed.

Yadav said on Thursday, he was in his car at the parking lot outside the campus, when he was confronted by Kumar, who was in another vehicle. "He came towards my car with a pistol. I quickly rolled up the windows and started the engine. Meanwhile, I also called up the emergency police number for help. "Kumar got on to the bonnet of my car and then latched on to the window, while pointing the pistol at me," Yadav said.

A purported video of the incident went viral on the social media. Subsequently, a case was lodged against Kumar at the Sector 39 police station, officials said. Kumar has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), among others, the police said.Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala, is celebrated with great pomp across the state, but this time around festivities will be the last thing on people's minds as they come to grips with the devastation caused by the unprecedented deluge that claimed 231 lives since 8 August.

Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala, is celebrated with great pomp across the state, but this time around festivities will be the last thing on people's minds as they come to grips with the devastation caused by the unprecedented deluge that claimed 231 lives since 8 August.

The festival commemorates the return of mythical demon king Mahabali to see his beloved subjects at the beginning of 'Chingam', the first month of the Malayalam calendar. The mythical ruler is traditionally welcomed with a carpet of flowers, popularly known as pookalam, in front of houses, and Onam Sadyas (feasts) and people turn up in new dresses. The festival is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm by people across communities.

'Pall of gloom everywhere'

However, in the fortnight leading to the festival, which falls on Saturday, the state was ravaged by the worst rains in a century leading to several people being killed, houses destroyed and over ten lakh lodged in relief camps.

Water is yet to recede in several places and hundreds of houses are still submerged.

"No flowers, no lights...you see a pall of gloom everywhere," P Mohandas, a Kathakali artiste, said.

"Mahabali will see the sufferings of his people hit by rains and floods instead of the usual fanfare associated with the biggest festival of Keralites as he visits their rain-ravaged homes on Thiruvonam day (Saturday)," he said.

Mohandas, hailing from flood-hit village of Mulakkulam North in Piravom in Ernakulam district, said many of the houses don't have the 'flower mats' (pookalam) in their courtyard to welcome Mahabali.

Help those suffering due to floods, says Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan urged people to celebrate this year's Onam by helping those who are suffering in the aftermath of the deadly deluge. "More than a million of our people are in relief camps. We have together survived the worst disaster in our State's history. Let us also set an example in rebuilding efforts," he said.

Let's celebrate this #Onam by bringing help to those among us who are suffering. More than a million of our people are in relief camps. We have together survived the worst disaster in our State's history. Let us also set an example in rebuilding efforts. - CM Pinarayi Vijayan pic.twitter.com/57O4MTKRfQ  CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 24, 2018

Saluting the "characteristic grit and resilience" of the people of Kerala, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday greeted them on the occasion of Onam.

In a message issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kovind extended his greetings and good wishes to fellow citizens and, "especially to our brothers and sisters of Kerala in India and abroad".

He said may this festival bring peace and happiness to people, in particular to all those in Kerala who are recovering in the aftermath of the recent floods, and are gradually beginning to rebuild their lives with their characteristic grit and resilience.

"May Onam mark a new beginning," he said.

Onam business hit due to floods

All sectors, including tourism, business, art and culture, have been hit by the deluge last week.

Office-bearers of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the floods had severely affected Onam business. "Many businessmen in places like the rain-ravaged town of Aluva have suffered heavy losses. Some of them have lost their entire stock in the floods. The magnitude of loss for business community in other parts of the state is also very high," Chamber secretary R Sreenivasan said.

The situation is no different in some areas which were not affected by the rain fury with people coming forward to offer money for the relief fund instead of splurging it on the festivities.

"We are not celebrating Onam and preparing Onam sadya, the grand meal, this time. Instead, we have decided to contribute money meant for it to buy relief material for affected people. Such is the sufferings of the people hit by floods," an employee of a private bank told PTI.

Sreenivasan said they were assessing the total loss suffered by their members. "It will take some time," he said.

Murugan, a flower vendor at the bustling Chalai market in Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala's capital, said the unprecedented rains and floods had washed away all the "colours of Onam."

"It is during Onam that we get the best business in a year. We plan several things calculating the profit which we get during this season. But, everything has turned upside down this time," he said.

"Only very few takers are there for flowers as there is no onam festivities in the wake of floods. Schools, colleges and government offices have cancelled celebrations. Nobody is interested in laying floral carpets," he said.

Many florists in the city have bought only very few quantities of flowers from neighbouring states in the wake of dull business.

Balachandran, a city-based caterer, said he has suffered a huge setback in business as a number of offices, resident associations and individuals had cancelled bookings for the Onam feast, ordered as part of the festivities.

"The bookings for wedding feasts have not been affected much. But, mass cancellations of orders for onam feasts from IT hub, Technopark and government and private offices are a worrying factor," he said.

Though the downpour had not affected the capital city much, many have cancelled orders from firms as they decided to do away with the celebrations in the wake of deluge, he said.

Another private caterer said they had received orders from banks, IT firms and other offices for supplying 3,500 'Onam sadyas' from 17-26 August, which got cancelled due to the present situation.

A prominent vegetarian hotelier in Thiruvanathapuram, specialising in 'sadya', said they have also been hit by a lot of cancellations due to the flood situation.

"Many people have cancelled the orders as they want to donate the amount to the flood relief fund," he said.

The heavy rains and floods have claimed 231 lives since 8 August and more than 10.40 lakh people are still in relief camps across the state.

With inputs from PTIVipassana Insaan's name figure in the list of most wanted in connection with the widespread violence in Panchkula and Sirsa that claimed the lives of over 40 people.

Chandigarh: Dera Sacha Sauda chairperson Vipassana Insaan remains elusive for Haryana Police, but not for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which has questioned her twice since the violence after the rape conviction of the sect chief this day last year.

Vipassana Insaan and the Sirsa-based sect's spokesman Aditya Insaan, whose names figure in the list of most wanted in connection with the widespread violence in Panchkula and Sirsa that claimed the lives of over 40 people, have evaded arrest.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is behind bars after his conviction on 25 August last year for raping two disciples several years ago. Dera followers ran amok in Panchkula and Sirsa after the conviction, damaging public properties worth crores of rupees.

"Our teams are on the job to arrest Vipassana Insaan and Aditya Insaan," a senior police officer said on Saturday. In a report submitted in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 8 August, the ED, however, stated that it had questioned her twice during the period. The agency is investigating the Dera's financial assets and alleged irregularities in financial activities.

Vipassana had appeared before the Special Investigation Team of Haryana Police, before her name was added in the case in February this year. She has remained elusive for the police since then.

The police have announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Aditya Insaan who has been declared a proclaimed offender. Around 1,438 people, including the members of top management of the Dera, are currently facing prosecution in Haryana for violence and arson committed in the state following the Dera head's conviction.

Haryana Police registered 240 cases against Dera followers for violence, arson and destruction of public and private properties. Out of these cases, investigation has been completed in 207 cases, police said, adding that 12 accused were declared proclaimed offenders. A year after the violence, 128 claims, including 25 by journalists, worth Rs 10.48 crore are still pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

As the state was gripped under violence after the conviction, the sentence was pronounced by the judge at Sunaria jail in Rohtak, where the Dera chief is lodged. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail. The Dera chief has earned over Rs 6,000 till now by growing vegetables in a patch outside his jail, officials said.

The trial in two murder cases against the Dera chief has reached final stages and charges have been framed against him in a case where he is accused of castrating Dera followers. At the Sect headquarters in Sirsa, Dera followers led by Shobha Insaan are looking after day-to-day affairs, his disciples said. Majority of business activities of the sect are closed now.Besides the Vijay Mallya allegation, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi also claimed 'there is a relationship' between Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Narendra Modi.

London: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Indian prisons are "difficult places", but fugitives like Vijay Mallya should not be treated differently.

Interacting with the members of the Indian Journalists' Association in London, Rahul said that "before Mallya left India, he met senior BJP leaders, that is documented. I won't name them".

When asked whether Indian jails are up to scratch, with regard to Mallya's deportation case, he said. "Indian prisons are difficult places... Indian prisons are pretty decent as far as Mr Mallya is concerned. Justice should be the same for all Indians. Just because he is Vijay Mallya who defrauded banks to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore and ran away and he needs a 'different jail' is not acceptable."

Fugitive liquor baron Mallya is currently fighting extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges worth an estimated Rs 9,000 crores. Last month, he had appeared before a court in London where both defence and prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition. Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of the Barrack 12 of the jail.

Rahul said the Narendra Modi government was pretty lenient to Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehjul Choksi, who have defrauded Indian banks. "Punjab National Bank scam accused Nirav Modi took Rs 35,000 crore and Chokshi defrauded the banks. The question is job creation. How many jobs Nirav Modi created?" he asked.

The Congress president claimed "there is a relationship between Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and the prime minister. No action is taken against them".

Jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, the promoter of Gitanjali Gems, have allegedly defrauded state-run Punjab National Bank of over Rs 13,000 crore. The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have registered cases of alleged fraud against them.

The Congress president attacked the Modi government and said it "absolutely and completely lacked any strategy as far as India's foreign policy is concerned". "The prime minister makes a particular statement in Nepal and in a couple of months there is a complete U-turn. He has not been able to handle the relationship with Nepal, Afghanistan or China... A devastating example is that the prime minister went to Afghanistan and on his way back, he went to Pakistan for a wedding, sending a completely wrong message to Afghanistan. Afghan keeps wondering what is going on," he said.

Rahul was referring to Modi's surprise visit to Pakistan on 25 December, 2015, while returning from Afghanistan. He said that the prime minister Modi went to China but did not discuss the Doka la dispute as "he views these as events, but they are not events". He said Modi was not taking feedback from the Ministry of External Affairs.

"Why is the foreign minister (Sushma Swaraj) spending her time on sorting out visas? That is not the job of the foreign minister. That is the job of someone in embassy. The job of the foreign minister is making foreign policy, holding discussion on strategy... Sushma Swaraj is not allowed to have discussions. She is an extremely capable woman. I know her. I have served with her in committees. I have issues with her regarding her style. She is humiliated on every count. She is not taken by prime minister on his trips and you never see her in photographs with the prime minister. Then you say the foreign policy is wrong," said Rahul, who is a member of the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs.Rahul, responding to a question on the Sikh riots at the UK Parliament meeting, said, 'I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree.'

Congress president Rahul Gandhi late on Friday stirred up another controversy while on a two-day visit to the UK as he claimed that the Congress party had no role to play in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that claimed over 3,000 Sikh lives.

The Congress chief described the massacre as a "very painful tragedy" but said that the Congress party had no criminal culpability in the case, according to CNN-News18.

Rahul, responding to a question on the Sikh riots at the UK Parliament meeting, said, "I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree. Certainly, there was violence, there was a tragedy."

The 1984 riots till date remain an emotive issue in the Sikh dominant state of Punjab and all members of the community across India. Prominent Congress leaders of the time, Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, were accused of organising and planning the anti-Sikh riots to a large scale, following then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination at the hands of her Sikh bodyguards.

Rahul's comments evoked sharp reactions from his political opponents and the riot victims, who await justice even 33 years after the tragedy.

BJP's Sambit Patra took strong objection to the Congress president's statement and slammed Rahul for undoing the Congress party's apology made in 2013.

"Rahul Gandhi has undone everything, any leadership qualities that he had... I remember that in 2013 then prime minister Manmohan Singh had apologised for the 1984 riots. And here is a leader who undoes all of that to begin the vicious cycle once again," Patra told CNN-News18.

Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia also condemned the statement and demanded an apology from Rahul over his remark. "When asked about the riots, Rajiv Gandhi had then said, 'When a big tree falls, the earth shakes'. Jagdish Tytler went on record to say that Rajiv Gandhi accompanied him to recce different parts of Delhi to see how successful the massacre was.... He should apologise for this blatant lie," Majithia was quoted as saying by News18.

Tejinder Pal Singh Nalwa, a riot victim, questioned Rahul's denial of a criminal conspiracy in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He told CNN-News18, "Remember we are talking of a period 33 years ago when there was no WhatsApp or internet. If it wasn't a well-planned conspiracy, how could there be such uniformity in attacks without a criminal conspiracy being hatched?"

Kanwaljit, another riot victim, told CNN-News18, said that while the Congress leader may deny these charges but the pain inflicted on the community was very real. He said that he lost his brother and suffered injury, then how can the party's role be denied. Kanwaljit also recalled hearing statements like "khoon ka badla khoon" by prominent leaders on radio.

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday defended Rahul and said that he has not absolved anyone. He added that the party was in office in 1984 and a terrible thing had happened then for which Dr Manmohan Singh had apologised in the Parliament.

Congress was in office in 1984. A very terrible thing happened in 1984 for which Dr Manmohan Singh aplogised in Parliament. You can't hold Rahul Gandhi responsible for that, he was 13 or 14. He hasn't absolved anyone: P Chidambaram on statement R Gandhi's made on 1984 riots y'day pic.twitter.com/X1HmU0s9eX  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

Congress has also sought to clarify Rahul's statement and claimed that the question was "planted".

"Responding to a planted and hostile question which contained a sweeping statement that Congress party was criminally involved in the 1984 riots, Rahul said that that's a wrong statement. Congress party was not criminally involved in the riots. What happened was very sad, it was very unfortunate. Congress party has condemned the incident and our leaders have condemned what happened and we stand with those who suffered in the riots. We believe that the perpetrators must be punished."

The Supreme Court has earlier this year appointed a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-investigate 186 cases related to the riots, which were closed by a government-appointed SIT.Taking strong note of the recent fire incident in a posh Mumbai high-rise that claimed four lives, the Supreme Court said the people were dying in such illegally-constructed buildings which had no relevant certificates or clearances.

New Delhi: Taking strong note of the recent fire incident in a posh Mumbai high-rise that claimed four lives, the Supreme Court said the people were dying in such illegally-constructed buildings which had no relevant certificates or clearances.

It also referred to the incidents of Bawana factory in Delhi and the Kamala Mills in Mumbai and said unregulated constructions were being rampantly carried out with the hope that "someday such buildings will be regularised".

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta expressed concern over illegal constructions and wondered how such high-rises were being allowed to be constructed with no clearances from the authorities.

"People are dying in these unauthorised constructions. You see what happened in Mumbai's Parel where a fire broke out in high rise building two days back. We have read somewhere that the building did not have an occupancy certificate. How are these high rise buildings being allowed to be built," the bench said.

The top court, which is dealing with a matter related to unauthorised construction in Delhi, said "it is actually a sorry state of affairs if we look other parts of the country".

"We are dealing with the issue of Delhi, but what is happening in rest of the country is equally worrying. Shall we start taking the matter city-wise for Mumbai, Calcutta or Chennai," the bench asked.

Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni, concurred with the views of bench and said these high-rises were being built due to "large-scale corruption in town-planning departments and civic bodies."

To this, the bench said "then what is the government doing if there is so much corruption. Tell us what steps are being taken by it. If we take certain action, you say it is judicial activism".

The court said that people were staying in such buildings for years and one fine day they are told that the building where they are residing have no occupancy certificate.

"Something or the other has to be done. It can't go on like this way as people are dying", the bench said.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, who is amicus curiae in the matter, drew the attention of the court to the recent incident of a building collapsing in Shahberi village of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and said over half a dozen people were killed.

"Unregularised constructions are being done with a hope that someday such buildings will be regularised. Just see the incidents of Bawana in Delhi, Kamala Mills in Mumbai, it seems no lesson has been learnt," the bench observed.

Nadkarni said that respective high courts should be asked to look at all the unauthorised constructions in their jurisdiction.

The bench took on record the report of the Monitoring Committee which is overseeing the sealing drive in Burari area of North Delhi.

The report said there were over 24 unregularised residential buildings which have been given provisional regularisation certificates and large-scale encroachment has taken place on the lands of Delhi Development Authority and Forest Department.

Several multi-storied residential and commercial buildings have come up in the agricultural lands and 800 godowns and industrial units are being run in the residential areas, it said, adding that action has been taken against 25 such illegally constructed buildings.

The bench directed the Special Task Force (STF), constituted on April 25 following the court's order to oversee enforcement of laws on illegal constructions in Delhi, to take into account the report of Monitoring Committee. It directed the STF to initiate action against the illegal structures in compliance with the court directions.

On 18 July, the apex court had directed that there would be "no stopping of sealing or demolition" of unauthorised constructions in Delhi after the Centre said it had not given any instructions to the civic bodies to go slow or stop the sealing drive against offending structures.

It had said that construction activity be stopped with "immediate effect" wherever any unauthorised construction was noticed or booked by authorities concerned in the national capital.

The top court is dealing with the issue of the validity of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislation which protect unauthorised constructions from being sealed.In Soldiering: A Life On The Edge, Brigadier PS Gothra talks about the Kashmir conflict through the life and times of a rather ordinary Captain, shorn of glory, but going through the daily grind of fighting militancy in the Valley

Much has been written about the tasks facing Satya Pal Malik, the new Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, which includes holding the panchayat elections, the question of eventual government formation, and the burning question of Article 35A. Even as these details engage Raj Bhawan, a grim battle is being fought on the streets, forests on and on the borders.

There is no respite from the task of fighting terrorism, and according to Indiaspend, armed encounters between militants and security forces have increased by 53 percent over the preceding three years, resulting in increased casualties.

Yet it is only after a particularly brutal attack, or after a Major Gogoi type incident, that the media takes note of the army presence, usually thereafter presenting the whole in a negative light. After all, it's bad news that sells. Into this reality comes a book by a serving Brigadier PS Gothra. A fourth generation army officer, hes a veteran of the Kashmir conflict, and other insurgencies elsewhere. But it hasnt made him into one of those crashing bores that one is in danger of running into at army messes and clubs. On the contrary, hes probably unlikely to speak at all, unless hes goaded.

Thats probably why Gothra preferred to put in print a small book called Soldiering  A Life On The Edge, which tells as a story, the life and times of a rather ordinary Captain, shorn of glory, but going through the daily grind of fighting militancy in Kashmir. As a serving officer, hes barred from saying the truth as it is on the ground. As an anonymous Captain Bharat, he does and tells it as it is. And believe me, it's not pretty.

The surprise of the book is the sheer normality that comes across in the narration of some brutal incidents. In one instance, two of a patrol party are beheaded, and their remains are found by the intrepid Captain and his group. Revenge is planned meticulously, and carried out, with the group actually staying within sight of the enemy camp a whole night. This incident alone would be well worth a fortune and an entire book to someone like Jack Higgins. For the Captain, it's all in a days work, and written with a kind of weary resignation that tells its own story.

Other incidents are equally hair raising. The value of these apparently random incidents is that it exposes the underbelly of a very dirty war indeed, where there are very few good guys, and lots of diversity in terms of sheer evil or just bad company.

There is the terrorist launch pad commander who betrays an entire group of his own men for a price  that he be given the money and narcotics that is carried by each group. In the end, it's all about the money.

The bizarre is also the new normal. Enemy soldiers profusely thank their Indian counterparts, after the latter kills a Pakistani Subedar, who was a sexual pervert and a drunk. They fire several rounds of fire in the air to show retaliation, after solicitously advising the Indians to take cover. Tales of young soldiers on both sides chatting with the other through the long, dreary nights are also a reality. Ask any young officer whos earned his bars along the Line of Control.

There is a rare honesty in admitting that all Army officers  particularly superiors  are not as chock full of courage, bravery, et al. Throughout the book are superiors who are downright ignorant, some who want to pass the buck, and some who are just plain scared. But there are the hard-headed and generous commanding officers too  who would rather have a junior take the credit for a successful operation than grab the headlines. That particular operation has its humorous moment too. It involves our intrepid Captain mimicking a young girls voice in the most voluptuous tones possible, and luring a terrorist commander to his death.

On the obverse side, is a young Kashmiri girl who picks up a gun, shoots a terrorist, and then slits his throat. This is after she and her sisters were raped for days by the 'visiting' terrorists from Pakistan. Ironically, the next day thousands turn up for the funeral of the terrorist, even while the media carries banner headlines on the death of a "mujahid". The Captain is clearly unsurprised, and almost resistant to the obfuscation and persistent taunts of the media in the Valley. There is inevitably a period when he goes through depression, and has to be treated. Hardly a surprise, when to all this can be added the weeks of stress of searching for well-hidden terrorists, and the inevitable mistakes, where a civilian is hurt instead of a terrorist.

In sum, there are hundreds of "Captain Bharats" out there, in a daily routine of fighting against an invisible enemy, fighting off a hostile media, and harried beyond tolerable limits by a combination of circumstances that includes those deciding Kashmir policy in New Delhi. That category also includes the Generals on top, and the politicians who demand accountability from everyone except themselves.

This book is not about great literature, and any one chapter could make a great Bollywood movie. But in the final analysis, this is about understanding an unending war from the side of a man who is fighting it.

It's also about knowing the character of that conflict, and what the Kashmiris go through on a near daily basis, and not just adding up the numbers of casualties on both sides, like a roll call of death. If your want to get under the skin of the Kashmir conflict, read this book, and make notes in your diary before you join the chorus of opinion on Kashmir.External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will pay an official visit to the South-East Asian countries of Vietnam and Cambodia from 27 August to 30 August.

New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will pay an official visit to the South-East Asian countries of Vietnam and Cambodia from 27 August to 30 August.

In Vietnam (27 to 28 August), Swaraj will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission in Vietnam along with her counterpart, deputy prime minister and foreign minister Pham Binh Minh. She will also call on Vietnamese prime minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) read.

On 27 August, Swaraj will inaugurate the third edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.

In Cambodia (29 to 30 August), the EAM will have a bilateral meeting with senior minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Prak Sokhonn.

Swaraj will meet Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen and president of Senate Say Chhum. It will be Swaraj's first official visit to Cambodia.

"The visit of EAM to Vietnam and Cambodia will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and advance our strategic engagement with these countries and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region," the MEA statement added.

Earlier this month, Swaraj embarked on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and held bilateral engagements in these countries.ILLNESS RELATED to old age was an element common to the deaths of former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee, former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi and former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee  the three towering political personalities who passed away in August 2018. What was not common to them was the nature of their final journey, a euphemism employed to describe the disposing of the mortal remains  Vajpayee was cremated, Karunanidhi was buried, and Chatterjee ended up in the anatomy department of Kolkatas Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital, better known as SSKM Hospital. Cremation and burial scarcely ever involve a human choice, largely because these two methods of disposal of bodies have been culturally normalised through religious rituals constructed around them. These rituals render inevitable and, therefore, inescapable the reduction of a cadaver to ashes or letting worms eat into it. People know their families will organise their final journey in accordance with the practice followed by the community to which they belong. Cremation and burial scarcely ever involve a human choice By contrast, a person wishing to donate his or her body to a medical college has to make that choice in their lifetime. It can be an unsettling process  it requires the person to contemplate death and engage in an inner dialogue through which they reach the conclusion that the usefulness of donating their body outweighs the religiously sanctioned traditional practices of burial and cremation. Yet the person cannot but imagine the different stages through which his or her body will pass in the anatomy department  it will be embalmed, de-skinned, the fibrous connective tissues removed before the muscles from bones will be separated. The gradual and controlled disintegration of the body watched and studied by students. Ultimately, he or she is reduced to so many separate bones, which are not even kept together on one shelf of the anatomy department. Many find contemplating death, let alone the bodys disposal and its eventual change in form, upsetting.

Former LS speaker Somnath Chatterjee's mortal remains were taken to the anatomy department of Kolkatas Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital. REUTERS

And to think, Chatterjee decided to donate his body in 2000  18 years before his demise. As is the practice, he would have intimated his decision to SSKM Hospital, filled a form stating his intent, and submitted an affidavit to that effect signed by two witnesses, preferably family members. It would have likely involved Chatterjee discussing death with his family even when healthy. I have found that people who donate their bodies are individualistic, said Dr Rajat Mitra, who heads Swanchetan Society for Mental Health, Delhi, and has counseled people who wish to donate their organs or bodies. They have deeply thought of issues such as death and how the body is integrated with the Cosmos and Infinity. Their beliefs run deep. Perhaps as deep as ideas spawned by culture and religion run in others. Many find contemplating death, let alone the bodys disposal and its eventual change in form, upsetting Chatterjee was a communist, for whom atheism would have been an inseparable element of his beliefs. Ideas of after-life, such as the link between karma and rebirth, heaven and hell, presumably had little or no pull on him. For the communist, the body dies, so does the mind and consciousness, which are aspects of the concept of immortal soul that exists in most religious thoughts. It is easy to believe in such theories, quite difficult to act on them, not least because of the pull traditional practices have on human beings. It is indeed not surprising to find many Communists on the list of body donors, a fact which became public on the death of former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, who too was wheeled into SKMM Hospital in 2010. Communist leaders who have volunteered to donate their bodies include Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Biman Bose, Shyamal Chakraborty, Surjya Kant Mishra, among others.

It is one thing to rationally reject religion. It is quite another to overcome the instinctive attachment to ones body and fear of death. At times, a person might be willing to donate his or her body, but their children oppose this decision. This has been the experience of Sunayana Singh, CEO of Organ India, which seeks to create an ecosystem to facilitate organ donations. Her mothers friend, a 92-year-old lady, was eager to donate her body for medical science and even secured a form to register as a donor. But her children vetoed her decision. Yet, as a general rule, the less religiously inclined a person, the more likely he or she would be to donate their body. This was the finding of a 2010 Netherlands study that was conducted to fathom the motivation of people who had registered with the department of anatomy of the University Medical Centre of Groningen to donate their bodies. Seventy-nine per cent of them were not affiliated to a church, against the national average of 58 percent of the countrys population being church members. Not all atheists and communists volunteer to donate their bodies. Karunanidhi was an atheist  he was buried. So was Jawaharlal Nehru, but he wanted his ashes to be strewn all over India. Though he did not believe in religion, he was spiritual in a philosophical sense. He got his ashes strewn in order to mingle with the soil of India, said Mitra. Religion need not always be a barrier to body donation Religion, however, need not always be a barrier to body donation. I know of two Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh persons who have donated their bodies, said Singh. Obviously all RSS activists are not religious  for instance, BJP leader LK Advani, once an RSS pracharak or full-time worker, is not. Singh cited the example of the two RSS men to make a larger point  that a deeply religious India has been witnessing a sharp spurt in the number of body donors. The sheer volume of inquiries had Organ India map the entire country, listing medical colleges and the names and numbers of their staff who could be contacted for body donation. In fact, religion can be tapped to inspire people to donate their bodies or organs, said Dr Saurabh Sharma, project manager at Organ India. He cited the Hindu myth of Dadhichi Rishi to make his point.

According to it, Indra, the king of devas, was expelled from his kingdom by the asura Vritra, who could not be defeated as he was invulnerable to any weapons. In desperation, Indra turned to Vishnu, who said only a weapon made of Dadhichis bones could slay Vritra. Indra approached Dadhichi, who went into a deep meditative state to drive out the life-force from his body. Indra then fashioned the weapon Vajra from Dadhichis bones, slew Vritra and won back his kingdom. This myth has been interpreted to convey that Dadhichi donated his body and bones for the greater good. It can be tapped to wean away Hindus from the idea that if they were to donate their bodies they would not be able to attain moksha. This is why many body donation organisations are named after Dadhichi, said Dr Sharma. It is far easier to identify reasons why people dont agree to donate their bodies than it is to fathom why they do. This is because there need not be a single factor behind a persons decision to donate his or her body. It was to understand better the complexities of motivation that the 2010 Netherlands study was designed to elicit multiple responses from those registered with the anatomy department of University Medical Centre of Groningen. It does appear that altruism is a principal motivating factor behind body donations The most popular reason cited for donation was usefulness after death  93 percent; the second most was expression of gratitude to medical science  49 percent; these were likely people who benefitted from healthcare. Only 15 percent people cited negative reasons, such as their distaste for death rituals and ceremonies, or their fear of being burnt or buried, or because they did not want to be a burden on their families. One respondent in his answer said he did not want to give the opportunity to funeral professionals to earn money out of his death! It does appear that altruism is a principal motivating factor behind body donations. But altruism isnt always selfless. People can resort to altruism because it enhances their status or is a style statement. There could be a dark side to the decision to give your body away, said a Delhi-based psychoanalyst who did not wish to be named. There is a parallel between a person who is inspired to donate his body for medical science and the soldier who is willing to offer his body for the nation. What the psychoanalyst means is that both the body donor and the soldier could be motivated by publicity campaigns that highlight their decision as an act of greatness and an opportunity to achieve immortality. Just as the soldier is said to live through the nation that survives because of his martyrdom, so does the donor who on his or her death continues to live in the body of another person. Or whose cadaver helps enhance the skills of medical science students. Altruism, selfless or egoistical, does not diminish the significance that body donation has for medical science and the people at large. For instance, when the body of Chatterjee was taken to SSKM Hospital, a part of his skin was grafted on a patient with burn injuries. In death, Chatterjee and Basu were more useful to society than Vajpayee and Karunanidhi.  All photos courtesy ReutersThe BJP knows that in the present context, the DMK is best placed to win most of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. Should that happen, MK Stalin may well be the kingmaker post 2019.

The DMK thinks there is nothing to read in the confirmed list of speakers at 'The Southern Sun  Meeting of National Political Leaders' in Chennai on 30 August. Notwithstanding the DMK's attempt to downplay it, the event to commemorate the late M Karunanidhi has raised eyebrows with BJP president Amit Shah expected to attend it.

The DMK leadership was reportedly surprised when it was told that Shah would be representing the BJP at the meet. It had expected the party to send either defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman or Minister of state for Finance and Shipping, Pon Radhakrishnan. Shah's decision to attend the meet is significant political messaging.

Though BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Friday evening created doubts by tweeting that Shah won't be attending the event, DMK sources say that the party printed the invites with the BJP chief's name only after it received a confirmation from his office.

If Shah does make it to Chennai, it will be an important move as far as BJP's plan for Tamil Nadu is concerned. Whether it is true or not, it will send across the message that the DMK would be open to doing post-poll business with the BJP. At a time when the perception is that south India is anti-BJP, this arrangement would give comfort to Shah and Narendra Modi should the BJP fall tantalisingly short of the 272 mark in the next Lok Sabha election.

The BJP has done business with the DMK in the past though that was in the Vajpayee-Karunanidhi era. It is significant that Modi travelled to Chennai to pay his respects after Karunanidhi passed away, and almost as if to reciprocate, Stalin made it a point to travel to Delhi after Vajpayee's demise. It would be politically naive to dismiss both gestures merely as political decency.

It will also be a way to show that contrary to perception, the BJP leadership had nothing to do with the manner in which the AIADMK tried to block space at the Marina Beach for Karunanidhi's final resting place. At that time, RSS ideologue and newly appointed RBI director S Gurumurthy had spoken against allotting space to Karunanidhi's grave at the Chennai beach arguing that he did not die in office.

With the manner it has remote controlled the AIADMK government, the BJP has sent the message across that it does not care too much for the Dravidian movement and its leaders. If Shah pays homage to Karunanidhi, it will be the BJP's way to show the party holds Dravidian leaders, especially a founding member like Karunanidhi, in high esteem. It may just help the BJP dilute its Hindi-Hindutva image that is seen as a liability in Dravidian territory.

But it would be naivete to think that Shah is looking only to forge a new political friendship. The BJP knows that in the present context, the DMK is best placed to win most of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. Should that happen, MK Stalin may well be the kingmaker post 2019.

The aim is to create doubts about the DMK's real intention, knowing fully well what happened in the bye-election to the RK Nagar Assembly seat in December 2017. That bypoll took place just a month after Modi visited an ailing Karunanidhi and the DMK lost its deposit. Though the weak DMK candidate and alleged bribing of voters were to be blamed, the belief is that the minority vote drifted to TTV Dhinakaran, alarmed at Modi trying to build bridges with the DMK.

The BJP wants to ensure that no regional force is in a position to propel an anti-NDA alliance to power at the Centre. In the past, Tamil Nadu that tends to swing one way, has played a part in formation of governments in Delhi. By creating doubts in the minds of the voters, the BJP could dent the DMK's prospects.

Stalin too would look to use Shah's presence, if he does not pull out at the last minute, to use it to his advantage. He would not want the BJP to use his elder brother MK Alagiri to stoke trouble in the DMK, even though he is not part of the party since 2014.

In the past few months, the DMK has not been too pleased with Rahul Gandhi meeting the likes of Kamal Haasan and other leaders from Tamil Nadu. Besides, a section within the Tamil Nadu Congress belonging to the Thevar community has been nudging Gandhi to explore the possibility of an alliance with Dhinakaran instead of the DMK. The argument is that while the DMK will drive a hard bargain, giving very few seats to the Congress to contest, Dhinakaran may be more generous. The event then could be used by Stalin to tell the Congress, that will be represented by Ghulam Nabi Azad, not to take it for granted. As far as the BJP is concerned, if Shah's presence can put a spanner in the works of the DMK-Congress alliance, its purpose would be served.

Originally, the 30 August meeting was meant to discuss autonomy for states within the Indian Union. The BJP was then not invited as the agenda was to discuss how the Centre was infringing upon the rights of the states. The list was revised after it was converted into a memorial meeting for Karunanidhi. The galaxy of leaders that includes the likes of HD Deve Gowda, Sitaram Yechury, Chandrababu Naidu and Arvind Kejriwal is also indicative of Stalin's wish to play a more prominent role in national politics, trying to occupy the space Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa did in their heyday.

But while the event would have a bearing on Tamil Nadu politics, no political player from the state will be in attendance. The AIADMK has been predictably ignored given the Marina fracas and even politicians like Vaiko, Ramadoss and Kamal Haasan who have known Karunanidhi closely, are not mentioned in the invite.

Incidentally, the Tamil Nadu BJP is a house divided over whether Shah should or should not attend the DMK meet. All eyes are on this tug-of-war to see who prevails finally.BJPs response to Congress president Rahul Gandhis comments on the state of the Indian nation is more revealing than the comments themselves.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) response to Congress president Rahul Gandhis comments on the state of the Indian nation is more revealing than the comments themselves. Gandhis comments, made in Germany and the United Kingdom, are fairly commonplace, while the BJPs responses betray the stock ideological pathologies of the party.

To sum up as briefly as possible, the Congress president, like the eponymous girl in Stieg Larssons Millennium trilogy, kicked the hornets nest in Hamburg on Wednesday by making an important point: that exclusion and marginalisation often force people to reject the system and act outside of it to redress their grievances. To use a not particularly felicitous cliche, they take the law into their own hands.

By way of elaboration, Gandhi pointed to the exclusionary policies forced on Iraq by the United States, which led to the growth of the Islamic State in Syria. He went on to say that exclusionary regimes ran the risk of creating insurgencies that become monstrous and expressed disquiet at the BJP governments policy of excluding many groups of people, tribals, poor farmers, lower caste people and minorities, from the development process.

In London, on Friday, he compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group which originated in Egypt and is banned as a terrorist organisation in a number of countries. Gandhi was making a specific point: that the RSS was trying to change the consensus that undergirded India and capture the countrys institutions. The specific point of the comparison was that both organisations believed that one ideology should run through every single institution and crush all other ideas.

The BJPs reaction to both speeches, inimitably articulated by party spokesman Sambit Patra, was mainly hysterical and over the top. In response to the Hamburg speech, Patra said Gandhi had tried to justify terrorism and denigrated the minorities by suggesting that they would sell their soul to an alternative idea of IS if there werent enough jobs for them. In response to the London speech, Patra asked a series of questions that could be treated as purely rhetorical: Was Gandhi a contract killer hired to kill the idea of India? Was India governed by a terrorist organisation? Elaborating on the second question, he wondered how the RSS could destroy institutions and concluded that Gandhi had used the RSS as a proxy for the BJP.

The main point Gandhi made at Hamburg may have been a trifle simplistic. That can, however, be forgiven because Gandhi is a politician who was making a political speech; he wasnt presenting a paper at an academic conference. The substance of what he said was, however, quite unexceptionable; it has been made in many contexts by learned dons, political commentators and other practitioners of power: which was that exclusion breeds resentment and creates alienation in many forms.

In fact, that is a pretty stock explanation for the violence in Indias public life, in which Bharat, marginalised in many ways by India, exacts its revenge by rejecting and attacking the latters liberal paradigms.

As far as the London speech goes, Gandhi may not have been very diplomatic in his choice of comparison, but the point he made is completely valid both for the RSS and its ideological and political front, the BJP. Both these organisations cleave to and practise a majoritarian and exclusivist ideology on which their politics is based. This ideology is, moreover, centred on a fundamentalist reading of the history of the sub-continent and the substance of the Hindu religion and promotes an obscurantist version of the idea of India.

We can now address Patras points, which are also those of the BJP, since he is the party spokesman. To dispose of a detail first, Patras rhetorical question about how the RSS can destroy institutions, since it does not make appointments to positions in them, can charitably be called disingenuous. Those not so charitable-minded could call it risible. The RSS does, in fact, make appointments to all key institutions  through the BJP. The fiction that the former is a cultural organisation that has only the most tenuous of links to its political front does not deserve serious rebuttal.

More important is the seamless conflation, practised by practically all BJP leaders of note, of the nation with the BJP and the Sangh parivar. Thus, someone who criticises the RSS becomes a contract killer hired to assassinate the idea of India.

Thus, too, a comparison between the RSS-BJP and the Muslim Brotherhood is construed as denigration of and insult to the country.

As a matter of fact, there are innumerable ideas of India as historians of subaltern India demonstrated in the 1980s. Fortunately, despite the fact that the BJP is in power, the Sangh's idea of India, with its majoritarian, authoritarian overtones, is not the dominant one. Many would like to think that the more expansive idea of India, associated with Indias first prime minister, is still most salient.

Let us not get into a comparison, before we end, between the tenor of Gandhis speeches and Patras responses, though they do say a lot. Let us end by reflecting on the business of what one is allowed to say about the affairs of ones country within its borders and what is proscribed when one is outside the country.

Gandhi was taking on the main political opponent of his party, one which routinely denigrates its political opponents at home and abroad. There is no reason why the Congress president should not excoriate the RSS in London, just as there is no reason why the prime minister should not take potshots at the Congress when he is in Canada, Germany or China.

There is an issue, in the latter case, of being mindful of the dignity of high office. But that should apply anywhere. Election speeches can be made, and opponents oratorically crucified, without plumbing the depths.Firing a fresh salvo at the Modi government on the Rafale aircraft deal, the Congress on Saturday accused it of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and keeping senior ministers in the dark about the negotiations

Kolkata: Firing a fresh salvo at the Modi government on the Rafale aircraft deal, the Congress on Saturday accused it of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and keeping senior ministers in the dark about the negotiations, demanding a public debate and detailed inquiry into the "secretive" happenings.

Senior party leader P Chidambaram, while addressing a media conference, alleged that the price for the aircraft had gone up more than three times under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime than what was agreed to by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

We think the matter is serious enough that there should be a public debate and a detailed inquiry, which is why the Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) and the party have raised the issue, he said at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters.

Chidambaram said the UPA government had entered into a contract to acquire 126 Rafale aircraft  18 of them in fly away condition and the remaining 108 aircraft to be made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru, under a transfer of technology agreement with a French company, Dassault Aviation.

"The negotiated price was Rs 526 crore per aircraft. Suppose instead of 18 aircraft, we were buying 36 aircraft at Rs 526 per aircraft, it would have come to Rs 18,940 crore," he said.

However, after the UPA was voted out in 2014 and the NDA came to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his official visit to France on 10 April, 2015, announced that an agreement has been signed to buy off the shelf 36 Rafale aircraft.

Although the price was not revealed, in subsequent documents of Dassault Aviation's report, the price was revealed to be 7.5 billion euros, equivalent to Rs 60,145 crore, Chidambaram said.

The price which was agreed on the Prime Minister's visit was Rs 60,145 crore and per aircraft, it comes to Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore (negotiated by the UPA), he claimed.

"If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the price has gone up three times? That is the first question. To which the answer (given by the NDA government) is: 'this is a secret agreement, and we cannot reveal the price'."

"I am revealing the price today, what is so secret about it? It is there in Dassault's annual report which is 7.5 billion euros, which works out to Rs 61,000 crore, and per aircraft it Rs 1,670 core," he said.

Raising questions about the procedure followed to enter into the new agreement, the Congress Working Committee member said: "There is a defence procurement procedure which was completely bypassed. There is a contract negotiation committee, which never met for this deal. There is a price negotiation committee, which was never called to meet for this deal."

"Above all, there is a cabinet committee on security, which has to approve any defence purchase of this size. None of these committees were involved. None of the ministers knew about it. The defence, finance and external ministers did not know about it," he alleged.This is KCR's second meeting with Narendra Modi this month and the third in as many months. It also comes two days after the Telangana government's Chief Adviser Rajiv Sharma met Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa.

Hyderabad: Amid growing talks of early elections to the Telangana Assembly, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Although officially, it was stated that Rao called on the prime minister to discuss various pending issues pertaining to the state, the meeting assumed significance in the wake of hints of early polls by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief.

This is Rao's second meeting with Modi this month and the third in as many months. It also comes two days after Telangana government's Chief Adviser Rajiv Sharma met Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa.

KCR, as the TRS chief is popularly known, had dropped hints that the Assembly elections may be held early. The state elections are scheduled to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls next year.

The TRS leader has already stated that the party will announce its candidates next month.

According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, KCR met Modi on Saturday and discussed various issues pertaining to the state pending clearances and approvals from the Centre. He urged the prime minister to raise the annual borrowing limit for Telangana by an additional 0.50 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as recommended by the 14th Finance Commission.

KCR said the state government has fulfilled the conditions laid down for availing the additional fiscal space of 0.5 per cent of the GSDP. "There is a significant jump in the expenditure commitments of the state on account of flagship programmes like irrigation and provision of drinking water to every household. All of the works have reached an advance stage and are about to give benefit to a large number of people in the state," the chief minister said in his representation submitted to the prime minister.

The TRS chief sought an early nod for the new zonal system approved by the state cabinet recruitment in government departments, release of Rs 450 crore for the development of backward districts, release of additional FRBM funds, release of the Central share of interest on the loans to be given to women societies and farmers, bifurcation of high court, funds for regional Ring Road and allotment of defence lands for building secretariat.Days after claiming that all loyal DMK workers were with him, MK Alagiri also appeared to be reaching out to estranged brother MK Stalin to facilitate his re-entry into the party.

Madurai: Expelled DMK leader MK Alagiri on Saturday fired a fresh salvo, claiming the party would face a "threat" after his 5 September rally in Chennai, expected to be a show of strength by him.

Days after claiming that all loyal party workers were with him, the former Union minister also appeared to be reaching out to his estranged brother MK Stalin to facilitate his re-entry into the party, saying he had never hankered after any post.

Karunanidhi, who passed away on 7 August, had expelled Alagiri and his supporters from the party in 2014 at the height of his fight with Stalin over establishing supremacy in the party. "You please wait till 5 September, when we are organising a silent rally to pay homage at the memorial of thalaivar (leader)... You will know how the party men accept me and want me there (party)," he told reporters in Madurai.

The DMK will definitely face a "threat" after the rally. "Even rivals had appreciated my election work and organisational skills. A section of DMK leaders will understand me at least now," he asserted.

He was apparently referring to his role in ensuring the success of the DMK in by-elections in southern Tamil Nadu during the DMK's 2006-2011 rule. Earlier, he held a consultative meeting with his supporters for the rally.

Indicating a fresh succession war in the DMK, Alagiri had, on 13 August, claimed that all loyal party workers are with him and hit out at Stalin, accusing him of blocking his return to the party.

During his interaction with the media on Saturday, Alagiri said: "I never desired for any post when thalaivar (leader) Karunanidhi was alive. Why should I seek any post now? I don't have desire to become the DMK president.... Stalin is showing urgency in taking over as party president."

Asked about Tamil Nadu minister RB Udhayakumar's remarks that he was organising the rally to join the DMK, the former Union minister said there was nothing wrong if he joined the DMK founded by late chief minister CN Annadurai and nurtured by his father.

Alagiri claimed if he was not re-admitted to the DMK, the party leaders would again face similar defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it did in the last parliamentary and Assembly polls. "The same situation will continue."

DMK had drawn a blank in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, with the AIADMK sweeping 37 of the 39 seats. It suffered back-to-back defeats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls in 2011 and 2016.

DMK has brushed aside Alagiri's latest claims. The party will convene its general council meet in Chennai on 28 August, where its working president Stalin will be elevated as the party the chief.

Alagiri wielded considerable influence in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu and was the party's organising secretary for south zone before his expulsion.Siddaramaiah's comments on becoming Karnataka chief minister again kicked up a row. Some saw it as having an unsettling effect on the JDS-Congress government.

Bengaluru: A day after his comments on becoming Karnataka chief minister set the tongues wagging, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Saturday sought to clarify his statements, saying he only meant that his party would come back to power in the next Assembly elections.

"You can think whatever you want, but I said we will come to power in the next election," he told reporters in Bengaluru.

Addressing party workers in Hassan district on Friday, Siddaramaiah reportedly said if people wish, he will become chief minister again. The former Karnataka chief minister's remarks kicked up a controversy, with some seeing it as having an unsettling effect on the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress government.

Asked if he wants to be chief minister, Siddaramaiah, on Saturday, said if people blessed him, he would want it, but after the end of this government's term. "If people bless me, I will want to become the chief minister, but not now; after five years when next election is held," he said.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah's comments doubting the longevity of the JDS-Congress ministry and his differences over presentation of the state budget had cast a shadow on the coalition.

Meanwhile, responding to Siddaramaiah's comments, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday said: "Anybody can become a chief minister in this democracy. It is a democratic system."

Later, referring to media reports that some legislators would topple his government by 3 September, he said the present JDS-Congress ministry would not fall because he knew the art of running it.

"If some people think they can destabilise me, they can't. I know how to run the government," he said at an event in Bengaluru. "There are media reports that some legislators will topple the government by 3 September. I will leave it to the people's conscience," he said.

Kumaraswamy said he was not worried about saving the chief minister's seat but was concerned about rendering service to the people.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president Dinesh Gundu Rao said Siddaramaiah, as of now, had no plans to contest the elections in the future, but he did not know what will happen. JDS secretary general Kunwar Danish Ali said there was no harm if Sidaramaiah wanted to be the chief minister if the Congress comes back to power.

Water Resources Minister DK Shivakumar said it was left to the party high command to make Siddaramaiah the next chief minister.

The Congress and JDS forged a post-poll alliance to form the government after the Karnataka Assembly elections in May threw up a hung verdict.Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah commented on the row over Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's visit to the state's Kodagu district during which she lost patience with the district-in-charge minister for Kodagu, Sa Ra Mahesh.

Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah slammed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for lashing out at district-in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh during her visit to flood affected Kodagu on Friday. Siddaramaiah said that Sitharaman was "more interested in dominating the minister" than in assessing the damage.

The former chief minister also said that "it was disappointing" to see Sitharaman lash out, and asserted that the state government officials are "not inferior to the Centre", and that Sitharaman should "respect them", according to NDTV. Siddaramaiah also said that the Karnataka ministers had stayed back to "oversee relief operations".

Sitharaman had visited the flood-hit district on Friday to survey the damage caused by landslides and heavy rainfall, and also review rehabilitation and review work in affected areas. During her visit, she got into a public spat with Mahesh while announcing a financial aid of Rs 1 crore from her Members of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) fund.

The bitter exchange of words took place when Mahesh asked Sitharaman to wind up her press conference citing the paucity of time. Sitharaman retorted saying she was following minute-by-minute the itinerary prepared by the district administration and was not at fault for the delay.

She told Mahesh, I am a Central minister and I am following your instructions. Unbelievable."

In a tweet, Siddaramaiah also hit out at the Centre for "step-motherly" treatment towards Karnataka due to the lack of action on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's part for relief assistance in Kodagu.

Condemning the lack of funds released from the central government, he said that Modi was "expected to assess the loss", but that it was "delegated" to Sitharaman instead. He said that this was an instance of the BJP party's apathy towards Karnataka.

I condemn the stepmotherly treatment by @PMOIndia in releasing relief funds. We expected PM @narendramodi to assess the loss instead it was delegated to @DefenceMinIndia, who was more interested in dominating our state minister. This reflects @BJP4India 's apathy towards Ktaka.  Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 25, 2018

Earlier on Friday, the defence minister also visited the district and pledged support for the restoration work where hundreds have been rendered homeless. She had also assured that the Indian Army and the Air Force will work in rebuilding the lives of those who have been affected.

With inputs from agenciesVoter cards in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district displayed some strange photographs  images of a scantily clad woman resembling Bollywood actor Sunny Leone, an elephant, a pigeon and deer  next to names of the residents in the district.

Voter cards in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district displayed some strange photographs  of a scantily clad woman resembling Bollywood actor Sunny Leone, an elephant, a pigeon and deer  next to names of the residents in the district.

Two pages of the revised voter's list, leaked to the media ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2019, showed a picture resembling Leone next to a voter named Durgawati Singh.

"While the list carries the picture of a scantily clad woman resembling Leone in place of voter Durgawati Singh of Vivekananda Colony, it carries the photograph of an elephant against the name of former Cabinet minister Narad Rai and picture of a deer in place of Kunwar Ankur Singh," a senior district official told The Times of India.

However, other details about the voters, such as age, address etc, were mentioned correctly.

Officials had a tough time explaining the faux pas and said the mistake was made by one of the data entry operators who had been recently transferred from a city to a rural area. "We have filed an FIR against this person and we are modifying these details," Manoj Kumar Singhal, a senior officer with the Ballia district administration told NDTV.

The Ballia Additional District Magistrate said the name of the data operator was Vishnu Dev Verma. "We found out on 15 August that voter IDs of around seven to eight voters were tampered with and their photos have been replaced with those of birds and animals. It was clear that this has been done by one of our operators," he told ANI.

Another official from the district election office told The New Indian Express that the operator had not been provided with a picture and had uploaded temporary pictures, which were to be replaced with actual photos later. "But it went into the final revised list and it was uploaded as it was without being cross-checked," the official said.

The revised voters' list was to be uploaded by 15 July. The final voters' list was to have been published by 15 August, but the deadline has been extended, as per local reports.Reuters

T-Mobile US Inc and its unit Metro PCS informed customers on Thursday about a potential security breach that was discovered and shut down by the company.

The cyber-security team found and shut down unauthorized access to certain information on 20 August, and reported the matter to authorities, T-Mobile said in a statement on its website.

No financial data, social security numbers or passwords were compromised, but other personal information like name, email-id, phone number, zip code, account number or type (postpaid or prepaid) may have been exposed, the company said.

No financial data, social security numbers or passwords were compromised, but other personal information like name, email-id, phone number, zip code, account number or type (postpaid or prepaid) may have been exposed, the company said.

About 3 percent of T-mobile's 77 million customers could have been affected, a company spokesperson told technology news website Motherboard.

T-Mobile did not respond to Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.Reuters

The board of Tesla Inc said on Friday the company would remain public, following a tumultuous two weeks for the carmaker after its chief executive announced he was considering a deal to go private.

Six members of Teslas board of directors said in a brief statement issued on Friday that the board had held a meeting on Thursday, and that efforts to take Tesla private were now cancelled.

During the meeting, CEO Elon Musk reported on the work he had done in trying to take the electric vehicle company private, the board said in the statement.

Elon communicated to the Board that after having done this work and considered all factors, he believes the better path is to no longer pursue a transaction for taking Tesla private, the board members wrote.

The special committee, formed to consider the deal proposed by Musk, was dissolved, the release said.

The statement was written by six independent members of Teslas board: Brad Buss, Robyn Denholm, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Linda Johnson Rice, and James Murdoch.

The news marks a stunning reversal for Musk who tweeted on 07 August that he had funding secured for a deal that would take Tesla private at a value of $72 billion.

Pressure grew on Musk after he disclosed subsequently that he had not closed a deal to secure funding from Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund.Agence France-Presse

Two years after launching from Florida, a NASA spacecraft is closing in on an ancient asteroid Bennu, for a sample of space dust that could reveal clues to the start of life in the solar system.

The spacecraft, known as Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (or commonly, OSIRIS-REx), has even snapped its first, blurry pic of the cosmic body, which is about the size of a small mountain, about 500 yards (460 meters) in diameter.

The spacecraft is designed to circle Bennu, and reach out with a robotic arm to "high-five" its surface, then return the sample it collects to Earth in 2023.

The first images of Bennu were taken on 17 August at a distance of 2.3 million kilometers from the $800-million-spacecraft.

"This is the closest we have even been to Bennu," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

"This is significant in that we are now in the vicinity of the asteroid, closer than we have ever been even during the close approaches of the asteroid to the Earth."

Bennu was chosen from the some 500,000 asteroids in the solar system because it orbits close to Earth's path around the Sun, it is the right size for scientific study, and is one of the oldest asteroids known to NASA.

Astronomers say it poses a slight risk  a one in 2,700 chance  of colliding with Earth in 2135.

It is also a carbon-rich asteroid, the kind of cosmic body that may have delivered life-giving materials to Earth billions of years ago.

The OSIRIS-REx mission is not the first to ever visit an asteroid and attempt a sample return  Japan has done it before and Europe has managed to land on a comet.

But it is the first asteroid-sample-return mission for NASA, and it aims to bring back the biggest sample ever, on the order of 60 grams.

The Americans who walked on the Moon during the Apollo era of the 1960s and 1970s collected and carried back to Earth 382 kilograms of moon rock.

In December 2018, the spacecraft will begin a detailed survey of asteroid's surface, which NASA has defined as its "arrival" at the asteroid.

Orbital insertion is expected on December 31. The sample, however, will not be taken until July 2020.The autopsy reported new-born anomalies like yolk sac retention and liver dysfunction

The first-ever Humboldt penguin, born in a Mumbai zoo last week, died two days ago, a zoo official said on Friday, 24 August.

Hatched on 15 August, the penguin died on 22 August, Wednesday, shocking zoo authorities.

An autopsy was performed by a three-member team of the Bombay Veterinary College, Parel, at the zoo hospital. The preliminary report revealed that the chick suffered from "new-born anomalies like yolk sac retention and liver dysfunction" resulting in its death.

The Veermata Jijabai Bhonsale Udyan and zoo authorities said that parents of the chick  Mr Molt and Flipper  took good care of it after it was hatched, but it failed to survive.

However, it is not clear why the development was kept under wraps by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for more than two days though the chick's birth had generated huge enthusiasm among Mumbaikars.

After mating in captivity, the penguin pair Mr Molt and Flipper, finally delivered an egg in early July at the BMC's VJBU, or Mumbai Zoo, proving a big morale-booster for the civic body which had come under heavy fire for importing the endangered flightless birds from South Korea.

Eight Humboldt Penguins, three males, three females and two chicks  later named as Dory, Donald, Daisy, Popeye, Olive, Bubble, Flipper and Mr Molt  were imported here from Seoul's COEX Aquarium on 26 July, 2016.

However, one female, Dory could not survive and died on 23 October, 2016 following a bacterial infection during the period of acclimatisation.

After Dory's death, questions were raised on the wisdom of keeping these birds in hot Indian climatic conditions, especially since 2000, as they figure on the "Vulnerable" category in the Red List of International Union for Conservation of Nature, Switzerland.

Humboldt penguins have a life-span of around 25 years.China said it hopes to work with the new Australian government to get bilateral ties back on track, authorities said on Saturday.

Beijing: China said it hopes to work with the new Australian government to get bilateral ties back on track, authorities said on Saturday.

Scott Morrison was sworn in as new Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Australia on Friday after an internal ballot and days of chaos leading to the ouster of Malcolm Turnbull, reported Efe news.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Beijing has kept a consistent and clear position on developing ties with Australia, adding that healthy and stable bilateral ties are in line with the interests of the people of both countries and help peace and prosperity of the region and world.

On Thursday, Australia banned Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE from providing equipment for the country's 5G mobile network over national security concerns.

Although the government did not explicitly name the businesses, Huawei Australia confirmed the companies had been banned, saying the decision was "extremely disappointing", while in Beijing, Lu said China was deeply concerned.

Australia is also a firm opponent to Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea, and the government is undertaking a review of its espionage laws amid concerns of Chinese influence and interference, among other issues.Due to a shortage of green cards and working visas for workers, many employees find themselves stuck in an immigration process lasting more than a decade, they said.

New York: The Trump administration's "inconsistent" immigration policies, including on the H1-B visa for professionals, could "disrupt" operations of American firms and inflict "substantial harm" on their competitiveness, CEOs from top US companies have warned.

In a letter to US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, members of the Business Roundtable, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi, President and CEO of Mastercard Ajay Banga and Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems Chuck Robbins said that confusion around US immigration policy "creates anxiety for employees who follow the law."

The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of America's leading companies, told Nielsen that "inconsistent government action and uncertainty undermines economic growth and American competitiveness."

Due to a shortage of green cards for workers, many employees find themselves stuck in an immigration process lasting more than a decade, they said.

To avoid unnecessary costs and complications for American businesses, the US government should not change the rules in the middle of the process, the CEOs said, pointing out to the several policy memoranda over the past year by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued that has resulted in "arbitrary and inconsistent adjudications".

"Companies now do not know whether a work visa petition that was approved last month will be approved when the company submits the identical application to extend the employee's status," they said.

In particular, the CEOs said they are worried about changes to the review process for H-1B visas for high-skilled workers, expected changes to the rules for spouses of H-1B employees and planned changes to certain deportation rules.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

Employees who qualify for H-1B jobs often hold degrees in science, tech, engineering or math, and are highly sought after by employers, the CEOs said.

The Roundtable members said that a confusing immigration system in the US which threatens to split their families apart could encourage them to seek employment in a different country. That would put the American economy at a disadvantage.

They also noted that in many cases, the US Labor Department has determined that "no qualified US workers are available to do that person's job."

Pesident Donald Trump has said that some IT companies were abusing the US work visas to deny jobs to American workers.

"As the federal government undertakes its legitimate review of immigration rules, it must avoid making changes that disrupt the lives of thousands of law-abiding and skilled employees, and that inflict substantial harm on US competitiveness," the CEOs noted.

The Business Roundtable will continue to work with Congress to reduce the Green Card backlog, they said.

In the interim, inconsistent immigration policies are unfair and discourage talented and highly skilled individuals from pursuing career opportunities in the United States, they said.

The reality is that few will move their family and settle in a new country if, at any time and without notice, the government can force their immediate departureoften without explanation.

"At a time when the number of job vacancies are reaching historic highs due to labour shortages, now is not the time restrict access to talent," the CEOs said.

The group has called for increasing the number of H-1B visas and letting people with advanced STEM degrees from American universities qualify for a green card immediately.

Meanwhile, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a statement the "administration has been relentlessly pursuing necessary immigration reforms that move towards a merit-based system."

"USCIS is committed to reforming employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant immigration programs so they benefit the American people to the greatest extent possible," CNN quoted spokesperson Michael Bars as saying.The fire at Beilong Hot Spring Hotel in China's Harbin city added to a string of deadly blazes that have plagued the country despite official efforts to improve public safety.

Beijing: At least 19 people were killed in a fire at a resort hotel in China's northeastern city of Harbin early on Saturday, the local government said.

The disaster added to a string of deadly blazes that have plagued China despite official efforts to improve public safety over the past two decades.

The fire broke out at the four-storey Beilong Hot Spring Hotel in Harbin's Sun Island recreation area at 4.36 am and was extinguished at 7.50 am by a force of 105 firefighters with 30 firetrucks, state television reported.

Firefighters found 16 people dead and three more died at a hospital, the city government and provincial fire department said on their social media accounts. It said 18 people were injured and a total of 70 evacuated.

The cause was under investigation, Xinhua News Agency said.

Harbin, with about 5 million people, is the second-largest city in China's northeast, after Shenyang. It is known for the Russian architecture of its inner city and as the site of a winter festival with sculptures made of ice blocks cut from the Songhua River.

The ruling Communist Party has tried to improve fire safety following deadly blazes at hotels, shopping malls and apartment buildings. But the country still suffers major fires.

In November, a fire blamed on faulty wiring at a Beijing apartment building killed 19 people.

A 2010 blaze at a Shanghai apartment tower killed at least 58 people. Authorities blamed sparks from a welder's torch.Imran Khan's Cabinet has revamped the working schedule of all government institutions and has banned first-class air travel for all top officials

Islamabad: The cabinet of newly-appointed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has imposed a ban on first-class air travel by the President, Chief Justice, Senate Chairman and the National Assembly speaker.

The move comes after the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government on Friday revised working hours in government institutions, abolished discretionary funds of the prime minister, federal ministers and members of the National Assembly, reports Dawn news.

The decisions were taken during a second meeting of the federal cabinet in a week presided over by Khan.

The Cabinet rejected a proposal for declaring only one official weekly holiday on Sunday and withdrawing the second weekly holiday on Saturday.

While the span of working hours will remain same - eight hours - the new office timing will be 9 am to 5 pm. The previous timing was 8 am to 4 pm.

The meeting also decided to conduct audit of all mega transport projects carried out in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces during the last government.

It was decided that the prime minister would use the official aircraft only for domestic tours and not for foreign visits.

Another important decision taken by the cabinet was formation of task forces for upgrading shanty settlements across the country and launching tree plantation in main cities.

The meeting decided to abolish the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and merge its departments into other ministries.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had spent 51 billion Pakistani rupees ($417,825,150) government funds only in one year by exercising his "discretionary powers", Dawn news reported.

Similarly, President Mamnoon Hussain also distributed public money of 90 million Pakistani rupees on his own discretion.Rohingya refugees on Saturday marked the anniversary of a deadly military crackdown in their Myanmar homeland that drove 700,000 of the persecuted minority into Bangladesh, stateless and confronting a grim future.

Cox's Bazar: Rohingya refugees on Saturday marked the anniversary of a deadly military crackdown in their Myanmar homeland that drove 700,000 of the persecuted minority into Bangladesh, stateless and confronting a grim future.

Raids by Rohingya militants on 25 August last year across Myanmar's Rakhine state spurred an army crackdown which the United Nations has likened to "ethnic cleansing". Waves of Rohingya fled by foot or boat to Bangladesh in an exodus unprecedented in speed and scale.

Rohingya activists in Bangladesh's refugee camps vowed to mark the "black day" with prayers, speeches and song. The latest influx has placed enormous pressure on Bangladesh's impoverished Cox's Bazar district, which quickly grew into the world's largest refugee settlement. The squalid camps already hosted generations of Rohingya expelled from Rakhine and the latest arrivals pushed numbers close to one million.

Abdul Malek, a 27-year-old refugee who fled an attack on his village last year, said the plight of the Rohingya was far from over. "This one year is just the beginning of many more to follow," he told AFP in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar says it is ready to take back those who fled. But it refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens, falsely labelling them "Bengali" illegal immigrants. A deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to start sending them back has stalled. Fewer than 200 have been repatriated so far.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week said it was up to Bangladesh "to decide how quickly" repatriation can be done, while insisting the "terrorist threat" posed by Rohingya militants remains "real and present".

The Rohingya say they will not return without a guarantee of their safety, citizenship and compensation for homes and land torched. "We don't want to (go) back without justice and without our rights and a proper guarantee that we won't be driven out again," 18-year-old Aman Ullah said in Cox's Bazar.

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar and have been hunted from the country in successive convulsions of violence. Access to healthcare and freedom of movement remains out of reach for the stateless people in Rakhine. And the Rohingya exodus from western Myanmar continues in the present, with refugees still trickling over the border throughout this year.

The UN and international rights groups say conditions are not ready for them to go back. "It may be decades until they can safely return to Myanmar, if ever," Medecins Sans Frontieres head of mission in Bangladesh, Pavlo Kolovos, said in a statement.

Calls have mounted for Myanmar's military to be held responsible for the campaign, with security forces accused of torture, rape and murder. The US has sanctioned two army brigades and several commanders who oversaw the expulsion, in which thousands are estimated to have died. But Myanmar says it was simply defending itself and bristles at international calls for justice.

Humanitarian agencies spearheading the relief effort in Bangladesh say just one-third of the roughly $1 billion needed for the refugees until March has been raised.Pope Francis on Saturday said he is ashamed of the Catholic Church's failure to adequately address the 'repellent crimes' of sex abuse by clergy

Dublin: Pope Francis on Saturday said he is ashamed of the Catholic Church's failure to adequately address the "repellent crimes" of sex abuse by clergy and that the "failure of ecclesiastical authorities" to address abuse has "rightly given rise to outrage".

"The failure of ecclesiastical authorities  bishops, religious superiors, priests and others  adequately to address these appalling crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share those sentiments," the Pope said during an address at Dublin Castle.

However, he failed to specifically mention the current scandal over a US grand jury report documenting at least 1,000 cases of clerical paedophilia. He also did not discuss concrete changes in laws or transparency or address the question of the Vatican's complicity in the abuse cases, CNN reported.

"I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church charged with responsibility for their protection and education," the Pontiff told a room filled with members of the Irish government, lawmakers and diplomats.

Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who spoke before the Pope, did not skirt the current abuse revelations that emerged in Pennsylvania.

"In recent weeks, we have all listened to heart-breaking stories from Pennsylvania of brutal crimes perpetrated by people within the Catholic Church, and then obscured to protect the institution at the expense of innocent victims," he said, referring to the investigation in the US state that found that over 1,000 identifiable minors had been abused by 300 priests.

"It is a story all too tragically familiar here in Ireland," Varadkar said. He called for "zero tolerance" of Church sexual abuse and urged the Pope "to adopt stringent norms meant to ensure that they do not happen again."

"Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure this is done here in Ireland and across the world," Varadkar said, and asked the Pope to listen to the victims.

The Pope was expected to meet some Irish victims of clerical sexual predators.

The 32-hour trip was the first papal visit to the majority Roman Catholic Ireland in 39 years, a country that has undergone seismic social changes in that time, with the introduction of divorce, gay marriage and more recently the legalization of abortion, as well as a growing rejection of religion.

Indian-origin Varadkar, who is openly gay, said the country was more diverse, less religious and had modernised its laws. He said the changes meant the time had come "for us to build a new, more mature relationship between church and state in Ireland  a new covenant for the 21st century.

Hundreds of thousands of people will attend a Mass celebrated by the Pope at the city's Phoenix Park on Sunday, with all 500,000 tickets for the free event booked out. However, he was also expected to face unprecedented protests over the clerical abuse scandals and the Church's handling of them.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had cancelled a planned trip to North Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying progress toward the U.S

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he had cancelled a planned trip to North Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying progress toward the U.S. goal of a denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was too slow.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Trump said on Twitter.

(Reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.Twitter has blocked the accounts of many prominent Baloch political parties and leaders. It came days after Islamabad asked Twitter to block objectionable content about Pakistan

New Delhi: Twitter, on Thursday night suspended accounts of Baloch political parties and prominent political leaders.

Some of the Twitter handles that had to face the heat include @BNMovement_, belonging to Balochistan's largest peaceful political mass party which supports the idea of independent Balochistan, its chairman's account @ChairmanKhalil, the Twitter account of its alliance partner and peaceful student party Baloch Students Organisation Azad BSO-A @BalochNatFront and the founder of BSO-A Dr. Nizar @DrAllahNizar among others.

The action comes days after Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a stern warning to ban Twitter in the country if the micro-blogging website fails to block objectionable content. The term 'objectionable content' was however not explicitly defined in the warning.

The exact number of the partially restricted or fully suspended cannot be ascertained at the moment though many Baloch activists, leaders and organisations have faced the suppression.

The sudden suspension of prominent Baloch social media accounts also resulted in an uproar among many Twitter users. Many Twitter users have also termed it as an unjustifiable act to suppress the freedom of speech.

"Media is blackout in #Balochistan by the Pakistani military. Social media is the only tool to highlight war crimes and human rights violations from the affected areas, but it's sad to see that @Twitter is following the path of Pakistan and suppressing the voice of Baloch nation", tweeted Niaz Zehri (@Niaz_Zehri), a former leader of BSO-A.US Senator John McCain, the maverick Republican who survived a Vietnam War prison camp and ran unsuccessfully for president, is discontinuing medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer, his family said in a statement on Friday

Washington: US Senator John McCain, the maverick Republican who survived a Vietnam War prison camp and ran unsuccessfully for president, is discontinuing medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer, his family said in a statement on Friday, a year after he announced his diagnosis.

"John has surpassed expectations for his survival," the family said, adding that the disease's progression and McCain's age, 81, have led him to stop treatment for the "aggressive glioblastoma."

"With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment," the family said.

McCain, who has represented Arizona in the Senate and House of Representatives for 35 years, has said the cancer was discovered in July 2017 and he has not been at the US Capitol this year. He also had surgery for an intestinal infection in April.

McCain has had a reputation for speaking his mind, which led to a running feud with President Donald Trump. Sources close to McCain have said Trump would not be invited to the funeral.

The McCain-Trump relationship grew heated in 2015 when McCain said Trump's candidacy had "fired up the crazies." Trump retorted that the senator was "not a war hero" and referred to McCain's years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese by saying: "I like people who weren't captured."

McCain castigated Trump last month for his summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin, issuing a statement that called their joint news conference "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory." He said Trump was "not only unable but unwilling to stand up to Putin."

McCain sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2000 but lost out to George W Bush. He secured the nomination in 2008 but was defeated by Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

McCain has been known as a conservative and a foreign policy hawk with a traditional Republican view of world affairs. He has had a reputation for a hot temper and rarely shied away from a fight but has had Democratic fans who admired the way he could take a civil, bipartisan approach.

McCain is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and his colleagues named the $716 billion defense policy bill for him. Trump did not mention McCain when he signed it earlier this month.

"Very sad to hear this mornings update from the family of our dear friend @SenJohnMcCain," Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter. "We are so fortunate to call him our friend and colleague. John, Cindy, and the entire McCain family are in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour."

Former Secretary of State John Kerry, a Democrat who served in the Senate with McCain, tweeted, "God bless John McCain, his family, and all who love him  a brave man showing us once again what the words grace and grit really mean."

McCain is the son and grandson of Navy admirals and after graduating from the US Naval Academy became a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. He was shot down during a bombing run over Hanoi and captured on 26 October, 1967. The crash and assault by his captors left him with two broken arms, a broken leg, broken shoulder and numerous stab wounds.

He spent the next five-and-half years in various prisons, including the notorious "Hanoi Hilton," where he was tortured and left with lasting disabilities.

McCain provided one of the most dramatic moments in recent Senate history in July 2017 when he voted against a Trump-backed bill that would have repealed the healthcare law pushed through by President Barack Obama.

The vote came late at night not long after McCain's diagnosis and he still bore a black eye and scar from the surgery when he gave an emphatic thumbs-down gesture to scuttle the measure.

Trump was furious about McCain's vote and frequently referred to it at rallies but without mentioning McCain by name.

McCain was elected to the House in 1982 and after two terms was elected to the Senate to replace retiring conservative leader Barry Goldwater.Huawei launched the Nova 3i, along with the Nova 3 in India last month, soon after it was introduced in China. Even though this doesnt have top-end specifications as the Nova 3, this has a similar notch design, glass-like finish on the back, a 24-megapixel front camera and it is the first smartphone to be powered by Huaweis latest Kirin 710 Octa-Core 12nm SoC with support for GPU Turbo feature and AI features. Is the smartphone worth the price of Rs. 20,999? Let us dive into the review to find out.

Box Contents

Huawei Nova 3i smartphone in Iris Purple color

2-pin charger (5V-2A)

Micro USB Cable

Headset

SIM Ejector tool

Clear protective case

User manual and warranty information

Display, Design, and Hardware

The Nova 3i comes with a 6.3-inch Full HD+ LCD 2.5D curved glass display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, pixel density of 409 PPI, 19:5:9 aspect ratio with a notch and a screen-to-body ratio of about 82%. The display is bright, offers good color reproduction, thanks to 85% NTSC color gamut, has good viewing angles and the sunlight legibility is good as well.

Like the P20 series of smartphone, this has an option to hide the notch at the top of the display that darkens the surrounding areas. Since this has a 19:9 aspect ratio screen, you can pinch to zoom to fill the screen when you use apps like YouTube, but the content gets cropped. You can also select apps to enable full screen display, but it might not work for all apps.

You can also select the screen resolution to HD+ or select the smart resolution that automatically lowers the screen resolution to help save power. You can also change the color temperature from Default to Warm or Cold. You can also set your preferred color temperate using the color circle. The Eye comfort mode filters the blue light so the screen has a yellowish tint when the mode is enabled. This is more useful when you are reading at night as it avoids eye strain.

On the top inside the notch, there is an earpiece with a tiny multi-color notification LED embedded into it, 24-megapixel camera along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera, and the usual set of proximity and ambient light sensors. It has gyroscope and magnetic sensor otherwise known as magnetometer for VR headsets.

Even though the phone uses on-screen navigation, it has a small bezel below the screen, but it doesnt have any branding like the P20 Lite.

Coming to hardware buttons and the ports, the phone has a volume rocker and the power button on the right side, hybrid dual SIM slot on the left, secondary microphone on the top, and the 3.5mm audio jack, Micro USB port, primary microphone and the loudspeaker grill on the bottom. Like the P20 Lite, this has a Hybrid dual SIM slot that accepts two nano SIM cards or a nano SIM and a microSD. Separate slot for microSD doesnt matter since the phone packs a huge 128GB storage.

The back incorporates a nanometer-level light dazzle texture. The build quality is good, but the back prone to smudges easily. Under the back there is a 3,340mAh battery. The phone has a metal frame, measures 157.675.27.6mm and weighs 169 grams. Even though the phone is huge, it is easy for single-handed usage. It is recommended to use the bundled clear cover to protect the back. Overall the build quality of the phone is good, and the phone has a premium design.

Camera

Coming to the camera, the phone a has a 16-megapixel rear camera with 5P lens and f/2.2, PDAF along with a 2-megapixel secondary camera with f/2.2 for portrait shots, similar to the Huawei P20 Lite. On the front there is a 24-megapixel camera with 1.0 m pixel size, f/2.0 aperture and a 78 wide-angle lens along with a 2-megapixel secondary camera with f/2.0 aperture for portrait selfies.

The Camera UI is similar with a smart shopping feature that lets you just scan the object to ind that item on Amazon, toggle for flash, AI, moving picture mode on the top, while the bottom bar houses mini-gallery, shutter button, and video mode. It has Aperture, Portrait, AR lens that also comes with 3D animoji that can animate your facial expressions, movements and voice to generate personalized Qmoji GIFs or videos as well as AR effects using 3D objects. Other options include Pro photo, Pro Video, Slow-mo, Night, Panorama, Light painting, HDR, Time-lapse, Filter, 3D panorama, Watermark, Document scan and Artist mode.

When AI mode is enabled, the phone can recognize 22 categories of 500+ scenes and provides optimized shooting result. Some of them include, Flower, Ancient building, Group Photo, Food, Panda, Beach, Snow, Waterfall, Text, Portrait, Night, Sunrise/ Sunset. Blue sky, Plant, Fireworks, Autumn leaves, Overcast, Auto, Bike, Cat, Dog and Stage performance. AI looks artificial since it boosts colors, but some might like it.

Coming to the image quality, daylight images are good, macro shots are fine, but it is hard to focus and the HDR shots were better. Portrait shots are good with good amount of blur. Low-light shots have noise, but the night shot mode is better in capturing perfect image even in poor lighting since the phone has adjustable exposure of up to 32 seconds in the mode. The Night shot mode and requires a tripod since the phone needs to be steady. The front camera is pretty good at capturing details, especially in portrait mode, and the bokeh mode is good as well since it uses a separate camera instead of using software to blur the background in the P20 Lite. HDR Pro for the front camera uses AI offering balanced photographs and videos even in direct sunlight.

Check out the camera samples below (Click the image to view the full-resolution samples).

The phone can record 1080p videos at up to 60fps, and there is also an option to choose H.265 codec in addition to H.264. With the powerful SoC, the company could have offered 4k recording. Video quality is good, and the audio is crisp since it has a secondary microphone. There is also 16x Super Slow Motion mode offering 480 frames per second video recording at 720p for 10 seconds, but the quality is not up to mark. It also has Automatic Motion Detection, which allows users to capture any fleeting moment easily. You can set and motion-detection area on the camera screen that can be adjusted, similar to the Samsung Galaxy S9 and few other high-end phones. Check out the samples below.

Software, UI and Apps

The phone runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with Android security update for July 2018 and has Treble support. The phone runs EMUI 8.2 out of the box. The UI gives users an option to choose the home screen style  Standard (shows all apps on the home screen) and Drawer (shows all app on drawer screen).

Like other smartphones, it also has a one-handed mode. There is also a scheduled power on and off option so you can turn off the phone during the night and turn it on in the morning to save battery. It has Flip to mute, pickup to reduce ring and three-finger screenshot gestures. There is also ride mode. Once enabled, callers will be notified that the user is currently riding, and cannot answer calls. The feature essentially functions as a Do-Not-Disturb option that sends a message to the caller saying that the user will not be able to attend the call since they are riding. However, the caller will also get an option to call the rider in case of an emergency. App Twin feature that allows users to log-in and use two different accounts at the same time on the same phone.

This option is used to send automatic text messages containing your estimated journey time to selected contacts when they call you while you are on a bike ride. But this option must be enabled on your device if you want to use it while riding a bike. At max, you can add upto 4 contacts to whom you can send the message while you are on a ride.

Out of 128GB storage, you get 112GB free storage, out of 4GB RAM, 3.65GB is usable, out of which 1.83GB is free on boot, when default apps are running in the background.

Apart from the usual set of utility apps and Google apps, the phone comes with Facebook, Instagram, Facebook and some games preinstalled, however these can be uninstalled.

Fingerprint Sensor and Face Unlock

The phone comes equipped with a fingerprint scanner on the back, which is comfortable to unlock when you are holding the phone. It unlocks the phone quickly. In this phone, you can add up to 5 fingerprints. And then there is a Fingerprint recognition option, which helps users to find out which fingerprint belongs which ID. You can also take photos or video, answer call, stop alarm, bring down the notification panel and browse photos with it. There is also has Face unlock the can unlock the phone quickly, but it requires a good amount of lighting to work, and is less secure compared to fingerprint.

Music Player and FM Radio

It has a separate music player with support for Huawei Histen sound effects as well as equalizer when you use headphones. Audio through third-party headset is good, and the loudspeaker is good as well. It also has FM Radio support.

Connectivity, Calling and Messaging

It supports 4G VoLTE for Reliance Jio and Airtel as well as support Dual 4G VoLTE that offers 4G in both the SIM cards at a time. This is one of the few smartphones with the feature. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE and GPS. It also has USB OTG support that lets you connect USB drives. Moving on, the call quality is good, and we did not face any call drops and earpiece volume was loud as well.

Performance and Benchmarks

The phone is the first to be powered by Huaweis own Octa-Core Kirin 710 Octa-Core 12nm processor with Mali-G51 MP4 GPUas GPU and AI photo features under the hood. 4GB RAM compliments the hardware in making multi-tasking easier than ever. Talking about the real world experience, the performance is smooth and snappy as we experienced no lag or hang. It is good even for graphic-intensive games like PUBG, but the Qualcomm counterpart, Snapdragon 660 does a better job, even though the company promises better performance with the GPU Turbo technology. Check out the synthetic benchmark score below.

Battery life

It is powered by 3340mAh (typical) / 3240mAh (minimum) battery under the hood, slightly bigger than the 3,000mAh battery on the P20 Lite. It can last for the whole day even with heavy use, thanks to the optimization, and it should last more than a day with casual use. It also has power saving mode and ultra-power saving mode to increase the battery life. Sadly, the phone doesnt have fast charging and uses micro USB, which is disappointing.

In our One Charge rating, Huawei Nova 3i scored 15 hours 41 minutes, which is good. Since doesnt have support for fast charging it takes about 2 hours and 24 minutes to charge the phone from 0 to 100% with the bundled charger, and 0 to 50% took about 1 hour. We will bring you the complete set of battery life test results soon.

Conclusion

At a price tag of Rs. 20,999, the Huawei Nova 3i is just another average smartphone with a good display, attractive design, good performance and worthy cameras with AI. It lacks fast charging and 4K video recording. Hope Huawei the price of the smartphone comes down in coming months to compete with other players. The companys own Honor Play that is Rs. 1000 cheaper offers better value for money, and there are other new contenders in the market like the POCO F1 by Xiaomi that offers a better package at the same price, if you can get one in its weekly sales.

The Huawei Nova 3i is available exclusively from Amazon.in. The Iris Purple version went on sale earlier this week. To summarize, here are the pros and cons of the smartphone.

Pros

Good display

Good design

Brilliant front camera and decent dual rear cameras

Good battery life

Cons

No 4K video recording

Micro USB port and no fast charging

Priced slightly on the higher side

Photography by SirajThe global oil market is gargantuan in size. Each day, the oil industry pumps more than 98 million barrels of crude out of the ground. With the price of a barrel currently around $70, it puts the value of global oil trade at a stunning $2.5 trillion per year. For perspective, that's bigger than all the raw metal markets combined, and is more than 10 times the size of the gold market. Given the size and importance of the oil market to the global economy, it's one that investors need to understand.

That's easier said than done considering the oil market's volatility and complexity, which can cause investors to lose money very quickly. It also doesn't help that investors have myriad options to choose from including oil futures contracts, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as oil and gas stocks. To make the oil market easier to understand, we'll break it down into bite-sized pieces.

A brief history on the oil industry

People have been using oil for more than 4,000 years. Asphalt, which is a thick, sticky form of oil, was used to build the walls and towers of ancient Babylon (modern-day Iraq). Meanwhile, the Persians (modern-day Iran) used petroleum for lighting and medicinal purposes. The Chinese have also been using oil for thousands of years and drilled the earliest-known wells nearly 2,000 years ago using bamboo poles to tap shallow oil reservoirs about 800 feet below the surface.

The modern oil industry got its start in 1859 when Edwin Drake completed the first commercially drilled oil well near Titusville, Pennsylvania, using a steam engine. While others drilled wells before Drake, his ignited a drilling boom, driven by demand for kerosene and oil lamps. Demand for oil continued growing as people discovered more uses, and has escalated since the internal combustion engine came on the scene.

In 2018, analysts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) expect global oil demand to average 99.2 million barrels per day. The United States will consume about 20% of that oil, using 70% as a transportation fuel. Meanwhile, industrial uses such as petrochemicals and plastics will account for another 24% of U.S. oil demand while residential and commercial usage such as heating should consume roughly 5% and the final 1% will be used to generate electricity. Those percentages differ by country, though the bulk of the world's oil -- 58% -- gets refined into transportation fuels.

Oil market fundamentals: Understanding supply and demand

The relationship between oil supply and global demand plays a significant role in the oil market and is a crucial factor driving the price of a barrel of oil. When supplies match demand, oil prices typically stay above production costs so that producers can make a profit. However, when market fundamentals are no longer in balance, it can have a significant impact on pricing.

In 2016, for example, oil producers around the globe produced an average of 95.8 million BPD, which was more than the market needed since demand averaged of 95.4 million BPD. Because supplies outpaced demand, crude piled up in storage facilities around the world, which put downward pressure on oil prices in 2016 causing them to fall below $30 a barrel. That level was below the breakeven point for many oil producers, which began losing money, putting significant pressure on their stock prices.

In 2018, on the other hand, global oil production has averaged about 98 million BPD, which is currently below demand of around 99.1 million BPD because members of OPEC as well as some other major producing counties are holding back supplies to help drain off the inventory buildup from a few years ago. Consequently, crude prices have recovered well into the $70s, which is enabling many oil companies to produce large profits, causing their stock prices to rebound.

While several factors can impact oil supplies, a crucial one is that oil wells steadily deplete. As a result, the industry needs to drill new ones just to offset this lost production and even more to meet demand. That makes oil production very capital-intensive, which means companies need to continually invest money to both sustain and grow production to meet rising global demand. When times are good, oil producers have enough money to increase production faster. However, if they expand output too quickly, it can cause supply to outpace demand, which puts downward pressure on prices. Other issues can also impact supplies such as geopolitical turmoil, natural disasters, equipment outages, and OPEC. Meanwhile, demand can ebb and flow with the global economy. A red-hot economy can spur faster-paced demand growth, while high oil prices can cool both off

The key factor for investors to understand is that the oil industry thrives when supplies roughly match demand. That keeps crude prices high enough so that producers can generate sufficient profitability to invest in the wells needed to offset the decline from legacy wells. On top of that, they need to drill new ones to meet steadily growing demand.

Oil market fundamentals: Understanding oil prices

Oil has many prices depending on the location and type. The most well-known oil price is Brent, which is crude produced out of the North Sea and serves as a major global benchmark. Another important oil price is West Texas Intermediate, WTI, which as the name suggests, is oil produced in Western Texas. Other common varieties of crude are Western Canadian Select (WCS) from Canada's oil sands region and the OPEC Reference Basket, which is a blend of several types of oil produced by OPEC countries.

Oil trades at different prices due to refinability as well as regional issues. Earlier in 2018, WCS sold for $25 less than a barrel of WTI because of pipeline problems and the fact that this heavier blend was harder to refine. In the meantime, WTI has traded as much as $10 below Brent in recent years because there isn't enough infrastructure to get U.S. oil to global markets. Because oil prices can differ significantly, oil producers in some regions make less money than others. That difference is something investors need to keep in mind if they invest directly in the stock of an oil producer.

How OPEC impacts oil investors

No discussion on the oil market would be complete without mentioning OPEC, which is an intergovernmental organization currently made up of 14 oil-producing nations that work together to coordinate and unify their oil policies. Those counties combine to produce about 40% of global oil supplies, which gives OPEC lots of sway over the oil market. The organization has used this power countless times over its nearly 60-year history.

In late 2014, for example, OPEC chose not to intervene in an oil market that was quickly becoming oversupplied due to rapidly rising output from the U.S. as a result of an uptick in shale drilling. Instead, it wanted to maintain its roughly 40% share of the global oil market by letting prices fall and forcing higher-cost producers to cut back on new wells. More recently, however, OPEC has turned its focus back on supporting a more balanced oil market by working with several nonmember nations including Russia in a coordinated effort to cap production below demand so that the market could burn off some of the excess supply sitting in storage. That agreement has helped significantly lift the price of oil over the past year.

A crucial understanding for investors is that OPEC controls a meaningful portion of global oil production. That makes it a force in the oil market, which is why investors need to keep an eye on its movements since they can impact oil stock prices.

Ways to invest in the oil market

Like many other commodities, there are several ways to invest in the oil market. While it's possible to buy a barrel of oil just like an investor can buy a bar of gold or a piece of jewelry, that's not the most practical option. Because of that, most investors who want direct exposure to the price of oil will buy futures contracts or an ETF that invests in oil futures like United States Oil (NYSEMKT:USO), which buys futures on WTI. However, due to trading costs and other issues like contango and backwardation -- the former being the cost of storage and insurance while the latter has to do with future pricing concerns -- the U.S. Oil ETF has dramatically underperformed the price of oil over the long term.

Thus, investors should only consider using the United States Oil ETF if they strongly believe the price of oil will move sharply in the near term.

Investors also have the option of buying ETFs and mutual funds that own oil-related stocks as well as the stocks of individual companies. Before an investor goes in that direction, though, it's important that they know more about how companies fit in the oil market value chain, which is a group of linked companies working together to meet the needs of a market. In the oil industry, there are three main links in the chain: upstream, midstream, and downstream.

What is the upstream oil and gas industry?

Oil drilling techniques have changed dramatically over the years. While people dug the first oil wells by hand with bamboo poles, today the industry uses ultra-modern rigs that can quickly drill miles down into the ground, turn the wellbore 90 degrees, and then drill several more miles horizontally to land a well precisely in the most oil-rich spot within a rock formation. This drilling process is part of the upstream segment of the oil industry that consists of oil production companies that operate the wells and a myriad of oil-field service and equipment companies that help take them from concept to production.

Oil production companies come in all sizes, from a small "mom-and-pop" producer with just a handful of wells to a state-owned behemoth like Saudi Aramco, which is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the largest oil producer in the world at 10.2 million BPD, or more than 10% of the global total. However, for investors, oil companies can be broken down into two main categories: independent exploration and production (E&P) companies and integrated oil companies. The difference is that E&Ps mainly operate upstream (and therefore make their money by producing oil) while integrated companies also participate in the midstream and downstream sectors (providing greater diversification and exposure to more of the oil industry's value chain).

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) is the largest independent E&P in the world after it spun off its midstream and downstream assets into Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) in 2012. In 2017, ConocoPhillips produced 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day from 17 different countries. Since ConocoPhillips makes most of its money producing oil, investors who buy its stock have direct exposure to the price of crude. In other words, when oil prices go up, ConocoPhillips' profits and stock price should follow.

ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), meanwhile, is the largest publicly traded integrated oil company in the world. Not only is it a large oil producer at roughly 4 million BOE per day, but it's a major refiner and petrochemical producer. Those latter two activities consume oil, which helps offset some of the volatility that oil price fluctuations can have on profits. So, ExxonMobil tends to generate steadier earnings and cash flow, making it a less risky investment option than most E&Ps.

Oil producers rely on a variety of outside service companies to assist them in all aspects of exploration and production. Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) is the world's largest oil-field service company and provides a compressive suite of products and services to help E&P companies find, drill, and produce oil. Many smaller service companies focus on niche markets such as owning and operating the drilling rigs or supplying the materials or equipment needed to drill and produce oil. Overall, the global oil-field service industry pulls in more than $100 billion in revenue each year by providing support to oil producers, giving investors a wide variety of opportunities to invest in the production of oil without buying the stock of an oil producer.

What is the midstream industry?

Once an oil well comes on line, the production needs to get to end markets. But it's not as simple as hooking the well up to a pipeline and calling it a day. There's a complex value chain of midstream assets needed to maximize the value of every barrel of crude that comes out of the ground.

This process starts with gathering pipelines, which transports a well's production to central processing locations that separate oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and water. The oil then moves by truck, pipeline, or tanker to storage facilities while it waits to go through a refinery or petrochemical complex and get turned into fuel, chemicals, or another oil-based product. While oil companies tend to own some of these midstream assets, especially gathering lines and processing facilities, third parties hold a significant portion of the energy infrastructure in North America. These companies often charge fees for the logistical services provided to oil companies. Master limited partnerships (MLPs) are a noteworthy owner of these assets in the U.S. and most commonly found in the energy midstream sector. MLPs are tax-advantaged entities that pass through most of their income to investors. The largest MLP by enterprise value is Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD), while other notable ones include Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE:MMP) and MPLX (NYSE:MPLX).

Because midstream companies charge fees for their services, they tend to have limited direct exposure to commodity prices and therefore generate more stable cash flow compared to companies in the upstream sector. That often makes them better options for investors who want some exposure to the oil market but with less volatility. Another benefit of midstream companies, especially MLPs, is that they tend to pay high-yielding dividends. For example, Enterprise Products Partners, MPLX, and Magellan Midstream Partners all yield more than 5%.

What is the downstream industry?

The final leg of oil's journey from a reservoir to an end-user is the downstream sector. This segment of the oil industry transforms raw oil into refined petroleum products such as gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, heating oil as well as other products like lubricants, waxes, and petrochemicals. In addition to the refineries and petrochemical plants, the downstream industry also consists of marketing and distribution assets such as tanker trucks and gas stations.

Like the other segments of the oil industry, investors have several options to choose from in the downstream sector, which typically makes more money when oil prices are low because they need to buy oil, which they then refine into higher-value products like gasoline. A company like Phillips 66 operates refineries, petrochemical plants, as well as marketing and distribution businesses. Meanwhile, other companies focus solely on one area of the downstream segment. For example, PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) mainly operates refineries, Westlake Chemical (NYSE:WLK) primarily owns petrochemical plants, while Sunoco LP (NYSE:SUN) distributes refined products to places like gas stations.

The top 10 oil stocks

The 10 Largest Oil Stocks in the S&P 500 Enterprise Value Dividend Yield Segment Exxon Mobil NYSE:XOM) $378.9 billion 4.1% Upstream (integrated) Chevron NYSE:CVX) $258.3 billion 3.8% Upstream (integrated) Schlumberger NYSE:SLB) $104.4 billion 3.1% Upstream (oil services) ConocoPhillips NYSE:COP) $92.8 billion 1.6% Upstream (independent) Enterprise Products Partners NYSE:EPD) $90.2 billion 5.8% Midstream EOG Resources NYSE:EOG) $72.8 billion 0.8% Upstream (independent) Kinder Morgan NYSE:KMI) $79.2 billion 4.4% Midstream Occidental Petroleum NYSE:OXY) $69.3 billion 4.0% Upstream (integrated) Phillips 66 NYSE:PSX) $66.9 billion 2.7% Downstream Anadarko Petroleum NYSE:APC) $50.1 billion 1.6% Upstream (independent)

The basket approach: An easy way to invest in oil

Investors have a multitude of oil stocks to choose from if they want to add some oil market exposure to their portfolio. They can go with an integrated oil giant like ExxonMobil and gain access to nearly the entire oil market value chain in one stock. They could also buy a couple of oil-related stocks across the value chain and make their own integrated mini-portfolio or target specific companies or subsectors of the industry. Each option requires a lot of research and has risks and reward potential. That's why investors just starting out on their journey to invest in the oil market might want to consider gaining that exposure through an oil-focused mutual fund or an oil ETF.

While there are several options available, one of the top ones is the Vanguard Energy ETF (NYSEMKT:VDE). This ETF offers broad exposure to more than 140 oil stocks, though it's heavily weighted to the 10 largest oil stocks, which make up nearly 65% of the total value of its holdings. That focus on the largest oil companies across the entire value chain makes the Vanguard Energy ETF a less risky option compared to ETFs or mutual funds more heavily weighted toward E&P companies. Another benefit of the Vanguard Energy ETF is that its expense ratio is 93% less than the average of funds with similar holdings. That makes it a low-cost and lower-risk way for an investor to add some oil market exposure to their portfolio.

Wrapping up the oil market

The oil market is a complex beast that's crucial to the global economy. Because of that, oil companies invest billions of dollars each year to keep up with demand, pumping crude through their assets as it flows downstream and is transformed into useful products. That leaves investors with a nearly limitless opportunity set to potentially make money from each step of this process. While there are risks, the rewards of investing in oil can be even greater.It may be impossible to spill too much ink discussing the incredible, virtually overnight transformation in American energy trade. In 2005, the United States was the world's top net energy importer, relying on imports for 30% of its total energy and 60% of all petroleum consumption. By 2022 and perhaps sooner, Uncle Sam is expected to elbow his way to near the front of the global trade line and become a net energy exporter.

It's difficult to communicate the magnitude of the shift in American energy trade flows. Consider that energy products have been the country's single-largest trade deficit category for decades. The imbalance peaked at $321 billion in 2011, comprising more than 60% of the nation's entire trade deficit. Yet in a few short years, energy products will become one of the United States' biggest competitive advantages on the global stage.

It also creates some tremendous long-term opportunities for oil and gas stocks that only are just beginning to be exploited. Individual investors looking to share in the awesome rise of American energy may want to start paying closer attention to the trend.

America as a top energy exporter? It's true.

The United States is already a net exporter of coal (since before 2000), ethanol (since 2010), petroleum products (since 2011), and natural gas (since 2017). The only major product without a positive trade balance is crude oil. The country isn't expected to become a net exporter of the latter until the 2030s, but excesses in refined products and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will more than pick up the slack.

In fact, they already are. From the peak in 2011 to 2017, the country's trade deficit in energy products fell 83%. The pace of the trend is why, given the right combination of factors, the U.S. Energy Information Administration thinks the country could become a net energy exporter as soon as 2020. It's not as big of a reach as it seems.

Year U.S. Energy Exports U.S. Energy Imports U.S. Energy Trade Balance 2011 $137 billion $459 billion ($321 billion) 2012 $143 billion $428 billion ($285 billion) 2013 $154 billion $384 billion ($230 billion) 2014 $162 billion $350 billion ($187 billion) 2015 $109 billion $194 billion ($84.4 billion) 2016* $99.4 billion $158 billion ($58.6 billion) 2017 $143 billion $198 billion ($54.9 billion)

While higher energy prices can juice the import and export numbers from year to year, it washes out when considering the trade balance for each annual period. A combination of booming domestic production fulfilling a greater proportion of consumption and soaring exports from brand-new LNG export terminals and the lifting of the ban on crude oil exports in December 2015 puts the United States on a path to becoming a net energy exporter for the first time since the 1950s. A number of companies are doing their part to make sure it happens.

These stocks are poised to capitalize

Energy companies up and down the value chain stand to make an impact. It turns out that looking at the structure of the industry is a great way to survey the opportunities available. Here's an example of a company or two from each major category driving the American energy trade trend.

Crude oil production: In April 2018, oil exports from Texas exceeded imports for the first time ever. The Texas Gulf Coast is responsible for nearly 75% of the country's oil exports, which recently hit a record of 2 million barrels per day. Some estimates suggest total crude oil exports could hit 5 million barrels per day by the end of 2023.

Sending more oil abroad makes room for more oil production here at home. EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) is an independent energy producer that has maintained extraordinary fiscal discipline for its production assets over the years. The company focuses on returns, not production volumes, to gauge its success. By that measuring stick, it's been wildly successful.

In the first six months of 2018, the business delivered year-over-year increases of 52% for revenue and 682% for operating income. That's because EOG Resources can remain profitable with crude oil above $50 per barrel, so it shouldn't be surprising that it's absolutely crushing it with oil prices near $70 per barrel now.

Household names are making a splash, too. ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) has plans to double earnings and cash flow by 2025, in large part driven by a fivefold increase in crude oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin. It already has begun financing massive new energy pipelines out of the region and toward its robust refinery infrastructure along the Texas Gulf Coast, which likely means the oil major will play a significant role in increasing energy exports from the United States.

Midstream: Pipeline operators represent a critical link in the industry's value chain. They're responsible for gathering crude oil and natural gas production from the field, moving it to processing facilities, then to chemical manufacturing, refinery, or export infrastructure.

Antero Midstream Partners (NYSE:AM) is uniquely positioned to capitalize on natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shale basins, which are responsible for 41% of the country's total shale gas output. The region is expected to double production by 2023 -- and the company will be ready.

After building out gas gathering and processing (and freshwater-delivery) infrastructure to support its sponsor, Antero Resources, the business has grown distributable cash flow 1,032% since its IPO in 2014. It expects for that to continue after investing $2.7 billion in growth projects in the next five years, which could allow it to grow its distribution per unit from $1.66 today to $4.10 by 2022.

Meanwhile, $68 billion behemoth Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD) is investing to exploit the under-the-radar opportunity represented by natural gas liquids (NGL) and chemical manufacturing. Since 2010, a staggering $181 billion has been committed to building new petrochemical manufacturing infrastructure in the United States -- all because of cheap NGLs that can be used as feedstocks. The resulting chemical production then will be used domestically, or more likely, it will be exported.

Enterprise Products Partners has or is building pipelines to deliver NGLs to chemical manufacturing infrastructure or export terminals to go along with storage, transport, and export infrastructure for the resulting petrochemicals. In other words, the company will play a huge role in exports of both NGLs and petrochemicals (for which the United States posted a trade deficit of $40 billion in 2017).

LNG exports: According to estimates compiled by Kinder Morgan, the United States is expected to increase exports of LNG from 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017 to 14 Bcf/d in 2027 -- representing 38% of the country's total required production increase in that span. Investors won't have to wait that long, though. By 2020, the United States will become the third-largest exporter of LNG behind only Qatar and Australia.

The undisputed king of LNG exports today is Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT:LNG), the owner of the Sabine Pass facility, which, until recently, represented nearly all of the country's export capacity. When the Corpus Christi facility comes online by the end of 2019, the company will own close to 4.5 Bcf/d of export capacity. But by then, it won't be the only exporter cashing in.

Kinder Morgan will have a relatively small export capacity volume at its Elba Island project. Dominion Energy recently started up the Cove Point project. Throw in the first legs of the Cameron and Freeport projects, and the United States could have over 9 Bcf/d of export capacity entering 2020.

American energy dominance is here to stay

Despite being over a decade old now, the shale energy revolution has continued to pay tremendous dividends for oil and gas producers and the nation, as a whole. Things will get better still. With the United States expected to become a net energy exporter by 2022 (or sooner) and continue growing exports for the foreseeable future, this is one energy trend individual investors with a long-term mindset can't afford to pass up.Ferrari were favourites for pole at Spa-Francorchamps, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen showing rapid pace in dry conditions. But then the heavens opened early in Q3 and it became advantage Lewis Hamilton. Rain is always a friend to me, said the Mercedes driver after clinching a record-breaking fifth pole in Belgium...

Though Spa-Francorchamps is notorious for its unpredictable weather, only dry tyres had been required for the three practice sessions. The rain stayed away for the first two segments of qualifying, too, but then a downpour hit early in Q3.

Hamilton made mistakes at Turn 1 and again at Turn 12 on early runs, meaning it would all come down to his final lap. With conditions improving and rival Sebastian Vettel failing to hook up a good lap, Hamilton kept his head to take pole  Mercedes sixth straight P1 slot at Spa.

For the four-time world champion, it was the latest epic wet-weather performance in a career full of them - including his recent come-from-behind win in Germany and rain-soaked pole in Hungary.

I think that was one of the hardest sessions that I can remember for a while, said Hamilton. Obviously in the rain in the last [qualifying in Hungary] was obviously incredibly difficult there but this one was straight from slicks to inters.

You only have a few laps to find the grip, get the tyres up, to understand where the track was drying and where it was wet because it was really patchy throughout the whole lap.

Towards the end it was drying up in some patches, and still wet in others. I cant find the words to describe how difficult it was. If you look at the laps, I went off at Turn 1 and again into Turn 12, so I only had one lap left otherwise I would have been a lot further down the order.

I knew I had the pace, its just about trying to find the balance of not pushing too much but not backing off too much. Its different every single corner. At no point can you ever be complacent. Im super happy, the team have done a great job. The rain is always a friend to me.

Ferrari look to be strong on race pace and despite starting on pole, Hamilton is expecting a tough battle, particularly at the start should Vettel get a tow up the Kemmel Straight and utilise their impressive speed on the straights.

They were favourites today and they will be favourites tomorrow but that doesnt mean necessarily they are going to win, said Hamilton. They have been favourites for quite a few races now and we have managed somehow turn it up on its head and come out ahead.

Tomorrow will be a tough race. Sebastians long run looked good yesterday so I dont know if Ill be able to create the pace worthy of building the gap but tomorrow Ill find out and Ill give it everything Ive got. Its always a tough race down to Turn 5 at the start and these guys are incredibly quick on the straights. So well see.

Hamilton leads Vettel by 24 points in the world title race heading in Sunday's Grand Prix. The question is, will that gap grow or shrink?Ferrari topped every session of the Spa weekend bar one  and unfortunately for them, that one was final the segment of qualifying, with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton claiming pole as the rain arrived in Belgium.

With Belgium seen as a straight fight between Ferrari and Mercedes as both teams unleashed their Spec 3 engines after the summer break, Ferrari had shaded Mercedes throughout Friday and Saturdays running, going fastest in FP1, FP2 and FP3, as well as Q1 and Q2.

But as the rain started falling minutes into Q3, all the teams were forced to think on the fly. With everyone having initially gone out on slicks, there was a mad dash to the pits for intermediate tyres.

However, after their first runs on inters, many drivers  including Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen  found themselves marginal on fuel, leaving them side-lined as the track got progressively better once the rain had stopped. Raikkonen, who had looked every bit a pole position candidate, was left down in P6. Sebastian Vettel did manage to be on track right at the end of the session, but was ultimately unable to match Hamiltons time, ending up second on the grid.

I think we had a wobble, obviously, said Vettel after qualifying. I think there was a bit of miscommunication  I was stuck in the pit lane for a while. In the end that didnt matter but it was just not as calm as I think it could have been.Georgie Anne Geyer has been a foreign reporter and commentator on international affairs for more than 40 years. Contact her at gigi_geyer@juno.com.After more than 50 years of perfecting our big, fresh, and meaty sandwiches, we decided it was time for a brand refresh to ensure that everything we do, from marketing to store design, would be in line with the uniqueness and high quality of a Togo's sandwich.

Some may have noticed that Togo's has been pretty quiet the last few years, but that's because we've been hard at work reimagining the company to focus on what fans love most about the brand. And now, we are thrilled to begin sharing our many exciting brand improvements with existing and new guests.

Togo's has launched its system-wide brand refresh, anchored by the company's new anthem, "True to the Sandwich," along with the addition of our newest signature sandwich, the Pretzelrami. After taking the time to ask fans why they choose Togo's over other sandwich concepts, it always came back to the sandwich, and the fact that there is nothing else like it. So our new commitment is to be relentlessly True to the Sandwich in everything we do, which means staying focused on what matters most to our guests, and that's bold flavors, premium ingredients, and generous portions.

Our guests have already noticed big changes at Togo's, including an updated logo that features our new tagline (True to the Sandwich). All employees are donning our new uniforms, the Pretzelrami is front and center on new menu boards, and the brand's redesigned, vibrant packaging is now being used in all locations. In addition, all stores will undergo a facelift that will be rolled out gradually at our more than 220 locations in the coming months, and our many restaurants in development will feature the new store design.

What our fans might be loving most about our recent changes is the permanent addition of our newest signature sandwich, the Pretzelrami. Featuring more than a quarter pound of our famous pastrami piled high on a soft pretzel roll, the Pretzelrami is toasted with two slices of white cheddar cheese aged for seven months, and finished off with tangy yellow mustard and crisp dill pickles. Our Pretzelrami takes our fan-favorite traditional pastrami sandwich to a whole new level of taste and quality, and further reflects the brand's promise to provide guests with the highest quality, generous portions, and an engaging dining experience they won't find anywhere else.

To celebrate Togo's being back and better than ever, we've launched a new marketing campaign developed by Siltanen & Partners of Los Angeles titled, "How Far Would You Go for a Togo?" The campaign illustrates the extreme and humorous lengths that people will go to get their favorite Togo's sandwich. To get our fans involved, we've been encouraging them to share their own stories on social media about how far they would go for a Togo.

While the response from our valued guests has been overwhelmingly positive, our franchise partners are even more excited about the brand's new direction and the customer feedback they've been receiving. Our franchisees bought into our storied culture, and we're proud that our refresh efforts help to tell that story better and enhance what makes Togo's stand out from other sandwich concepts.

The evolution of Togo's presents enormous opportunity for prospective franchisees to join the brand at a very exciting time of growth and innovation. With a focus on the western regions of the United States, Togo's is building a stronger national presence by entering new territories while infilling existing markets.

With more than 220 locations across five states, the company offers plenty of room for franchisees to grow in both existing and untapped markets, while introducing Togo's next-generation stores to new guests. There has never been a better time for potential franchisees looking to expand their portfolio and grow with a proven brand that has an extremely loyal following.

This brand refresh, years in the making, is designed to remind longtime guests of why they gravitate to Togo's when craving a sandwich, while making a strong introduction to new customers who have yet to experience their new favorite sandwich at Togo's. We're confident that guests will appreciate our fresh approach to the Togo's they've grown up with and have loved since that very first bite!

Glenn Lunde is president of Togo's Eateries.The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High near 75F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 52F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph.This app will allow voters to rate local politicians and report their problems News oi-Sandeep Sarkar The app is developed by Flipped Pvt Ltd.

A new app has been announced for the Indian users which will allow them to connect with politicians and report their problems. The new app is dubbed as "Neta- Leader's Report card". The app has been already downloaded over 1 lakh times on Google Play Store. The app was launched in India formally by former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee.

With the help of this app, the voters will be able to give ratings to their MLAs and MPs. The app aims to bring transparency and accountability among the Indian political leaders.

The app is developed by Flipped Pvt Ltd and as mentioned above, the app's mission is to strengthen participatory governance and ensure the accountability of the leaders apart from increasing transparency among the leaders. Commenting at the launch, Mukherjee said that with the app the Indian democracy's feedback mechanism would strengthen.

He was quoted as saying, "The app will provide people's feedback to politicians, framers of public policy, implementers and even corporate sector. In a democracy, feedback has an important role since it gives an opportunity for empirical evidence for gauging public mood and take course correction. Launching of this app is a welcome step in strengthening our democracy's feedback mechanism".

It is being reported that the app has been developed by Pratham Mittal, whose family runs the Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, India. The other leaders present at the ceremony held at Mukherjee's official residence were Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Union Minister of State of Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla, former Union Ministers Shivraj Patil, Murli Manohar Joshi and Ashwani Kumar, and former Chief Election Commissioners S.Y. Quraishi and Nasim Zaidi.

Mittal also mentioned that the app utilizes multiple mediums IVR calls, algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, IVR calls, SMS, and Aadhaar numbers to ensure genuine voters. After a user downloads the app, he/she will need to type in the pin number if the area which concerns the user. Upon entering the pin number of the area the user will be presented with a list of politicians from different parties who have contested for the Lok Sabha elections.

The user can vote for a specific politician or can skip this step and use the other feature of the app. Currently, the app features polls on various "local" and "national" issues which allow the users to participate in discussions. The users will also be allowed to tell if they are satisfied with the performance of a specific Chief Minister or not. Also, the users will also be able to see which politician leads when it comes to votes.

So, if you have any concerns which needs to be addressed and need the help of local politicians or even rate them you can visit the Play Store and download the "Neta- Leader's Report card" app.

Image Source

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Vivo V11 Pro teasers confirm AI dual rear cameras, FullView display and more News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Vivo V11 Pro features revealed by teasers.

Vivo is highly anticipated to come up with two new smartphones - X23 and V11 Pro. The company is all set to host an event in India on September 6 and is expected to launch at least one of these smartphones in the country. The company has also sent out media invites for the launch event. Now, there appears to be official confirmation on some of the features of the V11 Pro, thanks to the official teasers.

Vivo India has taken to its official Twitter handle to tease a set of features of the Vivo V11 Pro. The latest set of teasers show that the smartphone might arrive with an in-display fingerprint sensor, an AI-powered dual rear camera and a FullView display. We have already seen teasers on Amazon and Flipkart hinting at the features of this device.

AI dual rear camera

In one of the teasers on Twitter, Vivo has teased that the V11 Pro will flaunt an AI Dual Rear Camera. As the name indicates, the dual-camera module at the rear will have AI capabilities. The tweet comes along with a camera sample showing the low-light performance of the smartphone. It also reveals that the camera comes with dual pixel technology for enhanced performance even when the ambient lighting is low.

Existing rumors suggest that the smartphone might arrive with a 12MP primary sensor and a 5MP secondary sensor. Up front, it could have a 25MP selfie camera.

FullView display and in-display sensor

One of the earlier teasers from the company confirmed the presence of an in-display fingerprint sensor. The Vivo X23 is said to use the fourth-generation in-display fingerprint technology for a better and faster performance. We can expect the same to be used by the V11 Pro as well. A different teaser showed the gorgeous Halo FullView display. It is claimed to "add magic to everything you view".

Waterdrop notch

Lately, Oppo came up with an innovation called waterdrop design that features a small notch on top of the display to house the selfie camera alone. The Oppo F9 Pro was launched with such a design and now it looks like the V11 Pro will also embrace this design that is catching up with the trend.

For now, we have no other information regarding the Vivo V11 Pro. We can expect more details to surface online in the coming days as the launch is nearing.

Best Mobiles in IndiaOverseas Bondholders Help Ease Reliance Communications' Debt Burden Business oi-Olga Robert

Anil Ambani headed telecom company received approval from its overseas bondholders to ease the company's debt burden and helping it with its bankruptcy aversion.

Reliance Communications in an exchange filing said, "Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) Bond holders, approved the Tender and Exchange offer of US$ 300 million Bonds with overwhelming majority of over 83%, at their meeting held today on August 24, 2018, at London. Pursuant to the Offer as approved, the Bond Holders will receive cash proceeds upto US$ 118 mn. The Bond Holders will also get US$ 55 million Bonds to be issued by Global Cloud Xchange Limited (holding Company of GCX), a foreign subsidiary of RCOM. The New Bonds of Global Cloud Xchange will be unlisted, unsecured and shall have half yearly coupon of 0.1% with maturity of four years."

The vote comes as a major relief for Anil Ambani as this was a precondition for the carrier to reorganize its larger local debt. The company has been working to settle agreements with its creditors before the deadline of 27 August, failing which, it will face insolvency proceedings.

On Thursday Rcom closed the sale of its Media Convergence Nodes (MCN) and related infrastructure to Reliance Jio.

For investment related articles, business news and mutual fund advise Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, August 24, 2018, 17:11 [IST]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.Bloomberg photo by Alex Kraus

The nation's third-largest wireless carrier said late Thursday that it had discovered a data breach potentially affecting some of its customers' account information.

No financial data was stolen in the incident, the company said, but some personal details such as customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and account numbers may have been compromised.Last year, as now former School Superintendent Jill Gildea was revisiting a decision to change Greenwich Highs hours, a parent who opposed the new, later start time, filed a Freedom of Information Act request, asking for communications between Gildea and a specific school board member who had been a vocal proponent of the later start.

The request is hardly noteworthy or unusual; GPS and the school board field many such FOIA actions every year. What is unusual, however, is that the member targeted by the request, Republican Peter Sherr, says he was never notified of it.

Sherr is the longest-serving member of the school board, having won his third term in 2017. Neither the superintendent nor the board chair ever told me about the FOI request, the North Mianus Republican said. Sherr said he learned of the request during a conversation with Phil Dunn, the GPS chief information officer, who recently left the towns employ. He told me had given my emails to Jill. When I told him I did not know what he was talking about, he said, I assumed you knew.

That puts the (school board) member in a bad spot, said Tom Hennick, public education officer of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Committee, when told about the incident. It is not a violation of the act, per se, but it makes it very hard for the commission to trust that the request was properly fulfilled. In the end, all the commission cares about is that all the records that should be made available, are made available. It would be tough to feel confident in the response if the person who had all the records was not notified.

Sherr added that over the years, any number of attorneys have told all board members that it is our responsibility and obligation to keep all communications, be they emails, texts, whatever. And, we have to be able to produce them on demand. Sherr said he was never asked to produce anything. That means the superintendent and the board leadership never contacted me.

Gildea left town at the end of last month. Earlier this year, GPS director of communications, Kim Eves, told me that the superintendents office directly handles all FOI questions. I asked School Board Chairman Peter Bernstein about Sherrs remarks and asked to explain board FOIA response policy.

FOI requests are handled by the administration and all board members are supposed to use district emails so the administration can easily respond to those requests in a timely manner, Bernstein responded. While there is no requirement to do so, through updates, the superintendent informs all board members about pending FOI requests.

In the highly improbable event that the FOI request specified emails only sent or received through Sherrs official school board mailbox, it is possible that the system administrator made a full disclosure. However, virtually every public official in town receives emails from residents on their personal email accounts. I sincerely hope the GPS computer network administrator cannot get access to any private mailboxes without the owners consent.

Connecticut passed its FOI law in the late 1970s, when many other states were enacting similar legislation. The acts are often referred to as Sunshine Laws, and are designed to encourage and promote a free, transparent flow of information between government and voters/residents. But as happens in many regulated industries, those regulated have learned how to subvert the regulations intention; the FOIA is often cited as the reason to keep things secret, as if the FOI law mandates governmental privacy.

Ultimately, it is up to public officials to decide whether the publics right and need to know outweighs any gains from keeping secrets. It is not surprising that elected officials want to keep politically difficult conversations out of public view. It is legal, but it is not right, and certainly was not the intent of Connecticuts sunshine law.

Public meetings held behind closed doors in so-called executive sessions are just one way the FOIA intention is stymied. Another ploy used to keep a lid on public information is to put an outrageous price tag on the asked for information.

For example, in reporting about Gildeas decision to take a job in Park City, Utah, less than a year into a three-year contract with Greenwich, I asked GPS and the BOE for copies of Gildeas daily calendar, travel schedule, and expense reports from her first day on the job on July 1, 2017. In that same request, I asked for emails between Gildea and the recruiting firm who introduced her to Park City. Finally, I asked for all Bernsteins emails since he was made chairman.

The GPS/BOE response claimed that 8,000 emails addressed my request, many of which required staff review and redaction of names and other information. The BOE wanted to charge me 50 cents per page and for the staff time used to redact private information.

Another tactic is to just wait out the request and hope the person loses interest. I asked First Selectman Peter Tesei and Town Administrator Benjamin Branyan five months ago for emails and other communications about the parking services division and how Electra Reed, the daughter of the late Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed, received a town commuter parking permit without spending a day on the waiting list.

In all this time, I have received one email, even though Town Attorney John Wayne Fox wrote me that he had advised Branyan to respond as he discovered relevant material, and not wait until it was all collected. Well, I am still waiting. And I have not forgotten.FAIRFIELD  As she walked down the long driveway, Caitlin Clarkson Pereira clutched a water bottle, cellphone and stack of campaign flyers in one arm, while pinning the 30-pound toddler to her hip.

Sweat dampened her blonde hair in the 90-degree heat. She wondered if she should just give up. She also knew this is why she wanted to be elected.

Clarkson Pereira had knocked on 15 doors with her 3-year-old, when Parker, slathered in sunscreen and wearing a small, pink bucket hat, was too tired to walk any farther.

She wasnt sure she could juggle her daughter, ring a doorbell, shake a voters hand and deliver a palm card, all the while presenting herself as an appealing candidate for state representative in the 132nd District.

In her first run for elective office, mastering the art of the door knock was hard enough for the 31-year-old.

But Clarkson Pereiras partner was away on business, and her sister, upon whom she often relied for child care, was near the end of her pregnancy. A babysitter cost money that Clarkson Pereira didnt always have.

Meanwhile, that August Sunday was Clarkson Pereiras first Day of Action, and Democratic supporters were canvassing the town to help elect her, a Southern Connecticut State University counselor who never thought much about politics before 2016, to the Connecticut General Assembly.

I couldnt bail on my own Day of Action, Clarkson Pereira said in an interview a few days later. I really wanted to finish this particular turf.

So Clarkson Pereira brought along Parker. In a way, it was fitting: Clarkson Pereira wanted to show that working, full-time mothers, can run for office and win.

She was determined to normalize the image of a mother as a politician. She just wished she had a choice of how to do it.

States say no

Last month, Clarkson Pereira filed Connecticuts first formal request to use a public-campaign grant to pay for election-related child care. She highlighted her lack of options: a traveling domestic partner and many upcoming events that fell at Parkers bedtime.

She thought she would quickly be granted permission.

After all, in May, when a New York Congressional candidate Liuba Grechen Shirley filed a near-identical request to the Federal Election Commission, the agency ruled she could use campaign funds to pay for child-care. Previously, the FEC also gave a male candidate permission to pay for occasional babysitting with campaign funds.

In contrast, few states now allow campaign dollars to be spent on child-care. State commissions in Minnesota, Texas, Alabama and Arkansas granted permission to candidates this summer, but an Iowa board ruled against it.

In Connecticut, as Clarkson Pereira learned, campaign funds may only be spent on the promoting of the nomination or election of the candidate, according to state law enforced by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

Candidates receiving grants through the Citizens Election Program, like Clarkson Pereira, have a further restriction: funds may be spent only for campaign-related expenditures made to directly further their election.

Incendiary fuel

Two weeks ago, Clarkson Pereira read and re-read a letter from the SEEC denying her request in frustration.

I wanted to believe we were so much farther along than we actually are, and that this was a gimme, she said in an interview, her voice shaking. This is why I am running for office. This is some of the most incendiary fuel on the fire that you could add.

When she collected herself, she called Grechen Shirley.

Its time to break down the barriers and make sure we have more parents of young children, more working Americans of different socio-economic backgrounds, in office, Grechen Shirley said in an interview Thursday. Theres a reason why we dont have a national conversation about paid family leave.

Clarkson Pereira is weighing what next steps to take. She may seek a declaratory ruling on her case from the SEEC. If elected, changing state law to permit campaign funds to be spent on child-care will be on her short list of priorities, she said.

Clarkson Pereiras general election opponent, Republican state Rep. Brenda Kupchick said Wednesday lawmakers should consider permitting campaign funds to be spent on caregiving for children or even aging parents.

I understand the struggle, I went through it myself, said Kupchick, whose son was a teenager when she served in town government in the early 2000s.

She now cares for her elderly mother. I think we should look at in the next legislative session: what are the boundaries and what is a valid expense?

Some lawmakers believe more low and middle-income parents could be elected if campaign funds covered child care.

If we want diverse voices in politics, we should consider using campaign funds for (child care), said state Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, who regularly campaigns with his 6-month-old twins.

While the children may tug at the heart strings of some voters, feeding, changing and comforting can interrupt voter interactions, he said.

But state Rep. Christie Carpino, R-Cromwell, a member of the legislative Judiciary Committee and co-chairman of the Regulation Review Committee, who has two young children, agreed the question should be part of a broad discussion on work-life balance.

The juggling act of campaigning is nothing compared to the juggling act of serving, she said.GREENWICH  The demographics of Greenwich are changing, rapidly.

The population thats really increasing in Greenwich is the Latino population and its now up to about 12 percent of the population of Greenwich  it probably was half that about a decade or so ago, said Commissioner of Human Services Alan Barry. If youre looking for the change in Greenwich demographics and to pop the perception of Greenwich being a monolithic community with everyone white and everyone rich, you can look at that.

Barry said it is impossible to tell what percentage of the population is comprised of new immigrants, because so many live in the shadows. But officials are taking steps to make sure all  those in and out of the shadows  are aware of available services and how to access them.

The town of Greenwich, through the First Selectmans Diversity Advisory Committee, has published Achieving the American Dream: A Resource Guide. Available in English and Spanish, the guide will be distributed throughout town in the coming week, providing information about finding a job; accessing social services, health and child care; and getting legal help if needed.

Churches, libraries, Town Hall and non-profit agencies will all have copies of the guide available.

We saw this as a critical need that was not being met, said YWCA President and CEO Mary Lee Kiernan. By creating this guidebook in both English and Spanish, we are able to help the immigrants in our community.

The YWCA is a member of the Diversity Committee along with organizations including the Greenwich Fellowship of Clergy, Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Family Centers, Community Centers Inc. and the town Housing Authority.

First Selectman Peter Tesei said an initiative like this is what he was after when he expanded the Diversity Advisory Committees membership to include groups that have direct relationships with the towns diverse populations.

The purpose of the committee is to have inclusion and create understanding, Tesei said. We want the people who are directly serving a cross section of that population to participate.  Its critically important to do outreach and empower people to become an integral part of the broader community. The only way you can do that is if youre aware and familiar with programs and services that would be of benefit and necessity to you.

A panel discussion on immigration issues, organized late last year by the committee, made clear where the need was and how to address it, Kiernan said.

The information for immigrants has been very scattered and not easily accessible, she said. And it wasnt always in the right language either. We wanted to get the information to the people who needed it the most. We wanted to make the services in the community more accessible to them  We wanted to create the definitive guide for immigrants when they arrive in the community.

Barry agreed that previously information had not been presented in the best way. He said one of the biggest challenges people new to Greenwich and to the country had was navigating through the many bureaucracies they encountered  to get services and achieve citizenship.

In too many instances they end up with these notarios, fraudsters who present themselves as legal experts, and theyre actually preying on them, Barry said. They claim they can help them with their immigration status but its a scam and they take their money and dont provide anything.  We wanted people to have one guidebook for all the resources, kind of like one-stop shopping, and make it as comprehensive as possible to guide people to legitimate people and agencies that will help them.

Groups including Connecticut Legal Services Inc., Building One Community and New Covenant Center have been listed as valid and safe resources for immigrants.

But Barry noted another barrier that can keep immigrants from getting services they need  fears of deportation.

More and more of this population is concerned about coming out of the shadows, he said. Our diversity committee has discussed trying to set up some public meetings ... to provide more information. But attempting to get people to come out for it is a real challenge because theyre so concerned about being identified and what the consequences might be.

Barry said he hopes the guide is a way of getting around those fears.

The guide will be available online in the Department of Human Services section of the towns new website at www.greenwichct.gov. Kiernan said the online version will be updated and expanded whenever needed.

We want to make sure people know about the services that are available and we want to be able to identify if there are any emerging issues or needs that have to be addressed, Tesei said. This committee can take a leadership role.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com5 1 of 5 Photograph provided by Jane Holler / Photograph provided by Jane Holler Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Photo provided by Jane Holler / Photo provided by Jane Holler Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Photo provided by Jane Holler / Photo provided by Jane Holler Show More Show Less 5 of 5









MILFORD  As time for one of their big fundraisers approaches, a local couple who lead the nonprofit Uganda Farmers Inc. are upping the urgency of providing water for Uganda, a drought-ravaged East African nation where famine threatens more than 1.6 million people, said UFI president Jane Holler.

UFI, which provides funds to dig water wells and has two projects ready to go, recently made their case to members of the West Haven Rotary Club and is also hoping for a great turnout at its eighth annual Running for Water for Africa 5K race and walk fundraiser.Samsung's upcoming VR headse,t dubbed HMD Odyssey+ made its first appearance on the FCC's database, along with key specs and features. It aims to be a successor to last year's HMD Odyssey and will be company's second stand-alone VR headset.

Although previous leaks revealed almost everything we would like to know about Samsung's future VR headset, the latest report is here to add more to the story. The device appeared on the Bluetooth certification website, revealing yet another feature.

The document doesn't disclose much except that two models have gone under the certification process, with similar numbers: XE800ZBA and XQ800ZBA. We've already seen the first one on the FCC's website but the second remains a mystery. This could mean that the Korean giant is prepping two variants of its headset, while Bluetooth connectivity could mean that a gamepad or other game controller can be paired with the headset directly.

In any case, Bluetooth and FCC certifications hint at an imminent launch. IFA Berlin 2018 anyone?

Source



Haiti - Politic : Minister Lamur honored as woman Leader





Friday at the Royal Oasis Hotel, the National Forum of Haitian Youth, on its 10th anniversary, in the presence of several hundred young people, honored Regine Lamur the resigning Minister of Youth, as "woman leader". The Minister, who came to speak with a panel on the role of youth in the country's development, welcomed this distinction, which she shared with all the youth of the country.



In her speech, she emphasized "the potential and determination of young people who are doing everything they can to do", taking advantage of the fact that they invite all sectors to work side by side with young people and continue to believe and invest in their country.



Minister Lamur also spoke about the initiatives of her ministry aimed at the socio-economic integration of young people, notably the "Jenibiznis" program realized at the beginning of the month https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25226-haiti-economy-70-young-people-are-introduced-to-entrepreneurship.html which allowed 70 young people to train in entrepreneurship and receive funding to start their business. Minister Lamur believes that such programs must be replicated in order to help young people participate actively in the development of Haiti.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25226-haiti-economy-70-young-people-are-introduced-to-entrepreneurship.html



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - FLASH : A fire destroys the 2 generators of the TNH in Boutilliers





The General Direction of the National Television of Haiti (TNH) deplores the fire which destroyed the generators which serve to power its diffusion site in Boutilliers. Fire that occurred in unknown circumstances early Thursday morning, according to the testimony of the site guard.



An incident likely to disrupt the smooth operation of the broadcast public service channel.



An investigation was opened so that all the light is shed on the origin of this fire.



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - Politic : Moise seeks funds from the IMF, WB and IDB





On Wednesday, Jovenel Moise, accompanied by Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant, met with representatives in Haiti of the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the head of operations of the Inter-American Development Bank ( IDB) to discuss cooperation in tax and monetary matters and the support of multilateral partners for the social programs to be put in place to alleviate the needy populations.



During this meeting, Moise reiterated his Administration's commitment to deep institutional reform, to free up resources to increase national agricultural and industrial production, attract direct investment and create jobs.



However, as the Head of State had pointed out during the signing of the "Staff Monitored Program" (SMP) Reference Program with the IMF last February https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23659-haiti-economy-moise-accepts-the-program-of-control-and-the-requirements-of-the-imf.html he reminded multilateral donors that structural reforms must be accompanied by substantial social assistance measures that could improve the living conditions of the population in the short term.



It is in this perspective that the Head of State has presented a certain number of measures taken by the Government (limiting the state of life, strengthening the recovery of public revenues among others) in order to obtain more resources to finance social safety nets for the most vulnerable segments of the population.



At the end of this meeting, the multilateral partners reiterated their support for the Head of State's determination to finance the social safety nets and to pursue the structuring public investments.



In addition, representatives of the World Bank and the IDB's operations manager in Haiti have indicated their intention to provide budget support, taking into account the Government's efforts to undertake structural reforms, while considering the need to respond urgently to the expectations of the population.



HL/ HaitiLibre





















Haiti - Security : Haiti strengthens security at the border of Belladere





Following the border incident of 18 August at the border crossing of Carrizal (Elias Pina Province) and Belladere (Central Dept., Haiti), which resulted to 6 wounded by bullets on the Haitian side https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25284-haiti-flash-military-confrontation-at-the-border-at-least-7-victims.html , Gyler C. Delva, the resigning Minister of Communication, announced that the Government had taken measures to strengthen security in the region and reduce recurring conflicts between the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.



According to Minister Delava, more police are present at Belladere, which contributes in addition to the security of the Haitian population, to also fight against smuggling at the border which is losing the Haitian Public Treasury millions of dollars of tax revenue.



Delva also stated that a Commission had been set up to investigate these events and that the Commission is working with the Dominican authorities to see how to solve the border problems.



Still according to the Minister, a binational meeting should be held in the coming days to discuss the events.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25292-haiti-flash-shootout-at-the-border-the-details.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25284-haiti-flash-military-confrontation-at-the-border-at-least-7-victims.html



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By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/08/24

The romantic island adventures of a has-been celebrity sound like quite the fun and refreshing premise for a romantic comedy, and the titular hero of "Top Star Yoo Baek" now has a partner for said adventures. Actor Ryu Seung-soo has joined the drama as Yoo Baek's no doubt overbearing friend.

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"Top Star Yoo Baek" is the story of the aforementioned Yoo Baek (Kim Ji-suk), a top star who has been exiled to an island after causing an incident. The drama is a healing one about the quaint life of a fishing village and its warm inhabitants, as well as a romantic comedy between the hero and a mysterious, charming island belle. It will be airing on tvN later this year.

Ryu Seung-soo will be playing Seo-il, a mother-like figure who is responsible for Yoo Baek's debut, which makes him sound like an agent. Seo-il is described as an 'icon of strategy', having a plan for every situation possible. He is expected to have a very fun chemistry with Yoo Baek's character. I'm all for some entertaining bromance, so bring it on, "Top Star Yoo Baek".

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Sources (1)The cafe will be within the Mountjoy complex

Dublin is set to get a prison-themed cafe - staffed by ex-convicts.

The enterprise will be located in the vacant former waiting room of St Patrick's Institution in the Mountjoy complex.

It is planned that the cafe will be staffed by ex-prisoners, people on probation sanctions and those who have had difficulty securing work due to their criminal record.

Current prisoners will also be offered work placement training opportunities by the operator under terms set out by the Irish Prison Service (IPS).

The cafe will display prison memorabilia which will be made available from the Mountjoy Prison Museum to "maintain links to the prison" and "retain a prison theme in the facility".

The IPS is asking social enterprises to take part in a "sounding" activity in a bid to determine interest in running the cafe. In a tender document published this week, the IPS said the facility will be provided to a successful applicant free of charge.

But they will be expected to cover the refurbishment and fit-out costs of transforming the waiting area into a cafe.

At least 30pc of the staff at the cafe must be people with criminal convictions, but it is preferred that this figure would be higher.

Employees would be paid at least minimum wage, but the living wage is the preferred rate of pay.

Assessed

Its operators will be expected to provide a continuous professional development plan which will build on the previous training undertaken in prison education centres and catering facilities.

The governor of Mountjoy will be the key point of contact for troubleshooting.

A spokesman for the IPS said each person will be risk assessed to determine if they are suitable for employment in the cafe.

A person who has "successfully dealt with violent behaviour should be looked at as they are now and not where they have been in the past" he said.

The sounding exercise is to "get a clear understanding of the level of interest in the proposed cafe".

The initiative is being developed in line with the Department of Justice's Social Enterprise Strategy A New Way Forward, which looks at ways in which to drive social enterprise employment of people with criminal convictions.

Earlier this year, the department launched another initiative under the strategy which made 300,000 available under the Kickstart programme, to give grants of up to 30,000 to organisations providing employment to former offenders and people leaving prison.

The department noted at that time that "while social enterprise is a new and alternative approach to reducing recidivism in Ireland, statistics from the UK indicate that 95pc of ex-offenders who work in a social enterprise do not re-offend".The papal cross and altar is ready in Phoenix Park

Rita Cullen, from Liverpool, and her son Andrew at the site

Forester Tony Malocca was among a virtual army of workers putting the finishing touches to the grounds ahead of tomorrow's historic mass with Pope Francis at Phoenix Park.

The tree surgeon is among a team of seven horticultural staff employed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to ensure that the grounds of the sprawling park can safely accommodate the 500,000 faithful expected to attend the historic event.

Hazards

Among his duties was pruning trees to ensure that the fleet of double-decker Dublin Buses which will ferry media, stewards, volunteers and gardai to various locations around the park don't hit any low-lying branches.

He also cut back any trees that could pose hazards, for example if they are rotting or in danger of being blown down in strong winds.

OPW horticulture foreman Declan Bermingham said: "From our end, we did a lot of tree surgery."

Borrowing an open-top tree-pruning vehicle from Dublin Bus, they sawed, hacked and otherwise tidied up the trees lining 15km of colour-coded walkways that pilgrims will use to access the site.

"I couldn't begin to say how many trees I've cut," Mr Malocca said yesterday.

However, his papal visit duties didn't end there.

He will be on standby first thing tomorrow morning in case the weather throws up any surprises - such as the strong winds that knocked down a tree and blocked a road during the visit of former US president Barack Obama to the park in 2011, where he planted a tree.

"If you get a bad wind one of these trees could fall over," Mr Malocca said.

He was hard at work yesterday making sure that soil banks lining around 300 metres of paved verges at the papal site were smoothed over and level.

Mr Malocca and his colleagues made sure that literally no stone was left unturned and the grounds were free of rocks or other debris that could trip up the faithful.

They used 780 tons of sand to ensure that any dips in the ground were filled in to prevent pilgrims - many of whom are elderly - from tripping.

They also built temporary bridges over sunken ditches for safe access to the site.

Despite torrential rain and hail, which pelted down on the park as workers were adding the finishing touches yesterday afternoon, Mr Bermingham said the prolonged drought this summer will prevent the park from turning into a Glastonbury-like mudfest, even if we get more heavy rain this weekend.

However, it wasn't all accident-proofing. The team also planted a bed of white and yellow pansies at the Parkgate Street entrance to the park to add a splash of colour to honour the Pope's visit.

"It's really giving us a great opportunity to showcase the park to the world," Mr Bermingham said.

Glimpse

Meanwhile, some visitors made a special reconnaissance mission to the park to get a glimpse of what the faithful can expect tomorrow.

Rita Cullen (71) travelled to Dublin from her native Liverpool in order to attend the mass.

However, after surveying the sheer size of the park yesterday, she realised she wouldn't have the stamina to walk up to 7km each way to reach the site and get back to the airport in time to fly home tomorrow night.

While she is disappointed, she was still glad to visit the site with her son Andrew (44), who lives in Lucan, and will watch the event unfold on television.

"I think it's tremendous. You get the feel of it already," she said.

"The atmosphere is there. There's a feel of joy and expectation. I think it's going to be phenomenal."An elite unit of the Swiss Guard has been working with gardai for almost a year to guarantee the protection of Pope Francis during his two-day Irish visit.

The Vatican unit - which supervises all papal overseas trips - has worked with garda chiefs since late 2017 to check the Popemobile route, the pontiff's open-air appearances and even his planned movements by air and land while in Ireland.

The demands exerted on the personal protection team are enormous given that Pope Francis is arguably the pontiff who is most insistent on meeting the public and having a lack of ceremony around his person.

The papal security team is one of the most highly trained in the world - regularly working with elite police teams in Italy, France and the US.

Evolved

For centuries, the Swiss Guard has provided personal protection for popes.

While it was initially founded as a de facto military force to protect Vatican lands, the organisation has evolved into one of the world's most specialised personal protection units.

Despite the controversies which have surrounded the visit by Pope Francis to Ireland, the security risk is considered to be far below that in countries across South America and Africa visited by the Pope.

However, nothing has been left to chance by security chiefs.Marie Collins urges the Pope to 'face down' church resistance

Clerical abuse victims have called for a "zero tolerance" approach to be taken against priests involved in the child abuse scandals.

A global survivors and activists group also proposed a list of abusive priests be made public in an effort to protect others.

Members of the Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) group - a justice project aimed at holding the Catholic Church to account for clerical sex abuse - gathered in Dublin yesterday.

They met to react to the World Meeting of Families' session on safeguarding children.

Pope Francis's two-day papal tour of the country begins today, and his handling of clerical abuse is set to dominate global coverage.

The ECA also wants a no tolerance approach to be adopted against any bishop involved in the cover-up of child sex crimes.

Justice

"Here is a simple axiom of justice - it's not OK to cover up for child sex crimes," said ECA founder Peter Isely yesterday.

Survivors criticised the Pope's child protection commission and said new leadership was needed before reforms can be made.

Mr Isely said it had failed to deliver any meaningful reform since it was formed four years ago.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was set up to investigate clerical sexual abuse.

"It's pretty clear that the commission and this mechanism has failed, it has simply failed," Mr Isely said.

It comes as abuse survivor Marie Collins sent a strong message to the Pope, urging him to use his papal powers and "face down" the Vatican resistance blocking safeguarding reforms.

Speaking to the media after addressing the first-ever safeguarding discussion at the World Meeting of Families at the RDS, Ms Collins said Pope Francis "has got powers over and above everybody else. He can no longer countenance this sort of resistance."

She warned that there were still those who were in denial about clerical abuse in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis wrote a letter to the world's 1.2 billion Catholics earlier this week apologising for the atrocities of clerical sexual abuse.

He will hold a private meeting in Dublin today with a small number of clerical abuse victims.How many COVID tests do you think Meritus has done? Here's the answerMany cities are caught in a perfect storm of population growth, escalating adaptation needs and substantial development deficits created by a shortage of human and financial resources, increasing levels of informality, poor governance, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, poverty and growing inequality, noted the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2014. The flood disasters in various parts of India, especially the recent events in Kerala, only reiterate this statement.

The 2018 floods in Kerala have no parallels in the states recent history; the last such was in 1924. The intensity of flooding then was probably the same but with a much lower impact. What has changed between 1924 and now? I recount the backdrop of my small village named Thalayolaparambu in central Kerala. Built in 1934, my riverside home was in the middle of a large coconut plantation, bordered all around by canals. The compound was flooded during most monsoons but not our home, built a couple of meters above the ground, probably based on the experience of the 1924 floods. Over the years, the region has been transformed and the numerous canals have been reclaimed, to make approach roads. The 2018 flood inundated the ground floor of most houses in this region, but spared ours.

A narrow strip of land with its highlands transforming to steep slopes, midlands and coastal tracts, Kerala it picturesque, and is a favourite destination for tourists. But this topography is also sensitive to anthropogenic alterations. Construction projects, deforestation and excessive quarrying affect the stability of hilly regions. Madhav Gadgil (former professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), an expert on Western Ghats ecology, shared his concern recently that rainfall is the natural trigger, but the severity of outcome is entirely man made.

Reclaiming of wetlands, conversion of paddy fields and alteration of flood plains are the most widely accepted reasons for flooding, as in the case of the Cochin International Airport, which had to be closed due to water logging. It is ironic that the airport has been awarded with the highest environmental honour Champion of Earth Prize -2018 by the United Nations, for its operations based on solar power, with panels installed on reclaimed wetlands and former paddy fields. The airport is just about 400 metres from the Periyar river, the longest in the state and with the largest discharge potential. Local people point out how a creek --- Chengal Thodu --- and three irrigation canals were realigned to make space for the runway, which is now flooded. It is not unusual that runways get flooded, and for airports remain closed following intense rains, as it has happened in other airports of India and elsewhere in the world. But what happened at the Cochin airport is an example of a river recapturing its flood plains.

There are other examples: the 2013 Uttarakhand flood, which happened due to a cloudburst, was followed by numerous landslides. The river overflow was caused by the intensity of the rainfall together with the blockages in the river due to debris. There are also numerous urban examples like the 2015 Chennai flood. As with most urban floods, the anthropogenic factors for the Chennai flood far outweigh the natural causes. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India blamed the authorities for the unplanned development by encroachment of lakes and river floodplains. The same is the story with metros like Mumbai and even Bengaluru (geographically better positioned as it is away from the sea and at a higher elevation). Clogged drainages, unplanned underpasses, shrinking wetlands, fading green cover, vanishing lakes and other inherent problems of urbanisation are considered as the culprits.

Although the reasons and zones of impact may vary, there are many common underlying reasons, such as unplanned and excessive development, poor management of tourism, reduction in forest cover and encroachment of water bodies and wetlands. We all know that development comes with a cost, but as tragedies of such dimensions strike, it is the poor who suffer the most. The biggest lesson from the recent flood is that developmental agenda should be sustainable, transparent, socially and economically inclusive and protective of ecological systems.

Kusala Rajendran is professor at the Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India

The views expressed are personalAs far as tourists are concerned, there is no greater destination than Venice. It is, quite simply, the most beautiful city in the world. The first time I went there, a decade and a half ago, I felt that I was in a dream. The beauty was so unreal that Venice seemed like a work of art rather than a functioning city.

But heres the twist.

As far as tourists are concerned, there is also no worse destination that Venice. It is a city designed for 200,000 residents. Yet, each year, it gets between 25 million to 30 million tourists. The streets can be hideously overcrowded. Hotel rooms are often overpriced. Every second shop is run by a rip-off merchant. Most of the restaurants are horrible. And the food can be terrible.

But, God knows, I love Venice. This was my fifth trip there and if you asked me what my favourite destination in Europe is, I would say Venice; at least on those occasions when I can afford it.

I have told the story of Venice on these pages six years ago. (http://read.ht/Bqv3) But heres a summary: the city was created in the Middle Ages by people fleeing Attila the Hun. They built it on a base of nothing. It was constructed on marshland and islands that were filled up to allow structures to be constructed.

Because hundreds of tiny islands made up Venice, the men who created the city did not link them all up. Instead, they left waterways or canals between the islands, giving the city its peculiar character. Even today, there are no motor vehicles in Venice.

Venice can be challenging. The crowds can be suffocating, the cheap hotels can be dodgy. But its the worlds most beautiful city

You either walk, or you take the boats on the canals.

Because this is not a city that grew up organically as much as one that was constructed out of nothing, Venice is like a giant stage set, designed to impress.

The history of Venice reflects this theatrical urge to show off. Till a few centuries ago, Venice was one of the worlds greatest trading centres and powerful city states. The Venetian fleet travelled far and wide, spreading the citys power. Venice sacked Constantinople, plundered its wealth and Venetians controlled the land route to the East, making fortunes from trade.

Day trip tourists throng the waterfront near the Doges Palace understanding nothing about the real Venice (Shutterstock)

After Vasco da Gama discovered a convenient sea route to the East, Venice began to lose out. But it reinvented itself in a variety of ways. It became a centre of art with such painters as Tintoretto and Titian becoming world famous. Its architecture set global trends. The city became the worlds pleasure capital with the best brothels and casinos, a sort of early (but more tasteful) prototype for Las Vegas.

And most significantly for us, it became the worlds first great tourist centre. Such was its reputation for beauty and of course, for fun, that rich people from all over Europe came to Venice. Wealthy young English noblemen made it the centre of what used to be called The Grand Tour and over the last two centuries, Venice has been where the worlds rich went when they wanted to see great beauty  and be pampered and indulged at the same time.

Sometime in the 1950s and 1960s, with the introduction of jet travel, this began to change. Americans discovered Venice and the traditional hold of the English and European aristocracy was broken.

Then, in the 90s, as Asia (and the Middle East) grew in wealth, Asians discovered Venice. Since then, in the era of cheap flights and downmarket cruise ships, Venice has become the worlds greatest mass tourist destination.

Quadri, a famous and historical cafe in San Marco, now has a Michelin-starred restaurant upstairs (Shutterstock)

There is nothing wrong with that  Venice should be for everyone. Except that the city was not designed to accommodate so many millions of visitors. So the 200,000 or so Venetians who grew up in the city are moving out. Today, only around 50,000 remain.

The millions of tourists need servicing, however, so each day, around 125,000 people commute to Venice from the surrounding areas. They work in the shops, hotels and restaurants and their presence often reminds the native Venetians that they have lost control of their city.

If you do go to Venice  and I reckon you should, its a much smarter thing to do than to fly to Switzerland to see where a Bollywood film was shot  then be warned, it is not cheap. On the other hand, it is probably cheaper than London, Paris, Switzerland or the South of France.

There are many ways of doing it. The two least desirable ways are of taking a day trip from some nearly Italian city or by coming on a cruise ship. Venetians hate day-trippers and with good reason. They crowd around Piazza San Marco and a couple of other tourist sites, take selfies, understand nothing of the art or ethos of the city and leave by the evening.

People who come on cruise ships are even more hated. The ships are huge, floating hotels that disfigure the Venetian lagoon and the passengers wander zombie-like through Venice, spending little money (they eat and sleep on the ships) and crowding out other visitors.

There are grand restaurants in Venice, like the Club del Doge at the Gritti Palace

The way to do Venice is to go for three to four days and to immerse yourself in the dream of Venice.

There are three categories of Venice hotels. There are the grand hotels. Of these, the Cipriani (which is not really in Venice but on an island in the lagoon) is the best known along with the Gritti Palace. I havent stayed at the Cipriani but I stayed at the Gritti this time.

I am not easily impressed by famous hotels and when I am paying high rates, I tend to be more critical. But the Gritti is one of the worlds great hotels; among the best I have ever stayed at. It is a palazzo which is many centuries old, the public areas look like they are out of a painting, the rooms are magnificent and the service is outstanding. This is the most tightly managed grand hotel I know.

Then there is the Danieli, which I stayed at last time and I liked. This time, however, I thought it had a certain down-at-heel, lazily-run air about it with tour groups sitting forlornly on their suitcases in the lobby. The Bauer is well-regarded though I have no personal experience of it.

There are also the five star hotels, the JW Marriott, the Kempinski and the Hilton, all of which are outside the main city and are run to modern standards with prices that are on par with similar hotels in other European cities.

And then, there are the four and three-star hotels. Some are good but many are not, so choose carefully.

It is the same with restaurants. They fall into categories. There are the grand restaurants like the Club del Doge at the Gritti (the best meal I had in Venice), the overpriced terrace at the Danieli where the chefs ambition is not matched by the talent in the kitchen and a disappointing tasting menu for two cost us 370 euros with only local wines.

The Bellini cocktail was invented at Harrys Bar in Venice (Shutterstock)

There is Harrys Bar, where the Bellini cocktail and the Carpaccio were invented. Harrys is a tourist trap during the day but turns into a clubby restaurant at night for the rich and well-connected. The food is good but only if you stick to classic dishes.

There are the foodie places. Quadri in San Marco square is above a famous cafe of the same name but has excellent food, is Michelin-starred and designed by Philippe Starck. (Quadri is run by the owners of Le Calandre, one of the worlds great restaurants, which is near Padua). Al Covo was made famous by Anthony Bourdain but despite the influx of American visitors, standards have been maintained.

Then, there are the places locals go to. Most are good but they are off the beaten track and can be hard to find. (And no, I am not going to tell you the ones I go to.)

Al Covo has maintained its standards despite the influx of American tourists (Shutterstock)

And finally, there are the tourist traps which constitute 80 per cent of the restaurants in Venice. The food is always disgusting, the owners can be cheats and many dont even have chefs: they buy pre-packaged food from industrial catering companies and reheat it in microwaves. As a general rule, if a restaurant has a Menu Turistico or if it sells pizza, dont go in.

So yes, Venice can be challenging. The crowds can be suffocating. The cheaper hotels can be dodgy. Most of the restaurants are terrible. You should never shop in Venice because 95 per cent of the shopkeepers will sell you overpriced tourist tat, much of which is produced in China.

But I still believe you should go. Try visiting off-season (spring or winter), my favourite times in Venice when the tourist hordes have stayed away. Choose your hotels carefully. Research your restaurant on the net. Do not take small children: they will miss the point of Venice and you will spend more time looking after them than you will in enjoying Venice.

But hey, it is the worlds most beautiful city.

How can you not go?

From HT Brunch, August 26, 2018

Follow us on twitter.com/HTBrunch

Connect with us on facebook.com/hindustantimesbrunchBJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, who was the chief guest at a skill development programme for manual scavengers, praised the AAP governments initiative in Delhi in the presence of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and social welfare minister Rajendra Pal Gautam.

The Shahdara district magistrates office organised a three-month skill development programme, wherein 28 manual scavengers would be trained in housekeeping. The trainees would get a stipend of Rs 1,000 per month with other facilities and an assured job in the housekeeping sector.

The revolutionary works the AAP government did in education and health sectors despite several hiccups is commendable. I have never heard of swimming pools, gymnasium... at government schools anywhere but here they have it all, Sinha said.

The BJP MP from Patna Sahib in Bihar was shown black flags by his party supporters who waited outside the venue as he appealed people to shower their love and blessings on Dilip Pandey, AAPs northeast Lok Sabha constituency in-charge and probable candidate for the general elections.

The actor-turned-politician said: They (other states and the centre) should learn from Sisodia and his government how revolutionary changes can be brought in education system.

Indirectly referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Mann ki Baat radio programme, Sinha said, I know I cannot speak my mind or Mann ki Baat as someone has a patent on it, but I will speak from my heart. Imparting skill training to manual scavengers is a commendable effort. I consider myself fortunate to contribute.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Aman Sinha said before attending the AAPs programmes, Shatrughan Sinha must understand it is a government of advertisements.

Shatrughan Sinha concluded his speech by saying, I am with AAP and will always be with them. Delhi government zindabad, AAP zindabad (hail Delhi govt, hail AAP).The National Capital has been ranked last among 14 cities of India on the basis of vehicular emissions in a survey. This despite the fact that Delhi uses CNG  a cleaner fuel  for its public transport system and has a relatively higher share of public transport ridership.

The ranking was done on the basis of a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)  a Delhi-based research organisation to assess transport-related emissions from urban commuting.

Delhi ranks the worst in terms of overall toxic emissions, heat-trapping emission and energy consumption. This is despite the fact that most of its parameters  such as average trip length and public transport share  are better than other megacities, the study stated.

The study found that the major factors behind the abysmal ranking of Delhi include high volume of vehicles and relatively higher population than other cities. Delhis population in 2017 was 1.25 times that of Mumbai, 2.5 times that of Bengaluru, 1.8 times that of Kolkata, 2.9 times that of Hyderabad and 2.6 times that of Chennai.

This is Delhis paradox. Even though the city has done well in some aspects of urban commute, such as per-trip emissions, those efforts have been negated by the high magnitude of population and number of vehicles. Delhi has the highest vehicle stock, which is dominated by personal vehicles and a relatively high population, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy.

A 2016 study by IIT-Kanpur had found that vehicular emissions contribute to around 9% of the PM10 load in Delhi and around 20%of the PM2.5 load. A study by TERI and ARAI earlier this month found that the contribution of vehicular emissions in Delhis air could go up to 30% if secondary particles are taken into account.

The CSE study  titled The Urban Commute and How it Contributed to Pollution and Energy Consumption  ranks cities on emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and toxic pollutants like particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, as well as energy guzzling from urban commuting. It classified six urban agglomerations  Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai  as megacities and Bhopal, Vijaywada, Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad as metro cities. Bhopal was ranked the best for its lowest overall vehicular emission and fuel consumption, followed by Vijaywada and Chandigarh. Kolkata and Mumbai was ranked 7th and 10th on the list, respectively.

According to Dipankar Saha, former head of the Central Pollution Control Boards (CPCB) air quality lab, Delhi has big achievements to its credit, including using of CNG and scrapping of old vehicles. However, it can do better in terms of emissions by having a robust public transport and traffic management system.

The emissions, such as CO2, is released due to unburnt hydrocarbons. This happens because of various factors such as vehicle speed not being maintained, overloaded heavy-duty vehicles, poor roads and poor management of traffic. Delhi has to work toward improving its roads and integrating transport and traffic management, Saha said.A 22-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide in east Delhis Mandawali on Thursday evening. Police have found a suicide note in which the woman has mentioned that her body brought her insult and she felt caged.

Police said that the family members of the woman have not suspected any foul play.

According to the police, the woman had been working at a private firm in Laxmi Nagar for the past few weeks. She lived in Mandawali with her mother and younger siblings after her father passed away a few years ago.

It was on Thursday evening that the woman was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her room by one of her siblings after which the mother was called. Neighbours helped the family bring down the womans body and police were informed.

Police rushed the woman to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. A senior police officer probing the matter said that a suicide note was recovered from the woman. The note also has a poem written in it, which reads, She was the bird, with no wings, she wanted to fly, but she had to die (sic).

The suicide note starts with  Mama I love you, with a smiley made under it. The woman further mentions in her note that whatever step she is taking is for her own happiness. She has written that she wanted to a lot in life but her body brought her insult and that she was trapped in this body like it was a cage. She also wrote that never lose faith in god, he exists, said the officer.

Deputy commissioner of police (east), Pankaj Kumar Singh said, the womans autopsy did not suggest she was battling an illness. Her family members have not told us about any medical and mental issues she had been facing. They did not mention anorexia and have also not suspected any foul play. Inquest proceedings are underway and her colleagues and friends are being questioned to know more, the DCP said.

An investigator said it has also surfaced that she had been searching for ways to commit suicide on the internet, but senior officials said that a forensic examination of the phone could reveal the truth.Multinational pharma major Johnson & Johnson (J&J ) is in the eye of a rising storm for double standards in compensation payouts to patients in the US and India who used its faulty metal-on-metal Articular Surface Replacement (ASR) hip implant. J&Js DePuy Orthopaedics unit recalled its ASR systems from markets around the world in August 2010 after reports of high failure rates and pain and inflammation from metal toxicity. Since then, the company has agreed to pay $4.4 billion to patients following lawsuits in the US.

Marketed as more durable than existing implants, the metal-on-metal hip replacement systems ended up releasing microscopic amounts of metal ions, which led to bone damage and tissue death from metallosis (metal poisoning). More than 11,000 lawsuits are still pending in the US even as more are being filed, according to Drugwatch, a US-based not for profit patient-enabling group. Close to 4,700 people received the faulty implant in India before the recall, but only 1,080 have been tracked. Of them, only 275 underwent revision surgeries, while the others are being monitored for side effects. With the manufacturer, orthopaedic surgeons and hospitals making little effort to reach out to them, more than 3,600 patients have slipped through the cracks and continue to live in pain.

A health ministry committee set up in February 2017 to examine complaints from patients said J&J suppressed information on the side effects. Mumbai-based ASR hip recipient Vijay Vojhala had to haggle with J&J for two years before it agreed to foot the bill for a revision surgery in 2012. By then, metal toxicity led to the then 40-year-old to lose teeth, hearing in his right ear, his job, and his ability to walk without pain, all because the omerta code between big pharma, hospitals and doctors in India. The health ministry committee has recommended Rs 20 lakh as compensation, which is a fraction of the US $247 million paid out to six patients in Dallas in November last year. It took Vojhala, a medical representative who worked with orthopaedic surgeons, two years of pain before he heard about the recall and realised he could seek compensation. Now he and a dozen other patients like him who have suffered are considering a class action suit against J&J demanding matching compensation.

Even as that happens, the government must make sharing information on drug and device recalls transparent and institutionalise adverse drug reaction reporting to ensure patients in India are empowered and treated on par with those elsewhere.The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is planning to help Kerala students whose board exam certificates were lost or damaged in the floods get duplicate ones after requests from several school associations in the state.

A senior CBSE official said the board was considering putting in place a system that would enable its regional offices in Kerala to issue new certificates as soon as possible. Formal directions to this effect are likely soon.

Although most of the academic documents till 2004 are available on an online Central Board of Secondary Education academic repository, it is still very new and involves procedures that will take time. The board intends to expedite the process in the case of flood-hit students.

A number of associations affiliated to the CBSE have approached us. In most cases, either the certificates have been lost or they are not in a good condition. We will help them get new certificates issued and the entire process will be expedited, the official said.

Board exam certificates are crucial for admission to higher education institutions, to apply for jobs and even as proof of date of birth. There are over 1,300 schools affiliated to the CBSE in Kerala.

Another board official said academic certificates were available online on the Parinam Manjusha, the CBSE academic repository, launched earlier.

For this year, students can access certificates through DigiLocker. Till 2004, they are available online but we need to facilitate things so that there is no delay. We will issue directions on how it can be speeded up, said the official.

For certificates before 2004, the CBSE will allow candidates to make applications, after which hard copies would be issued on a priority basis.The US and China has increased tariffs on billions of goods including each other's cars and factory machinery. It comes amid an escalating battle over Beijing's technology policy that companies worry will freeze global economic growth. As Daily Mail writes in an article "US-China trade war hots up", representatives met in Washington for their first high-level talks in two months but they gave no sign of progress toward a settlement regarding complaints that Beijing steals technology and its industry development plans violate Chinese free-trade commitments.

The 25 per cent duties, previously announced, apply to $16billion of goods from each side including cars and metal scrap from the United States and Chinese-made factory machinery and electronic components. In the first round of tariff hikes, President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent duties on $34billion of Chinese imports on July 6. Beijing responded with similar penalties on the same amount of American goods. The Chinese government criticized Mr Trump's increase as a violation of World Trade Organization rules and said it would file a legal challenge.

A foreign ministry spokesman, Lu Kang, declined to give details of the Washington talks. 'We hope the U.S. side will get along with us to strive for a good result from the talks with a reasonable and practical attitude,' said Lu.

Beijing has rejected demands to scale back plans for state-led technology development that its trading partners say violate its market-opening commitments. American officials worry they might erode the United States' industrial leadership.

With no settlement in sight, economists warn the conflict could spread and knock up to 0.5 percentage points off global economic growth through 2020. Ahead of the Washington talks, Chinese state TV mocked President Trump with a sarcastic video posted on the YouTube and other social media pages of its international arm, China Global Television Network. 'You are great,' said a presenter on the nearly three-minute-long English-language clip, reading a letter that pays a satirical tribute to Trump. 'On behalf of doctors, thank you for pointing out the need to wean off American goods like bourbon and bacon,' the presenter says, referring to products on which China imposed retaliatory tariffs.

The video appeared to have been removed Thursday from CGTN's social media accounts. Trump has proposed another possible round of tariff hikes imposing 25 per cent increases on an additional $200billion of Chinese goods. Beijing issued a $60billion list of American imports for retaliation if Washington goes ahead with that. The smaller target list reflects the fact that Beijing is running out of American goods for retaliation due to their lopsided trade balance. China's imports from the United States last year totaled around $130billion. That leaves about $20billion for penalties after tariffs already imposed or planned on a total of $110billion. Chinese authorities have said they will take 'comprehensive measures,' which companies worry could mean targeting operations of American businesses in China for disruption.One person was killed and several injured during violence in several parts of Bengal during election to the panchayat boards, which are tasked with formulating plans and implementing schemes at the village level.

Lal Mohammad, 45, a worker of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), was killed in Islampur of Bengals North Dinajpur district, the police said on Saturday, as reports of trouble trickled in from different parts of the state over formation of panchayat boards.

Police said Mohammad was hit by a bomb as a clash broke out when members of Panditpota 1 gram panchayat were meeting to elect the president. The TMC had won 6 seats while the other five went to independents. Later, all independents joined the TMC but the local factions of the party fought for the pradhans post.

We have detained six persons in connection with the clash, Anoop Jaiswal, the police chief of North Dinajpur, said.

Attacking the TMC over the incident, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that it shows the situation in the state.

In Islampur of North Dinajpur district, clashes erupted with bombs and pistols between two factions of TMC on Saturday morning over formation of the panchayat board. One person was killed and few were injured. But the police is inactive. Even Trinamool workers are not safe in Bengal, tweeted the CPI (M) from its official handle.

Amal Acharya, TMCs district president, said: This factional feud wont be tolerated. Both factions have to be accountable to the party for this.

In the north Bengal district of Cooch Behar, a large police contingent had to be deployed on Friday in Pochagarh gram panchayat where a section of the TMC openly defied the diktats of the party and elected a different pradhan. The other faction was not working properly. So we were compelled to defy the whip of the party, said Atul Das, who became the pradhan in Pochagarh defeating the official TMC candidate, Durga Mishra.

In Araidanga panchayat of Malda district, Sumit Majhi, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member, alleged that ruling party members set his house on fire on Friday night after he refused to join the TMC.

In the rural body, the BJP and TMC won seven seats each while the Congress won three. Majhi alleged that on Friday, the TMC formed the board with Congress support and set fire to his house.

In Sadaipur of Birbhum district, TMC worker Afsar Hossain was injured on Friday night when a bomb was hurled on him, allegedly by BJP men, when he was returning after a victory rally following the Supreme Court verdict upholding the unopposed winners.

In Nanoor of Birbhum, one faction of the ruling party attacked another when they brought out a rally to celebrate the apex court order of Friday paving the way for ruling party candidates in more than 20,000 rural bodies winners without contest.

In some places, the ruling party had formed the board with their political adversaries, the BJP and the CPI (M). The TMC formed the board with the BJP at Radhikapur gram panchayat under Kaliachak of North Dinajpur and with the CPI (M) in Daspur II of West Midnapore district. There were several other panchayats were similar alliances were stuck by local TMC leaders.

However, in Habibpur block of Malda district, the CPI(M) and the BJP came together to keep the TMC out. At some other panchayats, the CPI(M), Congress and TMC joined hands to keep the BJP out.Three persons have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 16-year-old girl in Assams Goalpara district while one more accused is absconding, police said Saturday.

The victim was allegedly raped on Thursday by four people including her close friend, who lured her to come to Goalpara with him, police said.

This close friend, who has been living with the victim in Boko in Kamrup district brought her to Goalpara, said Amitava Sinha, superintendent of police, Goalpara.

The two grew close when they worked together in Guwahati and the youth told the girl that he is from Goalpara even though he belongs to Barpeta, another district in lower Assam, police said. She was brought to Goalpara in a pre-planned manner, Sinha said.

In Goalpara, the two were received by Abdul Latif, known to the victims friend who took them to his cousin Saidul Islams house in a village. The four were later joined by another person, identified as Mustafa Ali.

After consuming alcohol in the house in the evening, the four took her to a nearby jungle and raped her, Sinha said. The girl was spotted by the villagers who informed the police, he added. She told the police about the incident, he said.

The three people arrested in the case include the victims friend, Latif and Ali, even as Islam continues to be on the run. They have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, Sinha said.

The victim, who lives with her brother in Boko, is undergoing treatment.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ONHappy Birthday, Google. The search engine is 20 this year, and what a ride its been! When Sergey Brin and Larry Page were developing software that searched better and loaded faster than Explorer, Navigator and AltaVista, the web itself consisted of just 1 lakh websites.

Googles mission statement was succinct: To organise the worlds information and make it universally accessible. Their corporate code of conduct was even simpler: Dont be evil.

Perhaps even Google didnt realise where its mission would take it. The following decade brought Google News, Gmail, Maps and Chrome. By 2014, the internet had grown to 1 billion websites. The search engine, their core product, had become the default homepage of the Internet.

In May this year, Google quietly dropped the Dont be evil tag. The same month, its Android operating system crossed 2 billion monthly active devices. Seven products (including YouTube and Google Play) now reach a combined 1 billion users.

Google once directed you to information. Today, its often the source of information (in ads and top-of-the-page blocs), using data you and others have shared, often without you realising it. Public knowledge goes where Google takes it. And 20 years on, not everyones happy with the journey.

The key concern is that Google has grown so big, says Pranesh Prakash, policy director at Bangalores Centre for Internet & Society. Its like the classic line from [Spidermans] Uncle Ben: With great power comes great responsibility. In Googles case, its great size is what brought great power to begin with.

For billions of Google users, the biggest concerns are now of privacy and accountability, says Nikhil Pahwa, founder of Medianama, which analyses digital and telecom businesses. There are few checks on Googles ability to take, retain and process information from users, he says.

Hits and misses

For Google, all is going according to plan. Its search engine is now smart enough to complete your sentences. Its learning constantly from what you search for, watch, spend on, share and regret; it knows your commute and your vacation plans. And its profiting from this knowledge.

In the UK, Google is being sued for bypassing iPhone privacy settings to track and collect data from 4.4 million users in 2011 and 2012. Information on race, physical and mental health, political leanings, sexuality, shopping habits and locations was apparently used to build advertising categories. Google also creates products for the US government, and has user data from around the world. Any entity that has this much insight into us, and is in a position to use it, whether for the government or commercial gain, is cause for worry, says Prakash. Most users arent worried, and thats worrying too. We dont realise how much data is being tracked or collected. The more we share, the more useful Google gets, and the greater its potential for misuse, for mapping say, beef-eaters, online dissenters, LGBT supporters or single women who work late.

The Internets other giant, Facebook, recently suspended 400 apps over privacy concerns, admitting that 87 million users may have had data compromised in 2016. Meanwhile, even non-Google apps are capable of hijacking data using software developed by Google. Weather apps look at your photo gallery, ride-sharing software keep tracking you after the ride, games are checking out your texts as you play. Gmail knows your flight timings, how many steps youve walked, and your last bank transaction..

Search for tomorrow

Perhaps the biggest concerns are with Googles artificial intelligence technology, the brands great leap forward fuelled by its massive data reserves. The tech is already being criticised for being fed biased data, creating global services that mirror the prejudices of an insular, mostly white, mostly male, tech industry.

Sara Wachter-Boettcher, author of Technically Wrong, which looks at how technology reflects sexism and the biases of the people that create it, says this creates problems. Google develops tools that other tech companies rely on to build other products, she says. So its biases spread to other products too. As machines learn, Google is starting to unlearn too.

Machine unlearning is basically recognising when a machine has learned something inaccurate, or biased, and then erasing that learning, says Wachter-Boettcher. In Africa, the company (along with Facebook) now funds a Masters course in machine intelligence to improve the industrys diversity. Last year, Google took its first steps to curb fake news hits on its search engines with tools that allow users to report misleading or offensive content.

But perhaps its time to work towards a future in which Google will be monitored in real time, in different countries, rather than depending on the company to offer a fix after a misstep. Prakash believes that the way forward is reimagining an Internet where Google isnt the first and last word on everything. This doesnt mean more companies like Google but searching that happens in a more decentralised way, he says. We need to save the web from large monopolies in the long run.

Read: 20 years of Google: IIT KGP remembers Sundar the student

Read: 20 years of Google: Whats the days doodleTwenty-year-old Preeti works in the housekeeping department of an office in New Delhi. Her job is to keep the ladies washrooms clean. As she works, she and her co-workers listen to old Hindi film songs via Google search on her mobile. We are not educated. We dont understand many of the other functions and apps. My kids have shown me how to give a voice command to listen to a particular song and thats all that I can do, says Sundari, one of Preetis colleagues.

Shashi Kumar has been a professional driver in Delhi for 25 years. Half of Delhi was built in front of my eyes, he says, with a laugh. Theres little that he doesnt know about the city. Still, a few months back, while on his way to pick up a client, he got onto Google Maps to find the exact lane. It does have its use. Especially, for night drivers and cabbies, says the driver who is employed with a corporate house and mostly has a set list of passengers.

But he points out a few issues he faced with the app. Maps may not always show when a road is blocked for repair. Sometimes one of the gates to a residential colony or apartment may be locked, or used for exits only. Maps wont show all that, he explains.

Read: 20 years of Google: You have full control over your data...

Google users cut across the educational, economic and urban-rural divide. A research scholar may use it to check for a certain book in an online library, a taxi driver finds Google Maps helpful and thousands use it to watch or listen to videos and music. Google has an amazing algorithm which learns fast and adapts to the user, says cyber law expert Prashant Mali. The search engine interface is simple. You just type in or speak what you are looking for. Also, it is intuitive. It guesses thats what the user is looking for, he adds.

The very ease with which Google can be used may, however, lead to problems for users, especially if they dont know how to protect themselves. Google is intrusive. It is creating and preserving a profile of the user based on his or her usage pattern. Those who are not very educated are unaware of this, he explains. Given the wide range of users in India, Mali suggests it would be a good practice for Google to have digital awareness classes in local languages for its users. It will be a good CSR initiative, he says.

Read: 20 years of Google: IIT Kharagpur remembers Sundar the student

Read: 20 years of Google: Whats the days doodleJammu and Kashmir police busted three hideouts of militants on Saturday, seized weapons and arrested four militant sympathisers in south Kashmir where three policemen and a political worker were killed on Eid.

Police officials said that they seized incriminating material along with arms and ammunition after finding three hideouts in the regions Pulwama district.

One hideout was in a house in Rajpora Litter.

A key over-ground worker (OGW), a police term for a militant helper was arrested from the house at Rajpor, a police spokesman said. An improvised explosive device (IED) was also seized from the hideout.

Two other hideouts were busted in Khallen and Tahab villages of Pulwama.

From these hideouts, an AK magazine, one Insas magazine and a under barrel grenade launcher (UBGL) was recovered. Three accused persons who were working for outlawed terror outfit HM group were arrested, the spokesman said.

Three policemen, including two from Pulwama, were killed by gunmen in separate incidents across south Kashmir on Wednesday on Eid. Police blamed the militants for the killings.

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was kidnapped by suspected militants on Tuesday and his bullet riddled body was found in the early hours of Wednesday in Pulwama.

On Thursday, police said militants shot dead a forest department official in Kunzer area of Tangmarg in north Kashmirs Baramulla district.

On Friday, In response, security forces killed a foreign Jaish-e-Mohammed militant in a gunfight in south Kashmirs Anantnag district.

The escalation in violence coincided with the change of governor in the state. Satya Pal Malik was sworn-in as the 13th governor of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday replacing NN Vohra, who held the post since 2008. The state has been under governors rule since June 20 after BJP pulled out of coalition government with PDP.The Meghalaya government will make all attempts for the repatriation of a 66-year old cashew nut trader who was abducted by a gang of Bangladeshi criminals and taken to the neighbouring country, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has said.

He said the government was aware of the matter and appropriate action will be initiated. Once we are fully updated we will take necessary steps to secure his return even if we have to seek the intervention of the Union home ministry or external affairs, Sangma said over phone from New Delhi late Friday. He is our citizen and all efforts to ensure his safe return will not be spared.

Phalgun Arengh, a resident of Hatimara village, Purakhasia in West Garo Hills was abducted from his residence on May 24 according to an FIR filed by his wife, Ponji K Sangma. He is a well-known and prosperous cashew nut farmer and trader in the area and was probably targeted by criminals from across the international border for quick money, police said.

Arengh escaped his kidnappers on June 2 and reached a village Christianpara in Bangladesh where residents took him to Sribordi Police Station in Sherpur district of Bangladesh and handed him over to the local police. He continues to be under the protection of the local police in Bangladesh.

Superintendent of Police of West Garo Hills, Dr MGR Kumar confirmed the presence of Arengh in Bangladeshi territory. But since the matter was of an international nature, he said he would consult with the BSF and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) as well as other senior officials. There are attempts in process and we are hoping for a solution to the matter soon, Dr Kumar revealed.

The incident came under the spotlight after an interest group - Achik Indigenous Justice Initiative Forum (AIJIF) visited Arenghs family recently and then wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his help to reunite the trader with his family.

We want to bring to your notice that an innocent man, an Indian citizen, was victimized by criminals from Bangladesh and is still facing immense hardship and pain for the past 3 months, Alex K Sangma, the director of AIJIF said in his petition to the PM.

Expressing similar concern, Chenang G Momin, coordinator of AIJIF, said, It becomes an imperative responsibility of the Indian government to intervene into the matter and bring him back to India through diplomatic channels by conveying the matter to the Bangladeshi counterpart as early as possible.

Some locals had alleged that Arengh was taken to Bangladesh despite the presence of the BSF. However, this was rebutted by a senior BSF officer who on condition of anonymity categorically stated that despite many challenges the border sentinels are doing the best they can.

You are well aware that we are guarding a very porous and largely unfenced border which is also constantly susceptible to inclement weather. Sometimes the fog is so thick that even if an elephant passes through you may not see it, the officer told HT adding, You have to be there to live it and see it, but be that as it may, our boys are maintaining high vigil 24x7 and at no cost will we allow such crimes to thrive in any area that we are mandated to protect.

The officer said back channels have already been established and that the BSFs counterparts have been briefed about Arengh and expressed confidence that upon completion of statutory protocols, the trader would soon be reunited with his family.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ONA city court dismissed a plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, including chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, seeking to restrain the Delhi police from leaking any information on the chief secretary assault case to the media.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal quashed the application, suggesting they file a fresh application as counsel for the MLAs were submitting a CD containing news report clippings in which additional deputy commissioner of police Harendra Singh was quoted.

Advocate BS Joon, appearing for the 13 MLAs, told the court that the Delhi police had not replied to the application even though notice has been issued to them.

However, countering this submission, Singh said that the application has been filed to malign the image of the police.

The things that were told were public information. AAP had held a press conference after the charge sheet was filed and made remarks like ---ye to kachra hai (this is rubbish). How can they question my integrity and uprightness? They are casting aspersions. Please restrain these loud-mouthed party functionaries from making such statements, Singh said.

Joon countered this, saying that the police officers are ruled by a set of guidelines, unlike political parties.

The court had posted the matter post lunch after the arguments.

In the joint application filed by advocate Mohd Irshad, police have been accused of selectively leaking the excerpts of the charge sheet to the media to assassinate the character of the persons allegedly mentioned in the charge sheet, especially Kejriwal and Sisodia.

According to the plea filed after the charge sheet, the matter is subjudice and that the court is yet to take cognizance of the charges. The plea said that if police is not restrained from making such uncalled for, unwarranted and biased comments against the chief minister and his deputy, it would cause irreparable loss to their image and the proceeding in the case would also be affected.

On February 20, Delhi police had registered a first information report (FIR) against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and others on chief secretary Anshu Prakashs complaint alleging that he was called to the chief ministers residence for a midnight meeting on the night February 19, when he was assaulted by the party legislators in presence of Kejriwal and Sisodia.The defence ministry on Saturday cleared military purchases worth Rs 46,000 crore, including the import of multi-role helicopters (MRH), a strategic partnership (SP) to acquire naval utility helicopters (NUH) made in India, and that of locally produced artillery guns, a government spokesperson said.

The defence acquisition councils (DAC) approval for purchasing 24 MRHs to boost the Indian Navys anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare and surveillance capabilities comes ahead of the 2+2 talks between the defence and foreign ministers of India and the United States on September 6.

India will buy 24 Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky MH-60 Romeo choppers, likely to cost nearly 13,000 crore, from the US under a government-to-government deal, said two people familiar with the navys modernisation efforts who asked not to be identified.

The MRHs are a replacement of the navys obsolete Sea King 42/42A fleet. Availability of MRH with the navy would plug the existing capability gap, said a defence ministry release, adding that these choppers form an integral part of frontline warships, including aircraft carriers. The Sea King 42/42A helicopters were retired around 18 years ago.

The new MRH will be the future mainstay of the navys anti-submarine/anti-ship warfare and airborne early-warning capabilities. The navy came very close to buying 16 Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk MRHs in 2016 but the deal did not materialise.

The council, headed by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also approved a project worth Rs 21,738-crore for building 111 NUHs under the governments strategic partnership (SP) model to replace the navys outdated fleet of French-designed Chetak choppers.

This is the first project under the ministrys prestigious SP model that aims at providing significant fillip to the governments Make in India programme, the statement said. Guidelines for the NUH programme were cleared on July 30.

Military affairs expert Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande (retd) said lack of helicopters in the navy had been a crippling operational constraint.

Now the process for getting the MRHs and NUHs actually operating at sea needs to be expedited while also creating indigenous manufacturing capacity, he added.

The navy uses NUHs for several purposes, including search and rescue operations, medical evacuation, communication duties, anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations, humanitarian assistance, surveillance and targeting.

The US, European and Russian rivals are expected to compete for the NUH programme by stitching up alliances with Indian partners under the SP model which lays down the template for cooperation between Indian and foreign firms to build high-tech weapons in the country through transfer of niche technologies.

Next-generation submarines, fighter planes and armoured vehicles are covered under the SP model.

DAC also cleared a project worth Rs 3,364 crore for equipping the army with 150 locally produced advanced towed artillery gun systems or ATAGS. The government sanctioned the ATAGS project in September 2012 and the Defence Research and Development Organisation partnered with Bharat Forge and Tata Power (Strategic Engineering Division) to develop two prototypes of the 155mm 52-calibre artillery guns.

The ATAGS set a record during trials in Rajasthans Pokhran last September, firing shells to a range of 48km against the armys requirement of 40km.

The council also approved the purchase of 14 vertically launched short-range missile systems to boost the capability of warships to defend themselves against missiles attacks.Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Congress was not involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in which nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed, mostly in the national capital when the partys government was in power at the Centre.

To a question being asked by the CNN-News18 at an event in the UK Parliament about the 1984 riots, Gandhi said: I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I dont agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy.

Later, during an interactive session at the London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs statement on it, Gandhi said: When Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels.

So, I am against any sort of violence against anybody on this planet. I get disturbed when I see anybody being hurt. So, I condemn that 100 per cent and I am 100 per cent for punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody. Thats crystal clear, said Gandhi.

He further explained that people who havent had violence inflicted upon them, think that violence is what you see in movies. Thats not what it is. I have seen people who are loved very much being killed.

I have also seen the person (Prabhakaran) who killed my father (Rajiv Gandhi) being killed. When I saw Prabhakaran lying on the beaches in Jaffna, when I saw him being humiliated, the way he was, I felt sorry for him, because I saw my father in his place and his children in my place, he added.

So, when you are being hit by violence, when you understand it, it has a completely different impact on you. Most people dont actually understand violence. Its a horrible thing, he added.

Some Congress politicians, including Sajjan Kumar, have been accused of leading the killer mobs. They have denied the allegations.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed his hope that the Onam festival will give new strength to Keralas people to overcome the adversities in the aftermath of the floods that have ravaged the state even as the toll in the August deluge rose to 265 while 36 were still missing.

May this Onam give further strength to the people of Kerala to overcome the adversities they have been facing for the past few days, Modi said in a tweet.

The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with Kerala and prays for the happiness as well as prosperity of its citizens, he said.

The death toll in the floods following an over week-long spell of rain beginning August 8 has risen to 265, according to the latest government figures, with the hilly Idukki district, a favourite for tourists, hit the hardest, reported PTI.

Read: Kerala needs different yardstick for help, loss in flood incomparable: CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Idukki, which also houses the largest arch dam in Asia from which waters were released for the first time in 26 years, accounts for 51 deaths and 10 still missing, as per the latest figures released by the Disaster Management State Control Room.

Thrissur has reported 43 deaths, Ernakulam 38, Alapuzha 34 and Malappuram has 30 fatalities.

The observation of Onam, the annual harvest festival, was subdued in the state, with 8.69 lakh people still in 2,287 relief camps, and those who have returned home facing damaged residences and lost belongings.

A government release issued late last night said the flood-hit areas would be recorded using a mobile app, with the help of voluntary organisations and local bodies and compensation would be distributed after this process.

A total of Rs 10,000 each would be transferred to the bank accounts of 3.91 lakh flood-affected families with Rs 242.73 crore from the Chief Ministers Disaster Relief fund (CMDRF) earmarked for the purpose, it said.

Certificates and lost documents of the flood-affected people would be retrieved from the database of various departments in the state, it said, adding the information technology and other departments were in the process of developing a software for the purpose.

Read: Clear and present warning: Kerala floods match climate change forecasts

Adalats would also be held from the first week of September to facilitate recovery of the documents, according to the release.

With the government emphasising sanitation activities to prevent outbreak of water-related diseases in flood-affected areas, a total of 1.31 lakh houses, about 31 per cent of total flood-hit buildings, have so far been cleaned.

The state government was also mulling interest-free loans of up to Rs 10 lakh for the flood-affected small scale industries, while declaring a moratorium was declared for agriculture loans by the government.The main and only news during German Chancellor's visit to Tbilisi was an announcement regarding Germany's readiness to support construction of a large gas storage facility in Georgia. Angela Merkel said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze that Germany will allocate 199 million euros to Georgia. These funds are also allocated for construction of other, relatively small infrastructure facilities, which will help to supply water to certain regions, as well as for reconstruction of sewer systems. But Tbilisi doesn't try to hide the fact that most of this long-term loan will be spent on infrastructure of natural gas reserve.

Berlin's decision to participate in this project once again underlines regional importance of construction of gas storage facility, not only for Georgia itself, but also for Azerbaijan, since this country provides Georgian energy system with natural gas and additional resources for reservation can be received only from this neighboring Caspian country.

This confirms that the main goal of Merkel's visit to South Caucasus is to encourage states to deepen regional cooperation in the field of development of infrastructure and energy security. At least those states that are ready for such cooperation and don't pursue self-isolation.

But when it comes to implementation of projects important for the EU, and therefore for Germany, stability and predictability are important factors. German Chancellor expressed her support of peaceful resolution of the Georgian-Ossetian and Georgian-Abkhazian conflicts. She spoke about Russia cautiously and diplomatically, confirming that the topic of Georgia wasn't discussed during last meeting with Russian President, but not because Germany doesn't care about it. "Otherwise, I wouldn't come here," Merkel said. From the point of view of experienced German politician, maintaining stability in Georgia is a priority, and a task that can be resolved.

Chancellor invited representatives of Georgia to the famous Frankfurt Book Fair, where, she said, "German public can learn more about Georgian culture", and promised to consider new projects so that Georgian students could study in the best universities of Germany. In addition, she said Georgia became one of the leaders in the post-Soviet space based on number of young people that study in Germany.

Another important topic of bilateral negotiations with Georgian leadership was visa-free regime between Georgia and the EU. Merkel recalled that Germany made a decisive contribution in granting Georgia such a privilege. She mentioned some problems, but made it clear that since Georgian authorities were able to drastically reduce number of illegal migrants seeking asylum in the Federal Republic of Germany, Berlin doesn't plan to raise issue of suspension of visa-free regime in the near future.

"Georgia is a safe country," Merkel said, confirming that her government satisfied request of Georgian authorities to give Georgia "safe country" status. Now relevant institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany can no longer accept asylum applications from those Georgians who came to Germany as tourists, but then asked for asylum, citing danger to their freedom and legal rights in Georgia.

But in order to receive such assurances from German leadership, Georgian authorities had to take truly radical measures. Georgian customs officials even received instructions to check whether "tourists" travelling to Germany and other Schengen states have all documents at airports. In extreme cases, they may not be allowed to leave the country.

In the end Merkel called Georgia "a great partner" and hinted that responsibility is the main resource for countries wishing to get closer to the EU and its leader.The Ministry of Defence on Saturday said Karnatakas district incharge minister of Kodagu Sa Ra Maheshs personal remarks against Union minister defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday were in bad taste, which do not merit a response.

The district incharge minister who has made certain personal remarks against the RM. The remarks have also lowered the dignity of the upper house of the Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and show utter lack of regard and knowledge about the Indian polity, the MoD said in a statement.

Sitharaman was visiting flood-hit Kodagu on Friday.

The MoD said Sitharamans tour programme was finalised by the district administration of Kodagu in consultation with the public representatives. This programme was approved and circulated to all concerned two days prior to Raksha Mantris (RMs) arrival. Subsequently, on the request of the district administration, an interaction with the veterans was added to the schedule, it said.

On completion of the field visits, as per the programme, RM was interacting with ex-servicemen who had been adversely affected by the floods, when the District incharge minister objected and insisted that meeting with the officials be conducted first. RM clarified that welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the Ministry of Defence and the same was scheduled in the programme. However, the district minister insisted that the RM immediately stop the interaction and proceed to the meeting with the officials, the statement said.

The MoD also said that a meeting with officials who were asked sit with media to review the flood situation was unprecedented.

While it was extremely unfortunate, in order to avoid the situation from deteriorating, RM immediately halted the meeting and proceeded to the venue of the meeting with the officials. The venue was already set up for the press conference and hurriedly the officials were summoned to sit among the mediapersons for the review. It was unprecedented to hold a meeting with the officials, with all the mediapersons present.

The RM then heard the grievances of the waiting ex-servicemen, the MoD said and described Maheshs behaviour as unfortunate.

In spite of district administration finalising the program and RM following the same in its entirety it is unfortunate that the minister behaved the way he did. Subsequently, the personal remarks made against the RM were also in bad taste, which do not merit a response.

It has also been noted that there has been gross misrepresentation with regard to the use of the term parivar by the RM during the press conference. One of the four departments of the Ministry of Defence is the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and in that context it was stated that all ex-servicemen are part of the MoD parivar. Any other inference is misconstrued and uncalled for, the MoD said.

Ahead of the MoDs statement, Sitharamans fracas with Mahesh escalated on Saturday after Karnatakas deputy chief minister G Parameshwara sprang to his colleagues defence and reminded her that state representatives are in no way inferior to those of the Centre.

Sitharaman had lost her cool on Friday, when Kodagu district in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh said that a number of government officials were waiting to meet her. I am following a minute-to-minute programme... Central minister follows the minister in-charge here. Unbelievable! she snapped.

Hours after the spat, Mahesh told mediapersons that he had only asked Sitharaman to attend to the officials first so they could go about with rehabilitation work. I pointed out that the meeting with the waiting officials would take hardly five minutes, and she could continue with her other engagements after that, he said.Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala, is celebrated with great pomp across the state, but this time around festivities will be the last thing on peoples minds as they come to grips with the devastation caused by the unprecedented deluge that claimed 231 lives.

The festival commemorates the return of mythical demon king Mahabali to see his beloved subjects at the beginning of Chingam, the first month of the Malayalam Calendar.

The mythical ruler is traditionally welcomed with a carpet of flowers, popularly known as pookalam, in front of houses, and Onam Sadyas (feasts) and people turn out in new attire.

The fest is celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm by people across communities.

However, in the fortnight leading to the festival, which falls on Saturday, the state has been savaged by the worst rains in a century leading to several people being killed, houses destroyed and over ten lakh lodged in relief camps.

Water is yet to recede in several places and hundreds of houses are still submerged.

No flowers, no lights...you see a pall of gloom everywhere, P Mohandas, a Kathakali artiste, said.

Mahabali will see the sufferings of his people hit by rains and floods instead of the usual fanfare associated with the biggest festival of Keralites as he visits their rain ravaged homes on Thiruvonam day tomorrow, he said.

Mohandas, hailing from flood-hit village of Mulakkulam North in Piravom in Ernakulam district, said many of the houses dont have the flower mats (pookalam) in their courtyard to welcome Mahabali.

All sectors, including tourism, business, art and culture, have been hit by the deluge last week.

Office-bearers of the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the floods had severely affected Onam business.

Many businessmen in places like the rain ravaged town of Aluva have suffered heavy losses. Some of them have lost their entire stock in the floods.

The magnitude of loss for business community in other parts of the state is also very high, chamber secretary R Sreenivasan said.

The situation is no different in some areas which were not affected by the rain fury with people coming forward to offer money for the relief fund instead of splurging it on the festivities.

We are not celebrating Onam and preparing Onam sadya, the grand meal, this time.

Instead, we have decided to contribute money meant for it to buy relief material for affected people. Such is the sufferings of the people hit by floods, an employee of a private bank said.

Sreenivasan said they were assessing the total loss suffered by their members. It will take some time, he said.

Murugan, a flower vendor at the bustling Chalai market in Thiruvanathapuram, Keralas capital, said the unprecedented rains and floods had washed away all the colours of Onam.

It is during Onam that we get the best business in a year. We plan several things calculating the profit which we get during this season. But, everything has turned upside down this time, he said.

Only very few takers are there for flowers as there is no onam festivities in the wake of floods. Schools, colleges and government offices have cancelled celebrations. Nobody is interested in laying floral carpets, he said.

Many florists in the city have bought only very few quantities of flowers from neighbouring states in the wake of dull business.

Balachandran, a city-based caterer, said he has suffered a huge setback in business as a number of offices, resident associations and individuals had cancelled bookings for the Onam feast, ordered as part of the festivities.

The bookings for wedding feasts have not been affected much. But, mass cancellations of orders for onam feasts from IT hub, Technopark and government and private offices are a worrying factor, he said.

Though the downpour had not affected the capital city much, many have cancelled orders from firms as they decided to do away with the celebrations in the wake of deluge, he said.

Another private caterer said they had received orders from banks, IT firms and other offices for supplying 3,500 Onam sadyas from August 17-26, which got cancelled due to the present situation.

A prominent vegetarian hotelier in Thiruvanathapuram, specialising in sadya, said they have also been hit by a lot of cancellations due to the flood situation.

Many people have cancelled the orders as they want to donate the amount to the flood relief fund, he said.

The heavy rains and floods have claimed 231 lives since August 8 and more than 10.40 lakh people are still in relief camps across the state.Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Saturday that he was aware of moves to destabilise the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government but the people of the state would safeguard him because it was not the length of the tenure that mattered, but the work that it did.

Kumaraswamys remarks came a day after his predecessor and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said in Hassan that he harboured ambitions of becoming chief minister of the state once again in the future.

With the blessings of senior people I have been given an opportunity to serve the people once again, Kumaraswamy said at a function in Bengaluru on Saturday. God decided how many days I would be chief minister the day I took charge, he said.

Media friends informed me that a new chief minister was waiting to take oath on September 3. I am not worried about that. I am not thinking about how many days I have to hold on to the chief ministers seat and dont have to waste time thinking about safeguarding it. It isnt important how long I am chief minister, I feel the work I do will safeguard my future, Kumaraswamy said.

He claimed that he knew how to take care of the legislators in his party and keep them happy, and mocked reports suggesting that some of them were ready to jump ship and bring down the coalition government, three months after it was sworn in.

If some people think they can destabilise me the way I take legislators along and run the government I know how to run the government. For 12 years I have worked for this. It isnt just that I want to ensure the stability of this government, but also work for the poor.

This government wont fall, dont worry, not for any reason, because I know the strength of this government. I know these [reports] are fed to the media. Somebody keeps feeding rumours here and there that some legislators have taken money to defect and that by September 3 there will be a new government. But I leave it to your judgment, which September 3 it is, the chief minister said.

Since its formation three months ago, the coalition government has had a rocky ride with constant reports of discontent among MLAs of both the Congress and JD(S) threatening to join the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

In this backdrop, Siddaramaiahs statement on Friday in Hassan that he would like to become the chief minister once again in the future was taken as a hint that the senior leader was unwilling to sit on the sidelines.

Siddaramaiah, however, clarified on Saturday that he had said the Congress would come back to power in the future and that there was nothing wrong in what he said. I said we would win the next election and come to power. What is wrong with saying that?

Asked when that would be, Siddaramaiah said it would be after the five-year term. If people ask me, should I tell them that our party will not win? Some people had made some demands and I told them that to fulfill those demands we would have to be re-elected, he said.Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje on Friday said there were times she was targeted for being a woman even in her capacity as the head of a state government.

Addressing the Shakti Sammelan womens convention in Jaisalmer before the launch of her 40-day Gaurav Yatras second leg, Raje said: You think I have no problems just because I am the chief minister. But I understand your woes, because even in this post, I have faced problems as a woman. That is why we have designed schemes to empower women, so that they dont have to plead before anyone.

The chief minister went on to elaborate on the benefits of the Rajshree scheme, under which a family gets monetary benefits upon the birth of a girl child and then at various stages of her life (in accordance with her level of education).

She also highlighted the benefits of the Bhamashah scheme, which extends health insurance benefits to women and credits funds directly into their bank accounts.

Raje said the schemes introduced by her government had enabled several households, especially those in rural areas, to celebrate the birth of a girl with just as much joy as that of a boy. I know only two castes  woman and man. While we call ourselves mukhiya (chief) of our households, we know who the real muhikya is, she said.

The chief minister claimed that the devi (goddess) comes in the form of Durga when times get tough. It has always been a devi, not a devta (god), who has taken up the task of eliminating evil and bringing about justice and light, she said.

The event was attended by women leaders of the BJP and members of erstwhile royal families, besides womenfolk from Jaisalmer and its surrounding districts. Raje was presented with a sword on the occasion.Denied permission by the Gujarat government to stage his hunger strike in Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar, Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel on Saturday began his indefinite fast at his Green Wood Resort residence, located on the highway connecting the twin cities.

In the presence of a few supporters who managed to reach his residence despite police efforts to prevent them, the 25-year-old vowed not to eat until his two demands  other backward class (OBC) status to Patidars and loan waiver for farmers  are met.

The white cap donned by Patel and his supporters had slogans of Jai Sardar Jai Patidar on one side and `Inquilab Zindabad on the other. The verandah, which was converted into the fast venue, had pictures of two leaders, representing two very different ideologies, Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh.

Rakshabandhan festivities began a day earlier for Patel with female supporters present at the venue taking turns to tie him Rakhis.

Like the August 25, 2015 Patidars rally in Ahmedabad, this event too began with intense rhetoric by Patel, loaded with warnings to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But police and administration had taken adequate precautionary steps to ensure that the protest does not turn violent like three years back, when 14 youths were killed and public property worth Rs 44 crore damaged.

I appeal all the political parties and leaders to raise voice against British-type rule of the BJP government. A Jallianwala Bagh like situation has been created outside my home. Even supply of essentials like milk and water has been stopped. Some 16,000 supporters, who had started for here, have been detained across the state, Patel said who began his fast at 3 pm.

However, soon after the above statements were made, he hosted lunch for a couple of hundred people at noon.

The BJP government was quick to respond. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who along with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, was at Kevadiya Colony to oversee progress on the Sardar Patel statue, which will be the worlds tallest at 182 metre, told media: It is a Congress-sponsored so-called agitation. Ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress wants to divide the community

.The administration dismissed Patels allegations of cracking down on his supporters.

Additional director general of police RB Brahmbhatt, said: Not 16000, only 158 persons across Gujarat have been detained.

Recalling that Patel was allowed to take out a rally in 2015 on condition of maintaining peace but it had turned extremely violent, he said the Patidar leader was denied permission this time to keep law and order situation under control.

There was heavy deployment of police in sensitive cities including Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot. The BRTS services in Patidar-dominated areas of Surat was discontinued for a day to prevent torching of public vehicles as seen in past three years since launch of the agitation demanding reservation benefits.

Meanwhile, police were checking every vehicle and identity of passengers taking the approach road connecting Patels home to the highway, in a bid to prevent his supporters from reaching there.

Three Congress MLAs- Lalit Vasoya, Lalit Kagathara and Kirit Patel- were also stopped and not allowed to reach Patels home. Some Ahmedabad Municipal Congress councillors like Badruddin Shaikh however managed to reach the spot.

The Congress has sought an appointment with Gujarat governor OP Kohli to make representation. We are likely to meet the governor. We would make the representation that Hardik and his supporters should be allowed to protest, said Vasoya.Singha Bahini, a Bengali Hindu organisation formed last month by former leaders of a far Right group is discreetly sending its members to Assam to collect data on Bengalis excluded from the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on July 30.

Over the past 10 days, Singha Bahini members have visited many locations in Assam, including the Bengali-dominated Barak Valley which has three districts. They collected data and took photographs and videos of affected Bengali Hindu families.

They claim to have documented the plight of four families, some of whose members allegedly committed suicide after being dropped from the NRC. Among the other families, a large number have members with roots in Bengal.

The organisation plans to launch a campaign soon for which it had started raising money through Milaap, a crowdfunding website, five days before the draft NRC was published.

Though official records do not offer any break-up of the ethnic or religious background of the people left out from the NRC, Bengali rights groups in Assam claim that anything between 1.2 and 1.5 million Bengali Hindus have not made it to the draft.

Some Bengal government officers have contacted Singha Bahini and inquired about the outcome of the field visits. A few officers in Kolkata interact with us from time to time. I cannot go into details, a senior leader of the Hindu outfit said on condition of anonymity.

Singha Bahini secretary Prasun Maitra said the findings will be made public in Kolkata on Monday, August 27.

Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that she wants to make NRC a key issue in the Lok Sabha polls, but she could not send her party leaders to Assam. On August 2, a team of eight Trinamool MPs and MLas was stopped at Silchar airport, allegedly assaulted and sent back by the Assam government.

A furious Banerjee had described the incident as super emergency while BJP accused Trinamool of politicising the issue to secure minority votes. BJP president Amit Shah even alleged at a rally in Kolkata on August 11 that illegal Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh comprised Trinamools vote bank.

The Singha Bahini has been formed by eight former leaders of Hindu Samhati, the Kolkata-based Hindutva group that defended in court a teenager whose social media post triggered communal riots in North 24 Parganas district in 2017.

Most people outside Assam seem to think that confinement to detention camps is the worst thing happening, and life outside the camps is normal. The plight of Bengali Hindus is endless, said Shantanu Sanyal, president, All Assam Bengali Parishad (AABP) from Guwahati.

On August 14, 102-year-old Chandradhar Das travelled 40 km from his residence in Barak Valley to reach one of the NRC tribunals in Silchar. He waited for three hours for a hearing but was told to return in September since no government lawyer was present on that day. Such absenteeism is common. We have requested the government to at least provide lawyers on humanitarian ground, Sanyal said.

Census figures show that the number of Hindus in Assam has gone down by around 10% between 1971 and 2011. This contradicts allegations of migration of Hindus from Bangladesh, said Sanyal.

The AABP has set up camps across Assam to help Hindu Bengalis fill up claim and objection forms provided by the government. It has also submitted memorandums to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union minister of state for home affairs, Kiren Rijiju.

Not just a sizeable section of Bengalis settled across India and the world, even many old Congress and Left leaders, including Bengals longest serving chief minister Jyoti Basu, had roots in Bangladesh. Many of these people lived in refugee camps after the 1971 Bangladesh War. But after settling down they have forgotten the past, alleged Singha Bahini president Devdutta Maji.

Although Jyoti Basu was born in Kolkata, his father Nishikanta Basu, a doctor, hailed from Narayanganj district (part of Dhaka division) of Bangladesh.Olly Esse, an Italian DJ, has alleged that she was assaulted by an Air India outsourcing staff at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad on August 19, a charge denied by the national carrier.

M Mahesh, Airport police inspector said they received a complaint from her on April 19 and booked a case under Sections 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and were investigating it.

In a video posted on social media, Esse said she was travelling on an Air India flight to Delhi, which was delayed by nine hours. She went to the Air India counter and asked for help, but the employee at the desk did not respond properly.

The lady at the desk who was supposed to help me was rude. At the end of the story she slapped me. I want to complain to the police, but that was not possible as the guy (police) who should take the complaint was not there. I feel violated, she said in the video.

When contacted an AI spokesperson denied the charge and said the lady whom Esse met at the Air India counter was an outsourcing employee.

The person (female employee) is an outsourcing employee. She did not slap her. That was a false allegation. Esse was filming the employee with her mobile phone, to which she (the employee) objected and tried to stop her. In the melee, her phone slipped from her hand, but did not fall on the ground, the Air India official told PTI.

The police official said they verifying the footage and that investigation was going on.Jammu and Kashmir Police is fighting a proxy war for the last 30 years and its personnel have given supreme sacrifices which have earned respect of people across the country, Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid said here today.

He said a number of jawans and officers of the force have scarified their lives for the security and integrity of the nation and the force is still struggling for peace in the state.

Jammu and Kashmir Police is fighting a proxy war for last 30 years and by its supreme sacrifices the force has earned respect of people of the country.

A number of jawans and officers of the force have scarified their precious lives for the security and integrity of the nation and are still struggling for peace in the state, Vaid said, addressing an attestation-cum-passing out parade of 5th batch of recruit constables at Commando Training Centre (CTC) Lethpora in south Kashmirs Pulwama district.

Vaid advised the new 790 recruits to work with dedication for peace in the state.

Police service is a noble service and the passing out recruits have a pride to join the family of Jammu and Kashmir Police for the service of the nation, he said.

B B Vyas, Advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Governor, who was the chief guest on the occasion, lauded the role of the police force for upholding professionalism amid challenging situation.

I congratulate the police force for continuously working for the welfare of the people with dedication. I am proud of the Jammu and Kashmir police for proving its mettle in the difficult times, he said.

Vyas said there are many more challenges ahead for the police force in view of a series of upcoming elections.

We have decided to hold local bodies polls and police has to deal with this challenge and fulfill its role, he said.

The Advisor said the whole nation salutes the courage of J-K Police personnel and everyone pays tribute to their supreme sacrifices.

Complementing the newly trained constables for graduating into a new field of duty, Vyas asked them to perform their job with sincerity and dedication.A day after defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman sparred with a Karnataka minister for asking her to wind up a press conference in flood-ravaged Kodagu, deputy chief minister G Parameshwara reminded her on Saturday that state representatives are in no way inferior to those of the Centre.

Sitharaman had lost her cool on Friday, when Kodagu district in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh said that a number of government officials were waiting to meet her. I am following a minute-to-minute programme... Central minister follows the minister in-charge here. Unbelievable! she snapped.

Sitharamans statement was construed as an attempt to establish the superiority of central ministers over those at the state level. The next day, Parameshwara expressed his disapproval of the defence ministers outburst with a tweet: Madam, our ministers stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with the district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end. It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague.

State Governments derive their powers from our Constitution not from the Centre. The Constitution has distributed powers among the Centre and States to ensure an equitable partnership between both. We are not inferior to the Centre. We are partners @nsitharaman  Dr. G Parameshwara (@DrParameshwara) August 25, 2018

Parameshwara then went on to suggest that Sitharaman was in no way superior to Mahesh just because she was a central representative. State governments derive their powers from our Constitution, not from the Centre. The Constitution has distributed powers among the Centre and states to ensure an equitable partnership between both. We are not inferior to the Centre; we are partners, he said in another tweet.

Hours after the spat, Mahesh told mediapersons that he had only asked Sitharaman to attend to the officials first -- so they could go about with rehabilitation work. I pointed out that the meeting with the waiting officials would take hardly five minutes, and she could continue with her other engagements after that, he said.

According to the Karnataka government, the southwestern district of Kodagu has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore due to heavy rainfall over the last few weeks. Chief minister Kumaraswamy has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide Rs 2,000 crore in financial assistance for rehabilitation and restoration work.Former Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy said that the tragedy caused due to heavy rains and floods in the state was due to the present state governments glaring omission of not being able to foresee things.

Chandy told IANS that even though this was not the time to politicise the tragedy, he was forced to say what Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself pointed out.

Since the monsoon season began in the end of May, Kerala received heavy rains in three parts and since being in segments there should have been a basic planning process. But for some reason it did not happen and hence tragedy struck the state very hard, said Chandy.

Monsoon began in the last week of May and heavy rains came in three segments till the second week of August.

The glaring omission came when the government failed to act according to the pattern of rains. In hindsight, its easy to say that it should have been done this way and not that way, but its here where the calculations went haywire, the former leader said.

For the first time in the history of the state, on account of the heavy rains during the past three months had to open the sluice gates of 33 dams including the Idukki dam which was opened after 26 years.

The authorities misfired when it came to handling the Idukki dam as it was not opened earlier and instead waited till the last minute which caused a huge damage to life and properties. The weather forecasts were right in front of the authorities. To substantiate what I said, you can just look into the manner in which state Power Minister M.M. Mani handled the Idukki dam and then correlate it with what Vijayan said, added Chandy.

The number of dead in the rains and floods now stands at 417. Hundreds have started returning home from relief camps, but still leaving 8.69 lakh people in 2,787 shelters. The total damages is estimated to be over Rs 35,000 crores.As U.S. President Donald Trump searches for new schemes to reduce the countrys foreign trade deficit and national debt by waging an economic war on countries by imposing unfair tariffs under the pretext of his America First campaign, reports have surfaced that his next target is the funds of Arab countries.

As Yeni Safak writes in an article "Trump could seize Arab funds at any moment", Arab countries, primarily Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Bahrain, currently have $4 trillion in U.S. and U.K. banks. A large amount of these funds belongs to Saudi and the UAE, with the revenues of petrol and natural gas directly transferring into U.S. banks. Specialists evaluated the situation and stated that Trump, who has waged an economic war against many countries, including China, Turkey and Iran, is now planning to seize the petrodollars of Gulf countries.

Deposits not questioned

Speaking to Yeni Safak daily, Cevahir Holding Chairman of the Board of Directors Yusuf Cevahir stressed, The U.S. does not question the source of the money that comes from Gulf countries deposited into U.S. banks. However, when companies in Gulf countries want to withdraw money from U.S. banks, they are immediately faced with the questions regarding the "money source." This situation has been like this since the September 11 attacks. As long as oil revenues stay in the U.S., there is no problem. They only allow cash flow in the case of purchases of supplies and equipment from the U.S. Many Saudi companies have had mortgages currently because the U.S. does not allow cash withdrawals. Therefore, many projects in Saudi Arabia have come to a standstill because of the troubles these companies face. He also stressed that the companies in Saudis $500 billion mega-city NEOM project face the same difficulties. This situation shows that countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain work together with the U.S. in a chain of command.

Trump could declare seizure at any moment

Director of Istanbul Universitys Banking Research Center Kadir Tuna in his turn stated that the possibility of seizing Arab funds has never been so strong. Economic ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and the UAE is far beyond than a usual investor and banker relationship. In terms of international banking, the fact that such large amounts of money are being held in U.S. banks for years is an unusual situation. This situation cannot be defined with international law. Saudi Arabia has an extraordinary tie to the U.S. Trump, at any moment, can officially declare that he has seized the money, he said.

9/11 compensation

According to reports, a number of Saudi assets and foundations will face large compensation lawsuits by the insurance companies of the families of victims of the 9/11 attacks under the pretext of supporting al-Qaeda. Washington is said to be leveraging the 9/11 court decision in an attempt to seize Saudi assets in the U.S. which will put the oil-rich kingdoms investments there at risk.

Aramco public offering called off

Saudi Arabia also called off plans for the domestic and international listing of state oil giant Aramco, billed as the biggest stock flotation in history, four senior industry sources said on Wednesday, according to Reuters. This was interpreted as a bid to protect Saudi stocks from being seized by the U.S. However, the Saudi government early Thursday issued a statement denying the reports. The government remains committed to the initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, in accordance with the appropriate circumstances and appropriate time chosen by the Government, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement released on Saudi Press Agency.

Trump says the Gulf has nothing but money

Trump had planned to target Arab funds since before his election. In a speech in Florida during his election campaign in 2016, he stated that the Gulf has nothing but money. We want to do safe zones in Syria. I will get the Gulf states, who are not doing much, believe me. The Gulf states have nothing but money. Im going to get them to pay. We owe 19 trillion, were not paying for it. Dont forget, without us, the Gulf states wont exist, he said.Keralas worst floods in close to a century left hundreds of people dead, displaced over a million, and caused unprecedented loss of property worth billion of rupees in less than a fortnight. Though excessive rains filled the dams, experts blamed poor water flow management from the reservoirs for the inundation of the coastal state and many parts of the southern India. It is not for the first time that this has happened.

A Comptroller and Auditor General report submitted in Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2016 squarely blamed the unwarranted release of 29,000 cusecs of water for 21 hours in December 2015, in violation of dam safety norms, for flooding in Chennai. The report said the floods could have been avoided had the Public Works Department followed the Central Water Commission guidelines on regulated water release from the three water tanks upstream of the city.

In hindsight, water experts are saying that the intensity of Kerala floods could have been reduced if the water from 35 big dams in Kerala was released much earlier. Kerala blamed neighbouring Tamil Nadu for the floods in the Supreme Court on Friday, saying the gates of Mullaperiyar dam were suddenly opened without any warning, a claim denied by Tamil Nadu government.

What has happened in Kerala poses a bigger question regarding flood management in India considering that around 15% of Indias land mass is prone to floods, with an average of 1,548 people losing their lives and around eight million hectares getting affected, causing loss of about Rs 5,628 crore every year. The 5,254 dams in India are an integral part of flood management, apart from storing water for irrigation and generating power.

The 2017 CAG report submitted in Parliament presented an insight on what is wrong with Indias flood management plan. Of the 219 proposed new telemetry stations, used to forecast floods, only a quarter were set-up till August 2016. Of the 375 existing stations, almost 60% were non-functional after installation, the report said.

Flood forecasting data was used in the formulation of flood forecast only after comparing the telemetry data with manually observed data; and in the case of mismatch between the two sets of data, manual data was adopted, the CAG report said, pulling up CWC for not depending on telemetry data even after investing in modernisation for nearly 20 years.

The report also said that there is an emergency action plan for only 7% of the dams in India. For the 61 in Kerala, there is none. In eight out of 17 flood-prone states, the integrated flood management plans for entire river/basin have not been taken up, the report said.

The auditor also said that frequent check of dams before and after monsoon happened in only two -- Bihar and Odisha -- of the 17 two states in recent years.

Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, secretary in the ministry of earth sciences, admitted earlier this week that there was poor flood management system in India.

As per my understanding, no big reservoir has a decision support system. So we dont know when to open gates and how to open themThere is a common perception that in India most of the flood management systems are not supported by science. I am very sure we dont have a decision support system and we need it, he had said.

AK Gosain, professor emeritus at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, agreed with him and said dam management in India works on the principle that at end of the monsoon the reservoirs should be full. The tendency is not to release water till the last go and this is what has happened in Kerala, he said.

Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People said the reason for this tendency was that most of the big dams in India are run by the power generation companies, who are unwilling to reduce water level beyond a limit as it can impact power generation. In Kerala, the water level in the big dams is monitored by Kerala State Electricity Board.

Experts say the flooding in downstream areas can be better managed if the India Meteorological Departments 72-hour forecast is used to create simulation models for water release. Gujarat and Odisha governments use the IMDs forecast to release water slowing from the dams on Tapi and Mahanadi rivers respectively, helping the two states manage floods. Despite Gujarat receiving substantial rainfall in 2017, Surat city on the Tapi river was not floodedThe Kerala government will Sunday organise a farewell for various defence forces who helped in relief and rescue operations during the recent unprecedented floods in the state to express its gratitude.

The government has decided to organise a farewell on August 26 to express its love and gratitude towards the various defence forces that helped in relief and rescue operations in the state, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Defence forces were involved in several daring rescue acts such as the air-lifting of a pregnant woman and winching up of a two-year-old which won them widespread appreciation. They also contributed to relief efforts, including shipping material and providing medical assistance to the displaced people.

The Indian navy had on Wednesday called off its 14-day long Operation Madad during which it had evacuated 16,005 people.

Besides the navy, personnel of the Army, the Air Force and Coast Guard were also involved in the rescue and relief operations along with the civil administration, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and volunteers, including fishermen.

Armys Southern Command chief Lt Gen DR Soni had on Monday said its personnel would continue to be engaged in the rescue operations in the flood-hit state till the situation stabilised.

The Indian Air Force on Friday said it is engaged in providing medical facilities to the affected people in relief camps, with its teams treating over 1,600 people in 26 camps. It has also set up a 10-bed mobile hospital and a Rapid Action Medical Team at Chetankery near Pathanamthittas Thiruvala.Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday said he has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide Rs 2,000 crore in financial assistance to flood-ravaged Kodagu district.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, the states southwestern district witnessed the highest rainfall for the month in the last 87 years. The damage caused due to heavy rains in Kodagu amounts to around Rs 3,000 crore. I have written a letter seeking immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 crore from the central government, the chief minister said.

According to Kumaraswamy, the chief ministers disaster relief fund has so far received Rs 25.16 crore in private contributions and Rs 102 crore through a decision of state government employees to forego a days salary. I want to thank all these people for their help on behalf of the government, he said.

Rural development minister Krishna Byregowda said the state also plans to send a memorandum listing out the damages suffered by the district. We hope the Centre responds at the earliest, so we can respond adequately to the peoples sufferings and provide them with timely relief, he added.

The minister, however, castigated the Centre for not coming forward to offer assistance on its own. We have not received enough support from the Government of India so far. However, we do hope they will respond to our written request at the earliest, he said.

Incidentally, Kodagu district in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh and Union defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman had entered into a spat on the same day. The incident occurred when Mahesh asked Sitharaman to stick to her schedule during a press conference held as part of her visit to Kodagu for reviewing relief work.

I follow the minister in-charge... central minister follows the minister in-charge here. Unbelievable! Sitharaman was heard telling the Karnataka minister upon being told that the officials in attendance were getting delayed. You have a list of minute-to-minute for me to follow. If you had a different opinion, you should have sorted it earlier instead of putting me in this embarrassing position.

Mahesh later told mediapersons that he had only asked the minister to stick to the schedule after she got caught up in a meeting with an RSS-affiliated group. The issue at hand, he clarified, happened to be a review meeting with the district deputy commissioner and other field officials at 11.30 am that was getting delayed.

I merely pointed out that the meeting with the waiting officials would take hardly five minutes, and she could continue with her other engagements after that, said Mahesh.

It may be noted that Kerala, which suffered a loss of at least Rs 20,000 crore due to floods, was granted an interim financial package of just Rs 500 crore by the Centre.It took medical representative Vijay Vojhala, 45, two years to discover his artificial hip implant was faulty.

As a medical representative, I met at least 15 orthopaedic doctors each week but no one, including my surgeon, mentioned the implant had been recalled. I lived with the faulty implant for two years. If it took me so long to find out, how would a layperson know?, said Vojhala.

Most people with the implant dont know they can avail of the compensatory revision surgery and live in pain or worse, said the Mumbai resident.

Vojhala was diagnosed with avascular necrosis, a condition where the bone tissue dies because of the loss of blood supply. A surgery to decompress the core to restore the blood flow didnt work, so he was advised total hip replacement surgery.

His luck ran out in 2008 when he chose a Johnson & Johnson articular surface replacement implants. At the time of the surgery, the surgeon said it was the best available as a metal on metal implant is likely to last longer. Since I was young, I did not want revision surgery, said Vojhala.

What he did not know that concerns were being raised about the safety of the implant internationally.

Six months after the surgery, his pain increased and his limp became more pronounced, with the new joints squeaking when he walked.

I was at a medical conference when my orthopaedic doctor friends asked me what was wrong and I mentioned the implant that I had used. They advised me to get the cobalt and chromium levels tested, said Vojhala.

The metal levels were through the roof, which led to Vojhala losing some teeth, his hearing in the right ear, his job, and his ability to play volleyball or to swim.

I was an active person, now I just sit around putting on weight. All the muscles in my body start aching if I walk for long. My job too requires a lot of travel but by 2013, I had lost confidence that I would ever be able to do it, so I quit, said Vojhala, who now runs a small path lab.

After he learned the implant was faulty, he reached out to Johnson and Johnson for the revision surgery in 2010. It took a lot of haggling with the company before he could get a compensatory revision surgery in 2012.

Before turning 40, I had undergone three major surgeries and life has not been same since, he said.

Vojhala also reached out to the government authorities. The first registered an FIR, after that I wrote to the local members of Parliament and legislative assembly. I reached out to the state health minister and chief minister, the central drug controller, the prime ministers office, National Human Rights Commission --- anybody I could approach with a grievance as a common man, he said.

It was because of my persistence that a committee was finally set up, but it seems like an eyewash because no action has been taken against Johnson&Johnson.Why should Indians be paid just Rs 20 lakh as compensation anyway?? It should be the same as international payouts as the suffering is the same. They must pay for taking away the most productive years of our lives, said Vojhala .Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees niece Karuna Shukla on Saturday demanded the resignation of two Chhattisgarh ministers who were seen laughing in a purported video of a condolence meeting held for the late BJP stalwart.

The video which has gone viral shows Agriculture Minister Brijmohan Agrawal and Health Minister Ajay Chandrakar talking to each other and laughing while sitting on the stage during the condolence meet for Vajpayee here on August 23.

Shukla, who is now with the Congress, said she was pained by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers behaviour.

They have no respect for Bharat Ratna Atalji who formed their state, she said, speaking at a press conference.

Chhattisgarh came into existence when Vajpayee was the prime minister.

Shukla, a former BJP MP from Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh, quit the saffron party ahead of 2013 Assembly polls and joined the Congress later.

If the top leadership of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi respect Vajpayee, they should ask the ministers to step down, or sack both of them, she said.

This is necessary so that the next generation of BJP leaders learn how to behave at a condolence meeting, she said.

While the video drew criticism from the Congress, there was no reaction from the state BJP leadership.

Shukla also accused the BJP of politicising Vajpayees death in view of coming Assembly elections in the state.Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again in London on Saturday accusing him of using the anger among jobless youth for his own benefit and damaging the country in the process.

The Congress chief said Prime Minister Modi doesnt solve problems that generate anger among the people.

Modi, instead of calming this anger, instead of telling our country that listen, yes we have a problem called a job problem and we are going to work together to fix it, Modi does something very unpatriotic. He takes that anger and utilises it for himself, and he damages our country, he said in an interaction with members of the Indian Journalists Association.

According to Gandhi, Modi is riding on the anger among jobless youth: The crime he commits is that he damages his country when he uses that anger for himselfThey have created a tremendous amount of damage. A new breed of person will have to repair this damage and solve that problem.

Gandhi, who responded to a range of questions, challenged Modi to take questions from journalists in a press conference. He wont be able to sit here. I have the guts, he said.

The Congress chief accused Modi of locking up his entire cabinet ahead of announcing demonetisation in November 2016 and flayed the Reserve Bank of India for defending demonetisation.

Every economist in the world says it is a crazy idea. But the real problem is like institutions like RBI, that have defended the move, he said while addressing members of the Indian Journalists Association.

You lock your cabinet in a room - you dont ask them. That is the voice of India - you lock the voice of India in a room, he said.Leaders of all major political parties remembered B P Mandal on his 100th birth anniversary on Saturday in Bihar, where quota has been a sensitive electoral issue considering that half of the states populations is covered under Mandals reservation formula for other backward classes (OBCs).

Mandal, besides being Bihar chief minister, had headed the backward classes commission that recommended 27% quota in jobs for the OBCs. The UPA-1 had extended the quota to admissions in higher education institutions.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar along with senior Cabinet colleagues paid visit to Mandals native village Moroh, a first for a CM since 1992. In between, only ministers used to visit, said a Muroh native, who was not willing to be quoted.

The CM also took part in an all faith prayer meet and released a coffee-table book on him. Earlier in the day, Kumar along with assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary and ministers paid homage by garlanding Mandals statue.

Other political parties were also not behind.

While Kumar did not speak, an NDA alliance partner and RLSP leader Upendra Kushwaha demanded release of the socio-economic caste census to settle the issue of 27% quota to OBCs.

Kushwaha, who is also union minister for state, demanded that Mandals reservation formula should be applied to the private sector. He also asked to ensure reservation in promotion for OBCs in the government sector.

Another NDA ally, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) organised a separate function in Delhi on the occasion and termed the birth anniversary as Social Empowerment Day, crediting Mandal for upliftment of the backwards.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal, whose leader Lalu Prasad was instrumental in getting the Mandal commission recommendation implemented, paid him homage at a function in party office in Patna.

Only five per cent of the recommendations made by Mandal Commission have been implemented. We will not sit idle till all the recommendations are implemented, party leader Tejashwi Yadav said.Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that all non-BJP parties in India were primarily focused on removing the Narendra Modi government from power in the 2019 elections and not on who the next prime minister should be.

Gandhi, who addressed three interactive sessions on the first day of his two-day visit to London, asserted that there is a massive fightback against what he termed as an attack on institutions under the Narendra Modi government since 2014.

I can tell you, the original idea of India is going to win, 100 per cent We are defending an onslaught on the Indian constitution and institutions. Me and the entire opposition see it as defending the nature of the Indian state (in the 2019 elections), the Congress president said.

Read: BJP says Rahul Gandhi immature and ignorant after he compares RSS to Muslim Brotherhood

Interacting with students  mostly Indians  during a conversation event at the London School of Economics (LSE) with academic Mukulika Banerjee of its South Asia Centre, Gandhi said a formidable alliance will take on the BJP in 2019.

We have agreed that our first priority is to defeat the BJP and stop this encroachment on the institutional space, stop the poison that is being spread, stop the division that is taking place, he said. Once the election is over, all those conversations (about who should be the next prime minister) can be had, but we are not going to have those conversations until we are done with the first stage  removing the BJP from power.

As LSE academics and students applauded Gandhi for what they called an unscripted mann ki baat extending over 70 minutes, Gandhi held that the Congress was working on a manifesto at the national and local levels, speaking to stakeholders, and gearing up to go to the people with what he called a common minimum structure with other parties. There are some parties that are not aligned with the BJP now  they were earlier aligned with the BJP, but they are not aligned with the BJP now  I see this as an ideological battle. We are not going to ally with anybody who is not ideologically on our platform, he said.

According to the Congress president, the next election was going to be pretty straightforward: The BJP on one side and the entire opposition on the other. The reason for this is that almost everybody in the opposition, and even members of the BJP alliance, feel that Indian institutions are being encroached on. A systematic attack is taking place on Indian institutions.

Read: A certain degree of arrogance crept into Congress after 10 yrs of power: Rahul Gandhi on 2014 poll loss

Gandhi cited the examples of certain senior Supreme Court judges taking the unprecedented step of alleging at a press conference in January that they were not being allowed to do their work and the removal of a journalist for doing a programme on Chhattisgarh farmers to drive home his point. There is a feeling in the opposition that an organisation is challenging the very concept of India for the first time. So there is this mood that we need to defend the institutions, we need to defend the idea of one-man-one-vote, we need to defend the idea of inclusive India, he said.

You will have a clear-cut election (in 2019) where pretty much everybody will be on this side and the BJP-RSS on the other, and once that comes into play, you can look at the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alliances, and the central focus areas become very difficult for the BJP to win, Gandhi added.

After his interactive sessions at the LSE, Parliament complex in Westminster and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Gandhi joined Richmond mayor Ben Khosa for dinner on Friday evening. He was accompanied by Sam Pitroda, a long-time associate of the Gandhi family, and Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Manish Tiwari.

He is scheduled to meet members of the Indian Journalists Association on Saturday afternoon and address the Indian diaspora at an event organised by the Indian Overseas Congress UK later that evening.Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Nepal next week for the fourth time since he assumed office to attend the summit of seven-member Bay of Bengal grouping that would see the countries firming up their connectivity and security cooperation.

Modi will attend the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit in Kathmandu on August 30 and 31, and will hold discussions with other leaders who are attending the summit.

Indian Prime Minister is expected to open a 400-bed dharamshala built with Indian assistance on the Pashupatinath temple premises in Kathmandu during the trip.

The two-decade old regional grouping is coming of late with the leaders agreeing to focus on key issues that front them collectively in a concerted manner. For New Delhi, the sub-regional grouping helps in pushing its regional connectivity plans with the SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation) grouping is faltering.

The connectivity is an important aspect of the cooperation of the grouping. This include physical connectivity, grid connectivity, and increasing the people to people contacts, said Preeti Saran, secretary east in the external affairs ministry. The grouping is expected to agree to many measures including the protocol for a coastal shipping agreement. Saran said security cooperation dealing with traditional and non traditional threats would be a key focus area at the summit.

Saran also pointed out two landlocked countries in the grouping, Nepal and Bhutan would benefit from getting sea access. The BIMSTEC is a regional organisation comprising seven countries sitting in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal which makes them contiguous geographical entity.

The seven countries of the grouping are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

At the end of the summit, the member-countries would come out with a joint declaration covering various areas of cooperation including security, trade, environment, connectivity, counter-terrorism and non-traditional threats.

Saran said e seven BIMSTEC nations have been discussing a Free trade area (FTA) agreement and also considering organising tri-services joint exercises on disaster management and other such issues.

The summit would be preceded by a meeting of senior officials from BIMSTEC countries on 28 August and another of foreign ministers the next day.

In the afternoon of August 30, the BIMSTEC inaugural plenary session will be held followed by gala dinner and a cultural program hosted by the government of Nepal. In the forenoon, there will a retreat and in the afternoon there will the closing session of the summit.

The summit brings together like-minded countries to peace and prosperity, she said.Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday downplayed his prime ministerial ambitions, insisting that he was fighting an ideological battle to defend the nature of the Indian state.

I dont have these visions. I view myself as fighting an ideological battle and this change has come in me after 2014. I realised that theres a risk to Indian state, to Indian way of doing things and Im defending that, Gandhi, who was interacting with members of the Indian Journalists Association in London, replied on being asked if he sees himself as the next PM.

He claimed there is a massive fightback against what he called an attack on institutions under the Modi government since 2014.

I can tell you, the original idea of India is going to win, 100 per centWe are defending an onslaught on the Indian Constitution and institutions. Me and the entire opposition see it as defending the nature of the Indian state (in the 2019 elections).

The next election is going to be pretty straightforward: BJP on one side and the entire Opposition on the other. The reason for that is that almost everybody in the Opposition and also members of the BJP alliance feel the encroachment that is taking place of Indian institutions, the systematic attack taking place on Indian institutions, Gandhi said.

Even as he was applauded for what some in the audience called an unscripted mann ki baat over 70 minutes, Gandhi said, There is this mood that we need to defend the institutions, we need to defend the idea of one man one vote, we need to defend the inclusive idea of India.

The Congress chief reiterated the point he made at his interaction with students at the London School of Economics the previous evening that all non-BJP parties were first focused on removing the BJP from power, and conversations on the next prime minister could take place later.

Read: Modi is unpatriotic, uses anger of jobless youth to damage India, says Rahul GandhiThe Middle East is experiencing another round of escalation after the US withdrew from the nuclear agreement concluded between Iran and the six international mediators. Washington threatens Iran with new sanctions, and between Tehran and Tel Aviv is a real confrontation in Syria that could develop into a new Middle East war. In the wider Middle East, Yerevan is trying to maintain good-neighborly relations with its southern neighbor, since Iran remains for semi-blocked Armenia the only way out to the Persian Gulf.

The Armenian side assures that it will not participate in any anti-Iranian actions, counting on a rapid resumption of the Armenia-Iran railway construction plan. Tehran also realizes the Importance of trade, economic and diplomatic ties with Armenia, as evidenced by the Iranian official media appreciation of the new Armenian government. Due to the prestige of new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Yerevan is focusing on attracting investments from the Armenian diaspora. The railway communication between Iran and Armenia is of great importance - the road will increase the transit potential of Armenia and will allow overcoming isolation. According to the plan, the total length of the track is about 330 kilometers, of which 60 kilometers will pass through the territory of Iran. The Islamic Republic is ready to build its own road section, and the rest of the track must be laid by Armenia. The cost of the project is about $ 3.2 billion.

Iran is ready to start investing in the Armenian economy. On August 19, the parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a joint production of agricultural machinery. Amid the sanctions pressure, Iran mobilizes all the connections available, trying to enter the Armenian market to export equipment to the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Iran also seeks to implement a project of a free economic zone in Armenia to increase trade with the Eurasian Union. The implementation of the project can be hindered by the inconsistency of legislation. Nevertheless, if the free trade zone opens, it will be an unprecedented project in the entire post-Soviet space for two reasons. First, business in the FEZ can be exempted from VAT, income tax, and property tax. The second, Syunik region, where it is planned to create the zone, borders Iran, where the free economic zone Aras is already operating on the other side of the border. This opens up the wide opportunities for attracting Iranian investments in the economy. In the last two years, the trade turnover between Armenia and Iran clearly does not meet the capabilities of the two countries amounting to only $ 270 million.

Moscow does not oppose the rapprochement between Yerevan and Tehran, as Russian business is interested in the growth of the Armenian economy, which is still in a difficult situation. However, in recent years, the Western sanctions against Iran have been a deterrent to an increase in the Armenian-Iranian trade turnover, which can completely destroy the Armenian economy. First of all, this concerns the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, as Armenia still depends on gas supplies from Iran.The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for saying that his party was not involved in the 1984 riots, saying his statement indicated he was with the perpetrators of the violence in which nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed, mostly in the national capital.

The Congress defended its chief, saying he has not absolved anyone.

Rahul Gandhi has conveyed a clear message, he is with those who killed innocents at that time. The statement given by Rahul Gandhi has added salt to the wounds of the victims, Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD president, said at a press conference, reported ANI.

Asked about Gandhis statement, senior Congress leader P Chidamabaram said that a very terrible thing happened in 1984 for which prime minister Manmohan Singh had apologised in Parliament.

You cant hold Rahul Gandhi responsible for that, he was 13 or 14. He hasnt absolved anyone, he added.

To a question being asked by the CNN-News18 at an event on Friday in the UK Parliament about the 1984 riots, Gandhi had said: I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I dont agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy, according to an IANS report.

Later, during an interactive session at the London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots and former prime minister Manmohan Singhs statement on it, Gandhi said: When Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels.

So, I am against any sort of violence against anybody on this planet. I get disturbed when I see anybody being hurt. So, I condemn that 100 per cent and I am 100 per cent for punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody. Thats crystal clear, he had said.Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday signalled his intent to work with other Opposition parties to put up a joint fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announcing at an event that the party was working on a manifesto at national and local levels. He said the Congress was speaking to various stakeholders and would go to the people with what he called a common minimum structure with other parties.

The next election is going to be pretty straightforward: BJP on one side and the entire Opposition on the other. The reason for that is that almost everybody in the Opposition and also members of the BJP alliance feel the encroachment that is taking place of Indian institutions, the systematic attack taking place on Indian institutions, Gandhi said at an interaction with LSE academics and students.

Even as he was applauded for what some in the audience called an unscripted mann ki baat over 70 minutes, Gandhi said, There is this mood that we need to defend the institutions, we need to defend the idea of one man one vote, we need to defend the inclusive idea of India.

Read: Rahul Gandhi plays down prime ministerial ambitions, says he is defending Indian state

In this regard, he mentioned some judges of the Supreme Court taking the unprecedented step in January of addressing a press conference to allege that they were not being allowed to do our work, and the example of a journalist removed for doing a programme on farmers in Chhattisgarh.

You will have a clear-cut election where pretty much everybody will be on this side and the BJP-RSS on the other side, and once that comes into play, you can look at UP and Bihar alliances and the central focus areas become very difficult for the BJP to win, Gandhi added.

Later, addressing the Indian Journalists Association (established in May 1947), Gandhi responded to a range of questions, reiterating his comparison of RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood. He quipped that Modi cant take questions from people. He wont be able to sit here. I have the guts, he said.

Calling the job crisis in India as devastating, Gandhi said: The people who support Modi and other populist leaders are doing so because they are angry. They are angry because they dont have a job.

Noting the controversy caused in India over his comparison of RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood, Gandhi sought to further the charge by recounting alleged similarities between the two organisations. He also accused Modi and BJP leaders of being lenient with financial fugitives such as Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Before leaving (India), Mallya met BJP leaders. They are lenient with these people. Modi has relations with Choksi. The prime minister let him go, Gandhi alleged, adding to the catalogue of alleged failures of Modi and his government he listed during his two-day visit here.

After meeting journalists at the IJA event, Gandhi met doctors of Indian origin and later delivered an address to the Indian diaspora at an event organised by the Indian Overseas Congress UK in the evening.

The Congress president had said on Friday that Congress was not involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in which nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed, mostly in the national capital when the partys government was in power at the Centre.

To a question by CNN-News18 at an event in the UK Parliament about the 1984 riots, Gandhi said: I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I dont agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy.

Later, during an interactive session at the London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs statement on it, Gandhi said: When Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels.

Read: Modi is unpatriotic, uses anger of jobless youth to damage India, says Rahul GandhiRajasthan Congress leaders came together to start the partys election campaign from Sanwaliyaji temple in Chittorgarh on Friday. While flagging off the Sankalp Rally, Congress leaders said that the party has taken an oath that it will set the people free of the misgovernance of the autocratic BJP government.

Sachin Pilot said that the presence of a large number of people at the rally shows that they have made up their mind to oust the BJP. We take an oath that under the Congress governant, farmers will not have to commit suicide, youth will get jobs and we will ensure that women feel secure. People will feel that they are part of the governance. We have faith that people will support the Congress and give us a chance to serve, he said while taking the sankalp (oath).

Pilot said that the BJP with their big promises misled the people. They were given a huge mandate to serve the people but the four-and-half years of governance shows how the BJP insulted the peoples verdict. Looking at the present situation, CM Vasundhara Raje, instead of Gaurav (pride) Yatra, should take out Paschatap (repentance) Yatra and apologise to the public, he said.

Also read: In Jaisalmer, Raje promises land to farmers, water to villages

Before addressing the rally, the Congress leaders offered prayers at Sanwaliya Seth temple. AICC general secretary and ex-CM Ashok Gehlot, who was also present, said, In the last four and half years, the CM has not shown her face to the people but now she is travelling across the state asking for votes through the Gaurav Yatra.

Looking at the crowd at the rally, it shows that people have made up their mind to oust BJP government. We take an oath that we will fight to remove the autocratic BJP government, state party in-charge Avinash Pande said

AICC general secretary CP Joshi and Mohan Prakash, Leader of Opposition Rameshwar Dudi, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Tarun Kumar, party MLAs and others were also present. After Fridays rally, the next rally will be held at Churu on August 28, then Barmer on September 5, Karauli on September 10 and Nagaur on September 12.

Does CM take pride in delaying Barmer refinery: Pilot

State Congress chief Sachin Pilot also posed 11 questions and asked if the CM takes pride in delaying the Barmer refinery project by four years. He said if the refinery had been constructed it would have not only generated employment in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Pali and Jodhpur and nearby districts but would also have established small and medium industries.

Congress takes support of emotions and slogans: BJP

Hitting out at the Congress, BJP state spokesperson Satish Poonia on Friday said that state Congress chief Sachin Pilot did take an oath of forming the government during the Sakalp rally but the expression of serving people was missing. Poonias reply came on Pilots statements during Sankalp rally that CM Vasundhara Raje is misguiding people.

Criticising the statement on BJP taking political mileage of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayees demise, he said, Vajpayee was a huge personality and was above the party, this for us is a subject of faith and we immerse the ashes of our elders  such statements on a fatherly figure is unjustified.

Replying to the charge of increase in cases of crimes against women, he said that from 2008 -2013 during the Congress regime, the criminal cases increased by 92%, whereas according to NCRB in BJP tenure, it has decreased by 5%.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that a reported move to rename the Ramlila Maidan wont fetch the BJP votes but changing the name of the Prime Minister might.

In a Twitter post, Kejriwal shared a media report which said that the Ramlila Maidan in the heart of Delhi could be renamed as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Maidan and that the North Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) would discuss the proposal on August 30.

Such a move wont get the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) any votes, the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.

Instead, the BJP should try changing the name of the Prime Minister. Maybe then they could get some votes because now people are not voting for (Narendra Modi), he saidThe Madhya Pradesh Congress on Saturday accused the state BJP government of distributing footwear laced with carcinogenic material to tribals following a report of the Chennai based Central Leather Research Institute, a claim denied by the state government.

The institute examined four samples of footwear from the consignment meant for distribution among tribals in Dindori district, of which two samples had very high azo content. The environment ministry in 1997 described azo dyes as carcinogenic and banned their use.

Afer the tests, Madhya Pradeshh forest minister Gauri Shankar Shejwar said that although the footwear had beens procured, it was yet to be distributed. We have not distributed the carcinogenic footwear and we have distributed only those footwear that passed the test. We have asked the company that manufactured the failed samples to take the consignment back and we plan to blacklist it, he said.

However, Congress tribal leader Vikrant Bhuria alleged that the carcinogenic footwear has been distributed. Around a million of these slippers shoes have been distributed. If the report is true then the government should apologize and take back the shoes slippers otherwise the Congress will launch an agitation, he said while talking to reporters in Alirajpur.

State Congress president Kamal Nath tweeted: The disclosure in a report by the leather research institute that the shoes distributed to tribals have carcinogenic material in them is disturbing. How can anyone play with the lives of people? How were lakhs of shoes slippers distributed without any testing? Who is responsible?

The officials of the Laghu Udyog Nigam, the government agency through which these footwear was procured, said that the government plans to distribute around 2.2 million shoes and slippers to the tribal tendu leaf collectors and so far around a million have been distributed. Each shoe costs Rs 195 and each slipper, Rs 130.

The chief minister launched the scheme with a large function in Pohri in Shivpuri district on May 20, where tendu leaf collectors were given, shoes slippers, water bottles and saris. These slippers and shoes are being distributed all over the state since May.Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday continued to attack prime minister Narendra Modi on the Doklam issue, saying he went to China to meet president Xi Jingping but did not raise the matter.

Chinese troops are still in Doklam & have built massive infrastructure there. The prime minister went recently to China and didnt discuss Doklam...Somebody comes here, slaps you on your face and you have a non agenda of discussion, he said while addressing the Indian journalists association in London

Asked what the report of the parliamentary committee on external affairs on the Doklam issue said, Gandhi said he was bound by parliamentary privilege and couldnt reveal its contents.

On Friday too, Gandhi had cited the alleged presence of Chinese troops in Doklam as reflecting the Modi governments episodic and event-centric approach to foreign policy.

He said the stand-off with China was not a one-off event but part of a sequence, but regretted that instead of viewing it as part of a process, the government had an episodic approach to it.

This government has an event-centric perspective. Doklam is part of a process; he (Modi) sees it as an event. The truth is that the Chinese are still there. If we were in power, Doklam would not have happened, he said at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.Former Tripura governor Tathagata Roy was sworn in Saturday evening by the Chief Justice of Meghalaya Mohammad Yaqoob Mir at a brief but sombre function at 6pm.

In attendance to witness the proceedings were chief minister Conrad K Sangma and his ministerial colleagues, Shillong MP Vincent H Pala and senior central and state government officials as well as officers of the Indian armed forces based here.

Roy replaced Ganga Prasad who has been transferred and appointed as the new governor of Sikkim.

Roy was appointed as the governor of Tripura in May 2015 and for some time in 2016 also held the additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh. During his stint as governor of Arunachal Pradesh, he handled the ouster of chief minister Kalikho Pul following a Supreme Court judgement and swore in Pema Khandu as the new chief minister.

Speaking to reporters after swearing-in ceremony, Roy said that coming to Meghalaya was like a homecoming for him.

When I received this order to move from Tripura to Meghalaya I was a little sad because I had set my mind on staying in Tripura for three years but then I was also very happy because coming to Meghalaya coming to Shillong is like homecoming, he said.

Roy said he had spent his early childhood in Shillong and that his younger brother who is an MP now had also been born in the Ganesh Das Hospital as he added, This city I know it like the back of my hand all the way from Garikhana to Happy Valley.

Stating that looks of the city has changed a lot, Roy lamented when he said, When we were children there were no traffic jams and the buildings were all Assam-type buildings and none of these monstrosities that have grown up now.

The new governor said that he would like to address problem. What can be done under the circumstances is as far as I can see emphasis on public transport rather than private transport, he asserted.

Roy has often stirred controversies with his comments on social media some of which had strong communal connotations.

Born on September 14, 1945 in Kolkata to Debesh Chandra Roy and Anila Roy, Roy has his ancestral roots in Satgaon village, Brahmanbaria district, under Chittagong division of Bangladesh.

Attracted to Hindutva, Roy became a Swayamsevak 1986 and after quitting government service he joined the BJP in 1990. He replaced Ashim Ghosh as president of the West Bengal state unit of the BJP in 2002 and was succeeded by Sukumar Banerjee in 2006.

Armed with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering), Calcutta University, 1966 and Bachelor of Law, Calcutta University, 1985, he was an officer of the Indian Railway Service of Engineers (1967-1990), then served as general manager, RITES Ltd., 1989-90 Kolkata (a public sector consulting engineering company specializing in railway and related projects) and chief engineer, Metro Railway, Kolkata, 1988-89.

He was also a professor and founder-head, Department of Construction Engineering, (1990-2010) at Jadavpur University, Salt Lake Campus, Kolkata.

He is married to Anuradha Roy (nee Guha) and has two daughters - Malini (Rao) and Madhura (Khedekar), both of whom live in the United States. His wife Anuradha taught English at B.K.C. College, Kolkata.

Roy writes extensively, mostly socio-political articles, both in English and in his native Bengali and has authored five books.

Roys successor in Tripura, Kaptan Singh Solanki also took the oath of office and secrecy in Agartala on Saturday in a simple ceremony at the Darbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan.

Solanki, who had served as Haryana governor for a little over four years, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Tripura High Court Chief Justice Ajay Rastogi.

Chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, his cabinet colleagues, chief whip Kalyani Roy and chief secretary Sanjeev Ranjan were present at the function.

(With PTI input)Telangana Rashtra Samithi president and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao submitted a charter of demands to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday, a day after he told his party leaders in the state capital to get ready for early polls. The assembly elections in Telangana is slated with 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The chief ministers office said KCR, in his 20-minute meeting with the Prime Minister, raised as many as 14 issues pertaining to the state, including nod for zonal system, release of Rs 450 crore for the development of backward districts, among others.

However, party sources in Hyderabad said KCR had gone to Delhi primarily to discuss with Modi the issue of holding early elections in Telangana along with other states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in December.

Former chief secretary and advisor to the state government Rajiv Sharma also had a meeting with chief election commissioner Ashok Lavasa in Delhi a couple of days ago to discuss the possibility of holding the elections.

If the elections to Telangana have to be held... the state assembly has to be dissolved in the first week of September. Unless there is clarity from the Centre on the possibility of holding elections in December, a decision cannot be taken on the dissolution of the House, said a senior TRS leader.

A sitting TRS MP, however, expressed hope that the elections to Telangana assembly could be held in December. Our party is well prepared to hold the elections and is confident of winning not less than 100 out of 119 assembly seats, he said.

The TRS is organising a massive public meeting at Kongara Kalan on the outskirts of Hyderabad on September 2 to present the progress report of his government. Party leaders said KCR might make an announcement on the early elections at the public meeting itself. As if confirming the talk of early elections, the government announced a series of populist measures on Friday.With the arrest of seven people, police on Saturday busted a gang which allegedly duped people living in the US and other countries by telling them that they need to pay tax dues, an official said.

Two years ago, the Thane Crime Branch had unearthed a similar scam which targeted US residents.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided a call centre in Mira Road area and arrested seven people, Assistant Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni said.

A case under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and sections of the Information Technology Act was registered with Navghar police, and several computers were seized, he said.

Explaining the gangs modus operandi, Kulkarni said the accused obtained financial details of foreign nationals such as loans they had taken and their salaries.

The gang members then called such people, pretending to be from tax authorities in respective countries, and told them that they owed loan tax which can be paid through Bitcoins, he said.

Bitcoin is a form of electronic currency which is not recognised by most central banks.

The arrested people were identified as Juber Shaikh (26), Sabio Gonsalvis (42), Raju Rathod (29), Harsh Anwar Kazi (23), Siddharth Pillai (22), Saurabh Jha (29) and Siddhi Nair (29).

The police were yet to find out how much money was transferred into accused persons bank accounts.

In 2016, the Thane Crime Branch had unearthed a similar scam, where persons operating from call centres in Mira Road area duped 6,400 US residents of millions of dollars.

The accused called US residents pretending to be from that countrys Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and demanded payment of tax through gift cards of online shopping sites.The Uttarakhand High Court has slammed the chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for passing a strange order on a plea made by the central government seeking transfer of a case, involving whistleblower IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, to Delhi from the tribunals Nainital bench.

While quashing the CATs July 27 order in the matter, the court imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the Central government. It also termed as vindictive the attitude of the central government.

The attitude of the respondents towards petitioner, prima facie, is vindictive, said the August 21 order by the division bench of the court, consisting of acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari.

The bench of CAT had been hearing the case filed by Chaturvedi since July 2017 in the matter pertaining to adverse entries made into his appraisal report of 2015-16 by AIIMS, New Delhi, where he was working as Chief Vigilance Officer from 2012 to 2016.

It is very a strange order. How the chairman while sitting singly could stay the proceedings pending before the division bench of Central Administrative Tribunal, circuit bench at Nainital, the court order said.

It said the chairman of the tribunal is first amongst equals.

He exercises the same judicial powers, which are being exercised by the other members. We are of the considered view that the chairman of the tribunal while sitting singly could not stay the proceedings of the matter pending..., the court said.

CAT chairman Justice L Narasimha Reddy had last month stayed for six weeks the proceedings by the tribunals Nainital bench, in case of adverse entries into appraisal report of Chaturvedi .

Calling the CAT chiefs verdict as laconic and non-speaking, it further said the order passed by the chairman while sitting singly is wholly without jurisdiction.

Chaturvedi, who contested the case on his own before the High Court, had in his plea sought quashing of orders of the CAT Chairman and directions to Nainital bench of the tribunal to allow its proceedings.

In his petition before the Uttarakhand High Court, he had alleged violation of natural justice claiming that the stay order was passed when he was away on a mandatory training in Finland and that as per Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985, such ex-parte stay orders can be granted maximum for a period of two weeks while in this case, the chairman had passed stay orders for six weeks.

He had also mentioned CAT rules, which give right to aggrieved officer, to file application at his place of posting.

Chaturvedi had approached Nainital Bench in July 2017 on directions of Uttarakhand High Court, and since then, hearing was going on there.

In September 2017, the bench had given stay in favour of Chaturvedi and on April 17th, this year, in a major judgement, had rejected plea of Cabinet Secretary, to delete his name from list of respondents.

In its order dated July 18th this year, the Nainital bench had ordered that arguments were part heard and the case shall be taken up as first case of hearing on August 27th .

The central government had moved application for transfer of this case, from Nainital to Delhi bench, in December 2017, before the Chairman of CAT, on which the notice was issued.For the second day in raw, the rescuerers can not lower the bodies of three mountaineers from the Krasnodar Territory who died in the mountains of the Iraf district of North Ossetia due to the incessant rockfalls, the EMERCOM reported today.

The rescuers of the North Caucasus regional detachment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as well as of the county's republics can not safely send the bodies to the base. They are now studying the terrain in order to determine the way to transport bodies or to choose a safe trajectory," Kavkaz Segodnya reports.On a day he was named the new chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), G Satheesh Reddy said his top priorities would include reducing military imports and supporting the export of locally produced weapons and systems in a big way.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Saturday appointed the eminent scientist to the post of Secretary, Department of Defence Research and chairman, DRDO, for two years. Defence secretary Sanjay Mitra was given additional charge of the post for three months after the previous DRDO chief S Christopher retired on May 28. Currently, Reddy is the scientific adviser to the defence minister, a charge he was given in June 2015.

My focus areas will cover developing indigenous weapon technologies and encouraging the industry to come up with products that are competitive at the international level. Thats how we can cut imports and boost exports, the 54-year-old told Hindustan Times.

He is a specialist in avionics and missile systems.

One of the topmost challenges that Reddy will face as chief of Indias premier defence research agency is to ensure that the DRDO meets the timelines for the development of key military technologies.

Reddy has been a strong proponent of easing restrictions on military exports and giving incentives to the private sector to build manufacturing facilities and pursue research and development.

India is the worlds biggest importer of weapons, dependent on foreign suppliers for 65%-70% of its military requirements.

India was the worlds largest weapons importer during 2013-2017, according to a March 2018 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Russia, the countrys top arms supplier, accounted for 62% of Indias arms imports in 201317, followed by the US (15%) and Israel (11%). India spent more than $100 billion on buying new weapons and systems during 2008-17.

The DRDO was set up in 1958 to develop indigenous military technology and cut back on arms imports.As the Yogi Adityanath government presents its first supplementary demands of grant for 2018-2019 in the assembly on Monday, it will use the opportunity to get the legislatures nod for funds for projects in the name of former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The government may also demand funds to meet commitments regarding development projects in some areas ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A senior officer, who did not wish to be named, said: There will be projects in the name of former prime minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Specific works will be carried out to keep his memories alive at places associated with him.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier announced that the state government would initiate projects in the name of the former PM to carry out development works at his ancestral village Bateshwar (Agra), place of education Kanpur, his first parliamentary seat Balrampur and karmbhoomi (place of work) Lucknow that he represented five time in Lok Sabha.

After Vajpayees death on August 16, the state government had asked the departments concerned to suggest schemes/projects that could be incorporated in the first supplementary demands of grant.

Additional chief secretary (finance) Sanjiv Mittal had earlier set August 7 as deadline for getting proposals from different departments asking them to send proposals linked to state governments priorities and commitment for expenditure in the current financial year.

Mittal said the proposals for a token allocation or required amount could also be sent if projects could be fully or partly executed from savings in departmental budget in the current financial year.

UP legislatures monsoon session has already begun on August 23. In state assembly, chief minister along with the leaders of all the major political parties paid tributes to the former PM on the first day of the session.

While the supplementary budget and legislative business remains on top of the state governments agenda, the opposition has worked out a strategy to target the government on issues concerning law and order, atrocities against women and problems of farmers etc.

As the state legislature was scheduled to mourn Vajpayees death on the first day of the monsoon session, the Samajwadi Party legislators assembled in front of the statue of former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh in Vidhan Bhawan on Thursday morning to draw the governments attention to these issues.Several officers at the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) headquarters in Lucknow are on the Special Task Forces (STF) radar for their suspected role in sale of fake tickets to passengers in buses on the Aligarh-Mathura route.

The racket the STF busted on Wednesday had been continuing for more than a decade causing massive revenue loss to the corporation, as per the statement recorded of dozen of employees arrested from the spot the same day.

We have asked the STF to probe the role of headquarters officers too, apart from that the regional managers, assistant managers, checking squads etc in the regions concerned, UPSRTC managing director cum transport commissioner P Guruprasad said.

The STF, sources revealed, had gathered vital clues on the possible involvement of some headquarters officers as well as those in the field by putting their cellphones on surveillance and intercepting the conversation between them and the racketeers now in police net.

On a go-ahead by Guraprasad, the STF finally conducted its operation on Wednesday. Interestingly, two buses they found carrying passengers without valid tickets had hired armed bouncers on board.

In a joint operation with the UPSRTC team, the STF on July 21 arrested the fake ticket rackets kingpins Devendra Singh and Megh Singh besides nine conductors, drivers and bouncers, the STF said in a statement. Both the kingpins were said to have been posted in the Hathras depot for a very long time.

The racketeers used to distribute fake tickets to passengers in 40-50 buses operating on the Aligarh-Mathura-HarharasSadabad route by tampering with the handheld electronic ticketing machines causing revenue loss to the tune of crores to the UPSRTC, the STF spokesman said.

During the course investigation, the STF was tipped by an informer on Wednesday and the agency and UPSRTC jointly decided to send four STF sleuths in plain clothes as passengers in the buses no UP 85 AA 9036 and UP 85 AH 9600. On coming to know of the police presence, the bus conductors, drivers and bouncers made calls asking their aides to gather at the Sasani town.

However, showing exemplary courage, the cops succeeded in arresting 11 persons with a country-made 315 bore katta along with cartridges, cell phones, cash etc, claimed the spokesman.

Guruprasad said he requested the STF bosses to assist in busting the racket.

During our close monitoring we found several buses on the Aligarh-Mathura route doing erratic business and this alerted us, he said adding the corporation would take strict action against anyone found involved in the racket after the STF submitted its report.

UPSRTC sources said there might be several other routes where a similar racket was flourishing.

I remember, how the squads that I dispatched from here to conduct checking in the buses on certain routes in western UP were manhandled and chased away by the bus staff and their hired bouncers, recalled a general manager posted at the UPSRTC headquarters in Lucknow.A 13-year-old student, who is also an entrepreneur, has been busy collecting and dispatching relief material to the flood-hit state of Kerala.

Tilak Mehta, who runs a venture called Papers and Parcels has so far shipped 1,000 kg of rice and 500 first-aid kits to the flood-hit region with help from Mumbais dabbawallas and through word of mouth.

Mehta started his parcel delivery venture five months ago with an aim to provide an app-based, affordable parcel delivery system. Earlier this month, he tied up with the Mumbai Jevandabbe Vahatuk Sanghatana, the biggest union of the dabbawalas, with 200 dabbawalas, delivering parcels for the company after their daily work. With their association, he managed to collect and despatch the relief material. We appealed to people to donate rice and contribute for first-aid kits. In less than a week, we collected a good amount and successfully dispatched it to Kerala, Mehta said.

Each first aid kit prepared by Tilaks team consists of several Over the Counter (OTC) medicines for the victims. Mehta said sending relief material is just one of the several initiatives that the company has planned. The company also plans to donate 20% of its total earnings in the week to the CM relief fund in Kerala.

Subhash Talekar, spokesperson, Mumbai Jevandabbe Vahatuk Sanghatana said, We are happy that with the efforts of Mehta and his company and the dabbawalas, we were able to help the flood victims.The Mumbai Police crime branch unit 11 traced and arrested a man who allegedly harassed a married woman by making innumerable blank calls to her and her husband and also sending abusive messages to them over the past nine months. When all else failed, the accused would order food from different hotels and get it delivered to the complainants work place  without paying for it.

The alleged stalker, who is 45 years old, used to work as a housekeeper in Borivli.

Police said the accused, since December 2017, used to make blank calls to the complainant innumerable times. In February this year, he started sending abusive messages to the woman and her husband.

In April, he started calling on her landline number of her work place and when any one else took the call, he used to abuse them and the woman.

The complainant and her husband tried calling back on the phone number but the accused diverted their phone calls. The couple filed a non-cognisable complaint after the accused started sending abusive and obscene messages. Following this, the alleged stalker stopped calling and sending messages but it resumed this month.

On August 14, the couple lodged a police complaint. A FIR was registered under Section 354 (d) for stalking, 509 for insulting the modesty of a woman of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 67A of the IT Act for transmission of obscene material. The accused was arrested a few days ago.The police arrested a 24-year-old man for attempting to murder a student of Amity University at Noidas Sector 125 on Friday morning, after a video showing the accused brandishing a revolver at the victim emerged.

Surya Jatav, from Dasna, Ghaziabad, was arrested from his residence by a team from the Sector 39 police station for allegedly brandishing a revolver at a student outside the Amity University campus.

According to the police, the incident occurred around 6pm on Thursday when Vivek Yadav (20), a second year student of the Bachelors in Business Administration course was assaulted by Jatav, who then brandished a revolver at him as he drove his car. The video shows Jatav climbing onto the side of the Yadavs car window and brandishing a revolver at the occupants inside the vehicle.

Yadav has claimed that he was driving his car when Surya climbed on the side of the window and started abusing him. He then brandished a revolver at him and was about to fire it, when Yadav sped away. He is unhurt, Amit Kumar Singh, Station house officer, sector 39 police station, said.

The victim then filed a complaint claiming that Jatav attempted to murder him.

Based on the complaint and the video, we have booked Jatav under the Indian Penal Code sections 307, 323, 504 and 506 for attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult and criminal intimidation. We arrested him today morning, Singh added.

According to the police, Jatav studied political science at Amity University from 2015-18. He was supposed to have graduated from the university in June, however, he failed in a few subjects. The university management has said Jatav is not a regular student.

The Amity University management, taking cognizance of the matter, has initiated an enquiry against both Yadav and Jatav.

We have come to know through the media that two students of Amity University, Mr. Surya Jatav ( not a regular student) and Mr. Vivek Yadav were involved in a fight yesterday outside the university campus. There has been no complaint lodged by either of them with the university so far. The police is investigating the case, Savita Mehta, spokesperson, Amity University, said.The 133-year-old Fergusson College witnessed protests from a small group of students against the institutes decision to conduct a religious ceremony on campus on Friday.

While the Deccan Education Society, which runs the college, organised a satyanarayan puja on campus on Friday, a group of about 50 students, including some affiliated to the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and Janata Dal (United), protested saying that the religious ceremony tarnished the secular character of the institute.

The students shouted slogans on inequality and violation of secularism on campus. Student representatives of the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) said they were not opposed to the puja.

Later in the day, the college issued an official statement which said that the satyanarayan puja was being organised at the college for the past 40 years by the non-teaching staff. However this year, some organisations have objected to it. Keeping their protestations in mind, we will release the final decision only after consulting the management and the Maharashtra government GR on the same, the statement issued by the college spokesperson said.

Kaustubh Patil, a second year History student who was among the protesters said, Its clearly unconstitutional to conduct such ceremonies in a space which is supposed to be neutral to religious influences. If you are worshipping Satya Narayan, why not celebrate Bakri Eid or even Pateti, which is the eve of the Parsi New Year? Both these festivals took place just a few days back only.

Sunil Jadhav a second year Economics student who was also among the protestors, said they were opposed to such religious influences on the campus. An illustrious institute like this is a symbol of unity and should not be dividing us like this on any ground at all. The college at no point can try and impose their religious ideas on the students through these practices, he said.

Satyanarayan Puja organised on Fergusson College campus by the non-teaching staff on Friday. (HT Photo)

The college authorities, however, defended their stand and said that the religious ceremony was being held by the trust every year over the last many decades.

Students said the holding of religious functions on campus was a violation of Article 28 of the Constitution of India. While the clause 1 of Article 28 states that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds, clause 2 states that nothing in clause (1) shall apply to an educational institution which is administered by the State but has been established under any endowment or trust which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institution.

Fergusson College- The illustrious past

Freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and eminent Marathi writer Vishnushastri Chiplunkar established the Deccan Education Society in 1884,the same year when the Fergusson College was also founded by the trust naming it after the then Governor of Bombay Presidency, Sir James Fergusson. In its early years Tilak and renowned reformer Gopal Ganesh Agharkar served as academic staff. Congress stalwarts such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale and the great social reformer, Dhondo Keshav Karve were life members of the society and taught at the college in the 1890s. Two former Prime Ministers, PV Narasimha Rao and VP Singh studied at this college.With the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) making the leak of the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on sacrilege incidents and police firing in October 2015 its defence, the panel has tried to steer clear of the controversy saying it had submitted the report to Punjab chief minister and the state home department only.

Sources in the commission said the report was submitted to the CM on June 30 and a few days later a copy of it in a sealed cover was given to home secretary NS Kalsi when he asked for the report.

Kalsi did not respond to calls and messages as to who else did the home department send copies of the report.

The SAD in its notice for breach of privilege motion to speaker Rana KP Singh on Thursday had demanded prompt action against those who could have leaked the report, naming Ranjit Singh himself, Punjab jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rebel MLA Sukhpal Khaira.

While the Congress is all set to launch an offensive against the Akalis while debating the report, the latter have not targeted CM Capt Amarinder Singh on the issue, by choosing to corner these three only on the basis of what it termed as circumstantial evidence.

Justice Ranjit Singh says he submitted the report to the CM. But soon, selective leaks started appearing in newspapers. As the panel head, he should have issued a warning to newspapers not to report its contents. He cannot escape the blame for the leak, SAD spokesman Mahesh Inder Grewal said.

State advocate general Atul Nanda too had received a copy but he claims to have returned it to the government.

On Khaira, the Akalis claim he had access to the report as Justice Ranjit Singh is his brother-in-law. At a press conference, Khaira had handed out copies of the special investigation team report (on sacrilege cases) submitted to the Ranjit panel.

Khaira dares SAD to prove charges

Khaira too debunked the charges daring the Akalis to prove he leaked it. I cannot deny my relationship with Justice Ranjit Singh. But he is a man of integrity. I challenge Akalis to prove the allegations, Khaira said.

Minister Randhawa, the SAD has alleged, was helping the panel in framing the report by sending witnesses as has emerged from the statement of one of the key witnesses, Himmat Singh, a former granthi at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, who told the panel that it was former CM Parkash Singh Badal and his son, SAD president Sukhbir Badal, who secured pardon for Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Randhawa said, I requested the CM during a cabinet meeting to get the leak probed. I will answer their allegations in the House. (Akali leader Bikram Singh) Majithia should move the high court if he claims I coerced Himmat Singh. I have written to the Akal Takht jathedar to explain why was Himmats brother, Gurmukh Singh, reinstated as head granthi of the Akal Takht after he was sent to Jind in Haryana for also making allegations that the Badals engineered the dera apology.

He said Himmat has said what he told the Ranjit panel even when he was removed as granthi last year. The videos of both brothers are still available on social media. The Akalis are using the privilege motion as a ploy to boycott the session. They are frightened, he said.

Grewal said the videos of Himmat and Gurmukh could also be fabricated and the panel should have questioned the duo to verify their authenticity.After quietly suffering months of humiliating slights and insults, US attorney general Jeff Sessions pushed back against a new attack from President Donald Trump, saying the justice department will not be influenced by politics.

While I am attorney general, the actions of the department of justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations, Sessions said in a statement that was described by observers as surprising and long overdue, as he had chosen not to respond to earlier public attacks.

Trump has long resented Sessions recusing himself from the Russia probe ordered by the justice department to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 elections and probable collusion by the Trump campaign. Trump has said Sessions should have protected him and openly expressed his frustration as the investigation has swirled around his administration, securing five guilty pleas and on, Wednesday, the conviction of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

The guilty plea entered by Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer and fixer, that implicated his former boss was also secured by the justice department, though not by the Russia probe of special counsel Robert Mueller.

I put in an attorney general that never took control of the justice department, Trump said in an interview to Fox and Friends, his first comprehensive response to the conviction of Manafort and Cohen. Jeff Sessions never took control of the justice department and it's a sort of an incredible thing.

Trump went on to say that even my enemies say that Jeff Sessions should have told you that he was going to recuse himself and then you wouldn't have put him in.

He added, He took the job and then he said, Im going to recuse myself. I said, What kind of a man is this?

Sessions found himself forced to react because of Trumps charge that he never took control of the department. Sessions has worked aggressively to push Trumps agenda, as he pointed out in the statement. Among other things, he ramped up the crackdown on H-1B visa fraud and abuse.

He was an early supporter of Trump and the first senator to offer his backing when most Republican party seniors and leaders were unsure of the unpredictable candidate or were repulsed by him. Trump rewarded Sessions for his loyalty by appointing him attorney general.

But as Muellers probe took wing, Trumps frustration grew and he came to resent Sessions decision to recuse himself from the probe  for not being forthcoming about his own contacts with Russians  and said he would never have appointed Sessions for the job if he knew about the recusal. At one time, feeling sorry for Sessions because of his own attacks, Trump called him the "beleaguered" attorney general.

Trump blames Sessions recusal for the launch of the special counsels probe by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, also a Trump appointee who continues to oversee it and has withstood pressure to wind up the investigation. Rosenstein has apparently been emboldened by opposition even among congressional Republican leaders to any move to dismiss Mueller.

While Trump and Sessions were together at a White House meeting on Thursday, there was carry over from their spat and officials insisted the attorney general is not likely to be out of a job yet. But Lindsey Graham, a key Republican senator who has the ears of Trump, has said a change is imminent.

I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the department of justice, Graham said. Clearly, attorney general Sessions doesnt have the confidence of the president.

Graham said Trump is likely to fire Sessions after the November mid-term elections.Revelations that two of Donald Trumps closest longtime allies have struck cooperation deals shows that federal prosecutors are chipping away at one of the presidents most cherished values: loyalty.

Both Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and David Pecker, the tabloid executive who helped squash damaging allegations of infidelity against Trump, are reported to have traded their access to some of his most private matters for some level of criminal immunity. Its unknown what Weisselberg and Pecker have told prosecutors, or if they have information that can deepen Trumps legal or political jeopardy.

The two men both featured in federal charges against Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday. Cohen told a court in New York that the president had directed him to violate campaign finance law and make hush-money payments to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump.

The three veterans of the presidents controversial political, personal, and business practices join a growing list of one-time Trump allies now believed to be working with prosecutors. Former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn and top campaign aide Rick Gates have also entered into plea agreements requiring their cooperation. And current and former White House officials -- including White House counsel Don McGhan and former chief strategist Steve Bannon -- have met extensively with representatives of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The president, who prizes loyalty and discretion among his associates, has made his frustration evident. He has criticized prosecutors tactic of turning low-level witnesses against higher-value criminal targets by promising lighter sentences or criminal immunity.

For 30 or 40 years Ive been watching flippers, Trump said in an interview with Fox News. Everythings wonderful then they get 10 years in jail and they flip on whoever the next highest one is or as high as you can go.

It almost ought to be outlawed, he added. Its not fair.

In tweets this week, Trump celebrated the silence of his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, who refused to cooperate with prosecutors and was convicted on eight felony counts on Tuesday.

Unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to break - make up stories in order to get a deal, Trump said on Wednesday. Such respect for a brave man!

Heres a look at some of the presidents inner circle who are working with prosecutors or facing significant prison time, and the risk they may pose to the president:

Allen Weisselberg

The cooperation agreement between Weisselberg and investigators, if expansive, could pose the most significant threat to the president. Weisselbergs ties to the Trump family date to the 1970s when he worked as an accountant for the presidents father, Fred Trump, according to news reports. Weisselberg, 71, has been chief financial officer at the Trump Organization for years, and has served as treasurer for the presidents personal foundation. Hes so trusted by Trump that hes the only non-family member who serves as a trustee to the trust that owns the constellation of business interests that form the Trump Organization, and is thought to have a deep understanding of the presidents finances.

Its unclear whether the immunity agreement he struck -- first reported by the Wall Street Journal -- only covers the hush payments Cohen arranged or allows a broader review of the Trump organization.

David Pecker

Few in Trumps orbit are likely to know as much about the presidents colorful personal life as David Pecker, the chief executive of America Media Inc., which publishes the National Enquirer. Pecker has reportedly cultivated close relationships with celebrities for years by buying potentially damaging stories and holding them from publication in exchange for favors. Pecker likely detailed to prosecutors how he employed the practice -- known as catch and kill -- on Trumps behalf to bury infidelity allegations by former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Hes likely aware of whether any other similar allegations have been leveled against or silenced by the president.

Michael Cohen

The presidents longtime fixer is also thought to have detailed knowledge of Trumps personal and business dealings -- and he sounds ready to talk. Cohens attorney, Lanny Davis, said this week that Cohen has knowledge of interest to Mueller or congressional committees investigating Russian interference, and lawmakers in both the House and Senate have said they hope to bring him to the Hill for testimony. Prosecutors in Cohens own fraud and campaign finance case indicated they may already have evidence to support his claim that the hush-money payments were undertaken at the direction of Trump.

Michael Flynn

The presidents former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russian officials before Trumps inauguration. White House officials have said that Flynn -- a fixture on the campaign trail before joining Trump in office -- did nothing illegal beyond deceiving investigators. But Flynn, 59, said he would cooperate with prosecutors examining possible collusion with Russia by Trumps campaign. Under the agreement, he agreed to take a polygraph and even participate in covert law enforcement activities.

Paul Manafort

Manafort, 69, may rethink his decision not to cooperate with prosecutors following his conviction, which could land him in prison for years. As chairman of Trumps campaign, Manafort played a key role in spending and hiring decisions and took part in a 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer who had offered damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

But theres potentially another way out. Trump has harshly criticized his prosecution, suggesting he is considering a pardon. Rudy Giuliani, Trumps lawyer, told the Washington Post that the president at one point discussed the idea of pardoning Manafort with White House lawyers, who advised against it.

Rick Gates

Manaforts longtime business partner also played a critical role during the Trump campaign. He served as a primary deputy to Manafort, and held a leading role on the presidents inaugural committee. Gates has already shown his willingness to cooperate, serving as the star witness in Manaforts trial, which largely focused on impropriety surrounding the pairs business dealings as political consultants in Ukraine. In exchange for that cooperation -- and a promise to help with future investigations -- Gates was only asked to plead guilty to one count of false statements and one count of conspiracy against the U.S., with 20 additional charges dismissed. He has not yet been sentenced.

In addition to the senior Trump staffers and longtime friends in direct legal jeopardy or already aiding prosecutors, the special counsel has struck an agreement with former low-level foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who admitted to lying to the FBI and said he would assist the investigation.

More than 20 administration officials have been interviewed by Mueller with the approval of the White House. Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law, has met at least twice with the special counsels office, in sessions totaling multiple hours each. And the New York Times reported that White House counsel McGahn has cooperated extensively out of concern Trump might try to pin blame on him for potential acts of obstruction of justice.

Trump denounced the report on Twitter saying, saying he wasnt concerned that McGahn was a John Dean type RAT in a reference to Nixons White House counsel during the Watergate crisis.

I allowed him and all others to testify -- I didnt have to, Trump continued. I have nothing to hide.

--With assistance from Shahien Nasiripour.

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

2018 Bloomberg L.P.Georgian Prime MinisterMamuka Bakhtadze is set to pay a visit to Azerbaijan on August 30, a source in the Azerbaijani government told Sputnik on Saturday.

"It will be a two-day visit, the Georgian prime minister will hold a series of high-level meetings in [the Azerbaijani capital] Baku," the source said.

The source added that the prime minister will be discussing the strengthening of strategic relations between Baku and Tbilisi as well as a number of regional and international issues and the prospects of large-scale energy projects, UrduPoint reported.Russias Defense Ministry says that militants in a rebel-controlled province of Syria are preparing a chemical weapons attack.

The ministry in a statement on Saturday quoted unnamed sources saying that the Levant Liberation Committee is preparing an attack against civilians in the northwestern Idlib province to blame it on the Syrian government.

The Russian military cited its sources alleging that several containers with chlorine had been delivered to a local town and later taken to a nearby village. The Defense Ministry also claimed that a private British contactor is helping the rebels to stage the attack.

The Russian statement comes several days after U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Syrias government against using chemical weapons and vowed a tough response if that happens.Nepal and India are all set to sign three agreements on the sidelines of the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu that will give another height of leverage to New Delhi in the Himalayan nation.

Apart from participating in the summit, in the margins, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart, K P Oli will witness signing of two different pacts related to railway and movement of bulk cargo from Indian ports to three border points between Nepal and India. Similarly, Modi will handover the 400-bedded Dharmashala built in Pashupatinath Temple premises in Kathmandu.

 We will sign memorandum of understanding with India on conducting survey of Raxual- Kathmandu railway. Similarly, we will sign letter of exchanges on movement of bulk cargo from Indian ports to Nepali transit points, Nepals Foreign Minister Pradeep Gywali told reporters during a press conference on Friday to apprise about the fourth BIMSTEC Summit that Nepal is hosting on August 30 and 31 in Kathmandu.

Nepal and India had agreed to expand Indian rail from Raxual to Nepals Capital, Kathmandu during the visit of Prime Minister Oli to India in April.

According to the officials, India will fully fund the survey of the proposed railway line. Earlier, an Indian team had conducted the baseline survey of the proposed railway line from Chovar in Kathmandu to Raxual. The pre-feasibility survey is expected to be completed within a year, according to officials.

Similarly, both sides will sign a letter of exchange titled Process Simplification and Additional Route for amending the bilateral Transit Treaty, paving the way to commence the movement of bulk cargos through three more border points. Amending the present bilateral Transit Treaty, the LoEs will facilitate the movement of bulk cargos to the nearest railhead of major check posts at Jogbani in Biratnagar, Nautanwa (Bhairahawa) and Rupedhiya (Nepalgunj) on the Nepal-India border from the gateway portsKolkata/Haldia and Visakhapatnam.

The agreement will open the door for importing bulk cargo from third countries directly to Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj via railway. Such facility is currently available only at the Birgunj customs.

Nepali businessmen have been demanding the facilities since long because movement of such cargo operation only in Kolkata/Haldia that often takes more than a month to reach Birgunj due to various hassles.

Officials told HT that once the operation begins, Nepali traders and businessmen will able to import at least six types of raw materials needed for Nepali industries. The agreement is expected to bring along other benefits including drop in prices for industrial raw materials, low dependency on Birgunj for the big cargo and ease in distribution of bulk cargo across the country.

Such cargo items brought from third countries via Kolkata, Haldiya and Vishakapatnam ports are imported to Nepal only via the Birgunj border at present. These two pacts will sign on August 30 after the delegation level talks between Modi and Oli at Hotel Soltee. On August 31, after taking part in the closing session of the summit and his return to New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Modi will hand over the India built 400-bedded Nepal-India Maitri Dharmashala in the premises of the Pashupatinath Temple.

Two years ago, India provided Rs219.9 million to build the facility with dormitories, family rooms, kitchen, dining hall, library and some multipurpose halls to meet the requirements of the groups and families on pilgrimage to the temple.Over 100 people have been booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act for setting ablaze a worship place of the minority Ahmadi community in Pakistans Punjab province, police said on Saturday. The incident took place yesterday in Faisalabad district of Punjab when a man belonging to Ahmadi community allegedly kicked a hen belonging to a Muslim man triggering a quarrel between the duo, according to the FIR.

Soon after the incident there was announcement from the mosques that an Ahmadi person has committed blasphemy.

On this a large number of people besieged the Ahmadi worship place -- Baitul Zikar -- in the area. Some of them carrying weapons opened fired.

The inmates also returned the fire and in the exchange over 12 people sustained bullet injuries.

The injured, mostly the Ahmadis, were shifted to different hospitals. Condition of five of them are said to be critical.

The mob later set the Ahmadi worship place on fire before the police reached and controlled the situation.

Police have arrested some of the nominated suspects and booked over 100 under Anti-Terrorism Act and other charges, senior police officer Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said.

Situation is now under control as heavy contingent of police has been deployed at the houses and worship places of Ahmadis, he said.

The incident is the latest sectarian attack on the Ahmadis in Pakistan.

Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya Pakistan spokesperson Saleemuddin said in a statement that a religious organisation on the pretext of a minor issue exploited the religious sentiments of the Ahmadi community.

In fact the extremist elements wanted to destroy Ahmadi worship place and they succeeded in their design, he said.

He demanded stern action against those involved in torching of Ahmadis worship place.Pakistans new government has banned the discretionary use of state funds and first-class air travel by officials and leaders, including the president and the prime minister, as part of its austerity drive.

The decisions were made at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday, according to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

It has been decided that all the top government officials, including the president, prime minister, chief justice, senate chairman, speaker national assembly and the chief ministers will travel in club/business, he told media.

To a question, Chaudhry said that the Army chief was not allowed first class travel and always used business class.

He said that the discretionary allocation of funds by the prime minister and the president and other officials was also stopped by the Cabinet.

Chaudhry claimed that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif used Rs 51 billion discretionary funds in a year.

The prime minister also decided to stop using special plane for foreign visits or domestic travelling and use business class.

After his victory in the July 25 general election, Khan decided not to use palatial Prime Minister House and instead live in a small portion of it that was previously used as the residence by the military secretary to the prime minister.

Khan also decided to use only two vehicles and keep two servants. He refused to use elaborate official protocol.

The Cabinet took up a host of issues, including reverting to six-day working week, but decided to continue five-day working after some ministers opposed the idea because it may alienate government servants.

The five-day working was instituted in 2011 due to power shortages and save fuels. The Cabinet was briefed that five-day working had not affected the performance or output by the civil servants.

While retaining two weekly off-days, the Cabinet changed the official office timings from 8-4 pm to 9-5 pm.

The meeting also decided to conduct audit of all the mega transport projects carried out in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the previous governments.A ride-sharing passenger in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou was raped and killed, allegedly by a driver for the countrys largest ride-hailing firm, local police said on Saturday, the latest violent crime to fuel safety concerns about the service.

Didi Chuxing, the biggest ride-sharing firm globally by number of trips, was immensely saddened by the tragedy, it said in a statement.

We are deeply sorry. We fell short of your expectations. We cant and we wont shirk from our responsibilities, it said.

The incident took place as Didi has been stepping up safety measures including for its carpooling service, Didi Hitch, after the murder of a flight attendant in May sparked wider community outrage.

The steps include limiting Didi Hitch drivers to picking up passengers of the same sex during early morning and late evening hours.

Police in Wenzhous Yueqing city said on their official microblog that the 20-year-old woman, surnamed Zhao, got into a Didi carpool vehicle at 1 pm on Friday, and sent a message to a friend at around 2 pm seeking help before losing contact.

Police said they found the suspect, a 27-year-old driver from Sichuan province surnamed Zhong, at about 4 am on Saturday. They said Zhong confessed, and that the victims body had been recovered and an investigation was continuing.

Didi said the driver had passed background checks and had logged in with his authentic ID and had been confirmed by facial recognition on the day. However, the driver had altered the cars licence plate before the trip, the company said.

A day earlier, a passenger had complained to Didi that the same driver had repeatedly requested that she sit in the front seat, drove to a remote area, and followed her for a distance after she got out of the car, Didi said. It said the customer service representative who took the complaint had not followed up with an investigation within two hours, as the firm promises.

Didi Chuxing - which has been valued at $50 billion and counts SoftBank Group Corp as a major investor - is aggressively expanding overseas, targeting new markets in Mexico, Brazil and Australia, going head-to-head with Uber. In 2016, Didi acquired Ubers China business.

The latest case was also trending on the Twitter-like Weibo platform, with seven related topics in the top 50 on Saturday afternoon.John McCain, a leading Republican American senator and politician who has been battling brain cancer for more than a year, will not continue his treatment, his family announced on Friday.

Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: He had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious. In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict, the family said in a statement.

With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.

McCain, a war hero who represents Arizona in the Senate and ran for president in 2008, last attended office as a senator last year and has since been at home, undergoing treatment for glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer of the brain.

McCain has been an outspoken critic of Trump, and the president has punched back aggressively, as have his aides, sometimes in utter disregard of the senators failing health. A White House staff had, for instance, joked about ignoring McCains objection to the nomination of CIA director Gina Haspel, saying he is dying anyway.

He was the first US politician to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, just a month after he was sworn-in in May 2014. He has remained a strong advocate of closer ties between the two countries.

From his ranch, where he received friends and allies, McCain continued to participate in major national debates and developments with his usual bluntness. On President Donald Trumps Helsinki appearance with President Vladimir Putin, McCain said it was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trumps naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate.

There has been no White House response to the McCain familys announcement.One person was killed and dozens injured in Nepal when police opened fire on protesters demanding action over the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, officials said Saturday.

Angry crowds took to the streets in the countrys remote west on Friday accusing police of protecting the person responsible for the brutal crime.

Police officer Krishna Raj Ojha told AFP that 17-year-old Sani Khuna was killed in firing to contain the violent protest. An indefinite curfew has been imposed in the area, he added.

Schoolgirl went missing in late July and her body was found the following day in a sugarcane field.

Anger boiled over after police arrested a man who reportedly has severe learning difficulties and whom protesters say is a scapegoat allowing officers to shield the real culprit.

The victims family have also accused police of failing to take action over her death.

The state has not taken the cases of rape and violence against women seriously, womans rights activist Hima Bista told AFP.

Protection is being provided to the rape-accused time and again, she added.

Further rallies are planned for Saturday across Nepal, including in the capital Kathmandu where around 1,500 people staged a silent protest under a heavy police presence.

The hashtag #RageAgainstRape was also trending on Twitter.

The so-called democratic government couldnt give justice to the rape and murder victim instead they killed an innocent boy, Twitter user Sunel GC posted.

There were 1,480 reported rapes in Nepal last year, according to recently released police data, almost double the number reported in 2016.

Activists say the rise is due to more women reporting violence to the police, but also say many more still go unreported in deeply patriarchal Nepal.Allen Weisselberg, a long-time chief financial officer for the Trump Organization, has been granted immunity by federal prosecutors to speak about payments made to Michael Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for President Donald Trump.

The news came hours after it was revealed that David Pecker, the owner of the tabloid National Enquirer that bought and killed negative or damaging stories about Trump, had also got immunity. AP has reported that he kept a safe of such stories and payments regarding Trump.

Weisselberg is a key figure in Trumps orbit. When the president broke ties with Trump Organization to fulfil ethical requirements of the office, he handed over control of his financial assets and business interests to his two sonsDon and Eric Trump  and Weisselberg.

Weisselberg had been invited to testify before a grand jury earlier in the year and then spoke to prosectors, said The Wall Street Journal.

He figures as Executive-1 in court papers filed by prosecutors in the guilty plea entered earlier in the week by Cohen on eight charges including campaign finance law violations in the payment of hush money to two women for keeping quiet about their affairs with Trump. Cohen implicated Trump saying the payments were made on his instructions and in coordination with him.

Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model, was paid $150,000 by National Enquirer for her story that never ran, and Stormy Daniels, a porn star whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was paid $130,000 by Cohen through a front company. The payment to Daniels was reimbursement to Cohen by the Trump Organization as authorized by Weisselberg, who, the Journal reported, did not know the money was intended to pay Daniels.On one of the worst days of his presidency, Donald Trump was chatting aboard Air Force One when the conversation took a detour into gallows humour.

Trump was returning from a rally in West Virginia just hours after two former members of his inner circle were found or pleaded guilty, when one passenger quipped that a news story would surely soon be breaking about the president fuming onboard. Everyone laughed, including the president.

Despite the momentary levity, though, Trump is increasingly frustrated and isolated as the investigations that have long dogged his White House plunge into the personal territory he once declared off-limits.

One by one, the presidents men have turned against him.

It was a bruising week for Trump, with a trio of men who are intimately familiar with his secrets and business dealings now cooperating with prosecutors. First, Trumps former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, implicated him in testimony about hush money payments to two women who allege affairs with him. On the same day, his former campaign chairman was found guilty on a slew of financial charges. At least Paul Manafort had nothing to say about Trump or his campaign.

But then came revelations that his longtime friend, David Pecker, the CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc., had been granted immunity from prosecution to provide information, followed by news that Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who had once worked for Trumps father, was cooperating as well.

There is no indication their cooperation extends beyond the scope of the Cohen probe. But for Trump  who has long demanded loyalty from those around him  the revelations have only added to long-simmering fury about the investigations that began with questions about Russian election meddling but have broadened from there.

Allies wonder what Trump might do if the pressure continues to increase.

This is a bridge too far. They are trying to undo this president, said former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg.

As the president exited Washington for a day trip to Ohio on Friday, a White House official said Trump was unhappy with what he perceived as disloyalty but far from melting down. Another person with knowledge of Trumps thinking said the president continues to direct much of his ire at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who infuriated him by recusing himself from the Russia probe. Both people, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private discussions.

Trump tweeted at Sessions on Friday demanding that he investigate a litany of perceived wrongs, declaring insultingly, Come on Jeff, you can do it, the country is waiting!

Trump biographer Michael DAntonio says the president may be surprised that he cant exert more control from the West Wing over his former friends and employees.

Hes less powerful in these relationships now than he was before he became president. That must just amaze him, said DAntonio, author of Never Enough, Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success. Hes sitting behind the Resolute Desk and he can push a button and get a Coke but he cant control Michael Cohen.

Within the West Wing, aides have grown increasingly numb to the drumbeat of bad news, though the revelation of Cohens plea and the immunity deals took some by surprise.

Cohen pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Manhattan to campaign finance violations alleging he coordinated with Trump on a hush-money scheme to buy the silence of a porn actress and a Playboy model who alleged affairs. It was later reported that, as part of the probe into Cohen, immunity was granted to Weisselberg and Pecker.

The probe into Cohen was triggered in part by a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who separately is looking into possible Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Cohens lawyer, Lanny Davis, has said Cohen has information that would be of interest to the special counsel.

The White House official insisted that West Wing staffers continue to keep their heads down and do their jobs. On Thursday evening, the person said, dozens of staffers gathered on Chief of Staff John Kellys porch to celebrate the recent birthdays of a trio of staffers: Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

While they snacked on homemade cakes and chatted, the staffers welcomed a surprise visit from the president, who delivered a speech and made jokes, acting like nothing was wrong and winning cheers from aides as he left.

Still, the weeks developments brought the investigations up to the doorstep of Trump Tower  a place that Trump has warned Mueller is a no-go.

Weisselberg, the 71-year-old Trump Organization CFO, is intimately familiar with Trumps business dealings, having overseen his corporate ledgers through his rise in the New York real estate world and his international dealings in the years before he launched his presidential bid.

The chief financial officer has worked for Trump companies since he joined the presidents father, Fred Trump, in the 1970s as an accountant, and is a rich repository of knowledge of the family company. The possibility of him answering questions from investigators poses a new danger for the president as federal prosecutors in Washington and Manhattan dig deeper into Trumps business affairs.

A year ago, Trump told The New York Times that Mueller would be crossing a red line if he began to look at Trumps and his familys finances unrelated to Russia.

Asked if he would fire Mueller if that were to happen, Trump responded, I cant, I cant answer that question because I dont think its going to happen.

As the negative news mounted throughout the past week, allies also expressed frustration with the lack of a coordinated pushback effort. The White House said its up to Trumps outside lawyers to deal with much of the news. They argued that the president was not directly implicated, even though Cohen said in court that he and Trump had coordinated.

Some also questioned just how Trump would react if the bad news continued to roll in. Nunberg specifically cautioned against his making any speedy moves.

The only thing I would say to the president is do not do anything rash because Mueller would love for you to fire him, so that you will be impeached, he said.In the near future, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko will hold a new meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The leaders agreed to hold meeting in Sochi.

"The most important thing is that we agreed with the Russian president that in the next few days, we will find an opportunity in our schedules ... we will meet in a broad format, and that was his proposal - to expand at the expense of representatives of our governments," Lukashenko said to the Belarusian Belarus 1 TV channel, RIA Novosti reports.Turkey and Russia were announced to have agreed to form a partnership in technology following talks on the sidelines of the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting, menafn.com reported.

The meeting has been held between Turkish Technology and Industry Minister Mustafa Varank, and Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Konstantin Noskov, in the northern Argentine province of Salta.

Turkish space agency was explained to have been part of Turkey's 100-day action plan, and was revealed after the Justice and Development (AK) Party's victory in June's elections.

The ministers were confirmed to have exchanged views on setting up the agency and on the potential for cooperation afterwards.Meek Mill spoke to Philly about life after incarceration and his comeuppance in City of Brotherly Love. Meek Mill was quoted as saying that he fears going back to prison every single day because of causes greater than himself. "I always worry about that, every day. And I don't like living like that...Being somebody who pays a lot of taxes, somebody who employs people, who takes care of their family and...Why me," asked Meek rhetorically. "Why do I have to be the person caught up in the middle of this?"

Meek Mill was arrested in 2007 for riding a dirt bike in New York City, a dismissed case that Judge Brinkley has levied against him in her character assassination of the Philly rapper. Meek recently lost a big to have Brinkley unseated from her position, but his attorneys will proceed with the injunction in lower courts.

There was a moment in cover story where Meek questioned his outward actions: "I was talking to my friend the other day. He was like 'You can't ride dirt bikes forever? Because we been doing that since we was like 5 years old." But within seconds of reflection Meek Mill realized he wasn't legally wrongful, "When I get off probation, it's going to be back to riding bikes," he said.SACRAMENTO  Verizon executives came to the Capitol on Friday to get a tongue lashing over the cell phone giants throttling of data service for firefighters battling the massive Mendocino Complex fire  but en route they nipped the scolding in the bud by abruptly lifting all data caps on emergency first responders.

The policy went into effect for fire-ravaged California and Hurricane Lane-lashed Hawaii on Thursday, the company said, and a fuller plan for the rest of the nation will be rolled out next week. Public agencies will be able to switch to the new plan at no additional cost.

It was a little surprising to hear, and the right thing to do, said Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, who had called for a hearing Friday before the committee he co-chairs to investigate Verizons decision to drastically slow data speed. A firefighting agency said that move put their first responders in danger because they were relying on the service to communicate during the fight against the fires.

Levines committee went ahead with its session anyway, hearing from Verizon brass as well as leaders of the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District, whose data was throttled last month as they were in the thick of helping fight the Mendocino Complex, the biggest wildfire in state history. But with Verizons surprise announcement, the conversation switched from how to address the individual problem that the Santa Clara County firefighters faced to how to craft future policy preventing similar trouble for other emergency responders.

Ill make it brief  this is about safety, safety, safety, said Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters (Yolo County). My district has been on fire for three years. ... Our main interest is in making sure this kind of thing never happens again.

Rudi Reyes, a Verizon vice president, read a statement outlining the new policy, saying the company was truly sorry ... and we are making an effort to make sure it never happens again. He declined to comment after the hearing.

What emerged in the nearly two-hour session before the Select Committee on Natural Disaster, Response, Recovery and Rebuilding was a realization that there is no comprehensive policy dictating full service for first-responders, and that when things go bad, as they did for Santa Clara Countys firefighters, there isnt much else to do but call the customer service representatives any other customer would call, which could lead to frustrating waits.

After hearing everything we did, my thoughts are now that in January we could introduce legislation to prioritize first responders for unlimited data service with no caps, and to address the fact that there is really nobody to complain to, Levine said after the session. There needs to be accountability.

The issue came to light this week in a court filing made by Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden in an addendum to a federal lawsuit over net neutrality. Bowden said his crews saw their Verizon data flow throttled to 1/200th of its usual speed during the Mendocino battle because they had exceeded a cap on what they thought was a fully unlimited plan. This rendered useless the live video streaming, strategic plan communications and other capabilities of their command vehicle, he told the committee Friday, so his IT managers quickly came up with a workaround using other providers.

The need to do that workaround, however, followed two earlier throttlings by Verizon during his crews work on 2017s Thomas Fire and another blaze in June, and I found the situation unacceptable, he said.

Losing the ability to fully communicate during a wildfire puts both firefighters and residents in danger, Bowden said in his court filing. On Friday, he reiterated that concern. Our ability to connect is critical to being able to provide for the public safety, he said.

The Santa Clara County fire district now uses both Verizon and AT&T, Bowden said, to ensure steady flow of data.

One source of the trouble, he contended, could be the fact that his agency  like other emergency responders  has to balance cost with need as they deal with limited budgets. Shopping for data plans may not have been necessary decades ago when pre-internet fire communications mostly consisted of dedicated radio transmissions, but now departments have to balance those costs with the existing costs of, say, firefighters salaries.

We dont have unlimited funds. We have to select a plan that meets our needs, but one that is not too expensive, Bowden told the committee.

He and his managers abruptly left the session as the Verizon executives got up to speak. When asked outside the chambers if he felt all the issues had been properly addressed, he said only, Im satisfied that I was given the opportunity to come speak.

Also on Friday, several members of Congress weighed in on the controversy, sending a letter to the Federal Trade Commission demanding an investigation into whether Verizons throttling amounted to unfair or deceptive practices.

The company had explained earlier in the week that the Santa Clara County firefighters data plan was indeed unlimited, as firefighters had called it, but that it also had a proviso that when the department reached a certain allotment the data would be slowed down drastically. That had not been adequately explained to the department, managers admitted, and under company policy the throttling was supposed to be canceled in emergency situations  which mistakenly did not happen.

However, the letter to the FTC, signed by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and 12 other representatives, didnt find those explanations to be sufficient.

It is unacceptable for communications providers to deceive their customers, but when the consumer in question is a government entity tasked with fire and emergency services, we cant afford to wait a moment longer, the Congress members wrote. The FTC must investigate whether Verizon and other communications companies are being unfair or deceptive in the services theyre offering to public safety entities, and if so, to determine what remedies are appropriate to ensure our first responders have adequate service when lives are on the line.

Unfortunately, with its repeal of the 2015 Open Internet Order, the FCC has abdicated its jurisdiction over broadband communications and walked away from protecting consumers, including public safety agencies. We, therefore, call on the FTC to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices stemming from this incident.

Chronicle staff writer David Baker contributed to this report.

Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.comEditors note: This is the fourth column in a series in which J.C. Reid explores the origins and influences that make Southeast Texas barbecue unique. The first and second columns discussed the influence of Cajun and Creole traditions. The third covered geographic boundaries.

In 1902, Houston was on a roll.

With the rise of commercial opportunity came an influx of workers, entrepreneurs, hucksters and travelers arriving on the many railroad lines and riverboats whose depots converged near the confluence of White Oak and Buffalo bayous, near Allens Landing, where brothers Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen established the city in 1836.

The original plan of Houston further centered commercial activity near Market Square, bound by Congress, Milam, Preston and Travis streets, and Court House Square two blocks to the east. The 1902 city directory showed the areas as dense with merchants, grocers, saloons and restaurants.

Indeed, it is in the 1902 directory that I found one of the first references to a barbecue business in Houston. Three blocks from Market Square, at 1115 Franklin Street, the directory describes a barbecue stand run by William Graham, who roomed at the Travis house at the corner of Congress and Travis. I believe William Graham was one of Houstons first commercial pitmasters.

Love the smell of wood smoke in the morning? Join J.C. Reid, Alison Cook and Greg Morago as they discuss barbecue culture with special guests by subscribing to the Chronicle's BBQ State of Mind podcast on Apple's Podcasts, or visit houstonchronicle.com/ bbqpodcast. See More Collapse

Without any further identification, such as a middle name or initial, its difficult to research Grahams background. But with some additional sleuthing in city records, we can develop of a rough profile of who he was.

Graham was not listed in the 1900 directory, so he probably arrived in Houston in 1901 or early 1902. His address on Travis offers a few clues. Research into the houses occupants in 1902 shows about 30 single white men. It appears to be a typical rooming house of the time, a place where recently arrived itinerant workers could rent a room for a couple of weeks or a couple of years as they established themselves with jobs and families. In later, less prosperous years, such accommodations were often called flophouses or single-room-occupancy hotels.

But business was booming, and Grahams house was across from Market Square. At the time, the square itself was a pile of rubble. The grand City Hall and Market House had burned down in June 1901, and the fruit and vegetable vendors, butchers and dry-goods purveyors had dispersed to neighboring blocks. A new Market House, the fourth one built on the site, would rise again in 1904.

That Graham established his barbecue stand a few blocks away at 1115 Franklin Street can be explained by the area. This was the only vacant lot on the block (its a parking lot today). The adjoining business belonged to none other than Sidney Westheimer, an undertaker who was a nephew of Mitchell Louis Westheimer, one of the citys earliest and most prominent citizens. Across the street was the depot of the International and Great Northern Railroad. A block away was the Harris County Courthouse.

Undoubtedly, this was one of the busiest blocks in Houston. Also, an 1899 edition of the Houston Daily Post referenced a barbecue stand at the corner of Franklin and San Jacinto  perhaps the area was known for smoked meats?

There is no record of Grahams specific barbecue operations. Based on what I know of the area and how barbecue was cooked at the time, he probably rose early from his room at Travis house, went to a nearby butcher to acquire ingredients  sausage, chicken and maybe pork. He then walked to the vacant lot on Franklin, where he probably had a table and cooking equipment hidden behind a neighboring building.

His clientele would have been railroad workers, businessmen  perhaps Mr. Westheimer himself, visiting his nephew?  and visitors to the courthouse.

Grahams barbecue stand was short-lived. By 1903, the city directory shows he took a job with a prosperous local businessman, John Finnigan, who traded in animal hides. By 1904, he was no longer listed in the directory. He had moved on, looking for his next opportunity.

jcreid@jcreidtx.com

twitter.com/jcreidtxEditor's note: This is Part 5 of a five-part essay exploring the ways that Houston's food community rallied after Harvey. Read Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 here.

Part 5

Houston's sprawling, grass-roots response to Harvey rescue, relief and recovery in many ways reflects both the scale of our geography  the greater Houston area is just a little smaller than the state of Massachusetts  and Houston's decentralized entrepreneurialism.

There's a danger of turning the later characteristic into a myth, which we sometimes do. It can become an excuse to ignore systematic problems like racism and poverty and to allow unchecked development that could make future flooding even worse.

Nevertheless, these ad hoc organizations that sprang from raw, chaotic empathy embraced that spirit and were nimble enough to step in and fill the many gaps left by larger, more bureaucratic institutions.

As Cat Nguyen said in an interview with Angry Asian Man, these groups "organically began to self-organize." Systems and basic rules developed not because edicts were issued from on high but out of a desire to operate more efficiently. Some of them were simple things, such as Dimitri Voutsinas taping "In" and "Do Not Enter" signs on the two swinging doors at the Midtown Kitchen Collective to help manage the constant flow of volunteers. Some were more complex, such as the creation of the I Have Food I Need Food website to help better manage food donations and requests for meals.

But none of this would have happened if peopled hadn't embraced chaotic altruism and decided to do the hard work needed to help others.

In an age of narcissistic reality shows and a constant emphasis on winning as our primary motivator, it's refreshing to see empathy motivate so many to help others. There are competing theories of human altruism  some based on evolution, some on neurobiology, some on social exchange, some on psychology. Many posit that ultimately there is a selfish reason for our desire to help.

But that does not match what I've watched over the last few weeks. Time and time again, people have helped strangers with no benefit to themselves. And do it day after day.

I'm sure that the camaraderie of a shared mission helped sustained their efforts. I know it helped me, along with the occasional guilt when I wasn't helping. So maybe there is some selfishness fueling our motivations, but in the end people were rescued, and people were fed. And there was something more  a compassion drawn from the chaos of the moment.

Going forward, we need to continue to embrace this chaotic compassion. It doesn't mean that we shouldn't work toward long-term practical and political solutions to the city's problems, but we should use that compassion to inform and motivate our actions. There have already been, understandably, many op-eds and articles about how to better manage Houston's next flood and constant development.

But very little has been written on how to sustain what many justifiably see as one of the core characteristics of Houstonians: our generosity.

Emily Jaschke

Disasters like Harvey strip away our physiological and emotional defenses, force us to live in the present, staying acutely attuned to the needs of others. Monks and ascetics from various religions spend years attempting to attain and sustain the level of awareness that can be thrust upon us when a catastrophe strikes. But living at that level of mindfulness and chaos day after day may not be sustainable practically or emotionally.

As post-Harvey Houston has transitioned from relief to recovery, many of these pop-up organizations have passed the baton to professional nonprofits. Not because people stopped caring, but because most had to return to their regular jobs. Initially, their places of employment were closed, they took vacation days or they tried to do double duty by working and volunteering or running their business and organizing relief efforts.

In addition, these rogue relief efforts organized around fulfilling the immediate needs of people affected by Harvey. As the area moved into the recovery phase, some found themselves encountering the area's larger, long-term problems such as poverty, food deserts and infrastructure inequality  problems these ad hoc organizations weren't equipped to solve. Cleaning products, canned foods and hot meals were only necessary Band-Aids.

How we maintain the level of generosity we've seen post-Harvey, or at least some portion of it, is a question we need to ask ourselves individually and as a community. It's as important as questions about urban planning and flood control.

But the answers may be more difficult.

There are some simple, practical steps that could be taken. Area businesses could for 2017 and 2018 (and beyond) grant employees personal service days in addition to their normal sick days and vacation. These days would then be used to volunteer at nonprofits throughout the area. Businesses could organize even more team volunteer days, especially during the work week, when nonprofits are often short on help. Businesses could combine two of Houston's most touted characteristics and engage in entrepreneurial compassion on a regular, ongoing basis, developing innovative ways to fundraise and staff long-term recovery and improvement efforts.

The irony that I have spent many paragraphs indulging in what Milosz calls "refinement of the mind" (which is being generous to my efforts) to describe and understand "simple acts of kindness" is not lost on me. In some ways, it is a selfish attempt to relive those acts. It's hard to move past the rawness, the openness and the sense of connection. And maybe that's an indication we shouldn't. Maybe being stuck in traffic, looking at downtown Houston, and listening to Robert Ellis's "The Lights from The Chemical Plant" while fighting back tears because you're thinking of both the suffering people are going through and the thousands of acts of kindness that you've witnessed or heard about is how we should be living our lives.

How we continue to stay in touch with this compassionate chaos on a personal level will be up to each of us. There will be no one solution. Philosophers, religions and cultures have been wrestling with this issue for centuries with varying results. It will take awareness and hard work as we settle into a new normal  there will be no getting back to normal as Midwestern farmers, post-9/11 New Yorkers, post-Katrina New Orleanians, and post-Ike Houstonians have all discovered.

But we will be able to shape that new normal. Since at least Katrina, Houstonians have been proving that the strands of generosity are already woven into the fabric of Houston, but now we have the opportunity to make that generosity the major feature of the city.

David Leftwich is the executive editor of Sugar & Rice, a Gulf Coast food and culture publication based in Houston. He is also the author of the poetry chapbook The City.





Bookmark Gray Matters. It springs from raw, chaotic empathy."I think I can, I think I can," the little girls chanted as we sat on the concrete floor.

"I think I can, I think I can," they yelled as their parents sat in the line for FEMA assistance. We were at the George R. Brown Convention Center, at the time the primary shelter for more than 8,000 evacuees during Harvey.

The hurricane and the floodwaters that followed had destroyed their homes just a few days prior. They were oblivious to the fact that their parents were seeking shelter, food and funds from the federal government while they sat on the floor with me reading Watty Piper's classic children's book, "The Little Engine That Could," published in 1930.

After we finished the book, repeating, "I knew I could, I knew I could," I had the children, who were between 3 and 6, use emoji stickers to make their own story books. One girl used all the transporting emojis  car, boat, airplane, train, bus  to show how they left their home. She didn't give many concrete details, but the symbols told the whole story.

AFTER HARVEY: Poems from the flood

My employer, Writers in the Schools (WITS), was at the shelter meeting children where they were. We read and wrote and listened as children told their stories in whatever way they could. "We are able to help children with what we do best, which is help them tell their stories," said Robin Reagler, the director of WITS. "We can't help with food or clothing or finding them a new home, but we can be a crucial part of the healing process."

Robin Reagler / Facebook

The YMCA invited WITS to join them in the Kids Zone with other local organizations as the shelter was opening at the convention center last week. More than two dozen WITS writers signed up and showed up each day. (WITS has since moved to NRG Center.)

WITS administrators met with pediatricians at the shelter each morning, and the physicians shared their assessments of what was going on with the children.

"In a natural disaster setting like this, children are the last to be treated emotionally, because they are small," Reagler explained. "Adults are talking with others and with each other, but children don't often have a similar outlet to tell their story, because they aren't asked."

Children often tell their stories in very whimsical ways, she continued.

She talked about one child who related a tale in the voice of a monkey who saw a giant elephant suck up all the water in a lake and shoot it out of his snout at everything. The monkey was very scared.

"We are poised to capture that story and understand what it means and empathize with the monkey," Reagler said.

Another child expressed himself by creating a comic strip about a carrot attack on his city.

Another told his story through superheroes saving the day.

One child wrote a poem about her dream house. Another wrote about leaves floating through hers.

The shelters will begin to close as FEMA finds temporary housing solutions for families. But WITS is looking to the future and making plans for the next few months. With only a third of HISD schools ready to open and thousands of school children displaced, WITS is committed to going whereever the children need them to be.

"Nothing has brought our city together like this moment. It is truly inspiring," Reagler said. "It makes me want to work harder than ever to bring the healing power of storytelling to every Houston child."

Harriet Riley is a teacher and freelance writer focusing on creative nonfiction who lives in Houston.

Bookmark Gray Matters. It saw a giant elephant suck up all the water in a lake and shoot it out of his snout at everything."Do you think we can get pho?" my daughter asked.

Lucky to escape Harvey unscathed, we were venturing out for the first time since the deluge hit Texas. There in our favorite noodle shop, fragrant with fish sauce and basil, it was possible to imagine a Houston untouched by disaster.

But even before Hurricane Harvey, that would have been an illusion. Disaster is what brought thousands of Houstonians here in the first place. This is a city of survivors.

Houston is by now well known as the country's most diverse city. But it is more than an immigrant hub; it's America's No. 1 magnet for refugees.

And for anyone rocked by Harvey's life-upending losses, those refugees and their experiences can be a monumental resource. Many are facing the flood's ravages alongside their neighbors right now, but they are distinct because every refugee lost everything once before.

And then they rebuilt.

After 20 years reporting and living in my adopted city, I've come to feel awe at its once-displaced population. Since the 1970s, more than 70,000 refugees from 78 countries have settled in Houston, all fleeing versions of the chaos unleashed by Harvey. Most lost status, work and community, along with the possessions, snapshots and love letters that tell our life stories.

They might not fit the profile you expect. In recent years, they've been arriving from Bhutan, Burma, Iraq, Afghanistan and Cuba.

During the 1980s, they poured into the city to escape death squads and guerrilla war in El Salvador and Guatemala. And in the 1970s, in the biggest influx of displaced persons in its history, Houston became home to tens of thousands of Vietnamese.

What, I wondered over my Vietnamese coffee, might they tell their fellow Houstonians right now? Mechelle Tran, the pho restaurant's 37-year-old owner, had an immediate answer. "I came here when I was 5. I have trauma amnesia, but I grew up hearing the stories," she said.

After weeks at sea, in nights so dark that waves, sky and rain were one sheet of blackness, the family landed in refugee camps in Malaysia and the Philippines. "There were a lot of parallels to Houston right now," Tran told me. "A bottle of fish sauce was like liquid gold, because all you had were processed packaged foods. Nothing real."

Living in chronic uncertainty, sleeping on cots, her parents had zero control of their future, not just for months, but for years, until a church linked them to a host family in Houston.

Damaging as it was, the displacement changed her for the better, Tran believes. For one thing, because Houston's community helped them start over, she and her peers are almost fanatical about community service. In addition to a work phone, she totes a separate cell for constant charity work. When her restaurant had no more food to give, Tran orchestrated a T-shirt drive for drenched Houston Police Department officers.

Seeing her parents' struggle to protect her also forged an iron resolve to honor their efforts. "You had no choice, no options, no falling back," Tran said. "It's grit. The kids whose parents have lost everything in the flood will see their parents rebuilding. They will have that little bit in them that says, 'I saw Mom and Dad do this.'"

Flood survivors might also find surprising strength in seeing themselves as one striving community. Benito Juarez, who oversees immigrant affairs for the city, told me that the Latino, South Asian, African and other refugees who settled here make it a point to band together.

"A sense of solidarity is built into their situation," Juarez said. In most cases, the first group to arrive guides later groups through their new way of life and helps newcomers find work and housing.

For Harvey's flood survivors, that could translate to those recovering fastest sharing services and emotional help with the hardest hit.

Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle

Taking action, especially on behalf of someone else, is a lifeline, Yani Keo, a well-known Cambodian refugee leader, believes. Keo lost more than 60 family members to the genocidal rule of Pol Pot.

Doing, Keo told me a few years ago, means surviving. So she has pushed even the most dazed newcomers to volunteer, once prodding a reluctant Afghan refugee to the airport so he could welcome an even more recent arrival.

Pitching in for others, Keo said, gives an uprooted life meaning again. Research backs this up. Post-traumatic growth, the subject of a flourishing academic field, suggests that in some circumstances, trauma builds strength. It's not always the case, but taking action, and seeing a model of someone else's resilience, make positive change more likely.

As I sipped the last of my Vietnamese coffee, Tran added one more thing. No one chooses to be wrenched from home, she said. But flood survivors now overwhelmed by their future might have more power than they realize.

"The minute your foot touched that boat or canoe, you made a decision," Tran said. "You made the decision to fight."

Claudia Kolker is the associate director of intellectual capital at Rice Business School and author of "The Immigrant Advantage: What We Can Learn from Newcomers to America about Health, Happiness, and Hope." This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Bookmark Gray Matters. A sense of solidarity is built into its situation.US special representative for Iran Brian Hook said that EUs 18 million development aid package to Tehran would undermine US efforts to isolate Islamic Republic, Mehr news agency reported.

The European Unions August 23 announcement of a new $20.7 million payment that will widen economic and sectoral relations between Iran and Europe sends the wrong message at the wrong time, he claimed on Friday.

The European Commission adopted a first package of 18 million for projects in support of sustainable economic and social development in Iran on Thursday, which is the first of a wider package of 50 million for Iran, aiming to support the country to address key economic and social challenges.

Currently, Washington is desperately trying to make other countries abide by its unilateral sanctions against Iran which aim to cut Irans oil export to zero by November 4.Many Democrats have argued that Texas isnt a red state as much as a non-voting one and theyre right.

Wendy Davis, for example, won about 1.8 million votes as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2014. She was trounced by Republican Greg Abbott, who received roughly 2.8 million votes.

In 2016, though, some 3.9 million Texans voted for Hillary Clinton. That means Democrats could win statewide in this midterm election by turning out those voters, even if they didnt make inroads among Republicans.

Republican elected officials have no reason to fear the electorate, which has historically favored them. In public, at least, they insist that a majority of Texans share their values on various political issues.

And some Texas Republicans, even today, actively encourage turnout, just as you would expect a confident politician to do.

While leaders of the state GOP may be hoping to suppress a blue wave in Texas, leaders of the Harris County GOP are hoping to offset it. Harris County went blue in 2016 with voters favoring Clinton by a 12-point margin. It is likely to go blue again in 2018.

Local Republican officials, like Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, will only win re-election if enough voters split the ticket. And the partys slate includes several intriguing first-time candidates, like Dan Crenshaw in the 2nd Congressional District and Thomas Wang in Texas House District 147.

So I was surprised, and disturbed, to learn about letters recently sent challenging the registrations of some 4,000 Harris County . Alan Vera, the chairman of the Harris County Republican Partys ballot security committee, questioned whether those voters actually live at the address they listed as their residence. Some 1,700 voters had their registration placed in suspension as a result.

Thats the kind of tactic that can have a chilling effect.

Voters with challenged registrations are supposed to have 30 days to respond to a letter like the one sent by Harris County voter registrar Ann Harris Bennett relaying Veras challenge. Voters who fail to respond to such a letter arent thrown off the rolls. They can confirm their residency at the polling place, and cast a regular ballot.

Voters who arent actually residents of the county where theyve registered shouldnt be voting there, of course. But the number of voters who do such things is negligible  even though Republicans like Abbott, now the governor, have insisted that voter fraud is rampant.

In my view, a far greater threat to the integrity of our elections is that people who have cast ballots illegally have been prosecuted with seemingly punitive intent, even when theres evidence that they did so by accident.

A vivid example came earlier this year, when Tarrant County resident Crystal Mason was sentenced to five years in prison after voting in the 2016 election. Mason was a felon on probation, having been convicted of tax fraud in 2012. But she didnt know she wasnt allowed to vote, and neither did the poll worker who provided her a provisional ballot.

I am concerned about declining participation in the electoral process, Vera told me on Friday on the phone. What Im concerned about is that people think their vote doesnt count anymore.

What Im concerned about is that Republicans think your vote might, and have therefore given many Texas voters reason to think that theyd better not risk it.

erica.grieder@chron.com

twitter.com/ericagriederGov. Greg Abbott was headed to Lubbock, and developer George McMahan was excited to meet him. Pledging $10,000, he joined the local committee hosting the fundraiser for Abbotts campaign.

Then, in an interview with a local television station, he said the unspeakable.

You make a large donation to the governor, and in turn you are eligible for appointment to the Board of Regents, he told the ABC affiliate station, KAMC, referring to the Texas Tech University board.

The assertion was one McMahan, 73, felt to be true. Indeed every board member, except the student representative, donated to Abbotts campaign in recent years, according to a Houston Chronicle review of campaign finance data, giving a collective $1 million.

But Abbotts team did not much like the remark, as McMahan recounted. The morning after the television interview aired, someone called and said they would be returning McMahans host-committee donation. It caught McMahan off guard.

That campaign donors may be given plush appointments is a widely-held assumption, but Abbotts team vehemently denied such a practice. With one off-hand remark, McMahan launched a debate that lasted for days, tickling people who heard about it elsewhere, riling up people in town and drawing the governors attention.

IN DEPTH: Gov. Abbotts appointees have given him more than $14 million

What this individual suggested is not only false, but also illegal, said Ciara Matthews, a spokeswoman for Abbott, in a prepared statement. Because of the unfortunate comments, the donation was returned. This is not how the Governor does business.

Abbott, who took office in 2015, appointed seven of the ten board members, including two from Houston. Former Gov. Rick Perry appointed the others, whose terms expire in January. Abbott is up for re-election this November, facing democratic contender Lupe Valdez.

On the phone, McMahan said he told the campaign he would not attend the fundraiser, scheduled for Aug. 22, if they did not want his money. Though he wanted to meet Abbott and continues to support him, he was irritated by their response to something he says people have known was happening for years.

Its not a bad thing, McMahan said in an interview with the Chronicle. Its common knowledge that thats the way it works.

News of McMahans de-invitation came at a complicated time. Already, rumors were swirling around the swift resignation of Texas Tech University System Chancellor Robert Duncan, announced Aug. 13 and effective Aug. 31. Some believed it related to the effort to start a controversial veterinary school there.

Hearing of what happened to McMahan  who this month received an award from the Lubbock chamber of commerce and last year was named hero of the year with his wife by a local foundation  was a step too far for another Lubbock resident, Marc McDougal, who said he already was frustrated by the lack of information regarding the chancellor.

Theres a lot of unhappy people in West Texas over how the chancellor was treated, and then over how George and Linda were treated, he said, because those two dont deserve to be treated that way.

Eighteen families, including three current regents, were originally listed as hosts on the fundraiser invitation, a copy of which was broadcast by the TV station. But McDougal, 54, and his father both decided to back out, along with McMahan. McDougal told KAMC, the TV station, in a follow-up that people in West Texas stick together.

On the day of the fundraiser, Abbott told a reporter from another station, KCBD, that returning the check was standard protocol. Continued Abbott: It's unfortunate that it seems like there is some sort of controversy with him.

Regent positions are among the most sought-after appointments in state government, said attorney Buck Wood, a longtime ethics attorney in Austin. And generally, he said, though not exclusively, governors do pick people who have supported or contributed to them or their party.

That doesnt mean donations are being given quid pro quo, with an agreement that the money guarantees a position. Doing so would, of course, be bribery, a crime. And not all that smart.

Its a form of patronage, Wood said, and its legal if you dont step over the line.

Donation amounts from the individual Texas Tech regents ranged from $1,000 to $398,124, according to the campaign finance data, collected by the National Institute on Money in State Politics between 1995 and 2018. That does not include efforts to raise money from others or donations from family members or trusts.

The trustees, with the exception of the student, all are men. As both McDougal and McMahan noted, none live in Lubbock, except presumably the student representative.Dams, reservoirs and levees The Houston area still hasn't decided how to fix its flood infrastructure

Dams, reservoirs and levees The Houston area still hasn't decided how to fix its flood infrastructure

After Hurricane Harvey, everyone agreed: something needed to be done to bolster the dams and levees that protect Houston and its suburbs. Harvey overwhelmed them. The question is what is needed and how much it will cost.

One year later, the areass flood infrastructure is being cleaned up and upgraded in small ways, but systemic overhaul remains years away, as comprehensive studies and hundreds of lawsuits progress.

In west Harris County, crews in July were installing new gates at the Addicks and Barker reservoirs. Homes flooded upstream during Harvey as the reservoirs filled and downstream when engineers began emergency releases, yet officials plan to spend at least three years looking at ways to strengthen the system, such as digging the reservoirs deeper or building a third one.

THEN & NOW: Photos show how Harvey flooded Houston neighborhoods

Across town, upstream of Lake Houston, workers prepared to dredge a portion of the west fork of the San Jacinto River, returning it to pre-storm conditions. Experts believe the sand buildup there contributed to flooding in Kingwood and Humble. But a pending, joint study of the river basin was expected to take up to a year.

And in Fort Bend County, southwest of Houston, 20 neighborhood levee systems were deciding individually what  if anything  to upgrade. At least half considered increasing the amount of rainfall they could handle. A few looked at lengthening the levees. Potential direction from the county was at least a year off, as it reviews how water flows across the entire jurisdiction.

Which means that, while some progress has been made, a year after the worst flooding in the areas history, the region is still largely evaluating what needs to be done to prevent and mitigate future events.

The one word that is evil these days is study, said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, while maintaining that more research, at least when it comes to a third reservoir, needs to be done.

Bob Hebert, Emmetts counterpart in Fort Bend County, sounded a similar note.

We want to look at our watersheds and see our flow patterns, look at what Harvey told us, Hebert said. Were moving as quickly as we can.

Reservoir recommendations

Officials decided before Harvey to replace the 70-year-old gates on the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, which is owned and maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers. After Harvey, the Harris County Flood Control District started a $13 million project to dredge silt from waterways leading into Addicks. It intends to do the same with Barker.

Whether to build a third reservoir in northwest Harris County remains the biggest decision. The countys $2.5 billion flood bond proposal included funding to study that idea, as well as how best to manage Addicks and Barker in the future. Congress is also contributing funds.

A recent Baker Institute study described the dams as vulnerable to structural integrity issues and said fixing them should be the No. 1 priority. Other projects on the table include adding new channels to release water from the dams. The Army Corps plans to make recommendations when the study is complete.

We cant just dream up some combination of things that say were just going to go do this without knowing how they will perform, said Dr. Edmond Rousseau, an Army Corps deputy district engineer.

In the meantime, lawsuits from those whose homes flooded in Harvey pile up, meaning litigation about who was responsible and what should be done, could continue for years. The chief judge for the federal claims court continues to hold packed proceedings in an oversized courtroom in downtown Houston, addressing the so-called takings claims by home and business owners who say the Army Corps deliberately flooded their properties.

As of July, 42 law firms have filed 220 cases on behalf of more than 1,600 individuals, collectively seeking roughly a billion dollars. There were so many Addicks and Barker lawsuits that officials created a unique categorization for them within the federal docket. Fort Bend County also sued the Corps in state District Court, seeking a judgment that says the Corps cannot swamp private property again.

Lawyers anticipate thousands more cases might be filed before the six-year statute of limitations expires. How many will hinge in part on how the trials go for the select test cases the U.S. Court of Federal Claims plans to try in Houston next spring involving upstream and downstream properties. Settlement is unlikely at this point, said Rand Nolen, of Fleming, Nolen & Jez, a lead attorney for the downstream cases.

There has been tremendous progress moving these cases forward on an accelerated basis, said Nolen. It is our sincere hope that these cases fully inform stakeholders and the public regarding the consequences of the Corps operational policies for these reservoirs, and that governmental agencies will take appropriate action to reduce the risk of these reservoirs causing future devastating floods.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Levees and lakes

On Sept. 1, dredges will start work in the first major project to result from Harvey: cleaning out a 2-mile stretch of the west fork of the San Jacinto River, which connects lakes Houston and Conroe.

As that takes place, the lakes stakeholders have agreed to lower the water levels during August, September, April and May for Lake Conroe, and ahead of big rains for Lake Houston. They sought funding for a long-term study, and the city is looking into dredging the rest of the river fork. The city has also applied for grant funds to add gates to the Lake Houston dam.

The Coastal Water Authority, which operates Lake Houston, cleared debris, replaced fencing and started fixing the access road. The San Jacinto River Authority, which operates Lake Conroe, planned to purchase rain sensors to help better predict flooding.

There is an unusual level of cooperation, said Lloyd Tisdale, the river authoritys board president. All of these things contribute to some degree to helping in the overall result.

Many property owners sued the San Jacinto River Authority over flooding. The agency appealed after lower court judges declined to dismiss the cases, according to Caj Boatright, whose firm represents hundreds of flood victims.

In Fort Bend, decisions over the levee systems fell to boards of either three appointed residents or  for a few that petitioned after the storm  five elected ones. Some asked engineers and operators who routinely contract with them to review what happened. A handful looked to outside companies for recommendations.

Among the districts, at least three considered extending their levees for better protection against a rising river. Most focused on handling higher rates of rainfall with new pump stations or added detention.

They largely did not worry about levee height, the big issue in Brazoria County, where water flowed over one levee in Columbia Lakes. Residents there approved a $3.5 million bond in part to build portions higher, among other changes, said Allan Sassin, president of the Varner Creek Utility District, which is responsible for the levee.

In Riverstone, which saw the worst of the Fort Bend levee flooding, board members in the two levee districts purchased extra pumps and new water gauges while they consider larger changes. A district there, too, was among those sued in the aftermath of the storm.

Lets do it right, instead of do it fast, said board member John Arndt, though he understood the lingering unease.

Residents want to see their neighborhood Harvey-proof as fast as possible, he said  himself included.

But it has been a year since the deluge, and they arent there yet.

***

Emily Foxhall is the Texas Storyteller for the Chronicle. She has written about mental health, crime and the Fort Bend County's ongoing evolution from rural to urban. She joined the Chronicle in 2015 after two years in Orange County, Calif., reporting for the Los Angeles Times and its community papers. Her work also has appeared in the New York Times, the Texas Tribune and the New York Observer. She is a Yale graduate and a Houston native. Email her at emily.foxhall@chron.com. Follow her on Twitter at @emfoxhall.

Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter or send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com.

Zach Despart covers county government for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips.

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***ROCKPORT  All along the Coastal Bend, Hurricane Harvey has been impossible to forget.

A year later, reminders of the storm are everywhere: in the blue-tarp rooftops, temporary stop lights and boarded-up buildings. The word "Harvey" is scrawled in a restaurant bathroom, on a ruined camper, on a business wall.

While Beaumont and Port Arthur pick up the pieces northeast of Houston, the tourism-dependent area 170 miles southwest is trying to present itself as open for business. They hauled off what seemed like endless mountains of debris. They fixed up hotels, restaurants and stores. But the storm's effects still grip the communities, where people are ever-pushing to rebuild.

THEN & NOW: Photos show how Harvey flooded Houston neighborhoods

Harvey made landfall near Rockport and Port Aransas at 10 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2017. It lashed the beach communities with 130 mph winds and, in some places, a 10-foot storm surge. The damage was violent. In Houston and beyond, it began to rain.

Every day here, people face Harvey anew. Elvira Robles, 76, wakes up in a recliner in a dark mobile home, where it's hard for her to get around with her walker. Chris Lusk, 28, brushes his teeth in the kitchen sink before going to work on damaged homes.

Hoss Corry, 52, launches a boat next to the ruined pier where he fished for trout as a kid.

"We think about Harvey every time we drive around town," said Steve Chenault, 41, who works with Corry catching crabs.

The vast implications of Harvey only continue to reveal themselves. Walls crack. Tears fall unexpectedly.

People moved here for the water and the gentle, gulf breezes  which wrecked them.

"It's very much a struggle in every aspect," said Michelle Simmons, 52, who owns a Rockport store called New Beginnings. "Everything is different."

***

When he wakes up, Port Aransas Mayor Charles Bujan checks the forecast in the gulf. His family has lived in the city for generations. He looks at the water now with caution.

DON'T SAY IT'S OVER: A year later, Harvey recovery remains uneven with many still struggling

Harvey impacted just about everything on the spirited island, home to 4,000 people before the storm. It damaged the quirky businesses and colorful homes, plus a slew of city buildings and miles of gas pipeline. It changed the shape of the island itself.

City officials estimate between $500 million and $1 billion in overall damage. The storm took a toll on residents also  a toll the mayor worries will never heal. "[I]t took a part of our lives," said Bujan, 74.

The mayor wore boat shoes and spoke in his City Hall office. A typed note covered part of the clock behind him: HARVEY'S EYEWALL ROARS ASHORE ON ST. JOE 8/26/2017 TIME 0307.

In Port A, as it's known, people still trade Harvey stories, including the one about the Nixons, who weathered the storm on their shrimping boat. They point to altered landmarks: the beach-side condo Cline's Landing, now gutted; the Rock Cottages, where piles of rock sit; the beloved Salty Dog Saloon, which served the namesake gin and grapefruit drink, still closed.

Like the smashed boat storage facility in Rockport, set for a soft reopen on the storm's anniversary, it was Pelican Club in Port Aransas that became the local poster child of destruction. The restaurant sank into the ground, collapsed in on itself. It looks stuck in time as an insurance battle unfurls.

Next door at Fisherman's Wharf, John "Mike" McNatt, 62, watches people photograph the building daily. "That's the personification of Hurricane Harvey right there," he said on a recent afternoon. Out back, he could see palm trees that bent in Harvey's wind.

The city is changed, and the evidence is everywhere, including the business marquees. NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS, the signs read. With the loss of apartments and mobile homes, it's hard to find an affordable place to live. Employers lack workers.

Jody Sackschewsky, 59, the Fisherman's Wharf bookkeeper, works in the refurbished upstairs. She recounted how the grocery store now was filled with construction workers instead of familiar faces.

"You don't know where everybody went," she said.

CLASSROOM CRUNCH: Gulf Coast schools get a lesson in perseverance

It was crowded, at least, in Shorty's, the long standing local bar. Within 8 days of Harvey, they were open for business.

"As soon as we could get ice and beer, we were slinging it," said Jason Jenkins, 38, who works now at the hard-hit marine science institute.

This bar, Jenkins said, is their church  a place to which they can always return. Here, in the small, dark space, there is a sense of normal. The same caps caked in dirt hang from the ceiling. The warped floorboards are smooth again. Gentle wind blows through the door.

***

Ten miles up the coast, in Rockport, some two dozen officials and stakeholders paused amid a grueling year to congratulate themselves. It was the last meeting of the Long Term Recovery team. They went around the room: 83 percent of businesses reopened. The school district was repairing its rooftops and planning a new gym.

"I think we ought to give ourselves a hand," said William Whitson, 59, a lead technical consultant, and they did.

Full recovery in Rockport  with more than twice the population of Port A before the storm  could take as long as 10 years, according to the mayor. He estimated the loss in property value at $221 million. Though sales tax was up because of construction, the city applied for a $5 million loan to supplement its budget.

"I think we're ahead of where we expected to be," Mayor Patrick Rios, 67, said.

Still, it was easy to worry. Affordable housing was razed and not yet rebuilt. On the wealthy Key Allegro, a fraction of full-time families remained. The battered bridge to reach it was reduced to one lane.

Rebuilding raised the question of what kind of community to recreate. One recent evening, residents in flip flops and fishing shirts filled a makeshift city council chamber to debate it. The city faced an influx of RV parks. The council was taking control from a board regulating the look of downtown.

"If we lose downtown, Rockport's just another town," warned Debbie Parker, who runs a winery there. (She is also raising money to replace the iconic, oceanside sculpture of a blue crab.)

"This is our future here," urged developer and builder Alan Lee Copeland, 62, who owns property downtown.

HEART OF HARVEY: Rockport's Vietnamese community seek guidance from their priest after Harvey

The quaint downtown Rockport they wished to protect already was different. A bar called "Rock Bottom" opened in recent months, named in reference to Harvey. The Rockport Center for the Arts, which lost its main building, relocated down the road.

Coast Modern, a frame and art shop, relocated too. Recently, Michelle Bell walked in, toting a framed lithograph she purchased decades ago in Dubai.

The store owner, Mike Catlin, took apart Bell's frame. Like much of his work now, this task was related to Harvey. The mat was warped. Catlin chose a new, gray one and slid a sliver of gold along the inside edge. "I want to give you at least a visual," Catlin said. He wore a short-sleeve button-down shirt with cartoon shark heads.

Bell, 65 and retired, leaned over to look at it through groovy sunglasses.

"I like it," she said. "I have more I need to bring."

***

And so, up and down the Texas coast, cities large and small reckon with what the monster storm took.

In Beaumont, officials estimate that Harvey flooded about 2,250 structures, or six percent of the total. They believe two-thirds have been repaired. The city is also looking to protect its drinking water system, which Harvey temporarily knocked offline.

In Port Arthur, about 85 percent of structures were damaged, Mayor Derrick Freeman estimated, affecting practically everyone and testing residents' commitment to the city, where Freeman is working hard to keep the population above 50,000. "We are ready to be known for something greater than Harvey," he said.

MILES OF MISERY: Tivoli's 'uninhabitants' on their own after a direct hit from Harvey

It's anniversary will be lost on no one.

In July in Port Aransas, Gene Frost was waiting for his home to be torn down. The storm had pushed it off the tall poles that once held it up and left it at a near-45 degree angle on a pile of everything he had. For eleven months, he dug out the pieces underneath but he was 60 and could only do so much. A local organization's offer to build a new home felt impossible to decline.

"Is it going to kill me?" he asked days before the scheduled demolition. He nodded yes. But maybe then he could move ahead.

Sixteen-year-old Kate Upchurch that morning walked across a backyard on Weeping Willow, where once-dense oak trees looked skeletal. She signed up with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to volunteer here. Roger Hoover, 51, of Missouri City, led the group.

"Just hold tight," said Hoover, nervous as he passed her the heavy chainsaw.

She braced her legs, gripped the tool and pushed the roaring blade through the tree.

***

Emily Foxhall is the Texas Storyteller for the Chronicle. She has written about mental health, crime and the Fort Bend County's ongoing evolution from rural to urban. She joined the Chronicle in 2015 after two years in Orange County, Calif., reporting for the Los Angeles Times and its community papers. Her work also has appeared in the New York Times, the Texas Tribune and the New York Observer. She is a Yale graduate and a Houston native. Email her at emily.foxhall@chron.com. Follow her on Twitter at @emfoxhall.

Design by Rachael Gleason

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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.2 1 of 2 Paul Sancya, STF / AP Show More Show Less 2 of 2 Richard W. Rodriguez, FRE / Associated Press Show More Show Less



GEORGETOWN  U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic rival Beto ORourke still have no agreement to debate, putting at risk the anticipated first showdown between the two men in Dallas next week.

At this point I dont know, Cruz said on Friday night during a campaign stop in Georgetown, when he was asked whether the debate will go on as scheduled Aug. 31.Someone needs a hug. Many white Americans are feeling pushed out, pushed aside, pushed around and pushed against the wall.

And now, in the Trump era, some of those folks are pushing back against what they see as a kind of reverse racism  where the minorities become the majority, gradually ascend to positions of power, and eventually settle the score for centuries of mistreatment.

White nationalists pushed back last year in Charlottesville, Va., when a group of them clashed with protesters while chanting, You will not replace us.

More than a decade ago, Brian Bilbray  then a Republican congressman from San Diego  pushed back when, as a defender of English, he asked for voters support to make sure your grandchildren learn Spanish because they want to and not because they have to.

Sociologists call it cultural displacement. Its an anxiety about being marginalized and losing your place in line. It can be triggered by anything from protesters waving the Mexican flag, or a Spanish-language billboard, or having to press one for English.

But mostly, it is about fear of changing demographics. For many people, making America great again means making it white again.

According to the Brookings Institution, by 2045, whites will comprise 49.9 percent of the U.S. population, compared with 24.6 percent for Hispanics, 13.1 percent for African-Americans, 7.8 percent for Asians and 3.8 percent for multiracial populations. In 2017, communities of color grew faster than white communities.

No wonder Fox News host Laura Ingraham sounded the alarm about massive demographic changes [that] have been foisted upon the American people.

Recently, The Washington Post provided a sympathetic ear to white people who feel squeezed by changing demographics. And it earned criticism from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

According to a statement the Post released in response to the criticism, reporter Terrence McCoys story captured the perspective of those who feel displaced by demographic change, by conveying what it is like for two white Americans who must themselves adapt to a new America.

The article is set at a poultry plant in Fredericksburg, Pa.  precisely the kind of hard, dirty and smelly job that Americans usually wont do. There, we meet two exceptions  20-year-old Heaven Engle and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Venson Heim. They dont speak Spanish and dont feel they have to learn it. They skipped college and work in low-skilled jobs for $13-$17 per hour. And theyre both annoyed that theyre surrounded by Latino co-workers who dont speak much English.

The everyday experiences that have long challenged millions of black, Latino and immigrant Americans  the struggle to understand and be understood, feeling unseen, fear of rapid judgments  were beginning to challenge them, too, McCoy writes.

Engle and Heim are now, he writes, coming to understand what it means to be outnumbered.

Gee. What does that feel like?

I swear to God, if they dont say anything in English, Im going to freak out, Engle said at one point of her Latino co-workers. When she hears one of them say the word gringa, she thinks theyre talking about her. And they probably are.

They dont give a rats ass about people with white skin, Heim whined. He dreads a future where whites find themselves in the minority and get paid back because, as he told McCoy, we havent been the nicest race.

The NAHJ complained that the story was incomplete because it didnt include the perspective of those Latino workers who are supposedly all over the chicken plant. NAHJ President Hugo Balta said it contributed to the polarization of the Latino community as the others.

Thats the least of the problems with this story. Nuance, context and reality checks are valuable. And if a newspaper is going to play with cultural dynamite, it ought to be more careful with it.

As for white folks who feel displaced, I want to help. As a Mexican-American who has spent much of his life feeling like an outsider, I can get you through this scary time. Here are five survival tips:

 Dont see yourself as a victim.

 Confront discrimination, and dont let it derail your dreams.

 Expect unfairness but take it in stride, work hard and persevere.

 Accept that you have to be twice as good as those in the majority.

 And when someone tries to tell you up is down and feed you nonsense, call them out on it.

Youll survive. Good luck. Stay strong.

Contact Navarrette at ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, Navarrette Nation, is available through every podcast app. (c) 2018, The Washington Post Writers GroupEvery destructive hurricane is remembered in a unique way. Katrina is largely remembered for levees breaking and the paralyzing chaos that followed. The Galveston hurricane of 1900, whose anniversary is September 8, is remembered for a horrific number  6,000. Thats the number of people who perished. It was the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

I believe that Hurricane Harvey will be remembered for the greatest amount of rain ever to fall in one place in the United States within 24 hours. But I believe it will also be remembered for the bass boat heroes.

Someone on social media suggested that we should build a monument to two regular guys in a bass boat. And that idea has been seconded by tens of thousands.

Even from where I live in deep south Texas, I saw dozens of trucks pulling boats, headed north on Highway 77  bass boats, swamp boats, pontoons, skiffs and Navy Seal-type zodiacs. The call went out for help across the state and Texans answered.

They came from San Antonio and San Angelo and Austin, Waco, Dallas, Fort. Worth, Tyler. Even, I understand, from the Panhandle and El Paso. From every nook and cranny of the state, they rolled toward the floods, spontaneous convoys racing to the coast. It was magnificent to see them: Texas flags bent by speed and proudly waving from their trucks and trailers, a genuine cavalry to the rescue.

These men and women didnt ask for money or mileage or payback of any kind. They didnt ask for whom the bell tolled. They just concluded, it tolls for me. And away they went.

I talked to a man at a station near my house who was filling up his slightly-lifted GMC. He was pulling a 15-foot bass boat with a trolling motor. I asked him if he was going to Houston. He said, My brother and me thought we might head up that way. I mean I got a truck and a boat. Might be of help to somebody. I know theyd do it for us if things were turned around.

And they didnt just come from Texas. The Cajun Navy, as they are so beautifully named, came from Louisiana in large numbers, as did others from Arkansas and Oklahoma, and no doubt other states too.

A National Guard officer said on the Weather Channel: These people are showing up with air boats, swamp boats, and jet skis. They go out and rescue people and bring them to us. I dont know where these people are coming from, but its the greatest thing Ive ever seen.

An old friend of mine, Matt Carr, from central Texas, answered the call.

Driving into Houston in the storm was surreal. I-10, 290 and 610 had no cars on them. It was apocalyptic. Fields full of water, cows huddling on tiny islands above rising water. We felt all alone. We got there in a window of time before the world arrived again, he said.

Matt said the police, busy with calls, told the rescuers they were free to go where they pleased and help in any way they could. So they did. He said once the National Guard arrived, the process became more efficient.

It felt like a Texas version of Dunkirk, he told me. Less dangerous, but the same spirit.

Matt rescued a 90-year-old woman named Hazel. She didnt have anyone in her life. She was alone. She didnt want to leave her house, but she was cold. Matt persuaded her to go.

I took her to a bus so they could take her to a shelter. She was scared. So I knelt down next to her in the aisle on the bus and we said a prayer together. And then I got back to work, he said.

Matts was one of thousands of similar stories from that night. Heres another from my buddy Manny Fernandez, who is the Houston bureau chief for The New York Times. He was out riding along with many of these rescuers, impressed with their instinct for navigating what was now an urban bay. And it was dark except for helmet headlamps. Dangerous work. Manny asked many of these rescuers why they had come so far to take these risks. He said that almost to a person, they answered, with three words: This is Texas.

Strong is a professor of culture and communications at the University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley, a Fulbright Scholar and author of Stories from Texas. The article is adapted from Strongs Stories from Texas: Some of Them Are True commentary broadcast by NPRs Texas Standard program.The total amount claimed of $1.5million would cover the missed payout, salary, bonus and compensation for loss of benefits.

Last September, he was told that the companys global internal audit division and external auditors would be investigating him.

Wong, who was on medical leave between 3 and 17 October, was suspended on 19 October. The next day, he discovered his email account disabled and guessed about his suspension. The account was later restored.

Wong postponed several meetings with the auditors, citing ill health, and finally met the auditors on 30 November. However, he left halfway as he was feeling unwell.

On 21 December, he was dismissed, with Xerox stating his handling of past transactions as grounds for immediate termination.Imperial Valley News Center

Border Patrol Agents Arrest 10 Illegal Aliens from Bangladesh

Del Rio, Texas - U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass Station arrested 10 illegal aliens from Bangladesh.

Our Border Patrol agents face unique challenges every day and may encounter persons from different regions of the world. I commend them for their vigilance and commitment to safeguard our nations borders, said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Felix Chavez.

In the early morning of August 20, agents apprehended 10 people after the subjects made illegal entry into the United States. All subjects were transported to the Eagle Pass South Border Patrol Station and processed per U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidelines.

All people apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks utilizing multiple databases including the use of biometrics to ensure those with criminal history are positively identified regardless of their immigration status.

The Del Rio Border Patrol Sector is part of the Joint Task Force-West South Texas Corridor, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations.Imperial Valley News Center

Man Sentenced to Prison for Producing Pornography of Children in the Philippines

Washington, DC - A Manassas man was sentenced yesterday to 20 years in prison for paying women to sexually abuse children in the Philippines via a web camera while he directed and produced numerous images of the abuse, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Liam OGrady.

On April 9, Dwayne Stinson, 53, a communications technician, pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. According to court documents, from at least October 2011 until February 2012, Stinson used an electronic payment service to pay women in the Philippines he was chatting with to sexually abuse children while he directed the abuse. He admitted that some of the children were as young as six or seven years old. The defendant contemporaneously produced numerous screenshot images of the abuse and stored them on his computer for years. In addition to his prison sentence, Stinson was also sentenced to 10 years of supervised release.

HSI investigated the case with assistance from the Prince William County Police Department and Northern Virginia/District of Columbia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney Russell of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.California Doctor Convicted of Medicare Kickback Conspiracy

Los Angeles, California - A federal jury in Los Angeles, California found a Lancaster, California doctor guilty Thursday of conspiracy for his role in a Medicare kickback conspiracy involving a Los Angeles-area home health agency.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna of the Central District of California, Special Agent in Charge Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Inspector Generals (HHS-OIG) Los Angeles Regional Office and Assistant Director in Charge Paul D. Delacourt of the FBIs Los Angeles Division made the announcement.

Kanagasabai Kanakeswaran, M.D., 65, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to pay and/or receive kickbacks for Medicare referrals and four counts of receiving kickbacks for Medicare referrals after a six-day trial. Sentencing has been scheduled for Jan. 7, 2019 before U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez of the Central District of California, who presided over the trial.

According to evidence presented at trial, from 2008 to 2016, Kanakeswaran and others engaged in a conspiracy to refer Medicare patients to Star Home Health Resources (Star), a home health agency located in La Verne, California in exchange for illegal kickback payments. Kanakeswaran received cash kickback payments, as well as kickback payments by check through a company Kanakeswaran owned called Digital Perfection Corporation, the evidence showed.

As a result of the conspiracy, the owners and operators of Star submitted claims to Medicare based on the Medicare beneficiaries that Kanakeswaran referred to Star, and Medicare paid approximately $4.1 million based on those claims, the evidence showed.

This case was investigated by HHS-OIG and the FBI. Trial Attorney Claire Yan of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander F. Porter of the Major Frauds Section of the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in 10 locations nationwide. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,700 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program over $14 billion.CBP Officers Apprehend Mexican Citizen in Possession of Child Pornography

Calexico, California - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Calexico West port of entry Friday morning apprehended a 24-year-old male Mexican citizen in possession of child pornography.

On Friday, August 17, 2018, at about 5 a.m., the man entered the Calexico West port of entry as a pedestrian and presented a B1/B2 visa to a CBP officer. The man requested a permit and proceeded to the permit processing area.

A CBP officer requested more information regarding the mans travel arrangements and he stated that it was located on his phone. The man gave the CBP officer the phone so he could view a screenshot of the information. While handling the phone the CBP officer observed what appeared to be a photo of a naked minor.

CBP officers secured the man and escorted him into a secure area for further inspection. Further review of the phone content revealed numerous videos and images of minors engaging in sexual acts.

CBP officers turned the man over to Homeland Security Investigations agents for further processing.

CBP protects the American public and our local community when we enforce the law at our nations borders, said Director of Field Operations in San Diego, Pete Flores. Because of the vigilance of a CBP officer a man will face charges for possessing such disturbing media.By Aug. 25, 2018



The warehouse is at the corner of 28th and Jackson Streets - across from Red's Donuts. Enter through the red door under the striped awning.



Higdon Outdoors is the official decoy of Ducks Unlimited. There will be tons of decoys, blinds, coolers, duck calls, hunting accessories and of course - more decoys will be given away during the four hour event. Over $15,000 in hunting merchandise will be divvied out as prizes. It's a family friendly event and all hunters of all ages are invited to come be part of what Ducks Unlimited is all about.



PADUCAH - Ducks Unlimited is hosting a Waterfowl Hunters Party TODAY, August 25th at the Higdon Outdoors warehouse in Paducah from 10 am until 2 pm. Hunters from the region will gather for DU's largest such event in the state of Kentucky.If you're a serious duck hunter, this is where you'll want to be.President Trump at a Roundtable on the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA)

Washington, DC - Remarks by President Trump at a Roundtable on the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA):

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much for being here this morning, and thank you to Secretary Mnuchin for joining us. And congratulations. Youre doing a great job. We appreciate it very much, Steve.

I especially want to welcome Senators John Cornyn, who has been working so hard lately, and especially at the border. Were doing things that nobody else thought we could do with very bad legislation. Better get that legislation changed. I think well get it done.

Tom Cotton, Mike Crapo, Marco Rubio, and Jeb Hensarling  I want to thank you all. This has been a tremendous thing that were sort of announcing today, but people are  they found out about it.

Each of you was instrumental in passing the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act  so important  which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act that I signed into law earlier this month.

This new authority will enhance our ability to protect cutting-edge American technology and intellectual property vital to our national security. Youve all been reading that intellectual property and all sorts of different things of that nature are being stolen from us by other countries. Its going to be very hard for them to do that. Were putting a lot of safeguards in, and were doing a lot of things against foreign acquisition of property, and especially where theyre near sensitive military installations.

So this was a very big deal. This was a very important deal. And the people in this room are the people that really were most instrumental in wanting it and getting it passed.

Because of our incredible achievements, other nations seek to steal, copy, or control American intellectual property. And we had very, very little safeguards up. We had, in many cases, I would say, Marco, no safeguards. And now we have probably the best there is in the world. Well see if thats good enough, and if its not, then we will keep adding on to it.

This weakens our economy when they steal, destroys our jobs, and threatens the security of our country. Im pleased this new legislation provides the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States greater authority when it comes to reviewing foreign ownership of American firms with critical technology and intellectual property.

And if we see something we dont like  some country is buying something that we dont want them to be buying  we stop it. We now have the right to stop it. They wont be stealing our companies anymore, especially companies that are quite complex.

We will protect Americas crown jewels of intellectual property and advanced technologies from harmful foreign investments. I look forward to a productive discussion with the members of Congress here today. To a certain extent, this is a little bit of a celebration meeting, more so than a meeting, John. Right? More than a meeting on the act itself. Because we passed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act.

But were very proud of it. It was in the making for years, and we got it done. So I want to very much thank the people in this room. This is really the group that worked so hard to get it.

And, Mike, maybe Id have you start off. Well go around the room; well say a few words about what weve done.

SENATOR CRAPO: Certainly.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mike.

SENATOR CRAPO: Well, first of all, Mr. President, I appreciate the attention that youre bringing to this issue. I dont think that it is well known enough the intensity and the scope of efforts by other nations to steal or to simply outright purchase and access our intellectual property and our technology thats critical for our national security.

And youre right, this legislation updates critical procedures that we have in the United States now, in both our export controls, as well as in our Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to put us on the cutting edge to protect Americas technology, intellectual property, and ultimately our national security. So this is critically important.

And I just think its important that the American people realize the scope of assault on America today that is happening across this globe.

THE PRESIDENT: Its true. Thats true. Thank you. Great job youve done.

Marco?

SENATOR RUBIO: Yeah, Mr. President, as you know, we often talk about this, and Im constantly thanking you for finally standing up to China after far too long of not doing it, as an American government. This is the first time since 1991 that we have a near-peer competitor in the world. It was only America and everybody else. And now we are starting to wake up to a reality that we have a near-peer competitor. And this competitor is cheating, stealing, and undermining us, using virtually every tool at their disposal. And one of them is intellectual property theft.

They steal the stuff from us, oftentimes innovated through American taxpayer investment, and then they reverse engineer it and use it for their own purposes. Because they seek to replace us in the world  not to be equal to us; to overtake us. And its almost too late. But finally, someone is standing up to them. And Im grateful to your administration for making this a priority on every front  on trade, but also on national security.

And Im glad were having this meeting today. And well be with you every step of the way on this.

THE PRESIDENT: Great job, Marco. And I have to tell you that  and you see it; you brought it up to me the other day  so our country, since the election, were up $10 trillion in worth. And unfortunately  but this is the way it goes  China, over the last four months, is down about $15 trillion. We have to stop it. We cant allow the things that were happening to happen.

And also, we cant allow just common trade to stay the way it was  $517 billion in deficits each year. So thats not happening anymore.

No, I think were going to  and as you see, were rising very rapidly. Were rising. And people have said to me, its the first time theyve ever seen it where the United States is like a hot country. We used to be a hot country many years ago. but now were the hot country again.

Everybody wants to be here. Companies are moving in. We want some of these companies to move in also, and theyre going to be now protected and were going to be protected that there wont be theft of high-grade technology.

So, thank you, Marco. I appreciate it.

John?

SENATOR CORNYN: Mr. President, under your administration, were finally taking the big step to address the national security threat posed by China, which has grown dramatically, as others have already said. And I believe that China represents the foremost national security and economic challenge to our country of any other country in the world 

THE PRESIDENT: Not Russia?

SENATOR CORNYN:  in the long term.

THE PRESIDENT: Not Russia?

SENATOR CORNYN: In the long term.

In addition, its military transformation and its belligerence in places like the South Sea  South China Sea  as Senators Crapo and Rubio have pointed out  theyve engaged in outright theft of our intellectual property. But this addresses the problem of foreign investment made strategically to exploit gaps in the Committee on Foreign Investment, and for them to be able to acquire the know-how on intellectual property they need in order to gain access to this cutting-edge, dual-use technology.

I just want to express my appreciation to Secretary Mnuchin and Secretary Mattis, the Attorney General, Secretary Ross, and your entire administration for your partnership. We could not have gotten this done without each of these people at the table and certainly the leadership of Chairman Crapo on the Senate side and Chairman Hensarling on the House side. And just, this is a great accomplishment. Now we need to make sure it gets implemented. And thats  I know were top of Secretary Mnuchins list to make sure it operates as Congress intended it in order to accomplish these goals.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think not enough focus has been put on China. And thats been for a long time. And we want to have  a big focus is on Russia. Not enough focus is on China  and other countries, frankly. Not just Russia and China; its many countries we have to watch. And probably individuals also.

But this goes a long way. And I appreciate, very much, your words. Its  youve done a great job. Thank you very much, John.

Steve?

SECRETARY MNUCHIN: I appreciate the opportunity to work with everybody in this room on this important legislation. I think this is just a great example of the Senate and the House working together, giving us, at CFIUS, the new critical tools that we need to protect investments in the United States while also allowing for investments in the United States. And we will be launching the pilot program very quickly, and we look forward to full implementation of the legislation next year.

So, thank you to everybody.

THE PRESIDENT: You guys like all those cameras behind your head as you speak? (Laughter.) Id be very, very  Id take a long time in combing my hair if I was going to be in that seat. (Laughter.) It would take a long time.

Tom?

SENATOR COTTON: Well, its a really good thing that the Congress now recognizes China as our chief, long-term rival. Weve known for a long time that China has been hurting our manufacturing sector, and theyre not buying enough of our agricultural products. They discriminate against our companies. They just turned down the merger from Qualcomm, an American company, and NXP, a Dutch company. It had nothing to do with China; just to hurt the United States and our jobs here.

Theyve been conducting espionage for years. You know, youve noticed that their jets look a lot like our jets in our military.

THE PRESIDENT: Especially the F-22.

SENATOR COTTON: Exactly. And now theyre just outright buying our technology. You know, they dont have to steal it so much anymore, especially if youve got smaller companies that have critical breakthroughs in technology or artificial intelligence, or quantum computing, what have you.

This legislation will allow us to recognize those threats for what they are, and to stop China from buying our most critical technology that we need to maintain our role as the worlds greatest superpower.

So I thank you for your support for this legislation, and thank you to all my peers around the table, and encourage Secretary Mnuchin and everyone on the Committee on Foreign Investment to take a very tough look at everything that China is doing to the United States.

THE PRESIDENT: And, Tom, you know, weve put a $50 billion number out there. Now, the total number is $250 billion. But of that, $50 billion has to do with technology  high tech and things. And theres a 25-percent tax on that, now, coming in.

And I think that, economically, also helps us. This is very different, but it also helps us. And people are saying thats already having a big effect. And it is already; were collecting that money. Its a lot of money. Much of it is being collected. Some of it starts in a week. But its a tremendous amount of money coming into the coffers of the United States, which nobody has ever seen that before. Nobody has ever come close to seeing that before, actually.

Jeb?

REPRESENTATIVE HENSARLING: Thank you, Mr. President. Im very happy to represent the House today. I dont know what to think about the ratio. Does it take one House member to equal four senators? I dont know. Ill let them draw their own implications. (Laughter.)

Mr. President, I just came from doing a series of town hall meetings in the 5th District of Texas. People are enjoying  most of them  the best economy in their lifetimes. And they send their gratitude.

Your leadership on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the deregulatory agenda of this administration, has made a real difference.

But you know, and this administration knows, were not going to keep 3 percent-plus economic growth if our intellectual property and technology is taken from us by hook and crook, and ill-gotten gains and improper leverage.

So, with your leadership, CFIUS has been updated for the first time in a decade. Needed gaps were filled. And also, Mr. President, I wanted to just thank you for helping unite our Congress and unite our nation. Because the bill that came out of the House was almost unanimous. I think we had two or three dissenting votes. And so Congress is united to ensure that this intellectual property theft does not continue; that we stand up to all the countries that are not playing by the rules, including  and especially  China.

So I want to thank my fellow Texan in the Senate for leading here, my counterpart, Senator Crapo. I want to thank a couple of the House members who arent here: Robert Pittenger of North Carolina who authored, originally, the House bill, and Barr, who helped shepherd it through our committee.

And I want to thank the Secretary who played a very vital role, Mr. President, in negotiating those few differences between the House and Senate, and ensuring that we could get this into the NDAA and get your signature. So I wanted to acknowledge yourself as well.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jeb, very much. This is really a great achievement, and I want to thank everybody in the room very much. Great job.

Thank you, everybody, very much. Thank you.President Donald J. Trumps Call with Governor David Ige of Hawaii

Washington, DC - President Donald J. Trump spoke Friday with Governor David Ige of Hawaii to express his support for the people of Hawaii as the State is affected by Hurricane Lane. The President and the Governor discussed preparedness, emergency protective and response measures, and the emergency declaration that the President granted on August 22.

The President reiterated that the Federal Government is fully committed to helping the State in the response and recovery efforts related to Hurricane Lane.Vice President Pence on the Administrations Space Policy Priorities

Houston, Texas - Remarks by Vice President Pence on the Administrations Space Policy Priorities:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Administrator Bridenstine. To the members of Congress who are here; Director Geyer; to all our distinguished guests, including the Chief of the Astronaut Office, Pat Forrester, and nine members of the Astronaut Corps who are with us today; to all the men and women of NASA who are here in this hall and watching around the country, men and women who push the boundaries of human knowledge for the benefit of all: It is my great honor to be here at the home of human spaceflight, the Johnson Space Center. (Applause.) So proud of you.

Its great to be back. And before I begin, let me bring greetings from a great champion of American leadership at home and in the boundless expanse of space. I bring greetings from the 45th President of the United States, President Donald Trump. (Applause.)

It really is an honor to be with you today, at such a time as this in the life of our space program and in the life of our nation. Thanks to President Trumps vision and decisive action, with strong support from our partners in Congress, and thanks to the pioneering work and courage of the innovators and astronauts represented here, past, present, and future, and because of the enduring commitment of the Johnson Space Center and NASA, America is leading in space once again. (Applause.) Its true.

And were grateful to all of you. But let me begin tonight  today as well  by saying how grateful we are for our NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine. He served as a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, he served in the Congress, and now he is leading NASA with distinction at the dawn of a renewed age of human space exploration, led by the United States of America. Jim, thank you for your leadership. (Applause.) Great job.

And I also want to thank the still-kind-of-new Director here at Johnson Space Center, Mark Geyer, recipient of NASAs Distinguished Service Medal. His career here has actually spanned more than three decades and I couldnt be more impressed with the job that Mark Geyer is doing or the fact that hes a graduate of Purdue University. (Applause.) Join me in thanking  Mark, stand up. Stand up. Take a bow. (Laughs.)

I also want to thank a few other people before we get going. I want to acknowledge your two senators, who are champions of this space program. I know theyre not with us today  theyre working on Capitol Hill  but join me in thanking Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ted Cruz. They fight for this space program every day. (Applause.)

And I know it got mentioned before, but we actually served together when I was in the Congress. And I just want to give some special recognition to someone who Ive known since the first day we met in 2001 has been a passionate champion of NASA and of the Johnson Space Center, and of American leadership in space: Congressman John Culberson. (Applause.) Its true.

You got to know, Congressman Culberson is not just a congressman from Texas, hes the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees the budget for NASA. And because of President Trumps leadership and vision, and because of the strong support of Congressman Culberson and our bipartisan support in the Congress, President Trump signed the largest budget for NASA since the days of the Apollo Program. Thank you, John. (Applause.) Great. We really thank them all.

So its great to be back at the Johnson Space Center. Today, I got to look around a little bit and I was like a kid in a candy store. (Laughter.) Im telling you what  it was amazing talking to astronauts training at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. I looked at some lunar samples. I was told that the samples we were looking at, still encased, havent been opened since they were gathered nearly a half a century ago.

And it was my privilege to wander around this place with a great American, a hero of Apollo 17, and a man that all America is proud of  one of the last two men to walk on the moon  Jack Schmitt. It is always an honor to be with you. (Applause.) Thank you for your leadership.

We rode over in my car together, which is kind of cozy  lots of stuff piled in there. And I was just imagining, maybe I was in the  (laughter)  me and Jack Schmitt in close quarters. (Laughs.) As close as Ill ever get, Jack. (Laughter.) Thank you.

Thank you for your leadership and your courage, and your commitment  a member of the User Advisory Group, advising the National Space Council to take NASA to even higher levels. Thank you again, Jack.

With the strong support of all these leaders, Im pleased to report to the whole team here at NASA, President Trump has brought renewed vision and renewed action to Americas space program.

Last summer, as Jim mentioned, after it had lain dormant for nearly a quarter of a century, President Trump revived the National Space Council, and put us all to work. (Applause.)

As we speak, the National Space Council  bringing together all different agencies of government that bear on this program, and bringing together the best minds in and around American space leadership  were forming a cohesive and comprehensive strategy for Americas space activities.

Its my honor to serve as Chairman, and weve already forged new partnerships between the federal government, leaders in industry, and academia. Were enacting new space traffic management policies to protect our assets in that crowded realm. Were rolling back stifling red tape so we can tap the bottomless well of American innovation.

Were also renewing our national commitment to discovery and to exploration, and to write the next great chapter of our nations journey into space. Thats why, last December  45 years almost to the minute since Jack Schmitt and Gene Cernan landed on the moon  President Donald Trump signed Space Policy Directive-1. It is now the official policy of the United States of America that we will return to the moon, put Americans on Mars, and once again explore the farthest depths of outer space. (Applause.)

And the Presidents leadership and all of your great work is the cause of what brings me here today, for this is the mission; this is future of the Johnson Space Center.

For more than 50 years, this storied center has been at the forefront of Americas journey to the stars. This is the home of the Astronaut Corps. And, here, from the Mission Control Center, you have guided every American-crewed space expedition since 1965.

The names and the voyages that you directed from this place adorn the mantle of American greatness. In Project Gemini, you steered some of our earliest astronauts high above what they called the Blue Marble, into low Earth orbit.

In the Apollo Program, you navigated the first members of the human family to the moon and back.

At this very hour, you walk with our astronauts through their duties as they walk 200 miles above us, orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes, on the International Space Station.

The Johnson Space Center is a national treasure, and all the men and women who work here are a national asset. (Applause.)

I have to tell you, Im just speaking as a small-town guy from southern Indiana, but I know the American people admire  they admire the work done here  past, present  and they look for even greater things in the future here at Johnson Space Center.

And let me to say to all of you, and all of those that might be looking on: The most important work and the best days for the Johnson Space Center are yet to come. (Applause.) Count on it.

Our administration has laid out a new vision for space. President Trumps vision to push our nation farther, get there faster than ever before, is being implemented even as we speak. And unlike prior administrations, we have a vision with the budget to match.

As I mentioned, thanks to Congressman Culbersons leadership and the strong bipartisan support in the Congress, President Trump already signed into law historic funding for NASA. And weve also fully funded NASAs most important endeavors from deep-space human exploration: Americas rocket, the Space Launch System, and the Orion space capsule.

These projects, as you all well know, are emblematic of American leadership in the cosmos. The Space Launch System will be the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. It will generate a staggering 11.9 million pounds of thrust and reach speeds of nearly 7 miles per second. And all this force, all this energy, will lift American astronauts into space aboard the Orion capsule. (Applause.)

I just saw one of those Orion capsules floating out in that big tank. (Laughter.) I know were getting ready to put that thing up in the air. And it will be up before you know it.

The next Americans who set foot on the moon will start their journey by stepping through Orions hatch. And this extraordinary spacecraft will one day bridge the gap between our planet and the next, for the Orion will be a critical part of the vessel that carries American astronauts to Mars. (Applause.)

And you, here at the Johnson Space Center will guide these journeys. For while our sights are once again set on our lunar neighbor, this time were not content with just leaving behind footprints, or even to leave at all. This time has  a time has come, we really believe, for the United States of America to take what we have learned over these so many decades, put your ingenuity and creativity to work, and establish a permanent presence around and on the moon. (Applause.) Were going to do it. Were going to do it.

Now, some say that America doesnt need to go back to the moon; that we ought to focus on issues closer to home. That attitude was probably best described in one of my favorite movies, called Interstellar. (Laughter.) Remember that scene on the front porch? It was an incredible quote. One of the characters in the movie said, and I quote, We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars. Now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt. Thats not how Americans think.

Truthfully, that kind of thinking led people in the past to even cancel the Constellation Program. That would have put Americans back on the moon by 2020 and set the stage for exploration to Mars and beyond.

That decision was a mistake. It said to NASA, it said to our country, to the entire world, that America was no longer serious about human space exploration. We talked about going to Mars, but without the moon as the stepping stone, without stronger commercial partnerships to help us get there, a crewed mission to the red planet was not much more than a mirage.

But those days are over. America will lead mankind to the stars once again. (Applause.) We will. We will.

Our administration has restored the moon as the focal point of our national space activities because we recognize its pivotal importance. And thats why, under President Trumps leadership, our administration is swiftly advancing the most important precursor to outposts on the moon and the mission to Mars  the first space station that will orbit our nearest neighbor the Lunar Orbital Platform.

Last year, NASA began to work with American innovators to design this gateways unique electric propulsion system. Were working with the Congress to provide an unprecedented $500 million to move the Lunar Orbital Platform from proposal to production.

Were only a few short years away from launching the gateways first building blocks into space, turning science fiction into science fact. And our administration is working tirelessly to put an American crew aboard the Lunar Orbital Platform before the end of 2024. Men and women of the Johnson Space Center: Its not a question of if; its just a question of when. (Applause.)

Now, were on the cusp of a new golden age of exploration. I believe it with all my heart. And weve got the courageous astronauts that are ready to lead us there again. As NASA continues to push back the borders of this still-new frontier, we will empower Americas private pioneers as well to cultivate the vast expanses that weve already explored. Well ensure that American security in space is attended to as well.

You know, the moon sits at the edge of the known and the unknown. But between here and there, there are some 240,000 miles. The region between the Earth and the moon is ripe for opportunity, and nowhere is that more apparent than immediately beyond our atmosphere.

Low Earth orbit is critical to Americas national interests. It holds immense strategic, scientific, and commercial value. And we know this because of your work here at the Johnson Space Center, with the International Space Station.

You know, ever since Bill Shepherd first floated aboard the ISS in the year 2000, theres been a continuous human presence in low Earth orbit, and the results have really been extraordinary.

The ISS has conducted groundbreaking research on microgravity, life support systems. Its been a testbed for cutting-edge space technologies and systems, including 3D printers in zero gravity; fostered medical discoveries for cancer and other diseases; and given us new ways to treat our nations veterans. The International Space Station has spurred unprecedented collaboration between our federal government and a new generation of innovative American companies, as well.

Let me say this clearly: The International Space Station has been an unqualified success, and the men and women of Johnson Space Center deserve the credit for the history youve made. (Applause.) You do.

But like Skylab before it, the ISS, as you all know, has a finite lifetime. And with the deadline for direct funding set for 2025, we have to prepare immediately for what comes next. To ensure American leadership in low Earth orbit tomorrow, we are taking action today.

In the words of mission controller and legendary leader Gene Kranz, we need to be tough and competent to achieve our goals. And together with NASA, were already developing a comprehensive plan to do just that.

The Johnson Space Center knows well the high cost of inaction. The men and women of NASA have always been committed to American leadership in space, but too often, our policymakers have failed to match your conviction with action and investment for the future. The last decade is proof.

The end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011 left America without a viable human space launch program. While I was a member of Congress, I actually had the opportunity to attend three different shuttle launches  some of the most inspiring experiences of my little familys lives.

Sadly, for more than seven years, weve been forced to hitch a ride to space. Many Americans dont know that weve actually been forced to pay Russia to carry American astronauts to the International Space Station. And today, that cost runs about $82 million per seat. Those days are about to be over. (Applause.)

Im going to make you a promise: Soon, and very soon, American astronauts will return to space on American rockets launched from American soil. (Applause.) And when they go, of course theyll be guided by the dedicated team here at the Johnson Space Center.

You know, when we ended the Shuttle Program, it was more than a loss of momentum, though. It was really a tremendous loss for Americas space workforce. You all know that better than me.

The end of the Space Shuttle Program meant that many of our leading researchers, technicians, and space professionals no longer had a mission. Here at the Johnson Space Center alone, some 3,200 contractors were laid off, cutbacks and consequences rippled through universities, research labs, our space industrial base, and even the Department of Defense.

These were men and women who you knew, you worked with. They were men and women of creativity, and intellect, and unparalleled skill. But they were, frankly, victims  victims of our governments shortsightedness in those days. America lost nearly a decade of space experience. And, frankly, well never know the opportunities that we missed and the progress that was missed at that time.

But let me promise all of you, and all of the men and women of NASA and our national space enterprise: Our administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past. We will forge this new era of American leadership in space on your innovation, and the extraordinary integrity and intellect and innovation of our space workforce. (Applause.)

The Johnson Space Center has already given us a glimpse of what the future will hold. This center is now a thriving hub of partnership between the federal government and Americas pioneering space companies.

Youve worked closely  and Mark and I were just talking about this  youve worked very closely with private industry to deliver critical cargo and material to the International Space Station through the Commercial Resupply Services, which has already successfully completed 23 different missions, with more on the way.

As we speak, youre making remarkable progress on the Commercial Crew Program. Earlier this month, as President Trump celebrated himself, NASA announced the astronauts who will conduct the first flights on Boeings Starliner and SpaceX Dragon. And theyll be going as early as next year. (Applause.)

But, really, were just getting started. This is just the beginning. As NASA reorients toward human space exploration, our private companies and visionary innovators are going to take the lead in developing the regions closer to home. They will do as Americans have always done  will inspire the world with their ability to create opportunity and, frankly, prosperity. Not out of thin air  out of no air. (Laughter.)

Our administration, as we speak, is working with the Congress to give NASA the funding you need to ensure that these new space pioneers are given the freedom and flexibility to be able to develop what they should develop, and make it a smooth transition to an exciting future of collaboration.

The Johnson Space Center is going to continue to play an essential and irreplaceable role in navigating Americas future in low Earth orbit. You can count on it. America will not ever abandon the critical domain of space. We will open the way for innovators and development, and we will lead once again in human exploration. (Applause.)

And as I stand here today at the home of our civilian spaceflight program, let me also assure my fellow Americans that, under President Trumps leadership, were also taking steps, as we speak, to ensure that American national security is as dominant in space as it is here on Earth.

Were already deploying new technologies and more resilient satellites. Earlier this month, at the Pentagon, it was my privilege to lay out President Trumps plan to establish a sixth branch of our armed forces: the United States Space Force.

The United States Space Force, we believe, is an idea whose time has come. Just as our nation established the Air Force to ensure American dominance in the skies in the mid-20th century, in this still-new century, we will create an armed service devoted solely to advancing American security in space.

And the need is real. Just this week, the Pentagon released a report showing that China is aggressively weaponizing space. Russia, too, is developing and testing new and dangerous weapons and technologies to counter Americas space capabilities.

Now let me assure my fellow Americans here, our administration is committed to keep America ahead of our adversaries in this critical domain. And as we speak, the Department of Defense is moving forward with initial steps to strengthen American security in space, and we will continue to work with both parties in Congress to provide the necessary authorities and funding to stand up a new branch of our armed forces. And the United States Department of Space Force will be a reality by the year 2020. (Applause.)

You know, it really is incredible to think about the history you all have made here. And its humbling for me to serve as your Vice President, but also to have been asked by the President to serve in the role as Chairman of the National Space Council.

The truth is, our nation has not only inspired our people, but weve inspired the world by the progress that weve made. And its been because of all of you, because of the work that youve done here, because of the tireless and peerless work of NASA.

But the truth is, as much as its been important for NASA to lead in the past, you are the linchpin to American success in the future. The truth is, with all of you, we will go farther  farther than even before. We will bring distant places and opportunities closer to the grasp of future Americans. Well be remembered in our time for having done our part for the ongoing and limitless reach of the American Dream.

So today, I just simply want to leave you with a challenge. As we write this new chapter of American exploration, I urge you to embrace this new energy and these new opportunities. Rededicate yourselves to the mission of NASA after you leave here today.

Know that you have, in this President and our entire administration, and, I believe, in the hearts of the American people and those that represent them, you have great champions and great advocates that are anxious to see your work expand.

I just know in my heart, in our lifetimes, with your renewed energy and creativity and dedication, we will do as Americans have always done. NASA will awe the world with our daring heroes, with our discoveries, and with our relentless determination to bring new horizons and new vistas within the reach of mankind.

This is a fitting time to rededicate ourselves to the noble mission of this agency, for this year marks the 50th anniversary of, really, a seminal moment of American leadership in space  an achievement that inspired not only our nation, but all the world.

It was Christmas Eve, 1968. The heroes of Apollo 8  Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman  were orbiting their craft above the moons foreboding surface. History records, as they rounded the moon on that fateful night, on the horizon, they saw home  an oasis of light and color and warmth, floating untethered in the dark void. They were the first to catch a glimpse of our world as Heaven sees it.

Through the ingenuity and courage of your predecessors, they were further away from us than any humans had ever been. And on that night, they spoke to the world from that spacecraft  not about the grey moon that was beneath them, but about the miracle that rose from the horizon before them.

As the world listened, history records they read ancient verses from the Book of Genesis that In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and they closed with the verse, and God saw it was good.

Those pioneers saw from that far perspective that however deep into the cosmos we may reach, our destiny  mankinds destiny, is not only here on Earth, it is in the heavens as well. (Applause.)

So men and women of the Johnson Space Center, men and women of NASA here and watching around the country, lets go forth and meet that destiny together to do what Americans have always done. Lets seize it with ingenuity and courage, and lets seize it with faith.

You can be confident in the  the American people have faith in all of you. Weve seen what youve done before in those that have served in your positions before, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, forging a new era of American leadership in space. Youve done it before; we know youll do it again. To go forth with faith in the ideals that bind us together as a nation and give us purpose as a people  ideals that America will take freedom into the farthest reaches of this new frontier as well.

And finally, to those of you who will guide this mission, on a personal level, I just  I want to assure you that millions of Americans will carry you in their prayers. And they have faith and hope you have confidence that, as you go, you do not go alone. That millions of Americans will claim that ancient promise that if you rise on the wings of the dawn, if you go up to the heavens, even there His hand will guide you, and His right hand will hold us fast. Our heroes will go with the prayers of the American people. (Applause.)

So thank you for  thank you for the warm welcome today. Thank you for your extraordinary work. I leave here today more confident than ever. With the renewed commitment of all of you here at the Johnson Space Center, and all the men and women of NASA who are advancing Americas space enterprise every single hour of the day; with the strong leadership of President Donald Trump; and a renewed vision for American leadership in space, led by the President supported in our Congress; with the strong support of the American people; and with Gods help, I know that our nation has a brighter future than ever in the boundless expanse of space and we will lead into that future together.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.Reliant to Pay $6.1 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations That it Paid Kickbacks to Nursing Homes for Rehabilitation Therapy Business

Austin, Texas - Reliant Rehabilitation Holdings Inc. (Reliant), a national provider of rehabilitation therapy and related services headquartered in Plano, Texas, has agreed to pay the United States $6.1 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729, et seq., by paying kickbacks to skilled nursing facilities and physicians in connection with care provided to Medicare beneficiaries as a way of improperly promoting Reliants rehabilitation therapy business, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The United States alleged that between April 1, 2013, and May 1, 2017, Reliant knowingly offered improper inducements, in the form of Reliant-employed nurse practitioners who worked at client nursing homes without charge or for a nominal, below fair market fee in order to induce or reward nursing homes for contracting with Reliant to provide rehabilitation therapy for their residents. The settlement between the United States and Reliant resolves this claim, as well as a separate allegation that Reliant violated the FCA by causing the submission of claims to Medicare that were tainted by improper contracts between Reliant and physicians working at skilled nursing facilities that offered the physicians above fair market compensation for supervising and collaborating with Reliant nurse practitioners in exchange for the facilities therapy business.

The Justice Department is committed to investigating and routing out any improper financial relationships between health care providers that have the potential to undermine patient care and trust. said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad A. Readler for the Justice Departments Civil Division. This settlement demonstrates our commitment to protecting the integrity of the Medicare program.

Companies that work to secure patient referrals by providing kickbacks inject improper financial considerations into our healthcare system, said United States Attorney Erin Nealy Cox for the Northern District of Texas. Todays settlement demonstrates our determination to thwart such improper inducements  whether they take the form of cash payments or free services.

Paying illegal remuneration to nursing homes and doctors to increase the bottom line  as contended by the government in this case  is unacceptable as it too often sacrifices the best interests of patients to profit-making schemes, said CJ Porter, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Patients and taxpayers deserve better.

The allegations resolved by the settlement agreement were originally brought by Dr. Thomas Prose under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring an action on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Dr. Prose will receive approximately $915,000 of the settlement proceeds.

The case was handled by the Justice Departments Civil Division and the U.S. Attorneys Offices for the Northern District of Texas. Investigative assistance was provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Prose v. Reliant Rehabilitation, Civil Action No. 3:16-CV-0707-D (N.D. Tex.). The claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.Secretary of State Pompeo's Call With Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan

Washington, DC - Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke today with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and wished him success. Secretary Pompeo expressed his willingness to work with the new government towards a productive bilateral relationship.

Secretary Pompeo raised the importance of Pakistan taking decisive action against all terrorists operating in Pakistan and its vital role in promoting the Afghan peace process.Remember the Great American Eclipse of 2017? For a few minutes, it seemed the entire country was relaxed and focused on the same thing.

Jon Carmichael was focused all right. But he wasn't exactly relaxed. Instead, he was in Seat 1A on a Southwest Airlines flight, taking more than 1,200 photographs in a two-minute span outside the aircraft's window.

(Update: Here's the odd way that Elon Musk factors into this story--after he was invited to speak at Twitter but couldn't come, and Carmichael filled in for Musk.)

The result? A photographic mosaic that people are calling the most amazing image ever taken from a commercial airplane. I interviewed Carmichael this week. Here's the photo, and his story.

A year ago, millions came together and witnessed one of the most beautiful moments in history. My dream was to capture this from a unique view to remind us of our place in the universe and to stay united in our humanity. Thank you @Twitter for sharing that vision. #eclipse108 pic.twitter.com/AjSzf27xxQ -; Jon Carmichael (@photographerjon) August 21, 2018

A childhood dream, realized

Carmichael, 32, is a professional photographer whose clients have included Twitter, Elton John, and even the Dalai Lama. He's also a self-described "big space nerd" who first realized during seventh grade that he'd have the chance to live through a total solar eclipse.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to go to space and be an astronaut. And I thought this might be the closest I get," he told me Thursday. "It's the only time you'll ever see our sun on a black sky, which changes your whole perspective."

Carmichael spent a long time trying to figure out how he could possibly get high above the earth in order to take the perfect photograph. He put a lot of time and money into a video to enter an Alaska Airlines contest for a seat on a plane that would fly right through the perfect path--and he was "devastated" when he didn't win.

He started scouring other flight times and paths, and saw that Southwest flight 1368 from Portland to St. Louis might just be perfect. He flew out from New York to take it, but then realized he had a problem.

He needed a window seat, but his boarding pass on the open seating flight put him in Group C. Solution: He brought $600 in cash, to pay off other passengers.

"Don't get your hopes up"

Fortunately, no bribes were needed. Carmichael told me he introduced himself at the gate to the Southwest employees, and they immediately bought into his plan. They bumped him up to first in the boarding line, and the captain, Jeffry Jackson, even cleaned the outside of the window at Seat 1A so that Carmichael would have a clear view.

"The only way I can do this, shooting through a little 8-inch window," Carmichael told the captain, "I need a 180-degree view. So, can you possibly turn the plane around when we're in totality?"

"Don't get your hopes up," Jackson replied. But he did get approval, and the plane wound up doing five 180 degree turns at full totality. (A video at the end of this article includes the flight path.)

"Within a matter of seconds, it goes from broad daylight to completely nighttime," Carmichael recalled. "Everybody just kind of gasped and went silent. And I'm just focusing on getting these shots. I'm utilizing everything I've ever learned with photography in my career, in these two minutes of time...I took over 1,200 photos."

Debut at Twitter

The final image shows the eclipse just as the plane passes over the Snake River, separating Oregon from Idaho. It took close to a year after the flight for Carmichael to assemble the final print.

Meantime, he has regular corporate clients, including Twitter. And when the company learned about his eclipse project, they worked with him to unveil it on the one-year anniversary of the Great American Eclipse.

"They ended up streaming it live to every Twitter office around the world, 33 offices around the world, they all tuned in live. And so it was really just an extremely beautiful moment. It's really miraculous what happened," he told me.

Twitter offices all around the world celebrated the eclipse anniversary with me. I couldn't have dreamed this would happen. You've all changed my life thank you - let's all remember that we don't need an eclipse to be unified. Keep looking up https://t.co/nlW826TOri -; Jon Carmichael (@photographerjon) August 21, 2018Ah, basic economy. It seems like the great equalizer: equally miserable for everyone.

That's why, when American Airlines announced a new change that should make basic economy a little less uncomfortable, people reacted with surprise and even joy.

But then, in the next breath, American Airlines revealed the cynical train of thought that prompted them to do it. Order was restored, imbalances were balanced. Basic economy went back to sucking.

The reasoning behind American Airlines's change is both complicated and ultimately comical--what more could you expect? So, here's the change, and the cynical reasoning.

Free bags for everyone!

First the good news. Starting Sept. 5, the day after Labor Day, American Airlines will allow basic economy passengers to bring a carry on bag aboard the plane.

Not a checked bag, of course; this is just to allow basic economy proles to carry aboard something other than a small personal item like a purse or a computer bag.

My colleague Chris Matyszczyk reported on this when it was just a rumor. Now the airline confirmed it in a recent presentation to reporters.

The change brings American closer in line with the basic economy offering on Delta Air Lines. And you might think this means passengers will be just a little bit more comfortable in basic economy, and a little bit happier with American Airlines.

Yeah, you might think that. In fact, it would appear that's exactly what American Airlines wants you to think.

But there's more to it.

The art of the upsell

Airfares are complicated now. For example, American Airlines doesn't judge basic economy based on how many tickets it sells.

In our upside down world, it judges basic economy on how many tickets it doesn't sell.

They're intended as a loss leader, if you will. The idea is to present you with a rock bottom fare during your dutiful Internet searches--something that looks like it competes with all the other rock bottom fares (including those from the rock bottom service airlines, like say, Spirit).

But then, once you've selected a flight and settled into booking, you realize the restrictions: No seat assignment ahead of time. At least $25 to check your first bag. No same-day changes or standby, and no chance of an upgrade.

And so you start to look at the add-ons, and the higher-priced fares. Or perhaps you don't, and on the day of your flight you find yourself paying more to check bags. You're already deep into the process with American, so 60 percent of passengers stick with it, but find a way to spend more.

Now, American says it's realized that it needs to "make our short-haul Basic Economy fares more competitive with airlines that include a carry-on bag in their lowest fares."

But it's willing to do so, because it's done the math on upsell rates, according Kurt Stache, American's senior V.P. of marketing, loyalty and sales.

"There are other features of that product that we think will continue to provide us sell-up rates. We think it will be in the 50 percent range," he told reporters at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver, according to CNBC.

Actually, if you compare the 60 percent upsell rate now to the number American Airlines president Robert Isom quoted to investors a year ago, it looks like American is actually doing better than it had planned.

"When customers are offered a basic economy fare and also see the main cabin product, 50 percent are buying up from that offering," he said a year ago. Now they think that's where they'll be even with the free carry on bag included.Most people have someone in their lives who's a hustler (or a Diva, as Beyonce says). They're the ones who simply outwork everyone else, oozing scrappiness and demonstrating laser focus. Where others have tried and failed, they're able make something out of nothing. It's an invaluable characteristic in business. Those who put in extra effort, follow up on every potential opportunity, and always look ahead are usually able to make great things happen. In other words, you create your own luck.

YPO member Robert Morcos knows how to hustle. It's that attitude that allowed him to start his first business at age 8, and enter the telecom industry at age 15. Today, Robert is the founder and CEO of Social Mobile Telecommunications, a vertically integrated OEM that specializes in providing customizable and scalable Android-based smart solutions for the Enterprise market. Hustle was baked into Social Mobile from its inception in 2011. As a result, Morcos and his team have designed, developed, and deployed over 10 million smart devices into 20 countries. This success doesn't come from divine intervention - it results from hard work.

Here is Morcos' advice on how to make hustle an integral part of your company:

1. Demonstrate Dedication

Success starts from the top. "You need to be relentless - YOU," Morcos says. "To create a corporate culture of dedication, your people need to see you laser focused 24/7." The best leaders do as they demand from others. "Tony Robbins says that entrepreneurs are modern day gladiators," Morcos comments. "You need to have grit to get it done, and others will follow your lead." Do the little things, too, Morcos advises: "Eliminate distractions, and say no when you need to. Stay organized and punctual, and plan your day in advance." Give your team a map of good behavior to follow. It's an oldie but a goodie: Lead by example.

2. Follow Up Your Follow Ups

Whether its problem solving for a customer, closing a deal, or working with a supplier, you need to be relentless. "Always, always follow up," Morcos asserts. He laments, "Sometimes people give up when they don't get an immediate reply or find a solution right away." You have to keep at it. When it comes to sales, "You're never a priority for someone until they absolutely need your solution," he advises, "so show them why they need you." If you come up against a wall, don't relent. Morcos says, "Keep following up! Keep pushing, or look for another way of achieving the goal." You never know the opportunities that can result from this persistence.

3. Get Your Ducks in a Row

Even the greatest businesspeople in the world can't do it all by themselves. Morcos says, "Surround yourself with the right team. You can't do it alone. You need a solid group to achieve your goals. The sooner you get this done, the better." But the work doesn't stop there. Just like you, teams need an end goal to strive towards. Morcos advises, "Once you have your team in place, get them all aligned behind the same mission. It's important that the entire team understands the mission, business model, and where the company is heading. Don't allow anyone to get sidetracked." Everyone needs to understand the intricacies of the objective, so they can master what it takes to get there.

4. Adapt

The only constant is change, and leaders need to confront the realities of their industries. "Business has its ups and downs," Morcos acknowledges. He relays his own experience as an example: "We started Social Mobile with a vision very different than what we have now. When we struggled, we had to think outside the box to see what we were missing, and then take what we learned and regroup." There's always more to learn. Networking is one of Morcos' favorite learning tools. He says, "I like to network all the time. I like talking to other people, and they have so much wisdom to share." The more you can learn from the success and failure of others, the better you can direct your company towards success.

5. Don't Just Be - DO!

Morcos is a big believer in making your own luck. He says, "Everyone knows the importance of being in the right place in the right time. And preparation puts you in a position for luck." He warns, however, that while luck has taken you this far, it won't take you any further. He asserts, "Now you have to seize the opportunity! You've worked hard to generate the luck, so now get something done!" Make your luck work for you.The Northern Florida town of Mayo in is temporarily changing its name to Miracle Whip. As you might guess, this is part of a marketing campaign by Miracle Whip maker Kaft Heinz, which is reportedly paying the town somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000 for the name change.

As far as that goes, this is not an unusual story. IHOP, the International House of Pancakes, temporarily became IHOB, the International House of Burgers, to mixed reviews. Hot Springs, New Mexico changed its name to Truth or Consequences in order to bring the then-popular game show to town. Topeka, Kansas tried the same approach, temporarily changing its name to Google, in the hopes that the search giant would bring high-speed internet, but it didn't. North Tarrytown, New York even changed its name to Sleepy Hollow, just to make sure people knew it was the setting for Washington Irving's headless horseman story.

But there's one big difference. None of these other towns claimed to be trying to play a trick on 1,232 unsuspecting residents. Mayo--or, rather, Miracle Whip--town officials seem to think they can fool everybody who lives in their community into thinking the name change is permanent.

The idea of the prank is for videographers from Miracle Whip to record townspeople's reactions when they discover that their street signs and water tower are being changed to the new name. They also want to record what happens when people in town are asked to give up any mayonnaise they may have in their homes, presumably to be replaced with Miracle Whip.

How exactly did town officials expect to fool 1,232 people? For starters, they held a closed-to-the-public meeting with Kraft Heinz where they worked out the details of the surprise. Ann Murphy, the mayor, gamely tried to stick with the illusion that the name change was permanent, telling the Associated Press, "We're not going to be boring old Mayo anymore. We are going to be Miracle Whip! I definitely think this will put us on the map." (In case you're wondering, the town got its original name from Confederate Colonel James Mayo.)

Unfortunately for the town's wannabe prankster leadership, Linda Cone, town clerk, was more forthcoming, admitting to reporters that, yup, the name change is temporary and that town officials were trying to fool residents, at least for a few days, by pretending it was permanent. But in a town of just over 1,200 people, she added, everyone knows everyone and it's not easy to keep a secret. "It's been kind of difficult to keep everything under wraps."

Nothing is under wraps anymore. Any residents who might have been fooled probably are in on the joke now since the story's gone out over the Associated Press and has appeared in the Tampa Bay Times and on a local TV station's website.

So that would appear to be that, except for one thing. That closed meeting town officials held with Kraft Heinz to plan their prank? It may have been illegal under Florida's Sunshine Law, which guarantees open access to most government meetings.An asteroid called 2016 NF23 is expected to skim past our planet in the next few days.

As it hurtles through space at a speed of over 20,000 miles per hour, a number of news reports have highlighted the close approach it will make towards Earth.

Given the potential devastation that could result from the collision, here The Independent looks at what this asteroid actually is and how likely it is to hit us.Advertisement

By The Associated Press

Aug. 24, 2018 | WASHINGTON

By The Associated Press Aug. 24, 2018 | 08:42 AM | WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump escalated his long-running feud with Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday, pressing him to investigate those who are probing his administration.



Responding to Sessions' declaration that he would not be influenced by politics, Trump tweeted that Sessions must "look into all of the corruption on the 'other side,'" adding: "Come on Jeff, you can do it, the country is waiting!"



The president's tweets marked the second day of a highly public smackdown by Trump of his attorney general.



Earlier this week, Trump, concerned by the legal downfall of two former advisers, accused Sessions of failing to take control of the Justice Department. Sessions punched back Thursday, saying that he and his department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."



Trump's anger with Sessions boiled over in an interview with Fox News in which the president also expressed frustration with the plea agreement his onetime legal fixer Michael Cohen cut with prosecutors, implicating Trump in a crime that Cohen admitted. Trump said it might be better if "flipping"  cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for more favorable treatment were illegal because people cooperating with the government "just make up lies" to get a break from prosecutors.



Some of the issues Trump raised with Sessions on Friday have either already been examined or are in the process of being investigated.



He cited two former FBI officials, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were sharply criticized in a Justice Department inspector general report in June for trading derogatory text messages about Trump. Strzok, who was removed from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation in the summer once the texts were brought to his attention, was fired by the FBI this month. Page has resigned from the bureau.



Trump also mentioned the Russian probe. The inspector general is also investigating potential abuses in the early stages of the FBI's investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign. Trump and other Republicans have complained that the political opposition research used to support a wiretap application on a Trump associate was paid for by Democrats, something the inspector general is expected to look at.



Trump also addressed the five-year sentence given to a former government contractor convicted of mailing a classified U.S. report to a news organization.



Trump tweeted Friday that is "small potatoes" compared with "what Hillary Clinton did." Prosecutors are calling that sentence handed down to 26-year-old Reality Winner the longest imposed for a federal crime involving leaks to the media.



Earlier he defended himself on Fox against talk of impeachment  "the market would crash ... everybody would be very poor"  tried to dissociate himself from Cohen and said anew that he hadn't known in advance about Cohen's hush money payments to silence women alleging sexual relationships with the celebrity businessman.



Trump's latest criticisms of law enforcement came as he appeared increasingly vulnerable to long-running investigations after this week's one-two punch of Cohen's plea deal and the conviction of Trump's former campaign chair Paul Manafort.



Trump has spent more than a year publicly and privately venting over Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the federal Russia-collusion investigation because he'd worked on Trump's campaign. Trump, who blames that decision for the eventual appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, told "Fox and Friends" host Ainsley Earhardt that Sessions "never took control of the Justice Department and it's a sort of an incredible thing."



"What kind of man is this?" Trump asked.



"You know the only reason I gave him the job? Because I felt loyalty, he was an original supporter," Trump said of Sessions, an Alabama Republican who was the first senator to endorse Trump's bid.



Sessions has made clear to associates that he has no intention of leaving his job voluntarily despite Trump's constant criticism. But his tone in his statement on Thursday made clear he is tired of the president's attacks.



"I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President's agenda," he said. He said that while he's attorney general the department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action."



In New York, meanwhile, it was reported that federal prosecutors have granted immunity to David Pecker, the publisher of National Enquirer, which bought and killed the stories of two women. And people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that the publication kept a safe containing documents on hush money payments and other damaging stories it killed as part of its cozy relationship with Trump leading to 2016 election.



Allies, including Republican members of Congress have long advised Trump that firing Sessions  especially before the midterm elections  would be deeply damaging to the party.



But Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who in March said firing Sessions would "blow up" the Judiciary Committee, has been shifting his tone.



"I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice," he told reporters on Thursday. "Clearly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions doesn't have the confidence of the president."



Others stood by Sessions.A former Tory minister has warned party hardliners that their dream of a no-deal Brexit will be blocked by at least 40 fellow Conservatives.

Nick Boles said there was a lot of support among mainstream Tory MPs for combining with opposition parties to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU without an agreement.

I dont care how many of my colleagues dream of this in the midnight hour. There are not the parliamentary numbers to support a no-deal Brexit, he said.

And I will vote, as a Conservative MP, in whatever way is necessary, on whatever motion will achieve the result of stopping a no-deal Brexit.

Theresa May has insisted leaving without any agreement remains an option  despite her own civil servants warning of food and medicine shortages and huge tailbacks at the UKs borders.

The prospect has appeared to grow over the summer as the talks remain deadlocked, with some Tories  led by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Iain Duncan Smith  insisting it holds no fears.

But The Independent revealed in June that pro-EU Tories are considering using a humble address  the tactic Labour used to force the government to release Brexit economic assessments  to block a no-deal exit.

Now Mr Boles, the former skills and housing minister, has echoed that readiness, arguing his party must pursue a reasonable Brexit deal that everybody can live with.

People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Show all 30 1 /30 People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Rex People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young protestor shouts as she takes part in the People's Vote demonstration against Brexit Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A protester's pro-EU t-shirt EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Gina Miller and Caroline Lucas EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Tens of thousands of people march through London EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EPA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Demonstrators at the People's Vote March Getty People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal 'Two months too young to decide on my future' REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A young girl joins in the march PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal An EU flag is draped across the statue of Winston Chruchill in Parliament Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal AFP/Getty Images People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Vince Cable MP, Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller, Tony Robinson and Caroline Lucas MP join with crowds PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Crowds gather on Pall Mall PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal A man resembling Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, joins EU supporters Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Reuters People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal People gather in Trafalgar Square REUTERS People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller and Tony Robinson PA People's Vote march  demanding vote on final Brexit deal EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal, participate in the 'People's Vote' march REUTERS

I can think of 40 Conservative MPs  at least  who will not support a no-deal Brexit, he told the Financial Times.

Such a revolt would almost certainly be sufficient to deliver a Commons majority to prevent the UK crashing out, teaming up with the opposition parties.

It would be likely to force the prime minister back to the negotiating table, perhaps with a request to the EU to extend the Article 50 deadline beyond March next year.

The crisis could also open the door to a fresh referendum, giving voters the option to remain in the EU, if the prime minister is unable to win parliaments approval for her strategy.

A deal struck with some Tory rebels in June means a meaningful vote motion  to be tabled if no Brexit agreement has been struck by next January  cannot be amended.

Instead, MPs would merely be able to debate the stalemate, even with departure day from the EU little more than two months away at that point.

However, under parliamentary rules, a humble address can be laid by a group of backbenchers  as well as by the Opposition  and that vote is binding on the government.

Some pro-Brexit Tories simply believe the no-deal threat strengthens Britains hand in the exit talks  but others are desperate for that clean break, rather than to accept further compromise with Brussels.

In the interview, Mr Boles, a former supporter of remaining in the EU, condemned intolerant, intemperate talk obstructing a Brexit compromise.

What we cant allow is for one side to win and to grind the faces of the other side in the dust, he said. I put colleagues of mine in both camps squarely in my sights when I say that.The immigration minister is under fire after preventing people desperate for help with family cases from contacting her on Twitter.

Caroline Nokes blocked at least two British citizens who turned to her for assistance after the Home Office failed to respond to their complaints or to appeals from their MPs.

The Home Office defended her decision, insisting individual cases should not be discussed on Twitter and that she had passed on correspondence through the correct channels.

But a leading immigration law firm condemned Ms Nokes actions as overzealous and certainly not acceptable in a democratic society.

It is concerning that an applicant has been barred from contacting Ms Nokes on Twitter for simply requesting information pertaining to his case, said Syed Naqvi, the head of the immigration department at ITN Solicitors.

How can she claim to be able to address the problems with our immigration system when she is not even prepared to listen to its service users?

Vince Cable, the Liberal democrat leader, told The Independent: This is not proper and courteous behaviour. The Home Office should reply to these complaints promptly in this hostile environment to visitors and immigrants.

Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Show all 15 1 /15 Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK The ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush' arriving at Tilbury Docks from Jamaica, with 482 Jamaicans on board, emigrating to Britain. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Jamaican immigrants being welcomed by RAF officials from the Colonial Office after the ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush' landed them at Tilbury. PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Alford Gardner who arrived in Britain in 1948 on the first Windrush ship to dock in Tilbury, Essex, speaking at his home in Leeds PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Alford Gardner in Leeds shortly after he arrived in Britain in 1948 on the first Windrush ship to dock in Tilbury, Essex PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Gardner was 22 years old when he boarded the ship in Kingston, Jamaica, with his brother Gladstone before they and hundreds of Caribbean migrants called on to rebuild post-war Britain disembarked the ship in Tilbury Docks PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Alford Gardner (right), during his RAF service in 1947 PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK The son of Ruth Williams, a Windrush-generation immigrant, wants to the leave the country after threats of deportation. According to his mother, Mr Haynes applied for British citizenship in 2016 but was rejected, despite Ms Williams having lived in the UK almost permanently since arriving from St Vincent and the Grenadines in 1959. Ruth Williams, 75, said she felt "betrayed" by Britain after the Home Office twice turned down applications for her 35-year-old son, Mozi Haynes, to remain in the country. Ms Williams is understood to have cancer and said she relies heavily on her son for support. PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK The British liner 'Empire Windrush' at port in 1954. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Ruth Williams, 75, with her British passport. "I feel betrayed and a second class citizen in my own country," she said. "This makes me so sad and the Home Office must show some compassion. "I am unwell and almost 75, I live on my own and I need my son to stay here. I need my family around me and I cant face being alone. He has applied to the Home Office and been refused twice." PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK From the top, hopeful Jamaican boxers Charles Smith, Ten Ansel, Essi Reid, John Hazel, Boy Solas and manager Mortimer Martin arrive at Tilbury on the Empire Windrush in the hope of finding work in Britain. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Jamaicans reading a newspaper whilst on board the ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush' bound for Tilbury docks in Essex. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK After half a century in Britain, Anthony Bryan decided it was time to go abroad. But the decision set off a nightmare that saw him lose his job, detained twice and almost deported to Jamaica. AFP/Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Jamaica-born Anthony Bryan poses outside his home in Edmonton, north London. Now 60 and a grandfather, Bryan thought the issue could be resolved swiftly, as he legally moved to Britain with his family as part of the Windrush generation of Caribbean migrants after World War II. In 1948, the ship Windrush brought the first group of migrants from the West Indies to help rebuild post-war Britain, and many others followed from around the Commonwealth. A 1971 law gave them indefinite leave to remain, but many never formalised their status, often because they were children who came over on their parents' passports and then never applied for their own. AFP/Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Three Jamaican immigrants (left to right) John Hazel, a 21-year-old boxer, Harold Wilmot, 32, and John Richards, a 22-year-old carpenter, arriving at Tilbury on board the ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush', smartly dressed in zoot suits and trilby hats. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Newly arrived Jamaican immigrants on board the 'Empire Windrush' at Tilbury in 1948. Getty

Two Britons told The Guardian that Ms Nokes had used the blocking mechanism on Twitter to prevent them from reading her tweets or contacting her.

Stephen Buck said he sent her three tweets in four months, asking for help prevent his long-term partner, Rusty Goodall, being deported to Australia.

"I was nothing but polite in my approaches but having tried all other avenues available to us  ie contacting the Home Office directly, asking our MP for help  and still feeling as though we were in a position where nobody was doing anything and nobody cared about us, contacting Nokes on Twitter felt like the only option left to try and get somebody in power to listen, he said.

John Holden, a British citizen who lives in the UK with his Filipino wife, son and three adopted children, was blocked on the same day this month, after asking Ms Nokes for help.

He said the Home Office had refused to issue his children with British passports unless their Philippine passports were first changed to their adopted surnames  which would take up to 18 months and require going to that country.

The Home Office has been completely deaf to my appeals and complaints, even though theyre acting against their own guidelines, Mr Holden protested.

My appealing directly to the minister was nothing more than a desperate plea when the feeling of helplessness became overbearing.

To be blocked for no apparent reason merely compounded the feeling of despair at a time when it felt all hope was lost.

The controversy comes after months of fierce criticism of the Home Office for its hostile environment crackdown on people suspected of flouting immigration rules.

The department has been accused of lengthy delays and incompetence in dealing with cases and of failing to respond to MPs who have taken up the concerns of constituents.

But a Home Office spokesperson said: Twitter is not an appropriate medium to discuss individual cases. Caroline Nokes passed on correspondence through the correct channels.Michael Heseltine has cast doubt over Theresa May securing a Brexit deal that can pass the Commons as he threw his support behind The Independents campaign for a new EU referendum.

Lord Heseltine, the former deputy prime minister in John Majors administration, said in his view there has never been such an unpredictable, calamitous set of events facing the country.

The Tory peer also poured scorn on Boris Johnsons niqab remarks, and said the former foreign secretary should apologise for his comments that could have a ripple effect and embolden the right wing.

His remarks came as The Independents campaign for a Final Say referendum on any Brexit deal reached by the prime minister in Brussels, gathered pace, with more than 700,000 people having signed the petition.

Last week the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) also published its first tranche of 24 technical papers detailing the governments preparations for a no-deal Brexit.

Among the documents it was revealed that credit card users could face a new Brexit tax, drug companies were told to build six-week supplies of medicines and UK citizens living in Europe could also lose access to pension income through new red tape.

My position is quite clear, said Lord Heseltine. The Brexiteers have had two years in which to produce a position along the lines in which they believe and after two years theyve produced absolutely nothing except a growing sense of panic.

He continued: At the moment there is no evidence there will be a deal  if there is, is there a deal that is acceptable to the House of Commons? Its a huge question.

Pressed on whether he believed the prime minister could get a deal through the chamber, he added: I think its very unlikely shell get a deal through the House of Commons.

Lord Heseltine said that for months he has been saying there had to be a second test of public opinion either through a general election or a second EU referendum.

I think probably a referendum, he said when asked which he would prefer. Its one or the other. Events will dictate which it is.

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

While the prime minister has categorically ruled out a second referendum under any circumstances, Labour has left the option on the table should parliament reject Ms Mays agreement with the EU or if a no-deal Brexit is looming.

On Friday, John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor and one of Jeremy Corbyns closest allies, said Labour would rule nothing out  echoing comments made by his frontbench colleague Sir Keir Starmer the previous day.

Referring to Mr Johnsons column in the Daily Telegraph, in which the former foreign secretary said those wearing niqabs resembled letterboxes and bank robbers, Lord Heseltine added: I think he should apologise.

My concern is the ripple effect. If people like him start using language that stimulates the worst elements of racism, it licences people to go further with impunity. If Boris can say it, I can say it. It becomes the sort of slogan of the racist element of the right wing.

He suggested there could only be two explanations for the contentious column that attracted widespread criticism. One is that its a mistake and if its a mistake he could say so. The other is that he calculates it would advance his street cred with the right wing of the Tory party. And I think its possible hes right with that judgement.

 How to Brexit-proof your life

Asked whether he believed it was likely Mr Johnson would challenge the prime minister for leadership of the Conservative Party, Lord Heseltine added: I think its much more likely that events will dictate the pace of change.

I would not expect him to make a decisive move  the move may be made inevitable by vacuums or by other people signing letters of no confidence, all these sorts of things, or by losses of votes in the House of Commons.

There has never been in my view such an unpredictable, calamitous set of events facing us.A senior Labour MP says he is agonising every day over whether to quit the party after the latest antisemitism row engulfing Jeremy Corbyn.

Mike Gapes described the party as a horrible place to be in the wake of the Labour leader being filmed claiming that Zionists in Britain dont understand English irony.

It is painful. It is a horrible place to be and it cant go on, said the former chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.

And, hinting he was ready to walk out, Mr Gapes added: Something has to change in the party or everyone has to make their own position, about where they stand. I am agonising with this every day.

However, he refused to comment on a report that he had told fellow Labour MPs its over for me  implying that his resignation was certain.

Mr Gapes would be the second Corbyn critic to walk out of the parliamentary party, after John Woodcock, a former aide to Gordon Brown, announced he would sit as an independent MP last month.

Up to a dozen Labour MPs are thought to be contemplating breaking away, prompting warnings from Corbyn loyalists that a split would make it easier for the Tories to cling onto power.

One Labour MP tipped to lead any breakaway, Chuka Umunna, has dismissed claims that the Peoples Vote campaign for a fresh Brexit referendum is a smokescreen for the creation of a new centrist party.

Mr Gapes comments follow the widespread criticism of Mr Corbyns remarks at a pro-Palestinian event five years ago.

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

The Labour leader criticised Zionists who dont want to study history, and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all their lives, dont understand English irony either.

Some Labour MPs reacted with horror while a leading Jewish charity accused Mr Corbyn of unambiguous antisemitic hate and Conservative MPs reported him to the parliamentary standards watchdog.

Mr Corbyn has defended his comments, insisting that he was referring to a specific group of pro-Israel activists and had not used the term Zionist as a euphemism for Jewish people.

In a statement, he claimed he was now more careful with how I might use the term Zionist because a once self-identifying political term has been increasingly hijacked by antisemites as code for Jews.

Mr Gapes, the MP for Ilford South, in northeast London, responded to Mr Corbyns video in a post in a Labour grouping on the WhatsApp messaging service, apparently saying a personal red line had been crossed.

The MP declined to comment on what he called a leak, but told The Independent: I agonise every day about the state of our party.

Mr Umunna, meanwhile, the MP for Streatham in south London, said people from all parties and people of no affiliation at all were campaigning together for a further referendum.

The idea that the Peoples Vote campaign is a precursor to a new party is complete and utter bollocks, he said. Frankly, people need to stop spreading false news about this.Nelson Mandelas grandson has criticised Donald Trump for his recent tweet about South Africa, saying it demonstrates a total ignorance of reality on the part of the US president.

Mr Trump claimed that the South African government was seizing land from white farmers and warned of a large-scale killing of farmers.

He was referring to a controversial land redistribution proposals currently under consideration by the South African government.

Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, a member of the Pan African Parliament, said that Mr Trumps tweet showed "disrespect for South Africas sovereignty and our commitment to justice and redress.

Writing on Instagram, he said: We will not be dictated to, threatened or pressured into accepting a land deal that perpetuates the injustices of the past."

He added that the US president would be better served by dealing with his own domestic challenges and the fundamental issues that the Black Lives Matter campaign raises.

Mr Mandela is the grandson of former South African president Nelson Mandela, who lead the country through the difficult transition after the end of apartheid  a government-run system of discrimination against black South Africans.

The current land redistribution proposal is an attempt to remedy the inequalities that still linger from apartheid, which left white South Africans with nearly 90 per cent of the countrys land when the policy ended in 1994.

 South Africans mark one year anniversary of Mandela s death

Mr Mandelas party, the African National Congress (ANC), has suggested a new plan that would allow the government to expropriate land from white farmers without compensation.

The plan, which is still under debate by the countrys parliament, has sparked widespread debate.

Commenting on the proposals, Mr Trump wrote: I have asked Secretary of State [Mike Pompeo] to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers."

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The South African government also out against Mr Trumps tweet, saying that the country totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past.

"It is regrettable that the tweet is based on false information," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that their foreign ministry planned to reach out to Mr Pompeo about the issue.Donald Trump has issued a fresh attack on Jeff Sessions, amid growing talk from Republican leaders about replacing the harried attorney general.

Mr Trump has been outwardly dissatisfied with Mr Sessions since the former senator relinquished oversight of special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian election meddling last year.

He doubled down on this criticism in a string on tweets on Saturday morning, suggesting Mr Sessions had allowed politics to infiltrate the investigation into possible campaign collusion.

Recommended Trump explains he hired Jeff Sessions for his loyalty

Jeff Sessions said he wouldnt allow politics to influence him only because he doesnt understand what is happening underneath his command position, Mr Trump tweeted.

Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched. No Collusion!

The president also quoted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham as saying that every President deserves an Attorney General they have confidence in, emphasising that cabinet positions are not lifetime appointments.

The tweets followed a week of attacks from the president, starting with a Fox and Friends interview in which he claimed Mr Sessions had failed to take control of the Justice Department, and said he only appointed the attorney general because of his early loyalty on the campaign trail.

 Trump says he chose Sessions for his loyalty

Mr Sessions responded to the attacks with an uncharacteristically pointed statement, saying his department would not be improperly influenced by political considerations.

"I took control of the Department of Justice the day I was sworn in, which is why we have had unprecedented success at effectuating the President's agenda, the attorney general said. "I demand the highest standards, and when they are not met, I take action."

The duelling statements indicate a deepening of the rift between the two men, which started when Mr Sessions recused himself the Mueller probe in March of 2017. He relinquished the role amid public outcry, after it was revealed he had failed to disclose his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US.

Mr Trump has also taken issue with Mr Session's refusal to prosecute Hillary Clinton  the election rival the president repeatedly promised to "lock up" while on the campaign trail.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Mr Trump doubled down on this line of thinking on Saturday, claiming the FBI had ignored information in their investigation of Ms Clinton's private email server.

He appeared to be citing information from conservative website RealClear Investigations, which reported on Thursday that the agency had examined only 3,077 of the 694,000 emails discovered on a Clinton aide's laptop.

"I feel sure that we will soon be getting to the bottom of all of this corruption," he tweeted. "At some point I may have to get involved!"

Mr Trump has hinted repeatedly about wanting to replace his attorney general since last year, but has received little support from Republicans until this week.

Senator Chuck Grassley, the Judiciary Committee chairman, said on Thursday that he could make time for hearings to replace the attorney general after the end of the Supreme Court confirmation process  a possibility the senator has previously spurned.

Mr Graham, a sporadic critic of the president, told reporters that Mr Trump was entitled to an attorney general he has faith in, though he suggested waiting to replace Mr Sessions until after the November midterm elections.

I think there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where it will be time to have a new face and a fresh voice at the Department of Justice, the senator said.The family of the late Spanish dictator Francisco Franco will take charge of his remains after Spain's government has them exhumed from a mausoleum, his relatives have said.

"Of course we will take charge of the remains of my grandfather," Franco's grandson, Francis Franco, told Spanish newspaper La Razon.

"We won't leave them in the hands of the government."

He criticised the decision to exhume his grandfather but confirmed the family did not plan to fight the legal changes that Spain's centre-left government approved on Friday.

The socialist minority government moved to have Franco's body dug up and removed from a mausoleum that the general built to honour the nation's civil war dead.

"Spending money against the government is a waste of time," Francis Franco said, adding that the family would decide where the remains will reside next over the next fortnight.

In addition to exhuming Franco, the government also plans to unearth and identify the 114,000 victims of the civil war and the four decades of dictatorship that followed under the leader.

Many see the move as a necessary step for the country to finally acknowledge and heal the scars left by Franco's uprising and his authoritarian regime, although the opposition Peoples Party - the successor to Francos political movement - said it would stir up the political strife that tormented Spain in the last century.

Franco led a right-wing uprising that ignited Spain's bloody 1936-1939 civil war and deposed the country's democratic government.

He died in 1975 and was buried in the Valley of the Fallen, a mausoleum he ordered to be built 30 miles northwest of Madrid.

Some 34,000 people from both sides of the fighting were buried at the site and most of them were never identified.

Associated PressSaudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen have killed at least 30 civilians in the last two weeks, the UN humanitarian chief has said.

An attack on Thursday killed at least 22 children and four women fleeing fighting in the Al Durayhimi district, which sits south of the port city of Hodeidah, said Mark Lowcock, the under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs.

Another strike in Al Durayhimi on Thursday killed four children, he added.

In a statement, Mr Lowcock echoed the call for an impartial, independent and prompt investigation into these most recent incidents issued by the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres.

It comes weeks after coalition airstrikes killed at least 51 people including 40 children when they hit a bus in a busy market in Saada governorate in the north of Yemen.

The attack was condemned internationally and the coalition said it would investigate.

 Casualties as Saudi-led coalition air raids hit Yemen's Hodeidah

Henrietta Fore, executive director of the UN childrens agency Unicef, said she hoped the Saada attack would be a turning point in the conflict but the attacks on Thursday indicate that it was not.

I  once again  call for the warring parties, those who have influence over them, the UN Security Council and the international community to take action and end this conflict once and for all, Ms Fore said in a statement.

The lives of thousands of vulnerable children across Yemen must be a priority for all.

Yemens conflict began in 2014, when Houthi Shia rebels toppled its internationally-recognised government and took over the capital of Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been fighting the Iranian-aligned Houthis since 2015.

Civilians have been the major victims in the conflict, which has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, crippled the countrys health system and killed over 10,000 people.

Brutal effects of Yemeni war Show all 12 1 /12 Brutal effects of Yemeni war Brutal effects of Yemeni war Yemen organised by the UAE's National Media Council shows a Yemeni woman holding a child diagnosed with malnutrition at a hospital in the southeastern port city of Mukalla, the capital Hadramawt province AFP/Getty Images Brutal effects of Yemeni war Mohamed, 2, is treated for Malnutrition in Mukalla, the capital Hadramawt province, Yemen Bel Trew Brutal effects of Yemeni war a trip in Yemen organised by the UAE's National Media Council (NMC) shows a Yemeni woman holding a child diagnosed with malnutrition at a hospital in the southeastern port city of Mukalla, the capital Hadramawt province. AFP/Getty Images Brutal effects of Yemeni war UAE's National Media Council (NMC) shows a Yemeni woman sitting next to a child diagnosed with malnutrition at a hospital in the southeastern port city of Mukalla, the capital Hadramawt province. AFP/Getty Brutal effects of Yemeni war AFP/Getty Images Brutal effects of Yemeni war Mohamed, 2, is treated for Malnutrition in Mukalla, the capital Hadramawt province, Yemen Bel Trew Brutal effects of Yemeni war A Yemeni child suffering from malnutrition is weighed at a hospital in the northern district of Abs, in Yemen's Hajjah province AFP/Getty Images Brutal effects of Yemeni war A Yemeni child suffering from malnutrition awaits treatment at a hospital in the northern district of Abs, in Yemen's Hajjah province AFP/Getty Images Brutal effects of Yemeni war A Yemeni child suffering from malnutrition awaits treatment at a hospital in the northern district of Abs, in Yemen's Hajjah province AFP/Getty Images Brutal effects of Yemeni war Yemeni nurses weigh a malnourished child at a hospital in the northern district of Yemen's Hajjah province AFP/Getty Images Brutal effects of Yemeni war A Yemeni woman carries a malnourished child as she waits during food distribution in the province of Hodeida AFP/Getty Brutal effects of Yemeni war AFP/Getty Images

While the Houthis blamed Thursdays attack in Hodeida on the coalition, state media of the United Arab Emirates  a key coalition member  disputed the claim and said the rebels launched the attack, killing one child and injuring others.

Although neither sides claims could be independently verified, Mr Lowcocks statement puts the blame squarely on the coalition.

His condemnation follows the release of a 90-page report by Human Rights Watch on Friday accusing the Saudis and others of failing to conduct credible investigations into alleged war crimes committed in Yemen.

Mr Lowcock stressed that the humanitarian operation in Yemen is currently the largest in the world, with three-quarters of the population in need of aid. In 2018, he said, the UN and its partners assisted more than eight million people.

He also expressed deep concern at the proximity of attacks to humanitarian sites, including health facilities and water and sanitation operations.

The parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and those with influence over them must ensure that everything possible is done to protect civilians, he said.

 Malnutrition centre in Mukalla, Yemen provides care for children suffering hunger and famine

Frank McManus, Yemen country director for the International Rescue Committee, a New York-based humanitarian organisation working in over 40 countries, warned attacks like those in Saada and Hodeida will undermine the potential for progress in peace negotiations in Geneva between the Houthis and the government scheduled to start on 6 September.

The international community must demand action  an immediate ceasefire should be agreed upon and a full, independent investigation into these events must be undertaken, Mr McManus said in a statement.

But thus far, international silence in response to violations in Yemen has been deafening and it is allowing wanton disregard to civilian life to become the new normal in conflict.

He called on the United Kingdom, United States and France to use their leverage to alleviate suffering, saying: Yemen, and Yemenis, cannot wait.Wielding a carrot and a stick, Russian president Vladimir Putin is seeking reconstruction aid for Syria.

The carrot is Putins claim that large financial contributions would make it easier for Syrian refugees to return home. The stick is the threat to allow attacks to proceed on the last major Syrian enclave held by anti-government forces, the northwestern province of Idlib, where 2.3 million people would be at risk. Both tacks are wrong.

Russian and Syrian forces indiscriminate bombing and shelling have devastated large swathes of Syrian cities. The estimated reconstruction cost is $250bn. Squeezed by a weak economy, Putin has limited capacity to help. Most recently in his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin argued that if European leaders want Syrian refugees to return home, they should pay up.

But reconstruction aid is far from enough to allay refugees concerns about returning to Syria. To begin with, Syrian military and intelligence forces have already diverted large sums of humanitarian aid to line their pockets and fund their slaughter, so there is every reason to fear they would similarly divert reconstruction assistance. To make matters worse, the government has adopted Law 10 of 2018, which allows it to seize the refugees property.

Most importantly, many Syrian refugees, worried that the government views them as political opponents by virtue of their flight, fear for their lives if they return. Tens of thousands of Syrians have already disappeared into government detention centers, where torture and executions are rife. Recently the government has begun publishing death notices of former detainees, without any explanation of how they died or opportunity for their families to bury their loved ones.

Syrias head of air force intelligence, Jamil Hassan, reportedly said last month that three million Syrians are still wanted and, if they return, will be charged with terrorism. In his view, as an anti-government outlet reported, a Syria with 10 million trustworthy people obedient to the leadership is better than a Syria with 30 million vandals. Until Putin convinces the Syrian government to dismantle this deadly machinery of repression  and to bring to justice those who operate it  an infusion of reconstruction aid will not persuade most refugees to return.

Given that unappetising carrot, Putin is also wielding a stick, implicitly threatening residents of Idlib. Until now, Idlib has served as an escape. As other anti-government enclaves fell, Syrian forces gave survivors the choice of being dumped in Idlib or risking detention. Roughly half of Idlibs population is displaced from elsewhere in Syria.

But now Idlib itself is in jeopardy of indiscriminate and sometimes deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals. These war crimes are a major reason why an estimated half a million people have been killed and more than half of Syrias population displaced.

Russia clearly has the leverage to prevent a massacre in Idlib. Its air force has fought alongside Syrian aircraft since 2015  a key reason why pro-government forces, whose battlefield position had been tenuous, now look likely to prevail.

In addition, Russias official arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, is Syrias biggest weapons supplier. Russian diplomats vetoed efforts to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court and tried, ultimately unsuccessfully, to block the investigation into which forces are using chemical weapons.

In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Show all 6 1 /6 In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Damage at a Save the Children-supported maternity hospital in Idlib province, Syria, after it was hit by air strikes on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike A maternity hospital in Idlib province that was damaged by an air strike on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Damage inside a Save the Children-supported hospital in Idlib province, Syria, after it was hit by air strikes on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike A maternity hospital in Idlib province that was damaged by an air strike on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike A burned-out car near a maternity hospital in Idlib province after an air strike on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Damage at a maternity hospital in Idlib province after an air strike on 29 July Save the Children

Rather than pretend that paying the unreformed government would make Syria safe for refugees, European governments should press Moscow to use its influence to avoid a bloodbath in Idlib. Russia already has shown some interest. Idlib is the only one of four agreed de-escalation zones that Russia and Syria have not yet retaken. And both Russia and Turkey have set up observation points around the perimeter of Idlib. But it is callous and unseemly for Russia to insist on a massive payoff as the price for saving Syrian civilian lives.

There is another way. The Kremlin urgently wants better relations with the European Union to get sanctions lifted and improve prospects for its stagnating economy. There are numerous obstacles  Crimea, eastern Ukraine, flight MH17, nerve agent Novichok  but European governments should make clear that a civilian bloodbath in Idlib would put their relations in an even deeper freeze.

Long before any talk of providing reconstruction assistance for Syria, which in any event would require lifting separate targeted sanctions, European governments should call out Russias complicity in Syrias war crimes and vigorously press the Kremlin to end these atrocities and stop underwriting Syrias repression. The fate of 2.3 million Syrians in Idlib  not to mention any real prospect of refugees returning  depends on firmly conveying that message.

Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights WatchBritish government advice to consult with Irish civil servants over how best to prepare for a no-deal Brexit is "odd" and "embarrassing", several Irish Brexit sources have said.

UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab this week released a tranche of 25 'technical' documents outlining the implications for businesses and consumers should the UK walk away from EU negotiations without a new relationship.

The technical assessments recommend that businesses unclear on how best to make contingencies for the UK crashing out of the EU should contact the Irish Government.

"We would recommend that, if you trade across the land border, you should consider whether you will need advice from the Irish Government about preparations you need to make," says the document.

One Brexit source said the document outlined how the Tories "still haven't a clue on what they're doing" and they are "still fighting with each other".

"On one hand, you have this situation where they're actually considering a no-deal Brexit, but on the other are saying they want a deal without moving red lines," they said.

Another source told the Irish Independent the advice was an "embarrassment" to the British civil service.

"When you finally came to publishing the information the public really need to know, the advice is 'go ask a foreign government'," they said.

Some observers say the advisory was also an indirect missive to the Irish Government that it bears some of the responsibility in coming up with a solution to the Border issue.

Hilary Benn, the Labour MP and chair of the UK Brexit select committee, described the advice as an "abdication of responsibility".

The official explanation from a country dead set on controlling its own sovereignty is that its future "is not entirely up to London", said another senior source.

"Essentially, the Unionists in [Northern Ireland] have been told by London to talk to Dublin - it really shows you that nothing has moved on in the last few weeks, and we've very little time left."

The papers warn of the increased cost of credit card usage and banking, including the threat that British bank customers with accounts in other European member states might lose access to their money.

Businesses would also face a raft of new administrative burdens. Companies were told they should consider "the services of a customs broker, freight forwarder or logistics provider to help, or alternatively secure the appropriate software and authorisations".

Meanwhile, the October deadline for a deal on the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement - the terms and conditions under which the UK leaves the bloc - is looming. It includes the Irish protocol or backstop, guaranteeing no border is ever erected on the island of Ireland.

However, Irish and EU sources have confirmed this deadline will most likely lapse and mid-to-late November will be the new cut-off point.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has made further calls to 'de-dramatise' the Irish backstop issue which is the most intractable issue in closing the withdrawal agreement.Nileworks Inc.'s automated drone flies over rice plants, spraying pesticide while diagnosing growth of individual rice stalks, during a demonstration in Tome, Miyagi prefecture Japan August 20, 2018. Picture taken August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi

The next generation farmhand in Japans aging rural heartland may be a drone.

For several months, developers and farmers in northeast Japan have been testing a new drone that can hover above paddy fields and perform backbreaking tasks in a fraction of the time it takes for elderly farmers.

"This is unprecedented high technology," said Isamu Sakakibara, a 69-year-old rice farmer in the Tome area, a region that has supplied rice to Tokyo since the 17th century.

Developers of the new agricultural drone say it offers high-tech relief for rural communities facing a shortage of labour as young people leave for the cities.

"As we face a shortage of next-generation farmers, it's our mission to come up with new ideas to raise productivity and farmers' income through the introduction of cutting-edge technologies such as drones," said Sakakibara, who is also the head of JA Miyagi Tome, the local agricultural cooperative.

The drone can apply pesticides and fertilizer to a rice field in about 15 minutes - a job that takes more than an hour by hand and requires farmers to lug around heavy tanks.

Expand Close Nileworks Inc.'s automated drone flies over rice plants, spraying pesticide while diagnosing growth of individual rice stalks, during a demonstration in Tome, Miyagi prefecture Japan August 20, 2018. Picture taken August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi / Facebook

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Whatsapp Nileworks Inc.'s automated drone flies over rice plants, spraying pesticide while diagnosing growth of individual rice stalks, during a demonstration in Tome, Miyagi prefecture Japan August 20, 2018. Picture taken August 20, 2018. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi

The Nile-T18 was developed by drone start-up Nileworks Inc and recently tested in collaboration with JA Miyagi Tome and trading house Sumitomo Corp.

Their aim is to ease the physical burden and improve productivity in rural areas battling decades of falling birth rates and migration to urban areas.

In Tome, farmers are an average 67-68 years old and they may only have another 4-5 years of farming left, Sakakibara said.

"It's a matter of whether the body breaks down first, or the tractor," he added.

Compared to larger radio-controlled mini-helicopters that cost around 15 million yen ($135,758) with spray equipment, the drone is smaller and cheaper, with a pricetag of about 4 million yen.

Nileworks is negotiating with authorities to allow operators to fly its drone without a license. It can be controlled with an iPad and runs on mapping software that is simple to operate.

"Our ultimate goal is to lower rice farming costs to one-fourth of what it is now," Nileworks President Hiroshi Yanagishita told reporters.

The drone can quickly analyze a rice stalk and determine how much pesticide or fertiliser it needs, making it easier for farmers to judge their input needs and estimate the crop size.

Nileworks plans to start selling the drone in May, with an annual target of 100 units in year one and 4,000 in five years.

Other drone makers such as SkymatiX Inc, jointly owned by trading house Mitsubishi Corp and electronics maker Hitachi Ltd, are offering drone services on farms.

Shota Chiba, a 29-year-old farmer in Tome, said technology can modernise farming and lure young people back to the land.

"People still have a strong stereotypical image of farming as a dirty and hard-labour job, but it's no longer all true thanks to gradual mechanization," Chiba said.

"New technology like diagnostic drones could help change this old image and attract more young people to farming, which I truly enjoy," he added.A long-delayed 500m terminal to import gas through the Shannon estuary is back on after US-based New Fortress Energy struck a deal to buy the company behind the scheme.

Backers say it will allow Ireland to bypass UK and Russian pipelines and import gas direct from the Middle East and the US.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar welcomed the sale yesterday.

New Fortress has agreed to buy the Shannon LNG project at Ballylongford, close to Tarbert in Co Kerry.

The project has full planning in place for a deep water jetty, storage facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and connections to the Irish national gas network.

There will be around 400 jobs at peak construction, and 100 jobs once it is operational.

The scheme ran aground three years ago when the original owner, US investor Hesse, pulled out in part because Irish regulators insisted they would have to contribute as much as 50m a year to support the cost of interconnectors linking the Irish gas network to supplies from the UK, even though they would never use them.

However, since then a European Union push to slash dependence on gas piped from Russia, and fears over the implications of Brexit, mean those charges are no longer likely to be applied.

About 70m had been invested in the project by Hesse.

The Shannon LNG scheme will see gas landed via the Shannon estuary by ship from suppliers in the US and the Middle East, bypassing UK pipes.

Hesse sold Shannon LNG to Sambolo Resources, a private Irish company controlled by Paddy Power and John Power, in November 2015, and the new owners have been seeking a buyer or backer to take on the project.

Developing the terminal is expected to cost at least 500m, but investors are likely to be able to tap matching funds from public sources.

EU authorities have designated the Ballylongford scheme a European Project of Common Interest, putting it in line for funds from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and the European Investment Bank.

Shannon LNG is designed to import gas through a three million tonne a year terminal, with four LNG storage tanks, each with capacity for 200,000m, and a jetty big enough to handle massive 266,000m Q-max LNG carriers - named because they are the biggest ships that can dock at Qatar's gas terminal. There is also planning to build an associated 500MW combined heat and power plant.Two Smurfit Kappa managers arrested in Venezuela are local employees of the Irish firm, the Irish Independent has learned.

The two men were arrested for allegedly engaging in what were described by authorities of the leftist and increasingly authoritarian regime as "crimes of speculation, boycott, extraction contraband, destabilising the economy, and corruption".

Smurfit Kappa yesterday refused to comment on reports that two of its managers have been arrested.

It comes days after the government occupied a factory and ordered the Irish company to cut prices. It has heightened fears that the plant could be nationalised, or Smurfit ordered out of the country.

It is understood that the two arrested managers are local Venezuelan employees and that no Irish nationals work at the factory.

On Thursday evening the Venezuela State Agency for Defence of Socioeconomic Rights (Sundde) said that it had arrested two Smurfit Kappa managers.

Earlier this week, Venezuela's government ordered the temporary occupation of a Smurfit Kappa carton production unit in Carabobo state for alleged abuse of a dominant position.

Smurfit Kappa told the market on Thursday that it "entirely refutes" the allegations made against it.

"The group has operated in Venezuela since 1986 to the highest business and ethical standards," Smurfit Kappa said, adding that the Venezuelan subsidiary of which the factory is part represented less than 1pc of its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the first half of 2018.

"Smurfit Kappa will continue to monitor the situation closely," the company said.

Despite the government stance the Irish company has support from its employees.

A number of trade unions have come out in support of Smurfit Kappa, saying the occupation was "an issue that has created unrest and uncertainty among employees and their families". They said they wanted to "ratify our upmost support and willingness to continue working and producing with Smurfit Kappa".Workers prepare a Harley-Davidson motorcycle to be sold at a dealership in Shanghai  from Harley-Davidson motorcycles and US bourbon to Chinese parts and machinery, the worlds two largest economies have exchanged punitive tariffs that slice through a wide swath of products.

China will keep hitting back at Washington as more US trade tariffs are imposed, but its counter-strikes will remain as targeted as possible to avoid harming Chinese or foreign businesses in China, Finance Minister Liu Kun has said.

For now the impact of the China-US "trade frictions" on the Chinese economy has been small, but Mr Liu, 61, said he is concerned about potential job losses.

In his first interview since taking up the position in March, he said that the Chinese government will increase its spending to support workers and the unemployed who are hurt by the trade conflict. He also predicted bond issuance by local governments to support infrastructure investment this year will pick up and break one trillion yuan.

The trade conflict escalated on Thursday as the United States and China heaped more tariffs on each other's goods. Since early July, the world's two largest economies have slapped each other with tariffs on a combined $100bn (86bn) of goods.

"China doesn't wish to engage in a trade war, but we will resolutely respond to the unreasonable measures taken by the United States," Mr Liu said. "If the United States persists with these measures, we will correspondingly take action to protect our interests."

So far, China has either imposed or proposed tariffs on $110bn of US goods, representing most of its US imports. Crude oil and large aircraft are key US goods that are still not targeted for penalties. Talks between mid-level officials ended on Thursday without progress.

When asked if China would consider increasing tariffs on US goods that are already facing higher taxes, Mr Liu said China will respond with precision.

"We're responding in a precise way. Of course, the value of US imports of Chinese goods isn't the same as the value of Chinese imports of US goods. We'll take tariff measures in accordance to this situation," he said, without elaborating.

But China is conscious of the potential for bystanders to be caught in the line of fire, he said.

"When we take measures, we try our hardest not to harm the interests of foreign businesses in China. That's why our tariff measures are targeted to avoid affecting them as much as we can," said Mr Liu.

Some American businesses and industry lobbies, including the US Chamber of Commerce, have criticised US President Donald Trump's imposition of punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, saying the Chinese retaliation it is triggering will hurt businesses that already face greater competition from local rivals in China. US fast food, beverages and coffee chains including Starbucks and Yum China's KFC brand are ubiquitous in Chinese cities. US-branded infant formula, apparel, cars and phones are also popular.

The US tariffs have hit China's economic growth - albeit modestly - and their impact will become even more pronounced if frictions persist, Mr Liu said.

Mr Liu spent more than two decades in the Guangdong provincial government, taking on various roles including the head of its finance bureau. He became the vice governor of the export-oriented southern province in 2010.

He said he is very concerned about the Chinese jobs that could be lost. "From my perspective, I'd pay more attention to the impact that the China-US trade frictions has on jobs in China. After all, some firms will be affected, exports will be reduced and production will be cut," he said. (Reuters)Lisa Brennan-Jobs has released a new memoir about her life as the daughter of Steve Jobs CREDIT: FACEBOOK

Apple founder Steve Jobs is credited as a genius who transformed and inspired millions of lives through his technology.

However, he had a disturbingly dark side, according to his daughter Lisa Brennan-Jobs, who had a difficult relationship with her father and charts their ups and downs in a new memoir, Small Fry.

Lisa was born on May 17th 1978 on a commune farm in Oregon when her parents, who had met in high school in California, were both 23. While Jobs arrived several days after her birth to name her he refused to acknowledge she was his daughter, despite a DNA match.

In her memoir Lisa recounts her childhood and their often-fraught relationship.

A New York Times article about the memoir, featuring an interview with Lisa, describes Jobs as "vicious" to Lisa and "those around her".

Speaking to Nellie Bowles for the publication, Lisa insists she did not want people to focus solely on the more troubling aspects of her father's personality and says she wanted to full represent "the dearness of and the pleasure" of being with him "when he was in good form".

However, Lisa describes several troubling instances in the book. She reveals her father refused to install heat in her bedroom but in doing so, she says, he was not being "callous" but was rather instilling a value system in her.

In the interview, Lisa insists such instances from her childhood were simply her father teaching her lessons. For example, when he insisted the Apple Lisa computer was not named after her, it was not a lie - he was teaching her "not to ride on his coattails".

His daughter was not the only one to experience his "infamous venom". She describes one incident in which he turned on Lisa's cousin, Sarah, who had accidentally offended him by ordering meat.

Have you ever thought about how awful your voice is? Jobs asked. Please stop talking in that awful voice...You should really consider whats wrong with yourself and try to fix it.

Video of the Day

The memoir also describes Jobs exhibiting inappropriate affection to Lisa's step-mother in front of his daughter. She said he engaged in it because he didnt know how to do better.

In one incident, he embraced her tepmother by pulling her into a kiss, moving his hand closer to her breasts, and up her thigh, moaning theatrically.

Jobs stopped his daughter when she attempted to leave the room.

Hey Lis, he said. Stay here. Were having a family moment. Its important that you try to be part of this family. I sat still, looking away as he moaned and undulated. she said.

However, she said she never felt threatened by such incidents, insisting it was "just awkward".

She also described how her father would upset her with his use of money.

Sometimes he decided not to pay for things at the very last minute, she said, walking out of restaurants without paying the bill.

If she was in charge of his money, she claims she would give it away to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Would it be too perverse? she asked. I feel like the Gates Foundation is really doing good stuff, and I think I would just hot potato it away.

Small Fry is published on September 6 in Ireland.Michael Harding has revealed that he never officially left the priesthood, despite the fact he went on to get married.

The 53-year-old Irish actor and writer was ordained a priest in 1980 and left several years later. He then married sculptor Cathy Carmen and they had a daughter, Sophia, together.

Speaking to to Brendan O'Connor on his new show Brendan O'Connor's Time Out on Friday night, Harding said he still regards himself as a priest.

"I was ordained a priest. I never left, I never left. That's hugely important," he told the host.

He resigned from the priesthood in protest at Pope John Paul II's papacy but says he never officially left the Church. He added that his marriage is a "civil issue", adding, "I don't see it as the business of the Church".

"Here's the point, I retired from ministry because the Church was going into this restoration papacy that made no sense, that had no validity, and with which I could have absolutely nothing to do with. I've had nothing to do with it since 1984," he said.

"But I wasnt laicised, I didnt apply to get laicised, which is what priests do. Its like annulment, you go and you say 'oh, I would like to be laicised now because that was a mistake'. Quite the opposite. I wrote to my bishop making clear that I didnt have any crisis of faith but that clerical life within the political context of what was happening in the Church made no sense to me and I was completely finished with it."

His marriage, he said, is a continuation of his faith.

"In one sense I am completely finished with the Roman Catholic Church since 1984 but I didnt lose my faith, number one, and number two, when I met a woman who became the beloved, that to me is a continuation of a journey of faith," he told O'Connor.

Harding also spoke about his childhood and his relationship with his parents when he was growing up in Cavan in the 50s and 60s.

Video of the Day

"If I wanted to be hugged by my father, if I wanted to be encouraged and treated with great gentleness emotionally then he would have let me down, because he didn't do those things," he said.

"If I wanted it from my mother, again I would have been let down. My mother loved us through apple tarts. She fed us, rather than give you that verbal and physical assurance that I am your mother, I love you. My father did the same."

O'Connor pointed out that all small children want that.

"It's only later that you can say that, because there's different ways you can describe your parents. You can pick the things that hurt you about your parents. You can build a narrative of anger and a lot of people do that but you can also pick beautiful things about your parents and develop a narrative of very beautiful love or the love that they were able to give you.

"My father gave me the love he was capable of giving me and my mother gave me the love that she was capable of giving me."

He said he does not feel hurt by how his parents related to him, but he says he feels "wounded".

"We are all wounded by our childhood but do I feel it like a hurt, like a stone in my shoe, that kind of I dialogue and argue with and say, they hurt me? No, because they didn't because my mother dearly loved me and my father opened my mind to ideas so that when I grew up as a Catholic I grew up thinking being a Catholic was really liberated, intelligent thing to be. He gave me so many gifts, but they were gifts of the mind. I don't know was I a very good parent either to be honest."

Brendan O'Connor's Time Out, RTE One, Friday at 9.35pm. You can watch the full episode on the RTE Player.Pregnant women whose due date falls during the papal visit are being urged to "leave plenty of time" for hospital journeys.

The HSE is also asking pregnant women whose delivery date falls near or over the weekend to plan their route in advance.

Health chiefs say a "common-sense approach" is being adopted by gardai in relation to hospital access in Dublin city centre over the weekend, including for women in labour.

Garda bikes and vehicles are also on hand to escort emergency cases to hospital during the visit. People are advised to dial 999 as normal if they need to urgently attend hospital.

Large swathes of the city centre will be effectively shut down at different times over the weekend, with 86 roads closed tomorrow to facilitate the Phoenix Park closing Mass, which will be attended by some 500,000 people.

To combat this, significant contingency plans are in place. Both the Coombe and Rotunda maternity hospitals are issuing letters and permits to staff and patients who may need access to the hospitals over the course of the visit.

"Given its city centre location, the Rotunda has years of practical experience delivering services to patients during periods when traffic and movement is restricted," a spokesman for the hospital said.

"The Rotunda is very aware of proposed traffic restrictions for the papal visit and locally we have been putting in place contingency plans to avoid disruption for patients, their families and staff who need to attend the hospital over the weekend."

The National Maternity Hospital is advising people planning to visit the hospital to take public transport.

The HSE has said that, despite the widespread disruption across the capital, all hospitals will remain accessible.Margaret Cash and her children spent a night sleeping on chairs in Tallaght garda station

Homeless mother-of-seven Margaret Cash has a new home in north Dublin after she had to leave her temporary accommodation following a "genuine mix-up".

A Dublin City Council spokeswoman confirmed it has sourced a house for Ms Cash to move into with her children.

Ms Cash (28) made headlines earlier this month after photographs emerged of six of her children, between the ages of one and 11 years old, sleeping on chairs in Tallaght garda station.

The young mother recently moved into a three-bedroom flat on Parnell Street in Dublin's inner city.

At the time, Dublin City Council said it would be offered to her on a week's trial, followed by a month-on-month basis.

However, the landlord needed the apartment back as he has let it from September 2.

A spokesperson for the council said it was a "genuine mix-up".Confusion and potential conflicts of interest between agencies have been highlighted in a report into search and rescue aviation missions.

The review was commissioned by Transport Minister Shane Ross in March and carried out by external and international experts.

It came on the back of a recommendation by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), but has not been published yet.

The review recommended that the responsibility for the legal and safety oversight of civil aviation rescue missions should be given to the Irish Aviation Authority.

According to RTE, the report said that between the oversight agencies there had been "several sources of confusion and potential conflicts of interest that have resulted in a lack of shared understanding of roles and responsibilities".

Reacting to the report, Fianna Fail Transport spokesman Robert Troy said there was "an obvious absence of understanding regarding responsibilities" and called for Minister Ross to publish the report.

"The effectiveness of our search and rescue services should be a primary concern of the Government," he said. "The Department of Transport has been negligent in ensuring who has what responsibility. It's imperative now that every effort is made to remove any degree of ambiguity surrounding duties and operations," he added.

In a statement last night, the Department of Transport said that the Minister regrets that "a sensitive and confidential report" had been leaked.

It added that the report came into the Department earlier this month and "had been the subject of close examination and consideration internally" and the report will be published when the AAIU has considered it. "It is proper that the AAIU has the opportunity to fully consider the report in the context of its on-going, wide-ranging investigation into the R116 accident before publication in order to ensure that it does not in any way jeopardise any other element of its on-going investigation," the statement read.

"The Minister will publish the report and his action points once the AAIU have had time to consider it."Jim Fox, from Kells, Co Meath, with his children Simon (8) and Zoey (9) and his sister Mary at the park yesterday. Photos: Colin ORiordan

Forester Tony Malocca was among a virtual army of workers putting the finishing touches in place ahead of tomorrow's open-air Mass with Pope Francis at the Phoenix Park.

The tree surgeon is among a team of seven horticultural staff employed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to ensure that the grounds of the sprawling park can safely accommodate the 500,000 faithful expected to attend.

Among his duties were pruning trees to ensure that the fleet of double-deckers don't hit any low branches as they ferry media, stewards, volunteers and gardai around.

Meanwhile, Rita Cullen (71) travelled to Dublin from her native Liverpool to attend the Mass. But after seeing the size of the park yesterday, she realised she wouldn't have the stamina to walk up to 7km each way to reach the site, or the airport in time to fly home on Sunday night. While she was disappointed, she was still glad to visit with her son Andrew (44), who lives in Lucan, and will watch events unfold on television.

"You get the feel of it already. The atmosphere is there... a feeling of joy and expectation, it's going to be phenomenal," she said.Pope John Paul II kisses the ground on arrival at Dublin airport at the start of his Papal visit in September 1979. Picture: Tom Burke

The arrival of Pope Francis today has sparked special memories of a previous papal visit for the longest-serving staff member at Dublin Airport, Pat Corr.

He was one of the first people to witness John Paul II touching down on an Aer Lingus Boeing 747 in 1979.

"The atmosphere was great. I saw him coming off the jumbo when he arrived in, at Pier B. He came down and waved and kissed the ground. You could see everything clearly. The robe was blowing over him.

"People were clapping and roaring, you couldn't hear yourself. There was big excitement at the time. It's happy memories," said Mr Corr, who lives in Swords. "It was a big day in the airport. There were crowds to beat the band. It was packed, and there were cars parked everywhere around the place," he recalled.

Another Dubliner with clear memories of Saturday, September 29, 1979, was Irish Independent photographer Colin O'Riordan.

"I was 19 years of age and working as a photographic printer for the 'Irish Press'," he recalled. "In preparation for the papal visit of Pope John Paul II, I was tasked with setting up a darkroom for the processing of film and printing of photographs of the pope's arrival.

"These were transmitted by wire from there by our wireman. The area for processing and wiring of our images was in a car park overlooking the arrival proceedings and shared with the Irish Independent, Press Association, 'Irish Times' and others.

"But there was one main problem. The car park was up a spiral ramp above another car park which was to be used as a public viewpoint.

"To get to the tarmac our photographers had to go through several layers of security and using up valuable time that I couldn't afford as I was on deadlines."

Mr O'Riordan said he thought about what he could do to speed up retrieving the photographers' film.

"I then remembered my fishing rod," he said.

He said he got an empty baked beans can, cleaned it and put on a label with 'Irish Press Film' written on it.

"The following day, I had the most amazing view as the pope's plane taxied in with the papal flag flying from the pilot's window."

Pope John Paul II emerged waiving to the crowds, he said. "Now it was time to deploy the fishing rod. I lowered my can and line down and the photographers deposited their film.

"I got the film, processed, printed and in record time, we had it for the 'Evening Press'."The heavens are expected to open in the west tonight ahead of the papal visit to Knock - but the heavy rain should subside by the time of the Phoenix Park Mass.

Pope Francis is set to travel around the capital across the course of today, and Met Eireann predicts conditions will be good throughout, with highest temperatures at 17C.

However, the wet and windy conditions overnight will mean that it will at the very least be wet underfoot for the 45,000 pilgrims making their way to Knock for his appearance there tomorrow.

By the time the Pope arrives it is expected that the showers will have stopped, but it will still be damp.

It's a similar situation for the half a million pilgrims attending the Mass at the Phoenix Park tomorrow afternoon.

Rain

Rain gear may be needed, with Met Eireann forecaster Gerry Murphy saying it will be wet and windy, with rain expected until at least the early afternoon.

"Overall, it's a bright pleasant day but there could be one or two isolated showers in the late morning or early afternoon.

"Then as you go into the evening for the event at Croke Park it will be dry," he said.

Heavy rain will begin in the west from midnight onwards and is set to move across the country.

"The rain will be clearing from the west so when the people are travelling to Knock it will be wet but by the time the Pope arrives it should be dry," he added.

"And again as the people make their way to Dublin for the Mass in the Phoenix Park it will be quite wet, but by the time the Mass itself starts it should be dry."

Mr Murphy added that the heavy rain tomorrow morning means it will be wet on foot in the capital as pilgrims begin travelling to the Phoenix Park.

He also said to expect windy conditions during the event.

"Temperatures on Sunday will be quite pleasant, quite mild, possibly around 18C or 19C," he added.Irish bishops will divest all of their funds in fossil fuel companies as part of their commitment to addressing the crisis of climate change.

Bishop William Crean, chairman of Trocaire, confirmed the decision at an inter-faith gathering on climate justice at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.

The bishops have sought to make a connection between the World Meeting of Families and Laudato Si', pointing to the link between the care of the human family and the wider family of God's creation.

In July, Ireland made history when it became the first country in the world to pass a bill committing the State to divesting all of its holdings in fossil fuel companies.

The passing of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill was hailed by climate action campaigners as a boon to efforts to pressure other countries to sell off fossil fuel investments in industries which have been a major contributor to climate change.

The landmark divestment bill was a first among the 195 nations which signed up to the Paris Accord on Climate Change in 2015. It requires the Irish State's Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) to divest all public money from peat, coal, oil and gas firms nationally and internationally "as soon as is practicable". More than 300m is believed to be at stake.

Although a number of religious orders have already pledged to divest from fossil fuels, the Irish bishops are the first episcopacy in the English-speaking world to take this radical step.

Dr Lorna Gold of Trocaire said the decision was "about the church here saying we are with Pope Francis, we agree with his vision, we are for the future".People hold up lights at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin, as Pope Francis joins an audience of 82,500 where he will hear five testimonies by families from Ireland, Canada, Iraq, and Africa, during the Festival of Families event, as part of his visit to Ireland. Photo: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

Pope Francis joins an audience of 82,500 at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin during the Festival of Families event, as part of his visit to Ireland. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday August 25, 2018. See PA story IRISH Pope. Photo credit should read: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Pope Francis arrives at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin, to join an audience of 82,500 and hear five testimonies by families from Ireland, Canada, Iraq, and Africa, during the Festival of Families event, as part of his visit to Ireland. Photo: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

Pope Francis joins an audience of 82,500 at Croke Park Stadium in Dublin during the Festival of Families event, as part of his visit to Ireland. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

Pope Francis attends the Festival of Families at Croke Park during his visit to Dublin, Ireland, Ireland, August 25, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Pope Francis passes through the crowds at the Festival of Families in Croke Park. Photo: Tony Gavin

Pope Francis warned about the dangers of social media at the hugely successful World Festival of Families at Croke Park tonight.

The Pope addressed tens of thousands of concert-goers at GAA headquarters in Dublin where musical artists served up a string of show-stopping performances.

Global superstar Andrea Bocelli and Irish opera queen Celina Byrne performed Ave Maria together on stage minutes before the Pope addressed the huge crowd.

Speaking to some 80,000 people, the Pope said that social media can be "isolating" in today's world.

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"It is important that these media never become a threat to the real web of flesh and blood relationships by imprisoning us in a virtual reality and isolating us from the very relationships that challenge us to grow to our full potential in communion with others," he warned.

Pope Francis also spoke of the power of love and the joy of family unity.

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"Today in Dublin we are gathered for a family celebration of thanksgiving to God for who we are: one family in which we rejoice with those who are rejoicing, and weep with those who grieve or feel knocked down by life," said the Pontiff.

He added that a family is where its members care for each other and for everyone "for God the Father has made all of us his children in baptism."

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"That is one reason why I keep encouraging parents to baptise their children as soon as possible, so that they can become part of this great family of God. We need to invite everyone to the party," he said.

Throughout the concert, members of different families from around the world spoke to the huge audiences about their own experiences and challenges in meeting the difficulties of everyday life.

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Among those to give their testimony were Irish couple Mary and Damian Richardson, who spoke of life with their 10 children.

Pope Francis named the couple in his own address, paying tribute to their love and faith.

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"We see this love in Mary and Damian and their family of ten children ... You experienced the power of God's love to change your lives completely and to bless you with the joy of a beautiful family.

"You told us the key to your family life is truthfulness," he said, stating that Jesus is the source of love and truth.

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The Argentine Pontiff stressed that the extended family unit is the key to a successful society.

"A society that does not value grandparents is a society that has no future," he said.

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"A Church that is not mindful of the covenant between generations will end up lacking the thing that really matters which is love."

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Pope Francis also warned that the elderly are a vital part of the family support network.

"Our grandparents teach us the meaning of conjugal and parental love.

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"They themselves grew up in a family and experienced the love of sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.

"So they are a treasury of experience and wisdom for the new generation."

The Pontiff said the lack of such experience and support networks exerts enormous strain on younger families.

"It is a big mistake not to ask the elderly about their experience or to think that talking to them is a waste of time."

A number of people delivered witness statements before the crowd as to various challenges facing families.

"Families everywhere are challenged to keep growing, to keep moving forward, even amid difficulties and limitations just as past generations did," Pope Francis said.

"All of us are part of a great chain of families stretching back to the beginning of time.

"Our families are a treasury of living memory as children become parents and grandparents in turn.

"From them we receive our identity, our values and our faith."

The festival opened with Maev Ni Mhaolcatha singing the hymn Liber Hymnorum, followed by the Begley and Gavin families playing slip jigs and reels.

One of the biggest cheers of the night was when Cathy Jordan sang the Shane MacGowan classic song 'A Rainy Night in Soho.'

She was followed on stage by Nathan Carter singing 'Everybody Hurts,' accompanied by Hannah Wolverson and The Deaftones.

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Later, actor Patrick Bergin took to the stage with the stadium choir to belt out Leonard Cohen's song 'Anthem.'

One of the liveliest performances was the spectacle delivered by the Riverdance troupe who set feet tapping right around the stadium.

They were followed by Daniel O'Donnell singing 'Let Your Love Flow' which proved to be one of the hits of the night.

Later the High Hopes choir, consisting of members of the homeless community, delivered a well-received performance.

The biggest performances of the night followed the Pope' address when Celina Byrne sang 'Ag Criost an Siol' and then a towering performance by Andrea Bocelli singing 'Nessum Dorma.'

The festival closed with all performers and choirs coming on stage to sing together 'Amen, Amen, Amen.'

While the Croke Park event was the centrepiece of the Pontiff's visit, the largest event will be the open air Mass at the Phoenix Park on Sunday.

Pope Francis will attend the Phoenix Park after paying a whistle stop visit to the Knock Shrine where he will attend the Angelus.

He flies back to the Vatican shortly after 6pm on Sunday with a special press conference about his Irish visit to be staged on the plane back to Rome.Pope Francis at Aras an Uachtarain with President Higgins and his wife Sabina. Photo: Gerry Mooney

President Michael D Higgins, Pope Francis and Mrs. Sabina Higgins as he signs the visitors book at Aras an Uachtarain. Photo: Maxwells

President Michael D Higgins questioned Pope Francis about the hurt caused by child sex abuse and the exclusion of women and members of the LGBT community from aspects of life within the Catholic Church.

It his first official official engagement on his visit to Ireland, the pontiff was greeted by the President, his wife Sabina, and Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone at Aras an Uachtarain.

As the sun shone across the south portico his Holiness received a salute from the Irish Naval Service Guard of Honour and the army band played renditions of the national anthem of the Vatican and Amhrann Na bhFiann.

President Higgins then led the pontiff along the red carpet, down the Francini corridor with its busts of former presidents including, with some irony, the recently completed likeness of Mary McAleese, one of the Popes harshest critics in the run up to his visit.

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In an atmosphere of hushed reverence the Pope took some minutes to write a message in the visitors book. He wrote With gratitude for the warm welcome I have received, I assure you and the people of Ireland of my prayers, that Almighty God may guide and protect you all. Francis.

The President beamed broadly while Sabina appeared tremulously emotional as they posed with Pope Francis for photographers. The Pope then had a private meeting with President Higgins in which they are believed to have conversed in Spanish, which is the Popes native language and which the President studied intensively during 2012.

A spokesman for Mr Higgins said the pair discussed matters of mutual concern.

President Higgins raised with His Holiness the immense suffering and hurt caused by child sex abuse perpetrated by some within the Catholic Church. He spoke of the anger which had been conveyed to him at what was perceived to be the impunity enjoyed by those who had the responsibility of bringing such abuses for action by the appropriate authorities and have not done so," he said.

Both leaders agreed on the importance of protecting vulnerable communities and individuals, at home and abroad. President Higgins spoke to Pope Francis on the issues of homelessness, health, education and nutrition. They both emphasised the importance of measures to prevent and redress all forms of abuse of privilege or power.

President Higgins spoke to His Holiness of how the achievement of an equality of rights defined a Republic, and of how acts of exclusion, including those based on gender and sexual orientation, had caused, and were still causing, great suffering.

Pope Francis and Mr Higgins also discussed climate change, inequality, poverty, migration and violent conflict.

They agreed that human rights must be at the centre of political and personal responses aimed at tackling such issues, the spokesman added.

Pope Francis, who appeared somewhat frail - he was helped up and down steps at the Aras - later followed in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II in planting an oak tree in the south portico.

He later planted a tree at Aras an Uachtarain.

The tree-planting ceremony got under way after the pontiff was greeted at the president's official residence.

Francis planted an Irish oak tree (quercus robur) on the lawn in front of the south portico. In doing so, he became the second Pope to plant a tree on the grounds of the residence.

A Syrian family, who are asylum seekers, were invited to observe the tree-planting ceremony. They watched the proceedings alongside Aras an Uachtarain staff.

Other dignitaries who have planted trees on the lawn at Aras an Uachtarain include presidents John F Kennedy and Eamon de Valera, the Queen and President Barack Obama.

Both the Queen and President Obama planted English oak trees during their visits to Ireland in 2011.

Ireland's first president Douglas Hyde planted a Cornish elm on the north lawn of Aras in 1939.

Since then, each of the country's nine presidents has planted an official tree on the grounds of the residence.

The tree-planting tradition dates back to Queen Victoria, who planted the first official tree on the grounds in the mid 1800s.Some of the drugs seized by gardai after stopping a vehicle

Two women in their 30s were arrested in the capital last night after a massive drug seizure with an estimated street value of more than half-a-million euro.

An estimated 670,000 worth of what is believed to be heroin and crack cocaine was seized by the Garda Drugs Unit and Specialised Crime Unit on the south side of Dublin.

Following a stop and search of a vehicle driven by a woman, gardai found 4,000 worth of suspected heroin and arrested the woman at the scene.

She was detained last night at Ballyfermot garda station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drugs Trafficking) Act, 1996.

The drugs unit then carried out further searches at a home in Bluebell, where the larger quantities of drugs were found.

"In a follow up search at a house in Bluebell, 4.5kg of suspected heroin and crack cocaine [subject to analysis] was seized with an estimated street value of 670,000.

"A small amount of prescription tablets were also seized," a Garda spokeswoman said.

Following the seizure, a second woman was arrested and was last night detained by gardai at Kevin Street garda station, also under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (drugs trafficking) Act, 1996.

Gardai said the arrests came on the back of ongoing investigations targeting organised crime in the area.

"Gardai from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Special Crime Task Force, and supported by a number of specialised units from DMR, have this evening arrested two women (both in their 30s) in Bluebell, Dublin, as part of ongoing investigations targeting an organised crime group in south and west Dublin," the spokeswoman added.On Saturday night I headed for the Lilywhite Lounge where a special surprise 80th birthday party was being held for Marie Kampes from Cherryvale and there to make sure she had a fantastic night was husband Heinz, daughter Orlagh, so Franz and grandkids Killian, Caoimhe, Enya, Laura, Nicole and Naomi and huge collection of family and friends.

Marie, who was jointly responsible for setting up the Brownies in Bay Estate a number of years ago, was completely tricked, thinking she was going out for a meal, only to arrive up to Oriel and find everyone waiting to surprise her.

I then caught up with Franz who was with his wife Cora and the kids from Kilkerley and said that Orlagh had travelled over from Elphin with her kids specially to surprise her mum.

I then headed over for a chat with Declan and Anne McStravick from Haggardstown who wanted to wish Marie all the best and were a bit confused, they thought they were going to a 21st!

Making my way over to an adjacent table I then got talking to in-laws Peter and Mary Hanratty from Carrick Road who were joined by Francis, Aisling, Aaron, Emma and Cadhla McGuigan from Castlebellingham who wanted to wish Marie a very happy 80th and hopes she had a lovely night.

After this I met up with granddaughter Enya Kampes from Carrick Road who was there with her bestie Chloe Conlon from Inniskeen who assured me it was going to be a mad night.

Not too long later I got a word with Marie's cousins Raymond Savage from The Meadows and Damian Savage from Bay Estate who were there with their wives Marian and Shirley and they assured me it was going to be a fantastic night and no mistake. It always is when Parnell Park boys get together!

I headed over for a quick chat with Brian Keough from Cherryvale who was with his wife Briege, Anne Mackin from Fatima who were enjoying the company of Pat and Ronnie, Gavin and Teresa McCabe all from Cherryvale who were all ready for a major night of celebration with their neighbours.

At an adjacent table I then got talking to Dermot, Frances and Dylan Gilmore from Cherryvale who wanted to wish all the best to their 'very noisy neighbours'!

After this I met up with Sarah and Artie McManus from Avenue Road and Mary and Val Wynne from Bay Estate who told me they have been long time friends of Marie and Heinz and wanted to wish the birthday girl all the best on her big night.

All the way over from Frenchpark in Roscommon were Barbara and Mark Freeman who are friends of Orlagh's and have known Marie for a few years now and were delighted to be there to help celebrate her big night.

Not too far away I then got talking to Paul Mooney from Cork and Dwayne Kieran from Cooley who were there on the night with Marie's granddaughters Laura and Naomi Kearns both from Roscommon and wanted to wish her a very happy 80th.

The lads were sitting beside Chris O'Connor from Seafield Lawns and Orla Wynne from Wexford and wanted to wish Marie all the best on her big night.

Then I had the pleasure of talking to Claire McCann from Dublin who told me she had helped to set up the Brownies with Marie all those years ago. She was with son Brian Sweeney and daughter Ciara Nash who is home from the Cayman Islands with her kids Tegan and Lara who all wanted to wish Marie a very happy birthday.

Not too long later I then met up with Gary, Maria and Saoirse Byrne from Willowdale and Gary wanted to wish his aunty a very happy birthday.

I then headed for a table where I caught up with Miriam and Declan Dullaghan from Ashbrook who were with their kids Annmarie and Michelle who was with her husband Wayne Doherty from Belfry Avenue who were looking forward to a major night of fun with Marie and the rest of her family.

Finally, I caught up with the living legend that is Noel Byrne from Blackrock who was having a laugh with Brian Sweeney from Dublin who was with mum Claire and sister Ciara. Noel wanted to wish his sister a very happy birthday and hoped she had a lovely night with her family and friends.The OConnor Family, Clann Ui Chonchubhair played the opening Muintearas Concert of the series of family performances at the Fleadh

Local musicians were to the forefront at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Drogheda, from performing for President Michael D Higgins at the official opening, to playing at gigs and sessiuns and winning prizes at competition.

The O'Connor family from Ravensdale made a big impact with father Gerry receiving a coveted Bardic Award ,which is presented at the Fleadh each year for those who have made a significant contribution to the promotion of a variety of aspects of traditional Irish culture. Flute player Kay Webster, who is deeply involved with promoting traditional music at the Oriel Centre in Dundalk, was also presented with a Bardic Award.

Three generations of the O'Connor family performed on Sunday afternoon and Gerry was particularly busy during the week, taking part in the Regional Showcase and the Fiddlers of Oriel concert, as well as launching 'The Rose in the Gap'. a collection of local dance music, on Friday.

This new publication, is the culmination of his love for the music of the Oriel region which began in 1976, when Gerry was given a photocopy of a 1909 County Louth Archaeological Journal article submitted by Rev. Luke Donnellan entitled Oriel Songs & Dances which included a collection .

He has turned to the manuscript throughout his career, while playing with Skylark and La Lugh, and he always liked to dedicate the tune 'The Rose in the Gap', to his mother Rose.

It was while he was doing a Master of Arts (MA) research programme in 2006, that he began work on what was to grow to 'The Rose in the Gap' project,comprising the book, featuring a painting by local artist Petra Berntsson, and an on-line resource to the tunes.

Meanwhile son Donal took to the stage with his band Ulaid who were joined by Duke Special for a memorable performance. Donal, of course, was also busy working as a producer on FleadhTV which broadcast highlights from the Fleadh to audiences around the world.

Having performed at the official opening to a crowd of thousands in Bolton Square, the renowned Dundalk fiddle player Zoe Conway, along with her husband and guitarist John McIntrye, played two amazing concerts, one in St Peter's Church and the other, which sold out in the Dome on Thursday night with the RTE Concert Orchestra and special guests Bill Whelan, Donal Lunny and Mick O'Brien.

Young musicians from the town also made an impact at the Fleadh, with Nos Nua, the Louth Youth Folk Orchestra, Saran Mulligan, Tadhg Mulligan and Conal Duffy, playing in the Bloom of Youth concert on Monday night.

Dundalk musicians took over the Gig Rig on Wednesday with Faoi Gheasa, the 8-piece trad group from the De La Salle College, former DkIT students Fiachra Meek, Ryan McAuley and Darragh Brannigan; young dancers from the Dearbhla McGee School of Irish Dancing, and Dogs Among the Bushes from Dundalk.

Staff, students and graduates from Dundalk Institute of Technology were busy during the week, performing at the official opening as well as at several events during the week. The college's Creative Arts Research Centre contributed to the a symposium hosted by Dr Adele Commins on the legacy of traditional Irish music. Adele and Daithi Kearney also brought their 'A Louth Lilt' CD and book to the Boomerang Cafe.The parents of a premature baby boy who spent eight months in Holles Street Hospital have raised a whopping 47,779 for the hospital's intensive care unit.

Eimear Halpenny and Eoin Campbell organised the 'Walk an Hour for Premmie Power' at Salterstown Pier on July 20th and 21st, as a way of saying thank you to the hospital for the care which their baby Freddie received after he was born at 26 weeks.

Over 360 people turned up at the event which saw 24 teams of walkers covering the 24 hour period, which ended with all the walkers being joined by Freddie and his parents.

Freddie made history when he became the first baby to be born in St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin in August 2017 after Eimear had major surgery. He was transferred to Holles Street Hospital where he faced many battles before being discharged home at 134 days. As he was 14 weeks premature, Freddie was unable to breath for himself and was a ventilator/life support machine for 15 weeks.

Eimear said they organised the relay to thank the hospital for never giving up on their son and to help other premature babies.De La Salle student Emmanuel Ntmuese who received 625 points in his Leaving Certificate results, pictured with his parents

De La Salle College student Emmanuel Ntmuese celebrated achieving an incredible 625 points in the Leaving Cert.

Emmanuel was one of only two students from Dundalk schools to have been awarded the maximum points in his exams, and was joined by his proud parents in collecting his results at the school on Wednesday last.

It was a day of mixed emotions, relief, elation and fatigue as the day finally arrived for students to receive their Leaving Cert results.

A steady stream of students made their way into the school grounds to collect their results, with anxious parents waiting in the wings.

Among those waiting to collect result was Conor McGailey, Avenue Road, who added that he was 'happy with what I got anyhow!' as his proud mum looked on.

Conor added that he hopes to study Business at DkIT, and like thousands of students around the country waits on the first round of CAO offers.

Darren Geoghegan was also among students planning their next step after he collected the results which he was hoping would take him to study in Waterford.

Principal Patricia O'Leary told the Argus: 'Well done to all of our Leaving Certificate students who received their results today. We are very proud of all of our students and wish them every success in the future.'

A very special mention went out to Emmanuel Ntmuese, who she said was 'an excellent student with a very bright future.'

'We are very proud of Emmanuel for his achievements. He was a fantastic addition to the school, and was part of our All Ireland debating team this year.'

She added of Emmanuel who was 'modest' in his success, that he will be 'much missed in school, but we wish him all the very best for his future.'

The proud principal added that she was pleased to report 'really good results across the board.'

'Getting the results is the first stage of course, as students will be anxiously awaiting the first round of offers to see if they secured a place in their preferred courses.'Stewart Agnew and Megan Hughes, Dundalk Credit Union, with Colette Moss, Louth County Council along with Ryan and Kayla Martin at the Friday Fleadh Fever session at Marshes Shopping Centre

Local musicians were very much to the fore as the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann took place in Drogheda last week.

The O'Connors, the Mulligans, Zoe Conway and John McIntyre, Padraigin Ni hUllachain, Sean Og Graham, and a whole generation of young musicians from Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann, Nos Nua, and DkIT, as well as local Irish dancers kept the Dundalk flag flying throughout the week.

Two Dundalk musicians, fiddler Gerry O'Connor and flautist Kay Webster from the Oriel Centre, were presented with the Bardic Award which is presented annually to those who have made an outstanding contribution to traditional Irish music and culture.

There were local faces on all the main stages, as well as on the gig rig and the many impromptu sessions which sprang up in the pubs around Drogheda.

Local musicians also featured among the prize winners of the All Ireland competitions, with Saran Mulligan emerging as champion in the under 18 concertina competition, while the dancers from CCE JJ Gardiner took honours in the 8 hand ceili dancers.

Other prize winners included uileann piper Caoimhghin O Caolain who was runner up in the slow airs, Seamus de Faoite, who came second in the piano accordion 15-18 years, Donmachadh Mac Aodh, who was third in the harp slow airs, and Ceoiltoiri Cuchulainn came third in the grupai ceoil 15-18. Pearse Og McMahon was placed second and third in the English and Irish singing under 12.A Dundalk Councillor has raised concerns about "serious delays" in getting maintenance and repair work carried out on local authority houses.

Cllr. Anne Campbell said 'There has been a massive slow-down in getting maintenance and repairs completed with council officials saying that all works are subject to the maintenance budget in the second half of the year.'

Cllr Campbell added that she had raised the issue at the last meeting of Louth County Council.

'According to the figures, maintenance requests have increased by 20% in two years. I also noted that work had been approved at tenants' homes but had not been done because of cost. I asked director of housing, Joe McGuinness, if there was a problem with money.'

She pointed out that the Director had admitted that there were 'issues with a significant number of housing maintenance requests, and there are budgetary pressures. They are being prioritised and some will be done'.

Cllr Campbell said: 'I have noticed that the delays between maintenance or repair requests going in and the work getting done have been getting longer and longer since June. I have sought updates on behalf of a number of constituents and have been told that there are 'budgetary pressures' and each job is subject to the funding being available for it.'

'There are people who have come to me who have been waiting for months to get relatively small, but important, work done to their council houses and it's just not happening. Indeed, there is currently no indication, in many of these cases, when the work may be carried out.'

She added 'Louth County Council has a responsibility to its tenants in the same way a private landlord has certain obligations to his/her tenants, including repairing and maintaining the structure of the property and maintaining the interior of the property to the standard it was at the start of the tenancy. We would not accept 'budgetary pressures' from a private landlord and we should not accept this reason from local authorities either.Principal Padraig McGoveran and Leaving Certificate Coordinator Pauline McGuinness with Laura Durnin, Alannah Bond and Shannon Flynn after they received their Leaving Certificate results in O Fiaich College

Students at O'Fiaich College celebrated with family, friends and staff as the anxious wait for Leaving Cert results was over on Wednesday last.

Among those collecting their results on the day were Laura Durnin, Alannah Bond, and Sharon Flynn, who were congratulated by Principal Padraig McGovern and Leaving Certificate Co-Ordinator, Pauline McGuinness. There were happy faces too when Jessica Shields, Emily Maguire, Kaci Quinn, Chloe McKeown and Sonia McKeown collected their results. Deputy Principal Audrey Flood also met with students collecting their results, among them Julie Anne McCullagh and Jack Murphy.

O'Fiaich College have congratulated all who completed their Leaving Cert results, and are keen to see all students reach their potential.

'We know this is an anxious time for students and parents alike,' said Ms. McGuinness. 'Just remember, there are so many options available and a PLC course is a great option. With a PLC course you can progress onto Higher Education, go directly into a great job, there are lots of choices for everyone.'

Check out their website for full details and apply online - www.ofi.ieDolly Canavan, Minister Simon Harris and Joyce Scallan at the East Coast Samaritans stand at the Tinahely Show

Volunteers with the East Coast Samaritans are calling on anyone interested in joining their ranks to come along to one of the group's upcoming information meetings.

Based in Arklow, East Coast Samaritans serves Wicklow and north Wexford and is staffed by volunteers from both counties.

In order to extend the local service, the local group is constantly seeking new volunteers.

To find out more about what is involved in volunteering, come along to one of the upcoming information evenings which will take place at 7pm on Tuesday, August 28, at Arklow Library and 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 30, at Gorey Library. Alternatively call 1890 200 091 or 087 9362309 or email recruitmentecseastcoast@gmail.com

The East Coast Samaritans had a very successful day fundraising and raising awareness at the Tinahely Show recently.

During the day, the group raffled a number of beautiful hampers, which were packed full of donations from retailers and businesses in the Arklow and Gorey areas.

Among those to visit the Samaritans stand at the show was the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, who commended the volunteers for their work.

'I was very happy to be able to visit the East Coast Samaritans stand at the Tinahely Show and meet some of the volunteers who do such wonderful work,' he said. 'I would like to commend the Samaritans for the excellent service they provide for those in most need, at all hours of the day and night.'A recent report published by the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) has revealed that 2,399 new jobs in the Accommodation and Food Services sector have been created in County Wicklow since the introduction of the reduced VAT rate of nine per cent in July 2011.

This report identifies the direct and indirect employment associated with the introduction of the reduced VAT rate. Between Q2 2011 and Q1 2018, the number of people working in the Accommodation and Food Services sector nationally increased by 54,400, taking total employment from 117,300 to 171,700 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The RAI is urging the government to retain the rate as they believe it has improved the competitiveness of the sector, while ensuring the viability of many small businesses that have been going through challenging times. The RAI is asking Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe not to return the VAT rate to 13.5 per cent.

In Q1 2018, it is estimated that 5,136 workers were employed directly in the sector in County Wicklow. The total gross annual wage paid to those workers was 119 million. The total net annual wage paid to those workers was 105 million. The payroll taxes accruing to the Exchequer from this employment was 26.2 million. Indirect employment as a result of direct employment in the sector is estimated at 2,363.

Total employment in the Accommodation and Food Services sector in County Wicklow increased by 1,643 between Q2 2011 and Q1 2018. The total gross annual wage paid to those extra workers is 38 million. The total net annual wage paid to those extra workers is 33.7 million. The payroll taxes accruing to the Exchequer from this extra employment is 8.4 million. Indirect employment as a result of the change in direct employment in the sector is estimated at 756.

Speaking about the success of the reduced VAT rate in recent years, Adrian Cummins, Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, said: 'In terms of creating new jobs in the hospitality sector, the introduction of the nine per cent VAT rate in July 2011 has been a major driver of local employment growth.'Wicklow Rose Lorna Mallick is still on a high following a whirlwind week representing her county at the Rose of Tralee Festival.

'It has been a very busy week but brilliant. From the first day when we arrived in Maynooth to set off for Tralee and everywhere we went, the welcome was just phenomenal,' she said.

Lorna set off from her Tinahely home over a week ago to take part in the festival, which has included the Rose Ball, numerous media interviews and photocalls, interviews with judges, all leading up to the televised finals on Monday and Tuesday.

'I wasn't disappointed not to take part in the televised interviews because they are just one part of the festival. Once you are involved in the Rose of Tralee you learn that there is so much more to the whole week. I have had a wonderful time and I cheered on my room-mate, Sarah Ward, the New York Rose, who was the first one on stage on the first night,' Lorna added.

Throughout the week, Lorna was paired with two escorts - John O'Flynn from Limerick and Paul Clabby from Roscommon, who ended up winning Escort of the Year.

She was also paired with Rosebud Isla Campbell from Co Antrim, who was one of the young girls selected to take part in the junior section of the festival.

Lorna was surrounded by family and friends during the week. Among those cheering her on were her parents Joseph and Fiona Mallick, her brother Colin and relatives from Ireland, the UK and Australia.Both Cork city and County are revving up again for the annual celebration of culture, creativity and the arts as Culture Night will take place next month on Friday, September 21.

Throughout Cork city and county from 5pm until late, museums, galleries, historic buildings, artist's studios and other venues all over the country will remain open offering free tours, exhibitions, readings, performances and films.

There will be drama and poetry, music and dance, workshops and lectures, and a lot more, all of them free of charge and with a welcome for everyone.

The full programme for Culture Night in County Cork will be announced in the coming weeks but a 'taster' of what's on offer in North Cork provides a fascinating glimpse of what an eager public can expect.

In The Aemelain Theatre in St Mary's School in Mallow, Alan Foley, Artistic Director of Cork City Ballet, will give a talk on working with Mallow native, Joan Denise Moriarty, the founder of professional ballet in Ireland. She was a ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher of ballet and a traditional Irish dancer and musician.

Alan will be accompanied by a dancer form his company who will illustrate the workings of the daily life of a professional dancer.

More details of events all over North Cork will be available soon.

Culture night events can range from something as simple as a storytelling event, to an exhibition, a concert, a dance performance or a parade, all of which reflect the diversity of culture in County Cork and every single event is free and open to all.Millstreet Pipe Band returned to familiar surroundings last Saturday and Sunday for the 59th International Rose of Tralee Festival, and the Michael Collins Commemoration.

The great Millstreet bastions of piped music were maintaining a long-standing engagement with the festival since its founding in 1959. Millstreet's association began when a new festival concept replaced a carnival and the selection of a queen.

The first festival in 1959 was built around the concept on the world-famous song, 'The Rose of Tralee', with Roses representing Tralee, London, Dublin, Birmingham and New York.

Millstreet Pipe Band was invited to perform at the inaugural festival, and hackney cars transported the band members to a new beginning and a phenomenal link with the Tralee Festival. Down through the years of both recession and boom, Tralee has carved out a distinctive place for itself by welcoming thousands into the town.

The Millstreet Band is part and parcel of the Mardi Gras atmosphere that unfolds in the Kerry capital each August. Following the Tralee parade, it was home before they hit the road again on Sunday as they delivered a recital at the Michael Collins Commemoration in Beal na mBlath in the presence of guest speaker Michael Creed TD, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.Rachel O'Rahilly had the perfect recipe when she organised a hugely successful bake sale as a fundraiser for her forthcoming trip to Calcutta with the Hope Foundation.

Along with some of her peers from the Transition Year at Colaiste Treasa, Kanturk, Rachel will travel to Kolkata next March to witness what the children there go through everyday.

"My aim is to help try to make every child matter as these children are often forgotten" Rachel said.

"Children in Ireland get so much and often take things for granted. Over there they get so little and are so thankful for everything they receive," she continued.

Rachel must raise 2,400 to fund her trip to Calcutta.

"The bake sale was the first fundraising event I ran and it went incredibly well. Thank you to everyone who came and supported me throughout the day, the support I got was overwhelming," she added.

Further fundraisers including a fashion show are in the pipeline for later on in the year.

Readers can follow Rachel's journey on her Facebook page: Rachel O'Rahilly Hoping for Hope.Cork's drinks and hospitality sector will be highly vulnerable to a 'hard' or 'no deal' Brexit, according to an assessment by the New Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), which emphasises the extent of rural Ireland's reliance on drinks and hospitality business for employment.

In Cork 5.4% of all employment is in the drinks and hospitality sector. It is 8% in the capital and 9.5% in the West of Ireland. The drinks industry, in its narrowest definition, directly and indirectly employs 90,000 people but when the wider hospitality industry is included the total employment is more than a 250,000.

According to the report, an economic shock like a hard or no deal Brexit - could have the potential to leave rural and regional Ireland vulnerable to job losses.

As outlined in Cork, hospitality employment accounted for 12,459 jobs - 5.4% of all employment in the county.

Kerry has the highest portion of hospitality employment, with accommodation and food service sector employment as high as 10.5%.

Rosemary Garth, Irish Distillers' Communications and Corporate Affairs Director and Chair of DIGI, said that the new report clearly demonstrates the vital importance of the drinks and hospitality sector to rural Ireland, local employment and the economy in general.

"In many parts of Cork, drinks, hospitality and tourism businesses are the primary and sometimes only employers. This makes these areas highly vulnerable to economic shocks, like Brexit," she said.

"If a hard or no deal Brexit occurs and sterling devalues further, British tourists will look to save their money rather than spend it. That means fewer holidays and a smaller budget when they travel. Considering the British are our single biggest tourism market, this is a significant problem for rural areas that completely rely on foreign spend to power their local economy. Without a way to offset this decreased trade, some towns and villages could face business closures and job losses not unlike those of the recession," she said.

A downturn in the drinks and hospitality trade could also harm our economy. Ireland's drinks industry alone generates exchequer revenue worth 2.3 billion and exports 1.25 billion in goods every year.

Faced with an uncertain economic environment, DIGI has called upon the Government to safeguard the growth of the drinks and hospitality industry by implementing a 'defensive' alcohol excise tax reduction.

Ireland has the second-highest overall alcohol excise tax in Europe, behind only Finland. Broken down by drink type, we have the highest tax on wine, the second highest on beer, and the third highest on spirits.

She was of the view that by reducing excise, not only would the Government be rewarding consumers by putting more money back in their pockets, it would be helping to defend producers, retailers and other businesses across Ireland from the worst impacts of economic uncertainty.

She said: "With less spent on excise tax, employers will be able to invest in business development and job creation, giving Ireland's regions the necessary supports to grow in line with the rest of the country."It was one of the first concerts on the week long bill and as a prelude to the week that it was - it simply excelled.

The Dominican Church hosted the 'Bloom of Youth' concert, a special production featuring the cream of talent from the region.

The likes of Nos Nua and the Music Generation were described as the 'future of music in Louth' and their array of talents was remarkable.

One of the highlights was a rendition of the song made famous by Mary Ann Carolan from the Hill of Rath -'My Bonny Light Horseman' - and it was performed to perfection by Sarah Maxwell.

The Nos Nua group has been working hard for 11 months for the Fleadh, but will continue to grow as a legacy to it in the years ahead.

There were 55 members in total, under the baton of Conal Duffy.

And while the young musicians got the Fleadh motoring, many, many more got it into top gear.

The Gig Rig proved to be a true rollercoaster ride - Mo Cheol Lu - Music at The Gate, Scoil Rince - Ni Chearra O Bhaoilain, Caroline Campbell School of Dance and of course Lolo Robinson's finest, amongst others to delight the crowds for the full week.

Another feature of the local talent was seen in the shape of the staff, students and graduates from Dundalk Institute of Technology who performed to a crowd of thousands in Bolton Square, Drogheda at the official launch of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.

Flute player Martha Guiney from Co. Down and Dublin accordion player Joanne Cusack are graduates of the BA(Hons) Applied Music and were joined on stage by current music student Ciara Brannigan from Drogheda and computing student Caoimhe McKiverigan from Co. Down. Also performing in the group was music lecturer Dr DaithI Kearney and the Head of Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music at DkIT, Dr Adele Commins.

Musicians from DkIT features prominently throughout the week's programme.showing what a success story the investment in the music scene at the college has been.

Daithi Kearney also proved a great MC during the week.A charity pub quiz will take place in McHugh's pub in Drogheda later in the month to support a local lady who is set to trek across Spain to raise funds for the Drogheda branch of the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland.

Lisa Gregory, who hails from College Rise in Drogheda, has returned home from Sydney, Australia ahead of the ASI Camino Adventure which takes place in Spain between September 8th and 15th. The event will see 25 walkers from across Ireland travel to the continent and raise funds for their own local branches and public awareness for people who live with dementia.

Ahead of her trip, Lisa - who describes the cause as 'very close to her heart' has organised a pub quiz to help raise funds for her trip. It takes place on Friday August 31st at 8pm, with teams of up to four people able to enter at a cost of 10 each.

There will be prizes and a raffle on the night too, so it's well worth coming out to support the cause.

Lisa will trek 115km over five days, travelling from Sarria to Compostela in north west Spain. You can donate directly to Lisa's fundraising campaign by visiting https://a-taste-of-the-camino-de-santiago-8th-to-15th-september.everydayhero.com/ie/charity-camino-trek.It was great to read about how a Drogheda company was set up in an effort to do something about high youth unemployment over 30 years ago - and it saw them win one of Ireland's most prestigious industrial awards.

Killeen (Steel Wool) Ltd., set up by Drogheda businessman Malachy McCloskey and his family, won the IDA/Wang Computers Company of the Month Award in 1988.

The firm, which had a workforce of 16 then, had captured 40 per cent of the Irish market for steel wool soap pads and challenged 500 other small industries in this region for the award.

Killeen was the second Drogheda company to win the IDA/Wang Award - Tapestry Ireland was the other.

Mr. McCloskey, Ian Finnegan of Wang, Mayor Ald. Tommy Murphy, Chamber of Commerce President, Pat Carr, Malachy's wife Anne and son Edward, Drogheda Industrial Development Co. Chairman Vincent Hoey and Chief Executive Archie Coubrough, ITGWU Branch Secretary Michael Walsh and executives and staff of the Killeen company met at the firm's headquarters at the Industrial Estate, Donore Road, for the award presentation.

Malachy said that the firm was originally conceived in an effort to do something to reduce "the horrifyingly high" youth unemployment in the Drogheda area. "The fact that we have now wrested a significant market share from the giant multinational which previously dominated the market with imported product is, I think, a reflection on what can be done by a determined David against a Goliath,' he remarked at the time. 'Without the committed support of the IDA and our many customers we just could not have succeeded. By customer, I mean of course, the Irish housewife who is increasingly choosing Irish, as well as the buyers for the major grocery chains who have been very supportive.

"If anyone were to ask me what it means to buy Irish, I would say look around you. Look at our young working team. Here is a small, company making a range of products that have never before been made in Ireland but Killeen has nevertheless succeeded in creating 16 new jobs.'

Killeen - what a success story.Fergus O'Dowd TD has confirmed that a new driving test centre will be delivered in Drogheda by next year.

The CEO of the RSA, Moyagh Murdock, wrote to Deputy O'Dowd to confirm that the RSA intends to enter negotiations with the OPW to trawl the town for a suitable location.

Deputy O'Dowd has been campaigning for a driver test centre for a number of years and was close to securing a test centre in the town in 2016.

O'Dowd also met with the County Manager of Louth County Council recently to again highlight the importance of all bodies working together to provide a suitable location for a driver test centre for the people of Drogheda.

Deputy O'Dowd said: "I'm absolutely delighted that our campaigning has paid off and the people of Drogheda will finally get the test centre they deserve.

"Drogheda is the largest town in Ireland and locals have had to travel to Navan or Dundalk to take their test which is completely inappropriate. The day of a test is worrying enough without the added pressure of driving in unfamiliar surroundings.

"I have been awaiting response to my last written correspondence sent to Ms Murdock in June of this year and I'm truly delighted that we now have a firm commitment to deliver this long awaited project.

"I will continue to liaise with the CEO of the RSA, the County Manager and the Office of Public Works to ensure this project is completed as speedily as possible," the Louth TD said.There was disbelief that fifty years had passed as some thirty former pupils of St Mary's CBS in Enniscorthy gathered at the Riverside Park Hotel recently to mark the anniversary of their leaving the school and heading out into the big bad world.

Quite a bit of work went into the reunion with classmates Tony Britton, John Dunne, Willy French and Philip Howlin rounding up the troops over the past few months. Originally, 73 young, eager, fresh-faced boys entered the old Model School on the Mill Park Road in 1963, under the principalship of the late Br. Cripps for their first year, followed by four years with the late Br. Delaney at the helm. Surprisingly, most of them are still living locally, followed by a number who moved to Dublin in addition to those who live elsewhere in Ireland. A number moved to the UK, but as far as is known, nobody moved further afield.

Gradually, postal and email addresses were gathered, allowing the organising group to notify everybody with whom they were in contact. A total of three proved totally elusive, without any trace of existing family or friends in the general Enniscorthy area.

A number of their former teachers were unable to attend, but Cllr Tony Dempsey, also a past pupil of the school, was present to recall his time there as a teacher. Tony went on the have a long and successful career as a teacher, retiring as principal of Enniscorthy Vocational College.

During the course of an address to the group, Tony Britton reminded them of how far they had come and how distantly they had viewed arriving at 67 or 68 years of age when aged 17 or 18.

He pointed out that most of them were unlikely to have gotten a secondary education if it wasn't for the Christian Brothers, who had fallen out of favour in recent years. Nevertheless, it has to be admitted that the contribution of the Christian Brothers to the education of boys over the years had been immense, particularly at a time when the only alternative secondary school - boarding school - would have been difficult, if not impossible, for most of those present.

Of the original 73, unfortunately 13 had passed away, the most recent after enthusiastically agreeing to attend about two months ago. The earliest of the deceased was around 40 years ago when a former pupil, then a young naval officer, selflessly tried to rescue a fellow seaman overcome by fumes and he himself died in a double tragedy. Thoughts were with those classmates on the night also.

The organising committee were delighted with the response and how the night went and the night ran into the early hours of the morning as stories were exchanged and memories rekindled.

It was such a good night and the gang had such a good time catching up that they've agreed that another mini-reunion in five years may be on the cards.When Pope Francis visits Ireland this Saturday it will mean different things to different people as never before has Irish society been so divided on its views regarding the church.

In the census of 2016 over 78 per cent of people ticked the box 'Roman Catholic'. And for all the secularism that has come to shape Irish society, the dominant religion of the State remains Catholic. Indeed, a recent study of religious affiliation conducted by the Catholic third level institutions of St Mary's University, Twickenham and the Institut Catholique de Paris revealed that Irish people in the 16-29 age bracket were amongst the most religious in Europe.

People are right to feel Pope Francis should use this opportunity to address the wrongdoings perpetrated by his church that date back as far as the foundation of the State when the church filled the power vacuum left by the British. This transition paid scant regard for an emerging society, especially women who suffered most under the church's heavy handed views on sexual mores.

But there is little this editorial can add to the litany of public outrage already articulated by so many people; a society that suffered shamelessly at the hands of people who used the cover of God to inflict horrific hardships on children and young women.

Absent on Saturday will be the blanket deference that marked much of Pope John Paul II's visit in 1979 but this weekend's Meeting of Families will still draw over 750,000 people to Dublin and Knock.

Yes, Ireland is now a more secular country. A country where our Taoiseach is gay; a country of marriage equality; a country that voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment; a country whose former President is now one of the Vatican's biggest critics. The power now lies with the people, not the church. This much is a given.

But with power must also come obligation. Voicing opposition in a controlled and channelled way is necessary if those who proclaim Ireland is a new and modern place is to be effective. For this reason Saturday's visit must be seen as an opportunity by those opposed to Pope Francis.

Resorting to trendy atheism is not an option. Hitching a ride on the backs of those who genuinely suffered at the hands of the church in order to score points is wrong. The voices of opposition should, first and foremost, be the victims. The converse of this is people lining up to score cheap points, which is tantamount to a wasted opportunity.

Respect and tolerance are also essential elements of a secular Ireland. If people want to idolise Pope Francis, it is their right to do so without fear of ridicule. Pope Francis' popularity crosses all generations but he appeals most to a generation of mothers and fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles - people whose religious faith was formed in a vastly different Ireland.

It's a cohort of people for whom faith is a determining factor. A self-sustaining force through good times and bad which needs to be respected. A secular society is all about embracing change, not about eradicating the voices we disagree with.

True tolerance and respect are human qualities beyond the control of mankind. Such qualities can be espoused by everyone, whether religious or not. Perhaps this should be the universal message ahead of the Pope's visit.Templeshannon is set to come alive to the sound of Trad music over the weekend as the second annual Enniscorthy Folk & Ballad Festival tunes up. Getting underway on Friday night, the festival runs until Sunday with shows taking place in Treacy's Hotel, D-Bar, Toss Kavanagh's, Popovici's, Benedicts, Stamps and Doyle's of Market Square.

This year's festival, once again, has a strong line-up traditional music which, organisers are hopeful will attract people from all over the country. 'A great crowd is expected from all over Ireland,' said Sharon Morrissey of Treacy's Hotel, one of those behind the festival. 'We have people booked into Treacy's from Kerry, Ennis, Laois, Dublin and all over Ireland. Being a UK bank holiday, we got many Northern Irish visitors last year and some of these, along with others from the UK, had re-booked their stay as early as February this year. It's only in its second year, but we are positive it will grow from strength to strength.'

The festival was officially launched on Sunday night with Paul Watchorn of The Dubliners as special guest and he was impressed by a wonderful line-up which includes Clover, The Navvies, Reillys Men, Blackstairs Rebels and The Druids, who will close the festival on Sunday night at 11.30 p.m. in Benedicts. For more info on the festival and a full programme of events, visit the Irish Folk and Ballad Festival Facebook page or call Treacy's Hotel on 053 9237798.Deputy Arts Officer for Fingal Sarah ONeill, Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Anthony Lavin, Co-director and Autumn Sounds violinist Gillian Williams and Co-director and Autumn Sounds cellist Arun Rao at Farmleigh, Phoenix Park

A series of Autumn Sounds Concerts supported by Fingal County Council was launched at Farmleigh recently with the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Anthony Lavin attending.

The Autumn Sounds Concert 2018 takes place at the Ballroom in Farmleigh, Phoenix Park next month and brings together a team of international performers led by well-known Fingal-based classical music group Duo Chagall.

This is the eighth year that the group have directed Autumn Sounds in Farmleigh.

This year the concerts take place on September 14 and 21.

After four years of performing the chamber music of German composer Robert Schumann, Duo Chagall are dedicating this year's edition to early-20th century composer Claude Debussy to mark the centenary of his death.

Violinist Gillian Williams, the series' co-Director, said: 'We have invited some superb musicians this year. As a native of Fingal, I think it is really something that we are now in a position to bring someone like Sivan Magen (21/09) to be our partner at the Ballroom. Obviously our long-term relationship with Fingal Arts and The Office of Public Works has been critical, but this year we must also thank The Arts Council of Ireland and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Quebec.'

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Anthony Lavin said: 'I'm delighted that Fingal's Art Office is continuing to support the Autumn Sounds concerts in Farmleigh this year. As well as bringing an exciting international group of musicians to Fingal, it gives us the opportunity to showcase the beautiful Ballroom here in Farmleigh.'The National Parents Council post primary Leaving Cert Helpline 1800 265 165 will operate from now until Wednesday August, 22.

This period covers the release of the results through to the first round of offers from the Central Applications Office. This year, approximately 57,000 students sat the Leaving Cert.

The Helpline supports students and parents by reducing stress through providing accurate information and counselling during this time.

The phones will be staffed by members of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, who will assist callers with up to date information on all the issues that arise at this time.

These will range from, appeal procedures, points, CAO applications and non-CAO options. SUSI, the Student Universal Support Ireland, will also have a representative on hand to advise on any grant related queries.

The Helpline is sponsored by the Irish Independent and the Department of Education and Skills. This year the initiative is hosted in the Croke Park Media Centre courtesy of the GAA Community Programme.Former staff at Empire Bar & Grill in Swords, which closed its doors suddenly two weeks ago, have hit out at the decision to shut the business with no notice period for employees, and expressed their view that it was a 'disgrace'.

The popular venue closed for the final time at the close of trading on Monday August 6, at the end of a busy Bank Holiday weekend with no notice served to workers who were left shocked and upset by the closure.

The Fingal Independent understands that a meeting will be held with directors of parent company Lencoolcrew Ltd set to attend, but no date has yet been set.

The directors will issue a formal statement to those in attendance at the meeting, where former staff members are set to air their grievances at being left without employment with no notice and demand a timeframe for the payment of outstanding wages.

Employees, left jobless with the news of Empire's cessation of trading, remain without owed wages and holiday pay and are urging the company's owners to speed up the process of paying outstanding monies.

According to staff, when a small number of employees turned up for work on Tuesday on August 7, they were told to leave the premises immediately and that they would not be paid for being there. Around 40 staff - roughly 12 of which were full-time - were employed at Empire, which first opened in December 2014.

Many of the staff members learned of the closure not from company representatives but from second hand sources, as news of the sudden layoffs spread throughout Swords during the day.

Some staff at the venue had worked there since it first opened, but were not afforded notice of the decision.

The closure came as a shock, just after one of the busiest periods of the year - the long August Bank Holiday weekend.

Staff said they had heard no suggestion jobs might be at risk.

'Our wages are in limbo and there's no communication. We haven't been told anything,' one staff member told us. 'The majority of staff should have been given minimum notice and they're now owed minimum notice pay. If they had told us, it wouldn't have been as bad. It's been two weeks since a lot of us have been paid. We haven't got a penny. We're living week to week off these wages.'

Another former staff member said: 'I think this is a disgrace. I don't know what we are supposed to do.'

The company is to be placed into voluntary liquidation with a Dublin-based firm of practitioners who are set to be formally appointed as liquidators.

The Fingal Independent contacted directors of Lencoolcrew Ltd but they declined to make a comment on the matter, at this time.Skerries Coast Guard combined with the local RNLI lifeboat and Howth RNLI to mount a rescue last week of a French family whose yacht had run onto rocks near Skerries.

Shortly before 5am, last Tuesday morning (August 14) the Coast Guard's National Maritime Operations Centre received a MAYDAY distress call on marine VHF radio channel 16. The initial distress call contained limited details but indicated a sailing yacht with five persons on board was on rocks near Skerries and required immediate assistance.

The Coast Guard immediately launched a full rescue response tasking Skerries Coast Guard, the Coast Guard's Dublin based Sikorsky helicopter Rescue116, and lifeboats at Skerries and Howth.

It is understood that the 39ft French registered yacht broke its Skerries harbour mooring in the dark, early hours of the morning and drifted onto rocks just outside the harbour entrance, an area known locally as the Cross Rock.

All five persons on board, a family of two adults and three children aged 12, 14 and 16 years, were French Nationals.

Conditions on scene were calm with only slight Force 3 South West winds and fortunately this permitted the casualties to be transferred ashore by the yacht's dinghy, assisted by Skerries lifeboat crew.

The low Spring tide allowed the Skerries Coast Guard team to carry out a walk around and visual assessment of the yacht's outer hull shortly after the casualties were rescued.

The Coast Guard team successfully removed one of the vessel's two large rudders, preventing further damage being sustained during the re-floating phase.

Whilst the yacht did suffer some minor outer damage from the impact with the rocks, it successfully refloated on the incoming tide later that morning with no water ingress reported by the Skipper.

The Clogherhead lifeboat towed the yacht back to Skerries harbour pier shortly before midday where the Skerries Coast Guard team received the yacht and assisted in securing its lines.

Commenting on the rescue, Vanessa Gaffney, Officer in Charge Skerries Coast Guard said: 'With Spring tides due to the recent new moon, tidal currents in the area of Skerries harbour were exceptionally strong. Once the yacht's mooring line failed in the early morning hours, the vessel would have drifted out very quickly with the ebb tide.

'Fortunately all five persons were rescued safe and well from the grounding. In this case the yacht was well equipped and the Skipper was able to quickly raise the alarm by sending the Mayday radio message. This allowed the Coast Guard to launch the rescue mission and dispatch all resources to the scene immediately.

'The Coast Guard's initial priority was for the safety of all five persons on board the stricken yacht, once they were safe and well, attention then turned to the salvage of the vessel itself. Whilst initial weather conditions were calm, the winds were forecasted to freshen significantly as the day progressed.'An exciting and varied programme of events for Heritage Week 2018, presented by Fingal County Council kicked off last weekend and continues until next Sunday .

The annual Heritage Week is a great opportunity to learn more about your local heritage and make connections with new people and stories while shining a spotlight the great work that is carried out in all communities in Ireland to preserve and promote our natural, built and cultural heritage.

To find out what is happening in Fingal visit www.fingal.ie or see www.heritageweek.ie

Fingal Libraries will present a series of talks including one on the Bremore Castle Restoration and Reconstruction Project by Fingal County Council's Senior Parks Superintendent Kevin J. Halpenny in Balbriggan Library on Thursday 23 August at 6.30 pm. Other talks will include Sam Green on Dunsink Observatory, author visit and nature talk by Paraic Fogarty and family history workshops with Fiona Fitzsimons of Eneclan.

There will be a bilingual event at lunch time in Swords castle hosted by Bernie Kelly, Irish Officer and Christine Baker Community Archaeologist on Tuesday 21 as well as the annual Fingal Heritage Network get together as various Historical Societies share stories on Wendesday, 22.

Newbridge House will host a family event on Sunday August 26th with a range of fun and cultural events and Ardgillan Castle will have free tours daily on the hour from 11am to 4pm.

Already, last Saturday, in collaboration with the CHERISH Project, Fingal's Community Archaeologist Christine Baker undertook an archaeological survey at Bremore, Balbriggan including a tour of the megalithic tombs and she also engaged with communities in a number of areas in Fingal through the Fingal Geophysical Survey Project - 'What Lies Beneath'.

There are a host of other activities taking place within the county for Heritage Week and this is a great opportunity to engage with the Heritage that surrounds us.

Fingal has a rich natural, built and cultural heritage and this can be explored all year round whether by visiting our many heritage properties or getting involved in a group in your area or just getting out and enjoying what your community has to offer.More than 2,500 people attended the official opening of the pilgrimage season in Our Lady's Island, which began in sunshine and ended under a rain cloud for the traditional procession that took place around the island, just as it has done for hundreds of years.

'There was a bigger than usual crowd judging by the car park numbers and we had about 15 buses,' reported parish priest Fr Jim Cogley, who welcomed Bishop of Ferns Denis Brennan, pictured right, to the historic village along with pilgrims from all over the diocese and further afield and approximately 40 clerics.

'The rain didn't dampen the event too much because the weather stayed reasonable until the end. We had pilgrims from Cork, Waterford, Tipperary and Kilkenny including many people we haven't seen before. That may be due to recent coverage in the Ireland's Own magazine and we've also been trying to promote the pilgrimage through gentle reminders like putting up small signs around the roads,' he said.

The opening Mass was celebrated under a canopy outdoors by Bishop Brennan, who also led the procession with banners around the historic island.

Fr Jim Fegan, parish priest in Ballindaggin, who is the Ferns diocesan liasion for the World Meeting of Families taking place in the RDS this week, introduced special guest speaker Damien Quigley, a teacher from Rathnure, who gave a talk in which he spoke about faith and the family. Mr Quigley was accompanied by his wife Avril and children Danny and Millie.

On Sunday last, there was a Mass and a blessing of the sick at which pilgrims were treated to a singing performance by Fr Ray Kelly, the priest who was a semi-finalist in Britain's Got Talent on ITV.

Next Sunday, August 26, the Papal Mass in the Phoenix Park will be relayed live outdoors on a big screen in Our Lady's Island at 3 p.m. as a special pilgrimage event which everyone is invited to attend. On Monday, August 27, an ecumenical service will be held at 8 p.m.

The well-known author Francesca Browne who has written bestselling books about angels will be the speaker at a 'Ministry with the Angels' service at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29, while during Mass on Sunday, September at 3 p.m, Claudia Koll, a guide from Medjugorje, will speak about her experiences working at the shrine over the past 35 years.

A healing service will be held on Wednesday, September 5, followed on Sunday, September 9, by a Mass at 7 p.m. to mark the Birthday of Our Lady, celebrated by Bishop Brennan and followed by a torchlight procession to close the pilgrimage.

Daily Mass is held at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. during the pilgrimage season and healing with oils takes place after the 3 p.m. Mass with the Sacrament of Reconciliation usually conducted after 8 p.m. Mass.

A short talk on the history of Our Lady's Island is held on Mondays at 7.45 p.m. before Mass.The Riverchapel Courtown Ladies Club is aimed at tackling isolation and loneliness in north Wexford.

Having returned from a successful trip away to Kildare and Newbridge, chairperson Monica Fallon explained the club is growing from strength to strength each year, but is still open to new members of all ages. The Ladies Club took a total of 35 to Newbridge Silver and the Irish Stud Farm in Kildare.

Monica set up the group four years ago, with the help from Brooks Riverchapel, Cllr Robbie Ireton and Wexford County Council, to help tackle isolation and loneliness in north Wexford as she believes it is like a type of disease.

She grew up in The Liberties in Dublin before moving to Riverchapel.

'In the Liberties we were always there for each other,' said Monica. 'For example, if someone's family member was sick, we would help them out by cooking dinner, visiting them and do chores.'

With this in mind, Monica decided to set up the group in Riverchapel with the aim of being there for the people of the community.

'When I came to Riverchapel, there was never a group or organisation like this one,' added Monica. 'The success of the club today is down to the brilliant committee we have.'

Monica said apart from taking part in fun activities, they give each other a helping hand if someone is severely sick or if an individual needs help with filling in complicated forms.

She said she would like to thank the generosity of Cllr Ireton, Pamela Scott and Brooks of Riverchapel as the trip would not have happened without their support. The Riverchapel Courtown Ladies Club meet every Monday evening at 7 p.m.. until 9 p.m., in Riverchapel Community Centre. Call Monica on 086 358 0122.The anticipation was palpable in the Gorey air last Wednesday as students descended on their schools to receive their Leaving Certificate results.

Nerves and apprehension gave way to joy and relief as students huddled around with calculators at the ready, adding up their all-important points.

Principal of Gorey Community School Michael Finn said that 40 per cent of students took Higher Level Maths, which is above the national average of 31.5 per cent.

'We had one student with 625 points and more than 30 who got in excess of 500 points,' said Mr Finn. 'The Leaving Cert Applied students did very well also. We are absolutely delighted and lucky to have such great students.'

Some of the 210 Leaving Certificate students from Gorey Community School started to gather early at the doors of the reception, patiently waiting to see what was in store for them.

One student, Sean Redmond, was one of the first to arrive to the school with support from his parents.

'I am thrilled with my results,' said Sean. I was the first student here. I wasn't really nervous.'

Maria Clavero said she was happy with her results, and thinks she has enough to undertake a course in Engineering in University College of Dublin in September.

Katie Murphy said she did very well in the Leaving Certificate and will take a gap year to see what she would like to do in the future.

'I am over the moon with the results, I was very nervous coming here,' said Caoimhe McKeon. 'Hopefully I will go on and study Criminology in Maynooth University.'

Shereen Kavanagh, who would like to study Architecture in Waterford Institute of Technology, said she was happy with her overall result.

'I am thrilled with my results, can't believe it,' said Des Dowling. 'I would like to do Engineering in University College of Dublin.'

Sean Delaney said he hopes to go on to study Computer Science after receiving such great results.

'I am really happy with my results,' said Phillip Cullen. 'I was nervous once we started to drive in here, but I am relieved now. I have an apprenticeship in steel fabrication.'

Acting Principal Declan O'Toole said the results in Creagh College were exceptional.

'It is really rewarding to see so many of our students realise their ambitions and I wish them the best of luck with their CAO offers,' said Mr O'Toole.

Walking out of the school with a great big grin of his face David Reck said he was very happy with the results. 'I am just thankful it is all over, I am so relieved,' he said.

'I was extremely nervous coming in here,' said Natalia Nowak. 'But I am happy with my results, I want to study Psychology in University College of Dublin.'

Amy Redmond said she is relieved the wait is all over, and is thrilled with her results. She said she would like to go on and do hairdressing.

Student Ross Cody is over the moon with his results. 'I wasn't too nervous coming in here, hopefully I have what I need to study Engineering,' added Ross.

'I am happy with the results, it was better than what I was expecting,' said Caolan Manley. 'I want to do Film and TV studies in Limerick.'

Darragh Kelly also said he was thrilled with his results, and will study Animation in IADT.

'I am delighted with the results, but I think my mother was a bit more nervous than me,' said Craig. 'I want to be a Pilot and start in the National Flight Centre next week.'

A very nervous Christopher Staunton said he could barely open the results. 'I am thrilled with the results, I want to do Computer Science and Business in Trinity.

'I was very nervous but relieved it is all over,' said Daniel Murphy. 'I want to do Art in IADT.'

Linda Dunne, principal of Colaiste Bhride Carnew, was up bright and early to greet nervous and excited students.

'We had 141 students altogether between Leaving Cert and Leaving Cert Applied,' she said. 'We are delighted with them as usual and those that worked extremely hard generally reap the awards. We are very proud of our students, they are a fine bunch of young people.'The 100th anniversary of the death of 1916 leader Seamus Rafter will be marked with a special ceremony in Enniscorthy on Sunday, September 9. In 1916, Rafter and a handful of colleagues occupied the Athenaeum for four days during Easter week and only surrendered when written orders were received from Padraig Pearse himself. Rafter died on September 13, 1918, from injuries sustained when a bomb exploded prematurely at Antwerp House in Mary Street, while being primed for engagement against British Forces.

A young publican, Rafter lived in Slaney Place at the time of his death in the premises now occupied by Holohan's. He suffered horrific injuries in the blast, which occurred within 100 yards of his home, and died within days. He was given a patriot's funeral and was subsequently honoured in his native town by having a statue erected in his honour in Abbey Square in the 1950s and by having a street named in his honour in the town centre.

The marking of 100 years since Rafter's death will commence at 12.30 p.m. on Sunday, September 9, with a Mass of Remembrance in St Aidan's Cathedral celebrated by Bishop Denis Brennan, Fr Odhran Furlong and Fr Jim Fegan PP at Ballindaggin where Rafter would have originated from and where many of his family still reside to this day. Military honours will be rendered during the Mass by UN Veterans and ONE members, while other uniformed bodies will occupy reserved seating in the Cathedral.

Members of Wexford County Council will be in attendance as will members of Enniscorthy Municipal Authority and other invited guests. Minister Paul Kehoe and fellow Oireachtas colleagues from Wexford are also expected to attend.

After the Mass, a parade, headed by an Army Colour Party and Honour Guard form the 3rd Infantry Battalion, along with a Bugler and Drummer from the Defence Forces School of Music, will march from the Cathedral to the Rafter monument in Abbey Square where a wreath will be laid and military honours rendered. A wreath will also be laid at the Athenaeum where Seamus Rafter and his colleagues struck a blow for Irish freedom in 1916.

The parade will then march to Holohan's Pub in Slaney Place where a further wreath will be laid and the Last Post sounded. From there, participants will return to the Athenaeum where an exhibition on the life and times of the Enniscorthy patriot will be officially opened.

The commemoration is being jointly hosted by Enniscorthy Municipal Authority and Enniscorthy & District Chamber and all are welcome to come along and pay their respects to a true Enniscorthy hero.The tiny globe is one of the many features in Titanias Palace

As part of National Heritage Week, there will be a special screening of the short film Titania's Palace in the Shamrock Hall, Kilanerin.

Sometimes called 'the eighth wonder of the world', Titania's Palace was an elaborate 'doll's house' that was on display in Ballynastragh House near Kilanerin for 20 years until 1965 when it was auctioned off and eventually landed in Legoland.

The film was directed by Garrett Keogh and was shot by Terence White at Ballythomas School over two days in July. They then went to Denmark and took some wonderful footage of the Palace in Egeskov Castle where it is now on display. The screening will take place on Friday, August 24, at 8.30 p.m. Admission is free.

Titania's Palace had its first showing at the recent Gap Arts Festival and it was standing room only at both screenings.

Alice Sheehan, Maureen Bush, Margaret Byrne, Seamus Bolger, William Willoughby and Neil McCormack were among the 300,000 people who saw the Palace when it was open to the public at Ballynastragh and they contribute their memories of it when interviewed in the 15 minute film.

In 1907 when his daughter saw a fairy vanish under a tree, Sir Nevile Wilkinson designed a palace fit for the fairy Queen Titania. Built in Dublin by master cabinet makers Hicks and Sons it took 15 years to complete.

It had gold, silver, diamonds, pearls, 100-year-old oak panelling, and 10,000 miniature artefacts. There were real fireplaces, central heating, and electric light in the 'doll's house'. There was a church organ that played - but it was so small the keys had to be touched with matchsticks. There was a tiny Bible that could be read, miniature portraits, a Cross of Cong, and tiny toothbrushes and towels for the fairy princes and princesses.

It toured the world raising money for children's charities, and when the daughter, Guendolen, moved to Ballynastragh House, Titania's Palace came with her. But when she left in the mid-sixties it went to auction in London.

The screening in Kilanerin will be proceeded by a talk by genealogist and historian John Nangle on the history of the Esmonde family of Ballynastragh.The Kerryman is one of the two main papers featured in a new book on the history of Ireland's regional media.

The book The Irish Regional Press 1892-2018: Revival, Revolution and Republic contains a detailed chapter on The Kerryman which was contributed by Tralee-born academic Mark OBrien, an Associate Professor at the School of Communications at Dublin City University.

The Kerryman features as one of only two newspapers whose histories are examined in standalone chapters in a new book which has just been published by Dublins Four Courts Press.

In the book Professor OBrien takes a detailed look at the history of The Kerryman, examining several key episodes in this papers 114-year history.

These include the papers battles with the British establishment and the Black and Tans during the War of Independence and, decades later, The Kerrymans defiant stance in the face of death threats and attempted bomb attacks by the IRA.

There is also a fascinating look back at the papers clashes with the Government censor  Tralee man Michael Knightly, whose sister was married to Thomas Nolan, father of Dan Nolan, who ran the paper for many decades  during World War Two. Those battles centred on the papers coverage of the execution of Charlie Kerins.

The hardback book  which costs 45  can be purchased via www.fourcourtspress.ie.Kerry members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland are urging the Government to retain the special nine per cent VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality industry which, they say, has helped create over 2,300 jobs in Kerry.

The RAI believe the rate has improved the competitiveness of the sector, while ensuring the viability of many small businesses that have been going through challenging times.

RAI members are asking Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe T.D, not to return the VAT rate to 13.5 per cent.

A recent report published by the RAI has revealed that 2,343 new jobs in the Accommodation and Food Services sector have been created in County Kerry since the introduction of the reduced VAT rate in July 2011.

This report identifies the direct and indirect employment associated with the introduction of the reduced VAT rate of nine per cent Between Q2 2011 and Q1 2018, the number of people working in the Accommodation & Food Services sector nationally increased by 54,400, taking total employment from 117,300 to 171,700 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The sector also accounted for 7.7 per cent of total employment in the economy in the first quarter of 2018. At a national level, the increase in indirect employment as a result of the job creation in the accommodation and food Services sector is estimated at 25,024. The increase in direct and indirect employment is estimated at 79,424.

In Q1 2018, it is estimated that 5,325 workers were employed directly in the Accommodation and food services sector in Kerry.

Total employment in the accommodation and food Services sector in County Kerry increased by 1,605 between Q2 2011 and Q1 2018.

Indirect employment as a result of the change in direct employment in the sector is estimated at 738. The RAI believe that the introduction of an increased VAT rate would only serve to undermine competitiveness.An international group of scientists has carried out a research expedition mapping an enormous underwater submarine canyon some 320 kilometres off the coast of Dingle.

The Porcupine Bank Canyon features near-vertical 700-metre cliffs and goes nearly 3,000 metres below sea level in places - the equivalent of ten Eiffel Towers.

The UCC-led group returned earlier this month after using the RV Celtic Explorer and Holland I ROV to image the upper-canyon, mapping a total of 1800 square kilometres of seabed.

For further context, Malta is little over 300 square kilometres in size. "So far from land, this canyon is a natural laboratory from which we feel the pulse of the changing Atlantic," said Dr Aaron Lim from the UCC school of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, the man who led the expedition.

"Ireland is world-class and, for a small country, we punch above our weight," he said of the advances in Irish marine technology and scientific workforce. Submarine canyons cut into continental slopes and continental rises of the oceans, featuring narrow, steep-sided valleys.

The Porcupine Bank Canyon is the most westerly submarine canyon on Ireland's continental shelf. The upper reaches of this canyon are a haven for cold-water corals, with reefs and mounds forming a 28-kilometre rim on the canyon's lip, measuring some 30 metres in height.

A previous expedition, just over three years ago, discovered a new cold-water coral habitat in the area. This expedition also found much coral debris that had fallen many hundreds of metres. UCC explained that this latest project will help them learn about how submarine canyons help transport excess carbon dioxide.

The ocean's surface absorbs CO2, and canyons pump it into the deep ocean, meaning it does not return to the atmosphere. "The corals get their carbon from dead plankton raining down from the ocean surface so, ultimately, from our atmosphere," Professor Andy Wheeler explained.

"Increasing CO2 concentrations in our atmosphere are causing our extreme weather; oceans absorb this CO2 and canyons are a rapid route for pumping it into the deep ocean, where it is safely stored away.

"We took cores with the ROV, and the sediments reveal that, although the canyon is quiet now, periodically it is a violent place where the seabed gets ripped up and eroded," he added. Science Foundation of Ireland and Geological Survey Ireland funded this project, with support from the Marine Institute.

The area also has Special Area of Conservation status from the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Professor Wheeler's Marine Geology Research Group at UCC will monitor the range of coral habitats to learn more about its habitats.A Ballybunion truck driver whose life was transformed after having cataract surgery in Northern Ireland has urged anyone on the waiting list to take this option.

"I would have been languishing here on the waiting list for years, but it was all sorted in five weeks when I did it myself," explains John Casey.

He first heard about the cross-border initiative online and decided to research it.

He contacted the Cathedral Eye Clinic in Belfast, which helped him sort the whole process out, a process he says is much easier than he expected.

"They told me how to do it and how to get the forms and that was it," he said. I had been waiting to see a specialist in Cork for 12 months and was told it could be another 18 months just for an appointment, with surgery some time after that.

"My left eye was deteriorating at an awful rate due to my cataract, and it was seriously affecting my life. My wife, Caroline, is partially disabled due to stroke in 2010, so I am her carer, and I needed to be able to drive."

When John contacted the centre he was told that he would have to wait a few weeks before being assessed.

"I laughed because I thought that is not waiting. It took five weeks in all to get sorted," he said.

Under the cross-border initiative, the HSE reimburses the cost of the operation in Belfast. John borrowed the money from his local credit union, and he has since been reimbursed by the HSE.

John said "there is no great mystery" over the HSE's Cross Border Healthcare Directive and that people need to know it exists.

John, who was a long-distance lorry driver across Europe, said the operation took just a few minutes.

"Caroline and I got the train to Dublin Heuston, the Luas to Connolly, and the train to Belfast and of course it's free for us," he said.

"It cost us 5 for the taxi to the clinic from the train station in Belfast, and it was so easy."

"The procedure itself lasted a few minutes. I never felt a thing. It was so easy. There is nothing to worry about.

"I could see out of my left eye when I took the patch off the next day. In fact my left eye was 10 times better than my 'good' eye," said John.

He said he wants to tell everyone about the procedure so that they can do the same.

"The knowledge of the scheme should be shared with everyone, especially older folk. There's no great mystery to it - credit unions are happy to provide a loan for payment of the procedure and the HSE refund comes back within 28 days. You just need a referral from a doctor here in the Republic, and that's it sorted.

"Really, all TDs and the Government should be highlighting the value of the Cross Border Healthcare Directive.

"If I hadn't gone online and found it myself and then gone to the Cathedral Eye Clinic to see Professor Johnny Moore and his team, I'd still be sitting at home on a waiting list.

"People need to know they don't have to wait for a cataract operation - or many other procedures. One phone call can sort it out, and I'd urge other people to do the same."

John said that his life has completely changed.

"I was afraid to drive because I couldn't judge the road. I can now read without glasses. My life has completely changed. I would recommend anyone go to the clinic."

He feels that it is a "disgrace" that so many people are on the waiting list here for a cataract operation.

"Nobody wants to tell you what you are entitled to. I could have been waiting years and lost my sight but instead I have my eye-sight and it was all sorted quickly.

"I wanted people to hear my story first-hand so they would know there is nothing to worry about and that is very easy to get sorted."

The Belfast city centre private clinic said the number of Republic of Ireland patients contacting it for help has increased by 300 per cent since last year.

"It's important that people know the bulk of the costs are paid by the HSE and that they should have a referral from their doctor first so those costs can be recouped," Professor Moore explained.Kerry's CAO applicants have done exceptionally well in Round One of college offers which went online at 6am on Monday morning. On a pro rata population basis, Kerry's CAO applicants are top of the class in securing college places. More than 70 per cent of students from the county who did the 2018 Leaving Cert will progress to higher education. A further 20 per cent will secure places in Further Education, Apprenticeships and Traineeships.

The overriding conclusion from the points' trends released on Monday morning is that CAO applicants were totally focussed on the jobs market in their course choices.

They opted in large numbers for courses in areas of strong employment growth. Courses in the build environment, engineering, construction, architecture and law are more competitive this year. Points requirements for many teaching and nursing degrees are back up this year due to personnel shortages in these professions. Science and Business courses remain competitive but are stabilising. Surprisingly, points requirements are generally down for Physics, Information Technology and Computer Science courses despite the demand for graduates in these disciplines. Most Health Science courses continue to be available only to those who can reach 500 plus points. Dental Science in TCD, for example, requires a staggering 590 points this year - almost a perfect Leaving Cert exam result.

HASS (Humanities, Arts, Social Science) courses are offered at modest points levels as applicants have lost total confidence in the employment value of the liberal and creative arts.

School leavers continue to rush to college in unprecedented numbers. Despite the economic recovery, applications for college remain high. The steady flow also of mature and non-traditional applications is very much in line with government strategy to increase the skills and qualification levels of the general population. A quota of places was reserved by the CAO for mature applicants and applicants from the QQI/PLC sector. The quota system is a very healthy development as everybody deserves a second chance.

50,746 CAO applicants received at least one of the 73,652 offers which were issued on Monday. The offers consisted of 42,301 at Level 8 (Honours Bachelor Degrees) and 31,351 at Level 7/6 (Ordinary Bachelor Degrees/Higher Certificates). CAO always issues more offers than there are places available in anticipation of a level of refusal by applicants. Offers are issued independently in respect of the two lists (Level 8 and Level 7/6), so that 22,906 applicants received an offer from each list on Monday.

About 80 per cent of the 42,301 applicants, who were offered a Level 8 course received one of their top three preferences. A phenomenal 98 per cent of the 31,351 applicants, who were offered a Level 7/6 course, received one of their top three preferences. About 55,000 can expect to receive at least one offer of a college place before the end of the offers season in October. Last year, out of a total of 80,766 applicants to the CAO, 47,988, or 59 per cent, accepted a college place. Significantly 32,778, or 41 per cent, of applicants to CAO last year either refused the course offered or failed to get any course offer at all. That worrying statistic isn't going to change anytime soon.

Round One Offers must be accepted by 5.15pm on Friday, August 24. CAO Round Two offers and points requirements will be available at 10am on Wed, August 29, and must be accepted by 5.15pm on Friday, August 31. Billy Ryle is a Career Guidance Counsellor and Freelance Writer

Information night for school leavers and adults at KCFE

School leavers and adults considering a return to education are invited to an Information Session on Further Education Options Outside of CAO at Kerry College of Further Education (KCFE).

The information evening takes place at the KCFE at Clash in Tralee next Wednesday, August 29. starting at 6.30pm sharp.

The information session will highlight how career goals can be achieved through Level five and Level six Post Leaving Certificate Courses.

In particular, the focus of the Information Session will be on the value of PLC's and how courses at KCFE allow school leavers to access high point third level courses at various Universities and Institutes of Technology throughout the country and beyond without having the points score in the traditional leaving cert.

"KCFE also offer a wide range of quality assured programmes which are ideal for those looking to upskill, retrain or become employable as they qualify learners to go directly into employment upon completion. Work experience brings learners into contact with employers and because the majority of programmes are skills based they meet employer needs," said a KCFE spokesperson.

Parents of school leavers are also welcome to attend the Information Session and the college said that the event will give them "an opportunity to really explore and appreciate the value of Post Leaving Certificate Courses,".

"Programmes are in high demand so it is crucial that those considering doing a PLC at the college this September apply online now as places are being allocated on a first come first served basis subject to minimum entry requirements being met," said the KCFE spokesperson. The college prospectus can be picked up from the college office in Clash, Tralee and applications can be made online at kerryfe.ieThe High Court has adjourned the cases of two Kerry Thalidomide survivors who are part of a legal action against the drug's manufacturer, its Irish distributor and the State in a case that resumed this week at the High Court.

Jacqui Browne from Fenit and John Stack from Tarmons near Tarbert are among 26 members of the Irish Thalidomide Association who have brought compensation cases against German pharmaceutical firm Grunenthal GmbH (the manufacturers of Thalidomide); TP Whelehan Son and Company (the Irish distributors of the drug); and the Ministers for Health and Environment.

At the High Court Mr Justice Seamus Noonan - who has expressed his concern about "the slow pace" of the proceedings - ruled on several requests made by the defendants that the plaintiffs further particularise and answer questions about certain aspects of their claims.

Judge Noonan ruled that the 26 plaintiffs have the right to seek discovery of State documents as part of their action.

The information sought is due to be provided ahead of the case's return to the court - for additional case management - in early November.

Following Judge Noonan's ruling, Mr Stack - who is the chairman of Thalidomide Ireland- issued a statement on behalf of the organisation.

"We are pleased that we will have a right to seek to discover State documents despite the endeavour of the Minister for Health to confine the scope of our cases," he said.

"Unfortunately, two of our members have not survived to conclude their court actions against the Irish State Our members are ageing, becoming more decrepit and suffering the adverse effects of their physical deterioration," he said.

"Our litigation has been the mother of all battles over decades and Thalidomide victims have to keep themselves alive to get justice for both their families and themselves."A great sadness fell over the Terrerath area and across the county to hear of the passing of Eileen Sinnott, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, sister-in-law and friend.

The beloved wife of Murty, and mother of Sonny, Jimmy, Margaret, MJ and Nicky and the late William and Nicholas, Eileen, nee Codd, was originally from Blackhall, Killurin.

She was a daughter of the late Mary and James, and sister to Molly, Kathleen, Ger and John. Eileen was a loving sister-in-law to Eddie, Mike, Teresa and Kathleen and doting grandmother to Emma, Melissa, Sarah, Karen, Nichola, Patrick, Maggie, Denise, Christina, Derek, Liam, Corey and Brooke.

Having met Murty at a dance in Camross they lived first in Newbawn before building their own home in Terrerath beside Murty's home-place. Eileen spent years minding children for several families. She was a great social person and both Eileen and Murty were well known in card circles as 'Mammy and Daddy', where all tricks in 45 were earned not given.

Eileen passed away in Wexford General Hospital on Sunday, August 5, after a short illness surrounded by her family.

The family were overwhelmed with the outpouring of sympathy and support from the huge numbers who attended the wake and funeral Mass and burial in Terrerath.

The funeral left their home in Terrerath and family and friends walked the short distance to the church where Noel Dunne provided the lovely music at the Mass.

The eulogy was read at the start of the ceremony by Eileen's daughter-in-law Mary who paid a warm tribute to Eileen's life and loves. Symbols of her life were brought to the alter by some of her grandchildren, namely Christina, Karen and Maggie, a worn pair of knitting needles to symbolise all her years knitting aran jumpers, a bingo book showing her love of bingo which she shared with her grandchildren, and lastly a deck of cards where it was said 'I hope there is a strong card table waiting in heaven'.

Readings were read by grandchildren Nichola and Denise. Prayers of the Faithful were read by her daughter-in-law Eileen and Frances, granddaughters Melissa, Sarah and nieces Sinead and Deirdre and nephew David.

Fr Don Kenny read out the gospel, and remarked to family members that Eileen was a great friend to him during his time in Terrerath. Fr Sean Devereux, who celebrated the funeral Mass, said how he had gotten to know Eileen and Murty very well since his arrival in Terrerath, and their was always a cup of tea during their visits.

Thanks were paid to celebrant and local priest Fr Sean who was of great assistance to the family during Eileen's illness and during the funeral arrangements.

The family also extended their thanks to Fr Odhran Furlong for co-celebrating the funeral Mass, and Fr Gerard from Cabra, Dublin, a friend of Eileen's granddaughter Karen.

Tributes were paid to all the friends and neighbours for all their help, and to all those who kindly donated food at the time of the wake in her house and to all who provided refreshments in the hall after the funeral.

Eileen's sister Molly and grandson Liam brought forward the offertory.

The musical piece chosen by her son Nicky was 'Supermarket Flowers' by Ed Sheeran which was written by the musician as a tribute to his mum concluded the emotional Mass.

Escorted by her sons and brothers, Eileen's remains were brought down to the family plot in the adjoining ceremony.

May her gentle soul rest in peace.The Relics of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin and their youngest daughter, Saint Therese of Lisieux, are coming to Mount Carmel Monastery in New Ross after being displayed during the World Meeting of Families opening ceremony in the RDS and the Papal Mass in Phoenix Park

The Relics of three saints of the one family St Therese of Lisieux and her parents, Zelie and Louis - are being brought to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families 2018 today (Tuesday) and will be at Mount Carmel Monastery in New Ross in September.

The relics will be present in the RDS for the opening ceremony of the Pope's visit in Croke Park for the Festival of Families and in the Sanctuary in the Phoenix Park for the Eucharist celebrated by Pope Francis.

Mount Carmel Mother Prioress Sr Anne said: 'These same relics will arrive in Mount Carmel Monastery at 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 1, and depart at 10 a.m. the next morning, Sunday, September 2, to enable those who cannot attend the congress in person to be able to connect with the congress and to make their own personal veneration of this important Carmelite Family of Saints.'

Sr. Anne warmly invites all members of the public to join with the local Carmelite Community in prayer any time between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Saturday, September 1 and from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. on the following day.

Sunday Morning Mass at 8 a.m. will take place as usual.

As parking spaces in the monastery are limited those attending are asked to walk if possible and to leave the parking for those unable to walk.

'All are most welcome to be associated with this celebration of family,' Sr Anne said.Lauren Ronan is a name to look out for. The talented musical director's shows have been garnering rave reviews across the UK.

In this, the first in a series of interviews championing local talented youths from the New Ross area, Lauren, 25, discusses the women who encouraged her in her career, the influence her parents had on her and the ambitions she has within the male dominated industry.

Which schools and colleges did you attend?

I went to St Joseph's Primary School and Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School before moving off to Cork to do my music degree at UCC. I then trained at the renowned Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London and received a postgraduate in Musical Direction.

How did you get involved in musical theatre shows?

When I was very young I was one of the first students of Anne Marie Cooney and through that I began doing pantomimes and various other shows. Thanks to Anne Marie my love for performing and the theatre began to grow. My real love for musical theatre started when I was about ten or 11 when I saw an amateur production of West Side Story and fell in love. I found the cassette of the soundtrack at home and would listen to it on repeat.

I then took every opportunity I could to get involved in musical theatre, including setting up the New Ross Youth Musical Society which had a short lived but successful run. We were very young and overly ambitious but we managed to pull off a handful of shows, including a production of Fame. This was my first full scale show as musical director.

How young were you when you knew you had to be working in music?

I'm pretty sure I never wanted to do anything else. I initially wanted to be an actor but I realised when I was about 15 that my true love was for musical direction. I had been having piano lessons for quite a few years and I picked it up very fast so it was quite natural for me. I always knew I wanted to work in the arts or in music education, I just wasn't sure in what capacity. All of my extra curricular activities were arts based - music lessons including piano, theory, singing and drums, orchestra, drama classes and of course dancing. I was part of Anne Marie Cooney's stage school for years and years and even though I roared crying during my first ever class, I was pretty sure that the arts was the way forward for me.

What led you to pursue a career as a musical director?

In my teenage years I met two women who really paved the way for me; Mary Rose McNally who is an incredible musical director and musician based in Thurles and the wonderful Maeve Wilson, who was my music teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes and very sadly passed away a few months ago. Mary Rose was my tutor at the AIMS Summer School one year and I was instantly impressed with everything she did. To see a strong female in such a wonderful position gave me hope that I could do the same some day. Because, unfortunately female musical directors on a professional level are practically invisible, but there is a movement happening to try change that and I'm very proud to be a part of it. Maeve is quite possibly my biggest inspiration and I truly would not be doing what I'm doing today if it wasn't for her. She was such a strong female figure in terms of paving the way for female musicians. She constantly pushed me to help me improve and no dream was ever inconceivable in her mind. Her dedication to her students and love for music is something that will always stay with me and I hope that I can make half the impact on someone's life as she made on mine.

Is it necessary to work abroad to develop your career, or is it something you could conceivably do in Ireland?

I think in order to do it on a professional level, it is necessary to be based in London or New York. Not all of the work will be based in London or New York. There are lots of regional theatres producing amazing stuff, tours, cruise ships and pantomime houses all over the U.K. However in order to make the contacts you need to make, meet the right people and generally put your name out there I think it's very important to be based here. There's simply not enough professional theatre being produced in Ireland.

Do you get most 'job' satisfaction out of teaching or working as a musical director?

I think there are two different types of satisfaction from both jobs. I absolutely adore teaching because I am working in drama schools with students who are preparing to go out in to the big bad world, nab themselves an agent and be performers. Working with people who have that drive and passion and eagerness to learn is so incredible. I feel like I can make a difference to their lives and I love being able to help them discover their talents and voices and then see the progress that they make. I also work with some choirs across London which is incredibly rewarding. Bringing my professional experience into a room of people who just want to sing for fun is always so fulfilling and they are so grateful for everything I do for them. However, as a musical director you get the same type of satisfaction from working with an amazingly talented cast and crew, hearing the harmonies come to life as you work with them in rehearsals and experiencing the opening night in a theatre. As a musical director, we are pretty much the only member of the creative team that sees a show through to the end. A director and choreographer may watch previews and press night but then it's quite common for them to move on to another job. The musical director is there every night performing with the cast and I love that. I love being a part of a project from start to finish and getting to play with the cast every night.

What was your Trump show about, briefly, and how was it received?

The Trump show I worked on was called 'Great Again the Musical'. It was written from the perspective of Trump supporters and I think it's purpose was to make audiences aware that some really intelligent people voted for Trump and had genuine reasons for doing so. The writers are in no way Trump supporters but they wanted to try to give a voice to some of the people who were. It was received quite well, I think people could see where they were coming from. However it was a new writing which will always have flaws. It is currently in redevelopment and may resurface or may not. We are overly saturated with Trump and Brexit musicals at the moment so it's hard to get any massive success from it.

What show are you working on now and briefly what is it about?

Before coming to Edinburgh I had just finished a musical called Guy which ran at the Bunker Theatre in London before going on a mini tour and winning various awards at different festivals throughout the tour. I am now in Edinburgh for the month at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a show called Virgin.

The show is about a guy who wants to become a pop star but realises he needs a 'unique selling point' and that is the fact that he's a virgin. It's a wonderfully fun show full of cheesy pop tunes and camp one liners. Our tag line is 'new pop music from an unpopped cherry!'.

What have been the standout moments in your career to date?

I think it really has to be all of the wonderful people I've had the opportunity to meet so far. I've worked on some wonderful shows and had some amazing opportunities but the standout for me is always the people. I get to work with new people almost every day. When I'm not busy on a show or teaching, I work as an audition pianist across London so I meet all sorts of producers, creatives, casting directors and actors all the time and I love it. In this industry you can never have enough contacts and even though London is full of people, it can become very lonely. So the more friends you have the less chance of that happening. I was nominated for Best Musical Director at the AIMS Awards in 2014 which was of course a lovely memory, considering I was so young.

What further ambitions do you have for your career?

There are lots of things I want to do. My next mini goal is to get myself on a cruise for a few months. I missed the opportunity to go last year because of another job getting in the way but it's something I really want to do. Cruise ships are now producing full-scale musicals on board and so I would get to do what I love while travelling the world. What's not to like about that?

In what ways has your family life shaped you?

I grew up in Pondsfield with my parents Ann and Markie, who have been a huge support as well as my three brothers Ger, Mark and Barry and their families. My dad is a retired fireman and his work ethic is definitely something that I have inherited.

My mam is one of the strongest women I know and always taught be to be an independent woman, and I am so grateful for that! My family have always been incredibly supportive and never once told me something was a bad idea, even when it definitely was.

Do you miss living in Ireland?

There are things I miss about Ireland; the fresh air, the countryside and seaside being the main things. Of course not seeing my family all of the time is hard as well.

I have nieces and a nephew (and another on the way!) and it's really hard to not be there to see them growing up. But with social media nowadays I really don't miss much.

And I get home as often as I can. However, there are certain things I don't miss about living in Ireland. The lifestyle and culture in London is so different, and so diverse and accepting which I love. You also can't get 24 hour takeaways delivered to your door in New Ross, and really that is just a game changer.

What is the best thing about your job?

The people, like I've already said. I get to meet new people all the time and do what I love. It is so true that if you find a job you like you'll never work a day in your life.

And the most challenging?

The uncertainty. Because I am freelance, nothing is secure. I never know when the work is going to stop. Fortunately, since I graduated the work has been endless and I haven't had to worry about that yet so if all of New Ross could send positive vibes my way then I'm sure I will be OK.

What are the key components of a successful show?

Personally, as I've already mentioned, I think the key components of a successful show are the people. Not just the cast, but the cast, the creatives and the production crew. At the end of the day if you have a team of people who don't get on with each other then you are fighting a losing battle.International artists from the worlds of music, poetry, visual art and dance are descending on Sligo next month to highlight the plight of modern day slaves.

US Dancer/choreographer Sarah Bannon has joined forces with anti-human trafficking charity Invisible Traffick to create the inaugural Soilsigh Arts event.

It will be held over the first weekend in September (1-2) and will feature performers from all over the world.

Sarah got the idea to organise the event after visiting the Invisible Traffick promo day at City Hall last year.

"It's such a big issue, human trafficking, even here in Ireland. I just knew that I wanted to help in some way," Sarah told this newspaper.

Invisible Traffick Ireland Director Mary McSharry mentioned she needed volunteers for fundraisers and that was what sparked an idea in Sarah's head.

"I just thought, 'I know a way!' I'm so passionate about the arts and I know that the arts are so powerful to open people's eyes to see things in ways they may never have done before," she said.

Sarah, who moved here with her Sligo husband Seamus over a year ago, is using what she knows best to highlight trafficking: working with dancers, artists and musicians.

"It started with a huge impossible dream and we just whittled it down to what we thought was realistic and doable.

"Now it really is an amazing thing that has come about because we have six dancers, a musician, two visual artists coming from around the world freely offering their time and talents.

"To see this event come together in less than a year's time is a miracle!" laughs the mother-of-two, including a newborn.

Soilsigh (which is Irish for illuminate) will take place over two days. It will include three performances over the two days, along with an art exhibition displaying the work of Sarah Beth Little and Liza Asheichyk (Belarus) and other artists who have donated works for the exhibition in The Factory.

Sarah put the word out among her contacts from college, other arts and dance festivals.

"We all help each other and they all came on board, especially for such a good cause and to raise awareness of human trafficking," she said.

Two visual artists are from Ireland and the rest are from the States (Chicago, New York, Kansas City, Tulsa Oklahoma, Belarus, Germany and the Middle East.

The two-hour performance features dances that have been created specifically for this event along with music and poetry.

Sarah credits The Factory performance space for agreeing to host her event: "As soon as they heard about my idea they were very eager to open their space up to us," she said.

It's a walk of faith for Sarah, who knows she is doing the right thing and "hoping that other people come along."

Sarah, who has previously staged dance festivals in Pennsylvania, is also open to working with other charities to highlight other issues in the future.

Follow @Soilsighireland on social media to see behind the scenes and learn more about the artists travelling to Sligo for this event.

Free tickets available through Eventbrite.ie. Donations accepted on the night.There have been calls to have a city centre laneway closed off permanently due to alleged anti-social behaviour.

One employee of a business on Harmony Hill told The Sligo Champion of her fears that someone would be attacked or raped in the Hudson's Lane alleyway, such is the extent of anti-social behaviour there.

It's been alleged that gangs of youths are gathering in the alleyway at weekends to drink and take drugs.

Despite efforts by the Gardai to move them on, they just re-appear once the Gardai have left the scene. Hudson's Lane is a public right of way and runs off Harmony Hill down to Grattan Street, with an exit next to McHugh's pub.

County Councillor Cllr Declan Bree campaigned to have the public right of way at Hudson's Lane restored last year.

When contacted by The Sligo Champion he said: "The public right of way at Hudsons Lane, which links Grattan Street with Conlon Street and Harmony Hill was traditionally closed from 7pm to 8am in the morning. In the past the owners of the lane usually took responsibility for opening and closing the gates at each end.

"However since the closure of McHugh's licensed premises it is unclear as to who is responsible. What is clear is that the lane now remains open 24 hours a day.

"I understand that the Gardai are concerned about people congregating in the lane after dark and with the increased level of anti social behaviour in the area.

"I have been in contact with Council officials on the matter and I can say that steps are now in the process of being taken by the Council to have the lane closed each night and re-opened as a right of way during the traditional daytime hours.

"While some individuals may want the lane closed off permanently, it has to be pointed out that the Council has a statutory obligation under the planning acts to ensure that the right of way is maintained. Closing the lane at night and opening in the morning will in my opinion resolve issues," he said.Driving through a checkpoint in Gaza, Sr Bridget's phone pinged with a new email.

Waiting in the lengthy security queue can be tedious, so she opened the email from Trocaire out of curiosity.

It informed her she had been chosen for the charity's inaugural Romero International Award in recognition of her humanitarian work in Gaza and the Middle East.

"I was really amazed. I was in the car with Caritas staff. I said I was honoured to accept it in the name of my family, and community and Caritas Jerusalem," she told The Sligo Champion on a quick trip home to Sligo.

She's come a long way since she first left the shores of Lough Arrow as a young woman in 1963 - she is now General Director of Caritas Jerusalem, a charity which carries out humanitarian and pastoral work in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

"I do it willingly. I certainly have the advantage of knowing Caritas from the grassroots," she said.

She first worked in Gaza at the end of the 2014 war. "I really wanted to go back and serve the poorest of the poor. I have a very varied background. I worked in Cambridge for 11 years. I went to university in Cambridge later in life to study Theology," she said.

"I went into Gaza and liked what Caritas were doing. I met the then director, a priest. He said it was very difficult to live in Gaza but said they might give me a bit of responsibility given my background. I ended up being Executive Director of Caritas in Gaza.

"That's how I met up with Trocaire. When I went there, it was very soon after the war.

"It was very sad in Gaza, so much destruction, so much poverty and Caritas staff - all Gazans -had done so much work during the war.

"But of course they were tired and traumatised like everybody else so I was only there a very short time when I saw that my real mission there would be to help and develop and support the local staff and get them what they needed to do to do their work and help them," she said.

"They were wonderful. I could come in and out of Jerusalem easily and I could speak for them to headquarters in Jerusalem.

How was an Irish Catholic nun received by the Arabic population?

"They're all Muslims. I found only welcome and co-operation. I asked the same question, I was going in as a foreigner. I had no problems. I had the opposite. I think they were longing for leadership. They were longing for someone to care for them.

"People from Caritas Headquarters could not get into them in Gaza, because they were palestinians. With the ordinary people, about 2 million in that tiny strip, only about 1,000 are Christians.

"Caritas Jerusalem is very well known and respected because we work with the poor and in healthcare in Gaza, psychosocial help for parents and children traumatised by war.

"Some of the children I met had seen their brother blown up by a bomb. Awful, awful, awful things.

"If you're a young person of 18 years now in Gaza, you've lived through at least three wars, plus occasional bombings. You've probably never been out of the Gaza Strip. What's your future?

"It's the lack of hope that's hardest to address, and the fact that they can't travel, that's what they find hardest.

"That was my time in Gaza, but I was very happy in Gaza," she said.

Sr Bridget grew up on a farm above Cromleach Lodge, one of five children of Mary and John Tighe.

"It's the one place on earth I can really relax because it's not just a lovely place, it's home to me in every sense," she said chatting to this newspaper in her brother Christy's home.

She has very happy memories of her childhood: "We were so free. We had no car. We went to school across the fields, the beauty and freedom of it."

Sr Bridget went to England to train as a nurse a few weeks after her 18th birthday in 1963.

She joined the Franciscan Missionaries of Divine Motherhood (FMDM) Order in 1965, mid-way through her nursing training.

"I was young and headstrong. I like to say to people of course I'm no longer headstrong," she smiled.

After a number of years working as a midwife in Jordan she studied Theology and Religion at Cambridge University, did a Masters degree in Health Economics at the London School of Economics. She was then asked to run a new small college for Catholic women in Cambridge, associated with the University - the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology.

She worked for 11 years there to build it up and even cleared their mortgage in that time.

Sr Bridget's superiors then asked her to go to Zambia which she readily agreed to but took a break in the Holy Land first. It led to her return to the Middle East instead of Zambia.

Last Saturday St Bridget received her award at the Franciscan Convent in Ballinasloe.

Launched last October, the award commemorates the inspiring work of Blessed Oscar Romero, the late Archbishop of San Salvador, who fought against poverty and repression in his native El Salvador.

"It's a great honour, receiving this award from Ireland and from Trocaire," said Sr Bridget.

"I couldn't think of anything better because most of my adult life and professional life has been spent outside of my home country and for Ireland to recognise my work abroad is truly a great honour."

Trocaire Executive Director Eamonn Meehan congratulated Sr Bridget on being awarded the inaugural Romero International Award:"Trocaire is delighted to be honouring Sr Bridget. Throughout her long and distinguished career she has dedicated herself to the service of the poor and the vulnerable.

"This award honours people who embody the values of Blessed Oscar Romero, who was murdered because of his support for justice and peace. Sr Bridget's work is vital and we at Trocaire are proud to support it."The much awaited Local Area Plan (LAP) which determines how much land the Council will release from the Strategic Land Reserve for building houses has been temporarily shelved.

Acting Senior Executive Stephen Ward told The Sligo Champion yesterday the LAP (which was due this summer) had to be shelved as a result of the National Planning Framework, Project Ireland 2040.

He said they were now waiting on the North West Regional Authority to draft up a more detailed plan for the North West, which will in turn inform their LAP.

Crucially however, Ward had some words of hope: he said releasing lands from the Strategic Land was on their agenda.

"It's certainly something we're looking at, in terms of releasing lands from the Strategic Land Reserve. We will have additional lands we would be looking at releasing," he said.

In the meantime, he said it would be "premature" to prepare the LAP as all Council plans will have to reflect the upcoming NW Regional Authority's plan, which is expected in September.Children from Sligo will dance for Pope Francis during his visit

Sligo children will form part of 40 dancers who will perform Sean Nos dancing for the Pope in Croke Park this Saturday.

Edwina Guckian's Airc Damhsa Dance Club were asked to perform at the World Meeting of Families 2018 by Tyrone Productions following a number of TV appearances such as the Late Late Toy Show and the All Ireland Talent Show.

The teacher said: "The children are more excited about dancing in Croke Park than dancing on TV or for the Pope!"

She said the 11 Sligo children from Ballymote, Gurteen, Riverstown, Ballintogher, Boyle and Monasteraden will join other dancers at the club from Leitrim, Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon, Mayo and Offaly.

Over 70,000 will be in Croke Park for the event where Pope Francis will deliver an address to all assembled and five testimonies by families from Ireland, Canada, India, Iraq, and Africa will be presented.

The Sean Nos dancers aged 5-15 years will open the show and join Riverdance on stage for a six minute performance. Edwina said they are performing a brand new piece with original music composed by David Brophy.

They have been rehearsing in Dublin and will rehearse again in Croke Park on Friday, August 24th.

The Sligo children will be performing along with big names such as Daniel O'Donnell and Nathan Carter, the priests and around 2,000 performers. "It is a huge honour to be asked to perform and it is certainly one the children will never forget.' says Edwina.

The World Meeting of Families 2018 Festival is a two hour event.

It is a ticket only event and will be broadcast live on RTE2 television as well as on radio on Saturday 25th at 6.30pmDemand for the products produced at the Stiefel plant in Sligo hadn't grown in line with expectations and which has led to its closure a company spokesperson said.

Workers at the Finisklin road plant were informed of a phased closure of the factory on Thursday morning last.

"Today, we informed employees at our skincare manufacturing site in Sligo of a proposal to close the site.

"Under this proposal, which affects approximately 165 employees, we would phase down production over three years, before decommissioning the site in the latter part of 2021.

"In recent years, our Sligo site has delivered significant improvements in cost and efficiency.

"However, demand for the products made on site has not grown in line with previous expectations, due to the highly competitive market in which we operate, making our current business model unsustainable.

"We have not made this proposal lightly. We thoroughly evaluated a number of alternatives for the Sligo site, none of them were considered feasible without significant further investment.

The site is staffed by highly skilled professionals, dedicated to delivering quality skincare products.

"We understand the impact of this proposal on our employees, their families, and the local region.

"Our immediate priority is to support them through this difficult period," a company statement said.

GSK's other manufacturing sites in Cork and Dungarvan, and commercial operations in Dublin are not affected by the Sligo closure.

Stiefel opened in Sligo in 1975 with ten workers and manufactures approximately 40 different formulations of skin healthcare products.

These include Physiogel, Oilatum and Driclor for over 65 markets.TV Personality Ivan Yates will be Guest of Honour at the Sligo Business Awards on 5th October in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa

Broadcaster Ivan Yates has been announced as the Guest of Honour at the Sligo Business Awards next October.

"I'm greatly looking forward to it. Last year I spoke at the Kerry Business Awards," Yates told this newspaper.

"It was superbly organised. The diverse number of awards categories gave me a great insight into family businesses and the spirit of entrepreneurship in the West of Ireland.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting businesses in the North West this October. It's a special and wonderful occasion which I have no doubt will be superbly organised. It's important to recognise the risk-taking, the courage of local enterprise," he said.

The TV and radio broadcaster said the Sligo Business Awards recognised excellence at a time when the high street retail sector was being hit by globalisation.

"I think it creates a competitive brand image for a company to be judged by peers and others. I think it actually helps businesses to develop their own centre of excellence and quality customer care, which is so vital to survive in business today," he said.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2018 Sligo Business Awards with the closing date of Friday 7th September.

New this year is 'Best Female Led Business', recognizing entrepreneurial women who have founded and are running their own company; women who are showing exceptional abilities in leading and mentoring other women; and who have led their businesses to achieve significant results in the past year. Businesses can either self nominate or nominate someone they think deserves the recognition.

For further details and how to enter visit www.sligobusinessawards.comTwo separate campers were rescued after they found themselves in difficulty during the bad weather brought by Storm Ernesto overnight on Saturday.

At 11.22 p.m., both the Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team and the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team were tasked to assist an individual who was camping above Fraughan Rock Glen near Lugnaquilla when their tent failed due to high winds and heavy rain. The teams used Sarloc technology to locate the camper before helping them down from the hill.

That incident was stood down at 2.17 a.m. but less than an hour later, at 3.11 a.m., both teams were called to assist another camper in difficulty near the Sally Gap.

Again, Sarloc was used to locate the individual and a hill party was formed to walk to the site. This second incident was stood down at 4.40 a.m.

These were just two of nine call-outs responded to by Wicklow's two mountain rescue teams in a seven-day period.

The most recent incident occurred just after 1.30 p.m. on Sunday when both teams were tasked by the gardai to assist an ambulance crew tending to an injured mountain biker at Ticknock. Mountain rescue personnel assisted with access to the site and the evacuation of the mountain biker to a waiting ambulance. The incident was stood down at 2.41 p.m.

Rescuers were called to the first of two incidents on Wednesday, August 15, at 11.13 a.m., after a walker collapsed near Prince William Seat in Curtlestown.

The walker was treated on scene by paramedics and the incident was stood down at 11.46 a.m. At 9.06 p.m. that night, the two teams were back on duty after a hill runner suffered a lower leg injury on the Brockaghs.

Mountain rescue staff assessed and treated the injury before evacuating the runner to a waiting ambulance. The incident was stood down at 10.58 p.m.

Sunday, August 12, was an extremely busy day for the mountain rescue volunteers as they responded to three separate incidents.

At 3.39 p.m. they were tasked to search for two walkers, one of whom had a medical issue, who were lost on Montpelier Hill. The lost walkers were located using Sarloc Rescue technology and were assessed by mountain rescue medics before being accompanied to safety. The incident was stood down at 4.42 p.m.

At 5.08 p.m., the teams were made aware that a vulnerable person had been missing for over an hour in Glendalough. A full-team callout was initiated, but the subject was located safe and well shortly afterwards. The incident was stood down at 5.20 p.m.

At 10.12 p.m., the teams were asked by the gardai to search for disorientated walkers near Blessington. The walkers were located thanks to Sarloc technology, and personnel were deployed to the scene. However, during subsequent communications, rescuers discovered that the walkers had successfully reoriented and assistance was no longer required. The incident was stood down at 11.05 p.m.

The Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team were also involved in an operation in the Dublin Mountains which occurred on Sunday, August 19. An mountain rescue advanced paramedic crew and a Rapid Reaction Vehicle (RRV) responded to reports of a mountain biking accident just after 4 p.m.

The patient was treated and stabilised at the scene prior to being extracted by stretcher and transferred to Hospital for further assessment.Permission to fill in a former Roadstone quarry at Calary has been upheld by An Bord Pleanala.

Wicklow County Council granted the permission in March of last year.

The company has said in its application that it intends to establish a grassland habitat, similar to that which existed prior to quarrying. The application involves filling the lake with over 3.2 million tonnes of waste material over up to 20 years.

Diving expert Albert Kerr appealed the permission to An Bord Pleanala, having led a campaign to have the quarry lake used for water-based activities. He made the appeal as a representative of a group of environmentally concerned local people and activity and sporting groups who consider that permission negates a unique opportunity to create a public recreational facility.

Mr Kerr said that the site presented potential to create an amenity that would be commercially impossible to create on a greenfield site and as a man-made residual from quarrying activity which could bring pleasure and adventure to the region at viable cost.

He said that the location is within a landscape designated as a mountain and lakeshore area of outstanding natural beauty with several listed views and prospects within a 5km radius and proximity to SPAs NHAs and SACs, and therefore the site is not suitable for the development of a waste recovery facility.

Other concerns included the negative impact of noise, dust and traffic, and negative impact on flora and fauna. Mr Kerr said that a centre of gravity analysis should be carried out, and that alternative locations are available. He said that favourable consideration should be given to a community driven public/private amenity.

SLR Consulting Ltd, responding to the appeal on behalf of Roadstone, said that the extant water body is a flooded quarry void and not a lake. They said that the long term visual effects of the development would be positive. In a do-nothing scenario, the existing quarry faces would remain bare and visible in the wider landscape while the backfilling will restore the land to its original state.

'The site is not for sale,' they said. 'The appellant provides no details on how and by whom the site would be acquired, funded, developed, operated and maintained.'

They said that the proposed inert waste would be largely soil, stones and broken rock, and therefore stable and non-polluting.

Roadstone has committed to making a financial contribution to road improvements. Traffic levels arising will not exceed levels previously generated by the approved quarry development.

They said that there are no guidelines or policies regarding requirements for centre of gravity analysis. In the context of the proximity principle, based on experience at inert soil waste recovery site at Fassaroe, there is a significant demand for inert waste recovery in the Greater Dublin Area and along the N11 corridor. Following the closure of Fassaroe to inert waste, Calary Quarry is the next quarry of sufficient scale along the N11 corridor that could facilitate waste recovery from south Dublin and north east Wicklow.

They said that a habitat and species survey indicated that no buzzards, frogs or newts were observed or previously recorded and the site provide low quality terrestrial habitat for amphibians.

The disused water-filled Roadstone quarry covers about 12 acres and is around 28 metres deep. Mr Kerr said in an earlier submission that it has the potential to be an all-year public recreational facility. He said that the lake could be used for swimming, abseiling, scuba diving, sailing and more. In his vision for the site, he said that a facility could include showers, changing rooms and restaurants.Zimbabwe's Constitutional Court confirmed President Emmerson Mnangagwa's disputed July 30 election victory yesterday, dismissing an opposition challenge that had held up his inauguration, which will now be held tomorrow.

Before the vote, Mr Mnangagwa had said a credible election could pull Zimbabwe out of its diplomatic isolation under former president Robert Mugabe.

Instead the vote left the nation polarised, with Nelson Chamisa, who leads the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), mounting the legal challenge.JOHN McCAIN, the US senator and former Republican presidential nominee, has decided to discontinue his treatment for brain cancer.

It is a sign that the 81-year-old war hero, who was tortured during five-and-a-half years as a prisoner in Vietnam, has lost his final battle.

People close to him said the senator was "entering his final days".

In a statement, the McCain family said: "John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict.

"With his usual strength of will, he has chosen to discontinue medical treatment."

His wife Cindy said: "I love my husband with all my heart. God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey." In 2008, Mr McCain won the presidential nomination, but lost the race for the White House to his Democrat opponent, Barack Obama.

He has represented Arizona in the US Senate for 31 years. Last July he was diagnosed with brain cancer and he left Washington for his Arizona ranch in December.

But he has remained a vocal critic of Donald Trump, and has previously indicated he does not want the president to attend his funeral.

He called Mr Trump's recent summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin "disgraceful" and voted against the president's plan to repeal ObamaCare last year.

Their feud began in 2015 when Mr McCain said Mr Trump had "fired up the crazies". Mr Trump told the senator he was "not a war hero" adding, "I like people who weren't captured." ( Daily Telegraph, London)Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with his wife Jenny and their two daughters Abbey and Lily. Photo: Getty Images

The new prime minister of Australia yesterday promised to heal the ruling Liberal Party after a week of infighting that outgoing leader Malcolm Turnbull said had left the country appalled.

Scott Morrison, a conservative and evangelical Christian, won the leadership after a brutal party brawl. He defeated Peter Dutton, a hardliner who led a coup against Mr Turnbull, by 45 votes to 40 in a poll of MPs.

Mr Morrison, formerly the treasurer is Australia's sixth prime minister in eight years.

He said: "There has been a lot of talk this week about whose side people are on in this building.

"As the new generation of Liberal leadership... we are on your side.

"Our job... is to ensure that we not only bring our party back together, which has been bruised and battered this week, but that... we bring the parliament back together."

Mr Turnbull, who became leader after toppling Tony Abbott in 2015, was ousted by a group of right-wing MPs who mistrusted his progressive views, even as he veered to the right on issues such as climate change, the republic and same-sex marriage.

After resigning, he said: "Australians will be just dumbstruck and so appalled by the conduct of the past week.

"To imagine that a government would be rocked by this sort of disloyalty and deliberate insurgency... that's why this week has been so dispiriting.

"It's been vengeance, personal ambition and factional feuding."

No Australian leader has served a full term since John Howard after the 2004 election. Mr Turnbull joins Labour's Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard and Mr Abbott on the list of ousted prime ministers.

Adding to the turmoil, Mr Turnbull said he planned to leave parliament. That would mean a by-election which could threaten the one-seat majority of the ruling coalition and force an early general election.

Mr Morrison did not support the coup against Mr Turnbull.

Known as a shrewd political operator, he developed a reputation as a tough but capable minister after overseeing Australia's efforts to stem the flow of asylum seekers by boat. This involved detaining refugees on remote islands and towing boats back to Indonesia, measures condemned by the UN.An official wearing a protective suit gestures towards migrants on the deck of the Italian coastguard vessel Diciotti in the Sicilian port of Catania. Photo: Getty Images

This week brought yet another story of politicised European anxieties about migration converging in the fate of one ship - or rather that of its passengers. The ship is called the Diciotti and it is part of the Italian coastguard fleet. On board are 177 migrants, most of them from Eritrea and Somalia, who were rescued by two Italian patrol boats as they tried to cross from Libya to Europe by sea.

They were then transferred to the Diciotti. But the Italian authorities denied its own coastguard's vessel the right to disembark at any port. Malta also refused access.

For five days the Diciotti remained at sea with nowhere to go. Italy's firebrand Interior Minister Matteo Salvini - leader of the far-right Lega party within the governing coalition government - threatened to return the migrants to Libya unless other European governments offered to take some of them in.

Salvini's threats are against international law as Libya has been declared unsafe. Thousands of migrants languish in detentions centres there. Abuses in these centres are rife, as human rights organisations have documented.

But Salvini, who is considered the driving force in an oddball coalition that sees his far-right party in alliance with anti-establishment neophytes, the Five Star movement, campaigned on a crudely anti-immigrant platform and he clearly believes the migration question is one that rallies his base.

The Diciotti was eventually granted permission to land in Catania, Sicily, on Tuesday but Salvini is still refusing to allow the passengers (apart from some 27 unaccompanied minors) to disembark until other EU member states have agreed to take them in. Yesterday, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said his party - the Five Star movement - would vote to suspend funding to the European Union next year unless other states agreed to welcome the stranded migrants on the Diciotti.

It is just the latest such incident this summer, a time of year when better weather and sea conditions usually lead to a rise in the numbers attempting to make the crossing from Libya - where human smugglers have flourished in a political and security vacuum - to Europe.

Italy has long been the main destination, though the numbers taking the route from Morocco to Spain is increasing: so far in 2018, more than 30,000 migrants have arrived in Spain by sea.

But the toxic blend of far-right and anti-establishment populism currently ruling Italy makes the issue a lightning rod there, even if the numbers of migrants landing in the country this year is the lowest it has been for years.

Though Salvini's party is the junior partner in the coalition government, he dominates the political scene and his incendiary rhetoric is a fixture in Italian media. He recently quoted a notorious Mussolini line - "more enemies, more honour" - on the former dictator's birthday.

He has claimed immigrants are undermining security and national identity. His call for a census of non-Italian Roma appalled many.

But ratings for Salvini and his party have only risen and so he clings to the anti-immigrant messaging that apparently continues to win Lega more supporters. Critics say it is also a convenient distraction from other issues, including the economic crisis, unemployment and crumbling national infrastructure as the recent collapse of a key bridge in the port city of Genoa illustrated.

And so this has been a summer of Salvini stand-offs over migrants rescued at sea. In June, the Aquarius, a rescue boat operated by French NGO SOS Mediterranee, was refused permission by Italian authorities to dock in any of the southern Italian ports where migrants had been disembarked in the past.

With Salvini and his coalition partners having just been sworn in a few days earlier, this was clearly a bid to flex muscles.

Salvini created a social media hashtag #chiudiamoiporti ("let's shut down the ports") and fumed on Facebook that "the rest of Europe had been minding its own business" on the question of migration for too long.

Malta also refused docking rights to the Aquarius, which eventually sailed to Spain after it agreed to take in the migrants. And on August 13, the Italian government again refused the Aquarius permission to disembark another 140 passengers, this time suggesting either Malta or the UK should take responsibility instead. A compromise was eventually found in which the Aquarius docked in Valletta and a number of EU member states agreed to share distribution of the migrants.

Humanitarian agencies have called for the migrants on the Diciotti to be allowed to disembark, noting their vulnerabilities after transiting through Libya. For now they remain not only stuck on the Italian ship but also caught up in what is becoming an all too familiar European stand-off.

And their plight is not likely to be the last such story.US President Donald Trump told Fox News that he rates his presidency so far as A+, and indicated that plea bargaining for shorter sentences should be made illegal. Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Donald Trump's long-time financial gatekeeper has taken immunity from prosecution to discuss what he knew about payments to the president's former lawyer Michael Cohen, numerous US media outlets reported yesterday.

Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organisation's chief financial officer, was said to have met prosecutors weeks ago after a grand jury summons.

The conversations reportedly were about Mr Cohen, who this week pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws over payments to two women claiming affairs with Mr Trump before the 2016 election.

Prosecutors said that Mr Cohen was reimbursed for his role in the payments through a $35,000 (30,000) monthly retainer arranged by Trump Organisation executives.

Expand Close Lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp Lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters

Mr Cohen effectively accused Mr Trump of being a co-conspirator in a crime by claiming he gave the direction to make the payments.

The fact that Mr Weisselberg had been talking raised questions about how much he had said. Commentators suggested that the conversation could be a "Pandora's box" for prosecutors. The development was first reported by the 'Wall Street Journal'.

Mr Weisselberg has spent decades with the Trump Organisation, and reportedly got Mr Trump to sign off cheques on an almost daily basis. When Mr Trump stepped away from the company after his election victory, he handed control to his two sons and Mr Weisselberg.

The developing legal drama centres on payments to the porn star Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, a 'Playboy' model.

Both women claimed affairs with Mr Trump, which he has denied, and were paid for their silence. Ms Daniels got $130,000 and Ms McDougal $150,000.

Mr Cohen, who for a decade was Mr Trump's lawyer and fixer, admitted on Tuesday to breaking campaign finance laws and said the payments were an attempt to "influence" the election.

Mr Trump said the money did not come from campaign finances and denied any crime. He also said he was only aware of the payments "later on".

David Pecker, a friend of Mr Trump who is chief executive of the publishers of the 'National Enquirer' tabloid magazine, has also reportedly been given immunity by New York prosecutors.

His firm has been accused of involvement in both payments, including buying Ms McDougal's story and "killing" it.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump and his legal team have hit back at suggestions he could soon be impeached, with his lawyer saying that the American people would "revolt" if such a move was taken.

Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor who is now a legal adviser to Mr Trump, said that it was "inevitable" any attempt at impeachment would fail.

Crash

Mr Trump himself claimed that the stock market would "crash" and leave people across the country "very poor" if he was ever forced from office.

And Mr Trump has ordered his secretary of state Mike Pompeo to cancel a planned visit to North Korea because the regime is not making "sufficient progress" over denuclearisation.

The US president's comments, delivered by tweet, amount to the strongest criticism yet of North Korea from Mr Trump since he met the country's leader Kim Jong-un in June.

Previously Mr Trump has repeatedly played up the success of the talks, saying that North Korea "no longer" posed a nuclear threat and pointing to the fact no missiles had been tested.

Mr Pompeo, who is leading the talks for America, had been due to fly to North Korea next week to hold further talks about securing the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula - something agreed by both sides when the US president met Mr Kim.

It is unclear what exactly triggered the latest decision by Mr Trump. It followed days of intense domestic pressure and negative headlines.

Mixed reports on North Korea's co-operation have emerged since the June summit in Singapore. Mr Kim has returned the remains of what are believed to be 55 American soldiers who served in the Korean War.

There is also evidence captured by satellite images that North Korea has started to dismantle a key military engine test site at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station, as Mr Kim said he would when he met Mr Trump.

However US intelligence officials have also said that North Korea may have increased production of fuel for nuclear weapons at multiple secret sites, according to an NBC News report in July. ( Daily Telegraph London)Donald Trump's approval ratings have climbed to levels not seen since before his botched attempt to repeal Obamacare, according to the 'Daily Telegraph's' poll tracker.

The tracker, which takes an average of the last eight polls, put Mr Trump's approval rating on 43pc in mid-August.

The president's ratings will be all the more important in the next few months as the US faces first mid-term elections under Mr Trump on November 6.

He is reported to be planning 40 days of campaigning for the legislative elections, as the Republicans battle to keep hold of both the Senate and the House of Representatives - the latter of which is expected to be a closer challenge.

The latest figures - which show that his approval ratings remain stubbornly above 40pc - will prove a relief to the Republican president, who has faced a tough time after his former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, had been found guilty of eight charges in his fraud trial.

It came on the same day Michael Cohen, Mr Trump's former personal lawyer, surrendered himself to the FBI and reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

The period since Mr Trump's election has been packed with controversy and intrigue but, underneath it all, few people seem to have really changed their minds about America's 45th president.

His approval rating quickly slumped in the chaotic days after assuming office, with Mr Trump achieving a majority disapproval rating in record time.

A year in, he is far less popular than previous presidents at this stage of a presidency - but overall approval has generally remained above 40pc.

At the 100-day milestone, Gallup daily polling showed that only 40pc of Americans approved of the way Mr Trump was handling his new job - compared to 55pc that disapproved. Historically, it has usually taken American presidents hundreds of days before they reach a majority disapproval rating.

This has been the case for the last five presidents - with Bill Clinton lasting a record 573 days before more than 50pc of Americans disapproved of his presidency.

But Mr Trump smashed this record after surging into the White House on a wave of anti-establishment anger.

It took only eight days for him to gain a majority disapproval rating, according to Gallup, with 51pc of Americans saying they disapproved of the president on January 28, 2016.

Mr Trump has faced persistent allegations over Russian connections, fired the head of the FBI, launched tirades against the media, failed to push through healthcare reform, and has faced talk of impeachment.

However, while there has been an overall drop in public opinion, the president's approval ratings have remained relatively stable since July, even an uptick following his handling of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and Hurricane Irma.

Indeed, his popularity has actually risen over the past year among certain segments of the population.

Among those who self-identify as being conservatives - although not necessarily Republicans - his approval rating is actually marginally higher than it was at the start of the year, according to YouGov, while, importantly, he is liked better by people who are registered to vote.

His approval rating among registered voters hasn't dropped below 40pc all year.

America's politics is so extreme that his popularity among Democrats can't really drop any further, while Republicans seemingly refuse to desert him no matter what he does. ( Daily Telegraph, London)This has been a great year for Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi. From being friends to tying the knot and becoming life partners, the couple found their happy ending this year. But wait, the story doesn't end right here.

There is much more ahead that lies ahead for the couple and this includes a little bundle of joy.

The couple together announced that their first baby is on its way. They took to their social media accounts to share this news with the world. Right after this news was shared, people started pouring in messages and best wishes for soon to be parents.

What has been this glamorous couple up to after this big announcement?

Well, the couple was out on a dinner date at Bukhara, Delhi and they flew back to Mumbai today morning. And for the first time ever, instead of hiding her baby bump, Neha Dhupia was seen posing for shutterbugs. Both Neha and Angad posed for paps at the Mumbai airport. From giggling to holding hands, they looked super-cute.

Viral Bhayani

Viral Bhayani

Viral Bhayani

Viral Bhayani

And today, the couple walked the ramp at Lakme Fashion Week.

One day after announcing that they are expecting a baby, Angad Bedi and Neha Dhupia walked the ramp for Payal Singhal. Neha was seen smiling and flaunting her baby bump and husband Angad Bedi couldn't take eyes off her. It was indeed a sight to behold. Have a look at the pictures.

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#9Rajkummar Rao is a star in every sense of the word. He is not a star just because he is seen at parties or because he attends award shows. He has redefined the word 'hero' in Bollywood and the actor believes one of the biggest reasons for his success is that he has always tried to challenge the norms. For 33-year old star, he said it is important for an artiste to break through the shackles of "obvious" as being predictable can hinder their growth.

Talking to PTI, Rajkummar Rao said,

"I love it when people call me unconventional. My aim has always been to break conventions and to keep experimenting. I feel it is good to be unpredictable. People are experimenting in every field. We can't keep following what has been there since always. It is important to reinvent as an artiste."

The actor said he has again tried to do something unique with his upcoming film "Stree", which releases on his birthday August 31. Talking about the film, he said,

"Stree' is something fresh and new. Audiences want to see different kind of content on-screen and 'Stree' is exactly that. It is a unique genre horror-comedy which has not been explored much in our country."

Rao revealed that he was the brain behind the catchy title of the film, which also stars Shraddha Kapoor.

@elleindiaofficial A post shared by Raj Kummar Rao (@rajkummar_rao) on Jul 14, 2018 at 5:09am PDT

"When Raj & DK (director) came and narrated me the script the title was something else. But in conversation, I told them if we can name it 'Stree'. In a way I was the one who decided the title. I found that one word very catchy," he said.

The actor, who is currently busy promoting "Stree", will soon start working on his next, titled "Made In China".

"I am going to start shooting for 'Made In China' with Boman sir (Irani) from September 4. We will be in Ahemdabad for around five weeks. It is a drama-comedy. It is story of this young Gujrati businessman who is trying to make it big," he said.

Rao was speaking on the sidelines of Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2018, where he walked the ramp for designer Rajesh Pratap Singh last night. The actor said he is as experimental in fashion as he is in his movie choices.

"Fashion means comfort for me. Fashion for me is something which makes me feel confident. Dressing up is a personal thing. I am a young guy. I like to experiment with clothes and keeping things edgy when it comes to styling. The kind of changes we are seeing in the fashion industry are somewhat similar to what we are seeing in cinema."

Rao said for celebrities dressing up is like a performance these days as there are so many people reviewing their fashion choices.

"Dressing up these days is just like a performance. People review your choices. Everything is digital. People can write whatever they want. Luckily in my case people are writing really good things about my style," he said.Shahid Kapoor is a true-blue family man and more so, after the arrival of her first baby Misha and embracing fatherhood. Shahid Kapoor and wife Mira Rajput welcomed their first child together, Misha, two years ago.

Happy holidays A post shared by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Dec 26, 2017 at 6:49am PST

Talking about the changes in his life, Shahid says fatherhood has completely changed his outlook towards life. Shahid, 37, says it is impossible for an actor to not be self-oriented, but fatherhood has taught him to be less self-absorbed.

Instagram/Shahid Kapoor

Talking to PTI during the promotions of his upcoming film Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Shahid said,

Bliss. A post shared by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Jul 4, 2018 at 4:30am PDT

Fatherhood has brought a lot of change in me as a person and as a human being. My priorities have changed. I am less self-oriented now, because I believe actors can never be not self-oriented. I think I am more open to different point of views. I have matured and feel a lot more grown up now."

Shahid, who is all set to welcome his second child with wife Mira, said he wants to be a part of every moment of their life and spend as much time as he can with them. Talking about this new bundle of happiness, Shahid said,

When you know. Nothing else matters. A post shared by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Apr 12, 2018 at 11:50pm PDT

It is no more about just being an actor. I have a family and a kid. I want to be part of my childs growth. I want to be with her in each and every moment. The whole experience of being a parent has been beautiful and life-changing."

He went on talk about how he has updated in terms of fashion. However, he also admitted that the things were not the same when he started his career in the Hindi film industry. He adds,

#moochhonkotao for the last time. A post shared by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Nov 5, 2017 at 10:11am PST

I enjoy the whole limelight now. Did I enjoy when I started? I am not sure because I was very conscious of myself and I was not very fashionable and didnt understand things. I was not born and brought up in that atmosphere. I had a very middle-class life.

Shahid further said he decided to focus on his off-camera appearances because it was part of his job.

It is something which has come with time. I have cultivated it and I have learned to enjoy it. Honestly, I am the kind of person that if something is part of my job I will work hard to get it right. I enjoy getting all the aspect of my job right because I am very passionate about what I do, he said.

Shahid is all geared up for the release of Batti Gul Meter Chalu alongside Shraddha Kapoor.

The film, directed by Shree Narayan Singh, is slated to release on September 21.Emirates, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has said that it will fly over a dozen cargo flights to Kerala to deliver relief materials to the flood-hit state.

According to a statement by the airline, Emirates SkyCargo will carry some 175 tonne of flood relief material to the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

Emirates

The goods, including life saving boats, blankets and dry food items which were collected by various UAE-based businesses groups and the Indian diaspora will be handed over to local flood relief and aid organisations for distribution.

Emirates

The announcement of supplying relief materials comes at a time when UAE has been caught in the middle of a domestic political battle in India over a proposed financial aid to Kerala.

It all began with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announcing that Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, offered Rs 700-crore assistance to Kerala and he had conveyed it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The aid snowballed into a huge political controversy as the amount was even higher than the Rs 600 crores the central government had announced for Kerala as interim relief.

The External Affairs Ministry in the meantime, maintained that there were no official communication from UAE on this regard and stated that as a policy, India will not be accepting any foreign aid.

This however did not go down well in Kerala where there was already raging discontent over what was seen as Modi government dragging its feet in providing adequate help to the flood-hit state. Adding to this, was the long standing bond between UAE and Kerala, which has a sizable expat population in the Arab country. Even Sheikh Mohammed had called Kerala a part of UAE's success story.

The people of Kerala have always been and are still part of our success story in the UAE. We have a special responsibility to help and support those affected, especially during this holy and blessed days pic.twitter.com/ZGom5A6WRy  HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) August 17, 2018

As the political controversy continued, it was later revealed that UAE did not officially announce any amount as aid to Kerala.

UAE Ambassador Albanna told Indian Express that The assessment of relief needed for the flood and aftermath is ongoing. Announcing any specific amount as financial aid, I dont think it is final, since it is still ongoing.

Citing this many attacked the Kerala government for spreading fake information. The Kerala CM, is however sticking to his stand.

Speaking to media, Vijayan said there was no confusion over the aid. He also claimed that Sheikh Mohamed had informed UAE-based Malayali businessman MA Yusuf Ali about his conversation with the Indian Prime Minister about the decision to give financial assistance, and only after assurance from the Ail he went public about it.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan informed that the United Arab Emirates will provide Kerala an assistance of 700 Crore. Kerala has a special relationship with UAE, which is a home away from home for Malayalees. We express our gratitude to UAE for their support. #KeralaFloodRelief pic.twitter.com/yfwbt9iEkd  CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 21, 2018

This was communicated to the Honble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi (@PMOIndia) by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan (@MohamedBinZayed), Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE's Armed Forces.  CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 21, 2018

On this occasion, we also express the gratitude of Kerala to HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and the Emir of Abu Dhabi, and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( @HHShkMohd), Prime Minister of UAE and Emir of Dubai. #KeralaFloodRelief  CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 21, 2018

The assistance of UAE was first informed to Malayali businessman and philanthropist Yusuff Ali M.A.  CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 21, 2018

On August 18 he had announced the formation of a national emergency committee which included the likes of Ali and another prominent Indian businessman BR Shetty to provide relief assistance to people affected by the flood .

It is believed that the committee was tasked to collect donations for Kerala from various source. The Rs 700 crores, ($100 million) is said to the be target the committee is trying to raise from various donors in a campaign which is still ongoing.The Ministry of Defence has tied up with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to provide better treatment to the soldiers of the Armed forces even at the remotest parts of the country, including the most difficult parts of Siachen.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of Telemedicine nodes was signed on Friday between Development and Education Communication Unit (DECU) of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Department of Space, Ahmedabad and Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff (Medical), Ministry of Defence (MoD) at New Delhi.

The document was signed by Virender Kumar, Director, DECU, ISRO and Lt Gen CS Narayanan, Dy Chief IDS (Medical) in the presence of Lt Gen Bipin Puri, Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS).

afp/representational image

ISRO will establish 53 more nodes in the first phase to existing twenty in the Army, Navy and Air Force across the country.

The highest battleground in the world not just have a functioning node on the Siachen Glacier, four more nodes are being established to enable medical consultation between soldiers deployed on the glacier and rearward medical echelons.

Many of these posts are cut off for many months in a year due to adverse terrain and climatic conditions. The biggest enemy has been the weather conditions at such icy heights.

afp/representational image

In such precarious conditions, communication through these satellite enabled telemedicine nodes will be a paradigm shift in the delivery of lifesaving health care.

This joint initiative by ISRO and the Armed Forces Medical Services will radically transform the reach of Telemedicine to combat soldiers, airmen, and sailors deployed in remote and isolated posts.

twitter/representational image

The troops of Indian Army are deployed in inaccessible areas, which makes healthcare delivery and monitoring of fitness of Armed Forces personnel a vital component of National Security.

Commanders primarily desire implementation of telemedicine solutions in remote and isolated posts manned only by combat soldiers. The only mode of evacuation from these posts is by helicopters, and this also may not be feasible for days and weeks at times.Every culture has foods that are considered delicacies. And most are unusual, unique, and straight-up weird. While some of it might look bearable, many seem downright disgusting. Heres a look at some of the most bizarre things people actually eat:

1. Wok-fried Dung Beetle

According to Andrew Zimmer, Food & Travel host, Dung beetles are a popular snack in rural Laos and Thailand. People reserve piles of dung to make sure they can get their hands on the tasty treats.

2. Maggot Filled Cheese

Known as Casu Marzu, this rotten delicacy is eaten by the residents of Sardinia. In fact, this was considered so horrible that it was almost made illegal.

3. Palolo worms

Palolo are coral worms and its a Samoan and Southern Pacific Island delicacy. The worms are found at a specific time when the temperature in the sea changes with the changing phase of the moon. The worms are eaten with bread.

4. Corn Smut

Smut is a fungal disease that affects corn and in some places, people treat it as a delicacy. Huitlacoche or corn smut is popular with the indigenous tribes in Mexico. Its an acquired taste and most people love the soft mushy texture of the fungus.

5. Shirako

#shirako A post shared by Dontfollowme (@dontfollowme_guk) on Aug 20, 2018 at 2:35pm PDT

Shirako is the sperm sac and of a fish. You read that right! Shirako is then dipped in tempura batter and deep-fried.

6. Bird's Nest Soup

No, this not birds nest made of sticks and straws. This is made by cave-dwelling swiftlets who use their own saliva to weave a nest and they are built quite high up in the cave. People use these nest to make a gooey soup and it is pretty popular in China. But the constant intrusion into their nests has caused these birds to be endangered.

7. Tuna Eyeballs

This might sound downright nasty, but for the Japanese, this tastes very similar to octopus and squid and people seem to love it.

8. Wasp Crackers

For most, just the sight of a wasp can be terrifying, but the Japanese like them in their biscuits. Almost like a chocolate chip cookie, it has wasps for chips.

9. Silkworm Larvae

Legend has it that Chinese Empress Xi Ling-Shi discovered silk when a silkworm cocoon fell into her hot cup of tea and thus started the craze. In China, silkworms are seen as an easy, cheap snack. But, we are here cringing away to glory.

10. Chicken Buttholes

Reddit

Grilled chicken buttholes on a stick is a popular street food in Taipei, Taiwan. It seems they always have to pick the weirdest part to be eaten.Imagine you are driving down and you find a man dressed as Batman, driving a perfectly functioning Batmobile. Your first instinct would be to post a story on Instagram and also click a selfie. And that's exactly what the Canada police were in the mood for when they spotted this beauty!

Facebook

What appears to be a replica of the Batmobile was caught on video being pulled over by an Ontario Provincial Police officer.

The man who obviously was a very convincing impersonator  jumps out and talks nonchalantly with the officer. No, he wasn't being busted, but he was going to pose for a selfie.

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When I pulled up beside her, the first thing she said was, Wow, Lawrence, who is in his early 40s, told The Sun on Wednesday.

I pulled in front and she had the regular escorting lights. Then I noticed the lights became more aggressive and I pulled over and I jump out and ask the officer, Is everything OK? and she quietly asked for a picture.

"The whole thing that I like to do when it comes to local law enforcement is to remember that not only do they have a job to do, also sometimes they can have a little fun while doing the work." Lawrence said during an interview with CBC Radio's program.

According to reports, Lawrence has been dressing up like the Dark Knight for over 20 years now, making public appearances around Brampton on-foot and in the Batmobile.Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Alphonsus Cullinan has said scripture teaches that the majority is always wrong.

He had been asked about the Irish peoples decision to vote in favour of same-sex marriage.

The bishop, who was last year forced to apologise for comments suggesting the Gardasil HPV vaccine is 70% safe and encourages sexual activity among young people, was speaking ahead of Pope Francis visit to Ireland this weekend.

Asked about the decision to vote in favour of same-sex marriage, Bishop Cullinan said the majority is always wrong and that often it is just a tiny minority who follow Gods plan.

If you read scripture, Christ doesnt go by the majority opinion... In actual fact, if you read scripture, the majority was always wrong. When push came to shove the majority take the easy way out and its the minority, in scripture, the tiny minority stood at the foot of the cross, the tiny minority of Apostles were faithful but they trusted in Jesus and its Gods plan we follow, he said.

Asked about comments made on Thursday at the World Meeting of Families by Fr James Martin, that people from the LGBT community are treated like lepers within the Catholic Church, Bishop Cullinan said the Lord had put these people in our path and that they must be treated with respect.

We must treat every single person with the respect he or she is due as a child of God, irrespective of who they are, what they have, and what their background is. We have to see them as Jesus would see them.

That is we cannot judge but we will let the Lord teach us... The Lord has put these people in our path, whoever it is, and they must be treated with respect.

Bishop Cullinan said he treats gay people with respect but that he does not agree with what theyre doing.

I know gay people and I know gay couples and I treat them with respect. I follow Jesus Christ and I am a sinner too. Jesus Christ who breathed on the Apostles and said, Receive the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit who is the spirit of truth who will teach us all things and Christ himself has given us the plan for the beauty of sexuality and its for a man and a woman... We treat people with respect but that doesnt mean we agree with what theyre doing.

Bishop Cullinan became emotional when discussing the horror of clerical sex abuse and said it is hard to explain how such acts were covered up within the Church.

Its so hard to explain; its the mystery of evil and then the lack of courage to tackle it and to understand, he said.

We understand now so much better what abuse does to a child and that is a great lesson to learn.

Here in Ireland, we have got our act together in making sure the Church is a safe place and show society the absolute importance of treating children with respect. We follow safeguarding guidelines and its working.

Bishop Cullinane also said that the decision by Pope Francis to meet survivors of clerical sex abuse will be healing.The Government is to appoint an expert to advise it on the introduction of electronic tagging for people on bail.

Tagging is one of a range of measures introduced by the Government last year with the purported aim of imposing stricter bail terms.

The measures are in response to growing disquiet at crimes, including burglaries and aggravated burglaries, suspected of being carried out by people on bail, often for similar offences.

The proposals, including curfews and increased Garda arrest powers for people breaching bail, were published as a bill in July 2015 and described as being the first comprehensive review of bail laws since 1997.

Under the Criminal Justice Act 2017, the prosecution in a case can apply to the court for electronic monitoring to be part of the conditions of bail. The legislation was enacted in June last year, but provisions in relation to tagging have not been implemented yet.

Because of the technicalities and associated costs of running an electronic tagging system, the Government established a committee to examine the issue.

Electronic tagging is used on a limited basis by the Irish Prison Service under separate 2006 legislation, but Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has indicated that the new system for those on bail will be different.

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the Department of Justice said: Extensive preparations are under way to ensure these provisions can be implemented and more importantly, to ensure they can be effective.

A working group on electronic monitoring was set up to examine the issues. Chaired by the department, it contains representatives from An Garda Siochana, the Courts Service, the DPP, the Irish Prisons Service, and the Probation Service.

The committee compiled a report and submitted it earlier this year to the department for consideration.

The department spokesman said they are looking at bringing in an expert to assist with the next stage of going out to tender.

The department is currently engaged with the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) to try and identify a suitable expert from within the existing OGP frameworks to advise the department on electronic monitoring pre-market consultations, he said.

He said given the sensitivity of the discussions between the department and the OGP, it will not be publishing the working groups report at this time.

The 2017 legislation also expands the factors which a court may take into account in refusing bail and gives the court the power, in certain cases, to hear evidence from the victim of an offence before a decision is taken.

Figures indicate that 130 prisoners have been tagged since the regime in prisons was introduced in 2013, with 59 inmates monitored last year, at a cost of 166,000.

The Government also approved last June draft legislation providing for the use of tagging in the post-release supervision of sex offenders.

That provision is contained in the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill and is now due to go before the Oireachtas justice committee.A 100m affordable homes package, tax incentives for the rental sector, and more social housing are part of Fianna Fails demands for Budget 2019.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy was informed of the budget wishes in a meeting this week with his Fianna Fail counterpart, Darragh OBrien. A child homelessness taskforce was also discussed.

The Irish Examiner understands the minister also promised that families would not be ejected from emergency hotel accommodation to make way for visitors coming to see the Pope in Dublin.

With just over six weeks to go to budget day, ministers are drawing up spending commitment plans for next year. Fianna Fail has said housing and health are two areas that must be prioritised.

The housing crisis is particularly acute, with almost 10,000 homeless people, rents rising to an all-time high, and house prices still spiralling out of reach for young buyers in the capital.

Mr OBrien met Mr Murphy on Monday, and the two discussed housing issues for the budget for the first time.

Under the confidence and supply agreement, Fianna Fail facilitates the passage of the Fine Gael-led governments budgets in exchange for its policies being supplied or implemented.

It is understood the pair discussed Fianna Fails desire for a 100m affordable homes package for next year. This would allow first- time buyers paying a third of their income on rent or potentially on a mortgage to avail of cheap housing, criteria for which would be set by local authorities.

Mr OBrien is also pressing for an increase in social housing proposals and a more concrete indication of how thousands of those homes are being built.

Mr Murphy was pressed to agree to examine tax arrangements in the rental sector. The pair also discussed tenants rights and calls for security of tenure to be strengthened.

They also discussed Mr OBriens proposals for a taskforce on child homelessness.

The taskforce, he maintains, would bring together charities, local authorities, and officials.By Dan Buckley

The Childrens Medical Research Foundation based at Our Ladys childrens hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, has has committed to funding research into tuberculosis, which kills a quarter of a million children each year.

Tuberculosis, an airborne disease, is the single-biggest infectious killer worldwide. Following exposure to someone with TB, a healthy adult has about a 10% chance of getting the disease, but it normally wont occur until many years later.

Newborn babies are much more at risk, with up to 50% getting sick within a few months of exposure and an increased chance of getting disease outside of the lung, such as meningitis. The mortality of TB in this age group approaches 50%.

The funding programme will operate through a fellowship at the National Childrens Research Centre.

We are delighted to provide vital funding for research into TB, said Lisa-Nicole Dunne, CEO of CMRF Crumlin.

Over 250,000 children die every year from tuberculosis infection worldwide, but the burden of disease extends far beyond that.

Over one million children are infected annually and TB is difficult to treat, requiring months of therapy that is expensive and difficult to complete.

The emergence of multiple, drug-resistant strains of TB, in recent years, further highlights the need to develop new host-directed therapies, said Ms Dunne.

Recent figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control show an alarming rise in the number of cases of the most severe form of drug-resistant tuberculosis, most of them in eastern Europe.

While the level of TB infections in Ireland is low, there still occur 350 a year, many of them children.

Ms Dunne added: We dont know why babies are more at risk of getting TB and of getting disseminated disease.

However, Dr Cilian O Maoldomhnaigh, the receiver of the clinical research fellowship at the NCRC, said one theory is that the way a babys immune system works is different to that of an adult, particularly in the way the immune cells switch on in response to infection.

This shift in function requires the cells to change how it generates energy and the products it needs to function, he explained.

This immunometabolism is increasingly recognised as being vital for immune cells to function properly.

Dr O Maoldomhnaigh is conducting his PhD research in the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute. He is a paediatrician and received his certificate of completion in specialist training (CCST) in paediatrics in 2015.

I hope that this research will improve our understanding of the immune response of babies to tuberculosis infection, which may lead to better vaccines and treatment for this deadly disease. Dr O Maoldomhnaigh said.Update 9.51pm Andrea Bocelli closes the concert with Nessun Dorma.

Back in the Skoda... Pope Francis leaving Croke Park #PopeInIreland pic.twitter.com/klPgX20G8M  Philip Bromwell (@philipbromwell) August 25, 2018

Update 9.47pm: Pope Francis leaves Croke Park

@Pontifex_fr "Lamour du Christ qui renouvelle toute chose est ce qui rend possible le mariage et un amour conjugal caracterise par la fidelite, lindissolubilite, lunite et louverture a la vie." #WMOF18 #PopeInIreland #Canada #Quebec #catholique #amour pic.twitter.com/Efq23w5Msh  Sel + Lumiere Media (@seletlumieretv) August 25, 2018

Update 9.00pm Pope Francis addresses Croke Park audience

Pope Francis warns of how social media can "imprison us in a virtual reality" if it's used too much at the #FestivalOfFamilies at Croke Park #PopeInIreland pic.twitter.com/I5oGG17EdT  Stephen Murphy (@StephenMNews) August 25, 2018

'Welcome to Dublin - the greatest city in the world' #popeinireland pic.twitter.com/6mk6qzZFAZ  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Pope Francis takes a selfie with Alison Nevin age 12 from the Carrickmines tragedy family at Croke Park

Andrea Bocelli serenades the crowd with Ava Maria.

MOF18/Maxwell Photography/PA Wire

WMOF18/Maxwell Photography/PA Wire

Riverdance takes to the stage.

A member of the crowd pictured as Pope Francis makes his way through the crowd at Croke Park, Dublin

Update 7.33pm:

Pope Francis has arrived at the Festival of Famillies in Croke Park.

Pope Francis arrival through the crowds at Croke Park

Rapturous applause for #PopeFrancis who is doing a lap of Croke Park now. Hes smiling and giving thumbs up to the crowd. #popeinireland pic.twitter.com/qsROqx39hK  Leanna Byrne (@Leanna_Byrne) August 25, 2018

#WMOF2018 #POPEINIRELAND #Papa Francesco e arrivato al Croke Park Stadium di Dublino per la Festa delle Famiglie. Segui la diretta su https://t.co/BQwUX9p1ZG pic.twitter.com/KBwKr23sgO  SIR (@agensir) August 25, 2018

Update 7.15pm:

Nathan Carter takes to the stage.

Update 7.01pm:

#FestivalofFamilies is underway at Croke Park as the crowd await the arrival of Pope Francis.

Mna na hEireann at the centre of #popeinireland  pic.twitter.com/HaHUHbuGey  Kevin Sharkey (@tv_KevinSharkey) August 25, 2018

Update 5.59pm:

The Mexican waves have begun.

Absolutely brilliant atmosphere in Croke Park - and we havent even started yet!! Non stop Mexican waves #PopeInIreland #PopeInIreland #WMOF2018 pic.twitter.com/Hwqf4hAFyF  A Kildare woman (@Petra_C) August 25, 2018

Croke Park fills up anticpating Pontiff's arrival, a part of the Festival of Families.

Pope Francis will be among the attendees at the Festival of Families at Croke Park. | Full coverage: https://t.co/w07ak70WbF #popeinireland https://t.co/DuUJyDNZBU  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Update 5.33pm:

Pontiff makes his way to the Day Centre for Homeless Families of the Capuchin Fathers.

At the Capuchin Day Centre @Pontifex urged those who use the service to trust and lean on the Capuchin brothers who want to help them and their families #PopeinIreland #WMOF2018 pic.twitter.com/CjpfWiarIT  CatholicBishops (@CatholicBishops) August 25, 2018

Update 4.05pm:

Pope Francis meets 500 engaged or newly married couples in St. Mary's Cathedral.

"Marriage is not simply an institution but a vocation, a conscious and lifelong decision, to care for, help and protect each other"

"El matrimonio no es simplemente una institucion sino una vocacion, una decision consciente y para toda la vida, a cuidarse, ayudarse y protegerse mutuamente" #PopeInIreland #WMOF2018 pic.twitter.com/nRW5USxLMc  Zenit Espanol (@zenitespanol) August 25, 2018

Update 3.35pm:

Pope Francis gathers in silence in front of a lighted candle in memory of the victims of sexual abuse committed by members of the clergy.

Le pape Francois se recueille en silence devant un cierge allume en memoire des victimes d'abus sexuels commis par des membres du clerge. #PopeInIreland pic.twitter.com/LwFKr9RaYB  Xavier LN  (@LN_Xavier) August 25, 2018

Update 3.15pm: Pope Francis takes to the streets of Dublin in the Pope Mobile.

Pope Mobile waiting for the Pontiff on Sean MC Dermot St before he makes his to the Pro Cathedral #PopeInIreland pic.twitter.com/MPFwwQxTjk  Kim Buckley (@KiiimBuckley) August 25, 2018

Update 1.23pm: Pope Francis and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar have both made speeches as the Pontiff arrived at Dublin Castle.

Mr Varadkar has acknowledged the "dark aspects" of the Catholic Churchs history in his speech in front of Pope Francis at Dublin Castle.

'Wounds are still open and there is much to be done' says @campaignforleo pic.twitter.com/KWydjCu3Kc  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

The Pope, meanwhile, spoke of his pain and shame at the failure of church authorities to tackle the grave scandal of clerical abuse in Ireland.

.@Pontifex says he shares 'pain and shame of Catholic community' over abuse scandals pic.twitter.com/5mztgWSl3A  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Pope Francis and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar shake hands at Dublin Castle. Picture: Maxwells

Update 11.30am: Pope Francis mirrors John Paul II by planting oak tree in Aras

Pope Francis has arrived at the home of the President, Aras an Uachtarain, in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.

Pope Francis arrives for a meeting with President Michael D Higgins and wife Sabina. (Danny Lawson/PA Wire)

He was greeted by president Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina.

The Irish greeting party also included Irish government minister for children and youth affairs Katherine Zappone.

At Aras an Uachtarain, @Pontifex greeted by President Michael D Higgins and his wife, Sabina @PresidentIRL pic.twitter.com/AvKHyg3Fqe  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Pope Francis also planted a tree at Aras an Uachtarain at his meeting with President Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina Higgins.

The message from @Pontifex in the Aras visitors book. With gratitude for the warm welcome I have received, I assure you and the people of Ireland of my prayers that Almighty God may guide and protect you all. Francis. pic.twitter.com/pOjLgeaxsv  Will Goodbody (@willgoodbody) August 25, 2018

The tree-planting ceremony got under way after the pontiff was greeted at the presidents official residence.

Francis planted an Irish oak tree on the lawn in front of the south portico. In doing so, he became the second Pope to plant a tree on the grounds of the residence.

Pope John Paul II planted an Irish oak on the same lawn during the last papal visit in 1979.

.@Pontifex plants a native Irish Oak in the grounds of the Aras https://t.co/7VJB2h1lHi pic.twitter.com/xpLJpgcvMz  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Other dignitaries who have planted trees on the lawn at Aras an Uachtarain include former US presidents John F Kennedy and Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II.

Both the Queen and President Obama planted English oak trees during their visits to Ireland in 2011.

Irelands first president Douglas Hyde planted a Cornish elm on the north lawn of Aras in 1939.

Since then, each of the countrys nine presidents has planted an official tree on the grounds of the residence.

Pope Francis plants a tree during a meeting with Irish President Michael D Higgins, at Aras an Uachtarain in Phoenix Park, Dublin, as part of his visit to Ireland. (Joe Giddens/PA)

The tree-planting tradition dates back to Queen Victoria, who planted the first official tree on the grounds in the mid 1800s.

On the plane to Ireland, the Pope spoke about this being his second time attending the World Meeting of Families and of returning to Ireland for the first time 38 years.

On the flight to Dublin, @Pontifex spoke of returning to Ireland after 38 years pic.twitter.com/vYFQXXbc7j  RTE News (@rtenews) August 25, 2018

Earlier: Pope Francis arrives in Ireland

The Pope has

Read More:

Pope Francis is greeted by members of the clergy, representatives of Government and the local County Council, as he arrives at Dublin International Airport, at the start of his visit to Ireland. (Brian Lawless/PA)

Senior Irish clerics and other dignitaries gathered on the apron of the runway to greet the Pope clapped as the Alitalia flight landed at 10.26am.

Irish and Vatican flags were flown from the cockpit window as the aircraft taxied toward its stand.

Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Wire

After walking down the steps from the plane, the Pope was greeted by Tanaiste Simon Coveney, his wife Ruth and their three daughters Jessica, Beth and Annalise.

Mr Coveneys youngest daughter, five-year-old Annalise, presented Francis with a bouquet of flowers.

The bouquet included thistles, yellow and white roses and green foliage.

The Boland family, who attended the World Meeting of Families, presented him with a vestment they designed.

The Popes Skoda ready to pick him up when he arrives at @DublinAirport for #popeInIreland pic.twitter.com/d989ntBWJd  Micheal Mac Suibhne (@MicMacSuibh) August 25, 2018

In the capital, yellow and white flags of the Vatican were flying along the River Liffey on Saturday morning to mark the Papal visit.

Dublin City Council workers were out in force from before dawn preparing the streets.

One predicted a long day ahead.

"We started putting the barriers and railings out at 4am this morning and we weren't told what time the work would be done," he said.

"It's a big job, so I'm not even sure how many of us they have in the city centre at the minute, but it couldn't be far off 100."

Soline Humbert, from Versailles near Paris and aged 62, was a steward at the last papal visit in 1979 looking after lost children.

She works with Women's Ordination Worldwide and said Vatican files on abuse should be opened.

Blue ribbons are tied to Ha'Penny Bridge, Dublin to remember the victims of clerical sex abuse ahead of the start of the visit to Ireland by Pope Francis. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire

"Unless the truth comes out, and we know that as Christians, and we know that as Catholics, there is no movement forward, there is no resurrection, there is no transformation and trust cannot be re-established until the truth is acknowledged.

"It is very painful and it will be very disturbing but the truth is buried in the bottom, in the secret archives, of a lot of dioceses and especially in the Vatican.

"The Pope does need to acknowledge that it was the policy of the Vatican to prevent scandal, and by scandal I mean that the abuse would come to the surface."

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Website: http://www.minipcnews.com/Fine Gael and Fianna Fail councillors are reportedly "adopting" Sean Gallagher as their preferred presidential contender out of anger that their calls to run a candidate are being ignored by both parties' hierarchy.

Three councillors from the main parties signalled their support after they and four Independent local politicians publicly backed any likely Aras bid by Mr Gallagher.

It was further claimed five more councillors have privately told the businessman they will back a nomination request.

Speaking on Radio Kerry, Fianna Fail's Niall Kelleher said while he wanted Fianna Fail to run a candidate he has now chosen to back Mr Gallagher because no move has been made by Micheal Martin to have the party enter the race.

Asked about his decision to support the former Dragons Den panelist, the Kerry councillor said: "Maybe we're adopting him as our candidate in the absence of not having a candidate.

I have made the decision I will support him and I believe other Fianna Fail councillors will do the same.

On north-west radio station Ocean FM, Leitrim-based Fine Gael councillor John McCartin said he is "in no particular humour to support a second term" for Michael D Higgins and will instead support Mr Gallagher.

Asked about how he can comfortably say this publicly when Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has firmly advised he wants party members to back President Higgins, Mr McCartin said: "I don't believe he [Mr Varadkar] specifically did, I certainly have no correspondence to say he said that, if such correspondence, such an order, is issued, I feel it would have been done so by now.

I've not heard a dickie bird and, as far as I'm concerned, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail do not have a candidate in this field.

"Sean Gallagher; we can call him a neighbour's child and I have no problem supporting his candidacy.

"I'm getting a sense of disenfranchisement from Fine Gael councillors. When you find yourself down at the lower end of the food chain, you certainly become more disenfranchised with the decision-making process," he added.

While still in a minority, the suggestion of grassroots opposition to Fine Gael and Fianna Fail supporting President Higgins' re-election bid is likely to cause concern for both Mr Varadkar and Mr Martin.

The comments came as it was claimed other local politicians have privately contacted Mr Gallagher, who is widely expected to enter the presidential race within the next 10 days, to offer their support.Tusla has refused repeated requests from the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) for access to certain adoption records it holds.

Tusla is the largest repository of adoption records in the country, holding around 70,000 records from former adoption societies. A further 30,000 are held by the AAI, and some 50,000 are held by accredited agencies.

As the regulatory body for adoption in Ireland, the AAI has the power to inspect and copy all records held by bodies accredited under the Adoption Act 2010.

However, despite holding almost 50% of all adoption records in existence, Tusla is not an accredited body under the act and the AAI has no power over how it holds these records.

In response to a number of queries from the Irish Examiner, AAI chief executive Patricia Carey confirmed that on occasion it has been refused access to adoption records.

While the authority cannot comment on individual cases, we can confirm that, on occasion, Tusla has refused a request from the authority for adoption records, where it considered it appropriate to do so, she said.

When asked if the AAI has concerns over the fact that it cannot inspect the largest body of adoption records in the State, Ms Carey said the regulatory body enjoys a good working relationship with Tusla and that all adoption records will transfer to the AAI once the Adoption Bill 2016 becomes law.

The authority enjoys a good working relationship with Tusla and co-operates on the receipt and sharing of information, where appropriate, for the purposes of fulfilling its functions, said Ms Carey.

The provisions of the 2016 bill, once enacted, will mean that all adoption records not already held by the authority will be transferred to the custody of the authority.

Ms Carey confirmed that while the AAI has no powers to inspect and copy adoption records held by Tusla, the agencies share information.

While the authoritys powers under the acts are broad in nature and extend, under section 96(2) of the Adoption Acts 2010-2017, to such powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance by it of its functions, there is no specific power under the acts to allow the inspection of all records held by Tusla, she said. Where appropriate, the authority and Tusla co-operate in the sharing of information.

Tusla said it can not state how many times it has refused a request from the AAI as it does not compile the data. It said a Freedom of Information request can be made to learn the answer.

It said the reason it has refused the AAI requests is that it can only share personal information relating to clients/service users with a third party with the clients or users express consent.Clerical abuse victims have called for a zero-tolerance approach to be taken against priests involved in the child abuse scandals.

A global survivors group also proposed a list of abusive priests be made public in an effort to protect others.

Members of the Ending Clerical Abuse (ECA) group  aimed at holding the Catholic Church to account for clerical sex abuse  gathered in Dublin yesterday to recount their abuse stories on the eve of the Popes visit.

Pope Francis two-day papal tour of the country begins this morning.

ECA founder Peter Isely said: [The priesthood] is the only occupation in civil society where you can rape and sexually assault a child and remain working as a member of that occupation. Thats the problem.

Mr Isely was sexually assaulted as a child in the United States.

The group also wants a no tolerance approach to be adopted against any bishop involved in the cover-up of sex crimes.

Here is a simple axiom of justice: Its not okay to cover up for child sex crimes, Mr Isely said.

The survivors criticised the Popes child protection commission and said new leadership was needed before any reforms would be made.

Mr Isely said the commission had failed to deliver any meaningful reform since it was formed four years ago.

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was set up to investigate clerical sexual abuse.

It is headed by Archbishop of Boston Sean OMalley.

Mr Isely said: Its pretty clear that the commission and this mechanism has failed, it has simply failed.

Peter Saunders described himself as a survivor of clergy abuse at the hands of two Jesuit priests at his school in southwest London.

One of the things that drives me is that one of my two brothers went to the same school as I went to and he was also abused six years before me by the same priest who abused me, he said.

Mr Saunders said he subsequently found out the same priest had abused hundreds of boys.

He added: I survived, I sometimes think of myself as a thriver at times... but my brother Michael didnt survive.

The drugs and alcohol that consumed him even before he left school eventually took his life.

Mr Saunders said when the Pope wrote of a culture of death within the institution earlier this week, it was one of the few times he agreed with him.

Pope Francis wrote a letter to the worlds 1.2bn Catholics earlier this week apologising for the atrocities of clerical sexual abuse.

For every 10 survivors who survive and thrive and go on to lead something of a normal life, there are survivors who did not survive, Mr Saunders said.

There are victims went to an early grave because of what happened to them.After conquering the world of fashion with her jeans range, Pippa OConnor-Ormond has just launched a new line of candles, she tells Ciara McDonnell.

At 34 years of age, model-turned-entrepreneur Pippa OConnor Ormond is living her best life. In the last six months, the mum of two has settled into her newly renovated forever home in the grounds of Kildares exclusive K Club, finished a wildly successful second year with her denim brand POCO by Pippa, and launched a sister lifestyle brand, The Pippa Collection, whose candles launched in Brown Thomas Cork this month.

We catch up as she is being driven from Dublin to Cork where she will host a customer evening in Brown Thomas.

I always love going down to Cork, she says.

The Cork women are always such craic, they are always up for it and so, so glam

Glamorous is the perfect word to describe the candles in the Pippa Collection. Featuring five signature fragrances, the thinking behind the range was to have a scent to suit each mood and space in the home. For everyday use, Pippa favours the Mandarin and Mint candle in her home. I burn it a lot because its really fresh and invigorating. I love it in the kitchen and living areas because its so uplifting.

A woman on a mission, the entrepreneur has honed her brand with an unparalleled precision. She says every product she brings out is something that she loves, inside and out.

At the end of the day, Pippa is her own customer. Everything weve done, whether its POCO or the planners or the candles, I am involved from every stitch and every fold and drop of fragrance  you have to be. Ive gone for the same customer throughout  we want to give our customers affordable luxury. The product must feel luxurious but if its not giving you value for money, then its not worth it.

Its three months since Pippa and her husband Brian moved their family into the luxury home they spent most of this year renovating. Pippa documented the renovation to more than 300,000 Instagram followers, and the result is sublime.

A study of restrained luxury, Its the kind of aspirational gorgeousness that Pippa fans lap up.

Is it a living advertisement for a future interiors collection, I wonder. I have such an interest in interiors, and maybe down the line I could see us going down that road because I have such an interest in it, but not right now. Ill always do whatever Im interested in, I think thats what keeps things exciting  you have to be passionate about it.

Loving what you do, especially as an entrepreneur, is the most important business rule, according to the businesswoman.

When people ask me if I think their idea is a good business idea, I always say Dont mind me  it matters whether you love it and whether you think it will work. You cant convince anyone else of something if you dont believe in it yourself

As one of the earliest adopters of monetising social media in Ireland, Pippa is a trailblazer in her field. She says her training as a model gave her the opportunity to learn the art of sales and marketing in a more traditional sense, and carry that through to the online market. I saw the opening and the opportunities online early on, she says.

In terms of the online thing, even when I wasnt doing collaborations with anyone, I knew that when I talked about something, they were selling. I realised back then that people were engaging and listening to what I was saying. Early on I thought that I needed to do something for myself, rather than selling stuff for other people, and thats where it all started.

Pippa.ie started as a lifestyle blog, but quickly grew into a business model for her brand, she says. It was a learning curve for me  I knew nothing about the reach of the internet. About six months after I set up Pippa.ie, people were asking me about hits and views, telling me that I could make money from advertising on the site  it was a completely new thing for me, so there was a lot of learning at the beginning.

Doting mother to Ollie, 5, and Louis, 2, Pippa says that without a strong team around her, there would be no success story. I think any working mother who says that they are not overwhelmed at times is lying  how could you not be? I would not be able to anything that I do without the amazing people I have around me. I rely heavily on other people to stay on track. In order to grow in all aspects of life and business, you have to have trust in people.

The Pippa Collection candles cost 42 and are available in Pink Peppercorn & Ruby, Mandarin & Mint, Sultry Prive, and Warming Winter Pine at Brown Thomas Cork.Almost 40 years since the last papal visit to Ireland, Francis arrives to a country that has changed utterly. What place for the Catholic Church now, asks TP OMahony.

One of the things that can be said with a degree of certainty about the visit of Pope Francis to this country this weekend is that it will not slow, never mind halt, what Cork-born Professor Brendan OLeary, from the University of Pennsylvania, has called the de-Catholicising of Ireland. That process began back in the 1960s and has progressed inexorably since then.

It is a truism, of course, that Pope Francis is coming to an Ireland very different to that which awaited Pope John Paul II in 1979. We are in what the former Abbot of Glenstal Abbey, Mark Hederman, agreed with Miriam OCallaghan recently on RTE Radio 1 is post-Catholic Ireland. This is not to say that Irish Catholicism is in terminal decline, but it is to acknowledge that the place and status of the Catholic Church in Irish society and culture has radically changed.

Back in April 1974, Fr Michael Paul Gallagher SJ wrote what can now be regarded as a bellwether article in The Furrow magazine entitled Atheism Irish Style. The author referred to a pastoral letter issued the previous December by the then archbishop of Westminster, cardinal John Heenan, in which the cardinal focused on the great decline in churchgoing in England.

It had a new element: Young people who were beginning to abandon religious practice while still at school.

I want to suggest, wrote Fr Gallagher, that Ireland is facing a comparable decline in religious faith and practice. As yet it may not be as immediate a crisis as in England, but it seems inevitable that it will become much more serious in the coming years. Already many parents, priests and teachers are aware of increasing numbers of young people for whom traditional religion makes little sense.

Fr Gallagher said what seemed to be fairly central to atheism Irish style was a disenchantment with the externals of Church life and practice. What one can only loosely and inaccurately term atheism Irish style usually takes the form of alienation from the Church. By alienation I mean feelings of withdrawal, even of revulsion from something in which one is externally involved.

That sense of alienation and especially revulsion  bearing in mind Fr Gallagher was writing in 1974  would become much more accelerated and widespread following the shocking revelations contained in the Murphy, Ryan, and Cloyne reports about clerical sex abuse and cover-ups in the 21st century.

At the time, Fr Gallagher sought to pinpoint causes of loss of faith here. What, then, are some of the specific lacks in Irish Catholicism that allow alienation to take hold? They may be summarised under three headings: Faults in the teaching of religion in schools; failings in the pastoral ministry of the Church; and weakness in the quality of Christian living in families and Irish society.

As to how to respond, Fr Gallagher said: The essential response and not always an easy one is to face the facts. If this were done we might have no difficulty over pastoral changes... Recognition of the growing crisis would almost automatically change our wavelength of thinking and communicating and planning for the future. But the ostrich posture is tempting  to evade the writing on the wall, keeping the head down in safe, unshifting sand. And that, of course, is exactly what happened.

This article appeared five years before the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Ireland, and in 1979, on the eve of that visit, there was a hope, indeed an expectation in some quarters  not least on the part of the Irish bishops  that the papal visit would bring about a revival and a renewal of Irish Catholicism, that the situation identified five years previously by Fr Gallagher would somehow be addressed and perhaps reversed.

I covered that visit for the Irish Press and was made acutely aware, more than once, of the weight of expectation being invested in the visit, especially at the higher echelons of the Irish Church. It would reverse trends and reanimate the faith of a new generation of Catholics. Alas, it was not to be. The hope that there might be a renewal proved groundless. The historic visit left no lasting effect. In fact, the only tangible evidence that it ever took place is the large papal stone cross in the Phoenix Park. This was largely because, for too long, those in positions of power in the Irish Church had opted for what Fr Gallagher had called the ostrich posture.

By the time Mary Kennys book, Goodbye to Catholic Ireland (could there have been a more apposite title?), appeared in 1997, the country had been living for five years with the fallout from the Bishop Eamonn Casey-Annie Murphy affair.

When the scandal of Bishop Casey of Galway broke upon Ireland in May 1992  Eamonn Casey had had an affair in 1974, had fathered a child, deserted and denied mother and child, and in a desperate attempt to hide the truth had used diocesan funds to pay off the claims made by the mother of his son  it was a scandal unprecedented in Ireland for 200 years... People were flabbergasted; breathless; appalled; disbelieving. And bitter, wrote Kenny.

The furore over Casey  followed by the controversy over the X case  marked 1992 as the year when Catholic Ireland began to slide into retreat and decline, the year when Irish Catholicism was seen as being in the wrong.

In a wider context, Kenny linked the decline of the institutional Church to the decline of the Catholic faith as a central part of Irish culture.

The scandal involving bishop Eamonn Casey rocked the Church

Although Catholicism has marked certain values, and has deposited its heritage in the culture, it is widely accepted that the Catholic Church means much less to young people in Ireland today than it has ever done in the course of Christian history. The young Irish no longer see Catholicism as part of their identity.

The influence of religion in Ireland has been on the wane from even further back than the Casey-Murphy scandal. But since then it has been an accelerating phenomenon. Today there is an abundance of evidence that Ireland is losing its religion. And the socio-moral implications of this have been dramatic, though we are far from having a full picture. Too much has changed too quickly for us to be able to discern a pattern. And while the increasing marginalisation of religion may be welcomed by ardent secularists and militant atheists, it presents a profound challenge for wider society.

Since the foundation of the modern Irish State in 1922, religion has been the social cement the provided cohesion and stability, and it was religion primarily that shaped our common moral framework. Our value system was rooted in religion.

In Moral Monopoly, Tom Inglis of UCD traced how the Catholic Church established a monopoly over Irish morality. In the heyday of the Catholic Churchs power, particularly during the 50 years after the foundation of the State, its influence expanded beyond the religious field into the field of politics, economics, education, health, social welfare, the media and many other fields. The power of the Church meant that it structured not just the religious life of the Irish people but their social, political, and economic life as well.

That moral power has been declining since the 1960s, and the monopoly over morality has been broken, even though, as Inglis pointed out, at the height of their power in the 1950s, some bishops came close to advocating a theocratic state.

In 2008 Malachi ODohertys book Empty Pulpits: Irelands Retreat from Religion appeared. He said the collapse of religion, in one of the most conspicuously devout countries of Europe, is fascinating and pertinent to an understanding of the world we live in.

Akey to that understanding is the spread of secularisation. One simple sign of secularisation is the reduction in the numbers of people going to church, according to ODoherty. A more stark one is the reduction in recruitment to the priesthood, ministry, or religious orders.

Another is the relaxation of the felt need in government to defer to the institutional Church or the religious sensibilities of the electorate. All these trends are strongly evident in Ireland.

ODoherty says we are not all atheists  yet. But we are getting by without God most of the time.

That last statement remains something of an untested hypothesis; a drift away from the institutional Church (and it is more than just a drift these days), should not be readily equated with a loss of faith.

Faith does not simply disappear overnight, and there are continuing signs of spiritual vitality in our country, Fr Gerry OHanlon SJ reminded us in his recent book, The Quiet Revolution of Pope Francis. But the institutional presence needed to support this faith in the longer run can no longer be taken for granted.

Nevertheless in the 10 years since the publication of Empty Pulpits, the trends identified by the author and the profound changes they were symptomatic of have become even more pronounced. Back in November 2014, the headline on the front-page lead story in The Irish Catholic stated: Church has lost the battle with secularism  archbishop.

The archbishop in question was Michael Neary of Tuam. The paper reported that in his homily at the Mass for the Association of Papal Orders in Ireland at McKee Barracks in Dublin, Dr Neary said the Church in Ireland found itself at a rather bewildering crossroads.

Warning that the Church was regarded with apathy by many people, Dr Neary said: This is because the whole society, like an Irish village of 50 years ago, knows and is tacitly acknowledging something that hardly needs to be said  that a great struggle, social, political, intellectual, and profoundly cultural, has been fought. And that we have lost.

Dramatic proof of that loss is to be seen in the outcome of two referenda  that on same-sex marriage in 2015 and on repealing the Eighth Amendment earlier this year.

So its not at all strange that Fr Brendan Hoban, a co-founder of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACT), should write an article in this newspaper two years ago, about the forthcoming papal visit, in which he states: The gap between 1979 when Pope John Paul visited Ireland and 2018 is much more than 40 years. Its unquantifiable  a tsunami that defies description. We live, he said, in a completely different Ireland inhabited by a completely different people.

The two-day window for the Popes visit (36 hours, really) is short. The three big formal events will be the Mass in Phoenix Park, the Mass at the Marian shrine in Knock, and the World Meeting of Families event in Croke Park.

I Love Pope Francis hats on sale in Dublin (Aaron Chown/PA)

Its on another front that the visit of Pope Francis will really be gauged. We shouldnt fool ourselves: Papal visits are like extended rock jamborees  for 36 or 48 hours they generate a feelgood factor, then we all go back to what we were doing beforehand. They are a distraction, and it may even be time for a major rethink about these visits.

Of course Francis is coming with enormous goodwill. He has, as Fr Gerry OHanlon so persuasively demonstrated in his new book, a different vision for the Church than his predecessors, Benedict XVI and John Paul II.

The extent to which he has changed the public image of the papacy, moving it away from the monarchical model, is well captured in a new film by Wim Wenders, Pope Francis: A Man of His Word.

But he has disappointed also. Paul Vallely, an otherwise sympathetic biographer, has focused on problem areas: He has made little progress on a topic that perplexes him, the role of women in the Church. And the resignation last week of Marie Collins (Vallely was writing in March 2017), the sole remaining survivor on the pontifical sex abuse commission, suggests he is not winning the hidden civil war being waged inside the Curia between the reformers and those who are consistently blocking important remedial action on paedophile priests and episcopal cover-ups.

Marie Collins

One of the main blockers was cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state from 1991 to 2006. Earlier this month the Irish Times had confirmation from former president Mary McAleese that she refused an attempt by Sodano in 2003 to discuss a concordat with Ireland that would have a clause protecting Vatican and diocesan archives. It occurred during a State visit to Italy. I told him I thought it extraordinarily inappropriate, and very, very dangerous to the Church, if it was pursued, said Mrs McAleese.

Meanwhile, Marie Collins wrote a column for the Irish Times shortly afterwards in which she said Pope Francis saying sorry it happened, sorry you were hurt, wont cut it anymore. He should admit the responsibility the Vatican and Church leadership hold for past events in Ireland and set out how he is going to deal with the abuses happening today in other parts of the Catholic world. He needs to do more than make promises. He must commit to action.

Will that happen?

Can Francis give new hope and new energy to the Catholic Church in Ireland? said Fr Hoban.

Will his visit arrest the spiral of decline from 1979 to 2018? Or will it encourage yet another revisiting of the old, tired redundant solutions that have been tried and found wanting time and time again?

The issuing of a letter by Francis earlier this week, addressed to the People of God  an unprecedented move  is not going to give any new hope to victims of abuse. The Pope acknowledges that we showed no care for the little ones. We abandoned them. With yet another promise of a no-tolerance policy, there is still no action plan. That has already caused deep disappointment among victim groups.

The end of Irish Catholicism is not nigh. This second papal visit may not change much. But the Irish Catholic Church, in however marginalised a manner, will continue to have a presence in Irish society.

A comment by Mary Kenny is pertinent: Catholic Ireland dead and gone? Its been pronounced dead many times before, by myself and thyself and all, but it has a way of enduring just the same, although perhaps in different livery.

Just what form that livery takes is something we must await. As to what extent it will bear the imprint of Pope Francis, and his desire for a peoples church, depends on whether it embraces the quiet revolution of the first Jesuit Pope.

The convocation of a national synod, in the aftermath of this visit, could be the first real indication of steps in that direction.Associated Press - Fairfield, CA. - Authorities say a 16-year-old boy was killed and an 18-year-old critically wounded when a gun battle broke out near a Solano County high school.

Two people were arrested following the shooting shortly after 5 p.m. near Fairfield's Armijo High School. Police say they are not seeking any other suspects.

Officers say the shooting took place during what they described as a battle between two groups.

As officers arrived, the two suspects fled, with police saying one of them ran to the high school gym.

Officers quickly arrested the suspect and locked down the school

They said no one on campus was hurt.

Authorities arranged a nearby meeting place for parents to pick up their children while authorities continued to investigate.Off to Annaghmakerrig! friends would write on Twitter, the responses characterised by their hints of barely concealed envy, photos of the Annaghmakerrig Lake and #WritingDeskWithAView flooding my Instagram feed soon after.

Feeling excluded, I immediately completed the application form, one so extensive that I began to worry, despite the four novels and all that, I might be ineligible to apply. But after promising my first-born child and ten pieces of silver as payment, I was in. Well, due to the enormous popularity of the centre, I was in ... in six months time, at the earliest.

The house belonged to the theatre director William Tyrone Guthrie who died in 1971, leaving the property to the State with the proviso that it would be used as a place for artists to come and work. It officially opened in 1981, and since then, has been mentioned in more book acknowledgements than God or My Agent. The Big House has 11 rooms, one of which is, naturally enough, haunted by the unfortunate Miss Worby, who was a special companion of Lady Guthries.

I bet Ill get the haunted bedroom, I complained to my boyfriend. Thats exactly the sort of thing that would happen to me. He doesnt believe in ghosts but It would make for an excellent story. If there is a ghost, dont talk to anyone else before you talk to me, OK? Ever the journalist, that one.

Far more chilling than the idea of a supernatural visitor is the realisation that there is a mandatory communal dinner every night at 7pm. William Tyrone Guthrie, while a very generous man, was also clearly a masochist as the sole stipulation of his will was that all artists have to gather together for their evening meal. The website promises that dinner is a formal but congenial gathering, I called my friend Catherine in a panic, candle and fire-lit, with good food and wine underpinning conversation, argument, song, and declamation.

Oh dear, she said. Theres silence on the other end of the phone. I hope youve been practising your declamming, then.

I hung up, calling my friend Rachel instead. Ive been thinking, she told me before I even have a chance to mention the words argument, song, and declamation.

And Ive decided on the cast of characters that I want to be at your retreat. An older woman who becomes your mentor, for starters. A young man who is brooding and extremely attractive, but who has a dark secret. And I also want a couple to fall in love and have a torrid affair.

I think were all supposed to be working, Rach, we wont-

I also have high hopes that there will be a murder mystery, a la Agatha Christie, she cut across me. But dont worry, Im sure youll be fine. Its usually the innocent virgin whos killed off first. She laughed a little too heartily at this.

But as soon as I passed through the gates and made my way up the driveway, any fears I had quickly vanished. Id been warned how beautiful the grounds were, had seen enough evidence of said beauty on Instagram, but nothing could have prepared me for the suns ray shattering on the glass lake, the 450 acres of surrounding woodland, the stone steps leading up to a front door out of which it seemed that dozens of Bright Young Things could spill at any moment, all sharp bobs and cigarette holders. They would, I imagine, complain about how bloody quiet it is in the country, old chap, and indeed there is a quality of stillness at Annaghmakerrig that makes you instantly, suddenly, calm.

Inside, the house was full of treasures, antique furniture and patterned china sets, and enough artwork hanging on its walls to constitute a gallery. Unfortunately for Rachel, my fellow retreaters were nice, and for all intents and purposes, appeared to be non-murderous. Although Im sure they found me antisocial at times, preferring to spend my days alone reading, writing, or meditating, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the communal dinners. There was such a mix of people, of all ages and nationalities, who worked in a variety of artistic mediums; the conversation was lively, interesting. I didnt have to sing, thankfully, or declaim, but I was more than happy to listen to one of the other guests read from their poetry collection, or watch another perform a dance he had choreographed.

The food was exceptionally good  I shall be dreaming of that homemade brown bread ice cream for some time  but most of all, the company felt easy, even for a curmudgeon like me.

Most importantly as I sat at my desk that week, it was the first time in a long time I could sense my excitement at the prospect of creating again, where I could feel the words building underneath my fingernails, itching to be released onto the page

Now, I thought to myself after a full day of work, as I sat at the tree-ringed lake, my feet in its cool water. Now, I understand why people call this place magical.

LOUISE SAYS

GO:

Naked Truth: The Nude in Irish Art is currently showing at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork, and it is heart-stopping. I particularly loved 100 Muses, a piece by Dragana Jurisic, which features 100 photographs of naked women and interrogates the idea of the male gaze.

READ:

VOX by Christina Dalcher. This extraordinary book imagines an America where women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day.

It is, like all the best dystopias, razor sharp and frighteningly plausible.And of course parents are receiving the blame for the way they raise their kids.

Nationally, 10,146 children in the 10 to 14 age group were prescribed antidepressants in 2017 and 56,700 in the older age group. And 1788 children under the age of nine were also prescribed anti depressants.

In Taranaki the number of people in the 10 to 14 age group being prescribed anti depressants went up from 240 in 2013 to 417 in 2017, and from 1063 to 1944 in the 15 to 19 age group.

In the 15 to 25 age group presentations increased from 209 to 330 in the same time period. And there was a 154 per cent increase in people from that age group calling the Mental Health Crisis team, now called the Assessment and Brief Care team (ABC), for help - up from 854 in 2013 to 2168 in 2017.

Aug 17, 2018, Stuff: The rise and rise of mental illness among our young

(New Zealand) "A growing number of young people...[suffer] from some form of mental illness"

Looking over the past week I picked out ten stories from Loss of Brain Trust that really prove my point about whats happening in schools.

How will we accommodate todays children when they reach adulthood? All the issues in these stories will still be here. Mental health and behavior problems are the most critical topics to educators today. Adding more security, guidance counselors, psychologists, sensory rooms, and therapy dogs wont change things at all.

This is what all the stories Im collecting seem like to me. We will eventually pay a huge price for the decline in the health and behavior of our children that we see happening everywhere. Coming up with all kinds of programs and innovations while pretending nothing is really wrong cant prevent the inevitable.

"To us, reading history backward, the rise of Fascism in Europe has all the goosestepping inevitability of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will . But through the twenties and thirties many Europeans refused to acknowledge the direction in which events were heading."

One book covering the 20 th century had a couple of lines that stood out to me. They were on the rise of Fascism in Europe in the 1920s and 30s, which eventually led to the tyranny of Nazism and the savagery of World War II.

by Anne Dachel One of my favorite historians is Thomas Cahill whos written all kinds of books on European history, including Jewish history and Irish history. Its very insightful and revealing writing.

"Some of the biggest contributors to youth distress are adverse childhood events, including family violence, bullying, poverty, sexual abuse and social exclusion. Early intervention is important." 

Watervliet, NY: District adds in-school clinic; mental/behavioral help provided

Aug 17, 2018, Albany Times Union: Watervliet to open school-based health center

The center will provide primary and preventative medical services to students enrolled in. the program, and promote overall health including mental and behavioral School-based health centers are operated as a partnership between a school and a community health center, such as Whitney Young Health.

Roanoke, VA: New school "exclusively" for autistic students based on "perceived need"

Aug 18, 2018, Roanoke (VA) Times: New autism school planned to replace former Roanoke grocery store

A new school for students with autism is on track to open in an old grocery store building in southeast Roanoke.

Centras motivation for a second Rivermont school in Roanoke is based on a perceived need for more room for its autism program in the region.

Rivermonts present Roanoke school serves students with special needs between the ages of 2 to 22, including those with autism. The new school would be exclusively for students on the autism spectrum.

Baton Rouge: First autistic charter school opens; response to community demand

Aug 19, 2018, KLFY, Lafayette, LA: Louisiana's first tuition-free school for children with Autism welcomes first class Monday

Louisiana's first charter school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, The Emerge School for Autism, is set to welcome its first class and begin operations on Monday, according to WAFB-TV. 

For years, Baton Rouge and the surrounding communities have called for extended educational services for children with autism, said Jean-Paul Perrault, Board Chair of The Emerge School for Autism.

Dayton, OH: 20% of kids have mental health issues; anxiety/depression on the rise

Aug 19, 2018, My Dayton Daily News: With roughly one-fifth of students showing mental health concerns, schools are taking more steps to help them cope

VIDEO ON VACCINE REQUIREMENTS IS ADDED TO THIS STORY Reading, writing and math remain important for teachers, but local schools are dramatically increasing how much attention they pay to students coping skills, behavior and mental health.

Districts are adding counselors and mental health therapists for at-risk students while implementing school-wide behavior and decision-making programs for all students.

New York City: 744 special needs preschoolers have no places; kids on waiting lists

Aug 20, 2018, New York Daily News: EXCLUSIVE: City preschools shut out hundreds of kids with severe disabilities

Jacelyn is just one of hundreds of city preschool kids with disabilities who are shut out of the special education classes promised by state law, simply because there aren't enough seats to accommodate them.

Figures published by the state Education Department on Aug. 3 indicate that the city is short by 744 seats for kids aged 3 to 5.

The funding for the classes is there  but the classes themselves aren't. So hundreds of the city's toddlers with the toughest disabilities, including severe autism, developmental delays, blindness and difficulty hearing, are left out each year.

(UK) Bury: SPED school adds more space for kids with ASD; increase to 112 students

Aug 20, 2018, Bury Times: Extension plans at Millwood Primary Special School in RadcliffeNEW classrooms and learning spaces could be built at a school in Radcliffe for young children with autism

Plans have been submitted for a two-phase work programme at Millwood Primary Special School to create additional classrooms, group rooms, toilets, nurseries, soft play areas and quiet rooms for early years pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The community special school was designed to provide a building suitable for accommodating an increase to 112 pupils and is based on a 'hub and three wings' design, which includes 16 classrooms. Bury Council Children's Services has applied to extend the single-storey Whitelow wing to create extra capacity for early years children with ASD. 

Joplin, MO: High school opens on-campus mental health clinic for students with anxiety/

Aug 21, 2018, Joplin, MO, Four State Homepage: Mental health clinic to open on Carthage High School campus

The Carthage Tigers will soon offer a unique option to help students dealing with anxiety or depression.

It's a clinic opening on the high school campus similar to health clinics that operate at some southwest Missouri high schools.But this one will focus solely on mental health.

(UK) N. Ireland: No schooling for autistic boy; 23% of students have special needs

Aug 21, 2018, BBC (NI): No school for five years for Antrim boy with autism

A 12-year-old boy has not been to school or received any education for most of the past five years because there are no suitable school places for him, according to his mother. Callum, who is from Crumlin, County Antrim, has autism.

He has tried both mainstream and special schools without success.

Callum's mother, Lorraine, who is also an autism campaigner, told BBC News NI her son struggles with the environment of mainstream schools. She said he came out of school following a suspension at the start of primary four, which was "the end of education for him".

The most recent figures from the Department for Education show a steady increase in the number of children with special educational needs in Northern Ireland between 2003 and 2017.

More than 79,000, 23% of all pupils in schools, have some form of special education needs.

Autism NI chief Kerry Boyd said the charity receives about 4,000 calls every year, the majority of which relate to education.

Chicago Tribune on the role of school nurses: Its a scene that school nurses are expecting many times over as the new year opens, reflecting both the growing number of mental health issues among school-age children,

Aug 23, 2018, Chicago Tribune: Teens are anxious and depressed, and turning to the school nurse for help. But most Illinois schools dont have one

The prevalence of mental-health issues has prompted structural changes at Stagg and other schools. Three years ago, district officials allowed Vollinger and other school staff to create an intervention classroom located between the nurses office and the guidance counselors office.

The classroom is designed to help both students who have been out of class for disciplinary reasons and those who have had mental-health-related absences transition back to the daily routine in a more nurturing setting than being thrust back into busy hallways and full classrooms.

While such classrooms were unheard of even a decade ago, they are becoming more common across the state as schools recognize the adjustments needed to address students growing mental health needs.

Elementary school nurses are also encountering students with mental health needs.















A Calgary-based organization with extreme right wing views were shouted down by protesters at their event last Sunday the 19th of August 2018, as police kept watch.

National Post reports that five members of the National Citizens Alliance tried to hold a rally at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, but a much larger group of 60 to 80 protesters showed up and interrupted their plans. Police say the organizers left the area, and protesters dispersed shortly afterward.

The rally was earlier scheduled at the same venue for the previous day but they had to cancel and reschedule after a group of protesters shouted them down.

In June, they tried to gather in a central Halifax park after being denied the use of three indoor venues, the report says but they ended up leaving after they were quickly outnumbered by protesters.

The group which believes that extreme multiculturalism is a failed policy, wrote on its Facebook pace, all Canadians to join us in our mission to return Canada to the country it was intended to be.

The group was founded by Stephen J Garvey, a graduate of the University of British Columbia, and University of Cambridge. It claims to be non-tolerant of hate and racism, ironically the immigration policy on the groups website reads:

Implement strong no nonsense immigration policy that puts the well-being and safety of the Canadian people first and a temporary pause and substantial reduction in immigration The group takes its anti-immigration policies seriously claiming that they want to protect Canadas heritage and culture by keeping out immigrants. Some of their policies on immigration however come across as disregarding basic human rights. Some of their migration policies include:

Screening newcomers before entering Canada based upon a willingness to embrace Canadas distinct traditional identities, heritages, and cultural norms

Creating a support network for newcomers who have a genuine interest in integration that goes against their traditional homeland culture and religious norms

Requiring applicants who cannot immediately integrate into our economic, social and cultural norms to have Canadian citizens who sponsor them and who will be accountable for their actions while in Canada for 2 years; screening sponsors for a political agenda that seeks to recruit news arrivals for socioeconomic activism and the level of their own integration into Canada

Restricting or suspending indefinitely immigration rights to individuals from nations prone to terrorism activities, and/or those who have values and beliefs that are diametrically opposed to our own values and beliefs

Prohibiting people from wearing the burqa and niqab in public spaces

Deporting new arrivals who fail over a reasonable amount of time to integrate into our traditional economic, social, and cultural norms; establish a program that will check in on new arrivals who have been sponsored to assess their ability to integrate.





The group had earlier on in May, tried to carry out an anti-immigration rally at the Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival parade in Kentville, N.S. but were quickly shut down and banned from future performances at the festival. Michael Boudreau, a professor in the criminology department at St. Thomas University, speaking to CBC.Ca had then suggested that the group might be a little desperate for funding hence the frequent rallies.Reddit Email 81 Shares

By David Mednicoff | 

Donald Trump has shown little interest in encouraging democratic politics and human rights in other countries. This departure from decades of American foreign policy rhetoric has received comparatively little attention. However, in the Middle East, my area of expertise, I believe this Trump policy shift helps make countries less open and safe.

Most criticism of Trumps foreign policy has focused on two other major departures from decades of past American practice.

First, Trump has rejected the cornerstones of the post-WWII international order largely built by the U.S.: deep alliances among Western democracies and global free trade. Second, Trump has shown an affinity for authoritarian rulers, including Russias Vladimir Putin, which has undermined American interests.

Yet, the Trump Administrations abandonment of support for democracy and civil rights hurts the interests of both Middle Easterners and Americans.

Did the US walk the walk?

In the past, U.S. leaders and officials within the government have shown interest in political rights and government accountability in other countries. Such talk has nonetheless often taken a back seat to considerations of geopolitical power or resources.

Perhaps the lack of attention to current U.S. disregard for democracy and rights in the Middle East has to do with Washingtons inconsistency and perceived hypocrisy in the region.

Even before the U.S. became a superpower after World War II, Western countries like England and France trumpeted democratic values while engaging in colonial control of the Middle East. This left a legacy of local suspicion regarding the sincerity of Western leaders stated political values.

The U.S.s own track record in the region of allying with repressive governments, mounting coups (as in Iran in 1953) and overthrowing leaders by force (as in Iraq in 2003) are among examples where the U.S. practiced a politics other than what it preached.

At best, the U.S. has embraced democratization and human rights as one of many goals in the Middle East. More cynically, democratic talk could be seen as a cover for more imperialistic policies in the region during and after the Cold War.

Yet these days even the pretense is gone that U.S. policy in the Middle East  or elsewhere  should advance political freedom.

When asked about why he refuses to criticize repressive rulers like Putin or Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Trumps response is to question whether our countrys so innocent. Denying that the U.S. is distinguishable from countries that penalize dissent, the current American leader disavows the very project of advancing democratic values abroad.

Pretense matters

Let me be clear that I am not suggesting that Middle Easterners should be, or are, dependent on foreign countries or activists for greater political rights. If so, why does an end to Washingtons inconsistent support for democratic politics and rights in the Middle East matter?

There are several reasons.

First, U.S. support for democratic values abroad  however variable  helps empower non-government organizations that consistently focus on rights in places like the Middle East.

That means Human Rights Watch, the World Justice Project and local movements these groups help can improve human rights and legal accountability in part because they have allies in Washingtons broader political culture.

Second, advocates for democratic rights exist within the U.S. government, and enjoy influence, even if their superiors are less constant in their support for democracy abroad.

So, groups within the State Department, and government organizations like USAID or the United States Institute for Peace, work to improve citizen capacity and rights in places like the Middle East. In more rights-oriented presidencies, such groups can affect broader government policy.

Even in administrations less focused on human rights, the rhetoric of support for democracy can be politically useful or persuasive. President George W. Bush partly justified American military overthrow of Iraqs Saddam Hussein in 2003 with the argument that a more democratic Iraqi government might help transform the broader Middle East.

Third, the lack of U.S. predictability around political rights in the Middle East can actually deter governments dependent on good relations with Washington from repressing their citizens. Thats because they cant be entirely sure about political consequences. Tacit approval by the US of human rights abuses could turn overnight into condemnation.



The White House



For example, Egypts pre-2011 authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak was known for political oppression. But he could not undermine democratic and human rights activists in his country altogether. He knew that, in a U.S. that provided billions of foreign aid to Egypt, at least some policymakers scrutinized his coercive practices.

Lack of pretense matters

Is it actually significant that the White House ignores political rights and freedom?

In the Middle East, the difference is large and palpable.

For one thing, increased deference to authoritarian leaders in the Middle East by the worlds most powerful democracy has allowed for the pursuit of deadly warfare and attacks on civilians. This is apparent in the actions of Syrian leader Hafez el-Assad, who has not hesitated to use chemical and other extreme weapons on his population.

Meanwhile, the Saudi government uses U.S.-supplied weapons to wage war in Yemen. The White House has not responded to the devastating civilian casualties.

More broadly, the U.S.s current lack of interest in political rights emboldens Middle Eastern governments to crack down on dissent, and to combat aggressively countries that critique such crackdowns.

Egypt under President Sisi is more repressive politically than it was prior to 2011 under Mubarak. Prince Salman of Saudi Arabia may be committed to increasing Saudi prestige and the selective enhancement of less puritanical social mores. Yet he also has shown little tolerance for political opposition.

When the Canadian foreign ministry tweeted critically about Saudi political arrests, the Saudis countered by expelling the Canadian ambassador and suspending trade, flights and Saudi student exchanges with Canada.

Such a strong reaction is hard to imagine in the days when at least pockets of the U.S. government showed concern about human rights in the Middle East. In this instance, the Trump Administration refused to support support Canada, its democratic neighbor.

The upshot is that Middle Easterners have grounds to believe that Washington cares little for their basic well-being, their hopes for more responsive political systems and, in Syria and Yemen, their very lives.

The volcano of popular resentment against authoritarianism that erupted most notably in 2011, known as the Arab Uprisings, may have been capped temporarily. It has not quieted.

People in the Trump Administration purport to care a great deal about potential violence from Middle Easterners. This is why it is puzzling that they side strongly with unelected leaders willing to use intimidation and violence to quell dissent.

It is tempting to argue that the inconsistency of U.S. efforts to further democratic values means that these efforts dont matter.







At least in the Middle East, racked by ongoing war and increasing influence of autocrats, I fear that the Trump Administrations abandonment of such efforts will in fact fuel more misery and anti-Americanism.

David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Featured Photo: courtesy White House and Wikimedia.Reddit Email 154 Shares

Sanaa (AFP)  A Saudi-led coalition launched military operations in Yemen in 2015, helping the government to push back against rebels who had taken control of the capital and seized several provinces.

The conflict has killed nearly 10,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, and injured more than 55,000, according to the World Health Organization.



AFP/File / Valentina Breschi. The conflict in Yemen has killed nearly 10,000 people, the vast majority of them civilians, and injured more than 55,000 in what the UN has described as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

More than 2,200 others have died of cholera and the conflict has triggered what the United Nations has described as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

 Saudi air strikes 

The Saudi-led coalition launches air strikes on Shiite Huthi rebels in March 2015, who had taken Sanaa six months earlier and now controlled large swathes of Yemen.

The coalition aims to restore to power the internationally-recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

In July, Hadis embattled administration announces its forces have retaken the southern province of Aden in their first success since the coalition stepped in.

Having lost Sanaa, Hadi makes Aden the countrys de facto capital.

By mid-August 2015, loyalist forces have retaken five southern provinces.

In October, government forces reclaim control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the worlds busiest and most strategically sensitive shipping routes.

 Rebels kill ex-president 

Splits emerge in the rebel camp in 2017, resulting in the assassination of Hadis predecessor and former Huthi ally, Ali Abdullah Saleh, by Huthi fighters in December.

The rebels strengthen their grip on the capital.

Splits also emerge in the government camp, with fierce clashes erupting in Aden in January 2018 between southern separatists and fighters loyal to Hadi.

 Missiles on Saudi Arabia 

From November 2017, the rebels intensify missile attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which accuses its arch-foe Iran of supplying them with weapons. Iran denies the charge.



AFP/File / MOHAMMED HUWAIS. Yemenis take part in a demonstration in November 2017 calling to lift the Saudi-led coalitions blockade after the coalition shut down Yemens borders in response to a missile attack by Huthi rebels that was intercepted near Riyadh airport.

Seven missiles are fired into the kingdom on March 25, 2018 alone, including three at Riyadh.

On June 9, three civilians are killed in the kingdoms southern province of Jizan by a rebel missile.

According to the coalition, in which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also plays a key role, the rebels have fired 165 ballistic missiles.

 Advance on aid port 

In December 2017, government forces make a breakthrough in efforts to reconquer the key port of Hodeida when they drive Huthi fighters out of a town en route called Khokha.

Hodeida  a vital entry point for the bulk of the countrys food and aid  has been in rebel hands since October 2014, taken without opposition from government forces soon after rebels captured Sanaa.

Government forces press their advance and in April the insurgents second-in-command, Saleh al-Sammad, is killed in a coalition air raid in the province.

On June 13, government fighters, backed by Saudi and Emirati forces, launch an offensive on Hodeida city.

On June 20, they say that they have taken control of Hodeida airport on the southern outskirts.

 Heavy civilian toll 

Civilians, in particular children, pay a heavy price during the conflict.

Several raids blamed on the coalition have left civilian victims, including on a wedding hall in the town of Mokha in September 2015, killing 131 people. The alliance denies responsibility.

In October 2016, a coalition air strike at a funeral in Sanaa kills 140 people.

The coalition has admitted responsibility for certain raids, but accuses the rebels of using civilians as human shields.

In July, Amnesty International says human rights violations in a string of Yemeni prisons run by the UAE could amount to war crimes, in a report rejected by Abu Dhabi.

On August 9, 51 people, including 40 children, are killed in an attack on a bus in rebel-held northern Yemen, the Red Cross says.

The coalition opens an investigation into that incident.

On August 23, at least 22 children and four women are killed by a coalition air strike while fleeing fighting in the Al-Durayhimi district south of rebel-held Hodeida city, the UN says.

That same day, another four children are killed in a separate air strike on the same district.

Featured Photo: AFP/File / STRINGER. Yemenis gather next to the destroyed bus, pictured August 10, 2018 at the site of a Saudi-led coalition air strike on August 9, 2018, which killed 51 people, including 40 children.Reddit Email 72 Shares

Trumps domestic woes as an unindicted co-conspirator inevitably make him weak on the world stage. Foreign adversaries dont take seriously a president who looks as though he might be impeached. And they know that presidents under siege in the capital do not have the leisure to attend to foreign affairs with any concentration. Even friends and allies of the US will find the temptation, of playing on his weakness, irresistible.

Trump abruptly canceled a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday, blindsiding the department, out of pique that N. Korean denuclearization wasnt going well. Only in Trumps fevered imagination had that ever been even a prospect. But it seems clear that Pyongyang has no fear of a wounded Trump.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demanded Wednesday that all non-invited troops had to leave Syria, a clear jab at the US. US National Security Adviser John Bolton had demanded that Russia expel its ally, Iran, from Syria, and this seems to be Moscows response

BBC Monitoring reports that the interim prayer leader in Tehran in his Friday sermon said,

Americans are aware of Irans great power and know that the time of hit-and-run is over. They are very well aware of Irans regional influence and its relations with other nations and governments. Today tens of thousands of American forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and in the Persian Gulf countries are within range of Irans missiles, the cleric said during his Friday prayer sermons, which were broadcast live by state-run Radio Tehran on 24 August.

It doesnt sound to me like the Iranians are very afraid of Trump.

It doesnt sound to me as though anyone is.

-

Bonus video:

Euronews:  Trump cancels top diplomats visit to North Korea Former warlord Jean-Pierre Bembas candidacy in the Democratic Republic of Congos upcoming presidential elections was deemed inadmissible by the countrys election commission on Friday, as opposition groups cried foul.

The commission rejected the candidacy of Bemba, a rival to DR Congo President Joseph Kabila, on the basis that he had been convicted by the International Criminal Court in March 2018 and handed a year in prison and a 300,000 euro fine for bribing witnesses.

Bembas war crimes convictions were overturned by the court in The Hague and he returned to Kinshasa in August after being acquitted.

Just ahead of the election commissions announcement, the political opposition to president Kabila issued a fresh rallying cry, accusing the powers that be of seeking to exclude multiple opposition candidates.

Opposition groups called on Kabila to free up the electoral process and stop giving injunctions to the election commission, according to a statement signed by Bemba, and exiled opposition politicians Moise Katumbi and Felix Tshisekedi.

Overall, the election commission has excluded six out of the 25

candidates who had registered to run in the presidential elections, set for December 23.

A country of some 80 million people, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence in 1960.

Kabila  in power since 2001  took over from his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, who was assassinated by a bodyguard.

His tenure over the vast mineral-rich country has been marked by a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest. The watchdog Transparency International ranked it 156 out of 176 countries in its 2016 corruption index.

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.















According to a recent study by Johns Hopkins, medical mistakes lead to the death of more than 250,000 people in the United States yearly, this figure, exceeds the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDCs) third leading cause of death  respiratory disease, which kills close to 150,000 people per year. Some other studies would claim the number of yearly deaths caused by medical mistakes is as much as 440, 000.

CNBC.com asserts that the reason for this discrepancy in figures is that physicians, funeral directors, coroners and medical examiners rarely note on death certificates the human errors and system failures involved. Yet death certificates are what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rely on to post statistics for deaths nationwide.

Dr. Martin Makary, surgical oncologist and chief of the Johns Hopkins Islet Transplant Centerwho led the John Hopkins study defines a death due to medical error as one that is caused by inadequately skilled staff, error in judgment or care, a system defect or a preventable adverse effect. This includes computer breakdowns, mix-ups with the doses or types of medications administered to patients and surgical complications that go undiagnosed.

Doctors are humans who make mistakes, these blunders should be recorded ad used as lessons to forestall future deaths, but this is usually not the case. The system is not set up to record such mistakes. Presently the cause of death listed on the certificate has to correspond with an insurance billing code. Those codes do not sufficiently capture human error or system factors.

These incidents are too frequent and happen in all countries. In 2016, a German woman died on an operating table in London after blood meant for her was sent back due to an incorrect spelling of her name. "No matter the number, one incident is one too many," said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association.

Dr. Martin Makary, cited in CNBC.com, suggest ways patients can protect themselves from fatal human and system errors that could go wrong in the hospital.

Ask questions. Gain as much insight as you can from your health-care provider. Ask about the benefits, side effects and disadvantages of a recommended medication or procedure. Use social media to learn more about the patient's own condition, as well as those medications and procedures for which they were prescribed.

Seek a second opinion. If the situation warrants or if uncertainties exist, get a second opinion from another doctor: A good doctor will welcome confirmation of his diagnosis and resist any efforts to discourage the patient from learning more.

Bring along an advocate. Sometimes it's hard to process all the information by yourself. Bring a family member or a friend to your appointment  someone who can understand the information and suggestions given and ask questions.

Download an app. By having your medical information literally in the palm of your hand, you can work as a team with your doctor to cut your risk for medical errors. Health-care apps can be simple or complex, and depending on your age and condition, you can manage your well-being, medications and more.16 Shares Share

I woke up to the sound of a faint ding from my bedside table. It was 5:24 a.m. Shaking off my lethargy, I scrambled over to my phone because the ding meant one thing: my first residency interview invitation.

Looking back on that moment, as I responded in the dim light of the morning, I realize that I knew very little about what was to come over the next few months. I understood that the residency application process would include scheduling interviews, attending them, making a rank list, and then matching. But I had no idea what a whirlwind process it would be.

First came scheduling interviews. Like many fourth-year medical students, I set up my phone so that the only alerts I would receive were about residency applications. Most ophthalmology programs offered just two or three interview dates that filled on a first-come, first-served basis. This meant that as an applicant, I had to respond quickly in order to schedule them.

While I understood this in principle, the reality of it struck home a few days after that first invitation. I was in the shower and didnt hear the telltale ding. Once I was out, I saw that I had a new invitation and quickly responded. It had been just six minutes since I received the email but the date I wanted was already full. The other dates conflicted with interviews I had at other programs. I would need to start prioritizing and canceling interviews.

I soon became conditioned to respond to those dings within seconds, and fortunately, I was able to interview at most of the places I wanted to. Between late October and mid-December, I crisscrossed the country meeting faculty and residents, reconnecting with friends, and bonding with fellow applicants. I responded to the statement, Tell me about yourself, over 100 times. I wore a suit more times than I had in the previous nine years. Along the way, I became an expert on airline snacks, grew very familiar with sofa beds, and developed a technique for changing out of a suit in an airport bathroom in under three minutes.

After the dust had settled on interviews, it was time to create my rank list. I spent weeks deliberating how to rank programs. I listed out criteria that were important to me and created a matrix to sort programs based on those factors (this was a useful exercise  I recommend it). Perhaps most importantly, I spoke to mentors who helped me reflect on what different programs had to offer and how those opportunities aligned with my personal and professional goals.

The application process finally came to a head on Match Day. For me, that was in mid-January. Ophthalmology is one of two specialties that has an early match, meaning there is no ceremony for us. I found out my result when my phone once again went off in the quiet hours of the morning (this time around 6 a.m.). My future program director was on the line, letting me know that I had matched to Harvard for ophthalmology residency.

For everyone else, Match Day was last Friday, March 16th. While I knew where I was going for ophthalmology, I still had plenty at stake  I would find out where I would do my intern year and my fiance would learn where she had matched for internal medicine.

So on Friday morning, the graduating class filled a banquet hall along with friends and family, waited through an anxiety-provoking countdown until we could open the envelopes containing our residency destinations, and finally broke into celebration when the moment arrived. I matched to a transitional year through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and my fiance matched to Massachusetts General Hospital, so well be heading to Boston together!

The residency application process is long, grueling, and expensive. But it is also full of memorable moments and is one of the defining experiences of medical school. Im glad to have made it through and am now looking forward to residency.

Akhilesh Pathipati is a medical student who blogs at Scope, where this article originally appeared.

Image credit: Shutterstock.comStuff reports:

Thousands of science fiction and fantasy enthusiasts are set to transform Wellington into a sci-fi metropolis. The capital has been selected to host the 78th World Science Fiction Convention in 2020, an event that celebrates all aspects of the science fiction and fantasy genres. It will be the first time that New Zealand has hosted the event, which will feature Game of Thrones author George R R Martin as the toastmaster.

This is very exciting. The convention will be huge, and the chance to meet the great GRRM amazing. I just hope we have at least one more book by then!

CoNZealand co-chairs Norman Cates and Kelly Buehler have fought to host the convention in Wellington since 2010. They have had the support of Tourism New Zealand and the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency (WREDA) in this years bid, which received 643 of 726 votes cast.  The event, which also hosts the renowned Hugo Awards (the sci-fi literary equivalent of the Grammy Awards), was first held in New York, 1939. Tourism New Zealands chief executive Stephen England-Hall said the event would showcase New Zealand as a place where creative thinking is embraced. Award-winning speculative fiction writer Lee Murray considered New Zealands connection to Middle Earth, and other films, a huge draw card for the sci-fi visitors. Someone has even asked whether there would be a What We Do in the Shadows tour, she said.

Wellington is a great location for fans. So much to see and do.

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Seoul apartment prices rise at fastest pace in 30 weeks



By Yoon Ja-young



As Seoul's housing market is showing signs of overheating, the government is renewing its fight against property speculation, including tax audits and designation of anti-speculation zones.



At a meeting Thursday on key economic issues presided over by Economy and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon, the government decided to additionally designate anti-speculation zones in Seoul, which will be subject to tougher regulations.



Currently, the metropolitan city's upscale southern districts of Gangnam-gu and Songpa-gu are designated as anti-speculation zones, as are Mapo-gu, Yongsan-gu, Seongdong-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu and Nowon-gu.



The market analysts expect districts of Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, Dongdaemun-gu and Dongjak-gu, which saw steep rise but are not designated as such as of yet are likely to be newly subject to the strict restriction. The designation may come as early as next week.



[0825_apartment price] /2018-08-24()



Seoul apartments have been showing signs of stabilizing following implementation of heavy capital gains taxes on owners of multiple homes starting in April as well as a property tax hike announced in July.



However, prices have been rising through the roof all around Seoul following Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's announcement of development plans.





Kathmandu [Nepal], Aug 25 (ANI): Protests were staged in Nepal's capital city of Kathmandu on Saturday against the government for its failure to arrest the culprits of the Kanchanpur rape incident.

Activists and the general public took to the streets in Kathmandu in support of the family of a 13-year-old victim, who was found dead on July 26 in a sugarcane farm after being raped.

The demonstration, led by the social activist groups marched from the Maitighar Mandala to the Parliament in Baneshwor, chanting slogans and displaying placards with messages against the government.

Speaking to ANI, a demonstrator said, "Instead of arresting the culprit, the government has been claiming that the protests are violent and provocative. The father and mother of the victims have been threatened. We citizens have taken this matter with the utmost seriousness."

The number of rape cases in the Himalayan nation has been continuously rising. An estimated two to three rape cases are registered in the country on daily basis. The public and opposition parties pin the blame on the government for not taking adequate efforts to curb it.

"I hope that the government will take some initiation over the incident of Kanchanpur. While settling the tension, there should not be any pressing down of the issue. We all came down in rage. These incidents are unacceptable for the Nepali society," Gagan Thapa, the leader of the opposition Nepali Congress party, who took part in the protest on Saturday told ANI.

The protestors also demanded the resignation of the Home Minister for using excessive force on the protestors rather than arresting the culprit. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)Salman Khan has been lately on a spree of expressing his love for his mother Salma Khan. The actor's mother has been accompanying him to Malta, where he is shooting for Ali Abbas Zafar directed Bharat. From a few days, the actor has been posting posts dedicated to his mom and the fans cannot get enough of them. Recently, he once again showered love on his mom as he shared a picture with his mother beside him. He captioned this photo saying, "Bada wala blessing getting to spend time wid ur Maa .#MaltaDiaries #Bharat."

You can see a shirtless Dabangg Khan with his mother on a serene location somewhere near Malta. Check out the post here!

Bada wala blessing getting to spend time wid ur Maa . #MaltaDiaries #Bharat pic.twitter.com/nNdzXlo2aD  Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) August 25, 2018

Earlier too, the mighty Khan shared a video with his mom where he was helping her climb the stairs. The video had the background music that we hear in typical Bollywood mom-son drama and it was indeed endearing. He also captioned it saying, 'Yeh bandhan toh .. pyaar ka bandhan hai. In another post, he captioned their picture as ' with the love of my life.'

Meanwhile, a lot has been said about the period drama. The film which originally had Priyanka Chopra as the lead star, has been replaced by Katrina Kaif. The trio of Ali, Salman and Kat have earlier enthralled the audience with the blockbuster film 'Tiger Zinda Hai'. Now, with their team reunited for this mega movie, the audience has high hopes from this flick. The film also stars Jackie Shroff, Nora Fatehi and Disha Patani in crucial roles. What are your thoughts on this multi starrer film? Post them in the comments section below and stay tuned with us for more updates.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2018 08:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).New Delhi, August 25: The Patiala House Court in Delhi on Saturday dismissed the plea filed by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to restrain police from sharing information on the alleged assault case of Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash with the media. The court will consider the chargesheet in the case on September 18.

Earlier in the day, during the hearing, the Delhi Police accused the ruling AAP of abusing them while the AAP said Delhi Police was trying to make it a media trial. "AAP leaders are making derogatory remarks on Delhi police. They are maligning our image & also trying to influence court proceedings," Delhi Police said in court today.

"This is not a simple matter. Chief Secretary is the complainant and Chief Minister is accused. Delhi Police is trying to make this a media trial," the counsel for AAP said. The AAP MLAs had moved Patiala House Court seeking to restrain Delhi Police from sharing contents or details of the chargesheet with the media. The court had issued a notice to Delhi Police and also fixed August 25 as the next date of hearing. The court had issued a notice to Delhi Police and also fixed August 25 as the next date of hearing. The Delhi Police had earlier this month filed a chargesheet against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 11 other Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs for allegedly assaulting Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February. The chargesheet, filed in the Patiala House Court on the basis of investigation conducted on the complaint of Prakash, also names Amanatullah Khan, Prakash Jarwal, Nitin Tyagi, Rituraj Govind, Sanjeev Jha, Ajay Dutt, Rajesh Rishi, Rajesh Gupta, Madan Lal, Parveen Kumar and Dinesh Mohania.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2018 02:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).Chandigarh, August 25: India is a land of festivals, many of which are unique in nature. One such unique festival celebrating the bond between a brother and sister is Raksha Bandhan, which will be celebrated across the country on Sunday. Festivals also bring to light a number of stories both from the past as well as the present. In one such story, a sister has sent her brother, a captain in the Indian Army, Capt. Danish Sodhi, a rakhi and a special message.

Inayat Sodhi, sister of Indian Army Captain Danish Sodhi, said that,"My brother is on duty in J&K. He has been away from home for last 3 years. I am a proud Fauji sister, because of him we are safe in our homes(sic)". Check the pictures in the tweet below:

Ludhiana: Inayat Sodhi, sister of Indian Army Captain Danish Sodhi, sends rakhi to her brother ahead of #RakshaBandhan. She says,"My brother is on duty in J&K.He has been away from home for last 3 years. I am a proud Fauji sister, because of him we are safe in our homes." #Punjab pic.twitter.com/t1SfKX1KiE  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

A group of women celebrated the festival of Raksha Bandhan with the jawans of Border Security Force (BSF) at Doiwala, Dehradun. See pictures in the tweet below:

#Uttarakhand: A group of women celebrate the festival of #RakshaBandhan with the jawans of Border Security Force (BSF) at Doiwala, Dehradun. pic.twitter.com/bqre0Op8sV  ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2018

As the euphoria of the festival takes centre stage, we at LatestLY bring you some of the best Raksha Bandhan messages and festive greetings that you can send to your friends and relatives on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram or any other social messaging app that you use. Raksha Bandhan 2018 Wishes for Sister: Facebook Greetings, WhatsApp Messages, GIF Images & Quotes to Share With Your Sibling.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2018 05:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).Children are mostly at risk. It is never fun to see a child hurt, even if it is just a scrapped knee. And at some places, we need to keep a watch on every step they take. This pic shared by a victorian mom explains why! Can you spot the threat? On August 22, Stacee Chapman and her partner Jake was bushwalking with her young family at Kings Billabong near Mildura, Australia. The pairs 16-month-old twins were just wandering around the greeneries when suddenly a brown snake appeared, camouflaged in leaves. The Mildura-based makeup artist took a series of photos of her daughters, one of the accidental clicks reveals the scary moment. Loch Ness Captured! Girl on a Holiday Clicks 'Best Picture of Nessie,' The Lake Monster of Scotland.

We were just having lunch and going on a nice adventure - I was just in my own world playing and taking photos, Ms Carter was quoted in nine.com.au. It was her partner Jack who noticed the reptile, which the couple believes was a highly poisonous snake.

Poisonous brown snake camouflaged in leaves so close to the twins!

Poisonous Brown Snake Close to the Twins (Photo Credits: Stacee Carter/ Facebook)

Obviously terrified at seeing a snake so close to the toddlers, Ms Carter said she screamed while Jack immediately jumped into action and scared the snake away. He was prepared to get bitten for his kids. It happened quite fast, but he scooped up both girls placed them with me and stomped behind the snake and it slid away, she added.

The Mildura-based makeup artist said she was shaken but relieved when everyone was okay. Mum Carter snapped the pic of her twin girls Isla and Ava seconds before the petrifying encounter with the deadly reptile. Until, she got home, that she spotted the snake prowling in the corner of the snap. The little girls had a lucky escape! Ms Carter said she posted the photo on Facebook as a warning to others to take more care in the bush.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2018 12:34 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).Canadian Sikh Helps Iraqi Assyrians and Yezidis

Tim Uppal meets a girl who survived the genocide perpetrated by ISIS in northern Iraq and is considered an internally displaced person. "I want my father and brothers back," the girl told Uppal. Her father and brothers were abducted by ISIS and are still missing. Tim Uppal is a compassionate conservative who believes in helping the vulnerable and the persecuted -- even if that means travelling to a faraway land scarred by war and genocide. Earlier this summer, the Canadian-born Sikh travelled to northern Iraq to help deliver humanitarian assistance to the survivors of the genocide perpetrated by the Islamic State, the terrorist movement that captured vast swathes of territory in 2014. Also referred to as ISIS or ISIL, the terrorist army systematically carried out campaigns of ethnic cleansing, mass murder, kidnapping of women and children, and sexual violence. They also deliberately destroyed cultural artifacts and churches, and looted and sold ancient works of art on the black market. Last month, Uppal was in battered northern Iraq, visiting the Kurdish-controlled population centre of Erbil as well as camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region. From July 17 to 24, he worked as a volunteer with the faith-based humanitarian organization Khalsa Aid, which operates out of Great Britain. Uppal is a former Canadian member of Parliament and served as the minister of state for multiculturalism in the government of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Uppal was defeated in the 2015 federal election. In June 2018, he re-entered federal politics, winning the Conservative Party of Canada nomination for the riding of Edmonton Millwoods. Survivors of genocide Northern Iraq is home to many ancient Christian groups -- Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs and others -- who are indigenous to the region. In 2014, when Islamic State forces swept across the north, Christian cities, towns and villages were ethnically cleansed and homes were destroyed. The jihadists were also intent on wiping out the Yezidi, another distinct ethnic/religious group. The Yezidi were targets of especially furious genocidal attacks, mass executions and sexual slavery. During his time in northern Iraq with Khalsa Aid, Uppal met with survivors and listened to their horrifying stories. He stated in an interview that he wanted to learn more about the genocide. "I must say that it was an eye-opening experience," he said. "Heartbreaking in so many ways; it was unbelievable." Uppal visited with the survivors in informal IDP camps. He explained that Khalsa Aid is helping many IDPs who were not able to find space in the main camps. These people live in makeshift camps or in unfinished buildings. "That's where we met them, in their homes," Uppal said of the survivors' tents or other humble dwellings. Survivors' stories "When you talk to older women, you will hear how they were jailed or held captive," Uppal said. "And they were more concerned about what happened to their families. The men were killed off, the young boys -- they are hoping they are still alive, but they still don't know -- and their daughters are being sold and used as sexual slaves." Uppal listened to mothers recount terrifying accounts of their daughters being raped and/or killed right in front of them. "It is difficult to hear," he said, his voice trailing off. "You sit down with a younger woman who was a sexual slave herself. And I didn't pry for many details. I just listened through the interpreter." Uppal said that many of the women talked about how they escaped from their ISIS captors, often in the dead of night. "Either they escaped," he said, "or they were bought back by their families." Uppal explained that there are online groups that sell the female captives, posting the pictures and prices of the sex slaves. "I talked to a smuggler who helps people get their families back and get their daughters back," he said. The families raise the funds to buy the daughters back. "I talked to a mother who is doing that. "The smuggler will take the money and pretend to be a purchaser and actually pretty much risk his own life to purchase this girl back for the family," he explained. "That's happening right now," Uppal continued, noting that there was a Kurdish government program to help provide funds to buy back women back. "But obviously there is more that needs to be done, and there are still women that are there [in captivity]." Uppal pointed out that boys are also being held captive by ISIS. "I met a young boy whose family helped to buy his way out," Uppal recalled. "He was a general labourer, and he was just used by ISIS to deliver food and deliver supplies and stuff." Children born of rape In addition, Uppal spoke to women who were held captive and impregnated by their captors, giving birth in captivity. But he said these children are not accepted by their mothers' communities once they get away from ISIS. According to Uppal, some captives have to make the decision to either stay with their young children in ISIS captivity or leave their children behind. "And that is understandingly causing some serious psychological situations, as well," he stated. Uppal recalled meeting with women "who left their children" behind with ISIS. And he also talked to families who said that their daughters won't leave ISIS, because they refuse to leave their children behind. "It's unimaginable," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. "I don't even know how some of them are coping. And you can tell that there are some serious psychological issues that need to be addressed as well." Although ISIS has been defeated, the terrorist organization is still active in Iraq and elsewhere. Are the IDPs that Uppal met in northern Iraq still fearful for their personal security? "They are, depending where you are," he replied. "In the Kurdistan controlled region, they are probably not fearful for their security on a day-to-day basis. But because of what they've gone through, they're always afraid that something could happen." For example, Uppal said that while he was in the northern city of Mosul, an imam (an Islamic cleric) "said that it is halal to kill the Yezidis and the Christians. So that's still happening. There is still vocal support for killing them and to reignite this genocide," he warned. "So if we're not vigilant now, if you're not listening now and paying attention now, I think something like that can happen again."Seeing the havoc that wrecked Kerala earlier this month, a 12-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu donated a part from her surgery money to flood relief. Akshaya who hails from Karur district had collected money for her heart operation through crowdfunding but she was moved by the disaster that people of Kerala were witnessing. She gave Rs 5,000 from Rs 20,000 she had collected for her surgery. Blanket Merchant Vishnu, Who Went to Sell His Stock, Donates Entire Lot to Flood Hit Kerala

After learning of her kind and heartful contribution, the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), in Thiruvananthapuram has offered to conduct her operation free of cost. Akshaya suffers from congenital heart disease and the surgery would cost Rs 2.5 lakhs. However, on seeing pictures and videos of how floods had devastated Kerala, she made the contribution to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund to help the flood victims. Kerala Floods: Lini Puthussery's Husband Donates His First Salary, Nurse Died Fighting Nipah Virus

Watch Akshaya's story here:

12-YO Akshaya, donated 25% Of Money She Collected For Her Heart Surgery To Flood-Affected Kerala She is suffering from a Congenital Heart Disease &her friends have been trying to raise funds by crowd funding Rs 20K had been collected so far, she donated Rs 5K for flood relief pic.twitter.com/Stk6l8f1fn  Dr. Vedika (@vishkanyaaaa) August 23, 2018

There are many such stories of contributions made to Kerala which will make you teary eyed. Similarly, a four-year-old girl from South Kolkata donated her piggy bank savings to the Kerala relief fund set up by the CPI(M). Aparajita Saha gave Rs 14,800 from the gifts she had received for her birthday to buy a CD player to rehearse her dance classes. She handed over the money to CPI(M) leader Biman Bose at the state party office in Kolkata.

Another story of piggy bank donation that got a lump in everyone's throat is that of eight-year-old Anupriya from Viluppuram district of Tamil Nadu. She had saved Rs 8,246, her father added some more to donate Rs 9,000 to Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund. After learning of the warm gesture by Hero Cycles, the company appreciated the girl and gifted her a cycle.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2018 11:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).Kanchanpur, Aug 25: Thousands have hit the street in Nepal to mark their angst against the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in the country's western remote town on Bhimdatta Nagar, located in Kanchanpur district.

A student-activist, who was part of the agitation in Bhimdatta Nagar last night, was killed in police firing, reports confirmed on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as 17-year-old Sani Khuna.

Following the death of the protester in police firing, the government has imposed curfew in Kanchanpur district, with military units deployed to keep law and order under control.

In capital Kathmandu, however, protests continued today with nearly 1,500 people participating in a sit-in agitation against the government.

The protests flared up earlier in the week, after the police charged a 41-year-old man, identified as Dilip Singh Bista, for the brutal rape-murder crime. The agitators claim that Bista, who has severe learning disabilities, is being made a "scapegoat" to shield the "actual culprit", who has connections within the government.

Prime Minister KP Oli has appealed the nation to maintain calm, assuring that his government would not spare anyone involved in the heinous crime. His predecessors, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Sher Bahadur Deuba, have condemned the shooting incident, asking the government to exercise maximum restraint.

"I am saddened by the death of a child in police firing in Kanchanpur. My prayers are with the family of the deceased child and I demand Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to immediately investigate the issue," Deuba said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 25, 2018 04:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).The tilted-up bed of a dump truck hit an overpass Saturday morning on Interstate 78 East in Hunterdon County, New Jersey State Police said.

The driver and a passenger escaped with minor injuries, Trooper Alejandro Goez said.

The overpass carries Taylors Mill Road over the highway, just west of Exit 24 (Route 523/Oldwick Road) in Readington Township. Authorities closed Taylors Mill Road in the area until the New Jersey Department of Transportation could inspect the bridge, police said.

Eliane Florentino, 49, of Kearny, New Jersey, was driving the dump truck east with the dump bed up when the crash occurred at mile-post 24.4, police said. Her passenger was identified as 35-year-old Erika Nascinento, of Newark.

The highway's left lane was closed due to construction in the area, and the crash shut down the right lane, according to police. Traffic continued to get through in the center lane, and NJDOT reported all lanes had reopened in the area by about 8:30 a.m.

UPDATE: I-78 eastbound ALL LANES REOPENED West of Exit 24 - CR 523/Oldwick Rd in Readington  NJDOT (@NJDOT_info) August 25, 2018

Police could not immediately say why the dump bed was up but confirmed the truck was traveling through the area and was not involved in the highway construction there.

The incident occurred about 23 miles east of another early Saturday morning crash on Interstate 78. That one, in Warren County, occurred when a 22-year-old male driver headed east on the westbound side collided with a tractor-trailer, killing himself and leaving a 23-year-old passenger with life-threatening injuries, police said.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.In the 10 days following the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report detailing decades of priest sex abuse claims, the Diocese of Allentown says it has received 14 new similar allegations.

Many of the claims are several years old, diocese spokesman Matt Kerr said Saturday. None of the priests accused in this new round of abuse claims are currently in service to the church, he said.

The diocese covers five counties: Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Schuylkill and Carbon.

"All of them then are reported to the appropriate district attorney," Kerr said of the new claims of abuse.

The Morning Call in Allentown first reported Friday on the new allegations.

The Diocese of Allentown was one of six Roman Catholic dioceses investigated by the grand jury for allegations of sexual abuse by priests, along with the dioceses of Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

Investigators found claims of abuse by 301 priests and, in some cases, efforts to cover them up dating back to the 1940s. The Diocese of Allentown was found to have 36 predator priests, in addition to one lay leader accused of abuse, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in releasing the grand jury investigation Aug. 14.

Also since the release of the report, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced charges last Tuesday against 30-year-old priest Kevin Lonergan, of Pottsville. Once stationed at St. Francis of Assisi church in Allentown, he allegedly sent nude photos of himself to a 17-year-old female parishioner. She reported the behavior to a priest at Allentown Central Catholic High School, leading to an investigation by the prosecutor's office and Lonergan's arrest.

In a news release announcing charges of corruption of minors and indecent assault against Longergan, Martin said the Diocese of Allentown has been cooperative in investigating claims of sex abuse by priests dating back to former Bishop Edward Cullen's decision in 2002 to release files of abuse allegations to the district attorneys across the five counties.

"It's been with us unfortunately for a long time," Martin said of the pattern of abuse.

Some of the priests accused of sex abuse in the grand jury continue to fight to keep their identities private, said Shapiro, the attorney general. Arguments are scheduled Sept. 26 before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on whether to release those names, as well.

The Diocese of Allentown's portion of the 884-page grand jury report has several lines redacted, including the name of at least one priest. That priest is accused of sexually abusing a male victim who said he was also abused by two other priests while attending Sacred Heart Elementary School and Notre Dame High School, both in Bethlehem Township.

Shapiro has also called for changes to Pennsylvania statute of limitations that prohibits prosecution of many of the priest sex abuse, due to time lapsed before victims come forward.

Pennsylvania law requires prosecution for a "major sexual offense," including sexual assault and sexual abuse of children, to commence within 12 years after it is committed. For a victim who is a minor, the 12 years begin when he or she turns 18, and charges may be filed until that victim reaches age 50.

On the civil side, victims who were over the age of 18 at the time of the abuse have two years to file civil cases, according to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape; victims who were under the age of 18 when the abuse occurred have 12 years after their 18th birthday to file civil charges.

The grand jury identified 1,000 people abused, though the real number of victims is believed to be well into the thousands, Shapiro said earlier this month.

Shapiro's office has created a Clergy Abuse Hotline with agents dedicated to listening to survivors of abuse. The number is 888-538-8541. His office received more than 150 hotline calls and emails in the day following the release of the grand jury report.

"This is an active an ongoing investigation," he wrote Aug. 18 on Twitter, referring to what he previously called "the largest, most comprehensive report on Catholic child sexual abuse in American history."

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.Peter Caminiti III stepped onto a school bus Saturday for the first time since that fateful May day when the bus he was riding in crashed on Route 80 en route to a Waterloo Village field trip.

"I remember talking to my friends. And then I blacked out and when I woke up I was hanging by my seat belt with a bloody nose," said Caminiti, 11, who wears streaks of blue in his chestnut brown hair to show he is Paramus Strong.

The soon-to-be sixth grader toured the new Paramus Board of Education bus after a press conference held by Gov. Phil Murphy, who on Saturday signed a bill requiring all New Jersey School buses have lap and shoulder seat belts.

"Every child and every educator and adult chaperone deserves our best effort to protect their safety and the best possible chance of emerging unharmed in the unfortunate event of a school bus accident," Murphy said. He spoke in the Paramus borough hall parking lot, in front of one of the brand-new buses Paramus purchased that meet the new law.

The driver of the Paramus Board of Education bus that crashed, Hudy Muldrow Sr., 77, of Jersey City, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.

Authorities say Muldrow passed the exit on Interstate 80 and tried to make an illegal u-turn on a break in the median that is reserved for emergency vehicles. The bus was clipped by a dump truck and ripped off its chassis as it tried to re-enter the highway.

Bergen County Executive James Tedesco said the county has purchased all new school buses to transport students to county-run schools.

"There's still pain here in this town and things that need to be done," said Tedesco, a former Paramus mayor.

Caminiti, though he suffered a concussion and continues to deal with ringing in his ears, is one of the lucky ones to emerge from the accident that injured 43 of the 45 people on board. Teacher Jennifer Williamson, 51, and student Miranda Vargas, 10, died in the crash.

The boy's father, Pete Caminiti Jr., said Saturday that when his hospitalized son learned about the deaths he said, "Why is it that we have seat belts in the cars that are different than the buses?" The bus they were riding on only had lap belts.

They reached out to Democratic state Sen. Joseph Lagana, a family friend, and the bill took shape.

"We don't know if it would've changed many things on that fateful day," Lagana said of the newly-required seat belts. "But we do know going forward that we're doing everything we can to make sure that when we put our children... on buses [where] they are protected as best as they can be."

Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez sponsored a version of the bill in the state assembly.

"Today, the State of New Jersey will lead by example in requiring by law the use of three-point seat belt systems on school buses," she said at the event. "The safety of our children is one of the highest priorities we can focus on as legislators."

The law takes effect immediately and requires all school buses manufactured 180 days from now to have three-point harnesses for each seat on the bus.

Similar legislation has been proposed on the federal level.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.TROPHIES

Police officers may have saved the life of a black labrador retriever that was darting through rush-hour traffic Friday morning on Route 22. Calls to the Northampton County 911 center indicated the dog was jumping over the medial barrier and running through the traffic lanes between the 13th and 25th Street interchanges. After the westbound lanes were shut down, the dog was captured and taken to Palmer Township's kennel. Considering the danger to the dog -- and to drivers trying to avoid it -- this was a great outcome.

The First United Church of Christ in Easton has joined many organizations, businesses and individual donors to help children get a well-equipped start to the school year. The church held its annual "Cover the Piggies" event last weekend, providing new sneakers and school supplies to more than 200 children. The kids and their families were treated to a breakfast prepared by church members.

TURKEYS

Challengers love to debate. Incumbents, not so much. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has agreed to just one televised debate with Republican challenger Scott Walker, to be moderated by "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek. ("I'll take who 'Lying politicians' for $2,000, Alex.") Wolf took part in three debates in his 2014 race against Gov. Tom Corbett. Meanwhile, Walker isn't doing voters any favors by refusing to release his tax returns from public view. Wolf released his.

Easton police and fire investigators are looking for the person responsible for setting two vehicle fires in the same area of the West Ward Monday night and early Tuesday morning. Deputy Chief Kevin Arnold said he believes they were started intentionally. The first was in a car on South 10th Street between Washington and Lehigh streets. The second was in a garage behind the 900 block of Lehigh Street. The cars were totaled. The garage fire damaged another parked car and the exteriors of other garages. Anyone with information can help by calling Detective Benjamin Mastrofilippo at 610-250-6639 or an anonymous tip line, 610-250-6635.

Jahjah Melhem may keep tending animals at his sanctuary in Bethlehem Township under the terms of a plea agreement reached this week -- but no more than 100. Melhem pleaded no contest to several counts of of animal cruelty filed by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. SPCA officials said they inspected Melhem's property and found several animals were malnourished, dehydrated, feces-covered and/or suffering from ailments. The negotiated limit of 100 animals is about a third of the population Melhem had on property, according to the SPCA. He has two months to find homes for the animals, after which the SPCA may step in and remove them.A man hiking Saturday morning on the Appalachian Trail in Northampton County sought help at a veterinary office after he was bitten by a snake, according to the office's manager.

An ambulance was called about 11:10 a.m. to Dutt Veterinary Hospital LLC at 4172 N. Delaware Drive (Route 611) in Upper Mount Bethel Township.

That's where the hiker, who was 19 and from Easton, stopped for help, according to Kathy Dutt. She manages the office where her husband, Dr. Kyle Dutt, is the veterinarian.

It was unclear what type of snake bit the man, who ended up refusing the ambulance trip to the hospital after he began to feel better under the Dutts' care.

"As he was walking, he got bit by the snake in the ankle," Kathy Dutt told lehighvalleylive.com.

The hiker only saw the snake briefly, Dutt said.

"He said it was coiled up," she said. "He didn't hear any rattle or anything. It might have been a copperhead."

Eastern Pennsylvania is home to native populations of two venomous snake species, the Northern Copperhead and Timber Rattlesnake. A third species of venomous snake, the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, has an indigenous range that extends into the western part of the state.

The state is also home to more than a dozen native species of non-venomous snakes, several of which can be seen routinely during the warmer months along the Appalachian Trail in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The trail runs about 2,200 miles, between Springer Mountain, Georgia, and Mount Katahdin in Maine.

Saturday's hiker appeared to have two fang marks on his ankle, but they did not break the skin, according to Dutt.

"He drove and saw our hospital and wasn't feeling well and stopped in here. I called 911," she said. "And as we were waiting, he was starting to feel better and I believe that it was just because he was stressed. The puncture didn't go all the way through."

A pair of puncture marks at the wound is a sign of a venomous snake bite, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms of a bite can include redness or swelling, severe pain, nausea and vomiting, labored breathing, disturbed vision, increased salivation and sweating, and numbness or tingling in the face or limbs.

The CDC says to seek medical attention as soon as possible in the case of a snake bite, to try to remember the snake's color and shape and to keep still and calm to slow the spread of any venom. Those who cannot get to the hospital right away should lie or sit down with the bite below the level of the heart, wash the bite with soap and water and cover it with a clean, dry dressing.

It is not recommended to take steps such as applying a tourniquet or attempting to suck out the venom, according to the CDC.

Dutt said she did not catch the man's name on Saturday.

While they waited, office staff showed the man photos on a cellphone of different types of snake in case he might recognize one. Had his condition worsened, Dutt said she was prepared to drive him to the hospital herself before the ambulance arrived.

"But he was feeling better," she said.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.UPDATE: Driver killed, passenger critical after wrong-way crash on I-78

Interstate 78 West was shut early Saturday morning near the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border by a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a car, authorities report.

The wreck was a mile east of the toll bridge in Pohatcong and was reported about 2:45 a.m., New Jersey State Police said.

One person was flown by medical helicopter to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill, but their condition was not known, according to police.

The State Police crime scene and fatal accident teams responded, Trooper Alejandro Goez said.

Westbound traffic quickly backed up and there was a slight delay eastbound. A detour was in place, the New Jersey Department of Transportation said.

State Police are expected to release more information later Saturday morning, Goez said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.SKODA Ireland will be the official car partner to the World Meeting of Families 2018 and the Papal visit, this month.

As part of the announcement, SKODA Ireland confirmed that when Pope Francis touches down in Dublin on the morning of Saturday, 25th August, he will be transported to Aras an Uachtarain in a SKODA RAPID.

SKODA Irelands Head of Marketing and Product, Raymond Leddy, spoke about the partnership.

We are excited and honoured to be official car partner of the World Meeting of Families 2018. All SKODA models are designed and built with the family in mind. We offer some of the most spacious cars on the market, perfect for families young and old, so this is a great opportunity for us to showcase the quality of the SKODA range to mass audiences, both at home and abroad.

The SKODA RAPID was chosen as it is one of the best value vehicles in the SKODA range, providing extensive rear-seat space and ease of access. Three identical SKODA RAPID vehicles, each fitted with unique identification registration plates, have been reserved for the event.

As part of the Papal fleet, we are commemorating Pope John Paul IIs visit to Ireland, with vehicle registration 182-C-1979 and, of course, marking this years event with vehicle registration 182-C-2018. 182-D-9093 is the primary vehicle, which, when the digits 9093 are inverted, spells out the word Pope. Each SKODA RAPID provided has been customised to requirements. Modified glass has been installed and each vehicle has been provided in a unique navy-blue colour as requested. Small chrome flag poles have also been installed to the passenger-side fenders, which will display the Vatican flag.

Following the departure of His Holiness, Pope Franciss SKODA RAPID, together with an additional SKODA RAPID, will be provided to a charity to be nominated by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, in accordance with the wishes of Pope Francis.

In addition to providing transport to Pope Francis in Dublin and Knock, SKODA Ireland will provide logistical services to dignitaries, with a fleet of SUPERB, KAROQ and OCTAVIA vehicles.

Held every three years, the World Meeting of Families is a major international event that brings together families from across the world to celebrate, pray and reflect upon the central importance of the family, as the cornerstone of our lives.

Pope Francis chose Dublin to host the World Meeting of Families 2018 and, on the 21st March this year.

he confirmed he would be revisiting Dublin for the first time since he was a young priest back in 1980.A Laois mother has begun a campaign to raise millions of euros for the homeless from the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland this weekend.

Mother of four Nora Duggan from Portarlington is asking the 500,000 expected to attend Mass in the Phoenix Park to each donate 5 online.

It would raise 2.5 million for the Peter McVerry Trust, the national housing and homeless charity.

"I'm not religious, but all these people will be buying statues, coffee, 5 is all it would take, and 2.5 million would have a huge impact. I think we can do it. People just need to pick up the phone and donate. We could say then when the Pope came to Ireland, this is what people did, it would be such a positive thing," she said.

Nora herself has come close to being homeless several times.

"I've four children, two with disabilities. I was lucky to avoid it, but any one of us could end up on the streets. It is happening all over Ireland," she said.

She notes that homeless families in emergency hotel accommodation in Dublin may be moved to other counties during the Pope's visit, to free up hotel space.

"I rang for a hotel room in Temple Bar next weekend and they were looking for 600. All this wealth in Ireland, and full employment but the homeless crisis is getting worse. it really upset me," she said.

"I would love to see a positive thing come out of this negativity," Ms Duggan said.

She has set up a GoFundMe account called Pope Hope for the Homeless, see it here.

On it she gives a heartfelt plea.

"We should all have a place to call home, I'm horrified watching people living in hotels and even more upset to think they're being moved to accommodate Christians /Catholics/visitors for the upcoming Papal visit. The funds will be used to build houses, to buy unoccupied houses, and to help homeless people in Ireland to be off the streets by Christmas. I'd like to see some good coming from this visit and for me it's nothing personal, just a way to say I'm sorry I can't do more for people. Thanks in advance. I know it can be done".

The pontiff is to visit Dublin's Capuchin Day Centre and meet homeless families on Saturday August 25 as part of his visit to Ireland. He will say Mass in the Phoenix Park on Sunday August 26.

WATCH: Laois Rose Grainne Hogan interview with Daithi O Se at Rose of TraleeBollards wont be erected at the entrance to the former Cemex concrete pipe manufacturing site outside Naas.

Kildare County Council is resisting pressure to put up bollards  a move favoured by Cllr. Fintan Brett to put an end of dumping and illegal encampments at this location.

Cllr Brett told a recent Naas Municipal District meeting that the local authority has spent thousands of euro cleaning up the site. He also said that because its relatively easy to park there, cars and trucks are stopping at the entrance at all hours of the day and night. He said trucks often pull in there at lunchtime and he added that the site owners have no objection to the area being blocked off.

SEE ALSO: Sale to be closed shortly on famous Kildare landmark site in Clane

Cllr Brett suggests that boulders positioned at the Fairgreen in Naas be moved there.

KCC pointed out that the area has been cleaned and litter removed. Other improvement works, including the installation of a CCTV system, have been completed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland and a maintenance contractor in recent weeks.

TII is the State agency responsible for national roads and public transport.

KCC also said that while all relevant stakeholders agree on the need to deter unauthorised encampments in the area, the installation of bollards or any other type of obstruction will need to ensure that a hazard is not created for road users travelling on the Dublin Road roundabout. The council also suggests that barriers might block access to privately owned lands.

KCC official Evelyn Wright said TII is opposed to the idea and said barriers might make it difficult to deal with a fire.

District engineer David Reel said KCC cannot act without funding and clearance from TII. He added that something safer and more substantial than dropping a couple of boulders is needed.The number of patients admitted to Naas Hospital on trolleys fell dramatically in July, when compared with July 2017.

Some 164 patients were admitted through the accident and emergency department without a bed being immediately available last month, compared with 338 in July 2017.

However, while the figure is low when compared with the same time span a year ago it is higher than the figure (145) recorded in 2016.

SEE ALSO: Garda speed vans to monitor 60kph speed limit at Kildare motorway roadworks from next week

In July 2007 just 18 patients were admitted without a bed.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives organisation the reduction in Naas was not reflected overall (it provides information for all public hospitals).

Nationally 7,069 patients were on trolleys during last month and this is an increase of 11% on last year.

It is also the most overcrowded July since the INMO began compiling figures.

The worst affected hospitals were University Hospital Limerick (897), Cork University Hospital (614), Tullamore Hospital (494) and University Hospital Galway (457).

INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghda said overcrowding is now a constant feature of our hospital system, even in summer.

She claimed that low salaries for nurses and midwives means than vacancies simply arent being taken up and as a result health service capacity cannot grow.

Without realistic pay correction for nurses and midwives this problem wont be fixed, she said.

The Health Service Executive still hasnt set out their funding workforce plan, which sets out how many nurses and midwives they will recruit this year. The hazardous working conditions for staff look set to worsen.Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

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Support our mission and join our community now.Friday, August 31, will mark a bittersweet day for Colm Prior and his partner, Bernadette Keenan, when they close the doors on one of Carrick-on-Shannons longest serving businesses.

The iconic Priors Snack Bar and Newsagents has served the people of Carrick-on-Shannon for 65 years but Colm and Bernadette have now made the difficult decision to close for good on August 31.

Priors is one of the longest serving businesses in the town centre. Colms father, Denis, bought the business in 1953 from M.A. Farrell - at that point the business had been operating as a newsagents for at least 35 years - meaning the property has served the community for more than 100 years.

Denis, a native of Ballymagovern, Co Cavan - where he grew up in the familys pub and grocery business - spent a number of years in New York working in pubs before moving to Carrick-on-Shannon in the late 1940s to work in his uncle-in-laws pub, located where the present day Swan bar is housed.

When M.A. Farrells came up for sale in 1953, Denis, then aged 35, bought it for the substantial sum of 1,850.

He took over the business in September that year and shortly afterwards opened a restaurant at the rear of the premises.

A family business

Pictured above is the Prior family in the late 1960s.

In 1958 Denis married Derry native, Rose Conway, who moved from Belfast to Carrick-on-Shannon to help run the business.

They had three children, Joseph, Colm and Valerie who were all brought up above the shop and restaurant.

The shop was always a part of our lives. We didnt know any different growing up but there were so many families on the Main Street and down Bridge Street and there were a lot of children who grew up around the town, so it didn't seem strange to grow up like that, says Colm.

The restaurant closed in 1974 but the newsagency and shop continued

Sadly Denis passed away in 1989 and Colm moved back from Dublin to take over the business.

At the time I was working for the health service in

Dublin. It was a good job and I loved living in Dublin, recalls Colm.

It was a huge change to come back to Carrick-on-Shannon and take over but it is something that I felt I had to do.

Major renovations



In December 1992 Colm undertook the first major renovation of the property, removing the small shop front and extending it. He extended the property further inside in 2005 and expanded the business to incorporate a snack bar and seating area.

At its peak the business employed four people but in the last 8 years, Colm and Bernadette say business has slowed, especially in the upper Main Street area of the town.



Carrick is a town of two halves



I am not afraid to say it, since 1990 I believe that Carrick-on-Shannon has become a town of two halves, all the business and investment is centred around Bridge Street and there is really nothing for the upper Main Street area, says Colm.

He said the rates revaluation process carried out in the county has also had an impact for businesses with some seeing rates increasing regardless of the actual income of the business.

Of course rates alone isn't the only factor. There is very little footfall this end of town and when the traffic flow was recently changed, stopping vehicles coming from the Leitrim Road from turning right onto Main Street, that had a huge impact on our business. We noticed that straight away.

That sort of change was brought in with no consultation by the Council and it has had a huge impact. That is hard to understand, he admits.

His partner, Bernadette, says that the price of parking in the town centre is also an issue.

People can park out at Tesco for nothing and if they want to shop in the town centre, they have to pay. It's like people are being taxed for supporting local businesses and that isn't fair, she points out.

Colm acknowledges the challenges facing Carrick-on-Shannon's town centre aren't unique.

I know other towns are experiencing similar problems but the fact is that something needs to be done if we are going to encourage families to move back into the centre of our towns, if we are going to encourage businesses to invest in our towns, he said.

The Government needs to do more to support indigenous businesses. They employ around 300,000 people nationally. Multinationals only employ around 280,000 and yet the Government bends over backwards to encourage them, to offer incentives and to support them, why not invest in our own local businesses instead? he asks

Leitrim County Council and Carrick-on-Shannon Chamber has to do more for the town centre and not just focus on Bridge Street, but also upper Main Street. Only for businessmen like Gerry Murtagh, there wouldn't be any huge investment in this area of the town and that is sad, he adds.

Bernadette agrees that the situation facing many small businesses is grim.

The costs just keep going up and the margins just keep getting smaller. We are taking hit after hit and businesses can't keep going in those sort of circumstances, she says.

That's why we've decided to close. It is very difficult. My family has been here for 65 years. I have invested so much of my life in this business and it will be heartbreaking to close the doors on the shop for the last time on August 31, admits Colm.

Here I am now, at 54, and despite running a business for so long, I now have to go out, to start again and look for work. That is very tough.



Thank you to our loyal customers



But along with the sadness of the closure, Colm and Bernadette say they are walking away with a lifetime of happy memories.

There are so many customers, so many characters that have been in and out of the shop over the years, admits Colm.

People like Vincent 'The Buff' Doherty - who was a wonderful friend, a great character. They were the people who made it worthwhile. We had so many customers down through the years who aren't just customers, they are friends and they have been a wonderful support to us.

That's what we'll miss most. They have left us with a lifetime of happy memories, he says.THE Limerick company which is pioneering a potentially revolutionary water turbine will not now be testing it out in the Shannon estuary as originally planned.

DesignPro Renewables will now have to look overseas to test its 60kW hydrokinetic turbine before it can move to producing it commercially.

The company, based in Rathkeale, applied in April for a foreshore licence in the River Fergus to begin intensive testing. But it then discovered it would not be in a position to complete the required environmental survey within the time constraints of its Horizon 2020 funding grant.

We are disappointed, David Higgins, business development associate at DesignPro, said this week. We could see the potential in the area.

From the outset, Mr Higgins explained, they knew the time-line was tight. The bird survey, carried out as part of the application for a foreshore licence, ommitted one stretch of water close to the chosen test site and the company was required to carry out a complete new survey. But that would have taken them beyond their funding deadline.

We had to stick to our deadlines, Mr Higgins said.

However, the company has said it will still push to get a project off the ground here in Ireland.

But for now, they are in discussions for an overseas test site for its 60kW device. Testing for a smaller, 25kW device begins in France next month.

We are still going ahead with the project as planned, Mr Higgins stressed.

The hydrokinetic turbine is potentially life-changing as it can provide access to clean, green and sustainable energy for remote and off-grid communities around Ireland and around the world. It could mean an end to generators and to using fossil fuels such as diesel.

The device can operate and generate in streams of water as shallow as two metres and as narrow as three metres. But its unique design means that the power available is twice that of natural water flow.

The technology for the hydrokinetic turbine was developed by GKinetic of Newcastle West and its unique design means that the power available is twice that of natural water flow.

When we first started looking at this we identified what the problems were within the industry and a key one was deployment cost. We came up with a floating device that accelerates the flow into the turbines so we are actually getting double the speed of the water and, therefore, greater power, company chief executive Vincent McCormack explained last October.

But because it can operate and generate in streams of water as shallow as two metres and as narrow as three metres, it means it can be easily used in remote and off-grid communities in Ireland and around the world, giving them clean, sustainable energy and without the need for diminishing fossil fuels such as diesel or oil.

A prototype turbine, capable of generating 8kw of energy, was built by DesignPro and was tested last year at a marine tank at Limerick docks where it generated outputs above international industry standards. As a result of this success, DesignPro moved on to develop a 25kw model, its first commercial model capable of generating enough electricity to power up to 15 homes and a 60kW model.

It is these devices which must now be rigorously tested. Testing of the 25kW model is due to begin in France next month. But the search is now on for a test site for the 60kW model before commercial production can begin. This is expected to begin in 2020.EXPLORING how best to use West Limericks rich heritage as a way to strengthen the countys tourism offering is to be a key feature of this years Limerick Show.

The annual event will look at creating links between agriculture and tourism through heritage, according to event manager Donie OConnor, who is also the West Limerick Heritage Society chairperson.

Our villages and towns are dying for various different reasons but we are encouraging people, through the Heritage Society, to highlight what they have to offer in their own area, Mr OConnor explained.

We can capitalise on that, organise tours and revitalise towns through tourism.

In every town and every parish in the country, there is something to be seen. Whether it is a High Cross or a castle or a ring-fort; Culture and heritage covers everything.

We have so much culture in Limerick, and in West Limerick, Mr OConnor.

At the show weve linked across the county with the city for the first time and the Hunt Museum and Limerick City and County Council are playing a big part of it.

We want to highlight the heritage we have through the show and also to give the farming community the opportunity to get involved.

For example, if a farmer wishes to use his land for a tourist attraction, or to run tours of the farm or the farm house, well have people on the day to help, and give them information on how to go about doing that.

The Limerick Show is also to feature a Business Hub, Mr OConnor added. The Business Hub will also help to connect anyone interested in tourism up to the relevant people.A number of local politicians have condemned the major increase in average residential rent in the city, following the publication of a new quarterly report.

According to a recent Daft.ie report, the average rate of rent increased by 20.7%, the largest percentile increase for any city in the country.

The average rate of rent is now at 1,109 per month in the city, the report states.

Former Minister of State for Housing, Jan OSullivan said the recent report is evidence that the current system is broken and is calling for the publication of a rent register.

Deputy OSullivan said that this initiative would inform tenants previous years rent rates at a property and that they are not being fleeced and charged above the legal amount.

There are other loopholes that need to be closed including landlords giving notice that they are doing up the property when there is no good reason to terminate the tenancy, she said in a statement last week.

Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan said the Governments reliance on the private sector to solve the crisis and the Minister for Housings light touch philosophy has had no impact.

The rent pressure zones were unambitious to begin with and demonstrated the reluctance of Fine Gael to interfere with a market that is dysfunctional at best, fundamentally broken at worst. Similarly, the anaemic level of construction of social and affordable housing is simply driving people towards that private sector market, driving up rents for all.

Solidarity councillor Cian Prendiville described the rental market as out of control.

He said that the Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy needs to take immediate action to prevent the rent market from causing more homelessness and misery.

Rents have boomed while increases in workers wages have been miserly across the economy. Measures should be introduced to reduce rents to affordable levels linked to income. People shouldnt be spending half their income on housing, he added.

General election candidate for the Social Democrats, Sarah Jane Hennelly said the rising rents is sort of refusal by Government to accept the seriousness of this problem.

They are able to do this because housing is such a wide policy area - renters, homeowners, social housing tenants, homeless people, all feel separate to one another yet all are victim of bad housing policy in this country. This separateness has left people struggling alone and as such, prevented any collective movement of voices urging government into action on this area.

Limerick is the fourth most expensive in the country for average cost of rent, behind Galway at 1,189, Cork at 1,266, and Dublin at 1,936. The rest of the countrys average cost of rent rose by 10.4% and is now 909.YOU would swear it was election night by the smiles plastered on the faces of Limericks political representatives in the Gaelic Grounds on Monday night.

TDs, Senators and councillors from across the political spectrum united in joy at the Treatymens spectacular All-Ireland final win over Galway.

Willie ODea declared: The ghosts of the past have been well and truly laid to rest.

There is a great sense of excitement, and its a great result. It was nerve-jangling. We held out this time, and its marvelous. Its great for the city, great for the county and a great boost for the community, he said.

Asked which he prefers  a Limerick win, or topping the poll in the city  the former Defence Minister laughed: Its difficult to choose between the two.

Both are very exciting occasions. Some of my elderly friends thought they would never live to see the day we won an All-Ireland. This is what they wanted to see  it won in their lifetime, he added.

Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan was eerily accurate in his pre-game prediction that Limerick would win by a solitary point.

He said: No team deserves it more than the young side we have. Its a fantastic result. We did it, weve waited 45 years  and its great for the city and great for the county!

Ive never seen a day like this for Limerick. Absolutely brilliant, was how his Sinn Fein Seanad colleague Paul Gavan summed it up.

Dressed in green for the occasion, Labour TD Jan OSullivan said: Limerick triumphed in the end, and thats all that matters. After 45 years, its such a joyful occasion, and so great to witness it.

There was a particularly special moment for Limerick's first citizen, Mayor James Collins on Monday night, as he welcomed captain Declan Hannon at Colbert Station, in front of the Railway Hotel, once owned by his family.

Back in 1973, the homecoming was filmed from the first floor of the hotel, and he admitted he felts a tinge of sadness that it is currently closed.

Limerick is so proud of this team and how they represent us. They are our new sporting heroes. After 78 minutes, you made grown men and women cry with joy. We say thank you. Thank you for yesterday, for memories which will be among the greatest of all our lives. Limerick and John Kiely have a can do attitude, and thats why Liam MacCarthy is back in Limerick, the Mayor, dressed in traditional robe-and-chains, said.

Former mayor of Limerick, Cllr Liam Galvin added: Its a day I will never ever forget. The emotion was hard to explain. Young and old, men and women were openly crying around me. To see the young children with flags, jerseys and their hurleys playing at the upper end of the Gaelic Grounds field, I said, this is what it is all about.We arrived ticketless in Dublin, just a few hours before our Limerick heroes ran out at Croker. Outside the Gresham Hotel, a tout saw us and was all over us like a rash.

Are ya buyin or sellin?

Buying  maybe.

He drove a hard bargain, because he knew desperate men will pay a premium when the clock is counting down on All-Ireland final day. My father handed over the necessary. It was the first of September, 1974. I was nine years old and about to see my first game of hurling: Limerick, the All-Ireland champions, versus Kilkenny.

Outside the Cusack Stand, Dad lifted me over the turnstile  no questions asked. Back in the days before health and safety, a father and son could get into the ground on the strength of one ticket.

Forty-four years on, the match is a blur  all I can remember is Eddie Keher putting the ball over the bar from everywhere. Mostly, what I remember from that day are moments with my father, and the excitement of seeing Dublin for the first time.

Six months ago, we buried Dad. His final resting place is St Nicholas cemetery in Adare and I took my mother there on Saturday morning. The day before the big match was her 54th wedding anniversary.

No headstone has been erected at the grave yet; theres just a simple cross with his name on a brass plate  Tom English, Died 12th February 2018, Rest in Peace. There was something different about the cross this time, though: a flash of green -and-white near the top. Somebody  we had no idea who  had tied a braid in the Limerick colours around it.

Thanks to the kind person who put this on my Dad's grave on Friday - whoever you are. 45 years is a long time and many of our loved ones didn't live to see the day when Limerick won another All-Ireland - but we feel their spirit strongly now on this day of days #LuimneachAbu pic.twitter.com/HHHfZeEDRF  Alan English (@AlanEnglish9) August 19, 2018

What moved me most was that it had been done it with such care and obvious love. On a weekend when emotions ran high for all of us who have Limerick in our hearts, this simple gesture reduced me to tears more than 24 hours before the MacCarthy Cup was decked out in green-and-white ribbons, and then lifted in triumph.

We wondered what kind person had done this lovely thing, and we made phonecalls to family members. But nobody knew; it was a mystery.

A big part of me wanted to see it as a lucky omen for Limerick, ahead of the big game the following day. But when youve spent 45 years knocking on the door to the promised land, you learn to keep your hopes in check.

Dad was always one for anniversaries. My first day as Limerick Leader editor  March 5, 2007  was a proud one for him. Every year, on the first Monday in March, he would call me.

Five years today, Al.

Nine years today, Al.

I once asked my predecessor, Brendan Halligan, what the highlight of his 36 years in the editors chair had been. He didnt hesitate: Limerick winning the All-Ireland in seventy-three. His front-page headline was simple, but perfect: Its Ours!

Brendan spent the next 33 years hoping for another front page like that  in vain.

In my first year in the editors chair, the hurlers made their first All-Ireland final in 11 years. In the week of the final, I made sure the Leader threw the kitchen sink at it. I dreamed about producing a historic front page the following week, a thing of beauty like the one from 1973, with a headline that captured the mood of the county.

THE WAIT IS OVER!

AT LAST!

ITS OURS  AGAIN!

Kilkenny stood in our way, as they did on that September day in 1974. And Kilkenny prevailed, again.

Ive moved to a wider role at the Leader now, but thankfully I can still get stuck in at the coalface on the biggest days, helping the paper to tell the stories that matter to the people of Limerick  and writing the headlines that go with them.

Sadly, Dad didnt get to see Limerick make another final. Walking around the St Nicholas graveyard on Saturday, Mam and I saw the county colours here and there: a flag placed tenderly alongside fresh flowers, a Limerick cap resting against a headstone. You couldnt help but feel the longing for a Limerick win, or be reminded that families the length and breadth of the county were deeply invested in the outcome of what would play out the next day.

Above all, Sunday was all about family. In the back room of the Palace Bar in Fleet Street, there were fathers and sons in Limerick jerseys, the young boys hanging out of their dads three hours before the throw-in for their first All-Ireland final. You could say it took me back.

The older generation was well represented too, Limerickmen who have waited and waited for the great day to arrive. I met Jackonville Joe Graham, who has flown home every summer since 1966, hoping to see his beloved county lift the Liam MacCarthy again. Joe, 82, was having a quiet pint with his brother Arthur, four years his senior and a man who hurled with Mick Mackey.

I couldnt help but notice that Joe and Arthur were both wearing, around their necks, the same braid Id seen on my fathers grave the previous day.

At 8.37pm on Sunday night, as we were making our way home to Limerick after one of the greatest days of our lives, a WhatsApp message came through from my sister Sinead. The mystery had been solved, she said. The braid had been put there by Dads grand-niece Olivia Lynch, aged six.

She had played her part in a day sent to us from heaven.HIGH-profile nightclub owner Flan Costello is seeking permission to transform the upper floors in his new Milk Market bar into a backpackers hostel.

Mr Costello, is seeking an extension to a planning permission he received in 2013 to build budget accommodation on the upper floors of the former Molyneuxs pub in Mungret Street.

In that time, that outlet has returned to use as a bar, named The Milk Market Bar.

Now, its hoped plans will be reactivated to build a first -floor smoking area, a second floor extension, with the conversion of both floors to youth hostel accommodation.

Mr Costello also owns a bar and popular nightspot on Dominic Street,

Limerick remains the only major city in Ireland without youth hostel accommodation.

Sinn Fein councillor Seighin O Ceallaigh welcomed the development.

We definitely need a youth hostel. Its a huge market that Limerick simply has not tapped into. There are youth hostels in the middle of Kerry, in the middle of nowhere along the Wild Atlantic Way. But Limerick city doesnt have one, he said.

Statistics released this week reveal average hotel room prices in this region have also exceeded 100  something Cllr O Ceallaigh says makes the need for a youth hostel event stronger.

Not everyone has the budget to stay in hotels, so obviously a hostel would be a big improvement, he said.

If the development goes ahead, it would mean Limerick would have its own youth hostel for the first time since 2003 when An Oige in Pery Square shut.

In 2009, Hirar Properties secured planning permission to develop a four-floor 85-beed backpacker hostel in Cecil Street, at the former Globe nightclub.

But due to the economic downturn, these plans never saw the light of day.

Molyneuxs Pub closed in mid-2010 at the height of the recession.

Its anticipated that Limerick Council will decide on the proposals on or before Wednesday, October 10.JUST days after reaching the hurling heights with Limerick GAA, full-forward Shane Dowling shared a stage with Nathan Carter.

Shane joined the country music star on stage at the Mungret Music Festival.

To rapturous cheers from the audience, the Na Piarsaigh clubman  who scored Limericks vital third goal in last Sundays Croke Park victory  belted out the Denis Allen classic Limerick, youre a lady alongside Nathan.

Mid-way through the track, Shane was handed a hurley, while Nathan flew the green-and-white Limerick flag.

A green and white plat was also proudly tied to his microphone.

Commenting on Facebook, one lady wrote: Lads how lucky is Nathan Carter not only did he get to meet Shane Dowling but he got to sing Limerick your're a lady with him. A lot of people jealous of Nathan!

The Mungret Music Festival continues this Saturday evening with Aslan and the Stunning performing.

Kevin OHagan of the festival committee, hopes some of Limericks other Liam MacCarthy winning panel will follow in Dowlings footsteps.

We hope to have a few special guests, and maybe a bit of silverware there tonight. Declan Hannon is welcome to come and sing Caledonia on stage, he told Limericks Live95FM.Yttrium was discovered in the late 18th century, but only during the past few decades has this soft, silvery metal found widespread use  in chemistry, physics, computer technology, energy, medicine and other fields.

On the Periodic Table of Elements, yttrium is among the transition metals, which include some more well-known elements, such as silver and iron. Transition metals tend to be strong but pliable, which is why some of them, such as copper and nickel, are widely used for wires. Yttrium wires and rods are also used in electronics and solar energy. Yttrium is also used in lasers, ceramics, camera lenses, and dozens of other items.

Yttrium is also one of the rare-earth elements. Despite their name, rare-earth elements are rather plentiful around the world. The 17 rare-earth elements include yttrium, scandium and 15 lanthanides (the metallic elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71). They have become indispensible in the manufacturing of cell phones and other technology.

However, yttrium is seldom used on its own. Instead, researchers use it to form compounds, such as yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO)  which helped usher in a new phase of high-temperature superconductivity research. Yttrium is also added to metal alloys to help improve resistance to corrosion and oxidation.

"Like many elements, you won't find yttrium as an element or compound in general use," said Joseph Gambogi, mineral commodity specialist with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Minerals Information Center. "Rather, yttrium and its compounds are added to other materials to enhance properties of other materials."

Mas Subramanian, a professor of materials science at Oregon State University, agreed. "In all of these cases, yttrium is used to make the structures stable." Subramanian and his team at OSU combined yttrium with indium and manganese to form a vivid blue pigment called YinMn Blue. "Manganese is really what gave it color, but yttrium helped hold the structure together," he told Live Science.

Just the facts

Atomic number (number of protons in the nucleus): 38

Atomic symbol (on Periodic Table of Elements): Y

Atomic mass: 88.906

Melting point: 2,772 Fahrenheit (1,522 Celsius)

Boiling point: 6,053 F (3,345 C)

Density: 4.47 grams per cubic centimeter

State at room temperature: Solid

Electron configuration and elemental properties of yttrium. Shutterstock) (Image credit: Greg Robson/Creative Commons, Andrei Marincas

History

In 1787, a Swedish army lieutenant and part-time chemist named Carl Axel Arrhenius discovered an unusual black rock when exploring a quarry near Ytterby, a small town near Sweden's capital city, Stockholm. Thinking he had discovered a new mineral containing tungsten, Arrhenius sent the specimen to Johan Gadolin, a mineralogist and chemist in Finland, for analysis.

Gadolin isolated the yttrium within the mineral, which was later named gadolinite in his honor. Yttrium was named for Ytterby.

In 1843, a Swedish chemist named Carl Gustaf Mosander studied yttrium samples and discovered they contained three oxides. At the time they were called yttria, erbia and terbia. They are now known as white yttrium oxide, yellow terbium oxide, and rose-colored erbium oxide, respectively. A fourth oxide, ytterbium oxide, was identified in 1878.

Sources of yttrium

Though yttrium was discovered in Scandinavia, it is far more plentiful in other countries. China, Russia, India, Malaysia and Australia are the leading producers of yttrium. In April 2018, scientists discovered what they think is a massive deposit of rare earth metals, including yttrium, on a small Japanese island called Minamitori Island.

Yttrium can be found in most of the rare earth minerals, but has never been discovered in the Earth's crust as a freestanding element. Lunar rocks gathered during the Apollo moon missions contain yttrium. The human body also contains yttrium in tiny amounts, usually concentrated in the liver, kidneys, and bones.

Uses of yttrium

Before the era of flat-screen televisions, TV sets contained large cathode ray tubes, which were large glass tubes that projected images on the screen. Yttrium oxide, doped with the element europium, provided the red color on millions of color-television sets.

Yttrium oxide (yttria) is added to zirconium oxide (zirconia) to make an alloy that stabilizes the crystal structure of zirconia, which ordinarily changes with temperature. "Essentially, yttria locks in the cubic structure of zirconia, creating a ceramic with exceptionally high toughness that is suitable for use at very high temperatures," Gambogi said. "This type of ceramic is used in a variety of applications from electronics to thermal barrier coatings on jet engines to medical implants."

Synthetic garnets made with an yttrium-aluminum composite were commonly sold in the 1970s as simulated diamonds and other gemstones, but they eventually gave way to the cubic zirconia, Gambogi said. These days, yttrium aluminum garnets (YAG) are used as the crystals that amplify light in industrial lasers. Yttrium iron garnets are used for microwave filters, as well as in radar and communication technology.

"Although yttrium is found in a multitude of applications, the largest end uses are ceramics and phosphors," Gambogi told Live Science. "Lesser amounts are used in metallurgy, glass polishing and additives, and catalysts.  There also are a multitude of electronic applications, but oxygen sensors are an especially important use."

Yttrium is widely used to produce phosphors that are used in cell phones and larger display screens as well as general lighting. Yttrium in red phosphors in color television tubes led to widespread use in the 1960s and '70s. Fluorescent tubes (linear and compact) use significantly more yttrium per watt than LED bulbs.

The radioactive isotope yttrium-90 is used in radiation therapy to treat liver cancer and some other cancers.

Current research

Subramanian said that yttrium was easier to work with and less expensive than many other elements. For example, researchers are using yttrium instead of the much more expensive platinum to develop fuel cells. Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology and Technical University of Denmark are using yttrium and other rare earth metals in nanoparticle form, which may one day eliminate the need for fossil fuels and advance the efficiency of battery-powered cars.

Yttrium-based superconductivity research continues around the world. Breakthroughs are being made in levitation trains and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in health care. In 1987, when researchers at the University of Houston were looking for a metal that would facilitate superconductivity at high temperatures, they turned to yttrium. High-temperature superconductivity had been limited to minus 420 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 251 Celsius). Physicist Paul Chu and his team at the University of Houston discovered that a compound of yttrium, barium and copper oxide (known as Yttrium 123) could facilitate superconductivity at about minus 300 degrees F (minus 184.4 degrees C). They had created a material that could be cooled with liquid nitrogen, which would significantly lower the cost of future superconductivity applications.

Subramanian is working with paint and plastics companies to develop more uses of YinMn blue. The potential uses are due in large part to yttrium's unique properties. "It's a lighter-weight element, so you can have more volume without adding weight," he said. "That's very helpful for paint. Yttrium is an amazing element."

Additional resourcesA World War II airplane that was lost in Greenland decades ago has been found deep beneath glacial ice. The warplane was part of the so-called Lost Squadron, and was first spotted by an aerial drone, though a ground-based survey confirmed the location. Searchers hope to eventually melt the ice and recover the warplane.

Searchers have located the wreck of a P-38 Lightning fighter aircraft buried deep within a glacier in Greenland, more than 70 years after a lost squadron of U.S. warplanes crash-landed on the ice there during World War II.

The search team plans to dig and melt the rediscovered warplane out of the glacier next summer  and the searchers hope that their techniques can locate other World War II air wrecks in the region, including some that carried MIA (missing in action) U.S. airmen. [Photos: WWII Battleship 'USS Juneau' Discovered]

The Lost Squadron of airplanes included a group of two B-17 bombers and six P-38 fighters flying from the U.S. to Britain in July 1942 when they hit a storm and went down in remote Greenland. Here, a photo of the P-38 fighter on the ice. (Image credit: US Army)

The search leader, California businessman Jim Salazar, told Live Science that the team found the wrecked P-38 on July 4 beneath more than 300 feet (91 meters) of ice using a ground-penetrating radar antenna fitted to a heavy-lift aerial drone. The drone was scanning a part of the glacier where hints of the buried warplane were detected in 2011.

A ground team then used a thermal probe to melt through the thick ice  it came up covered in hydraulic oil from the buried aircraft.

After a drone found the spot where the 'Lost Squadron' may have been, a thermal probe was used to melt the thick ice and came up covered in hydraulic oil from the buried aircraft. (Image credit: Hot Point Solutions)

Salazar said that the radar-equipped drone had located the warplane beneath the ice in a few minutes of flight time, while a ground crew would have taken 6 or 7 hours to cover the same area with a radar sled.

The buried plane was in a remote region made dangerous by hidden ice crevasses, sudden storms and hungry polar bears. "This is a very cold-weather region and an inhospitable location," Salazar said.

Snowball Route

This latest find echoes the 1992 recovery of another P-38 fighter from the same "Lost Squadron" of U.S. warplanes in Greenland. That fighter was eventually restored to flying condition under the name "Glacier Girl".

A P-38 fighter from the same Lost Squadron known as "Glacier Girl" has also been recovered from the ice. It was eventually restored to flying condition. (Image credit: Tech. Sgt. Ben Bloker/US Airforce)

Both aircraft were part of a group of two B-17 bombers and six P-38 fighters flying from the U.S. to Britain in July 1942. They were traveling through a chain of secret airbases in Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland known as the Snowball Route.

Hundreds of U.S. aircraft flew this route during World War II as part of Operation Bolero, which delivered warplanes, pilots, equipment and supplies for the planned Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe.

But after flying into a severe blizzard, the eight aircraft from the lost squadron were forced to crash-land on the surface of the glacier beside Kge Bay in southeastern Greenland.

Salazar said that the area was known to pilots as Piteraq Alley because of its tendency to spawn severe snowstorms that can arise in minutes  called "piteraq" in the Greenland Inuit language.

A similar storm kept the search team in its tents on the glacier for three days during this summers expedition, Salazar said.

Greenland's Bermuda Triangle

The rediscovered fighter has been identified from its crash site as P-38 "Echo", piloted by Army Air Corps Lt. Col. Robert Wilson.

Wilson and the other airmen from the lost squadron warplanes were rescued from the ice, but other U.S. servicemen whose planes crashed in the same area were not so fortunate.

"It's Greenland's 'Bermuda Triangle'  the weather there shifts in a matter of minutes," Salazar said. "As a pilot, you can clearly understand why there were so many difficulties in that area." [Gallery: Lost in the Bermuda Triangle]

Salazar has led searchers to the Greenland glacier in search of the Lost Squadron planes since 2011, through a nonprofit he co-founded with colleague Ken McBride called Arctic Hot Point Solutions.

The summer expeditions, each consisting of a team of about six searchers, had cost between $300,000 and $450,000 apiece, Salazar said. Most of that money has come from Salazar himself, who owns a machinery business in Pasadena, California.

After the location of the Lost Squadron was tentatively identified by a drone, a ground-based team did a survey to confirm the buried aircraft's location. (Image credit: Hot Point Solutions)

The team now hopes to recover the newly found P-38 fighter from its icy tomb and restore the plane to flying condition.

The twin-tailed P-38 Lightning was an iconic World War II aircraft, but only about 10 remain in museums around the world and only a few are still flying, Salazar said.

Aircraft graveyard

Salazar now hopes that aerial drones equipped with ground-penetrating radar can help the team find the wreck of a Grumman J2F-4 amphibious "Duck" aircraft, operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. That plane crashed on the same glacier in Greenland in November 1942, just a few months after the lost squadron went down.

The Duck aircraft had been part of a search effort for the surviving crew of a C-53 Skytrooper aircraft, operated by the U.S. Army Air Corps, that also crash-landed on the glacier in bad weather, Salazar said.

The bodies of the crew from the crashed C-53 were never recovered; nor were the bodies of three U.S. serviceman on board the Duck aircraft recovered, in spite of a multimillion-dollar search effort funded by the U.S. government's Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA.

In 2013, the DPAA announced that it had found the Duck crash site, but the reported discovery turned out to be a "false positive," Salazar said.

If all goes well, and the weather in Greenland permits it, Salazar's team will work on three aircraft wrecks next summer: melting and digging through the ice to recover the newly found P-38, searching for the wreck of the U.S. Coast Guard Duck, and searching for the wreck of the C-53.

Although radio contact established that about five of the U.S. servicemen on board the C-53 had survived the crash, bad weather and the subsequent crashes of the search-and-rescue aircraft meant the crewmen were never brought back  eventually they would have starved or frozen to death. "Our intention is to repatriate these men," Salazar said.

Original article on Live Science.It is true that asteroid 2016 NF23 exists. It is true that NASA considers this asteroid a near-Earth object (NEO). It is true that, because of its size and distance from the Earth, it's been labeled a potentially hazardous asteroid. And it is also true that 2016 NF23 poses no threat to our home planet.

Again, asteroid 2016 NF23 poses absolutely no threat to us on this pass.

Asteroid 2016 NF23 will pass by Earth later this month. However, despite what sensationalist reports might say, the object poses no threat to us here on Earth. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

If there is any remaining confusion, Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer at NASA Headquarters in Washington, had this to say to Space.com in an email: "There is absolutely nothing for concern by this pass of 2016 NF23. This object is merely designated a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) because its orbit over time brings it within 5 million miles (8 million kilometers) of Earth's orbit, but there is nothing hazardous to Earth or even unique about this pass of the asteroid." [NASA Maps Dangerous Asteroids That May Threaten Earth (Photos)]

Some have claimed that the rocky object will "skim past" Earth, but the asteroid is actually very far from us. 2016 NF23 will pass us by on Tuesday (Aug. 28) at 11:38 p.m. ET (3:38 UTC on Aug. 29)at about 13.2 lunar distances (LD). One LD is the distance between Earth and the moon, so 13.2 LD would be more than 3 million miles (5 million km) away  which places 2016 NF23 at a considerable distance from our planet.

An artist's illustration of an asteroid that would pose an actual threat to Earth. Asteroid 2016 NF23 will pass by Earth this month but will not be dangerous for anyone here on our planet. (Image credit: ESA)

NASA estimates that this asteroid is likely between 229 feet and 524 feet (70 and 160 meters) in diameter. So, if it were at the larger end of this measurement, it could be larger than the Great Pyramid of Giza. But this isn't exceptionally large by asteroid standards. Ceres, for instance, is about 590 miles (950 km) across.

A massive, rocky asteroid traveling at around 20,000 mph (32,400 km/h) might seem frightening at first glance. But rocky objects fly by Earth fairly regularly, and often much closer than 2016 NF23. In 2018, there are many objects flying closer than 1 LD to Earth. As of Aug. 23, NASA was aware of 1,912 potentially hazardous asteroids.

In fact, on Wednesday (Aug. 29), NEO 1998 SD9 will pass by Earth  and it will come much closer than 2016 NF23. At about 3:27 a.m. ET, 1998 SD9 will pass by our planet at 4.2 LD at over 23,000 mph (10.7 km/s). This object, which NASA estimates to be between 126 feet and 282 feet (38 and 86 m) in diameter, will come closer than any known potentially hazardous asteroid in the next two months. But even at that close (relatively speaking) distance, we remain perfectly safe from an impact here on Earth.

There are a number of NEOs, including many that will come much closer to Earth than 2016 NF23. But, as Johnson said: "None of these passes will have any effect on Earth."

NEOs can pose a threat to us here on Earth, but remember to do your research before believing rumors about "dangerous" asteroids.

Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her @chelsea_gohd. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.Iraqi Assyrians Caught Between Survival and Migration: Cardinal Sako

Baghdad -- Christians and other Iraqi minorities need "guarantees" to survive and a "common foundation" from which to build based on "citizenship, not religion or doctrine", writes the Chaldean primate, Card Louis Raphael Sako in a message published on the website of the Chaldean patriarchate and sent to AsiaNews for information. The "deterioration" of security in the last 13 years, warns the cardinal, including kidnapping, ransom, homicide, destruction of houses and property has caused a progressive "loss of confidence" among Christians, who have been forced to emigrate.

However, today more than ever it is important to rebuild the social and political fabric and guarantee a future in their country of origin, to which they have provided "very important contributions" in the past from the "economic, social and cultural" point of view. Returning to them, warns Card Sako, the lost "dignity". Below the full text of Patriarch Sako's message. A translation from the original Arabic In this article I would like to discuss the main reasons why Christians must on one hand remain in their homeland, that is Iraq, or on the other hand to leave it and emigrate. In any case, I want to express my concern about the current and future situation of our country. First of all, it should be pointed out that Christians are an original people in Iraq, not an immigrant community that has come from another planet. In fact, the roots of Iraqi Christians date back to the first century AD, while their ethnic origins go back thousands of years before, being descendants of Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syriacs and Arabs.Throughout their long history, Christians have served their country in a very decisive and influential way at all levels, including economic, cultural and social. They firmly believe that Iraq is their land of origin and an integral part of their identity, and that they represent a fundamental part of the different components of society. Therefore, they refuse to be marginalized as regards their membership of the land and the Iraqi people. And despite all that has happened in Iraq, Christians desire, from the depth of their hearts and for all, peace, stability, true equality, real recognition of citizenship, freedom and dignity. The reasons that push towards immigration Iraqi Christians have withstood prolonged social and political pressures, and are treated as an insignificant minority and second class citizens. And of course, this way of treating them hurts. We only need to recall all that Christians suffered during the war between Iran and Iraq, the occupation of Kuwait, the 13 years of embargo, the fall of the regime in 2003, and the failure of successive governments in to lay the foundations for a national state and to consolidate a culture of citizenship and equality. On the contrary, sectarianism and tribalism triumphed, which are founded on the protection of one groups members only, the spread of a religious preaching based on fundamentalism, which refers to ancient concepts to justify violence, although religion should be based on mercy , acceptance of the other, and a respectful attitude towards everyone. What's more, the deterioration of the security situation in the last 13 years, and its consequences such as the series of kidnappings, ransoms, murders, bombing and seizures of homes and properties, has meant that Christians have lost confidence and hope for a better future, and everything that forced them to leave everything and migrate. But the real shock was the invasion of the Islamic State "Daesh" and its conquest of the city of Mosul and the whole territory of the Nineveh plains in 2014, and the emptying of its Christians (?). [The symbol: (?: Nazarenes), placed on the houses and properties of Christians in Mosul and in the Nineveh plains, by Isis has now become the symbol of today's anti-Christian persecution. In reality, the Islamic State had given three choices to Christians: conversion to Islam, payment of a tax, of so-called protection (jizya - dhimma), or forced and immediate abandonment of their land, otherwise they would have been killed. And unfortunately, Daesh has erased Christian monuments and symbols in Mosul, both ancient and modern ones. Immediately after the fall of the regime (by Saddam Hussein), some local political forces began a conflict among themselves to dominate the Christian towns and villages of the Nineveh plains, with the aim of redesigning the demographic map of that area, each of those forces for their own interests. The military barrier that separates the Christian town of Batnaya (under the control of the Iraqi army and the Shiite militias) from those of Telesqof and Alqosh also Christian (under the control of the 'Peshmerga' armed forces of the autonomous region of Kurdistan Iraqi) is the concrete proof of this conflict. This barrier has not been removed even today, despite promises made to remove it from both the Iraqi Kurdistan region authority and the Iraqi government. International organizations have also encouraged Christians to emigrate, offering them all the support and tools to do so. Equally, the Western mass media have pushed in this direction, reiterating that - within five or ten years - there would be no more Christians in Iraq. All these factors have contributed in bringing Christians to a point where they feel that their dignity is attacked, their trust is lost, their millennial existence is threatened. And this is also true of their membership, history, identity, faith, and language. Allow me to give a concrete example concerning the university of Hamdaniya (Qaraqosh, which is a Christian city on the Nineveh plains). An academic who does not belong to this city has been appointed as president. While we know that the Church has helped the university to continue after the invasion of Daesh in that area, and even today the students belonging to it use the halls and buildings of the Church as university classrooms. And there are other unpleasant and sad examples like this. Christians were about 4 or 5% of the Iraqi population. They were about a million and a half before the fall of the regime [by Saddam Hussein], and they were a national, cultural, social and economic elite. But since the beginning of 2003 about 1220 Christians have been killed in various incidents of violence throughout Iraq, including 700 people, including religious, killed for their Christian affiliation. And 23,000 Christian properties were seized, 58 churches were blown up. Let it be clear that none of these statistics include what the Islamic State did. Daesh, in reality, burned, desecrated, etc. all the churches in Mosul and in the towns and villages of the Nineveh plains. And as a consequence of all this, one million Christians, out of a million and a half, left Iraq. The factors that encourage them to stay Iraqi Christians and other minorities need reassurance to stay in their land, continue their millennial presence, and continue their coexistence with other members of society. They want the government to look at them with the same eyes with which they look at other groups, making them feel that they are citizens of equal dignity, both in rights and duties. Because citizenship, as we know, is not based on religion and doctrine, but on common foundations. Christians want quick and clear solutions for some issues, such as: respect for their identity, diversity, the areas historically belonging to them (against attempts at demographic and ethnic change), their protection from any threat, attack, or from any law that oppresses them. Moreover, there is a great need to rebuild trust between Christians and their neighbors in the areas freed by Daesh, through concrete procedures such as: punishment of criminals, compenfor damages in favor of victims, restitution of property to rightful owners, the removal of mines from their fields, the reconstruction of their homes, and the improvement in essential services, so that they can return to their homes. The current situation requires a precise strategy to establish social justice and equal opportunities. And it is very important to work on discernment, teaching, culture education of the acceptance of the other, and mutual respect among people belonging to different religions. All this must be done in homes, in places of worship, in schools, on books and school programs, and in the formation of teachers. Finally, we must condemn any insult or aggression against any citizen, especially if caused by his religious, doctrinal, ethnic, or sexual affiliation.

Cardinal Sako is Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad and president of the Iraqi Episcopal Conference.A man is wanted for robbing a south Laredo grocery store at gunpoint, according to Laredo police.

READ MORE: Woman arrested for allegedly pocketing over $2,000 from elderly father

The robbery was reported at about 8:30 a.m. Aug. 18 in the 600 block of Prada Machin Drive. A man walked into the store, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money from the cash register.

He walked away with about $100. No injuries were reported. Police said the man's face was covered during the robbery. He also wore a cap and gloves.

Anyone with information on the case can call LPD at 795-2800 or Laredo Crime Stoppers at 727-TIPS (8477). Information provided through Crime Stoppers may be eligible for a cash reward.

READ MORE: Female employee of Laredo drive-thru dragged by vehicle during robbery

Callers will remain anonymous.On the anniversary of Hurricane Harvey flooding, staff writer Jennifer Bolton reflects on how the flooding of her Dickinson home and the months of repairs and disruption that followed have changed her life.

About a year ago, I was soaking wet and trying to keep my dogs from escaping our small attic room to swim in our flooded living room. My husband sawed a hole into our roof. I was on a video call with my sister, who wanted to see with her own eyes that if the water reached our attic, we could get out.

I know you dont know this, but people are drowning in attics, she said. Please cut a hole in the roof. Let me see that Luke is cutting a hole in the roof.

HARVEY THEN AND NOW: Dramatic photos show how the hurricane devastated Houston

A neighbor who had also just lost everything stopped his boat in front of our home  he was able to pull up right to our roof. My husband helped me through the newly installed escape hatch, I log-rolled down the roof as gracefully as that can be accomplished (which, by the way, is not very gracefully in case you were wondering), got my dogs on the boat and we were off.

Fifty-two inches of water in a house is a lot of water, and the flood took an awful lot of things from us. It took our piano and most of the 1,000-plus books in my collection. It took a pretty sizable chuck of my husbands tools. It took photos, dishes, a couple guitars, drawings and notes from my niece, clothes, beds, ugly curtains that I had been meaning to get rid of, dressers  even, to some extent, my sense of security for a while.

Jennifer Bolton/Houston Chronicle

But now that a year has passed, its odd to look back and see, very clearly, that the flood gave us more than it took.

It gave my husband and me an amazing opportunity to spend time together, to sift through mud and sludge and wet papers and soaked furniture and moldy drywall and soaked insulation and realize that most of those things we lost arent really that important.

The flood showed me how much he loves me. I saw him tirelessly plan the rebuild of our house around me.

DON'T SAY IT'S OVER: A year later, Houston's Harvey recovery remains uneven

Stand here and put your arms up, he said, I want to see how tall I can make this shelf so you can reach it. OK now, stand there and pretend like youre doing something at the counter. I want to make sure theyre a comfortable height for you.

The flood gave us the opportunity to see the huge capacity so many people have for love, kindness, selflessness and thoughtfulness.

Jennifer Bolton/Houston Chronicle

Without a second thought, my husbands sister and brother-in-law drove through flood waters to pick us up from the side of the road, bring us to the safety of their home, wrap their arms around us and offer their sons room for us to sleep in. Ive never been so thankful for a shower.

My sister packed up clothes, shoes, brushes, makeup  anything she could find that belonged to her, my mom and my brother-in-law  and drove through high water to make sure my husband and I had some sense of comfort and normalcy. Giving me these things, in lots of cases, left her without.

Within hours of being rescued, a Go Fund Me my sister set up for us had about $5,000 in it. Friends, family, anonymous donors and people I had never even met before and people I hadnt seen or spoken with since elementary school so thoughtfully contributed. For months, no one could even say the phrase Go Fund Me in my proximity without it prompting tears. With that we were able to buy the lumber we needed to rebuild and appliances  so many things you dont think about needing when youre rebuilding a home. Do you have any idea how many nails it takes? Way more than I thought, it turns out.

The flood gave me hope.

Read the original first-person account At 11:30 p.m. Saturday, I was watching "Rick and Morty" and drinking a glass of cheap wine in a pair of horrendous shorts on the couch with my husband. By 8 the next morning, my husband was slowly working his way through the roof of our attic with a dull Sawzall. MORE: A normal weekend turned upside down by Harvey See More Collapse

After I saw the wreckage of the house right after the water receded, if you told me wed have the building empty and down to studs in two days, I would never have believed you. But in the first weekend we were able to get back to our home we had more than 50 people turn up to help purge the hallways of mud, haul things out in the yard to dry, tear out anything the flood had touched. The house was full of laughter, hammering, destruction  the necessary kind that has to happen before things get better. Having these people in our home immediately made things better.

People very close to us, who have been a second family to me almost my entire life, were there every second of the house tear down until one of them had to leave to get stitches after a wayward tile flew into his shin. The rest of his family came back the next day. Anyone willing to risk hepatitis to help is a good person to have in your corner.

I sat in our driveway with a friend Ive had since kindergarten and her children, sifting through wet love notes, cards from family members who weve lost, artwork from elementary school, seeing what was salvageable and setting it out to dry in the sunshine.

It could have been sad, but it wasnt. It was really beautiful.

The flood showed me how to be more grateful.

My brother-in-law, who works as a project manager, spent hours, days, weeks helping us. He took a week of vacation and spent it in the moldy, muddy, hot skeleton of our home.

It gave me time with my mom.

After the waters had receded enough to leave my sister-in-laws house, my mom immediately opened the doors of my childhood home to us. I got to sit in the living room with her and hear about her day. I got to spend time with her getting ready in the mornings and at dinner. We got to watch the Astros win the World Series together.

The flood gave me a sense of exactly how much I have to be thankful for.

Complete strangers opened their arms in ways I would have never thought possible.

One person gave me clothes, shoes, her own cell phone charger and her own curling iron out of her purse. Another woman who went to the same high school as me drove down from New Jersey. She brought an entire suitcase of beauty products with her. Let me tell you. You dont know how much you miss good facewash until you dont have it anymore. She will never have any idea how much this meant. It was not a small gesture, and I will be appreciative of this for the rest of my life.

Jennifer Bolton/Houston Chronicle

To this day, if we need toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, lotion, socks  any number of things  all my husband and I have to do is go to one of the many boxes of items people lovingly pieced together and gave to us. In those moments when Im sifting through our storage for a razor or a pair of tweezers among these things, I think about how very lucky we are. I think about how thankful I am and I wonder if there will ever be a way to let those who helped us know what an enormous impact their kindness was on our lives. We have so much. We have always had so much. Harvey gave us that knowledge.

The giving that came from this was constant, is ongoing and started before the flood had even ended, with our neighbor, who, after also losing so much, gave us a ride to the front of our neighborhood.

There is no other way for me to feel but thankful.

jennifer.bolton@chron.comIn a nomination letter Humble ISD community engagement specialist, Marilyn Mann likened volunteer Laura Clarke to a superhero, with x-ray vision, pinpointing what needs to be done to make a child feel safe, loved and valued.

Jerri Monbaron, Humble ISD director of the office of community development, announced to the school board on Aug. 14, that Clarke is one of 15 people in Texas to be a recipient of the State Board of Educations 2018 Heroes for Children Award.

Clarke has been an Humble ISD volunteer for nearly 2 decades.

She did not reserve her volunteer efforts for only her childrens school, but instead focused her energies in providing more for those who have less, Monbaron said.

Clarke is responsible to launching a Traveling Clothes Closet, which provides formalwear to fifth grade students for the Manners Banquet. She also ensured that students at 9 Title 1 schools had access to literature during the summer months when they were not in school.

She encouraged every school in Humble ISD to get involved and over 3,000 books were donated and distributed, Monbaron said.

Clarkes initiative to collect hot and cold cereal for area social service agencies to provide students with food over the summer amassed three SUVs-worth of breakfast food.

Because of her contributions to bring a Community Health and Safety Fair to Humble ISD, over 815 free vaccinations were given to low-income families by Texas Childrens Hospital during the event.

She also helped save the annual Project Graduation end-of-year event for local high school seniors.

Laura heard that the Project Graduation Committee at a local high school did not have the funds to host a graduation event for the senior class, Monbaron said. She immediately called the school and volunteered to put the spaghetti supper for the parents while the students entertained the crowd. She also volunteered to donate silent auction items.  Seniors were excited that they were going to be honored with a dinner and a chance to perform. She even enlisted the help of a rival high school to help set up, serve the dinner and clean up. The evening was a huge success with Project Graduation raising $3, 500 in that one night.

Clarke will be honored during a ceremony this September in Austin, where she will receive a plaque and a resolution that will commend her years of service helping the students of Humble ISD.

Having known Clarke for years, school board president Charles Cunningham said the recognition is well-deserved, calling Clarke a true servant leader.

Clarke says the volunteer projects can only be accomplished as a collaborative effort.

I dont do any of this alone.  I want to thank the volunteers that constantly work with me and always, always help me, Clarke said.

mfeuk@hcnonline.comKABUL, Afghanistan - Just over a week ago, Afghan and U.S. officials hoped that after 17 years of war, the Taliban was starting down a road to peace. Despite a deadly four-day attack on the city of Ghazni, President Ashraf Ghani had offered the insurgents a second cease-fire since June, and Taliban leaders had hinted that they wanted to continue private talks held with U.S. officials in July.

Now, that optimism has all but collapsed. With the Taliban ignoring Ghani's truce offer and accepting an invitation for talks in Moscow instead, analysts said the momentum for direct negotiations has been derailed by international politics. And the intentions of insurgent leaders - who spout constant propaganda but remain invisible to the public - seem more inscrutable than ever.

"This could be a political ploy by the Taliban to exploit Washington's poor relations with Russia and pressure it to agree to more generous terms, or they may merely want to see what the Russians have to offer," said Michael Kugelman, an expert on Afghanistan at the Wilson Center in Washington.

Kugelman and others said they thought the Taliban's fierce assault early this month on Ghazni, which left more than 320 dead on both sides and parts of the provincial capital in ruins, was part of a two-pronged military and diplomatic strategy in which the insurgents calculate that success in battle can gain them negotiating leverage on issues such as their desire to implement full Islamic law in Afghanistan.

"The Taliban are getting very clever at maneuvering," Kugelman said. Because the insurgents are convinced they can win on the battlefield, he said, "they have the luxury of shopping around for the best negotiating situation." Otherwise, they can "happily return to the battlefield and continue the fight."

Moscow included U.S. and Afghan representatives on its list of invitees to a conference on Afghanistan early next month, but the event was viewed in both Kabul and Washington as a slap at their efforts to engage the Taliban in direct talks. Both governments quickly declined to send representatives.

"The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan cannot attend such a meeting when the Taliban do not have a commitment for peace negotiations," Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Nasir Andisha said in a statement Friday. He said the Afghan insurgents have "disrespected internationally sanctioned principles."

On Friday, however, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Afghan government signaled that it would take part in the Moscow meeting if the Taliban agreed to hold direct talks with Afghan representatives on the sidelines. There was no immediate confirmation of this from Kabul.

The State Department announced that the Trump administration would not participate in the meeting, to which China, Pakistan, Iran and India were also invited, saying that such a broad gathering would "not advance the cause of peace."

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said Thursday in a brief telephone interview that a Taliban delegation would attend the Moscow meeting and discuss the group's position. "We do not know why Kabul and America are not taking part," he said.

On its face, there might seem to be no harm in Moscow's move to host a conference on Afghanistan. A major actor in the region, Russia has done so before, although little tangible progress resulted. Russia also has repeatedly expressed concerns about terrorism and violence spilling over from Afghanistan into Central Asia and Russia itself, especially from the regional affiliates of the Islamic State militants.

"The U.S. has tried to bring Afghanistan to peace on its own, and it didn't work, either," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday in Moscow. "The international community now has to take care of this matter collectively."

Russian officials also expressed disappointment that the Taliban did not accept Ghani's offer of a second truce after a three-day cease-fire in June that brought Taliban fighters into peaceful contact with Afghan civilians and security forces. The insurgents did offer to release several hundred prisoners but never responded directly to Ghani's proposal of a three-month truce.

U.S. and Afghan officials have accused Russia of providing support to the Taliban as a counterweight to the Islamic State, and Afghan officials have voiced concern that the Moscow conference would serve to further cement the Kremlin's ties with the Taliban rather than prodding the insurgents to settle the Afghan conflict. Russian officials have denied having such motives or role in abetting the Taliban.

For the Taliban, it might seem reasonable to engage with a variety of regional governments in an effort to resolve the Afghan conflict, since numerous efforts to begin domestic peace negotiations have failed in recent years. But the current involvement of the successor to the Soviet Union, which fought a bloody war against Islamist insurgents in Afghanistan in the 1980s, seems suspicious and intrusive to many Afghans.

"For the Taliban to be zipping around the planet is not conducive to a settlement," one Western diplomat in Kabul said this week, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment. "It can give them global stature, but it is also a distraction from the central effort. They are doing it for show, and the right people are not at the table."

Moreover, recent public statements by U.S. officials and private meetings between Taliban representatives and U.S. diplomats seemed to signal a breakthrough in a long-standing impasse on peace talks. The Taliban has always insisted that it wants to negotiate with the United States, while Washington has maintained that only Afghans can be involved. Lately, though, U.S. officials have indicated they would be willing to participate in such talks.

But the Taliban appears to be caught between two competing concerns, analysts said. The June cease-fire made clear a nationwide yearning for peace and exposed insurgent fighters to fellow Muslim civilians who begged them to end the war. That apparently disturbed hard-line Taliban leaders and commanders, who reportedly worry that their troops could lose the will to fight.

"If the Taliban were to accept Ghani's new cease-fire, they would never let their fighters enter the cities this time," said one foreign analyst. "All that mingling undercut a lot of their propaganda."

- - -

Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul contributed to this report.WASHINGTON - It got off to a bad start, and President Donald Trump's venomous relationship with Sen. John McCain didn't end well, either.

The president was reportedly disinvited to McCain's funeral months ago, after McCain's battle with cancer took a turn for the worse.

The veteran Arizona Republican senator, 81, died Saturday, a day after his family announced he had decided to discontinue medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Throughout McCain's illness, Trump continued to publicly snub him - including a recent appearance in which the president declined to say McCain's name when signing a bill that was named for him.

Trump did not want to comment on McCain while he was alive, White House officials said, and there was no effort to publish a statement Friday even as many politicians released supportive comments on the ailing senator.

Soon after McCain's death was announced Saturday evening, Trump tweeted condolences: "My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!"

The pair's increasingly combative relationship served as a metaphor of sorts for the Republican Party: the former Vietnam POW and "proud conservative" who fell short to Barack Obama in his run for president in 2008 versus the loud draft avoider who rapidly seized control of the GOP and White House eight years later.

McCain rarely disguised his distaste for Trump as the real estate developer ran for president on a platform that included attacks on immigrants and U.S. allies. In July 2015, after then-candidate Trump rallied an estimated 15,000 in Phoenix and claimed to represent a "silent majority," McCain said Trump had "fired up the crazies" in his state. The battle was on.

By the end of that month, Trump had disparaged McCain's Vietnam War service, saying McCain was "not a war hero" despite spending more than five years as a POW and enduring torture.

"He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured," Trump said during a forum in Ames, Iowa.

Trump refused to apologize at the time, despite criticism from nearly every corner, and never retracted the statement. He has occasionally told people that he does not regret the comment.

"The reality is that John McCain the politician has made America less safe, sent our brave soldiers into wrongheaded foreign adventures, covered up for President Obama with the VA scandal and has spent most of his time in the Senate pushing amnesty," Trump wrote in an op-ed for USA Today that month. "He would rather protect the Iraqi border than Arizona's."

McCain did eventually endorse Trump in 2016, then withdrew his support weeks before the election after the emergence of an "Access Hollywood" tape where Trump is recorded bragging about groping women.

Trump's immediate and angry response: "The very foul mouthed Sen. John McCain begged for my support during his primary (I gave, he won), then dropped me over locker room remarks!"

In office, McCain supported much of Trump's economic and national security agenda, despite his misgivings about Trump's dismissive approach to traditional U.S. alliances. But he also showed frustration toward Trump's White House, dismissing nominees abruptly from his office or growing angry at senior West Wing aides.

McCain crossed the White House last year over the GOP attempt to repeal Obama's Affordable Care Act, and Trump has never forgiven him. After the vote, Trump said that McCain voted no out of a personal vendetta against him and that he would never vote yes to something that helped Trump.

He repeatedly told advisers that McCain should have stepped down from the seat and let the Republican governor appoint another senator. Trump has also told White House aides that his supporters are not big fans of McCain and boasted that he became president while McCain did not.

Trump's retelling of the health-care vote, usually without mentioning McCain by name, continued throughout the senator's more than year-long treatment for brain cancer.

"Obamacare, we got rid of the individual mandate, which is the most unpopular aspect," Trump said during a political speech Aug. 13 in Utica, New York. "I would have gotten rid of everything, but as you know one of our, one of our wonderful senators said, 'thumbs down,' at 2 o'clock in the morning."

Trump's aggrieved references to the health-care vote "never stops being gross," McCain's daughter Meghan wrote on Twitter in June.

"I've let him know several times that was beneath the office and it doesn't reflect well on him," Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and longtime McCain friend, said of Trump's attacks. "He's an American hero by any stretch of the imagination, and I don't see how it helps the president."

In May, Trump and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to apologize for an aide's remark that McCain's opposition to Gina Haspel, nominee for CIA director, "doesn't matter" because "he's dying anyway."

The aide, Kelly Sadler, left her job the next month, but White House aides said her departure was not a punishment for the remark. Trump told advisers he did not care if she apologized or not and was more determined to suss out who leaked the comments, calling advisers in for a West Wing scolding.

During occasional Oval Office conversations about McCain's health or status in the Senate, Trump would usually say nothing, current and former officials said. He grew angry regularly that McCain was portrayed as the "good guy" in the news media and he as the "bad guy," according to a former senior administration official who spoke to Trump about McCain.

Trump has fumed to friends about McCain's role in receiving research compiled by a former British intelligence officer that alleged Russia had potentially compromising information about Trump. He has complained that McCain criticized him over Russia and foreign policy, questioning his expertise and noting that he won the presidency and McCain did not.

"Even a remote risk that the President of the United States might be vulnerable to Russian extortion had to be investigated," McCain wrote in his last book, "The Restless Wave," published this year.

"I could not independently verify any of it, and so I did what any American who cares about our nation's security should have done. I put the dossier in my office safe, called the office of the director of the FBI, Jim Comey, and asked for a meeting," McCain wrote.

McCain's assessments became more withering the longer Trump was in office.

In August 2017, McCain denounced white supremacists who held a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, after Trump had said the event was attended by "fine people on both sides."

"White supremacists aren't patriots, they're traitors - Americans must unite against hatred & bigotry," McCain tweeted at the time.

In accepting the Freedom Medal at the National Constitutional Center in October, McCain condemned "half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems," a clear dig at Trump.

Asked about McCain's remarks the following day, Trump said "people have to be careful, because at some point I fight back."

"You know, I'm being very nice, I'm being very, very nice, but at some point I fight back and it won't be pretty," Trump said in a WMAL radio interview.

Not long afterward, McCain appeared to take a shot at Trump for avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War.

"One aspect of the [Vietnam] conflict by the way that I will never ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America, and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur," McCain said during an interview with CSPAN.

McCain did not mention Trump by name, but his meaning appeared clear. Trump received five wartime deferments, including one in which a doctor diagnosed him with bone spurs.

Finally in July, McCain pilloried Trump for his chummy performance alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a news conference in Helsinki, calling it "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."

The U.S. president had rhetorically embraced Putin and appeared to side with him over U.S. intelligence officials on Moscow's aggressive election interference.

"The damage inflicted by President Trump's naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate," McCain said. "No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant."

Trump said nothing in response.Washington

On one of the worst days of his presidency, Donald Trump was chatting aboard Air Force One when the conversation took a detour into gallows humor.

Trump was returning from a rally in West Virginia just hours after two former members of his inner circle were found or pleaded guilty, when one passenger quipped that a news story would surely soon be breaking about the president fuming onboard. Everyone laughed, including the president.

Despite the momentary levity, though, Trump is increasingly frustrated and isolated as the investigations that have long dogged his White House plunge into the personal territory he once declared off-limits.

One by one, the president's men have turned against him.

It was a bruising week for Trump, with a trio of men who are intimately familiar with his secrets and business dealings now cooperating with prosecutors. First, Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, implicated him in testimony about hush money payments to two women who allege affairs with him. On the same day, his former campaign chairman was found guilty on a slew of financial charges.

But then came revelations that his longtime friend, David Pecker, the CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc., had been granted immunity from prosecution to provide information, followed by news that Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who had once worked for Trump's father, was cooperating as well.

There is no indication their cooperation extends beyond the scope of the Cohen probe. But for Trump the revelations have only added to fury about the investigations that began with questions about Russian election meddling but have broadened from there.

Allies wonder what Trump might do if the pressure continues.

As the president exited Washington for a day trip to Ohio on Friday, a White House official said Trump was unhappy with what he perceived as disloyalty but far from melting down. Another person with knowledge of Trump's thinking said the president continues to direct much of his ire at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who infuriated him by recusing himself from the Russia probe.

Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio says the president may be surprised that he can't exert more control from the West Wing over his former friends and employees.

"He's less powerful in these relationships now than he was before he became president. That must just amaze him," said D'Antonio, author of "Never Enough, Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success." ''He's sitting behind the Resolute Desk and he can push a button and get a Coke but he can't control Michael Cohen."

Within the West Wing, aides have grown numb to the drumbeat of bad news.

Staffers continue to keep their heads down and do their jobs.

Still, the week's developments brought the investigations up to the doorstep of Trump Tower  a place that Trump has warned Mueller is a no-go.WASHINGTON - At the outset of the 1998 impeachment hearings, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked a memorable question that could resonate for some lawmakers today: "Is this Watergate or Peyton Place?"

"Peyton Place" was a steamy soap opera from the 1960s, based on a 1950s novel of the same name. The final judgment, based on the outcome of that impeachment process, was that President Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was much more a soap opera than something close to the Watergate scandal that drove President Richard Nixon from the Oval Office.

Graham, a House member who later won a Senate seat in 2002, reflected on what happened during the Clinton case for lessons on how to handle today's investigations that have ensnared President Donald Trump.

He is one of 31 senators who had a sense of deja vu last week as prosecutors secured a guilty plea from Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who implicated the president in a scheme to buy the silence of women who allegedly had affairs with Trump.

Of those current senators, 17 were in the Senate at the time of the Clinton impeachment and voted as jurors in the 1999 trial; 14 served in the House and voted on the articles of impeachment in December 1998 before eventually winning seats in the Senate. Two senators, Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., now the minority leader, and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, participated in both processes, having won Senate races in November 1998.

Twenty years ago, Clinton was accused of lying in a deposition and before a grand jury about the affair with the White House intern and trying to obstruct justice.

The underlying Trump case involves accusations of whether his 2016 campaign colluded with Russian operatives to undermine his opponent, Hillary Clinton. But the Cohen outcome felt familiar to those in Congress during Bill Clinton's impeachment.

As lawmakers consider what happens next, some are invariably reflecting on their past views of Clinton.

"What I learned is, be careful, don't use the term loosely. Impeachment is a serious outcome in the Constitution, maybe the most serious," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who was in his first term during the 1999 trial. "Take it seriously."

Graham, who has flipped back and forth between Trump critic and confidant, believes that there is no chance for impeachment or removal from office if the investigation led by special prosecutor Robert Mueller ends up focusing on allegations of covering up an affair.

"There's the Clinton scenario, where it broke into partisan camps and never changed," Graham said. "If Mr. Mueller doesn't have anything directly implicating the president on collusion, I think this thing becomes like a Clinton event."

Most Democrats tend to agree that as long as Republican voters stick with Trump, then impeachment becomes a moot point. "No party [in the majority] has ever impeached, to my knowledge, the president of that party, and you reinforce that with this is the most head-in-the-sand, extreme party in the majority that we've seen in my lifetime," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said.

Brown was a House member in 1998 and voted against impeaching Clinton, but the Republican-led House narrowly passed two articles, one for perjury and the other for obstruction of justice. In the Senate, where a two-thirds majority was required for a conviction and removal from office, Clinton was safe.

Just 50 senators, all Republicans, voted in favor of the obstruction charge while five GOP senators joined all 45 Democrats in opposition. Only 45 GOP senators voted to convict on the perjury charge.

Based on what is in the public realm so far, Brown predicted a similar result even if Democrats win back congressional majorities in November. "For most of us, we're not thinking about it. There's no reason to go through that exercise except for punditry," he said.

The Constitution gives no real definition for what makes a "high crime" worthy of being removed from office, so even the most veteran lawmakers do not have their own bellwether for what is grounds for impeachment.

"There is no legal definition," said Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who voted to impeach Clinton in the House in 1998. He talked about some "level of seriousness," before finally giving up. "No, I don't have a precise definition."

Does Durbin view last week's legal developments as worthy of impeachment?

"I'm not going to make any judgment on that until all the information is in," he said.

Graham served as one of 13 managers sent from the House to prosecute the case against Clinton, leading the obstruction portion, even though he voted against the perjury article.

"I didn't vote for that article because I think that's human nature to protect yourself and your family. I didn't want that to be a high crime," he said.

What was a high crime? Clinton's efforts to "manipulate the legal system, like hiding evidence or encouraging people to commit perjury," he said. "The rule of law has to be protected."

That sounds pretty similar, then, to the accusations that Trump encouraged Cohen to break the law and make payments to his alleged mistresses - but Graham declined to say that charge, if proved, rises to that level.

Both sides agree that the case against Trump has to change the minds of conservative lawmakers and voters so they will turn on the president, the way Nixon's GOP allies on Capitol Hill turned on him and encouraged him to resign in 1974.

"When they begin to break, that's when it's over," Graham said. "What does it take for the party to break? I think it takes something like a Watergate, and in this case, to me, it would take direct involvement by the president - either he knew or should have known about an effort to collude with the Russians."ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Fresh off a successful U.S. tour and string of daring political reforms at home, Ethiopia's youthful new prime minister is riding a wave of popularity in this strategic East African nation, the continent's second-largest.

At the same time, however, the country has been racked by new outbreaks of ethnic unrest, with aid agencies reporting more than a million people driven from their homes just this year, mostly by violent conflict.

Seeking to safeguard his efforts to transform the once-authoritarian nation, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 42, on Sunday departed from his usual rhetoric of love and reconciliation to insist that security is a top priority.

"Since the rule of law is the glue and foundation that keeps people living together in harmony, the government won't tolerate the increasing tendency to disregard it," he said. On Wednesday, authorities in Ethiopia's Southern regional state said 300 people had been arrested for taking part in violence, and 500 more were charged in the Oromia region.

It was three years of anti-government protests spearheaded by the Oromo people, Ethiopia's biggest ethnic group, that helped bring Abiy, an Oromo, to power in April after his predecessor resigned.

The protests stopped, but they have been replaced this summer by clashes between groups looking to settle age-old disputes about land. The most serious took place in the south between the Gedeo people and the Guji Oromo, precipitating massive displacement.

July also saw clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Bale area of Oromia and mob attacks on ethnic minorities including Tigrayans and Somalis. This month, a man was lynched in the Oromo town of Shashemene by a mob convinced he was carrying a bomb.

Then there was the grenade tossed at Abiy during a June 23 rally and the possible assassination July 26 of the project manager of the landmark dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile River.

Visiting Republican Rep. Christopher Smith of New Jersey, who has been critical of Ethiopia's rights record, said the United States must support the country during this period.

"It's breathtaking what's happening here. It's got to be sustained," he said Thursday in Addis Ababa. "We have to make sure a flare-up, even a serious one with large loss of life, doesn't become an undoing of a trajectory that I think will lead to peace and reconciliation."

Ethiopia is a patchwork of more than 80 ethnic groups whose differences were often smothered by the heavy hand of the state, which since 1991 has been a coalition of parties from the four main ethnic groups: the Oromo, the Amhara, the Tigrayans and the southern tribes.

The new government's moves to expand political freedom and curtail the security services have allowed many of the groups' old grievances to erupt again, said E.J. Hogendoorn, deputy Africa director for the International Crisis Group.

"This is a very familiar phenomenon when it comes to the democratization process from hitherto relatively autocratic regimes," he said. "There are a lot of pent-up frustrations with how the country has been managed, particularly with land."

Compounding the problem, Ethiopia's economy is in a perilous state, with heavy foreign debt and a shortage of international currency hampering the ambitious infrastructure projects embraced by the government.

Abiy spent much of his U.S. trip appealing to hundreds of thousands of expatriate Ethiopians to invest in their native country and come visit, with hotels and travel firms encouraged to offer special deals for Ethiopian New Year's on Sept. 11.

Even as Abiy's reforms pile up, including the release of thousands of prisoners, the dismissal of hard-line military and intelligence heads, opposition figures allowed home and a promise to revise the country's notorious anti-terrorism law, fears are growing that dissatisfaction with the economy could ultimately derail everything.

While there are plans to encourage more foreign investment and liberalize what has long been a state-dominated economy, it will take time to create the jobs being demanded by many of the angry youths.

Mohammed Ademo, an analyst of Ethiopian affairs who founded the Opride news site while living abroad for 16 years, returned to Ethiopia this summer and traveled through the Oromo region. He found frustration rising in the countryside, especially among the "Qeerroo," the young men at the forefront of the protests that helped bring Abiy to power.

He also noted that despite the dramatic changes at the top level of government, the local officials who were at the center of the protesters' grievances are still in place.

"The Qeerroo feel that the local administration remains corrupt and unresponsive and that the central government is not addressing their economic demands," he said.

In many places, groups of youths are acting as self-appointed police, creating the specter of parallel systems of government and threatening the country's integrity, said Awol Allo, an expert on Ethiopia and a lecturer in law at Britain's Keele University.

Allo said the government must step up to deal with the new violence, but he acknowledged that authorities are hamstrung because of the security forces' past reputation for killing protesters.

"If they pass an order for security forces to take measures, and they use disproportionate force against people, that would have consequences affecting the legitimacy and support they are enjoying right now," he said.

Amid these problems, Abiy's opponents in the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party hailing from the north that once dominated the government, have become more vocal. This month, Tigray state's president warned that if the central government continues on this track, it risks destroying the federal system in place for a quarter-century.

"The country is falling apart, and you cannot keep Ethiopia [together] by patching little holes," Debretsion Gebremichael said at a news conference.

The TPLF's criticisms strike many as presumptuous, given its role in creating the current conditions.

Jawar Mohammed, an influential Oromo activist and a fierce regime critic before Abiy came to power, attributes some of the unrest to those seeking to sabotage the reforms.

"This is like the power struggles in Addis Ababa manifesting itself in the street," he told The Washington Post.

Even former prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, whose resignation helped clear the way for Abiy's rise, has publicly said that the TPLF was overbearing and blocked reforms during his tenure as premier and head of the ruling EPRDF party coalition.

But Hailemariam's deputy, Demeke Mekonnen, whose support for Abiy helped ensure his election and who retained his post under Abiy, said in an interview that reform had always been the party's plan - it was just a question of speed.

"Previously it was a very, very gradual, incremental process," he said. "Now it is a very progressive and dramatic approach."

Demeke acknowledged the new government's challenges, including replacing the officials unable to manage the conflicts in the countryside, boosting the country's earning capacity and meeting the sky-high expectations of the people.

Still, he said, there was no question of slowing the pace of reforms.

"Keeping this momentum and inclusive approach; deepening democracy; improving governance, the services; changing the bureaucracy, the attitudes and response - that is the serious agenda for the upcoming time," he said.Washington

John McCain, the six-term Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee, has chosen to discontinue medical treatment for his brain cancer, his family said Friday.

In a statement, the family said McCain had surpassed expectations for survival, but "the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict." The family added, "With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment."

The senator, who would be 82 next week, has been away from the Capitol since December. If he should resign his seat or die soon, Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey would name a replacement through the 2020 election. The winner of that election would serve the remainder of McCain's term through 2022.

The GOP currently holds a bare 51-49 Senate majority.

McCain has been a frequent target of criticism from President Donald Trump, especially for his vote against a Republican replacement for "Obamacare," the health care law approved under President Barack Obama.

Trump signed a military policy bill this month named for McCain, but in a sign of their testy relationship the president made no mention of McCain's name in remarks at a signing ceremony.

The son and grandson of Navy admirals, McCain is a former Navy pilot and was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years. He was elected to Congress in the early 1980s and elected to the Senate in 1986, replacing Barry Goldwater who retired. McCain gained a reputation as a lawmaker who was willing to stick to his convictions rather than go along with party leaders. It is a streak that draws a mix of respect and ire.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter that he was "very sad to hear this morning's update" from McCain's family.

"We are so fortunate to call him our friend and colleague. John, Cindy, and the entire McCain family are in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour," McConnell said.

Arizona Gov. Ducey called McCain "an American hero" who always put his country before himself.

Ducey said a "spirt of service and civility" guided McCain's life, standing as a model for Americans regardless of political affiliation.

McCain's wife, Cindy, tweeted: "I love my husband with all of my heart. God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey."

McCain underwent surgery in July 2017 to remove a blood clot in his brain after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumor called a glioblastoma. It's the same type of tumor that killed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at age 77 in 2009.

McCain rebounded quickly, however, returning to Washington and entering the Senate in late July to a standing ovation from his colleagues. In a dramatic turn, he later cast a deciding vote against the Republican health care bill, earning the wrath of Trump, who frequently cites McCain's vote at campaign events.

McCain's condition worsened last fall and he has been in Arizona since December. A source close to McCain who asked not to be identified said Friday the senator was at his Arizona ranch with his family.

He is a long-term survivor of melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. Doctors classified his brain cancer as a "primary tumor," meaning it's not related to his former malignancies.

McCain ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, then won it in 2008 before losing the general election to Obama.

He returned to the Senate, determined not to be defined by a failed presidential campaign in which his reputation as a maverick had faded.

When Republicans took control of the Senate in 2015, McCain, the scion in a decorated military family, embraced his new influence as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, pushing for aggressive U.S. military intervention overseas and eager to contribute to "defeating the forces of radical Islam that want to destroy America."

Asked how he wanted to be remembered, McCain said simply: "That I made a major contribution to the defense of the nation."

Former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a close friend, said Friday that "becoming John McCain's friend has been one of the great blessings of my life. Today I am praying for him and his family."MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Daniel Ortega was a young, victorious revolutionary in olive fatigues and oversized glasses when Jimmy Carter welcomed him to the White House in 1979 and asked him to "be kinder" to the United States.

To Ronald Reagan, Ortega was a dangerous Marxist - a "little dictator" backed by the Soviet Union - and a starring player in the 1980s Cold War drama when the United States fought communism in its backyard. During the Obama administration, Ortega was seen as an aging, but not entirely benign, leftist who had warmed to capitalism and kept gang violence at bay.

Now 72 and in his fourth term as president, Ortega has lost the fatigues and glasses. His hair has thinned, and he speaks just above a whisper. And yet to many, this incarnation of Ortega is the most dangerous of all.

Over the past four months, he has waged a merciless and bloody attack against protesters who want him to resign, prompting many to liken the former guerrilla commander to the dictatorship that he helped overthrow nearly 40 years ago. The United States has responded with condemnations, sanctions against his inner circle and a push for early elections.

Ortega has refused to step down and blames the unrest on his old foe.

"The United States has always had its eye on us," he told CNN last month.

While many in Nicaragua were shocked by the swift escalation of violence, the warning signs started long ago. Throughout his political career, Ortega has spurned democracy time and again, preferring to seize every opportunity for his Sandinista party to secure perpetual rule through fraud at the ballot box, institutions stacked with supporters, and changes to the constitution.

"The Ortega of today is not recognizable to anyone who knew him," said Henry Ruiz, one of Ortega's fellow guerrillas and a former cabinet member.

Ortega rules Nicaragua with a small group of family and loyalists. He made his wife, Rosario Murillo, his vice president. Together they fostered an image on billboards and government broadcasts as beneficent parents of the nation. Their Sandinista party, which began as a guerrilla group in the 1960s, has become a stand-in for the state: At a border crossing into Costa Rica, black-and-red Sandinista flags fly, but not the blue-and-white stripes of Nicaragua.

As his family has grown wealthier and more powerful - amassing land and strategic businesses in media, energy and more - these anti-democratic tendencies have grown more pronounced.

In the most recent crisis, police and masked gunmen working with them have hunted down opposition leaders and protesters by the hundreds. Many have been killed, arrested or disappeared. Thousands have fled south to Costa Rica.

Ortega has blamed the unrest on coup plotters backed by the United States. He has some experience in this area: In the 1980s, the CIA secretly created a rebel army, known as the contras, to try to overthrow his government.

He now claims he has neutralized the threat against him, regained control over all cities, and rejected early elections. He seems intent on weathering the storm, saying he will not step down before the next election, in 2021.

Nicaragua's ambassador to Washington offered an interview with Ortega, then retracted it. Several other members of his government and family did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment.

Many observers, including his former Sandinista comrades, believe his days as Nicaragua's leader are numbered.

"When an animal has been shot in the leg, he runs and runs and runs, but he has to fall," said Sergio Ramirez, a famous Nicaraguan novelist who served under Ortega as vice president in the 1980s. "I think Ortega has taken a leg shot. The world that he created is collapsing very quickly."

- - -

Daniel Ortega was never the most charismatic Sandinista leader. He was not a great military strategist; his younger brother, Humberto, who went on to become defense minister, was known for that. Nor was he the most zealous Marxist ideologue among his comrades. He had a reputation as a pragmatic consensus-builder.

Ortega grew up in a working-class neighborhood in the capital, the son of a man who fought against the U.S. Marine Corps and instilled in him a strong anti-imperialist streak. While a teen, he joined the resistance against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, whose family had ruled Nicaragua for decades.

After robbing banks to fund the revolution, Ortega spent much of his 20s in prison, where he endured torture and abuse. The man who emerged in 1974 was terse, withdrawn and distrustful, according to people who knew him then.

"It seems this period influenced his personality a lot," said Ramirez, the novelist. "He has always been a very isolated man. Not someone with a lot of friends."

Once the Sandinistas overthrew the government in 1979, Ortega maneuvered his way into the ruling junta and won the presidency in 1984. He emerged as a leader in part because he was seen as someone who wouldn't impose his will on the others.

"He was not going to put anybody in his shadow," Ramirez said.

Many opponents found the Sandinistas undemocratic, as the government censored the media, stacked the electoral council and used control over ration cards to encourage loyalty to the party.

Then, as now, Ortega had a reputation as a hands-off leader, a man interested in outmaneuvering rivals but who delegated often. These days, his wife, Murillo, often runs meetings with cabinet ministers and speaks on behalf of the government.

"He was never someone who governs," said Monica Baltodano, a former guerrilla who fought alongside Ortega and is a historian of the Sandinistas. "He traveled a lot in the countryside. And part of the strength of his leadership rests in those years and the links he developed with the Sandinista masses and the people in general."

During his first term, Ortega also had to contend with a U.S.-organized war against him. The contras, who blew up bridges and mined Nicaraguan harbors, fought the Sandinistas for years in a conflict that killed tens of thousands.

"The United States government is sponsoring a campaign of death aimed against Nicaragua," Ortega said at a rally before the 1984 election, according to Stephen Kinzer's history of Nicaragua, "Blood of Brothers." "They say we're anti-democratic, but we know what real democracy means. Democracy is literacy, democracy is land reform, democracy is education and public health."

After one term, a war-weary nation voted Ortega out of power in 1990.

- - -

The Ortega who recaptured the presidency in 2006 - after losing three straight elections - had dropped the Marxism, toned down the anti-Americanism and amped up his talk of peace and Christian values. He reached out to the private sector and cultivated foreign investment. Hundreds of millions of dollars in cheap Venezuelan oil provided by Hugo Chavez's government padded the budget and boosted social programs.

Nicaragua, which remains the second-poorest country in the hemisphere, after Haiti, went on to average more than 4 percent annual GDP growth over the next 10 years.

"It was a very pleasant surprise to me that he went about managing the economy in a way that I would have done it," said Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, who was Nicaragua's foreign minister in a period before Ortega retook the presidency. "But what we did also notice is that he was tightening his control on the National Assembly, he was tightening his control on the judicial power, and right at the very top the Supreme Court. He had completely taken control of the electoral power at that point."

There were persistent accusations of fraud on behalf of Ortega's supporters in the 2006 vote and the ones after that. When he won in 2011, the European Union's electoral mission said the vote was "opaque and arbitrary." Before the 2016 vote, Ortega's allies in the legislature changed the constitution, eliminating term limits and forcing lawmakers to vote along party lines.

The Supreme Court also blocked a leading opposition candidate, Eduardo Montealegre, from participating in the election, and the Supreme Electoral Council forced 16 opposition lawmakers from their seats. Ortega refused to allow independent election observers into Nicaragua.

The protests that broke out in April were remarkable in part because dissent had been so effectively muzzled in Nicaragua for years. Even small demonstrations, such as those over Ortega's plan to build a canal across the country with Chinese financing, were met with swift repression and sometimes violence.

"It surprised me how quickly this exploded," said Montealegre, a former foreign minister and finance minister. "But knowing all we have gone through, there was an enormous built-up dissatisfaction."

In April, police and pro-government militias used tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds to subdue the crowds. As the death toll mounted, Ortega agreed to a dialogue process, mediated by the Catholic Church, to hear from protesters, business executives and civil society leaders.

Early on in the crisis, Ortega expressed a willingness to consider early elections, according to two senior U.S. officials. But he ultimately chose not to pursue that path with negotiators, and talks with the church broke down.

Those who oppose Ortega are viewed as enemies of the state.

If you are against the government, "they either want you out of the country, jailed or dead," said a senior U.S. official. "They've been actively working on this."

Ortega's former Sandinista allies talk of splits within upper levels of his government and aides who remain loyal only out of fear.

"For a majority of people, he is an assassin, he is a criminal, he is a torturer," said Baltodano, the Sandinista historian and former Ortega ally. "He's already been defeated strategically."

- - -

The Washington Post's Ismael Lopez Ocampo contributed to this report.

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Video: A pro-government caravan drives through Diriamba, Nicaragua, in support of President Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN. Paramilitaries are accused of leading a violent crackdown against protestors critical of Ortega's government. The violence has killed more than 400 people in the past three months.(Joshua Partlow/The Washington Post)

Embed code:Many Illinoisans dont realize it, but our state is a center of aerospace and aviation technology.

Illinois aerospace cluster is grouped in the northern and northeastern portions of the state. The Rockford area alone has more than 70 companies in the aerospace supply chain employing 7,000 people, says the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

If you include Chicago and southeastern Wisconsin, there are more than 200 companies in the aerospace cluster, including giants such as AAR Corp., Northrop Grumman and Boeing, DCEO says.

Illinois is home to prime contractors and subcontractors that together supply the U.S. military, NASA, Boeing, Airbus and smaller airplane manufacturers with numerous systems and components.

In fact, its been estimated that theres no commercial jet in the air today (apart from those made in Russia) that does not have Illinois-made parts and systems on it.

Why northern Illinois? Sagar Patel, president of aircraft turbines at Woodward Inc. in Loves Park, explains.

Over time we have built the ecosystem here, with companies that planted their roots here long ago and have adapted to the changing technologies successfully, Patel says.

In 2016 Woodward  founded 147 years ago in Rockford  built a $300 million factory to manufacture jet engine fuel systems that can be found on most jets. The new, 440,000-square-foot plant, which is gearing up to employ more than 1,000 people, is the companys second in Loves Park. The first one, built in 1941, continues to operate.

The northern Illinois aerospace ecosystem of companies is recognized as having solid research and development, staying ahead of the competition from around the world, Patel said. If you continue doing that, youll continue to be relevant and strong, he said, adding, as long as we dont get complacent.

Customers are looking for continued innovation, quality improvement and cost reduction. If you rest on success, you begin to decline.

Illinois parts are in outer space, too.

Precision gears made by Roscoes Forest City Gear are working today on the surface of Mars.

In 2013, NASAs $2.5 billion Mars Curiosity Rover was the first robot to drill into the surface Mars, to find evidence of wet environmental conditions in the distant past.

According to Forest City Gears website, More than 70 gears produced and manufactured by Forest City Gear helped actuate Curiositys mobility systems and the robotic arm responsible for all critical drilling operations.

Forest City Gear also produced gears for the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers that landed on Mars in 2004. The firms parts also are on the International Space Station.

Rockfords UTC Aerospace helped design and build the space shuttle for NASA and has made torpedoes for the Navy for decades. The firm also built a $50 million testing facility for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and has been a key subcontractor for Boeing. It employs nearly 2,000 people in Rockford.

Boeing , one of the worlds largest corporations, moved its corporate headquarters from Seattle to Chicago in 2001. The company is in a 36-story building at 100 N. Riverside Plaza in the West Loop.

In 2016, Wood Dale-based AAR Corp. opened a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Chicago Rockford International Airport, which now is servicing aircraft from major airlines.

Rockford also boasts UPSs second-largest air hub for parcel sorting.

In addition to aviation manufacturing, Illinois airports provide jobs for 337,419 people, either directly or indirectly, according to an Illinois Department of Transportation study. Altogether they earn $12.8 billion.

From commercial airlines that serve 11 Illinois airports to the variety of general aviation services found throughout the state, the aviation industry creates more than $40 billion in economic activity, according to IDOT.

Illinois also boasts one of the worlds busiest airports, Chicago OHare, which in 2016 handled 867,635 flights, according to the FAA. Chicago Midway handled 253,046 flights during the same year.Republican Troy Balderson was declared the winner Friday of a closely contested special House election in central Ohio, 17 days after voting took place in a district Republicans have held for decades.

After thousands of provisional and absentee ballots were counted, Balderson, a state senator, had defeated Democrat Danny O'Connor. Balderson prevailed in the Aug. 7 contest by 0.8 percentage points; a margin under 0.5 points would have trigged a recount.

"I'm humbled by the support I've received from voters and look forward to representing Ohio's 12th Congressional district in Congress," Balderson said in a statement Friday. He added that O'Connor ran a "hard-fought race" to finish the term of Rep. Patrick Tiberi, R-Ohio, who retired in January.

Balderson and O'Connor will face off again Nov. 6, competing this time for a full two-year term in Congress.

Balderson's narrow victory came in a district that President Donald Trump won by 11 percentage points in 2016 and that the GOP has held since 1983. Balderson received the endorsements of both Trump and Ohio's Republican Gov. John Kasich.

O'Connor ran a closer race than Republicans expected. Balderson, who also had been endorsed by Tiberi, was seen as the most electable and business-friendly candidate in a crowded field. O'Connor, the young clerk of Franklin County, did not have the additional heft of the military background that helped Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., prevail in a closely watched special election this year.

Republicans nonetheless had to scramble to hold the seat. Vice President Pence made two trips to the district, while House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and President Trump both made high-profile campaign stops. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a Ryan-allied PAC, spent $2.7 million on TV ads against O'Connor.

"This special general election race never should have been this close," conservative Club for Growth president David McIntosh wrote in a column this week. "Republican and independent voters are sending a message - they are rejecting establishment orthodoxy - that it is not okay to run as a conservative and govern as a moderate."

In a statement, O'Connor said that he would keep campaigning across the district to "give working people a tax cut and protect Social Security and Medicare," carrying on the message from the special election.

"We have eleven weeks to keep talking to voters, listening to their ideas and to bring home a win for working families in Central Ohio," O'Connor said.

In defeat, Democrats argued that the special election gave them a blueprint to use in other races. Turnout had been highest in O'Connor's Franklin County, which covers the city of Columbus and its suburbs, and which gave the Democrat nearly two-thirds of the vote. It had sagged in rural areas, despite the president's in-person appeal to his political base.

"The reason this got so close was because of turnout," said Ohio Democratic Party chairman David Pepper. "We're turning out our voters, and the other guys don't know what their message is."Washington

President Donald Trump said Friday he has directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a planned trip to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on denuclearization.

Trump put some blame on Beijing, saying he does not believe China is helping "because of our much tougher Trading stance."

The surprise announcement appeared to mark a concession by the president to domestic and international concerns that his prior claims of world-altering progress on the peninsula had been strikingly premature.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump tweeted Friday, barely two months after his June meeting with the North's Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

Trump's comment followed a report issued Monday by the International Atomic Energy Agency outlining "grave concern" about the North's nuclear program.

It came a day after Pompeo appointed Stephen Biegun, a senior executive with the Ford Motor Co., to be his special envoy for North Korea and said he and Biegun would visit next week.

The State Department never confirmed details of the trip, but it had been expected that Pompeo would be in Pyongyang for at least several hours Monday, according to several diplomatic sources familiar with the plan.

White House officials declined to specify what prompted Trump to call off Pompeo's trip or what had changed since the president's rose-colored-glasses assessments of the nuclear situation just days ago.

A senior White House official said Trump made the decision to cancel the visit Friday morning during a meeting with Pompeo, Biegun, chief of staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton, who joined by phone.

Intelligence and defense officials were not in the meeting, the official said, seeming to indicate that the breakdown was diplomatic in nature. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.

The State Department had no immediate comment on the matter and referred questions to the White House.

Trump laid unspecified blame on China, North Korea's leading trade partner, which is widely believed to hold the greatest sway over Kim's government.Shelby Taylor Wyse was sitting just one teller away from a woman who was withdrawing $75,000 in cash Friday at the Wallis State Bank on FM1960.

Police say video surveillance footage shows Wyse, who herself was a bank teller, intently watching the woman during the transaction. Wyse then sent a text, which police presume to be a "go signal" triggering a violent robbery just five miles away at a Valero gas station in Jersey Village.

RELATED: Bank teller accused of triggering violent robbery in northwest Harris County

Wyse, 25, was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in connection with the incident. Police believe she sent a text to signal multiple other suspects, including her boyfriend, that the woman left with the cash.

The full extent of Wyse's involvement in the robbery is still unclear, but police have said she was involved in the planning.

Investigators do know that she had been dating one of the suspects, Travonn Johnson, since at least May 2017, when Johnson was accused of pushing her into a pool, gouging her right eye and hitting her with his hand, court records show.

She also leased the black Chrysler 300 that Johnson drove during the robbery from a Budget Rent a Car, police said. When confronted about the rental, she said the vehicle was stolen the morning of the robbery, but she never filed a police report, prosecutors said.

During the robbery, video appears to show Johnson backing over the victim and her husband with the vehicle. Johnson has since been arrested on a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

FOLLOW UP: 2nd suspect ID'd in brutal beating, robbery attempt caught on camera in NW Harris County

The bank declined to comment Thursday on how long Wyse had been working for them, but a Harris County public defender said during her probable cause hearing Wednesday that she's been living in Houston for around six years with an 8-year-old child.

The public defender said she didn't appear to have any previous criminal history, and a judge set her bail at $75,000 in Harris County Jail.

Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.comThere was supposed to be a giant, shining face on one end of San Pedro Creek Park.

It was going to be 60 feet tall, a shimmering facade to represent the life that flows into San Antonio. It was to be made of wavy pieces of aluminum, shaped to form a face and also mimic the watery waves of the creek. It was going to be the sparkly, public face of the linear park project meant to bring more life back to the west end of downtown.

It was a nice idea, a place for tourists to shoot landmark selfies. But the park opened last spring without Plethora, the big public art piece intended to mark the citys Tricentennial. A platform, engraved with a few lines from John Philip Santos, was put in place at the Plaza de Fundacion at Santa Rosa Street a little west of Martin Street, but Plethora never showed its face.

The plan for Plethora, commissioned in October 2016 with a budget of $735,000  came from Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, a Cuban-American artist responsible for public art worldwide. Two years prior, his temporary landscape for the National Portrait Gallery, Out of Many, One put a gigantic face made of 800 tons of soil and 2,000 tons of sand in the space between the World War II and Lincoln Memorials, just south of the Reflecting Pool. Visitors could walk through the paths of different shades that came together to create a face visible from the Washington Monument and even from space. His web page showcases his beautiful museum pieces and, more important, several grand pieces of large-scale art, the kind of visions that require acres of land and many, many people.

Where public art is concerned, San Antonio was far from Rodriguez-Geradas first rodeo. But it is the only example of public sculpture even mentioned on his page. On Oct. 29, the artist posted on Facebook, Heading to San Antonio Texas where I am working on the most ambitious and complex project I have ever taken on. A couple of days later, he posted an image of the platform, still under construction. Its fair to say that less than a year ago, he was giddy about the whole thing.

But according to the Rivard Report, the project hit a few snags once the details came into play; the cost of the project doubled when engineers said the aluminum face needed to be a stainless-steel face in order to hold up. The plan for the face went from a 60-foot dream to a 45-foot compromise. Never mind that nobody saw Plethoras face when the park opened on Cinco de Mayo weekend, by the end of May the Bexar County Commissioners Court, which was to become the owner of the artwork, wisely hit the brakes on the project. Later, the commissioners decided to forget about Plethora altogether.

Whenever public art of grand scale is involved, things can go awry and sometimes, learning is costly. Money was spent on Plethoras preliminaries, but the plug was pulled when it was supposed to be pulled and thats a good thing. Imagine if wed ended up with a we-shoulda-measured-twice-and-cut-once faceplant on Santa Rosa.

Now we have an empty platform at a plaza meant to greet visitors to San Pedro Creek Park, and that is not a total waste; were good at turning platforms into dance floors and wading areas into swimming pools. But the San Antonio Heron reported that on July 30, the San Antonio River Authority put out the call for an artist or a team of artists to create something to take the place of Plethora and mark the Tricentennial with the money left in the budget, around $477,750.

Artists will have until Aug. 30 to submit their ideas, and the finalists will have until late October to iron out a proposal.

Hopefully, we wont see a stream of aluminum nickels and dimes rolling down into a public drain.

mariaanglinwrites@gmail.comIt was an evening of well-deserved celebration and excitement for three Longford Centra stores as they were honoured at the 2018 Centra Quality Awards for excellence in the fields of hygiene and food safety within their businesses.

Throughout the course of the event, which was held in the stunning Malton Hotel, Killarney, the Excellence Ireland Quality Association awarded a carefully-selected group of three Longford Centra stores with the Excellence Ireland National Hygiene and Food Safety Certificate; a prestigious nod to their continuous commitment to upholding exemplary standards of store hygiene and cleanliness.

Also read: Jobs boost on cards as Longford firm's expansion plans given green light



Each successful Centra store was chosen as a result of their ongoing hard work and dedication in these areas over the past three years, having displayed a clear awareness of the importance of providing the best service for their customers, as well as ensuring that quality, hygiene and food safety are continually prioritised by their team of staff

The three Longford stores that proudly accepted an Excellence Ireland National Hygiene and Food Safety Certificate were:

Finns Centra, Ballymahon

Kiernans Centra, Drumlish

McGraths Centra, Longford Town

In total, 431 Centra stores across Ireland were awarded during the ceremony, with 295 receiving the Excellence Ireland National Hygiene and Food Safety Certificate and 136 walking away with the coveted top prize of Excellence Ireland Supreme National Hygiene Award.

Commenting on the importance of these prestigious awards, Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of Centra Ireland, said: Each and every one of the stores that have been awarded should be incredibly proud of their achievement, which is a direct result of their consistent input into ensuring their food service meets  and even exceeds  the incredibly high standards put in place by Excellence Ireland. These awards act not only as a validation to store owners, management and staff that their hard work has been recognised, but it also assures customers that exceptional food safety standards are being adhered to within each of the winning stores. Peace of mind is hugely important to consumers, especially within the food industry, and this seal of approval allows customers of these Centra stores to shop with ease and confidence.

Also read: Irish country legend Declan Nerney to headline Knockbridge Vintage Day

Irene Collins of the Excellence Ireland Quality Association was also quick to applaud the worthy winners, saying: Throughout this process, we have witnessed great dedication to diligence in food safety measures and excellence in quality control by a selection of Centra stores in particular. Many of these teams have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that their store stands out from the crowd, making it an easy decision for Excellence Ireland to award them accordingly. We thank all of the winning stores for maintaining meticulous quality and hygiene standards and we would like to congratulate each of them on this fantastic achievement.

With over 450 stores, Centra employs almost 11,000 people and serves over three million customers per week. Centra invests more than 240 million in local communities per annum, which is the equivalent of 4.5 million per week through a combination of payments to local suppliers, acquisition of local business services, wages, charitable donations and local sponsorships. For healthy recipes, special offers or to find your closest Centra store please visit their website www.centra.ie

or check out www.Facebook\CentraIreland

Also read: Center Parcs announce exciting activities coming to Longford Forest in 2019Three presidential candidates have written to Longford County Council in a bid to secure nominations to run for election to Aras an Uachtarain.

Drumshanbo native Dr Charles Mc Manus, who attended St Mel's College and is a doctor based at Dunkineely, Co Donegal, Roscommon farmer John Groarke and Irish artist Kevin Sharkey want to hold face to face talks with local politicians in an attempt to compete with incumbent Michael D Higgins.

Marie Garety Moylan, an Athlone woman, has also expressed her interest in vying for the position of Irelands head of State. However, its been revealed that she has not sought a meeting with councillors, instead asking them for their support.

Those requests follow the appearances of Senator Joan Freeman, founder of the Pieta House suicide charity, businessman Gavin Duffy, artist Kevin Sharkey and ex-Aer Lingus employee Patrick Feeney before members of Carlow County Council.

Mr Sharkey caused controversy during his address by saying the world needs to "get over" the fact Donald Trump is US president, adding his "America First" policy needs to be introduced in Ireland.

It was the second local authority to hear pitches from would be candidates after similar discussions were held before Waterford City & County Councils.

The Leader made contact with Longford County Council in recent days who confirmed that no date had yet been arranged to hear from the hopefuls.

Its anticipated the number will grow over the coming weeks as presidential candidates undertake a whistle-stop tour of local county councils this summer in a bid to secure nominations for the election in October.

Its also understood former presidential candidate Sean Gallagher has written to the Longford County Council Cathaoirleach requesting schedule time to be set aside to hear from potential presidential nominees.

The former Dragons Den star has yet to formally make his feelings known as to whether he intends contesting the Irish Presidency for a second time.

Should he enter the fray, he will become the seventh declared candidate to run in opposition to incumbent president, Mr Higgins.

Sinn Fein has yet to reveal the identity of its candidate after the party set up a committee chaired by Waterford TD David Cullinane to put forward a nominee.

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have publically stated their backing of Mr Higgins as he goes in search of a second term at the Aras.

A presidential candidate seeking a nomination must secure the support of four city or county councils to earn a place on the ballot.SPRINGFIELD -- South End Citizens Council President Leo Florian said Friday that he was "blown away" by the opening of the MGM Springfield resort casino, joining local elected leaders and labor union representatives in calling it a proud day for the city.

"I was just blown away," Florian said after watching the grand opening festivities in the South End-downtown area and thousands of people entering the complex. "We couldn't be happier with the way the project turned out. It's just really a great day today seeing those doors open. To me, it was just a home run."

Praise also came from Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, City Council President Orlando Ramos and union representatives of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council and the Iron Workers Local 7. They were among hundreds of people who took part in a parade and opening ceremony just before the doors opened, trading cheers, chants and applause with thousands of onlookers.





"A transformation has occurred as we continue to reinvent the city of Springfield, reinvent urban America," Sarno said. "You can see the excitement, and a good four-letter word -- jobs, J-O-B-S ... and that's the key for individuals and families to move forward."

MGM has been a great corporate citizen, Sarno said.

"Everything that MGM does, they are world renown, they're first class," Sarno said. "Everything they do, whether small or large, is done first class."

The $960 million casino opened Friday following seven years of anticipation, plans and construction. It triggered more than 2,000 construction jobs and 3,000 casino jobs, officials said.

Sarno, just prior to an interview, went inside the former state armory building that once housed the South End Community Center. Sarno said it brought back great memories, as he had served as the center's director prior to becoming mayor a decade ago.

MGM purchased and redeveloped the site after it was damaged in the 2011 tornado and will use if for special events and other functions.

Florian said the changes he already sees in the neighborhood are indications of new businesses opening in the area or doing renovations, and of people walking in the neighborhood on their way to jobs at MGM Springfield.

The South End community has worked with MGM from the beginning of its plans and "we are just looking for this to go on a long time, and work with them as this thing grows."

Orlando Ramos, president of the Springfield City Council, said he was very impressed with the final product delivered by MGM Springfield and its construction team.

"They not only met but exceeded our expectations," Ramos said. "I feel proud to be here in the city of Springfield and part of this historic time in the city."

Ramos described the crowd at MGM as "live and very excited."

"And if that is any indication, I think that the people of the city of Springfield and the region are ready to support MGM Springfield," Ramos said.

Michael Langone, president of the Pioneer Valley Building Trades Council, said it was a great day, and a proud day for union members. MGM officials have highly praised the work that was done and were provided with a diverse group of construction workers including minorities, women, veterans and many Springfield residents, he said.

"You know you're getting a quality product with union labor, and MGM certainly knows it now," Langone said.

Fiore Grassetti, business agent for Iron Workers Local 7, said he never felt so proud as Friday, marching with union members after the great work done, and completing the project "ahead of schedule and on budget."State Police are investigating an early-morning crash that seriously injured a pedestrian on Interstate 93 in Boston Saturday.

A preliminary investigation shows that a 42-year-old Weymouth woman was driving on I-93 northbound around 5 a.m. when she saw a person walking across the highway in front of her car. Authorities said the woman was unable to avoid a collision and hit the pedestrian.

State Police said the pedestrian, an adult male whose identity is still being determined, was brought to Boston Medical Center with serious injuries.

The crash remains under investigation and no charges have been filed at this time.A kitchen fire in a first-floor apartment at 32 Rittenhouse Ter. forced five people from their home Friday evening.

Dennis Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Bernard Calvi, said the 6:25 p.m. blaze started in the kitchen of the first-floor apartment in the two-family home. The fire was extinguished quickly with no injuries to the resident or firefighters.

The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents with temporary shelter.

Leger estimated the damage to the building at about $20,000.

The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad.UPDATE, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, 6:15 p.m.: The man has been found.

A new story has been posted -->



LUDLOW -- Authorities are launching boats and searching the area of Red Bridge State Park for a 27-year-old Ludlow man apparently missing in the Chicopee River.

Ludlow Police Lt. Daniel Valadas said the incident was first reported just after 4 p.m. after people with the man, who was not identified, lost sight of him as he swam in the river just south of the boat launch on Red Bridge Road.

Valadas said the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing is joining the search as boats from the Ludlow and Wilbraham fire departments search along the river banks from approximately the Mass Pike overpass north toward the state park.

Two Saudi men drowned in the same vicinity June 29 when they became trapped in currents just below the hydroelectric dam and spillway at Red Bridge Road and slipped beneath the surface of the river.The accused killer of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts lived rent-free on land partially owned by a top republican fundraiser whose firm works with prominent immigration hardliners, the Associated Press reported.

Nicole Schlinger is president of Campaign Headquarters, a call center that makes fundraising calls and identifies supporters for conservative candidates. The AP reported Friday that Schlinger is married to Eric Lang, president of the family-owned dairy farm that employed and provided housing for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man charged with stabbing Tibbetts to death July 18.

The couple own farmland outside of Brooklyn -- the town Tibbetts was murdered in -- that includes trailers where some employees live rent-free, according to the AP. Schlinger and Lang own the property along with Lang's brother, Craig, and his wife.

A farm spokeswoman confirmed to the AP that Rivera lived there during his employment.

In an email to the AP Friday, Schlinger said that she was gifted an ownership interest in the land from her husband's family years ago, and she has no role in the farming operation.

She told the news outlet that she was "shocked and deeply saddened" by Tibbetts' death.

"The perpetrator should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, and when he meets his maker, suffer the consequences he deserves," she wrote to the AP.

Schlinger has fundraised for GOP politicians in Iowa and beyond, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Rivera, who came to the country illegally from Mexico, is accused of killing 20-year-old Tibbetts last month after she threatened to call the police on him for allegedly stalking her when she was on a jog. Her body was found in a corn field.Updates a story posted Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, at 5:39 p.m.

LUDLOW -- A 27-year-old Ludlow man who authorities feared had drowned in the Chicopee River was located alive just before 6 p.m.

Ludlow Police Lt. Daniel Valadas said the man was found by Ludlow firefighters searching woods along the Ludlow side of the river near Isabel Lane. The man was taken in an ambulance to the hospital with what Valadas called "non-life threatening injuries."

Authorities launched search boats just after 4 p.m. when a group of people the man was with lost sight of him as he swam in the river along the Red Bridge State Park.

Valadas said the group was in an area where two Saudi men drowned in June as they attempted to save children caught in swirling currents.

Boats from the Wilbraham and Ludlow fire departments searched the river as firefighters and police along with searchers from the state Environmental Police and the State Police Air Wing combed the area along both shores of the river.SPRINGFIELD -- A suspect chased into the city by West Springfield police Thursday morning has been charged with committing armed robberies in that community and in Easthampton.

Scott Savoie, 48, of Myrtle Street in Indian Orchard, is suspected of committing an armed robbery at the 7-Eleven store on Union Street in Easthampton early Thursday, according to a post on the Easthampton Police Department's Facebook page.

Savoie was stopped in Northampton and police there identified him. He fled from the scene in the pickup.

Savoie surfaced later that morning at the UPS Store on Riverdale Street where he committed an armed robbery with a pipe, according to the West Springfield Police Department's Facebook page.

The victim of that armed robbery, which occurred about 11:30 p.m., gave police a description of the suspect vehicle, again the white Nissan pickup. West Springfield police spotted it on the North End Bridge rotary.

They gave chase and the suspect failed to stop. He ultimately drove over the Memorial Bridge and into the city where he was arrested by Springfield police on Thorndyke Street off Sumner Avenue.

"He driving like a maniac," said Springfield resident Ralph Cardaropli, who had a close encounter with the suspect as they both drove on Sumner Avenue. "He cut right in front of me. I had to hit my brakes. I almost hit him."

The victim at the UPS store was taken to the scene and identified the suspect as Savoie.

He was later identified as the suspect in a second West Springfield armed robbery committed with a screwdriver on Wednesday night at the Rite Aid pharmacy on Westfield Street.

West Springfield police have charged Savoie with: two counts of armed robbery, two counts of assault by means of a dangerous weapon, failure to stop for a police officer, multiple motor vehicle charges and two warrants (armed robbery and motor vehicle offenses).

Easthampton police have charged Savoie with armed robbery and assault with a dangerous person on a person over 60 years of age,

The investigation is ongoing.An underwater photographer had a close brush with a great white shark while filming off the coast of Massachusetts -- and captured the encounter on video.

Earlier this week, Keith Ellenbogen was freediving while shooting footage in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, an 842 square mile swath of ocean that stretches from three miles off the southeast coast of Cape Ann to three miles north of Cape Cod.

Ellenbogen, a renowned ocean photographer, was on assignment for the sanctuary and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to capture images the area's marine life.

He was filming a humpback whale about five miles off the coast of Cape Cod when he got an unexpected visitor, a representative for the project said in a statement: a great white shark.

Ellenbogen's camera captures the shark swim toward him before veering off.

It has been an active summer for white sharks near Cape Cod, who congregate off-shore to feed on the coastal region's seal population. Shark spottings have repeatedly forced temporary beach closures.

And earlier this month, a Scarsdale, New York man was attacked by a shark about 30 yards off of Longnook Beach in Truro, suffering bite wounds to his hip and left leg.

Great white sharks rarely attack humans. The last fatal shark attack in Massachusetts was reported in 1936. In 2014, two kayakers were knocked out of their boats by a great white shark off Manomet Point in Plymouth but escaped without injury.

Ellenbogen's project, titled "Space to Sea -- A Photographic Journey into Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary," is funded by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The project is designed to show the region's marine life the public and inspire conservation efforts, according to the Foundation.One of two brothers flying a single-engine plane Friday afternoon to spread their father's ashes has died after the aircraft crashed into a pond near Cranland Airport in Hanson.

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office identified the brothers as Scott, 34, and Patrick Landis, 29. Scott Landis, an experienced pilot who flew Blackhawks with the Army National Guard, died after the crash.

BREAKING: Owner of plane was not piloting plane during crash says his brother. Owner allegedly lent it to his friend. Friend was using plane to scatter recently deceased dads ashes. @NBC10Boston @NECN pic.twitter.com/i2TK0ZNWHL  Kathryn Sotnik NBC10 Boston (@KatNBCBoston) August 24, 2018

Both men were airlifted to separate hospitals. Patrick Landis remains in critical condition, according to the DA's office.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the crash, which involved an Aeronca 7AC Champion aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board will determine the probable cause of the accident.SPRINGFIELD - Ten-year-old Olivia Henry, of Oakland, California, who co-founded a charity to help the homeless when she was 5, echoed city school leaders' 2018 theme --"Choose to Shine" -- at the district's opening convocation on Friday.

More than 200 teachers, students and school officials, attending the annual convocation at Van Sickle Academy listened as Henry, known as "Liv," recounted the story of how her private nonprofit organization "Livanthrophy" got started.

When her mother, Sarah Richardson, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2013, Henry said she was inspired to help others because of the help she and her family received until her mother recovered.

One rainy day, Henry was driving in a car with her mother when she witnessed a mother and her child standing at a bus stop in the pouring rain without an umbrella. She asked her mother why.

Her mother explained that for some families, owning an umbrella was not the same kind of necessity for people who are working hard to pay the bills for food and shelter.

A year later, Livanthropy was born, with a 1,000-umbrella giveaway to Oakland's homeless families.

"Oakland has a homeless population of 2,761," Henry said, adding that there is a great need to be met.

Following the success of her umbrella drive, Henry and her mother launched toy drives and other fundraisers to help Los Angeles' needy families.

Henry channeled the new school year's "Choose to Shine" motto, saying giving to others is a way to change the world.

"Keep inspiring others to shine," she said.

Superintendent of Schools Daniel J. Warwick praised the work of Springfield teachers, noting that an increase in graduation rates and a decrease in the dropout rate are an example of how they choose to shine.

"This year, our graduation rate as a school district finally rose past the 75 percent mark," Warwick said. "Back when the Class of 2018 was in middle school, our graduation rate was only around 55 percent."

"This increase represents the greatest improvement in all of the commonwealth of Massachusetts," Warwick said.

"It is because of your tenacity that our districtwide graduation rate is finally nearing the 80 percent rate and our dropout rate has been cut in half," he said.

Warwick praised the teachers for their effort last year to help 600 students affected by Hurricane Maria, which crippled Puerto Rico.

"Our diversity is our strength," Warwick said. "This year we made history. Our school committee is more diverse than ever, comprising four women of color and three men."

The superintendent noted that the Springfield school system is gaining a nationwide reputation for excellence.

"This year, for the second time in a row, Forbes Magazine recognized Springfield Public Schools as one of the nation's Best Midsize Employers," he said, adding that the system placed 163rd on a list of 500 employers including several colleges and universities and companies such as Dun & Bradstreet and Twitter.

Union leaders Maureen Colgan Poser, president of the Springfield Education Association, and Catherine Mastronardi, president of the Springfield Federation of Paraprofessionals, urged teachers to remain vigilant to national threats to unions.

Posner said unions are under siege during the Trump administration, noting that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos would "privatize public education" if she had her way.

She urged city teachers to get involved in the growing national movement to protect teachers' rights, pay and benefits.

"Run for building representative," Posner suggested as a starting point. "It's time to get active."

The school year begins on Monday in Springfield.Hector Velazquez entered with a 3.10 ERA in five starts this season and 2.74 ERA in 36 outings overall.

But he struggled mightily Friday against the Rays. The Red Sox righty allowed eight runs, all earned, nine hits and two walks while striking out four in just 2.2 innings. Boston lost 10-3 at Tropicana Field.

J.D. Martinez (3-for-5, RBI) and Xander Bogaerts (3-for-5, two RBIs) combined for six of Boston's 13 hits.

Ian Kinsler and Steve Pearce both had two singles each.

All of Boston's 13 hits were singles. The Red Sox dropped to 19-23 in games they have failed to homer. They are 71-17 in games they have homered.

Manager Alex Cora was slow to make a move to his bullpen after Velazquez got into trouble during a five-run third inning. The Rays stroked six straight singles against Velazquez with two outs in the third before Cora finally relieved Velazquez with Drew Pomeranz.

Velazquez and the Red Sox should have escaped the third without allowing any runs.

Kevin Kiermaier received a generous hit from the official scorer when a ball he stroked went under first baseman Steve Pearce's glove and into right field. Kiermaier's RBI single made it 4-2. Pearce should have made the play and recorded the third out.

Pomeranz provided needed length out of the bullpen. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowing two runs on a two-run homer by Willy Adames.

Former Red Sox prospect Jalen Beeks earned his second win against Boston this week. He allowed three runs in 5.1 innings of relief.

Bogaerts with RISP

Xander Bogaerts continued his production with runners in scoring position. Bogaerts entered batting .348 with a .438 on-base percentage, .777 slugging percentage, 1.215 OPS, 10 homers, 12 doubles, three triples and 73 RBIs with runners in scoring position.

He delivered a bases-loaded two-run single to cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third inning.

Swihart throws out Duffy

Blake Swihart threw out Matt Duffy attempting to steal second base after Duffy began the third with a single. Swihart has shown a strong arm this season.by Maarten Albarda , Featured Contributor, August 24, 2018

Last week, shopper data provider Bazaar Voice and eMarketer presented their study on "Digital Ad Pricing Trends for 2018."

Its an important study, as digital ad pricing is about as clear as mud. I often compare it to how airlines are pricing their seat inventory. On any given flight, two passengers seated right next to each other in the same kind of seat, traveling on the exact same plane to the exact same destination, may have paid a completely different price for that seat. The airline industry is champion of yield management, and its algorithms are masters at knowing what price points companies can get away with right up to the minute of departure.

This explains why a ticket between my hometown of Charlotte and Philadelphia can cost two to three times more than a ticket from Charlotte to New York or Los Angeles, both of which are farther away then Philly. And depending on the (time of) day or how long or short in advance I book, the price will differ (and this is before all the add-ons many of us have to buy separately).

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The report authors have also tried to take into consideration some of the middlemen fees, which is kind of like trying to price out your airline ticket with all the additional costs. They peg the cost for middlemen services at around 40%, a number they have taken from sources that include the Association of National Advertisers.

In other words, out of every dollar a marketer spends on digital advertising, on average 40 cents never reaches a consumer due to fees.

Mind you, some of these fees are paid for very useful safeguards, quality measures and other services. But some are just upcharges, like getting an aisle seat at the front of the plane.

The additional fees for middlemen and other services vary year-on-year, which means that even in this trend report, cost comparisons with previous years is a little dangerous. This is probably why the report has an ominous warning on page 8 that states it contains pricing TRENDS and not benchmarks.

Still, the report provides a useful and current update on costs in digital advertising.

The general conclusions are that prices in Q4 of 2017 are higher than those in Q4 of 2016. Surprising? Probably not. Especially since high-quality inventory demand has increased as marketers are savvier about where and when to spend their digital ad dollars. And high-quality supply is a little tighter now that major inventory cleanup operations are underway.

Prices are not up for in-app advertising, which the report states might be due to a more mature market. That might be the case, but I think (from my own experience) it might also be due to marketers discovering less ROI from these types of investment and diverting dollars to newer or (perceived) more impactful platforms such as influencers, stories (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat) and online video in general.

To that last point: online video is the most expensive form of online advertising as measured by CPM. The prediction is that online video ad cost will continue to rise as demand increases and remains strong.

The question remains, what that price actually is. Perhaps ask your fellow passenger on the right/left?by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, August 24, 2018

Amazon has been using social media to employ an army of professionals to defend the companys work ethics on Twitter.

The online community of FC Ambassadors, which TechCrunch describes as Stepford-like real-life workers, tweet about how everything is well with its warehouse workers.

Gay, an Amazon FC Ambassador on Twitter who goes by the name of @QThePinkYoshi, just wants to assure everyone that the FC Ambassadors are not bots and are not getting paid. We take the job seriously and Im not holding up a script that was given to me to say, We get paid well and are treated fairly.

The warehouse ambassadors, who have made a customer service commitment, tweet back at criticism of working conditions at the marketplace.

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The Twitter users jump to the defense of Amazons facilities. Some list off stats about Amazons pay compared to other companies. TechCrunch identified 15 accounts, all with Amazon smiles as their backgrounds and FC Ambassador after their name, complete with job titles, locations, and the duration of time they have been with the company.

All FC Ambassadors tweet positive messages about how great it is to work at an Amazon warehouse and assure that those who communicate with them are not forced to do so.

Amazon claims its FC Ambassadors are full-time company employees and hired to educate the public about work at its facilities. The move follows recent press reports about conditions at its fulfillment centers.

The Washington Postreported that thousands of Amazon workers receive food stamps and that Bernie Sanders wants the marketplace to pay.

Sanders plans to introduce a bill in the Senate on September 5 that would impose a 100% tax on government benefits received by workers at companies with 500 or more employees. For example, if an Amazon employee receives $300 in food stamps, Amazon would be taxed $300, reports the publisher.

Carol -- a picker in Kent, Washington, who encourages those who come across her profile to tweet her -- says she makes a monthly bonus that comes out to more than $15 per hour, but she gets a raise every six months for the first two years.by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 24, 2018

Prager University is asking a federal appeals court to revive a lawsuit alleging that Google's YouTube wrongly discriminated against conservative video clips.

"Google/YouTube cannot have it both ways: induce the public to post and view video content on YouTube with promises and express representations to users that the site is a viewpoint-neutral, public space for 'freedom of expression' and then turn around and restrict viewer access to and demonetize video content in their sole discretion for any reason, or no reason at all," Prager argues in papers filed Thursday with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The lawsuit dates to last year, when Prager alleged that Google wrongly applied its "restricted mode" filter to the school's videos, effectively making them unavailable to some students and library patrons. Prager also alleged that Google "demonetized" some conservative videos, like a clip that posed the question "Pakistan: Can Sharia and Freedom Coexist?" Prager says that as of this week, approximately 80 of its videos have been restricted by Google.

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Prager argues that Google's moves violated the school's First Amendment right to freedom of speech.

U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh dismissed the complaint earlier this year. She said that because Google is a private business, as opposed to a government entity, it can decide how to treat content on its platform.

Prager is now asking the 9th Circuit to reinstate the lawsuit. The company contends that YouTube is a "public forum" -- comparable to a park -- and that YouTube, like the government, shouldn't be allowed to censor lawful speech based on its content.

Prager's appeal comes as President Trump and other conservative politicians are increasingly criticizing web companies for allegedly blocking right-wing speech.

Despite those complaints, some observers say there's no evidence that tech companies are especially likely to suppress conservative views.

New York Law School professor Ari Waldman, who testified on Capitol Hill earlier this year, told lawmakers that a lot of content is filtered, but "no more so from the right than from the left."

"When victims of racist, homophobic, and sexist tweets and comments post those comments to call out the aggressors, it is often the victims that are suspended or banned," he said in his prepared testimony. "Activists associates with the Black Lives Matter movement have reported just as many if not more take downs of images discussing racism and police brutality than any of the anecdotal evidence of suspensions or take downs on the right."

Judges have ruled in other cases that Google, Facebook and other web companies have the right to decide how to treat content on their platforms. Last year, for instance, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to revive a lawsuit against Facebook by the group Sikhs for Justice. That organization alleged that its content was blocked by Facebook in India.Amniotic fluid is the liquid that surrounds a fetus in the womb. It has a range of functions, all of which relate to the development of the fetus. The fetus and fluid stay in the amniotic sac, which usually breaks when a woman goes into labor. It can sometimes rupture early, which is called premature rupture of membranes (PROM). In this article, learn about the signs that amniotic fluid is leaking, the common causes of PROM, and when to speak to a doctor.

Signs of leaking amniotic fluid Leaking amniotic fluid might feel like a gush of warm fluid or a slow trickle from the vagina. It will usually be clear and odorless but may sometimes contain traces of blood or mucus. If the liquid is amniotic fluid, it is unlikely to stop leaking. Signs that it is not amniotic fluid The uterus sits on the bladder during pregnancy, so it is not uncommon for pregnant women to leak urine. If the discharge smells like urine, it probably is. Women may also experience an increase in vaginal discharge during pregnancy. Normal discharge tends to have a mild smell and look milky.

When to call a doctor Share on Pinterest A person should consult a doctor if they suspect that they are leaking amniotic fluid. If the fluid does not appear to be urine or discharge, it is best to speak to a doctor. Women who also experience the following symptoms should seek medical attention too: foul-smelling, brown or green discharge from the vagina

fever

the uterus feeling tender

rapid heart rate

a decrease or lack of increase in weight While waiting for medical attention, a woman should not use tampons, have sex, or do anything else that might introduce bacteria into the vagina. A doctor may take a sample of the fluid to determine whether it is amniotic fluid. They may also carry out tests to determine the cause of the leak. These tests could include a vaginal exam to see if the cervix is dilating and the woman is in labor. An ultrasound can help doctors check how much fluid is surrounding the baby. They may also perform a dye test, which involves introducing blue dye into the amniotic sac and asking the woman to wear a sanitary pad. If the dye shows up on the pad, this can indicate leaking amniotic fluid.

Causes The amniotic sac ruptures when a woman goes into labor. People often refer to this as the water breaking. According to the American Pregnancy Association, just one in 10 women will experience a dramatic gush of amniotic fluid. For most women, it is more likely to feel like a constant trickle. Sometimes, the amniotic sac breaks or leaks before labor starts. If the amniotic sac breaks before the 37th week of pregnancy, doctors refer to it as preterm PROM. Women who got pregnant less than 6 months after their last labor or are carrying more than one baby have a higher risk of PROM. Other factors that can lead to PROM are: contractions that put pressure on the amniotic sac, causing it to tear

the amniocentesis needle making a hole that takes too long to heal

cerclage, a procedure where doctors stitch the cervix closed until the baby is ready for delivery

a urinary tract infection (UTI) or sexually transmitted infection (STI)

medical conditions, such as lung disease and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

exposure to harmful substances, including tobacco, illicit drugs, and alcohol

too much or too little amniotic fluid

the placenta separating from the uterus

Treatment Share on Pinterest Rest may help treat the cause of a leak. Treatment will depend on the cause of the leak, as well as the age, health, and development of the fetus. A doctor may recommend bed rest, meaning that the woman should reduce her activities and rest for most of the day. They may also advise abstaining from sex. If a woman has an infection, a doctor will prescribe antibiotics that are safe to take during pregnancy. If the baby is ready to be born, doctors may choose to initiate labor using a drug called oxytocin. Alternatively, medications called tocolytics can help stop premature labor if it is too early for the birth to occur.

What is amniotic fluid? About 12 days into pregnancy, an amniotic sac forms around the growing fetus. Amniotic fluid fills the sac and has several purposes, including: protecting and cushioning the fetus

keeping the fetus at a steady temperature

allowing the fetus to breathe in the fluid while the lungs grow and develop

helping the fetuss digestive system grow and develop as they swallow the liquid

assisting the muscle and bone development of the fetus as they move around in the fluid

protecting the umbilical cord, which carries food and oxygen from the placenta to the fetus The amniotic fluid comprises mainly water for the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. After that, it also contains nutrients, hormones, antibodies, and the babys urine. The quantity of fluid in the amniotic sac tends to increase until around the 36th week of pregnancy when it starts to decrease. At its peak, there is about 1 quart of amniotic fluid inside the sac.Raksha Bandhan also known as Rakhi, the traditional Indian festival is observed by Hindus and Jains ritually to affirm the bond and support between brothers and sisters. The siblings also exchange gifts and sweets and spend the day together. If you are looking for a perfect gift for your sister, here are few healthy gift options to surprise your sister this Raksha Bandhan.



Verun Rastogii, Founder of Mufubu and Shampa Banerjee, in-house Dietitician of SastaSundar.com list healthy gifting ideas for sisters and brothers this Raksha Bandhan.

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Raksha Bandhan is the best occasion to let your sister know how much you love her for everything that she does for you. So, make your sister feel special and surprise her with healthy rakhi gifts.Our men in uniform spend sleepless nights so that we can sleep in peace. While we go home for Rakhi or maybe Diwali, our brave men work 365 days a year, sacrifice their family lives, so our families can celebrate with joy. Major Hemant Raj is no different. He was scheduled to fly to Kochi to celebrate Onam with his family but when he landed in Delhi, he got to know that most flights to Kochi were cancelled due to the flood situation. He immediately knew what he had to do. After requesting the officials to put him on the next flight that was available, Major Hemant went back home and immediately became a part of the relief work.

A Soldier is never off duty. Maj Hemant Raj 28 MADRAS Sapth Shakti Comd #IndianArmy flew to Kerela on leave. Imdtly threw himself into #KeralaFloodRelief work. Organised team of Defence persons on leave,veterans & local fishermen boats to help marooned people. Working tirelessly. pic.twitter.com/v1kzbRYHEP  PRO Defence Rajasthan (@PRODefRjsthn) August 22, 2018

He set up a rural team, joined hands with the fishermen in doing whatever he could do to rescue the flood victims over there. After pictures of him were shared on social media, his wife contacted him informing about where his parents were stuck during the floods.

I salute you Major Hemant of 28 Madras Regiment.  Jagjit Chand Katoch (@katochJagjit) August 24, 2018

A soldier is never off duty



Major Hemant Raj of 28 MADRAS Sapth Shakti Command flew to Kerela despite being on Leave



He organised a team of defence personnel &local fishermen boats& shifted hundreds of marooned people to safety,In 3days aranged to drop 10Tonnes of food each day pic.twitter.com/XBJWZBGhSj  Dr. Vedika (@vishkanyaaaa) August 24, 2018

A soldier is never off duty and Major Hemant is a shining example of the same.We've been through that phase you know, the one where as young adults all our moves were judged and every statement that we uttered was clipped before we could even complete it. A lot of times we were not taken seriously, even when we wanted to speak about issues that were close to our heart.

 Facebook

Our society, being the skewed version of itself that it is, never bothers to pay heed to what troubles the young minds of our nation. Heck, half the time they don't care about the concerns the 'adults' are dealing with let alone the needs of the youth.

However, with the elections drawing closer we do see the expected rise of politicians who often 'appear' to be earnestly interested to hear us out and lend a helping hand.

But let's face it, what has been done about even the most pressing issues that are of importance to us right now? From substance abuse to unemployment to lack of higher education opportunities and what not, a LOT of our needs are falling on deaf ears.

Times Are Changing

 Facebook

The International Youth Day this year brought with itself a welcome wind of change, and we as youngsters must seize this opportunity to make the most of it.

Naga Sravan Kilaru, a young bloke from Andhra Pradesh has taken it upon himself to stir up the state's young minds, help them speak up and ensure that they get heard by those who can make a difference to their lives.

With the belief that the youth must be thought of as the present of a country and not the future, Kilaru launched Yuvagalam on International Youth Day (12th August) that promises to maximise the impact of Indian youth on our nation's future and aims to capture and channel their aspirations by creating a unified voice.

 Facebook

What Yuvagalam wishes to achieve through this movement is accountability of people in positions of power, as well as political empowerment for the young generation of our country. He wants to ensure that no political party takes the young voters of this country for granted and pays heed to their immediate issues.

Here Is How This Works

Kilaru plans to read the pulse of youngsters through one-on-one interaction with students, both online and offline, by the means of a 3000-kilometre walk across 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh over a course of 100 days and visiting at least 120 colleges to take inputs from at least 1,00,000 youngsters by the end of the campaign.

 Facebook

Post this move, they would compile all the collected data and form a 'youth manifesto' which they want the political parties in the state to adopt and make it a part of their election manifesto before the state elections early next year.

They want young people to come together, fight for their rights such as political representation.

What Is The End Goal

 Facebook

Apart from lending a voice to the youth through the 'youth manifesto', they also wish to identify passionate and accountable youngsters who wish to bring about a change in the society and help them participate in existing community projects, as well as set up new initiatives for the development of our society and the nation at large.

Naga Sravan Kilaru has a lot of gems on his crowns. He is an Industrial Engineering and Management graduate and was awarded the National Youth Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India in January this year for his active citizenship.

He also represented India as a 'Young Delegate' at the Summer Youth Assembly of the United Nations in 2016.

 Facebook

This young lad has passion and the willingness to make an impact at a personal level, so that India can rise and shine in the days to come. We love this initiative he has undertaken and can't wait to see what this movement creates for the youth of the nation.CASS CITY -- Fair season is back and Tractor Supply Company's "Follow Us to the Fair" Tour is making its way to the Michigan State Fair.

From Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, fairgoers will have the opportunity to visit the 2,000-square foot experience and join Tractor Supply in recognizing area 4-H and FFA youth who are making a difference in their communities.

Now in its fourth year, the "Follow Us to the Fair" Tour is embarking on an 11,000-mile cross country journey to state and county fairs, making 24 stops in 14 states over six months.

In addition to family-friendly activities and opportunities to win prizes, the "Follow Us to the Fair" Tour will celebrate more than 100 4-H and FFA youth through Tractor Supply's second annual "Great Neighbor" essay contest.

This year's competition encouraged youth to submit a short essay detailing how a memorable 4-H or FFA experience has influenced their development as a great neighbor in their community.

Pearl Daskam, of Cass City, is one of the students who will be honored during a special ceremony at the Tractor Supply booth at 2 p.m. Sept. 1 at the Michigan State Fair. In addition to a commemorative plaque, she will walk away with a special Tractor Supply gift pack.

"Fairs have a longstanding tradition of bringing people of all ages together to celebrate the local community and the key role that agriculture plays within it," said Christi Korzekwa, senior vice president of marketing at Tractor Supply Company. "The 'Follow Us to the Fair' Tour seeks to preserve this tradition while adding family fun to the experience. The 'Great Neighbor' essay contest also lets us recognize the incredible work 4-H and FFA youth are doing in their communities."

To view the complete list of state and county fair stops and corresponding dates, visit TractorSupply.com/FairTour.Still undetermined is whether the impact caused the October leak, or if the line was hit by something else at a later date.On Aug. 25, 2009 I was getting a root canal. It was already not the best day of my life.

Because we were in the middle of a deployment, my Blackberry was glued to my lap as I reclined in that dental chair, set to buzz only for the inbox through which I received unit emails.

I had quickly learned that most emails sent from the Family Readiness Group (FRG) system, the battalion's chosen official communication method, almost always carried bad news. That day was no different.

The wives knew that if you got the email before you got a knock or a phone call, the email wasn't about you. You weren't the one, at least this time.

The dentist walked away for a few moments and my phone buzzed. I lifted it up and read the message.

"On 25 August 2009, 1-17 IN was involved in an incident that resulted in 5 combat related casualties. Four of these Soldiers were Killed in Action ..."

Capt. John Hallett; Capt. Cory Jenkins; Sgt. First Class Ronald W. Sawyer; and Spc. Dennis M. Williams.

By the end of the deployment the total count of killed in action soldiers in the brigade would be over 50, with over 20 of those just in our battalion.

For many years when we spoke of their deaths, we spoke almost exclusively of the gift of freedom, of their willingness to die for their country, of their sacrifice and patriotism. We thanked them for it. We thanked their widows and children for it.

Those things still are true. We still feel the loss. We still are grateful.

But in the last two years I've started to feel something new, too.

After years of struggling to reconcile why I have my spouse - injured or not - and my friends don't, years of watching him battle so many demons and the still many unknowable facets of his own war wounds, I am now grateful to the fallen and their families for the gift an overwhelming, undeniable feeling: life.

Psychologists call this feeling Post-Traumatic Growth (PSG), "a positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with a major life crisis or a traumatic event."

To me it's simply living.

And not just living, but living loudly, and boldly, and with conviction and purpose. It's living that is undeniable and uncontainable. It's more than just seizing the day -- it's striving towards a life of positivity and purpose.

It's knowing the value of community. It's the power and conviction to make bold, life-fueled decisions because I can, because I get to.

It's finding the courage to know what I want and then doing it, even though it's hard and even though some people think I'm crazy.

It's knowing I can never do any of that alone. It's locking arms with others in the midst of their own growth and carrying each other. It's finding those people at just the right time. It's the ability to know that I've found them.

In the ashes of loss, it is the gift of moving forward -- often literally.

Because of those year and that loss I am a runner, a hiker, a CrossFitter and an Alaskan. I am still a wife. I am an author. I am a leader for my Team Red, White & Blue Chapter. I am an editor here.

The battle to get here was long, hard and messier than you can possibly know. And all is still not always roses. There are still tears, still fights, still pain, still a daily decision to choose life over darkness.

But unlike years past, I know that it can be done. I know what the pain and loss looks like here, on the other side.

I know that to be grateful for the loss and sacrifice of our fallen can look like more than just being sad. It can also look like joy.

This is post-traumatic growth. And it is beautiful.

Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life

For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox.LANSING, MI - Michigan health officials issued Friday an updated "Do Not Eat" advisory for all fish in the Huron River in Livingston, Oakland and Washtenaw counties.

The Aug. 24 advisory from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services updates an advisory that was issued Aug. 4 relating to PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) for fish in the Huron River.

The updated advisory clarifies the bodies of water for the "Do Not Eat" fish advisory on the Huron River at N. Wixom Road, including Norton Creek, and downstream to the Huron River at the Livingston and Washtenaw County Line.

The updated list of bodies of water affected, according to the MDHHS, is:

Hubbell Pond, also known as Mill Pond -- Oakland County

Kent Lake -- Oakland County

Ore Lake -- Livingston County

Strawberry and Zukey Lake -- Livingston County

Gallagher Lake -- Livingston County

Loon Lake -- Livingston County

Whitewood Lakes -- Livingston County

Base Line and Portage Lakes -- Livingston and Washtenaw County Line

Fish from Kent Lake were tested and found to have high PFOS levels, officials said. The MDHHS stated the update is to account for recent surface water data showing fish in an additional area should be included in the "Do Not Eat" advisory.

Touching fish or water and swimming in these water bodies is not considered a health concern, according to health officials. PFAS, which includes PFOS, do not easily move through the skin, according to the MDDHS. In addition, an occasional swallow of river or lake water is also not considered a health concern.

Michigan tested fish filets as a result of its PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) effort. The advisory relates to the state addressing PFAS and PFOS, according to the MDDHS.

The state has been routinely testing fish filets for PFAS since 2012 and the MDDHS releases annual Eat Safe Fish guides in the spring and emergency advisories as needed. They can be found online here.

Current guidelines relating to the PFAS fish contamination can be found online.ROCKFORD, MI -- The wait is over.

Just over a year after Corner Bar was all but destroyed by a fire, the popular bar and restaurant - established in 1935 - is scheduled to reopen its doors at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 25.

Inside the reconstructed building, longtime patrons will find that many of the hallmarks that defined the Rockford landmark remain in place: its historic, neon-lit sign, a friendly neighborhood atmosphere, and a full-service bar and kitchen, serving up everything from burgers and steaks to salads and sandwiches.

And, of course, there's still the "World Famous Hot Dog Hall of Fame," a wall emblazoned with the names of hundreds upon hundreds of patrons, from West Michigan and beyond, who have downed 12 of the bar's signature hot dogs in four hours.

Sarah Wolfe, who co-owns the bar with her husband, Jeff, said the idea was to recreate the historical character, the sense of "nostalgia," that made the bar and restaurant one of Rockford's most popular spots.

All but the building's brick facade was destroyed in the blaze.

"I think it's important for people to walk in and have it feel familiar to them," she said.

But there's also a distinctly new feel inside.

Outfitted with a polished wood bar, a mixture of high- and low-top tables, and a series of leather booths, the new building has a slightly more open and spacious feel, Wolfe said. There's also new, larger bathrooms and an elevator to the second floor, where there's more seating and an outdoor deck.

Elsewhere, remnants of the old structure have been cleaned and reused for the new building.

Bricks, blackened and dirty from the blaze, were sandblasted and used in some of the walls. A piece of charred wood that was cleaned and coated with glossy paint now serves as bar-style seating. And steel beams that used to support the building's brick facade during construction have been repurposed as a foot support at the bar.

"You do what you can to save what you can," Wolfe said. "It's a piece of people's memory."

Construction is still wrapping up on the second floor, and that area will not be open on Saturday. Orion Construction, a general contractor based in Grand Rapids, led the project.

A fire ripped through the bar on the morning of Aug. 17, 2017, destroying all but the front, brick facade. It started out as a dumpster fire, spotted by a pedestrian, about 5:30 a.m. The dumpster fire was quickly extinguished but the heat and pressure apparently triggered a gas line explosion about an hour later.

Plumes of smoke billowed into the sky that morning as residents gathered that morning to watch firefighters battle the blaze.

Many were visibly shaken by the loss of what they described as a community landmark and a key stop during events like the Rouge River Blues Series. It was remembered as a place where visitors and locals alike could grab a hot dog and soda from a kitchen window on the street corner - a feature that will remain in place in the new building.

Wolfe said she knew from the day of the fire that she would rebuild.

That day, as the charred remains of the building smoldered, she recalls hearing from residents who spoke about visiting the restaurant as children. Many simply asked: Are you coming back?

There was too much history, too many community memories to say goodbye to the establishment, she said.

"I don't think you can walk away from the history," Wolfe said. "Anybody can make a livelihood, anybody can start a new business, but you can't recreate 100 years of history and 100 years of memories for people."SAGINAW, MI - The Saginaw County Mosquito Abatement Commission is warning residents to take extra precautions after noticing an increase in the amount of birds carrying the West Nile virus.

"We know our highest risks (for the virus) are the months of August and September," said William Stanuszek, director of the commission. "This is the time of the year for people to be vigilant."

Staff has recorded 23 crows and blue jays with the virus this year, and two mosquito samples have tested positive for the virus this season in the county.

Mary McCarry, a biologist for Bay County Mosquito Control, said Bay County has recorded 13 birds confirmed with West Nile virus.

Stanuszek said culex mosquitoes are the ones to worry about.

They would rather feed on birds than humans, but they are the ones that are more likely to carry the disease, the news release states, and those mosquitoes flourish during hot and dry periods.

Culex mosquitoes also prefer habitats around houses such as buckets, tarps, neglected pools and tires around homes that contain water.

Stanuszek added that roughly 1 in 150 people who contract the virus will have a serious illness, which can result in death. The very young and very old are most at risk for serious illness.

"I will say this, eight out of 10 times you will be asymptomatic," Stanuszek said, explaining a person will show no signs, but 20 percent of the time it will cause the person to either have a fever or some other illness that can "knock them down" for a week.

The state of Michigan has recorded two human asymptomatic infections reported through blood donor screenings as of Aug. 21.

Saginaw County is still conducting ongoing surveillance, but detection of the virus has been found in various Saginaw County cities: Albee, Birch Run, Carrollton, Frankenmuth, Kochville, Saginaw, Swan Creek Townships, the city of Saginaw and others as well.

The organization is asking residents to check their yards for mosquito breeding and to eliminate potential areas where mosquitoes could make a home.

Some of their precautions include avoid being outside when mosquitoes are most active, like between dusk and dawn, use Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents such as DEET and eliminate all sources of standing water.According to the EOW, the accused colluded with the former promoters of Religare Enterprises, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh. (Image: Reuters)

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In a latest twist in the tale, Malvinder and Shivinder Singh - the erstwhile promoters of Fortis have put the blame on former Religare top executive Sunil Godhwani for the groups troubles.

Singh brothers have lost control over Fortis and Religare and are facing heat from Japanese drug maker Daichii Sankyo, which is trying to enforce Rs 3500 crore arbitration award it got from a tribunal in Singapore.

The Groups troubles today stem from the Groups association with Sunil Godhwani who had started his association in Religare as its CEO in 2001, Singh brothers alleged in a joint statement last week.

Singh brothers further alleged Godhwani often took decisions without informing them. They say he was the architect of the financial structures, including the loans to the Dhillon family and companies, that led to their financial troubles.

Godhwani was leading group's financial services arm Religare Enterprises as MD and CEO, was also in charge of the group's holding company, RHC Holding.

In July 2016, Sunil Godhwani stepped down as chairman and managing director of Religare Enterprises and was designated as whole-time director and CEO. On September 6, 2017, Godhwani stepped down as whole-time director as well.

He couldn't be reached. But a report in Business Standard in January this year says that Godhwani is looking to raise USD 500 million for his 'stressed assets revival fund' focussed on the Indian markets.

Gurinder Singh Dhillon, known as Babaji, the spiritual Guru of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB). Singh brothers are related to Dhillon and consider him as their mentor. Dhillon family have huge influence over the group companies of Singh brothers.

Singh brothers are said to have transfered around Rs 2,500 crore of Ranbaxy sale proceeds helping Dhillon family to fund building a real estate empire.

The two brothers were sitting on Rs 10,000 crore in cash in 2008 after they sold Ranbaxy Laboratories to Japan's Daiichi Sankyo. Most of that cash is now blown away.

"After the Ranbaxy sale closed, it was decided that Mr. Godhwani would lead our family office in addition to his role in Religare, and from end 2008, he had full management control of RHC Holding and its subsidiaries. Mr. Godhwani was expected to be a responsible trustee and steward of the family's resources and consequently our reputation," the brothers said.

Godhwani used his position to conceive and orchestrate a series of transactions over the better part of a decade that led to our Groups debt load by 2016, they added.

It is clear that he used our trust in him to exercise undue influence and has taken advantage of the faith bestowed by both families, the statement said.

Singh bros - Dhillon transactions under cloud

The Singh brothers however defended Dhillon and called him as their spiritual master.

"After our father Dr. Parvinder Singh passed away in 1999, we found an anchor and mentor in Mr. Dhillon. We remain deeply grateful for this relationship. Our relationship with Mr. Dhillon remains that of a spiritual Master and a disciple. That we have had close personal relations with Mr. Dhillon as the central father figure in our life, has always been and remains a singular privilege and honour," the brothers said.

We are sure Dhillon and his family would have had a similar expectation from Godhwani regarding management of their resources, it added.Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday that the United States could reach a "big Trade Agreement" with Mexico imminently.

"Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour. Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together," Trump wrote. "A big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!"

The United States and Mexico have been holding bilateral talks aimed at resolving differences in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada is also part of the agreement.

The US-Mexico talks for weeks focused on crafting new rules for the automotive industry, which Trump has put at the center of his drive to rework the 24-year-old deal he says has been a "disaster" for American workers.

Trump prompted the NAFTA revamp more than a year ago, complaining the pact has benefited Mexico to the detriment of US workers and manufacturing. He made renegotiating NAFTA one of his top campaign pledges.

Trump has threatened to withdraw from the pact if it is not reworked to the advantage of the United States.Priyank Upadhyay

The aluminum market has been thrust into a period of uncertainty that has become a feature of the trade in recent months because of tariffs and sanctions, a situation that seems unlikely to change.

The lack of clarity began in April, when the US announced sanctions against several Russian individuals and companies, including aluminum producer UC Rusal.

These sanctions created a lot of uncertainty in the market, which in turn led to a price spike in April and high volatility. But, since April, metal and alumina flows have resumed to a great extent, and prices have moderated.

However, there is still uncertainty on how the sanctions may be resolved. The market uncertainty continued in June, when the US implemented Section 232 tariffs against aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico, and the EU, adding a 10% tax on aluminum from those areas.

A round of retaliatory tariffs imposed by the affected regions has followed. China's aluminum output is expected to be curtailed over winter as part of its crackdown on pollution.

In addition, Rusal expects to halt some of its production as soon as next month if sanctions against it are not lifted. Adding to tightness, a strike at Alcoa's operations in Western Australia continues after an Aug. 8 walkout.

Current market conditions are broadly expected to continue into the second half with the Alunorte refinery in Brazil still running below full capacity.

MCX Aluminum Technical Analysis:

From the above daily chart, we can see prices were moving in a downtrend since June and made a low of around 138 in the month of July and recently prices after consolidating for a month has broken of the channel (T1 and T2) and are trading with a positive bias.

Prices are taking support from the upward sloping trend line (T3) and prices are respecting the support of 20 day SMA (Orange Line) which is a positive sign for the prices to trade higher.

Supports for near-term are between 142 and 140 zones and the recent swing low of 138 is the crucial support.

From the above structure, we could conclude that prices could trade firm in near-term and could retrace the down move from June and could touch the 50% retracement, which is at 148.50 and 61.8% retracement, which is at 151.

RSI is also trading above 50, which indicates a positive outlook for prices in near term.

Disclaimer: The author is AVP Commodity Research, SSJ Finance & Securities Pvt Ltd. The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.Volatility, expensive valuations and elections in less than a year have prompted fund managers to believe that consumption is one structural story that investors can ride on.

The Nifty India Consumption Index is among the best performers, giving an 19 percent return in the past one year.

Going by the positive outlook on consumption, fund houses have been floating schemes of investing in the consumption sector.

After ICICI Prudential Mutual Funds closed-end Bharat Consumption Fund Series 1-4, the latest fund house to join the bandwagon is BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

On Aug 17, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund has launched BNP Paribas India Consumption Fund, which will remain open for subscription until Aug 31.

This fund will invest in companies that are expected to benefit from the growing consumption needs of Indian consumers. The fund manager intends to identify companies.

India has a large and growing consumer backed by over one billion consumers across income segments. Rising household income, urbanisation, decline in traditional joint-family structure are some of the key contributors of this growth, explained Anand Shah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Investments, BNP Paribas Mutual Fund.

Fund managers said that India is expected to be the third-largest consumer market in the world. Indias 130-crore population, which enjoys a demographic advantage with proportion of working age population over 50 percent, also makes consumption a structural story for a long period. The theme offers twin benefits as it is both cyclical and defensive.

Among other developments this week, AMFI held its second Mutual Fund Summit in Mumbai.

Addressing the summit, the Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Ajay Tyagi expressed concerns over the growing concentration of assets under management (AUM) among the top seven players.

He emphasised on the need of having more competition to ensure uniform growth among industry players.

HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh also addressed the gathering at AMFI Summit and said that junkets or incentive tours have become common practice across the financial services industry and should be stopped as these rewards create an imbalance in the market.

He said that the SEBI should take measures to discourage asset management companies from rewarding distributors with such tours.Financial advisors would always advise you to invest for the long term to get good return by riding out market and economic cycles. However, there may be short-term goals for which you need to set aside money. It could be for childs education or for travel.

If you have a short-term goal that is likely to come up within a year, you need to plan your investments in a manner that your capital is not exposed to undue risks. Hence, investing in stocks is avoidable for this purpose and money should go to instruments that give fixed returns.

There are a few such options that you can choose from for investing for a goal set for within one year. Here are five such investment options.

Stock market valuations are high with indices hovering around their lifetime highs. If you are mutual fund investor you need to be cautious on the choice of funds. One of the better options within the range of fund offerings are multi-cap funds. These are funds that invest your money in stocks of various market capitalisation.

Market experts feel these funds can be good bets in the current market scenario. In our story, we tell you exactly why multi-cap funds could be a good investment choice for you at present.

Have you been investing in regular mutual funds through your broker? If so, it may be time for a rethink. A recent survey by Paisabazaar.com has revealed that an 96 percent of mutual fund investors who were surveyed were unaware of the very existence of Direct Plans offered by fund houses. Direct plans allow you to circumvent intermediaries and invest directly in the scheme of your choice.

Those ignoring direct plans and going for regular plans through brokers/distributors are losing out a large amount to brokerage fees. Pasiabazaar calculated that the difference in returns between direct plans of mutual funds and regular plans could be as much as Rs 68 lakh, for a SIP of Rs 10,000 for 25 years, at an annualised return of 15%. Thus, the corpus created through direct plans will be Rs 3.97 crore versus Rs 3.29 crore via regular plans.

So, if you are one of the regular plan investors should you could consider switching to a direct plan and if so, how should you go about it? Read to know.

Flood waters caused massive devastation in Kerala, the kind which the state had not seen for a century. However, once the situation comes back to normal, people would be struggling to file their insurance claims. The documents would have been damaged or swept away.

How does a common person go about filing insurance claims in such a situation, be it in for death of the insured or for general insurance losses?

Read to know the steps you need to take for a smooth settlement of claims.

Natural calamities do give a wake-up call to be properly insured. Among them one needs to have adequate life insurance to ensure that the lives of loved ones continue smoothly even if a tragedy happens to the breadwinner.

If you are life buying insurance policy it is essential that you provide true and complete information at the time of applying for the policy. Wrong information of suppression of facts could result in the insurance company declining the claim.

In our story we tell you some of the common reasons for claims being declined by insurance companies.

If you are on the verge of retiring or have retired, you would be faced with the dilemma of what you should do with the money you have accumulated and the pension payments. The main strategy of investing during this period should be to and keep ones principle amount safe by investing in the right instruments to gain good returns.

There are several schemes tailored as per the needs of senior citizen investors. Here are some attractive investment options for senior citizenslive bse live

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In the week gone by benchmark indices hit fresh record highs with pharma and energy stocks outshining among the sectors. Sensex touched record high of 38,487.63, while Nifty made a high of 11,620.7.

Among the stocks, L&T (up 8.2%), ONGC (up 7.2%), Reliance Industries (up 6.2%), Wipro (up 4.5%) and Vedanta (up 4.1%) were the top gainers on the Sensex, while Yes Bank (down 4.6%), Infosys (down 3.6%), IndusInd Bank (down 3.1%), ICICI Bank (down 2.9%) and Hero Motocorp (down 1%) were among the major losers.

For the week, largecap added 0.9 percent, midcap rose 1.51 percent, while smallcap ended on flat note.

Here is the list of 10 stocks which moved the most in the last week:

Welspun Corp | Up 27 percent

Welspun Corp entered into an agreement for supplying 56 KMT of pipes for oil & gas project in the US.

With this addition, its current order book stands at 1,605 KMTs valued at Rs 12,000 crore.

The company has been selected for the Gold Medal in National Awards for Manufacturing Competitiveness 2017-18 by the International Research Institute for Manufacturing, India.

Man Infraconstruction | Up 16 percent

The company's subsidiary won an arbitration award of Rs 337.88 crore. The Hon`ble Arbitrator, in relation to arbitration proceedings between Manaj Tollway (MTPL), a subsidiary of the company and Public Works Department (PWD), Pune, has directed PWD to pay a sum of Rs 337.88 crore to Manaj Tollway.

As per arbitral award, interest at 15 percent p.a. for the period from date of aforesaid arbitral award till the date of actual payment shall be payable by PWD.

MTPL had given termination notice and invoked arbitration against PWD, Pune in relation to the project of four laning to Hadapsar- Saswad- Belsarphata & Belha- Pabal- Uralikanchan- Jejuri- Nira district Pune on DBFOT basis.

Zensar Technologies | Up 16 percent

The comapny has signed a Global OEM partnership with PTC. The PTC ThingWorx loT Platform is one of the leading loT platforms globally.

The scope of the agreement involves collaboration in the areas of retail, hi-tech and manufacturing. Zensar will build and offer IOT solutions in these areas to joint customer prospects.

Suven Life Sciences | Up 12 percent

The company has been granted 1 product patent from Canada and 1 process patent from USA corresponding to the New Chemical Entities for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases and patents are valid through 2034.

The granted claims of the patents include the class of selective 5-HT6 compounds, respectively, and are being developed as therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative disorders such as for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimers disease, attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntingtons disease, Parkinson and Schizophrenia and sleep disorders like Narcolepsy etc.

Cadila Healthcare | Up 11 percent

The USFDA inspected company's biologics manufacturing facility (Zydus Biologics) located at the Zydus Biotech Park in Ahmedabad, from August 14 to 24, 2018. At the end of the inspection, no observation (483) has been issued.

Prataap Snacks | Up 11 percent

The company board at its meeting held on August 22, approved strategic investment in Avadh Snacks by acquisition of 76.88% of the share capital of the Avadh Snacks from its existing shareholders.

Also, the company will do subsequent equity investment of up to 3.12% of the share capital of the Avadh Snacks, post completion of above acquisition.

Pursuant to the above transaction, the company will also indirectly acquire control of Red Rotopack, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Avadh Snacks.

L&T | Up 8 percent

The company on Thursday approved a buyback proposal of 6 crore shares, amounting to Rs 9,000 crore, at a price of Rs 1,500 apiece. This is a premium of 13.45 percent as of Tuesdays closing price of Rs 1,322.15.

The number of shares make up for 4.9 percent of total paid up equity share capital.

The buyback is proposed to be made from the shareholders of the Company on a proportionate basis under the tender offer route using the stock exchange mechanism in accordance with the provisions contained in the Regulations and the Companies Act, 2013 and rules made thereunder, the company said in a filing to the exchanges.

Vadilal Industries | Down 18 percent

Ace investor Ashish Ramchandra Kacholia reduced his stake further in ice cream maker Vadilal Industries for second consecutive session on Tuesday.

Kacholia on Tuesday sold 1,42,527 equity shares (representing 1.98 percent of paid-up equity) of the company at Rs 548.35 per share.

On Monday, he sold 3.62 lakh equity shares (3,06,045 shares on NSE and 56,260 shares on BSE) through open market transactions, at a price of Rs 612.18 per share and Rs 604.05 respectively.

The total stake, which he offloaded in two days, was worth Rs 30 crore.

Hexaware Technologies | Down 11 percent

Baring PE sold 8.4 percent stake in Hexaware via block deals. Baring PE disposed equity shares through HT Global IT Solutions Holdings, an investment vehicle through which Baring Asia holds a controlling stake in Hexaware.

On August 24, HT Global IT Solutions Holdings sold 2,50,00,000 shares of the company at Rs 447.83.

The buyers were Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius and Societe Generale, bought 38,53,600 shares at Rs 447.50 and bought 41,00,000 shares at Rs 447.50 respectively, as per NSE data.

Jet Airways | Down 8 percent

The audit committee and the board of directors at their meeting scheduled to be held on August 27, 2018, to consider the unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 will, take up the matters in relation to the cost reduction initiatives and turnaround plan.

: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.August 25, 2018 / 03:37 PM IST

Requirements listed by CMO Kerala:

Social Welfare Department has an urgent requirement of approximately 5000 pieces of wheelchairs, crutches and hearing aids each to support its efforts across Kerala.

Kudumbasree needs over 40,000 volunteers, 20,000 pairs of Gumboots and 22,000 pairs of Gloves for its efforts in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur and Wayanad districts.The Madras High Court was informed by an anti-graft body that a preliminary inquiry on DMK's complaint of corruption against Chief Minister K Palaniswami has already commenced.

Advocate General Vijay Narayan made the submission on behalf of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) when the plea came up before Justice A D Jagadish Chandira.

"We received the complaint on June 22. Immediately a preliminary inquiry has been commenced and the investigation is going on," Vijay Narayan said.

Senior counsel for DMK NR Elango submitted that as per the directions of the Supreme Court such preliminary probe should be completed within seven days and in case of the DVAC, it should be completed by two months.

By August 22, the two-month period has expired, he added. Concurring with the submission, the judge asked the advocate general as to why the DVAC has not completed the inquiry in two months.

At least a case must have been registered by now, the judge said and directed the DVAC to file its counter by September 4.

Petitioner RS Bharathi, the organising secretary of the DMK, alleged the chief minister, who also holds the highways and road portfolios, abused his power to allocate five highway laying and maintenance projects worth over Rs 3,500 crore to firms owned by his relatives and benamis.

He claimed that most of the projects were funded by the World Bank.

"Palaniswami, being a government servant, entered into a criminal conspiracy with his relatives and benamis and thereby committed criminal misconduct and obtained undue pecuniary advantage for himself.

"These offences attract punishment under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act," Bharathi submitted.The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday sent 256 transformers and 40,000 power meters apart from one lakh litres of 'Amma' brand of bottled drinking water to flood-hit Kerala.

Electricity Minister P Thangamani told reporters in Erode that the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board had sent the transformers and power meters to the neighbouring state, which was reeling under the impact of the floods and landslides unleashed by the monsoon fury. Meanwhile in Coimbatore, Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani flagged off 11 lorries carrying the water bottles.

The Tamil Nadu government continues to help the people of the neighbouring state, he said.

A total of 42 types of relief materials, including rice, grains, medicines and essentials worth Rs 4 crore has also been sent, the minister said.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami has already announced Rs 10 crore financial assistance for Kerala, he added.

Besides, a non-governmental organisation has donated a water purifying machine worth Rs 5 lakh, which is also part of the relief materials sent today, he said.

The CPI has also sent relief materials worth Rs 10 lakh collected by party, its leader M Arumugham said.

The materials would be distributed directly to the affected people, he said, adding that a sum of Rs 3 lakh from the party would be handed over to the Thrissur district party headquarters for carrying out relief work.Lalu Prasad Yadav | The former minister of railways was arrested in connection with the fodder scam. (Image: PTI)

RJD president and fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad today returned to Patna from Mumbai, where he was treated at a hospital for three weeks, and would surrender before the CBI court at Ranchi next Thursday as per the Jharkhand High Court order.

It had on May 11 granted six weeks provisional bail to Prasad on medical grounds which was extended on several occasions, the last being till August 27.

Flanked by party leaders and workers at the airport here, Prasad refused to make comments on any issues citing the court order restraining him to speak to media. He said his health condition is not good.

"Bolna nahi hai. Instruction hai. Tabiyat theek nahi hai (I have not to speak (with media). There are instructions. My health is not good)," Prasad told reporters while on his way to his wife Rabri Devi's residence 10, Circular road.

When pressed by journalists for his comment on Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal, Prasad reiterated that he has been barred from speaking on any issues in public.

Bhola Yadav, Prasad's close confidant and a MLA, told PTI that Prasad had gone to "Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute on August 6 for the treatment of heart and kidney infection and has returned to Patna today after 19 days. He would go to Ranchi on August 29 and will surrender before the CBI court on August 30."

Asked about Prasad's health condition, Yadav said that "he (Prasad) has got infections in his valve (heart) and kidney. Doctors of Asian Heart Institute have prescribed that Lalu ji be kept in a very sanitised and hygienic conditions. If someone visits his residence in Patna where he would stay till August 29, then the visiting person must be sanitised."

Yadav said that they would make an application before the CBI court at Ranchi for shifting Prasad to RIMS (Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences) but it will be up to the court as to where it refers Prasad.Bank heists have not gone out of fashion just yet, both as a cinematic trope, and also as a shortcut to riches. A total of 972 such incidents were reported in 2017-18, roughly three every day, according to data collated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The information was furnished by the Minister of State (MoS) for Finance in the Lok Sabha in response to a question regarding the number of ATM robberies, and the safety of financial outposts in the country. The data presented in the lower house of parliament includes incidents of robbery, dacoity, burglary, and theft directed at financial institutions in the last three years.

The banking sector lost a total of Rs 168.74 crore to organised crime directed at ATMs in the past three years. This includes figures for the first quarter of FY19. Between April and June 2018, 261 incidents were reported, entailing a loss of of Rs 18.85 crore to banks.

[Hover over map for state-specific data]

For the financial year ended March 2018, the maximum number of untoward incidents in banks and ATMs was reported in Bihar. Financial institutions lost Rs 3.35 crore from a total of 147 incidents. Security is also lax in Delhi and Haryana, where 53 and 49 ATMs were targeted, resulting in the loot of cash amounting to Rs 2.25 crore and Rs 3.34 crore respectively.

Uttar Pradesh has consistently ranked among the riskiest state for lenders. In 2017-18, there were 85 heists at ATMs, setting back banks by Rs 2.09 crore. West Bengal also witnessed over 100 such incidents in past financial year.

The number of such crimes at Indian bank branches and ATMs has remained relatively stable over the past three years. A total of 1,012 incidents were reported across the country in 2016-17, the highest in the past three years. The tally reduced marginally to in 2017-18.

However, in terms of the quantum of cash looted, there has been a slight improvement. From a high of Rs 65.3 crore in 2016-17, the amount of cash lost in ATM heists went down to Rs 44.49 in 2017-18. In the first quarter of the present financial year, 261 attempts at robbery have already been recorded, with the loss pegged at Rs 18.85 crore.

The report does not indicate whether the perpetrators were thwarted afterwards. The recovery of cash is also not mentioned.

With a lot of essential financial services shifting to the digital space, the number of frauds targeting online transactions has also increased. In 201718, a total of 911 frauds were committed using debit and credit cards obtained using ungainful means by miscreants. The sum total of money that went into the wrong hands stands at Rs 65.26 crore.

The Reserve Bank of India changed its norms to limit liability of customers to card fraud in July 2017. Under the revised guidelines, liability will be shared by banks and customers depending on the circumstances under which the fraud took place.

Customers are exempted from liability if the fraud happened due to the negligence of the bank or a third-party breach where the liability is not on the bank or the customer, but on the system. On the other hand, customers will have to bear the loss if fraud occurred due to negligence on their part. In such cases, customers are liable for losses accrued before they report it to the bank.

If more money is transacted without authorization after the breach has been reported to the bank, then the bank is liable to compensate customers. Moreover, if the delay in reporting stretches beyond seven days, then the jurisdiction on settling the liability will lie with the policy approved by the banks board. Banks are required to showcase their policy in settling online fraud in the public domain to forewarn customers about liability to fraud.

The most number of card frauds were targeted at ICICI Bank customers in 2017-18. As many as 348 cases were reported, wherein Rs 7 crore was embezzled. State Bank of India customers were defrauded to the tune of Rs 10 crore, in 144 reported cases.

However, the biggest fraud happened at City Union Bank, where Rs 32 crore was stolen in a single case.

The RBI has advised banks to upgrade security at bank branches and ATMs. The measures proposed include installing CCTV cameras at ATMs and doing a thorough background check on security personnel manning these facilities.

Furthermore, the central bank issued a circular titled Control Measures for ATMs  Timeline for Compliance on June 21, which asks banks to upgrade the software plying on ATMs to neutralize fraud and robbery.

According to a written reply to a question raised in the Lok Sabha, the government has said that it is currently tracking banks progress in complying with the RBIs guidelines. The additional loss from fraud and theft is relatively small when compared to banks bad debt. However, banks can plug unnecessary loss arising from such cases by expediting efforts at upgrading security, both at ATMs and also in their digital payments gateways.Senior CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat criticized the central government's decision to refuse flood relief assistance to Kerala from United Arab Emirates (UAE) as "uncalled for" and not the "correct policy".

Karat and CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechuri were on a two day visit to Tripura since yesterday to attend the Left party's state committee meeting.

This is the first visit of the two top CPI(M) leaders to Tripura after the party lost power to the BJP in March election, ending their 25 years of rule in row.

The initial flood damage estimate of Kerala government is Rs 20,000 crores. Central government has sanctioned Rs 6,000 crores so far. At this time, UAE, which said they can send Rs 700 crores for relief and rehabilitation.

But, the central government has declined this request without consulting the state government This is totally uncalled for, he told reporters. He said the entire country has stood with flood-hit Kerala by sending material, money and other help.

Karat highlighted that a large number of Indians are working in the UAE, among whom nearly 80 percent are from Kerala.

"They are building UAE with their hard labour. It is natural that they (UAE) will respond by offering this help. Our question is why did the central government refuse the help? We dont think this is a correct policy.

We should not stand on false prestige that India is a big super power and we don't need help," Karat shot at the NDA government.

He said people of Kerala need help from all quarters and appealed central government not to stand on false prestige and take necessary steps in consultation with the state government of Kerala.

The centre decided not to accept any foreign donations for flood relief citing a 2004 policy decision by the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh.

Meanwhile, officials in UAE embassy in Delhi said that no specific amount for financial aid to flood-ravaged Kerala has been finalised officially by the United Arab Emirates and there was no announcement on donation to the state, amid a row over the Centre deciding not to accept any foreign donations for flood relief.

Launching a scathing attack at the BJP-led NDA government, Karat alleged that the countrie's atmosphere was vitiated due to "increasing attacks on women, Dalits, adivasis, mob lynchings, price rise and other factors since NDA government took over in 2014.Australia's next prime minister is a career public servant from Sydney's southern suburbs who rose to prominence by stopping asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat and has steered the country's fiscal direction for the past three years.

Scott Morrison, who has served as the country's treasurer since 2015, represents the predominantly Anglo-Saxon electorate of Cook in Sydney's south a formerly blue-collar seaside suburban region now extensively gentrified.

Morrison won a Liberal party leadership vote on August 24 and with it the post of Prime Minister of Australia, sending a skirmish for control of the party pursued by the government's right wing.

He opened his first speech as prime minister-elect on August 24 with a conciliatory tone, acknowledging the pressures felt by families, and the plight of the country's drought-hit farmers.

Morrison, who has a reputation as an ambitious and accomplished politician, drew on the well-worn colloquialism "to have a go" to punctuate the address.

"If you have a go in this country you will get a go. There is a fair go for those who have a go," Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

As a senior member of the government already heavily involved in high-level policy, economists don't expect a Morrison-led government to abruptly shift direction ahead of a general election due by May 2019 at the latest.

"It won't be a major change in policy just at the margin," AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said. "What you might see is tax cuts occurring earlier. That might shore up support for the Liberals ahead of the election."

Morrison's most recent budget in May outlined plans to implement a package of personal income tax cuts over seven years, although the timeline could be sped up or unwound by future governments.

The Australian dollar rose one-quarter of a cent immediately after the results of the party vote were made public.

"PM Morrison is the most market-friendly option, having successfully negotiated through multiple portfolios such as Social Security, Border Security, and more recently presiding over a substantial improvement in the budget balance as Treasurer," said Annette Beacher, Chief Asia-Pacific Macro Strategist at TD Securities in Singapore.

CONSERVATIVE ENOUGH?

"ScoMo", as he is nicknamed, forged his reputation in 2013 and 2014 by implementing the government's signature immigration policy, Operation Sovereign Borders, which places asylum seekers who arrive by boat in offshore detention centres.

Despite this reputation, Morrison drew support from moderates in the party and defeated his more conservative colleague Peter Dutton in Friday's vote. Dutton was responsible for asylum seeker policies until standing down this week over his role in unseating leader Malcolm Turnbull.

Morrison, reflecting many of the characteristics of his electorate, describes himself on his website as a "netball dad" to his two daughters and a member of a local Pentecostal church.

The 50 year old has worked in the public service for several decades, holding senior government property and tourism jobs in Australia and New Zealand before becoming the state director of the Liberal Party in New South Wales in 2000.

Morrison became the managing director of Tourism Australia in 2004, approving the contentious 'So Where the Bloody Hell are You?' international advertising campaign, which was temporarily banned in the UK due to its crass language.

The uproar reached all the way to the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who quipped on a jet-lagged visit to Australia in 2006: "And here I am, in the Australian parliament building at what I think is something like four o'clock in the morning in the UK. And so I'm thinking, so where the bloody hell am I?'"

Though he did not enter federal politics until 2007, Morrison's has been involved in political campaigning from age nine when he reportedly handed out how-to-vote cards for his father, who was a councillor and mayor in Waverley council, which includes Bondi Beach.

Morrison's Sydney seat is considered safe, holding it by a large margin of 15.7 percent. But not all locals are happy about his promotion. Bill Butterfield, a mechanic in Morrison's electorate of Cook, told Reuters that Morrison was not conservative enough.

"I wouldn't vote for him. I just don't like the fella," said Butterfield, who said he preferred the former conservative prime minister Tony Abbott.

"He's done nothing for me. I don't want him to be prime minister." In 2017, Morrison said he would vote "no" in the same-sex marriage postal vote.

He has repeatedly criticised renewable energy targets and has recently pursued greater restrictions on foreign ownership of sensitive assets, including electricity grids and agricultural land.

Morrison said on Friday that "the best form of welfare is a job". Nick Economou, senior lecturer in politics at Monash University in Melbourne, said the infighting in the Liberal party posed considerable problems to the new leader going into an election cycle.

"The bottom line is they've damaged themselves irreparably," he said. "It doesn't matter what Morrison says or does now, I think that the coalition is on track for a big defeat at the next election."US President Donald Trump today pulled the plug on a weekend trip to North Korea by his top diplomat, while taking a swipe at China over efforts to disarm the nuclear state.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump said by tweet.

"Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)," Trump said.

In another tweet, the president added Pompeo would still head to North Korea "in the near future," saying this would likely occur when the US-China trading relationship is "resolved."

"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!" Trump said.

Pompeo had yesterday said he would return to North Korea next week for the next stage in ensuring the "final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea."

The trip would have been Pompeo's fourth to North Korea, and the second since a historic summit on June 12 between Trump and the country's strongman leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump, who relishes unpredictability in negotiating, had at one point canceled that summit, citing North Korea's "open hostility."

But he soon backtracked and the summit went ahead.Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk said he would no longer pursue a $72 billion deal to take his US electric car maker private, abandoning an idea that had stunned investors and drawn regulatory scrutiny.

The decision leaves Tesla as a publicly listed company but raises new questions about its future. Its shares have been trading below their August 7 levels, when Musk announced on Twitter he was considering taking Tesla private for $420 per share, as investors wondered what the long-shot bid meant for Musk's ability to steer the company into profitability.

The move also leaves Musk and Tesla having to fend off a series of investor lawsuits and a US Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the factual accuracy of Musk's tweet that funding for the deal was "secured".

"Although the majority of shareholders I spoke to said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was 'please don't do this'," Musk wrote in a blog post on Friday.

Musk, who owns about a fifth of Tesla, had said earlier this month that he envisioned taking the company private without using the standard method of a leveraged buyout, whereby all the other shareholders would cash out and the deal would be funded primarily with new debt.

Instead, two-thirds of company shareholders, according to his estimate, would have chosen an option of "rolling" their stakes and continuing to be investors in a private company, rather than cashing out. This would significantly reduce the amount of money needed for the deal and avoid further burdening Tesla, which has a debt pile of $11 billion and negative cash flow.

However, Musk said on Friday that a number of institutional shareholders explained to him that they have internal compliance issues that limit how much they can invest in a private company. He added that there is no proven path for most retail investors to own shares were Tesla to go private.

"I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated. This is a problem because we absolutely must stay focused on ramping Model 3 and becoming profitable," Musk said.

Musk has also said that Saudi Arabia PIF, which became a Tesla shareholder earlier this year with a stake of just under 5 percent, could help him fund the cash portion of the deal, though sources close to the sovereign wealth fund had played down that prospect.

Musk said on Friday that his belief that there is more than enough funding to take Tesla private was reinforced during this process.

Six members of Tesla's board of directors said in a separate statement that they were informed on Thursday that Musk was abandoning his take-private bid. The board then disbanded a special committee of three directors it had set up to evaluate any offer that Musk submitted.The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza, according to US officials and congressional aides.

The State Department notified Congress of the decision yesterday, according to the officials and aides, who spoke condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the move ahead of its formal announcement.

But in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent to lawmakers and obtained by The Associated Press, the department said it will redirect the money to "high-priority projects elsewhere".

The move comes as President Donald Trump and his Middle East pointmen, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, staff up their office to prepare for the rollout of a much-vaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.

"At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer," the State Department said in the notice.

"As a result of that review, at the direction of the President, we will redirect more than $200 million originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza," it said.

"This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said.What's next? PM Imran Khan reportedly held an emergency meeting at 11 am (PST). Pakistan's top brass will assemble at the Foreign Office in Islamabad to discuss the emerging situation in the wake of Indian Air Force's (IAF) violation of the Line of Control

The United States is interested in Prime Minister Imran Khan's reform agenda and was ready to turn a new page with his government, the outgoing Amercian Ambassador to Pakistan David Hale said.

Hale, who has been appointed as the next under secretary of state for political affairs by US President Donald Trump, paid a farewell visit to Prime Minister Khan and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan deteriorated after the Trump administration slashed military aid to the country this year accusing Islamabad of providing overt and covert support to the Afghan Taliban and other terror groups.

"Ambassador Hale paid a farewell call on Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," a Foreign Ministry statement said.

"There was great interest in the Prime Minister's reform agenda in the United States, a readiness to turn the page, and this was the objective of Secretary Pompeo's visit to Pakistan," Hale, who has been serving as US Ambassador since 2015, told Qureshi.

The Foreign Minister underscored the importance of the longstanding relations with the US and said that he looked forward to welcome Secretary Pompeo in Islamabad, the statement said.

Qureshi told ambassador Hale that his interactions with the US leadership would be based on honesty and sincerity so as to develop a sustained partnership in the interest of both countries.

The Foreign Minster thanked Hale for his services and congratulated him for his next assignment.

He expressed hope that someone who understands Pakistan and the region would be able to play a positive role in strengthening of bilateral relations and work for the peace and prosperity of the region.

Ambassador Hale thanked the Foreign Minister and acknowledged his role in shepherding bilateral relations. He also thanked the Foreign Ministry for the cooperation extended to him during his assignment in Pakistan.

Hale later met Prime Minister Imran Khan. He also expected to make a farewell visit to the Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram

A 30-year-old Sweetwater man died early Friday morning in a one-vehicle wreck on Loop 338 in Ector County, about five miles south of Odessa, according to a press release from the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Claude B. Speed was driving a Ford Escape westbound, entered a curve and overcorrected. He lost control, and the vehicle rolled, according to the release.A 21-year-old Midland woman is in jail for allegedly sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl, according to court documents.

Victoria Lace August was arrested Monday on a charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony. She was being held Wednesday on a $100,000 bond.

A Midland police officer was dispatched Monday to Midland Memorial Hospital where the girl -- who was with her mother -- was being treated, according to the arrest affidavit.

The girl was transported to the Midland Childrens Advocacy Center for a forensic interview. She said August allegedly used a purple item on her, according to the affidavit.

If convicted, August could face up to 99 years in prison and a $10,00 fine.We feel intimidated and compelled to ...CHP San Andreas Unit logo View Photos

Angels Camp, CA  The CHP has released more details surrounding a motorcycle versus big rig crash that shut down Highway 4 for more than an hour this afternoon.

The wreck happened in the noon hour east of the intersection of Pool Station Road in the Angels Camp area of Calaveras County. As earlier reported here, after the two collided the big rig was jack-knifed across the roadway blocking it while the motorcycle was stuck underneath the semi.

The CHP reports that 49-year-old Shawn Scott of Millbrea, California was riding his 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle eastbound at about 60 mph when he came up behind a 1990 Dodge Ram truck driven by 76-year-old Barbara Dunkel of Angels Camp. CHP Spokesperson officer Toby Butzler reports Scott illegally crossed over the yellow-double lines into the oncoming lane to pass the pickup. It was then that Scott saw a 2013 Freightliner coming right at him. Behind the wheel of the semi was 41-year-old David Osuna of Modesto. Both slammed on their brakes but were unable to stop and hit head-on.

Scott was ejected from the bike and suffered major injuries. Butzler states the impact shot debris at the passing pickup causing damage to it. Dunkel and Osuna were not hurt in the collision.

The highway was closed to traffic for 90 minute and then opened to one-way traffic control for another half hour while tow crews removed the wreckage.

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 more informationEvan Green traveled about 2,000 miles this weekend to attend an aviation event in Morgan County.

Green, a private pilot from Calabasas, California, is attending the eighth annual Nails Fly-In, a powered-parachute get-together at Reggie Nail Tolers Ranch International Airport, 1 mile south of Franklin.

Eighteen years ago, I went to a powered-parachute fly-in in Indiana, where I met Reggie Toler, Green said. Since then, we have met at multiple fly-ins all across the country.

Powered parachutes are small aircraft equipped with a small engine and a 500-square-foot parachute that serves as wings.

Green has made it to most of Tolers fly-ins since they began in 2011.

Im fortunate that Nail allows me to borrow a powered parachute to participate in the fly-in, Green said. First and foremost, though, I come for the camaraderie, which has grown from the interaction with diverse people from many states who attend Nails Fly-In.

Green has been a licensed pilot for 26 years and has flown many types of fixed-wing aircraft, including Pipers and Cessnas.

Even though I fly fixed-wing planes, I find great peace and relaxation in flying powered parachutes, low and slow, Green said. We actually call it low-altitude therapy. To me, flying powered parachutes is like taking a beautiful walk in the park.

That walk in an aerial park began Thursday at Tolers airstrip.

The four-day event draws powered-parachute enthusiasts from across the country.

Thursday was a good day to fly, but Mother Nature intervened Friday and grounded the aircraft, Toler said. Hopefully, well be able to get airborne again (today). A lot of pilots who have become close friends over the years attend the fly-in. They come to enjoy flying and the facilities at my airstrip.

Nails Fly-In is free and open to the public from noon to 8 p.m. today and from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday.

Greg Olson can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1224, or on Twitter @JCNews_Greg.The number of consultations about power harassment in the workplace has risen at a remarkable pace in Japan.

Though companies have been urged to implement preventive measures, some claim that it is difficult to draw a line between such harassment and instructions necessary for the execution of work duties.

This autumn, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will convene a panel of experts to discuss whether companies are obliged to take measures against power harassment.

"Power harassment cripples one's spirit," said a 55-year-old woman from Nagoya. "Victims are led to believe they're insignificant, which could cause irreparable harm. It must never be tolerated."

The woman's eldest daughter, then 21, joined a company in Nagoya after graduating from high school. In June 2012, she jumped to her death from her condominium unit.

In December 2013, a labor standards inspection office ruled her suicide to be primarily caused by power harassment and classified her death as work-related.

Her parents sued the company, their daughter's senior colleague and others involved. In a ruling by the Nagoya High Court in November 2017, the court acknowledged that power harassment had occurred and that it was a factor in the daughter's suicide, ordering the company and other defendants to pay about 55 million yen in damages. The case is now being heard by the Supreme Court.

According to the high court ruling, their daughter had been repeatedly admonished by her senior colleague, who scolded her for "repeatedly making the same mistakes," among other reprimands.

"I want the government and the company to take effective measures as soon as possible," the victim's mother said.

According to data on labor consultations at Labor Bureaus nationwide, "bullying and harassment," in which power harassment may have occurred, was the most discussed topic for the sixth straight year, with more than 72,000 cases in fiscal 2017.

The same year, a record-high 88 cases of bullying or harassment were acknowledged to have caused mental illness that led to work-related accidents.

In a survey conducted by the ministry in 2016, one out of three company workers said they had suffered power harassment within the past three years.

Companies are under pressure to devise preventive measures against power harassment, but practices differ by firm. According to a 2016 labor ministry survey, 90 percent of companies with 1,000 or more employees had preventive measures in place. However, less than 30 percent of small and midsize firms with less than 100 employees had such policies.

Though "sexual harassment" and "maternity harassment" are both broadly classified as harassment, companies must regulate the former based on the Equal Employment Opportunity Law and the latter based on the Child-rearing and Nursing Care Leave Law.

The laws require companies to maintain consultation offices and devise measures to prevent a recurrence of incidents. Violations of the laws may lead to administrative guidance by the relevant Labor Bureau.

In contrast, there are no laws obliging companies to take measures against power harassment. The lack of requirements has been noted as a reason for the delayed development of preventive measures.

Companies are struggling to come up with solutions to the problem. Sony Bank Inc. based in Tokyo has conducted anonymous questionnaires of all employees since 2011 to understand the nature of power harassment and other matters at the company.

Through the questionnaires, Sony Bank uncovered instances of both "colleague to colleague" and "boss to subordinate" power harassment.

The results of the questionnaires are summarized and presented at in-house training sessions and other occasions. Since last year, the bank has also conducted more detailed inquiries into harassment cases and has held consultations for troubled employees.

"Power harassment could lead to a worsening work environment and an increase in people resigning," said a Sony Bank official responsible for such matter. "It's a management risk and something we need to flexibly address."

At Tokyo Gas Co. based in Tokyo, discussions are held at training sessions organized by position within the company. Younger workers and those in managerial positions, for example, discuss with colleagues incidents they consider to be power harassment.

"Attitudes toward the issue differ by generation. We noticed many things among employees at all levels," said a Tokyo Gas official responsible for such matters.

At the same time, the official said there are those who believe that employees in higher positions fear their instructions may be perceived as power harassment.

"It's difficult to define which cases constitute power harassment," the official said.Thousands of Illinois residents will get an up-close look at the worlds fastest growing source of energy on September 22 when over 100 solar homes and businesses across the state open their doors to the public for the Illinois Solar Tour. The Solar Tour, hosted by the Illinois Solar Energy Association (ISEA), is a FREE open house event that allows the public to view real-life examples of nearby businesses and residents who have decided to cut their utility bills by going solar.

The self-guided tour is expected to give thousands of people across Illinois a first-hand experience with renewable energy. This tour creates an opportunity for participants to gain valuable insight on the costs, processes, as well as the economic and environmental benefits of going solar. Illinois is on the verge of a solar energy boom thanks to the implementation of new legislation, making the tour a great way to learn about how to take advantage of the opportunities this affords.A tenant dispute turned deadly Saturday morning in northwest Houston.

A man called 911 around 10:20 a.m. saying he had accidentally shot another man whom he was kicking out of his house, according to the Houston Police Department.

The relationship between the shooter and victim was not immediately clear.

Officers found the victim dead at the scene. They immediately detained the shooter for questioning, although it is not clear if he will be charged.

A woman who witnessed the shooting was brought to HPD's downtown headquarters for questioning, police said.

The man who opened fire is cooperating with police, authorities said.

No other information was available. Check back for updates on this developing story.

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John McAfee wants you to know that he never goes anywhere unarmed.

The controversial tech mogul, who claims to have been targeted by numerous bad actors in the past, is protected around the clock by his own security team, but should they be comprised, he'd be more than ready.

In a Twitter post this week, he revealed just how ready.

His sidearm never leaves his hand, he wrote.

Not when he sleeps. Not in the shower. Not when he's sitting on the toilet. Not even when he makes love.

"Puts a kink in foreplay but some women love it."

And in a follow-up tweet, he shared that the Glock in the photo was just part of his on-person arsenal:

"I carry three sidearms. Hip, shoulder, ankle," he said.

Why pack so much firepower? Well, because a lot folks are out to get him, he says  the U.S. government, violent cartels, corrupt Belizean officials, food poisoners and "six women" who tried to shoot him.

In the last few months, the cybersecurity pioneer and cryptocurrency evangelist has claimed to be on the run from Securities and Exchange Commission, which forced him into hiding. His life was in danger, he said.

Then again, it always seems to be in danger.

In June, he was hospitalized. A photo showed him lying in bed with tubes sprouting out of his body. Something he ate, drank or inhaled was spiked with poison by "incompetent enemies," he said.

He has previously maintained that violent cartels have attempted to kidnap him on several occasions over the last few years, most recently in September. The cartels want to abduct him, he said, because of his connection to the murder of his neighbor in Belize in 2012. (He was a "person of interest" in the investigation.)

When he escaped from Belize to Guatemala, he says he was chased through the jungle by "17,000 armed men."

It's worth noting that the entire armed forces of Belize number 2,100 personnel.

Naturally, McAfee's tweets prompted a flurry of comments. Here are a few:

---

Read Mike Moffitt's latest stories and send him news tips at mmoffitt@sfchronicle.com.

Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news.A man was sent to a San Antonio hospital after being shot early Saturday near downtown.

Officers responded about 5:55 a.m. to the 700 block of San Fernando Street where an altercation between a homeless man and two business owners resulted in a gunshot, according to the San Antonio Police Department.A man had to be rescued out of his vehicle early Saturday after it rolled over near downtown San Antonio.

Officers responded about 2:45 a.m. to the intersection of East Houston Street and Cherry Street where a man suspected of being heavily intoxicated rolled over, according to the San Antonio Police Department.No other name causes more consternation in conventional Texas Ranger folklore than a hardworking vaquero  or cowboy  named Gregorio Cortez (1875-1916).

Opinion rests on two opposing views. To most early 1900s Anglo Texans, he was a criminal, but to Mexican-descent Texans he was a hero.

What exactly did he do to earn such a reputation?

South Texas in the early 20th century consisted of two worlds: mainstream Texas Anglo society, and Mexican-descent Texans, who occupied the lowest social status. For example, Spanish-surnamed Texans in many counties werent allowed to serve in juries until 1954, and they were denied front-door entry to public buildings.

This was also the time when crime was conveniently blamed on Mexicans. A vague police report is all that lawmen needed to intimidate and interrogate suspects, usually forcing them to admit guilt. That seems to have been the expectation on June 12, 1901, in Karnes County.

Gregorio Cortez, his brother Romaldo and other family members sat on the front porch of Romaldos house. As they chatted, a horse and buggy carrying the sheriff and a deputy acting as interpreter drove up.

Communication problems began immediately. The deputy made two critical errors due to his limited Spanish proficiency. First, he unintentionally set the wrong tone by asking if Cortez had traded a horse to a man in town. Cortez answered no, and he was right. In fact, Cortez had traded a yegua (mare) not a caballo (horse). Both terms were well known to Mexican-descent and Anglo ranchers alike. To confuse the two Spanish words was not only inexcusable but laughable.

Second, already uneasy by Cortezs first response, the deputy hinted that Cortez would be arrested if he didnt cooperate. It was after this attempted intimidation that Cortez asked, Porque me va arrestar, si no he hecho nada? (Why would you arrest me, if Ive done nothing wrong?)

Misunderstanding what he heard, the deputy took Cortezs words as a statement of defiance. When pressed by his boss for an answer, he wrongly translated, No white man can arrest me.

Taking Cortezs response as insolence, the sheriff pulled out his gun and fired. He missed and hit Romaldo instead. In self-defense, Gregorio drew his gun, and his aim was deadly.

Cortez had only one choice  run for his life  and so he took flight toward Laredo.

Stopping at a friends place in Gonzales County, he faced a posse led by the Gonzales County sheriff. Again, shots were fired, and Cortez killed the sheriff. Cortez was now a wanted man for killing two Anglo Texas sheriffs.

The pursuit took 10 days and covered more than 500 miles. Cortez walked (sometimes barefoot) about 120 miles. He also rode more than 400 miles on two different mares. Responding to criticism of their inability to catch Cortez, the Texas Rangers and local sheriffs complained to the governor that they needed help to defeat the Cortez gang.

Displaying his dry vaquero wit, Cortez observed, in Spanish, So many Rangers trying to catch only one Mexican. In spite of using the latest technology  railroad, telegraph and telephone  his pursuers, at times numbering more than 300 armed men, chased Cortez, to no avail.

On June 22, he stopped for a rest and was betrayed by an acquaintance who admitted he had done it for the $1,000 reward. The betrayer, however, received only a token.

Expectedly, the trial quickly crushed rumors. No, Gregorio Cortez wasnt leading a gang as authorities had wildly described via inflammatory news reports. He traveled alone. Exposing poor police work and deaths attributed to friendly fire, there was more than enough testimony to embarrass local sheriffs and damage the inflated reputation of the Texas Rangers.

Equally important, the trial served as a podium to air pervasive injustice and punctured the bigotry directed at Mexican-descent Texans. Most Anglos and English language newspapers expected a quick trial and then a hanging. A San Antonio newspaper complained to its readers that the Texas Rangers should have lynched Cortez immediately after arrest.

Worse, negative media reports labeling him a bandit and sheriff-killing fiend caused wholesale Anglo violence against Mexican-descent Texans. The harshest reprisals occurred in Gonzales, Refugio and Hays counties, where several innocent ranchers were killed, accused by lynch mobs of being in Cortezs gang. His wounded brother Romaldo died mysteriously while in custody. Cortezs family, including his 3-year-old son, was jailed for months without being charged.

Yet a number of Anglo Texans condemned the malice against Cortez and learned to admire his intellect, wisdom and ingenuity. Serving time in several county jails as he went through the process, jail officials initially treated him unkindly. Born with a natural charm, he eventually befriended them. Admirers included the Texas governor and members of his staff.

Following three separate trials, he was found guilty and sent to prison. By now, Gregorio Cortez had many supporters, including two influential San Antonio Spanish language newspaper editors. Appeals were filed. Eventually, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned all the convictions.

After his pardon in 1913, he moved to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. He died while visiting in Anson, near Abilene, at age 40, on Feb. 28, 1916.

Only Gregorio Cortez himself can describe the essence of his ordeal, as he did during his trial: Self-defense is allowed to any man. It is in your own law and by your own law do I defend myself. I killed the sheriff, and I am not sorry, for he killed my brother. He spilled my brothers blood, which was also my blood. And he tried to kill me, too. I killed the sheriff defending my right.

Jose Antonio Joe Lopez is an Air Force veteran with 37 years of military and federal service. He is a direct descendant of Don Javier Uribe, one of the earliest families that settled in what is now South Texas in 1750. He is the author of four books: The Last Knight: Don Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara Uribe, A Texas Hero, Nights of Wailing, Days of Pain: Life in 1920s South Texas, The First Texas Independence, 1813 and Preserving Early Texas History: Essays of an Eighth Generation South Texan. He founded the Tejano Learning Center, a website dedicated to Spanish and Mexican people and events in U.S. history.1On Aug. 24, 2017, we all watched the radar screen on the news as the storm gained energy in the Gulf of Mexico and began making its way toward the Texas coast. No one understood the unprecedented rainfall that was about to hit portions of Texas and Louisiana over the next five days, nor the devastation that would be left in its wake.

As the storm made landfall, it destroyed homes and businesses in Rockport, Refugio, Port Lavaca, Port Aransas, Beaumont, Bastrop, Houston, and many other coastal and East Texas communities. The hurricane resulted in the death of 93 Texans, with many others at risk as they evacuated their homes in the middle of the night as the water rose.

Almost one-quarter of U.S. refining capacity was knocked out as facilities along the coast were forced to shut down, creating a gasoline shortage across the state and dealing a blow to one of the most important sectors of our economy.

Knowing all this, a year later, we still havent taken steps to change the outcome if a storm like Hurricane Harvey, or even a lesser one, hit today.

All levels of government bear some blame for deferring action on flood planning and infrastructure investment following lesser floods over the years. Now, were recovering from what could be a 1,000-year flood, the kind of event that no community could ever prepare for but one devastating for a community that isnt prepared even for a smaller, more common disaster.

During the upcoming legislative session, the state should step up by crafting policies and making investments that will ensure our communities and our economy are better prepared when the next major storm strikes.

As the next hurricane brews off the African coast, we need to be better prepared to absorb the shot with infrastructure versus strictly reacting with emergency operations.

Across the state, there is likely more than $60 billion worth of flood control projects that have been studied and proposed by local governments but have languished without a funding mechanism  a figure that will be more precise when the Texas Water Development releases its draft of the State Flood Assessment for public comment next month.

In July, the federal government appropriated $5 billion for Texas flood projects from its $13.9 billion nationwide flood infrastructure package. The lions share of that $5 billion is for a levee and seawall system to protect Southeast Texas from storm surge.

Orange County will be required to pay back 35 percent of the cost of the section it borders  $665 million of the $1.9 billion cost of that section of the project.

To put that in context, Orange Countys total budget last year was $45 million.

Local governments should pay a fair percentage of the cost of any project from which it benefits, but the state should serve as a bridge between local and federal dollars so that needed projects are completed, whether through a state appropriation from the rainy day fund, a dedication of a portion of the states sales tax revenues for a specified period of time or dollar amount, or an allowance for communities to hold an election to exceed the total maximum combined sales tax rate of 8.25 percent to fund projects for a defined duration of time or until a funding level is reached.

We applaud the leadership in Harris County for raising local funds to provide meaningful flood relief, and we believe that an infusion of state resources would bolster their efforts and incentivize other local governments to do the same. Collaboration among all levels of government will be required, and state funding should serve as a multiplier, enabling the development of a greater number of projects.

As we all know, water does not follow political boundaries, a fact that flood control projects developed by individual political subdivisions do not always reflect. The state should also facilitate the development of regional flood plans that will require coordination among cities, counties and other local districts to better manage floodwaters from the standpoint of individual watersheds within a basin.

The Bexar Regional Watershed Management Partnership, a collaboration between Bexar County, the city of San Antonio, the San Antonio River Authority and 20 suburban cities within Bexar County, is the only of its kind and a great example of a regional approach that could be replicated across the state.

In one week, 34 trillion gallons  enough water to serve the needs of all Texans for eight years  fell over the canopy of Texas. We must find a way to capture and store a fraction of the flood flows that filter to the coast to achieve water supply, subsidence mitigation and flood mitigation benefits, as other states have accomplished.

Wide-scale implementation of this effort will require legislative changes to the way that surface water is permitted in the state, as well as long overdue studies on areas best suited for aquifer storage and recovery projects, and stormwater management wells.

House Natural Resources Committee hearings over the past year provided great insights and ideas from those who were directly impacted. Other measures  such as encouraging the acquisition of strategic conservation easements in areas where flooding is known to occur, floodplain management reforms, supporting long-term solutions for dredging, improving public alert systems and a number of others  should all be on the table as we work to respond to a historic natural disaster and begin to correct decades of complacency on flooding issues.

Nearly a year after one of the most devastating hurricanes in our history, Texas has done little to prepare for future floods. The upcoming 86th legislative session will be the first meeting of the Legislature since the storm revealed deficiencies in our preparedness and tested our resiliency.

Its our responsibility to step up and limit the loss of life and property going forward.

Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, is a member of the Texas House of Representatives and chairman of the Natural Resources Committee. He can be reached at lyle.larson@house.texas.gov or @RepLyleLarson.There are two components to a security clearance  level and need to know. The levels are for official use only, confidential, secret, top secret, etc. The need to know is just what it says; a person working on a spy satellite does not have a need to know classified information on a new battlefield tank.

The director of the CIA needs both  the highest level and the need to know volumes of information. But do they need both when they leave office? If they are still employed by the government as a consultant in the same field of work, probably. But if they leave public service then no, they dont. And should they accept a position as a consultant to a news media, the security clearance must be removed as they now have no need to know.

The argument that they may need it in the future is not sufficient reason for them to keep it when they leave public service. It can be reinstated just as quickly as it is removed.

Forrest Smith, U.S. Army captain, retired

Above the fold?

Re: First steps taken on long Iowa road, front page, Aug. 19:

It was above the fold. Shouldnt this article have been in the Comics section?

Don Ripley

Citys real bosses

Re: City says it cant halt project that felled trees, front page, Aug. 18:

Lets dispense with intermediaries such as the mayor, City Council, city manager, Assistant City Manager Rod Sanchez and Michael Shannon, director of the citys Development Services Department. Lets put the real power brokers in charge of our city and state  people who actually have power to do things. Clearly we need to appoint Matt Hiles, developer of the project, our mayor.

The San Antonio Board of Realtors and Pape-Dawson can serve admirably as a kind of council. Why bother with elections? After all, the developer fraternity is the true ruling elite here in San Antonio and all across Texas. They make the rules and do pretty much whatever they please  clear-cutting wooded hillsides and paving acres of land with impervious cover (which adds to local flooding while raising the level of heat in the city.)

Why bother with silly city ordinances (or even federal laws) when it is clear that such scraps of paper mean nothing to developers who will rape the countryside anyway?

Moreover, it is common knowledge that developers loathe paying their fair share of taxes  much preferring that Joe and Jane pay full price. After all, paying taxes is for little people, so being big people they invariably sue the assessor to have their best properties deliberately undervalued for tax purposes. We should just meekly accept our lot and pay more taxes so that the developers can have a free ride. They rule.

Its time to stop fooling ourselves who is really in charge in Texas. Lets give retirement watches and farewell luncheons to all the clearly feckless (and spineless) city intermediaries  whether elected or appointed. They merely confuse the public about who really rules here.

G.L. Lamborn

No parade, no loss

No Donald Trump millions-of-dollars military parade. No loss.

Let him push for a more comprehensive Veterans Affairs, and better health and education benefits for veterans families and them. And do stop sending the military to endless wars.

While at it, establish a Department of Peace as a new Cabinet position!

Eugene Novogrodsky, Brownsville

Medias thin skin

Re: The deadly trap that is fake news, Editorial, Aug. 16:

Your newspaper and the rest of the 300 or so papers that joined forces have aptly shown that they can dish it out but cannot take it. It is easy to be a critic, but much more difficult to provide your readers an objective, accurate and complete picture of a story.

The presidents declaration of fake news being the enemy of the people has struck deeply into the medias central nervous system. As usual, the media have decried that he has assaulted the freedom of the press. He has not. He has engaged in a critique of the quality of the medias reporting. When he finds, in his opinion, that the media has engaged in inaccurate, incomplete, manipulative and outwardly biased reporting, he has used Twitter to publish his opinion. He is entitled to his opinion. The media, however, do not care for, nor are they accustomed to, the pushback they are receiving.

Straight news reporting is one thing, but manipulating the story by leaving out pertinent information and selecting words or phrases to elicit a misconception on the part of the reader is professional malpractice. Journalists are well-schooled in the art of developing headlines and stories using words and phrases that grab readers attention and drive the intended response home. This can be abused to the point of libel or deception, which is called disinformation when done by Russian security services.

Be careful in patting yourselves on the back for righting so many wrongs on the local and state level. Please take a hard look at what you are disseminating to the public. Many of your readers trust you and believe in your newspaper as a purveyor of the truth. Fortunately, I have learned to carefully give my trust to those who have convinced me by their actions, not just their word, that they can be trusted.

Hysterical complaints about attacks on freedom of the press when you are critiqued about the quality of your reports doesnt cut it.

Paul DokkenPRESIDENT-ELECT Emmerson Mnangagwa, whose victory was upheld by the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) yesterday, has reached out to his nemesis MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa for dialogue and peace-building ahead of his five-year term.

Soon after a unanimous court decision confirming his victory in the electoral challenge by Chamisa, Mnangagwa took to his official Twitter page to call for peace and unity and subsequently invited Chamisa to work with him.

I once again reiterate my call for peace and unity above all. Nelson Chamisa, my door is open and my arms are outstretched, we are one nation and we must put our nation first. Let us all now put our differences behind us. Its time to move forward together, he said.

Mnangagwa said he had expected the decision the court finally made given that even independent elections watchdog Zimbabwe Elections Support Network (Zesn) had confirmed the victory.

We were not surprised by the courts decision. The election results were firmly in line with all pre-election polling and entirely consistent with the final tally of Zesn, the largest body of local independent observers, he said.

In a move to dispel allegations that the courts were biased and could have been arm-twisted to confirm his victory, the President-elect hailed the independence of the judiciary.

We have independent courts and we promised to respect their decision. Just as with the insights received from international monitors, we will accept and implement all recommendations to further improve our democratic process, Mnangagwa said.

The Zanu PF leader also commended Chamisa for submitting himself before the courts of law and condemned the violent protests which caused the loss of seven lives following Zecs delayed announcement of presidential results on August 1.

After the wholly unnecessary violent protests, we welcomed the legal route which the MDC eventually took to challenge the elections, he said.

Chamisa, through his spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda, said he was in a meeting which was considering the way forward after the court ruling.

We are in a meeting that is considering those things at the moment and can only give you our response after that meeting, Sibanda said.

However, highly-placed sources said the MDC Alliance was unwilling to work with the Mnangagwa administration.

I dont think after what has happened in this country, president Chamisa will be willing to work with Mnangagwa. How can a democratic party work with a President who shot people in cold blood? Unarmed civilians? That will not happen, the source said.

MDC director of communications Luke Tambarinyoka said the ConCourt ruling had saddened many Zimbabweans, but indicated Chamisa would respect the ruling and live to fight another day.

Zimbabweans have just received with a heavy heart the Constitutional Courts verdict that Emmerson Mnangagwa was legitimately elected President of Zimbabwe in the just-ended harmonised plebiscite, Tamborinyoka said.

For the record, president Nelson Chamisa and his legal team mounted a formidable case on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe, a case of chicanery and electoral pilferage that was vindicated by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commissions embarrassing revision of its own declared results for a record three times  ultimately, the people shall govern.

Zanu PF politburo member Patrick Chinamasa said Mnangagwas inauguration would now take place tomorrow following the ConCourt ruling, with the opposition saying they would seek the political route to have their case addressed.

Addressing journalists yesterday at the ConCourt, Chinamasa accused the MDC Alliance of engaging in acts of banditry in a bid to reverse economic gains achieved by Mnangagwa in his campaign to woo international investors.

We are very happy that the ConCourt has upheld the free will of the Zimbabwean people. I am also disappointed by the efforts by Chamisa, (MDC Alliance principal Tendai) Biti and company to ask for intensification and extension of sanctions against the economy, basically reversing the gains that President Mnangagwa had made in addressing the issue of re-engagement with the multilateral institutions. All that they sought was to undermine and reverse particularly through the acts of banditry and riots they instigated on August 1, he said.

Chamisas lawyer, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, said despite the judgment going against his client, Zec still had egg on their face because they had failed to answer serious questions raised against their integrity, saying this also left Mnangagwa with serious legitimacy issues even after the court ruling.

The 2,6 million people who voted for Chamisa have just been deprived of their opportunity to know the actual figures. You are well aware, for instance, that we had indicated in our papers that we would subpoena the Zec commissioners for purposes of confirming the 2,6 million and the registrar refused to issue that subpoena  we are happy on account of the matter that we brought to court, we are happy on account of the questions raised which in our view Zec failed to answer. Right now, we still do not know how many votes ED Mnangagwa managed to garner. Right now, the 16 000 votes admitted by Zec had still not gone away. Right now, the

40 000 discrepancy between presidential and parliamentary results has still not gone away. Right now, the 9 592 ghost polling station results have still not gone away, he said.

MDC-T secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora said the party would pursue the political route for recourse after the courts unfavourable ruling.

We must accept that this is the final decision of the final court of the land and we must respect it. That does not mean that if we are not happy with anything, there are no remedies. There are still political remedies, but I want to reiterate that, as MDC, we are going to be acting within the law, he said.

However, Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana hailed the court ruling.

There is no damage, because if the Constitution provides the rights to a losing candidate to challenge the election and that Constitution is applied, you are not damaging the integrity of Zimbabwe. In fact, our commitment to constitutionalism has been underscored by the manner in which the case has been handled by the judiciary. The court has endorsed the position that President Mnangagwa did win the election. They did not bring any evidence of any cheating. Let us focus on our economy. Lets live together well, he said.

 NewsDay

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Related Zimbabwe Latest NewsIn a statement the U.S. Department of State, spokesperson Heather Nauert said all parties should respect the Zimbabwean constitution and the rule of law following a Constitutional Court ruling on Friday that incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa was the winner of the July 30th presidential election.

She said America is concerned about human rights violations and post election violence in the country. Nauert said there was need for Zimbabweans to openly discuss issues faced by the nation. We publish the full statement below:

Zimbabwes Constitutional Court Ruling on the Presidential Election

Today, Zimbabwes Constitutional Court declared Emmerson D. Mnangagwa the winner of the election and Zimbabwes next President and dismissed MDC Alliances challenge of the July 30 presidential election results. The United States urges all parties to respect the Zimbabwean constitution and the rule of law.

The IRI-NDI Zimbabwe International Electoral Observation Mission reported several improvements to the electoral process compared to Zimbabwes past elections, though equally important problems gave rise to deep concerns that the process thus far has not made the mark. Further reforms are necessary to meet standards Zimbabweans expect and deserve and which reflect regional and international best practices for democratic elections.

The United States remains concerned over politically motivated human rights violations and abuses, and acts of post-electoral retribution in Zimbabwe. Violence and unlawful activity should not be part of the political process, and those responsible for such transgressions must be held accountable. Human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression and association, must be respected, and victims and witnesses of human rights violations and abuses deserve protection under the law.

The United States encourages the Government of Zimbabwe to hold substantive discussions with all stakeholders and implement electoral and broader political and economic reforms. We stand ready to continue our dialogue with Zimbabwes political, economic, and civil society leaders to foster inclusive democratic governance for the betterment of all citizens.

Breaking News via Email

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Related Zimbabwe Latest NewsZimbabwes ambassador to Senegal and The Gambia Ms Trudy Stevenson has died.

She was 73.

Ambassador Stevenson was reportedly found dead at her residence in Dakar, Senegal, yesterday

It is true but we are yet to get in contact with all the relatives, said a senior official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

We will announce officially once we get in touch with them.

Ms Stevenson was a founding member of the MDC and was appointed ambassador to Senegal and The Gambia in 2009 during the inclusive government as a deployee of MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube.

A former Member of Parliament for Harare North (2000-2008), she continued to serve as ambassador after the fall of the inclusive Government in 2013 to date.

At the time of her death, Ms Stevenson, who served as MDCs national secretary for policy and researchhad quit politics to focus on her diplomatic career.

Ms Stevenson was born in the United States and attended school in England from 1955 to 1962.

She obtained a BA degree from the University of Reading and a Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Zimbabwe.

She lived in Uganda during the 1970s before coming to Zimbabwe in 1980 where she became a citizen in 1990.

 Chronicle

Breaking News via Email

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Related Zimbabwe Latest News- German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is to discuss economic developments with Senegalese president, Macky Sall

- The German leader is expected in Nigeria on Friday, August 31, hold talks with President Muhammadu Buhari

- US embassy reopens Abuja office on Friday, August 24

German chancellor, Angela Merkel, will on Wednesday, August 29, tour three West African countries, paying visits to Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.

Merkel is to spend August 29 - August 31, in the three countries, accompanied by an economic delegation, deputy government spokeswoman, Ulrike Demmer said on Friday, August 24, in Berlin, The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Migration politics, particularly Merkels campaign to tackle the causes resulting in a stream of refugees to Europe, are likely to feature on the discussion agenda.

READ ALSO: PDP stakeholders divided over partys presidential ticket for 2019 election

Merkel is to meet Wednesday afternoon with Senegalese president, Macky Sall to discuss economic developments in the country and regional cooperation.

In the evening she will meet with civil society representatives.

Then its onto the Ghanaian capital of Accra to meet President Nana Akufo-Addo, on Thursday, August 30, to discuss economic affairs and foreign policy.

The chancellor is also to take part in a German business-organised round table that will focus on private investment linked to the G20 compact with Africa initiative.

Finally, Merkel is to head to Nigeria on Friday, August 31,to meet with the president of the ECOWAS economic alliance of West African states, Jean-Claude Brou.

She will hold talks with Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

NAN reports that on October 7, 2016, Merkel visited three African countries before hosting leaders from Chad and Nigeria for talks in Berlin, as she seeks ways to stem a migrant influx to Europe.

Merkel first traveled to Mali and Nigeria before heading to Ethiopia where she is to visit the headquarters of the African Union in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Her talks with leaders of all three countries are to focus on migration issues and the battle against terrorism.

Meanwhile, the US embassy has disclosed that it will be reopening its Abujas consular section on Friday, August 24, for full services for both visas and American Citizen Services (ACS).

The embassy made the disclosure in a message on its website on Monday, August 20, Legit.ng reports.

The embassy expressed regret for the inconvenience the interruption of its services in Abuja caused.

It however noted that its consular functions at the US consulate in Lagos was never affected by the brief closure of its Abuja office.

Lagos Police Commissioner Parades Suspected Criminals (Nigeria News) | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- Several members of PDP have reportedly decamped to APC in Lagos

- The defectors were welcomed in an elaborate ceremony at the state secretariat

The fold of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos further swelled on Friday as many members, said to be about 5,000, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defected to the party.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new entrants joined the APC at an elaborate ceremony at the ACME Road secretariat of the party.

The new defectors, who are members of the United Niger Delta group were led into their new party by Gabriel Ese, the groups leader.

They were received by the state chairman of the party, Tunde Balogun, along with some other party officials.

READ ALSO: 2019: You leaked our congresses, primaries notices - APC accuses INEC

Balogun said the party was excited to receive the new members, particularly as they were many.

He said the decision of the former PDP members to join the party reflected the growing confidence in the party.

Balogun commended the new entrants for their decision to join what he called the progressives fold, assuring them that the party would do its best to give them a sense of belonging.

We are happy that you have made the decision to join the Progressive train today and we assure you that we will do our best to make you feel at home.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Even as you are just joining us, we have accepted you as part and parcel of the APC and we will not treat you differently.

I assure you, you will not regret joining the APC; we shall work together like brothers and sisters to ensure that APC becomes greater than what it is today in the state, he said.

Balogun implored the defectors to show commitment and give their best in order to ensure victory in 2019.

The party chairman urged the new members to obtain their Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) as it was the only means by which they could secure victory for the party.

Balogun said the party had commenced the registration of new members nationwide and urged the new members to register to be fully integrated.

Ese said he and other members of the group were delighted to leave the PDP to join the progressive party.

He said the decision of the group to leave the PDP was because of the strides of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in Lagos.

Ese said they were also motivated by the charismatic leadership of the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, and the achievements of the APC at the national level.

We would have joined the APC a long time ago, we love the party, we love Tinubu but because Dr Goodluck Jonathan was the then President and we thought we could not work against our Niger Delta brother.

But after so much pressure both within the Niger Delta and outside the region to join the APC, seeing the wonders of Ambode in Lagos and the charisma of Tinubu, we finally decided to be here.

We are pledging our full allegiance to the party because we have realised this is the party to be.

We are so happy to be here and we will do our best to take the party to the next level, he said.

Ese said there were about 500,000 registered members of the group in the state and that they would be mobilized to obtain their PVCs, in order to vote for APC in the 2019 general elections.

Legit.ng earlier reported that a new round of defections have hit the All Progressives Congress (APC) as about 300 members of the party joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi state.

The defectors were led by a former House of Assembly member, Bede Nwali, on Thursday, August 23, at the PDP state secretariat in Abakaliki.

Nigeria Latest News: Buhari Reacts To APC Senators Betrayal | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ngNews Story not available

This story has been published on: 2021-11-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.

This story is no longer available on our site.Bowalley Road Rules



The blogosphere tends to be a very noisy, and all-too-often a very abusive, place. I intend Bowalley Road to be a much quieter, and certainly a more respectful, place.

So, if you wish your comments to survive the moderation process, you will have to follow the Bowalley Road Rules.

These are based on two very simple principles:

Courtesy and Respect.

Comments which are defamatory, vituperative, snide or hurtful will be removed, and the commentators responsible permanently banned.

Anonymous comments will not be published. Real names are preferred. If this is not possible, however, commentators are asked to use a consistent pseudonym.

Comments which are thoughtful, witty, creative and stimulating will be most welcome, becoming a permanent part of the Bowalley Road discourse.

However, I do add this warning. If the blog seems in danger of being over-run by the usual far-Right suspects, I reserve the right to simply disable the Comments function, and will keep it that way until the perpetrators find somewhere more appropriate to vent their collective spleen.

- A four-year-old girl abducted in Lagos has been found in Benin

- The girl was reportedly found in an orphanage on Friday, August 24

- Her father who confirmed the development said he will be going to Benin on Saturday, August 25 (today), to pick her

Family members of the missing four-year-old girl, Elo Ogidi, were overjoyed on Friday, August 24, after she was reportedly found in an orphanage in Benin, Edo state.

Elo was reportedly stolen from the Christ Embassy in Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos state, during a church service she attended in company with her parents and their housemaid on Sunday, July 8, 2018.

The Punch reports that Elos father, Okpogene Ogidi, who confirmed the development on Friday, August 24, said some suspects were also arrested.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Following Osinbajo's directive, police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

Legit.ng gathered that the girl was with the maid during the churchs children thanksgiving service when she suddenly disappeared.

It was reported that the maid had gone to get Elo and her two siblings some slices of cake shared at the Thanksgiving but did not meet the girl on her seat when she returned.

A child, who also attended the programme, claimed to have seen a woman taking Elo away.

The case was reported at the Alausa police station and was later transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba.

Our correspondent gathered that the girl was traced to Benin by the police on Friday, August 24, while some suspects were arrested in connection with her abduction.

Her father, Okpogene, said he had yet to be fully briefed on how she got to Benin.

He said: She was found in Benin. We are going to pick her at the Edo state police command on Saturday, August 25 (today). She was found in an orphanage. After it was reported in the media, somebody identified her and informed me.

The police were alerted and she was found at the orphanage this evening (Friday). We are very excited. I dont have more details for now. I will get back to you.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Legit.ng previously reported that some fraudsters allegedly posed as kidnappers who abducted the missing four-year-old girl in a bid to swindle the victims parents.

In order to get help from the public, Elo's parents announced that their daughter was kidnapped while they were in church.

The parents, however, lamented that several people had been calling them claiming to be the kidnappers and making demands for ransom.

Evans the Kidnapper Lands in Kirikiri Prison After First Appearance in Lagos Court | Legit.ng TV

Source: LegitPresident Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, August 24, received different groups including former classmates, Kano Traders Association, and chairmen of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) Katsina state in Daura.

Others that visited the president are members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Katsina chapter, representatives of 5 local government areas in Daura Emirate and chairman of Good Governance Ambassadors of Nigeria (GOGAN), Chief Felix Idiga.

Different groups pay President Buhari Sallah homage in Daura. Credit: Facebook/Femi Adesina

President Buhari addresses visitors at his Daura home. Credit: Facebook/ Femi Adesina

Chairman of Good Governance Ambassadors of Nigeria (GOGAN), Chief Felix Idiga, presents President Buhari with a Sallah greeting card. Credit: Facebook/Femi Adesina

President Buhari with his former classmates. Credit: Facebook/Femi Adesina

Earlier, President Buhari said that the string of victory recorded by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in bye-elections held in Bauchi, Katsina and Kogi states is sufficient proof that 2019 elections will be won by the party.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Following Osinbajo's directive, police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

This was contained in a statement by the president's senior special assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, on Friday, August 24.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that President Buhari said that his long-distance trekking on Sallah day was not about testing his physical fitness but to show respect to thousands of people who wanted to greet him on the fateful day.

The president stated this when he received some socio-political groups from Daura Emirate Council, who paid him Sallah homage at his private residence in Daura, Katsina state, on Friday, August 24.

President Buhari said the trekking had nothing to do with his bid to seek re-election in 2019, adding that he had since made his intention known to Nigerians about his political ambition.

President Buhari proves he is fit to run in 2019 | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- The All Progressives Congress and the African Democratic Congress have released dates for presidential and governorship primaries

- The APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, also listed the proposed dates for the federal and state assemblies

- The chairman of the ADC, Chief Okey Nwosu, said the primaries for legislative and governorship positions will take place on Friday, September 21

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has scheduled its presidential primary for September 19, while that for governorship positions would be on September 24.

According to a letter that the party sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission through its national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

Legit.ng gathered that the APC queried the INEC for allegedly leaking the letter. The party argued that the dates contained in the document were not sacrosanct because they were subject to change.

READ ALSO: Police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

It was learnt that the partys national chairman requested that the election management body should prepare to send its officials to monitor the series of events listed in the document. Oshiomhole also listed the proposed dates for the federal and state assemblies.

The letter, dated August 17, read in part, Please be advised that our party has scheduled to hold its congresses and primary elections for the nomination of candidates in respect of the 2019 election.

This serves as a formal notification pursuant to the provisions of section 85 of the electoral act 2010 as amended. Kindly arrange your officials to monitor the exercise accordingly. While hoping to receive your cooperation; please accept the assurances of my highest esteem.

According to the letter, the primaries are scheduled to hold as follows: Saturday, September 8, nationwide congresses to elect delegates to the national convention (presidential); Saturday, September 19, national convention to elect the partys presidential candidate.

While confirming the authenticity of the document and denouncing INEC for allegedly leaking it, the APC acting national publicity secretary, Yekini Nabena, said Oshiomhole authored the leaked letter.

Nabena, however, explained that the dates contained in the document were subject to change.

In a statement he sent to newsmen, Nabena said, Our attention has been drawn to a leaked letter the national chairman of the APC Adams Oshiomhole wrote to the chairman, Independent National Electoral Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, informing the commission of the schedule of the congresses and primaries to elect party candidates for the 2019 general elections.

These leaks of our sensitive and confidential correspondence to INEC are becoming commonplace and totally unacceptable. We strongly request that INEC looks into its internal handling of official correspondence and put a stop to these leaks.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

While the leaked formal notification to INEC has been done by the APC pursuant to the provisions of Section 85 of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended), we advise the general public particularly the media to wait for an official announcement from the Party as the leaked dates are subject to changes, if necessary.

Meanwhile, the INEC could not be reached for comments as at the time of filing this report.

Also, the African Democratic Congress (ADP) fixed its presidential primary for September 29, while the FCT primary was fixed for September 11.

The chairman of the ADC, Chief Okey Nwosu, said: Our first primary will be that of elective positions in the FCT which will take place on September 11. We will show to Nigerians and other political parties how a proper primary is conducted.

The primaries for legislative and governorship positions will take place from September 21 while the presidential primary will hold on September 29, 2018.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that President Buhari in Abuja declared his intention to seek re-election in 2019.

Malam Garba Shehu, the presidents senior special assistant on media and Publicity confirmed this development in a statement in Abuja.

He said that the president made the declaration at a closed-door meeting of the National Executive Committee of the APC in Abuja.

Should President Buhari seek reelection in 2019? (Nigerian Street Interview) - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit- Some soldiers allegedly tortured a young boy to death in Plateau state

- The deceased was reported to the soldiers by a friend of his over a stolen phone

- The young boy reportedly died from internal injuries he sustained in the hands of the soldiers

An 18-year-old secondary school-leaver, Amadu Atajan, was allegedly tortured to death by some soldiers attached to the Special Task Force, Sector 7, Sha District, in the Bokkos local government area of Plateau state.

According to The Punch, Atajan, who gave up the ghost on Wednesday, August 22, reportedly died from internal injuries he sustained in the hands of the soldiers.

Legit.ng gathered that the victim was assaulted on the account of his friend who reported a case of a stolen phone to the men sometime last week.

An 18-year-old secondary school-leaver, Amadu Atajan, was allegedly tortured to death by some soldiers. Credit: Facebook/Yahaya John T Akans

READ ALSO: Breaking: Following Osinbajo's directive, police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

It was learnt that Atajan had attended the friends secondary school graduation in July during which he collected his Android phone to take pictures.

While the fun went on, another friend of the host was said to have collected the phone from Atajan under false pretences of using it to take pictures.

The friend allegedly left the event surreptitiously with the phone while efforts to locate him proved abortive.

Atajan reportedly pleaded with his friend to give him time so he could raise funds to buy another phone.

A native of the community, John Akans, who spoke to The Punch on the telephone on Thursday, August 23, said Atajans friend agreed to the plea, but made a U-turn last week and reported the case to the soldiers.

He stated that the soldiers took the 18-year-old to their base and beat him up until he went into a coma.

Akans, who posted the picture of the victim on Facebook while he was on a stretcher, said he was rushed to the general hospital in the neighbourhood.

His words: About one month ago, his (Atajans) close friend invited him to his secondary school graduation. The friend gave him an Android phone which they used to take pictures. Somebody came and begged him to give him the phone so he could use it to snap. He innocently gave him the phone, but the boy disappeared with the phone. They looked for him within the school premises but could not locate him.

The victim begged his friend that he gave the phone to the boy innocently. He begged the friend that his father would deal with him if he knew about the phone. He asked the friend to give him time to pay for the phone. They agreed on that arrangement.

All of a sudden last week, the friend reported him to some soldiers at Sector 7 of the Special Task Force, who invited him. He told them that he never knew the boy would flee with the phone and that he had pleaded with his friend to give him time.

Akans said that Atajans explanation fell on deaf ears as the soldiers reportedly tied him up and beat him with iron rods.

Before he died, he narrated how he was tortured. He said, the soldiers hanged him upside down and tied his hands to his back. They beat him with iron rods and sticks.

He collapsed and was rushed to Bokkos General Hospital. He was revived at the hospital but after three days, his condition worsened. It was discovered that he had internal bleeding as a result of the torture. Unfortunately, he passed on on Wednesday. He was 18-year-old; he just finished secondary school.

This matter must be treated seriously and urgently. Nigerians must not be killed by security agents who are supposed to protect them, Akans, who is based in Jos, the state capital, added.

The newspaper reports that it was unable to reach the deceaseds parents, who live in the remote community, on the telephone for comments as of press time.

When contacted on the incident, the director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, reportedly said he was on an official assignment in Borno state and directed enquiries to the acting Director, Defence Information, Brig. Gen. John Agim, who is reportedly yet to respond to the issue.

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Few months earlier, Legit.ng reported that an ex-soldier, Victor Ochoma, was allegedly tortured to death by some military operatives attached to a construction company in the Ahoada East local government area of Rivers state.

The deceased had reportedly quit the Army in 2014 after joining a special squad to fight the Boko Haram insurgency.

Soldier shares battleground experience, dedicates song to colleagues - On Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit- The divisional police officer, Pen Cinema police division, Harrison Nwabuisi, has been suspended for alleged corrupt practices

- Nwabuisi was said to have led his men to raid some Muslims that just finished their night prayers at about 8 pm

- The state police public relations officer, Chike Oti, said the deputy commissioner of police, Yetunde Longe, has been asked to investigate the matter

Edgal Imohimi, the Lagos state commissioner of police, has suspended the divisional police officer, Pen Cinema police division, Harrison Nwabuisi for allegedly leading his men to raid some Muslims that just finished their night prayers, Salat al-maghrib, at about 8 pm.

The Punch reports that about 37 residents were also nabbed and taken to the Pen Cinema police station area of state.

It was learnt that the streets raided by the police are Alimi Ogunyemi street, and other places, in the Ifako Ijaiye area of the state.

READ ALSO: APC, ADC release September dates for presidential, governorship primaries

Sheriff Anjure, one of the victims, who narrated his encounter with the officers said his brother, Ibrahim, paid N30,000 for his bail and that of two others.

The state police public relations officer, Chike Oti, in a statement on Friday, August 24, said the DPO had been suspended adding that the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the state criminal investigation and intelligence department, Yetunde Longe, had been asked to investigate the matter.

According to him, Sequel to the allegations, the CP has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, DCP Yetunde Longe, to investigate the officer and other ranks against whom the allegation was made. He equally directed the DCP in charge of Administration, Elkanah Ayuba, to recall the DPO to the command headquarters to allow unbiased investigation into the matter.

The command is therefore appealing to Sheriff Anjure, said to be a vital witness and indeed other witnesses in the matter, to make themselves available to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, SCIID, Panti, Yaba, to assist police investigation.

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While recognising the fact that raiding is a major crime-fighting strategy of the police given that it enables proactive intervention into a budding problem, the CP, however, said that it must be purposeful, corruption-free and intelligence-driven.

He therefore assures members of the public that if the allegation is true, any officer or men found culpable in the matter would be sanctioned in accordance with the relevant sections of the Police Act.

It was learnt that Ibrahim said all witnesses in the case would make themselves available when needed.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Lagos state police command revealed the identity of a policeman who was accused on social media of having billions of naira in his bank accounts.

It was learnt that he was Inspector Christopher Marcel Nnabugwu, attached to the divisional crime branch at Ogudu police division in the state.

A masked lady in a video that went viral, who gave the name of the policeman as Sergeant Marcel Nnabugwu, serving at the Mobile Squad 18, Owerri, Imo state, called on the Inspector General of Police to investigate the source of the cops wealth.

Lagos CP Tells Lagosians What to Do to Erring SARS Officers | - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ngThe chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos state, Moshood Salvador, has claimed that he was framed up by the former deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Bode George, in the murder of Adeniyi Aborishade.

Aborishade was a member of the party until he was murdered recently after a meeting in Lagos.

But George has reportedly denied the allegation.

Daily Sun reports that while he was addressing members of the PDP in the Maryland area of Lagos, Salvador alleged that George and his supporters cooked up the story that he was behind the killing of Aborishade.

We did the first and second assemblies in Oregun and about 4,000 members were in attendance in each gathering.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

We were doing the assemblies in Oregun because our party secretariat could not accommodate more than 1,000 people. Each assembly costs me about N10 million and I spend about N3 million on the party monthly.

What I want is the success of the party at the polls. I want to win Lagos for the PDP in my time.

You can imagine that we lost seven out of eight members of the PDP in the state House of Assembly to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last year and yet these people are not moved.

They want to be the de facto leaders. I will work hard to put our people in public offices to stop us from suffering, he said.

Explaining further, Salvador said he and leaders of the party had visited about 13 local governments and that they were in Epe and Ibeju Lekki local governments on the fateful day.

He said they sensed the trouble makers before they moved to Eti Osa local government area.

The security was tight in the first two local governments we visited, but trouble started when we got to Eti-Osa local government. The party chairman there threw the table away and crisis started.

I was rushed into my car and we later heard that Aborishade was killed. I had left the premises before the killing.

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They cooked up the story that I was behind the killing. However, everything was recorded by video cameras there.

The police, the Department of State Security (DSS) and the military did their investigations. They put all the evidences together and stopped my prosecution in the court, he said.

Let it be a thing of the past so that we can move forward. I decided not to speak to the press on the matter until today. I want to thank the media for their support, while I was in detention. They did their job the way it should be done through investigative journalism, he added.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Lagos state police commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, called on members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with evidence on the mystery surrounding the death of the Apapa local government PDP chapter chairman, Borishade Adeniyi, to bring it before him to aid investigation by detectives.

President Buhari proves he is fit to run in 2019 | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit- Ahmed Makarfi, a presidential hopeful on the platform of the PDP, warns his party about Buhari's acceptability in the north

- Makarfi says his party needs a very strong candidate if it must win the 2019 presidential election

- The former governor reveals some areas of interest if he eventually wins the election

A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmed Makafi, has urged the opposition party to field a very strong candidate if it must stand any chance of defeating President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

The Nation reports that Makarfi warned that Buhari still commands a strong followership in the north which has highest number of voters.

Makarfi, a former caretaker chairman of the PDP, said the PDP must work on the psychology of voters in the northern part of the country as many of them still retain blind followership for Buhari.

The report said Makarfi spoke Friday during a visit to the Ekiti PDP delegates led by the states deputy governor, Prof Kolapo Olusola, in continuation of consultations on his presidential ambition ahead of the partys national convention.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

He promised to tackle insurgency, herdsmen killings, insecurity, unemployment, epileptic power supply, infrastructural challenges and other problems confronting the polity if he becomes the president.

If we want to win the election, we must not lose the north and we should give them the candidate they trust in the north.

The problem for us winning is the North; the current president comes from there and there is blind followership there. If we want to win, we should field a strong candidate from there.

We must work on the psychology of the Buharis sentimental followers in the north and change their mind towards us.

Markafi said further: First of all is the restructure of the country to make it good for everybody, restructuring of the security and creation of jobs and infrastructure development in all respects and promoting the private sector so that it can become effective employer of labour.

We have also looked at some issues protocol that we have which have negative impact in the country.

Any issue of protocol that doesnt serve national interest in terms of security we will dialogue with other country where they have got it right and restructure ours.

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I have been tested and proven myself as governor of Kaduna state as selected chairman of Senate committee finance, my records are there and as party chairman of PDP when people are not given the chance to make the party to survive.

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari said recently that the string of victory recorded by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in bye-elections held in Bauchi, Katsina and Kogi states is sufficient proof that 2019 elections will be won by the party.

Even Atiku knows he cannot spend only a term in office| Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- Peter Obi says Nigeria's debt profile has put the country's economy on life support

- Obi, a former governor of Anambra state puts the debt profile at N22.7 trillion currently

- He pleads with Nigerians to choose their leaders wisely during elections

Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state, on Saturday, August 25, warned that Nigerias economy is currently on life support with as a result of the nations rising debt profile which he put at N22.7 trillion.

Daily Sun reports that Obi further put the countrys unemployment rate at 60 percent saying this was the result of bad governance.

The former governor stressed that if 50 percent of the countrys revenue is used to settle such debt, Nigerians will continue to groan.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

The report said Obi at the 2018 This Generation conference organised by the Summit Bible Church, themed Taking Responsibility, Making Nigeria Great in Abuja.

The report quoted Obi as urging Nigerians to vote out people who lacked the technical know-how to revamp the economy and render good services.

Our educational system is too low. Our per capital is 2000. And since your growth population is higher than the growth of your GDP the consequence in the future will be higher than what it is today.

China adopted the Millennium Development Goals when it was told that it had the poorest people in the world and it took over four hundred million people out of poverty, he said, while expressing optimism that Nigeria will get it right someday.

He urged that people who have ideas, capacity and have managed resources before should be brought forward to change the poor narrative.

The convener of the programme, Andy Osakwe, challenged youths to be active in politics.

He said: A lot of people tend to blame other people for the current state of our nation; it is time for us to take ownership of our condition and also our destiny.

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Even though different generations have taken different positions as to who is responsible for the not-so-great status of Nigeria today, there is a consensus on the fact that Nigeria already has within its borders all that is required to become one of the most secure and prosperous countries in the world.

Legit.ng earlier reported that in 2017, Nigerias total debt profile hit N19.16 trillion after the country incurred a N7.1 trillion, according to the countrys Debt Management Office (DMO).

The total debt profile, according to the DMO, was incurred both internally and externally.

Even Atiku knows he cannot spend only a term in office| Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- Kogi state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says there will not be automatic ticket for any aspirant

- The party said there was the need ensure that every contestant is given a sense of belonging

- Going further, PDP said the decision was taken in the best interest of the party

Aspirants planning to contest the senatorial position on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi west senatorial district have been told on Saturday, August 25, that there will not be automatic ticket for any candidate.

This was the outcome of a stakeholder's meeting held at the residence of General David Jemibewon (rtd), a former governor of old Oyo state and a member of the board of Trustee of the party.

According to the party, this is geared towards guiding against impunity and ensure that every contestant is given a sense of belonging.

READ ALSO: APC, ADC release September dates for presidential, governorship primaries

Tribune reports that aspirant vying for the seat include the incumbent, who recently defected to the party, Dino Melaye, the member representing Yagba federal constituency in the house of representatives, Sunday Karimi and his colleague from Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu federal constituency, Tajudeen Yusuf.

Others are a former acting governor of the state, Clarence Olafemi, Tolorunju Faniyi.

Going further, the party called on new members to be ready to participate in a free and fair contest with the older members of the party, assuring them of a level playing field during the primaries.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Dino Melaye, the senator representing Kogi west district at the National Assembly disclosed Senate president Bukola Saraki will be there for four years.

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I want to assure you that they cant and will never have the number to remove the Senate president. He said lawmakers in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly would resist any attempt to unseat the Senate president through crooked means."

Street Gist: Nigerians Blow Hot as President Buhari Signs 2018 Budget in June - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit- Orji Uzor Kalu commends Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the governor of Enugu state, for respecting President Buhari and other leaders of the country

- Kalu says Ugwuanyi's respect for Buhari goes beyond party lines

- The APC chieftain also reveals that President Buhari holds Ugwuanyi in high esteem

Orji Uzor Kalu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has praised the governor of Enugu state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for the continued respect he has for President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders in the country.

Orji said Ugwuanyi has continued to respect these leaders even though the governor is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

READ ALSO: Breaking: Police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

Premium Times reports that while addressing journalists when he visited Ugwuanyi in Enugu Kalu said he was happy concerning the level of friendship he has with the governor.

I am in very good terms with the governor of Enugu State, even before he became a governor, Kalu said while disclosing that President Buhari also takes Governor Ugwuanyi as a family member.

He said: We cannot quarrel with anybody who is not quarreling with us.

I look at him (Ugwuanyi) as a family member. So I dont expect him to be in the same political party with me. He is of PDP and I am of APC but we maintain the friendship. It is across the board.

On many occasions I pass through here and I also tell the president and Commander-in-Chief that I am going to him.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Orji Uzor Kalu reacted to the report that he was plotting to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing the report as false.

In a statement released on Tuesday, July 31, Kalu said the report was being spread by malicious people bent on causing confusion on the APC. He insisted that he would rather quit politics than join the PDP.

Legit.ng also reported that Orji Uzor-Kalu took a swipe at former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, stating that he only has his personal interest at heart and not the interest of Nigerians.

President Buhari proves he is fit to run in 2019 | Legit.ng TV

Source: LegitIt was only after the Supreme Court pulled up the Haryana police that the accused were booked after four months of the incident.

New Delhi: Observing that instances of atrocities aga24p24inst Scheduled Castes have not abated even after 71 years of Independence, the Delhi high court on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment 12 members of dominant Jat community and 21 other convicts to varying jail terms in the 2010 Mirchpur dalit killing case of Haryana in which a 60-year-old man and his physically-challenged teenaged daughter were burnt alive.

A two-judge bench of Justices S. Muralidhar and I.S. Mehta in its judgment on Friday overturned the acquittal of 20 persons in the case while upholding the conviction of 13 accused by the trial court and enhanced the punishment of some of the convicts.

Following the caste violence in Hisar district, over 150 dalit families had fled the village and taken shelter at a temple in Delhi after their houses were torched.

In its 209-page judgement, the court said, The incidents that took place in Mirchpur between April 19 and 21, 2010 serve as yet another grim reminder of the complete absence of two things in Indian society as noted by Dr B.R. Ambedkar when he tabled the final draft of the Constitution of India before the Constituent Assembly on November 25, 1949. One was equality and the other fraternity.

It was only after the Supreme Court pulled up the Haryana police that the accused were booked after four months of the incident. The apex court later transferred the case from Hisar to Delhi to ensure fair trial on the plea of families of victims.

Additional sessions judge Kamini Lau, who first asked the state government to appoint special public prosecutor to conduct the trial, later ordered transfer of the accused to Tihar from a Hisar jail. A total of 98 accused were shifted. Out of 103, five were juveniles and one is out on bail.

With Fridays verdict, 12 out of 33 convicts are sentenced to life imprisonment for IPC offences, including murder and committing mischief by fire, and offences under the SC/ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act.

The high court verdict came on the appeal of 13 people challenging their conviction and sentence by a trial court in the case. The victims and the police had also appealed in the high court seeking enhancement of punishment awarded to the convicts and acquittal.The theatre commander of the Operation Lafiya Dole Maj-Gen Abbah Dikko, said on Saturday, August 25, that the Nigerian military will not condone any act of mutiny by its soldiers fighting against Boko Haram.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Dikko made the warning during a lunch at the Maiduguri military command centre.

The report quoted Dikko as condemning the act of mutiny under any guise, maintaining that the law and ethics which the Nigerian Army was guided by would take its full course on errant soldiers.

Dikko reminded them of their oath of recruitment pointing out that they voluntarily joined the military and as such must be disciplined.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

You have decided to put your life on the line for the territorial integrity of Nigeria. So it is very important that we are reminded of our roles and responsibilities to the nation and our responsibility to the society, most importantly our responsibility to ourselves because we are not a conscript army. We are a regular military.

Those who have volunteered to serve and that is the only time you will volunteer, subsequently having offered your service, it is the responsibility of the services to deploy you where they find you appropriate.

So it is important that we continue to retain our professional comportment so that we can serve diligently. Its important that we uphold the values and ethics of the system that we belong to.

It is also important that we understand it is a service to our fatherland. It is not a service to ourselves.

The bedrock of your service as a soldier is discipline. A soldier must remain disciplined at all times. A soldier must obey instructions, he said.

Concerning the fate of the soldiers who protested at the Maiduguri International Airport, Dikko said they would be disciplined in accordance with military laws.

We dont punish in the military. We discipline. Discipline is the bedrock of the job. If theres no discipline, then we cant have an army. So if a soldier errs, he must be corrected.

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We are focused and doing what we are supposed to do in order to finish the assignment that were given. No matter what it takes, well do it professionally. Everybody is motivated and well catered for.

There are some that are not here and you dont know what theyre going through. You cannot say youve heard them complaining that theyre not in the townships.

Some are in locations that are out of reach. S o we must understand the difficult times we find ourselves, said Dikko.

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari made a surprise visit to troops battling bandits, kidnappers and criminals in Zamfara and neighbouring states under Operations Sharan Daji and Diran Mikiya on Saturday, August 25.

Nigerian Air Force Operations Against Boko Haram | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit- The leaders say the attack by thugs on Governor Obaseki was political and the perpetrators must be brought to book

- The politicians claim the attack was as a result of the belief that the governor had imposed someone ahead of the senatorial election

- They denied that leaders of the senatorial district masterminded the act

Leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Edo Central senatorial district, on Saturday, August 25, condemned the attack on Governor Godwin Obaseki by some youths believed to have been hired thugs.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the leaders spoke in separate interview with newsmen in Benin on Saturday.

They described the action as embarrassing and should be condemned by lovers of democracy.

The report said the governor was attacked by some alleged youths of the APC over allegation that Obaseki had imposed a senatorial candidate on the district ahead of the 2019 elections.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Police announce massive overhaul of SARS unit

Edo Central Senatorial district which is home to Esan speaking people of Edo state is made up of five local government areas of Igueben, Esan South East, Esan North East, Esan West and Esan Central.

Obaseki was at Irrua, headquarters of Esan Central, to meet with APC leaders to discuss issues surrounding the nomination of candidates when some youths stormed the venue with placards.

The youths wore t-shirts inscribed with the Esan Youth Movement chanting invective words demanding for no imposition of candidates.

The youths, who later physically assaulted the governor, pelted him with sachet water and stones, as he (Obaseki) made to leave venue of the meeting.

Victor Eboigbe and Theophilus Okoh, two leaders of the party, described the attack as barbaric and uncivilised, noting that leaders of the party in the district would not support such action.

Eboigbe said Esan leaders and youths would not support such action against a performing governor like Obaseki.

According to him, punitive actions would be taken against those behind the attack after investigation had been concluded.

Eboigbe noted that Esan leaders were united ahead of the 2019 general elections, and assured that no candidate would be imposed on the people.

I do not believe the people responsible for the attack are members of the APC. No APC youth will behave like that to our governor. What they did was barbaric, uncivilised and we will get to the bottom of it.

I dont care what they protest about. Esan leaders and youths do not support them. It is not correct that no leader tried to call the youths to order.

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I believe that the reason some of them joined in the attack was because in the past, they did it and got what they wanted, he said.

Okoh, said that information available indicated that some of the youths arrested were from Delta.

Those alleging that Esan leaders masterminded the attack are just being mischievous. I know that investigation into the matter is going on and those behind it will be exposed, he said.

Even Atiku knows he cannot spend only a term in office| Legit.ng TV

Source: LegitOil industry wants government to build seawall to protect refineries from climate change effects The Oregonian

The battle for the soul of biodiversity Nature

Researchers claim water irrigation efficiency efforts actually cause more water use Phys.org (RM).

Feds Powell sees few signs of US economy overheating FT

Bostic Throws Down the Gauntlet Tim Duys Fed Watch

Leveraged loan boom is storing up nasty problems FT. Collateralised loan obligations.

Who Killed Toys R Us? Hint: It Wasnt Only Amazon WSJ

Tesla to remain publicly traded, as Elon Musk says shareholders believe company is better off CNBC. Oh for pitys sake. Why did I link to this stupid story in the first place?

Tesla insiders say its a st show under beleaguered Elon Musk NY Post (KW).

Brexit

Spanish Cabinet approves decree to exhume Francos remains El Pais

Exclusive: Trump takes aim at Venezuela lifeline, which could raise prices at the pump McClatchy

North Korea

Trump scraps Pompeo trip to North Korea, citing stalled nuclear negotiations Japan Times

China?

Aussie PM Scott Morrison invites Donald Trump to Australia Stuff. Let the healing begin!

New Cold War

Trump Transition

With Troy Baldersons Official Win in Ohio, Debate About Trump Effect Returns Roll Call

Democrats in Disarray

Health Care

Imperial Collapse Watch

Class Warfare

FTC thread from Stoller, with action to take at #15 and #16:

1. Ok, I'm going to talk about an under the radar fight over wealth, power and the law. It's going on at the most important Federal agency no one cares about, the Federal Trade Commission. And there's even something you can do about it.  Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) August 24, 2018

This is the heart of the political economy problem in America, using concentrated power to hurt workers, customers, businesses. It is what Facebook does. It is what Trump does. It is what a lot of elite Democrats made money from. This is why everyones mad.

The Impossible Job: Inside Facebooks Struggle to Moderate Two Billion People Motherboard

An Account of My Hut n+1. Contemporary California.

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.The strange behavior of gamma-ray bursts piques the interests of scientists who noticed that time appeared to repeat itself backward during these events.

Gamma-ray bursts are extremely luminous signals emitted by black holes during a star's collapse. It's short-lived but is known to be one of the most energetic and brightest explosions found in the universe.

There's a lot that astronomers still don't know about gamma-ray bursts, but the new observations are a step forward to understanding these powerful light bursts as well as massive stars and black holes.

Time-Reversing Properties

In a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers reveal that gamma-ray bursts demonstrate "complex time-reversible wavelike residual structures." This means that the light waves are ejected and then sent back out once again in the opposite order.

Jon Hakkila, lead study author from the Graduate School at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, explains to Live Science that most of the energy of gamma-ray bursts are in the form of pulses or blips.

Hakkila isolated the brightest pulse to observe it more closely and then noticed that these pulses had "little side blips." The team found that each pulse featured three peaks where light increased and then decreased in intensity a few times.

The peaks appeared in the data like mirror images as the parts of the first pulses that were first ejected came last during the following pulses.

The team observed this strange phenomenon in six particularly bright gamma-ray bursts, according to Science Alert, noting that only the most luminous gamma-ray burst light curves displayed the time-reversed properties.

"They all have this signature of brightness that fluctuates and then it turns around and goes backwards in time," Hakkila describes to Live Science.

Potential Explanations

One likely explanation for the time-reversal is likening the phenomenon to the behavior of a blast wave, according to Hakkila. Upon a star's explosion, a blast wave would move outward and light up the material it passes through. Then the wave may have hit a reflective surface that pushes it back the way it came, lighting up the same materials in reverse order.

Science Alert suggests that the clouds of materials could also be arranged in a series of concentric rings so that when the wave or impactor passes through the denser clouds in the center, it appears like a reflected signal.

For now, scientists aren't quite sure what the eerie time-reversed properties of ultrabright gamma-ray bursts are.

Hakkila doesn't want to rule anything out  even stranger, far-fetched theories. After all, he points out, a gamma-ray burst is essentially the creation of a black hole.

"And there's all sorts of very odd things that happen with both space and time and the relationship between space and time in the vicinity of a black hole," he says. "I'm not going to exclude any kind of weird thing."A woman's body was found behind a Concord business Wednesday and surveillance-camera footage quickly led police to a suspect in her slaying, Concord police said today.

Rickie Keefer, a 58-year-old transient was arrested Thursday when police found him sleeping in a vehicle, police said. The victim's name has not been released pending notification of relatives, according to the Contra Costa County coroner's office.

The woman was found by a security guard Wednesday night during his regular rounds at a business in the 2700 block of Clayton Road, near Oakland Avenue, police said. The body was on the ground in a fenced-in enclosure near a dumpster behind the business.

The guard called police who determined the woman was dead and was the apparent victim of a homicide. Video from several security cameras in the area provided investigators with clear images of Keefer, "coming and going from the crime scene," police said.

On Thursday, a Concord police officer on patrol spotted Keefer's car. Keefer was found sleeping inside and was taken into custody.

Keefer's last address was in Antioch, but it appeared he was living out of his car, police said. He has previous convictions in Illinois for robbery and burglary, and in California for burglary, theft and narcotics-related crimes, police said.

Anyone with information about the slaying is asked to contact Detective Phalen at (925) 603-5858, or call the anonymous tip line at (925) 603-5836.A Berkeley city council member has been accused of abuse of power after he allegedly tried to intimidate a police officer to get out of a traffic ticket.

The city of Berkeley released an audio recordong of what it appeared to be council member Ben Bartlett's traffic stop after he allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Ashyb and Martin Luther King Jr.

When he was pulled over, he didnt have his driver license and no proof of insurance. But it is what he said to the police officer that's raising concerns and, it was all caught on tape.

"Breaking my ***** to get you the biggest raise possible and this is how you repay me?" said Bartlett in the video.

Bartlett identified himself as a city council member and tells the officer he was late for an event.

Several times during the stop, Bartlett brings up how he voted in favor of the police union in recent closed-session negotiations.

"You know we are voting on your contract right now," he said. "I took a big stand to get you a raise. I took a stand against my district and what they yelled at me about."

Berkeley civil rights attorney Jim Chanin listened to the audio and said he doesnt like what the councilman said, but doesnt think he broke any laws or got any favors.

"It doesnt appear that [the cop] was intimidated," said Chanin. "She did give him one ticket."

That one ticket was a fix-it ticket for not having his drivers license in his possession but He was not given a ticket for running the red light.

"Im deeply sorry for what I said. I was stressed, out of line and over-reacted. There is no excuse. There was no way that my action was appropriate," Bartlett said.

He added that he spoke to the mayor of Oakland informaly and he doesn't know if he will be disciplined by the city.

"Its hard probably when you have power, and that happens, not to use it," said Oakland resident Susan Gill. "But, you shouldnt, so I disagree with his action."What to Know Since 2011, more than 500 Wells Fargo customers have filed complaints against the bank for missing / lost certificates of deposit

Wells Fargo says it does not consider a paper "certificate of deposit" proof that a CD was not withdrawn

Most banks keep records for only seven years; consumer advocates say that needs to change

A San Jose widow who entrusted her late husband's life insurance payout to Wells Fargo says the bank has lost her $30,000 investment.

It's the latest in a series of complaints against the San Francisco-based banking giant, and public records show a pattern of similar disputes dating back at least seven years.

Among those who say the bank misplaced their money is Phung Aldis. The recently-retired senior says Wells Fargo refuses to find her $30,000 certificate of deposit, or CD.

"I trusted them," Aldis said. "I gave my money to them, and suddenly, it disappeared."

Aldis made the deposit in 1996, after her husband died unexpectedly. She had only come to the U.S. a little over a year earlier, from France, after growing up in Vietnam. Alone in a country that she hardly knew, Aldis used money from her husband's life insurance policy to purchase a CD.

"He left that money for me so I can use that later," she said. "And so, I worked, and I paid for my school. I paid for everything."

Aldis worked multiple jobs while paying her own way through school, eventually earning three college and university degrees. For twenty years, she believed her CD was earning interest. The printed certificate Wells Fargo gave her states it "automatically renews".

Phung didn't expect any problems when she went to collect the money for her retirement, in March of this year. But the bank's answer left her stunned: it had no records of her deposit.

"They said, 'We don't have any paperwork from you,'" Aldis said. "'After seven years, all of the paperwork, we destroyed.' I said, 'What! What are you talking about?' Nobody told me, after seven years, all of the paperwork will be destroyed."

Aldis is not alone. Mike Wentz and Craig Haskell contacted NBC Bay Area after Wells Fargo told them their CDs were worthless, too.

"At one point, they tried to tell me the CD never existed," Wentz said. He had purchased a CD for his daughter in 1983, but when he tried to redeem it in 2009, he was told they had no records of it.

Haskell faced a similar situation when he found a CD in his name from his late grandmother. Wells Fargo told him there were no records  and no funds.

"Wells Fargo can't tell me what happened to the money," Haskell said.

NBC Bay Area reviewed federal records, and found hundreds of similar cases. Since 2011, 568 bank customers have filed formal complaints against Wells Fargo with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Seventy of those complaints came from customers in California.

Many of the complaints echo what we heard from Craig Haskell, Mike Wentz, and Phung Aldis:

"They told me they cannot find any record anymore and the account was closed." -San Bernardino customer



"[The] branch manager as well as corporate office have no information / record on this account or where [my] money went." -San Diego customer



"They could find no history of my CD as they only keep records for 7 years." -Oceanside customer

NBC Bay Area brought each viewer's story, as well as our research showing the national scope of the CD complaints, to Wells Fargo corporate headquarters in San Francisco. The bank declined our repeated requests for an on-camera interview.

Wells Fargo did provide a written statement, which can be found in full at the end of this article. It reads in part:

When it comes to old certificates of deposit, simply having the paper certificate is not sufficient evidence that a CD has not already been redeemed.

San Francisco consumer attorney Ingrid Evans says banks keep most records for only seven years, because that is the minimum required by law.

"It's astonishing to me that banks aren't taking responsibility and keeping records as they should," she said.

Evans said it may be up to state lawmakers to broaden protections for bank customer deposits.

"We need to push our legislatures to make a change," Evans said. "We should ask them to request that banks be compelled to keep consumer records open for ten, 15, 20 years."

Evans says customers have few options if their bank can't find a deposit. They might have to sue. Aldis say she'll consider that to get her money  it's what she says her late husband would want her to do.

"He told me, never give up," Aldis said. "So, I carried that. I'll never give up."

If you have a certificate of deposit, visit your bank as soon as you can. Ask for updated records. Request written statements from your bank at least once a year. Keep hard copies of all long-term investments.

If your bank tells you it cannot find your money, file complaints with these agencies:

Full statement from Wells Fargo, provided to NBC Bay Area:

While we cant address the specifics of a customers situation because of privacy and customer confidentiality, below is the process of old certificates of deposit.

 When it comes to old certificates of deposit, simply having the paper certificate is not sufficient evidence that a CD has not already been redeemed.

 Financial institutions are required to keep records of issued CDs for a period of at least five years under federal law. Wells Fargo retains statement copies and other records for up to seven years for most deposit accounts, including certificates of deposit.

 Additionally, financial institutions are required to report and transfer to the appropriate state when an account (including a CD) has been inactive or dormant for a certain period of time. Each state specifies the length of the inactivity or dormancy period, and activity must generally be customer generated, such as the making of a deposit, a debit to an account, or acknowledging the account when a letter is received from the bank.

 Subject to specific state law, some activity may be bank-generated, such as the mailing of a federal Form 1099-INT where such form is not returned by the postal service.

 A holder of the inactive property, including a bank, must make a reasonable effort to contact the account owner prior to reporting and transferring the property. If the owner cannot be contacted, the holder escheats (turns over to the state) the property as unclaimed property. Customers must thereafter file a claim with the state for the return of the CD subsequent to transfer.

 Also, while a CD may be considered automatically renewable, customer activity is still required to prevent the CD from becoming dormant and having the CD balances escheated to the state.

 A CD becomes subject to escheat only after the following conditions are satisfied: (a) no detectable customer activity on the CD or any linked account; (b) the applicable escheat period has run during such inactivity; and (c) the bank has attempted to send letters to their last known address (if phone numbers or addresses are available) and the customer has not responded to such communications. Each state has its own processes and time frames. These time frames vary from 3 to 15 years after detectable customer activity ends.

 In short, if a CD is dormant for a given period of time, and the bank cant contact the customer who owns the CD, the bank is required to turn the funds over to the state. In cases of long-closed CDs, where the bank no longer retains the original records and could not successfully contact that customer, that is often the case.

In other words, when a customer finds a very old CD, its possible that the CD was actually redeemed by the person who opened it (generally prior to their death), and if that isnt the case, it was likely escheated to the state. Either way, we dont have records after 7 years, at most.Angry parents at Sequoia Middle School in Pleasant Hill are circulating an online petition to have an eighth-grade student removed for allegedly threatening a mass shooting at his former school in the same district earlier this year.

As of Saturday morning, the Sequoia parents' petition at ThePetitionSite.com has garnered 1,298 supporters.

The boy, whose name has not been released, was arrested in June for allegedly telling a friend on Snapchat of his plan to kill "at least 30 people" on the last day of school at Valley View Middle School, also in Pleasant Hill, Pleasant Hill police Sgt. Ron Priebe said.

After the friend reported the alleged threat to police, officers served a search warrant at the boy's Martinez home, seizing several guns legally owned by someone in the household. The boy was 13 at the time of the arrest, Priebe said.

The boy was taken to Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall and booked on suspicion of making terrorist threats, but he was never charged by the district attorney and later released, Priebe confirmed. The boy is now attending Sequoia Middle School.

Sequoia parent Kim Childers initiated the petition Tuesday, which reads in part, "This past June, a student from Martinez was arrested for threatening to shoot 30 students at his school ... This same student now has two classes with my child. I am asking everyone to ... have this student removed from SMS and any school in the MDUSD (Mount Diablo Unified School District)."

Childers could not be reached for comment Friday.

Sequoia Principal Kevin Honey sent a letter home to parents Tuesday, indicating that disciplinary policies were followed at the time of the alleged threat and arrest. Honey was not immediately available for comment today.

One petitioner wrote, however, that the principal's letter was "misleading" and that Honey is "clearly in the dark" about the student's state of mind.

Other parents are keeping their children out of school for now.

"My son will not be at SMS until the district removes this student!" another petitioner wrote. "I cannot send my child to school with a kid who, less than three months ago, claimed he was going to kill 30 of his classmates. That requires therapy, counseling and treatment for much longer than just summer break."Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey will testify before House members next month about the social platform's algorithms and content moderation.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) released a statement Friday that said Dorsey will testify before the committee Sept. 5, which is the same day Dorsey is scheduled to speak in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"When decisions about data and content are made using opaque processes, the American people are right to raise concerns," Walden's statement said. "This committee intends to ask tough questions about how Twitter monitors and polices content."

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) expressed concern about "one-sided conversations" and said transparency will be the only way to ensure conservative-leaning voices are not suppressed.

McCarthy said he sees "more and more examples of censorship that impact public officials and concerned citizens expressing conservative thought."

President Donald Trump has weighed in as well, broadly accusing social media companies, via Twitter, of silencing "millions of people."

According to NBC News, Twitter had scheduled a meeting with other big tech firms for Friday to discuss plans for the upcoming midterm elections.

The meeting was intended to establish more connections among the companies in hopes of sharing more information about cybersecurity threats.

Twitter, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Snapchat were among a dozen companies invited to the meeting at Twitters San Francisco headquarters.

Several of the companies in recent weeks have made announcements about malicious actors from Iran, Russia and elsewhere using the platforms for coordinated propaganda campaigns. Hundreds of accounts associated with these campaigns were removed from Facebook, Twitter and other social sites.

The companies' policies regarding moderation of false information and hate speech has also been drawing increased focus recently. Alex Jones of Infowars was one high-profile target of the platforms' more aggressive policing of where, or if, certain content appears on the sites. Jones has repeatedly reported outlandish conspiracy theories as fact, including his persistent belief that the massacre of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School was staged.

Despite the scrutiny, tech companies have been the highest-performing sector in the market this year.The Delhi High Court on August 8 refused to grant relief to Rahul Gandhi in regard with the case.

Swamy who filed the case against Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in 2012 while addressing the media, here said that it is about time that the accused Congress leaders are brought to book. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy, on Saturday, recorded his statement before a Delhi court in connection with the National Herald case.

Swamy who filed the case against Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in 2012 while addressing the media, here said that it is about time that the accused Congress leaders are brought to book.

"The collusion is even more stark because the office bearers of the Congress party are same as the Board of Directors of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and as same the directors of Young Indians (YI) too," he said.

"The vast property of the AJL was allowed to swallow by YI without having to pay anything. It is a crime and I have established it prima facie. It's time that they (Rahul, Sonia) are proved guilty," he added.

The Delhi High Court on August 8 refused to grant relief to Rahul Gandhi in regard with the case.

Rahul had challenged Income Tax authority's order to reopen his tax assessment related to the National Herald and Young India transactions.

The Income Tax department informed the High Court that the AICC gave Rs 99 crores to Associate Journal Ltd and added that Rahul willfully chose not to disclose that he held the director's post at the Young India.

To which the court said that it'll determine whether he was under an obligation to disclose these details or not.

However, on the other hand, the Congress President's lawyer asserted that Rahul did not receive any income from the source; hence he is not liable for any tax.

Rahul's counsel also asked the Court to restrain media from publishing the matter, however, the High Court refused to stay media reporting.

For those unversed, the National Herald scam is an ongoing case filed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, their companies and associated persons.

On January 20, the court of metropolitan magistrate Ambika Singh had ordered the documents submitted by the petitioner in the case, Swamy, to be kept in a sealed cover till next hearing.

Swamy, in his plea, alleged that the Congress party granted an interest-free loan of Rs 90.25 crore to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), owner of the National Herald newspaper.

In November last year, the two Congress leaders filed their response to the application filed by Swamy.

In the response, they stated that the application filed by Swamy was not bonafide and filled with the sole object of "delaying the proceedings in a lifeless case".

The alleged National Herald scam grabbed headlines after Swamy filed a case in 2012 against the Congress, namely against Congress President Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi.Two people were sent to the hospital following a hit-and-run in Windsor Saturday afternoon.

State Police responded to a hit-and-run crash involving a vehicle and a motorcycle on Route 9 at Route 8A in Windsor, Massachusetts at about 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

According to police, a preliminary investigation indicates that a 55-year-old Pittsfield man was traveling on Route 9 Westbound on a 2002 Honda VT1100 when a vehicle, which had been traveling eastbound, turned left in front of the path of the motorcycle. The motorcycle then crashed into the passenger side of the vehicle.

The vehicle then fled the scene of the crash, police said.

The operator of the motorcycle and his 57-year-old female passenger, also from Pittsfield, were both transported to Boston Medical Center in Pittsfield for treatment of serious and minor injuries respectively, police said.

According to police, the vehicle which fled the scene, traveling northbound on Route 8A towards the town of Savoy, is described as a blue Subaru SUV. The vehicle should have damage to the passenger side, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the State Police Barracks in Cheshire at 413-743-4700.Public health authorities in New Hampshire say four people who have been identified with Legionnaires' disease likely acquired the disease in Hampton.

Authorities are still looking for the source of the disease, which they believe to be an industrial air conditioning unit.

"A large system that includes water in it that may be spewing this bacteria out into the environment," Beth Daly, chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, said.

According to authorities, the people infected most likely picked up the disease near Ashworth Avenue between Island Path and H Street.

"We're interviewing people who have become infected, and we encourage anyone who may have been diagnosed with legionella since visiting this area to please contact us," Daly said.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Public Health Services says the four people likely acquired Legionella at the end of July or beginning of August in a localized area of Hampton. Legionnaires' disease, also called Legionella pneumonia, is a bacterial pneumonia. Its symptoms usually appear within two to ten days after infection.

The public health department says it is investigating for additional cases of the disease. The disease is usually spread by inhaling droplets of water contaminated with the bacteria.

Many people exposed to Legionella do not get sick. The disease has the ability to cause serious illness and death, however. People over age 50, current or former smokers and those with weakened immune systems are at highest risk for the disease.

Public health officials are warning those at increased risk to avoid the Hampton Beach area.

Its certainly something to be worried about, Daly said.The pastor of a Roman Catholic church in Connecticut has resigned amid allegations that he violated church policies on contact with children, although diocesan officials stress he is not accused of sexual misconduct.

The Diocese of Bridgepoint announced Friday that the Rev. Frank Gomez of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Bridgeport opted to resign rather than undergo "treatment and assessment" at a facility in Canada.

Diocese officials say Gomez texted children without their parents' knowledge, offered them gifts and made physical contact that was not sexual but made people uncomfortable.

Bishop Frank Caggiano says Gomez was accused of "serious boundary violations" but nothing "illegal or immoral."

Gomez was previously placed on leave. He has been pastor at St. Charles Borromeo since 2015. He did not return an email requesting comment.A popular Northwest Side restaurant is closing this year, staff announced Thursday night, shocking fans of the beloved Italian staple.

Sabatinos Restaurant in Old Irving Park announced on Facebook that it plans to close by the end of the year, tentatively late in December.

A reason for the closing was not given on the website and the restaurant could not immediately be reached, but owners Angelo and Enzo Pagni told Block Club Chicago they sold the restaurant so the two brothers could retire. They told the publication no one in the family wanted to carry on with the restaurant, which they sold through a broker. Details on what will happen to the space werent immediately known.

The restaurant is in its own way, a time capsule in Chicago, remaining unchanged since it first opened more than 40 years ago. From the live piano bar and violinists to the fine-dining style that featured classic Italian cuisine served on white table-clothed tables, there was no shortage of nostalgia for those who visited.

If you grew up in Chicago, Sabatino's was probably your first exposure to fine dining at the $30-an-entree level, and your grandparents likely brought you here, a review from the Chicago Tribune posted on the restaurants website reads. You're greeted at the door by neoclassical Grecian statues, because in the '70s they were the embodiment of interior decorating chic. Then you notice the fake bunched grapes, wine barrels and Christmas lights hanging on walls and you think, Boy, this is some classy joint.

News of the closing shocked fans on social media, with many crediting it as one of the bests.

A true Chicago treasure, one user wrote. Old school Italiandelicioso!

This is terrible, another user said. What a great place. Not many like it left. A throwback to better everything.

An exact date for the restaurants closing has not yet been announced.Chicago Cubs infielder David Bote hammered a game-winning home run into the Wrigley Field bleachers Friday, and he joined an exclusive club in the process.

Bote, who now has five home runs this season, has certainly exhibited a flair for the dramatic recently, as he now has two walk-off home runs in less than two weeks after he launched the dinger against the Cincinnati Reds.

According to Stats Inc., Bote is just the third Cubs rookie in history to have multiple walk-off home runs in the same season.

Chicago Cubs 3B Kris Bryant Debuts Epic 'Players Weekend' Cleats

Bote's other walk-off came earlier this month, when he hit a walk-off grand slam against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.

The rookie is also joined in the club by Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, who accomplished the feat in 2015. His second walk-off home run came against the Cleveland Indians, three years to the date of Bote's heroics.

Former Cubs great Gabby Hartnett also hit multiple walk-offs in the same season, doing it in 1923.There are calls for a northwest Indiana city to take action following a deadly accident involving a train and two young children.

So far thousands of people have signed a petition and a grandfather of the victims is speaking out.

Along the train line an unspeakable tragedy occurred more than two weeks ago where a young boy and his sister were hit by a train.

Police say the accident is still under investigation.

But their grandfather says something must be done to prevent future accidents.

A memorial is now at the scene where 3-year-old Caleb Wilson was hit and killed by a train near a Portage Park mobile home park earlier this month.

His 2-year-old sister Ellie was seriously injured.

Their grandfather Paul Ramsey says he's trying to come to grips with what happened.

"I don't want parents and grandparents to go through what we've gone through," he said. "It's too much of a loss."

"I love him and I miss him," he added.

Police say the siblings snuck out of a screen door and walked just feet away from the Woodland Village mobile home park and on to these CSX railroad tracks.

The train conductor blew his horn and tried to stop but the freight train struck the toddlers.

Federal rail officials say nine people were killed trespassing on railroad tracks in Indiana last year, and there were 15 fatalities in Illinois.

Still, Ramsey says someone needs to build a fence near the tracks.

"I just wish people could get together and help get this done," he said. "I (would) like to get it done and do it in Caleb's memory and so we don't have to lose anybody else to something like this. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with."

So far more than 2200 people have signed a petition demanding a barrier separating the homes from the tracks.

"The incident in Portage is a tragedy and our thoughts are with all of those impacted," CSX said in a statement. "We are aware of the communitys concerns and have spoken with elected officials and will continue to keep an open line of communication with them. Typically municipalities, developers or private property owners choose to build a barrier on their property, and CSX works closely with them so they can safely do so."

NBC 5 has learned Ellie is out of the hospital.

Meantime the railroad says cost sharing could be part of the discussions.

The property office says there are no plans at the moment to build a fence. but the mayor of the city of Portage says he looks forward to working with the petitioners to keep residents safe.A teenager who shot another student in an Illinois school cafeteria has pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm.

The News-Gazette reports the 15-year-old boy was in a Coles County courtroom on Thursday. He'll be sentenced on Oct 11. His attorney says he expects the teen to remain in juvenile detention for four to five months.

The shooting occurred nearly a year ago at Mattoon High School. Police say a teacher grabbed the boy's arm as he fired at a girl. The gunshot missed the girl but hit another student.

Prosecutor Brian Bower says he can ask the judge to impose an adult sentence of decades in prison if the teen doesn't successfully complete juvenile detention.New London Police have arrested a man after a stabbing on Friday afternoon.

Officers said they were called to Oneco Avenue and Deshon Street around 4:30 p.m. after getting a report of a male stab victim on the ground.

When officers arrived, they found a man who had been stabbed and medical attention was immediately initiated. The man was transported to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for what officials classified as non life-threatening injuries. He has since been treated and released.

The scene was secured and a police K9 track was initiated. Officers said both the suspect, later identified as 33-year-old Sean Swasey, and the knife used were located a short distance away in a wooded area. Swasey was taken into custody without further incident.

Police said Swasey and the victim knew each other.

Swasey is facing charges including assault, carrying a dangerous weapon, breach of peace and interfering with an officer. He is being held on $50,000 bond.A 12-year-old girl from Meriden didn't think twice when she jumped on the back of an armed robber who police said was trying to rob the Tachuelas Grocery Store last month. On Friday, the city honored her for her incredible act of bravery.

The suspects were armed, but Leslie Meza Ruiz said she needed to protect her mom and grandma who worked at the store.

"I just felt like I should have just done something so I can protect my mom and my grandma," Meza Ruiz said.

The community said what the 12-year-old did was amazing.

A video shows an armed robber coming towards her. He grabs something and that's when Meza Ruiz jumped on his back.

"I didn't even know. It just happened so fast so I just did what I had to do," she said.

She was trying to protect her mom and grandma who were injured in the scuffle. Police said Meza Ruiz's mom was stabbed in the arm and her grandma had a serious injury to her face.

"You don't have a badge, but you have just as much bravery and just as much courage as everyone in our department," Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati said.

Meriden's mayor, police force and community honored Meza Ruiz and declared Monday Leslie Meza Ruiz Day. She was given free dance lessons for a year, karate classes for life, donations from stores and even a day of pampering from the local Rotary Club.

"Something like that, I've never seen before. I've never heard anything like it," said Sgt. Christopher Fry of the Meriden Police Department.

Sgt. Fry said the Meriden Police Union donated $500.

"I have one beautiful daughter, a strong daughter," Meza Ruiz's mom, Yesenia Ruiz said.

But even the bravest have tears and these are grateful ones that her family is ok.

"Yeah, thanks to God," Meza Ruiz said.

She's also thankful for the community support. For this community hero, the sky is limitless.

"I want to be the president, but at the same time, I don't know," Meza Ruiz said.As Sen. John McCain's family announced that the ailing veteran is stopping treatment for brain cancer, the Army paid tribute Friday at the opening of a new warfare modernization headquarters in Texas that he played a driving role in creating.

"None of this would be happening without someone who's not here today, and that's Sen. John McCain, an American hero," said Gen. Mark Milley, the Army's chief of staff.

The activation of the Futures Command in the downtown heart of tech-savvy Austin came just hours after McCain's family said in a statement that the Senate Armed Services chairman had surpassed expectations for survival but that the progress of the disease and McCain's age "render their verdict." McCain turns 82 next week

McCain's condition worsened last fall and the Arizona Republican has been in his home state since December.

Two members of McCain's staff attended the ushering in of what the Army says amounts to its most significant restructuring in more than 40 years. The command is tasked with modernizing everything from combat vehicles to weapons and helping soldiers adapt to emerging threats from powers such as Chine and Russia.

Among the first signature initiatives that should come out of the command in the next few years, Army leaders say, is new optical headwear for soldiers that can display maps or simulate missions.

Milley and other Army leaders described McCain, a former Navy pilot who was held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam for more than five years, as a guiding force in making the command a reality. Discussions on establishing a Futures Command began about two years ago.

McCain, a long-term survivor of the deadly skin cancer melanoma, underwent surgery in July 2017 to remove a blood clot in his brain after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumor called a glioblastoma.

"I wish he could be here. I know from talking to Gen. Milley that he was key," said Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn. "I know that he would love to be here and be pleased."

About 500 people are expected to work at the command, most of whom will be civilians. The command for now will operate out of the University of Texas System's new downtown headquarters that is surrounded by nearby startups and tech incubators. The Army says it wanted to tap into that workforce.

Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Raleigh, North Carolina, were also on the Army's shortlist of finalists.ED officials were tight-lipped about the questioning of Mr Chidambaram.

New Delhi: Trouble continued to mount for the former finance minister and senior Congress leader, P. Chidambaram, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday questioning him again in the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case.

According to sources, Mr Chidambarams statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he appeared before the investigating officer of the case at the Enforcement Directorates office here on Friday. The former finance minister was questioned for nearly six hours. ED officials were tight-lipped about the questioning of Mr Chidambaram. While the Central Bureau of Investi-gation (CBI) has filed a charge sheet in this ca-se involving the politician in July, the ED is expected to file its own prosecution complaint within the next fortnight. The agency had earlier recorded statements of officials who were in the the now-defunct FIPB when this deal took place, and it is understood that Mr Chidambaram would have been confronted with these versions. Some specific queries on the circumstances and procedures adopted by the FIPB, while giving approval to the

Aircel-Maxis deal during his tenure, were put to him earlier. His son Karti has already been questioned by the ED in this case twice.

Chidambaram, after a similar questioning by the ED in this case in June, had said that what he told the agency was already recorded in government documents. He also said that there is no FIR, yet a probe had been initiated. More than half the time taken up by typing the answers without errors, reading the statement and signing it!, he had said in his tweet.

Background of the case

The Aircel-Maxis cases pertains to grant of Foreign Investment Promotion Board clearance to firm M/S Global Communication Holding Services Ltd in 2006 for investment in Aircel. The Supreme Court had on March 12 directed investigating agencies  the CBI and the ED to complete their probe into the 2G spectrum allocation cases, including the alleged Aircel-Maxis money laundering case, in six months. The agency had said that the FIPB approval in the Aircel-Maxis FDI case was granted in March 2006 by Mr Chidambaram even though he was competent to accord approval on project proposals only up to Rs 600 crore, and beyond that it required the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

The ED is investigating the circumstances of the FIPB approval granted (in 2006) by the then-finance minister. In the instant case, the approval for FDI of USD 800 million (over Rs 3,500 crore) was sought. Hence, the CCEA was competent to grant the approval. However, the approval was not obtained from the CCEA, the ED had alleged.Louisiana is warning boaters to watch out for manatees, threatened marine mammals which have migrated from Florida across the Gulf Coast.

The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said West Indian manatees have been seen across coastal Louisiana, so the department has posted caution signs at boat launches throughout the area.

"Our primary concern is manatees being injured by boat propellers," said Keri Lejeune, the department's endangered species biologist, said in a news release Thursday. "Manatees are slow-moving, curious animals. If a manatee is spotted while boating, boaters should idle and disengage propellers until the animal is at a safe distance and out of harm's way."

She said the caution signs also provide information to report sightings to Wildlife and Fisheries.

The department is asking the public to report manatee sightings in or offshore of Louisiana so that biologists can track which Louisiana waterways they use and can respond promptly if a manatee is injured and needs help. If people have photos or video, that is welcome.

Reports can be called to the department's 24-hour hotline at 1-800-442-2511, or emailed to Lejeune at klejeune(at)wlf.la.gov.

Manatees are native to Florida. During the summer, they sometimes swim toward Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

Since they require warm water, those that travel to Louisiana generally begin the journey back to Florida in early fall.Hawaii emerged Saturday from the threat of a potentially devastating hurricane after flooding forced evacuations on some islands but damage appeared less than feared despite historic amounts of rain.

Tropical Storm Lane, once known as Hurricane Lane, began to break apart as it veered west into the open Pacific, leaving behind sighs of relief and plenty of clean-up, especially on the Big Island where rainfall totals approached 4 feet (1.2 meters).

No storm-related deaths have been reported, though Big Island authorities said they plucked families from flood waters and landslides had closed roads.

The National Weather Service canceled all storm warnings for the state, several hours after shopkeepers in Honolulu's tourist-heavy areas started taking down plywood meant to protect windows if the storm had made it that far.

Preliminary figures from the weather service show that Lane dropped the fourth-highest amount of rain for a hurricane to hit the United States since 1950. Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Texas a year ago, topped the list.

The storm's outer bands dumped as much as 45 inches (114 centimeters) on the mostly rural Big Island, measurements showed. The main town of Hilo, with 43,000 people, was flooded Friday with waist-high water and authorities rescued people from more than 20 homes overnight, Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe said.

Landslides and pooling water forced the temporary closure of several highways, but the flooding was not as bad as it might have been because porous volcanic rock on parts of the Big Island absorbed it, said Brooke Bingaman, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Honolulu.

One of the island's volcanoes is still erupting, and the rain could still cause whiteout conditions on some active lava fields due to steam.

About 200 miles and several islands to the northwest, tourists wandered Waikiki Beach and took leisurely swims as shopkeepers prepared to reopen.

Hotels began putting deck chairs back alongside pools. Dozens of surfers were in the Pacific, riding small waves. The breeze was light.

Winds were also calmer on Maui, which had seen about 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain and wind gusts up to 50 mph (80 kph). On Saturday, winds were about 11 mph. Like the Big Island, Maui experienced flooding and landslides.

Lane first approached the islands earlier this week as a Category 5 hurricane, meaning it was likely to cause catastrophic damage with winds of 157 mph (252 kph) or above. But upper-level winds known as shear swiftly tore the storm apart.

As flooding hit the Big Island, winds fanned brush fires that had broken out in dry areas of Maui and Oahu. Some residents in a shelter on Maui had to flee flames, and another fire forced people from their homes.

Flames burned nine homes in the historic coastal town of Lahaina and forced 600 people to evacuate, Maui County spokeswoman Lynn Araki-Regan said. Some have returned, but many have not because much of the area lacks power, Araki-Regan said.

Those outages meant the water provider on Maui's west side was unable to pump, so officials at the Maui Electric utility urged conservation  particularly important because firefighters need supplies to put out the remaining flames.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with only about four or five named storms a year. Hawaii rarely gets hit. The last major storm to hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come close in recent years.

Brian Skoloff and John Locher in Honolulu; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; Darlene Superville in Washington; and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report.What to Know Aug. 25

Founded in 1916

9 National Parks in California (plus numerous NPS monuments and sites)

Ever had to buy the party supplies ahead of a good friend's birthday celebration?

You likely remember counting out the heads, for all the paper party hats you needed to purchase, and figuring out how large the space is, for the other decorations, from the paper streamers to the glittery signs.

Thank goodness, though, we are not required to buy a paper party hat for every tree located in a national park, nor a glittery "happy birthday" banner to display across every cliff and waterfall.

For A) that would be super-duper expensive and B) every tree and cliff and waterfall located in our national parks is perfect in their totally natural and un-party-hatted states.

It is, however, the 102nd anniversary of the National Park Service, which started on Aug. 25, 1916, thanks to a bill signed by President Woodrow Wilson (and a lot of tireless work on behalf of the idea's early nature-protecting champions, people like conservationist Stephen Mather, who would become the National Park Service's first director).

Many dreamers and doers, one ultimate goal: The National Park Service Act.

The state with the most national parks? Hi, if you're reading this while in California, then you're sitting in that very state.

There are nine national parks in the Golden State, and numerous other NPS historical and recreational sites, making this a wonderland of leafy, mountainous, historical, and cultural amazing-o-sity.

Aug. 25, 2018, let us note, is not a free day at the national parks, though, of course, visiting one, jumping into a ranger talk, or simply finding your own trail and hike is always encouraged, on any day of the year.

Nature is good to be in, end of story. Who would quibble with such a notion? Answer: no one.

There are free-to-visit parks, and pay-at-the-gate parks, and all will see enthusiastic visitors on the service's birthday.

But if you do want to hang on for a free day at the national parks, you don't have to hang on for long: The next one is up on Saturday, Sept. 22, in honor of National Public Lands Day. And there is one more 2018 free day to go beyond that, on Nov. 11, a tribute to veterans.Nearly two dozen new grand theft charges have been filed against two brothers who allegedly defrauded undocumented immigrants who came to their Inglewood consultancy seeking help in securing lawful permanent residence in the United States, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Friday.

Edgardo Antonio Guerrero, 69, and Hector Humberto Guerrero, 48, through their operation of Oficina Guerrero, charged thousands of dollars for legal services they were not legally qualified to dispense and failed to maintain a required bond, the Attorney General's Office alleges.

The men are due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Sept. 21 on the latest charges.

Edgardo Guerrero was initially charged in March with multiple counts of grand theft, unlawful practice of law and offering immigration services without a required bond, and his younger brother was subsequently charged.

Since then, Edgardo Guerrero's wife, Sidia Maroly Landaverde, 47, has been charged with tax evasion and conspiracy to violate the Immigration Consultants Act, according to the Attorney General's Office.

A man who answered the telephone at the listed number for Oficina Guerrero in March said the consultancy was permanently closed.

"Fraud is fraud, regardless of the immigration status of those being exploited," Becerra said in a statement detailing the new charges. "All families in California deserve protection from unscrupulous individuals who unlawfully take advantage of fear and vulnerability within our communities. At the California Department of Justice, we will prosecute this exploitation to the fullest extent of the law."

Those who paid Oficina Guerrero for immigration assistance and believe they may have been defrauded were encouraged to call the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs at (213) 974-1452, and complaints can be filed with the Attorney General's Office by calling (800) 952-5225.Eleven former staffers at a prominent New Hampshire prep school have been accused of fondling, forced kissing and other sexual misconduct with students over several decades, according to two reports released on Friday.

The reports released by Phillips Exeter Academy also found that school administrators often failed to act on complaints of abuse and, in several cases, never recorded the complaints of wrongdoing in personnel files allowing teachers to be hired elsewhere despite concerns about their behavior.

The allegations involve staffers who have since been fired, left the school or have died. Several have been named in the past by the school.

In a letter, Exeter officials apologized to the school community, including victims who have come forward and those who have remained silent.

"On the Academy's behalf, we accept full responsibility for the harm that has been suffered and for the failures of those whose responsibility it was to prevent and address such harm," Interim Principal William K. Rawson and John A. "Tony" Downer, president of the trustees, said in a letter. "We recognize the enormous violation of trust and the lasting wounds inflicted and endured."

The reports harshly criticized Exeter for mishandling many of the complaints, either by failing to investigate them or providing support to victims. It also accused administrators of trivializing complaints or leaving them out of a wrongdoers personnel file  thus allowing at least one staffer to get a job at another school in Pennsylvania where he was accused of abuse in the 1980s.

It also alleged the school had two sets of personnel files for decades  one for human resources and a confidential one held by the principal or the dean of faculty.

"Some individuals who experienced different forms of sexual misconduct at various points were not able to seek assistance or, when they sought assistance, were not treated consistently or fairly," according to one of the reports prepared by Holland & Knight "Emerging from these systemic deficiencies was a pattern of (Exeter) failing to respond to, investigate, and communicate internally regarding reported misconduct in an effective and appropriate manner and, in certain circumstances, failing to report misconduct to the appropriate authorities."

The reports from Exeter are the latest evidence that sexual misconduct by faculty was widespread for decades at prep schools across New England, a revelation that has led to scores of lawsuits, protests from alumni and the enactment of reforms aimed at helping victims and preventing future misconduct.

Earlier this week, another New Hampshire prep school in New Hampshire, St. Paul's School, released a report detailing abuse by 20 former faculty members and administrators going back decades.

The revelations of sex abuse that prompted the Exeter investigation emerged in 2016 after news that former teacher Rick Schubart  who was named in the report  was forced to resign in 2011 after admitting sexual misconduct with several students dating to the 1970s. A month later, Steve Lewis  also in the report  was fired amid allegations he had sexual encounters with a student decades ago.

Last year, Arthur Peekel pleaded guilty to charges that he assaulted Lawrence Jenkens when Jenkens visited the school in Exeter as a youngster in 1973. Peekel left the school soon afterward and went on to teach in Illinois, where he was named Teacher of the Year in 1992. He retired from Rolling Meadows High School in 2004.

The Associated Press generally doesn't name people who say they're victims of sexual abuse, but Jenkens said he wanted to discuss his case publicly.

All three were named in one of the latest reports.

The report also confirmed allegations against a staffer who forcibly kissed two students and encouraged a graduate to move closer so he could have sex with her, one who forcibly kissed and fondled a student on graduation day and a third who proposed that two different students fly with him to Europe  one so that they could go to visits prostitutes in Amsterdam.

A seventh staffer, Henry Ploegstra, was accused of inappropriate sexual contact with three students between 1966 and 1980, denied the allegations in a letter. Contacted at his Michigan home last year, Ploegstra said he did not want to comment.What to Know Officers and SWAT units arrived at the home located near Southwest 240th Street and 239th Street Thursday night.

The standoff ended with the suspect dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Miami-Dade Police said

A federal judge who was arrested last week for allegedly threatening the mother of his child with a gun is dead after he shot and killed himself following a lengthy police standoff at a southwest Miami-Dade home that ended Friday morning.

Officers and SWAT units responded to the home located near Southwest 240th Street and 113th Passage late Thursday night after Judge Timothy Maher allegedly took three people including a teen hostage.

Miami-Dade Police said a person inside the home texted someone for help, saying they were being held hostage in the home.

Negotiators could be heard talking over loudspeakers to Maher inside the home and using the phrase "your honor" at several points.

"Tim, I know youre scared. I know youre going through a lot," a negotiator said at one point. "Let that girl go. Shes only 13."

Miami-Dade Police Det. Chris Thomas confirmed that shortly before 9:30 a.m. Friday officers entered the home after hearing a gun shot. The three people who reportedly had been held hostage were able to get out safely before officers found Maher's body inside.

Officials said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The standoff lasted about 10 hours.

"This was an unfortunate circumstance," Thomas said. "They did everything they were supposed to do, they waited as long as they can."

Nearby residents told NBC 6 they were forced to evacuate their homes around 11 p.m. Thursday. Several nearby blocks were closed off for hours as a result.

Records show the home is owned by the brother of Maher's ex and his family, including a teen daughter.

Maher, 51, was arrested at his El Portal home last Tuesday after police say he pointed the gun at his ex following an incident when she came to pick up their child. He was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, child abuse causing no great bodily harm and resisting an officer without violence.

Maher denied the accusations when he appeared in bond court, calling them "horrifically embarrassing." He also told the judge he didn't have a gun on him during the incident with his ex.

Officials said officers confiscated dozens of guns from his home the day after his arrest.

Maher was a disability judge at a downtown Miami Social Security Administration office.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.Catholic bishops, tiny Albania and Ireland agreed to take the 140 migrants blocked aboard an Italian coast guard vessel, Premier Giuseppe Conte said Saturday, announcing the end of 10-day standoff over the asylum-seekers but making clear an angry Italy could avenge a perceived lack of overall European Union solidarity by refusing to approve the bloc's next multi-year budget.

"Italy must take note that the 'spirit of solidarity is struggling to translate into concrete acts," Conte said in a statement. Conte referred to declarations made at an EU summit in late June promising to help Italy and other Mediterranean countries deal with the burden of migrants rescued from human traffickers' unseaworthy boats.

In his role as head of a nearly three-month-old populist coalition government, Conte said Italy under current conditions "doesn't consider it possible to express adhesion to a proposed budget that underpins a policy so incoherent on the social level."

Earlier in the week, some in the government threatened to withhold nearly 20 billion euros ($23 billion) in contributions to the EU if member nations didn't volunteer to take the last group of rescued migrants reaching Italy. Brussels sharply reminded Italy it was legally obliged to pay.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, refused to let the migrants off the coast guard vessel Diciotti until other EU nations pledged to take the asylum-seekers, most of them young men from Eritrea.

Just before Conte announced the drama's resolution, Salvini told party supporters at a rally in northern Italy that a Sicily-based prosecutor, Luigi Patronaggio, had put him under investigation for suspected abduction for refusing to let the migrants disembark.

If the prosecutor "wants to interrogate me or even arrest me because I defend the borders and security of my country, I'm proud of it," Salvini tweeted. Many of his supporters blame migrants for crime.

Earlier in the week, the government's rights office for detained persons concluded this week that the migrants were being unjustly held by the government.

Salvini took credit for convincing bishops to take many of the migrants. The bishops agreed to "open up their doors, heart and wallet," he told the rally.

Fifty others of the 190 people rescued at sea on Aug. 16 by the Italian coast guard were previously allowed off the ship, including all the minors and ailing adults.

A few hours before Conte's announcement, Italian Red Cross ambulances waiting at dockside took away six ill men, suspected of having tuberculosis, pneumonia or other infections, and seven of the 11 women who were still aboard.

Authorities had said the women recounted how they had been raped while in Libya for months, awaiting the opportunity to leave in migrant smugglers' boats.

Four other women chose not to leave the ship because their husbands were blocked aboard.

The standoff had prompted an impassioned appeal at the height of the standoff Saturday by the U.N. refugee agency's chief, who asked Italy to let the migrants disembark and urged EU countries to take responsibility for the asylum-seekers.

In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said it's time to end a "race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea." He urged European countries "to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need."

Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi expressed appreciation for Albania's "sign of great solidarity and friendship," his ministry said.

Albania, which isn't in the European Union, saw thousands of its citizens flee to Italy across the Adriatic Sea aboard dramatically overcrowded rickety ferries and fishing boats in hopes of a better life in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, Sicily-based prosecutors took their investigation of the migrant standoff to Rome. Prosecutor Patronaggio left without speaking to reporters after questioning two Interior Ministry officials at the Italian capital's prosecutors' office, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

Prosecutors would have to seek permission from a special panel to question Salvini. As a lawmaker, Salvini also holds immunity from prosecution that could only be lifted by fellow lawmakers.

Italian Red Cross official Stefano Principato in Catania told reporters that Italy's health minister had ordered an inspection of sanitary conditions for the migrants, who have been sleeping on the ship's deck and coping with a baking sun and limited toilet facilities.

Doctors have said many of the migrants on the ship have scabies but "more than a health emergency, it would be better to speak of a psychological emergency," Principato said.What to Know Seven people were arrested after they failed to pass sobriety tests at a checkpoint on Long Island overnight

The checkpoint was set up at New York Avenue and Church Street in Huntington Station

A total of 417 cars passed through the checkpoint between 11:30 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 a.m. on Saturday

Seven people were arrested after they failed to pass sobriety tests at a checkpoint on Long Island overnight, authorities said.

Jeffrey Hindla, 29, of Sayville, and Raymond Archer, 51, Selena Piliere, 29, Suellen Gordon, 54, and James Roldos, 51, all of Huntington Station, were arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated at a checkpoint at New York Avenue and Church Street in Huntington Station, Suffolk County police said.

Nicole Gulmi, 34, of Melville, was arrested and charged with driving while impaired by alcohol, and Hixon Flores-Hernandez, 21, of Huntington Station was arrested and charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, according to police.

A total of 417 cars passed through the checkpoint between 11:30 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, police said.

The checkpoint was conducted as part of the Mothers Against Driving (MADD) Saturation Saturday, a high visibility evening where police departments step up their DWI enforcement efforts to remind communities that they are out in full force, looking for impaired drivers as the Labor Day holiday approaches, Suffolk County police said.Brazilian prosecutors have filed a murder charge against celebrity plastic surgeon Denis Cesar Barros Furtado over the death of a patient who was given injections to enlarge her buttocks.

Furtado was widely known in Brazil "Dr. Bumbum"  Brazilian slang for backside. He was arrested last month in Rio de Janeiro.

Authorities announced late Wednesday that the charge was filed against Furtado, his mother and his girlfriend. Furtado has denied any wrongdoing.

Police have said Furtado performed the buttock procedure on bank manager Lilian Calixto at his home. Calixto fell ill during the procedure and Furtado rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she died hours later.

Prosecutors say Furtado engaged in a "risky maneuver" by injecting a larger than acceptable dose of a substance called polymethylmethacrylate during the procedure.Congress president Rahul Gandhi said his party has learnt a lesson after its loss in 2014.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi in a panel at International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), in London. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi/London: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the party has learnt a lesson from the debacle in the 2014 general elections, admitting that "a certain degree of arrogance" had crept into the party after 10 years of power.

Answering a question after his address at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London, Rahul Gandhi said: "You have to listen - the leadership is all about learning".

"A certain degree of arrogance had crept into Congress after 10 years of power and we have learnt a lesson," Rahul Gandhi said when asked what was the lesson his party learnt from the 2014 election debacle.

Noting that India can punch above its weight only by creating jobs, Rahul Gandhi said India has a "job crisis".

He said that while China produces 50,000 jobs every 24 hours, India produces 450 jobs during the same period.

"How can India punch above its weight when you ignore fundamentals. You do not support your agriculture sector," he said.

"If you look at India's success, it is achieved when there is decentralisation. Best rulers in India and most successful rulers in India decentralised power," Rahul Gandhi said.

For the last 70 years, it is through decentralisation that India achieved success and cited examples of Green Revolution, White Revolution and Telecom Revolution, he said.

"When India opens up, India's power surges. But during the last four years (of the Modi government) there is a massive centralisation of power," Rahul Gandhi claimed.

The Congress president said, "Broadly India has been in transition for the last 70 years - a rural country, a country locked in its villages has transformed using democratic principles".

Noting that India has succeeded in a decent measure, he said: "our transformation has been through a non-violent, peaceful manner ensuring that the benefits of these transformation will go to all Indians, all communities - nobody will be left out".

Rahul Gandhi said that the governments till 2014 believed in supporting the farmers and other weaker sections of the society. They were helped through farm loan waivers, guaranteed work programme, right to food programme and right to information.

"These were all structured, designed to help people, ease people of the pain of transformation," he added.

The Congress lost the 2014 general elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party after 10 years in power. The Congress won 44 seats as compared to the BJP's 282 in Lok Sabha, Parliament's lower house.What to Know Philadelphia Police arrested 16 people who were protesting a "Blue Lives Matter" march in Center City for allegedly fighting officers.

Police say members of the anti-fascist group "Antifa" took part in the counter-protest. They also say some of the protesters fought police.

Of the 16 arrested, nine were issued citations for failure to disperse while seven were charged with disorderly conduct.

Police say they arrested 16 people at a counter-protest to a Blue Lives Matter march in Philadelphia.



About 20 people were taking part in Saturdays Blue Lives Matter march that started at Independence Hall and went through Center City.



Around 11:30 a.m., about 75 protesters identifying themselves as members of the anti-fascist group Antifa protested in the area of Broad and Arch streets. Some of the members allegedly fought with police.



Police say they arrested 16 people who were taking part in the counter-protest. Of the 16 arrested, nine were issued citations for failure to disperse while seven were charged with disorderly conduct.



In a release promoting the counter-protest, participants accused the organizers of the Blue Lives Matter march of supporting Nazis, police brutality, and the alt-right.



This march represents the creep of ultra right wing politics into our communities, one of the organizers of the counter-protest march wrote. We refuse to let that happen. We refused to allow the belittling and oppression of our friends, neighbors and community, and refuse to give the alt right a platform. They are hiding their despicable politics behind fake respectability and need for someone to call them out.



While both demonstrations occurred simultaneously, the two groups did not interact, according to police.What to Know A 36-year-old woman was found dead Wednesday night by police performing a welfare check at her Ardmore condo.

Carlin-Kraft was seen at a hotel bar in Philadelphia last Friday night

Detectives have collected evidence in the case in at least 3 counties

Family members of Christina Carlin-Kraft say they want the world to know she was "more than just a Playboy model" -- as police begin to piece together clues in the mystery of her murder.

"She was the sweetest girl, loving and kind and generous and thoughtful," Carlin-Kraft's aunt, Angelique Carlin, said. "Those are the things I will miss about my niece."

Carlin-Kraft was found strangled Thursday night inside her condominium near the popular Suburban Square shopping center in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, police said. Police performing a welfare check found the woman's body.

On Friday, detectives fanned out across the area collecting evidence from locations in at least three counties in hopes of finding the person who strangled Carlin-Kraft.

The woman's credit cards were used at Wawa and Royal Farms convenience stores in Delaware County on Sunday, sources told NBC10.

NBC10 has also learned that Carlin-Kraft took a Lyft to a hotel in Philadelphia last Friday. Hours later, around 6:30 a.m. Saturday, she was seen in the lobby of her condo building unable to walk on her own. A man was seen holding her purse; he then lifted her into the elevator.

The Montgomery County coroner ruled the death a homicide Thursday. She may have been killed as early as Tuesday, sources told NBC10.

Carlin-Kraft's modeling credits include Playboy, Maxim, David Yurman and MAC Cosmetics, according to a profile on a modeling website. She grew up at the Jersey Shore, graduated from Mainland Regional High School in Linwood, Atlantic County and worked as a 'Borgata babe' for a stint, her family said.

In 2016, she was charged with assault in New York City for striking a restaurant staffer. The charges were later dropped.

"How this happened and why is something our family wants to know," Christina's aunt said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lower Merion police at 610-649-1000.Nearly 100 pounds of cocaine has been seized from a Delaware port where it was hidden in boxes of pineapples headed to New Jersey, according to reports.

A drug-sniffing dog at the Port of Wilmington led authorities to the cocaine Wednesday, according to news reports citing a U.S. Customs statement.

The statement said the pineapples were from Costa Rica.

The News Journal of Wilmington cited a United Nations report that says the roughly 45 kilograms of cocaine has a street value of more than $7.6 million.

The News Journal reported that Wednesday's seizure comes months after federal agencies launched a surprise inspection at the port's federally bonded warehouses. Citing federal disclosure reports, the newspaper says Adderall and thousands of Xanax pills also have been seized at the port this year.Google has alerted U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey's office that hackers with ties to a "nation-state" sent phishing emails to old campaign email accounts, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Republican said Friday.

Toomey's office was notified this week about the attempt to infiltrate email accounts, said spokesman Steve Kelly. He said the dormant accounts hadn't been used since the end of the 2016 campaign, and the staffers they're attached to no longer work for Toomey. The nation-state wasn't identified.

"This underscores the cybersecurity threats our government, campaigns, and elections are currently facing," he said. "It is essential that Congress impose tough penalties on any entity that undermines our institutions."

Toomey isn't currently running for office and the effort would not have affected the upcoming midterms.

A message seeking comment from Google on the phishing attempt wasn't immediately returned Friday.

The notification is the latest by a tech company of suspected Kremlin attempts to spy on U.S. elected officials and campaigns and potentially meddle in U.S. politics.

Google's warning to Toomey comes just weeks after a Microsoft discovery led Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat who is running for re-election, to reveal that state-backed Russian hackers tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate her Senate computer network last fall.

That effort recalled what U.S. prosecutors called in a July 13 indictment a concerted effort by Russian military operatives ahead of the 2016 election focused on helping to elect Republican Donald Trump to the presidency by exposing internal divisions in the Democratic Party meant to discredit his opponent, Hillary Clinton. The indictment says the Russian agents broke into Democratic national organization servers and stole and leaked damaging emails.

On Tuesday, Microsoft disclosed what it called new Russian espionage efforts targeting U.S. political groups  this time conservative Republican foes that have promoted sanctions to punish the Kremlin for military aggression against Ukraine.

The company said a group tied to the Russian government created fake websites  presumably to steal passwords or plant spyware that appeared to spoof two American conservative organizations: the Hudson Institute and the International Republican Institute. Three other fake sites were designed to look as if they belonged to the U.S. Senate.

The Kremlin denied involvement.Horton Plaza, the once-flourishing downtown San Diego shopping center, has officially been sold to a real estate company that wants to turn it into something far from a mall, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

NBC 7 confirmed through multiple sources in June that Westfield was selling the aging shopping center to Stockdale Capital, a commercial real estate firm based in Los Angeles.

The sources told NBC 7 Horton Plaza's new owners plan to turn the shopping center into a mix of retail and office space that could appeal to Silicon Valley technology companies.

Stockdale Capital confirmed their purchase of the property and their plans to the SDUT, according to their report published Thursday.

As Dennis Morgino reports, media from around the world traveled for the opening of the shopping center in the heart of downtown San Diego on August 9, 1985.

According to the companys website, the firm owns a variety of properties in the southwest including medical and corporate plazas, hotels and apartments.

Horton Plaza opened in 1985 and was once considered the crown jewel of downtown but it became something of an eyesore in recent years.

When it first opened, it was considered a landmark of urban design, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Before the property's sale was complete, empty storefront littered the property and the halls were filled with homeless people than shoppers.

The mall is being sold to a firm that specializes in buying and improving under-performing commercial real estate. NBC 7s Megan Tevrizian reports from downtown.Two men were found dead in the wreckage of a small plane discovered Thursday in a rugged part of Descanso.

A search and rescue team made their way to the downed plane, near Tule Springs and Conejos Valley Road east of the El Capitan Reservoir, at daylight, the San Diego Sheriff's Department said.

On Friday, the medical examiner's office said two men - ages 77 and 36 - were found dead inside the plane.

Their names have been withheld pending notification of family.

The plane left from Gillespie Field in El Cajon but did not return Wednesday.

Hours after the plane failed to return, a plane making a steep descent was spotted via radar by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

The office then alerted the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

The men were traveling in a 1682G Champion 7KCAB certified aircraft, the medical examiner said.A federal judge has awarded San Diego Comic-Con $3.9 million in legal fees in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed in 2014 against Salt Lake Citys comic convention.

Also, the Utah comic book convention has 30 days to stop using the Comic Con name and brand, according to SDCCs attorney Peter Hahn.

The event is now referring to itself on its website as FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention (formerly Salt Lake Comic Con.)

Federal court Judge Anthony Battaglia's ruling Thursday follows a December 2017 jury verdict that the Salt Lake City convention violated San Diego Comic-Cons trademarked names.

The December 2017 ruling may have far-reaching legal implications for comic book convention spin-offs wanting to recreate the magic of the original SDCC, which began with 100 self-described comic book geeks in a basement and grew to one of the best-attended pop culture events in the world, according to Forbes.

We are very pleased with the Courts orders  justice has finally been served, said SDCC attorney Peter Hahn, with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Ultimately, San Diego Comic Convention achieved what it has sought all along  an end to Defendants pervasive infringement of the Comic-Con trademarks, and an end to their brazen efforts to trade off the reputation and goodwill associated with the Comic-Con brand.

The lawsuit was brought against Dan Farr, a 3D digital software developer, and founder of the Salt Lake City Comic Con. It also names Bryan Brandenburg. Neither Farr nor Brandenburg could be reached for comment.

The suit alleges Farr copied the internationally famous SDCC logo, and name, used since 1970 by event organizers. SDCCs attorney, Hahn, told NBC 7 Farrs efforts to deceive the public went much further than just his conventions name.

Hahn said Farr would come to San Diego, take pictures at Comic-Con and then post them to his website, as if to make it look like the events were connected.

It honestly confused people into thinking they were part of the San Diego organization, Hahn said.

In his ruling the judge wrote the San Diego organizers were entitled to legal fees because of the exceptional nature of the case.

At every opportunity, (the defendants) repeated, re-argued, and recycled arguments already briefed by both parties and analyzed and ruled on by the court, Judge Battaglia wrote. This type of wasteful litigation tactic forced SDCC to expend extra, unnecessary legal fees and drove this court to squander already limited judicial resources.

Hahn said the ruling will help SDCC protect its brand against similar infringement efforts by comic conventions in other cities.

David Glanzer, SDCCs chief communications and strategy officer, said wherever possible the convention organizers prefer to settle disputes outside of a courtroom, but in this case it was impossible.

San Diego Comic Convention has used the Comic-Con brand in connection with our comics and popular arts conventions for almost 50 years, Glanzer said. We have invested substantial time, talent and resources in the brand resulting in world-wide recognition of the Comic-Con convention held annually in San Diego.The Army has proposed a plan to annex the Air Force Memorial grounds and realign one of the busiest bus thoroughfares in the county in an effort to expand Arlington National Cemetery.

The Army Corps of Engineers is racing to increase burial capacity at the cemetery, which will run out of space to accommodate veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars by the 2040s if current practices continue.

The Army announced a plan last summer to annex a 70-acre area called the southern expansion, which includes the Air Force Memorial, part of Columbia Pike and some undeveloped, grassy areas.

The new plan could add between 40,000 and 60,000 burial spaces, extending the cemeterys active life into the 2050s, the Army says.

In addition to extending the life of the burial grounds, the plan will reorient roads in the heavily-trafficked area.

The Armys draft environmental assessment plan released Wednesday shows what the area may look like in 2025  and during the proposed four-year construction time frame.

If you commute in the area, the first significant impact will likely come from construction slow-downs around Columbia Pike, the busiest bus route in the county which connects Arlington, D.C., Crystal City, Court House and Fairfax County. That construction could start in 2021, if the plans are accepted.

Planners project that the changes will relieve traffic congestion once construction is completed, but didnt detail how exactly Columbia Pike would be affected during construction.

Proposed changes to the roadways in the area include:

Columbia Pike would be realigned, lined with trees and, in conjunction with an Arlington County plan, better optimized for bicyclists, bus traffic and pedestrians.

The Columbia Pike/Washington Boulevard interchange would be reconstructed. The Army says clover-shaped loops would be rebuilt as a tight diamond, which planners say will cut down on the number of car crashes in the area.

Part of Southgate Road would be demolished. An access road called South Nash Street is proposed, and planners hope it would deter cut-through traffic in the Foxcroft Heights neighborhood.

South Joyce Street, one of a few streets that crosses I-395 without going into the Pentagon area, would be demolished north of Columbia Pike. Drivers could instead take the new access road to Columbia Pike instead.

The Army Corps of Engineers

The Army says its highly important that the roads in the southern expansion area undergo realignment so the cemetery wont be fractured by traffic.

"It is a model for essential operations and cemetery image  ease of access, safety, security, and for a sense of belonging to the ANC 'community' for families of loved ones," the Army draft report said.

Most of the new burials would surround the Air Force Memorial site, which is set to be folded into the Arlington National Cemetery grounds and trimmed from 3 acres to 2 acres.

The monument itself wouldnt be changed, but vehicles would no longer be able to drive directly to the site. Planners hope to offset this inconvenience by building a parking garage nearby and ensuring the site is compliant with disability laws.

Its been a wet summer, and its having an effect on grape-growers in Virginia. News4s Julie Carey spoke with winemakers and farmers about whats happening and how theyre reacting.

The Army looks to complete the project by 2025.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asks the public to submit comments on this plan through Sept. 22. You can comment by sending an email to SouthernExpansion@usace.army.mil or mail to Kathy Perdue, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District, 803 Front Street, Norfolk, VA 23510Prosecutors in Virginia dropped charges against a man previously accused of the deaths of a mother and her adult son found shot in their home, WTOP reported.

Forensics testing found bullets recovered from the victims' bodies did not match 38-year-old Brian Welsh's gun, so Loudoun County prosecutors said they decided to drop the charges for now and continue the investigation.

Welsh's attorney, Tom Walsh, said detectives are not backing down.

He is the sole target in their mind," Walsh said. "They have blinders on, and so theyre going to try to get him no matter what.

About the time charges were being dropped, detectives pulled out warrants and searched Welsh's brother's home, his parents' home and a third home. A search warrant suggest the gun was modified after the homicides.

My client maintains his innocence," Walsh said. "Said he never did it, that gun was never used, that gun was in his house. And so I pushed from the very beginning: test the bullets.

Deputies were called to the 25000 block of Tomey Court in Aldie Jan. 31 after one of Mala Manwani's co-workers at CSRA  where she was an accountant  reported that no one had heard from her that week.

When deputies checked her home, they found Mala Manwani, 65, and Rishi Manwani, 32, dead in different parts of the home. Both had been shot more than once.

When Welsh was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in March, investigators said they believed he was involved in drug activity with Rishi Manwani and Mala Manwani was not believed to be an intended target.

The defense doesn't deny the relationship.

He was using opiates, Rishi was an opiate dealer, and he was friends with Rishi," Walsh said. "Matter of fact, he considered Rishi a very good friend.Flays Congress president for invoking Guru Nanak, attacking RSS.

New Delhi: A day after the BJP attacked Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his alleged attempt to justify terrorism and a terror outfit like the ISIS, the saffron party on Friday flayed him for invoking Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, during his address in Berlin and sought an apology from him for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Addressing the Indian diaspora at a function organised by the Indian Overseas Congress in Berlin on Thursday night, Mr Gandhi had said that the Congress ethos of unity in diversity came from the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev, while the BJP-RSS divides people and spreads hatred.

Mr Gandhi had further added, The Congress belongs to all, works for everyone and our work is to spread the thought of unity in diversity. Today, the government in India is working differently.

Attacking Mr Gandhi, the BJP said that the Congress is identified with anti-Sikh riots in 1984 and he should apologise for the heinous crime at Amritsars Golden Temple, in a reference to Operation Bluestar, Indian military operation carried out between 1 and 8 June, 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to remove militants hiding there, that resulted in over 400 deaths.

Slamming Mr Gandhi, BJP national secretary R.P. Singh said, We are pained to know that Mr Gandhi, who reminds us of anti-Sikh riots of 1984, claims that his thoughts resemble that of the first Sikh guru  Guru Nanak Devji.

Actually his thoughts are in line with the Congress culture of divide and rule, he said, demanding an apology from Mr Gandhi for the heinous crime in front of Akal Takht at Golden Temple.

Taking on Mr Gandhi over the same issue, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the Congress president has demeaned the Indian culture and is an immature politician. Leave aside leading the country, Mr Gandhi is even incapable of heading a political, party, he said.

The Congress president is on a trip to Germany and United Kingdom where he is interacting with people from all walks of life.

He reached London on Friday where he likened the RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, to the radical Islamist outfit Muslim Brotherhood, drawing a stinging condemnation from the BJP which accused him of acting as a contract killer of the idea called India and demanded an apology.

Stepping up his attack on the RSS on foreign soil, Mr Gandhi said, The RSS is trying to change the nature of India. Other parties havent tried to capture Indias institutions.

The RSS idea is similar to the idea of Muslim Brotherhood in the Arab world, Mr Gandhi said at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a London-based think-tank.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest political Islamist group in the Arab world. It is banned and declared as a terrorist organisation by the governments of several countries.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that the likes of President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who died last week, have a RSS background and Mr Gandhis comparison of the organisation with an Islamist outfit is unforgivable.

On his foreign visit, Mr Gandhi is accompanied by several leaders of the Congress including Anand Sharma, Sam Pitroda, the chief on Indian Overseas Congress.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singhs wife Preneet Kaur, who has been an MP and a Union minister in the past, is also accompanying Mr Gandhi.The message "Surrender Donald" that popped up on an overpass above the Beltway Friday morning is apparently the work of a D.C. political action committee.

Chopper4 video of the bridge shows the large red letters along the CSX bridge near the Mormon temple in Montgomery County, Maryland. In years past, "Surrender Dorothy" was repeatedly drawn on the bridge in reference to the temple that is reminiscent of the city of Oz.

Claude Taylor, who founded the Mad Dog PAC, took ownership of the graffiti on Twitter Friday, saying, "I love it when a plan comes together. #SURRENDERDONALD"

"Im guilty. But two other guys figured out how to get it done. And they did. I was at the beach," Taylor said in another tweet.

The Mad Dog PAC posts billboards across the country and sells "Impeachment Now, Anti-NRA and GOP Treason merchandise" in an effort to get Republicans out of the House and Senate, according to the PAC's website.

A spokeswoman for the Maryland State Highway Administration told Bethesda Magazine Friday morning that it would address the bridges Trump reference.The North Texas school district that cited its dress code as the reason a student fighting terminal brain cancer could not wear her turquoise wig to school walked back its ruling Sunday.

McKinney ISD announced it will make an exception to its dress code and allow 17-year-old Kate Pepper to wear the colored wig to school, according to a district spokesperson.

Also on Sunday, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) wrote on Facebook that he would ask the school district to make an exception to its dress code for Pepper.

"I am a strong supporter of clear rules for school discipline for Texas students," Patrick wrote. "But there are certain extraordinary circumstances that should create an exception to any rule and this is one of those times."

McKinney ISD said it came to its decision prior to Patrick's Facebook post.

"This week in school has been a little bit difficult for me," Pepper told NBC 5 Friday, as she recorded her latest YouTube video in her room of her McKinney home.

The difficult week, her first as a senior at McKinney High School, punctuated Pepper's years-long battle with anaplastic astrocytoma, a form of brain cancer. She was first diagnosed in 2014. She beat it then, but said she was diagnosed again two months ago.

"I was feeling bad, but I wasn't expecting it to be brain cancer again," she said.

The week before school started, Pepper began to lose her hair from chemotherapy and radiation. Still, she refused to let the change strip away her self-esteem.

"I found this wig," she said, her face lighting up. "I got super excited when I put it on. I felt awesome. I feel awesome right now."

But on Pepper's first day back, she said she was told by school administrators that her wig violated the dress code, which states that "non-natural colored hair that is considered to be disruptive (green, blue, purple, orange, etc.) is not permitted."

"I honestly just wanted to cry," Pepper said.

Her mom, Tyliece Pepper, said she wrote a letter to the principal and superintendent and asked them to reconsider. She received a reply letting her know the district is "not able to grant the ability to wear a wig with turquoise in it." A school staff member gave her daughter $65 cash to buy a new wig. But Kate Pepper said she didn't want to try new options on.

A spokesperson for McKinney ISD defended the district's actions at the time in a statement, saying it "will continue to work with the family to reach a positive resolution.

"While our hearts go out to these families we must also remain consistent in our implementation of the student handbook, including the student dress code," the statement read. "The district has provided funds from a private donor to cover the cost of a new wig that meets dress code, and will continue to work with the family to reach a positive resolution.

But to Kate Pepper, there was only one way to resolve the conflict. She wanted to continue to wear the turquoise wig.

"It's really not about the money, It's about the principle of you letting her wear the wig," Tyliece Pepper said. "She's fighting for her life. Why do we have to fight for this?"

Click here to read the Districts student dress code policy or you can read it below.

DV.load("https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4783759-Student-Dress-Code.js", { responsive: true, container: "#DV-viewer-4783759-Student-Dress-Code" }); Student Dress Code (PDF)Police are asking for the public to help find a Maine woman who has not been heard from in more than a month.

Maine State Police said Friday that 37-year-old Jessica Grindle of Blue Hill has been missing since July 23.

Grindle is described as being about 5'3 and about 150 pounds. She has blue eys and brown hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call 207-973-3700.U.S. House candidate Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera has a long list of accomplishments to bolster her campaign in Florida. But she is perhaps best known for claiming that she was abducted by space aliens as a child.

Rodriguez Aguilera is a longshot in the race for the Miami-area seat being vacated by retiring Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Yet last weekend, the Miami Herald endorsed her for the GOP nomination in the Tuesday primary out of a field of nine candidates.

In an interview, Rodriguez Aguilera said she is grateful for the endorsement and that her tale of kidnapping by aliens does not define her.

"It has nothing to do with what I have done. It happened when I was 7 years old," she said. "I am so proud of the Herald and what they did."

Rodriguez Aguilera says she was taken aboard a spaceship as a young girl by blond extraterrestrials who resembled the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. She says they told her that the "center of the world's energy is Africa" and that thousands of non-human skulls were once discovered in a cave on the Mediterranean island of Malta.

She has said she witnessed paranormal activity since then and saw a UFO at age 17. She also said she has been in touch with the aliens telepathically long after the abduction.

Even if it's hard to believe there's a starman waiting in the sky, Rodriguez Aguilera won't back down.

"I stick to my guns when I believe in something," she said.

In its Sunday editorial, the Herald reported that two of the leading Republican candidates  former Miami-Dade commissioner Bruno Barreiro and Spanish-language television journalist Maria Elvira Salazar  did not take part in the paper's endorsement process. And beyond Rodriguez Aguilera, the editorial found the remaining candidates unprepared or unqualified.

"We realize that Rodriguez Aguilera is an unusual candidate," the editorial noted, adding that the paper was impressed with her "boots-on-the-ground ideas and experience."

Rodriguez Aguilera is a former City Council member in the suburb of Doral who is the daughter of a Cuban political prisoner. She previously was a social worker, ombudsman at the Miami-Dade county manager's office and now runs a business training women in other countries how to run for political office.

"The theme of my campaign is people above politics. I train people around the world about democracy," she said. "I have the most experience. I can go in there and start working just as I have all my life."

Whoever emerges from the GOP field Tuesday will face one of five Democratic candidates and the seat is considered one of the party's best chances for a switch from the GOP.

Polls show the leader on the Democratic side is former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who was also president of the University of Miami and University of Wisconsin. The Herald, however, endorsed state Rep. David Richardson over Shalala.

CORRECTION (Aug. 24, 2018, 12:10 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this story misspelled Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera's name.The emotion-filled missive called upon the states women to feel that their brother had arrived at their doorstep.

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhans personal appeal to his sisters across the state to return him to power in the Assembly elections, due in the state in November-December this year, has landed him in the Congress crosshairs.

To counter his move, the Congress announced it would send him ten lakh letters by the partys women workers to remind him of the state governments failure to stop incidents of rape in the state. The chief minister had posted five lakh letters to his sisters across the state ahead of Raksha Bandhan, which falls on Sunday, informing them about various welfare schemes run for them by his government and promising them to create a secure atmosphere for them in the coming five years.

The emotion-filled missive called upon the states women to feel that their brother had arrived at their doorstep.

The letters made an appeal to the women in the state to return him to power in the year-end elections to ensure security and prosperity for them in the next five years.

Mr Chouhan also urged the women to send acknowledgements to the letters through SMS, WhatsApp message or a missed call.

The Madhya Pradesh Pradesh Congress Committee president, Kamal Nath, however, on Friday took a jibe at the chief minister for seeking the support of women to get another mandate on the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan when his government had failed to check crimes against women in the state.

On what basis was the chief minister seeking support from women for another mandate when his government has miserably failed to provide them security, the Congress leader tweeted.

The chief minister retorted, saying, What is the problem with Congress if I write letters to my sisters.The Greater New Milford Chamber of Commerce will play host to Oh Boy! The Best of the Boy Bands Sept. 8 at New Milford High School.

The event is presented by the Connecticut Gay Mens Chorus.The Eric Sloane Museum in Kent has announced one of the items on display is a portrait of Eric Sloane painted by artist David Armstrong.

Both distinguished artists, Armstrong and Sloane, met while Armstrong was competing in an art competition at the Kent Center School.Heart scans for patients with chest pains could save thousands of lives in the UK, research suggests.

The life-saving scans helped to spot those with heart disease so they could be given treatments to prevent heart attacks.

Researchers say current guidelines should be updated to incorporate the scans into routine care.

The SCOT-HEART study tracked more than 4000 patients who were referred to a hospital clinic with symptoms of angina - a condition that restricts the blood supply to the heart.

Half of the patients were given a scan called a computed tomography angiogram, or CTA, in addition to standard diagnostic tests.

After receiving the scan, the number of patients suffering a heart attack within five years dropped by 40 per cent, the study found.

The number of patients undergoing additional procedures increased within the first year but had leveled out by the end of the five-year period. This suggests that including the scans in routine care would not lead to a surge in costly tests or additional heart surgery, the researchers say.

Patients who are at risk of a heart attack are frequently diagnosed with a test called an angiogram. This involves inserting tubes into the body and heart to check the flow of blood and identify any obstructions that could pose a heart attack risk.

CTA scans enable doctors to look at the blood vessels from the outside the body, without the need to insert tubes into the heart. The scans are cheaper, quicker and safer than angiograms.

The study had previously found that around a quarter of patients had their diagnoses reclassified after receiving the scan, prompting new treatments in many cases.

This is the first study to look at the impact of the scans on long-term survival rates.

Lead researcher Professor David Newby, of the BHF Centre for Cardiovascular Science at the University of Edinburgh, said: "This relatively simple heart scan ensures that patients get the right treatment. This is the first time that CT guided management has been shown to improve patient outcomes with a major reduction in the future risk of heart attacks. This has major implications for how we now investigate and manage patients with suspected heart disease."Peptilogics, a development stage company utilizing its innovative peptide platform to treat multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, today announced it recently held a pre-Investigational New Drug (pre-IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the regulatory pathway for the development of PLG0206 for the treatment of prosthetic joint infections (PJI). PJI is one of the most challenging complications of joint arthroplasty and a serious, life-threatening condition with few effective treatment options.

"We are delighted with the outcome of the pre-IND meeting," said Sanjay Kakkar M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Peptilogics. "This key interaction, in addition to the recent QIDP Designation, establishes a viable development path for PLG0206 through clinical proof of concept in this important and significant area of unmet medical need." Earlier this year, PLG0206 was granted Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) designation by the FDA.

The FDA meeting served to reach agreement on the details of the development path for the use of PLG0206 in the treatment of PJI. "Peptilogics greatly appreciates the highly positive feedback we received in our pre-IND meeting with the FDA," said Jonathan Steckbeck, Founder, President and Chief Scientific Officer. "Their clear guidance confirms our plans and will greatly assist our future IND application."

Since PLG0206 will be administered locally into infected joints, Peptilogics has developed a novel population pharmacokinetic (PK) model to simulate systemic absorption following local administration. Parviz Ghahramani, PhD, PharmD, MSc, MBA, early development and Clinical Pharmacology advisor for Peptilogics, will be presenting a poster titled, "Interspecies Allometric Scaling of pre-clinical Data to Predict Human PK Following intravenous and Open Joint Irrigation of PLG0206 - a Novel Antibacterial Peptide" at the upcoming Ninth American Conference on Pharmacometrics (ACoP9). The conference will be held October 7 - 10, 2018, at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort near San Diego, CA. ACoP is the annual scientific meeting of the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP). "We are excited to present this population PK model, developed for PLG0206 administration," said Dr. Ghahramani. "This model is the first to predict absorption following local administration and will be a powerful tool in the development of PLG0206."

Source: https://www.peptilogics.com/single-post/2018/08/24/Peptilogics-Completes-Successful-Pre-IND-Meeting-with-the-Food-and-Drug-Administration-FDA-for-PLG0206-in-Prosthetic-Joint-Infections-PJIPregnant women with heart disease should give birth at no later than 40 weeks gestation. That is one of the recommendations in the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy published online today in European Heart Journal, and on the ESC website.

"Beyond 40 weeks, pregnancy has no added benefit for the baby and may even have negative effects," said Professor Jolien Roos-Hesselink, Co-Chairperson of the Guidelines Task Force and Cardiologist, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, the Netherlands. "Pregnancy is a risky period for women with heart disease because it puts additional stress on the heart, so the guidelines advise inducing labor or a caesarean section at 40 weeks."

Heart disease is the main reason women die during pregnancy in western countries. Compared to healthy pregnant women, those with heart disease have a 100-fold greater risk of death or heart failure. Most women with heart disease have a healthy pregnancy. However, they should be aware that they have a higher risk of obstetric complications including premature labor, pre-eclampsia, and post-partum bleeding. An estimated 18-30% of offspring have complications and up to 4% of neonates die.

Heart disease in pregnancy is increasing as more women with congenital heart disease reach adulthood due to improved treatment and as the age at first pregnancy rises, accompanied by the higher rates of ischemic heart disease in older, compared to younger, women. Cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension, diabetes and overweight are also on the rise in pregnancy as older women become pregnant and women now acquire risk factors at a younger age.

The guidelines provide recommendations on in vitro fertilization (IVF), contraception, and termination of pregnancy in women with heart disease. IVF often uses high doses of hormones, which increase the risk of thrombosis and heart failure, so women with heart disease need a cardiologist's confirmation that the chosen method is safe. Since carrying more than one baby puts more stress on the heart, women with heart disease undergoing IVF are strongly advised to transfer a single embryo. Girls with congenital heart disease need contraception advice to avoid unplanned pregnancy. Some contraception methods are contraindicated in patients with certain types of heart disease.

For drugs used to treat heart disease, the guidelines list information on adverse events obtained from human and animal studies. In addition, the guidelines state: "In the case of an emergency, drugs that are not recommended by the pharmaceutical industry during pregnancy and breastfeeding should not be withheld from the mother. The potential risk of a drug and the possible benefit of the therapy must be weighed against each other."

Professor Vera Regitz-Zagrosek, Chairperson of the Guidelines Task Force and Director of the Institute for Gender Medicine, Charite University Medical Centre Berlin, Germany, said: "When drug companies have no data on whether a drug is safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding they tend to say it is not recommended. It may be appropriate to give a drug to a severely ill woman if there are no harmful side effects noted in the databases listed in the guidelines."

Pregnancy is not recommended in patients with certain types of heart disease - for example, pulmonary arterial hypertension, severely dilated aorta, or severely reduced ability of the heart to pump blood.

Women with heart disease who want to have a baby need pre-pregnancy risk assessment and counseling. Those at moderate to high risk of complications should be reviewed by a pregnancy heart team with a cardiologist, obstetrician, gynecologist, and anesthesiologist. A delivery plan should be devised at 20-30 weeks specifying vaginal or caesarean delivery, whether an epidural or forceps will be used, and the duration of hospital stay after delivery.

Professor Roos-Hesselink said: "The delivery plan should be available 24 hours a day so that when a pregnant woman with heart disease arrives at hospital in labor hospital staff know exactly what to do."

Professor Regitz-Zagrosek: "We hope the guidelines will improve doctors' awareness of the risks of heart disease in pregnancy but also the therapeutic options that are available to guide pregnancy in these women."

Source: https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/pregnant-women-with-heart-disease-should-give-birth-at-no-later-than-40-weeks-gestationStudies of the song of the fruit flies reveal new findings of how the neurons in the brain function. These results can be used to uncover new knowledge on how brains in general function which in the longer term may have medical significance.

Its lunch time, you're hungry. You reach for a banana but you see that many tiny flies have had a similar idea! You try to swat them away but somehow they manage to outmanoeuvre and outwit you. These little creatures are fruit flies.

Although they may be a nuisance to you, they are greatly appreciated by scientists around the world. Known to the scientific community as Drosophila melanogaster, they are invaluable tools in the lab. They have assisted in our understanding of genetics, neural development, diseases such as cancer and motor neuron disease, and much more.

The Philipsborn lab in Aarhus University use fruit flies to understand the general mechanisms and principles of nervous system function, essentially how our brains work. Even though fruit flies are incredibly small, they have roughly 200,000 brain neurons generating sophisticated behaviours such as learning, decision making, aggression and sleep. Perhaps most impressive in the fly's behavioural repertoire is its flying ability. They can whizz through the air with astounding agility, integrating sensory information, performing fast twists and turns- it's no wonder that they are too fast for us!

Of course we all know that a fly uses its wing for flight, but you may not have known that a male fly can also use its wings to sing. Ultimately, the principle objective of a male fly is reproduction, producing as many offspring as possible. Therefore, when a male meets a female fly he tries to mate with her. He seduces by chasing her and vibrating a wing to sing. But the female needs some persuasion, she will only accept a male who sings a good quality courtship song which has rhythm and tune. The female fruitfly can of course hear this song, but it is too weak for the human ear, so researchers must resort to small microphones and amplifiers to perceive the sound.

How does the male frut fly generate his song?

Angela O'Sullivan, a PhD student in the Philipsborn lab, studies how the male generates this song. By examining the muscles and motor neurons needed for moving the wing in a highly controlled way, we can start to understand more general questions on how the nervous system generates complex motor patterns and uses one output system for very different behaviours.

Using cutting edge imaging techniques, the researchers peek through the fly's exterior, viewing in real time the activity of muscles and neurons while the fly is singing. They also use genetic tools to manipulate individual motor neurons, visualising the motor neurons and investigating song errors which arise due to silencing of certain neurons. In a recently published paper, O'Sullivan and her colleagues reveal novel findings on the song motor circuit. They find that male flies with defective wing motor systems sing a faulty courtship song and are likely to have difficulties flying. Furthermore, they discover that certain neuromodulators are important while the wings are used for flight as opposed to song.

The song serves as an honest signal; it is the male's way of publicising how fit he is. Flaws in the timing or patterning of the song indicate neuromuscular deficits, which in most cases also lead to problems flying. Thereby, it pays to be a fussy female.

Many questions remain unanswered regarding this innate behaviour, but with continued research we will learn a lot more and in the process uncover new knowledge on how brains in general function, which in the longer term may have medical significance.While Kerala had been reeling under incessant rains and flooding for the past one month, it was on August 15 that things got out of hand and the rivers went in a spate, so much so that the gates of the Idukki dam had been opened after 26 years.

I know you are safe. Ill come home once Ive done my best here and saved as many people as possible, he told her.

Thiruvananthapuram: In a quaint little town of Alapad on August 17, Sajith Chandrans wife was worried sick thinking about her fisherman husband. His wallet had been found by a policeman in Pandalam and his phone was unreachable. She assumed the worst till her husband got in touch with her a few hours later.

All that she asked the district authorities to do was not meddle with the fishermens moves. The operation centres that the state set up at various districts one after the other, she added, were to provide relief to the fishermen and not run a parallel rescue operation. She also apprised CM Pinarayi Vijayan of the situation and the move to mobilise the fishermen on the night of August 16.

With the boats out, systems were set in place to ensure that the fishermen did not run out of fuel. We told the men that well take care of it. And we did our best in those circumstances, she said, adding that barrels of fuel were sent off to affected districts.

"We had seen what (cyclone) Okhi could do and we were worried about a repeat."

"We had seen what (cyclone) Okhi could do and we were worried about a repeat."

Now, to get the boats to the affected areas, there had to be a mode of transportation. All the trucks that were available locally had been used up in the first few batches of boats that had gone. So Mercikutty called on the respective administration officials to seize the trucks that had come to Kerala from places like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with flood relief and aid.

Mercikutty made her way to Kollam soon after that call and called back all the fishermen who had gone to the seas for their daily routine. She left no stone unturned in rallying the fishermen into an army and sent them off, one after the other.

Interestingly, Chengannur MLA Saji Cheriyan called her early morning on August 16 and asked her to send boats to his district. Saji would later go on record two days later asking the central government to send in choppers or lose thousands of people in one night.

The local WhatsApp group started buzzing with requests for boats. The next thing Sajith knew was that he was out there rescuing the stranded. (Photo: Aishwarya Kumar)

The first batch of boats went from Kollam on the 15th. We had seen what (cyclone) Okhi could do and we were worried about a repeat. We alerted all districts and asked them to be cautious, she said.

Back in the state capital, an entire system was coming alive to give logistics support to these men. Speaking to News18, Fisheries Minister Mercikutty Amma said she asked all relevant district authorities to rally fishermen from their respective areas for the operation.

James, one of the first people to have left with his boat, said the village had contributed in such a way that every boat that went out had a few thousand rupees with them. In Alapad, too, it was a similar situation. Here, they even took the floating tubes that they had been given after the tsunami.

The fishermen didnt go alone. They carried a few essentials, including baby food, biscuits and water, to give to the families they rescue.

In Velli, the fishing community was mobilised for operations by the administration. Police officials in the area noted the names of all people who would be going out for the operations, chalked out a plan and the time for the boats to leave. A list was circulated for everyone to see. The entire village knew who was going with whom and when. Trucks were arranged for the boats to be transported to the affected areas.

He was among the 3,000-odd fishermen from across the coastal belt of Kerala who wasted no time in leaving their homes and reached the worst-affected areas of Pathanamthitta, Alapuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Malappuram and Kozhikode. The tehsildaar wanted them to wait for the government to officially contact them, but according to the fishermen of Alapad, they didnt want to wait. We could not have, one of the fishermen said.

The local WhatsApp group started buzzing with requests for boats. The next thing Sajith knew was that he was out there rescuing the stranded.

Mincing no words, Sajith said he knew things were bad when he saw the visuals on TV. His town had seen the wrath of the sea during the tsunami. Hundreds of lives had been lost. The water never stood in our village. It would hit and then recede. Those who held onto trees and those who could swim made it out alive. But we knew the repercussions if the water flooded houses, he told News18.

Maglin narrated the tragedy of a united community as it came forth during cyclone Okhi. When the Army and the Navy finally got around to helping us, we forced them to let the fishermen accompany them on their boat. We told them we knew where our men had gone and how far their dead bodies would have drifted. That is how much we know about each other and the sea. We consider ourselves to be lucky to have been able to save so many lives, she said.

We lose people every year because of improper relief operations. We know what loss of life means. There are many from our community who have been staying in make-shift relief camps for years now because their houses stand destroyed by the waters. How does the government plan to fix that? she said.

They think we rescued people for money? Thats how low they think of us? she asked. Speaking to News18, she said that the community has time and again protested for better opportunities.

Maglin, one of the leading activists in Kerala fighting for fishermens rights, said the money was an insult. These were men who knew where to turn the boat when the wind turns, where to drop the sail as the water turns turbulent, she said.

As the community rallied together in rescuing lakhs of people during the floods, Pinarayi Vijayan announced Rs 3,000 per boat for each day that were needed in the operations. In addition to that, the government assured them of repairing the boats that had been damaged.

They mostly come from the lower castes like Velan, Mukkuvas, Marrakans and the Christian; Muslim fishermen are largely considered to be converts from these Hindu castes.

As per the fisheries department, the fishermen population of the state for 2014-15 is estimated at 10.18 lakh. The amount of hard work they put in is not reciprocated in their living standards. There are many middlemen who treat them like mere coolies. We are trying to eliminate that, Mercikutty said.

The participation of the fishing community of the state is commendable and so is the appreciation being showered on them, considering that they are often relegated to the lower ranks in societal hierarchy. Their mornings are spent at the sea getting their catch and once they come back, they mend their nets and prepare for the next day. By virtue of their job, not many fishermen can be seen in the regular social sphere of Kerala society.

Fishing in Kerala is one of the riskiest jobs. As an example, earlier this year, the Arabian Sea lashed about 700 homes in Chellanam, forcing thousands to flee for their lives. This was not the first time it had happened. The community had barely recovered from Okhi, which hit the coast in December last year. The government had done very little or nothing to help the fishermen, the majoritarian victims back then. The whereabouts of hundreds of fishermen are still unknown.

At the time of writing this report, most of the fishermen have returned from the operations. There are still a few out there helping in the last leg of the operations, but the focus, as stated by the CM in a press conference, has now shifted to relief and rehabilitation.

Traversing areas where they could not gauge the depth of the water, and hitting upon trees, electric poles, and at times, boundary walls of houses completely under water, the unsung heroes, however, have come back with stories that they would remember for life.

Sajith, for one, clearly remembers this one family that his team was able to rescue. One of the members came thumping his heart to make sure it doesnt stop. Thats how bad the condition was, he told News18.

He rescued about 500 people from Pandalam, one of the worst-affected areas. This was where his phone fell into the water and he lost his wallet, leading to the rumour that his boat had vanished and he was nowhere to be found.

Sajith rescued people who were stuck to their chairs; the chairs were brought on to the boat as it is. He had ensured that the phone numbers of the fishermen on his boat were on Facebook so the calls never stopped coming.

But God chose me and several others like me. Everything during these 5-7 days has been a lesson. A lesson in love, compassion and courage. (Photo: Aishwarya Kumar)

From Pandalam, his boat moved to Pandanad and then further to Prayar.

There, a boat from the Odisha Fire Force was stuck in the flow of the water and we tied it to our boat and got them out. That boat had about 7-8 women and the boat had tied itself to a tree to prevent it from drowning in the water flow, he told News18.

Just like Sajith, Bichu Chandran, who was on a month-long leave from the Army, made his coordinates public on social media. Bichu was handling operations in Veeyapuram in Alappuzha district, one of the worst-hit by the floods. He had carried thermocol slabs on his boat, which helped him save people from various places where the boat could not go.

While we were there, we had no mobile connectivity or any indication that the dams had been opened. As we kept moving further ahead, the water current kept getting stronger. We prayed to a million Gods as we made our way through the water. There is no way we can see what is beneath us in the water, he said.

On the first day of his arrival on 16th August, he rescued hundreds of people along with other fishermen from his village. Interestingly, the district authorities only set up a relief camp after scores of people had been dropped off to a safe zone, Bichu added.

Bichu said he will never forget the face of a Chennai-based man whose family members were stuck in Pullithi in Chengannur. When Bichu got a call for help, he set out to the location with fellow fishermen. They had to go to a different district altogether. On the way, however, Bichu intercepted wails from a woman and her three-day-old daughter. The duo was picked up by the men but weather conditions demanded them to return to Veeyapuram to drop the young mother and child.

"We all know how to swim. That has to be the biggest leap of faith that I could have taken."

The look on the mans face was one of dejection. We made our way to Chengannur for the second time. By the time we reached his house, they were sitting on the terrace, without talking to anyone, not having eaten anything for the last two days. They had a dog for company named Josie, Bichu recollected.

The dog, however, didnt let the fishermen come near the family. So they lowered the man on their boat with the help of the thermocol and swam with him to the parents.

As soon as Josie saw the man, it jumped with joy. But the dog refused to come with us because of the current water and the strong winds. So, we left some food and water for the dog and left the house with the parents. There was no other option, Bichu said.

The fisherman regrets not saving the dog, but he had to make the difficult call.

The men have come back with stories of families crying their hearts out at the thought of leaving their pets behind, of people not having food for two days, of the despair in the state. The fishermen, themselves, had no access to food for almost two days. Considering the magnitude of their operations and the fact that most of them were being moved from one area to another on a war footing, the men said there was hardly any time to eat.

James, from Velli, however smiled at the thought of food. I can go on for two days without food. Im used to being at sea and there are times when we dont know when we are going to head back, he said.

"We prayed to a million Gods as we made our way through the water. There is no way we can see what is beneath us in the water." (Photo: Aishwarya Kumar)

Further down in Pandanad, Moni Chettan and his army of men were looking out for people to save from the floods. The time, he added, was something he could never forget. We reached Pooparithi colony. Among all the houses with temporary asbestos sheet roofs, stood one house which had more than 120 people. There were three pregnant women in the house. Four new mothers who had delivered barely four months ago. There was a baby who was just 28 days old. One of the pregnant women had not urinated for the last three days. There were elderly women and also a physically challenged child, he told News18, as his eyes welled up.

It was already 7:30pm by the time the fishermen had reached this house.

Scared, the pregnant women and the mothers didnt get on the boat.

Promising them that they would come back the next day, the fishermen left with 36 other people from the area. As they reached a safe spot, the phones stopped working, except for one of the fishermens.

Soon, my job was then to attend to calls. Our numbers were already public. Njan cheriyo oru koda edutha irinu. Call varum, njan address oru paperilla ezhuthi ee payamarku kodukum (I sat down with an umbrella and my only job was then to take calls. So, I would take the call, note down the address on a piece of paper and hand it over to the boys on the boat for rescue), Chettan told News18.District collector Ramchandra Denwal has imposed curfew in the afternoon till further orders.

Three days ago, Hindu organisations in Sikar had organised bandh against alleged attack on Kanwarias.

Jaipur: Curfew was imposed in the communally-sensitive Malpura town in Rajasthan on Friday as tension escalated a day after a group of Kanwariyas were alleged attacked.

Taking precautionary measures, the district administration had imposed Section 144 on Thursday evening to ban gathering of more than five persons at one place. Subsequently, on Friday, BJPs proposed Tiranga Yatra was cancelled and Internet services were also suspended.

However, some members of Hindu organisations managed to give the police a slip. Once the protesters reached Manak Chowk, they started protesting against the alleged attack on Kanwariyas and demanded the arrest of those involved in the attack. The protesters shut markets, blocked road and set shops and a car on fire.

They also damaged roadways bus, police vehicles and an ambulance. The police had to resort to lathicharge and teargas shells to disperse the protesters. Additional force, including two teams of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary, have been deployed to control the situation.

District collector Ramchandra Denwal has imposed curfew in the afternoon till further orders.

The trouble started yesterday when a procession of Kanwaria was passing through a locality after collecting water from Bisalpur Dam. They were reportedly interrupted by members of another community for playing DJ in high volume. After a heated argument some miscreants allegedly threw stones at Kanwarias and attacked them with sticks and iron rods leaving 14 of them injured.

Prior to assembly elections in the state, this was second incident of communal tension involving Kanwarias. Three days ago, Hindu organisations in Sikar had organised bandh against alleged attack on Kanwarias. The protest from Hindu outfits had turned violent forcing the police to use lathi charge, rubber bullets and tear gas shells to disperse them.SBI Minimum Balance for savings account: Check out new rates

New Delhi : SBI Minimum Balance: Like many other banks, the State Bank of India (SBI) also asks its customers to maintain a minimum average monthly balance, which is a minimum average of deposits required by the bank customers in their savings bank accounts.

Customers who fail to do so are charged with a penalty that can vary on the basis of branch location. The penalty is applicable only on the accounts that come under an obligation of AMB.

SBI account in metro/urban states

The State Bank of India customers who have their bank accounts in metro/urban states are required to maintain a minimum balance of Rs 3000. Customers who maintain a balance equal to or less than 50 per cent of the required monthly balance are charged Rs. 10 per month plus the applicable GST (Goods and Services Tax) rate, said SBI. If their average monthly balance is less than 50-75 per cent of the AMB, customers are charged Rs. 12 per month plus GST rate. If the balance falls below 75 per cent of the AMB, SBI charges a penalty of Rs 15 per month plus GST rate.

SBI customers with accounts in semi-urban centres

Customers with accounts in semi-urban areas are required to maintain an average monthly balance of Rs 2,000. If the balance falls short by up to or less than 50 per cent of the required AMB, SBI charges Rs. 7.50 per month plus GST rate. If the monthly average balance is less than 50-75 per cent of Rs. 2,000, the penalty charged is Rs. 10 per month plus GST. If the balance falls below 75 per cent of the AMB, the bank charges a penalty of Rs. 12 plus GST.

SBI customers with accounts in rural centres

Customers who belong to rural centres require maintaining a minimum balance of Rs 1,000. If the average monthly balance falls short by up to or less than Rs. 500, the penalty levied is Rs. 20 per month plus GST rate. If the balance is less than 50-75 per cent of the AMB required maintaining, SBI charges Rs. 7.50 plus GST. If the shortfall is less than 75 per cent, SBI levies a penalty of Rs. 10 plus GST, said SBI.Jakarta : The death toll in the devastating earthquakes that hit Indonesia's Lombok island between July 29 and August 19 was raised to 557 on Friday, authorities said.

More than 390,000 people remain displaced due to the quakes, while 76,765 buildings were damaged.

The National Agency for Disaster Management spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Twitter that the majority of the fatalities -- 466 people -- were from North Lombok municipality, the most affected area.

The rest of the victims were from West Lombok, 40; East Lombok, 31; Central Lombok, two; and nine in the provincial capital Mataram.

In addition, seven people were killed on neighbouring eastern Sumbawa island and two others on Bali island, Efe news reported.

The spokesperson said that the agency's main focus was distributing humanitarian aid to the hundreds of thousands of people currently in displacement camps.

An Indonesian Armed Forces aircraft landed on the island on Friday morning with 100 assistance packages for families, 100 wheelchairs, 30,000 tents and tarpaulins, said Nugroho.

The camps are in need of clean water, medical treatment and materials for sheltering. Only helicopters and motorcycles are able to access the steepest and most remote areas of the island as landslides blocked some routes.

Lombok has suffered hundreds of aftershocks since a 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook the region on July 29, some of them as strong as a magnitude-5.9.

The most serious quake occurred on August 5 with a 6.9-magnitude, killing at least 460 people.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity where some 7,000 earthquakes, mostly moderate, are recorded each year.Beijing : China urged the US on Friday not to interfere in the foreign policy of El Salvador, following an announcement that Washington was going to review its diplomatic ties with the country over its choice of allies.

White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders had announced that Washington would revise its policy on El Salvador after it broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of China.

"Only the Salvadorians know which decision is correct and serves their interest, we hope the relevant countries can respect the right sovereign states to develop international relations instead of interfere in their internal affairs," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Friday.

El Salvador had established diplomatic relations with China after recognizing the One China principle, Lu was quoted as saying by Efe news.

"It corresponds with the trend of times and history, complies with international law and serves the fundamental interests of the two countries," Lu said, adding that China considered Latin America an important economic ally.

Lu also referred to Republican Senator Cory Gardner's appeal that the US should prepare a legislation to help Taiwan maintain its allies and said that "some American politicians have made some noises upon the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and El Salvador".

El Salvador is the fifth diplomatic ally that Taiwan has lost since the pro-independence Tsai Ying-wen came to power in 2016.

China was able to persuade El Salvador, Panama, Dominican Republic, Burkina Faso, Sao Tome and Principe to abandon diplomatic ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing.

Taiwan is now left with 17 diplomatic allies in the world, of which nine are in Latin America and the Caribbean.New Delhi : India and Singapore on Friday signed the "Second Protocol" amending the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to boost trade ties between the two countries, an official statement said.

The protocol was signed by Joint Secretary of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Rajneesh and Francis Chong, Senior Director, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Government of Singapore, it said.

The CECA was signed on June 29, 2005 and its first review was concluded on October 1, 2007.

"The signing of the Second Protocol, amending CECA, will boost bilateral trade between India and Singapore," the Commerce Ministry statement said.

It further said, signing of the Second Protocol formally brings the negotiations on second review of CECA, which began on May 11, 2010, to a closure.

"India and Singapore have successfully reached mutual understanding and agreement in closing the second review," it said.

Both sides agreed to expand the coverage of tariff concessions, liberalise the "Rules of Origin", rationalise "Product Specific Rules" and include provisions on "Certificate of Origin" and cooperation on its verification

The conclusion of the Second Review of CECA was announced during the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Singapore on June 1, 2018. The provisions of the Second Protocol will come into effect on September 14, 2018.

As per Commerce Ministry, both the countries are exploring the possibility of launching the third review of India-Singapore CECA in September, 2018.

Singapore is the second largest trading partner of India within ASEAN and India is the largest trading partner of Singapore in South Asia, with a bilateral trade of $17.7 billion in 2017-18.London : Congress President Rahul Gandhi said on Friday that the Narendra Modi government lacks a "coherent strategy" towards Pakistan and attacked Modi for his foreign policy based on "hugs".

Speaking at an event at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) of London, Gandhi said that Pakistan promotes terrorism in India and it is not possible to talk in such a situation.

"The Modi government lack a coherent strategy towards Pakistan, it's episodic. The Prime Minister flies there for a wedding. There's no deeply thought out strategy," he said.

Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Gandhi said: "I've also been trapped in the hug politics but I don't think you can run foreign policy based on hugs. It doesn't work. We have tremendous structures in our country, institutional structures that understand these things, one has to use those structures to develop strategy."

"The question with Pakistan is who do you talk to in Pakistan. Pakistan, from our perspective, has a number of institutions. So the difficulty from an Indian perspective is which institution do you talk to?" Gandhi said.

The Congress leader said some of the institutions in Pakistan are hostile towards India and some are attacking India. "So we don't want to talk to them."

He said: "You wait till the time Pakistan is able to resolve some of these issues, you wait till the time Pakistan is able to have a coherent structure you can talk to, but it's very difficult to sign something if you don't know what's going to happen the next day."

"It's a huge commitment of political will...and if you sign something and the next daylike that happened for example with Mr. Vajpayee and that is a classic example," he added.

On India's relationship with South Asian countries, Gandhi said: "What is important is that you develop a strategy based on your foundational strengths."

"I don't see a coherent strategy based on India's strength, I see tactical responses, I see knee-jerk reactions but I don't see a strategic vision that says this is how India is going to chart its course through 21st century," he added.

He also attacked the Prime Minister for what he temed "centralisation of power" and said: "What is being going on in the last four years is a massive centralisation of power, in the CM on one hand and the PM on the other."Vilnius : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has discussed with Lithuanian and other Baltic states' leaders security, business and science cooperation, and asked for diplomatic support in Israeli's relations with the European Union (EU).



During his visit to Lithuania, Netanyahu attended a quadrilateral meeting with the prime ministers of the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, to discuss cooperation. This is the first visit by the Israeli Prime Minister to Lithuania.



"Today is a historic day, as this visit is the first visit to Lithuania by the Israeli Prime Minister, the first quadrilateral meeting, and the year is also historic, since all three Baltic countries mark the Centennial of their statehood, and Israel marks its 70th anniversary," Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said in a joint press conference in Vilnius on Friday, Xinhua reported.



Skvernelis noted the meeting was productive and he sees potential "to develop the dialogue and practical cooperation" with Israel.



Netanyahu called for closer cooperation between Israel and the Baltic states, especially in science and technology.



"I'm delighted that the prime ministers accepted my invitation to have the next future Baltic States meeting in Jerusalem. We want to enhance it with the meeting of the Baltic business and technological people and scientists," Netanyahu said in a joint press conference noting that "there are tremendous intellectual powers in Israel, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania".



The Prime Ministers of Israeli and the Baltic states also discussed security cooperation.



"We are already cooperating in a number of security and defence related areas, and here too I think that we can do more, and we discussed this in some detail," said Netanyahu.



Netanyahu also sought for more support from the Baltic states in Israeli's relations with the EU.



"I asked the help of my friends here in making correcting in what I think is a distorted view on Israel in the EU," Netantyahu told the conference.



During the joint press conference, the Israeli Prime Minister criticized the EU for its decision to provide Iran with 18 million euros development aid to help offset the US sanctions.



"This is a big mistake, it is like a poison pill to the Iranian people and to the efforts to curb Iranian aggression in the region and terror beyond the region," said Netanyahu.



Relations between Israel and the EU, Middle East peace process, global peace and stability, and situation in Syria and Iran were discussed at Netanyahu's meeting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on Friday.



The Defence Ministry on Saturday approved the procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: In a major decision, the Defence Ministry on Saturday approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore, officials said.

They said the ministry cleared procurement proposals worth nearly Rs 46,000 crore which included the acquisition of the helicopters.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement.

"The DAC approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crores," said a senior official.

The utility helicopters will be used in attack missions as well as for search and rescue and surveillance operations.

The official said the DAC also granted approval to a few other procurement proposals amounting to approximately Rs 24,879 crore which included approval for an acquisition of 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364 crores.

These guns have been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and will be manufactured by production agencies, as nominated by DRDO.

The DAC also accorded approval to procure 24 naval multi role helicopters (NMRH) which will have the capability to engage in anti-submarine warfare. The MRHs are an integral part of the frontline warships like the aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes.

In addition, the government also approved procurement of 14 vertically launched short-range missile systems. Of these, 10 systems will be indigenously developed.

"These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles," the ministry said.

The Indian Navy in August last year had issued global request for information (RFI) for procurement of 111 utility and 123 multi-role helicopters.

The Navy has been pressing the government to procure new utility and multi-role helicopters to add teeth to its existing capability and replace its ageing fleet of choppers but the procurement process has seen years of delay.

The government had issued an RFI for it in 2011 as well as in 2013. In May last year, the defence ministry had finalised the SP model under which select private firms will be roped in to build military platforms like submarines, fighter jets and choppers in India in partnership with foreign entities.

The policy envisages the establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with Indian defence majors through a transparent and competitive process wherein they would tie up with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains.

Initially, the strategic partners will be selected in four segments - fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured fighting vehicles/main battle tanks. It is expected to be expanded to other segments at a later stage.Islamabad : Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday said that the US handout on a phone call between Prime Minister Imran Khan and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo which mentioned terrorists operating in Pakistan was "contrary to facts".

Pakistan's Foreign Office on Thursday night categorically rejected a statement by the US State Department which said that Pompeo had raised the importance of Islamabad taking decisive action against all terrorists operating on its soil during his phone conversation with Khan.

"There was no mention at all in the conversation about terrorists operating in Pakistan," the Foreign Office said. However, US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert later said that Washington "stood by their readout".

Qureshi in a press conference said that he directed the Foreign Secretary to issue an immediate rebuttal over the statements issued from Washington. "I will say, yes, their press release mentioning terrorists operating in Pakistan is contrary to the facts."

The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan was looking forward to Pompeo's visit to Islamabad on September 5, Geo News reported.

"Pompeo in his conversation with the Prime Minister said he wanted a constructive and productive relationship. I am looking forward to his visit and engage with him for peace and stability and look for areas where both countries stand to gain."

"We don't share the same cordial relations with the US as we had before in the past. The US authorities have to understand Pakistan's view," he said. "I believe that the meeting between Khan and Pompeo will be very important."

Qureshi said that Pakistan's relationship with the US has had its ups and downs. "This is an important bilateral relationship. In order to bring relations with the US to a past level, there is a need to understand the situation," he added.

Talking about Afghanistan, Qureshi said that peace in Kabul was essential for Islamabad. "The Afghan President (Ashraf Ghani) has pointed towards a peace process and we have to see how Pakistan can help in this process."Magical! Giraffe photobombs newlyweds in South Africa

East London : Normally, its the couple who is on the limelight during their wedding day. But for this South African couple, the surprise was very-very high.

On Saturday, newlyweds Luke and Tristan Karshagen were taking wedding party pictures at a game reserve at the Areena Riverside Resort in East London, South Africa, when a rather friendly male giraffe by the name of Abby came to photobomb their pictures and make it a memorable day for them.

The pictures of their wedding are now being liked and shared by many people on the social media.

He approached the group by popping his head over the trees and then walking over to us and sniffing the bridesmaids flowers, she told HuffPost. He was very relaxed and just incredibly inquisitive.





At first, everyone was a bit shocked by the sudden appearance of the giraffe but soon realized that Abby just wanted to know what was going on and was more than happy to just be part of everything, she said.

Everyone kind of scattered a bit to give Abby his space, Norman said. But then they were quite excited about this experience that they were having on their wedding day.

"We were all bubbling with excitement and continuing with photos as we chatted and laughed about how lucky we were, when Mr. Giraffe popped his head over the trees again, Norman wrote in a blog post for Love What Matters. He was really intrigued by those bouquets, and kept the bridesmaids in fits of giggles as they tried to hide their flowers from him. We all managed to get some selfies, and after a few more minutes, he stepped over all of us and made his way off into the setting sun."



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This content is not available in your regionThe agency further said it has attached assets worth over Rs 44 crore in this case till now.

New Delhi/Patna: The noose tightened around the Yadav clan on Friday with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filing chargesheet against RJD chief Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and others in connection with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hotels allotment and money laundering case, and the Jharkhand high court refusing to extend the RJD chiefs bail.

Denying the RJD chiefs three months bail extension request on medical grounds, the Jharkhand court asked Lalu Prasad to surrender in jail by August 30.

Lalu Prasad, involving the embezzlement of government funds in Bihar when he was chief minister of Bihar, is currently in a hospital in Mumbai.

In its chargesheet in the case that dates back to 2006, when Lalu Yadav was Union railway minister in the UPA government, ED has also named Lalu Prasads son and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, his party colleague P.C. Gupta and wife Sarla Gupta, a firm Lara Projects and 10 others in the chargesheet filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act

(PMLA) before a special court.The ED in its chargesheet has alleged that Lalu Prasad handed over the maintenance of two hotels run by IRCTC, a subsidiary of Indian Railways, in Ranchi and Puri, to Sujata Hotel, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in return for a prime plot of three acres in Patna through a benami company.

The agency further alleged that as railway minister, the RJD leader abused his official position to extend undue favours to the Kochhars and acquired a high value premium land through a benami firm, Delight Marketing Company. As quid pro quo, he dishonestly and fraudulently gave them the lease of two hotels.

The valuable chunk of land gradually got transferred to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi by way of purchase of shares of Delight Marketing Company Private Limited at nominal prices, the agency has said, and added that even the funds used to acquire the land had dubious origin. They and had been laundered through 151 group of companies belonging to P.C. Gupta.

It is noteworthy that the funds used for acquisition of shares by Rabri Devi are questionable and individuals from whom Tejashwi had purchased shares denied any knowledge of holding them, said the ED in its chargesheet. The agency further said it has attached assets worth over Rs 44 crore in this case till now.

The CBI too had filed a chargesheet in this case sometime back. The CBIs FIR had alleged that during his tenure as railway minister in the UPA-I government, Lalu Prasad had handed over the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels to a company in 2004 after receiving a bribe in the form of a prime land in Patna through a benami company owned by Sarla Gupta, the wife of Prem Chand Gupta, who was also a former union minister.

The ED registered the criminal case against Lalu Prasad, his family members and others under the PMLA. The ED is investigating the alleged proceeds of crime generated by the accused, purportedly through shell companies, according to sources.

Others named in the CBI FIR include Vijay Kochhar, Vinay Kochhar (both directors of Sujata Hotels), Delight Marketing company, now known as Lara Projects, and the then IRCTC managing director PK Goel. The CBI had registered the FIR on July 5.NEW MILFORD  Renee Caldareri and her son Antonio rounded the bend at Harrybrooke Park on an evening stroll and paused to examine an illustration of a dog writing his name  Bailey  on a blackboard.

The laminated picture was the first of nearly 30 posts along a path at the park making up the towns first StoryWalk, which allows people to read a book as they go for a walk. It is put on by the library and Harrybrooke.

I liked it, said Antonio, 11, of New Milford. Its an inside thing that you can do outside.

The Caldareris, of New Milford, followed the posts, reading Bailey, by Harry Bliss, which follows a dog through a day at school. The story includes humorous plays on dog behaviors in a school setting, including eating his own homework, having a student fill his dog bowl from the water fountain, howling with the choir, and profiling President Franklin Delano Roosevelts dog for a report.

It was adorable, Renee Caldareri said.

Library officials installed the StoryWalk this week and will take it down Tuesday morning, the day before school starts.

Valerie Fisher, the public services librarian, said she decided to bring the activity to New Milford after the creator, Anne Ferguson, presented one at the Connecticut Library conference this spring.

I thought, We could do this, this is great, Fisher said. I enjoyed it and I assumed a lot of other people would.

Ferguson created the first StoryWalk in Montpelier, Vt., in 2007 by partnering with her local library. The goal was to get parents and children active and prevent chronic diseases. StoryWalks are now in all 50 states and 14 countries. A few have been held in Connecticut, including Washington and Bridgewater.

Fisher reached out to Bill Buckbee, Harrybrookes executive director, to host the walk. The library laminated the pages and only needed to purchase wooden stakes and Velcro to attach the posts.

Buckbee agreed right away and said it was a great chance to work with the library. He said the park likes to promote literacy and will even give out books at the Easter egg hunt instead of candy. He plans to surprise some of the children on the walk with extra books.

It combines two great things  kids being outside and reading, Buckbee said.

Fisher said books with vibrant pictures and a few words on each page attract the most people for the walks.

Fisher hopes to make it an annual activity and said shes heard great things from visitors so far. The library placed a neon notepad in a plastic bag at the end of the walk to serve as a guest book. As of Wednesday, a dozen groups had left notes praising the idea and story.

Renee Caldareri said that while the book is for a younger age group, she and her son still enjoyed it and laughed at several of the pages. She said their family often looks for fun, free activities to do outside, such as hikes, and this is a great option.

It will also bring younger families out, she said. A lot of times people dont know what to do with young kids thats free. Anything to get people outside is a great idea.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345Police here has launched a special drive to stop unauthorised use of sirens in vehicles following a directive by the Election Commission.

The man was caught in a drive ordered by the Election Commission to check on vehicles illegally using hooters in Madhya Pradesh, where polls are scheduled for November. (Photo: Screengrab | ANI)

Bhopal: A video showing a man demanding immunity from a traffic violation owing to his kinship ties with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan went viral on social media on Friday, causing embarrassment to the latter.

However, the chief minister managed to dismiss the incident with a witty reaction, saying, I have more than a crore sisters in Madhya Pradesh and everyone has the liberty to develop kinship with me on the basis of it. He however hastened to add, The law will take its course (in the matter).

According to the police, a person, who identified himself as Rajendra Singh Chouhan, allegedly misbehaved with traffic police when he was caught without proper documents for his four-wheeler here on Thursday.

Mera sala hai mukhyamantri. Tum kya samajhte ho apne apko (The chief minister is my brother-in-law. What do you think of yourself), the man was heard in the video grab shouting at the police.

The clip showed two women coming out of the car during the incident flaunting their cell phones after dialing a number claiming that the chief minister was at the other end.

But the name dropping by them did not deter the traffic police from slapping a fine of Rs 3,000 on the man on charges of violation of Motor Vehicle Act.

One Rajendra Singh Chouhan was booked under Motor Vehicle Act for not being able to produce proper documentsof his vehicle.

We have gone through the video and ordered a probe into the incident, superintendent of police (traffic) Dharam Veer Singh said here on Friday.

Police here has launched a special drive to stop unauthorised use of sirens in vehicles following a directive by the Election Commission.Most of us Africa-watchers have secretly hoped that President Donald Trump would leave Africa alone. We had good reason to worry. Nearly 580 days into his term, Trump tweeted the word "Africa" for the first time. It was a disaster.

For many years, the lie that South Africa's white farmers have been facing a genocide at the hands of South Africa's black government has been a rallying cry for the far-right, racists and white nationalists around the world, including David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader. White-nationalist groups are now celebrating the tweet. The South African government responded rather differently, saying it "rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past."

South Africa's Natives Land Act of 1913 forcibly stripped land from blacks, a policy then reinforced by apartheid. Under President Nelson Mandela, the post-apartheid South African government introduced land reform programs to attempt to peacefully restore land taken from black South Africans. But those efforts have actually benefited white South Africans more than blacks. In 2013, Bernadette Atuahene and Alfred L. Brophy wrote in The New York Times: "Of the nearly 80,000 claims filed primarily by blacks, the post-apartheid state has settled about 70 percent by distributing a Standard Settlement Offer, which is a symbolic monetary compensation that is unrelated to the current or past market value of the property confiscated."

Current white owners received payments of "several orders of magnitude higher than a typical settlement offer proposed to dispossessed blacks."

Indeed, white South Africans, who make up 9 percent of the population, still own 72 percent of the country's private land. This year, South Africa's parliament cleared the way for the government to expropriate land without compensation to speed up the process. (Contrary to Trump's tweet, the government of South Africa has yet to confiscate any land.)

As for the so-called large-scale killing of white farmers, according to South African police statistics from 2016 to 2017, 74 people were killed in just more than 630 attacks on farms or small plots of land, while the total number of killings in South Africa over the same period was about 19,000. During an interview with The Associated Press, Gareth Newham, the head of the crime and justice program for the Institute for security studies in Pretoria, said the number of murders is actually down from 2001-2002, when 140 farm killings were noted by police. "The murders on farms are a reflection of the security situation in South Africa. There is absolutely no evidence that the violence is aimed at white farmers." Newham said.

Some say the president's tweet was an attempt to distract from the "real" story: the white-collar criminal cases of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort, the president's former campaign chairman. It is tempting to see white-collar crime and high-level corruption as separate from Trump's elevation of white nationalists.

But white supremacy and racism have always been a form of social and political corruption. Together they form an ideology that is dependent on segregation, rent discrimination, unequal land distribution and legally sanctioned theft - all in the name of benefiting white populations. White supremacy is a form of social corruption that costs lives, money and resources. If corruption is defined as the systematic abuse of state power to specifically benefit an individual or a group, then apartheid in South Africa, the Jim Crow era in the southern United States, as well as today's racial inequalities in housing, schooling and the justice system constitute corruption of the highest order. White supremacy is the original transnational white-collar crime.

After all, the social corruption of white supremacy is what has propelled a uniquely unqualified candidate to the White House - namely Trump's promises to curb nonwhite immigration, impose travel bans on Muslims and disparage people of color. There is something particularly perverse about the fact that Trump's first Africa policy pronouncement was aimed at protecting white people on the continent. Is it any surprise the head of an administration known for its conflicts of interest, who has scaled back civil rights efforts and fetishized the plight of white American farmers, finds common cause with apologists for South African apartheid, one of the most kleptocratic systems in history?

"Donald Trump has never visited the African continent in his private life or as president of the United States," says Patrick Gaspard, the former U.S. ambassador to South Africa under President Barack Obama. Gaspard points out that the current administration hasn't named an ambassador to South Africa, an important regional partner. "Trump needs to keep Africa's name out of his mouth."

For those who believe Trump intended his tweet as distraction - it certainly hasn't worked very well, at least so far. Cable news channels have focused overwhelmingly on Manafort and Cohen, which is not surprising given the U.S. media's penchant for under-covering Africa. With more than half of black South Africans living below the poverty line (less than 1 percent of white South Africans do), the future of democratic South Africa largely hinges on economic opportunities for its black population, which in turn are bound closely with the distribution of land. Trump's appalling tweet should be treated as the major foreign-policy scandal that it is.VP Pence announced the plan to put a manned crew on a Lunar Gateway Platform by 2024.

VP Pence repeated of US policy to return the moon and explore Mars.

VP Pence still supports the wasteful Space Launch System.

The early concept for the LOP-G is still evolving, and includes at least the following component modules:

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) will be used to generate electricity for the space station and its solar electric propulsion. It is targeting launch on a commercial vehicle in 2022.

The Cislunar Habitation Module can be used for a maximum 21 days habitation. It features a docking port for the Orion spacecraft. This module will be sent on the Exploration Mission 3 (EM3).

The Gateway Logistics Module will be used for experiments and logistics on board the space station. The equipment includes a robotic arm, which will be built by the Canadian Space Agency. It will be sent during Exploration Mission 4 (EM4).

The Gateway Airlock Module will be used for performing extravehicular activities outside the space station and will be the berth for the Deep Space Transport. It will be sent on the Exploration Mission 5 (EM5)

Vice President Mike Pence visited NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston on Aug. 23, 2018, to discuss the future of space exploration and other elements of human spaceflight. During his trip to the Johnson Space Center, the Vice President also toured the laboratory housing the moon rocks retrieved during the Apollo programs lunar missions and extraterrestrial samples from other uncrewed sample return missions, as well as the Sonny Carter Training Facility (Neutral Buoyancy Lab) where astronauts practice spacewalking techniques they will employ when they fly in space.The often-used real estate adage of location, location, location is the perfect means of describing this spectacular property, which provides tranquil views of the Neck River.

According to the propertys listing agent Lorey Walz, the peaceful setting of the home provides the opportunity to escape for weekend getaways or to be on vacation year-round in ones own primary residence. It could also serve as the ideal alternative to a condominium, Walz noted.

The house is quite unique, Walz said. It has three bedrooms, an upscale kitchen and easy access to a dock on the Neck River leading to the Long Island Sound.

The focal point of the residence itself is its recently updated kitchen, which was renovated just six months ago to incorporate new cabinetry, granite countertops and a spacious walk-in pantry. The space also contains upscale appliances, including a double oven, a refrigerator, a dishwasher and a microwave.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the homes cozy interior is bright, cheerful and exceptionally well maintained. Its three bedrooms and large great room enjoy beautiful hardwood flooring, many new windows and air conditioning.

We purchased a new Mitsubishi air conditioning and heating unit with a heat pump early this spring, the homes present owner said.

The full basement of the home allows for extra storage while an area that has been partially finished offers added space as a year-round room.

According to the homes current owner, the most unique feature of the property is the incredible, not to be matched in the neighborhood views of the nearby salt marsh.

Our property is the only house at the head of the land trust, she said. We can see the marsh, the river and all the houses along Circular Beach, clearly.

The present owner went on to explain that unusual bird sightings are a regular occurrence, as the land trust is a bird sanctuary and also the home to an abundance of other wildlife.

Water views are at a premium along the shoreline in Connecticut and this sweet place boasts a full view, she said. You cant find available waterfront property for this price that has property to expand on.

Walz explained that ownership of the property will include membership in a homeowners association, with the fee being only $300 annually. This expense serves to maintain the private road, picnic tables and the dock.

The propertys central location provides easy access to local highways, as well as train service to either New York or Boston.

Madison is also home to beautiful beaches, many desirable dining options and a thriving downtown area complete with unique shops, a bookstore and a movie theater.

The location, setting and home are definitely worthy of your inspection, Walz said.

Listing agent: Lorey Walz, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, The Walz Team, (203) 619-4029, Lorey.Walz@coldwellbanker

moves.comGandhis speech, which was to air at 9.30 pm IST, was later rescheduled to start at 10.30 pm IST

New Delhi: A technical glitch prevented Congress president Rahul Gandhis address to the Indian Overseas Congress in Berlin in Germany from being aired live via YouTube on Friday night, the party said.

Mr Gandhis speech, which was to air at 9.30 pm IST, was later rescheduled to start at 10.30 pm IST.

The Congress Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts streamed the address of the Congress president. The day before, Mr Gandhi had addressed a gathering at the Bucerius Summer School in Hamburg, Germany.

The BJP had launched a scathing attack on Mr Gandhi after his Hamburg address, accusing the leader of belittling and insulting India in his speech. The saffron party also alleged that the Congress president tried to justify terrorism and lied through his teeth to attack the Narendra Modi government. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra sought the Congress chiefs apology on his comments on a range of issues, claiming that he presented India in a bad light by allegedly blaming the countrys culture for violence against women.

Last year, Mr Gandhi had visited the United States of America and addressed several events in the country. He had also come under attack from the BJP for demeaning the country on foreign shores.Surely Abraham was an exemplar, obedient to God, upright ... (Quran 16:120 - M. A. Shakir Translation)

During the past week, millions of men and women of all ethnicities converged in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to commemorate the annual rites of hajj. Hajj is the fifth and last pillar of Islam. It is the pilgrimage whereby these men and women tread in the spiritual path of Prophet Muhammad in following the way of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon them both).

Hajj places a symbolic stamp on the close ties of Muslims to the beliefs and practices of Abraham. The rites of hajj are essentially a reenactment of significant events in the life of Abraham and his family as well as a celebration of his legacy. These rites and legacy provide important lessons not just to the pilgrims but to all people of faith with affinity for Abraham. Below are two:

Abraham was an active seeker of truth. He was not someone who simply went with the flow of his milieu. At a time when we are confused about what is fake and what is real; and what is true and what is not, people of faith should not simply go with the flow but be active seekers and advocates of truth in the example of Abraham. It is incumbent on us to seek truth before making judgments or taking actions.

Abraham was also a man who submitted to and glorified God, not self. He was so sincere in his submission and obeyed God in such a way that his trust in God was absolute and his virtuousness indisputable. One moment that captures Abrahams virtuousness is when he received two guests and demonstrated courtesy, consideration and mutuality. The guests turned out to be angels bearing glad tidings. The wisdom from this for people of faith is that there is often Divine blessing in communion with others.

The zeitgeist of our times in this country is perhaps best encapsulated by two things: the selfie  that seemingly innocuous outcrop of social media; and reality television with its underlying motif of self-glorification. Some Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders equate self-glorification with polytheism. That is, the taking of self as a god beside God. A cursory observation of the currents of our times show the dangers of magnified self-aggrandizement. Differences between self and the other and/or between us and them are emphasized rather than obvious similarities. This has led to the degradation of civility, lack of compassion and precious little common ground.

This blessing in communion with others is one of the most significant lessons of hajj and of the legacy of Abraham  the father of many nations. The diversity of men and women dressed in simple garb who converged on Mount Arafat in the culmination of hajj collectively seeking Gods forgiveness and mercy underscores the fact that despite our differences, we are all one human family, equal before The One God  Originator and Creator of all that exists.

What distinguishes us from each other before God is neither race, wealth nor social status. Rather, it is what earned Abraham the sobriquet of Friend of God  uprightness.

AbdulMalik Negedu is a Community Chaplain with Malik Human Services Institute, Inc. in New Haven.A U.S. District Court judge in Hartford has ordered a new trial in the arson and slaying case of John Vailette, who was convicted on federal charges in 2015 in the March 2006 death of Kathy Hardy of Branford.

Judge Robert N. Chatigny ordered the new trial for Vailette during a brief hearing last week, according to court documents. Defense attorneys had been seeking to overturn Vailettes conviction since February 2015, claiming that one of the governments witness committed perjury while testifying about the fire that killed Hardy in her Little Bay Lane home March 7, 2006.

Prosecutor John Durham and Vailettes attorney, Craig Raabe, were not immediately available for comment on Saturday regarding Judge Chatignys ruling.

Dawn Luddy, Hardys sister, said Saturday that her family is scheduled to meet with Durham on Wednesday to hear how he wants to proceed with the case or whether he will recommend not moving forward with it.

The judge must have felt that there was enough evidence to order a new trial; otherwise, he would have acquitted him, Luddy said of Vailette. But this is hard for us. It has been hard to wait for more than two years and not have a sentence in the case. Its insanity.

Kathy Hardys son, Rob Hardy, is now 22 years old. He said the judges ruling feels like a punch in the gut. Rob Hardy was 10 when his mother was killed.

Its kind of surreal, he said. It made me think back to when we got the guilty verdict, which gave me a feeling of elation and relief. Now that feeling is kind of hollow.

Robert Barrett, Hardys father, said Saturday that he believes justice will be done in the case.

And if I believe in justice, Ive got to trust the system, Barrett said when asked about how he felt about a new trial for Vailette.

Barrett said that he still has some anger toward Vailette, but I believe in Jesus, so I have forgiven him, Barrett said. If I expect forgiveness, then I have to forgive him

Federal prosecutors brought cases against Vailette and co-defendant Steven Martone, who was tried separately and acquitted in December 2015. The government alleged that Vailette and Martone had poured an accelerant on the stairs at Hardys home while she was asleep in an upstairs bedroom and then started a fire at the bottom of the stairs before fleeing the house.

It was alleged in both trials that Vailette, an alleged active drug-user, knew of Hardys work as a confidential informant for police in drug cases.

Both men were arrested on the federal indictment in February 2014, and Martone was released after his acquittal almost two years later.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.comPeter Caminiti III stepped onto a school bus Saturday for the first time since that fateful May day when the bus he was riding in crashed on Route 80 en route to a Waterloo Village field trip.

"I remember talking to my friends. And then I blacked out and when I woke up, I was hanging by my seat belt with a bloody nose," said Caminiti, 11, who wears streaks of blue in his chestnut brown hair to show he is Paramus Strong.

The soon-to-be sixth grader toured the new Paramus Board of Education bus after a press conference held by Gov. Phil Murphy, who on Saturday signed a bill requiring all New Jersey School buses have lap and shoulder seat belts.

"Every child and every educator and adult chaperone deserves our best effort to protect their safety and the best possible chance of emerging unharmed in the unfortunate event of a school bus accident," Murphy said.

The governor spoke in the Paramus borough hall parking lot, in front of one of the brand-new buses Paramus purchased that meet the new law.

The driver of the Paramus Board of Education bus that crashed, Hudy Muldrow Sr., 77, of Jersey City, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.

Authorities say Muldrow passed the exit on Interstate 80 and tried to make an illegal u-turn on a break in the median that is reserved for emergency vehicles. The bus was clipped by a dump truck and ripped off its chassis as it tried to re-enter the highway.

Bergen County Executive James Tedesco said the county has purchased all new school buses to transport students to county-run schools.

"There's still pain here in this town and things that need to be done," said Tedesco, a former Paramus mayor.

Caminiti, though he suffered a concussion and continues to deal with ringing in his ears, is one of the lucky ones to emerge from the accident that injured 43 of the 45 people on board. Teacher Jennifer Williamson, 51, and student Miranda Vargas, 10, died in the crash.

The boy's father, Pete Caminiti Jr., said Saturday that when his hospitalized son learned about the deaths he said, "Why is it that we have seat belts in the cars that are different than the buses?" The bus they were riding on only had lap belts.

They reached out to state Sen. Joseph Lagana, a family friend, and the bill took shape.

"We don't know if it would've changed many things on that fateful day," Lagana, D-Bergen, said of the newly-required seat belts. "But we do know going forward that we're doing everything we can to make sure that when we put our children... on buses [where] they are protected as best as they can be."

State Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez sponsored a version of the bill in the state assembly.

"Today, the State of New Jersey will lead by example in requiring by law the use of three-point seat belt systems on school buses," Lopez, D-Middlesex, said at the event. "The safety of our children is one of the highest priorities we can focus on as legislators."

The law takes effect immediately and requires all school buses manufactured 180 days from now to have three-point harnesses for each seat on the bus.

Similar legislation has been proposed on the federal level.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.After his girlfriend's 8-month-old baby died in his care Thursday, Ah'ree Stanley-Nellom told detectives that he delivered the blow that killed her, but it was an accident.

Stanley-Nellom, 20, told investigators he was dancing to music when he walked into the bedroom of the Gloucester Township home and jumped onto the bed, "not thinking" about how the baby was sleeping there. His elbow came down on her stomach, police wrote in court documents.

In the same documents, investigators noted that Stanley-Nellom kept changing his story and said he was "scared to admit certain things at first."

He is now facing a first-degree murder charge and being held in the Camden County Jail, pending a court date next week, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office said Friday.

The 8-month-old girl died from a lacerated liver caused by blunt abdominal trauma, Camden County Medical Examiner Gerald Feigin found. Feigin also noted that the child had genital injuries, Camden County Prosecutor's Office Detective Chris Sarson wrote in a probable cause statement.

Sarson said Stanley-Nellom was watching his girlfriend's children at her home, in the Buttonwood Village Aparyments in the Blackwood section of the township, while she was at work Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

The 20-year-old at first told detectives he woke up at 3 a.m. and saw the baby had milk coming out of her nose and mouth, Sarson wrote. He later changed his story, telling investigators that she had been injured when he jumped on the bed, Sarson said.

The girl made a moaning or gasping noise and immediately needed her diaper changed, and Stanley-Nellom said he was "more forceful than normal" cleaning her up "because she was moving around and he was upset," Sarson noted in the statement.

Stanley-Nellom told detectives he called the baby's mother when he realized something was wrong, and they called 911 when she arrived home. Police and EMTs arrived at the home at 3:53 a.m. and rushed the unresponsive baby to Jefferson Washington Township Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 4:38 a.m., the statement said.

At a hearing next week, the prosecutor's office will ask a judge to order Stanley-Nellom held in jail pending trial.

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Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to UK, said that the incident was a tragedy, but disagreed that the Congress was 'involved'.

Rahul Gandhi also referred to the killing of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE in 1991. (Photo: PTI)

London/New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi has described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a "very painful tragedy" and said he was "100 per cent" for the punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody.

Nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots in 1984 following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards when the Congress government was in power at the Centre.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, told the audience of UK-based parliamentarians and local leaders on Friday that the incident was a tragedy and painful experiences, but disagreed with the view that the Congress was "involved".

"I think any violence done against anybody is wrong. There are legal processes ongoing in India but as far as I'm concerned anything done that was wrong during that period should be punished and I would support that 100 per cent," he said.

"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy."

Later, during an interactive session at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots, Gandhi said: "When Mr Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels."

He was referring to the killing of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE in 1991.

"So, I am against any sort of violence against anybody on this planet. I get disturbed when I see anybody being hurt. So, I condemn that 100 per cent and I am 100 per cent for punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody. That's crystal clear," said Gandhi.

He said that people, who have not had violence inflicted upon them, think that violence is what one sees in movies. "That's not what it is. I have seen people who I loved very much being killed. I have also seen the person (Prabhakaran) who killed my father being killed.

"When I saw Prabhakaran lying on the beaches in Jaffna (Lanka), when I saw him being humiliated, the way he was, I felt sorry for him, because I saw my father in his place and his children in my place," he added.

"So, when you are being hit by violence, when you understand it, it has a completely different impact on you."

Gandhi said most people do not understand violence which is a horrible thing. Some Congress leaders have been accused of leading the killer mobs during the riots. They have denied the allegations.

Earlier Gandhi had invoked Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, during his address in Germany, drawing a sharp reaction from the BJP which said Gandhi should apologise for the "heinous crime" at the Golden Temple.A 20-year-old man is accused of killing his girlfriend's 8-month-old daughter under his care in Gloucester Township, authorities said Friday.

Ah'ree Stanley-Nellom faces one count of first-degree murder in the death, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Emergency crews on Thursday rushed to a 9-1-1 call reporting the baby was unresponsive at a South Black Horse Pike home, where responders discovered the girl unconscious in the mother's bedroom, the prosecutor's office said.

The infant later succumbed to her injuries at Jefferson Hospital in Washington Township, according to authorities. An autopsy determined the fatality was a homicide, but prosecutors did not reveal a cause of death.

Stanley-Nellom was being held at the Camden County jail ahead of a detention hearing. It was not clear if the Blackwood resident had an attorney.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.UNION CITY -- The Jersey City teacher who spent nearly five months in an Elizabeth detention center before being granted political asylum this week received a warm welcome Thursday night at the Islamic center where he teaches physics.

Ahmed Abdel-Basit's family and friends greeted the Egyptian dissident with applause as he walked inside the Cottage Place center, which was decorated with "welcome back" balloons and crowded with adults and children of all ages snapping photos and taking videos of a grinning Abdel-Basit.

"I feel very happy because I'm back to school with my students," the 33-year-old teacher told The Jersey Journal. "From the first day they arrested me, I said I trust American values and the American justice system and I was right."

Abdel-Basit, a native of Egypt, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 5 outside his Jersey City home. The teacher had sought asylum in the United States after he was tried in absentia in Egypt on terrorism-related charges, convicted and sentenced to death. Judge Daniel Morris granted him asylum on Tuesday and he was released from detention in Elizabeth on Thursday night after ICE said it would not appeal Morris' decision.

Anwen Hughes, his attorney, said on Thursday that his nearly five-month detention was "a difficult and scary experience" that has "turned out well."

"I think that shows the importance of living in a nation that's governed by laws and I think those laws have been respected and we're all very grateful for that result," Hughes said.

Abdel-Basit's release came after a campaign led by his family, friends and students. He and Hughes thanked them all in brief remarks on Thursday.

"Anyone who's ever had anyone they care about in jail knows that the most important thing is to have people outside who care about you and believe in you and stand with you and I know all of you have done that to an extraordinary degree," Hughes said.

Abdel-Basit was fired from his job teaching at Cairo University in 2015. He said his termination came after he accused university officials of helping crack down on anti-government opposition on campus. They said he had stirred up violence on campus.

He was tried in 2016 along with 27 other men at a trial which led to eight death sentences. The Egyptian government claimed Abel-Basit led a terrorist cell. Human Rights Watch said the defendants were denied due process and that some of the confessions that led to the convictions were obtained under torture.

Last year, about 30,000 people sought asylum in the United States, up from 20,000 in 2016, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, which tracks immigration statistics. Though asylum grants increased in 2017, denials grew faster, making the denial rate 62 percent, up from 45 percent in 2012, the center found.A 21-year-old man was killed and three others were wounded in separate shootings overnight in Trenton, according to police.

Jakim Allen died around 1:30 p.m. at Capital Health Regional Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery for multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office and Trenton Lt. Steven Varn.

Allen was on Brunswick Avenue near Southard Street shortly after 1 a.m., authorities said.

The same hospital also saw at least three other shooting victims between Friday night and Saturday morning, Varn said.

A 36-year-old man was struck in the shoulder at approximately 6:56 p.m. Friday near Stuyvesant and Hoffman streets, and a 27-year-old male was also struck in the shoulder and back near the 200 block of Chambers Street, Varn said.

Around midnight, while detectives were at the hospital for the other shooting victims, a 22-year-old male ran into the hospital with gunshot wound. He had been grazed in the leg after getting caught in crossfire at Nassau and Miller streets, police said.

The man with the graze wound was treated and released, police said.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo. Find NJ.com on Facebook.55 recruits from the Mercer County Police Academy Class #19-18 became officers of the law Friday in a ceremony at Mercer County Community College.

Officers are from many different departments, mainly from the central region of the state, including municipal police departments, sheriff's offices, campus police from Rutgers University and The College of New Jersey, New Jersey State Park Police and officers attending the academy through alternate route programs.

Trenton Police Department had the most graduates at 16. The department has a new Director, Pedro Medina, who took over from former Director Ernie Perry when Reed Gusciora became the city's new mayor.

55 new officers graduate Mercer County Police Academy 24 Gallery: 55 new officers graduate Mercer County Police Academy

Mercer County Police Academy Director Martin Masseroni told the graduates, "You have made it through this regimented program ... now it is up to you to exercise self-discipline both in your personal life and your police career."

Class Speaker was Elias Vendrell, who will be joining the Trenton Police Department. In his remarks, he said, "This is a career that can change lives, not only for you, but for the lives of others."

Addressing those who have been his classmates for the past 22 weeks, he advised, "Work hard. Do good work."

Michael Mancuso may be reached at mmancuso@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @michaelmancuso, Instagram @michaelmancuso and Facebook @michaelmancuso

Follow NJ.com on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.Authorities on Friday said an 18-year-old man has been arrested in the home invasion robbery of former Gov. Jim McGreevey's parents, who sources said were robbed at their Carteret home.

Diego Hernandez, of Carteret, was charged with various offenses, including robbery, burglary, theft, conspiracy and employing a juvenile to commit a criminal offense, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

Though the prosecutor's office did not publicly identify the victims, sources told NJ Advance Media the former governor's parents were robbed in the incident shortly before 6 a.m. Aug. 18.

"Money, jewelry, a television, and two vehicles were stolen; the vehicles were later recovered in Jersey City," Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Carteret Police Director Kenneth Lebrato said in a joint statement announcing the arrest.

Reacting to the crime, Carteret Mayor Dan Reiman said in a Facebook post that he spoke to the McGreevey family.

"They are obviously shaken up, but unharmed and in good spirits and look forward to the Law Enforcement agencies concluding their investigation to determine how or why they were targeted," the mayor's statement added.

Authorities have not said if the accused robber had any ties to the victims or knew they were the parents of the state's former chief executive.

Before becoming governor, McGreevey served as mayor of neighboring Woodbridge from 1992 to 2002 and now runs a Jersey City-based prisoner re-entry program. He could not be immediately reached Friday.

The robbery was first reported by The Jersey Journal.

Officials said the investigation was ongoing. Anyone with information can call Carteret police Det. Keith Cassens at 732-541-3864, or prosecutor's office Det. Grace Brown at 732-745-3373.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Police in South Brunswick are on the hunt for three men who broke into an apartment early Saturday morning.

The armed men entered the home around 12:45 a.m., and demanded cash from the residents according to Deputy Chief Ryan James.

The apartment, located along Buttonwood Court, was also unlocked, according to James.

The robbers got into a fight with the residents, and one of the gunmen fired a single round into the floor of the apartment.

No injuries were reported, but the men made out with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Detectives have identified several leads, but anyone with information is asked to call South Brunswick Police Detective Tim Hoover at 732-329-4646.

Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at tharris@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.

Find NJ.com on Facebook.(President Trump photo by Susan Walsh | Associated Press. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey photo by David Paul Morris | Bloomberg News)

By

By Abby Ohlheiser

Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey is on a media tour to fight for his company's reputation. On the left, activists are angry that the platform hasn't kicked off Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones; on the right, the president of the United States accuses Twitter of "shadow banning" conservatives. As Dorsey promises to make the company more transparent and works to combat misinformation, it's worth debunking some of the more common myths about Twitter.

Don't Edit

Twitter SHADOW BANNING prominent Republicans. Not good. We will look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once! Many complaints.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2018

Myth No. 1: Twitter systemically bans conservatives.

Once, "shadow banning" was a relatively obscure term, referring to one of the oldest moderation techniques on the Internet - hiding a user's posts from others on a platform without booting them outright. It has since become a politically loaded catchall for censorship, as a conspiracy theory from the fringes of the Internet has crept into the mainstream, claiming that Twitter is sytemically banning conservatives from the platform because of their ideology. Which is how President Donald Trump, in a recent tweet, came to claim that Twitter was "'SHADOW BANNING' prominent Republicans." His tweet followed a Vice News article discussing the fact that Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and "several conservative Republican congressmen" were not auto-filling in a drop-down menu in Twitter's search function.

Although Twitter does limit the reach of some accounts, based on a variety of factors as part of its anti-abuse and anti-harassment strategies, Vice's report didn't prove that the platform was targeting conservatives for their views. Although Democratic lawmakers were not similarly affected, the issue appeared for other accounts on the left, according to at least one journalist who tested the search autofill at the time.

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To be clear, our behavioral ranking doesnt make judgements based on political views or the substance of tweets. We recently publicly testified to Congress on this topic https://t.co/Zk4DL7Q3hq  Kayvon Beykpour (@kayvz) July 25, 2018

In a statement, Twitter said the accounts were not limited in the search bar because of their beliefs, but instead based on the accounts' behavior and the behavior of other accounts interacting with them: "Our behavioral ranking doesn't make judgements based on political views or the substance of tweets."

The company corrected the search results shortly after they went viral on conservative Twitter. The clearest proof that this theory is spurious may be that many of the voices amplifying it, such as Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., have a powerful platform from which to do so: Twitter.

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Isnt it ironic how I spoke with @Twitter senior executives before the House Judiciary Committee last week and now I am being shadow bannedthis raises a lot of questions. https://t.co/SFHI1dIrCm  Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) July 25, 2018

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Myth No. 2: An intern runs that brand account

Whenever a social media account for a major celebrity, brand or (ahem) newspaper tweets something particularly clever  or particularly offensive  you'll inevitably hear that it was the work of a "social media intern." In 2017, for instance, the A.V. Club credited an "anonymous social media intern" with having the KFC brand account follow only "11 Herbs and Spice Girls." (Get it?) When IHOP said it was changing its name to IHOB to promote its burgers, one typical reply to its tweets about the campaign read, "I feel so sorry for you, poor social media intern, but you can't make this work." And, of course, then-candidate Trump blamed an intern for a manual retweet in 2016 mocking Iowans.

But in 2018, interns are not generally put in charge of major accounts for influential organizations or people. In 2008, sure  back when social media was a new idea. Today, running a major branded account is more complicated.

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Well played, anonymous social media intern: KFC's Twitter account only follows 11 Herbs and Spice Girls https://t.co/JCXF6QgkJ1 pic.twitter.com/WYq2QmNHmO  The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) October 20, 2017

"The days of getting interns to run your social media accounts are long gone," said Kristin Johnson, director of content and communications at Sprout Social, a social media management, advocacy and analytics software company. In 2018, running a social media account means taking on the responsibility of a major, public-facing communications channel for that brand, a job that requires access to "significant and sometimes sensitive information."

It's been that way for a while. Between 2010 and 2013, one study using data from LinkedIn found, postings for social media management positions increased on the job-finding platform by more than 1,000 percent.

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Twitter is getting rid of fake accounts at a record pace. Will that include the Failing New York Times and propaganda machine for Amazon, the Washington Post, who constantly quote anonymous sources that, in my opinion, dont exist - They will both be out of business in 7 years!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 7, 2018

Myth No. 3: Trump has broken Twitter's rules

Twitter's rules bar hateful conduct and violent threats. So whenever Trump tweets something that seems to be a threat - as when he lashed out at Iran's president in July - there's a viral call to ban him from the platform for breaking the rules. GQ has argued that Trump's account is "very much in violation." A Change.org petition lobbying for the president's account to be banned has more than 15,000 signatures.

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There's just one problem: A handful of loopholes protect Trump's account from running afoul of Twitter's policies. The most important is an exception for "military and government entities." As the company explained in a January blog post, "Blocking a world leader from Twitter or removing their controversial Tweets would hide important information people should be able to see and debate." (Still, Dorsey told BuzzFeed in a recent interview, the loopholes might not apply should Trump use his account to engage in rule-breaking behavior toward private citizens.)

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Myth No. 4: Trump's account is followed by a suspicious number of bots.

Trump's account is followed by a suspicious number of bots.

"Account has gained over 5 million followers in less than 3 days. Mostly bots. He's getting ready for something," tweeted @th3j35t3r last year. That message accumulated more than 10,000 retweets before it was deleted, spawning an unsubstantiated rumor that spread through Twitter and beyond: Hillary Clinton appeared to cite it at the time to raise questions about what was going on with the president's account. In an interview with Recode , she referred to "new information about Trump's Twitter account being populated by millions of bots."

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Fascinating to me that Twitter allegedly purged millions of fake accounts, bots, and trolls, and yet @realDonaldTrump keeps gaining followers. Do these look like real people? pic.twitter.com/XmqrbDkLnr  JackiSchechner (@JackiSchechner) August 13, 2018

The Washington Post and others debunked the rumor : Trump did not gain more than 5 million followers in less than three days, as the tweet claimed, and it wasn't even close. The followers he did gain were not mostly bots. Nevertheless, the myth won't die. As my colleague Philip Bump noted recently when it resurfaced in another viral tweet, there are many explanations for the faceless new accounts that appear to follow Trump en masse, including the fact that Twitter recommends popular accounts to new users  Trump's among them. And while Trump may have a substantial number of bot or suspected bot followers, data suggests that it isn't any worse than for other prominent politicians. When Twitter recently purged suspicious fake or automated accounts from the site, Trump lost 300,000 followers, or 0.58 percent of his total . Former president Barack Obama lost about 2 percent of his followers in the purge, which amounts to more than 2 million accounts.

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Myth No. 5: Twitter is the voice of the Internet.

Twitter feeds can sometimes feel like a free-for-all, where everyone's trying to talk at once. Because of that, there's a tendency to mistake the informational avalanche as representative, which is how you get all those headlines about what "the Internet" is thinking or feeling. "WhatsApp was down for two hours and the internet wasn't happy ," reads one Verge headline. "The Internet hates McDonald's new uniforms ," declares Food & Wine. Then there's this one from my own archives: "The Internet won't let Harambe rest in peace ." In many of these articles, a handful of Twitter users are standing in for "the Internet" overall. And then there are Twitter polls  those unscientific multiple-choice posts that are mostly for fun but sometimes get cited as a reflection of public opinion, sometimes even by figures like Trump .

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But Twitter is not representative of public opinion. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center poll, about 24 percent of the American population uses Twitter. Forty-six percent of those users visit the platform daily. And, as is true for many social networks, young people are much more likely to use Twitter than are other age groups surveyed, which is to say its most active members aren't a representative sample of the Internet's diverse denizens, let alone humanity as a whole. Spending a lot of time on Twitter may make it feel like the whole world is talking about one topic or another. But step outside the timeline, and you might be surprised.

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Abby Ohlheiser covers digital culture for The Washington Post. She was previously a general assignment reporter for The Post, focusing on national breaking news and religion.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.New Jersey's leaders are rushing to finalize an ever-changing plan to ask voters in November to approve the state borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for various school projects.

The referendum seeks $500 million for improving security at K-12 schools, upgrading water infrastructure to protect students from lead, and expanding vocational and county college programs.

The price tag was almost doubled. Both houses of the Democrat-controlled state Legislature last month approved a measure (S2293) to place a $1 billion bond referendum on the November ballot.

The extra $500 million was added for school safety measures after the Parkland, Florida, shooting.

But Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is planning to conditionally veto that proposal in the coming days and ask lawmakers to cut the figure in half to its original amount because he was "uncomfortable with the size of the bond," according an administration official.

The official asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Both the state Senate and Assembly will head to Trenton on Monday to vote in a special session to approve of the new referendum with Murphy's changes.

The houses need to act quickly to not miss a deadline for the question to reach this year's ballot.

"We're working with the administration on what the final bill is," state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said during a news conference Friday in Trenton.

Murphy added during the event that it's "stuff we all collectively think we need.

"Stuff we all are strongly supportive of," the governor said.

Details of how much money will go to each aspect in the end were not available Friday.

If the Legislature approves the new measure Monday, it will then need to be signed by Murphy before appearing on the ballot.

Sweeney told NJ Advance Media expanding vocational programs is crucial because 17,000 students in New Jersey every year get turned away from vocational schools "because the slots aren't there.

"Vocational jobs are just as important as other jobs," Sweeney added. "I'm an iron worker. I make a good living. Creating a situation where kids who want to have this opportunity to go to a vocational school but they can't -- where do they go from there?"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.Two men from Monroe County have been identified as the motorists in Saturday morning's wrong-way crash on Interstate 78 that left one of them dead.

Tamarri-Ashton Webster, 22, of Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, was the driver of the Hyundai passenger vehicle headed east on the westbound side of the highway, New Jersey State Police Trooper Alejandro Goez said.

Webster was pronounced dead at the scene.

His passenger, 23-year-old Rodney Edwards, of Stroudsburg, was flown to St. Luke's University Hospital, Fountain Hill, in critical condition, according to police.

The Hyundai collided with a westbound tractor-trailer at mile-post 1.3 in Alpha, Warren County, according to state police. The crash was reported at 2:47 a.m.

The driver of the rig, 24-year-old Revazi Begiashvili, of Philadelphia, was uninjured.

Police were continuing to investigate why Webster was driving the wrong way on the highway.

Authorities closed the westbound highway for about five hours, diverting traffic onto the right shoulder, according to police.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.Supreme Court tells Tamil Nadu government to maintain reservoir level at 139 feet.

New Delhi: As the blame-game between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the devastating floods continued, the Supreme Court on Friday told the Tamil Nadu government to maintain a lower water level in the Mullaperiyar dam at 139 feet, instead of the maximum permissible level of 142 feet, till August 31, as a precaution to guard against floods or other disasters. A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, gave this direction on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Idukki resident Russel Joy who has that people downstream of Mullaperiyar were living in constant fear due release of water from the dam, lack of coordination and absence of a disaster management plan.

Posting the matter for hearing on September 6, the CJI told counsel for petitioner, The rains have stopped. Everything has been settled. Today there is a change in the circumstances.

The apex courts direction on the reservoirs interim water level is based on the conclusions of a disaster management sub-committee that met on Thursday  the day when environmentalist Medha Patkar told reporters in Thrissur that Kerala floods were dam-induced and sought a review of safety of all old dams, including Mullaperiyar.

The Mullaperiyar dam, built in 1895 on Periyar River in Idukki District of Kerala, came under the spotlight with the Kerala government accusing Tamil Nadu, which maintains the reservoir, of sudden release of water leading to unprecedented deluge in the state, whats being called the worst floods in a century that have left 237 people dead since August 8 and displaced over 14 lakh.

Keralas claim was on Friday rebuffed by Tamil Nadu chief minister K. Palaniswami, who said the neighbouring state had suffered the deluge due to the discharge of excess water from 80 reservoirs spurred by heavy rains there.

He claimed that Mullaperiyar reservoir water was released in a gradual manner, after three warnings, and it flowed only into one part of Kerala.

In the apex court, Tamil Nadu said while floods started in Kerala on August 6, the water level in Mullaperiyar dam reached 140 ft, forcing the release of water from the reservoir, only on August 14 and this was not the reason for the floods.

Additional solicitor-general P.S. Narasimha informed the court that the current water level in the reservoir was 139.998 feet.

Senior counsel Shekhar Naphade for Tamil Nadu submitted that he sees seeds of discord in Keralas affidavit in which it has sought gradual release of water from the reservoir as soon as its level reaches 136 feet rather than aiting till it reaches its maximum level.

The flood-hit state also wants a supervisory committee, comprising the Central Water Commission (CWC) chief and secretaries of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to take decisions by majority on the dam when there are floods.

In reply to Keralas allegation blaming Tamil Nadu for sudden release of water from the dam, Tamil Nadu submitted that the state duly informed the counterpart of Kerala since the water level in the dam reached above 136 feet.

Thereafter, when the water level reached 138 feet, 140 feet, 141 feet and 142 feet, suitable warnings were issued and the quantum of discharge were also intimated.A man charged with firing a gun in a Lakeview burglary last year pleaded guilty Friday (Aug. 24) to 10 charges, including simple burglary and aggravated assault, in exchange for an 18-year sentence, according to District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office.

Kilton Lowery, 20, was arrested Aug. 22, 2017, along with three co-defendants, after they were spotted pulling on car door handles in the 6900 block of General Haig Street.

NOFD firefighter Gino Ascani, who lived nearby, confronted the group when he said he saw four people trying to break into his fiance's car on his security system.

As the group fled, Lowery fired two gunshots in Ascani's direction, according to police. Ascani, who was armed, was not struck and did not return fire.

Authorities said Lowery and Travilique Lewis flipped their getaway car at Marconi Drive and Harrison Avenue, then attempted to escape on foot. They were caught and arrested.

Ednisha Temple and Curtnitra Neville were arrested a short time later after they were spotted walking on Marconi with handgun ammunition, according to Cannizzaro's office.

Lowery, 20, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of simple burglary, five counts of attempted simple burglary and aggravated flight endangering the life of a police officer Friday before Criminal District Judge Laurie White.

He must serve his 18-year prison sentence without the benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence, according to Cannizzaro's office.

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His defense attorney, Kevin Boshea, said Lowery's decision to plead guilty was a tough one. The state had "extensive video evidence" of the incident, he said, and prosecutors would have been allowed to tell a jury about multiple burglary convictions in Lowery's past.

Had a jury convicted him of all the charges he was facing, Boshea said Lowery could have been looking at close to 100 years in prison.

"Under these circumstances, if he goes though the rehabilitative programs available to him, he has shot at life," Boshea said.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Lopez prosecuted the case.

Lowery's co-defendants, Lewis, Temple and Neville, previously pleaded guilty.

According to Cannizzaro's office, Temple, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of simple burglary and five counts of attempted simple burglary. She received a six-year sentence on May 15.

Neville, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of simple burglary and five counts of attempted simple burglary. She received a 12-year sentence on May 15.

Lewis, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of simple burglary and six counts of attempted simple burglary. She received a 12-year sentence on July 9.Students seated in the freshman section of the bleachers at the Eleanor McMain Secondary gym on Friday (Aug. 24) held crepe paper decorated poster board cut out in big letters that spelled out, "Chance."

Chance Smith, 15, was shot dead six days earlier inside an Algiers home, less than two weeks into his freshman year at McMain. A 17-year-old, Michael Dixon, was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree murder in the case.

The slain teen's fellow students at McMain spearheaded a peace rally Friday afternoon where they sang through tears to his family, read a poem, assured his young brother, also a student at the school, they were there for him, and welcomed Mayor LaToya Cantrell, NOPD Commander Sean Ferguson and Commander Ceasar Ruffin to speak.

"Ain't no hurt worse than losing a little brother," said Chance's eldest brother Courtell Smith, from a stage at the rally. His family, the mayor and leaders from NOPD and his brother's school stood behind him.

Speaking on behalf of the Smith family, Courtell Smith assured those who knew Chance and taught him, and those who did not that his brother "was not a gangster - he was not bad."

A 2017 graduate of St. Augustine High School himself, Courtell Smith recalled how Chance, whose mother said enjoyed designing clothes, made him stay up all night with him before the first day of school to get his pants looking good. "He wanted to be fresh for school," Courtell Smith said, smiling.

"I wish we were all here under better circumstances, not the loss of someone, especially someone so young," Courtell Smith said.

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Mayor LaToya Cantrell told the students she was their mayor but is also a mother. She said her own mother once asked Cantrell's young daughter why she didn't want to ride her bicycle.

"My 10-year-old says I don't want to be shot," said the mayor, adding, "We're all living it."

Cantrell, as well as NOPD Commanders Shaun Ferguson and Ceasar Ruffin, said students and other young people must work together with elected officials, with police and with ministers to stop the violence. Ferguson noted that by spearheading the pace rally and planning a Sept. 6 march to New Orleans City Hall, the students were showing the rest of the schools and the community they are leaders.

"You just let the city know, no we will not let this unfortunate situation dictate who we are," Ferguson said. He and Ruffin both encourages students so "say something" if they see something.

Jamar McKneely, the CEO of Inspire NOLA, the charter network that runs McMain, said students must "take care of each other" and recognize each other's potential.

"I'm tired of going to a funeral every year of either a fellow graduate of our schools or a student who has been plagued and victimized by the gun violence in our city," McKneely said. "We are the next to stand up and say it's no OK."A Terrytown girl who was turned away from her Roman Catholic school because her hairstyle violated school policy has not yet returned to class, although a judge issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the school from enforcing its policy. Her family's attorney said Friday (Aug. 24) he will meet with the Archdiocese of New Orleans on Monday in hopes of finding "a peaceful solution that remedies this injustice."

Montrelle Fennidy filed a lawsuit Thursday in Orleans Parish Civil District Court on behalf of her 11-year-old daughter, Faith, according to a copy of the petition sent to NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune by a family attorney. She sued with Toyonita Parquet, whose daughter, Tyrielle Davis, also was sent home from Christ the King School, according to the lawsuit. The school and the archdiocese are defendants.

Christ the King administrators said Faith Fennidy's braided hair extensions violated school policy. A video recording of Faith in tears at the school received national attention this week. Critics of the policy say black children such as Faith have historically experienced more school discipline over their hairstyles.

The lawsuit states the school's policies have prohibited the two middle schoolers from completing the school year with their peers, thus resulting in "clear irreparable harm."

Late Thursday, Judge Piper Griffin issued a restraining order to let the girls to return to school. But James Williams, an attorney for both families, said Friday that the girls have not returned to school. He joined the family at a news conference outside his law firm's Metairie office and said he has been in touch with attorneys for the Catholic school system.

Schools Superintendent RaeNell Billiot Houston confirmed plans for Monday's meeting: "After reaching out to the family and attorney daily, we are delighted they have accepted our offer to meet, and we look forward to reaching a resolution. Our goal has always been to welcome the girls back to Christ the King Elementary School as soon as possible.

"We'd like to take this opportunity to announce that the Office of Catholic Schools is reconvening the Superintendent's Advisory Council to address school policies, particularly those that might affect cultural differences in school communities, as well as other topics such as racial harmony, social justice and urban Catholic education. The Office of Catholic Schools recognizes the importance of engaging parents, faculty and students to gain their input. We remain committed to being a welcoming school community that celebrates our unity and diversity.

"We join with the family to ask everyone to approach this prayerfully and peacefully."

At the family news conference, Faith's brother, Steven Fennidy, said his sister was hurt by the "intolerant actions" taken by Christ the King School. Since that time, Faith has received "overwhelming support from thousands of people all over the world," he said.

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Neither Faith nor her parents addressed the news media, and Williams took only a few questions from reporters.

Christ the King School notified parents in newsletters July 19 and Aug. 6 that it had changed its policies, according to documentation provided earlier this week by the school system. Parents were asked to sign a handbook to indicate they understood the school's policies, Houston said previously.

Faith was sitting in homeroom with her peers on the first day of class Aug. 9 when her teacher called across the room from her desk to ask Faith if her hair was "real," the lawsuit states. The teacher handed Faith a letter saying Faith wasn't compliant with the newest policy regarding hair extensions. Her mother was supposed to sign the reprimand letter and return it the next day. Before classes dismissed, the lawsuit states, a school guidance counselor called Faith out of homeroom and ordered her to bend down so the counselor could check Faith's hair for extensions.

Montrelle Fennidy called Principal Dawn Swear Castillo on Aug. 13 to seek permission for Faith to keep her braided extensions in order to preserve the child's hair, the lawsuit states. However, Castillo said the extensions are prohibited because they fall under a list of styles that "draw undue attention to the student and cause distractions in class," according to the suit. Faith's mother and Castillo agreed Faith would get her hair re-styled before Aug. 20.

Faith returned to school Aug. 20 with braids that didn't extend beyond her shoulders, the lawsuit states, but she was removed from class because of her extensions. Castillo had Fennidy come to school to pick up Faith, and the lawsuit states Fennidy tried to explain the "complexities of African American hair in hopes that Castillo would understand the discriminatory nature of the policy," according to the lawsuit.

More to come on this story on NOLA.com.

. . . . . . .

Wilborn P. Nobles III contributed to this story. Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and education, Louisiana interests in Congress and other odds and ends for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach.A Baton Rouge father returned from his deployment overseas and made a surprise appearance at his son's school Thursday, WBRZ reported.

WBRZ reports Christopher Bourke is a staff sergeant in the Louisiana National Guard who has been deployed in Iraq since last year. Bourke surprised his 7-year-old son Barrett during lunch Thursday at Lukeville Upper Elementary School.

Watch the Facebook post below from WBRZ to witness the surprise. Barrett notices his father around the 18:30 mark.

. . . . . . .

Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles.When I first heard about a California woman who had turned her lifelong habit of dumpster diving into a business, I had a lot of questions. Don't you?

Although I shop for deals, and have scored some great finds at estate and yard sales, I am a profligate spender compared to Karen Berg, a self-proclaimed "junker," who's furnished her home - and others - from dumpsters.

Of course, I called her up to talk trash.

"My parents started it," said Berg, who lives in the Bay Area. "My mom and dad thought nothing of picking up discarded furniture from the roadside and repurposing it for our home. It was normal."

That lesson came in handy when Berg got married 25 years ago. "We were house-poor newlyweds. My husband was in law school, and soon we had our first baby. Buying furniture wasn't an option." However, fixing up other people's castoffs was.

She taught herself how to upcycle through trial and error. "There was no internet back then to teach you," she said. "Fortunately, that's when shabby chic was in fashion."

Soon she was cruising Craigslist daily for free items, piling her three kids in the car to run and score the goods before someone else did. Then she started hitting up apartment dumpsters. "Once I started opening up dumpsters, I'd always come home with a van full."

Eventually, dumpster diving went from a way to furnish her home to a way to earn a living. She got good at furniture makeovers, and others started hiring her to repaint and repurpose their furniture. As her business took off, she started selling her makeover projects in a rented retail space, and writing Redoux, (http://www.redouxinteriors.com/) a blog featuring the stories behind her upcycled finds.

The blog drew the attention of a paint company, which asked her to make videos for them. That connection led her to a woman who later launched a paint line for DIYers, for which Berg became retail manager. (DIY Paint is now in 250 retail centers.)

"All from digging in the trash," she said, which is just as preposterous as it sounds. For Berg, opening trash cans opened doors.

However, success hasn't dampened her love for what started it all. "I still look in dumpsters at least once a week," she said. "Some people like to play the lottery. I go on treasure hunts."

For those of you who still have questions, as I did, and who also have the courage to dive in, which I don't, here are some answers along with Berg's top trash-taking tips:

Marni: Isn't it illegal to dig through someone's trash?

Karen: Nope. Most state laws say that as long as an item is in the garbage, it belongs to the public.

Marni: Do you ever get harassed, or asked what the heck you are doing?

Karen: All the time. The funniest time was when I was mistaken for a homeless person. See, I always wear gross, old clothes to dumpster dive. (Noted). I was at this apartment complex and a woman came out with some food and a bag of clothes. She thought I was homeless. When I explained that this was my business, she lit up because she had a bunch of furniture she was about to take to the Goodwill.

Marni: What was your best find ever?

Karen: A pair of Mid-Century Modern Danish chairs worth $1,200 to $1,400 each. I found them in an assisted care center, probably some grown children had pitched out their parents' old stuff. They're in my living room. (The chairs, not the parents.)

Marni: What is the weirdest thing you ever found?

Karen: A man's life. It was as if his ex got really angry and just dumped every single solitary possession this guy had, from baby pictures to middle-age mementos, into the garbage. I got some nice picture frames out of it.

Marni: What's the grossest thing you've found?

Karen: Ugg, let this be a warning. I took a dresser home once without looking in the drawers. It was infested with cockroaches. They migrated into our garage, and then the house. We had to have a pest company out. It was awful. Always inspect the insides.

Marni: Where are the best places to dumpster dive?

Karen: Assisted living centers are one of the best places because adult kids are often tossing a parent's old stuff, and apartment complexes, because they have high turnover. Best days are at the beginning and end of the month when people are moving.

Marni: How do you decide what to take, and what to leave?

Karen: I look for anything with good lines, that is well made of solid wood (not particle board and laminate.) I don't mind if the piece is broken. That I can usually fix. I don't take big upholstered pieces, like couches. You don't know what's in them; they often smell funky, and have too many places for bed bugs to hide. I pass up cheap furniture from stores like Walmart and Target. It's not worth saving. And I don't take thick oak pieces from the 80s. You paint those and they're still ugly.

Marni: What do you wish more people knew?

Karen: That they don't have to spend a lot of money to have a beautiful home. If you shop garage sales and Craigslist, are patient and put in a little effort, you can get a great look for nearly nothing. I also wish more people would use what is right in front of them instead of throwing away good furniture. Take another look at that piece from your grandmother, and imagine what it would look like in another color.

Syndicated columnist Marni Jameson is the author of three home and lifestyle books, including Downsizing the Family Home - What to Save, What to Let Go (Sterling Publishing). You may reach her at www.marnijameson.com.This is a story that pits the priority of preserving a shrine to New Orleans cultural past with the priority of improving the future of a neighborhood.

Back in July 2008 the Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church in Central City was gutted by fire. On Thursday (Aug. 24), the New Orleans City Council voted to approve a federally-funded renovation that will convert the shell of the former church into a facility called The Greater Works Family Life Center. The community center will provide early childhood and adult educational opportunities and space for neighborhood gatherings.

That would seem to be an uncomplicated example of progress. Yet champions of New Orleans' musical history believe the church has a more pressing responsibility.

Across South Liberty Street from the site of the future community center stands a trio of small houses, including a boarded-up double shotgun house at 2309 First St. -- once home to the trumpeter considered the pioneer of jazz, Buddy Bolden. The church owns the property, which could be considered ground-zero for an all-American artistic movement.

Several devoted music lovers spoke at Thursday's council meeting, pleading with municipal leaders to insist that the church renovate the long-unused Bolden house as part of the community center project.

Photographer and historian John McCusker argued that the church has neglected the Bolden home since acquiring it after Hurricane Katrina and has rejected offers from outsiders to purchase the property. He told the council that to not compel the church to preserve the property at this juncture is a "death sentence" for the irreplaceable landmark. Hundreds of jazz lovers from around the world make pilgrimages to the humble frame house each year, McCusker said.

But even before the string of musical history devotees spoke on Thursday, District B Councilman Jay H. Banks pointed out that the Bolden house is outside the boundary of the project the council was asked to consider. He argued that the City Council simply had no power to force the church to take any such action. "We do not have the legal authority," Banks said.

As Banks called for a vote on the community center, he sought to make it clear he hopes the Bolden house will eventually be preserved. "I am going to ask that we do approve this," he said of the community center, "but I need to be very clear that the idea of preserving our heritage and culture is something central to me."

Banks said that he has been assured by St. Stephen pastor Debra B. Morton that the Bolden home will eventually be renovated. Banks went on to suggest that the preservationists collaborate with the church to find the money for the project.

During public comments ahead of the vote, Stacey Bridewell told members the preservation of New Orleans' architecture is, in part, what draws newcomers to the city. "I came here for this," she said. Bridewell went on to say that she knows she's "an outsider," but she believes the culture of her adopted home is "very special."

"We are rapidly losing these physical markers of our history," she added.

Banks, once king of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, responded by acknowledging the preservationists' commitment, but he also emphasized that newcomers were not alone in their devotion to the city.

"I hear you in terms of your passion and commitment to the culture," Banks said, "but before many of you got here, I was already there."

In the aftermath of Thursday's meeting, Banks was stung with social media criticism for not leaning more heavily on the church to take action on the Bolden property. McCusker aired his views on Twitter.

Jay

: New Orleans City Councilman is the man who drove one of the last nails in the coffin of saving Buddy Bolden's home in New Orleans. He ignored the case put before him and belittled the people who took hours out of thier day speak before the council.

Banks tweeted his response:

At least two plans are afoot to save Bolden's home. Erin Holmes, the Advocacy Coordinator for the Preservation Resource Center announced during the City Council meeting that the PRC was in discussions with the church on "a short-term plan to stabilize the house."

Also, Todd James from Mathes Brierre Architects, the firm overseeing the design of the Greater Works Family Life Center project, said that long before Thursday's City Council meeting, he and musician PJ Morton, the son of the founders of the church, had begun discussing the preservation of the Bolden home and the identical sister shotgun house beside it. They envision a sort of music production workshop for professional and aspiring musicians. A timetable for the renovation has not been established, he said.

After this story was published, Councilman Banks issued a written statement that encapsulated his view of the matter. In it, he referred to the fact that Louis Armstrong's home had been demolished before being recognized as a cultural keepsake. Banks' statement read in part: "Unfortunately, irrevocable mistakes have been made in the past, and we have forever lost some of our treasured history, but I am committed to doing all that I can do to make sure that doesn't happen again. The history of New Orleans' musical culture must be preserved so that not only visitors can come from around the world, but children can come from around the corner and learn about the magic that makes New Orleans the most wonderful place on the planet."

Note: This story was updated to include the PRC's interest in the preservation of the Bolden house and Councilman Banks' written statement.

Doug MacCash has the best job in the world, covering art, music and culture in New Orleans. Contact him via email at dmaccash@nola.com. Follow him on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash. As always, please add your point of view to the comment stream.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However, both sides would have the chances to appeal to higher courts in the UK against the magistrates court verdict.

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has submitted before the UK court a video of cell 12 in Arthur Road Jail, where it plans to keep embattled businessman Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in India for economic crimes and is currently based in London.

According to reports, video of the cell number 12 shows that the cell contains personal toilet, washing area and TV set. It also has a courtyard.

The Indian authorities are trying to get Mr Mallya extradited to India. Recently, Vijay Mallya had complained to a UK court that there is no natural light and air in the Arthur Road Jail and jails of India are also unhygienic.

After Mr Mallyas complaint the UK judge had asked Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of a cell at Mumbais Arthur Road Jail where they plan to keep Mr Mallya if he is extradited.

When contacted, CBI officials refused to comment on the issue. However, a television report quoted a senior officer saying, The UK court wanted us to show if Indian jails are hygienic or not. We gave them a video as a proof of the hygiene in the jail. The barrack in which Mr Mallya would be kept is east-facing so it has lot of sunlight too.

The senior official added, The cell has two opposite side windows so ventilation wont be a problem. The cell also opens to a courtyard.

In the ongoing extradition proceedings, if the judge rules in favour of the Indian government, the UK home secretary would have two months to sign Mr Mallyas extradition order.

However, both sides would have the chances to appeal to higher courts in the UK against the magistrates court verdict.

The Enforcement Directorate, along with the CBI, is probing the case of alleged bank fraud to the tune of about Rs 9,000 crore.On August 27, EAM will inaugurate the 3rd edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.

New Delhi: External affairs minister, Sushma Swaraj will make an official visit to south-east Asian countries  Vietnam and Cambodia from August 27 to 30, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday.

Vietnam is a close strategic partner of India. The MEA said that Ms Swarajs visit to Vietnam and Cambodia would provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and advance our strategic engagement with these countries and ASEAN region.

On Saturday, the MEA said, In Vietnam (27-28 August), she will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission along with her counterpart, deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister, H.E. Mr Pham Binh Minh. She will also call on Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The MEA added, In Cambodia (29-30 Augu-st), she will have a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Prak Sokhonn, senior minister, minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia and call on Prime Minister H.E. Mr Hun Sen and President of senate H.E.

 Mr Say Chhum. This will be EAMs first official visit to Cambodia.

On August 27, EAM will inaugurate the 3rd edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.Roseburg, OR (97470)

Today

Periods of rain. High 58F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low around 50F. Winds light and variable.Actor-turned-politician Mr Singha praised the works being done by the AAP government in Delhi.

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shatrughan Sinha was on Friday shown black flags by party workers as he shared the stage with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders at an event in the national capital. Mr Sinha took part in a skill development programme for manual scavengers, organised by the office of district magistrate (Shahdara) where he praised the AAP and its workers.

Speaking about Dilip Pandey  AAPs potential candidate and incharge of Northeast Delhi constituency for the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he asked the public to give their love to him. Mr Pandey is a very good human being and I respect him a lot. I wish him happiness and you all should bless him, so that he remains happy and makes happy to you all, he said, addressing the gathering.

Actor-turned-politician Mr Singha praised the works being done by the AAP government in Delhi. They are doing a wonderful job. The AAP government is doing works worth praising. I am with you (AAP) in all works and will be with you (AAP) in all the future works, the actor-politician said in his speech in Hindi.

Delhi government Zindabad, AAP Zindabad, Delhi Zindabad, Jai Bihar and Jai Hind, he added.

Later, the BJP workers, who had gathered outside the district collectors office, raised slogans against the MP and showed black flags to him.Tracey Dewart faced a daunting task last summer: moving her 84-year-old mother, Aerielle, from her Manhattan apartment to an assisted living facility in Brooklyn. Her mother, who has Alzheimers, didnt want to go, but there was little choice after she was found wandering near her home on the Upper East Side several times.

It was physically and emotionally a horrible and overwhelming time, said Ms. Dewart, 58. It felt like there had been a death in the family as we had to sort through all of my parents belongings.

And she was about to confront another ordeal  one that could serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who helps manage their parents money and, more broadly, anyone who does business with an investment broker.

To help pay for her mothers care, Ms. Dewart relied on an investment account at J.P. Morgan Securities that her 89-year-old father, Gordon, opened at least eight years ago. The account was already paying expenses for Ms. Dewarts father  who, after two strokes, was living in the residence that his wife was moving to  and for Ms. Dewarts younger sister, who lives in a community for adults with developmental disabilities.Tesla isnt going private after all.

In a statement late Friday night, Elon Musk, the electric-car makers chief executive, said he and the companys board had concluded that they would not turn Tesla into a privately owned company.

The move halts a process set in motion by Mr. Musk in a Twitter post on Aug. 7. The reversal is the latest upheaval for the company, which has struggled with production challenges for its first mass-market car, the Model 3.

I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but its clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated, Mr. Musk wrote in a statement that Tesla posted on the companys blog shortly after 11 p.m.

After considering all these factors, I met with Teslas board of directors yesterday and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public, he said.The new inmate in Unit 11-South caught the guards eye.

Reza Zarrab, a wealthy Turkish-Iranian gold trader, had been arrested in March 2016, and sent to the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal detention facility known as the Guantanamo of Manhattan for its high security. The guard, Victor Casado, 35, of the Bronx, saw an opportunity, prosecutors said.

In late 2016, Mr. Casado had another inmate slip Mr. Zarrab a note with his phone number and offered his services to the gold trader in exchange for cash.

A driver working for one of Mr. Zarrabs Turkish lawyers paid an initial $5,000 to Mr. Casado, and the prison guard proceeded to smuggle alcohol, cellphones, food and vitamin C packets to Mr. Zarrab. Over time, Mr. Casado received at least $50,000 in bribes, prosecutors said.

Mr. Casado was arrested in April, and on Friday afternoon, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle everything from alcoholic spirits to cold medicine to Mr. Zarrab in exchange for at least $25,000 that the government was able to document.By the same token, liberals now calling for Trumps impeachment ought to rethink the excuses so many of them made for Clinton 20 years ago. That it was just sex. Or that lying about sex doesnt rise to the level of an impeachable offense (even if its lying about sex under oath). Or that character doesnt matter so long as the administration produces peace and prosperity. Or that the motivating animus of the presidents critics is reason enough to dismiss the criticism.

These excuses were toxic not because they had no merit, but because they sidestepped the core of the issue: that the survival and ennoblement of democracy depend on holding people in high office to higher, not lower, standards.

Clintons supposedly small lie about sex (like Trumps small violation of campaign finance laws) was not so small coming from the one person uniquely entrusted to uphold and enforce the law. It sent a signal that lying would be politically acceptable and legally tolerated. Clintons lawyerly prevarications helped create the truth-optional standard by which the Trump presidency operates. The claim by Clintons defenders that his job performance immunized him from impeachment sowed the seed for Trumps remark, in an interview with Fox News this week, that I dont know how you can impeach somebody who has done a great job.

Then, too, the Clinton machines relentless efforts to delegitimize the independent counsel by claiming Starr had gone far beyond his original remit to investigate the Whitewater case mirror the Trump machines attacks on Robert Mueller today.

Yet what Starr did then is what Mueller and other prosecutors are doing now: uncovering wrongdoing where they find it. That Trumps hush money to two women has nothing to do with Russia makes the wrongdoing no less contemptible, illegal  and, because its about the president, impeachable.

Because the Clinton impeachment saga is still relatively recent, its been depressing  and instructive  to watch the two sides in that drama conveniently adopt the others former rationale for their own partisan convenience. (Lindsey Graham, this means you.)

But anyone who now calls for Trump to be judged severely should acknowledge that we would have been in a better place today if Clinton hadnt been so fervently defended back then. Among other things, it might have dissuaded other sexual predators and congenital liars from running for high office.

We can still get it right. Some intellectual consistency would go a long way.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.In a purple state, unlike in Brooklyn, N.Y., or Palo Alto, Calif., these differences press in on each other. Conversations occur that break through ideological lines. Grand Junction, in western Colorado, voted for Trump at the last election. There, I spoke to Robert Babcox, a pastor, who praised the president for sticking to his campaign promises and, for all the bravado, getting the economy revved up.

Babcox called the ban on high-capacity gun magazines that hold more than 15 rounds, signed into law by John Hickenlooper, the Democratic governor who has presidential aspirations, a silly law. The pastor said he could drive across the nearby border into Utah and buy a high-capacity magazine. He said the Second Amendment was designed to create a militia equal to the government to ensure self-reliance, and that therefore the ban on the magazines should be overturned. He said, If I can limit somebody on what weapons they can buy, why would I not be able to limit what you can say about me under the First Amendment? When we endanger one right, we endanger them all.

Words dont kill, I said. Some things are worse than death, he said. So, I asked, Trumps great? No, the pastor said. He only trusted Trump to a degree. Someone should take away his cellphone, he said. Americans can come together, he said, praising John F. Kennedy. I served in the Navy, he said. I saw so many taken before their time  white, black, Hispanic. It all hurt me just the same, and they all bled red, and that lesson stayed with me.

The thing about all the shocking Trump revelations  Michael Cohens about violating campaign finance laws by paying hush money to two women in coordination with a candidate for federal office being the latest  is that they are already baked into Trumps image. His supporters, and there are tens of millions of them, never had illusions. Ive not met one, Babcox included, who did not have a pretty clear picture of Trump. Theyve known all along that hes a needy narcissist, a womanizer, a lowlife, a liar, a braggart and a generally miserable human being. Thats why the Access Hollywood tape or the I-could-shoot-somebody-on-Fifth-Avenue boast did not kill his candidacy.

Its also why the itch to believe that the moment has come when everything starts to unravel must be viewed warily. Sure, Trump sounds more desperate. But whos the enforcer if Trump has broken the law? Its Congress  and until things change there (which could happen in November) or Republicans at last abandon a policy of hold-my-nose opportunism, Trump will ride out the storm.One of the things I like about working for the Opinion section is that it has a broad mandate to cover any subject that is relevant to readers. Our pieces on sexual issues and behavior generate a lot of conversation and disagreement.

In compiling this by-no-means-comprehensive list, I found myself agreeing with a common sentiment expressed by many of the writers: In our culture, we dont talk enough about the important issues that surround sex. And wed do ourselves a favor if we became more comfortable with the subject.I would say he always did his work on time, Mr. Lang said. But he wasnt much for conversation.

His lawyer, Allan M. Richards, said Mr. Bahena Rivera had been a law-abiding employee since arriving in the United States. Hes here living the American dream and working seven days a week, 12 hours a day, and trying to do his best at his job, Mr. Richards said. He said Mr. Bahena Riveras family members were not yet willing to speak publicly.

Federal officials said they have no record of Mr. Bahena Rivera entering the country legally and said that he appeared to have used false documents to obtain employment.

The sheriffs department in Poweshiek County said it had not interacted with him until this week. Neither had any state law enforcement agencies in Iowa.

Mr. Lang said Mr. Bahena Rivera had been hired at the farm in August 2014 after presenting a valid Social Security number, which was checked with a federal database, and a state-issued identification card. The new employee was known around town as Cristhian Bahena Rivera, but around the farm by the fraudulent name listed on those documents, a name the authorities did not disclose.

Outside of work, Mr. Bahena Rivera started dating a Brooklyn high school student, Iris Monarrez, whom he met in 2013. Around 2014, they had a daughter. And for about a year, they lived together. Mr. Bahena Rivera once posted on Facebook that the day he met his girlfriend was el mejor dia de mi vida, or the best day of my life. When she posted a photo of herself in 2015, he wrote in Spanish, My beautiful cool princess.

He was really romantic, said Aby Felix, a second cousin of Ms. Monarrez, who she said has been separated from Mr. Bahena Rivera for about two years. He would bring her flowers.The official said that further probe into the matter was being carried out by Turbhe MIDC police.

The 17-year-old girl was missing from Navi Mumbai since August 7 and, following a complaint by her parents, a case of kidnapping was registered under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code at Turbhe MIDC police station, the official said. (Representational Image)

Thane: A minor girl allegedly kidnapped by a teen from Navi Mumbai earlier this month was traced to New Delhi railway station and rescued, a police official said on Friday.

The 17-year-old girl was missing from Navi Mumbai since August 7 and, following a complaint by her parents, a case of kidnapping was registered under section 363 of the Indian Penal Code at Turbhe MIDC police station, the official said.

A team of the Turbhe MIDC police and the Navi Mumbai police's Anti-Human Trafficking Cell rescued the girl from New Delhi on Wednesday and arrested an 18-year-old, identified as Mohammad Aslam Khan, who allegedly kidnapped the girl after promising to marry her, he said.

The official added that further probe into the matter was being carried out by Turbhe MIDC police.Even when she became homeless and slept on a park bench, Ms. Collier was not told that she could apply for a reduced fee. Instead, her case worker responded to her pleas with an email, according to the court filing: Since you are on your FINAL NOTICE, any missed test past this point will result in program termination. So I am happy to hear that you are going to do whatever is possible to test next time.

Ms. Collier failed the program  not because she missed a drug education seminar or flunked a drug test, the court filing says, but because she could not afford it. A court gave her a second chance, but she lost the money she had put in, including an initial fee of $150, and had to pay all over again.

Diversion programs like the one she entered have become increasingly popular, offering an alternative not just to incarceration, but also to the lasting damage of a criminal record. The programs, usually offered to those charged with low-level or nonviolent crimes like drug possession and shoplifting, allow defendants to sidestep the courts altogether if they can meet a variety of requirements, which can include drug treatment, anger-management classes, finding a job or even getting a G.E.D. They have spread to almost every state and become a campaign promise in district attorney races.

But a lawsuit filed Thursday in the United States District Court in Phoenix, seeking monetary damages for participants in the Maricopa County program, paints a picture of the darker side of diversion.

Many of the programs are entirely at the discretion of the local prosecutor, and while some are free or low-cost, others come with a hefty fee and can amount to pay-for-dismissal schemes, available only to those with money. Diversion fees have enriched city and prosecutor coffers, paying for retirement parties, travel and business attire. Promises of waivers or fee reductions for the poor can be nothing more than lip service, a New York Times investigation in 2016 found.WASHINGTON  Nineteen foreign nationals ranging from age 26 to 71 have been charged with illegally voting in the November 2016 election in North Carolina, the Justice Department said Friday. Nine of the 19 were also charged with falsely claiming American citizenship to get on voter rolls.

A 20th man, whose nationality was not identified, was charged with helping one of the foreigners falsely claim citizenship.

The charges, listed in grand jury indictments issued last month, target citizens of 14 nations, including Japan, Germany, Mexico and Korea. At least nine of them lived in the United States as legal permanent residents. One other, 58-year-old Ramon Esteban Paez-Jerez of the Dominican Republic, had been deported in the 1980s, but returned under a false identity and gained citizenship in 1999.

Mr. Paez-Jerez pleaded guilty to passport fraud and voting by an alien on Aug. 14. He faces up to 11 years in prison and a fine of up to $350,000.Federal prosecutors in Manhattan struck a deal earlier this summer with Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, granting him immunity for his grand jury testimony about Michael D. Cohen, a person briefed on the arrangement said Friday.

News of Mr. Weisselbergs testimony came days after Mr. Cohen said Mr. Trump had directed him to commit campaign finance crimes and one day after another Trump loyalist, the tabloid executive David Pecker, was revealed to have agreed to help prosecutors in their case.

The person briefed on the deal said that it was narrow in scope, protecting Mr. Weisselberg from self-incrimination in sharing information with prosecutors about Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trumps former personal lawyer, who pleaded guilty on Tuesday to tax and campaign finance charges. The latter charges stemmed from payments during the campaign to two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump. It was not, the person said, a blanket immunity extending beyond the information he shared, and Mr. Weisselberg remains in his job at the Trump Organization.

Mr. Weisselberg figured into the charges filed against Mr. Cohen this week, having facilitated the processing of what prosecutors described as sham invoices at the Trump Organization, through which Mr. Cohen was reimbursed for the money he had paid to quiet one of the women alleging an affair with Mr. Trump, the pornographic film actress Stephanie Clifford.Paul Manafort was once President Trumps campaign manager. By the fall of 2018, he was expected to face at least a decade in prison for 10 felony counts. Those counts included financial fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Mr. Manafort is disappointed of not getting acquittals all the way through. He is evaluating all of his options at this point. In the hopes of getting a more lenient punishment, Manafort agreed to fully cooperate with the special counsel, Robert Mueller. Now, federal prosecutors are saying he violated his plea deal by repeatedly lying during their investigation. Manaforts lawyer also allegedly passed information to President Trumps legal team. But this isnt Manaforts first scandal. Controversy has trailed the veteran Republican adviser since his earliest work as an international lobbyist and consultant. In the 1980s, Manafort testified before Congress and admitted to using his political influence to win millions of dollars in contracts from federal low-income housing programs. The technical term for what we do and what law firms, associations and professional groups do is lobbying. For purposes of today, I will admit that in a narrow sense some people might term it influence peddling. That same decade, Manafort advised the Philippine dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, on improving his image in the U.S. Manafort allegedly received $10 million in cash from a Marcos confidante. It was apparently money intended for Ronald Reagans presidential campaign. But the campaign said it never received that money. Foreign contributions to U.S. presidential elections are illegal. Also in the 1980s, Manafort was linked to the prime minister of the Bahamas at a time when the island nation had alleged ties to drug traffickers. Manaforts company said that the goal of its work was to help the Bahamas obtain more U.S. aid to help curb the drug smuggling. Decades later, Manafort would run Trumps presidential campaign. We want America to understand who Donald Trump the man is. Not just Donald Trump the candidate. The composite of his career. Not just from a business standpoint or a political standpoint, from a human standpoint as well. But he resigned five months into the job in August 2016, in the wake of reports that he received more than $12 million from Viktor Yanukovich, the former Ukrainian president and pro-Russia politician. Yanukovich and his political party relied on advice from Manafort and his firm, which helped them win several elections. The Times uncovered that Manafort and others close to Trump met with the Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer in June 2016. That lawyer claimed to have damaging political information about Hillary Clinton. As for this latest brush with controversy, Manaforts lawyers insist that their client has been truthful. But they acknowledge that Manafort and Muellers team are at an impasse.Representative Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader, and other top Democrats advised the partys candidates this week, in a memo and a conference call, to speak not of impeachment, but of a culture of corruption under Mr. Trump, for which a Democratic House would be a check.

The president weighed in that his removal from office would cause the booming stock market to crash and make Americans very poor. Whether he was consciously trying to motivate his supporters in the midterms was unclear. I dont know how you can impeach somebody whos done a great job, he added.

The campaign of Mark Harris, the Republican House candidate in the Ninth District, suggested it is eager to bring up the subject, as a prod to the Republican base. For now, though, the threat of impeachment seems not to have broken through to many voters yet. The race here is competitive largely because many of the presidents voters are complacent, while Democratic supporters are angry and eager to turn out.

Sheila Moysakis, 54, a beauty salon owner in Unionville, who called herself a strong Trump supporter, said Mr. Trumps payments to a porn star and a Playboy model ahead of the 2016 election did not concern her. That kind of stuff doesnt normally blow my skirt up, she said.WASHINGTON  The Trump administration announced on Friday that it would not spend more than $200 million set aside for Palestinian aid in the West Bank and Gaza, the latest in a series of measures that have infuriated the Palestinians.

The cancellation follows a similar decision last week against spending $230 million reserved by Congress to help stabilize areas in Syria devastated by the countrys seven-year war. And it comes as the administration considers canceling nearly $3 billion in foreign aid projects around the world.

As with the money for Syria, the administration intends to redirect the funds intended for Palestinians to higher-priority projects elsewhere, according to a senior State Department official. The administration has yet to identify what those projects are.

The official said the decision took into account the challenges of providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas has governing authority. The United States considers the group, which has launched multiple attacks against Israel, a terrorist organization.Three people were charged this week in connection with the toppling of the Silent Sam Confederate monument at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an act of protest that supporters say demolished a symbol of white supremacy.

The individuals, who were not named but who were said to have no affiliation with the university, face misdemeanor charges of rioting and defacing a public monument, Randy Young, a spokesman for the universitys police force, said in a statement on Friday. Mr. Young said none of the three had been arrested yet.

On Monday night, demonstrators brought down the 105-year-old Confederate monument, prompting sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers and university leaders. The next day, university leaders warned that they would rely on the full breadth of state and university processes to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

The new charges come as university officials warn of potential demonstrations planned for Saturday on campus. In a statement on Friday, the university said it was preparing for a possible rally surrounding the monument and urged students to stay away.How exceptional have the recent fire seasons been in the West?

What were seeing now is something that we havent seen in the last 100 years. Fire is behaving in ways that are unpredictable and pretty frightening. There are a lot of reasons for it. We live in a part of the continent from California right up to Alaska that has really experienced most of what climate change offers: a lot of dry, hot weather, which produces very dry forests, and the hotter it gets, the more lightning you get.

Have forestry practices like tree planting after harvests contributed?

By simply replanting a merchantable piece of lumber, youre making a complex ecosystem a lot more simplistic, and its just not good for it.

What you get in natural regeneration, say, in coniferous forests, you have the aspen shoots coming right back. They call the aspen the asbestos tree. Theyre not easily ignited, especially when theyre young. They hold a lot of moisture in, so they dont burn as well.

In Fort McMurray, one of the flaws of the fire suppression strategy was they had some really old vegetation maps. They thought that they had this big stand of aspen in between Fort McMurray and the fire front that would slow the fire.

How effective are we at putting out forest fires?

Once the fire gets to a certain size, say, a thousand hectares, and its being driven by wind and hot weather, theres really nothing firefighters can do to put it out. They can steer a fire away, maybe, from buildings and communities. They can maybe slow a fire. But really, in the end Mother Nature has got to come in and put some moisture on those fires.

We need to give them the resources they need to keep people safe. But to think that theyre going to be able to put out fires  theres just no way.

Then what should we be doing?

Too much attention is now focused on fighting these fires, rather than dealing with future fires. The problem right now with urban planning is that we dont incorporate the threat of wildfire. Ninety-six percent of the communities in this country are vulnerable in some way to wildfire.

We subsidize people who want to buy an electric car to deal with climate change. Maybe we should have a program in place that makes homes and communities more resilient. Like, say, if you replace a cedar roof with a steel roof, you get a rebate. The cost of suppression and recovery is becoming so high that somethings got to be done. We cant just keep opening the governments wallet to bail people out year after year after year.The comedian Drew Michael delivers an unconventional stand-up special on HBO. And a Hindi horror series streams on Netflix.

Whats on TV

DREW MICHAEL 10 p.m. on HBO; also on HBO streaming platforms. In this new stand-up special, the comedian Drew Michael, who has written for Saturday Night Live, doesnt amble across a stage, engaging with an audience. He stands against a black backdrop and delivers a raw monologue on his fears and insecurities, staring straight into the camera. The darkness of his humor is amplified by eerie blue lighting, giving the impression that were right there in his head with him. The actress Suki Waterhouse (Assassination Nation) occasionally appears as Mr. Michaels girlfriend.

MISSION GALAPAGOS 9 p.m. on BBC America. In this three-part series, the host Liz Bonnin joins a research team on an expedition across the Galapagos Islands. A province of Ecuador, this far-flung volcanic archipelago houses tremendously diverse wildlife. (Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1835, and made observations that would later inform his theory of evolution.) In this episode, Ms. Bonnin tags along on a search mission for the endangered Galapagos pink land iguana and boards a submersible in search of a new marine species.Thousands of Walt Disney World employees would receive raises under a new contract settlement between the company and a group of unions that increases the minimum starting pay to $15 an hour by 2021, capping nine months of tense wage negotiations that led to large protests in Central Florida.

The unions, which represent 38,000 service employees at Walt Disney World  about half the total number working at the park  announced the agreement in a statement on Saturday, calling it historic.

Most of the workers make less than $11 an hour, said Jeremy Haicken, the president of Local 737, the largest of the six unions at the negotiating table.

Jessica Lella, 24, a union steward and ride operator at the parks DinoLand U.S.A., has been working for Disney full time for nearly six years and currently earns $10 an hour, the same rate as a new hire. Now that wages are set to increase, she said, she plans to stay at the company and hopes to start a family in the near future.The incident took place on August 16 between 2.30am and 3.30am.

The female stray, Bindu, who had recently delivered seven puppies, died of trauma.

Mumbai: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has approached the Mumbai police commissioner, asking for section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, to be added to the First Information Report (FIR) which was registered against a security guard for allegedly raping a stray female dog by forcing a sharp object into her vagina and causing her internal organs to prolapse, leading to her death.

The incident came to light when animal activist Nisha Jain found Bindu, a canine in the building complex, lying in a pool of blood with her intestines dangling out. The incident took place on August 16 between 2.30am and 3.30am.

The CCTV footage showed that at 3.30am, Bindu was seen near the building with something dangling behind her. After Ms Jain found Bindu, she was rushed to a veterinary doctor who performed a surgery.

Premshankar Rai was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly inserting a rod inside the vagina of the stray dog and pulling out her intestines.

Bindu, who had recently delivered seven puppies, died of trauma and Rai was released on a bail bond of Rs3,000 on Wednesday itself.

PETA India emergency response coordinator Meet Ashar told The Asian Age, After committing such a heinous crime on an animal, the accused has been set free. What is the guarantee that he wont commit any kind of crime!

We call for anyone found harming animals to be punished to the fullest extent of the law and request that the government strengthen penalties for abusing animals  for the safety of the entire community.

We have urged the police to include section 377 pertaining to sexual assault of an animal by a human being so that the accused is punished with life imprisonment, said Ashar.I thought about what are the problems that are most likely to affect the future of the world or future of humanity. Elon Musk, a South African-born engineer, inventor and billionaire, is one of the most important entrepreneurs in the world. But the 47-year-old is no stranger to turmoil, and by his own account his career has been full of highs and lows. Just three years ago, I was showering at the Y and sleeping on the office floor. And now, I have got a million-dollar car and quite a few creature comforts. After making a fortune with his first successful startup, Zip2, Musk gained fame as the co-founder of PayPal in the late 1990s. So this is an ATM. What were going to do is transform the traditional banking industry. The company lost hundreds of millions of dollars, and Musk was ousted as CEO because of internal turmoil. But when PayPal went public in 2002, and then was sold to eBay, Musk  as the biggest shareholder  walked away with $200 million. By the mid-2000s, Musk had turned around and invested almost all of his PayPal fortune into his new companies: SpaceX, Tesla and SolarCity. With SpaceX, Musks aspiration is out of this world  literally. Its a commercial space flight company, which designs and launches advanced rockets into space. Behind me is where Falcon 9 would sit during launch. One of its ambitions is to eventually send people to Mars. And I cant think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars. But it has faced some roadblocks. Their first three rocket launches  failed, burning through almost all of the companys assets. But SpaceX has had recent successes. The Falcon Heavy launch earlier this year was a big milestone and it carried an interesting payload: a dummy astronaut riding a Tesla car that was orbiting space. The company has also landed contracts with NASA, but questions about safety and cost remain. We sold over 1,000 cars  and by sold I mean people put down a substantial deposit on the car. Tesla, Musks electric car company, is one of the first of its kind to work on a large scale. It has also successfully disrupted the auto industry. The company is valued at over $50 billion. The Tesla Model S has been called the greatest car ever built. But Tesla has also faced some setbacks, including car batteries that caught on fire, recalls and production delays. SolarCity, Musks renewable energy venture, initially had a bright future. Its the largest provider of rooftop solar systems in the U.S., and the company boomed on Wall Street. But after investors raised doubts about its business model, SolarCitys shares quickly lost value, and Tesla had to take over in what was widely seen as a bailout. We really need to make solar panels as appealing as electric cars have become. But while Musk may have been flirting with bankruptcy and calamity for years, his projects continue to captivate the collective imagination. Life has to be more than about solving problems. There have to be things that make you proud to be a member of humanity.A federal district judge in Washington struck down most of the key provisions of three executive orders that President Trump signed in late May that would have made it easier to fire federal employees.

The ruling, issued early Saturday, is a blow to Republican efforts to rein in public-sector labor unions, which states like Wisconsin have aggressively curtailed in recent years. In June, the Supreme Court dealt public-sector unions a major blow by ending mandatory union fees for government workers nationwide. (Federal workers were already exempt from paying such fees.)

The ruling is the latest in a series of legal setbacks for the administration, which has suffered losses in court in its efforts to wield executive authority to press its agenda on immigration, voting and the environment.

The executive orders, which also rolled back the power of the unions that represent federal workers, had instructed agencies to seek to reduce the amount of time in which underperforming employees are allowed to demonstrate improvement before facing termination, from a maximum of up to 120 days to a maximum of 30 days, and to seek to limit workers avenues for appealing performance evaluations. The orders also sought to significantly reduce the amount of so-called official time that federal employees in union positions can spend on union business during work hours.Elizabeth Georgianne Lang Johnson and Adele Aviva Levine were married Aug. 24 at the Prince Georges County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro, Md. Judy C. Diggs, a deputy clerk, officiated.

Ms. Johnson (right), 42, is a dancer and choreographer for Dance Exchange, an intergenerational dance company and performing arts space in Takoma Park, Md. She graduated from Connecticut College and received a Master of Fine Arts in dance from Arizona State University.

She is a daughter of Lyla G. Johnson and David G. Johnson of Portsmouth, N.H.

Ms. Levine, 48, is a physical therapist at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Md. She graduated from Temple University, and received both a masters degree in physical therapy and a doctorate of physical therapy from the University of Maryland. She is the author of Run, Dont Walk: The Curious and Courageous Life Inside Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Avery/Penguin).

Ms. Levine is a daughter of Verena Levine of Washington and the late Richard J. Levine.

When Ms. Levine put her profile on the dating app HER in January 2017, she did not set her parameters too wide, or her hopes too high.He is a son of Joyce Yvonne Oosterman and Simon Oosterman of Floriana, Malta.

Ms. James and Mr. Oosterman met in 2014 at Bar Veloce in Manhattan. Ms. James was in previews for that years Broadway revival of Les Miserables, in which she played the street urchin Eponine. Mr. Oosterman, then living in Los Angeles, was visiting his friend Johannes Rittershausen in New York to say goodbye; in three weeks, Mr. Oosterman was moving to London. Ms. James was lured to the bar by her friend Pearl Sun, Mr. Rittershausens wife.

I was rehearsing during the day and doing shows, so I really was not inclined to go out for drinks because my job is more important to me than a glass of wine, Ms. James said. But she mentioned they were going to order my favorite bottle of Lambrusco. My arm was twisted.

She wasnt prepared to meet a handsome Dutch stranger. When I saw him, I kept thinking how irritated I was that I hadnt brushed my hair or put makeup on, she said. I was playing Eponine, so I had dirt on my face and my hair was a mess. I was sitting at the end of the bar where there was a mirror, and I kept catching glimpses of myself and being embarrassed.

Mr. Oosterman did not notice the dirt or the wild hair. He was instantly attracted. But because of his impending move, he set his feelings aside. Before he left New York, they exchanged emails. By the time he left for London, a romantic e-correspondence was incubating. A few months later, Ms. James visited Mr. Oosterman in London. She left disappointed.

As much as we knew this was something special, he was apprehensive about starting a real relationship with someone who lived so far away, she said. I was in love with him. It was really difficult.Allison Jane Cohen and Andrew David Kleiman were married Aug. 25 at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse, a performance space, in Manhattan. Cantor Leslie Friedlander officiated.

The bride, 35, will take her husbands name. She is a college counselor at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Manhattan. She graduated summa cum laude from Tufts, and received a master's degree in counseling psychology from Columbia.

She is a daughter of Lindsey C. Cohen and Alan J. Cohen of Indianapolis.

The groom, 35, is a play therapist at Imagine Academy for Autism, a private school for ages 5 to 21 in Brooklyn; he is also a private special-education itinerant teacher in the New York City area. He graduated from Ithaca College, and received a master's degree is special education with honors from City College.

He is the son of Robin E. Kleiman of Baltimore and the late Dr. Stephen E. Kleiman.

The couple met in 2016, after Mr. Kleimans mothers attempt to set him up with the daughter of someone she met on a trip to Israel. The connection did not work out when his prospective date texted him and said she wasnt crazy about being set up by her mother. But she did offer to ask if anyone at that days meeting of her book club, in Manhattan, was interested in meeting with him.Ive learned a lot about the juggle in the year since my daughter was born. I joined The Times as a cybersecurity correspondent last year when I was eight months pregnant, fully aware I was taking a high-pressure job just as everything in my life was about to change. But I have a supportive husband, family and friends. My editors and colleagues are understanding, and my husband and I were lucky enough to be able to afford a nanny. I looked around and saw so many moms doing it under circumstances so much tougher than the ones I was facing.

It couldnt be that hard, I told myself.

Yeah, right.

There is a reason parents describe it as a juggle. Even with all the help, there is constantly a ball in the air you are in danger of dropping. Most days, the only way to get through is to remove one of those balls. Stories need to be written, baby needs to get bathed; we can go one more day without filling the car up with gas, buying groceries, doing laundry. The first thing to go is always the personal errands we used to prioritize: dinner with friends, a visit to the gym or a haircut. Those are now icing on the cake, if and when we get to them.

And what about all those extras, those little things we all do to advance our careers that fall outside of the 9-to-5 requirements laid out in our job descriptions? There are the after-work drinks, the last-minute dinners with a visiting boss. The out-of-town conferences and meetings that arent mandatory, technically.

In journalism, which is never a 9-to-5 job, its even harder. News breaks at all hours of the day, and any phone call might be an important source with blockbuster news. Journalists are increasingly pushed to have a presence on social media. They are called to speak on television news shows to promote their stories. To be the face behind the byline means being in a studio early in the morning or late in the evening  exactly the hours of the day most parents carve out to be with their kids.

This is a story about what it took for me to make it to one television appearance that Tuesday morning and what that says about how hard it is for parents in our society  even people as lucky and, yes, privileged as I know my husband and I are  to combine work and raising a family.Its the big question. And everybody, including myself, wants a pie graph. They want to be able to say what percentage is ideologue, what percentage is snake-oil salesman. And Im not sure I can answer the question. We all know that being an effective salesman is coming to believe in what youre selling. You know, I like to think that the human capacity for credulity is unlimited, unfettered. But the human capacity for self-deception  the ultimate self-credulity  is also unfettered, unlimited. I look at him and I think to myself: You cant really believe this stuff. And yet, for all intents and purposes, he does.

Which stuff do you find it hardest to believe he believes?

I find it hardest to believe that he thinks that Donald Trump is an honest man. I find it hard to believe that he thinks that Donald Trump is enabling populist programs. How is this tax cut or the attempt to roll back capital gains taxes  how does that benefit the people? Is allowing all kinds of industrial pollution populism? I could go on and on.

I try making fun of him. You know, he was reading a book about tariffs and China and the Great Wall. And I said to him, You know, the wall really worked in China. He said, Hows that? I said, No Mexicans.

Did he laugh?

That time he didnt. Once I told him I was in favor of the wall during our interview. And he said, Hows that? And I said, Because Im planning to leave this country, and the wall is the only thing that is going to keep those crazy American killers and rapists out of Mexico.

I shouldnt talk this way, but I have such underlying contempt for so much of this.

Build the wall. Do you really, really think that the wall is going to be a solution to unemployment for the middle class? Do you really, really, really think thats the panacea for what ails us?

Did you  and I ask this sincerely because the verb has many meanings  enjoy your time with Bannon?

Yeah. Im appalled by Bannon, but I like him.

Explain that paradox.

It gave me the opportunity to read a lot of stuff and watch a lot of stuff and think about a lot of stuff. I mean, I went to the set one day. Set decorators always have odds and ends that they keep in order to scatter around a set to make it look more realistic. Example: old books. And one of the old books was a copy of Miltons Paradise Lost. And I started reading it on set between takes. I finally said to him, You know, Ive been reading Paradise Lost again. And that Lucifer character  he seems Bannon-esque.All that has changed with Mr. Trump as president. For Republicans, honor and integrity are now passe. We saw it again last week when the presidents longtime lawyer Michael Cohen  standing in court before a judge, under oath  implicated Mr. Trump in criminal activity, while his former campaign chairman was convicted in another courtroom on financial fraud charges. Most Republicans in Congress were either silent or came to Mr. Trumps defense, which is how this tiresome drama now plays itself out.

It is a stunning turnabout. A party that once spoke with urgency and apparent conviction about the importance of ethical leadership  fidelity, honesty, honor, decency, good manners, setting a good example  has hitched its wagon to the most thoroughly and comprehensively corrupt individual who has ever been elected president. Some of the men who have been elected president have been unscrupulous in certain areas  infidelity, lying, dirty tricks, financial misdeeds  but weve never before had the full-spectrum corruption we see in the life of Donald Trump.

For many Republicans, this reality still hasnt broken through. But facts that dont penetrate the walls of an ideological silo are facts nonetheless. And the moral indictment against Mr. Trump is obvious and overwhelming. Corruption has been evident in Mr. Trumps private and public life, in how he has treated his wives, in his business dealings and scams, in his pathological lying and cruelty, in his bullying and shamelessness, in his conspiracy-mongering and appeals to the darkest impulses of Americans. (Senator Bob Corker, a Republican, refers to the presidents race-based comments as a base stimulator.) Mr. Trumps corruptions are ingrained, the result of a lifetime of habits. It was delusional to think he would change for the better once he became president.

Some of us who have been lifelong Republicans and previously served in Republican administrations held out a faint hope that our party would at some point say Enough!; that there would be some line Mr. Trump would cross, some boundary he would transgress, some norm he would shatter, some civic guardrail he would uproot, some action he would take, some scheme or scandal he would be involved in that would cause large numbers of Republicans to break with the president. No such luck. Mr. Trumps corruptions have therefore become theirs. So far theres been no bottom, and there may never be. Its quite possible this should have been obvious to me much sooner than it was, that I was blinded to certain realities I should have recognized.

In any case, the Republican Partys as-yet unbreakable attachment to Mr. Trump is coming at quite a cost. There is the rank hypocrisy, the squandered ability to venerate public character or criticize Democrats who lack it, and the damage to the white Evangelical movement, which has for the most part enthusiastically rallied to Mr. Trump and as a result has been largely discredited. There is also likely to be an electoral price to pay in November.(Remember the giant fatberg in London?)

Dental floss

Dental floss, which is usually made of nylon or Teflon, should also stay out of the toilet.

It seems like, Oh, its just a little string, but it tends to wrap things up, Mr. Villee said. Itll collect other things and make kind of a big wad of stuff. Its incredibly strong.

Contact lenses

When contact lenses are flushed down the toilet or washed down the sink, they do not biodegrade easily. As a result, they may make their way into surface water, causing environmental damage, new research has shown.

[The science of why contact lenses may have a dark side if they are improperly disposed]

The lenses are also impervious to the bacteria that break down biological waste at treatment plants. When researchers at Arizona State University submerged contacts in chambers with the bacteria, they found that the lenses appeared intact seven days later.

We discourage any kind of plastics because it can make its way through a treatment plant and end up in the receiving water, said Vincent Sapienza, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Contact lenses have densities similar to water, so they dont readily float or sink at wastewater treatment plants, he added, which means they are not captured and removed at the plant.

Tampons

It is often assumed that tampons can be flushed down the toilet, in part because they are so small. But their absorbent materials, including the string, do not break down easily: They cannot be processed by wastewater treatment centers, and can damage septic systems.Please sign up here to have the Race/Related newsletter delivered weekly to your inbox.

For my colleague Kendra Pierre-Louis, a reporter on the Climate Desk, environmental justice and racial justice are deeply intertwined. You cant separate the two, she told me this week.

But its not always clear how racial inequality influences the way we understand climate change. I dont think people realize how strong the relationship is, partially because of how we talk about environmental issues, Kendra said. We often only read about how climate change will affect the global 1 percent.

She gave me the example of chocolate and coffee, two plants that only grow under very narrow climate conditions. Eventually the climate wont be suitable for growing these crops except for in a few very limited places. Theyll become even more fancy and rare.

Thus we read stories about how climate change is coming for your chocolate, which, Kendra said, it most definitely is. But there is an angle for that story that we dont talk about as much, which is: What happens to the cocoa and the coffee farmers who maybe arent consuming the coffee or the chocolate, but it is sustaining their livelihoods?In all 75 districts of UP, memorial events will be organised to scatter Vajpayees ashes in a river.

Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayees daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya and son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya immerse his ashes in the Ganga at Har ki Pauri in Hardwar on Sunday. BJP president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath are also seen. (Photo: PTI)

A year ago, in September 2017, BJP president Amit Shah tore into the Congress for beginning every political journey with the urns bearing the ashes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Metaphorically, he was reducing the party to the achievements of its past leaders.

It is undeniable that the Congress had started the process of converting the death of its tallest leaders into a national grieving event. Their ashes were scattered not only in Indias rivers but also sprinkled over the Himalayas and the farms and fields of the country.

Mr Shah, however, may have spoken too soon. Just a year later, it is his party which is trying to apotheosise its own tallest leader of recent times, Atal Behari Vajpayee, by transforming the Hindu rites of death into a political tableau.

The foster family of Vajpayee immersed his ashes at Hardwar on August 20. In Hindu belief, the cremation rites dissolve the material bond between the physical body and the soul and the immersion of the ashes in flowing water is essential to free the soul. Of these waters, the Ganga is considered the holiest. The Shankhsmriti says: Yadavasthini gangayam tishthanti purushayshya cha; tavad varsh sahasrani Brhamaloke mahiyate (So long as the ashes of a deceased person remain in the Ganga, the soul of that person will continue to enjoy happiness in Brahmalok, the highest of the joyful worlds, for thousands of years).

After this final ritual, Vajpayees ashes are also being dispersed by the party in 110 rivers and lakes across the country. This should be unexceptionable, given the precedents set by Congress governments.

However, consider the mind-boggling fact that in Uttar Pradesh alone there will be more than 100 ash immersions. In UP, Vajpayees ashes will be immersed in the Ganga 20 times; in the Yamuna 16 times; in the Gomati and Ghagra 11 times; in the Tons, Rapti and Sai six times; in the Hindon five times; in the Gandak, Varuna, Ramganga, Kuoni and Kali Nadi three times; in the Garra, Suheli, Rohini, Dhasan, Karban and Ishan twice; besides being immersed in the Ken, Betwa, Karnali, Rihand, Badi Gandak, Chhoti Gandak, Sot, Sengar, Arind, Sharada, Bakulahi, Aril, Kunhar, Vaan Ganga, Sharada, Sone and Kanha rivers.

In all 75 districts of UP, memorial events will be organised to scatter Vajpayees ashes in a river. In some districts the ceremony will be repeated up to four times in different rivers. In addition, three memorials will be built for Vajpayee in East, Central and Western UP.

In Madhya Pradesh, the urns containing the ashes will be taken to every village panchayat, condolence meetings will be organised in every district headquarters town, development block and gram panchayat and then immersed in all prominent rivers of the state. Vajpayee Memorials will be constructed in Bhopal and Gwalior, a `5 lakh award instituted in journalism, poetry and administration; the school in Gwalior which Vajpayee attended will be upgraded; a Vajpayee Library set up in all seven smart cities of the state; and naming the states Global Skill Park, four Shramodaya Schools and the Vidisha Medical College after Vajpayee. Vajpayees ashes will be carried in three processions in Chhattisgarh; its capital Naya Raipur will be named Atal Nagar and Bilaspur University will be renamed after Vajpayee. In Rajasthan the ashes will be immersed in Mahi river in Banswara, Chambal river in Kota and Pushkar Lake in Ajmer.

Why does this feel more than mere ritual facilitation of a departed soul to Brahmalok? Because the activities around ash-immersion are so much more intense in the electorally important North Indian states than in the South, where the BJP is non-existent outside Karnataka.

The party is understandably very anxious about UP, which contributes the most number of seats to the Lok Sabha and where its performance was spectacular in 2014. A comparable performance in the coming general election is threatened by the potential alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.

The ash immersion ceremonies provide the party an opportunity to reconnect with its cadre and voters in UP. The beleaguered party is perhaps especially hopeful of consolidating its support among the brahmins alienated by the Narendra Modi governments belated pro-dalit moves such as amending the Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes Act and advocating reservations in promotions.

The celebration of the brahmin Vajpayee may help the party in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as well. Re-naming of roads and institutions after another departed brahmin leader of the party, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay (Mughal Sarai railway station was recently renamed after him) and launching Ayushman Bharat, or Modicare, on his birthday in September are part of the same strategy.

More important, the party perhaps also hopes to cash in on Vajpayees brand equity. Even though Prime Minister Modi seems confident and is not given to self-doubt, the party seems to feel the need for other icons as well.

Politically, the BJP doesnt have too many recognisable public icons. Unlike other political parties, it cant drink deep from the well of the Indian freedom struggle. Despite its muscular nationalism today, its ancestral outfits were simply absent from the freedom struggle. The BJP harks back to V.D. Savarkar, but his clemency petition from jail in the Andamans casts a shadow on his credentials. Appropriating Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel does not take it far because he lived and died a Congressman. At best Patel can be used to criticise some of Nehrus decisions.

In Vajpayee, a democratically-elected and well-liked Prime Minister, the BJP has finally found someone it can be unstintingly proud of. Upadhyay may have been an intellectual giant for the BJP but he does not connect with most Indians. That is not the case with Vajpayee. He can be the Hindutva ideologys counter to Chacha Nehru as an avuncular, poetry-spouting, cuddly figure.

Memorialising Vajpayee will help to round the rough edges of the image of the BJP and perhaps make it more acceptable to large sections of the populace. Carrying the urns of his ashes will certainly launch the BJP on a new political journey. Whether another phoenix will rise from his ashes remains to be seen.LANCASTER, Pa.  On an overcast afternoon this month, a block party was in full swing, the hot dogs were going fast, and Chris Underhill, freshly graduated from high school, was savoring a new milestone: He had registered to vote for the first time.

Filling out the form offered by a political activist not much older than him took about three minutes. But its significance was not lost on Mr. Underhill, 18, who grew up in this city on the edge of Amish country, 75 miles west of Philadelphia. An aspiring actor who helped organize a local march following this years deadly mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., Mr. Underhill said his everyday worries mirror those that fuel the anxieties of his generation, such as how to pay for college and losing access to health care.

And then theres the presidency of Donald J. Trump.

This countrys just gone off the walls since Trump got elected, he said, echoing the impressions of thousands of new Pennsylvania voters his age. But now I have the power to vote and make it better, starting with Lancaster and then going bigger.

Weary of a political system that many young Americans see as rigged against their generation, and fired up to elect candidates who they believe support the issues they care about, a surge of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 have registered to vote this year, according to data from 39 states compiled by Targetsmart, a Democratic polling firm.CHICAGO  Democratic Party officials, after a yearslong battle between warring ideological wings, have agreed to sharply reduce the influence of the top political insiders known as superdelegates in the presidential nomination process.

Under the new plan, which was agreed to on Saturday afternoon in Chicago at the Democratic National Committees annual summer meetings, superdelegates retain their power to back any candidate regardless of how the public votes. They will now be largely barred, however, from participating in the first ballot of the presidential nominating process at the partys convention  drastically diluting their power.

Superdelegates will be able to cast substantive votes only in extraordinary cases like contested conventions, in which the nomination process is extended through multiple ballots until one candidate prevails.

After you lose an election, you have to look in the mirror, said Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Mr. Dean had recorded a video message to committee members urging them to back the proposed changes.As Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, has investigated his actions for more than a year, the president has waged a relentless campaign to diminish the Justice Department and the F.B.I. in the eyes of the public. After Michael D. Cohen, his longtime personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations that he said had been directed by Mr. Trump, the president falsely claimed that the violations were not even a crime. And he has criticized federal courts as they have blocked much of his agenda, including his efforts to wield executive authority on immigration, voting and the environment.

George T. Conway III, a conservative Washington lawyer who is often critical of the president (and who is the husband of Kellyanne Conway, the presidents counselor), tweeted on Friday that what everyone should want, and the country needs, is a President capable of comprehending what it means to take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed. Art. II,  3.

But Mr. Conway also offered a more hopeful observation, one that was echoed this past week by several constitutional and legal scholars: Many of the countrys law enforcement institutions seem to be standing up to Mr. Trumps continued abuse  at least for now. As they always have, they are pursuing hundreds of cases across the country, even as the president is fixated on only one of them.

Asked on Twitter how the American government might react if a foreign leader showed the same disrespect for the rule of law, Mr. Conway said that they might perceive that the system was so strong, its checks and balances so robust, that the president is reduced to lamely tweeting insults at his attorney general, with no effect other than to continue to erode his own moral authority.

The strength of the system was underscored on Tuesday, moments after Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty. Outside a courtroom in New York, Robert S. Khuzami, the deputy United States attorney, delivered a message that might have been directed squarely at the person in the Oval Office.

That message is that the rule of law applies, Mr. Khuzami said, standing in front of a phalanx of F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors.

Paula Duncan, a firm supporter of Mr. Trump who served on the jury that convicted Mr. Manafort, made the same point in an interview on Saturday. Although she believes that Mr. Manafort was targeted because Mr. Muellers team hopes he is a steppingstone to Mr. Trump, she said, he was convicted because of overwhelming evidence.Seven people were arrested on Saturday at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as tensions between demonstrators intensified over the toppling this week of the Silent Sam statue, which stood for over a century on campus grounds as a symbol of the Confederacy.

University officials had warned students on Friday about the possibility of more protests, writing in a message to students, We urge you not to attend. But on Saturday, packs of demonstrators supportive of the monuments removal clashed with protesters advocating its preservation. Some demonstrators carried signs condemning racism; others had draped themselves in Confederate flags.

Of the arrests made on Saturday, two were connected with charges of assault, destruction of property and inciting a riot, Carly Miller, a spokeswoman for the university, said in a statement.

Three other arrests were in connection with assault, Ms. Miller said. The remaining two arrests were related to destruction of property and resisting an officer.DIRKOU, Niger  The heavily armed troops are positioned around oases in Nigers vast northern desert, where temperatures routinely climb beyond 100 degrees.

While both Al Qaeda and the Islamic State have branches operating in the area, the mission of the government forces here is not to combat jihadism.

Instead, these Nigerien soldiers are battling human smugglers, who transport migrants across the harsh landscape, where hundreds of miles of dunes separate solitary trees.

The migrants are hoping to reach neighboring Libya, and from there, try a treacherous, often deadly crossing of the Mediterranean to reach Europe.This whole process is completely novel for Argentina, said Manuel Garrido, a former corruption prosecutor who resigned in protest in 2009 after many of his cases had reached dead ends. We really have no idea where it could lead.

The current investigation began when a judge obtained notebooks containing the meticulous records kept by Oscar Centeno, the former driver of a powerful official in the Planning Ministry, who picked up and delivered bags of cash around town.

Since news of the notebooks became public, powerful figures in business and the government, implicated in the scandal, have come forward, describing to prosecutors a vast system of kickbacks involving government contracts said to have proliferated during the administrations of former President Nestor Kirchner and his widow and successor, Mrs. Kirchner, who governed from 2003 to 2015.

The notebooks, and other related evidence, exposed a criminal organization made up of public officials led by Mr. and Mrs. Kirchner, as well as by the former planning minister, Julio De Vido, that between the years 2008 and 2015 sought the payment of illegitimate sums of money from numerous private citizens, many of them public works contractors, according to a report published Friday night by the court of Claudio Bonadio, a federal judge, which is leading the investigation.

Argentines have been so riveted by the revelations since the notebooks emerged in late July that President Mauricio Macri compared the case to a binge-worthy television series.BEIJING  When President Trump said on Friday that there had not been sufficient progress toward ridding North Korea of its nuclear weapons, he made it clear that he thought China was partly to blame.

Next month, President Xi Jinping of China is expected to make his first state visit to the North  one that could see him standing beside Kim Jong-un, the countrys leader, on the reviewing stand of a military parade.

Such an image would seem to bolster Mr. Trumps suggestion that China, angered by American tariffs on its goods, was no longer a partner in the effort to disarm the North.

But analysts in China say that is not necessarily the case  at least, not yet.

China, they say, still harbors deep suspicions about the North and Mr. Kim, despite the recent thaws in the neighbors off-and-on relationship. And while it is giving the North some economic help around the edges, they say, China is mostly abiding by the international sanctions meant to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear pursuits.KABUL, Afghanistan  President Ashraf Ghanis national security adviser abruptly resigned on Saturday amid reports that Mr. Ghani was firing his entire war cabinet.

Shah Hussain Mortazavi, a spokesman for the Afghan leader, confirmed that Mr. Ghani had accepted the resignation of the national security adviser, Hanif Atmar, and appointed Hamdullah Mohib, the current ambassador to the United States, as his replacement.

Mr. Mortazavi refused to comment on a report by Tolonews, a prominent local television channel, that Mr. Ghani had fired all his security ministers including, in addition to Mr. Atmar, Minister of Defense Tariq Shah Bahrami; Minister of Interior Wais Barmak; and Masoom Stanekzai, the head of the National Directorate for Security, Afghanistans intelligence agency. Mr. Stanekzai and Mr. Atmar held cabinet-level posts.

For now, we only can confirm Mr. Atmars resignation, Mr. Mortazavi said. I cant say anything about Mr. Stanekzai.Officials in Mr. Moons government have often said that Mr. Trumps unconventional approach may offer the best chance for diplomatically resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis, a problem that successive United States administrations have failed to address successfully.

But South Koreans have learned how unpredictable it can be to maintain the alliance with Washington under Mr. Trump, as the American leader swung from threats to rain down fire and fury on the North to becoming the first sitting American president to meet the North Korean leader.

But even after Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim met in Singapore and agreed to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to build new bilateral relations, South Koreans have lived with an abiding fear about the fragility of the diplomatic process.

They express concern that Mr. Trump may change his mind at any time, particularly if he realizes that he cannot deliver the quick denuclearization of North Korea that he seemed to promise to the American people when he declared right after the Singapore summit meeting that there was no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.

South Koreans also worry that Mr. Trump will be distracted by his mounting legal problems at home or that he may not survive for a second term. A diplomatic process that Mr. Moon helped create could be quickly overturned, that line of thinking goes, if a new administration were to take office in Washington with a more skeptical take on diplomatically engaging the North.

When Mr. Moon met with Mr. Kim twice this year, he emphasized how important it was for North Korea to move quickly to reach and carry out a denuclearization deal in return for improved ties with Washington while Mr. Trump was in office, so that it would be hard for future administrations to reverse the course.

But things have not moved as quickly as Mr. Moon had hoped.

Two months after the Singapore summit meeting, talks remain stalemated. Washington wants the North to make bolder steps toward denuclearization, such as revealing a full inventory of its nuclear assets and starting to dismantle some of them.On Tuesday, while Myanmars commander in chief was shopping for weaponry in Russia, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys de facto civilian leader, gave a speech in Singapore in which she made no mention of the bloodletting by the nations armed forces. Thousands of Rohingya are believed to have been killed in northern Rakhine State.

United Nations officials have raised the prospect that the violence could be considered genocide, and officials at the United States State Department have debated using the term, according to American diplomats.

But Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, blamed terrorist activities, which was the initial cause of events leading to the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine.

On Aug. 25, 2017, Rohingya militants, mostly armed with makeshift weapons, carried out strikes on police posts and an army station in northern Rakhine, killing a dozen security forces. Myanmars military, which is known as the Tatmadaw, says that its actions were clearance operations, in response to the Rohingya raids.Senior BJP leaders and workers have failed to observe the solemnity of the occasion.

The elaborate plans drawn up by the BJP to commemorate Atal Behari Vajpayees memory include the immersion of his ashes in hundred rivers across the country, kalash yatras in various states and prayer meetings at the state and district headquarters. The purpose of this exercise is to cash in on Vajpayees popularity in the year-end elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the BJP chief ministers are facing anti-incumbency. However, if reports from poll-bound Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are anything to go by, the BJPs gameplan may well backfire. Senior BJP leaders and workers have failed to observe the solemnity of the occasion. There have been several instances when they have been caught chitchatting, laughing and joking with each other at these memorial programmes. Most of them have also been poorly organised. For instance, Vajpayees relatives in Gwalior were not provided official transport when his ashes were brought to the city for the people to pay their last respects. The local media has been highlighting these lapses, much to the embarrassment of the state governments.

When veteran Congress leader Motilal Vora was relieved of his responsibilities as Congress Party treasurer last week, it was felt he may take it amiss as he has been handling the treasury for nearly two decades. Not just that, but he is among the few Congress office bearers who comes regularly to the party office and interacts diligently with workers and other visitors. But the 90-year-old Vora is not complaining as he has been re-designated as Congress general secretary and given charge of administration unlike his colleagues like Karan Singh and Janardan Dwivedi who were not accommodated in any position after they were removed as party office bearers. This also means that Mr Vora will continue with his old job of allocating rooms to the growing tribe of party functionaries and generally keeping vigil on the party premises. In fact, Mr Vora made a conscious effort to let everyone know that he is not unhappy with the change in portfolio. A cheerful Vora made a host of phone calls to Muslim party leaders and mediapersons to wish them Id Mubarak. Many newcomers were also included in the list this time, to ensure that his message gets across.

The outspoken and irrepressible Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was suspended last December when he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a neech kisam ka insaan just ahead of the crucial Gujarat Assembly polls. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had publicly disapproved of Mr Aiyars remarks but the damage was done as the BJP was quick to accuse the Congress of being feudal and arrogant. Last week, his suspension was revoked quietly and without much fanfare. A day later, Mr Aiyar was spotted at Jawahar Bhawan where former bureaucrat and governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana award in the presence of former party president Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Aiyar, however, chose to keep a low profile at the function. Instead of looking for a seat in the front rows, he preferred to be a backbencher and sat in the company of journalists. The Congress leader did not socialise with other party leaders and refused to be baited by mediapersons who pursued him for his reactions on India-Pakistan relations, Imran Khan and Navjot Singh Sidhus hug controversy. Having learnt a bitter lesson last year, Mr Aiyar remained unmoved. Im not saying anything thanks to you I got into trouble last time, he remarked. It is to be seen how long Mr Aiyar can stay away from the cameras.

When senior Congress leader Kamal Nath took over as president of the partys Madhya Pradesh unit in May, it was widely expected that he would unite all the warring factions, energise the rank and file and revive the moribund organisation in the run-up to the year-end Assembly polls. But four months later, the fragile show of unity in Madhya Pradesh Congress has started unravelling as infighting has resurfaced while the earlier enthusiasm displayed by the party cadre is on the wane. Instead of leading from the front, Mr Nath is barely seen in the field. He is an infrequent visitor to the party office in Bhopal, is not easily accessible to workers and has hardly addressed any major public meetings. He has been busy seeking divine help for the upcoming polls, having visited at least half-a-dozen temples during the past few weeks. He was last spotted reciting the Hanuman Chalisa at a temple. Little wonder then that party workers have been complaining that he makes more trips to temples than to the Congress office.In the first papal visit to Ireland in 39 years, intended as a celebration of the family, Pope Francis acknowledged the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church, which has eroded the moral authority and unity of the Roman Catholic Church.

He also met with eight abuse victims.

Amid unrelenting revelations of sexual abuse and cover-ups, the pope has struggled to satisfy enraged survivors of abuse by clergy, who have accused him of failing to speak or act forcefully enough to expose and punish wrongdoing. Though he is in Ireland for a celebration of the family, his every public utterance is being parsed for how he addresses the scandals. His address on Saturday night to the World Meeting of Families stuck closely to the theme of family.

Francis, who last week lamented that we showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them, met with abuse survivors in Ireland, but there was no mention of the topic in his official public schedule for the trip.DUBLIN  Nearly 40 years since the last papal visit to Ireland, Pope Francis arrived on Saturday to a transformed country where the once-mighty Roman Catholic Church is in tatters  its authority eroded by deepening secularization and a global sex abuse crisis challenging Francis papacy.

[Follow our live updates of the papal visit to Ireland.]

With recent revelations of institutional cover-ups of sexual abuse in the United States and Chile, many Catholics had hoped that Francis, who has struggled throughout his tenure to grasp the enormity of the scourge, would use the wreckage of the Irish church as a backdrop to announce muscular new measures to protect children in his church.

Instead, on the first day of his two-day visit here for the ninth World Meeting of Families event, he offered a familiar account of his disgust at the sins of priests and bishops, disappointing advocates of abuse survivors who found his remarks too tepid and disconnected from concrete plans to take action.LONDON  The British government announced on Saturday that women in England would legally be allowed to take an abortion pill at home for the first time, following in the footsteps of decisions by Scotland and Wales.

Under the new regulation, set to take effect by the end of this year, women will be able to take the second of two early abortion pills in the safe and familiar surroundings of their own home, the government said.

Currently, women seeking to terminate a pregnancy in the first 10 weeks must take two pills  mifepristone and misoprostol  at a clinic, 24 to 48 hours apart.

That means women in England must visit a clinic twice to ingest the pill and then make their way home to complete the termination, the government said in a statement, which can be difficult to organize and often uncomfortable or traumatic.Mr. Miller is the senior director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress.

Mr. Miller is the senior director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress.

13.1% 10% Without any oversight, the share of schools with high default rates rises sharply. 5 Share of colleges with high default rates Students begin repaying loans and the Department of Education begins tracking default rates. After three years, the tracking period ends. 2.1% 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Share of colleges with high default rates 13.1% In 2012, students began repaying loans and the Department of Education began reporting default rates. After three years, that tracking period ended. 10% Without any oversight, the share of schools with high default rates rose sharply. 5 Tracking period ends 2.1% 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Note: High default rates are 30% or greater. Source: Department of Education

Millions of students will arrive on college campuses soon, and they will share a similar burden: college debt. The typical student borrower will take out $6,600 in a single year, averaging $22,000 in debt by graduation, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

There are two ways to measure whether borrowers can repay those loans: Theres what the federal government looks at to judge colleges, and then theres the real story. The latter is coming to light, and its not pretty.

Consider the official statistics: Of borrowers who started repaying in 2012, just over 10 percent had defaulted three years later. Thats not too bad  but its not the whole story. Federal data never before released shows that the default rate continued climbing to 16 percent over the next two years, after official tracking ended, meaning more than 841,000 borrowers were in default. Nearly as many were severely delinquent or not repaying their loans (for reasons besides going back to school or being in the military). The share of students facing serious struggles rose to 30 percent over all.

Tracking period ends Share of students defaulting on loans 15.5% 10% 10.4% Students begin repaying loans 5 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Share of students defaulting on loans 16% Tracking period ends Students begin repaying loans 10% 10.4% 5 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Collectively, these borrowers owed over $23 billion, including more than $9 billion in default.

Nationally, those are crisis-level results, and they reveal how colleges are benefiting from billions in financial aid while students are left with debt they cannot repay. The Department of Education recently provided this new data on over 5,000 schools across the country in response to my Freedom of Information Act request.

The new data makes clear that the federal government overlooks early warning signs by focusing solely on default rates over the first three years of repayment. Thats the time period Congress requires the Department of Education to use when calculating default rates.

At that time, about one-quarter of the cohort  or nearly 1.3 million borrowers  were not in default, but were either severely delinquent or not paying their loans. Two years later, many of these borrowers were either still not paying or had defaulted. Nearly 280,000 borrowers defaulted between years three and five.

Federal laws attempting to keep schools accountable are not doing enough to stop loan problems. The law requires that all colleges participating in the student loan program keep their share of borrowers who default below 30 percent for three consecutive years or 40 percent in any single year. We can consider anything above 30 percent to be a high default rate. Thats a low bar.

Among the group who started repaying in 2012, just 93 of their colleges had high default rates after three years and 15 were at immediate risk of losing access to aid. Two years later, after the Department of Education stopped tracking results, 636 schools had high default rates.

24.9% 20 15 AVERAGE Default Rates by school type 14.6% 13.5% tracking ends 10 10.6% tracking ends 8.5% 5 5.0% tracking ends 0 2012 13 14 15 16 12 13 14 15 16 12 13 14 15 16 Private nonprofit Public college Private for-profit AVERAGE Default Rates by school type Private for-profit 24.9% Tracking ends 14.6% Public college 13.5% 10.6% Private nonprofit 8.5% 5.0% 2012 13 14 15 16

For-profit institutions have particularly awful results. Five years into repayment, 44 percent of borrowers at these schools faced some type of loan distress, including 25 percent who defaulted. Most students who defaulted between three and five years in repayment attended a for-profit college.

The secret to avoiding accountability? Colleges are aggressively pushing borrowers to use repayment options known as deferments or forbearances that allow borrowers to stop their payments without going into delinquency or defaulting. Nearly 20 percent of borrowers at schools that had high default rates at year five but not at year three used one of these payment-pausing options.

SHARE OF STUDENTS WITH DEFERMENTS OR IN DEFAULT Among schools with high default rates in 2016 but not 2014 Deferments 43.4% In default 34.4% 30% Tracking period ends 20 10 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 SHARE OF STUDENTS WITH DEFERMENTS OR IN DEFAULT Among schools with high default rates in 2016 but not 2014 Deferments 43.4% In default 34.4% Tracking period ends 30% 20 10 0 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Note: Deferments exclude borrowers in the military or back in school. High default rates are 30% or greater. Source: Department of Education

The federal government cannot keep turning a blind eye while almost one-third of student loan borrowers struggle. Fortunately, efforts to rewrite federal higher-education laws present an opportunity to address these shortcomings. This should include losing federal aid if borrowers are not repaying their loans  even if they do not default. Loan performance should also be tracked for at least five years instead of three.

The federal government, states and institutions also need to make significant investments in college affordability to reduce the number of students who need a loan in the first place. Too many borrowers and defaulters are low-income students, the very people who would receive only grant aid under a rational system for college financing. Forcing these students to borrow has turned one of Americas best investments in socioeconomic mobility  college  into a debt trap for far too many.The blaze broke out during the night at the hotel in Harbin, capital of the northeastern Heilongjiang province.

'By the latest count, 18 people have been found dead and 19 have been taken to hospital,' the agency said, citing local authorities. (Representational Image)

Beijing: A fire early Saturday at a hotel in China has left at least 18 people dead and 19 injured, according to state media.

The blaze broke out during the night at the hotel in Harbin, capital of the northeastern Heilongjiang province, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

"By the latest count, 18 people have been found dead and 19 have been taken to hospital," the agency said, citing local authorities.

Images of the gutted hotel and spa appeared on state broadcaster CCTV, showing blackened walls, twisted metal structures and parts of the ceiling hanging precariously.

Those hospitalised had inhaled toxic smoke or suffered burns, CCTV said, adding that an investigation is underway into the cause of the fire.

Deadly fires are common in China, where fire security regulations are routinely neglected.

In April, 18 people were killed and five more injured in a fire at a karaoke establishment in the country's south.

In November, a fire left 19 people dead and eight injured at a boarding house in Beijing. And in May 2015, 38 people were found dead in a fire at a retirement home in central Henan province.The decisions were made at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by PM Imran Khan on Friday, according to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

Khan also decided to use only two vehicles and keep two servants. He refused to use elaborate official protocol. (Photo: File)

Islamabad: Pakistan's new government has banned the discretionary use of state funds and first-class air travel by officials and leaders, including the president and the prime minister, as part of its austerity drive.

The decisions were made at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, according to Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

"It has been decided that all the top government officials, including the president, prime minister, chief justice, senate chairman, speaker national assembly and the chief ministers will travel in club/business," he told media.

To a question, Chaudhry said that the Army chief was not allowed first class travel and always used business class.

He said that the discretionary allocation of funds by the prime minister and the president and other officials was also stopped by the Cabinet.

Chaudhry claimed that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif used Rs 51 billion discretionary funds in a year.

The prime minister also decided to stop using special plane for foreign visits or domestic travelling and use business class.

After his victory in the July 25 general election, Khan decided not to use palatial Prime Minister House and instead live in a small portion of it that was previously used as the residence by the military secretary to the prime minister.

Khan also decided to use only two vehicles and keep two servants. He refused to use elaborate official protocol.

The Cabinet took up a host of issues, including reverting to six-day working week, but decided to continue five-day working after some ministers opposed the idea because it may alienate government servants.

The five-day working was instituted in 2011 due to power shortages and save fuels. The Cabinet was briefed that five-day working had not affected the performance or output by the civil servants.

While retaining two weekly off-days, the Cabinet changed the official office timings from 8-4 pm to 9-5 pm.

The meeting also decided to conduct audit of all the mega transport projects carried out in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the previous governments.150 detained for rave party, released

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: The police have busted a rave party at a guest house in Sonipat on Delhi's outskirts and detained around 150 students, including 8 foreign nationals.

Three persons, including a customs official, were arrested in connection with the incident, the police said.

The students, found in an inebriated state, were released after interrogation, they said.

Bengaluru rave party and the South American link

On the basis of a tip-off, a raid was conducted at a guest house in Sonipat's Rai industrial area, DSP Jitendra Gehlawat said.

He said around 150 students from different universities were found in inebriated state and were medically examined.

Police raid rave party at heritage hotel, 80 people arrested

Nearly 215 tablets, two dozen injections of drugs and bottles and of English wines and beer were seized from the guest house, Gehlawat said.

A case was registered under relevant Sections and three persons were arrested, he said, adding that the students were released after interrogation.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 11:20 [IST]No arrests made in JNU campus violence case in over 1.5 years: Govt informs Parliament

48 JNU professors get show-cause notices

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: The JNU administration has issued show-cause notices to 48 teachers for allegedly participating in a day strike on July 31 against the policies implemented by the vice chancellor, said a varsity professor.

The decision was finalised at the Executive Council meeting of the varsity held today, claimed JNU Professor Ayesha Kidwai.

"The notices issued say that the act of a peaceful strike is in contravention of the statutes, rules and regulations of the university. We are extremely disturbed by the manner in which a democratic act of protest is being treated as an act of indiscipline and illegality," Ayesha Kidwai said.

On July 31, teachers carried placards and wore black badges to express their resistance to the policy decisions of the vice chancellor.

Meanwhile a statement from the varsity said that the Executive Council (EC) today proposed to name the School of Management and Entrepreneurship as Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship to pay tribute to the former Prime Minister who passed away on August 16.

The EC also decided to introduce attendance for all regular faculty members, which was approved by the Academic Council last month, the statement said.

The provision of introducing biometric attendance for teachers has been condemned by members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association.

The EC has also decided for funding from Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) under HRD Ministry's New funding scheme for creating state-of-the-art research infrastructure, additional hostel accommodation and student facilities, said the varsity.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 16:35 [IST]Sonia ji unwell, Rahul Gandhi should take over as Congress chief: Siddaramaiah as party preps up for CWC meet

How much population is fully vaccinated in India? 29 cr got 2 doses, 42 cr got 1 dose: Siddaramaiah slams Modi

Siddaramaiah clarifies on 'CM again' comment; Kumaraswamy says efforts on to destabilise my govt

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Bengaluru, Aug 25: A day after his comments on becoming Karnataka chief minister set the tongues wagging, senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah today sought to clarify, saying he only meant his party coming back to power in next assembly elections.

"You can think whatever you want, but I said we will come to power in next election," he told reporters here.

Addressing a public meeting at Hassan on Friday, Siddaramaiah had reportedly said "with the blessings of the people" of Karnataka, he could once again take over as the Chief Minister of the state.

"I might have lost the last elections but with your blessings, I will once again become the Chief Minister. Opposition joined hands to prevent me from becoming the chief minister for the second consecutive term," said Siddaramaiah, adding that caste and money were seeping into politics.

"I thought people will bless me once again and make me the chief minister. Unfortunately, I lost, but this is not the end. In politics winning and losing are common," he asserted.

The former chief minister's remarks kicked up a controversy with some seeing it as having an unsettling effect on the JDS-Congress government.

Asked if he wants to be Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah today said if people blessed him, he would want, but after the end of this government's term.

"If people bless me, I will want to become the chief minister, but not now. After five years when next election is held," he said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister Kumaraswamy on Saturday brushed aside questions on former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's assertion that he will become the CM once again.

Responding to media persons, Kumaraswamy said, "Anybody can become a CM in this democracy. It is a democratic system."Later referring to media reports that some legislators would topple his government by September 3, he said the present JDS-Congress ministry would not fall because he knows the art of running it.

"If some people think they can destabilise me, they can't. I know how to run the government," he said at an event here.

"There are media reports that some legislators would topple the government by September 3. I will leave it to people's conscience - which September 3 are they talking about," he said.

Kumaraswamy said he was not worried about saving chief minister's seat, but concerned about rendering service to the people.

KPCC President Dinesh Gundu Rao said Siddaramaiah as of now had no plans to contest election in future, but did not know what will happen in future.

JDS Secretary General Kunwar Danish Ali said there was no harm if Sidaramaiah wanted to be the chief minister if Congress comes back to power.

Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar said it was left to the party high command to make Siddaramaiah next chief minister.

The Congress and JDS forged a post-poll alliance to form the government after the assembly elections in May last threw up a hung verdict.AAP likely to field Colonel Ajay Kothiyal as CM candidate in Uttarakhand

AAP leaders to visit Ram Lalla shrine before Ayodhya yatra, first list of UP candidates soon

AAP to contest all seats in UP assembly polls, not in talks for any alliance: Sanjay Singh

Anshu Prakash assault case: AAP plea dismissed, Court refuses to restrain media

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

New Delhi, Aug 25: Delhi's Patiala House court on Saturday dismissed AAP MLAs' plea to restrain police from sharing information with media in Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash alleged assault case. The court will consider charge-sheet on September 18.

Delhi Police says, "AAP leaders are making derogatory remarks on Delhi police. They are maligning our image & also trying to influence court proceedings."

''I had resigned from DDC in April, to join the legal profession'' says AAP leader Ashish Khetan

Counsel for AAP said, 'this is not a simple matter. Chief Secretary is complainant and the Chief Minister is accused. Delhi police trying to make this a media trial'.

Delhi Police had filed a chargesheet on August 13. Subsequently, the AAP had approached the Patiala House Court seeking an order to restrain cops from sharing contents of the chargesheet with the media.

The Delhi Police named Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 11 other AAP MLAs as accused in its charge sheet in the case.

Delhi : 22,000 community toilets built in 3.5 years by AAP govt

Kejriwal and Sisodia have been booked for criminal conspiracy - the duo can be jailed for a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years if convicted. Nine other AAP MLAs have been booked for criminal conspiracy.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 15:28 [IST]The Muslims who fled to Bangladesh do not trust Myanmar authorities. Their repatriation does not seem imminent, yet it frightens other ethnic groups in the country. In refugee camps, the Rohingya demand justice for the genocide they endured. The Catholic Church is committed to peaceful reconciliation one year after violence started.

Pyay (AsiaNews) - Exactly one year after the latest episode of sectarian violence broke out, causing a humanitarian crisis in Rakhine, Rohingya refugees "still do not want to return to Myanmar," said Alexander Pyone Cho, bishop of Pyay, a diocese in the troubled state in western Myanmar, speaking to AsiaNews.

In the refugee camps of Bangladesh today, the Rohingya have marked the first year since their flight with demonstrations and protest banners, demanding justice for the genocide visited upon them.

In the coming days, the Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICoE) will start investigating alleged human rights violations in Myanmar.

"At present, the situation remains unchanged in Myanmar, the prelate said. The government is trying to bring the situation back to normal but Muslims who fled to Bangladesh do not trust the authorities and their repatriation does not seem imminent. This fuels opposition and fears among local Buddhists and ethnic Rakhine."

Since the start of the latest crisis in the state, Buddhists and Hindus have complained about the atrocities committed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

Despite reports by international organisations and the discovery of mass graves, Rohingya guerrillas reject charges of violence, calling on the Myanmar military and other ethnic groups "not to blame the victims".

For their part, the leaders of the countrys small Catholic community have been working with the leaders of other religious groups towards a peaceful end to the religious and ethnic strife that continues to bedevil the country.

In late May, Card Charles Maung Bo, archbishop of Yangon, led a delegation of Religions for Peace (RfP) in Rakhine. The following week, he met with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Minister of Religious Affairs and Culture Thura U Aung Ko. The cardinal handed them a cash donation from the Holy See.

During his historic apostolic visit to Myanmar (27-30 November 2017), Pope Francis donated  300,000 (US$ 350,000) to the Archbishop of Yangon towards the resolution of the crisis in Rakhine.

On the occasion of the last ad limina visit of the members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Myanmar (CBCM), the pontiff told Card Bo that he intends to organise an international conference on the Rohingya.

"The Church cannot do much on the ground since it is the government that coordinates the response to the humanitarian emergency, Mgr Pyone said. But amid many difficulties, Caritas Myanmar is involved in social and economic development in two Muslim villages, two Rakhine villages and two Chin villages, with the aim of extending the initiative to other settlements."Chidambaram on India giving 2.5 crore Covid jabs: 'Why did we have to wait until the PMs birthday?'

Rahul Gandhi can't be blamed for what happened in 1984: Chidambaram

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 25: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today came out in support of his party president's comment on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and said Rahul Gandhi cannot be held responsible for something that took place when he was 13-14 years.

Chidambaram said former prime minister Manmohan Singh had apologised in Parliament as had former party chief Sonia Gandhi for the "terrible thing" (anti-Sikh riots) that took place when the Congress was in power.

Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, had told an audience of UK-based parliamentarians and local leaders in London on Friday that the incident was a "very painful tragedy", but disagreed with the view that the Congress was involved.

Chidambaram said, "Congress was in office in 1984, nobody is denying that. A very terrible thing happened in 1984 for which Dr Manmohan Singh has apologised in Parliament. We are not saying that the Congress is absolved. Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi has also apologised and on numerous occasion, some of us have also said what happened in 1984 was a terrible thing."

"Now, you can't hold Rahul Gandhi responsible for that - he was 13 or 14 years of age then... He has not absolved anyone. What Rahul Gandhi has said is there is on the AICC website. The full text is there you can have a look at it, please read it," the former finance minister said.

Rahul Gandhi had also said he was "100 per cent" for the punishment for those involved in any violence against any body.

PTIDelhi cops arrest 3 HDFC employees, 9 others for trying to withdraw Rs 5 crore from NRIs account

Delhi police donates Rs 1 crore towards ravaged Kerala

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: The Delhi Police has donated Rs one crore for rehabilitation work in flood-ravaged Kerala which witnessed one of its worst deluge in close to a century, the police said.

As a humanitarian gesture, all officers and ranks of Delhi Police have come forward and voluntarily contributed for the total amount of Rs 1 crore to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for aid to the flood victims in Kerala.

Did UAE even offer RS 700cr aid, asks Kerala BJP

In a letter addressed to the Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, the Delhi Police has extended their support to the flood victims of Kerala.

"Major parts of Kerala state have been badly affected by flood rendering countless number of people homeless and destitute. As members of police force of the capital of the country, it is our bounden duty to come forward to donate and contribute to this noble cause," the letter stated.

Kerala: Now Pakistan comes forward to offer assistance

Heavy rains and flooding have claimed 231 lives since August 8 in the second spell of the monsoon.

As the flood waters started receding, people from relief camps have started returning to their homes although over 10.40 lakh people were still in 2,770 camps across the state.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 10:15 [IST]'It was not accident but conspiracy', says Unnao rape survivor's mother

Twist in the Ayodhya Case: Muslim side hints at conspiracy, says mediation ruled out

SC says cannot rule out conspiracy against former CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Deliberate act to teach Dalits a lesson says HC on Mirchpur incident

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: The Mirchpur Dalits killings was a deliberate act of targeting Balmiki houses by the Jat community mob and involved a large scale conspiracy "to teach them a lesson", the Delhi High Court has said.

The high court's observations came while overturning the acquittal of 20 persons and awarding life term to 12 out of 33 members of the dominant Jat community.

A bench of justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said Balmikis houses were set on fire in a pre-planned and carefully orchestrated manner.

"This was not a case of a fire spreading quickly as a result of any accidental fire catching on to the cow dung cakes or other flammable materials which were just lying around. This was an act of deliberate targeting of the Balmiki houses by the Jat community mob and setting them on fire in a pre-planned and carefully orchestrated manner.

"The entire evidence, if read carefully, more than adequately demonstrates that there was a large scale conspiracy hatched by members of the Jat community to teach the Balmikis a lesson and pursuant to that conspiracy, houses of the Balmiki community were set on fire," the bench said.

A 60-year-old Dalit man and his physically challenged daughter were burnt alive by members of the Jat community in Mirchpur village in Haryana's Hisar district in April 2010.

The instances of "atrocities" against Scheduled Castes by those belonging to dominant castes have shown "no sign of abating" even after 71 years of Independence, the bench remarked.

It said the evidence unmistakably showed that victim Tara Chand and his daughter were set on fire and pushed inside the house in that condition fully knowing that they were Balmikis.

The bench said Tara Chand's dying declaration more than adequately establishes the role of several accused, and held that the killing of both the victims was murder and not 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder'.

It noted that the Jats had planned their attack in advance and had come to the Balmiki basti well armed with oil cans, 'rehris' filled with stones, lathis, gandasis, jellies etc and the properties of the Balmikis were burnt and their belongings destroyed.

The trial court had on September 24, 2011, convicted 15 of 97 men belonging to the Jat community. Two convicts died during pendency of appeals. In October 2012, the 98th accused, who was earlier absconding, was tried and acquitted by the trial court.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 16:20 [IST]ECI likely to discuss poll guidelines for social media in All-Party meet on August 27

India

oi-Vinod

By Vinod

New Delhi, Aug 25: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has convened an All-Party meeting on August 27, 2018 to discuss election reforms in the country. One Nation, One Poll is likely to figure in the meeting as the Central government and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is constantly pushing for it. However, the ECI for the time being has denied that the meeting has any such agenda.

The ECI has said that all the national and regional parties have been invited to discuss the issues related to poll process as they have been questioned all these days. They will be discussed elaborately in the meeting. Assembly elections falling this year and next year and also the Lok Sabha elections are also in the agenda of All-Party meet.

Capable of holding LS polls, 4 state assembly elections together in Dec: CEC

As per the election commission, all the seven national parties, 51 regional parties and several other political parties have been invited in the meeting. The meeting will discuss reducing election expanses, how better candidates are encouraged in the polls. All these issues will be discussed in the meeting. Besides that the time of closure of canvassing of poll time including print media and even a guideline may be discussed about canvassing in social media and other online platforms 48 hours before the voting commences.

Chief election commissioner O P Rawat had however earlier declared that Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections cannot be held together saying that it requires a proper legal framework before it is initiated. But possibility of Lok Sabha elections along with BJP-ruled states is still being discussed and if not all BJP-ruled state at least those states whose elections are close to Lok Sabha elections.

CEC casts doubt over possibility of 'One Nation One Poll'

The Modi government is still trying hard to hold Lok Sabha and Assembly elections together while opposition political parties are demanding elections to be held on ballets instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Speculation is rife that Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mijoram might be held with the Lok Sabha elections anytime after February. This is to recall that term of Mijoram Assembly completes on December 15 while Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Assemblies on January 5, 7 and 20, 2019 respectively.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 9:28 [IST]Gujarat Cong didn't give me any work in local body polls; even opinion not sought: Hardik Patel

Hardik begins fast for quota; Kejriwal, Mevani, Cong support him

India

pti-PTI

Ahmedabad, Aug 25: Patidar leader Hardik Patel began an indefinite fast at his sprawling farmhouse here today to press for reservation for his community, after the BJP government in Gujarat refused him permission to stage the protest at a public place.

State AAP leaders visited Patel as his fast began and delivered a letter of support from party national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Dalit leader and Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani also visited him and expressed support.

Patel, leader of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) that is heading the agitation for quota for Patidars (Patels) in jobs and education, started his fast at 3 pm in the presence of supporters and several Congress legislators after performing a pooja.

The farmhouse turned into a fortress with the deployment of police personnel in large numbers and anyone entering the premises was frisked.

While Patel alleged that the BJP government denied him permission to stage the fast to thwart his protest, police said it was denied in view of the riot-like situation during the PAAS' 2015 agitation.

"Today is the third anniversary of the Patidar agitation. Two months ago, we had sought permission to stage protest in the form of indefinite fast. But we were not granted permission and therefore, we decided to hold it at my residence," Patel told reporters.

He alleged that police had detained 16,000 of his supporters and set up blockades on highways leading to Ahmedabad to stop others from joining him.

Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) R B Bhrambhatt, however, put the number of detained persons at 158.

"Widespread violence by anti-social elements was reported on August 25, 2015, after the PAAS was given permission to hold a rally.

"Similarly, after a symbolic dharna (sit-in) last week, buses were burnt and damaged in Surat. We have (therefore) denied permission after due diligence," he said.

Bhrambhatt said, "The message going around on social media, propagated by some PAAS leaders, that we have detained 16,000 people is baseless. We have detained only 158 people as a precautionary measure."

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel alleged that the Patidar leader's protest was sponsored by opposition Congress.

"The protest is being held at the behest of the Congress as the 2019 (Lok Sabha) elections are coming.

"But we are sure that six crore people of the state will not be swayed by any agitation staged by the members of any caste or community," he said.

MLA Mevani came down heavily on the BJP government for denying Hardik Patel permission to hold the fast.

"Those who protest for their rights are given the certificate of (having committed) sedition, they are detained, FIRs are registered against them... There is nothing surprising in government imposing section 144 (of the CrPC) to restrict movement of people)," he said.

"They blame us for doing caste politics, but they should understand that we are also raising the issues of ASHA workers (women health workers), farmers, contract employees. But the government is not ready to listen," Mevani said.

Congress MLAs Lalit Vasoya from Dhoraji constituency, Asha Patel from Unjha, Brijesh Merja from Morbi, Lalit Kagathra from Tankara and Kirit Patel from Patan also visited Hardik Patel.

Vasoya, a Patidar, said he and other Congress MLAs would sit on a "symbolic fast" tomorrow.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Hardik Patel had claimed that several national-level leaders, including Kejriwal and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, could come to Gujarat to support him.

"This hunger strike is not a one-day affair. Thousands across the state would sit on a fast and it will continue for days. I have also invited people to come to my house to join me in the fast," he had said.

Earlier this month, Hardik Patel had announced that he would stage his fast at a ground in the Nikol area here. But the government denied permission, saying the spot has been now turned into a parking lot.

Hardik Patel then approached the Gandhinagar collector, seeking Satyagrah Chhavni as an alternative place, but this was also rejected.

Clashes had broken out during the quota agitation led by Hardik Patel on August 25, 2015, leading to deaths of 14 people and large-scale destruction of public property.

PTIHeld guilty for bribery, cop gets 5 years in jail

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: A special CBI court here has sentenced a Delhi Police officer to five years' rigorous imprisonment in a Rs 4.5-lakh bribery case, the agency said in a statement.

GST official from Maharashtra held in bribery case

Tulsi Ram, who was posed at Shalimar Bagh police station as a sub- inspector, has also been slapped with a fine of Rs 4.5 lakh in the case.

The agency registered the case on January 29, 2016 against Tulsi Ram on a complaint that he had demanded a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh for helping a person in a case investigated by him, the CBI's spokesperson said.

US: Indian-origin man charged with bribery conspiracy

"The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused red-handed while demanding and accepting the bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from the complainant. After investigation, a charge sheet was filed in the court of special judge, Rohini Courts, Delhi on July 4, 2016," he said.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 15:55 [IST]Lawyer without brief is like Tendulkar without his bat on cricket ground: SC

Implementation of SDMC plan stayed by SC

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: The Supreme Court today asked the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) not to proceed with the implementation of the amended Delhi Master Plan till the next hearing on the issue.

A bench of Justices M B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni to advise the Centre not to enforce, through the SDMC, amended Master Plan of the national capital till the next date of hearing on August 28.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, also an amicus curiae in the matter dealing with unauthorised constructions in Delhi, informed the court that a circular has been issued by the SDMC that a shopping Centre coming up in South Delhi will be in accordance with the amended master plan of the city.

Delhi : 22,000 community toilets built in 3.5 years by AAP govt

"The implementation has been stayed by the Supreme Court by its earlier orders and matter is listed for further hearing on August 28. They (SDMC) should be directed not to implement the plan till further hearing," Kumar said.

The bench then observed that they (the SDMC) will not implement it and asked Nadkarni to advice the Centre not to go ahead with the circular.

Nadkarni assured the bench that he will advise the secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs not to proceed with the circular till next date of hearing.

On May 15, the court had partly modified its March 6 order by which it had stayed further progress in amending the Master Plan of Delhi-2021, while asking the Centre to give a window of 15 days for inviting objections to the proposed changes.

It asked the Centre to consider the objections to the proposed amendments and then take a final call after considering all the aspects.

It had also asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to advertise in leading dailies on three consecutive days the action plan placed before it for monitoring of all construction activities and fixing responsibility in cases of violation of MPD and the building byelaws.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code may help to deal with bad debt and NPA

The amendments are aimed at bringing a uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residential plots and complexes at par with residential plots. FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land on which it is built.

The court had on March 6 stayed any further progress in amending the MPD 2021, which seeks to protect unauthorised construction from ongoing sealing drive in Delhi.

The top court is dealing with the issue of validity of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislations which protect unauthorised constructions from being sealed.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 12:10 [IST]How many pregnant women in Kerala have died due to Covid-19? Health Minister Veena Geroge reveals

How an Arabic to Malayalam book on Jihad led to Islamic fanaticism in Kerala

Kerala limps back to normalcy as scores pitch in for rehabilitation

India

oi-Madhuri

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 25: With Kerala limping Back to normalcy after floods and landslides, the focus is now on taking care of the over 10.40 lakh people staying in relief camps and rehabilitating people whose houses were destroyed in the deluge.

People from all over the country and abroad have pitched in to help the state by offering material and also cash donations to the Chief Minister's Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF).

A total of Rs 539 crore has been received till last night, official sources said.

Kerala floods: Over a dozen Emirates SkyCargo carry 175 tons relief materials

Though people from relief camps have started returning to their homes, more than 10.40 lakh people were still in 2,770 camps across the state.

After the flood waters started receding, nearly five lakh people have gone back to their houses over the past few days.

However, people who have returned to their homes face the gigantic task of cleaning their houses as it is filled with slush along with different species of reptiles including poisonous cobras.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who visited various relief camps in the worst-affected Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur district yesterday, has said that government's focus was now on rehabilitation of the affected people and rebuilding the state.

On the cleaning process, he said the sanitation drive wa on and more than 37,000 wells and 60,000 houses were cleaned.

"We have roped in forces to carry out burial of animal carcasses, that posed a health threat," he said.

Kerala CM assures Rs 10,000 to even those who leave relief camps

On the rehabilitation process, he said people residing in disaster-prone areas would be shifted to a suitable location after due consultation.

"Let us celebrate Onam festival by providing relief and help to the flood-affected people," Vijayan said.

The annual harvest festival of the state Onam falls tomorrow.

Assuring all help to people, he said plans were also on the anvil to provide interest-free bank loans to repair flood-hit houses.

The government was planning to complete cleaning of public places and houses by end of this week, official sources said adding special squads have been formed at the ward level to co-ordinate the work.

The state government also announced a package of Rs 2.5 crore for repairing fishing vessels of fishermen who took part in flood relief work.

A total of 700 fishing boats were deployed for rescue operations between August 15 and 20.

More than 3,500 fishermen were engaged in rescue operations and they saved nearly 65,000 people, state Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma said.

Indian Air Force engaged in providing medical facilities to the affected people in relief camps, said it has deployed its 10-bed mobile hospital and a Rapid Action Medical Team at Chetankery near Thiruvala, a waterlogged area in Pathanamthitta district.

IAF medical teams have visited 26 camps and treated more than 1,600 people, it said.

Indian Railways, as part of relief operations, moved water special wagons carrying more than 20 lakh litres of water, besides also arranging around two lakh bottles of water to flood affected people.

The heavy rains and flooding has claimed 231 lives since August 8 in the second spell of the monsoon.

The state has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 20,000 crore (as per a preliminary estimate) due to the floods and sought an interim assistance of Rs 2,600 crore from the Centre, besides a special package of a similar amount under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 16:30 [IST]Kodagu row: Karnataka ministers slam Nirmala Sitharaman; MoD issues clarification

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, Aug 25: A day after Defence Minister Nirmala Siharaman's controversial visit to the flood-hit Kodagu district of Karnataka, the ministry issued a clarification on her spat with the district in-charge minister Sa Ra Mahesh.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Karnataka Minister Sa Ra Mahesh were Friday, locked in an exchange of words over her itinerary during a visit to the flood-hit Kodagu district. The entire episode took place in the presence of officials and the media at the district commissioner's office here.

Kodagu: Nirmala Sitharaman pulls up Minister, DC over breach of protocol

In the statement issued by the Ministry of Defence, a section of news channels and social media handles were blamed for attempting to malign the image of Sitharaman. The statement put the onus on the Karnataka state minister for the row which erupted at a press conference in Kodagu on Friday.

Sitharaman said she was meeting the veterans, as per the itinerary planned by the district administration. Mahesh, however, demanded the Defence Minister to immediately call off her interaction with the ex-servicemen and proceed for a meeting with the officials. This forced Sitharaman to publicly mark her angst against the Mahesh.

The MoD statement also clarifies on the usage of word "parivar" by her in the press conference, claiming that she was not referring to her kin but the ex-servicemen, who are considered as the fourth pillar of the defence parivar (family).

Karnataka ministers slam Nirmala Sitharaman

Earlier today, several Karnataka ministers had lashed out at Sitharaman for admonishing Ramesh and expressed disappointment over the incident.

In a tweet, Siddaramaiah also accused the Centre of extending "step-motherly" treatment to Karnataka. "I condemn the stepmotherly treatment by @PMOIndia in releasing relief funds. We expected PM @narendramodi to assess the loss instead it was delegated to @DefenceMinIndia, who was more interested in dominating our state minister. This reflects @BJP4India 's apathy towards Ktaka," he tweeted.

I condemn the stepmotherly treatment by @PMOIndia in releasing relief funds. We expected PM @narendramodi to assess the loss instead it was delegated to @DefenceMinIndia, who was more interested in dominating our state minister. This reflects @BJP4India 's apathy towards Ktaka.  Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) August 25, 2018

The deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka G Parameshwara tweeted his disapproval saying, "It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague." Mr Mahesh on Friday had asked the union defence minister to wind up the press conference at the district commissioner's office, citing lack of time.

Madam @nsitharaman, our ministers have stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end. It was disappointing to see you lash out at my colleague  Dr. G Parameshwara (@DrParameshwara) August 25, 2018

"Our ministers have stayed back in Kodagu for weeks to oversee relief operations along with the district administration. You should extend to them the same respect that they extend for the help from your end," the deputy chief minister tweeted.

Read the full statement issued by the Ministry of Defence below:

There have been some reports in the mainstream and social media regarding the visit of the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri (RM) to Kodagu district in Karnataka stating that the RM got angry with the district incharge minister of Kodagu Mr Sa Ra Mahesh during the flood review being taken with the district administration. These reports have also quoted the district incharge minister who has made certain personal remarks against the RM.

The remarks have also lowered the dignity of the upper house of the Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and show utter lack of regard and knowledge about the Indian Polity.

In order to clarify the matter, it is imperative that a detailed account of the sequence of events is brought out. The tour program of the RM was finalised by the district administration of Kodagu in consultation with the public representatives. This program was approved and circulated to all concerned two days prior to RM's arrival. Subsequently, on the request of the district administration, an interaction with the veterans was added to the schedule.

On completion of the field visits, as per the program, RM was interacting with ex-servicemen who had been adversely affected by the floods, when the District incharge minister objected and insisted that meeting with the officials be conducted first. RM clarified that welfare of ex-servicemen was an essential part of the Ministry of Defence and the same was scheduled in the program.

However, the district minister insisted that the RM immediately stop the interaction and proceed to the meeting with the officials.

While it was extremely unfortunate, in order to avoid the situation from deteriorating, RM immediately halted the meeting and proceeded to the venue of the meeting with the officials. The venue was already set up for the press conference and hurriedly the officials were summoned to sit among the mediapersons for the review. It was unprecedented to hold a meeting with the officials, with all the mediapersons present.

The RM then heard the grievances of the waiting ex-servicemen. Inspite of district administration finalising the program and RM following the same in its entirety it is unfortunate that the minister behaved the way he did. Subsequently, the personal remarks made against the RM were also in bad taste, which do not merit a response.

It has also been noted that there has been gross misrepresentation with regard to the use of the term 'parivar' by the RM during the press conference. One of the four departments of the Ministry of Defence is the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and in that context it was stated that all ex-servicemen are part of the MoD 'parivar'. Any other inference is misconstrued and uncalled for.BJP has tasted blood, got power by pitting Hindus against Muslims: Lalu

RJD's Tej Prataps latest fit of sulk seems over, wishes CM's chair for brother Tejashwi Yadav

Lalu returns to Patna and minutes later son storms out of mothers home

Bihar By-polls: Lalu Yadav to campaign for RJD candidates on Wednesday to ensure 'visarjan' of Nitish Kumar

He can get me shot, cant do anything else: Nitish on Lalus visarjan claim

Lalu Prasad Yadav discharged from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Mumbai, Aug 25: Former Bihar CM Lalu Prasad Yadav has been discharged from Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute on Saturday.

Jharkhand High Court on Friday rejected his request for 3 months bail extension on medical grounds and asked him to surrender by August 30.

ED chargesheet Lalu, wife, son others in Railway Tender scam

Hearing the prayer for extension of provisional bail for three months on grounds that the RJD leader needed to undergo treatment, Justice Apresh Kumar Singh asked Prasad to surrender by August 30 before the CBI court and directed the state government to provide medical care whenever needed.

Appearing for Prasad, Abhishek Manu Singhvi prayed for extension of provisional bail for three months for treatment of anal abscess, kidney stone and enlarged prostate glands. CBI counsel Rajiv Sinha objected to the prayer, saying the RJD leader has availed about 12 weeks for his treatment. Medicare is available in the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi, he said.

Negative politics, Tejashwi Yadav says on Sushil Modi's demand to cancel Lalu's bail

The court had on August 10 extended the provisional bail till August 20 on medical grounds and again on August 17 extended it till August 27.

It had on May 11 granted six weeks provisional bail to Prasad on medical grounds and again extended it till August 14.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 10:44 [IST]Only five Israeli families were able to come, along with Mgr Marcuzzo. Nazareth Christians represented the Holy Land. Many topics were discussed, including refugee families.

Dublin (AsiaNews)  For Christians from the Holy Land, the experience of the World Meeting of Families (21-26 August) was extraordinarily festive amid conferences and international meetings but also with a bitter aftertaste, noted Mgr Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem.

Speaking to AsiaNews, the prelate stressed a big problem, almost a scandal, because families from Palestine and Jordan did not get a visa. Indeed, Ireland, not Israel, refused to issue it, he bemoaned.

By contrast, Palestinians in Israel could come because they do not need a visa as per an agreement signed by Israel and the European Union.

"With respect to the families from Jordan, they told us they needed three months to get a visa. Plus, Palestinians also needed a special permit to enter Israel to go to the airport, and that takes a month."

Added to the red tape, the Meeting coincided with the start of the school year, complicating matters for children.

Some five families came to Dublin from Israel: three from Nazareth (picture 2) and two from Haifa (picture 1).

For the patriarchal vicar, "The Nazareth families represent the families of the Holy Land, and this is beautiful.

Speaking about the event itself, he said that The atmosphere is festive; there are many people and many conferences, meetings. It is extraordinary; we do nothing but go from one panel to another.

"There are many topics: from the Pope's Amoris Laetitia and the issues that touch the family to education and the transmission of the faith. The meetings are beautiful, international, at all levels."

Among the conferences, Mgr Marcuzzo singled out yesterdays, in which the nuncio to Syria, Card Mario Zenari, spoke about refugee families.Here is why this Congress MLA blew flying kisses to the Odisha speaker

Congress MLA writes to PM Modi to do away with Mahatma Gandhi's portrait from Rs 2000 notes

Made in Italy pistol, gold, cash, startling recovery made by NIA at Congress MLAs home

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 24: The National Investigation Agency carried out a major arrest in connection with the missing arms case reported at Manipur. A Congress MA Yamthung Haokip was arrested and it may be recalled that the agency had conducted a raid at his home last month, which led to some major seizures.

The NIA has been probing a case which pertains to theft of 56 Pistols and 58 Magazines from the DG Pool Armoury located within the premises of 2nd Manipur Rifles Battalion, Imphal. The above weapons went missing between 2016 and early 2017.

During investigation by NIA, one of the missing pistols, bearing no. 18506735 was recovered at Mantri Pukhri, Imphal on 30.07.2018 in the search conducted at the residence of Yamgthung Haokip MLA, Saikul Assembly Constituency besides other incriminating articles.

Other than the above recovery, during investigation, sufficient material and other evidences have been collected, which have established the complicity of MLA Yamthung Haokip in the above case.

Yamthung Haokip was arrested today (24th August 2018) for his involvement in procuring police pistols illegally and distributing them to different terrorist groups to wage war against the State.

What the NIA found at the MLA's home:

Cash Rs. 26.40 lakhs (Indian Currency).

Gold ornaments worth Rs. 20 lakhs.

One 9mm pistol bearing no. 18506735 with magazine. The Pistol is one of the missing pistols stolen from DG pool within the premises of 2nd Manipur Rifles.

One Beretta Pistol bearing no. DAA 462616, 3032 TOMCAT-32 Auto Made in the USA with magazine.

One unlicensed 9mm Pietro Beretta Gardone V.T Pistol bearing MOD.9QFS-CAL .9 PARA BELLUM-PATENTED & K57398Z, Made in Italy, with magazine.

One DBBL gun bearing no. 65330/05 having Licence no. L/981(KPI) renewed upto 31st December, 2014.

One SBBL gun without any mark of identification (with licence issued by ADC Kangpokpi, Senapati Dist. vide letter no.1786/May.97/ Military. The gun no. as mentioned was issued against the Licence is 27734.

22 rounds of live ammunition of 0.32 pistol, 15 rounds of live ammunition of 9mm pistol, 04 rounds of live ammunition of 7.62 Rifle and 04 rounds of live ammunition of 7.62X39 (AK series).

Stolen pistol, gold, cash, huge cache of arms and ammunition found at Congress MLA's house

What is the missing arms case:

The case dates back to 2014. The Manipur government had asked the NIA to probe the case in which 56 pistols disappeared from the police headquarters over a period of four years. The probe found that 56 auto 9 mm pistols along with 58 magazines were found missing from the state police headquarters - Arms Kote of 2nd Manipur Rifles, Imphal, - between 2014 and 2018.

Two employees of the 2nd MR were arrested in connection with the case. In 2016, four persons were arrested and one 9 mm auto pistol along with three magazines were seized.

The Manipur government had suspended four high-ranking police officials, including an IPS officer, in connection with the case of missing weapons from 2nd Manipur Rifles armoury between 2014 and 2018, an official statement has said.

Altogether, 56 auto 9 mm pistols along with 58 magazines were found missing when the commandant of 2nd Manipur Rifles recently conducted a routine examination of the arms corte (armoury).

The missing arms belonged to a batch of 570 pistols that were received by the state police headquarters in 2014 for supply to 2nd Manipur Rifles.

NIA investigation:

After the NIA took over the case, it conducted searches and even questioned several accused persons. During the interrogation of the accused, the name of the MLA cropped up, following which the raids were conducted.

An NIA official informed OneIndia that the raids were conducted on the basis of the statements given by the other accused. Till date, nine people have been arrested in the case and three 9mm pistols, out of the 56 missing pistols, have been recovered "from members of various militant groups of Manipur.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 10:06 [IST]Our voices being suppressed by JNU administration says JNUTA

India

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: The teachers association of JNU said the university administration is trying to suppress the voice of elected teacher representatives, a day after the administration issued show-cause notices to 48 teachers for allegedly participating in a day strike on July 31 against the policies implemented by the vice chancellor.

The decision to issue show-cause notices was finalised at the Executive Council meeting of the varsity held yesterday, claimed JNU Professor Ayesha Kidwai.

JNU student Umar Khalid firing case: Attackers sent to judicial custody till Sept 6

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers Association (JNUTA) today in a statement said that it takes serious note of the extremely hostile attitude of the University Administration towards teachers reflected in the 275th Executive Council Meeting held yesterday.

"After trying to suppress the voice of elected teacher representatives, the Administration pushed for several anti-teacher decisions and ratification of such decisions already made by the Vice-Chancellor. In what must be a record of sorts, illegitimate denial of even stage-change promotions of 4 Assistant Professors were brought to the EC for ratification but no explanation was forthcoming about the grounds on which their outstanding academic records were completely overlooked," it said.

A continued recalcitrant attitude was also reflected towards resolution of the problem of past-service counting which the current JNU Administration has itself created, the statement said.

JNU student Umar Khalid shot at in Delhi, escapes unhurt

"Once again, the Vice Chancellor got the EC to approve addition of several names to panels of experts for selection committees without these names being approved by the Centres or even by the Academic Council," it said.

Along with its keenness to wave the stick of naked coercion against teachers, the extremely casual attitude of the Administration towards academics was also on full display, the JNUTA said in the statement.

The decision to have completely online entrance examinations involving 'outside experts' from the coming year itself was steamrolled through without any systematic discussion of its entire ramification how suitable it is for assessment of abilities across the range of disciplines and courses of study that JNU admits students to; its impact on access of students across the country to the University; its financial implications, JNUTA said.

"On the other hand, the Administration failed to itself bring on the agenda the issue of a disastrous cut in library grants. When this matter was raised, the Administration admitted to the fact of the cut - from over Rs 8 crores to 1.7 crores - but treated it as if this was a minor matter," it added.

JNUTA would like to remind the JNU Administration and the Vice Chancellor that the teachers of JNU are not going to be intimidated, as they have proved time and time again, it said.

"Actions of the kind taken in the 275th Executive Council will only serve to strengthen their resolve to beat back the concerted attack on the University and its great traditions by its own Administration," it added.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 13:50 [IST]Chidambaram on India giving 2.5 crore Covid jabs: 'Why did we have to wait until the PMs birthday?'

Procurement procedure in Rafale deal ignored: Chidambaram

India

oi-Madhuri

Kolkata, Aug 25: Stepping up attack on the government over the Rafale fighter jet issue, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram today accused the Centre of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and "bypassing" several committees to secure the deal.

The former finance minister also alleged the Cabinet Committee on Security was not taken into confidence by the government before signing the deal.

ED to record Chidambaram's statement under PC act, poses fresh set of questions

"Why was the defence procurement procedure ignored in the Rafale deal... and why were the Contract Negotiation Committee and the Price Negotiation Committee kept in the dark about it? The Cabinet Committee on Security was also not taken into confidence," he told reporters at the Congress office here.

He also claimed that there was a huge difference in the price per aircraft secured by the UPA regime and what has now been agreed to by the NDA government.

INX Media Case: Delhi HC extends protection from arrest given to Chidambaram till Sep 28

"The UPA contract priced the Rafale jets at Rs 526 crore per aircraft and the NDA contract priced them at Rs 1,670 crore per aircraft. If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the prices jumped three times?" he asked.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 15:47 [IST]IRCTC festive offer

Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), the ticketing arm of Indian Railways, has come up with its latest offer for passengers to celebrate Raksha Bandhan in Sri Lanka.

The special tour of Sri Lanka will cover major tourist attractions including the places associated with the great epic Ramayana. Passengers will depart from Delhi Airport on August 25 for the tour.

Flipkart discount up to 40%.

Flipkart is offering Raksha Bandhan discounts on various products across its categories. On Raksha Bandhan gifts, Flipkart is offering discount up to 40%.

Amazon e-gift vouchers

Under its #SendTheLove offer, Amazon has announced various offers on gift options. Customers can also avail an additional 5% off on Amazon pay.

If you want to give your sister the variety of products to choose from, then you can purchase the Flipkart or Amazon e-gift vouchers. Both the e-shopping website share similar voucher amounts ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 10,000.

Paytm Mall offers attractive rakhis with cashback

Paytm Mall is offering a wide variety of rakhis for your elder and younger siblings. Here is the list of rakhis that your brothers will love to flaunt on other days as well.

Paytm Mall has also included the emoji rakhis, as we know this is the generation of emojis then why not rakhis. This one will be a very apt gift to your siblings, which he can love to wear even after the festive occasion.

MakeMyTrip: Travel aggregator MakeMyTrip is offering Raksha Bandhan gift vouchers meant for travel. All you have to do is go on its website and place an order for a Raksha Bandhan gif card.

It is a simple process and all you need to do is visit this link - https://makemytrip.woohoo.in/rakshabandhan. As soon as you are on the page, you will be asked to enter the amount (capped at Rs 50,000) and the number of gift cards you want to buy.Prashant Kishor in viral video: With or without Modi, BJP will be centre of Indian polity for decades

Regional parties to come to one platform at INLDs initiative to take on BJP

India

oi-Vinod

By Vinod

New Delhi, Aug 25: The Opposition braces for another show of strength against the Bharatiya Janata Party but this time in Haryan when regional political parties are getting united against the Party-led government at the Centre.

In one such move the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) plans to invite those which matter regional parties to Gohana in Sonepat district of Haryana on September 25, 2018. The occasion is 105th birth anniversary celebrations of former deputy Prime Minister of the country Devi Lal.

Leaders of the INLD, who are taking forward the legacy of Devi Lal, will invite important regional parties on the occasion of his birth anniversary celebrations to cement another broad understanding with the regional forces to unseat the BJP.

The same role was played by the Haryana strongman almost three decades ago when former deputy Prime Minister played the role by bringing together opposition parties against the Congress rule.

INLD leader Dushyant Chautala said that the event would be organised at Gohana on September 25 in which Bahujan Samaj Party President Mayawati is expected to be present.

Mayawati has an alliance with the INLD in Haryana and she will be one among the other prominent faces at the event.

Senior party leader Abhay Singh Chautala met Mayawati her this week to request her to be present at the rally. This will be the first such occasion when the BSP leader will be sharing stage with the INLD leaders after they announced a tie-up.

The INLD wants to invite many other leaders from the regional parties only.

"We will invite every friend of Devi Lal who were with him during his days of struggle," great grandson of Devi Lal, Dushyant Chautala, said. INLD leaders also informed that Janata Dal (secular) leader and former Prime Pinister H D Deve Gowda, estranged former ally of the NDA and Telugu Desham Party-led by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Ajit Singh of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and many others regional party leaders be invited to join the event.

This will be a dual occasion to pay homage to tall Jat leader of the time and show of strength by the regional parties.

Devi Lal was one of the most important political figures and everyone knows that one of his rally threatened another his contemporary V P Singh.

Devi Lal was elected to Assembly for the first time in 1951 when Punjab and Haryana were one state as a Congress candidate. He was one of the bitter critique of emergency for which he was sent to jail during emergency. Devi Lal first became Haryana Chief Minister in 1977 after emergency.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 22:30 [IST]Renaming Ramlila Maidan won't fetch BJP votes: Arvind Kejriwal

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, Aug 25: In a scathing attack on Narendra Modi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that a move to rename Ramlila Maidan after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee won't fetch the BJP votes but "changing the name of the Prime Minister might".

Citing a news report on the proposed renaming, Kejriwal tweeted, "Changing name of Ramlila Maidan etc after Vajpayeeji will not fetch votes. BJP should change the name of the Prime Minister to get some votes because people are not voting on his name."

Earlier in the day, reports surfaced that the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) had proposed that the name of the Ramlila Maidan in the capital be renamed as a tribute to Vajpayee.

However, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwary later denied reports of a name change for the Ram Leela Maidan. "The ground is named after Maryada Pursottam Ram, there is no question changing its name," Tiwary said.

The NDMC has also denied that there was any proposal to rename Ramlila Maidan. Brushing off the news report, NDMC Mayor Adesh Gupta said that there was no such proposal.

"There is no proposal to rename Ramlila Maidan after Vajpayeeji. All reports suggesting so are wrong," he said.

The mayor denied that some NDMC councillors approached the civic body or his office with a suggestion to rename the ground after Vajpayee. "No councillor has even made any such suggestion," Gupta said.

"We worship Lord Ram, so there's no question of a change in the name of Ramlila Maidan.... If someone says something like that should be done, not necessary that you need to follow it," Tiwary added.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 19:14 [IST]Talks a priority in Valley, but only within framework of Indian Constitution

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Aug 25: In a bid to shift gear in Jammu and Kashmir, the new Governor, Satyapal Malik would begin engagements with all stake-holders provided they are willing to speak under the framework of the Indian Constitution.

Malik's brief is clear and that would be to restore peace in the Valley, sources tell OneIndia. He does face several challenges, but the immediate priority would be to restore peace and also ensure that the conduct of the local body polls are a smooth affair.

J&K: One terrorists killed in Anantnag, encounter underway in Kokernag

Malik would coordinate closely with the Centre's interlocutor, Dineshwar Sharma who has already reached out to several stake-holders in the Valley. Sources also say that the smooth conduct of the local body polls is a top priority. In addition to this the fight against terrorists would continue and there is a clear brief to wipe out the problem.

Malik has his task cut out and he would have a host of issues to tackle which includes Article 35 A, security and also the possible formation of a government. Malik is a veteran in politics and has been a prominent political personality in Uttar Pradesh. He has also served as the Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism.

The two immediate challenges before him are Article 35 A and the Panchayat elections.

J&K: Terrorists shoot dead a forest officer

The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during his Independence Day address that the state would conduct the local body polls only shows how serious the government is about it. The peaceful and fair conduct of the polls would be a big responsibility for the new Governor. It would also be interesting to see how Malik would handle the issue regarding Article 35 A.

Vohra was not on the same page with the Centre regarding this. He had felt that it would not be right to toy with the issue in the absence of an elected government. Sources in New Delhi tell OneIndia say that the immediate challenge would be the conduct of the local body polls. Any talk about forming a government would take place only after that.

There is a dire need to restore peace and bring about normalcy and hence the administration would only take one thing at a time.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 5:48 [IST]Duty of all to work in partys interest says Shashi Tharoor

Will consider returning as Congress chief says Rahul Gandhi at CWC

If Modi was careful, Doklam stand-off could have been avoided

International

oi-Madhuri

London, Aug 25: Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the Doklam standoff with China was not an "isolated issue" but part of a "sequence of events" and if Prime Minister Narendra Modi was carefully watching the process, India could have stopped it.

Addressing the International Institute of Strategic Studies here, Gandhi said that "Prime Minister is episodic. He views Doklam as an event".

Chinese transgression in Ladakh: Activity not unusual say sources

"Doklam is not an isolated issue. It was a part of a sequence of events, it was a process.

"If he (PM Modi) was carefully watching the process, he could've stopped it," Gandhi said at the London-based think-tank.

He claimed that the "truth is the Chinese are still in Doklam today".

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh told Rajya Sabha last month that there have been no new developments at the site of the face-off with China in Doklam and its vicinity, and status quo prevails in the area.

"Since the disengagement of Indian and Chinese border personnel in the Doklam area on August 28, 2017, there have been no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity. The status quo prevails in this area," Singh had said.

Indo-China relations a factor of stability in the world: PM Modi

Tensions between India and China reached their peak during a 73-day standoff in Doklam near Bhutan over Beijing's construction of a road in the area.

The standoff ended after both sides agreed to disengage, and there have been no confirmed or official reports of China resuming any activities since then.

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 6:25 [IST]Not possible to order release, deport Rohingyas detained in Jammu without following law: SC

Rohingya observe 'black day' one year after Myanmar violence

International

oi-PTI

Cox's Bazar (Bangladesh), Aug 25: Rohingya refugees on Saturday marked the anniversary of a deadly military crackdown in their Myanmar homeland that drove 700,000 of the persecuted minority into Bangladesh, stateless and confronting a grim future.

Raids by Rohingya militants on August 25 last year across Myanmar's Rakhine state spurred an army crackdown which the United Nations has likened to "ethnic cleansing".

Waves of Rohingya fled by foot or boat to Bangladesh in an exodus unprecedented in speed and scale. Rohingya activists in Bangladesh's refugee camps vowed to mark the "black day" with prayers, speeches and song.

The latest influx has placed enormous pressure on Bangladesh's impoverished Cox's Bazar district, which quickly grew into the world's largest refugee settlement.

The squalid camps already hosted generations of Rohingya expelled from Rakhine and the latest arrivals pushed numbers close to one million. Abdul Malek, a 27-year-old refugee who fled an attack on his village last year, said the plight of the Rohingya was far from over.

"This one year is just the beginning of many more to follow," he told AFP in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. Buddhist-majority Myanmar says it is ready to take back those who fled.

But it refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens, falsely labelling them "Bengali" illegal immigrants. A deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to start sending them back has stalled. Fewer than 200 have been repatriated so far.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week said it was up to Bangladesh "to decide how quickly" repatriation can be done, while insisting the "terrorist threat" posed by Rohingya militants remains "real and present".

The Rohingya say they will not return without a guarantee of their safety, citizenship and compensation for homes and land torched.

"We don't want to (go) back without justice and without our rights and a proper guarantee that we won't be driven out again," 18-year-old Aman Ullah told AFP in Cox's Bazar.

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar and have been hunted from the country in successive convulsions of violence. Access to healthcare and freedom of movement remains out of reach for the stateless people in Rakhine.

And the Rohingya exodus from western Myanmar continues today, with refugees still trickling over the border throughout this year. The UN and international rights groups say conditions are not ready for them to go back.

"It may be decades until they can safely return to Myanmar, if ever," Medecins Sans Frontieres head of mission in Bangladesh, Pavlo Kolovos, said in a statement.

Calls have mounted for Myanmar's military to be held responsible for the campaign, with security forces accused of torture, rape and murder. The US has sanctioned two army brigades and several commanders who oversaw the expulsion, in which thousands are estimated to have died.

But Myanmar says it was simply defending itself and bristles at international calls for justice. Humanitarian agencies spearheading the relief effort in Bangladesh say just one third of the roughly USD 1 bn needed for the refugees until March has been raised.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 8:51 [IST]Delhi University Students' Union polls to be held on September 12

New Delhi

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, Aug 25: The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections will be held on September 12, the university announced on Saturday.

The election of office bearers of Delhi University's Student Union (DUSU) and members of Central Council is the most keenly contested students polls in the country.

The elections will be held on September 12, said a statement from the university. The date and venue for the counting of votes will be announced later, it said.

The nomination papers for the office bearers of DUSU are to be submitted to the Office of the Chief Election Officer, DUSU elections 2017-18, latest by September 4.

Nomination papers for the membership of Central Council are to be obtained from concerned colleges/departments or institutions and are also to be submitted by the same date.

The scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on the same day following which the list of duly nominated candidates will be published, the statement said, adding that candidates can withdraw their nominations till September 6.

DUSU is the representative body of the students from most colleges and faculties. Apart from DUSU, which is an umbrella council, each college also has its own students union for which they hold separate elections.

For more New Delhi news Click Here

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 23:34 [IST]by Wang Zhicheng

For the first time in 30 years, students from the best Chinese universities  Beida, Renmin, Nanjing  joined workers to set up an independent trade union. Chinas party-linked official union has sided with Jasic Technology, which has tried to stifle protests with arrests and beatings.

Shenzhen (AsiaNews)  Police in anti-riot gear arrested 50 students and worker activists trying to set up an independent trade union inside the Shenzhen-based Jasic Technology, a publicly traded company that treats its employees "as slaves".

The arrests took place at 5 am yesterday. Three workers  Lan Zhiwei, Yu Kailong and Yu Weiye  were among those taken into custody. They were out on bail from an earlier mass arrest.

The other detainees are students from Peking University (Beida), Renmin University and Nanjing University, who came to support the workers' struggle.

The labour dispute with Jasic Technology began in May. In July, dozens of Maoist-inspired students came to Shenzhen to show their support for workers' demands. They were joined by Maoist Party veterans, critical of the gap between haves and have-nots in Chinese society.

The groups various protests were hampered by arrests and beatings by anonymous thugs. However, students and activists used social media to spread their message and create solidarity in the population at large.

Starting last week, all the posts and chats used to organise the protests were blocked and suppressed by the authorities.

Chinas official union, which is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, sided with the company and had two workers and a student arrested for seeking dialogue with them.

In China, independent trade unions have been banned since the Tiananmen protests (1989). At the time, an alliance between students and workers led to independent labour organising, but their demands were met with a military crackdown and slaughter.

According to the China Labor Bulletin (CLB), labour unrest and strikes are commonplace, but the latest in Shenzen is unusual because for the first time in almost 30 years, university students joined workers to support their demands for justice.

For CLB deputy director Cai Chongguo, the workers' movement has shaken the ideological basis and the legitimacy of the current regime amid growing public anger among Chinas poorest over a quickly expanding wealth gap and the power of the financial and political elite.Police arrest trafficker with cannabis

New Delhi

oi-Madhuri

New Delhi, Aug 25: A suspected drug trafficker was arrested here after two kg of cannabis was allegedly recovered from his possession, police said.

He was held from Barola village here, under Sector-49 police station limits, they said.

The accused has been identified as Rahul Singh alias Radhey, in his mid-30s, and a resident of Sorkha village in Noida, a police official said.

Brave girl foils chain snatching bid, hands over accused to cops

"A total of two kg of ganja was recovered from his possession besides Rs 5,000," the official said.

The accused has been booked on relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Indian Penal Code, he said.

Singh has been remanded in judicial custody, the police said.

For more New Delhi news, Click here

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Story first published: Saturday, August 25, 2018, 12:35 [IST]The Report of the Delimitation Committee for the Delimitation of Electorates in Provincial Councils was defeated in Parliament yesterday with 139 votes against.

The United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP), the Joint Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against the Delimitation Report.

No votes were cast in favour of the report. Accordingly, the Speakers Office announced that the five-member Review Committee headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would be appointed by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya within the next few days with the agreement of all other parties. It stated that the other members of the committee would be experts in the field who are not politicians.Wind Turbine Inspection Services Market Size to 2026 Analysis by Applications and Types

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Hydroelectric power plants and wind energy are among the most widely used renewable forms of energy sources. Hydroelectric power generation, which is the largest used renewable power source, is limited owing to the inadequacy of the generating resources to meet the global demands. Wind energy is available abundantly and can be used to meet the global energy demands. Requirement to harness these resources consistently, and maintain the high energy efficiency of these through the turbine life cycle is expected to drive the demands for related inspection services through the forecast period.Increasing deployment for the energy source across the globe will drive the wind turbine inspection services market growthAccording to Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the total installed capacities of these farms was over 485 GW is expected to surge significantly over the coming years. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, the total installed capacities would increase over double the installed capacities in 2016, by 2025. Turbines are highly crucial components for the energy generation and comprise number of smaller components that includes gearbox and generator, which are necessitated to be serviced and inspected on regular intervals to safeguard the optimal efficiency and performance. Thus, to ensure longevity and accurate information regarding the energy generation, farm contractors and operators are expected to drive the service industry requirements.Download PDF Brochure @Inspection drones incorporated with advanced monitoring equipment and artificial intelligence is expected is among the key trend gaining traction in the industry applicationsWind turbine examination drones are small sized unmanned aerial vehicles that are utilized to accumulate information and images for the assessment, monitoring, mapping, and analysis of blades, towers and nacelles. Conventional methods for the examination includes the employment of specific teams suspended through cables and rope supports, using field telescopes and binoculars for the task. In conjunction with the human life risks, the method has several limitations such as difficulty to access some areas, exclusion of blade defects assessment invisible to the naked eye. Elimination of these drawbacks through utilization of these drones is expected to present considerable growth prospects for this market.Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in these drones to reduce the workflow errors and enhance detailed analysis within few hours is among the key trends gaining traction in industry. However, stringent regulatory standards against the use of these drones in some major economies such as FAA regulations in the U.S., regulations regarding VLOS and BVLOS and other regionally distinct regulations will present considerable growth to the drone adoptions.Noise pollution and threat to wildlife, specifically flying creatures such as bats, birds, etc., are some of the major drawbacks that may hamper the industry growth rateThese energy sources cannot be used to meet the base load demands, without the additional investments for the energy storage. However, this may add up to the initial high investment required which is considerably higher in comparison to establishment of conventional energy plants. These factors are expected to consistently hinder the adoption of these means to generate the energy which will consequentially negatively impact the wind turbine inspection market growth.Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the overall industry growth through the forecast periodChina contributes to over 37% of the global installed units for the power generation accounting for over 168.73 MW in 2016, as per the GWEC. India contributed to the worlds fourth largest installed units. High deployments in these major emerging economies in the region is expected to attract significant investments in these economies. Other major attractive economies for the wind turbine inspection services include the U.S, Germany, Spain, UK, France, Canada, and Brazil.Chief industry participants include Intertek Group Plc., UpWind Solutions Inc., Technical Wind Services Ltd., INVISO Services Ltd., Cenergy International Services LLC, UL International GmbH, ASC Engineering Service, Advanced Cleaning Technology Ltd., MISTRAS Group Inc., Midwest Underground Technology Inc., and MFG Energy Services.For More Information @About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comNew Report On Nut Meals Market Analysis Report By Key Players- Bobs Red Mill, Honeyville, King Arthur Flour Company

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The insurer's deteriorating financial position raises new questions about the sustainability of Oregon's pioneering model for providing health care to the poor. CareOregon's struggles come just months after Portland-based FamilyCare

exited the Medicaid business after years of battling with state regulators over reimbursement levels.

Eric Hunter, CareOregon's chief executive officer and president, said the state's Medicaid reimbursement rate is too low and doesn't allow local providers to keep up with health care costs. "Simple math says that when medical costs are increasing 5-6 percent a year and our rate is capped at 3.4 percent, that will never add up," he said.

Hunter vowed that CareOregon will weather the storm and emerge a stronger company.

CareOregon is not alone in its struggles. "There are losses and reduced margins across the board," said Pat Allen, head of the Oregon Health Authority, which regulates the state's Medicaid system.

The state agency is considering whether to open the Medicaid business to new players next year in some sort of competitive bidding process. At the same time, the state is searching for the estimated $830 million needed to cover its share of the program as the federal contribution decreases.

CareOregon is a key cog in Oregon's elaborate Medicaid system. It owns and operates coordinated care organizations in Jackson and Columbia counties. It also is one of the largest contractors serving clients of Health Share of Oregon, the CCO serving the Portland area. Hunter is chairman of the Health Share board.

The 16 coordinated care groups are the frontline players in Oregon's vaunted health care reform. Championed by former Gov. John Kitzhaber, the CCOs emphasize preventive care in order to reduce health care costs.

The Oregon system famously limits the coordinated care groups to annual rate increases of 3.4 percent.

"It's hard," Allen conceded. "We have aggressive goals for holding down costs. That got even more difficult with the end of the recession, which tended to limit cost increases."

At CareOregon, the losses have piled up.

It finished 2016 with a loss of $12 million. Then the "rates went down, and utilization went up," Hunter said, leading to a painful loss of $61.6 million in 2017. It expects to lose another $33.3 million in 2018.

There were several contributing factors, officials said. CareOregon's customer count plunged by 40,000 in 2016 and 2017 as state regulators overcame technical problems that prevented timely eligibility checks. Medicaid recipients deemed ineligible were booted out of the program.

Unfortunately for the CCOs, the people kicked off Medicaid tended to be healthier, and therefore most profitable, Allen said.

More recently, CareOregon had to absorb some 80,000 former FamilyCare customers in just weeks after that company exited the business.

CareOregon started the year with reserves of about $320 million and finished with about $260 million. "CareOregon has big reserves but those are big losses," said Bill Murray, chief operating officer at FamilyCare. "They depleted 20 percent of their reserves in a year."

CareOregon was open to all options, including a possible merger. Company executives explored some sort of collaboration or combination with local health insurer PacificSource.

"We can confirm that we have engaged in discussions as both organizations have similar missions," CareOregon spokeswoman Elise Burke said. "At this time, there are no plans for future discussions."

Hunter said CareOregon's turnaround plan is working. "We've been around 24 years, and there are always ebbs and flows," he said. "We're beating our budget in

2018. This is not a downward spiral."

-- Jeff ManningBy Eugene Robinson

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- There's a reason why President Trump increasingly sounds like the mob boss in a cliche-ridden gangster film: That's basically what he is -- and he must know how such movies usually end.

On Wednesday morning -- a day after his former campaign chairman was convicted of felonies in one federal courthouse and his longtime lawyer pleaded guilty to felonies in another -- Trump issued this statement on Twitter:

"I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. 'Justice' took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' -- make up stories in order to get a 'deal.' Such respect for a brave man!"

A few days earlier, Trump had referred to John Dean, the White House counsel whose truth-telling was instrumental in Richard Nixon's downfall, as a "RAT." And in a Fox News interview broadcast Thursday, he complained at length about defendants who "flip" and inform on higher-ups in exchange for leniency at sentencing: "This whole thing about flipping, they call it, I know all about flipping. For 30, 40 years I have been watching flippers. Everything's wonderful and then they get 10 years in jail and they flip on whoever the next highest one is or as high as you can go. It almost ought to be outlawed."

Those are not the words of some two-bit hoodlum who feels the law closing in. They are the words of the president of the United States -- who apparently feels the law closing in.

Trump speaks as if the Trump Organization, the Trump campaign and the Trump administration were one long continuing criminal enterprise. The man charged with faithfully executing the nation's laws paints his own Justice Department as a villain and celebrates criminals who stoically go to prison rather than inform on higher-ups. Nixon talked that way in private, among friends and co-conspirators; Trump just blurts it out. He makes no bones about valuing loyalty over respect for the law.

Manafort, who might have much to tell about contacts between the campaign and the Russians, has been silent thus far. But he was convicted in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on eight counts of bank and tax fraud, and could receive what amounts to a life sentence for a 69-year-old man. Now he faces another trial, this time in federal court in Washington, on conspiracy and other charges stemming from the influence-peddling work he did for Russia-backed politicians in Ukraine.

The second trial could produce even more jail time -- and definitely will generate another crushing pile of legal bills for a man whose finances were shown to be in tatters. After Tuesday's verdict was read in Alexandria, a statement from Manafort's defense team said nothing about possible appeals or the looming court proceedings. Instead, it said Manafort was examining his options.

Perhaps that is why Trump is going so far out of his way to praise Manafort's virtue -- and why, when asked if he will grant Manafort a pardon, the president never says a discouraging word.

Cohen, on the other hand, used the occasion of his guilty plea in federal court in Manhattan to directly implicate Trump in two felony crimes. He said Trump directed him to arrange six-figure payments, in the days leading up to the election, to guarantee the silence of Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels -- two women who say they had extramarital liaisons with Trump.

Cohen has offered full cooperation to authorities, including special counsel Robert Mueller, and Cohen's attorney has strongly suggested his client might have evidence bearing on the question of collusion. Perhaps that is why Trump was up at 1 a.m. Thursday, angrily tweeting: "NO COLLUSION -- RIGGED WITCH HUNT!"

Look at the people Trump surrounds himself with. So far, four men with high-level roles in his campaign and one with a more junior role have pleaded or been found guilty of federal crimes.

Look at the people who are drawn to him. The first sitting member of Congress to endorse his candidacy, Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., was indicted earlier this month on charges of insider trading. The second sitting member to endorse Trump, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., was indicted Tuesday on charges of illegally using more than $250,000 in campaign funds to underwrite his lavish personal lifestyle.

Responding to criticism from Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared Thursday that the Justice Department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations." He must understand by now that Trump doesn't care about justice. The president wants only protection.

-- Eugene Robinson's email address is eugenerobinson@washpost.com.

(c) 2018, Washington Post Writers GroupI have always stayed at the Heathman Hotel. Thirty years ago, when I was recruited to Oregon Health & Science University, the office of the university's president put me up at the elegant old Portland hotel. It made an impression.

As a faculty member at OHSU, I always housed visiting dignitaries and recruits at the Heathman. In my many visits back to Portland, my wife -- a fourth generation Oregonian -- and I continued the tradition. In the current renovation of the hotel, the owners have painted all the glorious wood paneling of the hotel white, converting what was an historic landmark into a slightly upscale Holiday Inn.

-- Roger Cone, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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! Submit 250 words or less and please include your first and last name, hometown and a phone number for verification.A central Oregon woman authorities say fatally shot and killed her severely disabled 7-year-old son and then attempted suicide is expected to recover.

Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel told The Bulletin Friday that 28-year-old Tashina Aleine Jordan is being treated at a Bend hospital following a life-threatening overdose.

Hummel says he's still undecided on what charges Jordan might face.

A relative found Jordan unconscious Monday at the Bend home she shared with her son and mother. Authorities found the boy, named Mason, and pronounced him dead.

Authorities have said notes at the scene indicated Jordan was the shooter.

Hummel says that for several days it didn't look like Jordan would survive the overdose but she has since improved.

-- The BulletinWildfire smoke has forced airlines at an airport in southwest Oregon to cancel multiple flights and put delays on others.



The Mail Tribune reports that American Airlines and United Airlines said Friday they were canceling all flight out of Medford, Oregon.



Delta Air Lines posted delays for flights to Seattle and Salt Lake City.



Alaska/Horizon Air flight remain unaffected.



Airport spokeswoman Debbie Smith says smoke from a fire that started earlier this week is impacting the landing approach for the runway.



That blaze is just 15 percent contained.



The smoke in particular affects the landings for larger aircraft.



Despite the cancelled flights, the airport remains open.

-- The Associated Press

___

Information from: Mail Tribune, http://www.mailtribune.com/Like the New Carissa in 1999, the latest saga of a hunk of metal being consumed by Oregon coast surf and sand has come to a mangled conclusion.

The last vestiges of a van and trailer that fell victim to high tide and became stuck in sand at near Gearhart were removed early Friday, Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

"It's gone," Bergin said. "We just got some locals to come do it. We got an excavator in there at low tide and got it out."

The saga started about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday when a man, whom the Clatsop County Sheriff's Office identified Friday as Rick Langel, 61, of Damascus, called to report his Chevrolet 20 Globemaster and small travel trailer had become submerged by the rising tide at Del Ray Beach. It took several hours for a tow-truck company to arrive and attempt to hoist the sinking rig out of the ocean.

But by then, the van and trailer were buried 3 feet deep in the sand, the sheriff said. The pounding of the surf eventually destroyed the trailer, the sheriff said, but the van remained  until Friday morning.

Bergin had previously compared the situation to "a smaller version of the New Carissa," a ship that ran aground near Coos Bay in February 1999, prompting a yearslong saga to remove it.

Bergin said a local contractor, Clean Sweep Excavation & Maintenance, brought in an excavator and had the van out in two hours. He said the van was buried deep in the sand and had sustained serious damage, so it was impossible to remove without destroying it.

"This thing now is just a tangled hunk of metal," Bergin said. "The guy signed over the vehicle."

Ben Olsen of Clean Sweep said he and a local four-wheeler club, the Sons of the Beaches, were able to get the rig out in about an hour and a half. They used the excavator, a trailer and a dump truck to pull it out of the sand and haul it off.

"It was a total loss by the time we got called in," Olsen told The Oregonian/OregonLive. "The tide's pretty tough on em out there, and if you get caught in it it devours it pretty fast.

"We dug out the sides of it, put a strap on it and pulled portions out," he said in describing the operation. "It was so bogged down it didn't want to cooperate coming out, so it was all bent up by the time we got it out."

He said the Sons of the Beaches club, which takes care of the beach access areas, watched for any fluids to mop up from the van.

Olsen said vehicles don't get stuck too often.

"People are pretty savvy to that, but when they're unfamiliar with the ocean and tides, every once in a while vehicles get caught when people make big mistakes."

Olsen said Langel had most of what he owned in the van and trailer and lost most of it.

"He had a tent pitched out there where he stayed on the beach for the night because he didn't have anywhere to go really."

The van waiting to go to the scrap yard, Olsen said. Langel came by and salvaged a few things, but most of it was in pretty rough shape.

"It was kind of a sad situation," Olsen said.

Oregonian/OregonLive reporter Shane Dixon Kavanaugh contributed to this report.BEND  An 84-year-old Wyoming man drowned and his daughter, a former Paralympic athlete, was injured when their canoe capsized in Oregon and they were swept over Class 5 rapids.

Deschutes County sheriff's Lt. Bryan Husband told KTVZ-TV on Friday that Ronald Stevens, of Jackson, Wyoming, was pulled unconscious from the water by kayakers.

Nancy Stevens, who is blind, was also pulled from the Deschutes River by kayakers and is hospitalized in good condition.

The 54-year-old Nancy Stevens competed 20 years ago as a cross-country skier in the Nagano, Japan Paralympic Games.

The Bulletin reports that she was also the first blind woman to scale the 13,770-foot Grand Teton and has been a regular Pole Pedal Paddle competitor since 2013.

The two were fly-fishing and were both wearing life jackets.

-- The Associated PressA Portland man of Middle Eastern descent says an altercation with another driver who crashed into him earlier this week led to her mocking his name, doubting his U.S. citizenship and telling him, "some of you are terrorists."

Bassel Hamieh said the comments made by the white female driver were unprovoked and came Tuesday as she refused to show her ID and insurance after she sideswiped his car in downtown Portland and continued driving until he ran after her. He took video of the encounter, which ended in her showing him her information for him to photograph and an Oregon Health & Science University public safety officer helping defuse the situation and telling Hamieh to contact him if the woman gave him any more trouble.

Hamieh posted a three-and-a-half-minute clip of the encounter, which he estimates lasted 10 minutes, onto his Facebook page later that day. It's since gotten more than 34,000 views as of Friday evening. Another version of the video posted on Twitter on Thursday has been viewed more than 172,000 times.

"She made the wrong decision to speak to me the way she did, but the issue is a systemic one," said Hamieh, a 23-year-old Portland State University honor student. "I ultimately decided to post the video to show that people like me have to deal with this kind of hate all the time for no reason other than we exist."

Hamieh was born in Portland and lived for 11 years with his family in Lebanon, where his parents were born, before returning to the U.S. The encounter harkened back to other incidents of racism he's experienced in Portland, he said. He said he was beaten up in elementary school by a friend after the boy realized Hamieh's family was of Middle Eastern ancestry and was told by a high school teacher in front of classmates that he would grow up to be a terrorist.

Hamieh said the altercation occurred after he finished taking a chemistry exam Tuesday at OHSU and was waiting for his friend to pick him up. The friend was driving Hamieh's car. Soon after he got into the passenger seat, Hamieh said, the other driver sideswiped his car and kept going.

The friend honked at the other driver to get her attention, but she kept going. Hamieh said he got out of his car and chased after the driver, who turned into the parking garage nearby at OHSU's Robertson Life Sciences Building along Southwest Moody Street. The collision left heavy scratches on the left front side of the car, Hamieh said.

Hamieh said he eventually got her attention and asked her for her ID and insurance so he could take pictures of them, but she initially refused. She denied hitting his car, said she didn't believe he was in the country legally and claimed he was going to use her identification to steal her identity.

"At first, I didn't think this was going to be an issue at all. I explain that she hit my car, show her the damage, get her information and we both move on with our lives," Hamieh said. "But then when she started bringing up my race and making this about more than what it was, I decided to record it because I didn't feel safe, and I felt I needed something to protect myself in case she later said it didn't happen."

On the video, the woman said Hamieh didn't "look like a Portland guy." She denied his assertions that she hit his car, claimed he had a "huge accent," noted that she has an "American accent" and has been "all over the world."

Hamieh continues to ask for her ID and insurance. At one point, she shows him her ID, the video shows, but has to go back to her car to get her insurance.

She later asks Hamieh who he is, mocks his pronunciation of his last name and says "I knew it," in reference to Hamieh's ethnicity. On the video, he asks her "what's wrong with Middle Easterners?"

"What do you think?" she replies. "Some of you are terrorist."

Hamieh tells her he was born in Portland, and she tells him she doubts it. She later tells him to get away from her and points her cane at him. Hamieh's friend who came to pick him up later intervenes as well as the public safety officer who was called to the scene by someone else, Hamieh said.

Hamieh said he stopped recording when the officer arrived. The woman gave Hamieh her insurance information by the time the officer showed up and told the cop that Hamieh and his friend were harassing her. Hamieh said he explained that she hit his car and he wanted her information to make an insurance claim.

The officer told the woman to not make the incident a bigger deal than it was, Hamieh said. She went on to her dentist appointment after giving Hamieh her information.

The encounter with the driver left him startled and disheartened, he said. He said he doesn't intend for the woman to receive any backlash, but he hopes she now realizes that what she said to him was wrong, understands why it was wrong and that it can help others not make people of color feel unsafe in their own communities.

"It's all about what she said and the fact that people seem to feel more and more comfortable saying these things every day," Hamieh said.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBaileyLOS ANGELES -- Verizon Wireless said Friday it will immediately stop imposing data speed restrictions on first responders throughout the West Coast and Hawaii it was criticized for limiting service to firefighters battling California's largest-ever wildfire.

Verizon also said it plans to offer unlimited data without restrictions for public safety officials.

California is beset by several wildfires, and Hawaii was hit by torrential rainfall, flooding and power outages stemming from Hurricane Lane.

Verizon's plan, which was discussed by state Assembly members at a committee meeting on Friday, was made public after revelations that the company slowed the speed of Santa Clara County firefighters' data as they helped battle the Mendocino Complex fire in July.

The incident sparked outrage this week when Santa Clara County Fire Chief Anthony Bowden chronicled it in an addendum to a federal lawsuit seeking to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of net neutrality rules.

"This was not a fire drill," Democratic Assemblyman Marc Levine said. "I think we were all surprised that such an incident could occur. I'm grateful that Verizon has recognized they need to change the way they do business."

Dave Hickey, Verizon vice president of business and government sales, told lawmakers that the company would introduce out a new $37.99 service plan for public safety personnel that will include unlimited data with no caps and will give them priority access on congested networks.

The company also will remove throttling -- which he referred to as speed-capping -- for emergency responders during natural disasters that may occur nationwide, Hickey said.

Verizon officials said this week that the Santa Clara County Fire Department's plan included unlimited high-speed wireless data, but data speeds were reduced when the agency reached a specific threshold, as is customary on their service plans.

However, the company has a practice to remove data speed restrictions for emergency responders -- regardless of the plan they have chosen -- in emergencies. Verizon called the situation a "customer support mistake" and has apologized.

"In supporting first responders in the Mendocino fire, we didn't live up to our own promise of service and performance excellence when our process failed some first responders on the line, battling a massive California wildfire," Mike Maiorana, Verizon senior vice president of public sector, said in a statement. "For that, we are truly sorry. And we're making every effort to ensure that it never happens again."

Bowden wrote in the addendum to the lawsuit that the data-slowing during the Mendocino Complex fire specifically hampered OES 5262, a department command vehicle used as a mobile emergency operations center and requires "near-real-time information exchange" to coordinate resources and staff during emergencies like large wildfires.

"Dated or stale information regarding the availability or need for resources can slow response times and render them far less effective," Bowden wrote. "Resources could be deployed to the wrong fire, the wrong part of the fire, or fail to be deployed at all. Even small delays in response translate into devastating effects, including loss of property, and, in some cases, loss of life."

Fire crews that worked in the command vehicle faced email delays and challenges updating web-based documents with critical information about deployment because of the data-slowing, which impeded their ability to communicate with one another, fire officials said.

--The Los Angeles TimesMichigan State University Extension is offering its Citizen Planner Program Sept. 27 through Nov. 1, every Thursday from 6-9 p.m.

This premiere training program is for local officials working in the areas of planning, zoning, community and economic development. It will take place in Mount Pleasant at Mid Michigan College.

The cost is $295 per participant. Groups of at least four or more from one governmental unit receive discounted pricing. Participants that complete all six sessions will receive a certificate of completion and may continue to become a Master Citizen Planner.

Online registration and additional information is available at https://events.anr.msu.edu/CPIsabella18 or by calling 269-657-8213. Payment can be made by credit card, or check with an invoice generated with registration. Deadline to register is Sept. 20.

Instructors for the training program include MSU Extension educators who specialize in land use planning, law and zoning. The course includes multiple instructors so participants receive different perspectives. The six-class series includes:

 Understanding the Planning and Zoning Context  Learn the legal sources and limitations of planning and zoning authority, and explore ethical decision-making.

 Planning for the Future of Your Community  Recognize the function and importance of a master plan, know the process for developing one and its relationship to zoning.

 Implementing the Plan with Zoning  Discover the importance of zoning, learn how zoning is administered and gain confidence in zoning reviews, including site plans.

 Making Zoning Decisions  Learn how to adopt and amend a zoning ordinance, understand the role of the zoning board of appeals and obtain skills in basic property development methods.

 Using Innovative Planning and Zoning  Strategize with placemaking and design-based solutions for local and regional success in the "new economy."

 Successfully Fulfilling Your Role  Strengthen ethical decision-making skills, apply standards to decision-making and know when to ask for help.Tyler Kivel and Nicholas Schmelter will present a piano/organ "All Flash No Trash" concert at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, in the sanctuary of First Congregational Church, 403 S Jefferson Ave., in downtown Saginaw.

Kivel and Schmelter started a Midwest tour of piano-organ duo recitals with recitals in Milwaukee, Ontario, Alpena, Bay City, Flint and Gaylord. The Saginaw stop is their last.

The ensemble has creative new orchestrations of selections by Anderson, Debussy, Grainger, Lutoslawski, Poulenc, Saint-Saens and Shostokovich. The duo aims to bring music to diverse demographics and rural communities, and to offer educational opportunities to collaborative artists and keyboard musicians.

Chicago-based pianist Kivel is an active soloist, freelance performer, teacher and chamber musician, including his faculty role at ChiArts and recent musical direction of Thrones! The Musical Parody. Kivel has earned several competition-based awards and made his Carnegie Hall debut in April 2018.

Schmelter is director of worship and congregational life at First Presbyterian Church in Caro, is an adjunct faculty member at Saginaw Valley State University, and is artist in residence at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bay City, and Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Flint. He is a frequent recitalist, offering performances throughout Michigan as well as in Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Toronto, and other regions. A composer, he has commissioned and premiered new music by Moonyeen Albrecht, Edward Moroney, Robert Powell, Philip Rice, Bernard Wayne Sanders and others.

For more information, call the church office at 989-754-6565, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Thursday, or send an email to fccsaginaw@hotmail.com

First Congregational Church's building dates to 1867 and is located on the corner of South Jefferson Avenue and Hayden Street in downtown Saginaw. As a part of its Phoenix Project that began in 2012, the c hurch completed restoration of the 1929 E. M. Skinner organ in 2015, as well as a lighting renovation of the sanctuary in 2012, which helps to solidify the congregation's cultural commitment to the Cathedral District, Saginaw, and the Great Lakes Bay Region. The sanctuary is also well known for its acoustics and is a favored venue for many concerts and other events.Gov. Rick Snyder's plan for economic recovery -- the Rising Tide program -- brought him Friday to Beaverton and Gladwin.

Snyder said the program is one of his favorites. He said it isn't always about writing checks, noting that the program doesn't bring loads of money with it. He said it is about providing resources and avenues for the select municipalities, to help them thrive.

The governor said the venture focuses on development in the areas of economics, talent, housing communications, transportation and education.

"It's a good neighbor policy, helping one another," Snyder said. "This is the first time two communities were selected together."

Snyder said he wasn't at Friday's meeting to hear what the cities are doing great. He wanted to work on what they needed to help them thrive.

Following the meeting, Snyder said he heard some of the issues facing the county is a lack of housing, people wanting to move to town but can't find a place to live, declining students and too many strings attached to school funding. He said the program is an exciting opportunity and everyone can work together to help eliminate the obstacles.

Snyder said the single largest impediment with many areas is that leaders can't get along.

Gladwin Mayor Dee Jungman and Beaverton Mayor Ray Nau agreed the cities have had conflict in the past, but that is no more. Both mayors agree they plan to work together to raise one another up.

In addition to support from Snyder and his staff, Harrison Mayor Stacy Stocking offered his city's support. Stocking boasted about the improvements to the city after going through the first phase of Rising Tide, including a recently passed $27 million bond to redo Harrison schools.

"You don't have to go through it alone, we are here to help you," Stocking said, citing assistance with the stressful paperwork and planning.

Stocking told Jungman and Nau that Harrison was passing the torch to them, as he presented each with a fishing pole complete with a lure.

"It was great to see Harrison passing the baton, or a fishing pole in this case," Snyder said following the meeting.

Gladwin County Economic Development Corp. Director Bob Balzer said he is excited for the opportunities the program will bring. He would like to see a rebranding of the county, new logos and new signage.

"You've got to be louder and prouder," Snyder said. "You are proud. You've got to be louder."

Snyder said part of that is the cities and county website. He said they normally include information about paying taxes and water bills. But sites often lack information that would invite tourists. He said Gladwin County has so much to offer tourists, but the area must promote it.

"Once you get here, you don't want to leave," Nau said, agreeing with Snyder.

The governor said it is a lot of work to take part in the Rising Tide program, but it is work that can greatly benefit the county and lure in business, infrastructure, more students and meet other needs.

"If you look across Michigan, we're back," Snyder said. "Michigan is the comeback state."

Furthermore, Snyder said, "Detroit is the comeback city in our nation."

Sen. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, said in addition to the recently added rail trail, there is also a vast amount of hunting resources in the county. Stamas said one of the items he sees needing improvement is the municipal water system and finding money for additional improvements.

Jason Wentworth of Michigan's 97th House District has had four municipalities be selected for the Rising Tide program. Wentworth has also advocated bring more money north to help smaller municipalities thrive.

"Be honest, be open and keep it together," Wentworth said, offering advice for further discussions among area leaders.To the editor:

On Aug. 1, the Midland Daily News reported on the campaign financials for the 98th District House race between Sarah Schulz and Annette Glenn. Ive never considered looking at campaign financials in the past so I found the article very interesting.

The first thing I noticed was the fact that Glenn donated $15,000 of her own money to the campaign. Did you know that she and her husband moved here from Iowa specifically to be in the Michigan political scene? And they moved houses recently so both the Glenns could run for office at the same time.

It seems to me like they move houses and try to buy their way into politics.

The other thing I noticed was the sharp contrast between the $1,000 donation list. Almost all of the donations to Sarahs campaign are from people that live right here in our district while $6,000 of Glenns donation came from the DeVos family.

Do we really want wealthy people with a clear agenda from outside of our district determining our representative?

Glenn also had 16 percent of her donations from PAC money while Sarah had one donation of $250 from a friend that gave through their PAC. Do we really want political action committees buying our elections?

Sarah had donations from 576 people while Glenn had donations from 99 people. That means Sarah is getting donations from many people that are giving smaller amounts instead of a few that have the money to give large donations.

Do we want a representative that only listens to the chosen few that have the means to make large donations or do want a representative like Sarah who will listen to everyone?

MOLLY MORRISSEY

MidlandIn Randolph County, Ga., a proposal that would have impaired citizens voting rights was shot down on Friday. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the proposal would have closed seven voting precincts, forcing voters without cars to walk 10 miles to the next closest precinct. Whether by circumstance or intent, the affected voters would have primarily been African-American, and lived in an area where Clinton took 55 percent of the vote back in 2016.

The AJCs report goes on to explain the reasoning for the closures; apparently, the affected precincts were not accessible to the disabled. So, naturally, those precincts would be totally shut down without replacement. Poll workers themselves disagreed with this argument, believing the sites to be more than accommodating for all voters.

NAACP national board of directors member Edward DuBose told the AJC hes thankful for the victory over voter suppression, but warns that this echoes a larger truth about the issue across the entire state. As midterms loom ahead and the stakes rise, tactics like this appear more and more. The proposer, Mike Malone, has since been fired from his position in assisting to manage local elections.About 165 Corvettes were involved in the forming of an American flag today, including red, white, blue, silver, and Carlisle Blue Corvettes at the Corvettes at Carlisle show at the Carlisle Fairgrounds.

During the grand unveiling of the Corvette flag, at the grandstand, a special salute to service of a reading/recording of "What is an American," written by Michael Brown, was played.

After the playing of Brown's writing, on-site veterans joined together for a reaffirmation of oath.

After the oath, trumpeter Willard Jackson played the service anthems of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.



Wesley Wong then led a parade and tribute of first responders past the grandstand stage. Wong was one of the first on-scene during the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Corvettes at Carlisle brings together thousands of Corvette enthusiasts and Corvettes.NEW CUMBERLAND - People of faith jarred by last week's grand jury report on sexual abuses by Roman Catholic priests across Pennsylvania performed a believer's version of running toward the danger here Friday night.

They came to church in search of answers, forgiveness and encouragement.

Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Assemblians and, yes, Catholics, turned out for an all-faiths service designed to help hurt and wounded Christians discern the lines between people of God - who will inevitably fail - and the God in whom they have placed their faith and trust.

It was a line brightened Friday night by paths of forgiveness for those have done wrong, healing for those they hurt, and encouragement for those whose belief systems have been shaken by taking it all in.

Many voices were represented in the service at Baughman United Methodist Church.

Saundra Fortney-Colello, executive director of Medard's House here, is a member of an East Shore family that the grand jury report said had multiple persons abused by Father Gus Giella in the 1980s and '90s.

She asked for community to remember the abuse victims, both those who have already come forward and those who are still coming to terms with abuses.

"Help us to be present in their lives, to watch over them, and to give them everything that they need," Fortney-Colello said.

Tina Moyer, a lay speaker at the host Baughman United Methodist Church, took a moment to ask for forgiveness for the accused.

"Jesus has taught us that we must pray for our enemies, so we ask your mercy upon their souls tonight. We ask that you fix whatever broke in their heads and their hearts to make them behave this way," Moyer prayed.

"And help us to live gracefully inside this tension... between fighting against evil and praying for mercy and forgiveness."

And The Rev. Michael McFadden, pastor of St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church, showed the grace to accept his colleagues' encouragement, at a time when the priesthood he represents is under siege.

Sustained by that support, McFadden said, he and his parishioners can look to their faith for "healing and health in body and spirit, that we may continue to serve God with all our strength."

It's not that easy for everyone.

Susan Shebosky was one of two Catholic women present Friday to distribute white lapel ribbons to bear witness to and show support for abuse victims.

"I'm still have a lot of anger," Shebosky said, noting she hasn't seen this kind of talk from the heart in her home parish since the report's release yet. "There were things that I've been expecting from the church - something that touched my heart. And I haven't felt it yet. Particularly within the Catholic church."

Friday's service was a help.

"I think this is a really wonderful step that the folks on the West Shore have done, and I'm hoping it will spread to the East Shore," Shebosky said.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro last week released the findings of an 18-month-long investigation into clergy sex abuse across six dioceses in Pennsylvania.

The report found that more than 1,000 victims had been sexually molested as children at the hands of more than 301 members of the clergy.

Most of the victims were boys, but girls also were counted among the victims.

Bishops, monsignors and other senior church officials for decades knew about the abusive priests, but routinely covered it up to avoid scandal, criminal charges against priests, and monetary damages to the dioceses.

The majority view at Friday's service, of course, was that it's going to have to be faith that sees people through.

Fortney-Colello, now a member of the Faith Community Church here, encouraged believers not to abandon their faith now, noting they are precisely the people who can be best-positioned to be the help that the victims and other vulnerable need.

"God didn't go anywhere," Fortney-Colello reminded the roughly 50 attendees. "The church and man are the ones that did this. But don't blame God."

"This isn't the time to leave the church," agreed the Rev. Dave Schreffler of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. "This is the time to pray."U.S. Sen. John McCain's decision to end medical treatment for brain cancer sparked tributes on Friday from folks on both sides of aisle and long-time friends who offered prayers and praise for his service to the country.

Pennsylvania's former Gov. Tom Ridge counts himself as a friend and admirer of the senator who was elected to the U.S House of Representatives in 1982 the same year as Ridge. Not only did they have that in common, but both had served in Vietnam.

During Ridge's visit to Harrisburg in May, he sat down with PennLive and covered a lot of topics including his buddy McCain who has been dissed by President Donald Trump on several occasions since taking office.

"Our country needs his voice," Ridge said of McCain. "Oh I know some people just say, 'Ridge you're wrong.' His voice, his civility, his decency. I campaigned with him in 2000 when he ran for president ... and I ran into and had occasion to spend time with other prisoners of war. Their admiration and respect for him is beyond anything I can explain."

McCain, who was taken as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down, remained captive for five and a half years. He was offered a chance to go home but refused, insisting instead that those captured before him should be released first.

"People forget that," Ridge said.

Ridge also offered high praise of McCain in an interview last October that was part of a larger tribute video to the senator the night he received the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

In it, Ridge said, "He has lived a life to service. And when you take a look at that lifetime of service, it's done with the kind of integrity that he's brought to the process. You not only respect and admire but it kind of generates a real affection for the man, John McCain."

He said in that interview that he associates McCain with the Ernest Hemingway quote, "Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated."

"John McCain was not born to be defeated by captors, by politicians or cancer," Ridge said. "His will is too strong. It's indomitable. It's relentless. It's John."In the days following Lancaster District Attorney Craig Stedman's decision to not charge the police officer who used a Taser on a seated man, the Lancaster NAACP has denounced the decision.

Sean Williams was the subject of investigation on July 28, when officers were called to an area where a combative man reportedly was threatening people with a bat.

They came across Williams, engaged with him, and Lancaster Police Officer Philip Bernot ultimately used a stun gun on him while he was seated on the sidewalk. Police said Williams was not following orders when they used the stun gun.

In the statement regarding the decision not to file charges, Stedman called the department's use of force policies "critically flawed."

In a statement issued by Blanding Watson, the president of the Lancaster NAACP, the organization said they will continue to call for accountability and transparency about the Lancaster department's use of force.

"The statement by the District Attorney confirms our position that the use of force policies of the City of Lancaster fell short and violated the civil rights of our citizens. We believe that the Taser incident with Sean Williams represents one of the worst cases for use of excessive force in Lancaster," Watson said.

"We detest the use of excessive force by the Lancaster Police and will continue to work with the many stakeholders, community members, and city elected and appointed officials to address concerns about the use of force, as a part of the community planning to build police and community relations," Watson said.

Supported by the national NAACP, Ngozi Ndulue, the senior director of criminal justice programs also responded to the decision.

"The lack of accountability on this misuse of a taser is disturbing. When Mr. Williams was arrested, the Lancaster Police Department's existing use of force policy specifically prohibited using force where it was unnecessary or unreasonable," Ndulue said. "Anyone who reviews the video of the police officers' actions can consider this question: in what universe was it either reasonable or necessary for a Taser to be deployed? It is profoundly disheartening that numerous officials have found ways to justify this outrageous behavior."

Williams, who is suing Lancaster in connection with the incident, issued his own response through his attorney.

Officer Bernot was not disciplined by the Lancaster Police Department.A former Pennsylvania prison inmate can't successfully sue the state because his cellmate bit off part of his ear, a Commonwealth Court panel has ruled.

That defeat for Gerald Fox came in an opinion by Judge P. Kevin Brobson, who agreed with a Greene County judge that the state is legally immune from Fox's lawsuit.

Fox sued the state prison at Greene five years ago over an attack he claimed occurred in 2010. Prison officials refused his request to be moved due to friction with his cell mate, Fox claimed. He said a fight ensued, and he lost a section of his right ear.

Jail administrators were negligent in failing to ensure his safety, Fox argued. Brobson concluded that Fox's suit must founder on the Legislature's desire to "insulate" the state from legal liability.

Fox did try to pierce that nearly impervious veil. He argued that prison officials had deprived him of his property - that chewed-off slab of ear. Then, Fox tried to invoke the so-called "pothole exception" to immunity that allows the state to be sued for ignoring obvious hazards.

Neither contention swayed Brobson. The pothole exception plea fell short because that exception must involve a hazard caused by "natural elements," not other human beings, the judge found.By Eugene Robinson

There's a reason President Donald Trump increasingly sounds like the mob boss in a cliche-ridden gangster film: That's basically what he is -- and he must know how such movies usually end.

Eugene Robinson (PennLive file)

Early Wednesday morning -- a day after his former campaign chairman was convicted of felonies in one federal courthouse, and his former longtime lawyer pleaded guilty to felonies in another -- Trump issued this statement on Twitter:

"I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. 'Justice' took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' -- make up stories in order to get a 'deal.' Such respect for a brave man!"

A few days earlier, Trump had referred to John Dean, the White House counsel whose truth-telling was instrumental in President Richard M. Nixon's downfall, as a "RAT." And during a Fox News interview broadcast Thursday, he complained at length about defendants who "flip" and inform on higher-ups in exchange for leniency at sentencing: "This whole thing about flipping, they call it, I know all about flipping. For 30, 40 years I have been watching flippers. Everything's wonderful and then they get 10 years in jail and they flip on whoever the next highest one is, or as high as you can go. It almost ought to be outlawed."

Those are not the words of some two-bit hoodlum who feels the law closing in. They are the words of the president of the United States -- who apparently feels the law closing in.

Trump speaks as though the Trump Organization, the Trump campaign and the Trump administration were one long continuing criminal enterprise.

The man charged with faithfully executing the nation's laws paints his own Justice Department as a villain and celebrates criminals who stoically go to prison rather than inform on higher-ups. Nixon talked that way in private, among friends and co-conspirators; Trump just blurts it out. He makes no bones about valuing loyalty over respect for the law.

Manafort, who might have much to tell about contacts between the campaign and the Russians, has been silent thus far. But he was convicted in federal courtin Alexandria on eight counts of bank and tax fraud, and could receive what amounts to a life sentence for a 69-year-old man.

He now faces a second trial, this time in federal court in Washington, on conspiracy and other charges stemming from the influence-peddling work he did for Russia-backed politicians in Ukraine.

The approaching trial could produce even more jail time -- and definitely will generate another crushing pile of legal bills for a man whose finances were shown to be in tatters. After Tuesday's verdict was read, a statement from Manafort's defense team said nothing about possible appeals or the looming court proceedings. Instead, it said Manafort was examining his options.

Perhaps that is why Trump is going so far out of his way to praise Manafort's virtue -- and why, when asked if he will grant Manafort a pardon, the president never says a discouraging word.

Cohen, on the other hand, used the occasion of his guilty plea in federal court in Manhattan to directly implicate the president in two felonies. He said Trump directed him to arrange six-figure payments, in the days leading up to the 2016 election, to guarantee the silence of Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels -- two women who say they had extramarital liaisons with Trump.

Cohen has offered full cooperation to authorities, including special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, and Cohen's attorney has strongly suggested his client might have evidence bearing on the question of collusion. Perhaps that is why Trump was up at 1 a.m. Thursday, angrily tweeting: "NO COLLUSION -- RIGGED WITCH HUNT!"

Look at the people Trump surrounds himself with. So far, four men with high-level roles in his campaign and one with a more junior role have either pleaded guilty or been found guilty of federal crimes.

Look at the people who are drawn to him. The first sitting member of Congress to endorse his candidacy, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), was indicted this month on charges of insider trading. The second sitting member to endorse Trump, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.), was indicted Tuesday on charges of illegally using more than $250,000 in campaign funds to underwrite his lavish personal lifestyle.

Responding to criticism from Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared Thursday that the Justice Department "will not be improperly influenced by political considerations." He must understand by now that Trump doesn't care about justice. The president wants only protection.

Eugene Robinson is a columnist for The Washington Post. His work appears on Saturdays on PennLive.Charlevoix closes regular season with tournament win in Boyne City

BOYNE CITY  District play will get started this week for the Charlevoix volleyball team and itll start while coming off a marathon of a Saturday.10k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation is looking at Mike Flynns role in trying to get Hillary Clintons emails from the Russians for the Trump campaign.

The Wall Street Journal reported, Special counsel Robert Mueller is examining what role, if any, former national security adviser Mike Flynn may have played in a private effort to obtain Hillary Clintons emails from Russian hackers, according to people familiar with the matter. The effort to seek out hackers who were believed to have stolen Mrs. Clintons emails, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, was led by a longtime Republican activist, Peter W. Smith. In correspondence and conversations with his colleagues, Mr. Smith portrayed Mr. Flynn as an ally in those efforts and implied that other senior Trump campaign officials were coordinating with him, which they have denied. He also named Mr. Flynns consulting firm and his son in the correspondence and conversations.

If the Trump campaign worked with the Russians, or actively tried to obtain the hacked emails from the Russians, it would be a direct link and proof of collusion between Trump and Russia. There are two big questions about the Russia investigation. Did the Trump campaign collude with Russia during the presidential election, and did Donald Trump obstruct justice when he fired James Comey?

Behind all of the chaos caused by Trump and his administration on a nearly daily basis, the Russia scandal continues to churn forward every day.

It is pretty easy to see why Trump is doing everything that he can to shut this investigation down. Special Counsel Mueller and his team are leaving no stone unturned. Anyone who has followed the Russia investigation understands that it is complex. It has dozens of moving parts and figures, and that is without including the examination of potential Trump financial crimes. It is going to take a long time for this investigation to be completed, which is a good sign for the American people because the longer this investigation takes, the better the odds that the true events of the 2016 election will be exposed.579 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

A Republican lawmaker went full Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying in a Fox Business interview that the YouTube shooter could be an undocumented immigrant.

In the interview, GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said everybody knows that it could be an undocumented immigrant who was behind Tuesdays shooting at YouTubes headquarters in San Bruno, California.

Video:

More of Rohrabachers off-the-rails comments:

You were going to discuss with me sanctuary cities and the sanctuary state movement, and it fits right into what youre talking about right now. Would anyone be surprised? .We have a state government in California thats trying to prevent our law enforcement people from working with the federal law enforcement people to get together the criminal illegal aliens.  Would anyone right now listening to you think, Well, this certainly wouldnt be an illegal immigrant there. Well, it could be. Everybody knows that it could be.  We should be making sure we emphasize that any illegal in this state should be sent back, whether hes criminal or not.

Rohrabachers insane comments connecting Tuesdays shooting with undocumented immigration have no basis in reality. As NBC News noted after the shooting, authorities believe the incident was a domestic dispute.

At this hour, at least three people are reportedly wounded as a result of the incident, and the female shooter is dead.

This is the Republican Party under Donald Trump

This sad rhetoric from GOP lawmakers shows just how low the party has gone in the era of Trump. The only way to rile up their base of angry white voters is to inject race into the conversation and continue perpetuating the Trump-GOP myth that all of Americas ills are caused by minorities and immigrants.

For Rohrabacher, this isnt the first time he has spewed offensive conspiracy theories after a fatal incident. As The Hill noted on Tuesday, He pushed a conspiracy theory last year that the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. involved Civil War re-enactors manipulated by left-wingersin order to have this confrontation.'

This type of language used to be isolated to the most extreme elements of the Republican Party. Now it is standard campaign talking points.

For that, we can thank the man in the Oval Office.161 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

China on Saturday denounced Donald Trumps accusation that Beijing is stalling efforts to disarm North Korea as irresponsible.

China on Saturday called Donald Trump "irresponsible" after the US President cancelled his top diplomat's latest trip to North Korea and suggested Beijing was stalling efforts to disarm Pyongyang. https://t.co/Sw7QRg6SiJ  Aybars Mumcu (@AybarsMumcu) August 25, 2018

The remarks came after Trump said an upcoming trip to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been cancelled due to lack of progress on the issue of nuclear disarmament.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a statement posted on the website of the Chinese government agency that, The US statement is contrary to basic facts and is irresponsible. We are seriously concerned about this.

Trump caused the international incident on Friday when he said that because of our much tougher trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of North Korea denuclearization as they once were.

There is no evidence, of course, that this is true. It appears as if Trump again is looking for a scapegoat for a bad situation that he caused by his own actions. It was Trump who claimed that North Korea would denuclearize and he would bring peace to world, and he should win the Nobel Peace Prize. Every knowledgeable person knew that Kim Jong Un was lying and had no intention of getting rid of his nuclear weapons because that is how he keeps his international power and prestige. Plus, he has always lied about it in the past.

So Trump on Friday said he has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to put off his planned visit to North Korea. He said it is their fault that there is no progress in efforts to dismantle its nuclear program.

The president posted a series of three tweets saying that a high-level visit is not appropriate at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. He also accused China of not helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were, pointing to our much tougher Trading stance with the nation as the cause of the rift.

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)

Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

Pompeo was scheduled to make his fourth visit to North Korea next week to follow up on discussions Trump had with Kim Jong Un.

These new comments from Trump mark the first time he has openly admitted that North Koreas denuclearization is not going well. After his summit meeting in Singapore in mid-June Trump had declared that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat.605 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Democrats finally listened to more than a decade worth of criticism and reduced the influence of superdelegates, but there will also be no more Independent candidates running for the presidential nomination.

Bloomberg reported on a sweeping set of changes to the Democratic Partys presidential nominating process:

The 700 or so superdelegates  party leaders including Democratic National Committee members, members of Congress, and former Democratic presidents  will no longer be able to vote in the first round of balloting at the partys 2020 convention unless theres already a clear winner based on the results of the partys primaries and caucus. If the nominating process moves past a first round, something that hasnt happened since 1952, superdelegates would be able to vote.

.

The DNC also voted Saturday to add rules aimed at making primaries more accessible to any Democrat who wants to participate, including permitting same-day party switching to the Democratic Party. Its a measure aimed at appealing to Sanders supporters and others who dont typically consider themselves Democrats. In addition, DNC members voted to require candidates for the 2020 presidential nomination to agree that theyre members of the party and that theyll serve as Democrats if elected

There have been calls to get rid of the superdelegates since 2008

Even though he won the Democratic nomination, and then the White House twice, Barack Obama lobbied hard for the DNC to get rid of the superdelegates. After Obama won the 2008 nomination, a commission that he backed recommended that power is removed from the superdelegates, but the DNC did not listen to the commissions recommendations.

This change has been a decade in the making as everyone, but the superdelegates themselves viewed their influence as outsized.

Every Democratic presidential candidate must be a Democrat

There will be no more Independents running for the Democratic nomination. Consider this the Bernie Sanders rule. If a candidate wants to be the Democratic nominee, they must be a Democrat. This is a change that rank and file Democrats have been demanding since the 2016 primary because it is only reasonable for members of the Democratic Party to want their candidates to members of the party. The same day party switching rule doesnt get rid of closed primaries but emphasizes allowing voters who want to switch over to vote for Democratic candidates.

These rule changes are good, and should make for a more open primary process that emphasizes the will of voters over superdelegates in 2020.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.2.3k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Donald Trump operates like a typical mob boss, in charge of an organized crime family. As events of the past week have shown, he surrounds himself with sleazy characters who live in the shadows and commit many different types of crimes, most of which they are never held accountable for.

Reading the indictments written by special counsel Mueller and his team it is hard not to be impressed with just now many different crimes each person has been charged with. The Manafort and Gates indictments read like novellas, filled with plot twists, mystery and intrigue. The indictments against 12 Russian intelligence agents were incredibly detailed, showing Putin and his pals just how much U.S. intelligence agencies know  and can prove  about their nefarious activities.

Its easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of evidence and accusations, but according to the Washington Post there are three primary criminal acts that made Trump president.

Hush money. The government has set forth how the campaign finance violations occurred, and Cohen, as part of his plea deal, agreed to the governments description of what happened. The fact that David Pecker is cooperating with prosecutors gives even more credibility to Cohens claims of how crimes were committed just before the 2016 election. Pecker began helping Trump bury unfavorable stories in August of 2015, just after his bid for the presidency was announced.

The first documented payment was in 2016 when $150,000 was paid to Karen McDougal. The payment was made with a commitment by Cohen to repay the money. This transaction was talked about in the recording released by Cohen and his attorney last month.

Hacking. Last month, special counsel Mueller indicted 12 Russian military officers believed to work for the countrys Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU. In other words, they are senior level Russian spies. These are the people who are thought to have illegally gained access to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer network. They are also charged with hacking into the email account of Hillary Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta.

In June of 2016 many files stolen by the hackers were given to WikiLeaks, which subsequently released to the public two groups of these documents stolen from the DNC and Podesta. Many crimes were committed during this process and Muellers indictments say that the Russians violated several federal conspiracy and identity-theft laws.

Internet trolling. In February, Muellers team indicted another 13 Russians who worked for a shady company based in Moscow called the Internet Research Agency (IRA). This is the group that created phony social media accounts and used them extensively to create discord within the United States during the months preceding the 2016 election. Several members of IRA came to the United States during the election campaign period. They hired Americans to cause trouble at campaign events.The actions taken by these people also violated identity-theft, fraud and conspiracy laws of the United States. And U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed that all of these illegal activities had the goal of helping Trump become president.

Other crimes. There may have been additional crimes committed that helped Donald Trump become president. We still dont know all the details of the meeting that took place in Trump Tower on June 9, 2016 between Trump campaign officials (Manafort, Kushner, and Don Jr.) and at least one Russian. Reportedly another meeting took place in advance of that meeting, including campaign officials and the candidate himself. Crimes may have been committed before, during and after these meetings.

One thing we know for sure is that Donald Trump won the presidency  in the electoral college  by the narrowest of margins. Due to close wins in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, fewer than 78,000 votes gave Trump the presidency (0.06 percent of the total votes cast).

We may never know if the crimes that occurred caused Hillary Clinton to lose those three states to Trump, but we do know that many crimes were committed for the express purpose of making Trump president  and it appears that the president himself has been implicated in them.

When all the evidence has been presented and verified it will become clear that Donald Trump is both a criminal and an illegitimate president.302 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

By Warren Strobel and Nathan Layne

(Reuters)  A juror who voted to convict Paul Manafort and who is also a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump has some advice for Trump if he is considering whether to pardon his former campaign chairman: dont do it.

Paula Duncan is so far the only juror to speak out since Manafort was found guilty of 8 out of 18 counts of financial wrongdoing on Tuesday.

He should absolutely not pardon him. I think it would be a big mistake, Duncan, 54, told Reuters after an on-camera interview on Friday, adding that she believed it would be a mistake from both a moral and a political perspective.

If President Trump pardons him without him doing any time at all it would look like President Trump was saying its OK that you broke the law. Its not OK to break the law.

Trump weighed in on Manaforts plight while the jury was still in deliberations, calling the tax and bank fraud case against him very sad and lauding him as a very good person.

Those comments, along with tweets following the verdict, have heightened speculation that Trump may look to pardon Manafort. When asked directly about the prospect, Trump has not ruled it out.

While Duncan feels Manafort should pay for his crimes, she said she believes he was targeted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading a probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

I dont think that Mr. Manafort would have been on trial had not the Special Counsel been looking for information on Russian collusion in the last election, Duncan said in the TV interview.

Hes still guilty  and he now needs to pay for the laws he broke.

Duncan said that she and 10 other jurors wanted to convict Manafort on all 18 counts of tax and bank fraud and failing to declare his foreign bank accounts that he faced in the trial. It was one holdout who caused the jury to hang on 10 of the 18 counts after nearly four days of deliberations, she said.

We had some people that were very wrapped up in it and really didnt want to stop deliberating, Duncan said. In the end we knew we were never going to change her mind.

Even with instructions to avoid media coverage of the trial, Duncan said she and her fellow jurors would had to have been brain dead to not know the scrutiny on the case and said they were all very overwhelmed with the importance of our job.

And even though she believes Manafort is guilty, Duncan said she agrees with Trump that it was time to shut down Muellers probe.

I just think the whole thing is a waste of taxpayer money and a way to harass the president, she said.

(Reporting by Warren Strobel in Washington and Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, Editing by Rosalba OBrien)755 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

The GOP keeps attacking undocumented immigrants for being murderers, and claiming Democrats are responsible.

Its true that maybe .001% of all murders in the United States are committed by people who have come into the United States without proper documentation. But its also true that many such people are aided and abetted by Republicans  and even work at Republican-owned businesses.

And that is the situation in the latest high-profile illegal alien murder case being used by shameless and hypocritical Republicans. In Iowa 20 year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts was murdered, and the suspect in the case is a man who came into the United States four years ago from Mexico, and apparently was in the country illegally.

But not so fast. The suspects lawyer says that he is not illegal but in fact did obtain legal immigrant status.

On top of that, it turns out that the murder suspect has been employed by a prominent Iowa Republican for four years, so one has to wonder what that GOP business owner did to prevent this from happening. Did he make sure his worker was documented, or did he overlook things in order to get cheap labor (as often happens)?

And on top of THAT it is now being reported that the suspect has been living rent-free on land owned by ANOTHER high-profile Republican who provides fund raising services to GOP candidates around the country  many of whom have taken campaign positions against illegal immigration.

The suspect lived on a farm owned by Nicole Schlinger, who is a key fundraiser for GOP politicians in Iowa and elsewhere. This year she has done work for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Virginia Senate candidate Corey Stewart. Schlinger is the president of a company called Campaign Headquarters that makes fundraising calls, identifies supporters and helps turn out voters for conservative candidates and groups.

Schlingers husband is Eric Lang, the president of the family-owned farm corporation that has for the past four years employed Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man charged with Tibbetts murder.

On Friday, Schlinger said she was shocked and deeply saddened by Tibbetts death and had never met Rivera. The perpetrator should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, and when he meets his maker, suffer the consequences he deserves, she said in an email.

Republicans such as President Donald Trump and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called for stricter immigration laws and enforcement almost immediately after Rivera was charged Tuesday. Some have blamed Democratic policies for the slaying, even though studies have disputed the notion that those in the country illegally are more likely to commit violent crime. But actually Rivera may not even have been in the country illegally anyway. Still, the Republican hypocrisy goes on.

Conservative U.S. Rep. Steve King of Iowa tweeted Friday, Every victim below would be alive today if we enforced our immigration laws. Leftists sacrificed thousands, including their own, on the altar of Political Correctness.

Schlingers business calls itself the best conservative call center in America, and the most prolific fundraiser in Iowa GOP history, having brought in more than $50 million for politicians and causes.

Federal Election Commission records show that Cruzs re-election campaign has paid CampaignHQ nearly $1.7 million since the beginning of 2017. A Cruz campaign spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

Stewart, who has made deportations of immigrants a major campaign theme, has also employed CampaignHQ, as have the campaigns of Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

After Rivera was charged, Iowa Gov. Reynolds denounced an immigration system that allowed a predator like this to live in our community. But CampaignHQ was a top vendor for the campaigns of former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who selected Reynolds as his running mate in 2010, and has also done some work directly for Reynolds campaigns.

Riveras defense lawyer, questioned whether the Langs should have had suspicions and should have known about Riveras immigration status.

They are taking a blind eye to whats going on, said defense lawyer Allan Richards. At some point a reasonable person would have been more diligent in determining whether or not these folks are legal.

The family of Mollie Tibbetts has also complained about Republicans using the young womans tragic death for their own selfish political purposes.2.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Paul Manaforts lack of cooperation with prosecutors has been puzzling legal experts and casual observers ever since he was indicted by Robert Mueller last year.

Many theories have been tossed around, but nobody knows for sure why there is no cooperation agreement between Manafort and federal prosecutors. It may be that he doesnt have enough to offer, so Mueller is not interested in making a deal with him. It may be that he does have enough to offer, and wants to make a deal, but he is not happy with the deal the prosecutors are offering to him. Or it may be that he has all the information that Mueller wants concerning ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, but he is unwilling to give it up.

If it is the latter  if he is not willing to testify for the prosecution even though they want him to do so  then the question becomes why. Nobody really believes Manafort is a stand up guy and will refuse to flip out of loyalty to Donald Trump.

On an MSNBC show today one of the guests said that it may be because he is simply afraid of retribution (i.e., being killed) by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Manafort was found guilty of eight federal criminal charges on Tuesday and now must make a decision about his future. He is facing another, more serious trial in Washington on September 17th. If he made a deal with Mueller before then he could be saved the unpleasant experience of going through another long trial where details of his life are paraded before the world.

So this morning MSNBC host David Gura asked Zerlina Maxwell, senior director of progressive programming at SeriusXM. What did you take away from that first trial as you look ahead to the next one? What does that tell you about the special counsel?

Maxwell replied as follows:

Now that weve heard from one of the jurors, who was on Fox News after the verdict came out, who said that essentially he was going to be convicted on all 18 counts and there was one holdout, so that to me means that hes in bad shape going into the D.C. trial because the prosecutors will learn from the experience in the Virginia trial and try to adjust their strategy.

So I think we should look to whether Manafort is going to make a deal. I dont know, maybe hes old school and doesnt snitch.

But then ormer Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines chimed in with her possibly dead-on comment:

Old school  hes afraid of Russian poisoning, Reines said.

Or that, Maxwell replied. One or the other.

As crazy as it sound, Reines and Maxwell may be right. It seems that Vladimir Putin will stop at nothing to exert his power and make sure that people do his bidding, including killing people who have the nerve to testify against him.567 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman told Yahoo News in an interview Friday that she is ready to testify to Congress anytime, anyplace about what she knows about connections between President Trumps 2016 presidential campaign and Russia.

She also said she would be more than happy to be a witness at a Senate impeachment trial if that were to occur any time in the future.

I have the truth on my side as well as a hundred emails and documents and other things, said Omarosa in the interview.

Omarosa: Im ready to testify at Trump impeachment trial

Omarosa: Im ready to testify at Trump impeachment trial https://t.co/fI8HiInCfk pic.twitter.com/1Bv4dO6cWx  The Hill (@thehill) August 25, 2018

When she was asked specifically about being a witness against the president in an impeachment trial, Omarosa replied: I think Ive made it very clear that I am fully willing and ready to testify, to cooperate, to help advance this investigation.

She first revealed that she had information that would help the Russia investigation two weeks ago. It is certainly not surprising that so far there are no congressional committees that have sought her out to obtain her testimony. With Republicans in charge of Congress she will have a very long wait for this to happen.

She has claimed that she has been cooperating with special counsel Robert Muellers investigation for the last several months, but nobody knows what what incriminating evidence Manigault Newman may have in her possession. It is not clear that she can substantially help either the Mueller investigation or a possible impeachment trial. Its possible she is just making statements that will garner her more publicity for her new book, which is now #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

On the last page of the book, called Unhinged: An Insiders Account of the Trump White House she alludes to more information she may possess that would be interesting to investigators. On that page she wrote that in early 2018 she received a call from the FBI.

But since the book was published she has not revealed how she has cooperated with investigators, or what she has told them. She has not clarified at all what she can testify about concerning Trumps knowledge of Russian assistance in his presidential campaign.

I dont want to compromise Muellers probe, Omarosa told Yahoo News. She also said she wanted to include more details in her book but her publishers lawyers made her take them out.

If Democrats win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November it is very likely that somebody from Congress will give Omarosa a call to take her up on her offer to testify at Trumps impeachment trial.448 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

President Donald Trump continued his insane obsessions about Jeff Sessions, the FBI and his 2016 campaign rival with an early Saturday morning tweetstorm that shows he is fighting back hard against all of the bad news facing him.

If anyone thought Trump would capitulate in any way after Michael Cohen, David Pecker and Allen Weisselberg agreed to testify against him, they were wrong. It is clear he has no legal strategy to fight accusations against him. That leaves only a public relations/political strategy whereby he uses Twitter and Fox News to promote his lies and his attacks upon both his political rivals and American law enforcement institutions.

Here are the tweets sent back to back by the president this morning.

Michaels Cohens attorney clarified the record, saying his client does not know if President Trump knew about the Trump Tower meeting (out of which came nothing!). The answer is that I did NOT know about the meeting. Just another phony story by the Fake News Media!

Jeff Sessions said he wouldnt allow politics to influence him only because he doesnt understand what is happening underneath his command position. Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched. No Collusion!

.@LindseyGrahamSC Every President deserves an Attorney General they have confidence in. I believe every President has a right to their Cabinet, these are not lifetime appointments. You serve at the pleasure of the President.

Big story out that the FBI ignored tens of thousands of Crooked Hillary Emails, many of which are REALLY BAD. Also gave false election info. I feel sure that we will soon be getting to the bottom of all of this corruption. At some point I may have to get involved!

The FBI only looked at 3000 of 675,000 Crooked Hillary Clinton Emails. They purposely didnt look at the disasters. This news is just out. @FoxNews

The FBI looked at less than 1% of Crookeds Emails!

Michaels Cohens attorney clarified the record, saying his client does not know if President Trump knew about the Trump Tower meeting (out of which came nothing!). The answer is that I did NOT know about the meeting. Just another phony story by the Fake News Media!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018

Jeff Sessions said he wouldnt allow politics to influence him only because he doesnt understand what is happening underneath his command position. Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched. No Collusion!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018

.@LindseyGrahamSC Every President deserves an Attorney General they have confidence in. I believe every President has a right to their Cabinet, these are not lifetime appointments. You serve at the pleasure of the President.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018

Big story out that the FBI ignored tens of thousands of Crooked Hillary Emails, many of which are REALLY BAD. Also gave false election info. I feel sure that we will soon be getting to the bottom of all of this corruption. At some point I may have to get involved!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018

The FBI only looked at 3000 of 675,000 Crooked Hillary Clinton Emails. They purposely didnt look at the disasters. This news is just out. @FoxNews  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018

The FBI looked at less than 1% of Crookeds Emails!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2018

Through Twitter this morning the President of the United States is sending a message to many different people.

He is sending a message to Bob Mueller that the fight will continue and hes ready to do legal battle.

He is sending a message to Fox News and his core supporters telling them he is never giving up, and neither should they.

He is sending a message to the FBI and the Attorney General saying he is more powerful than they are, because he is the president, and he can do what he wants.

Donald Trump believes he is above the law. He also is desperate to not be found guilty of any crimes through legitimate criminal prosecutions by the FBI, Bob Mueller or the Department of Justice.

America is now on notice: We have a deranged criminal as president, and the only way to get him out of office is to put Democrats back in power.2.2k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

The pretty president of the United States has privately told his staff that he doesnt even want to mention ailing Arizona Sen. John McCains name before he passes away, even as the former GOP nominee announced this week that he would be ending treatment for his brain cancer.

In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict, the McCain family said in a statement. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment

While many Republican leaders have issued statements of support following the Arizona senators announcement, Donald Trump  the face of the Republican Party  is intentionally choosing to remain silent.

More from The Washington Post:

Trump does not want to comment on McCain before he dies, White House officials said, and there was no effort to publish a statement Friday as many politicians released supportive comments on the ailing senator. Their increasingly combative relationship has served as a metaphor of sorts for the Republican Party: the former Vietnam POW and proud conservative who fell short to Barack Obama in his run for president in 2008 versus the loud draft avoider who rapidly seized control of the GOP and White House eight years later.

Trumps silence following the McCain family announcement comes after an event last week in which Trump snubbed the senator at a signing ceremony for a bill named after McCain.

The president signed the defense legislation at the time, but he didnt offer any recognition or gratitude for the Arizona senator.

None of this is a surprise, of course, as Trump famously attacked McCains war service early in his presidential campaign, saying he is not a war hero because he spent more than five years enduring torture as a prisoner of war.

According to The Post, McCain has told me that he doesnt regret his attack on McCains service in Vietnam.

John McCain refuses to back down

In true John McCain form, he was refused to back down from the shameless president of the United States. Instead, he is

Unlike many Republicans who have happily handed over the keys to the party to an unstable crook, McCain has often refused to bow to Trump  whether its voting against disastrous policies or speaking out when the president spews dangerous rhetoric.

In the short term, all of this may infuriate a president who demands blind loyalty from members of his party, but history will look back kindly on the heroic service of Sen. John McCain.4.4k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard

Trumps Art Of The Deal ghostwriter Tony Schwartz is warning that is Trump is drowning, and he is going to try to take as many of us down with him as he can.

Schwartz tweeted:

Trump will be at his most dangerous and unstable in the weeks and months ahead. Drowning, he will want to take as many of us down with him as he can. He should never have had access to the nuclear codes but especially not now.  Tony Schwartz (@tonyschwartz) August 24, 2018

There are likely a couple of different dangerous phases coming in Trumps behavior. The first phase is what we are witnessing now. Trump is trying to defend himself through distraction. Trump is attacking Attorney General Jeff Sessions and falsely blaming President Obama for his felonies committed with Michael Cohen. In Trumps Fox and Friends interview, he offered an endless series of attacks and distractions, but he never once offered a real defense for his crimes.

The real danger, as Schwartz suggested is going to come when Trump realizes that there is no way out. Would Donald Trump launch a nuclear attack on Iran if he thought that it would keep him in the White House and out of prison? The fact that no one is sure of the answer is why America is entering such a dangerous time.

Trump has lived his entire life in mythology that he created while never being held responsible for his actions. The presidency means that Trump will be held accountable. His closest associates are turning on him, and it looks like only a matter of time until members of his family are indicted. Trump thought the presidency was unlimited power, but what it really is the worlds most famous box.

Donald Trump is trapped, and his desperate acts have only begun.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.Get the SC business stories that matter.

Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free.They are together again.

They were together as children, growing up in the same Pittsburgh neighborhood. They were together as young ballet dancers in training. And they were together at the School of American Ballet in New York City.

Then, for a while, they went their separate, though parallel, ways. But soon enough they were reunited.

So its not very surprising that Lindy Mandradjieff Fabyanic and Stephen Hanna are together now, in Charleston, mentoring a new generation of dancers at Fabyanics conservatory in West Ashley.

And its no great wonder that these two friends, each with extraordinary stage experience, now look forward to the challenge of developing a world-class dance studio so they might nurture the talents and characters of young people just as their teachers nurtured them.

Fabyanic opened Dance Conservatory of Charleston on Ashley Hall Road in May last year, and the school quickly attracted a variety of young dancers interested in ballet, modern, jazz, tap and hip-hop. Putting her impressive Rolodex to use, she invited master teachers such as Ellen Bar, Sean Suozzi, Suki Schorer and Jock Soto to visit Charleston and work with her team.

In recent months, Hanna told her hes ready for a change.

I was looking for something new, I want to start a family, he said.

He was among the dance stars to accept Fabyanics invitation to teach a master class (no one can refuse her, he said), so he was familiar with Charleston: with its weather and beaches and friendly people.

Ballet and Broadway had provided him a fantastic career, but now it was time to change its emphasis, to invest in a community, to inspire others. And his friends new enterprise seemed like the perfect place to do that.

Hanna and his husband, actor Bret Shuford, took the leap this summer. They left the bustle of the Big Apple and moved south.

Currently, they are occupying the Fabyanics finished room over the garage as they search for permanent accommodations. Shuford will teach at the Musical Theater Center in Mount Pleasant. Hanna will inject professional oomph in the dance conservatory.

Last year, he was but a special guest, in town briefly to lead a master class. Now, he is part of a robust team that includes Fabyanic (ballet), Deanna McBrearty (ballet), Bo Busby (ballet), Ashley Flaner (ballet), Lily Watkins (ballet, contemporary), Monica Ball (jazz, tap, hip-hop), Marka Danielle (modern), Mary Pat Henry (modern) and Mara Mandradjieff (ballet scholar).

The artistic journeys of Hanna and Fabyanic began at a shared, single point and often followed a similar trajectory, diverging significantly twice, but then converging once again in Charleston. So in a sense, this is a story about a happy reunion of friends who shared childhood aspirations, found success in New York City and elsewhere, and now are paying it forward.

'Extra drive'

In 1991, Lindy Mandradjieff was 11 years old and already determined to be a professional ballerina. She was serious, motivated, tireless, disciplined. At the Conservatory of Dance and Music Point Park College where she trained, she was cast as Clara in The Nutcracker. But no boys were enrolled there, so the teacher brought in Stephen Hanna, about to turn 12, to dance the role of the Prince.

I was in love! Lindy said, recalling their introduction. I wrote a poem about ... how much I wanted to dance with him.

It was, as they say, the start of a beautiful friendship.

We always matched each other personality-wise and talent-wise, she said. And we had the same dreams.

He was serious, too, and motivated and tireless and disciplined. He, too, was determined to become a professional ballet dancer. They learned from one another. They performed together a lot: "Nutcracker" productions in 1991 and 1992 and 1993. They set an example for other students.

Their instructor at Point Park, Roberto Munoz, recalled how the young dancers would leave their Pittsburgh school at lunchtime to spend afternoons training with him.

I had several kids like that, Munoz said. They dont just have a dream, they really work hard at it. They have extra drive.

Lindy and Stephen displayed plenty of extra drive. And they seemed artistically mature for their age, as if the minds of adults were awhirl inside the heads of 10-year-olds.

You could connect at a different level, Munoz said, adding that only a few of the young dancers hes worked with exhibit this quality. They understand (instructions) immediately, with little explanation.

'Prize couple'

By the summer of 1992, the two friends had joined the prestigious School of American Ballet, operated by the New York City Ballet. They were accustomed to working hard and remaining singularly focused, Lindy said.

We were always ready to go, she said. It was another reason we liked being together.

They began to understand that, at this level, there was no real gray area: You either performed well or not, your technique either was good or it wasnt. You had to be willing to strive always for perfection.

In partnering class, instructor Jock Soto, a beloved New York City Ballet principal dancer, referred to Lindy and Stephen as his prize couple, often relying on them to demonstrate the proper way a certain move should be performed.

Soto attributed their proficiency in part to good chemistry and motivation, but knew nothing initially of their Pittsburgh background.

I hadnt realized they had grown up together! he said.

Soto watched as they got better and better, tackling difficult choreography and managing a demanding schedule.

They were like sponges, how they just took everything in, he said. I could see the sort of power and passion they had for ballet.

Good male ballet dancers are few and far between. Visit a random ballet class and you might see only girls. So when an especially talented young male dancer such as Stephen comes along, company directors work extra hard to recruit and retain him.

Stephen spent three full years at SAB before Lindy returned in the summer of 1995 and was asked to stay. They were together as full-time students for two years. As soon as SAB training was completed, Stephen, 17, was invited to become a New York City Ballet apprentice. A few months later he was a full-fledged company member.

At 16, Lindy was faced with a choice: The companys artistic director Peter Martins encouraged her to accept an offer by the San Francisco Ballet. It wasnt that he didnt appreciate her talent, but she was young and short, and there were only so many roles for short dancers.

So off she went. She was on the West Coast for four years, but visited New York and Pittsburgh regularly. Stephen flew to California twice.

In 2001, she was back, a member of the New York City Ballet, embraced by Martins. And despite the significant height difference, Lindy and Stephen danced together a lot: in Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and several other productions.

They were a very natural, trusting couple to see on stage, Soto said. A dancer can go through life dancing with many, many different ballerinas, like I did. ... You have to have a trust in whoever youre dancing with, you have to have a camaraderie.

That rapport was evident in Lindy and Stephen.

He was such a natural partner, very strong, Soto said. When they danced together, she let him dance her. She was very strong, she could hold her own in a solo, but together you have to be one person, and they understood that very well.

When she was 25 years old, Lindy retired as a performing ballerina, moved home, taught dance at Point Park and the Ballet Academy of Pittsburgh, married Matt Fabyanic and had a child, Mason. Stephens mother, Marcy Hanna, was a reliable babysitter.

Stephen, meanwhile, was promoted to soloist and then principal, continuing to dance with New York City Ballet until 2008, when, he said, I was starting to feel a little old there. At 27, he was ready to try something different.

That something turned out to be Broadway. He originated the role of adult Billy in the original cast of Billy Elliot. He appeared in Twyla Tharps Come Fly Away. He danced in the Broadway productions of On the Town, An American in Paris and Hello, Dolly! And he did a little Off-Broadway work in Silence: The Musical and television work in Pose on FX. In between musicals, he returned to New York City Ballet for a short stint as a guest artist.

'Born to do this'

In 2014, Matt Fabyanic, an orthopedic surgeon, was offered a job in Charleston, so the family moved south. Next came the twins, Parker and Hudson. And then Lindys dance studio.

Naturally, she invited Hanna to teach a master class. He found the experience rewarding, and he liked the Lowcountry vibe. The two friends talked about Hannas future, now that he was again expressing a desire for change. Why not join the conservatorys faculty? Why not teach the next generation of dancers? So thats what he will do, at his friends studio and at the College of Charleston, where he will serve as an adjunct instructor.

Together, Hanna and Fabyanic will invite a variety of dance stars to Charleston to work with students. Choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie, who has worked with Savion Glover and Beyonce among many others, will come to town at the end of September. Max Baud, co-director of the Joffrey Ballet School Musical Theater Summer Intensives (and a former Older Billy Elliot in the touring production) will teach a master class. And, former New York City Ballet star Wendy Whelan will pay a visit.

Professional male dancers from Columbia City Ballet will come to Charleston to work with the conservatorys young ballerinas. And the regular faculty will train students not only to dance well but to focus the mind, strengthen the body, collaborate, trust one another, memorize movement, appreciate music, walk tall. For dance is about so much more than the steps.

They were born to do this, Munoz said. Its a match made in heaven. Between the two of them, their experiences are quite amazing.Mary Katherine, who also goes by MK, covers health care for The Post and Courier. She is also pursuing a master's degree in data science. She grew up in upstate New York and enjoys playing cards, kayaking and the Blue Ridge Mountains.Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High 73F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.The founders of Hah Parking, a smartphone app billed as the "AirBnb of parking," have ambitious hopes for the Charleston area, where they say it could connect drivers to cheaper parking and cut down on traffic by stopping cars from circling the block in search of a space.

But in addition to all the normal challenges facing a start-up  securing funding and creating a corporate structure  they face a complicated regulatory landscape with the patchwork of zoning rules that exist across the region.

Down the road, they also face competition from similar apps that have popped up in bigger cities. It's only a question of when one of those services will scale up and arrive in Charleston.

It is a race, and there are people doing this in other cities. People have done this three years ago," said Rocky Vitali, who has founded and funded the company so far with his brother Victor. They estimate they've spent between $100,000 and $200,000 so far.

But both brothers insist that they'll beat out the competition with a better user experience, and they hope to grow the service in part by word-of-mouth from satisfied customers.

Hah Parking is a platform that lets homeowners with an empty driveway or parking spot rent it out by the hour, day or month. It was a logical business idea for the Vitali brothers, who often think about cars and where to put them.

Rocky can even remember the two cars they drove down to Charleston when they decided to move here full time in 2012: a 1997 Acura Integra GSR for him, and a Volvo C70 convertible for Victor.

Their grandfather, an Italian immigrant, started a used-car dealership in the village of Johnson City, in upstate New York. Both brothers were drawn away from home in part by the allure of Southern vehicles, which fetch more in resale than Northern ones because they're not splashed with corrosive, ice-melting road salts all winter long.

Victor became a car buyer in the Holy City, procuring mostly high-end vehicles for prominent people around the area, including members of the Tecklenburg family. As his yard filled up with cars awaiting their new owners, the idea for Hah struck him.

The app only launched in April, but Hah Parking is already collaborating with the Charleston Riverdogs to use the app as a platform for fans to reserve spots in the stadium's lot, which is usually reserved for season ticket-holders. The company additionally made a pitch to Charleston for the city to consider using it in a pilot program that would let Hah customers use the app to pay for meter parking.

The Vitalis are also developing a slew of features that they say would bring users back time and time again: warnings for street sweeping, for example, or an option to rent out a spot and then send all the proceeds to a charitable cause.

We move quick but cautious," Rocky said. "We want to ... always have the user experience in mind.

But those extra bells and whistles will have to come online relatively quickly, because similar parking platforms are already online in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Toronto. A few have reached Atlanta. Pavemint, Rover and Parqex have all been similarly described as the "AirBnb of parking," but they don't yet have listings in the Lowcountry.

Those companies are "trying to prove the model works and then they're trying to rapidly grab market share all across the country," said John Osborne, director of the Harbor Entrepreneur Center, a local startup accelerator.

In the case of Hah Parking, innovating the core product could help keep national competition at bay.

"Otherwise ... it's just a race to who can get there fastest, and a lot of times that just comes down to who can raise enough money to make it go," Osborne said.

There's clearly demand for expanded parking options. Victor said the company has been contacted by scores of parents of College of Charleston students, who aren't eligible to buy a parking space from the school until junior year. Rocky said Tuesday that the app had well over 2,000 users.

But similarly to AirBnb, Hah has to contend with local land use rules. It recently ran into trouble on Folly Beach, when city officials said that kind of rental system isn't allowed in their residential zones, which cover 90 percent of the island. Victor said Hah will meet with officials in the beach town next month for further discussions.

There are potential roadblocks in Charleston as well. Jacob Lindsey, planning director for the city of Charleston, said that city's residential zones would also technically ban commercial activity like renting out parking space.

Charleston is in the middle of a detailed parking study right now, he said. Hah could offer a benefit to the area, but that's something that would need to be studied, too.

Were always open to innovations that improve quality of life in the city," Lindsey said, but added, "If we feel like theres a problem going on, we certainly are going to be enforcing our regulations."

Victor said that the company hasn't heard anything about zoning enforcement from the city of Charleston.

Ultimately, he doubted the city's ability to even determine if a vehicle was in a space because of the app, or because someone was just visiting a private home.

"They would have to try and find out how to enforce what vehicle's supposed to be there, and what vehicle's not supposed to be there," Victor said.Sen. John McCain is discontinuing medical treatment, his family announced Friday, just more than a year after the maverick Republican from Arizona was diagnosed with brain cancer.

Their statement said McCain, who turns 82 this week, had surpassed expectations for his survival since his diagnoses last July of glioblastoma, a terminal form of brain cancer.

"But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict" and the senator has decided to end medical treatment, the statement said.

McCain, a celebrated Navy pilot in the Vietnam War, has been absent from Washington since last December. While undergoing treatment in Arizona, he has kept a low profile, issuing written statements on major news developments but offering the public few glimpses of his condition.

"I love my husband with all of my heart," Cindy McCain wrote on Twitter Friday shortly after the family statement was released. "God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey."

During a long and sometimes polarizing political career, McCain has served in the Senate for more than three decades and twice sought the presidency.

Friday's news prompted an immediate outpouring of support on social media and elsewhere from McCain's colleagues in Congress.

"Very sad to hear this morning's update from the family of our dear friend @SenJohnMcCain," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Twitter. "We are so fortunate to call him our friend and colleague. John, Cindy, and the entire McCain family are in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour."

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"John McCain personifies service to our country," House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., said in a tweet. "The whole House is keeping John and his family in our prayers during this time.

McCain first arrived on the national stage as a prisoner of war in Vietnam after his plane was shot down over Hanoi in 1967.

In 1982, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Four years later, he won his seat in the Senate, where he established himself as a leading voice on national security and foreign policy.

McCain has also cultivated a reputation as an independent willing to work with Democrats on issues such as immigration and campaign financing.

In recent years, he has clashed sharply with President Donald Trump, who said early in the 2016 presidential campaign that McCain was not a war hero.

Following his diagnosis and initial treatment, McCain returned to the Senate and cast a pivotal vote against a Republican bill to undo the Affordable Care Act. During a post-midnight roll call on the Senate floor, he turned his thumb down and effectively thwarted one of the GOP's signature promises of recent years.

Trump has continued to castigate McCain for the vote.

McCain collaborated with a longtime adviser, Mark Salter, on a memoir, "The Restless Wave," that was released in May.

Among other things, the book captured McCain's difficult relationship with Trump. The president, he wrote, "has declined to distinguish the actions of our government from the crimes of despotic ones."C enturies ago it was common knowledge that the earth was flat. Everybody thought that. Then they didnt.

What was previously accepted was short-sighted and wrong. It turned out that ships would not sail off the edge and plunge into oblivion. In our century it seems that theres a neo-Flat Earth Society. More people have gotten the idea that this earth is it; that all that exists is what meets the naked eye. (Or the eye aided by microscope or telescope.) Modern folks of non-faith go by various names: atheists, agnostics, humanists, skeptics, free-thinkers, apatheists ... but by whatever name, they are de facto daily practitioners in the rejection of God.

Not to blame John Lennon and his song "Imagine," but perhaps you know the lyrics: "Imagine theres no heaven, its easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky." Its kind of the unbelievers theme song. If more and more people are thus secular materialists, they are sorta flat-earthers.

Before I spar with them a bit, heres just a note of encouragement to you people of faith. Dont be dismayed and think that the secularists are winning. The myth of inevitable secularization is incorrect. Even secular-heavy Europe shows signs of reversing again toward faith. Though the well-off white folks there have largely abandoned faith, the immigrant population is religious and growing.

They see their new turf as a mission field. Modernization can produce a crisis of purpose, and plenty of deficiencies of will and excesses of self, so there is a real opening for lasting meaning. Add to that: just plain demographics. The secularists do not reproduce much. Their negative birth rate shows a lack of joy and optimism for the future. It was Charles Darwin who wrote "the vigorous, the healthy and the happy survive and multiply." How bout that? Mr. Evolutions words speak hope to the believers. Actually, the hope is for all, since atheists may have rejected God, but He has not rejected them.

Now, in contrast to those whose worldview is neither spiritual nor eternal, think about a "3-D" approach to life instead. Rather than a flat and limited view of life, Christ-followers have a deeper and broader and higher vision.

1) We have deep roots / a firm foundation / a spiritual grounding for our years. We know that we didnt create ourselves nor gift ourselves. We are intentionally created; our feet are on solid ground; and underneath us are the everlasting arms.

2) We are legion / surrounded by Gods people / included in a historic community. We are not alone vs. the world, orphaned in the universe. We have brothers and sisters in the love of Christ all around the globe. His kingdom is bigger, stronger and longer than mere Western nations. The faith community is not limited by race, gender, class nor education. Indeed, "reason is aristocratic, while faith is democratic."

3) We have an eternal horizon. Its no dead-end ahead for us. Death is but a comma, not a period. Our reservations are in at the heavenly banquet. Our dancing shoes are loosened up and ready to kick.

Go 3-D! Dont settle for the grim grayness of those no-hope flat-earthers. Expand your vision and your horizons. St. John saw it long ago: "I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door!" (Revelation 4:1) An open door is way more life-giving than a flat wall. Its there for you.A lthough summer is almost over, theres still plenty of time this fall to take a hike and get outdoors. But while youre hiking, you could be helping collect the seeds for future Minnesota forests.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is starting its annual seed and cone collection for the State Forest Nursery, and the department is offering to purchase seeds from anyone who has an interest in helping with the collection.

The rules, according to State Forest Nursery Supervisor Katrina Somes, are fairly simple.

"You can collect, obviously, from your own property," Somes said. "We prefer not to get seeds from yard trees because theyre subject to different environmental factors  so if people are able, we prefer to get species from a wooded lot."

If you dont have wooded property, no worries. Theres also the option to collect from state lands. Just be sure to check with your area forestry office first to find out which state forests in your area are open for collecting. In cases concerning federal or non-state lands, Somes said the best approach is to contact property owners.

In fact, Somes stresses that everyone should contact their area office before they begin collecting to make sure they know what species are being collected from their area and what quotas the field offices can accept. You should also contact the field office to find out what dates and times they will be accepting seeds.

In Southeast Minnesota, the species being collected include red oak, white oak, swamp white oak, bur oak, black walnut, butternut, shagbark hickory and bitternut hickory. The first of these, white oak and bur oak, are ripening now and can be collected through September, while others could be collected through October or even as late as December. To find details on how to identify and harvest these seeds, visit the Nursery website at www.mndnr.gov/nursery.

State Forester Chad Gelner, who supervises the collection in Southeast Minnesota, says seeds will be purchased for anything between $5 and $120 per bushel, depending on the kind of seed and the quota of bushels passed down from the nursery.

After the collection is finished, the seeds will be sent to the Badoura State Forest Nursery in Akeley, Minn., where theyll be germinated and used to grow future seedlings for in-state reforesting projects. The advantage of collecting the seeds locally, Gelner says, is that the resulting seedlings will be genetically adapted to the regions environment, making them stronger and hardier.

"Were looking for seeds as local as possible because this is where theyre eventually going to be planted," he said.

Here are a few other tips to make your fall seed collection even better.

 Only collect mature seeds and float seeds (acorns, walnuts, hickory nuts, etc.) before bringing them in. Unripe or rotten ones should float to the top.

 Keep collected seeds in a cool, dry place, preferably in a pail or five-gallon bucket. This prevents growth of mold.

 If possible, bring a piece of the tree, such as a young branch with a few leaves, to the field station to help foresters identify the species youve collected.

 Always call ahead before you start collecting. It may save you time collecting seeds the forestry offices wont or cant accept.

at the State Fair

If youre heading to the state fair this week, take some time to visit the Minnesota Department of Agriculture exhibit where fairgoers of all ages can participate in activities connecting agriculture with their daily lives.

The activities include making a living plant necklace, a wool bracelet, custom wildflower seed mix and a livestock animal ear tag that they can take home.

The exhibit will also include a free native wildflower seed packet giveaway, information on the Minnesota Cottage Food Law for home canners and backers as well as a variety of fun photo-op stations. Fair visitors are invited to participate in the Protect Minnesota Pollinators campaign through social media, using #MNpollinatorhero to inspire others to make their pollinator promise.

The exhibit is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Labor Day, Sept. 3, in the North Hall of the Agriculture/Horticulture Building.Rochester has represented hope for individuals and families for 135 years. It was in August 1883 that a tornado ripped through Rochester on what started out an average, muggy Tuesday afternoon. By 7 p.m., three tornadoes had devastated southeastern Minnesota, leaving 40 people dead and at least 200 injured.

The mayor of Rochester, Samuel Whitten, telegraphed the governor of Minnesota, Governor Lucius F. Hubbard: "Rochester is in ruins  we need immediate help."

Rochester had about 5,000 residents in those days. The tornado destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses. One can imagine the utter shock and disbelief of the survivors. Everyone wouldve been impacted in some way by the catastrophe.

After the storm had passed, Whitten gathered a group of volunteers to go throughout the town, reaching out to those who needed assistance. One can imagine what a hopeful sight it must have been to see those community members and their lanterns ready to help in the pitch-black night.

By the next morning, local doctors W. W. Mayo, William Mayo, and Charlie Mayo were working alongside Mother Alfred Moes and the Sisters of Saint Francis providing emergency medical care to the wounded. A local dance spot called Rommel Hall was converted into a makeshift emergency room. There were only three hospitals in Minnesota at that time outside of the Twin Cities. Setting up a local treatment facility was the only option the community had if they wanted to save lives. For those who needed immediate medical care after the tornado, the emergency center was a beacon of hope.

After the cacophony created by the tornado had passed, Mother Alfred Moes approached Dr. W. W. Mayo with a transformative idea  an idea that permanently shifted the trajectory of Rochester. She said she wanted to build a hospital and requested that he head the medical staff. Dr. Mayo was concerned that Rochester was too small to support the hospital, but Mother Alfred was determined. She and the other Franciscan Sisters saved their money for several years in order to buy the land and eventually the building plans for the clinic.

Six years later, in September 1889, the hospital opened. There was finally a place where surgeries could be performed. Imagine the hope that must have provided to families in this whole part of the state.

These days, Mayo represents hope not just for the people of Minnesota but for folks from around the world. I recently witnessed it in the eyes of a 12-year-old boy and his parents at an airport. It was a Sunday evening and everyone in the terminal had grown weary of hearing about more delays and cancellations.

"The flight to Rochester has been delayed until 7 p.m.," a voice said over the intercom. "Were waiting for that flight," I overheard one exhausted person say to another. "Me, too," I chimed in.

The family I met that evening had woken up very early that morning to leave their farm in rural Texas. Theyd already been on a few planes. Rochester was their final destination. "Do you know any good places we should eat?" the mother asked. "Absolutely, Ill make you a list," I said, grabbing my notebook.

The 12-year-old walked over to where I was sitting. We sat side-by-side for a while discussing his favorite foods so I could make a good restaurant list. He spoke with a southern drawl that could melt your heart and carried mints in his pocket.

"Maam," he said. "Do you work at the Mayo Clinic?" His eyes were wide and curious. "No," I responded, "But Im a patient there. I go every week for my injection, and they are wonderful people. They helped me when I really needed it."

"Oh, thats good," he said. "Ive been to hospitals all over. You know how it goes," he looked away and sighed in exhaustion.

His mom and dad glanced over to us. They were tired, too. Tired and hopeful.

One-hundred and thirty-five years ago, Rochester was a tired, worn, broken community. The residents had been rocked by a terrible disaster. Theyd lost their friends, family members, animals and homes. And yet, they kept going. They rebuilt. And some banded together toward a common goal of reconstructing Rochester into a place of healing.

"If we get to the hotel early enough, Im goin swimmin," the boy said a few hours later, as we all boarded the plane.

He was a kid who just wanted to go for a hotel pool swim. Hope floats, after all.

We are a city of healing and hope, and we have been for 135 years. What a legacy we have been given.As children in the area head back to the classroom this month, families are gearing up for the new school year and purchasing school supplies.

However, not all children have the means to acquire the necessary supplies. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated problem. Many children around the globe do not have access to much-needed school supplies.

Last spring, Betty Walter, a geology major at the University of WisconsinEau Claire, learned about the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP) in South Africa. Walter, who is a graduate of John Marshall High School in Rochester, had just been accepted into a study abroad program at Stellenbosch University, about 40 miles outside of Cape Town. The advisors of her study abroad program shared with Betty the needs of the school children in Kliptown, a community outside of Johannesburg with vast levels of poverty and an unemployment rate of over 70 percent.

"The KYP is an after-school educational program which provides opportunities for children to break the poverty cycle," Walter said.

Hearing this, Walter was inspired to make a difference and raise money for KYP. Enlisting the help of friends, she set up three brat stands in Eau Claire with proceeds going toward school supplies for the youth program. With a food donation from her professor Brian Mahoney and friends grilling up brats, Walter raised more than $1,600 for KYP.

"We had customers just donating money and not even buying a brat," she said. "Simply talking about the program with people had them so fired up  it felt more like a gathering of friends for a good cause."

Growing up in Rochester, Walter said, "I was given the opportunities to join school sports, academic and volunteer opportunities." But in South Africa, "not all students are given the same opportunities as in Rochester," she said.

Rarely do people have the opportunity to see the impact of their work when supporting an overseas organization. However, Walter landed in Cape Town on July 13. While she will not head to Kliptown until December, she is eager to see "the implications of our donations" and is "excited to meet the children who we are helping." Meanwhile, she hopes to get involved with community service programs through Stellenbosch University.

Walter plans to continue fundraising and raising awareness for the youth of Kliptown when she returns to the UW-Eau Claire campus next semester.

"We should never assume a student has the same at-home support or economic means as others," she said. "It all begins by helping each other and helping your neighbor."

Steps to a scouting award

Last week 18-year-old Joshua Gisi,of Oronoco, became the first Minnesotan to earn the Trail Life USA Freedom Award. Upon learning of this significant status, Joshua modestly said, "I did not know this going into the board of review, and it was a pleasant surprise."

Trail Life is a "faith-based non-aligned scouting organization providing youth mentorship and character development." Trail Life USA has more than 26,000 members nationwide, with two troops in Rochester. Joshua has been a member since its inception in 2013.

Trail Life USA has provided Joshua with experiences from leadership to outdoor pursuits. One highlight from his time as a "Trail Man" was a seven-day backpack trip climbing Cloud Peak in Wyoming. He described it as a week "full of fishing, cribbage, and adventure."

Another significant component of Trail Life is service. Joshua has spent the last four years working at the Oronoco Food Shelf at the Oronoco Presbyterian Church. Some days he helped the elderly carry heavy food to their cars; on other days, he transported food into the lower level of the church. Having spent time as a volunteer, Joshua recognized the need to improve the system which brought food down the stairs.

Out of Joshuas awareness grew his Freedom Award project. He studied the situation and built a fold-away roller table down an unused stairway to simplify the process. Probably the greatest time was spent planning, he said.

"My final binder was 113 pages long," he said. "Once the plan was written, the execution went smoothly. The roller table effectively and efficiently transports boxes from the delivery truck to the storage room."

Joshuas efforts truly impacted the volunteers ("the really nice people that help out there," he said), which in turn makes a difference in the lives of those visiting the food shelf.NORRISTOWN  A Bridgeport man was convicted of having indecent contact with a female coworker at an Upper Merion restaurant and now awaits his fate from a judge.

Facundo Martinez, 35, of the 300 block of Coates Street, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of charges of indecent assault without consent and harassment in connection with a June 2017 incident outside the Cheesecake Factory on West DeKalb Pike in Upper Merion.

A jury convicted Martinez of the charges after a three-day trial. The jury acquitted Martinez of a more serious charge of indecent assault by force.

Judge Steven C. Tolliver, who presided over the trial, deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Martinez. The judge also ordered a psychosexual evaluation of Martinez.

Martinez, who remains free on bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of one to two years in prison on the charge. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.

The judge ordered Martinez to have no contact with the victim as a condition of his bail.

An investigation began on June 13, 2017, when the victim appeared at the Upper Merion Police Department to report she had been assaulted the night before by Martinez, a coworker at the restaurant. The woman told detectives the assault occurred as she went to a shed outside the restaurant to get supplies, according to the criminal complaint.

The woman told detectives Martinez entered the shed behind her and closed the door. Martinez proceeded to grab the woman and touched her in an inappropriate manner, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Upper Merion Detective Constance Marinello.

She told him to stop and said she had to go back to work. Martinez just said, No, you dont,' Marinello alleged in the arrest affidavit.

The woman told Martinez to stop again but Martinez continued touching other intimate parts of the womans body and unbuttoning her shirt, according to the criminal complaint.

(The victim) said she told him to stop at least ten times and he kept saying, No, why? and Its fine,' Marinello alleged, adding Martinez also started kissing the woman. (The victim) tried to get to the door but Martinez wouldnt let go of her. He then turned her and kissed her on the lips. At that time (the victim) was able to kick at the door and it swung open.

The woman was able to escape and then went back inside the restaurant, court documents indicate.Ive written recently about polling regarding the impact of a vote for or against the Brett Kavanaugh nomination on Democratic incumbent Senators in two swing states. In West Virginia, polling by the Trafalgar Group found that if Sen. Joe Manchin votes to confirm Kavanaugh, it will help his reelection bid in a big way. In Indiana, polling by the same organization found that Sen. Joe Donnelly will be better off if he votes against confirming Kavanaugh.

Now three are three polls on Kananaugh by a different outfit, North Star Opinion Research, in three states  West Virginia, Indiana, and North Dakota. It finds the voters in all three states strongly favor confirming Kavanaugh.

The surveys found that 60 percent of registered voters in North Dakota want Kavanaugh confirmed, compared to 23 percent who do not. In Indiana, 46 percent of voters want Kavanaugh confirmed to 32 percent against. In West Virginia, the split is 51 percent in favor of confirmation and 32 percent opposed. Independents in each state favored Kavanaugh by similar margins, according to the surveys.

The North Star polls are more straightforward than those of the Trafalgar Group, it seems to me. They ask simply whether respondents favor confirmation, as opposed to asking how a vote to confirm (or not) will affect what respondent does at the polls.

The latter question is the one everyone would like an answer to, but it is speculative. Voters know whether they want Kavanaugh confirmed. They probably are less sure about what their Senators vote will cause them to do in November. And theres a good chance that in the context of a survey like this, they overestimate the impact of the Kavanaugh vote.

North Star is a Republican polling operation and the polls in question were commissioned by the Judicial Crisis Network, which is helping to lead the charge to confirm Kavanaugh. It received a B rating from FiveThirtyEight. Trafalgar is considered a Republican-leaning firm. It received a C rating from FiveThirtyEight, but distinguished itself in the 2016 presidential election, especially with its polling of Pennsylvania and Michigan.

Perhaps the best indication that the North Star polling on Kavanugh is accurate resides in the fact that the three Red State Senators in question  Manchin, Donnelly, and Heitkamp  all voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch. Voters in West Virginia, Indiana, and North Dakota probably feel pretty much the same way about confirming Kavanaugh as they did about confirming Gorsuch, and the political instinct of the three Senators are probably sound.A new gripping Nollywood thriller Sylvia was screened at the Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Thursday.

TRINO Studios, creators of the award winning short films, Las Gidi Cops and The encounter, produced the film.

Sylvia is a compelling a tale of love, lust, betrayal and deadly obsession which ends shockingly and unforgettably.

The executive producer, Babatunwa Aderinokun, explained that the movie is centered on the cause and effect nature of relationships, mental health and the real versus the surreal world.

Chris Attoh stars as Richard the protagonist. Richard has always existed between the real world and a fantasy world; home to his friend and lover Sylvia (Zainab Balogun). Filled with passion and love, the two devotees embark on a journey of commitment.

Time and life goes on leaving Richard in a dicey situation. He is now faced with the decision on a future and full commitment, either to the real world with its demands or the surreal world that houses an increasingly frustrated Sylvia. Events unfold leading Richard on a downward spiral.

During a chat with PREMIUM TIMES, the producer revealed the movies budget.

The movie cost about N50m to shoot and it took a span of three years and this was because we wanted to churn out a world class production. Its high time we began to produce films not for production sake but for value and with a great technical output. We are confident that Sylvia ticks the boxes, he said.

The movie also stars Ini Dima Okojie, Udoka Oyeka, Lolo 1, Ijeoma Grace Agu, Lord Frank, Bolaji Ogunmola among others.

Produced by Ekene Mekwunye and directed by Daniel Oriahi, the movie which is written by Vanessa Kanu, has an unforgettable music score.

The director also added that the cast members were carefully selected.

He said, At the time we shot Sylvia, Zainab, who is one of the lead cast was not a big name at the time and she was the best fit for the character ditto for Chris. The storyline was just the perfect icing on the cake and are confident that Nigerians will accept the film. You can also tell from the movies score that is a well thought out film.

Nollywoods latest thriller Sylvia screens in Lagos Nollywoods latest thriller Sylvia screens in Lagos

With Sylvia, for once, Nigerian film audience gets to see a different storyline from the usual romantic comedy movies that currently dominate Nollywood.

Explaining the idea behind the screenplay, the writer, said its a blend of her real life experiences as well as a bit of fiction.

She said, Sylvia came about as a result of recurrent dreams I have been having which sees a dominant character feature in my dream every time. So, I thought about the possibility of it becoming a reality and that is what I tried to do with the script. It has a bit of fantasy, supernatural forces at play, romance and above all, a compelling storyline which will keep you glued to your seat.

The movie will be released in Nigerian cinemas on September 21.

Check out stills from the film below:Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has spread to eastern no-go zone surrounded by rebels, UN agencies have warned.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), warned that rebel violence in eastern DRC was escalating inside the vast countrys Ebola-hit North Kivu province, putting millions at risk.

Thousands of civilians have fled their burned-out villages, bringing reports of brutal attacks, Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for UNHCR, said in Geneva.

The latest report followed reports that a case of Ebola infection and one suspected case have been found in one town in the area, Oicha, which is surrounded by armed groups.

The disease has killed more than 60 people and infected dozens more in recent weeks.

Forced displacement in this part of the country remains massive and it is estimated that more than a million people are displaced in North Kivu.

This is the highest concentration of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the DRC, where an estimated half a million people have been forced from their homes this year alone.

Also, Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response, said the discovery of Ebola infection in the hard-to-reach part of eastern DRC could mark a pivotal point in the response to the deadly disease.

It really was the problem we were anticipating and the problem  we were dreading.

Our teams have responded this week. Theyve had to reach Oicha with armed escorts.

Once they reach Oicha, they are able to move within Oicha town more freely, because the town itself is a yellow zone from a security perspective, Mr Salama explained.

Mahecic said UNHCR was particularly worried about the deteriorating situation in the Ebola-hit northern territory of Ben, where Oicha town is located.

The area is home to some 1.3 million people and spiralling conflict has left the population living there, virtually in a state of siege since October 2017.

Reports of increased human rights violations and restrictions of humanitarian access are also frequent.

Estimates are that more than 100 armed groups are active in the province, continually terrorising the population.

In spite of a large-scale military offensive of the Congolese Army against one of the main rebel groups, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) since January, there has been no let-up in the violence.

Mahecic said: Despite security challenges, a UNHCR team accessed the area north of Beni, earlier this month, and conducted humanitarian assessments in Oicha and Eringeti districts.

Residents told our staff about brutal attacks against the civilians carried out with machetes.

Stories of massacres, extortion, forced displacement and other human rights violations are frequent.

Further, sexual and gender-based violence is rampant across the Beni territory while many children are being recruited as child soldiers.

The violence is particularly rampant in the so-called triangle of death, between the towns of Eringeti, Mbau and Kamango, on the Uganda-DRC border, as well as in the towns of Beni, Oicha and Mavivi.

UNHCR said it was scaling up its capacity in North Kivu to respond to the growing humanitarian needs.

We are arranging additional emergency shelters and other humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of the displaced in Beni.

While UNHCRs humanitarian response is continuing, despite the outbreak of Ebola, the prevailing security situation and drastic funding shortfall severely hamper our efforts.

UNHCRs DRC 2018 appeal totalling $201 million is only 17 per cent funded, Mahecic explained.

(NAN)May 30, 2017 was supposed to be the start of a new beginning in her marriage. Weeks earlier Christina Ohunyan, 40, had been diagnosed of myomectomy, commonly known as fibroid.

Doctors had told her that the tumour growing in her uterus was the reason she had not been pregnant four years after she got married to John.

As she walked into the operating theatre of the Orile-Agege General Hospital, in Lagos that Tuesday afternoon, she was also trying to balance a mixture of emotions.

Though she was happy that she would finally be rid of a malignant growth that had stood between her and the joy of motherhood, like many patients going under the knife, she was scared that something may go wrong. A devout Christian, Mrs Ohunyan said a quiet prayer that everything should go as planned.

That prayer was not answered.

After asking routine questions about her medical history, a doctor at the hospital handed her a consent form to sign.

Minutes later she was lying on a bed in an operating theatre with about six medical operatives arranging surgical knives and arranging other equipment in preparation for the surgery. Moments later, a lady, who was later confirmed to be an anaesthetist approached her with an injection and inserted it around her lumbar spine.

Immediately the fluid in the injection was pumped into her she started feeling a burning sensation around her lower limbs. The sensation was unbearable, and she was yelling so loud that the anaesthetist had to quickly discontinue the procedure.

The injection they gave me, after they administered it, I started feeling a peppery sensation and I was shouting. They asked what was the problem? I said I could no longer feel my legs. The peppery sensation was so much, that they said they could no longer continue with the surgery, she said in her near-whisper voice.

By the time she was wheeled back to the ward, she discovered she could no longer feel her lower limbs. Doctors encouraged her to lay still hoping that after some hours the effect of the injection would wear out.

She was also told that the surgery had been rescheduled for two weeks later but when she woke the next day she discovered she had become paralysed from the waist down. The surgery to remove the myectomy was never done.

She later discovered that she had urinary or faecal incontinence  the inability to voluntarily control urination and defecation. She now permanently wears adult diapers.

Mrs Ohunyan said since the incident happened, several top officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, including the commissioner, Jide Idris, have visited her but nobody has told her or her husband what really happened in the operating theatre that afternoon and how she became paralysed.

They were just telling me there is no problem that everything would be all right, the woman told PREMIUM TIMES.

Despite assurances from the hospital and officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health, her condition has only minimally improved  more than 15 months after the botched surgery, Mrs Ohunyan is still mostly confined to her narrow bed in a ward with 10 other patients at the hospital.

Orile-Agege General Hospital

After months of physiotherapy at the Lagos State University (LASUTH) she has managed to regain partial use of her lower limbs  she can now sit and can move around with the help of elbow crutches.

Injected With Formalin

While the hospital and state government continue to keep the couple in the dark about what happened on May 30, 2017, and how she immediately became paralysed after being injected, PREMIUM TIMES has been reliably informed by sources knowledgeable of the incident that Mr Ohunyan may have been injected with a fake anaesthesia, which ruined her pelvic floor.

Pelvic floor is a layer of muscles that supports the pelvic organs. The Continence Foundation of Australia says the pelvic organs are the bladder and bowel in men, and bladder, bowel and uterus in women.

Weakened pelvic floor muscles mean the internal organs are not fully supported and you may have difficulty controlling the release of urine, faeces or flatus (wind), the CFA explained.

One of our sources, a former medical practitioner at a Lagos State-owned hospital, who asked not to be named for fear of being victimised by the government, said after the botched surgery, the state Ministry of Health carried out an internal investigation and the outcome of the enquiry revealed that the medical director of the hospital at the time, Aduke Odutayo, was reportedly purchasing medication for the hospital through unregulated drug vendors.

The medical director, Dr. Odutayo usually skips procurement process to go buy drugs herself from Idumota. It turns out that her purchases have ruined a patient, the source said.

The source said a toxicology test was conducted on the anaesthesia administered on Mrs Ohunyan and when the result came out it revealed that instead of Lidocaine, which was the prescribed anaesthesia, the substance in the injection vials was formalin.

Formalin is a liquid solution of formaldehyde, a gas used in pathology for embalming dead bodies. A mixture of the formalin with methanol and other substances is used to temporarily preserve a dead body.

A 2016 study by Tasnim Masmoudi et al of the Department of Legal Medicine, and the Department of Hospital Hygiene of University Hospital Centre Farhat Hached, Sousse, Tunisia, published in the Pan African Medical Journal said the injection of formalin can result in cell lysis and tissue necrosis.

The medical dictionary defines cell lysis as the destruction or decomposition, as of a cell or other substance, under influence of a specific agent.

In view of its widespread use, exposure to formaldehyde is significant for human health because of its acute and chronic toxicity, the study noted.

Cover Up

The source said that after the investigation, officials of the hospital found culpable were not properly punished for their role in the botched surgery, instead, the Health Service Commission and the Ministry of Health demoted some, others were hurriedly transferred from the hospital.

The source alleged that the first decision taken by the hospital and the State Ministry of Health was not to disclose what actually happened to Mrs Ohunyan and her husband.

The cover up has been massive. Pages from her records are missing, the source said.

Dr Odutayo has been transferred to Randle (Randle General Hospital Surulere), and the doctors who administered the drug as well and most of the nurses who attended to her during the surgery have been transferred.

Many medical practitioners working at state-own hospitals were shocked by the incident and how the state government has handled it so far but have been talking about it in hushed tones.

Fifteen months after the botched surgery, the Ohunyans told PREMIUM TIMES the hospitals management and the Lagos State Ministry of Health have refused to tell them what happened to Christiana on the day of the surgery, despite several direct requests and multiple letters from their lawyer for details.

We have no information about the stage she is and what needed to be done. If I dont go to meet the medical director to ask what is going on, nobody tells me anything. Even when I go, he just tells me, we are working on it. You can see she is going to physio(therapy). But what is the next step? What is being done? Nobody tells you anything, said Mr Ohunyan.

We actually requested for a report, but the hospital has not given us a report. All we just know is that she has issues with her limbs and the pelvic floor. But we still do not know what happened. I learnt that they took the sample of the injection for test but the result of the test, we dont even know, he added.

Shoddy Treatment

Mrs Ohunyan also suggested that the entire process of the surgery was handled unprofessionally. She said despite informing her that surgery would be conducted several days before, the doctors did not even take a decision on what kind of anaesthesia would be administered on her until she entered the operating theatre.

She said she was not told of risk of spinal anaesthesia or told of alternative options available before the anaesthesia was administered.

Christiana Ohunyan

It was just before the surgery while I was in the operating room that they started debating among themselves that what do we give her? Do we give her GA (general anaesthesia) or spinal anaesthesia? Majority of them agreed that they should give me spinal anaesthesia.

They were about seven or eight personnel in the theatre. After they made the decision they didnt tell me the risk involved in spinal anaesthesia. Nobody asked me for consent before the anaesthesia was administered or explained the process of the spinal anaesthesia to me, she said.

The Ohunyans further told PREMIUM TIMES that the quality of the treatment she has been receiving after the botched surgery has left much to be desired. They said for about a month after the incident, the hospital management did not bring in a specialist to assess her condition and made them pay for necessary tests and drugs.

After what happened, they wrote out some tests that I should do, they asked us to pay, Mrs Ohunyan said.

We were paying for the tests we were doing. We were even buying drugs. But after a while, some of the doctors assisted. There was a particular drug that was sold for N40,000 a dose we bought that as well. Even the diaper, we were the ones buying them, she added.

She, however, said the hospital only started providing diapers and some basic drugs after it received a letter from her lawyer.

The Ohunyans said the hospital has been doing the barest minimum since then. They also said perhaps if the hospital had started treatment immediately after the botched surgery, her condition would have been better.

She said originally the hospital management had no idea how to treat her condition and a specialist was only invited more than a month after the incident.

The management of the hospital only invited a specialist to look at her after two months, she added. Before then, doctors (non-specialists) in the hospital tried to treat her themselves and at a point were feeding her an overdose of a certain drug.

Before they invited a neurologist, we later realised that the drugs that we were buying were all the same composition, but their names were different. It was when a neurologist came that he pointed out that the drugs I was taking were basically the same but have different brand names, Mrs Ohunyan said.

She said the neurologist who pointed out the mistake in prescription was not even provided by the hospital or the Lagos State government.

The doctor was the one that now said that, because it wasnt official he couldnt write out the test for me, if I can afford it, he would suggest that I go for MRI scan.

I think after two months, they invited another one. So, since August last year they havent brought in a neurologist to examine me. They later brought another doctor from Igbobi (National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos) who told them to get me a water bed to prevent bedsore and he also wrote some drugs.

Mr Ohunyan said he feared his wifes medical records were being tampered with. He said the hospital once wrote a false report on her condition.

In fact, from one report they gave, they said her pelvic floor is okay. How can her pelvic floor be okay whereas she is still on adult diapers and cannot control her bowel flow? he said.

Mrs Ohunyan said sometimes in June 2017, the hospital management started taking her for physiotherapy sessions, thrice a week, at LASUTH.

Months after she can now sit and manages to move around with the help of elbow crutches. But she said the incontinence has not shown any sign of improvement.

She also said the management of the Orile-Agege general Hospital and the Lagos State government have refused to carry out tests recommended by doctors at LASUTH.

The neurologists sent a report in June (this year). I have not heard anything about their recommendations from the hospital. Over there at LASUTH, they kept asking me what was happening as they have not heard from them here (Orile-Agege Hospital) maybe there are some payment they need to make, and this hospital needs to respond to the report they sent to them.

She said that it was not the first time the hospital had refused to act on the recommendation of doctors at LASUTH.

In January they (doctors from LASUTH) sent a report here and there was no response. They even sent some delegates to come here and ask them what was the next step? They (the management of Orile-Agege General Hospital) told them they have written reports and they havent heard from them (The State Ministry of Health), she said.

Mr Ohunyan said he has lost hope that his wife would ever get the quality of treatment she requires at the Orile-Agege general Hospital.

I think they can do more than they are doing. To me, they are not treating her. Right now, the doctors are not even attending to her. She is just there. Apart from the physio, the doctors are not giving her a particular drug or special treatment. If not for the pelvic floor issue, I would have said we should go home. I can continue the physio at home. The doctors here dont even know what to do. They dont even know what they are doing.

The government should take her to where she can get better treatment. If they would have to take her out of the country, I dont mind. If they would have to take another hospital, LASUTH, anywhere she can get better treatment, I dont mind. They are not doing anything for her here, he said.

Lawyers Fruitless Intervention

Weeks after the botched surgery, the Ohunyans contacted a lawyer who wrote multiple letters to the Lagos State government but only received one terse response from the management of the Orile-Agege general Hospital.

When this reporter visited the lawyer, Ibukun Ajomo, at his Anthony Village office in Lagos, he could not hide his anger at how the state government was treated the Ohunyans.

He said he has become increasingly frustrated by the governments blatant disregard of his requests for a report at what happened to Mrs Ohunyan.

Mr Ajomo added that if the state continued to ignore his request of full disclosure of what happened during the surgery, he might be forced to approach a court of law to seek redress for irreparable bodily harm done to his client.

In his first letter written on June 29, 2017, exactly a month after the botched surgery, Mr Ajomo demanded a full medical report detailing the physical state of Mrs Ohunyan prior to the administering of the Lidocaine, the risks involved in the administering Lidocaine and whether the risks were conveyed to Mrs Ohunyan, and the methodology used in administering the Lidocaine.

He also asked to know if alternatives to administering Lidocaine were offered to his client and why the method was preferred over the alternatives, an assessment of Mrs Ohunyans present condition and the cause of her condition and a prognosis and recommended future treatment.

The letter, however, did not say anything about Mrs Ohunyans incontinence.

On July 7, 2017, Mrs Odutayo sent a terse response to Mr Ajomo without addressing any of the requests demanded in his letter.

This is to acknowledge the receipt of your letter received 30th June, 2017 at 6:00 pm. And to inform you that the issues raised concerning the above client are being looked into.

Mr Ajomo said the Ministry of Health did not respond to his letter.

When asked why the lawyer did not mention his wifes incontinence in his original letter, Mr Ohunyan explained that at the time the letter was written, his wife was still paralysed and bedridden.

We thought she was defecating on herself because she was then paralysed from the waist down and couldnt leave the bed. It about two months later, when she regained some movement of her limbs that she complained that she could no longer control the movement of her bowel.

On August 28, 2017, Mr Ajomo wrote a remainder to the hospital and the states Ministry of Health repeating his request for information of what happened during the botched surgery.

In the event, we can only presume that the severe injury to our client was occasioned maliciously or by reason of gross negligence on the part of the hospital and its functionalities.

Also, since this catastrophic incident, we are not satisfied with the overall treatment of our client. She has not been told anything of her condition or prospects and is constrained to purchase diapers at her own cost, having lost feeling in her sacral nerves, he wrote.

He said neither the hospital management and nor the Ministry of health responded to his letter.

On May 22, he wrote yet another letter acknowledging that his client can now move slowly and painfully with the aid of crutches after undergoing physiotherapy.

It is however of grave concern to us that our client still has no feeling in her sacral nerves and is therefore condemned to using diapers.

We would urge that alternative and tested methods be used to address our clients pelvic problem. Even if it means resort to expertise and equipment outside the Lagos State system, he added.

Evasive, Unconvincing

When contacted for details of what happened, Lagos State Commissioner of Health, Jide Idris, told PREMIUM TIMES he could not reveal details of what happened to Mrs Ohunyan.

Due to doctor-patient confidentiality I cannot tell you what happened, Mr Idris said during an interview with this reporter in his office.

Adult diapers underneath Christiana Ohunyans bed

He however claimed that the Ohunyans had been told what happened during the botched surgery. He claimed the investigation was open and even involved the Ministry of Justice. But when asked if the couple were part of the discussions during the investigation Mr Idris gave an evasive response.

I believe several people were spoken to, he said.

Mr Idris also denied that the anaesthesia was bought from an unregulated vendor.

No, the drug was not fake. It is totally wrong, he said.

Perhaps in an attempt to discourage this reporter from continuing with the story, Mr Idris wondered why he was interested in reporting it, claiming it was not a new story.

It happened over two years ago. It is not a new thing. Several newspapers have written about it, The Punch, and I think the Guardian too. Why are you interested in it now? he asked.

An online search however, shows the story had not be reported before. Also, the Ohunyans said they had not spoken to any journalists or media house before they were contacted by PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Idris also denied that the hospital management or his ministry tried to cover-up the incident, adding that all those found culpable were sanctioned according to civil service rules.

He, however, did not disclose what offences they were sanctioned for.

The commissioner said Mrs Ohunyan was receiving the best medical care available and that she was not being sincere if she said she was not.

The new medical director of Orile-Agege General Hospital, Olawale Adegbite, told PREMIUM TIMES he could not provide much detail about what happened as he was not working at the hospital at the time. He however said Mr Ohunyan is getting proper treatment.

I can assure you she is getting the best of treatment. Two, I am an orthopaedic surgeon, so it is not my area of specialty, I cannot speak like an expert in that sense, he said during a telephone interview.

But when pressed to respond to specific claims of the hospitals alleged shoddy treatment of Mrs Ohunyan, Mr Adegbite said she (victim) was being economical with the truth.

He said contrary to the claim of our source, the transfer of medical practitioners involved in the case had nothing to do with the botched surgery.

The case is one that the state government is taking quite seriously. It is well beyond the Orile-Agege General Hospital. It was not what led to the change of guard or whatever, I can assure you that is not true. The transfer of staff are done at specific intervals. I can assure you it has nothing to do with that.

It is being handled by either the health Service Commission or the Ministry of Health. They have all the information, he said.

But he declined to comment on what went wrong during the surgery.

Some of the things they said are actually not true or are not complete. I dont have all the facts to tell you. There is nothing I can tell you about my patient.

And there is no question she asked that I have not answered her. Even if I cant answer I will call on another doctor to answer her because it is her right. To say they are not telling her anything, that cannot be true because it runs against medical practice.

That some of the things she said is incomplete does not mean it is false but they are not just complete. For her, I will tell her everything about herself if I know. If I dont know, I will tell her I dont know because saying that I dont know is a response. Keeping quiet is not answer, I dont know is an answer, he said.

Alleged Culprit

When reached for comments, Mrs Odutayo originally said she could not remember the incident.

I left the hospital two years ago, I cant remember her, she said in a telephone interview.

She requested for the name of Mrs Ohunyan to be spelled. Afterwards, she then declined to speak.

Im a civil servant. I cannot talk to the media. Go and talk to the hospitals management or the Ministry of Health, she said.

Similarly, Funmilayo Ige, the anaesthetist who reportedly injected Mr Ohunyan as well as the head of the pharmacy, Mrs Farinloye, declined to comment when contacted saying as civil servants they were not allowed to speak to the press.The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered members of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) to wear police uniforms with full identification, pending the launch of new FSARS uniform.

The force spokesman, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Jimoh Moshood, said in a statement in Abuja on Friday that Mr Idris gave the order at a meeting with critical stakeholders.

Mr Moshood said that Mr Idris was represented by the Deputy Inspector-General of police in charge of operations, Habila Joshak.

He said that the meeting was convened to brief the stakeholders on the progress made so far in the overhaul of the SARS now known as Federal SARS.

The police boss said that the overhaul of SARS was beyond rhetoric as strategic reforms were being implemented.

He said that the FSARS operatives had been ordered to desist from attending to civil or commercial matters henceforth and focus strictly on armed robbery and kidnapping cases only.

According to Mr Moshood, the Commissioner of Police in charge of FSARS, Habiru Gwandu, informed the meeting that a human rights desk had been created in the 36 states of the federation and FCT.

He said that the desks would address cases of infractions against members of the public by FSARS personnel across the nation.

Mr Gwandu added that the police had engaged the services of psychologists and counsellors in the ongoing screening of FSARS operatives.

On his part, the DCP in charge of the I-Gs X-Squad, Amaechi Elumelu, said in the statement that the screening and mobilisation of FSARS operatives would not be business as usual again.

He said that FSARS operatives would undergo through rigorous orientation including human rights training among other screening processes.

Mr Elumelu said that the I-G would soon unveil the Custody Records Management System.

He explained that this system would contain the records of arrests, detentions and welfare details of suspects.

The commissioner said that this system would discourage arbitrary arrest of people and ensure that suspects were charged to court within 24 hours, in compliance with the law.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on August 14, directed the immediate overhaul of the SARS.

(NAN)The Osun State police command said it has arrested an officer of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) who allegedly shot dead Tunde Nafiu, a 30 year old resident of Iwo in the state on Thursday.

The police also said 31 of the protesters have been arrested.

This was contained in a release signed by the states spokesperson, Folasade Odoro, on Saturday.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how a police officer attached to the SARS shot Mr Nafiu, which led a violent protest.

The protest resulted in the burning of a police station as well as the vehicles parked inside it.

Information was received that an operative of the Special Anti Robbery Squad attached to the Area Command Headquarters, Iwo allegedly shot and fatally wounded one Tunde Nafiu m, aged 30 years at Agboigboro in Iwo.

The Area Commander immediately moved out, doused the tension and assured the gathered youths that justice will be done. The officer that allegedly fired the shot that killed the deceased was promptly arrested and transferred to the SCIID, Osogbo for interrogation, it said.

The statement highlighted that in the early hours of 24/8/2018, a very large crowd of youth thronged the Area Command Headquarters to protest the killing.

The protest was however hijacked by some hoodlums who took the law into their hands. In the process, they torched the buildings housing the offices and residence of the Area Commander as well as three patrol vans and two other vehicles belonging to the officers of the Area Command.

The Police exercised serious restraint in order to prevent further loss of lives. However, the hoodlums were eventually dispersed while 31 of them were arrested and undergoing interrogation. The situation has been brought under control while people are going about their lawful businesses, the statement read.

Mrs Odoro also said the states commissioner of police has visited the deceased family at Ileogbo to commiserate with them on behalf of the police force.The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has reacted to claims that female Muslims in hijab are denied registration in Oyo and other South-west states.

Mutiu Agboke, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State, said no female Muslim in hijab or purdah was denied registration since the commencement of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in the state.

Mr Agboke, in a statement issued in Ibadan on Friday, urged Nigerians to discountenance the insinuation linking the exercise with religious or political discrimination.

Earlier, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) had alleged that thousands of Muslim women from the South-west may not be able to vote in the 2019 general elections due to alleged overzealousness on the part of some adhoc staff of INEC who have been disallowing them from registering as voters.

The organisation in a press statement on Wednesday alleged that women in hijab are being disenfranchised at the voters registration centres.

Alleged Discrimination

According to the leader of the organisation, Ishaq Akintola, a professor, Muslim women are being asked to remove their hijab before capturing can take place. Some are asked to draw back the hijab from their faces to expose their ears. Of course the whole world knows that it is a taboo for Muslim women in hijab to expose their hair or ears. The Muslim women who refused to remove their hijab or to expose their ears are being turned back without being registered. This is unacceptable.

It is cultural profiling. We are going to use every legitimate means to resist this aggression against Islam. We smell a rat. Religious fanatics have infested INECs ad hoc staff and their mission is to frustrate prospective Muslim voters. They want to reduce Muslim voting power in the sub-region.

Mr Akintola also alleged that the INEC ad hoc staff involved in the practice claim that they are following instructions from their head office. This is an old trick and a common line of argument, he argued, adding that the issues smacks of conspiracy.

It means anti-Muslim elements have taken over in INEC head offices in Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Oshogbo, Ondo and Akure (capitals of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states), he alleged. This abuse is widespread particularly in Lagos State but INEC may want to focus its attention on its office at Arigbanla Road, Orile-Agege LCDA, Iyana ipaja, very close to NYSC camp.

While tracing the development to the 2003 elections, MURIC said it will not stand akimbo while Muslims are turned into mere laughing stock.

We affirm our Allah-given fundamental right to vote and be voted for. We demand equal opportunities in all aspects of the Nigerian life. In particular, we assert clearly, emphatically and unequivocally that obtaining voters cards is the right of every Nigerian citizen regardless of creed, ethnic background, profession or level of education.

We appeal to INEC national headquarters to intervene urgently. We suspect that the national headquarters may not be aware of what is going on in the South West. It shows that voter awareness campaign alone is not enough. INEC should intensify staff training and enlightenment. Ad hoc officials as the first direct contact with the public need to be properly educated so as not to cause civil unrest over the ongoing PVC registration.

OYO REC disagrees

But Mr Agboke in his statement Friday disagreed with the views expressed by MURIC and other concerned religious and political organisations with similar grievances.

The ongoing CVR has no religious sentiment or political colouration but simply an electoral activity designed for Nigerians of voting age, he said.

Anyone with a genuine complaint should endeavour to report to the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) instead of peddling rumour, he said.

He further reiterated the commitment of the commission to continuously and positively engage religious bodies, political parties and other stakeholders in all the electoral activities leading up to the general elections in 2019.

NAN reports that Mr Agboke reminded all eligible Nigerians who had yet to register for the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to do so. He added that replacement of defaced or lost voter card and transfer of voting right from one location to another would be attended to during the exercise.

Mr Agboke, however, said that the August 31 suspension of the CVR would not affect the collection of PVCs.Muslims in Nigeria suffer more discrimination than their Christian counterparts, Nigerian Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has said in response to recent comments by Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah.

Mr Kukah while speaking at a book launch organised by PREMIUM TIMES Books on Wednesday, August 16 said Christians are still denied places of worship in some northern tertiary institutions

As Im talking here now, whether it is Bayero University, Usman Dan Fodio University, most of the universities and tertiary institutions in northern Nigeria, Christians dont have a place to worship after over 40 years of the existence of these universities and these are the areas where the intellectuals, those who are going to govern Nigeria, this is where they are.

Up till today, as Im talking to you, you cant find a single governor in northern Nigeria that will effortlessly sign a certificate of occupancy for the building of a church. Nowhere, Mr Kukah lamented.

Reacting to this in a statement by its Public Relation Officer, Aselemi Ibrahim, NSCIA accused Mr Kukah of having a penchant for heating the polity and spreading falsehood.

The group likened persecution Nigerian Muslims face to what obtains in colonial era.

One strategy of Bishop Kukahs, is to play the underdog in highlighting their pathological hatred and undisguised intolerance for Muslims in this country. Though objectivity is a core requirement of scholarship, Bishop Kukah is passionately opposed to it. He recently ventilated such noxious thoughts of his at an international forum where the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) stood to educate him that the issue is neither one-sided nor as simple as portrayed. But he has chosen another platform to play voodoo on the minds of the unwary and the undiscerning.

Without any fear of contradiction whatsoever, the irrefragable truth is that no religious group faces the persecution that Muslims face in Nigeria. From the usual hijab saga to religious witch-hunting in private and public establishments, Muslims have always been subjected to the same treatment the colonial masters made them to suffer. But rather than consider it what it is in the hands of the Christian neo-colonialists, the patriotic zeal to keep Nigeria together has often made Muslims elect to see the injustice against them as aberration, it said.

He said the cleric had a penchant for spreading falsehood.

In addition, we do not know why the respected Bishop has developed a proclivity for negativity and falsehood, instead of the things that unites us. For example, the Catholic secretariat is only a-three-minute drive from the Sultans palace in Sokoto. Also, when the said Cathedral was being opened, the state Governor  a Muslim, was present at the event. The Sultan who was out of town at the time, sent a powerful delegation to represent him.

The group listed alleged cases of discrimination and marginalisation of Muslims in Nigeria.

These and many more are glorious examples of the peaceful and tolerant disposition of Muslims toward their Christian neighbours in the heart of Muslims lands.

Conversely, Bishop Kukah uses every opportunity to throw tantrums at Muslims and talk of marginalisation in the North, where he superintends over several churches worth billions of Naira, he conveniently ignores the emasculation of Muslims in the South to the extent that they dont even have a voice as Christian Governors and leaders ride roughshod on their rights.

Islam is reduced to the status of an unwanted visitor as successive Governors in cahoots with the intolerant religious leadership there ensure that no breathing space is allowed Muslims. CAN leaders in the South openly sign statements in support of one candidate or the other whereas if a Muslim does in the North, heaven will be made to fall.

The Governors in the South-east and South-south can conveniently spend millions of Naira on covering live church activities on television from public funds without a whimper from the rabble-rousers but if a Muslim Governor elsewhere sponsors a pilgrim with a fraction, they are quick to mount the rooftops and shout of Nigerias secularity.

In other words, in the whole South-east and South-south geopolitical zones, including some parts of the South-west, Muslims are treated like lepers. They are denied and their ramshackle places of worship are routinely destroyed. Yet, Muslims have not been using every available podium to castigate and demonise their Christian tormentors even when they are aware that Kano alone has thousands of churches operating without let or hindrance, just like many other places in the North.

One or two cases will aptly demonstrate Kukahs hypocrisy and insincerity as he is in position to be aware of the scenario. Rivers State University of Science and Technology is a Nigerian public university, yet the institution illustrates and symbolises the intolerance, bellicosity and colonial mentality of the Christian establishment in the Southern part of Nigeria.

While the authorities of the university granted more than six different places of worship to six Christian sects or denominations on campus, they blatantly refused to grant one to Muslim students. The makeshift mosque the students erected to worship God was demolished and its materials have been confiscated by the university since January 25, 2012.

Rather than take the laws into their own hands as many students are wont to do when confronted with such provocation, the Muslim students approached the courts after exhausting all diplomatic channels to make the university authorities see reason. The case, with SUIT No. FCH/PH/CS/150/2012 was brought before the Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt and the students were granted the reliefs sought by the court on February 19, 2013.

The authorities of the universities did not toe the line of reason but rather chose to appeal the judgement in order to prolong the persecution of Muslim students. The appellate Court in SUIT No. CA/PH/614/2013 nullified the appeal on March 31, 2017 and upheld the right of the Muslims to be allocated a plot for worship on the Campus. Yet, rather than put a stop to its illegality, the university authorities still approached the Supreme Court where the case is pending hearing. The tactic is to postpone doing the right and constitutional imperative to punish the peace-loving Muslim students and deny them their constitutionally-guaranteed rights as Nigerians.

The group said that Nigerian Christians are being wrongly made to believe they are marginalised by their leaders.

The statement also listed other cases of alleged marginalisation against Muslims.

It took the intervention of the Muslim Ummah of South-west Nigeria (MUSWEN) to point out the composition of the so-called Afenifere that parades itself as the council of elders in Yorubaland. In the entire body, no single Muslim is found old enough to be a member. A region boasting of nationally and internationally acknowledged icons like Prince Bola Ajibola, Hon. Justice Bola Babalakin (rtd.), Alhaji S.O. Babalola, Prof. Daud Noibi, Prof. T. G. O. Gbadamosi and a host of other accomplished and elderly Muslims does not have a single Muslim in its socio-cultural group because it must be an all-Christian affair.

It is convenient for Kukah to pontificate as if he was in Mars when the late Bola Ige was terrorising Muslim students in Oyo State just because of the clamour to enjoy a semblance of religious rights granted Christians in public schools. It is easy to forget the various infractions wrought upon Muslim students in particular and Muslims in general in many parts of North Central Nigeria.

The fact that no sponsored Islamic programme is tolerated on Channels Television despite request from even Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, is no issue to Kukah, but Late M.K.O Abiolas policy of not allowing advertisement of alcohol in his then Concord Newspapers was considered fanatical.

Denying people places of worship in the North and the South is an aberration. Those who see it otherwise or rather play ethno-religious cards in a mischievous manner are the true enemies of Nigeria. Nigerians should not fall for their gimmicks as their stock-in-trade is distortion of facts, religious intolerance and intentional amnesia as demonstrated for the umpteenth time by Bishop Kukah at the event cited in the report under consideration, the group added.German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will on Wednesday, tour three West African countries, paying visits to Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.

Ms Merkel is to spend Wednesday through Friday in the three countries, accompanied by an economic delegation, Deputy Government Spokeswoman, Ulrike Demmer said Friday in Berlin.

Ms Merkel is expected to meet President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday morning at the State House, Abuja, as part of her visit, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

Migration politics, particularly Ms Merkels campaign to tackle the causes resulting in a stream of refugees to Europe, are likely to feature on the discussion agenda.

A large percentage of African migrants trying to cross to Europe through the Mediterranean are Nigerians. While some make it to Europe, mainly Italy, as refugees, several others drown in the Mediterranean. Thousands are, however, stranded in Libya from where they normally cross the sea to Europe. The Nigerian government working with the International Organisation for Migration has successfully returned, in 2018, thousands of Nigerians stranded in Libya.

The first leader Ms Merkel would meet on her trip is Senegalese President, Macky Sall.

Ms Merkel is to meet Wednesday afternoon with Mr Sall to discuss economic developments in the country and regional cooperation.

In the evening she will meet with civil society representatives.

Then its onto the Ghanaian capital of Accra to meet President Nana Akufo-Addo, on Thursday to discuss economic affairs and foreign policy.

The chancellor is also to take part in a German business-organised round table that will focus on private investment linked to the G20 Compact with Africa initiative.

Finally, Ms Merkel is to head to Nigeria on Friday to meet with the president of the ECOWAS economic alliance of West African states, Jean-Claude Brou.

She will hold talks with Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that on October 7, 2016 Ms Merkel visited three African countries before hosting leaders from Chad and Nigeria for talks in Berlin, as she seeks ways to stem a migrant influx to Europe.

Ms Merkel first traveled to Mali and Nigeria before heading to Ethiopia where she is to visit the headquarters of the African Union in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Her talks with leaders of all three countries are to focus on migration issues and the battle against terrorism.

FAT/SHA former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has been summoned by the Nigeria Police for alleged conspiracy, criminal and inciting publication.

Mr Fani-Kayode, a fierce critic of the Buhari administration, is facing corruption charges brought by the government.

He regularly posts critical comments about the government on social media. It is not clear what views the police now consider as inciting.

The police invitation was contained in a letter dated August 20 with Ref. No CR/3000/IGP.SEC/MU/T.G/ABJ Vol.54/226 and signed by Habu A. Sani, Commissioner, IGP Monitoring Unit.

The police ordered Mr Fani-Kayode to make himself available before Usman Garba, a superintendent of police, for questioning on August 28 on a fact-finding mission.

The letter reads:

This office is investigating the above-mentioned case reported to the Inspector-General of Police in which your name featured.

In view of the above, you are requested to interview the undersigned through SP Usman Garba on 28/08/2018 by 10.00hrs to shed light on the allegations raised.

You are to, however, note that the invitation is purely for fact findings and your cooperation in this regard is highly solicited, Please.

The police however, refused to state which of the former ministers publications they are investigating.

Several attempts to hear directly from the force spokesperson, Jimoh Moshood, were not successful. He did not answer several calls and text message sent to him.

Meanwhile, Mr Fani-Kayode confirmed the invitation via his official Twitter handle. Also, when contacted, he said he got the invitation on Friday afternoon and has consulted his lawyers.

I cannot be intimidated. I have consulted my lawyers, the vocal government critic told PREMIUM TIMES.President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday in Katsina praised Nigerian troops for their service and dedication to the nation, urging them to remain ruthless in the battle against bandits, criminals and kidnappers.

Shortly before leaving for Abuja from Umaru Musa YarAdua International Airport, Katsina, the president interacted with troops deployed to curb the activities of bandits and criminals in Zamfara and neighbouring states under Operations Sharan Daji and Diran Mikiya.

The visit was intended to appreciate the work of the Nigerian Armed Forces, for the tremendous results that are being achieved in securing this nation and its people, his office said.

During the interaction, the president applauded officers of the Nigerian Air Force and the Army for the counter-offensive against bandits in Zamfara State and environs, assuring them of his full support as a worthy Commander-in-Chief.

He urged officers and men to keep up the good work in the results achieved in dealing with banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling in the affected States, within the short period of the operations existence.

I am here and pleased at this opportunity to address you and express my pleasure and happiness as your Commander-in-Chief on your performance on the two respective operations.

Nigerians are looking up to you and us to secure the country. What is happening in the areas of operations are disgraceful. Im very pleased with the way officers and men are firmly putting it down and I want you to be as ruthless as humanly possible. Nigerians deserve some peace.

The president reminded the troops that when he was elected into office in 2015 he promised the nation security, an improved economy and a commitment to fight corruption.

The country has to be secured to be managedwe have been doing our best and we depend a lot on you to do what is needed in the field. I do not want you to spare any cattle rustler, armed robber or any person who thinks he is above the law.

I commend you for the job you have been doing so far and I assure you that I will continue to be a worthy Commander-in-Chief. Thank you very much and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President said.

In his brief to the President, Sampson Akpasa, the Air Officer Commanding Special Operations Command, NAF, said locations such as Mashema, Shinkafi, Ajia, Rafi, Shamashalle, Zurmi and Galadi in Zamfara State, previously used as bases by the bandits have been made untenable through sustained air assault and armed reconnaissance.

The air efforts in the last couple of weeks also provided close air support to ground troops on various occasions. Additionally, the Air Task Force(ATF) responded to several distress calls from sister security forces and locals by neutralising the identified massed bandits and preventing imminent attacks on villages/towns such as Yanwari and Hayin Alhaj, Mr Akpasa said.

In the spirit of the Sallah celebrations, the president donated five bulls to the troops.Two siblings have died while two others sustained severe burns as a result of two kerosene explosions in Umuebe village, Ezzamgbo community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

The incident occurred on Monday, but police have just confirmed it.

PREMIUM TIMES reliably gathered that the victims purchased the adulterated fuel from the same filling station at Ezzamgbo junction.

The explosions happened at two different locations in the area, it was learnt.

The names of the deceased children are Joy Ituma, six, and her four-year old brother, Joshua Ituma.

The two children and their uncle were rushed to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA) were they died.

Thirty four-year old Christiana Idenyi and 17-year old Uchenna Idoko, an uncle of the kids are the other two victims.

Mrs Idenyi, who said incident happened last Monday evening, lamented that the explosion occurred immediately she struck the matches to light her lantern. She said it gave her serious burns which affected her two legs.

I went to the filling station and bought the kerosene. I poured it into the lamp immediately I returned. So, immediately I struck the matches, it exploded. As you can see, my legs, hands, and other parts of my body were burnt, Mrs Idenyi narrated.

The deceased persons uncle, Chukwudi Idoko, also narrated what happened.

When the schools went on holiday, my younger brother left Obobo village to my sisters house to assist my sister. She trades on babies wears and her husband is a commercial bus driver.

So, he is the one that takes care of the children. So, when they bought the kerosene, they poured it inside the lantern. So, immediately he struck the matches to light it, it exploded and everywhere went up in flames, he narrated.

Juliet Igwebuike, who also lives in the building, confirmed that she was at the scene of the incident and gave her account thus:

I was just coming back from church. I went inside to change when I started hearing shouts calling for help. I thought he was quarrelling with his sister. But the boy kept shouting help oh! Its fire oh! So, I rushed out immediately. He was already outside the room trying to put out the fire on him.

There was no way to enter the room. I checked the door net and it was locked. I checked the window, it was locked too. Later, the other man took courage and broke the door net that was locked. The boy had earlier broken the window glass and jump out.

He kept screaming that his brother and sister were inside. One Calabar man in the house, my neighbour, went inside with courage. The other man also moved in also.

I was standing at the window. They threw out the first child, a girl, from the window and I picked her and poured her water. Later they threw out the second child, a boy, and I also poured him water, she narrated.

Police spokesman in the state, Loveth Odah, confirmed the incident.

She said the police have arrested the filling stations manager, Emmanuel Omiyi, and the kerosene pump attendant, Anayo Ayu, for interrogation.

The spokesman further said that some samples of the kerosene have been taken from the facility for laboratory test.

The chief consultant at the Burns and Plastic Surgery unit of Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA), Nnadozie Ugochukwu, said the four-year-old was 100 percent burnt.

One of the victims, Mrs Idenyi

The six-year-old was about 95 percent burnt; several degrees burn. The only thing that remained was a little part of her hairs. The 17-year-old boy sustained about 57 percent burns. And because they stayed so long inside that place, they had difficulty in breathing even by the time they came, he added.Ahead of the 2019 general elections, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Friday met with Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, at the Government House, Asaba.

The Delta state government house said this in a statement Saturday.

Mr Saraki, who addressed the press after the more than 30 minutes closed door meeting, stated, I spent four years with a very capable and competent colleague (Governor Okowa) in the Senate, we worked very closely together and I have come to spend some time with him and to hear his views now that I have rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Governor Okowa is a very important party member, he is someone I truly respect and I have come to listen to him, hear his views and to consult with him, he said.

He lauded the level of development witnessed in Delta State in the past three years, saying, there is lot of economic growth for the past three years in the state, a lot of opportunites have been created for Deltans, there is a lot of development in the state and this is what we want to see in most of our states.

Mr Saraki, who was accompanied by some Senators, including, Dino Melaye and Peter Nwaoboshi, also debunked claims that the Senate was yet to reconvene due to fear of his impeachment.

I am not losing any sleep about impeachment, we have a country that a lot of Nigerians believe there must be rule of law, those who are talking about impeachment are engaging in cheap blackmail and I am not concerned about that, he said.

He also used the brief encounter to throw more light on why he left the All Progressive Congress, saying, I have made a four page statement on why I left the All Progressive Congress (APC) and I made it very clear that the ideas and visions of what we expected, was not realised in the areas of democracy, justice, etc.

He continued, those that followed the political terrain of the last three years can see that the people are not happy, it is not about myself but about Nigerians and about the kind of country we want to build, the kind of democracy we want practiced and the kind of leadership we need, but, we have not been able to achieve any of this under the APC as much as we have tried.

Saraki Visits Okowa Saraki Visits Okowa Bukola Saraki during a press briefingA presidential aspirant and chairman of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Tope Fasua, has described the ruling All Progressives Congress and the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as vehicles driven to gain illegal access to the commonwealth of Nigeria.

Mr Fasua said this during an interview at the public launch of his book and manifesto at the international conference centre in Abuja on Saturday.

He also addressed the issue of vote buying.

He said his party, ANRP, has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the APC and the PDP on the issue of vote buying.

ANRP also called for the de-registration of the parties in accordance with the electoral law and its provisions on vote buying and the parties involved.

He said the offending parties were not qualified to be called political parties as they lack the ideology which is why the recent defection is easy for their members and is seen as normal.

We are suing INEC and suing APC and PDP, asking for the de-licensing and de-registration of those two parties, he said.

They are special purpose vehicles for the illegal access to the common wealth of Nigeria and you can see that is why it is easy (for the) people are darting from one party to another, because there is no difference in ideology. We will contest it up to Supreme Court.

Mr Fasua spoke on his ideas to restructure the economy as he believes economic restructuring is a precursor to any other type of restructuring.

That is the first thing. If you put money in peoples pocket they stop fighting. Thats where you start from. Thats why economy is very key. I am an economist with a difference and I believe we have been practicing the wrong kind of economics here.

I believe we can start with economic restructuring to ensure we reduce the income inequality going on, to create opportunities for our people.

The opportunities are there. A lot of my writing is about the economy. I am redefining economics.

Nigeria is the capital of global inequality in the world. Nigeria is the country where you have the widest gap between the rich and the poor, he said.

He said he plans to make Nigeria the cleanest, safest and most organized in Africa.

All of those projections are do-able, they are well thought out and tested in many places, theoretically and otherwise, he said.

He said Nigerians should be thinking and working towards growing by 16 per cent, noting that at the moment, the country is not growing at all.

The rich can actually get richer, the middle class can expand and the poor people dont have to be this many. As a matter of fact we can reduce the number of extremely poor people in Nigeria within a space of three years.The Defence Headquarters says plans are underway to rebuild public structures in villages destroyed by bandits in Zamfara.

The Acting Director, Defence Information, John Agim, announced this in Gusau on Friday.

Mr Agim, a brigadier general, told journalists that projects to be executed would include sinking and rehabilitation of boreholes, renovation of schools and clinics in the affected areas.

According to him, the military would also carry out medical outreaches to communities and organise town hall meetings to rebuild confidence and enhance security consciousness among residents.

The acting director said the objective was to return the state to the path of social, political and economic development as to would attract investors.

He stressed that the Operation Sharan Daji being carried out in the state had been successful, with the recovery of many arms, animals and victims from bandits that were neutralised.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that activities of bandits had in the past two years adversely affected many communities largely in Shinkafi, Zurmi, Maradun, Anka and Maru local government areas of the state.

However, recent deployment of security forces had decimated bandits terrorising the area and restored relative calm to the affected areas.

(NAN)The Nigerian Air Force says the Air Task Force (ATF) for Operation DIRAN MIKIYA, has successfully executed air strikes that destroyed more bandit camps in Daji Bawar and Sunke Villages in Zamfara State.

Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

The strikes were planned on the heels of intelligence reports indicating that some bandits who had survived the intensive air assaults on their various hideouts at Shinkafi, Galadi, Ajia, Shamashalle and other areas of Zamfara State had relocated to Anka Local Government Area (LGA) of the State.

Accordingly, the ATF embarked on intensive Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions to confirm the exact location of the new camps.

Eventually, the criminal elements were observed to have pitched their tents at Daji Bawar and Sunke Villages.

The ATF, therefore, launched coordinated air strikes on the camps in the two villages with a force package of 2 attack helicopters.

Overhead the target area, several bandits armed with automatic weapons were seen at both locations.

They were engaged leading to the destruction of the camps and their means of transport while scores of them were killed, he said.

He said that the troops of Sector 3 Operation SHARAN DAJI later confirmed that over 30 bandits were killed while many others were injured.

Mr Daramola said that the ATF would continue to dominate the area through armed reconnaissance and air interdiction missions to completely decimate the bandits to ensure a return to normalcy in Zamfara and other states in the Northwest.

The spokesman advised all persons involved in armed banditry in the area to renounce violence, surrender to security agencies and hand over their weapons.

(NAN)A senator, Godswill Akpabio, on Saturday, attended the caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom state for the first time since his defection a few days ago from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The meeting, which was held at a private event centre in Uyo, was attended by several APC leaders, including Don Etiebet, Umana Umana, Nsima Ekere, and John Udoedehe, who have had one terrible story or the other to tell of their encounter with Mr Akpabio when he was the governor of the state from 2007 to 2015.

For instance, Mr Udoedehe, a former senator, was Mr Akpabios campaign chief in the 2007 governorship election.

He later fell out with the then Governor Akpabio, left the PDP to the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) where he got the governorship ticket to challenge Mr Akpabios re-election.

Mr Akpabio won re-election, but Mr Udoedehe almost lost his life when he and his campaign team were violently attacked in Ikot Ekpene, March 2011, by thugs suspected to have been hired by the PDP.

Some ACN supporters were killed in the attack.

Mr Udoedehe, ironically, was subsequently arrested, detained, and charged to court for murder and arson by the Akwa Ibom state government, but was later discharged and acquitted.

Another politician, Mr Ekere, who is the Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom. He served under Mr Akpabio.

Mr Ekere hurriedly resigned as deputy governor on October 31, 2012, after receiving a tipoff that Mr Akpabio was plotting his impeachment.

He had served for only 17 months and two days in office and made history as having had the shortest tenure as deputy governor in the state.

One year after dealing with Mr Ekere, Mr Akpabio moved against the then Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Umana, considered then as his strongest political ally and fondly called the engine room of the administration.

Mr Akpabio pushed Mr Umana out of office under controversial circumstances, and went ahead to block his ambition of becoming a governorship candidate of the PDP in the 2015 election.

Mr Umana, out of frustration, defected from the PDP to the APC where he stood election and lost to Udom Emmanuel, who was handpicked by Mr Akpabio.

Today, ironically, Mr Akpabio has parted ways with his successor, Mr Emmanuel, and is now hoping to rally the likes of Messrs. Etiebet, Umana, Ekere, and Udoedehe to stop the governors re-election in 2019.

An APC leader who attended the meeting said Mr Akpabio informed the caucus that he has come into the party to help strengthen it, and begged for forgiveness from those he offended in the past.

The meeting was chaired by Mr Etiebet, a former petroleum minister.

The mood was neither here nor there, the APC source said. The meeting was very brief, slightly beyond an hour.

Apart from Mr Etiebet and Mr Akpabio, the only person allowed to speak at the meeting was a former state secretary of the APC who confirmed to the caucus that he and his faction have withdrawn a suit filed at an Abuja high court against the party over the conduct of the last state congress.

Some political analysts believe Mr Akpabios defection to the APC would likely cause friction between him and his former political enemies, besides depleting the goodwill the party hitherto enjoyed in the state.

There are, however, those who think otherwise.

He is a very ebullient leader. He is very charismatic. I believe his coming to the APC will change the fortunes of the APC in Akwa Ibom in particular, and the South-South in general, President Muhammadu Buharis Special Assistant on Prosecution, Okoi Obono-Obla, told PREMIUM TIMES.

Since the senators defection, the PDP-controlled state government has been holding series of rallies around the state to show off political might ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

I am overwhelmed. The number of people here (in the stadium) is enough for me not to say anything here today. Youve written the story, youve shown it to the whole world that Akwa Ibom is PDP, Governor Emmanuel said on Friday in Uyo to a large crowd of supporters when he declared his bid to contest for a second term in office.The Police Command in Ebonyi on Friday confirmed the death of two children in a kerosene explosion which occurred at Ezzamgbo, Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.

The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Loveth Odah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the matter was reported at the Divisional Police Station, Ezzamgbo, by one Chinedu Onwe.

Ms Odah said Mr Onwe was in company of one Christiana Ibili, 34, who suffered severe burns from the explosion, after purchasing the product from Dipro filling station at Ezzmagno junction.

The police gathered that on reaching her house, one of Ibilis children poured the kerosene inside a lantern and lit a match-stick which resulted in an explosion with uncontrollable flame.

The flame engulfed the whole building, which resulted in the death of Miss Joy Ituma, 5, and Master Joshua Onwe, 6, while Ibili and Mr Uchenna Ituma, 18, sustained severe burns.

The children were confirmed dead by a medical doctor at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, while the wounded are receiving treatment at the hospital.

The spokesperson further said the police had arrested an attendant at the petrol station, simply identified as Anayo, alongside Emmanuel Ominyi, the stations manager.

The matter has been transferred to the commands Criminal Investigation Department while the product sample has been submitted to relevant quarters for further tests.

This is to ascertain whether it was adulterated, which is the suspected case and our officers have been deployed to the petrol station to prevent irate mob from destroying it.

This measure is to prevent further loss of lives and we appeal to people of the area not to take laws into their hands as full investigations into the incident had commenced.

Ms Odah noted that adulteration of petroleum products is unlawful in Nigeria.

She said that the bodies of the dead children had been deposited in the hospitals mortuary and prayed for the quick recovery of the wounded.

Meanwhile, Emeka Ogah, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, confirmed to NAN that the victims were brought to the hospital but disagreed with the police on the number of the dead.

The report I received indicated that only one person died from the explosion but I will make further clarification on Saturday to ascertain the true situation, he said.

However, Bassey Chima, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Petroleum Pricing and Distribution, told NAN that he was not aware of the incident as he had just returned from an assignment.

(NAN)The Police Command in Enugu State has commenced investigation into an incident that led to a 24-year-old man committing suicide after an overdose of marijuana.

The spokesman of the command, Ebere Amaraizu, made the announcement in a statement on Saturday in Enugu.

He said the incident happened on Aug. 22 at Ameke Village in Enu-Oduma Community in the Aninri Local Government Area of Enugu State.

Mr Amaraizu identified the dead man as Ebube Chukwu.

He said that Mr Chukwu was reported to have committed suicide after taking his usual and hourly wraps of marijuana, popularly called Igbo.

It was gathered that the victim had allegedly committed the act by hanging himself on top of a tree inside a forest at Obokolo, which is between Amorji and Ameke Oduma.

It was further gathered that the victim was always in the habit of smoking marijuana, which may have caused the unfortunate incident.

Mr Amaraizu said that investigation had commenced with a view to ascertaining the actual cause of death.

(NAN)A former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu has commended Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for the respect he has continued to accord President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders in the country irrespective of political affiliations.

Addressing journalists after visiting Governor Ugwuanyi at the Government House, Enugu, Mr Kalu expressed delight at the friendship the governor has maintained with political leaders across the board, stressing that such uncommon leadership style has brought peace and development to Enugu State.

The APC chieftain said Governor Ugwuanyi is a very close friend of mine and we are family irrespective of the fact that they are in different political parties, saying: I am in very good terms with the governor of Enugu State, even before he became a governor.

Mr. Kalu disclosed that President Buhari also takes Governor Ugwuanyi as a family member, declaring that we cannot quarrel with anybody who is not quarreling with us.

According to him, I look at him (Ugwuanyi) as a family member. So I dont expect him to be in the same political party with me. He is of PDP and I am of APC but we maintain the friendship. It is across the board.

The former governor explained that he was at the Enugu Government House to see the governor on a routine visit, stating that on many occasions I pass through here and I also tell the President and Commander-in-Chief that I am going to him.

He said, There is no way I can come to Enugu without passing through here, moreover he (Ugwuanyi) is a very close friend of mine.

This is like a home to all Igbos. This is the headquarters of Igbo land. And I am in very good terms with the governor, not just because he is a governor. You know MV Neya and MV Sophia Maria; when he was Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport, he commissioned them in Malaysia.

So people should stop playing little politics of tribe. We also go to the same church. He is a catholic and I am a catholic. I wish him well; I hope he is also wishing President Buhari well.The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Pen Cinema Police Division, Lagos State, Harrison Nwabuisi, has been recalled to the state Police Command headquarters following corruption allegation leveled against him.

According to a statement signed by the spokesman of the command, Chike Oti, Mr Nwabuisi was recalled by the Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, following a media report of the allegation.

The attention of the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Edgal Imohimi, has been drawn to a Newspaper publication on Aug. 24, 2018, captioned  Power-drunk Lagos DPO leads team to mosque, raid adherents, others.

The reporter mentioned that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Pen Cinema Police Division, Lagos State, Harrison Nwabuisi, has been conducting raids during which he allegedly arrested innocent residents and extorted money from them.

He further reported that the police operation took place on Wednesday, being the last day of the Sallah holiday, at Alimi Ogunyemi Street, in the Ifako Ijaiye area and mentioned one Sheriff Aranjure as a prime witness to the alleged extortion by the DPO.

Sequel to the allegation, the Commissioner of Police directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yetunde Longe, to investigate the officer and other ranks against whom the allegation was made.

He equally directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration, DCP Elkanah Ayuba, to recall the DPO to the command headquarters to allow for unbiased investigation into the matter.

The command is therefore appealing to Mr Sheriff Anjure, said to be a vital witness and indeed other witnesses in the matter, to make themselves available to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, SCIID, Panti Yaba, to assist police in the investigation.

While recognising the fact that raiding is a major crime fighting strategy of the police, given that it enables proactive intervention into a budding problem, the commissioner of police however, said that it must be purposeful, corruption- free and Intelligence-driven.

He, therefore, assures members of the public that if the allegation is found to be true, any officer or men found culpable in the matter, would be appropriately sanctioned in accordance with the relevant sections of the Police Act, Mr Oti said. (NAN)For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.



SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Demandbase, the leader in Account-Based Marketing (ABM), today announced that its CEO and founder, Chris Golec, has been recognized as one of the Top 50 SaaS CEOs of 2018 by The SaaS Report. Golec founded Demandbase in 2006 and pioneered the ABM technology category to help the world's largest and fastest growing companies such as Salesforce and Adobe transform their B2B sales and marketing. Under Golec's leadership and vision, Demandbase grew to become the leading ABM provider and was named a leader in The Forrester New Wave: ABM Platforms, Q2 2018.

The SaaS Report received nearly 5,000 nominations on behalf of hundreds of CEOs. The list of winning CEOs was selected largely based on detailed reviews from each CEO's employees and industry colleagues. CEOs were assessed across a number of key areas including integrity, intelligence, energy, company culture and company growth. Other CEOs on the list included Doug Merritt, Splunk; Marc Benioff, Salesforce; and Stewart Butterfield, Slack.

"It is an honor to be recognized by The SaaS Report on a list with leading CEOs in their fields," said Chris Golec, CEO of Demandbase. "More than anything else, this recognition reflects the tremendous culture of success we have established at Demandbase, and validates the importance of Demandbase's work to bring ABM at scale to B2B marketers everywhere."

Prior to starting Demandbase, Golec founded Supplybase to help global manufacturers collaborate with their supply chain to bring new products to market. As one of the first successful B2B software and data solutions in the late 90's, Supplybase was acquired in March, 2000 by i2 Technologies. Before becoming a software entrepreneur, Golec held multiple sales, marketing and engineering positions with GE, DuPont, and GM.

About The SaaS Report

The SaaS Report is a comprehensive source for market insights, business news, investment activity and corporate actions related to the SaaS and software sectors. For more information and to view this year's list of Top 50 SaaS CEOs, visit https://thesaasreport.com/the-saas-reports-top-50-saas-ceos-of-2018.

About Demandbase

Demandbase is the leader in Account-Based Marketing (ABM). The company offers the only Artificial Intelligence-enabled, comprehensive ABM platform that spans Advertising, Marketing, Sales and Analytics. Enterprise leaders and high-growth companies such as Accenture, Adobe, DocuSign, GE, Salesforce and others use Demandbase to drive their ABM strategy and maximize their marketing performance. For more information, please visit www.demandbase.com or follow the company on Twitter @Demandbase.



SOURCE Demandbase

Related Links

http://www.demandbase.com

"Paul and James have been outstanding contributors and instrumental in positioning 1901 Group as the innovative IT solutions provider delivering much needed gains in enterprise IT performance at a substantial economic value," said Sonu Singh, CEO of 1901 Group. "This well-deserved change more accurately reflects their span of responsibility and authority within our company. There are many exciting initiatives taking place at 1901 Group, including our creative partnerships, new customers, and expanding our Blacksburg Enterprise IT Operations Center. Their vision, leadership, and innovative thinking will remain key to our future success as we focus on changing the way enterprises consume and deliver IT."

Wilkinson provides leadership for 1901 Group's growth initiatives by supporting the development of new markets and services. Prior to joining 1901 Group, Wilkinson was Chief Operating Officer of List Innovation Solutions, supporting the successful sale of the company to Salient Federal Solutions and led Salient's Strategic Market Development Group. Prior to that, Wilkinson held numerous leadership positions providing financial consulting, product management, and IT services supporting both public and private sector customers at SRA International, BearingPoint, and KPMG.

Christopher is the leader of the company's customer facing organization and is responsible for the development, engineering, and delivery of 1901 Group services, to include those delivered from the 24x7 Operations Center. Christopher brings over 25 years of industry experience to 1901 Group and previously served as a corporate executive in both small and large companies focused on delivering Information Technology business solutions and managed services. As the leader of service delivery, Christopher leverages his experience in growing organizations and delivering high value technology services and solutions across a spectrum of customers in the federal, state, and local government; retail and commercial; and higher education markets.

Wilkinson holds a B.S. in Finance from George Mason University and is a Certified Project Management Institute, Project Management Professional (PMP).

Christopher is a proud alumnus of Virginia Tech where he received a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and is a lifelong Virginia resident.

About 1901 Group, LLC

1901 Group delivers innovative IT solutions to public and private sector customers by leveraging our Enterprise IT Operations Center and managed service platform that provides 24x7 support of end users and mission critical systems from data centers to public, private, and hybrid cloud environments. We deliver cloud, cyber security, and enterprise managed services to transition customers from traditional on-premise IT infrastructure and support models to hybrid cloud solutions that improve performance and reduce costs. We proudly support customers that span federal, state, and local governments, including law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. Customers benefit from our 24x7 Cloud Factory with FedRAMP authorization, ISO9001 certification, and CMMI Level 3 appraisals. Visit our newsroom and simplify IT with 1901 Group.

Tweet: @1901Group Announces Two Executive Vice President Promotions to Drive Continued Growth and Customer Success https://bit.ly/2OUPh7S.

Media Contact:

Patricia Long

Senior Director, Marketing Communications

1901 Group

571.392.7233 (o) 703.615.4906 (m)

[email protected]

SOURCE 1901 Group

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https://1901group.com

The Agoda 'Family Travel Trends 2018' survey, conducted by YouGov, found that just 18% of travelers globally take only one family holiday a year, while over 34% have taken more than five family trips in the past year. Asia dominates this multi-holiday trend with a remarkable 77% of travelers from Thailand and 62% from the Philippines, claiming to have taken five or more family breaks in the past year. Conversely, only 7% of British travelers took more than five family trips, with the UK also most likely (34%) to take only one.

Trend towards shorter, more frequent family vacations

While family travel is growing globally, details of who with and for how long families take vacations varies across the globe. A 4-7 night stay is the most popular duration for family holidays globally but there are large variances across markets. In the UK, a 4-7 night stay made up 41% of family travel in the past year, compared to only 20% of family travel for Thais. Instead, family vacations of more than 14 nights are taken by almost a third of Thais but only 11% of Malaysians. Vietnamese, Malaysian and Chinese families are most likely of all travelers to take 1-3 night vacations.

Asian travelers engage in more multi-generational and extended family trips

The Agoda 'Family Travel Trends 2018' survey also looked into who was included in family vacations and found that while 35% of global travelers have taken a holiday with grandparents, travelers from the UK and Australia are the least likely to have done so, with only 13% and 20% of travelers embarking on them respectively. Thais (66%) and Indonesians (54%) were most likely to have included grandparents in their holiday plans. This trend is also reflected when looking at extended family members with Thais and Indonesians most likely to include siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles in their vacation plans.

It is not just family members that the Americans, British, Australians and Chinese don't travel with, they are also the least likely travelers to go away with other groups of friends, with only 22% of Americans, 23% of Brits, 26% of Australians and 27% of Chinese having done so in the past year. Meanwhile, almost half (48%) of travelers from the Philippines tie up with a group of friends for some of their vacations, closely followed by Vietnamese and Malaysian family travelers at 43% and 40%.

Hotels still dominate family accommodation preferences

More people used OTAs (international and local) to book family holidays in the last 12 months according to the findings of the Agoda 'Family Travel Trends 2018' survey which also revealed that hotels are still the most popular accommodation for families, followed by holiday homes, B&Bs and all-inclusive resorts. Cost, safety and activities were the top global considerations for when planning family holidays compared to holidays with non-family or alone.

"The family travel segment is growing rapidly and the needs of this group of travelers are unique and diverse," explained John Brown, CEO, Agoda. "All families have different requirements, which is why we pride ourselves in offering an array of accommodation options from hotels, holiday homes or fairytale castles at a budget that suits them. Furthermore, families can use Agoda's family-friendly filters to find places with babysitting or kids clubs, additional facilities such as kitchens or to request adjoining rooms, providing a more enjoyable overall booking and travel experience."

Quality time with family is the biggest driver for family travel

With longer working hours and countless distractions from modern living preventing families from spending time with each other on a day-to-day basis, it's no wonder that travelers globally look forward to quality family time (68%) the most on family trips. Relaxation (66%) and trying new things (46%) came out as second and third preferences.

British and Singaporeans are the most adventurous on family trips. Exploring new cultures as a family travel experience is most popular among these two groups (48% and 46% respectively). Chinese and Thai travelers are the least likely to investigate new cultures on their trips (both 29%).

Biggest concerns

When examining anxieties relating to family travel, concerns about falling sick (36%), the standard of accommodation (21%) and family disagreements (16%) ranked highest for family travelers globally. Brits seemingly have the least worries when it comes to family holidays, with nearly a third (27%) saying that they have no concerns at all.

Agoda 'Family Travel Trends 2018' facts for the US:

65% of American travelers have traveled with their core family in the past year, 11% with their extended family and 23% with their grandparents and/or grandchildren

On average, American travelers went on three family trips in the past year

4-7 is the most popular duration of American family trips

American travelers look forward to quality time with the family (69%), relaxing (67%) and getting away from routine (65%) the most while on family trips

The top three concerns Americans have during family trips are falling sick (23%), the standard of accommodation (20%) and not having enough privacy (14%). Nearly a quarter of Americans (23%) don't have any concerns

SOURCE AgodaWASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark decision, a federal judge has ruled that President Trump violated the U.S. Constitution and laws providing checks and balances in the federal government by attempting to deny more than 2 million federal workers their legal right to representation.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled late Friday that the Trump administration's May 25 executive order on official time violated the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the separation of powers as established in law.

A federal judge has ruled that President Trump violated the law by using executive orders to deny more than 2 million federal workers their legal right to representation.

The American Federation of Government Employees, which was the first union to challenge President Trump's executive orders in court, applauded the judge's ruling.

"President Trump's illegal action was a direct assault on the legal rights and protections that Congress specifically guaranteed to the public-sector employees across this country who keep our federal government running every single day," AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said.

"We are heartened by the judge's ruling and by the huge outpouring of support shown to federal workers by lawmakers from both parties, fellow union workers, and compassionate citizens across the country," Cox said. "Our members go to work every single day to serve the American people, and they deserve all the rights and protections afforded to them by our founding fathers."

AFGE, the largest union representing federal government employees, filed two lawsuits challenging President Trump's executive orders. The first lawsuit challenged the executive order on official time as a violation of the right to freedom of association guaranteed by the First Amendment, and as exceeding the president's authority. The second lawsuit charged that the remaining two orders exceed the president's authority under the U.S. Constitution by violating the separation of powers and exceeding current law.

The impact of these executive orders began being felt months before they were even issued, as the Department of Education in March threw out the contract covering 3,900 federal employees represented by AFGE and implemented its own illegal management edict that strips workers of their union rights, a precursor to what was to come weeks later when President Trump issued the three union-busting, anti-federal worker executive orders. Since the executive orders were signed May 25, other agencies including the Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs have issued similar edicts in an attempt to eradicate unions from the federal workplace and deny workers their legal right to representation.

"Now that the judge has issued her decision, I urge all agencies that have attempted to enforce this illegal executive order to restore all previously negotiated contracts and to bargain in good faith with employee representatives on any future changes as required under the law," Cox said.

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

SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- England Logistics, one of the nation's top freight brokerage firms, today announced that it has ranked on the Selling Power 50 Best Companies to Sell For list. This is England Logistics' second year to be recognized on the list. Each year, the corporate research team at Selling Power magazine assembles and publishes its list of the 50 Best Companies to Sell For, which consists of companies of all sizes.

To determine rankings, the Selling Power research team evaluated applications that focused on three broad categories:

Recognized by Selling Power as one of the nations 50 Best Companies to Sell For in 2018.

Compensation and Benefits, Hiring, Sales Training, and Sales Enablement, and Customer Retention.

With locations throughout the nation, England Logistics offers a range of career opportunities in various sectors of the logistics industry. The company is dedicated to providing professional development opportunities for experienced sales professionals as well as those new to the industry. Quality training programs and mentorships are offered to employees as they develop a career path specific to their goals.

"Our team is made up of individuals who not only have a successful sales career, but have worked diligently to build their career and achieve their goals," stated Jason Beardall, president of England Logistics. "We are honored to celebrate this recognition as a team."

The full list can be viewed here.

About England Logistics

England Logistics offers a vast portfolio of non-asset based transportation solutions including full truckload services, intermodal, dry and cold chain LTL, parcel, global logistics, and complete supply chain management. England Logistics is an equal opportunity employer offering competitive national and international opportunities to qualified candidates. The company is recognized among the "50 Best Companies to Sell For" by Selling Power magazine and "Training Top 125" by Training magazine. Each completed transaction with England Logistics is matched with a contribution toward a meal for a hungry child through the company's One initiative to end childhood hunger. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the company also has offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Detroit, Michigan; Greeley, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. To become part of England Logistics' team call 866-476-7012 or visit www.englandlogistics.com. To learn more about the One initiative visit www.oneagainstchildhoodhunger.com.

About Selling Power

In addition to Selling Power magazine, the leading periodical for sales managers and sales VPs since 1981, Personal Selling Power, Inc. produces the Sales Management Digest and Daily Boost of Positivity online newsletters, as well as a five-minute-video series featuring interviews with top executives. Selling Power is a regular media sponsor of the Sales 3.0 Conference. Learn more at www.sellingpower.com and www.sales30conf.com.

Media Contact

Wendy Barclay

801-656-4718

[email protected]

SOURCE England Logistics

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DUBLIN, Aug 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Feed Premix Market By Type, Form, Application, and Geography - Global Opportunity Analysis And Industry Forecast (2018-2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global feed premixes market is expected to reach USD 10,491.4 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2023.

The growth of this market is mainly attributed to feed premixes' convenience in usage as a single ingredient over multiple ingredients, increasing demand for compound animal feed, and increased awareness regarding safety of meat products. In addition, emerging economies, particularly Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa provide significant opportunity for the manufacturers in the global feed premixes market. However, regulatory structure and intervention and technical problems during storage and handling procedures hinder the growth of the global feed premixes market to some extent.

The study offers a comprehensive analysis of feed premixes market with respect to various product types and applications. The global feed premixes market is segmented on the basis of type (vitamin premixes, mineral premixes, amino acid premixes, nucleotide premixes, fiber premixes, nutraceutical premixes, and others), form (powder and liquid), and application (poultry feed, ruminant feed, swine feed, aqua feed, and others).

On the basis of type, nucleotide premixes are set to witness strong gain in demand during the forecast period due to growing focus on nutritional supplementation to poultry birds and pets. Also, on the basis of end users, poultry feed segment commanded the largest share of the global feed premixes market in 2017 due to rising poultry meat consumption and poultry farming, especially in developing regions such as Asia Pacific and South America.

Asia-Pacific region dominated the global feed premixes market in 2017. The largest share of this region is mainly attributed to growing compound animal feed industry; increasing demand for pet food supplementation in emerging and developing countries including India, China, Indonesia, and Thailand; and rising investments from major players in the region.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1. Market Ecosystem

1.2. Currency and Limitations

1.3. Key Stakeholders



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary

3.1. Introduction

3.2. Market Dynamics

3.3. Product Analysis

3.4. Regional Analysis

3.5. Competitive Landscape

3.6. Key Players



4. Market Insights

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Drivers

4.3. Restraints

4.4. Opportunities

4.5. Market Share Analysis



5. Global Feed Premix Market, by Type

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Vitamin Premixes

5.3. Mineral Premixes

5.4. Amino Acid Premixes

5.5. Nucleotide Premixes

5.6. Fiber Premixes

5.7. Nutraceutical Premixes

5.8. Others



6. Global Feed Premix Market, by form

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Powder form

6.3. Liquid form



7. Global Feed Premix Market, by Application

7.1. Introduction

7.1.1. Poultry Feed

7.1.2. Ruminant Feed

7.1.3. Swine Feed

7.1.4. Aqua Feed

7.1.5. Others



8. Feed Premix Market, by Geography



9. Competitive Landscape

9.1. Introduction

9.2. Expansions

9.3. Acquisitions

9.4. Partnerships and Collaborations

9.5. New Product Launches



10. Company Profiles



Archer Daniels Midland Company

BASF SE

Burkmann Industries Inc.

Cargill, Incorporated

Danish Agro A.M.B.A.

Dansk Landbrugs Grovvareselskab A.M.B.A.

De Heus Group

Invivo Group

Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd.

Koninklijke Coperatie Agrifirm U.A.

Koninklijke DSM N.V.

Nutreco N.V.

Phibro Animal Health Corporation

Purina Animal Nutrition LLC

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/fncq8m/global_feed?w=5

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

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PATCHOGUE, N.Y., Aug. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of their effort toward helping businesses understand how to effectively appeal to the consumer's needs, internet marketing company fishbat shares 4 psychological tactics to include in your CRO strategy.

Conversion rate optimization, or CRO, is an important part of getting website visitors to take some sort of action once they visit a site. While SEO is great at getting a company in front of more eyes, CRO is what seals the deal when a potential customer is exposed to website content. Understanding the psychology behind the way users interact with a site will go a long way toward maximizing the value of each page view.

Below are 4 main tactics to keep in mind when developing a CRO strategy.

Study Demographics. This tip is an overarching guideline that applies to pretty much every element of CRO, but at its most basic level, proper CRO optimization relies on having an intimate understanding of the customer's psyche and the way they interact with website elements. The type of website design that is optimal for conversion isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and will vary based on the type of product or service offered as well as the industry in which the business operates.

Take stock of the business' target audience and the type of people they are, as well as the type of content they value. Part of understanding proper CRO is understanding the exact audience that the company is trying to appeal to.

Interview Customers. The value of sitting down with a few customers either in a direct interview or through a survey is often understated. However, getting real, actionable information from people who have either made the decision to buy or forgo a product will make it easier to understand how the key demographics mentioned above interact with the company's website. There are a number of tips and tricks to try to understand where a company's CRO is excelling and where it falls short, but these tactics pale in comparison to getting a straight answer from the consumer.

Continually Ask "Why?" Part of an optimal CRO strategy is putting oneself in the shoes of the customer, and one of the best ways to do that is to continually figure out why exactly a customer would interact with elements on a website. What would drive the average customer to visit a product page? What incentivizes filling out a survey or adding a name to an email list? Go through every important element and try to tie a reason to every action. If there isn't one, take steps to make sure there is for maximum conversion rates.

Take Advantage of Split Testing. In many ways, CRO optimization may seem like a subjective process rather than an exact science, but a company can get solid, research-backed data using split testing. A marketing team won't know whether a change is effective if they don't give it a try, and changing up key aspects on the site that are underperforming and then comparing them to the baseline is a great way to understand the effectiveness of different approaches. Over time, a company should be able to nail down an effective CRO strategy based on real trial and error through both split testing and the other tips mentioned above.

ABOUT FISHBAT

Digital marketing agency fishbat is a full-service firm that takes a holistic business approach to their clients' digital marketing programs. The fishbat team understands the importance of business principles just as well as the nuances of the latest digital technologies. fishbat offers every digital marketing service available from digital marketing research and planning to brand development to website and asset creation through social media management and search engine optimization programs - all custom calibrated for both B2B and B2C businesses.

SOURCE fishbat

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NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lounge Lizard is globally recognized as a top New York Web Design Company within the web design and development industry. Lounge Lizard's brandtenders are creative, tech-savvy, and passionate in developing innovative strategies that drive conversion for both startup and established clients of all industries, making them the "best of breed since 1998."

Stories have always been powerful because of how they affect us on a biological level. Due to this unique connection, storytelling has become an integral part of the marketing world although often without people understanding exactly why. It has also proven to be very effective for website design. Today New York web design company, Lounge Lizard, discusses the Benefits of Storytelling in Web Design.

Stories are motivating. A funny story makes us laugh. A scary story can make us tense and jump at the smallest noise. There is motivation that takes place when we immerse ourselves in a story because we are living vicariously through the characters in the story. Interestingly it has been shown that when we are treated with trust or kindness our brain releases oxytocin, which is a neurotransmitter that encourages us to respond with a similar positive behavior. A story that can show overcoming struggles, earning trust, or receiving kindness can then motivate people to positive behavior which is beneficial when you are attempting to illicit a reaction. They create a journey. In essence a story takes you from Point A to Point B. You travel from one place to another and during that journey is where the magic happens. Fables and the earliest stories on record were often life lessons about greed or specific dangers and by following the advice of the story you could avoid falling into the same situation. Our imagination can translate those lessons to our own life which in turn makes us act in one way or another. It has been proven that people get caught up in this journey and often want to follow it to its conclusion because we have to see how it ends! Good storytelling on your website creates a journey that should entice customers to follow along to see the ending. Stories and journeys can be big or small depending on the path of action you are travelling on the site. Stories capture attention. There are three general stages of interaction with a story; attention, connection, and action. The first step in a good story is to capture attention which is done by building up a plot which creates anticipation of a climax. As designers and marketers know, capturing attention is a key aspect of engagement and stories are an excellent vehicle for doing this because of their basic structure. They turn ideas into reality. A good story tends to come to life in the human brain when we are engaged which then leads to oxytocin being released. Our imaginations get involved and concepts are transformed into a current reality. When you tell the origin story of a business that showcases the struggle to overcome a problem or issue, how you built something from the ground up with blood, sweat, and tears, or the mission that inspired the launch, people can connect with that. They can imagine themselves in that situation which then turns the idea into something real which is important for engagement, connection, cohesion, and trust between you and customers.

Lounge Lizard New York Web Design Company is an award-winning, high-end design boutique specializing in website and mobile app development, UX/UI, branding, and marketing. Lounge Lizard excels in creating the ultimate brand strategy, fully loaded with expertly crafted visuals that work together to increase sales and effectively communicate a client's unique personality.

SOURCE Lounge Lizard

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NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced Bank of San Francisco (OTCQX: BSFO), a modern community bank headquartered in San Francisco, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Bank of San Francisco was previously privately-held.

Bank of San Francisco begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "BSFO." U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com .

"We are pleased to welcome Bank of San Francisco, the 14th California-based bank to trade on the OTCQX Best Market to provide transparency for their investors," said Jason Paltrowitz, Executive Vice President of Corporate Services at OTC Markets Group. "OTCQX provides innovative community banks with an efficient market to build visibility and long-term shareholder value. We look forward to supporting Bank of San Francisco in the public market."

"Bank of San Francisco is proud to partner with OTCQX. Trading on this premium public market will provide liquidity for our shareholders and create enhanced visibility and a national presence for our bank," said Ed Obuchowski, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of San Francisco.

Bank of San Francisco was sponsored for OTCQX by Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P., a qualified third-party firm responsible for providing guidance on OTCQX requirements and recommending membership.

About Bank of San Francisco

Bank of San Francisco (OTCQX: BSFO), headquartered in San Francisco, is a modern community bank, reflecting the best qualities of the San Francisco Bay Area culture. Bank of San Francisco is entrepreneurial, diverse, flexible and forward-thinking. As the Bay Area's premier community bank, serving businesses, nonprofits, individuals and families, the bank delivers high-touch, personalized service with agility and accountability.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

OTC Link ATS and OTC Link ECN are operated by OTC Link LLC, member FINRA/SIPC and SEC regulated ATS.

Subscribe to the OTC Markets RSS Feed

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, [email protected]

SOURCE OTC Markets Group Inc.

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August 21 - 22 auction attracts 5,100+ bidders; 53% of equipment sold to online buyers

HOUSTON, TX, Aug. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Ritchie Bros. sold US$44+ million of equipment and trucks over two days at its latest Houston, TX unreserved auction.

More than 5,100 people from 58 countries registered to bid in the August 21 - 22, 2018 auction, including 3,600+ people registering to bid online. U.S. buyers purchased approximately 90 percent of the equipment, including 52 percent purchased by Texas buyers, while international buyers from such countries as Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom purchased 10 percent of the equipment. Online buyers purchased 53 percent of the assets.

"We're experiencing hot temperatures in Texas and an equally hot equipment market right now, with a lot of ongoing and upcoming projects and strong demand for gear. As a result, we saw record attendance for our August auction, up approximately 13 percent from our Houston auction last summer," said Alan McVicker, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "Pricing was strong both days of the auction. Yellow iron sold exceptionally well, and transportation, lifting and handling and energy equipment prices were also strong. I encourage anyone unable to get the piece they wanted at our Houston auction this week, to check out our IronPlanet auction online today where we will sell more than 1,600 equipment items and trucks."

In total, Ritchie Bros. sold close to 4,600 items for 575 owners in Houston this week. Highlights included 260+ truck tractors, 75+ excavators, 65+ skid steers, 50+ compactors, 40+ loaders, 35+ cranes, 30+ dozers, 20+ farm tractors, 140+ aerial work platforms, and more. All items were sold without minimum bids or reserve prices.

Specific equipment highlights:

A 2011 Grove RT9150E series 1 & 2 150-ton 4x4 rough terrain crane sold for US$440,000

A 2011 Rollingon 0AT800 portable fracturing unit sold for US$310,000

Two 2016 Mack CHU613 T/A day cab truck tractors sold for a combined US$185,000

A 2015 Caterpillar 336FL hydraulic excavator sold for US$170,000

A 1984 Caterpillar D7G w/ Midwestern crawler pipelayer sold for US$132,500

A 2013 Peterbilt 348 T/A fuel and lube truck sold for US$127,500

A 2014 International Durastar single-axle regenerative air street sweeper sold for US$105,000

AUCTION QUICK FACTS: HOUSTON, TX (August 2018)

Total gross transactional value  US$44+ million

US$44+ million Amount sold to online bidders  US$23+ million (53 percent)

US$23+ million (53 percent) Total registered bidders (in person and online)  5,100+

5,100+ Registered online bidders  3,600+

3,600+ Total lots sold  4,590+

4,590+ Number of sellers  575

Ritchie Bros. currently has more than 40,000 equipment items, trucks, and other assets listed for sale in its upcoming onsite unreserved auctions, IronPlanet weekly online auctions, Marketplace-E and its other marketplaces. For a complete list of upcoming auctions and equipment available, visit rbauction.com and ironplanet.com.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is a global asset management and disposition company, offering customers end-to-end solutions for buying and selling used heavy equipment, trucks and other assets. Operating in a multitude of sectors, including construction, transportation, agriculture, energy, oil and gas, mining, and forestry, the company's selling channels include: Ritchie Bros.Auctioneers, the world's largest industrial auctioneer offers live auction events with online bidding; IronPlanet, an online marketplace with featured weekly auctions and providing its exclusive IronClad Assurance equipment condition certification; Marketplace-E, an online marketplace offering multiple price and timing options; Mascus, a leading European online equipment listing service; and Ritchie Bros. Private Treaty, offering privately negotiated sales. The company also offers sector-specific solutions including GovPlanet, TruckPlanet, Kruse Energy Auctioneers, and Cat auctions, plus equipment financing and leasing through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services. For more information about the unprecedented choice provided by Ritchie Bros., visit RitchieBros.com.

Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros.

Related Links

www.rbauction.com

Vilnius, Aug 25 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has discussed with Lithuanian and other Baltic states' leaders security, business and science cooperation, and asked for diplomatic support in Israeli's relations with the European Union (EU).

During his visit to Lithuania, Netanyahu attended a quadrilateral meeting with the prime ministers of the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, to discuss cooperation. This is the first visit by the Israeli Prime Minister to Lithuania.

"Today is a historic day, as this visit is the first visit to Lithuania by the Israeli Prime Minister, the first quadrilateral meeting, and the year is also historic, since all three Baltic countries mark the Centennial of their statehood, and Israel marks its 70th anniversary," Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said in a joint press conference in Vilnius on Friday, Xinhua reported.

Skvernelis noted the meeting was productive and he sees potential "to develop the dialogue and practical cooperation" with Israel.

Netanyahu called for closer cooperation between Israel and the Baltic states, especially in science and technology.

"I'm delighted that the prime ministers accepted my invitation to have the next future Baltic States meeting in Jerusalem. We want to enhance it with the meeting of the Baltic business and technological people and scientists," Netanyahu said in a joint press conference noting that "there are tremendous intellectual powers in Israel, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania".

The Prime Ministers of Israeli and the Baltic states also discussed security cooperation.

"We are already cooperating in a number of security and defence related areas, and here too I think that we can do more, and we discussed this in some detail," said Netanyahu.

Netanyahu also sought for more support from the Baltic states in Israeli's relations with the EU.

"I asked the help of my friends here in making correcting in what I think is a distorted view on Israel in the EU," Netantyahu told the conference.

During the joint press conference, the Israeli Prime Minister criticized the EU for its decision to provide Iran with 18 million euros development aid to help offset the US sanctions.

"This is a big mistake, it is like a poison pill to the Iranian people and to the efforts to curb Iranian aggression in the region and terror beyond the region," said Netanyahu.

Relations between Israel and the EU, Middle East peace process, global peace and stability, and situation in Syria and Iran were discussed at Netanyahu's meeting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on Friday.Washington, Aug 25 : US President Donald Trump has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to North Korea, citing the lacking of progress on the Peninsula denuclearization.

Trump on Friday tweeted that "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula", Xinhua reported.

He added that "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future."

"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!," Trump said.

Earlier on Thursday, Pompeo said that he has appointed Stephen Biegun as the new special envoy for North Korea.

He also said that he and Biegun will travel to Pyongyang next week "to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."

Pompeo has visited North Korea three times, respectively in April, May and July.

Trump on August 20 said he would "most likely" meet with Kim for a second time, and he believed Pyongyang had taken specific steps toward denuclearization.

In the joint statement after the June 12 Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to North Korea, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.Washington, Aug 25 : US President Donald Trump has ordered more than $200 million in economic aid which was to be allocated to Gaza and the West Bank be redirected elsewhere.

A State Department official said the decision was made after a review "to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests", BBC reported on Friday.

It has already withheld $65 million from the UN relief agency for the Palestinians.

Relations between the Palestinians and the US have been difficult since Trump took power.

They hit a low point after the US recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017. As a result, the Palestinians said the US was unable to continue its mediation role in the peace process and suspended contact.

The US administration, meanwhile, suspended aid to the Palestinians pending a review in the light of the Taylor Force Act back in June.

The act aimed to force the Palestinian Authority to cease paying stipends to families of individuals convicted of terrorism against Israel.

On Friday, a State Department spokesman said the decision to "redirect" the funds to other "high-priority projects" was made as a result of the review, but did not say where the money would now go.

Both the Palestinians and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency warned cutting funding would make everyday life harder for the territories' citizens However, the US official said the decision took into account "the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation".Leganes (Spain), Aug 25 : Leganes fell behind 2-0 inside the first 20 minutes against Real Sociedad before coming back to claim a point, thanks to a pair of second-half goals by Nabil El Zhar.

The visitors took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute on a goal by Zurutuza and Illarra scored six minutes later to make it 2-0 for Sociedad in a La Liga clash on Friday.

The pace began to slacken after that, due in part to Sociedad's loss of Diego Llorente, who had to be stretchered off the pitch in the 26th minute after injuring his left leg, reports Efe news.

Leganes started the second half with Michael Santos up front in place of Javier Erasmo and the change lifted the home side's performance and the spirits of their supporters.

The comeback began in earnest when El Zhar found the back of the net in the 52nd minute.

Dominant for the rest of the match, Leganes secured the point when El Zhar scored again with two minutes left in regulation.

Sociedad, with four points from two matches, took temporary possession of first place, while Leganes are 15th with a point.Beijing, Aug 25 : China said it hopes to work with the new Australian government to get bilateral ties back on track, authorities said on Saturday.

Scott Morrison was sworn in as new Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Australia on Friday after an internal ballot and days of chaos leading to the ouster of Malcolm Turnbull, reports Efe news.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Beijing has kept a consistent and clear position on developing ties with Australia, adding that healthy and stable bilateral ties are in line with the interests of the people of both countries and help peace and prosperity of the region and world.

On Thursday, Australia banned Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei and ZTE from providing equipment for the country's 5G mobile network over national security concerns.

Although the government did not explicitly name the businesses, Huawei Australia confirmed the companies had been banned, saying the decision was "extremely disappointing", while in Beijing, Lu said China was deeply concerned.

Australia is also a firm opponent to Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea, and the government is undertaking a review of its espionage laws amid concerns of Chinese influence and interference, among other issues.New Delhi : Book: The Begums of Peshawar; Author: Najma Yusufi; Publisher: Hachette India; Price: Rs 399; Pages: 306 This book, the debut novel by Najma Yusufi, a filmmaker and lecturer, is her tribute to her ancestors -- the Afghan Durranis settled in Peshawar. A descendant of the Durranis on her mother's side, she tells the story of the last ruling Afghani royal family which separated, scattered and now occupies a small corner of Munda Beri in the Pakistani city. Dispossessed and disheartened, they cling to their former glory.

Najma Yusufi, whose father Mehmood Ali Khan Yusufi hails from Uttar Pradesh, has dedicated the novel to her mother Afsar 'Bibigul' Durrani A and the book is about the four Durrani daughters: Quiet and dutiful Bibigul; vain and clever Maagul; knowledge-hungry Chan; shy and overshadowed Firasat.

It is also about Bano, the servant girl who breaks the shackles and revolts against her bad "kismet" to live her own life.

"The Begums of Peshawar" is a work of fiction but the characters, places and events bear strong resemblance to the writer's life -- a historical account of the family, which was royal a long time ago in Afghanistan but in Peshawar they just play pretend.

After completing her BA from the London College of Fashion, Najma worked for a number of fashion houses before beginning her foray into writing after her mother's death in 2001. The author, who was born in London, grew up in Britain, Africa and Asia, also made films on the transgender community in Pakistan and the lawyers of Lucknow.

Najma did an MA in creative writing from Cardiff University. Her Master's thesis was about the oral storytelling tradition that she had imbibed from her grandmother and aunts. It was at Cardiff that she started working on her debut novel.

According to her, she was shipped off to lead a marginalised life in Pakistan during her formative years. She later returned to the Britain with a view on two cultures and "The Begums of Peshawar" reflects the clash between the two.

The novel spans five decades, moving from Peshawar and Lahore to London. The author described vividly the life of the Durranis, their traditions, engagements, weddings, other rituals, the life of servants, and also the activities in the "baithak", or men's lounge, where dancing girls performed during the nights.

The novel captures the life in the "Big House", as the ancestral house of Durranis was called, the growing up of four sisters who knew how to read books written in English, put on make-up and carry off beautiful clothes, their marriages and then the challenges they face in the houses of their in-laws: Lack of freedom in male-dominated, conservative families.

"In these parts, waiting was an art that has been honed to perfection. It was something you were born to, if you were a woman, and embedded in you from girlhood. Waiting for father's permission to do basic things. You waited for food. You waited for your mother's love after she had finished tending to her male offspring. You waited for freedom. You waited for your husband's love." This is how Najma Yusufi beautifully sums up their plight.

The sisters believe their mother is to be blamed for the sorry state of their relationships with their husbands as she had failed to train them adequately for a married life.

Chan's husband sends her back to her parents for not helping him to go to London and marries another woman. Bibigul suffers abuse at the hands of the man she marries after falling in love when he used to come home to teach. The problems of Maagul were because of her tendency to show-off and need for upward mobility.

Firasat, who is made fun of by other sisters for her dark complexion, too suffers cruelty at the hands of her conservative husband. However, the story ends on a positive note with Firasat's son standing up to his father, who is against his daughter-in-law, a doctor, working at a hospital.

(Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in)Mumbai, Aug 25 : The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a suspect from a suburb here as part of the ongoing arrests over a terror plot unearthed after recovering an arms cache from Palghar, official sources said on Saturday.

The accused, Avinash Pawar, 30, was arrested from Ghatkopar in north-east Mumbai and will be produced before a court later in the day.

This is the fifth major arrest after the Palghar crackdown on August 10 leading to the recovery of bombs, explosives, arms and ammunition that were allegedly intended for terror strikes in Mumbai, Pune, Satara and Solapur.

The ATS has already arrested Hindu right-wing activists Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhnava Gondhalekar and a former Shiv Sena corporator Shrikant Pangarkar from Palghar and Pune.

The squad is unraveling a right-wing terror network across the state and probing their links in other states including Uttar Pradesh and Assam.Los Angeles, Aug 25 : The production of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3" is being put on hold for the time being as Marvel and Disney regroup on the project.

"A small group which was getting started with the pre-production work has been told that they are free to look for new work," hollywoodreporter.com quoted several sources as saying.

The film was supposed to be directed by James Gunn, who had directed and written the first two parts of the franchise. But Gunn got fired by Disney studio when his controversial tweets on paedophilia and rape resurfaced.

The principal photography of the project was scheduled to start in January or February next year. The project was to have gone into full pre-production mode this year.

One source characterised the production hold as temporary and more of a "regrouping" as Marvel and Disney look for a filmmaker to take on the third installment of a franchise that has grossed over $1.6 billion and made stars out of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana.

"The timeline has been pushed out," added another source.

The controversial firing has rankled the cast which in an open letter asked the studio to rehire Gunn.

Actor Bautista, who plays the alien warrior Drax, has continued to show his disappointment on social media and tagged Disney in a tweet featuring disturbing clips of Mike Cernovich, one of the conservative figures who led a campaign to get Gunn fired.

At the moment, Marvel and Disney are busy looking for a filmmaker. According to one source, "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi had a meeting with Marvel.New Delhi, Aug 25 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said that a reported move to rename the Ramlila Maidan won't fetch the BJP votes but "changing the name of the Prime Minister might".

In a Twitter post, Kejriwal shared a tweet by ABP news channel which said that the Ramlila Maidan in the heart of Delhi could be renamed as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Maidan and that the North Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) would discuss the proposal on August 30.

Such a move won't get the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) any votes, the Aam Aadmi Party leader said.

"Instead, the BJP should try changing the name of the Prime Minister. Maybe then they could get some votes because now people are not voting for (Narendra Modi)," he said.Kolkata, Aug 25 : Firing a fresh salvo at the Modi government on the Rafale aircraft deal, the Congress on Saturday accused it of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and keeping senior ministers in the dark about the negotiations, demanding a public debate and detailed inquiry into the "secretive" happenings.

Senior party leader P. Chidambaram, while addressing a media conference here, alleged that the price for the aircraft had gone up more than three times under the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime than what was agreed to by the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

We think the matter is serious enough that there should be a public debate and a detailed inquiry, which is why the Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) and the party have raised the issue, he said at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters here.

Chidambaram said the UPA government had entered into a contract to acquire 126 Rafale aircraft -- 18 of them in fly away condition and the remaining 108 aircraft to be made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru, under a transfer of technology agreement with a French company, Dassault Aviation.

"The negotiated price was Rs 526 crore per aircraft. Suppose instead of 18 aircraft, we were buying 36 aircraft at Rs 526 per aircraft, it would have come to Rs 18,940 crore," he said.

However, after the UPA was voted out in 2014 and the NDA came to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his official visit to France on April 10, 2015, announced that an agreement has been signed to buy off the shelf 36 Rafale aircraft.

Although the price was not revealed, in subsequent documents of Dassault Aviation's report, the price was revealed to be 7.5 billion euros, equivalent to Rs 60,145 crore, Chidambaram said.

The price which was agreed on the Prime Minister's visit was Rs 60,145 crore and per aircraft it comes to Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore (negotiated by the UPA), he claimed.

"If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the price has gone up three times? That is the first question. To which the answer (given by the NDA government) is: 'this is a secret agreement, and we cannot reveal the price'."

"I am revealing the price today, what is so secret about it? It is there in Dassault's annual report which is 7.5 billion euros, which works out to Rs 61,000 crore, and per aircraft it Rs 1,670 core," he said.

Raising questions about the procedure followed to enter into the new agreement, the Congress Working Committee member said: "There is a defence procurement procedure which was completely bypassed. There is a contract negotiation committee, which never met for this deal. There is a price negotiation committee, which was never called to meet for this deal."

"Above all, there is a cabinet committee on security, which has to approve any defence purchase of this size. None of these committees were involved. None of the ministers knew about it. The defence, finance and external ministers did not know about it," he alleged.Mumbai, Aug 25 : A Mumbai court on Saturday remanded in police custody till August 31 an accused arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with a terror plot unearthed after seizure of an arms cache, official sources said on Saturday.

The accused, Avinash Pawar, 30, an employee with a prominent government ship-building company, was nabbed from Ghatkopar in north-east Mumbai late on Friday night and was produced before a court on Saturday afternoon.

Pawar has been charged under the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosives Substances Act, Explosives Act, pertaining to terror, criminal and terror conspiracies.

Seeking his remand, the ATS contended that he was linked with Hindutva organisations since over two years and the police had recovered a computer CPU, mobile phones and other articles from his home.

The investigators want to probe his exact role in the terror plots targeting Mumbai, Pune, Solapur and Satara, which came to light after the interrogation of those arrested following the Palghar swoop on August 10 and whether Pawar got weapons or explosives training.

Pawar's is the fifth major arrest after the Nala Sopara (Palghar) crackdown leading to the recovery of bombs, explosives, arms and ammunition that were allegedly intended for the terror strikes around important festivals.

Besides Pawar, the ATS has arrested Hindu right-wing activists Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar, Sudhnava Gondhalekar and a former Shiv Sena corporator, Shrikant Pangarkar, from Palghar and Pune.

According to the investigators, all of them are linked with prominent Hindutva groups in Maharashtra.

The ATS is exploring a multi-state right-wing terror network, probing their links with right-wing organisations in other states like Uttar Pradesh and Assam, and suspected connections with the sensational killings of several rationalists like Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M. M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh in Maharashtra and Karnataka.United Nations/Dhaka, Aug 25 : The UN has renewed its appeal for aid for Rohingyas on the first anniversary on Saturday of the crackdown that led to more than 700,000 members of the minority community fleeing Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) led the aid appeals on Friday, calling for support for the stateless refugees in Bangladesh and for their generous hosts. They are still living in misery in crowded make-shift refugee camps waiting to go back home to Myanmar, Xinhua news agency reported.

On August 25, 2017, militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), classified as terrorists by the Myanmar government, attacked some 30 security posts in the western state of Rakhine.

The attack led to a military crackdown in the region that caused the exodus of Rohingyas, whom the Myanmar authorities do not recognize as its citizens and consider them Bangladeshi immigrants. The UN accused the Myanmar military of carrying out an operation of ethnic cleansing with signs of genocide through killings, rapes and the razing of houses that year.

"Kutupalong settlement in Cox's Bazar today shelters more than 600,000 refugees, making it the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world," said the UNHCR.

"Over the past year, UNHCR teams have been working to support Bangladeshi authorities in areas including psycho-social counselling, prevention of sexual and gender-based violence, identification of and assistance to separated and unaccompanied children and other vulnerable refugees," the agency said.

It also said the joint response plan launched in March 2018, appealing for $951 million for the period from March to December 2018, was only one-third funded.

The World Health Organization said that the biggest challenge was "the need to further scale up services to meet the health needs of this highly vulnerable population".

While so many in Kutupalong were flooded out or wallowed in mud caused by monsoon rains beginning in June, the International Organization for Migration said another cyclone season looms at the end of September and severe funding shortages threaten delivery of vital services.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urged all sides to sit together and adopt a "mid-term" plan for the Rohingyas.

"Future will tell us what is possible or not. Today we cannot completely say that 'yes, return will not happen'. All the indications so far show that process goes towards the return," Head of the Delegation in Bangladesh Ikhtiyar Aslanov told bdnews24.com.

"And even it (return) starts today based on the January 16 plan between the two countries, it will need another seven years on top of the one year," he said.

He argued in favour of his mid-term plan, referring to the deal when Myanmar agreed with Bangladesh to start repatriation with around 2,000 refugees a week.

Meanwhile, ARSA affirmed its intention to continue with the fight to allow Rohingyas to return to Rakhine, and accused the Myanmar authorities of looking to destroy their people.Lucknow, Aug 25 : Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of making "hollow promises" and the Uttar Pradesh government of not "paying heed to the poor and marginalised".

"They have left the youngsters high and dry, aimless and without jobs," the former Chief Minister said while interacting with party workers and supporters, asking them to gear up for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Yadav also accused UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government of failing to protect women, minorities and the common people and not being able to control the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh.

He said these few people were running the state by making policies that benefit them.

The 45-year-old said that it would be the "cycle (SP's election symbol) that will ensure the defeat of the BJP and the communal forces".

"In the present dispensation, people have been robbed of happiness and to expect anything from them is just a mirage," Yadav added.

He also accused the media of being partisan and favouring the ruling party, saying that the media houses were taken over by the corporates and were failing to discharge their duties as the fourth pillar of democracy.Agartala, Aug 25 : After Assam, an agitation for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is gaining momentum in Tripura with the state's oldest tribal based party, the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT), on Saturday holding a demonstration here asking for its introduction in the BJP ruled state.

On Thursday, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), the junior partner of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), organised a huge public gathering over its demands for a separate state and introduction of the NRC in Tripura.

A rival faction of the IPFT - IPFT (Tipraha) -- also held a sit-in demonstration on the same issues two days back.

"We have held a demonstration with more than one thousand tribal men and women here today (Saturday) to press our nine-point demands. Of the demands, introduction of the NRC in Tripura and more constitutional power to the TTAADC (Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council) are the main demands," INPT General Secretary Jagadhish Debbarma told the media.

He said that INPT's other demands include withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, introduction of inner-line permit in the TTAADC areas and inclusion of tribals' Kokborok language in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.

"To press our demands, a delegation of INPT leaders would soon go to New Delhi to meet the Registrar General of India and central ministers and would apprise them about our demands," the tribal leader said.

Another tribal based party National Conference of Tripura is also demanding introduction of the NRC in Tripura and withdrawal of the Bill.

Introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2016, the Bill seeks to enable Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh without valid travel documents or those whose valid documents expired in recent years to acquire Indian citizenship through the process of naturalisation.

Many parties in the northeastern region are also opposing the Bill, which is now under the scrutiny of a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

All the tribal-based parties in the state are agitating for an NRC updation exercise in the state with 1951 as the cut-off year.

The INPT, to highlight its demands, had earlier sought permission from the police to hold a demonstration in Agartala since June 28, but the police refused to give consent forcing the party to move the High Court, which on August 13 allowed it to organise the sit-in demonstrations.

The BJP's junior ally IPFT has been agitating since 2009 for a separate state to be carved out by upgrading the TTAADC, which has a jurisdiction over two-thirds of the state's 10,491 sq km area, home to over 12,16,000 people.Dubai, Aug 25 : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday congratulated Saudi Arabia on the successful completion of this year's Haj season -- the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.

"Sincerest congratulations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the impressive success of this Haj season," said Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

He added that "the kingdom spares no effort to serve pilgrims coming from all over the world without discrimination against any fellow Muslims. Saudi authorities proved anew their ability to ensure successful management of the pilgrimage rituals."

The UAE is used as a transit hub by thousands of pilgrims from across the world to travel to Jeddah, the gateway to Mecca which harbours the Great Mosque "Al Haram".

The UAE's biggest carrier Emirates Airline announced in July the addition of 33 additional flights to Jeddah and Medina from August 6 to 31. Emirates said an estimated 25,000 pilgrims would fly with the airline to perform Haj, one of the duties every Muslim should at least fulfil once in his lifetime.

According to Saudi media reports, around 2 million pilgrims travelled to the country to perform Haj in August.Dhaka, Aug 25 : At least 13 people were killed in a head-on collision between a passenger bus and a hauler in Bangladesh's Natore district on Saturday.

A police official told Xinhua news agency that the road accident, which occurred at 4.20 p.m, also left two passengers critically injured.

The wounded were rushed to a hospital and the incident was under investigation.Kabul, Aug 25 : Afghan National Security Adviser Mohamad Anif Atmar resigned on Saturday due to "serious differences over policies and approaches at the top level of government", the media reported.

According to TOLO News, Atmar's letter of resignation stated that he differed in opinion "when it came to national unity, national consensus, peace and security political management, electoral affairs, good governance and regional affairs."

"I am stepping down because we haven't reached a consensus," Atmar stated in the letter.

He has been a close aide of President Ashraf Ghani since 2014. He was also the Interior Minister during former President Hamid Karzai's tenure until 2010.Shillong, Aug 25 : Former Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy, known for his pro-Hindutva view, on Saturday took charge as the governor of this Christian-dominated state of Meghalaya.

Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court Mohammed Yaqoob Mir administered the oath of office to Roy at a brief ceremony attended by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and his cabinet ministers besides Congress Lok Sabha member Vincent Pala at the Raj Bhavan.

Senior State BJP and RSS leaders also witnessed the simple oath taking ceremony.

Members of the opposition Congress were absent. "Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma conveyed his regret to attend swearing-in since he has prior engagement," said a Raj Bhavan official.

Senior government officials including senior Army, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Force officers also attended the function.

The swearing-in ceremony was followed by a State Guard of Honour presented by Meghalaya Police at Raj Bhavan.

Roy was appointed as Meghalaya Governor on August 21 replacing Ganga Prasad who has been transferred and appointed as Sikkim Governor. Prasad took oath as the governor of Meghalaya on October 5, last year.

Haryana Governor, Kaptan Singh Solanki was transferred and appointed as the new governor of Tripura in place of Roy.

It is a home-coming for the 73-year-old Roy for his new posting in Shillong as he have spent part of his childhood in Shillong.

His brother, Prof. Saugata Roy, is the Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member. He was born in Shillong, which was once the capital of undivided Assam.

"When I received this order to move from Tripura to Meghalaya, I was a little sad because I had set my mind on staying in Tripura for three years but then I was also very happy because coming to Meghalaya coming to Shillong is like homecoming," Roy told journalists.

Roy was a member of the ruling Bharatiya Jatana Party (BJP) national executive and president of party's West Bengal unit from 2002 to 2006 and contested the Lok Sabha elections in the last year's parliamentary polls in Bengal.

He was in Jadavpur University in Kolkata as professor and founder head of the department of construction engineering after he played a key role in construction of Metro rail in Kolkata as its chief engineer.

Roy is also an author of many books.Patna, Aug 25 : A Bihar court on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail of former Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma and her husband relating to an FIR registered by the CBI against them under Arms Act. Both are likely to be arrested soon, police said.

The CBI had conducted raids at their residence in Patna and Begusarai in connection with Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case.

The investigating agency recovered 50 live cartridges at their Begusarai residence leading to registration of the FIR in the Beritarpur police station against Verma and her husband under the Arms Act.

The CBI interrogated Verma and her husband Chandeshwar Verma separately.

Manju Verma resigned on August 8 following allegations that Brajesh Thakur, the main accused in the case, had links with her husband.

Arrested on June 2, Thakur is currently lodged in Muzaffarpur jail.

Of the 42 girls lodged at the short-stay home run by Thaku's NGO, 34 minor girls were found to have been sexually assaulted. The crime came to light after a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The shelter home has been sealed.New Delhi, Aug 25 : Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen on Saturday extended his support to award-winning Bangladeshi photographer and social activist Shahidul Alam, who was arrested after he criticised the Bangladesh government in an interview.

Sen said: "His (Alam)'s work should receive praise and appreciation, rather than being ground for harsh treatment."

Alam was arrested in the first week of August following his interview by a news channel in which he criticised the Bangladesh government's violent response to a peaceful protest by the students.

"Freedom of expression, including through photojournalism, is extremely important for democracy. We have a good reason to admire the work that Shahidul Alam has been doing with great skill and courage for many years," said Sen in a press statement.

Nobel laureates, activists and journalists from across the world have demanded immediate release of the Bangladeshi photographer.Jaipur, Aug 25 : The curfew imposed in parts of Rajasthan's Tonk town following violence during Kanwariya yatra on Friday continued today with internet services remaining suspended for the second day, police said.

Tonk Superintendent of Police Yogesh Dadhich said curfew will continue on Sunday also. Internet services too will remain suspended for the next few days, he told IANS.

He said discussions were on to bring the two sides face-to-face so that peace is restored soon.

Twenty people have been arrested and investigations are on to trace other culprits involved in violence, he said.

Violence erupted in Malpura area of Tonk on Friday when a group angry over the attack on Kanwariyas torched a car and indulged in arson. Police had to resort to lathicharge and lob teargas shells to maintain peace.

Additional police force has been deployed in the town, the SP said.

Inspector General Beeju George Joseph was in Malpura on Saturday to monitor the situation, the SP added.

IANS

arc/prsChandigarh, Aug 25 : Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Krishna Murari on Saturday administered the oath of office to Satyadev Narayan Arya as the Governor of Haryana at an impressive ceremony at Raj Bhavan.

The newly appointed Governor met the people who had come to attend the ceremony and accepted their greetings.

The function was attended by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, senior officers of Haryana, Punjab and Union Territory of Chandigarh and prominent citizens of the city.

On reaching Chandigarh, Arya along with his wife was given a warm reception by the Haryana Chief Minister, his cabinet colleagues, senior officers and staff of the Haryana Raj Bhawan.Lucknow, Aug 25 : All police stations in Uttar Pradesh have been told to celebrate 'Raksha Bandhan' as part of 'Rakhi with Khaki' campaign in which all police station staff will get 'rakhi' tied on their wrists from women and girls of the area, police said.

Rahul Srivastava, an officer in the Director General of Police (DGP) office, said police personnel would assure women and girls of providing security to them all through their life.

Circle officers, senior superintendents of police and additional superintendents of police have been told to be present at police stations in their districts to add significance to the festival that stands for the holy bonding between brothers and sisters.London, Aug 25 : Days after the CBI sent a video footage of an Indian jail to a UK court, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that Indian jails are "decent places for people like Vijay Mallya".

Rahul attacked the Modi government for its "lenient" approach towards fugitive offenders like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Mallya.

"Before leaving India, Mallya met a few senior leaders of BJP and that's documented. I won't name who, but he did meet them," Gandhi said during his interaction with the Indian Journalists' Association here.

Gandhi was responding to a question how he thinks the Modi government is handling Mallya's case and whether Indian jails are up to scratch.

"I think Indian prisons are very decent places as far as Mallya is concerned," he said.

He said law should be equal for all. "Just because you are Mallya and have Rs 9,000 crore in the bank, so you require a different jail, it should not be...," the Congress leader said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has sent a video footage of Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail's Barrack No 12 where Mallya is supposed to be kept after extradicion.

The specifications of the jail barrack were highlighted after a UK court asked the Indian authorities to submit a video of the jail compartment where Mallya would be kept.

The UK court's directions came after Mallya's defence team focused its objections on the lack of natural light available in Barrack 12 and claimed that the Indian government assurance cannot be relied upon.

Targeting the Centre, the Congress chief said that they are "leninent" for fugitive offenders and it did not act against PNB scam accused Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, of the Gitanjali group, who are wanted by the Indian agencies in Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

He said that there are "relationships" between Nirav Modi, Choksi and the Prime Minister.

"There are relationships between Nirav Modi, Choksi and the Prime Minister. And these relationships come in the middle of justice," he alleged.

Gandhi questioned: "Indian banks gave Rs 35,000 crore loan to Nirav Modi. Narendra Modi let him run away from India. How many jobs did Nirav Modi create? On what basis was he given Rs 35,000 crore? What were the foundations of his business and why aren't you trying to get him back?".London, Aug 26 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his family has not been in power since his father's time, stressing that he should be judged on the basis of his capability.

The RSS, he said has "helped" him tremendously in developing as a political leader "by relentlessly attacking" him on every front.

On a question about his privileged background and that Congress is effectively being run by a family, Gandhi said: "First thing, my family has not been in power since my father was the prime minister. This is something that is forgotten."

"Second, yes I am born in a family..listen to what I am saying, talk to me about issues, talk to me about foreign policy, economics, Indian development, agriculture openly and freely. Come to me with whatever questions you want, and then judge what I am."

"It is interesting to me that the prime minister of India struggles to have this type of a conversation. He can't sit here. He has never done it. And a large part of it, frankly is understanding of issues," he added.

"I have been working for 14-15 years in the political system. I have taken a beating and have learnt a lot. I am person who listens, respects other people's ideas. The most important thing to me is that I see through hate. And I really think, I am proud of that," he said.

He further said: "But at the end. it's your choice. Do you condemn me for the family I come from, or do you judge me based on my capability..that's your choice. It's up to you..not up to me."London, Aug 26 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said there was a huge amount of medical information such as diagnostics, X-rays and MRIs and connecting them can help cure a person by deciphering how others were treated.

Gandhi made the remarks at an interaction at the Royal Society of Medicine here.

"There is a huge amount of information that is available which is not connected. By connecting it, you will be able to to cure somebody by using data from other people's cure," he said.

Gandhi said India aspires for universal healthcare.

"Our record on HIV and Generic Medicine is exceptional. India has had many successes in healthcare. Universal healthcare is what we aspire to deliver."

He said a huge part of prevention is about information. "A large number of people don't have information on simple healthcare issues. Healthcare is not isolated from everything else," Gandhi said.

He said there was need to decentralise power for an effective local healthcare structure.

Answering a query, he said there was need of more psychiatrists in India "but the Indian system has support structures like yoga and meditation that play the role of psychiatrists".London, Aug 26 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi has once again compared the RSS with the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist organisation, and said both were banned after the assassination of the top leaders of India and Egypt -- Mahatma Gandhi and Anwar Sadat, respectively.

Speaking here on Saturday at an event organised by Indian Journalists' Association, Gandhi said: "I said RSS is lot like the Muslim brotherhood. And there is a storm in a teacup back home. Both organisations were founded in the 1920s. Both organisations believe in institutional capture. Both organisations view the electoral process as a means of capturing institutions."

"Muslim Brotherhood was banned after Anwar Sadat's (then Egyptian president) assassination (in 1981), RSS was banned after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination (in 1948). So, there are tremendous similarities. And the most interesting one, women are not allowed in either of these organisations. So, they are similar," Gandhi added.

He also said: They are trying to capture institutions so that democratic organisation is throttled," he added.

Gandhi had on Friday compared the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with the Muslim Brotherhood, and said the RSS wanted to "capture" every institution of the country.

Latest updates on Gandhi Jayanti 2019Ankara, Aug 26 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for joint efforts to "combat attacks on Turkey's economy" amid its persistent row with the US.

"The commitment and determination of Turks is the guarantee needed to combat attacks on Turkey's economy," Erdogan said on Saturday in a statement released to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, Xinhua reported.

The historic battle saw Seljuk Turks defeat a Byzantine army and open up Anatolia for Turkish domination.

Turkey's biggest safeguard is "the determination of our people to protect their independence, their motherland and their future," Erdogan noted, drawing parallels between this military victory and the ongoing rift with the US over the detention of an American pastor in Turkey.

Last week, a Turkish court rejected a renewed appeal for the release of the 50-year-old Andrew Brunson charged with espionage.

Following Turkey's refusal to free the pastor, US President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on Turkish aluminium and steel and threatened to expand trade sanctions.

In response, Ankara steeply hiked taxes on some US products including cars, alcohol and tobacco.

The Turkish lira has tumbled about 35 per cent since the start of this year, in what Erdogan called an "economic war" from the US.London, Aug 26 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "sleeping elephant" remark made during the Independence Day speech, saying he was "arrogant" and had insulted every Indian and his ancestors by belittling contribution of people who worked for country's progress in the last 70 years.

Addressing an event here on Saturday organised by the Indian Overseas Congress, Gandhi also slammed Modi over the Rafale deal saying he could not answer his questions in parliament on the issue.

Gandhi termed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah a "murder accused".

He said it will be wrong to say that progress achieved by the country in the last 70 years had been brought by the Congress as people of country had worked for it and the party had only helped the process.

He said those who predicted that India will break were today saying it is the country that will show the future.

"How did this happen. Congress only helped but people of India did it. Congress brought people together, your parents did it, your ancestors did it by working in the fields and when the Prime Minister says that before he came nothing happened in this country, he is not saying this about Congress, he is insulting every Indian, his parents, grand parents. But the media is with him.

"I was sitting during his Independence Day address. He said before the national flag that before he came, India was a sleeping elephant and he woke it up. How much arrogance he has. The Prime Minister of India cannot understand if India has strength, it is not due to an individual, if sweat has been given, it has been given by farmers, small businessmen, industrialists, judges, everybody together," Gandhi said.

He also said Congress speaks the truth.

Gandhi said Congress was started by NRIs (non-resident Indians) and described Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, B.R. Ambedkar as NRIs.

"They went out, saw the world, thought in a fresh way and then helped the country. You are following their footsteps," he said.

Gandhi said if NRIs were asked about their religion, caste when they arrived first at the airport here and told that they will not get anything and cannot serve the country, how they would have felt.

"This is what is happening in India. If you are Dalit, tribal, farmer, poor, you won't get anything. If you speak more, you will be beaten. India is being changed, its power is being weakened", he said, adding that institutions such as Supreme Court, Election Commission and RBI are being destroyed.

Gandhi said Modi remained silent when diamond trader Nirav Modi escaped, when Supreme Court judges talked about Judge Loya's death and when a BJP MLA was accused of rape.

He said "made in China" stuff was flooding the Indian market and he wanted to see local places shine as manufacturing hubs.

Gandhi said loans of industrialists have been waived but Modi was not willing to give farm loan waiver.The Disabled American Veterans are happy to announce the opening of their newest store: Buy The Pound Thrift Store! This store, owned and operated by the Disabled American Veterans, is a unique way to shop thrift. Items are placed in bins throughout the store and customers are encouraged to treasure hunt through the bins. When customers are ready to purchase their treasures, items are weighed at the register. Buy The Pound offers a unique way for people to shop. We want to help the local community, resellers and those that shop for family outside of the USA said General Manager Doug DePew.

Buy The Pound will offer new products throughout the day by rotating the bins. Several bins will rotate out every 30 minutes in order for us to keep the selection fresh, DePew said. With this pattern, the whole store will be restocked 2 times a day offering the most product for our customers! Clothing, shoes, toys, electronics, and decor will be offered by the pound. Books and media will be priced per item. Larger items will be priced individually.

The Buy The Pound concept is new for the Disabled American Veterans, but we are looking forward to the additional help it will provide to our Veterans as well as offering a new way to shop for the community, said DePew. The Disabled American Veterans organization provides transportation to doctors appointments for veterans in need, vital socialization opportunities to help transition back to civilian life and help with claims and benefits they have earned through their service.

Buy the Pound is located at 3757 Independence Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. They are open from 10am to 6pm, Thursday-Saturday, with expansion hours planned. Additional information and expansion hours will be noted on the website http://www.buythepoundthriftstore.com and the Buy The Pound Facebook page.

Buy the Pound, is owned and operated by the Disabled American Veterans. DAV Thrift Stores started in 1958 in Kansas City on 16th and Main. Many of their stores, known as Red Racks Thrift Stores, have expanded to over a quarter million square feet of retail space throughout Missouri. Red Racks Thrift Stores can be found in Kansas City, St. Joseph, Springfield, Joplin, and St. Louis. Red Racks and Buy The Pound are committed to providing a clean, bright, fun shopping experience for anyone looking to save money on designer brands and deeply discounted everyday brands. The fun and excitement of thrift is in the thrill of the hunt, with thousands of fresh and unique items added to each one of their locations daily Monday through Friday. Visit us also at http://www.redracksthriftstores.comLegistek is thrilled to announce that their online evidence management platform Limine 2.0 is moving to beta testing, and that they will be partnering with Aquipt to leverage the MatterPoint private cloud to offer custom infrastructure environments to their customers.

Limine 2.0, the successor to the standalone trial support application first released in 2015, offers lawyers and support professionals a single online workspace that can support litigation matters both large and small from the conclusion of document productions all the way through  and including  trial.

During the invitation-only beta testing period, users will be able to evaluate and test Limine with live, active cases in their own private cloud environments powered by Aquipts MatterPoint.

With Limine, case documents, transcripts  including synchronized video  and other evidence reside in a single online matter accessible to everyone on the case. Documents can be organized, annotated, and eventually labeled for depositions or trial. Transcript videos can be streamed directly from the web, allowing lawyers to preview and designate testimony for dispositive motions and trial, said Limine creator, Peter Moore. Powerful user access settings give case administrators an extraordinary amount of granularity to control which users can access various documents and perform advanced actions. When ready for trial, exhibits and deposition clips can be downloaded seamlessly into the Limine desktop application for electronic presentation in court. Aquipts MatterPoint will deliver infrastructure precision and world class IT support to our on-premise customers and were thrilled to partner with them.

MatterPoint from Aquipt delivers a cloud infrastructure platform purpose-built to address the complex demands of eDiscovery Application hosting, matter ingestion, and strict data security standards. Supported 24/7 by Aquipt technicians and engineers, MatterPoint will give these clients specific and exact control over their environments.

Legistek has proven to be a true innovator in the legal technology arena with its standalone Limine application said Bob Rivas, Executive Director at Aquipt. Were thrilled that theyve chosen us as a partner on the next generation of their product. MatterPoint was custom built to meet the ever-changing demands of the legal sector and this is another terrific opportunity to expose a new user-base to our platform.

According to Legistek, Limine 2.0 will be commercially available later this year as a self-hosted client/server solution for legal practices, with private cloud infrastructure and professional IT support offered through Aquipt. In addition, Limine.com, launching in 2019, will bring an end-to-end litigation technology solution to small and solo practices in the form of a simple monthly subscription service.

About Aquipt

Aquipt, Inc. is a legal-sector technology provider that leverages over 30 years of industry-specific experience to deliver superior service quality. Each of Aquipts many offerings remain 100% content-neutral and are trusted by its thousands of satisfied clients from organizations of all sizes. Regardless of the scope, type, venue or duration of a matter, Aquipt has the people, expertise, and technology to promote high levels of flexibility and responsiveness that are essential in meeting every matters unique needs.

Learn more at https://www.aquipt.com

About Legistek

Legistek Corporation is a Chicago-based legal technology solutions provider started in 2015 by former litigators and technology specialists. Together with its industry partners, Legistek is changing the way lawyers and support professionals review evidence, collaborate, and present a winning case in court.

Learn more at https://www.legistek.com/

For more Information about Legistek & Limine: Please contact John Capone (jcapone@legistek.com).I hated having to open with a question about Trump, but it was a inevitableTrump is everywhere. My meeting with Deborah Eisenberg was on the day the president awkwardly attempted to walk back comments he made during his summit with Putin in Helsinki, in which he cast doubt, yet again, on the findings of American intelligence agencies about Russias election interference. I had to ask Eisenberg how Trump managed to turn up in her new collection, Your Duck Is My Duck, out in September from Ecco. These stories were written before the 2016 election, but Trump somehow wormed his way into them. His assertion that I have the best words serves as an epigraph to the masterful and formally inventive story Mergea tale of love and missing persons built around a series of cryptic picture postcards. More obliquely, the dark American mood cast by his presidency hovers over many of these pieces, which Eisenberg wrote during the past 12 years, as though they knew what was about to happen.

The preconditions for Trump had been there long before Trump, Eisenberg says. He has this dazzlingly appalling personality. One is hypnotized by his personality, and so much is happening that its impossible to keep track of one catastrophe after another.

Eisenberg claims not to be political in any sense that people usually mean by that word. She means that she doesnt consciously intend to write stories of political protest. Im an aesthete, she adds. But her fiction is decidedly realist, even as it obsesses over the absurdities of human relations, and her stories never fail to take the pulse of the times in which they are set. Her previous collection, Twilight of the Superheroes (FSG, 2006), took readers on an uneasy tour of post-9/11 America. This one shows us the world that Trump was able to overrun, enumerating those troubling preconditions.

And so, with plenty of humor mixed in, Your Duck Is My Duck is, among other things, a haunting survey of recent events. Eisenberg broadly writes about two types: young people, mostly in their 20s, who look ahead into an uncertain future, and older people, just past or well past their prime, who look back at the preceding decades, wondering how they got here.

Its been a way for me to think about how were living and the shortsightedness of much of human behavior, Eisenberg says. One of the delightful and profound paradoxes of her fiction is that it takes a long view of that shortsightedness, illuminating its lasting effects on individuals, on culture, and on society at large.

The title story, for instance, follows a female painter who has lost her way in her work and stopped painting. She meets a wealthy couple at a party, Ray and Christa, who are patrons of the arts and who, it turns out, have bought her best painting, Blue Hill, from the painters ex. They invite her to their tropical estateTheres plenty of room, and you can paint, they say. Its a great place to work, everyone says so, really serene. The light is great, the vistas are great.

When painter arrives, she finds their paradise is really a chaotic circus; the only other artist in residence is a soul-sick satirical puppeteer. This makeshift artists retreat is just a way for Ray and Christa to distract one another from the shambles theyve made of their marriage, and their very presence there has decimated the surrounding environment: Ray has bought up much of the local farmland and planted eucalyptus, a flammable crop in a combustible area, making refugees of the locals, who flee the island each night in boats, straggling down a dirt road toward the water, hauling little carts piled with bundles of stuff.

Its a sideways look at the conditions created by the consolidation of wealth in the pockets of very fewan indictment, really, of the corruptions of the rich, disguised as a lighthearted tale of patrons who collect painters at parties. It turns out that Eisenberg is a political writer despite her intentions to the contrary.

In 2010, Picador published Eisenbergs monumental Collected Stories, which gathers all four of her previous books, from Transactions in a Foreign Currency (1986) through Twilight of the Superheroes. But the fact that Collected Stories clocks in at just under 1,000 pages and that Your Duck Is My Duck is only her fifth book speaks to a salient detail about Eisenbergs short stories: theyre not that short; theyre around 40 pages each at the small end and many stretch to novella length. I have never been able to write very short fiction, she says.

Eisenbergs stories leap back and forth across time, often tracking seemingly unrelated lives until they begin to angle toward one another. I think a lot of writers start with an idea and even a sort of armature, or rather, frankly, an outline, and pursue that, but I have to go in blindfolded and backward, she says. Most of my time is spent finding out what on Earth it is that Im doing. A lot of the time, Im wandering down different paths that might or might not be related, and its when I think the different threads begin to form a cable that a story begins to really take for me.

What this means is that Eisenbergs stories unfold a lot like lives: from all angles, and subject to the whims of a world that sometimes seems to play favorites among the people in itmeaning some lives are just out of luck. And though her characters feel, to the reader, like whole, real, true people, Eisenberg claims she doesnt actually know them very well, or at least doesnt know about their lives beyond the parts that appear in the stories. I dont do the kind of exercise that I think a lot of fiction writers do thats analogous to a kind of preparatory work that many actors do: what did this person have for breakfast? and that sort of thing, she says. If it doesnt pertain to what Im interested in about the person, I couldnt care less. It has not been an unusual experience for somebody to ask me, Well, what happened after the story ended? And I dont know.

This may be the secret to the power of Eisenbergs fiction: her work fundamentally acknowledges that most of what we know about the people we encounter is how unknowable they arehow little of their real lives is visible to us. I never look at anybody on the subway, she says. I dont look at people on the street. Im very, very unobservant, and very, very rarely do I think, Oh, I know what sort of experience that man has had today.  We make all sorts of assumptions, but in the end, other people are largely inscrutable, and Eisenberg doesnt pretend the art of realistic fiction permits the writer or reader to see every hidden thing.

But, through the sides of her eyes, Eisenberg is taking in more than she admits. Its a total mysterythe relationships between art and protest, she says. All I care about is making beautiful things, in a way, but you cant shut this hideous, cruel, and unjust world out of your mind. Thats whats taking up your mind most of the time.

Thats the world of Your Duck Is My Duck: its cruel, yes, but also funny and full of complex people desperately searching for company and connection. They sometimes find it. And its our world.With 45 titles slated to hit the shelves this year, Beacon Press has plenty of new books to market, from Robin DiAngelos White Fragility to Howard Bryants The Heritage, but that hasnt stopped the press from aiming a classic title specifically at independent booksellers. Beacon has created a new marketing effort that encourages indies to take a fresh look at Viktor Frankls Mans Search for Meaning.

The Boston-based publishers reason for pushing Frankls slim work on finding meaning boils down to numbers. First published in 1959, the book is a mainstay of Beacons backlist, selling more than one million print copies in the past three years and 12 million copies since the first edition came off the press nearly 60 years ago. Its just grown and grown and grown and grown, said Beacon director Helene Atwan. Over the last five years, weve averaged 15% growth in the numbers.

Atwan attributes the rise in sales to the current political turmoil in the U.S. I think people are desperate to find meaning, and the more challenging the world becomes, the more divisive, the more theyre looking for answers, she said.

As Sanj Kharbanda, Beacons director of sales and marketing, watched sales steadily rise, he noticed that independent booksellers were being left behind. In total, he estimates that over 90% of the one million print copies sold in the past three years have sold through nonindie channels, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, schools, colleges, and private organizations.

I think most independent bookstores know the book, Kharbanda said. But I think indies are underindexing compared to what they should be selling, even based on their market share. To me, theyre leaving money on the table.

After speaking with indie booksellers about ways that they might give frontlist space to a backlist title, the press devised a program to get them to stock more copies of the book. For multiple-copy orders, Beacon will offer better terms while backing the discounts with print advertising, media outreach, and even magnets and posters. The offer begins in September and goes through October. The press is also encouraging stores to look at different formats of the book, which include the 2008 trade paperback, gift, and mass market editions, as well as a young adult version edited by John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Beacon communications director Pamela MacColl said she is convinced indies will see a rise in sales because the book is often mentioned in the media, creating something of a ready-made readership. Among the celebrities who have talked about the title are Drew Barrymore, Chris Martin, and Michael Phelps. These popular references keep popping up that are amazing, MacColl said. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, David Wheeler, the parent of a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting, said the book teaches people that our purpose as human beings is to find the best possible answer to the questions and problems that life presents us every day.

Often shelved in psychology sections, Mans Search for Meaning is one of a handful of Beacons backlist titles that seem to resist easy categorization. Atwan describes the work as a philosophical psychological notion of looking for meaning, finding meaning, and creating meaningeven at the worst moments of your life, even in the absolute worst circumstances imaginable.

Genre-spanning deep backlist titles with strong sales deserve greater attention from publishers, Atwan said, adding that the industrywide focus on frontlist titles at the front of stores means the older titles tend to get crowded out. Publishers are often reluctant to try to persuade booksellers to move those titles forward.

I understand the real estate issuethat when you go into a store they only have a certain amount of shelf spacebut if you take classics from the backlist that sell hundreds of thousands of copies year after year, youve got to be able to turn those copies over, Atwan said. Customers just need to be able to see them.

Atwan hopes that the Beacons support for Mans Search for Meaning will be the beginning of a shift that sees independent bookstores moving more classic titles to the front of the store. Whichever titles those might be, she said they must share one quality that she finds each time she rereads Frankls book. It speaks to all people of all stages of life, she said, across a wide spectrum of society.With an emphasis on seasonal ingredients, spices, and fresh preparations, Middle Eastern cuisine is right in line with contemporary food trends.

Given the growing number of people trying to cut down on meat, its the perfect time for Middle Eastern food to shine, Kate Pollard, publishing director at Hardie Grant, says. Flavor is king, spices and texture are a must, so meat is not at all necessary for a delicious feast.

Cookbooks that shine a light on Middle Eastern cuisine do more than bring its dishes to the forefront, Leyla Moushabeck, cookbooks editor at Interlink, says. Food is powerful: it can be appropriated, used to marginalize or colonize, or it can bring communities and cultures together and promote understanding. Here, we gather forthcoming cookbooks showcasing the regions cuisine.

Bottom of the Pot

Naz Deravian. Flatiron, Sept.

In 1979, when Deravian was eight years old, her family fled Iran in the midst of the revolution. Since then, she has found homes in Italy, Canada, and now, Los Angelesbut Persian home cooking has remained a constant. In her first cookbook, the IACP Awardwinning blogger shares these recipes, including one for tahdig, the crispy rice that forms at the bottom of the pot, which gives her blog and book their name.

Baladi

Joudie Kalla. Interlink, Nov.

Palestinian-British chef Kalla (Palestine on a Plate) follows her debut with more dishes from her homeland. In Baladi, an Arabic word whose meaning she translates in the introduction (my home, my land, my country), she groups recipes by sourcemarkets and village life; hills and orchards; from the river to the sea.

From the Land of Nightingales and Roses

Maryam Sinaiee. Interlink, Dec.

Born in Tehran and now living in the U.K., Sinaiee, who blogs at The Persian Fusion, offers a season-by-season tour of her home countrys cooking, including recipes for broad bean and dill frittata, baked fish with tamarind, and rosewater ice cream with pistachios.

Israeli Soul

Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook, HMH/Martin, Oct.

The Philadelphia restaurateurs seek out the essence of Israeli food with visits to bakeries, market stalls, and even gas stations in cities and remote towns across the country. Dishes include falafel, hummus, schwarma, and sabich, a breakfast sandwich. Expect this offering to be as successful as Zahav, PWs starred review said, referencing the pairs 2015 debut.

The Jewelled Table

Bethany Kehdy. Hardie Grant, Sept.

In her follow-up to The Jewelled Kitchen, Kehdy, who was born in Houston and raised in Lebanon, explores the social ritual of cooking and meal sharing in the Middle East through recipes, meal plans, photos, and graphics. Accompanying the Arabic coffee recipe, for instance, is a guide to reading coffee grounds.

Suqar

Greg Malouf and Lucy Malouf. Hardie Grant, Nov.

In their ninth book on modern Middle Eastern cooking, the Maloufs turn their attention to sweets, offering recipes for desserts, pastries, and candies. Michelin-starred chef Greg (formerly of MoMo in Melbourne, and now at Dubais Zaahira) and Lucy, his writing partner and former spouse, discuss the role sweets play in holidays, religious events, and hospitality.

Ottolenghi Simple

Yotam Ottolenghi. Ten Speed, Oct.

Israeli-born Ottolenghi (Jerusalem, Plenty), who oversees a culinary mini-empire in London, aims to simplify the Middle Eastern recipes he made famous in previous books, using fewer and more common ingredients. While the book doesnt always succeed in that goal, our review says, this is yet another appealing cookbook from a pro who seems to turn them out with ease.

Return to the main feature.The statement signed by the president of the association, Elias Preko, further noted that the "unguarded" comments could discourage many persons who stammer from going into politics and public service.

"It is against this backdrop that we demand an unqualified apology from the Nadowli West MP, Alban Bagbin, on behalf of all persons who stammer," according to the statement.

It also cautioned Mr Bagbin and everyone to desist from making such comments which have the potential of undermining persons with disability from reaching their full potential.

Mr Bagbin, an aspiring National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate, while on a tour of the Volta Region, told party delegates slammed as bad former President John Mahamas appointment of Dr. Omane Boamah as Communications Minister and a blind person as Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs.

He said Dr Omane Boamah, who stammers; wasted time communicating to Ghanaians due to his disability.

I learnt from tradition that it is not the chief that speaks, it is the linguist and, so, when you are a leader, you must have a very good linguist.

When Prof [Atta Mills] was in power, Haruna Iddrisu was our linguist in charge of communication, when my brother John [Mahama] came to power, he substituted him for Dr Omane Boamah who is a natural stammerer, said Bagbin during his tour of the Volta Region.

He added: He is a very intelligent boy, he is smart but when he is speaking, he wastes time in coming out and Ghanaians do not have that much patience, so, they are always looking for those that are rattling.

So, even though you might have a good message, you will not succeed in marketing that message because somebody is there from the other side rattling and they are listening to him, so, we came down.Discussing Asantehene Osei Tutu II's historic visit to Kyebi in a panel broadcast, he said Ghana is not running monarchical political state but a republic.

According to him, calling some traditional rulers "Kings" and others "chiefs" could threaten the peace of the country.

One thing I have always resisted is the title king. By our constitution, we have no kings in Ghana, we have Chiefs," he said on Citi TV.

"We have Chiefdom, not Kingdoms, so when you begin to do that you threaten the whole country. We are all one. We are not in a monarch. We are not in a Kingdom. We are in a republic, he added.

Otumfuo on Thursday paid a historic visit to Kyebi in the Eastern Region at the invitation of the Okeyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II.A statement from the office of the former president said Mr Rawlings and his wife praised the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II for their show of statesmanship at the durbar of chiefs held in Kyebi on Thursday.

The two said the atmosphere of unity and reciprocity exhibited by the eminent traditional rulers was inspirational and a great motivation for national peace and cohesion.

The former President, who governed Ghana between 1992 to 2001, said the gestures by the two traditional rulers had put the brakes on those who tend to take negative advantage of the healthy rivalry between the two kingdoms.

He noted that there are some whose interests are parochial and not nationalistic as opposed to those whose pursuits are always patriotic and all-embracing, stating the two leaders had chosen a path that will send a strong signal of unity to all Ghanaians.

Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings commended the Otumfuo and the Okyehene for the tone of their addresses at the colourful durbar which was attended by President Akufo Addo, leading politicians, business people and a cross-section of Ghanaians as well as international guests.The visit comes on the heels of the Asantehene's visit to Kyebi on Thursday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of Nana Ofori Atta.

Welcoming the revered monarch, president Akufo-Addo said the Asantehene, since 1999, has visited each of his predecessor Presidents of the 4th Republic, and was happy that this is the first time that we have seen such a powerful delegation of Asanteman here at Jubilee House.

President Akufo-Addo used the opportunity to thank the Asantehene for the role he played in ensuring that the events of 7th December, 2016, were given a peaceful outcome.

I know all that took place behind the scenes, the role you played in making sure that everything went very smoothly in our country, and that the stability and peace, which has become associated with our nation, was maintained. The Ghanaian people will continue to be grateful to you for your intervention, he said.Those on admission are Gracious Tagbolu, Peace Agbobli, Kofi Opare and Agbobli Kofi.

READ ALSO: undefined

A member of the family, Kofi Agbobli who confirmed the incident said the victims bought the fish from a market at Donkorkrom.

Hospital medical superintendent, Dr. Zimblim Kasule who confirmed the news said the four are responding to treatment.

Meanwhile, health authorities have recommended their transfer to the police hospital in Accra for autopsy.

He said the autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.

Pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and often lethal to its predators including humans.

READ ALSO: undefined

To humans, tetrodotoxin is deadly, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide.

There is enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.Why the ex-president is contesting again?

1. Pressure from party: There has been a groundswell of support for him to run again for president. Mr Mahama is widely expected to win the NDC presidential race and come up face to face with President Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2020 polls.

2. Unfinished business: The ex-president believes he has an unfinished business considering many of the infrastructural projects he started which is yet to be completed by the current New Patriotic Party administration.

3. Economic hardship: Mr Mahama in a video announcing his intention to run for president again said he wants to reduce the hardship facing Ghanaians under the current Akufo-Addo government.

4. Bringing the NDC back to power: For Mr Mahama, sending the NDC back to opposition is his biggest nightmare. He will fancy another opportunity, as he said in declaration video, to "write the wrongs of the past."

READ MORE: Why Bagbin is on rampage against MahamaMr Tetteh, who is the Member of Parliament for Upper Manya Krobo, said in his resignation letter to the president that his parliamentary role is being hampered because of his work as a Deputy Minister.

He explained that since his seat is the only one the NPP has won in the Krobo area, it is crucial for him to focus on retaining the seat in 2020.

His resignation comes days after the former Minister for Gender, Children and Social protection, Afisa Otiko Djaba, rejected the president's offer to serve as Ghana's ambassador to Italy and the sacking of the Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko.

Some have speculated that he signed in solidarity with the two axed ex-ministers.

His replacement, Mr Ayertey, is currently a lecturer at the Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua.

"The President is hopeful that Parliament will expedite the vetting of the new Deputy Minister-designate for the Eastern Region, so he can assume office as quickly as possible," the statement noted.The corruption case came to light in 2004, two years before Pinochet died, with the revelation of around 100 bank accounts opened in the name of Pinochet and family members in the United States-based and now-defunct Riggs Bank and other financial institutions outside of Chile.

Friday's ruling, which cannot be appealed, overturns a previous one that acquitted the army officers of helping Pinochet hide his fortune abroad and returned $4.8 million and 24 real estate properties seized from the former dictator's family in an original 2004 court decision.

The Chilean investigation was launched after the discovery that Pinochet had hidden almost $20 million in a series of complex financial operations from 1981, using a number of false identities.

In 2005, Washington-based Riggs admitted to hiding Pinochet's accounts and accepted a $16 million fine.

According to official statistics, around 3,200 people were killed or disappeared and 38,000 tortured during general Pinochet's bloody 17-year dictatorship.The Atheists in Kenya Society (AIK) released a statement demanding for their own special national holiday one day before the recent Muslim holiday - Eid-el-Kabir.

In a statement released on Monday, August 20, 2018, they demanded that the government declare February 17th as "Atheist Day" so that they could hold "godless parades" and celebrate the fact that there is no God.

"Kenyans who do not believe in god or gods deserve a public holiday too," Atheists in Kenya Vice President Daisy Siongok said in the statement.

The argument is that "There is no shortage of religious holidays celebrated every year in Kenya. Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Diwali, Eid al-Adha, and Ramadan are just but a few. We deserve as much recognition as the other faiths."

The Vice President also revealed what would happen if this holiday is approved by Fred Matiang'i, Kenya's cabinet secretary for the interior ministry.

"We will use the occasion to show our lack of faith in Gods, by holding Godless Parades in various Countries and also to increase awareness about atheism in Kenya," Songok stated. "We believe that this will promote freedom of religion as a human right in Kenya and a strategic national interest, in line with Article 27 of Kenya's Constitution."

Article 27(4) of the Kenyan constitution explains that the "state shall not discriminate directly or indirectly against any person on any ground, including race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth."

ALSO READ: Why young people are abandoning Christianity for atheism

Atheism in Kenya

The organization was founded in 2013. It was officially registered with the government on February 17, 2016, which explains why this date has been picked as the appropriate one for "Atheist Day."

According to the group's Facebook page, it "was born of a deep commitment to promote science, skeptical inquiry and critical thinking by the founders."

The mission - "to promote the growth and interaction of atheists in Kenya."Yul, one of the sons of the veteran actor made this known in a chat with Punch.

Yul said, It is not my plan to fill my fathers shoes; I have just set out to play my part in the society."

"I am not under any pressure to surpass my fathers achievements in the movie industry. I am just here, being myself. I have always loved acting and mimicking people. At a very early age, it was obvious that I was also going to become an actor. I was named after an actor called Yul Brynner. However, I am not under any pressure to surpass my father, he said.

Yul Edochie launches film Academy

Yul Edochie presented his ownundefinedYul Edochie Academy, to the world in 2016.

The actor has launched his Academy which is a subsidiary of Yul Edochie Arts World. Founded in 2015, by the filmmaker Yul, the academy is a training ground for actors and actresses.

The filmmaker's dream is to build an army of well grounded, focused and professional actors and actresses, whom he can mentor and steer to greatness.It also partners with the government to advocate for causes that affect citizens every day. World Mosquito day is one of those causes.

August 20 2018, the annual World Mosquito Day, was chosen to recognize the role the insect plays in the spread of diseases like Malaria, Yellow Fever and most recently the Zika Virus that spread through Africa and Europe and caused a global pandemic.

Malaria, a major health concern

In Nigeria, we commemorate World Mosquito Day for its relation to Malaria tropical disease endemic to the country.

Malaria is a major health concern in Nigeria, causing an average of 6000 deaths each year, predominantly women and children. Because it affects all Nigerians, the government and private organizations understand how important it is to contribute their own quota to fighting and eradicating the disease.

The Corporate Alliance of Malaria in Africa (CAMA) is an association of private corporations and businesses who have chosen to pool their financial resources and skill to contribute to the fight against Malaria.

To push for the control and eventual eradication of Malaria in Nigeria. CAMA does this through partnerships with GBC Health, civil society stakeholders and non-government organizations who are also dedicated to the cause.

Innovative ideas by Access Bank

Access Bank as a member of the CAMA and a co-chair on the organizations board, participated fully in this years commemoration and steered the conversation around corporate participation in the eradication of malaria.

Through this position, Access Bank has been able to introduce innovative ideas geared towards the control of the disease.

This year, Access Bank partnered with CAMA, GBC Health and HACEY Health Initiative to run a series of awareness programmes across Lagos state.

The purpose of these field visits were to engage the indigent communities in Ilaje Bariga, Ibafo local government community, Ajegunle Ikorodu community and Ebute-meta community, educating them on the dangers of Malaria and the preventive measures that are available to protect themselves from mosquitoes, the primary carrier of the disease.

Spot tests

Through the HACEY Health Initiative, Access Bank brought doctors to the chosen communities to run spot tests and distribute treated mosquito nets, a primary tool in the prevention of Malaria.

They also received vital information from the guest doctors on how their personal habits and practices could make them susceptible to infection. The doctors also listened to the communitys health concerns and provided answers during a Q&A session.

Access Bank's visit to Nigeria Info FM

Also, to celebrate this years World Mosquito Day, Access Bank and CAMA visited popular radio station, Nigeria Info FM in Lagos, to talk about the mosquito and how it threatens health and progress, and must be properly protected against through safe practices and persistent education.On Friday, August 17, 2018, it seems like a well-thought-out plan for the young man who was able to find a bag to conceal the stolen machine.

He is shown in a video as he scouts a room as well and a hallway to ensure a smooth escape.

Reward for whoever finds him

Since the clip emerged, the radio station has offered a sum of N50,000 to anyone who is able identify the man in white.

A lady who works at the radio station confirms to Pulse. She insists on being anonymous.

The mysterious MacBook menace brings to mind another villain known as the Crippled Thief.

Crippled thief strikes again at book launch [Video]

A man popularly known as the Crippled Thief strikes at a book launch where he reportedly made away with an iPhone and Samsung phones.

This happens on Saturday, March 10, 2018, where gadgets belonging to a musical act who performed at the event were stolen.

Lola Shoneyin, the director of the annual Ake Book Festival, confirms the incident in a help-seeking tweet aimed at arresting the stylish robber thought to have been apprehended on Thursday, November 23, 2017. He reportedly got nabbed at an activity organized by The Waterbrook Church, Victoria Island on the day.

The police have already been notified about the development according to Shoneyin whose attention is set on how to get back the stolen items.

ALSO READ: Student who visits different campuses to steal has been caught

A tweet posted by the art lover on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 contained a video that portrayed the thief in the act.

"Do you know this man?

"Watch the man in blue jeans and light green shirt. No one knows who he is. He turned up at our book launch on Saturday and stole the performer's phones. An Iphone & Samsung.

"We've notified the police but we want the phones back. Pls DM me if you have info," Shoneyin expressed in a post.This however prompted an arraignment at a High Court, where a witness Samuel Kuje, shared an account of how the victim, Jennifer, was recovered from the pit.

Prosecuting counsel, James Anata, confirmed that the event occurred on Friday, December 8, 2018.

I first thought she was a ghost but when I asked who she is, she said she was Jennifer Ayuba from Gidigidi.

I then ran to Gidigidi immediately to inform the head of the community, Mr. Ashila and four other persons; we all went back to my site and brought out the child from the well; then I called the police from B Division in Lafia to arrest the accused," says Kuje.

The father who sought to justify his action explained that he took the measure following a confession by his daughter who admitted responsibility for family misfortunes.

More revelations encouraged presiding judge, Justice Rose Fuji, to adjourn the case until Monday, April 23, 2018.

Man kills 100-yr-old mother over alleged witchcraft

A 40-year-old man, Likita Manu has been arrested for allegedly beating his 100-year-old mother, Inne Kaiyo, to death over an allegation of witchcraft.

Punch Newspaper reports that Manu was arrested alongside his 80-year-old father, Kwacha Manu who also joined in beating the old woman to death.

It was gathered that Manu who just lost his own daughter, accused his mother of being behind the girl's death through witchcraft and allegedly descended on his mother, beating her with a stick.

ALSO READ: Man stabs own mother to death in Lagos

His father also joined in beating the woman till she gave up the ghost.

They were arrested after neighbours lodged a complaint at the police state.According to a report by Punch, the young Ogidi was found in an orphanage in Benin after she was kidnapped on Sunday, July 8, 2018.

The news was reportedly confirmed by the young girl's dad, Okpogene Ogidi, who said some suspects were also arrested.

Missing girl's dad says daughter was found in orphanage

Okpogene Ogidi, father of the missing four-year-old informed the media that his daughter was found in an orphanage in Benin, Edo State.

He said, She was found in Benin. We are going to pick her at the Edo State Police Command on Saturday (today). She was found in an orphanage. After it was reported in the media, somebody identified her and informed me.

The police were alerted and she was found at the orphanage this evening (Friday). We are very excited. I dont have more details for now. I will get back to you.

ALSO READ: Parents feel lost after their little girl vanished in church

Four-year-old girl goes missing during Sunday service

Elo reportedly went missing from the Christ Embassy in Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos State, during a church service on Sunday, July 8, 2018.

The young Elo had attended the church service with her parents and their housemaid before she went missing.

Elo went missing during the churchs children thanksgiving service when she was believed to be with the family's maid.

It was also reported that the maid had gone to get Elo and her two siblings some slices of cake shared at the thanksgiving, but did not meet the girl on her seat when she returned.

Elo was also reported to have been last seen with a woman taking her away during the service.According to the Guiyang Evening Post, the couple hail from Bijie city in South West region of China.

It was further reported that the Chinese couple was told by Guizhou province obstetrician, Liu Hongmei that theyd been having sex the wrong way.

Hongmei discovered that the 24-year-old wife was still a virgin despite being married and having sex with her 26-year-old husband for four years.

The couple were very young, the man 26 and the woman 24. They were very healthy, but, despite being married for four years, couldnt conceive. Their family was giving them a lot of stress because of it, Hongmei said.

ALSO READ: Man divorces wife for giving birth like a 'rabbit'

Couple mistake anal sex for vaginal sex

Hongmei further told Guiyang Evening Post that the wife confessed that sex was usually quite painful and this raised concerns about a gynecological disease.

The doctor, however, said, upon examination, the wife was discovered to still be a virgin.

This discovery led Hongmei to check the womans anus. And it was then it was confirmed that the couple had mistakenly been having anal sex for four years of marriage.There is a deep connection between Lagos city and prosperity. Many people tend to believe that once you step your feet in the city, opportunities will start falling on you. That is the mindset that drove many people to the smallest state in Nigeria.

And as the most populated city in Africa and 13th most expensive city in the world, how you spend your money might become other people's business when you begin to complain about things that consume your money in Lagos.

ALSO READ:

Here are some of the complaints about spending money in Lagos you'll see on Twitter.

Nothing is FREE in Lagos!

Even breath? It is not that bad!

But it's possible you spend your hard earned money of FAKE products.

And when you consider how much you spend to maintain your car

And you start borrowing to live in Lagos...

Meanwhile, someone somewhere is planning to scam you.

Maybe all of us need some tips on how to live in Lagos

In the end, you'll realize that it is impossible not to spend money in Lagos. This city is not one of the most expensive for no reason. The Lagos money remains in Lagos saying is an eternal truth.The president trekked 800 metres from the Eid-praying ground in Daura to his private residence, amid cheers from supporters that lined the street.

According to the presidency, the trek proved that Buhari is healthy enough to seek re-election, contrary to what his opponents have been saying.

Of course, this did not go down well with Nigerians, especially the president's opponents like former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who reacted in his own way.

Atiku also took another chance to take a shot at the president over his frequent medical trips to London.

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, stood shoulder to shoulder against National Leader of the All Progressives' Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, when he revealed that the only reason the former Lagos governor supports Buhari's administration, despite his private reservations about it, is that he's eyeing the presidency for himself in 2023.

It wasn't much of a shock, because it's sort of been an open secret, but it generated buzz because it was a strongly-worded response to Tinubu's allegations about why Saraki recently dumped the APC for the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

Tinubu did those 2023 presidency rumours no favours by backing Buhari for re-election and insisting that he needs more time to re-engineer Nigeria's economy.

Speaking of the presidency, Eunice Atuejide was elected the presidential candidate of the National Interest Party (NIP)in controversial fashion as 12 members of the party's National Executive Committee were stripped of their positions.

In other news...

A mob of angry residents and students burnt down a police station in Iwo, Osun State after an officer of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) killed an undergraduate.

Hoodlums also set the Magistrates' Court in Orlu, Imo State on fire, destroying court documents.

Boko Haram terrorists also burnt down 40 houses in a reprisal attack in Mailari village in Guzamala local government area of Borno State.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, warned Nigerians that foreign rice imported into the country is only fit to be consumed by animals.

Senator Godswill Akpabio faced public backlash for his comments about APC taking over Akwa Ibom in 2019 like German dictator, Adolf Hitler, took over Poland, an act that kicked off World War II and led to the death of millions of people.Attorney Martin L. Pierce, a certified estate planning specialist in Chattanooga, has again been selected and is included in the 2019 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Trusts and Estates.

A member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a certified estate planning specialist, Mr. Pierce practices Elder Law, Estate Planning, Wills, Special Needs Trusts, Guardianship, Business and Tax law (among others) in Tennessee and Georgia.

He is also included in Mid-South Super Lawyers for Estate Planning and Probate, as an AV rated lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell and is an AVVO rated Top Lawyer.

The Best Lawyers in America is the oldest peer-review publication in the legal profession, and inclusion in the listing signals not only legal expertise, but also ethics and professionalism of the highest caliber. Since it was first published, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer review evaluation. Lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; therefore inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor, said officials.

For more information about Best Lawyers, visit www.BestLawyers.com.





Oregon Coast Surrealism: a Travelogue of Night and Winter Photo Expeditions

Published 08/25/2018 at 4:37 AM PDT

By Andre' GW Hagestedt





(Seaside, Oregon)  Sometimes its more than a little engaging to reminisce. At times, its a serious joy.

Running Oregon Coast Beach Connection has resulted in all sorts of little adventures over the years, and recently I came across this travelogue from late 2010. A lot of discoveries and subtleties were still new to me then, where the tiniest things could be surprising. These days, its often about getting the best shot instead of simply trying to photograph what I see. Still, I havent lost that awe and wonder for it all, and this little nugget simply takes me back to some first impressions Id forgotten.

This whole photo expedition started in late fall on the north Oregon coast, at the tail end of November of 2010. However, it easily couldve been straight up winter. Storms were already kicking around the shoreline. As usual, however, Im out traipsing around the beaches at night: often my favorite time on the beaches. Theres no one around, everything looks different, and its just a bit of a thrill because you know the tides could be a little more dangerous and you have to be on your guard.

Around 10 p.m., Im in Seaside. Theres a brief break in the rain, not long before an enormous squall is predicted to come barreling through the north coast.

The cove area, seen above, is a bit on the magical and very much on the surreal side, as this extreme southern end of town experiences greater and greater waves. They pummel the large rocks here, and these stones sometimes make a loud crackling noise as they get bounced around by the tide. It actually startles you at times and makes you switch on your flashlight to make sure no sneaker wave is headed your direction.

At this time of night, however, with just a tiny hint left of moonlight in the sky, it requires a very long exposure to capture anything. The sky manages to get an eerie post-daylight look to it, and the sea is so fuzzy from the shutter being open so long it becomes a freaky mist, more like some primordial soup. In fact, in real life, its raging like crazy. Meanwhile, the lights of the street paint the rocks and ocean an incandescent orange.

Within a minute of this photograph, the rain starts to smack the lens.





Earlier in the day, however, around 5:30 p.m., the Seaside Aquarium is closing up and the Promenade is still fairly bustling with folks checking out the last, faint remaining rays of light filtered through thick clouds. The Turnaround is already lit up, and casts a warm glow on the surrounding beach, as Tillamook Head keeps a watchful eye in the distance. Its freezing out here at this moment in late November, but theres still something about this visage thats like visual comfort food  somehow warming just to look at.





Straight out to sea, the clouds have this fascinating, bluish squiggle running throughout them. This is balanced by that strange orange glow the city lights put out, cast onto the beach in an interesting manner and even hitting the waves a tad. Then theres that lone playground set out there: frozen metal in the cold, bare of any swing set seats. It's waiting for winter storms to stop so the swings can return, but now they're gone so they don't get torn off in a big gust or two. Its shape juts up out of this minimalist shot with odd colors, all of which makes it reminiscent of those old ECM label album covers from the likes of former Oregonian Ralph Towner or Terje Rypdal.

If there was a soundtrack to these scenes, Ralph's ethereal strumming and piano would be perfect right about now.





Going back in time yet again, to the day before, the Promenade looks like this just after sunset, as a rainsquall had varnished the pavement and some pinks and blues still hovered in the sky during the remnants of twilight.

Thats the thing about the Oregon coast you learn pretty quickly, it never looks the same day to day - much less during the night. More About Seaside lodging, hotels.....

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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedThe News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the leaders spoke in separate interview with newsmen in Benin on Saturday.

The leaders described the action as embarrassing and should be condemned by lovers of democracy.

NAN recalls that the governor was on Aug. 18 attacked by some alleged youths of the party over allegation that the governor had imposed a Senatorial candidate on the district ahead of the 2019 elections.

Edo Central Senatorial district which is home to Esan speaking people of Edo State is made up of five Local Government Areas of Igueben, Esan South East, Esan North East, Esan West and Esan Central.

Obaseki was at Irrua, headquarters of Esan Central, to meet with APC leaders to discuss issues surrounding the nomination of candidates when some youths stormed the venue with placards.

The youths wore t-shirts inscribed with the Esan Youth Movement chanting invective words demanding for no imposition of candidates.

The youths, who later physically assaulted the governor, pelted him with sachet water and stones, as he (Obaseki) made to leave venue of the meeting.

However, the leaders, Mr Victor Eboigbe and Theophilus Okoh, described the attack as barbaric and uncivilised, noting that leaders of the party in the district would not support such action.

Eboigbe said Esan leaders and youths would not support such action against a performing governor like Obaseki.

He stated that punitive actions would be taken against those behind the attack after investigation had been concluded.

He said that Esan leaders were united ahead of the 2019 general elections, and assured that no candidate would be imposed on the people.

According to him, I do not believe the people responsible for the attack are members of the APC. No APC youth will behave like that to our governor. What they did was barbaric, uncivilised and we will get to the bottom of it.

I dont care what they protest about. Esan leaders and youths do not support them. It is not correct that no leader tried to call the youths to order.

I believe that the reason some of them joined in the attack was because in the past, they did it and got what they wanted.

On his part, Okoh, said that information available indicated that some of the youths arrested were from Delta.The Federal Government had, on July 29, assembled military personnel, comprising the army, air force, police and the civil defence to help in tackling the activities of the bandits.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has deployed fighter aircraft to Katsina, the airport with the closest proximity to Zamfara, to allow for immediate and effective response to the menace of the bandits.

The president had also authorised the engagement by NAF, of advanced satellite surveillance technology to help in accurate detection of movement and locations of the bandits.

The bandits had been terrorising innocent rural dwellers, razing down several villages and towns across the local government areas of Zamfara, and also kidnapping for ransom.

President Buhari, who expressed satisfaction with the way and manner the soldiers were carrying out their assignment, said that Nigerians deserved some peace.

Nigerians are looking up to you and us to secure the country. What is happening in the areas of operations is disgraceful.

Im very pleased with the way officers and men are firmly putting it down and I want you to be as ruthless as humanly possible. Nigerians deserve some peace.

When we came into government, what we promised was security.The country has to be secured to be managed.

Secondly, on economy, more than 60 per cent of the population of Nigeria is under 30 years.

A lot of them did not have the opportunity to be educated to secure respective jobs; their expectations are very high.

The second undertaken we made is to improve the economy and the third is to fight corruption.

We have been doing our best and we depend a lot on you to do what is needed in the field.

I do not want you to spare any cattle rustler, armed robber or any bad element who thinks he is above the law.

I commend you for the job you have been doing so far and I assure you that I will continue to be a worthy Commander-in-Chief, he said.

The president, who donated five bulls to the military personnel, departed for Abuja after the Sallah break in his country home, Daura.

Gov. Aminu Masari of Katsina State and other government dignitaries were at the airport to wish the president safe trip back to Abuja.

While in Daura, the president had received seven APC governors, many members of the National Assembly including Sen. Shehu Sani as well as cabinet ministers, who paid him Sallah homage.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ukuma of Radio Benue, was inaugurated into office on July 3 after he defeated Mr Fidelis Otebe, also of Radio Benue.

The Vice-Chairman of the council, Mr Martins Kajo, confirmed the development in an interview with NAN early on Saturday.

Yes we just lost David Ukuma to a brief illness at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital this morning. His body has been deposited at the mortuary, we are heading to his house to condole with his family.

On Aug. 12, members of the NUJ had joined Ukuma for a thanksgiving service at St. Marys Catholic Church at Genabe Welfare Quarters in Makurdi.

Ukuma had thanked God for showing him mercy and also prayed for the NUJ.

The late chairman, who had deep interest in sports, was noted for hard work and his passion to improve the welfare of journalists in Benue.Mr Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity issued the Presidents congratulatory message in Abuja on Saturday.

President Buhari joined family, friends and colleagues of the journalist, the media and civil society in celebrating the landmark age, which he had dedicated to the service of God, country and humanity.

He commended the uncompromising posture of the activist in always telling the truth to leaders, insisting on propriety and regularly mobilising to safeguard the sanctity of human rights and the integrity of the nation.

The President reaffirmed that the democracy that the country had been enjoying was borne out of the sacrifices and forthrightness of individuals like Akinnola.

According to him, Akinnola has not relented in fighting for good governance and ensuring that democracy transcends elections to include a lifestyle of respect, dignity and accountability in Nigeria.

He extolled Akinnolas magnanimity in setting up a foundation, Richard Akinnola Foundation, which catered for the underprivileged and families of journalists.The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), warned that rebel violence in eastern DRC was escalating inside the vast countrys Ebola-hit North Kivu province, putting millions at risk.

Thousands of civilians have fled their burned-out villages, bringing reports of brutal attacks, Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for UNHCR, said in Geneva.

The latest report followed reports that a case of Ebola infection and one suspected case have been found in one town in the area, Oicha, which is surrounded by armed groups.

The disease has killed more than 60 people and infected dozens more in recent weeks.

Forced displacement in this part of the country remains massive and it is estimated that more than a million people are displaced in North Kivu.

This is the highest concentration of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the DRC, where an estimated half a million people have been forced from their homes this year alone.

Also, Dr Peter Salama, WHO Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response, said the discovery of Ebola infection in the hard-to-reach part of eastern DRC could mark a pivotal point in the response to the deadly disease.

It really was the problem we were anticipating and the problem  we were dreading.

Our teams have responded this week. Theyve had to reach Oicha with armed escorts.

Once they reach Oicha, they are able to move within Oicha town more freely, because the town itself is a yellow zone from a security perspective, Salama explained.

Mahecic said UNHCR was particularly worried about the deteriorating situation in the Ebola-hit northern territory of Ben, where Oicha town is located.

The area is home to some 1.3 million people and spiralling conflict has left the population living there, virtually in a state of siege since October 2017.

Reports of increased human rights violations and restrictions of humanitarian access are also frequent.

Estimates are that more than 100 armed groups are active in the province, continually terrorising the population.

In spite of a large-scale military offensive of the Congolese Army against one of the main rebel groups, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) since January, there has been no let-up in the violence.

Mahecic said: Despite security challenges, a UNHCR team accessed the area north of Beni, earlier this month, and conducted humanitarian assessments in Oicha and Eringeti districts.

Residents told our staff about brutal attacks against the civilians carried out with machetes.

Stories of massacres, extortion, forced displacement and other human rights violations are frequent.

Further, sexual and gender-based violence is rampant across the Beni territory while many children are being recruited as child soldiers.

The violence is particularly rampant in the so-called triangle of death, between the towns of Eringeti, Mbau and Kamango, on the Uganda-DRC border, as well as in the towns of Beni, Oicha and Mavivi.

UNHCR said it was scaling up its capacity in North Kivu to respond to the growing humanitarian needs.

We are arranging additional emergency shelters and other humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of the displaced in Beni.

While UNHCRs humanitarian response is continuing, despite the outbreak of Ebola, the prevailing security situation and drastic funding shortfall severely hamper our efforts.The project was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Alhaji Mustafa Shehuri in Mayo-Belwa, Adamawa.

According to Shehuri, work on the 112 kilometres road is in fulfillment of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administrations promises to people of the area.

This project is in fulfillment of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to address the infrastructure deficit in the country, which is aimed at providing the much needed impetus to stimulate economic growth and the ease of doing business.

The 112 kilomtres road which terminates at Toungo, serves as a vital link between Taraba and the Republic of Cameroon, as well as to the Mambilla Hydro Power Plant, the Gashaka-Gumti National park and several agricultural communities.

Consequently, due to the strategic nature of the important towns and cities it cuts across, the road attracts high vehicular traffic all year round, Shehuri said.

He said the contract was awarded to Messrs Triacta Nigeria ltd., and was expected to be delivered within 36 months.

In his remarks, Gov. Muhammadu Bindow of Adamawa commended the Federal Government for the project which he said would go a long way in transforming the state in various sectors.

Bindow noted that his administration had constructed more than 200 roads across the state, adding that it would sustain the tempo in complementing the Federal Government.

Also speaking, the Gangwari of Ganye, Alhaji Umaru Sanda lauded the government for the road project which he said was abandoned over 20 years ago.

We are highly greatful to Buhari-led administration and all those behind this historical event, Sanda said.

In his remarks, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustafa said the road was last rehabilitated by Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) in 1996 by Buhari who was the chairman then.

Mustafa urged the people of Adamawa to reciprocate the gesture by voting massively for APC at all levels to continue the good work.Samuel Aruwan, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, announced this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Friday.

The statement said that more security agents had been deployed to the area to maintain law and order, while urging the residents of the communities to adhere strictly to the curfew.

Meanwhile, Gov. Nasir El-Rufai has condoled with the families of the deceased.

According to Aruwan, the governor expressed concern over needless loss of innocent lives and assured families of the two victims that the law enforcement agents had been directed to begin investigation into the killings with a view to prosecuting the culprits.

He quoted the governor as appealing to the residents of the affected communities to shun divisive tendencies along fault lines of religion and ethnicity in the interest of harmonious co-existence in the area.Captain Ilaya Dauda, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations said this in a statement issued in Benin on Saturday.

Dauda said that the training would hold from August 27 to August 30.

According to him, the theme of the training week is Enhancing Combat Service Support Capability through Public Private Partnership to Meet Nigerian Army Contemporary Challenges.

He noted that the training which was designed to enhance leadership skills, would also feature exhibitions by vendors, display of equipment by logistic Corps as well as the conduct of free medical outreach.

The medical outreach will involve free medical checkup, eye screening, dental checkup and distribution of free drugs, he said.

Dauda said that the free medical checkup would take place on August 28 at the Local Government Authority Primary School in Egbaen Community, Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo.

He advised members of the public not to panic on seeing security personnel and military convoys within the area during the period of the training.Ayefeles Music House was on Sunday, August 19, 2018.

The government claimed that the building had violated several building laws of the state.

Following the news of the demolition, notable Nigerians condemned the Oyo state governments action.

It is a shame

According to Punch, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a statement, described the demolition as a shame.

It is a shame that the government is killing this dream in a state with a reputation for individual industry and commerce.

In light of the foregoing, we call on the government to tender an unreserved apology to Mr. Yinka Ayefele, compensate him for his losses as well as promise to be of good behaviour to its citizens.

Change your style

The statement also called on Governor Ajimobi to change, what the NLC described as his arrogant style of leadership.

NLC also wondered why the Oyo state government went ahead to pull down the Music House despite an order issued by the court.

This level of impunity is not acceptable to us and cannot be tolerated in any civilised society. We believe the government acted maliciously and with clear intent to cause grievous injury and hurt, the motive of which it has yet to make public.

Smarting from the round condemnation of the states criminal conduct, the governor, Abiola Ajimobi, in a remorseless outburst gloated that curses placed on him in respect of this matter would not affect him.

We consider this as another level of impunity and pettiness unbecoming of a governor and a clear demonstration of lack of capacity to manage public outrage. He should bury his head in shame.

We hope and pray Governor Ajimobi experiences a rebirth, rediscovers his humanity as well as reconnects with his people in service and humility instead of opening a new war front every other day, the statement added.

Yinka Ayefele, in his reaction, told newsmen that Governor Ajimobi promised not to demolish his radio station following pleas by his wife.Saraki, who came in company of other senators including Dino Melaye and Peter Nwaoboshi spent about 45 minutes in a closed door with Okowa at the Government House.

The Senate President, who later addressed newsmen after the meeting, said he was in the state to consult with the governor, particularly now that he had rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He described Okowa as a capable and competent colleague who worked closely with him in the senate for four years.

I spent four years with a very capable and competent colleague (Okowa) in the Senate.

We worked very closely together and I have come to spend some time with him and to hear his views now that I have rejoined the PDP.

Governor Okowa is a very important party member, he is someone I truly respect and I have come to listen to him, hear his views and to consult with him, Saraki said.

He commended the level of development going on in the state in the past three years, adding that the governor had impacted the people of the state through physical and manpower development programmes.

There is a lot of development in the state and this is what we want to see in most of our states.

The Senate President, however, said that he was not losing sleep about the rumour of his impeachment when the senate reconvenes.

I am not losing any sleep about impeachment, we have a country that a lot of Nigerians believe there must be rule of law, those who are talking about impeachment are engaging in cheap blackmail and I am not concerned about that, Saraki said.

On why he left the All Progressives Congress (APC), Saraki said that he already had a four page statement on the issue.

I have made a four page statement on why I left the APC and I made it very clear that the ideas and visions of what we expected, was not realised in the areas of democracy, justice, and so on.

Those that followed the political terrain of the last three years can see that the people are not happy, it is not about me but about Nigerians and about the kind of country we want to build.Video: Warmest Time of Year Soon - Oregon Coast's Second Summer Coming

Published 08/25/2018 at 4:37 AM PDT - Updated 08/25/2018 at 4:47 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff





(Oregon Coast) - The nicest time of the year on the Oregon coast arrives soon. September through October is (usually) when the beaches are at their warmest, sunniest and the least windy. Temps can easily shoot up into the 70s, and if you have a day of no wind, it will feel like the 80s by the water because the sand and the ocean reflect the energy back.

Its been nicknamed the Second Summer of the Oregon coast: literally the best of time of year on these shores. Generally, it runs through the middle of October, and then the coastline starts to take on its usual blustery pattern of increasing storms.

However, about half the time the end of October sees a brief resurgence of these near-tropical wonders, at least for a few days scattered about the last week or two.

Its a time thats attractive and full of all sorts of temptations. Beyond the fine weather factors, lodging prices really drop and its certainly less crowded. September tends to remain near summer numbers for people, though weekends are less, but all that starts to halt as soon as October rolls around.

This isnt 100 percent, of course. In fact, some years dont see much of the pleasant phenomenon. Last year featured more rainy or cloudy days in September and early October than usual. Another September a few years back actually saw a horrendous windstorm that kicked in and canceled the SOLVE Beach Cleanup.

The science behind it is a kick in the pants. The primary forces are that the ocean has been heated up over the summer, and the inland area cools just a bit. This makes for less of a temperature difference between the two, which allows for more winds from the east and from the south to come in, warming it even further. Yet another warming factor is that east winds get heated up a bit by coming over the Oregon Coast Range.

Those lesser temperature differences kill that effect of the inland sucking moisture off the ocean, which is what creates fog and what helps creates wind. So the winds are less, and thus when the nicer weather patterns come into the area, you have yet another warming factor.

Essentially, according to regional weather experts, the normally tempestuous coastline calms down because of these heating influences. As long as a more sunny weather system comes in, that is. If weather patterns have something different in mind, its simply rainy.

Keep your eye on the weather reports, especially weekdays or early October, and be ready to head out to the Oregon coast on short notice. You may find it extraordinary, and likely youll see better weather than you did during summer. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours









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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedMakarfi said this while reacting to calls by the APC Senators for Senate President Bukola Saraki to resignfollowing his defection to the PDP.

According to the PDP chieftain, the constitution does not state that the Senate President has to come from the ruling party.

He said this on Friday, August 24, 2018, while speaking to members of the PDP in Ondo state, according to Punch.

Speaking on the defection of APC members to the PDP, the former caretaker chairman said that the partys leadership will resolve any issues that arise from the integration of the new members.

I will refer the APC senators to the constitution for better understanding of the laws of our country.

I am not surprised with their actions; it shows their ignorance about the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, because the constitution is clear about that. If they are familiar with the constitution they will know that they lack the legal powers to impeach the Senate President.

I am sure they cannot have the two-thirds majority which the constitution requires for the impeachment of the Senate President. Our members in the senate are intelligent people who will not give lawlessness a place in the senate, he added."Burundi thinks this will be the final round" of talks, the minister said.

His comments come days after the UN Security Council criticised the slow progress in talks between Burundi's government and the opposition despite President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision not to seek re-election in 2020.

In a unanimous statement, the council welcomed Nkurunziza's announcement, but added that "additional progress will be necessary for credible elections" to be held in two years.

The East African (EAC) bloc of countries is seeking to broker a political deal between the government and the opposition to end the crisis that erupted in 2015 when Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term.

Nkurunziza's decision to run for re-election plunged Burundi into violence that left 1,200 people dead and drove 400,000 from to their homes. The International Criminal Court last year opened an investigation for grave crimes committed in Burundi.

So far the government has refused to hold talks with some opposition groups that it brands terrorists, despite a mediation set up by regional countries under former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa.

According to a diplomatic source, Mkapa wants to organise a fifth and last round of talks, seen as a final chance for a negotiated settlement, in the central Ugandan town of Entebbe in the last week of September.

The fourth session of Burundi political dialogue, held in late 2017 without the participation of the opposition in exile, ended without agreement.

The UN Security Council statement on Wednesday stressed that elections in Burundi must be "free, fair, transparent, peaceful and fully inclusive, with the participation of all political parties," and ensure the full participation of women."Germany stands ready to contribute to the peaceful resolution" of the decades-long conflict, she added.

Karabakh has been under Armenian control since it was seized during a bloody war in the early 1990s after the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Baku and Yerevan remain locked in a bitter dispute with frequent exchanges of fire along the volatile frontline nearly spiralling back into all-out war in 2016.

The international community still views Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and no country has recognised it as an independent nation.

Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region by force.

Moscow-allied Armenia has vowed to crush any military offensive.

On Saturday, Merkel will travel to Azerbaijan, where she is expected to discuss energy cooperation with the oil-rich Caspian nation which is seen as an alternative to Russian supplies of natural gas and oil to Europe.Joho who has declared interest in 2022 presidential elections was accompanied by a team of more than 20 legislators and politicians when he met the man who DP Ruto failed to met despite a 2-hour long wait.

Speculations are rife that a formidable alliance bringing together Joho, Baringo Senator Gideon Moi and politicians from across the country is in the offing.

The governor will over the weekend preside over a series of events in DP Rutos Rift Valley backyard.

His visit comes at a time when DP Ruto is facing an uphill task to redeem himself after a recent poll by IPSOS Synovate ranked him as the most corrupt Kenyan at 33% followed closely by Kirinyagas Anne Waiguru.

A section of DP Rutos allies have also alleged a secret plot to block him from succeeding Preesident Kenyatta.

The ongoing Mau forest evictions and the lifestyle audit ordered by President Uhuru Kenyatta have further weakened the Jubilee party with legislators publicly disagreeing.

Joho first met Gideon Moi in Mombasa in what he termed as a continuation of the building bridges initiative, causing a stir in DP Rutos support base amidst concern that the two could team up.

The governor enjoys massive support across the nation owing to his protracted battles with state agencies in the run up to last years general elections.

Joho won public sympathy after he was barred from attending several functions presided over by President Kenyatta in his county.Two male Kiwis have disrupted the global nappy market with their new nappy brand, Rascal + Friends.

The brand boasts optimum comfort, quality and even style, all produced in our very own New Zealand.

Grant Taylor and Nick Mowbray told RadioLIVE's Carly Flynn that they use social media and marketing to move with the times, describing their products as cool and trendy.

Mr Taylor started the brand with help from his sister Louise - a mum with four kids.

Enlisting old friend and fellow entrepreneur Mr Mowbray, the team entered the market hoping to make nappies that last and wont go out of style, all the while having no nasties, that is, they are good for the environment.

The company uses 'millennial marketing' to leverage its success, which the boys say that the mums "love.

Listen to the interview with Grant Taylor and Nick Mowbray above.

Weekend Life with Carly Flynn,10am - 2pm on Saturday and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone.

RadioLIVE.New Zealand fashion designer Turet Knuefermann will open the prestigious 2018 NZ Fashion Week for the first time in her 13 year career.



She speaks with Carly about why she has decided to debut now and how she has merged motherhood with her fashion career.



Listen to the interviews above.



Weekend Life with Carly Flynn,10am - 2pm on Saturday and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone.



RadioLIVE.Asia: On June 29 Bombardier signed a 245m contract to provide 20 years of rail system maintenance services for an undisclosed customer in Southeast Asia.With help from realty star David Bromstad, lucky lottery winners find and buy their first high-dollar house in a new season of My Lottery Dream Home.





Premiering Friday, 21 September on HGTV in the US, the 14 episode-season features Bromstad as he enthusiastically travels the country to take his newly moneyed clients on tours of luxurious properties, like a Long Island estate with exclusive access to a private beach. The series comes in with a fan base: The previous season of My Lottery Dream Home attracted more than 15.7 million viewers.I have the best job in the world, said Bromstad. I meet amazing families who have realized a dream few ever dowinning millions in the lottery. Now that their wish list has no limits, I can go on the ultimate search to find the home that fulfils their every fantasy.In the premiere episode, David meets a Florida family who struck millions on a scratch-off ticket. The couple, who currently rent a home, want a spacious residence with a pool for relaxing and entertaining, while their teenage daughter hopes for enough land to house and ride horses. David shows them three stunning options, including a fully remodelled house with a gorgeous pool and outdoor bar; a home in need of updates on five acres; and a property complete with a move-in ready house, pool and horse stable.Im looking for the perfect property for horses and people, said Bromstad. Here in Florida, were right in the heart of horse country so Im confident thatwith their big-ticket budgetI can find this family a home that fits the bill.Economics: Hawaii has taken a hit from Hurricane Lane, with an estimated 40 inches of rain and flooding in several areas. It's an old story: Already, claims of price gouging for everything from propane to airline tickets have emerged. Should Hawaiians curse the gougers? No, they should thank them.President Donald Trumps decision to appoint Ambassador John Bolton to serve as his National Security Advisor indicated clearly that Trump is advancing a national security strategy far different from those of his predecessors.

On and off for decades, Bolton has held some of the most senior foreign policy positions in the US government. And throughout his long career in foreign policy, Bolton has been the bane of the foreign policy elites. In part this owes to his extraordinary successes. After 15 years of fruitless and often half-hearted US efforts to repeal UN General Assembly Resolution 3379 from 1975 that branded Zionism as racism, as assistant secretary of state, Bolton got the job done in 1991.

As Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs in the George W. Bush administration, Bolton created and implemented the Proliferation Security Initiative. The PSI was the most successful counter-proliferation program the US has undertaken in recent years.

As UN Ambassador in 2005 and 2006, Bolton dismantled the corrupt UN Human Rights Commission. He opposed the formation of its successor, the equally corrupt Human Rights Committee, saying, We want a butterfly. We dont intend to put lipstick on a caterpillar and call it a success.

Boltons record of success engendered jealousy among many members of the Washington establishment. But they were more irked by his refusal to go along to get along. Boltons stubborn insistence on basing US policies on reality, rather than ideology or fashion has made him the bete noire of the foreign policy establishment.

Trumps decision to appoint a man who insists on operating on the basis of realities on the ground  even when they are inconvenient and make foreign policy professionals and queasy allies angry or nervous  speaks volumes about his approach to foreign policy and the goals he has set for his administration.

Long considered  rightly  one of Israels best friends in Washington, Bolton has distinguished himself throughout the years by his conviction that Israel is the USs most powerful and vital ally in the Middle East. So it isnt surprising that during his visit to Israel this week, one of his biggest headline-grabbing quotes was one where he seemed to reject the countrys hope of securing US recognition of its sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Speaking to Reuters Tuesday, Bolton said, Ive heard the idea [of US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights] being suggested but theres no discussion of it, no decision within the US government.

He added, Obviously we understand the Israeli claim that it has annexed the Golan Heights  we understand their position  but theres no change in the US position for now.

In a conversation with this writer Wednesday morning at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Bolton emphasized that he had said, for now.

I said, US recognition of Israels annexation of the Golan is not on the table, for now.

His clarification was not a diplomatic feint.

There are two aspects of the Trump White Houses relationship with Israel that distinguish it from its predecessors. Unlike his predecessors, but like Bolton, Trump relates to Israel as a key US ally and a partner. Trumps predecessors generally viewed Israel as a supplicant.

Trump and his advisors are willing to listen to Israels positions objectively. They dont assume, as many of their predecessors did, that their Israeli counterparts are hustling them.

When Bolton says the administration hasnt changed its policy regarding Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights, hes inviting Israel to make its case. Why is it important for the US to change its policy? How would such a move improve the strategic balance of forces on the ground? Why is it in the USs interests to act in this way?

If Israel has a case to make, the Trump White House is willing to listen.

Consider the attention the White House is paying to Irans entrenchment in Syria.

Bolton said, Syria was the main topic of discussion during President Trumps meeting with President [Vladimir] Putin in Helsinki [on July 16]. This was the case both during their meeting with their advisers and during their one-on-one meeting.

He added that the importance both leaders attributed to the issue didnt come out of thin air.

Prime Minister Netanyahus discussion of the issue during his phone call with the president earlier that week and during his visit with Putin during the FIFA tournament contributed to making Syria such an important issue, he explained.

In other words, when Netanyahu expressed his concerns about Syria, Trump listened.

Until recently, the Trump administrations position on Syria was the same as the Obama administrations. That is, the US is involved in Syria to fight Islamic State. Irans takeover of the country is not its problem.

Today the Trump administration shares Israels position that all Iranian forces must withdraw from Syria.

Trumps decision is not evidence that he is beholden to Israel. It is instead a demonstration of his determination to base US foreign policy on reality.

This determination marks the White Houses policy on Hezbollah as well.

On the face of things, the US-Israeli demand that Iran remove its forces from Syria seems to ignore the elephant in the room. Hezbollah is the second-most powerful military force in the Middle East  second only to the Israel Defense Forces, and the most daunting conventional threat Israel faces. This week, the IDF carried out a massive war exercise in the Golan Heights to prepare its forces for a war with Hezbollah.

As Syrian regime forces have seized the border zone with Israel, Hezbollah forces  often wearing Syrian military uniforms  have deployed directly across from Israel. They pose a clear and dire threat to Israeli security. Yet Israel and the US are not explicitly demanding their withdrawal.

Bolton assured that Hezbollah has not been given a free pass. It is simply that the US views Hezbollah forces as Iranian forces.

Hezbollah forces in Syria have to go back to Lebanon, he said.

He added, They are functionally part of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guards] Quds force. Given this state of affairs, making a separate demand for their departure is unnecessary.

The White Houses clear-eyed view of Hezbollah is not shared across the administration. For instance, the Pentagon stubbornly maintains  against mountains of proof  that Hezbollah does not control the Lebanese government and armed forces (LAF). The Pentagons position enables the US to continue to arm the LAF with advanced weapons systems and military training.

Over the past decade, the US has provided the LAF with more than $1.5 billion in military systems and trained 32,000 LAF troops.

In May, Hezbollah expanded its control over the Lebanese government in the parliamentary elections. In June, the US completed a shipment of six A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets to the LAF. In a ceremony marking the arms delivery, US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard hailed US military assistance to the LAF.

The acquisition of the A-29 Super Tucanowill transform an already-strong air power capability that has been a key part of the Lebanese Armys ability to defend this country, she said.

The A-29 provides the LAF with precision guided munitions and advanced precision strike capability. This is a game-changing acquisition that takes the LAF to the next level of combat capability.

Richard added, We will be complementing the power of the A-29 aircraft with six MD-530G light attack scout helicopters This is a significant air force that we are building together.

While avoiding the issue of US military support for Lebanon, Bolton noted that Israelis arent the only ones concerned about the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps units control of Lebanon.

Lebanese Americans are very worried about it. They see that [Lebanese President Michel] Aoun is controlled by Hezbollah, he ventured.

The White Houses concerns about Iranian power center on Trumps commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. To achieve this end, in stark contrast to both the Obama and Bush administrations, Trump is predicating his policies on the full realities of Irans nuclear program.

Compare, for instance, the Trump White Houses position regarding the Syrian nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zour that Israel destroyed in September 2007 to that of his two predecessors.

When Israel bombed the nuclear reactor in Syria, it acted in defiance of then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice wished to discuss the North Korean-built reactor at the UN Security Council. The Olmert government and other senior members of the Bush administration opposed Rices position. Former prime minister Ehud Olmert and Vice President Dick Cheney realized that if the US raised the issue at the UN, any chance of destroying the reactor would disappear into the mist of prolonged sanctions debates.

After Israel destroyed the reactor, Rice demanded that Israel say nothing what it did.

Rices concern wasnt simply a function anger at being ignored. She didnt want the truth exposed because it made her non-proliferation policies impossible to justify.

The North Koreans didnt build the Deir ez-Zour reactor alone. As Israeli officials whispered unofficially in the ears of reporters, Iran was also a partner in the project. Iran paid for the reactor.

Rice was unwilling to publicize the fact that Iran and North Korea were jointly engaged in illicit nuclear proliferation activities in Syria because in 2007 she was trying to appease Pyongyang into signing a nuclear deal and she was working to warm US relations with Iran.

But Rices policies and determination to ignore the truth paled in comparison to the Obama administrations policies.

In 2013, then President Barack Obamas deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told supporters that forging a nuclear accord with Iran was the central goal of Obamas second term. Basing US policy toward Irans nuclear program on the reality of the programs malign intentions  as manifested by the Syrian reactor  would hinder Obamas chances of achieving the deal he sought.

So he ignored reality and insisted that Israel remain silent about the operation.

Israels public acknowledgement that it destroyed the reactor had to wait for the Trump administration.

Unlike its predecessors, the Trump administration has not made its goal to reach a nuclear accord with Iran or North Korea. Its goal is to dismantle North Koreas nuclear arsenal and to block Irans path to a nuclear arsenal. To achieve this end, full acknowledgment of all aspects of both regimes nuclear operations is essential.

And so it is that Wednesday morning, Bolton readily admitted, Syrian officers who defected to the United States have told us that they helped transfer the Iranian funds that financed the North Korean built nuclear reactor in Syria.

Tipping his hat to the USs most powerful ally in the Middle East, and perhaps signaling US considerations in its nuclear talks with Pyongyang, Bolton added, The lesson Iran took from the 2007 bombing [of the reactor] was that if you conduct illicit nuclear operations, do them far away from Israel.Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale

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Search Real EstateThe word grief is often associated with loss of a loved one and a five-part process, but it can be brought on in different ways and requiresFor the first time the University of Georgia Involvement Fair was held in the Tate Student Center on Aug. 23 from 7 to 10 p.m., whereas in theThis may seem like a very bad time for someone who is not even a Catholic to defend priests, but that is what I need to do this week.

Tommy (My deceased friend and partner for many years, Fr. Thomas Hartman) and I lived through the first big pedophilia priest scandal in Boston, and at the time I remember that we did our best to condemn in the most powerful way we could all those priests who used the trust of their holy vocations to sexually abuse children. All abuses of children are obscene, but the abuse of a child by a man who hides behind a childs trust in God is absolutely monstrous.

However, I also remember at the same time, Tommy and I also tied to encourage people who had been served faithfully by loving and virtuous priests not to give up on the goodness in them, and to not give up on the institution of the Catholic Church and its ability to purge itself of the sinful cancer in its body.

Now, without Tommy by my side, I want to say the same things and make the same pleas. To quote Abraham in his biblical appeal to God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? (Genesis 18:23). The appeal of the Catholic Church now is the same as the appeal of Abraham. The Church is pierced by new accusations from Pennsylvania, and after assuring the public that steps had been taken to address this problem the last time, now discovers that not enough was done, and in some cases that nothing at all was done. So again the Abrahamic cry goes out not to sweep away the righteous with the wicked. This time the plea may be too late. This is not a minor moral failing. It is a deep systemic cancer in the Catholic Church and it must be cut out. All who admire the Churchs mission must join the Pope in praying for a way to protect the holy work of the righteous priests while also allowing justice to sweep clean the halls of the church of those predators and sinners who have imperiled the life and future of the Church.

The recent appeal of the Pope in a letter to all Catholics, unlike the appeal of Abraham, was rightly directed at the people of God and not God. That is a good start. God does not need to hear the Popes contrition. Catholics need to hear it now. His shame and guilt seems sincere, and yet, the time has long passed when simple shame and contrition is sufficient. The same sentiments were expressed the last time this scandal erupted, and now facing the credible allegations from Pennsylvania against over three hundred priests and their bishops who knowingly moved the guilty ones around from parish to parish, more is needed than shame.

Unfortunately, the Popes letter did not specify what actual steps would be taken to end this monstrous threat to the innocence of Catholic children in the care of priests. I have a modest suggestion and I am proud to say that it is not mine. I was speaking recently to a friend of mine who is active in the higher echelons of the Church, and he recounted to me a conversation with his friend who is a cardinal in a large American city that has not been tainted with this scandal. He told me that he asked the cardinal how he handled accusations of abuse against priests in his diocese. His response was simple and clear and direct. He said, When an accusation comes in I call the police. So simple. So right. The Church cannot police itself. The conflict of interest runs too deep. Let the police and then the courts sort out the innocent from the guilty. Let people see that the Church will not use its power to shield itself from justice but to pursue justice.

Call the police is the only advice the Church needs now.

As for those of us who view the Catholic Church from outside as sympathetic friends and observers, I do not want you to lose hope in an institution that is, I believe, populated with both criminals and heroes. May the heroes win. The mission of the Church is too important to be swamped by cowardice and sin. The sacrifice and love of thousands of dedicated priests is too central to the social fabric of America and to Gods work in our needful land.

Let us pray for the Church now, and when the predators are revealed let their bishops and their Cardinals and their Pope pick up the phone and call the police. Then, and only then, will there be time for shame.

Send ALL QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com. Rabbi Gellman is the author of several books, including Religion for Dummies, co-written with Fr. Tom Hartman.Prime Minister Obote and President Sir Edward Mutesa at Uganda's 1962 Independence celebration.

[Letter from New York]

The political, economic, social and environmental devastation caused by the struggle to control and exploit minerals especially diamonds in Western, Central and Southern Africa is too well known to be repeated here.

From early days, Uganda's strategic location combined with its natural and human resources has attracted people of different interests and orientations. The Arabs entered what later became Uganda in search of ivory and Africans to enslave from East and North Africa. The Egyptians sought control of Uganda because it sat at the source of the White Nile. The Arabs began to Islamize Ugandans which in turn attracted Protestants and Catholics who fought over the control of the area. Then came formal colonization of Africa after the Berlin Conference of 1884/85.

Directly or indirectly, the scramble over Uganda was fierce. The Germans wanted it. The French wanted it. The Belgians wanted it. The British wanted it. Why? Uganda is the gateway from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. Uganda is the gateway to the mineral resources of the Great Lakes region. Uganda is the source of the White Nile. Uganda is the "refueling" station between Cairo and Cape Town. Being in the neighborhood of the Arab World, Uganda has been a factor in Middle East politics. This explains why Uganda was conquered primarily for its strategic rather than its commercial value.

At the Berlin Conference, the participants agreed that Africa should be carved into colonies through peaceful negotiations and effective occupation. Consequently, Germany received Heligoland to stay out of Uganda. France received Madagascar for the same and other reasons and King Leopold or Belgium received parts of Uganda as the borders were adjusted.

To keep Uganda firmly under its control and benefit Europeans in Kenya, Britain from the beginning of the colonization of East Africa wanted Uganda to federate with Kenya or to be settled by White people. A Uganda railway was constructed to, inter alia, possibly move troops into Uganda quickly if it became necessary.

Heading toward the 1960s, as independence approached the British authorities revisited the possibility of an East African federation with the principal purpose to keep Uganda under British control in one form or another because of her strategic location. This effort has experienced difficulties since then to the present.

World War II ended European dominance and created two new Super Powers -- the United States of America and the Soviet Union; both sought to dominate the world through the Cold War that began in 1945 and ended in 1990.

During this period, the world was divided into two camps: the capitalist camp led by the United States and the communist/socialist camp led by the Soviet Union.

The Super Powers battled for control of North Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region.

The Soviet Union and its communist or socialist ideology had influence in Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Somalia and to a certain extent Tanzania and Zambia; the latter two countries were more influenced by China. The United States had a foothold in Ethiopia, Kenya and then Zaire, now DRC. The American areas formed a blue belt and the Russian areas a red belt. Uganda found itself sitting at the intersection of the two belts. Hence the struggle for Uganda and its destabilizing impact.

Because of its strategic location, when Uganda became independent, it was handed over to Prime Minister Milton Obote by Britain as a trusted capitalist. When Obote changed his mind in pursuit of a policy to serve the masses better and launched in 1969 the Common Man's Charter that replaced capitalism with socialism, he was quickly shown the exit through the January 1971 military coup that brought in General Idi Amin. He was initially characterized by Western media as the "Gentle Giant", that the British trusted; they hoped he would return the country to the capitalist camp.

After 10 years in exile in Tanzania, Obote regained presidency of Uganda on a promise that he had abandoned his socialist ideology and would pursue a policy of non-alignment in international relations including in the Middle East. However, his mixed economy policy and support to liberation movements and territories under occupation raised questions about his sincerity. Those unsure didn't want to take chances. They decided to show him the exit once again in 1985.

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) government under Gen. Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986 with support of various ideological orientations and an economic philosophy of mixed economy enshrined in the 10-point program similar to Obote's Uganda People's Congress' (UPC's) 1980 election manifesto. However, the NRM leadership quickly learned that it had strayed into a wrong economic direction. It abruptly changed course and launched in 1987 a neo-liberal economic policy of shock therapy structural adjustment that went beyond what Obote had implemented between 1981 and 1985.

The NRM government under the guidance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank stabilized, liberalized, privatized and de-regulated Uganda's economy and embarked on an export-led economic growth path, all in line with the Washington Consensus.

Uganda became the centre of experimentation of all sorts of ideas and in return was rewarded with massive financial, technical and political support for staying the course in spite of the hardship to the people (income inequality, deepening and spreading poverty, unemployment and food insecurity), damage to the economy in the form of de-industrialization and severe environmental degradation. Unlike in other countries, like Kenya, NRM government was allowed to postpone elections for 10 years because democracy and structural adjustment of the shock therapy version were very strange bed fellows.

Although structural adjustment was officially abandoned worldwide as well as in Uganda in 2009, the NRM government hasn't developed a viable alternative for fear it might introduce elements of socialism and incur the wrath of those powers that want to retain control of Uganda as a capitalist and strategic country for their national security interests.

Ipso facto, Uganda doesn't have much room to design its policy that suits the national interests or even independently select its own leaders and hold them accountable. Since independence in 1962, external factors have had a role in determining who governs Uganda and under what conditions. Consequently, it has been difficult for patriotic leaders to emerge and govern Uganda because doing so might loosen foreigners' control over Uganda as a strategic and capitalist country.

It is fair to conclude that Uganda's strategic location has been a curse in the sense that Ugandans are not in a position to design their destiny as sovereign and independent people.

Eric Kashambuzi is a political analyst and international economist in New York.The national-security adviser to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has resigned from his position, an Afghan official said on August 25.

A spokesman for the Afghan National Security Council confirmed to RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that Mohammad Hanif Atmar had resigned his post but did not give further details.

A statement from Ghani's office on August 25 said that Atmar has been replaced by Hamdullah Mohib, the Afghan Ambassador to the United States.

Atmar had previously served as the country's interior minister under former Afghan President Hamid Karzai. He has served as a close aide to Ghani since 2014.

Tolo News on August 25 published a copy of what it said was Atmar's resignation letter, reporting that he resigned due to "serious differences over policies and approaches at the top level of government."

The authenticity of the letter could not immediately be confirmed.

Atmar's resignation comes amid a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, which in recent weeks has been hit by several deadly attacks carried out by suspected Islamic State militants, including a rocket attack near the presidential palace in Kabul.

With reporting by AP, Tolo News, and dpa

The crash of a tourist bus near the Bulgarian capital has killed at least 16 people and injured 26 others, officials say.

Nikolay Gabrovski from Sofia's emergency hospital said five people still had life-threatening injuries on August 26, a day after the tourist bus flipped over on a highway.

Police said the accident, near the town of Svoge, occurred about 50 kilometers from Sofia shortly after 5 p.m. local time, and that the bus crushed four other vehicles.

They said the bus was carrying 33 pilgrims from the village of Bozhurishte, north of the capital, and a driver.

The passengers were on their way to visit a monastery.

An investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched.

Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest member, has a network of roads that suffer from poor maintenance.

The Bulgarian government has declared August 27 to be a national day of mourning.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpaAustria's foreign minister has defended her curtsy to Russian President Vladimir Putin at her wedding last week, calling it a customary dance move and not a sign of submission.

Karin Kneissl made the comments in an interview with Austrian radio ORF broadcast on August 25, a week after her wedding at which Putin made a high-profile and controversial appearance.

Video footage showed Kneissl dancing with Putin at the wedding celebration and delivering a deep curtsy at the end.

"This was portrayed in commentaries as an act of submission, of prostration. And anyone who knows me knows that I submit to no one," Kneissl said in the ORF interview, adding that the curtsy came after Putin had bowed to her.

Kneissl, an independent, was picked for the foreign minister job by the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), a coalition partner in Austria's government.

The FPOe, which has advocated lifting European Union sanctions against Moscow, has ties with Russia's ruling United Russia party.

The European Union, the United States, and other countries imposed sanctions against Russia over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine who are fighting government forces.

Austria was one of the few EU member states not to expel Russian diplomats following the poisoning of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in Britain in March.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and dpa

Thirty-three-year-old Mostafa Abdi, a member of Iran's largest Sufi order and editor of a news outlet focused on the Gonabadi dervish community, appears set to spend the most productive years of his life in an Iranian prison.

Abdi was reportedly sentenced earlier this month to more than 26 years, and 148 lashes, following a conviction on security charges that include acting against Iran's national security, spreading propaganda against the Iranian establishment, and disrupting public order.

Abdi, who previously spent three years in jail on similar charges, must also spend two years in internal exile in one of Iran's most remote provinces. He can neither travel outside the country nor participate in any media or political activities for two years after his prison sentence is served.

His is one in a recent slew of sentences stemming from an ongoing crackdown against dervishes and detentions that followed clashes between members of that sect and security forces in the capital in February.

Three security troops died when they were run down by a bus and two Basij militia members during those skirmishes, which began with protests sparked by rumors -- dismissed by authorities -- that police planned to arrest the sect's 90-year-old leader. Some 300 dervishes were said to have been arrested following that unrest.

Eight of Abdi's colleagues at the Majzooban news outlet are said to have been ordered to serve prison terms ranging from five to 12 years in addition to lashes and two-year bans on journalistic activities.

The dervishes have long complained of persecution and an official gag on reporting on their plight among Iran's heavily censored state news outlets.

'Persecuting Independent News'

Many conservatives in Iran describe them as heretics and a danger to Islam.

Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders warned on August 23 that the recent sentences are examples of how Iranian judicial authorities "persecute independently reported news and information."

The fates of many of the other dervishes arrested after the February violence remain unclear, although one man, Mohammad Reza Salas, was hanged after being convicted in a widely criticized trial of killing the police officers, and another reportedly died after being taken into official custody.

Amnesty International said security forces in February resorted to beatings, water cannons, tear gas, and guns to disperse a crowd of dervishes gathered outside the home of their nonagenarian leader, Paris-educated lawyer Nurali Tabandeh, to thwart a rumored detention.

Authorities have described dervishes as "rioters" and "seditionists" in connection with the confrontations and accused them of attacking security forces with sticks and rocks.

Hard-line clerics have called for the stiffest of punishments, with some equating them with the militant group Islamic State (IS).

Salas's execution was criticized by Amnesty International as a "travesty of justice."

'Millions Under Pressure'

Dozens of those detained have been sentenced to prison terms in recent weeks, according to Sufi sources that quoted the families of detainees.

"The severe prison sentences issued for the dervishes are an ultimatum to others not to speak up," Turkey-based Majzooban editor Alireza Roshan, who describes the prisoners as "hostages" of the clerical establishment, said.

Roshan said another Majzooban editor and reporter, Kasra Nuri, was sentenced to 12 years in prison along with several members of his family. Nuri's two brothers, a photographer and a law student, received two- and six-year prison sentences, and his mother, a kindergarten teacher, was sentenced to five years in prison, Roshan said.

Mohammad Sharifi Moghadam, a Majzooban reporter and rights activist, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to a family member.

Three other members of the website, Sina Entesari, his brother Reza Entesari, and editor Salaheddin Moradi, were each sentenced to seven years in prison.

At least three women who contributed to Majzooban have been sentenced to five years in prison.

Roshan said the establishment has dealt a serious blow to the Gonabadi order.

"Two hundred and eight dervishes have been sentenced to a total of 1,076 years in prison," Roshan said, adding, "It's a deadly blow; it's like a truck hitting a small car, leaving several people in a coma."

"We don't have just 300 prisoners -- millions of dervishes are under pressure," the wife of a Majzooban staff member who faces more than a decade in prison, told RFE/RL. She requested anonymity out of fear of official retribution for speaking out. "A totalitarian establishment does not want to hear any voice other than its own, it aims at eliminating [dissenting] groups."

She added that Iranian authorities were "cracking down on the dervishes harder because they fear their unity."

Abdi's father, Hassan Abdi, said his son's "extraordinary and unbelievable" sentence was aimed at creating fear. "A radical current in the country sees dervishes as rivals and wants to counter them and show its power. They've succeeded in the short run," he said. "In the long run, these methods won't resolve the country's problems."

He said his son was not planning to appeal his sentence.

"The managers and reporters of Majzooban will not appeal, and I support their decision," Hassan Abdi said. "The court refused lawyers for my son and others who could not defend themselves. We consider the court's decision illegal."

A prominent human rights lawyer in Iran says she has started a hunger strike while in jail on accusations of antigovernment activities.

The hunger strike by Nasrin Sotoudeh was announced on August 25 on the Facebook page of her husband, Reza Khandan.

The Facebook posts said the move was motivated by authorities' pressure on Sotoudeh's relatives and friends, as well as a failure by officials to respond to her requests.

Authorities arrested Sotoudeh, 55, in June to serve a five-year sentence issued against her in absentia in September 2016 for allegedly carrying out "activities against national security in collaboration with domestic and foreign antirevolutionary elements," according to Human Rights Watch.

International rights groups and the U.S. government have denounced the arrest of the lawyer, who earlier in 2018 represented several women detained for publicly protesting the compulsory hijab.

Sotoudeh's lawyer said earlier this month that she has also been accused of espionage on top of the other charges.

Sotoudeh -- the co-winner of the European Parliament's 2012 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought -- has denied all charges against her.

As outspoken critic of the Iranian establishment, Sotoudeh has previously spent several years in prison on security charges, including acting against Iran's national security.

She has defended journalists, rights activists, and juveniles.

With reporting by dpa, AFP, and IRNAGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel held what she called "intensive" discussions with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in talks that addressed energy cooperation, human rights, and the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The meeting between Merkel and Aliyev in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, on August 25 included a discussion of the human rights situation in the South Caucasus nation that the German chancellor said was conducted in an "open atmosphere," Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said on Twitter.

Critics accuse Aliyev's government of carrying out a targeted crackdown on dissent in recent years, though the Azerbaijani leader has repeatedly rejected such criticism.

"We discussed the issue of the domestic situation in Azerbaijan and addressed human rights, also in a very open atmosphere," Merkel said, according to a transcript of her press conference with Aliyev released by her office.

"We did not find common ground on all issues. But I argued that a strong civil society must be part of an open, secular society and made clear that we would like to see this strong civil society," Merkel added.

Merkel's stop in Baku on August 25 -- the final leg of a three-day tour to South Caucasus that included visits to Georgia and Armenia -- also included a meeting with rights activists and the prominent Azerbaijani investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova, a former RFE/RL contributor.

Ismayilova, who spent nearly 18 months in jail on charges widely viewed as retaliation for her investigative reporting before her release in May 2016, wrote on Facebook following the meeting that she spoke to Merkel "about corruption and how it undermines peace, democracy, and security in Azerbaijan."

"I asked to be more outspoken on human rights and democracy issues because people here need to see examples of European politicians who aren't silenced by corruption money," she wrote.

Merkel "said our concerns are important and some have been addressed in the meeting she had with President Aliyev. I hope to hear more from her," Ismayilova wrote.

Azerbaijan's opposition, as well as Western officials and international human rights groups, have accused Aliyev's government of persecuting opposition politicians, activists, independent media outlets, and journalists, often using what they allege are trumped-up criminal charges.

Aliyev, who has repeatedly shrugged off accusations of corruption and stifling dissent, defended his government's record on human rights during an August 25 news conference alongside Merkel, saying Baku "is committed to democratic values."

"All democratic institutions exist in Azerbaijan. All the liberties have been provided, in particular, freedom of speech, freedom of the press. There are hundreds of media outlets in Azerbaijan, including opposition media. Thereby, no one is being persecuted for the criticism [of the authorities] or for the [critical] views in Azerbaijan," Aliyev said.

The two leaders also discussed energy cooperation between Europe and Azerbaijan, where Aliyev has ruled the nation of almost 10 million people with an iron fist since 2003.

Addressing a business roundtable in Baku on August 25, Merkel described Azerbaijan as "an important partner in the diversification of our energy supply within the European Union," according to a transcript released by her office.

Nagorno-Karabakh

Merkel also said that Berlin could assist in mediating the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

"Germany wants to help find peaceful solutions," Merkel told reporters, adding that the conflict over the mountainous territory is a significant burden on the region.

The region, populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan amid a 1988-94 war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Since 1994, Nagorno-Karabakh has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces which Baku says include troops supplied by Armenia. The region's claim to independence has not been recognized by any country.

Internationally mediated negotiations involving the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) helped forge a cease-fire in the region, which is not always honored, but have failed to produce a lasting settlement of the conflict.

In Yerevan a day earlier, Merkel told reporters that "it is important that the conflict is resolved peacefully" and that Germany "stands ready" to contribute to a solution.

Merkel noted that Germany is a member of the OSCE's Minsk Group and that "we stand ready to assume responsibility within the framework of the Karabakh settlement process."

With reporting by DPA, Azernews, DW.com, and TASSRussian opposition politician and anticorruption campaigner Aleksei Navalny has been detained outside his residence in Moscow, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter on August 25.

Yarmysh said Navalny had been taken to a local police station and that his cell phone was taken away by the police.

She said later that his detention appears to be connected to January 28 protests supporting a boycott of Russia's presidential election.

More than 250 people, including Navalny, were detained across the country during those protests.

Yarmysh said in a tweet later on August 25 that Navalny was taken from the Moscow police precinct where he was held due to a suspected injury to his finger that he may have suffered as he was being detained.

He was later brought back to the precinct and is expected to face a court hearing on August 27, Yarmysh wrote.

Russia's state-run TASS news agency cited the press office of the Moscow city police as saying that it did not have any information about Navalny's detention.

Navalny, 42, has served several jail terms on charges related to organizing antigovernment protests, and he was convicted twice on financial-crimes charges he says were trumped up by the Kremlin as retribution for his opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Most recently, he was released in June after serving 30 days in jail for organizing protests against Putin's inauguration in early May.

Navalny was barred from running in the March 18 presidential election because of his criminal record. That election, which Kremlin critics say was rigged in Putin's favor, handed the Russian president a fresh six-year term.

Earlier on August 25, Navalny announced on Twitter that he and his team planned to make several "very cool announcements" via his YouTube channel and urged people to tune in.

The YouTube link attached to the tweet said the video was unavailable.

Yarmysh said she believes Navalnys detention is linked to protests he is organizing in numerous Russian cities on September 9 against a controversial government plan to raise the retirement age.

The plan sparked widespread anger after it was announced last month, and Putin's approval ratings have fallen.

Tens of thousands of people protested in cities across the country on July 28, and many other demonstrations have been held.

A top security official at the Moscow mayor's office said on August 25 that city authorities were considering an application filed by Navalny's supporters to stage the protest in the Russian capital on September 9, the same day that the Moscow mayoral election will be held.

Navalny's supporters are seeking permission to hold the protest on a central Moscow street near the Kremlin.

Moscow authorities frequently reject opposition activists' requests to stage rallies in the city center, citing security concerns and disruptions for road traffic and pedestrians.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Russian Service, Reuters, and Interfax

Police in Moscow on August 25 detained three people on Red Square commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1968 protest there against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Those detained included relatives of two of the eight protesters who were hauled away by Soviet secret police fifty years ago for protesting against the invasion by Warsaw Pact troops that brought an end to Czechoslovakia's attempted liberalization of the communist system.

Those detained at the August 25 commemoration included veteran Russian liberal politician Leonid Gozman and rights activist Sergei Sharov-Delaunay -- a cousin of the late Vadim Delaunay, a Soviet poet dissident who participated in the 1968 action.

Also detained was Anna Krasovitskaya, granddaughter of the late poet and translator Natalya Gorbanevskaya, who was held in a psychiatric hospital after her arrest for the 1968 protest and later emigrated to the West.

Gozman and Delaunay were detained as they attempted to unfurl one banner that read "For Our Freedom And Yours" and another honoring the 1968 protesters, according to a correspondent for RFE/RL's Russian Service at the scene.

Krasovitskaya stood with a placard supporting Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is currently on an extended hunger strike to protest his imprisonment in Russia

Sentsov, a vocal opponent of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, was sentenced in 2015 for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, charges he and human rights groups say were politically motivated.

Gozman, Sharov-Delaunay, and Krasovitskaya were all later released but were written up for allegedly violating laws on public demonstrations, according to the Russian news portal OVD-Info, which tracks detentions of protesters.

One of the original 1968 protesters -- physicist Pavel Litvinov -- was among the dozens of participants in the August 25 demonstration.

Litvinov is one of only three surviving 1968 protesters, most of whom suffered years of exile or imprisonment due to the action.

In June, the Czech Republic honored the three -- Litvinov, Tatyana Bayeva, and Viktor Fainberg -- to mark the 50th anniversary of their protest.

With reporting by AFP, ovdinfo.org, and Ekho MoskvyThe United Nations' refugee agency has called on European Union countries to take responsibility for 150 migrants stranded aboard an Italian coast guard ship and urging Italy to let the migrants off the ship immediately.

"The time has come to end the back-and-forth that has seen countries competing in a race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea," the UN high commissioner for refugees Filippo Grandi said.

"It is dangerous and immoral to put the lives of refugees and asylum seekers at risk while states engage in a political tug-of-war on long-term solutions," Grandi added in a statement released on August 25.

The migrants are on the Diciotti, an Italian coast guard ship docked in Catania since August 20.

Italy's government is refusing to let it disembark passengers unless other EU nations pledge to take them.

Based on reporting by AP and DPA

The top U.S. envoy on Iran has criticized a European Union decision to give 18 million euros in aid to Tehran, saying it sends "the wrong message at the wrong time."

"Foreign aid from European taxpayers perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes," Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said late on August 24 in a statement.

"The Iranian people face very real economic pressures caused by their government's corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts," he said.

"The United States and the European Union should be working together to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran's people and end the regime's threats to regional and global stability."

The EU has said it is providing the $20.7 million in aid to Iran to offset the impact of U.S. economic sanctions as European countries try to salvage the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers that the United States abandoned in May.

The payment comes about a week after the United States started reimposing sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the nuclear accord.

The EU funding is part of a wider package of 50 million euros earmarked in the bloc's budget for Iran, which has threatened to stop complying with the nuclear accord if it no longer sees any economic benefit from it.

Hook called on the EU to abandon its efforts to meet Iran's demands and join the United States in putting economic pressure on the Shi'ite Muslim clerics who rule Iran.

"More money in the hands of [Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] means more money to conduct assassinations in those very European countries," he said.

Hook may have been referring to a suspected bomb plot against an Iranian opposition rally in France in late June that was thwarted by European authorities. An Iranian diplomat is suspected of involvement.

Iran did not immediately respond to Hook's accusations.

'Stronger Impact Than Expected'

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton told Reuters earlier this week that the return of U.S. sanctions was having a stronger impact on Iran's economy and popular opinion than the White House expected.

The threat of sanctions for months has seen the Iranian rial slump to record lows against the U.S. dollar, helping to stoke street protests against rising prices and economic hardship in Iran.

The U.S. sanctions revived this month target Iran's car industry, trade in gold and other precious metals, and purchases of U.S. dollars crucial to support its oil exports and other global trade.

Further U.S. sanctions are due to go into effect in November specifically targeting Iran's banking sector and oil industry, which drives growth in the Iranian economy.

U.S. officials have said their goal is to reduce Iran's oil exports to "zero" and have demanded that other countries that import Iranian oil comply with the sanctions.

Hook's criticism of the EU over its aid payments to Iran came on the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed them as a "big mistake" and claimed the money would be used to build weapons and fund conflicts in the Middle East, rather than help the Iranian people.

"I think giving money to this regime at this time is a big mistake and should be stopped. It's like a poison pill to the Iranian people and to the efforts to curb Iranian aggression in the region," Netanyahu said on a visit to Lithuania.

"Where will the extra money go? It is not going to go to solve the water problem in Iran, it is not going to go for Iranian truck drivers," he said. "It is going to go to the missiles and the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, Syria, and elsewhere in the Middle East."

Netanhyahu, speaking at a press conference that followed a meeting with three Baltic prime ministers -- Lithuania's Saulius Skvernelis, Estonia's Juri Ratas and Maris Kucinskis of Latvia -- said "Iran attempted to conduct a terror attack on European soil just weeks ago... That is incredible."

"All countries should join the efforts to restore sanctions on Iran in order to press them to stop their aggression and desist on their terrorist activities," he said.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

The U.S. Navy has formally reestablished its Second Fleet as a result of a renewed focus on the North Atlantic Ocean, where the Russian military has been operating with increasing frequency in a way not seen since the Cold War.

The mostly organizational change announced on August 24 revives an Admiral-level command to oversee American warships as they deploy between the U.S. East Coast and the Barents Sea, off of the coasts of Norway and Russia.

The revived fleet reflects a major shift in U.S. military strategy recently from focusing on terrorism in the Middle East -- where the Islamic State extremist group last year was largely defeated -- to growing U.S. competition with both Russia and China.

"We're not looking for a fight," Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said aboard the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Virginia, where the Second Fleet will be based. "But the best way to avoid a fight is develop the most powerful and deadly and competitive Navy possible," he said.

Richardson asserted that the Second Fleet would be able to "conduct decisive combat operations to defeat any enemy."

Both China and Russia are building larger navies as they move to expand their global influence. And Russia in particular has been increasing its submarine patrols, among other military activities.

In 2017, Russian Admiral Vladimir Korolyov said his nation's submarine crews had spent more than 3,000 days on patrol in the last year, matching the Soviet-era operational tempo. It's unclear how many days Russian subs had been on patrol in the years prior to 2017.

"It's an excellent level," he said in remarks carried by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.

On August 24, Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Kravchenko dismissed the U.S. announcement as a mostly rhetorical and political move by Washington's "political elite," in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax.

"They didn't build new ships. Everything is the same. They've just reformed and put together a new cluster of vessels and called it the Second Fleet, which would be focused on operations in the Atlantic," he said.

Still, Kravchenko told the Interfax news agency that to "maintain parity" with the bolstered U.S. presence, Russia's Northern and Baltic Fleets will need new seaworthy vessels.

"Our Navy receives some new ships every year, but, unfortunately, we've been building a very limited number of oceanic vessels," he said.

Increasingly Frequent Encounters



The refocused U.S. naval presence in the North Atlantic also reflects growing concerns about information warfare among NATO allies as Russian ships have been observed lingering near vital undersea communications cables that criss-cross the Atlantic.

Encounters between Russian and NATO warplanes have also become increasingly frequent in the region.

In January, Britain's Royal Air Force scrambled two fighter jets to intercept Russian strategic bombers near U.K. airspace.

The original Second Fleet was created in 1950 as a response to a growing threat from the Soviet Union.

It played an integral role in events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, when its ships established a blockade to stop Soviet ships from reaching the island.

The fleet was eliminated and merged with Fleet Forces Command in 2011 to save costs.

Having a Second Fleet allows the United States to work more closely and effectively with its NATO allies, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Gary Roughead told AP in an interview. And they will be better prepared to respond to potential Russian aggression, he added.

Roughead said he fully expects the Russian military to increase its presence in the Atlantic in the coming years. One critical area will be the waters between the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Greenland, he told AP.

"Clearly, the Russian fleet is not the size that the Soviet fleet used to be, and nor is our fleet," said Roughead, a former chief of naval operations who is now a fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. "But I think the reactivation is a very wise thing to do."

Separately on August 24, the U.S. military also marked the official activation of a new command to innovate and prepare to counter new types of weapons being developed by Russia and China.

The Army Futures Command is headquartered in Austin, Texas and will be headed by a four-star general, with a staff of about 500 civilian and military personnel.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and InterfaxThe United States has told Russia it is ready to take strong military action against Syria if President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons to try to recapture one of his countrys last rebel-held provinces, Bloomberg News is reporting.

Bloomberg reported late on August 24, citing anonymous sources, that U.S. officials claim to have information indicating that Assad may be planning a chemical attack in the northwestern province of Idlib, near Syria's border with Turkey.

It said White House national-security adviser John Bolton at a meeting in Geneva on August 23 told his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, that Washington is prepared to respond with greater military force than it has used in the past to punish Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons.

U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly vowed to strike back at Assad for any use of chemical weapons and has ordered air strikes on two occasions since taking office last year, both in response to incidents in which dozens of Syrian civilians were reported killed in chemical weapons attacks.

Moscow reacted to Bolton's comments on August 25, warning Washington against "reckless" actions in Syria.

"We warn the Americans and their allies against taking new reckless steps in Syria," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency as saying.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, claimed that militants in Syria's northwestern Idlib Province were planning a chemical weapons attack in order to blame it on government forces.

Bolton's reported private warning to Patrushev echoes a public statement issued by the United States, Britain, and France earlier this week warning Syria not to use chemical weapons again as it accelerates its campaign to retake Idlib, the last remaining stronghold of Syrian Sunni rebels who have been battling Assad's forces for seven years.

While the United States has staged air strikes in Syria twice in the last year, they apparently did not achieve their goal of disabling Assad's capacity to make and use chemical weapons, Bloomberg reported.

In April 2017, U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea fired about 60 cruise missiles at a Syrian air base which had allegedly been used to launch a sarin gas attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun. A year later, Britain and France joined the United States in carrying out multiple air strikes against what they said were Syrian chemical weapons facilities.

The previous attacks targeted alleged chemical sites but, according to Bloomberg, Bolton told Petrushev that Trump might order broader attacks against Syrian government targets the next time.

Washington has held Russia partly responsible for Syria's chemical weapons use because Moscow is Syria's biggest ally and it has shielded Damascus from efforts to rein in Assad at the United Nations.

Both Russia and Syria deny Assad has used chemical weapons, despite several instances that were documented by the UN.

Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, have been deploying around Idlib and waging air raids and artillery attacks in what appears to be preparations for a major assault that Assad has promised in order to retake the province.

Tens of thousands of the rebels in Idlib were transported there from other parts of Syria in the last year under safe passage agreements brokered by Russia as Syrian forces regained control of areas around Damascus and the southern border with Israel and Jordan which were once held by the rebels.

Because they are diehard holdouts from elsewhere around the country, Bloomberg said the rebels that remain in Idlib are now dominated by militants from Al-Qaeda and other extremist Sunni groups.

As Western-backed moderate Sunni rebels have surrendered or retreated in the last year, Washington appears to have given up on its longtime goal of toppling Assad and has focused on two other objectives: stopping any further use of chemical weapons by Assad and curbing Iranian influence in Syria.

The United States still has about 2,000 troops in northeast Syria, allied with Kurdish militia groups that ousted the Islamic State extremist group from Raqqa and the surrounding region, and who now are seeking to establish autonomous rule in talks with Damascus.

Bloomberg reported that the Bolton-Petrushev talks touched on the possible removal of American troops from a military base on the Syria-Iraq border, or their cooperation with Russian forces nearby, but no agreement was reached.

During the talks, Bolton also rejected a Russian proposal for Washington to suspend oil sanctions on Iran as part of a broader settlement in Syria, Bloomberg reported.

With reporting by Bloomberg

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.Misleading media claim false travel warning to Cancun

Cancun, Q.R.  On August 22, the US State Department in Mexico City updated their travel alert for Mexico specifically naming three states on the Pacific coast and one along the US border area.

Once the alert was released, numerous media jumped on board with headlines claiming grisly Cancun deaths were the reason for the updates, however, the Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo calls the headlines false and misleading.

Media outlets such as USA Today says State Department orders travel advisory for Mexico after 8 bodies found in Cancun. Numerous others followed suit such as 6ABC and AL who also ran similar headlines while later stating in their article that one has nothing to do with the other.

Media site 6ABC ran a piece on the travel warning 8 bodies discovered in grisly slayings in Cancun, Mexico; US tourists cautioned, later saying The State Department urges Americans traveling to the area to exercise increased caution, but it hasnt updated its travel advisory because of the deaths, despite several press reports saying otherwise.

Al.com, a site out of Alabama, was another media outlet who claimed in their headline that US issues travel advisory after 8 bodies found on streets of Cancun, then went on to say The U.S. State Department on Wednesday issued an updated travel advisory for Mexico after the news of the bodies was announced, advising travelers to exercise increased caution in Mexico due to crime.

While other news outlets have reported that the travel advisory was issued because of the killings in Cancun, a State Department spokesman said Thursday that the updated advisory was related to a security alert by the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, in a different state than Quintana Roo.

Longtime area resident Marla Schaeffer said that its the same finger-pointing as usual with countries like the US who just wont admit that their own crime figures are also out of control.

She says that grisly crimes are occurring everywhere around the globe and that pointing the finger at a neighboring country is nothing more than a ploy to take the focus off them. She also says that the outlets who reported the misleading Cancun travel warnings obviously did not do their homework since the state of Quintana Roo was never part of the named states and had nothing to do with Cancun.

Its irresponsible journalism, she said. Nothing more than hype. You cannot point a finger when people in your own country are also dying in criminal drug wars, gangs and shootings that involve families, disgruntled employees and school students.

Those misleading headlines trying to use Cancun as the reason makes as much sense as saying crime in the city of Los Angeles has increased so nobody should travel to the city of New York, she added.

After USA Today ran their piece they added a correction, Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version incorrectly identified the area of Mexico the travel advisory was issued, further down saying The State Department issued a travel advisory Wednesday warning American citizens headed to Mexico to use caution in several states.

The advisory comes the same week eight bodies were discovered in Cancun, a tourist hub, but the travel warning does not refer to the Quintana Roo/Cancun area.

The updated travel advisory issued by the US State Department in Mexico City was for the states of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa in the North Pacific and Tamaulipas, a US border state. Cancun, which is in the state of Quintana Roo, is located near Atlantic waters in the Caribbean Sea.

The Tourism Promotion Council of Quintana Roo, Dario Flota, denied the travel warning pointing out that the news is misleading and issued the following statement:

We are aware of recent media reports that falsely claim that the US Department of State has issued a new travel notice for Mexico due to a recent event in the state of Quintana Roo.

There is no new travel notice for Quintana Roo from the State Department. Currently there are zero travel warnings from the US Department of State against any destination in the state of Quintana Roo and there are no travel warnings against any international tourist destination in Mexico.

Sometimes, the US Embassy has issued safety alerts or the US Department of State has updated its travel advisory page for Mexico, but at no time in 2018 has there been any travel warning against traveling to any of the international tourist destinations in Mexico.

These misleading media reports have been reprinted in numerous articles, many of which further spread misinformation about the travel notice from the US Department of State for Mexico.

Unfortunately, there have been episodes of violence among criminals in remote areas of Quintana Roo and in other parts of Mexico. The truth is that the vast majority of crimes in Mexico do not occur in areas frequented by international tourists and the vast majority of incidents involve only Mexican citizens.Three women arrested in Merida on years of scam charges

Merida, Yucatan  Three women who police say have been scamming people for years by stealing money through credit cards have been arrested by federal police.

Police with the Secretariat of Public Security of Yucatan report arresting three women who they say have been operating in Merida for four years. They say the trio continually changed their names and offices, something that made them difficult to find.

The three women are accused of numerous crimes including stealing large sums of money from credit cards. They say the woman are wanted on charges in 11 Mexican states.

In a media release, police report arresting Abril Estefania Quinones Enriquez/Leslie Adriana Castillo Cortes, Katya Rodriguez Vazquez and Francia Noemi Ordaz Puerto. They say they were taken into custody in the vicinity of the Montecristo de Merida subdivision in the city of Merida.

State police also arrived to corroborate the identity of the women who are wanted for various scams in other parts of the country. They are reported to have worked for a small group of men who were also known to have scammed millions of peso from people in Monterrey, Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Chiapas, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Veracruz, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Yucatan.

The names the women used to operate include Seglot (Global Tourism Services), Diamond Tourism Marketer, Global Booking Central, Corporate Travel Agency, Riviera Coast Travel, Travel Peninsular, PromoMid, Check In, Costa Maya and Target Travel, among others.

In 2010, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency issued a national alert against the organization who had already committed thousands of scams. The women were finally caught after two people who were defrauded, met with them to negotiate the return of money and cancel their travels.

During the meeting, one of them began recording the meeting. The women reacted, demanding the video be erased. When the people refused to erase the video or hand over their phone, the women became physically and verbally aggressive, refusing to let them leave the plaza.

Onlookers called 911.Two Americans arrested in Cancun airport after weapons found

Cancun, Q.R.  Federal Police officers arrested two Americans at the Cancun airport after they were found carrying weapons and cartridges.

A man and a woman were arrested at the Cancun International Airport after federal police found them each carrying a 9mm gun and more than 100 cartridges. The pair were also found carrying ammunition for other guns including a pistol and shotgun.

The federal police officers were performing a routine inspection when they stumbled upon the weapons. The pair were arrested in Terminal 3 after landing from a Miami flight.

Neither could prove the legal paperwork needed to bring weapons into Mexico. However, they did argue that they were in Cancun to vacation and were told in their country that they could carry arms around the world.

Both were placed at the disposal of the Federal Public Ministry.The fire broke out at the Beilong Hot Spring Hotel in Harbins Sun Island resort area, a brick-and-concrete building. Other 19 were injured. The fire in the four-storey building began at 4:36 a.m. (2036 GMT Friday), burning an area of about 400 square meters before being extinguished after about three hours. More than 100 firefighters with 30 fire trucks were at the scene, state television reported. 70 people were evacuated. Individuals in Harbin were advised to avoid the area of the incident and obey all instructions issued by the local authorities.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation. The country still suffers major fires despite official efforts to improve public safety over the past two decades. China has a patchy record for building safety regulations.Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang province, and largest city in the northeastern region of China.It serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural, and communications hub in Northeast China, as well as an important industrial base of the nation. Harbin is notable for its beautiful ice sculpture festival in the winter.the magnitude of the Rafale scam was unprecedented in the history of the country

Blaming the BJP led Central Government for jeopardizing the vital security concerns of the country, senior Congress leader and Delhi Pradesh Congress president Ajay Maken on Saturday launched a piercing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the magnitude of the Rafale scam was unprecedented in the history of the country. The present regime was playing with the countrys internal security scenario by indulging in an unforgivable game of compromising national interests, the repercussions of which would be grave, Maken said adding that a huge scam was brewing in the procurement of fighter aircraft for Indian Air Force.

Addressing a joint press conference with Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Sunil Jakhar here at Punjab Bhawan this afternoon, Maken stated that in UPA tenure in August 2007, after the Indian Air Force (IAF) raised the requirement for a Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), a request for proposal (RFP) for procuring 126 Medium Role Combat Aircraft for the airforce was issued, adding that 18 of these aircraft were to come in a flyaway condition while there was to be a transfer of technology for 108 aircrafts to be made in India by HAL, Bengaluru. The Modi government was now only procuring 36 fighter jets in comparison to 126 which the UPA Congress government intended, and that too at a much higher cost burdening the common mans pocket.

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He said that the fighter jet, whose price the UPA government had negotiated at Rs 526.10 crore only, was now being bought by the Modi government for a whopping Rs 1670 crore each. Targeting the Prime Minister for promoting a culture of crony capitalism by awarding a related Offset-Contract worth Rs. 30,000 Crores to Anil Ambanis Reliance Defence Ltd, which he said was just formed 12 days before Modi announced the deal with France on 10th April, 2015, Maken pointed out had this contract been retained with HAL as was the case originally, the nation would have benefitted from the transfer of technology into India besides many jobs would have been created.

The nation would have benefitted from the transfer of technology into India besides many jobs

Lashing out at the Central Government for delaying the appointment of Lokpal, Maken said that Modi government was doing this to avoid scrutiny in Rafale scam. This enormous fraud was the fit case of corruption the where Prime Minister himself was involved, he said. Taking on the Prime Minister directly, Member Parliament from Gurdaspur made clear that Prime Minister Modi did not give any clarification in the Parliament to questions posed to him directly by Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Rafale scam. Referring to the legal notice sent to him, MP Gurdaspur Sunil Jakhar with a paper replica of fighter jet in hand which he said was to show that making jets was serious business and not a childs play, said that notice stated that Congress party was doing this to benefit a rival company of Anil Ambanis Reliance Defence Ltd.

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Daring Anil Ambani to disclose the name of that rival company, Sunil Jakhar stated that both the Ambani and Adani were blue-eyed boys of PM and they had got their companies registered within 15 days of the announcement of the deal in France on April 10th 2015. Both wanted the offset contract in which Anil Ambanis company finally succeeded. We are doing it to preserve the national interest only and would not be afraid to raise the issues of countrys security and stability, Jakhar added. Advising the Prime Minister to not view the devastation in Kerala through the political prism, he while reminding him about his more than 1,00,000 Crore promise to Bihar, said the people of flood ravaged state needed more than Rs. 20,000 Crores immediately in aid and assistance.

While the PM had promised huge relief package to Bihar during elections just to garner votes, people of Kerala in the face of unprecedented devastation had been only offered paltry amount of approximately Rs 700 Crores only. Terming the assistance announced by Centre as too meager, he said that Prime Minister should be open-hearted in sanctioning relief for Kerala and should not wait for elections there to announce a better package. Lauding the Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab Government for its prompt action in sending relief material to Kerala, he said Congress workers would provide all possible help to those in need.

Ambani and Adani were blue-eyed boys of PM: Sunil Jakhar

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In response to a media query, Sunil Jakhar while blaming the BJP and RSS for spreading fake news stated that nobody had justified 1984 riots. Cautioning against throttling of institutions by RSS, he said the saffron organisation was trying to subvert every other ideology in the country besides muzzling the voice of dissent. Our democracy nurtures the spirit of liberty, he said pointing out that even the Honble judges of the apex court had to come out in open to air their grievances public which had never happened in the country ever before. The BJP was trying to foment communal strife by disseminating false propaganda just to hide their failures on all major fronts, be it employment generation, national and internal security, Chinese infiltration into Doklam, failure to curb black money etc, he added.Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria

Passing through heavy loss and several crisis due to unprecedented downpour and floods, the people of Kerala expressed gratitude to Punjab Government and Punjabis for standing with the state in this hour of calamity. On the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the state has extended an economic help, mobilise and airlifted relief material worth Rs. 10 crore on one hand and the Congress MLAs and Member Parliaments from Punjab have decided to donate their one months salary to Kerala relief fund on the other.

People of Kerala expressed gratitude to Punjab Government and Punjabis

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Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of Revenue Department said that as per the directions of Chief Minister, the Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria had dispatched a three-member team to Kerala on August 18, which was still at Thiruvananthapuram, for carrying out relief operations in tandem with Kerala authorities. Tehsildar Phillaur Tapan Bhanot and Tehsildar Fatehgarh Sahib Gurjinder Singh are overseeing the relief operations while Director Land Records Basant Garg had returned a few days back.

Giving details of relief material sent by Punjab Government, the Spokesperson said that 10 cargos of Air Force had arrived with 283 tonnes of relief material including food packets, biscuits, rusks, sugar, tea, skimmed milk and bottles of potable water. He informed that the moment late yesterday evening when 10th Cargo with relief material landed at Thiruvananthapuram airport, a team of volunteers from Kerala started raising slogans lauding Punjab and Punjabis for their constant help and support to flood-hit Kerala.

A team led by Coordinator Ramakrishnan at Thiruvananthapuram airport

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The team led by its coordinator Ramakrishnan said that they would be ever indebted to Punjab and other states, which extended a helping hand in this hour of crisis. The team along with Air Force officials said that Punjabis were carrying out the mission of serving the humanity splendidly. The Chief Minister has already announced that Punjab will mobilise more relief material for Kerala as per its need, said the Spokesperson adding that Disaster Management Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria had also called upon the people of Punjab to come forward to contribute for this noble cause.Sukhbir Badal condemns Rahul Gandhi

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said Congress president Rahul Gandhi had justified the lynch mentality of the Gandhi family by shamelessly denying the Congress partys role in the organized massacre of Sikhs in 1984 and had by this act become a bhagidaar in this most inhuman and dastardly act. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, the SAD president said now it was paramount for Rahul Gandhi to explain what hold the perpetrators of the 1984 Sikh massacre had over him and whether he had given a statement in Berlin denying the Congress partys hand in the genocide at their instance.

Rahul denying the Congress partys role in the organized massacre of Sikhs in 1984

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There can be no other reason for your volte-face on the Congress hand in the 1984 genocide against Sikhs after former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh apologized for the killing of innocent Sikhs and then party President Sonia Gandhi expressed regret for the same. You should tell the nation why these apologies were proffered if the Congress was not bhagidaar in the worst ever mass lynchings seen in world history, he added. Mr Badal also reminded Rahul Gandhi that he had in an interview on March 16, 2014, stated that he shared the sentiments of both Dr Manmohan Singh and Mrs Sonia Gandhi on this issue.

Why this about turn now? Are you sending across a message of assurance to 1984 lynching perpetrators Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar before they are jailed in this case that the Congress party will continue to support them and that they should not spill the beans about the role of the Gandhi family in the 1984 mass killings? he asked. Asserting that all this proved that the Gandhi family was behind the killing of thousands of Sikhs in 1984, Mr Badal said Jagdish Tytler had already admitted to this role by stating that he drove Rajiv Gandhi in an Ambassador car on November 1, 1984 to places like Azadpur Mandi and Mukherjee Nagar when killings of Sikhs and looting and burning of their properties was in full swing.

Jagdish Tytler had already admitted to this role: Sukhbir Badal

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This amounts to admitting Rajiv Gandhi supervised massacre of Sikhs, a fact which is also corroborated by the Nanavati Commission which stated that maximum Sikhs were butchered in areas which Rajiv Gandhi visited on Nov 1, 1984 Stating that Rahul Gandhi knew about the role of Tylter and Sajjan in the 1984 massacre, Mr Badal it was due to this that on April 4, 2018 during Congress party day long hunger strike both Tytler and Sajjan were asked to leave the stage before Rahul Gandhi joined the event. Earlier the Congress party sacked Tytler as minister for the same reason and even denied him a Lok Sabha ticket, he added.

Telling Rahul Gandhi that he could try his best to save the butchers of 1984, Mr Badal said we on our part will continue to fight for justice till the perpetrators of this ghastly crime are not jailed. He also advised Rahul that if he had real respect for Guru Nanak Dev ji as he purportedly claimed then he should facilitate the immediate arrest and jailing of both Tytler and Sajjan. The SAD president also lambasted Cooperation minister Sukhjinder Randhawa saying the Congress leader had admitted while answering a question in the Vidhan Sabha that his father Santokh Randhawa had supported Indira Gandhi after the 1984 attack on Sri Darabar Sahib and even justified the attack.

We on our part will continue to fight for justice till the perpetrators of this ghastly crime are not jailed

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He said this was not all. Randhawa had recently even distorted gurbani and claimed that Auranzeb Sahib wrote the Jaffarnama. He said while the Sikh quom would never forgive Sukhi Randhawa for these transgressions, he said chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh should sack Randhawa forthrightly for hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community. Mr Badal also questioned the silence of the bogus Jathedars who had not reacted to Rahul Gandhis statement. He said they were similarly quiet about the transgressions of Randhawa making it clear that they were hand in glove with the Congress party. Others who were present at the press conference included Mr Bikram Singh Majithia, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, Mr Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Mr N K Sharma.After an almost two-year journey, NASA's asteroid sampling spacecraft, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx), caught its first glimpse of asteroid Bennu last week and began the final approach toward its target. Kicking off the mission's asteroid operations campaign on Aug. 17, the spacecraft's PolyCam camera obtained the image from a distance of 1.3 million miles (2.1 million km).

OSIRIS-REx is NASA's first mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey the surface, collect a sample and deliver it safely back to Earth. The spacecraft has traveled approximately 1.1 billion miles (1.8 billion km) since its Sept. 8, 2016, launch and is scheduled to arrive at Bennu on Dec. 3.

"Now that OSIRIS-REx is close enough to observe Bennu, the mission team will spend the next few months learning as much as possible about Bennu's size, shape, surface features, and surroundings before the spacecraft arrives at the asteroid," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson. "After spending so long planning for this moment, I can't wait to see what Bennu reveals to us."

As OSIRIS-REx approaches the asteroid, the spacecraft will use its science instruments to gather information about Bennu and prepare for arrival. The spacecraft's science payload comprises the OCAMS camera suite (PolyCam, MapCam, and SamCam), the OTES thermal spectrometer, the OVIRS visible and infrared spectrometer, the OLA laser altimeter, and the REXIS x-ray spectrometer.

During the mission's approach phase, OSIRIS-REx will:

regularly observe the area around the asteroid to search for dust plumes and natural satellites, and study Bennu's light and spectral properties,;

execute a series of four asteroid approach maneuvers, beginning on Oct. 1, slowing the spacecraft to match Bennu's orbit around the Sun;

jettison the protective cover of the spacecraft's sampling arm in mid-October and subsequently extend and image the arm for the first time in flight; and

use OCAMS to reveal the asteroid's overall shape in late-October and begin detecting Bennu's surface features in mid-November.

After arrival at Bennu, the spacecraft will spend the first month performing flybys of Bennu's north pole, equator and south pole, at distances ranging between 11.8 and 4.4 miles (19 and 7 km) from the asteroid. These maneuvers will allow for the first direct measurement of Bennu's mass as well as close-up observations of the surface. These trajectories will also provide the mission's navigation team with experience navigating near the asteroid.

"Bennu's low gravity provides a unique challenge for the mission," said Rich Burns, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "At roughly 0.3 miles [500 meters] in diameter, Bennu will be the smallest object that any spacecraft has ever orbited."

The spacecraft will extensively survey the asteroid before the mission team identifies two possible sample sites. Close examination of these sites will allow the team to pick one for sample collection, scheduled for early July 2020. After sample collection, the spacecraft will head back toward Earth before ejecting the Sample Return Capsule for landing in the Utah desert in Sept. 2023.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta of the University of Arizona, Tucson, is the principal investigator, and the University of Arizona also leads the science team and the mission's science observation planning and data processing. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the spacecraft and is providing flight operations. Goddard and KinetX Aerospace are responsible for navigating the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the agency's New Frontiers Program for its Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information on the mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rexDisruptive noise is almost everywhere, from people talking in the office corridor to road construction down the street to the neighbor's lawn mower. Research being conducted at the University of Illinois' Coordinated Science Laboratory is looking to improve this noisy frustration.

Current noise cancelling technology comes in the form of headphones and earbuds. To cancel noise, these headphones emit an anti-noise signal to contrast the external sounds. The time available for the headphones to produce this anti-noise signal is extremely short. This results in some noise getting through, which is why all these devices must cover the entire ear with noise-canceling material. However, wearing such ear-blocking devices for long periods of time is not comfortable, and can even be harmful.

"Our goal is to not block the ear canal," said Sheng Shen, lead author and a Ph.D. candidate in the Coordinated Science Laboratory and Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). "We envision a behind-the-ear device that still achieves noise cancellation as good as the best headphones or earbuds available today."

The main idea behind this research involves combining wireless IoT networks with noise cancellation. A microphone is placed in the environment that senses sounds and sends them over wireless signals to an earpiece. Since wireless signals travel a million times faster than sound, the earphone can receive the sound information much faster than the actual sound itself.

"This is similar to lightning and thunder -- the lightning arrives much before the thunder, allowing people to prepare for the loud rumble," said Shen's advisor, Romit Roy Choudhury, an ECE Professor. "Similarly, our ear device gets the sound information in advance, and has much more time to produce a better anti-noise signal."

Here's an example of how this technology would work: The person who wants to cancel noise (Alice) would place the IoT microphone away from her, say on her office door. The noise from her coworkers' conversation in the hallway is picked up by this IoT device and transmitted to Alice's earpiece over a wireless connection. The actual sound arrives at the earpiece later, and because of this lead time, the noise can be fully canceled. As a result, it is no longer necessary to block the ear canal.

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There are however, a few limitations. The IoT microphone needs to be between the noise source and Alice. If noise is coming at her from all directions, a couple more IoT devices would need to be placed around her. In tests conducted during the research, the device designed by Shen and Choudhury's group outperformed a leading headphone in overall noise cancellation and was rated better by the human participants.

When asked about the potential privacy concerns involved with the device, Shen nullified some of the most common fears.

"The most common privacy concern is that the device will secretly record someone's voice," Shen said. "This device is analog, so it has no capacity to record the sound. The moment the device hears the sound it is sent out wirelessly."

This differentiation is what separates Shen's device from many IoT devices commonly used today, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, which must record voice samples in order to operate.

Shen and his colleagues are already receiving attention for their work. The research paper about the project was recently selected for presentation at the upcoming Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group on Data Communication (ACM SIGCOMM) Conference which takes place in Budapest, Hungary, in late August. The conference brings together global researchers across the field of computer networking and communications.

"This is bound to change the way we think of noise cancellation, where networks of IoT sensors coordinate to enable quieter and more comfortable environments," said ECE Assistant Professor Haitham Hassanieh, who is a co-author on this paper. Other co-authors include Nirupam Roy and Junfeng Guan, both ECE Ph.D. students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Looking forward, the team would like to expand the use of their device to provide noise cancellation for more than one individual at a time and make the wearable device even lighter for continuous use.Chattanooga-based Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation provided a brand-new Action Track Chair for severely-wounded Staff Sergeant Eric Myers earlier this week. An Action Track Chair is a powerful off-road wheelchair, enabling those with a serious disability to regain freedom and independence while participating in outdoor activities, said officials.

According to an Honoring the Sacrifice spokesperson, Staff Sergeant Myers continues to serve our country in a different way than he had originally planned.

Staff Sergeant Myers suffered multiple life altering injuries (including the amputation of both legs) while on patrol serving in the 82nd Airborne Division in Afghanistan in 2012. He has spent the last few years working with Purple Heart Ranch, a non-profit which is committed to providing outdoor excursions for children of gold star families.

When the Action Track Chair that Staff Sergeant Myers had received years ago broke down and became unrepairable, he was sidelined. That is when he reached out to the Honoring The Sacrifice Foundation.

We are excited to put Eric into a brand new Track Chair so he can get back out into the woods helping young people and their families, said board member Catherine Smith.

For more information about the Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation, visit http://www.honoringthesacrifice.org.



A smartphone application (app) can help in screening for atrial fibrillation, according to late breaking results from the DIGITAL-AF study presented today at ESC Congress.

Professor Pieter Vandervoort, principal investigator, of the University of Hasselt, Belgium, said: "Most people have a smartphone with a camera which is all they need to detect atrial fibrillation. This is a low cost way to screen thousands of people for a condition which is becoming more prevalent and can have serious consequences unless treated."

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disorder. One in four middle-aged adults in Europe and the US will develop atrial fibrillation. 2 It causes 20-30% of all strokes and raises the risk of premature death, but outlook improves dramatically with oral anticoagulation therapy. Undiagnosed atrial fibrillation is common and many patients remain untreated. Opportunistic screening is recommended in over-65s, but has time, logistical, and resource demands.

DIGITAL-AF examined the feasibility and effectiveness of screening for atrial fibrillation with a smartphone app medically certified in the EU to detect the condition. The app was made freely available by publishing an access token in a local newspaper. Within 48 hours, 12,328 adults had scanned the token and enrolled in the study.

Participants were instructed to use their own smartphone to measure their heart rhythm twice a day for one week. If they had symptoms such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath or fatigue they were advised to input them into the app. The app is used by holding the left index finger in front of the smartphone camera for one minute, during which photoplethysmography measures the heart rhythm.

Heart rhythm measurements were automatically classified as regular rhythm, possible atrial fibrillation, other irregular rhythm, or insufficient quality. Measurements indicating atrial fibrillation or other irregular rhythms were reviewed by medical technicians experienced in analysing photoplethysmography signals, under the supervision of cardiologists.

All participants received an automatically generated report on their smarphone with a copy of their rhythm traces and an interpretation. Those with atrial fibrillation or other irregular rhythms were advised to see their doctor. Four months later, all participants who had at least one measurement showing atrial fibrillation received a follow-up questionnaire by e-mail about actions they had taken as a result of the screening programme.

The average age of the screened population was 50 years and 58% were male. A total of 9,889 (80%) participants had regular (sinus) rhythm, 136 (1.1%) had atrial fibrillation, 2,111 (17%) had other irregular rhythms, and 191 (2%) had measurements of insufficient quality for analysis.

The average age of the atrial fibrillation group was 63 years, and seven in ten were men. Three-quarters had no symptoms. Regarding the type of atrial fibrillation, in 38 patients (28%) it was "persistent or permanent" and detected on the first measurement, and in 98 (72%) it was "paroxysmal," of which 13 cases were detected on the first measurement.

The questionnaire was completed by 100 out of 136 atrial fibrillation patients. It showed that 40 patients had a new diagnosis, of which 21 (53%) consulted a doctor for confirmation. Sixty patients had been previously diagnosed, of whom 17 (28%) had their treatment adjusted after seeing a doctor.

Professor Vandervoort said: "The verification of diagnoses by medical technicians showed that interpretations by the app were very accurate, suggesting that this step could be significantly downsized and possibly omitted from a screening programme. According to our study approximately 225 people would need to be screened to detect one new atrial fibrillation diagnosis. This is an acceptable return, given the low cost."

Professor Vandervoort noted that smartphones are becoming popular in older age groups, which are more susceptible to atrial fibrillation. He said: "This technology has real potential to find people with previously unknown atrial fibrillation so they can be treated."A virtual dog could soon be used as an educational tool to help prevent dog bites, thanks to an innovative project led by the University of Liverpool's Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC).

In collaboration with Dogs Trust and University of Liverpool animal behaviour researchers, the VEC has created a proof of concept virtual reality (VR) experience in which people can approach and interact with a dog displaying signs of aggression in a safe and controlled way.

The experience aims to help adults and children recognise specific behaviours displayed by dogs, which could potentially lead to an attack or incident if not correctly identified.

6,740 hospital admissions for dog bites and strikes were recorded in the UK in 2013 and University of Liverpool research suggests that the burden of dog bites is considerably larger than those estimated from hospital records.

As part of a desire to better educate children and adults about dog bite prevention, Dogs Trust wanted to explore whether a digital tool could help people identify a range of stress and threat behaviours typically exhibited by dogs, which have the potential to lead to a bite.

In response to this challenge, a team animal behavioural specialists and psychologists from the University worked closely with the VEC to make certain that the body language and detail shown in the virtual environment was both realistic and a truthful reflection of real-world canine behaviour.

As the user approaches the dog, the behaviour and body language of the dog gradually changes, the dog's behaviour begins to display signs of aggression including licking its lips, lowering of the head and body, front paw lifting, growling, and showing of teeth. These behaviours are referenced from the 'Canine Ladder of Aggression' which shows how a dog may behave when it does not want to be approached.

Iain Cant, VEC Visualisation Team Leader said: "This was a really interesting project to work on with a lot of exciting potential for the future.

"The next steps will look to enhance the detail within the immersive environment to ensure the simulation is as realistic as possible. Future developments will also show a wider range of dog behaviours and the dog's reactions to user behaviour."

"More broadly the project highlights how immersive experiences can be used by organisations such as Dogs Trust as a valuable educational tool."When Ben Bartlett was pulled over by a Berkeley police officer last month, he immediately identified himself as a Berkeley city councilman and apologized, repeatedly, for running a red light.

When he couldnt provide his drivers license, registration or proof of insurance, he asked Officer Stephanie Cole if he could go to the station sometime later to give her the documents.

Cole responded, No.

What happened next, which was recorded on the officers audio recording, was an exchange on July 19 in which a combative elected official apparently tried to use his position to get out of a ticket  and cited his support for a police labor contract. In the end, he got off with a warning.

Now Playing: Audio of Berkeley City Councilmember Ben Bartlett during a traffic stop. Video: Officer's audio recording

Were voting on your contract right now, Bartlett told the officer at one point. Later, he said: Breaking my balls (to) give you guys the biggest raise possible. This how you repay me?

Bartlett apologized Friday for the incident, which was first reported by Berkeleyside.

In a statement, Mayor Jesse Arreguin said Berkeleys elected representatives have an obligation to uphold a high ethical standard.

No one is above the law, he said. The actions of council member Bartlett were unprofessional, inappropriate, and not reflective of the council. I commend Officer Cole on her professionalism in handling the incident.

Bartlett, who represents District 3 in south Berkeley, was pulled over just after noon on July 19 for allegedly running a red light on eastbound Ashby Avenue onto northbound Martin Luther King Jr. Way

So that was a red light ... not safe at all, Cole can be heard telling Bartlett in the audio tape.

After identifying himself as a councilman and apologizing, Bartlett told the officer he was in a hurry to make it to a ceremony for Berkeley Councilman Kriss Worthington.

He also said, I love you guys, you guys took care of a problem in my district.

After the exchange in which Cole told Bartlett he cannot submit his drivers license and insurance proof until later, there was a pause of silence.

I understand you are who you are, she said.

Bartlett then brought up his support for the police labor contract.

OK, I appreciate that, she said.

Cole cited Bartlett with a fix-it ticket for not having a drivers license in his possession and gave him a break on the red light and missing insurance. Bartlett still voiced his disappointment before mentioning his support of raising police wages.

Sir, dont make this personal, its not, Cole said.

It is personal, Bartlett replied.

Cole told the council member to drive careful at the end of the recording.

Bartlett was contrite in an interview Friday with The Chronicle, saying he was deeply, deeply offended by his behavior in hindsight.

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Im incredibly sorry, he said of the incident. Im embarrassed, and I feel sorry for the officer, feel sorry for my family and feel sorry for the community.

A spokesman for the Berkeley Police Department declined comment on the matter and referred all questions to the city.

City Communications Director Matthai Chakko said the officer handled herself very professionally and very respectfully throughout the incident.

She was focused on making sure that the driver knew that their behavior was dangerous and repeated that several times, he said.

Representatives from the Berkeley Police Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Chakko said its standard for traffic officers to use their discretion in determining whether to hand out a ticket or let the driver off with a warning.

A traffic officer has different components to their job, he said. Education and enforcement are two separate but important parts of their work.

On Friday, Bartlett said he hopes others learn from his behavior and that it will serve as a reminder to keep your best self in control of you despite whatever stress youre in.

Its what we all need to learn and Ive re-learned it, Bartlett said. And Im deeply sorry from the bottom of my heart.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidyPeople who own just one or two rental properties might not qualify for the new 20 percent federal deduction that big-time real estate investors and other pass-through entities will get starting this year.

The federal tax law passed in December lets many pass-through entities such as partnerships and sole proprietorships deduct 20 percent of their qualified business income, with some limits. These are called pass-throughs because the business pays no taxes. Instead, income flows through to the owners and is taxed at their personal rates. The vast majority of U.S. businesses are pass-throughs.

This groundbreaking provision raised a host of complicated questions, including how income from rental property would be treated.

On Aug. 8, the Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations for the pass-through provision, known as the Section 199A deduction. But they provided few definitive answers for real estate.

To qualify for the deduction, it said an activity must rise to the level of a trade or business, an ambiguous term that has no clear or consistent definition in the tax code. The IRS said that for purposes of this deduction, it will look to section 162(a) of the tax code, which governs deductible business expenses.

A landmark Supreme Court decision said that to be a trade or business under Section 162(a), the taxpayer must be involved in the activity with continuity and regularity and that the primary purpose must be income or profit. It said a sporadic activity or hobby does not qualify.

The proposed regulations do not specify how many or what type of properties youd need to own to qualify as a trade or business under this definition, except in one specific case: A business that owns property that it rents to itself can treat that property as a trade or business.

The proposed rules made it clear that if you own shares in a real estate investment trust  a pass-through entity that owns and manages large-scale properties  you can deduct 20 percent of your dividends.

But for property you own directly, its still an open question. The regs really stink in this regard, said Jeff Levine, director of financial planning with Blueprint Wealth Alliance.

One thing tax pros seem to agree on is that property rented on a triple net lease would not qualify for the deduction. This is a lease in which the owner collects rent and the tenant is responsible for everything including maintenance, property taxes and building insurance. Other than that, theres little consensus as to what would or would not qualify.

Kenneth Weissenberg, head of real estate services for accounting firm EisnerAmper, said that if you own a 10-unit apartment building that requires ongoing maintenance and tenant dealings, you most likely would qualify, even if you have a property manager. Work performed by a property manager (but not a tenant) qualifies as work performed by the owner, he said.

If you own at least five units you probably have a good shot at qualifying, he said. Renting out half of a duplex, a cottage in the backyard or a single-family home you inherited probably would not qualify. A fourplex is close to being a trade or business, Weissenberg added.

Based on his reading of the regulations, Stephen Nelson, a CPA in Redmond, Wash., said, I think (the deduction) applies when someone has several rental properties.

Nelson said he assumed, maybe naively, that even a single rental property would qualify. I thought because they would give you a deduction for REIT dividends, and a deduction if you invested in a real estate partnership, that they were going to help out the small guy and give you a deduction if you have a rental or a couple rentals.

Levine said renting out half a duplex could qualify as a business, but you would have to show its regular and continuing. You would need to document your hours and what needs to be done. He added that a tax court judge could agree or disagree with this.

San Francisco CPA Richard Pon doesnt think that even a five-unit building would pass the test. To be a trade or business, there has to be a significant amount of work involved. I would say daily maintenance or security brought on by owners or actual employees would be required, he said.

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Mark Luscombe, principal federal tax analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, said in an email that he discussed the proposed regulations with some senior IRS personnel at a recent tax conference. They indicated that they have not yet decided how far to extend trade or business treatment to real estate rental activity. It was not their intent in the proposed regulations to treat all real estate rental activity as a qualifying trade or business.

Real estate investment has always been a tricky business for the IRS, because it doesnt require a lot of day-to-day, hands-on activity, said Dustin Stamper, a managing director with accounting firm Grant Thornton. But that doesnt mean it cant be a trade or business.

Elsewhere in the tax code, the IRS has established more specific and quantifiable regulations for real estate, such as the definition of a real estate professional and material participation in its passive-activity rules.

Many tax pros hoped the IRS would incorporate those rules  or some like it  into their proposed regulations for the pass-through deduction. They didnt, but they could before the regulations are made final.

It would be extremely helpful if they could come up with a similar test, an objective criteria rather than a subjective criteria, said Bob Keebler, a CPA in Green Bay, Wis.

Real estate investors who do qualify for the deduction will still have to contend with some limits to the deduction that apply over certain income levels, but these rules are more generous for real estate than other types of businesses.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpenderREDDING  Big blazes had licked the rugged outskirts of this city before, blackening nearby forests. But a wildfire had never surged across city limits  not until the Carr Fire changed everything.

It blew into the city of 91,000 people from the west late last month, leveling 1,079 homes. Four residents died. So did two firefighters. And the fire burned so hot that it created its own weather, generating a lethal tornado that spun up to 143 mph.

The next steps after a major California inferno are to recover and rebuild, to seek a great renewal from the ashes. But in this devastating season theres a sense that the usual calculus could change  that places like Redding must not only decide how to rebuild, but whether to do so at all.

The people who live in burnable landscapes have to understand that California cant protect them, said Tom Scott, a natural resources wildlife specialist with the UC Cooperative Extension in Riverside. We do have a fire service, and theyll do all they can and work really hard. But theres going to come a day when a fire cant be fought, and theyll lose their home.

Were in that transition right now, Scott said. We need to start making better decisions about where we build.

The Carr Fire, which as of Friday had scorched 230,000 acres and was 93 percent contained, had barely blitzed into Redding when supportive calls began coming in from Ventura and Santa Rosa. Officials in these cities experienced disastrous blazes last year and knew the difficult path ahead.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

They knew Redding had joined the ranks of a rare but fast-growing club: cities that couldnt have fathomed losing whole urban or suburban neighborhoods.

Its the new fire we are seeing across California, said Redding City Manager Barry Tippin. When you see a wildfire that does not exhibit any traditional characteristics, its not only a total surprise, but it also causes great strife and stress within a community. We, as a state, need to step back and realize that something is different here.

Octobers Tubbs Fire, which swept west from Calistoga into Santa Rosa, destroyed more than 5,600 homes. The Thomas Fire took 1,000 homes in December in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Overall, more than 10,000 buildings and more than 1 million acres burned last year, according to Cal Fire data.

In the aftermath, local officials expedited building permits and allowed housing to be rebuilt in the same footprint  albeit with some new fire-safety standards.

But as global warming fuels extreme fire behavior, some urban planners and disaster-recovery experts are questioning whether rebuilding in the same fire-prone areas is safe. Maybe all of those developments shouldnt return, they say. Perhaps the conversation needs entirely new parameters.

Risk perception kicks in differently for different kinds of disasters, said Laurie Johnson, a disaster-recovery consultant who has helped cities, including New Orleans and Kobe, Japan, after fires, floods, earthquakes and other catastrophes. With wildfires, its really difficult to know. We are facing new intensities with these storms. We cant look to the past and say it is a good prediction of the future anymore, and thats very difficult for people to wrap their heads around.

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

Once the flames have been vanquished and the fire trucks have rolled out, local governments must balance two critical interests, Johnson said. The first is relieving the suffering of victims who want to rebuild. The second is creating new policy around how those homes should be constructed.

But finding a balance is not easy. Especially when wildfire behavior no longer follows a known formula.

Should some places not be allowed to rebuild at all? she asked. Is there now a new category with a higher fire risk than we thought possible? Its hard to predict if and when a place might burn again. Those are the challenges of a thoughtful formula.

Moreover, making good policy becomes harder in the emotionally charged weeks following a disaster. And there is little precedent for governments preventing residents from rebuilding on their own still-valuable land.

More than 25 years after the Oakland hills firestorm, the 3,000 ruined homes have been rebuilt. In Santa Rosa and just east of the city, the Mark West Springs and Fountaingrove communities are following a similar trajectory nearly a year after the Tubbs Fire.

Those areas are still at high risk for fire, some experts say, pointing to them as examples of poor urban planning.

Its really hard, in the heat of a catastrophe, to think about doing things differently, said Sarah Karlinsky, a senior policy adviser at SPUR, a public policy think tank focused on urban planning in the Bay Area. Its really important that cities and urbanized places do their planning work up front. Its hard to take a step back right after a disaster happens, and the window for making changes can close quickly.

The states guidelines for the so-called wildland-urban interface  which dictate how homes can be built on a citys more flammable outskirts  can help increase fire resiliency on a local level. For example, since 2011, the state has required that all newly built single-family homes have sprinkler systems. But such additions can quickly become costly, especially if a city marks its burned areas as extreme fire-hazard zones.

In Ventura and Santa Barbara counties  hit by Decembers Thomas Fire and, later, a massive and deadly mudslide  as well as in Sonoma County, expedited permit centers were created in the months after the disasters. Officials slashed fees to help the process become more affordable.

But zoning rules were not updated, and building codes largely remained the same. One of the few additions stipulated that new homes needed to be constructed to current code. Critics say the same decisions that led to homes being destroyed by the hundreds or thousands are being made again.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

Gabrielle Lurie / The Chronicle

Complicating matters is the difficulty of calculating risks across the state, while factoring in things like weather, vegetation and the strength of nearby firefighting and forest management. Even with the best planning, wildfires can do immense damage under the right conditions in unexpected places  like neighborhoods in Santa Rosa and Redding.

If youre a homeowner and its your property, you have a legal right to rebuild there, and thats what happens, said Charlie Eadie, a consultant who helped rebuild downtown Santa Cruz after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. If the areas are hazardous, then the question is: Are they so hazardous that you cant rebuild? Or can they be rebuilt with some hazard mitigation built in? This is the part of disaster that creates opportunity in the sense that you can build safer structures.

Matthew Schjoth, 41, hasnt thought much about what comes next. He knows he wants to rebuild his Redding home, but the details will have to come later. It was only last month that the Carr Fire leveled his neighborhood of Lake Redding Estates, a few days after being ignited by a blown trailer tire on July 23.

Schjoth and his wife, their four kids and two grandchildren moved in with his in-laws in Cottonwood (Shasta County), just south of Redding along Interstate 5. Sometimes they reminisce about what they lost, and it still doesnt feel real. The family had lived in the home for 12 years.

Neighbors knew it as the Christmas house. Every December, Schjoths father-in-law would dress up as Santa and they would convert the garage into a toy workshop. Schjoth would hand out hot cocoa and candy canes. Their memories are wrapped up in the property on Harlan Drive, and so thats where his family wants to return.

This is definitely not something that was ever expected to happen, he said. It probably wont ever happen again in my lifetime.

But wildfires do tend to return to the same places, experts say. They point to the Hanley Fire of 1964 in Sonoma County, which scorched nearly the same area as the Tubbs Fire. Back then, walnut orchards stood where neighborhoods later developed, and fewer than 100 homes burned.

Because predicting when the next blaze might happen is difficult, its important to thoughtfully rebuild, if a resident rebuilds at all, said Michele Steinberg, manager of the Wildland Division at the National Fire Protection Agency.

Wildfires will continue to burn because its part of the phenomenon of the ecosystem and the landscape, she said. Where youve had fire before, youll have fire again. The thing is, nobody stops building, whether its a good idea or not. Community officials need to think ahead and realize there is risk, accept it and figure out the best ways to rebuild.

In Redding, where the Carr Fire torched homes across the socioeconomic gamut, from sprawling homes in the hillside to low-income tracts of mobile homes, officials are already pondering how to do that. Fire fuels management  cutting defensible space around homes  only recently became a requirement, said officials who are considering beefing up the building code further.

The city has always been interested in developing fire resistance, to do anything they could to prevent a big incident, said Tippin, the city manager. Going forward, we will put more thought into that and more things we can do.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnnOrange-hazed skies and afternoons that reek of campfire smoke are becoming as emblematic of summer in the Bay Area as fog-banked Augusts  only with more hacking coughs and burning, watery eyes.

In this new era of prolonged, intense wildfire seasons brought on predominantly by climate change, residents up and down the West Coast can probably expect long months of poor air quality that could have short- and long-term effects on their heart and lung function, say experts in pollution and public health.

Theres so much acreage affected by wildfires in so many different places in Northern California, said Dr. John Balmes, who studies the health effects of air pollutants at the Human Exposure Laboratory at UCSF. This is a new normal. Were going to see these kinds of extended bad air days because of wildfire smoke.

Last year, he noted, residents up and down the state experienced some of the worst air quality conditions from wildfires since scientists have studied the phenomenon. This year, more than three times as much acreage has burned than at the same point in 2017  and the state hasnt even reached the traditional peak of the fire season.

In other words: There are probably many more gross, smoky days coming.

Air quality in the Bay Area on Friday was unhealthy for people who are sensitive to pollution, including people with preexisting respiratory illnesses like asthma, children and seniors, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

Conditions were expected to improve somewhat on Saturday, though particulate measures were to remain above what is widely considered acceptable levels. Parts of the Bay Area, including the North Bay, were forecast to remain above acceptable levels through early next week.

The air-quality index, a number that takes into account several types of pollutants, was hovering around 100 in the Bay Area on Friday, and expected to drop to about 70 to 90 over the weekend. A healthy level is 50 or lower; the worst level is 500.

Were definitely seeing really high spikes of fine particulate in the summertime as a result of these wildfires, and this is not something we saw 10 years ago, said Aaron Richardson, a spokesman for the air quality district.

Much of the smoke in the Bay Area is from the massive Mendocino Complex fire burning north of the Bay Area. But its more than just the local fires, Richardson said: Its from a whole host of fires. Its coming all the way down from British Columbia and throughout the Northwest. Its an unexpected phenomenon.

Air quality in California is always a seasonal issue, split broadly between the summer and the winter months. But in the past, it was ozone emissions, not pollution from smoke, that affected air quality in the summer. Smoke pollution tended to occur in the winter, when people were more likely to burn wood in their fireplaces or stoves, Richardson said.

Occasionally a major fire would cause some temporary smoke pollution in the summer, he said. But it wasnt even an annual issue, necessarily. Over the past two or three years, though, there have been multiple wildfires every summer or fall, and they tend to burn up much more acreage.

The result is protracted periods of heavy smoke that sometimes affects regions hundreds of miles from the worst of the blazes.

Pollution from wildfires is different than the usual summertime pollution of increased ozone emitted by cars, industrial plants, refineries and other sources. With smoke pollution, the risk is from the invisible, noxious particulates in the air that are easily inhaled and can make their way deep into the lungs.

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.

This has been a tough season for a lot of my patients, especially the patients with preexisting lung conditions like emphysema, COPD, asthma, said Dr. Thomas Dailey, chief of pulmonary medicine at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara. People are feeling more tightness in their chest, feeling more difficulty breathing.

Children, he added, are particularly vulnerable because their lungs are still developing, and because they often breathe faster, and through their mouths, exposing them to even more particulate matter.

Dailey and other doctors recommend that anyone with respiratory problems stay inside as much as possible on days when particulate measures reach unhealthy levels of 100 or more. If they must go outside, they should consider wearing an N95 mask designed to filter out small particles.

The health effects on people who are otherwise healthy arent clear, said Balmes, the expert at UCSF. Because repeated exposure to wildfire smoke among the general public is a relatively new phenomenon, it hasnt been well studied.

Scientists will sometimes compare pollution levels from wildfire smoke to the heavy pollution that clogs skies in parts of China and India, where studies have found increased rates of heart and lung disease and some cancers. But no one knows for sure if the different pollutants cause similar health problems, Balmes said.

I ran outside this morning because I didnt look at what the air quality index was, Balmes said Friday afternoon. In some of these polluted cities in Asia, people have air quality monitors in their homes and they calibrate what theyre going to do and whether theyll wear a mask based on that monitor. We could very well be in that situation too.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinalldayCOLUMBUS, Ohio  President Trump sought to unite Ohios fractious state Republican Party on Friday, bitterly complaining about negative, nasty Democrats and warning that the Democratic contender for governor would destroy your state.

Trump praised the slate of Republican candidates during a fundraising dinner in the nations premier battleground state but noticeably avoided mentioning Gov. John Kasich, one of his 2016 primary opponents and sharpest critics, who skipped the event.

Trump also didnt mention Arizona Sen. John McCain during his speech at the GOP dinner hours after the family of the ailing senator said he had chosen to discontinue medical treatment for brain cancer.

A subdued Trump, who has been grappling with the defection of some longtime loyalists amid investigations into his 2016 campaign, skewered Democrat Richard Cordray as a far-left candidate who was groomed by Pocahontas. That was a reprise of his insult of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a possible 2020 presidential challenger, over her claim of Native American heritage.

Cordray will destroy your state, Trump said without going into specifics. Cordray, who led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington during the Obama administration, worked closely with Warren, who helped create the agency before she won a Senate seat.

Ohio is holding a number of high-stakes races for governor, Senate and several U.S. House seats that could factor into GOP control of Congress this fall  and linger into Trumps next presidential campaign.

The president charged Democrats with being unable to govern, returning to his long-standing critique that the party has failed to help secure the nations Southern border and turned its back on American institutions. He cited calls by some Democrats to abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which Trump has repeatedly praised.

You have left-wing haters and radicals trying to tear down our institutions, disrespect our great American flag, demean our law enforcement  think of that, our flag  our law enforcement, ICE, Trump said. Denigrate your history and disparage our great country, and theyre (going) so far left and theyre being dragged left.

He also complained that with Democrats, Its always negative, nasty, the way they come after me. Polls show that majorities of Democrats disapprove of Trumps job performance, but he said they need to get over it and accept that hes president.

Get used to it. We won the election. Were going to win again in 2020 and hopefully were going to keep winning. These are nasty people, he added.

Trump sought to help Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator and current state attorney general who is running for governor, and Rep. Jim Renacci, who is attempting to unseat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

But his help came amid deep GOP internal divisions in the nations top swing state, punctuated by Trumps rift with Kasich. Kasich said in a recent interview that people are getting sick and tired of the partisan warfare coming out of the Trump White House and dismissed the presidents overwhelming popularity within the GOP as a byproduct of a shrinking party.

Ken Thomas is an Associated Press writer.The criminal convictions of two key Donald Trump associates instantly elevated talk of impeachment last week, but House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was having none of it. Even fixer/lawyer Michael Cohens guilty plea that implicated the president in a felony campaign-finance law violation could not draw her into the frenzied speculation on whether a Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives might pose an existential threat to Trumps tenure.

Pelosi continued to call for calm, for perspective  and for patience. If theres evidence that the president should be impeached, let that emerge, Pelosi told reporters after speaking at the Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco last week. You cant be political about impeachment, she continued. We cant be political in doing it. And we cant be political in not doing it. We have to seek the truth.

Pelosis let-the-facts-guide-us public stance is wise from a strategic standpoint. After all, a Democratic pledge to open impeachment proceedings as soon as they seize the House in January 2019, as much as it would motivate the left, would equally if not more galvanize Republicans who have yet to abandon this scandal-plagued White House.

Its also wishful thinking.

Impeachment is going to be at least an undercurrent in the pivotal races that will determine which party controls the House. There is no escaping that reality, not after a turning-point week that produced the strongest evidence to date that Trump might have broken the law in the 2016 campaign.

In entering a guilty plea in U.S. District Court last week, Cohen revealed that he was directed by Trump to make hush-money payments to two women to influence the 2016 election  in violation of federal election laws. Trumps alleged role in that scheme, in itself, merits congressional scrutiny.

Pelosi is right, however, to wait for more facts to unfold before making a commitment to the impeachment process. Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation could further illuminate possible collusion (such as the candidates knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting) or obstruction of justice (such as the firing of FBI Director James Comey). The granting of immunity to longtime Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg could spell further trouble for the president. And, of course, the ever-impetuous Trump could subject himself to further allegations of abuse of power if he were to try to stymie the Mueller investigation by firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions or his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, who is supervising the probe.

Also, a presidential pardon of Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, convicted last week of tax fraud, bank fraud and failure to disclose a foreign bank account, could be perceived as an attempt to silence or reward a crony.

High crimes and misdemeanors  the three presidential impeachment cases Andrew Johnson, 1868 Cause: The aftermath of the Civil War created deep divisions among Radical Republicans in Congress and a president who wanted to pursue Lincoln's more conciliatory approach to the defeated South. The impeachment process followed Johnson's firing of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Articles: Eleven altogether, most of which accused him of violating the Tenure of Office Act. Outcome: The House voted to impeach Johnson; he was acquitted by the Senate in a vote that fell just short of the two-thirds threshold to remove him from office. Richard Nixon, 1974 Cause: Investigation into the break-in of the Democratic headquarters at the Watergate Hotel - and efforts by the White House to cover up the crime - led to exposure of wider wrongdoing by the Nixon administration. Articles: Obstruction of justice, abuse of power, defiance of congressional subpoenas to turn over White House tape recordings. Outcome: The House Judiciary Committee approved those three articles. But with his impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate all but inevitable, Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974. Bill Clinton, 1998 Cause: A four-year investigation that began looking into allegations of a Clinton real estate deal in Arkansas expanded into suspected fundraising violations, accusations of cronyism in the White House travel office , claims of sexual harassment - and, ultimately, an affair between the president and an intern. Articles: Lying under oath, obstruction of justice, abuse of power. Outcome: The House voted largely along party lines to impeach on articles from the sexual misconduct cases. After a five-week trial, Clinton was acquitted by the Senate, with each of the counts failing to achieve a simple majority. See More Collapse

So the case for malfeasance could look much different in short order.

It has been clear since January 2017 that House Republicans were not going to provide serious oversight of suspicions that the Trump campaign may have colluded with Russian operatives. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, has been a particular disgrace: As chairman of the Intelligence Committee, he steered what traditionally had been a nonpartisan panel into a deflect-and-demur firewall against Democratic efforts to get to the bottom of the Russia probe.

Everything changes if just two dozen House seats flip from red to blue in November. If Democrats have even a single-vote majority, then Nunes and every other House committee chair would be replaced by a Democrat. An impeachment inquiry would be almost certain; where it might lead is not. Only the most optimistic Democrat believes the party could win a simple majority in the Senate, and it takes a two-thirds vote in that upper chamber to remove an impeached president from office.

But know this: The scandals are only part of the damage being done by this administration. A Democratic-controlled House would be in a position to provide a level of scrutiny that has been missing on administration policies on environment, education, immigration, consumer protection and myriad other issues that have been given short shrift while Capitol Hill focuses on the fallout from Trumps latest 5 a.m. tweet.

A forthright look at whether this president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors would be just one of the benefits of the return of checks and balances to the nations capital.

John Diaz is The San Francisco Chronicles editorial page editor. Email: jdiaz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JohnDiazChronLess than two months after lead paint makers withdrew an attempt to hoodwink California voters into reversing a court ruling against them and paying the bill themselves, nascent legislation on the issue has been in the works. If it amounts to another effort to undo the companies court-ordered responsibility for a toxic product still afflicting the states cities, it deserves to go the way of the last maneuver.

The proposals being discussed wouldnt go as far as the ballot measure, but they could limit and dilute the companies liability under a 2014 judgment in Santa Clara County. To what extent isnt clear because with only a week left in the legislative session, no bill language has surfaced.

That in itself is another reason for consternation. At this point, any legislation would have to be rushed into law with no opportunity for careful review or revision. Thats no way to handle any bill, let alone one addressing a complex topic that has been the subject of a legal dispute lasting nearly two decades.

Having fought and lost a court battle with Santa Clara County and other local governments, a trio of paint manufacturers and their corporate successors threatened to mount the ballot measure, which would have overturned the courts conclusion and forced taxpayers to borrow billions of dollars to clean up their mess and other, unrelated hazards.

Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, and other lawmakers responded with a series of bills backing up the court and imposing further obligations on the paint makers. Two of the companies expended a combined $2 million lobbying the Legislature in the second quarter of this year, ranking them among the top spenders. They and legislators reached a cease-fire in June, when both the ballot measure and the bills were dropped.

Santa Clara County sued former lead paint manufacturers in 2000 on the grounds that they promoted lead paint despite its dangers; it was joined by nine other local governments, including San Francisco, Oakland, and San Mateo and Alameda counties. Fourteen years later, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge issued the landmark ruling that Sherwin-Williams, Conagra and NL Industries had created a public nuisance and held them liable to find and fix lead hazards. A state appellate court upheld the judgment subject to additional limits. The state Supreme Court declined to hear the case in February, and the companies appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court last month.

Lead was widely used in paint and remains common in housing predating a 1978 ban. Lead-based paint becomes dangerous when wear and tear produce lead-laden dust, the ingestion of which is the chief cause of childhood lead poisoning.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said she is open to lead paint legislation as long as it doesnt reverse the companies liability. My concern is that they dont evade their responsibility anymore, she said.

A comprehensive response to paint hazards that meets that standard would be worth pursuing. But a proposal that has yet to become public with just days of legislating left is unlikely to yield such a result.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.Ive long admired Elon Musk as a technological visionary. But I worry about his sense of responsibility to the public.

This month, Musk announced on Twitter that he intended to turn Tesla, the electric-carmaker he founded, into a private company. He said the funding was secured  a claim that sent Tesla stock skyrocketing  yet he produced no evidence that the funding was nailed down.

There are laws against corporate officials making these sorts of untethered claims, because if untrue they could hurt lots of innocent bystanders  including unwary investors and employees.

Does Musks behavior remind you of any other powerful person who also makes unfounded claims on Twitter that send heads spinning?

Donald Trump is no Elon Musk. Musk seems to genuinely care about the future of humanity.

But, like Trump, Musk loves to upend the status quo by breaking norms and maybe even some laws.

He also seems to share Trumps unrelenting combativeness and penchant for hitting back. A few weeks ago, after a British diver involved in the Thailand cave rescue termed Musks offer of a submarine a publicity stunt, Musk called him a pedophile.

Musk has little patience for the media. At a recent quarterly earnings conference he refused to answer what he termed boring or bonehead questions.

Musk and Trump arent the only notable people in modern America exhibiting these tendencies.

Think of Travis Kalanick, the pugnacious founder of Uber, or Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg.

Which raises the question: Is it necessary for true innovators to break norms and rules?

Some years ago the most fashionable buzzword in business was disruption. Real entrepreneurs, it was said, disrupt the status quo. They shake up conventional ways of doing things and overturn hidebound institutions.

Trump loyalists think thats exactly what hes doing in Washington.

But theres a less charitable view of why these outsize personalities break the rules. They feel entitled to.

Consider Martin Shkreli, who, after buying the rights to sell Daraprim, a lifesaving drug, promptly raised the price by more than 5,000 percent.

Shkreli was unapologetic. And he lashed out at journalists who criticized him, even buying internet domains associated with their names and then mocking them on the sites. (In March, Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison for criminal fraud in an unrelated scheme to bilk his former hedge fund investors.)

Add the former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. And many of the people Trump has surrounded himself with over the years.

Trump continues to place himself above the law.

All of these men (note the absence of women) are driven. Theyre often brilliant. (Trump is a gifted con man.) Theyll also do whatever it takes to get what they want. They believe the norms other people live by dont apply to them.

Their attitude toward the law is that anything they want to do is OK unless its clearly illegal. And even if its illegal, its OK if they can get away with it.

And they have contempt for anyone who gets in their way.

Researchers have found that great wealth and power often correlate with less compassion and stronger feelings of entitlement. The very rich cheat more on their taxes, are more likely to shoplift and more likely to cheat at games of chance.

The research doesnt tell us the direction of causation  whether the rich act these ways because theyre rich, or if they got rich because they act these ways.

Whatever the causal relationship, the era were now in has created a few big winners  who, at least in their own eyes, are so successful theyre entitled to do whatever they want.

In the words of railroad magnate William H. Vanderbilt, The public be damned.

Vanderbilt said this in 1882, during Americas first Gilded Age  whose entrepreneurs created railroads, telephone networks, electric power and steel mills, but also bent the laws to suit their purposes. Their wealth was unprecedented. Yet most workers barely eked out a living.

Were now in Americas second Gilded Age.

It was reported last week that in 2017, the average CEO of the 350 largest firms in the U.S. received $18.9 million in compensation. Thats a 17.6 percent increase over 2016.

At the same time, the typical workers compensation remained flat, rising merely 0.3 percent.

The first Gilded Age fueled a progressive era that tamed and regulated its excesses, beginning in 1901.

In very different ways, Trump and Musk epitomize Americas second Gilded Age. Will their audacity and excesses usher in a second progressive era?

 2018 Robert Reich

Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, is the author of The Common Good. His newest documentary is Saving Capitalism. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.The Plastics will bring snide put-downs, a rigidly stratified high school hierarchy and the eternally struggling slang term fetch to San Francisco in the summer of 2020, when the musical version of Mean Girls stops here as part of a national tour, courtesy of SHN.

The company announced the addition to its 2019-20 season on Thursday, Aug. 23. Mean Girls joins the previously announced Tony Award-winning musical The Bands Visit.SACRAMENTO  Lawmakers sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill Friday to bar secret settlements in cases of sexual assault, harassment and discrimination in the workplace, a problem exposed by the #MeToo movement as a tool used to keep victims quiet and serial offenders employed.

SB820 by Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino (San Bernardino County), would no longer allow private and public employers in the state, including the state Legislature, to require workers to sign non-disclosure agreements as part of a settlement. If signed by Brown, the bill would be effective Jan. 1.

It would be a truly historic win for victims that will no longer have to suffer at the hands of perpetrators that have hidden behind the curtain of secrecy created by these settlements, Leyva said.

The bill will join another #MeToo measure on Browns desk.

On Wednesday, the Legislature passed AB3080 by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, that prohibits employers from forcing new hires to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of their employment. The agreements are often used to quiet allegations of improper behavior.

As of Friday, there were 77 bills on Browns desk, his office said.

Hundreds of bills are still pending in the Legislature, including proposals on net neutrality, safe injection sites, rape kit testing, police disciplinary disclosures and school start times. The last day of the legislative session is Friday.

Net neutrality supporters were aggressively monitoring late attempts to cripple SB822 on Friday, including rumored amendments into other bills to undermine the legislation. SB822 by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would ban broadband and wireless Internet providers from using their networks to favor certain websites and apps, especially those they own or have financial ties to.

The bill is awaiting a vote in the Assembly.

Other bills that will be taken up next week:

 AB186 by Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, which would allow San Francisco to create safe injection sites in an effort to reduce opioid overdoses. The bill stalled in the Senate last year before Eggman narrowed it from allowing six counties to start pilot programs with safe injection sites to just applying the measure to San Francisco. The bill passed the Senate 21-16 and is awaiting a second vote in the Assembly.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed is backing the bill.

Like many cities and increasingly suburbs and rural areas, we have a problem on our hands and we need to try new things, said Wiener, a co-author of the bill. People are injecting and they are going to do it whether we try to help them or not, and I think we should try to help them.

 AB3118 by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, would require law enforcement agencies and crime labs to report to the state Department of Justice how many untested rape kits they have on storage shelves. The bill was introduced alongside SB1449 by Leyva, which would require law enforcement agencies to submit evidence from a rape kit for testing within 20 days and require labs to complete their analysis within 120 days.

Both bills are pending votes in the Assembly.

 SB1421 by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, would make police disciplinary records public when an officer has been found to have committed sexual assault or lied on the job, including falsifying reports or planting evidence. The bill would also make investigations and reports related to an officers serious or deadly use of force subject to the states Public Records Act.

SB1421 would need to pass the Assembly and then be approved in a second vote in the Senate.

This bill is narrowly crafted and deals with records that are reasonable to release in terms of the publics point of view, Skinner said Friday.

Another police accountability bill that would toughen the standard for when a police officer can shoot a suspect is pending in the Senate Rules Committee. It would specify that officers can use lethal force only when necessary to prevent imminent death or injury, and then only when there is no reasonable alternative. It would need to pass both the Senate and Assembly next week.

 SB328 by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge (Los Angeles County), would require middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., beginning in 2021. The bill stalled last year and was resurrected this month. Supporters say teens natural sleep patterns keep them up late and lead to sleep deprivation when schools have early start times.

Opponents of the bill argued that moving back school start times would affect parent drop-off hours, extracurricular activities and union contracts.

The bill is in the Assembly but would need to return to the Senate for a second vote.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrezBesharam means shameless in Hindi, and it pretty much sums up what Heena Patel tries to do in her new Indian restaurant in the space that used to house Daniel Pattersons Alta MSP.

The name of Patels restaurant conjures up provocative, confident images that translate to the food of her homeland in the Gujarati region of western India. Our waiter warned us that the dishes would be fiery, and it wasnt an exaggeration. To her credit Patel is able to bring out different qualities in each dish.

Her blue cheese naan developed a strong following at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. The cheese-stuffed pancakes, a little bigger than a silver dollar, are presented with garlic cream sauce red from chile powder. It feels like a mild sunburn as the heat spreads across the tongue.

The makai salad ($15) features grilled romaine with roasted corn, pickled shallots and walnuts in a vinaigrette with orange, ginger, loads of raw garlic and black pepper. These ingredients create a spark of fire skipping across the tongue, cooled by the accompanying dill raita that forms a pool around the vegetables.

Pepper chicken ($27) is a full-on blaze that singes every part of the tongue and cant be contained by the curry leaf rice or the lightly dressed salad with shaved carrots, radishes and cherry tomatoes served on the side. However, even with this level of spicing, the rust-red sauce that surrounded the cumin-fried chicken had a transcendent smokiness.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

By comparison, paneer makhani ($19) was a cooling plunge into the ocean. The sauce tasted similar to butter chicken, with creamy tomato backed with only a gentle heat.

The a la carte menu was compact, consisting of 13 savory courses, but every dish evoked a different sensation; diners need to be into a little culinary S&M to fully enjoy its qualities. I certainly am.

The bold, unblushing attitude I found in Patels recipes on the first visit extends to the specially made dinnerware, featuring a drawing of a beautiful woman surrounded by flowers. Push aside the blue cheese naan and youll see the phrases Thats Miss Besharam to you! or Spicy food is for spicy girls.

The same woman appears on a mural that covers the back wall framing the open kitchen.

This bold image is about the only change made to Alta MSP, which Patterson opened last year and closed this spring to make way for Besharam. The dining room is dominated by a bar that runs nearly the length of the restaurant, and two communal tables and a scattering of tables along the wall. With its open ceiling, the interior has a loft-like feel, dovetailing with the Minnesota Street Project art gallery next door.

This is the third partnership Patterson has advanced, after working with Nigel Jones to create a Jamaican oasis, Kaya, at the original Alta on Market Street and with Reem Assil on Dyafa, which highlights Syrian and Palestinian specialties at Pattersons former Haven space in Oaklands Jack London Square. As with the other two properties, the owners work with Restaurant Opportunities Center United, an advocacy group trying to improve wages and working conditions in the restaurant industry.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

After the first visit I was excited to see what else Patel had in her arsenal. She seemed confident in the way she prepared the Gujarati cuisine of her childhood, tweaking it as she saw fit.

More Information ** Besharam Food:** Service:*  Atmosphere:**  Price: $$$ Noise:Four Bells 1275 Minnesota St., 415-580-7662. www.besharamrestaurant.com. Lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; dinner 5:30-10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday; brunch 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Full bar. 5% S.F. surcharge. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Difficult street parking at lunch. See More Collapse

Her husband, Paresh Patel, adds his voice to the cocktails based on Indian flavors, and he can often be seen working the floor.

When I returned nine days later, the restaurant had implemented a fixed price format at dinner ($59) featuring 11 dishes that are clustered together to make four courses, plus a pancake-like kulcha that encases butter chicken and is served with peanut chutney. Most of the recipes seemed tame, lacking the unbridled fire I remembered from the first visit.

When we asked about the format change, the waiter explained that Patel wanted customers to get a sense of how the food would be served in a home, and that this was a way to further personalize the experience.

The first course of four snacks included popped lotus seeds with the texture of stale Cheetos, and crisp, spice-dusted garbanzo beans, both served in paper cones with images that echoed the plates and wall. There was also a spinach mousse centered in a creamy sauce; and three quarter-size lentil fritters accompanied by a fiery coconut chutney. All these were fine, but nothing stood out like on the previous visit.

What made the experience even more disappointing is that it took nearly a half hour for any food to appear before us. The lotus seeds and chickpeas are snacks that are easily done in advance, and these should be on the table right after ordering.

The appetizer was a choice between a salad of arugula, fresh corn and a dill dressing, and kachhoris, two half-moon shaped pastries filled with edamame and pigeon peas on a thick pool of tomato rasam, a sauce that had a subtle heat that revealed itself after the sweet entry of the tomatoes. The salad was the only dish that I could compare to a version I tasted on my first visit. This time it lacked the complex heat I previously noted. It turned out that the kachoris were the only dish that felt distinctive.

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Service on that visit was slow, a combination of what appeared to be an overworked kitchen and a too-sparse waitstaff.

Our choices for main courses included fish fillets overcooked in banana leaves, and lamb shoulder that was mostly fat and gristle, served with mango pickles and rice yellow from turmeric.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

The dessert plate featured three items: a small round of cheesecake, a ball of carrot and almond halwa, and summer fruit dusted with chile and pink salt, all tossed haphazardly on a dessert plate. The messy arrangement seemed to reflect a kitchen under siege.

Rarely have I seen such a difference between two visits. I decided to return 11 days later and the menu was the same. While waiters still encouraged diners to order the fixed price menu, we were told they also offer the items a la carte.

This time the service was just as erratic  it took a half hour for the first snack to appear  but the food was better seasoned, and the presentations more studied.

The makai salad was arranged with strips of arugula, fresh corn and walnuts. The lamb was lean and coated in spices. The dessert was served individually and the fruit was fanned on one side of the plate.

At a subsequent lunch visit we again waited more than 30 minutes before the first dish arrived.

The lunch menu, which is a la carte, features the blue cheese naan ($9) thats missing from the fixed price menu, along with favorites such as grilled chicken kebabs ($16), fish moille ($19) and an excellent chicken sandwich ($16) where the chopped meat was sauteed in three preparations of cumin: raw, toasted and ground. The meat was stacked on a bun with lettuce and a slather of mint and cilantro chutney with lemon. The confidently spiced sandwich brought back memories of my first visit.

Patel, who worked with the culinary incubator La Cocina for five years, shows sparks of greatness, but at times her combinations needed to be more assertive. The fixed priced menu seems safer and less audacious than the restaurants name implies. When combined with the erratic service, Besharam feels like a promising blueprint rather than a fully realized entity.The Trump administration agreed Friday to protect humpback whale habitat in the Pacific Ocean after American Indian and conservation groups sued the government for leaving the playful leviathans vulnerable to ship strikes, oil spills and entanglements in fishing gear.

The suit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, a nonprofit that represents American Indian tribes, was settled Friday in federal court in San Francisco.

The National Marine Fisheries Service agreed to designate critical habitat for the animals by mid-2019 and finalize those boundaries a year later. It means the migration routes of three endangered or threatened populations of humpbacks on the West Coast will be protected.

This agreement ensures the whales will finally get the protections they need, said Catherine Kilduff, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity.

The suit, filed in March, accused the administration of seeking to expand offshore oil and gas drilling instead of protecting whales in California, where they have been seen recently splashing around near Fort Point in San Francisco Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Once again, when we challenged the Trump administrations attempt to illegally ignore environmental law in court, the Trump administration has been forced to change course, said Todd Steiner, the executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network.

Humpbacks often get tangled in fishing gear around Monterey Bay, where the migrating whales come to feed. Vessel collisions have also become a major cause of death outside the Golden Gate, where 7,300 large vessels pass every year. An estimated 22 humpbacks are killed by ships off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington each year, according to a recent study.

Disasters such as the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which dumped 142,800 gallons of crude in the coastal waters off Santa Barbara, are also a problem for humpbacks, which were observed swimming through the sheen left by the pipeline rupture.

Alicia Cordero of the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation said critical habitat is essential for our humpback whale relatives who have shared the Santa Barbara Channel with the tribe for thousands of years.

In 2016, the NOAAs fisheries service delisted nine of the 14 subspecies of humpbacks that were put under the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

Although the move was touted as an ecological success story, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit pointed out that the humpback subspecies seen along the California coast were still suffering compared to their cohorts in the rest of the world.

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The Central American population, which migrates twice annually along the California coast past San Francisco, remained on the endangered list after only 411 animals were counted. The Mexico population, which feeds off the West Coast and Alaska, was downgraded from endangered to threatened, even though experts determined that many of the 3,200 whales were dying from entanglements in commercial fishing gear.

The species, famous for putting on spectacular displays of leaping and splashing, was nearly wiped out by commercial hunting in the 19th and 20th centuries. Before 1900, an estimated 15,000 humpbacks lived in the North Pacific. In the 20th century, their numbers dwindled to fewer than 1,000.

The International Whaling Commissions hunting ban, imposed in 1982, played a major role in the comeback. Between 75,000 and 80,000 humpbacks now live in the worlds oceans, and many of those survivors migrate through the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

Humpbacks have had a special place in Bay Area hearts since Humphrey, a 40-ton humpback, caused pandemonium in 1985 when he swam through the Carquinez Strait, up the Sacramento River and into a creek near Rio Vista. He went back to sea after 25 days.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @pfimriteIf a citys buildings and streets are its body, then festivals are its personality. That holds true in Sacramento, where annual events express what make its people tick and where their passions lie. In the city, nicknamed Americas Farm to Fork capital, end-of-summer festivals celebrate foods, craft beers and wines produced in the region and throughout California. Other events reflect the citys passion for creativity, diversity and culture. And it doesnt hurt that these mostly outdoor festivals take place during some of the citys best weather of the year. For more events year-round: www.sacramento365.com

 Harriot Manley

California Craft Beer Festival

Move over, legislators, lawyers, and lobbyists: Capitol Mall becomes one big party during this sudsy event. With beers on tap from 160 California brewers, this festival bills itself as the largest craft beer fest in the state  and with unlimited tastings, we doubt anyone will argue (or bother to count). If youre a beer geek, consider signing up for the three-day summit, which includes talks, interactive exhibits and educational sessions, as well as the festival.

Details: Capitol Mall, Sacramento (summit, Sept. 7-9; festival, Sept. 8); www.californiacraftbeer.com

Legends of Wine

In whats undoubtedly one of the states classiest settings for a wine and cheese party, this event is staged at dusk in front of the state Capitol, with sunset views of gilded Tower Bridge and beyond. Learn about and sample many of the regions award-winning wines, with plenty of time to rub elbows with winemakers and viticulture luminaries, or just hang out in a great setting with a rich Zinfandel.

Details: 10th Street and Capitol Mall, Sacramento (Sept. 20); www.farmtofork.com/events/legends-of-wine

Farm-to-Fork Festival

With its location smack-dab in the middle of Californias agricultural heartland, Sacramento throws this annual blowout to celebrate foods grown and made in Northern California. Packing Capitol Mall with free, family-friendly activities, the festival lets you sample food and drink, shop for all things culinary, watch cooking demos, and enjoy live music from entertainers such as the folk-and-country Wood Brothers. The finale event Sunday evening is the Tower Bridge dinner, always a sellout way in advance, so try again next year.

Details: Capitol Mall between Third and Eighth streets, Sacramento (Sept. 28-29); www.farmtofork.com

Sacramento Greek Festival

Take a quick trip to the Mediterranean at East Sacramentos own Greek block party. Musicians strum the bouzouki while dancers twirl  and you too if you join a dance lesson. Greek food fans, youve found your happy place, with specialties like saganaki (flamed Greek cheese with lemon and brandy) and roast lamb with Greek herbs and spices. Save room for loukoumades (the Greek version of a doughnut hole) and other classic treats.

Details: 616 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento (Oct. 5-7); www.sacramentogreekfestival.com

Bent: Sacramento LGBTQ Film Festival

In its 27th year, this multiday event showcases outstanding LGBTQ films at the lushly restored Crest Theater. Event organizers tweaked the name of this years event to give it something different, something a little edgier. Hence the word bent, which they stress is not an acronym, but a word with multiple meanings: not straight, queer (British use), an inclination or natural talent, and a determination to do something. Film schedule still in the works; see the website for updates.

Details: 1013 K Street, Sacramento (Oct. 12-14); www.bentfilmfest.org

Sacramento Arts Festival

Slide into the holiday season at this juried event, with 225 contemporary craftspeople and fine artists presenting original works in the Sacramento Convention Center. Meet creators and browse pieces from virtually every category of fine art and contemporary crafts, including sculptors, ceramic artists, woodworkers, fabric and fiber artists, jewelers, glass artists, photographers and painters. Take a break from browsing with Greek, Indian and other foods from area restaurants.

Details: 14th and J streets (Oct. 26-28); www.sacartsfest.comBUENOS AIRES  Maria Isabel Chorobik de Mariani, who stood up to Argentinas military junta during the 1970s in the search for abducted children as a founder of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, died Monday in La Plata, near Buenos Aires. She was 94, having never found the granddaughter she lost.

Jose Luis Mansur, Marianis doctor, said the cause was respiratory complications of a stroke she suffered on Aug. 7.

Mariani, who went by the nickname Chicha, was one of the most emblematic figures of a movement formed by women who were searching for hundreds of babies stolen from their parents under the brutal military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983.

Over more than 40 years she gained wide attention for efforts that were instrumental in the pursuit of justice for the crimes the state committed during that era, all the while holding out hope of finding her granddaughter, Clara Anahi, who was 3 months old when she disappeared.

Human rights activists say as many as 30,000 people were killed or forcibly made to disappear under the military junta. Roughly 500 newborns are believed to have been kidnapped from political prisoners.

Mariani played an important role in setting up a system that enabled the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo to discover the identity of scores of children taken from their parents and locate them. So far, 128 of the abducted, now in adulthood, have been reunited, or at least connected, with blood relatives.

On Nov. 24, 1976, military and law enforcement officers descended on the home of Marianis son, Daniel Enrique Mariani, and his wife, Diana Esmeralda Teruggi, as part of an official campaign against people deemed to be subversives. The home, in La Plata, housed a printing press for the armed leftist group the Montoneros.

Teruggi and four others were killed in the raid. Daniel Mariani was not home at the time, but he was killed less than a year later, in August 1977.

Although military officers claimed that Clara Anahi had also died, witnesses said they had seen her being removed from the home.

Convinced that her granddaughter had survived, Mariani joined forces with another grandmother, Alicia Zubasnabar de la Cuadra, whose pregnant daughter had been detained by military officers.

The two women gathered 10 others to form the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo in November 1977. Simultaneously, another group, Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, sought information about adults who had seemingly vanished without a trace.

Mariani was the second president of the grandmothers group and led it until 1989. As part of her work with the group, she helped introduce blood tests as a way of matching people thought to be the children of the disappeared and their grandparents. She later set up a nonprofit organization in her granddaughters name.

In a statement, the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo said Mariani had been fundamental in the start of the search for the boys and girls who were appropriated by state terrorism.

Political and human rights leaders vowed to continue the search for Clara Anahi.

In 2006, Mariani confronted Miguel Etchecolatz, a retired police commissioner, at his trial for his involvement in the state terror. She accused him of knowing where her granddaughter had been taken.

I see Police Commissioner Etchecolatz with the rosary, she said, and Id like to ask that instead of praying to the rosary he should alleviate his conscience and say where Clara Anahi is, because he knows.

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He did not respond, but years later said he had been told that the baby had died in the attack.

Etchecolatz was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Mariani had a glimmer of hope in December 2015 when a woman claimed that she was her long-lost granddaughter. But a blood test proved otherwise.

That was a difficult situation that to this day I dont quite understand, said Elsa Pavon, who leads the Anahi foundation. It hit Chicha hard, but she was strong and she was determined not to let anything stop her from her search.

Mariani was born Nov. 19, 1923, in San Rafael, in western Mendoza province. In 1947, she married Enrique Jose Mariani, who died in 2003. No immediate family members survive.

Marianis long years in pursuit of justice took their toll.

Ive sometimes felt bad, tired and disappointed in life, people and things, she said in an interview with Spains El Mundo newspaper in 2015. Ive even had so much fatigue that I think its time to go.

But I always react and tell myself, I cant die, she said. I dont have the right to die without having found Clara Anahi.

Daniel Politi is a New York Times writer.Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was among the 20th century's most revered modern architects, known for such meticulous landmarks as the Seagram Building in New York.

What wasn't known until this year is that he also designed two towers intended for San Francisco - a pair of dark metal slabs that would have stood at the base of Russian Hill, filling a block that now is a city park.

The 1958 proposal is a fascinating what-if in a city where strong modern architecture has long been the exception. There's also a strong case to be made that it's a bullet dodged in a setting of smaller, older buildings one block south of Ghirardelli Square.

Whatever the hindsight view might be, the Berkeley architect who was Mies' local design partner says nobody involved had second thoughts at the time - especially the architect, who on a subsequent San Francisco visit told reporters: "We can't just let things grow up in the old way. We must plan on a large scale, large and complex projects."

"Mies could care less about what the environment was like as long as he could build a tower," said Donald Olsen. "He could have a site in the worst conditions."

Short-lived plan

Details of the short-lived plan surfaced this year in a monograph on the career of Olsen, now 94, who taught at UC Berkeley for 35 years while crafting a procession of rigorous, resplendent private homes in a modernist style. The hillside home that he designed in 1954 for him and his wife Helen is now on the National Register of Historic Places, added in 2010 as "perhaps the most pure and successful domestic expression of the International Style in the Bay Area."

But for a brief time in the late 1950s, Olsen was teamed with Mies in service of Herbert Greenwald, a Chicago developer looking to expand to the West Coast.

Greenwald and Mies already had done several residential towers in Chicago when the developer arranged for Bay Area planner Herman Ruth to be his West Coast consultant. Ruth in turn called on Olsen; the men shared an office, and Olsen had designed Ruth's home.

"My dear friend Herman Ruth!" Olsen recalled fondly in a recent interview. "He had a way of making connections."

Olsen had credibility on his own: He was a former student of Walter Gropius, who was a colleague of Mies' in Germany before going on to teach at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. Olsen also worked briefly for Eero Saarinen, one of the most prominent American architects of the era.

Finally, Olsen and Mies shared a design approach that treated architecture as a logical exercise rather than a visual show.

"Don would come at a project from the perspective of planning, so tight and focused. Mies started with the plan as well," said Pierluigi Serraino, an architect who wrote the monograph "Donald Olsen: Architect of Habitable Abstractions," published this fall by San Francisco's William Stout Publishers.

The first site the team coveted was a block on Marina Boulevard across from Fort Mason. But Greenwald was outbid by Safeway, which built the supermarket that opened in 1959 and still does brisk business.

Ruth then pointed Greenwald toward the open block of Bay Street between Hyde and Larkin streets, owned by what now is the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

800 parking spaces

Greenwald proposed leveling the site for a three-story podium that would be topped with 20-story slabs at either end, parallel to Hyde and Larkin streets. Tucked into the podium would be 800 parking spaces.

It's not clear Mies ever visited the site. The rendering that exists is by Olsen - an incongruous meeting of past and future where the houses on either side are detailed with precision, looking much the same as today, with an uncompromising vision of right-angled urban renewal in between.

"Making a drawing of a Mies building was nothing, a certain number of stories and a grid of glass," said Olsen. His task was to make the podium and parking function against the hillside.

Mayor enthusiastic

Mayor George Christopher loved the concept when Greenwald presented it to him in July of 1958, telling his planning chief to "move on it right away." But nearby residents balked. The Recreation and Park Commission voted to buy the land from the PUC.

That didn't necessarily scuttle the project, since Christopher could veto the sale. But Greenwald died in a plane crash in 1959, and the plans went no further. The site is still grassy and clear, still owned by the PUC.

The Olsens rue the loss of the Marina site most of all - a square that would have allowed a single tall rectangle to rise: "It would have been great," Helen, a graphic designer herself, said during the interview.

As for Donald, he recounted the tale of the Bay Area visit by Mies not long after, in 1960.

Then 74, Mies was here for a convention of the American Institute of Architects. He was to receive the group's highest honor, its gold medal, and arranged with Olsen to give a lecture at Cal earlier in the day.

Mies was legendary for his solemn reserve as well as his attention to detail, and he showed no desire for pre-ceremony chitchat at the Palace Hotel. Olsen suggested a visit instead to the Buena Vista cafe with a car full of faculty members.

"We drove up there and in we went," Olsen recalled. The locals insisted that their guest try an Irish coffee, the house specialty then as well as now.

"He was skeptical, but he agreed," Olsen said. "One taste led to another, and pretty soon the guy famous for not being talkative, we couldn't stop him."Chen Siqi does not eat out so much anymore. Li Keli cut down on travel and takes her son to a public playground instead. Wang Jiazhi stopped dating.

Welcome to Chinas consumption downgrade culture, a potentially worrisome development for Beijing and the world.

For years, the conversation in China was about consumption upgrades. As the economy took off, Chinas middle class  now more than 400 million strong and still growing  decided to spend those bigger paychecks. It traded up from local brands to Nikes, from cheap phones to iPhones, from tea to $5 Starbucks lattes.

Today, Chinas economy is slowing, and shopping has slowed with it. The stock market is slumping. Chinas currency has lost some of its value. The trade war with President Trump has left many Chinese feeling pessimistic.

Chinas consumer culture has by no means ground to a halt. But in the streets and on the Chinese internet, the talk is about cutting back in ways big and small.

Quit avocado. Ride bikes instead of taxis. Drink beer instead of cocktails  and make sure that beer is not craft. Order a medium-size milk tea instead of a large. Give up the gym, and take up dancing in public squares like a grandmother. Some people joke about eating meat instead of tofu, as American tariffs have made imported soybeans more expensive.

Perhaps most worrisome for Chinas leaders, many young Chinese are increasingly reluctant to have children.

A post headlined This Generation of Young Chinese, Brace for the Bitter Days Ahead, by Ming Na, a blogger, received more than 300,000 views on the social media service WeChat recently. She advised young people to stop going to shopping malls and nightclubs.

The age of the consumption downgrade, Na wrote, has arrived with a big crashing sound.

Chen hears the message. The 30-year-old accountant in Beijing recently bought a garbage bin on Pinduoduo, a Chinese app focused on cheap, sometimes iffy goods that initially enjoyed appeal only in rural areas. She makes about $1,400 a month after taxes, but nearly half of it goes to the rent on her one-bedroom apartment.

Chen said she had reached the age when she wanted to live in her own apartment instead of sharing with others. To save money, she now cooks at home a few times a week and buys clothes mostly from cheap online vendors and the Japanese basics brand Uniqlo.

I would like to have a nicer lifestyle but dont know how I can afford it, she said.

A Chinese consumption downgrade could be felt around the world. Chinese spenders have been a key driver of their countrys economic growth in recent years. China, in turn, has played a major role in global growth. Chinese consumers help global companies like Apple, General Motors, Volkswagen and many others. A consumption downgrade could also embolden Trump in his trade fight with China, as he gambles that Beijing cannot take much more economic damage.

On paper, the Chinese economy looks strong. Look closer, and the cracks begin to show. Retail sales this year have grown at their slowest pace in more than a decade. Wages in the private sector are growing at their slowest pace since the global financial crisis. The stock market has fallen by one-fifth.

This month, JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce company, reported disappointing quarterly results. JD.coms focus is providing Chinas growing middle class with quality products. Alibaba Group, Chinas biggest online retailer, reported mixed results on Thursday.

Long-term factors are driving down spending among young people in particular. The cost of education is going up. Housing in rich cities like Beijing has become unaffordable for many.

Housing is so expensive that Wang Jiazhi moved out of his own home. The 34-year-old semiconductor engineer in the southern city of Shenzhen bought a one-bedroom apartment in 2016. In addition to a mortgage of more than $700 a month, he needs to pay his relatives back for the money he borrowed for the down payment. So he rents his apartment and shares a four-bedroom apartment with nine other men. This way, Wang  who makes about $2,000 a month after taxes  saves $160 a month.

Like many Chinese men, Wang believes he needs an apartment in order to find a wife. But he is under so much pressure with his mortgage and debt, and with supporting his aging parents in the countryside, that he has had to postpone his plan for marriage. His prospects were not good anyway: To save money, he has stopped dating.

I work long hours every day, he said. It makes me feel occupied.

So the consumption downgrade is in. Even as Chinas stock market has sputtered, shares in companies that make affordable staples like erguotou, a cheap hard liquor, and pickled vegetables have bucked the trend.

Drink erguotou with pickled vegetables, said Na, the blogger, quoting popular Chinese internet memes. Take a ride with Mobike, she added, naming a bike-share company that offers two-wheeled rides for pennies.

Even the only children of middle-class families, a group that is largely financially secure, can feel anxious about their future.

Wu Xiaoqiong, 28, is the only child of a civil servant and a doctor in the eastern province of Hefei. She works at a big internet company in Beijing with monthly pay of $1,500 after taxes.

When she got married last year, her parents and her husbands parents each put in half of the down payment for a one-bedroom apartment  a typical arrangement for many Chinese middle-class families. Nearly two-thirds of the couples monthly income goes to the mortgage and toward the rent of a small apartment in Shanghai, where her husband works at a state-owned bank.

Her consumption downgrade plan is to remain childless.

We have almost no savings and no retirement plans, she said. My parents have been supporting me financially. How can I afford a child?

Others are saying no to bigger households  a problem for a Chinese government worried about the countrys aging population.

When asked whether she would consider having a second child, Li Keli, an accountant at an electronics-maker in the southern city of Huizhou, said, Absolutely not. Her factory laid off two-thirds of its workers in June when the U.S.-China trade war escalated. Her monthly pay of $500 was cut by 10 percent.

She used to take her son, 7, to visit nearby cities on weekends. Now she takes him to the playgrounds of big residential complexes because they are free.

Many high earners feel anxious as well. Chen Ying, 33, an architect in Shanghai, said her consumption downgrade plan involved not shopping in department stores.

Chen Ying said she did not expect her pay to rise too much in the future. Her younger colleagues do not make as much as when she first started four years ago, and her pay now is lower than that of older colleagues with similar experience four years ago.

She used to get pay raises of 15 to 20 percent a year  rates that were not uncommon at fast-growing industries in China in the past decade. Now she expects the raises to be 5 percent, if she gets them at all. She has started to think about retirement, but does not know where to begin.

In the past we had many inflated expectations, she said. Now we dont expect so much.

Li Yuan is a New York Times writer.As personal banking goes digital, safe-deposit boxes may seem a relic from the analog age. Yet some people still want the security of storage away from home for valuables, important papers and sentimental keepsakes, financial advisers say.

A safe-deposit box is a locked storage bin, usually located in a vault or secure area, that banks and credit unions rent. Typically, customers receive a key and must check in with a bank employee, who uses a second key in tandem with the customers key, to unlock the box. Some banks may offer keyless systems that allow access by scanning a finger or hand.

Federal regulators and industry groups said they dont have statistics on the use or availability of safe-deposit boxes, but some banks and financial advisers said demand has been slack.

A Bank of America spokeswoman, Betty Riess, said demand for the boxes has dropped significantly, particularly among younger customers who prefer digital storage of documents. Fewer than half of its safe-deposit boxes are rented, she said. Elyse Foster, a financial planner in Boulder, Colo., said that when she contacted several banks on behalf of a client to ask if they offered safe-deposit boxes, I kept getting no answers. Foster said she was told the boxes took up too much space and demand had fallen in favor of home safes.

But Elizabeth Seymour, a spokeswoman for JPMorgan Chase, said that while she did not have historical data available, Chase has safe-deposit boxes in more than half of its branches and they are still popular with customers.

David McGuinn, a safe-deposit box consultant in Houston, said there are still millions of boxes rented and plenty of branches offering them. He said he considered them the safest place to store anything you consider valuable.

So what should you keep in one?

The bank boxes are best for storing documents and valuables that you usually dont need on short notice. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says good candidates include originals of birth certificates, property deeds, car titles as well as paper U.S. savings bonds that havent been converted into electronic versions (availability of paper savings bonds is limited these days).

If you travel often or on short notice, keeping a passport in a safe-deposit box may be inconvenient, since you can only access the box during regular bank hours. A home safe may be a better choice.

Estate lawyers generally frown on keeping wills in safe-deposit boxes in case access to the box is restricted after the owners death. That may cause delays in retrieving the will. When a person dies, you may not be able to get to it, said T. Randolph Harris, a lawyer specializing in estate and trust planning at McLaughlin & Stern in New York. He advises clients to keep the original will with their lawyer and to keep a copy at home in a secure place like a locked file cabinet.

Storing emergency cash in a safe-deposit box is also unwise, advisers say. Unlike money in a deposit account, cash in a safe-deposit box isnt insured by the FDIC, and it may be vulnerable to theft. The Federal Reserve Board took punitive action this year against a former bank employee who stole $30,000 in cash from a customers safe-deposit box.

Banks arent immune to risks from natural disasters. So its best to seal documents or other items that may be damaged by flood in plastic bags or containers to help protect them from water damage, McGuinn said.

Paula Pierce, a lawyer in Austin, Texas, urges people to carefully read the contract for their safe-deposit box, which outlines what happens if, for instance, you lose your keys. The American Bankers Association said banks dont keep copies of your key, so if you lose yours, the lock must be replaced. Often, Pierce said, Theres a hefty charge for getting the box rekeyed, so keep them in a safe place.

Also, be sure to keep current on rental fees, Pierce said. Details vary by state, she said, but generally, after a period of notice, the bank may be allowed to sell the contents of the box to pay delinquent fees. Any excess money is turned over to the state as unclaimed property.

David OBrien, a fee-only financial planner in Midlothian, Va., said he encourages clients to take an inventory and to visit the box periodically to verify its contents. He said a relatives safe-deposit box was mistakenly drilled open and emptied by her bank, which had confused it with another box with a similar number whose owner had fallen delinquent on rental fees. The boxs contents  including a watch with sentimental value  were eventually recovered, he said. But the incident suggests that letting items languish indefinitely is a mistake. You need to catalog whats in it, he said, and then check on it.

Here are some questions and answers about safe-deposit boxes:

Q: How much does a safe-deposit box typically cost?

A: Fees vary depending by location and the size of the box and may range from $20 to about $200 a year. Customers with certain accounts may get a discount.

Q: Are valuable items in my safe-deposit box covered by insurance?

A: Not usually. The bank generally doesnt insure the contents of the box. So if you are storing jewelry or other valuables, you should buy insurance separately, said Lynne McChristian, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute. Typically, you would have the item appraised, then schedule coverage for its replacement value on your homeowners policy. Insurers often charge less to insure an item, she said, if it is kept in a safe-deposit box.

Q: Is the fee for my safe-deposit box tax deductible?

A: Not anymore, said Lewis Altfest, CEO of Altfest Personal Wealth Management in New York. Such fees previously could be taken as a miscellaneous deduction, in some cases, on your federal tax return, but the deduction was suspended as part of last years tax overhaul.

Ann Carrns is a New York Times writer.In the latest route news, Alaska and United are each dropping a Bay Area route; American and Delta reveal 2019 Europe plans, while American and Hawaiian cut back transpacific service; Delta starts code-sharing to Africa; China Southern adds a U.S. market; another international carrier joins TSA PreCheck; Volaris boosts transborder service; Europe's Primera adds U.S. routes; and another Canadian low-cost carrier is coming to the U.S.

Both Alaska Airlines and United are trimming Bay Area routes. On August 25, Alaska ends its Horizon Air daily service from San Jose to Eugene, Oregon (on the same date, it will also discontinue service from Portland to both Bellingham and Pasco, Washington). And on January 7, United will eliminate its daily CRJ-200 flights between San Francisco International and Victoria, B.C.

Major airlines are starting to firm up their plans for Europe service in 2019, with recent announcements form both American and Delta.

American said its 2019 schedule across the Atlantic will include new daily summer seasonal service from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Dublin and Munich, both starting June 6; seasonal Phoenix-London Heathrow flights every day beginning March 31; seasonal daily Chicago O'Hare-Athens service starting March 31; and year-round daily Charlotte-Munich flights beginning March 31.

At its Philadelphia hub, American will add four seasonal routes next year: Daily flights to Edinburgh start April 2, followed by four weekly flights to Bologna as of June 6, four a week to Berlin starting June 7, and three a week to Dubrovnik, also beginning June 7. At the same time, AA will drop its year-round Philadelphia-Munich service on March 30 and will not renew its summer seasonal flights from PHL to Glasgow and Frankfurt next year. Also on the chopping block for 2019 is American's seasonal service from New York JFK to Dublin and Edinburgh, and from Chicago to Manchester. (In non-transatlantic markets, American said it will end service to Port-au-Prince, Haiti from both JFK and Ft. Lauderdale as of November 3 of this year. Also being dropped are DFW-Puebla, Mexico flights and Los Angeles-Toronto service as of December 18, while LAX-Mexico City will lose one of its two daily flights starting October 28.)

Delta said it plans to boost West Coast capacity to Europe next year. In June of this year, it kicked off new service from Los Angeles to Paris three days a week, and from LAX to Amsterdam four days a week. On June 16 of next year, Delta said, it will increase frequencies to daily on both of those routes, which link Delta's growing LAX presence to the hubs of its joint venture partners KLM and Air France. Delta said the increased LAX-Paris service will get an upgraded 777 that has the airline's new Delta One suites and Premium Select, its new international premium economy seating.

Meanwhile, Delta will kick off new year-round service from Tampa Bay to Amsterdam on May 23. Also on the airline's summer 2019 schedule is the addition of second daily flights from New York JFK to both Paris and Tel Aviv. (Other Delta route news at JFK includes the addition of a second daily flight to Nassau, Bahamas starting October 1; new daily service to Kingston, Jamaica as of December 20; and weekly service to Antigua and to Port-au-Prince effective December 22.)

In other developments, Delta announced a code-sharing pact with Kenya Airways that has put the DL code onto the African carrier's flights to Nairobi from Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Accra, Ghana, as well as Kenya Airways flights from Nairobi to 10 other African destinations. Kenya Airways is a member of Delta's SkyTeam global alliance.

Higher fuel costs and sagging traffic are taking a toll on transpacific service. In the latest developments, American Airlines said it plans to suspend its daily service between Chicago O'Hare and Shanghai as of October 26  although it will apply for a "dormancy waiver" from the Transportation Department so it doesn't lose its route authority between the two cities. American also said it will reduce service on its Chicago-Tokyo Narita route from one flight a day to three a week starting December 18. (Last spring, American announced it would also end its eight-year-old Chicago-Beijing service as of October 20.)

Meanwhile, Hawaiian Airlines also plans to discontinue a China route, setting October 9 for the final westbound departure of its Honolulu-Beijing service, which operates three days a week. The airline said it expects to return to China at some point and will "continue to market one-stop options to Honolulu from cities throughout China on our airline partners." Not everyone is trimming China service, though: China Southern Airlines has filed plans to begin a new U.S. route starting December 18. The carrier said it will fly between Shenyang and Los Angeles three days a week, using an A330-300.

Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris continues to add U.S. routes. On November 20, it will start flying between Sacramento and Guanajuato twice a week, followed on November by 21 by new service linking San Jose with Guanajuato three times a week. Volaris will also add new twice-weekly service from Guadalajara to Albuquerque beginning November 17 and to Charlotte as of November 22.

Members of the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck trusted traveler program have another option for flights to Europe: TSA has approved the participation of Swiss International Air Lines in the program, which provides an expedited screening process for members. Swiss flies to Geneva from New York JFK and to Zurich from JFK, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Miami. In other transatlantic news, Finnair plans to resume flying between Helsinki and Los Angeles next year, operating three A350-900 fights a week beginning March 31. The Finnish airline hasn't flown non-stop to LAX since 1991.

Primera Air, a European low-cost carrier with a Latvian headquarters and mostly Scandinavian ownership, plans to expand its U.S. presence next year. The airline currently flies from Newark to Paris CDG and London Stansted, from Boston to Paris CDG and London Stansted, and from Washington D.C. to London Stansted. Next spring, it plans to begin new service from all three U.S. airports to Brussels, using new Boeing 737MAX 9 aircraft. Newark-Brussels starts May 9 with daily service; service from Washington Dulles and Boston to Brussels will begin June 2 and June 4, with three and four weekly flights respectively.

Low-cost competition across the northern border continues to increase. Air Canada's Rouge unit is facing new transborder competition from WestJet's new Swoop subsidiary, and now a third Canadian low-cost airline is jumping into the fray. Edmonton-based Flair Airlines, which began operations in 2005 and was a charter carrier up until last year, said it will supplement its intra-Canadian network with new U.S. routes this fall. From Edmonton, it will fly to Las Vegas four times a week starting November 8, followed in mid-December by weekly service to Miami, twice-weekly flights to Orlando, and four a week to both Palm Springs and Phoenix Mesa. Also coming in mid-December are twice-weekly Flair flights from Toronto to Miami and twice-weekly service from Winnipeg to Las Vegas, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix Mesa and St. Petersburg/Clearwater.

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.A Modesto man was arrested early Thursday morning on suspicion of public intoxication and arson after he confessed to starting two brush fires, officials said.

According to the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Office, 36-year-old Hugo Montes was removed from the Black Oak Casino around 4:30 a.m. for bad behavior.

The casino told deputies that Montes started a fire in the back of his cousin's pick-up truck that was parked in the casino's parking structure. It was unclear why he did this, they said, and he was asked to leave the casino.

MORE CRIME NEWS: 16-year-old boy dies from gunshot wounds, two arrested in Fairfield shooting near Armijo High School

Deputies say a security guard for the casino later saw Montes light two brush fires along a nearby road, so the guard rushed over and quickly extinguished the flames before they could spread.

The Sheriff's Office was then notified of the alleged attempted arson and contacted Montes, who "appeared to be quite intoxicated."

According to deputies, Montes had "slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol emanating from him," and admitted to starting the brush fires near the casino. A breathalyzer test allegedly revealed he had a blood alcohol level of 0.168, which is twice the legal limit for drivers.

ALSO: BART stabbing suspect arrested thanks to 'extra set of eyes'

A CalFire fire investigator determined that the brush fires were started by matches.

Montes was booked into the Tuolumne County Jail, and deputies say the situation would have been much worse had it not been for the vigilance of the casino's security guard.

"We are thankful for our partnerships with CalFire and Black Oak Casino Tribal Security," the Sheriff's Office said. "This was an extremely dangerous situation and could have ended much worse if not for the quick actions of the security officer."CHICAGO  Democratic Party officials, after a long battle between warring ideological wings, have agreed to sharply reduce the influence of the top political insiders known as superdelegates in the presidential nomination process.

Under the new plan, which was agreed to Saturday in Chicago at the Democratic National Committees annual summer meetings, superdelegates retain their power to back any candidate regardless of how the public votes. They will now be largely barred, however, from participating in the first ballot of the presidential nominating process at the partys convention  drastically diluting their power.

Superdelegates will be able to cast substantive votes only in extraordinary cases like contested conventions, in which the nomination process is extended through multiple ballots until one candidate prevails.

After you lose an election, you have to look in the mirror, said Howard Dean, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean had recorded a video message to committee members urging them to back the proposed changes.

As a so-called superdelegate myself, I feel this is the best path forward, he said. It is exactly the kind of change we have to make, not just to strengthen our candidates, but to strengthen the view of the Democratic Party among its core group of voters, which is young Americans.

Party officials also hope the rule changes will help bury vestiges of acrimony over the 2016 primary election.

Though superdelegates have never before overturned the will of Democratic voters in the presidential primary, their role caused deep tensions in the Democratic primary two years ago between Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Supporters of Sanders said these insiders  mostly elected officials, party leaders and donors  were emblematic of a rigged nomination system favoring Clinton.

After Clintons loss in the general election, party leaders committed to a wholesale re-examination of the partys presidential nomination process, including easing some voting requirements, further encouraging grass-roots activism, increasing transparency surrounding presidential debates, as well as overhauling the superdelegate system.

Throughout the annual meeting in Chicago, some activists expressed concerns that the proposed changes to the superdelegate system would fail, particularly after several black party leaders expressed skepticism about the revisions. However, propelled by Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and by Dean and other prominent party leaders, the overhaul passed by an overwhelming margin.

Todays decision by the DNC is an important step forward in making the Democratic Party more open, democratic and responsive, Sanders said in a statement.

Astead W. Herndon is a New York Times writer.An 83-year-old woman was assaulted by robbery suspects inside a Los Gatos home on Thursday morning, Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies reported.



Deputies went to the house at about 11 a.m. to reports of a home-invasion robbery. A man in his 20s allegedly assaulted the woman when she confronted the three suspects.



The two other suspects were wearing masks covering their faces, according to deputies, and the men ransacked the home and stole several objects.



The woman suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, according to deputies.

YOUNG ARRESTED: Former Warrior Nick Young arrested in HollywoodMENLO PARK (BCN)



An urban search and rescue team based in Menlo Park has been deployed to Hawaii's Big Island as Tropical Storm Lane causes severe flooding across part of the Hawaiian Islands.



The 36 members of California Search and Rescue Task Force 3 were undergoing training in Honolulu today, but now are packing up and heading to the Big Island, where, according to the National Weather Service, a flood warning is in effect on the east side.



The search and rescue team arrived in Honolulu on Wednesday and Thursday to help with the response to then-Hurricane Lane, which on Friday was downgraded to a tropical storm.



The task force brought 40,000 pounds of Search and Rescue equipment including boats, all-terrain vehicles and chain saws to address urban flooding, water rescue and mudslides, according to Menlo Park Police Harold Schapelhouman.



Last night they received orders to re-pack the 40,000 pounds of equipment in order to help out on the Big Island, Schapelhouman said.



The 36-member team of the Menlo Park-based task force is one of three such national task forces sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.



About 200 American Red Cross disaster workers have also gone to Hawaii to help people affected by the storm, the Red Cross said. The workers include an experienced leadership team and IT professionals to support emergency communications equipment.



A tropical storm warning was in effect for Oahu and Maui County and a tropical storm watch was in effect for Kauai County as of 8 a.m. in Hawaii today, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.



A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area. A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area.





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.SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



An employee with the San Francisco's Street Violence Intervention Program died on Wednesday after he suffered life-threatening injuries in a shooting last week, according to police.



Joseph Taeotui was shot around 12:15 p.m. on Aug. 13 in the 100 block of Kiska Road, just across from the Willie Mays Boys & Girls Club.



Taeotui, 43, worked to prevent gun violence, especially among youth. He was reportedly leaving a neighborhood meeting regarding gun violence when he was shot.



According to police, two suspects allegedly approached Taeotui and shot him. The suspects then fled in a vehicle and officers have not been able to locate them.



In a statement, Mayor London Breed said, "The death of Joseph Taeotui is a heartbreaking loss for the Bayview-Hunters Point community and the city of San Francisco. Joseph was a well-respected community activist whose work to reduce gun violence made our city a safer, more compassionate place.



"The senseless nature of his passing underscores the importance of the cause to which he dedicated his life, and we recommit ourselves today to ending the scourge of gun violence in our city and the nation," Breed said.



A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Taeotui's family pay for expenses. According to the page, Taeotui, also known as "Jungle" was raised in the Bayview neighborhood and leaves behind a wife and a two-year-old daughter. The page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/joe-quotjunglequot-taeotui.



Police are asking anyone with information to call their 24-hour tipline at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 with "SFPD" at the beginning of the message. Tipsters have the option of remaining anonymous.





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.SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A settlement was reached Friday between the Trump administration and activists fighting to protect Pacific humpback whale habitats where the animals face threats from fisheries, ship strikes and oil spills, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.



The agreement, filed in federal court in San Francisco, requires the National Marine Fisheries Service to follow a requirement in the Endangered Species Act to designate critical habitats by June 2019 and finalize the boundaries by June 2020.



Two Pacific Ocean humpback populations were listed in 2016 as endangered and a third was listed as threatened, Catherine Kilduff, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.



"While delaying these protections, the Trump administration proposed opening the Pacific up to offshore oil drilling and letting fishing gear tangle dozens of humpbacks," she said. "This agreement ensures the whales will finally get the protections they need."



The lawsuit was brought by the center in conjunction with the Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Foundation.





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)



A 73-year-old Sonoma Valley man on trial in Sonoma County Superior Court for allegedly beating and strangling his wife testified this afternoon about the couple's frequent arguments near the end of their 27-year marriage.



The marriage ended when 67-year-old Juanita Rothschild was found dead Aug. 4, 2017 in the couple's Boyes Hot Springs home. Her husband, Steven Rothschild, called 911 to report the couple had an argument and his wife was dead.



A responding sheriff's deputy found a faint pulse in Juanita "Nita" Rothschild, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Forensic pathologist Dr. Kimi Verilhac testified today that electrical activity in the heart continues even when there is no heartbeat.



Verilhac said Juanita Rothschild was beaten and strangled. There were at least seven blunt force trauma injuries to her head, face and neck and defensive injuries on her arms, she said.



Steven Rothschild gave a lengthy account this afternoon of the couple's itinerant lifestyle and his many jobs in California, Nevada and Washington. He said it seemed the couple became argumentative after they built a house in 2005 in Marysville, Washington.



He said, "It just sort of crept up."



According to Steven Rothschild, the marriage relationship changed after his wife had a pacemaker placed in her chest in 2008.



"She said I caused her heart problem. Her parents died of a heart attack. Her uncle died of a heart attack. It seemed to run in the family. She said it was because of aggravation and my hot temper," he said.



The arguments were not brief or give and take, he said. They went on and off for days, he said, and added that there were "nights on the couch."



Steven Rothschild said, "I felt there was no back and forth. We didn't argue about current events. We argued about what dissatisfied her in the past.



"I would give up arguing because it was in the past and she wasn't going to change her mind," he said.



Steven Rothschild is charged with first-degree murder and he remains in the Sonoma County Jail. His testimony continues Monday.





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)



The Alameda County District Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty for an Oakland man who's scheduled to stand trial later this year on a murder charge with three special circumstances for the fatal shooting of Hayward police Sgt. Scott Lunger three years ago.



The District Attorney's Office announced its decision in the case of 24-year-old Mark Estrada in a court filing and at a brief court hearing on June 9, 2017, shortly after he was ordered to stand trial at the end of his preliminary hearing on May 8, 2017.



But the decision wasn't widely known until a hearing on Thursday at which Estrada sought to fire both of his attorneys.



The decision marks only the second time that District Attorney Nancy O'Malley has sought the death penalty since she took the job as the county's top prosecutor in 2009.



The other time was in the case of Darnell Williams, who in 2016 was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and other charges and sentenced to the death penalty for the deaths of 8-year-old Alaysha Carradine and 22-year-old Anthony Medearis in separate incidents in 2013.



Lunger was shot near Mytrle and Lion streets in Hayward at about 3:15 a.m. on July 22, 2015, and was pronounced dead at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley a short time later.



Prosecutors said the shooting occurred after Lunger stopped a white Chevrolet Silverado truck driven by Estrada because it was swerving and almost hit several cars.



Estrada's move to fire his attorneys could be an attempt to delay his case, as it has moved slowly and he avoided entering a plea for 13 months after the shooting until he finally pleaded not guilty on Aug. 25, 2016.



At the hearing on Thursday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Cramer allowed Estrada to fire his lead attorney, Christopher Morales, and referred him to the Public Defender's Office to see if it will represent him.



Cramer said if the Public Defender doesn't take Estrada's case he will refer Estrada to the county's court-appointed lawyer program.



Estrada also asked to fire his second lawyer, veteran Richmond defense attorney Linda Fullerton, for allegedly providing ineffective legal assistance but at the end of a closed hearing Cramer ruled that Estrada has no basis for dismissing her.



Estrada is scheduled to return to court on Monday, when the Public Defender's Office will disclose whether it will represent him.



Estrada's trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 26.



Prosecutor John Brouhard, who has won several death penalty cases, including Williams' case, said he hopes Estrada's trial will still begin at that time.





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.HAYWARD (BCN)



Southbound lanes on Interstate Highway 880 north of the West Winton Avenue exit in Hayward that were closed following an acid leak from a truck that was carrying chemical tanks were reopened at 4:50 p.m. today, the California Highway Patrol said.



Northbound lanes south of the nearby Jackson Street exit on Highway 880 were also closed following the leak, which was reported shortly after 12:30 p.m. today, but those lanes reopened at 3:48 p.m., according to the CHP.



The shelter-in-place order, which was for the area from Jackson Street in the south to Winton Avenue in the north to Amador Street in the east and to Highway 880 in the west, has been lifted.



Alameda County Fire Department spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said the leak created a vapor plume and started a vegetation fire.



Knowles estimated that the leak could have been up to 300 gallons of acid.



CHP Officer Manuel Leal said there wasn't a crash and there haven't been any injuries but the truck stopped after its driver noticed that the truck was leaking.



CHP officials said the chemical that leaked is believed to be a blend of phosphoric acid and nitric acid.



The truck that leaked the acid was operated by a driver for Univar, a global chemical and ingredients distributor that's based in the Chicago area, according to company spokesman Dwayne Roark.



The truck contained a chemical solution and after it developed a leak the driver took immediate action to sequester the leak while waiting for the appropriate authorities to respond, Roark said.



"Univar will continue working closely with local authorities and has notified the necessary federal and state agencies," Roark said in a statement.



He said, "Univar is serious about safety and appreciates the help of the local authorities to manage the situation."





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.HAYWARD (BCN)



Northbound lanes of Interstate Highway 880 north of the West Winton Avenue exit in Hayward that were closed following an acid leak from a truck that was carrying chemical tanks were reopened at 3:48 p.m. today, the California Highway Patrol said.



However, southbound lanes on Highway 880 in that area remain closed, according to the CHP.



Alameda County Fire Department spokeswoman Aisha Knowles said firefighters from her agency and the Hayward and Fremont fire departments have partially neutralized the acid leak and a shelter-in-place order has been lifted.



Knowles said firefighters are continuing to work to neutralize the remaining product.



The shelter-in-place order was for the area from Jackson Street in the south to Winton Avenue in the north to Amador Street in the east and to Highway 880 in the west.



Knowles said the leak created a vapor plume and started a vegetation fire.



Knowles said the size of the leak hasn't yet been confirmed but based on the known capacity of the containers it's possible that the leak could be up to 300 gallons of acid.



CHP Officer Manuel Leal said the leak was reported shortly after 12:30 p.m. today and eventually all southbound and northbound lanes of Highway 880 in the area of the West Winton Avenue exit were closed.



Leal said there wasn't a crash and there haven't been any injuries but the truck stopped after its driver noticed that the truck was leaking.



CHP officials said the chemical that leaked is believed to be a blend of phosphoric acid and nitric acid.





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.Verizon officials said they have made multiple policy changes in response to the Santa Clara County fire chief's criticism of the company for throttling data speeds while firefighters were battling the 400,000-acre Mendocino Complex fires.



Santa Clara County fire Chief Anthony Bowden's statement was included in a lawsuit filed against the Federal Communications Commission by Santa Clara County, the fire department, San Jose and multiple other parties in support of net neutrality.



Bowden said when he requested that Verizon restore data speeds, the company instead offered a data plan that was almost twice as expensive.



Firefighters were forced to use personal devices and other agency's internet providers to effectively communicate, and Bowden said data was only restored after the department upgraded to a new, more expensive plan.



Mike Maiorana, Verizon's senior vice president in the public sector, said the company has removed all speed caps for first responders fighting wildfires and those responding to Hurricane Lane in Hawaii. Verizon will introduce a new unlimited data plan for public safety employees and allow agencies to upgrade to the new plan at no cost next week, according to Maiorana.



"In supporting first responders in the Mendocino fire, we didn't live up to our own promise of service," he said in a statement. "For that, we are truly sorry. And we're making every effort to ensure that it never happens again."



Verizon spokeswoman Heidi Flato said initially that the company's response to Bowden was a "customer support mistake" and "has nothing to do with net neutrality or the current proceeding in court."



The multi-party lawsuit says Verizon's actions were a consequence of the FCC's December 2017 repeal of net neutrality laws, which mandates equal access to all internet websites and allows the FCC greater control over internet service providers, like Verizon.



The California State Assembly held an informational hearing today to discuss Verizon's actions, led by Select Committee on Natural Disaster, Response, Recovery, and Rebuilding co-chairs Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, and Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara.



"In the same way we would never accept a water department shutting off hydrants to get a better, per-gallon price for water, we will never accept that public safety is left without the tools they need -- simply because a company has a pricing plan they want to maximize," Levine said.



He emphasized that the hearing was not meant to "castigate" a single company, but to protect public safety employees in the future.



Limon referenced the Thomas Fire, which burned over 280,000 acres in her district in December 2017. The blaze ranked second in size only to the Mendocino Complex fires, the largest in state history.



At the hearing, Bowden recounted a timeline of the fire and Verizon's response. Though firefighters devised a workaround for connectivity problems, he said, "I found the situation, personally, to be unacceptable."



Because the Santa Clara County Fire Department covers seven cities and a large portion of the Santa Cruz mountains, it currently buys service from both Verizon and AT&T to increase redundancy in coverage areas.



Bowden said his department has encountered data throttling during three different fires, including the Pawnee Fire in Lake County this summer.



"I really truly hope that what comes out of this is a greater partnership in moving forward, that this does not happen again to any public agency," he 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.The United States Special Operations Command PARA-COMMANDOS will return to Rome, GA for the 2018 Wings Over North Georgia Air Show on October 13 and 14 at the Russell Regional Airport.

We are thrilled to once again be a part of this event, said Team Leader Keith Walter. Our team is truly proud to represent Special Operations Command with our elite group of parachutists. Skydiving is a wonderful and rather unique component within the aviation industry. The thrill of free-falling through the sky at speeds exceeding 100 mph is almost indescribable.

The Para-Commandos will race towards earth at 120 mph before opening their iconic black and gold canopies during precision parachute demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday of the air show weekend. In an extraordinary display of timing, accuracy, and precision maneuvering, the Para-Commandos will skydive from 12,500 feet over the crowd.

The skydiving team is comprised of U.S. Special Operations Command personnel headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL. Most members are combat veteran special operators from the U.S. Army Special Forces or Rangers, the U.S. Air Forces Special Tactics Squadrons, U.S. Navy SEALs, or U.S. Marine Corps Special Operations Raiders.

United States Special Operations Command has approximately 70,000 Active Duty Reserve and National Guard Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and DoD civilians assigned to the organization. As many as 12,000 Special Operations Forces are deployed to more 70 countries worldwide on any given day.

Presented by JLC AirShow Management, opening ceremonies will kick-off on Saturday and Sunday at noon followed by the first flying performances at 12:30 p.m. Airport and remote parking lots will open at 7:30 a.m. with the gates opening to guests at 9:00 a.m. On-site premium infield and standard dry airport camping options are available online in addition to advance reserved parking. For more information on premium seating and family ticket packages, camping, and parking, visit www.WingsOverNorthGeorgia.com.



The public can follow the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show across social media through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Wings Over North Georgia airshow is an FAA, DoD, and International Council of Air Shows recognized event. For the full list of performers, activities, and ticket options - air show fans, exhibitors, vendors, and sponsors can visit the official Wings Over North Georgia air show website.

As Burning Man has moved from the fringes of counterculture  from a bunch of naked people frolicking on Baker Beach in 1986 to a place where Google execs can eat fresh lobster in a compound filled with models in the Nevada desert  a parallel shift has also occurred: the rise in ubiquity of the Burning Man crowdfunding campaign.

Crowdfunding enables the creation of many of the interactive artworks that draw people to the festival. The community raises over $1 million for the creation of such artworks every year, according to Inc.

There are hundreds of campaigns on Indiegogo and GoFundMe, some seeking hundreds, and sometimes tens of thousands, of dollars.

They've also become a reliable source of tension within my extended social group, which includes both well-compensated tech employees and Bay Area residents working in other fields, most of whom make less money, on the whole.

But as I've seen the requests proliferate across my social media feeds, it is hard not to resent the impression that many come from tech workers who earn six-figure incomes, but still ask acquaintances to donate money to what one friend described to me in an irritated text as, "THEIR exclusive experience."

"Radical inclusion" might be a principle once you arrive at Burning Man, but as it stands, most of these requests for money exist within the framework of the outside world, where most people can't take a week off work to go take MDMA and roll around in mud. Ignoring that is tone deaf, and there's something divisive and inflammatory about what feels like a request to pay for someone else's delirious, whimsical vacation.

Your money's largely no good in Black Rock City  one of the 10 principles of Burning Man is that it's a gifting society that exists in a space apart from transactions and commodification  but getting there, and who gets to go, is a different story.

Seeing funding campaigns that want to build giant disco balls and dance platforms and laser structures juxtaposed against all the starker requests for money on GoFundMe, like people asking for money to pay for insulin or major surgery, feels like a neat and eerie encapsulation of what can make San Francisco a strange, dispiriting place to live.

Fun is necessary and good. But it's hard not to resent these emblems of a city where some people are concerned with convenience and fun and others are concerned with surviving, and those spheres of concern continue to drift further and further apart. Until we grapple with that, no, I don't want to donate to your Burning Man GoFundMe.

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on TwitterAfter watching the new documentary Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee, you may find yourself thinking, This cant possibly be true.

Certainly thats what the Silicon Valley pioneer claims about the film, which premieres Saturday, Sept. 24, on Showtime.

The man who once said of himself You know, Im sort of the god of computer security has had quite a life since the 1980s, when he invented the antivirus software that bore his name.

The film, directed by Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture), suggests that McAfee was somehow involved in the murder of a neighbor in Belize who had complained about his dogs, set himself up as the de facto ruler of a town in that Central American nation, plied teenage girls with money and gifts and kept them as a virtual harem, and recruited his own personal police force to patrol the streets to make sure the townsfolk observed McAfee-imposed curfews.

Theres more: According to the girls, he was given to the sexual fetish known as scat. Its a definite moment of TMI in the documentary. We already know or suspect enough about McAfee to want to keep our distance from him.

McAfee was born in Scotland and raised in Virginia, where he went to Roanoke College. In late 1986, he performed his first experiments with antivirus software. He was obviously ahead of his time, but he also knew how to market his creation by spinning the story that the virus known as Michelangelo was about to attack personal computers. Millions of people immediately downloaded McAfee programs, and by 1993, he controlled 60 percent of the desktop antivirus market.

McAfee founded and sold a number of enterprises over the years, and at one point, created a yoga and meditation center on a sprawling Colorado estate. Eventually, he found his way to Belize, living for a time at a waterfront property on San Pedro Island before moving to the mainland town of Orange Walk.

He hired a gifted young scientist named Allison Adonizio to develop pharmaceuticals through the process known as quorum sensing. He built her a lab, but she didnt have the equipment to make much headway, she claims. That didnt stop McAfee from getting her to fill beakers and test tubes with colored liquid so he could tell the media that his new enterprise had made great progress.

She grew dissatisfied with their business relationship, she says, and told McAfee she wanted to go home. By her account in the film, he attacked her. She barricaded herself in a building in the Orange Walk Town complex and says she texted friends to rescue her after he cut off the power to the building.

According to other people interviewed in the film, a local man named David Middleton broke into McAfees home, and McAfee wanted to teach the intruder a lesson. He allegedly ordered members of his security force, some of whom he is said to have recruited from local gangs, to deliver the lesson. They did so so forcefully that Middleton later died.

In 2012, McAfees property was raided by the Belizean Gang Suppression Unit, and he was arrested for illegal drug manufacture and possession of a single unlicensed weapon. The U.S. Embassy intervened to secure his release. He was able to control the local police with generous donations of arms and equipment, but he couldnt control the Gang Suppression Unit.

Gregory Faull was another American expat living in Belize. Faull complained about several vicious dogs that were roaming around McAfees compound. Faull reportedly made an offhand comment about poisoning the dogs if McAfee wouldnt restrain them. When the dogs were found poisoned, McAfee shot each one to put it out of its misery, according to witnesses. Later, Faull was found shot to death in his home, execution style.

McAfee was declared a person of interest in the murder and fled the country for Guatemala, where he was later arrested for illegal entry. He is said to have faked a heart attack as way of delaying justice long enough to enable him to escape to the U.S.

Flash forward to recent time: McAfee ran for president on the Libertarian ticket but lost to the partys eventual nominee, Gary Johnson. However, as part of his platform, McAfee made convincing arguments about the danger of cyberwarfare. In fact, McAfee claims, we are already in the midst of cyberwarfare, and even Hillary Clinton might not disagree.

Burstein has done a very good job reining in the mountain of details, allegations, facts and suppositions surrounding McAfee. He refused to be interviewed for the film, yet carried on an often taunting email exchange with Burstein, and when she confronted him with her camera crew when he was running for president, he bolted from the room.

Viewers can form their own conclusions about McAfees alleged connection to Faulls murder, the death of David Middleton and other aspects of his life. Burstein convincingly makes her case through the testimony of former girlfriends, associates, journalists and others.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle and co-host of The Do List every Friday morning at 6:22 and 8:22 on KQED FM, 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV

Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee: Documentary. By Nanette Burstein. 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, on Showtime.ISLAMABAD  Vladimir Putins Russia appears to have emerged as a player in Afghanistan after 17 years of Western involvement that has left the country no closer to peace than before.

To some, Russias offer to host talks next month might contain at least the seeds of a positive pivot if the Taliban are coaxed to the table at a time when they have been more aggressive on the battlefield than in recent years, causing much mayhem in Kabul and other cities.

But the move may be stuck before it even begins. The Afghan government has said it will not attend, unable to agree on a coherent strategy because of divisions within the government that many see as a function of personal and ethnic rivalries, and calling for the Taliban to first agree to direct talks with Kabul. The insurgents have consistently refused, instead demanding direct talks with the United States.

The U.S., for its part, seems displeased by the maneuver, even though Washington has been trying to find a reasonable exit strategy for years in vain.

On the ground in Afghanistan, the situation has given rise to boundless cynicism about the various players and almost no hope for a quick improvement in the violent, corruption-plagued nature of daily life.

Analysts say the wrangling offers a window into the enormity of the task of reaching a peace pact in a region of competing influences. Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China have growing influence even as the United States spends billions of dollars covering much of the $6.5 billion spent annually to support the Afghan National Security Forces who are struggling to contain an energized Taliban.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the U.S.-based Wilson Center, said the situation is explosive.

In Afghanistan you have not just the U.S. and Russia in competition, but also China, Iran, and Pakistan, said Kugelman. And none of these countries have warm relations with the U.S. Its a real powder keg, to say the least.

Pakistan, considered key to a lasting peace in Afghanistan, has a new prime minister who says he is ready to be a partner in peace with Washington, but will no longer partner in war. There has been no indication that the Afghan Taliban, who are known to move between Pakistan and Afghanistan, will be asked to leave. Yet Prime Minister Imran Khan was quick to condemn a rocket attack last Tuesday in Kabul, accusing the perpetrators of cowardly thinking.

Kathy Gannon is an Associated Press writer.KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh  Forged over generations in villages in Myanmar, Rohingya communities are now held together in calls over crackling phone lines.

Mummy! Mummy! 15-year-old Abdullah Razzaq shouted to his mother earlier this week in their once-a-week call, nearly a year after he and his brother, along with more than 700,000 other Rohingya Muslims, fled waves of attacks by Myanmar security forces and crossed the border into Bangladesh. Why dont you guys come here?

Here is a ramshackle sprawl of refugee camps built amid low rolling hills and endless monsoon-season mud. First erected more than 20 years ago by earlier, smaller waves of Rohingya refugees, the camps exploded in size last year when Myanmars army launched its attacks about Aug. 25, and hundreds of thousands of Rohingya began flooding across the border.

One year later, despite months of discussions among Myanmar, Bangladesh, the United Nations and a string of aid agencies, there are few signs that the Rohingya can go home anytime soon.

I cant see my mother or my brother and am unable to receive a mothers love, said Abdullah. I miss them a lot.

The family was broken apart in the chaos that began with a series of Aug. 24 attacks on Myanmar police posts by a small Rohingya militant group that left a dozen security personnel dead. Soon after, Myanmar security forces and Buddhist mobs responded with brutal attacks on Rohingya villages, burning many down and driving villagers away in what many rights activists see as a calculated attempt to oust the Rohingya from the country.

Abdullah and his 17-year-old brother thought their mother had also fled their village in Myanmars Rakhine state, where most Rohingya had long lived. Only later did they realize shed been left behind, and remains in their village with their eldest brother.

The brothers call once a week to check on her. But she tells them the separation has been hard.

I miss you guys a lot. I cant eat or sleep properly. I am getting by somehow, she said.

The Rohingyas woes can seem never-ending. They have long been treated as illegal migrants in Myanmar, denied such basic rights as the freedom of movement, even though some of their families have lived in the Buddhist-majority country for generations. Nearly all have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless.

Anti-Rohingya pogroms have been a part of life in the region for years, and violence against them began ratcheting up again in October 2016, as the Myanmar government started complaining about violence by Rohingya militants. In late August 2017, an influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh became an unstoppable flood.

Now, separated families depend on mobile phones to remain together.

My son cant call me whenever he wants. He has to call secretly because hes being watched by his Buddhist neighbors, said 70-year-old Dildar Begum, who waited all day Wednesday for a call from her son on Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday. The call never came.

Her family was also divided by chaos.

She, her son and his family had fled to the Myanmar-Bangladesh border as the crackdown grew more brutal. She climbed onto a boat to cross the Naf River with a group of refugees, but when her son went back to shore to grab his children, he was surrounded by a Buddhist mob and hustled away.

So she came to Bangladesh alone.

One year later, she just wants to see her son.

If Allah wants we will meet again. My son might die, or I might die. Whatever is Allahs will we have to accept.

Myanmar has promised to take back all the Rohingya refugees, and has built camps for them on its side of the border, while Bangladesh says it will temporarily shelter and feed them. The two countries agreed to begin repatriating them in January, but that was called off amid concerns among aid works and the Rohingya that their safety wasnt guaranteed.

The U.N. refugee agency has said that conditions in Myanmar are not yet conducive for returns to be safe, dignified, and sustainable.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning leader of Myanmar, who has seen her image deeply tarnished by her governments reaction to the crisis, defended its actions again last week, saying Rohingya militants remained a serious threat.

We who are living through the transition in Myanmar view it differently than those who observe it from the outside and who will remain untouched by its outcome, she said in a speech in Singapore.

The danger of terrorist activities, which was the initial cause of events leading to the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine, remains real and present today, she continued. Unless this security challenge is addressed, the risk of intercommunal violence will remain.

Diplomats and aid workers say that while the Rohingya militants have launched some small-scale attacks, the counterstrikes by Myanmar have been overwhelmingly more destructive and deadly.

Myanmar, the international community says, now must create a situation where Rohingya feel safe to return home.

The Rohingya need to have safety and security when they come back. They need to have freedom of movement. They need to also have a predictable and a clear pathway to a citizenship, to those who are eligible, said Knut Ostby, the U.N. resident coordinator in Myanmar. Basically, they need to be able to exist in society, as normal people when they come back.

Julhas Alam and Rishabh R. Jain are Associated Press writers.SANAA, Yemen  A senior al Qaeda leader was killed in Yemens central province of Marib while fighting alongside the government forces battling Shiite rebels, officials and tribal leaders said Saturday.

Ghalib al-Zaidis death came a week ago in an exchange of fire during clashes with the rebels, known as Houthis, in the Sirwah district of Marib, they told the Associated Press. The fighting over the area was supported by air cover from a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemens internationally recognized government.

The officials and elders said al-Zaidi had dozens of al Qaeda operatives under his command and had taken part in several battles against the Houthis in the province. They spoke on condition of anonymity.

In 2017, al-Zaidi was placed on the United Nations Security Councils sanctions list as a Yemen-based individual who acts for or on behalf of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The U.N. found him to be providing the Yemeni affiliate of the global terror network with weapons, funding, and recruits.

Al-Zaidi was also found to have helped AQAP to expand its control in parts of Marib. He had been the groups leader in the province since 2015.

An Associated Press investigation found that Saudi-led coalition members through militias they back in Yemen had struck secret deals with al Qaeda, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and looted cash. Hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself.

The U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition has been at war with the Iran-allied rebels for more than three years. Al Qaeda and an Islamic State affiliate have exploited the chaos to expand their presence in the country.

The coalition has long maintained that its committed to fighting terrorism in Yemen.

AQAP is considered the most dangerous branch of the terror network and had attempted attacks on U.S. soil. But in the fight to defeat the Houthis, al Qaeda militants are effectively on the same side as the Saudi-led coalition  and, by extension, the U.S.

International rights groups have long criticized the U.S. and other Western countries for selling arms to the coalition. In a Friday statement, Human Rights Watch called for the suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the coalitions alleged unlawful attacks on civilians in Yemen.

Ahmed Al-Haj is an Associated Press writer.Guatemala City --

Software company founder John McAfee was arrested by police in Guatemala on Wednesday for entering the country illegally, hours after he said he would seek asylum there.

Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla said McAfee was detained by police at a hotel in an upscale Guatemala City area with the help of Interpol agents.

Earlier Wednesday, McAfee said he had formally requested asylum in Guatemala, claiming he is the victim of persecution in neighboring Belize where officials have said he is a person of interest in the killing of a fellow expatriate.

McAfee was taken late Wednesday to an old, three-story building used to house migrants who enter Guatemala illegally.

The 67-year-old went on the run from Belize last month after officials tried to question him about the fatal shooting of a neighbor.Lee Su-Kil / Getty Images

SEOUL  Kim Kyung-jae will probably never be chosen in the government lottery that would allow him to reunite one last time with his relatives in North Korea. But thats no problem, he said in an interview, even as a small group of the lucky South Koreans who won the lottery met with their loved ones last week in North Korea.

The 86-year-old Kim is one of a dwindling number of elderly South Koreans who, frustrated with North Koreas reluctance to allow more frequent reunions and by the small chance that theyll be selected before they die, found unofficial networks to communicate with their North Korean relatives. For three decades Kim has been sending his North Korean sister letters and aid.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A grand jury has indicted a 40-year-old homeless man accused of fatally stabbing another man last week near Borough Hall and the courthouse on Richmond Terrace.

At a proceeding Friday in Criminal Court, prosecutors announced they have filed a certificate of indictment against Deshawn Quinn stemming from the Aug. 18 slaying.

The certificate moves the case to state Supreme Court, St. George, where Quinn will be arraigned in the near future.

The indictment itself hasn't been filed, so specific charges haven't been made public, although Quinn was initially accused of second-degree murder, robbery, assault and criminal weapon possession.

The defendant was arrested under the name of Sean Owens, according to an NYPD spokesman. Prosecutors, however, have arraigned him under the name Quinn.

Police have not yet identified the victim.

Police said the deadly episode unfolded around 12:50 p.m. as an altercation involving four males, at least three of them homeless, next to 18 Richmond Terrace. That is the address of the former main building of state Supreme Court, St. George.

Borough Hall is a short distance away.

The fight started when Quinn allegedly took a cell phone and a speaker from one man, then told him he'd return the items in exchange for cash.

When a second man intervened, Quinn stabbed him in the stomach, arm and back, according to police and a criminal complaint.

The unidentified victim, described only as a 30-year-old Hispanic male, initially was expected to survive, but later succumbed to his injuries at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton.

Authorities said the defendant knew the victim.

Police also said Quinn also grabbed a third man by the neck during the fracas, causing a small laceration.

Quinn was arrested later that day at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze; however, it was unclear whether he was physically injured in the altercation.

Court records show Quinn was free on his own recognizance on a misdemeanor drug case when the brawl occurred.

He had been arrested on July 13 and charged with misdemeanor criminal drug possession.

He was arraigned the next day in Criminal Court and released afterward, online state court records show.

Quinn must return to Criminal Court on Sept. 10 for that case.

Mark J. Fonte, who is representing Quinn in the stabbing case, declined comment.GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A story about a white man urinating on a 5-year-old black child and calling her a racial slur was fabricated, Michigan police said.

Grand Rapids police and prosecutors late Friday said they determined the story was not valid and said no charges would be issued against a 60-year-old man arrested following the initial report on Wednesday.

Police said several children, all 7 or younger, were playing together sometime before 6 p.m. Wednesday when one of the children urinated on the 5-year-old girl.

Kent County prosecutors said the parents of the children, in talking with them, ultimately determined the children "concocted the story to avoid trouble."

"We appreciate the conscientiousness of the parents in bringing the matter to the attention of the police, and continuing to ask their children questions as new evidence was obtained," prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the 60--year-old man had a "verifiable alibi" from other people who vouched for his whereabouts.

The allegations, when first reported late Wednesday, caused concern across the community and NAACP leaders on Friday said the incident should be considered both a hate crime and sex assault.

In the initial report, the children told police they were playing hide-and-go-seek along Courtney Street NW, just west of Tamarack Avenue, when a man urinated on the girl through a chain-link fence.

The suspect was a person who lived in the neighborhood and did odd jobs.

"The community and members of the media were understandably interested and concerned about the allegations, Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said.

"But this is a prime example of why it's so important to wait until all the evidence has been gathered and the criminal investigation has been completed before jumping to any conclusions," he said.

Becker said the children involved with making the complaint were first interviewed by trained specialists with the Children's Advocacy Center, but they didn't admit the truth until later when their parents talked with them further.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- The NYPD crossing guard accused of framing a former Castleton Corners chiropractor has admitted she executed a bizarre scheme to implicate the doctor as part of an ongoing feud between the two.

Jennifer Becker recently pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence and filing a false report during an appearance in Mental Health Court in state Supreme Court, St. George, court records show.

She is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 11.

While the specific terms of her sentencing promise weren't available on Saturday, defendants in Mental Health Court are typically diverted into treatment programs and earn non-jail sentences of probation or a conditional discharge if they complete treatment. They potentially face jail time if they don't finish the program.

Police said Becker, of Castleton Corners, has been suspended with pay.

Her attorney could not immediately be reached Saturday.

COPS UNCOVER PLOT

Becker's plot was foiled last year after a probe revealed she allegedly tried to implicate Danielle Serini by sending racist letters, some of which contained a photo of Becker's mixed-race son, as part of an ongoing feud, law enforcement sources said.

The charges against Serini, who had to close her practice and relocate due to the allegations and the publicity they garnered, were then dropped.

Last November, Becker was charged with 29 counts of tampering with physical evidence, 12 counts of stalking, 11 counts of aggravated harassment, four counts of falsely reporting an incident, and endangering the welfare of a child, said the criminal complaint.

A person is guilty of tampering with physical evidence when: With intent that it be used or introduced in an official proceeding or a prospective official proceeding; produces or offers such evidence at such a proceeding knowing it to be false.

A person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident when, knowing the information reported, conveyed or circulated to be false or baseless, he or she gratuitously reports to a law enforcement officer or agency the alleged occurrence of an offense or incident which did not in fact occur.

THE FEUD

The feud dates back to June 2016, when Serini was arrested on harassment and stalking charges.

Serini was accused of spitting at Becker, calling her a derogatory term and flipping her the middle finger in a series of incidents at Victory Boulevard and Slosson Avenue. Becker assisted children from PS 29 and St. Teresa School who cross at the busy intersection.

Becker ultimately obtained an order of protection against Serini.

The charges were ramped up after Serini was accused of tossing a lollipop at Becker, repeatedly giving her the middle finger and sticking her tongue out at the crossing guard.

A few weeks later, the doctor was accused of penning a series of ugly and threatening letters.

But law enforcement sources said Becker actually sent at least 12 letters to police officers and a reporter with the Staten Island Advance who had covered the chiropractor's original arrest. The notes were intended to be traced back to Serini.

Some of the letters even had a photo of Becker's son.

A flier the Advance received contained a photo of Becker's son, a racial slur and an unidentified phone number.

"BLACK LIVES DON'T MATTER," the flyer read. "KILL THIS N----- PIECE BY PIECE AND FEED IT TO THE NYPD."

Another vicious hate-filled letter sent to the 120th Precinct stationhouse made references to the Ku Klux Klan and depicted images of an African-American child with a razor blade digitally inserted in his head and another photo of the child hanging from a noose, authorities said.

"I HATE BLACKS ALMOST AS MUCH AS THEY HATE ME," the letter says, according to the complaint.

Becker, police allege, also sent a vile letter to another crossing guard she perceived to be Muslim. The note threatened the woman's safety and partly read, "TRUMP BETTER DEPORT YOUR STUPID A-- FOR TAKING OUR AMERICAN MONEY," said the complaint.

Another letter addressed to an officer at the 120th precinct also allegedly threatened Becker's son.

"My next opportunity will be getting rid of you and that ugly a-- n----- child of the crossing guard. Keep thinking he's safe in school. But when the opportunity hits, it will be bang, bang," the letter read, according to a criminal complaint.

The same cop also received a package a few days earlier containing Dum Dum lollipops with a note stating, "Clue 2." Two hours earlier, a crossing guard received the same lollipop package with a note saying, "Clue 1," the complaint said.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are asking the public's assistance identifying an individual in connection with a burglary in Concord in the confines of the 120th Precinct.

It was reported to police that on Saturday, Aug. 11 at approximately 5:30 a.m., the unidentified male forcibly entered a residence in the vicinity of Vanderbilt Avenue and Targee Street and remained there unlawfully.

The unknown man fled in an unknown direction after he was confronted by a 34-year-old female, according to police.

Police said no property was taken from the location.

The male is described as a slender black male approximately 35 to 40-years-old, and 5'10" to 6'0" with braided hair. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, dark pants, red and white shoes, a red and white hat and a gold chain with a gold cross.

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.

All calls are strictly confidential.CHICAGO - The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to neutralize the votes of unpledged convention delegates, part of a package of hard-fought reforms designed to prevent a repeat of the bitter 2016 presidential primary as the party looks toward the 2020 election.

"We listened and we acted, and I'm proud that our party is doing everything we can to bring people in and make it easier to vote," said DNC Chairman Tom Perez after the reforms were unanimously approved.

The new party rules undo decades-old reforms that empowered hundreds of party activists and elected officials, often referred to as "superdelegates," whose presidential convention votes were not bound to the results of primaries or caucuses. They also affirm the decision of six states to move from caucuses, which have favored insurgent candidates, to primaries, which tend to have higher turnout.

The Democrats' journey to that decision lasted more than two years, and divided party leaders even as activists who had supported both Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., organized behind them. Anger at the results of that primary campaign, and at Clinton's defeat, has dogged the DNC under Perez's leadership; despite a run of election wins, it has raised $116.5 million since the start of the cycle, compared with $227.2 million for the RNC.

To mollify supporters of Sanders, Democrats in July 2016 created a Unity Reform Commission that met four times through 2017. It originally proposed a cut to the total number of superdelegates, a move that was changed when the reform package got to the Rules and Bylaws Committee, which met four more times to debate amendments. The eventual compromise - to prevent all superdelegates from voting unless a convention went to a second ballot - was proposed by Ken Martin, the chairman of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL).

"This is a way for us to heal the wounds of the 2016 election," Martin said in an interview before the vote. "Minnesota was a 62 percent Bernie state. People cared about this. We were dealing with a perception problem more than a reality problem, but that perception problem mattered. People believed so passionately that this issue cost their candidate the nomination, that we had to fix it."

The debate rested on an inaccuracy - Clinton won more regular delegates than Sanders, as well as more superdelegates, so the latter did not give her the nomination. But the desire to cure what Martin called the 2016 "hangover" pervaded the four-day meeting.

There was other business at hand as well: At night, DNC members and guests caroused at receptions put on by the lobbyists for potential 2020 convention host cities.

As a final Rules and Bylaws meeting dismissed four amendments that would have scuttled the superdelegate reform, other DNC members sipped cocktails on a yacht rented by the Miami committee or devoured brisket at a reception for the Houston committee. After a nearly three-hour closed session, where DNC members vented about the rules changes, they were feted by a Milwaukee delegation with plenty of beer and cheese.

The party will make a decision on its host city in the next six months, and may begin announcing televised debates before that; the decision to hold just a handful of debates ahead of the 2016 primaries had been another source of outrage for Sanders supporters.

The yearslong reform process, longer than America's involvement in World War I, burned out many of the critics. A Thursday strategy session against the reforms attracted just 15 DNC members; a Friday morning news conference by superdelegate opponents unfolded before one lonely TV camera.

"It is really kind of bizarre to be on the same side of Tom Perez on some of these issues," said Selina Vickers, a West Virginia activist who began a hunger strike at the start of the convention and did not break it until the reforms were passed.

Perez and other delegate reform supporters succeeded in weakening the establishment opposition by giving it more time to protest. But the opposition made one final push, picking up on a theme that the Congressional Black Caucus had aired last month - that to take away the votes of black superdelegates was to effectively suppress them. The unofficial leaders of that faction, former party chair Don Fowler and California DNC member Bob Mulholland, are white. But Mulholland, a gruff Vietnam veteran, invoked the legacy of the civil rights movement to argue that his party risked alienating its most loyal voters to appease a faction of elite Sanders fans.

"There's an awful lot of white males pushing this [reform] idea, and they have no idea of the message this is sending to the Latino community and the African-American community," Mulholland said Friday. "If I was Trump, and the DNC decided it's not going to let black members of Congress on the floor to vote, I'd exploit the hell out of that. 'The Democrats just threw out your vote!' "

But that message did not unify the DNC's black members, some of whom pointed out that the 2016 pool of superdelegates skewed whiter than the delegates elected through primaries. While former party chair Donna Brazile gave a 10-minute speech decrying the reform, Nina Turner, president of the Sanders-founded group Our Revolution, whipped votes in favor of it.

"Real voter disenfranchisement is living in a state where you forfeit your rights if you're a felon," Turner said. "Real disenfranchisement is officials closing down polling places that disproportionately affect black voters. This is a false equivalency, to talk about something that happens in the DNC and compare it to the hard, bloody fight to secure the franchise in the real world."

Brazile continued opposing the rules changes Saturday, joking with reporters that she would make sure a "Chicago-style" vote count didn't switch the result.

"The party will have to deal with another perception issue, that people who had seats were removed from the room," Brazile said. "I've sat in rooms where I've been overruled, and I haven't left that room. I've come back to fight the next battle."

While opponents of the change eventually gave up their push, allowing the vote by acclamation, the DNC's image problems on the left persist in other ways.

Two weeks before the Chicago meeting, the DNC bowed to pressure from labor unions and unraveled a rule that barred any donations from fossil-fuel industry political action committees. That led to a brief protest Thursday afternoon by the Sunrise Movement, an environmentalist group, whose members stood up and sung an anti-fossil-fuel song at the beginning of one DNC committee meeting.

"Sometimes, social media is not an accurate communicator of facts," Perez said. "The fact is, under my leadership, we've taken zero dollars from the fossil-fuel industry. That's a fact. That's not an alternative fact."

The DNC has also faced questions about Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the party's deputy chairman since his close-run 2017 bid for the chair. Ellison, now his party's nominee for attorney general in Minnesota, has been accused by a former girlfriend of emotional abuse and of once pulling her off a bed during a dispute. Perez said that the DNC was monitoring an internal DFL probe of the Ellison allegations, and that Ellison remained the deputy chairman of the party as he campaigned in Minnesota.

(c) 2018, The Washington Post. David Weigel

.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- An off-duty firefighter from Arden Heights, who has a criminal record stemming from an alleged sexual encounter with an underage girl years ago, was arrested for head-butting his wife on Thursday, said authorities.

Leonardo Alfonzo, 38, yelled at the 34-year-old victim and grabbed her at their home on the 100 block of Dover Green around 10:37 p.m., a criminal complaint said.

The defendant tore the strap of his spouse's purse and broke her necklace, said the complaint.

Police said Alfonzo also head-butted the victim during the altercation.

Alfonzo was arraigned Friday in Criminal Court on misdemeanor counts of menacing, attempted assault and criminal mischief, online state court records show.

He was also accused of a lesser count of harassment.

The defendant was released on his own recognizance after the arraignment, and a temporary order of protection was issued in the victim's favor, court records show.

Alfonzo was ordered to return to court on Oct. 9.

Police said Alfonzo has a prior misdemeanor conviction dating to 2000.

It was for child endangerment involving a victim under age 17, said police.

A law enforcement source said Alfonzo was 19 then and was accused of a sexual encounter involving a 13-year-old girl.

He was sentenced to three years' probation, said prosecutors.

The New York Post reported that Alfonzo was one of 273 "priority hires" in 2015 which a federal judge had ordered to alleviate what he determined was racial discrimination in the Fire Department.

Attempts to reach Alfonzo by phone on Saturday were not immediately successful.To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.

We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.

A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!Volkswagen is curbing the use of hail cannons outside its factory in Puebla, Mexico, after the vehicle maker was accused by local farmers of causing a drought in the region, leading to heavy losses of crops.

The vehicle maker used the cannons to protect Volkswagen vehicles from hailstone damage. The devices emit shock waves into the sky, which are believed to prevent the chunks of ice from forming, but there's a lack of scientific evidence that the cannons actually impact weather conditions and minimise hail, and their legitimacy has long been criticised. Still, farmers in Puebla claim that the cannons have led to a lack of much-needed rainfall.

The vehicle maker used the cannons to protect Volkswagen vehicles from hailstone damage. Credit:AP

"Volkswagen Mexico is committed to maintaining good relationships and open dialogue with our neighbouring communities," the company told The Washington Post in a statement on Friday.

"After meeting with local authorities about how to protect vehicles from hail storms at our Puebla, Mexico, factory, we will suspend the automatic operation of anti-hail sonic devices near our vehicle storage yards and will only operate them in manual mode when weather conditions determine hail is imminent."Last year, Adelaide rapper Tkay Maidza was flown to Jamaica to appear alongside Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt in a lavish, big-budget ad for Mumm Champagne.

If the 21-year-old needed a reminder of how much her life had changed since she released her debut single, 2013's Brontosaurus, as a barely-out-of-school 16-year-old, she need only have looked around.

Tkay Maidza: "The only thing that matters is what you want to do in that exact moment." Credit:NIC_WALKER

Born in Zimbabwe before moving to Western Australia with her mining-industry parents at the age of five, as she explored Jamaica in her downtime she managed to find meaning away from the glitz and pampered glamour of the shoot.

"I hadn't been to Zimbabwe for at least 11 years, and Jamaica felt the closest [to that] to me," she says from the Sydney offices of her record label, dressed head to toe in a glitter-specked denim outfit. "I felt like I was home. I saw a lot of things that felt like my childhood."I found myself in hospital this week when my son was admitted with acute asthma. A combination of cold August winds, bad air quality from bush fires and pollen from all the blossoms in the lead-up to spring left him coughing, wheezing and having difficulty breathing. As the emergency room doctor sent him off for a lung X-ray she offered him some lunch but warned him you may not like it, our food is not so good". Which got me wondering ...

How is it that when people are sick and at their most vulnerable they dont get fed good food in our public health system? I know this to be true not just in Australia; Ive spent time in hospitals with various loved ones in various parts of the world over the years. Rare is the good hospital meal. I hope this is not for want of trying. I am sure hospital kitchen staff try hard to work with the material theyve got to provide nutritious balanced meals. But couldnt we do better by our unwell and invalid?

Hospital food is awful, all over the world. Credit:Alamy

I pondered this as I walked to the hospital canteen, to find the offering there not much better and settled on a chicken Caesar wrap and some hot chips for my son (comfort food  he was sick after all). I wondered if Uber Eats was doing increased business in hospitals these days? And about the potential for a fine dining option in hospitals.

A quick Google search found tasty hospital food has been hard to achieve on a mass scale in most places. Some maternity and paediatric wards claim to be making progress. But the Aspen Valley Hospital is the only place I read about where locals come to visit because the food is so good (perhaps the well-heeled skiers seeking treatment after accidents demand it).Emergency services personnel are increasingly seeking mental health support for work-related conditions, experts have said.

Counsellors and psychologists are reporting a surge in police, firefighters and ambulance staff reaching out for help, either through self-referral or through their employer.

David Nielsen said he's been seeing more police offices refer themselves to receive help for mental health conditions. Credit:Jamila Toderas

Canberra registered counsellor David Nielsen, who has been in the profession for 20 years, said recently he's been seeing a rise in first responders walking into his practice.

"There's been a more of them coming through. It's been going on for a few years," Mr Nielsen said.Police are searching for a missing six-year-old boy last seen in Weston Creek.

Missing boy Phoenix Mapham, 6, who was last seen in Weston Creek on Thursday, August 23. Credit:ACT Policing

Phoenix Mapham was last seen being driven away from Hickey Court, Weston in a white 1999 Holden Vectra sedan (registration YAU56P) at about 1.30pm on Thursday, August 23.

He was with a woman known to him, believed to be his mother.

Police have concerns for the boy's wellbeing and believe the car may have travelled to the NSW South Coast.A teenager has been charged with murder after a woman died in what police say was a random attack at a unit block in western Sydney on Saturday.

Police and paramedics found the woman, 64, with serious injuries when they were called to the block's car park at Sandal Crescent at Carramar shortly before 1.30pm.

Police at the scene in Carramar where the woman died. Credit:Seven News

They tried to revive her, but she died at the scene.

Officers chased the man, 18-year-old Imaueli Jone Degei, before arresting him.Sydneysiders were hit with another round of "major delays" on the Sydney trains network after a signal failure at Redfern station on Saturday morning.

A Sydney Trains spokesperson said that trains were delayed after a signalling safety fault was reported, which required engineers to carry out essential safety checks before recommencing services in the Central area.

After two hours of safety checks, no signalling safety fault was found.

"The all-clear was given after the checks were completed but, as a result, delays occurred to services on the T1 Western, the T2 Inner West and the T8 Airport and South line," the spokesperson said in a statement to the Herald.

The technical problem at Redfern station caused a cascade of delays on other lines: T1 Western Line, T2 Inner West & Leppington Line and T8 Airport & South Line.Last week in the US we heard the Pennsylvanian Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, refer to the Catholic priesthoods "secret archive", one of the revelations that caused a grand jury to find that the church had covered up the abuse of more than 1000 children by about 300 priests over 70 years.

Victims of clergy sexual abuse and their family members react as Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference. Credit:AP

Shapiro stated that beside each bishops desk in each diocese was a locked filing cabinet full of complaints received on the rapes and sexual assaults of children and that these files sat there while the bishop worked. He said secret archive was not his term, but their term.

What Shapiro didnt say is that each bishop is bound to keep and manage a secret archive by Canon Law:

Canon 489: 1. There is also to be a secret archive in the diocesan curia or at least a safe or file in the ordinary archive, completely closed and locked which cannot be removed from the place, and in which documents to be kept secret are to be protected most securely.Taboos around death and dying are increasing the risk of elderly patients on their dying journey being subjected to unwanted and invasive medical procedures against their wishes, experts say.

Associate Professor Magnolia Cardona, from the Gold Coasts Bond University, has led a PhD study into the use of rapid response system treatments on elderly hospital patients nearing end of life.

Elderly patients nearing end of life were not always best served by aggressive resuscitation techniques, experts say. Credit:File

Professor Cardona said the research, published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Public Safety, studied the files of more than 700 patients who received calls for medical emergency teams during hospitalisation at a large Sydney teaching hospital.

A medical emergency team usually consists of two or three specialists from the intensive care unit focused on maintaining life when a patient is in a hospital ward.Hallelujah: Glenn, left, and Michael were among homeless men who slept in Heathmont Baptist Church under the Winter Shelter program in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. Credit:Eddie Jim

It's 7pm on a Wednesday and, good Lord, it's cold in the Melbourne suburb of Heathmont.

It's nine degrees, and due to plunge to three degrees before sunrise.

If Glenn wasnt sleeping inside (the heated) Heathmont Baptist Church tonight, he would be shivering in a pitch-black Vermont water tunnel.

But he's not trespassing in this no-frills 1960s brick place of worship. Hes preparing to bed down among the pews as part of the Winter Shelter program, under which seven eastern suburbs churches allow homeless men to sleep on their premises.A 75-year-old man was rescued in the early hours on Saturday, after being trapped under a vehicle for hours.

Police said about 10.30 Friday night, emergency services received a report that a person was trapped underneath a vehicle on Backshall Place near Ocean Reef Road, Wanneroo.

At the scene, crews found the elderly man from Girrawheen "pinned from the waist down" under a Toyota Tarago that had a trailer attached.

He had serious injuries and police said was believed the man could have been trapped for several hours before being rescued. He was taken by ambulance to Royal Perth Hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition.

Highgate assaultThey showed the property in an inner suburb of Perth to a woman with a small son whose husband was away working up north, and made their decision to rent to this woman and her husband based on the human interaction.

He has owned his investment property, a 3x1 villa, for about 15 years. He lived in it for a while before he and his wife decided to rent it out.

After a couple of years Mr Abeyesinghe and his wife became aware that the womans husband had left her.

The $250 a week rental payments, once regular, became sporadic. They rang their tenant, who told them she was struggling in the absence of child support payments. They said to her they would not throw her out, but would waive the arrears and asked her what rent she could afford. She said about $200. The couple said OK.

The woman got back on her feet and got a job as a nurse. Her payments were jittery for a while then stabilised. For the next six years she increased the rent herself in steady increments until she was paying around $300 per week. Eventually the arrears had been more than made up for.

Now and again she would mention a little maintenance, a kitchen drawer broke, I went and repaired it. So I could see the place was looking fine, Mr Abeyesinghe said.

My wife and I had an amicable separation and I needed somewhere to stay. I said I am sorry, she said it was a shame, but she found a new place and I moved back in six weeks later, he said.Julie Bishop is weighing up her political future and could move to the backbench immediately ahead of leaving Parliament at the next election under a scenario MPs fear will rob the government of one of its best performers.

Last week's Liberal Party leadership implosion ended the West Australian's 11-year run as deputy Liberal leader, and removed her guaranteed right to remain Foreign Minister in Prime Minister Scott Morrison's impending ministerial reshuffle.

Ms Bishop contested the ballot in a three-cornered contest against Mr Morrison and Peter Dutton on Friday. She was knocked out in the first round with just 11 votes out of the 85-member party room. In the final round, the majority of her supporters locked in behind Mr Morrison, securing him the prime ministership.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is weighing up an exit from politics. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Mr Morrison praised Ms Bishop as an "amazing contributor and driver of foreign policy" and "an advocate for Liberal values from one end of this country to the other and one end of this world to the other". He vowed to talk to her about what role she would like to play in the government, which was interpreted as a willingness for her to remain in the highly sought after portfolio.Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under pressure to acknowledge that climate change is a major driver of the drought gripping parts of regional Australia following his declaration that the big dry was his governments number one priority.

Hours after his elevation to the top job on Friday, Mr Morrison cited the record-breaking drought as the nations most urgent and pressing need right now.

He underlined his commitment on Saturday, his first full day as prime minster, by meeting with national drought coordinator Stephen Day and Nationals leader Michael McCormack to discuss a national approach to the problem.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says national drought action is a top priority, and critics say climate action should be a key part of the response. Credit:AAP

Im from the city, Im not pretending to know one end of a sheep from another but I do know when people are hurting in our country and they are hurting terribly, the Sydney-based Mr Morrison said after the meeting.Newly-appointed deputy Liberal leader and federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, right, shares a coffee and a laugh on Saturday morning with former treasurer Peter Costello. Credit:Meredith O'Shea

Money, along with politics and religion, is a conversational taboo but you get the feeling the good people of Kooyong, in Melbournes affluent inner east, dont mind discussing the performance of the finance market and their real estate portfolios over Saturday brunch.

It wasnt out of place then for the areas local member, the new federal Treasurer and deputy Liberal leader Josh Frydenberg, to get advice from former treasurer Peter Costello at a Hawthorn cafe on Saturday morning.

Over a breakfast of smashed avocado with Yarra Valley feta and activated walnuts at Porgie and Mr Jones, the two Victorians discussed how best to balance the nations books, while cafe-goers in active wear sat around them, tucking into poached eggs and reading about the leadership spill in well-thumbed copies of The Saturday Age.Making [Nauru and Manus] like a zoo that everyone is seeing around the world, [saying] Dont come to Australia or else this happens to you  this is not the thing that is impacting people not to come, said Mozhgan Moarefizadeh, an Iranian refugee and advocate. Moarefizadeh said the decisive factor was [Boat] turn-backs ... Thats the reason, not keeping people in offshore detention. Moarefizadeh, tried and failed three times to reach Christmas Island by boat in 2013, before the boat turn-backs began late that year. It was seeing whats going on and hearing the news and we were like, OK then, its risky, its dangerous, crossing the sea is not a joke in those kinds of boats'. Mozhgan Moarefizadeh, an Iranian refugee who is stuck in Indonesia.

'And people are saying that even if you make it there, youll be turned back, so whats the point in going'? said Moarefizadeh, who went on to co-found the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Information Centre to help others in her position access legal aid and community support in Indonesia. Australia is not accepting people. Their border is closed. Thats it, we dont go, she said. Shawji Ramadhan, a Sudanese refugee and former microbiologist who has been in Indonesia since 2011, agrees that Manus Island and Nauru are simply not on the minds of refugees and asylum seekers in Indonesia. I think Australia is thinking, If I take those people [in offshore detention] to Australia, maybe a lot of people [will be] coming again, Mr Ramadhan said. Shawji Ramadhan, 32, fled to Indonesia in mid-2011 after being forced to stop his studies towards a master's of microbiology in Egypt. He lives waiting to resettle with his wife and two sons, aged 1 and 3 years old, south of Jakarta. But, you know, nobody here is thinking about refugees in Manus, because everyone knows about the border being closed.

Even my friends in Sudan know that.. Operation Sovereign Borders Offshore detention centres were reopened by the Gillard government in 2012, but arrivals by boat kept increasing, from 17,204 that year to 20,587 in 2013. It was not until the advent of Operation Sovereign Borders in late 2013, which started turning boats around, that the number of arrivals dropped dramatically. Actions under that policy included allegedly paying people smugglers to steer their boats back to Indonesia. Omed, 10, lost his father, uncle and cousin on an asylum boat that sank off the Indonesian coast in 2012. Credit:Michael Bachelard

Part of the deterrence was a series of highly publicised sinkings. Another was the reality for asylum seekers that they would pay a people smuggler the going rate at the time of $US5000 to $US6000, only to find themselves back where they began. Some asylum seekers who have arrived more recently in Indonesia have no idea that Australia detains former boat people to dissuade them from making the same journey. So many people here dont know about Nauru and Manus at all, said Abbas Wafa, a refugee community leader and former humanitarian worker, who fled ethnic violence against Hazaras with his wife and now five-year-old daughter. Since 2013, offshore detention has cost Australian taxpayers more than $5 billion. It costs more than $570,000 per year to detain one refugee on Manus Island or Nauru. The government is profoundly culpable for engaging in policies which are deliberately damaging to children and their families. Former Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs

According to the leaked Nauru Files, some have suffered sexual assault, physical and psychological abuse, mental illness, self-harm and suicide attempts, including among children. Twelve refugees and asylum seekers have died as a result of suicide, self-immolation, medical neglect or unprovoked violence while in offshore detention. Recently, a number of cases have been reported of resignation syndrome among children, a type of severe depression characterised by progressive withdrawal from life. Today, 117 children are still living on Nauru, around 40 of whom have been born on the island. The government resists all attempts by activists to bring them off the island, arguing that it would lead to boats again crossing from Indonesia and people drowning at sea. But former Human Rights Commission president, Gillian Triggs, told Fairfax Media that, "holding children and their families  on Manus and Nauru, that is not what is stopping unauthorised maritime arrivals. Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton in Question Time in 2016 Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"The government is profoundly culpable for engaging in policies which are deliberately damaging to children and their families for extensive and unprecedented periods of time, she said. Politicians in Canberra are well aware of the consequences of what theyre doing but will say that they have their own political advantages either personally or to their party to continue these policies, Professor Triggs said. They see their political futures being dependent upon their offshore processing policies. You will be turned back poster by Australian Government in Indonesia. Neither the department nor the former minister's office responded to a list of questions.

Peter Dutton was until Friday the face of Australias offshore detention policy, and new Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, was the progenitor of the boat turnbacks policy. However, both the government and the opposition have rejected calls to resettle those detained on Manus Island and Nauru in Australia. They argue people smugglers would leverage such a move to convince asylum seekers overseas that they too could make it by boat to Australia. In turning down New Zealands offer to resettle 150 of the refugees on Manus Island and Nauru, then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said it would be used by people smugglers as a marketing opportunity. Abbas Wafa, 33, fled Afghanistan with his wife and then two-year-old daughter. He worked in international development for the Aga Khan Foundation in Afghanistan.

The evidence from Indonesia suggests that people smugglers do not have such easy access to a market. If people smugglers promote this ideology of going to Australia by boat, and telling us that there is a way or there is a hope, people would not believe them, said Nusrat Karimi, a Hazara refugee who arrived in Indonesia as an unaccompanied minor more than five years ago. They know that the border is closed. You Will Not Make Australia Home The border closed message has been reinforced to those displaced and waiting indefinitely in Indonesia by a five-year $70 million Australian government advertising campaign.

You will be turned back, the advertisements say. No Way. You will not make Australia home. Australian advertisements in Indonesia. In the streets of refugee communities in Cisarua and Jakarta, people often wake up to posters plastered outside their homes and pamphlets slipped under their front doors. People are always talking about Australian policy. Information spreads, Wafa says.

When you play a video on YouTube an announcement will come  You will not make Australia home. We all know about this. Once they started to intercept boats and take them directly back to Indonesia or Vietnam or Sri Lanka, that sent a very strong message that people would pay maybe a lot of money but not actually get anywhere, end up back in basically point zero, said Antje Missbach, a senior lecturer at Monash University and the author of Troubled Transit: Asylum Seekers Stuck in Indonesia. Trish Cameron, an Australian lawyer who has been providing pro bono legal information to asylum seekers in Indonesia for the past three years, says: Its only the Australian government that still focuses on boats anymore. Its not a discussion thats being had in refugee communities here. Surprisingly, many refugees have a positive opinion of Australias closed border. We have all lost brothers, cousins, friends at sea, Wafa says. "We are praying that the border never be opened again.

'A green hell' On the other side of boat turnbacks, refugees stuck in Indonesia have been informed by the UN Refugee Agency that they may face a wait of up to 25 years, or never resettle in a third country, as nations around the world limit their refugee intakes, particularly for those of Muslim backgrounds. The agency has suggested they assimilate to life in Indonesia  even though they cannot legally settle there  and prepare themselves to wait there indefinitely. Australia has ruled that it will not resettle any refugees who arrived to Indonesia after July 2014, and has cut its overall humanitarian intake from Indonesia, as well as its funding to the International Organisation for Migration, which provides essential services to refugees in and out of detention centres. Although Mr Wafa believes that boat turn backs saved lives, many refugees are left in a desperate position as the lack of work rights for refugees in Indonesia, and dwindling support from Australia, sees more asylum seeker families becoming homeless.

If there was a proper humanitarian program, no one would be willing to go by boat, Mr Wafa said. Farahnaz Salehi fled from Afghanistan with her family in 2013 when she was 15. Farahnaz Salehi, 20, who has been in Indonesia for five years. Credit:Janbaz Salehi Together with her parents and seven siblings, their family has survived in Cisarua, two hours by road from Jakarta, for more than five years without the right to work or to gain a formal education. They have slowly been eating their way through their life savings, and hoping for eventual resettlement in a third country.

We cant go back, and we cant move forward, so we are stuck here in Indonesia, Ms Salehi said. Indonesia is like a green hell. We are unknown people. We are unknown humans. On Manus Island, Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish novelist, journalist and filmmaker, says his detention since 2013 has been without any reason. The [Australian] government is convincing people in Australia that they have this right to violate human rights on Manus and Nauru," he says. "What the government has done on Manus and Nauru is systematic torture ... I always wonder, 'Why'?Scott Morrison has invited US President Donald Trump to Australia during a "very warm" phone call the day after becoming Prime Minister.

Mr Morrison, who fended off a challenge from Peter Dutton for the Liberal Party leadership on Friday, spoke to the US President on Saturday morning in a sign the new Prime Minister is keen to assure allies a week of turmoil in Australian politics poses no threat to international relationships.

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"Both underlined the strength and depth of our alliance and the unbreakable friendship between Australia and the United States," a spokesman for Mr Morrison said of the conversation.

"The Prime Minister invited the President to visit Australia. Both leaders agreed to stay in contact and to meet at an early opportunity.A "fix" to the school funding wars will be unveiled by new Prime Minister Scott Morrison as one of his first acts to heal the political wounds that divided Coalition MPs and helped trigger the demise of Malcolm Turnbull.

Fairfax Media understands a proposal to address the concerns of the Catholic sector and guarantee interim funding for next year is very close to being finalised and is likely to proceed whether or not Education Minister Simon Birmingham remains in the role in Mr Morrison's new-look cabinet.

The policy would act on the recommendations of a recent review by businessman Michael Chaney which proposed a new method of evaluating a private school's socio-economic status using parents' income tax data.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The schism over school funding was a factor in some of the unrest leading to this week's upheaval. Liberal MP Tony Pasin, who supported Peter Dutton, told Fairfax Media on Saturday: "We need to resolve it as soon as practicable.""For a decade the Liberal Party has struggled with the question of what should be its philosophy and its principles," Roskam wrote in The Australian Financial Review. Since its founding, the Liberal Party has combined two distinct political philosophies that in many other countries are represented by competing parties: conservatism and liberalism. The former emphasises a respect for traditions while the latter stresses the freedom of the individual. John Howard famously described the Liberal Party as a "broad church", saying the fusion of conservatism and liberalism explained why the party had been so electorally successful over many decades. We do occupy as the Liberal Party of Australia a special position amongst centre-right parties around the world," he said in 2005. Howard warned that the party must "care for both of those traditions" and "never see it as our role as Australian Liberals to see the triumph of one of those traditions to the unfair detriment and certainly not the obliteration of the other.

It's advice many of today's Liberal parliamentarians seem to have ignored. In a leaked speech last year, cabinet minister Christopher Pyne boasted that moderates in the party were in the "winner's circle", a turnaround from the days the party appeared to be "swinging to the right". It is now common for Liberal conservatives to privately deride colleagues as "left-wingers" and for moderates to call the party's right-wingers "reactionaries". A winner takes all attitude has become pervasive, and the sense that colleagues with different views are not just wrong but illegitimate. "This can be seen as a revolt against the moderate control of the Liberal Party," Liberal Party historian Gregory Melleuish says of the push to replace Turnbull with Dutton. "Hardcore moderates and conservatives are now knife-fighting each other," Barnes says.

In a letter to Malcolm Turnbull this week NSW frontbencher Concetta Fierravanti-Wells spoke for many on the party's right when she said: "Our conservative base strongly feel that their voice has been eroded ... They needed some demonstrable indication that there are conservative voices around your Cabinet table. Tim Wilson, a moderate MP from Victoria, shot back at those who said the party had drifted too far to the left. "People need to sit down and actually read some philosophy and actually understand what the words 'conservatism' and 'liberalism' mean," he said. "The Turnbull government was actually very consistent with those values." Turnbull himself, in a speech last year to a London think tank, stressed that Menzies deliberately did not call his new political party "conservative" and wanted it firmly anchored in the centre of Australian politics.

As Prime Minister, Turnbull proudly argued he pursued an agenda that is pragmatic and evidence-based; in his lexicon "ideological" is a negative term, often followed by "idiocy". Barnes believes that the only thing Turnbull truly believed in was "his own genius" and that he ran government as a day-to-day proposition focussed on narrowing disputes with the opposition. A Liberal MP agrees: "The measure of success better than Labor, not as good as we can be." One of the issues that contributed to Turnbull's downfall was school funding. The Abbott government initially wanted to slash spending on schools, and argued that money had little impact on students' results. Turnbull then suggested, seemingly on a whim, that the federal government could stop funding public schools and hand over responsibilities for the states. A year later he announced the "Gonski 2.0" funding package that delivered a big increase in spending, but enraged the Catholic schools sector. Independent experts thought it was an improvement on the status quo. But exactly what the government stood for - besides neutralising a Labor policy advantage - was unclear.

On economics, the Liberal Party regards itself as the home of small government and lower taxes yet the Turnbull government has implemented a tax on the banks and taken an interventionist approach to energy prices. Turnbull's first major policy move as PM, the national innovation and science agenda, was supposed to launch an "ideas boom". But when the government realised all its innovation talk actually scared voters, rather than exciting them, it was shelved. Similarly, the idea of handing out tax cuts to big businesses - with the benefits to flow down to workers - proved a political dud and had to be abandoned. Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating last year said that liberal economics - based on privatisation and minimal government intervention - had gone nowhere after the global financial crisis. "Liberal economics has run into a dead end and has had no answer to the contemporary malaise," he said.

The problem is not just isolated to Australia. In Britain, Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to hold together her party, split between "soft" Brexiters on the left and "hard" Brexiters on the right. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn almost won the last election on an unabashedly left-wing platform including a major expansion of the welfare state and renationalisation of key industries. Even in the US, the orthodoxies of conservative economics no longer hold, with Donald Trump carrying out his threats to introduce tariffs on imported goods from China and Europe. Just as Reagan converted the GOP into a conservative party, Trump has converted the GOP into a populist working-class party, policy analyst Stephen Moore, a long champion of free market economics, said following Trump's election. Tom Switzer, a former Liberal policy advisor and executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies, says the big new cleavage on the conservative side of politics is immigration.

"Liberals have generally supported a big Australia but something has changed in the past year," he says. "There is a lot of support among conservative voters for slashing immigration." Gregory Melleuish says the party's ideological divides are significant, but blames a lack of leadership for the infighting. "It's a people problem," he says. "This goes back to 2008 when Howard's natural successor, Peter Costello, said he didn't want to be leader. No one has had the authority to bring people from both sides of the party together. School yard fights break out when nobody can send you to detention." Switzer points out the party has survived bitter disputes before, like when John Gorton and Billy McMahon clashed bitterly over free trade and deregulation in the 1960s. Terry Barnes is more pessimistic.Sydney Water is investigating ways to clean up sewage pollution on Coogee Beach, and will release its findings just months out from the state election as the government fights to hang onto the seat.

The seat of Coogee in Sydney's eastern suburbs is the Liberal's second most marginal seat and the long running issue of sewage contamination on the iconic beach is a key local issue ahead of the March election.

At the northern end of Coogee beach, the storm water main that drains directly onto the beach has, at times, become so polluted it has transformed into a black creek carrying contaminated water into the ocean.

Anthem Mai, 1, playing where the storm water drain runs onto the north end of Coogee Beach. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Sydney Water, the state government agency which manages storm water and wastewater, confirmed it was investigating whether it was "feasible to divert some flows from [Randwick] Councils storm water channels to Sydney Waters wastewater pipes nearby."Victorias Country Fire Authority chief has promised to force out staff who have harassed and bullied their colleagues after a recent staff survey revealed workplace problems are still rife within the service.

Chief executive Paul Smith has already begun the process, with up to a dozen people from across the CFA moved out this year because of their behaviour.

CFA chief Paul Smith has pledged to remove staff who bully or harass their colleagues.

The annual People Matter Survey of 664 professional staff, seen by The Age, showed that more than one in six respondents had reported experiencing sexual harassment.

Almost one-fifth said they had been subjected to discrimination in seeking promotions and other opportunities.Harare, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's top court upheld the narrow and disputed election victory by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday, clearing the way for his inauguration as the country remained deeply divided in the post-Robert Mugabe era.

Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe enforcer who has tried to restyle himself as a reformer, will be sworn in on Sunday. He appealed for calm and told opposition challenger Nelson Chamisa "my door is open and my arms are outstretched."

Supporters of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa celebrate in Harare. Credit:AP

The opposition, wary after a deadly military crackdown on protests after the election, initially said it would respect the ruling but later issued an angry statement rejecting the decision and saying it entrenched "an illegitimate regime."

Zimbabwe's electoral commission had declared Mnangagwa the winner of the July 30 balloting with 50.8 per cent of the vote. It later revised it to 50.6 per cent, citing an "error" but arguing it was not significant enough to invalidate the win. It said Chamisa received 44.3 per cent.Beijing: China's corruption watchdog has admitted to placing pressure on the family of a suspect living in Australia to get him to return to China.

Former bank official Lai Mingmin, 67, migrated to Sydney where he had been living for 17 years, but returned to China to face corruption investigators in June. At the time, state media reported his return to China, and his refund of the bribe he had taken, was voluntary.

The long reach of Operation Fox Hunt: six accused fugitives are taken back to China under escort from Indonesia in June 2015. Credit:AP

But the Guangdong office of China's feared Central Commission of Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Wednesday revealed Lai was among several suspects caught after investigators placed pressure on the overseas Chinese community.

Inspectors from the city of Jiangmen, where Lai was once the president of the local Bank of China, targeted Lai's wife for "ideological work" or persuasion, the commission stated.A fire has torn through a hot springs hotel in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, killing 19 people and causing 23 others to be taken to hospital.

Police have detained the owner of the resort hotel. The public security bureau of the city of Harbin said on its official social media account it was questioning the legal representative of the Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel on suspicion of negligence leading to Saturday's fire.

The disaster added to a string of deadly blazes that have plagued China despite official efforts to improve public safety over the past two decades.

The fire broke out at the four-story hotel in Harbin's Sun Island recreation area at 4.36 am and was extinguished at 7.50 am by a force of 105 firefighters with 30 firetrucks, Chinese state television said.Maeve Lewis, executive director of the victims' group One in Four, said: "Survivors are weary of apologies that are not followed up with real action. How hard would it be for the pope to announce a policy of mandatory reporting of all allegations to the civil authorities across the world?"

The pope arrived on Saturday to begin his two-day visit to Ireland - the first papal trip in 39 years - which has been beset by controversy, with abuse survivors planning protests to coincide with the papal Mass Sunday.

After being met at the airport by Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, the papal nuncio and Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, the pope had a private meeting with President Michael D Higgins.

In a statement issued after the meeting, a spokesman for President Higgins said that the president raised with the pope the "immense suffering and hurt caused by child sex abuse perpetrated by some within the Catholic Church."

The statement said Higgins also told the pope of the "anger which had been conveyed to him at what was perceived to be the impunity enjoyed by those who had the responsibility of bringing such abuses for action by the appropriate authorities and have not done so."Madrid: Spain's government took a step closer on Friday to removing the remains of dictator Francisco Franco from a grand mausoleum that it intends to turn into a memorial to victims of the country's brutal civil war.

Transforming the "Valley of the Fallen" site, marked by a 152-metre cross on a mountainside near Madrid and criticised as Europe's only remaining monument to a fascist leader, is a longstanding ambition of the Socialist Party which returned to office in June.

People stand around the tomb of former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco inside the basilica at the the Valley of the Fallen monument near El Escorial, outside Madrid. Credit:AP

The government issued a decree that reduces the risk of legal claims, including from Franco's descendants, preventing the exhumation.

"To have the victims of both sides in the same place where Franco continues to have -- in a manner that's totally unacceptable for a modern democracy like ours -- a state tomb, is a lack of respect and peace for the victims who are buried there," Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo said in a news conference on Friday.Cairo: A British couple are vacationing at a Red Sea resort in Egypt with their daughter and three grandchildren.

One morning, the man, a 69-year-old English builder, collapses in his hotel room in front of his wife and daughter and is pronounced dead. Hours later his wife, 64, is taken to a hospital where she, too, dies.

Video shows the exterior of the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt. Credit:AP

Egyptian authorities insist the couple have died from natural causes. But other guests at the hotel complain of upset stomachs from bad food. And their daughter, who was with them during their final hours, says she believes "something suspicious" happened.

The sudden deaths on Tuesday of John and Susan Cooper prompted their travel company to evacuate all of its guests in the hotel on Friday, amid a welter of conflicting accounts from guests, managers and Egyptian officials about what led to the couple's demise.Washington: It was a coconut that sent William F. Liebenow on a mission to rescue the man who would become president.

Last week, the story was remembered - coconut and all - as Liebenow, who died last year at 97, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, less than a mile away from the spot where Kennedy himself is buried beneath an eternal flame.

Then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy is pictured in 1960 with William Bud Liebenow. Credit:Washington Post

Although grateful for the honour being bestowed, Liebenow's children said their father would have been embarrassed by the pomp and circumstance. He was not one to boast about his past.

"There wasn't a whole lot to it," Liebenow would tell the documentary-makers and journalist who had visited him, and then, with the nonchalance of someone recounting a trip to the grocery store, he'd recall that night in 1943.A few years ago when I was a student at the University of St. Martin (USM) I was fortunate enough to do two political science classes. One with Khalilah Peters and another with Arjen Alberts. Both classes were very insightful: Khalilahs class was an introduction to political science and Arjens class focused on politics in the Caribbean and examined governance in various non-independent and independent Caribbean countries. These classes allowed me to see the big picture and develop an informed opinion on Independence. This opinion is that neither side of the island is ready or will ever be ready for the responsibilities that come with Independence.

Most people believe that Independence means freedom but in reality, it means responsibility. The government of an independent country has three primary responsibilities to its citizens: sovereignty, authority, and legitimacy. Sovereignty deals with a governments ability to protect its citizens not only from one another but also from outside attack. To provide sovereignty some countries build great walls and develop large armies. Others strategically use landscape to their advantage and build towns in areas protected by high mountains, wide rivers or vast deserts.

Authority deals with the power to create and enforce rules (laws). This is why we have the three branches of government: the legislative branch (parliament) who creates laws, the executive branch (ministers and law enforcement officers) charged with the execution and enforcement of laws and the judicial branch (judges and courts) who is responsible for the interpretation of laws.

Legitimacy is the degree to which people accept the authority of the government. A government that rules justly and wisely may enjoy a great deal of legitimacy, as long as their authority is accepted. In the case of dictators, their legitimacy may be acquired through fear. As long as the feared ruler is seen as bringing about prosperity or protecting the lives of his citizens, it is entirely possible that his people will be happy.

These responsibilities are interrelated. To ensure sovereignty you need authority and to maintain authority you need legitimacy. Currently, the Dutch side has its own constitution. However, the Netherlands provides our sovereignty and has involvement in our authority and legitimacy. We have control in who we elect to parliament/government and we have some autonomy in the laws we enact. However, due to the lack of local resources, we rely on personnel from other countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands to fill certain positions (prosecutors and judges) in our judicial system.

Comparatively, on the French side, there is far less autonomy. The French side is an Overseas Collectivity which is considered an integral part of France that happens to be in the Caribbean, as such it is covered by the Constitution of France. Being considered part of France means that France provides our sovereignty, authority, and legitimacy. There is a locally elected senator, deputy and government (Territorial Council). The senator and deputy represent us in both houses of the French Parliament and the Territorial Council is responsible for taxation, regional planning, economic development, and social affairs in St. Martin. However, France retains control of foreign affairs, security, and immigration laws. A state representative (Prefet) is also appointed by France.

To be Independent would mean our 37 square mile island has to leave the umbrella of France and the Netherlands and take on all these responsibilities. Quite frankly, neither side of the island has the resources to provide and maintain sovereignty, authority and legitimacy. Additionally, both sides of the island rely heavily on tourism and there are no plans to diversify the economy. Our lack of resources is increasingly evident during disasters. Hurricane Irma devastated both sides of the island and in the aftermath, there was widespread looting and chaos. This was partially due to telecommunications being brought down for the entire island for several days. Nevertheless, both sides were unable to maintain authority and relied on the Dutch Marines and Support Law Enforcement from France to regain control of the island.

This is just one example of what happens if we cant meet these responsibilities and just go independent anyways. There are many other examples in the Caribbean, countries that have gone this route struggle in the face of globalization and accrue debt to the point that most of them have become dependent on foreign investors such as China and the USA. Chinas relationship with Caribbean countries has been seen as a form of modern-day colonialism. To be clear, China does not provide these nations with sovereignty, authority or legitimacy. They practice cheque book diplomacy which affords them influence in the region.

This could happen to St. Maarten, we already have Chinese investors making lavish promises on St. Maarten and when speaking about Independence our leaders have a tendency to focus on political conflicts or our colonial history. They often highlight the benefits that come with a change of status while neglecting to mention the additional responsibilities the country has to take on. This was apparent when the Dutch side changed its status on 10-10-2010 and the French side on 15-07-2007.

In recent years, Independence has been actively discussed on the Dutch side. During the most recent election campaign, the Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF) organized a debate where most political parties agreed that it is the right of the people but the country isnt ready. They all stated that instability in government was a major issue. Realistically speaking an unstable government poses its problems but in the context of Independence, its not our primary concern. Sovereignty is of utmost importance, this determines whether or not we will be able to defend ourselves and the future generations of St. Martiners.

Ramzan JumanIn most IT textbooks new topics are often introduced with case studies. As a matter of fact, when I was introduced to Business Continuity Planning it was through a case study discussing the effects of Super Storm Sandy on the northeastern coast of the United States. While Hurricane Irma was far more powerful than Super Storm Sandy and the effects were much worse, this was not only because of the strength of the hurricane but also due to a lack of adequate business continuity plans.

The extensive and destructive force of Irma left the local governments and businesses on both sides of the island overwhelmed by the loss of electrical power, cellular phone service, internet access, transportation and even running water. Losing telecommunication, in particular, had a domino effect on the island which crippled governance and isolated the population.

Military personnel and local law enforcement officers who have come to rely on modern telecommunications were unable to coordinate their efforts to maintain order and enforce the curfew. This led to widespread looting and chaos along with delays in scheduling evacuations and requesting much-needed aid. On a larger scale, a lack of communication from official channels (government) also led to miscommunication and misinformation. Cooperation between the French and Dutch side was hampered. Meanwhile, false articles and photos spread through social media causing panic and damaging the islands image and tourism brand.

This is just a small sample of what stemmed from the loss of telecommunications. However, a great deal of the impact could have been alleviated with proper business continuity planning by government and telecom providers on both sides of the island. Business continuity can be defined as the ability of an organization to maintain its operations and services in the face of a disruptive event. This event could be as basic as an electrical outage or as catastrophic as a Category 5 hurricane.

Business Continuity Planning encompasses three main tenants namely Resiliency, Recovery and Contingency. Companies need to make sure their systems are resilient, this is usually done through fault tolerance and redundancy (removing single points of failure) which helps them keep going if any issues are encountered. Recovery is the ability to actually get the system back online in the event that its not resilient enough to skip over an issue or disaster. Recovery is achieved through back-ups, fault tolerance, failovers, etc. Contingency deals with your alternatives if you cannot bring that system back online. This usually means having more than one pre-established location so that operations can continue if the primary location sustains significant damage.

Business Continuity Planning begins with a Business Impact Analysis to understand the impact of the disaster on each area of the business and identify critical systems and components. Through the Business Impact Analysis, a cost is also assigned to each area of the business which helps determine how much it would cost to bring that area of the business back online in the event of a disaster.

The Business Impact Analysis also lays the groundwork for Risk Assessment and Risk Management. These are self-explanatory but it is important to understand this is a continuous process. It is important to periodically review and see if there are risks that were not noticed before or if advances in technology can provide better solutions at alleviating risks.

Companies like Amazon and eBay when assessing risk look at how much investing in a resilient network would cost, usually a few hundred thousand dollars vs. how it much it would cost to purchase and install new parts. Along with how much money they would lose if their site was down. For reference, in 2013 Amazon lost $66,240 per minute of downtime. Similarly, some investing in the Caribbean tourism industry have a similar way of thinking. Bird of Paradise Villas in Anguilla is built to sustain 200 mph winds. As a result, they suffered minimal damages from Hurricane Irma and resumed operations the following day.

At this point it should be obvious, having a resilient organization means recovery will be quicker, easier and more affordable. Imagine if this type of resiliency was implemented at the airports, utility companies and by our telecom providers as it is in larger countries. Our recovery efforts would move along much faster. In the long run, it is cheaper to invest in resilient architecture. The airport is a good example, the cost to construct the airport was 117 million dollars and post-Irma repairs are expected to cost over 100 million dollars. Wouldnt it have better to build a more resilient airport terminal building to begin with? Keep in mind that over 100 million in material damages does not account for the amount the airport lost every day it remained closed and the residual damage to our tourism-based economy.

Another benefit to Business Continuity Planning is that it can help us make better use of our natural resources. As an example, GEBE currently experiences frequent outages and relies on fossil fuels to service an island dubbed Sunshine City. A potential solution for GEBE could be to set up a program to rent and maintain solar panels to residents. This could be done for residents whose houses are built to certain specifications along with government buildings. As a precaution, the solar panels can be retrofitted for easy removal in case of a storm. Implementing these changes would result in a GEBE that is more resilient due to a reduced load and a distributed network while providing an avenue for the company to pivot into renewable energy and use fossil fuels as a backup. After GEBE becomes proficient with solar panel installation and maintenance they could even consider servicing neighboring islands.

Business Continuity Planning is not my idea or a new concept by any means, these are security best practices that are followed by most of the businesses where I have worked, mainly to prevent the loss of customers and damage to their brand. In St. Maarten/St. Martin governments and telecom providers on both sides have better reasons, they have an obligation to the people because their decisions affect the livelihood of the entire population.

Admittedly, this level of foresight and advanced preparation is not common to our leaders, some would even say they are shortsighted. Nevertheless, after Hurricane Irma passed, many politicians praised the resiliency of the people of St. Maarten/St. Martin. I know this might have just been political rhetoric, but in this case, I hope our leaders can adapt and learn resiliency from the people of their own country and put business continuity plans in place before the next hurricane or disaster.

Ramzan JumanThis article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Donald Trump's plans to create a "Space Force" have ruffled plenty of feathers and alarmed some commentators. Some argue it will merely cause a bureaucratic headache. Raising greater concerns, others have argued the "Space Force" will cause an arms race in outer space.

In the space policy community, however, the idea of a separate Space Force has been debated on and off for years. Trump's version  and this may come as a surprise  does not appear to be a dangerous move on its own.

The US military's satellites are currently operated separately by the Army, Navy and Air Force; a Space Force would simply bring them under a single, separate command. The US military alone is already the world's single largest operator of satellites, with 159  more than all Russia's military and non-military satellites combined. But while these military satellites are high-tech, they're not exactly the stuff of science fiction. Rather than carrying death rays and space marines, they are built to provide secure communications, early warning of a nuclear attack, reconnaissance, and precise navigation (among many other things).

While the US military will not need any new satellites to set a Space Force up, it can't be done overnight by fiat. Congress must legislate, just as it did when the Air Force was split from the Army in 1947. The Department of Defense report that sparked much of the latest speculation confirms that existing space units within the Air Force  some of which were founded back in the 1960s  are being spun out into a US Space Command. Known as SPACECOM, this will be on an equal footing with the other "joint" commands upon which the US military as a whole relies and all of which have wide-ranging responsibilities.

With nothing to indicate that new capabilities or major acquisitions are being pursued, this looks like a mere rebranding and reorganisation. Changing badges on uniforms and calling satellite operators "space warfighters" does not change the balance of power in Earth orbit. The US, China, and Russia have been developing space warfare capabilities for decades; they aren't rushing ahead, but incrementally developing a range of options to control or deny outer space in a time of open conflict, as they are sure to do at sea and in the air. Even the use of the phrase "space dominance" should not cause alarm. To say that the new Space Force could usher in an outer space arms race is premature and hyperbolic.

Reach for the sky

Erroneous claims have been made by international lawyers (such as Steven Freeland) that a Space Force (and a goal of "space dominance") violates the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. In fact, the right to self defence is used to trump the principle of peaceful purposes in outer space, and is manifested in practice by the pursuit of space for military purposes by every advanced economy and military power on Earth.

Whether the establishment of a US Space Force threatens peace in orbit comes down to how it plays into international threat perception. US leaders increasingly see Russia and China's anti-satellite capabilities as growing threats. To what extent Russian and Chinese leaders view US space technology as a threat is more difficult to prove, but their efforts to establish a UN treaty banning all weapons in space smack of an attempt to limit potential American superiority in orbit.

A Soviet anti-satellite weapon strikes its target (artists impression). (Image credit: Defense Intelligence Agency)

As this reorganisation of US military space is happening in the context of a chronic, rather than an acute, threat to American military capabilities, it begs the question of what problem Trump and his vice-president, Mike Pence, think they're solving.

This is a demotion for the Air Force, which has fought tooth and nail against the Army and Navy since its inception in 1947 to become the lead military agent for space procurement and services. Whether the Air Force has somehow been a poor steward of American space power we may never know, since the point where the rubber meets the road in military space policy  the procurement and acquisition of orbital hardware  will never be publicly discussed. In addition, complaints that the Air Force has failed to nurture a "space power culture" remain too nebulous and emotive for legislators to grapple with.

There are good reasons for creating a more independent Space Force, not least because all terrestrial military services now depend on space technology to carry out essential capabilities. As a separate entity, a Space Force may successfully demand more resources to expand; perhaps this will come to include anti-satellite weapons beyond those the Navy and Air Force already possess. But for now, the Space Force is mainly a bureaucratic exercise. It is neither especially foolish nor particularly dangerous.

Cameron Hunter, PhD Candidate in Politics, University of Bristol and Bleddyn Bowen, Lecturer in International Relations, University of Leicester

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com.This colorful NASA map of the Earth is map of smoke, dust and other aerosols across the planet. NASA created the visualization using data from satellites orbiting the Earth and ground-based sensors, then added false colors to denote types of aerosols displayed.

We live our whole lives wandering from one cloud of dust to the next. The air is full of the stuff: salt wafting in from the sea, black carbon soot from wildfires and all sorts of dusty emissions from heavy industry.

Usually, all that aerosolized gunk is invisible to us  but not to NASA's satellites and ground sensors. In a stunning new illustration, shown above, NASA's Earth Observatory reveals the invisible, tiny particles swirling around us.

NASA combined data from multiple sensors on satellites such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on Aqua and Terra, as well as ground based sensors, to create a colorized image of the aerosol plumes. [Earth Pictures: Iconic Images of Earth from Space]

This colorful NASA map of the Earth is map of smoke, dust and other aerosols across the planet. NASA created the visualization using data from satellites orbiting the Earth and ground-based sensors, then added false colors to denote types of aerosols displayed. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

Some of these dust clouds are the result of weather events. Hurricane Lane near Hawaii and typhoons Soulik and Cimaron off the coast of Japan have all kicked sea salt into the atmosphere. Over the Sahara Desert in northwest Africa and the Taklamakan Desert in northwest China, landlocked winds have similarly formed clouds of fine particles.

Western North America and south-central Africa reveal signatures of another sort of aerosol: the smoke from wildfires, which are often set by humans  either intentionally, as part of annual agricultural cycles in Africa, or through carelessness as in North America. Some of that smoke from North America appears to have drifted east over the Atlantic Ocean in the image.

This colorful NASA map of the Earth is map of smoke, dust and other aerosols across the planet. NASA created the visualization using data from satellites orbiting the Earth and ground-based sensors, then added false colors to denote types of aerosols displayed. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

NASA noted that this image wasn't shot by a single camera and isn't even a composite of a group of images directly taken by satellites or ground sensors. Instead, NASA used some careful mathematics to bring together data from a range of different types of sources in order to figure out where the densest concentrations of loose particles in the atmosphere are right now.

Originally published on Live Science.P ut down the knitting, there are marvellous games afoot.

Theres burlesque, circus, drag, comedy, music and boundary pushing performance - from the extravagant to the intimate, London has got cabaret well and truly covered.

So, what good is sitting alone in your room?

Here are the best places in London to see cabaret. Your tables waiting...

Bethnal Green Working Mens Club

With its East End macho roots and sticky carpet, Bethnal Green Working Mens Club is fantastically weird and wild. Whether its Mariah & Friendz with their in your face" drag, circus and burlesque night, or David Lynch-themed Double R Club, now in its ninth year, you can be sure its going to be outrageously fun. This isnt the sit-quietly-and-view sort of cabaret.

The Glory

If its getting intimate with drag queens youre looking for, youve found it here. With the upstairs golden curtained stage, or the sultry downstairs dark one, its almost impossible to show up here and not be entertained. BOiBOX drag king cabaret is there every last Thursday of the month, hosted by Adam All and Apple Derrieres, and regular Glory Lates deliver true royalty, up close and personal.

281 Kingsland Road, E2, theglory.co

London's best drag clubs and nights 1 /11 London's best drag clubs and nights The Glory Where else to start but the Glory? The Haggerston pub is certainly not the oldest, but has made a massive impact due to the sheer volume of drag events. Co-owned by stalwarts of the London queer scene Jonny Woo and John Sizzle, find queens and kings and everyone in between almost every night of the week. They host shows from countless drag performers including Kings of Colour (KOC for short, pronounced as youd expect), BOiBOX and Baby Lame. With the annual Man Up contest for drag kings and the flagship event Lipsync1000, the Glory is always driving the drag train. Royal Vauxhall Tavern Royal Vauxhall Tavern was given Grade II listed status in 2015, making it the first building in the UK to be listed for its importance to LGBTQ+ history. Its drag legacy dates back to the 70s and 80s, with Lily Savage (aka Paul OGrady) as a regular performer there for nearly a decade. Now theres variety night Bar Wotever on Tuesdays, King of Clubs with King Frankie Sinatra at the helm and an Art of Drag course to train up the next generation of drag royalty. Bar Wotever Admiral Duncan The Admiral Duncan is slap bang in the heart of Soho's historic centre but still manages to have that personal feel of a local pub. The resident performers include Sum Ting Wong and Baga Chipz (now available in HD in RuPaul's Drag Race UK) and there's cabaret every Wednesday, so pretty much everything a night out in Soho requires. Soho Theatre Up the street at the Soho Theatre, youll find the more theatrical shows, some of whom have enjoyed acclaimed runs at Edinburgh Fringe or transferred from overseas. Whether its upstairs in the theatre or downstairs in the sultry cabaret bar, be prepared for some high-quality genre-bending performance. Bethnal Green Working Men's Club Britney, Christina, Cher, Beyonce, Mariah, Kylie (the Original): find all your ladies here. Kylie even did the photo shoot for her album Lovers at Bethnal Green Working Mens Club, so its got some friends in high places. Club night Mariah and Friendz has a monthly residency, packed with drag, cabaret and circus The Apple Tree It's your LGBTQ+ friendly neighbourhood pub of choice. The Apple Tree in King's Cross is all about being a home to the alternative. There are monthly comedy nights, and north London queen Meth hosts an fortnightly drag night Apples and Pears. The stage fetures a rotating cast of the performers of Camden's Her Upstairs (which very sadly closed suddenly last year). Her Upstairs Clapham Grand This isnt a drag club but its where you go to see the American queens on tour. At some point during the month theres one of RuPauls alumnae serving up some true fierce realness: Shangela, Alaska, Sharon Needles, Jinkx Monsoon and Courtney Act have all graced the Clapham Grand stage. Channel 5 Two Brewers As LaShauwn Beyond wisely said: This is not RuPaul's Best Friend Race. But drag is most definitely a spectator sport and better enjoyed with others. Two Brewers in Clapham shows RuPauls Drag Race every Friday on the big screen. As for the rest of the week, theres Rock n Roll Bingo with Mrs Moore, Lets Get Quizzical with Sum Ting Wong and the Power of Three variety show, which delivers a trio of the most fabulous queens and kings around. Two Brewers White Swan 30 years young, the White Swan has long been the centre of Limehouses LGBTQ+ scene (yes, there is one), with drag cabaret all year round. Always in the mood for a party, its a great place to go for New Year, Easter, Halloween and whenever theres something to celebrate. Miss Ross hosts regular bingo nights and Jackie De Ripper turns up on Thursdays to sing some killer showtunes around the piano, so come armed with your songbook. Cybil War Sink The Pink Sink The Pink is a massive presence on the UK drag scene, popping up with outrageous, unbeatable parties. Born at Bethnal Green Working Mens Club, Sink The Pink has built up dedicated followers of trashion, who come from afar for one of their nights, which include performances of the highest quality. Keep an eye out and dress to kill  you cannot miss this. Sink The Pink East London's newest sing-along spot comes with a host of drag queens in tow. The team behind Dalston Superstore have opened a fabulous venue on Kingsland High Street, where fancy dress karaoke is the name of the game. When on the disco ball-decked stage, youre encouraged to bring out your inner RuPaul and lip-sync for your life.

Proud Embankment

Tucked away under Waterloo Bridge, Proud Cabaret Embankment opened earlier this year. Fridays and Saturdays are for Secret Burlesque Society, where audiences can enjoy an evening of circus and classic burlesque with a cocktail, tasting tray or three course meal. Big Top Burlesque every Thursday is all about the jaw-dropping and gravity-defying, with contortionists, acrobats and fire breathers.

8 Victoria Embankment, WC2, proudcabaretembankment.com

The Box

Home to some of the most scandalous cabaret in the city, the Box has been an A List favourite since opening in 2011. As such, this theatre of varieties will set you back a few hundred quid to enter. Its a surreal sort of place and shows are not for the prudish, with some performers utilising every - and we mean every - part of the body in their acts.

Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Historic and full of heart, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern has for a long time been the south London haven for all things LGBTQ+. Theres something on every night of the week here, with resident performers and guests producing work for an eclectic crowd. Hit up the Lip Sinkers on Friday nights, or Bar Wotever every Tuesday for all kinds of queer cabaret performance: burlesque, drag, music, and spoken word by kings, queens and everyone in between.

372 Kennington Lane, SE11, vauxhalltavern.com

Soho Theatre

Downstairs at Soho Theatre is dedicated solely to cabaret and comedy, and welcomes some of the best in the business. The Glorys Jonny Woo and fellow drag star Le Gateau Chocolat are regulars here, as are iconic girl band Denim and duo Bourgeois and Maurice.

21 Dean Street, W1, sohotheatre.com

Soho area guide: The highlights 1 /15 Soho area guide: The highlights Bar Americain Barrafina Dean Street Ronnie Scott's My Place Freedom Marian Goodman Gallery Leonor Antunes / Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, Paris & London Soho Theatre Brasserie Zedel Queen's Theatre PA Archive/PA Images The Photographers' Gallery Kate Elliott / Courtesy of The Photographers' Gallery Prince Edward Theatre Club 49 Palace Theatre PA Wire/PA Images Ain't Nothin But Milk & Honey

Cellar Door

This 60 seater sits beneath Aldwych in a converted Victorian public loo. But, dont worry, its more glamorous than it sounds. With Bouncys Boudoir on Thursday and Fridays Femme Fatales, burlesque is the main feature here. If you happen to have a Saturday afternoon free, High Tea & Tease gives you blackjack and bubbles as well. You can also try your hand at it yourself with lessons before the show.

London Cabaret Club

Larry J

At London Cabaret Club, its all about the whole evenings experience, combining cabaret with dinner to celebrate British heritage. Their brand new regular show Queen of Roses takes you on a tour of British queens (two Elizabeths and a Victoria, rather than the drag kind) in an immersive, decadent and historical tribute, with food to match.

Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, WC1, thelondoncabaretclub.com

Live at Zedel

Zedels Crazy Coqs cabaret bar is the place for lovers of musical theatre and classic crooners. Crazy Coqs Presents brings a cast of pros to deliver showcases of all kinds, from the best movie songs of the 80s to new songs from musicals. You can also expect tributes to the likes of Madonna, Dolly Parton, Frank Sinatra and Cole Porter.

20 Sherwood Street, W1, brasseriezedel.com

Cafe de Paris

Open since 1924, Cafe de Paris has been serving all the glitter and glamour needed, complete with sweeping staircases and a bedazzled ballroom. Friday nights regular show The Service celebrates all nine decades of the clubs history, while Saturdays showcase is the weeks biggest demonstration of circus and comedy.I ts carnival weekend. The biggest party in London celebrating the very best in Caribbean culture, music, costumes, food and of course, dance. If you are heading to Notting Hill this bank holiday theres only one style youll need to know  dancehall.

For those who are not yet familiar with the genre that brings us the "bogle" and "butterfly", dancehall originated in the 1970s, evolving from the local sound systems or dance halls that had been playing roots and reggae since the 40s.

Jess Baddie, a professional dancehall instructor who teaches BashmentBEAT classes and workshops for At Your Beat says: "Dancehall is a piece of real Jamaican culture! People may think its all about booty shaking, and yes, we do some of that but our AYB dancehall class, BashmentBEAT is actually a serious work out that will test your natural sense of riddim too.

"Tempos change up a lot, you could be sitting deep in a low, slow wind, working your waist and toning thighs one minute, then go full out into a run the next  if you want to talk about high intensity workouts and feeling the burn, try it for yourself.

"Whether you are a man or a woman, the main thing about Dancehall is, if you are going in, you need to go in hard so its important to find an environment where you feel comfortable to do that before you start. Try the Evening Standard video then get yourself down to a BashmentBEAT class for real."

Whether youre headed to carnival or not, this weeks ES x AYB BashmentBEAT instalment promises to deliver a slice of Island life.

Leave your inhibitions in the corner, its time to get extra.

AYB will be giving away tickets to various festivals they are performing at over the next few months, to be in with chance of winning, upload a video of yourself performing this video and use the hash tag #ESFOUNDMYBEATA former Playboy model was strangled to death in her apartment, police have said.

Christina Carlin-Kraft, 26, was found dead by police at her home in Ardmore, Pennsylvania three days ago.

Her body was found at about 9.15pm on Wednesday inside her first-floor unit at the Cambridge Square apartments in the affluent Main Line suburb.

A relative told reporters she had a beautiful heart and made everyone laugh.

A motive for the murder remains under investigation, police said. But the Montgomery County District Attorney's office said there "doesn't appear to be any current concern" for area residents.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, her flat was owned by her boyfriend, a Wall Street banker, who she dated for nine years.

Christina Carlin-Kraft modelled for Vanity Fair, Victoria's Secret and Playboy / Facebook

The local paper quoted a source as saying police had been investigating a burglary at the flat that Ms Carlin-Kraft had reported to them after a night out on Saturday.

They found the stolen goods, including jewellery and designer handbags, in south-west Philadelphia on Wednesday and discovered the models body when they went to her home to return the items.

Police have discovered CCTV footage that shows a suspect entering the flat but not leaving.

Neighbours said Ms Carlin-Kraft had just moved into her apartment last week. Her modelling profile lists her credits as photo shoots for Vanity Fair, Victoria's Secret, Playboy and Maxim. She is from South Jersey and previously lived in New York.T hese fascinating pictures show Smithfield Market throughout the years as the iconic London meat market celebrates its 150th birthday this weekend.

There has been a livestock market at the Farringdon site for over 800 years, but the redeveloped Victorian buildings were officially opened in 1868.

One of the largest of its kind in Europe, the market is located within the Square Mile and is managed by the City of London Corporation.

However, it could be set to move to a different location after the corporation announced plans to merge three historic London markets at a new site.

Butchers prepare meat for sale in Smithfield Market / Getty Images

This weekend, a major, free festival is being held at Smithfield and the surrounding streets to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the market in its current guise.

Smithfield 150, organised in conjunction with the Museum of London, will include music, food, historical re-enactments and other performances across six zones.

The historic Smithfield Market has sold meat to Londoners and restaurants for centuries / Associated Newspapers

Sharon Ament, Director of the Museum of London, previously said: There has been a market on site at Smithfield in some form for hundreds of years.

It was the epicentre of market trading in London with people coming from miles around to buy and sell their produce or join in with the historic St Bartholomews Fair  one of the biggest festivals of its day.

The market opens for trading at 2am every weekday / Getty Images

She added: We will recreate this momentous celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of these astonishing markets. All of London is invited to come and be part of this special occasion.

Gregory Lawrence, Chairman of the SMTA that represents the meat traders, said: The 150th anniversary is a major milestone in the history of the Market and we look forward to celebrating it with our friends and neighbours.

The market's current Victorian buildings were opened in 1868 / Associated Newspapers

Smithfield market is located in a Grade II listed building in Farirngdon by Victorian architect Sir Horace Jones who also designed Tower Bridge. It opens at 2am every weekday morning, with most of the trading completed by 7am.

Its butchers supply meat game and poultry including to Michelin starred London restaurants.

But plans revealed earlier this month by the City of London Corporation show that Smithfield could be rehomed in a new 100-acre wholesale venue alongside Billingsgate and New Spitalfields.

Tourists often visit the market on early morning tours / Getty Images

The City Corporations markets committee has agreed in principle to consolidate the markets but the proposals would need Parliamentary approval.

The City said the plan has been developed in order to to secure their continued operational success.C hina has lashed out at Donald Trump after the president suggested the country was failing to put enough pressure on North Korea over its nuclear programme.

The US president tweeted that nuclear negotiations have been hampered by a lack of support from China, which is currently embroiled in a trade dispute with the US.

It came after Mr Trump on Thursday directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a trip to North Korea because of what he saw as a lack of progress on disarmament talks.

South Korea called the US decision to cancel the trip "unfortunate".

On Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry blasted Mr Trump for his comments.

"The US statement violates basic facts and is irresponsible," the ministry said on its website. "We are seriously concerned about it and have made solemn representations to the US side."

China supports "advancing the process of a political settlement" following the Trump-Kim meeting earlier this year in Singapore, the statement said.

It appealed to both sides to "show more sincerity and flexibility" instead of "being capricious and overly prejudiced".

Donald Trump visits China - In pictures 1 /14 Donald Trump visits China - In pictures U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose during a tour of the forbidden city, AP U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with opera performers at the Forbidden City in Beijing, China Reuters US First Lady Melania Trump (C-R) and China's First Lady Peng Liyuan (C-L) are surrounded by students after a cultural performance during a visit to Banchang Primary School in Beijing, China EPA U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd L) looks up as he sits beside First Lady Melania Trump (L) and China's President Xi Jinping (2nd R) and his wife Peng Liyuan (R) during a tour of the Forbidden City in Beijing AFP/Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping Getty Images Military troops march during a welcoming ceremony for U.S. President Donald Trump in Beijing, China Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a welcoming ceremony in Beijing, China Reuters U.S. first lady Melania Trump and China's First Lady Peng Liyuan, left, are escorted by a student after a cultural performance during a visit to the Banchang Primary School in Beijing AP President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump exit Air Force One upon their arrival at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing, China Getty Images U.S. First Lady Melania Trump (3-R) and Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan (2-R) visit a fashion class during their visit to the Banchang Primary School in Beijing, China EPA U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania arrive on Air Force One at Beijing, China Reuters U.S. First Lady Melania Trump (2-L) assist a student to adorn a gown near Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan (C) during their visit to the Banchang Primary School in Beijing, China EPA U.S. President Donald Trump takes part in a welcoming ceremony with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China. Trump is on a 10-day trip to Asia Getty Images

While describing the postponement of Mr Pompeo's trip as a setback, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it expects China to continue serving a "constructive role" in international efforts to solve the nuclear crisis

"It's most important to maintain a long-term view while maintaining a momentum for dialogue and concentrate diplomatic efforts to faithfully implement the agreements from the summits between South Korea and North Korea and between North Korea and the United States," the ministry said in a statement.

"While we consider the delay of the visit to North Korea as unfortunate, we believe it's most important for the North Korea-US dialogue including Mr Pompeo's visits to North Korea to contribute to substantial progress in complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace regime in the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.T esla chief executive Elon Musk has decided not to take the company private.

The businessman wrote in a late-night statement on Friday that he made the decision based on feedback from shareholders, including institutional investors, who said they have internal rules limiting how much they can sink into a private company.

Mr Musk, who is also the founder of SpaceX, met Tesla's board on Thursday to tell them he thought the company should stay public and the board agreed, according to the statement.

In a Twitter post on August 7, Mr Musk wrote that he was considering taking Tesla private. He said it would avoid the short-term pressures of reporting quarterly results.

The tweet said funding had been secured for the deal, but the company later said the details still had to be worked out with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Tesla Launch - In pictures 1 /19 Tesla Launch - In pictures Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the Roadster 2 during a presentation in Hawthorne, Californi REUTERS Tesla's new electric semi truck is unveiled REUTERS Tesla shows the interior overview of the new electric semitractor-trailer AP Tesla's new electric semi truck is unveiled during a presentation in Hawthorn, California REUTERS Tesla CEO Elon Musk is shown on a large screen as he unveils the Tesla Semi, his company's new electric semi truck, during a presentation in Hawthorn, California REUTERS Tesla's new electric semi truck is unveiled REUTERS Tesla's new electric semi truck is unveiled REUTERS Tesla's new electric semi truck is unveiled REUTERS The Tesla Semi is the company's first step into the world of electric trucks REUTERS Tesla's new electric semi truck REUTERS The Tesla Semi can go at 65mph when fully loaded AP Tesla's new Roadster is unveiled during a presentation in Hawthorne, California REUTERS Tesla Roadster 2 REUTERS Tesla Roadster 2 REUTERS Tesla's new Roadster is unveiled during a presentation in Hawthorne, California REUTERS Tesla Roadster 2 REUTERS Tesla Roadster 2 REUTERS Visitors experience Tesla Model X at Auto Guangzhou in Guangzhou, China REUTERS Tesla Roadster 2 REUTERS

The tweet said Tesla would offer 420 US dollars per share, 23 per cent above the August 6 closing price. If all the shares were bought, the deal would be worth 72 billion US dollars.

But Mr Musk later said he expected only one-third of stakeholders to agree to the buyout. Shares shot up 11 per cent on the day of the tweet, but they have since pulled back, closing at 322.82 US dollars on Friday.

The bizarre tweet, written while Mr Musk was driving to the airport, brought an inquiry from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which reportedly is looking into whether he was trying to manipulate the share price. Short-sellers, who bet against a company's success, complained that Mr Musk was trying to hurt them.

In the statement, Mr Musk said he worked with investment firms Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Silver Lake to consider all the options, and he talked to investors.

"Given the feedback I've received, it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company," he wrote in the statement.

He said his belief that there was more than enough funding to take the company private "was reinforced during this process".

In a statement on Friday, six members of Tesla's board wrote that the board has dissolved a three-member committee set up to study any possible go-private transaction.

"The board and the entire company remain focused on ensuring Tesla's operational success, and we fully support Elon as he continues to move the company forward," the statement said.

The SEC opened an inquiry shortly after Mr Musk surprised investors with the tweet about going private. The agency has reportedly subpoenaed data from Tesla, indicating that a formal investigation has been opened.

The privatisation deal would have ended Tesla's eight-year history as a publicly-held company.

Corporate governance experts say that the contradiction between Mr Musk's tweet that funding had been secured and a later statement saying that the Saudis still had to do due diligence could be used to show Mr Musk misled investors.T he Pope has revealed his pain and shame at the Catholic church's failure to tackle sex abuse scandals.

On the first day of his historic trip to Ireland, the pontiff said people had a right to be outraged at the response of senior figures in the Catholic Church to the "repellent crimes" inflicted on young people.

Pope Francis addressed the issue during a speech at Dublin Castle in which he said that people had a right to be outraged at the response of senior figures in the Catholic Church to the repellent crimes inflicted on young people.

"With regard to the most vulnerable, I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the church charged with responsibility for their protection and education," he said.

"The failure of ecclesiastical authorities - bishops, religious superiors, priests and others - adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community.

The Pontiff touched down in Dublin at around 10.30am / AFP/Getty Images

"I myself share those sentiments."

In response, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar called on the Pope to listen to survivors of abuse at the hands of the church.

Following a private meeting with the Pontiff, Mr Varadkar said: "In place of Christian charity, forgiveness and compassion, far too often there was judgement, severity and cruelty, in particular towards women and children and those on the margins.

"Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes, industrial schools, illegal adoptions and clerical child abuse are stains on our state, our society and also the Catholic Church.

"Wounds are still open and there is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors.



The Pontiff pictured with Irish president Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabrina / PA

Pope Francis landed at Dublin airport at around 10.30am, with his Alitalia plane displaying both the Irish and Vatican flags.

His Ireland trip marks the first visit to the country by a Pope in 40 years.

The Pontiff was welcomed by Foreign Affairs minister Simon Coveney, his wife Ruth and their three daughters.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to welcome Pope Francis during his tour of the capital city and County Mayo.

Earlier on Saturday he met with Irish president Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabrina.

The Pope toured the Irish capital in his Popemobile / PA

An Irish Army band played the national anthems of Vatican City and Ireland during the arrival ceremony.

The president and the Pontiff took part in a tree planting ceremony.

Pope Francis speaks at Dublin Castle during his visit to Dublin / REUTERS

A Syrian family who are asylum seekers, were invited to observe the tree planting ceremony.

In the afternoon, he went on a trip through Dublin on his Popemobile and is set to join 82,000 pilgrims at a music festival at Croke Park.

While Francis is sure to receive a warm reception from the thousands of pilgrims who have travelled to be part of the occasion, he will also be met by protesters angry at how the church dealt with multiple clerical sex abuse scandals that have damaged trust in the religious institution and seriously weakened its influence on Irish society.

The Vatican flag and Irish flag is waved as the Pope lands in Dublin / REUTERS

At some point over the weekend, the Pope will meet a number of abuse victims in a private meeting amid expectation he will use his public utterances elsewhere to confront the emotive issue

The Pope is in Ireland for a two-day visit to the country / REUTERS

While on Sunday he will pay a short visit to Knock Shrine before arriving back in Dublin and leading a mass at the World Meeting of Families in Phoenix Park.

Around 500,000 people are expected to attend.

Pope Francis wardrobe malfunction, due to heavy wind

The country has changed since Pope John Paul IIs visit in 1979.

Images from Dublin's city centre show LGBT protestors standing on Ha'Penny bridge with pride flags and rainbow umbrellas in remembrance of victims of the clerical sex abuse scandal.

LGBT protestors stand on Ha'Penny bridge with rainbow flags and umbrellas / PA

The gathering happened just a couple of minutes walk from Dublin Castle where the Pope meets Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Saturday afternoon.The 17th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon opened a Chinese language course recently in the United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters.

Lebanese practice Chinese calligraphy during the first class of a Chinese language course opened by the 17th Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon in the United Nation Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters on Thursday, August 23, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

The opening ceremony was held and attended by Shi Honghui, commanding officer of Chinese peacekeeping contingent to Lebanon, Robert Ayi, UNIFIL J1 Chief, and other 35 people from the UNIFIL and the Confucius Institute of Saint Joseph University of Lebanon.

"This course is a very good opportunity to learn Chinese language and culture," said Ayi, who also spoke highly of the excellent professionalism and great contribution made by the Chinese peacekeeping force since its deployment to UNIFIL.

Fun games and events were held during the first class of the course, including quizzes, traditional calligraphy and paper-cutting, to attract the students with the Chinese traditional culture.

Ali, the runner-up winner of the 17th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in Lebanon, was invited to review and share his experience of learning Chinese.

"I am deeply attracted by the first lesson," said Haddad, an official from the Security Section, adding that he would continue his study on Chinese, as China is a great country with brilliant history and there are an increasing number of Chinese speakers nowadays.

The UN Security Council established the UNIFIL on March 19, 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Its mandate was expanded following the 2006 Lebanon War.

Since 2006, China has maintained a peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon as a part of the UNIFIL, tasked with missions such as mine-sweeping, project construction, medical rescue and humanitarian assistance.Researchers find more cases of broken heart syndrome

It turns out you really can suffer or die from a broken heart. Researchers from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found more and more Americans are being diagnosed with broken heart syndrome, also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or stress cardiomyopathy. Although the global COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges and stressor for women, our research suggests the increase in Takotsubo diagnoses was rising well before the public health outbreak, said senior study author, Dr. Susan Cheng, in a press release. This study further validates the vital role ...Countries & Areas

Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia ZimbabweJustice Minister Tudorel Toader announced that he is initiating the procedure to assess the managerial activity of Prosecutor General Augustin Lazar, in the context of the protocols concluded with the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI).

He says that the assessment results, which are to be accompanied by possible proposals, will be made public within no more than 30 days.

"I am starting the legal procedure for the assessment of the managerial activity carried out by the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice! [PICCJ] (...) A few weeks ago, I stated that there comes a time when everyone must be assessed. A few months ago, I appreciated the availability of the Prosecutor General of the PICCJ for the declassification of the Protocol of 2009. These days we find out that it was actually 'declassified' a protocol which has been 'repealed' since 2016. This, because, according to the article 27 of the Protocol of December 2016, "On the date of the entry into force of the current Protocol, it was repealed the Collaboration Protocol between the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Romanian Intelligence Service for carrying out tasks in the area of national security no. ... of 04.02.2009.' The use of the phrase 'it is repealed' also shows that the signatories of the respective protocols have understood to give them normative valences. The results of the assessment, accompanied by possible proposals, will be made public within no more than 30 days," Toader wrote on Saturday on his Facebook page.Romania's President Klaus Iohannis responded with a laugh "Ha, ha, ha" to a question asked by the journalists on Friday evening in Sibiu related to the fact that Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Liviu Dragnea brought up again the topic of the president's suspension.

"Can I respond you informally? Ha, ha, ha," Klaus Iohannis stated, when asked if he is concerned that Liviu Dragnea spoke again about a possible suspension of the president.

President Iohannis attended a meeting of the Executive Bureau of the National Liberal Party (PNL), which took place at a hotel in Sibiu.Chairman of the PSD Liviu Dragnea stated on Tuesday that he wants the suspension of the head of state, Klaus Iohannis, unlike Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, who has another opinion."I would want it. Let's see if Mr. Tariceanu changed his opinion. I further endorse Viorica Dancila with no hesitation and I support her in all respects. She also started to become a target. But this government, which they want to take down through violence - because they won't stop, but neither do we keep our hands in the pockets. And that's what I want to assure all party members," Dragnea told private broadcaster Antena 3.The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is in for a radical reform. It plans to introduce the new status of observers and partners for the nations willing to closely cooperate with the group. To date, it has had no designated status for associated nations, which are not member states. The idea has been considered at the level of CSTO Secretariat. The prepared package of documents is to be approved by individual member states before sending them to the CSTO Permanent Council for final approval. The reform appears to be a done deal as no CSTO member state opposes it.

A special official status will pave the way for information exchange, intensified contacts, participation in planning and joint exercises or even military operations, if need be. Everything is possible for a nation with an associated status except the protection guaranteed under Article 4 of CSTOs the founding treaty, which commits each member state to consider an armed attack against one member to be an armed attack against them all. In this case all the member states, upon the request of this member state, shall immediately provide the latter with the necessary help, including military assistance, as well as provide support by all means at their disposal, the article says.

For comparison, over 20 nations are NATO enhanced partners. Five nations  Australia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan, and Sweden  have been granted Enhanced Opportunities Partner (EOP) status to pave the way for cooperation in a tailor-made manner. Roughly 40 nations are involved in some kind of cooperation with NATO through Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC), the Mediterranean Dialogue, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) and Partners Around the Globe. Colombia, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and some other nations situated far from Europe have special relationships with the bloc.

The CSTO has repeatedly invited NATO to cooperate. After all, international terrorism is a common threat but the alliance has always said no under US pressure. Here is another example  15 states plus Taiwan have the status of US non-NATO major allies. This is also a kind of informal alliance of nations tied to America by bilateral agreements.

Serbia and Afghanistan are obvious candidates for a special enhanced status within the CSTO but there may be many others to join as time goes by. Serbia is an observer in the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly. Its Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said last year during his visit to the CSTO HQ that his country has a great desire to deepen its cooperation with CSTO and all of its member states. Serbian military take part in military exercises conducted by CSTO states, such as Slavic Brotherhood that took place in June.

Voices calling for Azerbaijans entry into the CSTO are getting louder. For instance, the idea has recently been supported by Ali Huseinli, the Head of the Russian-Azeri Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Group and Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs. Even those in Azerbaijan who oppose the entry agree that closer cooperation with the CSTO is a good thing. Receiving a special associated status would serve the purpose.

Uzbekistan appears to have some reservations about a full-fledged membership but a kind of associated status could be just the thing to meet its foreign policy goals, especially in view of potential threats coming from Afghanistan.

Being granted a status makes sense for those who feel threatened. The CSTO is an alliance with teeth. It has a 17,000 strong collective rapid reaction force to intervene in contingency. It is the only force ready for deployment at the Tajik-Afghan border. The ISIS threat coming from Afghanistan has grown recently. Being full-fledged members, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are protected by the CSTO umbrella, while Turkmenistan has to face the threat alone. It can change, if it is granted a tailored status to define the areas of cooperation.

The growing importance of the CSTO has been confirmed by the fact that Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, has asked the alliance to create a peacekeeping force for international operations conducted under the UN auspices. Russia, Armenia and Kazakhstan have experience of international peacekeeping operations. Russian peacekeepers have recently revived the UN mission in the Golan Heights. The CSTO can contribute into potential peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and elsewhere. In April, the organization held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Syria. The presence of CSTO may enhance the credibility of potential peacemaking or peacekeeping international operation sanctioned by the United Nations.

The CSTO can cooperate with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, which have full-fledged membership in both groups, have signed a document defining the guidelines on developing their cooperation.

The very fact that the CSTO finds it expedient to introduce changes to its structure confirms the trend to expansion which comes along with growing clout. There are countries, probably many more than mentioned in this article, willing to join one way or another. The group is evidently evolving into a powerful entity to play a significant role in international affairs.Tauranga police are investigating a number of reports made to police about children being suspiciously approached in the Greerton Village School area.

Greerton Village School says in a post to social media that it has been advised by police about children of primary and intermediate age being approached by people in cars outside the school.

Please ensure you collect your children from inside the school grounds, or they walk home with the walking school bus.

We have spoken with police, and there have been a number of reported incidents around Tauranga and our school, as recently as this afternoon, where children of primary and intermediate school age have been approached by people in cars.

This is a very real and scary situation. Please talk to your children about keeping themselves safe and what to do if they find themselves in an unsafe situation.

In a statement to SunLive about the incidents, Senior Sergeant Carl Purcell says police are currently making lines of enquiry.

The recent suspicious approaches are being thoroughly investigated, he says.

The Greerton incident follows similar activity in the Matua and Otumoetai area where last month a 12-year-old boy was approached by a stranger on his walk home.

Carl says, the two incidents however are not thought to be related as the description of the offender is different.

In the Greerton instance, the offender is described as male Maori, very tall, wearing a black hoodie and black pants.

Anyone who may have witnessed suspicious behaviour around the Greerton Park Village School and Countdown carpark is encouraged to contact police as soon as possible.

Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or contact Tauranga Police on 07 577 4300.Its 1893, and society is dominated by women who have been voting since New Zealands first General Election was held in 1853.

They are fully engaged in work, society and political life. Men are the primary homemakers and responsible for rearing children  after the women have given birth.

Now men have decided they want a say in governing the country too. They are holding meetings and gathering signatures on a suffrage petition to present to parliament.

The debate rages as to whether it would do the country any good whatsoever for men to be granted the vote, with many viewing it as an attack on natural gender roles that could lead to the breakdown of society.

This new herstory is the scenario students from Tauranga Boys and Girls Colleges will be faced with when they debate the moot 1893, Why Should Men Get the Vote? on September 4 as part of the citys Suffrage 125 event programme.

The boys  James Ngamoki, Blake Cooper, Theo Lafont and reserve Callum Berkett  will argue the affirmative and the girls  Ella Mitchell, Stella Thompson, Romy Heayns or Inaya Sinclair  will argue the negative.

2018 marks the 125th anniversary of womens suffrage in New Zealand. On September 19, 1893 the Electoral Act 1893 was passed, giving all women in New Zealand the right to vote.

The above scenario is the brainchild of Debbie McCauley, Tauranga librarian and member of the Taurangas Suffrage 125 Committee.

Im working on a childrens book for Suffrage 125, and I came across some quotes [by men opposing women getting the vote] and decided to twist them into a scenario, explains Debbie.

The boys say they feel bad for the girls. Theyve got the more difficult side to argue, says Theo.

Its good because its making us think about how difficult it was for women back then, says Blake. Im sure it was frustrating.

Romy agrees debating the negative will be difficult, because equality is something they have grown up with.

In this day and age most people believe in equality, says Romy. That opinion is in our heads so it will be hard to come up with counter arguments.

The two schools often get together to debate, but not usually in front of an audience. It will good for the debate, but not for our nerves, says James.

Suffrage 125 will be marked by a number of events in the Western Bay of Plenty, including talks from former Prime Minister Helen Clark and Labour MP Jan Tinetti, and documentary film screenings based on the lives and work of social advocate Celia Lashlie and Maori filmmaker Merata Mita.

Award-winning artist Jo Torrs exhibition Vahine-Wahine is on in the Peoples Gallery at the Historic Village until August 28.

The sculptural work reflects on the position of women through history, with each sculpture taking the form of a garment that incorporates an aspect of Polynesian/Maori or European cloth and an aesthetic sensibility associated with either culture.

Katikati will host a Suffrage 125 Commemoration on Saturday, September 15, beginning with a march through town in period costume and guest speaker Helen Clark.

Also on September 15, Frocks on Bikes will host a special Suffrage 125 bicycle ride with people encouraged to dress in vintage style or the New Zealand suffrage colours of gold, white and violet. The ride will conclude with a shared picnic afternoon tea at The Elms.

For a full list of local Suffrage 125 events, visit the Suffrage 125 Tauranga 1893-2018 Facebook page. The schools debate on September 4 will be held at 5.30pm in Tauranga City Council chambers on Willow Street. Tickets are free but attendees must register via: www.eventfinda.co.nzLocal Tauranga primary and intermediate schools are getting ready to rock the stage in this years Rockshop Bandquest.

Bandquest is the younger sibling of the high school band competition Smokefreerockquest and is in its eighth year, with the talent level rising each year.

Young and talented rockers are taking the stage from Auckland to Dunedin and a record of 215 young school bands are lined up for this years competition.

Founder and director Glenn Common says Rockshop Bandquest is a vehicle to develop this talent, with 15 live event this year, as well as an online contest for band outlying regions.

Schools are responding to the opportunity to give young bands the experience of performing on a fully set up stage, with a light show and professionally mixed sound.

Really its all about giving the kids an experience that extends them, that puts them under the pressure that comes with live performance and the exhilaration that is its reward.

New Zealand Rockshops donate prize vouchers to the winners schools, and spokesperson Hamish Jackson says Bandquest is a great event for the nationwide chain to support.

The more we can get kids playing music through events like Bandquest, the better it is for the artistic health of New Zealand music.

Rockshop Bandquest is for bands of three to ten members, up to and including year 8, who play one or two songs.

There is an award for the best original song to encourage bands to write their own material, but the focus is on performance skills.

Supporting young bands and giving them the opportunity to perform live makes Rockshop Bandquest a perfect match for the nationwide chain, says Hamish.

Rockshop Bandquest Bay of Plenty is on Wednesday August 29, at Otumoetai College. Start time is 7pm. $10 at the door.

The bands who have entered Rockshop Bandquest in the Bay of Plenty are:

Resonate Otumoetai Intermediate

Revolution Radio Mount Maunganui Intermediate

Input Tauranga Intermediate

Unnamed Mokoia Intermediate

Tech Otumoetai Intermediate

Area 52 ACG Tauranga

Friends with Tractors Oropi School

Purple Tornadoes Otumoetai Intermediate

MAD Mount Maunganui Intermediate

Audioquake Katikati College

The Sherbet Lemons Matamata Intermediate

GreVouS Greerton Village School

Good Morning Good Night Mount Maunganui Intermediate

Output Tauranga IntermediateLGBTIQA+ charity RainbowYOUTH has partnered with HELL to encourage diversity and equality in Aotearoa.

Together, they aim to raise $75,000 for RainbowYOUTH be selling 3000 limited-edition T-shirts bearing the slogan The Only HELL Im Going To.

The custom designed T-shirts will be available to buy online from August 21 via https://hellrainbowyouth.co.nz

HELL Pizza will donate all proceeds from the T-shirt sales to the charity.

The campaign slogan is intended to empower allies to take a stand in support of the LGBTIQA+ community by appropriating a highly publicised discriminatory slur.

Our HELL is a place of diversity, equality and opportunity, not discrimination or negativity, says HELL general manager Ben Cumming.

We share these values with RainbowYOUTH and are very proud to back their cause.

Campaign supporters, including a number of Kiwi celebrities, will be encouraged to post photos and videos of themselves wearing the T-shirt on social media.

Using the handle #theonlyHELLimgoingto, the aim is to inspire a social movement in Aotearoa in support of LGBTIQA+ issues, in the style of #metoo or #takeaknee.

Well-known supporters include former All Black captain Andy Leslie, former Black Cap Mark Greatbatch, Silver Fern Ameliaranne Ekenasio, former Black Sox captain Mark Sorenson, Fat Freddys Drop vocalist Dallas Tamaira, international rugby union player and Filo Tiatia, actress Loren Taylor, Panhead founder Mike Neilson and ex Saints captain Damien Ekenasio.

RainbowYOUTH communications manager and 2IC Toni Duder says the seriousness of the issues facing LGBTIQA+ individuals demands greater awareness and action in all areas of life.

The LGBTIQA+ community around the world still faces devastating persecution.

In Aotearoa, discrimination means that LGBTIQA+ youth have higher rates of negative mental health outcomes than their straight and cis-gender peers. With lives at stake, we cant afford to take any steps backwards.

Ben says the campaign is a natural fit with the companys long running activities in support of young Kiwis and families, who are going through or have been through hell.

RainbowYOUTH is an inspiring organisation that does a lot for the LGBTIQA+ community, so when we were approached by them and asked for help, we instantly wanted to get involved and quickly came up with the idea of producing a T-shirt, says Ben.

Our goal is to have as many people as possible buy the T-shirts and wear them with pride to show their support.

Executive Director of RainbowYOUTH Frances Arns says that positive public representation and dialogue about gender and sexuality is critical to sending a message to our young people that they are unique and wonderful.

As a young person, youre soaking in all of the attitudes and perspectives of society; lets make sure the messages theyre getting about gender and sexuality are good one.

RainbowYOUTH executive director Frances Arns displaying the T-shirt.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse man accused of shooting another man near a bar at the intersection of Park and Butternut streets had a gun stolen in Pennsylvania, according to court records.

Both men arrested after the shooting -- Kevin Ranzinger, 24, of Syracuse, and Isiah L. Coker, 29, of Auburn -- had illegally possessed guns, court records said.

Ranzinger was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, resisting arrest and criminal possession of stolen property, a felony complaint filed in the City of Syracuse said.

Officers approached Ranzinger in the 800 block of Butternut Street after he shot a 31-year-old man in the chest in front of Tommy's Park bar, the court records said.

They chased Ranzinger into backyards on the 100 block of Schneider Street, where he was arrested.

Officers found Ranzinger with a black and silver Ruger SR9 9mm, court records said. When officers ran the gun through a stolen gun check, they found the gun was reported stolen through the Beaver Police Department in Beaver, Pennsylvania, court records said.

In 2017, Pennsylvania was the fourth-largest source state for illegally possessed guns recovered in New York State, according to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm data.

Coker, 29, was charged with criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest, court records said.

He ran from officers but dropped his gun -- a .380 Taurus PT 585 semi-automatic handgun with a wooden handle -- court records said. The gun was loaded with .357-caliber ammunition and one in the chamber, court records said.

He has not been accused of firing the gun, however.

The 31-year-old man who was shot suffered a punctured lung, court records said.

Mugshots have not been released for Ranzinger or Coker because the shooting is still under investigation, according to a Syracuse Police Department spokesman.SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- KeyBank today donated $100,000 to Jubilee Homes to bolster a program that finds jobs for veterans, former inmates and other out-of-work people.

The money will be used to develop work skills and "soft" skills for at least 50 people, primarily veterans and people who have been incarcerated.

"It's the beginning step to climbing the ladder of opportunity," said Walt Dixie, executive director of Jubilee. "If we don't empower people with employment, we keep the cycle of disparity."

Build to Work trains job-seekers on skills like resume writing, computer literacy and interviewing techniques. It also helps people new to the workforce make plans for childcare and transportation. It features a two-week course for work readiness and follow-up assistance with members.

Friday morning, Jubliee Homes hosted a job fair at the gymnasium at St. Lucy's Church on the Near Westside. KeyBank Senior Vice President David Kavney presented a check to Dixie at a small ceremony at the fair.

About 20 employers met with prospective employees. Among the employers on site were Upstate Medical University, Rite Aid, Price Rite and the Syracuse City School District.

More than 100 people attended, according to Twiggy Billue, the program coordinator. Billue said past job fairs have resulted in between 40 and 75 people finding work.

Bill Maxim is a representative for a local carpenters union -- the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. They were on site looking for laborers.

He said there's a shortage of skilled laborers in the workforce, and he expects it to get worse.

Maxim was at the fair Friday looking to hire people. He said the Build to Work program helped him find his career.

"It actually changed my life about 15 years ago," Maxim said. "I was given a second chance and now I have a great aspiration to try to promote this."

By noon Friday, he had received eight job applications.A Google search looking for information about the first American Ferris Wheel is emphatic.

The original "Ferris" wheel was erected for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago at a cost of $385,000. The price to ride the wheel was 50 cents, the same price as it cost to enter the Exposition.

This drawing of the "first big wheel-type ride" appeared in the Aug. 23, 1990 edition of the Post-Standard.

It was invented by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., an American bridge and tunnel engineer, so technically the Chicago wheel was the first "Ferris" wheel.

But visitors to the New York State Fair had experienced the thrills of the ride decades before

In 1849, the State Fair returned to Syracuse for the first time since the first Fair in 1841.

The Fair was held for only three days, from Sept. 11-13 on the James Street farm of Jasper Colvin.

The Fair that year was notable for its political visitors: New York Governor Hamilton Fish, Vice President Millard Fillmore and Senator Henry Clay all paid a visit.

(President Zachary Taylor was scheduled to accompany Clay and Fillmore but became ill while at Niagara Falls.)

Though much shorter, the enthusiasm for the parade was just as strong as ever.

"The dust, agitated by the passage and repassage of thousands of vehicles hung over the avenue like a pall," one newspaper wrote.

The star attraction though was a 50-foot high revolving wheel contraption which allowed four people at a time a chance to look over the newly chartered city of Syracuse.

Like much of Syracuse's early story, the wheel owed its presence to the Erie Canal.

Two canal workers left with nothing to do during the winter of 1849 began construction of the wheel.

Samuel Hurst and James Mulholland, a Scottish carpenter who remembered seeing such a ride in his homeland, began putting the wheel together using oak and iron.

A rope and pulley system were used, and a 1976 Post-Standard article said it was "so finely balanced that a child could spin it."

An estimated 80,000 people attended the Fair in 1849 and one wonders how many got the opportunity to experience the wheel (and how tired the operator's arms must have been!).

After the Fair, the wheel was sold to a Brewerton hotel owner who had it installed at his place on Baldwin island. He shipped it the following year to Albany, where the Fair was held.

Into the 20th century, the Post-Standard would comment whenever Chicago was credited for the first Ferris Wheel.

"Reporters have repeatedly credited the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 with the first Ferris Wheel," the paper wrote in 1953, "but records in the city show they are false."

Maybe the way to settle it is to agree that Chicago had the first "Ferris" wheel, but Syracuse beat them to the idea first, with the first "Hurst-Mulholland" wheel.

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: Email | 315-427-3958.The Sony robot dog Aibo will be released in the United States in September for $2,899 each, a steep price that was expected for the mechanical puppy since it launched in Japan last year with a $1,800 price tag.

The rebooted Aibo, which features a more rounded look and deep learning capabilities, will start deliveries right before the holiday season, making it a possible high-end gift. Is the robot dog worth it at $2,899 though?

Sony Aibo Robot Dog: Worth It At $2,899?

The Aibo was introduced to the United States in a small press event that was held in Sony's headquarters in New York. The Aibo robot price tag of $2,899 will include the mechanical dog, some accessories, and a three-year subscription to Sony's AI Cloud, which is where Aibo's memories will be stored.

Aibo's memories are important because it will allow the robot dog to eventually recognize its family and develop a personality. According to Sony, no two Aibo robots will turn out to be the same, as each one will be adapting to the lifestyle of its owners.

The robot dog is packed with cameras, sensors, microphones, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820, all working together to try to mimic the behavior of a real canine. It will be capable of understanding voice commands, remembering locations, and avoiding obstacles.

The accessories that Aibo will come with are a toy named the Aibone, paw pads, a pink ball, and a charging station. A mobile app will also allow owners to track their robot dog's growth, look at pictures that it will take, and teach it new tricks.

The Aibo, however, will probably not yet be accepted by the public as a mainstream device, primarily due to that price tag. However, it functions as a sign post on the state of consumer robotics, how far the technology has come, and its limitations.

The Rise Of Robot Animals

Sony's Aibo is not the first robot to be patterned after an animal, with the Cheetah robot of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology one prime example. Aibo is also far from being the first robotic dog, with Boston Dynamics planning to sell a smaller version of its Big Dog quadruped robot, the SpotMini, next year.

However, Aibo is pretty much the only robotic animal that looks fit for a household. The question now is whether or not families are willing to shell out $2,899 to add one to their homes, considering that the Aibo will never trash your living room.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.The air quality in Seattle and Portland are now among the worst in the world, surpassing Beijing in pollution, new reports claim.

Hundreds of wildfires currently raging across western North America have brought hazy skies and locked residents inside their homes in affected cities this week.

Seattle, Portland Air Quality Dips

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality in Seattle last week posted a reading of 170. Meanwhile, the air quality in Portland measured 178 as of Tuesday, Aug. 21. Both are considered unhealthy.

In comparison, the air quality in Beijing, which had the reputation of having the worst air pollution in the world, reported an air quality index or AQI of around 30 this week. Last month, the capital city of China had an average of 44  the seventh lowest average since 2008.

Unfortunately, experts warn that poor air poor quality in Seattle and Portland will likely worsen in the coming months.

"This is definitely the worst air quality we've seen since we started measuring 20 years ago," said Lando Bosisio, a communications officer from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. "Obviously we can't predict the future, and we can't say with any certainty this will happen every year, but with climate change, yes, this is becoming an ongoing trend."

Other experts agree. Andrew Wineke, a spokesman for the Washington State Department of Ecology, predicts that climate change will cause the number of wildfires to double across the West in the coming decades.

"What's going to happen to all that smoke?" he asked.

Stay Indoors

Authorities are urging the public to stay inside their homes in the meantime. The thick, hazy smoke from wildfires has caused local events to cancel as the air quality continues to pose health threats to residents.

People who have heart and lung diseases are encouraged to limit prolonged and heavy exertion activities outside. Pregnant women, children, and the elderly should be especially mindful about getting exposed to poor air quality.

Residents are also told to close their windows and run air conditioning to decrease the risk of health problems due to the air pollution.

Experts also warned about air purifiers and face masks to combat the dipping air quality. Jennifer Flynt of the Department of Environmental Quality in Oregon said that masks are often readily available, but are not exactly effective against the health risks of pollution. Meanwhile, air purifiers can sometimes generate Ozone as it cleans the air, which can also be harmful to the health.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Sweden's reindeers need help. Indigenous Sami herders are calling for urgent financial aid following droughts and wildfires across the far north.

Climate change has already manifested itself in Sweden. The European nation is currently experiencing an unusually warm summer season this year, peaking at 30 degrees Celsius in July.

Reindeers Might Starve

The extreme heat experienced in Sweden has also posed a major threat to the local wildlife. Drought and scattered wildfires have destroyed pastures and forests, leaving animals, including domesticated reindeers, with nothing to eat.

That is why herders are asking for economic support from the government to help pay for the feed of the reindeers in the coming months.

"If we don't get aid, how can we make sure that the reindeer survive this winter," said Niila Inga, chair of the Swedish Sami Association, in a statement to The Local. "It's a question of survival for the reindeer and for the whole Sami culture, because we depend on the reindeer."

The indigenous Sami people are the only ones authorized to herd and care for the reindeers in Sweden. About 4,600 Samis are currently raising up to 250,000 semi-domesticated reindeers, reported The Guardian.

They are hoping to receive money that will be used to fund the supplementary fodder, which the animals would need as a replacement for winter grazing after the drought and wildfires destroyed the pasture. They said that it would take up to 30 years for the land to recover from the damages procured from the unusually hot summer season.

Inga, who has met with the Swedish government to discuss their situation, also hopes that measures be adopted for the country to adapt to the new climate. He added that the funding the Sami people have requested will also be used to find ways to replace the lichen that reindeer feed on and improve grazing areas.

In June, the Swedish government announced an aid package to farmers hit by this year's drought. However, Inga said that the fund did not include provisions for reindeer herders.

Summer In Sweden

The reindeers are not the only ones affected by the extreme heat waves in Sweden. A glacier peak lost 13 feet in height after ice and snow melted atop the Kebnekaise Mountain. The glacier peak had initially been the highest point in Sweden before it melted because of the sweltering heat.

The Swedish Sea Rescue Society also reportedly had to carry out about 350 rescue operations in July due to the unusual heat that has attracted locals toward lakes and coastline.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commissionAs a choir belted out the anthem Lift High the Cross, the Rev. Michael Duca waited outside St. Josephs Cathedral on Friday afternoon, his red vestments matching the doorway he was about to enter.

Three take-aways from Bishop Michael Ducas first sermons in Baton Rouge The Rev. Michael Duca was installed Friday as the sixth Roman Catholic bishop of Baton Rouge. His installation Mass at St. Josephs Cathedral 

But before Baton Rouges new bishop could walk through and greet the crowd of more than 700 inside, he took a small mallet and rapped on the door three times. With the knocks, the sixth bishop of Baton Rouge symbolically took possession of the cathedral and made his presence known to congregants who were about to pray with him and for him.

Duca was installed as Baton Rouges next bishop during a Mass that lasted longer than two hours. New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond escorted Duca to the largest seat on the altar and handed him the same crosier  or staff  that first Baton Rouge Bishop Robert Tracy received when he was installed in 1961. And with that, Duca was no longer the bishop of Shreveport but suddenly the bishop of a population of Catholics five times larger than the flock he had in northern Louisiana.

He told members of the crowd they must be ready to share Gods word with all people, especially those on the fringes and corners of society.

Without the mission, our faith can become self-serving, Duca said during his 12-minute homily. Its the mission that keeps us healthy. Its the mission of going out beyond our walls and bringing the love of Christ to those around us.

Attendees included Gov. John Bel Edwards, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and U.S. Rep. Garret Graves. A sea of bishops from across the region joined the ceremony as well, along with priests, deacons, nuns and other religious representatives. The Rev. Cleo Milano, of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, said in a livestream of the ceremony it was quite an honor for Duca to have so many other bishops present for the ceremony.

+4 Why Baton Rouge's sheriff asked for a special blessing from incoming Bishop Michael Duca When East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux met Michael Duca on Thursday, the eve of his installation as the new bishop of the Baton Rouge Di

Monsignor Walter Erbi, who represented the popes top diplomat in the United States, read aloud a letter from Pope Francis. The pontiff sent greetings and blessings to Baton Rouge and proclaimed Ducas proven qualities of mind and heart to be the Capital Citys next bishop. A church bell pealed while Erbi read it.

Baton Rouge Bishop Emeritus Robert Muench told the assembly he was most honored to welcome Duca to this historic and majestic cathedral dedicated to St. Joseph. The religious community here was founded in 1792 and the church building's cornerstone dates to 1853.

St. Joseph is Ducas favorite saint.

The invitation-only ceremony was packed, with little pew space remaining 45 minutes before the Mass even began. Twelve yellow and blue banners hung from the cathedrals ceiling, while red roses and white lilies adorned the altar. Two buses dropped of scores of people, and police officers directed downtown drivers to keep space open around the cathedral.

Duca, a native of Dallas, spoke little about himself or his own accolades at his installation Mass Friday or at a prayer service Thursday night. The 66-year-old bishop was ordained a priest in 1978, was an assistant pastor at All Saints, St. Patrick and St. Luke in Dallas before becoming Southern Methodist Universitys chaplain and the diocesan vocations director for nine years. Duca studied canon law in Rome from 1994 to 1996 before he became the rector of his alma mater seminary.

Our Views: Welcome to Baton Rouge, Bishop Duca Bishop Michael Duca has much work to do as hes formally installed today to lead the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, replacing outgoing Bisho

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He then became bishop of Shreveport.

Duca focused on messages of the Bible during his sermons. On Friday, he referenced the moment most hope to experience when they die, in which God tells them, well done, good and faithful servant.

But Duca said attending Mass faithfully  while admirable  was not the only path to achieving that goal. He reminded Mass attendees that Jesus asked them to feed the hungry, welcome immigrants and visit prisoners. And he signaled his desire for inclusiveness with readings Friday in Spanish, French and English. The Thursday prayer service included prayers in Vietnamese and German, as well. He called on the congregation to become more Christlike.

His words were similar to the message from Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service, a song the full choir sang acapella before the Mass began. The song asks God to help Christians show their love in living deeds.

The new bishop also showed his willingness to address the churchs shortcomings in protecting victims of sexual abuse. A recent Pennsylvania grand jury report found that, over a number of decades, more than 300 predator priests there abused more than 1,000 victims, while church bishops and other leaders covered up the wrongdoings. Duca testified at a civil trial in the 1990s about an abusive priest in Dallas who has since been criminally convicted of sexually abusing minors.

Can't see video below? Click here.

We, as a church, need to be better at protecting the innocent, Duca said Friday. At both the Mass and prayer service, attendees offered special intentions for victims of abuse from clergymen.

In addition to delivering his own homily, Duca consecrated the host that Catholics believe becomes the true body and blood of Christ. He gave out communion from the front of the church, while other priests gave out communion from the back.

As Duca recessed down the aisle and made his way out of the cathedral, the attendees broke into applause. He smiled, turned to his left and to his right, and he raised his hand and delivered blessings for each person in the pews.Five days before a Baton Rouge man fatally shot his ex-girlfriend, then himself, a judge signed a yearlong restraining order against him  stripping him of the right to possess a firearm.

In signing the order, 25-year-old Broderick Jhy Edwards had agreed to stay away from his ex-girlfriend, Gabrielle Nicole Joseph Bessix, 27, and swore he did not possess a gun. But he did the opposite. Days later, police say, he showed up at Bessix's home and fatally shot her before turning the gun on himself.

East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore III said Bessix "did everything you would want her to do" in trying to protect herself.

"To come forward, to put people on notice, to be able to give information to police. ... Most of the time it works," Moore said. "In this case it didnt."

Bessix was shot multiple times, according to East Baton Rouge Coroner Dr. Beau Clark. Edwards died of one shot to the head. Another woman was injured in the shooting, but is expected to survive.

+10 Woman killed in domestic murder-suicide had previous restraining order against man, Baton Rouge DA says The shooting Monday morning that left two dead and a third wounded in a neighborhood behind College Drive was ruled a murder-suicide, which au

"A restraining order is important, but it doesnt always serve as protection," Moore said.

'It's worth it'

East Baton Rouge Family Court Judge Pamela Baker granted Bessix the 12-month protective order against Edwards on Aug. 15, after Bessix spent weeks documenting abuse, violence, threats and stalking, court documents show.

Edwards appeared in court on Aug. 15, when Baker found him to be "a credible threat to the physical safety of a family member or household member," documents show.

Edwards signed paperwork acknowledging the protective order that required he stay 100 yards from Bessix. He also told officials he did not possess a firearm, and signed that he understood he was barred from possessing one under both federal and state law.

The Louisiana law that prohibits a person under a protective order from possessing a firearm was strengthened this past legislative session, when lawmakers passed a bill to implement a process to transfer firearms out of the hands of prohibited possessors. Before, it was a mandate that almost universally went unenforced. The new law goes into effect in October.

Baker told The Advocate that East Baton Rouge is still working with other state leaders to address the new requirement. In the meantime, some judges, including Baker, have begun presenting a form asking prohibited possessors about gun ownership following a protective order hearing. She said if the person indicates they have a firearm, she will scheduled a follow-up hearing to inquire where the firearm is being stored.

+3 Bill aims to follow Lafourche's lead in keeping guns from hands of domestic abusers in Louisiana More than three years after Louisiana passed a law aimed at getting guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, victim advocates say only the L

"It's hard to find a solution to this problem," Baker said. She told The Advocate that when she learned Bessix was killed in the murder-suicide, she was saddened, but a part of her was not surprised.

"Right after the protective order was issued ... that's the most dangerous time," Baker said. "I tell people in court, this is a piece of paper, this is not going to protect you."

Baker said she tries to give advice and tips to help victims of violence stay safe, especially right after she signs an order. But no matter what, she said, getting a restraining order is a step in the right direction.

"It's worth it," Baker said. "When you get a protective order, law enforcement reacts more quickly."

Research has also shown that restraining orders, on the whole, help reduce violence. A 2004 study of abused women in Houston who qualified for a two-year protective order found that they experienced significantly lower levels of violence in the following 18 months,

"Please don't loose sight of: it could help," said Twahana Harris, the founder of The Butterfly Society, a Baton Rouge domestic violence advocacy group. "I would encourage (victims) to move forward with getting a restraining order, to not get discouraged."

Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

But Harris also said a protective order should, if possible, be one part of a safety plan.

Bessix first filed for a temporary restraining order in late July after Edwards showed up at the hospital where she worked as a nurse.

"As I was getting off work this a.m., he was sitting in his car in the parking lot, parked in front of my car," Bessix wrote in court documents. He asked her to speak with him in his vehicle, but once she sat inside, he tried to drive off, she told authorities. When she tried to jump out, he grabbed her, she wrote.

"I attempted again to get out of the car and he choked me. State that he would 'kill me,'" Bessix wrote. Security from the hospital later intervened.

According to court documents, the couple had previously lived together and dated for more than a year. Bessix wrote that she had recently broken up with him and no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him.

Bessix said that she has called the police on him multiple times, including after he hit her and after he broke down her backdoor, court documents say.

'She'll be missed'

Bessix was a graduate of Southern University, where she got her degree in nursing, family and friends said. She was the mother to a 9-year-old girl, about whom her brother said "everything she did was for her."

"She'll be missed by a lot of people," her brother, Trinity Bessix, said. "Always laughing, a good vibes person."

She worked at Our Lady of the Lake as a nurse, and her brother called her a humble, hardworking person.

Neighbors praised Gabrielle Bessix for always being friendly. Next-door neighbor Constance Lamotte said she watched Gabrielle Bessix grow up there, and often had her over where she would play with Lamotte's granddaughter.

"I've known her all her life," Lamotte said. "It's just a tragic situation."

Lamotte said her husband taught Bessix math when she was a student at Southern University.

"She was a very good student," Lamotte said.

Neither Lamotte nor Bessix's brother, had met or heard about the man who killed her.

However, her other next-door neighbor Kie J. Wells said he remembers watching Edwards come, obsessively, to her backdoor. He said in the last month when he had been in the backyard, he had seen the man come over about 15 times. He said he only saw Bessix let him inside once.

"It's terrible," Wells said. "I never really got a chance to talk to her."

But, Wells said, he has already begun to miss her waving to him as she comes and goes.

"Here's a lady who had did everything the right way, played by the rules and look what happened to her," Harris said. "Its such a sad situation."

Editors note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the new law mandating the process for removing firearms from people prohibited of possessing would go into effect in January. This article has been updated to reflect that the law goes into effect in October. The Advocate regrets the error.Jim's Firearms gunsmith Pete Underwood, left, helps customer Roland Escher, right, of Baton Rouge, as he handles a hunting rifle customized by Underwood, Friday, Sept. 7, 2012, on the first day of the Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday, which provides an exemption from state and local sales and use taxes on individuals' purchases of firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies, on the first Friday through Sunday every September. Escher was picking out a rifle for his wife at the store, for an upcoming hunting trip.Troubling messages surfaced on social media accounts associated with Michael Dixon in the days after his 15-year-old friend Chance Smith was shot to death in Algiers, New Orleans police said this week.

One account featured the caption I killed my 15 year old friend over jealousy under a profile picture of Dixon.

Smith's brother received a private message from another account associated with Dixon. The message, which appeared to come from Dixon, apologized and explained that Dixon had been playing with a gun when he accidentally fired it, killing Smith, police said.

Dixon, 17, soon found himself being interrogated by detectives. He denied having the social media account that mentioned jealousy and claimed Smith was accidentally shot when Smith placed a gun on a chair that Dixon was sitting in, according to police.

Police countered that the angle at which the bullet pierced Smiths body suggested the Eleanor McMain Secondary School student had been deliberately shot. They said they also found evidence Dixon had fired a gun.

He was booked on a count of second-degree murder.

Seventeen-year-old man arrested in connection to shooting death of Algiers teenager, NOPD chief says New Orleans police have arrested 17-year-old Michael Dixon in connection to a shooting in Algiers Saturday night that resulted in 15-year-old 

The information about Smiths killing and Dixons arrest was contained in a warrant filed in Orleans Parish Criminal District on Friday, the day after the teenage suspects arrest.

According to the warrant, police responding to a 911 call found Smith lying on the ground outside a home in the 3900 block of Sullen Place about 6:30 p.m. Aug. 18. Paramedics took him to University Medical Center, but he died there.

Dixon was at the scene of the shooting, and he told police that he and Smith had been heading into a friends home when gunfire erupted. Smith started falling but Dixon caught him, lowered him to the ground and began CPR, Dixon said, according to police.

That story soon began unraveling, police said.

According to police, a test strongly suggested that Dixon had gunshot residue on him. Such residue is typically found on people who either fired a gun or were very close to a gun when it was shot.

Homicide Detective Thaddeus Williams wrote in the warrant that he then was tipped off that Smith had been shot inside the home while he and Dixon played with guns. Police said they searched the home and found three pistols.

Williams later learned of Dixons two Instagram accounts. One account was the source of the apology to Smiths brother, explaining that Dixon had killed Smith unintentionally. That account was soon deleted, police said.

The second account had the caption suggesting Dixon had been killed over jealousy. That caption also said the user on Dixons deleted account killed Chance.

Detectives on Thursday returned to Dixon, who admitted his first statement to police was a lie, according to the warrant. This time, Dixon said he was sitting outside the home on Sullen next to Smith and two others watching a cellphone video when Smith took a gun off his lap and placed it on a chair in which Dixon was sitting.

Dixon said the gun fired when he leaned over toward Smith, who was struck. He said the second Instagram account of interest wasnt his, even though the profile picture was a photograph of him.

Citing a preliminary autopsy, police said they concluded the gun actually was raised and aimed at Smiths chest when he was shot. It was not on a chair, they said.

Williams secured a warrant Thursday to arrest Dixon, and he soon was behind bars.

Dixon appeared Friday morning before Criminal District Court Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell, who set his bail at $200,000. Cantrell scheduled a preliminary hearing for Sept. 11.

Dixon would face life imprisonment if he is convicted of second-degree murder, but he might have the possibility of parole because of his age.

On Friday afternoon, Mayor LaToya Cantrell joined Smith's family and his former schoolmates at McMain's gymnasium for a rally commemorating the dead youth.

Can't see video below? Click here.

Jamar McKneely, whose charter school group operates McMain, urged students to live peaceful lives and avoid gun violence.

During one particularly emotional moment, student Anana Ezeb sang the lyrics to "Rise Up."

"I'll rise up in spite of the ache," she sang. "I'll rise up, and I'll do it a thousand times again for you."

Cortell Smith, Smith's brother, told the crowd that there is "no hurt worse than losing a little brother."

"I have to go home every day and just not ... see him, not see his bed," Smith said. "All we have is memories of him."

+3 Cantrell lays out her ideas to help reduce violent crime; City Hall to play big role Mayor LaToya Cantrell offered a sneak peek Friday at a sweeping new strategy to reduce violence that will place conflict-resolution teams thro

The Advocate's Sophia Germer and WWL-TV's Paul Murphy contributed to this report.The ACT's Catholic education office has engaged a well-known Liberal party-aligned lobbyist for strategic advice on responding to crises - including the hot-button issue of school funding.

It is unclear how much ECG Advisory's David Gazard has been paid after being hired to advise Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn executive director Ross Fox at various times since about March last year.

Tony Abbott pictured with David Gazard in 2010. Mr Gazard has been hired by the ACT Catholic Education Office. Credit:Glen McCurtayne

Mr Fox said Mr Gazard had helped with strategic advice and communications issues "relating to the management of schools".

The system already has staff on the books charged with media, strategy and public policy.ACT residents are generally quick to distance themselves from the goings-on of the federal government. This week - what with the leadership spills and so on - was no exception.

Take Nick Hay. A born and bred Canberran, he has no interest in politics.

"It's freakin' all stupid," he said on Saturday.

Nick Hay, of Ngunnawal, with Daniel Smith, of Queanbeyan Credit:Elesa Kurtz

The Ngunnawal man spent Friday blissfully unaware of the crisis engulfing the federal government a 20 minute drive from his house.Hundreds of Australian parents are travelling overseas every year to secretly choose the gender of their baby.

They are spending tens of thousands of dollars to undergo selective IVF, fulfilling their burning desire to complete their family with a child of a certain gender, though social stigma around the procedure means most dont even tell their closest family and friends.

Australias peak medical council chose not to legalise IVF gender selection in April last year , with a decision by National Health and Medical Research Council that upheld an existing ban, all but for medical reasons.

But it hasnt stopped people seeking out the service. Clinics in the United States are reporting a dramatic increase in Australian clients, mostly seeking to have a baby girl.Margaret Ludowyk, Brunswick State schools in a substandard state I am sure some state schools are fine (Letters, 19/8), but many operate in substandard conditions. Costs are much lower in state schools with so-called non-compulsory low fees, but we all know that pressure is applied to make sure a large percentage of parents pay them. Alan Inchley, former secondary teacher, Frankston Another con from the government

After reading Julie Szego's article I should have felt affirmed as a parent who has a child at the newly opened government school Edgars Creek Secondary College in Wollert, but instead I felt confused and disappointed. There is more than just a "class con" occurring. The school is truly "open to all comers accommodating many faiths and backgrounds". However, the "con" is that it is not finished. Despite the claim by the Andrews government to be building the "education state", only two of the six buildings have been built. The rest is on hold awaiting government funding. Surely logic and economic necessity would dictate it's best to finish a job rather than make do for years with cheaper classroom portables. When are our children truly going to experience quality state-funded education? Melanie Taimani, school council president, Edgars Creek Secondary College, Wollert FORUM Absolute treachery Peter Dutton claims absolute support for PM Morrison, the same statement he made about Malcolm Turnbull just before his treacherous spill tactics. What Dutton didn't say was that if the hard-right conservatives don't get their way absolutely, they will become the cry-baby trouble makers we know them to be.

Debb Schmetzer, W Tree Act on your words Scott Morrison, if drought is really your priority then please start by not allow Adani to take our ground water for its unfettered use. Jenny Callaghan, Hawthorn Prove your words

Scott Morrison, if you are truly on my side you will immediately bring the refugees on Manus and Nauru to Australia, or let them go to New Zealand, and you will swiftly implement policies that will effectively limit the impact of global warming. Charlotte Brewer, Shepparton More spice please Backstabbing prime ministers has become tedious. Could we spice it up in future  and it will occur as the same disappointed agitators are still there  with Roman togas and swords on the steps of Parliament House? Damian Walsh, Eltham

A week wasted I suppose it would be too much to ask what policies of Scott Morrison distinguish him from Malcolm Turnbull. His first speech as PM gave no hint of a change, except possibly elevating the issue of the drought. What a waste of a week of hopefully governing the country, just to change the personalities at the top. I hope the Liberals soon adopt something like Labor's 50 per cent members and 50 per cent parliamentarians rule to make the leadership more stable. Angus Reynolds, Ashburton Embrace the pain I have never before thought myself guilty of schadenfreude, but before I start worrying about what this latest revolution of our revolving PMs means may I take a moment to say: Peter Dutton, I feel your pain, and I love it.

John Cameron, Bellbrae Moment of resignation There is an obvious way out for the conservative element of the Liberal Party  resign. If they are unable to act in the best interests of the country and articulate policies for the future rather than take the country backwards, the conservatives need to join Cory Bernardi's party. They will be happy, Cory will be happy, Scott Morrison will be happy and the country can move forward. A true win-win solution. Greg Noonan, Bendigo

What generation? "The Australians we should be focused on above all else are these little ones ... the next generation," Turnbull said at his farewell press conference, gesturing to his grandson. This came one week after his government abandoned any commitment to the Paris agreement and emissions reduction targets. Mitchell Edgeworth, St Kilda Extend the distress I listened to Scot Morrison's speech in the hope of hearing words that would restore my pride in being Australian. I heard talk of shared values and beliefs. I value respect for human rights and believe that no civilised society should condemn people seeking asylum from persecution and death to indefinite detention in cruel and inhumane conditions. He spoke of a fair go for those willing to have a go and the right to decide our own future, yet we are keeping children in such harsh, hopeless conditions on Nauru that they attempt suicide. Mr Morrison was distressed by the challenge of chronic illness in this country. Can he extend his distress to the broken people and traumatised children in detention?

Therese Robin, Carlton North Don't reward Abbott When it comes to dignity, what a contrast between Malcolm Turnbull accepting his fate with grace and thanking his supporters, and the "insurgent" Tony Abbott. The so-called wrecker lost his prime ministership saying there would be "no wrecking, no undermining and no sniping" and then proceeded to do all of the above. And it was all to satisfy Abbott's thirst for personal revenge. At this point the new PM may be thinking it's best to keep his enemies close, but please, please, Scott Morrison, don't reward the wrecker with a ministry. If you do you'll be handing over government to Labor within a year. Damien Ryan, Frankston Whose side are you on?

I support gay marriage, reproductive rights and action on climate change. Are you still on my side Scott Morrison? Katy Addis, Box Hill North Challenge the lie Conal Hanna (Comment, 19/8) suggests that we should sometimes turn a blind eye to fringe views, but that is the last thing we should be doing. If vociferous minorities are given the false-equivalence of a voice in reporting in the name of balance, then it is more important than ever not to allow falsehoods to go unchallenged. In the current media landscape dominated by opinion and "alternative facts", people must be given as much access to factual reporting as possible or risk being drowned out in a sea of untruths. Sean Burns, Point Cook

Past divisions Sending Australian troops to Vietnam was a divisive issue ("Hardship and mateship", The Sunday Age, 19/8) as around half of the troops who went there were conscripts. It was an enforced system of "recruiting" 20-year-old males for military service through a series of penalties that could apply, such as fines, loss of employment or prison if there was non-compliance with the selective scheme. This was certainly divisive and unravelled the Liberal Country Party government's standing with the electorate in that period. Des Files, Brunswick We are global citizens There is much one could respond to in The Sunday Age, 19/8). However, the article "The girls sacrificed for gold" represented one of the many crises that tears at one's conscience. It is so easy for such issues to be drowned out when we are only concerned about ourselves, when we don't see ourselves as global citizens. Let us remind our politicians to see all people as human beings, eg, asylum seekers with stories and histories to understand. Let us work towards a world where "girls are not sacrificed for gold".

Judith Morrison, Mt Waverley A smile can help Claire Thurstans (Comment, 19/8) asks what we can do to counter the harmful words and actions of people like Fraser Anning. Most mainstream Australians do not, for whatever reason, get involved in social and political activism. But at least you can smile at a person of non-mainstream appearance as you pass them on the street or encounter them on public transport. That smile says, "I do not hate you", and helps them endure the every day prejudices that they may meet. Beyond that, ensure that you do not vote for any party that seeks to use ethnicity and religion to further divide this country for its own political gain. Mike Puleston, Brunswick Not happy, Skyrail

What a delight to be woken at 5.05am yesterday by horn-tooting trains arriving and departing Hughesdale station, along with loud platform announcements. Thanks Skyrail. Jacqueline Smith, Murrumbeena Stop enjoying life Why is it such a problem for much needed tourists on the Mornington Peninsula to be allowed to enjoy themselves ("Crackdown on short stays", The Age, 23/8)? Pray tell, since when has "cheering, clapping and singing" become anti-social? How will the council penalise permanent residents on the Mornington Peninsula for such behaviours? Sally Puttick, Mt Martha

Absolutely fatuous Has the word "yes" become redundant? Over and over, in conversations, interviews, on radio especially, it is replaced with "absolutely", often repeated twice for emphasis. A simple clear "yes" is all that is required for clear understanding. Is this unnecessary and irritating? Absolutely, absolutely. Bette Erskine, Port Melbourne A great Sunday About 50 years ago, London Daily Mirror chief Cecil King forecast that newspapers would one day become daily magazines. The Sunday Age (19/8) is a great example, with news treated as features predominating  and it works. We can still get hard news, but we are entertained by good writing as well.The day after he murdered his cellmate by bashing him on the head with a sandwich press, child killer John Walsh had a revealing conversation with police.

"I reckon cold rage is bloody dangerous," he said. "I dont work in anger ... I work in cold rage."

Walsh, 79, moved his arms to show officers the "tactical" way he grabbed the sandwich press, which had been placed inside a pillowcase, and swung it down onto the face of fellow killer Frank Townsend about eight times.

John Walsh is led from the Supreme Court in Sydney after receiving a third life sentence this week. Credit:AAP

Townsend, 71, had shared a cell with Walsh, then 77, for five days in a specialist aged-care unit of Sydney's Long Bay jail. Townsend was near the end of a seven-year sentence for manslaughter when he hopped into bed on the evening of January 7, 2017.Like many Millennials, project manager Brigitte Garozzo thought shed have kids before the age of 30. Now shes 27  the age most Australians think is "ideal" to start a family, according to a new survey of our family values  and shes not quite ready.

"Since I started wanting to have kids, I have always had a timeline of 'before 30' in my head.

"Now that I'm 27, it's dawning on me how close that is, and I have a few things I want to get done before I have kids, so I've pushed it back a little."

Brigitte Garozzo and Chris Gall are a Millennial couple who plan on having kids in few years' time. Credit:Cole Bennetts

She and her 28-year-old partner of seven years, Chris Gall, plan to "finish up a few pre-baby life goals," like travelling and saving up a home deposit, before starting a family in about four years time.Australians are shaking their heads. The nation just witnessed the most surreal week in Australian political history  one in which a government was paralysed and a new prime minister anointed without even mentioning public interest or policy. Many a Liberal hand is bloodied by this internecine strife.

The machinations, born of Tony Abbotts visceral anger at Malcolm Turnbull, are yet another distraction from the need to focus on policies. One, in particular, is the plight of refugees and asylum seekers still languishing on Nauru and Manus Island as a result of Australian government policy.

Detention centres on the islands were reopened in 2012 under the Gillard Labor government after an Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers proposed Australia restart offshore processing of asylum seekers arriving by boat. The policy of mandatory offshore detention, however, has led to needless deaths and unconscionable suffering. In the past week, young children have had to be medically evacuated from Nauru to Australia. But only the most critically ill cases are being addressed. One report refers to an uncontrollable contagion of children committing self-harm.

Former home affairs minister Peter Dutton argued in June that the single act of compassion of bringing 20 seriously-ill asylum seekers to Australia from Manus Island and Nauru for medical treatment would be seen by people smugglers as an open invitation to restart their trade.

However, given The Sunday Age report showing that the deterrent for asylum seekers is having their boats turned back, any single acts of compassion could not undo overnight the policys effectiveness, as Mr Dutton claims. Showing humanity to those left in limbo would not affect the people-smuggling trade while the turn-back policy remains in force.Scott Morrison didnt unveil a sweeping new policy agenda when he became Prime Minister on Friday.

But he did reveal his top priority: tackling the effects of drought.

The generous public response to drought-hit communities in recent weeks suggests many Australians would agree with the new PM.

But debate about the drought has prompted some to ask a troubling question: why do we keep giving billions of dollars in foreign aid when our own farmers are struggling?A police officer was allegedly assaulted at an out-of-control party in the Pilbara town of Wickham, part of the City of Karratha, on Thursday.

Police said officers responded to a noise complaint about 10.30pm on at a home on Spencer Street, where a birthday party was being held.

On arrival, the officers found 15 adults and told them to stop the noise but the hosts failed to heed the warning.

Police said the officers were confronted with a "heavily intoxicated and aggressive" group, "some armed with bats and lumps of wood".

It's alleged a 50-year-old woman who lives at the house assaulted an officer, "attempting to punch her and taking her to ground causing bruising and soreness to her elbow, shoulder and neck requiring medical treatment."But legislators in Trump's party, who have repeatedly brushed away concerns about Trump's own legal exposure, seemed unperturbed. With the House away from Washington for the month and senators sick of the drama emanating from Trump's orbit, few openly rose to Trump's defence. Those who did said the threat was elsewhere. "Campaign finance violations  I don't know what will come from that, but the thing that will hurt the President the most is if, in fact, his campaign did coordinate with a foreign government like Russia. Anything short of that is probably going to fall into partisan camps," Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, told reporters. As a House member, Graham helped prosecute the impeachment of president Bill Clinton two decades ago. Loading Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, repeatedly stepped around questions from reporters about the implications of Cohen's pleas. He observed instead that independent counsel investigations often tended to veer away from their origins. "I have no idea about what the facts are surrounding his guilty plea, other than the fact that none of it has anything to do with the Russia investigation," Cornyn said. "I would make the same observation with regard to Mr Manafort."

Aides to Republican Speaker Paul Ryan said he was "aware of Mr Cohen's guilty plea to these serious charges" but would wait for more information to comment further. Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican and the Senate majority leader, said nothing publicly. In a sign of how cemented both the opposition to and support for Trump is a year-and-a-half into his presidency, few Republicans believed the double-digit felony count would drastically reshape the political climate. Party strategists largely dismissed Manafort's conviction, viewing it as not directly related to Trump, and said voters had already concluded that the President agreed to pay off the actress Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels. Loading "I'd be surprised if it causes anything more than a ripple in the campaign," said Steven Law, who oversees the Senate Leadership Fund, the "super PAC" aligned with McConnell. Part of what the President has going for him is that expectations about his conduct were already low before last week's split-screen drama, with Democrats believing he is an amoral demagogue and many Republicans seeing him as an unsavoury character who has the right policies and, just as importantly, the right enemies.

"In a normal world, it's not good," said Chris Wilson, a Republican pollster. "In today's political environment, it probably just creates further polarisation and political tribalism." This is not to say that the President's approval ratings will not dip slightly or that preferences for a Democratic-controlled Congress will not rise on the news: many Republicans believe they are already likely to lose control of the House and that such Trump-linked wrongdoing will only further enhance Democrats' chances for a takeover. But given the health of the economy and relative stability abroad, Trump's approval ratings are already significantly lower than what virtually any other president would be enjoying at this moment of his administration. And if there is one predictable element of this otherwise unpredictable presidency, it is that some new story will detonate in the days or weeks ahead, pushing the last eruption off the homepage and television screens. That fact was both a tonic to Republicans on Tuesday and a reason for concern. While suggesting that the Manafort and Cohen felonies were merely this week's version of the Omarosa tapes - the latest ephemeral drama to grip Washington but barely faze voters - Republican officials were also apprehensive about what more Cohen may reveal on his way to a likely prison sentence.

And even more worrisome to Republicans is what damage Trump may do to himself. If the President is seen as thwarting Mueller's investigation, either by terminating the special counsel or pardoning allies who are implicated, it would create a far more serious upheaval and force Republican legislators into a confrontation they have long avoided. "Of course you can imagine the President doing things that would be counterproductive," said Republican senator Bill Cassidy, before adding with evident hope in his voice: "But you also could imagine the President saying something but never acting on it, just venting." Privately, Democrats speculated that the guilty pleas and decisions stacking up around Trump would fuel a message that Republicans controlling all levers of Washington were woefully corrupt. Their case got another boost only hours later, when a federal grand jury indicted congressman Duncan Hunter of California on charges that he spent tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds on personal expenses. Hunter was the second Republican congressman to be federally charged in just three weeks and, taken together with the Cohen and Manafort felonies, some Republicans thought the misdeeds carried a stench reminiscent of the 2006 elections, when Democrats last reclaimed control of Congress. "Today's events are a bombshell, and if nothing shakes them loose from their purposeful inertia, the electorate will do so," senator Richard Blumenthal, one of Trump's most outspoken Democratic critics, said of the Republicans.Police in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, have detained the owner of a hotel where a fire killed 19 people and injured 23 others early on Saturday.

A deadly fire starts at Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, at 4:36 a.m. on Saturday, August 25, 2018. [Photo: IC]

The owner, surnamed Zhang, of Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel in the city's Songbei District is now being questioned, according to local police.

Further investigation is underway.





Pope Francis waves as he boards a plane for a two day visit to Ireland at the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy on Aug. 25, 2018. (Reuters/Remo Casilli)

Pope Heads to Ireland Amid New Global Outrage Over Sex Abuse

DUBLINPope Francis arrives Aug. 25 in Ireland, ground zero of the Catholic Churchs sex abuse crisis, with the institution under fire across the globe for its systemic failures to protect children from priestly rapists or punish bishops who hid the crimes.

Francis is expected to meet with victims during his 36-hour visit to Dublin and will have many opportunities to speak out about abuse, the Vatican says.

But neither Francis words nor a new meeting with victims is likely to calm the outrage among rank-and-file Catholics in Ireland and abroad following new revelations of sexual misconduct and cover-up in the U.S., an ongoing crisis in Chile and prosecutions of top clerics in Australia and France.

Ireland has had one of the worst records of abuse in the world, crimes that were revealed to its 4.8 million deeply Catholic people over the past decade by a series of government-mandated inquiries. They revealed thousands of children raped and molested by priests and physically abused in church-run schools, and bishops who covered up the crimes.

After the Irish church atoned for its past and enacted tough new norms to fight abuse, it had been looking to the first visit by a pope in 40 years to show a different, more caring church that understands the problems of ordinary Catholic families today.

More than 37,000 peoplemost of them young Catholicssigned up to attend this weeks Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families in Dublin, more than twice as many as the previous edition of the family rally in Philadelphia three years ago.

And many faithful are hopeful.

I see a lot of new life amongst young people who have a deep committed faith, Catholic faith, said Sean Ascogh, a churchgoer at a recent service in Blessington southwest of Dublin. Obviously they are very disappointed by what has been happening in the church in the last few years, particularly the whole abuse scandals, but I think people can see beyond that.

But Irelands tortured history of abuse has left its mark.

In a country where Catholic bishops held such sway that they advised the drafters of the republics constitution in the 1930s, voters in recent years have turned their backs on core Catholic teachings. They have overturned a constitutional ban on abortion and legalized divorce, homosexuality, contraception and same-sex marriage.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who will welcome Francis at Dublin Castle on Aug. 25, is openly gay.

Irish abuse victims and their supporters are expected to hold a solidarity rally on Sunday in Dublin, at the same time Francis is celebrating his final Mass to close out the family conference.

Separately, survivors of Irelands wretched mother and baby homeswhere children were exiled for the shame of having been born to unwed mothersare holding their own demonstration Sunday. The location is Tuam, site of a mass grave of hundreds of babies who died over the years at a church-run home.

Francis will be nearby, visiting the Marian shrine at Knock, but has no plans to visit the grave site.

On the eve of Francis arrival in Dublin, Boston Cardinal Sean OMalleythe popes top abuse counselorsaid protecting children and vulnerable adults is now the single most crucial issue facing the church.

All endeavors at evangelization and other great works will be dependent upon our ability to own our crimes and failings and to make the protection of children and vulnerable adults our No. 1 priority, OMalley said in a statement read out to a safeguarding panel at the World Meeting of Families.

OMalley had been expected to headline the panel in person, but he backed out at the last minute, citing a new inquiry he launched into his diocesan seminary amid sexual misconduct allegationsone of three big U.S. seminaries that have launched such investigations in recent weeks.

Irish abuse survivor and advocate Marie Collins, who resigned in frustration from OMalleys board last year, told the safeguarding panel that if Francis claims to be on the side of victims, the Catholic Church should no longer lobby to block the ability of victims to sue and prosecute abusers after the statute of limitations expires.

The actions of the church do not match the words, and they are in fact totally the opposite, Collins said. She called for robust structures and strong sanctions to hold accountable bishops and even Vatican officials who fail protect children.

But Francis offered no such structures or sanctions in a letter he penned on the eve of his Irish visit to the worlds 1.2 billion Catholics, vowing only to spare no effort to fight the abuse problem. He has vowed zero tolerance since the start of his pontificate.

Francis first speech in Ireland on Aug. 25 is an address to Irish government officials and civil society, where he will likely refer to the scandal. In the evening, he presides over a vigil. On Sunday, after praying at Knock, Francis celebrates the final Mass in Dublins Phoenix Park before returning to Rome.

When St. John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979, in the first-ever papal visit, some 1.25 million people turned out for his inaugural Mass in Phoenix Park, a third of the countrys population and the largest gathering in Irish history at the time.

By Nicole Winfield and Trisha Thomas

Rhonda Shafner and Jennifer Farrar contributed to this reportA sign for a T-Mobile store is seen in Manhattan, New York, U.S., April 30, 2018. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton - RC18461BBA10).

T-mobile Discovers Security Breach of Certain Customer Information

T-Mobile US Inc and its unit Metro PCS informed customers on August 23 about a potential security breach that was discovered and shut down by the company.

The cyber-security team found and shut down unauthorized access to certain information on Aug. 20, and reported the matter to authorities, T-Mobile said in a statement https://t-mo.co/2wrr9Cq on its website.

No financial data, social security numbers or passwords were compromised, but other personal information like name, email id, phone number, zip code, account number or type (postpaid or prepaid) may have been exposed, the company said.

About 3 percent of T-mobiles 77 million customers could have been affected, a company spokesperson told http://bit.ly/2wknfLr technology news website Motherboard.

T-Mobile did not respond to Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

By Ishita Chigilli Palli.Trump Says Media Lost Interest in Mollie Tibbetts Case When Illegal Immigrant Was Arrested

President Donald Trump said that the mainstream media lost interest in the case of Mollie Tibbetts, the missing Iowa college student, when an illegal immigrant was arrested after leading investigators to the 20-year-olds dead body.

Tibbetts disappearance in mid-July was covered widely across the media and new developments were reported every few days or so.

But the arrest of Christhian Rivera, a 24-year-old Mexican man who committed the crime of entering the United States illegally before allegedly killing Tibbetts, changed the coverage of the situation, Trump said.

Just this week we learned that Iowa authorities have charged an illegal alien in the murder of a college studentMollie Tibbetts, Trump told the crowd at a fundraising dinner for the Ohio Republican Party on Aug. 24, reported Breitbart.

Trump said that he was watching television several weeks ago when Tibbettss father was interviewed. He father said he believed his daughter would come back alive, and Trump found himself agreeing with the man.

When they found out that it was this horrible illegal immigrant that viciously killed her, all of a sudden that story went down. They [mainstream media] didnt want to cover it the way it should be covered, Trump said. But what happened to Mollie was a disgrace and our hearts go out. We mourn for Mollies family.

A number of outlets seized on comments made by Riveras lawyer after the attorney claimed his client was in the country legally.

The attorney later admitted he didnt know the facts surrounding Riveras immigration while federal immigration officials confirmed that there was no record of Rivera entering the country legally or applying for the controversial DACA program.

Trump also released a video standing outside the White House in which he addressed Tibbettss death, saying it was a failure of immigration laws.

Mollie Tibbetts, an incredible young woman, is now permanently separated from her family. A person came in from Mexico, illegally, and killed her. We need the wall. We need our immigration laws changed. We need our border laws changed, he said. We need Republicans to do it because Democrats arent going to do it. This is one instance of many.

Democrat immigration policies are destroying innocent lives and spilling very innocent blood, Trump added on Friday in Ohio. We believe that any party that puts criminal aliens before American citizens should be out of office.

Riveras Life

Rivera arrived in the United States at age 17, according to his lawyer.

Rivera began working at a farm in Iowa soon after he arrived and switched to Yarrabee Farms just outside Brooklyn when his former girlfriend and mother to his daughter connected him with the company.

Rivera used a fake ID and social security number to fool the owners of Yarrabee into believing he was a legal immigrant; the owners didnt know his real name until he was arrested.

He told investigators that he was driving around one daythe car was either purchased under his fake name or borrowed from someone, investigators havent disclosed which publiclywhen he spotted Tibbetts jogging, as she often did.

Rivera circled the block several times before pulling over, shutting off the engine, and exiting the vehicle.

He began jogging himself, chasing Tibbetts until he was running alongside her. She saw him, grabbed her phone, and told him she was going to call the police.

Rivera said he then panicked and got mad and that he then blocked his memory which is what he does when he gets very upset, investigators stated.

He told investigators the next thing he knew, he was back in his car driving with Tibbetts body in his trunk.

From NTD.tvTrump Tells Pompeo to Delay Visit to North Korea

The reason is stalled progress on denuclearization

U.S. President Donald Trump has directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a planned trip to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on denuclearization.

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Trump tweeted on Friday, Aug. 24, about two months after his June meeting with the Norths Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

Trump placed some blame on China for the lack of progress with North Korea and suggested that talks with Pyongyang, led so far by Pompeo, could be on hold until after Washington resolved its bitter trade dispute with Beijing.

Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved, Trump tweeted on Friday.

Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions, which are in place), Trump said in a tweet.

Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

China May be Exerting Negative Pressure on North Korea

It was back in July that Trump first suggested Beijing may be using its pull with North Korea to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts out of revenge for Washingtons tariffs.

At the time North Korea issued a sour media statement about its talks with Pompeo on the heels of his two-day visit to Pyongyang.

In a July 7 statement by an unnamed spokesman, North Korea said that Washingtons attitude and stance were regrettable and that the United States came up only with its unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization.

Pompeo then dismissed the biting statement, telling reporters in Tokyo on July 8 that he had good faith, productive conversations with his counterparts.

A day later Trump reminded Kim about the agreement signed in Singapore last month.

I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea, Trump wrote on Twitter.

China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade-Hope Not!

I have confidence that Kim Jong Un will honor the contract we signed &, even more importantly, our handshake. We agreed to the denuclearization of North Korea. China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade-Hope Not!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2018

A day prior to Trumps message, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he believes that China is behind North Koreas latest shift in tone.

I see Chinas hands all over this. Were in a fight with China, Graham told Fox News Sunday.

If I were President Trump, I would not let China use North Korea to back me off of the trade dispute. Weve got more bullets than they do when it comes to trade.

The United States depends on China to enforce crippling sanctions against North Korea.

Most traded goods enter North Korea through the Chinese border. Trump had previously thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for tightening the border, but has recently suggested that China may have relaxed its control of the boundary.

South Korea Expects Constructive Role From China

Meanwhile, while describing the postponement of Pompeos trip as a setback, South Koreas foreign ministry said it expects China to serve a constructive role in international efforts to solve the nuclear crisis.

Its most important to maintain a long-term view while maintaining a momentum for dialogue and concentrate diplomatic efforts to faithfully implement the agreements from the summits between South Korea and North Korea and between North Korea and the United States, instead of attaching meaning to each change in the situation, the ministry said in a statement.

While we consider the delay of the visit to North Korea as unfortunate, we believe its most important for the North Korea-U.S. dialogue including Secretary Pompeos visits to North Korea to contribute to substantial progress in complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace regime in the Korean Peninsula, the statement said.

Complete and Verifiable Denuclearization

Pompeo and Trump have both promised Kim Jong Un a prosperous future for North Korea should he abandon nuclear weapons.

The United States is seeking complete, irreversible, and verifiable denuclearization. But until this goal is achieved, Washington is committed to maintaining crippling sanctions on the communist regime.

Trump and Kim met in person during a historic summit in Singapore in June. The two leaders signed a joint statement agreeing to work toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, a new era for relations between Washington and Pyongyang, and the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

Kim made a verbal promise to destroy a missile engine testing site and Trump promised to suspend war games with South Korea.

Progress on denuclearization appears to have stalled, however, as U.S. officials have been trying without success to persuade North Korea to detail the extent of its nuclear arsenal.

Trumps decision to postpone Pompeos visit came just days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported it had not found any indication that North Korea had stopped its nuclear activities.

Some analysts suggest Trumps move may be a negotiating ploy.

In May, Trump announced he was calling off his planned summit with Kim, citing Pyongyangs open hostility, reversing his position eight days later after a North Korean change of attitude.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Watch Next:

Trump, Kim Sign Joint Statement During Historic SummitMillennials are often a point of contention in the realm of public debate. Whether it's their upbringing, work ethic or consumption of avocado toast, everyone on the internet has an opinion about the large and diverse generation born in the waning phase of the 20th century.

Now millennials are all adults -- many of them graduating and joining the workforce during the Great Recession -- and the scrutiny of financial stability and employment is more than familiar to them.NORWALK  Harbor officials have ramped up their efforts to halt Eversource Energy from running a transmission cable through the newly rebuilt Norwalk Visitors Docks at Veterans Memorial Park.

On Aug. 13, the Norwalk Harbor Commission and Norwalk Shellfish Commission restated their concerns in a joint letter to the utility company.

Wednesday evening, the Norwalk Harbor Commission approved a motion to send a copy of the letter to the Norwalk Common Council and request a meeting to discuss the matter in detail with council members.

We feel it is illogical and nonsensical for anyone to think it is a good idea to devalue city property in this manner, especially when $4 million was just spent to rebuild the facility and there are alternative routes available, wrote John Pinto, chairman of the harbor commissions Application Review Committee, in an email Friday. Also, we noted that Eversource informed us during the July 30 meeting that it intended to convene a public meeting on Aug. 23 to discuss the relocation plans. We have since heard nothing more about this meeting, obviously canceled or postponed.

As part of the state Department of Transportations upcoming replacement of the Walk Bridge over the Norwalk River, Eversource plans to relocate two 115-kilovolt transmission lines, which now follow Metro-North Railroads New Haven Line and run atop the 120-year-old bridge.

The rerouted lines would go below ground at the Norwalk Police Department headquarters parking lot at 1 Monroe St., run below Elizabeth Street, go under the harbor from 90 Water St. and emerge at the north end of the Visitors Docks parking lot, according to a map provided by Eversource in 2017.

Eversource indicated Friday that the route hasnt been finalized.

We continue to work collaboratively with CDOT and the City on the best route for the required relocation of the existing transmission lines, Eversource spokesman Frank Poirot wrote in an email Friday. We hope to be able to share those plans in the near future.

The plan reviewed thus far by the harbor commission calls for the transmission lines to be threaded between the base of the new pilings of the Visitors Dock, which were completely rebuilt this year at a cost of about $2 million, half of which paid for with a state grant applied for by the commission. Another $2 million of city funds went into replacing the boat ramp and parking lot in 2017, Pinto said.

As such, neither the harbor commission nor shellfish commission want to see the area disrupted anew or restricted in any way by placement of electric cables.

The (commissions) will under no circumstances agree to a relocation plan that encroaches upon or otherwise adversely impacts the public boating facilities at Veterans Memorial Park, reads the Aug. 13 letter signed by harbor commission Vice Chairman John Romano and shellfish commission Chairman Peter Johnson. Due to the nature of the extreme environment in which they are located, docking and launching structures are inherently temporary and require extensive maintenance and adjustments over time to meet vessel needs.

According to Pinto, Eversource representatives stated during a July 30 meeting with local officials that the present transmission line relocation proposal would not prevent future construction on or around the boating facility. However, any future work will be restricted and subject to Eversources approval.

The two local commissions, as well as the Connecticut Siting Council, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will review whatever final plan is submitted by Eversource.

In closing, we again extend our willingness to meet with Eversource prior to your submittals for regulatory review in an effort to protect the citys facilities and to minimize expenses to the ratepayers and taxpayers of the State of Connecticut, Romano and Johnson concluded in their letter to Ian Cole, senior environmental specialist in Eversources Environmental Affairs Department.Special Events

Tuesday, Aug. 28  Harry Potter Camp Fundraiser, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.  Summer is coming to an end and its almost time to go back to school. Harry Potter is always happy to leave the Dursleys and go back to Hogwarts. This year, you can go, too! At Wilton Library, we will be hosting a fundraiser commemorating 21 years of Harry Potter. This program is for children in grades 3-5. Children will be sorted into the four houses and attend a variety of magical classes and fun activities. They will search for magical artifacts guarded by fearsome creatures; learn about the science of Divination from Professor Trelawney, and much more. There will also be a visit with the head dragon wrangler from House Slytherin! Lunch donated by Wiltons own Pinocchio Pizza. Advance registration required in person; $50 per child. Inquiries: 203-762-6336. Registration filled; wait list only.

Calendar

Monday, Aug. 27  Weir Farm Artist-in-Residence Exhibition Reception: MaryEllen Hendricks, 6-7:30 p.m.  August brings MaryEllen Hendricks to the Weir Farm Artist-in-Residence program. Hendricks is a photographer specializing in landscape photography, primarily using primitive and 19th-century techniques including the use of large format cameras. Most recently, her work has coalesced around the concept of thin places  physical places and times of day in which the physical world hints at the presence of the spiritual. Co-sponsored by Weir Farm Art Center and Weir Farm National Historic Site and presented by Wilton Library. No charge. Registration suggested. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

Now through Aug. 28  74th Annual Wilton Artists Summer Show Exhibition  Exhibition celebrates more than 50 Wilton artists displaying diverse styles, media, and subjects in this two-month long annual summer show. A majority of the works are available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the library.

Coming in September

Thursdays, Sept. 6 through Sept. 27  Autumn Poetry: Goethes Faust Part II, A World of Fantasy, Fascination, Fortune, and Fate, 10:30-noon.  In this four-week seminar, Dr. Gerald Weiss will be delving into Part Two of Goethes Faust, the great masterpiece, entering a world of fantasy, fascination, fortune, and fate. In this part, Faust continues to strive after the highest possible existence and the eternal feminine with the aid of Mephisto (the devil). His search for the meaning of life is the readers search, too and the universal search for what it means to be human and the purpose of life itself. Weiss earned both a Bachelor of Arts and a masters degree in classical languages from St. Louis University. He pursued graduate studies in philosophy and theology at Innsbruck University in Austria and later at the Gregorian University in Rome where he received his doctorate. While writing his dissertation he taught for a year at the Rome Center of Loyola University of Chicago. No charge for program. Packets will be available at the Circulation Desk one week before the first session begins. Advance registration required. By registering for the first session, attendees will automatically be registered for all four sessions. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

Thursday, Sept. 6  Author Talk: Robert McWilliams, The Kiss of Sweet Scottish Rain, 7-8:30 p.m.  Robert McWilliams, Scottish by birth but now a U.S. citizen and a Wiltonian, takes readers on his ambitious trek across Scotland with his debut book, The Kiss of Sweet Scottish Rain: A Walk from Cape Wrath to the Solway Firth. The walk was an obstinate ambition and the start of a new direction in life. McWilliams was born in Glasgow, Scotland and graduated from Wadham College, Oxford. He joined Reuters news agency in London and spent 16 years at Reuters as a business manager in Hong Kong, Japan, the U.S., Venezuela and Brazil. Now in Connecticut for more than 20 years, has contributed the Taking a Hike column to local newspapers every month for the past five years. He has written for A.T. Journeys, CTVisit.com, and volunteers for other outdoor causes such as the Norwalk River Trail. Q&A will follow the talk. No charge. Registration highly recommended. Books available for purchase and signing courtesy of Elm Street Books. Register online or call 203-762-6334.

Friday, Sept. 7  Daryl Hawk: Distant Journeys Photography Exhibition Reception, 6-7:30 p.m.  Daryl Hawk: Distant Journeys, is a 30-year retrospective of color images from around the world by the explorer and international documentary photographer. Fifty of Hawks favorite images from North, Central and South America, Cuba, Patagonia, the Arctic, Antarctica, India, Ladakh, Bhutan, New Zealand will be on display. Reception free and open to the public. A majority of the works will be available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the library. Exhibition runs through Oct. 5.

WILTON LIBRARY 137 Old Ridgefield Road 203-762-3950 www.wiltonlibrary.org The library is closed Sundays for summer hours through Sept. 2. It is also closed Sept. 3 for Labor Day. See More Collapse

Classes in Innovation Station this week  Monday, Aug. 27: Embroidering with the Janome Memory Craft, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.; Stitch Time for Knitters and Crocheters, 1-2:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 5: Embroider or Monogram It!, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 6: Enhancing Your Pictures with Photoshop, 2-4 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 7: New Life for Old Videos, 10-11:30 a.m.4 hours ago

'Nothing else here': Why it's so hard for world to quit coal

DHANBAD, India (AP)  Every day, Raju gets on his bicycle and unwillingly pedals the world a tiny bit closer to climate catastrophe. Every day, he straps half a dozen sacks of coal pilfered from mines  up to 200 kilograms, or 440 pounds  to the reinforced metal frame of his bike.

Read ArticleDusit Zoo closing date moved to Sept 30

BANGKOK: Dusit Zoo announced yesterday (Aug 24) that the closure of the zoo had been postponed for another month to the end of September.

animalsconstructionlandtourism

By Bangkok Post

Saturday 25 August 2018, 02:24PM

This hippo and other animals have more time to greet visitors after Dusit Zoo change its closing date from Aug 31 to Sept 30. Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul

As more people visited the zoo to say goodbye to Thailands oldest and most famous zoo and its animals, officials have decided to move the closing date originally set for the end of this month to Sept 30. The postponement was to due to the publics love of the zoo, authorities said. All animals at the menagerie, better known as Khao Din, will be moved to a new home of 300 rai in Thanya Buri district of Pathum Thani. As the construction of the new zoo has not started, they will be temporarily transferred to six other zoos administered by the Zoological Park Organisation. They are the Khao Kheow zoo in Chonburi, and others in Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Songkhla, Ubon Ratchathani and Khon Kaen. Read original story here.In the hoop: Taiwans spinning street artist

TAIWAN: Isaac Hou is one of Taipeis best-known street artists, famous for his mesmerising acrobatics using a giant spinning hoop.

culture

By AFP

Saturday 25 August 2018, 12:58PM

Taiwanese American street artist Isaac Hou performs with a cyr wheel in Taipei. Photo: AFP

The 37-year-old Taiwanese American is a master of the metal cyr wheel, whirling himself around while stretched out inside the ring.

He performs on stage and television but still busks, drawing crowds in various spots around Taiwans capital, mainly in the shopping district of Xinyi.

Hou, who also practises the Brazilian dance-like martial art capoeira, as well as ballet, jazz and tango to balance his body, says he finds street performing liberating.

The reason I wanted to become a street performer is because I saw it as a job without an unpleasant boss, having a great deal of freedom, a way to travel, Hou said.

After high school, Hou travelled around the world doing odd jobs and learned kung fu at the Shaolin temple in China, going on to hone his acrobatic skills at circus performance schools in Denmark and Russia.

He turned to the Cyr wheel as an alternative to torch juggling, which he had started to do for a living.

I wanted to get away from doing fire so I wouldnt have problems with the police chasing me around, said Hou, who is married to Polish-Canadian dance teacher Magdalena Zieba.

But the freedom he finds as a street artist also has its complications.

Its hard to maintain a good schedule for a long period of time. When you have too much free time its easy to get distracted, he said.

When Hou starts losing his way, he says the key is to just keep going.

I guess what works for me is to keep putting one foot in front of the next, to keep doing something even if it seems pointless, to try to go out and do things and see people.One tourist dead, two safe after being pulled from Phuket surf

PHUKET: Once tourist has died after being pulled from dangerous surf at Kata Beach yesterday while red flags were flying at the beach.

deathmarinepolicetourismweather

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 25 August 2018, 12:02PM

A large group of tourists crowded round as the three tourists were brought to shore. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Two other tourists pulled from the surf at the same time are said to be in safe conditions.

At 5pm yesterday (Aug 24), Capt Suwisit Kirirak of the Karon Police was advised that three tourists had been hospitalised after being pulled from the sea at Kata Beach.

Capt Suwisit together with officers from Karon Municipality arrived at the scene to learn that the three tourists had been taken to two hospitals; Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town and the still-under-construction Chalong Hospital.

Red flag warnings were still placed along the beach at the time.

Police reported that Indian tourist Jaskirat Singh Bhullr, 41, has suffered minor injuries but that his compatriot Mani Arora, 32, was unconscious when pulled from the surf and required CPR.

Mr Bhullr and Mr Arora were both taken to the still-under-construction Chalong Hospital.

A third tourist, Li Gui, 48, from China had been taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town accompanied by relatives.

At 7:30pm yesterday, Capt Suwisit was informed by staff at Chalong Hospital that Mr Arora has passed away.

Capt Suwisit has confirmed that an autopsy will be carried out to confirm the true cause of Mr Aroras death and that the Indian Embassy has been informed of the incident.Local nonprofit helps counter lunch concerns at Watertown schools

Non-profit 4 the Kids SD traditionally pays for school lunches through direct funds to student accounts. Now, they are sending home weekly lunch kits.Steel tariffs and trade wars aside, the most worrisome import from China right now is the spotted lanternfly.

This invasive species native to China, Vietnam and India hijacked its way to the U.S. on pallets into Berks County in 2014, coming as an illegal immigrant bringing severe consequences.

Since then, it has overridden the region from Berks into Montgomery County, killing trees, covering house sidings and decks, forcing people out of backyard areas and making outdoor dining a chore of swatting and shooshing.

Beware Chester and Delaware counties: Its just a matter of time before the red and white spotted pest finds you.

Because of its risk to Pennsylvania crops, such as grapes, hops, timber, and fruit-bearing trees, the state Department of Agriculture issued a quarantine in townships where the pest was first spotted to try to contain the spread.

No such luck.

The lanternfly has been confirmed to have spread to most of Berks County and parts of Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Lehigh counties. Sightings have been reported eastward into New Jersey and south as far as Kentucky.

With no natural predators, the spotted lanternfly poses a multibillion dollar threat to agriculture and forestry industries because it feeds on stone fruit-bearing plants and leaves behind a sticky substance that attracts mold.

State and federal officials are spending more than $20 million to research and eradicate the insect.

The Agriculture Department offers homeowners tips, that include banding trees with sticky tape to stop the adult insects from laying eggs, destroying Tree of Heaven trees where breeding occurs and spraying of pesticides when nothing else works.

Property owners are urged to scrape the muddy egg masses off trees and report them to the state.

Total number of eggs scrape reports as of March 3 of this year: 1,774,100.

The number of killing by banding is also being tabulated, and the Department of Agriculture has a website for reporting local kills.

Number of reported tree bands kills is 1,065,258.

The actual numbers are much higher, likely in the multi-millions, illustrating the severity of this invasion.

Although prolific and annoying, the lanternflies do not sting or bite. Thus, they can be killed by an army of swatters.

One such effort this summer was featured recently in an article by The Associated Press, highlighting a camp program to track down and squash the invaders.

The weeklong program, themed Hunt for the Spotted Lanternfly, involved about 27 children and their families and was sponsored by Centro Cultural Latinos Unidos, a bilingual organization providing services to Latino families, the National Park Service, Friends of Hopewell Furnace, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Chester County Parks Department, Natural Lands Trust and Schuylkill River Greenways.

Children learned about the lanternfly and were then set loose to find the bugs and kill them by swatting or collecting in bags for disposal.

We need to keep (children) safe and healthy, and the lanternfly does the opposite of that, basically, said Sarah Crothers, education coordinator at the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area.

Education of property owners is a major goal of the state agriculture department. Information about acceptable pesticides, best removal techniques, and dealing with tree damage is detailed on their website. Property owners are also asked to report infestations to badbug@pa.gov to allow the department to continue tracking the spread of the pest.

That track is frighteningly fast and furious. Berks County and its adjacent neighbors in Montgomery and Chester counties are seeing the worst inundations, but reports are showing that the invasion is moving at a rapid rate.

In this summer of swollen rivers and washed out landscaping, the lanternflies are yet another natural plague. Dealing with it will require an investment in science and a strong dose of ingenuity.

Meanwhile, swatting, scraping and spraying are the order of the day  until we bring this pest under control.Rock Drive

KFC have a secret menu in Aussie... and it needs to come to New ZealandKevin Pierson has three Tim Hortons stores in west-end Toronto. Like many businesspeople in the food service and hospitality industry  one of the countrys biggest concentrations of low-income workers  Pierson worried that the 21 per cent hike in Ontarios minimum wage to take effect Jan. 1 of this year would cut deeply into his profits, forcing him to lay off employees and reduce hours for those who remained.

But it hasnt turned out that way.

Pierson prefers that his real name be withheld, since Tim Hortons was the centre of a consumer backlash early this year when a few of its franchisees openly mused about cutting employee benefits, punishing them for a government policy they had no role in shaping.

For that matter, the 1.7 million Ontarians living in poverty appear powerless in influencing the policies of the new Ontario government led by Doug Ford.

In what could be described as a pro-poverty agenda, Ford is slashing in half the previous governments planned increase in welfare payments, shutting down Ontarios universal basic income project that held promise of becoming a world model and scrapping the planned further $1 an hour increase in the minimum wage, to $15, effective Jan. 1, 2019.

Increasing the minimum wage is one of the most effective means we have of assisting the economically disadvantaged. It puts a new, higher floor under all wages, including those earned by millions of Ontarians living just above the poverty line.

Read more:

Theres no good reason to freeze the minimum wage

Minimum wage hike helps pay for food

Wage hike, paid sick days part of hallway medicine cure

The benefits are tangible: higher household incomes; increased consumer spending; lower workplace turnover and absenteeism.

The few studies claiming to show job loss from minimum wage increases have been debunked.

A recent example is a discredited 2017 study proving job loss from Seattles drive toward a $15 minimum wage. Actually, job creation has been strong in the Seattle region since 2011. If this is what the nasty effects of aggressive minimum wage rises look like, Financial Times economics columnist Martin Sandbu wrote, they are rather an encouragement to do more and more widely.

Pierson reports that 2018 is shaping up as one of his best years ever. A bit proudly, Pierson says: There have been no layoffs. And every employee who has asked for more hours has got them, on merit.

Business is also booming at Recipe Unlimited Corp. (RUC). The former Cara Operations Ltd. is Canadas biggest casual-dining operator, with 1,272 restaurants including Swiss Chalet, Harveys and The Keg Steakhouse chains.

RUC has reported stronger sales in Ontario than most other provinces since the $14 minimum wage went into effect.

Which only makes sense.

More than 10 per cent of Ontarians got a double-digit pay hike on Jan. 1 and promptly shovelled that money back into the economy. As we know from Economics 101, while the top 1 per cent of income earners dont even notice a tax-cut windfall, low-income Canadians spend additional funds immediately on deferred needs.

This is deja vu. In 2016, the Trudeau governments child-benefit program was a significant injection of funds into low-income households.

The following year, Canadas economic growth outpaced that of all other G-7 economies, contrary to the forecasts of world economists.

What the economists missed is that the 4.7 million Canadians living in poverty, including 1.2 million children, are not tied down by the mortgage and car payments of an over-indebted middle class. They cannot afford to buy a house or vehicle. But they are significant spenders, on deferred essentials, especially for their children.

There is no convincing explanation for Canadas booming GDP in 2017 except that Ottawa injected a lot of cash directly into the households of economically disadvantaged Canadians. And they spent it, at Dollarama and also at Canadian Tire, Loblaws and Canadas Wonderland.

In one of the more embarrassing incidents in recent Canadian economic history, the 2017 consensus of economic forecasters was that Ontario would suffer major job loss from the $14 Ontario minimum wage that went into effect Jan. 1, 2018.

To cite only a handful of the alarmists, the Bank of Canada, TD Bank, National Bank Financial and the Financial Accountability Office (FAO), the Ontario government watchdog, all predicted that Ontario would lose between 50,000 and 140,000 jobs because of the new $14 minimum wage.

As it happens, though, Ontario has gained so many jobs since Jan. 1 that by August, the Ontario jobless rate had dropped to an 18-year low, of 5.4 per cent, second-lowest in the country after B.C.

Ontarios food service and hospitality sector, one of the industries most affected by the minimum-wage increase, has not shed jobs, as predicted. It has created 7,100 new jobs since January.

Meanwhile, labour shortages are becoming more acute. The vacancy rate of unfilled jobs at Ontario hospitals, for instance, has jumped from 1.9 per cent in 2015 to 2.8 per cent last year. That helps explain the scourge of wait times.

A higher minimum wage eases the challenge for recruiters in health care, another field with a preponderance of low-income workers. Better working conditions, including decent pay, expand the workforce by making jobs worthwhile and stabilize the workforce in an era of rampant job-hopping.

The Ford government claims that by eliminating income taxes on minimum-wage workers, as a sop for scrapping the $15 minimum wage, workers will benefit by about $800. But the great many low-income workers who earn too little to pay income taxes will receive nothing from that benefit.

Simply staying with the previous governments further $1 an hour increase in the minimum wage, to $15 an hour by Jan. 1, would yield an additional $1,100 or so a year for a minimum-wage worker, according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a progressive think tank.

CBC News also ran the numbers during the Ontario election campaign. By its calculation, sticking with the $15 minimum  which Alberta will have in place in October  would increase a low-income workers after-tax pay by $1,553. The Ford scheme would amount to just $859.

A $15 minimum wage does not get Canada to the healthiest workforce possible. The CCPA calculates that the living wage in Saint John, N.B. is $18.18 and hour and in Greater Vancouver is $20.91 an hour. Thats why Alberta describes its $15 an hour minimum wage effective Oct. 1 as a move toward a living wage for every Albertan.

Doug Ford is, of course, a small business person. There might be eight small businesspeople in the country who dont have a visceral dislike of minimum wages. And so, we have a Ford policy driven by ideology and not empirical facts.

Ford Nation is largely populated by low-income folks. On the minimum wage issue, the premier is set to betray that constituency with the gesture politics he is playing with their lives.

Read more about:CALGARYA man accused of killing a Calgary woman and her five-year-old daughter was sent to hospital prior to a court appearance this morning.

Edward Downey, who is 48, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of Sara Baillie and her daughter Taliyah Marsman in 2016.

He was to appear for a case management hearing prior to his upcoming murder trial.

But his lawyer Gavin Wolch told court Downey was unable to attend because of a medical concern.

Wolch declined to reveal what happened except to say his client was in hospital.

The matter has been adjourned until Wednesday.

Read more about:EDMONTONHaving witnessed several online communities dismiss people living with disabilities, an Edmonton woman made it her mission to carve out a space where disabled locals can connect.

On Wednesday, Victoria Bakewell launched the Edmonton Meet Friends with Disabilities Facebook group, where city residents living with visible and invisible disabilities can interact, without being subjected to the judgment and shame she found in other forums.

Living with anxiety and depression herself, Bakewell, 30, is no stranger to pushback when meeting new people, both online and in person.

I dont really have many friends, she said, adding that new acquaintances are often standoffish once they get to know her. People dont understand me, because Ill have really highs, and Ill have really lows, and it bothers people.

But it was after seeing another woman repeatedly shut out of other Edmonton-based Facebook groups that she finally decided to act.

She was always putting herself out there, trying to meet friends, have conversation, Bakewell added. Unfortunately, the comments and the feedback were less than great.

Overnight, the group grew to about 45 members, many of whom are already swapping stories, inspiring words, and tips on where to find work and helpful resources.

Theres a lot of people in the city (with disabilities) who cant find jobs, or its difficult for them to keep a job, Bakewell said. There are resources out there, but not everybody knows about them.

Kathlene Buryniuk, 35, said she joined instantly after learning of the group.

When Im on Facebook, its hard to meet people because I want to be their friend, but I dont know how to interact because of my disability, she said, adding that she has been kicked out of a few groups following attempts to organize meetups in the past. The other groups made me not as confident.

Like Bakewell, Buryniuk lives with anxiety and depression, and said she has struggled her whole life with cerebral palsy, a condition that impairs muscle coordination.

Because of it, I look at myself differently, Buryniuk added. It makes me self-conscious.

She recalled an incident last winter when she arranged a coffee date with some prospective friends she met online, and how she was stood up at a downtown Tim Hortons.

I was heartbroken, Buryniuk said. Maybe they thought it was a joke  I dont know. I bought Timbits and coffee, but no one showed up.

Because of these experiences, she admitted that shes cautiously optimistic about this new group, but applauded Bakewells effort and looks forward to meeting people who had similar difficulties online.

They accept me for who I am, she said. But also, I can understand what they relate to, and accept their disability as well.

A big fan of board games and potluck dinners, shes already pitched the group a couple of ideas that have garnered interest from a few members.

The project has only been active less than a week, but Bakewell said shes pleased with the progress so far, and hopes to see all kinds of relationships blossom from it.

Theres a man on there who said hes recently single. Thats why I got everybody to introduce themselves, she said with a chuckle.

And while shes protective of the communitys feelings, especially with the negativity several of them have faced in past, Bakewell explained that she isnt limiting membership only to those with disabilities.

It is open to people taking care of someone with a disability, or someone who is interested in learning, or someone who wants to help in some way, Bakewell explained.

Read more about:YORKTON, SASK.A former gynecologist who was found guilty of sexually assaulting four of his patients in Yorkton, Sask., has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.

Mohammed Haque, who is 74, was charged with 16 counts following an RCMP investigation that started in 2001.

He was found not guilty of the other 12 charges in Yorkton Court of Queens Bench.

Haques lawyer says he will appeal the convictions and sentence, and that he would apply for Haques release from custody.

The judge also ordered Haque to provide a DNA sample, abide by a 10-year firearm prohibition and be placed on the National Sex Offender Registry for the rest of his life.

Haque gave up his medical licence after he was charged in 2013 with unprofessional conduct by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan.WATERLOO REGIONEntrepreneurs are lining to open legal pot shops in Waterloo Region within a few months, but exactly how those new businesses will be licensed and regulated remains to be determined.

Starting on Oct. 17, adults in Ontario will be able to purchase marijuana legally online through the Ontario Cannabis Stores mail-order service. Local storefront dispensaries wont be allowed to open until next April.

In the meantime, municipalities are trying to sort out potential zoning, bylaw and licensing requirements after the provincial government recently changed course to allow privately-owned pot shops.

Its made for a confusing time for cities trying to figure out how theyre supposed to regulate bricks-and-mortar pot shops  and which levels of government will be responsible for things like inspections and enforcement.

Theres a lot to be sorted out, said Shayne Turner, director of municipal enforcement services for the City of Waterloo.

And theres not a lot of time left. We are challenged right now trying to get ahead of an issue that we dont know how it will be regulated.

Read more:

NSLC announces first cannabis orders, totalling 3.75 million grams

Canadian universities flying blind into cannabis legalization

Cannabis company Tidal takes cue from small-cap Canadian miners

The province says it will allow municipalities a one-time opt-out option, a decision that would be made by each city and township to ban dispensaries from their communities.

The first big decision we have to make as a community is, Are we going to be in or out on selling cannabis? said Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig.

I think the most important thing is that we reach out to the community with as many facts as we have, about having these stores and what it means.

All the uncertainty hasnt stopped would-be pot shop owners from trying to get a jump on whats expected to be a lucrative retail market for recreational marijuana.

Among the businesses hoping to cash in on the green rush are James E. Wagner Cultivation Corp. The Kitchener-based marijuana producer says it has signed leases for two properties in Waterloo Region that it hopes can become retail marijuana outlets.

Ontarians deserve the right to try the products that we sell, said Nathan Woodworth, president and CEO of JWC.

That said, we dont know what those regulations are going to look like. We dont know whats coming down the pipe. This may not be allowed. Its something were hopeful about.

Its a risk prospective dispensary owners are willing to take  even though its not known how many cannabis retail licenses will be allowed in any city, or what kind of zoning restrictions might be put around things like schools.

Its also not clear how other businesses like Second Cup  which wants to convert some of its coffee shops to pot lounges  will get into the marijuana business, since public consumption of cannabis is still not allowed.

The province has indicated that anyone who operates an illegal dispensary before April 2019 will not be allowed a licence to open a legal store.

If these store owners are deliberately disobeying the law now, knowingly, why should they benefit from the legalized window? Turner said.

Cities, meanwhile, say they need more direction from the province before they can start to get a better idea of how legal marijuana storefronts will work. That could include changes to the Municipal Act to give cities new powers to regulate cannabis stores.

We have had a few inquiries about opening retail cannabis stores, said Helen Fylactou, manager of licensing for the City of Kitchener.

Our response has been that at this time we dont know what the legislation will look like and how it will allow municipalities to regulate in terms of location, number of locations, or even what type of businesses will be permitted to be cannabis retailers.

Municipalities are waiting on a consultation period to begin with the provincial government to know what legislative changes might be coming.

In Waterloo Region, its further complicated because its not clear what role the regional government will play. Regional staff currently enforce inspections under the Smoke Free Ontario Act, and that may be extended to include cannabis, as well.

At this point, were not 100 per cent clear what our role is. No municipality is, said Kris Fletcher, regional clerk for the Region of Waterloo.

And Im not sure how fast well get clarity on those things.

The region also needs to decide what the restrictions will be around using cannabis in regionally run facilities like nursing homes or social housing, she added.

One thing seems clear, at least according to municipal staff. It will take a while before all the regulatory wrinkles are ironed out.

The experience of cities like Denver, where marijuana dispensaries have been legal for several years, backs that up, Turner said.

We talked to our colleagues there, and they said, Dont think youre going to get this right the first time. Its not reasonable to think youre going to have every issue ironed out by April 1, he said.

But while municipalities still have a lot of questions about how legal pot will work, police arent expecting chaos in October.

I want to assure you  stay calm, Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin told a conference of Ontario municipalities in Ottawa this week.

On Oct. 17, there will not be reefer madness in Ontario or in any of your communities.

Larkin agreed police departments still have a lot to sort out, including how legal cannabis will impact their budgets, training, road safety and illegal dispensaries. But Ontario police leaders are ready, he insisted.

We feel very well-aligned on that Oct. 17, when legalization comes into play  that well be in a good place, he said.WASHINGTONOne of Chukundi Salisburys close friends, fellow anti-violence activist Tyrone Love, was murdered in 2009. The case remains unsolved. The people who know something, Salisbury says, refuse to talk to the police.

Salisbury has tried for more than a decade to convince Seattle residents to abandon the street code of no snitching. Now he has a new hurdle to overcome. Its the president of the United States.

Donald Trump was rattled this week by the news that his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, had decided to plead guilty to crimes, implicate Trump, and offer to co-operate with prosecutors. In response, the law-and-order president adopted the language of a crime boss.

Trump called Watergate star witness John Dean a rat. He congratulated former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was convicted Tuesday of tax fraud and bank fraud, for refusing to break under prosecutor pressure. He said it is brave to stay silent. And he declared that it almost ought to be illegal to become a flipper.

Trumps words have been denounced by his political critics. They may be especially disheartening to activists who have fought no snitching, some of whom say the presidents stance will make their work harder and make the streets more dangerous.

These guys believe in trickle-down everything else, they love trickle-down economics. Why wouldnt they think that this would trickle down? said Salisbury, an activist, marketing professional and DJ. At the end of the day, he has influence.

Read more:

Trump praises Paul Manafort for refusing to break unlike Michael Cohen

Two bombshells in one day for Trump as Michael Cohen pleads guilty, Paul Manafort convicted by jury

Donald Trump sought lawyers advice on possibly pardoning Paul Manafort weeks ago

The president criticizing co-operation with law enforcement, Salisbury said, encourages citizens victimized by crime to seek their own retribution rather than work through the legal system.

Were talking about white-collar crime with the president. And unfortunately, with some of the folks who are going to take him literally, were talking about violent crime. And if people are going to say, Were not rats, were going to go and handle this ourselves, it really endangers everybody, he said.

Donald Samuels, an activist, school board member and former city councillor in a high-crime part of Minneapolis, has struggled against no snitching for about 20 years. With Trumps remarks, he said, the moral argument has suffered a severe blow.

When he talks to wayward young people on the streets, Samuels said, they often respond that police officers have their own no snitching code when it comes to each other. The president using words like rat, he said, will make them more secure in the belief that refusing to co-operate is the way even polite society operates.

Believe me, this is not lost on the criminal community. Its a reinforcement of everything they have held true and dear. Basically, theyre saying, See? Its done at every level, so just back off. Snitches get stitches at every level. This is not a gang phenomenon or a criminal phenomenon; this is a societal norm, he said.

Trumps remarks dismayed William Rocky Brown III, a pastor and police chaplain in Chester, Pa., who once led a successful campaign to pressure local stores to cease their sales of stop snitching T-shirts.

Im appalled and extremely disheartened. Im not shocked because I expect anything from Trump, but thats downright gangster, Brown said.

He said Trumps words would encourage those who live on the wrong side of life. Like other activists, though, he noted that the reason many people refuse to co-operate is not the supposed African-American cultural problem alleged by some conservatives but a rational fear of being harmed for talking.

Theres a sense of danger within the community to report a crime because of retaliation. And theres not a witness protection program on a local level, he said.

Traci Fant, an activist in Greenville, S.C., who has called for people to come forward about the disappearance of a baby girl, said Trump is so poorly respected in her community that his comments were unlikely to affect residents views on co-operating. It would have been different if another president said it, she said.

But she marvelled anyway. The president who says he wants the death penalty for drug dealers, she said, is talking as if he is the drug dealer thats getting snitched out.

He has a mentality of corruption, she said. Does he not realize that what hes saying now is a street-level drug dealer should not snitch on the kingpin and take the whole organization down?

Salisbury tried to find a bright side. He said this president has such a long history as a bad role model that it would be easier for parents in his community to explain to their children that Trump is wrong here. And he said the presidents words could force Trump voters into uncomfortable conversations with their own children.

Can you really ride around with a Trump sticker on the back of your truck now and tell your kid not to lie in school or tell us who did it? You know, somebody broke the window. Can you really tell your kid to tell the truth? And being this Trump supporter: what if your kid says, Hey, well, Im not a rat. Now what?

Read more about:GORTAHORK, IRELANDIf any place illustrates the depth and depravity of child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church  and why the Irish are so angry about it  it is this unlikely corner of Ireland, where among rolling hills of wild heather, castles and bucolic fishing villages, predatory priests terrorized children with impunity for decades.

County Donegal, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean in northwestern Ireland, has fewer than 160,000 residents, but it may have the worst record of clerical abuse in the country. According to a watchdog group that monitors the Catholic Church in Ireland, 14 priests have been accused in recent years, four of whom were convicted. They include the Rev. Eugene Greene, one of the nations most notorious pedophile priests, who served nine years in prison for raping and molesting 26 boys between 1965 and 1982, though the real figure could be far higher.

Yet this year, when Pope Francis needed someone to head a neighbouring diocese, he chose Bishop Philip Boyce, who had been heavily criticized for refusing to defrock Greene when the priest was under his management in the late 1990s.

As Francis prepares for a visit to Ireland this weekend  the first by a pope since John Paul II in 1979  the painful spectre of such abuses hangs over his trip, as well as the churchs long history of protecting pedophile priests. It is cases like this one that many faithful say make it incumbent on Francis to give them not just words, but action.

That is true not only in Ireland, but also in the United States, where this past week a grand jury in Pennsylvania released a sweeping report that the church had covered up the abuse of more than 1,000 minors by some 300 priests over 70 years. Francis himself acknowledged the global scale of the problem this week, when he issued a rare letter to Catholics worldwide condemning such atrocities.

But the pope offered no specific remedies. Many Irish say they are now waiting not only for recognition of their suffering, but also for Francis to announce concrete measures to combat and punish such abuses. His record on the issue so far has left them skeptical and angry, even in conservative, ardently Catholic Donegal  the only Irish county where a majority of voters rejected a measure in May to repeal an abortion ban.

Residents said Francis appointment of Boyce demonstrated that the churchs record of shuffling along abusers and those who protected them remained unbroken. Boyce was keen to protect the family of the convicted priest from further trauma by not initiating laicization, the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church found in a 2011 review.

For those in Donegal, Boyces appointment was salt in the wounds. Francis chose him to replace John McAreavey, who resigned as bishop of Dromore after coming under fire for officiating at the funeral of a priest he knew to be a pedophile. It is unclear whether McAreavey was disciplined by the church.

Boyce did not respond to requests for comment.

Greene, now in his 90s, is thought to be living in a protected home run by an ecclesiastical order in Cork and enjoying a happy retirement, said John McAteer, the editor of the weekly Tirconaill Tribune. I find it shocking, he said.

Even in Donegal, it did a lot of damage, Jackie Hughes, a retired truck driver, said of the abuses and the churchs handling of them. They have destroyed homes. They have destroyed young men.

Some priests are good, he said, adding, There have been too many coverups. They seem to be in denial.

In his letter this week, Francis offered a forceful condemnation of the churchs handling of the abuse crisis, but his words nonetheless disappointed many Catholics, including those in Donegal.

Nothing has changed, sadly, said Colm OGorman, the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, who is himself a survivor of clerical sexual abuse. The reason why the church cant get a grip on the problem is because its primary concern is not to protect vulnerable adults and children but to protect the authority and reputation and the wealth of the institution.

The churchs grip in Donegal was so strong that abuse was uncovered almost by accident, when Greene told the police that a young man was trying to blackmail him. That man had been abused by a priest.

Even so, revelations of clerical sexual abuse would not have fully emerged without the work of two semi-retired detectives, whose efforts to listen to complainants led to Greenes arrest in 1998 and to investigations into other cases.

One of the detectives, Martin Ridge, had arrived in Donegal hoping to wind down after decades chasing Irish Republican Army militants, dealing with bombings and bank robberies.

I opened up a can of worms, he said in an interview.

Fighting the IRA was a conflict you could see with your eyes, he said, adding: This one, you couldnt. Its worse than the IRA, because its like putting a bomb into a childs mind.

His superiors were so reluctant to take on sexual abuse cases that Ridge turned a room in his home into an office and bought himself a computer. They washed their hands of it, he said. The victims, he added, were dismissed as if they didnt matter  the power of the clergy was so strong.

Abuse victims distrustful of the police approached Ridge instead, recounting their experiences in deserted car parks and other isolated areas  often places where the abuse had occurred.

By the time Greene was arrested, Ridge said, at least 45 men had come forward with abuse accusations, including against a teacher who worked in a Catholic school. That teacher, Denis McGinley, served a two-year prison sentence in 2002 for abusing dozens of pupils over three decades.

According to Breaking the Silence, a detailed account of the investigations co-written by Ridge, victims described how they were forced to masturbate their rapists. They were forcibly stripped, held down and repeatedly raped so violently that they bled for days afterward.

Many victims, groomed to such an extent that they believed sexual abuse was part of growing up, developed drinking problems and other addictions.

Donegal is riddled with landmarks of abuse, each telling its own tragedy.

In a cemetery in Gortahork, a small village near the coast, eight men are buried, all victims of clerical abuse who killed themselves. A few miles away, a 15-year-old abuse victim hanged himself in a shed.

Abuse took place in a school, at a secluded beach, in a grove of trees and behind the altar of a church on Inishboffin, an island that according to the most recent census has only 11 residents.

It looks like the most innocent, idyllic scene, Ridge said as he drove his car down a winding road that cut through craggy hills splashed with purple heather. A soft mist started to descend as the evening closed in, slowly swallowing grey cottages and barns.

Its hard to fathom that all these crimes were committed and covered up, he said. The audacity! As he drove by the shed where the 15-year-old had killed himself, Ridge gripped the steering wheel before making a sign of the cross.

Greene told his victims: Its our secret. Only God will know.

Martin Gallagher was 12 when he was first raped and molested by Greene, and the abuse continued for more than a year. He left school at 14 and started drinking at 16. He got sober only six years ago, at 46.

Theres something there thats never going to go away, Gallagher said in an interview. You try to forget, but you cant. Its a thing you just need to have to live with, work around.

He was 33 when he told Ridge about the abuse, the first time he had confided in anyone. He later discovered that two cousins had also been abused by Greene.

At my age you didnt have the sense to go to the police, Gallagher said. And going to your parents  who are they going to tell? How are they going to help? They cant. Everything was blocked.

Gallagher and Ridge sat across from each other as they recalled their experiences, at times falling silent and fighting tears.

Gallagher said that the popes visit and letter mean nothing to me.

They know what they have to change, but they havent changed, he said, referring to the way the church moved around predatory priests instead of removing them completely from the institution.

They spread like measles, he said later, driving past a large white house with three chimneys.

It was Greenes home, where he had been abused.

Instead of clamping down, they moved them around, and the same thing happened, Gallagher said. They were like a virus.SANAA, YEMENA senior Al Qaeda leader was killed in Yemens central province of Marib while fighting alongside the government forces battling Shiite rebels, officials and tribal leaders said Saturday.

Ghalib al-Zaidis death came a week ago in an exchange of fire during clashes with the rebels, known as Houthis, in the Sirwah district of Marib, they told The Associated Press. The fighting over the area was supported by air cover from a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemens internationally recognized government.

The officials and elders told the AP that al-Zaidi had dozens of Al Qaeda operatives under his command and had taken part in several battles against the Houthis in the province. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The coalition couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

In 2017, al-Zaidi was placed on the United Nations Security Councils sanctions list as a Yemen-based individual who acts for or on behalf of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The UN found him to be providing the Yemeni affiliate of the global terror network with weapons, funding, and recruits.

Al-Zaidi was also found to have helped AQAP to expand its control in parts of Marib. He had been the groups leader in the province since 2015.

A recent AP investigation found that Saudi-led coalition members through militias they back in Yemen had struck secret deals with Al Qaeda, paying some to leave key cities and towns and letting others retreat with weapons, equipment and wads of looted cash. Hundreds more were recruited to join the coalition itself because they are considered to be exceptional fighters.

The U.S.-backed Saudi-led coalition has been at war with the Iran-allied rebels for more than three years. Al Qaeda and an Islamic State affiliate have exploited the chaos to expand their presence in the country.

The coalition has long maintained that its committed to fighting terrorism in Yemen.

AQAP, based in Yemen, is considered the most dangerous branch of the terror network and had attempted attacks on U.S. soil. But in the fight to defeat the Houthis, Al Qaeda militants are effectively on the same side as the Saudi-led coalition  and, by extension, the U.S.

The U.S. has sent billions of dollars in weapons for Yemen, provided intelligence used in targeting the coalitions on-the-ground adversaries and American jets provide air-to-air refuelling for coalition war planes. But the U.S. does not fund the coalition and there is no evidence that American money went to AQAP militants, according to APs investigation.

International rights groups have long criticized the U.S. and other Western countries for selling arms to the coalition. In a Friday statement, Human Rights Watch called for the suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the coalitions alleged unlawful attacks on civilians in Yemen.

The U.S. operational support for coalition airstrikes could make the U.S. complicit in laws-of-war violations, while continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia could also expose U.S. officials to criminal liability, HRW said.

The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 people, devastated the Arab worlds poorest country and pushed it to the brink of famine.

Read more about:What is a leader to do when confronted with racist notions from the nativist alt-right fringe, and all of it enwrapped in what at first blush seems a legitimate question?

For distraction-hungry Donald Trump, reeling from a new flurry of legal developments that now threaten his very presidency, the answer was as simple as it was asinine: inject hysteria, augment fear beyond all reality, tweet.

And so it was late Wednesday that Trump, evidently after watching a Fox News report alleging that the South African government was seizing land from white farmers, issued a despicable, divisive message, announcing on Twitter that his secretary of state would closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers.

As The Stars Washington correspondent Daniel Dale noted, it was the first time Trump has used the word Africa on Twitter as president  and he did it to express support for white people.

And as nearly every serious journalist in South Africa noted, Trump got it entirely wrong. There is no large scale killing of farmers. Its a fabrication, a white supremacist conspiracy theory that found a home with Fox News broadcaster Tucker Carlson  and soon thereafter, the president.

The continuing American national shame of Trumps unfitness for office now is crossing borders. The presidents message cannot even be framed as a dog-whistle to the nativist alt-right embedded within his political base. It was a whistle, loud and clear, to white supremacists everywhere.

The response from the shell-shocked government in Pretoria was a demand for an explanation and a tweet of its own: South Africa totally rejects this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past. South Africa will speed up the process of land reform in a careful and inclusive manner that does not divide our nation.

Now contrast Trumps actions with those of Justin Trudeau one week earlier  the now notorious heckler smackdown at a campaign-style rally southeast of Montreal, in which the prime minister went ballistic on a woman shouting questions about payments to Quebec for costs incurred providing services for illegal immigrants coming over its borders.

Theres nothing wrong with a Quebec grandmother  or any other Canadian, for that matter  aggressively seeking policy answers, even on questions as fraught and divisive as immigration. And so Trudeaus response  an incendiary retort, accusing her of intolerance and racism and saying her sentiments were not welcome seemed wholly out of proportion.

Only later did it become known that the woman wasnt there by happenstance, but was in fact a plant, intent upon stoking confrontation. She has ties to controversial anti-immigration activist groups, including the Front Patriotique du Quebec and Storm Alliance.

Trudeau unleashed his fury early in the exchange, heaping accusations even before the woman dropped the first hint of her nativist allegiances  the phrase Quebecois de Souche, in reference to descendants of Quebecs original French colonists.

In the flurry of news stories that followed, the prime ministers office declined to say whether Trudeau had received advance warning from his RCMP security detail of a potential alt-right infiltration at the rally.

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer seized upon the encounter, declaring Trudeau guilty of polarizing the debate by sweeping away legitimate questions on his failed border policy with vile personal insults.

But as the days ticked by and a more fulsome portrait of the heckler emerged, Trudeaus message, retroactively at least, was the better fit. Especially after the woman self-identified on Facebook as a member of Storm Alliance, claiming responsibility for the confrontation with the prime minister, adding, Pretty happy that I participated in him blowing a gasket.

Isolate the Canadian politics at play and it all serves as grim grist for the coming election treadmill. As Trudeaus Liberals emerge from this weeks cabinet retreat  and as Conservatives huddle this weekend to plot their own pathway to power  questions of diversity, immigration, fear, division and extremism populism are almost certain to be central planks for both parties 2019 platforms.

Both sides appear intent upon casting their opponents as anti-democratic ideologues. Both sides, rather than giving each other enough rope to hang themselves, appear intent upon running rope factories to hang each other.

Canadians deserve better. But thoughtful engagement seems all the more elusive in an era in which groups like Storm Alliance can so easily infiltrate and inflame public discourse, sparking a flurry of rapid-fire political retorts even before either party understand the story behind the story.

Worse, in 2019 there will be no isolating Canadian politics. Just as South Africa finds itself confronting a loose-cannon presidents explosively itchy Twitter fingers, the hatred seeping north is just as palpable.

It could be worse, we suppose, given the ever-starker differences between the current leadership in Canada and the United States. As we end a week in which one leader, Trump, overtly stoked white supremacy and the other, Trudeau, overtly pounded it down, we know which side of the border wed rather be on.

Read more about:PM decries divisive politics, August 21

This Quebec woman deserved an answer to her legitimate question, not a rant from the PM and labelling as a racist.

Obviously, Mr. Trudeau is feeling the heat on this issue, and is incapable of providing anything other than an emotionally fuelled put-down when confronted on it.

Greg Sheehan, Mississauga

Heres a quotation to remember from the American writer Elbert Hubbard: If you cannot answer a mans argument, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.

Brian Rose, Hinton, Alta.

I endorse the stand taken by Trudeau. After all who, besides the Indigenous, can claim not to be an immigrant?GODFREY  With its 50-year anniversary approaching, Heartland Baptist Church plans to continue its history of growing, and then grow some more.

Weve gone through a lot of changes, its a building church, and its been a building church since they started, said the Rev. James Grant, PhD., pastor of the church at 4500 Humbert Road.

As Grant showed a Telegraph reporter through the maze of hallways recently, he pointed out various renovations and evidence of four additions to the now, expansive building that sits on 20 acres just north of Alton High School.

He credits much of the renovation work to members skilled in construction, electricity and other trades, particularly retirees in the breakfast group they call the ROMEOs (Retired Old Men Eating Out). The eager helpers have created space to fit the churchs changing needs and done updates at far less cost than if the congregation was paying for the work. Among the more recent projects have been renovating the kitchen, creating a teen center, parking lot work, landscaping and a new marquee.

Its been a blessing, he said.

The congregation also has been generous in financially supporting new projects, he said, already having raised $33,000 for another $40,000 in work on a church entrance.

Its always been a giving church, he said.

More Information The Rev. James "Jim" Grant didn't originally pursue being a minister. The Wentzville, Missouri, native first earned a Bachelor's degree in electronics engineering from Wayland Baptist University in San Antonio, Texas. He joined the U.S. Air Force doing electronic communications work for 25 years while stationed on five continents. During that time, Grant also preached in churches, aside from his military service. "I accepted the Lord in 1975 while I was in the military," he said. "I got scared, and prayed, 'What am I supposed to do? The Lord used me to serve in local churches to teach. In 1997, I said, 'I've got to quit running. I have to give my life to the Lord. I said I was tired of running. I need to serve Him." He was stationed in Belgium at the time. Three weeks later, he was ordained, and then immediately left Belgium. His retirement ceremony followed at the Alamo, on Aug. 1, 1997, and he already had been called to pastor a church. Grant pastored at two churches in San Antonio, then one church in Ft. Worth, Texas, before coming to Heartland. He earned a Master's in Divinity in Biblical languages, Greek and Hebrew, from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth and his doctoral in 2013. "It's been rewarding, the Lord has used me and grown me in church life and church health," Grant said. "In the United States, 4,000 churches will close their doors, and 1,000 Southern Baptist churches will close this year. It's really a struggle, our congregation is on the upper end (agewise). Life has changed so much, people can go on the Internet, Google to get spiritual information." Grant has been married to his wife Kathy for 42 years. The couple has two daughters, Sarah and Laura, and six grandchildren. See More Collapse

That growth of the facility, its dedicated Southern Baptist membership and where the church is headed in its next 50 years will be in the Sept. 15-16, Find us Faithful commemoration of Heartlands 50th anniversary.

It will bring a message of challenge, recognize people who came before us and challenge us to keep going, Grant said of his sermon on Sept. 16. When you think about it, people who were here in the 1970s wont be around for the 75th and 100th anniversary. We want to capture the story, these are eyewitnesses to people who pulled the wiring and poured the concrete.

The commemoration weekend will begin Saturday, Sept. 15, with an old-fashioned family picnic on the extensive grounds around the church. There will be free hot dogs, carnival games, bounce house, testimonies from previous ministers, a proclamation from Alton Mayor Brant Walker and vocal music from the Gibson Girls. The picnic will run from 3 to 6:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

It will be an old-fashioned atmosphere with nostalgia, Grant said.

The Sunday service on Sept. 16 will begin at 9:15 a.m., featuring Steve Hamrick, former Heartland music minister. He will lead praise and worship singing in the sanctuary, Grant said. Isaac Halleck, another former music director at the church, then will continue the program at 10:30 a.m. before Grants sermon. A catered lunch will follow for church members.

Heartland Baptist Church, formerly Alton First Southern Baptist Church, formed Sept. 16, 1968 at nearby, 3901 Humbert Road, with the Rev. Howard Todd Taylor as pastor. The fledgling church first met for worship on Oct. 6, 1968 at 801 Henry St. They closed the charter membership with more than 400 members, Grant said.

On the third anniversary of its founding, Sept. 16, 1971, church members voted to buy the property on which the current church sits. Nearly three years later, the congregation first worshipped together on the nations bicentennial, July 4, 1976.

The church added the fellowship hall and several classrooms in 1977, then a new wing with office space and more classrooms in the early 1980s. The Worship Center inside the church was completed in 1990; Noahs Ark Childcare Center opened in 2004, and remained open for 10 years.

The church changed its name from Alton First Southern Baptist Church to Heartland Baptist Church in 2006.

A minister for 21 years now, Grant, 62, became pastor at Heartland in September 2011; John Collins, family discipleship pastor, assists Grant. Previous pastors were: Rev. Allen Speer (associate); Rev. Paul Tirey; Rev. Henry Hall (interim); Rev. Robert Thompson (interim); and Rev. Kenneth Morgan.

The pastor and congregation of 225 continue to look forward on the churchs physical appearance, and also membership bases. In particular, the church is seeking ways to grow membership of young families, which churches face all across the United States.

We have a mixed generational problem, we probably lean on older members, most of them are age 65 and up, with our oldest going to 98  Opal Simpson, Grant said. America is an aging society. Honestly, in 10 to 15 years, we are going to lose two generations  the builders and boomers. We have to do the work of the Lord for those who come after us. It is not just numbers, but providing hope that people need.

One of the two books Grant wrote examines the issue of declining church membership, which also was the subject of his doctoral study. That book, The Practical Tools for Church Revitalization, will be in print in the next few weeks.

Weve got members from Collinsville, Brighton, Jerseyville and Godfrey. We draw from Elsah, Grafton, Bethalto and Wood River, he said. One of the things we hold to is the Scripture and we believe the Lord makes the difference. The whole point of what we try to do is families. Families are the basic unit of society, and they are so fragmented these days.

He said the congregation is generous, within two weeks coming to aid a teacher/missionary with finances to go to Honduras to work for a year. The church serves as an evacuation site for Alton High and students take their advanced placement tests at the facility. The church also is involved in the foster care/adoption agency, The Restore Network; Thrive Womens Center; Hope Center pantry; and Drug Free Alton Coalition.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_WellerThe Illinois Farm Bureau and Farmers for Free Trade will host U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood on Monday for a discussion on trade.

The meeting will take place at CHS Lowder Grain Elevator at 10955 North St. in Waverly.Jacksonville Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Curtis J. Simpson, 25, of 800 Hoagland Blvd. was arrested about 7:10 p.m. Thursday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended.

 Matthew M. Schreieck, 38, of 318 W. First St., Versailles, was arrested about 11:20 p.m. Thursday on a Brown County warrant accusing him of violating conditions of bond related to a drug charge.

 A 15-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were arrested at 1:11 p.m. Friday at Jacksonville High School on charges of disorderly conduct.

BURGLARIES, THEFTS

 An iPhone was taken from a locker at Jacksonville Middle School, according to a report filed at 3:35 p.m. Friday.

FIRE

 The Jacksonville Fire Department extinguished a fire at 5 St. Andrews Dr. just after 5:30 a.m. Friday.

Firefighters extinguished a fire in the roof, attic and gutters of the home. The cause of the fire is unknown.

The fire resulted in $345,000 in damage to property and contents.

Woodson Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Brandy L. Maxon, 28, of 18 Maple Creek Estates was booked into the Morgan County jail at 9:51 a.m. Friday on charges of driving while license is revoked or suspended and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.



Compiled by Greg Olson and Samantha McDaniel-OgletreePIASA  Public school families in southwestern Macoupin County will continue to benefit from Illinois new school funding formula, which guarantees the Southwestern School District an additional $129,432 for the academic year that is getting underway, state Sen. Andy Manar said Friday.

That means the new formula will have pumped more than $417,600 in additional money into Southwestern public schools during its first two years on the books and more than $4.2 million additional into eight Macoupin County public school districts combined.

Long underfunded school districts are finally getting the attention and the state support theyve been starved of for too many years, said Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and the driving force behind passage of the new school funding formula.

I am delighted the evidence-based model is working as we expected it would. Its exciting to learn about the growth and innovation happening in our classrooms because of this new, equitable approach to funding education.

Many school districts are rehiring teachers and counselors who were laid off because of budget constraints, reinstating vital programs, creating innovative new learning programs, and establishing much-needed stability so they can budget for the future.

Under the evidence-based model, no schools receive less money than they did the previous year, and the previous years new money becomes part of the current years base funding. This allows long-underfunded schools to achieve adequate funding over time without penalizing schools that have already had adequate funding.

Last year  the first year under the new formula  Southwestern CUSD 9 received $288,179 in new, additional money under the evidence-based model, bringing its total state funding to more than $6 million.

This school year, the district will receive an additional $129,432 in new money under the evidence-based model, bringing its total state funding for the year to more than $6.1 million, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

More Information Macoupin County school districts will receive more than $1.7 million in new, additional funding under Year 2 of the formula for 2018-2019:  Bunker Hill CUSD 8 - $124,058 in new money; $2.9 million total state contribution  Carlinville CUSD 1 - $297,112 in new money; $4.9 million total state contribution  Gillespie CUSD 7 - $473,360 in new money; $8 million total state contribution  Mount Olive CUSD 5 - $77,987 in new money; $2.2 million total state contribution  North Mac CUSD 34 - $220,717 in new money; $5.9 million total state contribution  Northwestern CUSD 2 - $40,956 in new money; $1.5 million total state contribution  Southwestern CUSD 9 - $129,432 in new money; $6.1 million total state contribution  Staunton CUSD 6 - $352,485 in new money; $5 million total state contribution See More Collapse

In all, public school districts in the 48th Senate District will receive nearly $5.8 million in new money this year under the new formula. Added to last years total of about $8 million, public schools represented by Manar have received nearly $14 million in new money in just two years.A team from the University of Technology, Mara in Malaysia have created beads from waste sago fibre. Green, yellow, blue, black, pink, reddish orange and brown beads have been aesthetically strung together to form stylish jewellery. While their colours and delicate designs are eye catching, it is their concept of being eco friendly and sustainable that is noteworthy.

Dr Margaret Chan Kit Yok and her team from the University of Technology, Mara in Malaysia were concerned about the environment and wished to do something about it. Thus, they tapped into their diverse expertise to create sago eco beads.These beads are made from sago fibre and kaolin clay. They add value to waste since sago fibre is a byproduct of sago starch sourced from sago palm. The sustainability and durability of clay is increased by mixing sago fibre to it. From the artists point of view, it is a new medium which works in harmony with nature, explains Yok who provides these beads under the brand name of Genserai Bungai.

The process starts with cleaning of the sago fibre. At a time about 150 kilos can be cleaned by passing the fibre through normal water and drying it in direct sunlight for about 8 hours. This is followed by blending it to powder. At a time, about 2 kgs can be blended in a mechanical blender. The resultant sago fibre which is locally called hampas is composed of 58 per cent starch, 23 per cent cellulose, 9.2 per cent hemicelluloses and 4 per cent lignin on a dry weight basis.

Kaolin clay from Sarawak which is normally used to make pottery is kneaded with water and sago powder for ten minutes to make it pliable and elastic. The ratio of clay to sago fibre is an intellectual property which is not revealed by the researchers. The process is quite similar to kneading bread and the dough is turned into small balls by rolling onto the palm. For making the central hole a bamboo reed is used and the size is increased by slowly rolling the stick within the bead. Water is used to lubricate the reed. A mould is used to craft the floral designs on the beads when they are still wet, adds Dr Wan Samiati Andriana who is part of the team that developed these beads.

The next step is drying the beads and it is the most important because if water is accumulated inside and the bead baked, the water bubble that is formed leads to cracking the bead. A water bubble creates a cavity and the bead loses its strength leading to breakage. Smaller beads of .05mm take two days while bigger beads of 3 cms take a week to dry in direct sunlight.

The eco beads are then baked in an oven at a temperature of almost 1,000 degrees Celsius. They are allowed to cool inside the oven for about half a day followed by colouring. The colours of the beads correspond to some of the indigenous fruits found in the rainforests of Borneo. Pink colour is a tribute to Lauraceae which is locally known in Malay as Engkala. This fruit has a soft flesh whose taste is similar to avocado. The dark purple to black colour represents Burseraceae which is an oblong fruit. Guttiferae is locally known as kundong and has a bright red skin with white flesh. Its skin is dried and used in fish soup. Yellow colour is for the fruit Solanaceae which has a sour and tangy taste and is called the Borneo sour brinjal. Green colour represents Anacardiaceae which has a sweet taste and is called the forgotten mango of Borneo. It has a yellow coloured juicy flesh that leaves an after taste of tart acidity, explains Suzana William from the Genserai Bungai team.

Post colouring, the beads are glazed and strung on a heat resistant wire to ensure that the colours do not stick to each other when they are baked for a second time in a 1,000 degrees Celsius oven. The resultant beads have a glossy finish. If the Japanese style of Raku is followed then after baking, we remove the beads immediately from the hot oven and cool them by placing in rice husk. Raku beads are very expensive and have a smooth matte finish. The beads have a vintage look, adds Halina Amin from the Genserai Bungai team.

Round, cylindrical and tubular sago eco beads which are 20 per cent lighter than pure clay beads are strung to make jewellery like bracelets, necklaces, pendants, anklets and earrings. A variety of strings, connectors and embellishments like pearls are used. The brand Genserai Bungai is derived from Iban language. Genserai refers to varieties and Bungai are patterns and designs.Post the floods in Kerala, several people and institutions are donating generously to spur the processes of relief, rehabilitation and rebuilding. Celebrities and even laymen made generous contributions to the state's flood relief fund. Latest to chip in with help is popular actor Sunny Leone and her husband Daniel Webber.

With a heart-warming note, the celebrity couple posted on Instagram, their photograph with a pile of sacks full of rice and pulses they are sending to Kerala.

@dirrty99 (Daniel Webber) and I hopefully will able to feed a few of the many people in Kerala that need a warm meal with 1200 kgs of rice and daal. I know its not a dent in what actually needs to be sent and I wish I could do more, (sic.) Leone wrote in the photo-caption.

Earlier this week, a fake news saying that the Indo-American actress donated Rs 5 crore to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's flood relief fund had gone viral on Keralite social media platforms. Though the star did not come up with an official clarification to it, she had retweeted Vijayan's announcement of official flood-relief fund raising campaign.

Meanwhile, Leone's office confirmed the news that the star made generous financial contributions to help flood-affected Keralites though it refused to reveal the exact amount owing to privacy issues.Days before the much-anticipated '2+2' strategic dialogue between the ministers of defence and foreign affairs of the US and India gets under way in Delhi on September 6, the Narendra Modi government on Saturday cleared the start of negotiations for procurement of 24 MH-60R multi-role anti-submarine warfare helicopters from Lockheed Martin for the Indian Navy.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council, which also cleared the purchase of 111 utility helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs 21,000 crore.

The go-ahead for negotiations for the MH-60R will be interpreted as an attempt to boost goodwill ahead of the 2+2 dialogue, which will involve Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj holding parleys with their American counterparts Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. India-US strategic ties had been strained over India's recent decision to proceed with plans to purchase the Russian S-400 missile system.

The MH-60R helicopters, built by Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky Aircraft, will be procured under the 'government-to-government' route at a cost of around $1.8 billion. The MH-60R is the US Navy's primary anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopter and is also capable of search and rescue and supply missions.

The MH-60R is vital for the Indian Navy to maintain and improve its anti-submarine warfare capabilities, which are currently dependent on ageing British-built Sea King and Russian Kamov 27 helicopters. Interesting, the Indian Navy has projected a need for 123 multi-role helicopters, which means the number of MH-60R helicopters being purchased could go beyond 24.

Another procurement announced at the Defence Acquisition Council meeting on Saturday is the plan to purchase 14 vertically launched short-range missile systems for the Indian Navy. The new short-range missile systems, which can shoot down advanced anti-ship missiles to protect warships, will replace the Israeli Barak-1 missiles, which were purchased more than 20 years ago and are now obsolete.

Graphical representation of the VL MICA missile system | MBDA

Four of these short-range missile systems will be bought directly from a foreign company, while the remaining 10 will be developed by an Indian partner. It has been speculated that the missile system being purchased is France's VL MICA system, offered by the European defence giant MBDA, though this is yet to be confirmed.

Interestingly, VL MICA is the surface-launched derivative of the MICA missile system that is being bought for the Indian Air Force's upgraded Mirage-2000s and future fleet of Rafale fighters.

(With inputs from Pradip Sagar)He said the anti-narcotics agency has widened its probeCongress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday raked up the multi-billion Rafale deal in the UK, accusing the BJP government of changing the contract to benefit an industrialist who was in debt.

In an interaction with the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (UK) at the London School of Economics, Gandhi spoke of alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of favouring a businessman who had no experience in manufacturing aircraft.

Gandhi has been attacking the BJP government for allegedly inking the deal at a much higher price than the one the previous UPA regime had negotiated to benefit "one businessman".

Facing allegations of getting undue benefits from the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has sent legal notices to several Congress leaders asking them to "cease and desist" from levelling such charges.

Gandhi, in response to a question on tackling corruption during an 'In Conversation' event at the famous London university, said: "Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been building aircraft for 70 years. It has built the Sukhoi, Hawk... whole set of planes. HAL has no debt. HAL has by far the best experience in building aircraft in 70 years".

Questioning the government's fighter jet deal struck with French giant Dassault Rafale, the Congress president said he found it "absolutely amazing" that the media in India had not picked up on highlighting how Ambani was "magically" given the contract for 36 fighter jets soon after Modi's visit to France.

"Our government signed a contract with Dassault, and gave the contract to HAL. The price we were paying was approximately 520 crores a plane.

"Then something happened, Prime Minister Modi went to France, changed the contract from 126 planes to 36 planes, changed the pricing structure from 520 crores to 1,600 crores and magically, Mr Anil Ambani was given the contract," Gandhi said.

The Congress president alleged that "Mr Anil Ambani is Rs 45,000 crore in debt".

"Mr Anil Ambani has never made a plane in his life, and the company that got the contract, one of the biggest defence contracts in the world, was formed one week before the contract was signed, luckily this is absolutely amazing. So that's the interesting question about corruption," Gandhi said.

Reliance Group has denied the allegations relating to the deal under which France's Dassault is supplying the fighter jets and has entered into a joint venture with an Anil Ambani-led group firm to meet its offset requirement of the contract.

Ambani recently wrote to Gandhi on the deal saying his party has been "misinformed, misdirected and misled" by "malicious vested interests and corporate rivals" on the issue.

The issue of corruption was among a range of topics covered by Gandhi during his question and answer session with students from the LSE and other British universities, including Brunel and King's College London, organised by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK to launch its 'Perspective India Townhall'.

On the issue of his association with dynastic politics as the grandson of former prime minister Indira Gandhi and son of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, he said: "I come from a certain family but I am an elected person; I have been democratically elected. So the term dynasty is not precise.

"I am actually elected and the important thing is I operate in a democracy and take the punches and have learnt a lot from my experiences over the years".

Calling on youngsters to join politics, he stressed that the Congress was determined to defend the "onslaught on the Indian Constitution" and "remove the BJP from power".

"We are constructing a manifesto in the Congress that brings in all ideas, stakeholders, farmers and allies and potentially have a structure with which to go to the people," Gandhi said in reference to the 2019 general election, adding that his party would not be making any alliances with anybody not "ideologically on our platform".

The Congress president described the essence of the Congress party as its ideology of non-violence and one that feels deeply for the people in the country who are weaker.

"I have been through a certain degree of violence up close. I have seen family members killed and borne the brunt of massive attacks on myself and learnt a lot from that. Ultimately, I love my country," he said, when asked about his leadership credentials.

Asked if the Partition of India in 1947 was the right move, given the "attacks on minorities" in India, he was defiant in the message that India has more Muslim people than Pakistan.

"We are a more democratic and open country, which embraces its people. The negotiation that India has been able to carry with its people, I am very proud of.

"However, over the last four years, an attack is taking place on Indian institutions but the original idea of India is going to win 100 per cent without a doubt," Gandhi said.

The event with LSE South Asian Centre director Mukulika Banerjee covered a wide spectrum of subjects.

On Saturday, he will hold a lengthy breakfast meeting with representatives of the Indian Overseas Congress UK representatives to kick-start general election 2019 preparations, before he addresses a 1,300-strong diaspora event in the evening.Following the footsteps of Ajit Jogi, the first chief minister of Chhattisgarh, the collector of Raipur, IAS officer Om Prakash Choudhary on Saturday resigned from service to join politics.

Choudhary, an IAS officer of the 2005 batch, is a resident of Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh. Choudhary hails from the backward Agharia community, which has a sizeable population in Raigarh district.

Choudhary came into the limelight when he established an education city for tribals in South Bastar when he was collector of Dantewada. He was later posted as commissioner of the municipal corporation of Raipur and later became director of public relations, a post that holds immense importance for the government and chief minister.

Over the last few months, there have been rumours of Choudhary quitting the IAS and joining politics. He is likely to join the BJP and contest the coming assembly polls from Raigarh.

Choudhary on Saturday announced his decision on his Facebook page, which has thousands of followers as he was popular as a youth icon in Chhattisgarh. Very few native people from Chhattisgarh are in the IAS.

Choudhary's announcement and decision to join politics attracted the usual response from social media.

By 5.30pm on Saturday, just two hours after Choudhary put up a post on Facebook on his decision to resign, over 7,000 people liked the post and over 2,000 commented on it.

Choudhary has formally not said anything about the party he is joining, but it is an 'open secret' that he is close to the BJP and Chief Minister Raman Singh.

In 1986, another IAS officer from Chhattisgarh (then a part of Madhya Pradesh), Ajit Jogi, resigned from service when he was collector of Indore. Jogi was made a Rajya Sabha member after Rajiv Gandhi asked him to join the Congress.

Jogi later became the first chief minister of the state when Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in November 2000. Choudhary seems to be following the footsteps of Jogi, who now runs a regional political party named Chhattisgarh Janta Congress.US President Donald Trump on Friday called off Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to North Korea. The quick decision comes on the grounds of not having made significant progress in the denuclearisation deal. "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula," Trump tweeted.

Pompeo was scheduled to visit North Korea next week to discuss dismantling of the Pyongyang nuclear weapon programme. He was to be accompanied by the US' newly appointed representative to North Korea, Stephen Biegun. At the historic summit in Singapore in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Trump signed a joint declaration, according to which Kim committed for "complete denuclearisation of Korean Peninsula", while Trump pledged "security guarantees" to North Korea.

Trump also put the blame on China, North Korea's biggest trading partner. Because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearisation as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place), Trump tweeted. "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!" a second tweet read.

This would have been Pompeo's second visit to North Korea after the summit. During his last visit in July, he had called the meeting with the vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Yong-chol "very productive" and told media that he "spent a good time talking about denuclearisation."The Democratic Republic of Congo's electoral commission said Friday night that it has invalidated six presidential candidatures, including that of former Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba for elections scheduled for December.

Congolese opponent Jean-Pierre Bemba (C), speaks to the press after applying to be a candidate for next presidential elections of December 23, at the office of the Independent Electoral Commission, in Kinshasa, on August 2, 2018. [File photo: AFP/Junior D. Kannah]

According to a statement by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), the decision was based on the latest conviction of the former vice president by the International Criminal Court for bribing witnesses during the rebellion in the Central African Republic between 2002-2003.

Candidates whose files are rejected have 48 hours to bring their cases to the Constitutional Court.

Among 25 files of the presented candidates, those of opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi and the candidate of the ruling coalition, Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, have been declared admissible by the CENI.

Shadary has been chosen to replace President Joseph Kabila to participate in the elections.

Some members of the opposition accused Kabila of trying to manipulate the CENI to remove opposition candidates for the benefit of Shadary.Veteran US senator and war hero John McCaina towering figure in American politics for decadeshas stopped treatment for brain cancer, his family announced on Friday, one year after the Republican went public with his diagnosis.

The announcement signals the beginning of the end of a tough battle with an aggressive form of cancerand of a storied life that took McCain, a Naval Academy graduate, from a Hanoi prison to the doorstep of the White House.

"The progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict," the 81-year-old senator's family said in a statement.

"With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment."

McCain has spent more than three decades in the upper chamber of Congress, looming large in debates over war and peace and the moral direction of the nation.

McCain, a Navy fighter pilot, spent years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam after being shot down while on a bombing mission over Hanoi.

McCain lost the 2008 presidential election to Barack Obama and was pilloried for selecting controversial Alaska politician Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

"No man this century better exemplifies honour, patriotism, service, sacrifice, and 'country first' than Senator John McCain," said fellow Republican Mitt Romney. "His heroism inspires, his life shapes our character. I am blessed and humbled by our friendship."

With no more elections to run, since 2016, McCain has been a rare and outspoken Republican critic of President Donald Trump.

Known for his combustible temper, McCain had accused Trump of "naivete", "egotism" and of sympathising with autocrats.

Following Trump's recent summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, McCain caustically described the US leader's behaviour as "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."

That had earned McCain the ire of Trump, who regularly blamed him for his failure to reform Obama-era healthcare laws and refused to say his name when signing the eponymous "John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act."

McCain has not been on the Senate floor in months, remaining at his Arizona home for treatment of glioblastomathe same form of brain cancer that took the life of another Senate giant, Democrat Ted Kennedy, in 2009.

"I love my husband with all of my heart. God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey," his wife Cindy said.

His daughter, Meghan, thanked the public for an outpouring of support.

"My family is deeply appreciative of all the love and generosity you have shown us during this past year," she tweeted.

"Thank you for all your continued support and prayers. We could not have made it this far without youyou've given us strength to carry on."

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was "very sad to hear this morning's update from the family of our dear friend."

"John, Cindy, and the entire McCain family are in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour."

Democrats, too, weighed in.

"Senator John McCain is a warrior in every sense of the word," said Congressman Joe Kennedy IIIa scion of the American political dynasty. 'To an inspiring man and a loving family, our thoughts are with you."

John Boockvar, director of the Brain Tumor Center at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, said the type of cancer is "incurable." "He is probably at the terminal part of his disease," Boockvar, who has not treated McCain but is an expert in the field, told reporters.

"They have decided not to extend any other options to him for treatment because at some point, the risks outweigh the benefits." Treatment usually consists of chemotherapies, with a low chance of success.

Boockvar said the cancer had likely "spread to untreatable levels and he is seeking comfort care, which is a very reasonable point of his battle against this disease."(Eds: With more information and background)

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) In a major decision, the Defence Ministry today gave its nod to acquisition of 111 utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore besides approving separate procurement proposals worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore, according to officials.

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement, cleared the proposals.

The procurement of the naval utility helicopters will be the first project under the ambitious strategic partnership (SP) model which provides for roping in private firm to build select military platforms in India in partnership with foreign defence manufacturers.

"The DAC, in a landmark decision today, approved procurement of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore," the Defence Ministry said.

The utility helicopters will be used in attack missions as well as for search and rescue and surveillance operations.

The ministry said the DAC also granted approval to a few other procurement proposals amounting to Rs 24,879.16 crore, which included one on buying 150 indigenously designed and developed 155 mm advanced towed artillery gun systems for the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364.78 crore.

These guns have been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and will be manufactured by production agencies, as nominated by DRDO.

The DAC also accorded approval to procure 24 naval multi role helicopters (NMRH) which will have the capability to engage in anti-submarine warfare. The MRHs are an integral part of the frontline warships like the aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes.

In addition, the government also approved procurement of 14 vertically launched short range missile systems. Of these, 10 systems will be indigenously developed.

"These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles," the ministry said.

The Indian Navy in August last year had issued global request for information (RFI) for procurement of 111 utility and 123 multi-role helicopters.

The Navy has been pressing the government to procure new utility and multi-role helicopters to add teeth to its existing capability and replace its ageing fleet of choppers but the procurement process has seen years of delay.

The government had issued an RFI for it in 2011 as well as in 2013.

In May last year, the defence ministry had finalised the SP model under which select private firms will be roped in to build military platforms like submarines, fighter jets and choppers in India in partnership with foreign entities.

The policy envisages establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with Indian defence majors through a transparent and competitive process wherein they would tie up with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains.

Initially, the strategic partners will be selected in four segments - fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines and armoured fighting vehicles/main battle tanks. It is expected to be expanded to other segments at a later stage. PTI MPB RTMumbai, Aug 25 (PTI) Unlike his brother Ayushmann Khurana, a successful leading hero since six years, Aparshakti began his acting career with supporting roles and he says it was a conscious move as he does not want to fall in the ambit of the "nepotism" debate.

He entered the industry with films like Aamir Khan's "Dangal" and Karan Johar produced "Badrinath Ki Dulhania".

"If I would have entered the industry the way my brother did neither I would have been satisfied with my journey nor the audience would have been convinced. The challenge for me is to have a different journey than my brother.

"I've been patient enough to choose roles which don't, on the face of it, make me a star brother and I don't fall in the ambit of the nepotism debate," Aparshakti told PTI.

The actor says the decision to choose this path was mutual and conscious.

"I've deliberately taken a longer route. Ayushmann told me to do this, it was wise enough for an elder brother to make his younger brother understand that the journey is more important," he says.

Aparshakti began his career as an RJ before eventually coming to Mumbai to pursue his dream of acting.

The 25-year-old actor says in the past he was also offered solo hero films which he turned down as he was not too excited by the storyline.

He believes that refusing a solo project is the "toughest" thing to do for any artiste but he chose not to do it because he would not have gained any knowledge as an actor by doing them.

"They not only come with leading roles but good money and the fact that they might fulfil my dream of becoming a bigger artiste. An artiste comes here to do these roles.

"There were three films in the past year and a half. Two of them tanked and one didn't even release. I would rather do small parts in good films than do a big part in a bad film, which takes away your credibility."

The actor says one has to be "very patient in this field" and work satisfaction is of utmost importance for any artiste.

He will also be seen in a film called "Rajma Chawal" alongside veteran actor Rishi Kapoor and Aparshakti is aware that it is not as big a movie as "Dangal" but he agreed to do it because he liked the idea and the team working on it.

His aim, he says, has always been to grasp as much as he could from the team, while shooting for a film.

His next release is Rajkummar Rao's "Stree", that will arrive in theatres on August 31. Besides this, Aparshakti is currently shooting for Sidharth Malhotra-Parineeti Chopra starrer "Jabariya Jodi", and Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon's "Luka Chuppi" PTI JUR KKP RB

RBLondon, Aug 25 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi has described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a "very painful tragedy" and said he was "100 per cent" for the punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody.

Nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots in 1984 following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards when the Congress government was in power at the Centre.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, told the audience of UK-based parliamentarians and local leaders yesterday that the incident was a tragedy and painful experiences, but disagreed with the view that the Congress was "involved".

"I think any violence done against anybody is wrong. There are legal processes ongoing in India but as far as I'm concerned anything done that was wrong during that period should be punished and I would support that 100 per cent," he said.

"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy."

Later, during an interactive session at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots, Gandhi said: "When Mr Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels."

He was referring to the killing of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE in 1991.

"So, I am against any sort of violence against anybody on this planet. I get disturbed when I see anybody being hurt. So, I condemn that 100 per cent and I am 100 per cent for punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody. That's crystal clear," said Gandhi.

He said that people, who have not had violence inflicted upon them, think that violence is what one sees in movies.

"That's not what it is. I have seen people who I loved very much being killed. I have also seen the person (Prabhakaran) who killed my father being killed.

"When I saw Prabhakaran lying on the beaches in Jaffna (Lanka), when I saw him being humiliated, the way he was, I felt sorry for him, because I saw my father in his place and his children in my place," he added.

"So, when you are being hit by violence, when you understand it, it has a completely different impact on you."

Gandhi said most people do not understand violence which is a horrible thing.

Some Congress leaders have been accused of leading the killer mobs during the riots. They have denied the allegations.

Earlier Gandhi had invoked Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, during his address in Germany, drawing sharp reaction from the BJP which said Gandhi should apologise for the "heinous crime" at the Golden Temple. PTI NSA AKJ

NSALondon, Aug 26 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi today alleged that the judiciary and election commission were being "torn apart" under the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keeping mum on grave issues confronting the nation.

Addressing the Indian Overseas Congress in London, he said the prime minister insulted every Indian by saying that nothing had happened in the last 70 years.

"India shows the future to the world. The people of India made this possible, and the Congress helped them," he said.

"If the prime minister says nothing had happened before he assumed office, he is not commenting on the Congress, he is insulting every person of the country," Gandhi said.

He alleged that at present, Dalits, farmers, tribal people, minorities, the poor in India are told they will not get anything, and "if they raise their voice, they are beaten up".

The SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act has been "destroyed, and scholarships have been discontinued", he claimed.

"Today in India, people are discriminated against on the basis of caste and religion. Marginalised are betrayed, while people like Anil Ambani benefit," he alleged.

Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on the Rafale deal, Gandhi said that the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited had been manufacturing aircraft for the last 50 years, but the contract was given to "someone who floated his company just 19 days before the deal".

"Nobody will get anything. Only Ambani will get everything. This man has accrued a debt of Rs 45,000 crore," the Congress president alleged.

Gandhi has been attacking the BJP government for allegedly inking the deal at a much higher price than the one the previous UPA regime had negotiated to benefit "one businessman".

Facing allegations of getting undue benefits from the multi-billion dollar Rafale deal, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has sent legal notices to several Congress leaders asking them to "cease and desist" from levelling such charges.

Reliance Group has denied the allegations relating to the deal under which France's Dassault is supplying the fighter jets and has entered into a joint venture with an Anil Ambani-led group firm to meet its offset requirement of the contract.

Ambani recently wrote to Gandhi on the deal saying his party has been "misinformed, misdirected and misled" by "malicious vested interests and corporate rivals" on the issue.

Gandhi said, "When the farmers of Karnataka and Telangana ask for loan waiver, PM Modi says this is not our policy. India's handful of richest businessmen have NPAs of Rs 12.5 lakh crore, but the prime minister says nothing."

He alleged that the prime minister kept quiet "when his own party's MLA raped a woman and when Nirav Modi ran away with people's money."

"Institutions such as the Supreme Court, Election Commission, Reserve Bank of India, which are the walls of our country, are being torn apart now," he alleged.

It was the first time that four senior-most judges of the apex court come out in public earlier this year to say they were not being allowed to work, he said.

"I do not use bad language for the prime minister. And if you have listened to the debate on the Rafale deal in Parliament, you would have seen that the PM could not answer my questions," he said.

Gandhi said China creates 50,000 jobs a day, while India creates only 450, and unemployment was a pressing issue.

"Our farmers need help. Our youth needs education, elderly people need health care. But, there is no discussion on the issues of farmers, education and health care," he said.

Lauding the contribution of non-resident Indians in the development of the country, he said, "Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, B R Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru were all NRIs. They travelled the world and helped India with new perspectives." PTI GVS AKJ GVSThane, Aug 25 (PTI) With the arrest of seven people, police today busted a gang which allegedly duped people living in the US and other countries by telling them that they need to pay tax dues, an official said.

Two years ago, the Thane Crime Branch had unearthed a similar scam which targeted US residents.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided a call centre in Mira Road area and arrested seven people, Assistant Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni said.

A case under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and sections of the Information Technology Act was registered with Navghar police, and several computers were seized, he said.

Explaining the gang's modus operandi, Kulkarni said the accused obtained financial details of foreign nationals such as loans they had taken and their salaries.

The gang members then called such people, pretending to be from tax authorities in respective countries, and told them that they owed "loan tax" which can be paid through Bitcoins, he said.

Bitcoin is a form of electronic currency which is not recognised by most central banks.

The arrested people were identified as Juber Shaikh (26), Sabio Gonsalvis (42), Raju Rathod (29), Harsh Anwar Kazi (23), Siddharth Pillai (22), Saurabh Jha (29) and Siddhi Nair (29).

The police were yet to find out how much money was transferred into accused persons' bank accounts.

In 2016, the Thane Crime Branch had unearthed a similar scam, where persons operating from call centres in Mira Road area duped 6,400 US residents of millions of dollars.

The accused called US residents pretending to be from that country's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and demanded payment of tax through gift cards of online shopping sites. PTI CORR DC KRK SNE

SNE25 kg gold seized, 4 persons arrested in West Bengal

(Eds: Updating with another seizure and more inputs)

Kolkata, Aug 25 (PTI) In a major haul, Central

agencies have seized around 25 kg of gold from two different

places in West Bengal and arrested four persons, official

sources said today.

Acting on specific information sleuths of the

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence raided a place at Sevoke

Road in Siliguri town and seized 20 kg of gold last evening,

they said.

The seized gold is valued at about Rs 5.4 crore in the

market, the sources said.

The DRI sleuths arrested two men for smuggling the

yellow metal, they said.

The two men had brought the gold from Jaigaon in

Bhutan to Siliguri, which serves as the gateway to the north

east, for smuggling it to other places, the sources added.

They were produced before a local court which remanded

them to DRI custody for seven days.

The Customs Intelligence unit seized 5 kg of gold

valued at about Rs 1.5 crore from Howrah station area and

arrested two persons last night.

Acting on a tip off, the customs sleuths nabbed the

two, when they were trying to board an Allahabad bound train

from Howrah station last night, the sources said.

After frisking their baggage, the officials seized

about five kg of gold. Both of them were arrested, the sources

added. PTI COR KK AKB

RG RGKolkata, Aug 25 (PTI) Following are PTI's top stories

from the eastern region at 4.30 pm.

STORIES ON THE WIRE:

CAL3

WB-CHIDAMBARAM LD RAFALE

Govt ignored defence procurement procedure in Rafale

deal: Chidambaram

Kolkata: Stepping up attack on the government over the

Rafale fighter jet issue, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram

today accused the Centre of ignoring the defence procurement

procedure and "bypassing" several committees to secure the

deal.

CES2

OD-RAIN-FORECAST

Heavy rain forecast for Odisha in next 48 hours

Bhubaneswar: Heavy rain is likely to lash several

parts of Odisha over the next two days owing to the formation

of a low pressure area in the region, the Met office here said

today.

CES1

WB-ONAM-MAMATA

Mamata wishes happy Onam to the Malayalees

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee

today wished the Malayalees a happy Onam and hoped that the

Keralites would be able to overcome the difficulties caused by

the recent floods in the state and witness a good harvest next

season.

CES3

WB-FILMS CENTENARY

Centenary of Bengali cinema to be celebrated in Dubai

Kolkata,: The centenary of Bengali cinema will be

celebrated through a musical event at the 'Bongo Probashi

Milap 2018' in Dubai on November 30, 2018, Bengali film

superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee said. PTI

RBT RBTNew Delhi, Aug 25(PTI) Expressing solidarity with victims of the 2008 Kandhamal riots in Odisha, leaders of opposition parties today called for defending democracy, which they said was under attack.

They were speaking at a discussion held here 10 years after the riots that broke out following the killing of Swami Lakshmanananda in Odisha.

Since 2014, a "new liberal fascist power" has emerged in the country under which attacks on constitutional and democratic rights of the people, especially the Dalits and the minorities, have gone up, CPI leader D Raja alleged during an event 'Kandhamal: Never Again'. He also said a broad-based coalition was required to "stop the onslaught" of the RSS-BJP combine.

The Kandhamal riots in 2008 claimed several lives and churches were vandalised in the aftermath of the killing.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Gopal Rai said the RSS-BJP was working "more aggressively" and there was a situation of establishment of a "fascist" regime in the country.

He expressed concern over the "negative"thinking in the country despite modernisation and technological development.

Rai alleged that the RSS and its affiliates have mastered the "art of cultural religious polarisation" in the country.

"Merely replacing the BJP in the 2019 general elections will not stop hate and polarisation. Therefore, a long term campaign is needed to fight it," he said.

CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali and Congress leader Bhaktcharan Das also participated in the discussion. PTI VIT ANB

ANBGorakhpur, Aug 25 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today paid tributes to Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the ashes of the former prime minister were immersed in Rapti river.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the former prime minister would always be remembered for the developmental works undertaken by him.

"He has worked for the improvement of the infrastructural facilities in the country, be it the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana or the Golden quadilateral."

He also said in the 70 years of Independence, Vajpayee left his imprint on people from different fields directly or indirectly.

Adityanath said the BJP stalwart had contributed immensely to the telecommunication revolution.

"Atalji had a deep relationship with Gorakhpur and Gorakhnath temple, and had visited the temple for the last time in 2004. He will always be remembered for his values and ideals," he said. PTI CORR NAV AARNew Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) Laying emphasis on the need to create more job opportunities and enhance employability of the youth, junior HRD Minister Satyapal Singh today suggested the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to explore internship opportunities in varied fields including agriculture.

Recent initiatives of the AICTE will help students of technical institutes learn new skills in coming years, he said at an event at the council headquarters here.

"The country needs development in other fields besides industry. Internships in agriculture and other such fields could help train a large number of youths in the country. Efforts should be made to start internships in these fields besides technical and professional subjects," he said.

The Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) lamented that overemphasis on getting degrees and diplomas has lowered the standard of education in the country.

"With all efforts focussed on getting degrees and diplomas, the entire education system geared up to meet this need. This system has lowered standard of education," he said.

The minister presented awards to technical institutes with best record of internship in 2018 at the event.

The top three institutes with the best internship records were Manipal Institute of Technology, Maharaja Agrasen Institute Of Technology, and Chandigarh University.

The event was organised to acknowledge the institutes for their efforts in helping students secure internships during the April-July period this year.

Over 8,000 students from more than 1,500 colleges and institutes affiliated to the AICTE landed internships through 'Internshala' in the summer of 2018.

The AICTE has signed agreements with platforms such as Internshala to provide internship opportunities to students of colleges and institutes affiliated to it, said AICTE chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe.

Internshala founded by IIT-Madras graduate Sarvesh Agarwal is an internship and training platform used by a large number of students and organisations in the country. PTI VIT SMNNew Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) A court here today rejected a plea moved by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy and other AAP MLAs seeking to restrain police from sharing with the media information on the charge sheet in the case of alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal rejected the plea and reserved for September 18 the order on whether to take cognisance of the charge sheet and summon Kejriwal, Sisodia and others as accused in the case.

The court said it needed time to go through the charge sheet, which also names as accused 11 legislators of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) -- Amanatullah Khan, Prakash Jarwal, Nitin Tyagi, Rituraj Govind, Sanjeev Jha, Ajay Dutt, Rajesh Rishi, Rajesh Gupta, Madan Lal, Parveen Kumar and Dinesh Mohania.

In its around 1,300-page charge sheet, the police alleged that Kejriwal, Sisodia and others had criminally conspired to threaten the chief secretary with death or grievous hurt, obstructed him in discharging his public function and caused hurt.

It has also accused the AAP leaders of other offences punishable under sections of IPC, including wrongfully confining any person, assaulting or using criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty, insulting him to provoke breach of peace and abetment of the offence.

They were also charged for offence committed under IPC section 149, which says if an offence is committed by any member of an unlawful assembly, every other member of such assembly shall be held guilty of the offence.

If convicted, the accused may get a maximum of seven-year jail term. After the charge sheet was filed, Kejriwal and other persons named in the charge sheet had moved the court seeking to restrain police from sharing information with the media.

The Delhi Police had on May 18 questioned Kejriwal for over three hours in connection with the alleged assault on Prakash.

Prakash was allegedly assaulted during a meeting at Kejriwal's official residence on the night of February 19.

The police said the chief minister was present when the alleged assault took place.

The police have already questioned 11 AAP MLAs present at the chief minister's residence for the meeting.

Two of the party MLAs -- Amantullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal -- were arrested in the case.

The alleged assault on the chief secretary had triggered a bitter tussle between the Delhi government and its bureaucrats. PTI UK SMN

SMNThiruvananthapuram, Aug 25 (PTI) The 82-year-old Kumari just stared on as other inmates tried to lay a floral carpet on the courtyard of a flood relief camp in Alappuzha district.

"I had never ever imagined that we would not celebrate another Onam at that house in the same way," says the homemaker, overcome with memories from last year's celebrations with her family.

"Today is Thiru Onam, but we are in this relief camp. Unprecedented rains and floods have flattened our home."

Kumari is among the over 8 lakh people who were displaced by the deadly floods and are now living in thousands of relief camps across the state after losing the savings of their lifetime.

The devastating deluge, which has so far claimed 265 lives, has taken the sheen out of the state's most awaited harvest festival, Thiru Onam, which falls today.

But, Onam feast was prepared in schools, colleges, convention halls, mosques and churches which are serving as relief camps in various districts.

Floral carpets were also laid at the camps to soothe the worried minds of flood-hit people. In worst-hit Alappuzha district, 'Onam' was celebrated at a mosque, which has been turned into a relief camp.

The doors of the mosque were opened to accommodate people of all religions on August 18, a mosque committee official said.

"As we saw several houses destroyed, people being displaced, we opened our hall used for offering 'namaz' (prayers).

"This is in true sense religious harmony. The floods have brought people of all religions together," he said.

Bakrid was celebrated here last week and in the same spirit, Onam was being observed today and the feast was prepared by the people in the camp.

"Delicacies like aviyal, sambhar, payasam,.. all have been prepared," the mosque committee official said.

In Chengannur, a relief camp inmate said the Onam festivity may be a low key affair this time, but we will overcome and definitely celebrate next year in our homes.

Young Nandana, who returned to her home from a camp in Kochi, is busy drying her textbooks and notes as the sun came out this morning.

"There is no pookalam due to floods," she said.

Many in the camps, sang 'Onam pattu' (songs), laid out flower carpets and prepared 'sadya' (feast) in an effort to bring some joy into their lives mauled by the unprecedented rains and floods, the worst the state has faced in a century.

Women were busy cutting vegetables and men unhesitatingly pitched in to help, to prepare the feast in many camps.

In the Aluva UC College camp, children and Muslim women joined in making the 'pookalam.'

In the famous Thrikakkara temple at Kochi, dedicated to Vamana, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the usual Onam sadya was not held this year.

Onam is celebrated with great pomp across the state, but this time around festivities are the last thing on people's minds as they come to grips with the devastation.

The usual celebrations like laying floral carpets and preparing feasts were comparatively subdued in urban areas also.

The state government has also cancelled Onam celebrations.

The Kerala Tourism's decision to organise Champions Boat League on the lines of Indian Premier League (IPL) from this year starting with Nehru Trophy boat race also took a beating due to the flooding.

Pulikali (Tiger Dance), which is held in Thrissur with artisans donning tiger masks and dancing to the rhythm of traditional percussion instruments on August 28, has also been cancelled.

Onam commemorates the return of mythical demon king Mahabali to see his beloved subjects at the beginning of 'Chingam', the first month of the Malayalam Calendar. PTI LGK UD ROH TIR

TIRNoida (UP), Aug 25 (PTI) A student of a private university here has been arrested on attempt to murder charges after he allegedly pointed a pistol at another student of the institute over an old tiff, police said.

Surya Kumar (24) was detained yesterday, a day after the incident occurred outside the Amity University in Sector 125, the police said, adding that he was arrested today.

Kumar, a resident of Dasna in Ghaziabad, is a final-year B.Com student, while complainant Vivek Yadav, a resident of Safrabad village in Sector 73 here, is a first-year MBA student in the university.

According to Yadav, the two had a spat last month over parking of vehicles on the university premises.

"Parking inside the campus is not allowed for students. But Kumar was drunk and he got his car inside. I got hit on my leg by his vehicle, so I complained to my teachers. Kumar was scolded and told not to bring his vehicle inside the campus. After that he had warned me of dire consequences," he claimed.

Yadav said on Thursday, he was in his car at the parking lot outside the campus, when he was confronted by Kumar, who was in another vehicle.

"He came towards my car with a pistol. I quickly rolled up the windows and started the engine. Meanwhile, I also called up the emergency police number for help.

"Kumar got on to the bonnet of my car and then latched on to the window, while pointing the pistol at me," Yadav said.

A purported video of the incident went viral on the social media. Subsequently, a case was lodged against Kumar at the Sector 39 police station, officials said.

Kumar has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), among others, the police said. PTI KIS RCGorakhpur, Aug 25 (PTI) A class 11 student of a school in Gorakhpur's Buxipur was allegedly beaten up by his class teacher and two other teachers, following which the accused were booked, police said today.

A case was registered against three teachers and one unidentified person in this connection, SHO Girijesh Tiwari said, adding that a probe was underway.

The student's father had lodged a complaint after which the case was filed, though no arrest has been made so far, he said.

As per reports, class teacher Vivekanand Tripathi beat the 15-year-old student allegedly because he expressed ignorance about the donation for flood-hit Kerala.

Annoyed over this, the teacher started beating him and also called two other teachers, Vivek Singh and Sandeep Chaterji, who beat up the student.

"My son was badly beaten by the school teachers. The district hospital doctor told me that the eardrum of my son is affected," Satish Chandra Gupta, father of the student, told reporters.

However, the police said things will be ascertained only after medical examination of the student. PTI CORR NAV CKNew Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) Two men were arrested after a 16-year-old girl alleged that she was abducted, confined in a house, and raped by four men for a week, the police said today.

The girl alleged that she was abducted from northeast Delhi's Harsh Vihar and raped in Greater Noida's Surajpur area, they said.

The girl was abducted on August 15 when the victim went to a nearby shop for buying some household items. Two bike-borne men allegedly subdued the girl with intoxicants and gagged her before abducting, they said.

In her statement to the police, the victim alleged that she was raped by four men in a house where she was confined for a week. On August 24, the victim somehow managed to escape and filed a complaint at the Surajpur police station.

The incident was reported to the Harsh Vihar police station, police said.

Two men were arrested in connection with the case while two others are absconding.

The case is being investigated, said Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast).

Based on her statement, a case was registered and the victim taken to a hospital, a police official said, adding that it surfaced that the girl was five months pregnant.

During investigation, it was learnt that one of the accused lived near the same locality where the victim stays with her family in Harsh Vihar.

The accused is a labourer and lived at a rented house in the area. He often spoke to the girl on the pretext of giving his house keys before going to work and had allegedly even misbehaved with her, the police said. PTI AMP CKNew Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) A 52-year-old teacher of a government school in north Delhi's Burari was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing his 15-year-old student, police said today.

The incident came to light after a video of the act was forwarded by the teacher to an acquaintance who made it viral with an intention to blackmail the accused, a senior police officer said.

The incident came to light yesterday following which the teacher was arrested, the officer said, adding it was suspected that the video was shot in June.

The police were probing whether the accused had abused other students and how long he had been abusing the victim.

The victim stays with his family in northwest Delhi's Swaroop Nagar.

The parents of other students staged a protest outside the school today demanding strict action against the teacher.

Earlier this month, an electrician was arrested for allegedly raping a Class 2 student in a New Delhi Municipal Council School. PTI SLB AARMALTA  Stewart's Shops will start offering a punch card for ice cream orders that gives customer their eleventh scoop for free on Monday.

The chain's popular Milk Club Card will now be accepted at all Stewart's Shops, also starting Monday, the company said in a Friday news release.

Customers buying an ice cream treat off the menu will now receive one punch on their Scoop Club Card per purchase. After they buy any ten items at the cone counter, they will receive one free. Pre-packaged ice cream is not included in the program.

Related: Stewart's unveils new civility campaign, with ice cream of course

The offer operates similarly to the long-standing Milk Club Card, in which a customer gets one free half gallon of milk after the purchase of ten half gallons. One gallon of milk means two punches and half gallon Refreshers are also eligible for one punch.

The new cards will be available at all locations starting Monday.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

Click through the slideshow above to see photos of Stewart's Shops through the years.

Stewart's which has been around for 70 years and is both owned by the Dake family and its employees. The company has its corporate offices in Malta, but its dairy plant and distribution center are in Saratoga SpringsBALLSTON SPA -- A Ballston Spa man was sentenced to 3.5 to 7 years in prison on a burglary conviction, Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen's office said.

A jury in July convicted Michael J. Barone, 47, of Lewis Road, Ballston Spa, on the felony charge.

Barone was accused of breaking into a detached garage in Malta in October intent on stealing a chain saw and gas can, prosecutors said.Saratoga Springs

I made a mistake during the Triple Crown spring of Justify. I didn't pick the best horse.

Justify, as we all know, was the most dominating 3-year-old colt in Kentucky, Baltimore and New York. And I didn't pick him once. Dunce cap? Yes. Order me a half-dozen of them, please.

It really is an easy game if you don't try to get cute. And, during the Triple Crown, I tried to get cute and picked against the Bob Baffert dynamo.

Took Good Magic in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. In the Belmont, I hitched myself up to the Vino Rosso train.

Going into the Derby, I really thought Good Magic was the best horse. In that week down at Kentucky, I had never seen his trainer, Mechanicville's Chad Brown, so confident, so loose. Good Magic ran great in the Derby, finishing second. Justify was just 21/2 lengths better.

Good Magic tried him again in the Preakness and was even closer. He was fourth in that race, but only lost by a length.

I did not pick Justify in the Belmont because I stuck by the rule of my late, great mentor Matt Graves. He always told me if I wasn't on board early, can't jump on late. So, thanks to Matty's wisdom, I looked like a dope going against Justify in the Belmont.

Now, the slate is clean and here we are, ready to roll in the 149th running of the Travers.

Justify is not here as he retired last month as an undefeated Triple Crown hero.

What we have left is a solid bunch of runners. The best of them is Good Magic.

He has won twice in his five races this year, the wins coming in the Blue Grass at Keeneland in April and the Haskell at Monmouth last month. In between, he bumped heads with Justify twice and lost. Although not by much.

And here he is at the end of August and still breathing some fire.

"It will be a long time before I get another horse who is this durable," Brown said. "He is a rare horse."

Good Magic is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the race and the Travers has not been kind to the chalk lately. The last time a favorite won the race was Alpha in 2012 and he had to share it with Golden Ticket when they had that crazy dead heat.

Since then, the Travers post-time favorites that went down the drain were Verrazano (seventh in 2013), Bayern (10th, 2014), American Pharoah (2nd, 2015), Exaggerator (11th, 2016) and Good Samaritan (5th last year).

Since 2000, only six favorites have won the race.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

Good Magic will be ridden by Jose Ortiz, who has been on his back in all but one of his eight career starts. The colt has a stalking style and, from his outside post (No. 9), should be able to move whenever he wants.

The son of Curlin had a break after the Preakness before running in the Haskell on July 29. He is a horse that seems to thrive on running. He is the best horse in the 11-horse Travers field. So, I am not going to make the same mistake a fourth time. Good Magic is my pick to win the Midsummer Derby.

As for the rest, I give Bravazo, the second-place finisher in the Haskell, a chance to juice up the exacta with his 12-1 odds. I am also not counting out the filly, Wonder Gadot, from making a dent in the exotics. Catholic Boy is returning to the dirt after two graded stakes wins on grass, one of them at the Travers distance. Not eliminating him.

Horses that I will eliminate include Trigger Warning, Meistermind, King Zachary, Mendelssohn and, begrudgingly, Jim Dandy winner Tenfold.

Gronkowski, the second-place finisher in the Belmont at 24-1, is Good Magic's stablemate. He surprised in that race as it was his first race on dirt and first race in this country and first race beyond a mile. I want to see him do something special again before I back him.

Vino Rosso is a horse that could win this race and is also one that could be a non-factor. He ran well in the Belmont when he was fourth and, even though he was third in the Jim Dandy, it was not the effort Todd Pletcher was looking for. A wildcard in here for sure.

The picks: 1. Good Magic. 2. Bravazo. 3. Wonder Gadot. 4. Vino Rosso

twilkin@timesunion.com - 518-454-5415 - @tjwilkinSaratoga Springs

There's no oceanfront property in Saratoga, but on Friday, there was Sea Foam in the winner's circle.

The 3-year-old New York bred by Megdalia D'Oro out of Strike It Rich went wire to wire to win the $250,000 ungraded Albany Stakes, a 1 -mile route on the main track and the third race on Friday's 11-race card.

"He's always been a nice horse," trainer Christophe Clement said. "It took him a little while to get going, but certainly going longer on the dirt is better for him."

Sea Foam ($5.60) shot out to the lead at the break and never surrendered the top spot, digging in when pressured in the stretch run by Evaluator, who held on for second over Singapore Trader.

"Christophe told me to let him be happy wherever he was," jockey Joel Rosario said. "He's the type of horse where it doesn't matter how fast you go, he has a good closing speed and when you ask him to go, he just keeps going."

Albany mayor Kathy Sheehan presented a trophy to the winning connections.

The Funny Cide: Dugout ($8) won the Funny Cide, a 6 -furlong sprint for 2-year-old New York-breds, over Bankit, trained by Steve Asmussen, and Bustin to Be Loved.

"I figured it was going to be between us and Asmussen," said Dugout's trainer, Larry Rivelli. "Most of the runners in this race had won on the front end, so I didn't want him to get hit with a lot of dirt. I told (jockey Javier Castellano), 'If you can make the lead, make it, because has been going good,' and he just gave a professional ride."

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

The Seeking The Ante: Collegeville Girl was the favorite as the horses loaded in the gate, but was injured after becoming fractious in the gate and was scratched by the stewards and vanned off.

That enabled Party Like Grandma ($7.90) to go wire to wire under jockey Andre Worrie.

"The speed (Collegeville Girl) scratched, so I figured I was the only other speed," Worrie said. "I went on with it and she got brave and just kept going."

Other stakes races: La Moneda got up by a neck in the Yaddo, a 1 -mile route on the main track for 3-year-old New York-bred fillies, edging Lady Joan. ... English Soul got up for the win in the Fleet Indian, beating Take Charge Aubrey and Split Time in a photo. ... The 9-year-old Kharafa ($37.40) returned the day's highest price, winning the $150,00 West Point on the inner turf by a half-length over Offering Plan.Supervisors Play a Super-Sized Role in Agent Morale

Glengarry Glen Ross. Office Space. (Spoiler alert!) Horrible Bosses.

What do all these movies have in common?

Correct. They are all about the grim existence of workers trying to survive under the tutelage of bad supervisors.

Weve all heard about the high level of disengagement among workers. Gallups State of the American Workplace report suggests that two-thirds of employees are not engaged at work and more than half are looking for new jobs.

Abig reason so many workers are less than excited about their current jobs, and the majority are looking to jump ship, involves having bad bosses.

Bosses matter, notes this McKinsey & Co. report. They matter because more than 95 percent of all people in the workforce have bosses, are bosses, or both.

The research firm adds that bosses set the tone in the workplace. And it says dealing with their immediate boss is the most stressful part of the job for more than 75 percent of employees.

So what makes for a bad boss or a good boss? And what can companies  and contact centers in particular  do to make sure they elevate and hire people who are suited for supervisory roles?

As we all know, bad bosses come in many flavors.

There are those that just dont seem to care. They ignore employees, miss deadlines, and are unresponsive to employee and organization needs. This behavior may be due to an overly heavy workload, their own lack of engagement, a lack of social skills, or just a personality trait.

Of course, some bosses can be just plain mean. They may belittle workers, take credit for the work of others, and generally make everybody feel uncomfortable and afraid to interact or share new ideas that could rock the boat.

All that can lead to hire worker/agent churn, absenteeism (for mental health days), lack of innovation and collaboration, and lower productivity and employee engagement.

Good bosses, meanwhile, create a sense of community to which workers want to contribute. They greet their workers during every shift.

They speak loudly when a worker or the organization at large has something to celebrate. And they take people aside quietly and constructively when things need to change.

Companies need to remember all that in hiring, promoting, and reviewing supervisors. And they should convey these messages to contact center managers and other leaders with whom employees interact daily.

Customer experience has fairly recently become a big focus for contact centers. To deliver great CX and meet other business goals, contact centers need to pay attention to employee experience as well. And having the right contact center management in place may be the most important thing they can do to achieve that.

Edited by Maurice Nagle[August 24, 2018] Children in Houston Receive Free Vision Screenings, Eye Exams and Prescription Glasses as Part of Back-to-School Public Health Event

Houston-area children and families received free vision screenings - plus vouchers for comprehensive eye exams - and prescription glasses as part of a back-to-school public health event at the BakerRipley Leonel Castillo Community Center. Certified pediatric vision screeners from Prevent Blindness Texas conducted the screenings (plus provided vouchers for comprehensive eye exams), and any child identified with the need for prescription eyewear will receive a free pair of glasses during a follow-up visit. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180824005460/en/ Rubi Camarena is cheered on by Dr. Health E. Hound as she receives a free vision screening from a certified pediatric vision screener with Prevent Blindness Texas as part of a back-to-school health event at the BakerRipley Leonel Castillo Community Center in Houston. The event is part of a grant program from UnitedHealthcare to nonprofits in cities across the country to coordinate free vision screenings, comprehensive eye exams and eyeglasses donations. Prevent Blindness Texas received a $5,000 grant for the local event (Photo: Pu Ying Huang). The event is part of a grant program from UnitedHealthcare to nonprofits in cities across the country to coordinate free vision screenings, comprehensive eye exams an eyeglasses donations. Prevent Blindness Texas received a $5,000 grant for the local event.



About Prevent Blindness Texas Founded in 1956, Prevent Blindness is the state's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight. Focused on promoting a continuum of vision care, Prevent Blindness Texas touches the lives of thousands of people each year through public and professional education, advocacy, community and patient service programs and research. These services are made possible through the generous support of individuals, corporate donors and foundations. Through a network of regional offices and volunteers, we are committed to eliminating preventable blindness in Texas. For more information, or to contribute to Prevent Blindness Texas, call 1-888-98- SIGHT or, visit us on the Web at preventblindnesstexas.org or www.facebook.com/preventblindnesstexas or www.twitter.com/pbtexas.

About UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter (News - Alert) . Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180824005460/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][August 24, 2018] FARMLAND PARTNERS SHAREHOLDER ALERT by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Farmland Partners Inc. - FPI, FPI-PB

Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until September 10, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Farmland Partners Inc. (NYSE: FPI, FPI-PB), if they purchased the Company's securities or preferred securities between the expanded period of March 16, 2016 and July 10, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. What You May Do If you purchased securities or preferred securities of Farmland and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-fpi/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by September 10, 2018.



About the Lawsuit Farmland and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On July 11, 2018, a report by Seeking Alpha revealed allegations that Farmland had increased its revenues artificially "by making loans to related-party tenants who round-trip the cash back to [Farmland] as rent" and that "310% of 2017 earnings could be made-up." Further, the Company had "neglected to disclose that the majority of its loans have been made to two members of the management team." On this news, the price of Farmland's shares plummeted. About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180824005443/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][August 25, 2018] HeartFlow Analysis Enables Physicians to Confidently and Safely Differentiate Patients in Need of Invasive Treatment and Patients Who Can be Managed Medically for Coronary Artery Disease

Late-breaking data published and presented today confirm that the non-invasive HeartFlow FFRct Analysis enables physicians to effectively differentiate patients in need of coronary stenting or bypass surgery from those who can be managed with medications alone. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180825005005/en/ HeartFlow 3D Model (Graphic: Business Wire) The ADVANCE Registry was published in the European Heart Journal (EHJ) and the Aarhus University Hospital experience was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC). Both studies were presented during the late-breaking science session today at the European Society of Cardiology ( ESC (News - Alert) ) conference. In these studies, the HeartFlow Analysis changed physician management of patients and enabled physicians to determine more efficiently which patients required invasive management and which did not. The HeartFlow Analysis identified a set of patients at very low risk of adverse outcomes when undergoing medical therapy, and a set whose risk was reduced when undergoing invasive management. The ADVANCE Registry included more than 5,000 patients in the U.S., Japan, Europe and Canada. The Aarhus University Hospital experience included more than 3,600 patients in Denmark who were followed for an average of two years. "These studies confirm the role of the HeartFlow Analysis in identifying disease that other tests may miss, and in providing reassurance to patients and doctors that some blockages are not in need of invasive management," said Campbell Rogers, MD, FACC, chief medical officer, HeartFlow. Identifying the Right Treatment for Each Patient The HeartFlow Analysis provides FFRct values along the coronary arteries, helping physicians to assess the impact of a blockage on blood flow. A positive FFRct value ( =0.80) indicates that a coronary blockage is impeding blood flow to the heart muscle. In both studies, patients underwent a coronary computed tomography angiogram (CTA), and when additional information was needed, a HeartFlow Analysis 3D digital model was then used to help determine optimal management. In the ADVANCE Registry, the added information contained in the HeartFlow Analysis led physicians to reconsider and change management plans for two-thirds of their patients. Some who were originally scheduled to rceive a coronary stent or bypass operation were safely able to avoid the procedure and be treated with medications alone, while others who would have received medications were redirected to stenting or bypass surgery.



In the Aarhus University Hospital experience, physicians were able confidently and safely to differentiate higher risk patients who required additional testing, stenting or bypass surgery from patients whose treatment required only medications. In both studies, coronary narrowings associated with negative FFRct values ( >0.80) were predominantly managed with medications alone and were associated with excellent outcomes, similar to those outcomes in patients who had no or minimal narrowings.

Enabling Treatment Decisions that Lead to Safer Outcomes In both studies, the HeartFlow Analysis helped physicians identify patients who could be treated safely without invasive testing or treatment. In the ADVANCE Registry, among more than 1,500 patients with a negative FFRct value, the vast majority received medical therapy without invasive testing or treatment, and none experienced adverse events. In contrast, when the HeartFlow Analysis showed a positive FFRct value, it helped physicians identify patients who were at higher risk for death, heart attack or emergency stenting or bypass, and who would likely benefit from invasive management. In the Aarhus University Hospital experience, patients with a positive FFRct value who received medical therapy alone suffered heart attacks at a rate six times higher than that seen among patients who received a stent or underwent bypass surgery. In the ADVANCE study, patients with positive FFRct values were at 20-fold higher risk compared to those with negative FFRct values. "The HeartFlow Analysis is a tool that helps me more effectively develop treatment plans with greater confidence for my CAD patients," said Timothy Fairbairn, MBChB, FRCP, PhD, consultant cardiologist, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital and first author of the ADVANCE registry paper. "Being able to use a non-invasive cardiac test to clearly differentiate which of my patients need invasive procedures or are most at-risk for adverse events is instrumental in my ability to provide them with the best care." About the HeartFlow FFRct Analysis Clinicians diagnosing someone with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) want to know as definitively as possible if the individual has a significant blockage in their coronary arteries. They also want to know the impact of that blockage on blood flow so they can best determine which treatment pathway is appropriate (e.g., medical management, stenting or coronary artery bypass grafting). Data from a patient's non-invasive coronary CTA are securely uploaded from the hospital's system to HeartFlow's software application running in the AWS cloud. HeartFlow leverages deep learning to create a personalized, digital 3D model of the patient's coronary arteries. The HeartFlow Analysis then uses powerful computer algorithms to solve millions of complex equations to simulate blood flow and assess the impact of blockages on coronary blood flow. The HeartFlow Analysis is provided via a secure online interface to offer actionable information to enable clinicians to determine the optimal course of treatment. To date, clinicians around the world have used the HeartFlow Analysis for more than 20,000 patients to aid in the diagnosis of heart disease. The HeartFlow Analysis provides the highest diagnostic performance compared to other commonly available tests1 and is able to help physicians identify CAD often missed by other tests. The technology also has demonstrated a reduction in unnecessary tests, such as an invasive diagnostic coronary angiogram2, which can be associated with bleeding, stroke, major blood vessel damage and other serious complications. It also significantly reduces healthcare costs for hospitals.3 About HeartFlow, Inc. HeartFlow, Inc. is a medical technology company transforming the way heart disease is diagnosed and treated. Our non-invasive HeartFlow FFRct Analysis leverages deep learning to create a personalized 3D model of the heart. By using this model, clinicians can better evaluate the impact a blockage has on blood flow and determine the best treatment for patients. Our technology is reflective of our Silicon Valley roots and incorporates decades of scientific evidence with the latest advances in artificial intelligence. The HeartFlow FFRct Analysis is commercially available in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. For more information, visit www.heartflow.com. 1 Driessen, et al. Presented at EuroPCR 2018. Nrgaard et al, Euro Radiology 2015; 25(8):2282-90

2 Douglas et al. PLATFORM Trial. Eur Heart J. 2015;36(47):3359-67

3 Douglas PS, DeBruyne B, Pontone G., Patel MR, et al. One-year outcomes of FFRct-guided care in patients with suspected coronary disease: The PLATFORM Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016;68(5),435-45. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180825005005/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]Planned Parenthood's Midtown Kansas City Clinic Loses Abortion License Planned Parenthood's midtown Kansas City clinic can no longer perform medication abortions after its license officially expired on Aug. 10. Clinic officials say they sought timely renewal of its license, but state health officials delayed it after saying they were unable to conduct a complete inspection of the facility in June.

Check public radio attempting to relocate the placement of this clinic near Troost that primarily served to advise on the murder of innocent children . . . Here's more sympathetic coverage to modern day genocide in the name of "access" and equality . . .Last month, I joined about 15,000 other cyclists in a weeklong bike ride across Iowa. We rode past cornfields and through small towns, which welcomed us with pork barbecue, slices of pie and all the trappings of a rolling state fair. Every so often, alongside the lemonade stands or in people's yards, I spotted posters.KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A new proposed ordinance in Kansas City, Missouri targets a state law that some point to as contributing to a spike in car thefts. Currently, in Missouri, you don't need a title to sell a car that is 10 years or older to a scrap or salvage yard since 2012 when the state law was changed.







KC Week According To Welshman

Ginger Rogers and The Kansas Governor's Race KCPT's Nick Haines, executive director of public affairs and Week in Review host, picks out the big stories of the week ahead and the interesting stories you may have missed. Orman Remains on The Ballot Independent candidate for Kansas Governor,Greg Orman will stay on the November ballot after a state board rejected a challenge to his candidacy.

Kansas City Collision Report

She's Swine

KC Our Stories: Female butcher brings locally-sourced meat to KC KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If you're looking for a professional butcher, Kim Wells just ain't it. "I do get people that come in here and go, 'Yeah, I've cut meat for a long time and I've never seen anything cut like that. It'll fit in the pan though,'" Wells said.

Great KC Doggie Debate

KCMO considering changes to some animal codes; seeking public input KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Leaders in Kansas City are working to overhaul the city's animal ordinances. It's been more than a decade since some of the city's animal codes have been updated. "This is something we've been talking about for quite a while," city spokesman Chris Hernandez said.

Public TV Artsy

The Art of (Fountains) Our photography series, "The Art of (KC)," brings you beautiful, thought-provoking and compelling images of what makes our city tick. This week, we're focused on fountains. And it's no surprise that with more than 200 fountains, Kansas City is appropriately-dubbed "The City of Fountains."

Kangaroo Checklist

5 things to do in KC before you graduate Kansas City is home to some amazing attractions. Whether you're a life long resident or a newcomer with roots somewhere else, every student should take the time to explore the city. Here are five quintessential stops you should make along the way.

Washout Home Team Win

O'Hearn, Dozier HR in 9th to walk off Royals over Indians KANSAS CITY, Mo. - (AP) -- Salvador Perez made a young fan's night by coming through on his promise to hit a home run. A few hours later, a couple kids on the Kansas City Royals hit their own memorable shots.

Quick peek at celeb inspiration . . .And news links closer to home . . .is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now . . .shalender@tribune.com

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 24

The free fall of the rupee has halted the declining trend in Indias garment exports after almost nine months, with the sector registering around 6% positive growth in July this year as compared to the corresponding period previous year.

The recovery, which is in the rupee term, has given a ray of hope to apparel exporters, particularly from Punjab, Haryana and Noida in Uttar Pradesh, with combined employee base of around 2 million workers. Punjab and Haryana house more than 200 exporters. These northern states had been facing a decline in apparel exports because of high input costs compared to the Tirupur cluster of Tamil Nadu.

In the rupee term, exports for the month of July this year was Rs 8,757.23 crore as against Rs 8,262.94 crore in July 2017. The growth was mainly due to strengthening of dollar against the rupee, the exporters said.

The situation has improved a bit, although Indian garment exporters are facing a stiff competition from countries such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia and Ethiopia. To boost the exports, the government should dole out some incentives or devise a mechanism to refund embedded taxes in the GST regime, Apparel Export Promotion Council chairman HKL Magu said.

Ludhiana-based KG Exports Managing Director Harish Dua finds it a temporary phenomenon. To say that exports are now on growth trajectory is not right. The increase in exports in terms of rupee is attributed to strong dollar, he said.

In dollar terms, export of readymade garments, however, remained in the negative territory. It dwindled marginally by 0.60% in July this year as compared to corresponding month of the previous year. The labour-intensive apparel sector is witnessing a continuous decline in exports since October 2017. In dollar terms, the countrys readymade garment exports were to the tune of $1.275 billion in July 2018 against $1.282 billion in July 2017, a decline of 0.56%.

The government must do something to boost exports such as increasing duty drawback rates. In addition to this, it should restrict exports of cotton and viscose yarn to facilitate the domestic exporters, Dua said. The government should promote value addition to the cotton and viscose yarn rather than exporting it as a raw material, he added.

Overall, Indias readymade garment exports in April-July 2018 was to the tune of Rs 35,860 crore, a decline by 10% as compared to corresponding period. In dollar terms, it was $5.321 billion in the first four months of the current financial year, a decline of 13.95% as compared to the same period last fiscal year. During April-July 2017, Indias apparel exports were to the tune of $6.183 billion.shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Patiala, August 25

A fire broke out in one of the trains parked at the railway station in the city on Saturday afternoon. Railway station and fire brigade officials said the fire was controlled in time and a major incident was averted.

Meanwhile, the fire brigade officer cited negligence on part of the railway station staff in taking stock of the situation. On the other hand Station Superintendent Ajit Singh Cheema rejected all claims. Officials said the reason behind the fire was yet to be found.

A minor fire broke out in one of the trains parked at the railway station on Saturday afternoon. No passenger was present inside the bogey at the time of the incident, said Cheema.

Officials present on the site tried to douse flames and informed the fire brigade, he added. The fire was controlled within time and a major mishap was averted, he said.

An employee saw smoke emanating from a bogey and called the fire brigade. The fire was doused within 25 minutes and only a few seats in the bogey were damaged. A major incident was averted, said Inspector GS Ahluwalia.

We received a call at about 1 pm and reached the spot to douse the flames in time. Later, none of the employees of the Railways was available to take stock of the situation, said Jatinder Pal Singh, Additional District Fire Officer (ADFO).

When questioned, Station Superintendent Cheema rejected the claims and said Railway officials were present on spot. They called the fire brigade and managed the situation responsibly, he added.rchopra@tribunemail.com

New York, August 25

An Indian-origin executive has settled charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for overstating the companys subscriber base, while another Indian-origin person was charged for making similar misrepresentations.

Hari Ravichandran, 42, former chief executive of web hosting company Endurance International Group Holdings and former chief financial officer Waruna Ellawala knowingly provided inflated subscriber figures for the Massachusetts-based online marketing company, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said.

Ravichandran, a resident of Boston, had founded Endurance in 1997 and served as the companys Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors.

The SEC also filed a complaint in US District Court in Massachusetts alleging that former Constant Contact CFO Harpreet Grewal, 51, hid its slowing customer growth from investors and inflated its publicly reported subscriber numbers. Constant Contact became a subsidiary of Endurance after it was acquired by it in 2016.

Constant Contact sold email marketing and other online marketing tools to customers primarily through subscription arrangements. SEC said Grewal defrauded Constant Contacts investors concerning the number of paying customers for the companys products and services, which was a key metric disclosed by Constant Contact to its investors.

The SEC filed a settled enforcement action in June against Endurance and Constant Contact in which Endurance agreed to pay a USD 8 million penalty. In the latest action, Ravichandran and Ellawala agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying them and pay USD 1.38 million and USD 34,000 respectively in disgorgement, interest, and penalties.

They also agreed to cease and desist from further violations of various antifraud, reporting, books and records, and internal controls provisions of the federal securities laws.

For companies who provide subscription-based services, size and growth of subscriber base can be critical metrics, said Paul Levenson, Director of the SECs Boston Regional Office. Investors depend on the integrity of management in reporting such figures, which commonly fall outside the scope of formal audits. Holding senior executives accountable for failures of oversight as well as outright manipulation of such metrics is vital to protecting our markets. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Bhaderwah, August 25

Continuing with its efforts to extend a helping hand to the needy, the Army distributed 200 more solar lights among the nomadic communities living in the high-altitude areas in the state.

A Rashtriya Rifles unit based in Bhaderwah has so far distributed over 17,000 such lights among Gujjars and Bakerwals under its Project Roshni.

In the latest initiative, the troops distributed 200 solar lights among the floating population residing in dhoks (mud houses) on high-altitude meadows, including Naag Lootan, Padri, Bhal Padri, Qatari, Machora, Satlad, Biddi, Qatari Gali, Chipli and Bashot of Bhaderwah, an Army officer said. He said troops of 4 Rashtriya Rifles, led by second-in-command Major Ambresh Mahanta, trekked 9 km to reach Satlad meadow, 49 km from Bhadarwah town, and distributed 90 solar lights among people. It was followed by distribution of 110 lights at the Bhal Padri meadow this week, he said.

Choudhary Sadiq, village head and imam of Jamia Masjid in Bhal Padri, said the gesture of the Army would go a long way in cementing the bond between the tribes and the forces.

About 30,000 Gujjar and Bakerwal people migrate to high-altitude meadows of the region every year and dwell there for summer months.  PTI

Project Roshnimonicakchauhan@gmail.com

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, August 25

The Assam Police have arrested a self-styled godman Ram Prakash Chauhan aka the Kissing Baba from Bhoraltup village for fooling women devotees with his chamatkari chumban cures.

He used to hug and kiss women on the pretext of curing their physical and psychological problems with his supernatural powers.

He claimed that he had supernatural powers and could also solve issues related to martial disputes of women devotees who visited him by kissing them.

Some three months back, he had built a temple in Bhoraltup village after which he rose to fame and became popular among villagers for his kiss therapy.

He was arrested on August 22.

With Inputs from ANIsinghking99@yahoo.com

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, August 25

Telangana Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy has accused Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of threatening early polls out of fear of being unable to face people after full terms, considering his unfulfilled promises.

He questioned the claims of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in general and the CM in particular about the TRS staking victory on around 100 seats without any basis. In a tele-conference with poll booth presidents, Reddy said: The call for early polls only shows that the CM is scared of the growing anti-incumbency against his government and does not want it to reach its peak.

He said the Congress was ready to face polls even if they are held tomorrow and claimed that his party, the largest opposition in the Vidhan Sabha, will form the next government.

Meanwhile, the CM, who had left for New Delhi on Friday, met some Cabinet ministers and later held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is reported to have taken a 14-point agenda that he will discuss with the PM.

Sources said when the CM met Modi around 4 pm, he submitted a representation on 14 issues, including amendments to Article 371(D) for implementing new zonal system in Telangana. The agenda also includes issues pertaining to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, including division of the High Court.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Muzaffarpur (Bihar), August 25

A complaint was filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a court here on Saturday seeking registration of a defamation case against him for allegedly tarnishing and lowering the image of the country.

The complaint was filed by advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad here, which fixed September 4 as the date for hearing the matter.

Ojha contended that Rahul Gandhi had justified terrorism and explained the emergence of Islamic State (IS) group due to increasing unemployment and likened it with that of India, which is an insult to the country.

The Gandhi scion, during his visit to Germany and Britain, had said that terrorism was on the rise in India due to increasing unemployment, Ojha said in his complaint.

He also held Indian culture responsible for violence against women, the complainant said, adding that the Congress chief had tarnished and lowered the image of India internationally on foreign soil.

Gandhi had deliberately made such statements with an intention to create tension in the country and the remarks have led to protests and demonstrations against him, the complaint said.

Ojha further said that he was hurt by the Congress leaders comments which he read in various newspapers and saw on TV channels.

He filed the criminal complaint case against Rahul Gandhi under various sections of IPC including 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 500 (defamation) and 504 (insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace).

If convicted by the court, the charges attract a minimum of two to three years of imprisonment with fine or both. PTIrajivbhatia82@gmail.com

Ballia (UP), August 25

Film actor Sunny Leone is a voter in Ballia but goes by the name of Durgawati, if the voters' list that was being prepared for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is to be believed.

An elephant, a pigeon and a deer were also on the list.

The errors were detected and set right during the process of verification of the list, officials said today, blaming a disgruntled data entry operator.

Sunny Leone's picture was pasted against the name of voter Durgawati, Kunwar Ankur Singh was represented by a deer and Kunwar Gaurav Singh looked exactly like a pigeon, according to the list.

Another victim was Narad Rai, a former minister in the Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav governments in Uttar Pradesh.

He had a picture of an elephant pasted besides his name in the updated voters list.

The state's chief electoral officer said the episode followed a fight between a data entry operator and a clerk.

During the initial probe, it came to light that the data entry operator Vishnu Verma had a fight with the local lekhpal. After this, he was removed. Angered over this, Verma had tampered with the voter list," a statement said.

"Out of mischief, he pasted such pictures against the names of seven voters," Additional District Magistrate Mukul Kumar Singhal told PTI.

Singhal said the Election Commission was then informed and the errors corrected.

The mischief was discovered during the verification of the list, he said.

Ballia Superintendent of Police Sriparna Ganguly said an FIR has been lodged against the data operator at Ballia Kotwali police station.  PTIuttara@tribuneindia.com

Kolkata, August 25

Stepping up attack on the government over the Rafale fighter jet issue, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday accused the Centre of ignoring the defence procurement procedure and "bypassing" several committees to secure the deal.

He also called for a detailed inquiry into the contract.

Chidambaram demanded that there should be a public debate on how the prices negotiated for each aircraft by the Congress-led UPA government "have gone up by three times" in the deal negotiated by the BJP-led NDA dispensation.

"We think the matter is serious enough that there should be a public debate and a detailed inquiry into it. That is why the Congress president (Rahul Gandhi) has raised it," he said.

The former finance minister alleged that the Cabinet Committee on Security was not taken into confidence by the government before signing the deal.

"There are several questions that need to be answered. There is a defence procurement procedure that was completely bypassed. There was a Contract Negotiation Committee that never met for this deal. There is a Price Negotiation Committee that was never called to meet.

"Above all, there is a Cabinet Committee on Security, which has to approve any defence purchase of this size. None of these committees were involved, the ministers didn't know about it," he told reporters at the Congress office here.

The contract was announced in April 2015 by keeping everybody in the dark, Chidambaram alleged.

"The UPA contract priced the Rafale jets at Rs 526 crore per aircraft and the NDA contract priced them at Rs 1,670 crore per aircraft. If these numbers are correct, will someone explain why the prices jumped three times? The government says it is a secret agreement. But a Dassault Aviation report has already quoted the price," he said.

Chidambaram said the deal was made by stating that the aircraft were being brought in a fly-away condition on "emergency purpose" as the squadrons of the Indian Air Force are depleting, but "not a single aircraft" has arrived in India so far.

"If they wanted the aircraft on an emergency purchase basis, they would have ensured that the first aircraft lands in the country within a few months. So, this is certainly not an emergency purchase," he said.

During the UPA deal, he said, there was a clause that offset obligations of Dassault Aviation would be performed by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

But, under the new contract by the NDA government, Dassault was given the opportunity to choose its offset partner and it had picked a private company for this purpose, the senior Congress leader said.

"Under the UPA government deal, technology was to be transferred to HAL and it was to make 108 aircraft... But, under the NDA contract, there was no transfer of technology and HAL has been completely kept out of the agreement," Chidambaram alleged.

"Why didn't the government ask Dassault to choose HAL as its offset partner and why there is no transfer of technology? There are no answers to these questions," he said.

Chidambaram said the charge by the BJP that previous governments, too, did not disclose the price of defence acquisitions is completely baseless, as the UPA government had time and again disclosed the prices of such deals.

"We had revealed the prices of INS Vikaramaditya, the Sukhoi and Mirage aircraft on the floor of Parliament. All of these taken together lead to great suspicion. Why is the government so secretive about the price and why are they refusing to answer questions and coming up with lame excuses?" he asked. PTImonicakchauhan@gmail.com

London, August 25

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has described the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a "very painful tragedy" and said he was "100 per cent" for the punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody.

Nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots in 1984 following the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards when the Congress government was in power at the Centre.

Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, told the audience of UK-based parliamentarians and local leaders on Friday that the incident was a tragedy and painful experiences, but disagreed with the view that the Congress was "involved".

"I think any violence done against anybody is wrong. There are legal processes ongoing in India but as far as I'm concerned anything done that was wrong during that period should be punished and I would support that 100 per cent," he said.

"I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy."

Later, during an interactive session at the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) when he was again asked about the anti-Sikh riots, Gandhi said: "When Mr Manmohan Singh spoke, he spoke for all of us. As I said earlier, I am a victim of violence and I understand what it feels."

He was referring to the killing of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE in 1991.

"So, I am against any sort of violence against anybody on this planet. I get disturbed when I see anybody being hurt. So, I condemn that 100 per cent and I am 100 per cent for punishment for those involved in any violence against anybody. That's crystal clear," said Gandhi.

He said that people, who have not had violence inflicted upon them, think that violence is what one sees in movies.

"That's not what it is. I have seen people who I loved very much being killed. I have also seen the person (Prabhakaran) who killed my father being killed.

"When I saw Prabhakaran lying on the beaches in Jaffna (Lanka), when I saw him being humiliated, the way he was, I felt sorry for him, because I saw my father in his place and his children in my place," he added.

"So, when you are being hit by violence, when you understand it, it has a completely different impact on you." Gandhi said most people do not understand violence which is a horrible thing.

Some Congress leaders have been accused of leading the killer mobs during the riots. They have denied the allegations.

Earlier Gandhi had invoked Guru Nanak Dev, the first Sikh guru, during his address in Germany, drawing sharp reaction from the BJP which said Gandhi should apologise for the "heinous crime" at the Golden Temple. PTIuttara@tribuneindia.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, August 25

The Maharashtra government is rolling out a pilot project under which each school student between the Classes 1-8 will be provided 200 grams of skimmed milk powder for three months.



Apart from improving nutrition among school children in the state, the measure also aims to provide some relief to the dairy industry in the state that is facing a severe glut in milk and milk powder, state government sources said.



According to a government resolution (GR) adopted earlier this week, 1.18 crore students in 1,06,527 primary schools will benefit from the scheme. Schools in Mumbai will not be covered under the scheme, according to officials. "Depending on the success of the scheme we may extend it further," an official from the state Education Department said.



Top government officials including the Additional Chief Secretary, Secretary, School Education and Director, Primary Education would be in charge of the scheme, sources said.



One day a month in each school will be designated as the Skimmed Milk Distribution Day and school managers and officials from the education department will oversee the distribution of skimmed milk packets among the students under the pilot programme, according to officials.



Farmers' unions in Maharashtra had suggested such a move last month when they held protests demanding higher remunerative price for milk. The example of the 'ksheera bhagya yojana' in neighbouring Karnataka where milk is reportedly distributed to schoolchildren was cited.



rajivbhatia82@gmail.com

London, August 25

Rahul Gandhi today said that people support populist leaders like US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi because they are angry over not having jobs, as the Congress president stepped up his attack on the BJP and the RSS.

Interacting with Indian Journalists' Association here, Gandhi said that instead of solving the problem, these leaders ride on that anger and damage the country.

"People support populist leaders like Mr Trump and Mr Modi because they are angry that they don't have a job. Instead of solving this problem these leaders ride on that anger. They damage the country by this," he said.

Yesterday, Gandhi said India was facing a "full blown crisis" of unemployment and the Government was refusing to admit it.

During an interaction programme at the prestigious London School of Economics here, he had said that where China creates 50,000 jobs a day, only 450 jobs are created in a day in India. This is a catastrophe.

Gandhi again maintained that "there is a lot of similarity between Muslim Brotherhood and RSS. They use democratic processes to capture power".

The Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest political Islamist group in the Arab world. It is banned and declared as a terrorist organisation by the governments of several countries.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said in New Delhi that the likes of President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died last week, have an RSS background and Gandhi's comparison of the organisation with an Islamist outfit is "unforgivable".

He demanded immediate apology from the Congress president for likening the choice of Indians in an election with an organisation which, the BJP leader said, is declared a terror outfit in many countries.

On Vijay Mallaya, Gandhi said that Indian prisons are "pretty decent" while commenting on his ongoing extradition case.

"Indian prisons are pretty decent as far as Mr. Mallya is concerned," he said.

In July, Mallya appeared before the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London where both defence and prosecution presented clarifications on Barrack 12 at Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where Mallya is to be held post-extradition.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot asked the Indian authorities to submit within three weeks a video of the Barrack 12 of the Arthur Road Jail.

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya is currently undergoing an extradition trial in a UK court over fraud and money laundering charges by Indian authorities.

Mallya is separately fighting extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges worth an estimated Rs 9,000 crores. - PTIsinghking99@yahoo.com

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to Kathmandu to attend the fourth summit meeting of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) on August 30 and 31.

A push for Free Trade Agreement and regional connectivity is expected to dominate discussions in the regional grouping comprising seven members  Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka.

On August 30, the leaders will collectively call on the Chair and President of Nepal, attend the inaugural plenary session and gala dinner and cultural programme. The next day the leaders will head to a retreat to decide future roadmap of this 21-year-old organisation, attend the closing session and release a joint declaration.

We regard BIMSTEC as gateway to seas of littoral states as well as access for two land-locked member countries Bhutan and Nepal. For India, BIMSTEC is a natural choice to fulfil our key foreign policy priorities of neighbourhood first and act east policy, said Preeti Saran, Secretary East in MEA.

But members are unhappy with the pace of progress as far as the Free Trade Agreement is concerned. Last week, Heads of Missions from member states expressed disappointment at a seminar in FICCI that 13 years after the framework agreement was finalised, BIMSTEC-FTA has still not been concluded. Calling India the engine driver in the grouping, Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand, at an interaction in Brookings on Saturday cautioned that trade wars affect every country in the age of inter-connected global supplies.

We need to find a way to deal with emerging powers in Indo-Pacific and regional groupings to provide strength in numbers. So multilateralism is important. BIMSTEC and ASEAN can be part of indo-Pacific regional architecture, the envoy said.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service



New Delhi, August 25

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to Kathmandu to attend the 4th summit meeting of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative For Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) on August 30-31.

A push for free trade agreement and regional connectivity is expected to dominate discussions in the regional grouping comprising seven membersBangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Srilanka. On August 30, the leaders will collectively call on the Chair and President of Nepal, attend the inaugural plenary session and gala dinner and cultural programme. The next day the leaders will head to a retreat to decide future roadmap of this 21-year-old organisation, attend the closing session and release a joint declaration.

We regard BIMSTEC as gateway to seas of littoral states as well as access for two land locked member countries Bhutan and Nepal. For India BIMSTEC is a natural choice to fulfil our key foreign policy priorities of neighbourhood first and act east policy, said Preeti Saran, Secretary East in MEA.

But members are unhappy with pace of progress as far as the Free Trade Agreement is concerned. Last week Heads of Missions from member states expressed disappointment at a seminar in FICCI that 13 years after the framework agreement was finalised, BIMSTEC- FTA has still not been concluded.

Calling India the engine driver in the grouping , Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand, at an interaction in Brookings on Friday cautioned that trade wars affect every country in the age of inter connected global supplies.We need to find a way to deal with emerging powers in Indo-Pacific and regional groupings provide strength in numbers. So multilateralism is important. BIMSTEC and ASEAN can be part of indo Pacific regional architecture, the envoy said.

Three agreements, including on Grid connection and technology transfer, are expected to be inked during the summit. PM Modi will also hold bilateral interactions with leaders, including Nepalese PM K P Sharma Oli, along the sidelines. The grouping has seen forward movement on counter-terrorism cooperation since its last Goa outreach summit in 2016, with National Security Chiefs of member nations having met for two rounds of dialogue.shalender@tribune.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 24

Politicians cutting across party lines knelt before Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, people thronged his Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa in droves, and his writ ran not only in Haryana but also in neighbouring states till he was convicted of rape and sentenced to 20-year imprisonment on August 25 last year.

A year on, his Rs 2,000-crore business empire comprising 20-odd manufacturing units, a film production company, a mall, a cinema hall, a top-end hotel, retail shops and his MSG brand of consumer goods and fashion garments lies in tatters.

In the aftermath of the violence that left 36 dead in Panchkula and Sirsa following Ram Rahims conviction, the dera factories were sealed ahead of a search operation by the Punjab and Haryana High Court-appointed Court Commissioner and accounts frozen. Also, the Town and Country Planning served notices for unauthorised constructions.

Deras core committee members have since been arrested or are on the run. Members of the deras top management  chairperson Vipassana Insan and senior vice-chairman Dr PR Nain  are in hiding and the day-to-day affairs of the sect are now being looked after by Shobha Insan who played second fiddle to Vipassana when Ram Rahim was at the helm.

Ram Rahims family, which still lives in the dera, stays away from daily or weekly congregations and is seen only on occasions like birth anniversaries of deras present or former heads.

The political leaders who once bowed before Ram Rahim are no longer keen to be seen alongside his disciples and the dera premises that remained abuzz with activity a year ago has very few visitors these days.

The deras multispecialty hospital that once used to have its own skin bank, blood bank, chemist shops, etc. without statuary licences is now being run under the supervision of the Sirsa Civil Surgeon. A panel constituted by the High Court under the Sirsa DC monitors the accounts of eight educational institutions run by the dera so that its employees get salaries in time.

Sooraj (name changed), who ran a factory in the dera, says barring two units  one manufacturing pickles and a bakery  which were proprietor firms of individuals, all others are shut and their accounts seized on the orders of the High Court.

Sudhir, who runs a grocery shop in Sirsa, and his wife Suman were once followers of Ram Rahim and the conviction came as a jolt for them. For two months, Suman ate just once a day after much convincing. She wouldnt let us turn on the television set for the fear of facing the truth. She gradually reconciled to the fact. We now visit a gurdwara for our spiritual needs, says Sudhir.

An ardent follower, however, claims the number of followers visiting the dera is on a gradual rise. On August 15, which is also the birthday of Guruji (Ram Rahim), people visited the dera in thousands. Gurujis mother and other family members planted trees like the dera chief did in the past. Medical camps were organised where hundreds of people were treated, he says.

Sources say the number of people visiting the dera before conviction was 25,000 to 30,000 a day, while lakhs participated in annual events. Now, the daily gathering, which had fallen to near zero after conviction, stands at 4,000 to 5,000 per day.

Sirsa DC Prabhjot Singh admits there has been a gradual rise in the number of followers visiting the dera, but the administration cant stop them. Unless we see a law and order problem, we dont have any issues. There hasnt been a single incident of violence in the past one year.

Many lying low

Most followers are lying low as probe is still on. No one knows when the police may come and pick them up,  A dera followeramansharma@tribunemail.com

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 25

The Ministry of Defence (MoD), in a major development, has okayed two separate types of helicopters for the Navy, including the ones that will hunt submarines, besides 150 India-made artillery guns.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) at its meeting, chaired by Nirmala Sitharaman today accorded approval to several projects that total to nearly Rs 46,000 crore.

To enhance the capability of Navy at sea, the DAC has also been granted procurement of 24 anti-submarine capable Multi Role Helicopters, which are an integral part of the frontline warships like the aircraft crriers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes. Availability of MRH with the Navy would plug the existing capability gap and will be taken through the government to government route from the US and the aerospace giant Lockheed Martin is the supplier.

Chinese submarines routinely troll the Indian Ocean and the ability to pick out these is needed. Currently, the Navy uses the Sea King Mk42B and the Kamov-28 copters in an ASW role. Both are of the 1980s vintage design and are now being upgraded. There are about 20 such copters.

Marine helicopters are rugged-ized versions of helicopters used by land or air forces. Sea salinity necessitates a different paint coating while equipment, avionics and radars are totally different.

The US Department of Defence had, in latest report Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of China 2017, said: These submarine patrols demonstrate the PLANs emerging capability both to protect Chinas SLOCs (sea lanes of communication) and to increase Chinas power projection into the Indian Ocean.

In another major breakthrough, the DAC also granted approval to a few other proposals amounting to approximately Rs. 24,879 crore, which included approval for procurement of 150 numbers of Indigenously Designed and Developed 155 mm Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS) for the Indian Army at an approximate cost of Rs 3,364 crore. These guns have been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO and will be manufactured by private companies by Tata and Bharat Forge.

The DAC also approved procurement of 111 Naval utility helicopters (NUH) for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs 21,000 crore. This is the first project under the MoDs prestigious Strategic Partnership (SP) Model that aims at providing significant fillip to the governments Make in India programme.

SP Model envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian strategic partner, who will collaborate with foreign OEM, acquire niche technologies and set up production facilities in the country. The model has a long-term vision of promoting India as a manufacturing hub for defence equipment thus enhancing self-sufficiency and establishing an industrial and Research and Development ecosystem, capable of meeting the future requirements of the Armed Forces.

In addition, procurement of 14 vertically launched Short Range Missile Systems was also cleared by the DAC. Of these, 10 systems will be indigenously developed. These systems will boost the self-defence capability of ships against anti-ship missiles.singhking99@yahoo.com

New Delhi, August 25

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will begin a four-day tour of Vietnam and Cambodia on Monday with an aim to deepen Indias strategic cooperation with the two key nations in the ASEAN region.

Swaraj will visit Vietnam on August 27 and 28, while she will begin her two-day trip to Cambodia on August 29, the Ministry of External Affairs said. Her visit will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues, it said.  PTIpardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, August 25

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will begin a four-day tour of Vietnam and Cambodia on Monday with an aim to deepen Indias strategic cooperation with the two-key nations in the ASEAN region.

Swaraj will visit Vietnam on August 27 and 28, while she will begin her two-day trip to Cambodia on August 29, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The visit of the External Affairs Minister to Vietnam and Cambodia will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and advance our strategic engagement with these countries and ASEAN region, it said.

In Vietnam, Swaraj will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission along with the countrys Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. She will also meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and inaugurate the third edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.

During her visit to Cambodia, Swaraj will hold extensive talks with her Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn, covering entire expanse of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interests. It will be her first official visit to Cambodia.

She will call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and President of Senate Say Chhum.

Indias ties are on an upswing with both Vietnam and Cambodia, the two major countries the powerful ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) grouping.

India has been particularly scaling up its cooperation with Vietnam in areas of maritime security and energy.

During Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quangs visit to New Delhi in March, both the sides had vowed to join hands for an open and thriving Indo-Pacific, besides ensuring an efficient and rules-based regional security architecture.

Vietnam and several other ASEAN member countries have territorial disputes with China over the resource-rich South China Sea.

China has been opposing Indias Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) exploring oil in areas claimed by Vietnam in the South China Sea (SCS). India has been asserting that the ONGCs exploration is a commercial operation and not connected with the dispute. Oil exploration in the SCS is a sensitive issue in the Vietnam-China relations. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, August 24

Six armed men on Friday looted Rs 3.37 lakh from the State Bank of Indias branch at Jandoke Sarhali village on the Tarn Taran-Patti road, about 10 km from here.

The robbers, who had not covered their faces, also decamped with the security guards gun, the cashiers gold ring and 20 mobile phones of staffers and customers. They dismantled the CCTV cameras and took away the digital video recorder.

Naresh Kumar Goel, branch manager, said the robbers barged into the premises around 11:15 am. They first overpowered Dilbag Singh, a security guard, and snatched his gun. Two of them beat up the manager and the cashier before escaping in an sport utility vehicle (SUV). About 35 customers were present in the bank at that time.

Darshan Singh Mann, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), and other officials visited the spot. A case under Sections 399, 402, 379-B, 148 and 149 of the IPC and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered at Patti Sadar police station.amansharma@tribunemail.com

Chandigarh, August 25

The SAD on Saturday hit out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on 1984 anti-Sikh riots, saying by disagreeing with the view that his party was involved in the "genocide", he had "rubbed salt into the wounds" of the Sikh community.

However, the Congress' Punjab unit defended Gandhi's comments and lambasted the Akalis, alleging they were "deliberately distorting" his remarks to divert public attention after being "exposed" of their role in Bargari sacrilege and subsequent killing of innocent Sikhs protesting the sacrilege in Kotkapura.

Describing the 1984 anti-Sikh riots a "very painful tragedy", Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the UK, said, "I have no confusion in my mind about that. It was a tragedy, it was a painful experience. You say that the Congress party was involved in that, I don't agree with that. Certainly there was violence, certainly there was tragedy."

Lashing out at the Congress president, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that Gandhi was trying to protect those Congress leaders who were involved in the "genocide".

"Rahul Gandhi has rubbed salt into the wounds of Sikh 'quom' (community) by saying that Congress was not involved in 1984 anti Sikh riots," Badal told reporters here today, adding, "It shows the thinking of Gandhi towards Sikh community."

"I want to ask Rahul (Gandhi) if Congress leaders were not involved in the anti-Sikh riots then why it withdrew tickets given to party leaders HKL Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar. Why was Jagdish Tytler removed from the ministry in the Manmohan Singh-led government," he asked.

Asserting that then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also apologised for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, he said the fight to bring justice for the victims of the riots will continue.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders and Punjab ministers defended party president Rahul Gandhi over the statement he made in London.

In a joint statement here, the leaders said, the Badal family, including Sukhbir Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, were allegedly trying to distort Gandhi's statement in order to divert the attention from the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report on Bargari issue that is going to "prove as death knell" for them.

The ministers and leaders, including Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, said Gandhi had clearly and unequivocally condemned the riots.

"Normally the Badals are used to raking up the 1984 issue during elections. However this time, they are faced with more serious emergency as their survival is at stake in view of the Bargari revelations that are certain to script their political obituary and that is the reason they have resorted to such dirty tricks," they said.

"Come Monday and the Badals will run for cover as people of Punjab in general and the Sikhs in particular will hold them in dock once they come to know how low they stooped to the extent of resorting to sacrilegious acts and wanton killing of the protestors for petty political gains," the Congress leader said.

Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission was set up by the Congress government in April 2017 to investigate the various incidents of sacrilege of religious texts. It dealt with incidents at village Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, Bargari and firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in 2015. - PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Saibal Chatterjee

It cannot be easy making Tibetan films. An ecosystem to support cinema in exile is non-existent. But, then, Dharamsala-based documentary filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, who founded their production company White Crane Films in the early 1990s, have never opted for paved paths. They have revelled in chipping away and breaking new ground, one film at a time about the political situation in Tibet and its terrible repercussions on a people and their culture.

Their second narrative feature, Kyoyang Ngarmo (The Sweet Requiem), has surmounted many an obstacle on its arduous way to fruition. Now that it has made it to the 43rd Toronto International Film Festivals Contemporary World Cinema selection, it is set for another new journey that will shine a light on the plight of Tibetans, both in Tibet and in refugee settlements. The last time that Sarin and Tenzing went to TIFF was nearly a decade and a half ago with their first narrative feature, Dreaming Lhasa, the story of a New York filmmaker, who lands in Dharamsala to rediscover her Tibetan roots. She sets off with a former monk, recently arrived in India, in search of a resistance fighter whose whereabouts are unknown.

Like most of their other cinematic essays, The Sweet Requiem is set in the heart of the Tibetan community and addresses the themes of deracination, cultural identity and reconciliation. It is not a follow-up to Dreaming Lhasa in the strictest sense of the term, but it definitely is an extension of the same concerns and issues. It is about the struggle to come to terms with the past and the choices one makes in life, says Sarin.

A micro-budget film with the ambitions of a big cinematic project, The Sweet Requiem was filmed in Ladakh at an altitude of 15,000 feet. Sarin reveals that they  the two directors and the films New York-based co-producer Shrihari Sathe  have a launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking the funds that they need for not only promoting the film in Toronto but also taking it beyond the festival.

TIFF is a great festival. Itll be exciting to be among such a large number of films and before such large audiences, says Sarin, who hopes that the three press shows (one of which happened two weeks in advance of the festival) and three public screenings will get The Sweet Requiem the visibility that it requires in order to kick on from here and reach wider audiences.

The long gap that separates Sarin and Tenzings first and second appearances in TIFF is in sharp contrast to Assamese director Rima Das back-to-back Festival entries. Das was in TIFF last year with her breakout effort Village Rockstars. This year, her third directorial venture, Bulbul Can Sing, filmed pretty much with the cottage industry approach of her previous effort, has made the Contemporary World Cinema cut.

As she did in the case of the National Award-winning Village Rockstars, Das filmed Bulbul Can Sing in her own village over a period od two months. It is another coming-of-age tale seen through the eyes of a young girl but as the official TIFF website suggests, it probably has a harder edge. Village Rockstars was several years in the making, but Bulbul has taken far less time to take wings, an indication of the filmmaker's growing confidence.

What binds The Sweet Requiem and Bulbul Can Sing, two films that have emerged from different spaces, cultures and impulses, is their fierce spirit of independence. Both have sprung from a system far removed from Indias established production and exhibition structures and bank almost entirely on non-professional actors drawn from the places that the films are located in.

Bulbul Can Sing has only one pro in the cast. So does The Sweet Requiem, in which first-time actress Tenzin Dolker, dancer, yoga instructor and photographer born in a south Indian refugee settlement, plays 26-year-old Delhi resident Dolker, a girl who escaped from Tibet with her father at the age of eight, a hazardous journey that ended in tragedy.

Eighteen years later, in Majnu ka Tilla, she spots Gompa (Jampa Kalsang, one of the most experienced Tibetan actors in exile; he had a key role in Dreaming Lhasa), the guide who deserted them during the ill-fated trip across the Tibet-Nepal border. The encounter reignites suppressed memories of the past and triggers a quest for closure. The narrative, reveals Sarin, has two strands  one pertaining to the past, the other set in the present  that reveal the stories of Dolker and Gompa from different perspectives.

The Sweet Requiem, like Dreaming Lhasa, is a female-centric film, but its gaze does not exclude men. It is a film written by a man and co-directed by a woman, Sarin quips.

Described as an intimate and personal story that is part psycho-political thriller and part escape drama, The Sweet Requiem is inspired by a September 2006 incident on the Nangpa-La pass where Chinese border guards opened fire on a group of Tibetans attempting to escape to India and killed a 17-year-old nun and injured many others.

The Sweet Requiem seeks to underscore the increasing urgency of the Tibetan struggle, which remains largely away from the media glare and from the view of the global community. The world premiere at TIFF is, therefore, full of possibilities, both for the film and the political questions that it raises.Fasihur Rehman Khan

Fasihur Rehman Khan

Austerity is the buzz word in Pakistan these days, as the Imran Khan-led government begins to take control and tackle numerous challenges on various fronts. It may find itself racing against time to come up with workable solutions, with little space to manoeuvre and scarce resources at disposal. A heated political atmosphere due to agitated opposition parties in the wake of allegations of rigging in the July elections makes the situation more challenging.

Huge public expectations, nurtured by none other than Imran Khan, are however proving the incumbent governments biggest challenge as it tries to shape up its big ticket anti-corruption drive in synchronisation with the much-touted austerity measures. A few days ago, PM Khan announced an unprecedented measure to cut down on luxury cars used by bureaucrats and compel them to ride locally manufactured small cars. But critics term such measures as publicity stunts as the government faces the most formidable challenge of putting the faltering economy back on track.

In fact, the alarming fiscal deficit and soaring foreign debt repayments have compelled the new government to look for an economic bailout. Till date, it has not ruled out the difficult path of an IMF package (approximately $12 billion) with many strings attached  a US nod to the Fund being the biggest obstacle amid its bumpy relations with Pakistan. At the same time, PTIs economic wizards are mindful that the IMF conditions will compel them to take unpopular decisions. Keeping this scenario in mind, finance minister Asad Umar lately hinted at postponing the decision to approach the IMF for loan till end of September.

Mindful of fierce criticism from the opposition and a public outcry resulting from economic measures, PTI would like to adopt a tedious path of an open debate in Parliament to discuss their impact. This strategy is two pronged. First, it will enhance the democratic parliamentary credentials of the new regime. Second, it might take the steam out of the opposition's criticism. Another benefit would be that the government will have ample arguments up its sleeves to distance itself from the economic follies of the previous regime.

With depleting foreign exchange reserves, economists estimate, the country needs $8 billion during the next six months to manage a trouble-free balance of payments, especially on account of foreign debt servicing. In the short term, $4 billion from China and Saudi Arabia  some of it having already landed  is handy. But in the long run, the country is eyeing big direct investments from Chinese and Saudis to come out of economic troubles. Already, with Saudi blessings, a soft loan from Islamic Development Bank to the tune of $4 billion seems to be on the way. With the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) delivering some much-needed infrastructure development, Pakistan is gearing up for the next phase to install export-based industries in the CPEC zone. Simultaneously, it needs to shore up its foreign exchange reserves to support imports and debt servicing. All this adds to the difficult path ahead.

Politically, a thin-majority PTI government faces a divided yet strong Opposition in Parliament. With his arch rival Nawaz Sharif in jail and the PPP supremo embroiled in a damning money laundering case, Imran feels much comfortable to face various challenges on the economic front.

The writer is a journalist, security and foreign policy analyst from Pakistansanjiv@tribunemail.com

Coxs Bazar, August 25

Thousands of Rohingya refugees staged protests for justice today on the first anniversary of a Myanmar military crackdown that forced them to flee to camps in Bangladesh. About 700,000 of the Muslim minority poured across the border after attacks by the Myanmar military and Buddhist groups that the United Nations has likened to ethnic cleansing.

Thousands held peaceful marches and attended rallies chanting We want justice from the UN. At the Kutupalong camp, a giant banner proclaimed: Never Again: Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. 25 August, 2018. Some wore bandanas emblazoned with the slogan Save Rohingya.

Rohingya militants staged attacks on Myanmar police posts on August 25 last year, sparking a bloody crackdown in Rakhine state. Nearly 7,000 Rohingya were killed in the first month alone, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Refugees fled the region, arriving in Bangladesh on foot or in flimsy boats. Many brought horrific stories of rape, torture and villages burned to the ground.

Myanmar authorities have insisted their forces only targeted insurgents. They have made an agreement with Bangladesh to repatriate refugees but only a handful have gone back. Rohingya leaders insist the exiles will not return home unless their safety is guaranteed.

Myanmars civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week said it was up to Bangladesh to decide how quickly repatriation of the refugees can be accomplished and insisted the terrorist threat posed by Rohingya militants remains real and present.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, which has been blamed for attacks in Myanmar, issued an anniversary statement in which it condemned Myanmars terrorist government and genocidal military.  AFP

Plight far from oversanjiv@tribunemail.com

Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh, August 25

Rashida Begum abandoned her home in Myanmar and fled to neighbouring Bangladesh a year ago, escaping an army crackdown that the United Nations has called a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

She now lives with her family at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Coxs Bazar, the worlds largest, among some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar who have taken shelter there since last August. Her eight-month-old son was born in the camp.

I am now anxious what my sons future will be like, she said. We are afraid. There is no education here and no hope of education there also I dont see any future here and there is also no future there.

Myanmar says it is ready to take back the Rohingya and has built transit centres to receive returnees. But a continued outflow of refugees underlines a lack of progress in addressing the crisis, a year on from the start of the army offensive on August 25, 2017.

Myanmar says its military launched a legitimate counterinsurgency operation in response to a violent campaign from within the Rohingya minority, who are mostly denied citizenship in the southeast Asian nation.

Many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar refer to the Rohingya as Bengali, which most in the Muslim minority regard as a derogatory term used to suggest they are interlopers from Bangladesh.

The Rohingya exodus has threatened Myanmars tense transition to democracy and shattered the image of its leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, outside the country.

Her government has rejected most allegations of atrocities made by refugees against the security forces. I am afraid that if we are sent back to Burma, they will kill us, Begum said. We will go there to die. If the (Myanmar) government accepts us as Rohingya citizens then we will go, otherwise we will not.  Reuters

Thousands of lives saved, challenges remain: UNrchopra@tribunemail.com

Coxs Bazar (Bangladesh), August 25

Rohingya refugees on Saturday marked the anniversary of a deadly military crackdown in their Myanmar homeland that drove 7,00,000 of the persecuted minority into Bangladesh, stateless and confronting a grim future.

Raids by Rohingya militants on August 25 last year across Myanmars Rakhine state spurred an army crackdown which the United Nations has likened to ethnic cleansing. Waves of Rohingya fled by foot or boat to Bangladesh in an exodus unprecedented in speed and scale.

Rohingya activists in Bangladeshs refugee camps vowed to mark the black day with prayers, speeches and song. The latest influx has placed enormous pressure on Bangladeshs impoverished Coxs Bazar district, which quickly grew into the worlds largest refugee settlement. The squalid camps already hosted generations of Rohingya expelled from Rakhine and the latest arrivals pushed numbers close to one million.

Abdul Malek, a 27-year-old refugee who fled an attack on his village last year, said the plight of the Rohingya was far from over. This one year is just the beginning of many more to follow, he told AFP in a refugee camp in Coxs Bazar.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar says it is ready to take back those who fled. But it refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens, falsely labelling them Bengali illegal immigrants. A deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to start sending them back has stalled. Fewer than 200 have been repatriated so far.

Myanmars civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week said it was up to Bangladesh to decide how quickly repatriation can be done, while insisting the terrorist threat posed by Rohingya militants remains real and present.

The Rohingya say they will not return without a guarantee of their safety, citizenship and compensation for homes and land torched. We dont want to (go) back without justice and without our rights and a proper guarantee that we wont be driven out again, 18-year-old Aman Ullah told AFP in Coxs Bazar.

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar and have been hunted from the country in successive convulsions of violence. Access to healthcare and freedom of movement remains out of reach for the stateless people in Rakhine. And the Rohingya exodus from western Myanmar continues today, with refugees still trickling over the border throughout this year.

The UN and international rights groups say conditions are not ready for them to go back. It may be decades until they can safely return to Myanmar, if ever, Medecins Sans Frontieres head of mission in Bangladesh, Pavlo Kolovos, said in a statement.

Calls have mounted for Myanmars military to be held responsible for the campaign, with security forces accused of torture, rape and murder. The US has sanctioned two army brigades and several commanders who oversaw the expulsion, in which thousands are estimated to have died. But Myanmar says it was simply defending itself and bristles at international calls for justice.

Humanitarian agencies spearheading the relief effort in Bangladesh say just one third of the roughly USD 1 bn needed for the refugees until March has been raised.  AFPOver 630 people have registered to attend the Trinidad and Tobago Investment Forum which takes place virtually tomorrow and Wednesday.

The two-day forum is a high-profile event dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade in Trinidad and Tobago and is a collaborative effort between the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) and InvesTT.>>Any opinions if I should add/delete days from some of these places?<<

The thing that will most helpfully tell you that is your draft daily itinerary. If you chose those destinations presumably you have some idea of what you want to see there, perhaps not a full itinerary yet but 1 or 2 things you most want to see? For example in Cairns you want to see the Great Barrier Reef so a typical excursion is a trip out on a boat to go snorkelling. That's a full day trip so that takes up one of your days. Btw note that December is wet season and stinger season which is not ideal, it should not stop you visiting but there are some things you should be prepared for, such as wearing stinger suits. 3 whole days for everywhere else and only 2 for Sydney 'looks' like it could be fixed. But I have seen people say they are happy to spend minimum time in Sydney because other places interest them more. It really is about personal priorities. I'd say 2 full days is not enough but if you add a day there where do you take a day off? Everywhere is worth longer. Was there a reason why you chose Sydney for the shorter stay?

>>I intend to pick up a car in each of these places at the airport and return it when I move to the next city.<<

Don't rent a car in Sydney and Melbourne. Hassle to drive. Expensive to park at your hotel. Expensive and a hassle to find parking near the attractions. Walking and taking public transport is preferred. Cairns, probably rent a car. Brisbane and Gold Coast, I don't know about.The thing is, every time you move destinations, you lose about half a day in the packing up, checking out of the accom, getting to the airport, checking in (only 45 mins prior on domestic flights in Aus) waiting for luggage, transferring to new accom etc, so if you were to do five locations you would only have max 4.5 days in each.

I would recommend only four destinations given your interests.

I guess the toss up would be dropping Brisbane etc or Tasmania etc, so it comes down to "do you want to swim and soak up the sun" or "it might still be really darn cold needing beanies and gloves".

Sydney/Melbourne and Cairns/PD region should all be included assuming you can snorkel/swim (for PD).

Just a heads up re trying to include Townsville and Magnetic Island in your FNQ part - Townsville is a long and boring five hour drive from Cairns, or six from Port Douglas, so you kill most of a day getting there. You also need to allow at least a couple of days on Maggie to get the full experience. You may want to include this but if you have to drop something to fully experience Sydney or other destinations, then just stick with five days in Cairns/PD region. We did a nine day holiday flying in to Townsville, transferring to Maggie for three nights, then driving to Cairns region and then PD and we felt it was too rushed for everything we tried to do. Sure, you could just do a day on Maggie, but I'm not sure the wasted travel time is worth it much as I love it there.

Cheers.Hi all,

I'm landing in Phoenix airport at 10AM on September 13th.

My original plan was to drive from the airport to Page and to stop on the way at the Grand Canyon and maybe Flagstaff (less important to me). In the next morning i plan to visit Antelope Canyon (I have a ticket to 10AM), after that to visit Horseshoe Bend and then to drive straight to Las Vegas ( which I'm going to stay for 3 nights and then go to Yosemite)

Recently I heard recommendations about Bryce Canyon and I wonder how can I visit there also.

I know it's very tight schedule but it's important to say that I'm not a hike person and I only want to drive by.

In the meanwhile I'm trying to change my ticket to Antelope Canyon (Although I booked it months ago).

Thank you!Hi all,

We head to New York 22 September - 27 September. We are actually staying in New Jersey as we wanted Air BnB accommodation.

We want to see and do as much as possible as coming from New Zealand and who knows when we will get there again.

We have booked the SoL on a Monday and other things of interest are 9/11 museum, Central Park, one of the taller buildings and then the rest is up for grabs. The kids are 5, 9 and 12 but fit and dont tire to easily!

Would anyone want to suggest some other good things for us and the kids. Would love to get in some shopping but that might need to take a back seat. We have 5 weeks in the US so will get around to it somewhere!Hi,

We are visiting family in Singapore in December for a few days and have decided to then go onto Vietnam to explore the South. We will have 12 nights in Vietnam.

We have roughly planned to go from Singapore to Da Nang (to see Hoi An), then to Phu Quoc for a bit of beach relaxation then back to HCMC for Christmas then back to Singapore to see our family again before heading back to the UK. W

We had read that HCMC is really exciting around Christmas Day hence why we thought that we could end up here.

We know that there is no direct flight from Da Nang to Phu Quoc, and wondered if anyone can advise whether it makes sense to take the flight with the change in HCMC (with a 4 hour wait in the airport) or should we spend a night or two in HCMC before then flying to Phu Quoc, bearing in mind that we will still be seeing HCMC at the end of our trip?

Or is it a better idea to fly Da Nang to Can Tho to explore the Mekong Delta for a day or two (instead of taking a day trip from HCMC), then fly to Phu Quoc then back to HCMC.

Apologies I know the above sounds a bit confusing, but just trying to work out the best route to avoid too many flights/waiting around and wasting our precious time in what we hope to be such a brilliant country. We are happy to fly instead of buses/trains to save time, it's just working out the best order to do things in.

Many thanks!Hakone is pleasant, but the view of Mt. Fuji (and the enjoyment of the trip) depend on weather. I suggest adding a day to Tokyo with a plan to do a day trip -- Nikko, Hakone, or whatever. Watch the weather and hop on a train when the weather looks good.

Do visit Himeji castle on your way to or from Hiroshima. You can do it in two or three hours.**What I'm trying to figure out is: How long will it take me to get from Newark airport to Soho? Will I have time to go to Soho, then Cobble Hill to drop my bag, then back to downtown Manhattan?**

-Domestic flight into EWR?

-How are planning on getting from EWR to SOHO? If you take public transportation, figure about 1.5 hours with you being unfamiliar with NYC and having a large suitcase.

-Domestic flight? You can get from the airport, to SOHO by say.....11:30. From SOHO to Cobble Hill...say 45 min(again factoring in a large suitcase and being unfamiliar with the subway system.) That puts you at 12:15. Lets just say 1pm.

You can relax and be back in the city for your meet up with time to spare.

First time in NYC? I would head into the city a little earlier to take it in. Just know that the temps will be 90+ starting on Monday for a few days. Prepare for that.- The foreigners are said to have came to Kenya as tourists

- Most foreigners are living in Kenya under pretense of being married to Kenyan women

- CS says the government is committed in ridding off the country illegal immigrants

- The immigration officers were engaged in corruption in the issuance of immigration documents

The government has taken action against illegal immigrants in Kenya after the elapse of two months grace period for foreigners to acquire all legal documents to work in Kenya.

Tough speaking Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Fred Matiang'i has deported 60 senior hotel managers and fired 28 immigration officers.

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READ ALSO: Wajue wake warembo wa marais 11 maarufu barani Afrika

Tough speaking Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Fred Matiang'i has deported 60 senior hotel managers and fired 28 immigration officers. Photo: UGC

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Crackdown on foreigners working in Kenya illegally begins after Matiang'i's 60 day ultimatum

Speaking during a meeting with regional security heads in Nairobi on Friday, August 24, Matiang'i said the 60 hotel managers had come into the country as tourists and were staying and working in Kenya illegally.

"They have been pretending that they have papers and we are going to continue to deport more. These people are hiding in restaurants here in Kenya," said Matiang'i.

Matiang'i said the 60 hotel managers had come into the country as tourists and were staying and working in Kenya illegally. Photo: UGC

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Police arrest 21 Indian ladies flown in to serve as strippers in posh Nairobi clubs

He said the immigration officers were fired for engaging in corruption and unscrupulous deals in issuing documents without following the laid down procedures.

The CS said some foreigners are staying in Kenya illegally by pretending to be married to Kenyan women but engaging in illegal activities like drug trafficking.

"These illegal foreigners are misusing our children. You must have a marriage certificate and if you are married for less than three years then you must have a work permit. Some are pretending they are married when they are just cohabiting with our girls and use them to carry drugs around," he added.

READ ALSO: Authorities probing how Somali president's ex-Chief of Staff acquired Kenyan ID and passports

The no nonsense CS said the government is committed to ridding off illegal immigrants in Kenya who engage in illegal businesses.

In June, 2018, the government issued a notice to foreigners in Kenya to visit immigration offices to verify and renew their work permits.

In the exercise that was concluded in July 22, the number of work permits that were verified were 26,829, and 2,760 were accounted for but not verified while another 3,434 work permit holders did not show up for the verification.

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.

How street Women In Kenya Deal With Periods | On Tuko TV

Source: TukoMajority of Kenyans believe IPSOS Synovate poll ranking Deputy President William Ruto and Kirinyaga Governor Waiguru as the most corrupt is right, a Facebook poll by TUKO.co.ke has established.

The poll conducted between Wednesday, August 22 and Thursday, August 23 showed 70% of Kenyans believe the survey by Synovate indicating Ruto led the list of most corrupt people with 33% followed by Waiguru with 31% was a true representation of Kenya's situation

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READ ALSO: Ruto in meeting with Waiguru a day after polls ranked them most corrupt leaders

Deputy President William Ruto and Anne Waiguru ranked as the most corrupt Kenyans in a poll released by IPSOS Synovate. Photo: William Ruto/Twitter.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Matiang'i deports 60 foreigners, fires 28 immigration officers

The TUKO.co.ke Facebook poll had 1600 individuals who participated out of which only 480 people or 30% of participants said the Synovate poll was not truthful and unjustifiable.

Some of the voters who supported IPSOS findings which heightened political temperatures across the country alluded Ruto and Waiguru's corruption levels were catastrophic and would easily plunge Kenya into bankruptcy.

READ ALSO: Deadly Hessy wa Dandora issues tough warning to any youth wearing combat gears

Another voter observed IPSOS findings merely confirmed the Pope was Catholic and there was no need to question the obvious.

Those who disputed the Synovate poll results said the pollster had done shallow reserach and even blamed it for working for the Opposition in a bid to taint Ruto's name.

READ ALSO: Wajue wake warembo wa marais 11 maarufu barani Afrika

The survey by Synovate showed retired President Daniel Moi distantly the crowned prince and princes of corruption at position three with 17% while President Uhuru Kenyatta was fourth with 11%.

Uhuru's percentage in corruption was more than twice that of his predecessor Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga who got 5% each in the Synovate polls which rattled Ruto and Waiguru.

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Nazlin Umar - Ruto Is Behind The Sugar Scandal - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke- MCain's family noted they were immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers

- The family decided to termite his brain cancer treatment after it emerged it has surpassed expectations for survival

- MCain was first elected to the Senate in 1986 and had become a vehement critic of President Donald Trump.

- The announcement makes the end of his Washington career which included two unsuccessful presidential runs

Former United States (US) presidential candidate John McCain who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 has made a decision to discontinue medical treatment.

The family of the Arizona Republican senator said McCain had surpassed expectations for survival but the progress of the disease and the inexorable advance of age informed their verdict.

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READ ALSO: Zimbabwe court confirms Emmerson Mnangagwa as president, dismiss oppositions petition

The Friday announcement left McCain's colleagues shaken despite having braced for the worst following his cancer prognosis in 2017. Photo: CBS

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Strathmore University student who killed niece, drank blood commits suicide

In a statement issued by the senator's family on Friday, August 24, he had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, and the prognosis was serious

"Last summer, Senator John McCain shared with Americans the news our family already knew: he had been diagnosed with an aggressive glioblastoma, and the prognosis was serious. In the year since, John has surpassed expectations for his survival," wrote the family.

"But the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment," the family added.

READ ALSO: New video of Diamond Platnumz and ex Wema Sepetu cosying up in night club confuses fans

The family of the senator said McCain had surpassed expectations for survival. Photo: ABC

Source: Twitter

The Friday announcement left McCain's colleagues shaken despite having braced for the worst following his cancer prognosis in 2017.

It effectively closes a tumultuous Washington career that included two unsuccessful presidential runs and saw McCain emerge as a singular political figure.

McCain a war hero, was first elected to the Senate in 1986 and had become an icon of the Senate and latterly as a vehement critic of President Donald Trump.

READ ALSO: Confusion at IEBC as commissioners who resigned return to their offices

After his diagnosis , McCain returned to the Senate floor to give a rousing speech to his colleagues, urging them to return to regular order, fight for principles, and rise above party politics.

"Our responsibilities are important, vitally important, to the continued success of our republic," he said on the Senate floor at the time.

"And our arcane rules and customs are deliberately intended to require broad cooperation to function well at all. The most revered members of this institution accepted the necessity of compromise in order to make incremental progress on solving America's problems and defend her from her adversaries," he added.

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NASA now claims to have evidence of Raila's victory from IEBC sources - On TUKO TV

Source: TukoOne striking thing anyone will notice at an instance whenever they come across beautiful women with brains is the natural confidence they ooze.

Such is the case with 29-year-old Mercy Koech, a United States Navy Hospital Corpsman with a Specialty in Dental Assisting.

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READ ALSO: Kobi Kihara swallows humble pie, pulls down photos she lifted online after being exposed

READ ALSO: Hamissa Mabetto is just like any other ordinary thirsty woman - Diamond Platinumz

Though nothing much is known about the beauty queen, we can not ignore the fact that she is a graduate in bachelors of Psychology.

As though that is not enough, the sun-kissed model with a silk skin still looks forward to applying to Dental School to pursue Dentistry.

READ ALSO: Trending videos of the week on TUKO TV

Well, how else would you define beauty with brains? I am sure anyone else would have tagged the graduation as the end of a system.

Currently stationed with the Navy Special Warfare, San Siego California, Koech is not your ordinary model filling your timeline with photo-shoot hashtags.

READ ALSO: New video of Diamond Platnumz and ex Wema Sepetu cosying up in night club confuses fans

A quick flip through Face of Kenya website, reveals Koech is the organisation's ambassador with an aim of making a difference back at home.

Aha! another reason we call her beauty with brains.

READ ALSO: Ali Kiba's ex-lover ready to give birth with any Tanzanian celebrity for KSh 800,000

The 29-year-old is not shy of her background and loves her country because it her strong hold that molded her into the person she is.

"I Love Kenya because it is my strong hold roots that molded me into a person that does not forget I have come from, who I am and the desire to grab opportunities with both hands when handed to," notes the beauty queen

"First I am very elated to say that I am proud to have been born and nurtured in Kenya until the age of 20," she adds.

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Ringtone Disses Diamond Platinumz, Maintains His Love for Zari Hassan | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko- Uhuru left the country a few minutes past midnight in the company of his delegates

- He is scheduled to meet President Trump on Monday, August 27

- The two will hold talks on a wide array of subjects among them trade and regional security

President Uhuru Kenyatta left the country for Washington on the early morning hours of Saturday, August 25, ahead of his meeting with United States (US) President Donald Trump on Monday, August 27.

The plane carrying the Uhuru, First Lady Margret Kenyatta and his delegation departed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport shortly after midnight.

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READ ALSO: Kakamega woman collapses on learning her husband has married their daughter

President Uhuru Kenyatta leaves for US on 15 hours direct flight

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Chaos at IEBC as Chebukati orders locks to offices of 3 defiant commissioners changed immediately

A statement issued by State House on his departure indicated Deputy President William Ruto and Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe led senior government officials in seeing off the President.

During his visit to the US, President Kenyatta will visit the White House at the invitation of the US President with whom Uhuru will hold talks on a wide array of subjects among them trade and regional security.

Besides trade and regional security, the two will discuss ways of strengthening the blossoming Kenya-US relations focusing on the two nations shared democratic values and mutual interests.

READ ALSO: Uhuru, Raila handshake is directionless, confusing and unconstitutional - Ekuru Aukot

President Uhuru Kenyatta leaves for US on 15 hours direct flight

Source: Facebook

The meeting comes at an opportune time for Kenya considering Uhuru is currently involved in implementing programs to bolster trade and investments in the country through his administration's Big 4 agenda.

Alongside the strong bilateral bond the country enjoys with the US, Kenya also benefits immensely from various US-sponsored multilateral programs.

Key among them the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which the president will seek to renegotiate with Trump.

READ ALSO: IEBC procurement audit ordered by Chebukati implicates Chiloba

President Uhuru Kenyatta leaves for US on 15 hours direct flight

Source: Facebook

The strong bilateral and multilateral relationship between Kenya and the US has over the years supported the country's efforts towards economic stability.

It has also supported in the provision of security, health, education as well as in the management of the environment, fostering the rule of law, and implementation of democratic governance.

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma who is already in the US on Thursday, August 23, met with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo ahead of the meeting between the two presidents.

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Kenyans demand for the release of Bobi Wine | Tuko TV.

Source: Kenya Breaking News Today- Parklands MCA Jayendra Malde was arrested extorting KSh 5.7 million from Concord Hotel owner

- Malde told Rahim and Madat Chatur he would gang with colleagues to protect his hotel from being demolished

- The hotel was marked among buildings to be demolished for occupying riparian land

- The amount would be shared among 19 Nairobi MCAs in the Justice committee

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives have arrested Parklands Member of County Assembly Jayendra Malde for attempting to extort KSh 5.7 million.

Malde who was elected in August 2017 through a Jubilee party ticket allegedly demanded a bribe of KSh 5.7 million from the owner of Concord Hotel in Westlands as an inducement to prevail upon Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko not to demolish his facility.

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READ ALSO: Asian businessman arrested trying to bribe Mike Sonko KSh 1 million

Parklands MCA Jayendra Malde was arrested by EACC detectives as he attempted to extort KSh 5.7 million bribe in order to protect businessman's property. Photo: EACC/Twitter.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: I had to lie to Waititu that we were releasing his wife because I had trapped him - Mike Sonko

According to a tweet by EACC seen by TUKO.co.ke on Saturday, August 25, Malde had asked businessmen Rahim Chatur and his father Madat Chatur to give him KSh 5.7 million as a shield to protect the hotel erected in riparian land from being demolished.

EACC confided that Malde was collecting the bribe from Madat ex-husband to former presidential candidate Nazlin Umar and his son on behalf of 19 MCAs sitting in the Legal and Justice Committee who had promised to influence the executive.

Parklands MCA Jayendra Malde was reported to be collecting the money on behalf of 17 Nairobi MCAs with a promise to protect Rahim and Madat Chatur's property. Photo: EACC/Twitter.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: President Uhuru leaves for US on 15 hours direct flight

Each MCA was expected to get KSh 300,000 from the bribe before initiating a procedure to bar the executive from ordering the demolition of the high end hotel.

According to the commission the MCA will be charged in court on Monday, August 17.

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Kenyans demand for the release of Bobi Wine | Tuko TV.

Source: Tuko- Ugandans in London have announced they will present a Free Bobi Wine petition to UK Prime Minister Theresa May

- The Ugandans in diaspora indicated the Prime Minister had accepted to receive their petition

- UK issued a travel advisory following Win'es arrest and subsequent protests

- The Ugandans in UK marched to their country's embassy in protest of the Kyadondo East MP's arrest

Pressure is piling on the Ugandan government to release Opposition MP Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine who was arrested and tortured by military police over numerous allegations.

The UK government has now accepted a petition christened Free Bobi Wine only two days after Uganda's Court Martial cancelled illegal possession of ammunition charges against Wine who was shortly rearrested and charged with treason and manslaughter in a civil court.

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READ ALSO: Bobi Wine rearrested shortly after Museveni drops charges against him

Ugandans in the UK will present a petition pushing for the release of UK Prime Minister Theresa May. Photo: Bobi Wine/Twitter.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Free Bobi Wine protests spill to Nairobi as Kenyans plan demos at Ugandan embassy

According to a tweet by Thomas Ddumba a Ugandan residing in London seen by TUKO.co.ke, on Saturday, August 25, Ugandans in London had drafted and signed a petition to present to UK Prime Minister Theresa May.

"The UK government has accepted to receive a petition of #FreeBobiWine. We, Ugandans in London will meet The Prime Minister, Theresa May MP," read part of Ddumba's tweet.

TUKO.co.ke understands Ugandans in London marched to their country's embassy in London in solidarity with their their compatriots and Kenyans who demonstrated in the streets of Kampala and Nairobi on Thursday, August 23, when Wine was charged.

The UK had issued its citizens with a travel advisory against Uganda after Wine's arrest and subsequent protests.

The arrest of Wine who denied treason and manslaughter charges in a magistrate's court and remanded until Thursday, August 30, sparked a series of demonstrations across different countries across the world.

Wine a former musician and MP for Kyadondo East constituency received support of among others, popular performing artistes within and outside Uganda.

Wine was arrested on Tuesday, August 14 for allegedly obstructing a motorcade of President Yoweri Museveni.

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Kenyans demand for the release of Bobi Wine | Tuko TV.

Source: Tuko- Annan's family and the Ghanaian government said the burial will be on September 13

- Several leaders across the world are expected in Ghana for his burial ceremony

- Kenyans remember him for his role in the peace agreement after 2007/2008 election violence

The family of the late former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan and the Ghanaian government have set Thursday, September 13, the date for state burial of Annan.

Speaking on Friday, August 24, after a consultative meeting with the family, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said Annan will receive a state burial and will be interred at Accras new military cemetery.

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READ ALSO: Koffi Annan to be laid to rest in Ghana, not Switzerland - Family

The Nobel Peace Prize winner died at the age of 80 years on Saturday, August 18, in Switzerland after a short illness. Photo: UGC

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: 10 major facts we gathered about late Kofi Annan

"Kofi Annan was one of our most illustrious people in this generation. He was like an elderly brother. His burial is going to be a major event in our country and we expect many leaders to attend," said the president as quoted by the Standard newspaper.

The 2001 Nobel Peace Prize winner died at the age of 80 years on Saturday, August 18, in Switzerland after a short illness.

Kenyans remember the Kumasi born Ghana national for his role in the peace agreement between the former prime minister Raila Odinga and former president Mwai Kibaki after the 2007/2008 post election violence.

He was the second African to date to hold the position of UN secretary general after Egyptian Boutros Boutros-Ghali.

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Kenyans demand for the release of Bobi Wine | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko Breaking News- The four were arrested for presenting fake tender documents to unsuspecting clients

- The DCI has appealed anyone who might have been coned by the men to avail information

- Their arrests comes days after other two other conmen were nabbed for pretending to be gold dealers

Officials from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday, August 24, arrested four criminals in Nairobi conning unsuspecting Kenyans millions of shillings.

The conman are reported to be using false pretense to acquire money.

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READ ALSO: Governor Joho holds closed-door meeting with ex-president Moi at his home

Detectives arrest four notorious criminals conning Kenyans millions

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Double tragedy as Busia girl is raped by police officer after being rescued from bodaboda rider

The DCI is now appealing to members of the public who may have been conned by the men to volunteer any information to the Serious Crime Unit.

The four were identified as Moses Mugatia Ikiugu, Gerge Obeli Kasasi, Edward Mutuku Nzioki, Zacharia Joel Owour, Moses Mugatia Ikiungu.

READ ALSO: UK government accepts to receive Free Bobi Wine petition from Ugandans in diaspora

Detectives arrest four notorious criminals conning Kenyans millions

Source: Facebook

According to the DCI, they were arrested after presenting fake documents to a complainant whom they had promised to award a tender worth KSh 65 Millions.

The complainant was to construct an administration block for a school in Sultan Hamud.

They will be arraigned in court on Monday, August 27, to face charges of obtaining money by false pretenses.

READ ALSO: Detectives parade Nairobis fake gold dealers conning residents

There arrests came barely three days after the DCI again arrested two conmen pretending to be gold dealers.

On Saturday, August 18, TUKO.co.ke reported the detectives also arrested 19 suspects of Nigerian origin who are also believed to be part of a criminal gang engaging in online fraud.

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Source: Tuko Breaking News Latest- Chamisa said he will announce vigorous program of action in response to the courts ruling

- The opposition leader claimed he had a legitimate claim he should lead Zimbabwe

- He further noted he will not attend Mnangagwa's inauguration on Sunday, August 26

- He however called on Zimbabweans to be calm

Zimbabwe's opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) alliance, on Saturday, August 25, rejected the court's ruling which upheld President Emmerson Mnangagwas narrow and disputed election win.

The new development comes barely hours after the opposition said on Friday, August 24, it would respect the unanimous ruling by the constitutional court.

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READ ALSO: Detectives arrest four notorious criminals conning Kenyans millions

Zimbabwe opposition rejects election ruling, to announce next course of action

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Mbeere family invades school claiming it is their home

In a statement issued by the party, it also said in the coming days, it will announce a vigorous program of action in response to what it termed as 'electoral theft of the century'.

"I hear your cries and feel your pain. I know you feel cheated, but take heart  your victory is not lost. Your will is sacred and we will listen to you on the path of peace and course of action to be taken to rescue our beautiful Zimbabwe from the jaws of poverty, corruption and dishonesty," Chamisa tweeted.

I respectfully disagree and reject the position that was arrived at by the constitutional court, I have a legitimate claim that I should lead Zimbabwe, he added.

READ ALSO: Governor Joho holds closed-door meeting with ex-president Moi at his home

Zimbabwe opposition rejects election ruling, to announce next course of action

Source: UGC

While the statement calls on Zimbabweans to be calm, concerns have been high over possible unrest with Mnangagwas inauguration set for Sunday, August 26, in the capital, Harare.

Chamisa also repeated that peaceful street protests would be an option that the opposition would take to protect the peoples victory.

Responding to Mnangagwas comments saying his door and arms were open to Chamisa, Chamisa said any negotiations with the ruling party could only be about resolving the presidents legitimacy and vicious cycle of disputed elections.

READ ALSO: UK government accepts to receive Free Bobi Wine petition from Ugandans in diaspora

The July 30, 2018 election was expected to pull Zimbabwe out of its diplomatic isolation, and prompt an economic recovery, being the first one since Robert Mugabe was ousted as President in a November coup.

But the vote left the nation polarised, with violence flaring on the streets of Harare which saw six people lose their lives.

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Kenyans demand for the release of Bobi Wine | Tuko TV.

Source: Tuko Newspaper- Esther Namale allegedly attacked her husband of 20 years in bed

- The victim said he had just returned home after having few glasses went straight went to bed

- The mother of two has since disappeared even as her husband seeks justice

Police are hunting down a woman who chopped off her husband's genitals in Nairobi's Mukuru slums on the night of Thursday, August 24.

Esther Namale allegedly attacked her husband of 20 years Godfrey Namale, a cart puller who was woken up from deep sleep by an excruciating.

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READ ALSO: Nakuru man chops off manhood after separating with wife

Nairobi woman chops off drunk husband's manhood with kitchen knife

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Homa Bay man chops off wife's hand for failing to bear child

The victim said he had just returned home after having few glasses went straight went to bed, few hours later he saw blood oozing from his genitals as reported by Nation.

After job, I went out for a drink after a hard days work before I went back home and retired to bed.

"I suddenly felt severe pain in my genitals, before I saw blood oozing from my private parts. My wife was standing next to me with a bloodstained kitchen knife in her hand, he recalled.

READ ALSO: Mwanariadha Asbel Kiprop aanikwa mtandaoni kwa kulamba "asali" ya mwenzake

He then alerted area slum chairman Ibrahim Mohammed who rushed him to Crescent Hospital before reporting the matter to the Industrial Area police station.

The mother of two has since disappeared even as her husband seeks justice.

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Source: Tuko Breaking News- Former Uganda Inspector General of Police was sacked and charged in General Court Martial for allowing illegal entry of weapons

- He was arrested on Wednesday, June 13 and detained for 72 days before he was charged

- His lawyers pleaded with court to allow him bail because it was a weekend and he had missed touching his wife

There was drama in Uganda's now famous Military General Court Martial (GCM) at Makindye when former Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura was charged with failing to protect war materials' entry and aiding kidnapping of Rwandan nationals.

This was the same court where Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine had charges of illegal possession of weapons withdrawn on Thursday, August 23, ahead of Kayhura's long-awaited trial on Friday, August 24.

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READ ALSO: Uganda Opposition chief Besigye arrested after State withdraws Bobi Wine's charges

Former Uganda Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura in General Court Martial. His lawyers asked court to give him bail and allow him touch his wife after long detention. Photo: Daily Monitor.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Bobi Wine rearrested shortly after Museveni drops charges against him

A report by the Daily Monitor, seen by TUKO.co.ke, on Saturday, August 25, indicated the court was all silent save for legal engagements between State prosecutors and Kayihura's lawyers a rare request was made.

The lawyer,Elly Karuhanga, asked GCM Chairman Andrew Gutti to allow his client who was arrested on Wednesday, June 13, a bail so that he could at least touch his wife after a lengthy unlawful detention which exceeded the constitutional 48 hours.

"Our client has been detained for more than 72 days. Considering there is a weekend ahead kindly determine the bail through a written chit of paper as you did with other cases. He deserves to walk out of the court to freedom and touch his wife," pleaded Karuhanga, igniting loud laughter in the court.

READ ALSO: Mwanariadha Asbel Kiprop aanikwa mtandaoni kwa kulamba "asali" ya mwenzake

Former Uganda Inspector General of Police kale Kayihura was sacked in March and arrested in June. He was in detention for 72 hours before appearing in court. Photo: Daily Monitor.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Governor Joho holds closed-door meeting with ex-president Moi at his home

This was after Gutti had rescheduled a bail hearing request to Tuesday, August 28.

The request however did not amuse Gutti who said he could not change his ruling and added that he had even given a short adjournment to the matter.

Dont you have records in your office? Go and put the notice of record in black and white. I have given you a short time than appearing on Tuesday, September 4, but I have instead given you Tuesday, August 28. Come back on this day," Gutti retorted.

Gen Kayihura who was sacked by President Yoweri Museveni in March was the the first four-star general to be charged in a military or civilian court in Uganda.

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Source: Tuko KenyaIt was tears and celebrations at Jesus Winners Ministry Church in Roysambu as William Mwaura, a man who was dumped by ex-lover for being poor finally exchanged vows with his new fiancee.

The memorable moment among the invited guests attending the colourful event was when Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja chauffeured Mwaura and his new fiancee Marion Kinya much to amazement of everyone.

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READ ALSO: Mwanariadha Asbel Kiprop aanikwa mtandaoni kwa kulamba "asali" ya mwenzake

Senator Sakaja and Mwaura before and after the wedding. Photo: Johnson Sakaja/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Sakaja warms hearts by taking disabled adopted son to watch Gor Mahia-Hull city game

When Sakaja joined worshipers at the Roysambu church on Sunday, July 22, he was told of Mwaura's plight and gave him KSh 50,000 to cater for another wedding should Marion agree to marry him.

It was tears and celebrations as William Mwaura, a man who was dumped by ex-lover for being poor finally exchanged vows with his new fiancee. Photo: Johnson Mwaura/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

The youthful politician also pledged a monthly stipend of KSh 15,000 besides offering his sleek Prado car for transport.

Almost three months later, Sakaja did not only fulfill his promise but also decided to drive the new couple to their wedding venue.

"I am honoured to have been part of todays wonderful wedding between William and Kinya. Their story of love touched us as William had been rejected by his previous fiancee for being poor. Kinya decided to look beyond his present circumstance and committed to him. They are blessed," said jubilee politician.

READ ALSO: Senator Sakaja moves Lang'ata church with his guitar skills

Almost three months later, Sakaja did not only fulfill his promise but also decided to drive the new couple to their wedding venue. Photo: Johnson Sakaja/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

And in deed certain things in life happen for a reason and the good book says blessed are those who wait upon the Lord.

Below is the video captured on Sunday, July 22, before the wedding.

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Source: Tuko.co.ke- Amani National Congress party leader Musalia Mudavadi said the two commissioners cheated President Uhuru Kenyatta to leave commission

- He said the commissioners had plan to cover their mess after Auditor General laid bare their mess

- Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo said the two resigned as part of an evil ploy by their master

- Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior said the commissioners needed to return all monies paid to them while on resignation

A section of Opposition leaders have slammed move by two former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners to return to office four months after publicly announcing their resignation.

Led by Amani National Congress (ANC) chief Musalia Mudavadi, the leaders termed decision by former commissioners Margaret Mwachanya and Consolata Maina as utter disrespect to President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Constitution.

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READ ALSO: Chaos at IEBC as Chebukati orders locks to offices of 3 defiant commissioners changed immediately

Former IEBC commissioners Paul Kurgat, Margaret Mwachana and Consolata Maina during the announcement of their resignation. Photo: The Standard.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Mwanariadha Asbel Kiprop aanikwa mtandaoni kwa kulamba "asali" ya mwenzake

Speaking during homecoming ceremony of Vihiga MP Ernest Kuvai in Vihiga, Musalia said the commissioners deserve severe punishment for cheating President Uhuru Kenyatta through their resignation letters.

"We cannot tolerate such impunity. This institution has disrespected the Supreme Court, the people of Kenya and the president. They lied ti the president the commission was under poor leadership when resigning and deserve to be punished for this," Musalia said.

The ANC leader was categorical that two out of the three commissioners who showed up at IEBC headquarters offices on Friday, August 24, after resigning on Monday, April 16 should be barred access because they had ill intentions.

The three resigned citing IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati was incapable of managing the commission. They returned after High Court ruled they had not officially quit office. Photo: Daily Nation.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: High Court declines to nullify IEBC, says no vacancy despite four commissioners' resignation

"Their motive is to attempt to cover up theft made bare by the Auditor General. They spent KSh 900 million to procure phones which were never used in the elections process which they want to conceal. They should not be allowed back," he said.

Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo said the commissioners' actions were an insult to Kenyans and a breach o leadership principle and values, alleging they were back to conceal illegal activities they authorised.

"It is deeply insulting to Kenyans, gravely in breach of leadership principles, and obviously in violation of the law, for IEBC Commissioners who resigned publicly to purport to unresign. Above all, shows theirs was a scheme their of their master which flopped," Amollo tweeted.

The three commissioners joined Roselyn Akomeb who surprisingly quit commission few days to repeat presidential election on October, 26, 2017. Photo: TUKO.co.ke

Source: Facebook

Outspoken Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo mocked the decision by Mwachanya and Maina saying they needed, not only to be barred from IEBC offices but surcharged all pay they could have received after resigning with 'immediately' effect.

"Four Commissioners resign  with immediately effect  and somehow they want their jobs back in the same way! They should not be allowed into IEBC . If salaries have been paid for the last few months a surcharge order should follow," Mutula said.

The two, alongside Paul Kurgat resigned citing Chairman Wafula Chebukati was incapable of running commission.

They left Chebukati with only two other commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu.

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IEBC official speaks about the non-standard cases of voter registration- On TUKO TV

Source: Tuko.co.keIn secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!Are the Safe Zones for those vaccinated against Covid19 really safe? One Opposition MP is raising his concerns as he is calling on the Government to make antigen tests available to the public to guard against those who may have Covid but are not presenting any symptoms including those who are vaccinated.By Jeff Murphy, August 24, 2018

WARRENSBURG, MO  Drew Griffin has been named the Assistant Vice Provost for Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Central Missouri, effective Aug.31. This new position will provide strategic guidance, vision and leadership to both the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Financial Aid.



With more than 14 years of experience in enrollment management, Griffin joins UCM from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL), where he has been the Director of Admissions the last four years. In this role, he has planned and implemented recruitment strategies to attract and enroll a qualified, diverse student body and serve as the leader of his recruitment team. Before moving in to the director position, Griffin began his career as a transfer coordinator for UMSL for one year before being quickly moved into the Associate Director for Recruitment role for nine years.



In addition to his excellent career path, Griffin's previous role as president of the Missouri Association for College Admission Counseling (MOACAC) has allowed him to develop and maintain excellent working relationships with high school counselors throughout Missouri and with enrollment management professionals regionally.



We are very excited that Mr. Griffin has accepted the position. His experience and passion make him a perfect fit not only to advance our admissions efforts, but also to help ensure our students graduate on time with less debt, said Karen Goos, interim vice provost for enrollment management.



After graduating from Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelors degree in mass communication and public relations, Griffin earned a masters degree in higher education/student affairs from Indiana University. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in higher educational administration at UMSL.The Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister has expressed interest in creating opportunities in the future for joint production of weapons and military equipment in the territory of Ukraine with the participation of British companies.

Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze discussed this at a meeting with the Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and Minister of State for Defence of Britain, Earl Howe (Frederick Richard Penn Curzon), the Governmental portal reports.

"We believe that Ukrainian-British military and technical cooperation, especially in the production of high-tech weapons, can have a significant potential," Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said, noting that for this Ukraine needs to continue reforming the defense industry.

In addition, the parties noted that Ukraine's cooperation with NATO remained the cornerstone of Ukraine's national security. Earl Howe expressed confidence that the results of the last NATO summit in the context of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations were very positive for Ukraine and its allies.

The Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister thanked Earl Howe for the fact that a political and military dialogue between the two countries remained reliable, for helping Ukraine in defense planning, for developing the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces and training the Ukrainian soldiers, as well as the participation of British paratroopers in the military parade on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.

ishPresident of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda congratulated President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and all Ukrainians on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Ukraines Independence.

"I want to assure you of respect for the Ukrainian nation, which is steadily building an Independent state and ready for the greatest sacrifice in the face of violations of international law and armed aggression by a neighbor. I would like to extend the continued support of the Republic of Poland for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders. An expression of this is the initiatives taken in this area at the forum of the UN Security Council, the OSCE, the European Union and NATO," the letter reads, the press service of the Ukrainian president reports.

The Polish president noted the European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Ukraine. "I declare further activities of Poland towards strengthening Ukraine's relations with the EU and NATO, as well as support in the implementation of ambitious domestic reforms that will bring Ukraine closer to the standards adopted by these organizations. Poland and Europe are interested in Ukraine being a modern state with a well-functioning economy that provides a high standard of living for its citizens," the statement reads.

Duda is convinced that partnership between the state institutions, systematically growing trade turnover, as well as dynamic development of people-to-people contacts, facilitate further rapprochement between the societies of Poland and Ukraine.

Andrzej Duda wished welfare to Ukrainians.

ishPresident of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has discussed with President of Finland Sauli Niinisto further steps to settle the situation in Donbas and the release of Oleg Sentsov and other political prisoners of the Kremlin.

The presidents held a phone conversation on Friday, the press service of the Ukrainian head of state reported.

"The interlocutors coordinated positions and future efforts to ensure progress in the peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas. The parties noted the importance of the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners illegally kept in the temporarily occupied territories and in Russia, including the immediate release of Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov," the report reads.

The presidents of both countries discussed the topical issues of the bilateral agenda, in particular, agreed upon the terms of the next contacts at the highest level.

In addition, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto congratulated President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and the Ukrainian people on the Independence Day.

In turn, Petro Poroshenko congratulated Sauli Niinisto on his 70th anniversary and thanked for his significant personal contribution to ensuring consistent support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

ishCanadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland intends to make a visit to Ukraine next week.

"As a further sign of Canadas commitment to its relationship with Ukraine, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will travel to Ukraine next week," the Global Affairs Canada informed.

The Canadian minister will be in Ukraine only one day - August 28. In Kyiv, she will meet with President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, and she will address the ambassadors' meeting.

"Canada continues to support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as important democratic, economic and social reforms," the Canadian Foreign Ministry said.

As part of the European tour, Chrystia Freeland will also visit Germany and France, where she will also deliver a speech.

As a reminder, Minister Freeland visited Ukraine in December 2017.

ishUkraine and Slovakia intensify cooperation in the implementation of projects in the field of demining, cyber security and regional cooperation.

This was discussed during a meeting of Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar with a Slovak delegation led by State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Robert Ondrejcsak, who was on a visit to Ukraine, the press service of the Foreign Ministry reported on August 23.

"During the talks, the parties discussed topical issues of Ukrainian-Slovak relations, prospects for implementing projects in the field of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, in particular, in the field of mine clearance, cyber security and regional cooperation," the report reads.

Bodnar also thanked Slovakia for providing assistance in the treatment and rehabilitation of the Ukrainian soldiers wounded in Donbas.

ishPresident says resolve will be tested by election campaign and Russian interference.

President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine has warned that his country's pro-western reform process is in danger because of approaching presidential and parliamentary elections and what he said was Russian interference in the campaigns.

In an interview with the Financial Times in Kyiv, Mr. Poroshenko said the prolonged conflict with Russia and Moscow-backed separatists in Donbas region of south-eastern Ukraine was a severe test of his country's unity. But he said that contrary to the intentions of Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, Ukraine was becoming stronger and more pro-European as a result.

Mr. Poroshenko said ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on Friday that the main achievements of his presidency, now in its fifth year, included putting Ukraine on a path to European and transatlantic integration, fending off Russian pressure and adopting reforms to education, healthcare, pensions, the banking sector and public administration.

However, he added: "It is because of the presidential election that all these reform processes are in danger. Definitely.

"The reform processes are not irreversible and that's why they are in danger. Why? Because of Russia. Russia has taken enormous steps, in conditions of hybrid war, to return Ukraine to its sphere of influence."

Read alsoBolton: U.S. to help Ukraine counter Russian 'meddling'

Mr. Poroshenko, 52, is expected to seek re-election in the presidential contest, which is scheduled for March. Elections to Ukraine's legislature are due by November 2019.

The president's supporters say he will portray himself as the most reliable guarantor of Ukraine's independence and stability when a diplomatic solution to the war in Donbas seems remote. More than 10,000 people have died in the war, which broke out soon after Ukraine's February 2014 pro-democracy revolution and Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. The Kremlin denies direct involvement in the war despite widespread evidence to the contrary.

"It is an extremely difficult task to protect the country's independence and sovereignty in conditions of hybrid war," Mr. Poroshenko said.

Apart from conventional military methods and a partial trade embargo, "the involvement of Russia in the election process is enormous  by cyber war, by using social media, by using television stations and by supporting political forces whether they be leftist, rightist, pro-Russian or nationalist", he added.

Mr. Poroshenko won almost 55 per cent of votes in the first round of Ukraine's 2014 election, but opinion polls suggest that next year's election will be much closer. There may be as many as a dozen candidates and most polls show no clear frontrunner. Support for Mr. Poroshenko hovers around 10 per cent but could rise once he has formally declared himself a candidate.

Mr. Poroshenko acknowledged a risk that unconventional candidates  among those tipped to run are a comedian and a pop star  might benefit from public discontent with the political establishment, the state of the economy and the war.

"Populist, irresponsible forces, by using various technologies, can gain victory or at least part of the vote. But I am proud that all the time the choices of the Ukrainian people have been very responsible. I'm absolutely confident that this time it will be the same and that Putin cannot play with the votes of Ukrainian voters," he said.

The first politician to enter next year's race is Yulia Tymoshenko, 57, a former prime minister who was jailed under Viktor Yanukovych, Mr. Poroshenko's pro-Russia predecessor. She is regarded as one of Mr. Poroshenko's most serious challengers on account of her well-oiled political campaign machine and her ability to strike a chord with voters.

Read alsoPoroshenko tells NSDC to prepare for Russia meddling in Ukraine elections

Western governments that have supported Ukraine since 2014 are concerned that, whoever wins the election, the grip of super-rich business oligarchs on the political system will not loosen and corruption will continue to gnaw at the economy.

Mr. Poroshenko noted that Ukraine's parliament had passed amendments last month to legislation setting up an anti-corruption court, a step that went some way to unlocking the latest $1.9bn tranche of a $17.5bn IMF aid package.

However, the government has not yet met another IMF condition by increasing once heavily subsidised household gas prices to market levels.

Asked if Ukrainian society was tiring of the war, Mr. Poroshenko said: "If you can show me a nation that is happy during a war  no, this is simply impossible. This is a very serious test of the unity of our country. But we are united and strong as never before. Do you know why? Because of Putin.

"I'm proud of my country because, despite all the efforts of Putin, we still have more than 70 per cent support for [Ukraine's] European Union integration and more than 54 per cent for transatlantic integration."

An EU-Ukraine free trade and association agreement came into full effect last year, but the EU has not offered Kyiv the prospect of full membership. Ukraine aspires to join NATO but many European governments are wary of extending a membership offer.If convicted, Yezhov faces up to 15 years in prison.

An aide to Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman who is charged with spying for Russia went on trial on August 22.

Stanislav Yezhov has pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying investigators have no evidence that would prove he served as a Russian spy, RFE/RL wrote.

At the trial, Prosecutor Oleksiy Vdovychenko presented materials suggesting that Yezhov had electronically sent audio recordings to an unknown person and written texts about talks between top Ukrainian officials and representatives of foreign governments.

Read alsoMedia outlet reveals details about Russian agent exposed in Groysman's office

The Holosiiv District Court's Judge Olena Pervushyna adjourned the trial until September 3, ordering the prosecutors to "more thoroughly" prepare for the process.

Pervushyna said Vdovychenko presented the evidence in the case in an "illogical sequence."

Yezhov, who accompanied Hroysman on his international trips and often served as an interpreter, was arrested in December and charged with "acting in the interests of security services of the aggressor country."

If convicted, Yezhov faces up to 15 years in prison.

Yezhov previously has worked at the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States as well as the Ukrainian president's office.Some 25,000 Ukrainian women are already serving under contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Ukraine's Representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Tripartite Contact Group for the Donbas settlement, First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Gerashchenko says 25,000 women are serving under contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, of whom over 3,000 are officers.

Read alsoFemale troops to take part in Ukraine's Independence Day parade, first time ever

"A joint detachment of female troops marched along Khreshchatyk Street for the first time in Ukraine's history... Some 25,000 Ukrainian women are already serving under contract in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, of whom over 3,000 are officers. The country should know how many female lieutenant colonels and colonels we have, because they serve on a par with men. Khreshchatyk who applauded our Amazons so loudly and the spectators who wiped away tears when these young brave girls were marching by exactly wanted to know more about women in a joint detachment," Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook.

As UNIAN reported earlier, female soldiers of the Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University and the Military Telecommunications and Information Institute named after the Heroes of Kruty took part in the parade this year.No casualties among Ukrainian servicemen have been reported.

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas seven times from 07:00 to 18:00 Kyiv time on Saturday, August 25.

Read alsoWater supply restored in Toretsk

"The occupiers opened aimed fire from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms at the Ukrainian positions near the towns of Zolote and Avdiyivka, and the villages of Hranitne, Hnutove, Vodiane and Lebedynske," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update on Facebook as of 18:00 Kyiv time on August 25, 2018.

Along with this, the enemy engaged 120mm and 82mm mortars near Avdiyivka.

"There have been no casualties among the Ukrainian troops," the press center said.U.S. officials say they have information Assad may be planning a chemical attack in the northwestern province of Idlib.

The U.S. has told Russia it is ready to take strong military action against Syria if President Bashar al-Assad uses chemical weapons to recapture one of his country's last rebel-held areas, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

U.S. officials say they have information Assad may be planning a chemical attack in the northwestern province of Idlib. At a Thursday meeting in Geneva, National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, that America is prepared to respond with greater military force than it has used against Assad's regime in the past, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the content of talks hasn't been publicly disclosed, Bloomberg reported.

Read alsoMike Pence: Further use of chemical weapons in Syria will mean a "price to pay"  media

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia is "very concerned" by the threat and suggested possible chemical attack "provocations" assisted by U.S. spy agencies in Syria as a pretext for new U.S. military action. Russian officials told Bolton about their concerns at the Geneva meeting, Ryabkov said in a phone call Saturday with Bloomberg News.

"We caution Washington against another military escapade," Ryabkov said. "When things don't turn out the way the U.S. and its' allies want, then new provocations are prepared."

President Donald Trump has said before that he'll punish Assad for any further use of chemical weapons, after ordering two limited strikes in similar circumstances since taking office early last year. But the latest warning is more specific, and it comes on the eve of what may be one of the bloodiest campaigns in Syria's civil war.

Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, are deploying around Idlib  the only remaining area where the rebels, now dominated by jihadists from al-Qaeda and other groups, have a significant presence. They are estimated to number tens of thousands of fighters, many of them evacuated to Idlib under cease-fire arrangements as the Assad-Russia-Iran alliance gradually regained control over other parts of Syria.The move comes as Russian submarine activity surges in the Atlantic.

The U.S Navy on Friday formally reactivated the Cold War-era naval command it relied on for decades to confront adversaries in the waters off North America  the latest in a series of efforts to check Moscow's military expansion.

The move comes as Russian submarine activity surges in the Atlantic, according to POLITICO.

Read alsoU.S. warns partner against buying Russian submarines  media

The 2nd Fleet in Norfolk, Virginia, which was deactivated in 2011, will once again be assigned ships, aircraft and Marine landing forces for potential operations along the East Coast and in the North Atlantic, where melting Arctic ice has also heightened the competition for natural resources.

"We as a Navy, as a nation, have not had to confront such peer competitors since the Cold War ended nearly three decades ago," one of the Navy's top officers, Fleet Forces Command chief Adm. Chris Grady, said during a ceremony in Norfolk aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

"Our sea control and our power projection, two vital elements of our national security, are being challenged by resurgent foreign powers, namely Russia and China," he added.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, who issued the order earlier this year to re-establish the 2nd Fleet, stressed that the Navy is not "looking for a fight." But he said realities demand that it maintain "a large-scale ocean maneuver warfare" unit in the Atlantic region.Around 1 million Ukrainians are expected to travel to Poland for work over the next two years.

Twenty-one percent of Polish employers say they hire Ukrainian workers, a new study has found.

Half a year ago the figure stood at 11 percent, according to research by recruitment company Personnel Service, the Employers of Poland organization and the State Employment Service of Ukraine, Radio Poland reported.

Read alsoOver 2,500 Ukrainian construction workers work in Lithuania  association

Meanwhile, 17 percent of employers said they were planning to take on workers from neighboring countries east of Poland in the near future, the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily reported.

Around 1 million Ukrainians are expected to travel to Poland for work over the next two years, according to the study.

Arkadiusz Paczka, deputy head of the Employers of Poland organization, told the paper: "Belarusians will comprise the second-largest migration group."

Eight percent of the Polish companies polled for the study said they employed Belarusian workers.

Employers in sectors such as food processing, services and trade are especially interested in recruiting workers from countries beyond Poland's eastern border, according to the study.

Red tape and work permit limitations were named as the key obstacles to recruiting Ukrainians and Belarusians to work in Poland.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

BANGKOK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Aug, 2018 ) :Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and visiting Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong agreed that Thailand and China should oppose unilateralism and protectionism in trade together and jointly facilitate trade, investment during a bilateral meeting here on Friday.

State Councilor Wang Yong came to Thailand to preside over the 6th Conference of China-Thailand Joint Trade Committee together with Somkid.

Wang said during the conference that the two meetings held between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last year have pointed out the new direction for the development of China-Thailand relations, which both sides should follow to implement the important consensus reached by the two leaders, strengthen strategic linkage under the Belt and Road Initiative and extend the bilateral practical cooperation to wider, deeper and bigger scopes.

Somkid said Thailand attaches great importance to deepening the bilateral economic and trade cooperation with China, and is willing to learn from China in terms of development experience.

The Thai prime minister added that the Thai side wants to dock the Belt and Road Initiative with Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project to facilitate the investment of Chinese enterprises to Thailand.

He also said that Thailand supports Thai enterprises to participate in the first China International Import Expo.

The two sides agreed that in current situation, both countries should have comprehensive talks on how to deepen their cooperation in investment and trade, connectivity, agriculture, science and technology, aerospace, tourism, financial and other fields.

After the conference, the two sides signed several documents to boost their cooperation in different fields.

During his visit in Thailand, Chinese State Councilor Wang also attended the Thailand-China business Forum 2018 and will visit the EEC area.The All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Indian occupied Kashmir has said that the Kashmiris will fight against any proposed tinkering with Article 35-A unitedly and will render every kind of sacrifice to frustrate any legal or political move which might have devastating effects on the Muslim majority character of the territory.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Aug, 2018 ) :The All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Indian occupied Kashmir has said that the Kashmiris will fight against any proposed tinkering with Article 35-A unitedly and will render every kind of sacrifice to frustrate any legal or political move which might have devastating effects on the Muslim majority character of the territory.

According to Kashmir media service, the APHC leaders and activists held a protest march at Hyderpora Chowk in Srinagar against the onslaught on Article 35-A of the Indian Constitution that guarantees special rights and privileges to the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. They raised pro-freedom slogans and demanded right to self-determination.

Addressing on the occasion, the leaders termed the conspiracies to change the demography of Jammu and Kashmir as the worst type of cultural aggression. They reiterated the APHC's unwavering commitment to foil all the nefarious designs of India.

Those who participated in the protest march included Muhammad Yousuf Naqash, Bilal Siddiqi, Molvi Bashir Irfani, Nisar Hussain Rathar, Syed Bashir Andrabi, Khawaja Firdous Wani, Imtiyaz Ahmed Shah, Syed Muhammad Shafi, Imtiyaz Haider, Maqbool Magami, Muhammad Hanief Dar, Haji Qadous, Muhammad Imran, Shakeel Ahmed Butt, Abdul Rasheed Lone, Parvez Ahmed Butt and Nisar Ahmed Khan.

Seeking optimum support of the general public belonging to all walks of life, the APHC leaders expressed satisfaction on the unanimous role displayed on several occasions in the recent past events.

"We salute the solidarity shown by the people to defend their legitimate movement for right to self-determination and hope that the freedom loving people of Jammu and Kashmir shall rise to the occasion to safeguard their exemplary sacrifices," they said.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Around 12000 tons of offal and other waste of sacrificial animals slaughtered in Peshawar during Eid-ul-Azha were removed during three days of the religious festival

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Aug, 2018 ) :Around 12000 tons of offal and other waste of sacrificial animals slaughtered in Peshawar during Eid-ul-Azha were removed during three days of the religious festival.

According to a press release of WSSP, during the three days operation 9500 tons of offal was removed from city areas, while 750 tons of animal waste removed by Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) from Hayatabad Township and more than 1500 tons of offal were removed from Cantonment board areas and Town Four of Peshawar.

More than 3000 staffers of WSSP took part in three days operation of WSSP for cleanliness of Peshawar during Eid-ul-Azha.

About 450 vehicles took part in the operation for removal of animal waste. The removal operation continued till late night so that cleanliness could be ensured in the city.

The three days cleanliness operation was fully monitored by high officials of WSSP who remained in office and fields to ensure proper working of the staff.

A complaint cell was also established in the head office which received hundreds of complaints out of which 400 were redressed.

WSSP also hired around 150 vehicles on rent for early and proper disposal of sacrificial animal waste from the city.

According to WSSP Chief, Engr Khan Zeb limestone was also sprinkled over places where waste was dumped to suppress stinking smell and for killing of bacteria spray of insecticide was also conducted.

The removed animal waste, he continued, was also properly dumped by burying it under soil at the dumping site.

Engr Khanzeb said WSSP also launched a public awareness campaign to convince people for cooperation with WSSP staff in proper disposal of waste.

Similarly, he continued, around 2500 Imams (prayer leaders)of different mosques were approached for public counseling through their sermonsabout proper disposal of animal waste and for ensuring cleanliness in environ.(@rukhshanmir)

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th Aug, 2018 ) :Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar visited Darul Shafqat orphanage at Multan Road and Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH) during the Eidul Azha holidays.

During his visit to orphanage at Multan Road Lahore, he presented gifts and sweetmeats to the children and people living there to enhance their Eid joys.

Talking to the media, the chief minister said he was happy to celebrate Eid with the resource-less children as extending Eid joys to the indigent strata was the real spirit of Eid.

"Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also preached to show munificence towards orphans," he added.

He said that efforts of Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam towards looking after the abandoned and orphaned children were praiseworthy and the problems being faced by it would be solved on priority basis.

He said that the signs of good governance and positive change would be visible to all soon. "Improving quality of life of the poor is our objective and people will also feel changes in their lives.

"The foundations of a new Pakistan have been laid and now a new Pakistan will be developed," he added.

The chief minister made it clear that corruption would not be tolerated at any cost in the province and no one would ever be allowed to indulge in corrupt practices. "The wrong-doer will not go Scot-free," he added.

He said, "We will perform by giving priority to the national interest and the schemes which are according to the national interest will be continued," concluded the chief minister.

Earlier, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar went to the Punjab Institute of Mental Health and inquired after the patients and shared Eid greetings with them. He also distributed sweetmeats among the patients.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said the people suffering from various forms of mental illness deserved special attention of society.

He directed doctors to treat patients gently because their sweet talking would half heal the patients.

The chief minister also listened to the problems being faced by doctors and the staff of institute of mental health and assured them that steps would be taken to solve their problems.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Food waste could rise by almost a third by 2030 when more than 2 billion tonnes will be binned, researchers said, warning of a "staggering" crisis propelled by a booming world population and changing habits in developing nations.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Aug, 2018 ) :Food waste could rise by almost a third by 2030 when more than 2 billion tonnes will be binned, researchers said, warning of a "staggering" crisis propelled by a booming world population and changing habits in developing nations.

The United Nations has set a target of halving food loss and waste by 2030. But the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study found that if current trends continued, it would rise to 2.1 billion tonnes annually an amount worth $1.5 trillion.

"We are seeing a real crisis at a global level," one of the study's authors Esben Hegnsholt told.

"The amounts of waste and the social, economic and environmental implications are serious if we don't change the trajectory. When we fight food loss and waste, we also fight hunger, poverty and global warming." Much of the projected increase was down to a swelling world population, with more people resulting in more waste, said Hegnsholt, a partner and managing director at the management consultancy, BBC news reported.

Household waste will increase in developing countries as consumers gain more disposable income, said rhe report, which identified five key changes which it said could save nearly $700 billion in lost food.

They included more awareness among consumers, stronger regulations and better supply chain efficiency and collaboration along the food production chain.Liz Goodwin, director of the food loss and waste program at the World Resources Institute, said.

"It's connected with the way our lives have changed and the fact that food is now so much cheaper," she said, also citing a growing demand for convenience and a lack of cooking skills among younger generations.

Goodwin said she believed measures to cut wastage were having an effect, and the world would at least be on the way to meeting the 50 percent reduction target by 2030.

Consumers, businesses and regulators would all have to play a role in driving change, she said.

"We need a shift in our attitudes to food waste I think we need to get to the point where it just isn't acceptable to throw food in the bin," she said.Around a third of the world's food is lost or thrown away each year. Currently, we waste 1.6 billion tons of food annually, worth about $1.2 trillion Dollars.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Pakistani-origin High Sheriff of Greater Manchester Dr Robina Shah will receive a Norwegian Organization's special award for her extraordinary volunteer services in the United Kingdom.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Aug, 2018 ) :Pakistani-origin High Sheriff of Greater Manchester Dr Robina Shah will receive a Norwegian Organization's special award for her extraordinary volunteer services in the United Kingdom.

Originally from Rawalpindi, Shah a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester was officially installed as The High Sheriff on April 12.

Organised by the Pakistan Union Norway, the ceremony will be held on August 25 in Oslo and will be attended by the Norwegian Minister for Culture Trine Skei Grande.

In an interview with a private news channel , Shah said, she was honored to receive the award."It is a huge privilege to be the custodian of this historic public service role in order to serve the people of Greater Manchester with dignity, humility and sincerity throughout my year of office," she added.

In her message to the youth, she said, our young generation has the ability to achieve their goals.

"There are challenges and hardships but the European youth has the ability to deal with these challenges," she said.

She added, "We should learn from our mistakes in the past and try our best to avoid mistakes in the future."Pakistani-origin European journalists Munawar Sharaqpuri, the Chief Editor of Dhanak UK, and Ruqiya Koser, Chief Editor of Overseas Community Post Norway, will also receive awards at the ceremony.(@mahnoorsheikh03)

Fawad also represented Pakistan at the closing ceremony of Hajj, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Media.

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News  25th August, 2018) Pakistani heart-throb Fawad Khan has performed Hajj with his family.

Fawad also represented Pakistan at the closing ceremony of Hajj, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Media.

In his speech at the closing ceremony, the actor said, Im honoured to be representing 200 million Pakistanis in front of such a diverse audience and a nation that we love and highly respect.



This was my first experience of Hajj and I am happy to share that I take back great memories of it and I am extremely impressed with the professionalism of the entire security and governments management for the remarkable services rendered to all pilgrims, he added.

Fawad was also invited to the annual Hajj lunch hosted by the King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.(@rukhshanmir)

An agreement between the cambers of commerce of the partially-recognized state of South Ossetia and Syria could be signed at the Damascus International Fair in September, the breakaway republics President Anatoly Bibilov said on Saturday.

TSKHINVALI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) An agreement between the cambers of commerce of the partially-recognized state of South Ossetia and Syria could be signed at the Damascus International Fair in September, the breakaway republics President Anatoly Bibilov said on Saturday.

"As for the economic development, we will definitely participate in the fair that will take place in Damascus. Moreover, during our visit to Syria, we arranged that agreements between our chambers of commerce would be signed, and I think that it [the Damascus International Fair] will be a perfect place where we can do this," Bibilov said during his meeting with Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad, who is visiting South Ossetia on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Russia's recognition of the republic's independence.

The fair is set to be held between September 6 and September 15, with a total of 48 countries expected to partake in the event.

Damascus recognized the independence of South Ossetia in late May. In July, the two sides signed an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations, which was followed by Biblov's visit to Syria and a meeting with President Bashar Assad.

Earlier on Saturday, Haddad announced that Syria would open its embassy in South Ossetia in the near future.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl on Saturday commented on her recent wedding for the first time, saying that she "did not expect" Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept her invitation to the event.

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl on Saturday commented on her recent wedding for the first time, saying that she "did not expect" Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept her invitation to the event.

Kneissl told the O1 radio station that her wedding "became a really magnificent celebration" that will promote tourism to Austria as media has shown how weddings are celebrated in the country as well as "the beautiful landscapes," as the event took place at a countryside restaurant.

The official noted that she does not have a close friendship with the Russian leader, but noted that personal contact is important "for creating a base of trust in difficult situations, which, no doubt, are present in our relations with Russia due to various reasons.

"

At the same time, the Austrian foreign minister dismissed reports that her light reverence to Putin during the dance was "an act of submission."

"If you saw the opening of the ball, you can always notice that in the end of [every dance] a curtsey is made. The Russian president bowed earlier and I responded to that reverence with a curtsey  Those who know me are aware that I do not obey anyone," Kneissl underlined.

On August 18, Putin attended the wedding of Kneissl and entrepreneur Wolfgang Meilinger in the southern Austrian province of Styria. The president was invited to attend the ceremony during his visit to Vienna on June 5. Due to Putins attendance, the event received significant media coverage.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the chancellor's one-day working visit to the country's capital Baku on Saturday, the president's press service told Sputnik.

BAKU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict during the chancellor's one-day working visit to the country's capital Baku on Saturday, the president's press service told Sputnik.

On Thursday, Merkel set out on her three-day working visit to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"Following the official welcoming ceremony, a meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an expanded format with the participation of delegations was held on Saturday. The Azerbaijani president and the German chancellor have delivered speeches at the meeting. An exchange of views on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict took place at the meeting as well," the press service said.

Merkel said that Azerbaijan was Germany's main trade partner in the region and the two countries could enhance their relations, the press service added.

"We will touch on the critical problems as well, I think. In particular, it will be the human rights and humanitarian issues. We will also discuss the issue that has been disturbing the region, the Karabakh conflict. Germany would like to assist in settling the Karabakh conflict," Merkel said as quoted by the press service.

According to the press service, Aliyev, in turn, called Merkel's first visit to Baku 'historic' adding that it would contribute to the development of the bilateral relations.

"We attach great importance to your visit. I'm sure that your visit will be successful and the relations between Baku and Berlin will continue to successfully develop in the future. We have met several times, we are having a close political dialogue. I am very glad to have you here in Azerbaijan. It is a historic visit," Aliyev said.

During her visit to Armenia on Friday, Merkel already stated Berlin's readiness to assume responsibility for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict dates back to 1988, when the Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh region, which was then part of the Azerbaijan Socialist Republic, announced its willingness to secede and join the Armenian republic instead. The military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan erupted after the region proclaimed its independence and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in 1991.

In 1994 a ceasefire agreement was reached, however, in 2016 the two sides renewed clashes leading to numerous casualties on both sides.Azerbaijan is set to successfully conclude negotiations with the European Union and reach a new agreement on partnership between the two sides in the near future, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday.

BAKU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Azerbaijan is set to successfully conclude negotiations with the European Union and reach a new agreement on partnership between the two sides in the near future, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Saturday.

Earlier in the day, the president held a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who arrived in Baku as part of her working visit. The relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union were among a number of issues discussed by the two leaders.

"As for the relations with the EU [European Union], this year, a document has been signed on the priorities for cooperation, and talks on a new agreement on strategic partnership will successfully end in the near future," Aliyev was quoted as saying by his press service.

The relations between Azerbaijan and the European Union are currently regulated by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into effect in 1999. In 2016, the European Council authorized the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission to conduct talks with Baku in order to reach a new agreement, which would reflect the current state of the relations between the two sides.(@rukhshanmir)

MINSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th August, 2018) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday that a new meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin will take place soon with participation of both countries' cabinet members.

Lukashenko and Putin last met earlier in the week in the Russian city of Sochi.

"The most important thing was that we agreed on with the Russian president is that literally in the next few days we will find an opportunity in our schedules ... to meet in a wider format, as suggested by Vladimir Putin, to expand at the expense of the representatives of our governments, Lukashenko told the Belarus-1 broadcaster.

The president added that the meeting will be devoted to the issues in bilateral trade and economy.(@rukhshanmir)

KUBINKA (Moscow region) (UrduPoint news / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Burundi considers buying the Russian-made Pantsir-S1 medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, Burundi's Defense Minister Emmanuel Ntahomvukiye said on Friday.

"I am very interested in what I saw. I have been told a lot about this complex. It is very powerful...

My country is interested in buying it," Ntahomvukiye said on the sidelines of the Army-2018 international defense forum.

Earlier in the week, Russia and Burundi signed an agreement on defense cooperation.

The Army-2018 international defense forum is now underway in the Moscow region. The event, supported by the Russian Defense Ministry, combines an arms exhibition with extensive congress agenda, and welcomes a total of 1,200 exhibitors from 14 countries. The forum has started on August 21 and will last until August 26.Chinese and Iraqi presidents on Saturday congratulated each other on the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and promised to deepen strategic partnership between the two nations.

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Chinese and Iraqi presidents on Saturday congratulated each other on the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and promised to deepen strategic partnership between the two nations.

"I attach extreme significance to progress in the Chinese-Iraqi relationship.

I am open to deepening our mutually beneficial cooperation and bilateral strategic partnership," he said in the message, carried by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Iraqi President Fuad Masum, for his part, noted great progress in trade and economic relations between the two countries and suggested expanding their bilateral relationship to promote peace and security.Nuclear fuel loading started on Saturday at the fourth unit of China's Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which was built with Russian participation, JSC Atomstroyexport, the subsidiary of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, said.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Nuclear fuel loading started on Saturday at the fourth unit of China's Tianwan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), which was built with Russian participation, JSC Atomstroyexport, the subsidiary of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, said.

"On August 25, the first fuel rod was loaded at 19:20 local time [11:20 GMT] into the active zone of the reactor of the fourth unit of the Tianwan NPP in China," the company said in a statement.

Russia and China have long been cooperating in the sphere of nuclear energy use for peaceful purposes, with the Tianwan NPP being the largest joint project. The NPP is located in the eastern-central coastal province of Jiangsu.Yusuf Buch, a former Pakistani cabinet minister and diplomat, has said that Kashmiris will not "forsake" their struggle to achieve freedom from India, saying that objective has been "sanctified" by the suffering of the occupied people of the disputed state.

NEW YORK, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Aug, 2018 ) :Yusuf Buch, a former Pakistani cabinet minister and diplomat, has said that Kashmiris will not "forsake" their struggle to achieve freedom from India, saying that objective has been "sanctified" by the suffering of the occupied people of the disputed state.

"We will not forsake our goals. Those have been sanctified by suffering. The blood of our martyrs and the tears of the bereaved among us have put them beyond compromise," he said in a meeting in New York with Dr. Ghulam Nabi Fai, a Kashmiri activist and Secretary-General of the World Kashmir Awareness Forum, according to a press release issued on Saturday.

"Yes, we have made errors, we have miscalculated, we have not organized our campaign with the care it should have been. But we can correct our mistakes," Buch added.

Yusuf Buch, 95, was special assistant to former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 1972-77, with the rank of a Federal minister. He also served as Pakistan's ambassador to Switzerland in 1977. Later, Buch joined the United Nations as senior adviser to the Secretary-General, a post he held for 14 years. He is an expert on Kashmir.

He called as "fiction" New Delhi's claim of Kashmir's accession to India, saying, "The fact that the act was performed by a feudal ruler who had fled his capital in the face of popular revolt is well established in the official record of the dispute.

If India were as certain of the legal strength of its claim as it professes to be, would it not agree to the whole question being examined by the World Court? A process lasting a few months would vindicate its position and bring it resounding victory! But India knows that an impartial investigation would be fatal to its claim. Hence the loud, indignant insistence on "sovereignty'..." Referring to the Indian claims that United Nations resolutions on Kashmir were outdated, Buch said, "As soon as the dispute arose, an overarching promise was made by India to Kashmir in all available forums" in solemn public declaration, in submissions to the United Nations, in communications to Pakistan and even to other governments. This was done in 1947 when India first marched its troops into Kashmir and it was repeated a number of times in the following years.

"Yes, this promise is now seventy years old. But does its age diminish its relevance or reduce its applicability? To assert so is to concede primacy to the law of the jungle. Promises may be forgotten, dishonorably or otherwise, by those who make them but they are never forgotten or lost sight of by those to whom or for whose benefit they are made. This is true as much of international relations as it is in daily life. The tone and content of the promise is apparent in numerous statements made by the Indian leadership at home and abroad."German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently in Baku with a working visit, said on Saturday that Azerbaijan was an important partner for the European Union in diversifying the bloc's energy security.

BAKU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently in Baku with a working visit, said on Saturday that Azerbaijan was an important partner for the European Union in diversifying the bloc's energy security.

The German chancellor has already traveled to Georgia and Armenia as part of her three-day working visit. Earlier in the day, Merkel met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"Azerbaijan is an important country for the EU [European Union] in terms of the diversification of Europe's energy security," Merkel said at a meeting with business representatives in the country's capital.

Azerbaijan is one of the key countries that partake in the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project, launched by the European Commission and aimed at obtaining new sources of gas supplies to Europe. The project envisages the construction of the infrastructure that will help deliver gas from the Caspian region, namely Azerbaijan, to Europe via Georgia and Turkey.

Earlier in August, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic announced that the commission would allocate around $5.8 million to support the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline project, part of the SGC.German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently in Baku with a working visit, said on Saturday that Azerbaijan was an important partner for the European Union in diversifying the bloc's energy security.

BAKU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is currently in Baku with a working visit, said on Saturday that Azerbaijan was an important partner for the European Union in diversifying the bloc's energy security.

The German chancellor has already traveled to Georgia and Armenia as part of her three-day working visit. Earlier in the day, Merkel met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"Azerbaijan is an important country for the EU [European Union] in terms of the diversification of Europe's energy security," Merkel said at a meeting with business representatives in the country's capital.

She also said that Berlin was ready to contribute to the diversification of Azerbaijan's economy.

"The launch of the Southern Gas Corridor project will play an important role in ensuring Europe's energy security," the chancellor said as quoted by Azerbaijani president's press service.

Azerbaijan is one of the key countries that partake in the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) project, launched by the European Commission and aimed at obtaining new sources of gas supplies to Europe. The project envisages the construction of the infrastructure that will help deliver gas from the Caspian region, namely Azerbaijan, to Europe via Georgia and Turkey.

Earlier in August, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic announced that the commission would allocate around $5.8 million to support the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline project, part of the SGC.

The first two pipelines, which make up the SGC, have already been constructed, while the Trans Adriatic Pipeline is expected to be put into operation in 2020.(@rukhshanmir)

A plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry delivered 36 tonnes of humanitarian relief to Laos on Saturday as the Asian country has been recently hit with floods, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) A plane of the Russian Emergencies Ministry delivered 36 tonnes of humanitarian relief to Laos on Saturday as the Asian country has been recently hit with floods, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"On August 25, 36 tonnes of various cargoes, including two mobile power stations, boats, tents, blankets, rice and sugar, were delivered on special flight by the Russian Emergencies Ministry," the statement read.

Russia provided aid at the request of Laotian authorities. In mid-July, heavy rains led to a collapse of a dam in Attapeu province of Laos, bordering Cambodia and Vietnam.

The death toll from the floods in Laos stands at over 45 people, while some 130 are missing, according to media reports. The disaster reportedly affected 14 out of the country's 18 provinces.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th August, 2018) The UK Royal Air Forces (RAF) escorting Russian military aircraft in the Black Sea is a provocative action, which undermines regional security, the Russian Embassy to the United Kingdom said late on Saturday.

On Thursday, RAF said that its fighter jets interrupted a Russian aircraft which was allegedly on its way towards NATO airspace in the Black Sea.

This latest episode aptly demonstrates how harmful is the very idea of deploying RAF and other NATO forces in Romania, Poland or Baltic states. Instead of strengthening anyone's security, such military presence is being used by the British authorities for provocative actions of their own - not only through verbal statements, regrettable as they are, but also in real military terms, which is simply dangerous, the embassys spokesperson said at a briefing, while answering question on the UK forces intercepting the Russian aircraft.

The Russian forces fully comply with the international law and posed no threat to the United Kingdom, the embassy noted.

One might understand why Royal Navy escorts Russian military ships in the English Channel, in the vicinity of the British coastline, even if this there is no need for the UK to publicise it. But what kind of threat to Britain or its allies does a Russian patrol aircraft hypothetically pose while conducting flights off Russia's own shore, some 1500 miles away from the UK? the embassy underlined.

NATO has been significantly increasing its presence in Eastern Europe since the start of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014, using Russia's alleged interference in Ukrainian internal affairs as a pretext. Moscow has denied all accusations.

Moscow has repeatedly voiced its protest over the NATO military buildup, saying that it will only undermine regional stability and result in a new arms race.(@rukhshanmir)

A missile fired by the Houthi rebels from Yemen was intercepted Saturday over the Saudi southwestern province of Najran, local media reported.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th August, 2018) A missile fired by the Houthi rebels from Yemen was intercepted Saturday over the Saudi southwestern province of Najran, local media reported.

Saudi air defenses struck the rocket down as it was approaching the provincial capital Najran, according to the Riyadh-based Al-Ekhbariya broadcaster.

The incident is the latest in a string of missile launches by the rebels from Yemeni territory targeting different cities in Saudi Arabia.

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 rebels at Hadi's request since March 2015.(@FahadShabbir)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) The UN chief on Friday condemned the death of a Burundian peacekeeper in an attack by presumed Christian rebels in the Central African Republic, warning this could be considered a war crime.

"The Secretary-General recalls that intentionally directing attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and that sanctions can be applied against the perpetrators," his spokesman said.

The peacekeeper with the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission (MINUSCA) was killed on Thursday, Stephane Dujarric said. The UN chief called on car authorities to probe the killing and punish those responsible.

The Central African Republic has seen decades of unrest, leading to Muslim seleka rebels ousting the president in 2013. This gave rise to so-called anti-balaka militancy, whose stated goal was to protect Christians.MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2018) Over 65 percent of Russians consider that Moscows decision to interfere in the 2008 conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia was correct, a poll by the Moscow-based Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) published on Friday showed.

A total of 66 percent of respondents said Russia did the right thing when participated in the conflict, while 12 percent said it was a wrong decision, and 22 percent of people could not give an immediate answer.

Over half of the respondents said that even back in 2008, they considered participation in the conflict a proper action, while only 7 percent said the opposite.

In addition, 60 percent of Russians said Moscow made the right decision by recognizing the independence of South Ossetia in 2008, with only 12 percent being against it.

The survey was conducted on August 18-19 and involved 1,500 respondents from across Russia.

The republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia in the early 1990s. On August 7, 2008, Georgia launched a military offensive against its breakaway region of South Ossetia and then partially destroyed its capital, Tskhinvali. Russia sent troops to South Ossetia in an attempt to protect local residents, many of whom were Russian nationals. After five days of hostilities, Russia managed to expel Georgian troops from the self-proclaimed republic.

Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in August 2008.Photo: Contributed

Market access for B.C. cherries to Japan could be worth up to $8 million annually.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced secured market access for B.C. fresh cherries to Japan during a farm visit in Winfield, Friday.

In 2017, Japan imported more than $62.7 million worth of cherries from around the world. Japan was also Canada's third-largest market for agri-food and seafood, with exports of $4.5 billion in 2017.

MacAulay, who was part of a trade mission to Japan in March, said the opportunitiy will help Canada reach a target of $75 billion in annual agri-food exports by 2025.

Once the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) enters into force, Canadian agriculture and agri-food exports will benefit from preferential access to key Asian markets. Through the agreement, tariffs of 8.5 per cent on cherries will be eliminated over five years.

It will be one of the largest free trade agreements in the world  with 11 countries representing nearly 500 million people, with a combined GDP of $13.5 trillion

"Our government is committed to seeking market access opportunities across the globe to strengthen our bilateral trade relationships, put more money in the pockets of Canadian farmers, and grow the middle class in Canada," said MacAulay.

"Our growers and industry partners look forward to building long-lasting relationships with Japanese customers and cannot wait to see cherries branded with the maple leaf in stores across Japan," added Sukhpaul Bal, president of the BC Cherry Association.During his Apostolic Visit to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis will travel to the Marian Shrine at Knock to pray for the families of the world.

By Lydia OKane

The Archdiocese of Tuam situated in the west of Ireland is the largest diocese in the country and contains the Knock Shrine and the famed Croagh Patrick mountain. It also has an enviable list of Saints including Jarlath of Tuam, Colman of Inisboffin, Enda of Aran, and Benin of Kilbannon.

The diocese will take centre stage on Sunday when Pope Francis visits Knock to pray for all the families of the world.

Knock a shrine of hope

The present Archbishop of Tuam, Michael Neary says, that ever since the apparition there in 1879 Knock has been a place of hope for pilgrims and this continues to this day. The apparition was a silent apparition, there were no words spoken, but that apparition gave hope and comfort and consolation to the people at the time and likewise today there is a recognition that Knock has something special to offer, that people coming here are coming in search of hope and meaning and a purpose in life.

Challenges to the family

The Archbishop notes that the challenges facing family life today are not only to be found in urban areas in Ireland. In rural areas too, he adds, there is a sense of what he calls fragmentation in family life. In his own diocese and in the country in general Archbishop Neary says, we are living in a culture where there is such an emphasis on success and very often that emphasis on success encourages an individualistic approach rather than a collaborative one.

Rekindling the faith

In recent years the Church in Ireland has been rocked by terrible stories of clerical sexual abuse which has undermined peoples faith and the trust they have in the Church. Addressing this, the Archbishop expresses the hope that this visit of Pope Francis to Ireland will rekindle peoples faith and hope again.

Pope Francis visits Knock Shrine as part of his Apostolic Visit to Ireland on Sunday 26th of August.This 3rd Edition of Dr. Max's On the Road tour features excerpts of live radio from ATL FM 100.8 in Cape Coast, Ghana. She and co-host Don K interview singer & music reality star eShun and Dancehall artist Kahpun.Ethiopia's prime minister in his first press conference since taking power vowed Saturday to continue with dramatic reforms "at any cost" and said the longtime ruling coalition soon will prepare for a "free and fair election" in 2020.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also said the World Bank "soon" plans to provide $1 billion in direct budgetary assistance, a sign of confidence after years of unrest in Africa's second most populous nation. Such assistance stopped after the disputed 2005 elections.



"My dream is that doubts about the ballot box will disappear," Abiy said, saying the vote won't be delayed and promising a peaceful transfer of power if he loses.



The 42-year-old Abiy took office in April and shocked the country with a wave of reforms including restoring diplomatic ties with neighboring Eritrea after two decades, pledging to open up state-owned companies to outside investment and releasing thousands of prisoners.



The reforms have been praised by the international community and attracted investors interested in one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.



Recent ethnic unrest in various parts of Ethiopia, however, has dampened the initial jubilation and posed a major challenge to the new leader.



"There are groups that are working in unison to cause chaos in different parts of the country," Abiy told reporters. "They are triggering peoples' emotions to this end."



Some 2.8 million people have been displaced by the unrest, according to the United Nations. "But this didn't happen due to the reforms," the prime minister said.



He said the unrest in the eastern Somali region has calmed but measures will be taken against former officials, including the region's former President Abdi Mohammed Omar, who is suspected of orchestrating the chaos earlier this month that led to the destruction of government offices, looting of businesses and burning of churches.



Asked about internet cuts in the region following the unrest, an unpopular tactic widely used by the previous government, Abiy appealed for understanding and said it might have saved lives.



"But curbing access to information and cutting the internet is not the way forward," he added, and urged youth to use it responsibly.



The prime minister also in recent months has welcomed a number of once-exiled opposition figures and groups back to Ethiopia and invited them to join in the political conversation.



But on Saturday he drew the line at former military dictator Col. Mengistu Hailemariam, who overthrew the last Ethiopian emperor, Haileselassie, in 1974 and eventually was sentenced to life for spearheading a "Red Terror" that killed tens of thousands of people. He fled the country in 1991 as rebels, who now make up the ruling coalition, approached the capital.



Some Ethiopians have called on Abiy to offer Mengistu amnesty after a rare photo of him in exile in Zimbabwe went viral early this month.



"Ethiopia's constitution clearly stipulates the 'Red Terror' crimes cannot be covered under an amnesty law," Abiy said. "So Col. Mengistu will not ... return home. But if the law in the future allows, that may change."

Photo: Contributed

Canada's organic farming industry got a big boost on Friday.

Federal Minister of Agriculture Lawrence MacAulay, in Winfield on a farm tour, announced up to $8.3 million in funding for the Organic Federation of Canada.

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership research investment, which includes an additional $4.4 million in contributions from industry, will help the organic sector enhance productivity through better soil health and fertility management, advance crop breeding research, improve pest management, and evaluate the environmental impacts of organic farm practices.

MacAulay also announced an additional $292,555 to assist industry in streamlining the review process of Canadian organic standards and improve the industry's competitiveness and international market access.

The organic industry is one of Canada's fastest growing agricultural sectors, with retail sales growing by double digits over the past decade, and current sales estimated at $5.4 billion nationally.

Todays significant investment into the science of organic agriculture will help our organic farmers grow more and grow better," said MacAulay.

This funding will allow researchers to continue improving the sustainability of agricultural practices, which is at the heart of organic production," said James Robbins, president of the Organic Federation of Canada.

In 2016, 4,289 farms reported organic farming in Canada, while the organic acreage grew by five per cent per year between 2006 and 2015.Irans unveiling this week of a domestically made fighter jet resembling an obsolete U.S. warplane has drawn Western derision about its efficacy as a weapon, but also appreciation of its training potential.

This is almost a laughable event, said Michael Pregent, a Middle East analyst at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, in a VOA Persian interview. He was referring to Tuesdays Iranian state TV report about what it called a fourth-generation Iranian-produced Kowsar warplane with advanced avionics.

In the broadcast, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sat in the cockpit as he inspected the fighter jet.

Iranian state TV later showed a takeoff of the warplane and an in-flight video apparently filmed from inside the cockpit. Some Western and Israeli aviation analysts were quick to note the Kowsars visual resemblance to the U.S. F-5 Tiger jet that the U.S. military began using in the 1960s. Iran purchased at least 140 F-5 Tigers from the U.S. in the 1970s, before the 1979 revolution that brought to power Tehrans anti-American Islamist leadership.

This is an aircraft that we have not used in 20 years, except for training other countries in how to fly American aircraft, Pregent said. This dated technology is not intimidating.

Pregent said the Kowsars limitations as a modern-day warplane could hurt Iran more than help.

Iran wants to be able to project an offensive (aerial) capability in the Strait of Hormuz and to at least demonstrate a similar capability to attack American forces in Iraq and Syria, he said. But I think (the Kowsars launch) will backfire, because the U.S. will increase its defensive posture in Iraq and Syria and make it very easy to shoot one of them down.

Any Iranian warplanes crossing into Iraq or Syria could face the U.S. militarys advanced F-16 jets and F-22 stealth jets that have been flying over both nations as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, a U.S.-led coalition operation against the Islamic State militant group.

But the Kowsar may serve one useful purpose for Iran. In a Tuesday report, Iranian state-run news agency Fars said the warplanes main function is for training missions.

Justin Bronk, an aerial-combat analyst at Britains Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told the Business Insider news site that Iran has faced a shortage of fighter pilots.

Iran has been relying for a long time on basically a bunch of increasingly old veteran pilots, a lot of whom were trained by  or were trained by those who were trained by  the U.S. before the revolution, Bronk said.

Using the Kowsar to train a younger generation of Iranian pilots is not a bad idea, in Bronks view.

It makes the most of the limited technology options they have, he said.

Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb contributed to this report, which was produced in collaboration with VOAs Persian Service.Pope Francis has met for more than an hour with survivors of clerical abuse in Ireland and, by at least one account, uttered strong condemnation of members of the clergy who committed or covered up impropriety.

Paul Redmond, one of eight survivors who attended the meeting with the pope has told reporters Francis called such clergy members "caca," which translates to "filth."

The pope met with eight survivors at the Papal Nuncio's residence in Dublin. The Vatican has said it will not comment on what was discussed during the meeting, although the attendees were free to do so.

"I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education," Francis told a state reception at Dublin Castle where some abuse survivors were in attendance.

"The failure of ecclesiastical authorities  bishops, religious superiors, priests and others  to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community."

Calls for concrete action

Hundreds of thousands are expected to turn out to see the pope, but demonstrations are planned as well.



Many abuse victims, their families and supporters are calling on the pope to do more than just hold a private meeting with a select group of survivors. Protesters will gather in Dublin while the pope says Mass on Sunday, urging him to take concrete action against sex abuse.



A prominent Irish abuse survivor, Marie Collins, told a Vatican-sponsored conference on Friday that the Catholic Church must put in place "robust structures" to hold abusive clergy accountable.



Anyone in the Vatican who would stand in the way of proper protection of children should be accountable as well, said Collins, a former member of Pope Francis' abuse advisory board.



Hard to change a culture

The Vatican's chief spokesman Greg Burke told Irish broadcaster RTE on Friday that the sexual abuse scandal is the result of a "cultural problem" that will take time to remedy.



He suggested that the pope would not be announcing specific measures during his trip.



"I think in 36 hours - or 32 hours on the ground - it's hard to change a culture," he said.



"In terms of moving to actions, that will happen. But it doesn't happen overnight  Let's first listen to the pope, and that in itself is an important part of this," Burke said.



This past week, the pope wrote a letter to the world's Catholics, stressing that no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated."

The Catholic Church is much less dominant in public life in Ireland than it once was. The country has recently voted to legalize same-sex marriage and abortion, and has put a gay prime minister in office.



Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he is glad the church is less influential.



"I think it still has a place in our society but not one that determines public policy or determines our laws," he said.



Pope Francis' visit to Ireland was originally meant to focus on attending and closing the World Meeting of Families, which is held once every three years to discuss matters of importance to the family unit. The highlight of Francis' trip to Ireland will be an outdoor Mass in the city's Phoenix Park on Sunday, expected to draw a half-million people.

However, the latest abuse scandals around the world have shifted the focus, in part, to how the Vatican will respond to the matter.



Two U.S. cardinals -- Cardinal Sean OMalley, the popes top adviser on clerical sexual abuse, and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington -- were scheduled to attend the conference in Dublin but will be absent due to further revelations of clerical sexual abuse in America.

Another U.S. cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, was recently forced to resign due to allegations of abuse and misconduct.

Sabina Castelfranco contributed to this report.In the United States, it is often said that no one is above the law, even the president. But what happens when the president is implicated in criminal wrongdoing?

The question took on new relevance this week after President Donald Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws, which he says was done at the direction of then-candidate Trump.

Defiant Trump

At a campaign style rally in West Virginia Wednesday, Trump ignored his legal difficulties and rallied his base.

Under our administration, America is winning again and America is being respected again all over the world. It is America first, Trump said to cheers.

But the Cohen guilty plea combined with the fraud conviction of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort have handed Democrats a new political weapon just in time for the midterm congressional election campaign.

Consideration of country and Constitution aside, if my Republican colleagues remain silent, the party is becoming a co-conspirator in the culture of corruption that surrounds this president, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor.

WATCH: When It Comes to Presidential Wrongdoing, Remedy Often Political

Legal jeopardy

Legal analysts said this week that Trumps possible involvement in the campaign violations admitted to by Cohen could put the president in legal jeopardy.

He is potentially now an unindicted co-conspirator and could be indicted, George Washington University Law Professor Paul Schiff Berman via Skype. Now there is an open question as to whether a sitting president can be indicted for criminal wrongdoing. Obviously he could be impeached, but that is not going to happen as long as Republicans hold the House and the Senate.

If the president eventually faces charges of specific criminal wrongdoing, impeachment may be a more likely remedy than going through the courts.

Justice Department guidance

The Justice Department has longstanding internal guidance that likely bar a sitting president from being indicted while in office. Although never tested in court, the guidance held sway during the impeachment inquiries involving former Presidents Bill Clinton in 1998-99 and Richard Nixon in 1974.

But there is no constitutional bar to seeking an indictment of a president once out of office.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives for lying about his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, but was acquitted in a trial in the Senate.

Nixon did not fare as well. He became the first president to resign after the House began impeachment proceedings in 1974.

Impeachment politics

The Senate remains in Republican hands and could protect Trump even if Democrats win back a House majority in the November midterms. The House can impeach the president with a simple majority vote. But removing a president from office requires a trial in the Senate.

In the Senate, you need two-thirds of the Senate to convict a president and that has never happened before, said University of Virginia legal analyst Saikrishna Prakash via Skype. Two presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. No president has actually been removed (from office).

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was quick to dismiss any thoughts that the president was worried about impeachment.

I think impeachment would be totally horrible. I mean there is no reason, Giuliani told reporters during a visit to Britain. He did not collude with the Russians. He did not obstruct justice. Everything Cohen says has been disproved. You would only impeach him for political reasons and the American people would revolt against that.

Politics and the law

Prakash also said that history has shown that when it comes to presidential wrongdoing, there is often a balance between legal and political remedies.

The fact that he might not be able to be prosecuted while president might cause some people to think that the president is above the law. But of course when you are designing a system, you have to decide, do you want to subject the president to possible prosecution while he is president?

The founders of the American republic sought to find a middle ground where Congress could hold a president accountable without undermining the basic concept of the separation of powers among the three branches of government: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. There was also a concern that a president could face numerous frivolous lawsuits and legal challenges while in office that would distract his or her attention from the pressing issues of the day.

Ultimately, if President Trump is accused of any criminal wrongdoing, his fate will likely be decided by Congress and the public, not a judge and jury.Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained in Moscow, just two months after his release from prison for organizing protests against the government of President Vladimir Putin.

A spokeswoman for Navalny said Saturday the reason for the detention is unclear that and he was being held at the Danilovsky police station.

Navalny had posted on his blog Saturday that protests against the Putin government would take place September 9 in Moscow and "almost a hundred other cities." The protests were against Putin's pension reform plans.

September 9 is also the date of Moscow's mayoral election.

Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, told radio station Ekho Moskvy that Navalny's seizure by authorities is "probably linked" to the protest plans.

Navalny has faced a string of charges for his opposition activism. In March, he was barred from running in the country's presidential election because of his criminal record.South Korea has called the U.S. decision to call off a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unfortunate but says its most important for the allies to pursue substantial progress on denuclearization.

The statement by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Saturday came hours after President Donald Trump directed Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North.

Trump also accused China for its supposed lack of support in U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons and missiles.

The ministry says South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke with Pompeo over the phone and they pledged joint efforts to keep the momentum of dialogue alive.Afghanistans national security adviser abruptly resigned Saturday amid rising violence across the country and high numbers of battlefield casualties the Taliban insurgency is inflicting on government forces.

Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar, 49, said in his resignation letter, shared with VOA, he was quitting the office because of developing serious differences with the top leadership of the government over policies and principles.

President Ashraf Ghanis office swiftly announced he has accepted the resignation and replaced Atmar with Hamadullah Mohib, the Afghan ambassador to the U.S.

The presidential statement cited no reasons for Atmars unexpected departure.

Atmar said in the letter he was unable to resolve the differences with top government leaders when it came to strengthening national unity, restoring peace and security, elections, good governance and strengthening regional and international relations.

Two mainstream Afghan television stations reported  quoting government sources  that Ghani had directed Atmar, interior and defense ministers, as well as the countrys spy chief, to step down.

Afghan government officials were not immediately available to confirm the reported presidential directive.

The local media went on to claim that this weeks rocket attack on Kabuls presidential palace while Ghani was delivering a nationally televised speech, a short-lived insurgent takeover of the strategically important Ghazni city, and the increasing battlefield losses being inflicted on Afghan security forces are what prompted Ghani to seek resignations from his top cabinet members.

Powerful figure



Atmar was one of the powerful figures in Ghanis beleaguered unity government, and he previously had served as the interior minister under the former president, Hamid Karzai, before being fired in 2010 over a Taliban attack in Kabul.

The Afghan national security advisers resignation comes amid renewed U.S.-led efforts to promote peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban to end the stalemated 17 years of war.

The abrupt departure of one of the most powerful government figures also came just days after the Ghani government refused to attend a multi-national conference that Russia plans to host on September 4 to discuss ways to end the war in Afghanistan.

It was not clear, though, whether Kabuls decision to decline the Russian invitation had anything to do with Atmars resignation.

Washington also has turned down Moscows invitation to attend the event.

The Taliban already has confirmed receiving an invitation by the host nation, saying Qatar-based insurgent political envoys will attend the day-long event in the Russian capital.

The insurgent groups planned participation in the conference would underscore Moscows growing influence and contacts with the Taliban in recent years.

Suicide bombing



Separately on Saturday, a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body near an office of the Afghan Election Commission in the restive eastern city of Jalalabad and killed three people. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the violence, though the Islamic State terrorist group has taken credit for almost all recent bomb attacks in the provincial capital.The URL has been copied to your clipboard

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The United States calls El Salvador's decision to ditch diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of China a "grave concern." Washington warned that China's economic inducements could come at a high price for its new friends. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.The top U.S. envoy on Iran criticized a European Union decision to give $20.7 million in aid to Tehran on Friday, saying it sent the wrong message at the wrong time, and he urged Brussels to help Washington end the Iranian threat to global stability.

Foreign aid from European taxpayers perpetuates the regimes ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes, Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said in a statement.

The Iranian people face very real economic pressures caused by their governments corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts, he added. The United States and the European Union should be working together instead to find lasting solutions that truly support Irans people and end the regimes threats to regional and global stability.

The EU decision on Thursday to provide 18 million euros ($20.7 million) in aid to Iran was aimed at offsetting the impact of U.S. sanctions as European countries try to salvage the 2015 agreement that saw Tehran limit its nuclear ambitions.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal in May and is reimposing sanctions on Tehran, even as other parties to the accord are trying to find ways to save the agreement.

The EU funding is part of a wider package of 50 million euros earmarked in the EU budget for Iran, which has threatened to stop complying with the nuclear accord if it fails to see the economic benefit of relief from sanctions.

The United States is pressing other countries to comply with its sanctions.

More money in the hands of the ayatollah means more money to conduct assassinations in those very European countries, Hook said in his statement.

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton told Reuters during a visit to Israel earlier this week that the return of U.S. sanctions was having a strong effect on Irans economy and popular opinion.

The U.S. sanctions dusted off this month targeted Irans car industry, trade in gold and other precious metals, and purchases of U.S. dollars crucial to international financing and investment and trade relations. Farther-reaching sanctions are to follow in November on Irans banking sector and oil exports.The U.S. Navy Friday formally re-established its 2nd Fleet, intensifying its focus on the North Atlantic Ocean where the Russian military is operating at a pace not seen since the end of the Cold War.

The change is mostly organizational. It revives an admiral-level command dedicated to overseeing American warships as they deploy between the U.S. East Coast and the Barents Sea, off the coasts of Norway and Russia.

The revived fleet also reflects a broader change in U.S. military strategy. The nations primary concern is shifting from terrorism in the Middle East to Americas growing competition with Russia and China.

Were not looking for a fight, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Virginia. But the best way to avoid a fight is develop the most powerful and deadly and competitive Navy possible, he said.

Richardson added that if called upon, the Norfolk-based 2nd Fleet will conduct decisive combat operations to defeat any enemy.

China, Russia expand navies

Both China and Russia are building larger navies as they try to expand their global influence. And Russia in particular has been increasing its submarine patrols, among other military activities.

In 2017, Russian Adm. Vladimir Korolyov said his nations submarine crews had spent more than 3,000 days on patrol in the last year, matching the Soviet-era operational tempo. Its unclear how many days Russian subs had been on patrol in previous years.

Its an excellent level, he said in remarks carried by state RIA Novosti news agency.

Information and airspace concerns

Concerns about information warfare have also emerged among U.S. lawmakers and American allies as Russian ships linger near undersea communications cables.

Encounters between Russian and NATO warplanes have also become increasingly frequent.

In January, Britains Royal Air Force scrambled two fighter jets to intercept Russian strategic bombers near U.K. airspace.

2nd Fleet is back

The original 2nd Fleet was created in 1950 as a response to the growing threat of the Soviet Union. It played an integral role in events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. It was eliminated and merged with Fleet Forces Command in 2011 to save costs.

Having a 2nd Fleet allows the U.S. to work more closely and effectively with its NATO allies, retired U.S. Navy Admiral Gary Roughead said in an interview. And they will be better prepared to respond to potential Russian aggression.

Roughead said he fully expects the Russian military to increase its presence in the Atlantic in the coming years. One critical area will be the waters between the United Kingdom, Iceland and Greenland.

Clearly, the Russian fleet is not the size that the Soviet fleet used to be, and nor is our fleet, Roughead said, a fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution and a former chief of naval operations. But I think the reactivation is a very wise thing to do.The United States on Friday designated three individuals from Southeast Asia as terrorists for allegedly recruiting people to join the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

A statement from the U.S. Treasury Department said Mohamad Rafi Udin, a Malaysian, Mohammed Karim Yusop Faiz, an Indonesian, and Mohammad Reza Lahaman Kiram, a Philippine, were also featured in a June 2016 IS video, in which they beheaded three prisoners held by the terror group.

Treasury is targeting ISIS recruiters who have engaged in a beheading video and other brutal acts as part of a propaganda campaign to attract radicals to join militant terrorist groups in Southeast Asia, said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker, using another acronym for IS.

We are sanctioning these terrorists along with our U.N. and international partners as part of a coordinated effort to counter ISISs global networks that enable the group to recruit foreign fighters to conduct international terrorist attacks, she said.

Udin, a former taxi driver turned Islamist militant since 1998, traveled to Syria in 2014 and used IS propaganda material to urge sympathizers to join the group and conduct terrorist attacks. He worked to unite jihadists in the Philippines under Isnilon Hapilon, the former leader of Abu Sayyaf Group, who pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakir al-Baghdadi in July 2014.

The second blacklisted man, Faiz, was jailed in the Philippines for nine years on charges of illegal possession of explosives and weapons. He also joined IS in Syria in 2014 and helped recruit people from Southeast Asia to join IS-linked Abu Sayyaf Group, also known as IS-Philippines Province.

The third man, Kiram, is accused by the Philippines police of being responsible for a 2012 bus bombing in the city of Zamboanga. He reportedly trained IS-linked Ansar Khalifa group recruits in 2014, before traveling to Syria with his wife and daughter in 2015.

All three individuals will be added to the U.S. list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, which targets terrorists and their financing.

The United Nations Security Council designated Udin, Faiz, and Kiram Thursday on similar charges, obliging all UNmember countries to prohibit their travel, freeze their assets, and deny their access to the international financial system.Photo: OK College Glenn Fawcett, Black Hills Estate Winery Director inspects the grapes growing on the roof of Okanagan College along with Eric Corneau, Regional Dean for the South Okanagan-Similkameen.

A South Okanagan winery is teaming up with Okanagan College for a new scholarship for aspiring winemakers and viticulturists.

Black Hills Estate Winery is creating a new fund to provide awards up to $5,000 annually to OK College students.

If someone from the valley has a goal and an aspiration to get into the wine industry we'd like to be part of helping enable them to have a career, says Glenn Fawcett, Black Hills Estate Winery director.

The scholarship is being funded by the annual release party at Black Hills for its signature wine, Nota Bene. The event raised $16,000 this year.

Fawcett says finding employees is one of the biggest challenges facing the wine industry.

We believe we need to have a community of people who are making a career in the wine industry, says Fawcett, adding hes impressed by the quality of the students coming out of Okanagan Colleges viticulture programs.

Having a local program for wine production and hospitality is the best way for us to grow together.

The Okanagan College Penticton campus offers several programs for the wine industry, including its Viticulture Certificate, Wine Sales Certificate and Winery Assistant Certificate. A Viticulture Technician Diploma pilot is also running until April 2019.In the United States, it is said no one is above the law. But what happens when a president is implicated in criminal wrongdoing? The question resonated this week after President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws, he says at the direction of then-candidate Trump. Historically, dealing with possible criminal activity in the Oval Office has been a mix of the legal and the political, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.A recent tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump alleging land grabs in South Africa, has set social media on fire with South Africans dismissing the allegation as ill informed, and distancing itself from the violent land seizures that took place in Zimbabwe in the early 2000s.

In his tweet, which claimed that some white farmers are being killed as happened in Zimbabwe, President Trump wrote: I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers. South African Government is now seizing land from white farmers.

Deputy secretary of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) Jessie Duarte said the tweet hurt a lot of people and was an indictment on the people like Afriforum and the DA (Democratic Alliance) who have been peddling untruths about the land reform process throughout the world.

In an interview with VOAs Zimbabwe Service on Trumps allegations, South African human rights lawyer and land expert Lwazi Mtshiyo said, I think it was misleading for President Trump to even go as far as suggesting there is something to be investigated, when there is actually nothing.

As far as the South Africas efforts to equitably distribute land to its citizens, Mtshiyo continued, I think his tweet was misleading to an extent that this was something already happening and there is no such thing and if it does happen, it will happen through the lawful process that everyone would have agreed to.

Mtshiyo said South Africa wants to conduct land reforms after consulting all stakeholders.

I dont agree with comparing Zimbabwe to South Africa those are two completely different contexts. The fact that we are having a conversation about this is progress on its own. This is about land reform and fair distribution of land so that everyone benefits. 

South Africans were invited to participate on the proposed amendment of Section 25 of the countrys constitution dealing with property rights.

In the invitation, President Cyril Ramaphosa said, The proposed amendment would need to reinforce the fundamental principles of the property clause, which among other things, prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of property and holds that expropriation is possible in the public interest subject to just and equitable compensation. It also says that no provision can impede the process of land reform to redress the results of past racial discrimination.

The majority of South African want the nation to conduct transparent land reforms.

Corner Mulder, one of the leaders of the Freedom Front Plus, a leftist political party in South Africa, endorsed the American presidents tweet, saying Thank You President Trump, it is the intention of the ANC government to steal property from whites under the term expropriation without compensation we need your help.

Another issue raised in the Trump tweet is one of white genocide happening in South Africa.

Asked about this, Mtshiyo said, You have all these human rights bodies that are present in SA and all sorts of human rights lawyers and the human rights commission itself being in South Africa, no one is aware of that and nowhere is it recorded in any human rights report that is out there. You can look at all the international human rights reports there is no genocide.

The U.S State Department says President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have discussed South Africas land reform.

A spokesperson said Thursday that the president asked Pompeo to investigate reports that the South African government is expropriating land owned by white farmers without compensation.The United States says all parties should respect the Zimbabwean constitution and the rule of law following a Constitutional Court ruling Friday that incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa was the winner of the July 30th presidential election.

In a statement posted on the U.S. Department of State, spokesperson Heather Nauert said the electoral process faced some serious challenges.

The IRI-NDI Zimbabwe International Electoral Observation Mission reported 'several improvements to the electoral process compared to Zimbabwes past elections, though equally important problems gave rise to deep concerns that the process thus far has not made the mark'.

Nauert said further reforms are necessary to meet standards Zimbabweans expect and deserve and which reflect regional and international best practices for democratic elections.

She said America is concerned about human rights violations and post electoral violence in the country.

The United States remains concerned over politically motivated human rights violations and abuses, and acts of post-electoral retribution in Zimbabwe. Violence and unlawful activity should not be part of the political process, and those responsible for such transgressions must be held accountable. Human rights and fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression and association, must be respected, and victims and witnesses of human rights violations and abuses deserve protection under the law.

Nauert said there was need for Zimbabweans to openly discuss issues faced by the nation.

The United States encourages the Government of Zimbabwe to hold substantive discussions with all stakeholders and implement electoral and broader political and economic reforms. We stand ready to continue our dialogue with Zimbabwes political, economic, and civil society leaders to foster inclusive democratic governance for the betterment of all citizens.

Mnangagwa beat Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance by a thin margin resulting in the opposition filing a petition in the Constitutional Court to nullify the presidential election.

The full bench of the Constitutional Court unanimously agreed that the petition lacked key evidence to block Mnangagwas victory.

The U.S. recently passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act setting conditions for renewing relations with the southern African country. These included the holding of free, fair, credible and transparent elections, respect for human rights and related issues.

Several Zimbabweans, protesting over delays in announcing presidential elections a few days after the poll, were gunned down by the Zimbabwe National Army.Photo: District of Summerland

The overhaul of the trail network on Summerlands Giants Head Mountain has hit a snag.

A report going before council next week states just one company has submitted a bid for the project, a bid that came in significantly over the $627,000 budget.

The first two phases of the plan included the decommissioning of several kilometres of trails, new signage, guardrails and benches installed, as well as improvements to the parking situation at the main entrance on Milne Road.

Vernon-based Cabin Forestry was the only firm to show any interest in the job, which was slated to begin next month.

However, the firm that helped develop the trail redevelopment plan for the District, Bench Site Design, has combed through the bid and believes there is enough wiggle-room to bring it within budget.

Staff will also reach out to the Summerland Rotary Club who are partners in this project to see if they are able to contribute additional funding to the project, recreation manager Lori Mullin said in her report.

District staff will seek permission from council Monday to terminate the tender process and negotiate directly with Cabin Forestry, with the expectation that they are the only company that can carry out the work in time for grants to still be available.

Council will discuss the situation during its regular meeting Monday evening.For about a decade, the FEC has been divided on party lines over whether it should more aggressively pursue enforcement, and whether it should launch investigations even if they arent prompted by formal complaints, experts said. The FEC now typically opens investigations only if there is a complaint, and the law requires approval from four of the commissions six members to open an investigation. Two of the FECs seats are vacant, making it even less likely that a case will be brought.I worked on drafting and revising executive orders, as well as disputes over executive branch records, he wrote. I saw regulatory agencies screw up . . . I saw the good and the bad sides of a presidents trying to run for reelection and to raise money while still being president. I was involved in the process for lots of presidential speeches. I traveled almost everywhere with the president for about three years. I mostly recall the massive decisions that had to be made on short notice.Summer isnt always about swimming and lying out in the sun. Sometimes, its a chance to see different types of animals. Did you know that Ernest Hemingways home in Florida houses more than 50 cats? Ten-year-old Camille DellErba, of Clarksburg, Maryland, took KidsPost to the famous authors home. Hemingway, who lived in the house from 1931 to 1939, was once gifted a polydactyl (pol-ee-DAK-til) cat, which is a cat with one or more extra toes. The cats that live on the museum grounds today are said to be descendants of that cat.However, rather than blame your entire gender, why not feign work obligations instead? If said graciously (I wish I could attend, but I am afraid that I have gotten behind on the Gramberry account), it makes a much more valid point about not spending office time engaged in seemingly mandatory social activity. Just make sure that the mother-to-be is not also working on the Gramberry account.Todays Headlines

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By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy PolicyI found that I could talk to Mandela very easily, exchanging ideas, Dr. Lyman said in the oral history. He found Mandela a man of great dignity and great courtesy. We used to have very candid discussions. One had to understand that while he was able to laugh at himself, you had to treat him with dignity.Photo: Stephen Fuhr

A fighter jet will be making a couple of fly-bys over Kelowna on Sunday.

As part of the Okanagan Dream Rally, a Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet will pay a visit to downtown Kelowna Sunday morning.

The first fly past will be above the Sails about 10:30 a.m., followed by a second over the William R. Bennett Bridge 20 minutes later to mark the start of the charitable supercar rally.

The fly-bys will see the jet fly no lower than 150 metres above the tallest nearby obstacle.

The Okanagan Dream Rally puts kids who are facing health challenges in the passenger seat of a supercar, for a trip from Kelowna to Penticton and back.

The jet will also be on display at the Penticton Airport for children involved in the rally to view.

The Department of National Defence says the fly-bys are dependent on weather and flying conditions. There is a 40 per cent chance of showers in Kelowna on Sunday with widespread smoke expected.The last count arose after prosecutors in June accused Manafort and a longtime associate they linked to Russian intelligence of repeatedly contacting two members of a public relations firm and asking them to falsely testify about secret lobbying they did at Manaforts behest. Manafort has been in jail since then on the order of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is overseeing the case in Washington.The killing of Makiyah has resonated across the District in a year in which homicides are up 35 percent. The District saw 100 killings as of Thursday. The increase is similar to that of 2015, when a summer crime wave boosted homicides to 162 for the year, far above the 105 in 2014. There were 135 homicides in 2016 and 116 in 2017.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 24)  The son of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos defended his sister after she drew flak for telling critics of martial law to "move on."

"I understand my sister, because ang pinag-uusapan is something that happened 32 years ago. It since was decided. The government fell. Kinasuhan kami. May desisyon kontra sa'min ang mga kaso [Cases were filed against us, and the decisions were not in our favor]. It's done," former Senator Bongbong Marcos said in a media briefing Friday.

Marcos said he and his family have been asked questions on martial law "a thousand times."

"Ano pang gusto ninyong gawin? There are so many problems na hinaharap ng taumbayan, na hinaharap ng mga Pilipino. Ba't natin pinag-aaksayahan ng panahon eh tapos na 'yun eh?" he added.

[Translation: What else do they want to do? There are so many problems the public is facing, so why are we wasting time on something that has long been resolved?]

The more than two-decade Marcos regime was mired in controversy, including alleged human rights abuses and amassing of ill-gotten wealth estimated at $10 billion.

But Imee Marcos, governor of the Marcos bailiwick Ilocos Norte, said younger people have moved on from these issues.

READ: Imee Marcos draws ire for 'move on' remark

This did not sit well with critics, especially from members of the Liberal Party (LP). The LP is affiliated with the Aquinos, the Marcoses' political rivals.

The former senator dodged questions on whether or not their family will apologize for the supposed atrocities.

"I have spoken about this at least a thousand times. You can look back on what I've said before and I will say the same thing," he told reporters.

Marcos previously said he cannot apologize for his father's mistakes.

"I have said this before and I will say it again: I will apologize for any wrongdoing that I may have done and any mistake that will have caused anyone any pain or hardship but I can only apologize for myself," Marcos said during the vice presidential debate organized by the Commission on Elections, KBP, CNN Philippines and Business Mirror on April 10, 2016.

He reiterated there were no deals between their family and President Rodrigo Duterte over the return of the amassed wealth.

"There are no negotiations going on on any stolen anything," Marcos said.

He added these comments keep cropping up because of politics.

"It's political. It's a political maneuver to try and raise again a political question that was successful for our detractors many many years ago," he said.Photo: The Canadian Press

Pope Francis declared Saturday as he arrived in Ireland that he shares the outrage of rank-and-file Catholics over the coverup of the "repugnant crimes" of priests who raped and molested children, and vowed that he was committed to ending the "scourge."

Seeking to respond to a global outcry over sex abuse by priests, Francis cited measures taken by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to respond to the crisis. But Benedict never acknowledged the Vatican's role in fueling a culture of coverup, and Francis provided no new details of any measures he would take to sanction bishops who fail to protect their flocks from predator priests.

"The failure of ecclesial authorities  bishops, religious superiors, priests and others  to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share these sentiments," the pope said in a speech to government officials and civil authorities at Dublin Castle.

Francis said he was committed to ridding the church of this "scourge" no matter the moral cost or amount of suffering.

Francis' trip to Ireland, the first by a pope in 39 years, has been overshadowed by renewed outrage over the Catholic Church's systemic failures to protect children, following revelations of sexual misconduct and coverup in the U.S. church hierarchy, a growing crisis in Chile and the prosecutions of top clerics in Australia and France.

Francis was expected to meet with abuse victims during his 36-hour visit to Ireland. But neither his words at the start of his visit nor a new meeting with victims is likely to assuage demands for heads to roll over the sex abuse scandal.

"Disappointing, nothing new," was the reaction from Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins, a former member of Francis' sex abuse advisory panel who quit last year in frustration.

Perhaps in an indication of similar sentiments, the reception Francis received in Dublin contrasted sharply with the raucous, rock star welcome that greeted St. John Paul II in 1979. No one from the public was at the airport or the roads nearby, though by late afternoon crowds had started to grow outside Dublin's cathedral, basking in gloriously sunny weekend weather.

Deeply Catholic Ireland has had one of the world's worst records of clergy sex abuse, crimes that were revealed to its 4.8 million people over the past decade by a series of government-mandated inquiries. The reviews concluded that thousands of children were raped and molested by priests or physically abused in church-run schools and bishops worked for years to hide those crimes.

After the Irish church atoned for its past and enacted tough new norms to fight abuse, it had been looking to the first visit by a pope in 40 years to show a different, more caring church that understands the problems of ordinary Catholic families.

More than 37,000 people  most of them young Catholics  signed up to attend a Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families that ends Sunday in Dublin, more than twice the number as a previous family rally in Philadelphia three years ago.

And many faithful did remain hopeful that Francis' appearance would bring healing.

"I see a lot of new life amongst young people who have a deep committed faith, Catholic faith," said Sean Ascogh, a churchgoer in Blessington southwest of Dublin. "Obviously, they are very disappointed by what has been happening in the church in the last few years, particularly the whole abuse scandals, but I think people can see beyond that."

Francis urged the Irish to do just that, to recognize that for all its failings, the Catholic Church has educated and cared for generations of Irish children in times of famine and great poverty, when no one else would.

"The church in Ireland, past and present, has played a role in the welfare of children that cannot be obscured," the pope said. "It is my hope that the gravity of the abuse scandals, which have cast light on the failings of so many, will serve to emphasize the importance of the protection of minors and vulnerable adults on the part of society as a whole."

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar concurred, saying the church stepped in to care for Irish children when the state did not. But in his speech to the pope at Dublin Castle, he said both church and state had a history of "sorrow and shame," and he urged the pope to ensure that victims of sex abuse find "justice and truth and healing."Its weird because its not somebody we knew in person, she said of her hoped-for child. But it is the same. I see people all around me with babies and kids, and I am happy for them. But there are no days I dont think about my loss.From my standpoint, I just want to make sure that Muslims do not feel treated differently or discriminated against because of their faith, he said. At the same time, we try to remind our community members that there are violations that you have to take care of or you cannot operate your business.Despite beach closures and endless warnings from officials telling people to stay out of the ocean, adrenaline junkies like 22-year-old Taevil couldnt keep away. Tropical Storm Lane, one of the most powerful storms Hawaii has seen in decades, is expected to whip up massive waves for days. Before Lane was downgraded Friday night from a hurricane to a tropical storm, officials had predicted a storm surge of up to 25 feet would cause major flooding and destruction throughout the state.Mexico's president says ruling party should change its name: Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said the longtime ruling party should consider changing its name after its July 1 election defeat. The Institutional Revolutionary Party has held the presidency for all but 12 of the past 88 years. But the party known as the PRI came in third in this year's presidential election and will be the fifth-largest force in the lower house of Congress. Pena Nieto told the newspaper La Jornada that the PRI should change "its name and essence, because if you keep the names, it won't work." He said the elections showed "the erosion and rejection of the PRI as a brand."Photo: Nicholas Johansen Ponderosa Festival organizers Kris Hargrave, left, and Kia Zahrabi at Ponderosa 2018.

While the Ponderosa Music Festival suffered another financial loss this year, selling significantly less tickets than last year, organizers say they're stubborn.

The small music festival, featuring a largely B.C.-based roster, was held at the Rock Creek Fairgrounds for the fifth year last weekend, hosting just over 500 people.

In 2017, just under 1,000 people spent the weekend enjoying the music and the Kettle River.

Financially ... we still came up quite a bit short, so there's still a lot to figure out as far as how we can move forward, but it really renewed our drive to push forward, that's for sure, said Kris Hargrave, co-founder of the festival.

We work all year long and sometimes we're like, 'Why the hell are we doing this to ourselves?' And then we get there and people really like what we're doing  they like the space and the music and the energy that's there. If anything it really kind of reminded us how much we really want to push on.

A few weeks prior to the festival, Hargrave and Kia Zahrabi emailed previous festival attendees, explaining they were way off the previous year's sales, and the festival's future was in jeopardy.

We had a lot of people coming up to us with suggestions and ideas and offers to help, Hargrave said. There was a lot of love that went out and I think we're going to see more now that people have been there and experienced it again.

The pair sold about 150 additional tickets after the email went out, and a GoFundMe fundraiser has raised more than $8,500 as of Saturday.

In addition to the financial challenges, the wildfire smoke that's been sitting atop the majority of the province icaused it's own problems. Sunday's headlining band Suuns, from Montreal, spent 14 hours waiting on an delayed flight in Ontario before giving up, while the band for Saturday's headliner, rapper k-os, was also delayed due to smoke, but managed to arrive just 40 minutes before they took the stage.

The flight Victoria's Jesse Roper took to Kelowna Sunday couldn't land due to smoke, and he was forced to return to Vancouver, rent a car and drive the five hours to Rock Creek. While he missed his 5:15 set time, he was able to fill in for Suuns now-vacant headlining spot, with a headliner-worthy performance.

Despite some last-minute shuffling, Hargrave said he had the most fun he's had at a Ponderosa festival this year, and he can't imagine not getting it going in 2019.

We're pretty stubborn, he said with a laugh. I'm sure we're going to think of something, I'm just not sure what it's going to be yet.This week may turn out to have been a turning point. It was the moment the justice system landed two blows against an unfit leader: the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on charges related to bank and tax fraud, and the guilty plea by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who implicated Trump in a campaign finance crime. More significantly, Trumps own people began to turn against him.My first patient continued to plead that I not give up on him, and I continued treating him until one day he had bleeding in his head. He ended up in the intensive-care unit where he passed away. In the weeks prior, he had thanked me for the extra time he had to spend with family. To the young woman with metastatic gallbladder cancer, I promised I would remain with her and her husband throughout their horrible journey. At the end, her cancer was causing her lungs to quickly fill with fluid; in essence, she was drowning. I sat on her bed thinking of that promise while we talked and she quietly wept as her imminent fate began to sink in. I cannot be sure if she was afforded the blessings of peace or time as she died the next day.Ms. Ghomghams transgressions were participating in protests in the Qatif region, incitement to protest, chanting slogans hostile to the regime, attempting to inflame public opinion, filming protests and publishing on social media and providing moral support to rioters, according to Human Rights Watch. Saudi Arabias rulers are intolerant of dissent and punish it harshly, with imprisonment and public lashings. On Aug. 6, a prosecutor asked for the death penalty for Ms. Ghomgham, her husband and four others. If carried out, she would be the first woman beheaded in Saudi Arabia for nonviolent protest, although the punishment is used often for violent crimes. The prosecutors request was made before the Specialized Criminal Court, a counterterrorism tribunal that is increasingly being used as a bludgeon against dissent. A judge is due to consider the death-penalty request Oct. 28; if upheld, it would be reviewed by the king before being carried out.Obamacare, we got rid of the individual mandate, which is the most unpopular aspect, Trump said during a political speech Aug. 13 in Utica, N.Y. I would have gotten rid of everything, but as you know one of our, one of our wonderful senators said, thumbs down, at 2 oclock in the morning.Qs it. The bomb. The future. The ignition switch, the connection, the conduit, Lebron wrote in a July 4 blog post. Its like having your own personal Deep Throat, your own Mark Felt. Just imagine that. Better, where Commissioner Gordon summoned Batman through the bat signal, here our Batman summons us when he, she, it or they feel it necessary.Perez and other delegate reform supporters succeeded in weakening the establishment opposition by giving it more time to protest. But the opposition made one final push, picking up on a theme that the Congressional Black Caucus had aired last month  that to take away the votes of black superdelegates was to effectively suppress them. The unofficial leaders of that faction, former party chair Don Fowler and California DNC member Bob Mulholland, are white. But Mulholland, a gruff Vietnam veteran, invoked the legacy of the civil rights movement to argue that his party risked alienating its most loyal voters to appease a faction of elite Sanders fans.Even as Shalala embraces her ties to the Democratic establishment, they can still complicate her answers. She refuses to say whether she would vote for Nancy Pelosi as speaker if she wins as part of a Democratic takeover of the House even as many in her party  including her primary rivals  say they wouldnt. Pelosi has become the star of many Republican attack ads, as the GOP tries to paint a vote for any Democrat as a vote for Pelosi and a liberal agenda. But Shalala also says she would defend her longtime friend to the death.Can you believe that? Not it is actually hard to tell that in what school they went to? This is truly bizarre. A married couple who were trying to have a baby for four years went to a doctor to determine what was wrong. And what turns out, they were having anal sex for four years to get pregnant. A married couple who were trying to conceive a baby for four years were having anal sex. As per The Sun reported, this was a blunder which came to light after the couple went to see an obstetrician for able to conceive. Also Read: New Study: The mystery of condom breaking revealed

Now, Dr Liu Hongmei was supposed to examine and then she finally came to know that the woman had regular sex but that it was "unusually painful" every time.

Doctor's first thought was it must be some sort of disease or disorder, and then after running further examinations which revealed the clueless couple from Bijie city in Chinas south-western Guizhou province, had been having painful anal sex.

The story was first reported by Chinas Guiyang Evening Post.

Further tests confirmed this and amazingly found the wife was a virgin.

Also Read: Sensual! Top 5 erotic things to do for women with their breasts during sex

Speaking to the media, Dr Lui said, Four years of marriage and neither the husband nor wife knew how to get pregnant. Couples so lacking in general knowledge are very rare.

The doctor then reportedly handed the couple each a sex-ed handbook and also gave them "guidelines" before they were sent home.

Also Read: Top 3 reasons prove missionary sex is amazingly hotThe rules restricted the use of official time  on-duty time that union officials can spend representing their members in grievances and on other issues. The new rules limited the issues that could be bargained over in union negotiations. And they rolled back the rights of workers deemed to be poor performers to appeal disciplinary action against them.That leaves Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker (R) has never had easy races and remains as polarizing a figure as hes been since the uproar over collective bargaining that he created early in his first term. He survived a recall election in 2012 and won reelection in 2014. The most recent Marquette Law School poll shows the race tied. Other recent polls have given an edge to Democrat Tony Evers. Walkers first two elections came in good years for Republicans. His bid for a third term comes in a year favorable to Democrats.When they begin to break, thats when its over, Graham said. What does it take for the party to break? I think it takes something like a Watergate, and in this case, to me, it would take direct involvement by the president  either he knew or should have known about an effort to collude with the Russians.The pontiff arrived for the first papal visit to Ireland in 39 years to attend the World Meeting of Families, a trip that comes as abuse scandals have sharply diminished the Vaticans once-towering authority.

Aug. 25, 2018 Pope Francis disembarks from an airplane upon his arrival at Dublin Airport at the start of his visit to Ireland to attend the World Meeting of Families. Charles McQuillan/AFP/Getty ImagesExternal Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj will pay an official visit to the South-East Asian countries of Vietnam and Cambodia from August 27 to August 30.

In Vietnam (August 27 to 28), Swaraj will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission in Vietnam along with her counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. She will also call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) read.

On August 27, Swaraj will inaugurate the third edition of the Indian Ocean Conference.

In Cambodia (August 29 to 30), the EAM will have a bilateral meeting with Senior Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Prak Sokhonn. Swaraj will meet Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and President of Senate Say Chhum. It will be Swaraj's first official visit to Cambodia.

"The visit of EAM to Vietnam and Cambodia will provide an opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with the political leadership on a wide range of global, regional and bilateral issues and advance our strategic engagement with these countries and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region," the MEA statement added.

Earlier this month, Swaraj embarked on a three-nation tour to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan and held bilateral engagements in these countries.

(ANI)On his last visit to Pyongyang, Pompeo reportedly demanded a list of nuclear sites in North Korea without suggesting any plans for compensation in return, Cheong said. North Korea is aware that the list reveals all their cards to the U.S., and they wont do so without any tangible promise from Washington. The demand for the timeline of denuclearization must come with the timeline for rewards.Food giant Heinz has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay $2.25 million in penalties after being found guilty of "misleadingly and deceptively" targeting sugar-heavy snacks at toddlers.

But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which initiated the legal battle, remains unsatisfied with the result, having sought $10 million in penalties.

Food multinational Kraft Heinz enjoyed global net sales of $6.7 billion in the latest June quarter. Credit:AP

"The Heinz Group is one of the largest food companies in the world," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

"We will continue to advocate for stronger penalties to deter large companies from engaging in serious contraventions of Australias consumer laws (ACL), particularly now that Parliament has passed legislation substantially increasing the maximum penalties for breaches of the ACL."That in itself is clearly problematic, but there are a couple of other challenges.

Brain cancer kills more children than any other disease, and more adults under 40 than any other cancer, she says.

When Michelle Stewart started working at the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, she knew the numbers werent great.

Most people dont know these statistics, and they havent changed in over 30 years, says Stewart, who held the position of head of research strategy at the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation before moving into the CEO role.

Its a reality that has meant the foundation has had to innovate out of necessity, to shift those numbers.

To get there, the not-for-profit built a team of key players who didnt have a traditional not-for-profit background. Stewarts own includes a science degree, followed by a long stint in various sectors within the corporate world.

Together, theyve taken a systems view in considering brain cancer and brain cancer research, medical research and care.

We looked at what point in the system we could intervene to change the outcomes. As a result weve [tackled] some pretty cutting projects that we believe will change the way that clinical trials are done worldwide, Stewart says.Sydney historian Dr Victoria Grieves says community is the key to a happy life.

Sydney historian Dr Victoria Grieves reckons her work is widely misunderstood.

I think that the general public sometimes has a view of the academic person generally as someone whos in a cushy job, she says, citing intercultural complication. But its actually not an easy job in any way shape or form.

While the West sees history as in the past, Aboriginal people know that it is present, Dr Grieves says. According to the scholar researching mixed-race children born of World War II, history does not leave until it is dealt with, whatever others say about the need to get over it.

The Australian Research Council indigenous fellow says that the academy is especially hard for aboriginal scholars to negotiate. The reason is that each must be a cultural broker.Kaser has firsthand experience in managing chronic pain. Credit:Paul Jeffers The name comes from an Aboriginal word meaning ''which way'', alluding to the crossroads at which clients find themselves. Currently, the organisation receives funding from the Federal Department of Health and the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services. We're dining at di Stasio, which Kaser chose because it's a St Kilda institution, much like Windana. I order linguine with prawns, for her it's vegetarian lasagne, with baked fennel to share and a glass of pinot grigio each. Receipt for lunch with Anne-Maree Kaser. "I call myself a 'flexitarian'  I try not to eat anything with a face but prawns pay the ultimate penalty for being tasty little buggers."

Warm, funny and self-deprecating, Kaser is a pragmatic optimist and a self-described "high-functioning introvert". She has two daughters  Hannah, 25, and Zoe, 22  and took on the role at Windana five years ago. Fennel baked with milk and toasted breadcrumbs. Credit:Paul Jeffers "People have been using mind-altering substances for millennia. But I think [in Australia] we very definitely have a strong emphasis on celebrating with, commiserating with, breaking bread with  and integrating alcohol to our very existence." "We don't need an excuse really." Home-made pasta with tomato, mozzarella and basil. Credit:Paul Jeffers

When she started working in rehabilitation, the main drugs were alcohol and heroin, with a little speed thrown in. Now it's predominantly methamphetamines and a lot of ''poly users'', people using two or more drugs simultaneously. As demand for treatment has risen, the number of providers of rehab services has, too. It's a scenario ripe for exploitation. "Some of the private providers are tremendous and do great work," she says. "Sadly there are others who appear to be offering little more than lodging and access to some of the community programs that are available to people anyway, charging up to $30,000 a month sometimes." Linguine with prawns. Credit:Paul Jeffers After a false start, studying a bachelor of business ("what was I thinking!"), Kaser trained as a nurse. Freshly graduated, she got her first position in drug and alcohol treatment at the old Smith Street Clinic in Collingwood, a 14-bed facility where she worked in the withdrawal unit. Men and women bunked in together; many were living rough or sex workers. "They often had particular challenges, living in pretty ordinary conditions, people who were really quite unwell."

The clinic also operated what's called now called Opiate Replacement Therapy (ORT)  back then it was simply the methadone clinic. Bleak as it sounds, she was hooked. "That was a terrific experience. I fell in love with drug and alcohol treatment and the potential for people to change." After a few years, Kaser moved back to the La Trobe Valley, where she spent the next 22 years working in the field, as a counsellor and then starting the home-based/residential treatment program. Gippsland was one of the first regions to take such a service to people in their homes. It continues today, in country and metro areas, and is a medically assisted detox, conducted in conjunction with a GP, a nurse and a support person (often a family member or partner). "We're asking people to address these very deep emotional and psychological issues without the tools they've traditionally used. I have huge admiration for them. I think it takes huge courage to come in to treatment and it takes amazing tenacity to stick it out."

In December 2016, she was hit by a car while riding her motorbike, ending up in the Alfred. Thanks to multiple fractures, part of the care she received involved managing extreme pain. While they couldn't eradicate it completely, prescription drugs helped enormously. "I could see how pleasant the sensation is associated with the dulling of the pain and [how it] makes recovery a little bit more bearable." Analgesia is necessary but after about four weeks, Kaser made the difficult but conscious decision to stop. "I had had a bang on the head anyway but the medication was making me even more dopey." Rather than medically prescribed painkillers, Kaser now uses alternative methods to manage her chronic pain. Moving your body helps, she says, as does lots of turmeric, the active ingredient of which is curcumin, a natural pain relief. Even so, these are "first world problems" she says. "I go to work every day and think my life is wonderful."

Part of her remit is to address the media coverage around alcohol and drugs. "Often there's a moral panic and a fear but the reality is there's a potential for change " Though challenging, Kaser's work reveals incredible stories of hope and transformation. "People can come out of treatment and go on to lead very productive lives," she says. "Addiction doesn't have to define who you are for the rest of your life." The Andrews Government recently funded another 30 beds for Windana's rural residential facility at Maryknoll, colloquially known as the farm. People come in for as long as necessary, from a few weeks up to a year; the program is usually delivered over a period of six to 12 months. Residents live together in shared accommodation, all at various stages of their treatment, offering each other support. If people stay for 30 days or more, the odds of making long-term changes are exponentially higher. Programs in Belgium and Scotland offering what's known as a Welcome House  a space in which to transition into treatment, to address outstanding mental health issues and to create a full plan for recovery  have seen dropout rates plummet from 30 or 40 per cent to about five per cent.

Windana has just been provided with partial funding to build such a place and a program to raise money for the rest is about to be launched. "Our dropout rates are good  significantly better than anyone in the land," Kaser says, "but we want them to be better." Planning for life after rehab starts as soon as people arrive, focused on helping people re-establish important relationships. Some staff have been through recovery themselves  ''lived experience'' as it's known in the industry  so know first-hand what's involved. "It's incredibly inspiring to see people who've been through the hardest and darkest times to make it stick." Once they've completed the program, residents attend graduations and get to tell their story; often a family member also speaks. "It's such a beautiful thing to see people have hope in their lives again and the promise of a long and healthy life." That said, it's not all good news. "The reality is that we lose people. Every year as a recovery community we see people who accidentally or otherwise lose their lives." A strong supporter of safe injecting rooms, Kaser is thrilled to see them introduced in Victoria. "You only need to look to New South Wales and see the tens of thousands of people who have been kept safe  not one death."

"It will make such a big difference. We know that you have to keep people alive and well until you can make those changes stick. Treatment works." Kaser argues that as a society, we all have a responsibility to help those struggling to overcome addiction. She knows only too well how easily it can happen. "It's keeping those people connected and safe and well in the long-term, giving them meaningful things to do, helping them create positive relationships, that's what helps them as people, and us as a community." International Overdose Awareness Day is August 31. overdoseday.com windana.org.au The bill, pleaseAnother week and another tawdry tale about Karl Stefanovic's not-so-private life is splashed across a women's magazine as he and Today co-host Georgie Gardner attempt to convince Channel Nine viewers they really do like each other, regardless of whatever Karl told his brother during that now-infamous Uber trip.

Best of friends: Georgie Gardner and Karl Stefanovic continue to host Today as ratings take a nose-dive. Credit:Channel Nine

Over on the set of Studio 10, Ita Buttrose is allegedly "assaulted" by flying Brussels sprouts while her bete noir Denise Drysdale is going on holidays -for five months - but declares she "will be back". But will Studio 10?

And behind the happy "Sunrise family" of Samantha Armytage, David Koch and Co on Seven there are simmering tensions between some of the key stars of the breakfast powerhouse that are threatening to send the Cash Cow broke.

Indeed the off-camera drama surrounding Australia's breakfast television shows is infinitely more captivating than the formulaic live television they dish up, but while such scandals are great for gossip columnists, they spell disaster for audience ratings.A South West Western Australian bee species is completely reliant on just two types of plant, new Curtin University research has found, highlighting the importance of conserving Perth's increasingly scarce bushland remnants.

The research by PhD candidate Kit Prendergast found 'resin bee' Megachile ignita uses only banksia flowers and the fuzz from banksia cones to line its nests, from the endangered banksia woodlands of the Swan Coastal Plain.

Megachile ignita, the South West WA resin bee. Credit:Kit Prendergast.

Ms Prendergast also found that the bees, named ignita for their flame-like golden head hairs and red abdomens, ate only the pollen of the native pea plants of the family Fabaceae, also unique to WA.

"Although previous research has focused on food sources, this study shows nesting materials are also important to the reproductive success of bees and it is the first documented evidence of dry flowers and the fuzz from Banksia being used inside bee nests, not as food, she said.Losing control Just last month, Turnbull had worked himself into the best shape he had been in since the election. Labor was under pressure to hold its seats at the Super Saturday byelections. The opinion polls had tightened, with the Coalition behind only 49-51, and Anthony Albanese was readying as an alternative opposition leader to Bill Shorten. In a macro sense, Turnbull had delivered a robust economy and strong jobs growth, and the budget was returning to balance. "Yet that hasn't been good enough for some of his colleagues," Christopher Pyne lamented on Friday. But then, on July 28, everything changed. Labor held its seats easily. The Liberals' primary vote in the north Brisbane seat of Longman collapsed by 9.4 per cent. Voters weren't buying what Turnbull was selling. Malcolm Turnbull and his frontbench on Monday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"When you lose your primary vote, you lose control of your destiny," a federal minister sighed as he processed the shock result. And that was exactly as it transpired for Australia's 29th prime minister. Turnbull was urged to dump the rest of his proposed tax cuts for big business, while Abbott ramped up his attacks on another unresolved policy: the National Energy Guarantee. He brought the focus back to the issue that has divided Australian politics - and destroyed its leaders - for more than a decade: climate change. Why are we legislating an emissions target but not a price target, he asked. "The whole thing's a crock," Abbott told colleagues. Loading The former PM's allies, including younger conservatives who wanted to install someone like Peter Dutton, seized the day. "Abbotts forces saw energy [policy] a mile away," said one Liberal operative. "When we lost Longman, this was always going to happen. There is no way he [Turnbull] was going to get to an election." Blunders didn't help. Turnbull claimed victory when the NEG wasn't killed off by the party room, but days later he was forced to backtrack, and condemned the emissions target to ministerial regulation rather than law. Far from a masterstroke, it alarmed already-sceptical MPs. "That would just hand the keys to the lolly jar to the Labor Party," one feared.

Chaos takes over By this stage, Dutton's leadership tilt was on the front pages. The then home affairs minister issued a tweet on Saturday morning pledging support to the PM, but its necessity and its tardiness betrayed the reality. Pyne and others spent the weekend on the phone to MPs, evaluating the situation. Come Monday, the government junked the emissions target altogether, and a sense of chaos took over. Dutton had a strong contingent of fellow Queenslanders behind him, plus Abbott's allies and a slew of others - but a challenge was not guaranteed. The PM's decision to vacate the leadership and test the numbers on Tuesday morning shocked both sides. "It was an airstrike on his own position," one MP said. He voted for Dutton as a "protest" to how the NEG had been handled. The 48-35 result looked and felt too close for comfort. Commentators on 2GB radio and Sky News declared Turnbull's leadership was terminal. The PM and his supporters portrayed the outcome as "convincing". After all, they argued, Abbott had beaten Turnbull by only one vote back in 2009. Dutton barely disguised his intent to strike again. He outlined a vague policy manifesto of taking action on immigration levels and removing the GST on power bills - a suggestion trashed by Morrison and Turnbull the next day. He confirmed he was calling colleagues to ask for support.

Peter Dutton on the way to a press conference on Thursday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen As early as Wednesday morning, there were rumours and reports Alex Hawke - Dutton's assistant minister - and first-term Western Australian MP Ben Morton were doing the numbers for Morrison. Turnbull's camp as late as Friday afternoon dismissed that as conjecture. The reports were quickly hosed down because Morrison instructed them "to make sure that wasn't true". The Treasurer had made it quite clear he would not move for the leadership unless he had Turnbull's blessing. On Wednesday afternoon, Mathias Cormann went to the PM's office flanked by Michaelia Cash and Mitch Fifield. He told Turnbull he believed the PM had lost the support of his party room. What this was based on remains unclear. Cormann has said cabinet ministers and backbenchers told him they had switched their support to Dutton. But the meeting ended with Turnbull uncertain of his fate. Loading Later, as senior ministers filed in and out of the PM's office, news broke that a petition was doing the rounds calling for another party room meeting. It was a clear sign Dutton's forces believed they had the numbers. But few MPs leaving the building that evening had actually seen it. There had been a lot of "fake news," warned Liberal MP Bert van Manen.

The petition did exist, however. Hastie and Pasin were shopping multiple versions of it around the house. Kelly was one of the first to sign up when it was brought to his office at around 6.30pm. Next door, in Abbott's office, a rowdy party went late into the night, with aides seen ferrying out plastic bags full of empty bottles and wrappers. Come Thursday morning, things moved quickly. About 9.15am, Pyne told MPs at the regular whips' morning tea not to sign, and that he was worried about intimidation. "I would urge you not to sign the petition and then we can all go back to our electorates and let them tell us what they think of our behaviour this week," Pyne said, according to those present. But at exactly the same time, Cormann, Cash and Fifield were back in the PM's office tendering their resignations. At 9.35am, they stood in the Senate courtyard and made it public. Some of Turnbull's backers considered this unnecessary and off-putting. Mitch Fifield, Mathias Cormann and Michaelia Cash announcing their resignation to the media on Thursday. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer An exit strategy

Either way, the PM knew immediately he was finished. "He accepted he couldnt form a ministry," a confidant says. Straight away, Turnbull gave Morrison his blessing. Morrison started making calls, along with Hawke, Morton and Stuart Robert, a staunch conservative from Dutton's home state of Queensland but a close friend of Morrison. They were assisted by some of Turnbull's closest moderate allies - Pyne, Paul Fletcher, Simon Birmingham and Trent Zimmerman - who started wrangling votes behind Morrison. > Inside the PM's office Thursday morning were his chief of staff Clive Mathieson, principal private secretary Sally Cray, frontbencher and friend Craig Laundy and his wife Lucy, as well as a revolving door of allies. The discussion turned to Turnbull's legacy and exit strategy. According to one participant, a calm Lucy Turnbull wanted her husband to go with dignity and step down straight away. But Cray was intent on "digging in". Turnbull himself was "calm - remarkably so", another observer said.

In the end, the PM opted to wreak some havoc on the way out. He demanded Dutton's forces bring him 43 names on a petition if there were to be another party room meeting. He set a tentative time of midday Friday, giving Morrison 23 hours to shore up support. He also commissioned advice on Dutton's eligibility under section 44 of the constitution, to be expedited by the Solicitor-General. None of this would seriously alter the course of events. "Thats just him having fun. Hes got that out of his system now," observed one backer. But Turnbull's camp was ready to make good on the threat to end the week without a second meeting. It was on the Dutton crusaders to put up or shut up. The PM went for a walk that afternoon and then left for the Lodge at 5.30pm. Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull at Parliament House on Thursday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Meanwhile, on the phones, Morrison's pitch to MPs proved compelling. "I can sell stopping the boats and cutting taxes," he told them. "I can hold the show together and I've got clean hands." Morrison's backers also appealed to their colleagues not to "reward the insurgency". Julie Bishop - having served as a loyal deputy to four leaders - also entered the race, selling herself as an experienced candidate who was actually popular in the electorate. Dutton emphasised he held a marginal seat and he could run a successful marginal seat campaign.

"I want to do whats best for the country," he told MPs. "I want to see us do as well as we can, I want to win at the next election." I can hold the show together Scott Morrison's pitch to colleagues There were accusations of bullying and intimidation by Dutton's army. Turnbull backers alleged Victorian MPs including Sarah Henderson, Julia Banks, Chris Crewther and Jane Hume had their preselections threatened. Henderson said she had been offered a ministry by the Dutton camp as long as she committed what she considered to be "an act of treachery". At the same time, MPs were being inundated with emails from Liberal Party voters livid about what was being wrought by their representatives in Canberra. "As the week went on, the reaction from the community had a big impact in Morrisons favour," one Liberal MP said. "A lot of MPs were just bombarded with Liberal voters saying that Dutton was completely unacceptable."The Liberal Party, which has produced two of our nations greatest prime ministers, this week resembled nothing so much as a pub brawl. Everyone, however grand or obscure, felt entitled to join in.

Talk has been rife that the party of Robert Menzies and John Howard will split. Unless Liberals regain their will to govern and their ability to connect with the Australian people, that fate looks frighteningly likely.

A useful cliche holds that every cloud has a silver lining. If so, the resolution of the Liberal leadership stand-off offers the chance of a way forward for the party.

The mainstream of conservative opinion did not believe that Malcolm Turnbull represented them and what they believed in. He was always out of kilter with them, irreparably so, and there was no point in his prolonging the agony. The party leadership and administration had its head in the sand over just how disaffected many one-time Liberals were. At the 2016 election, about a million conservatives refused to cast votes for the Liberal party.The Popes visit, starting Saturday, comes as the Church in Ireland struggles to find a new place in Irish society and culture, the archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin admitted in June. In recent years the church has lost much of its standing in society, its political influence and  perhaps most seriously  many of its faithful. The last census in 2016 showed, for the first time, a fall in the number of Roman Catholics in the country: 132,000 fewer Irish described themselves as Catholic compared with five years previously. Members of the public celebrate at Dublin Castle, in May after the results of the referendum on the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution which prohibited abortion. Credit:PA The decline as a percentage of the population dates back much longer: in 1961 almost 95 per cent of the Irish called themselves Roman Catholic, but by 2016 only 78 per cent did.

Many of that 78 per cent are not practising  only half of Irish marriages last year were Catholic compared to over 90 per cent two decades ago, Reuters calculated. Fewer than a third of Catholics go to mass every week  compared with more than 90 per cent in 1972. This year Ireland voted in a referendum by an overwhelming 66 per cent to overturn a ban on abortions. In 2015 more than 62 per cent voted to allow same-sex marriage. In October another referendum is expected to remove the offence of blasphemy from the Irish constitution.

Irelands Association of Catholic Priests conducted a survey in the lead-up to the papal visit, simply asking what do you want to say to Pope Francis about the Irish Church? More than three-quarters of the respondents wanted major reform, including equality for women in the church and a more effective response to clerical abuse and the fallout. The wrongs of the past should never be forgotten, some respondents said. Full disclosures should be made and apologies given. There is a desperate need for Rome to genuinely face up to and acknowledge the horror of the Catholic Churchs blindness to and mismanagement of the perpetrators of sexual abuse. Limited edition Pope dolls for sale during the World Meeting of Families at the RDS in Dublin, Ireland. Credit:AP

Irish leader Leo Varadkar has said he will challenge Francis on the issue of same-sex marriage, and he intended to raise Church abuse issues at a reception at Dublin Castle. I will certainly want to express to him the real concerns Irish people have in relation to the legacy of the past, in relation to issues such as the churchs involvement in Magdalene laundries, mother-and-baby homes, and sexual and physical abuse, he said. A passerby looks at an art installation by Mannix Flynn protesting the Pope's visit in Dublin, Ireland. Credit:AP Mr Varadkar, quoted by the BBC, went further, saying: "I think in the past the Catholic Church had too much of a dominant place in our society. I also think (the visit is) an opportunity for us as a republic for us as the Irish state to start a new chapter in our relationship with the Church one that again is very much about having a place for the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland but not one at the centre in the way it was in the past."

Former Irish president Mary McAleese has been particularly critical of the visit, calling the WMOF a right-wing rally designed to get [people] motivated to fight against the tide of same-sex marriage, rights for gays, abortion rights, contraceptive rights. In March, McAleese  a lifelong Catholic with a masters degree in canon law - was barred from a conference on women in the Church at the Vatican. Dr Jane Suiter is associate professor at Dublin City University in the school of communications. All of the radio programs here at the moment are about how the country has completely changed since [John Paul IIs visit in] 1979, she says.

Ireland is shaking off many traditions  the latest Rose of Tralee beauty pageant winner is a mixed race woman which just would have been unheard of before and a few years back it was won by a single mother. Capuchin priest friar Bryan Shortall from Dublin looks out from the wet stage during preparations are underway to build the stage for the Pope in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Credit:PA But it is more than just cultural change. On Monday Francis wrote a letter to the people of God condemning the atrocities of child sex abuse and systematic cover-ups in the church. We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them, Francis wrote.

It came a week after a grand jury report in the US described decades of abuse in Pennsylvania, where more than 1000 children had been abused by 300 priests. One cardinal named in the report had been due to attend the Dublin event. The debate over the last week has all been about Pennsylvania, about the report, about whether the Popes letter went far enough, Suiter said. We even had the minister for health coming out this morning saying we need particular measures more than just the wringing of hands. To have a government minister so openly critical of the church shows how much influence it has lost, Suiter says. Some public figures have even offered to give up their place on the podium with Francis for victims of abuse. People feel that its not properly resolved, that there have been apologies but some bishops havent taken it on board, she says.

There is now a lot of talk about a cultural Catholicism, where respect for the church is lost but a personal faith remains. McAleese is seen as someone showing the way to keep the faith while rejecting the institution. Suiter says there has been a lot of speculation about how many Irish will attend the papal mass, compared to the number of international visitors. A recently unveiled waxwork of Pope Francis is carried from the National Wax Museum to be put on a refurbished 1979 Popemobile in Dublin, Ireland. Credit:AP Some Catholics had been hoping for a renewed fight for the church after the blows of the recent referendums but instead they have been left a little bit down and feeling theyre not as represented any more, she says. Now they hope Francis visit will be that fillip they desperately need.

Certainly its what the Vatican hopes for. This week Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans Secretary of State, told Vatican News Francis visit to Ireland would be a sign of hope, and above all of trust. I believe that the Church in Ireland has recognised its failures, its errors, its sins, and at the same time also has adopted a series of measures that can prevent these atrocities from happening again, these horrors, he said. Preparations in readiness for the closing mass for the World Meeting of Families event at Phoenix Park in Dublin which will be attended by Pope Francis as part of his two-day visit to Ireland. Credit:PA But Suiter is sceptical.Washington: The nation heard this week accusations that President Donald Trump was personally involved in the decision to offer two women money shortly before the 2016 election to keep them from sharing stories of alleged affairs. Trump's longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, admitted under oath to having been instructed by Trump to work with David Pecker, chairman and chief executive of American Media Inc., to arrange a payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal. He also admitted to having been instructed by Trump to pay off adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Both payments involved felony violations of campaign finance law.

That revelation is remarkable in its own right. But it's also worth remembering that it becomes the third allegation of an effort to surreptitiously aid Trump's 2016 campaign that violated the law.

US President Donald Trump rallying his base in West Virginia on Tuesday. Credit:Charleston Gazette-Mail/AP

The hush money

According to the government's delineation of how the campaign finance violations occurred (an account which Cohen attested was accurate and which has been bolstered by reports that Pecker is cooperating with authorities), AMI and Pecker's commitment to aid Trump in burying unfavourable stories began in August 2015. The first occasion on which that effort was realised (that is publicly known) was the payment to McDougal, which was made in early August 2016. The payment was made with a commitment by Cohen to repay the money, the subject of the recorded conversation between Trump and Cohen that was released last month. In early October, Pecker called that deal off.New York: From his earliest days, David Neiwert knew first-hand about the extensive reach of the American far right. "This is the water I was swimming in," the journalist and author says of his childhood in a rural, predominantly Mormon, town in southern Idaho.

Some members of his family were members of the John Birch Society, an ultra-conservative anti-communist group that believed socialists were infiltrating the US federal government.

Neiwert began his career as a reporter at a newspaper in northern Idaho, just a short drive from the headquarters of a new neo-Nazi group named the Aryan Nations. The group's emergence posed a problem for the paper's staff, who had to decide how much coverage to give to a movement whose views they found repugnant and dangerous. To avoid amplifying their ideas, the paper gave them minimal attention.

The Aryan Nations grew regardless and in the mid-1980s a splinter group, known as The Order, committed million-dollar robberies and killed a Jewish radio host.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Michael Boyd returns to the RSC with a revised version of his stylish 2014 New York adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's two-part drama, reflecting the rise of 21st century autocrats.

It is a bloody account of the violent conquests mounted by Tamburlaine, a Scythian-shepherd-turned-warrior soldier who seizes power in Persia and across the East, styling himself "a terror to the world".

Marlowe based his story on the life of 14th Century emperor, Amir Timur Gurgan, whose multi-ethnic armies were estimated to have killed around 5 per cent of the world population at the time. It was a huge hit for the 23 year-old playwright and the first English play to spawn a sequel.

The former RSC artistic director has condensed ten acts, written in two parts, into a single three-hour epic, with a 20-minute interval, and 23 actors playing 60 roles. When a character dies, the actor takes up another role  initially it is a little confusing but quickly makes sense, and the cast have fun in letting us know they're inhabiting a new role, some with previous injuries intact.

As the play opens to the sound of a heart-thumping beating drum a serious Royal household, dressed in black, walk on stage from behind a plastic curtain, the kind you find in an abattoir. Then enters the King of Persia, Mycetes, in all-white, comically dawdling behind his entourage eating a chicken drumstick, wiping his greasy fingers on one of his minions' scarves. Mark Hadfield's far from king-like Mycetes and James Tucker, his trusted side-kick Meander, bring some light-hearted fun to the dark proceedings. When Mycetes breaks into toddler-like tantrum stamping his feet as he castigates the rise of Tamburlaine, Meander hilariously pulls the king to his chest and comforts him as a parent would a small child.

In contrast Jude Owusu's chillingly charismatic Tamburlaine and his ferocious testosterone-fuelled, sword-wielding bandits charge the stage with real menace. There are lots of group "huh!"s. As their power base grows their fur gilets and gold-plated armour are replaced by long military-style black leather coats, gold chains and boots. In part two guns replace swords.

A play about manly virtues, a thirst for power and the sheer inhumanity of war, Tamburlaine is essentially the story of a working-class man (a shepherd) who rises to power, conquers nation after nation, falls in love, has three sons, is widowed and dies, surprisingly, of natural causes.

It is a play with few strong roles for women. Zenocrate, the kidnapped daughter of an Egyptian Sultan  a dignified and statuesque Rosy McEwen  readily succumbs to become his concubine and queen, bringing out a softer, poetic side. He literally rages against her death.

What it lacks in psychological examination, Tamburlaine makes up for in blood and gore.

Marlowe's protagonist has little sympathy for man, woman or child if they do not surrender to his army. In the most brutal scenes imprisoned Bajazeth, Emperor of the Turks and his wife Zabina  the commanding Sagar I M Arya and Debbie Korley - bash out their brains; Tamburlaine stabs one of his own sons for refusing to go to battle and orders the murder of four virgins in Damascus.

I really did wince when Orcanes, the King of Natolia  Ralph Davis  has his tongue cut out and a lump of flesh is thrown to the floor. The sight of a mother forced to kill her young son rather than face Tamburlaine's army is particularly affecting  a heart-breaking performance by Zainab Hasan and Aaryan Dassaur.

The stylised violence is subtle yet effectively done with performers daubing victims from a bucket of blood as they die. The virgins stand behind the plastic curtain where blood is literally thrown at them and drips down like weeping tears.

Tom Piper's pared-down industrial staging is full of invention  including a platform for kings lowered from the ceiling and charred pages from the burning of holy Turkish books floating in the air.

The numerous wars can, at times, feel slightly repetitive, as different leaders unite to take on Tamburlaine - but the action speeds along at a pace and the excellent casting makes for compelling viewing. It casts light on the new breed of modern political strongmen and demagogues taking hold from Trump and Putin to Kim Jong-un and Turkey's Erdogan.When La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co. set sail in search of a home back in 2016, there was no way of knowing the course they would chart would lead through many corners of downtown Winnipeg before they could drop anchor just a short walk from the replica of the boat that gave the brewery its name.

This article was published 24/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co. set sail in search of a home back in 2016, there was no way of knowing the course they would chart would lead through many corners of downtown Winnipeg before they could drop anchor just a short walk from the replica of the boat that gave the brewery its name.

After being outbid for a location near Broadway, Nonsuch  a team made up of president Matthew Sabourin, head brewer Mark Borowski, vice-president Ben Myers, brand artist/co-founder Tyler Johnston and brewery co-ordinator Dylan Picton  set their sights on a famous downtown space: the Nutty Club building at 149 Pioneer Ave.

Ben Myers (left), Mark Borowski, Matthew Sabourin, and Dylan Picton at the Nonsuch Brewing Co. PHOTOS BY MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

"It had a lot of challenges, but a lot of potential as well," says Sabourin of the 120-year-old building. "We were a few weeks away from signing a 10-year contract. So we brought everybody through again, triple-asking the same questions and making sure we were thorough. The structural engineers realized there were issues that were missed. That essentially killed the deal."

A couple potential locations later, and the Nonsuch crew are now hard at work converting 125 Pacific Ave.  what had been Peg Beer Co.s space until its closure in February  into a home of their own. Shortly after Peg Beer Co. closed its doors, Nonsuch entered into brief negotiations with the buildings owner and sealed the deal. The team is working on a two-phase renovation plan that will see the tap-room area (in Pegs former bar area) open first, with future renovations set to take place in what was the dining room.

The Belgian Strong at the new Nonsuch Brewing Co location in Winnipeg on Monday, Aug. 20, 2018.Winnipeg Free Press 2018.

Prior to landing their Pacific Avenue location, the Nonsuch crew had set up shop at Barn Hammer Brewing Co.s location on Wall Street in 2017. Borowski, who comes from a home brewing background, had already left a position at the Winnipeg Film Group, and the two breweries reached an agreement whereby he would work for Barn Hammer, learning the ins and outs of commercial brewing systems, while starting to brew smaller batches for Nonsuch.

"Tyler and Sable [Birch, Barn Hammer proprietors] have been incredibly supportive. It was nothing short of an absolutely amazing experience," says Sabourin.

Borowski now brews out of the Pacific Avenue location, where hes well into learning his way around the brewing system  a combination of Nonsuchs own equipment as well as the Peg Beer Co. system that was already in the space. Hes already brewed four larger batches as well as a half-dozen smaller experimental batches.

When to comes to sourcing ingredients for Nonsuchs relatively small-batch brews, Borowskis focus is on top quality, including sourcing artesian spring water from Middlebro in the RM of Piney, about 200 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg, which he says imparts a cleaner, softer taste.

Head brewer Mark Borowski prepares a mash tun for brew.

"We try not to skimp on any of the ingredients," he explains. "Some places may use lower quality ingredients because theyre brewing bigger batches. I try to find the best possible grains I can find, the best-quality and freshest hops I can find. If its a little more money, thats fine. I want the best product possible."

It was this commitment to quality from the outset that prompted the brewery to pursue the art of making Belgian-style beers, often considered among the worlds best. "For us it was a no-brainer," says Sabourin. "If we all agree Europeans, particularly Belgians, make the best beer, then why arent we doing that?"

"Some places may use lower quality ingredients because theyre brewing bigger batches. I try to find the best possible grains I can find, the bestquality and freshest hops I can find. If its a little more money, thats fine. I want the best product possible"  head brewer Mark Borowski

Nonsuchs offerings, like many Belgian beers, are intense, higher-alcohol (eight to 12 per cent) brews. Current offerings include a saison, a Belgian strong ale, an old ale and the Lune Noire, a black saison brewed as a collaboration with Barn Hammer. (The Lune Noire and the Belgian strong ale both won silver medals at the Canadian Brewing Awards in May; the bulk of Nonsuchs available offerings were brewed at Barn Hammer.)

Borowski anticipates the brewerys initial lineup will include four or five core beers, including a few of their existing brews, as well as a Baltic porter and a lower-alcohol (relatively speaking) kolsch.

One of the key features Nonsuch is looking to add to the Pacific Avenue space is a glassed-in cellar for aging their beer so patrons can see that their brews are more than just for popping and pouring right away. Theyre also hoping to add some foeders, large wooden barrels used for aging beer prior to bottling.

The style of beers Nonsuch is producing is conducive to cellaring for months, or even years, something the brewery is looking to educate visitors on as they develop a library of older brews.

Preparing a mash tun for brewing beer.

"We make every effort to encourage the aging of the beer... a lot of thought went into how we proceeded with the bottles and packaging so that people could cellar the beer for a long time," says Borowski. This includes vintage-dating the dark, 750-millilitre Champagne-style bottles under cork-and-cage, sparkling wine-style closures. "Many people still dont even know vintage-dated beer is a thing. You can treat it like wine," says Sabourin.

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More immediately, the brewery hopes to open its doors to the public later this year. "Were planning to have the tap room open possibly in October, maybe early November," says Borowski.

As for the food offered in the space, thats still to be determined. "The plan has always been to have a food component: high-end charcuterie, cheeses, gourmet popcorn, oysters, that kind of stuff," says Sabourin, adding that may change based on public feedback.

Head brewer Mark Borowski works in the grain room.

The buzz in the neighbourhood is already palpable. "Everyone weve talked to is so positive, so happy theres someone moving in, that therell be new life in the spot thats going to bring in more people, especially at night." Adds Myers, "It really speaks to the changing nature of the area that you hear more and more people saying oh, I live right near there  this is really turning into a mixed-use area, and thats really exciting for us."

Occupying the space of a now-closed brew pub raises the question as to whether the city has reached its limit in terms of number of breweries. "I honestly think [Peg Beer Co.s closure] was a series of unfortunate events. This anomaly aside, I still think theres tons of room to grow," says Sabourin. "If you look at the number of breweries per capita, compared to other provinces were pretty low," adds Myers.

The new Nonsuch Brewing Co location in Winnipeg.

Sabourin sees adding more breweries to the local craft beer scene as a positive. "With announcements of new local breweries I never think oh no  more competition. Its more like oh, sweet  I hope they make really good beer, because thats good for everyone, makes everyone work harder. "

uncorked@mts.net Twitter: @bensigurdsonFORREST, MANITOBA  Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler didnt mince words when he scrummed with reporters on the shady side of a brand-new learning centre at the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) research farm on Tuesday.

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Opinion

FORREST, MANITOBA  Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler didnt mince words when he scrummed with reporters on the shady side of a brand-new learning centre at the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) research farm on Tuesday.

Yes, there are concerns about livestock feed shortages with no end in sight to the hottest and driest summer in memory. The province is getting daily reports from officials throughout the most-affected regions, where department staff are helping connect producers who need feed with those who might have some to spare.

There are reports of herd liquidations and an early start to the fall calf run, when producers wean calves from the cows and send them off to the auction mart. Pastures throughout the province are crispy dry and many producers have started supplemental feeding.

Eichler said he hoped the situation wouldnt set back the growth in the provinces cow herd in recent years. But beyond gathering information and monitoring the situation, Eichler said there are no plans at this time for government interventions, such as feed freight assistance. (That all changed on Friday; see sidebar).

As he rightly points out, such programs arent very effective at helping producers in need, because as soon as governments step in with support, the price of feed and trucking costs also rise.

However, Eichlers position is symbolic of the dilemma facing governments in times like these.

Governments have in the past given in to pressure to help producers cope with unusual disasters, with both ad hoc and long-term, cost-shared business risk-management programs.

But what if conditions similar to what producers across the country are experiencing this summer are actually the new norm? The sporadic nature of rainfall is consistent with what the climate change models have been predicting.

Governments are stepping back and re-evaluating the role they have in helping farmers manage risk  even to the point of changing the language and re-framing the conversation.

A case in point was Eichlers response when asked if Manitoba is having a drought.

"I wouldnt call it a drought. Id call it climate change," Eichler told reporters.

In that vein, a far more practical approach for government is to invest in research and extension that helps producers build more resilience for their farm operations.

Thats what brought Eichler to this 640-acre research farm just north of Brandon this week, cutting the ribbon on a new facility that will provide extension support to producers as well as public outreach to non-farmers.

Ramona Blyth, a cattle producer from the MacGregor area who heads of the centres board of directors, said the farm is big enough that producers can have confidence that the research conducted here is scalable to their operations. Too often, producers are expected to base their decisions on data collected from micro-managed plots.

Governments and private sector groups have committed nearly $5 million to this initiative to study and enhance the ability of grasslands and grazing to improve producers bottom lines and protect the environment. Its becoming a hub for multidisciplinary research that looks at everything from extended grazing strategies and new forage crops to soil and water health.

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The newly opened classroom will help get new ideas into the average producers operations, but also help with public outreach.

Cattle are getting a bum rap these days in the mainstream press, yet ruminants have always been an integral part of the Prairie landscape. Their presence in commercial agriculture has meant more land left in grasses, which benefits wildlife, water quality and soil-carbon equation.

Its only fitting that the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives is built on what was previously a research farm devoted to better understanding zero tillage, the practice of annual cropping without cultivation. When the Manitoba Zero Tillage Research Association wound down its operations, it not only sold the farm to MBFI, it donated $50,000.

Besides the federal and provincial governments, this projects partners include Manitoba Beef Producers, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association. It has also tapped into funds from Farm Credit Canada, DLF Pickseed and Federated Co-operatives Ltd. All see value in the work an initiative like this can do.

Hopefully producers will too.

Laura Rance is editorial director at Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at 204-792-4382 or lrance@farmmedia.comPrint isnt dead. But the soaring cost of newsprint is contributing to the slow death of Americas newspapers.

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This article was published 25/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Print isnt dead. But the soaring cost of newsprint is contributing to the slow death of Americas newspapers.

A months-long spike in the price of paper, driven by federal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Canadian suppliers, is slamming newspapers at a time when the news about the news industry wasnt very good to begin with.

Newspapers, magazines and print advertisers have seen the cost of their most basic commodity rise at double-digit rates since the U.S. Commerce Department began imposing the tariffs in March on Canadian imports, by far the publishing industrys dominant paper source.

The result has been a kind of slow-motion breakdown for newspapers, long beset by declining ad revenue and disappearing readers. Even in an increasingly digital world, old-fashioned ink-on-paper remains the lifeblood of most newspapers. Print ads and subscriptions account for 75 per cent or more of the revenue of an average daily newspaper. Newsprint is typically a publications second-biggest operating expense after labor.

And so, rising paper prices have fallen like an axe throughout the news business:

 The Tampa Bay Times in April cut 50 positions, or about seven per cent of its workforce, after projecting a US$3 million increase in its newsprint budget, chief executive Paul Tash said. The paper also undertook economizing measures, such as reducing publication of a free tabloid paper from five days to just one day a week. "You might be able to absorb (higher costs) if the rest of the business was going swimmingly," Tash said, "but this is a tough environment for newspapers."

 McClatchy Newspapers, publisher of the Miami Herald, Kansas City Star and more than two dozen other regional papers, on Tuesday laid off 3.5 per cent of its workforce, or about 140 people. The layoff had several causes, but the companys chief financial officer, Elaine Lintecum, said that a 13 per cent increase in McClatchys newsprint expenses in the second quarter was one of them. "You have to find a way to offset that," she said.

 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week cut its print edition from seven days a week to five, eliminating Tuesday and Saturday publication. Editor David Shribman said the change was in the works for some time, saying: "We are emphasizing digital because the market is going digital." But he added, "These tariffs arent helping us."

Smaller papers are feeling the bite, too. The twice-weekly Storm Lake Times in Iowa (circulation 3,000) has seen its newsprint and printing bills rise by about 13 per cent since the start of the year, according to Art Cullen, the papers editor. The Times, which won a Pulitzer Prize last year for editorial writing, is still running the same amount of copy, he said, but it has trimmed the size of its TV magazine, cut back on colour printing and consolidated sections.

For Cullen, the newsprint crisis is just one battle in an ongoing war. "The real issue is the decline of rural communities and how that is sapping the small-newspaper industry," he said. "What is harder to live with is knowing that the hardware store that closed used to run a quarter-page ad with you once a week and that the car dealers seem infatuated with Facebook," he said. "We feel blessed to break even."

The broader impact of the newsprint issue was laid out in a survey last month by the News Media Alliance, a trade group that is seeking to overturn the tariffs. Nearly half of the 272 newspaper publishers who responded to the survey said they had laid off staff as a direct result of newsprint price increases; some 71 per cent said they had cut back the number of pages they published each day.

The organization said the publishers reported an average annual newsprint cost increase of US$176,818  a sum that could easily fund four or more newsroom jobs at many publications.

For many publishers, the price increase has been a double whammy. Advertisers that get their messages out via "preprints"  free-standing ad circulars distributed by newspapers  have also cut back as their costs have risen, further hurting publishers. The National Newspaper Association, a trade group whose membership is smaller dailies and weeklies, estimated last month that its members had seen a 20 per cent reduction in preprints this year.

While the paper tariffs seem like a twofer for U.S. President Donald Trump  a chance to protect domestic paper companies and a way to undermine the news media he has called "the enemy of the people"  there is no record of Trump raising the issue in public. Trump has been far more vocal about his desire for tariffs on foreign suppliers of other products, such as steel, aluminum and dairy.

The paper tariffs were imposed by the Commerce Department after the North Pacific Paper Co. (or NorPac) petitioned the agency for relief last summer. NorPac, based in Longview, Wash., argued that Canadian companies are subsidized by their government and injured American competitors by selling newsprint below cost, an unfair trading practice.

The Commerce Department investigated and found in NorPacs favor; it began imposing higher duties on Canadian products in January (it reduced the duty on some products this month). In combination with a long decline among American suppliers  the demand for newsprint has shrunk steadily over the past two decades  this set newsprint prices on a sharp upward trajectory, said Paul Boyle, senior vice- president of public policy at the News Media Alliance.

The tariffs have helped protect NorPac, which employs about 400 workers, but has set off widespread concern among publishers, who have few domestic sources of supply.

"Were not seeking an advantage. We simply want a level playing field," said David Richey, a NorPac spokesman. "We understand that newspaper publishers face a difficult marketplace, but high-quality local journalism should not rely on unfairly traded imports."

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Newspaper publishers have pinned their hopes for relief on two tracks, one legislative and one bureaucratic.

Legislation supported by publishers has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Susan Collins and in the House by Rep. Kristi Noem that would suspend the tariffs, pending a study of their effects on the American economy. NorPac favours continuing the tariffs and opposes the legislation.

It is unclear, however, whether the measures have wide enough support to pass.

A more promising avenue, at least from Boyles perspective, may be the U.S. International Trade Commission, an independent federal agency that has the authority to modify or overturn the tariffs, pending a showing of harm to American industry.

The commissions four members will consider the issue Tuesday.

 Washington PostManitoba Hydro workers are still perpetuating sexual violence against northern First Nations women, the areas former chief says in the wake of a bombshell provincial agency report.

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This article was published 25/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Hydro workers are still perpetuating sexual violence against northern First Nations women, the areas former chief says in the wake of a bombshell provincial agency report.

She said an incident happened this summer.

Sheila North said the allegation emerged this summer.

"There was a woman attacked by (a group of Hydro) workers," said Sheila North, who ended her term this month as grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak. "I definitely know that its still happening, and theres many reasons for it."

North said the allegation emerged this summer, involving workers likely involved in the Keeyask generating station project, which involves four northern Manitoba reserves.

RCMP confirmed they are investigating a sexual assault report from Aug. 5 in Gillam, which is likely the incident North is referencing.

North personally asked the RCMP to take the claims seriously, as the complainant felt the Mounties were dragging their feet. "Not to say they werent going to look into it, but they certainly didnt seem like they were in a rush to do it," North said.

The Manitoba government released a damning report Tuesday by the arms-length provincial agency Clean Environment Commission, detailing allegations of discrimination, assaults and sexual abuse by Hydro workers involved in northern dam projects.

The claims, which date to the 1960s, include RCMP officers condoning, and even participating, in such acts in Fox Lake Cree Nation. Fox Lake chief executive officer Robert Wavey said this week Hydro workers are still perpetuating discrimination and abuse against locals, to a lesser extent.

Meanwhile, the areas Liberal MLA, Judy Klassen, is calling on the Tory government led by Premier Brian Pallister to immediately send counselling support to northern communities affected by the release of the CEC report.

In a prepared statement, Manitobas minister of Indigenous and northern relations, Eileen Clarke, said the province is weighing what to do next.

"Given the seriousness of this report and the allegations that it contains, our government is working collaboratively across departments to develop a comprehensive response. This response will involve the impacted communities and will work to address the needs that they identify," Clarke said.

It seems none of the communities who gave testimony to the CEC was warned by the province it would be releasing the shocking report Tuesday, which also included many environmental concerns.

The province didnt give Hydro nor the RCMP much of a pre-emptive heads-up either, before calling for a criminal investigation into the reports findings.

Klassen said shes heard similar allegations about Hydro staff in other northern communities, but wouldnt say where any such incidents occurred as the communities arent ready to share their stories. She hoped they would come forward in their own time.

"That way Hydro will have no choice but to acknowledge that this happened. Its not an isolated incident. Hydro bred and created this toxicity," Klassen said on Friday.

Manitoba Hydro said Thursday that nearly half of its northern workforce is Indigenous and its striving to create a safe workplace that doesnt affect locals. The Crown corporation stated this week all staff and contractors "undergo cross-cultural training as part of their employment" with Keeyask.

RCMP said theyre reviewing the CEC report and reams of transcripts, which the national police force only received this week.

Klassen, the MLA for Kewatinook, said she had known about one violent incident in Fox Lake where the woman involved didnt want to go public, adding she had no idea about the magnitude of the problems at the northeastern First Nation near Gillam.

North said she suspects thats because outside predators take advantage of the remoteness of the area, knowing theres little chance a victim will go to authorities, in part because of stigma.

"This kind of thing is still so taboo in a lot of our communities, so people would rather not talk about it. And that also means its not getting it addressed properly," North said. "It is an important story  and it is taboo, but it has to come out at some point."

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As disheartening as it was to read about the trauma, Klassen said its important Indigenous womens stories are finally heard and believed. Both North and Klassen attributed some of the outpouring of support to the rise of the #MeToo movement, a hashtag turned news tsunami thats thrust exposure of sexual violence into the spotlight.

"Weve tried this Me Too movement for so long, and it was never validated. We were never validated, and its only now that more women are speaking up  the non-Indigenous Me Too movement, I guess you can say  thats whats so unfair," Klassen said.

"All these traumas we have to live with daily. It creates chaos in our lives."

Klassen is on her way north to visit Fox Lake residents and to offer help. She said a public apology by the provincial Tory government is a good first step to rectify what happened, but is only a "drop in the bucket" when it comes to healing.

"Ive heard so many times from elders and people, Maybe one day well get an apology. Most likely not in my lifetime though, and its just crushing," she said.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.cajessica.botelho@freepress.mb.caWinnipeg police arrested a fugitive from Ontario, who has a shocking criminal history, on a Canada-wide arrest warrant Thursday morning at a hotel.

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This article was published 24/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg police arrested a fugitive from Ontario, who has a shocking criminal history, on a Canada-wide arrest warrant Thursday morning at a hotel.

Michael Joseph Karas, 61, was taken into custody without incident at the hotel in the 1700 block of Sargent Avenue at 9 a.m.

Police made the arrest at the request of the Toronto Police Service.

Officers from Toronto were expected to arrive in Winnipeg on Friday and take Karas into their custody.

He is facing three counts of robbery, three counts of pointing a firearm and three counts of wearing a disguise with the intent to commit a crime, all of which stem from incidents in the Toronto area earlier this summer.

WPS Const. Rob Carver was asked about Karass criminal past Friday.

"I can only tell you what Im sure youve read on the internet, that Mr. Karas is the subject of numerous media pieces where it appears from what Ive read  since it is not official police information  that he was the subject of a murder investigation, trial and conviction in Thailand," Carver said.

Those media reports include two articles published in October 2016 in the Toronto Sun and the Chiang Rai Times  an English-language newspaper in Thailand  about Karass criminal history in that country.

According to numerous reports, he fled Canada as a fugitive in the 1990s and settled in Thailand under a false identity.

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In 1996, Thai police charged Karas  whod since fled back to Canada  with murder in the grisly death of his girlfriend.

He was accused of dismembering and mutilating her body with an electric saw in the bathroom of the hotel room the two lived in. Her severed head was later found in a nearby swamp.

After a 15-year battle to stay in Canada, Karas was sent back to Thailand in 2011 to face the murder charge and he subsequently pleaded guilty. In 2016, however, he was repatriated back to Canada.

"We dont believe he was here (in Winnipeg) very long. It was a very tight period of time, in terms of him getting here and Toronto (police) letting us know he was here," Carver said.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rk_thorpeFederal and provincial levels of government marked the completion Friday of 190 homes on new reserve lands for Lake St. Martin First Nation.

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This article was published 25/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Federal and provincial levels of government marked the completion Friday of 190 homes on new reserve lands for Lake St. Martin First Nation.

The statement posted online by federal Indigenous Services applauded Lake St. Martin for its patience in working with both levels of government over seven years of displacement.

"Members of Lake St. Martin have demonstrated remarkable strength and resiliency in their efforts to rebuild their community following the devastating flood of 2011," Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott said in the statement.

In addition to the new homes (which had been under construction for the past year), the statement noted Manitoba and the federal government worked together to cost-share a $49.5-million rebuilding project that included vital infrastructure for new reserve location on higher ground, next to the reserve land that had been inundated.

It includes a public works garage, a fire hall, water and sewage treatment facilities. Ottawa provided $19.7 million for the construction of a new K-12 school that should be open in time for its first classes in September.

"Thanks to a lot of hard work and collaboration over this past year, flood evacuees have begun to return to their home community. We will continue to work positively and respectfully with the First Nations to ensure the safe return home of flood-affected community members," said Eileen Clarke, the provinces minister of Indigenous and northern relations.

In 2011, a devastating flood displaced four Interlake First Nations, swamped farmland, ruined cottages and businesses and cost government hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation programs.

Lake St. Martin, located 255 kilometres north of Winnipeg, was hardest hit. Hydro and electricity were cut off and families were sent to Winnipeg, spending months in hotels before being moved to rental housing.

The work with the two levels of government took place alongside related legal developments that have been all but settled in the intervening years.

In January, a judge approved a $90-million compensation settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed by members of Lake St. Martin and its neighbours from Pinaymootang, Little Saskatchewan and Dauphin River First Nations.

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As of this spring, 284 individuals, or 155 households, had moved into the new homes. Work continues on another 130 homes to be completed by November 2019.

In the statement, Lake St. Martin Chief Adrian Sinclair referred to the multi-year effort as "Operation Return Home."

"Our people have been through so much in the past seven years. Its comforting to know some of our members have returned home. However, we still have over 300 people who want to return to our traditional lands. Much work, negotiations and planning must be done to see the next wave return home in the fall of 2019," Sinclair said.

He could not be reached for further comment Friday.

As of June, 1,700 evacuees from the 2011 flood had yet to return home, including 1,000 from Lake St. Martin.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.caThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is currently streaming on Netflix. Charming  possibly too charming, maybe even hazardously charming  it will probably be showing up on your Trending Now line if you are algorithmically inclined to period dramas, Strong Female Leads, Downton Abbey alums, movies adapted from books, or just posh Britishness.

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This article was published 25/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is currently streaming on Netflix. Charming  possibly too charming, maybe even hazardously charming  it will probably be showing up on your "Trending Now" line if you are algorithmically inclined to period dramas, Strong Female Leads, Downton Abbey alums, movies adapted from books, or just posh Britishness.

Based on the 2008 novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrow, this romance/mystery/historical drama is rooted in the power of books. In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, two of the leads are introduced to each other through a collection of essays by Charles Lamb.

Lamb once declared as his motto: "Contented with little, yet wishing for more." Theres a lot to be contented with in the film version of Guernsey. Yet one could wish for more, including just a touch of toughness.

As London starts its slow recovery after the war, writer Juliet Ashton (Lily James of Downton Abbey and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again) is beginning a book tour organized by her fond publisher Sidney Stark (Downton Abbeys Matthew Goode). She is dating Mark Reynolds (Glen Powell from Hidden Figures), an American army officer. Like all Americans in the postwar British mind, he is open-faced, big-talking and flush with cash.

Then Juliet gets a letter from sensitive farmer Dawsey Adams (Game of Thrones Michiel Huisman), who writes about how books sustained him during the German occupation of Guernsey, a five-year operation billed as "a model occupation" but marked by brutality and privation.

Dawsey relates how a group of islanders covered up their curfew-breaking and illicit-pork-roast-eating by pretending to be a book club. Forced to follow up this fib by becoming a real book club, they eventually found that reading and fellowship could help them stand up to the occupation, with its losses, hardships and hunger (thats where the potato peels come in).

Juliet shows up on Guernsey wanting to meet the club members and perhaps write an inspiring story about their wartime experiences. She ends up investigating a darker mystery of a missing member, Elizabeth McKenna (Jessica Brown Findlay, another Downtonite). Alternating between 1946 and wartime flashbacks, the story follows Juliet as she finds out the answers to her questions, in the process re-evaluating her own glamorous London life.

Director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) knows a thing or two about charm.

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The cast is charming. Jamess Juliet is plucky and earnest, and she seems to have dodged Englands continuing clothing rationing with some absolutely fabulous hats. Huismans Dawsey is soulful and earnest, and he looks terrific in moth-eaten handknit sweaters. Even the so-called "homely" character, Bronte-loving bootlegger Isola (Katherine Parkinson), is lovely.

The interiors are charming, turning wartime austerity into a Remodelista photo shoot. Dawseys farmhouse seems to be exploring textured minimalism rather than outright poverty, and Juliets "poky bedsit" is a real-estate stunner with 15-foot ceilings and Farrow & Ball paint colours.

The scenery is charming, with spectacular cliffs and coastal paths and old forests. The beauty of Guernsey is here but little of its singular identity. The island is close to the French coast but technically a self-governing British Crown Dependency, but in the film only two words spoken in Guernesiais, the islands traditional dialect, suggest that unusual history. (The unusualness is ongoing: a Guernsey woman recently gained a legally-binding 24-hour injunction against a road construction project by using the ancient "Clameur de Haro"  basically kneeling down and reciting the Lords Prayer in Norman French.)

The bookishness is charming, but again, generalized. The script, from Don Roos, Kevin Hood and Thomas Bezucha, speaks to the way books inspire and connect us, but apart from a brief whos-your-favourite-Bronte debate  with Juliet arguing for underdog Anne  it seems nervous about boring us with actual books. (The scripters seem to guiltily sense this, which might be why they include a vigorous voiceover debate about Virginia Woolf and stream-of-consciousness narrative as the end credits roll.)

As the story unfolds, Juliet increasingly contrasts Mark, associated with ritzy London parties, society connections and wealth, with Dawsey, associated with her newfound community of friends in Guernsey and their suffering and struggles during the war.

We do get glints of the suffering and struggles, particularly through the grief of book club member Amelia (Penelope Wilton, another Downton Abbey alum, and wonderful, as always). But the notion that Juliet is choosing realness and grit over superficial success might mean more if the film werent so damned charming.Manitoba Housing tenants aren't surprised to hear that security at their North End housing complex responded to more than twice as many safety complaints last year compared to the year before.

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This article was published 24/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba Housing tenants aren't surprised to hear that security at their North End housing complex responded to more than twice as many safety complaints last year compared to the year before.

Documents obtained through a freedom-of-information request show that in 2016 security responded to 118 safety incidents at Lord Selkirk Park. In 2017, security responded to 249 safety incidents. In just the first six months of 2018, security had already responded to 102 incidents.

Those data refer to incidents at both 269 Dufferin Ave., an apartment block, and the rest of the complex, which is made up of single family units.

"That totally lines up with what Im seeing and it makes me feel like I'm not crazy," said long-term tenant Tom Kowalsky. "Ive been walking around going 'This is getting worse.' By looking at those figures, all I can think is its really getting worse."

A Manitoba Housing spokesperson previously told the Free Press that the province has made large investments in these properties.

Residents, however, are not seeing any improvements.

Security responses at Lord Selkirk Park Manitoba Housing Click to Expand

On July 1, Kowalsky was stabbed while assisting police nab a break-and-enter suspect and later threatened with eviction after he raised safety concerns.

Following a mid-July Free Press article about the incident and safety concerns in the housing complex, Kowalsky said he temporarily saw an increase in security at his home. He said he saw a handful of foot patrols in the following weeks. He saw more Manitoba Housing security guards speaking with the contract security guards who work onsite.

But that's dried up, Kowalsky claims. "The foot patrols stopped."

In response to questions about what the increased numbers mean and what can be done to prevent trespassing, a Manitoba Housing spokesperson provided this statement:

"The two properties in question have security on site twelve hours per day, which is standard for Manitoba Housing properties with an increased number of reports. Improved reporting of issues allows Manitoba Housing to make better assessments based on data. Tenants and staff have the responsibility to report incidents of trespassing, and Manitoba Housing will issue warnings or call in law enforcement where appropriate."

While the data show security have been responding to more incidents since 2016, what actually constitutes a response is another question, Kowalsky said.

"I believe their interpretation of responding  and now Im holding my hands up in quotation marks  is a heck of a lot different than my interpretation of responding, like actually entering the building, walking the floors, seeing whats going on when someone calls so concerned," Kowalsky said. "I dont believe those are realistic figures junk stats as my old high school teacher would call it."

The overwhelming majority of incidents are people trespassing  in 2016, 79 of the 118 incidents. In 2017, 162 of the 249 incidents were trespassing.

But security's response to those people trespassing doesn't wash for Kowalsky.

"If someone was going around this building every 15, 20 minutes, and their job was to remove little pieces of stone and wood blocks that are holding the door open (so people can trespass)," Kowalsky said. "The problem would be solved... You would think that would be a really simple solution."

When Manitoba Housing does arrive, as opposed to on-site contract security, he doesn't see them do much.

"Theyre just coming in response to something, not seeing anything spilling out into the parking lot and doing what a lot of people would do  in a way, I dont really blame them. Its a frightening building," Kowalsky said.

"Are we are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse movie  did we walk right onto the set? Come here at two in the morning and see whats going on," Kowalsky said, referring to the methamphetamine epidemic in Winnipeg as a whole and in his neighbourhood.

Kowalsky isn't the only resident concerned with safety at the housing complex.

Cal Sinclair has lived in Lord Selkirk Park Tower for nearly six years. He's been threatened by trespassers. There have been murders and stabbings in or nearby the complex since he moved in, he said.

"Ive been threatened, and they seem to come out of the woodwork," he said, referring to trespassers. "Its unsafe for us to deal with. You cant and you dont want to get into any physical confrontations with them."

He's trying to work with other residents to raise their concerns with their MLA.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Cal Sinclair, a resident of Lord Selkirk Park: 'Ive been threatened, and they seem to come out of the woodwork.'

Sinclair said he spoke with MLA Bernadette Smith, who said she would send a letter outlining the residents' concerns to the minister responsible for housing. (Smith's office wasn't able to confirm this or provide a statement from Smith by end of day Friday.)

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As for security's response to safety concerns, Sinclair thinks more could be done. "They tend to respond  as to being effective or really doing anything about it... they dont seem to have the power or the authority to do anything," Sinclair said.

Sinclair would like to see a community policing presence in and around the complex, he said.

Another resident wrote a petition to send to Smith about a month after Kowalsky was stabbed in the apartment courtyard. The Free Press obtained a copy of the petition, but isn't naming its author because it wasn't able to speak with him.

It calls for security improvements and better communication, as well as a plan to deal with excessive substance abuse and crime.

"We, the residents of Lord Selkirk Housing Complex and Tower wish it to be known that the majority of us are not bad apples. We do not live here because we wish to take advantage of society. We live here because we need to," it reads in part. "We desire a healthy, safe subsistence environment where we can maintain our lives or get on our feet."

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.caNot sure what to do with super curly hair?

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This article was published 25/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Not sure what to do with super curly hair?

A public workshop in Winnipeg Sunday aims to help.

Shondell Babb with hair stylist Alexis Ojo and model Talisa Singh-MacKay. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

"It doesnt matter what ethnicity you are," said Shondell Babb. There arent enough trained, experienced hairdressers in Winnipeg who know how to handle "textured, type-4, super kinky, coily hair," said the Winnipeg woman, comparing such hair to the spring inside a ballpoint pen.

She is bringing an expert on handling that kind of hair to Winnipeg to teach members of the public on Sunday and hairstylists and students on Monday.

"Theres a lack of education about curly hair management," said Babb, who grew up in Transcona. "The education is lacking and it has been lacking for decades," she said. The result? "When people with curly hair go to a random hair salon, a lot of the stylists are petrified. They dont have the skill," she said.

"Its a reality in Winnipeg  a lot of stylists are petrified by curly hair," said Babb. People with super curly hair whove received scalp burns and hair breakage from chemical relaxers and hot iron straighteners are often petrified, too.

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Thats why more people are drawn to the "natural hair movement" and embracing their curls, she said. Its taken off and demand for it is growing in Winnipeg thanks to the citys changing demographic, Babb said.

"There are more mixed kids in the city," said Babb. The 2016 census said Winnipeg is home to nearly 16,000 people who identified themselves as born in Africa.

"A lot of times, parents dont know what to do with it," she said. "I consult with a lot of moms with mixed kids looking for tips on how to manage curly hair." Its not just people of African descent who can have type-4 hair, said Babb.

"The natural hair movement is for people of all ethnicities."

Tickets to the "kid-friendly" 3 p.m. seminar Sunday at the Fort Garry Hotel are $25. To register, contact Babb at 204-227-6234 or thiahmgmtconsult@gmail.com.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.caA Winnipeg Transit supervisor was attacked on a bus Thursday night following a fare dispute and then dragged outside and badly beaten on a Portage Avenue sidewalk.

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This article was published 24/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg Transit supervisor was attacked on a bus Thursday night following a fare dispute and then dragged outside and badly beaten on a Portage Avenue sidewalk.

The violence has reignited calls for improved safety measures from the union representing the city's transit workers.

Amalgamated Transit Union local 1505 president Aleem Chaudhary said Friday that attacks on employees are getting worse and it's only a matter of time before there's another tragedy. A bus driver was stabbed to death at the end of his route on the University of Manitoba campus in February 2017.

"You can see the trend. The assaults are getting worse and worse," Chaudhary said. "The supervisor who was assaulted last night, I know this is the second time he's been assaulted in the last couple months.

"We hope (increased security) is reconsidered before something more serious happens than what happened last night. We're truly disturbed by how serious these incidents are getting."

The attack happened at about 8 p.m. Thursday, after a man and two teenage boys got on the bus. One of them was unable to pay their fare, and the transit supervisor said he would have to pay or leave. Transit supervisors are on buses, in part, to protect drivers.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Amalgamated Transit Union local 1505 president Aleem Chaudhary

The suspects got "verbally aggressive," according to police, before kicking and punching the supervisor. They then dragged him off the bus and out onto the sidewalk at the intersection of Portage Avenue and Colony Street, where they continued beating him.

"They dragged him off the bus and assaulted him very, very badly," Chaudhary said.

Winnipeg Police Service officers and Auxiliary Cadets were walking nearby and intervened, arresting the three suspects. Const. Rob Carver said the situation could have been much worse had they not happened upon the attack.

"You've got three males, grown, moderate-sized, attacking one guy. It would be no different than if it was one of our officers, without the assistance of weapons. It's a dangerous position to be in," he said.

"It's very lucky in this case, pure chance, that uniformed officers and cadets were right in the area as the fight was happening. We interrupted the fight by accident."

At the daily police press conference, Carver was asked about transit union claims of other, unreported assaults on supervisors this week. He said he wasn't aware of any others.

But Chaudhary was adamant when speaking to the Free Press Friday that there had been a rash of attacks on transit employees in recent days.

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Winnipeg bus drivers gathered to support each other at a rally for Irvine Fraser, who was killed by a passenger, and to demand safety improvements on buses outside city hall in Winnipeg in February 2017.

"There were four assaults that took place on supervisors over the last three days. This was the most serious one that brought everybody's attention to what's happening out there. And I can assure you that within this month there's been about five or six," he said.

"These are the people who are being hired to protect our operators and they're getting assaulted.... Our operators are very nervous. If this is happening to the people who are supposed to protect them, what's going to happen to them?"

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Carver said that while he didn't have data on the number of attacks on transit workers in recent years, he believes they are increasing.

"I can tell you anecdotally that I think they're up. In the years I've been doing this, I feel I'm seeing more," he said. "I can tell you a number of years ago I don't think I was standing up here talking about any, essentially. And I think we're talking about them fairly regularly now."

The transit supervisor has been released from hospital. The three suspects have been charged with assault and were released on a promise to appear.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpeThe question is not just whether someone screwed up. The bigger questions are how and why.

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This article was published 25/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

The question is not just whether someone screwed up. The bigger questions are how and why.

Last week, Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires admitted that she and her department had erred in holding back the results of soil testing from an area of St. Boniface where residents have long suspected heavy metal contamination. The tests revealed levels of lead that were well above acceptable limits.

Squires also confirmed that she misled journalists by claiming she did not know about the test results until early July; in fact, internal communication, obtained by the Free Press through an access to information request, showed that Squires had known about the results no later than June 21.

Further, officials in her department received the soil test results on June 4. However, rather than responding in an urgent fashion, senior bureaucrats decided to set up a briefing for the minister on June 21, nearly three weeks later.

Complicating matters even more, on June 19 Premier Brian Pallister dropped the writ for a byelection in St. Boniface that was to take place July 17. The intervening writ period carried with it a blackout on all government announcements.

In the end, Squires ordered that letters be delivered on July 13 to those homes most affected by the contaminated soil. The public at large was notified on July 17, the date of the byelection.

A number of problems arise in this narrative, not least of which is the way Squires misled news organizations about the date she learned of the test results.

Squires said that when questioned by journalists, she "ballparked" the date as having been seven to 10 days before it was made public. The minister was off by more than two weeks in her assessment, a gap that cannot be explained by the ballparking excuse.

Cabinet ministers are provided with staff to help them field inquiries from journalists. The St. Boniface soil test story was a big deal and no doubt would have been flagged by senior political staff as a potential hot potato. The first thing those staffers would do is work with the minister to make sure her answer was accurate, or at least defensible.

What Squires ultimately said was neither. And it deserves to be noted that the truth of the matter was not revealed until the Free Press undertook an access to information request, which news organizations do not do as a matter of course. That meant Squires and her staff likely had an expectation that journalists would accept her initial response.

This leaves us with two possible options for answering the "how" and "why" of this equation.

This is either a case in which the normal checks and balances in the communications and issues management infrastructure of government failed, or that same infrastructure advised her to fib on the dates in the hope that no one would take the time to access her emails.

On the latter scenario, this is a government that has repeatedly offered journalists erroneous or misleading information. From deliberate attempts to misrepresent the deficit they inherited to efforts to obscure the premiers time away from Manitoba at his Costa Rica vacation property, the Tories have often been "strangers to the truth," as parliamentarians love to say.

However, there is also evidence to support the first scenario, namely that the normal issues-management checks and balances failed. The Pallister government is woefully understaffed on both the communications and issues-management sides.

In just two years of governing, Pallister has already gone through two communications directors. Both Olivia Baldwin-Valanais and Chisholm Pothier turned out to be unsuccessful at managing the governments messaging.

This is a government that has spent at least as much time trying to fix its own communication mistakes as it has trying to fix government finances. Who knows what Pallister could have accomplished in two years had he not been constantly closing ranks to absorb the blows from self-inflicted communications gaffes?

Below the senior-most levels of Pallisters political staff, it is well known that ministers are short on resources and expertise to properly manage their files. And each of Pallisters cabinet ministers has quite a few files to manage.

In a bid to demonstrate his affinity for prudent management, Pallister trimmed cabinet back to just 13 ministers, not including himself. This required the premier to consolidate departments that existed under the former NDP government, resulting in massively enhanced workloads.

In this structure, Squires ended up as a sort of clearing house for ministerial responsibilities. In addition to sustainable development, a major portfolio that includes environmental and resource management programs and stewardship of the provinces carbon tax initiative, she also has responsibility for francophone affairs and the status of women. That last assignment carries with it the responsibility for speaking to any issues related to womens health.

How does one minister handle all these important and widely varying responsibilities? Squires is a dynamo who probably makes more announcements and public appearances than just about any other minister, save the premier. But there is a limit to what any one minister can handle.

The additional obligation for womens health is, in particular, a silly strategy which, in addition to serving as an insult to many women, adds unnecessarily to Squires workload.

She is now required to stand in or serve as the wing-woman for the health minister whenever questions arise about womens health  and in particular, reproductive health.

The Pallister government has never been good at explaining this division of responsibilities, although it is widely assumed that the two men who have held the health portfolio  first Kelvin Goertzen and now Cameron Friesen  object to being asked to defend government policies such as the free provision of Mifegymiso, the so-called abortion pill, on philosophical and religious grounds.

Its a childish way to go about structuring a cabinet. Womens health is not its own department and Squires has no Crown authority over spending on reproductive health. Why add to her responsibilities and force her to make announcements for a man who is reluctant to discuss any government program that involves what comedian Samantha Bee would refer to as "lady parts?"

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However, the biggest concern for the Pallister government coming off this mess is that even if it could adequately explain the how" and "why," the damage is probably already done.

If a government can be fairly judged on how it responds to urgent issues, there is reason to be concerned about the competency of this government. Failing to master a single, pressing issue does not mean you are incompetent; but it does suggest that you may need to up your game.

It also opens your government to allegations of political manipulation.

Some critics will suggest the Tories were trying to boost their chances in the byelection by holding back an announcement on the soil tests. That theory doesnt hold water. The Tories were patently aware they were never going to win St. Boniface. Thus, there was little or no political advantage to holding back the test results. As were seeing now, however, there was a political liability.

All this leads to a single, inescapable political reality for the Pallister government: when Manitobans next go to the polls, they wont care anymore about "how" and "why" the soil test results were concealed. They will only remember that they were.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.caIt is a horror story. Or a tragedy. But, all the while, true.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is a horror story. Or a tragedy. But, all the while, true.

An op-ed was published online Friday in the Globe and Mail, authored by researchers Lorena Sekwan Fontaine and Andrew Stobo Sniderman, who have visited the hidden Assiniboine River Burial Ground, where more than 50 students who attended the Brandon residential school are buried.

UNITED CHURCH ARCHIVES The old residential school cemetery near Brandon The memorial for Indian Children Burial Ground by Brandon Division Guides and Brownies at Curran Park Memorial. c.2002

Building upon research published in 2015 by University of Manitoba graduate student Katherine Nichols, Fontaine and Sniderman travelled to the site last weekend.

What they found is brutal.

Starting in 1895, hundreds of children from 12 First Nations communities throughout Manitoba were removed from their homes to attend the Brandon residential school, run first by the Methodist Church and later the United Church. As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canadas final report  issued in 2015, available free online  shows, the schools committed "cultural genocide."

If you dont know what happened in residential schools, read up. This is Canadas history.

SUPPLIED The cairn without the plaque that researchers took.

Any genocide has physical results. Death lived in the schools. Many attendees died due to neglect and violence. Malnutrition and disease were rampant. Abuse was a part of everyday life. This is why attendees are now often called "survivors."

For the first 16 years of the Brandon residential school (to 1911), more than 50 students were recorded to have died.

Many of these students were from Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, west of Brandon, whose families still seek their whereabouts today. As the TRC report documents, school officials often did not mark graves nor keep strong historical records where and who was buried. A national search to recognize these locations is one of the TRCs calls to action.

Regardless, children who died at the Brandon school were buried down the hill from it, near the riverbanks in the Assiniboine River Burial Ground.

Burials stopped there when the City of Brandon purchased the land and made it a public park. As Fontaine and Sniderman write: "The city bulldozed the area and removed the headstones. A massive circular pool was built. No doubt headstones would have dampened family picnics."

For decades, a survivor of the Brandon school named Alfred Kirkness lobbied government and organizations in Brandon to have the site memorialized. In a 1964 letter to the Ministry of Indian Affairs, he reported "people stampeded over the graves," and asked for the bodies of his classmates be exhumed or the site be protected.

In 1967, Kirkness found partners in the Rotary Club and Girl Guides, who installed a fence at the site and a large memorial stone with a plaque that read "Indian Children Burial Ground."

Courtesy Mary Lynn Milne Brandon residential school and burial ground for residential school children.

There were no names on the cairn. "The dead we denied the dignity of names," Fontaine and Sniderman wrote.

Even without names, though, the site had an impact.

I spent the late 1980s growing up in Brandon, on the North Hill, where I attended Kirkcaldy Heights Junior High School. Some of my most formative years were here, while my mother attended Brandon University.

My weekends were spent in nearby Curran Park, where I swam in the pool, played on swings, and skipped rocks on the Assiniboine River.

I remember walking by the cairn and seeing the plaque. I recall wondering why it was so far from the rubble of the Brandon residential school, which by then was a condemned building.

In those days, residential schools were barely spoken of. Certainly not in my schooling. Occasionally, Id hear about them from family. Other than a few whispers, what happened in residential schools was virtually unknown to me.

I had survivors around me, all the time. I can only imagine what it was like for others.

United Church of Canada Archives photo Students are pictured at the Brandon Industrial Institute, circa 1910.

Yet, right in front of me, was the truth of what happened in Brandon. Due to the tireless work of Alfred Kirkness and his allies, I knew a small piece of the story of residential schools.

Ive often wondered about how, for many, this monument might have been their sole source of information.

It was certainly formative for me  so much so, I remembered it, almost 30 years later, when I spoke with Fontaine. (She and I share a beautiful daughter together.)

She told me about her and Snidermans research trip to the Brandon site last weekend.

This is where the story gets brutal.

In the early 2000s, the City of Brandon sold Curran Park to private interests. The land changed hands over the next few years and was finally purchased by Mark Kovatch. The site is now called Turtle Crossing Campground, and is primarily an RV park that hosts travellers vacationing through Brandon.

In recent years, the overflow from Assiniboine River, particularly in the spring, has flooded the site. Everyone remembers the impacts of the 2011 flood, but overflow was also deep in 2014.

United Church of Canada Archives photo A carpentry class takes place at the Brandon Industrial Institute, circa 1910.

In March, Kovatch submitted a zoning application to build a ring dike around the campground, at the cost of roughly $1.2 million. This resulted in new interest in the site  and the Assiniboine River Burial Ground.

The problem is years have gone by, and a lot of water has damaged the site. In June, Kovatch told the CBC he has seen evidence of human remains, but questioned precisely where the children are buried.

The memorial stone, which Kirkness used to mark the area, is now laying off to the side. The plaque is missing, with an empty indentation where it was once fastened. Whether moved purposely or water-shifted is unknown. If removed, this might be a contravention to the Manitoba Cemetery Act, which states "any person who willfully destroys, mutilates, defaces, injuries or removes any tomb, monument, gravestone or other structure" is breaking the law.

The bottom line is whats there now: the site of the Assiniboine River Burial Ground is now an RV spot.

As of last weekend, an RV sits, parked, on top of where children are buried.

I stand corrected: this is a horror story.

The word "erase" is used a lot lately.

Federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna used it when describing the recent removal of a Sir John A. Macdonald statue from the steps of city hall in Victoria. The Liberal MP said: "You cant erase history."

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer  whose job is to disagree with McKenna  agreed, tweeting: "We should not allow political correctness to erase our history."

Erasing is not what happened with the removal of a Macdonald statue. If anything, it meant the creation of a positive space. If a Canadian city wants to have a meaningful conversation about sharing space with First Nations, this conversation is impossible when a likeness of the architect of who removed them from that space is staring at them.

Maybe, one day, the statue can be replaced or contextualized. Just like Macdonalds legacy, neither the City of Victoria nor the Songhees and Esquimalt nations are going anywhere.

Macdonalds legacy is embedded in the fabric of Canada. As Sir Wilfrid Laurier said in 1891: "The place of Sir John Macdonald in this country was so large and so absorbing, that it is almost impossible to conceive that the political life of this country, the fate of this country, can continue without him."

The country not only continued due to Macdonald, but was built on a foundation he built. A significant part of this is the residential school system, which resulted in the removal of children into assimilative institutions and legacies of trauma and violence seen in Indigenous communities today.

A primary outcome of residential schools has been, and is, genocide. Death.

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Sir John A. Macdonald will never be erased, he is the eraser.

The evidence of his shadow lives in Brandon.

Theres an RV parked where children lay.

A genocide has happened and the evidence has been covered up.

If we let it continue, its not just a horror story. Its one were also participating in.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.caIf Manitoba Hydro is the poster child for resource extraction on Indigenous land, the poster was smeared with ugly allegations this week.

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This article was published 24/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Manitoba Hydro is the poster child for resource extraction on Indigenous land, the poster was smeared with ugly allegations this week.

Disturbing reports show the Crown corporation has known since 2012 and didnt adequately address decades-old allegations of abuse in Fox Lake Cree Nation by Hydro workers.

The accusations are even more disheartening because they echo an ugly narrative of power imbalance, racism and exploitation that Manitoba has experienced all too often.

A report that surfaced Tuesday includes testimonies Fox Lake residents gave to the Clean Environment Commission, an arms-length agency of the Manitoba government. The commission had asked for input on the effect of Hydro development on the North, and it got an earful.

Fox Lake residents recounted racism, violence and sexual assault that occurred near Gillam after large-scale Hydro projects began in the 1960s.

They described a scenario in which hundreds of construction workers overwhelmed the local community, creating a toxic environment of social tension and violence that included sexual assaults on local women. They say the outsiders acted like predators.

As described by Franklin Arthurson, a Cree-born employee of Hydro in the 1960s, "Construction workers, theyre a hardy lot, they drink hard, they live hard. And they all chase women."

Why didnt the RCMP keep order? Residents said police were part of the problem.

A shocking, although unsubstantiated, allegation is that Mounties "organized gangbangs" in nearby Gillam. "They would pick up Fox Lake women, take them to jail, and bring all of the Hydro guys there to do what they wanted with these young women."

It would be reassuring to think such troubling accusations would get high-alert attention when they reached responsible authority figures, but Hydro and the CEC have known about the allegations since at least 2012.

When the matter exploded into big-headline media prominence this week, there were many calls to further investigate. The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs wants an independent investigation. Opposition parties want to know why Sustainability Development Minister Rochelle Squires sat on the report for two months before releasing it.

The Mounties may call in the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba so police arent investigating themselves. Indigenous Relations Minister Eileen Clark said she will visit northern communities, including Fox Lake, although Fox Lake said she hasnt been invited.

While further investigation is certainly required, the results are unlikely to lead to the mass convictions. The events happened as early as the 1960s, and even on crimes without a statute of limitations, law courts are reluctant to accept memories from 60 years ago without substantial corroboration and written records, which are unlikely to exist in most of these cases.

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A more realistic expectation is that powerful bodies such as Hydro will examine the atrocities at Fox Lake as lessons to underline the importance of cultural sensitivity.

Fox Lake is a reminder that the bad old days are deplorable and unacceptable.

To be fair to Hydro, the corporations relations with Indigenous people have improved dramatically from the 1960s to 2018. Hydro now offers a two-day Indigenous cultural awareness workshop for all employees, which is mandatory for all supervisors and managers in northern Manitoba, and almost 50 per cent of Hydros northern staff now identify as Indigenous. Counsellors are on-site at Keeyask to assist any Hydro or contractor employee.

Fox Lake is a reminder that the bad old days are deplorable and unacceptable.

Indigenous people should be treated with respect because their partnership is essential for Hydro projects, and also for industries such as mining, forestry and tourism.

But, more importantly, they warrant respect simply because everyone does.The giant rocky outcrop known by locals as La Cobaltera offers a glimpse into northern Chiles mining past and a hint of its future.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 25/8/2018 (1164 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The giant rocky outcrop known by locals as La Cobaltera offers a glimpse into northern Chiles mining past and a hint of its future.

Slag from an ancient furnace is piled at the entrance of a mine shaft that hasnt seen commercial activity since the Second World War. Inside, eucalyptus posts still support narrow tunnels, placed there by German engineers as a kind of alarm system: when they creaked it was a sign the tunnel might collapse.

Now, the global hunt for cobalt, a key commodity in the electric-vehicle revolution, is rousing the sleepy community on the edge of Chiles northern desert. Trucks are bouncing down the meandering dirt road from Freirina carrying modern mining equipment to La Cobaltera. On a recent morning, workers operated a drilling machine that rattled the ground as they dug as deep as 90 metres for mineral samples. When a drill core was pulled out, the workers cheered the appearance of a column of compact rock peppered with bright green for copper and black for cobalt.

Chile, known for its vast copper deposits, is joining the search for cobalt amid soaring demand for a metal thats mostly mined in the politically risky Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cobalt had been a niche commodity used in jet engines and gas turbines; now, its entering the mainstream because of properties that keep rechargeable batteries from overheating.

"A year ago, I hadnt even heard about cobalt in Chile," says Ignacio Moreno, a general manager at Chilean Cobalt Corp., which is hoping to develop the site into a working mine. "Now, its been five months of drilling in places where there used to be cobalt mines and the findings look very promising."

Renewed interest in La Cobaltera began to emerge last year after Chilean authorities discovered records long buried in the archives of the national geological agency. They showed more than seven million tons of cobalt ore was mined in the country between 1844 and 1941. The mineral was extracted mainly by German immigrants who sent it to Europe, presumably to manufacture military equipment.

News of the presence of cobalt around Freirina generated a flurry of foreign companies and Chilean intermediaries looking to buy mining rights from locals in the general vicinity, said Mario Robles, a member of the local mining association. At first unaware of the value of cobalt in a region known for copper and gold mining, some residents sold rights to what they thought was barren land for less than half of what it was worth, he said.

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While cobalt prices have backtracked in 2018 as carmakers such as Tesla Inc. try to reduce the amount of the metal they use, they are still more than double the levels of just two years ago. Demand is set to remain strong for the next five to 10 years, said George Heppel, senior cobalt analyst at CRU Group.

Founded in Santiago in January, Chilean Cobalt is the first company to explore for the mineral in the country in more than 70 years. A subsidiary of Genlith Inc., a Philadelphia-based investment management firm focusing on clean energy and strategic materials, the company signed an agreement with the Callejas Molina family, the biggest landowners in the area. The explorer has the mandate to produce cobalt as soon as possible.

"We are focusing on the historic area, where we know cobalt was mined in the past, and well build up our resources from there," Moreno said. "So far, the hypothesis of the geologists is being confirmed: we have found veins of mineral that are long and run deep."

Samples show grades of four per cent to 12 per cent, he said. By comparison, grades from the DRC tend to be two per cent to three per cent, and sometimes more than 10 per cent for artisan miners, according to CRUs Heppel. Junior miners exploring elsewhere are looking to operate with grades of about 0.5 per cent.

Early results suggest La Cobaltera could become a small to midsized operation, churning out small amounts of high-quality ore, Moreno said. Setting it up would probably require an investment of US$80 million to US$100 million.

 BloombergAfter Walker took office, bills sped through the Legislature

An analysis by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism shows the proportion of fast-tracked bills shot up to 26 percent in the first session of Walkers termWiGBits Headline News Would you like to receive our WiGBits? Signup today!

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Digital Issue Would you like to receive our Digital Issue? Signup today!The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Advisors S.r.l., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe (Services) Limited, AIG Europe Holdings S.a.rl., AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Insurance Company (Switzerland) Ltd, AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG Shared Services Corporation, AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE EOLA LLC, AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American Home Assurance Company Escritorio de Representacao no Brasil Ltda., American International Group Inc., American International Group UK Limited, American International Overseas Association, American International Overseas Limited, American International Realty Corp., American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A., American Security Life Insurance Company Limited, Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Avondhu Limited, Blackboard Customer Care Insurance Services LLC, Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Services LLC, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., Chartis Takaful Enaya B.S.C. (c), Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Fortitude Group Holdings LLC, Fortitude Life & Annuity Solutions Inc., Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd., Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Group Risk Services Limited, Group Risk Technologies Limited, Illinois National Insurance Co., Jefferson Eola Venture LLC, Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, MG Reinsurance Limited, Mt. Mansfield Company Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Private Joint-Stock Company AIG Ukraine Insurance Company, Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SA Affordable Housing LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc., SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., Thai CIT Holding Company Limited, The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., Western World Insurance Company, and Western World Insurance Group Inc..United Technologies Corporation provides technology products and services to building systems and aerospace industries worldwide. Its Otis segment designs, manufactures, sells, and installs passenger and freight elevators, escalators, and moving walkways; and offers modernization products to upgrade elevators and escalators, as well as maintenance and repair services. The company's Carrier segment provides heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation products, solutions, and services for commercial, government, infrastructure, residential, and refrigeration and transportation applications. This segment also offers building services, including audit, design, installation, system integration, repair, maintenance, and monitoring. Its Pratt & Whitney segment supplies aircraft engines for commercial, military, business jet, and general aviation markets; and provides aftermarket maintenance, repair, and overhaul, as well as fleet management services. The company's Collins Aerospace Systems segment provides electric power generation, power management, and distribution systems; air data and aircraft sensing systems; engine control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems; engine components; environmental control systems; fire and ice detection, and protection systems; propeller systems; engine nacelle systems; aircraft lighting, seating, and cargo systems; actuation and landing systems; space products and subsystems; avionics systems; flight controls, communications, navigation, oxygen, and training systems; food and beverage preparation, and storage and galley systems; and lavatory and wastewater management systems. The company offers its services through manufacturers' representatives, distributors, wholesalers, dealers, retail outlets, and sales representatives, as well as directly to customers. United Technologies Corporation was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of The Procter & Gamble: "Procter & Gamble Services" LLC, "Procter & Gamble" LLC, Agile Pursuits, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Arbora, Arbora & Ausonia, Arborinvest, Billie, Braun (Shanghai) Co., Braun GmbH, Braun-Gillette Immobilien GmbH & Co. KG, Celtic Insurance Company, Compania Procter & Gamble Mexico, Compania Quimica S.A., Corporativo Procter & Gamble, Cosmetic Products Pty. Ltd., Detergent Products B.V., Detergent Products SARL, Detergenti S.A., Eurocos Cosmetic GmbH, FPG Oleochemicals Sdn. Bhd., Fameccanica Data S.p.A., Fameccanica Industria e Comercio Do Brasil LTDA., Fameccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Fater S.p.A., Fountain Square Music Publishing Co., Gillette (China) Ltd., Gillette (Shanghai) Ltd., Gillette Aesop Ltd., Gillette Australia Pty. Ltd., Gillette Canada Holdings, Gillette Commercial Operations North America, Gillette Diversified Operations Pvt. Ltd., Gillette Egypt S.A.E., Gillette Group UK Ltd, Gillette Gruppe Deutschland GmbH & Co. oHG, Gillette Holding Company LLC, Gillette Holding GmbH, Gillette India Limited, Gillette Industries Ltd., Gillette International B.V., Gillette Latin America Holding B.V., Gillette Management LLC, Gillette Nova Scotia Company, Gillette Pakistan Limited, Gillette Poland International Sp. z.o.o., Gillette Poland S.A., Gillette U.K. Limited, Gillette del Uruguay, Giorgio Beverly Hills Inc., Hyginett KFT, Industries Marocaines Modernes SA, LLC "Procter & Gamble Novomoskovsk", LLL "Procter & Gamble Distributorskaya Compania", Laboratorios Vicks, Liberty Street Music Publishing Company, Limited Liability Company 'Procter & Gamble Trading Ukraine', Limited Liability Company with foreign investments Procter & and Gamble Ukraine, MDVIP, MERCK KGAA NPV, Marcvenca Inversiones, Modern Industries Company - Dammam, Modern Products Company - Jeddah, New Chapter, New Chapter Canada Inc., Olay LLC, Oral-B Laboratories, P&G Distribution Morocco SAS, P&G Hair Care Holding, P&G Industrial Peru S.R.L., P&G Innovation Godo Kaisha, P&G Israel M.D.O. Ltd., P&G K.K., P&G Northeast Asia Pte. Ltd., P&G Prestige Godo Kaisha, P&G Prestige Service GmbH, P&G South African Trading (Pty.) Ltd., PGT Health Care (Zhejiang) Limited, PGT Healthcare LLP, PPI ZAO, PT Procter & Gamble Home Products Indonesia, PT Procter & Gamble Operations Indonesia, Phase II Holdings Corporation, Procter & Gamble (Chengdu) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (China) Sales Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (East Africa) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Egypt) Manufacturing Company, Procter & Gamble (Enterprise Fund) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Consumer Products Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Enterprise Management Service Company Limited, Procter & Gamble (Guangzhou) Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Health & Beauty Care) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Jiangsu) Ltd. China, Procter & Gamble (L&CP) Limited, Procter & Gamble (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Procter & Gamble (Manufacturing) Ireland Limited, Procter & Gamble (Shanghai) International Trade Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Acquisition GmbH, Procter & Gamble Administration GmbH, Procter & Gamble Algeria EURL, Procter & Gamble Amazon Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Amiens S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Argentina SRL, Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Australia Proprietary Limited, Procter & Gamble Azerbaijan Services LLC, Procter & Gamble Bangladesh Private Ltd., Procter & Gamble Blois S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Brazil Holdings B.V., Procter & Gamble Bulgaria EOOD, Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company, Procter & Gamble Canada Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Chile , Procter & Gamble Chile Limitada, Procter & Gamble Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Commercial LLC, Procter & Gamble Commercial de Cuba S.A., Procter & Gamble Czech Republic s.r.o., Procter & Gamble DS Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Danmark ApS, Procter & Gamble Detergent (Beijing) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Deuttschland GmbH, Procter & Gamble Distributing (Philippines) Inc., Procter & Gamble Distributing New Zealand Limited, Procter & Gamble Distribution Company (Europe) BVBA, Procter & Gamble Distribution S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Eastern Europe, Procter & Gamble Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Procter & Gamble Egypt, Procter & Gamble Egypt Distribution, Procter & Gamble Egypt Holding, Procter & Gamble Egypt Supplies, Procter & Gamble Energy Company LLC, Procter & Gamble Espana, Procter & Gamble Europe SA, Procter & Gamble Export Operations SARL, Procter & Gamble Exportadora e Importadora Ltda., Procter & Gamble Exports, Procter & Gamble Fabricacao e Comercio Ltda., Procter & Gamble Far East, Procter & Gamble Finance (U.K.) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Holding Ltd., Procter & Gamble Finance Management S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Financial Investments LLP, Procter & Gamble Financial Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Financial Services S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Finland OY, Procter & Gamble France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH, Procter & Gamble Germany GmbH & Co. Operations oHG, Procter & Gamble GmbH, Procter & Gamble Grundstucks-und Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, Procter & Gamble Gulf FZE, Procter & Gamble Hair Care, Procter & Gamble Hellas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Holding (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Holding France S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Holding GmbH, Procter & Gamble Holding S.r.l., Procter & Gamble Holdings (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Home Products Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hong Kong Limited, Procter & Gamble Hungary Wholesale Trading Partnership (KKT), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Limited, Procter & Gamble Inc., Procter & Gamble India Holdings, Procter & Gamble Indochina Limited Company, Procter & Gamble Industrial - 2012 C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial Colombia Ltda., Procter & Gamble Industrial S.C.A., Procter & Gamble Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Costa Rica, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Guatemala, Procter & Gamble Interamericas de Panama, Procter & Gamble International Operations Pte. Ltd., Procter & Gamble International Operations SA, Procter & Gamble International Operations SA-ROHQ, Procter & Gamble International S.a.r.l., Procter & Gamble Investment Company (UK) Ltd., Procter & Gamble Investment GmbH, Procter & Gamble Italia, Procter & Gamble Japan K.K., Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan Distribution LLP, Procter & Gamble Kazakhstan LLP, Procter & Gamble Korea, Procter & Gamble Korea S&D Co., Procter & Gamble Lanka Private Ltd. Sri Lanka, Procter & Gamble Leasing LLC, Procter & Gamble Levant S.A.L., Procter & Gamble Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Berlin GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing GmbH, Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Procter & Gamble Manufacturing SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Marketing Romania SRL, Procter & Gamble Marketing and Services doo, Procter & Gamble Maroc SA, Procter & Gamble Mataro, Procter & Gamble Mexico Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Mexico Inc., Procter & Gamble Middle East FZE, Procter & Gamble Nederland B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Investments B.V., Procter & Gamble Netherlands Services B.V., Procter & Gamble Nigeria Limited, Procter & Gamble Nordic, Procter & Gamble Norge AS, Procter & Gamble Operations Polska Sp. z o.o., Procter & Gamble Overseas India B.V., Procter & Gamble Overseas Ltd., Procter & Gamble Pakistan (Private) Limited, Procter & Gamble Partnership LLP, Procter & Gamble Peru S.R.L., Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals France SAS, Procter & Gamble Philippines, Procter & Gamble Polska Sp. z o.o, Procter & Gamble Portugal - Produtos De Consumo, Procter & Gamble Product Supply (U.K.) Limited U.K., Procter & Gamble Production GmbH, Procter & Gamble Productions, Procter & Gamble Productos de Consumo, Procter & Gamble RHD, Procter & Gamble RSC Regional Service Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Retail Services BVBA, Procter & Gamble S.r.l., Procter & Gamble SA (Pty) Ltd, Procter & Gamble Satis ve Dagitim Ltd. Sti., Procter & Gamble Seine S.A.S., Procter & Gamble Service GmbH, Procter & Gamble Services (Switzerland) SA, Procter & Gamble Services Company N.V., Procter & Gamble Services Ltd., Procter & Gamble Share Incentive Plan Trustee Ltd., Procter & Gamble South America Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Spol. s.r.o. (Ltd.), Procter & Gamble Sports and Social Club Ltd., Procter & Gamble Sverige AB, Procter & Gamble Switzerland SARL, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Limited, Procter & Gamble Taiwan Sales Company Limited, Procter & Gamble Technical Centres Limited, Procter & Gamble Technology (Beijing) Co., Procter & Gamble Trading (Thailand) Limited, Procter & Gamble Tuketim Mallari Sanayii A.S., Procter & Gamble UK, Procter & Gamble UK Group Holdings Ltd, Procter & Gamble UK Parent Company Ltd., Procter & Gamble Universal Holding B.V., Procter & Gamble Verwaltungs GmbH, Procter & Gamble Vietnam, Procter & Gamble d.o.o. za trgovinu, Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.C.A., Procter & Gamble de Venezuela S.R.L., Procter & Gamble do Brasil S/A, Procter & Gamble do Brazil, Procter & Gamble do Nordeste S/A, Procter & Gamble-Rakona s.r.o., Progam Realty & Development Corporation, Redmond Products, Richardson-Vicks Real Estate Inc., Richardson-Vicks do Brasil Quimica e Farmaceutica Ltda, Riverfront Music Publishing Co., Rosemount LLC, SPD Development Company Limited, SPD Swiss Precision Diagnostics GmbH, Scannon S.A.S., Series Acquisition B.V., Shulton, Surfac S.R.L., Sycamore Productions, TAOS - FL, TAOS Retail, Tambrands Inc., Temple Trees Impex & Investment Private Limited, The Art of Shaving - FL, The Dover Wipes Company, The Gillette Company, The Gillette Company LLC, The Gillette co., The Procter & Gamble Distributing LLC, The Procter & Gamble GBS Company, The Procter & Gamble Global Finance Company, The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company, The Procter & Gamble Paper Products Company, The Procter & Gamble U.S. Business Services Company, This is L., US CD LLC, Vidal Sassoon (Shanghai) Academy, Vidal Sassoon Co., WEBA Betriebsrenten-Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Walker & Company Brands, and iMFLUX Inc..Bacanora Minerals Ltd. is a developer and explorer of industrial minerals. The Company is engaged in exploration and development of mineral properties in Mexico. It is focused on its Sonora Lithium Project, and has a borates project located near the town of Magdalena de Kino, north of Hermosillo, Mexico. The Sonora Lithium Project consists of approximately 10 contiguous concessions covering over 94,186 hectares. The concessions include La Ventana, La Ventana 1, El Sauz, El Sauz 1, El Sauz 2, Fleur, Fleur 2, San Gabriel and Buenavista. These concessions are located approximately 190 kilometers northeast of the city of Hermosillo, in Sonora State, Mexico. The Magdalena Borate Project consists of approximately seven concessions, with a total area of approximately 16,503 hectares. The borate zones located on the Magdalena Borates Project are the Cajon Borate Deposit (Cajon); Bellota, and Pozo Nuevo. The Company's other target in Magdalena Borates Project includes the Represo prospect.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO ENERGY, XTO Energy Canada, and XTO Holdings LLC.The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.64 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 4.24%. SO has a dividend yield higher than 75% of all dividend-paying stocks, making it a leading dividend payer. The Southern has been increasing its dividend for 20 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of The Southern is 81.23%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, The Southern will have a dividend payout ratio of 74.37% next year. This indicates that The Southern will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View The Southern's dividend history.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 25)  The United Nations and the United States government have blacklisted a Filipino national and two other men from Southeast Asia for recruiting people to join the Islamic State group or ISIS.

Mohammad Reza Lahaman Kiram, 28, who hails from Zamboanga City, is now "subject to assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo," the U.N. said in a press release on Thursday.

Kiram is believed to have travelled to Syria with his wife and daughter in 2015, and among the ISIS fighters there as of 2017. He was seen in a 2016 ISIS propaganda video beheading captives, and was linked to a bus bombing in Zamboanga City in 2012.

The U.N. said Kiram is now a senior member of the international terrorist network ISIS, along with Malaysian Mohamad Rafi Udin and Indonesian Mohammed Karim Yusop Faiz, who were also slapped with sanctions. The two also were in beheading videos and recruitment activities, the U.N. and the U.S. government said.

In placing them on its sanctions list, the U.N. also mandates all member states, including the Philippines, to "expeditiously exchange information " on the terrorists, freeze their assets, deny them access to the international financial system, and prohibit their travel or relocation.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday followed suit, placing the three ISIS recruiters on its list of "Specially Designated Global Terrorists".

"As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of Udin, Faiz, and Karim subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them," Sigal Mandelker, treasury undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.

The three alleged terrorists now join thousands of individuals, including Filipinos, on the U.N and U.S.' blacklists as part of the fight against terrorism.

Earlier this year, they blacklisted Abdulpatta Escalon Abubakar, who is believed to have followed orders from slain terrorist leader Isnilon Hapilon in January and May 2016 to procure a huge amount of ammunition and arms, and improvised explosive devices.

Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf leader who pledged allegiance to ISIS in 2016, was killed in a firefight in Marawi City in October 2017. The military believes he led the attack on Marawi along with the Maute brothers, leading to a five-month war that killed over a hundred people, mostly terrorists.The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates through Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Global Wealth Management segments. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and day-to-day banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small businesses and commercial customers, including automotive financing solutions to dealers and their customers. It also provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternative funds, and institutional funds. In addition, the company offers international banking services for retail, corporate, and commercial customers; and lending and transaction, investment banking advisory, and capital markets access services to corporate customers. Further, it provides Internet, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 952 branches and approximately 3,540 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,400 branches, 5,200 ATMs, and 22 contact centers internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.

Read MoreNew Jersey Resources Corp. is a holding company. The firm provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. It operates through the following segments: New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR Clean Energy Ventures, NJR Energy Services, NJR Midstream, and NJR Home Services. The New Jersey Natural Gas segment provides regulated retail natural gas service to residential and commercial customers in central and northern New Jersey. The NJR Clean Energy Ventures segment invests in, owns and operates solar projects. The NJR Energy Services segment manages a diversified portfolio of natural gas transportation and storage assets and provides physical natural gas services in the U.S. and Canada. The NJR Midstream segment serves customers from local distributors and producers to electric generators and wholesale marketers. The NJR Home Services segment provides heating, ventilation and cooling service, sales and installation of appliances services to its customers, as well as solar installation projects, and is the primary contributor to home services. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Wall,

Read MoreBrookdale Senior Living, Inc. engages in the operation of senior living communities. The firm manages independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers. It operates through the following segments: Independent Living Assisted Living & Memory Care, CCRCs, Health Care Services and Management Services. The Independent Living segment is primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors who desire an upscale residential environment providing the highest quality of service. The Assisted Living & Memory Care segment offer housing and 24-hour assistance with ADLs to mid-acuity frail and elderly residents. The CCRCs segment offers a variety of living arrangements and services to accommodate all levels of physical ability and health. The Healthcare Services segment provides home health, hospice and outpatient therapy services, as well as education and wellness programs, to residents of many communities and to seniors living outside communities. The Management Services segment composes of communities operated by the company pursuant to management agreements. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Brentwood, TN.

Read MoreBrookfield Business Partners LP engages in owning and operating business services and industrial operations. It operates though the following segments: Business Services, Infrastructure Services, Industrial Operations, and Corporate and Other. The Business Services segment includes services such as residential mortgage insurance, healthcare, road fuel distribution and marketing, real estate and construction, entertainment, financing, and other businesses. The Infrastructure Services segment consists of services to the nuclear power generation industry and offshore oil production industry: and access, forming, and shoring solutions and specialized services. The Industrial Operations segment deals with automotive batteries, graphite electrode, and other manufacturing; water and wastewater services: natural gas production and well servicing; and a variety of other industrial operations. The Corporate and Other segment comprises cash and liquidity management, and activities related to the management of the partnership's relationship with Brookfield. The company was founded on October 1, 2015 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Read MoreCenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Read MoreWall Street analysts have given iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.Enbridge Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States. The Gas Transmission and Midstream segment invests in natural gas pipelines, and gathering and processing facilities in Canada and the United States. The Gas Distribution and Storage segment is involved in natural gas utility operations serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ontario, as well as natural gas distribution and energy transportation activities in Quebec. The Renewable Power Generation segment operates power generating assets, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and waste heat recovery facilities; and transmission assets in North America and Europe. The Energy Services segment provides energy marketing services to refiners, producers, and other customers; and physical commodity marketing and logistical services in Canada and the United States. The company was formerly known as IPL Energy Inc. and changed its name to Enbridge Inc. in October 1998. Enbridge Inc. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Read MoreThe Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. is an insurance and financial services company. The company provides life insurance, group and employee benefits, automobile and homeowners insurance and business insurance, as well as investment products, annuities, mutual funds, and college savings plans. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Lines, Personal Lines, Property & Casualty Other Operations, Group Benefits and Hartford Funds. The Commercial Lines segment provides workers compensation, property, automobile, liability and umbrella coverage under several different products, primarily throughout the U.S., within its standard commercial lines, which consists of The Hartford's small commercial and middle market lines of business. The Personal Lines segment includes automobile, homeowners and home-based business coverage to individuals across the U.S. The Property & Casualty Other Operations segment includes certain property and casualty operations, currently managed by the company, that have discontinued writing new business and substantially all of the company's asbestos and environmental exposures. The Group Benefits segment offers group life, accident and disabi

Read More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..Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. provides software-as-a-service core systems to the property and casualty insurance industry in North America. It offers Duck Creek Policy, a full lifecycle solution for the development of products and quoting, binding, and servicing of policies across various channels from agents and brokers to end-users; Duck Creek Billing that provides payment and invoicing capabilities, such as billing and collections, commission processing, disbursement management, and general ledger capabilities for insurance lines and bill types; and Duck Creek Claims that supports the entire claims lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, payments, negotiations, reporting, and closure. The company also provides Duck Creek Rating that allows carriers to develop new rates and models and deliver accurate quotes in real-time based on the complex rating algorithms; Duck Creek Insights, an insurance analytics solution that allows carriers to gather and analyze data from internal and external sources and facilitate rapid analysis and reporting on a single system; Duck Creek Digital Engagement that offer digital interactions between property and casualty insurers and their agents, brokers, and policyholders; and Duck Creek Distribution Management that automates sales channel activities for agents and brokers, including producer onboarding, compliance, and compensation management. In addition, it offers Duck Creek Reinsurance Management that automates critical financial and administrative functions; and Duck Creek Industry Content that provides pre-built content, including base business rules, product designs, rating algorithms, data capture screens, and workflows for insurance lines of business. The company serves insurance carriers and leaders. Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Read MoreDeutsche Telekom AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated telecommunication services. The company operates through five segments: Germany, United States, Europe, Systems Solutions, and Group Development. It offers fixed-network services, including voice and data communication services based on fixed-network and broadband technology; and sells terminal equipment and other hardware products, as well as services to resellers. The company also provides mobile voice and data services to consumers and business customers; sells mobile devices and other hardware products; and sells mobile services to resellers and to companies that purchases and markets network services to third parties, such as mobile virtual network operators. In addition, it offers internet services; internet-based TV products and services; and information and communication technology systems for multinational corporations and public sector institutions with an infrastructure of data centers and networks under the T-Systems brand, as well as call center services. The company has 242 million mobile customers and 22 million broadband customers, as well as 27 million fixed-network lines. Deutsche Telekom AG has a collaboration with VMware, Inc. on cloud-based open and intelligent virtual RAN platform to bring agility to radio access networks for existing LTE and future 5G networks; and partnership with Microsoft to deliver high-performance cloud computing experiences. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

Read More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.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CA, Inc., doing business as CA technologies, develops, markets, delivers, and licenses software products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Mainframe Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, and Services. The Mainframe Solutions segment offers solutions for the IBM z Systems platform, which runs various mission critical business applications. Its mainframe solutions enable customers enhance economics by increasing throughput and lowering cost per transaction; increasing business agility through DevOps tooling and processes; increasing reliability and availability of operations through machine intelligence and automation solutions; and protecting enterprise data with security and compliance. The Enterprise Solutions segment provides a range of software planning, development, and management tools for mobile, cloud, and distributed computing environments. It primarily provides customers secure application development, infrastructure management, automation, and identity-centric security solutions. The Services segment offers various services, such as consulting, implementation, application management, education, and support services to commercial and government customers for implementation and adoption of its software solutions. The company serves banks, insurance companies, other financial services providers, government agencies, information technology service providers, telecommunication providers, transportation companies, manufacturers, technology companies, retailers, educational organizations, and health care institutions. It sells its products through direct sales force, as well as through various partner channels comprising resellers, service providers, system integrators, managed service providers, and technology partners. The company was formerly known as Computer Associates International, Inc. and changed its name to CA, Inc. in 2006. CA, Inc. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in New York, New York.

Read MoreWall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI EAFE ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI EAFE ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.The following companies are subsidiares of Laboratory Co. of America: 1957285 Ontario Inc. dba Quality Underwriting Services, 2089729 Ontario Inc., 2248848 Ontario Inc., 3065619 Nova Scotia Company, 3257959 Nova Scotia Company, 896988 Ontario Limited, 9279-3280 Quebec Inc., Accupath Diagnostic Laboratories Inc., Alpha Medical Laboratory LLC, Assets of Pathology Inc, Beacon LBS IPA Inc., Beacon Laboratory Benefit Solutions Inc., CannAmm GP Inc., CannAmm Limited Partnership, Center for Disease Detection International, Center for Disease Detection LLC, Centrex Clinical Laboratories Inc., Chiltern, Clearstone Central Laboratories (U.S.) Inc., Clearstone Holdings (International) Ltd., Clipper Holdings Inc., Colorado Coagulation Consultants Inc., Colorado Laboratory Services LLC, Correlagen Diagnostics Inc., Covance Inc., Curalab Inc., Cytometry Associates Inc., Czura Thornton (Hong Kong) Limited, DCL Acquisition Inc., DCL Medical Laboratories LLC (DE), DCL Medical Laboratories LLC (FL), DCL Sub LLC, DIANON Systems Inc., DL Holdings Limited Partnership, Decision Diagnostics L.L.C. (aka DaVinici/Medicorp LLC), Diagnostic Services Inc., DynaLifeDX, Dynacare - Gamma Laboratory Partnership, Dynacare Company, Dynacare G.P. Inc., Dynacare Holdco LLC, Dynacare Laboratories Inc., Dynacare Laboratories Limited Partnership, Dynacare Northwest Inc., Dynacare Realty Inc., DynalifeDX Infrastructure Inc., Endocrine Sciences Inc., Esoterix Genetic Counseling LLC, Esoterix Genetic Laboratories LLC, Esoterix Inc., Execmed Health Services Inc., FirstSource Laboratory Solutions Inc., GDML Medical Laboratories Inc, Gamma Dynacare Central Medical Laboratories GP Inc., Gamma Dynacare Central Medical Laboratory Limited Partnership, HHLA Lab-In-An-Envelope LLC, Health Trans Services Inc., Home Healthcare Laboratory of America LLC, IDX Pathology Inc., Impact Genetics Corp, Impact Genetics Inc., Kaleida LabCorp LLC, Lab Delivery Service of New York City Inc., LabCorp BVBA, LabCorp Belgium Holdings Inc., LabCorp Central Laboratories (Canada) Inc., LabCorp Central Laboratories (China) Inc., LabCorp Central Laboratories (Singapore) Pte., LabCorp Development Company, LabCorp Employer Services Inc., LabCorp Health System Diagnostics LLC, LabCorp Indiana Inc., LabCorp Japan G.K., LabCorp Limited, LabCorp Michigan Inc., LabCorp Nebraska Inc., LabCorp Neon Ltd., LabCorp Neon Switzerland S.a.r.l., LabCorp Specialty Testing Billing Service Inc., LabCorp Specialty Testing Group Inc., LabCorp Staffing Solutions Inc., LabCorp Tennessee LLC, LabCorp UK Holdings Ltd., LabWest Inc., Laboratoire Bio-Medic Inc., Laboratory Corporation of America, Lifecodes Corporation, LipoScience Inc., Litholink Corporation, MEDTOX Scientific Inc., MNG Laboratories, Medical Neurogenitics LLC, Medtox Diagnostics Inc., Medtox Laboratories Inc., Monogram Biosciences Inc., Monogram Biosciences UK Limited, Myriad Autoimmunes Vectra Testing Business, NWT Inc., National Genetics Institute, New Brighton Business Center LLC, New Imaging Diagnostics LLC, New Molecular Diagnostics Ventures LLC, Orchid Cellmark Ltd., Orchid Cellmark ULC, PA Labs Inc., Path Lab Incorporated, Pathology Associates Medical Lab LLC, Pee Dee Pathology Associates Inc., Persys Technology Inc., Pixel by LabCorp, Princeton Diagnostic Laboratories of America Inc., Protedyne Corporation, ReliaGene Technologies Inc., SW/DL LLC, Saint Josephs-PAML LLC, Sequenom Biosciences (India) Pvt. Ltd., Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine LLC, Sequenom Inc, Sequenom Inc., Southern Idaho Regional Laboratory, Tandem Labs Inc., The LabCorp Charitable Foundation, Tri-Cities Laboratory LLC, Viro-Med Laboratories Inc., Visiun, and Yakima Medical Arts Inc..The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V..Raymond James Financial, Inc., a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments. The Private Client Group segment provides securities brokerage services, including the sale of equities, mutual funds, fixed income products, and insurance products to their individual clients; and borrowing and lending of securities to and from other broker-dealers, financial institutions, and other counterparties. The Capital Markets segment offers securities brokerage, trading, and research services to institutions with a focus on sale of the United States and Canadian equities and fixed income products; and manages and participates in underwritings, merger and acquisition services, and public finance activities. The Asset Management segment engages in the operations of Eagle, the Eagle Family of Funds, Cougar, the asset management operations of Raymond James & Associates, trust services of Raymond James Trust, and other fee-based asset management programs. The RJ Bank segment provides corporate loans, SBL, tax-exempt loans, and residential loans. The Other segment engages in private equity activities, including various direct and third party private equity investments; and private equity funds. Raymond James Financial, Inc. was founded in 1962 and is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Read More1 Wall Street analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust in the last twelve months. There are currently 1 hold rating for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street analysts is that investors should "hold" SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in SPY, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust or view top-rated stocks.TCF Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for TCF National Bank that provides various financial products and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Enterprise Services segments. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; individual retirement accounts; debit and credit cards; and check cashing and remittance services. It also provides investment management and custodial services, trust services, financial and estate planning, and retirement planning and employee benefit programs; residential, consumer, and small business lending products; and consumer real estate secured lending, consumer loans, loans secured by personal property, and unsecured personal loans. In addition, the company offers loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services. Further, it provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate banking, and lease financing; and treasury services comprising investment and borrowing portfolios, as well as manages capital, debt, and market risks. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 478 branches, including 373 traditional branches, 102 supermarket branches, and three campus branches located in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, and South Dakota; and 1,062 ATMs. TCF Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.

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 30.22% 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.Chino, CA (91710)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 71F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 53F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.United States President Donald Trump on Friday canceled Secretary of State Mike Pompeos upcoming fourth visit to North Korea next week, citing a lack of progress on Pyongyangs denuclearization. The decision, coming only one day after Pompeo announced his trip, highlights the unpredictability of the Trump administration and the continued ramping up of tensions in Northeast Asia, aimed primarily at China.

Trump wrote in a message on Twitter: I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea at this time because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The move is a seemingly abrupt about-face for Trump, who on Monday claimed in an interview with Reuters that North Korea had, in fact, taken steps to denuclearize, despite the apparent impasse that had been reached on the issue in recent weeks. Pyongyang, however, had previously agreed to halt nuclear and missile tests, had begun dismantling a missile test site, and had returned the remains of US soldiers.

But Washington has refused to meet any of Pyongyangs demands, including an easing of sanctions and a formal declaration ending the 1950-1953 Korean War, supposedly until Pyongyang completely denuclearizes. In the short term, the US has called for the North to hand over 60 to 70 percent of its nuclear warheads within a six-to-eight-month period. During Pompeos trip to the North in July, the Stalinist regime denounced the secretary of state for his gangster-like approach to the negotiations.

In the same set of tweets canceling Pompeos visit, Trump also denounced China, linking the growing trade war between Washington and Beijing with North Korea. He wrote: Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading (sic) stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were.

In other words, Trump is using the canceled trip not only to apply further pressure on North Korea to bow to US demands, but also to force Beijing to acquiesce to US dictates on trade. Trump added that Pompeo would likely return to Pyongyang after our Trading relationship with China is resolved.

The measures against both countries Washington has taken since Trump and North Koreas Chairman Kim Jong-un held their Singapore summit on June 12 expose the fraudulent nature of the supposed peace talks.

Trumps agenda from the beginning was to issue Pyongyang an ultimatum: either join the US war drive against China, which would likely mean US troops on the Chinese border and even North Koreas own participation in such a war against its former ally, or the US would totally destroy the poverty-stricken country, as Trump had previously threatened.

The US president, still attempting to drive a wedge between Pyongyang and Beijing, had nothing but warm words for Kim on Friday, saying, In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon! Trump said earlier this week that a second summit with Kim would most likely happen.

With the US-China trade war escalating and another Chinese delegation expected to arrive in Washington in the near future, Trump is leveraging North Korea against China to gain an upper hand in the talks. However, this tactic risks a further increase in an already tense situation that could lead to military conflict. [Conflating trade with North Korea] definitely conveys the impression that overall relations [with China] are quite bad right now, said David Dollar, a Brookings Institution senior fellow.

On Thursday, Washington imposed $16 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods, on top of the $34 billion leveled in July. Beijing responded to both sets of tariffs with reciprocal measures. If Beijing refuses to give in to the Trump administrations demands, an additional $200 billion of tariffs could be forthcoming as soon as next month.

Washington also placed additional pressure on Beijing this month by leveling three sets of unilateral sanctions against Chinese and Russian companies, with the added goal of further cutting trade with North Korea and strangling it into submission. On Tuesday, Washington announced sanctions targeting Russian ships accused of delivering oil to North Korea. This followed sanctions on Russian, Chinese and Singaporean companies last week.

The trade war measures and sanctions are part of Trumps reactionary America First policy, which not only pits Washington against adversaries like Beijing and Moscow, but also against longtime allies including South Korea. Last week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposed in a Liberation Day speech to expand economic cooperation with North Korea, with the aim of exploiting the latters ultra-cheap labor force and opening up new trade routes.

While differences between the agendas of Washington and Seoul have always existed, Trumps approach to China and North Korea is exacerbating these divisions. Moons speech last week, as well as the announcement of a third inter-Korean summit in September, caused some concern in the US, and the decision to cancel Pompeos trip was also likely aimed at forcing Seoul to apply the brakes on further planned cooperation with the North.

The carrying out of South Koreas plans would require moving towards a formal declaration ending the 1950-1953 Korean War, something Washington has refused to do despite North Koreas continued requests for this security guarantee.

Any sort of peace treaty would cut across the broader US goals in the region. As Joseph Yun, a former leading US State Department diplomat on North Korea, told the New York Times last week, For the United States, an end-of-war declaration or a peace declaration or a peace treaty has always had a broader context.

A peace treaty would raise the question of why the US military and the massive amount of weaponry it commands continue to remain on the Korean Peninsula and thereby expose even more nakedly Washingtons preparations for war against China.Asia

Pakistan: Hyderabad water and sanitary workers demand back pay

Hundreds of Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) employees demonstrated on August 17 to demand immediate payment of three months outstanding wages and pensions. The protest was organised by the Mehran Workers Union and held outside the Hyderabad Press Club.

The Hyderabad Development Authority, the parent government body of WASA, claimed that it would pay one months outstanding wages due to the 2,600 workers if the planned protest was called off. This was rejected by the low-paid workers, who have threatened to shut down water supply and drainage system services if authorities do not pay the full amounts before the upcoming Eid religious holidays.

Bangladesh: Jute mill workers call for arrears and festival bonus

About 1,200 Alhaj Jute Mills workers in Jamalpur district demonstrated on August 15 to demand outstanding payments and the Eid bonus. The protesting workers barricaded the road with burning tyres for nearly two-and-a-half hours.

Bangladesh police brutally attacked the protesters with truncheons, hospitalising 10 workers. The jute mill workers have threatened to block the rail line if the authorities do not pay the arrears.

India: West Bengal television actors end strike

Television actors returned to work in West Bengal, after walking out on August 18 to demand on-time wage payments, higher rates, overtime after 10 hours and other claims they have been attempting to win from the Welfare Association of Television Producers. The strikers told the media that, apart from the major stars, no other actors were paid on time.

The strike ended on Thursday after the states Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee established a special consultative committee, headed by veteran actor Soumitra Chatterjee and previously associated with the Stalinist CPI (M). Chatterjee hailed the chief minister for bringing about a peaceful resolution but no details were provided about when the actors demands would be settled.

India: Outsourced Paradip port workers strike in Orissa

Outsourced workers at Paradip port, the second largest in India, walked out on strike on August 22 over a 13-point log of claims. Mechanised and manual cargo handling was immediately affected at the port.

The workers demands include job security, provision of proper facilities, safety and emergency equipment, holiday leave and other basic working conditions. Forty stevedore agencies employ 2,500 skilled workers to handle cargo at the port. The workers said they would remain on strike until their demands were met.

Australia and the Pacific

Striking Alcoa workers protest outside state parliament

Around 1,000 striking workers from Alcoas operations in Western Australia (WA) rallied outside state parliament in Perth on Wednesday. Over 1,500 workers at the companys WA refineries and bauxite mines have been on indefinite strike since August 8 after long-running negotiations for new enterprise work agreements (EBAs) stalled.

Wednesdays rally was to highlight workers concerns over job security and demands for the retention of permanent jobs. It was also to protest the companys application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for termination of current EBAs.

If Alcoas application is granted, the workers could be forced back onto the base industrial award, leading to large pay reductions and cuts to working conditions. The company is demanding that the workers endorse its EBA proposal before the end of this month.

Companies can apply for the termination of agreements under Fair Work industrial laws introduced by the former Labor government, with the support of the unions. The legislation also contains draconian anti-strike provisions, which have been used to suppress workers opposition in dispute after dispute. Employers have forced workers back on to base awards at Glencores Oaky North mine in Queensland, Griffin Coal in WA and other companies.

New Zealand mental health workers strike

Around 40 mental health workers at Gateway Housing Trust struck for an hour on Tuesday in the first of two planned strikes over a new work agreement. The workers collective agreement expired two years ago.

The Gateway Housing Trust health workers want a new collective agreement to contain a redundancy clause. Their demand follows a planned restructure and possible cuts to jobs and working hours.

The E tu union, which covers the mental health workers, however, kept the Gateway workers dispute separate from the recent strike by 30,000 nurses and health workers for a pay rise, jobs and improved conditions.

Learning support specialists strike in New Zealand

Around 850 specialist school workers, including psychologists and speech therapists, struck on Tuesday. The workers are employed by the Ministry of Education to aid pre-school, primary and secondary school children with learning difficulties.

New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) members voted for the walk out after rejecting a pay offer by the government of a 2 percent increase now and a further 2 percent in March. The NZEI leadership has isolated the support specialists pay dispute from 24-hour strike action taken by 29,000 teachers, who are also NZEI members and walked out on August 15.

Sacked Freeport mine workers protest in Papua

Dozens of workers rallied outside the parliament of Indonesias Papuan province in Jayapura on Tuesday in protest against their sacking by Freeport Gold and Copper mine, a lucrative operation of the US-based McRoran company.

Over 8,000 were fired 14 months ago and not given any severance pay, following a strike. Many are still unemployed or have been forced into low paid jobs as labourers or motorcycle taxi drivers.

The workers demanded that provincial legislators take up their case. The Jayapura rally followed one in Jakarta early this month. One hundred former employees undertook a 10-day ferry trip to the capital paid for by donations from workers. The company claims it has offered work to sacked employees through contractors.

The mass sackings occurred amid a dispute between the company and the Indonesian government. The company resisted efforts by the Widodo administration to cap copper concentrate exports in order to increase domestic smelting and force the company to divest its shares. During the dispute, production in the huge mine was cut 60 percent. Since July, the Indonesian government has held a 51 percent share of Freeport.Niles Niemuth, the Socialist Equality Partys candidate for Congress in Michigans 12th District, spoke to a well-attended meeting Wednesday in Brownstown, a suburb of Detroit in the Downriver area. The meeting was attended by supporters from throughout southeastern Michigan, who were eager to help with Niless campaign.

While building for the meeting the previous week, SEP campaigners encountered a warm reception and a growing interest in socialism in the predominantly working-class region, which has been devastated by plant closures and layoffs over the past four decades.

Niles addressing the meeting in Brownstown

We are running a different type of election campaign, Niles said in his opening remarks. I am running for Congress in Michigans 12th district as a member of the Socialist Equality Party to help spearhead the fight for an independent revolutionary movement of workers and young people that takes direct aim at the capitalist system under conditions of unprecedented inequality, the danger of world war and the racist assault on immigrants and refugees.

Niles connected the social issues facing the working class in southeastern Michigan to the struggles of workers throughout the world and the failure of American and world capitalism. He noted that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose company operates facilities in and around the 12th district, [saw] his fortune rise by $50 billion in 2018enough to pay a bonus of $100,000 to each of the companys more than half a million workers worldwide.

He also pointed to the role of the United Auto Workers, which is embroiled in an expanding bribery scandal, and the trade unions in general, in facilitating this transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich by enforcing the slashing of wages for new hires demanded by Obama in the 2009 bailout of the auto industry.

Niles cited the still-unexplained death of young part-time autoworker Jacoby Hennings in the union office at Fords Woodhaven Stamping plant, only a few miles away from the meeting room. My campaign has raised the call for a public inquiry into Hennings death to determine what exactly led to this young mans death. Ford, the UAW, the Democrats and the Republicans have ignored this case  Hennings loved ones and all of his co-workers deserve a full accounting of what happened to him.

The growth of extreme inequality, he explained, was what was behind the breakdown of democracy in the United States, demonstrated above all by the Trump administration. The rise of billionaire real estate developer and reality TV charlatan Donald Trump to the presidency represents the open rule of the oligarchy, Niles said. He is the stinking byproduct of endless wars abroad, endless police killings, endemic poverty, stagnant and declining wages, deindustrialization and a raging opioid crisis; all of which is underwritten by ever rising levels of social inequality, among the highest in the world.

However, the Democrats present no alternative to Trump, Niles said. He noted that [the Democrats] are running a record number of former CIA, State Department and military members for office in the November midterms.

Figures such as Bernie Sanders, together with various pseudo-left outfits such as the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), he noted, work to corral the growth of left-wing sentiment back behind the Democratic Party. These fake socialists combine promises of mild social reforms with the defense of the Democratic Party, a right-wing party which has overseen the historic transfer of wealth from the working class to the rich, unending war, and unprecedented attacks on immigrants, he noted. The disgust that millions of workers and young people are feeling towards both parties will take new and much more radical forms in the coming months.

Genuine socialism is revolutionary, Niles continued. The rights of the working class will be won not through an appeal to the morality of the modern-day robber barons, but through a direct assault on the very foundations of the capitalist system.

A socialist program, he explained, means an end to imperialist war, the ending of all deportations and the unification of workers of all nationalities, the establishment of workplace democracy through the formation of rank-and-file committees, independent of and in opposition to the trade unions, and the creation of a workers government  that is, a government of the working class, by the working class and for the working class, which will implement the socialist policies that are required to meet the needs of working people.

Nabeel

A lively discussion with the audience followed Niles remarks. Nabeel, who met SEP campaigners last month outside of a Bernie Sanders rally in Detroit, asked, I think there are people who share our interests but get sucked into the DSA thing because theyve got glitz and glamor. How can we show those people the light, to show people that theyre not the real socialists, and bring them onto our side?

Niles explained that it was not only the SEP that has recognized the growing support for socialism. The Democratic Party recognizes it too. Sanders, who had been saying the same things for thirty years, was the unexpected beneficiary of this growth in anti-capitalist sentiment. But his role was to channel support back behind Clinton, a candidate diametrically opposed to what they stood for. The task of the genuine socialists, he answered, was to expose these political frauds and to patiently explain to workers and young people what these forces really represent.

Further discussion raised issues such as the campaign of DSA member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the perspective of pressure politics, the importance of the lessons of the history of the socialist movement, and the need to use Niles campaign to bring the SEPs genuine socialist program to a broader audience.

Among those who attended the meeting was Grace, a graduate student studying American history from the University of Michigan. She first met the SEP during the petition campaign to gather signatures to place Niles on the ballot at a rally to defend immigrants in Ann Arbor where the party had a large presence. "At first when I started reading the World Socialist Web Site, I could see it was sort of a world outlook, and I was saying to myself, 'Is this actually real? Are these guys for real?' I agreed with what I read, but I wanted to see for myself, so I came to the meeting."

Niles and Grace

"But then seeing people actually fight for these positions at the meeting, seeing it in practice, it makes way more sense. I think it was a good meeting. I liked the answer Niles gave to my question about how we should answer those like the DSA who argue that the reason they run as Democrats is 'that we have to fight to make them accountable'. "

Niles had explained that the Democratic Party and its defenders will never be accountable to anyone except the capitalist class. He asked the audience to consider why figures such as Ocasio-Cortez are members of the Democratic Party, a party supported by the financial elite, which has waged unending wars, carried out the deportation of immigrants, and facilitated the massive transfer of wealth from the working class to the wealthy under the Obama administration.

"We cannot go to the Democratic Party and expect that any of the attacks facing working people will be stopped," Grace concluded. "More people need to see that the SEP is an independent party with a historical foundation."

Nabeel, who had campaigned for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, explained what brought him to the meeting. [Last month], I had been suckered into the whole pseudo-left thing. I was on board with the DSA, [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie. Two of your members were handing out materials for the SEP and I was kind of interested. I asked if they were like the DSA and they said no.

It all hit me the minute El-Sayed lost, and immediately endorsed Gretchen Whitmer, Nabeel said, referencing the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who is backed by the health insurance conglomerate Blue Cross Blue Shield. He followed the same path that Bernie did when he lost, endorsing Clinton. Whitmer is not for raising the minimum wage; shes a typical corporate Democrat. Abdul is saying hes against the corporations, then says to vote for Whitmer. I was heartbroken, and thats what woke me up. I thought, Maybe they [the SEP] were right. Maybe what they were saying was true.

Campaign donations

I think the most important thing is to get the truth out to the working class. The Democrats and pseudo-left try to use identity politics to divide the working class and say the problem is straight white men, including poor straight white men. Then the Republicans say it is immigrants. Both are trying to protect the interests of the corporations. Socialists are the only ones trying to say the truth: Its not because of immigrants or white people; it is about capitalism. The system is the problem, predicated solely on profit and greed and the exploitation of the working class.

Nabeel said it was a huge wake-up call finding the SEP. Im very happy for that to have happened and I feel lucky to know now that the DSA are not real socialists.State prosecutors in Saudi Arabia have called for the execution by beheading of 29-year-old political activist Israa al-Ghomgham, her husband, Moussa al-Hashem, and three others for the crimes of peacefully demonstrating against the countrys monarchical dictatorship, chanting slogans against the regime and posting videos of their protests on social media.

The death sentences, including the first for a Saudi woman based on alleged political offenses, are emblematic of a criminal regime that counts as Washingtons closest ally in the Arab world.

The protests that led to the charges took place in the port city of Qatif in the Saudi kingdoms oil-rich Eastern Province, home to the bulk of the countrys Shia minority population. Beginning in 2011 and continuing since, the protests have challenged the systematic discrimination against and oppression of the Shia population by a monarchy that is bound up with the official, state-sponsored religious doctrine of Wahhabism, an ultra-conservative Sunni sect.

The demonstrations, demanding equality, improved social conditions in a region that remains deeply impoverished despite its oil wealth, freedom of expression and the release of political prisoners, have been answered with a police state crackdown that has seen entire communities subjected to military siege.

Israa al-Ghomgham and her husband were arrested on December 6, 2015 when security forces staged a night raid on their home. They have been imprisoned ever since, held for 32 months, most of that time without access to a lawyer and without being presented with any formal charges against them. From a working class background, Ghomghams family did not have the money to pay for a lawyer. It was only after her father began a public attempt to raise funds that an attorney volunteered to defend her.

She and her co-defendants were tried in the Saudi regimes Specialized Criminal Court, set up in 2008, ostensibly to try terrorism cases. The courts proceedings, in which the rights of defendants are virtually non-existent, amount to a show trial, with the verdict as well as the sentence determined in advance by the monarchy.

The court is tasked with implementing the notorious 2017 counter-terrorism law, which describes insulting the Saudi king and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 33-year-old heir to the throne, as an act of terrorism.

The same court in 2014 sentenced to death prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr and seven other Shia activists. They were put to death in a mass execution of 47 people on the same day in January 2016. The court sentenced 14 others to death on similar trumped-up political charges in 2016.

The regime routinely crucifies the headless corpses of its victims in an attempt to terrorize the population and intimidate any potential opposition to the absolute rule exercised by the royal House of Saud.

It is with the same end that the regime now proposes to execute, for the first time, a woman charged with political opposition. Many other women have been executed after being convicted for other offenses. Women convicted of adultery are routinely stoned to death. A Saudi executioner told the Saudi daily Sabq that he found women more resistant to beheadings than men, and had resorted to shooting them in the head.

Saudi Arabia executes far more people per capita than any other country on the planet. Last year, nearly 150 individuals were beheaded. This year appears destined to top that grisly toll, with the number of beheadings in the first quarter of 2018 increasing by 70 percent compared to the same period last year.

In addition to political opposition to the monarchy, such executions are meted out to those found guilty by Saudi courts of atheism, blasphemy, adultery, homosexuality or witchcraft.

The Trump administration has issued no statement on the impending execution of Israa al-Ghomgham and her co-defendants. The media has been relatively silent. No major editorials have appeared decrying their fate.

The attention paid to this barbaric state crime represents not even a fraction of the coverage lavished by the corporate media in the United States on the reforms introduced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, principally his allowing Saudi womenthose who can afford a carto drive. There has been little mention of the fact that Saudi women activists who advocated equal rights were rounded up by the security forces, with an estimated 14 of them still behind bars.

Figures identified with the #MeToo movement have been noticeably silent about the threatened execution of a Saudi woman for speaking out against oppression. Their supposed defense of women never extends to the victims of capitalism or conflicts in any way with the global interests of US imperialism.

When bin Salman toured the US in April he was feted not only by the Trump administration, but also by the media and an array of American billionaires, from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Involved in the lionization of this state criminal and murderer are not only the profit interests of energy conglomerates, arms manufacturers, banks and numerous other corporations seeking to profit off of Saudi Arabias oil wealth.

Democratic and Republican administrations alike have for more than seven decades supported the Saudi monarchy, one of the most reactionary regimes in the world, as a linchpin of US policy in the Middle East, arming it to the teeth. This support has only intensified as the Trump administration has ratcheted up US aggression against Iran, seeking to cobble together an anti-Iranian coalition including both Saudi Arabia and Israel for the purpose of rolling back Iranian influence in the region and asserting US hegemony.

Just as the Trump administration has remained silent about the threat to behead a Saudi woman and her fellow defendants for peaceful protest, so the Obama administration made no significant response to the mass execution of political prisoners when it was in office. Instead, both Democratic and Republican White Houses signed hundreds of billions of dollars of arms deals with the regime.

So too, both administrations provided indispensable military support for the near-genocidal war led by Saudi forces against the impoverished country of Yemen, where some 16,000 have been killed and more than 8.5 million have been brought to the brink of starvation.

On Thursday, it was reported that 27 civilians22 of them childrenwere slaughtered in a Saudi air strike that demolished a vehicle in which a family was fleeing from an embattled neighborhood in the besieged port city of Hodeidah. This atrocity comes just two weeks after the August 9 strike in which a US-supplied bomb tore to pieces a bus filled with school children, killing 51 people, 40 of them children. These acts of mass murder have also received scant attention in the media and elicited no change in US support for the savage war.

The Saudi royal dictatorship, its monstrous crimes, and US support for them constitute the appropriate yardstick against which all of the human rights propaganda pumped out by Washington to justify its predatory aims from Venezuela, to Syria, to Iran, Russia and China should be measured.Webcam hosting service has been discontinued as of October 21, 2021. Read more about our decision here.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 25)  Vice President Leni Robredo debunked the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief's claim that Naga City is the fifth city outside Metro Manila with the highest crime rate.

Robredo took to Twitter and said, "Totally unacceptable. Spare our people and our beloved city from misinformation."

In another tweet, the Vice President said, "PNP Chief claims Naga consistently ranked 5th in crime volume all over the country. The truth: Murder-34th; Homicide -24th-26th; Rape-29th; Robbery-11th; Theft-6th."

Three days ago, PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde said Naga City is the fifth city outside Metro Manila with the highest crime rate  a claim retracted by the PNP Public Information Office Acting Chief Benigno Durana Friday.

"Based on the latest PNP data, among the major cities of the country outside of Metro Manila, Naga City is ranked No. 6 in the total crime volume during the period from January to July 2018," Durana said.

Naga City is Robredo's bailiwick. President Rodrigo Duterte on August 14 said Robredo was incompetent to assume the presidency since Naga was a "hotbed of shabu."Michael Cohen could be key witness in state investigation of Trump charity originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Michael Cohens striking accusation on Tuesday that then-candidate Donald Trump directed him to negotiate hush agreements to help the campaign, which violated campaign finance laws, sharpened interest in a separate legal probe connected to the president -- the ongoing investigation of his family charity.

Cohen, Trumps former fixer and personal attorney, could become a key witness in that probe.

Less than 24 hours after Cohen pleaded guilty to eight felonies in federal court in Manhattan, New York state investigators subpoenaed him as part of an ongoing multi-agency investigation into the Donald J. Trump Foundation, a spokesperson with the state's department of taxation and finance told ABC News.

(MORE: Michael Cohen, Trumps former longtime personal attorney, pleads guilty to illegal campaign contributions 'at the direction of a candidate for federal office' )

Cohens attorney, Lanny Davis, piqued the interest of state investigators when he made TV appearances Tuesday and Wednesday claiming that Cohen had information relevant to state and federal investigators, an official in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office told ABC News.

PHOTO: Lanny Davis, U.S. attorney and former Clinton political strategist, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Prague, Czech Republic, on May 22, 2018. (Martin Divisek/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE)

That official confirmed that shortly after Cohen was served the subpoena, the former Trump confidante reached out to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to ask when they could schedule a meeting.

The department cannot prosecute a case against Trump or his charity, but it can share information and make referrals to criminal prosecutors at the New York Attorney General and Manhattan District Attorney offices.

(MORE: Michael Cohen subpoenaed in New York state probe of Trump foundation )

Cohen has also indicated a willingness to meet with investigators from the state attorney generals office to discuss the foundations activities, according to a source with knowledge of Cohens thinking.

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The Trump foundation did not immediately respond to ABC News request for comment this week.

PHOTO: A view of Trump Tower in New York, June 14, 2018. (Alba Vigaray/EPA-EFE via REX/Shutterstock)

New York Attorney General civil lawsuit against Trumps foundation

In June, the states attorney general filed a civil lawsuit accusing Trump's charitable foundation of having "operated in persistent violation of state and federal law governing New York State charities" for more than a decade by paying off legal bills with charitable funds, promoting Trump hotels, and purchasing personal items.

For example, prosecutors claim the foundation, under Trumps direction, illegally used charity funds to pay Mar-a-Lagos $100,000 legal settlement with the Town of Palm Beach, Florida, over building permits and a flagpole dispute in 2007.

The foundation also used charity money to buy a $10,000 painting of Trump that was displayed at the Trump National Doral in Miami, a private Trump-owned resort, according to the lawsuit.

The attorney general's lawsuit names the foundation, Trump and three of his adult children - Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric - and seeks to dissolve the private New York-based foundation, prevent the Trumps from serving as directors of any nonprofits in the future, and asks for $2.8 million in restitution and other penalties.

PHOTO: President-elect Donald Trump stands surrounded by his son Eric Trump, daughter Ivanka and son Donald Trump Jr., ahead of a press conference in Trump Tower in New York in this Jan. 11, 2017 file photo. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters, FILE)

The state attorney general also accused that the foundation of illegally using the charity to support then-candidate Trumps presidential bid.

The foundation coordinated with the Trump campaign to turn a January 28, 2016 veterans fundraiser in Iowa into a Trump campaign event, the lawsuit alleged. [T]he Iowa fundraiser was planned, organized, financed, and directed by the Campaign, with administrative assistance from the Foundation, the lawsuit claimed. At the televised event, Trump stood behind a podium with TRUMP in all-caps and his campaign slogan MAKE AMERICA GREAT prominently displayed.

PHOTO: Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to veterans at Drake University on Jan. 28, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images, FILE)

The attorney general claimed that Allen Weisselberg, the treasurer of the foundation and longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, also allowed Trumps then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to dictate which Iowa veterans groups would receive the funds raised by the charity.

The lawsuit said "at least five $100,000 grants were made to groups in Iowa in the days immediately before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses."

In an unrelated matter, U.S. prosecutors have granted immunity to Weisselberg in their federal investigation of Michael Cohen, sources told ABC News on Friday.

"The Trump Foundation was little more than a checkbook for payments from Mr. Trump or his businesses to nonprofits, regardless of their purpose or legality," New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood said in a June statement. "This is not how private foundations should function."

In response, the Trump Foundation wrote in June that this is politics at its very worst. The Foundation has donated over $19 million to worthy charitable causes -- more than it even received."

"The President himself -- or through his companies -- has contributed more than $8 million, the statement continued.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump departs the White House, July 31, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images, FILE)

The foundation has said it intends to dissolve. In late June, the charitys lawyer told a judge that it had more than $1 million left to distribute, money the foundation claimed is being held hostage by the attorney generals legal action.

Judge Saliann Scarpaulla of New York will consider how this case will proceed at the next hearing, which is scheduled for October 11.

Trump charity could face other legal exposure

Beyond this civil lawsuit, Trump and his family may have other legal exposure from this charity.

The New York attorney general in June asked the IRS and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate the Trump foundation and take legal action.

In July, the Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog organization based in Washington, D.C., also filed a complaint with the FEC calling for an investigation of the foundation for alleged election law violations.

The IRS, FEC and the Manhattan District Attorneys office, which could potentially bring criminal charges, all declined to comment to ABC News on whether they are investigating Trumps charity.

The New York attorney general can only bring a criminal case if there is a referral from another state agency, such as the states department of taxation and finance, which subpoenaed Cohen. It cannot prosecute federal crimes.

"We will hold Donald Trump and his associates accountable for violations of state law, and will seek a criminal referral from the appropriate state agency as necessary," a spokesperson for the New York Attorney General told ABC News on Wednesday.

ABC News' Lucien Bruggeman and Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.Photo credit: Mohamed Abdulla Shafeeg

From Delish

Hey, do you like books? Do you like the beach? Do you like quitting your job? Do you have a pulse? Have I got news for you. A bookstore owner at a luxury resort in the Maldives is looking for someone to help him sell books to rich people. Print isn't dead!

Soneva Fushi, a resort that claims to be the "original desert island hideaway in the Maldives," is the setting of your dream job, where you'll be working the desk at what is possibly the most remote bookshop in the world. The ideal candidate has a "passion for books" and is willing to engage guests of all ages, from entertaining kids to helping guests brush up on their creative writing skills.

The resort itself offers tropical climates, ocean views, and plenty of things to do when you're not flipping old novels. As bookshop owner Philip Blackwell told the Guardian, "The pay is derisory but the fringe benefits, unparalleled."

Part of the job also involves maintaining an "entertaining and lively" blog, which means documenting your experiences living in paradise. Brutal. Just imagine the shit you'll get to talk at your next high school reunion-if you bother ever coming home again at all.

Anyway, if this sounds like your thing, and it does, check out Soneva Fushi's website and email your resume to pb@ultimatelibrary.co.uk. Or don't! Because I'm taking the job. In fact, disregard all of this.

What job?

Photo credit: Con Poulos

PRE-ORDER NOW Delish Cookbook, amazon.com



('You Might Also Like',)Myth: Cruises are for the elderly

Yes, you will find seniors who have the time to take vacations sailing the seasbut they're not the only ones. Cruises are inclusive to their passengers but also with their deals, like these 10 all-inclusive cruises for the best vacation ever.There is a wonderful mix of ages; some are going it solo, some with groups of friends. There are families and couples. And there are travelers from around the world.

Myth: The entertainment is bingo

I didn't expect much beyond bingo, a casino, a pool, and an amateurish floor show. On the Westerdam, the Lincoln Center Stage blew me away. I could hear amazing music: Jazz, classical, and beyond. Then there was B.B. King's Blues Club for dancing the night away, and Broadway-quality productions. America's Test Kitchen offered cooking workshops and demonstrations. There were trivia contests, ping-pong, poker, and all manner of tournaments. For the health-minded, there were fitness and wellness classes, a spa, and lectures on ways to live a healthier life.

Myth: Forgettable cuisine

I was expecting mass-produced, cafeteria-style cuisine. I was way off: Travelers can find gourmet dishes and creative cocktails. On certain nights, one of the regular eateries transformed into Rudi's Sel de Mer, an intimate seafood brasserie with French classics inspired by Master Chef Rudi Sodamin. Like having more faith in the cruise cuisine, here's 13 things travel experts wish you knew about booking a cruise.

Myth: You will get seasick

Many people don't experience seasickness at all. But sometimes really bad weather and choppy seas will cause even the sturdiest to lose their lunch. But even in those cases, you can get a pill from the clinic on board and be back to downing Mai Tais in no time.

Myth: Going on shore is a bore

The truth is, you'll want more time! You're bound to find an excursion tailored to your interests, whether you're a foodie, an art aficionado, an adventurer, a water lover, or a history buff. (Just be sure to book your excursions earlythey fill up fast.) The beauty of longer cruises is all the cities you can see: I had the opportunity to taste life in places like Gibraltar, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Monte Carlo, Toulon, Livorno, and more.

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Myth: You'll spend, spend, spend

The ships offer different levels and sizes of accommodations, and all sorts of food and beverage packages. These 17 travel hacks that will make your cruise easier, including ways to save money. Plus, cruise lines routinely have special deals to tempt you. Shop smart and you'll find all the amenities you need. Cruisecritic.com is a good place to begin your search, as are the websites of cruise lines.

Myth: Once is enough

You'll likely meet "serial" cruisers on boardpeople on their 30th or 40th adventure. I certainly caught the fever. Since last summer, I've taken a second cruise on the MSC Divina, sailing to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Georgetown in the Cayman Islands and Hurtigruten's Hidden Harbors along North America's coast. I explored Boston, Camden, and Rockport en route to Halifax. I can't tell you how happy I am to admit I was very wrong. So even if you're skeptical about cruises, there's one out there for youcheck out the best cruises for every type of traveler.Here's a challenging problem: What do you get a groundbreaking NASA mathematician for her 100th birthday?

Naturally MAKER Katherine Johnson, who inspired the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, has the perfect solution.

The living legend, who turns 100 on Aug. 26, says all she wants is for young girls to "bring the spirit of curiosity to everything you do," she tells MAKERS exclusively. And remember "my father always told me that no matter how smart I was, I was no better than any other personand no less."

The noted mathematician, who calculated the path that put man on the moon as well as John Glenn's orbit around the Earth, will mark her centennial birthday with friends and family at her alma mater West Virginia State University. On Aug. 25, the college will unveil a life-size bronze statue of the famous alumnae on the campus where she earned her undergraduate degree at age 18. She will then be honored by her sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha with a luncheon followed by a birthday dinner hosted by West Virginia State University.

On Sunday, Johnson and her familyincluding her daughtersplan on hosting a picnic at the park where she often played as a child.

Johnson was born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, WV. The youngest of four children raised by her mother Joylette, a teacher, and her father, Joshua, a handyman at the Greenbrier Hotel, Johnson always gravitated towards numbers. "They tell me I counted everything," Johnson said in her MAKERS interview. "I was the youngest. I wound up ahead of my brother maybe two grades. I don't remember how many. I entered college. I was 15. I was gonna be a math teacher because that was it. You could be a nurse or a teacher."

But while she attended West Virginia State University, the noted African-American mathematician W.W. Schieffelin Claytor, PhD. encouraged her to pursue more advanced math courses. "He said, you'd make a good research mathematician. I said, 'Oh? What do they do? He said, 'You'll find out.' So he had me take all the courses in the catalog. Sometimes I was the only person in the course."

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Johnson, however, couldn't see how any of the advanced work would add up to a career. "I said, 'Where will I find a job?'" Johnson recalls of a conversation she had with Professor Claytor. "He said, 'You'll look till you find it.'"

After seven years of working as a math teacher, a family member flagged that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (this agency was shut down in 1958 and transitioned to become National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA) was looking for mathematicians to be "women computers." Says Johnson: "They just wanted somebody to do all the little stuff while they did the thinking."

During the space race in the 1960s, Johnson pushed her way into high-level meetings because "I wanted to know what it was they were looking for. So I wound up doing what it was they were trying to find out."

"They'd call up a group of engineers and have a briefing as to what they were gonna have to do," recalls Johnson. "And I asked, 'Could I go?' They said, 'Women don't ever go to those.' I said, 'Is there a law against it?' They said, 'No... well, let her go ahead.'"

By the time she retired in 1986, Johnson's work had influenced every major space mission. But of all her contributions at NASA, she's most proud of the success of the Apollo mission. "They were going to the moon," she says. "I computed the path that would get you there."

(NASA Langley/Flickr)

In recent years, Johnson has (finally!) received all the accolades she deserved. In addition to the statue at her alma mater, Johnson earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama and she also cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the new Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility on NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

While Neil Armstrong made "one small step for man," Katherine Johnson was making giant leaps for all women.Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss

There is no doubt that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding was a fabulous and over-the-top royal affair. But, what we all want to know now is if their royal honeymoon matched the grandeur of their nuptials. It turns out that only Queen Elizabeth and Prince William know the answer to that question. Find out all the little details you might have missed about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding day. A source with close relations to Buckingham Palace told The Sun the most senior members of the royal household staff still have no idea where they went, with the exception of the Queen and Prince William. But how on Earth is it possible that the most famous couple of the year can travel in such secrecy? Well, it turns out that when youre royalty you can request that only those most trusted and highly involved with the trip can know of your whereabouts. It was very important that the newlyweds had a private honeymoon where they could be alone together out of the public eye, the source said. That makes sense and is understandable, especially since every detail of the couples relationship has been shared with the entire world. One thing we do know is Harry denied that their honeymoon would be in Namibia like many people thought. It was thought that Canada was possibly the winning destination for the lovebirds, with alleged reports of Markle traveling solo to Canada, however, these turned out to be unsubstantiated rumors. Royal correspondent Omid Scobie told Harpers Bazaar that sources revealed to her that Prince Harry and Markle were actually at Lake Como in Northern Italy with George and Amal Clooney during the time there was speculation that Markle was in Canada. Wherever the royal couple travels for their honeymoon, what we do know is that they are definitely taking advantage of these royal family travel secrets.When Mollie Tibbetts went missing on July 18, last seen heading out for her nightly jog, a familiar feeling overwhelmed me. I love fitness and working outI do something active pretty much every day. I run monthly 5K races, but I almost entirely avoid running or training outside by myself. Hearing about Tibbetts reminded me of why Ive made that choice: Its the unsettling sensation of wondering whether youre being followed or if that person is simply running the same route.

Its the half scream sitting idle in your throat as they brush past you a little too closely. Should you shout? Should you call for help? Would that make you look crazy? As these thoughts slowly chip away at your sanity, the stranger races past youand as it turns outdid not intend to attack. You exhale deeply. Youre fine. At least this time.

Its a fear thats not always present. But if youre a woman who runs, whether on rural roads, trafficked trails, or busy streets, its a fear that you regularly confront. And its a fear that metastasizes when you learn that Tibbetts, a 20-year-old student at the University of Iowa, was found weeks later, bloodied and buried beneath cornstalks.

The United Nations states that one in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a stunning report revealing that half of the killings of American women are tied to intimate partner violence. The report also states that strangers commit 16 percent of all female homicides, proving that women are more likely to face violence from someone they know and even trust. These numbers prove that the likelihood of getting killed on the running route are low. Rare even. Still, the creepy, shadowy figure lurking in the dark (or in broad daylight) remains a threat some of us cant quite shake. Thats because almost half of women runners face some type of harassment while they are out, as this Running While Female survey revealed.

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In the Tibbetts case, that harassment unfortunately and tragically led to her death. But we have to be clear about this heartbreaking caseit doesn't prove that women need to take more precautions while running. Instead, it reveals more about the widespread and unchecked violence and harassment against us.

The weeks-long search for the student came to an end this Tuesday after Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, led law enforcement officials to the cornfield where he is said to have left her body. Hes since been charged with first-degree murder. According to CNN, Rivera was driving when he saw Tibbetts running. He followed her for some time until he eventually parked the car and began chasing her. When she threatened to call the police, he panicked, got mad, and doesnt remember what happened next. Tibbetts untimely death fills in the blanks. Its the worst-case scenario, and its something that women might be forced to think about when they run, especially considering that 94 percent of the women Runner's World surveyed in 2016 said that a man was the harasser.

After Riveras arrest, his immigration status instantly became a focal point of the conversation. Authorities said the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Rivera is undocumented, which Riveras lawyer has disputed. Regardless, the White House wasted no time responding. President Trump blamed Tibbetts death on current immigration laws, despite the fact that all available national crime data show that immigrants commit fewer crimes than their American counterparts.

Tibbetts death doesnt prove anything about our immigration laws. Her family has said that much. It does, however, reveal something about the individual charged in her death, and the daily harassment that women face.

And though the onus should not be put on us to dismantle that violence, it goes without saying that there are ways we can make sure we're being vigilant. What I can tell you is that [women] are susceptible to the pervasive violence of the day at any given moment, Gloria Marcott, a self-defense expert and law enforcement officer, tells Glamour.

Marcott advises women to always stay alert and to keep tabs on the people around you. First and foremost, have your situational awareness intactthat means focusing on the world around you as you are running, she says. As soon as you identify that someone is following [you], its time to immediately escalate your response. And by escalate your response, I mean you become the absolute biggest problem for that person following you.

Quickly change the direction youre running in. If possible, look for a business or a heavily populated foot-traffic area to go to. Flag down any cars that you see. Shout to let others know you need help and to let the attacker know that youre on to them. If that person starts to approach or attack you, Marcott says prepare to punch, kick, and strike the vital target areas, including the eyes, throat, and groin. Your violence of action must be more than the violence coming at you, she explains. If you only have your hands to solve this problem, it has to be fierce, and it has to attack critical areas.

If you run or jog, tips about awareness are common, exhaustive even. The reality is that these tips, always geared towards women, likely wont make violence against us any less pervasive. Our own alertness wont make men feel any less entitled to harass women.

It is simply not our fault.

Women do not exist for the mindless consumption, whether verbally or physically, of men. Respecting women really comes down to respecting our boundariesfrom the bedroom, to the track, and on the open road.

For Tibbetts, she deserved that and more. But in the wake of her death, as family and friends continue to mourn, it's important that we frame the conversation in a way that doesn't suggest any blame or inaction on her part, but instead addresses a societal issue that affects us all.

Related Stories:

I Tried Jogging in "Air" Sneakers and It Was Like Running on Clouds

#MeToo Forced Me to Reevaluate My Own Sexual Historyand I've Taken Advantage of WomenStarbucks is on an Instagram-friendly roll. The same week that Starbucks Mexico got Bubblegum and Cotton Candy Frappuccinos, another colorful drink has hit the menu. This invention by Starbucks Brazil is called the Galaxy Frappuccino, according to Delish, and it looks exactly the way it sounds: like a sparkling cosmos of light blue and intense violet. It also sounds like it tastes as good as it looks. Delish reports that it's creme-based and cotton candy-flavored with grape-flavored dust, and covered with whipped cream and glitter. It's also designed to be played with  according to Delish, the drink can be mixed for an extra-swirly galaxy effect.

Unfortunately for Starbucks lovers in the US of A, the Galaxy Frappuccino is only available in certain places around Latin America and the Caribbean, including Aruba, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Puerto Rico, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago, Delish reports. And for 'gram-happy Starbucks fans in those locations, time is running out: It's only available from August 22 to August 26.

Thankfully, there's a consolation prize: Here in the States, Pumpkin Spice Latte season is just four days away. As Teen Vogue previously reported, August 28 marks the beginning of Starbucks's 15th anniversary of the quintessential fall drink. To celebrate, this year's PSLs have spawned their own sub-PSLs. There's iced Pumpkin Spice Lattes (for those last days of summer), Blended Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Pumpkin Spice Lattes with cold foam, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes that come with a Spice Cookie Straw for extra pumpkin spice.

It's almost too much to handle, but Starbucks came prepared for that, too. At the beginning of August, the company created a Facebook support group called the Leaf Rakers Society for fans of PSLs, pumpkins, Halloween, leaf piles, Starbucks products, and other loosely fall-themed things.Unai Emery admitted Arsenal are still a work in progress as they came from behind to clinch a 3-1 victory against West Ham that ended their new manager's wait for his first Premier League points.

Emery's side had lost the first two games of the post-Arsene Wenger era against Manchester City and Chelsea in the club's worst start to a Premier League campaign since 1992.

They were on the verge of more unwanted history after Marko Arnautovic gave West Ham a surprise lead at the Emirates Stadium.

A defeat would have made this the first Arsenal side to lose their opening three fixtures for 54 years.

But, while Emery's team were dismal in defence, they possessed just enough attacking quality to stage a much-needed fightback.

Nacho Monreal equalised before half-time and West Ham defender Issa Diop deflected influential substitute Alexandre Lacazette's shot into the net after the interval.

Danny Welbeck came off the bench to wrap up the points in stoppage-time.

But Arsenal's inconsistent performance suggests Emery still has much to work on as the Spaniard aims to restore his new club to the top four after last season's sixth-place finish.

"We are happy with the first three points after two defeats, but it's clear we need to improve," said Emery, who dismissed reports he had fallen out with Mesut Ozil after the flu-stricken German missed the match.

"It was a difficult match. We need to continue working to not concede many chances. We have to see the reasons why we conceded so many.

"We need the balance with the midfielders. We suffered on the transition many times."

Accentuating the positives of Arsenal's spirited comeback, Emery added: "We improved in the second half and controlled more like we want. We showed that in difficult periods we can win."

West Ham's third successive defeat under new manager Manuel Pellegrini makes it the worst start by a Hammers boss since Avram Grant lost his opening four league games of the 2010-11 season.

Pellegrini's side sit bottom of the table and the Chilean said: "I'm not happy with the result but I'm happy with the performance.

"It was what I demanded of the players. We will win more games than we lose if we play like this.

"I don't think Arsenal created much, we created twice as much as them."

Pellegrini's men snatched the lead with a 25th-minute goal that showed Emery hasn't erased the defensive woes that ailed Arsenal in last years of Wenger's reign.

When Felipe Anderson took possession in midfield, he was able to advanced unchecked towards the Arsenal penalty area, where he fed a pass into Arnautovic.

Aided by the lethargic reaction of Arsenal defenders Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Arnautovic had time and space to drill a low drive past Petr Cech from the edge of the area.

Revitalised

Jolted into action by that shock setback, Arsenal were level within five minutes.

Breaking onto Henrikh Mkhitaryan's pass down the right flank, Hector Bellerin whipped over a cross that ran through to Monreal at the far post, where the left-back lashed home from close-range to cap a fine 17-pass move.

Benefitting from more astonishingly slack defending, Robert Snodgrass should have put West Ham ahead when he ran clear on goal, but the midfielder let Arsenal off the hook with a tame effort.

Crucially, Arnautovic squandered two chances to restore West Ham's lead with sloppy finishes early in the second half.

Lacazette's half-time introduction had revitalised Arsenal and the forward drew a good stop from Lukasz Fabianski with a stinging strike.

Arsenal's pressure was rewarded in the 70th minute when Lacazette controlled well on his chest and swivelled for a shot that cannoned off Diop and into his own net.

Arsenal finished well on top and Welbeck tapped in from Bellerin's pass with the Hammers defence in tatters.Seven people were arrested at a rally at the University of North Carolina on Saturday, where demonstrators on both sides protested the Confederate Silent Sam monument that was removed earlier this week.

Protesters clashed at the Chapel Hill campus, with a group called the Oathkeepers rallying in support of the monument being reinstated and opposing groups arguing against the monument being on the campus.

Police said three people were arrested for assault and two for assault, destruction of property and inciting a riot. Another person was arrested for destruction of property, and one person arrested for resisting a police officer.

UNC urged students against participating in the rally yesterday, citing safety concerns.

On Friday, Thom Goolsby, a member of the UNC System Board of Governors, announced on Twitter the statue be reinstalled within 90 days, citing state law.

Criminals who destroyed state property at UNC and police who did nothing will be held accountable, Goolsby tweeted.Dublin (AFP) - Pope Francis expressed "pain and shame" over the Catholic Church's failure to deal with abuse and met with eight victims during a visit to Ireland on Saturday where the prime minister pressed him to take action.

Francis said the "failure of ecclesiastical authorities... adequately to address these repellent crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community.

"I myself share those sentiments," he said in a speech in Dublin Castle, speaking alongside Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

The pope later held an hour and a half meeting with victims of abuse at the hands of clergy or in Church-run institutions, including Marie Collins, who was, at the age of 13, abused by a priest while being treated in a hospital in Dublin.

Collins, who last year resigned from a Vatican commission for child protection over its inaction, told reporters that the pope's speech was "disappointing" and "nothing new".

One of the victims of Fr Tony Walsh, a priest and serial abuser who assaulted hundreds of children over nearly two decades, was also present but preferred to remain anonymous.

- 'Cries for help' -

Paul Jude Redmond, who was adopted illegally from a Catholic-run home in the 1960s where his mother had been interned for being pregnant and unmarried, was among those who met the pope.

Redmond said the pope "lifted his hands to his head in shock" during the closed-door meeting after hearing stories of ill-treatment in Church-run Mother and Baby Homes.

"We feel hopeful there will be more movement from the Church," Redmond said in a statement put out by the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors.

Varadkar, an openly gay leader and a symbol of Ireland's liberalising culture, demanded from Pope Francis "that from words flow actions" for victims in a strongly-worded speech.

He said Ireland's multiple historic scandals were "stains on our state, our society and also the Church."

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"Far too often there was judgement, severity and cruelty... people kept in dark corners, behind closed doors, cries for help that went unheard," he added.

"There is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors. Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure that this is done here in Ireland and across the world."

- 'An inspirational man' -

Francis's visit was the first by a pope in this former bastion of Catholicism since John Paul II spoke to a crowd of 1.5 million people during a visit in 1979.

Irish society is virtually unrecognisable from that time.

A new generation has shed Ireland's traditional mores, electing Ireland's first gay prime minister and voting to legalise same-sex marriage and abortion -- both once unthinkable.

In Dublin, tens of thousands of people lined the streets to cheer Pope Francis on as his Popemobile made its way from St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, where he gave marriage advice to couples, to a hostel for homeless families.

"I just think he is an inspirational man. He has a difficult job to do to try and bring around a lot of changes in the Church but he is doing his best I feel," said Eileen Grier-Gavin, who came from County Mayo in western Ireland to see the pope pass by.

The pope later attended a Festival of Families in Croke Park Stadium with more than 82,000 people in attendance.

- 'Still in denial' -

Earlier this month, the Vatican was rocked by a devastating US report accused more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania state of abusing more than 1,000 children since the 1950s.

The pope wrote a letter to the world's 1.3 billion Catholics vowing to prevent future "atrocities" but also conceding that no efforts "to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient".

Ireland has grappled with its own history of abuse, with multiple probes finding Church leaders protected hundreds of predatory priests over the decades.

The Argentine pontiff was in Ireland to close the 2018 World Meeting of Families (WMOF) -- a global Catholic gathering that takes place every three years.

The highlight of the trip will be an outdoor mass in the city's Phoenix Park on Sunday, which is expected to draw 500,000 people.

Priests and nuns from across Ireland have flocked to the capital, although merchandise sellers said business was sluggish.

"Local people are not spending," said street vendor Tony Mooney, 67. "There's an awful lot of not nice things being said to us."

Richard Duffy, 31, said he was opposed to the visit, telling AFP "it just boggles my mind that there's a celebration for him coming here."

"They're still in denial and refusing to admit any fault," he added.By Abdul Qadir Sediqi and Hamid Shalizi KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's national security adviser, one of the most influential aides to President Ashraf Ghani, resigned on Saturday, a move one official said could be followed by his own bid for the top job in next year's scheduled election. Hanif Atmar's resignation was accepted by Ghani, presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri told Reuters. The spokesman gave no official reason for the abrupt departure, but a copy of Atmar's resignation letter obtained by Reuters said he had developed "serious differences over policies and principles with government leadership". A senior government official close to Atmar, who spoke on condition that his name was not used, said the former security adviser was considering running against Ghani in the 2019 vote. "He has resigned because he is preparing to run for presidential election next year," said the official. Atmar, 49, has been considered the second-most powerful official in Afghanistan since he became national security adviser after Ghani was sworn in as president in late 2014. He was also minister of interior under former President Hamid Karzai before being sacked in 2010 after Taliban insurgents' attacked a "peace jirga" that was an early attempt at ending the now-17-year-old war with the Taliban. The exact details of the rift with Ghani were not immediately clear, but in the past week the Afghan government declined to attend peace talks hosted by Russia that representatives of the Taliban are expected to attend. Atmar, who began his security career with the Soviet Union-backed government in the late 1980s, is still seen as close to Russia. Ghani on Saturday appointed 35-year-old Hamdullah Mohib, Afghan ambassador to United States, to replace Atmar as national security adviser, the presidential spokesman said. (Additional reporting by Rupam Jain; Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Edmund Blair)https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/A6M3_Zero_N712Z_1.jpg

Warfare History Network, Chuck Lyons

Security, Asia

Was the deadly 1937 Japanese attack on the USS Panay in Chinas Yangtze River a case of mistaken identity or something more sinister.

How America and Japan Almost Started World War II (In 1937)

For some Americans, World War II started early. In December 1937, four years before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor propelled the United States into the war, Japanese planes attacked an American gunboat, the USS Panay, on Chinas Yangtze River, strafing and bombing the boat, sinking it, killing three American crew members, and the wounding 45 others.

Those same Japanese planes also attacked three Standard Oil tankers that were being escorted by the gunboat, killing the captain of one of the tankers as well as a number of Chinese passengers.

Two newsreel cameramen aboard the Panay were able to film the attack and subsequent sinking of the gunboat, the burning tankers, and the diving, firing Japanese planes. The attacks and the newsreels taken at the time helped to turn American public opinion against Japan and, for a time, there was talk of war.

In the end, war was avoided, and Japan paid an indemnity of over $2 million to the United States. But, at the time and for years afterward, questions raised by the incident remained unanswered.

What had really happened? And why?

As early as 1854, the United States had gunboats on the Yangtze River, a right granted by treaty. By the 1870s, American interests in the area had expanded and the U.S. Asiatic Fleet was created to protect those interests from feuding Chinese warlords and pirates along the river.

By the early 1900s, Standard Oils activity and use of tankers in the region had also picked up, and by 1914 the United States Navy had introduced specially built, shallow-draft gunboats to the river. By then the Navy was patrolling as far upriver as Chunghink, 1,300 miles from the coast.

Between 1926 and 1927, six new gunboats were commissioned and placed on the river. One of the was the Panay, a 191-foot gunboat armed with eight. 30-caliber Lewis machine guns and two three-inch guns.

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A brass plaque in the Panays wardroom summed up her mission: For the protection of American life and property in the Yangtze River Valley and its tributaries, and the furtherance of American good will in China.

In July 1937, following decades of diplomatic and military incidents between the two countries, increasingly hostile Japan attacked China. By November, the Japanese had captured Shanghai at the mouth of the Yangtze and had begun moving up the river, leaving a swath of destruction. In early December, Imperial troops were approaching Nanking, then the Chinese capital.

The United States was officially neutral in the conflict. Ambassador Joseph Grew and the staff of the American embassy fled the city in November, leaving four men including Vice Consul J. Hall Paxton behind to monitor the situation and do what they could to protect American citizens still in the area.

In early December, the Panay was sent from Shanghai to Nanking to remove the remaining Americans from the city. To prevent his gunboat being mistaken for an enemy vessel, Panays captain, Lt. Cmdr. James J. Hughes, ordered that American flags be lashed across the boats upper deck and that a 6 by 11 foot United States flag be flown from the boats mast.

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Two sampans that were powered by outboard motors were attached to the Panay to ferry those being evacuated to the gunboat. Hughes also ordered that the two sampans conspicuously fly American flags.

By December 9, the Panay was docked in the river at Nanking and 15 civilians had been taken on boardthe four embassy staffers, four other U.S. nationals, and other foreign nationals including a number of journalists. Among the journalists were newsreel cameramen Norman Alley of Universal News and Eric Mayell of Fox Movietone.

At the time, the gunboat had a crew of five officers and 54 enlisted men. As the Japanese approached the city and shells began falling near the river, the Panay left the city and moved to an oil terminal a short distance upriver. Hughes sent a radio message to the Japanese alerting them to its new position.

That night all of us stood and watched the burning and sacking of Nanking, until we rounded the bend [in the river] and saw nothing but a bright red sky silhouetted with clouds of smoke, Alley later wrote.

On December 11, shells began falling near where the Panay and three Standard Oil tankers, the Meiping, Meian, and Meihsia, were anchored; the tankers were there to help evacuate Standard Oil employees and agents from Nanking. The three tankers and the Panay quickly formed a convoy and moved seven miles farther upriver to avoid the shelling.

Witnesses to the action later claimed that the shells that had fallen appeared to be aimed.

On the morning of December 12, as the convoy was heading upriver, a Japanese naval officer approached the ships and demanded information from the Panay about the Chinese disposition of forces along the river.

Captain Hughes refused to comply. This is an American naval vessel, Alley reported Hughes as saying. The United States is friendly to Japan and China alike. We do not give military information to either side.

The convoy was then allowed to resume its passage upriver and eventually anchored 28 miles north of Nanking. Once there, Captain Hughes sent his new position to American authorities with a request that the information be relayed to the Japanese.

At about 1:40 pm that day, three Yokosuka B4Y Type-96 bombers were seen heading toward the convoy in V-formation. Japanese bombers overhead were a familiar sight to the men of the Panay. They had seen them frequently since the Chinese-Japanese fighting had begun, and the planes had never been anything to be concerned about.

We had no reason to believe the Japanese would attack us, Executive Officer Lieutenant Arthur Anders later said. The United States was a neutral nation.

This time was to be different.

To be safe, Captain Hughes summoned his men to battle stations and closed the gunboats water-tight doors and hatches. As the planes approached, however, they were joined by several Nakajima A4N Type-95 biplane fighters. The Yokosuka bombers seemed to be losing altitude or even going into power dives.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, they released their bombs.

One of the bombs almost immediately hit the Panays pilot house. There was a brilliant flash and the sound of crunching steel and shattering glass. Captain Hughes was quickly incapacitated with serious wounds, the Panays three-inch guns were knocked out, and its pilot house, radio room, and sick bay were destroyed. The ships propulsion gear was damaged. Electrical power was out.

Not realizing Captain Hughes had been wounded, Anders nonetheless gave the order to return fire.

Following the three Japanese bombers, the Yokosuka fighters strafed the gunboat while six single-engine dive bombers swept over the Panay, pounding it with more heavy explosives. The Panay began to settle at the bow and list to starboard.

The crew returned fire as best they could, but the gunboats three-inch guns were down and her machine guns had been installed to fight targets on shore. Forward fire was almost impossible, and they could not be elevated enough to fire at the Japanese planes as they passed overhead. In addition, with many of the crew wounded, not all the guns could be manned. An Italian correspondent also had been struck and was critically injured.

Anders manned one of the guns himself but, when he became aware that Captain Hughes had been injured, he moved to the bridge to assume command. He was almost immediately struck in the throat by a shard of metal. Unable to speak and bleeding badly, he nonetheless wrote out orders in his own blood.

Throughout the chaotic scene, as bombs were exploding and machine-gun fire from the Japanese fighters strafed the boat, Alley and Mayell raced around the deck filming the action. Across the water, fire could be seen breaking out on the tanker Meiping.

On the Panay, crewmembers were throwing gas cans over the side and moving the wounded to the engine room. Twenty minutes into the attack, Anders said later, Part of the [Panays] main deck was awash, the ship was slowly sinking and there were many injured on board.

He gave the order to abandon ship.

The Panay had no lifeboats and one of its two motor sampans had already left the ship and was heading away. A Japanese plane came down on the sampan like a chicken hawk, Anders recalled. The plane dropped a bomb that fell short, but another Japanese plane came by and strafed the sampan before it could return to the gunboat.

The woundedincluding Captain Hugheswere evacuated in the sampans, code books were destroyed, and lifebelts were distributed. Some crewmembers leaned wooden tabletops against the rails in case a quick exit was required. The stiff current in the river, which was as much as seven miles per hour, made it dangerous for swimmers. Most of the crew was able to leave on the sampans, however.

The sampan I was in had been strafed, Anders later said, on one of its many previous trips ashore. The bullet holes in the bottom were leaking water.

Meanwhile, the Japanese had focused their attack on the Standard Oil tankers. On board the Meian, Captain C.H. Carlson had been killed and two of the three tankers were burning. We could hear the pitiful screams of the Chinese crew members, Norman Alley wrote.

At about 3:55 pm, the Panay sank in 10 fathoms.

The gunboat survivors, meanwhile, had reached shore. Many of them were wound-ed, and they huddled in the reeds along the shore as Japanese planes soared in vulturous circles above us, as Alley put it.

The two Standard Oil tankers burned on the river. The third tanker had by then beached itself.

Fearing they would be discovered by the Japanese, Alley wrapped the film he had shot, along with Mayells film, in canvas and buried the package in the mud. By dark, the attack was over, and the group of survivors realized they were in Chinese-controlled territory and about eight miles from Hoshien, a small fishing village. They made litters from whatever was available and walked the eight miles to the village, carrying the wounded.

The Panay had suffered three crewmen killed and another 45 injured. Five of her civilian passengers were also wounded.

Once at Hoshien, the survivors were able to contact American embassy officials, and American and British Navy vessels were immediately dispatched to the area. The Japanese authorities, expressing confusion over what had happened, also took part in rescue efforts, launching search planes and ships.

The survivors were finally picked up at Hoshien by the American gunboat Oahu and by two British gunboats, HMS Bee and HMS Ladybird, which had been fired on earlier by Japanese artillery. The British had suffered one man killed and four injured.

The Japanese quickly issued an apology, claiming they had received information that some of the Chinese fleeing Nanking were on the river and, from the altitude at which their bombers were flying and in the mist, their pilots had mistaken the Panay and the tankers as the vessels carrying the Chinese.

Secretary of State Cordell Hull issued a formal complaint.

The Japanese continued to apologize, a Japanese admiral resigned in connection with the incident, and Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced that he would personally take charge of an investigation of the incident no matter how humiliating [it] may be to the armed forces.

On December 19, Alleys and Mayells film of the incident, which had been recovered from its hiding place on the Yangtze river bank, was released. The film put lie to Japanese claims that the Panay was not well marked and that visibility was limited. It showed a clear and sunny day.

Public outrage followedPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt said he was shockedand the attitude of the American people began to turn against the Japanese.

A few days later, as the Panay survivors reached civilization, filthy, cold, and wearing only blankets, Chinese quilts, and tatters of clothing, their photos and stories began being published and public outrage mounted.

Before Alleys film was made public, however, Roosevelt had viewed it and had requested that the cameraman remove 30 of the 53 feet he had shot. Those 30 feet showed Japanese planes attacking the Panay at almost deck level and contradicted many of the Japanese governments claims. In censoring the film, Roosevelt probably acted from fear that the explosive nature of the film would inflame the growing public sentiment in favor of war with Japan, something Roosevelt did not want at that time.

As the initial shock faded, things began to slowly return to normal.

Alley shifted his attention to the fighting in Europe. Lieutenant Anders amazingly coughed up a metal shard three days after the attack and regained the ability to speak; he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his actions. Captain Hughes had suffered a severely broken femur but would recover to serve in the coming war.

But why had the Japanese planes attacked the Panay and the Standard Oil tankers in the first place?

As late as 1953, Commander Masatake Okumiya, who had led the Japanese bombers that day, continued to maintain that the attack had been a case of mistaken identity. The pilots operating the bombers, he said, had only been flying in China for about eight days and had never been briefed on how to recognize neutral ships. The firing against the two British gunboats had been quickly ended, he said, when a British flag was spotted on one of the boats.

At the time and later, this explanation was questioned.

The Panay was known to be well marked and, despite Japanese claims, visibility was also known to be good that day. Alleys film also showed that the Japanese planes had approached at a very low altitude, almost deck high. In addition, analysts asked, if the Japanese truly believed they were attacking troop transports, why did they clearly attack the Panay firstthe only vessel capable of returning fire?

It was also reported after the war that U.S. Navy cryptographers had intercepted Japanese radio messages to the attacking planes indicating they were under orders during the attack and that the attack was in no way unintentional. Allegedly, some of the Japanese aviators involved had protested their orders before finally agreeing to execute them.

The most probable explanation of what happened to the Panay that day is that the Japanese government did not sanction the attack. Analysts and American newspapers speculated at the timeand later historians have agreedthat the attack was most likely launched by radical elements within the Japanese military that were trying to provoke a war with the United States.

Or it may have been an attempt by those same radical elements to measure the U.S. response to an attack, or was simply intended to force the United States to abandon its presence in China.

In any case, it was rogue Japanese officers who were behind the attack, not the Japanese government. The chaos spawned by the Japanese attack of Nanking may have provided what those elements considered an opportunity to further their own aims. They almost succeeded.

The prospect of war with Japan and the possibility of abandoning China both gained some public traction following the attack and its resulting publicity. A Los Angeles Times editorial at the time, for example, suggested, A gradual withdrawal form China is no doubt wise.

But the United States did not abandon China, and it did not go to war.

Roosevelt accepted an official Japanese apology for the incident. The Japanese government paid an indemnity of $2,214,007.36 to the United States in April 1938, and the United States declared the incident officially closed.

When it did so, one historian wrote, A sigh of relief passed over the length and breadth of America.

There would be no war with Japanat least not then.

Originally Published November 11, 2017

This article by Chuck Lyons originally appeared on the Warfare History Network.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Read full articleThe University of North Carolina is urging students not to participate in a possibly rally over the Silent Sam Confederate statue this Saturday, citing safety concerns in a statement released on Friday.

On Friday, Thom Goolsby, a member of the UNC System Board of Governors, announced on Twitter the statue be reinstalled within 90 days, citing state law.

Criminals who destroyed state property at UNC and police who did nothing will be held accountable, Goolsby tweeted.Scott Landis and his wife. (Photo: Facebook courtesy of Scotty Landis)



A bittersweet story took a tragic turn on Friday afternoon when a small plane crashed in Hanson, Mass. Two brothers had reportedly been on board the plane to scatter their late fathers ashes. But now, the plane crash has led to even more loss for the family.

The planes pilot, Scott Landis, was one of the two brothers, who were the only people on the plane. He died on Saturday after suffering injuries during the crash, Boston 25 News reported. Scott Landiss brother Patrick is in critical condition at Tufts Medical Center, according to the news outlet.

The plane apparently crashed into water near Cranland Airport in Hanson, Mass. Boston 25 reports that the two men were recovered from the plane and taken to two different hospitals, Tufts Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital.

BREAKING: Sky25 over small plane crash on Hanson #Boston25 pic.twitter.com/GYuivZVEOT  Mike Saccone (@mikesacconetv) August 24, 2018

Don Conway, the Landis brothers uncle, told CBS Boston that the pairs father died two weeks ago after battling cancer. Scott Landis had apparently been on leave from the Army to memorialize his father by scattering his ashes when his untimely death occurred. Scott and his wife share a son, according to his Facebook page.

Conway said Scott has plenty of piloting experience. Scotty is a very established pilot, so it couldnt have been pilot error because hes meticulous when he flies, Conway told Boston 25 News.

UPDATE: Uncle of the two men in the plane that crashed near Cranland Airport in #Hanson said they are brothers & had just spread their fathers ashes from the air. Pilot is very experienced  active duty Air Force  he was on leave for his fathers funeral. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/Px14pYZzIL  Elysia Rodriguez (@ElysiaBoston25) August 24, 2018

As for what might have caused the crash, the FAA told CBS Boston that the National Transportation Safety Board is looking into what could be the probable cause for the fatal event. The investigation is ongoing, but CBS Boston reported that the airport manager suggested that engine failure on takeoff may have been a factor. Whatever the reason for the crash, the Landis brothers attempt to honor their late dad has sadly become another tragic event for the family.

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In the past, Melania Trump has been seen slapping away her husband's hand, ripping her hand away from his, and walking away from him during photo ops.(This version of Aug. 24 story corrects spelling of party member's name to Entsch, paragraph 10) By Colin Packham CANBERRA (Reuters) - New Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison promised generational change in the warring Liberal party on Friday, seeking to end an internecine battle that has scarred the conservative government ahead of an election due by May 2019. Morrison, who was treasurer under outgoing prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, emerged the surprise winner in a three-way challenge for the leadership of the Liberal party brought on by a right-wing rival this week. Stepping up to become Australia's sixth prime minister in less than 10 years, Morrison has inherited leadership of a coalition between the Liberal and National parties whose one-seat majority will have to be defended when a by-election is held for a safe Sydney seat that Turnbull is set to vacate. "Our job ... as we take forward this mantle of leadership as a new generation, is to ensure that we not only bring our party back together, which has been bruised and battered this week, but that ... we bring the parliament back together," Morrison said in his first appearance after his party-room victory. "The new generation of Liberal leadership is on your side," he told Australian voters, many of whom are angry and frustrated with a decade of political instability in which no sitting prime minister has lasted a full term. Morrison was sworn into office shortly after 6 p.m. (0800 GMT) on Friday. He ruled out calling a general election in the near term but will still face an early electoral test, as Turnbull is set to resign from parliament, forcing a by-election in a Sydney seat that has been a safe seat for the Liberals. Turnbull blamed his demise on "vengeance, personal ambition, factional feuding" in his party, led by conservative lawmakers including former prime minister Tony Abbott, the man he toppled in a party-room coup in September 2015. "Australians will be dumbstruck and so appalled at the conduct of the past week," said Turnbull. Liberal party member Warren Entsch said after the leadership vote: "This revolving door of prime ministers has got to stop". The Liberal party is the senior partner in the Liberal-National coalition government that has consistently trailed opposition Labor in opinion polls in recent months. Bookmakers on Friday had Labor a favorite to win the next poll. (For a graphic on Australia politics click, https://tmsnrt.rs/2OZsms0) BREAK FROM THE PAST Morrison's victory marks the chance for a break from a decade of leadership clashes between Turnbull and Abbott in both government and opposition, but ideological divisions in the party over issues such as climate change, energy policy, immigration and even globalization remain stark. Indeed, after Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was eliminated after the first round of the leadership ballot, Morrison only defeated Peter Dutton, his more conservative rival, by 45 votes to 40. Three changed votes would have altered the result. Dutton was at the center of the political turmoil this week. Seeking to head off his push for the top job, Turnbull unexpectedly called a leadership vote at a Liberal party meeting on Tuesday and won 48 to 35. The victory margin was seen as unconvincing and Dutton and his influential supporters regrouped and pressed for a second vote, and seemed to be building momentum. Morrison emerged on Thursday as a candidate and quickly won favor with moderates. While originally from the conservative wing of the Liberal party, Morrison is widely seen as a centrist and has rejected prominent right-wing policies, including limits on immigration. "He is the compromise candidate, a bridge between the conservative and moderate wings of the party," said Haydon Manning, a political science professor at Flinders University in South Australia state. "He can heal the wounds that threatened to fracture the coalition government and allow the government time to prepare for an election," he said. But Morrison faces a series of policy decisions that could reopen old wounds within the government, including an impasse on energy, a topic that acted as a catalyst in Turnbull's demise. Turnbull this week sought to placate conservative anger by stripping requirements for reducing greenhouse emissions from his centerpiece energy policy but the influential right-wing government lawmakers remain opposed to the policy. Morrison will therefore need to find a way to meet Australia's commitment to reduce emissions by 26 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 under the Paris accord without stoking old divisions, a challenge Turnbull said would be difficult. "The truth is that the coalition finds it very hard to get agreement on anything to do with emissions," said Turnbull. FINANCIAL MARKETS COMFORTED Morrison's victory was welcomed by financial markets, which have been shaken by the political instability. Australian shares edged higher on Friday, rebounding after three days of losses that saw the benchmark fall 1.5 percent. "PM Morrison is the most market-friendly option," said Annette Beacher, Chief Asia-Pac Macro Strategist at TD Securities in Singapore. However, Beacher said markets would be looking to see whether Morrison can narrow the gap with opposition Labor. "The skew toward the Labor party at this stage ensures they will form government at the next election," she said. It was also hoped Morrison would end the political instability that has plagued Australia. "The political turmoil of the past decade has come at the cost of our global competitiveness ... the business community needs policy certainty to promote investment and improve business confidence." said Tony Johnson, chief executive officer of Ernest & Young. (Reporting by Colin Packham in CANBERRA, Swati Pandey and Wayne Cole in SYDNEY, and Sonali Paul in MELBOURNE; Editing by Michael Perry and Paul Tait)New York (AFP) - Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Friday that the company would continue to be publicly traded, weeks after suggesting that he would take the electric carmaker private.

Musk met with Tesla's board of directors on Thursday "and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to remain public. The Board indicated that they agree," he wrote on the company blog.

Musk surprised markets on August 7 by announcing on Twitter he wanted to take Tesla private at $420 a share. But shares fell more than 20 percent since the announcement.

After the announcement the controversial entrepreneur came under extensive scrutiny over his Twitter statements related to the proposal, especially a claim that Tesla had "secured" funding for the move.

However, Musk said Friday that based on talks with current shareholders, as well as an assessment by financial advisers Silver Lake, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, "it's apparent that most of Tesla's existing shareholders believe we are better off as a public company."

Even though the majority of shareholders "said they would remain with Tesla if we went private, the sentiment, in a nutshell, was 'please don't do this,'" he wrote.

"I knew the process of going private would be challenging, but it's clear that it would be even more time-consuming and distracting than initially anticipated."Troy Tulowitzki is not expected to return to the Toronto Blue Jays lineup this season. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

It appears that the Toronto Blue Jays wont be seeing Troy Tulowitzki take the field in 2018.

Manager John Gibbons reportedly told Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that the five-time All-Star is not expected to be back this season. The shortstop has been recovering from a surgery he underwent on April 2. The procedure involved removing bone spurs from both of his ankles.

The Santa Clara, California native is in Toronto this weekend, and it is expected that he will address the situation soon.

The 33-year old was optimistic earlier this season that he would be able to return to the lineup, but it seems likely that the next time Tulowitzki could suit up for the Blue Jays would be in 2019  if all goes well with his recovery.

The former first-round pick still has two years plus a club option left on his current contract. He is owed $20 million in 2019, $14 million in 2020, and his option is slated to pay him $15 million if the team were to pick it up in 2021.

Torontos answer at shortstop this season has been Aledmys Diaz who was acquired in the off-season from the St. Louis Cardinals. Diaz, while originally brought in to back up Tulowitzki, has been solid in an everyday role. His 16 home runs are tied for seventh-best among shortstops in the majors, while only one shy of his single-season best of 17 which he recorded in 2016.

The last time Tulowitzki suited up to play a game with Toronto was July 28th, 2017.

More Blue Jays coverage on Yahoo Canada Sports:Nairobi (AFP) - The Burundi government is prepared to take part in a "final" session of crisis talks with the opposition, expected to be held in Uganda next month, the foreign minister announced Saturday despite earlier official word that the dialogue was over.

"We are preparing to take part in the fifth round of talks," foreign minister Ezechiel Nibigira said in a video put online by the Iwacu newspaper.

"Burundi thinks this will be the final round" of talks, the minister said.

His comments come days after the UN Security Council criticised the slow progress in talks between Burundi's government and the opposition despite President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision not to seek re-election in 2020.

In a unanimous statement, the council welcomed Nkurunziza's announcement, but added that "additional progress will be necessary for credible elections" to be held in two years.

The East African (EAC) bloc of countries is seeking to broker a political deal between the government and the opposition to end the crisis that erupted in 2015 when Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term.

Nkurunziza's decision to run for re-election plunged Burundi into violence that left 1,200 people dead and drove 400,000 from to their homes. The International Criminal Court last year opened an investigation for grave crimes committed in Burundi.

So far the government has refused to hold talks with some opposition groups that it brands terrorists, despite a mediation set up by regional countries under former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa.

According to a diplomatic source, Mkapa wants to organise a fifth and last round of talks, seen as a final chance for a negotiated settlement, in the central Ugandan town of Entebbe in the last week of September.

The fourth session of Burundi political dialogue, held in late 2017 without the participation of the opposition in exile, ended without agreement.

The UN Security Council statement on Wednesday stressed that elections in Burundi must be "free, fair, transparent, peaceful and fully inclusive, with the participation of all political parties," and ensure the full participation of women.

President Nkurunziza has been accused of sliding towards authoritarianism since he came to power in 2005 at the end of Burundi's brutal civil war.NANAIMO, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that his government is engaging diplomatically with Saudi Arabia, but did not back down on his concerns about human rights, two weeks into a spat over Ottawa's calls for the release of Saudi activists from detention. "We continue to engage diplomatically with Saudi Arabia, I think it's important to have positive relationships with countries around the world," Trudeau told reporters after Cabinet meetings in British Columbia. Trudeau was responding to a question on reports that Saudi Arabia's prosecutor is seeking the death penalty against rights activists. "At the same time - we have expressed our concern with the sentence handed down by Saudi Arabia, our concern for defending human rights and our shared values all around the world," he added. Saudi Arabia, furious over a tweet sent by Canada's foreign minister and translated into Arabic by the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh, earlier this month froze new trade with Canada, blocked grain imports, expelled Canada's ambassador and ordered all Saudi students home. In a slight reprieve, five Canadian universities said on Wednesday that Saudi trainee doctors enrolled in their programs had been granted an extra three weeks in the country, as nearly 1,000 people scramble to wrap up their affairs. (Reporting by Julie Gordon in Nanaimo, British Columbia, editing by G Crosse)TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) - New charges were filed on Friday against two of five adults arrested for alleged child abuse at a New Mexico compound after autopsy results showed an abducted toddler died there and was hidden on the property, Taos County Sheriff's Office said.

Jany Leveille, 35, and her husband Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 40, were charged with abuse of a child resulting in death, as well as conspiracy to commit abuse of a child, both of which are first degree felonies that carry potential life sentences, Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said in a statement.

The two previously only faced charges for child abuse that did not result in death or bodily harm, a third-degree felony.

"We now know the child died on December 24, 2017 and was concealed at the compound," Hogrefe said in the statement.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation agent said in court testimony on Aug. 13 that the severely ill child was believed to have died in February as Ibn Wahhaj, his father, carried out a "ruqya" Islamic faith healing ritual on him to cast out evil spirits.

Ibn Wahhaj is accused of abducting the boy in December from his legal wife in Georgia and taking him to the compound near Amalia, northern New Mexico, close to the Colorado border.

The boy's body was found there on Aug. 6, three days after police raided the compound on reports that 11 children there were starving. The children are now in protective custody. Ibn Wahhaj, his brother in law, Lucas Morton, and sisters Hujrah Wahhaj and Subhannah Wahhaj are in Taos County jail awaiting trial. Leveille, a Haitian national, is being held in El Paso on federal immigration charges.

Lawyers for the five defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico and Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Sandra Maler)Santiago (AFP) - Chile's Supreme Court ordered the seizure of $1.6 million of the late dictator Augusto Pinochet's assets on Friday, at the close of a trial related to the Riggs Bank corruption scandal.

Three retired military officers were also sentenced to four years of prison for "misappropriation of public funds," the judiciary said in a ruling seen by AFP.

The corruption case came to light in 2004, two years before Pinochet died, with the revelation of around 100 bank accounts opened in the name of Pinochet and family members in the United States-based and now-defunct Riggs Bank and other financial institutions outside of Chile.

Friday's ruling, which cannot be appealed, overturns a previous one that acquitted the army officers of helping Pinochet hide his fortune abroad and returned $4.8 million and 24 real estate properties seized from the former dictator's family in an original 2004 court decision.

The Chilean investigation was launched after the discovery that Pinochet had hidden almost $20 million in a series of complex financial operations from 1981, using a number of false identities.

In 2005, Washington-based Riggs admitted to hiding Pinochet's accounts and accepted a $16 million fine.

According to official statistics, around 3,200 people were killed or disappeared and 38,000 tortured during general Pinochet's bloody 17-year dictatorship.

Despite being indicted and arrested several times for various crimes and murders, Pinochet died in December 2006 without ever having been convicted.Ex-fixer says Trump directed him to make payments and lawyer says Cohen is ready to tell all he knows about Russian interference

Donald Trump said of the illegal payments to which Michael Cohen has pleaded guilty: Its not even a campaign violation. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

Donald Trump has angrily protested his innocence after the criminal convictions of two associates plunged the White House deeper into turmoil.

The US president hit back at his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen who, in pleading guilty to eight charges including campaign finance violations on Tuesday, directly implicated Trump in paying hush money to prevent two women speaking out about alleged extramarital affairs.

Trump lashed out at Cohen via Twitter the following morning, accusing his once-loyal confidant of making up stories in order to get a deal from federal prosecutors.

He also posted a bitter message: If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you dont retain the services of Michael Cohen!

Trump suffered twin setbacks on Tuesday when Cohen pleaded guilty in a court in New York, just minutes before Trumps former campaign chief, Paul Manafort, was convicted of financial crimes in Alexandria, Virginia, that could see him jailed for the rest of his life.

The developments stunned Washington, dented Trumps claim that the investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, into Russian election interference is a witch-hunt, and revived speculation that he could face impeachment proceedings if Democrats win a majority in the House of Representatives in Novembers midterm elections.

Noting the multiple legal troubles of Trumps inner circle, some critics even drew comparisons with President Richard Nixons notorious claim in November 1973: I am not a crook. Nixon, engulfed in the Watergate scandal, was eventually forced to resign.

Appearing in federal court in Manhattan, Cohen  who worked for Trump for more than a decade  said that during the 2016 presidential campaign, the candidate directed him to make payments to two women who claimed they had sexual affairs with the president in exchange for their silence.

Story continues

The payments to the pornographic film actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal amounted to illegal campaign contributions and were designed to influence the results of the election, Cohen admitted in court. He said Trump repaid him for the $130,000 in hush money received by Daniels.

On Wednesday Trump offered a characteristically combative response, insisting that the campaign finance violations that Cohen had pleaded guilty to are not a crime.

In an interview with the conservative network Fox News, due to be broadcast on Thursday, he said: They didnt come out of the campaign, they came from me. And I tweeted about it. You know, I put  I dont know if you know but I tweeted about the payments. But they didnt come out of the campaign.

But they werent  thats not a  its not even a campaign violation. If you look at President Obama, he had a massive campaign violation but he had a different attorney general and they viewed it a lot differently.

Trump was apparently referring to a fine levied on the former presidents 2008 campaign over missing and delayed disclosure of high-dollar donors in the final days of that race.

On Wednesday evening, Trump issued another self-exonerating missive, tweeting: The only thing that I have done wrong is to win an election that was expected to be won by Crooked Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. The problem is, they forgot to campaign in numerous states!

But Trumps offensive did not dominate the news agenda. Cohens own lawyer, Lanny Davis, kept up the pressure in a series of TV interviews. He told NBCs Today show that Cohen said under oath the most damaging, definitive information yesterday  that the president of the United States directed him to commit a crime.

Cohen would not accept a pardon, Davis added, even if Trump were to offer him one.

Not only is he not hoping for, he would not accept a pardon. He considers a pardon from somebody who has acted so corruptly as president to be something he would never accept.

Davis also suggested that Cohen was ready to tell Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, everything he knows.

Michael Cohen knows information that would be of interest to the special counsel, in my opinion, regarding both knowledge about a conspiracy to corrupt American democracy by the Russians, and the failure to report that knowledge to the FBI, he told MSNBC.

Davis did not specify what information Cohen has about Russian interference, but said he was 100% prepared to reveal everything.

What he knows that he witnessed will be of interest to the special counsel, he said on ABCs Good Morning America. He will tell the truth to everyone who asks him about Mr Trump.

Cohen was for years one of Trumps most trusted advisers, but his lawyer made it clear he has thoroughly turned on his billionaire boss, less than a year after he said he would take a bullet for the president.

Cohen believes Trump is unsuitable to hold the office, Davis said, citing his refusal while standing alongside Vladimir Putin, Russias president, to accept the conclusion of US intelligence agencies that the Russians were responsible for the election disruption.

If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you dont retain the services of Michael Cohen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018

Hes turned his life [around] from what he did for Donald Trump, much of which he now regrets, Davis said on the Today Show. Thats the kind of thing that caused Michael Cohen to change his mind, and decide to dedicate himself to telling the truth to the American people.

Trumps opinion of Manafort is very different. He lavished praise on his former campaign chairman, saying he was brave and had tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Cohen, he refused to break.

At the White House briefing, the press secretary, Sarah Sanders, declined to rule out the possibility that Manafort might receive a presidential pardon, saying only: The Manafort case doesnt have anything to do with the president, doesnt have anything to do with his campaign, and it doesnt have anything to do with the White House.

She also insisted: As the president has stated on numerous occasions, he did nothing wrong. There are no charges against him in this. And just because Michael Cohen made a plea deal doesnt mean that that implicates the president on anything.

Asked if the president lied to the American people about the payments, Sanders replied: I think thats a ridiculous accusation. The president, in this matter, has done nothing wrong and there are no charges against him.

But there has been sharp criticism from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill. The Democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, said the cases were further evidence of the rampant corruption and criminality at the heart of Trumps inner circle.

Cohens admission of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in hush money at the direction of the candidate to influence the 2016 election shows the presidents claims of ignorance to be far from accurate, and places him in even greater legal jeopardy.

Most Republicans remained loyal but Senator Ben Sasse said: Paul Manafort is a founding member of the DC swamp and Michael Cohen is the Gotham version of the same. Neither one of these felons should have been anywhere near the presidency.Praise  Donald Trump praised Kanye West at his latest rally, yet ignored a political rival who has stopped treatment for brain cancer (Picture: Getty)

Donald Trump has come under fire for praising rapper Kanye West and his reality TV star wife Kim Kardashian West, while ignoring Senator John McCain who has stopped treatment for brain cancer.

Speaking at a rally in Ohio on Friday, the President included West and his wife for praise, yet did not send any message to his political rival, whose family had announced earlier the same day that he would no longer be continuing treatment for an aggressive brain tumour.

During the rally, Mr Trump said: Now were doing great and Kanye West liked me. And that really lifted my (numbers). Kanye West has some real power!

Referring to Kardashian Wests work earning the freedom of drug dealer Alice Marie Johnson in June, he added: And hes got a good wife too in Kim, Ill tell ya. She really is. She did a great thing, a great thing. That was through Kim Kardashian, I think it was terrific.

Omission  President Trump didnt mention Senator John McCain, whose family said on the same day that he would no longer be continuing treatment for an aggressive brain tumour (Picture: Getty)

But there was no praise for the Presidents political rival, who Mr Trump once claimed was not a war hero because he was captured and tortured in Vietnam.

In July 2015, the then-presidential hopeful said: I like people who werent captured.

MORE: Knifeman jailed after stabbing man outside hospital then going on rampage in A&E department

MORE: Anger as Ryanair changes its hand luggage policy again and passengers could count the cost

Mr Trumps omission on Friday provoked a backlash on Twitter, with some finding it unbelievable that he would not acknowledge the news from Senator McCains family, despite the pairs historic rivalry.

Others pointed out that the President had sent warm wishes to North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un, yet couldnt mention a fellow countryman, despite their differences.

When is @POTUS gonna acknowledge John McCain in these dear times? He never said one word!! SMDH  Alicia Michele (@AliciaMichele88) August 25, 2018

This man is the stupidest, most repulsive, most cold-hearted reptile in our beleaguered world. Shame! https://t.co/M353UTMYM9  Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) August 25, 2018

Trump sent his warmest regards and respect to Kim Jong Un but he still has no word for John McCain.  Allen Marshall (@AllenCMarshall) August 25, 2018

The latest controversy to surround Mr Trump comes after a difficult week for the President, in which two former members of his inner circle were found or pleaded guilty to crime.

Story continues

The warmth shown from Mr Trump to Kanye West, 41, is reciprocated by the rapper, who has been a vocal supporter of Mr Trump, often being pictured wearing a cap bearing the presidents slogan of make America great again.

In April, he said the mob cant make me not love him, adding: We are both dragon energy. He is my brother.President Donald Trump has put the kibosh on Secretary of State Mike Pompeos return to North Korea. This, one day after Pompeo announce he was returning to North Korea for his fourth trip there overall and second trip in as many months, to work on the denuclearization deal.

Trumps tweets may have come as a surprise to Stephen Biegun, who Pompeo also announced yesterday he had appointed special representative for North Korea. Biegun is a former national security adviser under George W. Bush, and was billed as Pompeos pick to lead Trumps efforts to get North Korea to giving up his nukes.

Back in June, Trump traveled to Singapore for his historic summit with Kim, signing a squishy agreement in which Kim promised to work toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Trump tweeted.

Pompeo had not said he expected to meet with Kim during his now-canceled trip. Last time he traveled to North Korea, Kim canceled on him and the country accused him gangster-like demands about giving up nuclear weapons.

Trump seemed to mostly blame China for his change of plans re Pompeo.

Because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place).

Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved, Trump said.

Then he added, In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!

This week, a watchdog group said Kim Jong Un had shown no signs of shuttering his nuke factory.

Trumps tweets:

Story continues

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

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President Trump On The Attack In Ohio, But Silent On John McCain Illness

Rachel Maddow Wins Night 3 As Donald Trump's Really Bad Week ContinuesKinshasa (AFP) - Ex-warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba's political party on Saturday announced it would appeal a decision to reject his candidacy in DR Congo's upcoming presidential elections.

Late on Friday, the election commission had ruled out Bemba running on the basis that he had been "convicted by the International Criminal Court" in March 2018 for bribing witnesses. He was handed a year-long prison term and a 300,000 euro fine.

But the court, which is based in The Hague, had overturned Bemba's conviction for war crimes and he returned to the capital Kinshasa in August after being acquitted.

Following the late-night decision, Bemba's supporters vowed to mobilise with the head of his Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) telling AFP the party would lodge an appeal at Constitutional Court by Tuesday morning.

"We will use all the legal means at our disposal to defend Jean-Pierre Bemba's candidacy for the presidency," MLC secretary general Eve Bazaiba said.

By Saturday morning, Congolese riot police, who are rarely seen on the streets, had deployed near the headquarters of the RTNC national radio and television in Kinshasa, where Bemba remains very popular.

"It's an operation aimed at discouraging (violence), it's an anticipatory move," police spokesman Colonel Pierrot-Rombaut Mwanamputu told AFP.

- Six candidates barred -

Ahead of the electoral commission's announcement, DR Congo opposition groups had accused the government of President Joseph Kabila of seeking to "exclude" multiple opposition candidates.

In a statement signed by Bemba and exiled opposition politicians Moise Katumbi and Felix Tshisekedi, they urged Kabila to free up the electoral process and "stop giving injunctions to the election commission."

Alongside Bemba, another five candidates were also rejected out of a total of 25 who had registered to run in the presidential elections, set for December 23.

Story continues

Among them were three of Kabila's former prime ministers -- Samy Badibanga, Adolphe Muzito, and Antoine Gizenga.

"These exclusions are unacceptable and show once again that the electoral commission is totally dominated by Kabila," Katumbi wrote on Twitter.

A former governor of Katanga who joined the opposition in 2015, Katumbi -- who has been living in Belgium since 2016-- said he had been blocked from returning to register his candidacy.

Considered a fugitive by the Ministry of Justice, Katumbi has been sentenced absentia to three years in prison with an international warrant out for his arrest.

The six candidates have 48 hours to appeal to the Constitutional Court. The election commission must publish a final list of candidates by September 19.

- Suspicion -

On August 8, Kabila -- who had held office since 2001 -- signalled he would not run again, easing months of tension over his ongoing tenure.

He has thrown his support close ally Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, a former interior minister who is permanent secretary of Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD).

But DRC's opposition, which has shed blood in protests against Kabila's grip on power after his mandate formally ended in 2016, remains deeply suspicious.

It has raised concerns about nuts-and-bolts issues such as the electoral roll and voting methods, and fears Kabila is simply plotting to remain the power behind the throne.

A country of some 80 million people, DR Congo has never known a peaceful transition of power since gaining independence in 1960.

Kabila took over from his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, after he was assassinated by a bodyguard.

- Failed bid in 2006 -

His tenure over the vast mineral-rich country has been marked by corruption, inequality and unrest. The watchdog Transparency International ranked it 156 out of 176 countries in its 2016 corruption index.

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 neighbouring Central African Republic from 2002-3, when its then-president Ange-Felix Patasse sought help to repel an attempted coup.

He was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years behind bars before his conviction was overturned on appeal in June.

The ICC said Bemba could not be held responsible for crimes committed by his troops.(Associated Press)

Drake has never been shy to to show his support for the Toronto Raptors, but will his role of Global Ambassador be destined to grow into a more powerful and prominent one within the organization?

Well, according to the artists Instagram: Maybe?

future owner A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Aug 23, 2018 at 2:45pm PDT

Future owner, were the two simple words that garnered more than 1.2 million likes and sent the Raptors social media community into a bit of a curious frenzy on Thursday. The brief caption accompanied a photo of Drake standing in front of a Raptors logo dressed in all black, head down, doing some weird thing with his hand, as he quietly contemplates his future while realizing hes gonna need a boat-load of cash to ever have a chance at owning even a sliver of the franchise.

NBA teams are not even attainable for Drake-level rich people. Think about that for a second.

Valued at around $1.4 billion by Forbes in February, a stake in the franchise as small as 10 percent could run ol Aubrey as high more than $140 million (and that value is increasing by the day). Drake, on the other hand, was estimated to have a net worth of $100 million by Money in June  making him the fourth-richest rapper on earth.

The 31-year-old took on his role as Global Ambassador five years ago, and both his global popularity and role with the team have expanded immensely since 2013. Hes become one of the most streamed and highest-selling artists of all time, while growing the teams worldwide brand and helping new players assimilate to Torontos social scene (sprinkled in with a little bit of recruiting).

Now, if only someone could lend poor Drake a few million dollars, hed be in business.Duncan Hunter (R) with wife Margaret - AP

A US congressman accused of using $250,000 in campaign donations to fund his own lavish lifestyle appeared to blame his wife for the scandal.

Duncan Hunter and his wife Margaret were charged this week with fraud and illegal use of campaign funds.

They were accused of using election campaign money to take personal trips to London, Hawaii and Italy, pay children's school fees, and for dental work and theatre tickets

The spending included $600 on an airfare for their pet rabbit, $3,300 on burgers at In-N-Out fast food restaurants, and $11,300 for items at Costco supermarket.

Hunter, a former US Marine who represents San Diego, was a very early supporter of Donald Trump, becoming only the second member of Congress to endorse Mr Trump's presidential candidacy.

Both Hunter and his wife have pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges.

Duncan Hunter arriving at court Credit: AP

Professing his innocence in a Fox News interview Hunter said his spouse had been responsible for the finances.

He said: "When I went away to Iraq in 2003, the first time, I gave her power of attorney. She handled my finances throughout my entire military career and that continued on when I got into Congress.

"She was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did, thatll be looked at too, I'm sure, but I didn't do it."

In a court appearance on Thursday the couple, from San Diego, arrived separately, sitting on either side of three lawyers and refusing to look at each other.

Margaret Hunter arriving at court Credit: AP

Hunter, who is running for re-election in the mid-term Congressional elections in November, claimed he was a victim of a plot by Democrats and it was "pure politics," although he admitted is campaign had made "mistakes."

He said: "There was money spent on things, not by me but by the campaign, and I paid that back before my last election."

Hunter is still favourite to hold on to his strongly Republican Congressional district in San Diego, which his father previously held for many years.

Story continues

But his Democrat opponent s Ammar Campa-Najjar , 29, a Palestinian-Mexican-American, is gaining ground.

Gregory Vega, Hunter's lawyer, said: "The congressman has faced more difficult battles than this in Iraq and Afghanistan. He looks forward to his day in court."

In a statement Paul Ryan, the Republican House Speaker, called the charges "deeply serious" and said Hunter will be removed from his committee assignments, pending resolution of the case.

Nancy Pelosi, the House Democrat leader, said Hunter should resign.(WASHINGTON)  The Education Department said Thursday that it is weighing whether to allow states to use federal funds to purchase guns for schools, prompting a storm of criticism from Democratic lawmakers and educators.

If approved, the plan would likely generate a lot of controversy at a time when a string of especially deadly school shootings earlier this year led to the rise of a powerful student-led gun control movement.

A senior Trump administration official told The Associated Press on Thursday that the agency is reviewing legislation governing federal academic enrichment grants to see if the money can be used to procure firearms.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly, said the bipartisan Every Student Success Act, passed in 2015, does not expressly prohibit or allow the use of Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants for the purchase of firearms. The official said the agency received several letters asking it to clarify what those funds could be used for and began researching the issue.

DeVos, who chairs a federal commission on school safety, has previously said that schools should have the option to arm teachers. The commission, formed in the aftermath of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people, has been criticized for omitting the topic of gun control.

The plan, first reported by The New York Times, prompted swift condemnation from Democratic lawmakers and many educators on Thursday, who accused the Trump administration of wanting to deprive students of much-needed mental health support and other resources in the interests of the National Rifle Association.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the idea one of the most egregious, short-sighted and dangerous executive branch abuses of our education system in modern history.

Secretary DeVos continues to lead an anti-student and anti-teacher campaign on behalf of special interests and the NRA that rejects proven and effective initiatives to ensure a safe, welcoming school climate for children, she added.

Story continues

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, which was the site of the Sandy Hook school shooting, swiftly introduced an amendment that would block the Education Department from using the funds to arm schools.

The Secretary of Education cares more about the firearms industrys bottom line than the safety of our kids, and that should scare parents to death, he said.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, accused DeVos of trying to do the bidding of the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers.

Instead of after-school programs or counselors, programs that are critical for creating safe and welcoming schools and addressing the mental health needs of kids, DeVos wants to turn schools into armed fortresses and make kids and educators less safe, Weingarten said in a statement.

She wants to turn the U.S. government into an arms dealer for schools. Thats insane, she added.

Martin West, professor of education at Harvard University, expressed skepticism.

It seems very hard to imagine that members of Congress drafting Title IV envisioned that the funds would be used to arm teachers, West said.

One of the requests for clarification came from Texas, where many school districts allow staff to carry weapons on campus. The Texas Education Agency said in a statement Thursday that it asked Washington for guidance in April after schools started asking whether they can use the grant money to cover the cost of guns. The problem took on even greater urgency in Texas after 10 people were killed in a school shooting outside Houston in May.Boozy Bank Holiday  the effects of a drinking session could last longer than you think, a study has suggested (Picture: PA)

If youre planning a boozy Bank Holiday, the effects could last longer than you think, a new study has suggested.

According to research by psychologists at the University of Bath, people still suffer cognitive impairments seen when theyre drunk  like poorer attention, memory and co-ordination  even when theres little to no alcohol left in their bloodstream.

That means when youre hungover you should probably be careful when performing certain activities like driving.

As part of the study, A Systematic Review Of The Effects Of Alcohol Hangover On Cognitive Performance, published in the journal Addiction, the researchers warn that although many workplaces have clear policies in place regarding being intoxicated at work, few cover the next-day effects of drinking.

They said for certain jobs employees should be aware of the real effects that hangovers can have, and employers could consider revising guidelines on the grounds of safety.

The hangover is estimated to cost the UK economy 1.9 billion a year due to absenteeism.

MORE: Tiny, fluffy rock rabbits who are closely related to elephants unveiled by Chester Zoo

MORE: This is what the weather is going to be like for the Bank Holiday weekend

But despite this, little has been done to examine the effects of being hungover on the job, researchers said.

Lead author Craig Gunn said: In our review of 19 studies we found that hangover impaired psychomotor speed, short and long-term memory and sustained attention. Impaired performance in these abilities reflects poorer concentration and focus, decreased memory and reduced reaction times the day after an evening of heavy drinking.

Hungover  researchers looked at the cognitive impairments suffered by people with a hangover (Picture: Getty)

He said the review suggested limited and inconsistent research on hangovers and the need for future studies in the area.

Dr Sally Adams, senior author, added: Our findings demonstrate that hangover can have serious consequences for the performance of everyday activities such as driving and workplace skills such as concentration and memory.

These findings also highlight that there is a need for further research in this field where alcohol hangover has implications at the individual level in terms of health and wellbeing, but also more widely at the national level for safety and the economy.Hurghada (Egypt) (AFP) - Engineers have found no fault in the air conditioning unit or any other equipment in the Egyptian hotel room of a British couple on holiday who died within hours of each other, the public prosecutor said Saturday.

Tour operator Thomas Cook has moved all its customers from the hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada after the couple died in what their daughter on Friday called "suspicious" circumstances.

The company said it was unclear what had caused the deaths on Tuesday of the Britons, identified as 69-year-old John and Susan Cooper, 63, from Burnley in northern England.

Experts from the engineering faculty of Ganoub el-Wadi University were called in to inspect the room at the plush Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel, Egypt's public prosecutor said in a statement.

"They examined and carefully checked all devices present in the room, especially the airconditioning," which British media have said could have resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning through a gas leak, it said.

"The committee (of experts) documented in its report that all the appliances were safe and that no leakages or any poisonous or dangerous gases were present".

The prosecutor's office added that it was still awaiting the forensics' report of samples taken from the couple.

A medical source in Hurghada told AFP that the bodies were being kept in a local hospital and doctors were waiting for authorisation from prosecutors to release them to relatives or UK diplomats.

Investigators from the local prosecutor's office have already examined both bodies and the couple's hotel room and found nothing abnormal, a judicial source said Friday.

"An (initial) autopsy found no signs of criminal violence or of a struggle," according to the prosecutor general's office.

"The necessary samples were taken so laboratory tests can be run to determine the cause of death."

Their daughter, Kelly Ormerod, said both her parents fell ill suddenly, and her father had died in his hotel room while her mother passed away hours later in hospital.

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"They had no illness, no stomach upset, no vomiting, no illness whatsoever -- they were in perfect health when they went to bed," she told Sky News.

"I believe something suspicious has gone on... something has happened in that room and caused them to be taken away from us."

The tourism ministry has said a medical examination showed that John Cooper "experienced an extreme drop in the blood circulation and a sudden stop of the heart muscle".

A security official said he died "of a heart attack", while the cause of his wife's death was reported as "halt of blood circulation and her respiratory functions".

Thomas Cook said Thursday it had received reports of "a raised level of illness" among some of its other 300 customers at the Steigenberger.

But the hotel management told AFP there were "no indications to support allegations of an increased incidence of illness".An ominous orange glow lit up the sky for miles around. It was after midnight on Aug. 11, and the city of Ghazni, less than 100 miles from Kabul, was on fire. Approaching the outskirts of town in a convoy of heavily armored 22-ton vehicles, the team of Green Berets from Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) Team 1333 took it as the first sign that it wasnt going to be an easy night.

The group was one of three U.S. Army Special Forcesled units converging on Ghazni to save it from the Taliban, which had laid siege to the city over the previous 24 hours in a surprise attack. And the closer the Green Berets got, the worse it looked. Approaching the city, ODA 1333 had to muscle their massive vehicles around bomb craters and abandoned big-rig trucks that the Islamist insurgents had set up as roadblocks.

The dismal obstacle course wasnt just proof that the insurgents had the upper hand over the 1,500 Afghan police and soldiers based in the city, even though those forces were flush with sophisticated American-supplied weaponry. The team soon discovered the wreckage-strewn approach to the city had become a shooting gallery for hidden Taliban.

Rocket-propelled grenades and machine-gun fire came screaming in from a tree line to the eastsmall bursts at first, then all at once. Streaks of heavy fire glowed green in the commandos night-vision goggles as two- and three-man Taliban teams shot rockets at the Special Forces before vanishing into nearby scrubland. The U.S. forces returned fire with rapid bursts from the .50-caliber machine guns perched atop the vehicles. At one point, one of the men shouted, Where the f-ck are [the airstrikes]? Almost on cue, a lumbering AC-130 gun ship circling above began showering 105-mm cannon fire on Taliban positions below. Apache attack helicopters, A-10 attack planes, F-16 fighter jets and MQ-9 Reaper drones also delivered airstrikes. The road into the city was just a sh-t show, one U.S. soldier tells TIME.

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Back in Washington, the war in Afghanistan often seems like an afterthought. According to the Pentagon, combat missions officially ended in 2014, U.S. forces serve only as advisers, and peace may be at hand. An unprecedented three-day June cease-fire was followed by secret U.S.-Taliban talks in Qatar in July. Were seeing the strategy is fundamentally working and advancing us toward reconciliation, even though it may not be playing out the way that we anticipated, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said on Aug. 22.

A Green Beret, left, and a Special Tactics airman prepare to move toward Ghazni from a makeshift outpost on Aug. 16.

A wall damaged by a Taliban mortar at a small makeshift outpost in Ghazni; two Afghan soldiers were injured.

An Afghan soldier talks on a radio atop a Ghazni building.

But in August, Americas 17-year enemy in Afghanistan, the Taliban, launched a coordinated set of assaults around the country ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. With echoes of the Tet offensive carried out by the Viet Cong during the Vietnamese New Year in 1968, the Taliban attack targeted vulnerable outposts peppered across seven provinces and claimed the lives of scores of Afghan forces.

The assault on Ghazni, which engulfed nearly all of the citys 19 districts, was the most orchestrated operation of this nationwide onslaught. And the Talibans surprising effectivenesscapturing districts, nearly toppling a provincial capital and briefly cutting off the main north-south highway just 60 miles from the capitalraises troubling questions about the state of the war. The battle was a major test of the Trump Administrations long-term military strategy, which hinges on defending population centers while ceding much of the remote countryside to the Taliban. It proved that U.S. forces still routinely rush to save Afghan forces struggling to contain a resurgent Taliban. That hard truth suggests the plan to train, advise and assist Afghans so they may one day defend themselves masks the costs the U.S. is still paying nearly two decades into the war, and a year after President Trump announced a new strategy to defeat the enemy. As Ghazni shows, the assist part is often difficult to distinguish from a traditional American combat mission.

Nine Americans were evacuated from the battlefield by helicopter because of injuries incurred by the Talibans multiday barrage of roadside bombs, mortar shells and rockets. At least two soldiers received Purple Hearts after suffering serious wounds. Seven out of 10 armored vehicles in ODA 1333s convoy were lost to battle damage. The Special Forces team considered themselves lucky: a shoulder-fired rocket had a near miss with a medevac helicopter retrieving an injured soldier.

The carnage in this city of 150,000 shows how devastating the war remains for Afghans. An average of seven Afghan adults and two children were killed every day in the first six months of this year, according to the latest United Nations data, with another 19 civilians injured each day. The figures show 2018 is on track to be the deadliest year of the war. A generation of American military officers who arrived here after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as fresh-faced lieutenants or majors have lived through the ferocious fighting. Some are now multiple-tour colonels or generals, with children who have inherited the burden of waging Americas longest war. Most of the soldiersAmerican and Afghanwho battled to take back Ghazni were in grade school on Sept. 11 and unable to foresee the countless ways the attacks would shape their lives.

This account of the multiday siege of Ghazni, described to TIME in on-the-ground interviews with dozens of U.S. and Afghan soldiers, commanders and citizens, offers a rare glimpse into the ongoing American military effort in Afghanistan. The extent of the destruction has not been previously reported. The Pentagon doesnt make the information publicly available, and TIME witnessed it only after gaining approval for an embedded deployment in Afghanistan after months of trying, long before the August offensive began.

Nakibullah Salwary, 35, who was injured during the Taliban assault on Ghazni, sits on a hospital bed on Aug. 16.

The battle for Ghazni didnt come out of nowhere. The Taliban sensed an opportunity in the widening chaos created by years of war. For several months, five U.S. Special Forces teams, working with some 150 Afghan commandos, had left the area to fight a different threat: a growing Islamic State affiliate known as ISIS-Khorasan, or ISIS-K. An offshoot of the Syria-based terrorist group, it formed in Afghanistan in 2015 and has terrorized towns in eastern Nangarhar province through public executions, assaults on government buildings and suicide attacks.

The effort to repel ISIS-K was one of the largest joint operations ever conducted between U.S. and Afghan special forces. By August 2018, ISIS-K had lost nearly 200 fighters and most its territory. The joint mission did not go unnoticed. Over the summer, the U.S. military received intelligence that the Taliban was aware the Americans and Afghan commandos based around Ghazni were gone, Special Forces sources tell TIME.

The Taliban couldnt believe their good fortune. Moving weapons and fighters into Ghazni isnt a difficult task. There are many ways to smuggle materiel into the city, through ancient trading lines or unassuming vehicles that blend in with traffic. Some local officials believe security personnel guarding Ghaznis perimeter granted the Taliban free entry.

Despite the intelligence tip, the Talibans initial attacks on Aug. 10 caught Washington and Kabul flat-footed. An estimated 1,000 Taliban fighters stormed the city and surrounding districts. The insurgents attacked government buildings, assaulted the central prison, destroyed a telecommunications tower and set fire to a local television station. Afghan local police and military officials temporarily lost control of several areas of the city.

U.S. Special Operations Command headquarters scrambled to respond, deploying three 12-man Green Beret teams from 1st Special Forces Group along with their Afghan partnered force from the 2nd Commando Kandak, and conventional U.S. infantry soldiers from 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

For the men of ODA 1333 and their detachment of around 100 U.S. soldiers and Afghan commandos, the orders sounded straightforward: help secure two Afghan helicopters downed by the Taliban near Ghazni. They knew they would have to take the long way around, because the Taliban had buried so many land mines along the direct road leading into Ghazni that it was impassable. What was usually a 60-mile trip westward from Paktia province would instead cover 160 miles of terrain. The troops loaded up their weapons and clambered aboard hulking RG-33 and M-ATV armored vehicles, which rumbled into the night toward Highway 1, an ancient 300-mile two-lane road that serves as the main artery linking the seat of government in Kabul to Kandahar.

The Taliban knew the Americans were coming and where they were coming fromthere was only one way in. So the militants lay in wait, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and AK-47s.

The soldiers of ODA 1333 would never reach the downed helicopters. Instead, they spent the next five days fighting hundreds of Taliban fighters in an endless series of running battles that debilitated vehicles and maimed members of their unit. Ive never seen that many [rocket-propelled grenades] in my career, says the teams sergeant, who, like others, spoke to TIME on the condition of anonymity.

In the face of recurring attacks, ODA 1333 and their attached units werent able to breach the city until some 17 hours later. The soldiers moved to a small makeshift outpost on Ghaznis outskirts, where U.S. Special Forces teams had been based before the 2014 troop drawdown. Even there, they could find no refuge. Within 25 minutes of arriving, a mortar round arched over the perimeter and crashed through the back wall of a plywood structure where two Afghan soldiers were bedding down. The percussive thump of mortar fire shook the ground under the men, followed by the crack of gunfire over their heads, ODA 1333s intelligence chief recalls. As the Americans and Afghans scrambled for protective cover, Apache helicopters wheeled low outside the base, hunting for the fighters responsible, blanketing the perimeter with gunfire and briefly quieting the attacks.

Stenciled doors of two armored vehicles at a military outpost in Ghazni.

Special Forces soldiers sleep at a military outpost.

A Special Forces soldier reads a military manual at the outpost on Aug. 15.

By that time, the sun was out and the fighting had died down enough to set up camp. When the Afghan troops were finally able to shed their combat gear, it was clear many of them had been toddlers when the war began in 2001. Some infantry soldiers still had baby faces, unlike the bearded, tattooed Special Forces team members. All were motivated to get back into the fight. The Taliban had not seized control of a provincial capital in Afghanistan since 2015. It wasnt going to happen again on their watch.

On Aug. 12, ODA 1333 prepared to mount a counterattack. U.S. Special Forces Team ODA 1212, which arrived overnight, would also push inside the city. The teams would be further aided by 60 additional Afghan commandos and aerial footage from MQ-9 Reaper drones. The goal was to secure the government facilities, police headquarters, prison and district center under attack. The operational plan was coordinated with Afghan forces, which had incurred more than 100 casualties from two straight days of fighting. As they left the outpost and headed into the city, team members could see decomposing corpses in front of burned-out buildings.

For those who lived in Ghazni, the scene was apocalyptic. Gunfire rattled through the air, rockets hissed and airstrikes crashed in the distance. Sami Ahmadi, a 24-year-old English student at Ghazni University, gathered his family and huddled inside his basement for shelter. We were terrified, he recalls. Police were killed, their bodies lying in the road.

As forces pushed farther into the city, waves of citizens emerged, carrying what they could in their arms to flee the fighting. They were migrating north on foot to seek safety in nearby towns, or even onto Kabul. Behind them, small teams of Taliban were laced through Ghaznis narrow, serpentine streets.

The insurgents had stormed the prison on the southeastern edge of the city to free captured fighters, but that attempt was ultimately thwarted. Their effort to breach the provincial government building was quashed as well. But the Taliban put up a tough fight in the streets. At one point, as ODA 1333s convoy inched forward, three Taliban emerged from an alleyway and fired a rocket that slammed into one vehicles machine-gunner turret, injuring the Air Force pararescue jumper manning the position. Bits of metal and debris flew into the vehicle. The air was thick and acrid. There was so much smoke and dust, says Tamim Ahmed, the teams Afghan interpreter. I couldnt see straight for a couple minutes.

The vehicles other gunner turned his weapon on the Taliban fighters, who were dumbfounded they didnt kill everyone inside the truck. With a burst of fire, the gunner took out all three insurgents. But the pararescue jumper was severely wounded. A young soldier in another vehicle was also hit with shrapnel that would ultimately claim an eye. Neither man has been publicly named, but both later received Purple Heart awards, according to U.S. military officers in Afghanistan. (Despite their perilous mission, the U.S. military officially labels these soldiers as advisers.) When a rescue helicopter arrived to evacuate the wounded, a rocket came within 150 feet of hitting it.

It was clear from the nonstop attacks that U.S. forces would have to stay inside Ghazni Provincial Center, a local government headquarters building, to ensure it wouldnt be overtaken. ODA 1212 split off from 1333 and established a headquarters there with Afghan forces. The soldiers stayed away from open windows and tried to remain hidden on the roof from snipers positioned just outside the facilitys fortified gates, waiting for a clean shot.

Over the following two days, the Taliban switched its focus to Ghaznis less-defended surrounding areas. Afghan commando and Ktah Khas counterterrorism teams went house to house, clearing neighborhoods of Taliban fighters. It was the audacity of the Talibans tactics in Ghazni that stuck out to U.S. soldiers. ODA 1333 and other teams had been attacked in Ghazni before, but typically in hit-and-runsTaliban fighters would hang a mortar round or take a pot shot at their enemies, then melt in with the local population. During this siege of Ghazni, the insurgents walked the streets in broad daylight, firing on American armored vehicles, knowing U.S. warplanes were hunting them overhead. From a military standpoint, its not very smart, the Special Forces team sergeant says. Because they attack and they usually die. But if they get off what they need to get off, I guess they feel like they win.

The Taliban seemed to have a limitless supply of rockets, sometimes firing 20 or 30 at a time. One after another, U.S. vehicles were knocked out of the fight. When that happened, another unit would arrive to hook up a tow rope and drag the vehicle out of the kill zone, all while exposing themselves to enemy fire. The Taliban had all that firepower inside the city, and Afghan and U.S. forces had to deal with it.

But in addition to armor, advanced weaponry and superior training, the U.S. had another major advantage: air dominance. The military said it dropped 73 bombs and missiles in the Ghazni operation. By Aug. 15, a third Special Forces team and additional units had arrived in Ghazni. Thanks to the airstrikes, the Taliban began falling back. The U.S. military said 226 Taliban were killed during the operations.

Typically, both sides declared victory. Even as the fighting drove them from the city, the Taliban bragged that it had sent a clear message to President Donald Trump that the conquest of this city signifies the failure of yet the latest American strategy, according to a released statement. The experience of Ghazni has proven that no defensive belts of cities can withstand the offensive prowess of the Mujahideen. In truth, the strategic value of the Ghazni attack seems to have been the tweets, headlines and video footage that rippled across social-media feeds, showing armed Taliban brazenly roaming free inside the city center. The message was clear: the Taliban remains a fierce enemy who can strike whenever they choose, regardless of peace talks and hopes of reconciliation.

From the U.S. and Afghan militaries view, the battle was a success. Afghan soldiers, though heavily reliant on American Special Forces and airpower to turn the tide, stood, fought and routed the enemy within five days. The Afghan commandos garnered respect for their performance. They stepped up, no doubt, says Noah Olson, a 20-year-old Army Specialist. They want to get this over with as much as we do. U.S. military brass declared the onslaught a misfire from a fading enemy. Tactically, operationally and strategically, the Taliban achieved nothing with this failed attack except another eye-catching, but inconsequential headline, said U.S. Army Lieut. Colonel Martin ODonnell, spokesman for the U.S.-led international military coalition in Kabul.

On Aug. 16, residents of Ghazni view buildings damaged during a recent Taliban siege.

Nassarath Kadri, 27, inside his damaged shop in Ghazni on Aug. 16.

Two Afghan boys paint a blast wall in Ghazni; the Taliban attacked the city ahead of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

Like most narratives emanating from Afghanistan, the truth lies somewhere in between. Looking at the damage inside Ghazni, it was hard for anyone to declare a true victory. Carcasses of burnt-out buildings smoldered in the sun. Stores that bristled with goods for the upcoming holiday became husks of blackened, twisted metal. At a time like this, your neighbors are like brothers, says Said Mohammed, 63, whose restaurant managed to emerge unscathed. We grieve for them.

The bloodshed was also apparent. At Ghazni Provincial Hospital, rooms were filled with patients of all ages who had suffered wounds in the onslaught. Dr. Abdul Basir Ramaki, the hospitals medical director, said that the dead tallied 150, with 265 more injured, as of Aug. 16. Many were women and children, he says. All Afghan people are tired of this violence. (A U.N. report quoted unverifiable numbers that put the civilian death toll at more than 150.)

Guma Khan, an elderly man with a long white beard, lay on his back in a hospital bed, recovering from a bullet wound to his left leg. I was just walking down the street, he says. How am I supposed to go on living here?

Brigadier General Dadan Lawang, the commander of the Afghan National Armys 203rd Corps, told TIME that 112 Afghan military and police were killed, and 56 were wounded. He said his team was reviewing its security posture to guard against future attacks. We need to ensure this never happens again, he says.

But the aftermath of the battle shows why that vow is unlikely to hold. On Aug. 17, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived at the joint military headquarters in Ghazni Provincial Center. He blamed Pakistan for the Taliban attack, saying that many of the fighters were streaming back across Pakistans borders. Islamabad has long been blamed for giving the Afghan Taliban safe harbor, and Ghazni lies near tribal regions in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

Ghani claimed Pakistans military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had assured him over the phone that cross-border insurgent activity would not be allowed after the July 25 elections in Pakistan. I need answers now, Ghani said. From where did they come from and why are they receiving treatment in your hospitals? (Pakistan denied any involvement.)

The initial success of the Taliban assault was aided by the apparent lack of coordination between Afghan security forces. The local police were running low on supplies and ammunition and had difficulty communicating, according to Afghan officers. In addition, two American soldiers told TIME that they heard that the Afghan National Army had accidentally fired on their own units, as well as American convoys. When asked about the eyewitness accounts, the U.S. military command in Afghanistan said those reports remained unconfirmed. If true, the lack of readiness suggests Afghan forces may need assists from the U.S. Special Forces for some time to come.

When the fighting finally died down, the U.S. soldiers were looking forward to returning to their bases in the region, where they had running water, toilets and food that wasnt prepared in a box. More than a weeks worth of combat made the prospect of returning to the amenities of a long-established headquarters particularly appealing. Almost all the men had endured close calls and considered themselves fortunate to have made it out alive. Our lucks running out, one soldier said, half-jokingly. I still have five months here. My numbers going to be called eventually.If youve managed to escape any mentions in your news feed of the flesh-eating sexually transmitted disease recently reported in England, well, were sorry for bringing it up. But the horrifying headlines seem to be everywhere: As first reported by the Liverpool Echo, an unidentified woman in Southport, UK, was diagnosed in the last 12 months with donovanosisa sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause genital ulcers and, if not treated, can literally cause tissue to rot away.

Donovanosis is extremely rare in both the United Kingdom and the United States, but its description is graphic enough to both captivate and terrify us, nonetheless. To learn more about donovanosisand how freaked out we should really bewe spoke with Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, chair of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Heres what she thinks are the important facts behind the viral story.

RELATED: Why Doctors Are Warning Women About This Little-Known Sexually Transmitted Infection

What is donovanosis, and how common is it?

Also called granuloma inguinale, donovanosis is a bacterial infection thats transmitted through vaginal or anal intercourse, or, rarely, through oral sex. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the infection is common in tropical and developing parts of the world, including India, Guyana, New Guinea, Central Australia, and Southern Africa.

Its much, much less common in developed countries. In the United States, only about 100 cases are reported every year, most or all of which are acquired abroad. Even among STD experts, I would wager to say that most doctors in the United States have not seen a case of this, says Dr. Marrazzo. (She has, once, in a Caribbean native whod recently relocated to the United States.)

The case in the news this week was reported as part of a survey of UK hospitals conducted by the online pharmacist Chemist 4 U. Some news outlets have reported that there have been no prior cases of donovanosis in the UK, and that this disease had been identified there for the first time.

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But the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) told Health via email that theres no basis to those statements. According to Public Health England, donovanosis is found in the UK, although it's rarely diagnosed and reported.

RELATED: A British Man Has the 'World's Worst' Case of Super-Gonorrhea. How Does That Happen?

Is it really flesh-eating?

Medical descriptions of donovanosis often refer to ulcers or raised bumps that form one to 12 weeks after exposure. Its known for causing these really nasty-looking ulcersthey look like raw meat, beefy and really red, and they have a lot of blood supply so they bleed easily, says Dr. Marrazzo.

If theyre left untreated, they really can cause destruction of the tissue around them, which is why people say its flesh-eating or that it causes skin to rot away, Dr. Marrazzo adds. In advanced cases, according to the CDC, the ulcers can spread to the groin, lower abdomen, and upper thighs, and can develop secondary infections of their own.

However, Dr. Marrazzo adds, that shouldnt happen with a timely diagnosis and proper treatment. When caught early, antibiotics can clear a donovanosis infection. It can sometimes reappear, however, and the sores can sometimes cause scarring or long-term damage.

To get our top stories delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Healthy Living newsletter

So, should you worry?

If youre not traveling to and having unprotected sex in countries where this disease is prevalent, the chances youd be exposed to it are extremely slim, says Dr. Marrazzo. But that doesnt mean this cant serve as a reminder to practice safer sex with casual partners: Use a condom or another barrier method (for all forms of sexual contact, not just intercourse), and avoid contact with open wounds.

If you do notice strange ulcers or sores on your genitals, get them checked out right away. Odds are, if you have something that is giving you this kind of complaint, its probably something much more common like syphilis or herpes, says Dr. Marrazzo. (Regardless of the cause, youll need prompt treatment to keep it from getting worse.)

In fact, rates of syphilis have been soaring in the U.S. and the UK. If there is a big public-health message here, its that weve seen a huge resurgence of syphilis, says Dr. Marrazzo. Thats definitely one thing we really should be looking out for.Dr. Tom Frieden, a respected former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was arrested for several sex crimes, including an act called forcible touching.

On Friday, Frieden, 57, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was charged with forcible touching, sex abuse, and sexual harassment for squeezing the backside of a 55-year-old female acquaintance, in October, at the home he reportedly shares with his Oberlin College girlfriend Barbara Chang (although its not clear if they are married). According to the New York Post, Frieden grabbed the victim, whom he has known for two decades, as they, along with others, were leaving his home.

A representative of the Brooklyn District Attorneys Office told Yahoo Lifestyle in an email that Frieden was arraigned and released without bail. The judge also issued an order of protection that prevents him from having contact with the victim. Friedens next court date is October 11.

Friedens attorney Laura Brevetti did not return Yahoo Lifestyles request for comment.

A statement written on behalf of Frieden and published by the Associated Press read, The allegation does not reflect Dr. Friedens public or private behavior or his values over a lifetime of service to improve health around the world.

Tom Frieden, former director of the CDC, appeared at a Brooklyn arraignment to face several sex charges, including forcible touching. (Photo: Getty Images)

New York State penal law classifies forcible touching as a class A misdemeanor that involves a person intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose forcibly touching the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the purpose of gratifying the actors sexual desire.

Examples of forcible touching are squeezing, grabbing, or pinching, and, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), the penalty for a conviction is up to one year in prison.

As described in his official bio, Frieden as health commissioner from 200209 implemented smoking bans in bars and restaurants and spearheaded the posting of nutritional content on menus. He also played a public role in handling major disease outbreaks such as the 2014 Ebola crisis.

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Former President Barack Obama, who appointed Frieden to the CDC, once called him an expert in preparedness and response to health emergencies, according to the New York Post.

Frieden currently oversees Resolve to Save Lives, a health initiative by the global public health organization Vital Strategies that receives funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

CDC spokesperson Bert Kelly tells Yahoo Lifestyle, CDC has no information on this matter. We refer you to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

However, Jose Luis Castro, president and CEO of Vital Strategies, sent the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle: In April of this year, Dr. Tom Frieden, who heads our Resolve to Save Lives Initiative, informed me that a non-work-related friend of his and his family of more than 30 years accused him of inappropriate physical contact. I have known and worked closely with Dr. Frieden for nearly 30 years and have seen first-hand that he has the highest ethical standards both personally and professionally. In all of my experiences with him, there have never been any concerns or reports of inappropriate conduct.

Vital Strategies is committed to a workplace that is free of sexual harassment. As such, even though she is not an employee, earlier this month we conducted a thorough investigation by an external expert, which included an in-depth interview with every staff member on the Resolve to Save Lives team to determine whether there are any concerns about inappropriate behavior. This assessment determined there have been no incidents of workplace harassment.

Vital Strategies greatly values the work Dr. Frieden does to advance public health and he has my full confidence.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.Beef: Calais' Vegan Festival was due to be held in September - Facebook/calaisveganfestival

The French town of Calais has been no stranger to public disorder in recent years, with recurrent battles between police and migrants or striking ferry workers making headlines across the world.

But now the port town is facing a bizarre new threat, according to its council: an alliance of hunters and farmers seeking to take revenge on vegans bent on turning the largely carnivorous French off meat.

The risk of trouble was so great that the council decided to cancel a vegan festival due to be held in the town centre on September 8.

The move was the latest episode in an ongoing battle between vegan militants and butchers and other providers of meat in the north of France.

So far it has been radical non-meat eaters who have been on the offensive, vandalising several butchers shops in the region and elsewhere in recent months, prompting the French federation of butchers to issue a plea for police protection.

It is the latest episode in an ongoing battle between vegan militants and French butchers Credit: AFP

But now the Calais mayor's office said it had to ban the upcoming vegan event to "guarantee public safety" and to protect organisers and visitors from the "risk of an outbreak of public disorder."

It provided no details but said authorities had become aware of a "series of operations aimed at stirring up trouble.

The association behind the festival said the threats had come from local butchers on its Facebook page Credit: Facebook/Calaisveganfestival

Farplace, the association that organised the festival, was more specific about where the threats were coming from. It claimed on the events Facebook page that town hall officials had told it that hunters and farmers had come together to make very clear threats about what might happen if the event was held.

The head of the butchers federation in the region, Laurent Rigaud, said that if the festival had gone ahead, We were ready to organise a big barbecue (in Calais), along with hunters, farmers, and restaurateurs.

He said about 400 people had said they would turn out for the meat-eating event, but insisted that they would have remained peaceful. We wanted to show that we are not the violent ones, but that there are extremists among the vegans, he told Le Figaro newspaper.

The festival organisers are currently looking for another venue to rent outside of Calais to host the event. With just three per cent of the population vegetarian or vegan in France, the notion of dropping meat from the menu has been slow to catch on and even frowned upon in a country proud of its boeuf bourguignon and foie gras.

French butchers have been subject of some scrutiny in recent months following a spate of hard-hitting reports from abattoirs and battery farms revealing apparently inhumane conditions in which animals are being kept and killed.Democrat nominee in Georgia's governors race: AP

An elections board in Georgia has decided not to close seven out of nine polling sites in a predominantly black county - a victory for activists who had raised concerns over African American voter suppression.

The Randolph County Board of Elections and Registrations has voted down a proposal to close nearly 80 percent of the polling sites in the rural county where roughly 60 percent of the population is black, CNN reported.

Critics have lambasted the proposal arguing it is an effort to suppress black votes by making it markedly difficult for residents to travel far distances, without public transportation, to cast their vote.

Randolph County elections consultant Mike Malone had proposed the closures, arguing it would save the county money and alleging the seven counties had not been compliant with the American Disabilities Act on polling place accessibility guidelines for voters with disabilities.

The two-member elections board voted 2-0 to save the polling sites in a meeting lasting one minute.

"In the United States, the right to vote is sacred," said statement from the board, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The Interest and concern shown has been overwhelming, and it is an encouraging reminder that protecting the right to vote remains a fundamental American principle."

Officials have since fired Mr Malone after the swift backlash over his proposal to shut down a majority of Randolph's polling sites months ahead of US midterm elections  and a historic election race in Georgia nonetheless.

Stacey Abrams, the Democrat nominee in the gubernatorial race, is the first black woman in the US to win a major party's nomination for governor.

Speaking on Mr Malone's firing, Randolph County lawyer Tommy Coleman told AJC "that wasn't what he was hired to do".

Ms Abrams has been a vocal critic of the proposal calling it "unacceptable" and a voter suppression tactic. The GOP nominee for governor Brian Kemp, had likewise called on officials to "abandon" the proposal. Mr Kemp, who is Georgia's secretary of state, has previously been accused of using voter suppression tactics by instructing voter roll purges in the state.

Story continues

Sean Young, the legal director of the ACLU in Georgia, had called the proposal's purported concerns over ADA compliance at polling sites a "sham" in an interview with HuffPost.

"This is not about ADA compliance, because if it were, they would have produced a study or analysis of what they believe are ADA violations and what can be done about them.(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's <GOOGL.O> Google said on Thursday it had identified and terminated 39 YouTube channels linked to state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

Google has also removed 39 YouTube channels and six blogs on Blogger and 13 Google+ accounts.

"Our investigations on these topics are ongoing and we will continue to share our findings with law enforcement and other relevant government entities in the U.S. and elsewhere," Google said in a blog post https://blog.google/technology/safety-security/update-state-sponsored-activity.

On Tuesday, Facebook Inc <FB.O>, Twitter Inc <TWTR.N> and Alphabet Inc <GOOGL.O> collectively removed hundreds of accounts tied to an alleged Iranian propaganda operation.

Google, which had engaged cyber-security firm FireEye Inc <FEYE.O> to provide the company with intelligence, said it has detected and blocked attempts by "state-sponsored actors" in recent months.

FireEye said https://www.fireeye.com/content/dam/fireeye-www/blog/pdfs/rpt-FireEye-Iranian-IO.pdf it has suspected "influence operation" that appears to originate from Iran, aimed at audiences in the United States, the U.K., Latin America, and the Middle East.

Shares of FireEye rose as much as 10 percent to $16.38 after Google identified the company as a consultant.

(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration has laid down rules aimed at preventing residents in high-tax states from avoiding a new cap on widely popular state and local tax deductions. The action under the new Republican tax law pits the government against high-tax, heavily Democratic states in an election-year showdown.

The Treasury Department's rules released Thursday target moves by states like New York, New Jersey and California  where residents could see substantial increases in their federal tax bills next spring because of the $10,000 cap on state and local deductions. The cap was put in as a compromise to eliminating the deductions completely, as part of the massive GOP tax package pushed by President Donald Trump and enacted late last year. Experts say the issue likely will have to be resolved by the federal courts.

But the new rules' "dollar-for-dollar" limit also applies to many other states that already have charitable funds offering tax breaks  and those programs too could be hurt by the rules. Those states include solidly Republican ones and others with relatively low taxes. In those programs, donors to schools, hospitals or land-conservation programs can get their state taxes reduced in return  plus a charitable deduction on their federal tax returns.

The limit means taxpayers only can deduct as a charitable contribution the portion of their donation for which they don't also get a state tax credit.

While the aim of the rules is to challenge the high-tax states' moves to skirt the cap, "these regulations sweep more broadly than that," said Daniel Rosen, a tax lawyer at Baker McKenzie who formerly was an IRS official.

A few programs may be protected because of an exception to the rules' "dollar-for-dollar" requirement, he said.

Steven Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said he was surprised by the broad reach of the rules, affecting both high-tax states' "workaround" efforts and existing programs in Republican states to fund private-school tuition.

Story continues

He also noted the prompt effective-date of the rules, Aug. 27  which could spur a wave of donations to current programs before the deductions are limited. "I think this is going to cause an unbelievable opening of the pipeline," Rosenthal said.

Four high-tax states  Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and New York  already have sued the federal government over the deduction cap, asserting it's aimed at hurting a group of Democratic states and tramples on their constitutional budget-making authority.

A dozen high-tax states have taken or are considering measures to get around the cap. Most of the workarounds take advantage of federal deductions for charitable contributions  which aren't capped  in place of the old deductions for paying state and local income taxes. So people's state and local taxes exceeding $10,000, which can't be deducted, are turned into deductible charitable donations.

"The Republican tax law is an affront to middle-class Connecticut families and a massive giveaway to the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations, and the (rules) issued by the Trump administration today only make it worse," Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, said in a statement Thursday.

Treasury said it expects that only about 1 percent of all U.S. taxpayers would see a reduction of their tax credits for donations to private-school voucher funds. Several states  Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Montana and South Carolina  allow taxpayers who donate to private-school funds to get a 100 percent credit against their state taxes, according to data compiled by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

___

HOW DO THE LIMITS WORK UNDER THE NEW RULES?

Dollar-for-dollar: When a taxpayer receives a benefit in return for donating to charity, the taxpayer should only be able to deduct the net value of the donation as a charitable contribution, Treasury says.

An example: You donate $1,000 to a charity in a state that offers a 70 percent tax credit, so $700 in this case. You would only be able to claim a $300 charitable deduction on your federal return.

There is an exception. If the state tax credits don't exceed 15 percent of the amount donated, so up to a $150 state tax credit on a $1,000 donation, the taxpayer could claim the full amount as a charitable deduction.

___

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Taxpayers could have less incentive to donate without getting a deduction or if the deduction is reduced.

All states rely on property and income taxes to fund an array of services such as education, health care and public safety. Advocates for restoring the full state and local deductions say the reduced property tax deduction brings a decrease in the value of taxpayers' homes, possibly spurring residents of high-tax states to move elsewhere and crimping funding for local programs.

___

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE HIGH-TAX STATES?

Measures designed to work around the $10,000 cap have been adopted in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Oregon, and introduced or explored publicly by officials in California, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, on Thursday called the new rules "politically motivated" and threatened to sue the federal government over them. New Jersey's Gov. Phil Murphy said the state also is weighing its options for legal action, while California State Sen. Kevin de Leon said he expects the state to sue. Murphy and de Leon also are Democrats.

In some key "blue" states:

Connecticut has a new law establishing a state charitable fund; donors can get tax credits in exchange for giving.

In New Jersey, where high local property taxes are the major issue, the state is allowing local schools and governments to use the charitable workaround. But so far, no towns have notified authorities that they've set up funds to receive contributions  because state regulators haven't issued the necessary rules, experts say.

New York is offering three options: One like Connecticut's, one like New Jersey's and another to let employers pay payroll taxes for employees, who would receive credits to cancel out the income taxes they would have paid otherwise.

In Maryland, about 500,000 residents  over 18 percent of state taxpayers  will together lose $6.5 billion in state and local deductions, according to state estimates.

___

Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press writer Michael Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed to this report.A New York Mets fan has achieved hero status at Citi Field after saving his two sons from being struck by Bryce Harpers dangerous broken bat.

[Yahoo Fantasy Football leagues are open: Sign up now for free]

The frightening incident took place during the first inning of the Mets 3-1 win against the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Harpers bat shattered on an inning-ending ground out, sending the heavy barrel with a jagged edge helicoptering into the stands behind the first-base dugout.

Fortunately, the fan saw it the whole way and was able to get his hand up. He was able to deflect the barrel just before it reached the seats where he sat with his two young sons.

DOTY: Dad Of The Year pic.twitter.com/tn6KpN87gX  Cut4 (@Cut4) August 24, 2018

That is so scary.

The bat cleared the protective netting, which at Citi Field extends to the near end of the dugout. Many ballparks have extended the netting to the far end of the dugout because of past incidents that have left fans injured. Aside from extending the netting to the second deck, it appears nothing would have stopped this bat from reaching the stands.

Nationals slugger Bryce Harper checks the stands after his dangerous broken bat nearly struck a young child. (MLB.TV)

Because everyone was OK at Citi Field, we feel we can point out that this was, by far, the most important play made by anyone associated with the New York Mets during the 2018 season.

More from Yahoo Sports:

 ESPN anchor has had it with football

 Dan Wetzel: Culture of cover-up helped save Urban Meyers job

 Former MSU coach faces charges tied to Nassar investigation

 Ex-NBA ref: Suspension changed my life

By Lusha Zhang and Tony Munroe BEIJING (Reuters) - Fire tore through a hot springs hotel in the northeastern Chinese city of Harbin before dawn on Saturday, killing 19 people and causing 23 others to be taken to hospital, city officials said. Authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze at the four-storey Bailong Hot Springs Leisure Hotel, an inexpensive spa resort visited mainly by domestic tourists, which broke out just after 4:30 a.m. (4.30 p.m ET Friday). The People's Daily newspaper cited fire officials as saying the blaze had started in a kitchen on the second floor. Flames swept through an area of about 400 square metres (4,300 square feet) before being extinguished after three hours as more than 30 fire engines and 100 firefighters rushed to the scene, Chinese state media reported. Firemen rescued 20 people who were trapped in the hotel and another 80 were evacuated from the building, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Television footage showed rescue workers picking through the charred building. Casualties treated in hospital were in the 40s to 70s age range, the newspaper said, citing the Harbin First Hospital. Further details about those who were killed were not immediately available. An earlier death toll of 18 rose by one after a victim died in hospital, officials said. Local authorities said a legal representative of the hotel was in criminal custody for suspected fire safety negligence. China has a patchy record for building safety regulations, and the country's Ministry of Emergency Management said it would launch nationwide fire safety inspections in buildings such as hotels, sauna, hospitals, schools and shopping malls, CCTV reported on Saturday. Beijing's municipal government launched a 40-day "special operation" targeting fire code and building safety violations after an apartment fire in the Chinese capital in November killed 19 people. Harbin, in the far northeast of China and home to a large Russian population during the early 20th century, is famous for buildings dating from that era as well as a popular winter snow and ice festival. (Editing by Sam Holmes and Helen Popper)Well, that was fast. One day after Facebooks former chief security officer Alex Stamos made headlines for declaring its too late to protect the 2018 elections, saying essentially the government hasnt done enough to close vulnerabilities, here comes Google with a dramatic announcement:

The search giant said its shut down several YouTube, Google+ and Blogger accounts that were part of a misinformation campaign with ties to Iranian state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

Don't Miss: Your cable companys worst nightmare is on sale for $39 on Amazon

Of the affected Google properties, the operation most heavily targeted YouTube, with Google saying it had shut down 39 English-language accounts on the video platform that had garnered some 13,466 total U.S. views on relevant videos. In a Google blog post today, the companys senior vice president of global affairs Kent Walker said the action taken today is related to the influence campaign out of Iran the cybersecurity firm FireEye helped unveil this week that spanned content across Facebook, Twitter and Reddit.

Were grateful to FireEye for identifying some suspicious Google accounts (three email accounts, three YouTube channels, and three Google+ accounts), which we swiftly disabled, Walker notes, also pointing to FireEyes full report that was published today.

Beyond that, Google also took action today against accounts apparently tied to part of a broader campaign, this one connected to the IRIB. Oh, and Google says Iranian state media has been at this since January of 2017.

We cant go into all the technical details without giving away information that would be helpful to others seeking to abuse our platforms, Walker continues, but we have observed the following:

Technical data associated with these actors is strongly linked to the official IRIB IP address space. Domain ownership information about these actors is strongly linked to IRIB account information. Account metadata and subscriber information associated with these actors is strongly linked to the corresponding information associated with the IRIB, indicating common ownership and control.

Story continues

As part of the takedown announced today, Walker said Google had shut down 39 YouTube channels, 6 blogs on Blogger and 13 Google+ accounts. And of course, he says Google has updated U.S. lawmakers and law enforcement about the results of its investigation.

As a recap, we reported just yesterday that Facebook had pulled down hundreds of pages it said were linked to coordinated inauthentic behavior that originated in Iran.

Examples of some of the fake social media content that was part of todays announcement:

A fake Facebook account used to amplify and share other content:

BGR Top Deals:

Trending Right Now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.comMOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday it noted a lack of desire in Washington to find areas where relations could be improved. It was speaking ahead of a meeting later on Thursday in Geneva between U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and his Russian counterpart Nikolai Patrushev, the first high-level meeting of its kind since the Russian and U.S. presidents held talks in Helsinki in July. "It will be a chance again to discuss all the questions on our agenda that are well-known and to try and find the issues where there will be at least some readiness on the part of our colleagues to hold dialogue," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of the meeting. "(But) at the moment we are seeing a certain lack of such desire," Peskov told reporters on a conference call. (Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Andrew Osborn)DUBLIN (AP)  The Latest on Pope Francis' trip to Ireland (all times local):

11 p.m.

Pope Francis is facing a lukewarm reception and scattered protests on his trip to Ireland.

Even his vow to rid the church of the "scourge" has been dismissed as a disappointment by some of Ireland's wounded victims.

But others who met with him in private say they're heartened that he would respond to their plight, including two of the thousands of children who were forcibly put up for adoption for the shame of having been born to unwed mothers.

Survivors of one of Ireland's wretched mother and baby homes plan to hold a demonstration Sunday at Tuam, site of a mass grave of hundreds of babies who died at a church-run home.

Francis isn't scheduled to visit, but he says the description of the site "still echo in my ears."

___

8:20 p.m.

Some of the Irish victims who met with Pope Francis are children who were forced to be adopted because they were born to single mothers or lived in Ireland's notorious "mother and baby homes."

In a statement Saturday, they said they urged the pope to publicly state that their mothers had done nothing wrong and to encourage reconciliation between them. They said the pope apologized on behalf of the church.

Paul Redmond, who was born in a home and given up for adoption at 17 days, urged the pope to publicly call on the six orders of Catholic nuns who ran the homes to accept responsibility for the traumas they caused, issue an apology, and pay for the costs of reconciliation inquiries.

The coalition of survivors of mother and baby homes estimates that 100,000 single mothers were forcibly separated from their babies and that 6,000 babies died at the homes.

___

7:20 p.m.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has met with eight survivors of clerical and institutional abuse on the first day of his trip to Ireland, which is ground zero for the Catholic Church's abuse scandal.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Francis met with the group for about 90 minutes on Saturday evening. Among the victims was Marie Collins, a prominent survivor who served on Francis' advisory board but quit in frustration last year. She has since become a harsh critic of the Vatican, and occasionally the pope.

Story continues

Burke named several participants after they agreed to be identified publicly. They included two priests and a public official.

Francis arrived in Dublin on Saturday and vowed to end the "scourge" of abuse. He said he shared the outrage over the cover-up of "these repugnant crimes."

 This item corrects the length of the pope's visit with victims to 90 minutes, not half an hour.

___

5:10 p.m.

The harrowing plight of the Tuam babies  the hundreds of Irish children who were buried in a mass grave on the grounds of a Catholic Church-run "mother and baby" home  has gotten on the agenda of Pope Francis' visit to Ireland.

Ireland's minister for children, Katherine Zappone, spoke to the pope about the Tuam home Saturday on the first day of his two-day trip to Ireland. Neither Zappone's spokesman nor the Vatican revealed the contents of the conversation, but the Vatican spokesman said it concerned the Tuam home and Francis said her words "still echo in my ears."

An amateur Irish historian, Catherine Corless, traced the deaths of 796 children at the Tuam, County Galway, home to a grave in a sewage area of the orphanage that the sisters of the French Bon Secours religious order ran to take in children of unwed mothers.

Zappone's ministry is to recommend what to do with the site this autumn. Survivors want the graves unearthed and the children given a proper burial, but another proposal calls for a memorial to be erected.

___

4:05 p.m.

Survivors of priestly sex abuse and their supporters are voicing grave disappointment in Pope Francis' opening speech in Ireland, saying it was a "staggering effort at deflection" that ignored the Vatican's own role in fueling a culture of cover-up for predator priests.

Colm O'Gorman, who is leading a solidarity rally Sunday in Dublin for abuse victims, said Francis' remarks about the shame felt by Catholics were an "insult to faithful Catholics, who have no reason to feel shame because of the crimes of the Vatican and the institutional church."

Anne Barrett Doyle, co-founder of the online resource Bishop Accountability, said Francis "gave little comfort to heartsick victims" since he provided no details on how he would end the problem, since he alone can sanction complicit bishops.

A small group of protesters demonstrated against the pope's visit outside Dublin Castle, with one banner reading: "Pedophile supporters go home."

___

1:50 p.m.

Ireland's prime minister has urged Pope Francis to use his "office and influence" to ensure clergy sex abuse victims worldwide receive "justice and truth and healing."

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar addressed the pope on Saturday as Francis began the first papal visit to Ireland in nearly four decades. Varadkar acknowledged the Catholic Church had provided generations of Catholics with education and health care when the Irish government did not.

But he said church and state both had a history of "sorrow and shame," citing the Magdalene laundries where women were confined and forced to work, the homes where unwed mothers were mistreated and the "stain" of clerical sex abuse.

In appealing to the pope, Varadkar cited a recent grand jury report from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania which found 300 priests had abused more than 1,000 children over 70 years.

He cited Francis' own call for "zero tolerance" of abuse and said: "We must now ensure that from words flow actions."

___

1:00 p.m.

Pope Francis says he shares the outrage over the failures of church authorities to punish the "repugnant crimes" of priests who raped and molested children, seeking to respond to a global Catholic outcry over the abuse scandal at the start of his visit to Ireland.

In a speech to Irish government authorities on Saturday, Francis cited measures taken by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to respond to the clergy abuse crisis. But he provided no new indications that he would take forceful action to hold bishops accountable for protecting children or to sanction them when they fall short.

Francis said: "The failure of ecclesial authorities ... to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community. I myself share these sentiments."

___

10:35 a.m.

Pope Francis has arrived in Ireland for the first papal visit to the country in almost four decades.

A plane carrying Francis and his entourage landed at Dublin International Airport on Saturday after a two-hour flight from Rome.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to welcome the pope, but there will also be demonstrations and vigils by survivors of clergy sex abuse in a country where attitudes on the Catholic Church are shifting.

Irish Health Minister Simon Harris, who recently played a prominent role in the successful campaign to liberalize the country's strict abortion laws, said it would be a weekend of "mixed emotions."

Harris tweeted: "For many; excitement, for others; feelings of hurt....Whatever your perspective, let's hope for a weekend where reconciliation & healing can commence."

___

7:45 a.m.

Pope Francis has departed for Ireland, the first papal visit to that traditionally Roman Catholic country since 1979.

As usual, Francis carried his black leather satchel himself as he climbed the stairs to board an Alitalia A320 on Saturday and greeted the flight crew.

The plane, which also carried his entourage, took off from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport at 8:30 a.m. local time (0630 GMT.)

The pope's visit to Ireland risks being dominated by criticism over the Catholic Church hierarchy's handling of predator priests who sexually abused children.

The pope is scheduled to return to Rome late Sunday night.

___

6:00 a.m.

Pope Francis is heading to Ireland as the Catholic Church faces a global crisis for its systemic failures to protect children from clergy sex abuse or to punish bishops who hid the crimes.

Francis was expected to meet with abuse victims on Saturday as part of his 36-hour visit to Dublin, where the Vatican says he will have "many opportunities" to speak out about abuse.

His visit is the first by a pope to Ireland in 40 years and is aimed at showing the church understands the problems of ordinary Catholic families.

A Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families that opened on Tuesday ends Sunday in Dublin. More than 37,000 people  most of them young Catholics  signed up to attend the event, more than twice the number who did when the family rally was held in Philadelphia three years ago.WASHINGTON  The U.S. has charged two alleged agents of Iran, accusing them of conducting covert surveillance of Israeli and Jewish facilities in the United States and collecting intelligence on Americans linked to a political organization that wants to see the current Iranian government overthrown.



Earlier this week, Ahmadreza Doostdar, 38, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen born in Long Beach, California, and Majid Ghorbani, 59, who has lived and worked in Costa Mesa, California, since he arrived in the United States in the mid-1990s, were charged with acting as illegal agents for Tehran. Ghorbani, who denies the charges, became a legal permanent resident of the United States in 2015.



Their arrests come as the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on Iran. The administration recently re-imposed sanctions on Iran to deny Tehran the funds it needs to finance terrorism, its missile program and forces in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.



According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, Doostdar allegedly conducted surveillance in July 2017 on Rohr Chabad House, a Jewish student center at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. The surveillance included security features around the center.



Jonathan Greenblatt, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, applauded the arrests and thanked the FBI for "disrupting the alleged intelligence gathering efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a nation with a long record of involvement in, and support for, terror attacks against Jewish and Israeli institutions."



Most of the spying detailed in the court documents, however, focused on the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a group that is outlawed in Iran and was listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department until 2012.



Despite deep ideological differences, the MEK were partners with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the 1979 revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Following the revolution, the MEK quickly fell out with Khomeini and launched an armed revolt against Khomeini's new theocracy. The group advocates for the overthrow of the current Iranian government.



In September 2017, Ghorbani allegedly attended a MEK rally in New York City where he photographed people protesting against the current Iranian government.



In late 2017, Doostdar returned to the United States from Iran and made contact with Ghorbani in the Los Angeles area. Doostdar allegedly paid Ghorbani about $2,000 in cash for 28 photographs taken at the September 2017 rally.



The photographs had hand-written annotations identifying the individuals in them. These photographs, along with a receipt for $2,000, were found concealed in Doostdar's luggage as he transited a U.S. airport on his return to Iran in December 2017.



Court documents indicate that one of the people targeted was Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of National Council of Resistance of Iran-US in Washington. His revelations about Iran's nuclear sites in August 2002 triggered the first inspections in Iran by the International Atomic Energy Agency.



Federal agents conducting court-authorized electronic surveillance heard Ghorbani tell Doostdar in December 2017 that he had seen Jafarzadeh at the New York rally. He said he saw the man who "leaked the nuclear program " and went on to say that one of the other attendees deserves "one shot," an apparent reference to a bullet.



Jafarzadeh said that when he learned about the arrests of the two men, he was pleased, but not surprised.



"The Iranian regime has been operating here under different covers, under different ways for the past years  for decades honestly speaking," Jafarzadeh told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "They got away with pretty much everything."



He said that "emboldened the regime to the point that they felt they can actually do things here on American soil. That's a very bold move on the part of the Iranian regime."



In May, Ghorbani attended the MEK-affiliated 2018 Iran Freedom Convention for Human Rights in Washington. During the conference, Ghorbani appeared to photograph certain speakers and attendees, which included delegations from across the United States. On May 14, Doostdar called Ghorbani to discuss the clandestine ways Ghorbani could use to get the information to Iran.



The indictment charged Doostdar and Ghorbani with knowingly acting as agents of the government of Iran without notifying the U.S. attorney general, providing services to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions and conspiracy. Both defendants were arrested on Aug. 9, pursuant to criminal complaints issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.



The FBI's field offices in Washington and Los Angeles investigated the case, which is being prosecuted by the national security section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division of the Justice Department.



A court hearing in the case is set for Sept. 6.By Christopher Lamb in Dublin

Pope Francis compared the cover-up of widespread child abuse within the Catholic Church to toilet filth as he used his first day in Ireland to meet with sexual abuse victims and pledged to eliminate the scourge of abuse.

On early Saturday evening, Francis spent 90 minutes with eight survivors including those who had been abused by priests and those who suffered appalling treatment inside Catholic-run institutions.

Among those included at the meeting was two people forcibly separated from their parents by a Church-run home.

Clodagh Malone and Paul Redmond said the meeting had been cordial and polite and that Francis described abuse in the Church as caca.

The child abuse scandal has been a growing problem for the Pope (Getty)

Pope Francis condemned corruption and cover-up within the church as caca,  they said in a statement. Literally filth as one sees in a toilet, his translator clarified.

Caca literally translates from Spanish as excrement.

Ireland is the Ground Zero of the clerical sexual abuse scandal, a crisis that has severely damaged the Churchs credibility in the country. The 81-year-old Pontiffs visit comes days after a Grand Jury Report in Pennsylvania detailed the molestation of at least 1,000 children by priests and a widespread cover-up of the crimes by bishops.

Within moments of stepping off his plane at Dublin airport on Saturday morning, the Pope was met by Irelands Minister for Childhood, Katherine Zappone, who raised the harrowing plight of the Tuam babies, a mass grave discovered at a Church-run mother and baby home.

The words said to me at the airport by the Minister for Childhood still ring in my ears, the Pope said during a speech at Dublin Castle in front of the countrys prime minister, adding he wanted a greater commitment from the Church to rid itself of abuse at any cost.

Francis said the abuse was a grave scandal and expressed shame over Church leaders had failed in their response to crimes of priests by covering them up.

Story continues

Pope Francis with the Irish president Michael D. Higgins in Dublin as he sought to address the child abuse scandal (Getty)

A clerical abuse protest takes place outside Dublin castle as Pope Francis makes his way through the city centre in the pope mobile (Getty)

The failure of ecclesiastical authorities  bishops, religious superiors, priests and others  adequately to address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community,

During his speech at Dublin Castle the Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, urged the Pope to use your office to bring justice, truth, and healing to survivors of abuse.

In recent weeks, we have all listened to heart-breaking stories from Pennsylvania of brutal crimes perpetrated by people within the Catholic Church, and then obscured to protect the institution at the expense of innocent victims, the Taoiseach said. It is a story all too tragically familiar here in Ireland.

He described abuse by institutions in Ireland  such as the Magdalene Laundries where single mothers forced into slave labour  and clerical child abuse are stains on our State, our society and also the Catholic Church.

Mr Varadkar, who is openly gay, emphasised to the Pope how much Ireland had changed in recent years by changing its laws allowing for gay marriage and divorce.

The Popes visit is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of Catholics to a series of events in Dublin and Knock. (Getty)

He pointed out to Francis  who travelled to Dublin to attend an international gathering of families  that families come in many forms including those with same-sex parents.

The Ireland of the 21st century is a very different place today than it was in the past, he underlined.

The Taoiseach said he wanted to build a new relationship with the Church, one where Catholicism is fewer domains and where there is space for other faiths.

Francis, who has focussed his pontificate on the poor and marginalised, spent part of this afternoon at a homeless centre run by Capuchin Friars and stopped his popemobile to pray at the shrine of Catholic sainthood candidate, Matt Talbot, an ex-alcoholic renowned for charitable work.

Marie Collins (L), a former member of the Pontifical Commission for Protection of Minors, and a survivor of clerical abuse (Getty)

And on Saturday evening, the Pope took part in an event to celebrate families which included performances from Andrea Bocelli and musical singing trio The Priests.

But if the Church is to forge a new role in Ireland, restoring its credibility will be key. Among the abuse survivors meeting the Pope, this evening included Marie Collins, who resigned from a papal child protection commission in frustration at the slow pace of reform.

Disappointing, nothing new, was her response to Francis speech.

Tomorrow, the final day of his Ireland trip, the Pope will visit the shrine of Knock, in County Mayo, and will say Mass in Phoenix Park, Dublin.Allen Weisselberg AP: AP

Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has been granted immunity in the federal investigation of Donald Trumps former attorney Michael Cohen, reports say.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr Weisselberg, who has been the presidents bookkeeper for his personal and business affairs for years, has received exemption from possible prosecution about hush-money payments made by Cohen to two women who alleged sexual affairs with Mr Trump.

Mr Weisselberg, who had been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury earlier this year, according to The Wall Street Journal, is believed to have allegedly arranged the reimbursement to Cohen for the payments. Mr Weisselberg is not named in the charging documents. The development was the latest twist in a week that has seen Mr Trump and the White House thrown onto the back foot.

The Independent has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment.

Cohen arranged hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, real name Stephanie Clifford, for $130,000 (100,000) and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal for $150,000 (117,000) during the 2016 presidential campaign. Both women have alleged they had affairs with Mr Trump, which he has denied.

David Pecker, top boss of National Enquirer and longtime ally of Mr Trump, was recently reported to also have been granted immunity in the probe. Mr Pecker and Cohen had allegedly took part in a "catch and kill" tabloid tactic to buy the rights to Ms McDougal's story of her alleged affair with Mr Trump for the sake of burying it.

Mr Pecker has supposedly provided prosecutors with information on Cohen's hush-money payments, according to multiple reports. Sources have also told The Wall Street Journal that chief content officer Dylan Howard of American Media, Inc, parent company of National Enquirer, has also been granted immunity in the probe.

Cohen has pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, including campaign finance violations from 2016. Mr Trump has since lambasted the probe saying Cohen's payments weren't from campaign finance, suggesting his former lawyer "made a great deal" by accepting a plea bargain on campaign-related charges.

Story continues

"Because he was in another business, totally unrelated to me, where I guess there was fraud involved and loans and taxi cabs and all sorts of things," Mr Trump said, according to CNN. "Nothing to do with me."

Special Counsel Robert Mueller referred federal prosecutors to investigate Cohen as part of his probe into whether Russia had meddled into the 2016 presidential election. Moscow has denied meddling and Mr Trump has repeatedly charged there was no collusion.

Mr Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been convicted on eight counts on financial crimes.Blain Shelton could barely walk when he returned to the hospital: Gofundme

A man who managed to fight off a shark attack has now contracted a severe flesh-eating infection, it has been reported.

Blain Shelton, from Texas, was swimming off the shore of Boliver Island in Galveston County when a shark bit into his leg.

The 42-year-old managed to escape, but exposure to the seawater left him with a severe flesh-eating infection.

Mr Shelton was admitted to hospital for treatment for the shark bite on his lower thigh, but after he was released the severe pain near the wound only worsened.

Upon returning to hospital, doctors said that a flesh-eating bacterial infection was leading to his skin rotting away.

Id heard there was bacteria in the water, I just never treated it serious, Mr Shelton told KHOU11.

But to tell you the truth, if youve got a scratch on your arm or your leg, I wouldnt get in that water. And if you do, bring some alcohol with you to clean it the second you get out. Its nothing to play with.

Mr Shelton is recovering in hospital and has amassed hospital bills of $30,000 (23,350).

He has set up a gofundme page to help cover the costs.By Nathan Layne (Reuters) - The one juror who prevented a conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort on all 18 criminal charges did not trust any of the witnesses and exasperated other members with her reasoning, a juror in the trial told Reuters. The comments from Paula Duncan, the only juror so far to speak out after Tuesday's verdict in Alexandria Virginia, offered fresh insight into how the jury of six men and six women reached a consensus on 8 charges while deadlocking on the other 10 counts. The judge declared a mistrial on the 10 counts. Duncan, 54, a Trump supporter, told Reuters in a phone interview that she believed Manafort had been "targeted" and "harassed" by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team but that politics did not influence how she considered the evidence. She also said politics did not play a role with other jurors. Duncan said the other jurors were frustrated with the holdout, who prevented them from reaching a consensus to convict on seven of nine counts of bank fraud and three of four counts of failing to declare foreign bank accounts. "She was just saying I want to review my notes," Duncan said. "When we asked her to explain her side she really couldnt give us a good reason. She just said she had reasonable doubt." Manafort was found guilty on all five tax fraud charges related to his tax returns from 2010 to 2014, which contain a box to check on the existence of foreign bank accounts. In addition to that check on the tax return, U.S. citizens with more than $10,000 in overseas accounts during a given year are required to submit a form called a foreign bank account report, or FBAR, detailing those accounts to the U.S. Treasury. Duncan said there was no reason to have convicted Manafort on one FBAR count and not the other three. She said the holdout appeared to be willing to convict only for 2012 because there was a piece of evidence with Manafort's name on it. "We didnt understand her logic and to us if he was guilty on the tax documents he was pretty much guilty on the FBARs," Duncan said. "It made sense to everyone but her." The verdict was the first courtroom victory from Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election. Duncan said the documentary evidence was more than strong enough to overcome the testimony of Rick Gates, Manafort's former right-hand man and the prosecution's star witness, whose credibility withered under cross-examination. "The evidence and the paper trail was there regardless of what Rick Gates said," Duncan said. Duncan, who graduated with a degree in environmental science and journalism from the University of Missouri in 1989, said she was planning to write a book about her experience. "I will probably touch on the counts but maybe focus more on being chosen to be a juror and the environment we are in right now," she said. (Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Editing by Bill Trott)The Russian manufacturer of the infamous AK-47 assault rifle has unveiled a prototype vehicle that it claims can compete with Elon Musk's Tesla range.

Kalashnikov Group presented the retro-style electric car at an exhibition of Russian defense and civilian products just outside Moscow on Thursday.

The powder-blue model is dubbed the CV-1. Kalashnikov said in a statement on its website that its boxy design is inspired by a Soviet hatchback car developed in the 1970s.

According to several media reports, the company told reporters attending the expo that the car featured technology that would "let us stand in the ranks of global electric car producers such as Tesla."

The company's website said the vehicle can travel 217 miles on a single charge and can reach 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) in six seconds.

Opinion on social media website Twitter was divided, with one poster asking Tesla's Elon Musk for his thoughts.

As it is at the prototype stage, the vehicle's price tag has not yet been estimated or disclosed.Melania Trump, pictured with President Trump, wore classic white for a trip to Ohio. (Photo: Getty Images)

Melania Trump visited Ohio wearing a crisp white skirt suit with polka-dot details.

On Friday the first lady and President Trump boarded Marine One from the White House to Columbus, Ohio, where they visited the Nationwide Childrens Hospital and, later that night, attended the Ohio Republican Party state dinner. During the flight from D.C., Melania wore a white skirt with a matching Michael Kors jacket, a black blouse with white polka dots, and white stilettos.

After landing, the first couple toured the neonatal unit of the hospital, which treats babies born addicted to opioids, reported the Star Tribune, followed by the president sitting with children who colored American flags and telling them, Great job. Opioid abuse is one of several issues Melania targets in her Be Best campaign, which she launched in May, along with cyberbullying and wellness.

.@POTUS colored with a group of children while he and @FLOTUS visited Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio Friday. pic.twitter.com/SkEa5HM7za  Fox News (@FoxNews) August 24, 2018

After the tour, the Trumps attended the Ohio Republican Party state dinner, where the president was a keynote speaker.

POTUS concluded a newsy week during which his former attorney Michael Cohen admitted to handling payments to women who allege to have slept with the president while he was married to Melania, according to CNN. Adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal have shared their version of events, although the president has denied both stories.

Melania is making her own plans, announcing Monday her upcoming solo trip to Africa. This will be my first time traveling to Africa and I am excited to educate myself on the issues facing children throughout the continent, while also learning about its rich culture and history, the 48-year-old said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

Story continues

Melania Trump wore a controversial blouse style to deliver a speech on cyberbullying. (Photo: Getty Images)

Melanias trip struck social media, where President Trumps January comments that African nations were s***hole countries echoed.

And on Monday while delivering a speech on cyberbullying in Rockville, Md., Melania spoke of destructive and harmful behavior on social media while her husband tweeted that Robert Mueller and his department investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 election were a group of Angry Democrat Thugs.

Next week the first lady will take part in a tree-planting ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

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Sen. John McCain (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

After Sen. John McCains family shared Friday that McCain wont continue with treatment for his brain cancer, fellow politicians and political voices are sharing words of encouragement for the senator.

McCain was diagnosed with a brain tumor last July. The tumor, known as a glioblastoma, is a particularly difficult form of cancer to treat; 90 percent of adults with the disease survive for less than 24 months after diagnosis.

The progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict, McCains family said in the statement. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment. Our family is immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers over the last year, and for the continuing outpouring of concern and affection from Johns many friends and associates, and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers. God bless and thank you all.

Since the announcement, tributes for McCain have poured in from all quarters, including high-ranking Republicans who sometimes disagreed with his political stances, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and his 2008 presidential campaign running mate, Sarah Palin.

No man this century better exemplifies honor, patriotism, service,

sacrifice, and country first than Senator John McCain. His heroism

inspires, his life shapes our character. I am blessed and humbled by

our friendship.  Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) August 24, 2018

Very sad to hear this mornings update from the family of our dear friend @SenJohnMcCain. We are so fortunate to call him our friend and colleague. John, Cindy, and the entire McCain family are in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour.  Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) August 24, 2018

John McCain in his last days on earth. All Americans should put aside politics and honor this patriot.  Bill O'Reilly (@BillOReilly) August 25, 2018

John McCain personifies service to our country. The whole House is keeping John and his family in our prayers during this time.  Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) August 24, 2018

Prayers for @SenJohnMcCain and his family at this most trying time  May comfort and peace envelope them. May my friend sense appreciation for his inspiration to serve something greater than self   Sarah Palin pic.twitter.com/5KbI3IpUel  Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) August 24, 2018

John McCain has shown us all how to live each day with courage, passion and determination. He has faced his cancer in just that same way. My prayers are with John and his family.  Sen. Lisa Murkowski (@lisamurkowski) August 25, 2018

Democrats who dont necessarily agree with McCains policies reached out to honor the senator too, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and human rights activist Andrew Stroehlein. Mo Elleithee, executive director of Georgetown Universitys Institute of Politics and Public Service, shared a photo of himself at age 16 alongside McCain. Even when I worked against u, you were a role model, Elleithee wrote in his tweet.

Story continues

Dear @SenJohnMcCain, At 16, I got to meet my 1st term Sen. Me: Im honored 2 meet u even though I disagree w/you. You: Well, Im honored 2 represent u even though u disagree w/me." Even when I worked against u, you were a role model. Just want u to know that. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/5OitjNZofH  Mo Elleithee (@MoElleithee) August 24, 2018

Though I disagreed with him on many things, John McCain will always stand out for me as a principled politician for two reasons: 1) his steadfast opposition to torture (of course); and 2) this moment, when he said  instinctively  no, there are places politics should never go. pic.twitter.com/PQRUdYxPsM  Andrew Stroehlein (@astroehlein) August 25, 2018

My thoughts and prayers are with Senator McCain and his family. https://t.co/cqHXdjJntj  Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 24, 2018

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy also praised McCain in a tweet, commending McCain for his apology for not taking a stronger stance about the confederate flag.

In the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain fudged his position on the confederate flag. It ate him up inside  he hadn't told the truth. So he came back to the state after he lost, and gave a simply remarkable speech. To know John, watch this clip:https://t.co/nz3kSIpHI6  Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 25, 2018

And Mike Collier, whos running for lieutenant governor of Texas, tweeted that McCains heroism transcends politics.

Every American needs to know the horror that John McCain endured for the love of his country. When his captors tried to release him because his father was an Admiral, McCain denied them the propaganda victory and refused. His heroism transcends politics.  Mike Collier (@CollierForTexas) August 25, 2018

A fine example of the character and integrity of @SenJohnMcCain who put truth before politics and self interest. This is what real leadership looks like.  https://t.co/5PMJnHusZr  Frances Townsend (@FranTownsend) August 25, 2018

We talk a lot about putting country over party in this campaign. Truth is, I learned a lot of that from watching John McCain over the years. We desperately need more like him and we should strive to follow in his footsteps. On behalf of a grateful nation, we salute you, Maverick.  Joe Cunningham  (@JoeCunninghamSC) August 25, 2018

Still, not everyone is honoring McCains political legacy. Notably, President Trump hasnt tweeted a message of support for McCain, though hes been quite active on Twitter in the past few days. As the Washington Post pointed out, Trump has previously said that McCain is not a war hero.

Things Trump has tweeted about about over the last 24hrs:

 his anger at Jeff Sessions

 Hillary Clinton's emails

 Vince McMahon's birthday

 the Trump Tower meeting Things he hasn't mentioned:

 John McCain's announcement that he will stop receiving treatment for brain cancer  Robert Maguire (@RobertMaguire_) August 25, 2018

Fox News host Tomi Lahren also criticized McCain this week, calling him a RINO, or Republican in name only. Lahren hasnt tweeted or commented about McCain since his familys update about his treatment.

It sounds as if McCain is making the most of this time with his family, though, so he may not be worried about Trumps lack of comment. Back in October, McCain appeared on The View, where he said that what hes going through does make you appreciate every minute of every hour of every day.

We should all thank God for every minute because we are blessed, McCain said. And were blessed to be in the greatest nation on Earth.

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Mexico City (AFP) - Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday he would continue deploying the army to fight crime, a controversial strategy that has shattered powerful drug cartels but has been accompanied by an explosion of violence.

The anti-establishment leftist campaigned on a promise to radically change the way Mexico deals with crime, 12 years into a drug war that has left the country weary of gruesome bloodshed and record murder rates.

But he said he had little choice but to leave the army in the streets for the time being, because the police forces are not up to the job.

"We can't stop using the army and marines to guarantee public security, because there's no other alternative immediately available," said Lopez Obrador, who takes office on December 1.

However, he vowed not to shy away from the promises he made during his campaign for the July 1 election, which he won in a landslide.

"I will of course change strategies" for dealing with the country's public-security nightmare, he said.

But "it is widely recognized that the state and local police aren't working. That's the bitter reality.... The federal police aren't prepared."

Mexico has taken down a string of high-profile drug kingpins since deploying the army to fight organized crime in 2006. That job was previously the exclusive domain of police forces that were often unprepared, corrupt or both.

But violent crime has only increased as the fragmented cartels fight turf wars and wage internal power struggles.

Last year was the bloodiest on record in Mexico, with 28,702 murders.

The army meanwhile stands accused of committing human rights abuses in its crack-down on crime.

Lopez Obrador said he would unveil the rest of his security strategy in October.

During his campaign, he controversially proposed an amnesty for criminals -- an idea he waffled on when it triggered outrage among victims' families and others.

He is currently holding a series of public forums in hopes of charting a path to the "pacification of the country and national reconciliation."

But many political analysts say he lacks a clear and coherent strategy to deal with the security issue.Google announced Thursday it had disabled dozens of YouTube channels and other accounts linked to a state-run Iranian broadcaster for a political influence campaign.

The security firm FireEye, which alerted tech companies to some of the suspicious activity, said in a report this week that the overall operation originates from Iran and promotes Iranian interests to audiences in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Google said its own forensic research shows the accounts were set up by people associated with the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, or IRIB.

The broadcaster didn't immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday. FireEye said it's a sign that it's no longer just Russia conducting disguised political influence campaigns.

On Tuesday, Facebook  which also works with FireEye  revealed that it had removed 652 suspicious pages, groups and accounts linked to Russia and Iran. Twitter made a similar announcement shortly thereafter.

Tech companies have become much more proactive about sleuthing out and dealing with political influence campaigns since last year, when Facebook, Google and Twitter acknowledged allowing Russian agents to spread propaganda on their networks during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Several are going further, offering specific help to protect U.S. political candidates from Russian hackers and other bad actors ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. In so doing, they're confronting another question: Could that free help count as an illegal campaign contribution?

Microsoft, for instance, has gone so far as to request an advisory opinion from the Federal Election Commission to make sure its new free package of online security protections for "election-sensitive" customers doesn't count as an in-kind campaign contribution. Companies are typically prohibited from contributing to federal candidates and political committees under federal law.

Microsoft said this week it's offering its AccountGuard service on a nonpartisan basis to federal, state and local candidates, party committees and certain nonprofit groups. The company told FEC it might also work with other tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter on coordinated election security efforts, though no agreements have been made.

Story continues

Google last year also launched what it calls its Advanced Protection Program, which uses security keys to protect high-risk potential hacking targets such as politicians, as well as journalists and business leaders.

At least one prominent security expert believes it may be too late to protect November's midterms from further interference. Alex Stamos, who stepped down as Facebook's security chief last week, said in an online essay that U.S. officials haven't taken the threats seriously enough.

He cited Microsoft's revelation early this week that it discovered efforts by a hacking group tied to the Russian government to spoof websites belonging to the U.S. Senate and two conservative institutions. Such fake websites have previously been used by the group known as Fancy Bear to trick targeted victims into letting their computers be infiltrated.

Stamos said that "In some ways, the United States has broadcast to the world that it doesn't take these issues seriously and that any perpetrators of information warfare against the West will get, at most, a slap on the wrist."

He said "this failure has left the U.S. unprepared to protect the 2018 elections," though there's "still a chance to defend American democracy in 2020."

Obtaining the FEC's opinion could take Microsoft a few months, but the company said that won't stop it from moving ahead with the service immediately. Microsoft said it believes there's precedent for charging political and non-political customers different rates.

The midterm election is on Nov. 6, though many states have already held their primaries.

Company lawyers told the FEC that along with trying to help democracy, Microsoft has a "compelling business interest in maintaining its brand reputation" amid continued public focus on Russian efforts to influence this year's election. They said Microsoft's reputation would suffer if hackers breached Microsoft accounts belonging to election-sensitive customers.(Photo: AP/Getty Images)

The bereaved friends and family of slain Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts would like political pundits, commenters and politicians to stop using her as a figure in his anti-immigrant messaging.

Please remember, Evil comes in EVERY color, her aunt, Billie Jo Calderwood, wrote on Facebook. Our family has been blessed to be surrounded by love, friendship and support throughout this entire ordeal by friends from all different nations and races. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Samantha Lucas, who is Tibbetts second cousin, told HuffPost that while she was not close to her cousin, I know enough about Mollie to know her political standings and that she would NOT want this to be used as fuel against undocumented immigrants. Lucas emphasized that she was speaking only for herself and not as a representative for the family.

hey im a member of mollies family and we are not so fucking small-minded that we generalize a whole population based on some bad individuals. now stop being a fucking snake and using my cousins death as political propaganda. take her name out of your mouth. https://t.co/xxZNBF0Uv9  sam (@samlucasss) August 22, 2018

Kasie Schultz Taylor, a friend of the slain 20-year-old University of Iowa student, posted on Facebook that Tibbetts would not approve of being included in political conversations.

Please do not compound the atrocity of what happened to her by adding racism and hate to the equation. Anyone that knew Mollie knows she wouldnt want that. Respect each other, support each other but most importantly BE KIND! Taylor said.

Another friend, Annie Zeimis, told Oxygen.com Tibbetts would want us to focus on getting justice for her regardless of the murderers color, immigration status, etc.

Mollie Tibbetts disappeared on July 18. Her body was found on Tuesday after a man allegedly confessed to abducting her. (Photo: Facebook)

Twenty-four-year-old Cristhian Rivera, a Mexican national who has been in the U.S. for years without proper legal documentation, is the prime suspect in the investigation, the Department of Homeland Security said. But his attorney has denied that he is undocumented. Cristhian Rivera has been jailed in lieu of a $5 million bond.

Story continues

At a Wednesday candlelight vigil held at the University of Iowa, Tibbetts older brother, Jake, urged the crowd to befriend someone in his sisters honor. That same day, the White House posted a video on its official Twitter account, featuring several grieving family members of the victims of violence whose assailants happened to be undocumented immigrants.

For 34 days, investigators searched for 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, the tweet reads. Yesterday, an illegal alien, now charged with first-degree murder led police to the cornfield where her body was found. The Tibbetts family has been permanently separated. They are not alone.

For 34 days, investigators searched for 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. Yesterday, an illegal alien, now charged with first-degree murder, led police to the cornfield where her body was found.



The Tibbetts family has been permanently separated. They are not alone. pic.twitter.com/BBskwHEJoU  The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 22, 2018

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders echoed White House sentiments during a Wednesday press briefing.

Sadly, the individual believed to be responsible for the murder is an illegal immigrant, making this an unfortunate reminder of why we need to strengthen our broken immigration laws, Huckabee Sanders said.

A few hours later, President Donald Trump posted his own video to Twitter.

A person came in from Mexico illegally and killed her, Trump says in the video. We need the wall, we need our immigration laws changed, we need our border laws changed. We need Republicans to do it because the Democrats arent going to do it.

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Authorities said Cristhian Rivera confessed to abducting Tibbetts on July 18, when she was jogging in Brooklyn, a rural town located about 70 miles northeast of Des Moines. Her death has since been ruled a homicide. She died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries, according to the Iowa State Medical Examiner.

After news broke Tuesday that Tibbetts body had been found in a Poweshiek County cornfield, Trump wasted no time turning her death into a political ploy, mentioning her demise during a campaign rally in Charleston, W.Va.

You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in very sadly from Mexico, he told supporters during the rally. And you saw what happened to that incredible beautiful young woman.

The White House reiterated Trumps comments in a tweet.

The loss of Mollie Tibbetts is a devastating reminder that we must urgently fix our broken immigration laws. pic.twitter.com/0Kaz0FQw36  The White House (@WhiteHouse) August 22, 2018

Tibbetts death became a heated topic during Cuomo Prime Time on CNN Thursday night. When White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said, God rest her soul, host Chris Cuomos response was sharp.

God rest her soul, he quipped. Youre not letting her soul rest. Youre waving her like a flag. Cuomo then accused the Trump administration of hijacking grief.

Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera called out his own network for turning Tibbetts death it into an immigration story.

We, at this network, are putting that spin on this story, Geraldo Rivera told Fox News host Martha MacCallum, who said Cristhian Rivera should never have been in the country.

This is a murder story. Its not an immigration story, Geraldo Rivera added. Im begging you to have compassion and not brand this entire population by the deeds of this one person.

Still, Trumps supporters have echoed his beliefs in sharing their own two cents.

Mollie would be alive if our government had taken immigration enforcement seriously years ago, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote on Twitter.

The lack of leadership & courage by open border senators like @JeffFlake, @SenJohnMcCain, & #amnesty advocate Martha McSally contribute to these senseless deaths, Kelli Ward, a former Arizona state senator who is seeking a U.S. Senate seat, tweeted. We need true leadership in the Senate to #BuildTheWall & secure our borders!

We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community, Iowas Republican governor Kim Reynolds wrote on Twitter.

The accused killer of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, pictured, is 24-year-old Cristhian Rivera, a Mexican national in the U.S. without proper legal documentation, according to the Department of Homeland Security. (Photo: Facebook)

The Tibbetts case remains a subject of heated debate Friday, spilling over from political pundits to a Facebook group created to share information about the case.

We arent starting the morning so good, administrator Kathy Lezovich posted Friday morning. I already deleted 25 people who couldnt follow our simple rules about not posting their political views or their personal hate. It should be clear by now that it wont be tolerated here. [Cristhian] Rivera has the same rights everyone has in America. Its what sets us apart. Let the legal system [do] its job like the family is doing. Show some class.

As noted by Time magazine, multiple memes have been circulating on social media blaming immigration laws for Tibbetts death. One reads: In November, remember all the murdered Americans, and the illegal aliens that the Democrats care about more than they want to protect you.

Tibbetts has already become politicized  seemingly against the families wishes  with calls for stronger immigration policy. And its unlikely it will stop anytime soon, as noted this week by former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

If Mollie Tibbetts is a household name by October, Democrats will be in deep trouble [come Election Day], Gingrich said on Fox News this week.

Sarah Ruiz-Grossman contributed to this story. Send David Lohr an email or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Related...

Man Confesses To Abducting Mollie Tibbetts: Police

White House Still Using Grieving Parents To Defend Family Separations

Trump Is Using Mollie Tibbetts For His Anti-Immigrant Agenda, And It's Reprehensible

Also on HuffPost

April 2015

At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: Everythings coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. Its like a big mess. Blah. Its like vomit.

June 2015

At a speech announcing his campaign: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre 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."

August 2015

On NBC's "Meet the Press": Were going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go."

September 2015

On CBS's "60 Minutes": Were rounding em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And theyre going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesnt sound nice. But not everything is nice.

November 2015

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely."

February 2016

At a GOP primary debate: We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back  some will come back, the best, through a process.

March 2016

At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we dont. We either have a country or we dont. We have borders or we dont have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.

April 2016

At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": Theyre going to go, and were going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... Theyre going to go, and then come back and come back legally.

July 2016

At the Republican National Convention: "Tonight, I want every American whose demands for immigration security have been denied  and every politician who has denied them  to listen very closely to the words I am about to say. On January 21st of 2017, the day after I take the oath of office, Americans will finally wake up in a country where the laws of the United States are enforced."

September 2016

At a rally: Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we dont have a country.

September 2016

On "The Dr. Oz Show": Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldnt be in the country. They only come in the country legally.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.Theyd pile out of the car, even when they were old and shaky on their feet. Somehow, they always had a few shopping bags ready to fill with their precious Horta. They might have a pocket knife or a pair of scissors in their purses.A longtime Fox News reporter has criticised his own network over their coverage of the death of Mollie Tibbetts, a college student who was allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant in an Iowa cornfield last month.

Ms Tibbetts death has ignited a fierce political debate in the US, with Republicans like President Donald Trump claiming it proves the need for stricter border control. Others, including Fox News correspondent Geraldo Rivera, say the case has been used to stereotype undocumented immigrants as violent criminals.

I know that most of the Fox audience disagrees with me, but Im begging you to have compassion and not brand this entire population by the deeds of this one person, Mr Rivera said in an interview with anchor Martha Maccallum on Thursday.

We at this network are putting that spin on the story, the 17-year Fox News veteran added. This is a murder story, not an immigration story.

Fox News has covered the Tibbetts case incessantly since the charging of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old immigrant from Mexico who authorities say was residing in the country illegally. On Tuesday, the network covered the story more prominently than the conviction of two former Trump associates for multiple federal crimes. The Fox News website featured the Tibbetts story above their coverage of the two convictions throughout the day.

Speaking with Mr Rivera on Thursday, Ms Maccallum summed up many of the network anchors positions on the case, saying the situation was made worse for Ms Tibbetts family because she was allegedly killed by someone who was not even supposed to be in the country.

Mr Bahena Riveras lawyer has contested reports that his client was in the country illegally.

Several of Ms Tibbetts friends and family members have also asked for the case not to be made into a discussion about immigration.

Please do not compound the atrocity of what happened to her by adding racism and hate to the equation, wrote friend Kasie Schultz Taylor on Facebook. Anyone that knew Mollie knows she wouldnt want that. Respect each other, support each other but most importantly BE KIND!

Story continues

Multiple studies have found that undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born residents, and that immigration surges do not correlate with an increase in crime. The Trump administration, however, has used the Tibbetts case to spotlight illegal immigration, with White House press secretary calling it an unfortunate reminder of why we need to strengthen our immigration laws.

Mr Rivera pushed back on this notion on Thursday, telling Ms Maccallum: Anyone could have done this, everyone -- they do it on a daily basis. White people, black people, red people, yellow people. Everybody, they do these crimes.Imagine if the color camera had never been invented and all our images were in black and white. The world would still look beautiful, but incomplete. For thousands of years, that was how humans saw the universe. On Earth, we can only see part of the light that stars emit.

Much of what we cant see  in the infrared, the ultraviolet, the X-ray, and the gamma-ray wavelengths  is blocked by the Earths atmosphere. For the most part, this is a good thing. The atmosphere traps infrared light keeping the Earth warm at night and blocks high-energy ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays, keeping us safe from deadly cosmic radiation while letting in visible portions of the spectrum of light. For astronomers, however, this has a drawback: We look at the universe with one eye shut, unable to receive all of the information the universe is sending to us.

Visible light is just a tiny part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Launched on November 20, 2004, and orbiting an altitude of 340 miles, NASAs Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has three telescopes that monitor the universe using wavelengths of light that are blocked by Earths atmosphere. These included the X-Ray Telescope, the gamma-ray-sensitive Burst-Alert Telescope, and the Ultraviolet Optical Telescope (UVOT). The UVOT recently delivered its 1 millionth image  data that astrophysicists like me use to gain insights into everything from the origins of the universe to the chemical composition of nearby comets.

Watching the Birth of Black Holes

Swifts primary mission is to study the afterglow of gamma ray bursts (GRBs)  which document the birth of black holes. Black holes are forged in the most violent explosions in the universe  the explosion of a massive star or the merging of two neutron stars (the shriveled husks left over from past stellar explosions). These explosions are so powerful  producing tens to hundreds of billions of times more energy than the sun  that even though they occur billions of light years away from Earth, they can still be detected by instruments like Swift. In fact, the first GRBs were detected by the Vela satellites, which were built to detect the explosions of nuclear weapons.

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Over nearly 14 years, Swift has studied over a thousand GRBs. In doing so, it has revealed what powers them and given us glimpses into the furthest reaches of the cosmos, to the time when the first stars were being formed after the Big Bang.

However, one of the things you learn working on a space telescope mission is that if you build it, they will come. The mission provides capabilities to the community of astrophysicists  simultaneous X-ray/UV imaging and a rapid response to requests to observe and photograph specific sections of the sky  which are only available to Swift. We can focus our telescopes on an object of interest within hours of a Target of Opportunity request through our website, something no other mission can do. UVOT also fills an important niche by observing larger areas of the sky than can be observed with the more powerful UV instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. These capabilities have proved a boon to the community and enabled the study of all sorts of objects and phenomenon beyond GRBs.

Swifts Ultraviolet-Aided Discoveries

Nearby galaxies are full of activity with new stars being formed. Swift is able to capture panoramic ultraviolet images that highlight the youngest, most massive stars in these galaxies. This gives us insight into what the universe has been doing over the last few hundred million years. My research teams work has focused on nearby galaxies  like Andromeda and the Magellanic Clouds  to reveal what processes drive their past and ongoing star formation.

On the left is an image of the nearby galaxy NGC 3623 taken with UV. On the right is an optical image. Note how the galaxies spiral arms  where new stars are being born  stand out in the ultraviolet wavelengths emitted by these hot objects.

With UVOT, we get a much better view of supernova explosions. These can occur when a white dwarf, the remnant of a star like the sun, explodes, or during the final death throes of a massive star, more than eight times the mass of the sun. These events generate enormous amounts of ultraviolet light, and Swift has a unique ability to observe them within hours of discovery.

On the left is an ultraviolet composite made from several images of the Whirpool Galaxy (M51) taken between 2005-2007. The image on the right was made in June 2011, shortly after astronomers detected the explosion of a massive star in one of the galaxys outer spiral arms. The object is marked by the red circle.

Comets sweep through our solar system, transforming from a frozen solid ball to a vapor as they approach the sun and creating magnificent tails of ionized particles. Swift studies these comets, and analyzes their chemical composition by breaking the light they emit into different wavelengths. Swift also allows scientists to measure a comets rotation by seeing how the light changes over time. This has revealed that violent eruptions on the comet surface can dramatically alter a comets path.

This image of Comet Lulin was taken by Swift on January 28, 2009. It shows data obtained by Swifts Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (blue and green) and X-Ray Telescope (red). The image of the star field (white) was acquired by the Digital Sky Survey. At the time of the observation, comet Lulin was 99.5 million miles from Earth and 115.3 million miles from the sun. The ultraviolet light comes from hydroxyl molecules and shows that, at this time, Lulin was shedding 800 gallons of water every second.

One of the most exciting discoveries that Swift made was connected with the recent discovery of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Gravitational waves are distortions in the fabric of spacetime created by the motions of extremely massive objects. In August of 2017, two neutron stars collided in a distant galaxy, creating gravitational waves powerful enough to be detected on Earth. Swift was one of an army of telescopes that looked for the source of the gravitational waves. The mad scramble over those few days led to one of the most exciting discoveries of the last decade  a luminous afterglow from the source of the gravitational waves. This has opened up new branches of science by connecting a new way of studying the universe  through gravitational waves  to the traditional way, through light.

An artists depiction of a space warping collision of two merging neutron stars. The ripples represent the gravitational waves that distort the space-time grid. The narrow beams shooting out of the collision show the gamma rays burst that are released after the gravitational waves. The yellow clouds glow with other wavelengths of light that are generated in the collision.

UVOT has been taking snapshots of the universe since 2004 and finally piled up its millionth image. Its success is a testament to the international team of engineers, scientists, and staff at the three institutions that support it  the Pennsylvania State University; Mullard Space Science Laboratory in Surrey, England; and NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. It has been my privilege to be a part of this team for the last nine years. What does the future hold for UVOT? We hope to find more sources of gravitational waves, survey nearby galaxies, study even more supernovae, and monitor how objects in the universe change over time.

Heres to the next million images.

This article was originally published on The Conversation by Michael Siegel. Read the original article here.

Photos via NASA (1, 2), NASA/Swift/L.McCauley, PSU, CC BY-ND, NASA/Swift/E. Hoversten, PSU, CC BY-ND, D. Bodewits/Swift/NASA, CC BY-ND, NSF/LIGO/Sonoma State University/A. Simonnet, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

More From InverseAn Illinois mother says that trying to teach her daughter a little independence and responsibility ended in investigations from police and child services.

Corey Widen, who appeared on Good Morning America on Friday to talk about the ordeal, says she let her 8-year-old daughter, Dorothy, walk family dog Marshmallow around the neighborhood in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette where they live. Widen told the Chicago Tribune that she could see her daughter out the window for most of the walk.

Mom-shamed over letting your daughter walk the dog!? Meet the mother under fire after police were called. What she's saying this morning: https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9 pic.twitter.com/uprRhDIxtJ  Good Morning America (@GMA) August 24, 2018

Shortly after Dorothy got back from walking Marshmallow on Aug. 2, police showed up at the door, CBS Chicago reported. Apparently, someone had called them to report that a child  whom the caller incorrectly reported as around 5  was walking a dog alone.

I was like really scared, Dorothy told the news outlet of the police visit. I saw the police just there, like the polices car and I heard the like sirens going off.

Wilmette Police Chief Kyle Murphy told The Washington Post that after responding to the home and speaking with Widen, they determined that nothing was wrong. But the situation didnt end there. The neighbor also ended up calling the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services, prompting the agency to open an investigation into the family that went on for nearly two weeks.

Widen hired a lawyer and DCFS ultimately closed the case, finding no wrongdoing. But she says things never should have gotten that far in the first place.

The initial call was for an unattended 5-year-old, and once they knew I didnt even have a 5-year-old, it should have stopped there, she told ABC News. I dont think it should have made it past the hotline that a little girl walking her dog needs to be investigated.

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DCFS defended its actions in a statement to Good Morning America.

We did what the people of Illinois asked us to do, DCFS spokesman Neil Skene said. We investigated, we found no wrongdoing on the part of this mother, and we closed the case last week.

While investigations into Widens family were ultimately resolved without issue, people calling authorities on parents and children in the U.S. the past has led to disproportionately severe consequences for families. And experts have said law enforcement is often much harsher on families of color and lower-income parents.

Last year, The New York Times profiled Maisha Joefield, a Brooklyn woman whose 5-year-old daughter was temporarily placed in foster care after Joefield put the child to bed, got into the bath, and her daughter got up and wandered outside. Joefields name was also placed on a state child abuser registry for years.

In another community, your kids found outside looking for you because youre in the bathtub, its Oh, my God  a story to tell later, Brooklyn Defender Services lawyer Scott Hechinger told the Times. In a poor community, its called endangering the welfare of your child.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.Nicki Minaj caused some confusion on social media Thursday night when she gave a shout out to Margaret Thatcher, the late former British Prime Minister.

Everyone has to express their truth and I have to ruffle a few feathers along the way, I dont care, Minaj said on her new radio show. Shout out to Margaret Thatcher. Sometimes queens and women of power have to do things that even they arent happy about doing, but they know its for the betterment of whats to come and whos to come.

Thatcher, often referred to as the Iron Lady, was the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, however fans quickly voiced their concerns about Thatcher.

As if Nicki Minaj just did a shoutout to Margaret Thatcher on the radio.. shes about to ruin her career just like Thatcher ruined Britain ????  Lee Munro?????????? (@_leemunro) August 23, 2018

Thatcher was a polarizing prime minister. She governed the U.K. for 11 years beginning in 1979, labelled the party of Nelson Mandela as terrorists. In 2006 then-Conservative leader David Cameron apologized for the mistakes of Thatchers government, including a failure to impose sanctions upon Apartheid South Africa.

Thatcher also implemented the Section 28 law  which stated that schools in the U.K. should not promote the acceptability of homosexuality, which in effect banned the discussion of same-sex relationships between teachers and students. Stonewall, an LGBT+ rights organization, says Section 28 was an offensive piece of legislation designed to prevent the so-called promotion of homosexuality in schools, as well as stigmatising lesbian, gay and bi people.

But she is perhaps most widely remembered in the U.K. for her comprehensive restructuring of the economy away from manufacturing towards financial services. At the beginning of her governance, 13.4% of Brits lived in a measure of poverty, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. At the end, that number had risen to 22.2%  although the incomes of the richest in society had risen significantly.

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Nicki Minaj saying shoutout to Margaret thatcher on her radio show has proper spun my head, 2018 is an incredibly strange year  molly (@screaminnipple) August 24, 2018

Thatcher was an ardent believer in the invisible hand of the free market, and engaged in a drawn-out battle with striking miners, which she eventually won  refusing to subsidize state-owned mines that were failing to turn a profit. While many British people agree those mines were unsustainable, there is a general consensus that Thatchers failure to invest in areas where jobs were lost was the key factor in the widespread poverty in those regions that continues until today. Theres no such thing as society, she said in 1987.

Minajs remark came not long after she likened herself to Harriet Tubman, a woman who escaped slavery and then helped free hundreds of slaves in the U.S. in the 1800s.Washington (AFP) - A former contractor for the US National Security Agency who leaked information on Russian hacking of election systems to journalists was sentenced Thursday to more than five years in prison.

The 63-month sentence that a federal judge in Augusta, Georgia handed to Reality Winner in exchange for her guilty plea was the stiffest ever for a single charge of leaking classified information to the media.

It came as the Trump administration ramps up pressure to deter the leaks of classified materials to journalists that have plagued it since last year.

But Winner's case dealt with materials that had been kept from US states that were the targets of the hacking, and was officially divulged only months after her arrest.

"The defendant schemed to take and disclose classified information she had sworn to protect -- and then did so almost as soon as she had the chance," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers in a statement.

The former Air Force linguist was arrested in June 2017 hours before The Intercept, an online publication that frequently breaks national security-related stories, published a story based on documents she took.

The documents detailed attempts by hackers from Russian military intelligence to penetrate a company that sells voter registration software, as well as the computers of local election officials.

That was apparently news to the states in question.

After the leak, as The Intercept later documented, the US Election Assistance Commission, which helps states conduct elections, issued a new alert on cybersecurity, and tweeted about the alert by referring to Winner and the Intercept story.

State officials themselves exchanged emails on how to deal with the systems that were targeted.

Three months after Winner's arrest, under pressure from state officials, the Department of Homeland Security officially revealed that Russians tried to hack systems in 21 of the 50 states in 2016.

- Leak crackdown -

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The sentence appeared to reflect the Trump administration's campaign against leakers. Winner's lawyers told the court last week that the proposed sentence far exceeded those in other prominent leak cases.

"There is no allegation or evidence of actual spying or treason" against her, they said.

"This was not a WikiLeaks-like 'dump' of massive amounts of sensitive data, nor was it a disclosure of military secrets," they added.

That was a reference to the case of Chelsea Manning -- at the time known as Bradley Manning -- who as an army intelligence analyst in 2010 leaked a massive amount of highly secret defense and diplomacy documents to the transparency group.

Manning was ultimately sentenced in February 2013 to 35 years in prison on 17 counts that included espionage and other charges.

Four years later, then president Barack Obama commuted her sentence as having been disproportionate, and she was freed.

Media activists criticized Winner's sentence as excessive.

"Reality Winner is a whistleblower who alerted the public about a critical threat to election security," said the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, Trevor Timm, who helped raise money for Winner's defense.

"Winner performed a public service by alerting the public and state officials to dangerous vulnerabilities in election infrastructure, and it's shameful the Justice Department would seek any prison time for her doing so -- let alone the longest sentence for such an act in history."The body of missing college student Mollie Tibbetts was found this week in Iowa. The 20-year-old went missing in her small, rural hometown on July 18 after going out for a jog. Cristhian Bahena Rivera has been charged with her murder. Investigators believe Rivera had seen Tibbetts running in the past and they used surveillance video to track him down. Prosecutors claimed Rivera was in the country illegally, but the 24-year-old's attorney challenged that allegation.

Other major headlines of the week included Paul Manafort being found guilty on eight counts of tax and bank fraud, Michael Cohen pleading guilty in hush money scheme and Christopher Watts being charged with the murders of his wife and two daughters in Colorado.

Click through the slideshow above to see photos from all of these events and more, and be sure to check back next weekend for our selection of the best photography from the week.WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump said Friday he has directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a planned trip to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on denuclearization.

Trump put some blame on Beijing, saying he does not believe China is helping "because of our much tougher Trading stance."

The surprise announcement appeared to mark a concession by the president to domestic and international concerns that his prior claims of world-altering progress on the peninsula had been strikingly premature.

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump tweeted Friday, barely two months after his June meeting with the North's Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

Trump's comment followed a report issued Monday by the International Atomic Energy Agency outlining "grave concern" about the North's nuclear program. It came a day after Pompeo appointed Stephen Biegun, a senior executive with the Ford Motor Co., to be his special envoy for North Korea and said he and Biegun would visit next week.

The State Department never confirmed details of the trip, but it had been expected that Pompeo would be in Pyongyang for at least several hours Monday, according to several diplomatic sources familiar with the plan.

White House officials declined to specify what prompted Trump to call off Pompeo's trip or what had changed since the president's rose-colored-glasses assessments of the nuclear situation just days ago.

A senior White House official said Trump made the decision to cancel the visit Friday morning during a meeting with Pompeo, Biegun, chief of staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton, who joined by phone. Intelligence and defense officials were not in the meeting, the official said, seeming to indicate that the breakdown was diplomatic in nature. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.

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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa has talked with Pompeo over Trump's decision to delay Pompeo's planned visit to North Korea because of what he saw as insufficient progress on denuclearization.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry said late Friday that Pompeo during the telephone conversation explained the background of the decision to Kang. The ministry says Kang and Pompeo agreed that Washington and Seoul will work to keep the momentum of dialogue alive while pursuing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and stabilizing peace.

The State Department had no immediate comment on the administration decision and referred questions to the White House.

Trump laid unspecified blame on China, North Korea's leading trade partner, which is widely believed to hold the greatest sway over Kim's government.

The U.S. and China have been locked in a trade dispute for months, with each side ratcheting up tariffs on imports from the other country in what may be the opening salvos of a trade war.

Trump tweeted that "Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved." He added: "In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!"

After more a year of escalating tensions defined by nuclear and missile tests, new sanctions and "fire and fury" rhetoric, Trump made history meeting Kim earlier this year. In the run-up to the summit both nations engaged in hard-nosed negotiation, with Trump publically calling off the meeting in an effort to push Kim to agree to nuclear concessions. During the summit, the pair signed a vague joint statement in which the North agreed to denuclearize, but which left nearly all details undefined.

"There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea," Trump declared on Twitter after the meeting.

"Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea. President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem," he added. "No longer - sleep well tonight!"

Pompeo would have been hard pressed to return from Pyongyang with anything resembling progress on the denuclearization front.

Although it has halted nuclear and missile testing and taken some unrelated steps  dismantling portions of a missile engine facility and returning the suspected remains of American servicemen killed during the Korean War  its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile development remain intact, according the U.N.'s atomic watchdog and intelligence agencies.

In addition, recent statements from North Korean officials have ruled out any new concessions until it sees a reciprocal gesture from the U.S. beyond suspending military exercises with South Korea. North Korea has been demanding that the U.S. ease or lift crippling sanctions  something Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have flatly ruled out until the its nuclear program is fully and verifiably dismantled.

Other than sanctions relief, the North, backed by South Korea, has been seeking a declaration of the end of the Korean War. The conflict stopped with the signing of an armistice rather than a peace treaty, meaning the war is not technically over. Both the North and South have vowed to end the open state of hostilities, and Seoul had been hoping to persuade the Trump administration to sign off on a non-binding end-of-war declaration as a goodwill gesture that would give Kim Jong Un domestic cover to proceed with denuclearization moves.

Pompeo and other administration officials have suggested some concessions short of easing or lifting sanctions are possible before verified denuclearization, but have refused to be specific about what they could be. And they have been skeptical about an end-of-war declaration in the absence of any progress on the nuclear matter.

At the same time, lawmakers from both parties, including GOP hawks who generally support Trump, have expressed concerns about such a move, as it could be used by the North to demand the removal of U.S. troops from South Korea and potentially Japan without anything in return.

Trump had kept up the positive tone as recently as Tuesday at a campaign rally in West Virginia. There Trump maintained "we're doing well with North Korea."

"There's been no missile launches. There's been no rocket launches," he added.

At the same rally, Trump seemed to take a different tone too on China, saying he had withheld some criticism of China because "I wanted them to help us with North Korea and they have."

__

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.By Philip Pullella and Padraic Halpin DUBLIN (Reuters) - Pope Francis vowed on Saturday to end the sexual exploitation of children by clergy during a highly-charged visit to once deeply Catholic Ireland and, according to victims, said the corruption and cover up of abuse amounted to human excrement. On the first papal visit to the country in almost four decades, Francis used a speech at a state event that was also attended by some abuse survivors to acknowledge that it was to the Church's shame it had not addressed these "repugnant crimes" and said he sought a greater commitment to eliminating this "scourge". He later met privately for 90 minutes at the Vatican embassy with eight victims of clerical, religious and institutional abuse. In a statement, the representatives from the Survivors of Mother and Baby Homes group said Francis condemned corruption and cover up within the Church as "caca", an Italian and Spanish word for human excrement. The statement said that after the pope used the word, his translator explained that it meant "literally filth as one sees in a toilet." A Vatican spokesman had no comment on the details of what was said in the meeting. A Vatican official said he would not be surprised that the pope had used the word. "Very powerful meeting. He listened with a genuine interest," said Clodagh Malone, who was born in one of the state-backed homes for unwed mothers and adopted at 10-weeks-old. The pope earlier spoke publicly about abuse, saying he could not "fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education." Years of sexual abuse scandals have shattered the credibility of the Church as a moral leader in Ireland and driven many from the Church. In the past three years, Irish voters have approved abortion and gay marriage in referendums, defying its wishes. "The failure of ecclesiastical authorities - bishops, religious superiors, priests and others - adequately to address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community." In unprepared remarks, Francis added a reference to a letter he addressed last Monday to all the world's Catholics on the abuse crisis, saying he wanted it to signal "a greater commitment to eliminating this scourge in the Church, at any cost". [L8N1VB2B6] More than three-quarters of Ireland's population flocked to see Pope John Paul II in 1979 when divorce and contraception were illegal. Francis was greeted by far smaller numbers. PROTESTS Large images of abuse victims and the hashtag #Stand4Truth - promoting a gathering of survivors and supporters elsewhere in Dublin when the pope says mass on Sunday - were projected onto some of the capital's most recognized buildings on Friday night. They included Dublin's Pro Cathedral, where on Saturday Francis prayed before a candle commemorating abuse victims that was first lit in 2011. However, flag-waving supporters still gathered five or six deep along many parts of Francis's route by popemobile, although in other parts he was greeted by a more sparse turnout. "I think it's absolutely marvelous. There are one or two objectors, but I think they should keep their objections to themselves and get into the spirit of the thing," said Christina O'Riordan, a 76-year-old retired teacher. Despite changes in Irish society, Francis asked that Ireland would not forget "the powerful strains of the Christian message" that have sustained it in the past, and can continue to do so in the future. About a quarter of the 2.7 million who greeted John Paul II were expected to turn out for Francis. "The crowd is smaller than I thought. It's a good crowd, but wouldn't be near what you'd get for (Saint) Patrick's Day," said Christy Moore, 59, referring to Ireland's national holiday as he sold papal flags wearing an 'I love Pope Francis' hat . "It was much much bigger (in 1979). There's not that much interest in it now." A TIME FOR ACTION, NOT WORDS Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who last year became Ireland's first gay leader, told Francis that the wounds of clerical child abuse that stained the Irish state were still open and there was much to be done to bring about justice and healing for victims. A damning report last week into abuse in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, which followed scandals in Australia and Chile, was all too tragically familiar in Ireland, Varadkar said, adding that the time had come for a very different Ireland to build a new relationship with the Church. "Holy Father, I ask that you use your office and influence to ensure this is done here in Ireland and across the world," Varadkar said. "We must now ensure that from words flow actions." In other protests, gay rights activists hung rainbow umbrellas from a nearby bridge while a silent vigil will be held on Sunday at the site of a former "Mother and Baby Home" where an unmarked grave with the remains of hundreds of babies was found in 2014. The pope, who traveled through Dublin in a blue Skoda in keeping with his shunning of limousines and bulletproof cars, said Church leaders needed to remedy past mistakes and adopt stringent norms to ensure they do not happen again. (Writing by Padraic Halpin and Philip Pullella; Additional reporting by Conor Humphries, Graham Fahy and Hanna Rantala; Editing by Richard Balmforth)On Thursday, a buzzkill review was published in the medical journal The Lancet stating that, get this, drinking alcohol is bad for you, and drinking no alcohol is the best way to minimize harm. Can you believe? This should not be that groundbreaking of a concept, but it may make you reconsider your end-of-summer rose binge.

For this new study, which was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, researchers analyzed data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, which encompassed information about alcohol consumption from people ages 15 to 49 in 195 countries and territories from 1990-2016. They also reviewed over 500 studies about the risks of alcohol. Their goal was to better understand how alcohol is related to poor health outcomes, and figure out the amount of alcohol that's associated with improved health.

Not surprisingly, they found that the health risks associated with alcohol are "massive," Emmanuela Gakidou, PhD, the senior author of the study said in a press release. "Our findings are consistent with other recent research, which found clear and convincing correlations between drinking and premature death, cancer, and cardiovascular problems," she said. Specifically, they found that in 2016, alcohol was the leading risk factor for disease and death for people ages 15 to 49, and was associated with 2.8 million deaths worldwide that year.

According to these study authors, the best way to avoid these negative health outcomes and deaths is to seriously consider drinking less, or abstain entirely. "The myth that one or two drinks a day are good for you is just that  a myth. This study shatters that myth," Dr. Gakidou said in the press release. Recently, many people have questioned the validity of studies that claim light-to-moderate alcohol intake is good for you, because in the past this research has been funded by alcohol companies. So, this new study is just the latest reason for people to reassess their alcohol intake.

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But quitting alcohol cold-turkey is not necessarily the most realistic plan of action for some people. Giving blanket recommendations about alcohol intake isn't really useful for individuals, because "alcohol offers each person a different spectrum of benefits and risks," according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Additionally, in this particular study they didn't differentiate between different types of alcohol, they just used a standard drink of 10 grams of pure alcohol consumed by a person daily to define "average consumption." So, the point is that there are nuances to alcohol intake that we can't determine based on this new study. Only you and your doctor can determine what makes the most sense for you.

Overall, though, this should serve as a sobering reminder that alcohol is bad for your body and can do a number on your physical health both in the short and long term. Or, as Alexis Halpern, MD, emergency medicine physician at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, told us in April: "Alcohol is really toxic."

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The Best Health & Fitness Podcasts To Help You Reach Your GoalsThe shooting happened shortly before noon in the 12700 block of South Halsted Street. Police said the victim was driving when someone in another vehicle opened fire in his direction, striking him in the thigh.Republicans push talking points brushing off legal perils of former top Trump associates originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Nothing to see here.

Thats the message the Republican National Committee sent to surrogates Wednesday in a series of talking points to deal with the aftershocks of the conviction of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and guilty plea from Michael Cohen, the presidents former personal lawyer, on tax and campaign finance violations.

The notes, which were obtained by ABC News and are regularly sent out to Trump surrogates and defenders who do battle on the presidents behalf on cable news, closely mirror Trumps reaction to Tuesdays legal developments that could pose a growing threat to his presidency.

"This has nothing to do with Russian collusion," Trump told reporters in West Virginia Tuesday night, a point repeated several times on the surrogate talking points.

While collusion has become the buzzword for the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election  in part because its a term Trump and his team frequently use  the word can create confusion because collusion is not actually listed as a crime.

(MORE: What you need to know about collusion, the term at the center of the Trump-Russia probe)

"Collusion, in and of itself, there's no crime of collusion," Trump's attorney, Jay Sekulow, told "Good Morning America."

The bulletin also emphasized the White Houses cooperation with special counsel Robert Muellers probe, pointing out that the White House and witnesses have "turned over more than one million of(sic) pages of documents."

Cohen pleaded guilty on Tuesday to eight felony counts in a Manhattan federal court, including two counts of campaign finance violations spawned from hush money agreements with two women, Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who claim to have had affairs with Trump, which he has denied. Cohen said in court, under oath, that he made those payments "in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office."

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(MORE: Manafort found guilty on 8 counts in tax fraud trial)

The "candidate" Cohen referred to was not named in court or in the criminal information charging document but one of Cohen's lawyers, Lanny Davis, later said that Cohen had "testified under oath that Donald Trump directed him to commit a crime."

The GOP talking points raised questions about Cohens credibility  a point made by some Senate Republicans on Wednesday.

"I don't know the facts. All I know is Michael Cohen has been on both sides of these issues and his credibility I think will be a major issue," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., told reporters.

While Cornyn and some other Republicans said they dont know enough about the case to comment on the guilty plea from Cohen and its implications for the president, some admitted concern.

"Well these are serious changes and they can't be ignored," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

(MORE: Who is Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman found guilty?)

Asked about the president keeping such company, Hatch said, "Naturally it makes you very concerned, the President shouldn't be held responsible for the actions of people he's trusted."

"Obviously it's serious, any time somebody alleges that the president directed him to do something, it's serious," Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, a Trump critic, told reporters. "We'll see where it goes from here."

The talking points also encouraged Trump surrogates to raise questions about the special counsel probe and call for the end of the Mueller investigation.

But not everyone is on message.

PHOTO: Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, heads to a closed-door briefing to update lawmakers on cyber attacks on the U.S. election system, at the Capitol in Washington, Aug. 22, 2018. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

(MORE: Defense counsel in Manafort trial sought mistrial over juror issue)

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, a presidential confidant, said he wants to see the results of the investigation, even though he has not seen evidence of collusion so far.

"The thing that I am looking for is whether or not the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. If they did that would be incredibly serious and I've seen no evidence of that," Graham said. "But the key to this is letting Mr. Mueller do his job and see what he finds."Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd L) visits the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces, named after Peter the Great, outside Moscow, Russia December 22, 2017. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS

Sebastien Roblin

Security, Europe

We breakdown what we know.

Russia's 'Killer' Space Satellites: A Real Threat or a Paper Tiger?

In August 2018, U.S. official Yleem Poblete accused Russia at the Geneva Conference of Disarmament of deploying satellites into space designed to kill other satellites. Moscow, however, insists that these are simply inspector satellites designed to glide within close range of other satellites, diagnose problems with them and potentially even fix them.

The thing is, both can easily be true at the same time. Quite simply, a satellite with the fine maneuvering capacity to approach that close to another satellite and manipulative instruments to potentially repair it is also capable of disabling one. Given that explicit orbital weapons platforms have yet to be deployed to space, aggressive inspection satellites could take on militarized roles quite easily.

Since 2013, Russia appears to have deployed four such inspector satellites named Kosmos 2491, 2499, 2504 and 2519the peculiar activities and undeclared nature of which incited Yleem's ire. These have been observed performing close passes of other space objects, demonstrating their precision-maneuvering capabilities.

For example, Kosmos 2499 was launched undeclared by Russia in 2014, giving rise to speculation that it was intended as a satellite killer. Russian sources maintain it is a testbed for a new plasma-propulsion/ion thruster system (it looks as awesome as it sounds), which doesnt exactly contradict the speculation. Kosmos 2491, launched in 2013, was also undeclared, bundled at launch with three openly declared satellites. Then in 2017, Kosmos 2504 soared to within one kilometer of the remains of a satellite destroyed by a Chinese anti-satellite missile. The Kosmos satellites are often moved sporadically after long periods of inactivity, causing speculation that they are up to something unusual.

Finally, Kosmos 2519 Sputnik Inspektor was launched in June 2017 and spawned a subsatellite numbered 2521, which in turn spawned another called 2523. These performed a series of peculiar and unexplained maneuvers this summer, leading to Pobletes comments in Geneva.

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What would be the satellite-killing mechanism? Manipulator arms or even ramming would be the simplest way of disabling another satellite. However, many other convenient weapons suggest themselves such as lasers, kinetic pellets, or soft systems such as jammers.

Russia is by no means alone in possessing satellites with potential kinetic military applications. The United States has similar inspector satellites benefitting from more mature technology, and is developing a Phoenix mothership satellite designed to attach new mini-satellites to discarded orbital hardwarea capability could also be applied to parasitic satellite hijacking. The U.S. Air Force also operates two versatile X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle space planes, the role and capabilities of which remain veiled in secrecy and speculation.

China too is likely investigating how to weaponize satellites. Its Shijian 15 satellite, deployed in 2013, is equipped with precise-maneuvering jets and manipulator arms. The orbital vehicle reportedly is designed to collect space debris and test orbital refueling and repair of other satellites. Shijian-15 has been observed making closes passes the Shijian 7 satelliteand some believe this ability indicate Shijian-15 could also be used for hijacking.

China and America also have tested missiles which could destroy orbiting objects from the ground, and Russia is refining such capability as well. In fact, using killer satellites may be more complicated than simply deploying ground-based missiles or jamming. However, it could have the benefit of being more surgical than a ground-launched interceptor, creating less debris which could have unforeseen consequences. Consider that the terrifying chain-reaction of exploding satellites caused by an anti-satellite weapon depicted in the film Gravity is a thing scientists fear could happen.

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Granted that dual-use satellites with both civilian and military applications may be difficult to regulate, but are outright missiles, lasers and cannons banned on spacecraft? Not reallyonly weapons of mass destruction are legally banned according to the Outer Space Treaty of 1967.

So far, however, there has been an unofficial international norm against the overt deployment of orbital weapon systemsone that is generally observed but has been occasionally violated. The United States spent the 1980s (and billions of dollars) talking up plans for a Star Wars' orbital anti-ballistic missile laser satellite system which was never very realistic.

The Soviet Union bought the hype, though, and responded by actually launching a 1-megawatt anti-satellite laser on the Polyus orbital weapons platform in 1987 to burn out the American Star Wars laser-satellites (yes, the ones that were never actually built). However, a glitch in the inertial navigation system caused Polyus to plummet into the Pacific Ocean after separating from its booster. During the 1970s, the Soviet Almaz series of secret orbital spy- stations were deployed with 23-millimeter revolver cannons for self-defense which were even test fired on a satellite.

Ironically under the circumstances, Russia has been pushing for stricter international rules against the militarization of space at the U.N.-associated Council for Disarmament. That Council has previously generated major treaties on nuclear non-proliferation and the banning of chemical and biological weapons. This agenda item is called Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS), and Russia has forwarded a specific proposal called the PWTT which has Chinese backing.

However, America has not been keen to support the PWTT, as U.S. space warfare capabilities are believed to be stronger than those of China and Russia, whereas these countries are confident that they can blow satellites up with ground-based weapons that would specifically not be banned.

Washington maintains that a ground-based anti-satellite ban would need to be incorporated to gain its adherence to PAROS. However, the Council has been ineffectual for two decadesrecently, for example, it came to be chaired by chemical-weapon-using Syria due to a coincidence of its alphabetic rotation system.

Though twenty-first-century space warfare is unlikely to entail loss of lives in space anytime soon, its effect would likely be quickly felt by civilians on Earth as they lose access to satellite networks they take for granted in their daily lives such as GPS navigation, wireless long distance communications and so forth.

Generally, the Pentagon and its Chinese and Russian counterparts assume that in a high-intensity conflict, military forces would likely lose access to communication and navigation satellites they usually rely upon. For example, GPS offers an affordable guidance system for many kinds of bombs and missiles, but new munitions are being designed with backup navigation systems should GPS satellites be destroyed or disabled.

Regardless, the recent spat in Geneva highlights the quiet arms race building up in space, though one that so far relies upon the use of discrete or dual-use systems. Indeed, many anti-satellite measures may not involve kinetic effects at all. Though a robust anti-space militarization agreement might save Russia, China and the United States billions of dollars, for now all three countries seem committed to expanding their space and anti-space capabilities, hoping to seize an asymmetric edge over their potential adversaries.

Sebastien Roblin holds a Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.

Image: Reuters.

Read full articleDave Majumdar

Security, Europe

But will it actually happen? Read on.

Russia Wants a Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier

Russia has started preliminary work on the development of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to replace the increasingly decrepit Soviet-era Admiral Kuznetsov, which recently entered into a two-year overhaul. However, the Kremlin has not made the decision to actually buy a new flattop.

Russia has started work on the potential future carriers nuclear propulsion system in anticipation of the day that the Kremlin does make a decision on building such a warship. "Today, an engine has been launched [the research work on its creation has been launched] and today we are working precisely on this issue, Russian Navy shipbuilding chief Rear Adm. Vladimir Tryapichnikov told the state-operated Star TV channel according to TASS. Some concept will be approved in the near future. Of course, this is expensive but such a ship should be built."

But while Tryapichnikov might believe that Russia should build a new aircraft carrier, he concedes that the decision to go ahead with the construction of such a vessel is a decision for the future. "Such a decision will be made in the near future," Tryapichnikov said.

According to TASS, the Russian Navy wants a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier displacing no less than 70,000 tons by the late 2030s. However, Russias chances of designing and building a carrier by then are extremely small. Soviet-era carriers were built at Nikolaev in what is now an independent Ukraine, though Russia is slowly assembling the shipbuilding capacity in the Russian Far East to handle the construction of vessels of that size.

When we build new shipyards and a huge dry dock in the Far East, if there is such a contract, it will be possible to create an aircraft carrier having a displacement of 110,000-115,000 tonnes, Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin said on the Rossiya-24 new channel last year according to TASS. We will be capable of doing that starting from 2020."

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The Russians are building a 114-meter374 feetwide dry dock at the Zvezda shipyard in the Russian Far East that might one day build such a large aircraft carrier. Rogozin noted that while the shipyard would be physically capable of building an aircraft carrier, the question if Moscow needs such a large warship would be up to the Russian militarys general staff. "We now have no restrictions regarding the tonnage of civil or naval ships we may choose to build there," Rogozin said.

Analysts in Russia told The National Interest that while it is true that Moscow is building a massive new shipyard in the Far East, the project is not a military development. Rather the project is a commercial venture with significant foreign investment from South Korea, which could complicate any attempt to build a military vessel at those shipyards.

Moreover, simply possessing the physical infrastructure to build an aircraft carrier does not mean that Moscow has the technical knowledge to build an 115,000-ton warship. Russia has never built a warship of such size and complexity before in its entire history.

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The only comparable vessels constructed during the Soviet-era were the much smaller roughly 55,000-ton Kuznetsov-class carriers. Even Ulyanovsk, a nuclear-powered carrier that was scrapped after 20 percent of construction was completed in 1992, was expected to displace no more than 85,000-tons. Thus, Moscow would have to relearn many of the techniques needed to build such a vessel.

In any case, Russia is a Eurasian landpowerMoscow does not really have a need for a very large and very expensive aircraft carrier. A more likely scenario is that the Kremlin will invest in a large-deck amphibious assault ship that can be used to project power in Moscows immediate periphery.

Dave Majumdar is the defense editor for The National Interest. You can follow him on Twitter: @Davemajumdar.

Read full articleMoscow (AFP) - Moscow police on Saturday briefly detained three people marking the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Red Square protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, Russian media reported.

According to liberal newspaper Novaya Gazeta, two of those detained were relatives of some of the eight Soviet protesters who stood on Red Square half a century ago before being hauled away by the KGB secret police.

Anna Krasovitskaya, the granddaughter of the poet and translator Natalya Gorbanevskaya who spent two years in psychiatric hospitals as punishment for the 1968 protest, was one of those detained.

She was reportedly holding a poster in support of Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov who has been on hunger strike for over three months in a Russian prison.

Police also detained activist Sergei Shavrov-Delaunay, a relative of the poet Vadim Delaunay who was sentenced to three years in a Siberian prison camp for taking part in the protest against the invasion.

He was detained along with Russian liberal politician Leonid Gozman.

According to Novaya Gazeta, the pair tried to unfold a banner that read "For your freedom and ours", the same slogan the 1968 protesters had written on theirs.

According to independent monitor OVD-Info, the trio were taken to a central Moscow police station.

All three were released three hours later.

The monitor said around 50 people took part in the rally, which police did not allow because of a military music festival on Red Square.

Physicist Pavel Litvinov, one of the eight original Soviet protesters, took part in the rally.

The August 25 1968 protest against Soviet authorities sending tanks into Prague was a symbolic gesture that launched the political dissident movement in the USSR.

Soviet troops had invaded the city five days earlier, bringing an end to the Prague Spring, a tentative attempt to liberalise the Communist system.

Standing in the square, they only had time to raise a few placards which read "Shame on the occupiers", "For your freedom and ours" and "Long live free and independent Czechoslovakia" before being arrested by the KGB.

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Most of those eight demonstrators -- Natalya Gorbanevskaya, Pavel Litvinov, Viktor Fainberg, Vladimir Dremlyuga, Konstantin Babitsky, Larisa Bogoraz, Vadim Delaunay and Tatiana Bayeva -- paid a high price for their protest.

Five have since died.

In June, the Czech government handed the remaining three -- Litvinov, Bayeva and Fainberg -- an award to mark the 50-year anniversary of their protest.(CANBERRA, Australia)  Australia government lawmakers on Friday elected Treasurer Scott Morrison as the next prime minister in a ballot that continues an era of extraordinary political instability.

Morrison defeated the key challenger Peter Dutton, a former Cabinet minister, by a vote 45-40.

Duttons supporters had forced incumbent Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to hold the leadership ballot. Turnbull did not contest the ballot and has said he will quit politics.

Duttons failure prevents the Australian policy shifting to the hard right.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had been among the favorites and could have become Australias second female prime minister. She was rejected on the first round of voting.

A beleaguered Turnbull demanded the names of lawmakers in the conservative Liberal Party who wanted him to go before he would allow them to choose a new prime minister at a meeting at Parliament House on Friday. The names would prove a majority of his government had abandoned him.

The bare minimum majority of 43 signatures were provided shortly before the meeting started. They included more than one Turnbull supporter who signed to break the impasse.

Turnbull has become the fourth prime minister to be dumped by his or her own party before serving a full three-year term since the revolving door to the prime ministers office started in 2010. The trend is universally hated by Australians.

Duttons and Turnbulls camps waged the most chaotic, frenetic and at times farcical leadership struggle that Australian politics has seen in years, closing down Parliament on Thursday and damaging the Liberal Partys credibility.

Public anger became apparent overnight with windows broken at the Brisbane office of Dutton, Turnbulls main rival in his government.

But the extend of disquiet about Turnbulls leadership proved to be exaggerated by many Dutton supporter. Of the 85 lawmakers at Fridays meeting, 40 opted for no change.Shadadi (Syrie) (AFP) - A senior US diplomat visited Kurdish-held territory in Syria on Saturday as the minority negotiates with Damascus over the future of its semi-autonomous region.

Ambassador William Roebuck was in the town of Shadidi in the northwestern province of Hasakeh after visiting the towns of Kobane and Minbej in recent days.

He is expected to continue to Deir Ezzor, an eastern province where the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, is fighting the Islamic State group in the jihadists' last redoubt.

"We are prepared to stay here, as the president (Donald Trump) has made clear, to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS," Roebuck said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

"We remain focused on ensuring the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their proxies as well."

Washington has repeatedly criticised Tehran and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, for their roles in the Syrian conflict.

Support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah has allowed President Bashar al-Assad's government to regain much of the territory lost to rebels and jihadists in the early years of the country's seven-year war.

Iranian forces and Tehran-backed Shiite militias have also been key to Assad's recapture of large swathes of Deir Ezzor province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But other areas of the oil-rich province are controlled by the SDF, which spearheaded the US-backed fight against IS in Syria.

Syria's war has left more than 350,000 people dead and displaced millions since it broke out with the brutal repression of an initially peaceful uprising in 2011.

With the regime focused on crushing the rebellion, Kurdish forces carved out a de facto autonomous region in the country's north and northeast.

Roebuck's visit comes as the Kurds and the regime engage in difficult talks over the fate of territory under SDF control.

Assad's government now controls nearly two-thirds of Syria and is determined to reassert its authority over Kurdish-held territory, which forms the lion's share of the rest.

But Kurdish leaders and their supporters are desperate to salvage what they can of their painstakingly built institutions.SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  China on Saturday lashed out at President Donald Trump for accusing Beijing of not being supportive in efforts to denuclearize North Korea, while South Korea called the U.S. decision to call off a trip to the North by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "unfortunate."

The reaction in Seoul and Beijing came hours after President Donald Trump directed Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North. Trump also said the nuclear negotiations with North Korea have been hampered by a lack of support from China, which is the North's only major ally and is engaged in an intensifying trade dispute with the United States.

The Chinese foreign ministry blasted Trump's comments.

"The U.S. statement violates basic facts and is irresponsible," the ministry said on its website. "We are seriously concerned about it and have made solemn representations to the U.S. side."

Beijing supports "advancing the process of a political settlement" following the Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, the statement said.

It appealed to both sides to "show more sincerity and flexibility" instead of "being capricious and overly prejudiced."

Meanwhile, while describing the postponement of Pompeo's trip as a setback, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it expects China to continue serving a "constructive role" in international efforts to solve the nuclear crisis and noted that Beijing continues to express commitment to fully implement sanctions against the North.

"It's most important to maintain a long-term view while maintaining a momentum for dialogue and concentrate diplomatic efforts to faithfully implement the agreements from the summits between South Korea and North Korea and between North Korea and the United States, instead of attaching meaning to each change in the situation," the ministry said in a statement.

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"While we consider the delay of the visit to North Korea as unfortunate, we believe it's most important for the North Korea-U.S. dialogue including Secretary Pompeo's visits to North Korea to contribute to substantial progress in complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace regime in the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa spoke with Pompeo over the phone and agreed that the allies should work to keep the atmosphere of dialogue alive, it said.

Trump's surprise announcement appeared to mark a concession by the president to widespread concerns that his prior claims of world-altering progress on the Korean Peninsula had been strikingly premature. Ending a period of animosity over North Korea's nuclear and missile development, Trump made history by meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June. But the meeting only produced a vague statement on a nuclear-free peninsula without describing how and when it would occur.

Post-summit nuclear talks got off to a rocky start, with North Korea accusing the United States of making unilateral demands on denuclearization. The North has been demanding that the United States ease or lift the sanctions that are crippling its economy. It also wants the United States to fast-track discussions to formally declare an end the 1950-53 Korean War, which stopped on an armistice and not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula technically at war.

Pompeo and other administration officials have suggested some concessions short of easing or lifting sanctions are possible before verified denuclearization, but have refused to be specific about what they could be. And they have been skeptical about an end-of-war declaration in the absence of any progress on the nuclear matter.

Trump's decision to call off Pompeo's trip is clearly a frustrating development for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who continues to push for inter-Korean engagement. Moon, who lobbied hard for the meeting between Trump and Kim, plans to visit Pyongyang in September for his third summit with Kim this year. Moon says improving relations between the rivals would be an important part of the global diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff because Kim wouldn't give up his arsenal unless he feels safe.

The summitry has led to a variety of conciliatory steps between the Koreas, which have held military talks to reduce tensions across the border, agreed to open a South Korean liaison office in the North, and are currently holding highly emotional reunions between elderly war-separated relatives in North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort.

Moon has also proposed more ambitious ideas, such as reconnecting railways and highways between the Koreas, but the fate of such projects hinges on progress in negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang to denuclearize the North.

___

Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide attacker killed at least three people on Saturday by detonating explosives near the office of Afghanistan's election commission in the eastern city of Jalalabad, where dozens of protesters had gathered, an official said. The protesters had gathered in support of a parliamentary candidate who electoral officials had disqualified over his suspected links with illegal armed groups. Eight people were also wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the explosion happened when supporters of the disqualified candidate were trying to shut down the election commission office. "We had requested the protesters to stop their demonstrations because they could be targeted by militants but they rejected our security message," he said. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside an Afghan election office in the capital, Kabul, earlier this month when protesters gathered to challenge the commission's decision to disqualify 35 candidates from contesting upcoming parliamentary polls. One police official was killed in that attack. A ban on dozens of Afghan strongmen and lawmakers from running for parliament because of suspected links to illegal armed groups has spurred threats and protests to disrupt a general election that is already at risk from worsening security. The Taliban have warned people not to vote in the October polls and dozens of people have been killed in militant attacks on voter registration centers. Supporters of disqualified candidates have held sit-in protests outside a number of election commission offices around Afghanistan over the past two weeks. Security forces launched a drive to evict them on Saturday. (Reporting by Ahmad Sultan; Editing by Paul Tait)His tenure at DCFS was also clouded by several high-profile child fatalities that spotlighted the agencys investigative shortfalls. Among them was the death of 17-month-old Semaj Crosby, who was found dead under a couch at her familys Joliet Township home, which had been the subject of numerous DCFS investigations.Jalalabad (Afghanistan) (AFP) - A suicide bomb attack killed at least two people Saturday in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said, the latest violence to hit the war-torn country.

The bombing -- claimed by the Islamic State group -- follows what has already been a bloody month with the Taliban ramping up assaults on security forces across the country and IS targeting the capital Kabul, with hundreds killed according to estimates.

The attack appeared to target a protest camp outside an election commission office where a group of people were rallying in support of a candidate disqualified from parliamentary elections due in October.

Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province, the main IS stronghold in Afghanistan.

The blast "killed two people, and four others were wounded", provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that it was carried out by a suicide attacker.

Provincial health director Najib Kamawal confirmed the two deaths.

An eyewitness to the bloody aftermath of the attack said a suicide bomber detonated near a tent full of protesters outside the office, and that security forces had cordoned off the area.

"It was very big blast and it shook our home," said witness Mirza Amin, who added he lived 50 metres (160 feet) from the site of the explosion.

Earlier this month, Afghanistan's Independent Electoral Complaints Commission disqualified 35 candidates from running in the upcoming parliamentary election for having direct links to illegal armed groups.

The protest in Jalalabad was against the disqualification of candidate Javed Zaman Ghamsharik, who was barred for allegedly possessing illegal arms and for connections to illicit land deals.

The blast comes nearly a week after President Ashraf Ghani offered a conditional three-month ceasefire to the Taliban, a move welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war.

The Taliban have yet to officially respond to the offer.

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The surge in violence this month comes after Afghans marked an unprecedented nationwide ceasefire between the Taliban and government forces in June, giving some relief to war-weary civilians.

For three days, thousands of insurgents poured into cities across Afghanistan, eating ice cream and taking celebratory selfies with security forces.

The brief respite spurred hopes a new path was opening for peace talks in the country after nearly 17 years of war.

The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate.

Earlier this week, Gen. John Nicholson -- the top commander for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan -- said that warring parties now have an "unprecedented" opportunity for peace, citing the June ceasefire as a step forward.

He stressed, however, that any peace talks must ultimately be "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned".The year leading up to the centennial of Leonard Bernsteins Aug. 25, 1918, birth has been an occasion for myriad reprisals of the composer and conductors most famous works, from West Side Story to On the Waterfront, for which he wrote the music.



But the orchestra he conducts in the photo above is less well-known  though likewise important to his place in the history of 20th century music.

The musicians facing Bernstein comprised a group that called itself the Ex-Concentration Camp Orchestra. It included more than a dozen Holocaust survivors who are thought to have organized themselves into an orchestra while at the St. Ottilien abbey, which was serving as a displaced-persons camp. After the Holocaust, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) helped organize a series of cultural ambassadors to boost morale for displaced persons and survivors, whose lives remained upended even years after World War II came to an end.

Bernstein, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants to the United States, was part of that cohort. He came to Germany in 1948 and, on May 10 of that year, outside Munich, served as the guest conductor for two concerts by that group, at the Feldafing and Landsberg displaced-persons camps.

Bernstein would describe the experience as a moving and exhilarating one  but the concerts almost didnt happen at all.

Leonard Bernstein with the members of the Ex-Concentration Camp Orchestra whom he conducted on May 10, 1948, outside Munich.

When Leonard Bernstein  who didnt fight in World War II because he had asthma  was invited to conduct the Bavarian State Operas orchestra in Munich on May 9, 1948, he had something to prove.

As TIME noted in a 1957 cover story on the conductor, as his career took off, hed made a conscious decision not to hide his Jewish heritage, although those close to him thought it would hurt him. His mentor Serge Alexandrovich Koussevitzky, also Jewish, begged Lennie to change his unglamorous name so that his way to success would not be blocked by anti-Semitism, the magazine reported, and it quoted Bernstein as saying in response, Ill do it as Bernstein or not at all.

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So he knew, when he went to Germany, that he was going with baggage. In a May 11 letter to his piano teacher-turned-personal secretary Helen Coates, he described the Munich concert with the Bavarian State Opera orchestra as a massive success for him and for the larger post-war project. I had three obstacles to overcomeyouth, Americanism & Jewishness, he wrote. It means so muchsince music is the Germans last stand in their master-race claim.

But, though the State Opera concert eventually went off without a hitch, getting it to happen was less than smooth. Accounts of what exactly happened vary (the account of United Nations aid worker Theodore Feder suggests there was a transit strike going on; Bernsteins own papers trace the problem to a strike by the musicians themselves) but it was during the period of logistical maneuvering that the idea was hatched for the concerts with the Ex-Concentration Camp Orchestra. The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration ended up helping to arrange transportation for the musicians, and then helped clue him in to the existence of the musicians among the nearby displaced persons.

[The U.N.] asked, Well, can you do something for us? as Ivy Weingram, curator of the Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music exhibit at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, which has a display on the concert, paraphrases. So the U.N., with the JDC, asked Bernstein if hed take this side trip to Feldafing and Landsberg.

Program for Sheerit Hapleitah (which has been called the

A letter in the JDCs archives backs up the idea that the displaced persons camp concerts were planned last-minute. Arrangements were done the eleventh hour and with fingers crossed, according to a Jun. 3, 1948, memo written by Charles Malamuth, head of publicity for the JDC in Europe, to the organizations headquarters office.

In any case, it worked. Harry Bialor, 88, a Polish survivor who now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., says he was a conservatory student and saw Bernsteins Feldafing concert, watching from the second or third row.

It was a hot day, the place was packed, and he took off his jacket and he said, Were all going to sweat together, in Yiddish, he recalls. We were shocked; we werent expecting that. It made me study my music harder after I met him. I really dug in.

Among the songs played during Bernsteins visit were George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue, works from Puccinis Tosca, Verdis Rigoletto, Bizets LArlesienne and Webers Freischutz. He did one concert at Feldafing in the afternoon and one at Landsberg in the evening, and then gave a bonus concert later that night, playing the run-down piano in the mess hall of Landsberg.

The DP camp concerts were almost more exciting to him than the Munich concert was. I was received by parades of kids with flowers, and the greatest honors, Bernstein wrote to Coates. I conducted Freischutz of all things and cried my heart out.

Leonard Bernstein receives flowers from an admirer after conducting an orchestra of concentration camp survivors for a concert sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee on May 10, 1948, outside Munich.

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The fact that Bernstein conducted both the State Opera musicians and the displaced persons was not uncontroversial. Only three years had passed since Germany surrendered in World War II on May 7, 1945, and Bernstein apparently came off as oblivious of the extent to which Jewish people would condemn any contact with Germans. Apparently, he does not know the difference between a German orchestra and a Jewish DP orchestra politically, Malamuth wrote, describing him as a very nice person, just politically very naive and uninformed.

As current JDC archivist Linda Levi summed up the controversy to TIME, Officials were afraid that if the Jews heard about this, they would be furious. She says that the concerts organizers deliberately didnt mention the Bavarian State Opera concert the night before so that it wouldnt color their enjoyment of the displaced persons camps orchestra. The JDC also had an incentive to make sure Bernstein had a good time with the musicians, because they were hoping that he would help the most talented ones immigrate to America. For instance, he helped concentration camp survivor David Arben get into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia; Arben became a violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra for more than 30 years. (Families of others who were there have put up video testimonials online.)

Bernstein appeared to receive one physical souvenir for his time with the displaced persons camp residents. He told his secretary to be on the lookout for a package containing a real concentration camp costume which they gave to me, warning her, Be particularly careful of itits a great possession.

In the abstract, what kind of effect the concert had on his future compositions is a matter of interpretation. But the fact that he left behind an unfinished opera inspired by the Holocaust, dubbed Babel, which he was working on the year he died, is one clear sign of how that period affected him. He once described the central theme of his work as the struggle that is born of the crisis of our century, a crisis of faith.

Bernsteins concert for Holocaust restored faith in some of those who saw him. The concerts, recalls Bialor, meant that somebody cares. Somebody important cares. Jewish life is flourishing, and you cant hold it back.

Correction: Aug. 27

The original version of this story misstated the source of photographs in two photo captions. The pictures belonged to Henny Durmashkin Gurko, not Henry Durmashkin Gurko.By Mustafa Andaleb GHAZNI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Clashes have broken out between Taliban militants and government forces in Afghanistan forcing some civilians to flee from their homes near the city of Ghazni, which the insurgents stormed this month, officials said on Friday. The Taliban raided three villages on the outskirts of Ghazni late on Thursday, destroying some newly built checkpoints and cutting off power to some parts of the city. Provincial police chief Farid Mashal said government forces counter-attacked to block the insurgents from approaching the city. "We were swift to push the Taliban out of the villages, but many civilians fled to neighboring villages fearing the fighters could kill them," said Mashal. He said there were no reports of casualties. More than 1,000 Taliban fighters assaulted the city, 150 km (95 miles) southwest of Kabul, on the main road to southern Afghanistan, this month killing at least 150 soldiers and 95 civilians. Militants roamed the city for four days, destroying communications towers and cutting power and water supplies before government forces regained control with the help of U.S. air strikes. The government and international aid agencies have been struggling to restore services in the city over recent days. The latest clashes came days after President Ashraf Ghani offered the Taliban a three-month ceasefire but the insurgents rejected it, two senior militant commanders said, and vowed to maintain their attacks on the government and its foreign allies. Repeated assaults on Ghazni has exposed the fragile grip Ghani's Western-backed government has on security and its apparent inability to prevent large-scale militant attacks. Ghani has ordered an investigation into the attacks and announced disbursement of $20 million for immediate relief and reconstruction process. The Taliban are fighting to expel foreign forces, defeat the government and impose their version of Islamist rule. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Friday the militants had not given up any ground during recent clashes. "Even more areas have been liberated from the grip of occupation," he said in a statement. (Additional reporting Jibran Ahmad, writing by Rupam Jain, Editing by Robert Birsel)Representatives from some of the technology industrys biggest companies have scheduled an internal meeting in San Francisco this Friday to coordinate their efforts against online election interference, according to a Buzzfeed report. The meeting has been organized by Facebook, with Twitter hosting the group at its San Francisco headquarters, according to the report.

Other companies invited to participate include Microsoft, Snapchat and Google. An invitation email of the gathering was sent by Nathaniel Gleicher, who had joined Facebook as the companys new head of cybersecurity policy earlier this year.

In the email, which was leaked to Buzzfeed, Gleicher wrote that the meeting would be used to share how each company was preparing for the 2018 election. We have been looking to schedule a follow-on discussion to our industry conversation about information operations, election protection, and the work we are all doing to tackle these challenges, Gleicher wrote.

The meeting follows a similar gathering by tech companies earlier this year that was also attended by representatives of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, according to Buzzfeed. This time around, the government is not expected to attend.

Companies like Twitter, Facebook and Google are increasingly acting in coordination with each other to fight foreign interference campaigns. Just this week, Google, Twitter and Facebook all took down accounts linked to Iran that were trying to covertly sway public opinion on subjects ranging from the Middle East to British and U.S. politics.

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Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!In the late afternoon on a steamy August Friday around a dozen volunteers burst into applause as the glass doors of the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, Texas spring open.

Bienvenidos! they yell, welcoming the guests. A stream of weary migrants moves in and fills up row after row of the plastic blue chairs that line the room. Even the most apprehensive among them begins to smile at the cheerful faces scattered throughout the room. A few grab the hands of volunteer and local community organizer Ramona Casas, who is standing nearest the door, thanking her as they make their way in.

Because the shoes on their feet had no laces, many shuffled across the beige tiled floor as they filled up the room, clutching plastic bags marked Department of Homeland Security that held chargers for the GPS monitors that were strapped to their ankles. The migrants walking through the doors on that Friday afternoon had just been released from federal custody.

Since the Trump Administration is generally no longer separating families at the border, those seeking asylum in the U.S. can be released from detention if they have sponsors or family in the U.S. In McAllen, there is a high probability that before getting on a bus to their sponsors homes, migrants will be ushered into the one-story beige building on Beaumont Avenue.

Inside, volunteers and staff offer food, a change of clothing, a place to bathe, guidance as they prepare to travel across the country, and, as was on display that Friday afternoon, a much-appreciated warm welcome.

The Trump Administration has maintained an aggressive posture toward immigrants over the past year and a half. From cracking down on the undocumented to limiting refugee admissions to making it harder for some immigrants to gain citizenship, the White House has signaled a harsher attitude on immigration.

But while the Trump Administration has gotten tougher, organizations that provide assistance to migrants and refugees have doubled down on their efforts to provide compassionate care, especially in South Texas cities on the frontlines of border crises. Groups like the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, have raised millions to help separated families reunite. Activists have rushed to protest and pushback on harsh policies. And facilities like the Respite Center have stepped in to provide a helping hand.

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There is a big misunderstanding of who the immigrant family is, says Sister Norma Piementel, who runs the center and serves as executive director of the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. For the most part these families are human beings who are entering our country in search of safety and protection.

Piementel first opened the respite center in 2014 when a surge of unaccompanied minors from Central America crossed the southern border. She says her goal has been to provide care for those in vulnerable situations. Ultimately, my goal is to make sure they are protected as much as we can, says Piementel. They are very highly vulnerable and exposed to abuse and human trafficking and violence. Trying to reduce that risk is one of my major concerns.

While the center meets the travelers basic humanitarian needs, its clients generally do not sleep there or stay longer than a few hours. The facility primarily helps asylum-seeking families that have been released from immigration detention on parole. Members of this class of immigrants are often released from detention on their own recognizance, sometimes with ankle monitors, as they await the immigration court hearings where judges will decide whether or not they can remain in the U.S.

Because the center has built a relationship with detention officials, they receive text-message updates throughout the day so they know how many families to expect. In the wake of zero tolerance, Piementel says, the center has consistently welcomed between 100 and 150 people  about 50 families  per day. This Friday was no different. Two more streams of families filed into center before sundown.

As the parents spoke to volunteers and placed phone calls, children laughed and played in the small corner toward the back where volunteers watched over them as they read books, played with Play-Doh, colored, played cards, and got engulfed in winding games of Jenga.

Parents would wander over to make sure their kids were alright. Mi corazon, my heart, one mother said glancing over at her daughter en la camisa blanca no older than five, who glanced back at her mom with a wide smile. Another man, Rogan, who did not give his last name, waved at his daughter from across the room. He was tired, he told TIME, but was doing well. The two were scheduled to take a bus to Richmond, Virginia the following morning. Like many in the room, they were resting up before the long trip ahead.

Migrants were handed cups of soup and warm tortillas as volunteers walk group-by-group of mothers, and later fathers, through the paperwork they were handed by immigration officials. After meeting with Center volunteers, each adult walked away clutching a beige envelope with a white paper stapled to its front. Please help me. I do not speak English, the paper read. What bus do I need to take? Thank you for your help.Dr. Thomas Frieden, who directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2009 to 2017, was arrested on a sex abuse charge Friday after he was accused of grabbing a womans buttocks.

The 57-year-old doctor turned himself in to New York police in Brooklyn on Friday morning and was charged with forcible touching, sex abuse and harassment, according to the New York Police Department. The charges stem from a complaint filed in July by a 55-year-old unnamed woman who claims Frieden grabbed her buttocks in his New York apartment last October, police said.

Frieden issued a statement denying the allegations, according to the Associated Press, saying they do not reflect his public or private behavior or his values; the statement also highlighted his lifetime of service to improve health around the world.

Vital Strategies, a global health organization that currently oversees the non governmental health group that Frieden founded after leaving the CDC, said in a statement that they were informed by Frieden of the complaint of inappropriate physical contact last April. In April of this year, Dr. Tom Frieden, who heads our Resolve to Save Lives Initiative, informed me that a non-work-related friend of his and his family of more than 30 years accused him of inappropriate physical contact, said Jose Castro, president and CEO of Vital Strategies.

Castro also wrote that Vital Strategies conducted its own thorough investigation by an external expert, which included an in-depth interview with every staff member on the Resolve to Save Lives team to determine whether there are any concerns about inappropriate behavior. This assessment determined there have been no incidents of workplace harassment.

During his career, Frieden was a widely respected public health advocate with experience both overseas and in the U.S. in battling public health problems from tuberculosis to smoking  and, most recently, Ebola. From 2002 to 2009, he served as New York Citys health and mental hygiene commissioner, where he supported programs to ban smoking in public places and remove unhealthy trans fats from restaurant meals. He was appointed to head the CDC by former President Barack Obama in 2009.

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As CDC commissioner, he spearheaded efforts to curb the obesity and flu epidemics in the U.S. and oversaw the countrys emergency response to the Ebola crisis. He defended the agency under Congressional criticism when health care workers in U.S. hospitals were exposed to Ebola while caring for patients. During his tenure, he also repeatedly campaigned Congress for continued support of the public health system.

After leaving the CDC, he created Vital Strategies Resolve to Save Lives, which works to improve public health responses to infectious disease outbreaks and address chronic illnesses such as obesity and diabetes. Resolve is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Castro said I have known and worked closely with Dr. Frieden for nearly 30 years and have seen first-hand that he has the highest ethical standards both personally and professionally. Vital Strategies greatly values the work Dr. Frieden does to advance public health and he has my full confidence.

The CDC referred calls about the charges against Frieden to law enforcement, saying it had no information on this matter. Resolve did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Justin Trudeau maintains he wants to behave diplomatically towards the kingdom - AFP

Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, expressed concern over reports that human rights activists in Saudi Arabia face the death penalty.

The two countries are locked in a diplomatic dispute triggered by Canadian criticism of the kingdom's human rights record, but Mr Trudeau said Canada continues to "engage diplomatically" with Saudi Arabia.

Human rights groups say Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for five human rights activists, including, for the first time, a woman.

The five stand accused of inciting mass protests in mainly Shia areas of the Sunni-ruled kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province. Human rights groups say that the execution threat is a calculated bid to stifle dissent.

"I think it's important to have positive relationships with countries around the world," Mr Trudeau told a press conference in British Columbia.

"At the same time, we have expressed our concern with the sentence handed down by Saudi Arabia, our concern for defending human rights and our shared values all around the world," he added.

"Canada will continue to stand up strongly for human rights," said Mr Trudeau.

The Saudi government has not confirmed that the activists face the death penalty.

Samar Badawi, pictured during the State Department's 2012 International Women of Courage Award winners ceremony in Washington Credit: REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File Photo

Two weeks ago Canada sparked fury in Riyadh by calling for the immediate release of detained activists, including award-winning women's rights campaigner Samar Badawi.

Saudi Arabia froze all new trade and investments, moved to pull out thousands of Saudi students from Canadian universities and pledged to stop all medical treatment programmes in Canada. State airline Saudia also suspended flights to Toronto.

In the end the Saudis gave its students an extension until September 22, according to several universities.Donald Trump's disastrous week continues to rumble on, as the US president attempts to change a narrative that is swiftly spiralling out of his control and once again leading opponents to call for thorough investigations.

On Tuesday, two former associates of Mr Trump were convicted of a number of charges, with the president's former lawyer admitting to a pair of campaign finance violations during the presidential election.

Michael Cohen, Mr Trump's so-called legal "fixer" implicated the president when he told the court his client had directed him to make payments to two women for the "purpose of influencing the election".

Cohen admitted paying the hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, two women who have alleged they had extramarital affairs with Mr Trump.

The developments have once again raised the spectre of impeachment, with one Democratic congressman warning the "countdown" is underway. The threat to Mr Trump's presidency was raised once again on Friday, when Representative Eric Swalwell, a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that the committee's now-closed Russia investigation should be reopened in the light of the disclosures from Cohen.

Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former White House aide, has added fuel to the fire, saying she is "fully willing and ready" to testify in impeachment proceedings against the president.

Paul Manafort, Mr Trump's one-time campaign manager, was also found guilty on Tuesday over numerous charges of financial and tax fraud, the same day Cohen admitted his guilt.

The convictions stemmed from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, as well as the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 election.

On Thursday, it was revealed the White House opposed a bill which would significantly bolster America's defences against future election hacking.

Mr Trump has consistently dismissed the threat posed by Russia, and has flip flopped on whether he believes Moscow interfered in the last election.By Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his top diplomat's planned trip to North Korea on Friday, publicly acknowledging for the first time that his effort to get Pyongyang to denuclearize had stalled since his summit with the North's leader. Trump partly blamed China for the lack of progress with North Korea and suggested that talks with Pyongyang, led so far by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, could be on hold until after Washington resolved its bitter trade dispute with Beijing. It was a dramatic shift of tone for Trump, who had previously hailed his June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a success and said the North Korean nuclear threat was over, despite no real sign Pyongyang was willing to give up its nuclear weapons. But Trump still kept the door open to a second summit with Kim, with whom the president recently said he has "great chemistry.""I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump wrote on Twitter. The North Korean mission to the United Nations declined to comment. Negotiations have been all but deadlocked since the June summit in Singapore. Pompeo has pressed for tangible steps toward North Korea's abandonment of its nuclear arsenal while Pyongyang is demanding that Washington first make concessions of its own. Trump's statement came just a day after Pompeo said he would again visit North Korea and would take his new special envoy, former auto industry executive Stephen Biegun, with him. But Trump asked Pompeo not to go during a Friday meeting and they crafted the tweets together, White House officials said. National security adviser John Bolton, considered a leading North Korea hawk, weighed in by speakerphone during a visit to Ukraine, U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many other key officials learned of Trump's decision by seeing the crawl across a television screen, some during a meeting on North Korea negotiations, officials said. Some U.S. intelligence and defense officials had considered Pompeo's latest trip to be premature and said the prospects for significant progress appeared dim. Pompeo, who would have been making his second visit to Pyongyang since the summit, had not been due to meet Kim this time. Trump himself was still open to another meeting with Kim, in hopes of advancing the process, but was not pleased with the latest signals from North Korea, a White House official said. South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke to Pompeo on the phone on Saturday and expressed concern over the delay of his visit. Kang asked Pompeo to keep the momentum of dialogue with North Korea to establish denuclearization and peace on the Korean peninsula, according to the Foreign Ministry's news release. ONUS ON CHINA Trump put some of the onus on China, North Korea's biggest trading partner and a crucial actor in enforcing sanctions to keep pressure on Pyongyang. "Because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)," Trump said on Twitter. "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved," Trump wrote. "In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!" China's Foreign Ministry on Saturday expressed "serious concern" about Trump's comments, which it called "irresponsible," and said it made "stern representations" to U.S. officials. It said China would continue to play a positive role in working towards decentralization on the Korean peninsula. Trump told Reuters on Monday he believed Kim had taken specific steps toward denuclearization and that they would "most likely" meet again. Kelly Magsamen a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian affairs, said Trump was undermining his leverage with Kim as well as that of Pompeo and his new envoy. "It's fine to not send the Secretary due to lack of progress, but don't then also talk about how you are eager to meet with KJU and how China is thwarting you," she tweeted. Christopher Hill, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, tweeted: "Looks like @realDonaldTrump has begun to worry about #NorthKorea intentions. Good decision especially if otherwise Pompeo would have returned empty handed." Kim made a broad, vague commitment in Singapore to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula but has given no sign of willingness to give up his arsenal unilaterally. Talks since then have made little headway, with the two sides far apart on denuclearization and the U.S. insistence for this to happen before North Korea sees any sanctions relief. Pompeo left his last visit to Pyongyang in July saying progress had been made, only for North Korea within hours to denounce his "gangster-like demands." U.S. officials have been trying without success to persuade North Korea to detail the extent of its nuclear arsenal. Trump's decision came just days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog reported it had not found any indication that North Korea had stopped its nuclear activities. However, some analysts suggested Trump's move may also be a negotiating ploy. In May, Trump announced he was calling off his planned summit with Kim, citing Pyongyang's "open hostility," only to reverse himself eight days later. The cancellation follows two days of U.S.-China trade talks in Washington that ended with no sign of progress toward resolving a deepening trade war between the world's two largest economies and no plans for more talks in the near term. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, David Brunnstrom, Steve Holland, David Lawder, John Walcott and Tim Ahmann in WASHINGTON, Michelle Nichols at the UNITED NATIONS, Haejin Choi in SEOUL and Tony Munroe in BEIJING; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Sandra Maler, Paul Tait and Helen Popper)Cebu City (CNN Philippines, August 25)  In a span of eight hours, two people were killed by gunmen in two separate incidents in Cebu City.

Junko Hamada, a 71-year-old Japanese businesswoman, was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding assailants at busy N. Bacalso Avenue at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.

Her car was peppered with bullets by the suspects, whom the police have yet to identify. Police said Hamada, president of the Beams Philippines Export Corp., was residing at Barangay Capitol Site.

At around 3 a.m. on Saturday, Rodilo Fornoles, 40, was gunned down in Barangay Tejero, also in Cebu City.

Police said the victim was chased by an armed unidentified suspect near his house in Sitio Villagonzalo Dos.

The police say investigations are ongoing on the incidents, which were the latest in the spate of killings in Cebu City.

During the first two weeks of August, two drug enforcement agents were shot dead in the city.

Journalist Dale Israel from Cebu City contributed to this report.Fecarota, of the 100 block of Aux Sable Drive, was home alone with the baby when another relative came home and called 911 after finding the child unresponsive and not breathing, the chief said.Michael Cohen once believed he would lead Donald Trumps presidential campaign.

When that didnt come to pass, he told friends he might be White House chief of staff. That didnt happen either, but still he swore hed take a bullet for Trump. In the end, the Presidents longtime personal lawyer stood before a federal judge in a New York City courthouse on Aug. 21 and swore to something else entirely: that he had engaged in a crime coordinated by the man who now sits in the Oval Office.

Even in a presidency punctuated by surreal moments, it was a stunning scene. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight felony counts, including arranging payments during the 2016 campaign to suppress two womens accounts of alleged extramarital affairs with Trump. I participated in this conduct, Cohen avowed, in coordination with and at the direction of Trump himself. With that extraordinary statement, he implicated the President of the United States in a federal crimeto be violating campaign-finance lawsprincipal purpose, of which he said, was to influence an election that Trump won by only 78,000 votes in three states.

The courtroom drama brought all the Presidents legal and political problems together in a single supernova. It highlighted Trumps sordid history with women, his willingness to blur the lines between business and politics, and growing fallout from the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, who referred the Cohen case to federal prosecutors. Worse, the explosion came minutes after Trumps onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts of tax evasion and bank fraud in a case prosecuted by Muellers deputies. And it followed revelations that White House counsel Don McGahn has cooperated extensively with Muellers probe, sitting for more than 30 hours of detailed and candid interviews.

It was arguably the most pivotal day in this presidency, and the consequences are only beginning to kick in. Cohens plea raised questions that cut to the heart of Trumps legitimacy. If Trump was willing to deploy his vast fortune to quash salacious stories, as Cohen alleges, what else might he have used his wealth for? What other damaging information could the Presidents former fixer share? And what scrutiny awaits Trumps business empire, which the President has sought to shield from the widening probes?

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For now, Trump may not pay a political or legal price. He has benefited from an unshakable bond with his base: even as criminal investigations seep further into his inner circle, Trump has averaged an 87% approval rating from Republicans so far in his second year, according to Gallup. And many legal experts believe that as President he cannot be indicted for a crime while in office. He did nothing wrong, said White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Aug. 22. There are no charges against him in this. And just because Michael Cohen has made a deal doesnt mean that that implicates the President on anything.

There was no question, however, that the late-August events mark a new and dangerous phase for Trump. For the first time, says former federal prosecutor David Axelrod, weve seen, in court, evidence strongly linking the President to criminal acts. That testimony, offered under oath by the Presidents former lawyer, will only embolden Mueller and energize Trumps Democratic opponents. It left West Wing staffers scrambling to soothe their furious boss. And it carried unmistakable echoes of John Deans turn against Richard Nixon in 1973, along with the growing sense that a presidency suffused with scandal is confronting its toughest fight yet.

Trump at an Aug. 21 rally in Charleston, W.Va., hours after the Cohen bombshell

In a fitting twist for a President from New York City, the trouble began with taxis. In addition to his day job as a Trump Organization executive, Cohen dabbled in real estate, medical businesses and even an offshore casino boat. By 2010, according to court documents, Cohen had also bought a portfolio of taxi medallions, the metal placards that allow drivers to operate cabs in cities like New York and Chicago. Cohen leased the medallions to drivers and, according to his plea, failed to report all of the profits to the IRS. In one scheme between 2012 and 2016, Cohen earned more than $2.4 million in interest from loans he made to a taxi operator who leased some of his Chicago medallions. In another, Cohen failed to report $1.3 million in income for a different taxi operator who paid Cohen personally for part of the leases, rather than Cohens medallion company. Cohen also didnt report $100,000 he received for brokering a Florida real estate deal, or a $30,000 fee he charged in 2015 for arranging the sale of a Birkin bag, a high-priced French handbag. In total, he confessed to concealing more than $4 million in personal income.

Suspicion that Cohen had engaged in tax evasion and bank fraud led Mueller to refer the matter to investigators in New Yorks Southern District. On April 9, the FBI stormed Cohens hotel room, apartment, law office and bank boxes, collecting computers, cell phones, tax records and other materials. The raid was unusual not only because Cohen had been the Presidents personal lawyer but also because prosecutors have to get special permission from a judge before raiding a lawyers property unannounced to avoid violating attorney-client privilege.

The evidence uncovered led to the Aug. 21 plea deal. Unveiling it, prosecutors released new details about Cohens role in arranging payments to two women, former Playboy model Karen McDougal and pornographic actor Stephanie Clifford, who performs under the name Stormy Daniels, to quash embarrassing stories about their alleged liaisons with Trump. In the summer of 2015, according to court documents, David Pecker, a Trump friend and the chairman of American Media Inc., the company that publishes the National Enquirer, told Cohen he would act as something of a fixer for the campaign. Cohen told prosecutors that Pecker agreed to help deal with negative stories about Trumps relationships with women. He offered to assist the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided, a practice known in the tabloid industry as catch and kill.

In June 2016, a month before Trump became the Republican nominee for President, Pecker alerted Cohen that McDougal had offered to sell the Enquirer the story of her affair with Trump, which allegedly took place shortly after Trumps wife Melania gave birth to their son Barron, according to court documents. Cohen told prosecutors he urged Pecker to buy the story and promised to reimburse the magazine. Peckers company paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to the story, which the Enquirer never published. The principal purpose of the deal, Cohen told prosecutors, was to suppress the story to prevent it from influencing the election. In late July 2018, Cohens attorney Lanny Davis released a secret audio recording from September 2016 in which Cohen tells Trump well have to pay to purchase the rights to McDougals story. Trump responds, Pay with cash.

Around Oct. 8, 2016, an agent for Clifford approached an editor at American Media about telling the story of her own alleged affair with Trump. It was the day after the release of the bombshell videotape of Trump on the Access Hollywood set, bragging to purchase [her] silence, according to Cohens plea.

When Cohen failed to pay Clifford immediately, Cliffords then attorney told the editor that she would take her story to another publication. The editor texted Cohen, according to court documents, telling him, we have to coordinate something  or it could look awfully bad for everyone. Two days later, Cohen wired $130,000 to Cliffords attorney, and Clifford signed a nondisclosure agreement, according to the court documents.

Cohen was reimbursed for his payment to Clifford by the Trump Organization in monthly installments of $35,000, the court records show. The Trump Organization itemized the invoices as legal services, even though Cohen had not provided any, according to the plea.

All this end ran federal laws barring campaign contributions of more than $27,000 by an individual or any amount by a corporation. Legal experts say that if Trump had paid Cohen out of his own bank account, it would not have been a violation of campaign-finance law. Its because he chose to use the corporate coffers to reimburse Cohen that you get this additional violation of federal law by the Trump Organization, and by extension Donald Trump himself, says Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a nonpartisan organization that filed complaints with the Department of Justice and the Federal Election Commission earlier this year regarding the campaigns payments to Clifford and American Media.

Trump and Cohen visit Portsmouth, N.H., in April 2011

If anyone imagined that these sordid details didnt add up to serious legal jeopardy for Trump, the top law-enforcement officials on the case set them straight after the Aug. 21 hearing. As the U.S. prosecutor on the case, Robert Khuzami, said, We are a nation of laws, with one set of rules that applies equally to everyone. William F. Sweeney Jr., the FBIs top New York cop, chimed in that we are all expected to follow the rule of law. And James Robnett, the special agent in charge of the IRSs New York Criminal Investigation unit said Cohens plea sends a clear message that the tax laws apply to everybody.

And the transactions open up problems for the President that go beyond his implication in a federal crime. By confessing that he invoiced the Trump Organization, Cohen may draw increased scrutiny to the companys books. That could result in the closest look yet at the finances of a President who has steadfastly refused to release his tax returns.

Already, some Trump antagonists have seized on Cohens statements as supporting evidence in their own ongoing legal battles. The likelihood of me being able to depose Michael Cohen and the President of the United States just went up exponentially, says Michael Avenatti, Cliffords attorney, whose motion to take testimony from both men awaits a hearing. A California judge had stayed the case pending the outcome of the Cohen investigation. A hearing on whether to lift the stay is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Los Angeles.

All this would be worrisome enough for the President if his problems ended with Cohen. But they dont. In the same hour the lawyer pleaded guilty to eight felonies in Manhattan, Manafort was facing the music in a courtroom outside Washington. His conviction on eight criminal chargestwo counts of bank fraud, five counts of tax fraud and one count of failing to disclose foreign bank accountsillustrates the depth and breadth Muellers investigation. That probe has already resulted in more than 100 criminal charges against 33 people and three companies and secured guilty pleas from Manaforts longtime deputy Rick Gates, former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos.

During the Manafort trial, federal prosecutors did not address possible collusion between Trumps presidential campaign and Russian actors, but they did show that Muellers investigators are looking closely at potential financial crimes. The Mueller probe reportedly has ensnared top Trump associates like Roger Stone over what he knew about WikiLeaks release of emails stolen from the Hillary Clinton campaign chairmans account. Mueller is reportedly also looking at the Presidents eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., for his role in a secret meeting during the 2016 campaign with a Russian lawyer, billed to the campaign as an opportunity to gain damaging information on Clinton. Cohen has reportedly said he is willing to tell Mueller that Trump was aware of the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower before it happened.

Manafort, outside a federal courthouse in Washington in June, was found guilty of eight counts of bank and tax fraud on Aug. 21

Trumps most immediate peril may not be on the legal front. Justice Department guidelines restrict prosecutors from bringing charges against a sitting Presidenthe can be indicted only after he leaves office. But the political toll of the mushrooming scandals is another matter. In the short term, he is unlikely to see his support drop. This wont be a blip in polls, a top Democratic Senate aide predicted. Literally, nothing changes this guys polling. Most Americans have fixed their opinions about him by now. This stopped being a game of persuasion in about October of 2016, a top Republican on Capitol Hill said.

But the courtroom drama cemented corruption as a theme that Democrats will use to hammer Republicans in the 11 weeks until the midterm elections. Democrats are wary for now of the argument that Cohens claims should initiate impeachment proceedings, fearing the prospect would energize Trumps supporters more than their own. Some of the most successful messaging tests Democrats have seen, according to two top strategists who have conducted focus groups in representative districts, is to cast incumbent Republicans as yes men to the President. Thats why strategists close to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi recently sent a memo to Democratic candidates with a proposed message: run as a check on Trumps agenda. In their research, pollsters found that Democratic candidates saw a 12-point bump using that message; among independent and nonaligned voters, the rhetoric was worth 14 percentage points.

If Trumps spreading scandals engulf Republicans in November, Democrats could find themselves chairing committees next January with broad powers to investigate the President and his associates. A Democratic House or Senate could challenge the White House on everything from the Presidents coveted border wall to his tax returns. Washington would tilt on its axis as Democrats with subpoena power move against their beleaguered opponent in the White House.

Which is why Cohens courtroom turn could be the start of a consequential, even historic, period in American politics. More details of his allegations against Trump will surely emerge. A second Manafort trial on charges he acted as an unregistered foreign agent will get under way in September. And eventually Mueller will likely issue a report detailing everything he has found about Russias 2016 meddling and whether the Trump campaign was involved. At which point Democrats who might control one or both chambers on Capitol Hill could be expected to look beyond their own investigations to impeachment.

With reporting by Alana Abramson, Haley Sweetland Edwards and Kate Reilly/New York; Molly Ball, Ryan Teague Beckwith, Philip Elliott and Abby Vesoulis/Washington

This appears in the September 03, 2018 issue of TIME.By Jim Finkle

(Reuters) - U.S. Democratic National Committee officials incorrectly interpreted security testing conducted on behalf of Michigan Democrats as a sign foreign hackers were looking to attack a party voter database, a DNC source said on Thursday.

The DNC earlier on Thursday blamed the incident on a "third party" who built a mockup of the party's VoteBuilder site in a security simulation.

Officials mistook the testing to be part of a malicious "phishing" effort to trick political workers into providing hackers with credentials for accessing party networks, DNC Chief Security Officer Bob Lord said in a statement.

Michigan Democratic Party chair, Brandon Dillon, issued a statement confirming that "alarms were set off" by security tests conducted on behalf of the state party organization.

Dillon and party officials could not be reached to elaborate on the brief statement.

The false alarm came as political parties and U.S. law-enforcement agencies are on high alert for signs of foreign hacking. U.S. officials recently warned that Russia is looking to interfere in the November mid-term elections.

Democrats have invested heavily in bolstering party cyber defenses after U.S. intelligence agencies determined that Russia used hacking as part of an effort to bolster support for Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Russia has repeatedly denied those claims.

"Everyone is very jumpy and they check under their beds at night for Russian trolls," said Jim Lewis, a hacking expert with the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies.

The DNC reported the matter to the FBI, then went public with its concerns that it was under attack, after reviewing reports from two companies that said they had uncovered a mock login page for VoteBuilder website.

"The party took the necessary precautions to ensure that sensitive data critical to candidates and state parties across the country was not compromised," Lord said in his statement.

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"We are extremely relieved that this wasn't an attempted intrusion by a foreign adversary," he added.

DNC officials declined to elaborate.

VoteBuilder, designed by election technology firm NGP VAN, is frequently accessed by state parties and campaign managers in the field.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in New York; Additional reporting by Christopher Bing in Washington, Jack Stubbs in London and Tim Reid in Chicago; Editing by Nick Zieminski)Curt Mills

Security, Middle East

There are parallels with 1998 and Iraq.

Is the U.S. Prepping to Airstrike Iran?

Daniel McCarthy correctly observes in The National Interest that this presidency bears more resemblance to Bill Clintons than Richard Nixons: a principal short on probity in affairs sexual and personal financial, but one who is, so far, overseeing a rip roaring economy and largely conventional foreign policy.

Amidst convulsions in the chattering classes about Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort and ouster from office, another parallel lurks: much like the Clinton administration, this White House quietly assesses an unsavory Middle Eastern government as its preeminent challenge.

This time its Iran, not Iraq, of course. But as 2018 closes, the U.S. is nearing the twenty-year anniversary of an oft-forgotten event in history: Bill Clintons airstrikes on Saddam Husseins regime in December 1998. The 42nd president explained the strikes, which killed over one thousand of Saddams Republican Guard, from the Oval Office: their mission was to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs but also its military capacity to threaten its neighbors. Their purpose was to protect the national interest of the United States, and indeed the interests of people throughout the Middle East and around the world.

As Ive previously pointed out, the Trump administration officially maintains its policy is to seek change in the Iranian regimes behavior, not necessarily change in the regime itself. But top hawks flying in the presidents orbit disagree. Ali Safavi of the National Council for Resistance of Iran (NCRI), associated with the MEK, has told me: We welcome the call for the Iranian regimes change of behavior at home and abroad as that would lead to its definite demise.

But if protests combined with a torrent of financial pressure dont collapse the clerical government in Tehran, or if President Hassan Rouhanis government (infuriated and humiliated at home by U.S. secession from the Iran deal) flails out militarily, might the U.S. entertain military action? As Ive written before, those seeking change in Iran near-universally see the parallel here as 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union, not 2003 and the military decapitation of the government in Baghdad.

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But a hybrid option exists -- select airstrikes on the 1998 model -- to further squeeze the Iranians. Regime opponents like NIAC and MEK insist this will not be necessary if Tehran is isolated enough. But precision military strikes have been, quite subtly, floated before by those in and around the Trump administration as a failsafe.

Prior to his return to power this spring, John Bolton, now national security advisor, wrote last summer in National Review what he thought the world should look like after U.S. nullification of the JCPOA: With Israel and selected others, we will discuss military options. He urged delivery of F-35s to Jerusalem. Walter Russell Mead at The Wall Street Journal, who has been cited as Steve Bannons favorite columnist and is perhaps the most prominent foreign policy thinker in the country at least open to this administration, has written if the Iranians respond to the JCPOA abdication by restarting their nuclear program that Israeli-American airstrikes could both stop the process and inflict a humiliating blow to the regimes prestige.

So is this actually in the cards? On this administration, two prime theories of the case abound.

In one reading, this is a Republican administration going through the motions of being reflexively hawkish. Adherents to this interpretation notes that all of the major presidential candidates for the nomination, even restrainer Rand Paul, opposed President Obamas nuclear deal. This is the fear of hardliners like Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy (CSP), friendly with the administration. He has called for the diminishment of Brian Hook, newly named the State Departments pointman on Irans malign activity.

Irans foreign minister marked the 65th anniversary of an American-backed coup that toppled a hostile and oppressive government in Tehran by vowing that the United States new Iran Action Group wont have the same effect. Hes likely right, Gaffney said in an email message to subscribers last week. If President Trump wants to help the Iranian people liberate themselves from a Sharia kleptocracy that oppresses them and threatens us and wants the Action Group to do that, putting Brian Hook in charge ensures it wont happen. Hook is deeply hostile to Trump and has, to date, used his top job at State to save the Obamabomb deal, and prop up Irans regime. This is quite a statement for foreign policy restrainers, a Mitt Romney alum generally considered a dependable hawk. But for Gaffney and other hardliners, not so.

The potential for an unprovoked attack on Iran exists, but I think its less than 10 percent, a former senior U.S. military officer friendly with the administration and leading Republicans told me Thursday. Bolton this week said the U.S. goal was to drive Iranian oil exports down to zero, and announced that U.S. rejected a Tehran-proposed compromise plan to swap sanctions relief for a drawback in Syria. But Bolton, in Israel, also reported that U.S. sanctions on the country had already been more effective than expected, seeming to pour cold water on imminent, further action.

A second reading of the current situation, however, sees continued confrontation with the government in Iran as, slowly but surely, well on its way to becoming the prime legacy of this administrations foreign policy. And this approach risks military confrontation, say these skeptics, who were unsurprised to see the Iran deal nixed by Washington, and the so-called adults in the room like defense secretary James Mattis lose out. They see recent events as just the beginning, and find the 1998 example apt, especially with an American population afflicted by the Iraq syndrome. A major confrontation would be not be pretty, and very possibly unnecessary as the regime is roiled by its most significant internal crisis since the Green Revolution nearly a decade ago. A 2017 Rand. Corp report assesses, as veteran defense reporter Mark Perry notes, that an outright war would require the U.S. to deploy nearly half of its fighter squadrons. The U.S. could do it, but just barely, as the military destruction of the regime would likely prove just the start of major U.S. involvement. A more targeted approach, therefore, could eventually prove attractive, if it came to it. A top aide to a senior Democratic senator has expressed the view before. He told me Thursday that Iran will continue to be a major agenda item for the administration for a whole set of reasons. For one, youve got Fleitz in there, the aide says, referring to Fred Fleitz, John Boltons top appointee and the national security council chief of staff. Fleitz was previously Gaffneys chief of staff. Fleitz, a former CIA officer, served with Bolton at State. In an amusing anecdote, a former State official who served during this period recalls that Fleitz used to show State Department personnel his CIA ID and tell them: You know who I really am, right?

And a possible danger is a Gulf of Tonkin event, Douglas MacGregor, a favorite of television host Tucker Carlson who has been floated to be Trumps national security advisor before, told me Thursday. Based on the report of an incident that never occurred, Trump could be railroaded into action, he told me. The top Senate aide notes: Youve got U.S. and Iranian forces in fairly close proximity, in a number of places around the region: in Iraq, in Yemen, in Syria. That just brings a number of possible crisis points.

In the meantime, the Iranians arent doing themselves any favors. A mindset that theyre the aggrieved party along with clinical anti-Americanism threatens to empower the countrys hardliners and inspire riskier behavior. The U.S. this week charged two alleged Iranian agents -- Ahmadreza Doostdar (a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen) and Majid Ghorbani (a U.S. permanent resident) -- accusing them of a conducting illicit surveillance of Jewish and Israeli facilities in the United States, and well as spying on the MEK. The Iranian regime feels so emboldened that they are bringing their spying and terror operations right into the American soil, Alireza Jafarzadeh of NIAC told me Thursday night. All of these terror operations are as a result of a very desperate situation that the Iranian regime is in as the uprising in Iran has continued and expanded.

Curt Mills is a foreign-affairs reporter at the National Interest. Follow him on Twitter: @CurtMills

Read full articleBy Amanda Becker and Laila Kearney WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service on Thursday moved to block high-tax states from helping taxpayers circumvent the new cap on federal deductions for state and local tax payments. The Republican tax law enacted in December capped at $10,000 the deduction taxpayers can claim on their federal tax return for state and local tax payments, including property and income taxes, known as SALT. The deduction was previously unlimited. The highest state and local tax rates tend to be in Democratic-leaning areas, and critics of the capped SALT deduction say it was designed to disproportionately impact taxpayers in those states. After the law's enactment, some high-tax states moved to set up funds for public services to which taxpayers can make donations, receive credits against owed state and local taxes and then claim the payments as charitable deductions on their federal returns. The rule proposed by Treasury and the IRS on Thursday would apply existing tax law related to charitable donations, which allows taxpayers to deduct only the portion for which they derived no personal benefit, such as a state or local tax credit. "Congress limited the deduction for state and local taxes that predominantly benefited high-income earners to help pay for major tax cuts for American families," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "The proposed rule will uphold that limitation by preventing attempts to convert tax payments into charitable contributions," he added. The tax law slashed the top corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent and temporarily cut individual rates. It roughly doubled the standard deduction, but limited or eliminated other popular deductions, such as for SALT. Democrats criticized the law as a giveaway to corporations and the wealthy that is expected to add $1.9 trillion to the national debt over ten years, according to government estimates. New York, which has a top state income tax rate of 8.82 percent and where the average SALT deduction was more than $22,000 in 2015, according to the Tax Policy Center, established a fund supporting public services. Taxpayers who contribute receive an 85 percent credit on their New York tax bill. The idea was that taxpayers could then fully deduct the contribution as a charitable donation on their federal tax return. Under the proposed rule, however, a New York taxpayer could not receive a federal charitable deduction for the portion of their donation to the fund for which they received a state tax credit, unless the credit was for 15 percent or less. "If you make a donation of $100 and you get a big chunk of that back in state tax credits, say $85, you can't go to the IRS and say I gave $100, I should be able to get a $100 deduction," said Carl Davis, research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank. "You can only deduct the amount you actually sacrificed, that $15 that wasn't already reimbursed," Davis added. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said on Thursday that Treasury and the IRS had proposed "politically motivated regulations" and the state would "fight back." New York, along with Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey, last month filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the SALT deduction cap. Legal experts said the proposed rule did not differentiate between new funds set up by high-tax states and dozens of pre-existing programs, including in Republican-led states. In Alabama, for example, taxpayers are eligible for a state tax credit for contributions to nonprofits that grant private-school scholarships. "This won't enable you to find a new work-around for the SALT cap, but if these credits made sense to you last year they'll still make sense to you this year," said Jared Walczak, an analyst at the pro-business Tax Foundation. Republican Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, one of seven U.S. states with no income tax of its own, and a tax law architect, said in a statement that the proposed rules "rightly close the door on improper tax evasion schemes conjured up by state and local politicians." "As for states that have long-standing tax credit programs ... we encourage you to review the proposed regulations and make full use of the comment period," Brady added. There is a 45-day period to submit written comments, according to the IRS and Treasury notice. (Graphics: U.S. states with the highest and lowest income tax rates: https://tmsnrt.rs/2waGSWi) (Reporting by Amanda Becker and Laila Kearney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Leslie Adler)Tehran (AFP) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for unity on Saturday in the face of criticism from all sides of his handling of an economic crisis and tensions with the United States.

"Now is not the time to unload our burdens on to somebody else's shoulders. We must help each other," Rouhani said in a televised speech at the shrine of late revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

"The country's problems and resisting foreigners' conspiracies is the responsibility of every one of us."

With rapidly rising food prices, a dramatic currency collapse and the reimposition of US sanctions after it abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal, many Iranians are in a bleak mood.

Much of his electoral base among reform-minded urbanites has lost faith in him, while working-class areas have seen months of sporadic strikes and protests that have occasionally turned violent.

Some of the most virulent criticism has come from the hardline religious establishment who long opposed Rouhani's efforts to rebuild ties with the West.

On August 16, an image went viral of a protest by seminary students in the shrine city of Qom, at which one placard warned Rouhani would meet the same fate as former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was found dead in a swimming pool last year.

Rouhani sought to play down the differences, saying: "The clerical, religious institutions and the government are alongside each other."

But he added a typically cryptic warning: "No one can walk into the sea and not expect to get his feet wet."

Hardliners have been blamed for stoking economic protests that have sometimes turned against the Islamic system as a whole.

Rouhani still has the support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who says he must remain in power to avoid further disorder.

But Khamenei has also blamed government mismanagement, rather than foreign hostility, for the current crisis.

"We are aware of people's pain, suffering and problems and all our efforts are geared at reducing these problems," Rouhani pledged..A former US federal prosecutor will serve as the legal watchdog over Chinese telecoms giant ZTE, which narrowly avoided collapse after being hit with US sanctions, the Commerce Department announced Friday.

The appointment comes as part of a controversial settlement with Washington after President Donald Trump in May personally intervened to rescue the company, which US officials accuse of repeatedly violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

US authorities agreed to lift the export ban if the smartphone maker paid an additional $1 billion fine -- beyond the $892 million penalty imposed in 2017 -- dismissed its board of directors and allowed Washington to name a legal compliance expert to oversee operations.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the selection of Roscoe Howard, who served as chief federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia under former President George W Bush, to fill that role.

"Today's appointment is the continuation of the unprecedented measures imposed on ZTE by the Department of Commerce," Ross said in a statement.

Howard is "exceptionally well-versed in corporate compliance, having tried more than 100 cases as a federal prosecutor."

The Commerce Department formally lifted sanctions on ZTE in July, three months after barring US firms from supplying the Chinese company with crucial components over its continued dealings with Iran and North Korea.

The punishment was imposed after officials found the violations had continued even after it settled with US authorities last year.

But as a favor to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump directed the department to ease the penalties, which had brought ZTE to the verge of collapse.

Lawmakers in July dropped efforts to pass a laws reversing the deal but expressed outrage at the show of leniency for a repeat offender also described as a national security threat.

Ross has been at pains to argue that, while allowing the company to survive, the revised deal is also unusually tough.A full giraffe skin was among items found legally on sale: HSUS

The US is allowing the import of tens of thousands of parts each year from endangered giraffes killed for their skin and bones.

A populations plummet in Africa, investigators discovered that 40,000 pieces of skin and bone from the creatures were imported into America.

As a result, the sale of trinkets made with those parts is booming.

The Humane Society of the United States said that the body parts were turned into pillows, knife handles, bible covers, gun-case covers, boots and other trinkets.

Most of the animals had been killed by American trophy-hunters. Importing body parts and selling such products is legal in the US.

The worlds tallest animal was classified two years ago as vulnerable after its numbers declined sharply. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which runs the worlds official endangered species list, moved it from a species of least concern to vulnerable status in its Red List of Threatened Species.

That means it faces extinction in the wild in the medium-term future if nothing is done to minimise the threats to its life or habitat.

Giraffe-hide-covered gun cases were openly on sale (HSUS)

Giraffes are threatened by habitat loss caused by human encroachment and poaching by locals in search of bushmeat or the animals tails to turn into charms such as bracelets or sewing thread. Climate change and civil unrest are also playing a role, according to the IUCN.

The Humane Society US and other wildlife activists have petitioned the US Fish and Wildlife Service to listing giraffes as an endangered species to protect it. The African Wildlife Foundation puts numbers now at 97,500, down from 150,000 in 1985.

The Humane Society obtained official data showing that nearly 40,000 giraffe products were legally imported into the US from 2006 to 2015.

An investigator who went undercover to 21 locations to track giraffe part sales found a taxidermied body of a juvenile giraffe, selling for $7,500 (5,800).

He also found:

A custom-made jacket available for $5,500 (4,275)

Western boots made from giraffe leather

Speciality knives made from giraffe bone

Giraffe skin Bible covers selling for $400 and furniture

Bones and bone carvings

A pillow made with an animal head intact down to its eyelashes

He also discovered that some of the sellers falsely portrayed giraffes as dangerous, suggesting that they needed to be killed in defence of villages in Africa. They are in fact, shy, gentle creatures

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Other sellers criminal records for serious animal-related crimes, including the trafficking of rhino horn.

The Trump administration has relaxed restrictions on imports of parts of wildlife killed by trophy-hunters, ushering in what some call a golden age for trophy hunters. Documents obtained by the advocacy group Friends of Animals suggested the administration has issued more than three dozen permits to bring lion trophies back to the US, with hunters who donate to the Republicans given special permits.

Donald Trump has also proposed weakening the Endangered Species Act that protects a wide range of threatened species.

Giraffes have evolved to eat leaves from trees and are not aggressive, according to Adam Peyman, of Humane Society International.

Trophy hunting seems to be the primary source of the animals arriving in the United States, but it is not driving the animals to extinction, Mr Peyman said.

However, he suggested that any market for giraffe products puts more pressure on the species.

We cant afford any additional pressure amid what experts have dubbed the silent extinction, he said. These are products that most people wouldnt be interested in, but I think its important to raise awareness among the public to the fact that these things are sold across the country.

The Safari Club International, which promotes hunters rights, said in a statement to The New York Times that despite the rhetoric in the media, legal regulated hunting is one of the most effective means of conservation.

The market for giraffe products, Mr Peyman said, may have inadvertently been increased by a ban on importing some elephant products, which was upheld by the Trump administration late last year.Washington (AFP) - A European Union aid plan for Iran sends "the wrong message at the wrong time" to the government in Tehran, the US State Department said Friday.

The $20.7 million EU assistance package "perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes," read a statement Friday signed by US special representative for Iran Brian Hook.

"More money in the hands of the Ayatollah means more money to conduct assassinations in those very European countries."

According to Hook, the Iranian people "face very real economic pressures caused by their government's corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts."

He said that the United States and the European Union "should be working together... to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran's people and end the regime's threats to regional and global stability."

The package of assistance offered to Iran, announced on Thursday, is "for projects in support of sustainable economic and social development" in the Islamic Republic, and includes funds to help develop the private sector, according to a statement from the European Commission.

The funds "are the first of a wider package of 50 million euros for Iran, aiming to support the country to address key economic and social challenges," the statement read.

"They are part of the renewed cooperation and engagement between the European Union and Iran following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)."

After withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the major powers, Washington in early August reinstated sanctions against Tehran and issued a warning to countries that continued trading with Iran.This weeks headlines saw some serious legal woes for President Donald Trump, a bombshell report against a leading Me Too figure and a hurricane hurtling toward Hawaii.

In case you missed them  or just couldnt keep up (we wouldnt blame you)  here are the top stories from this weeks turbulent news cycle.

Michael Cohen implicates Trump in guilty pleas

Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, seemingly sending President Donald Trump into some serious trouble. (Photo: Carlo Allegri / Reuters)

Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal attorney and confidant, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to unlawfully interfering in the 2016 presidential election at Trumps behest. Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal counts, including tax fraud, making false statements and campaign finance violations related to his work for the Trump campaign.

Trump tried to downplay Cohens unlawful activity and suggested that cooperating with prosecutors should be a crime.

Paul Manafort convicted on eight counts

Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts related to tax and bank fraud and failure to report foreign accounts. (Photo: Drew Angerer via Getty Images)

Very shortly after the news of Cohens plea deal broke, Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts related to tax and bank fraud and failure to report foreign accounts.

Manaforts conviction is not directly related to his work on Trumps campaign, but the verdict is still a win for special counsel Robert Muellers probe into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election.

GOP congressman indicted on campaign finance fraud charges

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife allegedly misused campaign funds to pay for more than $250,000 in personal expenses. (Photo: Bill Clark via Getty Images)

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were indicted Tuesday on charges of using the congressmans campaign funds for personal use. Over a seven-year period, the Hunters allegedly spent more than $250,000 in campaign funds for noncampaign expenses, including pricey family vacations and extravagant meals. The couple attempted to conceal their misuse of funds by falsely labeling them in the congressmans FEC filings.

Hunter was forced to resign from his House committee assignments. The couple pleaded not guilty.

National Enquirer publisher David Pecker turns on Trump

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David Pecker, CEO of American Media Inc., provided information to federal prosecutors about hush payments to women who allegedly had affairs with Trump. (Photo: Stringer . / Reuters)

Federal prosecutors reportedly granted immunity to longtime Trump friend David Pecker, the CEO and chairman of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc.

The arrangement is part of the ongoing investigation into Cohen. Pecker provided information about hush payments to two women who allegedly had affairs with Trump and Trumps knowledge of the payments in exchange for immunity, The Wall Street Journal first reported. AMI executives reportedly helped coordinate the hush payments, which were made in anticipation of Trumps run for the presidency.

Asia Argento faces sexual abuse allegations

Actress and director Asia Argento has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor. (Photo: ANTONIN THUILLIER via Getty Images)

Italian actress and director Asia Argento, an early accuser of Harvey Weinstein and prominent figure in the Me Too movement, has been accused of sexually assaulting a minor. The New York Times reported that Argento agreed to pay actor and musician Jimmy Bennett $380,000 after he threatened to sue her for allegedly sexually assaulting him in a hotel room in California when he was 17. Bennett and Argento once worked together on a film in which Bennett played Argentos characters son.

Argento denied ever having a sexual relationship with Bennett, but a photo and text messages published Thursday by TMZ called her account into question. The photo purportedly shows Argento and Bennett, both shirtless, in bed together. TMZ also published a text message conversation allegedly between Argento and an unidentified friend, in which they discuss the incident: The horny kid jumped me, Argento wrote.

Hurricane Lane batters Hawaii

Hurricane Lane had been downgraded to a Category 2 storm as of Friday afternoon, but it still drenched the Big Island on Wednesday and Thursday, causing severe flooding and landslides.

Gov. David Ige (D) warned residents Thursday night: THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. AVOID UNNECESSARY TRAVEL.

The state is still on high alert, with possibly dangerous conditions continuing into the weekend.

Be ready for threats of #HurricaneLane today into the weekend. Potential continues for dangerous impacts. #HIwx pic.twitter.com/cL8Ft96t7n  NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) August 24, 2018

Trump Organization CFO granted immunity in Cohen probe

Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, has been granted immunity in the Cohen investigation for providing information about the hush payments, The Wall Street Journal and NBC News reported Friday.

Weisselbergs information could do some serious damage to Trump, as he has been intimately involved in Trumps finances for decades. Weisselberg testified before a federal grand jury in the Cohen investigation earlier this year.

John McCain stops cancer treatment

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced on Friday he is discontinuing treatment for brain cancer. (Photo: Charles Mostoller / Reuters)

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year, is stopping medical treatment, his family said Friday.

John has surpassed expectations for his survival. But the progress of the disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict, the McCain family said in a statement. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.

The 81-year-old Vietnam War veteran has served as a U.S. senator since 1987.

Trump cancels Mike Pompeos North Korea visit

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will no longer be visiting North Korea next week. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Trump announced on Friday that he had canceled Secretary of State Mike Pompeos trip to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on denuclearization.

Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were, Trump tweeted.

I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

The trip was supposed to be Pompeos fourth visit to discuss denuclearization since Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in Singapore in June.

Trump said Pompeo would most likely visit North Korea after the U.S. and China resolved their ongoing trade dispute. The two countries have been implementing increasing tariffs on each others products.

...Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018

Related Coverage

Michael Cohen Says Trump Ordered Him To Illegally Interfere In Election

Paul Manafort Found Guilty In First Trial Test Of Mueller Probe

David Pecker Granted Immunity In Michael Cohen Case: Report

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.The trio then stole Guerreros backpack and loaded him into their Jeep Cherokee, drove to Joliet Street and removed him from the Jeep. Prosecutors said the three tortured, beat and kicked Guerrero as he begged for his life. Correa then arrived at the fire pit and also beat and kicked the victim. It is believed Correa brought a container of gasoline and gave it to Alvarado and Brewer. Brewer then poured the gasoline on Guerrero and lit him on fire, the release said.COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said Thursday it will send a cargo vessel through the Russian Arctic for the first time as a result of melting sea ice.

Janina von Spalding, spokeswoman for the world's biggest shipping company, said the new ice class container vessel, Venta Maersk, would embark on trial journey in the Arctic route over Russia next month.

"I think it is important to underline that this is a one-off trial designed to explore an unknown route for container shipping and to collect scientific data  and not the launch of a new product," von Spalding said in an email to The Associated Press.

"In today's fast-paced world, companies that want to lead must innovate," she said, adding the trial "will offer us a unique opportunity to gain operational experience in a new area and to test vessel systems, crew capabilities and the functionality of the shore based support setup."

The Northern Sea Route could be a shorter route for journeys from East Asia to Europe than the Northwest Passage over Canada because it will likely be free of ice sooner due to climate change.

Experts say it could reduce the most commonly used East Asia-Europe route via the Suez Canal from 21,000 kilometers (13,000 miles) to 12,800 kilometers (8,000 miles), cutting transit time by 10-15 days.

Von Spalding said the ship will leave Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok around Sept. 1 with a cargo of frozen fish and sail to St. Petersburg where it will arrive by the end of the month.

The transit route was coordinated with Russian authorities after careful evaluation of ice conditions, and ice breaker assistance will be at hand, the Copenhagen-based group said.

"Currently, we do not see the Northern Sea Route as a commercial alternative to our existing network which is defined by our customers' demand, trading patterns and population centers," she added.

___

Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.(Reuters) - Iran awaiting European guarantees on the sale of Iranian oil and banking relations, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and is reimposing sanctions on Tehran, while other parties to the accord are trying to find ways to save the agreement. "We are still waiting for Europe to take action on the sale of Iranian oil and the preservation of banking channels," the Iranian foreign minister said. Zarif also defended the European Union's decision on Thursday to provide 18 million euros ($21 million) in aid to Iran to offset the impact of U.S. sanctions, part of efforts to salvage the 2015 deal to limit Tehran's nuclear ambitions. "This is a package that will help both sides have communication with each other and it doesn't have anything to do with the nuclear agreement and other hype," the minister said, according to ISNA. The top U.S. envoy on Iran, Brian Hook, criticized the EU aid to Tehran on Friday and said it sent "the wrong message at the wrong time." The EU funding is part of a wider package of 50 million euros earmarked in the EU budget for Iran, which has threatened to stop complying with the nuclear accord if it fails to see the economic benefit of relief from sanctions. (Reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva; Editing by Alison Williams and Edmund Blair)Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on Saturday refused to accept a Constitutional Court ruling that upheld Emmerson Mnangagwa's win in presidential elections last month.

In his first comments since the country's top court overturned the opposition's legal challenge to have the results annulled, Chamisa vowed to lead "peaceful protests".

"I have a legitimate claim that I am supposed to lead the people of Zimbabwe," the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party said Saturday.

"Yes, judgement has been made but as far as we are concerned, we have a view that is contrary to the view of the Constitutional Court," Chamisa said.

"The court's decision is not the people's decision. The people who voted do not believe in (Mnangagwa). We have got a clear majority."

In a verdict widely predicted by analysts, Chief Justice Luke Malaba strongly criticised the MDC party's case and upheld Mnangagwa's win.

Robert Mugabe's successor Mnangagwa, of the ruling ZANU-PF party, won the July 30 election with 50.8 percent of the vote -- just enough to meet the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a run-off against Chamisa, who scored 44.3 percent.

The elections were largely judged to be free of the violence which characterised previous elections in Zimbabwe.

Chamisa insists he won more than two-thirds of the vote.

"The legal door is not the only door to happiness," he said. "Using our constitutional right, we have a right to peaceful protests. This is the route we will take. One of them."

Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe after the long-time ruler was ousted following a brief military takeover in November 2017.

He vowed to hold free and fair elections and mend strained relations with the west but his plan was marred when soldiers fired at protesters on August 1 killing at least six people.

His inauguration will now take place on Sunday.Turkey condemned Friday Israel's decision to approve some 1,000 housing units in the West Bank.

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Despite only 1,000 housing units approved, Turkey claimed in its condemnation statement that 2,000 housing units had been approved.

"We harshly condemn Israel's decision to approve 2,000 additional housing units in the Israeli-occupied West Bank," Turkey's Foreign Affairs statement said.

Archive (Photo: AP)

The Supreme Planning Committee of the Civil Administration approved Tuesday the construction of 984 housing units in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Nearly 384 units have already received a final approval56 in the settlement of Barkan, 168 in Nofim, 108 in Tzofim, 44 in Ma'ale Adumim and eight in Avnei Hefetz.

The remaining unitsin Kiryat Netafim, Otniel and Beit Elare currently at the deposit stage of planning and will be approved in the near future.

The units to be built in Beit El will probably be part of hundreds of housing units Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been promoting in the settlements following the deadly terror attack in Adam a few weeks ago.

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: Reuters)

"This is an insufficient amount and the smallest number of housing units approved in the last year and a half. In the previous committees, the number of building permits ranged from 2,000 to 3,000, which is also relatively limited compared to the total number of permits throughout the country, which is in the tens of thousands," read the organizations official statement.

"A national government should not reduce construction, but expand it. We call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to remove the restrictions and order a large-scale construction plan throughout the West Bank, as in other parts of the country.

"It is possible, required and should be done as soon as today," the statement concluded.The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza, the State Department said Friday.

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The department notified Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters. It said the administration will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere."

President Trump and Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: AP, Reuters)

The move comes as President Donald Trump and his Middle East pointmen, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, staff up their office to prepare for the rollout of a much-vaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.

"At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer," the department said. "As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million ... originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza."

Mahmoud Abbas (: )

"This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said, without providing additional details.

The notice did not give an exact amount of the funds to be cut, but said they had been approved in 2017.

The US had planned to give the Palestinians $251 million for good governance, health, education and funding for civil society in the current 2018 budget year that ends on Sept.30. But with just over a month to go before that money must be used, reprogrammed to other areas or returned to Treasury, less than half has actually been spent. Earlier this month, the department had released about $60 million of the 2018 money for security projects that encourage cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

President Trump (Photo: Reuters)

Israel and Jordan, in particular, had lobbied for the security assistance to be continued.

The loss of the assistance is almost certain to further provoke the Palestinians against the Trump peace plan. The Palestinian leadership has been openly hostile to any proposal from the 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. The Palestinian Authority and its President Mahmoud Abbas broke off contact with the US after the Jerusalem announcement.

The announcement does not include some $65 million in frozen US funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon. However, the Trump administration is extremely skeptical of UNRWA and that money is also likely to be reprogrammed, according to officials.

Friday's decision follows a similar decision last week in which the State Department announced that it was redirecting $230 million dollars in aid that had been planned for stabilization programs in liberated areas of Syria. In that case, however, the department said the loss of US funding would be more than offset by other nations, including Saudi Arabia, which announced a $150 million contribution for Syria stabilization just hours before the American announcement.Ghana's president has proposed Sept. 13 as the date for the burial of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who died last Saturday in Switzerland at age 80.

State-owned Radio Ghana reports that President Nana Akufo-Addo made the proposal to Annan's family during a meeting in Accra and will wait to see "if this is acceptable to the family."

In Ghana, where Annan was born, it is tradition for the family to decide on the burial date.

Annan, the grandson of tribal chiefs, became the first black African to become U.N. secretary-general and led the world body through one of its most turbulent periods.

For his work he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.US Senator John McCain has discontinued medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer, says his family. It's a likely indication that the war hero, presidential nominee and longtime leading lawmaker is nearing the end of his life.

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McCain has surpassed expectations for survival, but "the progress of disease and the inexorable advance of age render their verdict," the family said. "With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment."

US Senator John McCain (Photo: Reuters)

The six-term US Republican Party (GOP) senator, who would turn 82 next week, has been away from the US Capitol since last December.

If he should resign his seat or die soon, Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey would name a replacement to serve until the 2020 election. The winner of that election would serve the remainder of McCain's term through 2022.

In more than three decades in US Congress, McCain became known as a political maverick willing to stick to his convictions rather than go along with party leadersan independent streak that has drawn a mix of respect and ire.

Most recently, he has been a thorn in the side of US President Donald Trump, keeping up his criticism of the White House even while undergoing severe medical treatment in Arizona.

In July, he issued a searing rebuke of Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling it a "tragic mistake" and "one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory."

The strained relationship between Trump and McCain dates back to 2015, when Trump suggested the Vietnam veteran, who spent more than five years in a North Vietnamese prison after his Navy plane was shot down, was not a war hero.

US President Donald Trump and Senator John McCain (Photo: MCT, AP)

The ill will grew after McCain voted in 2017 against a Republican replacement for "Obamacare." He doomed the bill with a dramatic thumbs-down on the Senate floor. Complaints about McCain's vote have become a staple of Trump's campaign speeches. He doesn't mention McCain by name but makes clear his intent by mockingly imitating the thumbs-down gesture.

The feud between the two men has persisted even amid the decline in McCain's health. While political leaders of both parties paid tribute to McCain and offered prayers Friday, Trump and the White House remained silent. Trump did not mention McCain or the health care vote in a speech Friday night at a fundraising dinner in Ohio.

Earlier this month, the American president signed a military policy bill named for McCain, but he made no mention of McCain at a signing ceremony.

The son and grandson of Navy admirals, McCain is a former US Navy pilot. He was elected to Congress in 1982 and to the Senate four years later, replacing the retired Barry Goldwater.

Despite his famous stubborn streak and occasional orneriness, McCain is widely admired on both sides of the aisle, and tributes poured in Friday after the family announced the treatment decision.

"We are so fortunate to call him our friend and colleague," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Twitter. McCain, his wife Cindy "and the entire McCain family are in our prayers at this incredibly difficult hour," McConnell said.

Arizona Gov. Ducey called McCain "an American hero" who always put his country before himself.

A "spirt of service and civility" guided McCain's life, standing as a model for Americans regardless of political affiliation, Ducey said.

Cindy McCain tweeted that she loves her husband "with all of my heart" and thanked those who have cared for him.

McCain underwent surgery in July 2017 to remove a blood clot in his brain after being diagnosed with an aggressive tumor called a glioblastoma. It's the same type of tumor that killed Sen. Edward M. Kennedy at age 77 in 2009.

McCain rebounded quickly, however, returning to Washington and entering the Senate in late July to a standing ovation from his colleagues. In a dramatic turn, he later cast the deciding vote against the Republican health care bill, earning Trump's enduring wrath.

The US senator's condition worsened last fall, and he has been in Arizona since December. A source close to McCain who asked not to be identified said Friday the senator was at his Arizona ranch with his family.

He is a long-term survivor of melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. But doctors classified his brain cancer as a "primary tumor," meaning it's not related to his former malignancies.

McCain ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, then won it in 2008 before losing the general election to Obama.

When Republicans took control of the US Senate in 2015, McCain embraced his new influence as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, pushing for aggressive US military intervention overseas and eager to contribute to "defeating the forces of radical Islam that want to destroy America."

Asked how he wanted to be remembered, McCain said: "That I made a major contribution to the defense of the nation."

Former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a close friend, said Friday that "becoming John McCain's friend has been one of the great blessings of my life. Today I am praying for him and his family."

Mitt Romney, the GOP's 2012 presidential nominee, said on Twitter, "No man this century better exemplifies honor, patriotism, service, sacrifice and country first than Senator John McCain. His heroism inspires, his life shapes our character. I am blessed and humbled by our friendship."Rauner has come under fire over his administrations handling of repeated annual outbreaks at the home that began in 2015 with the deaths of a dozen people and illnesses to scores more. Since then, at least two more deaths have been associated with the disease.In response to the US decision to cut more than $200 million in aid money to the Palestinians, the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman says the US decision is meant to force the Palestinians to abandon their claim to Jerusalem.

According to Nabil Abu Rdeneh, the move is part of continuing political and financial pressure on the Palestinian leadership. He says the Americans must be fully aware that there will be no peace without east Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state.

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"The American administration is using cheap blackmail as a political tool. The US administration should be ashamed of constant bullying and punishment of a people under occupation. The US has already demonstrated its depravity in its collusion with the Israeli occupation, allowing Israel to steal land and resources, and now it is displaying economic viciousness by punishing the Palestinian victims of the occupation," Hanan Daoud Khalil Ashrawi, a PLO Executive Committee member, said on Saturday.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and US President Donald Trump (Photo: Reuter, AP)

On Friday, The US administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

The department notified US Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters. It said the administration will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere."

The move comes as President Donald Trump and his Middle East point men, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, staff up their office to prepare for the rollout of a much-vaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.

"At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of US assistance to the Palestinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gaza to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer. As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million ... originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gaza," the US statement read.

"This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the announcement read, without providing additional details.

Hanan Ashrawi (Photo: Eli Mendelbaum)

The US notice did not give an exact amount of the funds to be cut, but said they had been approved in 2017.

The US had planned to give the Palestinians $251 million for good governance, health, education and funding for civil society in the current 2018 budget year that ends on Sept.30. But with just over a month to go before that money must be used, reprogrammed to other areas or returned to Treasury, less than half has actually been spent. Earlier this month, the department had released about $60 million of the 2018 money for security projects that encourage cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

The announcement does not include some $65 million in frozen US funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon. However, the Trump administration is extremely skeptical of UNRWA and that money is also likely to be reprogrammed, according to officials.

Friday's decision follows a similar decision last week in which the State Department announced that it was redirecting $230 million dollars in aid that had been planned for stabilization programs in liberated areas of Syria.

In that case, however, the department said the loss of US funding would be more than offset by other nations, including Saudi Arabia, which announced a $150 million contribution for Syria stabilization just hours before the American announcement.Vladimir Putin's Russia appears to have emerged as a player in Afghanistan after 17 years of Western involvement that has left the country no closer to peace than before.

To some, Russia's offer to host talks next month might contain at least the seeds of a positive pivot if the Taliban are coaxed to the table at a time when they have been more aggressive on the battlefield than in recent years, causing much mayhem in Kabul and other cities.

But the move may be stuck before it even begins. The Afghan government has said it will not attend, unable to agree on a coherent strategy because of divisions within the government that many see as a function of personal and ethnic rivalries, and calling for the Taliban to first agree to direct talks with Kabul. The insurgents have consistently refused, instead demanding direct talks with the United States.US President Donald Trump said Friday he has directed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a planned trip to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on denuclearization .South Korea on Saturday called the US decision 'unfortunate' and said that continued diplomacy was crucial in resolving the nuclear issue.

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Trump put some blame on Beijing, saying he does not believe China is helping "because of our much tougher Trading stance." The surprise announcement appeared to mark a concession by the president to domestic and international concerns that his prior claims of world-altering progress on the peninsula had been strikingly premature.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Photo: EPA)

The American president's comment followed a report issued Monday by the International Atomic Energy Agency outlining "grave concern" about the North Korea's nuclear program. It came a day after Pompeo appointed Stephen Biegun, a senior executive with the Ford Motor Co., to be his special envoy for North Korea and said he and Biegun would visit next week.

South Korea on Saturday called the US decision 'unfortunate' and said that continued diplomacy was most crucial in resolving the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.

The US State Department never confirmed details of the trip, but it had been expected that Pompeo would be in Pyongyang for at least several hours Monday, according to several diplomatic sources familiar with the plan.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore (Photo: AP)

White House officials did not immediately comment on what prompted Trump to call off Pompeo's trip. The State Department had no immediate comment on the matter and referred questions to the White House.

Trump laid unspecified blame on China, North Korea's leading trade partner, which is widely believed to hold the greatest sway over Kim's government.

The US and China have been locked in a trade dispute for months, with each side ratcheting up tariffs on imports from the other country in what may be the opening salvos of a trade war.

Trump tweeted that "Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved." He added: "In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!"

After more a year of escalating tensions defined by nuclear and missile tests, new sanctions and "fire and fury" rhetoric, Trump made history meeting Kim earlier this year. In the run-up to the summit both nations engaged in hard-nosed negotiation, with Trump publically calling off the meeting in an effort to push Kim to agree to nuclear concessions.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore (Photo: AP)

During the summit, the pair signed a vague joint statement in which the North agreed to denuclearize, but which left nearly all details undefined.

"There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea," Trump declared on Twitter after the meeting.

"Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea. President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem," he added. "No longersleep well tonight!"

Pompeo would have been hard pressed to return from Pyongyang with anything resembling progress on the denuclearization front.

Although it has halted nuclear and missile testing and taken some unrelated stepsdismantling portions of a missile engine facility and returning the suspected remains of American servicemen killed during the Korean Warits nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile development remain intact, according the UN's atomic watchdog and intelligence agencies.

In addition, recent statements from North Korean officials have ruled out any new concessions until it sees a reciprocal gesture from the US beyond suspending military exercises with South Korea.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Stern Matty/US Embassy Tel Aviv)

North Korea has been demanding that the US ease or lift crippling sanctionssomething Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have flatly ruled out until the its nuclear program is fully and verifiably dismantled.

Other than sanctions relief, the North, backed by South Korea, has been seeking a declaration of the end of the Korean War. The conflict stopped with the signing of an armistice rather than a peace treaty, meaning the war is not technically over.

Both the North and South have vowed to end the open state of hostilities, and Seoul had been hoping to persuade the Trump administration to sign off on a non-binding end-of-war declaration as a goodwill gesture that would give Kim Jong Un domestic cover to proceed with denuclearization moves.

Pompeo and other US administration's officials have suggested some concessions short of easing or lifting sanctions are possible before verified denuclearization, but have refused to be specific about what they could be. And they have been skeptical about an end-of-war declaration in the absence of any progress on the nuclear matter.

At the same time, lawmakers from both parties, including GOP hawks who generally support Trump, have expressed concerns about such a move, as it could be used by the North to demand the removal of US troops from South Korea and potentially Japan without anything in return.

The US president had kept up the positive tone as recently as Tuesday at a campaign rally in West Virginia. There Trump maintained "we're doing well with North Korea.""There's been no missile launches. There's been no rocket launches," he added.

At the same rally, Trump seemed to take a different tone too on China, saying he had withheld some criticism of China because "I wanted them to help us with North Korea and they have."Three men in their 30's from the northern city of Shfaram filed a police report on Thursday claiming they were attacked at the Kiryat Haim beach on Monday. They said the attack was nationalistically. Police arrested a suspect on Saturday morning.

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The complainants, a doctor and a nurse, 28, and a friend, 20, said they were sitting on the beach when "a few young Jews passed by and asked us if we were Arabs."

Then, they said, the group left the place, only to return 10 minutes later. "They returned with equipment, beat us. We have bruises all over our bodies."





The victims' injuries



The two also claimed that the assailants cursed at them and yelled: "You are Arab dogs, do not stay here."

"We did not hurt anyone," the complainants told Ynet. "They just decided to hit us without cause. They almost killed us. We asked them to stop but they continued. Only after other people arrived at the scene, they were removed. We hope the police find them."

"We've seen a lot of reports about nationalistic attacks in the past. We did not expect this to happen to us, certainly we didn't expect to experience one of the toughest and most severe attacks. Unfortunately, despite the various condemnations against racism, it persists who will be next?" the men added.

At the end of a long and intensive investigation, the Israel Police arrested a 23-year-old resident of Kiryat Haim on suspicion of attacking the three men.

An initial statement made by the police following the inicident says, "A report was filed regarding a violent attack, and immediately upon its receipt we opened an investigation into the incident. The Israel Police considers any demonstration of violence and acts of bullying against any citizen very severely. Incidents of violence that are brought to our attention are handled professionally and with care in order to bring to justice all those involved. "At the end of a long and intensive investigation, a suspect was arrested on Saturday morning.

Israel Police arrested a 23-year-old resident of the northern city of Kiryat Haim on suspicion of attacking three civilians on Monday night at a beach in Kiryat Haim.CNN reported Saturday that Dino Sajudin, a former Trump World Tower doorman alleges that US President Donald Trump had an affair with an ex-housekeeper, and as a result, fathered a child.

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Sajudin is now able to talk about the rumor since he was released from his contract with AMIa company owned by David Pecker, and the parent company of the National Enquirerthat had prohibited him from discussing the matter with anyone.

US President Donald Trump (Photo: Reuters)

CNN has published a copy of the contract which appears to have been signed on Nov. 15, 2015. The contract does not mention any details about the story itself expect for stating that "source shall provide AMI with information regarding Donald Trump's illegitimate child."The contract also states that "AMI will not owe Source any compensation if AMI does not publish the Exclusive."

According to the initial agreement between the parties, the ex-doorman would receive a sum of $30,000 "payable upon publication as set forth below." However, the third page of the contract published by CNN states that the parties signed an amendment that states that Sajudin would be paid $30,000 within five days of receiving the amendment. It says the contract's "exclusivity period is extended in perpetuity and shall not expire."

The amendment also subjects Sajudin to a $1 million penalty if he disclosed either the rumor or the terms of the deal to anyone.

"He's a blue-collar worker and a million dollars would have ruined him for life," his lawyer told CNN.

According to Sajudin, he was instructed not to criticize President Trump's former housekeeper due to a prior relationship she had with President Trump, which produced a child."

Dino Sajudin

The story of the ex-doorman was exposed by The Associated Press in April.

Michael Cohen, the longtime Trump attorney, acknowledged that he had discussed Sajudins story with National Enquirer magazine when the tabloid was working on it.

Cohen, 51, who once said hed take a bullet for Trump, pleaded guilty to eight felony counts, including tax evasion last week. He could get about four to five years in prison at sentencing Dec. 12. Cohen initially denied making the payments to McDougal and Daniels ahead of the 2016 elections to buy their silence about their alleged 2006 affairs with Trump. But in his plea deal, Cohen explicitly says he did so at Trumps direction with the intention of influencing the 2016 election. The payments could be regarded as illegal campaign expenditure.

Michael Cohen

Asked about the payment last summer, Dylan Howard, the Enquirers top editor and an AMI executive, said he made the payment to secure the former Trump doormans exclusive cooperation because the tip, if true, would have sold hundreds of thousands of magazines. Ultimately, he said the information lacked any credibility, so he spiked the story on those merits.

Unfortunately ... Dino Sajudin is one fish that swam away, Howard told RadarOnline on Wednesday.

But four longtime Enquirer staffers directly familiar with the episode challenged Howards version of events. They said they were ordered by top editors to stop pursuing the story before completing potentially promising reporting threads.

: FOX NEWS

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In an interview with Fox News, Trump said he discovered payments were made only after the fact, and in any case, the money was paid out of his pocket and not out of campaign funds.

In tapes released by CNN last month, Trump is heard discussing payments to McDougal. He asks Cohen if he paid her in cash, and Cohen is heard replying "no".

In addition, Cohen is heard telling Trump he needs to "open up a company" to pay for "the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David"an apparent reference to David Pecker, chairman of AMI, which in August 2016 paid McDougal $150,000 for exclusive rights to her account of the affair and then never published a word of it.

Earlier this week, federal prosecutors gave immunity to Packer, a longtime friend of Trump, who told the prosecution that Trump knew about the payments Cohen made to women he allegedly had an affair with.

According to a CNN's source, Pecker has received immunity in the Cohen case for providing information to the prosecution.The New York Times reported Friday that US officials say the CIA remains "in the dark" about Putin's intentions towards the US midterm elections, but they also say they "do not believe the agents were killed."

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The officials assume that the CIA sources "went underground because of aggressive intelligence activity" by Russian agentsincluding a military-grade nerve agent against former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England this March.

Officials said they were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent first developed by the Soviet Union. Russia has denied it had anything to do with the first known use of such a toxin on European soil since World War Two.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump's top aides accused Russia of trying to intervene in the midterm elections, as it did in the 2016 presidential election.

The Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coates said in a White House briefing that the United States is making great efforts to protect the November election campaign and the 2020 presidential election from foreign intervention. The top US intelligence official stood by what he called clear assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

About three days ago, the US imposed sanctions on two Russian citizens and two companies, Russian and Slovak, due to cyber activity, the US Treasury Department said.

The announcement regarding the sanctions was given a day after American Senator Rand Paul said he had passed on a letter from Trump to Putin, in which the US president calls for cooperation between the two countries.

Following a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Trump has cast doubt on Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, arousing the wrath of Democrats and Republicans who said he was ignoring the threat to American democracy.

Trump and Putin at the Helsinki summit (AFP)

After the Helsinki summit last month, Trump tweeted: "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 was under tremendous pressure by his own party to apologize for his remarks. With Putin at his side, Trump later said that he didn't "see any reason why" Russia would try to interfere in the US election.

Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to sway the vote to Trump. A federal special counsel is investigating potential collusion by the Trump campaign with Moscow.

After an attempt to break into the US Democratic National Committees voter database had been thwarted, US Homeland Security Secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen said those meddling in the US election will pay a high price."

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According to US officials, Russia's illegal activities includes criminal efforts to prevent voters from voting, providing illegal funding for the campaign, cyber-attacks on computer systems at polling stations, and hacking into US officials' computers. "We will continue to monitor and warn against any such attempt," added Coates.

On Tuesday, a few days before the White House briefing, Facebook said it had identified a "sophisticated" political cyber-attack, designed to influence the upcoming elections in the US. According to three sources, dozens of fake Facebook accounts and pages posted political content towards the midterm elections.

Robert Muller, the special prosecutor appointed by Donald Trump, leads the investigation into the Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which also examines the ties between the Russians and Trump's campaign.The commitment and determination of Turks is the guarantee needed to combat attacks on Turkey's economy, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, in his first comments on the currency crisis in days.

Turkey's lira has tumbled some 40 percent this year as investor concerns over Erdogan's grip on monetary policy and a growing dispute with the United States put pressure on the currency.

Erdogan has cast the rapid deterioration of the lira as an "economic war" and accused Washington of targeting Turkey over the fate of Andrew Brunson, an American pastor being tried in Turkey on terrorism charges that he denies.The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that the rebels in Syria are planning to carry out a chemical attack in the Syrian Idlib region, and then blame it on Assad's regime.

According to Moscow, this would give the West an excuse for attacking Syrian army positions in the region: "This is a new provocation aimed at accusing the Syrian regime of using chemical weapons against civilian population," a Russian statement read.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Friday the European Union's decision to transfer 18 million to Iran at the Baltic States summit saying, "It is like a poisonous pill to the Iranian people and to the efforts to curb Iranian aggression in the region and beyond the region."

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The EU announced Friday that it had donated 18 million ($21 million) to Iran to help it deal with the effects of US sanctions. The 18 million aid is part of a $50 million aid package that will be granted to the private sector in Iran.

Netanyahu at Baltic States summit's press conference (: ")

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Netanyahu added that "'Transferring funds to this regime at this time is a big mistake, and we must stop it. where will all the extra money go? they will not use it for solving Iran's water problem, it will not help the Iranian truck drivers. No, the money will be used for missiles and will go to the Revolutionary Guards in Iran, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East."

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May and reimposed sanctions to choke Iran's economy and force it to renegotiate or change direction. The move has been exacerbating a financial crisis in Iran that has sent its currency tumbling.

"Iran attempted to conduct a terror attack on European soil just weeks ago... that is incredible," the premier said at a press conference that followed a meeting with three Baltic States' prime ministersLithuanian Saulius Skvernelis, Estonia's Juri Ratas and Maris Kucinskis of Latvia.

"Only two weeks ago Iran tried to carry out a terrorist attack on European soil while the Iranian foreign minister met with European leaders. This is unbelievable," Netanyahu charged.

The prime minister added that "the nuclear agreement with Iran also threatened Europe, because it did not put an end to Iran's race towards attaining nuclear weapons. In fact, it allowed Iran to engage in unlimited uranium enrichment."

Netanyahu at Baltic States summit's press conference (Photo: GPO)

"In a few years the deal would lead Iran not just to a nuclear bomb, but to a whole nuclear arsenal. At the same time, the billions of dollars transferred to Iran were used to oppress Iran's people and to expand Iran's plan to take over the entire Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and many other places," Netanyahu added.

In a joint statement given by Netanyahu and Saulius Skvernelis, his Lithuanian counterpart on Friday, the prime minister said that he appreciates Skvernelis's position on the nuclear deal with Iran. "I would like to thank you and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Linas Antanas Linkevicius for the strong position you held in EU forums, for the truth and for Israel's sake," said Netanyahu.

"Today we have heard about three major airlines that have ceased to operate in Iran. More should follow, more will follow," Netanyahu maintained.

"Iran should not be rewarded for its aggression and its attempts to terrorize the Middle East, Europe and other places in the world, as they did just a few weeks ago, he stated."

Meanwhile, the EU is trying to support the Iranian economy in order to save the 2015 nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump abandoned.

European Union foreign minister Federica Mogherini said the EU was committed to cooperating with Iran and noted that "this aid package will expand economic ties in a way that will benefit our citizens."

In his visit to Israel, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said that, "The sanctions have already had a significant impact on the Iranian economy and on public opinion within Iran. The Iranians in the region continue to be belligerentwhat they are doing in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon with Hezbollah, in Yemen, what they threaten to do in the Strait of Hormuz."

Regarding European aid to the Islamic Republic, Bolton said that he "expect that Europeans will see, as businesses all over Europe are seeing, that the choice between doing business with Iran or doing business with the United States is very clear to them."

"The president (Trump) has made it very clearhe wants maximum pressure on Iran, maximum pressure, and that is what is going on. There should not be any doubt that the United States wants this resolved peacefully, but we are fully prepared for any contingency that Iran creates," Bolton concluded."It's weird because it's not somebody we knew in person," she said of her hoped-for child. "But it is the same. I see people all around me with babies and kids, and I am happy for them. But there are no days I don't think about my loss."MOSCOW - A senior Russian official warned the United States on Saturday against making any "reckless" moves in Syria, the RIA news agency reported.

Reacting to comments by US National Security Adviser John Bolton about Washington's possible strong reaction in the event of a chemical or biological attack in the Syrian region of Idlib, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said: "We warn the Americans and their allies against taking new reckless steps in Syria."

"We are hearing ultimatums from Washington ... and it does not affect our determination to continue our policy for the total elimination of terrorist epicentres in Syria and the return of this country to a normal life," RIA quoted Ryabkov as saying.Four leftist activists from the Taayush organization were attacked by masked settlers, apparently from the settlement of Mitzpeh Yair. Police said the four were lightly injured and taken to the hospital.While the police continue their investigation into the Submarine Affair, the IDF is already drawing conclusions and proceeding to implement a preliminary safeguarding measure: senior and junior officers involved in procurement will need to fill out a questionnaire to determine whether there exists any conflict of interest.

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The submarine affair relates to alleged corruption tied to the procurement of vessels and patrol ships for Israel's Navy from the Germany-based ThyssenKrupp company.

In light of the affair, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot appointed Maj. Gen. (res.) Yishai Bar to head a team to examine the matter conflicts of interest between IDF officers and external elements related to purchasing, and to recommend steps necessary to combat the phenomenon.

Gadi Eisenkot (Photo: Yair Sagi)

The team, which included representatives of the Military Advocate General's Office and the IDF Manpower Directorate, was designed to deal with situations in which IDF officers have relatives who conduct business activities relating to the army, as well as with reserve officers who work in the defense industries on matters related to their military service.

Following the recommendations formulated by the team, it was decided in the army that officers assigned to senior positions (from the rank of colonel and up) or sensitive positions (procurement, for example) will be required to fill out a questionnaire intended to identify possible conflicts of interest.

In addition, it was decided to raise awareness of the problem in the IDF and to instruct the officers on how to deal with situations in which there is a concern of conflict of interest.

The implementation of an ethical code for officers whose work relates to dealing with civilian entities is also being examined.

As a result of the teams work, it was further determined that matters in which a possible concern for conflicts of interest arose will be brought before special committees that will be set up to deal with the matter. A General Staff committee will deal with special cases and those involving senior officers.

The committees will be able to make decisions such as transferring responsibility to another officer or conducting inspections of all the decisions that a commander makes on a particular matter.

Officials explained that the committees were set up out of an ethical need, namely to ensure IDF officers are careful and serve as an example of integrity.

It should be noted that similar rules, and the obligation to fill out a questionnaire to identify situations that raise conflict of interest concerns exist in some institutions in the public sector.

Even before the dedicated committees were set up, IDF officers were required to report any incidents in which a conflict of interest concern was present, as is common in the public sector.Some 300 Neo-Nazis affiliated with the Sweden's Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) demonstrated Saturday in the capital.

Hundreds of demonstrators came to protest against the neo-Nazis. One of the protestors was Sweden's culture minister who is a Holocaust survivor.The French Foreign Ministry issued a condemnation of the governments decision to permit the construction of thousands of apartments in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

They also condemned the destruction and mandatory evacuation orders imposed on Palestinian construction in Area E1 east of Jerusalem.

France called on the Israeli government to abandon its settlement strategy in order to preserve the two-state solution with Jerusalem as capital.Four left-wing activist from the Taayush NGO say they were attacked Saturday in the settlement of Mitzpe Yair in the Mount Hebron area of the West Bank.

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According to the activists, several masked Mitzpe Yair residents hurled stones at them. Suspects have yet to be detained.

The Taayush NGO's members were lightly wounded and taken to the Soroka University Medical Center in Beer Sheva for treatments.

Left-wing activists wounded in Mitzpe Yair

The police said that according to a report from the IDF, four Israelis had arrived to Mitzpe Yair to take pictures.

"At some point, as reported by the activists, several masked young men arrived and began throwing stones at them and wounding them," the police said.

"A police force that was called to the scene launched an investigation into the matter," the police statement added.

Left-wing activists evacuated to the hospital

The IDF said that "several Ta'ayush activists arrived this morning to the area near Mitzpeh Yair, where illegal Palestinian construction is taking place."

"After the security forces had confiscated the tools used for the illegal construction, the activists went up to Mitzpeh Yair in order to create a provocation, which led to a violent clash between them and the area's (Jewish) residents," the IDF elaborated.

"IDF soldiers who were at the scene declared the area a closed military zone in order to prevent further violence . However, some of the organization's activists refused to leave the premises in violation of the order applied to the area.

"After a while, the activists agreed to leave the area, ending the skirmishes," the IDF concluded.

Clashes in Mitzpe Yair

Taayush issued a statement on its Facebook page saying that "Jewish terrorists from the Mitzpe Yair settlement attacked four members of our organization by throwing stones and sticks at them.

"The soldiers present at the scene were scared to intervene. We are afraid to think what would have happened if the activists were Palestinians," the statement added.The police arrested Saturday a second suspect in the beating of three Arabs from Shfaram at a Haifa beach earlier this week, while a judge ordered to release the first suspect and put him on house arrest instead.

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The 23-year-old suspect from Kiryat Haim was put on a three-day house arrest, with the judge criticizing the police for failing to present evidence to tie the suspect to the attack, as well as failing to check his alibi or hold a police lineup in the 24 hours he was in custody.

The second suspect, a 29-year-old man from Nesher, will be brought in front of a judge on Sunday.

The victims' injuries

The victimsa doctor from the Ichilov Hospital at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, a 28-year-old nurse and a 20-year-old mandescribed the chain of events leading to their attack.

We were sitting on the beach for about half an hour when a Jewish man walked up to us and asked if we were Arabs. We said yes, what do you want? And he just left. We thought that he might be drunk. The man returned shortly, this time accompanied by many others," the victims said.

After two minutes, he came back with nine other people with knives, metal chains and bars and just started to beat us, they recalled.

They started hitting us with no mercy, in all parts of our body, when we were sitting down. They wanted to kill us, just because we are Arabs, they added, and mentioned they were hit in the head, upper limbs, knees and back.

victims of beach attack (Photo: Shamir Elbaz)

Two Jewish men passed by, pushed them back from us and called the police and Magen David Adom (MDA). The two Jewish men gave us water and helped us," they added.

One of the men who was attacked said, It pains me, because in my profession I treat Jews. I have never looked at a mans origin. I also have Jewish friends and I live among Jews.

The men also said that the attackers swore at them and said you are Arab dogs, dont stay here.

scene of the crime

A police statement said that the three were sitting on a beach in Kiryat Haim when the first suspect, a 23 year old from Kiryat Haim, came up to talk to the victims. He later returned with his friends and together they attacked the three.

Following the attack the three men were sent to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa for treatment, where they filed a complaint over the attack.

We didnt hurt anyone, they told Ynet on Friday. They just started beating us with no reason. They almost killed us. We asked them to stop but they kept going. They were only pushed away when other people arrived. We hope the police will apprehend them, they concluded.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman said Saturday that the US decision to cut more than $200 million in aid is meant to force the Palestinians to abandon their claim to Jerusalem.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh told The Associated Press the move is part of continuing political and financial pressure on the Palestinian leadership. He said the Americans must be fully aware that there will be no peace without east Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians were outraged by President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and his moving of the US embassy there in May.The Haifa Magistrates Court ordered on Saturday the release of the suspect in the Kiryat Haim attack, a 23-year-old man, to a three-day house arrest.

Judge Gil Karseboom decided on the release due to lack of evidence linking the suspect to the attack, and the fact police did not examine his alibi claims during the first 24 hours since his remand as well as not performing a suspects line-up.News

Washington, DC - A Rockville, Maryland man was sentenced Friday to 120 months in prison for sexually exploiting a minor over the internet, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. field office.

Jose Adalberto Sandoval Quinonez, 26, a laborer, previously pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga presided over the sentencing and ordered Sandoval Quinonez to serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Sandoval Quinonez initiated contact with the 12-year-old victim over Instagram and the two later began chatting over Google Hangouts. Over the course of several months in 2017, Sandoval Quinonez groomed, persuaded, and enticed the minor to engage in sex acts, including sexual intercourse. In addition, he repeatedly asked her to produce and send him sexually explicit photos of herself, and he succeeded in persuading her to send him such a photo. Sandoval Quinonez also sent the victim an obscene image of his genitals. During these interactions, Sandoval Quinonez, who was 25 at the time, pretended to be 16 years old.

The investigation was conducted by HSI Washington, D.C. with the assistance of the Manassas Park Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.News

Salt Lake City, Utah - A federal grand jury sitting in the District of Utah has returned an indictment, which was unsealed Friday, charging the CEO and CFO of Washakie Renewable Energy (WRE), a Utah-based biodiesel company, and a California businessman with laundering proceeds of a mail fraud scheme, which obtained over $511 million in renewable fuel tax credits from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Departments Tax Division, U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah, Don Fort, Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation and Jessica Taylor, Director of Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division.

According to the indictment, Jacob Kingston was Chief Executive Officer and Isaiah Kingston was Chief Financial Officer of WRE and each held a 50% ownership interest in the company. WRE has described itself as the largest producer of biodiesel and chemicals in the intermountain west.

Jacob Kingston, Isaiah Kingston, and Lev Aslan Dermen (aka Levon Termendzhyan), owner of California-based fuel company NOIL Energy Group, allegedly schemed to file false claims for renewable fuel tax credits, which caused the IRS to issue over $511 million to WRE. Jacob Kingston is separately charged with filing nine false claims for refund on behalf of WRE in 2013.

The IRS administered tax credits designed to increase the amount of renewable fuel used and produced in the United States. These tax credits were paid by the IRS regardless of whether the taxpayer owed other taxes.

From 2010 through 2016, as part of their fraud to obtain the fuel tax credits, the defendants allegedly created false production records and other paperwork routinely created in qualifying renewable fuel transactions along with other false documents. To make it falsely appear that qualifying fuel transactions were occurring, the defendants rotated products through places in the United States and through at least one foreign country. The defendants also allegedly used burner phones and other covert means to communicate during the scheme.

The indictment further charges that the defendants laundered part of the scheme proceeds through a series of financial transactions related to the purchase of a $3 million personal residence for Jacob Kingston. Jacob and Isaiah Kingston are separately alleged to have laundered approximately $1.72 million in scheme proceeds to purchase a 2010 Bugatti Veyron. Jacob Kingston and Lev Aslan Dermen are separately charged with money laundering related to an $11.2 million loan funded by scheme proceeds.

If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum of 10 years in prison for each money laundering count and Jacob Kingston faces a maximum of 3 years in prison for each false tax return count. They also face a period of supervised release, monetary penalties, and restitution.

An indictment is an accusation. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney John W. Huber for the District of Utah thanked special agents of IRS-CI, EPA-CID, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, who investigated the case, and Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing, Leslie A. Goemaat, Arthur J. Ewenczyk, and Senior Litigation Counsel John E. Sullivan of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.Arizona News

Tucson, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey today attended the launch of an educational partnership between Caterpillar and Pima Community College (PCC) that will allow Caterpillar engineers to develop hands-on skills in welding and machining.

The partnership, known as the Applied Technology Academy, entails a series of hands-on courses to teach engineers and other non-technical professionals fabrication skills. Since many engineers do not get user-end experience with the products they design, developing these skills will allow program participants to become better designers and innovators.

The 20-week program, created for Caterpillar, will be taught at the Downtown Campus by Pima instructors and will kick off two courses: Machining for Non-machinists and Basic Welding for Non-welders. Anticipated future programs include basic woodworking, industrial arts, mechatronics and other applied technology skills. Students who complete the program will earn a Professional Development certificate. In the summer of 2019, courses will open to all students.

We came to Pima Community College with a vision to develop our employees and further enhance Caterpillar's world-class design capability through the manufacturing trades, said Jean Savage, Vice President for Caterpillars Surface Mining & Technology Division. The team at PCC shared our passion for continual learning and for building technical talent in the local community through innovative partnerships like this...The benefits of Applied Technology Academy are tremendous, and were proud to be part of it."

This public-private partnership exemplifies Pimas ability to meet the needs of our employers, and will be a showcase program in our new Center of Excellence in Applied Technology, said PCC Chancellor Lee Lambert.

In Arizonas booming, 21st-century economy, we know how important it is to continue growing our workforce knowledge base, skill set and technical training, said Governor Ducey. Employment in our state is at an all-time high, and unemployment is at its lowest since 2008. This type of training will equip Arizonans with the skills to take advantage of new and advanced career opportunities across the state.

Caterpillars Vice President of the Surface Mining & Technology Division Jean Savage, PCC Chancellor Lee Lambert, and PCC Vice President for Workforce Development Dr. Ian Roark also attended the launch.Arizona News

Tucson, Arizona - Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Mritunjay Singh, CEO and Executive Director of AXISCADES, one of Indias leading technology solutions providers, today announced the companys expansion into Tucson, Arizona, where it will create hundreds of jobs primarily in mechanical and electrical engineering.

The company headquartered in Bangalore, India is a global provider of innovative engineering solutions for the mining, construction, aerospace, defense, automotive, energy and healthcare industries, key targeted sectors for economic development in Southern Arizona. AXISCADES plans to create a projected 320 jobs over the next five years, primarily in mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as finance, research & development, HR, sales and project management.

The new Tucson operation will expand the companys ability to provide engineering services to U.S.-based manufacturers, particularly, mining clients in Southern Arizona.

This is a big win for Tucson and the entire region, said Governor Doug Ducey. Two years ago, we welcomed Caterpillars surface mining and technology division to Southern Arizona. Since then, Caterpillar's significant investment has created a ripple effect throughout the community and the state. This is evidenced by the expansion of one of their key suppliers, AXISCADES. The AXISCADES expansion will bring new opportunity and jobs for our citizens."

We chose Tucson to be closer to Caterpillar, one of our key customers, as well as other clients in the mining industry, said Mritunjay Singh, CEO and Executive Director of AXISCADES. The entire region is strong not only in mining but also other key AXISCADES strategic growth areas such as aerospace, defense and healthcare.

The company has leased office space at 177 North Church Avenue in downtown Tucson. AXISCADES joins name brands such as Caterpillar, Hexagon Mining, Ernst & Young, Tucson Electric Power and Madden Media and others that have expanded operations in Tucsons core.

"This is another important benefit of Caterpillar's coming to Tucson: one of its major vendors is moving here, too, said Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. Both Caterpillar and AXISCADES add depth and breadth--and well-paying jobs--to Tucson's mining technology industry sector. We look forward to making the folks at AXISCADES welcome in Tucson."

The hits just keep on coming. With AXISCADES joining Caterpillar and Hexagon downtown, along with other firms like Modular Mining Systems in town, plus the UAs exceptional mining engineering college, we may have to change Tucsons nickname from the Old Pueblo to the Mining Technology Capital of the World, said Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson. Im thrilled to welcome AXISCADES to town and wish them great success.

The company plans to work closely with University of Arizona and ASU in recruiting and training graduates.

"The expansion of AXISCADES creates new opportunities for engineers in Southern Arizona, high-paying positions which are key to growing Arizona's economy," said Sandra Watson, President & CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority. "We welcome AXISCADES to Tucson and thank them for choosing Arizona. We also thank the City of Tucson, Pima County and Sun Corridor Inc. who have all been excellent partners in making this expansion possible."

This expansion of a globally recognized India-based engineering company is a great example of the power of foreign direct investment strategies at work in Southern Arizona, said Joe Snell, President & CEO, Sun Corridor Inc. AXISCADES not only strengthens our competitiveness as a major mining center, but also as an emerging technology center.

Key project partners include Arizona Commerce Authority, Pima County, City of Tucson, Tucson Electric Power and Sun Corridor Inc.Border News

El Paso, Texas - U.S. Border Patrol Agents assigned to the El Paso Station arrested a man last week who had served time on murder charges in Houston, Texas.

Agents working near the Bridge of the Americas (BOTA) watched three subjects running west of BOTA, then into Chamizal Park. An agent video surveillance team picked them up on camera walking through the park. Agents approached them and they quickly bolted away.

Two subjects were caught after a brief foot pursuit, while the remaining subject ran south back to Mexico. The two men in custody were transported to the Paso Del Norte Texas Processing Center (PDT) for further processing.

Agents ran queries on them through national immigration and criminal databases, and it was determined that one of the men, identified as 42-year-old Jose Santos Diaz-Hernandez from El Salvador, was revealed to have an immigration and criminal history.

Records showed that Jose Santos Diaz-Hernandez had been arrested in Houston in 2002 by the Houston Police Department on charges of Murder. Diaz-Hernandez was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but he spent a total of seven years prior to his release and deportation in August-2008. Diaz Hernandez is again facing prosecution for Reinstatement of Prior Order of Removal, and was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility.

During the same time period, Agents also encountered a convicted sex offender when a 41-year old Mexican National was apprehended.

That arrest was the result of camera operators seeing a group of people entering the United States illegally, west of the Bridge of the Americas. When agents responded to intercept the group, one male subject broke away from the group and ran west. Agents quickly caught up to him and made the arrest. The man was identified as Magdaleno Elizalde-Alonso, from Mexico.

After being interviewed by Agents, Elizalde was transported to a Border Patrol station for processing. He was fingerprinted and his biometric information was entered into several immigration and criminal databases. In just a few minutes, agents found that he had been previously deported, and had been convicted on charges including Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault and Predatory Criminal Sexual Assault of a Child in Chicago, Illinois. Those prior convictions led to a six-year prison term after his arrest by officers from the Chicago Police Department in November, 1998.

Elizalde will be turned over to the El Paso County Detention Facility pending criminal prosecution for a reinstatement of prior order-of-removal.

These arrests are indicative of the vigilance and determination that is carried out on a daily basis by U.S. Border Patrol Agents in the furtherance of stopping dangerous criminals from entering area communities.In court papers, they argued that her romantic relationship with a 56-year-old American political operative was "duplicitous" and that she had at least once offered sex to someone else "in exchange for a position within a special interest organization." Prosecutors said she also had expressed "disdain" about having to live with the operative, who has been identified as South Dakota-based consultant Paul Erickson.Border News

Ajo, Arizona - Ajo Station Border Patrol agents encountered a group of 128 illegal aliens several miles west of the Lukeville Port on Friday.

Agents patrolling near the international border fence found the group, presumably brought to the border by human smugglers who remained in Mexico.

Crowd of aliens caught west of Arizona

Port of Entry

The group was comprised of adults and children, some as young as four years of age, and are from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico. Agents also identified several adults in the group who had been previously been charged with immigration violations. Agents medically evaluated all 128 immigrants and determined they were in good health.

After transporting everyone to the Ajo Border Patrol station for processing, the immigrants were turned over to the Enforcement Removal Operations within Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Transnational criminal organizations exploit the vulnerability of foreign nationals with false promises of legal status and encourage dangerous crossing methods, placing their safety at risk.

The Border Patrols mission is to protect U.S. borders between official ports of entry, but agents are equally concerned with the safety of anyone they encounter. Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials continue to publicize warnings about the dangers of entering the U.S. illegally; especially during the summer months when desert temperatures can exceed 120 degrees.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens can report suspicious activity to the Border Patrol by calling 1-877-872-7435 toll free. All calls will be answered and remain anonymous.Border News

Casa Grande, Arizona - Casa Grande Station Border Patrol agents rescued a total of eight illegal immigrants and rendered assistance to a fellow agent during several rescue incidents over the weekend south of Casa Grande.

While searching for a group of suspected illegal aliens on a remote mountain trail Friday, a Casa Grande Border Patrol agent became ill from the excessive heat and had to be air-lifted to a hospital for treatment. He was subsequently treated and released.

Agents received a 911 call early Saturday evening from two male Mexican nationals, ages 36 and 45, claiming to be lost in the desert. The callers, both illegal aliens, were found a short time later and were provided food and water.

On Sunday, Casa Grande Station agents responding to a rescue distress call encountered a 36-year-old Mexican man who had entered the country illegally. The man was evaluated and treated for heat-related injuries by a medically-trained Border Patrol agent.

Approximately two hours later, another distress call was received from a group of illegal aliens claiming to be lost. Agents searched the area described by the callers and encountered five men ages 17 through 49.

The group, comprised of Mexican nationals, said they were abandoned by their smuggler and ran out of water several hours earlier in the day. Although distressed, no one required medical attention.

All persons arrested during the incidents were transported to the Casa Grande Station for further processing on immigration violations.

These incidents highlight the dangers faced by migrants and law enforcement alike when exposed to extreme temperatures during summer months. The Border Patrol advises anyone in distress to call 911 or activate a rescue beacon as soon as possible.Border News

Douglas, Arizona - Nogales Station Border Patrol agents working at the Interstate 19 Immigration Checkpoint Monday night arrested two U.S. citizen men after discovering they were smuggling more than 47 pounds of methamphetamine.

Agents referred the 27-year-old driver and 28-year-old passenger of a Nissan Titan for an additional inspection after a Border Patrol canine alerted to an odor it is trained to detect emitting from the vehicle. When agents searched the truck, they discovered 40 packages of meth worth more than $150,000 inside a rear passenger door and tailgate.

After arresting the men for smuggling narcotics, agents turned them over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the vehicle and drugs.

Federal law allows agents to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.Border News

Nogales, Arizona - Customs and Border Protection officers at Arizonas Port of Nogales apprehended a U.S. Citizen and a Cuban National during separate weekend smuggling incidents involving fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine.

Officers working at the "Dennis DeConcini Crossing" Friday afternoon referred a 39-year-old Cuban man for a secondary inspection in his Chevy SUV. During the inspection, a canine alert led to the discovery of more than 61-pounds of meth, and a package of fentanyl hidden within the vehicles quarter panels and dash. The narcotics have a combined value of more than $185,000.

On Saturday morning, CBP officers at the "Mariposa" crossing referred a 21-year-old U.S. woman for secondary inspection in her Chevy SUV. During that inspection, a canine alerted to the vehicles rear quarter panels where officers found more than 40 pounds of heroin and meth, worth more than $172,000.

In both incidents, officers charged the suspects with narcotics smuggling, and turned them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations, along with their vehicles and drugs.

Federal law allows officers to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows for filing of charges for criminal activity without inferring guilt. An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

CBP's Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Homeland Security that is tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nations ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.Latest News

Washington, DC - On Tuesday, the Government of El Salvador announced it would discontinue its decades-long diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. The leaders of El Salvadors governing party have made this decision, which will have implications for decades to come, in a non-transparent fashion only months before they leave office. This is a decision that affects not just El Salvador, but also the economic health and security of the entire Americas region.

The El Salvadoran governments receptiveness to Chinas apparent interference in the domestic politics of a Western Hemisphere country is of grave concern to the United States, and will result in a reevaluation of our relationship with El Salvador.

Countries seeking to establish or expand relations with China in order to attract state-directed investment that will stimulate short-term economic growth and infrastructure development may be disappointed over the long run. Around the world, governments are waking up to the fact that Chinas economic inducements facilitate economic dependency and domination, not partnership.

The United States will continue to oppose Chinas destabilization of the cross-Strait relationship and political interference in the Western Hemisphere.Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business.Medtronic Plc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of device-based medical therapies and services. It operates through the following segments: Cardiac and Vascular Group; Minimally Invasive Technologies Group; Restorative Therapies Group; and Diabetes Group. The Cardiac and Vascular Group segment consists of products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease. The Minimally Invasive Technologies Group segment focuses on respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, renal system, lungs, pelvic region, kidneys, and obesity diseases. The Restorative Therapies Group segment comprises of neurostimulation therapies and drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic pain, as well as areas of the spine and brain, along with pelvic health and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. The Diabetes Group segment offers insulin pumps, coninuous glucose monitoring systems, and insulin pump consumables. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Read MoreICICI Bank Ltd. engages in the provision of banking and financial services, which includes retail banking, corporate banking, and treasury operations. It operates through the following segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, Treasury, Other Banking, Life Insurance, General Insurance, and Others. The Retail Banking segment includes exposures of the bank, which satisfy the four qualifying criteria of regulatory retail portfolio as stipulated by the Reserve Bank of India guidelines on the Basel III framework. The Wholesale Banking segment deals with all advances to trusts, partnership firms, companies, and statutory bodies, by the Bank which are not included in the Retail Banking segment. The Treasury segment handles the entire investment portfolio of the bank. The Other Banking segment comprises leasing operations and other items not attributable to any particular business segment of the bank. The company was founded on January 5, 1994 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

Read MoreGuyana Goldfields Inc. provides exploration and production of gold. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and operation of gold mineral properties. The company also owns and operates gold drilling rights. The company was formerly known as Chiboug Copper Company Limited and changed its name to Guyana Goldfields Inc. in January 1995. Guyana Goldfields Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. As of August 25, 2020, Guyana Goldfields Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited.

Read MoreWisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday evening declared a state of emergency in flood-stricken Dane County, saying the state is ready to assist in recovery efforts.



"I have no doubt the resiliency of Wisconsin communities will be on display during this response," Walker said in a statement.



U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan sent a letter Tuesday to President Donald Trump, asking him to provide federal assistance for flood recovery efforts if Walker seeks a federal disaster declaration.



"We've obviously had a very dangerous and unprecedented situation," Mayor Soglin said at a news conference earlier in the week. "We've seen snow storms. We've seen ice storms. We've seen tornadoes. Obviously we've never seen a rain like this."



The man who died was in his 70s, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a statement. The man was driving a car with two passengers near a Madison park on Monday when it stalled in flood waters and was swept into a drainage ditch. The car came to rest nose down and quickly filled with water.



The Capital Times reported that Madison Alderman Matt Phair and his wife were out biking during a lull in the storm and saw the car in the ditch.



Phair told the newspaper they waded up to the car in water that was three or four feet deep, and he pulled out the two passengers, who were described by police as a man in his 70s and a woman in her 50s.



The male passenger made it solid ground but the woman slipped under. Phair said he and his wife saved her by grabbing her hair.



A third man joined in to help. The driver made it out of the car but the rescuers couldn't hold on to him in the rushing water and he was sucked under the car.



"The force is overwhelming, and eventually he slipped and went under," said Phair, who added that he did what anyone would have done.



The police statement didn't include the names of those involved.



Firefighters found the driver's body Tuesday morning in a retention pond about a third of a mile away.



The weather service said it suspects that the downpour broke a Wisconsin record for most rainfall in a 24-hour period. The Madison suburb of Middleton has so far recorded 11.6 inches, but rainfall reports were still coming in. The previous record was 11.7 inches near Mellen in northern Wisconsin, set on June 24, 1946.Grafton Group plc engages in the distribution, retailing, and manufacturing businesses in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Its Distribution segment distributes building and plumbing materials to professional trades people engaged in residential repair, maintenance, and improvement projects, as well as in residential and other new build construction. This segment operates 487 branches primarily under the Selco, Buildbase, and Leyland SDM brands in the South East, Midlands, and North of England; the Chadwicks brand in the Republic of Ireland; and the MacBlair brand in Northern Ireland; and the Isero, Polvo, and Gunters en Meuser brands in the Netherlands. The company's Retailing segment engages in DIY retailing and home improvement business that supplies a range of products, including paints, lighting products, homestyle products, housewares, bathroom products, and kitchens, as well as gardening and Christmas products. This segment operates 35 stores primarily under the Woodie's brand. Its Manufacturing segment manufactures silo-based dry mortar for use in new build residential and commercial construction projects in England and Scotland; plastic pipe systems in Dublin; and wooden staircase in the United Kingdom. Grafton Group plc was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

Read MoreOrmat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Global Payments: ACTIVE Network - Communities and Sports, Active Network (HK) Limited, Active Network IPICO (CA) Inc., Active Network IPICO (US) Inc., Active Network IPICO Holdings (US) LLC, Active Network IPICO Holdings (US) LLC, Active Network IPICO Innovation Inc., Active Networks LLC, AdvancedMD, Athlaction Intermediate LLC, Athlaction Topco LLC, AuctionPay, Comercia Global Payments Entidad de Pago S.L., DEBITEK INC, Digital Dining LLC, Dinerware LLC, DolEx Europe S.L., Educational Computer Systems Inc., Ematters Australia Pty Ltd., Equifax Credit Services LLC, Ezi Holdings Pty. Ltd., Ezi Management Pty Ltd., Ezidebit, Ezidebit (NZ) Limited, Ezidebit HK Ltd., Ezidebit Pty Ltd., GP Finance LLC, GPC Financial Corporation, GPS Holding Limited Partnership, GPUK LLP, Global Payment Holding Company, Global Payment Systems Asia-Pacific (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd., Global Payment Systems LLC, Global Payment Systems of Canada Ltd., Global Payments - Caixa Acquisition Corporation S.a.r.l., Global Payments - Realex Payments Holding Limited, Global Payments - Servicos de Pagamentos S.A., Global Payments Acquisition Corp. 1 B.V., Global Payments Acquisition Corp. 2 B.V., Global Payments Acquisition Corp. 3 B.V., Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 2 LLC, Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 2 S.a.r.l., Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 3 LLC, Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 3 S.a.r.l., Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 4 S.a.r.l., Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 6 S.a.r.l., Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 7 LLC, Global Payments Acquisition Corporation 7 S.a.r.l., Global Payments Acquisition Corporation HK Holding Limited, Global Payments Acquisition PS 1 C.V., Global Payments Acquisition PS 2 C.V., Global Payments Acquisition PS 3 C. V., Global Payments Acquisition PS1-Global Payments Direct S.e.n.c., Global Payments Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong Holding) Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong) Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific (India) Private Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific (Shanghai) Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific (Singapore Holding) Ltd., Global Payments Asia-Pacific Lanka (Private) Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific Macau Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific Maldives Private Limited, Global Payments Asia-Pacific Philippines Incorporated, Global Payments Asia-Pacific Processing Company Limited, Global Payments Australia Pty 1 Ltd., Global Payments Australia Pty 2 Ltd., Global Payments Canada GP, Global Payments Canada Inc., Global Payments Card Processing Malaysia Sdn. Bhd, Global Payments Check Recovery Services Inc., Global Payments Check Services Inc., Global Payments Direct Inc., Global Payments Europe d.o.o. Sarajevo, Global Payments Europe s.r.o., Global Payments Gaming Canada Inc., Global Payments Gaming International Inc., Global Payments Gaming Services Inc., Global Payments Integrated, Global Payments Limited, Global Payments Process Centre Inc., Global Payments South America Brasil-Servicos de Pagamentos S.A., Global Payments UK 2 Ltd., Global Payments UK Ltd., Global Payments s.r.o., Greater Giving Inc., Heartland Acquisition LLC, Heartland Payment Solutions Inc., Heartland Payment Systems, Heartland Payment Systems LLC, Heartland Payroll Solutions Inc., IPICO South Africa (Pty) Ltd., JumpForward LLC, Maximum Solutions LLC, Merchant Services U.S.A. Inc., Modular Data Inc., NDC Holdings (UK) Ltd., NDPS Holdings Inc., PCAmerica LLC, Pay and Shop Limited, PayPros LLC, Payment Processing, Payroll 1 Inc., Realex Payments, SICOM Systems, Sabrir Invest S.L., Sentral Education, Spolecnost pro informacni database a.s., Storman Holdings Pty Ltd., Storman Software Inc., Storman Software Limited, Storman Software Ltd., Storman Software Pty Ltd., TeamPages Inc., The Active Network (Asia) Pte. Ltd, The Active Network (Aus-NZ) Pty. Ltd., The Active Network (EU) Ltd., The Active Network Ltd., The Active Network Ltd. (Chengdu), The Active Network Ltd. (Xian), Total System Services, TouchNet Information Systems Inc., UCS Terminal Joint Stock Company, United Card Service Joint Stock Company, VEPF III AIV VI-C Corp., VEPF IV AIV VII-C Corp., VFF I AIV IV-C Corp., Web Active Corporation Pty Ltd., Xenial Inc., Xpient LLC, eWAY, eWay Europe Limited, eWay Payments Asia Pte Ltd., eWay Payments Inc., eWay Payments New Zealand Limited, eWay Payments North America Inc., and eWay Payments Pty Ltd..Actress, Victoria Lebene, has caused a stir on social media with her latest post on Instagram showing off her huge Tundra and it has attracted some unsavory backlash from some of her fans.

In a photo sighted by YEN.com.gh on the official Instagram handle of the actress, she was seen in a pair of jean and a top and it appeared she was flaunting her backside.

The actress captioned her stunning photo, New Media in todays world has enormous threats, hence the need to adopt strategies to prevent them....be wise not to follow trends, thread cautiously from societal influences.....#VL#communicationiskey.

READ ALSO: Nana Ama McBrown is reportedly pregnant

Some of her fans and followers who saw the picture took to the comment section to shower praise on her.

One fan, iamroyallee, who could not have enough of the photo wrote, Love dis gyal too much

lipsteinparblo, commented, niceee......always looking sweet

nanaefyaboahemaaofori, expressed her love for the actress outfit and said, I love this outfit sis

Another fan, therealbennydee, after seeing the picture, wrote, You are pretty unique... I really love the way you look.

advocate_emcee, showered more praise on the actress with the comment, Beauty and brains

__simple.efe_ could also not help but admire the actress with the words, body on fire Go You

franknnamchekwube also had some kind words for the actress when he commented, My sister you are super gorgeous

READ ALSO: Fans criticize Fella Makafui over her hairstyle in latest photo

However, one fan, kanida1, alleged that the actress was wearing enhancers and wrote, Please go take off the butt lifter madam. We know you you wearing butt pad.

The actress however begged to differ on the point that was raised and replied the message with My Body Shape is natural, do not comment with ignorance!

Victoria Lebene and veteran actor, Kofi Adjorlolo, were an item some time back but the relationship eventually went south after many criticisms from a section of the general public.

Chief among the critics of the relationship was Counselor George Lutterodt who criticized the young actress for going in for someone who could be his father.

He openly called her out on live radio and said the veteran actor was just using her as an energy drink.

Hit by many criticisms, the relationship was called off by Victorias dad who cited the age difference between the two as the major reason for his decision.

READ ALSO: Sarkodie will disappear like Castro if he doesn't stop occultism - Prophetess warns

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Source: Yen News- Former president John Mahama has declared his intention to contest election 2020 as flagbearer of the NDC

- He thus shared a video and photo of himself informing Ghanaians about his decision

- YEN.com.gh has sighted comments by three celebrities who have declared their support for John Mahama

YEN.com.gh reported earlier the story of former president John Mahama declaring his intention to contest for the presidency in the 2020 election on the ticket of the NDC.

John Mahama submitted his nomination form to the party on Wednesday, August 22, 2018.

He also shared a video and photo of himself on social media informing members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Ghanaians at large about his political decision regarding 2020.

READ ALSO: Nana Ama McBrown addresses reports that she is pregnant

John Maham is a lovable man, and Interestingly, even before the election year of 2020 arrives, some top celebrities have already declared their support for him.

YEN.com.gh has seen comments by three of these celebrities who wrote in the comment session of John Mahamas posts assuring him of their support.

These celebrities are Gifty Osei also called Empress Gifty, John Dumelo, and actress Roselyn Ngissah.

There are other celebrities who though did not comment, but only liked John Mahamas post apparently to also show their support; and one of them is Kumawood's Tracey Boakye.

READ ALSO: Coconut oil is pure poison  Harvard professor warns

Captioning the photo, John Mahama wrote: I have submitted my letter to the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) confirming my decision to contest for the leadership of the party with a clear view on victory in 2020, with your support.

To this, John Dumelo commented with emojis of praying hands to show that he was supporting Mahamas presidential ambition with prayers.

johndumelo1: [emojis of praying hands].

Gifty Osei, for her part, simply wrote that she is with JM.

empress_gifty: Am for JM.

Roselyn Ngissah commented under Mahamas video with a support word used in the local parlance

roselyn_ngissah: Gbooooossaaaaaaaaa.

Gbooosaa is a local word used as a way of confirming something as if to say consider it done.

READ ALSO: Emelia Brobbey, Obaapa Christy, and 4 other celebrities who have been rocked by divorce

Among these three celebrities, John Dumelo and Roselyn Ngissah have long been known to be supporters of John Mahama.

Gifty Osei, perhaps, is now doing so publicly.

READ ALSO: Psalm Adjeteyfio cries over failed promises by Ghanaians to support him

Meanwhile, John Mahama would be facing his contestants at a primaries that would be held later by the NDC to determine his chances.

He is expected to meet others including Prof Joshua Alabi, and Alban Bagbin, who has already started speaking ills about how the NDC fared under John Mahama.

READ ALSO: Ahuofe Patri releases another wild bikini photo

In My Feelings Drake: Stop It! | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: Sandra Ankobiah accused of wearing fake backside in latest photo

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Source: Yen.com.ghThe West African Examinations Council (WAEC), has released results for the 2018 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

This development has seen 83 candidates had their results canceled because they took along their mobile phones to their various examination halls.

WAEC has also revealed in a statement that these BECE candidates also were caught for receiving external assistance. In addition, 2,061 others had their results withheld pending investigations into alleged malpractices.

READ ALSO: John Dumelo, 2 other celebrities pledge support for John Mahama ahead of election 2020

Meanwhile, WAEC states it is in the process of dispatching the results to the various schools.

The release said another batch of 134 candidates had their subject results canceled for bringing foreign materials into the examination hall and for collusion and engaging in irregular activity during the examination.

READ ALSO: Coconut oil is pure poison  Harvard professor warns

In all, 509,827 candidates made up of 263,291 males and 246,536 females sat for the examination. The examination was administered at 1,772 centres and out of those who initially registered for the examination, 0.93% of the candidates were absent.

In My Feelings Drake: Stop It! | #Yencomgh

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Source: Yen.com.ghYEN.com.gh has come across some photos of another Ghanaian cast of Netflix movie, 'Beasts of No Nation', after reports came in that one other actor of the movie, Emmanuel Quaye, had turned into a street beggar.

One other actor who played the role of Dike, in the movie but known in real life as Emmanuel Afadzi, has been spotted and he is living a different life.

The young actor who is noted for the beginning scenes with Abraham Attah after they tried selling a TV set to some law enforcement personnel has now moved on and is looking all grown up.

Emmanuel Afadzi. Credit: Gh Page

READ ALSO: Is Becca's husband already married with kids?

According to reports, after starring in 'Beasts of No Nation', Emmanuel Afadzi, landed another role in a movie directed by multi-talented German film maker, YorkFabian Raabe.

The movie is believed to be titled, 'Borga' and the crew and cast just finished shooting it. Emmanuel Afadzi was spotted in a picture which is reported to have been taken from one of the scenes of his new movie.

Emmanuel Afadzi. Credit: Gh Page

Not too long ago, YEN.com.gh reported that another actor, Emmanuel Quaye, who played Strika in 'Beasts of No Nation', was seen on the streets of Accra begging for alms.

Checks however revealed that Strika had ran away from a school he was enrolled in and was on a mission to make money on the streets.

After a wide-ranging interview with Accra-based GH One TV, Strika revealed that his share of the profits accrued from the movie, believed to be in the region of some $30,000, had been locked up by some people and he wanted to retrieve it.

Emmanuel Afadzi on set of 'Borga' movie. Credit: Gh Page

READ ALSO: Beasts of No Nation paid me $15,000 for using my songs  Shatta Wale

However, managers of the young actor, released a press statement outlining a number of things to the general public in relation to Emmanuel Quaye's life after the breakthrough movie.

Management of Strika reiterated the point that the actor's money was still intact and he could access it with a valid ID card.

Even though Strika had starred in another movie with some of Ghana's top actors and actresses, he noted that he was paid GHc 1,000 for the job which was used to buy a suit for him.

His caretakers have however come out to clarify maters relating to finances and have revaled that the actor was in good hands.

Emmanuuel Afadzi or Dike, as he was known in the movie, played in the scene where he was seen displaying his talent on an 'imagination TV' he, togther with Agu (Abraham Attah), wanted to sell to some people.

READ ALSO: Our businesses suffered under his government  Mahamas brother speaks

Watch: Faces of Ghana: meet contemporary artist Commey | #Yencomgh

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Source: Yen GhanaFormer president Jerry John Rawlings has waxed lyrical on the Asantehene and Okyenhene following the colourful show of unity between the two rulers.

According to Rawlings, the two rulers have shown great statesmanship by agreeing to unite at the durbar of chiefs held in Kyebi.

On Thursday, overlord of the Ashanti kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II paid a historic visit to the Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II.

READ ALSO: Social media user blasts Victoria Lebene over her new fake 'Tundra' photo

The visit is the first time in centuries that any Asantehene has stepped foot on Akyem land following past troubles between both tribes.

In a joint statement released with his wife, Nana Konadu, Rawlings, praised both rulers insisting they had put the brakes on those who tend to take negative advantage of the healthy rivalry between the two kingdoms.

He further commended the atmosphere of unity and reciprocity exhibited by the eminent traditional rulers following their union.

The former president made these comments when Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and a delegation of chiefs called on them at their residence at Ridge in Accra on Friday.

READ ALSO: Here are photos of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II's rarely seen dress he wore to see Okyenhene

Read the full statement below:

OTUMFUO CALLS ON RAWLINGS

Former President Jerry John Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings have praised the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II for their show of statesmanship at the durbar of chiefs held in Kyebi on Thursday.

The two said the atmosphere of unity and reciprocity exhibited by the eminent traditional rulers was inspirational and a great motivation for national peace and cohesion.

Flt Lt Rawlings and Mrs. Rawlings made the comments when Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and a delegation of chiefs called on them at their residence at Ridge in Accra on Friday.

The former President said the gestures by the two traditional rulers had put the brakes on those who tend to take negative advantage of the healthy rivalry between the two kingdoms.

He noted that there are some whose interests are parochial and not nationalistic as opposed to those whose pursuits are always patriotic and all-embracing, stating the two leaders had chosen a path that will send a strong signal of unity to all Ghanaians.

Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings commended the Otumfuo and the Okyehene for the tone of their addresses at the colourful durbar which was attended by President Akufo Addo, leading politicians, business people and a cross-section of Ghanaians as well as international guests.

She stated that the addresses where inspiring, passionate and aroused a sense of patriotism and nationalism that was electrifying.

The Otumfuo had earlier paid a courtesy call on the President.

Source: Yen.com.gh"Obamacare, we got rid of the individual mandate, which is the most unpopular aspect," Trump said during a political speech Aug. 13 in Utica, N.Y. "I would have gotten rid of everything, but as you know one of our, one of our wonderful senators said, 'thumbs down,' at 2 o'clock in the morning."Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech during his election night event at the New York Hilton Midtown in the early morning hours of November 9, 2016 in New York City. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)(CNN)  Japan has appointed its first female fighter pilot, the latest achievement in the national push for greater gender equality in the traditionally male-dominated country.

1st Lt. Misa Matsushima, 26, joined the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) after graduating from the National Defense Academy in 2014, becoming one of the 13,707 servicewomen who make up a mere 6.1% of all Japanese troops. She finished her training earlier this week, and was officially named a fighter pilot in a ceremony on Friday, said the JASDF in a press release.

"Ever since I saw the movie 'Top Gun' when I was in primary school, I have always admired fighter jet pilots," Matsushima told reporters Thursday.

"As the first female (fighter) pilot, I will open the way. I would like work hard to meet people's expectations and show my gratitude to people who have been supporting me. I want to become a full-fledged pilot, no different from men, as soon as possible."

"I hope to be the one to inspire more people to become a pilot," she added.

Matsushima, who is from the eastern city of Yokohama, got her pilot's license in 2015, before advancing to fighter pilot training. She will now be stationed at the Nyutabaru Air Base, and begin flying F-15J fighter jets.

The F-15J is a twin-engine fighter designed for air-to-air combat with other jets, capable of carrying eight radar and infrared missiles. It can reach top speeds of Mach 2.5 -- 2.5 times the speed of sound, or 1,918 mph.

"The first female fighter pilot aircraft of the Air Self Defense Force is born," said the JASDF in a tweet Thursday.

The JASDF didn't accept women until 1993, when most positions became open to female applicants. However, women were still not allowed to fly fighter jets and reconnaissance aircraft until the ban was lifted in 2015, as part of a government initiative to increase the number of women in the workplace, according to the JASDF statement.

Across Japan, women have long been relegated to performing household duties and administrative roles, often referred to as the "mommy" track. However, facing an aging population and shrinking workforce, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged in 2013 to empower working women.

This new "womenomics" policy also reached the military; the Defense Ministry launched a series of initiatives last April aiming to increase the number of women in the Self Defense Forces to 9% by 2030.

By contrast, women make up 16% of the US enlisted forces, according to think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

However, with previously restricted positions in Japan's Marine, Air, and Ground Self Defense Forces now open to women, new female leaders have started taking the reins. In March, Japan's navy appointed the first female commander of a warship squadron, local media reported.

The military's social media, too, regularly shows female personnel, with one post showing a "day of female shifts."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Japan gets first female fighter pilot"We need to understand more about Chicagos dreadful clearance rates, which are lower than those of other cities. We dont expect this is a simple matter of grossly incompetent detective work. If there was an easy fix, no doubt Superintendent Eddie Johnson or Mayor Rahm Emanuel would have embraced it to nab suspects and claim a victory. Instead, CPDs immediate response to the Aug. 4 weekend violence was to put 600 more officers on the street to prevent a repeat. Yet even that action brought minimal results. Instead of 75 wounded, 12 dead, there were at least 58 wounded, seven dead.Mills, 26, had put up some uninspiring numbers at Iowa, going 5-12 with a 4.84 ERA in 23 starts, but had pitched better recently and was the best option available. He struck out eight and allowed only one run on three hits in his outing, saying afterward he just wanted to eat as many innings as he could.PHOTOS Devastating disasters to strike the US

While some places in the United States are less at-risk than others, every state is prone to some type of natural disaster. Whether it's hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, forest fires, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes or heat waves, each state in the union has dealt with a devastating natural phenomenon in the last century or so. These storms and catastrophes loom large in the memories of people who lived through them. But which weather event had the biggest impact? Between loss of life, property damage and historical impact, here are disasters that have made a major impact in each state. (Kaitlin Miller, The Active Times)According to the College Board, an estimated 65,000 students in the country without legal permission graduate from high schools in the United States each year. The children are guaranteed an education in the United States through grade 12, however, after high school many of those students believe they cannot legally attend college, which is not the case.We are reaching out directly to St. Charles Latino residents with this Spanish Citizen Police Academy, said St. Charles Crime Prevention Officer Jim Burden in the release. As St. Charles police officers, we are here to protect and serve all St. Charles residents. Its important for all residents to get to know their local police officers and learn about law enforcement procedures as well as important crime prevention tips.While we are devastated emotionally by this tragedy, we want to assure everyone that no person was hurt in the fire. The Maple Tree Inn has had multiple, successful chapters and there will be many more. Our team of employees is one of the best ever assembled in our 43 years of business and we will rebuild around them. We want to praise the firefighters swift response and work in keeping our neighboring businesses safe and attempting to preserve the character of the building.The Blue Island Police Department realizes the dissemination of such literature has no effect on the harmony of the culturally diverse environment in which the residents of Blue Island have built and maintained over the years, King wrote. We do not want to give them the attention and publicly acknowledge these acts.That building will be razed and a new one set back from the corner built, which will free up space for at least 18 parking spaces, he said. A new access point off 95th Street will be created, with right turn in and out of the center.(CNN) Former treasurer Scott Morrison looks set to become Australia's sixth prime minister in just over ten years, following a leadership vote on Friday which ended a week of chaos in the country's capital.

A member of the ruling Liberal party's conservative faction and former immigration minister, Morrison defeated former home affairs minister Peter Dutton by 45 votes to 40 at a closed door leadership vote shortly after midday, local time, the party's whip Nola Marino announced.

Marino added minister for the Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, had been elected as deputy leader.

It followed days of speculation and confusion over whether now former leader Malcolm Turnbull could maintain his grip on the premiership in the face of a conservative uprising.

The leadership crisis began on Tuesday following a backlash in the Liberal Party over Turnbull's climate change policy, which would have legislated the Paris Agreement goals.

The right-wing of the party would prefer greater investment in the country's coal sector and policies to lower Australians' power prices.

Dutton, a leader in the party's conservative faction, stood against Turnbull for the leadership in a vote on Tuesday, losing only narrowly by 48 votes to 35 and all but guaranteeing a second vote.

But as Dutton's momentum began to grow, Morrison put his hand up for the leadership in the face of questions over Dutton's eligibility to sit in parliament.

Morrison's election to the top of the Liberal Party is just the latest in a revolving door of leadership changes in the Australian capital in the past decade.

Since 2007, no Australia prime minister has faced two consecutive elections.

Turnbull warns of race politics

A self-proclaimed political moderate, Turnbull was always an uncomfortable fit within the right-of-center Liberal Party. He has been a longtime advocate for progressive social policies and action on climate change.

Turnbull said on Thursday he would step down and leave the parliament following the vote, potentially cracking the government's slender one-seat majority and leading to a byelection or even a general election.

Speaking after his loss on Thursday, Turnbull thanked his "loyal" colleague Scott Morrison but issued a warning about attempts to drag Australia to the right.

"We must never allow the politics of race or division or of setting Australians against each other to become part of our political culture," he said.

During his campaigning for the leadership earlier in the week, Dutton had spoken about concerns over immigration numbers in Australia, a common complaint among the Liberal Party's right.

Morrison has not spoken recently about immigration in Australia and it is unknown if he will follow the conservative faction's policy of cutting migration numbers.

Compromise candidate

Morrison was seen as a compromise candidate between Turnbull and Dutton -- a political conservative but more electable than the unpopular alternative. Australia is due to have a federal election by May 2019 at the latest.

A committed Christian and at times controversial figure in Australia, Morrison was an enthusiastic advocate for the country's strict border protection regime during his time as immigration minister.

Despite Morrison's support for his opponent, then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott, in the 2015 leadership spill, Turnbull rewarded the high-profile conservative with the important position of treasurer in his government.

His arrival in Australia's top job was welcomed by the conservative Australian Christian Lobby, who said in a statement Friday they hoped he would work to protect "religious freedoms."

"Religious freedom must be a priority for the Morrison ministry in light of increasing numbers of Australians who are getting in trouble with the law for living out their faith," the statement said.

But Morrison may have to work hard to regain the trust and enthusiasm of the Australian people after the chaotic week.

A poll published by ReachTEL on Thursday said only 8.6% of voters wanted to see Morrison in the Australian prime ministership, compared to 38.1% who wanted his predecessor Turnbull.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Scott Morrison to become Australia's sixth PM in just over a decade."Elgin police officers armed with a search warrant in August 2016 uncovered the cache being stored at a facility in the 600 block of Big Timber Road that had been rented by Juan A. Mexicano, 33, of the 19W block of Army Trail Road, Addison, the states attorneys office said in a news release.The two suspects, one of whom had a gun, approached a man seated in a red 2016 Nissan Rogue about 8 p.m. March 12 in the 2100 block of Allegre Circle in Naperville, according to police reports. The man was forced to give them his cell phone and vehicle keys and then told to get out of the vehicle, reports said.He began his legal career as a prosecutor in Lake County and then served as a magistrate in the Lake Superior Court from 1984 to 2000. He worked for the law firm of Cohen and Thiros and the Lake County public defenders office. He turned in his letter of retirement Aug. 14, the day before he was killed.It was a moment in time during which he was trying to be a politician he wasnt instead of the police officer he was, Stracci said. It was a bad moment not only for Mr. Murchek, but also for our community. Mr. Murchek does not deny he had neither the savvy nor the finesse to muddy his way through Lake County politics.You are here: Arts

At the ongoing 25th Beijing International Book Fair, Morocco, as a guest of honor, exhibits around 800 kinds of books and holds events to showcase African culture.

Members of the Moroccan delegation include officials from the national library and state tourism office, as well as some outstanding writers.

Morocco and China have maintained a sound relationship, and strengthening cultural exchanges between the two will help China communicate with the Arab world and Africa, said Moroccan Minister of Culture and Communication Mohamed Laaraj.

To attract Chinese audiences, cultural exchanges have been held during the five-day book fair which ends on Sunday, including lectures on Morocco-China relations under the Belt and Road Initiative, Moroccan culture and literature, among others.

The book fair, founded in 1986, has become a key international book fair and copyright trading platform.

More than 2,500 exhibitors from 93 countries and regions are taking part, displaying some 300,000 books. Among them are nearly 30 countries along the Belt and Road.Despite a lack of substantial results, the just-concluded trade talks between China and the United States in Washington send a positive signal and may lead to new proposals to lift the two sides out of the current stalemate, Chinese experts said.

China and the US had "constructive and candid" talks on economic and trade issues of mutual concern in Washington from Aug 22 to 23, and both sides will stay in contact for future arrangements, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on Friday.

The ministry said that at the invitation of the US, Wang Shouwen, vice-minister of commerce and China's deputy international trade representative, met with a team led by David Malpass, the US Treasury Department's undersecretary for international affairs.

In the meantime, US President Donald Trump's administration levied a 25 percent tariff on $16 billion worth of Chinese products on Thursday, after imposing tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports in July. China responded in kind.

Even though the world's two largest economies are still confronting each other with tariff measures, experts said the characterization of the talks as "constructive and candid" indicates there could be new proposals to resolve their differences, rather than remaining at a stalemate.

Li Yong, deputy director of the China Association of International Trade Expert Committee, said the ministry's announcement revealed that the two countries have exchanged views on a wide range of topics.

"That could include the current trade disputes, China's investment in high-tech manufacturing and service industries, as well as China's intellectual property protection, the widening trade deficits of the US, and the role of the World Trade Organization," he said.

Li Guanghui, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the statement that China and the US will be in close contact about future arrangements shows that the two sides are willing to continue negotiations, since US manufacturers and farmers have already suffered financial losses caused by the Trump administration's unilateral trade policies.

"This can be a positive signal, leaving some wiggle room for the future," said Li. "After delegations of the two sides report the meeting contents to their bosses, the two countries are expected to conduct research on the next moves."

Sun Fuquan, a researcher at the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for Development, said, "Since the China-US trade tensions have already generated a negative impact on many countries' financial markets and industries, such as global shipping and manufacturing service trade, it is time for both countries to work out feasible solutions to prevent a breakdown of global value and supply chains."



President Xi Jinping on Friday called for strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over advancing law-based governance in all areas.

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, chairman of the Central Military Commission, and head of the Commission for Law-based Governance of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over the first meeting of the commission.

Efforts should be made to unswervingly promote socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and enable the rule of law to better play its role of guarantee for a solid foundation, stabilized expectations and long-term interests, Xi said.

Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu and Wang Huning, members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy heads of the commission, attended the meeting.

Documents including the commission's working rules and its work priorities in 2018 were adopted at the meeting.

The rule of law and the Party's leadership over law-based governance in all areas need to be further strengthened in order to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

The CPC Central Committee has since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012 made a series of major decisions on law-based governance in all areas, which are the fundamental rules for law-based governance and must be adhered to and steadily developed on a long-term basis, he said.

With this year's work priorities made clear, Xi called on relevant authorities to formulate a plan on building the rule of law in China, fully implement and enforce the Constitution, ensure legislation is sound, strengthen the building of a government based on the rule of law, deepen judicial system reform, advance efforts to build a society based on the rule of law, and train judicial personnel.

Xi said the commission should focus its energy on top-level design, take the initiative to design the overall thinking and decide on the major tasks for building the system of the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, and do the planning and scientific decision-making on key issues concerning the law-based governance in all areas.A father searched for the killer of his only son for 17 years until the murderer was brought to justice, reported Thepaper.cn.

On Sept 6, 2001, Wang Guohua's only son, 17-year-old Lin Peng, was stabbed to death in a billiards room in Fuqing city, Fujian province. The murder suspect, He Lei, was a high school student, and had dispute with Lin Peng before the incident.

Wang Guohua was then living and working in Japan with his wife Zheng Liyun. They were planning to bring Lin Peng to Japan to study and live with them just before the tragedy occurred.

"We had applied for a visa for our son and were waiting for the approval," Zheng Liyun told Thepaper.cn.

As the police found no clues of the whereabouts of the suspect, Wang decided to hunt for the suspect himself.

"I knew it was like seeking for a needle in haystack, but I had no choice. I could not continue my life after my son was dead," said Wang.

First, he went to Guangzhou of the neighboring Guangdong province, where the suspect's father operated a stall at an aquatic products market before running away.

The market is the largest fishery market in the region. Amid the bustle and hustle, Wang kept watch at the stall run by He's family.

"Their images had been carved deeply in my mind. As long as they appeared, I was perfectly sure that I could recognize them," said Wang.

He even waited outside the shop at night, just to make sure he didn't miss out on the suspect. However, all the efforts came to nothing.

Then, Wang went to the suspect's home village of Donghua in Longtian town. He hired a car and parked it in a field not far away from the village house of the suspect and waited for his appearance.

To keep from being discovered, Wang drank little water to avoid going to the toilet and ate bread when hungry.

But after more than 10 days, the suspect still did not show up.

For 17 years, Wang has trekked to more than 10 provinces across the country in search of the murderer. Whenever he got a message about the whereabouts of the suspect, he rushed there without hesitation. Usually he stayed in one place for at least one week, and sometimes as long as nearly a month.

He has also searched for the murderer in a dozen foreign countries, including the US, Myanmar and Singapore.

Hunting the suspect for years has dragged the affluent family into heavy debt. Wang sold his property and divorced his wife. He held back the truth from his mother, saying he was doing business in other cities.

Every year during the Mid-Autumn Festival and on the eve of the Spring Festival, occasions when Chinese people return home for family reunions, Wang would go back to the aquatic product market in Guangzhou to wait for the murderer.

This was the most upsetting moment for him. "Every family was enjoying the time of reunion and firecrackers exploded in the air. I sat in a corner on the cold street, waiting for the suspect and never knowing when he would appear," said Wang.

Sometimes, when he was extremely disappointed and saw no hope of finding the suspect, he thought of committing suicide. But he did not do that, only because "my son's case has not ended, so I cannot die."

In September 2017, Fuqing police found a man in Daoxian county, Henan province, who had a highly similar appearance to He Lei, the suspect who committed the homicide 17 years ago, through an image comparison system. The man was arrested and admitted that he is He Lei.

He said after he killed Lin Peng in 2001, he fled Fuqing and went to Guanghzou. To escape the hunt, he then fled to Daoxian county where he bought a fake ID under the name "Zhu Junyang".

He married there and had three children. He then went to Shenzhen in Guangdong province and opened a computer repair shop until he was arrested. During the period, he never told his wife about the murder case.

Two weeks after He Lei was captured, his father He Song gave himself up to the police and he was detained on the charges of harboring a criminal.

In June, the Fuzhou Procuratorate initiated a public prosecution against He Lei on the charge on intentional injury.

Wang Guohua is finally relieved that the criminal was brought to justice, but he is sad that his son cannot come back to life.



Local police have issued the preliminary findings on a series of worker-related incidents with the Jasic Technology Co. Ltd. in the south China city of Shenzhen.

They found that a former Jasic worker surnamed Yu was fired in May for being absent from work without a good reason and taking part in violent fights.

Dissatisfied with the arbitration award on his appeal, Yu and six other people gathered at the entrance of the company and tried to enter with force on July 20. Five of the group were summoned to a police station for further investigation.

After being released, they continued gathering people to enter the company premises by force and even blocking the normal operations of a police station.

On July 27, a total of 29 suspects were arrested after 25 of them broke into the company again.

The investigation found an unregistered illegal organization named "dagongzhe zhongxin" or "center for migrant workers" was instigating and supporting the incidents, and it was fully funded by overseas NGOs.

The organization was involved in multiple worker-related incidents in Shenzhen and nearby regions and responsible for coercing some workers into taking radical actions, police said.

The suspects have expressed regret about their behavior.

Yu said he now understands his mistakes and he will never make them again if offered a second chance.

A suspect surnamed Fu linked with "dagongzhe zhongxin" also said he has learned that the radical actions taken by the Jasic employees broke the law.

"Whatever interest you pursue, it must be carried out within boundaries of the law," said Zeng Yueying, deputy dean of Shenzhen University Law School.



JD-Youth, a brand under China's E-commerce giant JD, which targets young customers, has teamed up with the APEC Voices of the Future China to encourage Chinese youth to pursue their dreams.

"The rank is not the most important thing. What matters is what you have gone through," said Ou Li, vice president of JD Group, during a group interview session on the sidelines of the APEC Youth Innovation Summit 2018 in Chengdu on Aug. 23.

"In the internet age, young people have formed a unique culture. They are faced with unlimited possibilities. JD-Youth will work to help young people to realize their dreams in their own way," he added.

As a co-organizer of the summit, JD has entered into a long-term strategic cooperation with the APEC Voices of the Future China.

"In fact, we took the initiative to approach the APEC Voices of the Future China," Ou said. "There are many other projects indeed, but we see that the APEC Voices of the Future China is really helping Chinese students reach an international stage, and brings many talented young people to China from around the world, which makes it outstanding among other platforms."

With access to advanced technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, JD-Youth has established data models for the youth, and provides them with special benefits in terms of employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, internships, postgraduate studies, and going abroad, in a bid to help young people develop themselves, said Ou.

Ou added that the 2018 China APEC Youth Representative Competition is enjoying the benefits of the fast development of internet and the Chinese economy. He hopes the participants can help showcase the positive image of Chinese students to the outside world and share with foreign students each other's development experiences.You are here: China

China on Saturday successfully sent twin BeiDou navigation satellites into space on a single carrier rocket.

China sends twin BeiDou navigation satellites into space via a single carrier rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Xichang, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 25, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Long March-3B carrier rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province at 7:52 a.m.. It was the 283rd mission of the Long March rocket series, said a source of the launch center.

The twin satellites entered orbit more than three hours after the launch. After a series of tests, they will work together with 10 other BeiDou-3 satellites already in orbit.

The twin satellites were developed by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started serving China in 2000 and the Asia-Pacific region in 2012.ABC News

(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump has asked his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, not to go to North Korea, as was previously planned for next week, he said in a series of tweets Friday.

Trump wrote, "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were."

Just the day before, Pompeo announced that he would leave for Pyongyang with his new Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun. It would have been his fourth trip amid a deadlock in denuclearization talks over two months after Trump's Singapore summit with Kim Jong Un.

North Korea has made no public steps toward dismantling its nuclear weapons program, with some analysts saying Kim's regime has no intention to do so.

This week, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, reported its "grave concern" with North Korea's "continuation and further development" of its nuclear program.

South Korea responded to the cancellation early Saturday U.S. time, calling it only a "delay."

"We feel deeply sorry about the delay, however, we feel it is of utmost importance that such U.S.-DPRK talks, including the planned visit this time, should contribute to reaching U.S.-Koreas final goal, which is 'complete denuclearization and implementing successful peacekeeping system in the Korean peninsula,' South Koreas Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Rather than meddling with small individual cases, it is important that we concentrate putting our efforts on diplomacy with North Korea from a long-term perspective, keeping up the momentum for successful dialogues and realizing the U.S.-North Korea Singapore summit's resolutions," South Korea's statement added.

After Pompeo visited North Korea in July, the North Koreans blasted the U.S.'s "robber-like" demands. In a statement last weekend, they said talks have been 'derailed' after the U.S. demanded the country reveal its secret nuclear facilities -- the existence of which North Korea called "a fiction."

Trump also cited his trade tangles with China, saying the country -- North Korea's strongest economic partner -- is not "helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were." The Treasury Department has announced three tranches of sanctions this month alone on Chinese and Russian companies and individuals for helping North Korea evade sanctions. While the administration says its "global pressure campaign" on North Korea remains in place, there is growing concern that other countries are shirking U.N. sanctions, given a window to restore economic ties in part because of the thaw in U.S.-North Korean relations.

That thaw is apparently still happening, with Trump again offering warm words for Kim in his tweets Friday: "In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!" he added.

The president has consistently said he and the dictator have a strong relationship, but so far it has yielded little progress in changing the country's nuclear posture.

The State Department was not available for comment after the president's tweet. But Pompeo and his top adviser for North Korea, Andy Kim, were seen at the White House Friday morning two hours prior to the president's tweets, which were sent in rapid-fire coordination.

This is not the first time Trump has canceled plans with North Korea. In May, just weeks before the Singapore summit, he penned a letter to Kim canceling their meeting because of North Korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility." One week later, Trump said the summit was back on after meeting with Pompeo and North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Yong Chol.

It was unclear Friday if canceling Pompeo's trip was meant to be a similar negotiating tactic.

Pompeo has had his own meeting issues. Before that most recent trip in July, the White House said Pompeo would meet with Kim. But after two days of tense meetings, Pompeo departed with no face-to-face meeting with the chairman who has ultimate control in the Hermit Kingdom. Instead, Kim was photographed on a potato farm, inspecting crops.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday that Pompeo did not have plans to meet Kim, saying the trip was about "regularizing these meetings and these conversations" between the two adversaries. Dismissing concerns that there should be more progress, Nauert told reporters, "I know you all want to speed up these things. I know you want it to happen overnight. But this thing, this issue, is going to take some time, and weve been very clear about that."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Flash

Travel to the Republic of Korea is expected to remain stable, as four major travel services in Shanghai have recently resumed group tours to the country, tourism experts and insiders said.

Group tours to South Korea were suspended in protest following the United States' deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system in the country in March last year. As tourism is affected by the political climate, it may be quite hard for outbound travel to the country to regain the popularity it had before, experts said.

Shanghai Jinjiang International Travel, which resumed group tours to South Korea on Thursday, said it is hard to predict the public response.

"I don't think the resumption of group tours will cause a sudden burst of tourism," said Wang Fang, manager of outbound travel department of Jinjiang.

Shanghai China Youth Travel Service said group tours to South Korea will be officially resumed next week and the first groups will depart in mid-September.

Such group tours from Beijing were resumed in December, followed by Shandong and Hubei provinces and Chongqing, but the market remained bleak, according to experts.

People had still been able to travel to South Korea independently.

Local news portal Shanghai Observer cited statistics from the Korea Tourism Organization that residents from the Chinese mainland made nearly 4.17 million trips to South Korea in 2017, a year-on-year decline of more than 48 percent.

"If there were no tensions in bilateral relations because of the deployment of the THAAD system, I believed the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries would be smooth and the openness of the tourism market would be greater," said Zhou Yingfeng, general manager of the outbound travel department of Shanghai China Youth Travel Service.

Public response on the internet was almost one-sided, with many saying they would not travel to South Korea until the US anti-missile system was removed.

He Jianmin, a professor of tourism management at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said: "Outbound cruise liners have also canceled routes to South Korea since March last year, but the industry kept expanding."

Some experts said the unfavorable impression many Chinese have about South Korea because of the THAAD deployments could be long-term and reach beyond the tourism industry to probably once immensely popular South Korean TV series, brands like Samsung cell phones, and the South Korean restaurant business.

Yao Li, a teacher at the international business school of Zhejiang Gongshang University, said his research found that since February 2017 South Korean restaurants in 50 cities across China have suffered an average 30 percent drop in business, and the number of new restaurant openings has dropped by 60 percent. Flash

Scott Morrison rode a wave of late momentum to become Australia's 30th prime minister on Friday, as his colleagues in the ruling Liberal Party deciding that the Sydney member of parliament (MP) represented a greater chance of electoral success than his main challenger, Peter Dutton.

At the end of a dramatic week in Canberra, Morrison defeated Peter Dutton, 45 votes to 40, for the Liberal Party leadership, with the third challenger, Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, eliminated in the first round of voting.

This meant Morrison, the federal Treasurer, became the nation's 30th prime minister since federation in 1901, while the deposed leader Malcolm Turnbull announced that he will soon quit politics altogether.

It was Dutton who first brought on the challenge to Turnbull during the week but the negative reaction to the prospect of his leadership style over the past two days clearly forced some Liberal Party MPs into a rethink.

It was felt Dutton, a Queenslander and arch-conservative, who would struggle to win widespread support in more progressive states such as Victoria and New South Wales and would lead the coalition parties to electoral disaster against Labor.

While he was once a vocal supporter of hardline former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Morrison, 50, is currently regarded as a slightly more moderate figure within the party, one who has a formidable intellect and was more likely to succeed in taking the electoral fight up to opposition leader, Bill Shorten.

Remarkably, he had remained loyal to Turnbull all through the turmoil of the past few days, while other key supporters of the prime minister such as Mathias Cormann, Mitch Fifield and Michaelia Cash all switched sides and threw their support behind Dutton.

In the end, Morrison's loyalty paid off. In many colleagues' eyes, it highlighted his dependability, political canniness, and ability to remain calm in a crisis. Also, unlike Dutton, he carried with him no constitutional complications.

So having stood with Turnbull until his prime ministership was clearly doomed, Morrison won support from moderates who once would have viewed him with suspicion. At another time, in different circumstances, Morrison would have been relying on the party's conservatives for his core support.

Friday's party room ballot has marked an extraordinary rise through the ranks for Morrison.

While he has been in parliament for little more than 11 years, his ambition and intelligence meant that big things were always predicted for him.

When he first arrived in Canberra, towards the end of 2007, he lobbied then-Liberal leader Brendan Nelson for a place on the frontbench. Nelson knocked him back telling him he needed to spend some time on the backbench so he could gain invaluable experience there. According to some colleagues, Morrison was not happy at the snub although he has disputed this recollection of events.

Morrison would not stay on the backbench long. In 2009, he became shadow minister for immigration and citizenship when Abbott became party leader after his successful coup against Turnbull.

As Abbott's immigration minister, Morrison was an unflinching advocate of the plan to "Stop the Boats", preventing asylum seekers from arriving in Australia.

Morrison is the son of a policeman, an active member of the ShireLive evangelical church and a Cronulla Sharks fan in the national rugby league competition, in other words, a pretty regular, middle-class, middle-aged Australian male.

Morrison wears his political ambition and his conservative credentials proudly. He voted No on same-sex marriage, listed "church" as one of his interests in his Who's Who report, and counts former Prime Minister John Howard as his political inspiration, media reported Friday.

Interestingly, it has been Howard's long-serving Treasurer, Peter Costello, who has been mentoring Morrison since he became Treasurer.

And after a period of uncertainty when he initially took on that demanding portfolio, Morrison has warmed to the role under Costello's mentorship and his recent 2018-2019 budget was well received.

His position on many key foreign affairs matters is unclear. Unlike Dutton, he has not announced a position on Australia's immigration intake, foreign investment in Australia and domestic issues such as electricity prices and emission targets.

There are foreign policy matters that require Morrison's immediate attention such as a landmark free trade deal between Australia and Indonesia, a document that both nations were on the brink of signing after years of negotiations.

Turnbull was due to travel to Indonesia next week but it is unlikely that Morrison, who will have other, more pressing domestic issues to attend, will make the trip as the new prime minister. So that agreement will have to be postponed till a later date.

After Morrison gets comfortable in his new office, and gets on top of domestic politics ahead of the next election, he will turn his attention to the key regional foreign policy issue for Australia. Flash

China said on Friday it hopes to work with the new Australian government to promote bilateral ties "on the right track", after Treasurer Scott Morrison was elected by the governing party as the new Australian prime minister.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China has maintained a consistent and clear position on developing its ties with Australia. Healthy and stable bilateral ties are in line with the fundamental interests of people in both countries and help peace and prosperity of the region and the world, he said.

Morrison won a party ballot to become Australia's new prime minister on Friday after defeating Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in the leader ship vote of the governing Liberal Party.

Morrison had served as minister for immigration and border protection and minister for social services before being appointed as treasurer after Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister in 2015.

Turnbull resigned as prime minister after 45 of the 85 Liberal Party members of Parliament voted to vacate the leadership at the meeting.

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said he hoped the new Australian government would take effective measures to reverse the downturn in bilateral ties.

The ties worsened under Turnbull's government, as Austral ian media and politicians made many unfounded comments about China, Ruan said, referring to their accusations of China's "interference" in Australia's domestic affairs.

Turnbull sent a positive message on China in a speech earlier this month, in what Ruan said was an attempt to correct the negative approach. But this was followed on Thursday by an Australian ban on Chinese telecommunications company Huawei providing equipment for Australia's 5G network.

China expressed "grave concerns" over the decision.

The ban is "full of discrimination against Chinese companies", Ruan said, adding that he hoped the new government would review and rectify it, so that Chinese companies can enjoy a fair and reasonable commercial environment in Australia.

China is Australia's largest trade partner. It is also the largest market for Australian exports and the largest source of imports to Australia, according to the Foreign Ministry.

For more than two decades, Australia's economy has benefited from healthy ties with China, and such ties need to be more stable, Ruan said. Flash

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a geopolitical strategy but international public goods offered by China to the world, visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Ulan Bator on Thursday.

The initiative is not China's Marshall Plan, Wang said when meeting reporters with his Mongolian counterpart Damdin Tsogtbaatar.

Since the launch of BRI, China has adhered to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, upheld the spirit of transparency, openness and inclusiveness, and abided by international rules and laws of every country, Wang said.

China has also been seeking green and sustainable development, committed to high quality and high standards in its projects and paying great attention to fiscal sustainability, Wang added.

These are in line with China's long-term strategy featuring mutual benefits, win-win results and openness, Wang said.

BRI is aimed to explore new cooperation and development opportunities by integrating the development strategies of different countries, so as to achieve common development and prosperity. In this process, China is willing to share its development opportunities with other countries and welcome all to ride on China's "express train of development," he added.

In response to a question on the cooperation between China and Mongolia, Wang said Mongolia is a natural partner in the Belt and Road construction and Mongolia's participation will give itself new development impetus.

China and Mongolia have signed an agreement on aligning the BRI and Mongolia's Prairie Road development initiative. China is willing to accelerate the alignment of the two initiatives and jointly build BRI, Wang said.

At first, Wang said, China would like to support infrastructure construction in Mongolia and help remove development bottlenecks to create conditions conducive to development.

Second, China would like to focus on improving the livelihoods of local people, enabling every Mongolian to enjoy tangible benefits from the Belt and Road construction.

Third, China would focus more on environmental and ecological protection and together with Mongolia build a green Silk Road, ensuring the protection and development of Mongolia's green mountains and rivers.

Fourth, China is willing to help Mongolia translate its natural resources into development advantage, promote the country's manufacturing and processing industry to realize diversified development, and improve its capacity of independent and sustainable development, he said.

The cooperation between China and Mongolia is like mutual help between friends and mutual support between neighbors, Wang said. Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that he has asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), citing the lacking of progress on the Peninsula denuclearization.



Trump tweeted that "I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

He added that "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future."

"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!," Trump said.

Earlier on Thursday, Pompeo said that he has appointed Stephen Biegun as the new special envoy for the DPRK.

He also said that he and Biegun will travel to Pyongyang next week "to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."

Pompeo has visited the DPRK for three times, respectively in April, May and July.

Trump on Aug. 20 said he would "most likely" meet with Kim for a second time, and he believed Pyongyang had taken specific steps toward denuclearization.

In the joint statement after the June 12 Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Flash

Turkish police on Friday arrested two more suspects for connections to Monday's U.S. embassy drive-by shooting in capital Ankara, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The suspects are currently being interrogated by police department, according to the report, citing a police source.

Friday's arrests raise the total number of arrestees to four. Two suspects, named as Ahmet Celikten and Osman Gudas, were detained on Monday and confessed that they attacked the U.S. embassy under the influence of alcohol.

The detention period for Ahmet Celikten and Osman Gundas has been extended, the report added.

The gun attack took place at 5:30 a.m. local time (0230GMT) on Monday, when six shots were fired from a white vehicle at the U.S. embassy's main entrance, hitting a window of a security cabin but causing no casualties.

Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin condemned the attack on Twitter, describing it as "a clear attempt to create chaos," amid an escalating row between the United States and Turkey over the detention of a U.S. pastor. Flash

U.S. Federal Register said on Friday that the U.S. sanctions on Russia over the alleged poisoning of a former Russian spy will take effect on Aug. 27.

According to a notice published on the website of Federal Register, a daily catalogue of actions and regulations at government agencies, the State Department planned to announce the sanctioning measures by then, which will terminate U.S. foreign assistance and some arms sales and financing to Russia.

In the notice, Christopher A. Ford, assistant secretary of state, said that the State Department has determined pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 that "the Government of the Russian Federation has used chemical weapons in violation of international law or lethal chemical weapons against its own nationals."

Particularly, the U.S. side will target "foreign assistance, the licensing of defense articles and services, and the licensing of national security-sensitive goods and technology" concerning Russia, according to the notice.

Russia's credit, credit guarantees or other financial assistance provided by U.S. government agencies will be denied, U.S. export of security-sensitive goods and technology to Russia will also be prohibited, and all foreign military financing for Russia will be terminated.

However, the Department of State "has determined and certified to Congress" that it is essential to the U.S. national security interests to "partially" waive the application of the sanctions regarding the issuance of licenses some areas, and their licenses shall be issued "on a case-by-case basis and consistent with export licensing policy for Russia."

Government space cooperation, commercial space launches and areas covering commercial aviation safety would be exempted from the sanctions. The notice explained that these areas are "essential to the national security interests of the United States" and shall be issued on a case-by-case basis.

Sanctions will also be waived in cases of deemed exports/reexports to Russian nationals, wholly-owned U.S. subsidiaries and commercial end users in Russia, Russian state-owned or state-funded enterprises, "provided that such licenses shall be issued on a case-by-case basis."

U.S. urgent humanitarian assistance to Russia will also be exempted.

This document was scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on Aug. 27, 2018 and available online.

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, aged 66, and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center in Britain's southwestern city of Salisbury on March 4. Britain claimed the pair was exposed to a nerve agent and holds Russia responsible, while the Russian government has denied any involvement in it and demanded direct participation in the investigation.

The U.S. State Department said on Aug. 8 that the country will impose new sanctions on Russia over the case.

"These sanctions will take effect upon publication of a notice in the Federal Register, expected on or around August 22, 2018," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.

Russia and the United States have been waging sanctions against each other as bilateral relations continue to worsen over recent years.

Moscow has repeatedly said that it reserves the right to take additional countermeasures against U.S. diplomatic properties in Russia if Washington continues hostility.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said that the upcoming U.S. sanctions are "unfriendly" and "illegal," and will hurt broader international trade.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow will consider retaliation.Quick, imagine a pirate.

Do it, you bastard, there's no time!

OK, was he wearing an eye patch? He was, wasn't he?

okalinichenko/Adobe Stock You can't lie to us. We are the internet.

But have you ever wondered why pirates and eye patches go together like tech bros and Teslas? Were all pirates required to be blind in one eye? Was it a fashion statement? Were they concealing some kind of primitive night vision device?

Strangely enough, it's the third one.

Well, probably. While this can't be proven without the use of time machines, a pretty plausible explanation says that a pirate's eye patch was for "dark adaptation." See, pirates would often have to move between dark and light settings rather quickly, such as below and above the deck of a ship. By keeping a patch over one eye, it meant that they had a head start on at least one eye adjusting to the dark, a process that normally takes several minutes, as anyone who has gone to the bathroom at night and ended up completely ruining their sink can attest.Chancellor Philip Hammonds decision to break Tory ranks over Brexit could soon be followed by yet more open warfare between Cabinet ministers.

I believe that a bitter split is looming over HS2, the high-speed rail link that will connect London, Birmingham and the North.

Some senior ministers, led by Michael Gove, are ready to make their private views public and say that the project should be scrapped.

Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond broke Tory ranks over Brexit

I predict that Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will be among them.

Most significantly, from outside government, Brexiteer Boris Johnson is believed to be keen to see the money released for other spending.

This powerful phalanx will pose a serious threat to Theresa May who is still behind Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Mr Hammond, who want to keep HS2 on track.

The truth is that the multi-billion-pound project has been deeply unpopular for a long time among the Tory grassroots.

Not only because the route would be carved out of pretty countryside in Middle England  passing exclusively through Tory-held constituencies between the outskirts of London and Sutton Coldfield. But, more importantly, because it is seen as an obscene waste of money.

Although Mr Gove is said to be appalled by the environmental devastation involved, the far bigger devastation will be to our public finances.

Even the Treasurys Infrastructure and Projects Authority has awarded the HS2 an amber/red rating, implying that theres a high risk it wont produce good value for money.

Matters are likely to come to a head as preparations are made for the Chancellors autumn Budget.

The big question is whether Mrs May, who inherited the disastrous project, has the political courage to dump HS2 at this late stage.

My sources tell me that Downing Street is ready to look at it again.

It is not too late. Not a yard of track has been built. Yet enormous sums of taxpayers money have been spent already.

Figures released by HS2 itself in its annual report last month showed that an astonishing 1.1 billion has been ploughed into this project in the past financial year alone.

Thats a rate of more than 20 million a week, of which the majority is being given to consultants. More than one quarter of staff working on HS2 get more than 100,000 a year, while 15 people are on salaries of more than 250,000.

Official estimates from the Department of Transport say the budget is supposed to be 56 billion.

But it is universally recognised that this is a colossal underestimate. The depressing truth is that taxpayers could be forced to cough up as much as 100 billion in total  a staggering level of expenditure at a time when our national debt remains a terrifying 1.8 trillion  with the interest alone costing 40 billion a year.

All this vast expense might perhaps be worth it if there were concrete evidence that HS2  originally dreamed up by New Labour then put into practice by George Osborne when Tory chancellor  will be a major help in transforming Britains crumbling transport system

But all the signs are that it will make many problems worse.

When considering HS2s role in the Governments plan to improve Britains infrastructure, it is crucial to bear in mind that it was seen as a way of taking pressure off Heathrow airport because politicians at the time seemed unable to decide whether to build a third runway.

But that runway has now been given parliamentary approval.

And so HS2 is looking like a hideously expensive white elephant.

The main argument for the new rail link was that it would knock 30 minutes off the journey between Birmingham and London. But many of us have consistently said that is unnecessary.

Currently, that journey by train takes 84 minutes. I travel the route often and it seems sufficiently rapid.

HS2s backers want the journey time to be 49 minutes. In other words, more than half a billion pounds of public money is being spent for every minute saved. And this would be for just 140 miles out of the total of 9,800 across the whole country.

A high-speed train (travelling at 200mph) inevitably requires the track to be as straight as possible. Of course, this means tearing up beautiful parts of middle England to lay the lines.

Is cutting journey times by 35 minutes really worth such vast public expenditure and the destruction of priceless landscape?

This is lunacy.

I strongly suspect that even the most hard-nosed businessman or woman would happily continue to have a slightly slower journey and, instead, be supplied with a decent Wi-Fi system. Improving train Wi-Fi would cost at most a few million pounds, a minute fraction of the money being poured into the HS2 black hole.

The brutal truth is that HS2 is essentially a vanity project.

It reminds me of the Millennium Dome, the ridiculous construction dreamed up by the John Major government, then brought into being by Tony Blair and New Labour. A vainglorious totem to small-minded politicians narcissism and obsession with creating a legacy.

The ridiculous Dome cost nearly 1 billion  an enormous sum but not even 1 per cent of the expected ultimate cost of HS2.

Putting this white elephant to sleep now would release massive funds for truly worthwhile projects that really are needed.

For example, ministers are in dire need of money to fund social housing projects.

Also, theres an urgent need to build up the transport infrastructure of the north of England, including the building of new transport links.

Why not scrap HS2 and use its budget?

More money for the NHS, too? Yes, a much better use of the HS2 billions.

In political terms, I am convinced that cancelling HS2 would give a huge boost to the May government.

The Prime Minister is seeking to create a new domestic agenda post-Brexit.

But tight reins on public spending mean that she has been unable to come up with imaginative and electorally popular plans.

Over the next few months, Theresa May will have room for manoeuvre. This is because the bulk of the Treasury funds have not been committed to HS2  although, admittedly, the project has been enshrined in law.

Its time for Mrs May to take a deep breath, stop throwing good money after bad and prevent an utterly unnecessary civil war in her Cabinet.

We'd miss Trump under a President Pence

During his visit to Washington this week, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt made sure he met Vice President Mike Pence.

And for very good reason. Hunt has calculated that Pence may become president within months, considering Donald Trumps increasing problems.If Trump decides to quit the White House  or is forced out  Pence would automatically become Americas 46th president.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt made sure he met Vice President Mike Pence during his visit to Washington

Canny Hunt realises that this might not be good news for Britain.

For all his faults, Trump, whose mother was Scottish, is at heart pro-British. Pence has no such British ancestry.

Whats more, while Trump generally opposes military intervention overseas, Pence is a military hawk.

In future years, we may look back at the good old days of President Trump.

Today marks the first anniversary of the genocide of the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar (formerly Burma). When they started, the British Government averted its gaze from the rapes, killings and mass deportations.

As more details emerge daily of the horrors, I urge the Foreign Office to support calls for Myanmars leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her military chiefs to be referred to the International Criminal Court.OYEZ, OYEZ, OYEZ! I bring news of a new arrival at Nottingham Cottage, the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs love nest at Kensington Palace.

Not a baby  that can wait  but a four-legged creature. I hear that Harry and Meghan have acquired a labrador. The dog is already happily ensconced at their cottage, reveals my man with the monogrammed pooper-scooper.

Like the Sussexes, the dog will divide its time between the palace and their country home in the Cotswolds.

Meghan is said to have had a soft spot for animals since she was a child and rescued Guy and Bogart (pictured) from a dog rescue centre in Los Angeles

A Kensington Palace spokesman declines to comment on the new addition to the Royal Household, so we dont yet know its name or colour.

But lets hope that it provides an adequate replacement for Bogart, the labrador-Shepherd mix that Meghan left behind in Toronto when she moved in with Harry.

She deemed Bogart too old to make the journey from Canada and hes reportedly now being looked after by friends. As well as Bogart, the former actress has a second rescue dog, a beagle called Guy, who was flown over last November.

Guy  who has his own Union flag coat and eats only organic food  is said to have settled in well and can be seen being taken for walks in the palace grounds when its owners are in London. Before Meghan moved to this country, she regularly shared pictures of Bogart and Guy, describing them as my loves.

Its not known if their new pooch is another rescue dog, but Harrys stepmother, the Duchess of Cornwall, could certainly have helped them acquire one as she is Royal Patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Meghan is said to have had a soft spot for animals since she was a child and rescued Guy and Bogart from a dog rescue centre in Los Angeles while she was with her first husband, film producer Trevor Engelson.

He let her take the dogs with her to Canada when she won a role in the hit legal drama Suits and she would take them for long walks in the snowbound local park, returning to cook herself supper.

Two years later, she dumped Engelson, but kept the dogs.

Setting up a charity can be a daunting challenge, but Formula 1 heiress Petra Ecclestone has no problem raising funds.

Billionaire Bernie Ecclestones 29-year-old daughter raised 1.86 million in a year for the Petra Ecclestone Foundation, which aims to help those suffering from autism.

Newly published accounts disclose that her mother, Slavica, donated 57,000, while 1.5 million came from two unnamed trustees. A note in the accounts reports: Funds were raised from the Ecclestone family and a launch dinner attended by friends and contacts.

Tiresome comic John Cleese, who is quitting this country for the Caribbean tax haven Nevis, will leave with his pockets full of cash after paying himself and his daughter, Camilla, more than 250,000.

Their TV company, Waterfall Productions, shelled out that sum in dividends to them last year, new accounts reveal.

The company is so flush it was able to plough 100,000 into another of the Fawlty Towers stars enterprises, Farces Galore.

Ex-model Camilla, 32, who once courted Mr Selfridge star Jeremy Piven, has taken to stand-up comedy and is starring in an Edinburgh Fringe show called Produced By John Cleese, about her father.

Duchess hits the roof

They do things differently at Belvoir (pronounced Beaver), which the Duke of Rutland shares with his Brazilian-born mistress, Andrea Webb, his estranged wife, Emma, and her lover, Phil Burtt. Perhaps thats why the Duchess, 54, escaped to the roof with her youngest daughter

They do things differently at Belvoir (pronounced Beaver), the Leicestershire castle which the Duke of Rutland shares with his Brazilian-born mistress, Andrea Webb, his estranged wife, Emma, and her lover, Phil Burtt. Perhaps thats why the Duchess, 54, escaped to the roof with her youngest daughter, Lady Eliza Manners, 21.

Keep it to yourself but...

A well-known socialite with close ties to the Royal Family was overheard boasting at a Chelsea restaurant that he would be handed envelopes containing 3,000 in cash in return for publicly endorsing projects.Florence Nightingale had a knack for winning people over. It was September 1856 and she had come to Balmoral to meet the Queen to discuss the mismanagement of British forces in Crimea, where she had led a team of nurses.

Florence, then aged 36, was a national heroine and Victoria  just one year her senior  had followed her exploits closely. I envy her being able to do so much good, the Queen admitted. Yet that day, Victoria was unable to keep up the conversation for more than ten minutes before she resorted to calling her husband Albert into the drawing room to help.

As Florence began to expound upon the need for the reform of the Armys medical practice, Victoria watched and listened, while Albert stated in his usual clear, comprehensive way, where, in his opinion, the root of the evil lay. Florence later referred to Victoria as the least self-reliant person she had ever known.

ROMANTIC PORTRAYAL: The couples marriage is viewed as idyllic in TV dramas such as Victoria, starring Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes

Victoria and Alberts marriage is often portrayed as an idyllic love story, but in reality she lived in the shadow of his domineering personality. He encouraged her to believe that she was weak, inadequate and unable to cope without him.

And so strong was her desire to please him that she abdicated most of her responsibilities as monarch to him, even placing his needs above her love for her children. Alberts subjugation of his bride began immediately after their wedding on February 10, 1840. He grumbled to a friend that he was only the husband, and not the master in the house, but he was biding his time before adjusting the balance of power.

He encouraged her to believe that she was weak

His opportunity came when Victoria gave birth to the couples first child  another Victoria, known as Vicky  in November that year. The young Queen had expressed the greatest horror of having children, and would rather have none. But she did enjoy her first daughter. Returning home after a day of engagements, she would rush up to the nursery, where she found dear little Victoria, just out of her bath, looking like such a duck.

This pleasure came at a price. A month after Vickys birth, Alberts secretary George Anson noticed an important advance in the Princes position. Albert had the keys to the boxes that arrived daily, full of Cabinet documents, because everyone had got used to him doing all the ministerial business during the Queens confinement.

After the birth of their child, Victoria wrote that Alberts care was more like that of a mother, nor could there be a kinder, wiser, or more judicious nurse.

In fact, Albert was infantilising his wife. Before their marriage, his letters began Beloved Victoria. But afterwards, he addressed her as Dear Child or Dear Good, Little One.

Oh! If I only could make him King, Victoria exclaimed, for I do so feel & recognise his superiority, & fitness to be such.

Others secretly disagreed, noting that the tone of Alberts official Royal memos gradually hardened. Albert did not really understand the British political situation. He thought that the sovereign was best placed to determine where the nations interest lay.

But the sovereign could only act in tandem with the Government. Albert was decisive, and commanded the detail that often eluded Victoria, but he was not acting in the best interests of a monarchy that worked through influence rather than power.

Victoria and Albert in 1854

Within a decade, Vicky had six siblings. Her tenth birthday in November 1850 was followed by preparations for Christmas at a wintery Windsor Castle  preparations dominated by Alberts German background and taste.

His Christmas trees in particular became celebrated and much emulated. They would grow ever more lavish: by 1860, they were immense, and made to appear as if partially covered with snow.

For Victoria, decorating the tree was a welcome change from a life that was increasingly complex and stormy, with her consort taking ever more the leading role in matters of government.

Her Majesty interests herself less and less about politics, Alberts secretary noted.

Her growing number of children, and her responsibilities towards them, had squeezed all that out of her mind. Instead, she deferred to her husband. If he were away for any reason, Victoria could hardly bear it. I feel lonely without my dear Master, she admitted. I pray God never to let me survive him.

Charles Greville, clerk of the Privy Council, noticed how he is King to all intents and purposes while she has the title, he is really discharging the functions of the Sovereign.

He is King to all intents and purposes

Victoria had made a swift recovery after the birth of her first child, but she struggled after her eldest son Bertie was born in November 1841. My poor nerves, she wrote, were so battered I suffered a whole year from it.

During this episode of severe post-natal depression, Victoria began to see visions, spots on peoples faces, which turned into worms, while coffins floated before her eyes. Even Albert grew worried. The Queen is afraid she is about to lose her mind! he told her obstetrician, Dr Robert Ferguson.

Victoria started to chafe against the inconvenience of being pregnant again so quickly, saying that men never think what a hard task it is for us women to go through this very often.

But it was Alberts wishes that prevailed, insisting that childbirth was a Royal duty. Perhaps, too, he could see that having babies occupied his wife, weighed her down, and allowed him to assume more of her responsibilities.

You have again lost your self-control quite unnecessarily, he would tell her after an argument. I do my duty towards you even though it means that life is embittered by scenes.

In reaction to such admonishment and to avoid his anger, Victoria gradually began to check her feelings. As a result, she began to love her children a little less.

Where she had once rushed home to see Vicky being bathed, it was a ritual she witnessed only once in three months perhaps with the younger children.

In a letter to one of her daughters she revealed she thought of maternity as the shadow side of life. In their rows over their children, Albert could be bitter, devastating and unfair. Victorias doctor, Dr James Clark, he once claimed, had not looked after their daughter Vicky correctly: He has mismanaged the child and poisoned her with calomel and you have starved her if she dies you will have it on your conscience.

In his defence, Albert had been just 22 when Vicky was born and living in a strange country. Yet these are not the words of the wise, kind, generous paragon that Victoria paints for us in almost every single one of the many words she was to write about him.

Indeed, she constantly excused her husband. My chief and great anxiety is  peace in the House God only knows how I love him, she wrote on the day of that particular outburst. His position is difficult, heaven knows, and we must do everything to make it easier.

It is striking that this was a woman whose courtiers had once thought indomitably self-willed. I suppose, Victoria reflected, no one ever was so completely altered in every way.

In becoming King in all but name, Albert had created a Sisyphean task for himself. Matters of state dominated the time when he wasnt with his wife and children. And he gradually began to sink under the weight of his self-imposed burden. Victorias children understood they came second best to Albert  and in consequence they grew up an unruly and dysfunctional lot. Albert wanted them to meet his own high moral and intellectual standards, and when his dullard sons Bertie and Alfred did not meet the mark, their father tried to beat his requirements into them.

As a result, Bertie gave up even trying. Even his mother complained about his systematic idleness, laziness  disregard of everything. Victoria feared her son would never be fit for his position.

Disaster struck in 1861 when, aged 19, Bertie lost his virginity to Nellie Clifden, a woman historians describe as an actress. The liaison became a matter of public scandal, with Albert declaring that his son had sunk into vice & debauchery deception & profligacy. In contrast, Albert doted on Vicky  she had inherited his cerebral, logical nature, rather than her mothers passion and emotion.

Albert died from what was believed to be typhoid fever on December 14, 1861, leaving Victoria distraught. She would come to blame his death on the anxiety caused by Berties misbehaviour.

Just a day before the dreaded tenth anniversary of Alberts death, a doctor was called out to Sandringham, where Bertie  later to become Edward VII  appeared to be suffering from typhoid fever himself.

The coincidence of the dates, Victoria wrote in her journal, filled us & I believe the whole country with anxious forebodings and the greatest alarm.

By now, some thought Victoria had grown incapable of doing her job. Shed been almost incoherent with grief since Alberts death, remaining in mourning, taking the decision never to wear colour again. She had never even taken the trouble to visit her sons home at Sandringham until reports came in of Berties worsening condition.

Despite his marriage to Alexandra of Denmark, Bertie was still running around with the womanising swells who had introduced him to Nellie. His behaviour did not play well with public opinion. By the time he became ill, relationships within the Royal Family had become so strained that Berties doctors thought he should be shielded from Victorias presence.

Throughout the day, the nation expected Berties death to be announced. Many millions, claimed The Times, are watching at a distance by this bedside.

Albert's attacks became bitter and devasting

But that evening, Bertie seemed to rally. That lady, he whispered, is very like the Queen.

It is the Queen, said his doctor William Gull.

Its Mama, she said. Dear child.

Dont sit here for me, Bertie wheezed.

The gasping between each word was most distressing, Victoria wrote. But her son had understood that his mother was present.

As he began to recover, Victoria realised that, perhaps after all, she did love her wayward child. And her subjects surprised themselves by how much they minded so nearly losing the Prince of Wales.

There have been daily beautiful articles in the papers, Victoria wrote. Even at rock bottom, when her doctors had thought she would go mad with grief, Victoria had spoken of endurance and now, it seemed, a change of heart was under way.

She was determined, she wrote, that as a widow no one person, may he be ever so good is to lead, or guide, or dictate to me.

She was saying that no one would ever again have the mastery over her that Albert had possessed. And she was right. From now on, she stood, and ruled, alone.

With Berties illness, Victorias return to the self she had lost in Albert had begun.Relaxed and affable with an easy Brummie charm, Adrian Chiles is one of our most high-profile TV and radio presenters  so his admission this week that his life is built around alcohol understandably made headlines.

During one of his regular boozy sessions, hed consumed four pints of Guinness, four bottles of beer, a glass of champagne and five glasses of wine. His intake after being sacked from ITVs Daybreak in 2011 was the equivalent of six pints of Guinness a day.

In his tell-all interview with Radio Times to promote a BBC2 documentary, Drinkers Like Me (in which he promises to cut down), I was struck by one thing in particular: that while he accepted he was undoubtedly dependent on alcohol, the word alcoholic is outdated, he said  implying, presumably, that he did not see himself as one.

Adrian Chiles admission this week that his life is built around alcohol made headlines

During one of his regular boozy sessions, hed consumed four pints of Guinness

Well, Im sorry, Adrian, but from what Ive read, you are. And youre not alone in accepting you have a problem while perhaps rejecting the label of alcoholic.

We think of alcoholics as chaotic individuals in a state of perpetual inebriation. The down-and-outs in the park, or the person who needs a stiff drink before breakfast to stop their hands shaking.

Well, not always. Over the many years (and I am not now commenting on Chiles personally) Ive worked in drug and alcohol services and seen countless professionals, men and women, who appear to have it all  yet every night they go home and essentially drug themselves up with booze.

They are high-functioning alcoholics, rarely seen to be drunk in any loutish way. But those glasses of wine over lunch, the pint in the pub after work, the G&T when they get home and then a glass or two of whatever is already open  well, theyve become a habit, and clocking up 100 units a week, like Chiles admitted (the recommended limit is 14), is far from unusual.

Ive counselled many such people, all of whom tell me the same thing: Yes, I know I drink too much, doctor, but no way am I an alcoholic.

Chiles, like many of those I see in clinic, hasnt got to the stage where hes physically dependent  when the body is reliant on alcohol and you get the shakes, or suffer seizures, if you dont drink. But this is just one aspect of alcoholism. It is the psychological dependency that so often proves harder to treat than the physical addiction  the inability to get through the day or to function in any social environment without a drink in your hand.

In recent years, some doctors and psychologists have eschewed the word alcoholic in favour of euphemistic terms such as problem drinker or alcohol dependent, which is how Chiles describes himself.

This isnt helpful. Calling someone an alcoholic is harsh, but it helps to hammer home the reality and can be the wake-up call they need to change behaviour.

Chronic heavy drinking is the cause of many health problems, from liver disease and brain damage to cancer. It destroys careers and devastates families  and it shortens lives.

Thats a message that shouldnt be sugar-coated.

Why I tell patients that their pills are expensive

Ive long been fascinated by the placebo effect in medicine, the psychological phenomenon whereby a patients condition improves after taking a remedy that has no known therapeutic effect  simply because they expect it to make them better.

Studies show that between 20 and 30 per cent of patients given such a dummy-pill will report improvements.

Its a perfect illustration of the power of the mind  and of how little we understand about its interaction with the body.

We already know that blue pills are more effective than red ones at treating mental health conditions because patients consider blue to be more calming and relaxing.

And if Im prescribing an expensive drug, I often tell the patient what it costs, because studies show that the placebo effect is greater when a patient feels there is financial investment in their treatment.

In a new book, Dr Wayne Jonas, a professor of medicine at Georgetown University in Washington DC, says his research shows that for a treatment to have the optimum effect, a doctor must emotionally connect with a patient  not just understand their symptoms, but also what the diagnosis means to the person.

In other words, the patient has to feel the doctor really cares.

This is something that all doctors can do  and its yet another reason for patients to see the same GP or consultant through the course of their treatment.

Unfortunately, thats a rarity in the modern NHS.

Getting smokers to vape will save lives

Almost everyone has a view on e-cigarettes  and even more so following the publication of several recent studies suggesting vaping isnt without risk.

A study of 70,000 people has linked e-cigarettes to an increased risk of heart attack in those vaping daily, while in other research changes in DNA in the mouth has raised the possibility of a link to cancer.

In my view, the evidence for the harmful effects of e-cigs is far from conclusive, and it will be some years before we know what the long-term consequences are.

In the meantime, we know exactly what smoking does to the body and I doubt e-cigs will come close.

A study of 70,000 people has linked e-cigarettes to an increased risk of heart attack in those vaping daily

Im a former smoker, but have never vaped myself, although Ive seen how effective e-cigs are in helping my patients quit. Wed be mad not to make use of this.

A report from the Commons Science and Technology Committee recommends relaxing licensing and advertising rules so that the health benefits of e-cigarettes can be actively promoted.

I completely agree with that view, and disagree with EU murmurings that regulation of the e-cigarette market is needed. Smoking kills 200 people a day in the UK. Its the number one cause of preventable deaths  and 20 per cent of the population still smokes.

Thats 20 per cent too many, and it is an important public health issue because smoking most heavily impacts the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in society.

So if you are a smoker, switch to e-cigarettes. Short of quitting altogether, its the best thing you can do for your health.

SO now we know. Coconut oil is not the super-food its been hailed as, but is actually one of the worst things you can eat. According to Professor Karin Michels, a Harvard epidemiologist, its worse than lard in terms of saturated fat content. Which confirms my belief that many super-foods are just fashionable fads.

No single food is the key to good health. Instead, as my gran used to say: Everything in moderation, Max . . .



It was claimed by the charity Birthrights this week that women requesting a C-section  often with good reason, perhaps because of a previous traumatic birth  are denied the procedure by more than three-quarters of NHS trusts and are met with judgmental attitudes, barriers and disrespect. For goodness sake why? Ive assisted at numerous C-sections as well as natural births. Yes, C-sections might cost more, but theyre quick and can be a lot less stressful for mother and baby. If a woman wants a vaginal delivery, then good for her. But the increasingly militant natural birth is best brigade should back off on those who dont.Q. Two years ago, at 48, I started the peri-menopause and immediately had burning sensations in my mouth, intermittently. My dentist advised me to go to the doctor but all my blood tests came back normal. I read about something called burning mouth syndrome; could that be my problem?

A. Burning mouth syndrome is a common but poorly understood condition. Typically sufferers feel a scalding within the mouth, and/or cheeks, tongue and lips  similar to after drinking a burning hot drink  and the feeling occurs either continuously or intermittently. It may also come with an unpleasant taste or a dryness of the mouth.

The condition is distressing, causing persistent discomfort and interruption of normal daily functions such as drinking and eating. The condition is labelled as harmless, despite the significant emotional burden.

Burning mouth syndrome is a common but poorly understood condition. Typically sufferers feel a scalding within the mouth, and/or cheeks, tongue and lips  similar to after drinking a burning hot drink  and the feeling occurs either continuously or intermittently. (File image)

Commonly, burning mouth syndrome affects women around the time of the menopause, possibly due to the change in hormones. But the reason is not completely clear and it can also affect men.

The cause of burning mouth syndrome is not known: the syndrome is simply a description of the symptoms rather than a specific pathological process. It is associated with mental health problems such as anxiety and depression; other mouth problems such as infections or dental issues; allergic reactions; vitamin deficiencies and it can also be the side effect of medications or poorly fitting dentures. There is no test that can specifically diagnose the condition.

Treatment is difficult if the cause remains unidentified. Mouthwashes may provide some relief and chewing gum and plain water help ease the accompanying dryness.

Q. I was diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia a couple of years ago and have been prescribed both carbamazepine and gabapentine, but neither of them solve the horrendous, agonising headaches I still experience daily.

A. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is often described as the worst pain known to man, having a severe and debilitating effect on those affected. The trigeminal nerve controls sensation in the face and vital movements such as chewing.

TN affects one side of the face with a sudden acute pain which sufferers describe as like an electric shock to the area. The pain comes in attacks, and during bad episodes hundreds of bursts of pain may occur intermittently in one day, with no predictable pattern. It is an extremely distressing condition associated with depression, isolation and a very poor quality of life.

The NICE guidelines for treatment of TN recommends the epilepsy medication carbamazepine as the first drug of choice and this can be prescribed by a GP. It is thought to help 70 per cent of patients and has a good initial response.

It does have side effects, including difficulties with concentration and fatigue, but it may be a necessary evil when weighed up with the benefits of treating the condition.

If medication is not effective, surgery can either partially destroy the nerve, or move blood vessels away from the nerve and decompress it.

This is considered major surgery but is thought to offer the best results in terms of long-term relief. However, it is brain surgery, and brings potentially significant side effects.

I'm backing Strictly's dancing doctor

This Mornings Dr Ranj Singh (above) has spoken openly on his insecurities about his appearance, and hes facing this head on by strutting his stuff in front of the nation

Ill be tuning into Strictly for the first time this year, cheering on my good friend, This Mornings Dr Ranj Singh.

Hes spoken openly on his insecurities about his appearance, and hes facing this head on by strutting his stuff in front of the nation.

As an NHS paediatrician Ranj is the real deal in an age of phoney health experts and celebrity gurus dishing out spurious advice.

Hes also setting a great example for everyone to get off the sofa and move!

Trust your judgment on alcohol, not these contradictory reports

Results of a new, landmark study hit the headlines last week when we were told: no amount of alcohol consumption is safe.

The research, published in esteemed journal The Lancet, found that despite the small protective effect of moderate drinking against heart disease, the overwhelming risks of cancer and other diseases outweighs any small potential benefit.

This may seem confusing given that earlier this year a different paper suggested that teetotallers were more at risk of heart attacks and dementia than anyone else.

Like anything, the only way to assess if your habits are unhealthy is to be honest with yourself and your GP. If you like an occasional small glass of wine with dinner  enjoy, says Dr Ellie

But of course teetotallers may avoid alcohol due to existing health problems that add to their risks. It is not simple.

Do you have a question for Dr Ellie Cannon? Email DrEllie@mailonsunday.co.uk or write to Health, The Mail on Sunday, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT. Dr Ellie can only answer in a general context and cannot respond to individual cases, or give personal replies. If you have a health concern, always consult your own GP. Advertisement

Similarly, a report this week associated the use of e-cigarettes with heart attacks. I would be wary at this stage of this conclusion too  most vapers are life-long smokers who are trying to cut down. Their increased health risks are not the result simply of e-cigarettes, but decades of smoking tobacco.

Like anything, the only way to assess if your habits are unhealthy is to be honest with yourself and your GP.

If you like an occasional small glass of wine with dinner  enjoy.

We have known for a long time that the risks of alcohol increase the more you drink. If youre polishing off half a bottle of wine most nights, you should try to cut down. But then again, you dont need a scientific study to tell you that.

The tragic story of Essex mother-of-four Kate Jones, who died suddenly as a result of a routine heart test, made for worrying reading.

Kates husband took her to hospital for what he thought would be a perfectly safe X-ray of her blood vessels  only to return home a widower. Heartbreaking.

But an angiogram, which involves a thin tube being inserted into the artery and threaded into the heart, is not without risk. While almost all are trouble-free, there are rare and potentially serious complications: a one-in-1,000 chance of a stroke, for example.

Doctors discuss the risks of medications with patients; they always need to be weighed up against the benefits. The same is true for investigations. X-rays or ultrasounds should only be performed if vital information is to be gleaned and patients are aware of the risks.

Risks may not just be physical  sometimes finding harmless lumps or growths on scans can cause no end of worry, not to mention necessitating further testing or even treatment.

This is why if youve ever asked your GP for blood tests just to check everything is OK, they will usually say no.Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Trump lashed out again at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying he lets "real corruption" go untouched while special counsel Robert Mueller's team is "having a field day."

Trump appeared to be responding to an unusual statement by the attorney general this week defending himself against the presidents attacks, with Sessions saying: "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."

The president shot back in a tweet Saturday morning that Sessions "doesn't understand what is happening" beneath him. The tweet reiterated the president's attack on the special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election as politically motivated and a distraction from "real corruption."

The president also quoted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said this week that he thinks the president may fire Sessions and appoint a new attorney general, though the senator said he hopes that won't happen until after the November midterms.

In another tweet Saturday morning, the president pounced on reports that his former lawyer and confidante, Michael Cohen, testified to Congress last year that he didn't know if Trump knew in advance about an infamous 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer connected to the Kremlin, according to an interview in Axios with Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis. "I did not know about the meeting," Trump said in the tweet.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.Feasting outdoors calls for a stellar line-up of tasty vino that wont break the bank

Ahoy! On the day this is published youll find me pouring lashings of ice cold Tio Pepe sherry to the gathered crowds at CarFest, the festival organised by Chris Evans supporting Children In Need.

Aside from the splendid line-up of bands, motors, rides and activities plus merch from the Frothy Coffee Man himself, theres top grub by chefs and TV stars from Raymond Blanc to Candice Brown. Feasting outdoors calls for a stellar line-up of tasty vino that wont break the bank, so Ive prepared an all-star line-up of drinks that are perfect with picnics.

Packaging in wine is finally becoming more inventive, simple and portable. If youre eating al fresco it makes life a heck of a lot easier  especially when youve forgotten to pack a corkscrew. bibwine.co.uk has launched a range of decent quality bag in box wines, M&S has its tasty 20cl Petit Voyage travel size wines, with detachable plastic cups for 3, and Waitrose has brand new wines in cans  check out Maris Organic Shiraz (13.5%) in a 25cl can for 3.49  stick in the cool bag and serve it chilled to enhance its fruity character.

Traditional bottles abound of course, and if theres a Spar near you, its Legendary Malbec 2016 (12%) is 7.50, offering a lighter, scented Malbec that works a treat with cold roast beef sandwiches.

But for the pinnacle of picnic reds, Beaujolais is the best bet for me, and one of my wines of the year is Morgon, Cote du Py, Jean Marc Burgaud 2016 (14%), 12.95 from bbr.com (30 per cent off till Friday).

Its a richer, fuller, Beaujolais that delivers the wow factor and beyond. Elsewhere, regional France offers decent bargains, bubbly from Italy in the guise of crowd-pleasing Prosecco should be in your basket too, but stick Spain at the top of your list for wines with stunning character under a tenner.

And if youre after a spirit that requires no mixer, Empirical from Copenhagen is the most inventive Ive ever tasted  find it online at empiricalspirits.co (I love its Fallen Pony for sheer summery-scented splendour). Grab a bottle and book your place to party via carfest.org next year!And so, the blind date with T. The man I met four years ago at a book signing, and who emailed to say that, now Im shot of David, he wants to make me happy.

Its not in my nature to not make an effort, so I did. Gucci handkerchief skirt, Bottega heels  both so old they have now tipped into vintage  and a white T-shirt from Peacocks. Sisley primer. An email: The eagle has landed in London. Then another: The eagle is in the nest! Oh God, hes here.

I arrived at Locanda Locatelli, with Mini in tow, ten minutes late. I wasnt nervous, which is not like me at all. As I stood at the desk, I saw him in the bar, scrambling to his feet. Hes tall with silver hair, and was wearing chinos, a shirt and blazer. It would turn out he is two years younger than me, but he seemed very adult, very grown-up. A man, not a boy at all.

He followed me to our table. I hate people following me: minus one Brownie point! I took off my jacket and he asked for a bowl of water for Mini: plus one Brownie point!

He removed a gift from a carrier bag: a small pot of roses for the table. No one has brought flowers to a restaurant for dinner since my future husband turned up for one of our first dates in Shoreditch with a bunch of red calla lilies. Its embarrassing, flowers at dinner. What on earth do you do with them?

We chatted, looked at the menu, and the maitre d came over. Hi Liz, not seen you for a while, he said. T said he hoped we would be back many times. I could tell he fancied me: men get a glimmer in their eyes. He told me about his late wife, his two children. He was perfectly nice, but sadly not for me.

You like a bad boy, he said later, clearly sensing my disinterest. Youre still in love with David.

Im not, I said. Though as the evening wore on, I realised I probably am. T is perfectly dapper and nice, but he is not David. For all his faults, David and I have a history. He knew me when I was in my 20s. He was able to make my stomach churn with desire. He has an edge to him. He is not ordinary.

After our meal, I said I was walking back to my hotel across the square. Poor T had booked a hotel somewhere. I will walk with you, he said. I forgot to pick up the flowers. They are probably still there, wilting.

At the door of the hotel (Home House, a private members club so discreet there is no sign to say its even there), he suggested a drink. So we went into the bar and ordered. I started picturing my pyjamas. I was desperate to return to Sarah Waters The Little Stranger. Mini, also tired, clambered on to the old sofa and was told by a waitress to get down. It was now 11.30pm and I was exhausted. I said I had to take Mini for a walk, so would say goodnight and pop to my room to change out of my shoes.

I can wait, he said.

No. Please dont. I might be ages. Shes a collie, she needs to go for miles!

I stood up to leave and he gave me a peck on the cheek. And that was that. The date going nowhere wasnt his fault, of course. I am notoriously hard to please. But heres the thing, and Im ashamed to admit it. How could he think I would want to go out with him? Ive just been telling Nic, whos been on tenterhooks about the evening. Its like me emailing Brad Pitt, saying now hes shot of old droopy drawers, how about it?

I know I shouldnt say that, but its true. After a lifetime of feeling not good enough, I finally know my worth.

The next day, he sent an email, thanking me for my company. I guess my journey home was easier than yours as I let the train take the strain. What will you tell Nic about last night?

I havent had the heart to reply.

That evening, slumped on the sofa at last, I got a text. It was from David. He must have some sort of sixth senseFor dog-lovers who want to pamper their pets while they travel, Land Rover has launched a new range of canine accessories - including a portable shower and mobile kennel.

And your pooch doesn't actually have to be called Rover to enjoy the add-ons designed to leave man's best friend in the lap of paw-by-paw luxury whether on or off the road.

The Pet Packs, costing from 360.37, include accessories such as a spill-resistant water bowl, an access ramp, a foldable mobile pet carrier kennel, a specially tailored quilted load space liner to protect against paw prints and a portable shower system to get rid of the muck after muddy walks.

It's a dog's life: Land Rover has launched a new range of accessories for its cars - but they're not for the owner to enjoy; it's for their canine friends

The new accessories are being launched ahead of International Dog Appreciation Day on Sunday 26 August and take account of the fact that nearly half of all Land Rover and Range Rover owners are also dog owners.

That's roughly double the rate of UK households owning a dog, which stands at around a quarter (26 per cent).

The portable shower - or 'rinse' - system holds up to 6.5-litres of water and delivers up to five minutes of continuous flow depending on which of the five spray settings is being used.

A spokesman for the British car brand said: 'It is ideal for washing your pet or rinsing off wetsuits or muddy bikes.'

The foldable pet access ramp is perfect for helping older or smaller dogs into the rear load space without the need to lift them and is capable of supporting up to 85kg  which is the average weight of a man.

The ramp features aluminium side panels and a plastic centre section with a high grip tread pattern and rubber feet to prevent it from slipping.

The new accessory pack includes a portable 'rinse' system for your dog

The system holds up to 6.5-litres of water and delivers up to five minutes of continuous flow depending on which of the five spray settings is being used

It's designed for owners who take their dogs on long walks through the countryside and want to wash the dirt off before letting them in their 50,000 SUV

The foldable pet carrier kennel provides a safe and comfortable way for dogs to travel once they are inside the vehicle.

It features a lightweight metal frame, quilted fabric cushion and net windows and is available alongside the 350ml spill-resistant water bowl.

Land Rover explained: 'The bowl's practical design features a large lip and anti-slip rubber base to prevent water from escaping on everything but the roughest terrain.'

Finally, the premium quilted load space liner is designed to protect the floor, rear seat backs and side wall carpets from muddy paw prints.

The standard Pet Transportation Pack costs 360.37 and includes the carrier, water bowl and load space rubber mat.

The Pet Load Space Protection Pack is more expensive at 482, but you also get the quilted load space liner and full-height luggage partition.

But the comprehensive Pet Care and Access Pack - which costs an eye-watering 887.56 - adds the ramp and shower system.

This portable dog carrier kennel is designed to be a comfortable spot for man's best friend. This dog doesn't look all that impressed, though

Anti-spill bowls mean your dog can quench his or her thirst while your driving along without the contents going over the boot carpet

The ramp system is part of the most expensive pack, which costs almost 900

Land Rover's product marketing director Finbar McFall: 'Land Rover is all about enjoying the great outdoors and that goes hand-in-hand with dog ownership for many customers.

'Our customers told us that the comfort of their dogs on car journeys is crucial. They are part of the family and we recognise that.

'Our new Pet Packs will allow dogs to travel in real comfort and make journeys simpler and more relaxing for animals and at the same time protect the inside of owners' vehicles.'

The new Land Rover pet accessories are available for the Discovery Sport, Discovery, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover models.

The pet accessories are available for the Discovery Sport, Discovery, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Velar, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover models

Also available is a quilted load space liner and full-height luggage partition, as seen here

The British car maker says it has created the pack because nearly half of all Land Rover and Range Rover owners are also dog owners - which is almost double the national average

In June Mazda's 24,368 CX-5 SUV has been crowned the most dog-friendly car by What Car? magazine.

A panel of readers conducted 'real world' trials considering the size and accessibility of the boot, interior air-flow, and durability of the interior.

Land Rover's Discovery was among five other short-listed cars including the Suzuki Vitara, Skoda Octavia Estate, Skoda Superb Estate, and Mercedes E-Class Estate.

Nathalie Ingham, canine behaviourist and training manager at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, said: 'Not all dogs enjoy travelling  just like humans, some can get frightened or even car sick, so it's worth taking time to make sure your car is a familiar and cosy place for them.'As a Class B drug, cannabis is illegal in the UK for both medical and recreational use.

But that could soon change  at least thats what three listed investment funds focused on medical marijuana are hoping.

Sativa Investments, which takes its name from one of the most common strains of cannabis plant, High Growth Capital, which has the apt stock market ticker of HASH, and Ananda Developments all listed on the UKs Nex Exchange earlier this year.

Each is banking on the idea that the Government will legalise medical marijuana use, triggering a modern-day gold rush as companies flood the new market.

Tom Stevenson, from fund manager Fidelity Internationals personal investing division, says: I think the potential for the market is absolutely enormous.

In Canada, which is the only G7 country to legalise cannabis both medically and recreationally, the market is read as being bigger than the market for wine. In America, more is spent on recreational cannabis than ice cream.

Geremy Thomas, Sativas boss, was staggered by the amount of money flowing through the Canadian market.

Convinced there was money to be made, his next step was looking into the likelihood government policy on the drugs might change. And there has been, he says, a sea-change in public opinion.

This has largely been down to six-year-old Alfie Dingley and 12-year-old Billy Caldwell, who galvanised public opinion when it was revealed the cannabis oil used to treat their severe epileptic seizures had been denied by officials and confiscated at border control respectively.

After temporary licences were granted allowing both boys access to their medication, the Government announced a review into the use of medical marijuana, which will be published in October.

Thomas, who has been in conversation with the medicines regulator and the Home Office, says he has high hopes the review will recommend a doctor-led, prescription-based system.

Though there are signs legalisation is coming, there are few companies in the UK which will allow investors to get on board.

In the five months since it listed in March, Sativa has already sought out one example  making an investment in Phytovista Laboratories in Somerset.

Based in the village of Beckington, the firm tests products which contain hemp, derived from cannabis, and cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive marijuana compound which is already legal.

Green gold: In Canada, which is the only G7 country to legalise cannabis both medically and recreationally, the market is read as being bigger than the market for wine

Malcolm Burne, the entrepreneur who chairs High Growth Capital, added that there will probably be other opportunities to invest in cannabis through distribution or cultivation businesses which pop up.

Some, however, may lump the companies in with the likes of tobacco and gambling businesses as sin stocks.

But Thomas argues that the cannabis businesses of the future will be different to the illegitimate-joint-in-the-park image marijuana is tied to.

Sativa has also created a foundation which awards grants to university research teams trying to fill the gaps in understanding cannabis.

But for those investors who cant lay claim to a multi-million-pound bank account, Fidelitys Stevenson advises caution: These investment companies are very much one-product companies.

That increases the risk of investing in them, so they should be a very small part of any portfolio.

All eyes will now, however, be on the Government as it prepares to make its next move.Slump: Sales at fashion chain Gap have fallen 5%

FASHION FLOP Clothes retailer Gap floundered after it revealed sales fell more than expected in the second quarter of the year.

Chief executive Art Peck called the performance unacceptable, as comparable in-store sales under the Gap brand slid 5 per cent. Shares in the US-listed company tumbled.

ARMY CONTRACT Outsourcer Serco has signed a contract worth around 75million with the Australian Defence Force, beginning in January.

Serco provide services such as catering, waste disposal, facilities and ground maintenance, laundry, and welfare services to the ADFs Joint Logistics Command, mainly in the UAE.

RETAIL ROUT The average retail share price has dived 12 per cent over the past three months according to analysts at Peel Hunt.

The broker said the retail backdrop remained torrid amid hundreds of store closures and firms going bust.

STEAK SAVIOURS Banking groups Investec and SC Lowy are close to buying Argentinian steak chain Gaucho out of administration. According to City AM, the banks have acquired Gauchos debt.

FUND BOOST Norways trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund should continue to invest in oil and gas firms, according to a report commissioned by the countrys government.

Shares of European oil and gas companies fell last November when the funds manager, the countrys central bank Norges Bank, announced its proposal to cut the exposure of the fund.

STRIKE ACTION Workers on Totals oil and gas rigs in the North Sea will down tools next month in a series of strikes over working rotas after talks to avert the strikes broke down this week.

RIG DEAL Engineer Rolls-Royce has been hired to provide engines for an offshore drilling rig for Awilco Drilling in Singapore.Procter & Gamble is targeting millennials by launching soaps, air fresheners and detergents called LOL and WTF.

The consumer goods giant, which owns Pampers, Fairy Liquid and Lenor, has reportedly applied to trademark the phrases commonly used in social media.

LOL (laugh out loud) soap bars, WTF (what the f***) air fresheners and NBD (no big deal) detergents could soon be found on the shelves of supermarket aisles alongside brands such as Dove, Febreze and Daz.

Fairy Liquid owner Procter & Gamble is targeting millennials with product names based on social media jargon

It is the latest attempt by a company to lure younger shoppers which are being won over by trendy and ethical smaller brands and online retailers.

This week Laura Ashley revealed it was revamping its furniture range in favour of modern Scandinavian-style sofas and armchairs, while High Street stalwart Debenhams has started putting parcel pick-up points in stores where online shoppers can pick up their orders.

According to magazine Ad Age, P&G registered the trademark applications with the US and Patent Trademark Office in April.

Last year American billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz who sits on P&Gs board said the firm needed to update its image.TSB insists the departure of three executives has nothing to do with April's IT disaster

Three senior bosses are leaving crisis-hit TSB as it tries to recover from an IT fiasco.

Marketing boss Nigel Gilbert, treasurer Ian Firth and human resources director Rachel Lock will all have left the bank by the end of November.

It insisted their leaving had nothing to do with the IT disaster starting in April that saw up to 1.9m customers unable to access their online accounts and payments going astray.

Chief executive Paul Pester faced calls to step down during the crisis which has so far cost parent Sabadell around 200million and pushed TSB to a half-year 107million loss.

The Financial Conduct Authority is investigating the bank over the problems which happened as it tried to move to an online system designed by Sabadell.

Pester refused to step down despite MPs saying they had lost confidence in his ability to lead the bank.

He said yesterday he was 'incredibly grateful for everything' the departing trio had done to support TSB.

Pete Markey, TSB's marketing director, will succeed Gilbert as chief marketing officer, while deputy treasurer Alison Straszewski will be promoted to treasurer.Housebuilders were on rocky foundations yesterday after poor mortgage data set investors alarm bells ringing.

Industry figures from UK Finance gave the housebuilding sector a double-whammy knock  the number of mortgages approved for new homes dropped in July, while net mortgage lending hit a five-month low.

Persimmon, the UKs largest listed housebuilder, ended the day down 1.4 per cent, or 35p, at 2454p.

Industry figures from UK Finance show the number of mortgages approved for new homes dropped in July, while net mortgage lending hit a five-month low

It was closely followed by its rivals Taylor Wimpey, which slipped 1.5 per cent, or 2.6p, to 168.8p, and Barratt Developments, which fell 0.8 per cent, or 4.6p, to 541.8p.

The smaller players cemented losses too, as the FTSE 250s Crest Nicholson (2.6 per cent, or 10.2p, to 387.4p), Bovis Homes (1.6p per cent, or 18p, to 1122p) and McCarthy & Stone (1.4 per cent, or 1.6p, to 111p) all limped lower.

But the weakening from the likes of Taylor Wimpey was not enough to pull the FTSE 100 down at the end of the week, as it closed 0.2 per cent, or 14.27 points higher, at 7,577.49 points.

Miners propped up the blue-chip index as they benefited from a weaker US dollar, which makes commodities prices more attractive to investors.

Stock Watch - Bahamas Petroleum Oil and gas exploration company Bahamas Petroleum had its worst day on the stock market in its 14-year listed history, plunging 68.8 per cent, or 4.37p, to 1.98p. The firm admitted an agreement it had with a major international oil company to review its projects in the Bahamas had fallen through. Investors had hoped the exclusivity agreement could lead to a deal between Bahamas Petroleum and the unnamed oil giant, to help fund its first exploration well.

Antofagasta racked up a 3.6 per cent, or 28.6p gain, to close at 833.6p, as Glencore (3.3 per cent, or 10.25p, to 320.75p) and Anglo American (2.5 per cent, or 39p, to 1575p) followed hot on its heels.

Pharmaceuticals giant Shire also injected some life into the index, as it climbed 2 per cent, or 90.5p, to 4513p.

Investors were welcoming the USs Food and Drug Administrations decision to approve Shires Takhzyro drug, which is used to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema, a disease which causes swelling of the body parts and which can be fatal.

The green light was welcome news for Shires Japanese rival Takeda, which is set to buy the firm in a 46billion deal if competition regulators approve.

Its shares also crept up by 2.1 per cent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, as analysts at investment bank Jefferies predicted the Takhzyro drug could generate peak worldwide sales of 1.4billion.

Meanwhile, it was another day of volatility at newspaper owner Johnston Press. On Thursday shares in the owner of The Scotsman and The I rocketed 56.2 per cent as an unusually large number of trades occurred.

The flurry of activity prompted speculation that a new investor was hoovering up shares on the sly. The trend continued yesterday as another 1.6m shares changed hands, compared to just 1.3m in the whole of last week.

However this time the activity pushed Johnstons shares down by 4 per cent, or 0.22p, to 5.23p.

Sweetener maker Purecircle recovered slightly after battling through a bitter four-day decline, which wiped 25.9 per cent or 183million off its market value.

The company reassured observers that this was not a case of insider trading, where people who have access to secret information trade on that knowledge to make a profit.

Purecircle said: The directors are not aware of any price sensitive information about the company which has yet to be disclosed.

Its shares rose yesterday by 5 per cent, or 15p, to 315p.

South African coal miner Bisichi Minings shares steamed ahead on the back of strong half-year results.

Earnings were up 271.4 per cent to 5.2million, while profit before tax rocketed from 0.2million to 4million, lifting the companys stock by 12.7 per cent, or 13p, to 115p.

It has come under fire from shareholders recently for the pay awarded to chief executive Andrew Heller, who last year pocketed just under 900,000 from his job  almost 10 per cent of the companys 11million stock market value.This is the moment police intervened at a Parliamentary meeting hosted by Jeremy Corbyn where Israel was described as 'evil' and a Jewish woman said she was called a 'piece of sh**'.

The unrest began when a British Jewish member of the audience complained that she had not been allowed to challenge the speakers' anti-Israel views. 'You're trying to shut everybody else up, in the house of commons that we fought for,' she said.

Corbyn refused to accept her questions and tried to close the meeting. Then it descended into chaos. On the video, one woman cries: 'The Holocaust issue, Jeremy. Why? Why do you do this? Why?' She then adds ironically, 'I like Jeremy Corbyn.'

A Jewish lady is then seen complaining to a police officer that she had been called 'filthy names' and 'a piece of sh**' as anger spilled over.

On the panel were three politicians who were suspended from their parties on charges of anti-Semitism, including the former Labour peer Lord Ahmed, who blamed a Jewish conspiracy for his driving conviction.

The two other disgraced politicians were Jenny Tonge and David Ward, both of whom were expelled from the Liberal Democrats for allegedly anti-Semitic remarks.

Jeremy Corbyn, left, tries to prevent a Jewish audience member from speaking after the event

A policeman, left, hears a complaint from a Jewish woman that she was called 'filthy names'

Jeremy Corbyn, centre, speaks at the event, where three politicians spoke who had been suspended on charges of anti-Semitism

The new footage of the rowdy meeting in Parliament emerges after Corbyn was reported to the MPs standards watchdog for causing significant damage to the reputation and integrity of the House of Commons.

It raises questions about the Labour leaders use of parliamentary facilities over many years.

In the past he has provocatively offered to bring Islamic extremists and IRA terrorists to tea on the terrace of the House of Commons, and has hosted numerous events there where extremists made speeches.

The event, which took place in 2013, was sponsored by the Palestine Return Centre, which also staged the conference where Corbyn said that British Zionists had 'no sense of English irony', as MailOnline revealed last week.

The footage has sparked a fresh row which reportedly led Labour MP Mike Gapes to tell colleagues on Thursday that it was 'over' and he was leaving the party. He did not deny the claim when approached by MailOnline.

Mr Gapes, who earlier called Mr Corbyn a 'racist antisemite', is said to have posted in a WhatsApp group on Thursday to say he would leave the party, adding: 'all that remains is the timing of my announcement'.

In a statement released on Friday evening, Mr Corbyn said he had been defending the ambassador from 'what I thought were deliberate misrepresentations' by people 'for whom English was a first language, when it isn't for the ambassador'.

He said: 'I described those pro-Israel activists as Zionists, in the accurate political sense and not as a euphemism for Jewish people  and that is made clear in the rest of my speech that day.

'I am now more careful with how I might use the term 'Zionist' because a once self-identifying political term has been increasingly hijacked by anti-Semites as code for Jews.'

Far-right leaders backed Mr Corbyn with former BNP leader Nick Griffin and the former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke posting supportive messages.

'Go Jezza! I wonder how many Labour activists the hysterical Zionist media campaign against Corbyn is re-pilling?' Mr Griffin wrote.

Mike Gapes (left) has apparently indicated he is leaving the party while Luciana Berger (right) slammed the Labour leader for his comments from 2013 at a London conference

Meanwhile a Jewish blogger who was targeted in Mr Corbyn's attack on 'Zionists' has demanded an apology from the Labour leader.

Richard Millett, whose father founded the Millets chain of outdoor clothing stores, said Jewish people were 'scared on a physical level' amid Labour's ongoing anti-Semitism crisis.

Mr Millett, 50, called it a 'racist comment' and said Mr Corbyn had implied Jewish people were 'not part of his Britain'.

The PRC has formerly caused outrage when it invited the Hungarian fascist and Jobbik MEP Krisztina Morvai, a close ally of BNP figurehead Nick Griffin, to speak at one of its anti-Israel events.

At another PRC in 2013, Corbyn compared Israel's occupation of the West Bank to the Nazi takeover of Europe. Labour said that he was referring to all WWII occupations, not just those ordered by Hitler.

The group has also invited Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas terror chief, to attend an event in Holland, but he was barred entry by Dutch authorities.

The chaotic meeting in Parliament was entitled 'Britain, it's time to apologize for the Balfour Declaration', which was a statement made by the UK government in 1917, in support of creating a Jewish state.

These shocking scenes show the antisemitic mob that surrounds Jeremy Corbyn in full voice. Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism

The main speaker was Manuel Hassassian, a representative of the Palestinians in Britain. He was behind the 'ironic' remarks made earlier the same year that Corbyn suggested British 'Zionists' didn't 'understand'.

During her speech, Tonge said that Israeli academics should be boycotted as 'we must make them see that they are a pariah state'. Hassassian said Israel should 'go to hell' and another, unidentified speaker referred to the Jewish State as 'evil'.

Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, said: 'These shocking scenes show the antisemitic mob that surrounds Jeremy Corbyn in full voice.

'This event is yet another example of Mr Corbyn abusing Parliament to host, defend, promote and honour anti-Semites because he identifies with them and wants others to hear what they say.

'It is impossible that this is yet another "coincidence". How can anyone in Labour stomach Corbyn remaining as their leader?'

It comes as the widespread condemnation continues following MailOnline's explosive revelations that Corbyn accused British 'Zionists' of having 'no sense of English irony' despite having 'lived in Britain all of their lives'.

The former shadow minister for public health, Luciana Berger, lashed out over the 2013 clip, filmed at a London conference which was promoted by the propaganda website of terror group Hamas.

Making her most outspoken attack on the Labour leader to date, she said she felt 'unwelcome' in her own party after his 'inexcusable comments'.

Solidarity: MP for Sedgefield Phil Wilson tweeted 'Right beside you @lucianaberger'

MP for Newcastle North Catherine McKinnell said she was 'standing right with' Berger

Two Labour MPs also broke ranks to show their support for the MP Liverpool Wavertree, who is a fierce critic of anti-Semitism.

MP for Newcastle North Catherine McKinnell said she was 'standing right with' Berger and MP for Sedgefield Phil Wilson tweeted 'Right beside you'.

Berger wrote on Twitter in response to the footage: 'The video released today of the leader of @UKLabour making inexcusable comments - defended by a party spokesman - makes me as a proud British Jew feel unwelcome in my own party.

'I've lived in Britain all my life and I don't need any lessons in history/irony.'

Her post attracted thousands of comments, with many aggressively telling her to leave the party.

'Resign then.. good riddance if you do.. see yer,' wrote one person. Another said: 'Oh stop with this emotive BS woman'.

A spokesperson for Mr Corbyn denied the comments were offensive.

The spokesperson said: 'He was referring to a group of pro-Israel activists misunderstanding - and then criticising - the Palestinian ambassador for a speech at a separate event about the occupation of the West Bank.'

Allegations of hostility toward Jews in the party have dogged Corbyn's leadership and Berger was one of the MPs to report abuse they received to Parliament in April.

A Labour spokesman has been contacted for comment.The 11-year-old girl seen in a video leaving her Catholic school in tears after administrators told her that her braided hairstyle was not allowed, may return to the New Orleans area middle school.

Faith Fennidy's family will meet with school officials at Christ the King middle school and the Archdiocese of New Orleans on Monday to determine how to move forward after an emotional Faith was seen leaving school because she was told her braids violated its policy.

Video of the incident was shared on Facebook by Faith's brother, Steven Fennidy Jr.

It has been viewed more than two million times and immediately sparked outrage from hundreds of people, including rapper TI and activist Shaun King, who claimed that the school's hair policy discriminated against black students.

Williams won a restraining order Thursday on behalf of Faith and another student. It temporarily blocks the school from enforcing the policy.

The clip shows Faith, who had been attending Christ The King Parish School in Gretna, Louisiana for two years, absolutely distraught as she's reprimanded for her look

Faith (left) and her parents held a news conference with their lawyer saying they will be meeting with school officials on Monday

Archdiocese school officials issued a statement they wanted Faith back in class 'as soon as possible'. Faith is pictured center with her parents and their attorney

Archdiocese school officials issued a statement on Friday, saying they had sought the upcoming meeting and that their goal is to welcome Faith and the other student back to class 'as soon as possible.'

'We'd like to take this opportunity to announce that the Office of Catholic Schools is reconvening the Superintendent's Advisory Council to address school policies, particularly those that might affect cultural differences in school communities, as well as other topics such as racial harmony, social justice and urban Catholic education,' the statement said.

In the video, Faith, who is the niece of musician and Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star Tokyo Vanity, has her braids pulled back into a ponytail. Her hair hangs just below her neckline. The girl is seen crying and covering her face as family members help her gather her belongings and leave the school.

In the background, Faith's family can be heard talking with administrators about why Faith's hair is a violation of school rules.

'I hate that I have to post this. But this just isn't right. This is an issue we tried to resolve with the school, but they won't compromise at all. My sister Faith and many little black girls wear extensions,' Steven Fennidy captioned the video.

'She's been attending this school for two years and wearing extensions. Over the summer the school has sneakily added in a policy, that no extensions, clip-ins or weaves are allowed.'

Steven Fennidy mentioned that the protective hair style is especially important to his younger sibling so she doesn't have as difficult a time caring for her hair after using the swimming pool

The family said the school changed its hair policy over the summer without consulting parents or students to see how it would affect them

School officials had said they had communicated the extensions policy to parents over the summer and that school leaders had worked with parents to help ensure compliance.

Steven Fennidy said the school never consulted with parents or students to see how the new rule would affect students, especially those of color.

'Faith got a notice on the first day of class and it's ridiculous that these schools that we are PAYING for, will go in and make policies without consulting or trying to figure out how this will affect your life or your child's life,' he continued in the post.

'Extensions make the hair easier to maintain. It allows my sister to have access to the swimming pool without having to get her hair Re-done every night. How do you make a policy without even having a discussion.'

When speaking about the response Principal Dawn Castillo gave the family, he compared her concern to how hair was not an issue when he was a high school student.

'It's because you don't care and it's just one more barrier to entry for black people. This decision is going to affect black children more than white children,' Steven Fennidy said, urging people to share the video.

'All the principal could say was, "They're swinging it and things like that..." My entire middle and high school career I was in private school I sat behind a million white girls who would play in their hair. Re-do their pony tails a million times a day. Nothing was ever said.

Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star Tokyo Vanity (left), Faith's aunt, said the 11-year-old was 'humiliated' while rapper TI (right) said the school was 'deplorable'

T.I. told girls in a similar position to recognize their beauty and 'DONT LET THEM WIN!!!'

Shaun King, co-founder of Real Justice, an organisation 'working to elect reform-minded prosecutors' called it 'Christianity as White Supremacy'

'She kept saying the issue is it's not their natural hair. It's a style that we are not allowing. It's not uniform. WOW. This is Christ The King Middle School in Gretna, Louisiana. This has all just been very upsetting.'

Steven Fennidy was not the only one upset and angered over the incident. Well-known names have helped spread the word via their social media accounts.

Faith's aunt Tokyo Vanity took to Instagram to say that her niece was 'humiliated', prompting rapper, T.I. to share the post with his approximately 8 million followers.

Asking whether the school generally had an issue with black people's hair, the star - whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. - encouraged girls in a similar position to recognize their beauty and 'DONT LET THEM WIN!!!'

Shaun King, co-founder of Real Justice, an organisation 'working to elect reform-minded prosecutors who are committed to using the powers of their office to fight structural racism' encouraged people to fight back by posting the school's number and email address on his Twitter account, which has approximately 1 million followers.

He labelled it 'Christianity as White Supremacy' and called the attack on the child's self-esteem the 'New Jim Crow'.

The parent/student handbook for 2018-2019, says that 'Hair (including cuts, colors, and styles) should not interfere with the learning process or values being upheld at Christ the King School'.

Students are given a time (a discretion) to modify the style or are suspended until they comply. However, it's believed Faith's family opted to take her from the school on Monday after trying to reason got them nowhere.The United States said Friday that it had canceled more than $200million in aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, leading their ambassador to accuse President Donald Trump's administration of being 'anti-peace.'

A senior State Department official said the decision, made 'at the direction of the president,' came after a review of aid programs to the Palestinian territories.

The funding previously allocated for programs in the West Bank and Gaza will 'now address high-priority projects elsewhere,' said the official.

The move 'takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gaza, where Hamas control endangers the lives of Gaza's citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation,' he said.

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian General Delegation to the United States said: 'This administration is dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine'

US President Donald Trump's administration is canceling more than $200 million in aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Pictured last summer are Palestinian protestors holding portraits of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Trump during a rally in support to the Fatah movement in the West Bank city of Nablus

In January, the United States had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump announced the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with the administration and consider that it can no longer play a mediation role in the Middle East peace process.

'This administration is dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine,' Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian General Delegation to the United States said in a statement.

'After Jerusalem and UNRWA, this is another confirmation of abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda.'

The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests began in March.

A USAID mural, to commemorate the building of supportive walls and road shoulders, is pictured in the village of al-Badhan

At least 171 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during demonstrations near the border with Israel.

The US administration is pressing on with work on a peace plan that has been under discussion for months, leaving a vacuum in the Middle East in the meantime.

'Weaponizing humanitarian and developmental aid as political blackmail does not work,' Zomlot said.

'Only a recommitment from this administration to the long-held US policy of achieving peace through the two-state solution on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Palestine, and respecting international resolutions and law will provide a way forward.'

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy accused the White House of engaging in a 'series of provocative and harmful acts' instead of coming up with a coherent policy to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Trump has tasked his son-in-law Jared Kushner and lawyer Jason Greenblatt to draft the peace proposals, saying earlier this week that there would be something 'very good' for the Palestinians.

The Palestinians see the eastern part of the disputed city as the capital of their future state.Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey will testify before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on September 5, the panel said on Friday.

Dorsey's testimony is expected to center on Republicans' concerns about social media companies removing content from conservatives ahead of the November midterms.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee 'intends to ask tough questions about how Twitter monitors and polices content,' Republican Representative Greg Walden, the panel's chairman, said in a statement.

'We look forward to Mr. Dorsey being forthright and transparent regarding the complex processes behind the company's algorithms and content judgment calls,' Walden said.

Twitter's chief executive Jack Dorsey (above) will testify before a U.S. House of Representatives committee on September 5

On Friday, President Donald Trump accused social media companies of silencing 'millions of people' in an act of censorship.

'Social Media Giants are silencing millions of people. Cant do this even if it means we must continue to hear Fake News like CNN, whose ratings have suffered gravely. People have to figure out what is real, and what is not, without censorship!' Trump wrote on Twitter, not mentioning any specific companies.

Trump also criticized social media outlets last week, saying that unidentified companies were 'totally discriminating against Republican/Conservative voices.'

Those tweets followed actions taken by Apple, Facebook and YouTube to ban Infowars, a website run by right-wing radio host Alex Jones.

Jones' Twitter account was temporarily suspended on August 15.

This week, Facebook was forced to apologize to conservative non-profit PragerU after deleting videos that defended the concept of masculinity.

The social media company banned the videos as 'hate speech' before apologizing and saying the action had been taken in error after a public outcry.

On Friday, Facebook, Google and Twitter executives held a secret meeting in San Francisco to discuss their preparations for the midterm elections, BuzzFeed reported.

The meeting was ostensibly to coordinate the fight against Russian election interference, though conservative pundits seem more fearful of meddling from the tech giants themselves, in the form of censorship.

Last month, Trump accused Twitter of 'shadow banning' Republican politicians after a Vice report found that they were omitted from suggested search results.

Twitter fixed the issue and then claimed that it does not shadow ban accounts, in a blog post that also confessed to removing certain posts and content from other users' feeds - the definition of shadow ban.

'You are always able to see the tweets from accounts you follow (although you may have to do more work to find them, like go directly to their profile),' the company's explanation read.The manager of the Marysville, Washington Jersey Mike's restaurant who fired pregnant Kameisha Denton (pictured) in a text telling her it's 'not a good time' for maternity leave has resigned

The manager of a Jersey Mike's restaurant in Washington who fired a pregnant woman in a text message and told her it's 'not a good time' for maternity leave has resigned, the franchise owner said.

The manager of the Marysville store who sent the text was identified only as 'Marcos,' in the screenshot of the exchange which has gone viral.

Kameisha Denton posted the image of the message on Facebook on Tuesday.

'Hello Im sorry to inform you but its not going to workout with Jersey Mikes,' the message read.

'Its not a good time for us to have someone who is leaving for maternity leave in several months anyways.'

The owner of the store where Denton was employed, Tim Trieb, said the manager involved in this incident resigned on Wednesday.

Scroll down for video

The manager of the Marysville store who sent the text was identified only as 'Marcos,' in the screenshot of the exchange which has gone viral.

'It's discrimination, you aren't supposed to do that,' Denton told ABC News, while standing outside of the Marysville store.

'You don't do that to somebody when they're willing to work to [be able to provide] support for their baby.'

Franchise owner Jim Trieb (pictured) offered Denton her job back, but she declined, according to ABC, and she is considering pursuing legal action against the company

After Denton had gotten the job, she sent her manager a text saying she was pregnant, and would need to go on maternity leave in December.

'This will not interfere with my performance and I will be back after the baby is born,' she wrote.

After finishing her first week on the job, she noticed she wasn't on the schedule, so she texted, asking, 'Can I please get the updated schedule[?]'

That's when she got the reply from 'Marcos' letting her know she no longer had a job at the store.

Referring to her pregnancy, the person who sent the text wrote, 'You also failed to tell me this during our interview.'

Initially not sure of whether this could legally happen, Denton shared the message exchange on Facebook with the caption:

'I usually dont post personal things like this but is this allowed?'

The answer to her question is that, no, it's not, according to attorney Reba Weiss.

Attorney Reba Weiss (pictured_ said that what happened to Denton is 'blatantly illegal'

'First of all, she doesn't have to tell him during any interview that she's pregnant,' Weiss said.

'And secondly, it's blatantly illegal to terminate a woman because she's pregnant or she's gonna go on maternity leave.'

Trieb offered Denton her job back, but she declined, according to ABC, and is considering pursuing legal action against the company.

The Marysville Jersey Mike's franchise, which just opened on August 8 according to a press release, is located at 8820 36th Avenue N.E.Stamp duty increases introduced by George Osborne are paralysing the housing market and costing the Treasury hundreds of millions of pounds in lost revenue, figures suggest.

The number of property sales has fallen by up to 65 per cent in parts of the country as house-hunters baulk at the size of the taxmans bill.

The fall in transactions is now hitting Treasury coffers, with stamp duty receipts down 7.9 per cent so far this year.

At that rate of decline, the total amount raised by the duty over the full year would fall by nearly 1.1billion, leaving Mr Osbornes successor Philip Hammond with less cash to pay for vital services.

Osborne pushed up cost of moving for anyone buying a house worth more than 937,500

The Chancellor has already scrapped stamp duty for first-time buyers on homes under 300,000 in an effort to help them get on the housing ladder.

Experts have now said the tax should also be abolished for so-called last movers  elderly homeowners looking to downsize  to get the market moving again. Others said the tax should be scrapped altogether.

Conor Burns, Conservative MP for Bournemouth West, said: We need to create a tax incentive for older people who may still be living in family homes to downsize. This issue doesnt need an innovative solution, it just needs a tax cut.

Sam Dumitriu, of the Adam Smith Institute, said: Stamp duty may only raise around 2 per cent of government revenue, but when it comes to harming the UKs economy it punches far above its weight.

It is effectively a voluntary tax. You can avoid it as long as you dont move. And the incentive to stay put is extremely strong at the top end of the market. The problems at the top cascade down the property ladder across the country. This traps people in homes that are too big, too small or too far from work. We should ditch the duty altogether.

Former chancellor George Osborne raised stamp duty on expensive properties in 2014

Former chancellor Mr Osborne raised stamp duty on expensive properties in 2014, pushing up the cost of moving for anyone buying a house worth more than 937,500. The changes have been particularly felt in the South-East and London.

While those buying a 275,000 house saw the stamp duty bill fall by 4,500 to 3,750, the levy on a 1.5million property jumped by 18,750 to 93,750.

Stamp duty receipts hit a record 13.6billion last year but the market has now ground to a halt. Sales of expensive homes have been particularly sluggish, suggesting Mr Osbornes tax raid has backfired.

The taxman received 4.27billion from the duty between April and July, the first four months of the fiscal year, according to the Office for National Statistics. But that was 364million, or 7.9 per cent, less than in the same period last year.

Other ONS figures show the number of property transactions in England fell 19.3 per cent in the year to this April. Sales were down 13.9 per cent in Wales, a similar amount in Northern Ireland, and 9.4 per cent in Scotland. But in parts of the UK sales were down more than 50 per cent.

The Treasury said its cut to stamp duty had already benefited 121,500 first-time buyers.Donald Trump has claimed that people are afraid to visit New York because they fear getting sued as he doubled down attack on his attack on Gov Andrew Cuomo during a GOP fundraiser.

Speaking at the Ohio Republican Party annual dinner on Friday, the president went on a rant about the New York governor who has ramped up his attacks on Trump in recent weeks branding him racist and un-American.

The president told the crowd that Cuomo used to be a fan of his but 'hated' him after he ran for office.

Trump, who was notorious for suing people while he was a businessman, also claimed that the governor was extremely litigious and that rampant lawsuits in his state of New York left some people terrified to come to the city.

Donald Trump has claimed that people are afraid to visit New York because they fear getting sued as he doubled down attack on his attack on Gov Andrew Cuomo during a GOP fundraiser

'We have in New York, a governor, Gov. Cuomo, sues everybody, you know you go into that state and you get sued,' he said.

'That's why people don't want to move in. For that and the fact that it's the highest taxes.

'But if you go to New York, you get sued. And people are afraid to go to New York, they want to go.

'He recently stated that the new slogan was, 'America was never great.' Now, he was so angry at me, you know he hates me, truly hates me. He used to like me, but then I decided to run for office, and he doesn't like me too much.

'Hey, Schumer used to love me. Hard to believe, isn't it? But Cuomo, came out with that by mistake.'

Cuomo has ramped up his attacks on Trump in recent weeks branding him racist and un-American

Mocking him, Trump said: 'He was so angered, because 'Make America Great Again.' And he just said, 'America's never gonna be great again.' And that was it. He walks off.'

'And he was talking socialists, and they were going 'woah.' He was - that's not a good one. I said, that's job-threatening. Now he's gonna beat the person that's running  an actress, you know - but she could get a lot of votes. But he's gonna win.'

'How would that look on a hat? 'America was never great!' Doesn't work.Cuomo's comments are really an insult to generations of American heroes whose blood and sweat and tears built the greatest country the world has ever known. And we are better now than ever before.'

Trump also launched a lengthy attack on Democrats, calling them 'left-wing haters and radicals' who are trying to 'tear down our institutions.'

'Today's Democrats are not just extreme, they're really not in a position to govern. They're just not in a position to govern, when you look at what they are and what they're doing. Open borders and crime. It's open borders and crime.'

He also said they're 'nasty.'

Trump unleashed the string of insults in a speech Friday at the Ohio Republican Party fundraising dinner in Columbus. The speech was meant to help unite fractious state Republicans heading into the November midterm elections.

Speaking at the Ohio Republican Party annual dinner on Friday, the president went on a rant about the New York governor

President Donald Trump told the crowd that Cuomo used to be a fan of his but 'hated' him after he ran for office

Trump says that with Democrats, 'it's always negative, nasty, the way they come after me.'

Polls show that large majorities of Democrats disapprove of Trump's performance in office, but he says they need to get over it and accept that he's president.

'We won the election. We're going to win again in 2020. ... These are nasty people.'

Trump also mentioned Elizabeth Warren, once again calling her Pocahontas - a reference to the claims she used her Native American heritage to advance her career. Warren is 1/32 Native American.

And bashed ESPN over played kneeling during the national anthem.

Trump also talked about his most famous supporter, Kanye West, during the address - but completely failed to mention Gov. John Kasich, one of the president's 2016 primary opponents and sharpest critics, who skipped the fundraising dinner.

Trump previously attacked Kasich for hindering Troy Balderson's bid for the state's 12th District House seat.

President Donald Trump speaks during the Ohio Republican Party State Dinner, Friday

On Tuesday, Kasich made his feelings clear about the president, saying 'I don't like his leadership style. That's pretty darn clear and I speak out because I think it's really important we become a nation of uniters.'

Trump also discussed the Iowa college student was found slain about a month after she disappeared.

Trump raised the case in a speech Friday at an Ohio Republican dinner. The family of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts has asked that her death not be politicized.

Authorities have charged Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a Mexico native suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, with first-degree murder in Tibbetts' death.

Trump raised Tibbetts' case as justification for his attempts to crack down on illegal immigration to the U.S.

He refers to Rivera as 'this horrible illegal immigrant' and claims erroneously that journalists didn't want to cover the story after questions were raised about Rivera's status.

Trump says 'what happened to Mollie is a disgrace.'Philip Hammond faced calls to quit last night

Philip Hammond faced calls to quit last night as Tory grandees accused him of trying to sabotage Brexit with a dire warning about the consequences of failing to reach a deal.

The Chancellors gloomy prediction came shortly after his colleague Dominic Raab, the Brexit Secretary, tried to play down the risks of leaving the European Union without a trade agreement.

Mr Hammonds intervention angered No 10, which did not clear his analysis, and Brexiteers accused him of relaunching Project Fear while undermining the Governments Brexit strategy.

In a letter released on Thursday, the Chancellor said a no-deal Brexit could hit growth of the countrys GDP by as much as 10 per cent and cost the economy 80billion in extra borrowing.

Hours earlier, Mr Raab struck a more upbeat tone when he unveiled the Governments preparations for a no-deal exit. He suggested most consumers would not even notice the effects.

Last night Tory peer Lord Tebbit said: Philip Hammond should either accept the result of the referendum, as the Government has, or he should go.

He is not accepting collective responsibility of the Government. This Government was elected on the promise it would honour the outcome of the referendum. It does not appear he accepts that.

He added: This letter is another page in the book of fear which has been proved false by events. Theres no reason to think this instalment will be any different.

Former chancellor Lord Lawson added: Philip Hammond has always been trying to sabotage Brexit and this is nothing new.

Ive said before the Prime Minister would do well to move him to another job but I dont think she is strong enough to do so.

His colleague Dominic Raab, the Brexit Secretary, tried to play down the risks of leaving the European Union without a trade agreement

This letter contains a totally absurd projection based on assessing the economy just on terms of trade and not other matters which are very significant. Its not worth the paper it is written on. Philip Hammond has had an agenda and he is pursuing it.

Tory MP Marcus Fysh also hinted that Mr Hammond should be sacked, tweeting: Seems the Cabinet hasnt yet bothered to sort out the Treasurys sub-standard work.

This is proof it is nothing but scaremongering and its shocking the proponents are still in post.

A Downing Street source said Mr Hammonds analysis was preliminary and very much a work in progress, adding that No 10 does not clear ministers correspondence with fellow MPs.

Corbyn ally hints at new poll Jeremy Corbyns most senior ally has said the option of a second Brexit referendum should not be off the table. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Parliament had a right to decide the next step when Theresa May comes forward with her Brussels deal, if one is reached. His remarks follow Labour Brexit spokesman Sir Keir Starmers suggestion that a second vote could still be considered. Yesterday Mr McDonnell told Radio 4s Today programme: Its not Labour Party policy to have another referendum. We respect the past referendum but we recognise that when the Government comes forward with its proposals, if it does Im worried we might be in a no-deal situation, but when the Government comes forward with its proposals, Parliament will decide the next step. So were not saying any options (are) off the table when that debate happens. Advertisement

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Mr Hammonds letter and its timing amounted to a Brexit hand grenade.

Tory MP Nadine Dorries said: Philip Hammond will do anything in his power to stop Brexit.

The timing of his intervention and his undermining of Dominic Rabb, proves he is working against the wishes of 17.4million people who voted for Brexit. The fact that he is still Chancellor is probably an indication that No 10 is not as committed to Brexit as they would like us to believe.

Her colleague Simon Clarke told Radio 4s World At One programme that Mr Hammonds intervention had weakened the Governments position.

He said: The Governments position is that no deal is not what is being worked towards and we want a good deal with the EU that is in everyones interests.

But equally, it cannot be a deal at any price and no deal remains a perfectly viable option. And here we have the Chancellor making it very clear that in his eyes it isnt.

That is not a helpful intervention  it absolutely goes against the spirit of what the Government is trying to negotiate. It weakens our countrys position in these negotiations. He added: I hope it is the last time we have this ridiculous game of constantly trying to scare the British people into backtracking on a decision we made two years ago.

But Cabinet Office minister David Lidington defended the Chancellor, telling Radio 4s Today programme: This is provisional analysis that the Treasury published back in January and I think all Philip was doing was simply referring back to that in response to a senior MP.

He said a no-deal Brexit was not a desirable objective.

The row came after World Trade Organisation director-general Roberto Azevedo said a no-deal Brexit would not be the end of the world, atlhough he warned that it would not be a walk in the park either.Josh Frydenberg has been appointed Treasurer while Petter Dutton and Julie Bishop will hold on to their current senior portfolios in a new-look Morrison Government.

But Tony Abbott looks set to remain in political wilderness on the back bench after being blamed for orchestrating the political coup against Malcolm Turnbull.

New Prime Minister Scott Morrison has begun announcing his new cabinet, with the full ministry expected to be revealed over the weekend.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has already begun announcing his new cabinet and is expected to reveal the remaining frontbencher names by the end of the weekend

Mr Morrison said he wants to reshape the cabinet on merit and is looking to build a 'new generation of Liberal leadership' with a focus on promoting talented women.

Mr Morrison remained loyal to Mr Turnbull to the end and it's expected he will take into account those responsible for the spill when deciding on his new cabinet.

'I will be considering the formation of the ministry and the cabinet over the course of the weekend,' he told The Daily Telegraph.

'What the party voted for was that stable choice, moving to a new generation, and that means that well have continuity, but there will be points of emphasis and direction that well be consulting with our cabinet on.'

The newly-appointed PM received a congratulatory message of support from US President Donald Trump.

'We enjoyed a very close and positive relationship with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, and we are confident that close working relationship under Prime Minister Morrison will continue,' a State Department official said.

Josh Frydenberg (left) and Julie Bishop (right) have secured places in Mr Morrison's new cabinet

Mr Frydenberg, the member for Kooyong in Victoria, previously served as Energy Minister and had the unenviable task of overseeing the controversial National Energy Guarantee, which put Mr Turnbull on the outst with party colleagues.

Mr Frydenberg won the role of deputy leader of the liberal party, replacing Ms Bishop, after he received an overwhelming 'absolute majority' vote.

Ms Bishop is expected to be given the option to remain as a senior minster - most likely as Foreign Minister, where Mr Morrison said she had been a 'rock star'.

'She has been an amazing contributor and driver of foreign policy, and an advocate for Liberal values from one end of this country to the other and one end of this world to the other,' Mr Morrison said.

Peter Dutton (left) and Mathias Cormann will be given the opportunity to continue in their roles

Mr Morrison said he would be talking to Ms Bishop to determine what role she would like to play in the government moving forward.

There are reports Ms Bishop is considering taking a step back from the frontbench ahead of retiring at the next election.

Mr Dutton is expected to remain in his role as Home Affairs Minister - despite playing a key role in the ousting of Mr Turnbull.

Alan Tudge (left) and Angus Taylor (right) are expected to assist the PM in rebuilding the Australian public's confidence in the Liberal Party

Likewise, it's likely that Mr Morrison will give Mathias Cormann the opportunity to remain in his role as Finance Minister.

A key focus for the newly-appointed PM will be to rebuild the Australian public's lost confidence in the Liberal party ahead of the next Federal election.

Among those expected to assist the PM are Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, Alan Tudge, and Angus Taylor.

It's unlikely Tony Abbott will be given a role in Mr Morrison's new cabinet and some ministers have even called for the former PM to quit politics altogether

Another newbie on Mr Morrison's radar is Kelly O'Dwyer, who served as Revenue and Financial Services Minister but is expected to be given another role.

Current Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Alex Hawke is also expected to be given a more senior job in the ministry under Scott Morrison.

Other fresh faces Mr Morrison will be considering for promotion include David Coleman, Paul Fletcher, Sarah Henderson and Karen Andrews.

Christopher Pyne (left), Michaelia Cash (centre), and Michael Sukkar (right) are among those candidates up for demotion

Mr Abbott is unlikely to be given a role in Mr Morrison's new cabinet and some ministers have even called for the former PM to quit politics altogether.

'I think his mission is accomplished, he has got rid of his nemsis,' Liberal MP Warren Entsch told The Daily Telegraph.

Among those candidates who could be backbenched are Michaelia Cash and Michael Sukkar, as well as Minister for Defence Industry, Christopher Pyne, who may be given a different ministry or dumped altogether.The father and step-mother of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, 3, have been charged with child abuse after neglecting to give toddler medicine needed to treat his seizures

The father and stepmother of the three-year-old boy whose remains were found at a ramshackle compound have been charged with child abuse, and they could face life behind bars for their crimes.

The charges come after three weeks of interviews and examinations into the police raid of a New Mexico compound on August 3 where five adults and 11 children were found living in squalor and the remains of missing boy three-year-old Abdul-ghani Wahhaj were found.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his wife Jany Leveille are accused of failing to provide Siraj's severely disabled son Abdul-ghani with his medication needed to treat his health problems including seizures, ultimately leading to his death.

They were charged with child abuse resulting in death and conspiracy to commit child abuse by a district attorney's office in Taos on Friday.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj (left) and his wife Jany Leveille (right) were charged with child abuse resulting in death and conspiracy to commit child abuse on Friday for neglecting to provide medication to Wahhaj's severely disabled son whose remains were found in their New Mexico compound

The affidavit alleges that the couple knew the child suffered seizures and was diagnosed with a seizure disorder but neglected to provide him medication or seek medical care for him.

Wahhaj and Leveille, as well as the three other adults who lived at the compound, already face charges of child abuse for their reign of terror at a makeshift desert camp in New Mexico that they called home.

Police raided their camp on August 3 and found the five adults and 11 children living in filth and hunger with no plumbing. The children living there were allegedly trained to handle firearms to carry out school shootings.

Three days after the raid, police found the highly decomposed body of three-year-old Abdul-ghani in a tunnel at the camp.

'We now know the child died on December 24, 2017 and was concealed at the compound,' Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said in a statement.

The couple were among the five adults and 11 children found during August 3 raid of this New Mexico, where they found in a state of filth and hunger. All five adults arrested at compound are jailed and charged with child abuse

Photographs taken on the compound reveal how the group lived in squalor and had a makeshift shooting range as the children were allegedly trained to use firearms to eventually carry out school shootings

Opened cans of tuna and cranberries sit next to a dusty boot in the compound. There was no other food on the site and the children had not eaten for days when they were discovered

Toddler Abdul-ghani had been reported missing in December from Jonesboro, Georgia by his mother Hakima Ramzi. She said Wahhaj said he was taking the child to a park but never returned.

His father Wahhaj is accused to kidnapping the child and performing purification rituals on him.

Prosecutors say that the child died late December 2017 during a religious ritual where the Quran was read out to cast out demonic spirits as the child's exhausted heart faded in and out.

The ritualistic death was described at court hearings using information garnered from FBI interviews from the teenagers discovered at the compound.

Ordeal: Hakima Ramzi's attorney told DailyMail.com: 'Hakima told us, 'He told me he was taking Abdul-Ghani to the park for a little while'. Instead he held a exorcism which ended in Abdul-ghani's death

These accounts conform with aspects of an alternative, meditative Islamic healing ritual called ruqya.

The New Mexico Office of Medical Inspector has not yet determined how Abdul-ghani died. Spokeswoman Alex Sanchez said Friday that the agency is performing analyses.

Leveille's lawyer Kelly Golightley declined to comment on charges, Wahhaj's lawyer Clark has not commented on them either.

All five defendants arrested at the compound have been charged with child neglect and are being held in jail.

Also Friday, prosecutors filed a lengthy appeal of a district judge's order that could allow at least three of the defendants to be released on house arrest with ankle monitors.

Prosecutors have alleged that older children were trained to handle firearms to possibly order attacks on government institutions.

Judge Sarah Backus said the previous evidence provided by prosecutors was troubling but did not indicate any clear threat to public safety from the defendants, who have no criminal records.

Leveille, a Haitian national, was transferred from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody back to Taos County on Thursday where she is also being held on immigration charges, the sheriff's office said.

Ibn Wahhaj, his brother in law, Lucas Morton, and sisters Hujrah Wahhaj and Subhannah Wahhaj are also in Taos County jail awaiting trial.

If Wahhaj and Leveille are found guilty, they could spend life in prison.A radical new approach to IVF is giving women more than a 50-50 chance of pregnancy for the first time.

Experts found that freezing embryos and waiting at least a month before implanting the first one helped womens bodies to recover after the first stage of fertility treatment.

Doctors in Cambridge discovered that this pause in the process significantly boosted pregnancy rates.

An NHS clinic has now become the first to routinely adopt the procedure during IVF treatment after a trial found it increased its pregnancy rates by more than half.

Egg storage for in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Tube of eggs in cryogenic (frozen) storage, above

Women undergoing IVF usually have a fresh embryo transferred into the uterus within a week of the eggs being retrieved.

But the IVF clinic, which is part of Cambridge University Hospitals Trust, found that waiting for the body to recover improved a womans chances of conceiving.

Doctors say the high success rates mean that for the first time, couples can start fertility treatment knowing that it is more likely to succeed than fail.

The technique  which involves implanting the first embryo at least a month after undergoing the fertility treatment  resulted in pregnancy 62 per cent of the time, compared with 41 per cent using fresh ones straight away.

This is nearly double the national average rate of 36 per cent for using fresh embryos, according to figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

Consultant embryologist Stephen Harbottle of Cambridge IVF, who led the research, said it is the most exciting development he has witnessed in 25 years.

Women undergoing IVF usually have a fresh embryo transferred into the uterus within a week of the eggs being retrieved

The biggest angst with fertility treatment is that its always been that the treatment is more likely to fail than be successful, he said. What weve been doing for years is put the best embryo into the worst environment so by being very well-meaning, we might actually have been holding back success rates for years.

'We can start saying to people youve got a better than 50 per cent chance of success in most of the age groups. Across the board, data is showing a huge increase in success rates. Its really exciting.

Typically, a woman undergoing IVF is given follicle-stimulating hormones to encourage the production of around ten eggs in one go.

These are then harvested, fertilised with sperm and left to develop as embryos before one is transferred into the uterus. Any remaining successful embryos can then be frozen for use at a later date.

Doctors at the clinic noticed success rates were higher when using these frozen embryos rather than fresh ones immediately implanted.

They decided to explore further the process, known as frozen embryo transfer (FET), which was already being used in America and Scandinavia.

Last year they enrolled 147 women, aged between 24 and 45, to take part in an 18-month pilot of the freeze-all process to see how it affected their fertility chances. As a result, 62 per cent of women became pregnant, with improved success rates for women of all ages, the researchers say.

They believe the success is largely because the body is allowed to return to normal after the disruptive hormonal treatment, which could create a hostile environment for the embryo.

The clinic has now received NHS approval to start offering the freeze-all service to patients. It means patients from anywhere in the UK will be able to sign up for the treatment, which costs an additional 245 on top of the initial 2,500 for a round of IVF.

While there have been some live births, the trial is continuing, with many of the participants currently pregnant

Like many other clinical commissioning groups, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough health trust stopped free IVF in its region last September.

While there have been some live births, the trial is continuing, with many of the participants currently pregnant.

Commenting on the Cambridge technique, Stuart Lavery, a fertility expert at Imperial College London, said: I think its an exciting area but I want to see much more evidence before I see a change in practice.

How it helped me become a mother

Delighted: Kerrie Suarez with Emilio

Kerrie Suarezs job as a nursery nurse served as a constant reminder of what she so dearly wanted.

But she was unable to have a baby because she suffered from endometriosis, which saw scar tissue build up in her fallopian tubes and stopped her eggs from being released.

Mrs Suarez, 34, who lives in Cheadle, Manchester, with her husband, Francisco, also 34, tried fertility treatment.

But after three IVF rounds on the NHS with fresh embryos, she still was not pregnant.

For their fourth attempt the couple decided to go private.

They opted for a frozen cycle after doctors suggested the womb lining was more receptive to frozen embryos.

Mrs Suarez waited for two months before an embryo was implanted and then finally found she was pregnant. She had a 6lb 12oz boy Emilio, who is now ten months. I still find myself staring at him in wonder, she said.Ministers are considering a crackdown on binge-drinking at airports after a surge in bad behaviour on flights.

The number of reported incidents of abusive and disruptive behaviour in the air has more than quadrupled in four years.

Licensing laws that prevent the sale of alcohol outside permitted hours do not apply to airside sales  once passengers have gone through security.

Airlines have described this as a legal loophole which enables retailers to sell alcohol irresponsibly at any time of the day or night.

Ministers are considering a crackdown on binge-drinking at airports after a surge in bad behaviour on flights

Unlike high street pubs and restaurants, they do not have the threat of being stripped of their licence if they behave irresponsibly  such as selling alcohol to drunk passengers.

Some airside bars have encouraged binge drinking by selling two-pint measures  even though it is a criminal offence to be drunk on a plane.

To combat this, the Home Office is poised to announce plans to tighten rules so they apply to the sale of alcohol to passengers once they have passed through security.

The call for evidence will outline proposals to amend the Licensing Act 2003 so that it finally applies to outlets selling alcohol airside.

Industry group Airlines UK insisted it is not trying to call time on the early morning pint. But its chief executive Tim Alderslade said: The problem of disruptive behaviour has got progressively worse over a number of years, despite the best efforts of industry to tackle it.

There is no evidence to suggest these incidents wont persist without the active involvement of government.

Given alcohol plays a major role in disruptive passenger behaviour, it is essential that its sale in airports is done responsibly.

Airline industry data shows that 70 per cent of disruptive passenger incidents involve alcohol.

The Civil Aviation Authority revealed last week it had already received more than 200 incident reports about disruptive passengers in the year up to July 16  before the busy summer flying season had even begun. The watchdog received 417 complaints in total last year, up from 98 in 2013.

A Home Office spokesman said: Everyone should be able to enjoy a safe journey through UK airports without disruption. Most UK air passengers behave responsibly, but any disruptive or drunk behaviour is entirely unacceptable.

Ryanair has called for more restrictions on alcohol sales at airports. It proposed a two-drink limit for passengers and a total ban on alcohol sales in airports before 10am

There are already tough penalties for drunkenness on an aircraft  a maximum of two years in prison or an unlimited fine.

But airline Ryanair has called for more restrictions on alcohol sales at airports.

It proposed a two-drink limit for passengers and a total ban on alcohol sales in airports before 10am.

It said in a statement: It is incumbent on the airports to introduce these preventative measures to curb excessive drinking and the problems it creates, rather than allowing passengers to drink to excess before their flights.

Its completely unfair that airports can profit from the unlimited sale of alcohol to passengers and leave the airlines to deal with the safety consequences.

In a separate move, the Department of Transport is considering plans to force retailers to put duty free alcohol  such as miniature bottles of spirits  in sealed plastic bags.

This proposal follows concerns about passengers stocking up on duty free and binge drinking before they get on a flight.A leading heart surgeon was sent a dead animal and a decapitated doll in the post as part of a toxic feud after she blew the whistle over unsafe care.

Marjan Jahangiri, the first female professor of cardiac surgery in Europe, claimed she had been targeted because of envy at her success.

The surgeon, who operates on more than 250 cases a year at St Georges Hospital in Tooting, South London, said a witch hunt had led to her suspension from her post.

Professor Marjan Jahangiri was the first female professor of cardiac surgery in Europe

Professor Jahangiri was one of two surgeons excluded earlier this month after an internal report found a toxic feud between two rival camps of surgeons had resulted in patient deaths.

The professor claimed the hospital was an environment that appeared to be more interested in cover-ups and petty vendettas than patient welfare.

Yesterday she asked the High Court for an order to lift her exclusion from St Georges University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with immediate effect.

Her counsel, Iain Quirk, said that despite being an extremely skilled surgeon, Professor Jahangiri had been treated in the most outrageous way and targeted because of the envy at her success.

He told Mr Justice Nicklin she was excluded earlier this month on the thinnest of grounds against the background of the Bewick report, an investigation into patient safety at the hospital.

There were claims of a dark force in the troubled heart unit, the court heard. But Mr Quirk cited 14 complaints which had all been dismissed and alleged they were motivated by those who are seeking to harm her reputation and standing, not least because she made whistleblowing disclosures.

Jahangiri operates around 250 cases a year at St Georges Hospital in Tooting, South London

In April a package containing a dead animal and a decapitated doll was sent anonymously to Professor Jahangiris home address, The Times reported. This was incredibly distressing for me and my family and I still feel traumatised whenever I receive a package, the professor said.

It came after she had expressed concern over the competence of her colleagues and added that the vicious behaviour towards me was in retaliation for my actions.

Mr Quirk said: The inescapable conclusion is that this is a witch hunt  an attempt to pin the blame for the department on her.

He added that Professor Jahangiris trainees  who said they would leave if she was not reinstated  were not being trained properly, the unit was dismantling her research and operations had been cancelled without patients being given a reason. Professor Jahangiris practice and reputation had been seriously harmed, the court was told.

Exclusion is the worst thing that can happen to a doctor, and for one of the countrys leading professors in cardiac surgery it is disastrous, added Mr Quirk.

Professor Marjan Jahangiris trainees said they would leave if she was not reinstated

Just two weeks away is enough to allow those complex skills to lapse, which is why she has never had more than two weeks off. Her practice has been decimated.

Simon Cheetham QC, for the NHS Trust, acknowledged Professor Jahangiris clinical skills and what she had contributed in the way of research and training, and said there was no vendetta against her. The much bigger issue was the state of the cardiac unit which had a knock-on effect on the Trusts future as a major trauma centre.

The Bewick report had identified a unit in crisis at St Georges but no-one was saying Professor Jahangiri was the source of the problems, he told the judge.

Her exclusion arose from an allegation that she impeded the conduct of a Trust-commissioned review by contacting a witness.

We say it was necessary because, if that was the claimants behaviour, it was bound to have an impact on the review being carried out, said Mr Cheetham.

It was necessary, he added, that the review was completed quickly and efficiently and maintained its integrity. The judge is to give his decision on Tuesday.As British and American journalists alike remember the legacy of the late Robin Leach, his interview with President Trump has re-emerged and is stirring controversy all over again.

Leach, who passed away on Friday, interviewed The Donald on his show Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in 1994.

The cringe-worthy footage sees the then 48-year-old Trump sit alongside his second wife Marla Maple to gush about his one-year-old daughter Tiffany.

When asked what attributes Trump thinks baby Tiffany inherited from each parent Trump offers a stunning response referring to the child's breasts.

Re-emerged: Trump's 1994 interview with Robin Leach on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous has resurfaced in light of the host's death on Friday, and is stirring controversy all over again

When Trump is asked what attributes his then one-year-old daughter Tiffany inherited from her parents he motions towards breasts saying: 'We dont know whether or not shes got this part yet but time will tell'

'I think that shes got a lot of Marla, shes really a beautiful baby,' he says to Leach.

'She's got Marla's legs. We dont know whether or not shes got this part yet but time will tell,' he says mimicking holding breasts on his chest, as Maples giggles.

The video was brought to light in an old episode of The Daily Show where host Trevor Noah is left gob-smacked by the president's suggestive comment.

After that interview received heated comments when it resurfaced in 2016, Leach defended Trump.

'I think its an overreaction to be really honest, and I think that its just the piling on of those that dislike Donald,' Leach told Inside Edition in a 2016 interview.

Trump made the suggestive comment about his daughter's breasts during a sit-down interview with Robin Leach, pictured above together in 1990

Trump made the suggestive comments when Tiffany, pictured above in mom Marla Maples' arms, was just a one year old

Leach dismissed the public's reaction to the interview as 'an overreation...it's just the piling on of those that dislike Donald' he said in 2016 when the video footage resurfaced

'Youve triggered a thought that I should send him a note saying, "Sorry I asked the question 22 years ago. How ridiculous they dig it up now,"" he added.

When Daily Show host Trevor Noah aired the clip in 2016 he said: 'We know for sure that theres no female too small for Trump not to reduce her to her body parts. And I dont even think that Trump was trying to be funny or provocative, it just clearly shows that its an impulse for him.'

During his 2016 campaign Tiffany famously dodged a kiss from her father following a presidential debate in a video clip that went viral soon afterwards.

Trump's 1994 interview is just one of many suggestive comments he's made about his daughters.

Marla Maples pictured with daughter Tiffany in July in London. The two haven't commented on that 1994 interview

Awkward: Tiffany famously avoided a kiss from her father following a presidential debate during his 2016 campaign

When his daughter Ivanka was just 16 she hosted the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant where Trump asked the Miss Universe 'Don't you think my daughter's hot? She's hot, right?', according to the Independent.

During an interview with The View in 2006 he famously said: 'I've said that if Ivanka weren't my daughter perhaps I'd be dating her.'

On the Howard Stern Show in 2004 he called Ivanka a 'piece of a**'.

He also made a comments on her breast on the Howard Stern Show in 2006 when the show host said Ivanka 'looks more voluptuous than ever' and asked if she got breast implants.

Trump responded saying: 'Shes actually always been very voluptuous. Shes tall, shes almost six feet tall and shes been, shes an amazing beauty.'Four people have been arrested after a man left fighting for his life after being stabbed 'multiple times' in a broad daylight attack in south London.

The 23-year-old was taken to hospital where his condition was initially thought to be critical following the incident on Friday afternoon.

Photographs show a cordon set up by police around what seems to be a vintage wedding bus in the Tulse Hill area of Lambeth.

A man has been left fighting for his life after being stabbed 'multiple times' in a broad daylight attack in southwest London

The 23-year-old is currently in a critical condition after being taken to hospital following the incident on Friday afternoon

The man's injuries have been described by police as not life-threatening.

The incident is the latest in a wave of stabbings to hit the capital with recent figures showing knife crimes in London are at a 10 year high.

Official statistics form the Met Police recorded 1,299 stabbings in London up to the end of April this year.

A spokesperson for Metropolitan police said: 'Police were called to reports of a group of males fighting at 1717hrs on Friday, 24 August at Roupell Road, SW2.

'Officers attended. At the scene a 23-year-old male was found suffering a number of stab wounds.

'He was taken to a south London hospital where his condition was initially deemed to be critical but has now been described as not life-threatening.

Photographs show a cordon set up by police in the Tulse Hill area of Lambeth in London

The incident is the latest in a wave of stabbings to hit the capital with recent figures showing knife crimes in London are at a 10 year high

Lambeth Police are investigating and there have currently been no arrests

'Four males were arrested in connection with the incident on suspicion of an offensive weapon and were all taken to a south London police station.

'Lambeth Police investigate. A knife has been recovered by officers.'

'Anyone who witnessed this incident, has footage or can identify those involved is asked to call Lambeth Police quoting CAD5375/24AUG, Tweet @MetCC, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.'Peter Dutton (pictured) ran against Malcolm Turnbull

When the rebel camp went into the party room meeting on Friday, they expected to exit with Peter Dutton as Australia's next Prime Minister.

The history books will show the former home affairs minister made a grave miscalculation, as Treasurer Scott Morrison swept up 45 votes compared to Mr Dutton's 40.

Despite the loss, Prime Minister Morrison has offered Mr Dutton a position within his ministry.

After a week-long saga that saw Mr Dutton attempt to rid Malcolm Turnbull of his leadership position, both he and his supporters were confident they held the majority to push him into the top spot.

However, when the three-way vote between Mr Dutton, Mr Morrison and Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop came to fruition, the rebel camp discovered some of their supporters had changed their minds over the risk of another High Court scandal.

On Thursday night, Mr Dutton and his supporters scrambled to obtain 40 of the 43 signatures Mr Turnbull demanded in order for the party room meeting to go ahead.

The history books will show the former home affairs minister made a grave miscalculation, as Treasurer Scott Morrison (pictured) swept up 45 votes compared to Mr Dutton's 40

With just three votes left, Mr Dutton and his team were confident they would be able to acquire them the following morning.

Yet, the camp came to a standstill on Friday morning when Solicitor-General Stephen Donaghue QC informed Mr Dutton that there was a 'risk' to his eligibility.

It was believed that Mr Dutton may have been seen as 'ineligible' by the High Court under section 44 of the Constitution, as his family trust owns two childcare centres in Brisbane.

Concerns were raised among the MPs who pledged their support for Mr Dutton, as they didn't want to face the risk of another High Court crisis.

This saw some of them sway their allegiance and vote for Scott Morrison, Australia's next - and 30th - Prime Minister.

Despite Mr Dutton's agitating, destabilising and campaigning against the Turnbull leadership, he walks away from the coup a little better off than how he entered it.

The result came as an embarrassment to Mr Dutton, who had been just a few votes a away from defeating Mr Turnbull in a spill just days earlier.

The 43 politicians who signed a petition forcing the party room meeting were revealed on Friday night.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (left) and Julie Bishop (right) who threw her hat in the ring to become Prime Minister on Friday, are seen smiling as they leave the party room meeting

While many feared backlash from going behind Malcolm Turnbull's back to put their name to the petition, the former PM said he wouldn't call the meeting without 43 names on paper.

Among those who did sign were Andrew Hastie, Tony Pasin, Craig Kelly, Michael Sukkar, Kevin Andrews, Tony Abbott, Ian Goodenough, Nicolle Flint, Peter Dutton and Jason Wood.

Some opted to scribble a little message next to their names, like Karen Andrews who wrote 'because this has to be resolved' and Scott Buchholz who wrote 'I support the office of the PM'.

Warren Entsch reportedly only agreed to sign the petition because his signature was needed to make up the 43 names.

Mr Turnbull was careful to dot his I's and cross his T's when it came to verifying the validity of each signature, ordering party whip Nola Marino to phone each signatory to ensure they had signed the petition.

'These are momentous times and it's important that people are accountable for what they're doing,' he said.

Mr Morrison (right) and his new deputy party leader Josh Frydenberg (left) are the clear winners in the whole debacle

Julie Bishop, who is far more popular with Australian voters than either Mr Morrison or Mr Dutton, may emerge from the leadership spill in a worse position.

Despite not actively supporting the coup, she put her name in the ring for the vacant position at the party room meeting, but was the first to be knocked out.

Ms Bishop, who is expected to retire from Parliament at the next election, may lose her prestigious and high-profile position as Foreign Minister because of the spill.

Tony Abbott's dreams of returning to the frontbench may well also be crushed as a result of Mr Morrison's win.

Mr Morrison - and his new deputy party leader Josh Frydenberg - could yet come out of the debacle unscathed politically, largely because neither campaigned against Mr Turnbull.

Despite not engaging in the action to sign the petition against Malcolm Turnbull, the two men appear to have gained the most from those 43 powerful signatures.

However, polls show that Mr Morrison's premiership could well be short-lived, with Labor leader Bill Shorten predicted to trounce the former treasurer in next year's election.

HOW MALCOLM TURNBULL'S LEADERSHIP UNRAVELLED THURSDAY AUGUST 16 * Peter Dutton says he will quit cabinet if he gets to a point where he can't agree with government policy. FRIDAY * Malcolm Turnbull weighs up significant changes to the National Energy Guarantee amid speculation about his leadership, including dumping the legislated emissions target. SATURDAY * Mr Dutton tweets his support for the prime minister and the policies of the government. SUNDAY * Cabinet meets at parliament to discuss changes to energy policy. * A Fairfax/Ipsos poll shows the coalition's primary vote has dropped from 39 to 33 in a month and Labor leads the coalition 55-45 per cent on a two-party preferred basis. MONDAY * The PM drops the 26 per cent emissions cut target from NEG legislation. * Mr Turnbull says Mr Dutton has given 'absolute support' to him. TUESDAY * Mr Turnbull calls a spill and is challenged by Dutton, who loses 48-35. * Mr Dutton resigns from cabinet. * A slew of ministers offer resignations but Mr Turnbull only accepts Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and Dutton. WEDNESDAY * Mr Dutton refuses to rule out a second challenge, launching a media campaign calling for a royal commission into fuel and energy prices and the scrapping of the GST from electricity prices. * Mr Turnbull, flanked by Treasurer Scott Morrison and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, dumps corporate tax cuts after the plan was voted down in the Senate. * Mr Turnbull also ditches plans to axe an energy supplement paid to welfare recipients. * Mr Morrison hugs Mr Turnbull and says he's ambitious for his leader, while also slapping down Dutton's GST idea. * Mr Cormann says he supports the prime minister. * A petition to force a Liberal partyroom meeting is circulated. * Cormann, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield and Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash visit Turnbull to tell him he no longer has the support of the majority of the party room. * Mr Turnbull accepts the resignation of his assistant minister James McGrath. THURSDAY * Junior minister Zed Seselja and Michael Sukkar resign from the frontbench. * Mr Cormann, Mr Fifield and Mr Cash again visit the prime minister to tell him he's lost support. They urge him to call a partyroom meeting. * Mr Dutton demands a second leadership spill after telling Mr Turnbull he has the support to become PM. * Mr Cormann, Mr Fifield and Mr Cash pull their support for Turnbull and resign from cabinet. * Mr Turnbull says Liberal MPs need to see the advice from the solicitor-general on the eligibility of Mr Dutton after reports he could be in breach of the constitution over his stake in two childcare centres. * If the advice gives Mr Dutton the all clear, Mr Turnbull will hold a partyroom meeting. He will then move a spill motion and quit parliament if it succeeds. FRIDAY * Mr Dutton releases advice he received from former solicitor general David Bennett overnight. Mr Bennett argues that Mr Dutton is not ineligible by Section 44. * The Australian dollar endured a rough night coming into Friday morning, falling 1.4 per cent to US72.48c. * Queensland Liberal Warren Entsch indicated he would be the 43rd signature, but only if it was needed. He refused to sign the petition but was willing add his name if it will break the deadlock. * A party room meeting was called for midday for a three-way race between Mr Dutton, Mr Morrison and Julie Bishop. * It is revealed Mr Dutton's electorate did not support his push against Mr Turnbull. * Mr Dutton gives the petition to Mr Turnbull and gets all 43 names verified. * Leadership spill is called, Mr Turnbull says he will step aside and quit parliament. * Mr Dutton approached the 12.20pm party room meeting with good friend and key player Mathias Cormann. Mr Morrison and Bishop enter alone. * Mr Morrison won the leadership spill 45 votes to Mr Dutton's 40 votes. * Mr Morrison becomes Australia's the 30th Prime Minister. * It is announced that Josh Frydenberg becines deputy Liberal leader. Advertisement

Mr Turnbull previously acknowledged politics was a tough business, but slammed right-wing bullies within and outside Parliament who undermined his leadership.

'I think what we're witnessing, what we have witnessed at the moment is a very deliberate effort to pull the Liberal Party further to the right. And that's been stated by the number of people who have been involved in this,' he said.

The comment has been widely interpreted as an attack on former prime minister Mr Abbott and his acolytes, as well as elements of the Press.

'Australians will be rightly appalled by what they're witnessing in their nation's parliament today and in the course of this week,' Mr Turnbull said in Canberra on Thursday.

Mr Turnbull said the public would be 'crying out for an election' once the dust settled.

He said a 'form of madness' had taken over those agitating for a leadership change.

The unrest is the latest chapter in a turbulent decade for Australian politics, which has frequently descended into squabbling that has alienated voters.

No leader has managed to serve out a full term since former Prime Minister John Howard lost the 2007 election, in a remarkable revolving door at Canberra's parliament house.

One minister was so disillusioned with the push to oust Turnbull that he took to Twitter to apologise to the Australian people.

'Australia. We owe you an apology. I'm sorry. You deserve better than many of the things our Federal Parliament has served up to you for the past 10 years,' wrote Nationals MP Darren Chester, whose party is in coalition with the Liberals.Forecasts of a weekend washout did not deter revellers from enjoying the start of the Bank Holiday.

Scantily-clad partygoers in Liverpool, Cardiff, Newcastle and Birmingham were in high spirits as they hit the town to celebrate the start of the three-day break.

They were pictured strolling arm-in-arm through the streets and stopping to chat by the roadside as they caught taxis home in the early hours.

As the evening progressed some revellers started to look a little worse for wear, with a number of people taking a nap in the street or needing the help of their friends to get home.

Two women laying on the floor and clearly enjoying their night out in Newcastle to celebrate the long weekend

A slightly bemused looking nurse taking to the streets in Newcastle to enjoy a big night out

A man checks the bottom of another man's shoe who is dressed in jeans, a shirt and a nice pink tutu

A woman dressed up and ready to party in Newcastle as partygoers took to the streets to celebrate the long weekend

It got a bit too much for some people in Newcastle. A blonde woman is in the street with her head in her lap as her friend looks on

A group of ladies in Newcastle enjoying a smoke break and the start of the Bank Holiday weekend

A man is taking a well-earned rest on some steps on a night out in Newcastle

A happily partygoer carries his friend who is on crutches through the streets of Newcastle

Residents of city centres throughout the UK wasted little time in letting their hair down.

In Liverpool a bride-to-be was seen jogging down the street wearing a mini top hat, while a group of lads cheerily hoisted each other off the ground.

Friends huddled by the roadside waiting to catch their taxis home in the early hours.

And some had clearly had a bit too much fun and needed to take a rest on the steps or in the street.

Two women hit the town in Liverpool, one of the women, wearing a top branded with 'Love' and a red skirt has decided to go barefoot, while her friend helpfully holds her other shoe

Charge! A man gives a woman a piggyback through the town centre in Newcastle as they are set to have fun on their night out

The police were out in Newcastle as partygoers descended on the city centre. They are checking on the welfare of this man

Two people embrace in Liverpool as party-goers descend on the town centre in Liverpool to celebrate the start of the three-day weekend

A friend gives her buddy a piggy back through the streets of Cardiff as people take to the streets for the three day weekend

A man wearing festive bunny ears swigs from a bottle as drinkers hit the town in Newcastle

Police deal with an incident in Cardiff at the start of the Bank Holiday in Cardiff as party-goers descend on the city centre

A group of ladies dressed ready to party in Liverpool and enjoying the festivities at the start of the weekend

The night has all got a bit too much for this man who is taking a much needed nap in Liverpool near a helping of fried chicken

In Newcastle a bemused man dressed up as a nurse wanders through the streets.

A man is giving a woman a piggyback and laughing uproariously as they charge down the street.

In Cardiff police can be seen taking care of a spot of trouble in the town centre, while two smiling women are adorned with colourful balloon hats.

A man enjoying a late night kebab in Birmingham where people have been celebrating the start of the weekend

Sometimes all you need is a helping hand from your friends. This woman helps her friend up from the floor in Liverpool

Two kind police officers lead two women through the streets of Birmingham. The lady in the white dress and the officer at the front share a quick joke as they stroll

Two women wearing colourful balloon hats on the streets of Cardiff at the start of the Bank Holiday weekend

After a long night on the town sometimes the best thing you need is some fast food, like these two women in Birmingham

A man carries his friend on his back while a worried woman looks on in Birmingham

Two women, one barefoot, walking home in Birmingham after a night out in a busy city centre

These party-goers are looking a bit worse for wear after a big night out in Liverpool over the Bank Holiday weekend

A group of friends link arms and chat as they hit the city centre in Liverpool on Friday night

A bride-to-be momentarily jogs away from her hen party during the first night of the three-day break

The Met Office predicted lots of rain and wind on Saturday and Sunday, with a weekend washout thought to be on the agenda.

Maximum temperatures are only expected to reach the high teens Celcius (mid-60Fs) across much of the UK.

And drivers set off on their Bank Holiday journeys early yesterday amid warnings of hour-long delays with more than 14million cars set to hit the roads.

A man hoists his friend off the ground as high spirits continued into the early hours in the city

Scantily-clad partygoers headed to the bars in the city centre on Friday night, making the most of the dryer weather

Friends chatted by the roadside as Bank Holiday festivities wound down in the early hours

A group of friends huddle by the roadside while enjoying their night out on Friday

Home time? Revellers in Liverpool were not put off by the predicted weekend washout

Meanwhile, revellers at the Leeds and Reading festivals didn't let the wet weather put them off their weekend of music.

They were seen arriving in their waterproofs and wellies and carrying umbrellas as rain beat down.Donald Trump failed to pay tribute to John McCain during his public address on Friday after the former prisoner of war announced he was stopping treatment for his aggressive brain cancer.

Many leading Republicans, including Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, offered their prayers and support to McCain after his family made the sad announcement on Friday. But the president, who has publicly clashed with McCain since the beginning of his 2016 presidential campaign, has been notably silent.

On Friday, during his speech at a fundraising dinner for the Ohio Republican Party in Columbus, Trump spoke about illegal immigration, attacked Democrats and ESPN, and even found time to give shout-outs to Kim and Kanye West.

But he said nothing about the 35-year veteran of Congress who he has frequently attacked over recent years.

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Donald Trump failed to pay tribute to John McCain during his public address on Friday after the former prisoner of war announced he was stopping treatment for his aggressive brain cancer

Trump even once claimed McCain wasn't a war hero because he was captured and tortured in Vietnam. 'I like people who weren't captured,' Trump said in July 2015.

Trump's silence stood in contrast to the outpouring of support for McCain from fellow Republicans.

'I would just ask each and every one of you to hold John McCain in your prayers,' Ryan said on Friday. 'John is obviously entering the last stages, and this is a man who served our country in so many ways and capacities who was a prisoner of war for several years at thee Hanoi Hilton, and then fought for us in Congress, and we just want to keep John McCain, Cindy and their entire family in our prayers.'

McConnell, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune, and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., all paid tribute to the veteran today.

Sources said earlier this year that McCain, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017, didn't want Trump to come to his funeral.

On Twitter, people criticized Trump for his silence and failure to apologize for his more vicious comments.

Sen. John McCain announced on Friday that he was stopping treatment for his brain cancer

Meghan, pictured above with with her father, tweeted: 'My family is deeply appreciative of all the love and generosity you have shown us during this past year'

The Arizona Republican was diagnosed with aggressive glioblastoma last summer

Trump did find time to praise his most famous supporters at the Ohio speech on Friday.

While discussing his support among African-American voters, he said: 'Now we're doing great, and Kanye West likes me.'

'Kanye West has some real power.'

West previously tweeted his support for Trump in April. Trump also praised Kim Kardashian as a 'good wife'.

Trump also discussed the Iowa college student was found slain about a month after she disappeared during the Ohio speech.

Trump raised the case in a speech Friday at an Ohio Republican dinner. The family of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts has asked that her death not be politicized.

Authorities have charged Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a Mexico native suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, with first-degree murder in Tibbetts' death.

Trump raised Tibbetts' case as justification for his attempts to crack down on illegal immigration to the U.S.

He refers to Rivera as 'this horrible illegal immigrant' and claims erroneously that journalists didn't want to cover the story after questions were raised about Rivera's status.

Trump says 'what happened to Mollie is a disgrace.'

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have expressed sadness at the McCain family's news

McCain's wife Cindy and daughter Meghan posted the family's statement to Twitter on Friday

'Democrat immigration policies are destroying innocent lives and spilling very innocent blood,' Trump said. 'We believe that any party that puts criminal aliens before American citizens should be out of office, not into office.'

Trump also tied the death of a woman and the rape of a child to Democratic immigration policies.

'In recent weeks an elderly homeless woman was allegedly beaten to death by a twice-deported illegal alien that was not supposed to be in this country,' he said.

'In the sanctuary city of Philadelphia, I went to school in Philadelphia, local officials released a previously deported illegal alien back onto the streets after his release. The illegal alien raped a very young child. I won't even tell you how old this child was.'

Trump also tore into ESPN and CBS for saying they won't air the national anthem before professional football games to avoid 'controversy.'

'What the hell is the NFL doing?' he asked. 'Do they not have a clue? It's hurt them badly too. It's continuing. They think they're doing something smart by not broadcasting the national anthem.'

'That's CBS and ESPN folks. Enjoy your television.'

Trump also went on a rant about New York governor Andrew Cuomo who has ramped up his attacks on Trump in recent weeks branding him racist and un-American.

The president told the crowd at the Ohio Republican Party annual dinner on Friday, that Cuomo used to be a fan of his but 'hated' him after he ran for office.

Trump, who was notorious for suing people while he was a businessman, also claimed that the governor was extremely litigious and that rampant lawsuits in his state of New York left some people terrified to come to the city.

'We have in New York, a governor, Gov. Cuomo, sues everybody, you know you go into that state and you get sued,' he said.

'That's why people don't want to move in. For that and the fact that it's the highest taxes.

Speaking at the Ohio Republican Party annual dinner on Friday, the president went on a rant about the New York governor

President Donald Trump told the crowd that Cuomo used to be a fan of his but 'hated' him after he ran for office

President Donald Trump speaks during the Ohio Republican Party State Dinner, Friday

'But if you go to New York, you get sued. And people are afraid to go to New York, they want to go.

'He recently stated that the new slogan was, 'America was never great.' Now, he was so angry at me, you know he hates me, truly hates me. He used to like me, but then I decided to run for office, and he doesn't like me too much.

'Hey, Schumer used to love me. Hard to believe, isn't it? But Cuomo, came out with that by mistake.'

Mocking him, Trump said: 'He was so angered, because 'Make America Great Again.' And he just said, 'America's never gonna be great again.' And that was it. He walks off.'

'And he was talking socialists, and they were going 'woah.' He was - that's not a good one. I said, that's job-threatening. Now he's gonna beat the person that's running  an actress, you know - but she could get a lot of votes. But he's gonna win.'

'How would that look on a hat? 'America was never great!' Doesn't work.Cuomo's comments are really an insult to generations of American heroes whose blood and sweat and tears built the greatest country the world has ever known. And we are better now than ever before.'

Trump also launched a lengthy attack on Democrats, calling them 'left-wing haters and radicals' who are trying to 'tear down our institutions.'

'Today's Democrats are not just extreme, they're really not in a position to govern. They're just not in a position to govern, when you look at what they are and what they're doing. Open borders and crime. It's open borders and crime.'

He also said they're 'nasty.'

Trump unleashed the string of insults in a speech Friday at the Ohio Republican Party fundraising dinner in Columbus. The speech was meant to help unite fractious state Republicans heading into the November midterm elections.

Trump also discussed the Iowa college student was found slain about a month after she disappeared during the Ohio speech. Authorities have charged Cristhian Bahena Rivera (left), a Mexico native suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' (right) death

Cuomo has ramped up his attacks on Trump in recent weeks branding him racist and un-American

Trump says that with Democrats, 'it's always negative, nasty, the way they come after me.'

Polls show that large majorities of Democrats disapprove of Trump's performance in office, but he says they need to get over it and accept that he's president.

'We won the election. We're going to win again in 2020. ... These are nasty people.'

Trump also mentioned Elizabeth Warren, once again calling her Pocahontas - a reference to the claims she used her Native American heritage to advance her career. Warren is 1/32 Native American.

Trump also failed to mention Gov. John Kasich, one of the president's 2016 primary opponents and sharpest critics, who skipped the fundraising dinner.

Trump previously attacked Kasich for hindering Troy Balderson's bid for the state's 12th District House seat.

On Tuesday, Kasich made his feelings clear about the president, saying 'I don't like his leadership style. That's pretty darn clear and I speak out because I think it's really important we become a nation of uniters.'Beauty blogger Laura Lee's cosmetic products lines have been dropped by major retailers in the wake of racist and fat-shaming tweets she posted in 2012 and 2013 resurfacing in recent days

Beauty blogger Laura Lee's cosmetic products lines have disappeared from major retailers as racist and fat-shaming tweets up to six years old resurfaced.

Laura Lee and Laura Lee Los Angeles products are no longer listed on ColourPop, Ulta, or BoxyCharm, and show as sold out on Morphe, according to Revelist.

'We have decided not to move forward with the launch of Laura Lee Los Angeles. Ulta Beauty values equality and inclusivity in all that we do,' an Ulta spokesperson told People in an official statement on Friday.

Beauty subscription service Boxycharm has also cut ties with 29-year-old Lee, after collaborating with her in the past.

'We do not, we do not understand how someone can tweet something like this,' CEO Yosef Martin said in video shared on social media. 'This is a very disturbing tweet. We are against anything like that.'

Lee apologized for the racist tweets she posted in 2012 in a nearly five-minute long Youtube video, published on Sunday.

She called filming the apology video 'one of the hardest things she's ever done.,' and begged her viewers not to take their 'hate' for her out on her family.

About two-thirds of the way through the video, Lee shares that her mother had received death threats and her 14-year-old niece had been targeted by angry individuals.

'Please, if you hate me, please just hate me,' she said.

'People have called my mother and threatened to kill her. They have gotten her phone number. They attacked a child, my 14-year-old niece, attacked her. And I ask you this please, just let this be me. Let this be about me. Its not about my family. Its about me. It is not about anyone else. This is my sorry.'

Lee posted the video following intense social media backlash that continued against the YouTube star, even after she shared an initial apology of Twitter on August 13.

About two-thirds of the way through an apology video Lee shared on Sunday, she said that her mother had received death threats and her fourteen-year-old niece had been attacked

In 2012, one tweet posted by Lee improperly used the possessive 'your' instead of the contraction for 'you' and 'are' as she wrote: 'Tip for all black people if you pull ur pants up you can run from the police faster.. #yourwelcome'

She apologizes for disappointing her fans over and over, saying that she's 'a better person now'

She apologizes for disappointing her fans over and over, saying that she's 'a better person now.'

'I, six years ago, decided to retweet things that were so vile and hurtful. I was so stupid and ignorant and I have no excuses here today,' she said. I'm not here to give you an excuse.'

Lee repeatedly refers to what she wrote as a 'retweet' but at least one tweet was a reply.

She wrote, improperly using the possessive 'your' instead of the contraction for 'you' and 'are:'

'Tip for all black people if you pull ur pants up you can run from the police faster.. #yourwelcome.'

Despite this apparent oversight, Lee went on to apologize profusely for her posts, calling them 'retweets.'

'I'm only here to say that I'm so sorry and that I hope one day that you guys can see me for the woman that I am and that I can prove to you guys that I'm not that girl. I love you guys so much and whenever I see that I've disappointed you it just breaks my heart into a million pieces. I'm so sorry for anyone that's been hurt through this, anyone.'

Again only referencing retweets, she continued:

'I feel so disappointed that I cant even look at myself, because like I can't even believe that I would retweet ugly things and things that would hurt people.

'I can't believe I didn't see the pain behind that kind of tweet and that kind of behavior.'

In the video, Lee suggests she had no idea a photo she took with fellow beauty bloggers Gabriel Zimora, Nikita Dragun and 'Manny MUA' Gutierrez with their middle fingers raised would be used to throw shade at a former friend Jeffree Star.; From left to right: Jeffree Star; Manny Gutierrez; Laura Lee; James Charles and Amanda Ensing celebrate The Launch Of KKW Beauty on June 20, 2017 in Los Angeles

Manny MUA, Star and Laura Lee attend the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards at The Forum on March 5, 2017 in Inglewood, California; The trio are apparently no longer friendly

In the video, she suggests she had no idea a photo she took with fellow beauty bloggers Gabriel Zimora, Nikita Dragun and 'Manny MUA' Gutierrez with their middle fingers raised would be used to throw shade at a former friend Jeffree Star.

The photo was tweeted by Zimora with a reference to the friend-group breakup, followed by a reply referring to a past racist scandal involving Star is apparently what prompted the investigative work that brought Lee's terrible tweets to light.

Lee said, for her part, she only meant to recreate Kylie Jenner's birthday photo, shared on August 10 by her sister, Kourtney Kardashian, where every Kardashian-Jenner sister, except Khloe, who was in the photo but had her hands occupied by holding her drink and the camera, along with momager Kris Jenner held up their middle fingers to the camera.

In the video, Lee suggests she had no idea a photo (left) she took with fellow beauty bloggers Gabriel Zimora, Nikita Dragun and 'Manny MUA' Gutierrez with their middle fingers raised would be used to throw shade at a former friend Jeffree Star; The photo was tweeted by Zimora with a reference to the friend-group breakup, followed by a reply referring to a past racist scandal involving Star is apparently what prompted the investigative work that brought Lee's terrible tweets to light

Lee said, for her part, she only meant to recreate Kylie Jenner's birthday photo, shared on August 10 by her sister, Kourtney Kardashian, where every Kardashian-Jenner sister, except Khloe, who was in the photo but had her hands occupied by holding her drink and the camera, along with momager Kris Jenner held up their middle fingers to the camera

'Theres another part ofthis story that I dont know if you all know, but me and Gabriel [Zimora] and Nikita [Dragun] and Manny [MUA] took a picture with our middle fingers up and we were trying to mimick Kylie Jenner's birthday picture and the picture was taken out of context, and it ended up causing pain for other people,' Lee said.

'And I just want to say I'm sorry to Jeffree for the pain we may have caused you in this. I didn't know that this picture was going to be taken out of context and that anything was going to be said to you, but at the end of the day, it was done, so I need to owe you an apology for this. And I know were not friends anymore but I want to apologize to you.'

Lee then thanked her viewers for giving her time to explain herself.

'I hope you guys understand that I just need some time now,' she said. 'I love you guys so much and I'm sorry.

Lee shared the video several days after posting a tweet containing screenshots of her first apology, which includes a reference to original tweets she posted, as well as retweets.

Lee shared the video several days after posting a tweet containing screenshots of her first apology, which includes a reference to original tweets she posted, as well as retweets

She shared the written apology on August 13, and more backlash ensued for the YouTuber

The screenshots read:

'I want to deeply apologize for comments of mine that recently surfaced from six years ago. The insensitive retweet and tweets I made are inexcusable and I apologize from the bottom of my heart to anyone affected by them,' she wrote.

'I deactivated my Twitter [on August 12] because I was mad at myself for the ignorant tweets that I made back in 2012. That girl who tweeted that isnt who I am today. I now understand the seriousness behind those tweets.

'Those tweets arent humorous in any way to me today and I am truly sorry to everyone I have hurt and offended. I feel so disgusted about this and want you to know from the bottom of my heart I am incredibly grateful for this community.

'Social media has taught me so much about the injustice, bullying, and inequality people face daily. Im at a place of more understanding now, but theres always room for me to learn and grow. Im thankful for my subscribers, this community and my husband who all continue to help me on that journey.

'With this all in mind, I want to make sure that Im not only apologizing for my words but following up with action. I want to make sure ignorance like this is being left in the past not just for me, but for everyone. With that, I will be focusing on getting involved with foundations that focus on educating the importance of equality and social justice.

'These "jokes" relate to awful realities so many people face and I want to work with organizations focusing on changing that. I have a few in mind, but if you all have any to recommend, I am all ears and would love to hear what organizations you all love and support.'

The final portion of her written apology read:

'Personally, I will continue to work on myself. I am not perfect, but I know I am better than this. Im holding myself and my actions accountable  to use this as a learning moment. I sincerely apologize to you all and I hope with time, I am able to earn your respect back.'

Her apology video has been viewed almost eight million times, to date.Actor John Jarratt has been charged with a historical sex offence.

The 66-year-old, who is best known for his role in Wolf Creek, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, 18, at a home in Randwick, Sydney, in September 1976, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The woman worked at the Sydney Opera House at the time of the alleged rape and it is understood the pair knew each other.

Actor John Jarratt (pictured) has been charged with a historical sex offence

The 66-year-old is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, 18, at a home in Randwick, Sydney, in September 1976 (pictured: Jarratt in Picnic at Hanging Rock in 1975)

Jarratt is best known for his role in Wolf Creek (pictured) where he plays serial killer Mick Taylor

When the allegation emerged last year, Jarratt's lawyer Chris Murphy said Jarratt denied the assault and it could be proved 'factually incorrect.'

'I would pursue any avenue to put it in a court tomorrow so the man can get on with the rest of his life,' Mr Murphy said.

'With the elimination of committals and long court delays it may take a year to resolve it.'

Eastern Beaches Police Area Command officers have been investigating the incident since December 2017 after the woman came forward about the alleged assault.

Jarratt was issued with a future court attendance notice on Friday.

He is expected to appear at Waverley Local Court on October 10.

Eastern Beaches Police Area Command officers have been investigating the incident since December 2017 after the woman came forward about the alleged assaultA Denver criminologist has claimed that the father accused of murdering his pregnant wife and their two children did so because he wanted to start a new life with his lover.

Christopher Watts, 33, is accused of killing Shanann Watts, and their two children Celeste and Bella, aged three and four, earlier this month after their bodies were discovered at an oil field where he worked.

Police later found Watts 'was actively involved in an affair with a co-worker' - something he had initially denied.

Denise Mowder, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at MSU Denver, told the Denver Channel she believes that Watts may have wanted to rid himself of his family to be with her.

Denise Mowder, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at MSU Denver, said she believes that Watts may have wanted to rid himself of his family to be with her

Christopher Watts is accused of killing Shanann Watts, and their two children Celeste and Bella (pictured together)

'I think he had a vision of another life with this other woman  carefree, no responsibilities,' she said. 'Two children and another on the way, that's a big responsibility.'

She added that she was surprised it hadn't been a murder suicide.

'I'm pretty surprised he didn't kill himself, too. Oftentimes, it goes in a pattern,' said Mowder.

She said that most cases of men killing their children were triggered by rage but 30 per cent were sparked by spousal revenge, and another ten say they don't know why.

The day before his arrest, Watts had pleaded for his family's safe return saying in an on-camera interview: 'I just want people to know that I want my family back. I want them safe and I want them here'.

Mowder, who was also a prosecutor for several years, said that the fact that Watts went on the news to plead for people to try and find his 'missing' family after they disappeared reveals that he planned to blame an intruder, play victim and then begin his new life.

'This whole facade he put on right after they started looking for them  that was very odd, and it makes me wonder if he wasn't trying to find an out to be with the girlfriend,' said Mowder. 'Somebody else did it. I'm the poor grieving father.'

Mowder said that the fact he tried to point his finger at his wife, was typical of domestic abusers.

Watts, 33, was charged with nine felony counts - including three counts of first degree murder - on Tuesday morning

Watts had told police that he murdered Shanann because she had killed their two children. Investigators didn't believe his story, and charged him with nine felony counts - including three counts of first-degree murder, two of murdering children in his trust, one of terminating a pregnancy and three of tampering with bodies.

'When he said she was the one strangling the children, I knew right then he was the one who strangled the children, because he can give all the details of what he said she did because he was doing it himself,' she said.

'It's going to be hard on the family to hear the lies. And there's some secrets there, I'm afraid. It's going to be hard for the jury. It's going to be hard for the public to really understand because there is no understanding it,' Mowder said.

Watts was arrested last week in the slayings of his wife and their two children and the affidavit states he told his wife he wanted to separate when she returned home.

Watts was last week arrested for murdering his wife Shanann and their two young daughters

Shanann suffered from lupus and was pregnant with their third child. According to co-worker Nickole Utoft Atkinson, she was feeling unwell during their business trip to Arizona.

'A double joy is a shared joy and a double sorrow is not a shared sorrow,' he ends the presentation to a round of applause.

He has not entered a plea to murder and other felony charges and faces the death penalty if found guilty.

Detectives believe Watts killed his children first and then killed his 15-week pregnant wife.

During his court appearance on Tuesday, Watts hung his head and stayed silent. Shanann's father, Frank Rzucek, wept silently but uncontrollably as the charges were read.

Since the bodies were found, well-wishers have left toys, dozens of flowers, candles and balloons in the front yard of the $400,000 house on Saratoga Trail in Frederick that the couple bought in 2013.A Michigan man, dubbed America's most wanted deadbeat dad after he fled to Canada two decades ago because he didn't want to pay child support, has finally been arrested.

Joseph Stroup was sentenced Monday to two years in prison and ordered to pay $533,624 in restitution and a $100 special assessment charge. Authorities said Stroup, now 64, owed more than $560,000 to his ex-wife for child support.

The father-of-four was arrested in February after a restaurant owner in Calgary alerted authorities that the wanted deadbeat was trying to extort money from him.

Scott Winograd, who owed the recently closed Bears Den restaurant, told Global News that Stroup was a regular patron at the restaurant. He said in February Stroup, who had been using the fake name Joop Cousteau, came in for a cherry Coke and asked for eight maraschino cherries.

Joseph Stroup, now 64, was arrested in February and sentenced Monday to two years in jail for failure to pay child support

Stroup, who had been using the fake name Joop Cousteau, was captured after a restaurant owner in Calgary said Stroup tried to extort him. Stroup is pictured on the left at the restaurant

The owner said Stroup pretended to damage his dental wok on a cherry pit and tried to get him to pay his medical bills. Stroup is pictured on the left at the restaurant

Winograd said Stroup pulled out a cherry pit and said that he had broken some of his dental work.

That doesnt happen, Winograd said, adding that maraschino cherries dont usually have pits.

Stroup reportedly left and came back the next day with dental forms Winograd said looked like they were downloaded off the internet.

Authorities said Stroup owes $534 in child support to his ex-wife

My spidey sense was up, of course, Winograd told the outlet.

He said he Googled the name on the dental forms, Joop Cousteau, and found Stroups photo on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General's list for the most wanted deadbeats.

According to the website, the Office of Inspector General may get involved in child support cases when the non-custodial parent doesnt pay child support for more than a year and doesnt live in the state where the child lives; when the non-custodial parent travels to another state or country to avoid paying; or the non-custodial parent owes more than $5,000 and lives in a different state than the child.

Winograd said he also learned that Joop Cousteau was an alias and that Stroup was accused of scamming people in Cochrane and Bragg Creek.

Youd think if youre on the run youd come up with John Smith, Winograd told the outlet, not Joop Cousteau.

He said he invited the deadbeat back to the restaurant and contacted authorities in the US.

Investigators said Stroup was ordered to pay child support after divorcing from his wife in 1989, but instead he fled the country for Canada despite selling an internet company for more than $2million. The couple has four kids together.

He fled the US for Canada in July 1998 after divorcing from is wife in 1989 and refusing to pay child support

According to MLive, Stroup told a judge following his divorce that he was disabled and unemployed so the judge lowered his child support payments from $100 per month to $14.

In 1996 Stroup sold an internet business for $2million, but reportedly tried to keep the profit a secret. After authorities found out, the payments were adjusted to reflect his new income and Stroup fled.

An arrest warrant was issued for him in July 1998.

Im just glad hes not in the area anymore and in a position to screw more people over, Winograd said.A man claiming to have been mistaken for his twin fugitive brother could either be extradited back to Georgia or released from a Miami jail next week.

The 63-year-old told authorities he is Jean Vernet Prado, not his twin Raul Eduardo Prado, The Augusta Chronicle reported .

Raul Prado was serving a 25-year sentence for trafficking marijuana in 2007 until his escape May 7 from a work detail in Augusta, Georgia.

The 63-year-old told authorities he is Jean Vernet Prado (R), not his twin Raul Eduardo Prado (L)

He reportedly fled while on work detail at a water treatment plant.

The man currently in custody was arrested the next day in Miami by a U.S. Marshal Regional Fugitive Task Force, but says he is not Raul Prado.

The man's attorney, Jonathan Meltz, recently filed an opposition to extradition and request for release.

The man's attorney, Jonathan Meltz (pictured), recently filed an opposition to extradition and request for release

The motion states Jean Prado is 'being held illegally without probable cause and in violation of his rights under both the Florida and U.S. Constitution.'

Meltz said that Jean Prado was using his brother's identity because he doesn't have his own papers here in the U.S. According to the motion, Jean and Raul Prado were both born in Havana, Cuba on April 18, 1955.

'If they prove his identity, then he will extradited back to Georgia. If they fail to prove that he is the fugitive, he should be released,' Meltz said.

Meltz said a hearing is scheduled next week.

Evan Joseph, Richmond County Correctional Institution's warden, told the Augusta Chronicle that Raul Prado was going to be up for parole in four years but now is expected to be sent to the Jackson Diagnostic Center, a maximum-security prison in Jackson, Georgia.A former doorman at Trump World Tower who claims that President Donald Trump had an affair with his housekeeper resulting in an illegitimate child, has released the contract with American Media Inc. that had forced him to keep quiet, his lawyers say.

Dino Sajudin signed the contract with AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer, in November 2015 offering them exclusive rights to the story in exchange for $30,000.

But the document stipulated that he could not share the story anywhere else, or he would have to pay AMI $1million. It also stated that the company would only pay Sajudin if they published.

The document has few details on the story but does state: 'Source shall provide AMI with information regarding Donald Trump's illegitimate child...'

Yet, AMI never ran the piece, meaning Sajudin was forced to keep quiet - until this year.

Marc Held, Sajudin's attorney, told CNN Friday: 'Mr Sajudin has been unable to discuss the circumstances regarding his deal with American Media Inc. and the story that he sold to them, due to a significant financial penalty.

Dino Sajudin, the former Trump doorman who claimed the president had a love child, has released his contract with AMI who offered to buy the story

The White House has previously declined to comment on Sajudin's claims when approached by CNN

'Just recently, AMI released Mr. Sajudin from the terms of his agreement and he is now able to speak about his personal experience with them, as well as his story, which is now known to be one of the 'catch and kill' pieces.

'Mr Sajudin hopes the truth will come out in the very near future.'

Sajudin, 46, was a doorman at a Trump property in Manhattan until after the 2016 election.

He first came forward with the claims about Trump's affair in April this year.

CNN said it understood that he was released from the contract in December 2016, after Trump had beaten Hillary Clinton.

The Associated Press and the New Yorker said that Sajudin got $30,000 in exchange for signing over the rights, 'in perpetuity,' to the claim that the president had fathered an illegitimate child with an employee at Trump World Tower, a skyscraper he owns near the United Nations.

He said that he had been instructed not to criticize Trump's former housekeeper due to the 'prior relationship she had with President Trump which produced a child.'

The woman has not been named but spoke to the Associated Press to deny having any relationship with Trump.

Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen, who has just pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, acknowledged to the AP that he had discussed Sajudin's story with the magazine when the tabloid was working on it.

He said he was acting as a Trump spokesman when he did so and denied knowing anything beforehand about the Enquirer payment to the ex-doorman.

As it did with former Playmate Karen McDougal, the Enquirer signed the ex-doorman to a contract that effectively prevented him from going public with a juicy tale that might hurt Trump's campaign for president.

The parallel between the ex-Playmate's and the ex-doorman's dealings with the Enquirer raises new questions about the roles that the Enquirer and Cohen may have played in protecting Trump's image during a hard-fought presidential election.

Cohen has admitted he broke the law when he made payments to McDougal and pornstar Stormy Daniels.

And his guilty plea has implicated President Trump, who he says asked him to do it.

Sajudin got $30,000 in exchange for signing over the rights, 'in perpetuity,' to a rumor he'd heard about Trump's sex life  that the president had fathered an illegitimate child with an employee at Trump World Tower, a skyscraper he owns near the United Nations

Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney who has just pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, acknowledged to the AP that he had discussed Sajudin's story with the magazine when the tabloid was working on it

During AP's reporting earlier this year, AMI threatened legal action over reporters' efforts to interview current and former employees and hired the New York law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which challenged the accuracy of the AP's reporting.

Asked about the payment last summer, Dylan Howard, the Enquirer's top editor and an AMI executive, said he made the payment to secure the former Trump doorman's exclusive cooperation because the tip, if true, would have sold 'hundreds of thousands' of magazines.

Ultimately, he said the information 'lacked any credibility,' so he spiked the story on those merits.

'Unfortunately... Dino Sajudin is one fish that swam away,' Howard told RadarOnline on Wednesday.

But four longtime Enquirer staffers directly familiar with the episode challenged Howard's version of events.

They said they were ordered by top editors to stop pursuing the story before completing potentially promising reporting threads.

Donald Trump, with wife Melania. Trump's former doorman has confirmed he signed a contract with the National Enquirer owners regarding a possible story about Trump's relationship with a housekeeper

They said the publication didn't pursue standard Enquirer reporting practices, such as exhaustive stake-outs or tabloid tactics designed to prove paternity.

In 2008, the Enquirer helped bring down presidential hopeful John Edwards in part by digging through a dumpster and retrieving material to do a DNA test that indicated he had fathered a child with a mistress, according to a former staffer.

The woman at the center of the rumor about Trump denied emphatically to the AP last August that she'd ever had an affair with Trump, saying she had no idea the Enquirer had paid Sajudin and pursued his tip.

The AP has not been able to determine if the rumor is true and is not naming the woman.

'This is all fake,' she said. 'I think they lost their money.'

The Enquirer staffers, all with years of experience negotiating source contracts, said the abrupt end to reporting combined with a binding, seven-figure penalty to stop the tipster from talking to anyone led them to conclude that this was a so-called 'catch and kill'  a tabloid practice in which a publication pays for a story to never run, either as a favor to the celebrity subject of the tip or as leverage over that person.

One former Enquirer reporter, who was not involved in the Sajudin reporting effort, expressed skepticism that the company would pay for the tip and not publish.

'AMI doesn't go around cutting checks for $30,000 and then not using the information,' said Jerry George, a reporter and senior editor for nearly three decades at AMI before his layoff in 2013.

Cohen has admitted he broke the law when he made payments to McDougal and pornstar Stormy Daniels (pictured)

The company said that AMI's publisher, David Pecker, an unabashed Trump supporter, had not coordinated its coverage with Trump associates or taken direction from Trump.

It acknowledged discussing the former doorman's tip with Trump's representatives, which it described as 'standard operating procedure in stories of this nature.'

The Enquirer staffers, like many of the dozens of other current and former AMI employees interviewed by the AP in the past year, spoke on condition of anonymity.

All said AMI required them to sign nondisclosure agreements barring them from discussing internal editorial policy and decision-making.

Though sometimes dismissed by mainstream publications, the Enquirer's history of breaking legitimate scoops about politicians' personal lives  including its months-long Pulitzer Prize-contending coverage of presidential candidate Edwards' affair  is a point of pride in its newsroom.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, the Enquirer published a string of allegations against Trump's rivals, such as stories claiming Democratic rival Hillary Clinton was a bisexual 'secret sex freak' and was kept alive only by a 'narcotics cocktail.'

Stories attacking Trump rivals or promoting Trump's campaign often bypassed the paper's normal fact-checking process, according to two people familiar with campaign-era copy.

The company has said it paid McDougal, the former Playboy Playmate, to be a columnist for an AMI-published fitness magazine, not to stay silent. McDougal has since said that she regrets signing the non-disclosure agreement and is currently suing to get out of it

The tabloid made its first-ever endorsement by officially backing Trump for the White House. With just over a week before Election Day, Howard, the top editor, appeared on Alex Jones' InfoWars program by phone, telling listeners that the choice at the ballot box was between 'the Clinton crime family' or someone who will 'break down the borders of the establishment.'

Howard said the paper's coverage was bipartisan, citing negative stories it published about Ben Carson during the Republican presidential primaries.

In a statement last summer, Howard said the company doesn't take editorial direction 'from anyone outside AMI,' and said Trump has never been an Enquirer source.

The company has said reader surveys dictate its coverage and that many of its customers are Trump supporters.

The company has said it paid McDougal, the former Playboy Playmate, to be a columnist for an AMI-published fitness magazine, not to stay silent. McDougal has since said that she regrets signing the non-disclosure agreement and is currently suing to get out of it.

Pecker has denied burying negative stories about Trump, but acknowledged to the New Yorker last summer that McDougal's contract had effectively silenced her.

'Once she's part of the company, then on the outside she can't be bashing Trump and American Media,' Pecker said.

In the tabloid world purchasing information is not uncommon, and the Enquirer routinely pays sources.

As a general practice, however, sources agree to be paid for their tips only upon publication.

George, the longtime former reporter and editor, said the $1 million penalty in Sajudin's agreement was larger than anything he had seen in his Enquirer career.

'If your intent is to get a story from the source, there's no upside to paying upfront,' said George, who sometimes handled catch-and-kill contracts related to other celebrities.

Paying upfront was not the Enquirer's usual practice because it would have been costly and endangered the source's incentive to cooperate, he said.

After initially calling the Enquirer's tip line, Sajudin signed a boilerplate contract with the Enquirer, agreeing to be an anonymous source and be paid upon publication.

The Enquirer dispatched reporters to pursue the story both in New York and in California.

The tabloid also sent a polygraph expert to administer a lie detection test to Sajudin in a hotel near his Pennsylvania home.

Sajudin passed the polygraph, which tested how he learned of the rumor. One week later, Sajudin signed an amended agreement, this one paying him $30,000 immediately and subjecting him to the $1 million penalty if he shopped around his information.

The Enquirer immediately then stopped reporting, said the former staffers.

Cohen, last year, characterized the Enquirer's payment to Sajudin as wasted money for a baseless story.

For his part, Sajudin confirmed he'd been paid to be the tabloid's anonymous source but insisted he would sue the Enquirer if his name appeared in print.

Pressed for more details about his tip and experience with the paper, Sajudin said he would talk only for in exchange for payment.

'If there's no money involved with it,' he said, 'I'm not getting involved.'Advertisement

Hawaii has continued to weather unrelenting rains on Saturday as Tropical Storm Lane slowly skirts the island state whilst dumping enough rain to trigger catastrophic flash-flooding and landslides.

The storm that has ripped through the Pacific this week rapidly disintegrated south of Honolulu on Friday night, but meteorologists have warned heavy rains and strong winds still pose a threat to the islands.

Early Saturday morning, Lane was located some 135 miles south-southwest of the Hawaii capital and creeping toward it at just 3mph.

At a news conference Friday, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell urged people not to let their guard down while acknowledging that the state had 'dodged a bullet'.

Dramatic photographs show the devastating flooding Lane has left in its wake after it unleashed nearly three feet of rain over just 48 hours, forcing thousands of residents on the Big Island to flee their homes and seek shelter.

Scroll down for video

Hawaii has continued to weather unrelenting rains on early Saturday as Hurricane Lane slowly skirts the island state

Torrential rains from Hurricane Lane inundated the eastern half of Hawaii's Big Island over the last 48 hours triggering floods

A bit of sunshine peeks through the clouds before sunset along Waikiki beach on the island of Oahu island Friday evening

People walk on a sea wall in Waikiki Bay as Tropical Storm Lane churns 135 miles south of Honolulu, Hawaii, on Friday

Lane roared toward the island chain early this week as the most powerful type of hurricane measured: a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. That meant it was likely to cause catastrophic damage with winds 157 mph or above.

But upper-level winds known as shear swiftly tore the storm apart. By late Friday, the National Weather Service said Lane had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph as it slowly twisted west about 120 miles south of Honolulu.

The rains have left the city of Hilo - home to 43,000 - waist-deep in water as National Guard and emergency services scrambled to rescue six people and a dog from their flooded residence. Five tourists from California were also rescued from another home, according to CBS.

'There's so much rain, the drainage is all saturated. We're just letting nature take its course, getting water down to the ocean and responding to any rescues,' Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe said.

Margaret Collins, 69, woke up Thursday night to sounds in her Hilo backyard.

'So I got up out of bed and looked out my bedroom window and saw water three feet high gushing past my window,' she said. 'And that's when I realized I was standing in water.'

Collins called a neighbor for help, who crawled through bushes to lead her out of the house, half-carrying her as she clutched a plastic bag with medication.

The water knocked down a cement wall and lifted her truck out of the carport, sending it toward her neighbor's house, she said.

'My house is completely inundated with mud-water,' said Collins, who was told the damage wouldn't be covered by insurance. She hopes she can get federal assistance.

Lane has left devastating flooding in its wake after it unleashed nearly three feet of rain over Hawaii's Big Island this week

After 48 hours of unrelenting rain, water stills on a flooded street in Hilo, Hawaii, a city on the eastern shore of the Big Island

A once quiet stream gushes in Hilo, Hawaii, after nearly three feet of rainfall caused waterways around the island to swell

George and Elizabeth Chang walk their dogs along Waikiki Bay as Lane, now a tropical storm, approaches Honolulu

Shannon Velez, 23, and Miguel Aceves, 23, who were visiting from Los Angeles, enjoy the calm on a pier in Waikiki Bay

More than 2,000 people have taken shelter at 45 evacuation centers yet still many were seen on a crowded Waikiki Beach

Elsewhere on the Big Island, the National Guard and firefighters rescued six people and a dog from a flooded home, while five California tourists were rescued from another house.

A different type of evacuation took place on Oahu, the state's most populated island.

Officials with the Department of Land and Natural Resources transferred about 2,000 rare Hawaiian snails from a mountain marsh to offices in downtown Honolulu. A staffer will spend the night and place ice around their cages in case the air conditioning goes out.

Some of the snails are the last of their kind, including one named George that's the sole remaining Achatinella apexfulva in captivity. Staff members are trying to keep him safe in case he's able to reproduce.

In just 24 hours the once Category 5 hurricane downgraded to a Tropical Storm by 5pm Friday evening with 70mph winds

The storm is headed to the western islands of Hawaii and was last measured about 150 miles away from the capital Honolulu

However the island is expected to get plenty more rain as the storm continues to make its way through Hawaii

As flooding hit the Big Island, brush fires broke out in areas of Maui and Oahu susceptible to flames.

Some residents in a shelter on Maui had to flee when a fire got too close, and another fire forced people from their homes. A woman got burns on her hands and legs and was flown to Honolulu, Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said. Her condition wasn't clear.

A man posted a video on Instagram showing flames several stories high starting to envelop parked cars. Josh Galinato said he was trying to sleep when he smelled smoke in his apartment in the tourist town of Lahaina.

'I opened up my front door, and I just saw the fire spreading and coming downhill,' Galinato said. He and neighbors honked horns to alert others to the danger.

Joseph Azam, who was vacationing in Maui with family and friends, hoped rain from the hurricane arrived before the flames did.

'Trying to figure which comes first, the fire or the rain,' said Azam, who's from Oakland, California, and is staying at a hotel. 'We're praying the rain arrives soon.'

Others prayed for the rain to stay away.

Swimmers get tossed around at Makapu'u Beach on Friday iin Waimanalo, Hawaii as the hurricane approached Oahu

Huge waves violently slammed cliffs near the Halona Blowhole on Friday as the ocean swells impacted Hawaii coastline

An unbothered beach-goer lets her towel fly in the wind on Kailua Beach on as 85mph winds ripped through the islands

In Waikiki, the man-made Ala Wai Canal is likely to flood if predicted rains arrive, said Ray Alexander of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The canal marks the northern boundary of the Waikiki tourist district. Worries that it could overflow in heavy rains have prompted efforts to reduce the risk.

'The canal has flooded in the past, and I believe it's safe to say based on the forecast of rainfall it's likely to flood again - the impacts of which we aren't prepared to say at this time,' Alexander said.

Major flooding could damage 3,000 structures and cost more than $1billion in repairs, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported, citing corps estimates.

Officials received $345million last summer to build detention basins, a flood wall and pumping station, beginning in 2020 and expected to be completed in 2023, Alexander said.

Bodyboarders jump into the surf along Waikiki Beach ahead of Hurricane Lane on Friday in Honolulu

A boogie boarder walks near the swollen surf at Makapu'u Beach on Friday in Waimanalo, Hawaii

People stand along sea cliffs on the southeast shore of Oahu to watch punishing waves as Hurricane Lane approaches

Threatening waves crash on a rocky coastline near Honolulu as Hurricane Lane churns just 135miles away in the Pacific

Not everyone feared the storm.

Swimmers and surfers ignored warnings from authorities and plunged into powerful waves at Oahu's famed Waikiki Beach, which was closed.

Emergency officials said repeatedly over loudspeakers: 'Please get out of the water! It's very dangerous!' Honolulu mayor Caldwell pleaded with tourists that they were putting themselves in danger as the storm churned closer.

Crystal Bowden, a tourist from California, watched powerful waves crash against cliffs on Oahu's southeast coast.

'I came in to visit, got here just in time for the hurricane,' Bowden said. 'We're kind of excited.'

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said about 2,000 people were in shelters, mostly in Oahu. Honolulu's shelters would stay open until midday Saturday, Caldwell said.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with about only four or five named storms a year. Hawaii rarely gets hit. The last major storm to hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come close in recent years.

This photo provided by Jessica Henricks shows damage from Hurricane Lane on Friday near Hilo on Hawaii's eastern coast

Catastrophic flash-flooding has been reported across large swaths of the state after 48 hours of unrelenting rains

The city of Hilo, Hawaii was inundated with rain leaving residents stranded waist-deep in water following the delugeA swanky fundraising event featuring Malcolm Turnbull as its star attraction has been cancelled in the wake of the leadership spill.

The 'Federal Business Policy Exchange' event was supposed to raise as much money as possible for the next federal election, but has since been cancelled.

The scrapped fundraiser is major blow for the Liberal Party, with some officials suggesting that any imminent election would leave the party strapped for cash, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

A swanky fundraising event that was going to feature Malcolm Turnbull as the star attraction has been cancelled in the wake of the leadership spill

The event, which was to be held at the Sydney offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers, was supposed to be an opportunity for guests to meet and greet ministers.

Tickets for the entire full-day fundraiser, including meetings with the ministers, were listed at a whopping $12,500-per-head.

Guests were allowed to nominate five one on one meetings with ministers of their choice, followed by a sit down dinner with the PM and his cabinet at Catalina Rose Bay later that evening.

The luxurious waterfront restaurant in Sydney's eastern suburbs, which saw a young Neil Perry launch his career, is renowned for its delicious seafood and stunning vista.

The cancelled meet and greet is just another big-money fundraising event that has been scrapped, prompting some federal MPs to question the fundraising efforts of certain MPs, the publication reported.

NSW Liberal president Philip Ruddock, who singled out the best fundraisers in late May, is understood to have threatened to 'name and shame' electorates that are falling short.

The cancelled fundraiser was supposed to include a luxe dinner with the former PM and his cabinet at Catalina Rose Bay (pictured)

Catalina Rose Bay (pictured) in Sydney's eastern suburbs is renowned for its delicious seafood and stunning vista.

A spokesperson for PwC told the Financial Review that the event had been organised by The Liberal Party not PwC and had been postponed until further notice.

'We have been advised by the Australian Business Network that it has postponed this event,' the spokesperson said.

A Liberal Party spokesman reportedly told The Daily Telegraph that the event has indeed been cancelled.On one of the worst days of his presidency, Donald Trump was chatting aboard Air Force One when the conversation took a detour into gallows humor.

Trump was returning from a rally in West Virginia on Tuesday just hours after two former members of his inner circle were found or pleaded guilty, when one passenger quipped that a news story would surely soon be breaking about the president fuming on board. Everyone laughed, including the president.

Despite the momentary levity, though, Trump is increasingly frustrated and isolated as the investigations that have long dogged his White House plunge into the personal territory he once declared off-limits.

One by one, the president's men have turned against him.

Trump steps off Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday after a rally in Charleston, West Virginia. He is increasingly frustrated by allies' betrayals

It was a bruising week for Trump, with a trio of men who are intimately familiar with his secrets and business dealings now cooperating with prosecutors.

First, Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, implicated him in testimony about hush money payments to two women who allege affairs with him. On the same day, his former campaign chairman was found guilty on a slew of financial charges. At least Paul Manafort had nothing to say about Trump or his campaign.

But then came revelations that his longtime friend, David Pecker, the CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc., had been granted immunity from prosecution to provide information, followed by news that Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who had once worked for Trump's father, was cooperating as well.

There is no indication their cooperation extends beyond the scope of the Cohen probe. But for Trump - who has long demanded loyalty from those around him - the revelations have only added to long-simmering fury about the investigations that began with questions about Russian election meddling but have broadened from there.

Allies wonder what Trump might do if the pressure continues to increase.

'This is a bridge too far. They are trying to undo this president,' said former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg.

The President's Men: Following the guilty plea of Michael Cohen (left), one-time Trump allies David Pecker (center) and Allen Weisselberg (right) signed immunity deals with prosecutors

As the president exited Washington for a day trip to Ohio on Friday, a White House official said Trump was unhappy with what he perceived as disloyalty but far from melting down.

Another person with knowledge of Trump's thinking said the president continues to direct much of his ire at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who infuriated him by recusing himself from the Russia probe. Both people, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private discussions.

Trump tweeted at Sessions on Friday demanding that he investigate a litany of perceived wrongs, declaring insultingly, 'Come on Jeff, you can do it, the country is waiting!'

Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio says the president may be surprised that he can't exert more control from the West Wing over his former friends and employees.

'He's less powerful in these relationships now than he was before he became president. That must just amaze him,' said D'Antonio, author of 'Never Enough, Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success.'

'He's sitting behind the Resolute Desk and he can push a button and get a Coke but he can't control Michael Cohen.'

Within the West Wing, aides have grown increasingly numb to the drumbeat of bad news, though the revelation of Cohen's plea and the immunity deals took some by surprise.

Trump reacts to a question from a reporter on Tuesday as he sits at the Resolute Desk

Cohen pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Manhattan to campaign finance violations alleging he coordinated with Trump on a hush-money scheme to buy the silence of a porn actress and a Playboy model who alleged affairs. It was later reported that, as part of the probe into Cohen, immunity was granted to Weisselberg and Pecker.

The probe into Cohen was triggered in part by a referral from special counsel Robert Mueller, who separately is looking into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, has said Cohen has information 'that would be of interest' to the special counsel.

The White House official insisted that West Wing staffers continue to keep their heads down and do their jobs. On Thursday evening, the person said, dozens of staffers gathered on Chief of Staff John Kelly's porch to celebrate the recent birthdays of a trio of staffers: Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

While they snacked on homemade cakes and chatted, the staffers welcomed a surprise visit from the president, who delivered a speech and made jokes, acting like nothing was wrong and winning cheers from aides as he left.

Still, the week's developments brought the investigations up to the doorstep of Trump Tower - a place that Trump has warned Mueller is a no-go.

Trump Tower, the headquarters of the Trump Organization, is seen on Friday. Investigators seem to be tightening the noose around the company, despite warnings from Trump

Weisselberg, the 71-year-old Trump Organization CFO, is intimately familiar with Trump's business dealings, having overseen his corporate ledgers through his rise in the New York real estate world and his international dealings in the years before he launched his presidential bid.

The chief financial officer has worked for Trump companies since he joined the president's father, Fred Trump, in the 1970s as an accountant, and is a rich repository of knowledge of the family company.

The possibility of him answering questions from investigators poses a new danger for the president as federal prosecutors in Washington and Manhattan dig deeper into Trump's business affairs.

A year ago, Trump told The New York Times that Mueller would be crossing a 'red line' if he began to look at Trump's and his family's finances unrelated to Russia.

Asked if he would fire Mueller if that were to happen, Trump responded, 'I can't, I can't answer that question because I don't think it's going to happen.'

As the negative news mounted throughout the past week, allies also expressed frustration with the lack of a coordinated pushback effort.

The White House said it's up to Trump's outside lawyers to deal with much of the news. They argued that the president was not directly implicated, even though Cohen said in court that he and Trump had coordinated.

Some also questioned just how Trump would react if the bad news continued to roll in. Nunberg specifically cautioned against his making any speedy moves.

'The only thing I would say to the president is do not do anything rash because Mueller would love for you to fire him, so that you will be impeached,' he said.A legal clerk and environmental activist who inspired a Hollywood blockbuster has warned Australians about a deadly chemical contamination.

American Erin Brockovich, who is 'sketchy' about our food and refuses to eat our beef, claims Australia has a 'huge problem' with pollution and the links between chemicals and negative health effects.

The 58-year-old visited Australia on tour to meet communities affected by PFAS contamination that has stemmed from military bases in Oakey, Queensland and Katherine, the Northern Territory.

The visit was organised with Shine Lawyers who have launched class actions against the government, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

American legal clerk and environmental activist Erin Brockovich (pictured) claims Australia has a 'huge problem' with pollution, notably PFAS contamination

Ms Brockovich compares her message with a scene from the film Twister where actor Bill Paxton is warned about an impending storm.

'Then he says: ''it's already here'',' she said. 'It's already been here (the contamination) and it's rearing its ugly head because all of those latency periods have run.'

PFAS refers to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that are dangerous for the environment.

The chemicals are recognised as a human health hazard in the United States where victims exposed to the waste have won multimillion-dollar payouts.

Brockovich said the Australian government was not doing enough to fix the problem.

Brockovich (pictured) said the Australian government was not doing enough to fix the problem

Brockovich (pictured) also refuses to eat Australian beef and is 'sketchy' about Australian food because of government advice to farmer

'There's solutions to these problems, why are we not fixing them? Cause we don't want to spend the money up front and we'd rather just poison everybody and run it out and see if we can get away with it?' she said.

Ms Brockovich refuses to eat Australian beef and is 'sketchy' about Australian food because of government advice to farmers.

Farmers in PFAS-contaminated areas are allowed to sell their produce on the open market despite governments advising not to eat their own beef or fish from the area.

'I'm not sure why your government would tell the farmers who have poisoned herds, don't eat the meat, but you let them sell it,' she said.

Ms Brockovich grew to fame when she built a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in 1993 without a formal legal education.

The successful lawsuit inspired the 2000 film, Erin Brockovich, where she was played by Julia Roberts.Advertisement

Hurricane Lane continues to batter Hawaii's Big Island as it slowly rolls through, bringing with it torrential rain and catastrophic flooding.

In just 24 hours Lane downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane to a Tropical Storm by Friday evening, after beating the island with 85mph winds, pounding rains, and landslides.

The furious storm has left communities without power and forced thousands to seek emergency shelter as the storm leers perilously close to Hawaii's capital Honolulu.

And the slow-moving hurricane isn't leaving anytime soon as it's spiraling at just two mph. It's trajectory is headed towards the Western islands, just skirting Oahu, the state's most populated island.

It was last positioned 150 miles south of Honolulu.

Hurricane Lane downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane to a Tropical Storm by Friday evening but beach-goers couldn't be bothered as they dared into the raging waters to surf along Waikiki Beach ahead on Friday

The menacing weather that went from a Category 3 storm to a Tropical Storm by Friday evening didn't deter adrenaline seekers from heading to the sea cliffs on the southeast shore of Oahu as Hurricane Lane approaches on Friday

Unbothered! A beachgoer lets her towel fly in the wind on Kailua Beach on as 85mph winds ripped through the islands

Swimmers get tossed around at Makapu'u Beach on Friday iin Waimanalo, Hawaii as the hurricane approached Oahu

For some surfers the storm brought enticing waves, an adventurer pictured out with his board in Honolulu on Friday

TheRed Cross said more than 2,000 people were sheltering in 45 evacuation centers yet still many headed to Waikiki Beach

Huge waves violently slammed cliffs near the Halona Blowhole on Friday as the ocean swells impacted Hawaii coastline

'Regardless of the hurricane track, life-threatening impacts will extend far beyond the center position as Lane approaches the islands,' the National Weather Center said.

'Excessive rainfall associated with this slow moving hurricane will continue to impact the Hawaiian Islands into the weekend, leading to catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides,' it added.

The outer bands of the storm dumped three feet of rain over the course of 48 hours on the mostly rural Big Island, where the Kilauea Volcano is still erupting.

The rains left the city of Hilo - home to 43,000 - waist-deep in water as National Guard and emergency services scrambled to rescue six people and a dog from their flooded residence. Five tourists from California were also rescued from another home, according to CBS.

'There's so much rain, the drainage is all saturated. We're just letting nature take its course, getting water down to the ocean and responding to any rescues,' Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe said.

Hilo, Hawaii was left waist-deep in water following Lane's deluge that inundated the eastern half of the island

A view of the drainage canal in Hilo reveals the shocking amount of torrential rain that passed through the city on Friday

Preparing for the worst: As the raging storm leered closer, stores were boarded up near Waikiki Beach ahead of the blow

Locals stocked up on food and essentials, pictured outside a convenience store near Waikiki beach ahead of Hurricane Lane

The vicious 85mph winds and three feet of rain battered neighborhoods in Hilo, Hawaii, a destroyed home pictured above

The city of Hilo, Hawaii was inundated with rain leaving residents stranded waist-deep in water following the deluge

Drenched: A road in Hilo pictured completely submerged after the region saw three feet of rain dump from the heavens

Brush fires: While certain regions of Hawaii suffered flooding, wildfires broke out in Oahu and Maui, spreading for 300 acres

Resident Margaret Collins, 69, said she was shocked to awaken to the sound of moving water in her backyard in Hilo.

'So I got up out of bed and looked out my bedroom window and saw water 3 feet high gushing past my window,' she said. 'And that's when I realized I was standing in water.'

'My house is completely inundated with mudwater,' she echoed adding that she was told the damage wouldn't be covered by insurance.

Brad Kieserman, vice president of Disaster Operations and Logistics for the American Red Cross, said more than 2,000 people were sheltering in 45 evacuation centers.

'I would not be surprised to wake up tomorrow morning and see evacuation center populations at or above 2,500 or 3,000,' he added.

As floods washed over the Big Island, brush fires raged fury in Maui and Oahu stretching 300 acres forcing residents to flee. A woman sustained burns to the hands and legs and was flown to Honolulu for treatment.

Drone footage shows large swaths of flooding in the town of Hilo after Hurricane Lane passed through Hawaii's Big Island

People watch from the Puueo Street bridge as the Wailuku River rages below them in Hilo, Hawaii, on Thursday afternoon

In just 24 hours the once Category 3 hurricane downgraded to a Tropical Storm by 5pm Friday evening with 70mph winds

The storm is headed to the western islands of Hawaii and was last measured about 150miles away from the capital Honolulu

However the island is expected to suffer plenty of more rain as the storm continues to make its way through Hawaii

An Instagram video of the fiery display shows flacks reaching several stories high swallow parked cars.

'I opened up my front door, and I just saw the fire spreading and coming downhill,' Josh Galinato said upon smelling smoke in his Lahaina apartment.

Despite the damage there are some that refuse to find safety.

Bold swimmers and surfers keen to test out the storm's rushing waves have been spotted jumping of seawalls and into the turbulent ocean, ignoring warnings from authorities blaring on loudspeakers.

Adrenaline seekers were seen daring into the open water at Oahu's famous Waikiki beach, which was officially closed.

Emergency warnings were aired stating: 'Please get out of the water! It's very dangerous!'

The storm is expected to head west next on Saturday, as tropical storm watches have been set for Hawaii's most western inhabited islands of Kauai and Niihau.

President Trump spoke to Hawaii Gov. David Ige on Friday, according to the White House said.

He tweeted that the government 'is fully committed to helping the people of Hawaii' in light of the raging hurricane and he's already declared a disaster declaration for Hawaii.

Hurricane Lane is the first to make landfall in Hawaii since Hurricane Iniki rolled through the island of Kauai, killing six and causing billions of dollars in damage.A hilarious video likening Australia's politicians to children in the 1990s classic movie 'Kindergarten Cop' has resurfaced following last week's leadership crisis.

In an uncanny representation of Australia's tumultuous political situation, the faces of the county's leading figures have been superimposed on primary school children.

Under the watchful eye of Arnold Schwarzenegger, leading figures including Bill Shorten, Bob Katter and Malcolm Turnbull appear to run amuck inside a classroom.

The hilarious clip likened Australian politics to the 1990s classic 'Kindergarten Cop' with Arnold Schwarzenegger

The video was originally featured on ABS's Insiders in 2016

The video was originally featured on ABC's Insiders in 2016, but went viral on Saturday after the same key-figures were involved in a leadership spill on Friday.

As Scott Morrison entered his first day as the nation's 30th Prime Minister on Saturday.

The leadership was prompted by Peter Dutton, who worked as a former police officer in Queensland.

Former MP Malcolm Turnbull announced he will retire from politics.

Voters tagged, shared and scoffed at the scarily accurate depiction of Australian parliament.

One Facebook user commented, 'Yep that's our Polies at work,' another said maintenance worker called to parliament house to fix revolving door.

One user simply stated, 'Not a bad summary'.

The video was originally featured on ABC's Insiders in 2016, but went viral on Saturday after the same key-figures were involved in a leadership spill on FridayKelly Gregory (pictured), 35, was placed into custody by Denver police on Sunday after she approached a woman and asked if she could hold her seven-month-old infant

A Texas woman was arrested last week in Colorado for allegedly tackling a mother daylight and running off with her baby.

Kelly Gregory, 35, was placed into custody by Denver police on Sunday after she approached a woman and asked if she could hold her seven-month-old infant.

The mother, identified only as J. Jones, refused the request telling Gregory that she was 'in a hurry,' according to The Denver Post.

Continuing along their way, Jones said that the 35-year-old began following them.

According to a police report, after traveling some distance, Gregory tackled the mother from behind and ran off with her stroller, baby in-tow.

'It was crazy. I've never seen her before in my life,' J. Jones told the Post in a interview days after the incident, adding that she was forced to chase down Gregory and fight for her child.

Jones, whose identity is being protected because she is staying at a shelter for women of domestic abuse, said she 'grabbed the woman around the waist, pulled her away from the stroller and wrestled her to the ground.'

The mother, identified only as J. Jones, refused the request telling Gregory that she was 'in a hurry' (Pictured: Intersection of Colfax Avenue and Downing Street where incident occurred)

Jones eventually pulled free, grabbed the stroller and fled.

Court documents show that Gregory, who is a fugitive in Texas for a drug-related offense, began yelling and ran after Jones.

Jones said that she then 'punched her in the face' and ran into a nearby convenience store.

Explaining to the cashier what had transpired, the employee agreed to let her stay inside the store until the coast was clear.

Confident that the disturbed woman had moved on, Jones said she walked out of the store only top have Gregory emerge from behind the building and ambush her again.

Jones was finally able to duck out at a pizza shop, where she called the police.

Gregory was arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit second-degree kidnapping, the Post reported.

Gregory was arrested and charged with criminal attempt to commit second-degree kidnapping (Pictured: Numerous mugshots of Gregory, who has been arrested multiple times for drug-related offenses and assault)

Texas authorities had labeled Gregory as a fugitive after she fled the state while serving probation for two separate felony drug convictions

Her next appearance before the court is scheduled on Sept. 11. Her bond has been set at $5,000.

Jones, who is enrolled in a Denver college studying social work, told the Post that she is worried that Gregory's bond has been set too low and will soon be set free.

'I think that is ridiculous. I don't think that's right,' Jones said. 'She knows what my car looks like and where I live.'

Texas authorities had labeled Gregory as a fugitive after she fled the state while serving probation for two separate felony drug convictions.

The 35-year-old also was also convicted of a third misdemeanor for assault causing injury to a family member.Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren took a jab at Senator John McCain on Friday, hours after his family announced that he would no longer receive treatment for the aggressive brain cancer hes been battling for the last year.

Lahren made the tone-deaf comments during a campaign event in Arizona for Republican senate candidate Kelli Ward.

While addressing a group of Ward supporters, Lahren reportedly said: We cant put up another RINO like McCain and Flake.

CNN reporter Kyung Lah, who was covering the event, tweeted that when Ward got up to speak she repeated Lahrens comment saying they could not elect another McCain or Flake.

During a campaign event in Arizona on Friday, Fox News host Tomi Lahren slammed ailing John McCain as a RINO or Republican In Name Only

McCain, pictured in DC last year, has been battling aggressive brain cancer. His family announced on Friday that he was stopping medical treatment

The term RINO stands for Republican In Name Only and is used by conservative Republicans against other Republicans who they believe has fallen short of certain political ideals and are more liberal than they feel they should be.

Lahren made the remark the same day the McCain family thanked everyone for their support and said the 81-year-old senator and war hero had chosen to stop medical treatment more than a year after he revealed he was battling glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer.

The progress of disease and inexorable advance of age render their verdict, the family said in a statement shared on Twitter by his daughter and The View co-host Meghan McCain. With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.

It continued: Our family is immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers over the last year, and for the continuing outpouring of concern and affection from Johns many friends and associates, and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers.

Meghan said in a tweet that her family could not have made it as far as they did without the love and generosity they received from everyone.

Youve given us strength to carry on, she added.

According to a CNN reporter, Kelli Ward repeated Lahren's comment saying they could not elect another McCain or Flake

Senator Jeff Flake was also labeled as a RINO by Ward and Lahren during the campaign event in Arizona on Friday

Cindy McCain, the senators wife, tweeted: I love my husband with all of my heart. God bless everyone who has cared for my husband along this journey.

Lahren was slammed on social media for her comment about McCain.

'It's DISGUSTING to read about @kelliwardaz and @TomiLahren attacking @SenJohnMcCain at a campaign event on the same day he ended treatment for cancer,' journalist Roland Martin tweeted. 'I hope she loses. Not because she's a Republican. But because she doesn't deserve to follow him into the Senate. She's uncouth.'

Fellow journalist Thor Benson called Lahren a 'disgusting human being', while Twitter user Marc Anthony said she was an 'idiot'.

'Remind me what war #TheStupidBarbie served in,' user Susan Campbell tweeted

Twitter user Marc Anthony said she was an 'idiot' and called McCain a 'devout Christian' and 'patriot'

Fellow journalist Thor Benson called Lahren a 'disgusting human being' in a tweeted Friday nigght

'It's DISGUSTING to read about @kelliwardaz and @TomiLahren attacking @SenJohnMcCain at a campaign event on the same day he ended treatment for cancer,' journalist Roland Martin tweeted

Charles Messing said Lahren was a 'horrible human being' and said she is what's wrong with this country

Lahren has not commented on the backlash while Twitter users continue to slam her on social media

'Saw where @TomiLahen said snide nonsense about @SenJohnMcCain as he and his family announce they won't pursue further cancer treatment. Remind me what war #TheStupidBarbie served in,' user Susan Campbell tweeted. 'Remind me precisely what #StupidBarbie brings to the table'.

Ward came under fire earlier this week when she suggested that Flake and McCain were to blame for Mollie Tibbetts' death after the 20-year-old's body was found in a cornfield in Brooklyn, Iowa.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who is in the country illegally, was arrested and charged for killing the young woman while she was out for an evening jog.

'The lack of leadership & courage by open border senators like @JeffFlake, @SenJohnMcCain, & #amnesty advocate Martha McSally contribute to these senseless deaths. We need true leadership in the Senate to #BuildTheWall & secure our borders! #VoteWard,' she tweeted.Newly sworn-in Prime Minister Scott Morrison is taking action to deal with Australia's worsening drought conditions, just a day after taking the top spot.

Mr Morrison met with national drought coordinator Major General Stephen Day, and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack on Saturday in Canberra, to highlight is focus on a drought fix.

The action comes as Sydney and parts of New South Wales have been gifted with their first rainfall in months.

Newly sworn-in Prime Minister Scott Morrison (middle) met with national drought coordinator Major General Stephen Day (left) and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack (right)

The action comes as Sydney and parts of New South Wales have been gifted with their first rainfall in months

It's the wettest the state has been in a long time, but according to the Bureau of Meteorology, it isn't going to make even a dent in the rain deficits affecting the state.

The state's north is expected to collect the most rain over the course of the weekend, with Tamworth looking at receiving 45 millimeters - the most the city would have seen since October last year.

Australia's east coast was told to brace for a month's worth of rain over two days, as heavy showers and thunderstorms hit parts of NSW and Queensland's coast.

'Some parts of NSW will get their best rain in about six months or more,' meteorologist Brett Dutschke told Daily Mail Australia.

'But a good chunk of far western NSW will get no worthwhile rain at all.'

Meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, Dr Adam Morgan, said that while the rain is welcome, it's not going to fix the drought.

Prime Minister Morrison has plans to visit drought-stricken Queensland next week in his first official visit as Australian Prime Minister.

'I'm not pretending to know one end of a sheep from another,' Mr Morrison said.

It's the wettest the state has been in months, but it isn't going to make a dent in the drought

Prime Minister Morrison has plans to visit drought-stricken Queensland next week in his first official visit as Australian Prime Minister

'But I do know people are hurting in the country, and they have been hurting terribly.'

Mr Morrison acknowledged the one-week-old appointment of Major General Day by his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull.

He also made note that defeating the drought will require bringing together resources of government at all levels.

'Another major general once told me don't rush to failure, and I think it's important we listen, we plan, we coordinate and we respond,' Mr Morrison said, looking to Major General Day.

'I'm up to the challenge,' the major general responded.

'Dealing with the drought is a team sport. I'm glad to be on the team.'

Labor welcomed Mr Morrison prioritising drought as 'good news,' but said the role of climate change needed to be acknowledged.

Australia has been gripped by the most intense droughts of the last 100 years, and farmers are struggling to make ends mee

The state's north is expected to collect the most rain over the course of the weekend

Sydney has received only 1.4mm of rain in the entire month of August, a large decline from the average rainfall, usually sitting at 55mm.

Australia has been gripped by the most intense droughts of the last 100 years, and farmers are struggling to make ends meet.

Some farmers are spending tens of thousands of dollars per truckload of hay just to feed their animals.

With food for livestock fast running out, farmers have been forced to resort to drastic measures, such as shooting their stock.

Sydney has received only 1.4mm of rain in the entire month of August, a large decline from the average rainfall, usually sitting at 55mmUS President Donald Trump has phoned to congratulate new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Morrison tweeted on Saturday that he had shared the story of ANZAC hero Leslie 'Bull' Allen when the president called, as a symbol of 100 years of mateship with the US.

'Had a great discussion with @realDonaldTrump this morning,' Morrison said.

US President Donald Trump (pictured) has phoned to congratulate new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison

'We affirmed the strength of the relationship between the US and Australia.'

A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said Morrison used the call to invite Trump to visit Australia.

'Both underlined the strength and depth of our alliance and the unbreakable friendship between Australia and the United States,' the spokesperson said.

'Both leaders agreed to stay in contact and to meet at an early opportunity.'

After Saturday's call, Trump took to Twitter to publicly congratulate Morrison on becoming Australia's 30th prime minister.

'Congratulations to new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison,' Trump, who flew to Ohio on Air Force One on Friday, wrote.

PM Morrison revealed the leaders spoke via Twitter (pictured). He shared story of war hero to symbolise century of mateship between the nations

'There are no greater friends than the United States and Australia!'

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull was toppled in a Liberal party leadership challenge on Friday, with Morrison emerging as the winner.

Turnbull had a rocky start to his relationship with Trump when the president cut short their first White House phone call over the Australian asylum seeker deal.

The two leaders patched up their differences with carefully staged meetings following the initial spat.

Trump also tweeted to congratulate Morrison for becoming Prime Minister (pictured)

The Trump administration is keen to continue to strengthen the bond.

'We look forward to working with the new prime minister and his cabinet,' a State Department official told AAP.

'We enjoyed a very close and positive relationship with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and we are confident that close working relationship under Prime Minister Morrison will continue.'

'Bull' Allen was an Australian soldier who served in New Guinea in World War II.

A stretcher bearer, he was awarded the US Silver Star after rescuing 12 American casualties during an assault against the Japanese on Mount Tambu in July 1943.Hundreds of supporters attended a 'March for Men' protest and two males were arrested during the anti-feminist demonstration.

On Saturday crowds of men, women and children came together in Melbourne to protest against misandry.

The rally which was organised by journalism graduate, Sydney Watson, took place at Federation Square in the city's CBD.

Scroll down for video

Sydney Watson (pictured) planned for hundreds of men, women and children to come together to protest against misandry

Two men were arrested at the controversial protest after their message attracted counter protesters from the Campaign Against Facism and Racism activist group.

Victoria Police confirmed two men, aged 25 and 33, were arrested for wilful damage and riotous behaviour.

Ms Watson, who is an anti-feminist and Trump supporter hosted a 'March from Men' to combat 'a collective assault' on males.

Victoria Police said: 'We are equipped and well-prepared to deploy resources, respond and intervene where required'

Ms Watson created the march because of the way 'media, politicians and talking-heads have spoken about men in this country'.

The men's rights advocate said: 'Respect is a two way street. The narrative needs to change. All I have ever advocated is treating each other better.'

Ms Watson began a GoFundMe page to fund the protest which had a target of $5,000.

The rally which was organised by journalism graduate, Sydney Watson took place at Federation Square in the city's CBD

The men's rights advocate said: 'Respect is a two way street. The narrative needs to change. All I have ever advocated is treating each other better'

In under a month, the half-American political commentator raised $5,660 - with the excess donated to male focused charities.

'Despite the fact I'm Conservative, I don't care what side of the political spectrum you're on.

'I don't care if you're left wing, right wing, everyone can come along because ultimately male issues and female issues don't just affect the left and right, they affect everyone,' she said to her YouTube followers.

In under a month, the half-American political commentator raised $5,660 for the protest - with the excess being donated to male focused charities.

Protesters descended in to the city centre to show support for men. The anti-feminist movement spark controversy in the city

The highly-controversial protest sparked fury from different facets of the community as it kicked off just after 1pm.

Victoria Police came out in full-force for the protest and warned they would conduct weapon checks.

'We are equipped and well-prepared to deploy resources, respond and intervene where required.

'Victoria Police will not tolerate those who break the law or engage in anti-social behaviour.'The moment young boy cried hysterically after he was told Malcolm Turnbull was ousted as Prime Minister has been caught on camera.

The five-year-old boy from Perth was devastated by Friday's Liberal leadership spill that saw Scott Morrison take Australia's top job.

The video was filmed by the boy's mother, Helen, who shared it with Perth Now.

A five-year-old boy from Perth has cried hysterically after Malcolm Turnbull was ousted as Prime Minister (pictured)

'I want Malcolm Turnbull,' the boy screamed while tears streamed down his face.

Helen said her son had begun to recover on Saturday after a good night's sleep allowed him to feel more positive.

'He's fine this morning, we had a chat about Malcolm going to spend more time with his grandkids,' she said.

'He loves general knowledge. He was proud he could tell a teacher who the PM was - so I guess the change took the wind out of his sails a bit.'

Malcolm Turnbull welcomed his first day of retirement by enjoying an early-morning walk in Canberra on Saturday.

In a picture shared to social media, the former PM appeared to be in high spirits as he posed alongside family.Richard Millett (pictured) said Jewish people were 'scared on a physical level' and demanded an apology from Jeremy Corbyn

A Jewish blogger who was targeted in Jeremy Corbyn's attack on 'Zionists' who did not understand 'English irony' has demanded an apology from the Labour leader.

Richard Millett, whose father founded the Millets chain of outdoor clothing stores, said Jewish people were 'scared on a physical level' amid Labour's ongoing anti-Semitism crisis.

Speaking in 2013 at a London conference promoted by Hamas's propaganda website, Mr Corbyn said British 'Zionists' did not want to study history or understand irony 'despite having lived in this country all their lives'.

Mr Millett, 50, called it a 'racist comment' and said Mr Corbyn had implied Jewish people were 'not part of his Britain', The Times reports.

Contrary to Mr Corbyn's claims, Mr Millett studied history at Soas and specialised in the Middle East's history and politics.

His father Alan, a cricket fan who launched his company in south-west London and turned it into a thriving chain, while Richard Millett worked a solicitor and then a journalist.

Demanding a sincere apology, he said: 'I wouldn't want to hear him say, "I'm sorry if I offended you".

'It's almost implying that I'm not English, Jewish people are not necessarily part of this English milieu that he has been part of, I am not part of his Britain.

'I am scared on a physical level and the Jewish community is upset about what they see is happening, I think we are all scared'.

In the footage Mr Corbyn accused a group of British Zionists who had criticised Palestinian ambassador Manuel Hassassian after an earlier speech of having 'two problems'.

He went on: 'One is they don't want to study history, and secondly, having lived in this country for a very long time, probably all of their lives, they don't understand English irony either.'

He said the speech had been 'dutifully recorded by the thankfully silent Zionists who were in the audience on that occasion'. Mr Millett was the only blogger covering the event.

In a statement released on Friday evening Mr Corbyn said he had been defending the ambassador from 'what I thought were deliberate misrepresentations' by people 'for whom English was a first language, when it isn't for the ambassador'.

Mr Corbyn said: 'I described those pro-Israel activists as Zionists, in the accurate political sense and not as a euphemism for Jewish people - and that is made clear in the rest of my speech that day.

'I am now more careful with how I might use the term 'Zionist' because a once self-identifying political term has been increasingly hijacked by anti-Semites as code for Jews.'

Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger had earlier said that the video contained 'inexcusable comments' which made her feel 'unwelcome in my own party'.

Speaking in 2013 at a London conference promoted by the Hamas's propaganda website, Mr Corbyn said British 'Zionists' did not want to study history or understand irony 'despite having lived in this country all their lives'

She wrote on Twitter: 'The video released today of the leader of @UKLabour making inexcusable comments - defended by a party spokesman - makes me as a proud British Jew feel unwelcome in my own party.

'I've lived in Britain all my life and I don't need any lessons in history/irony.'

The Labour leader made the comments at a conference at Friends House in Euston. The event was advertised online by Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades, which is designated a terrorist group by Britain, the EU, the United States and other countries.

In one of the speeches, made by 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alan Hart, 'Zionism' was described as a 'cancer at the heart of international affairs'. It was also called a 'monster' and compared to Nazi Germany.

Several speakers were connected to Hamas. One called for attacks on the Royal Navy in the past, and led a boycott of Holocaust Memorial Day.A metal detectorist has discovered the largest Roman villas in Britain- and it's almost as big as Buckingham Palace.

The historic foundations, which date back to 99AD, were found on land belonging to the family of British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes on their estate near Banbury, Oxfordshire.

A four month project dug up a wealth of incredible artifacts including coffins, Roman coins, bone china and an enormous boar tusk,in a dig led by historian Keith Wescott.

Historian Keith Westcott (pictured) 55, led a team to discover the largest Roman villa in Britian

Local farmer John Taylor had first noticed the foundations after he had ploughed into what he thought was a large stone with his tractor in 1963.

He reached his hand inside a hole in the stone- to find human bones in what turned out to be a sarcophagus that belonged to a high-status Roman-British woman.

Mr Wescott, 55, Director of the Association of Metal Detectorists, said he was 'fascinated' by this story of the thousand-year-old burial site and decided to visit in 2016.

He said: 'I knew she was there for a reason. Who was this woman of such importance? I started to feel a connection to this person, believing her to have been "lost" from a contextual landscape.

A local farmer John Taylor had first noticed the foundations after he had ploughed into what he thought was a large stone with his tractor in 1963

So on 31 October 31, 2016 I went out armed only with a theory, convinced she lay in context to a home befitting her status.

After just 20 minutes Mr Wescott discovered the villa by finding a 1,800-year-old tile that would have used for central heating used by the Romans.

A team of archaeologists descended on the site in April to dig trenches found 178 historical items.

The villas accommodation includes a bath-house with a domed roof, mosaics, a grand dining room, kitchens and living accommodation.

Mr Wescott said: 'It is truly a remarkable find...the possibilities of what we might find are endless.'

Four month project dug up a wealth of incredible artifacts including coffins, Roman coins, bone china and an enormous boar tusk

More than 2 million is being thrown at the project to discover the plot the fully.

Sir Fiennes, who helped take part in the original dig, wants to do a full excavation of the whole site.

He said: 'If no one wants to do it, then it stays happily undisturbed for anther 50 or 100 years until someone comes up with the money or interest.'Via the South China Morning Post: New outbreak shows African swine fever moving south through Chinas pig farms. The report and then a comment:

China, home to the worlds largest pig herd, has reported a fourth outbreak of the deadly African swine fever on Thursday, with worries growing about its rapid spread.

More than 400 pigs have been infected and the disease has now entered Zhejiang province, more than 2,000km from where it was first reported.

The infection has killed 340 hogs on three farms in Wenzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement.

Wenzhou is a 2,150km (1,335 mile) drive south from Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning province, where the first case was reported. It is the furthest site from the original infection so far reported.

The road from Shenyang to Wenzhou travels through the pig producing provinces of Hebei and Shandong, as well as Jiangsu, another infected region.

The third infection, detected at the weekend, was just 890km to the north in another coastal city, Lianyungang. There have also been cases inland in central Henan province.

This may stoke concerns that the disease is being transmitted along busy trade routes that take pigs from markets and farms in the northeast to slaughter and processing in the south. Some farmers have called for a nationwide ban on transporting live pigs.

Authorities have already culled more than 20,000 animals in an attempt to halt the spread of the highly contagious disease, which was first reported in China just three weeks ago.

But the vast distance between the new cases and the original outbreak will escalate worries about how to control the disease across Chinas vast hog herd.

The rapid expansion of pig farms in recent years in Chinas north-eastern cornbelt has increased the number of pigs being moved across country.

Local authorities in Wenzhou have banned the movement of live hogs, related products, and animals that are easily infected in to and outside the affected area, the ministry said.

Mike Coston at Avian Flu Diary has been following this story with some excellent posts.Dumped prime minister Malcolm Turnbull often covered party expenses privately, donating $1.75 million from his own pocket toward the federal campaign last year.

The Liberal Party are reportedly struggling to reach funding targets for campaigning, resorting to charity events to raise the funds.

However, with Mr Turnbull's public elimination from politics, many of the upcoming events with the former prime minister as the headliner are set to be postponed or cancelled.

Ex Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured with wife, Lucy) often covered party expenses privately, donating $1.75 million from his own pocket toward the federal campaign last year

The poor fundraising efforts of a series of Coalition MPs are set to be publicly announced as the party clambers to consider alternative solutions to still raise funds at the big ticket events.

New South Wales Liberal president Philip Ruddock threatened to 'name and shame' electorates not contributing a sustainable amount to the federal election kitty, the Herald Sun reported.

Australia's new Prime Minister Scott Morrison has no such worries to contest with, and is said to already well ahead of his $110,000 target for the campaign.

However, Mr Turnbull had structured a series of events in which he would be the main attraction, with tickets starting from $500 through to $12,500 for a sit down meal with the man himself and his colleagues.

Australia's newest Prime Minister Scott Morrison has no such worries to contest with, allegedly already well ahead of his $110,000 target for the campaign

The event was set to replenish the struggling Liberal Party's pockets as they head into a federal election against Labor and Bill Shorten.

Labor ran a similar event in the past, and successfully raised over $1 million.

Two events scheduled for September 21 with Mr Turnbull are also set to be put on hold.

One of these was a fundraiser held by high profile television executive David Leckie (pictured) and his wife, Skye, at their Woollahra property

One of these was a fundraiser held by high profile television executive David Leckie and his wife, Skye, at their Woollahra property.

The event, titled 'at home with the Prime Minister' was priced at $500 a head, and was expected to be a crucial fundraiser for the party.

Three of the party members who signed the petition to overthrow Mr Turnbull, including Craig Kelly, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and Sussan Ley are all significantly under their target fundraising amounts.

Three of the party members who signed the petition to overthrow Mr Turnbull, including Craig Kelly (right), Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (left) and Sussan Ley (centre) are all significantly under their target fundraising amounts

As of July, Mr Kelly is reported to have only raised $34 of his $70,000 total target.

The electorate contributions comprise one of the primary ways in which parties raise their campaigning funds.

Public funding and business contributions also assist parties, however internal memos insinuated the party was facing increasing difficulty in attracting new donors.

Without sufficient funds, or Mr Turnbull's personal donations to help his cause, it appears the Liberal Party may struggle to match or surpass Labor campaigning tactics ahead of the next election.

The Sydney Children's Hospital is a major benefactor of Mr Turnbull's charitable donations

Mr Turnbull's generosity extends well beyond the limitations of his beloved party, recently admitting his entire $528,000 salary from the top job was donated to a number of charities.

The multimillionaire made the revelation in response to a new Labor advertising campaign accusing him of pushing major tax cuts to prop up his personal wealth.

Labor's TV ad accuses Mr Turnbull of dropping tax for big companies because he 'has millions invested in funds which hold shares in dozens of big businesses which would benefit from the tax cuts'.

Mr Turnbull has a ward named after him in Sydney Children's Hospital, due to his enormous contributions.

'The Turnbull family has donated over $1 million in support of Sydney Children's Hospital, in particular for our cancer inpatient ward, of which they are naming rights sponsors,' the hospital said online.

Mr Turnbull also donates money to the Tribal Warrior Aboriginal Corporation to support underprivileged indigenous families and the Wayside Chapel, The Daily Telegraph reported.

In 2015, Mr Turnbull's net worth was in excess of $200 million.

He was the only sitting politician to make the BRW Rich 200 list. He placed 182 in 2009 and 197 in 2010.

The debunked Prime Minister, whose investments have been publicly disclosed and approved under the ministerial code of conduct, accused Labor of playing dirty politics.

When Mr Turnbull became Australia's Prime Minister, he elected to stay at his waterfront estate in Point Piper rather than move to the Lodge.

Mr Turnbull, together with his wife Lucy, bought the beachfront mansion for $5,425,000 in 1994.

When Mr Turnbull became Australia's Prime Minister, he elected to stay at his waterfront estate in Point Piper (pictured) rather than move to the Lodge

The Turnbulls went on to renovate the multi-million dollar home, before buying the neighbouring property for $7.1 million in 1999.

The estate is estimated to be worth the same amount as a neighbouring property which sold for $52 million in 2015.

Before beginning his career in politics, he had dabbled journalism, worked as a barrister and a businessman.

The millionaire from Sydney's affluent eastern suburbs, spoke of his desire to give back to the community, and his stoic belief that others in the position to help out should do what they can.

He and his wife, Lucy, set up the Turnbull foundation in 2001, with their first official donation reportedly in excess of $90,000, to the Redfern Foundation.

'If you're a Christian you could say it's a Christian thing to do but every religion, every ethical system recognises the value of providing support to people that are not as well off as you are,' he said at the time.A signal failure false alarm has caused public transport disruption across Sydney for a second consecutive Saturday in a row.

Delays and cancellations continued across the rail network throughout the day after the signal failure false alarm at Redfern, leaving many frustrated commuters stranded on platforms.

Sydney Trains engineers carried out essential safety checks following an earlier report of a signalling safety fault and confirmed no fault.

Ashfield station (pictured) felt the brunt of major delays for a second Saturday in a row

A blackout on Saturday afternoon also added to the chaos.

The T2 Inner West/Leppington line was one of the worst affected services.

'Delays continue due to a signalling safety fault at Redfern earlier today. Services are running to an altered schedule between Liverpool and Leppington, with buses continuing to supplement these services. We recommend customers check real-time apps before travel,' T2 Sydney Trains tweeted.

T1 Western, Airport and South line services were also disrupted.

Commuters were earlier warned that some Homebush services will terminate and commence from Ashfield, with T2 services making extra stops to supplement.

Angry passengers told 7 News that some western line trains terminated at Ashfield and that other services skipped stations.

A signal failure false alarm took their toll across the whole Sydney rail network. Pictured is Wynyard station

Social media went into meltdown once again on Saturday with frustrations about Sydney Trains

A Transport for NSW spokesman apologised to commuters for the inconvenience.

'Our services are recovering well from the earlier incident at Redfern. Regular services are continuing to operate across the network, including those for people attending special events tonight,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Customers should continue to check mobile apps and transportnsw.info for the latest service updates.'

The T2 Inner West/Leppington line was one of the worst affected services

Buses are replacing ferry services in both directions between Parramatta and Rydalmere due to a low river tide.

Sydney Trains has urged customers travelling to the airport for flights or requiring urgent medical attention to see station staff for assistance.

Frustrated commuters publicly vented their anger on social media.

Sydney Trains tested the patience of commuters for a second weekend in a row

'Sydney: A First World City with a Third World Train System. There's a new tourism angle for you @GladysB,' a man wrote on Twitter.

Another added: 'My train is stopped just before a platform at Macdonaldtown and Ive just missed my connection at Redfern to get to work on time. This will be the third Saturday in a row that Im late. Sort this out!'Questions are being raised at Britain's most troubled zoo over who is responsible after a trail of dead animals have been found over the past eight months.

Borth Wild Animal Kingdom, in Ceredigion, was the place where two lynx died within days of each other, and now a slew of other animals have died- including an emu that escaped close to the lion enclosure and perished after being 'strangled'.

As well as the emu, three northern bald ibis died after getting tangled in some netting and Dana, a squirrel monkey was found in her own blood in an allegedly filthy cage, according to a previous keeper at the zoo.

Mark Anthony, an animal trainer who was at the zoo, has claimed a number of animals have died from neglect, according to The Times

Borth Wild Animal Kingdom is back open and ready for visitors this Bank Holiday weekend

His allegations were backed up by another former keeper at the zoo who claimed a parakeet disappeared after rats infested an aviary and an African green monkey died after being kept in a cold enclosure.

The owner of the zoo, Tracy Tweedy, confirmed the deaths of the emu and three northern bald ibis and said the emu was killed after it got 'loose near the lions' and was 'strangled' by Mr Anthony.

She also said other recently deceased animals died of old age and natural causes and that enclosures were kept clean and the animals were fed the correct food.

Mr Anthony said he had nothing at all to do with the death of the animals.

He said: 'As for the emu, as all the staff will testify, I was dead against its capture,'

He added: 'I wanted to round the emu up and walk behind him quietly. It's nothing more than her not being happy I have spoken out.'

Owners Tracy and Dean Tweedy moved their lives from Kent to Wales to start running the zoo last year.

Lillith, a young Eurasian lynx which is twice the size of a domestic cat escaped from the wildlife park in Wales and was shot

Police at the Borth Animal Kingdom last year after Lillith the lynx escaped from her enclosure

Last year the zoo was banned from keeping animals after two incidents which left two lynxes dead.

Nilly was strangled to death by a member of staff while they were trying to catch the creature and Lillith was shot dead after she escaped from her enclosure.

But the despite the issues the centre will be open this Bank Holiday weekend and the ban on keeping dangerous animals has been lifted.

The council said the zoo had been reopened after being inspected.

A spokesman for the council said: 'The council relies on experienced zoological veterinary practitioners to conduct inspections of the premises and to advise it on best practice.

'She confirmed that 'information exchange has taken place with the wildlife crime unit' but she did not give further details.'Completing a year of community service would improve the integration of refugees into German society, an ally of Angela Merkel has said.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the general secretary of the CDU, said many members of the ruling conservative party supported reinstating either the military draft or a year of community service.

The party was looking at different service proposals for inclusion in the party's next election campaign, she told a French newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

Merkel's decision in 2015 to let in over a million migrants, many fleeing wars in the Middle East, has fuelled support for far-right groups such as PEGIDA and the Alternative for Germany, now the main opposition party in parliament.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (left), the general secretary of the CDU led by Angela Merkel (right), has suggested a year of community service for refugees in Germany

Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer, who has been mentioned as a possible successor to Mrs Merkel, said: 'If refugees complete such a year, either voluntary or compulsory, it would help their integration into the country and society.

'And in the communities, it would increase acceptance that refugees live among us.'

She admitted she herself had reservations, remembering her mother's stories about having to complete a mandatory year of service during the Nazi era.

But she said many party members had told her during a summer 'listening tour' that reinstating the draft - which was scrapped in 2011 - or community service was a good idea for both native Germans and immigrants.

Last week Germany said efforts integrate refugees in the country's labor market are progressing well.

More than 300,000 people from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan and Somalia had a job in May, 103,000 more than a year earlier, officials said.

German officials said this month they had no intention of reinstating compulsory military service, citing the high cost and the difficulty of integrating draftees into the professional military.

The German military has targeted youngsters with online video campaigns to attract recruits

The country scrapped national service in 2011 but pressure on Berlin to beef up its military mounted again in July when U.S. President Donald Trump told a NATO summit that Washington could withdraw support for the alliance.

The military has targeted youngsters with slick online video campaigns, featuring ith lively music and scenes showing the lives of young soldiers.

But they have drawn criticism from some left-wing politicians and child welfare advocates in Germany, where the military remains a sensitive subject more than 70 years after World War II.

In 2017, 2,128 people under 18 joined the German army, up 11.4 per cent from 2016 and accounting for 9 per cent of new recruits, according to government data.

'The Bundeswehr today is a volunteer army ... Therefore, it must approach young people to win them over,' a spokeswoman for the personnel management department at the Bundeswehr said.A hoarder home where a mummified body was found 16 years after the man's death has sold in Sydney for over $2million.

The three-bedroom property went to auction on Saturday with an enormous crowd, despite the haunting memory of deceased attempted robber, Shane Snellman.

Over 200 interested buyers attended the previously decrepit home at 31 Greendale Street, Greenwich, on Sydney's lower North Shore.

A hoarder home where a mummified body was found after 16 years sold in Sydney for over $2 million

Over 200 interested buyers attended the previously decrepit home at 31 Greendale Street, on Sydney's lower North Shore

The three bedroom property went to auction on Saturday with an enormous crowd, despite the haunting memory of deceased attempted robber, Shane Snellman

The property sold for $2.07 million, $270,000 over the initial asking price, shocking many locals, who described the property as the 'ghoul of Greenwich,' realestate.com reported.

Local builder Rob West purchased the home on behalf of an expatriate family currently residing in Singapore.

He was not concerned with the home's horrific history.

A mummified body found in a hoarder's home was found to have been shot, with investigators speculating that the man was a 'was executed on the spot after being caught in the act'

The property sold for $2.07 million, $270,000 over the initial asking price, shocking many locals

'Lots of people die in old houses  every house has a history and this one is just a bit more interesting,' Mr West said.

The body was found wrapped in a carpet inside a bedroom within the home.

He allegedly died from a bullet wound in his shoulder.

The property's reclusive owner, Bruce Roberts, who died of a heart attack last year, allegedly shot the burglar when he entered his home.

The body, which was identified to be a man named Shane Snellman, had a gunshot wound in his left shoulder

Shane Snellman's body, which was wrapped under a roll of carpet, was in the property for 16 years until it was found by cleaners last May

Mr Snellman's body was in the property for 16 years until it was found by cleaners last May.

Mr Snellman was a small-time criminal who was released from jail in 2002 for a number of break-and-enter cases, Yahoo 7 News reports.

'This is particularly a bizarre case. Extreme unusual,' Detective Chief Inspector Simon Jones said.

'We did find some air fresheners that were located around his body, which obviously would indicate someone in the house knew he was there.'

Police also reported that over time, household items and rubbish piled up near Mr Snellman's body.

The property's owner, Bruce Roberts, died from a heart attack last year, leaving the house up for sale

Mr Roberts was known to be a recluse hoarder - police found that household items and rubbish were piling up near Mr Snellman's body

'We did find some air fresheners that were located around his body, which obviously would indicate someone in the house knew he was there,' Detective Chief Inspector Simon Jones said

Shane Snellman (pictured) was a small-time criminal who was released from jail in 2002 for a number of break-and-enter cases

Detective Jones also added that the mummified body was found with injures following a preliminary post-mortem examination.

It was a chilling twist in a case that shocked and puzzled many, especially after more eerie photos of the North Sydney home emerged after it went on sale.

Real estate agents had treating the house's 'interesting history' as a selling point, after photos of the house showing blood-stained floorboards, a burnt kitchen and holes in its peeling walls.



A six-year-old girl has suffered serious facial injuries at the hands of her family's dog.

The little girl from Tarneit, west of Melbourne, is currently in hospital after being mauled by her German Shepherd at her home.

She reportedly escaped into her backyard through an open window, where she was attacked by the animal, which was one of a handful of dogs in the yard at the time.

A six year old girl has suffered serious facial injuries at the hands of her family's German Shepherd

The little girl from Tarneit, west of Melbourne , is currently in hospital after being mauled by her German Shepherd at her home

Neighbours reportedly told Yahoo7 they have had issues with the dog in the past.

'Once, they come inside my house, I report to the council,' a neighbour said.

Rangers have removed the offending dog and it's pup from the property.

The extent of the young child's injuries are currently unknown, however, she remains at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne in a serious condition.Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson has spoken out after her teenage daughter was sexually assaulted on public transport.

Gaia Wise, then 17, was on the London Underground, when she was targeted by an attacker last year.

Dame Emma Thompson said: 'My daughter had the experience of being felt up on the Tube and felt very nervous about going out and on the tube for a long time afterwards,' she told Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

She added women tend to blame themselves for not standing up to abusers, which can lead to negative thinking, and that her daughter had been no exception.

Emma Thompson with her daughter Gaia at the Standard British Film awards in February 2016. Dame Thompson has spoken out after her daughter was attacked on public transport

Emma Thompson at the 'The Children Act' Premiere in London on August 16 this year. She has been very vocal about the Hollywood sex scandal

The 59-year-old added: 'She said the thing that upset her most was not the act itself but the fact that she felt cowed enough by it not to call him out.

'And I think that what we suffer as women most from our shame at not being able to say 'Why are you doing this?'

'We're so shocked and undermined by these actions that we can't turn around and take the action that we want and that's the thing that sits with us and sticks with us.

'Which is so unjust.'

Gaia Wise, 18, has very much followed in her mother's footsteps and is a known committed activist who has campaigned against climate change and appeared on film.

Emma Thompson and daughter Gaia Wise at the 'Alone in Berlin' premiere at the 66th Berlinale International Film Festival, Berlin, Germany on February 15, 2016

She joined an arctic drilling protest against Shell in London with her mother when she was 15.

The actress has appeared in two films, A Walk in the Woods in 2015, which starred her mother, Nick Nolte and Robert Redford and Last Chance Harvey in 2008 also starring her mother and Dustin Hoffman.

Emma Thompson has been very vocal about sex abuse in Hollywood, she previously said that behavior like Weinstein's is 'endemic to the system,' and something she has experienced with 'many' other men in similar positions over the years.

Asked if there were others in Hollywood like Weinstein, she said: Of course, many, many...I spent my 20s trying to keep old mens tongues out of my mouth.

The Academy award-winning star urged female victims of sex attacks to be less unkind, to themselves too, whether they were able to defend themselves or not.

She added that they should be compassionate about their reactions then say: Now, next time would I be able to do it differently as a woman?"'

Dame Emma Thompson is set to star in new film The Children Act which is about a child who refuses to have a blood transfusion for religious reasons

She dismissed the idea that Weinstein's behaviour was the result of addiction.

'I don't think you can describe him as a sex addict. He's a predator,' said Thompson.

'He's an actual predator, he's dangerous and what he's done and what he's doing is criminal.'

'What I find sort of extraordinary is that this man is at the top of a very particular iceberg... (At) the top of the ladder of is a system of harassment, and belittling, and bullying, and interference, and what my mother would have referred to in the old days as 'pestering.''

Thompson said that global movements such as MeToo and Time's Up had done great work in highlighting abuse and gender inequality.

Thompson said: We are moving forward. There's a lot of work being done but it is changing and I am hopeful about it.

Dame Emma is set to star in new film The Children Act which is about a child who refuses to have a blood transfusion for religious reasons.

She is married to actor Greg Wise, 52.A wife is believed to have shot dead her school teacher husband before turning the gun on herself in their Georgia home as their two young children slept nearby.

Adrian Lavaughan Brewster, 50, and his wife Jackielyn Belangel Brewster, 32, were found dead in their home in Cumming, north of Atlanta, last Monday.

Authorities responded to the home after Jackielyn's friend received a concerning text message in the early hours of Monday morning and alerted 911.

Adrian Lavaughan Brewster, 50, was killed by his wife Jackielyn Belangel Brewster, 32, in a murder-suicide at their Cumming, Georgia home last Monday

Forsyth County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the home to find the couple's children, aged three and nine, waiting by the front door.

They found the couple's bodies soon after.

Investigators believe Jackielyn shot dead her husband sometime over the weekend and then took her own life on Monday.

They have not released a motive.

Adrian taught science at Etowah High School.

Jackielyn Belangel Brewster, 32, is believed to have shot dead her teacher husband before turning the gun on herself while their two children slept nearby

'Mr Brewster was known as an outstanding teacher, respected by both his colleagues and students,' Cherokee schools superintendent Brian V. Hightower said.

'I know our entire community joins me in sending our love to his children, family and friends.'

A memorial was held at the school for the slain teacher on Thursday.

The Brewster family lost everything in a house fire in September last year, according to online fundraising pages.

The couple's children are now being cared for by family.President Donald Trump has lashed out again at Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a weekend Twitter tirade that also touched on Hillary Clinton's emails, relations with Mexico, and Michael Cohen.

'Jeff Sessions said he wouldn't allow politics to influence him only because he doesn't understand what is happening underneath his command position,' Trump tweeted on Saturday morning.

'Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched. No Collusion!' Trump tweeted.

Sessions has drawn the President's increasing ire as federal prosecutors under the attorney general's command have tightened the screws this week, securing a guilty plea from Cohen and inking immunity deals with two other one-time Trump loyalists.

Trump has lashed out again at Attorney General Jeff Sessions in a tirade on Twitter

Sessions has drawn the President's increasing ire as federal prosecutors under the attorney general's command have tightened the screws on Trump this week

That tweet was followed in short order by another quoting Republican Senator Lindsay Graham, who signaled in an interview this week that the door would be open to confirming a new attorney general after the November midterms.

The Graham quote that Trump cited was: 'Every President deserves an Attorney General they have confidence in. I believe every President has a right to their Cabinet, these are not lifetime appointments. You serve at the pleasure of the President.'

Sessions infuriated Trump by recusing himself from the Russia election interference investigation last year, leading to the creation of the Mueller probe.

As Mueller's investigators, and prosecutors in an offshoot investigation that led to the guilty plea this week of former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, have drawn closer to Trump's business interests unrelated to Russia, the President seems to have grown increasingly impatient with Sessions.

In a rare move, Sessions jabbed back in a written statement on Thursday, writing: 'While I am attorney general, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations. I demand the highest standards, and where they are not met, I take action.'

In a subsequent series of tweets on Saturday morning, Trump referred to a new report from Real Clear Investigations, which said that that vast majority of emails recovered from Anthony Weiner's laptop in the Hillary Clinton email investigation were never actually examined by the FBI.

Though the FBI claimed it had used software to filter out emails that it had already reviewed for classified material, a technical glitch interfered, and only 3,077 of the 694,000 emails were directly reviewed for classified or incriminating information, the report said, citing a law enforcement source.

'Big story out that the FBI ignored tens of thousands of Crooked Hillary Emails, many of which are REALLY BAD. Also gave false election info. I feel sure that we will soon be getting to the bottom of all of this corruption. At some point I may have to get involved!' Trump wrote.

On a roll, Trump tweeted minutes later, touting strong ties with Mexico's socialist president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who thanked Trump on Friday for holding back on insults in recent weeks.

'Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour. Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together....A big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!' Trump tweeted.

Trump touted strong ties with Mexico's socialist president-elect, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is seen above at a press conference on Friday

An earlier Trump tweet on Saturday cited Michael Cohen's lawyer in Trump's own defense, pointing out that the attorney had debunked an anonymously sourced CNN report claiming that the President knew about an infamous 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower.

'Michaels Cohen's attorney clarified the record, saying his client does not know if President Trump knew about the Trump Tower meeting (out of which came nothing!),' Trump tweeted on Saturday morning.

'The answer is that I did NOT know about the meeting. Just another phony story by the Fake News Media!'

The July report from CNN, which cited 'sources', claimed that Cohen had said that he was present when Don Trump Jr told Trump in 2016 that a Russian attorney had offered dirt on the Hillary Clinton campaign.

That contradicted Trump's claim that he wasn't aware of the subsequent meeting between Trump Jr and the attorney at Trump Tower, until he was asked about it in July of 2017.

Now, Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis has spoken out, saying the CNN report was flawed.

'It was painful. We were not the source, we could not confirm, and we could not correct. We had to be silent because of the sensitivity needed in the middle of a criminal investigation,' Davis told Axios on Thursday.

Cohen actually testified to Congress in sworn testimony that he didn't know whether then-candidate Trump had foreknowledge of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians, three sources told Axios.

The President remains at the White House in Washington, DC this weekend and has no public events scheduled for Saturday or Sunday.

Following the tweets on Saturday morning, Trump's motorcade rolled out of the White House around 10.20am, arriving at Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia about 40 minutes later.

The President was dressed in a white shirt and red hat, and the weather was forecast as partly cloudy and warm, with a high of 81.John McAfee says he's always armed - including while he sleeps, takes a shower and has sex.

In a bizarre tweet Tuesday, the unhinged anti-virus inventor claimed 'My sidearm is with me 24/7,' while sharing photos of his gun in his shower and on the bathroom sink.

'More: My sidearm is ALWAYS in my hand when I'm on the toilet, sleeping and making love,' he continued.

He then goes into detail, writing: 'Puts a kink in foreplay but some women love it. Accidental discharge? No. Some intentional when idiots tried to rush me. 2 women spontaneously orgasmed. Go figure.'

The 72-year-old is notorious for packing heat as he claims to have many 'enemies' trying to kill him, including the US and Belizean government as well as drug cartels.

Anti-virus inventor John McAfee said his gun is 'ALWAYS' in hand while 'on the toilet, sleeping and making love'

McAfee tweeted Tuesday that 'my sidearm is with me 24/7'

The unhinged 72-year-old shared photos of his firearm in his shower. He is notorious for packing heat and claims his 'enemies' are after him

McAfee believes Belize wants him dead because he hacked in and stole secret government information, therefore he is always strapped

The British-born inventor built his reputation in cyber-security, with his first anti-virus software launched in the 1980s.

After resigning from his position at McAfee Associates in 1994, he sold his remaining stake in the company in 1996. Intel bought McAfee in 2010 and removed the McAfee name from the products.

The business mogul is no stranger to controversy, becoming an international fugitive in 2012 as he fled from Belize police over the murder of his neighbor.

McAfee was accused of murdering his neighbor Gregory Faull, an American, who was shot near his home. Police believed it was McAfee because they allegedly butted heads over the inventor's vicious guard dogs.

When police tried to question McAfee he had already fled the country. He traveled to Guatemala by boat, where he was arrested on December 5, 2012, and deported to the United States.

McAfee was never indicted on any charges and has been avoiding the Belize authorities ever since.

He allegedly met his ex-prostitute wife Janice the day he landed in US.

In follow up tweets, he McAfee explained why he keeps his gun 'in hand' at all times

Though he claims to live in no fear, part of the reason he is always harmed is because he believes he has many 'enemies'

Four years later, he ran for President of the United States as a representative for the Libertarian party - and achieved their best ever result.

He now operates MGT Capital which works to assess the value of cryptocurrencies.

In June, McAfee posted another bizarre tweet along with photos of himself recovering from a two-day coma after he claimed one of his 'enemies' tried to poison him.

'I apologize for my three day absence but I was unconscious for two days... and just woke up,' he wrote. 'My enemies maged(sic) to spike something that i ingested.

'However, I am more difficult to kill than anyone can possibly imagine. I am back.'

He also threatened to exact revenge on whoever was behind the alleged plot.

'And for those who did this - You will soon understand the true meaning of wrath. I know exactly who you are. Youh(sic) had better be gone,' he continued.

McAfee claimed one of his 'enemies' tried to poison him, leaving him in a two-day coma in June

He threatened to exact revenge on whoever was behind the alleged plot

Lovebirds: John McAfee and Janice Dyson met in 2012 and married in 2013

Last September, the tech executive went on a naked shooting spree round his Tennessee home because he thought men sent by the Belize government were breaking in.

He believes the Central American nation wants him dead because he hacked in and stole secret government information.

McAfee had been having sex with his ex-prostitute wife Janice, 34, when he said he heard his dogs barking, and heard movement in the crawl space above.

He began firing his gun into the walls of his home and the commotion has been under FBI investigation.

McAfee and Janice have lived in 'constant fear' of his assassination by the Belize government, and said he has 'information' he hacked and stole from the government after they raided his compound.

Belize authorities told Newsweek that claim is 'utter nonsense,' and the 'ravings of a sick mind.'

These are just a few incidents among many in McAfee's tumultuous life since he sold the company in the 1990s for roughly $100million.

John McAfee's Empire He was employed as a programmer at Nasa in the late 1960's. Founded McAfee Associates in 1987 and released his anti-virus software. After resigning from his position in 1994, he sold his remaining stake in the company in 1996. Intel bought McAfee in 2010 and removed the McAfee name from the products. In 2012, he was an international fugitive as he fled from Belize police. Four years later he ran for President of the United States as a representative for the Libertarian party - and achieved their best ever result. At the start of this year he announced plans to release a smartphone that is 'the world's first truly private smartphone'. He operates MGT Capital which works to assess the value of cryptocurrencies. Advertisement

After making the sale he quickly spent his fortune on nine luxurious homes, multiple planes, vintage cars, expensive art and other oddities - such as a dinosaur skull.

But in 2009 he allegedly lost most of his money in the financial crisis. McAfee denies going broke, but nonetheless liquidated his assets and moved to Belize.

In 2016, he was the subject of a Showtime documentary which details his two alleged murders and rape.

He accuses the director of 'Gringo: The Dangerous life of John McAfee,' Nate Burnstein, of 'forcing interviews' and 'bribing' people to lie.

While living in Belize he allegedly became increasingly paranoid and rarely came out of the house.

When he did, though, he surrounded himself with young women - mostly former prostitutes and an entourage of armed body guards.

His home was raided in 2012 by the Belize Police Gang Suppression Unit because he was suspected of cooking meth, but no drugs were found and he was never charged.

McAfee believes the raid was part of a conspiracy theory to 'destroy him,' because he refused to be extorted by the Belize government.Advertisement

The Danish royal family continued their four-day stay on the Faroe Islands in style as they wore traditional costumes on a trip to a fishing village.

Leading the way was Crown Princess Mary, 46, who, along with the rest of the family, was dressed in traditional Faroe costume as they visited Glyvrar, in the village of Eysturoy, on the third day on their trip.

She was joined by husband Crown Prince Frederik, 50, and their children Princesses Josephine, 7, and Isabella, 11, plus Princes Christian, 12, and Vincent, 7.

The happy family can be seen waving from The Royal Yacht Dannebrog, which serves as the official private residence for members of the Royal family overseas, as it docked in Glyvrar.

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The Danish royal family continued their stay on the Faroe Islands in style as they wore traditional costumes on the third day of their trip to visited Glyvrar, in the village of Eysturoy

Happy family are all smiles as they are pictured on a visit to Bakkafrost, a Faroese salmon farming company based in Glyvrar

Crown Princess Mary (pictured right) 46, and Crown Prince Frederik (pictured left) 50, can be seen waving from their Royal Yacht Dannebrog as it docked in Glyvrar

They were all smiles as they are pictured on a visit to Bakkafrost, a Faroese salmon farming company based in Glyvrar.

Prince Vincent and Christian can be seen holding up a large salmon as Princess Josephine and Isabella screw up the faces at the large fish.

Crown Princess Mary and her two daughters wore the female dress of a dress and open sweater laced together using silver buttons and finished with a black cape.

Meanwhile her husband Crown Prince Frederick and their two sons wore a waistcoat and felt coat with silver buttons, blue stockings and the famous floppy hat.

Crown Princess Mary (pictured) and her two daughters wore the traditional Faroe female dress and open sweater laced together using silver buttons and finished with a black cape

Prince Christian wears the traditional floppy hat (pictured). The family is paying a four-day visit to the Danish island after they touched down in the Island's capital of Torshavn on Thursday

The family is paying a four-day visit to the Danish island after the couple touched down in the Island's capital of Torshavn on Thursday.

There the Crown Prince Couple participate in an official greeting ceremony on the quay, where the prime minister will deliver a speech welcoming them before paying a visit to the rowing club Knrrur.

They will later visit the government buildings on the Tinganes peninsulal. They will take part in a second welcoming ceremony at the square Vagli in the city centre.

The family's visit came just two days after dozens of pilot whales and white-sided dolphins were slaughtered as part of the annual hunting season on the Faroe Islands.

Crown Prince Frederick and their Christian and Vincent (pictured) wore a waistcoat and felt coat with silver buttons, blue stockings and the famous floppy hat

Motherly love: Crown Princess Mary shared a tender moment with a hug with her eldest son, Christian (pictured) on their royal boat

Every summer, some 800 pilot and beaked whales, as well as dolphins, are killed for their meat across the Faroe Islands, a Danish archipelago located hundreds of miles off the Scottish coast between Norway and Iceland.

Whale driving on the Faroe Islands date back to the late 16th century and involve residents herding pods of whales into shallow waters.

They are then killed using a 'spinal lance' that is inserted through the animal's neck to break its spinal cord.

Locals carry out the hunts ahead of the sparse winter months, with the meat served salted or cut into steaks and the blubber sliced up and eaten raw.

The family travelled from their home in Copenhagen by boat waving to the islanders as they approached the shore

Later on in the day the couple had a change other clothes as they boarded a bought at Hvalvik Harbour on the Faroe Islands. Pictured: Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik on the boat

Princess Mary donned a chic grey belted coat with a pair of blue jeans and comfortable black ankle boots (right), while Prince Frederik wore a khaki jacket with smart grey trousers and black boots (left)

The couple were captured taking in the stunning natural scenery as they set sail on The Royal Yacht Dannebrog (pictured), which serves as the official private residence for members of the Royal family overseas

They looked in high spirits as they waved to the gathered crowds of royal watchers while the yacht left the harbour (pictured)

Princess Mary (right) was given a beautiful bouquet of purple flowers at the event, which she held while she participated in proceedings with her husband (left)

The royal (left) looked in high spirits as she spoke to guests in traditional costume (right) on the visit, which is part of a four day trip this week

The family of six arrived on the Faroe islands for the start of their four-day visit on Thursday.

Mary, along with the rest of the family, was dressed in traditional Faroe costume in honour of her visit.

She and her two daughters wore the female dress of a dress and open sweater laced together using silver buttons and finished with a cape.

Meanwhile her husband and their two sons wore a waistcoat and felt coat with silver buttons, blue stockings and the famous floppy hat.

The family travelled from their home in Copenhagen by boat waving to the islanders as they approached the shore.

The family were greeted by the island's locals who had gathered in anticipation of their arrival, presenting Mary with an elegant posy as she stepped from the boat.Julia Baird, now 71, grew up with the future pop legend in a semi-detached council house in Allerton's Springwood estate in Liverpool

John Lennon's half-sister has spoken out about her close relationship with her big brother as Beatlemania took over the music world in the 1960s.

Julia Baird, now 71, grew up with the future pop legend in a semi-detached council house in Allerton's Springwood estate in Liverpool.

He went on to become one of the planet's most recognisable musicians before being assassinated by Mark Chapman in New York in December 1980.

This week, Chapman was refused parole for the tenth time.

Now Julia, a former teacher, has revealed that she never felt estranged from her big brother despite his rapid rise to stardom.

Speaking as the 40th anniversary of his death approaches, she told The Mirror: 'There is no escape. And there is no point in pretending.

'It would hurt more to pretend I had nothing to do with him.'

She said, as a teenager, John used to jam with his future bandmates Paul McCartney and George Harrison in the kitchen of their family home.

As he plucked the strings, she and her sister Jackie, John's other half-sister, danced to Elvis and skiffle.

Their mother Julia even taught John to play her mother-of-pearl backed banjo, she said.

Julia believes John was 'truly himself' when he was at home practising guitar in the kitchen - which she says is where the magic of The Beatles was born.

Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison share a microphone as they sing at Carnegie Hall in New York during the band's tour of America in 1964

John Lennon (left) was assassinated by Mark Chapman (right) in New York in December 1980

John lived with his strict Aunt Mimi, his mother's sister, from the age of five.

He disapproved of his mother Julia's unmarried life with Bobby Dykins, said Julia.

The pair began living together after Julia split from John's father, merchant seaman Alfred Lennon.

Julia and Bobby had two daughters together: Julia and Jackie.

John was close with his little sisters and often visited them. And Julia say he was no different to any other big brother.

His road to becoming one quarter of The Beatles began with him inviting Paul McCartney and George Harrison to join his band The Quarrymen.

John is said to have met Paul McCartney at a church fete in Woolton in 1957, where he was playing with the band.

Julia remembers how she and her sister Jackie tried to yank John off a coal lorry where he was happily strumming his guitar.

John 'laughed his head off' as his little sisters grabbed a leg each.

The Quarrymen made their first record with Percy Phillips' Sound Recording Services 60 years ago.

It was a rendition of Buddy Holly's That'll Be The Day and an original, In Spite of All The Danger.

John Lennon walking in New York City in 1977, three years before he was assassinated

But in 1958, just days after The Quarrymen had recorded their first tracks, John and Julia's mum was killed.

She was struck by a car being driven by an off-duty police officer.

As Beatlemania swept the music world in the 1960s, it was challenging for Julia and John to juggle their grief for their mother with the intense focus on the band.

'We were still suffering and then this huge thing was parallel. We all learned to separate things off in boxes,' said Julia.

John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono in New York City in 1972. He lost touch with his sister Julia after moving to the US

In their early years, The Beatles played at The Cavern Club, where Julia now has a directorship.

But she explained that she was too young to go there in her teenage years.

Instead, she went to see her brother and his bandmates perform at the Finsbury Park Astoria in London with her sister Jackie in 1964.

'The curtain went up and it was instant mayhem, I hated it,' she recalled.

She said John came home the same year and slept on the floor in the front room.

The Beatles in the height of their fame in 1963. Left to right: Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon

The pair remained close when John moved to Surrey with his first wife Cynthia and their son Julian.

Julia recalls visiting them and replying to fan letters with John, writing: 'Yes, I will marry you, I'll meet you at the church tomorrow'.

But they lost touch after John moved to New York with Yoko Ono in 1971.

He finally rang in 1974 and they spoke for four hours, laughing and crying.

He asked her to send him family photographs plastered on her walls, and she did.

He never made it home for a visit before his death. She never saw the photographs again.Pope Francis was greeted by rapturous crowds as he toured the streets of Dublin yesterday at the start of his historic visit to Ireland  only the second ever to the country by a Pontiff.

It was a warmth that will no doubt have come as some relief, given the cold shadow of abuse now covering the Catholic Church. That shadow will be all-too apparent once again today when Francis travels to Knock and its famous shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

For Knock in the west of Ireland is just a short distance from another, darker landmark  a mass grave containing the remains of up to 800 babies and children at a former home for unmarried mothers in Tuam, Co Galway.

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A mass grave contains the remains of up to 800 babies and children at a former home for unmarried mothers in Tuam, Co Galway. Above, children at the home, run by nuns from the Bon Secours order

The shocking story of the mass grave at the Tuam home was first revealed by The Mail on Sunday in May 2014. A series of hard-hitting reports forced the Dublin government to form a Commission of Investigation

As the Pope visits the shrine, crowds of protesters will tell him they want a forensic exhumation of the grisly cemetery nearby and the identification of the tiny remains. The Roman Catholic Church, they will tell its leader, must face the truth in full.

The long-running scandal of the Churchs cruelty to more than 30,000 fallen women has shaken the country.

The forced adoption of babies born out of wedlock, the harsh treatment dealt out to those falling on the wrong side of respectability  these things have been highlighted by, among others, author and television presenter Martin Sixsmith. His investigation into a womans 50-year search for her son was depicted in the Oscar-nominated 2013 film Philomena.

The anger shows no sign of subsiding, nor does the growing pressure on the authorities. And now Irish star Liam Neeson is developing a new film about Tuam after the discovery of a horror so barbaric it almost defies belief: significant quantities of child remains dumped in a septic tank in the grounds.

Above, Maggie O'Connor, aged 21. She became pregnant aged 18 after being raped while she was living in an Irish childrens home. After giving birth on December 7, 1942, mother and daughter were forcibly separated by the nuns, as could happen at the time when children born out of wedlock. Maggie was sent to another home. Her daughter, Mary Margaret OConnor, the family have since discovered, is one of the Tuam children for whom a death certificate has been issued

He was moved to act after The Mail on Sunday first uncovered the scandal in 2014 and now, on the eve of the Popes visit, he has issued an emotional statement calling on the Church to confront its past. DNA technology is now available to identify all these bones, belonging to possibly over 790 babies and children, still lying in the ground in Tuam, he told this newspaper.

The Irish government, aided by the Catholic Church and especially the nuns order, the Congregation of the Sisters of Bon Secours, must not shirk the responsibility of giving these souls the dignity and respect of identification.

They had a right to exist. They were not the devils issue, as some people and establishments referred to them. A wrong is still a wrong and a crime is still a crime no matter how many years have passed. A proposed bronze plaque isnt going to absolve those responsible for this horror.

Among those pressing for a full examination of Tuam is Annette McKay, a 64-year-old councillor from Bury, Lancashire.

Irish star Liam Neeson is developing a new film about Tuam. He was moved to act after The Mail on Sunday first uncovered the scandal in 2014 and now, on the eve of the Popes visit, he has issued an emotional statement calling on the Church to confront its past. DNA technology is now available to identify all these bones, belonging to possibly over 790 babies and children, still lying in the ground in Tuam, he told this newspaper

She first learned about her own familys disturbing link to the past when her grandson Joshua was born in 1996  and her own mother, Maggie, made a terrible confession. As Annette cradled Joshua, her mother sobbed and shook with grief: Its the baby, its the baby. My baby who died.

It was only then, at the age of 70, that Maggie revealed that she became pregnant aged 18 after being raped while she was living in an Irish childrens home.

After giving birth on December 7, 1942, mother and daughter were forcibly separated by the nuns, as could happen at the time when children born out of wedlock. Maggie was sent to another home.

Her daughter, Mary Margaret OConnor, the family have since discovered, is one of the Tuam children for whom a death certificate has been issued, and now Annette is among those demanding a forensic investigation of the site. Without it, she says, there can be no conclusion for her or her family.

How MoS broke the story The shocking story of the mass grave at the Tuam home for unmarried mothers was first revealed by The Mail on Sunday in May 2014. A series of hard-hitting reports forced the Dublin government to form a Commission of Investigation. It has used ground-penetrating radar, above right, to uncover significant quantities of human remains, aged from 35 foetal weeks to two years. Advertisement

Mary died aged six months, explains Annette. On that day, a nun came to my mum as she hung out washing and spat out the words, That child of your sin is dead. Leave the home. 

The seeds of the whole traumatic story were sown when Maggies mother died in 1936, leaving eight children to care for themselves as their father was largely absent. Her dad was a drinker and worked away for months at a time so after their mum died, the children came to the attention of the powers that be, recalls Annette.

Maggie and her seven malnourished siblings, aged between three and 16, were marched by a priest through the streets of Galway City to the local court. Annette produces a piece of paper dated 1937  Maggies charge sheet. In black, spidery writing, it details that she was a slightly built 12-year-old and outlines what she was charged with: Found destitute. It adds the heartbreaking detail that she was a rather nice child.

In January 1937, Maggie and three of her five sisters were given a sentence of detention at St Annes Industrial School at Lenaboy, Galway. Their two brothers were sent to a Christian Brothers home, while the two oldest girls were put to work in domestic service.

What was supposed to be their salvation turned out to be the beginning of years of abuse by the nuns.

Ground-penetrating radar (above) at Tuam has uncovered significant quantities of human remains, aged from 35 foetal weeks to two years

As we grew up, Mum had several breakdowns and would cry as she recalled being beaten repeatedly for anything from not walking in a straight line to defending her sisters, says Annette. If her siblings wet their beds, theyd all have cold baths with cleaning fluid in, which would sting their skin. It was like a concentration camp for children.

She tried to tell her father about their treatment on his rare visits, but a nun would be standing behind her. She confided in a priest, too, but wasnt believed. Mum lived in fear of them. To Mums dying day, nuns meant monsters.

She didnt know she was free to leave the home at 16 as no one told her. She didnt even know her date of birth until she left the home, where she worked in the kitchens and fed her sisters the nuns left-over food.

Maggie developed into a beautiful, green-eyed young woman, but at 18 she fell prey to a male member of staff at the home who raped her. Mum knew nothing about sex  why would she as she never left the home? She wept as she named the man who did it and his job. It was his fault, he raped me. He had been nice to me, then he did that, she repeated. Mum was puritanical and would not talk about sex, but she was very blunt that day.

The pregnant Maggie was sent to the Tuam home run by nuns from the Bon Secours order. There, she gave birth to Mary. She was so bonny and such a weight on my hip, oh, she was bonny, was Maggies only memory of her first child.

Maggie was then moved to a different home, St Bridgets, where she was callously told of her daughters death on June 6, 1943  and subsequently ordered to leave.

According to her death certificate, little Mary died earlier that day from cardiac failure after suffering whooping cough for two months. In the 1940s, the Bon Secours nuns were paid by the Irish state nearly 100 per child a week to care for those in their care. Yet the harsh conditions of the Tuam home meant the infant mortality rate there was five times the national average.

After the secret of her lost child came tumbling out, Maggie never spoke about it again. She died in 2016 after developing Alzheimers, never knowing where her baby was buried. Indeed, Annette is not convinced her sister is dead: I have a death certificate, but no burial site and no record of a grave, so where is my sister? Was she dumped in the sewers or has she been trafficked to America, sold like so many others?

Annette gave evidence to the Residential Institutions Redress Board in Dublin, set up in 2002 by the Irish state to determine damages for children who were abused in homes. The board paid substantial damages to Maggie after Annette named the abusive nuns and the alleged rapist, and detailed how her mothers tragic early life impacted her family.

How the Mail broke the story of the scandal at Tuam. It may never be known how many children died in Irelands unmarried mothers homes, or were sent abroad for adoption. However, the Commission of Investigation is looking into a total of 18 homes

Mum suffered depression. She tried to take her own life, had several breakdowns and was cruel to us at times, says Annette.

Wed get beatings if the beds were not made, but she was only copying how she had been raised. After visiting Galway, Mum suffered a severe breakdown. I think she had PTSD. If she saw a nun, she would start shaking, even in later life. She never set foot inside a Catholic church again.

The fate of the missing children at Tuam was uncovered by local historian Catherine Corless. Remarkably, she has paid out of her own pocket for the death certificates of 796 children who died there between 1925 and 1960.

And it was Catherine who Annette contacted for more details before travelling to Tuam to report her sister as a missing person. The police officer laughed in my face and said Oh, that was all a long time ago and sent me on my way. As I left the station, another officer sidled up to me and said discreetly, There is stuff going on, a cover-up. Keep pushing on. It is outrageous that the Church, the state and police are not supporting every family affected by this.

The church always told us to be truthful as we grew up. Why isnt it practising what it preaches?

It may never be known how many children died in Irelands unmarried mothers homes, or were sent abroad for adoption. However, the Commission of Investigation is looking into a total of 18 homes.

Last month, Annette travelled to Tuam with fellow Tuam Families Group campaigners to challenge Irelands Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone. Now she wants the Pope to confront the scandal. He seems a compassionate man  we want him to visit the site and support our fight, she says. He can lift the lid on the scandal that has plagued thousands of families.

Annette believes a full forensic excavation is the only way to put the matter to rest. If my sister is buried in that cesspit, I want her to be found and reunited with our mother in a space saved in her grave for her.

'The Tuam site is a crime scene and needs to be excavated. It is the right thing to do  for the children who died, their mothers, and those of us who had to pick up the pieces in the ensuing decades.Maria Butina, 29, was indicted last month on several counts including charges of conspiracy to act and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government

The lawyer for Maria Butina, the 29-year-old accused of being a Russian spy, claims that the US government is using old text messages that are 'clearly a joke' as the sole evidence that she offered sex in exchange for access to political circles and organizations.

In a filing Friday, her defense attorney Robert Driscoll wrote that the allegations 'painted Ms. Butina as some type of Kremlin-trained seductress, or spy-novel honeypot character, trading sex for access and power.'

He says the only evidence the government has of these alleged sex acts are solely based on a three-year-old text message exchange between Butina and a friend identified as DK, who worked with Butina's Russian gun rights group, Right to Bear Arms.

'The impact of this inflammatory allegation, which painted Ms. Butina as some type of Kremlin-trained seductress, or spy-novel honeypot character, trading sex for access and power, cannot be overstated,' the defense filing reads.

Her lawyer Robert Driscoll said in a filing Friday that these accusations are based off three-year-old text messages that were 'clearly a joke'

Butina is accused of using sex to gain access into political circles and organizations

Butina was indicted in July on several counts including charges of conspiracy to act and failing to register as an agent of a foreign government.

Driscoll wrote in the filing: 'The only evidence the government relied on for its explosive claim was an excerpt from an innocuous three-year-old text exchange sent in Russia between Ms. Butina and DK, her longtime friend, assistant, and public relations man for The Right to Bear Arms gun rights group that she founded.'

He says the text message exchange began after DK took Butina's car for inspection in Russia.

'I don't know what you owe me for this insurance they put me through the wringer,' DK wrote to Butina.

Butina replied, 'Sex. Thank you so much. I have nothing else at all. Not a nickel to my name.'

Driscoll says the reference to sex is 'clearly a joke.'

'There is no indication that the two ever had sex, as the exchange was nothing more than a long-running joke between old friends,' Driscoll wrote.

'Indeed, DK would apparently tease Maria repeatedly about the fact that he would never sleep with a redhead, and Mr. Erickson knew of this jovial banter and their ongoing friendship.'

Butina had a romantic relationship with GOP operative Paul Erickson of South Dakota and gained entree into Republican circles.

The Justice Department also accuses Butina of being directed by a 'high-level' official in Russia to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and build relationships with conservative politicians

The Justice Department accuses Butina of being directed by a 'high-level' official in Russia to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and build relationships with conservative politicians from 2015 to 2017.

Russia's foreign minister told the U.S. Secretary of State last month that Butina had been detained on 'fabricated charges' and should be released.

Butina worked for Alexander Torshin, a Russian banker with close ties to the Kremlin, and served as his interpreter at various Washington events.

Democrats on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee investigating any ties between Trumps campaign and Russia previously highlighted Butina as a person of interest and sought permission from the committees Republican leadership to bring her in for questioning.

Republicans declined that request and later issued a report along party lines that found there was no collusion between Trumps campaign and Russia.A 15-year-old girl has miraculous survived after getting lost in the in the Russian Artic for more than two weeks.

Svetlana Evai managed to avoid brown bears and polar wolves as she wandered alone in the tundra, and lived on water and unripe berries.

A rescue team arrived on the remote Gydan Peninsula - one of the most remote spots in the world - after three days.

But she was not found until 12 days later by a rescue team, which included her uncle, Ivan Eva - even though she was discovered no more than seven miles from her family's encampment.

Svetlana Evai lived on water and unripe berries as she wandered aimlessly around the tundra

The schoolgirl's survival has been hailed as a 'miracle' by doctors.

Doctors said she was in a 'grave' condition and suffering from exposure when she was found but now say there is 'no threat to her life' after her ordeal.

From a nomadic family of reindeer herders, Svetlana got lost and disoriented on a four mile walk from her summer camp to visit her brother.

Svetlana got lost in the tundra (pictured) on a four mile walk from her summer camp to visit her brother

A rescue team arrived on the remote Gydan Peninsula after three days

It took another 12 days to locate her, even though she was no more than seven miles from her family's encampment when she was eventually found

Hope had been running out for finding her alive with night temperatures dipping to freezing point in the late summer.

Her family feared she had been attacked by brown bears which were seen roaming in the region.

The Siberian Times reported, her aunt Irina Yar said when her uncle found her she was 'walking towards him'.

'When she went missing, people were worried because the bears are roaming very close,' said one source.

She was airlifted to hospital by a search helicopter.

The girl survived on wild cranberries, black and red currents, and cloudberries - which were mostly unripe.

The Gydan Peninsula is one of the most remote spots in the world

Svetlana got lost and disoriented on a four mile walk from her summer camp to visit her brother

Senior doctor Alexander Bukharov - an expert in polar survival - said it was a 'miracle' she had been found alive

Svetlana (centre) was initially reported to be in a 'grave' condition but doctors later stressed there was 'no threat to her life'

Despite suffering from exposure medics said 'her vital organs are safe' and 'there is no threat to her life'.

'Her blood pressure and heart beat are stable,' said Eldar Faradjev, chief doctor of Tazovsky central hospital.

During her ordeal, temperatures veered from almost freezing at night to a high of 27C.

But she got wet in the thawing permafrost, suffering leg and knee injuries from crawling.

She was 'constantly trying to find her way back' but was unable to do so.

Svetlana (pictured) was constantly trying to find her way back' but was unable to do so

Senior doctor Alexander Bukharov - an expert in polar survival - said it was a 'miracle' she had been found alive.

Head of the search Vitaly Pavlyuchkov said: 'It helped that there was a lot of water in the tundra, so she had no problem drinking.

'The Gydan tundra is soaked with water.

'When you walk along the tundra in summer you are almost knee-deep.

'She ate berries, and they are not completely ripe at this time.'Legal 'sex booths' where customers take their cars and 'drive-in' to meet prostitutes have been deemed a 'resounding success' by city officials in Zurich, Switzerland.

The booths, which look like garages, celebrate their fifth anniversary on Sunday after 52 per cent of Zurich citizens voted in favour of the local government spending $2million (1,557,020) on 'sex boxes' in 2012.

Prostitution has been legal in Switzerland since the 1940s and the booths opened in 2013. Before this, most sex workers stayed on the city's riverfront, but many moved following complaints from locals over traffic and noise.

prostitute walks past so-called 'sex boxes' at the opening day of Switzerland's first sex drive-in on August 26, 2013

Journalists surround a visitor on the opening day of Switzerland's first sex drive-in

The legal areas help in preventing human trafficking and violent attacks against sex workers, most of whom are eastern European.

The government spends $800,000 (623,000) each year maintaining the booths, which includes security and on-site social services.

The sex workers pay taxes, have regular health checks and are healthier overall, officials say.

In 2014, more improvements were made to the booths, including 'plank beds' for people who wanted to leave their cars.

Like many drive-ins, motorbikes and bicylces are allowed, but those on foot aren't. Pedestrians are told to go to another part of the city.

Once the customers arrive, one of the 24 women working agree a price and go to the booth, which is not monitored but has an emergency alarm for safety.

Nadeen Schuster, a spokesperson for the Zurich government told USA TODAY the area was 'effective in preventing violence against sex workers and human trafficking.'

Two empty so-called 'sex boxes' in ZurichA senior Network Rail engineer has exclusively told MailOnline that passengers were left as sitting ducks on a partly derailed train for seven minutes before being hit by another intercity service after a 'major' flaw occurred in the signalling system. The employee, who has worked for the rail operator for over 10 years, said that the signalling system should've made the train stop but that it suffered a catastrophic failure which led to the crash. Rail workers last night demanded to know how the second train wasn't stopped by red signals before the carnage unfolded close to Salisbury station. The GWR train travelling from Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol Temple Meads hit an object as it went through Fisherton tunnel and caused the rear carriage to derail (inset, map of the incident). But the engineer claimed that a major flaw in the signalling system meant a South Western Railway train coming from London Waterloo towards Honiton was not stopped from entering the site of the derailment. Seventeen passengers were injured in the collision and a newborn baby had to be pulled from the wreckage. The driver of the derailed GWR train also had to be freed from his cabin before being taken to hospital. The incident, one of the most serious in recent years, is set to be investigated by the Office for Rail and Road and the Rail Accident Investigations Branch.Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller reveals today the horror of being raped in a gang attack when she was a student  and how it turned her into a terrified recluse.

The 53-year-old businesswoman  who successfully led the campaign to allow Parliament a vote on Brexit  tells of her shocking ordeal in a searingly frank exclusive interview in The Mail on Sundays You magazine.

The Guyanese-born mother-of-three was a student at the University of East London when the attack happened.

She describes how she was walking to the Tube station at night in Mile End when the group of men brutally attacked her.

She crawled into a cab afterwards but refused to be taken to a hospital or police station.

Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller (pictured right outside the Supreme Court) reveals today the horror of being raped in a gang attack when she was a student  and how it turned her into a terrified recluse

She recalls: I went into shock. It took me a long time to come to terms with what happened. I hid in my bedroom for weeks; I couldnt even think about leaving the room, which was safe. I felt really lonely.

In her forthcoming memoir, Rise: Life Lessons In Speaking Out, Standing Tall & Leading The Way, Ms Miller reveals she felt dirty, violated after the attack but does not use the word rape.

But when interviewer Rachel Johnson asks her: Were you raped, Gina? Johnson writes: Her eyes meet mine and she sighs and nods.

Years later, Ms Millers Brexit vote campaign would lead to vile abuse and death threats against her and her children.

And even now, nearly two years after successfully challenging the Governments decision to trigger Brexit without letting Parliament have a say, Ms Miller and her family live under tight security.

When she sees people approaching her carrying bottles of water, she panics that they are going to throw acid in her face.

Despite the constant threats, she stands by her efforts in court, saying: My case was not whether [Brexit] was right or wrong. My point was the rule of law had to be properly observed.

Gina Miller pictured with husband Alan

She describes the domestic challenges she has faced, including caring for her elder daughter Lucy-Ann.

She was told by doctors when Lucy-Ann, now 30, was two that she had been badly brain-damaged at birth.

Lucy-Ann awoke the lioness in me, she says. I knew I had to be a fighter for her.

Ms Miller also claims she suffered abuse from her second husband, Jon Maguire.

However, in a previous interview with the MoS, Mr Maguire strongly denied this and said her own drinking habits caused problems in their stormy relationship.

In 2003, she met Alan Miller, who became her third husband when they married in 2005 while she was expecting their son Luca, now 13.

Ms Miller says: It took me a long time to trust a man again.

Her family, which also includes younger daughter Lana, ten, divides their time between houses in Chelsea and France.

Ms Miller rejects accusations she has relied on wealthy husbands. What Ive achieved in my life means I dont need anyones money, she says.

rapecrisis.org.ukA man caught smuggling cocaine hidden inside a children's Bible is one of two Britons facing up to eight years behind bars in Peru.

Terence Smith, 61, and William Laing, 60, who between them had 10kg of the drug, told police they were in South America to pick up multi-million-pound lottery wins.

Police at Jorge Chavez Airport in Lima stopped Smith on July 7 with more than 250,000 worth of cocaine concealed in his bags  with some hidden in children's books.

William Laing, 60, and Terence Smith, 61, who had 10kg of cocaine between them

Laing, who was arrested separately on June 2 at the same airport, was discovered to have 130,000 of cocaine stuffed in the padding of his backpack and in the lining of several coats he had agreed to carry.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to smuggling charges and are awaiting trial. If found guilty by a judge, they face between six years eight months and eight years in jail. The pair are not thought to know each other.

Bottom right:a bible that was among the books used to smuggle the drug. The pair told police they were in South America to pick up multi-million-pound lottery wins

Colonel Alfredo Velarde, chief investigations officer of the Peruvian Anti-Drug Police in Lima, said: 'Drug gangs are now using elderly people and fooling them into carrying loads of cocaine. When they are caught they are very surprised and we can tell they are very confused about what they are carrying.

'We have reasons to believe the men didn't know they were really carrying drugs. Both of them will come out of this as elderly men because they both face a maximum of eight years behind bars.'

Col Velarde said the Britons appeared to have become unwittingly involved in the drugs trade after being asked to travel to South America to collect huge lottery wins. 'Both of them were lured into this trap by email,' he said. 'Smith said his message stated he had been selected to receive an award, so he decided to travel, and Laing was also contacted via email.

'The state will still charge them and prosecute according to law because each person is responsible for what they carry, and it is widely known that no one should receive packages from anyone.'

Smith, a driver from Pontypridd, South Wales, was detained with 6.6kg of cocaine. He was also carrying a certificate for $25 million (19 million), apparently for a lottery win.

He claimed he was told that in order to receive the money he needed to travel first to Colombia to sign a certificate, after which he believed the funds would be transferred into his account.

Smith told police he had agreed to carry books and rolls of fax paper. His flights and expenses had been paid for and he had entered Peru from Colombia. He was on his way to the UK, via Chile and Brussels.

Laing, a store keeper from Yorkshire, was arrested with 3.4kg of cocaine while attempting to take an internal flight to Juliaca, a city in the Andes. He told officers he was also planning to return to the UK via Brussels.

Part of the 10kg cocaine haul being weighed

He also informed officials he had received an email stating he had won a lottery and would need to travel to South America to collect his multi-million-pound prize.

On two previous trips, he told them, he had travelled to Ecuador, where he picked up an electronic device, and Chile, where he was given bottles containing liquid which were confiscated by airport staff. During his trip to Peru, he claimed to be doing someone a favour by carrying a backpack containing coats.

He was arrested by police who had been trailing him with an alleged co-conspirator, Victor Melanio Huaman Guerrero, 57.

The Peruvian was found with three kilos of cocaine and a gun hidden in a sock.

The arrests come five years after Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly  dubbed the Peru Two  were caught attempting to smuggle 1.5 million of cocaine in their suitcases on a flight out of Lima. The pair initially claimed they were forced by gangs into carrying the drugs but later pleaded guilty. They were released in 2016.

The Foreign Office said its officials had visited the men earlier this month, adding: 'Our staff are in contact with their families and the Peruvian authorities.'From Kyrgyzstan to the Tropic of Cancer, his BBC exploits have shone a light on some of the worlds most forgotten corners. But Simon Reeves own journey from troubled teenager to TV star has been every bit as turbulent as his on-screen adventures  as he explains in his compelling new autobiography

I climbed the footbridge, hopped over the railings and stood teetering like a diver on a high board, with the traffic streaming out of London beneath me. It was windy, noisy. I was serious, but scared. The bridge spanning the Western Avenue in London had been a feature of my life for as long as I could remember. Occasionally, we used to troop up there as a family to watch fireworks over Central London.

Now I was 17, I had dropped out of school and my life was in chaos: no qualifications, no girlfriend, no prospects. I had thought for weeks about using a kitchen knife on myself, about taking handfuls of pills. I thought about stepping in front of a train or a Tube.

Then I thought about falling in front of a lorry. I looked down at one just as the horn sounded. Had the driver seen me? I will never know. It jerked me out of my moment. I started to fear the pain of dying more than I feared life. Shaking with fear, I gripped tightly and shuffled back to safety.

I was choosing life.

Simon Reeve, above, on one of his expeditions. The TV adventurer said: 'When I was 17, I had dropped out of school and my life was in chaos: no qualifications, no girlfriend, no prospects. I had thought for weeks about using a kitchen knife on myself, about taking handfuls of pills'

There was no single moment of disaster that led me to the bridge that night. I grew up in Acton in West London in a loving family where we fought because we didnt know how to communicate.

As a teenager, I graduated from bunking bus fares to petty vandalism to riding in stolen cars. We would steal petrol from cars and start fires. We would nick fireworks from shops, then take them apart to make larger devices.

I remember unscrewing the bottom of a CCTV camera at Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre, packing an explosive device inside and then watching it blow up before racing off, laughing. It was a stupid, destructive thrill.

A few minutes later, I had just lit another firework around the back of the shopping centre when a policeman came storming out of an exit looking for us.

Simon as a teenager with his father, Alan, with whom he had a tense, and sometimes violent, relationship. By the age of 13, Simon was getting into fights with local kids and going to school with a huge Rambo knife

I tried to kick the rocket away, but it launched and spiralled through the air towards him.

The poor guy tried to leap out of the way, but it hit him in the leg sickeningly hard, and he went down screaming. I still feel guilty. I hope to God he was all right.

By the age of 13, I was getting into fights with local kids and going to school with a huge Rambo knife. I even bought a replica pistol that fired blanks. I once pulled it out when a group of us got into a fight with an older group of travellers in a local park.

They scattered immediately. I had an incredible rush of adrenaline, but when I got home, I hid it under my bedroom floorboards and left it there.

Long after I had left home, my poor mum Cindy found it while redecorating. Simon, she said calmly, do you have any idea what it was like for me to find a gun underneath the floorboards?

I was never a gang member or a really bad lad. The truth is, I was a silly little boy, struggling with growing up, forced to wear glasses after I was hit in the eye with a brick during a fight. I was gangly and awkward. Things were difficult at home. I was desperate for a girlfriend.

Theres a photo somewhere of me, slumped and slurring in the corner of a classroom. Once, I fell asleep drunk in the school library and someone painted my glasses with Tipp-Ex. When I woke up I thought I had gone blind. I became severely depressed. I skulked in my room, drinking Special Brew and ignoring my worried family.

I went for counselling for almost three years from the age of 14. But the counsellors and their centre in South Acton were woefully underfunded. The building itself was dilapidated concrete, with a dark interior, and grim, grey, empty, dank rooms, like something out of Orwells 1984. My spirits sank every time I stepped inside.

'[After leaving school] I explained to the woman in the DSS office that I was pretty low and had no idea what to do next, and she gave me simple advice that guided me then, and still does to this day. "If its difficult for you, take things step by step," she said.' Above, Simon during an epic trek along the Tropic of Capricorn

One of my teachers could see I was falling behind. Far from chastising me, she wanted to know what was wrong. I didnt tell her. I couldnt tell her. I couldnt begin to articulate it. She reached out, extending a hand of friendship.

I can see youre in a bad way. I know things arent easy for you at home, she said.

Ive met your father. I know he can be very she paused meaningfully,  difficult.

I started to blub. But now I was shocked she could see through me. I was also angry with her for talking about my dad Alan behind his back. He wasnt the only one in the family at fault. Dad wasnt the easiest person to get along with and ours was a tense and sometimes violent relationship.

But it wasnt just my father. We all fought. Mum turned the kitchen table over. I had a fiery temper and put my foot through a door and my fist into a wall. The house bore the scars. A few times it was so violent the police were called.

Now Im an adult, I blame Dad less. I feel sorry for him. I just think he lacked the skills of compromise and resolution. We fought because we didnt know how to communicate.

Malaria? Thank God for that... I thought I was dying from ebola In Gabon, while filming a series about my trip along the Equator, I suddenly became ill. My temperature was rising  39.7, 39.8, 39.9. I was feverish, but I was also shaking and cold. One of the team remembered that wed briefly met a young German doctor. She was working at the nearby Albert Schweitzer Hospital, one of the best research centres on the continent for tropical diseases. It was a chance encounter that ultimately helped to save my life. I was drifting in and out of consciousness, with a temperature that left me just a shade off brain impairment, and I was hallucinating. A local doctor arrived first. I came round in time to find him examining me. I was terrified, convinced I had contracted ebola. The doctor spent a few minutes checking me over. What do you think it is? I asked. Malaria. Ive never felt such immediate relief. Malaria. Thank God. Not ebola. My eyeballs wouldnt bleed. I wouldnt haemorrhage internally. Then came the German doctor who gave the same diagnosis and offered practical help in the shape of a packet of Artemether, a newish drug that was not regulated or allowed in the UK. This could save his life, she said. Artemether works by persuading malarial parasites to launch their attack before they are fully armed and ready. I had no choice. I took the pills. Six chunky tablets, braced with a cocktail of other drugs and paracetamol to get my temperature down. Four hours later I was doubled up with the most intense sickness I had ever experienced. I had a full-blown malarial assault and my temperature leapt around like the bearing in a pinball machine. The attack went on for 24 hours. I was so weak, I could barely lift my head. I spent the next few days sleeping. The sickness was a key turning point in my life. Before I had malaria I felt fit, energetic and just a little bit immortal. Ive never felt the same since. I was lucky. As a privileged foreign TV presenter travelling in Africa, I had swift access to medical help and rare drugs. I was also stupid. I knew I was in a danger zone but had forgotten to take my anti-malaria drugs. It is not a mistake anyone makes twice. Advertisement

My final months at school are a bit of a blur. I was getting drunk and stoned on dope, but far from making me seem cool, it made me feel even more pathetic. I wasnt preparing for the exams. The thought of sitting down to take tests terrified me, and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life.

University never entered my head. While Dad was a maths teacher, my ambition was to get a job as a delivery driver and even that seemed unlikely. Nothing could convince me I had a future. Deciding not to die was a turning point, of course, but there was no euphoria. I went home, crept indoors, slipped into bed and cried.

But with my dads help, I passed my driving test, and I signed on for Income Support. I explained to the woman in the DSS office that I was pretty low and had no idea what to do next, and she gave me simple advice that guided me then, and still does to this day.

If its difficult for you, take things step by step, she said.

And that was when an idea popped into my head  a simple thought that, perhaps more than anything, connects my adult self with that troubled teen. I decided to go on a journey. I bought a cheap train ticket to Scotland, inspired, I think, by the movie Highlander. Then I hired a tiny red Peugeot and drove to Glencoe, and wearing only jeans, a pair of trainers and an old Adidas cagoule, I started climbing.

Step by step, I muttered to myself. If I can reach that tree over there Ill stop and turn back, I thought. Then when I reached the tree I saw an outcrop of rocks.

Ill just get to them, I said out loud. It started to get dark, and a hiker warned me sternly to be careful, but on and on I went, finally setting my sights on a high ridge on the mountainside.

I reached it in darkness, and I stood there feeling euphoric and a tiny bit brave. I stared at the stars, lost in the moment and delighting in a sense of achievement. Id completed a journey.

Back in London, I managed to get a job as a newspaper post boy, worked hard and started helping investigative journalists. Soon I became one of them, and when I quit a few years later, it was to write a book about the then-recent 1993 World Trade Center bombing and its aftermath. The book I wrote, The New Jackals, came out in 1998, and at first nobody bought it.

But when 9/11 happened, I had written the only book in the world about Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda and it all became very weird very quickly. Within a few hours, I was being shuttled between the studios of American news channels in London.

To my surprise, my brief TV appearances led to my own BBC series. Someone suggested that I should infiltrate Al Qaeda for TV  even I thought that was a mad notion. A far better one was Meet The Stans, a journey through the forgotten countries to the north of Afghanistan. It was the start of many journeys to come.

There have been many times since I was a desperate teenager when I have started to feel there was no hope, no way out.

'Activity or movement, any movement, rewards me, lifting me up out of the rabbit hole.' (Above, Simon on an adventure in Burma)

But as I have aged, my experiences and, I think, adventures, have helped me to find comfort and solutions. As a tool for dealing with the lows, I stick to my mantra.

I put one foot in front of the other and take a step. I do something  anything.

In moments of darkness, when I have stared into an abyss while going through the end of relationships and depression, for me at least, activity is achievement. Activity or movement, any movement, rewards me, lifting me up out of the rabbit hole.

As I have aged, acceptance has also helped. Depressive thoughts will probably always be with me. The negative voices can be hushed, ignored, sometimes even laughed at. But doubtless they will always be at least an occasional background whisper. Like grief, my answer is to face them and take them with me.

So many of us are taught to think of everything as black or white, happy or sad, depression or normality. Life has taught me so often that instead everything is just shades of grey. Every life and every journey shares tragedy with happiness and light with shade. Even a simple moment of joy. Because, like life, even a moment ends.

Step By Step, by Simon Reeve, is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced 20. Offer price 16 (20 per cent discount) until September 2. Order at mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640  p&p is free on orders over 15. An Audience With Simon Reeve will be at theatres around the UK from September 17  visit simonreeve.co.uk.

Anyone struggling to cope should call Samaritans on 116 123 or visit their website at www.samaritans.org.Seven people have been arrested in clashes between opposing protesters near the site where the Silent Sam Confederate statue was recently torn down at the University of North Carolina.

The clashes broke out at opposing protests on Saturday at the campus in Chapel Hill, five days after a crowd of antifa demonstrators ripped the statue from its pedestal during a nighttime protest.

On Saturday, three people were arrested for assault, two people were arrested for assault, destruction of property and inciting a riot, one person was arrested for destruction of property and another for resisting an officer.

About 200 people showed up in McCorkle Place to advocate for and against returning the century-old statue to its pedestal, the Herald-Sun reported. None of the protests had permits, according to police.

Protesters scuffle with police during a rally in front of Graham Memorial Building on the campus of UNC in Chapel Hill on Saturday, five days after the Silent Sam statue was toppled

On Monday, a controversial Confederate statue on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was torn down by protesters

Skirmishes broke out between the two sides, and Silent Sam supporters were heavily outnumbered, with only a few dozen in attendance.

Anti-Silent Sam groups chanted slogans including 'We tore your f***ing statue down. What comes up must come down!' Later they chanted, 'Black lives, they matter here!' and 'Cops and Klan go hand in hand!'

Groups opposed to Silent Sam tried to convince the press not to speak with or film members of the other side, handing reporters pamphlets that warned against speaking with 'white supremacists'.

Silent Sam supporter Casey Becknell, from Davidson County, faced off with opponents of the statue, and told the Herald-Sun that he was in attendance because 'communism is running rampant' and he wanted to represent Southern soldiers.

'We've got local Antifa, like this lady here, [who] come over here and defy the law and tear the statue down and expect no repercussions. Believe me there's repercussions coming  one way or the other,' Becknell said.

Silent Sam opponent Tim Osborne, a graduate student, defended his side's hostility toward the press interviewing the other side, saying that allowing them to speak out risked 'normalizing' their views.

'This ideology is about harming people, about oppressing people, about keeping people down forcibly. To spew that ideology is violence,' Osborne said.

Silent Sam, pictured before the protest, in August 2017, is so called because the statue does not include a cartridge box on the Confederate soldier's belt, meaning he cannot fire his gun. On the base of the statue is a young student dropping his books and a woman, representing the state of North Carolina

Banners covered the statue during Monday's protests, allowing antifa to tear down the statue without authorities realizing and intervening

Police try to take a banner from protesters as people gather during a rally to remove the confederate statue known as Silent Sam from campus

Police remove a protester during the Monday rally before the statue was toppled

Police and protesters react to a smoke bomb during a rally to remove the confederate statue

On Friday, police brought charges against three people in the destruction of the statue.

The University of North Carolina's campus police department filed warrants for the three on misdemeanor charges of rioting and defacing a public monument, according to a news release. The release said the three aren't affiliated with the university.

The suspects hadn't been arrested as of Friday afternoon, said spokesman Randy Young, who declined to immediately release their names.

The department said there could be more arrests. Another protester was charged earlier in the week with misdemeanor counts of resisting officers and wearing a mask shortly before the statue came down.

Several hundred protesters on UNC's campus in Chapel Hill used ropes Monday night to bring down the statue known as Silent Sam. The organized protesters took advantage of a non-confrontational police response to topple the statue that stood since 1913 in a main quad.

Demonstrators started their rally across the street, before marching over and surrounding the statue. To outwit officers, the protesters raised banners concealing efforts to tie a rope around the sculpture.

Police surround the toppled statue of a Confederate soldier nicknamed Silent Sam on the school's campus after a demonstration for its removal on Monday

They then split into two groups. Most marched away as a small group remained behind. The banners were up for about an hour before the groups converged and yanked the statue down, according to videos.

The police response Monday was much different from the response to a similar protest a year ago. In 2017, officers in riot gear faced criticism for heavy-handed tactics after using metal barricades to keep activists from getting near the statue. The portable barriers weren't used Monday, and officers didn't keep protesters away from the statue.

University and legislative leaders have condemned the protesters' actions as 'mob rule,' demanding a hard look at the police response and a full criminal investigation. The State Bureau of Investigation has been brought in to assist.

Republican state Rep. Bob Steinburg said in an interview Friday that he felt the misdemeanor charges filed so far were insufficient.

'That's a relative slap on the hand based on what they have done,' he said.

Students and protesters surround plinth where the toppled statue of a Confederate soldier nicknamed Silent Sam once stood, on the University of North Carolina campus

Steinburg said he's worried that weak prosecution of vandals will embolden further attacks on other Confederate monuments across the state. He called law enforcement responses to Silent Sam and another statue toppling in Durham 'milquetoast.'

Last year in Durham, demonstrators tore down a Confederate statue in front of local government building. Law enforcement officers took video but didn't try to stop them as one climbed a ladder and attached the rope that was then yanked by protesters on the ground.

A judge in Durham later dismissed charges against two and found a third not guilty because of difficulty identifying protesters on video. The district attorney then dropped charges against the remaining five, saying he didn't have any stronger evidence against the rest.

In Chapel Hill, university leaders have noted the protest Monday was highly organized and 'unlike any' they'd seen before. On Thursday, Chancellor Carol Folt told reporters university officials had expected a smaller demonstration and were taken by surprise.

The statue is in temporary storage, and its future is unclear.

Before it was torn down, it had been under constant, costly police surveillance after being vandalized in recent months. Many students, faculty and alumni argued that Silent Sam symbolized racism and asked officials to remove it.

THE CONTROVERSIAL STATUE WHICH HAS IGNITED PROTESTS SINCE THE 1960S Silent Sam was erected in 1913 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to commemorate the Confederate alumni who died in the Civil War. The statue, by sculptor John A. Wilson, was funded by the University Alumni and the United Daughters of the Confederacy to remember the 50 year anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. He is called 'Silent Sam' because the statue does not include a cartridge box on the Confederate soldier's belt, meaning he cannot fire his gun. Silent Sam was erected in 1913 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina On the base of the statue is a young student dropping his books as he looks up to answer a call to duty. The boy represents the 40 per cent of the university body who were called up to fight in the war. Next to him a woman, representing the state of North Carolina, is depicted calling students to fight for the South. Its 1913 dedication shocked onlookers after Confederate soldier Julian Carr boasted about attacking a black woman and praised the Ku Klux Klan's deadly attacks on black people in the four years after the war to try and assert white dominance in the South. 'The present generation, I am persuaded, scarcely takes note of what the Confederate soldier meant to the welfare of the Anglo Saxon race during the four years immediately succeeding the war...their courage and steadfastness saved the very life of the Anglo Saxon race in the South,' he said, referencing the post-war Klan heyday. He added to the crowd that 'one hundred yards from where we stand... I horse whipped a negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds because she had maligned and insulted a Southern lady, and then rushed for protection to these University buildings where was stationed a garrison of 100 Federal soldiers. I performed the pleasing duty in the immediate presence of the entire garrison.' The statue, which some view as honoring the Confederate dead but others view as a symbol of oppression, has long been a lightning rod for political protest. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, the monument was vandalized and the 1960s also saw it become the site of a number of protests. That continued into the 1970s when the Black Student Movement held several protests by the statue. Following the violent Charlottesville protests, which began over proposals to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee, a crowd of a hundred gathered around Silent Sam in August 2017 to call for its removal. It was finally torn down on August 20, 2018. Advertisement



Former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond is facing claims he sexually assaulted a female member of staff as new details emerged of allegations made against him by two women.

At the end of last week, the Scottish government announced that the former leader of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) was under investigation over claims that have been passed to the police that he had harassed two government employees.

One alleged incident is said to have happened late one evening at the First Ministers official residence in Edinburgh, Bute House, in December 2013. It said the complainant found herself alone with Salmond, who had been drinking alcohol.

Scots Tories and Labour urged First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (right)  Alex Salmonds (left) former deputy  to suspend him from the SNP immediately

He is alleged to have told her to move from a public room to the bedroom, repeatedly offered her alcohol  which she refused  and then told her to get into bed.

Mr Salmond then, reportedly, lay on top of her, kissed her, and touched her sexually on her breasts and bottom through her clothes.

He only stopped after she repeatedly asked him too, the Daily Record newspaper reported.

The revelations were contained in a detailed complaint by a Scottish Government staff member, which has been seen by the Daily Record. Yesterday senior SNP figures said the allegations have left the party in a state of shock.

Mr Salmond  who lost his seat in 2017  has denied any criminality or harassment, branding some of the claims as patently ridiculous. He is taking the Scottish Government to Scotlands highest civil court over its probe, which he says was unjust.

Scots Tories and Labour urged First Minister Nicola Sturgeon  Salmonds former deputy  to suspend him from the SNP immediately.

Annie Wells MSP, Tory equalities spokeswoman, said: If accurate, the fresh details are incredibly serious and go beyond harassment and into the realms of assault.

Rhoda Grant MSP, Labour business manager, added: Following these further revelations and the fact that Alex Salmond has been reported to the police, Nicola Sturgeon must suspend him from the SNP immediately.

Alex Salmond pictured with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2011

The claims have plunged the SNP into turmoil.

One party source said: All of this has been a complete surprise. Ive known Alex for 30 years and Ive never seen him cross the line.

When asked if Mr Salmond would be suspended, the SNP pointed to comments made by Ms Sturgeon last week, in which she said: I have limited information, and for legal reasons the information I have I am not able to pass to the party.

So, you know, the situation will undoubtedly develop as more information becomes available but I am not able to confirm more than I have at this stage.

When asked about the latest allegations, Mr Salmonds office responded: As Mr Salmond made very clear on Friday, he intends to make no further comment on these matters until his petition for Judicial Review is heard in the Court of Session.

This is done on legal advice and in the context that he refutes these complaints of impropriety and absolutely denies any suggestion of criminality.Jewish delegates at next month's Labour Party conference will be given bodyguards as fears grow for their safety amid the raging anti-Semitism row that has engulfed Jeremy Corbyn.

The protection will even be offered to Jewish Labour MPs who have been the victims of abuse from many hardline supporters of the party leader.

The row deepened this weekend when Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger attacked Mr Corbyn for accusing British Zionists of having 'no sense of irony' despite having 'lived in Britain all of their lives'.

The protection will even be offered to Jewish Labour MPs (pictured left to right: Ruth Smeeth, Margaret Hodge, Luciana Berger) who have been the victims of abuse from many hardline supporters of the party leader

The former Shadow Minister for public health said she felt 'unwelcome' in her own party after Mr Corbyn's 'inexcusable comments'.

Now, The Mail on Sunday understands that the Jewish Labour Movement, whose Parliamentary chair is Ms Berger, has held talks with the Community Security Trust  which guards the Jewish community in Britain  about providing minders for the Liverpool conference.

A source said: 'This conference will be particularly tense as much of the worst anti-Semitic trolling on the internet has been traced back to hotspots in Merseyside.

'The CST are reporting back with a full assessment of the security requirements. There is a real concern about safety.'

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg had to be provided with her own security team at last year's conference in Brighton after being bombarded with sexist abuse by some Corbyn supporters for alleged anti-Labour bias.

Yesterday, Home Secretary Sajid Javid turned up the heat on Mr Corbyn over the 'irony' row, saying: 'If Corbyn had said 'Asians' or 'Blacks' instead of 'Zionists', he'd be gone by now.

'The fact he's still there tells us all we need to know about what the Labour Party has become.'

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg had to be provided with her own security team at last year's conference in Brighton (pictured)

The Conservatives have tried to exploit the row by lodging a formal complaint with the Parliamentary standards watchdog, asking it to investigate if Mr Corbyn breached the code of conduct, which says MPs must not damage the reputation of the Commons.

Mr Corbyn's remarks, to Jewish blogger Richard Millett during a meeting in 2013, were captured on film. Mr Millett  whose family arrived in England more than 100 years ago and founded the eponymous outdoor clothing chain  said yesterday he feared for his safety.

'I don't know what will happen,' he added. 'I am scared on a physical level and the Jewish community is upset about what they see is happening. I think we are all scared.

'I am sure he [Mr Corbyn] knows me and knows I am Jewish as we had come across each other on a number of occasions before this meeting.

'He would have been aware of who I was when he made his outrageous and racist comments.' He demanded an apology, saying: 'I am English. I have been part of English irony, humour, culture, for the past 50 years. It just seems to be that I am not part of Jeremy Corbyn's Britain'.

Mr Corbyn said he was referring to Zionists in the political sense.

A spokesman said: 'The Labour Party is committed to tackling anti-Semitism both in the party and in wider society and is committed to the security and well-being of all Jewish people.'

Labour members who questioned the loyalty of British Jews 'have been investigated as part of the Party's internal inquiries into anti-Semitism'

By Brendan Carlin

Jeremy Corbyn pictured this month in Edinburgh

Labour members who questioned the loyalty of British Jews have been investigated as part of Labour Party internal inquiries into anti-Semitism, it was claimed last night.

A former Labour investigations officer sought to lift the lid on the nature of anti-Semitism allegations within the party.

Dan Hogan, who quit his party post earlier, added that he had also carried out disciplinary inquiries into party members who 'promoted Holocaust deniers' and praised terrorists. The revelations came as the relative of a teenager killed in a terror attack spoke of his horror that Jeremy Corbyn had once met a Hamas chief linked to the murder.

Adam Ma'anit accused Labour of sinking 'into an anti-Semitic cesspit of its own making'.

In a tweet last week, Dan Hogan, who worked on Labour's internal disciplinary inquiries, stunned MPs by revealing the nature and scale of allegations investigated. Mr Hogan said: 'I've done plenty of disciplinary cases against Labour members who compared Israel to the Nazis, peddled conspiracy theories about Israel, promoted Holocaust deniers, praised terrorists, and who questioned the Britishness or loyalty of British Jews.'

His remarks came amid private claims from MPs that the party does not have enough staff to handle all the anti-Semitic allegations coming in.

Separately, Mr Corbyn came under fire from Mr Ma'anit, whose 16-year-old cousin was reportedly killed by terrorists linked to ex-Hamas military leader Husam Badran, who appeared at a 2012 conference in Doha also attended by the Labour leader. Mr Ma'anit said: 'I've been watching in quiet horror and with increasing anxiety as the Labour Party sinks deeper by the day into an anti-Semitic cesspit of its own making.

'Recently revealed details of Corbyn's troubling past associations means I can no longer remain silent. This is personal.'

Labour last night said: 'Jeremy is determined to tackle anti-Semitism both within the Labour Party and wider society and the Party is committed to rebuilding trust with the Jewish community.'Jeremy Corbyn pictured this month in Edinburgh

Labour members who questioned the loyalty of British Jews have been investigated as part of Labour Party internal inquiries into anti-Semitism, it was claimed last night.

A former Labour investigations officer sought to lift the lid on the nature of anti-Semitism allegations within the party.

Dan Hogan, who quit his party post earlier, added that he had also carried out disciplinary inquiries into party members who promoted Holocaust deniers and praised terrorists.

The revelations came as the relative of a teenager killed in a terror attack spoke of his horror that Jeremy Corbyn had once met a Hamas chief linked to the murder.

Adam Maanit accused Labour of sinking into an anti-Semitic cesspit of its own making.

In a tweet last week, Dan Hogan, who worked on Labours internal disciplinary inquiries, stunned MPs by revealing the nature and scale of allegations investigated.

Mr Hogan said: Ive done plenty of disciplinary cases against Labour members who compared Israel to the Nazis, peddled conspiracy theories about Israel, promoted Holocaust deniers, praised terrorists, and who questioned the Britishness or loyalty of British Jews.

His remarks came amid private claims from MPs that the party does not have enough staff to handle all the anti-Semitic allegations coming in.

Mr Corbyn came under fire from Mr Maanit, whose 16-year-old cousin was reportedly killed by terrorists linked to ex-Hamas military leader Husam Badran, who appeared at a 2012 conference in Doha also attended by the Labour leader

Separately, Mr Corbyn came under fire from Mr Maanit, whose 16-year-old cousin was reportedly killed by terrorists linked to ex-Hamas military leader Husam Badran, who appeared at a 2012 conference in Doha also attended by the Labour leader.

Mr Maanit said: Ive been watching in quiet horror and with increasing anxiety as the Labour Party sinks deeper by the day into an anti-Semitic cesspit of its own making.

Recently revealed details of Corbyns troubling past associations means I can no longer remain silent. This is personal.

Labour last night said: Jeremy is determined to tackle anti-Semitism both within the Labour Party and wider society and the Party is committed to rebuilding trust with the Jewish community.The war graves of British sailors who died in the Battle of Jutland  the biggest naval action of the First World War  have been plundered in breach of international law.

The shocking revelation comes just a week after The Mail on Sunday disclosed how Chinese pirates have looted at least ten British warships sunk in the Far East during the Second World War.

The latest reports of looting involve wrecks of Royal Navy warships sunk in 1916 in the North Sea battle in which more than 6,000 British sailors died.

A deckhand on converted Dutch trawler MV Friendship proudly shows off a monogrammed metal plate looted from HMS Queen Mary, which was sunk in 1916 with the loss of 1,266 sailors. It has been confirmed by archaeologist Andy Brockman, editor of heritage website thepipeline.info, as a decorative cap or tompion, seen, fitted to the Queen Marys 13.5in gun barrels

Looted: Battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary

Former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West last night condemned the practice as 'reprehensible'.

And leading nautical archaeologist and Bournemouth University lecturer Dr Innes McCartney said: 'Nearly all Battle of Jutland wrecks have suffered metal salvage  it's an ongoing problem.'

Last week Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson demanded an immediate investigation into the looting of war wrecks and condemned those who did it, saying: 'Those who lost their lives on board should be allowed to rest in peace.'

Implicated in the plundering is a Dutch-registered salvage vessel MV Friendship, which has raised metal and artefacts from HMS Queen Mary. The ship went down during the Battle of Jutland with the loss of 1,266 crew.

Photographs show artefacts from the British battlecruiser being displayed on Friendship's foredeck, including a gun part bearing the monogram of the Queen Mary.

Other items taken by Friendship from the British fleet are on open display at the Wreck Museum in Terschelling, Holland  the home town of Friendship Offshore BV, the company that owns the salvage vessel.

Implicated in the plundering is a Dutch-registered salvage vessel MV Friendship, which has raised metal and artefacts from HMS Queen Mary (pictured). The ship went down during the Battle of Jutland with the loss of 1,266 crew

The firm has never been prosecuted over allegations concerning the Jutland war graves, but last month a court found it guilty of plundering a wreck off the Isles of Scilly  the 4,300-ton merchant vessel SS Harrovian, sunk in April 1916 by a German U-boat.

The freighter had left New York for Le Havre carrying 980 tons of copper bars, worth 4.7 million at current prices.

Some of the copper was salvaged under a UK licence in the 1950s. However, the Friendship, fitted out with high-tech equipment, revisited the wreck in 2016 to plunder untouched cargo.

Further images show the salvage and housing on the deck of the salvage vessel of what appears to be a large boiler room condenser

Although the Harrovian  which had no dead aboard as the U-boat captain allowed the crew to abandon ship  lies in international waters, it is still part of the UK's Offshore Marine area. This means a licence is required to remove items from it. The Friendship was intercepted by a Royal Navy patrol vessel as it lifted 90,000 worth of copper and steel from the wreck.

After pleading guilty to unlicensed salvaging, the company was last month fined 6,000 at Newcastle Crown Court. It was also hit with 44,930 costs and a proceeds of crime confiscation order of 190,643. The skipper was fined 2,000.

Simon Smit, a director of Friendship Offshore BV, did not deny that it had also salvaged ships from the Battle of Jutland, but said: 'It was a long time ago.'

Desecration is reprehensible - and must stop now

By Admiral Lord West

HMS Ardent, the ship I commanded, lies on the bottom of Falkland Sound where she succumbed to attacks by Argentinian aircraft in May 1982.

Twenty-two of my brave boys are at rest in that wreck, which is as much a war grave as any cemetery ashore. Indeed, it and other ships sunk in war since 1914 are protected by statute.

Sadly, as The Mail on Sunday has reported, these war graves are being constantly pillaged. New diving techniques and the ability to scan the ocean floor have made the numerous wrecks littering the seabed from both world wars increasingly accessible and vulnerable.

The latest reports of looting involve wrecks of Royal Navy warships sunk in 1916 in the North Sea battle in which more than 6,000 British sailors died

I first became aware of this when, as Commander-in-Chief Fleet in 2001, we heard from some ex-Royal Navy divers that they had come across a Japanese salvage company diving on the wrecks of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in the South China Sea. There was a scuffle and the pillagers were forced to drop their ill-gotten gains, including the ship's bell.

The position of these wrecks have been known for decades due to regular services of remembrance and the replacement of the White Ensigns that still fly underwater on the sunken ships.

In 2014, I became aware of Dutch companies and Danish artefact-hunters robbing the wrecks in the North Sea.

The Government seemed unwilling to take the issue seriously  but it really must do so now.

The position of these wrecks have been known for decades due to regular services of remembrance and the replacement of the White Ensigns that still fly underwater on the sunken ships

In the Far East, many of the Allied ships sunk in the battles of 1941 and 1942 have been completely removed with only a depression in the seabed marking the tomb of so many brave men. The same is happening in the North Sea, where ships sunk at the Battle of Jutland are being desecrated.

Notwithstanding the difficulties of enforcing rules in the Far East, more could be done. In the case of the North Sea, it should be possible to protect war grave wrecks immediately and pursue the wrongdoers in the courts.

We owe it to our fallen heroes and I salute The Mail on Sunday's efforts to energise the Government's response to these reprehensible acts.The Egyptian authorities were last night accused of hampering the efforts of British officials investigating the sudden deaths of two holidaymakers.

Sources close to the inquiry into the deaths of John and Susan Cooper said Thomas Cooks team had been obstructed by staff desperate to protect the countrys tourism industry.

One holidaymaker claimed that staff from the company who flew out to Egypt were interrogated by airport workers demanding to know why they were there, while hotel staff were also said to have been hostile.

John and Susan Cooper died with hours of each other at Aqua Magic hotel in Egypt

The allegations came as Egyptian officials sought to draw a line under the mysterious deaths by claiming they were normal. But in recent days there have been fears the couple were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, severe food poisoning or legionnaires disease. Egypts tourism industry has slumped by as much as 30 per cent since the 2011 Arab Spring led to security threats and civil unrest in the country.

The Cooper family, from Burnley, Lancashire, were on a ten-day package holiday when Mr Cooper, 69, died in his room at the five-star Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada on Tuesday morning.

Mrs Cooper, 63, died six hours later after being taken to hospital by daughter Kelly Ormerod, 40.

There were fears the couple might have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning because of a faulty air-conditioning unit but Thomas Cook insisted there was no evidence of this. A team from the company arrived on Wednesday and took samples from the hotels food, swimming pool, air-conditioning units and boilers.

One holidaymaker who spoke to a Thomas Cook health and safety officer said: The Egyptian authorities were not happy at all about him being there. At the airport they asked him why he was investigating  he said they were acting like they didnt want him there at all.

100 guests of Aqua Magic luxury hhave arrived in UK after evacuation due to illness

The Egyptian hotel staff were clearly very frosty about Thomas Cook officials snooping around. They werent at all helpful and didnt want them finding anything that may be wrong with the place.

One source close to the investigation said: Thomas Cook are trying to get to the bottom of this but the Egyptians seem happy to brush it under the carpet.

I can understand why people want to protect Egypts reputation but this is a serious matter and needs to be investigated properly. After the deaths, they put out a statement saying they died of natural causes but it is far too early to say.

One theory Thomas Cook is investigating is whether the pair died from a severe case of legionnaires disease  caused by airborne bacteria that can travel through air-conditioning vents.

But last night, the Egyptian public prosecutor claimed engineers who checked the deceased couples room concluded that all equipment was sound and that there was no leakage or emission of any poisonous or harmful gases.

Last night, it emerged 11 other Thomas Cook customers had reported feeling ill since the Coopers deaths.

Kelly Ormerods mother-in-law, Olive, believes the family should take legal action. Mrs Ormerod, from Hoghton, near Blackburn, Lancashire, said: They have got to sue. They were a lovely couple. It is so very sad.Trump's former doorman who claims the president had an illegitimate child with his housekeeper could be set to release more documents, his lawyers have said.

Dino Sajudin signed a contract with American Media Inc in November 2015 that essentially bought his silence, offering him $30,000 for exclusive rights to the alleged affair story that was never published.

On Friday he released documents revealing the details of that agreement but very little about the story beyond: 'Source shall provide AMI with information regarding Donald Trump's illegitimate child, and any and all documentation  letters and any legal documents, and photographs.'

His lawyer revealed on Friday that he had been released from that binding contract and may come forward with a statement and more documents from the deal soon.

'I do suspect he may release another statement and potentially new documents in the future,' Sajudin's attorney Marc Held said to the New York Daily News on Saturday.

Trump's former doorman Dino Sajudin may reveal more details on his claims that the president had an illegitimate child with a housekeeper, his lawyer says

His lawyer confirmed Friday that Sajudin was released from a contract signed with American Media Inc. in November 2015, to buy the alleged Trump love child story. The White House has previously declined to comment on Sajudin's claims when approached by CNN

'Mr. Sajudin hopes the truth will come out in the very near future,' he added.

Sajudin, 46, who worked as a doorman at the Trump World Tower in Manhattan until after the 2016 election, is yet to comment on his claims following the contract release.

Sajudin couldn't share the details of his claims with anyone else as the document stipulated he'd have to pay AMI $1million. He would also only be compensated if the story was published.

The National Enquirer agreement he signed is believed to be a 'catch and kill' deal - a tabloid practice in which a publication pays for a story to never run, either as a favor to the celebrity subject of the tip or as leverage over that person.

Yet, AMI never ran the piece, meaning Sajudin was forced to keep quiet - until this year.

The National Enquirer formally endorsed Trump during the 2016 election and is owned by AMI, whose CEO David Pecker is an outspoken Trump supporter.

AMI's decision to formally free Sajudin from the contract happened 'only recently and in close time proximity to the recent events' involving Trump's lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, according to Held.

On Tuesday Cohen pleaded guilty to charges involving a $130,000 payoff in exchange for porn star Stormy Daniels' silence on her alleged affair with the president.

Cohen also acknowledged working with AMI on a catch and kill story deal with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also claimed to have had an affair with Trump but was silenced due to her contract.

Held told CNN Friday: 'Mr Sajudin has been unable to discuss the circumstances regarding his deal with American Media Inc. and the story that he sold to them, due to a significant financial penalty.

'Just recently, AMI released Mr Sajudin from the terms of his agreement and he is now able to speak about his personal experience with them, as well as his story, which is now known to be one of the 'catch and kill' pieces.

Sajudin got $30,000 in exchange for signing over the rights, 'in perpetuity,' to a rumor he'd heard about Trump's sex life  that the president had fathered an illegitimate child with an employee at Trump World Tower, a skyscraper he owns near the United Nations

He first came forward with the claims about Trump's affair in April this year.

CNN said it understood that he was released from the contract in December 2016, after Trump had beaten Hillary Clinton.

The Associated Press and the New Yorker said that Sajudin got $30,000 in exchange for signing over the rights, 'in perpetuity,' to the claim that the president had fathered an illegitimate child with an employee at Trump World Tower, a skyscraper he owns near the United Nations.

He said that he had been instructed not to criticize Trump's former housekeeper due to the 'prior relationship she had with President Trump which produced a child.'

The woman has not been named but spoke to the Associated Press last August to deny having any relationship with Trump. She added she had no idea the Enquirer had paid Sajudin and pursued his tip.

The AP has not been able to determine if the rumor is true and is not naming the woman.

'This is all fake,' she said. 'I think they lost their money.'

The AMI contract release has turned eyes to Michael Cohen, who previously acknowledged to AP that he discussed Sajudin's story with the Enquirer when the tabloid was working on it.

He was acting as a Trump spokesman at the time and denied knowing anything beforehand about the Enquirer's payment to the ex-doorman.

He said the payment was wasted money for a baseless story.

The Enquirer signed the ex-doorman to a contract that effectively prevented him from going public with the juicy tale that could have hurt Trump's campaign for president.

As the Enquirer signed ex-Playmate Karen McDougal to a similar contract, questions have been raised towards Cohen and the Enquirer's roles in protecting Trump's image during his 2016 election.

Trump and AMI CEO David Pecker are known to be friends and Pecker was offered immunity on Cohen's case for killing stories in the National Enquirer that portrayed the president in a negative light.

Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney who has just pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, acknowledged to the AP that he had discussed Sajudin's story with the magazine when the tabloid was working on it

When the Enquirer's top editor and AMI executive Dylan Howard was asked about the $30,000 payment last summer by AP, he said the payment was made to secure the doorman's exclusive cooperation.

He added that if the tip turned out to be true it could have sold 'hundreds of thousands' of magazines.

Ultimately, he said the information 'lacked any credibility,' so he spiked the story on those merits.

'Unfortunately... Dino Sajudin is one fish that swam away,' Howard told RadarOnline on Wednesday.

But four longtime Enquirer staffers directly familiar with the episode challenged Howard's version of events.

They said they were ordered by top editors to stop pursuing the story before completing potentially promising reporting threads.

Donald Trump, with wife Melania. Trump's former doorman has confirmed he signed a contract with the National Enquirer owners regarding a possible story about Trump's relationship with a housekeeper

They said the publication didn't pursue standard Enquirer reporting practices, such as exhaustive stake-outs or tabloid tactics designed to prove paternity.

One former Enquirer reporter, who was not involved in the Sajudin reporting effort, expressed skepticism that the company would pay for the tip and not publish.

'AMI doesn't go around cutting checks for $30,000 and then not using the information,' said Jerry George, a reporter and senior editor for nearly three decades at AMI before his layoff in 2013.

Sajudin got into the agreement with AMI after he called the Enquirer's tip line. Reporters pursued the story in New York and California and Sajudin even underwent a polygraph test, which he passed.

A week later he signed the $30,000 contract. But immediately afterwards, the reporting stopped, according to former staffers.

Cohen has admitted he broke the law when he made payments to McDougal and pornstar Stormy Daniels (pictured)

Sajudin confirmed he was paid to be an anonymous source for the tabloid. When pressed for details, Sajudin said he'd only talk in exchange for payment.

'If there's no money involved with it,' he said, 'I'm not getting involved.'

The company has said it paid McDougal, the former Playboy Playmate, to be a columnist for an AMI-published fitness magazine, not to stay silent. McDougal has since said that she regrets signing the non-disclosure agreement and is currently suing to get out of it

Despite claiming to have nothing to do with Trump, the National Enquirer has a record of publishing stories that reflect their endorsement of the president - which was notably the first time the publication ever endorsed a presidential candidate.

During the election the magazine published a string of allegations against Trump's rivals with stories claiming rival Hillary Clinton was a bisexual 'secret sex freak' and was kept alive only by a 'narcotics cocktail.'

Many of these stories bypassed the paper's fact-checking process, according to two people familiar with the copy.

Yet top editor Dylan Howard stressed that the paper's coverage was bipartisan, citing negative stories it published about Ben Carson during the Republican presidential primaries.

In a statement last summer, Howard said the company doesn't take editorial direction 'from anyone outside AMI,' and said Trump has never been an Enquirer source.

The company has said reader surveys dictate its coverage and that many of its customers are Trump supporters.

In regards to the National Enquirer's deal with McDougal - who claims to have had an affair with Trump - the publication said it paid her to be a columnist in an AMI-published fitness magazine, not to stay silent.

McDougal has said she regrets signing the non-disclosure agreement and is currently suing to get out of it.

AMI CEO David Pecker admitted to the New Yorker last summer that McDougal's contract effectively silenced her.

'Once she's part of the company, then on the outside she can't be bashing Trump and American Media,' Pecker said.A woman who survived the Las Vegas shooting nearly a year ago was sworn in to become a police officer, saying the devastating massacre inspired her to want to protect and serve.

Lauren Card, 23, became the newest member of the Springfield Police Department in Oregon on Monday. The department commemorated the happy moment by sharing a video to its Facebook page of Card taking an oath.

'Congratulations to Officer Card who was sworn in this morning! Welcome!' the department posted.

Card was with her family members at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival last October when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from an upper-story window of the Mandalay Bay hotel killing 59 people and injuring more than 500 others.

Las Vegas shooting survivor Lauren Card was sworn in as the newest member of the Springfield Police Department in Oregon

Card, 23, was sworn in on Monday, 10 months after a gunman opened fire at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival

The shooting is said to be the worst mass murder in modern US history. Paddock died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head as officers stormed the hotel room.

Stephen Paddock was identified as the shooter. 59 people were killed in the shooting

Card told the Register Guardian that she remembers running with other panicked concertgoers to safety and the instant relief she felt when she saw police officers arrive to help.

She said the shooting inspired her to want to protect other people.

'In that moment, I kind had a sense that, "OK, the police are here. They are going to fix it. They are going to make it better. Everything is going to be OK," she said. 'I want to be that person for someone else in that situation.'

Card added: 'When theyre going through something crappy or going through a hard time, I want them to see me and be like, OK, shes going to fix it. Shes going to make it better.

Card's mother Robin Baird, who was also at the music festival, said she's 'very proud' her daughter is trying to turn a horrible incident into something positive.

Card, who was at the festival with her family, said the shooting inspired her to want to become an officer

She said getting shot at will help her during her career as an officer. Card will begin the police academy in Salem in October

'I want to do something with this, show that you can move on, youre strong,' the 23-year-old said

She told the outlet that the family escaped the shooting by hiding under their riser-style VIP suite with other people, and then running toward a fence. Baird said they had to climb the fence and get over a 10-foot brick wall to get to safety.

I am very proud of her for becoming an officer and wanting to serve the community, especially after Route 91, her mom told the outlet. She works really hard. With her achievements and strengths, I know shell be very successful.

Card said after the shooting she tried to return to her normal life but was having trouble focusing and trying to mentally process what happened.

59 people were killed in the shooting last October and more than 500 others were injured

She said she eventually came to the realization: Yeah, it sucks that it happened. My heart is with the families that werent as fortunate as ours. But we made it out, and I dont want this to affect me in such a negative way and let it ruin my life. I want to do something with this, show that you can move on, youre strong.

Springfield police Lt. Scott McKee said he was concerned how Card would react if as a law enforcement officer she was put in a similar situation. Card told him that she 'knows what its like to be shot at and she thinks that will help her as an officer.

Card, who graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in kinesiology, will begin the police academy in Salem in October.

Until then shes training in Springfield and will begin patrolling with another officer next week, the Register Guard reports.The crowd roared as Donald Trump stood at the podium inside New Yorks Trump Tower and announced his intention to run for President of the United States.

It was June 2015 and just 17 months later the billionaire businessman would do what many considered impossible: win the race for the White House against Hillary Clinton.

But even as his campaign bid was being beamed around the world, an equally extraordinary scene was unfolding inside a muggy warehouse 1,200 miles away in Lantana, Florida.

The laidback beach town is home to 10,000 people, but for years its most famous  and infamous  resident had been the National Enquirer, Americas most notorious tabloid magazine.

Inside the warehouse, its editor, Dylan Howard, was searching through stacks of plain manila folders. The Enquirer had recently moved its head office to New York, but the Lantana warehouse stored hundreds of old story files.

Inside the folders lay the most intimate details of the affairs, secret love children and sexual peccadillos of some of the worlds most famous names, some dating back decades.

In the case of McDougal, it is claimed that The Enquirer executed a catch and kill, whereby it paid money for her story without having any intention of publishing it in order to protect Trump (pictured together)

But he was looking only for folders bearing one name  Trump.

Recalling the documents that made their way back to New York, a source said: It was the dossier to end all dossiers.

There were stories on Trump stretching back to the 1970s and his first marriage to Ivana. No one was shocked that hes a serial philanderer, we all knew that, but it was the volume of damaging stories against him that was staggering. We had Trump nailed.

Indeed, The Mail on Sunday has learned that the files contained alleged details of:

l At least a dozen affairs and pay-offs  some for acts of sexual misconduct  to women including models and Playboy playmates;

l A $30,000 payment to Dino the doorman, a member of Trumps staff, who claimed he knew about one of the affairs;

Donald Trump with Stormy Daniels in 2006

l So-called catch and kill projects which allowed the tabloids to seek favours from celebrities including an unnamed British star, Tiger Woods and Arnold Schwarzenegger in return for burying potentially damaging allegations about them.

For many years the brash deliverer of scoops, The Enquirer last week found itself making, rather than breaking, the news.

Mr Howard and David Pecker, chairman of American Media Inc, the owner of The Enquirer, were both granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for information related to hush money payments made to the porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal by AMI and Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Both women claim to have had affairs with Trump  which he denies  and were both allegedly paid for their silence in the run-up to the 2016 US elections.

Trump has always vehemently denied all allegations of affairs and sexual misconduct leveled against him, dismissing the claims as fake news and lies spread by those seeking to discredit him.

In the case of McDougal, it is claimed that The Enquirer executed a catch and kill, whereby it paid money for her story without having any intention of publishing it in order to protect Trump.

Federal prosecutors are now examining whether Trump violated any of Americas strict campaign finance laws by approving the catch and kill payments to his alleged mistresses.

IMMUNITY: David Pecker, chairman of AMI, which owns The National Enquirer, with two Playboy bunnies

The involvement of The Enquirer emerged during a dramatic week in which Trumps former lawyer Cohen  who arranged payments of $130,000 to Daniels and $150,000 to McDougal  pleaded guilty to eight charges, including campaign finance violations.

In a clear reference to Trump, Cohen said he had been directed to break federal election laws by a candidate for federal office.

In a further blow to the President, his former campaign manager Paul Manafort was last week found guilty of tax evasion and bank fraud.

And Allen Weisselberg, the chief financial officer of the Trump organisation, who is said to hold the key to the businessmans financial and tax affairs, was also offered immunity from prosecution in return for cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

It is Muellers probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election that triggered what former Enquirer bureau chief Jerry George called: The implosion of the Trump presidency.

Mr George, who worked for The Enquirer for 28 years, claimed: Trumps history of philandering was legendary.

In the days before David Pecker took over in 1999, Trump would get caught out having affairs... but he would trade stories with us, saying, If you dont run this about me, I can give you this story about one of my rich friends.

He always had a certain type  porn stars, Playmates, beauty queens. Sometimes we worked with him, sometimes we didnt.

He would ring up and offer stories on his celebrity friends and business associates in exchange for us killing negative stories about his philandering. All the files were stored in the Lantana warehouse, with contacts written down on paper the old-fashioned way  source notes, original copies of contracts and pay-offs if they were made.

Trump should be very worried about those files.

The Enquirer ended up becoming Trumps private mouthpiece. The irony is The Enquirer could end up bringing him down.

The National Enquirer's, Americas most notorious tabloid magazine, former Florida base

Trump, nicknamed Teflon Don because of his ability to survive scandals, responded to last weeks setbacks in his characteristically brash style. I dont know how you can impeach somebody who has done a great job, he told Fox News. I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the [stock] market would crash.

But former employees of The Enquirer, which sold more than four million copies in its heyday, believe Pecker could decide if Trumps presidency crashes. The Enquirer always had a bad rap, but it genuinely broke stories and held a place in American culture, one former staffer told The Mail on Sunday.

Its hard for Brits to understand but in America, a place so large and vast, theres no real national newspaper. The National Enquirer filled a void.

It was at every supermarket checkout. For millions of Americans, particularly pre-internet, it was the only news they saw.

It had a real place in the popular culture of America. Love it or hate it, The Enquirer broke real news, lots of juicy scandals about celebrities and very often got it right.

People believed The Enquirer, which is why Trump wanted a part of it.

But, according to sources, the culture changed after Peckers AMI acquired the magazine in 1999, with reporters told to go gentle on FoPs  Friends of Peckers. And there was no bigger friend than Donald Trump.An insider claimed: The company has staved off a few financial crises. Trump offered access to money and investors. Once he ran for President, Pecker became even more enamoured of him.

Trump offered a direct line to power, prestige and money. Pecker bragged about going to the White House.

The Enquirer endorsed Trump for President  the first time it had ever officially backed a candidate  and ran a slew of negative stories about Mrs Clinton.

Enquirer reporters have alleged to this newspaper that catch and kill became common for stories involving Trump.

Mr George added: We didnt just do it with Trump. We did it with a slew of celebrities.

The Mail on Sunday has learned that the same approach was taken to alleged affairs involving Schwarzenegger, Woods and an unnamed British star.

Catch and kill was common practice, said a source. We did it with a very well-known British TV personality.

He was involved in certain nefarious activities and it was all hushed up in return for him cooperating with interviews and stories.

Close Friends: Trump with David Pecker in 2004. David Pecker, chairman of American Media Inc, the owner of The Enquirer, was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for information related to hush money payments made to the porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal by AMI and Trumps former lawyer, Michael Cohen

With Trump, there was a history of catch and kill  at least a dozen women over the years were paid off. The Enquirer has not commented on the fresh claims but has previously insisted that stories were published solely on editorial judgment.

It also emerged this weekend that Dino Sajudin  a former doorman at Trump World Tower in New York  was paid $30,000 by The Enquirer after approaching the tabloid with a rumour about Trumps sex life.

While the claim is false, Sajudin passed a lie detector test arranged by The Enquirer, which proved he believed it to be true.

He was paid thirty grand for a story that wasnt true. That was pretty good going, said Mr George.

On Friday night, Trump was in Ohio. Unbowed by the swirl of scandal, he told adoring supporters: We won the election. Were going to win again in 2020.

The fate of the cache of Trump files remains unknown. They were moved from Lantana to a safe in The Enquirers New York office, but a source told The Mail on Sunday that they are no longer there, having been collected the week before Trumps inauguration.

They have been moved, the source added. They may be in the hands of Robert Mueller. They may still be in Peckers possession. They may even have been shredded.

For the sake of Trumps presidency and legacy, he must surely be hoping the latter is true.A plan to line the M20 with extra portable lavatories after a no deal Brexit has been revealed.

A new contract for toilets is part of Operation Stack  the procedure used by Kent Police to park lorries when services into the Port of Dover are disrupted.

The system has been used before, such as when severe weather or industrial action at French ports restricts ferry services.

But in the event of a no-deal scenario  leading to border checks with the EU being reimposed  contingency planners are preparing for a 13-mile-long Brexit stack on the coastbound carriageway of the motorway.

Truck drivers stand next to their vehicles on the M20 during Operation Stack on July 30, 2015

To allow the drivers to relieve themselves discreetly and hygienically, portable loos would be deployed at intervals along the motorway.

As with much of the Governments no-deal planning, non-disclosure agreements have been signed with the logistics companies which arrange the supply of the loos to try to keep the arrangements secret.

Brexiteers threaten to humiliate Theresa May at Party Conference over Philip Hammond's warning that failing to reach a deal would have dire consequences for the economy

The bitter Tory civil war over Brexit deepened last night after Theresa May was warned by her own MPs that she faced being booed and slow-handclapped at the party conference in protest at her Brussels strategy.

Brexiteers are furious after Philip Hammonds warning last week that failing to reach a deal would have dire consequences for the economy  and they blame the Prime Minister for failing to rein in the Chancellor.

The news comes as The Mail on Sunday has established that the plans for a no-deal Brexit include ordering hundreds of portable lavatories to be deployed on motorways, to be used by lorry drivers caught in gridlock caused by the reintroduction of EU border checks. The secret contract is understood to be one of dozens covered by non-disclosure agreements drawn up between the Government and the private sector.

The Tory Party is deeply divided over the level of contingency planning required for a no-deal: Brexiteers believe that doom-mongering predictions of economic and logistical chaos after March signal to Brussels negotiators that the UK is prepared to buckle during talks.

Last night, former Brexit Minister David Jones led calls for Mrs May to sack Mr Hammond, telling The Mail on Sunday: She must invite her Chancellors resignation and if that is not forthcoming, then she must insist upon it.

Mr Hammonds intervention, in which he said a no-deal Brexit could hit growth of the countrys GDP by as much as 10 per cent and cost the economy 80 billion in extra borrowing, came just hours after Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab had suggested it would have only a limited impact.

Brexiteers are furious after Philip Hammonds warning last week that failing to reach a deal would have dire consequences for the economy

Tensions are rising in the party ahead of MPs return to the Commons next month and Conservative Party Conference, which starts on September 30.

A number of rebel Tory MPs say they have privately urged Boris Johnson to force a no-confidence vote in Mrs May for preparing a botched Brexit.

But allies of the former Foreign Secretary, who resigned from the Cabinet last month in protest at the Prime Ministers Chequers agreement proposing a post-Brexit alignment with many EU rules, say he will not make his move unless the Prime Minister sealed her own fate by making further concession to Brussels.

Arch-Brexiteer Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said yesterday that the Prime Ministers standing was already at an all-time low with Tory members over the Chequers sell-out and her call on Mr Johnson to apologise for controversial remarks about burkas.

Mr Bridgen said: Her standing has now plummeted even further. Its becoming increasingly obvious to Conservative supporters that we need a new PM to rescue Brexit, and rescue our country and our party.

All right-minded colleagues should put in no-confidence letters now to force out Mrs May.

If she somehow manages to cling on, then at the Conservative conference she faces the prospect of real humiliation when she meets the party faithful.

Mr Bridgen added: She could be the first sitting Tory Prime Minister I can remember who faces a slow-handclap during her speech or doesnt get a standing ovation at the end of it. I wouldnt be surprised if she was even booed.

Mr Jones said that the Prime Minister should dismiss her Chancellor as proof of her good faith in dealing with the party.

He said that Mr Hammond had not only undermined the Brexit Secretarys negotiations with Brussels, but was also brazenly defying Mrs Mays instruction at last months Chequers summit that Cabinet Ministers now had to speak with one voice on the Governments strategy.

He contrasted Mr Hammonds behaviour with that of David Davis and Boris Johnson, who quit within days of the Chequers summit as they could not support the agreed approach. As men of principle, they both decided they could not and quickly resigned, he said.

Mr Hammond clearly has a similar problem in sticking to the agreed Government position and should therefore follow suit.

A number of rebel Tory MPs say they have privately urged Boris Johnson to force a no-confidence vote in Mrs May for preparing a botched Brexit

Mrs May will face a no-confidence vote if 48 or more Tory rebels submit letters to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the partys powerful 1922 backbench committee at Westminster. But yesterday, Sir Graham appeared to offer the beleaguered Prime Minister support, praising her humility as a politician. He said that when it came to achieving a good Brexit, a politician who has as little ego as Theresa May, calmly getting on with it, may be the best chance of achieving that.

Mrs Mays allies argue that she is the only captain of the ship who can navigate the country through the negotiations while holding the warring wings of her party together.

Meanwhile, the Portaloo plan is one of a number of secret agreements with companies and industry groups that have arisen as part of a process of consultation with logistics firms.

Much of the planning work has been orchestrated by sub-committees of the Border Co-ordination Group, a cross Whitehall committee of senior officials.

Mr Raabs upbeat remarks came as the Government published the first tranche of papers spelling out its no-deal contingency plans, covering banking, medicines and clinical trials, nuclear research, workplace rights and farm payments.

They represent about a third of the 80 or so technical papers that are to be released by the end of next month.

He rejected claims that the Army would have to be brought in to distribute food, but warned of higher credit card charges and online shopping bills, and said that British expats were at risk of losing their pensions and access to their bank accounts.

The prospect of a no-deal outcome has increased since the Chequers proposals were published  with both Brexiteer Tories and Brussels negotiators describing them as unacceptable.

Yesterday, former Tory Minister Nick Boles claimed that a no-deal Brexit would be blocked by at least 40 of his fellow Conservatives in the Commons.

I dont care how many of my colleagues dream of this in the midnight hour. There are not the parliamentary numbers to support a no-deal Brexit, he said. And I will vote, as a Conservative MP, in whatever way is necessary, on whatever motion will achieve the result of stopping a no-deal Brexit.

This would force Mrs May back to the negotiating table  or beg the EU for an emergency extension to the Article 50 deadline at the end of March.The bitter Tory civil war over Brexit deepened last night after Theresa May was warned by her own MPs that she faced being booed and slow-handclapped at the party conference in protest at her Brussels strategy.

Brexiteers are furious after Philip Hammonds warning last week that failing to reach a deal would have dire consequences for the economy  and they blame the Prime Minister for failing to rein in the Chancellor.

The news comes as The Mail on Sunday has established that the plans for a no-deal Brexit include ordering hundreds of portable lavatories to be deployed on motorways, to be used by lorry drivers caught in gridlock caused by the reintroduction of EU border checks.

The secret contract is understood to be one of dozens covered by non-disclosure agreements drawn up between the Government and the private sector.

Brexiteers are furious after Philip Hammonds warning last week that failing to reach a deal would have dire consequences for the economy

The Tory Party is deeply divided over the level of contingency planning required for a no-deal: Brexiteers believe that doom-mongering predictions of economic and logistical chaos after March signal to Brussels negotiators that the UK is prepared to buckle during talks.

Last night, former Brexit Minister David Jones led calls for Mrs May to sack Mr Hammond, telling The Mail on Sunday: She must invite her Chancellors resignation and if that is not forthcoming, then she must insist upon it.

Mr Hammonds intervention, in which he said a no-deal Brexit could hit growth of the countrys GDP by as much as 10 per cent and cost the economy 80 billion in extra borrowing, came just hours after Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab had suggested it would have only a limited impact.

Tensions are rising in the party ahead of MPs return to the Commons next month and Conservative Party Conference, which starts on September 30.

A number of rebel Tory MPs say they have privately urged Boris Johnson to force a no-confidence vote in Mrs May for preparing a botched Brexit.

But allies of the former Foreign Secretary, who resigned from the Cabinet last month in protest at the Prime Ministers Chequers agreement proposing a post-Brexit alignment with many EU rules, say he will not make his move unless the Prime Minister sealed her own fate by making further concession to Brussels.

Arch-Brexiteer Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said yesterday that the Prime Ministers standing was already at an all-time low with Tory members over the Chequers sell-out and her call on Mr Johnson to apologise for controversial remarks about burkas.

Mr Bridgen said: Her standing has now plummeted even further. Its becoming increasingly obvious to Conservative supporters that we need a new PM to rescue Brexit, and rescue our country and our party.

All right-minded colleagues should put in no-confidence letters now to force out Mrs May.

If she somehow manages to cling on, then at the Conservative conference she faces the prospect of real humiliation when she meets the party faithful.

Mr Bridgen added: She could be the first sitting Tory Prime Minister I can remember who faces a slow-handclap during her speech or doesnt get a standing ovation at the end of it. I wouldnt be surprised if she was even booed.

Mr Jones said that the Prime Minister should dismiss her Chancellor as proof of her good faith in dealing with the party.

He said that Mr Hammond had not only undermined the Brexit Secretarys negotiations with Brussels, but was also brazenly defying Mrs Mays instruction at last months Chequers summit that Cabinet Ministers now had to speak with one voice on the Governments strategy.

He contrasted Mr Hammonds behaviour with that of David Davis and Boris Johnson, who quit within days of the Chequers summit as they could not support the agreed approach. As men of principle, they both decided they could not and quickly resigned, he said.

Mr Hammond clearly has a similar problem in sticking to the agreed Government position and should therefore follow suit.

Mrs May will face a no-confidence vote if 48 or more Tory rebels submit letters to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the partys powerful 1922 backbench committee at Westminster. But yesterday, Sir Graham appeared to offer the beleaguered Prime Minister support, praising her humility as a politician. He said that when it came to achieving a good Brexit, a politician who has as little ego as Theresa May, calmly getting on with it, may be the best chance of achieving that.

A number of rebel Tory MPs say they have privately urged Boris Johnson to force a no-confidence vote in Mrs May for preparing a botched Brexit

Mrs Mays allies argue that she is the only captain of the ship who can navigate the country through the negotiations while holding the warring wings of her party together.

Meanwhile, the Portaloo plan is one of a number of secret agreements with companies and industry groups that have arisen as part of a process of consultation with logistics firms.

Much of the planning work has been orchestrated by sub-committees of the Border Co-ordination Group, a cross Whitehall committee of senior officials.

Mr Raabs upbeat remarks came as the Government published the first tranche of papers spelling out its no-deal contingency plans, covering banking, medicines and clinical trials, nuclear research, workplace rights and farm payments.

They represent about a third of the 80 or so technical papers that are to be released by the end of next month.

He rejected claims that the Army would have to be brought in to distribute food, but warned of higher credit card charges and online shopping bills, and said that British expats were at risk of losing their pensions and access to their bank accounts.

The prospect of a no-deal outcome has increased since the Chequers proposals were published  with both Brexiteer Tories and Brussels negotiators describing them as unacceptable.

Yesterday, former Tory Minister Nick Boles claimed that a no-deal Brexit would be blocked by at least 40 of his fellow Conservatives in the Commons.

I dont care how many of my colleagues dream of this in the midnight hour. There are not the parliamentary numbers to support a no-deal Brexit, he said. And I will vote, as a Conservative MP, in whatever way is necessary, on whatever motion will achieve the result of stopping a no-deal Brexit.

This would force Mrs May back to the negotiating table  or beg the EU for an emergency extension to the Article 50 deadline at the end of March.

The secret plan to line the M20 with portable lavatories relates to Operation Stack  the procedure used by Kent Police to park lorries when services into the port are disrupted.

The system has been used before, such as when severe weather or industrial action at French ports restricts ferry services.

But in the event of a no-deal scenario  leading to border checks with the EU being reimposed  contingency planners are preparing for a 13-mile-long Brexit stack on the southbound carriageway of the motorway.

To allow the drivers to relieve themselves discreetly and hygienically, portable loos would be deployed at intervals along the motorway. As with much of the Governments no-deal planning, non-disclosure agreements have been signed with the logistics companies which arrange the supply of the loos to try to keep the arrangements secret.Trump has had few good words to say about John McCain and the feud stretches back to at least 2015. Here is a potted history.

Trump and McCain feuded for years, and the enmity continued beyond the grave

June 30, 2015: 'I just disagree with his comments about the, quote, Mexicans,' McCain said about the campaign speech in which Trump suggested Mexican immigrants bring 'drugs' and 'crime' into the U.S. and that some of them are 'rapists.'

July 16, 2015: Trump calls McCain 'weak' during rally in Arizona. McCain hit back telling the New Yorker that Trump 'fired up the crazies' before Trump said 'The thousands of people that showed up for me in Phoenix were amazing Americans. @SenJohnMcCain called them 'crazies'--must apologize!'. He then added that McCain graduated last in his class in Annapolis and said he was a 'dummy'.

July 18, 2015: Trump said of McCain's time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. 'He's not a war hero. He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured.'

December 22, 2015: McCain says he is 'concerned' over Trump's praise of Russian president Vladimir Putin. 'The thing that is so concerning about Mr. Trump's compliments of Vladimir Putin is Vladimir Putin has slaughtered his own, murdered his own people, including people I knew. He has, his equipment has shot down an airliner and killed a couple hundred people.'

April 19, 2016: McCain announced he would not attend the Republican primary where Trump was due to be officially named the party's presidential nominee.

August 1, 2016: McCain criticised Trump who had criticized the Gold Star parents of a fallen U.S army captain. He said: 'In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier's parents. He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States  to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates.'

October 8, 2016: Footage emerged showing Trump making misogynistic comments in 2005. McCain, and wife Cindy, said in a statement: 'Donald Trump's behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy

December 29, 2016: McCain associate David Kramer, an executive at the McCain Institute, met with BuzzFeed reporter Ken Bensinger and passed off British ex-spy Christopher Steele's 'dirty dossier'. Buzzfeed published the dossier two weeks later.

July 25, 2017: McCain rushed back to the Senate less than two weeks after brain surgery to vote 'no' on repealing the Affordable Care Act, which both he and Trump had campaigned on repealing.

April 17, 2018: McCain released memoir 'The Restless Wave' in which he made unflinching criticisms of Trump, Russia and his feelings of unease around the president.

June 20, 2018: Trump publicly blamed McCain for the Republican's failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017. McCain's daughter Meghan branded the move as 'gross'.

September 1, 2018: McCain's funeral is held at the Washington National Cathedral. He made explicit his wish that Trump not attend.

February 7, 2019: McCain's daughter Meghan McCain appears on the Late Show and criticizes Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner for attending her father's funeral. She said she would never squash her 'beef' with the Trump family.

March 2019: Trump continues to attack McCain. The president called him 'horrible' after the late senator's two daughters begged for the president to leave their dad and family alone.

May 2019: It is claimed Trump wanted the USS John McCain 'out of sight' during his visit to JapanFor years, Leonard Bernstein was recognized as one of the foremost composers in the United States.

Now, Google has celebrated the life and career of Bernstein with a new Google Doodle in his honor for what wouldve been his 100th birthday on August 25, 2018.

Heres everything you need to know about who Leonard Bernstein was, what some of his greatest musicals are and what a Google Doodle is.

Google has marked the life and work of composer Leonard Bernstein with a Google Doodle

Who was Leonard Bernstein?

Leonard Bernstein was a music composer and conductor known for being one of the most prominent in American history.

He was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on August 25, 1918.

The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, he fell in love with music at ten years old and chose to pursue it as a career at a young age.

I want to conduct. I want to play the piano. I want to write for Hollywood. I want to write symphonic music. I want to keep on trying to be, in the full sense of that wonderful word, a musician. I also want to teach. I want to write books and poetry. And I think I can still do justice to them all, he recalled.

After attending Harvard University and the Curtis Institute of Music, he relocated to New York City in 1940 and launched his professional musical career. He became the youngest Director of the New York Philharmonic in history and was noted for his long tenure with the prestigious orchestra.

In addition, Bernstein composed the music for a number of notable Broadway shows, including On the Town, Wonderful Town, Peter Pan and on the Waterfront. His most iconic work in West Side Story continues to enthrall audiences to this day in various productions.

Bernstein was also noted for his philanthropic work and won notable awards during his career

Bernstein also earned acclaim for his philanthropic work, especially in regards to music education, and won a Grammy Award in 1961 for Best Documentary or Spoken Word Recording.

The celebrated composer passed away at age 76 on October 14, 1990, but his musical contributions have clearly stood the test of time and remain popular to this day.

Leonard Bernstein musicals

Though Bernstein enjoyed a prolific career that spanned everything from ballets to film scores to orchestral arrangements, hes particularly noted for his popular musicals.

His first musical, On the Town, debuted in 1944 and included classic songs like New York, New York. The show, centered on a group of U.S. Navy sailors of leave in New York City, proved to be an enduring Broadway hit and was made into a movie in 1949.

After composing the music for Wonderful Town in 1953 and Candide in 1956, he produced the music for West Side Story in 1957, which ultimately became one of the most celebrated and well-known shows in Broadway history.

Later Broadway musical compositions by Bernstein include 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 1976, A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green in 1977 and contributions to The Madwoman of Central Park West 1979.

Bernstein was noted for composing the music for West Side Story and other Broadway hits

What is a Google Doodle?

Google Doodles are temporary alterations of Googles homepage logo that appear in honor of notable people, events, accomplishments, anniversaries and more.

They were first introduced in 1998 in recognition of the Burning Man festival by Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. After initially being produced by outside contractors, they were eventually created by a special in-house team known as Doodlers established to make them on a more regular basis.

Most Google Doodles nowadays are used to commemorate holidays such as New Years Eve and St. Patricks Day and also to recognize notable people like Ismat Chughtai or events such as Hungary State Foundation Day and Ukraine Independence Day.Tottenham's new stadium has encountered yet more troubles at their pricey new stadium after a burst water pipe flooded electrics for 45 minutes.

In the latest setback, hundreds of litres of water spilled across several levels of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday.

The incident occurred at 8.45am on Friday morning and soaked construction workers in the process as they tried to contain the problem.

Tottenham have been hit with more issues after a water pipe burst at their new stadium

Water cascades out of the water pipe on Friday morning at the new stadium in north London

A source said: 'What a shower! It was a mains water pipe and one of the workers accidentally burst it while doing a job.

'But there were farcical scenes because they couldn't turn it off. Water poured across the new stadium for at least 45 minutes and everyone was soaked.

'All the head bosses on the construction job came down to try and stop it. The damage will probably be extensive but they're just working out now exactly what damage it has caused.

'It was also flooding on to live electrical panels and wiring. At first we all stopped working and left the room.

'They're obviously putting the finishing touches to the stadium now and it's already behind so this won't help.'

Video footage shows the water pouring onto electrical equipment and wiring on Friday

The builders behind the new stadium recently revealed faulty wiring is behind the delay

A club spokesman told Sportsmail: 'It was a minor incident and is being dealt with.

Earlier this month, Spurs announced that their highly-anticipated move into the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been put back until at least the end of October.

Problems had been identified with the 850million ground's safety system, and those have been confirmed by the contractor Mace.

Chief executive Mark Reynolds told Building that problems had been discovered with the wiring for fire detection systems during testing.

He said: 'Issues with critical safety systems were identified. This is linked to the fire detection contractor encountering higher than usual electrical wiring faults.'

Spurs have had to move a host of fixtures at the start of the new season, and will again have to play 'home' matches at Wembley.Knowing that this was a mega-opening following an 80 million transformation of Cambridges oldest hotel (The University Arms was established in 1834), I booked two months in advance and was told bed-and-continental-breakfast in a classic room would be 359.

It seemed absurd, but the place was the talk of the town. Perhaps I was lucky to secure a berth at all.

A week before our stay, I checked on the website and found the same room for less than 300. Anna in Reservations did her best to explain that rates go up and down while agreeing that it was nonsense. But her computer would not budge  until I got cross. We finally agreed that if I joined the Marriott loyalty scheme, I could stay for 287.

Grand ambition: The Unviersity Arms (above) has undergone an 80 million refurbishment

This was a dampener, but pulling up on Regent Street to be greeted by a man in tweeds and whisked through huge doors into a high-ceilinged reception displaying a wonderful photo of Churchill wearing dungarees was a thrill.

The hotel backs on to Parkers Piece, a 25-acre park. There are 192 rooms, a ballroom, library, restaurant designed by Martin Brudnizki (who has worked on Soho House), sassy bar and a legion of staff.

For the price, our room was small, without an armchair or bath. But there was no faulting the quality, especially the sumptuous pillows and duvet.

Not many hotels offer historic tours of their buildings  but this one does, at 6.30 each evening. Oh, and a visit to the loos is enhanced by Alan Bennett narrating The Wind In The Willows.

Theres a palpable buzz about the place, helped by the hugely talented chef Tristan Welch and the omnipresence of the sharp-suited GM, who roams here and there, puffing up cushions.

The University Arms might not yet be fully in its stride, but Cambridge has a top-notch hotel of which to be proud.

Elegance: Pictured above is one of the Classic Rooms at The University ArmsTuscanys hilltop towns steal the headlines. Its cities are among the finest in Europe.

But stay on the coast  around 155 miles in length  and you can have the best of both worlds, dipping in and out of the sea and in and out of the culture.

Its far easier to get around than the more famous Amalfi Coast, but you can still enjoy those hilltop towns because the dramatic Apuan Alps rear up behind the beaches to the north.

Marble mountains: The Apuan Alps (above) on Tuscanys northern coast are stunning

Were staying in Villa Gilda near Massa, around a 50-minute drive north of Pisa, and ten minutes from Tuscanys northern coast. The hotels owner, Hilda, was born here and, straight away, we feel like family members.

Hildas 84-year-old mother still works in the kitchen and Nonnas (grandmothers) cake is served at breakfast. Their chic (though pricey) beach club could be in Nantucket and, of course, the restaurant serves delicious seafood. Only in Italy does it seem right to eat spaghetti in a swimsuit.

Up the coast, in Liguria, are the famous Cinque Terre villages, now so crowded that you need a pass to hike between them. Instead, we take a hop-on-hop-off speedboat from La Spezia, a 40-or-so-minute drive from Villa Gilda, to Porto Venere (20 per person return).

Its pretty, with tall peach, pale blue and terracotta houses along the harbour.

Above them is St Peters Church, which has a long list of couples hoping to wed with the Ligurian Sea as a backdrop. Higher still is a castle ruin.

The same boat will take you to the opposite island, Palmaria, which is scruffier, with an army base, a derelict feel and parched rocky interior. We like it. But for a few walkers, we have the pebble beach to ourselves. Drop in to the walled town Sarzana on the way back, which has a lovely big square where you can catch the last of the evening light with an aperitivo.

St Peter's Church (above) in Porto Venere has a long list of couples hoping to wed there

The Apuan Alps, which rise up behind the coast, are famous for marble. It is so commonplace, youll see blocks parked by the side of the road. Even the kerbs are crafted from the stone.

From a distance, the mountains look snow-dappled. Closer up, in the village of Colonnata, you can see where the stone has been cut. One old lady tells me this is the most beautiful view in all of Italy. She may be biased, but it is quite something.

Tuscany is jammed full of historic art, but Pietrasanta, a 20-minute drive from Massa, attracts contemporary artists.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Michelangelo chose his stones on-site from the marble quarries in Carrara and Pietrasanta and even helped plan the roads that were needed to transport them. Advertisement

Henry Moore worked here and the Colombian artist Botero (he of the bloated figures) has a house on the hill above it. Boteros sculpture The Warrior is right outside our hotel, Palazzo Guiscardo  a good location from which to enjoy the town on their bikes (10 a day). We pedal to Forte dei Marmi, a spot favoured by Russian visitors, which is full of designer shops and has a huge Wednesday market.

Then its on to the only public beach on this stretch, where you have to supply your own shade and resist the hawkers.

Its not smart, but it is still blissful to sit in the evening sun as it turns everything Aperol spritz orange.Teddy the barman confides wistfully that he just missed the chance to serve a rum punch to Marilyn Monroe back in 1957.

He joined the staff of Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios shortly after her visit, but he has shaken a cocktail for supermodel Kate Moss and former Prime Minister Sir John Major.

Teddy is a legend here, having notched up almost 60 years working at one of the most famous hotels in the Caribbean.

Paradise: The view from a Jamaica Inn cottage pictured above

The hotels owner, Peter Morrow, however, can remember watching Marilyn being photographed with her new husband Arthur Miller beside the beach at Jamaica Inn. She posed just here, says Peter, pointing to the spot.

The then most famous couple in the world had spent several days on the island on honeymoon at Moon Point, the luxurious villa of Lady Pamela Bird, an English aristocrat, before returning, via Jamaica Inn, to New York.

Jacket and tie were then obligatory at this last vestige of colonial-style entertaining in the Caribbean. Jamaica Inn is still traditional but with a definite modern twist, as ageing rock stars now slip into view alongside dowagers and American grandes dames, who have been coming back for the past 30 years. Think cucumber sandwiches at tea time, yet also young surfers among the guests.

High spirits: Teddy has been serving cocktails at the popular beach bar for almost 60 years

Jamaica Inn evokes tranquillity and calm with its white-painted cottages, as well as old-school charm (the waiters wear white jackets in the evenings). There are no TVs in the rooms but modern touches include a holistic spa.

Peter sits on the terrace and muses how the island has more churches per square mile than anywhere in the world.

For such a small place, Jamaica has had a massive influence on the world. It celebrated 50 years of independence in 2012, and evokes passion and affection even in those who have never visited, and brings a dreamy nostalgia to those who have.

Our day starts at breakfast with sergeant fish being fed titbits in the turquoise sea just below the terrace. The tables feature pink tablecloths and white napkins  a wonderful contrast to the cobalt-blue sky. The croquet lawn is just yards from the sea, offering the reassuring click of Jaques mallets on ball. Actor Rupert Everett is reputed to beat all-comers.

Sepia photographs in the library feature Sir Winston Churchill and Ian Fleming  further proof of the hotels glamorous past  while backgammon boards still sit on the tables. Jamaica Inn has undergone evolutionary change and reinvented its high standards without trying to become gourmet or seeming stuffy. Guests meander up from their waterside cottages past almond and Ethiopian apple trees to Teddys Bar, where the dirty banana cocktails are truly lethal. Meanwhile, the food here is fresh, simple and truly delicious.

For those who want a wonderful close-up sight of the natural world, visit at the right time of year and youll be able to spot turtles hatching on the beach.

Honeymoon: Marilyn Monroe (above) at Jamaica Inn in January 1957

At the time of our visit, there were reports that Jamaica was unsafe after a burst of gun crime in the capital, Kingston. But the city is far from the north coast, and the only thing remotely dangerous in Ocho Rios was the amount of rum being dispensed by Teddy at his bar.

Leaving the resort one day, we headed to the nearby Dolphin Cove, a place where people can see and swim with dolphins. Our journey took us past banana trees, orange groves, mystic mountains and hawkers in the street selling Jamaican flags and toy guitars made from bamboo.

Entering the water, I quickly discovered that the gun-metal grey nose of a dolphin is hard and smooth, almost synthetic.

These delightful creatures are sleek and engaging, and somehow perfectly behaved. They jumped, barked, glided, and appeared to smile and laugh as they cavorted with us in the water.

We swam with them in a roped-off area and got so close to the dolphins that we were able to shake hands with their flippers. It was a little like touching the rubber casing of a watch.

We have lift-off: A show at Dolphin Cove where people can swim with dolphins

Fifteen minutes from the cove is GoldenEye, which began life as a spartan bungalow on a clifftop, and is where Ian Fleming wrote some of his James Bond books.

A few years ago, GoldenEye was transformed into a luxurious resort with extraordinary lagoon villas  you can even stay in the room where Flemings original writing desk remains.

There is a beachside pool and lively beach bar where songs from the Island Records back catalogue  the famous label was formed on the island  play night and day.

For those who like music at the bar and do not in the least want complete tranquillity, this is the place to be.

After our lively outing, it was good to return to the more stately Jamaica Inn and the comfort of our cottage, with its huge lounge and veranda overlooking the sea.

We also had our own plunge pool, which can be heated. This might seem an unnecessary luxury in the Caribbean, but it is a surprisingly good idea as it means you can swim late at night or early in the morning and never feel the slightest chill.

After a refreshing dip, there was only one thing to do: head back to Teddys for an early evening cocktail and listen to more fascinating stories from his past.It is nigh on impossible to watch the summer blockbuster Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again without wishing you, too, were jetting off to enjoy the crystal-clear seas and azure skies of the Greek islands.

So for anyone inspired by the hit movie, this exclusive new ten-night holiday is the ultimate way to discover the wonders of Greece while also enjoying the relaxing delights of a cruise around the Aegean Sea.

After a night in Athens, your very own Greek odyssey will begin with a seven-night, full-board cruise on the Star Flyer, a magnificent four-mast, full-rigged ship which is as spacious and elegant as it is luxurious.

Sailing in style: The Star Flyer (above) is a magnificent four-mast, full-rigged ship

Ancient wonders: The Acropolis (above) in Athens is one of the highlights of the trip

Your island-hopping cruise includes stops at Skiathos and Skopelos, two of the irresistible places where the original Mamma Mia! was filmed.

Relaxed and revitalised after your luxury cruise, you will then enjoy a further two-night stay in the extraordinary city of Athens, where you will be joined by our special guest: the popular historian and TV presenter Professor Michael Scott.

Michael, who presents his latest series of Ancient Invisible Cities on the BBC next month, will accompany you to the Acropolis and will also give an exclusive private talk and Q&A.

I cant wait to share with you my love of Athens  both ancient and modern, he says. Join me as we delve into the city where democracy was born, and where artistic and architectural treasures still rank among humanitys greatest creations.

OUR SPECIAL GUEST Join Michael (above) on this exclusive cruise Michael Scott is a professor in Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick and the author of several books on the ancient Mediterranean world, as well as ancient global history. Michael, right, has written and presented a range of popular TV and radio documentaries for the BBC, National Geographic, the History Channel and ITV. His latest series, Ancient Invisible Cities, which explores Cairo, Istanbul and Athens, will be screened next month on BBC2. Advertisement

REASONS TO BOOK

Sail on the Star Flyer

There is no better way to enjoy the Aegean than on Star Flyer, a stunning four-mast, full-rigged ship that combines the luxury and glamour of the golden age of travel with the comfort and first-class facilities of a private yacht.

Relive the magic of Mamma Mia!

During your seven-night cruise around the Aegean, you will enjoy stops at idyllic destinations including Skiathos and Skopelos, the two beautiful Greek islands where the original Mamma Mia! movie was filmed.

Meet Michael Scott

After your wonderful cruise on Star Flyer, you will be able to discover all the delights  ancient and modern  of Athens. During your stay, Prof Scott will give an exclusive private talk that will help unravel the secrets of the ancient Athenians, after which you will also have the opportunity to ask Michael your questions.

Exclusive Acropolis tour

You will also enjoy an expert guided tour of the spectacular Acropolis and the fascinating Acropolis Museum, which will be accompanied by Prof Scott. Who better to give context to the dramatic story of Athens than the presenter of the BBCs Ancient Invisible Cities?Since Clayne Crawford's firing, Lethal Weapon fans wondered if Seann William Scott would work as a replacement.

Luckily it seems as though he's fitting in just fine in the latest promo released for the third season of the Fox action comedy.

Scott, aged 41, will be playing the role of CIA agent Wesley Cole, who will replace Crawford's Martin Riggs as Roger Murtaugh's partner.

New addition! Luckily it seems as though Seann William Scott is fitting in just fine in the latest promo released for the third season of the Fox action comedy

At the end of season two, Riggs was shot and apparently died in the line of duty.

Of course Damon Wayans plays the role of the dashing Roger Murtaugh.

In the new promotional clip, Murtaugh starts out slurping on a beer while telling Cole 'I take this partnership thing very seriously.'

Cole is then seen in the middle of a fistfight where he runs a bald man's head into a kitchen cabinet.

New talent: Since Clayne Crawford's firing, Lethal Weapon fans wondered if Seann William Scott (pictured in August) would work as a replacement

Oh well: At the end of season two, Riggs, played by Calyne Crawford, was shot and apparently died in the line of duty

Not fooling around: In the new promotional clip, Murtaugh starts out slurping on a beer while telling Cole 'I take this partnership thing very seriously'

Action packed! Cole is then seen in the middle of a fistfight where he runs a bald man's head into a kitchen cabinet

Next, the video cuts to a scene involving a water delivery truck screeching through city streets.

Both Cole and Murtaugh scramble to the top of the cab and exchange some hilarious dialogue before jumping off the moving vehicle together.

Seann William Scott initially rose to prominence playing the ever-horny Stifler in the now-classic coming-of-age comedy American Pie.

All aboard! Next, the video cuts to a scene involving a water delivery truck screeching through city streets

Chemistry! Both Cole and Murtaugh scramble to the top of the cab and exchange some hilarious dialogue

Look out below! Both men later jump off the still-moving vehicle during an exciting stunt sequence

While some will no doubt miss his character, Clayne Crawford was fired from the show after reports emerged over supposedly aberrant behavior.

Damon Wayans apparently was one of the people on set who complained to executives about the behavior, and even called him an 'emotional terrorist.'

Lethal Weapon will return to Fox on September 25th.

Tough truth: Damon Wayans apparently was one of the people on set who complained to executives about the behavior, and even called him an 'emotional terrorist'Her love interest Ben Affleck, 46, was taken into rehab by his estranged wife Jennifer Garner following an intervention on Wednesday.

And Shauna Sexton was spotted walking her dog Otis in Los Angles on Friday, just two days after the actor's rehab admission.

The 22-year-old Playboy model flashed plenty of sideboob in a tiny black vest top and matching denim shorts as she stepped out with her black Labrador.

Stepping out: Shauna Sexton was spotted walking her dog Otis in Los Angles on Friday, just two days after her reported flame Ben Affleck was admitted to rehab

The Virginia native opted to go braless for the daytime jaunt, pairing her revealing tank top with the black miniskirt, which made the most of her leggy frame.

On her feet, Shauna wore Vans 'Old Skool' sneakers and covered her eyes with round frame, mirrored shades.

Her straight blonde tresses were worn loose and cascading down her back and she opted for a bronzed make-up look.

High profile: The 22-year-old former veterinary technician has been romantically linked to Ben Affleck, who was recently readmitted to rehab for treatment

'Falling off the wagon': Ben's estranged wife Jennifer reportedly stage an intervention following a 'wild week of partying with the Playboy model' (pictured with Shauna on Sunday)

Legs for days: The Playboy model flashed plenty of sideboob in a tiny black vest top and matching denim shorts as she stepped out with her black Labradors

Future's so bright: On her feet Shauna wore Vans 'Old Skool' sneakers and she covered her eyes with round frame, mirrored shades

Stocking up: The blonde beauty walked her black Lab-Bloodhound mix, Otis, to a convenience store where she grabbed a drink

The blonde beauty, who appears to be throwing herself into work following Ben's trip to rehab, walked her black Lab-Bloodhound mix, Otis, to a convenience store where she grabbed a drink.

Later in the day, Shauna attended a Playboy event in Beverly Hills with friends. Once inside, she shared photos of the pool party to social media, for the benefit of her 63.9k Instagram followers.

The pressure is mounting on the rising star after she has been linked with Ben after his split from TV producer Lindsay Shookus.

Hanging out: Later in the day, Shauna attended a Playboy event in Beverly Hills with friends

Keeping busy: The blonde beauty appears to be throwing herself into work following Ben's trip to rehab,

Estranged wife Jennifer, 46, staged an intervention this week and took him to an upscale rehab in Malibu for alcohol issues.

Jennifer allegedly arrived 'with a lawyer and a bible' following a 'wild week of partying with the Playboy model' she drove him to the live-in facility - where he'll stay for an 'extended period of time'.

Ben and Jennifer stopped at his favorite Jack In The Box on the way to the facility and is said to have 'fallen off the wagon a while ago' and since then 'gotten progressively worse'.

According to Radar Online, she is said to have 'read him the riot act' a few weeks ago, telling him that he needed to clean up his act for the sake of their three children Violet, 12, Seraphina, nine, and Samuel, six.

In the spotlight: The pressure is mounting on the rising star after she has been linked with Ben after his split from TV producer Lindsay Shookus

Private: Asked for comment on her relationship with 46-year-old Ben, she told DailyMail.com: 'I have no interest in profiting off of any of this. I'm not a bad person'Last night she showed of her long legs by kicking a bottle off of her friend's head.

And Kendall Jenner once again highlighted her slender stems on Friday as she headed out to meet friends for lunch in Malibu.

The 22-year-old model met up with various other young celebrities, including Jaden Smith, 20; Anwar Hadid, 19; and Kaia Gerber, 16.

Standing: Kendall Jenner once again highlighted her slender stems on Friday, as she headed out to meet friends for lunch in Malibu

Kendall looked like a breath of summer in a sleeveless white t-shirt, as she stepped out after tucking into a meal at the Malibu Country Mart.

Her cutoff black jean shorts stopped around mid-thigh revealing her toned, tan legs.

Fresh white sneakers added an extra seasonal flash to the ensemble, and she pulled her dark tresses into a casual bun

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star accessorized with gold cross earrings, and had a tiny Chanel purse over one shoulder.

Taking a call: The 22-year-old model met up with various other young celebrities, including Jaden Smith, 20; Anwar Hadid, 19; and Kaia Gerber, 16

Glowing: Kendall looked like a breath of summer in a sleeveless white t-shirt, as she stepped out after tucking into a meal at the Malibu Country Mart

So clean: Fresh white sneakers added an extra seasonal flash to the ensemble, and she pulled her dark tresses into a casual bun

The model has put together quite the car collection over the last few years, and she took one of her favorite rides out for a spin in Los Angeles.

Kendall was in the driver's seat of her drop-top purple Cadillac Eldorado as she took three of her friends to the Malibu meet up.

The car has quickly become a quitessential part of the 5ft 10in television personalities summer.

Out for a spin: The model has put together quite the car collection over the last few years, and she took one of her favorite rides out for a spin in Los Angeles

Driver: Kendall was in the driver's seat of her drop-top purple Cadillac Eldorado as she took three of her friends to the Malibu meet up

Jaden joined in the Malibu fun, dressed in black jeans and a red t-shirt with some sort of utility vest strapped around is chest.

Anwar was seen giving a hug to Kendall as she prepared to depart from the Mart.

Kaia, meanwhile, dressed in a white summer dress and pulled her brunette tresses into a casual bun.

Boarding: Jaden joined in the Malibu fun, dressed in black jeans and a red t-shirt with some sort of utility vest strapped around is chest

All good: Anwar was seen giving a hug to Kendall as she prepared to depart from the MartAdvertisement

MasterChef star Karlie Verkerk has squeezed a lot into her 26 years.

After making it to the semi-finals on last year's season of the cooking show, the magazine editor is now selling her stunning Sydney apartment.

The one-bedroom property, located in the affluent inner-city suburb of Paddington, will go up for auction on September 8 with a price guide of $775,000.

Hot property! MasterChef star Karlie Verkerk has listed her Sydney apartment for auction, and has made significant updates to the home since snapping it up back in 2015

What's cooking? Karlie (pictured) was a semi-finalist on last year's season of MasterChef, and she now works as a magazine editor

The Daily Telegraph claims Karlie bought the apartment with her long-term partner Adam Frazer back in 2015.

They reportedly paid $670,000 for the property - $105,000 less than the asking price today.

However, the pair have made some significant upgrades to the 57sqm flat, which features one bedroom and one bathroom.

All the right ingredients: Given Karlie's culinary prowess, it's no surprise a brand new kitchen has been installed

Light and airy: The one-bedroom property is located in the affluent inner-city suburb of Paddington, close to trendy bars and eateries

Given Karlie's culinary prowess, it's no surprise a brand new kitchen has been installed.

The cooking area is now complete with white granite bench-tops and trendy black cupboards, giving it a chic inner-city feel.

Meanwhile, old wooden floorboards have been replaced with light, white flooring, helping to make the apartment feel larger and more airy.

Thinking big: Meanwhile, old wooden floorboards have been replaced with light, white flooring, helping to make the apartment feel larger and more airy

Karlie currently works at Real Living magazine, so it's no surprise the home is immaculately decorated from top to bottom.

There's no word on where Karlie and partner Adam will be relocating to after the sale of the home.

The property is listed by Nic Krasnostein and Emily Davidson at BresicWhitney Darlinghurst.Nick 'The Honey Badger' Cummins is currently handing out roses on this year's season of The Bachelor.

And it seems the rugby star is enjoying his transition to television, as he is now set to appear in a series for streaming giant, Netflix.

The 30-year-old is joining Dannii Minogue, 46, for the third season of Ultimate Beatmaster, set for release next Friday.

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Who knew they were friends? The Bachelor's Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins (right) is teaming up with TV veteran Dannii Minogue (left) for a new Netflix series Ultimate Beatmaster, which is set for release next Friday

Ultimate Beatmaster is a 'competition reality show' which features ultra-fit contestants taking on perilous obstacle courses.

The franchise has been compared to Australian Ninja Warrior and Australian Spartan, but is on a far larger scale.

This coming season of the show is set to feature more than 100 competitors from 13 different countries.

Big-budget! Ultimate Beatmaster has been compared to Australian Ninja Warrior and Australian Spartan, but it is on a far larger scale. Pictured: Dannii and Nick commentating on the program (inset)

While two previous seasons have already been made, the forthcoming third season marks the first time Australia has been involved in the production.

Nick and Dannii will be calling commentary on behalf of their county.

The special gig is the latest in a long-line of TV roles for Dannii, who first shot to fame on Young Talent Time back in the 1980s.

Coming soon! Ultimate Beatmaster is a 'competition reality show' which features ultra-fit contestants taking on a perilous obstacle course

She has since appeared as an actress on Neighbours, and as a judge on both the Australian and UK editions of The X-Factor.

Dannii is now hosting Channel Seven's Dance Boss, however the program has been struggling in the ratings.

In contrast, Nick's role on The Bachelor is his first foray into television, and has been a ratings smash.

Thursday's episode of the romantic reality show garnered 807,000 viewers across the five-city metro market.They both have starring roles in shows that are part of Dick Wolf's Chicago franchise.

And on Friday it was reported that Chicago P.D.'s Jesse Lee Soffer is dating Chicago Med's Torrey DeVitto.

A friend of the couple shared the news with Us Weekly.

Love is in the air: on Friday it was reported that Chicago P.D.'s Jesse Lee Soffer is dating Chicago Med's Torrey DeVitto

According to the source, the pair of 34-year-olds 'complement each other beautifully.'

Apparently the new couple have actually been together for a little bit now, and they have just returned from a romantic trip to Scotland.

On Friday, Jesse shared a photo of the two on their travels, and captioned it, 'Scotland #Fbf.'

The former Vampire Diaries actress, meanwhile, shared a picture of the couple with their arm wrapped around each other back on August 9, and captioned it, 'Scotland. #tbt.'

Complement: According to the source, the pair of 34-year-olds 'complement each other beautifully.'

Travel together: Apparently the new couple have actually been together for a little bit now, and they have just returned from a romantic trip to Scotland

Jesse previously dated Torrey's One Tree Hill and Chicago Med co-star Sophia Bush, 36.

The couple broke up back in 2015, after almost a year of dating.

The former couple met while they were both appearing on Chicago Fire, playing Erin Lindsay and Jay Halstead.

Sophia left the franchise in 2017, after season four.

Chicago P.D. is jetting ready to premiere its sixth season on September 26, which will be the same night Chicago Med debuts its fourth season.

On set: Jesse previously dated Torrey's One Tree Hill and Chicago Med co-star Sophia Bush, 36Ronan Keating's wife Storm was rushed to hospital in Singapore on Wednesday, after their 15-month-old son, Cooper, stabbed her in the face with a fork.

But the Australian fashion designer, 36, now appears to be on the mend, snuggling up with her tot for a series of seaside selfies on Friday.

The mother and son are currently in the Asian city-state as they support Ronan, who is on a farewell tour with his pop band, Boyzone.

On the mend! On Friday, Ronan Keating's wife Storm (left) snuggled up with the couple's 15 month-old son Cooper (right)... just two days after she was rushed to hospital when the tot stabbed her in the face with a fork

In one adorable photo, Storm is gazing adoringly at Cooper, and she captioned the picture: 'Just hangin' with my boy.'

In another picture, the stunning blonde stared directly into the camera, sporting the stitches she received to her eyebrow following Wednesday's fork accident.

Storm humorously added hashtags to the bottom of the photo, including 'ugly things', 'I feel like a pirate', and 'zoom in'.

All stitched up! Storm showed off her eyebrow stitching in a seaside selfie snapped on Friday

Doting mum: Storm is soaking up the sunshine in Singapore as her husband Ronan tours with his pop band, Boyzone

On Wednesday, Storm was rushed to the emergency room after young Cooper accidentally stabbed her above her left eye with a fork.

The incident happened after a panicked Storm lunged for the sharp utensil when the tot took it from the dinner table.

'Where you find yourself at 2am after your toddler sneaks a fork off the table during dinner and you couldn't get it back quick enough,' Storm wrote on social media.

Forking hell! Storm shared this selfie with husband Ronan on Wednesday while in the emergency room, after she had stitches applied to her left eyebrow

Oh dear! Another photo showed Storm lying upwards on a surgical table as a doctor applied the stitches

Ouch: Storm was seen being tended to by doctors during her dash to hospital

She shared one photo with Ronan as they waited in the emergency room, while a second snap showed Storm lying upwards on a surgical table as a doctor applied the stitches.

The accident occurred the week after she celebrated her third wedding anniversary with Ronan, 41.

The Boyzone star marked the special day by sharing a snap of Storm crying her eyes out as his daughter, Missy, delivered a moving speech on the wedding day.She has been keeping her 954,000 fans updated on Instagram throughout her picture-perfect holidays this summer.

And Lydia Bright didn't disappoint on Saturday as she shared another stunning snap from her most recent trip to Santorini.

The 28-year-old was glamorous in a pair of black thigh-skimming bikini bottoms and a khaki green crop top as she kicked back on her hotel balcony for the sultry snap.

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Chill out time: Lydia Bright, 28, was glamorous in a pair of black thigh-skimming bikini bottoms and a khaki green strappy crop top as she writhed on her hotel balcony for the sultry snap

Lydia accentuated her slender physique as she let her blonde curls fall naturally around her shoulders while clutching her book in the Greek sunshine.

The former TOWIE star captioned the post: 'My last morning on the beautiful island of Santorini. No more alcohol, no more partying just pure chilling on my balcony'.

The blonde beauty has clearly enjoyed her trip away as she posed in front of a scenic backdrop of the stunning island while showcasing her enviable figure.

Summer holiday: The blonde beauty has clearly enjoyed her trip away as she posed in front of a scenic backdrop of the stunning island while showcasing her enviable figure

The TV personality was joined by boyfriend Lee Cronin for the trip, who looked equally as smart in Lydia's post as he opted for a smart white shirt and shorts that showed off his natural sun-kissed tan.

The happy couple rekindled their romance earlier this year and were vacationing on the Greek island to celebrate a friends wedding.

Lydia reflected as she branded the trip 'magical' and 'special' before declaring her adoration for Lee as she wrote: 'I love you so very much #soulmates'.

Happy couple: The TV personality was joined by boyfriend Lee Cronin for the trip, who looked equally as smart in Lydia's post as he opted for a smart white shirt and shorts

Memories: Lydia reflected as she branded the trip 'magical' and 'special' before declaring her adoration for Lee as she wrote: 'I love you so very much #soulmates'

The trip comes after Lydia was every inch the proud sister as she congratulated her 14-year-old sibling Roma on her first modelling job.

The TOWIE star 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. Forget Momagers I am going to be a Sistager. So very proud, cant wait to see you shine.'Myer ambassador Elyse Knowles has attempted to further silence rumours of a rift with Jennifer Hawkins following claims the retail giant 'replaced' her with The Block winner 'at a fraction of the price'.

Speaking with Sunday's Stellar, the 25-year-old stunner said the former Miss Universe has always been 'an inspiration'.

'We're in the Myer family together, which is nice,' she told the publication.

'Jen was a big inspiration!' Elyse Knowles [pictured], 25, continues to deny rumours of a feud with Jennifer Hawkins, as she takes over as Myer ambassador

'Jen was a big inspiration to try and get (the same job) myself one day,' Elyse told Stellar.

The praise comes mere days after Elyse said a similar thing to The Daily Telegraph at the Myer Spring Summer launch in Sydney on Thursday.

'I have admired Jen for so long for her business sense and her ambition,' Elyse told the paper.

'I have admired Jen for so long for her business sense and her ambition!' Elyse said a similar thing to The Daily Telegraph at the Myer Spring Summer launch in Sydney on Thursday. She's pictured on the runway with fellow ambassadors (L-R) Rachael Finch, Kris Smith, Jennifer Hawkins and Josh Gibson

Jennifer, 34, took to Instagram earlier this month to make the announcement that she will retire as Myer ambassador in November, after Elyse reportedly inked a deal for $300,00 to replace her.

Rumoured to have left over an alleged 'pay dispute', the beauty spoke highly of the department store - writing: 'Myer will always hold a special place in my heart.'

'After 12 years it's time to move onto a new a chapter in my life. I'll be finishing up my role with Myer this November,' she began.

Bad blood? Jennifer, 34, took to Instagram earlier this month to make the announcement that she will retire as Myer ambassador in November, after Elyse reportedly inked a deal for $300,00 to replace her

'But I would like to take this moment to thank everyone at Myer - the staff, the amazing designers, the suppliers and everyone else for working alongside me over those 12 years.

'Myer will always hold a special place in my heart and I wish the Myer team every success for the future.'

And Jennifer conveyed she felt 'extremely grateful' to have worked with the 'iconic' department store for long.

'Onto a new chapter in my life!' Rumoured to have left over an alleged 'pay dispute', the beauty spoke highly of the department store - writing: 'Myer will always hold a special place in my heartKarl Stefanovic's eldest son Jackson will miss his wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough, according to a report.

A source told Daily Mail Australia in March that Jackson was not invited to his and fiancee Jasmine Yarbrough's commitment ceremony.

And according to The Sunday Telegraph, the 18-year-old will not be in attendance at the Today show host's nuptials in December.

A source close to the paper said Jackson, who is currently travelling through Europe, will be a no-show at the wedding in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Claims: Karl Stefanovic's older son Jackson [both pictured] 'will miss' his upcoming wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough... after having not attended the couple's commitment ceremony in March

The ceremony is reportedly scheduled to take place on December 8 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Those who are a yes on the guest list are reportedly Jasmine's Mara and Mine business partner Tamie Ingham and her sister Katie, James Packer and his girlfriend Kylie Lim, Richard Wilkins and his girlfriend Virgina Burmeister, and Karl's manager Sharon Finnigan.

It's also been claimed that Karl's brother Peter Stefanovic will not be best man.

Reports: The Sunday Telegraph's Confidential has alleged that Jackson 'has chosen to miss' Karl's wedding to Jasmine Yarbrough [pictured] that's reportedly scheduled to take place on December 8 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Karl's management for comment.

Karl has recently been forced to defend himself against claims that his three children - Jackson, 18, Ava, 13, and 11-year-old River - are being neglected by his side of the family.

Earlier this month, he told The Daily Telegraph: 'First and foremost, I'm a dad... and I'm not going anywhere. I love my kids. They know that. And that's what matters.

'I don't want my silence, or the fact that my children aren't visibly front and centre with me for everyone to see, to be misinterpreted as absence. That couldn't be further from the truth.'

The breakfast TV presenter said that he didn't want to publicly make a statement about his children but felt compelled to after Cassandra claimed his family had 'discarded' their three children.

Karl has recently been forced to defend himself as a father following comments from his ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn

Karl's response came after Cassandra commemorated the two-year anniversary of their split by sitting down for a blistering tell-all interview with AWW on Thursday.

'Last year, I declared that Karl really was dead to me, a man I no longer know, but the children still have their father,' she said.

'The flip-side of that is I feel like we're dead to his family and almost anyone from our old life.

'There has been practically no contact. I feel like we've been discarded and disposed of, replaced by a whole new line-up of starters.'

After the AWW article was published online, a Stefanovic family spokesperson issued a statement to The Fix refuting Cassandra's claims.

'We are disappointed Cass would claim such inflammatory suggestions that we have alienated Karl's children from our family,' the statement to The Fix read.

'Nothing could be further from the truth. Karl regularly co-parents his children and has his loving family around them.

'We refuse to keep a running dialogue of the children... Family is often compromised when parents go through a painful divorce and we do our best to continue our love and support for the children.'

Siblings: It's also been claimed that Karl's younger brother Peter Stefanovic will not be best man

Back in March, a source close to Karl confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that Jackson, along with the TV host's other children Ava, 13, and River, 11, did not attend Karl and Jasmine's commitment ceremony.

Karl, 43, and Jasmine, 34, had an intimate ceremony where they pledged their love for one another at a $13 million mansion in Sydney's Palm Beach in March.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia at the time, the source revealed that Karl only invited two of the three children he shares with his ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn.

Despite the invite, both Ava, 13, and River, 11, are said to have declined to attend the ceremony, but did appear to join in the celebrations afterwards.

The source also revealed that Jackson was not invited to the event after a difficult time with the divorce.

Karl and Jasmine have enjoyed a whirlwind romance since meeting at a Sydney boat party in December 2016.

The couple confirmed their engagement in February, with New Idea reporting Karl had popped the question to Jasmine during a holiday in Fiji.

Guest list: The Today show's Richard Wilkins and his girlfriend Virgina Burmeister [both pictured] are reportedly on the guest list

In late February, after his bride-to-be flashed her $150,000 engagement ring, Nine's million dollar man confirmed the pair would likely get married this year.

Last year, Karl responded to criticism regarding how quickly his relationship with Jasmine has moved following his split with Cassandra.

'I certainly did not expect to meet someone five months after I broke up with my wife,' he told Stellar magazine.

'That was not planned. I did not know her before. I met her on a boat in Sydney.

'We have a really lovely relationship, but it's got to be slow for a variety of reasons.'Paula Bronstein/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The attacks on Aug. 25, 2017, seemed coordinated. Myanmar military units descended on Rohingya villages in what would become a massacre -- women and girls raped, men and boys executed and homes burned to the ground.

The Rohingya, mostly women and children, came pouring over the border into Bangladesh in unrelenting waves in the world's fastest growing refugee crisis at the time, with over 700,000 making the deadly journey, the United Nations reported.

One year later, the total Rohingya refugee population in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, is close to 1 million. But only one-third of the financial need to aid these victims, many traumatized by the brutal attacks on their families and villages, has been met, and little has been done to hold the Myanmar government to account for the slaughter, human rights groups say.

As the world marks the one-year anniversary of the violent campaign by Myanmar against Rohingya and other ethnic and religious minorities like the Kachin, Shan and others, there are urgent concerns about what happens next.

The U.S., U.N. and others have declared the attacks "ethnic cleansing," but Myanmar, also known as Burma, has denied any wrongdoing, asserting that they conducted a legitimate counterterror operation. Last Aug. 25, there were a series of Rohingya militant attacks on military outposts in the region, but the sweeping crackdown in response was seen as particularly cruel -- and even coordinated, according to some human rights groups.

Now, the U.S. and U.N. are weighing whether that coordination makes it a genocide, a particular term that requires proving an intent to destroy an ethnic, national, religious or racial group -- and a designation that carries legal implications.

In the meantime, Rohingya men, women and children are stuck in refugee camps in Bangladesh, without official refugee status, at risk of floods and monsoons, and with little hope of returning to their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine state any time soon.

The conditions in those refugee camps in Cox's Bazar are bleak. Situated among a series of hills and vulnerable to floods and severe storms, the camps are overcrowded, with scant health care, no electricity and few facilities like water or sanitation. So far, aid groups on the ground tell ABC News, there has not been major flooding, but the cyclone season will peak this fall.

To address even those basic needs, the U.N. put out a call for nearly $1 billion. One year later, only about one-third of that has been met.

"You can just imagine we are running with very, very limited resources to cater to close to a million people," said Manish Agrawal, the International Rescue Committee's Bangladesh country director.

Psychological services and security remain particularly underfunded, he added, with so many victims of violence traumatized and almost no capacity to deal with those issues.

For many of the children, the horrors of what happened in Rakhine have left them without parents. There are more than 6,000 unaccompanied children in refugee camps, according to Save the Children, which estimates that half of those children have been orphaned, while the others have lost contact with parents.

Beyond the basic needs, longer-term challenges are also now emerging, as adults are largely unable to work and children are not in school -- instead sitting "idle."

"To be very frank, we are actually on the verge of losing an entire generation," Agrawal said from Bangladesh, noting little is being done about it, in part because Rohingya refugees do not have official refugee status.

While Bangladesh has been largely welcoming and supportive of refugees, granting official status has been an issue, according to Amnesty International Asia Pacific Advocacy Manager Francisco Bencosme. Blocked from Myanmar citizenship by the government and without refugee status in Bangladesh, the Rohingya are stateless.

The influx of 919,000 refugees, a number estimated by the U.N., has also strained the Bangladeshi government, and aid workers on the ground warn that as pressure increases on resources, so will tensions between local communities and refugees.

For the U.N.-estimated 129,000 Rohingya left in Myanmar, life is no better. Reporters on a recent trip organized by the government found Rohingya forced to live in squalid camps, apartheid-like conditions and without adequate health care or the ability to travel freely.

While the vast majority of Rohingya fled before December 2017, a steady trickle continues even now. U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour described the ongoing campaign in March as "a lower intensity campaign of terror and forced starvation that seems to be designed to drive the remaining Rohingya from their homes and into Bangladesh."

Despite international protests, access to northern Rakhine, the epicenter of the violence, is severely limited. Even aid groups that for years had provided health care there are blocked, and in particular, there has been a crackdown on journalists. Two Reuters reporters who uncovered a mass grave have been imprisoned for months now.

"The lack of sustained independent assessments in northern Rakhine means that no one has a comprehensive picture of the situation on the ground," Benoit De Gryse, the Myanmar operations manager for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), said earlier this month.

That lack of access is part of why the international community's reaction has been too slow for human rights advocates. Beyond a two-thirds deficit for aid, there has also been little action to punish Myanmar for the ethnic cleansing campaign.

For nearly a year, the U.S. had only sanctioned one top military commander who had been in charge of units in the area. Last week, the Treasury Department took more action, slapping penalties on four Myanmar commanders who led teams that engaged in human rights abuses and two units that conducted attacks.

The U.S. sanctions came after the European Union and Canada led the way with their own sanctions on seven Myanmar military officials on June 25, freezing their assets within European and Canadian jurisdictions and banning them from traveling to Europe and doing business with Canada.

But none of the sanctions targeted the "top echelon" of Myanmar's military, including Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military.

Many in the West have been concerned about pushing Myanmar too hard because its power-sharing civilian-military government is still young. Ruled by a military junta since 1988, Myanmar only began to transition to democracy in 2011. Now, the two sides split governing with former Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi as head of the civilian government -- an agreement that led to the U.S. and others relaxing sanctions.

Suu Kyi has faced criticism from the West for a lack of action, though she said in a speech last September, "We condemn all human rights violations and unlawful violence."

But the military remains a powerful force in the country, with Suu Kyi largely silent on the issue or even at times voicing support for Myanmar. Human rights advocates say the military's hold is already too strong and the current outcry is not enough.

"It's difficult to understand what can the Myanmar military do worse than ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity," Bencoscme said. "Unless the international community starts to hold them accountable and demonstrate to them that there are consequences for their actions ... then there's going to be a continuation and cycle of human rights abuses. They'll just act with impunity."

For some, the international community has long been complicit. Fearing retaliation from the government, U.N. groups or other humanitarian organizations have declined to speak too loudly about the long history of discrimination against ethnic minorities.

"Their silence is a key element of Myanmars strategy to reduce pressure on itself," Liam Mahony, a longtime humanitarian expert who authored two reports on Myanmar for the U.N., told IRIN, a humanitarian news organization, in July. He called on the U.N. to withdraw aid on a large scale to incentivize Myanmar to cooperate. "The humanitarian community understandably feels responsible for each needy person in front of them, but they are also responsible for the systems of abuse that they support and prolong. It is a difficult decision, but it needs to be taken."

Instead of withdrawing, however, the U.N. signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar and Bangladesh earlier this summer to help facilitate the return of Rohingya refugees in a "voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable" manner and "to their places of origin or of their choosing."

But there are no major efforts to make that a reality because Myanmar has yet to make the conditions right, said Agrawal. They continue to refuse to grant citizenship to Rohingya, to allow freedom of movement, or to open up access for humanitarian services.

"A lot more aggressive efforts are required from countries like the U.S. to put pressure on Myanmar, but so far at this stage, we are not seeing things moving in the right direction," Agrawal added.

That could change next week when the U.S. and U.N. are expected to release fact-finding reports on what happened in the last year and possibly make a determination on whether Myanmar's actions qualify as genocide. Applying that term would require further action, like sanctions or possible criminal prosecutions.

That's the goal of many human rights groups, who hope to build a case to refer to the International Criminal Court. The U.S. and U.N. reports could lay the groundwork for that case, but they are based primarily on interviews with survivors.

Instead, an international investigative mechanism that is given access on the ground could collect and preserve evidence used in criminal cases.

But Myanmar is already taking action to cover its tracks, literally bulldozing the burned-down villages its soldiers destroyed and building new structures over them, according to a recent Amnesty International report.

"Until you get at that question of accountability for the Myanmar military, then you can't address any of these other issues," Bencosme said, including repatriation.

But others say that the push for criminal charges would be disruptive to efforts to solve the crisis by alienating the Myanmar government while their cooperation is still necessary for the Rohingya to return home.

"There is a real danger that talk now of referrals to the International Criminal Court and so on will only become further obstacles to positive outcomes for the Rohingya themselves," said Dr. Anthony Ware, a researcher with Australias Deakin University and former director of the Australia Myanmar Institute.

Instead, Ware added, justice "should be determined by the people themselves and should come after some sort of negotiated solution."

Human rights groups, however, say that justice cannot come from the people alone, especially because many in Myanmars ethnic majority groups share the military's disdain for the Rohingya. Leaving Myanmar to handle the Rohingya issue on its own has led to this violence in the first place.

Either way, it's clear that global engagement will be necessary to keep the spotlight on the issue and effect some sort of change from the dire status quo.

"This is not going to be a short-term refugee crisis," said Bencosme. "It's going to require long-term engagement by the international community."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.They are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child, after announcing the news back in March.

And Declan Donnelly's wife Ali Astall seemed to be taking pregnancy in her stride as she walked their dachshund, Rocky on Saturday, just days after it was confirmed Dec will present I'm A Celebrity without Ant McPartlin.

The publicist, 40, was casually-clad for the dog walk, dressing her blossoming bump in a navy jumper and black leggings

Bumping along: Declan Donnelly's wife Ali Astall seemed to be taking pregnancy in her stride as she walked their dachshund Rocky on Saturday

Ali, who is expecting to give birth in a mere matter of weeks, looked ready to pop as the sweater sheathed over her pregnancy curves.

The blonde beauty teamed the cosy jumper with black leggings and opted for comfort on her feet with a pair of Nike trainers.

She styled her glossy locks back in a messy bun and donned a pair of black shades for the outing.

Ready to pop: The publicist, 40, was casually-clad for the dog walk, dressing her blossoming bump in a navy jumper and tight black leggings

Rocky, who Dec says is 'best friends' with Ant McPartlin's Labrador Hurley, looked delighted to be exploring the streets of the capital, striding out in front of his pregnant owner.

Dec, 42, confirmed that he and Ali were to become parents in March with a sweet message shared on Twitter.

Addressing pregnancy rumours, the television host said: 'Just wanted to say thank you for all the lovely messages.

Expecting: The television host, 42, confirmed that he and Ali were to become parents in March with a sweet message shared on Twitter

'The news has sneaked out a little earlier than we had hoped but Ali and I are delighted to be expecting our first child. Thanks for the love, we really appreciate it.

Dec and Ali tied the knot in a stunning ceremony in his Newcastle hometown back in 2015 - just one year after the pair struck up a romance and moved in together.

The pair had been in one another's lives for 13 years, as Ali the Australian beauty was hired as the iconic duo's manager back in 2005.

Dec will be busy this autumn as he becomes a dad for the first time, and continues to fulfill his presenting commitments without partner Ant.

Time away: Ant confirmed earlier this month he would stepping away from his presenting duties for the rest of 2018, and Saturday Night Takeaway will be rested until 2020

After much speculation as to whether he would flying to Australia to host I'm A Celebrity solo, ITV Director of Television Kevin Lygo confirmed Dec would be given a new co-host when the show returns in November.

Ant said in a statement to MailOnline: 'My recovery is going very well and for that to continue having spoken to Dec and ITV, I have made the decision to take the rest of the year off.'

He continued: 'Id like to thank both Dec and ITV for their continued support and I look forward to getting back to work in the new year.'

Dec added: 'Whilst I am obviously sad at the thought of being without my best friend in Australia this year, I am proud of the work Ant has been doing privately and I am fully supportive of his decision.'Steve Jacobs and his estranged wife Rose are both settling back into their separate lives in Sydney after returning from Vanuatu following their devastating split.

And the charismatic meteorologist will return to the Today Show next week - but only temporarily.

Covering for two weeks while colleague Natalia Cooper is on leave, the 51-year-old claimed he never left the morning show.

'I never really left!' Steve Jacobs will return next week as Today show weatherman to temporarily cover for Natalia Cooper - following split with estranged wife Rose

'The thing is I never really left Today,' Steve said in a chat with the Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

'I went to Weekends last year so I flew back from Vanuatu every couple of weekends for the weekend Today show which was terrific.'

He added: 'It is nice to be back where I have spent so much time. I am feeling totally reinvigorated.'

'I am feeling totally reinvigorated!' Covering for two weeks while colleague Natalia Cooper (pictured) is on leave, the 51-year-old claimed he never left the morning show

Meanwhile, it's been a tumultuous period for the weatherman.

Quitting his full-time job on the Today show at the end of 2016, Steve and his now estranged wife, Rose, 39, moved to Vanuatu with their two daughters, Isabella, 7, and Francesca, 5.

But in March, news broke of the couple's marriage breakdown after she took out an ex parte AVO against her husband earlier this year, which is no longer in place.

Fond farewell: Quitting his full-time job on the Today show at the end of 2016, Steve and his now estranged wife, Rose, 39, moved to Vanuatu with their two daughters, Isabella, 7, and Francesca, 5. The family are pictured with (L-R) Lisa Wilkinson, Deborah Knight, Richard Wilkins and Karl Stefanovic

Following their breakup, Rose began dating Canadian former commando Dylan Nash, 32, but their fling ended after two months.

And a source close to Rose and Steve claimed they had 'grown in different directions' and split several months after moving overseas.

'They want different things in life now,' a friend told Daily Mail Australia in March.

Estranged: In March, news broke of the couple's marriage breakdown after she took out an ex parte AVO against her husband earlier this year, which is no longer in place

'Steve and Rosie had such a public image of the perfect happy family, but behind the scenes there were struggles that would put a strain on even the best marriage.'

And it appears things are far from amicable between the pair with Steve seemingly taking a swipe at the mother of his two daughters, in a bizarre Instagram earlier this month.

After undergoing sinus surgery, he shared a black and white selfie of himself in a hospital gown with a nasal dressing across his face.

'After 12 months of not being able to smell I had sinus surgery yesterday,' he captioned the post.

'My surgeon said I will now be able to smell everything, even betrayal. Should have done it a year ago.'

While failing to directly refer to Rose, his followers were quick to pick up on the hidden intention of the post.He's known for his dark comedies and Hollywood blockbuster roles.

And Simon Pegg didn't appear in the best of moods as he tried his best to enjoy the festivities at The Big Feastival at Alex James' farm in Oxfordshire on Saturday.

The actor, 48, pulled a glum face as he sat waiting for his funfair swing ride to begin, with his apparent mood mirroring his 'oh s***' slogan T-shirt.

Not happy: Simon Pegg, 48, looked totally unimpressed as he tried to embark on a funfair ride at the Big Feastival on Saturday

Clutching onto the swing chains, Simon wrapped in a khaki bomber jacket paired his shirt with roll-up jeans and sneakers.

The Star Trek star tried to keep incognito as he donned a pair of dark-tinted sunglasses teamed with a tweed flat cap.

Simon looked totally unimpressed before the ride, but looked decidedly more chipper as the fun ride began.

Despite the woeful exterior, Simon has managed to carve out a successful career in the acting business and is one of Britain's most prominent comedic talents, having been at the helm of Hot Fuzz, Shaun Of The Dead and Spaced.

Pull a smile: The actor pulled a glum face as he sat waiting for his funfair swing ride to begin, with his apparent mood mirroring his 'oh s***' slogan T-shirt

Unimpressed: Clutching onto the swing chains, Simon wrapped in a khaki bomber jacket paired his shirt with roll-up jeans and sneakers

He was more recently seen in action flick Mission: Impossible - Fallout alongside Hollywood heavyweight Tom Cruise.

Simon, who has been married to wife Maureen McCann since 2005, has appeared in the famous franchise since 2006.

The star and Tom have formed a close friendship from the franchise, and the comic actor previously gushed over how surprisingly normal the Hollywood A-Lister is.

Lift off: The Star Trek star tried to keep incognito as he donned a pair of dark tinted sunglasses teamed with a tweed flat cap

Crack a smile: Simon looked totally unimpressed before the ride, but looked decidedly more chipper as the fun ride began

Taking off: Simon looked in better spirits as the ride began to spin

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph in 2015, he said: 'It makes me laugh sometimes just how much of a bloke he is.

'I think he does get an unfair rap for a lot of things. People just don't know everything about him, but they think they do.'

When asked if they ever talk on a personal level, he added: 'Sometimes, we'll have heart-to-hearts at the end of the day.'

Better mood: He was more recently seen in action flick Mission: Impossible - Fallout alongside Hollywood heavyweight Tom Cruise (L) - who he formed a close friendship from the franchise



They're two of Sydney's most successful style identities, who are said to have made millions through their business partnership.

But fashion bloggers Elle Ferguson and Tash Sefton have reportedly ended their business partnership, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

'The girls have grown apart,' an insider allegedly told the publication.

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'The girls got competitive towards each other': Style bloggers Elle Ferguson [L] and Tash Sefton [R] have reportedly ended their business partnership

'They are at completely different stages of their lives and want to do their own thing,' the source added.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Elle and Tash for comment.

The pair became a formidable force in the fashion industry since co-founding blog They All Hate Us more than a decade ago.

'They are at completely different stages of their lives and want to do their own thing': According to The Sunday Telegraph, Elle and Tash haven't shared a sponsored post since April

According to the report, the girls, who are fixtures on the Sydney social scene, haven't been seen together since last year.

Their last joint sponsored post was in April.

According to the insider, the BBFs became too competitive with one another, and fans apparently were 'waiting for the friendship to sour'.

Social fixtures: The stylish ladies have been one of the most successful blogging duos in the country

The stylish ladies have been one of the most successful blogging duos in the country.

The pair were at one point managed by high-flying publicist, Roxy Jacenko.

Elle's career continues to go from strength to strength, since being invited to Kim Kardashian's KKW beauty launch in June last year.

She has not only collaborated with celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin for her haircare brand OUAI, she has also released her own fake tanning range, the ELLE EFFECT.

Elle told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday the influence Jen has had on her career.

'Jen has been an amazing mentor and to me what she has given me is confidence to just do it.'

'I know that sounds really simple but sometimes when you're putting yourself out there, you need more confidence than you think, and Jen gave me that little push I needed,' she continued.She jetted out to Ibiza earlier this week for her raucous hen do.

And Billie Faiers led the glamour on Saturday as she headed out for day three of the celebrations with her 15-strong bridal party.

The Mummy Diaries star, 28, who is set to wed Greg Shepherd, stunned in a busty white playsuit, while her sister Sam, 27, and best friend Ferne McCann, 28, kept to the gold-and-black theme with their scanty swimwear and metallic face-paint.

Bride-to-be: Billie Faiers led the glamour as she headed out for day three of her Ibiza hen do celebrations with her sister Sam on Saturday

Billie oozed sex appeal in the tiny white silky one-piece, which showed off her enviable curves and ample cleavage with its low-cut neckline.

The buxom blonde ensured she stood out from her entourage with an elaborate gold headpiece and highlighted her tanned and toned pins with a pair of gold sandals.

Billie wore her platinum locks in a sleek high ponytail and finished off her show-stopping look with a dusting of gold body paint and full face of bronzed make-up.

Toned: Meanwhile, Ferne displayed her washboard abs in a black two-piece, wrapping a black sarong around her waist as she left their hotel with a cocktail in hand

Bikini babe: The television personality, who gave birth to her baby daughter Sunday in November, showcased her tremendously toned figure in the skimpy black bikini

Strutting her stuff: Billie oozed sex appeal in the tiny white silky one-piece, which showed off her enviable curves and ample cleavage

Golden goddess: The reality star wore her platinum blonde locks in a sleek high ponytail and finished off her show-stopping look with a dusting of gold body paint

Having the time of her life: She highlighted her tanned and toned pins with gold sandals and stood out from her entourage with an elaborate gold headpiece

Here come the girls: Billie and Sam led the bridal party to Bagatelle Beach, with their mum Susanne Wells following shortly behind

Hitting the town: Billie's hen do seemed to be getting more wild as the 15 strong group of women glammed up again for their fun and frolics in the Ibiza sunshine

Alongside Billie, Sam and the rest of the Hens was Ferne, who was previously locked in a furious feud with Sam over their respective ITVBe TV shows, The Mummy Diaries and Ferne McCann: First Time Mum, yet they seemed to put their differences aside.

The former TOWIE star displayed her washboard abs in a black two-piece, wrapping a black sarong around her waist as she left Bagatelle Beach with a cocktail in hand.

Ferne, who gave birth to her baby daughter Sunday in November, showcased her tremendously toned figure in the skimpy black bikini, which she teamed with black Valentino sandals and a matching studded bag.

Lavish plans: Billie is preparing to marry businessman Greg, who she shares daughter Nelly, four, and 18-month-old son Arthur, in the Maldives

Racy display: Ferne couldn't resist sharing a sultry snap of her in the swimwear get-up via Instagram, captioning the post: 'Black and Gold'

To be a fly on the wall! Ferne seemed to be engrossed in conversation as she chatted away on the phone

Diamonds are forever: The brunette beauty brushed her shoulders with gold glitter

Tell me about it, stud: Ferne boosted her frame with a pair of T-bar Valentino heels

Turn the other cheek! The girls donned masks with Billie's husband-to-be Greg's face on them

Ferne couldn't resist sharing a sultry snap of her in the swimwear get-up via Instagram, captioning the post: 'Black and Gold'.

Following the sailor theme yesterday, Sam kept to their strict black and gold dress code, as she layered a sheer metallic cover-up atop of a criss-cross swimsuit.

The mum-of-two opted for comfort on her feet with a pair of strappy sandals and accessorised the glamorous ensemble with gold hoop earrings.

Stunning: Sam opted for comfort on her feet with a pair of strappy sandals and accessorised the glamorous ensemble with gold hoop earrings

Giddy display: The sisters giggled away as they headed into their minivan

Taking centre-stage: Billie added height to her petite frame with Gucci wedges

Flashing those pearly whites! The blonde bombshell appeared to be in great spirits on the day

Here come the girls: The gang co-ordinated their looks, donning outfits in hues of gold and black

She's got the Midas touch: Sam took centre-stage as she led the group after their lunch

But first, let me take a selfie: The girls were camera ready in their hen-do getups

The girls couldn't resist sharing their Ibiza antics on Instagram, with Billie and Sam uploaded sultry selfies as they headed into their minivan.

Billie is preparing to marry businessman Greg, who she shares daughter Nelly, four, and 18-month-old son Arthur, in the Maldives after whopping four-year long engagement and much divisive chat over the nuptials.

After finally settling on the plans, the couple have been throwing themselves into their pre-wedding festivities, with Greg having flown to Las Vegas earlier this month.

Gorgeous: The girls couldn't resist sharing their Ibiza antics on Instagram, with Billie and Sam uploaded sultry selfies showing off their metallic face embellishments

All systems go! Billie shared an inside glimpse of their hotel room as they got ready for the day

Raring to go: Ferne shared a clip on Instagram after getting ready for day three of the celebrations

Things were obviously set to get wild for Billie and her gal pals as they jetted to Ibiza in the wee hours of Thursday morning, during which they certainly made an impact on the airport with all the ladies rocking stylish matching denim shirts.

Sam has two children Paul, aged two, and Rosie, with her love of more than three years Paul Knightley.

Just weeks ago, Sam claimed she ended her feud with former BFF Ferne after they famously fell out over rival ITV2 programmes documenting motherhood. They put their problems aside on attending Billie's bridal shower and the former pals managed to heal the rift in their friendship.

Sam told The Sun: 'We were both at my sister's bridal shower - Ferne was there. It was fine. It was nice. We were just catching up on the babies really. So we are fine.'

Feeling refreshed! The hens started the celebrations earlier as they ordered cocktails to their hotel room

Animated display: Billie could hardly contain her excitment as they zoomed off in the minivan

All eyes on her: Billie looked every inch the bride-to-be as she posed up a storm in her silky white playsuit

Time to celebrate: After settling on the plans, the couple have been throwing themselves into their pre-wedding festivities, with Greg having flown to Las Vegas earlier this monthMerivale millionaire Justin Hemmes announced his split with Kate Fowler in July.

And according to sources in attendance at a Hamilton Island Race Week event, the man once described as a 'playboy' was tempted with a return to the lifestyle.

The Sunday Telegraph claims Justin, 45, arrived at the James Boag dinner with a 'mystery brunette', whose presence didn't stop 'single and taken' women 'throwing themselves' at him.

For love or money? Justin Hemmes (right) is swarmed by 'single and taken women' at a Hamilton Island event despite rocking up with a 'mystery brunette'... just weeks after split with Kate Fowler (left)

The publication claims to have had 'spies' at the event, who they say witnessed multiple ladies having a crack at the father-of-two and/or his $950 million fortune.

It's unclear if his alleged 'mystery female guest' witnessed any of the feeble courting attempts, or if the site was linking her with Justin romantically.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Justin for comment.

The news follows reports claiming Justin was never the 'marrying' type, leading to issues with his model ex.

'Mystery woman': The Sunday Telegraph claims Justin, 45, arrived at the James Boag dinner with a 'mystery brunette' whose presence didn't stop 'single and taken' women 'throwing themselves' at him (Justin is pictured here with Kate last year)

Claims: The publication claims to have had 'spies' at the event, who they say witnessed multiple ladies having a crack at the father-of-two and/or his $950 million fortune (Justin is with daughter Saachi, one)

Justin and Kate, 28, had been in a relationship for four years and share two daughters, Alexa, two, and Saachi, one.

One friend reportedly told The Telegraph Kate is 'a thoroughly modern woman' and while she 'didn't need a wedding ring on her finger at this time', she may have been hoping for one in the future.

Justin confirmed their split in late July, telling The Sydney Morning Herald they now share a 'platonic' relationship and are still living together at his '$90 million' Vaucluse mansion in Sydney.

Issues: The news follows reports claiming Justin was never the 'marrying' type, leading to issues with his model ex, Kate (Pictured here with their daughters, Saachi and Alexa, 2)

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE HEMMES FAMILY Justin Hemmes is the only son of Merivale Group founder and nightclub mogul John Hemmes. Hemmes Snr left the Netherlands following World War II with $20 in his pocket and started a new life in New Zealand. He then moved to Australia where he met his wife Merivale and built a fashion brand in her name. The pair had two children, Justin and a daughter, Bettina. 'I grew up in a very exciting life. My parents got so much pleasure out of the smallest things,' Justin told Harper's Bazaar Australia. 'They also had a group of really interesting friends. Wherever we went, whatever we did, it was always exciting, colourful and larger than life.' Hemmes Snr grew Merivale into a portfolio of more than 50 restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels in Sydney. When he died in 2015, Justin took over the hospitality giant. He has since changed Sydney's social scene more than any other businessman or woman. Advertisement

'Kate and I have the utmost love and respect for each other,' he told the publication.

'At the beginning of 2018, Kate and I decided our friendship and respect for family life would become the focus of our relationship. We love our children dearly and for now continue to live together happily in our family home.'

'Kate is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful woman. As for what the future holds I am not sure,' he added.

Split: Justin confirmed their split in late July, telling The Sydney Morning Herald they now share a 'platonic' relationshipWith so many strong female roles, Big Little Lies is a rare gift for Hollywood's female stars.

And along with filling their awards cabinets, the HBO show has also resulted in some rich new friendhsips.

Leading ladies Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon showed just how strong their bond is as they partied together on Friday night.

Sharing the love: Country star Keith Urban, 50, cuddled up to his actress wife Nicole Kidman, 51, and her pal Reese Witherspoon, 42, after his gig in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday night

Reese had gone along to watch her friend's husband of 12 years Keith Urban in concert alongside 20,000 screaming fans at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

While Nicole and Keith, 50, live in the Tennessee city, New Orleans-born Reese resides in Santa Monica, California.

The actresses wrapped the second season of their HBO series Big Little Lies on August 18 and were ready to party.

Nicole, 51, and Reese, 42, both cuddled up to Keith after the concert and he shared the moment on Instagram.

Guitar hero: Nicole took this snap of her husband wowing the 20,000-strong crowd at the Bridgestone Arena, captioned, 'Watching Keith play guitar in Nashville,' with a heart emoji

'Girls night': Reese had fun on Instagram posting this selfie of her and Nicole backstage

Feline fun: The actress added a pussycat filter to this snap as she gave a shoutout to support artist Kelsea Ballerini while pretending not to know the identity of the main act

He captioned it: 'Nashville - U guys were phenomenal tonite - big love from all of us here backstage to all of U xxxxxxx  KU #GraffitiUWorldTour.'

Reese opted for a knee-length black dress with little sprigs of flowers while Nicole looked chic in an ankle length black dress with a frill around the bustline.

She also posted a snap of her talented husband on stage, which she captioned: 'Watching Keith play guitar in Nashville,' with a heart emoji.

So cute: Reese also filmed Nicole and Keith holding hands as they walked backstage

They're adorable: The couple have been married for 12 years and are still very much in love

Meanwhile, Reese had fun posting an Instagram video of her and Nicole larking around backstage.

Keith, who hails from New Zealand, is in the early stages of his Graffitu U world tour which began on June 15 in Maryland Heights, Missouri and is due to end on February 6, in Melbourne, Australia after 72 shows.

Meanwhile, Australian star Nicole paid tribute to the cast and crew of Big Little Lies by sharing a snap of herself wearing a T-shirt with the names of many women on the front.

'What a beautiful journey this has been': Nicole paid touching tribute to the cast and crew of Big Little Lies 2 in this snap she posted when filming wrapped on August 18

She captioned it: 'Thats a wrap on #BigLittleLies Season 2 filming! What a beautiful journey this has been with my Monterey 5 sisters and our passionate dedicated crew.

'Thank you HBO for the amazing opportunity and thank you [director] Andrea Arnold for being our fearless leader, and of course the one and only Meryl Streep for believing in us. I love you all. xx'

The two actresses starred in and produced the drama via their companies, Reese's Pacific Standard and Nicole's Blossom Films.She once revealed she's so close to her sister Kelly, 40, that they chat on the phone a whopping seven times a day.

And Holly Willoughby displayed her tight bond with her stunning older sibling as she shared a rare selfie with the children's author on Saturday during their sun-drenched holiday in Portugal.

The This Morning presenter, 37, caused a social media stir with the sweet beach shot, with fans going into a meltdown over the 'gorgeous' pair and their likeness to each other.

Seeing double: Holly Willoughby, 37, sent fans into meltdown as she posed with her stunning lookalike older sister Kelly, 40, in a rare family snap during their holiday in Portugal on Saturday

Praise: The This Morning presenter caused a social media stir with the sweet beach shot, with fans gushing over the 'gorgeous' pair and their likeness to each other

Holly showed off her natural beauty in the snap, going make-up free and styling her golden tresses in beachy waves.

Kelly, meanwhile, framed her features with a slick of scarlet lipstick and looked the height of summery chic in a white palm print bustier top.

The presenter shared the post on Instagram with her 3.9million followers and captioned it simply: 'Sisters.'

Her fans flocked to the comments to express their admiration, with one gushing: 'Twins!! you both look gorgeous!!'

Sweet: Holly recently paid tribute to Kelly on her 40th birthday, sharing a collage of the genetically blessed sisters. She captioned it: 'Nothing but pure love for this one today and always... my sister... love you... beyond! @ladywilloughby happy 40th birthday'

Close: Holly previously admitted there's no sense of sibling rivalry between them, gushing that they are 'best friends' (pictured, Holly at Kelly's wedding in 2010)

Another agreed: 'You both so alike. Both beauties x' while a third penned: 'You look so similar, and yet so different beautiful ladies!!'

Kelly joined Holly in Portugal, where the ITV star is enjoying her annual break with her TV producer husband, Dan, their three children: Harry, nine, Belle, seven and Chester, three, as well as Holly's This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield.

Holly recently paid tribute to Kelly on her 40th birthday, sharing a collage of the genetically blessed sisters.

She captioned it: 'Nothing but pure love for this one today and always... my sister... love you... beyond! @ladywilloughby happy 40th birthday.'

Tight bond: 'We talk six or seven times a day and because we've never chased the same dream or wanted the same thing, there's a complete lack of competitiveness with each other,' Holly previously said (pictured with Kelly in 2013, while promoting their children's book)

Incredible: Holly also caused a social media meltdown in May when she shared an incredible throwback snap of lookalike mum Lynne's bikini body to mark her 70th birthday

Kelly repaid the favour in February for Holly's own birthday, writing on social media: 'Happy birthday...my best friend when I'm in trouble, my big sis when I'm sad and my little sis when it's time to be naughty!'

Holly previously admitted there's no sense of sibling rivalry between them, gushing that they are 'best friends'.

'We talk six or seven times a day and because we've never chased the same dream or wanted the same thing, there's a complete lack of competitiveness with each other,' she told You magazine.

Kelly added that she enjoys Holly's mammoth success as a television presenter and enjoys cashing in on the blonde bombshell's freebies.

'If Holly can afford to treat me to lunch at Nobu, or a lovely trip somewhere, great; she's hugely generous,' she said.

Cute: Kelly joined Holly in Portugal, where the ITV star is enjoying her annual break with her TV producer husband, Dan, their three children: Harry, nine, Belle, seven and Chester (pictured), three, and Holly's This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield

Congratulations: Holly 37, marked her 11th wedding anniversary with a sweet black-and-white Instagram snap of herself and her husband Dan Baldwin, 43, on August 4

'She already lends me designer bags on a rotating basis, and if only our feet were the same size, I would be the happiest sister on earth.'

Meanwhile, Holly is said to be the firm favourite to replace Ant McPartlin on I'm A Celebrity this year.

The presenter is said to be adored by ITV bosses, who are yet to find a replacement for Ant, 42, after he released a statement on Thursday revealing he would not be returning to TV until 2019.

According to The Mirror, there have been no official talks about Ant's replacement, but Holly is looking likely to be the main contender.

An insider told the publication: 'Holly is very close friends with Ant and Dec and both she and Phil have been backing Ant since his troubles.'Kanye West surprised wife Kim Kardashian with a VIP gift this weekend.

The social media beauty got quite the thrill on Saturday when her rapper/fashion designer love unexpectedly gave her a neon lime Mercedes Benz G-Wagon.

Mrs. Kardashian West, 37, was over the moon while sharing her $240k luxury SUV with her Instagram followers, telling everyone how she first fell in love with the car while driving the same make and model around Miami earlier this month.

Dream on! Kim Kardashian was given the 'truck of her dreams' by husband Kanye West on Friday

'Oh my gosh, I just got out of the gym and was surprised by this new baby,' she said, swooning over the car, 'I loved it so much in Miami and I kept on talking about it!'

'Oh look who surprised me with this baby!' Kim said, panning the camera over to Kayne.

'You guys, I got the truck of my dreams because I was so excited in Miami,' she continued.

It's interesting how Kanye could afford such a pricey ride on his own, however.

Hot wheels: The highlighter colored Mercedes Benz cost around $250k dollars

Oh baby! 'Oh my gosh, I just got out of the gym and was surprised by this new baby,' she said, swooning over the car

Can I keep it? 'I loved it so much in Miami and I kept on talking about it!' Kim said of the neon wheels which she borrowed during her trip

Charge it? It's a wonder how Kanye could afford such a pricey ride on his own, however as he's admitted being in huge amounts of debt in years past. Son Saint is seen in the foreground

That's a lot: The Ye rapper once told Twitter he was a whole $53million in the red back in 2016.

In years past the multi-hyphenate has admitted he's in extreme debt, once telling Twitter he was a whole $53million in the red back in 2016.

After celebrating her new ride, she swooped over to sister Kylie's house where she saw the makeup mogul's own orange G-Wagon in the driveway.

'Look when you just pull up to your sister's house to say good morning and you guys have matching neon trucks!'

Then new mom Kylie gave her older half-sister a few tips on handling the nearly quarter-million dollar vehicle's height without a wardrobe malfunction.

Sister style: After celebrating her new ride, she swooped over to sister Kylie's house

Tricky: New mom Kylie gave her sis a few tips on handling the nearly quarter-million dollar vehicle's height without a wardrobe malfunction

Orange crush: The makeup mogul matched her older half-sister with her own orange G-Wagon sitting in the driveway

'Kylie is schooling me on the stool I need [to get in]... because I can't have any mishaps,' Kim explained.

Before getting a lesson on how to get inside the car, Kim needed the help of husband Kayne to hop in during their trip to Miami about two weeks ago.

Her highlighter-hued dress was so tight the rapper had to lift her up into the ride like a real-life princess.

Precious cargo: During Kim and Kanye's trip to Miami her highlighter-hued dress was so tight the rapper had to lift her up into the ride like a real-life princess

Mean green fashion machine: Neon green was a theme for their trip to Magic City, where they attended 2 Chainz's weddings to longtime partner Kesha Ward

Neon green was a theme for their trip to Magic City, where they attended 2 Chainz's weddings to longtime partner Kesha Ward.

The star rocked several splashy lime looks through out her time in Florida.

Kim even sported a long straight neon wig to match a glowing Lamborghini during another day out.

In the limelight: The star rocked several splashy lime looks through out her time in FloridaShe's known for her stylish ensembles and is often sharing her outfits on Instagram.

And Millie Mackintosh was back to doing what she does best as she showed off her funky style as she joined her husband Hugo Taylor at Kingham's Big Feastival on Saturday.

The couple, who tied the knot in a glitzy wedding ceremony in June, just narrowly avoided an awkward run-in with the reality star's, 29, ex Professor Green at the star-studded event on Friday.

Funky: Millie Mackintosh was back to doing what she does best as she showed off her funky style as she joined her husband Hugo Taylor at Kingham's Big Feastival on Saturday

Millie looked effortlessly chic in a pair of black ripped skinny jeans and a plunging white blouse tucked in.

She teamed the ensemble with a pink and gold beaded waistcoat and a thick silver buckle belt.

Adding a few key festival accessories, Millie accessorised her look with a black fedora hat and black Hunter wellies.

She styled her brunette locks into a sleek blow-dried hairdo as she added a slick of glamorous make-up.

Newly-weds: The couple, who tied the knot in a glitzy wedding ceremony in June, just narrowly avoided an awkward run-in with the reality star's, 29, ex Professor Green at the event

Chic: Millie looked effortlessly chic in a pair of black ripped skinny jeans and a plunging white blouse tucked in

Cool look: She teamed the ensemble with a pink and gold beaded waistcoat and a thick silver buckle belt

Millie was joined by her husband, Hugo, who cut a casual figure in black jeans, a blue t-shirt and a khaki green shirt over the top.

He layered the ensemble with a black leather jacket, silver necklaces and a pair of black trainers.

Oozing with love, the TV personality looked smitten as she cosied up with her partner, 32.

Meanwhile, Professor Green, 34, who split from Millie in 2016 after three years of marriage, debuted his newly-dyed pink 'do as he made a bold appearance at the festival on Friday.

Staples: Adding a few key festival accessories, Millie accessorised her look with a black fedora hat and black Hunter wellies

Doting husband: Millie was joined by her husband, Hugo, who cut a casual figure in black jeans, a blue t-shirt and a khaki green shirt over the top

Awkward! The former Made In Chelsea star, 29, narrowly avoided a run-in with her ex husband Professor Green, who later took to the stage at the annual event on Friday

Commanding attention with his eccentric fashion sense, the rapper sported a pair of camouflage bottoms, an off-white parka jacket with a slogan hooded jumper.

The festival is held on Alex James' Farm in The Cotswolds from Friday till Sunday, with guests expecting to see a star-studded line-up, featuring the likes of Paloma Faith, The Undertones and Spice Girls' Mel C.

Professor Green - real name Stephen Manderson - and Millie announced their split in February 2016, and the heiress was pictured cosying up to her former flame Hugo just three months later.

After confirming their on-again romance, Millie and Hugo became engaged in June 2017, fourteen months after her divorce from Stephen was finalised.

Making a statement: Meanwhile, Professor Green, 34, who split from Millie in 2016 after three years of marriage, debuted his newly-dyed pink 'do as he made a bold appearance

Fresh look: The musician sported peroxide blonde hair earlier this month (left, August 16)

Quirky: Commanding attention with his eccentric fashion sense, the rapper sported a pair of camouflage bottoms, an off-white parka jacket with a slogan hooded jumper

In a candid interview with Closer Magazine, the I Need You Tonight hitmaker appeared to take a swipe at his ex-wife as he criticised her for publicising her romance with Hugo online.

He told the magazine: 'I'm not cynical about love and romance at all - I just don't feel the need to plaster it everywhere, it's a bit crass.'

Despite his recent split from girlfriend Fae Williams, the star insisted he's not unlucky in love as he believes he's young enough to 'find that one person'.

Former lovers: Professor Green and Millie announced their split in February 2016 (pictured May 2012)

Split: The star broke up with model Fae Williams in May after 18 months together (pictured August 2017)

During a discussion on Lorraine earlier this month, Professor, who broke up with the model in May after 18 months together, was asked by Christine if he was unlucky.

He replied: 'No, not at all, everything is a lesson. Im just about young enough and healthy enough to find that one person. Learning what you dont want goes hand in hand with what you do want.'

As well as revealing all about his love life, he also admitted he is enjoying being back in the studio as it's having a good affect on his own well-being, which he admits he had neglected in the past.

His time had been occupied with raising awareness of mental health through producing documentaries - including for the BBC about the important issues affecting Britain.

Man of the hour: Craig David rocked a two-tone denim jacket as he took to the stage at the Big Feastival

He's not Walking Away: The 37-year-old singer seemed to be in great spirits as he played his best hits to the crowd

Seeing red: Clean Bandit took to the stage later on, despite lead singer Grace pulling out due to illness

Just hanging out: Dermot O'Leary and Marco Pierre White hung out backstage at the festival

Cooking up a storm: Marco later put on a demonstration for the crowdTamara Ecclestone was putting on a leggy display in a stylish black mini-dress on Friday as she joined her sister Petra for a double date night in West Hollywood.

The 34-year-old heiress was effortlessly chic in the jewel-studded look as she was joined by husband Jay Rutland leaving the Catch restaurant after the night out.

Petra was also putting on a sizzling display for the outing in a leather zipped mini-dress and strapped heels as she was joined by boyfriend Sam Palmer.

Gorgeous: Tamara Ecclestone was putting on a leggy display in a stylish black minidress on Friday as she joined husband Jay Rutland and sister Petra for a double date in West Hollywood

Showing off her holiday tan, Tamara flaunted her curves in the long-sleeved black dress with semi-sheer sleeves and a sequinned hem.

The mother-of-one accessorised her look with black strapped heels and a snakeskin clutch bag, styling her glossy brunette tresses into effortless waves.

Meanwhile husband Jay - to whom she has been married for five years - was looking casually smart in a crisp white and black chino trousers, teamed with suede loafers.

Sizzling: Tamara and Jay were also joined by her glamorous sister Petra and her boyfriend Sam Palmer

Tamara and Jay were joined by her glamorous sister Petra and her boyfriend Sam Palmer.

The glamorous mother-of-three showed off her trim physique in a leather zipped minidress and gold strapped heels as they headed out of the high-end eatery.

The foursome were seen leaving the Catch restaurant after a night out together, as they continue to soak up the sights from their California getaway.

Leggy: Petra sizzled in a revealing black zipped leather dress and gold strapped heels, with her blonde hair styled into loose curls

Petra previously admitted she can't help mocking her older sister Tamara for still breastfeeding her daughter Sophia at the age of four.

In a rare interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, the Formula 1 heiress admits she 'takes the p***' out of Tamara, a famous advocate for prolonged breastfeeding.

Tamara, who scooped her own ITV reality show earlier this year, has long been attached to the ongoing debate over breastfeeding and what is the appropriate age for a child to stop being fed by their mother.

The defiant star has continued to feed her daughter Sophia, nicknamed Fifi and post images on social media as she does so.

While Tamara is a mother of one, Petra has sole custody of her three children with ex husband James Stunt - Lavinia, five, and twins James and Andrew, three.Prince Harry and Meghan are reportedly on the brink of setting up home in the Cotswolds village of Great Tew

Its the Cotswolds village so idyllic that Harry and Meghan are reportedly on the brink of setting up home there.

Yet all is not as tranquil as it seems in Great Tew.

Plans to develop the biggest classic car museum in the world in the sleepy Oxfordshire village have torn the community apart.

On one side are Great Tew estate owner Nick Johnston and American multi-millionaire and Bugatti fan Peter Mullin.

They want to build an exhibition hall to show off hundreds of vintage cars which could attract 200,000 visitors a year.

They also hope to build 28 luxury holiday homes to sell to wealthy car enthusiasts  a project that alone could raise almost 33 million.

On the other side are villagers and nearby residents including Star Trek actor Sir Patrick Stewart and retired judge Charles Harris QC, who are campaigning to have the plans rejected.

Profits from the development will reportedly go towards restoring the dilapidated Grade II-listed manor house on Johnstons estate rather than the affordable housing locals need.

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Plans to develop the biggest classic car museum in the world in the sleepy Oxfordshire village have torn the community apart. On one side are Great Tew estate (above) owner Nick Johnston and American multi-millionaire and Bugatti fan Peter Mullin

Mr Johnston and Mr Mullin want to build an exhibition hall to show off hundreds of vintage cars which could attract 200,000 visitors a year. They also hope to build 28 luxury holiday homes to sell to wealthy car enthusiasts  a project that alone could raise almost 33 million. (Above, a 1936 Bugatti owned by Mr Mullin)

Sir Patrick has openly criticised the plans as commercial and elitist.

Harry, who has owned several fast cars including a 72,000 Audi RS6  and famously drove Meghan away from their wedding in a vintage E-type Jaguar  might actually enjoy a day out at the museum.

But locals claim it is simply a cover for what they describe as a large and lucrative housing development on greenfield land.

Profits from the development will reportedly go towards restoring the dilapidated Grade II-listed manor house on Mr Johnstons estate rather than the affordable housing locals need. Pictured, Nick Johnston and fiancee Saskia Boxford

Villagers and nearby residents including Star Trek actor Sir Patrick Stewart (above) and retired judge Charles Harris QC are campaigning to have the plans rejected. Sir Patrick has openly criticised the plans as commercial and elitist

There have been more than 250 complaints and the campaign is having some success.

West Oxfordshire Council confirmed the scheme is now on hold as the developers consider the main planning issues that needed to be addressed.

Mr Johnston and his fellow developers declined to comment.Actress Miranda Tapsell has spoken candidly about feeling beautiful as an Indigenous actress.

Speaking to this week's Stellar magazine about her film, Australian romantic-comedy Top End Wedding, the 31-year-old said she is proud to have broken the mould by taking on the leading role.

'I might not be Elle Macpherson. I might not be tall. I might not be blonde. But I did feel beautiful,' she said.

'I might not be tall and blonde but I did feel beautiful': Indigenous star Miranda Tapsell, 31, has revealed why starring in new Australian romantic comedy lifted her self-confidence

The Love Child star,who announced her real-life engagement to long-time boyfriend James Colley, in January this year claimed that the romantic comedy genre hasn't traditionally included protagonists that aren't Caucasian.

'The romantic comedy genre isnt well known for its protagonists not being Caucasian. Its really important. I want girls from different backgrounds to see this. You should see the statistics on just how often women of colour get swiped left  rejected  on Tinder,' she explained.

Miranda, who has been fearless in her fight for more diversity on Australian screens, said her longevity as an actress was often questioned in the early stages of her career.

Breaking the mould: Miranda, who has been fearless in her fight for more diversity on Australian screens, said her longevity as an actress was often questioned in the early stages of her career

She explained that people would often make unpleasant comments about her petite height or skin colour, but insisted that the criticism didn't scar her.

Instead, Miranda revealed that she has become passionate about changing the perception of beauty on screen.

It comes Miranda spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her personal experiences with prejudice.

Getting ready for the big day? Bride-to-be Miranda put on a bridal display in an ethereal, white dress in the latest issue of Stellar magazine

At the Logie Awards in July this year, Miranda revealed she's dealt with many experiences of racism in her personal life.

'I think what people don't realise is that sometimes it doesn't always come in the form of the KKK and the Confederates,' she said, adding that she has suffered prejudice on a smaller scale.

'Racism comes in many types of different forms and so I have experienced different forms of micro-racism.'

'It doesn't always come in the form of the KKK': Last year, Miranda told Daily Mail Australia that 'casual racism' can be just as damaging as other forms of racism

She said Australia still has a long way to go when it comes to discrimination and that casual racism is just as damaging.

She suggested that recognising the smaller instances of racism  like subconsciously making judgments about people of colour  is key to changing the bigger picture.

'I think it's important for people to be aware of it and acknowledge it and understand how not to do it again,' Miranda said.

'Racism comes in many types of different forms': Miranda (pictured with Top End Wedding co-star Gwilym Lee) said she has experienced prejudice due to the colour of her skin

Turning things around: Miranda said she hopes her acting roles play a part in 'challenging perceptions and putting certain minorities in a positive light'

The actress, who has starred in The Sapphires, Redfern Now and Wolf Creek, explained that being in the spotlight is something she takes seriously as an Indigenous woman.

'I think it's just about challenging perceptions and putting certain minorities in a positive light,' Miranda said.

'It's nice to be able to explore that [in TV and film]. That's our job, to create empathy and create understanding between each other.'

Read more! Stellar magazine hits newsstands on Sunday as part of The Sunday Telegraph.Australia's new treasurer Josh Frydenberg joined his Howard-era counterpart Peter Costello for a coffee in Melbourne on Saturday.

Mr Frydenberg said they disagreed on footy teams and he'd be going somewhere if he could be half as funny as Mr Costello in parliament, but also said he would seek advice from the man who delivered ten budget surpluses in his time.

"I will be turning to Peter for advice, as I begin my role as treasurer in the Morrison government. It is a great privilege to serve in this important position, and our job is to deliver lower taxes, more jobs, and to grow the Australian economy to create better standards of living for all Australians," Mr Frydenberg told reporters.The Greens won't be giving a "blank cheque" to new prime minister Scott Morrison, who once brought a lump of coal into parliament.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Australia desperately needed energy policy solutions, but could not support Scott Morrison's current agenda as it stands.

"We can't support a policy that has been written by the coal, oil and gas lobby," Senator Di Natale told the ABC on Saturday.

"They have a policy that will line the pockets of the big three energy companies, that will lock in coal, that will delay the transition to renewable energy."

After a week that saw Malcolm Turnbull replaced as prime minister by Scott Morrison, Senator Di Natale said Australia's political system was broken.

"People would rightly be very angry. I'm very angry at what's happening," he said.

"We've seen this narrow political class over the last decade engage in petty infighting... forgetting what they're actually elected to do."

Changing lobbying rules, banning big political donations and curbing vested interests are the fixes the Greens want to see.

Senator Di Natale said political uncertainty and the fact that parliament was "profoundly unrepresentative" meant it was time to call a federal election.

"We are going to make sure we do everything we can to make up for lost time," he said.

"Because we have had inequality get worse under this government, we continue to see innocent people being locked up in those offshore hell holes."

The Greens leader also took a swipe at "hateful voices" in the media that he claims egged on the leadership spill.

"We need to take a stand against the haters, the Murdoch media, those voices, 2GB, Alan Jones, Ray Hadley," he said.

"We can't continue kowtowing to those hateful, divisive voices in our community."Labor has wasted no time in labelling Australia's new Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his deputy Josh Frydenberg as the "architects" of failed policies.

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen fronted reporters in Sydney on Saturday to demand a policy reset from the government in the form of a federal election.

"This is just shuffling deckchairs after a week of melodrama, chaos and dysfunction. The Australian people look at this government and say a mini-budget won't fix it, an election will," Mr Bowen said.The youth branch of Queensland's Liberal National Party is calling on its state parliamentarians to reject abortion laws introduced to state parliament this week.

It is understood a motion opposing the government's proposed laws to decriminalise abortion in Queensland and calling on opposition MPs to support their position was passed at the Young LNP state conference on Saturday.

YLNP representatives will hand deliver a pledge to LNP members to uphold "the intrinsic value of human life and in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" at state parliament on September 4.Two men have been arrested at a March For Men demonstration in Melbourne, while two others were fined for carrying knives.

A 25-year-old and 33-year-old attending the rally at Federation Square on Saturday afternoon were arrested in relation to wilful damage and riotous behaviour respectively.

The March For Men Australia Facebook Page says the rally's focus was to protest constant societal messaging of "how undesirable it is to be a man" and to show men "that they matter and their issues matter".HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY ON THIS DATE:

1071 - Turkish Seljuks beat the Byzantine forces at the Battle of Manzikert (now Malazgirt, Turkey), gaining entry into Anatolia and opening the road to Europe.

1346 - English archers defeat French knights at Battle of Crecy in northern France.

1541 - Suleiman I, Sultan of Turkey, annexes Hungary.

1768 - Captain James Cook and his ship, the Endeavour, sail from England's Plymouth Harbour, ordered to observe the transit of Venus and explore the Southern Ocean for "Terra Australia incognita".

1847 - Liberia is proclaimed an independent republic.

1883 - The volcano Krakatoa erupts on the island Krakatau, near Indonesia, creating tsunami waves that kill more than 36,000 people.

1896 - Insurrection begins in the Philippines against the Spanish.

1915 - The German army captures Brest-Litovsk in Russia during World War I.

1920 - The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, guaranteeing American women the right to vote, is declared in effect.

1934 - Adolf Hitler demands that France turn over the Saar region to Germany.

1936 - A treaty ends British occupation of Egypt, except the Suez Canal zone, and Britain and Egypt form an alliance for 20 years.

1937 - Japan blockades Chinese shipping.

1942 - The German army reaches Stalingrad in Soviet Union during World War II.

1945 - Japanese envoys board US battleship Missouri to receive surrender instructions at the end of World War II.

1947 - The UN Security Council passes a resolution for both the Dutch and Indonesians to adhere to a ceasefire order.

1952 - Floods caused by monsoon rains inundate 90 per cent of Manila, causing at least eight deaths. It is Manila's third flood in a month.

1957 - The Soviet Union announces it has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile.

1964 - Student and Buddhist riots force the resignation of government of Premier Nguyen Khanh in South Vietnam.

1970 - North Vietnam sends its chief negotiator back to Vietnam peace talks in Paris after a nearly nine-month boycott of negotiations.

1978 - Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice is elected the 264th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church following the death of Paul VI.

1990 - The number of US soldiers, airmen and sailors in the Gulf reaches 60,000.

1993 - Egyptian-born Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman and 14 others are charged in an attack on New York's World Trade Center earlier in the year.

1997 - Former South African President FW de Klerk resigns as the head of the National Party, which created the practice of apartheid, and leaves politics.

2003 - Rwandan President Paul Kagame is the overwhelming winner of presidential elections. The election was the first since the 1994 genocide.

2004 - Iraq's top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, makes a dramatic return to Najaf and swiftly wins agreement from a rebel cleric and the government to end three weeks of fighting between his militia and US-Iraqi forces.

2005 - A fire races through a crowded, rundown Paris apartment building housing African immigrants killing 17 people, mainly children trapped while they slept, and triggers angry calls for decent housing for the needy in the French capital.

2008 - Russia recognises the independence claims of two Georgian breakaway regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

2011 - A car loaded with explosives crashes into the main United Nations building in Nigeria's capital of Abuja and explodes, killing at least 18 people. A radical Muslim sect claims responsibility for the blast.

2014 - Israel and Gaza's ruling Hamas agree to an open-ended ceasefire after seven weeks of fighting - an uneasy deal that halts the deadliest war the sides have fought in years.

2015 - A disgruntled former employee of a US TV network shoots dead two journalists during a live broadcast before killing himself.

2017 - Iraqi forces raise the national flag in the heart of Tal Afar, Islamic State's stronghold in the country's northwest, and say they are poised to take full control of the city after a week-long offensive.

Today's Birthdays:

Sir Robert Walpole, first prime minister of Britain (1676-1745); Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, French scientist (1743-1794); Guillame Apollinaire, French poet (1880-1918); Peggy Guggenheim, US art collector (1898-1979); Albert Sabin, Polish microbiologist, developed oral polio vaccine (1906-1993); Julio Cortazar, Argentine writer (1914-1984); Branford Marsalis, US jazz musician (1960--); Macaulay Culkin, US actor (1980--); American Actor Chris Pine (1980--).

Thought for Today:

Nothing has really happened until it has been recorded - Virginia Woolf, English author and critic (1882-1941).

AP/AAP/ay/cjb

HH/CJBOpposition MPs in Queensland are being urged to reject abortion laws introduced last week to state parliament.

It is understood a motion opposing government legislation to decriminalise abortion and calling on Liberal National Party members to vote against the bill was passed by the party's youth branch on Saturday.

YLNP representatives will hand deliver a pledge to LNP members to uphold "the intrinsic value of human life and in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" at state parliament on September 4.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk government has a majority and the laws are expected to be debated and passed by the end of the year.

It would leave NSW as the only Australian state where abortion is outlawed.

Under the new laws, women would be able to ask to terminate pregnancies up to 22 weeks.

"Safe zones" of 150 metres would also be put in place around clinics to stop women, their loved ones and staff being harassed.

Labor MPs will be allowed a conscience vote on the issue but the LNP says it will wait to see the legislation before deciding whether its MPs will be free to vote with their conscience.Some of the hardest-hit NSW drought regions have received a little respite with rain falling across parts of the state.

Much of the Northern Tablelands and Central West received rainfall on Saturday, with a low pressure system forecast to deliver a wet start to the week.

Inverell received 16mm between 9am and 9pm on Saturday, while Dubbo recorded almost 10mm.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting up to 20mm for Parkes, where some farmers have been battling to feed livestock and others face the prospect of not harvesting a crop.

The BOM is also forecasting a wet week for Sydney, with up to 15mm predicted for the city on Sunday.

That rain is expected to continue through the week as another cold front emerges from the Tasman Sea.

The rain comes as the Sydney Desalination Plant prepares to kick into action if the city's water supply drops below 60 per cent. Dam levels sat at 65.2 per cent on Saturday evening.Six police officers have been injured after clashing with a group of men in a laneway in southern Victoria.

Two officers were escorting a man from a licensed venue at Queenscliff on Saturday night, when they were assaulted by two other men, police said.

The officers chased the trio to a nearby laneway and tried to arrest them but they were hindered by other patrons from the venue, before backup arrived and used pepper spray.

Seven men have been arrested and are expected to be charged with a number of offences, including assaulting police, resisting arrest, hindering police and being drunk in a public place.

Three police officers were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and three were treated for minor injuries and did not go to hospital.Riot police have been called to a Sydney bar where a paramedic was pushed by a man while treating a collapsed woman.

Police said they had to escort the paramedics and the woman from the King Street Wharf bar to an ambulance after the group with the patient became aggressive shortly after midnight on Sunday.

Public order and riot squad crews were called to assist with the crowd and were also sent to St Vincent's Hospital where the woman, in her 20s, was taken. Two men have been arrested.Now that the grand slam door is finally ajar, Ajla Tomljanovic is intent on bursting through it.

Her injury struggles seemingly behind her, Tomljanovic heads into her all-Australian first-round US Open showdown with ambitious young wildcard Lizette Cabrera on Tuesday at her highest ranking in more than three years.

The one-time world No.47 is back on the cusp of the top 50 and eager to capitalise after copping grand slam finalists Lucie Safarova, Madison Keys and the fourth-ranked Elina Svitlona in the opening round at the year's first three majors.

"Defintiely I would like to win a couple of rounds, if possible," Tomljanovic told AAP in New York.

"My record this year at slams has been tough, getting a couple of tough first rounds but I'm just hoping to maybe turn it around here.

"The last month or so it's come together in matches and in tournaments and it's nice to see."

Not that she's taking Cabrera lightly.

The 20-year-old Queenslander won Australia's wildcard play-off in convincing fashion to earn her place in the main draw for the first time at an overseas slam.

"I've seen her a lot," Tomljanovic said.

"Whenever there's a slam. I think it's completely open so I don't see it as an easy draw or anything like that.

"I feel if I play well, obviously I'll have a good chance of doing well but everyone in the main draw has the ability to beat anybody."

And Cabrera fully believes she can beat Tomljanovic.

"I'm going to give it a crack," she said.

"When Ajla was practising in Brisbane a couple of years ago, we practised a bit here and there but I haven't seen her so much recently.

"I'll just go out there and compete really hard and hopefully it will be a good match and I'll come off with the win.

"This is a really good opportunity to help with my ranking and hopefully get me in the top 100.

"I'll just keep believing and believe I belong here."The RSPCA in South Australia has dealt with more than 4000 reports of cruelty and prosecuted 79 people in a single year.

Launching a campaign on Sunday to combat cruelty, the service said it hoped the details of its work in 2017/18 would expose the scale of chronic animal neglect across SA.

Chief Inspector Andrea Lewis said an examination of the case files showed an alarming pattern of animal neglect that could no longer "remain out of sight and out of mind".

The files showed that 83 per cent of successful court prosecutions related to animal neglect while only 17 per cent were associated with acts of deliberate cruelty.

"For the past few years we've seen a significant rise in the incidence of starving dogs, whether caused by inadvertent or deliberate neglect, with catastrophic consequences for their animals," Inspector Lewis said.

"Animals are suffering and dying in homes and backyards from a lack of basic care or nourishment.

"It's shocking and it's unnecessary."

Between July last year and June this year, the RSPCA's nine inspectors in SA investigated 4077 cruelty reports, with the majority relating to neglect of dogs.

Seventy-nine people were taken to court resulting in 18 being sentenced to prison terms with 15 of those suspended.

The files also showed that 1324 animals were seized or surrendered with inspectors finding a further 83 animals dead and forced to euthanise another 316.

Inspector Lewis said while the causes of animal suffering ranged from minor neglect to sickening cruelty, many cases involved people who had found themselves unable to care for their animals through no fault of their own.

"Unsurprisingly, poverty, mental health and social isolation often contribute to animal neglect," she said.The Myanmar military crackdown forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to seek refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh

Rohingya refugees Saturday marked the anniversary of a deadly military crackdown in their Myanmar homeland that drove 700,000 of the persecuted minority into Bangladesh, stateless and confronting a grim future.

Raids by Rohingya militants on August 25 last year across Myanmar's Rakhine state spurred an army crackdown which the United Nations has likened to "ethnic cleansing".

Waves of Rohingya fled by foot or boat to Bangladesh in an exodus unprecedented in speed and scale.

Rohingya activists in Bangladesh's refugee camps vowed to mark the "black day" with prayers, speeches and song.

The latest influx has placed enormous pressure on Bangladesh's impoverished Cox's Bazar district, which quickly grew into the world's largest refugee settlement.

The squalid camps already hosted generations of Rohingya expelled from Rakhine and the latest arrivals pushed numbers close to one million.

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar

Abdul Malek, a 27-year-old refugee who fled an attack on his village last year, said the plight of the Rohingya was far from over.

"This one year is just the beginning of many more to follow," he told AFP in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar.

Buddhist-majority Myanmar says it is ready to take back those who fled.

But it refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens, falsely labelling them "Bengali" illegal immigrants.

A deal between Myanmar and Bangladesh to start sending them back has stalled. Fewer than 200 have been repatriated so far.

- Call for justice -

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week said it was up to Bangladesh "to decide how quickly" repatriation can be done, while insisting the "terrorist threat" posed by Rohingya militants remains "real and present".

The Rohingya say they will not return without a guarantee of their safety, citizenship and compensation for homes and land torched.

"We don't want to (go) back without justice and without our rights and a proper guarantee that we won't be driven out again," 18-year-old Aman Ullah told AFP in Cox's Bazar.

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar and have been hunted from the country in successive convulsions of violence.

Rohingya refugees in the "no man's land" zone between Myanmar and Bangladesh border. NGOs fears it will be years before they are allowed to return to Rakhine state

Access to healthcare and freedom of movement remains out of reach for the stateless people in Rakhine.

And the Rohingya exodus from western Myanmar continues today, with refugees still trickling over the border throughout this year.

The UN and international rights groups say conditions are not ready for them to go back.

"It may be decades until they can safely return to Myanmar, if ever," Medecins Sans Frontieres head of mission in Bangladesh, Pavlo Kolovos, said in a statement.

Calls have mounted for Myanmar's military to be held responsible for the campaign, with security forces accused of torture, rape and murder.

The US has sanctioned two army brigades and several commanders who oversaw the expulsion, in which thousands are estimated to have died.

But Myanmar says it was simply defending itself and bristles at international calls for justice.

Humanitarian agencies spearheading the relief effort in Bangladesh say just one third of the roughly $1 bn needed for the refugees until March has been raised.Former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba's candidacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo's upcoming presidential elections was deemed "inadmissible" by the country's election commission on Friday, as opposition groups cried foul

Former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba's candidacy in the Democratic Republic of Congo's upcoming presidential elections was deemed "inadmissible" by the country's election commission on Friday, as opposition groups cried foul.

The commission rejected the candidacy of Bemba, a rival to DR Congo President Joseph Kabila, on the basis that he had been "convicted by the International Criminal Court" in March 2018 and handed a year in prison and a 300,000 euro fine for bribing witnesses.

Bemba's war crimes convictions were overturned by the court in The Hague and he returned to Kinshasa in August after being acquitted.

Just ahead of the election commission's announcement, the political opposition to president Kabila issued a fresh rallying cry, accusing the "powers that be" of seeking to "exclude" multiple opposition candidates.

Opposition groups called on Kabila to free up the electoral process and "stop giving injunctions to the election commission," according to a statement signed by Bemba, and exiled opposition politicians Moise Katumbi and Felix Tshisekedi.

Overall, the election commission has excluded six out of the 25 candidates who had registered to run in the presidential elections, set for December 23.

A country of some 80 million people, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has never known a peaceful transition of power since it gained independence in 1960.

Kabila -- in power since 2001 -- took over from his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, who was assassinated by a bodyguard.

His tenure over the vast mineral-rich country has been marked by a reputation for corruption, inequality and unrest. The watchdog Transparency International ranked it 156 out of 176 countries in its 2016 corruption index.

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.Rohingya refugee Jamal, 20, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, lost an arm after being shot and left for dead fleeing an attack in Myanmar one year ago

Rohingya labourer Jamal struggles to carry bricks in the Bangladesh camp that is now home, having lost an arm after being shot and left for dead fleeing an attack in Myanmar one year ago.

But like many who fled the violent crackdown by Myanmar forces, the 20-year-old has strived to rebuild his life since joining a million other stateless members of the Muslim minority in the world's largest refugee camp.

"I try to make a habit of working with it but it's challenging without my hand," he told AFP, placing his checkered scarf over the scarred stump of his right arm.

"I want to earn some money and support my family. It feels good," said the expectant father, whose name was changed to protect his identity.

Many Rohingya have opened small businesses or market stalls, or found work giving the makeshift hillside shanties in Cox's Bazar a greater sense of permanence in recent months.

The flimsy shacks and rancid toilets that overflowed as waves of desperate refugees started pouring into Bangladesh last August have been replaced by sturdier structures. Paved roads and drainage canals now cross the camps.

For some, this has created opportunities for work and a new sense of purpose after the unspeakable horrors of Rakhine state in Myanmar.

- Horror to hope -

Juhara, whose name was also changed, passes her days carting water to thirsty bricklayers.

Juhara, whose name was also changed, 40, lost a hand and an eye in a raid on her village after the August 25 clampdown started last year. Her husband and parents were killed

She has just one hand -- the other was cleaved off in a raid on her village after the August 25 clampdown started last year. Her husband and parents were killed.

The 40-year-old said she ran for her life but was hunted down and savagely attacked.

"I couldn't get away. I fell to the ground and they chopped me," she told AFP, gesturing to her arm and face, missing an eye and badly disfigured from a deep machete wound.

In addition to her scars, she still suffers headaches in the monsoon heat.

The work, however menial, has allowed her to support her niece and sister after losing her husband in the brutal Myanmar campaign in which entire villages were burned to the ground.

The United Nations has likened it to ethnic cleansing.

The violence drove Furijullah over the border, where he opened a barbershop in May, taking loans from friends to buy supplies and offering haircuts and shaves under a tarpaulin covering.

His business grew quickly, and he built a concrete floor and installed a reinforced roof.

But despite running a thriving outfit -- an enviable position in a sea of destitution -- the 32-year-old barber pines for home.

"This is just temporary. I have no intention to stay here for any longer than I have to," he told AFP as he applied foam on a customer for a cut-throat shave.

"If we have peace, then we will go back."

- Touch of home -

A year after the beginning of the worst refugee crisis in decades, boredom and idleness stalks the gigantic settlements in Bangladesh, where Rohingya are barred from local schools and jobs.

Many Rohingya have opened small businesses or market stalls in the vast refugee camps in Cox's Bazar

Hundreds of thousands of children have not seen the inside of a classroom since crossing into the country, putting them at huge risk of becoming a "lost generation", warns the UN child agency UNICEF.

Arafat has been reading any English book he can get his hands on to try and keep up with his favourite subject.

But the 18-year-old feels himself slipping behind, jeopardising his dreams of becoming a teacher.

"I would like learn, but there is no school. I do not know what will happen in the future," he told AFP, hanging out in an alleyway with his friends.

Military checkpoints surround the claustrophobic camps. More than 58,000 Rohingya have been caught trying to leave since the August influx, local police told AFP.

Among them was Shamsu Alam, a 28-year-old farmer and father-of-three, desperate for work to supplement the handouts of rice and lentils his family scrapes by on.

He tried to pick up casual work inside the camps but the competition was fierce, forcing him to break the rules.

Alam was caught.

"I have nothing to do here. We cannot go outside to work. I just want to do something," he complained.

Others have found purpose any way they can, small rituals to stave off boredom and distract from the misery that abounds in the sprawling camps.

Hundreds of thousands of children have not seen the inside of a classroom since crossing into Bangladesh, putting them at huge risk of becoming a "lost generation", warns the UN child agency UNICEF

Every day for the past year, Abdul Gofur has faced the distant mountains of Myanmar and scanned for a phone signal to connect with family.

Up to a dozen others gather at the same hilltop every evening, desperately waiting for news from home.

Sometimes, Gofur picks up a faint signal and fires off texts or calls to his brother or mother-in-law, smiling as his infant daughter garbles into the receiver.

"We miss them. Whenever we get the chance we talk to them," he told AFP. "It feels great."US special representative for Iran Brian Hook said the EU aid package would allow Tehran to "neglect the needs of its people"

A European Union aid plan for Iran sends "the wrong message at the wrong time" to the government in Tehran, the US State Department said Friday.

The $20.7 million EU assistance package "perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes," read a statement Friday signed by US special representative for Iran Brian Hook.

"More money in the hands of the Ayatollah means more money to conduct assassinations in those very European countries."

According to Hook, the Iranian people "face very real economic pressures caused by their government's corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts."

He said that the United States and the European Union "should be working together... to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran's people and end the regime's threats to regional and global stability."

The package of assistance offered to Iran, announced on Thursday, is "for projects in support of sustainable economic and social development" in the Islamic Republic, and includes funds to help develop the private sector, according to a statement from the European Commission.

The funds "are the first of a wider package of 50 million euros for Iran, aiming to support the country to address key economic and social challenges," the statement read.

"They are part of the renewed cooperation and engagement between the European Union and Iran following the conclusion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)."

After withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the major powers, Washington in early August reinstated sanctions against Tehran and issued a warning to countries that continued trading with Iran.Former warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba's candidacy in DR Congo's upcoming presidential elections was deemed "inadmissible" by the election board

Ex-warlord Jean-Pierre Bemba's political party on Saturday announced it would appeal a decision to reject his candidacy in DR Congo's upcoming presidential elections.

Late on Friday, the election commission had ruled out Bemba running on the basis that he had been "convicted by the International Criminal Court" in March 2018 for bribing witnesses. He was handed a year-long prison term and a 300,000 euro fine.

But the court, which is based in The Hague, had overturned Bemba's conviction for war crimes and he returned to the capital Kinshasa in August after being acquitted.

Following the late-night decision, Bemba's supporters vowed to mobilise with the head of his Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) telling AFP the party would lodge an appeal at Constitutional Court by Tuesday morning.

"We will use all the legal means at our disposal to defend Jean-Pierre Bemba's candidacy for the presidency," MLC secretary general Eve Bazaiba said.

By Saturday morning, Congolese riot police, who are rarely seen on the streets, had deployed near the headquarters of the RTNC national radio and television in Kinshasa, where Bemba remains very popular.

"It's an operation aimed at discouraging (violence), it's an anticipatory move," police spokesman Colonel Pierrot-Rombaut Mwanamputu told AFP.

- Six candidates barred -

Ahead of the electoral commission's announcement, DR Congo opposition groups had accused the government of President Joseph Kabila of seeking to "exclude" multiple opposition candidates.

In a statement signed by Bemba and exiled opposition politicians Moise Katumbi and Felix Tshisekedi, they urged Kabila to free up the electoral process and "stop giving injunctions to the election commission."

Alongside Bemba, another five candidates were also rejected out of a total of 25 who had registered to run in the presidential elections, set for December 23.

Among them were three of Kabila's former prime ministers -- Samy Badibanga, Adolphe Muzito, and Antoine Gizenga.

"These exclusions are unacceptable and show once again that the electoral commission is totally dominated by Kabila," Katumbi wrote on Twitter.

A former governor of Katanga who joined the opposition in 2015, Katumbi -- who has been living in Belgium since 2016-- said he had been blocked from returning to register his candidacy.

Considered a fugitive by the Ministry of Justice, Katumbi has been sentenced absentia to three years in prison with an international warrant out for his arrest.

The six candidates have 48 hours to appeal to the Constitutional Court. The election commission must publish a final list of candidates by September 19.

- Suspicion -

On August 8, Kabila -- who had held office since 2001 -- signalled he would not run again, easing months of tension over his ongoing tenure.

He has thrown his support close ally Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary, a former interior minister who is permanent secretary of Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (PPRD).

But DRC's opposition, which has shed blood in protests against Kabila's grip on power after his mandate formally ended in 2016, remains deeply suspicious.

It has raised concerns about nuts-and-bolts issues such as the electoral roll and voting methods, and fears Kabila is simply plotting to remain the power behind the throne.

A country of some 80 million people, DR Congo has never known a peaceful transition of power since gaining independence in 1960.

Kabila took over from his father, Laurent-Desire Kabila, after he was assassinated by a bodyguard.

- Failed bid in 2006 -

His tenure over the vast mineral-rich country has been marked by corruption, inequality and unrest. The watchdog Transparency International ranked it 156 out of 176 countries in its 2016 corruption index.

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 neighbouring Central African Republic from 2002-3, when its then-president Ange-Felix Patasse sought help to repel an attempted coup.

He was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years behind bars before his conviction was overturned on appeal in June.

The ICC said Bemba could not be held responsible for crimes committed by his troops.Rohingya refugees staged angry protests for justice on the first anniversary of a Myanmar military crackdown that sparked a mass exodus to camps in Bangladesh

Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees staged angry protests for "justice" Saturday on the first anniversary of a Myanmar military crackdown that sparked a mass exodus to camps in Bangladesh.

Many wept as they recalled the brutal killings and rapes inflicted on the Muslim minority last year as 700,000 fled across the border.

The biggest refugee camp in the world is rigidly controlled by Bangladesh authorities and the peaceful but charged Rohingya marches and rallies seen there were unprecedented.

A local police chief, Abul Khair, told AFP an estimated 40,000 refugees attended marches and rallies across the camps.

"We are Rohingya, we want justice," people chanted in the Kutupalong camp, where a giant banner proclaimed: "Never Again: Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. 25 August, 2018."

In a different part of the camp, thousands of women and children marched behind a huge poster declaring: "365 days of crying. Now I am angry."

Rohingya militants staged attacks on Myanmar police posts on August 25 last year, sparking a bloody crackdown in Rakhine state.

Police said an estimated 40,000 refugees attended marches and rallies

Nearly 7,000 Rohingya were killed in the first month, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Refugees arrived in Bangladesh on foot or in flimsy boats. Many brought horrific stories of sexual violence, torture and villages burned to the ground.

- 'Black day' -

Columns of people marching through the camp on Saturday waved banners and chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great).

Tears flowed as one imam gave a sermon, saying "Please Allah, return to us our homeland. Let us see our parents' graves. We left them back in Myanmar."

Mohammad Ayub, a 28-year-old refugee who joined a march, said many Rohingya had lost loved ones in the violence and still mourned for them.

"We remember them on this day. It is a black day," he told AFP.

Myanmar authorities, who insist their forces only targeted insurgents, have made an agreement with Bangladesh to repatriate refugees but only a handful have gone back.

Rohingya leaders say the exiles will not return home unless their safety is guaranteed.

Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week said it was up to Bangladesh "to decide how quickly" repatriation of the refugees can be accomplished.

She said the "terrorist threat" posed by Rohingya militants remains "real and present".

Refugees arrived in Bangladesh on foot or in flimsy boats

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, which has been blamed for attacks in Myanmar, issued an anniversary statement in which it condemned Myanmar's "terrorist government and genocidal military".

Mohammad Hossain, a 40-year-old protester at Kutupalong, said: "We are here remember to August 25. We want justice.

"We want them (Myanmar) to recognise us as Rohingya. We are very sad because we are not in our native land."

- No home, no hope -

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar and have been chased from the country in successive convulsions of violence.

About 300,000 were already in the camps in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district and the latest arrivals pushed numbers to one million.

The Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship decades ago by Myanmar

The Rohingya and aid agencies are most worried about the uncertain future of the refugees, who are stateless and seemingly unwanted in Bangladesh while conditions in their Rakhine homeland remain dangerous.

International Red Cross Committee president Peter Maurer, who visited the camps and Rakhine in July, said in an anniversary statement that Rohingya in both places were "living in misery".

"Unfortunately, since my visit we have not seen tangible improvements for those displaced or the few who remain in Rakhine."

The Red Cross chief called for urgent "sustainable solutions" for "safe, dignified and voluntary returns as soon as possible."

He said this must include "political steps" in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

While the Rohingya exodus from western Myanmar continues, with refugees still trickling over the border, the United Nations and international rights groups say conditions are not ready for their return.

"It may be decades until they can safely return to Myanmar, if ever," said MSF head of mission in Bangladesh Pavlo Kolovos in a statement.

Aid agencies fear it will be years before the Rohingya are allowed to return to Rakhine state

Calls have mounted for Myanmar's military to be held responsible for the campaign and the United States has sanctioned two army brigades and several commanders who oversaw the expulsion.

There have also been calls for an International Criminal Court inquiry but Myanmar has bristled at international criticism.

Humanitarian agencies spearheading the relief effort in Bangladesh say just one-third of the roughly $1 billion needed for the refugees until March has been raised.The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army says it has "the legitimate right" to protect the Rohingya and ensure their "return to our ancestral land with safety and dignity"

Rohingya militants whose deadly attacks last year spurred the ruthless Myanmar army crackdown that drove 700,000 of the minority into Bangladesh said Saturday it acted to "defend" the Muslim group from persecution.

It is unclear whether the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) has any broad support after its role in sparking the humanitarian calamity that has befallen the Rohingya, one million of whom now languish in refugee camps across the border.

The militant group said it had "the legitimate right" to protect the Rohingya and ensure their "return to our ancestral land with safety and dignity" in a statement posted on Twitter.

Thousands of Rohingya in Myanmar are estimated to have been killed in the military response to ARSA's attacks on police posts last August.

Survivors entering Bangladesh's refugee camps carried harrowing accounts of rape, mass killings and arson overseen by the military and ethnic Rakhine villagers -- acts the international community have likened to ethnic cleansing.

The army maintains that their reaction was proportionate to the terrorist threat posed by ARSA, a stance reiterated on Tuesday by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who blamed the group for the crisis and spoke in praise of the military.

Myanmar also alleges that ARSA massacred scores of Hindu villagers on the same day the military crackdown began, an accusation the militants have "categorically" denied.

But they have claimed responsibility for other attacks, including a January ambush which wounded two police officers and their driver.

Any uptick in violence will deepen concerns from refugees about the repatriation deal Myanmar and Bangladesh signed earlier this year.

Fewer than 200 Rohingya have returned to Myanmar while the vast majority refuse to return without assurances of their safety.

But Dhaka has insisted that the Rohingya will not remain in the camps for long.

Drug smuggling and human trafficking has plagued the southern Bangladeshi town of Cox's Bazar as its population has ballooned, with gangs preying on desperate refugees, selling young women into the sex trade and recruiting mules to move methamphetamine.

ARSA's statement Saturday urged refugees to refrain from "indulging and trading in drugs, human trafficking and violence".

Thousands of Rohingya refugees staged protests in Bangladesh Saturday to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown in Myanmar.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called for unity in the face of criticism from all sides of his handling of a mounting economic crisis and tensions with the United States

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for unity on Saturday in the face of criticism from all sides of his handling of an economic crisis and tensions with the United States.

"Now is not the time to unload our burdens on to somebody else's shoulders. We must help each other," Rouhani said in a televised speech at the shrine of late revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini.

"The country's problems and resisting foreigners' conspiracies is the responsibility of every one of us."

With rapidly rising food prices, a dramatic currency collapse and the reimposition of US sanctions after it abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal, many Iranians are in a bleak mood.

Much of his electoral base among reform-minded urbanites has lost faith in him, while working-class areas have seen months of sporadic strikes and protests that have occasionally turned violent.

Some of the most virulent criticism has come from the hardline religious establishment who long opposed Rouhani's efforts to rebuild ties with the West.

On August 16, an image went viral of a protest by seminary students in the shrine city of Qom, at which one placard warned Rouhani would meet the same fate as former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was found dead in a swimming pool last year.

Rouhani sought to play down the differences, saying: "The clerical, religious institutions and the government are alongside each other."

But he added a typically cryptic warning: "No one can walk into the sea and not expect to get his feet wet."

Hardliners have been blamed for stoking economic protests that have sometimes turned against the Islamic system as a whole.

Rouhani still has the support of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who says he must remain in power to avoid further disorder.

But Khamenei has also blamed government mismanagement, rather than foreign hostility, for the current crisis.

"We are aware of people's pain, suffering and problems and all our efforts are geared at reducing these problems," Rouhani pledged..Syrian Druze bury their dead from a massive July 25 assault by the Islamic State group in which the jihadists seized hostages, at least 27 of whom remain in captivity

At least 27 people are being held by the Islamic State group in southern Syria, Human Rights Watch said Saturday as it deplored the hostage-taking as a "war crime".

The group of mostly women and children were abducted by IS during a massive July 25 assault on the Druze community in Sweida, in which the jihadists killed more than 250 people.

They are being held by IS to use as leverage in negotiations with the Syrian government and its ally Russia, according to HRW.

"Hostage-taking is a war crime," the rights group said.

"Civilian lives should not be used as bargaining chips," said its deputy Middle East director Lama Fakih.

Of more than 30 people taken hostage in the July offensive, at least two have since died.

A 19-year-old male student was beheaded and a video circulated of the killing, which was not released on the jihadists' usual channels.

Later in August a 65-year-old woman died, with IS reporting she had been unwell.

Additionally, two women were able to escape after being abducted from their home, a family member told HRW.

Villagers provided the names of at least 27 people who remain in IS captivity, with children as young as seven among them, according to activists in Sweida province.

The province is the heartland of Syria's Druze minority, followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam who are are despised as heretics by the Sunni extremists of IS.

IS is seeking the release of jihadists captured by the government in the neighbouring province of Daraa, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said earlier this month.

The jihadists currently hold less than three percent of Syria, after losing swathes of territory to government forces backed by Russian firepower.

But IS has proven it is still able to launch deadly attacks, with eight pro-government fighters killed and more than 60 wounded in an overnight raid in Sweida province.

The attack brought to 54 the number of pro-government fighters killed in the past month, while 147 jihadsts have been killed, the Observatory said.

Since the civil war erupted in Syria in 2011, more than 350,000 people have been killed and millions have fled their homes.One person was killed and dozens injured in Nepal when police opened fire on protesters demanding action over the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl, officials said Saturday.

Angry crowds took to the streets in the country's remote west on Friday accusing police of protecting the person responsible for the brutal crime.

Police officer Krishna Raj Ojha told AFP that 17-year-old Sani Khuna was killed "in firing to contain the violent protest". An indefinite curfew has been imposed in the area, he added.

Schoolgirl Nirmala Panta went missing in late July and her body was found the following day in a sugar-cane field.

Anger boiled over after police arrested a man who reportedly has severe learning difficulties and whom protesters say is a scapegoat allowing officers to shield the real culprit.

The victim's family have also accused police of failing to take action over her death.

"The state has not taken the cases of rape and violence against women seriously," woman's rights activist Hima Bista told AFP.

"Protection is being provided to the rape-accused time and again," she added.

Further rallies are planned for Saturday across Nepal, including in the capital Kathmandu where around 1,500 people staged a silent protest under a heavy police presence.

The hashtags #RageAgainstRape and #JusticeForNirmala were also trending on Twitter.

"The so-called democratic government couldn't give justice to the rape and murder victim instead they killed an innocent boy," Twitter user Sunel GC posted.

There were 1,480 reported rapes in Nepal last year, according to recently released police data, almost double the number reported in 2016.

Activists say the rise is due to more women reporting violence to the police, but also say many more still go unreported in deeply patriarchal Nepal.The latest attack in the war-torn country appeared to target a protest camp outside the building in Nangarhar province

A suicide bomb attack killed at least two people Saturday in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, officials said, the latest violence to hit the war-torn country.

The bombing -- claimed by the Islamic State group -- follows what has already been a bloody month with the Taliban ramping up assaults on security forces across the country and IS targeting the capital Kabul, with hundreds killed according to estimates.

The attack appeared to target a protest camp outside an election commission office where a group of people were rallying in support of a candidate disqualified from parliamentary elections due in October.

Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province, the main IS stronghold in Afghanistan.

The blast "killed two people, and four others were wounded", provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP, adding that it was carried out by a suicide attacker.

Provincial health director Najib Kamawal confirmed the two deaths.

An eyewitness to the bloody aftermath of the attack said a suicide bomber detonated near a tent full of protesters outside the office, and that security forces had cordoned off the area.

"It was very big blast and it shook our home," said witness Mirza Amin, who added he lived 50 metres (160 feet) from the site of the explosion.

Earlier this month, Afghanistan's Independent Electoral Complaints Commission disqualified 35 candidates from running in the upcoming parliamentary election for having direct links to illegal armed groups.

The protest in Jalalabad was against the disqualification of candidate Javed Zaman Ghamsharik, who was barred for allegedly possessing illegal arms and for connections to illicit land deals.

The blast comes nearly a week after President Ashraf Ghani offered a conditional three-month ceasefire to the Taliban, a move welcomed by the United States and NATO after nearly 17 years of war.

The Taliban have yet to officially respond to the offer.

The surge in violence this month comes after Afghans marked an unprecedented nationwide ceasefire between the Taliban and government forces in June, giving some relief to war-weary civilians.

For three days, thousands of insurgents poured into cities across Afghanistan, eating ice cream and taking celebratory selfies with security forces.

The brief respite spurred hopes a new path was opening for peace talks in the country after nearly 17 years of war.

The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate.

Earlier this week, Gen. John Nicholson -- the top commander for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan -- said that warring parties now have an "unprecedented" opportunity for peace, citing the June ceasefire as a step forward.

He stressed, however, that any peace talks must ultimately be "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned".PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi addresses a press conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah on February 24, 2015

US President Donald Trump's administration is resorting to "cheap blackmail" against the Palestinians, revealing its true intentions by cutting more than $200 million in aid for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, senior Palestinian officials said Saturday.

A State Department official said Friday that the decision, made "at the direction of the president", came after a review of aid programmes to the Palestinian territories.

The funding would "now address high-priority projects elsewhere", it added.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), said the decision amounts to an "admission of the true intentions behind American aid policy of intervening in the internal affairs of other peoples".

US aid "is not a gift to our people but a duty of the international community to take responsibility for the continuation of Israeli occupation, preventing the development of the Palestinian economy and society," he said.

By slashing its aid to the Palestinians, the US "once again reaffirms its disregard for its international commitments", Erekat added.

Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO's executive committee, accused the US of using "cheap blackmail as a political tool".

"The Palestinian people and leadership will not be intimidated and will not succumb to coercion. The rights of the Palestinian people are not for sale," she said.

The United States had already made drastic cuts to its contribution to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in January.

Relations between the US administration and the Palestinian Authority took a nosedive after Trump in December decided to recognise the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians have suspended contacts with Washington and believe it can no longer be an impartial mediator in the Middle East peace process.

- 'Unite the ranks' -

After the latest blow, Ashrawi insisted that Palestinians living under Israeli occupation would not be coerced into surrendering their rights.

"There is no glory in constantly bullying and punishing a people under occupation," she said in a statement.

"The US administration has already demonstrated meanness of spirit in its collusion with the Israeli occupation and its theft of land and resources," she said.

"Now it is exercising economic meanness by punishing the Palestinian victims of this occupation."

The Islamist movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, also denounced the aid cut.

Facing "the American policy of blackmail" necessitated "unifying the Palestinian ranks", spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told AFP.

In an initial reaction on Friday, the PLO's representative in Washington, Husam Zomlot, told the US administration was "dismantling decades of US vision and engagement in Palestine".

He said Friday's move was "another confirmation" that Washington was "abandoning the two-state solution and fully embracing (Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin) Netanyahu's anti-peace agenda."

The decision to cut Palestinian funding comes as a humanitarian crisis deepens in Gaza, which has seen a surge of violence since Palestinian protests erupted in March.

At least 172 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, the vast majority of them during demonstrations near the border.Former Cambodian opposition lawmaker Um Sam An (2nd L) had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison in late 2016 over his criticism of Hun Sen's government

An outspoken Cambodian opposition lawmaker was pardoned by royal decree and released on Saturday, the first member of a now-dissolved political party to be freed a month after strongman premier Hun Sen won a virtually uncontested election.

The lead-up to the July 29 poll -- which Western democracies have slammed -- was marked by a clampdown on activists, journalists and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), paving a clear path for the authoritarian Hun Sen to extend his 33-year rule of Cambodia by another five years.

Released on Saturday was Um Sam An, a dual Cambodian-US national sentenced to two and a half years in prison in late 2016 over his criticism of Hun Sen's government for using contested maps as a guideline to demarcating the border with Vietnam.

The royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni said the 40-year-old lawmaker had been convicted for "inciting crime and racism" with his actions.

The decree did not provide a reason for his early release.

The CNRP had campaigned on the sensitive issue of border demarcation between Cambodia and Vietnam in the previous election, causing critics to question some of the inflammatory rhetoric used by lawmakers.

In an interview with government-aligned media, Um Sam An said his newfound freedom was a chance to "reconcile the nation".

"Regardless of opposition party or the ruling party, we can love and work together to...protect our border," he said in an interview broadcast on Facebook Live.

He added that 14 more lawmakers remain behind bars in Prey Sar prison, where he was jailed, while many others -- like CNRP head Kem Sokha -- are scattered in provinces across the country.

More than half the opposition party fled Cambodia last year in fear of being imprisoned under trumped up charges.

Since his ruling party swept all 125 parliament seats last month, Hun Sen has requested pardons for four land rights campaigners including prominent activist Tep Vanny, who was released earlier this week.

A day later, two journalists who worked for US-backed broadcaster Radio Free Asia received bail after ten months of detention.

On Thursday, Hun Sen said he plans to pardon 12 more who had written him apology letters, but warned that the process would be "put on hold" if anyone comments that he was under pressure from the international community.A total of 105 cases have been reported since the flare-up of Ebola began on August 1 in Mangina in North Kivu province, according to the country's health ministry, out of which 77 have been confirmed by laboratory tests

An outbreak of Ebola in eastern DR Congo has killed 67 people this month, authorities said Saturday, as they roll out a battery of new drugs to tackle the virus amid concerns it has spread to a rebel-encircled area.

A total of 105 cases have been reported since the flare-up of Ebola began on August 1 in Mangina in North Kivu province, according to the health ministry, out of which 77 have been confirmed by laboratory tests.

It said 11 people have recovered from the virus and 67 had died.

Health minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga travelled to Mangina on Thursday and saw two patients being discharged after they were treated with a new prototype treatment called mAb114.

"These two people are among the first 10 patients to have received the therapeutic molecule mAb114," the ministry said in a statement.

Developed in the United States, it is the first therapeutic drug to be used in an active Ebola epidemic in the DRC.

Earlier this week, the health ministry said four other experimental drugs had been approved for treating infected patients.

On Friday, the World Health Organization warned that signs the virus had spread to the city of Oicha in North Kivu could frustrate efforts to contain the virus.

While Oicha itself is not under rebel control, WHO emergency response chief Peter Salama said the city was entirely surrounded by territory held by a feared Ugandan insurgent group known as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

Large numbers of civilians have been killed in unrest around Oicha, while aid workers, priests and government employers are currently being held hostage there by insurgents.

On Friday, army troops came under attack in Beni, at the heart of the Ebola-affected region, military and civil sources said. The assault was blamed on ADF rebels.

No official toll were provided but locals contacted by AFP on Saturday spoke of around 10 soldiers killed.

The current Ebola outbreak is the 10th to strike the DRC since 1976, when the disease was first identified and named after a river in the north of the country.US State department representative William Roebuck leaves a previous meeting in the YPG-held northern Syrian city of Manbij, where the US has a military presence, on March 22, 2018

A senior US diplomat visited Kurdish-held territory in Syria on Saturday as the minority negotiates with Damascus over the future of its semi-autonomous region.

Ambassador William Roebuck was in the town of Shadidi in the northwestern province of Hasakeh after visiting the towns of Kobane and Minbej in recent days.

He is expected to continue to Deir Ezzor, an eastern province where the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters, is fighting the Islamic State group in the jihadists' last redoubt.

"We are prepared to stay here, as the president (Donald Trump) has made clear, to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS," Roebuck said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

"We remain focused on ensuring the withdrawal of Iranian forces and their proxies as well."

Washington has repeatedly criticised Tehran and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, for their roles in the Syrian conflict.

Support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah has allowed President Bashar al-Assad's government to regain much of the territory lost to rebels and jihadists in the early years of the country's seven-year war.

Iranian forces and Tehran-backed Shiite militias have also been key to Assad's recapture of large swathes of Deir Ezzor province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

But other areas of the oil-rich province are controlled by the SDF, which spearheaded the US-backed fight against IS in Syria.

Syria's war has left more than 350,000 people dead and displaced millions since it broke out with the brutal repression of an initially peaceful uprising in 2011.

With the regime focused on crushing the rebellion, Kurdish forces carved out a de facto autonomous region in the country's north and northeast.

Roebuck's visit comes as the Kurds and the regime engage in difficult talks over the fate of territory under SDF control.

Assad's government now controls nearly two-thirds of Syria and is determined to reassert its authority over Kurdish-held territory, which forms the lion's share of the rest.

But Kurdish leaders and their supporters are desperate to salvage what they can of their painstakingly built institutions.Opposition candidate and former minister Soumaila Cisse, 68, has slammed the August 12 vote that handed a second term to his opponent Keita as marred by fraud

Thousands of supporters of Mali's defeated opposition election candidate took to the streets in Bamako Saturday to protest the poll result, organisers said.

The demonstrators waved banners with the slogans "No to the declared results" and "IBK (Ibrahim Boubacar Keita) will not steal our victory".

Opposition candidate and former minister Soumaila Cisse, 68, has slammed the August 12 vote that handed a second term to his opponent Keita as marred by fraud.

Cisse polled 32.84 percent of the vote according to the official count, compared to 67.16 percent for incumbent Keita.

"We want a country that is peaceful, tranquil, stable but not a country in which the president is elected by fraud, ballot stuffing and the falsification of results," Cisse said during the march in Bamako, which was initially banned but later given authorisation by the authorities.

The demonstration, which was flanked by police and held without incident, started with some 5,000 people and swelled to "about 50,000", according to Cisse spokesman Djiguiba Keita.

A Malian police source, however, said the protest had garnered "a few thousand people".

In the central city of Nioro several hundred people also took to the streets in protest, according to organisers.

"Nioro will stay mobilised for this democratic fight. We are not going to give up because if this situation continues like this no-one will ever win an election against IBK and his clan" said Abdoulaye Diallo, a Cisse supporter and march organiser in Nioro.

Keita, 73, who will begin his second five-year term on September 4, has called on Cisse to accept the result.

Cisse aides said more were being held in other parts of Mali and also abroad.

Hundreds of Cisse's supporters have gathered in recent days to protest the result.

But the Constitutional Court rejected a petition from Cisse against the result as being inadmissible or unsupported by evidence.

"This institution has discredited itself as a voluntary prisoner of an autocratic regime," Cisse said Thursday, referring to the court.

Observer missions sent by the European Union and the African Union (AU) have said the election was not badly impaired.Libyan security patrol near the site of a deadly attack on a checkpoint in the city of Zliten, east of the capital Tripoli

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Saturday for a deadly attack earlier this week on a checkpoint in western Libya, as Libyan authorities announced the arrest of the suspected perpetrators.

"Soldiers of the caliphate assaulted the 'Wadi Kaam' gate, on the Zliten-Khoms road two days ago, targeting a gathering of apostate security elements" loyal to Libya's UN-backed unity government, the jihadist group said via its Amaq propaganda arm.

Six soldiers loyal the Government of National Accord (GNA) were killed in the Thursday attack, illustrative of the insecurity that has plagued the country since a 2011 uprising.

Zliten Mayor Moftah Ahmadi told AFP the assault in the town, which lies 170 kilometres (105 miles) from the capital in an area where IS jihadists are active, targeted special operations forces commanded by the interior ministry.

Three men, "armed with grenades and light weapons" led the attack, Ahmadi said. One was shot dead and the other two managed to escape.

In an interview Saturday with Libya's private al-Ahrar broadcaster, the unity government's Interior Minister Abdelsalam Ashour said "the perpetrators of the attack were apprehended", without specifying how many people were arrested.

Seven years after the 2011 NATO-backed ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya remains divided between the UN-backed GNA in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

A myriad of militias, jihadist groups and people traffickers have taken advantage of the chaos to gain a foothold in the North African country.Ex-secretary of state Hillary Clinton greets Senator Bernie Sanders, her rival for the Democratic nomination, following Donald Trump's inauguration as president in 2017

The Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to reduce the influence of so-called superdelegates in choosing a presidential nominee, in a move intended to bring greater fairness and transparency while healing the wounds of a contentious 2016 primary season.

At the party's presidential nominating convention that year, superdelegates -- elected officials and other party leaders and activists -- were able to add their influential votes to those coming from individual states' primary contests.

Supporters of left-leaning senator Bernie Sanders complained bitterly that superdelegates, unbound by state-level results and so not necessarily reflecting the popular will, threw the nomination to the more establishment candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Even without the superdelegates' votes, Clinton won the majority needed for nomination. But Sanders supporters said the superdelegates' influence had unfairly made Clinton's candidacy appear unassailable. She went on to lose to Donald Trump in a stunning upset.

DNC members in a voice vote stripped superdelegates of the ability in future to cast polls during the first round of balloting, which has nearly always been decisive.

They will retain voting privileges on other Democratic business, such as the party platform.

In a Twitter message, Sanders welcomed the DNC's decision as "an important step forward in making the Democratic Party more open, democratic and responsive to the input of ordinary Americans."

Many superdelegates strongly opposed the change, saying the party activists who worked hardest to boost Democratic causes deserved special consideration.

But DNC chair Tom Perez defended it as a major reform that will "help grow our party, unite Democrats and restore voters' trust by making our 2020 nominating process the most inclusive and transparent in our history."

The field of Democratic aspirants for 2020 is wide open, and in the face of the intensely polarizing and often chaotic presidency of Donald Trump, Democratic leaders hope to bind up intraparty wounds well ahead of time.Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza, pictured June 2018, has decided not to seek reelection, but the UN Security Council has criticised the slow progress in talks between Burundi's government and the opposition

The Burundi government is prepared to take part in a "final" session of crisis talks with the opposition, expected to be held in Uganda next month, the foreign minister announced Saturday despite earlier official word that the dialogue was over.

"We are preparing to take part in the fifth round of talks," foreign minister Ezechiel Nibigira said in a video put online by the Iwacu newspaper.

"Burundi thinks this will be the final round" of talks, the minister said.

His comments come days after the UN Security Council criticised the slow progress in talks between Burundi's government and the opposition despite President Pierre Nkurunziza's decision not to seek re-election in 2020.

In a unanimous statement, the council welcomed Nkurunziza's announcement, but added that "additional progress will be necessary for credible elections" to be held in two years.

The East African (EAC) bloc of countries is seeking to broker a political deal between the government and the opposition to end the crisis that erupted in 2015 when Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term.

Nkurunziza's decision to run for re-election plunged Burundi into violence that left 1,200 people dead and drove 400,000 from to their homes. The International Criminal Court last year opened an investigation for grave crimes committed in Burundi.

So far the government has refused to hold talks with some opposition groups that it brands terrorists, despite a mediation set up by regional countries under former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa.

According to a diplomatic source, Mkapa wants to organise a fifth and last round of talks, seen as a final chance for a negotiated settlement, in the central Ugandan town of Entebbe in the last week of September.

The fourth session of Burundi political dialogue, held in late 2017 without the participation of the opposition in exile, ended without agreement.

The UN Security Council statement on Wednesday stressed that elections in Burundi must be "free, fair, transparent, peaceful and fully inclusive, with the participation of all political parties," and ensure the full participation of women.

President Nkurunziza has been accused of sliding towards authoritarianism since he came to power in 2005 at the end of Burundi's brutal civil war.SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed a measure Friday that would encourage immigrants' cooperation with police investigations by offering protection from deportation, one of three immigrant-related bills the Republican nixed in a week of rising tensions over national policy because of the death of an Iowa college student, allegedly at the hands of an immigrant.

Rauner rejected the plan to push police into speedier approval of protective visas . He said its "aggressive timeline" was too burdensome and carries penalties that are too harsh.

Immigrants who face deportation if discovered are eligible for the visas allowing them to seek federal protection if they are victims of specified crimes and cooperate with criminal investigations. But immigrants' advocates say police often ignore the requests for help.

In this Aug. 9, 2018, photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks to the news media in his state Capitol office, in Springfield, Ill. On Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, Republican Rauner vetoed a Democratic measure designed to encourage immigrants to cooperate with police investigations, and drew criticism from Latino lawmakers for also rejecting legislation to create public "safe zones" that are off-limits to immigration enforcement and to prohibit landlords from reporting tenants they suspect are undocumented immigrants. (AP Photo/John O'Connor)

"This is a slap in the face to crime victims who happen to be immigrants," the bill's sponsor, Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, said in a statement. "The whole idea was to foster trust between police and immigrant communities."

It was one of three immigrant-related pieces of legislation to meet with a veto In a week of increasing attention on immigration. A man suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, was charged in the abduction and stabbing death of 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa. It's prompted President Donald Trump to rail against the nation's immigration system.

Rauner said police don't have the resources to verify crime-victim claims and face significant backlash if they err.

"Requiring certification within a tight timeline, but also subjecting law enforcement to perjury if a mistake is made, is an unacceptably risky position to put law enforcement in," Rauner said.

Rauner approved two immigrant-related measures, including Cullerton's legislation to bar the state from spending money on or sharing demographic information with any agency creating a registry based on religion, national origin, disability, or other categorical characterizations. Trump inspired that idea when he suggested as a candidate in 2016 that Muslims should register with the government. He has backed off the idea.

Rauner also signed a law to allow professional licenses to be awarded regardless of immigrant or citizenship status. That makes it easier for those in the country legally because they were brought here as youngsters under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals rule to get licenses they've earned to be a pharmacist or barber.

But Rauner turned thumbs down on two other proposals. One would make "safe zones" of public buildings such as schools, state-funded health centers, courts and libraries off limits to immigration-law enforcement. And he nixed a proposal to bar landlords from evicting or reporting tenants based on immigration status.

"The governor is trying to score political points during a week when anti-immigrant rhetoric is high," said Sen. Iris Martinez, a Chicago Democrat who co-sponsored the tenant bill, but also sponsored the professional licenses plan. "It's a shame that he cares more about appealing to certain voters than really reading this legislation and understanding that it is beneficial to the many immigrants living in our state."

Rauner said in veto messages that the proposals would violate federal law prohibting anyone from refusing to disclose to the government information about any person's citizenship or immigration status.

"Illinois continues to be a welcoming state for all and continuously strives to protect the rights of all residents," Rauner said. "However, we must comply (with) federal law."

___

The bills were SB34 , SB35 , SB3103 , SB3109 and SB3488 .

___

Follow Political Writer John O'Connor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor . His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/john%20o'connor

FILE - In this Saturday, July 1, 2017, file photo, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, talks with the media after a leaders' meeting during the overtime session at the Illinois State Capitol, in Springfield, Ill. On Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, Cullerton said that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner delivered "a slap in the face to crime victims who happen to be immigrants" by vetoing legislation to help immigrants get protection from deportation by cooperating with police investigations. (Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP, File)MEXICO CITY (AP) - Seven people were killed in an armed confrontation Friday between gunmen and army troops in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, authorities said.

State security spokesman Roberto Alvarez said in a statement that six civilians and one soldier died in the town of El Naranjo when soldiers came under fire Friday morning.

Guerrero has been a flashpoint for drug cartel violence in Mexico.

Meanwhile, officials said a leader of the Gulf cartel was captured Friday in the northern city of Monterrey.

National Security Commissioner Renato Sales identified the man only by his first names "Hector Adrian." A Nuevo Leon state official, who was not authorized to discuss the details of the case and requested anonymity, said the suspect was Hector Adrian Lucio Benavides, alias "La Yegua."

The Gulf cartel has fractured in recent years and Lucio Benavides allegedly belonged to the Ciclones faction.

Sales said the suspect allegedly coordinated fuel theft, extortion, kidnapping, drug and migrant trafficking in Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz states. A second man was also arrested on a warrant for kidnapping.SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Kim Kyung-jae will probably never be chosen in the government lottery that would allow him to reunite one last time with his relatives in North Korea. But that's no problem, he said this week in an interview, even as a small group of the lucky South Koreans who won the lottery met with their loved ones in North Korea.

The 86-year-old Kim is one of a dwindling number of elderly South Koreans who, frustrated with North Korea's reluctance to allow more frequent reunions and by the small chance that they'll be selected before they die, found unofficial networks to communicate with their North Korean relatives. For three decades Kim has been sending his North Korean sister letters and aid.

"It's absolutely regrettable that other South Koreans don't know about these communication channels," Kim said, showing a bunch of letters with North Korean stamps that his sister has sent to him over the years.

In this Aug. 22, 2018, photo, Kim Kyung-jae, 86, speaks in front of letters sent from his North Korean sister during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Kim is one of a dwindling number of elderly South Koreans who, frustrated with North Korea's reluctance to allow more frequent reunions and by the small chance that they'll be selected before they die, found unofficial networks to communicate with their North Korean relatives. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

During this week's reunions, which end Sunday and are organized by the rival governments, hundreds of Koreans, many in their 70s or older, have been reunited for the first time since the 1950-53 Korean War. But they are just a tiny fraction of the separated families in the Koreas, where millions were split during the turmoil of the war. This is the 21st time the Koreas have had such reunions, but they don't occur regularly because of long periods of bad feelings between the rivals, and Pyongyang's reluctance to expose its people to the outside world.

So Kim and others turn to friends, brokers and others in China, Japan and elsewhere to try to find out whether their relatives in North Korea are still alive and to arrange exchanges of letters, photos, phone calls and sometimes face-to-face meetings with them.

Officially, both Koreas ban their citizens from contacting each other without government approval. But South Korea allows and even quietly helps finance backchannel contacts among separated families on humanitarian grounds. It's likely that Seoul keeps the backchannel programs low-key because of worries about angering North Korea, which refuses South Korea's push to have more frequent official reunions because it uses them as political leverage. South Korean officials have occasionally told separated families of their support for unofficial exchanges, but they've stopped short of major publicity campaigns because of concerns about brokers swindling people.

According to a Seoul government tally on civilian-arranged exchanges between separated families, there have been about 11,610 cases of letter exchanges and 1,755 face-to-face encounters involving 3,416 Koreans since 1990. By comparison, before this week's reunions, government-sponsored programs saw 19,770 people reunited in person since 2000; none was given a second chance to reunite.

The backchannel exchanges flourished during a previous "Sunshine" era of inter-Korean detente, but the number has sharply decreased in recent years as many elderly refugees in South Korea have died and North Korea has tightened control on its once porous border with China.

Because thousands of separated family members die each year in South Korea without getting a chance to attend the on-again off-again government-organized reunions, these informal exchanges are often the only way for some to communicate with their relatives in the North.

Kim, who once ran a fisheries export business in Japan, said he has friends there who print out his emails and mail them to his younger sister and other relatives in North Korea. When they get replies from North Korea, they scan and email them to Kim.

When he wants to give his relatives clothes, shoes and other items, he uses brokers in China to send them by parcel post after paying them 200 yuan ($30) for each 20-kilogram (44 pounds) box.

He said he's helped about 30 other South Koreans correspond with their relatives in North Korea or send them aid parcels. These South Koreans are mostly from where Kim grew up in North Korea, before the war, on the east coast.

Kim said his mail exchanges and aid shipments run smoothly, in part because he has never criticized North Korean leadership in his letters and his sister, now in her mid-70s, used to start her letters by praising North Korea's ruling Kim family.

His letter exchanges began in the early 1990s when he found the address of his sister, who years earlier sent him a photo of his parents and the news of their deaths via a former neighbor who'd acquired a U.S. citizenship and visited the North. "After looking at the photo, I cried a lot, really a lot, because I had thought they were still alive," he said.

In 2002 when Kim lived in Japan, his sister made a collect call to him and they had an hour-long conversation. She repeatedly called him "Oppa," a term women use for their elder brothers. "I told her 'Don't cry; just say something,' but she could only weep and say 'Oppa' again," Kim said.

Kim now runs an organization with a fellow refugee to help others connect with their long-lost kin in North Korea. The organization receives a state subsidy.

His partner, Shim Goo-seob, 83, said he has arranged face-to-face reunions in China among North and South Koreans via his own network of brokers and helpers.

Shim said he was able to meet with his younger brother living in North Korea in the Chinese border town of Yanji in 1994 after a Chinese helper disguised himself as his brother's uncle and invited him to visit. Shim said he spent three days with his brother in Yanji, and they stayed up all night talking about their lives on the first day.

Shim tried to get his younger sister to come to China for another brief family reunion, too, but she couldn't get a Chinese visa so he had her come to a border river and watched her with binoculars in 2003. He said she shuffled from side to side to make herself stand out among the other people on the riverbank.

"My heart ached," Shim said of seeing her.

Some refugees don't know about these unofficial ways to see their relatives in the North, while others are afraid of being swindled by brokers or think they'll be breaking South Korea's anti-Pyongyang security law.

Cho Il Woong, 86, has repeatedly been rejected for government-organized reunions, and while he's desperate to see his siblings in the North before dying, he worries that using a broker would get him in trouble with the South Korean government.

The son of a late South Korean woman who never remarried while waiting for her husband in the North said brokers helped him exchange letters more than 20 years ago with a North Korean man who they said was his father. But the son, Park Yong Ho, said he suspected that the brokers tried to bilk him out of money with a false promise of a face-to-face reunion, which never happened.

Even if separated families are reconnected, their relations don't usually last long, often because South Koreans don't want to continuously financially support their relatives in the North, according to Kim and Shim.

One of Kim's brothers once asked him why he was helping their sister, who was completely alone when their parents died because her other siblings fled to South Korea during the war.

"I wanted to help her because it was heart-breaking to imagine how much she cried when our parents died," Kim said. "I told my brother that I would have done the same thing for him if he'd stayed behind in the North."

___

Follow Hyung-jin Kim at www.twitter.com/@hyungjin1972

In this Aug. 22, 2018, photo, Kim Kyung-jae, 86, points to his hometown on a map of Korean Peninsula during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Kim is one of a dwindling number of elderly South Koreans who, frustrated with North Korea's reluctance to allow more frequent reunions and by the small chance that they'll be selected before they die, found unofficial networks to communicate with their North Korean relatives. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this Aug. 22, 2018, photo, Kim Kyung-jae, 86, works before an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Kim is one of a dwindling number of elderly South Koreans who, frustrated with North Korea's reluctance to allow more frequent reunions and by the small chance that they'll be selected before they die, found unofficial networks to communicate with their North Korean relatives. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this Aug. 22, 2018, photo, Shim Goo-seob, 83, shows a photo of his family member during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Only a fraction of the elderly Koreans separated by the Korean War are able to attend the on-and-off reunions organized by their rival governments. So some South Koreans turn to unofficial networks of brokers, friends and others to correspond with their loved ones in the North. Shim said he has arranged face-to-face reunions in China among North and South Koreans via his own network of brokers and helpers. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this Aug. 22, 2018, photo, Shim Goo-seob, 83, gestures while speaking during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Only a fraction of the elderly Koreans separated by the Korean War are able to attend the on-and-off reunions organized by their rival governments. So some South Koreans turn to unofficial networks of brokers, friends and others to correspond with their loved ones in the North. Shim said he has arranged face-to-face reunions in China among North and South Koreans via his own network of brokers and helpers. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

In this Aug. 22, 2018, photo, Shim Goo-seob, 83, reads a letter sent from his younger brother in North Korea, during an interview at his office in Seoul, South Korea. Only a fraction of the elderly Koreans separated by the Korean War are able to attend the on-and-off reunions organized by their rival governments. So some South Koreans turn to unofficial networks of brokers, friends and others to correspond with their loved ones in the North. Shim said he has arranged face-to-face reunions in China among North and South Koreans via his own network of brokers and helpers. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general says a peacekeeper from Burundi has been killed in an attack in the Central African Republic.

Stephane Dujarric says Thursday's attack apparently was carried out by "anti-Balaka elements" - a reference to a mostly Christian force that has several times attacked U.N. peacekeepers who are trying to quell interreligious and intercommunal fighting in the country.

Dujarric said Friday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres offers his condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper, as well as to Burundi's government.

He also said that intentional attacks on U.N. peacekeepers "may constitute a war crime" and urged Central African Republic authorities to investigate "and swiftly bring those responsible to justice."ATLANTA (AP) - A small, majority-black south Georgia county's proposal to close most of its polling places drew heated national criticism - and saw a quick reversal - during an election year that features the state's first-ever black nominee for governor by a major political party.

Concern about the possibility of closing seven of the nine voting locations in rural Randolph County, population about 7,000, provoked accusations that black voters would be disenfranchised.

The county's election board decided Friday to scrap the plan. But voting rights activists say the controversy highlights a widespread problem and the need for a revitalized federal Voting Rights Act.

File-This combination of May 20, 2018, file photos shows Georgia gubernatorial candidates Stacey Abrams, left, and Brian Kemp in Atlanta. A predominantly black county in rural Georgia is facing a nationwide backlash over plans to close about 75 percent of its voting locations ahead of the November election. Officials have fired a consultant, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, after widespread opposition erupted over a proposal to close most polling places in a predominantly black Georgia county, the county's lawyer said Thursday. Randolph County lawyer Tommy Coleman gave The Associated Press a letter he sent Wednesday to consultant Mike Malone ending the contract. (AP Photos/John Amis, File)

Critics had questioned the timing of the proposed changes in Randolph County during a hotly contested governor's race. Georgia's top elections official, Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp, is running against Democratic lawmaker Stacey Abrams, who is trying to become Georgia's first black governor. In emails to supporters Friday, Kemp and Abrams applauded the board's decision.

Abrams' email urged supporters to challenge any voter suppression attempts.

"Decisions to close polling locations are not a matter of cost, but a question of priorities," the email says. "Your right to vote is priceless, and all of us have to keep fighting to protect it."

"Today, the Board of Elections, who are empowered to make these decisions, finally did the right thing and rejected this ill-advised, poorly timed proposal from an independent consultant who is not backed by the Secretary of State's office," Kemp's email says.

The ACLU of Georgia said in a news release after the vote that the situation "demonstrates clearly the need to reinstate the pre-clearance provision of the Voting Rights Act," which required "historically-discriminatory states such as Georgia to obtain preapproval from a U.S. court or the U.S. Department of Justice before enacting any election changes to ensure that proposed changes would not discriminate against protected minorities."

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia sent a joint letter Wednesday to election officials in all 159 Georgia counties, urging them to avoid polling place changes that could disenfranchise voters.

The conflict arose after Randolph County officials asked Kemp's office for guidance, following the abrupt resignation earlier this year of the former county election supervisor, county attorney Tommy Coleman said. Coleman told The Associated Press repeatedly that Chris Harvey, the elections director for Kemp's office, only recommended Mike Malone. Kemp's office and his campaign maintain that the office's elections director suggested several possible consultants.

Malone said the seven polling places in question don't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and recommended the closures. The seven polling places had all been used for the May primary and the primary runoff in July, and Coleman said officials were aware of ADA compliance issues. The county fired Malone Wednesday.

Randolph County and the Department of Justice had entered a settlement agreement in 2012 promising to fix the ADA violations in three years. The settlement included a section on polling place compliance. A grant was used to fix issues in the courthouse, but the other updates didn't happen, Coleman said.

He said he didn't know what would be done to address the ADA compliance problems, saying the county lacks the money to make the necessary fixes before the November election.

Civil rights groups and black lawmakers said black voters would be disenfranchised if the voting locations were shuttered. Census figures show the county, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Atlanta, is more than 61 percent black, double the statewide percentage.

On Thursday, leaders of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus strongly urged the county to keep them open. In a letter to Randolph County officials, the congressional group called it "a deliberate effort to disenfranchise an emerging and engaged demographic."

ACLU of Georgia director Andrea Young said the organization plans to meet with Randolph County residents on Wednesday and will continue to monitor that and other counties. The county should fix any ADA compliance issues at the polling places, she said.

"There are people in the community who can make these repairs, probably for less than they paid the consultant," she said.DUBLIN (AP) - Pope Francis faced a lukewarm reception and scattered protests Saturday on his trip to Ireland, with even his vow to rid the church of the "scourge" of sexual abuse and his outrage at those "repugnant crimes" dismissed as a disappointment by some of Ireland's wounded victims.

But others who met with him in private left heartened that he would respond to their plight, including two of the thousands of children who were forcibly put up for adoption for the shame of having been born to unwed mothers. They said Francis described the corruption and cover-up in the church as "caca" - translated by the Vatican translator for the English speakers as "filth as one sees in the toilet."

The abuse scandal - which has exploded anew in the U.S. but has convulsed Ireland since the 1990s with revelations of unfathomable violence and humiliation against women and children - took center stage on the first day of Francis' two-day trip. The visit was originally intended to celebrate Catholic families.

Pope Francis passes by a banner of a protester as he leaves after visiting St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Francis responded to the outcry by vowing to end sex abuse and cover-up during a speech to Irish government authorities at Dublin Castle.

"The failure of ecclesiastical authorities - bishops, religious superiors, priests and others - to adequately address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage, and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community," he told them. "I myself share these sentiments."

He cited measures taken by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to respond to the crisis. But while Benedict is credited with cracking down on abusers, he never acknowledged the Vatican's role in fueling a culture of cover-up or sanctioned bishops for failing to protect their flocks from predator priests.

Francis followed his promise with a 90-minute meeting with eight survivors of both clerical and institutional abuse and prayed quietly before a candle lit for victims in Dublin's cathedral. But neither his words nor the meeting with victims is likely to assuage demands for heads to roll.

"Disappointing, nothing new," was the reaction from Irish abuse survivor Marie Collins, a former member of Francis' sex abuse advisory panel who quit last year in frustration. She later took part in Francis' meeting with seven other abuse survivors, including two priests and a public official.

Colm O'Gorman, who is leading a solidarity rally on Sunday in Dublin for abuse victims, said Francis' remarks about sharing the shame felt by Catholics were an "insult to faithful Catholics, who have no reason to feel shame because of the crimes of the Vatican and the institutional church."

The reception that Francis received in Dublin contrasted sharply with the raucous, rock star welcome that greeted St. John Paul II in 1979 in the first-ever papal visit here. No one from the public was at the airport or the roads nearby when Francis arrived Saturday and the streets near a church-run homeless shelter that Francis visited were practically empty despite barricades designed to hold back crowds.

At one protest, people tossed baby shoes to remind the pope of the poor treatment the Catholic Church doled out to the children of unwed mothers.

Crowds did throng Francis' popemobile route and gathered outside Dublin's cathedral, basking in the sunny weather, and a stadium was nearly full for his evening vigil to close out the church's family rally.

And two of the Irish adoptees said they were heartened Francis said he would address their concerns at Mass on Sunday. They are asking him to publicly state that their mothers had done nothing wrong and to encourage reconciliation between all unwed mothers, many of them now aged, who were forced by society and the church to give up their children.

Paul Redmond, who was born in a home and given up for adoption at 17 days, urged the pope to publicly call on the six orders of Catholic nuns who ran the homes to accept responsibility for the traumas they caused, issue an apology, and pay for the costs of inquiries.

"The pope did apologize to all of us for what happened in the homes," he said.

The coalition of survivors of mother and baby homes estimates 100,000 single mothers were forcibly separated from their babies and that 6,000 babies died at the homes.

Deeply Catholic Ireland has had one of the world's worst records of clergy sex abuse, crimes that were revealed to its 4.8 million people over the past decade by government-mandated inquiries. The reviews concluded that thousands of children were raped or molested by priests or physically abused in church-run schools - and Irish bishops worked for years to hide those crimes.

After the Irish church enacted tough new norms to fight abuse, it had been looking to the first visit by a pope in 39 years to show a different, more caring church.

More than 37,000 people, most of them young Catholics, signed up to attend a Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families that ends Sunday in Dublin, more than twice the number of a rally in Philadelphia three years ago.

Francis urged the Irish to recognize that for all its failings, the Catholic Church educated and cared for generations of Irish children in times of famine and great poverty.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar concurred, saying the church stepped in to care for Irish children when the state did not. But in his speech at Dublin Castle, he said both church and state had a history of "sorrow and shame," and he urged the pope to ensure that victims of sex abuse find "justice and truth and healing."

Varadkar cited the recent Pennsylvania grand jury report, which found 300 priests had abused more than 1,000 children over 70 years in six dioceses, in urging Francis to "ensure that from words flow actions."

"In recent weeks, we have all listened to heart-breaking stories from Pennsylvania of brutal crimes perpetrated by people within the Catholic Church, and then obscured to protect the institution at the expense of innocent victims," Varadkar said. "It's a story all too tragically familiar here in Ireland."

That history of abuse has left its mark. Irish voters in recent years have turned their backs on core Catholic teachings. They have overturned a constitutional ban on abortion and legalized divorce, contraception, previously banned homosexual acts and same-sex marriage.

Survivors of one of Ireland's wretched mother and baby homes were to hold a demonstration Sunday at Tuam, site of a mass grave of hundreds of babies who died at a church-run home.

Francis will be nearby, visiting the Marian shrine at Knock, but has no plans to visit the grave site.

He did, however, hear about Tuam on Saturday from Ireland's minister for children, Katherine Zappone. Their conversation wasn't released but Francis said her words "still echo in my ears."

An amateur Irish historian, Catherine Corless, traced the deaths of 796 children at the Tuam home to a grave in the orphanage's sewage area. Corless and survivors of the home and their families want to unearth the site and give the children - all of whom were baptized - proper Christian burials.

Zappone's ministry is to recommend this fall whether to accept that proposal or build a memorial at the site.

___

AP video journalist Luigi Navarra contributed.

Pope Francis meets with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, right, as he arrives at Dublin Castle, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Pope Francis, center, is flanked by Irish President Michael D. Higgins, left, and President's wife Sabina, upon his arrival at the Presidential residence in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Pope Francis, right, is flanked by Irish President Michael D. Higgins, upon his arrival at the Presidential residence in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Pope Francis waves as he boards an airplane at Rome's Fiumicino international airport, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. The pontiff is traveling to Ireland for a two-day visit on the occasion of the 2018 World Meeting of Families. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' cape as he boards an airplane at Rome's Fiumicino international airport, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. The pontiff is traveling to Ireland for a two-day visit on the occasion of the 2018 World Meeting of Families. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' cape as he boards an airplane at Rome's Fiumicino international airport, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. The pontiff is traveling to Ireland for a two-day visit on the occasion of the 2018 World Meeting of Families. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

People with baby shoes tied with black ribbons hanging from their neck, symbolizing the children who died in "mother and baby homes", the homes where children were exiled for the shame of having been born to unwed mothers, protest in Dublin ahead of the visit of Pope Francis, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018 . The pontiff is traveling to Ireland for a two-day visit. (Aaron Chown/PA via AP)

Protesters call for redress for victims of Catholic Church clerical sex abuses, during a protest they held during Pope Francis' visit to Ireland, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. The pontiff is traveling to Ireland for a two-day visit on the occasion of the 2018 World Meeting of Families. (Aaron Chown//PA via AP)

Rainbow flags and blue ribbons are tied to Ha'Penny Bridge, Dublin to remember the victims of Catholic Church clerical sex abuse, ahead of the arrival of Pope Francis, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. The pontiff is traveling to Ireland for a two-day visit on the occasion of the 2018 World Meeting of Families. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)

Blue ribbons are tied to Ha'Penny Bridge, Dublin to remember the victims of Catholic Church clerical sex abuse, ahead of the arrival of Pope Francis, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. The pontiff is traveling to Ireland for a two-day visit on the occasion of the 2018 World Meeting of Families. (Aaron Chown//PA via AP)

Pope Francis walks upon his arrival at the Presidential residence in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Pope Francis, center, is flanked by Irish President Michael D. Higgins, left, and President's wife Sabina at the Presidential residence in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Pope Francis, right, is flanked by Irish President Michael D. Higgins, upon his arrival at the Presidential residence in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Pope Francis sits in a car as he arrived at Dublin international airport, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A gust of win blows Pope Francis' cape as he arrives at Dublin international airport , Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Greorio Borgia)

Navy band march prior to the arrival of Pope Francis at the Presidential residence in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Navy band march prior to the arrival of Pope Francis at the Presidential residence in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)

Pope Francis holds his cap as he disembarks off a plane upon his arrival at Dublin international airport, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Greorio Borgia)

Pope Francis greets journalist on board of a plane on his way to Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)

Pope Francis talks to journalist on board of a plane on his way to Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, Pool)

A gust of win blows Pope Francis' cape as he arrives at Dublin international airport , Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Greorio Borgia)

Pope Francis waves from a car as he leaves Dublin Castle at the end of his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Pope Francis kisses a young girl at the end of his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar during their meeting, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar during their meeting, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis and Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, right, leave at the end of their meeting, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

Pope Francis meets with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, right, as he arrives at Dublin Castle, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Pope Francis waves from a car as he leaves Dublin Castle at the end of his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, in Dublin, Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. Pope Francis is on a two-day visit to Ireland. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Pope Francis waves to the waiting crowds on College Green, Dublin, as he travels in the Popemobile during his visit to Ireland, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP)WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump said Friday he has directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a planned trip to North Korea, citing insufficient progress on denuclearization.

Trump put some blame on Beijing, saying he does not believe China is helping "because of our much tougher Trading stance."

The surprise announcement appeared to mark a concession by the president to domestic and international concerns that his prior claims of world-altering progress on the peninsula had been strikingly premature.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Air Force One for a trip to Columbus, Ohio to visit the National Children's Hospital, and to speak at the Ohio Republican State Party dinner, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Trump tweeted Friday, barely two months after his June meeting with the North's Kim Jong Un in Singapore.

Trump's comment followed a report issued Monday by the International Atomic Energy Agency outlining "grave concern" about the North's nuclear program. It came a day after Pompeo appointed Stephen Biegun, a senior executive with the Ford Motor Co., to be his special envoy for North Korea and said he and Biegun would visit next week.

The State Department never confirmed details of the trip, but it had been expected that Pompeo would be in Pyongyang for at least several hours Monday, according to several diplomatic sources familiar with the plan.

White House officials declined to specify what prompted Trump to call off Pompeo's trip or what had changed since the president's rose-colored-glasses assessments of the nuclear situation just days ago.

A senior White House official said Trump made the decision to cancel the visit Friday morning during a meeting with Pompeo, Biegun, chief of staff John Kelly and National Security Adviser John Bolton, who joined by phone. Intelligence and defense officials were not in the meeting, the official said, seeming to indicate that the breakdown was diplomatic in nature. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa has talked with Pompeo over Trump's decision to delay Pompeo's planned visit to North Korea because of what he saw as insufficient progress on denuclearization.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry said late Friday that Pompeo during the telephone conversation explained the background of the decision to Kang. The ministry says Kang and Pompeo agreed that Washington and Seoul will work to keep the momentum of dialogue alive while pursuing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and stabilizing peace.

The State Department had no immediate comment on the administration decision and referred questions to the White House.

Trump laid unspecified blame on China, North Korea's leading trade partner, which is widely believed to hold the greatest sway over Kim's government.

The U.S. and China have been locked in a trade dispute for months, with each side ratcheting up tariffs on imports from the other country in what may be the opening salvos of a trade war.

Trump tweeted that "Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved." He added: "In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!"

After more a year of escalating tensions defined by nuclear and missile tests, new sanctions and "fire and fury" rhetoric, Trump made history meeting Kim earlier this year. In the run-up to the summit both nations engaged in hard-nosed negotiation, with Trump publically calling off the meeting in an effort to push Kim to agree to nuclear concessions. During the summit, the pair signed a vague joint statement in which the North agreed to denuclearize, but which left nearly all details undefined.

"There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea," Trump declared on Twitter after the meeting.

"Before taking office people were assuming that we were going to War with North Korea. President Obama said that North Korea was our biggest and most dangerous problem," he added. "No longer - sleep well tonight!"

Pompeo would have been hard pressed to return from Pyongyang with anything resembling progress on the denuclearization front.

Although it has halted nuclear and missile testing and taken some unrelated steps - dismantling portions of a missile engine facility and returning the suspected remains of American servicemen killed during the Korean War - its nuclear weapons program and ballistic missile development remain intact, according the U.N.'s atomic watchdog and intelligence agencies.

In addition, recent statements from North Korean officials have ruled out any new concessions until it sees a reciprocal gesture from the U.S. beyond suspending military exercises with South Korea. North Korea has been demanding that the U.S. ease or lift crippling sanctions - something Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have flatly ruled out until the its nuclear program is fully and verifiably dismantled.

Other than sanctions relief, the North, backed by South Korea, has been seeking a declaration of the end of the Korean War. The conflict stopped with the signing of an armistice rather than a peace treaty, meaning the war is not technically over. Both the North and South have vowed to end the open state of hostilities, and Seoul had been hoping to persuade the Trump administration to sign off on a non-binding end-of-war declaration as a goodwill gesture that would give Kim Jong Un domestic cover to proceed with denuclearization moves.

Pompeo and other administration officials have suggested some concessions short of easing or lifting sanctions are possible before verified denuclearization, but have refused to be specific about what they could be. And they have been skeptical about an end-of-war declaration in the absence of any progress on the nuclear matter.

At the same time, lawmakers from both parties, including GOP hawks who generally support Trump, have expressed concerns about such a move, as it could be used by the North to demand the removal of U.S. troops from South Korea and potentially Japan without anything in return.

Trump had kept up the positive tone as recently as Tuesday at a campaign rally in West Virginia. There Trump maintained "we're doing well with North Korea."

"There's been no missile launches. There's been no rocket launches," he added.

At the same rally, Trump seemed to take a different tone too on China, saying he had withheld some criticism of China because "I wanted them to help us with North Korea and they have."

__

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.ISLAMABAD (AP) - Vladimir Putin's Russia appears to have emerged as a player in Afghanistan after 17 years of Western involvement that has left the country no closer to peace than before.

To some, Russia's offer to host talks next month might contain at least the seeds of a positive pivot if the Taliban are coaxed to the table at a time when they have been more aggressive on the battlefield than in recent years, causing much mayhem in Kabul and other cities.

But the move may be stuck before it even begins. The Afghan government has said it will not attend, unable to agree on a coherent strategy because of divisions within the government that many see as a function of personal and ethnic rivalries, and calling for the Taliban to first agree to direct talks with Kabul. The insurgents have consistently refused, instead demanding direct talks with the United States.

FILE - In this Sunday, July 15, 2018 file photo, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Talks next month in Moscow to discuss a peaceful end to 17-years of war in Afghanistan that includes a place at the table for the Taliban has ruffled feathers in Washington and Kabul, who are refusing to attend, and resurrected Cold War memories. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

The U.S., for its part, seems displeased by the maneuver, even though Washington has been trying to find a reasonable exit strategy for years in vain.

On the ground in Afghanistan, the situation has given rise to boundless cynicism about the various players and almost no hope for a quick improvement in the violent, corruption-plagued nature of daily life.

Analysts say the wrangling over a meeting to talk peace offers a window into the enormity of the task of actually reaching a peace pact in a region of competing influences. Pakistan, Iran, Russia and China have a growing influence even as the United States spends billions of dollars covering much of the $6.5 billion spent annually to support the Afghan National Security Forces who are struggling to contain an energized Taliban.

Specialists who have tracked Afghanistan's four decades of war say navigating the road to peace in this poor nation of 32 million people is like walking through a minefield.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the U.S.-based Wilson Center, said the situation is explosive.

"In Afghanistan you have not just the U.S. and Russia in competition, but also China, Iran, and Pakistan," said Kugelman. "And none of these countries have warm relations with the U.S. It's a real powder keg, to say the least."

Pakistan, considered key to a lasting peace in Afghanistan, has a new prime minister who says he is ready to be a partner in peace with Washington, but will no longer partner in war. There has been no indication that the Afghan Taliban, who are known to move between Pakistan and Afghanistan with an ease that varies often depending on Islamabad's relationship with Washington, will be asked to leave. Yet Prime Minister Imran Khan was quick to condemn last Tuesday's rocket attack in Kabul, accusing the perpetrators of "cowardly thinking."

Still, relations between Pakistan and the United States are prickly and even a simple phone call from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Khan on Thursday turned into a confrontation as the two countries disagreed over its content. Pakistan is now demanding an apology, saying Pompeo said nothing of terrorists in Pakistan, contrary to the State Department's reading of the call, which said: "Pompeo raised the importance of Pakistan taking decisive action against all terrorists operating in Pakistan and its vital role in promoting the Afghan peace process."

But Afghanistan's neighbors and competing world powers are only part of the problem of bringing peace to Afghanistan, say analysts, who point to a deeply corrupt and fractious Afghan government and deepening ethnic divisions within the U.S.-crafted Unity government.

Last year, Transparency International ranked Afghanistan 177 out of 180 countries, only slightly better than the world's worst __ Syria, South Sudan and Somalia. Since the U.S.-crafted Unity Government took power four years ago, ethnic divisions that have always troubled Afghanistan have deepened.

During a recent interview in the Afghan capital Kabul, political analyst Haroon Mir said international pressure is all that holds Afghanistan's squabbling politicians together. He said the government is deeply divided along ethnic lines and warned that a withdrawal of international forces would set one ethnic group against another, led by the warlords-cum-politicians, who dominate Afghanistan's government and whose militias are heavily armed.

"Kabul will be destroyed because every different faction in the government wants to get control," he said. "This time it would be ethnic fighting that destroys Kabul."

Internal rivalries within the Afghan government have made it impossible to develop a counterinsurgency strategy, said Kugelman.

"So long as the Afghan government remains consumed by personality, disputes and other internal dysfunction, Kabul won't be in any shape to craft an effective counterinsurgency strategy, no matter how much help it may get from the U.S. and other key partners," he said.

But perhaps even worse for the U.S., which has lost hundreds of lives in Afghanistan and spent billions of dollars on the conflict, Western countries have come to be seen in very jaded ways, with a variety of outlandish theories enjoying surprising currency. One widely spread theory is that Washington is secretly aiding the Taliban to foment violence as an excuse to keep its troops in Afghanistan to counter Iran, Russia and China.

The Taliban, meanwhile, have ramped up their diplomatic forays, having traveled to Uzbekistan and Indonesia to meet the foreign ministers there. They also said they would travel to China and Pakistan before next month's Moscow meeting.

On the battlefield this month they have carried out spectacular attacks in central Ghazni, where they resisted Afghan security forces backed by U.S. military advisers and aerial support for nearly five days, and in northern Faryab province, where more than 100 Afghan soldiers who ran out of ammunition and food eventually surrendered to the insurgents.

But analysts say the Taliban's control and influence - while far-reaching - is limited to rural areas and they do not have the capacity to take control and keep a city in Afghanistan. They also face divisions within their ranks and need to show their foot soldiers they are strong militarily before they enter peace talks.

Still, Brian Glyn Williams, professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, called the September meeting in Moscow a "fascinating and potentially important/historic development."

_____

Associated Press writers Amir Shah in Kabul, Afghanistan and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018 file photo, a wounded woman is brought into a hospital in Ghazni province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Talks next month in Moscow to discuss a peaceful end to 17-years of war in Afghanistan that includes a place at the table for the Taliban has ruffled feathers in Washington and Kabul, who are refusing to attend, and resurrected Cold War memories. (AP Photo/Mohammad Anwar Danishyar)

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018 file photo, Afghan Security personnel petrol in the city of Ghazni province west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Talks next month in Moscow to discuss a peaceful end to 17-years of war in Afghanistan that includes a place at the table for the Taliban has ruffled feathers in Washington and Kabul, who are refusing to attend, and resurrected Cold War memories. (AP Photo/Mohammad Anwar Danishyar)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018 file photo, nn MD 530F military helicopter targets a house where attackers are hiding in Kabul, Afghanistan. Talks next month in Moscow to discuss a peaceful end to 17-years of war in Afghanistan that includes a place at the table for the Taliban has ruffled feathers in Washington and Kabul, who are refusing to attend, and resurrected Cold War memories. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 13, 2018 file photo, An injured man is transported on the Ghazni highway, in Maidan Shar, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. Talks next month in Moscow to discuss a peaceful end to 17-years of war in Afghanistan that includes a place at the table for the Taliban has ruffled feathers in Washington and Kabul, who are refusing to attend, and resurrected Cold War memories. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - China on Saturday lashed out at President Donald Trump for accusing Beijing of not being supportive in efforts to denuclearize North Korea, while South Korea called the U.S. decision to call off a trip to the North by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "unfortunate."

The reaction in Seoul and Beijing came hours after President Donald Trump directed Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North. Trump also said the nuclear negotiations with North Korea have been hampered by a lack of support from China, which is the North's only major ally and is engaged in an intensifying trade dispute with the United States.

The Chinese foreign ministry blasted Trump's comments.

FILE - In this July 6, 2018, file photo, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, second from left, is greeted by North Korean Director of the United Front Department Kim Yong Chol, center, and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, second from right, as he arrives at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea. South Korea on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, called the U.S. decision to call off a trip to North Korea by Pompeo "unfortunate" and said continued diplomacy would be most crucial in resolving the nuclear standoff with the North. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File)

"The U.S. statement violates basic facts and is irresponsible," the ministry said on its website. "We are seriously concerned about it and have made solemn representations to the U.S. side."

Beijing supports "advancing the process of a political settlement" following the Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, the statement said.

It appealed to both sides to "show more sincerity and flexibility" instead of "being capricious and overly prejudiced."

Meanwhile, while describing the postponement of Pompeo's trip as a setback, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it expects China to continue serving a "constructive role" in international efforts to solve the nuclear crisis and noted that Beijing continues to express commitment to fully implement sanctions against the North.

"It's most important to maintain a long-term view while maintaining a momentum for dialogue and concentrate diplomatic efforts to faithfully implement the agreements from the summits between South Korea and North Korea and between North Korea and the United States, instead of attaching meaning to each change in the situation," the ministry said in a statement.

"While we consider the delay of the visit to North Korea as unfortunate, we believe it's most important for the North Korea-U.S. dialogue including Secretary Pompeo's visits to North Korea to contribute to substantial progress in complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace regime in the Korean Peninsula," the statement said.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa spoke with Pompeo over the phone and agreed that the allies should work to keep the atmosphere of dialogue alive, it said.

Trump's surprise announcement appeared to mark a concession by the president to widespread concerns that his prior claims of world-altering progress on the Korean Peninsula had been strikingly premature. Ending a period of animosity over North Korea's nuclear and missile development, Trump made history by meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June. But the meeting only produced a vague statement on a nuclear-free peninsula without describing how and when it would occur.

Post-summit nuclear talks got off to a rocky start, with North Korea accusing the United States of making unilateral demands on denuclearization. The North has been demanding that the United States ease or lift the sanctions that are crippling its economy. It also wants the United States to fast-track discussions to formally declare an end the 1950-53 Korean War, which stopped on an armistice and not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula technically at war.

Pompeo and other administration officials have suggested some concessions short of easing or lifting sanctions are possible before verified denuclearization, but have refused to be specific about what they could be. And they have been skeptical about an end-of-war declaration in the absence of any progress on the nuclear matter.

Trump's decision to call off Pompeo's trip is clearly a frustrating development for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who continues to push for inter-Korean engagement. Moon, who lobbied hard for the meeting between Trump and Kim, plans to visit Pyongyang in September for his third summit with Kim this year. Moon says improving relations between the rivals would be an important part of the global diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff because Kim wouldn't give up his arsenal unless he feels safe.

The summitry has led to a variety of conciliatory steps between the Koreas, which have held military talks to reduce tensions across the border, agreed to open a South Korean liaison office in the North, and are currently holding highly emotional reunions between elderly war-separated relatives in North Korea's Diamond Mountain resort.

Moon has also proposed more ambitious ideas, such as reconnecting railways and highways between the Koreas, but the fate of such projects hinges on progress in negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang to denuclearize the North.

___

Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed to this report.SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Prosecutors on Friday charged the father and stepmother of a 3-year-old boy whose body was found at a ramshackle compound in northern New Mexico with child abuse charges that can carry a penalty of life in prison.

Siraj Ibn Wahhaj and his partner Jany Leveille are accused of failing to provide medication to a son of Wahhaj's who had a severe medical condition that was well known to the family, according to charges of child abuse resulting in death and conspiracy to commit child abuse filed by the district attorney's office in Taos.

Wahhaj is the father of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, whose remains were discovered inside an underground tunnel at a compound near the Colorado state line.

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2018, file photo defendant Siraj Ibn Wahhaj sits in court in Taos, N.M., during a detention hearing. Prosecutors on Friday, Aug. 24 charged Wahhaj, the father of a 3-year-old boy whose body was found at a ramshackle compound in northern New Mexico, and his partner Jany Leveille, the boy's stepmother, with child abuse charges that can carry a penalty of life in prison. Wahhaj and Leveille are accused of failing to provide medication to Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, who had a severe medical condition that was well known to the family, according to charges of child abuse resulting in death and conspiracy to commit child abuse filed by the district attorney's office in Taos.(Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, Pool, File)

The defendants were among five adults and 11 children found living in squalor during an Aug. 3 raid on the compound. The boy's remains were found three days later.

A lawyer for Siraj Ibn Wahhaj did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kelly Golightley, an attorney for Leveille, said she had not seen the charges or accompanying warrant and that her client maintains her innocence.

Leveille also is being held on accusations by federal immigration authorities that she overstayed her non-immigrant visitor visa after arriving 20 years ago in the United States from her native Haiti. She was returned Thursday to Taos from a federal holding facility in Texas.

The boy initially was reported missing last year from Jonesboro, Georgia, by his mother, Hakima Ramzi, after Wahhaj said he was taking the child to a park and didn't return.

In an affidavit accompanying the new charges, prosecutors outlined allegations that Wahhaj and his son left Georgia without taking medications the boy needed to treat severe health problems, including seizures that stemmed from a lack of oxygen and blood flow at birth.

The affidavit alleges that Leveille and Wahhaj witnessed the boy's seizures and knew he had a diagnosed seizure disorder but apparently provided no medication and took no action to seek proper medical care.

Prosecutors quote an extensive account of the child's death as written in a journal entry that they attribute to Leveille, indicating that Abdul-ghani died in late December 2017 as the exhausted boy's heartbeat faded in and out during a religious ritual accompanied by a reading of the Quran and aimed at casting out demonic spirits.

The ritual and the boy's death were described at earlier court hearings by an FBI agent who drew on information from interviews with teenagers who lived at the compound. The descriptions conform with aspects of an alternative, meditative Islamic healing ritual called ruqya.

The New Mexico Office of Medical Inspector has not yet determined how Abdul-ghani died. Spokeswoman Alex Sanchez said Friday that the agency is performing analyses.

All five defendants arrested at the compound have been charged with child neglect and are being held in jail.

Also Friday, prosecutors filed a lengthy appeal of a district judge's order that could allow at least three of the defendants to be released on house arrest with ankle monitors.

Prosecutors have alleged that older children were trained to handle firearms to possibly order attacks on government institutions.

Judge Sarah Backus said the previous evidence provided by prosecutors was troubling but did not indicate any clear threat to public safety from the defendants, who have no criminal records.

That decision led to death threats against the judge and outraged calls from politicians - including New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and candidates vying to succeed her - to reconsider recent reforms to the state's bail procedures.Concerns mounted Saturday about the medical and psychological health of 150 migrants who were spending their 10th day stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship while the government insists that other European Union nations must take them.

The health minister requested an onboard visit by doctors to the Diciotti coast guard ship, which is docked in Catania, Sicily.

After it was done, authorities decided that 16 migrants should be taken off the ship for medical reasons, two of them for suspected cases of tuberculosis and three for pneumonia, Red Cross officials said.

Pro-migrant demonstrators try to reach the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti in the port of Catania

Migrants waiting to be disembarked from the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti in the port of Catania, Sicily, on Saturday night

The migrants huddle together on the ship. Sicily-based prosecutors took their investigation of the migrant standoff to Rome

At least three ambulances were parked up on dry land as the migrants waited together on board the ship

The standoff prompted an impassioned appeal by the U.N. refugee agency's chief, asking Italy to let them disembark and urging EU countries to take responsibility for the asylum-seekers, most of them young men fleeing harsh conditions in Eritrea.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, speaking in Geneva, said it's time to end a 'race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea.'

He urged European countries 'to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need.'

But Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been adamant that the migrants be kept on the ship until fellow EU nations pledge to take them.

Meanwhile, Sicily-based prosecutors took their investigation of the migrant standoff to Rome.

Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio on Saturday left without speaking to reporters after questioning two Interior Ministry officials at the Italian capital's prosecutors' office, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

Prosecutors could decide to investigate suspected kidnapping, after the government's rights office for detained persons concluded this week that the migrants were being unjustly held by the government

Migrants disembark the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti in the port of Catania, Sicily

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has been adamant that the migrants be kept on the ship until fellow EU nations pledge to take them

The migrants held protective masks on their mouths as they left the ship in Italy today

Paramedics were on hand to look after the migrants who disembarked the ship

Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, has said he's ready to defend his reasons for ordering the migrants kept aboard.

'If someone wants to investigate me, investigate me,' Salvini tweeted.

Prosecutors would have to seek the government's permission to question a minister.

Local Italian Red Cross official Stefano Principato told reporters that Italy's health minister ordered an inspection of sanitary conditions for the migrants, who have been sleeping on the ship's deck and coping since Aug. 16 with a baking sun and limited toilet facilities.

After the medical exams, Catania's maritime health office ordered all 11 women aboard and five of the men to disembark, Principato said, and authorities awaited completion of paperwork so that could happen.

Migrants aboard the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti gather on the deck as they await decisions in the port of Catania, Italy, on Friday

On Friday, many of them refused their meals in a sign of frustration for not being allowed off the ship.

But on Saturday, migrants could be seen taking their lunch given to them by some of the Diciotti's 40 crew members.

Doctors have said many of the migrants on the ship have scabies but 'more than a health emergency, it would be better to speak of a psychological emergency,' Principato said.

Many of the migrants, including 27 unaccompanied minors who were allowed to disembark earlier in the week, have told Italian authorities they endured beatings and other cruelties while in Libyan detention facilities for months or even years, waiting to leave in human traffickers' unseaworthy boats toward Europe.

At least they have reached a European port. The International Organization for Migration says over 1,520 people have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe.ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkish authorities have banned a protest vigil marking the forced disappearances of hundreds of people in the country's southeast decades ago.

The Saturday Mothers, an activist group, was set to hold its 700th meeting in Istanbul on Saturday. The group has gathered since 1995 to demand justice for those who disappeared during the ongoing conflict between Turkish security forces and Kurdish insurgents.

The district governor said the sit-in was prohibited because the event was publicized on social media with alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, which Turkey considers to be a terrorist organization.

The Demiroren news agency said police used tear gas to disperse protesters who tried to gather on Saturday. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said there were "many detentions."RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman said Saturday that the U.S. decision to cut more than $200 million in aid is meant to force the Palestinians to abandon their claim to Jerusalem.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh told The Associated Press the move is part of continuing political and financial pressure on the Palestinian leadership. He said the Americans must be fully aware that there will be no peace without east Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians were outraged by President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and his moving of the U.S embassy there in May.

President Donald Trump speaks during the 2018 Ohio Republican Party State Dinner, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The Trump administration says it's cutting bilateral aid to the Palestinians after a review of funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza and will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere."

The State Department notified Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to lawmakers and then to reporters on Friday. The move comes as Trump and his Middle East pointmen, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, staff up their office to prepare for the rollout of a much-vaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.

One main issue the U.S. has had with support for the Palestinian Authority had been the stipends paid to the families of Palestinians killed, injured or jailed for attacks on Israel. Israel and the Trump administration, have repeatedly demanded that those payments from a so-called "martyrs' fund" be halted because they encourage terrorism. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to do so.

However, several former U.S. officials said that cutting back aid money to the Palestinians would only strengthen Abbas' more radical rivals in the militant Hamas movement that rules Gaza.

"The U.S. is ceding space to Hamas in Gaza," tweeted Dave Harden, until recently the USAID director in the Palestinian territories. "No security professional recommends an aid cut off in Gaza. None."CHICAGO (AP) - The Democratic Party has begun conversations with television networks about a series of presidential primary debates in 2019, a top party official has told The Associated Press.

The talks are "in the very early stages," according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The early start, well before the 2020 field is known, signals the importance that the Democratic National Committee chairman, Tom Perez, is placing on decisions that will be scrutinized for any signs of favoritism among potentially two dozen or more candidates.

"The DNC's goal is to have a debate process that is transparent, fair, impartial and inclusive," senior party adviser Mary Beth Cahill said in a statement to the AP that didn't get into the details of the discussions with networks. Perez has tapped Cahill, who ran the 2004 campaign of Democratic nominee John Kerry, to lead debate discussions.

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2016, file photo, a model of the White House is displayed on a giant planning map during a media tour highlighting inaugural preparations being made by the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region for military and civilian planners at the DC Armory in Washington. The Democratic Party is talking to television networks about a series of presidential primary debates in 2019. It's an early start to the process but party officials say it is part of their emphasis on making sure that the 2020 presidential nominating process is accepted as a fair process. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The party and the networks together will decide the debate schedule, locations and formats. A crucial issue is how many people will be allowed on debate stages and who will be chosen.

Party officials say they're acutely aware that the answers could amount to the first winnowing of a large field months before the early voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada lead off the nominating calendar in 2020.

The Democratic official who confirmed the early network discussions said the party is not yet talking to any potential candidates, taking pains not to be seen as manipulating the process. During the 2016 contest, supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders accused the then-DNC leader, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, of conspiring with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign to limit debates and schedule them for unfavorable time slots.

Conversely, the GOP chairman at that time, Reince Priebus, was blasted within his party for allowing a dozen debates for a field that began with 17 major candidates. Priebus' critics said the debates were damaging spectacles, though ratings suggested they ultimately helped Donald Trump solidify his bond with core Republican voters.

The DNC's vice chairman, Michael Blake, said those dynamics are not forgotten.

"It's hard with that many," Blake said. "Are we starting to talk about it and think about it? Yes. Are we anywhere close to resolved? No."

Blake said "you almost have to establish a polling threshold." But he said the party wants to avoid publicly labeling "lesser candidates" before votes are cast.

Among the potential Democratic candidates, some already have a national profile and almost certainly would qualify for early debate stages regardless of rules. Those include Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York have been networking around the country and are also widely considered top-tier candidates.

Other possible candidates would come to the race with lower national profiles - governors and former governors such as Jay Inslee of Washington, Steve Bullock of Montana and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts; mayors and former mayors such as Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles and Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans; and even former Attorney General Eric Holder. For those politicians, the debate stage could become an important opportunity to break out.

The first to announce for the 2020 nomination is John Delaney, a three-term House member from Maryland who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress.

Several state party leaders who attended the national party's summer meeting in Chicago this past week said Perez has committed to involve them, particularly those in the early voting states, and DNC members in the discussion.

Perez pledged previously that he would have the debate process in place before all the candidates entered the race. Cahill said the DNC intends "to keep that promise" and that the party "will ramp up these efforts after the midterm elections" this November.

Candidates themselves could thwart Perez's preferred timeline if, as is expected, some begin launching their campaigns soon after that election.

In the last election cycle, Wasserman Schultz did not commit to the initial six debates until May 2015; the first debate wasn't held until that October.

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Follow Barrow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP .THE Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) yesterday signed a contract with M/s Peja East Africa of Netherlands for the supply and installation of Instrumental Landing System (ILS) for Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA).

Speaking during the contract signing ceremony, the Director General of TCAA, Mr Hamza Johari, said the 4.6bn/- project will be completed in 12 months, adding that the ISL lifespan was estimated to be 10 years.

The project is 100 per cent financed by the government through the TCAA which is also a Union institution for civil aviation oversight, he said.

He further noted that the ISL project will increase efficiency in provision of Air Navigation services as well as enhance safety by enabling precise landing at AAKIA, which is the second busiest Airport in the country.

ISL is a precision runway approach aid based on two radio beams which together provide pilots with both vertical and horizontal guidance during an approach to land. Once completed, the system will enable pilots land at AAKIA in conditions of limited or reduced visibility, he said.

He added that the installation and expansion of the Isles major airport was necessitated by increased traffic and the dire need to improve service provisions at AAKIA.

According to the TCAA boss, air navigation services are currently provided at 14 stations, including Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Tanga, Arusha, Mwanza, Tabora, Kigoma, Dodoma, Iringa, Songwe, Songea, Mtwara, Zanzibar and Pemba.

The Principal Secretary in the Zanzibar Ministry of Infrastructure, Communication and Transport, Mr Mustafa Jumbe thanked the Union government for approving the project which is part of the government initiatives aimed at improving the Isles air transport infrastructures.

Upon completion of this project, the Abeid Amani Karume Airport will be truly international, he said, naming other projects as improving and extension of AAKIA runaway, ongoing construction of terminal three and impending construction of another apron.

On her side, the Zanzibar Minister for Infrastructure, Communication and Transport, Dr Sira Ubwa Mamboya implored the constructor and supervisors of the project to ensure it is implemented according to terms of the contract.

It is a very crucial project, which we believe once completed, will attract more passengers and investors coming to our country, said Ms Mamboya.

Speaking during the occasion, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication (Union), Dr Leonard Chamuriho said the Union government was keen on improving the Zanzibar aviation sector given its importance on the countrys economy.

On his part, Mr Rinze Leeverink, Peja Executive Director, said his firm was committed to executing the project to the satisfaction of the client.PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A former Cambodian opposition lawmaker who has been a strong critic of the government's handling of demarcating the border with neighboring Vietnam has been pardoned by the country's king.

Um Sam An, a member of the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, was sentenced in October 2016 to 2 1/2 years in prison for making comments on the politically sensitive topic and implying that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government failed to counter land encroachment by Vietnam, Cambodia's traditional enemy.

In a letter on Saturday, King Norodom Sihamoni said Um Sam An had been granted amnesty from his jail term. The amnesty was granted at the request of Hun Sen.

FILE - In this Sept. 21, 2016, file photo, Cambodia's opposition lawmaker Um Sam An is escorted by prison security guards upon his arrival at Supreme Court in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The former Cambodian opposition lawmaker who has been a strong critic of the government's handling of demarcating the border with neighboring Vietnam has been pardoned by the country's king. Um Sam An, a member of the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, was sentenced in October 2016 to 2 1/2 years in prison for making comments on the politically sensitive topic and implying that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government failed to counter land encroachment by Vietnam, Cambodia's traditional enemy.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

In handing out the sentence in 2016, a judge said the accusations made by Um Sam An in 2015 Facebook posts aimed to cause chaos in society. The lawmaker was arrested in April 2016 in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap after having returned from a trip to the United States.

Um Sam An is the latest political prisoner to be released from jail in the last week.

On Tuesday, two Cambodian journalists who had worked for U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia and who have been charged with espionage were released on bail. A day earlier, four women jailed for participating in Cambodia's land rights movement were freed under a royal pardon requested by Hun Sen.

Hun Sen cracked down on critics and opponents last year in what was seen as an effort to ensure his party would win elections held this year. His party did win last month's polls, though the vote was widely seen as lacking credibility.

Hun Sen, who has been in office since 1985 and has held a tight grip on power since ousting a co-prime minister in a bloody 1997 coup, has a record of cracking down harshly when facing a serious challenge, then effecting reconciliation when he no longer feels threatened. The pattern keeps human rights groups and Western governments off balance and moderates their criticism.WASHINGTON (AP) - Presidents and lawmakers from both parties honored Sen. John McCain's decades of service to his country in the hours after his death Saturday. President Donald Trump, who once criticized McCain for being taken prisoner during the Vietnam War, said his "deepest sympathies and respect" went out to McCain's family.

McCain, 81, died at his ranch in Arizona after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. On Saturday night, a black hearse accompanied by a police motorcade could be seen driving away from the ranch near Sedona where the Republican senator spent his final weeks.

Trump's brief Twitter statement said "hearts and prayers" are with the McCain family. First lady Melania Trump thanked McCain for his service to the nation, which included more than five years as a prisoner of war and six terms in the Senate.

FILE - In this Oct. 11, 2008, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks at a rally in Davenport, Iowa. Arizona Sen. McCain, the war hero who became the GOP's standard-bearer in the 2008 election, has died. He was 81. His office says McCain died Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018. He had battled brain cancer. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Trump and McCain were at odds until the end. The president, who mocked McCain's capture in Vietnam during the 2016 campaign, jabbed at the senator even after his illness for voting against Republican efforts to roll back President Barack Obama's health care law. Earlier this summer, McCain issued a blistering statement criticizing Trump's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Former presidents, including those who blocked McCain's own White House ambitions, offered emotional tributes.

Obama, who triumphed over McCain in the 2008 election, said that despite their differences, McCain and he shared a "fidelity to something higher - the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed."

Obama said the two political opponents "saw our political battles, even, as a privilege, something noble, an opportunity to serve as stewards of those high ideals at home, and to advance them around the world."

Former President George W. Bush, who defeated McCain for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, called his one-time political rival "man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order" and a "friend whom I'll deeply miss."

Bush was among those expected to speak at McCain's funeral.

McCain was the son and grandson of admirals and followed them to the U.S. Naval Academy. A pilot, he was shot down over Vietnam and held as a prisoner of war for more than five years. He went on to win a seat in the House and in 1986, the Senate, where he served for the rest of his life.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called McCain a "fascinating personality."

"He would occasionally be in a bad place with various members, including myself, and when this would blow over it was like nothing ever happened," McConnell said Saturday after a GOP state dinner in Lexington, Kentucky. "He also had a wicked sense of humor and it made every tense moment come out better."

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who developed a friendship with McCain while they served together in the Senate, said the Arizona lawmaker will "cast a long shadow."

"The spirit that drove him was never extinguished: we are here to commit ourselves to something bigger than ourselves," Biden said

McCain is expected to be remembered in Arizona and Washington before being buried, likely this week, at the Naval Academy Cemetery on a peninsula overlooking the Severn River.

Other plans were taking shape, too. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced that he wants to name the Senate building that housed McCain's suite of offices after the Arizona senator, who served as chairman of the Commerce Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"As you go through life, you meet few truly great people. John McCain was one of them," Schumer said. "Maybe most of all, he was a truth teller - never afraid to speak truth to power in an era where that has become all too rare."

___

AP writers Adam Beam, Zeke Miller and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

___

Follow Kellman on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/APLaurieKellmanROME (AP) - The Latest on Europe's response to mass migration (all times local):

10:45 p.m.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte says the Italian Catholic church will take most of the migrants who have been stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship for days.

Migrants aboard the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti gather as they await decisions in the port of Catania, Italy, Friday, Aug. 24 2018. An Italian lawmaker says rescued migrants stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship are starting a hunger strike. Rescued on Aug. 16 in the Mediterranean Sea, 150 migrants are still on the ship after minors and the sick were allowed off in recent days. (Orietta Scardino/ANSA via AP)

Conte's office quoted him as saying Saturday night that the Italian bishop's conference will take 100 of the migrants and Albania and Ireland will take 20 each. The move ends a standoff Italy had begun earlier in the week with the European Union over the migrants' fate.

Fifty others of the 190 people rescued at sea on Aug. 16 by the Italian coast guard were previously left off the ship, many for health reasons. Most of the migrants are from Eritrea.

Conte also expressed his displeasure that more EU nations didn't offer to take in the migrants. He said Italy wouldn't approve the EU-multi-year budget unless policy changed.

___

10:15 p.m.

Italian state TV says Italy's interior minister is being investigated for his role in forbidding migrants rescued at sea to disembark in Italy.

Minister Matteo Salvini indirectly confirmed the report Saturday night, tweeting that a Sicilian prosecutor asked him for his personal data and that "if he wants to interrogate me or even arrest me because I defend the borders and security of my country, I'm proud."

Salvini added that he'll soon allow the nearly 140 migrants he had kept aboard an Italian coast guard ship for days in Sicily to disembark. He says besides the 20 asylum-seekers that Albania has pledged to take in, the rest will be hosted by Italian bishops.

A few dozen of the 190 migrants rescued on Aug. 16 in the Mediterranean Sea were earlier allowed to leave the ship.

___

9:30 p.m.

Italy says Albania has offered to take in 20 migrants from the Italian coast guard ship that rescued them Aug. 16.

The foreign ministry tweeted Saturday that Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi thanks Albania for the sign of "great solidarity and friendship."

Nearly 140 migrants are still aboard the ship, docked in Sicily.

Italy says they can't disembark until other European Union nations agree to take them. So far none have and Albania is not in the EU.

The coast guard rescued the migrants from a foundering boat that had been launched into the Mediterranean Sea by human traffickers based in Libya.

Italy says it doesn't want more migrants to land because some 600,000 rescued migrants have been brought to Italian ports in the last few years.

___

8:25 p.m.

Six women and six ailing men have left an Italian coast guard vessel that has docked for days in Sicily.

But some 138 migrants who were rescued with them nine days earlier in the Mediterranean Sea weren't allowed off the Diciotti, because Italy insists that fellow European Union nations must take them in.

Initially, Red Cross officials said Saturday that 16 would be let off, including all the 11 women on the ship, after doctors found suspected cases of tuberculosis and pneumonia. Later, RAI state TV said that a 17th person, a man with an infection, was allowed off.

Sky TG24 TV said later that five women chose to stay aboard with their husbands.

After disembarking, the migrants were photographed for identification purposes, then taken by Italian Red Cross ambulances to a hospital.

Authorities say the female migrants told them they were raped in Libya.

___

3:15 p.m.

Italian media are reporting that 16 more migrants have been authorized for health reasons to leave the coast guard ship that rescued them on Aug. 16 and has been docked in Sicily for several days.

Red Cross officials said Italy's health minister ordered a Saturday inspection of the hygiene conditions on the Italian coast guard ship Diciotti.

Sky TG24 said the 11 remaining women on board and five of the rescued men were expected to get off the ship later in the day. Among them were two passengers suspected of having tuberculosis.

Forty others, including children and people already identified as ill, previously left the ship.

Red Cross official Stefano Principato told reporters on the dock in Catania, Sicily that beyond medical concerns, there is worry about the psychological well-being of the 150 migrants the vessel's crew rescued.

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2:15 p.m.

A prosecutor in Sicily is questioning lower-level officials from Italy's Interior Ministry about orders to block 150 migrants from getting off the Italian coast guard vessel that rescued them.

Italy's RAI state TV said Prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio began the questioning in Rome on Saturday.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini won't let the migrants off the coast guard ship unless other European Union nations pledge to take the asylum-seekers. The ship has been docked in Catania, Sicily for several days.

The crew of the Diciotti rescued the migrants in the Mediterranean Aug. 16. About 40 of the passengers, including minors and ailing adults, have been allowed to leave the ship in the past days.

Most of those still aboard are young men from Eritrea.

___

1:30 p.m.

Health officials and Red Cross personnel are inspecting an Italian coast guard ship that has been docked in Sicily for days with 150 migrants on board.

Italian news channel Sky TG24 TV said on Saturday that health experts wanted to check hygiene conditions on the Diciotti, whose crew rescued the migrants on Aug. 16. The ship docked in Catania's harbor earlier in the week.

On Saturday, an ambulance delivered health supplies to be taken aboard.

Some 600,000 asylum-seekers were brought to Italy after being rescued at sea over the last few years. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has insisted the migrants on the coast guard ship won't be allowed into the country until other European Union nations agree to take them.

So far, none has offered.

A large majority of migrants aboard the Diciotti are Eritrean men. Minors and ailing passengers were allowed off the ship in recent days.

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11:00 a.m.

A top member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party is suggesting Germany could introduce a one-year national service of some kind for refugees and asylum-seekers, which she says would help integration and increase Germans' acceptance.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the general secretary of Merkel's Christian Democrats, made the suggestion in an interview Saturday with the Funke newspaper group.

It's an extension of a discussion she launched this month on introducing a vaguely defined "general service obligation" for Germans, civilian or military, as a possible future policy. Germany scrapped military conscription in 2011.

Kramp-Karrenbauer said it's worth discussing whether refugees also should spend a year performing some kind of service to the state. She said that "if refugees do such a year, voluntary or compulsory, that serves their integration into the state and society."

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10:45 a.m.

The United Nations' refugee agency is imploring European Union countries to take responsibility for 150 migrants stranded aboard an Italian coast guard ship and urging Italy to let the migrants off the ship immediately.

The Diciotti rescued the migrants from a trafficker's boat on Aug. 16. The ship has been docked in Sicily for days, and Italy's government is refusing to let it disembark passengers unless other EU nations pledge to take them.

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi urged European countries in a statement Saturday "to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need."

Grandi said from Geneva that it's time to end "a race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea."

Migrants aboard the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti gather on the deck as they await decisions in the port of Catania, Italy, Friday, Aug. 24 2018. An Italian lawmaker says rescued migrants stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship are starting a hunger strike. Rescued on Aug. 16 in the Mediterranean Sea, 150 migrants are still on the ship after minors and the sick were allowed off in recent days. (Orietta Scardino/ANSA via AP)

Migrants aboard the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti sit as they await decisions in the port of Catania, Italy, Friday, Aug. 24 2018. An Italian lawmaker says rescued migrants stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship are starting a hunger strike. Rescued on Aug. 16 in the Mediterranean Sea, 150 migrants are still on the ship after minors and the sick were allowed off in recent days. (Orietta Scardino/ANSA via AP)WASHINGTON (AP) - On one of the worst days of his presidency, Donald Trump was chatting aboard Air Force One when the conversation took a detour into gallows humor.

Trump was returning from a rally in West Virginia just hours after two former members of his inner circle were found or pleaded guilty, when one passenger quipped that a news story would surely soon be breaking about the president fuming onboard. Everyone laughed, including the president.

Despite the momentary levity, though, Trump is increasingly frustrated and isolated as the investigations that have long dogged his White House plunge into the personal territory he once declared off-limits.

President Donald Trump speaks to the Ohio Republican Party State Dinner, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

One by one, the president's men have turned against him.

It was a bruising week for Trump, with a trio of men who are intimately familiar with his secrets and business dealings now cooperating with prosecutors. First, Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, implicated him in testimony about hush money payments to two women who allege affairs with him. On the same day, his former campaign chairman was found guilty on a slew of financial charges. At least Paul Manafort had nothing to say about Trump or his campaign.

But then came revelations that his longtime friend, David Pecker, the CEO of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc., had been granted immunity from prosecution to provide information, followed by news that Trump Organization finance chief Allen Weisselberg, who had once worked for Trump's father, was cooperating as well.

There is no indication their cooperation extends beyond the scope of the Cohen probe. But for Trump - who has long demanded loyalty from those around him - the revelations have only added to long-simmering fury about the investigations that began with questions about Russian election meddling but have broadened from there.

Allies wonder what Trump might do if the pressure continues to increase.

"This is a bridge too far. They are trying to undo this president," said former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg.

As the president exited Washington for a day trip to Ohio on Friday, a White House official said Trump was unhappy with what he perceived as disloyalty but far from melting down. Another person with knowledge of Trump's thinking said the president continues to direct much of his ire at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who infuriated Trump by withdrawing from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe. Both people, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private discussions.

"Jeff Sessions said he wouldn't allow politics to influence him only because he doesn't understand what is happening underneath his command position. Highly conflicted Bob Mueller and his gang of 17 Angry Dems are having a field day as real corruption goes untouched," Trump said in a tweet Saturday.

Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio says the president may be surprised that he can't exert more control from the West Wing over his former friends and employees.

"He's less powerful in these relationships now than he was before he became president. That must just amaze him," said D'Antonio, author of "Never Enough, Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success." ''He's sitting behind the Resolute Desk and he can push a button and get a Coke but he can't control Michael Cohen."

Within the West Wing, aides have grown increasingly numb to the drumbeat of bad news, though the revelation of Cohen's plea and the immunity deals took some by surprise.

Cohen pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Manhattan to campaign finance violations alleging he coordinated with Trump on a hush-money scheme to buy the silence of a porn actress and a Playboy model who alleged affairs. It was later reported that, as part of the probe into Cohen, immunity was granted to Weisselberg and Pecker.

The probe into Cohen was triggered in part by a referral from Mueller, who separately is looking into possible Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Cohen's lawyer, Lanny Davis, has said Cohen has information "that would be of interest" to the special counsel.

The White House official insisted that West Wing staffers continue to keep their heads down and do their jobs. On Thursday evening, the person said, dozens of staffers gathered on chief of staff John Kelly's porch to celebrate the recent birthdays of a trio of staffers: press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

While they snacked on homemade cakes and chatted, the staffers welcomed a surprise visit from the president, who delivered a speech and made jokes, acting like nothing was wrong and winning cheers from aides as he left.

Still, the week's developments brought the investigations up to the doorstep of Trump Tower - a place that Trump has warned Mueller is a no-go.

Weisselberg, the 71-year-old Trump Organization CFO, is intimately familiar with Trump's business dealings, having overseen his corporate ledgers through his rise in the New York real estate world and his international dealings in the years before he launched his presidential bid.

The chief financial officer has worked for Trump companies since he joined the president's father, Fred Trump, in the 1970s as an accountant, and is a rich repository of knowledge of the family company. The possibility of him answering questions from investigators poses a new danger for the president as federal prosecutors in Washington and Manhattan dig deeper into Trump's business affairs.

A year ago, Trump told The New York Times that Mueller would be crossing a "red line" if he began to look at Trump's and his family's finances unrelated to Russia.

Asked if he would fire Mueller if that were to happen, Trump responded, "I can't, I can't answer that question because I don't think it's going to happen."

As the negative news mounted throughout the past week, allies also expressed frustration with the lack of a coordinated pushback effort. The White House said it's up to Trump's outside lawyers to deal with much of the news. They argued that the president was not directly implicated, even though Cohen said in court that he and Trump had coordinated.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Stephen Braun contributed to this report.

___

Follow Lucey and Colvin on Twitter at https://twitter.com/catherine_lucey and https://twitter.com/colvinj

President Donald Trump speaks to the Ohio Republican Party State Dinner, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump visits with a group of children during a tour of the Nationwide Children's Hospital, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)BERLIN (AP) - Austria's foreign minister is defending a curtsy to Russian President Vladimir Putin at her wedding, saying that it was a traditional dance move and she doesn't "submit" to anyone.

Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl invited Putin to her wedding last weekend, raising eyebrows at home and abroad. She told Oe1 radio Saturday it was a spontaneous decision made when Putin visited Vienna in June.

Video footage showed the bride dancing with Putin and making a deep curtsy at the end. Kneissl said that "if you've seen a ball opening, then you will have seen again and again that there is this curtsy at the end."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, congratulates Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl as he attends the wedding of Kneissl with Austrian businessman Wolfgang Meilinger in Gamlitz, southern Austria, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

She added "this was portrayed in commentaries as an act of submission, of prostration. And anyone who knows me knows that I submit to no one."UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) - For months, Republican Senate candidate Bob Hugin has assailed Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez in TV ads, calling the two-term incumbent corrupt because of now-dismissed federal corruption charges, whittling down the incumbent's double-digit lead in the polls to single digits.

Now, with less than three months until voters go to the polls in Democratic-leaning New Jersey, where the Senate race is at the top of the ticket, Menendez is unleashing his own TV advertising fusillade, with two new 30-second spots this week criticizing the wealthy former pharmaceutical executive as greedy.

Both men, 64, grew up in Union City, the roughly square-mile city in Hudson County, just a short ride from New York across the Hudson River. It's an old neighborhood brawl, but with national political implications.

FILE - In this June 2, 2018 file photo, Bob Hugin, a Republican candidate running in New Jersey primary election for U.S. Senate, talks with constituents during the Monmouth GOP Super Saturday campaign drive in Colts Neck, N.J. It's less than three months until Election Day, and New Jersey residents are already seeing a barrage of ads in this year's hotly contested U.S. Senate race. Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez began a TV ad campaign last week, joining months' worth of ads from Hugin. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

"It's frankly notable that I even have to pay attention to it," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor at the Cook Political Report. New Jersey has about 900,000 more Democrats than Republicans and hasn't elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972.

The contest is already a multimillion-dollar race for a Democrat-controlled seat in a tightly held Republican-led Senate, and Republican President Donald Trump, whose administration faces the special counsel's probe, needs party support there to advance nominees and legislation.

A Quinnipiac University poll out last week showed Menendez with a six-point edge over Hugin, 43 percent to 37 percent. The poll surveyed 908 registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.6 percentage points. That's a tighter gap than a March survey that showed Menendez with a 13-point lead.

The attacks have been sharp and personal, and New Jersey residents have seen them on television and online for months, with the prospect for months more of negative ads.

One Hugin ad says Menendez thinks voters are stupid because he "thinks he can get away with corruption," a reference to a federal corruption trial that ended in a mistrial before prosecutors dropped the charges in January.

Menendez was indicted on charges he accepted lavish gifts from longtime friend Dr. Salomon Melgen in return for help settling a Medicaid billing dispute. He maintained his innocence. He was also admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee over it in a strongly worded letter, though the full Senate stopped short of a censure vote.

Hugin said in an interview he would not have entered the race had it not been for Menendez's corruption trial.

"This election is about New Jersey, and it's Bob Hugin versus Bob Menendez, corrupt and ineffective, versus someone who has had a life of service and committed to outcomes and improving the quality of life of all New Jerseyans," Hugin said.

Menendez, during an interview in Union City, pointed out that the jury didn't "believe the government's case on any given count." Asked whether voters might question his judgment, he listed Senate accomplishments including getting federal aid after Superstorm Sandy and helping draft the Affordable Care Act.

While pivoting to attack Hugin, he also said he thinks voters will consider his entire career.

"I don't think New Jerseyans are going to buy the judgment of Bob Hugin, who ultimately made a killing off the back of cancer patients," Menendez said. "I think people are going to look at the totality of my decisions and my actions versus Bob Hugin's decisions and actions, and I think that I'm happy to let the fate of the election rest on that."

Menendez's criticism centers on Hugin's nearly two-decade career as head of Celgene, which markets a cancer drug called Revlimid that has proved a market and medical success. The cost of the drug has risen over the years, leading to Menendez's attack. The senator also notes that under Hugin's watch Celgene settled for $280 million last year over allegations it promoted cancer drugs that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Celgene did not admit liability.

Hugin defended his tenure at Celgene, saying that the company had a generous aid program for patients in financial need and that the firm's drugs had helped hundreds of thousands of people.

The president, whose approval rating in New Jersey is low, is another lightning rod in the contest so far.

Menendez said that if he wins, and if Democrats win the Senate, voters should expect more oversight over the Trump White House. If Democrats take control, he would expect to be Foreign Relations Committee chairman and would schedule hearings on Russia and North Korea.

Hugin, who has been a donor to Trump in 2016, as well as to former Gov. Chris Christie's failed presidential bid, said he would be an independent representative. Asked what he would say to a skeptical voter, he pointed out White House meetings he attended with former President Barack Obama.

On policy, both support a woman's right to have an abortion, and both have been critical of the Trump administration's tariffs.

Hugin said he would likely vote in favor of Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, while Menendez is opposed.

It's not only the two campaigns waging an advertising fight. Political action committees are joining the campaign, as well.

Patients for Affordable Drug Action raised more than $3 million and has been running ads attacking Hugin over the high cost of drugs. The group has spent about $1.5 million on TV ads in New Jersey, founder David Mitchell said.

Mitchell has incurable cancer and founded the super PAC after seeing drug prices spike. He also was the founder of the communications firm GMMB, which has been a top vendor to Democrats over the years. But he said the PAC is bipartisan and is supporting Republican Rep. David McKinley, of West Virginia.

Integrity NJ, a super PAC headed by Phil Cox, who led a super PAC for former Gov. Chris Christie's Republican presidential campaign, has raised more than $2 million and is running an ad attacking Menendez over corruption.

Another PAC called Leadership Alliance New Jersey, run by Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, said it spent "six figures" attacking Hugin over pharmaceutical prices.

Hugin has poured nearly $16 million of his own money into his candidacy and has about $8 million cash on hand, according to the Federal Election Commission. Menendez has $6.5 million on hand, according to the FEC.

Election Day is Nov. 6.NEW YORK (AP) - For Michael Cohen and Donald Trump, it's always been about money and loyalty.

Those were guiding principles for Cohen when he served as more than just a lawyer for Trump during the developer's rise from celebrity to president-elect. Cohen brokered deals for the Trump Organization, profited handsomely from a side venture into New York City's real estate and taxi industries and worked to make unflattering stories about Trump disappear.

Money and loyalty also drove Cohen to make guilty pleas this past week in a spinoff from the swirling investigations battering the Trump White House.

FILE - In this Dec. 16, 2016, file photo, Michael Cohen, then an attorney for President-elect Donald Trump, arrives in Trump Tower in New York. For Cohen and Donald Trump, it's always been about money and loyalty. Those were guiding principles for Cohen when served as more than just a lawyer for Trump during the developer's rise from celebrity to president-elect. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Feeling abandoned by Trump and in dire financial straits, the man who once famously declared that he would "take a bullet" for Trump now is pledging loyalty to his own family and actively seeking to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

The unraveling of their relationship was laid bare Tuesday when Cohen pleaded guilty to eight criminal charges and said in federal court that he broke campaign finance laws as part of a cover-up operation that Trump had directed.

In the days after Cohen's guilty plea, two close associates - the magazine boss who helped him squash bad stories and the top financial man at the president's business - have been granted immunity for their cooperation. These moves could have a ripple effect on the legal fortunes of Cohen and, perhaps, Trump.

For years, Cohen was a fixture in Trump's orbit.

Working alongside Trump and Trump's three adult children - Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric - in Trump Tower, Cohen took on a number of roles for the developer, including emissary for projects in foreign capitals and enforcer of Trump's will. At times a bully for a family-run business, Cohen was known for his hot temper as he strong-armed city workers, reluctant business partners and reporters.

He was there in the lobby of Trump Tower in June 2015 when his boss descended an escalator and changed history by declaring his candidacy for president. But Cohen's place in Trump's political life ended up being peripheral.

Cohen did become a reliable surrogate on cable TV - he created a viral moment by repeating "Says who?" when told Trump was down in the polls - and founded the candidate's faith-based organization. But Cohen was never given a prominent spot in the campaign.

And despite telling confidants that he thought he had a shot at White House chief of staff after the election, Cohen was never given a West Wing job. He remained in New York when Trump moved to Washington.

Cohen found ways to profit from the arrangement, making millions from corporations by selling access to Trump, but felt adrift and isolated from Trump, according to two people familiar with his thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss private conversations.

But early one April morning, more than three dozen federal agents raided Cohen's home, office and hotel room.

A chief focus for investigators was Cohen's role in making payments during Trump's campaign to women who claimed they had sex with Trump, and whether campaign finance laws were violated. In the fall of 2016, weeks before the election, Cohen had set up a limited liability company in Delaware to hide the deal he made to silence the pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels about an affair she said she had with Trump.

Worry grew within the White House about what had been seized. That April day, Trump berated the raid as "an attack on all we stand for." But then, in a "Fox & Friends" interview, Trump began to dramatically play down his relationship with Cohen.

"I have nothing to do with his business," Trump said, asserting that Cohen was just one of many lawyers and was responsible for "a tiny, tiny fraction" of Trump's legal work.

A dispute soon broke out between Cohen and Trump over who would pay the former fixer's mounting legal bills. Holed up in a Park Avenue hotel after his apartment flooded, Cohen began to worry about his financial future, according to the two people.

By all appearances, Cohen's lifestyle was lavish.

He bought a $6.7 million Manhattan apartment last fall, though the sale didn't close until April and no one could move in until the summer. With bills piling up for his team of expensive lawyers, the suddenly unemployed Cohen began to tell confidants that he was worried about his job prospects and ability to support his family.

Meanwhile, the broadsides from the White House kept coming.

Trump and Cohen had long stopped speaking, but word would get back to the lawyer that the president was belittling him. The president's attorney and frequent attack dog Rudy Giuliani went from calling Cohen "an honest, honorable lawyer" in May to deriding him as a "pathological liar" in July.

Cohen began wondering to friends whether loyalty with Trump had become a one-way street, the people said.

Eager to hit back and attempt to regain some hold on the story, Cohen hired Lanny Davis, a former Bill Clinton attorney, to be his public relations lawyer. Davis began striking back at the White House and lobbed a clear warning shot at the president when he released a secret recording of a conversation in which Trump appears to have knowledge about hush-money payments to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also alleged an affair with the developer.

Cohen was embraced by the cable news networks as an irresistible foil to Trump. Some on the left styled him as a star of the resistance. Cohen's camp made some effort to play into the role, reaching out to Watergate whistleblower John Dean and, after Cohen's plea, establishing an online fundraising tool that seemed to predominantly receive backing from liberals.

Cohen, who could get about four years to five years in prison, is due to be sentenced Dec. 12.

Davis has strongly telegraphed that Cohen is willing to cooperate with Mueller's investigation. But a deal has yet to be struck and there are doubts about what Cohen can prove or whether the special counsel would want to rely on an untrustworthy witness.

Cohen has stayed out of sight and has remained emotional since his plea, according to the people close to him.

The attacks from Trump have continued.

"If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don't retain the services of Michael Cohen!" Trump tweeted Wednesday.

___

Follow Lemire on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@JonLemireSheraton, Westin and other Starwood hotels are finding their religion.

Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in the recently-acquired hotels. By year's end, it expects to place the books in 300,000 rooms.

Marriott, whose namesake founding family is active in the Mormon church, has been putting both the Bible and the Book of Mormon in its rooms since opening its first hotel in the late 1950s. Like most major chains, Marriott doesn't own the majority of its hotels. However, it stands out from the other companies by requiring - in franchise or licensing agreements - its 6,500 properties to have the books in each room.

The Book of Mormon is shown Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, Salt Lake City. Sheraton, Westin and other Starwood hotels are finding their religion. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

It's not a policy Marriott relishes discussing. The company declined to make an executive available to comment, but issued a statement to The Associated Press: "There are many guests who are not digitally connected who appreciate having one or both of these books available. It's a tradition appreciated by many, objected to by few."

Judging from lively internet discussions, however, travelers are divided on the issue. Some say they're not bothered by seeing a Bible or a Book of Mormon in the room, and note that they're usually tucked away in a drawer. But others say they have complained to managers and asked for the books to be removed.

John Ollila, a frequent Starwood and Marriott traveler and the founder of the travel blog LoyaltyLobby, said he thinks publicly traded companies should remain secular.

"Why wouldn't they want to target the widest possible market?" he said.

Marriott gets the Bibles for free from Gideons International, a group that donates Bibles to prisons, hospitals, hotels and other public places. The costs for the Books of Mormon are shared by the Marriott Foundation and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Marriott is alone among big hotel chains in requiring religious materials in its rooms. Hilton and IHG, which owns Holiday Inn and other brands, say they let local hotel managers decide whether to offer Bibles. Hyatt has no official policy, but says it will obtain religious texts if guests ask for them.

According to STR, a hotel data firm, the number of U.S. hotels that offer religious materials in their rooms has dropped over the last decade, to 79 percent in 2016 from 95 percent in 2006. Luxury hotels were the least likely to offer them, with just 51 percent saying they did. And urban and resort hotels were less likely to offer them than hotels in suburbs or along interstates.

The change at some of the 1,300 former Starwood hotels could come as a surprise to some guests; Marriott says those rooms haven't had religious materials in them until now. Starwood - which was founded by Jewish businessman Barry Sternlicht in 1991 - also includes nearly a dozen brands such as the St. Regis, Le Meridien, Aloft and Four Points.

Some brands, however, are holier than others. Starwood's 50 W hotels - one of the first chains to sell "intimacy kits" that include condoms - won't get the books. Neither will the 140 independently owned Design Hotels, most of which are in Europe. Marriott's youth-focused Moxy brand and its luxury Edition brand also don't have the books in their rooms.

Marriott says there's no single reason why religious materials are excluded from some properties.

"With any of our brands, there are hundreds of decisions made about the look and feel of the brand, how a room will be outfitted, what amenities it will have," the company said in its emailed statement.

Hotels in certain locations - such as Vietnam and Indonesia - also don't have a Bible or a Book of Mormon because it might be considered inappropriate, Marriott said. In those places, hotels have the option to provide a card in the room that tells guests to call the front desk if they would like religious materials.

Jennifer Moody, a management consultant and co-author of the travel blog "From Home and Back," says she has no issue with any religious books in her hotel rooms. Moody, a Methodist from Fort Worth, Texas, said she thumbed through the Bible in her hotel room on Sept. 11, 2001, and she once took home a Book of Mormon because she was curious to read it.

"Finding something familiar and reassuring to turn to can provide comfort," Moody said. "If the presence of those books can be a comfort to others, then their placement is well-served."

The Book of Mormon is shown Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, Salt Lake City. Sheraton, Westin and other Starwood hotels are finding their religion. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

FILE - This Feb. 1, 2010, file photo, shows the Westin Philadelphia hotel in Philadelphia. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. Marriott says it expects to place the books in 300,000 rooms by the end of this year. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

In this Aug. 10, 2018, photo provided by Tommy Danielsen boxes of Bibles sit in a cart at Sheraton Rockville Hotel in Rockville, Md. Marriott International, which bought Starwood two years ago, has begun putting copies of the Bible and the Book of Mormon in Sheratons, Westins and other hotels in the Starwood family. Marriott says it expects to place the books in 300,000 rooms by the end of this year. (Tommy Danielsen via AP)President Donald Trump says the United States is close to a 'big trade Agreement' with Mexico.

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to share the news that 'a big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!'

'Our relationship with Mexico is getting closer by the hour,' he added.

'Some really good people within both the new and old government, and all working closely together.'

The US and Mexico have been discussing a trade deal as part of negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Donald Trump took to Twitter on Saturday morning to share the news that 'a big Trade Agreement with Mexico could be happening soon!'

Trump has been seeking a revised version of the 24-year-old trade deal with Mexico and Canada.

The president's tweet came after Jesus Seade, the NAFTA representative for president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, met with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Seade spoke highly of the meeting on Thursday, revealing it helped resolve concerns that the deal placed too many restrictions on how Mexico can treat foreign oil companies investing in the country.

'It was a rich, fun, important negotiation, from which everything emerged in a very satisfactory way for all involved,' Seade told Time.

The US and Mexico have been discussing a trade deal as part of negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement

'We've adjusted very well the focus, but without changing the content, the substance, and we've arrived at a solution that should be satisfactory for everyone.'

'We still need to check technical texts, and I want to be respectful of everyone, but it's now substantially agreed, with the correct focus.'

Also present at the meeting was Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray.

Guajardo likewise said he expected Saturday to be a 'big day' for trade negotiations.

The NAFTA talks are expected to continue next week and the goal is for the deal to be finalized by the end of the month.

Canada is expected to rejoin talks after the US and Mexico work out their concerns.

Trump's tweet came after Jesus Seade, the NAFTA representative for president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (pictrured), met with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer

Trump recently said he has had better relations with Mexico following Obrador's election in July.

The president has long had a thorny partnership with America's neighbor due to his push for Mexico to pay for his border wall.

He had an especially heated relationship with current Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

After Trump vowed that Mexico would pay for the border wall in May, Nieto made his stance on the issue clear.

'President @realDonaldTrump: NO. Mexico will NEVER pay for a wall. Not now, not ever. Sincerely, Mexico (all of us).'

On Friday Obrador thanked Trump for treating Mexicans with more 'respect' in recent months.

'For some time now, he has been very prudent in referring to Mexicans, or he hasn't said offensive things,' Obrador said.

'I have to thank him for that. Up to now, things are going well. There has been respect.'EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Federal authorities' shift away from separating immigrant families caught in the U.S. illegally now means that many parents and children are released and fitted with electronic monitoring devices - which both the government and advocacy groups oppose for different reasons.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is issuing thousands of 5.5-ounce (155-gram) ankle monitors that immigrants call grilletes, or electronic shackles. The government says they get people to show up to immigration court, but that they stop working once deportation proceedings begin.

Attorneys and people who wore the devices or helped monitor those wearing them say that's because some immigrants simply ditch them and disappear.

FILE - In this Monday, July 23, 2018 file photo, Carlos Fuentes Maldonado, an immigrant from Honduras seeking asylum who was released and reunited with his family, wears an ankle monitor as he waits at a Catholic Charities facility in San Antonio. Federal authorities' shift away from separating immigrant families caught in the U.S. illegally now means that many parents and children are quickly released, only to be fitted with electronic monitoring devices _ a practice which both the government and advocacy groups oppose for different reasons. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Immigrant advocates and legal experts argue, meanwhile, that the devices - which are commonly used for criminal parolees - are inappropriate and inhumane for people seeking U.S. asylum.

Congress first established the program in 2002, though GPS monitors' use increased even more after 2014, when thousands of unaccompanied minors and families began traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border and asking for asylum, fleeing gang and drug smugglers or domestic violence in Central America.

Earlier this year, immigrant families were separated as part of a "zero tolerance" program. But after a presidential executive order reversed that, families are often detained, then issued ankle monitors and released as they progress through often lengthy immigration court proceedings.

Sandra, who asked that her full name not be published, so as not to jeopardize her case, said she left northern Guatemala in May with her 12-year-old son, Juan Carlos. She said she had faced discrimination because of her dark skin, and also was attacked sexually by a man who threatened to kill her if she went to the police.

They were held in different Texas detention centers for nearly two months, then reunited and released - but she got an ankle monitor.

"I feel tortured," said Sandra who said she fled Guatemala "I'm not in one of those detention centers, thank God, but I still feel like I'm a prisoner."

As of early July, there were nearly 84,500 active participants in ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or alternatives to detention - more than triple the number in November 2014. Around 45 percent of those were issued GPS monitors.

ICE spokesman Matthew Bourke said immigration court attendance is strong for immigrants in intensive supervision, but that ankle monitors and other measures are "not an effective tool" after deportation orders are issued. There isn't reliable information on the number of ankle monitor recipients who remove them and flee, but many say it's high.

"People can just cut those things off if they want to," said Sara Ramey, a San Antonio immigration attorney whose asylum-seeking clients are routinely assigned ankle monitors.

The most recent available data was in 2012, when a contractor's annual report showed that 17,524 people, or around 65 percent of nearly 40,500 total participants, left the intensive supervision program that year. Of those, around a fifth were deported or granted asylum, while about 5 percent "absconded." The rest were arrested, violated other program rules or were no longer required to participate for unspecified reasons.

President Donald Trump's administration sees alternative to detention programs as undermining their larger goal of keeping immigrants in custody, which helps lead to faster deportations.

Overall spending on alternatives to detention rose to $183 million for fiscal year 2017, up from $91 million in 2014. But the number of deportations for people in the program only increased by 273, from 2,157 to 2,430 - or only about 1 percent of the more than 226,000 people ICE deported over the same period, Bourke said.

Ankle monitors have been a boon to the company that has a federal contract to administer them, Boca Raton, Florida-based GEO Group. Its stock has outrun the larger bull market since Trump took office.

If an ankle monitor's rechargeable battery dies, or its wearer ventures out of his or her assigned area, alarms are triggered and orders are barked in Spanish. Immigrants issued ankle monitors also usually check in personally with case workers.

Near Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport around 70 people, almost all women, were waiting to see case workers. Maria, 40, showed off her monitor and bruised ankle. She said she'd fled Honduras after gang members threatened to kidnap her daughter but asked that her surname be withheld, citing safety concerns.

Many men with monitors "cut them loose and take off," Maria said.

Two former case workers with a GEO subsidiary, who spoke on condition that they not be named because they wanted to safeguard their future employment chances, said it was common for ankle monitors to be removed prematurely, and people who do are rarely pursued.

"ICE has other priorities," said one ex-case worker.

___

Bajak reported from Houston, Weissert from Austin, Texas. Associated Press Reporter Astrid Galvan contributed to this report.HONOLULU (AP) - The Latest on Tropical Storm Lane (all times local):

11 a.m.

The National Weather Service has dropped all warnings for tropical storm Lane, saying it is now moving away from Hawaii.

In this photo provided by Jessica Henricks, is flooding and damage from Hurricane Lane Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, near Hilo, Hawaii. Hurricane Lane barreled toward Hawaii on Friday, dumping torrential rains that inundated the Big Island's main city as people elsewhere stocked up on supplies and piled sandbags to shield oceanfront businesses against the increasingly violent surf. The city of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded with waist-high water. (Jessica Henricks via AP)

The weather service said Saturday the storm has turned west, reducing the threat to the state.

Lane had been a Category 5 hurricane just a few days ago but has been steadily weakening as it neared the islands.

The storm currently is packing winds with gusts up to 50 mph, but those are expected to weaken over the next two days as Lane moves west in the Pacific Ocean.

___

10:45 a.m.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says tropical storm Lane had little effect on the eruption of Kilauea volcano on the Big Island.

Officials on Saturday said the biggest impacts involved minor rock falls at the summit and increased steaming from vents.

The observatory says it lost communication with several monitoring stations in the past two days but the losses only slightly reduced its ability to assess volcanic conditions.

Whiteout conditions could occur on the new lava field due to steam produced by heavy rainfall on still-hot lava flows.

___

10:35 a.m.

An official says wildfires burned nine homes in Lahaina and forced 600 people to evacuate.

Maui County spokeswoman Lynn Araki-Regan said Saturday that some people have returned but many haven't because much of the area lacks power.

Maui Electric is working to restore power.

The county is urging west Maui residents to conserve water to because the power outage means the water utility isn't able to pump water.

In addition, firefighters need water to put out the remaining flames.

___

9:40 a.m.

Maui firefighters say a wildfire that rapidly spread as a hurricane bore down on their island is now 80 percent contained.

Maui County Fire Battalion Chief Michael Werner said Saturday the fire has burned 2,000 acres in the Lahaina area. He says firefighters are beating back flare-ups.

He says the island got heavy rain overnight which helped douse the flames.

The fire spread into the mountains behind Lahaina. Werner says firefighters usually use helicopters to fight blazes there because of the steep terrain but couldn't do that because of the high winds.

The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm Friday.

___

9 a.m.

An official says authorities rescued people from more than 20 homes on the Big Island overnight as Tropical Storm Lane drenched the island with more rain.

Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe said Saturday that first responders weren't able to reach a family of four in the Mountain View area because water levels were too high.

He is hopeful the rescuers will be able to get them as the weather improves. Otherwise, firefighters may send in a helicopter or call in the National Guard.

He says all the rescues occurred in the east side of the Big Island.

Landslides and pooling water forced three highways to shut down overnight. Only Highway 11 from Hilo toward South Point was still closed early Saturday.

___

7:45 a.m.

Forecasters say winds have died down but rain remains a threat on some Hawaiian Islands as tropical storm Lane churns in the central Pacific.

National Weather Service meteorologist Vanessa Almanza said as much as 10 inches of rain could fall Saturday as the storm remains about 110 miles south of Honolulu and moves north at 3 mph.

Lane is expected to turn west later in the day, which would lessen the threat to the islands.

Almanza says Maui has had about 12 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 50 mph in the past 24 hours, which caused landslides, washed out roads and downed power lines.

On Saturday the winds on Maui were blowing at about 11 mph.

On Oahu, where Honolulu is located, only about 2.3 inches of rain has fallen.

___

4 a.m.

Federal officials say Hawaii residents shouldn't let their guard down now that a once-powerful hurricane that threatened the island state has become a tropical storm.

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator says that although Lane is no longer a hurricane, tropical storms themselves can still be very dangerous.

Brock Long says during a briefing that "Hawaii is not in the clear from Tropical Storm Lane at this point."

Long says torrential rains will be the largest threat facing Hawaii during the next 48 hours.

Lane churned toward the island chain early this week as the most powerful type of hurricane measured: a Category 5. But upper-level winds tore the storm apart and, by late Friday, the National Weather Service had downgraded Lane to a tropical storm.

___

6 p.m. Friday

A powerful hurricane that threatened Hawaii for a week is weakening and is now a tropical storm.

But meteorologists are warning heavy rains could still wallop the islands with flash flooding and landslides.

Lane dumped nearly 3 feet of rain on parts of the Big Island of Hawaii over the past two days, forcing residents to flee their flooded homes in waist-high water.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said Friday that people need to be vigilant and not let their guard down. But he says the good news is Lane got weak and fell apart.

Upper-level winds known as shear swiftly tore Lane apart south of Honolulu.

The National Weather Service says Lane has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 mph) as it slowly heads west.SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The Latest on the U.S. decision to call off a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (all times local):

11:40 p.m.

China has lashed back at President Donald Trump for accusing Beijing of a lack of support in U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons and missiles.

Trump on Friday directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to delay a planned trip to North Korea this coming week because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North. Trump also said the nuclear negotiations with North Korea have been hampered by the lack of support from China, which is engaged in an intensifying trade dispute with the United States.

China's Foreign Ministry said on its website on Saturday, "The U.S. statement violates basic facts and is irresponsible."

It also said it is "seriously concerned about it" and has made "solemn representations to the U.S. side."

___

3:10 p.m.

South Korea has called the U.S. decision to call off a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "unfortunate" but says it's most important for the allies to pursue "substantial progress" on denuclearization.

The statement by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Saturday came hours after President Donald Trump directed Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North.

Trump also accused China for its supposed lack of support in U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons and missiles.

The ministry says South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa spoke with Pompeo over the phone and they pledged joint efforts to keep the momentum of dialogue alive.CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Montana Gov. Steve Bullock is apparently testing the presidential waters in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary in the race for the White House.

Bullock, a popular two-term Democratic governor, is headlining fundraisers for state legislative candidates and helping the New Hampshire Democratic party kick off canvassing this weekend. But he's also meeting with a number of influential Democrats in multiple stops across the state.

Bullock tells the AP that when it comes to potential presidential aspirations, he's "listening quite a bit" as he travels the country, adding "that, for now, is as far as it goes."

He adds that he hasn't "set any timetables to do anything else." He's helping New Hampshire Democrats running for the state legislature in 2018 during a two-day swing.HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii emerged Saturday from the threat of a potentially devastating hurricane after historic amounts of rain forced evacuations on some islands but damage appeared less than feared.

Tropical Storm Lane, once known as Hurricane Lane, began to break apart as it veered west into the open Pacific, leaving behind sighs of relief and plenty of cleanup, especially on the Big Island where rainfall totals approached 4 feet (1.2 meters).

No storm-related deaths have been reported, though Big Island authorities said they plucked families from floodwaters and landslides closed roads.

James Fujita, left, and Reid Fujita take down plywood boards that were to protect their store from Tropical Storm Lane along Waikiki Beach, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, in Honolulu. Federal officials said Saturday that torrential rains are now the biggest threat to Hawaii after the once-powerful hurricane that threatened the island state was downgraded to a tropical storm, and they urged people to continue to take the storm seriously. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The National Weather Service canceled all storm warnings for the state, several hours after shopkeepers in Honolulu's tourist-heavy areas already started taking down plywood meant to protect windows if the storm made it that far.

Preliminary figures from the weather service show that Lane dropped the fourth-highest amount of rain for a hurricane to hit the United States since 1950. Hurricane Harvey, which devastated Texas a year ago, topped the list.

The storm's outer bands dumped as much as 45 inches (114 centimeters) on the mostly rural Big Island, measurements showed. The main town of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded Friday with waist-high water.

Authorities rescued 39 people from floodwaters Friday and Saturday, all in the eastern part of the Big Island where the rain concentrated, Hawaii County Civil Defense spokeswoman Kelly Wooten said. Teams were assessing damage, she said, but continued to focus on recovery efforts because it was still raining.

Big Island Book Buyers in Hilo opened as normal Saturday morning after owner Mary Bicknell saw a bit of sunshine and blue sky.

"Everybody is in pretty good spirits. It's kind of nice," she said of her customers before adding everyone was "hoping and praying it's over."

One of the island's volcanoes is erupting, and the rain could still cause whiteout conditions on some active lava fields when it hits the molten rock and boils off as steam.

About 200 miles (320 kilometers) and several islands to the northwest, tourists wandered Waikiki Beach and took leisurely swims as shopkeepers prepared to reopen.

Hotels began putting deck chairs back alongside pools. Dozens of surfers were in the Pacific, looking to ride small waves. The breeze was light.

Winds were also calmer on Maui, which had seen about 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain and wind gusts up to 50 mph (80 kph). On Saturday, winds were about 11 mph (18 kph). Like the Big Island, Maui experienced flooding and landslides.

Lane first approached the islands earlier this week as a Category 5 hurricane, meaning it was likely to cause catastrophic damage with winds of 157 mph (252 kph) or above. But upper-level winds known as shear swiftly tore the storm apart.

As flooding hit the Big Island, winds fanned brush fires that had broken out in dry areas of Maui and Oahu. Some residents in a shelter on Maui had to flee flames, and another fire forced people from their homes.

Flames burned nine homes in the historic coastal town of Lahaina and forced 600 people to evacuate, Maui County spokeswoman Lynn Araki-Regan said. Some have returned, but many have not because much of the area lacks power, Araki-Regan said.

Those outages meant the water provider on Maui's west side was unable to pump, so officials at the Maui Electric utility urged conservation - particularly important because firefighters need supplies to put out the remaining flames.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with only about four or five named storms a year. Hawaii rarely gets hit. The last major storm to hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come close in recent years.

"It's great that it didn't get us," Nick Palumbo II, who lives and owns a surf shop on the island of Lanai, said of Lane.

He worried, however, that the near-miss would give residents a false sense of security. "We're going to get nailed one time, and people are going to not listen," Palumbo said, "exactly like 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf.'"

___

Associated Press journalists Brian Skoloff and John Locher in Honolulu; Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska; Darlene Superville in Washington; and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

A surfer walks along Waikiki Beach in a light rain from Tropical Storm Lane, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Kevin Pak empties out hydro barriers, which are used to block water similar to a sandbag, as he helps reopen an ABC store along Waikiki Beach, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/John Locher)

This Friday, Aug. 24, 2018 photo shows firefighters take care of damage at the Hawaiian Dredging base yard in Puamana, Hawaii. Several early morning fires, fed by winds from an approaching Hurricane Lane, destroyed several homes and buildings, including some at the construction company base yard. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

Windswept flames and smoke rush toward a pair of luxury homes in Launiupoko, Hawaii, on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. The fire was whipped up by an approaching Hurricane Lane. (Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP)

Bodyboarders jump into the surf along Waikiki Beach ahead of Hurricane Lane, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/John Locher)

A boogie boarder walks near the surf at Makapu'u Beach, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Waimanalo, Hawaii. As Hurricane Lane approaches Oahu, large ocean swells have impacted the coastline. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

This photo provided by Jessica Henricks shows damage from Hurricane Lane Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, near Hilo, Hawaii. Hurricane Lane barreled toward Hawaii on Friday, dumping torrential rains that inundated the Big Island's main city as people elsewhere stocked up on supplies and piled sandbags to shield oceanfront businesses against the increasingly violent surf. The city of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded with waist-high water. (Jessica Henricks via AP)

In this photo provided by Jessica Henricks, is flooding and damage from Hurricane Lane Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, near Hilo, Hawaii. Hurricane Lane barreled toward Hawaii on Friday, dumping torrential rains that inundated the Big Island's main city as people elsewhere stocked up on supplies and piled sandbags to shield oceanfront businesses against the increasingly violent surf. The city of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded with waist-high water. (Jessica Henricks via AP)

Swimmers get tossed around at Makapu'u Beach, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Waimanalo, Hawaii. As Hurricane Lane approaches Oahu, large ocean swells have impacted the coastline. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

This photo provided by Jessica Henricks shows damage from Hurricane Lane Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, near Hilo, Hawaii. Hurricane Lane barreled toward Hawaii on Friday, dumping torrential rains that inundated the Big Island's main city as people elsewhere stocked up on supplies and piled sandbags to shield oceanfront businesses against the increasingly violent surf. The city of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded with waist-high water. (Jessica Henricks via AP)

A line for a Convenience Store snakes on to the sidewalk near Waikiki Beach ahead of Hurricane Lane, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Honolulu. Many of the stores in the area were closed ahead of the storm. (AP Photo/John Locher)

People stand along sea cliffs on the southeast shore of Oahu as Hurricane Lane approaches, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, near Honolulu. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

Dan Wong, left, and Cassie Tarleton watch waves crash along the coastline ahead of Lane, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, in Honolulu. As Lane approaches Oahu, large ocean swells have impacted local beaches and coastlines. (AP Photo/John Locher)GENEVA, Ill. (AP) - An investigation has concluded that a police officer was justified in fatally shooting an armed jail inmate who had taken two nurses hostage at a suburban Chicago hospital last year.

Kane County State's Attorney Joseph McMahon issued a news release saying he had determined that North Aurora police officer Christopher Joswick had a "reasonable belief" that it was necessary to use deadly force to prevent the death or serious injury of one of the nurses or other officers. The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reports that no criminal charges will be pursued against Joswick.

Joswick was a member of a Kane County SWAT team when he shot 21-year-old Tywon Salters at a Geneva hospital in May 2017 after Salters overpowered a corrections officer, took his gun and held the nurses hostage.EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Federal authorities' shift away from separating immigrant families caught in the U.S. illegally now means that many parents and children are quickly released, only to be fitted with electronic monitoring devices - a practice which both the government and advocacy groups oppose for different reasons.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is issuing thousands of 5.5-ounce (155-gram) ankle monitors that immigrants call grilletes, or electronic shackles, spelling big profits for GEO Group, the country's second largest private prison contractor.

Government officials say the devices are effective in getting people to show up to immigration court, but that they stop working once deportation proceedings begin. The reason, according to attorneys and people who wore the devices or helped monitor those wearing them: Some immigrants simply ditch them and disappear.

In this Monday, July 23, 2018, file photo, Immigrant seeking asylum Ildra Medreano wears an ankle monitor at a Catholic Charities facility not long after she was reunited with her son in San Antonio. Federal authorities' shift away from separating immigrant families crossing into the U.S. illegally now means that many parents and children are quickly released from custody only to be fitted with electronic monitoring devices, a practice that has spiked in recent years but which both the government and advocacy groups oppose for different reasons. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Immigrant advocates and legal experts argue, meanwhile, that the devices - which are commonly used for criminal parolees - are inappropriate and inhumane for people seeking U.S. asylum. The American Bar Association has called doing so "a form of restriction on liberty similar to detention, rather than a meaningful alternative to detention."

Congress first established the program in 2002, though GPS monitors grew more common as deportations rose to record levels under President Barack Obama's administration, averaging more than 385,000 annually from 2008-2012. Their use increased even more after 2014, when thousands of unaccompanied minors and families began traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border and asking for asylum, fleeing gang and drug smugglers or domestic violence in Central America.

Earlier this year, immigrant families were separated as part of a "zero tolerance" program. But President Donald Trump reversed that policy with an executive order in June, meaning reunited families are being treated like other asylum seekers. They're usually detained for a few days, then issued ankle monitors and released to live with friends or relatives already in the U.S. as they progress through a process that can take years.

As of early July, there were nearly 84,500 active participants in ICE's Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, or alternatives to detention - more than triple the number in November 2014. Around 45 percent of those were issued GPS monitors, 53 percent report by phone using biometric voice verification and 2 percent use facial recognition apps.

ICE spokesman Matthew Bourke said immigration court attendance is strong for immigrants in intensive supervision, but that ankle monitors and other measures are "not an effective tool" after deportation orders are issued. There isn't reliable information on the number of ankle monitor recipients who remove them and flee - especially when deportation is imminent - but experts say it's high.

"People can just cut those things off if they want to," said Sara Ramey, a San Antonio immigration attorney whose asylum-seeking clients are routinely assigned ankle monitors. "It doesn't really ensure compliance."

The most recent available data was in 2012, when a contractor's annual report (later referenced in a 2015 Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report) showed that 17,524 people, or around 65 percent of nearly 40,500 total participants, left the intensive supervision program that year. Of those, around a fifth were deported or granted asylum, while about 5 percent "absconded." The rest were arrested, violated other program rules or were no longer required to participate for unspecified reasons - which made determining the program's true success rate impossible.

Many in the Trump administration see alternative to detention programs as undermining their larger goal of keeping immigrants in custody, which helps resolve court cases faster and leads to more deportations.

Officials wanted to keep families in detention until their cases were completed, but a federal agreement on the handling of children in government custody generally prevents youngsters from being detained longer than 20 days. In the meantime, ankle monitors and other alternatives to detention programs resulted in 2,430 people being deported from the U.S. in fiscal year 2017, Bourke said. That's an average cost of $75,360 per deportation.

Overall spending on alternatives to detention rose to $183 million for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2017, up from $91 million in 2014, Bourke said. In the same period, the number of deportations for people in the program only increased by 273, from 2,157 to 2,430 - or only about 1 percent of the more than 226,000 people ICE deported over the same period, Bourke said.

ICE's average length of stay in immigration detention is about 40 days, while the average length of time for immigrants not in custody to have immigrant cases on court dockets is more than eight years. Though daily costs are lower when releasing immigrants with electronic monitoring rather than keeping them in custody, the average cost of detention is about $5,500, compared to $16,000 for someone who is released but remains under surveillance for years, the Trump administration says.

That's a key reason why ankle monitors have been a boon to Boca Raton, Florida-based GEO Group, which in 2010 acquired Behavioral Interventions Inc. of Boulder, Colorado, for $410 million. A year earlier, Behavioral Interventions had secured ICE's first nationwide supervision contract for immigrants in the country illegally. GEO signed an intensive supervision contract in 2014 that has been re-negotiated several times and is set to expire in November.

GEO says, under its contract, it must refer all questions to ICE.

Stock in the company, which employs David Venturella, a former ICE assistant director, and has ex-ICE chief Julie Myers Wood on its board, has outrun the larger bull market since Trump took office in January 2017.

Ankle monitors used to be most frequently issued to women with young children, but now are being increasingly affixed to all kinds of immigrants.

Sandra - who asked that her full name not be published so as not to jeopardize her asylum case - said she left La Union el Pozo Sayaxche in northern Guatemala with her 12-year-old son, Juan Carlos, on May 12. She said she fled because she faced discrimination because of her dark skin, but that she also was attacked sexually by a man who threatened to kill her if she went to the police.

The pair walked through the night and turned themselves into U.S. authorities about three weeks later. They were held in different Texas detention centers for nearly two months, then reunited and released - but not before she got an ankle monitor. They now live in New Jersey, where she's required to meet regularly with an immigration official.

"I feel tortured," Sandra said. "I'm not in one of those detention centers, thank God, but I still feel like I'm a prisoner."

The devices have rechargeable batteries that often last six hours or less and must be powered at all times. Taylor Levy, legal coordinator at Annunciation House in El Paso, which has taken in hundreds of reunited families, said most of the immigrant adults get ankle monitors - and many complain that they give them rashes, apply painful pressure and make getting dressed difficult.

If a device's battery dies or bangs against something, alarms are triggered and orders are barked in Spanish, usually commanding wearers to call their case workers. The same holds when a monitor registers a geolocation outside the area to which a wearer is restricted. Immigrants issued ankle monitors also usually must stay home on assigned days for unannounced visits, or are required to check in personally with case workers.

A visit to a low-slung office building near Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport found nearly 70 people - almost all women - sitting in folding chairs waiting to see case workers, their ankle monitors tucked beneath pants legs. Maria, 40, showed off her monitor and bruised ankle. She said she'd fled the Honduran city of San Pedro de Sula after gang members threatened to kidnap her daughter but asked that her surname be withheld, citing concerns for her safety.

Many men with monitors "cut them loose and take off," Maria said. "Better if I stay here and follow instructions to the end."

Two former case workers with a GEO subsidiary, who spoke on condition that they not be named because they wanted to safeguard their chances for future government employment, said it was common for ankle monitors to be removed prematurely, and people who do so are rarely pursued. That's consistent with the 2015 DHS inspector general's report, which found that ICE lacked the resources to chase many who abscond.

"ICE has other priorities and most likely will not look for them," said one of the former case workers, who worked in Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi. He said that if someone did flee, the priority was recovering their ankle monitor - not tracking down the person who abandoned it.

"We would visit their house and knock on their door," the former case worker said, "and at most try to look for the GPS unit."

___

Bajak reported from Houston, Weissert from Austin, Texas. Associated Press reporter Astrid Galvan contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Monday, July 23, 2018 file photo, Carlos Fuentes Maldonado, an immigrant from Honduras seeking asylum who was released and reunited with his family, wears an ankle monitor as he waits at a Catholic Charities facility in San Antonio. Federal authorities' shift away from separating immigrant families caught in the U.S. illegally now means that many parents and children are quickly released, only to be fitted with electronic monitoring devices _ a practice which both the government and advocacy groups oppose for different reasons. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)ACHOCALLA, Bolivia (AP) - Few countries in the world have advanced so quickly toward gender parity in politics as has Bolivia, where women now hold almost half the seats in congress and laws mandate gender equality at lower levels too.

But some male Bolivian politicians have resisted the change, and women's rights activists report a sharp increase in violence against female politicians as their numbers rise.

Mary de la Cruz, a city councilwoman in a town on the outskirts of La Paz, said the town's mayor accosted her as she walked with colleagues through a plaza in Achocalla and punched her in the face, knocking her to the ground. She said he was apparently angry she had complained of irregularities in public works contracts.

In this June 30, 2018 photo, Councilwoman Marcela Huanca cries as she relates the bullying she suffered from the mayor and his family, in Escoma, Bolivia. The South American country has a high percentage of women in municipal positions, and the world's second-highest number of women in parliament, according to the United Nations. But reports of political violence against women are on the rise. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

De la Cruz filed a complaint, but so far authorities have taken no action against Mayor Damaso Ninaja, who has denied punching the councilwoman, saying she merely fell.

"It hasn't been easy for me to get where I am," said de la Cruz, who complained the mayor also had been spreading false rumors about her sex life. "And the man thinks that we are inferior creatures, that a punch isn't anything, that's its normal."

Bolivia began addressing gender imbalance in politics in 1997 with a law that at least 30 percent of candidates for many races be women. The Andean nation subsequently refined the laws to guarantee parity.

A decade ago, women held only 4 percent of posts in municipal assemblies. By 2015, they held 50 percent - a group that included De la Cruz, 38.

But women's rising profile "has also led to problems related to discrimination, manipulation and violence," a report by UN Women said.

Prosecutors say they have received 36 complaints of harassment and political violence against women so far this year. But electoral officials say they've received 60 such complaints - six times the number last year. And the Councilwomen's Association of Bolivia says it has registered 90 complaints.

Some women say they wound up dropping their complaints when a male-dominated legal system showed little interest. On the other hand, some courts have shown remarkable zeal in prosecuting women.

Monica Paye, was arrested and suspended from her position as councilwoman in the La Paz-area municipality of Callapa in May when officials accused her of losing two city-owned laptop computers, even though she offered to replace them. Paye, 34, who has remained under house arrest, had feuded with the mayor over public works contrasts in the town.

Awareness of violence against female politicians in Bolivia was raised by the 2012 killing of Ancoirames town councilwoman Juana Quispe, whose body was found with signs of violence on the banks of a river in La Paz.

Quispe's family accused then-Mayor Felix Huanca and three councilmen, whom they accused of persecuting Quispe for nearly two years because of her allegations of corruption. Relatives said Quispe had been threatened in efforts to force her from her job and at one time was beaten and dragged through a town square.

Quispe's death led to passage of a law against harassment and violence against women in public office, a law that has been held up as a model for other nations, said Carolina Taborga, UN Women representative in Bolivia. Perpetrators can be punished with up to five years in prison.

But Quispe's killing remains unsolved even as attacks on female politicians have increased.

"The law is very nice, but it's not working," said De la Cruz, who is also the mother of three children and a potato and lettuce farmer. "We're still suffering harassment and violence."

Paye said the pressure is especially strong against women in the countryside. She said pressures include false allegations of infidelity and withholding of salaries, as well as physical violence.

In some elections, candidates are required to have a running mate or alternate of the opposite sex. If a woman wins, sometimes her male alternate will seek to oust her to take power.

Sometimes women come under attack even from a male politician's family or friends.

Escoma town Councilwoman Marcela Mamani Huanca had accused the mayor of corruption shortly before he died in a car crash. His family blamed her for the death.

"Right after the mayor's wake, his sister and brother dragged me by the hair in the town square in front of my children," said Huanca, a 35-year-old butcher.

Gender-based political violence is seen throughout Latin America, particularly in Mexico, where 19 female candidates were killed and 118 were attacked ahead of the July elections. Brazilians were shocked at this year's murder of Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco, who was known for outspokenness against police violence. And in Peru, electoral authorities estimate that four of every 10 female candidates are victims of political harassment and if elected, two out every five women suffer political violence.

"Men think that women take on political positions to take away their jobs," said UN Women's Taborga. "This only expresses the male-chauvinistic and patriarchal mentality that persists in the organizations that that these men represent."

In this June 23, 2018 photo, Councilwoman Mary de la Cruz holds a photo showing the bruises caused by a male colleague who punched her in the face, in Achocalla, Bolivia. De la Cruz says the mayor of Achocalla, Damaso Ninaja, hit her after she pointed out irregularities in his handling of public work contracts. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this June 23, 2018 photo, Councilwoman Mary de la Cruz poses for a picture in Achocalla, Bolivia. De la Cruz beams with pride wearing her councilwoman's sash in a municipality neighboring Bolivia's capital. But then she will tear up recalling how a male colleague recently punched her in the face. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this June 23, 2018 photo, Councilwoman Mary de la Cruz speaks during an interview, in Achocalla, Bolivia. De la Cruz says the mayor of Achocalla, Damaso Ninaja, hit her after she pointed out irregularities in his handling of public work contracts. She says that he reeked of alcohol when he knocked her to the ground. Before the attack, she says Ninaja had been spreading false rumors that she was unfaithful to her partner. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this June 23, 2018 photo, Councilwoman Mary de la Cruz cries as she recalls the bullying and violence she suffered from the from the mayor, during an interview in Achocalla, Bolivia. "The mayor is still free. It hurts my dignity," she said. "Justice must be served."(AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this July 25, 2018 photo, Batallas Councilwoman Lidia Maria Quispe, from second left, Council Vice President Sonia Alanoca Tito and Council President Rosa Condori Cadena, attend a council meeting in Batallas, Bolivia. Bolivia began addressing gender imbalance in politics in 1997 with a law imposing a 30 percent quota for women on candidates' lists for many elections. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this June 29, 2018 photo, Callapa Councilwoman Monica Paye, who is under house arrest, sits next to her official sashes, in La Paz, Bolivia. Paye, was suspended from her position in May without pay, and is now under house arrest after she was accused of losing two laptop computers. But she says that the accusations are meant to keep her from office because she dared to question the mayor of her municipality about the loss of public contracts. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this June 29, 2018 photo, Callapa Councilwoman Monica Paye, who is under house arrest, poses for a photo in La Paz, Bolivia. The 34-year-old said that women in politics suffer other types of pressures to set them aside, including false accusations of infidelity, withholding the payment of their salaries and physical violence. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this July 25, 2018 photo, an Aymara woman enters the mayor's office in Batallas, Bolivia. In some elections, men are required to run with a female alternate, and vice versa. If a woman holds an elected office sometimes her male alternate will seek to oust her to take power. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this June 30, 2018 photo, Escoma Councilwoman Marcela Huanca poses for a photo wearing her official sash, in Escoma, Bolivia. Huanca reported the mayor of her town of Escoma for corruption. After she filed the complaint, the mayor died in a car crash. The family of the mayor blamed her for his death and attacked her. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this July 25, 2018 photo, Batallas Councilwoman Lidia Maria Quispe poses for photo wearing her official sash, in Batallas, Bolivia. Quispe was among three councilwomen in Batallas who were attacked by several people, including the former president of the council, who was suspended for irregularities during his time in office. Quispe says she felt shame and pain. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

In this July 18, 2018 photo, Sica Sica Councilwoman Damiana Condori, who said she gave up her position due to harassment from the male alternate, poses for a photo in Sica Sica, Bolivia. Record numbers of women are holding public office, more than half its legislators are women but these gains are being accompanied by rising violence against female office-holders. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)ROME (AP) - Catholic bishops, tiny Albania and Ireland agreed to take the 140 migrants blocked aboard an Italian coast guard vessel, Premier Giuseppe Conte said Saturday, announcing the end of 10-day standoff over the asylum-seekers but making clear an angry Italy could avenge a perceived lack of overall European Union solidarity by refusing to approve the bloc's next multi-year budget.

"Italy must take note that the 'spirit of solidarity is struggling to translate into concrete acts," Conte said in a statement. Conte referred to declarations made at an EU summit in late June promising to help Italy and other Mediterranean countries deal with the burden of migrants rescued from human traffickers' unseaworthy boats.

In his role as head of a nearly three-month-old populist coalition government, Conte said Italy under current conditions "doesn't consider it possible to express adhesion to a proposed budget that underpins a policy so incoherent on the social level."

Migrants aboard the Italian Coast Guard ship Diciotti gather on the deck as they await decisions in the port of Catania, Italy, Friday, Aug. 24 2018. An Italian lawmaker says rescued migrants stuck aboard an Italian coast guard ship are starting a hunger strike. Rescued on Aug. 16 in the Mediterranean Sea, 150 migrants are still on the ship after minors and the sick were allowed off in recent days. (Orietta Scardino/ANSA via AP)

Earlier in the week, some in the government threatened to withhold nearly 20 billion euros ($23 billion) in contributions to the EU if member nations didn't volunteer to take the last group of rescued migrants reaching Italy. Brussels sharply reminded Italy it was legally obliged to pay.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who leads the anti-migrant League party, refused to let the migrants off the coast guard vessel Diciotti until other EU nations pledged to take the asylum-seekers, most of them young men from Eritrea.

Just before Conte announced the drama's resolution, Salvini told party supporters at a rally in northern Italy that a Sicily-based prosecutor, Luigi Patronaggio, had put him under investigation for suspected abduction for refusing to let the migrants disembark.

If the prosecutor "wants to interrogate me or even arrest me because I defend the borders and security of my country, I'm proud of it," Salvini tweeted. Many of his supporters blame migrants for crime.

Earlier in the week, the government's rights office for detained persons concluded this week that the migrants were being unjustly held by the government.

Salvini took credit for convincing bishops to take many of the migrants. The bishops agreed to "open up their doors, heart and wallet," he told the rally.

Fifty others of the 190 people rescued at sea on Aug. 16 by the Italian coast guard were previously allowed off the ship, including all the minors and ailing adults.

A few hours before Conte's announcement, Italian Red Cross ambulances waiting at dockside took away six ill men, suspected of having tuberculosis, pneumonia or other infections, and seven of the 11 women who were still aboard.

Authorities had said the women recounted how they had been raped while in Libya for months, awaiting the opportunity to leave in migrant smugglers' boats.

Four other women chose not to leave the ship because their husbands were blocked aboard.

The standoff had prompted an impassioned appeal at the height of the standoff Saturday by the U.N. refugee agency's chief, who asked Italy to let the migrants disembark and urged EU countries to take responsibility for the asylum-seekers.

In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said it's time to end a "race to the bottom on who can take the least responsibility for people rescued at sea." He urged European countries "to do the right thing and offer places of asylum for people rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in their time of need."

Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi expressed appreciation for Albania's "sign of great solidarity and friendship," his ministry said.

Albania, which isn't in the European Union, saw thousands of its citizens flee to Italy across the Adriatic Sea aboard dramatically overcrowded rickety ferries and fishing boats in hopes of a better life in the 1990s.

Meanwhile, Sicily-based prosecutors took their investigation of the migrant standoff to Rome. Prosecutor Patronaggio left without speaking to reporters after questioning two Interior Ministry officials at the Italian capital's prosecutors' office, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

Prosecutors would have to seek permission from a special panel to question Salvini. As a lawmaker, Salvini also holds immunity from prosecution that could only be lifted by fellow lawmakers.

Italian Red Cross official Stefano Principato in Catania told reporters that Italy's health minister had ordered an inspection of sanitary conditions for the migrants, who have been sleeping on the ship's deck and coping with a baking sun and limited toilet facilities.

Doctors have said many of the migrants on the ship have scabies but "more than a health emergency, it would be better to speak of a psychological emergency," Principato said.

___

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report

___

Frances D'Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilioRENO, Nev. (AP) - The #MeToo movement is making its way to Burning Man.

Organizers are reminding attendees that just because the counter-culture festival in the Nevada desert is known for occasional nudity and kinky landmarks like the "Orgy Dome," it doesn't mean it's a free-for-all when it comes to touching or nonconsensual sex, the Reno Gazette Journal reported . This year's event started this weekend.

While the festival doesn't have official guidelines, it does have a set of informal rules.

In this Aug. 30, 2014 photo, a couple stands inside a love sculpture at Burning Man on the Black Rock Desert of Gerlach, Nev. The #MeToo movement is making its way to Burning Man which begins Aug. 26-Sept. 3, 2018. Organizers are reminding attendees that just because the counterculture festival in the Nevada desert is known for occasional nudity and kinky landmarks like the "Orgy Dome," it doesn't mean it's a free-for-all when it comes to touching or non-consensual sex. (Andy Barron/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP)

Tex Allen, a 13-year Burner, doubts many newcomers to the playa are reading those.

The festival's on-site Sexual Assault Services department receives five and 20 reports of alleged sexual assault each year, said Burning Man spokesman Jim Graham.

Many of those reports involve leering or grabbing, which aren't considered sexual assault under Nevada law. A few reports each year require involvement from law enforcement.

Last year, two people were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault without substantial bodily harm.

No arrests related to sexual assault or rape were made the year before.

Despite the low arrests, Donna Rae Watson, director of the Bureau of Erotic Discourse, a large camp at Burning Man that teaches people about sex, still hears stories of harassment at the festival from dozens of people each year.

"Scandalous costumes and nudity might be considered inviting. (Others) automatically think consent is implied, but implied consent doesn't exist," she said.

The organization is doing more to educate participants about consent, what it means and what it applies to.

Watson said her group was founded in 2005 after a woman was sexually assault at the festival the previous year.

The camp, which is not a part of the Burning Man organization, tapes posters inside port-a-potties that define consent.

The group also passes out buttons with slogans such as "Consent is sexy" and "However you dress, wherever you go, yes means yes and no means no."

The camp has begun to visit other camps, especially those that host large dance parties, and teach them about consent.

This year, ticketholders received an email reminding them that consent is needed not just for sex but for any kind of touching, gifting (including food and drink) and photography.

In recent years, many Burners have adopted consent as the 11th principle along with their other 10 principles that include self-expression and immediacy.

"Our purpose is to bring consent front and center and incorporate it into the ethos of the culture, where boundaries are respected and our bodies are respected," Watson said.

___

Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2007 file photo, Burning Man festival participants walk in Center Camp in Gerlach, Nev. The #MeToo movement is making its way to Burning Man that begins Aug. 26-Sept. 3, 2018. Organizers are reminding attendees that just because the counterculture festival in the Nevada desert is known for occasional nudity and kinky landmarks like the "Orgy Dome," it doesn't mean it's a free-for-all when it comes to touching or non-consensual sex. (AP Photo/Brad Horn, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2008 file photo, Burning Man participants walk on the playa at the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nev. The #MeToo movement is making its way to Burning Man that begins Aug. 26-Sept. 3, 2018. Organizers are reminding attendees that just because the counterculture festival in the Nevada desert is known for occasional nudity and kinky landmarks like the "Orgy Dome," it doesn't mean it's a free-for-all when it comes to touching or non-consensual sex. (AP Photo/Brad Horn, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2007 file photo, a woman sits in a shelter during a dust storm on the playa of the Black Rock Desert in Gerlach, Nev., during the Burning Man festival. The #MeToo movement is making its way to Burning Man that begins Aug. 26-Sept. 3, 2018. Organizers are reminding attendees that just because the counterculture festival in the Nevada desert is known for occasional nudity and kinky landmarks like the "Orgy Dome," it doesn't mean it's a free-for-all when it comes to touching or non-consensual sex. (AP Photo/Brad Horn, File)

In this Aug. 30, 2014 photo, a couple stands inside a love sculpture at Burning Man on the Black Rock Desert of Gerlach, Nev. The #MeToo movement is making its way to Burning Man which begins Aug. 26-Sept. 3, 2018. Organizers are reminding attendees that just because the counterculture festival in the Nevada desert is known for occasional nudity and kinky landmarks like the "Orgy Dome," it doesn't mean it's a free-for-all when it comes to touching or non-consensual sex. (Andy Barron/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP)BEND, Ore. (AP) - An Oregon woman authorities say shot and killed her severely disabled 7-year-old son and then attempted suicide is expected to recover.

Tashina Aleine Jordan, 28, is being treated at a Bend hospital following a life-threatening overdose, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel told The Bulletin . Hummel said he's still undecided on what charges Jordan might face.

"What is going to drive it is whether I believe a crime is committed," he said. "There are many pieces of information that may be relevant to what the sentence should be."

This undated photo provided by the Central Oregon Disability Support Network shows Tashina Aleine Jordan with her son, Mason Jordan. The single mother fatally shot her severely disabled 7-year-old son and then attempted suicide after years spent caring for the child. A relative found Tashina Jordan, 28, unconscious Monday, Aug. 21, 2018, at the Bend, Ore., home she shared with her son and mother. Authorities found the boy and pronounced him dead. Notes at the scene indicated Jordan was the shooter. (Kimberly Teichrow/Central Oregon Disability Support Network via AP via AP)

A relative found Jordan unconscious Monday at the Bend home she shared with her son and mother. Authorities found the boy, named Mason, and pronounced him dead.

Authorities have said notes at the scene indicated Jordan was the shooter.

Hummel said that for several days it didn't look like Jordan would survive the overdose, but she has since improved.

The woman was the primary caretaker of her son, who suffered brain bleeds as an infant and lapsed into a coma before reawakening. He was unable to feed, bathe or dress himself and used a wheelchair.

Dianna Hansen, a close family friend and executive director of the Central Oregon Disability Support Network, said Mason's father left after his diagnosis and Jordan lived with her mother to make ends meet.

She said Jordan showed no signs of depression or of feeling overwhelmed.

___

Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.comEULESS, Texas (AP) - Authorities in Northeast Texas say a passenger train collided with a dump truck that was on the tracks, killing two people inside the truck.

Emergency crews say 11 people on the Trinity Railway Express were also injured in the crash Saturday afternoon and were taken to a nearby hospital. Two patients are in critical condition, while three others have serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The accident occurred in Euless, about halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth.

Fort Worth and Arlington firefighters investigate a destroyed dump truck after it was hit by a Trinity Railway Express passenger train, in background, at Calloway Cemetery Road, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, near Euless, Texas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

The Dallas Morning News reports the collision shattered some train windows and damaged the front of the train. Dallas Area Rapid Transit spokesman Morgan Lyons tells KHOU the accident should have been avoidable.

It is not clear how fast the train was traveling or why the dump truck was on the railroad tracks.

Fort Worth and Arlington firefighters investigate a destroyed dump truck after it was hit by a Trinity Railway Express passenger train, in background, at Calloway Cemetery Road, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, near Euless, Texas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

Police officers walk toward a railroad crossing where a Trinity Railway Express passenger train collided with a dump truck, Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, near Euless, Texas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)A mixed bag of news makes the headlines on Saturday  from the latest on the tragic deaths of a British couple in Egypt to allegations against Alex Salmond.

The Guardian reports that former SNP leader Mr Salmond has been accused of sexual harassment by two female officials  claims which he has vigorously denied.

The Guardian front page, Saturday 25 August 2018: Salmond fights back after sex harassment claims revealed pic.twitter.com/fmspLuoIax  The Guardian (@guardian) August 24, 2018

Police have confirmed inquiries are under way, the i says, while the former first minister vowed to fight the Scottish Government in court.

What the papers say - August 25

i: Salmond sex assault claims: police confirm enquiries under way #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/QP41vGDOrW  Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) August 24, 2018

Meanwhile, the deaths of John and Susan Cooper on holiday in Egypt continue to feature prominently, with the Daily Mirror reporting that their daughter Kelly Ormerod said she believed something suspicious had happened.

The Daily Express leads on the same story, as Ms Ormerod revealed her parents died before her eyes.

Daily Express: They died before my very eyes #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/ry2AcMFZLd  Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) August 24, 2018

Both the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail lead on Theresa Mays war against plastic, with the Telegraph claiming the price of a carrier bag will double to 10p.

The Mail says the plastic bag charge is to be extended to every shop, lifting the exemption on small businesses with fewer than 250 staff.

The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph: 'Price of a bag up to 10p in war on plastic' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/j4E6hkP5bz  The Telegraph (@Telegraph) August 24, 2018

Elsewhere, The Times reports that far-right leaders rallied behind Jeremy Corbyn after a film emerged of him giving a speech on Zionists in Britain.

Tomorrow's front page: Far right comes out for Corbyn #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/zHsIVTBxnf  The Times (@thetimes) August 24, 2018

And the Financial Times says some of TSBs most senior executives are quitting the struggling bank as it battles to recover from a disastrous IT upgrade.Hurricane Lane took aim at the Hawaiian islands on Friday, bringing torrential rains that immersed a city in waist-deep water and forced some residents and tourists to flee flooding homes.

Others flocked to Honolulus famed Waikiki Beach to jump off seawalls with boogie boards into the turbulent ocean.

As many dealt with flooding and even brush fires, swimmers and surfers ignored warnings from authorities and plunged into powerful waves at the closed beach on Oahu  the most populated island.

Emergency officials said repeatedly over loudspeakers: Please get out of the water! Its very dangerous!

Swimmers get tossed around at Makapuu Beach in Waimanalo, Hawaii (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Honolulus mayor pleaded with tourists that they were putting themselves in danger as the storm moved closer.

The storm weakened to a Category 1 with winds of 74 to 95 mph as it headed north towards the Hawaiian islands, the US National Weather Service said.

It was expected to veer west, skirting the islands, but still threatened to bring heavy rains and strong, gusty winds across the state, meteorologist Gavin Shigesato said.

A hurricane watch for Hawaiis westernmost inhabited islands, Kauai and Niihau, was downgraded to a tropical storm watch.

But the hurricane centre warned that Lanes slow movement increased the potential for prolonged heavy rainfall that was expected to cause major flash flooding and landslides.

The outer bands of the hurricane dumped as much as three feet of rain on the mostly rural Big Island in 48 hours. The main town of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded on Friday with waist-high water as landslides shut down roads.

People look over the Wainaku Street bridge as Wailuku River rages below them in Hilo, Hawaii (Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP)

Elsewhere on the Big Island, the National Guard and firefighters rescued six people and a dog from a flooded home, while five California tourists were rescued from another home.

A different type of evacuation took place on Oahu.

Officials with Hawaiis Department of Land and Natural Resources transferred about 2,000 rare Hawaiian snails from a mountain marsh to offices in Honolulu.

Some of the snails are literally the last of their kind.

In Waikiki, the man-made Ala Wai Canal is likely to flood if predicted rains arrive, said Ray Alexander of the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The canal has flooded in the past, and I believe its safe to say based on the forecast of rainfall its likely to flood again, the impacts of which we arent prepared to say at this time, he said.

People walk by sandbags stacked up to protect a store near Waikiki Beach (AP Photo/John Locher)

Employees have filled sandbags to protect oceanfront hotels from surging surf. Stores along Waikikis glitzy Kalakaua Avenue stacked sandbags along the bottom of their glass windows to prepare for flash flooding, while residents lined up at stores to stockpile supplies.

Away from the high-rise hotels of Waikiki, Crystal Bowden, a tourist from California, watched powerful waves crash against cliffs on Oahus southeast coast.

I came in to visit, got here just in time for the hurricane, she said. Were kind of excited.

Almost 16,000 homes and businesses on the islands lost power as the outer edges of the hurricane battered the islands, but service was restored to some.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with about only four or five named storms a year. The last major storm to hit Hawaii was Iniki in 1992.A bid to plant a million trees as part of the re-greening of one of Africas most parched regions was on the Irish Presidents agenda for a meeting with the Pope on Saturday.

Michael D Higgins is backing the Laudato Tree Project and efforts to build a Great Green Wall on the continent.

The Republic has been invited by the United Nations to take a leadership role in helping combat desertification in a massive swathe of land south of the Sahara known as the Sahel.

Ireland is backing a bid to build a Great Green Wall of trees in one of Africas most parched regions (Brian Lawless/PA)

A 1.2 million euro (1.1 million) Irish Government investment is expected to kick-start the effort to create a lasting legacy from the Popes visit to Ireland.

The executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Monique Barbut, said: During our meeting in Dublin earlier this year, I was deeply impressed by the passionate commitment of the Society of African Missions in supporting worldwide efforts to achieve the 2030 Great Green Wall vision.

In recognition of your excellent work, we would like to nominate the Society of African Missions (SMA) for the 2018-19 UNCCD Land for Life Awards, which provides global recognition to individuals and organisations whose work and initiatives have made a significant contribution to scaling-up action in protecting and rehabilitating land resources worldwide.

The SMA has asked President Higgins to speak to Pope Francis about an invitation from the President and religious leaders of Burkina Faso to visit the Sahel region to see for himself the impact of global warming and how the people of Burkina Faso and the region are working to combat the impact of desertification through growing the Great Green Wall.

Africas Great Green Wall aims to restore 100 million hectares of land; provide food security for 20 million people; create 350,000 jobs; and capture 250 million tons of carbon by 2030.

When completed, it will span 13 countries. It will measure 8,000km (4,970 miles) long and 15km (9 miles) wide.

Irelands role would also involve schools, parishes and community groups in planting trees in Ireland, increasing biodiversity and contributing to atmospheric improvement.

The project takes its name from a 2015 papal encyclical by Pope Francis, Laudato Si, on caring for the environment, and is intended to be a visible expression of the encyclicals intervention.

It will transform donations into the planting of six trees in total: one tree in Ireland and five trees along the Great Green Wall.

This also includes the after-care of the trees and the training of Great Green Wall guardian communities who will plant and take care of the trees for future generations.

Each donation will be used to plant a tree in a woodland in Ireland and to plant five trees on Africas Great Green Wall, running through northern Ghana and Burkina Faso.

Some will be invested in Ireland, promoting climate justice, the planting of trees (including 10 years aftercare), and increasing Irelands biodiversity.

Irelands tree coverage is currently the lowest in Europe at 11%. The average tree coverage throughout the European Union is 37%.The Vaticans files should be opened to prove it is serious about tackling child abuse, a veteran campaigner has said.

Blue ribbons were tied on the Hapenny Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin city centre in a symbol of solidarity with victims and survivors of clerical wrongdoing, which has rocked the Catholic Church in Ireland.

The distinctive pedestrian span was also awash with rainbow flags and purple umbrellas supporting the ordination of female priests.

Soline Humbert, 62, from Versailles, near Paris,, said: Unless the truth comes out, and we know that as Christians, and we know that as Catholics, there is no movement forward, there is no resurrection, there is no transformation and trust cannot be re-established until the truth is acknowledged.

It is very painful and it will be very disturbing but the truth is buried in the bottom, in the secret archives, of a lot of dioceses and especially in the Vatican.

The demonstration was styled as a welcome to the pontiff rather than a protest.

Those taking part held placards with the message: Justice for abused women and decried vile language used about members of the LGBT community by some in the Catholic Church.

LGBT protesters from Dublin Pride and We Are Church with flags and umbrellas on Dublins HaPenny Bridge (Niall Carson/PA)

Tourists in this popular and busy part of the city centre gathered to watch.

The gathering happened just a couple of minutes walk from Dublin Castle where the Pope meets Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Saturday afternoon.

Among those present were Maria Angalika Fromm, 67, from near Frankfurt in Germany, who said she had worked for 50 years for a changed church and urged Pope Francis to persist with his reforms.

She added: He needs to break down the patriarchal structures and be open to womens ordination without celibacy and caring for all people including gay and lesbian.

He has to go on and not be stopped by the old conservative men in the Vatican.

LGBT protesters from Dublin Pride and We Are Church on the HaPenny Bridge in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA)

Eddie McGuinness, 49, an organiser of the annual Gay Pride festival in Dublin, said he wanted the church to welcome LGBTQ people.

The Pope asked for forgiveness but lets show forgiveness and embrace the diversity of all families.

He added: It is about love, so why not embrace the teachings of Christ?

Men cannot do this on their own, they need women behind them and they need the LGBTQ community behind them as well and that is what we need to embrace.Former Labour shadow minister Chuka Umunna has described claims that the campaign for a second Brexit referendum is cover for the creation of a new centrist political party as utter bollocks.

Allegations that the Peoples Vote group calling for another poll on Britains relationship with the EU was a smokescreen for disaffected MPs to breakaway under his leadership were false news, the London MP told the Guardian.

He said that the campaign was a cross-party effort and suggestions that it was a partisan Labour effort was speculation that aids and abets Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nigel Farage and others.

Chuka Umunna dismissed talk of a breakaway political party being formed by those backing the Peoples Vote (Victoria Jones/PA)

It comes after the MP for Streatham was criticised by left-wing figures including Unite supremo Len McCluskey of plotting a breakaway by MPs opposed to Mr Corbyns leadership.

Mr Umunna told the Guardian: The idea that the Peoples Vote campaign is a precursor to a new party is complete and utter bollocks.

Frankly, people need to stop spreading false news about this.

He added: The Peoples Vote campaign contains people from all parties and people of no affiliation at all  thats the reason it has been successful.

People need to stop speculation that aids and abets Jacob Rees-Mogg, Nigel Farage and others.

The Peoples Vote campaign is campaigning for a referendum that allows the public to decide on the final Brexit deal ahead of Marchs departure from the EU.

Mr Umunna has been critical of his own partys position, which is against the new vote. Barry Gardiner, the shadow trade secretary, this week warned such a vote could lead to civil disobedience and that the 2016 result had to be respected.

For anybody to use the issue of antisemitism as a cover for launching a new political party they had been planning for nearly two years would rightly be seen as an act of appalling cynicism, basely exploiting a genuine concern that people of goodwill are working hard to address.  John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) August 16, 2018

Rumours of a plot by Labour MPs unhappy with the party under Mr Corbyn have circulated during the summer Parliamentary recess as the party faces divisions over Europe and the ongoing row over allegations of anti-Semitism in the party.

Mr McCluskey, the powerful head of the Unite trade union, hit out at Mr Umunna last week, accusing him of using the latter controversy to scheme in favour of a breakaway.

Writing for the Huffington Post, the union leader said: Given the paucity of evidence that he actually produces to sustain his charge that he is a member of an institutionally anti-Semitic party, it is fair to ask whether Umunna is merely exploiting the latest episode to justify his moves to breakaway from Labour, the plotting for which has been widely reported elsewhere.

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell also warned unnamed figures plotting a breakaway, tweeting: For anybody to use the issue of antisemitism as a cover for launching a new political party they had been planning for nearly two years would rightly be seen as an act of appalling cynicism, basely exploiting a genuine concern that people of goodwill are working hard to address.South Korea has described Donald Trumps decision to call off a trip by his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to North Korea as unfortunate, but said it is most important for the allies to pursue substantial progress on denuclearisation.

The statement by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul came hours after the US president ordered Mr Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he sees as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North.

The ministry said South Korean foreign minister Kang Kyung-hwa spoke with Mr Pompeo over the phone and they pledged joint efforts to keep the momentum of dialogue alive.

President Donald Trump has called off his Secretary of States visit to North Korea (John Minchillo/AP)

Mr Trump also accused China for its supposed lack of support in US-led diplomatic efforts to rid North Korea of nuclear weapons and missiles.

But China hit back, with its Foreign Ministry saying on its website: The US statement violates basic facts and is irresponsible.

It also said it is seriously concerned about it and has made solemn representations to the US side.Torrential rain is now the biggest threat to Hawaii after a once-powerful hurricane that skirted the islands was downgraded to a tropical storm, officials have said.

In a message to citizens, Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Brock Long urged people to continue to take the storm seriously and dont let your guard down.

He added: Tropical storms can be very dangerous and Hawaii is not in the clear from Tropical Storm Lane at this point.

11:00 pm 8/24/18 Preliminary rain totals on Big Island show 4 stations have reported 40+ inches from #Lane. The highest is Waiakea Uka with 44.88". Flooding remains a primary concern this weekend for some islands. #HIwx  NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) August 25, 2018

Several more days of rain are forecast, he said, and mudslides caused by downpours have already caused damage to the transport infrastructure, mostly in Hawaii County on the Big Island.

The rainfall event is not over, he said. Torrential rains will be the largest threat that we see for the next 48 hours.

We are standing by to continue our support for the response and eventually the recovery efforts that are taking place.

Lane roared towards the island chain earlier this week as a Category 5 hurricane. That meant it was likely to cause catastrophic damage with winds of 157mph or above.

Boarded up shops near Waikiki Beach protected against Tropical Storm Lane (John Locher/AP)

But upper-level winds known as shear swiftly tore the storm apart. By late on Friday, the National Weather Service said Lane had maximum sustained winds of 70mph as it slowly twisted west about 120 miles south of Honolulu.

The outer bands of the hurricane dumped as much as 3ft of rain in 48 hours on the mostly rural Big Island. The main town of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded with waist-high water as landslides shut roads.

As flooding hit the Big Island, brush fires broke out in areas of Maui and Oahu susceptible to flames.

Onlookers watch large waves crash on the rocks at Wawamalu Beach, Waimanalo, as the seas are stirred up by Tropical Storm Line (Marco Garcia/AP)

Some residents in a shelter on Maui had to flee when a fire got too close, and another fire forced people from their homes.

In Waikiki, the man-made Ala Wai Canal is likely to flood if predicted rains arrive, said Ray Alexander of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The canal marks the northern boundary of the Waikiki tourist district.

The canal has flooded in the past, and I believe its safe to say based on the forecast of rainfall its likely to flood again  the impacts of which we arent prepared to say at this time, he added.Northern Irelands draconian abortion laws must be changed to allow women there to access termination drugs in the same way as those in the rest of the UK, Labour has said.

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Tony Lloyd called on the Government to take action after it was announced the rules in England will be changed to allow women to take the second abortion pill at home.

The move will see the country follow Scotland and Wales in offering women the chance to take the pill in the safe and familiar surroundings of their own home.

Northern Ireland has the most restrictive laws on abortion in the UK and a political impasse at Stormont has so far prevented change (Niall Carson/PA)

Calls for Northern Irelands abortion laws to be reformed intensified after a referendum in the Republic of Ireland earlier this year resoundingly backed liberalising legislation south of the border.

But Northern Ireland has been without an assembly since last year and the UK Government has so far insisted that change must come from Stormont.

Mr Lloyd said the announcement in England highlighted the shocking reality that women in Northern Ireland do not have the same access to the healthcare they need as in the rest of the UK.

He added: Access to safe and legal terminations in Northern Ireland is strictly limited resulting in women travelling to Great Britain for terminations or taking unregulated pills bought online.

Women in Northern Ireland who take these pills are putting their lives at risk.

The UK Government must take action and bring Northern Irelands draconian laws in line with those in the rest of the UK to ensure women do not have to endure further suffering and that those in need receive the care they require.

Under the current system, women in England are required to take both pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, 24-48 hours apart in a clinic to end an early pregnancy before 10 weeks gestation.

The Government said it will legalise home-use by the end of the year in a move welcomed by campaigners, who say the current system can cause unnecessary stress and trauma.

Women leave the clinic after taking the second pill and pass the pregnancy at home, with the two visits sometimes challenging to organise and often uncomfortable or traumatic  and some women even beginning to miscarry before they reach home.

In July, more than 170 politicians from across the spectrum in the UK and Ireland called on the British Government to reform Northern Irelands abortion laws.

The group, including Conservative, Labour and Lib Dem MPs and peers, Stormont Assembly members and Irish TDs and senators, said it was a matter of protecting womens human rights and honouring the Good Friday Agreement.

According to the group, nearly 1,000 women and girls were forced to travel to Britain for safe terminations in 2017, while others had to take illegal abortion drugs at home.If Vanuatu does not speak for West Papua, then who will?: LiniThe Pope has spent 90 minutes meeting Irish survivors of clerical abuse and mistreatment in Dublin.

The polite and cordial discussion focused on the plight of past residents of Catholic homes for mothers and babies and victims of forced and illegal adoption.

The meeting took place at the Papal Nuncios residence. The Papal Nuncio is the Popes diplomatic representative to Ireland.

A letter from survivors released afterwards said: Around 100,000 single mothers who were forcibly separated from their babies were regularly told it was a mortal sin to search for, or even contact, their own sons and daughters.

As an act of healing, Pope Francis, we ask that you make it clear to the now elderly and dying community of natural mothers and adoptees that there is no sin in reunion and rather that it is a joyous event that should be encouraged and facilitated by the Catholic Church.

They said many natural mothers and adoptees will be in attendance at a papal Mass on Sunday.

Pairs of baby shoes with black laces have been hung up across Dublin in memory of the children who died in Mother and Baby homes across Ireland (Niall Carson/PA)

The letter added: Five orders and congregations of Catholic nuns ran Irelands notorious Mother and Baby homes where over 6,000 babies and children died as well as dozens of young mothers.

These nuns have never taken responsibility for their wilful neglect. We ask you, Pope Francis, to publicly call on these nuns to acknowledge their actions and issue an unqualified apology to all the survivors of their institutions.

We also request that you call on these nuns to immediately commit to paying the full cost of the current inquiry and any redress that may be awarded in the future.

The papal visit to Ireland has so far been dominated by the Vaticans response to clerical abuse.

Clodagh Malone, who was born in Saint Patricks Mother and Baby home in Dublin and adopted at 10 weeks old, asked the Pope to publicly state that the natural mothers who lost their babies to adoption had done nothing wrong, and call for reconciliation and reunion for these families broken by the Catholic Church both in Ireland and around the world.

The Pope agreed to include the message in his Mass on Sunday, survivors said.

Paul Redmond, who was born in Castlepollard Mother and Baby home in Co Westmeath and adopted at 17 days, asked the Pope to publicly call upon the orders of nuns who ran the homes to immediately accept their responsibilities for the horror that went on for generations in the homes, issue an unqualified and sincere apology, and pay the full costs of inquiries and redress in Ireland as a matter of urgency.

The Pope did apologise to all for what happened in the homes, the survivors said.

The baby shoes have been hung up to coincide with the Popes visit to Ireland (Aaron Chown/PA)

Their statement added: Pope Francis condemned corruption and cover up within the church as caca.

Literally filth as one sees in a toilet, his translator clarified.

Mr Redmond said they hope there will be more movement from the church on the issue of Mother and Baby homes.

The Pope was genuinely shocked to hear about the 6,000 babies who died and the 3,000 banished babies lifted his hands to his head in shock.

Ms Malone said it was a powerful meeting.

He listened with a genuine interest, and he asked many questions about Mother and Baby homes.More than 80,000 people turned out to Dublins Croke Park stadium on Saturday evening for the Festival of Families.

The concert-type event was held to mark the end of the World Meeting of Families 2018, including performances by Andrea Bocelli, The Riverdance Troupe, Nathan Carter, Dana Masters and Daniel ODonnell.

Pope Francis delivered an address and heard five testimonies by families from Ireland, Canada, India, Iraq, and Africa about the importance of family in the modern age.

Pope Francis arrives at Croke Park Stadium (Aaron Chown/PA)

Daniel ODonnell bringing down the house at Croke Park here, but would we expect anything less from the man himself? #PopeinIreland pic.twitter.com/UgV8ac3Jji  aoife moore. (@aoifegracemoore) August 25, 2018

Rita Coyne from Dublin watched the show along with her friend Mary Byrne, and said she was uplifted by the amount of young people involved.

She added: Its brilliant, its very different, its very beautiful, so different from what I expected, I found it very joyful.

The young people involved, the colours and the dancers have been super.

Its been absolutely lovely.

The selection of themes throughout the night reflected the priorities in the ministry of Pope Francis, including homelessness, migrants and refugees and care for our common home.

Nuns from the Sisters of Nazareth, Sister Francis Kelly and Sister Celine came to Ireland for the World Meeting of Families and say the concert was the perfect end to an excellent week.

Sister Francis said: Were having a fantastic time, were enjoying every minute of it.

The atmosphere is fantastic, we really enjoyed Nathan Carter, he was excellent.

The young people have been so talented.

We had a stand at the World Meeting of Families and everyone has taken a real interest in the work we do, we have care homes all over the UK and Ireland, and people have been so good to us, really interested and friendly.

The event has really brought people together.

The celebration of family life heard a number of tributes and testimonials about the importance of prioritising the role of families especially with young children.

The Traynor family, who had travelled to Croke Park from Monaghan on Saturday came in a 15-strong group.

Breeda Traynor said: Fifteen of us all travelled up together just for today, weve brought along all of our kids, and some tea and sandwiches.

We really enjoyed the concert, its really different, and its nice and fast moving, theres not too long a wait between each act.

Its quite lighthearted, its a lot more informal than I thought it would be.

We loved Sean Keane, he was very good.

Were to drive back to Monaghan tonight, but it was well worth the journey.

Its been a great night, great for the kids.

The event finished with an address from Pope Francis, where he talked about the importance of family in the age of social media.Social media poses a threat to real life relationships and it could end up imprisoning people in a virtual reality, Pope Francis has said.

The pontiff said families should be asking themselves whether they should cut down on their technology usage and spend more time with each other instead.

More than 80,000 people gathered for a World Meeting of Families festival at Dublins Croke Park on Saturday night.

Pope Francis prays at Croke Park Stadium (Brian Lawless/PA)

A roaring crowd of families from 116 nations give our Holy Father @Pontifex a true Irish welcome as he joins us for #festivaloffamilies @CrokePark #WMOF2018 pic.twitter.com/TgNHOdn0LG  CatholicBishops (@CatholicBishops) August 25, 2018

Pope Francis was treated to a special performance of Riverdance by a troupe of Irish dancers and of Ave Maria by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Byrne.

The pontiff said social media could serve to build a network of friendships and solidarity, but he warned it should only be used in moderation.

He said it was important that social media never become a threat to the real life relationships by imprisoning us in a virtual reality and isolating us from the very real relationships that challenge us to grow.

Families, the Pope said, should question whether they should be cutting down on the time they spend on technology and be spending more quality time with each other.

When you use social media too much you go into a sort of an orbit, when at the dinner table, instead of talking to each other within the family each of you uses his phone to connect with the outside world, he said. Then you go into an orbit.

He said it was dangerous behaviour because it takes away the completeness of the family and leads individuals to a fuzzy life without any substance.

Pope Francis told attendees that holiness was about the saints next door, those ordinary people who reflect Gods presence in the life and history of the world.

He said the vocation to love and to holiness was not something reserved for a privileged few.

The Pope highlighted the difficulties some families, who have to flee their homes in search of security and peace, have to endure.

A familys love and faith can be a source of strength and peace even amid the violence and destruction caused by war and prosecution, he said.

Thank you to all who made the #festivaloffamilies possible. It was a great night in Croke Park. Pope Francis joins us again tomorrow in the Phoenix Park for the #wmof2018 Final Mass. As @pontifex said Good night and see you tomorrow!  WMOF2018 (@WMOF2018) August 25, 2018

The three words that every family needs to know, the pontiff said were sorry, please and thank you.

Pope Francis made the crowd repeat after him sorry, please and thank you and he advised families not to go to bed angry.

When you quarrel.say youre sorry, he said.

Before the day is over thats when you have to make peace, and you know why, do you know why its necessary to make peace before day is over? Because if you dontits very dangerous.Jacob Rees-Mogg has been branded ill-informed by the Irish deputy prime minister after suggesting people crossing the Northern Ireland border could be inspected after Brexit in the same way as we had during the Troubles.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney said the Tory MP and senior Brexiteer, the chairman of the hardline European Research Group, was ill-informed after the comments surfaced in a video posted on Twitter.

In the clip, Mr Rees-Mogg is shown at a town hall-style discussion on Brexit, talking about the border, which has proved one of the most difficult parts of the Brexit negotiations with Brussels to solve.

Both sides have ruled out a hard border  which would contravene the Good Friday Agreement that ended decades of fighting in Northern Ireland.

Its hard to believe that a senior politician is so ill informed about Ireland + the politics of the #Brexit Irish border issue that he could make comments like these. We have left the troubles behind us, through the sincere efforts of many, + we intend on keeping it that way. https://t.co/yuZYDFiWOq  Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) August 25, 2018

In the clip, Mr Rees-Mogg says that the UK could continue with historic arrangements to avoid a loophole that would allow people to get into the UK.

He continues: There would be our ability, as we had during the Troubles, to have people inspected.

Its not a border that everyone has to go through every day. But of course for security reasons during the Troubles, we kept a very close eye on the border to try and stop gun-running and things like that.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney described Mr Rees-Moggs comments as `ill-informed (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

Mr Coveney highlighted the clip on Twitter, saying: Its hard to believe that a senior politician is so ill informed about Ireland + the politics of the #Brexit Irish border issue that he could make comments like these.

We have left the Troubles behind us, through the sincere efforts of many, + we intend on keeping it that way.

Fears of a return to violence have been raised if the Good Friday Agreement is damaged by the imposition of a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit.

The EUs suggested solution to the problem  a common regulatory area for goods and customs with the rest of the EU  has so far been rejected by the UK as annexing Northern Ireland.

Theresa May has been adamant that such a move creating a border down the Irish Sea would be unacceptable to the Government.

In return, Mrs mays suggested solution, a complex customs arrangement that would see the UK collect duties for the EU, has been dismissed by Brussels.By Tom Daly

BEIJING, Aug 24 (Reuters) - China Hongqiao Group, the world's biggest aluminium producer, reported a 21 percent jump in first-half net profit despite lower revenues as it avoided a repeat of hefty impairments seen a year earlier.

Hongqiao, which only reports its earnings on a half-yearly basis, said net income totalled 1.8 billion yuan ($262 million) in the first six months of 2018, versus 1.49 billion yuan a year earlier, when it recorded a 3.36 billion yuan impairment due to the closure of illegal smelting capacity.

Revenues came in at 44.3 billion yuan, down 6 percent from the first half of 2017, according to a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Three-month Shanghai aluminium prices were on average 4.9 percent higher year-on-year, Hongqiao said citing figures from Chinese research house Antaike.

However, Hongqiao's output of aluminium alloy products in the first half fell 20.2 percent year-on-year to 3.187 million tonnes after it was forced to close 2.68 million tonnes of smelting capacity in mid-2017.

Alumina accounted for 10.8 percent of revenues, versus just 2 percent a year earlier.

Sales of the substance used to make aluminium jumped almost fivefold from 970.9 million yuan in the first half of 2017 to 4.77 billion yuan as the company captured rising demand for alumina products, Hongqiao said.

China does not usually export much alumina but this year producers have taken advantage of a favourable arbitrage to international prices and have been selling overseas.

Smelters in northern Chinese cities, including Hongqiao's base of Binzhou in Shandong province, will be subject to 30 percent production cuts this winter heating season starting in November, according to a draft plan from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment this month.

The measures are a repeat of those imposed last winter, which ultimately underwhelmed the market and sent aluminium prices tumbling, with plenty of supply still available. ($1 = 6.8740 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Susan Fenton)